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Good find Reclamer Wow!! They really got camera happy too! Looks like they are hard at work.

No charges to be filed after 'Tigger' complaint

Thank-you Cory; I think at this point members have a good idea of the issue at hand and can decide to inform themselves more in other venues if they would like. So at risk of losing the rest of the members, I think we shall stop here and find another topic to debate on. In complete agreement of “greatly enjoying your company on this board!†Your friend……..Avatar

This is not about how this is works for me or anyone else, trust me I said the same things that you all are saying now. So I truly understand what you all are saying in fact if we were in opposite shoes I would be saying the same thing, as I have previously. This whole thing is about what’s best for the current society kids eating, child care, education overcrowding, education retintion, single parent/two family jobs, the list goes on and on and on. I agree with you guys, but it is what is coming and is what politicians, school boards, educators, corrections officers, divorce court judges, parents, teachers, social workers and the list goes on, all agree on and think that is best going forward. So what I’m saying it doesn’t matter if I like/dislike or you are anybody else likes/dislikes. It is a new school schedule that works the best for every aspect in the 21st century. I’m not advocating that it should go to every district, but one who has watched this schedule sweeping across the nation and seeing how those communities are begging for it and the politicians campaigning with it. I have come to the conclusion that this is only a matter of time before it is more of the norm than not. Trust me I am not an advocate about this program just someone who tends to be a realist as it comes to some social issues. I was just wondering if the park is factoring the many, many students who are already in this schedule now and how will they addressing this issue looking into the future. There have been some folks on here who interview park officials about up and coming coasters and changes in the industry. I think this would be a great angle to see if the Amusement/Theme parks are planning with this in mind. Again guys quilt looking at this as what one likes or dislikes but on that is a social issue that if it has not came to your city yet it will be soon. If you don't like it and you fight it with others and can convence the coomunity as a whole not to do it great!!! I'm happy for you guys, really!

In response. Woofer; thanks for chiming your response is the reason I brought this subject back up, so that members will try to also include a major societal change when projecting the future plans of the park. Cory I think it is wonderful that we have place that we can share exchange and debate our opinions in such a respectful way. That’s what I love about this board! You are so correct that your school is doing just great running on that old antiquated school calendar, but after checking your schools calendar online, I found they are closer to what the year-round schools are doing now. so not sure your school falls in the old the old catagorie. By the way is Jersey Week as bad and crowded as they say on the Disney boards? I would like to break down all the positives that your school is doing great at, and the reason why they should not consider a possible better way. 1 a Fall Break that lasts a whole weak, a Winter break that lasts 2 weeks Miamisburg does take a couple of weeks out of the traditional summer to provide these extra weeks. 2 We have been denoted a Blue Ribbon School system of excellence for a long while now, and it seems that we have struck the near perfect balance between your year-round schooling I will stick with our tradition here 3 Life is harmony...a perfect balance will be struck by all objects in life to maintain a level of stability, and life my friend will always find a way! So since this is a Kings Island board I will use a recent change to Kings Island that had both descent and proponents for the change. Nickelodeon Central It offered families a nice ride selection and old beloved HanaBarbara Characters. In fact they where winning national high standards and received prestige’s awards for it. Some argued that they did not need to change because they some how found the perfect harmony of using the best of both worlds (past and present). But as we all know to maintain that high standard of excellence, one must always strive to achieve excellence even if they need to make a drastic change from their past success. Otherwise that would be there first failure. So now we have Nickelodeon Universe. The area reflects a growing trend of families doing more together and going with a new image of characters that the 20th century kids more identify with. Having been a child and having one child visit the old way and now doing more with one child with the new area I can say it was great the old way but I really enjoy the new area so much better. Cory; I am in no way trying to say what any school does is bad and antiquated but following a school calendar that was meant to suit the lives of the 1800 and early 1900 is. They new school calendar is already here and we were all skeptical too, but after getting true facts and seeing all the benefits it is a wonderful change for everybody and I do mean everyone. There is so many societal reasons for it and that’s not the reason why I brought this issue up again. Its because as woofer said “It's not a matter of if schools will go year round but really when.’ That is a true statement and I hoping that the seasonal parks are looking down the road and factoring this in with their future plans. I just remember “be careful for what you wish for, you just might get it.†so make informed decisions and not one based off of nostalgia and feelings. Good luck with you studies at UD and take care you get the last word.

I’ll make this my last post on this subject in this thread, I promise! Fear of the unknown and a change from the routine is one of our societies down falls. I will admit I was resistant to the change until I had all the true facts before me. A couple real quick notes before getting to the point as it relates to the thread. My daughters school does go an half hour longer than the kids do across the street. The difference is that our school touts that they will rarely send home homework home so that the students can spend quality time with their families while they are home. My daughter regularly waits for the neighbors kids to get their homework done before they can play. As someone who has went through and sent one child all the way through the old antiquated way and now sending one through the new way. I can only tell you parents who really want what’s best for your children please inform yourself on the true facts because in my house I will pick a better overall education for my daughter vs. her getting 20 more continuous days in the summer instead having those days and weeks spread out through the year. I have done both and hands down the year-round is best for us and evidently for other caring parents. Also those parents who have visitation during the summer now get to have them spread-out through the year instead of the 11 weeks of summer. I know when parents are given the choice between the old 1800-1900 system and the new 20th century life style that fits better with 2 working/single parent and a better education for their children for no more days imposed on their children. They will chose the new way just like all the other parents have done when given the choice. We spent many days at Kings Island during the summer and were able to spend some great time in the fall with a trip to Disney last fall during my daughters almost 3 week Fall Break. That family trip would have never happened if she was going to a regular school. She also gets a 3 week spring break. Just think about all that great family time spread out thrugh the year. As a parent I’m glad I don’t haft to cram all my special family time in a 11 week summer, as i once had too. This relates to this thread because; I hope that Cedar Fair does not turn a blind eye to this matter and gets caught off guard. Yes it will take 10-12 more years to take hold in Ohio but after that it will go quick and the ones who embrace the change with a plan now will come out smelling like a rose and will be the trend setter for the industry. I believe this is win, win for everybody once we get past our comfort zone of doing things the same way that our grandfathers did. After all it was our grand fathers who said “change is constant and a sure fire way to failure is by becoming stagnateâ€Â.

True but I would have never dreamed that halfway through kindergarten that my daughter would be reading and writing. Also taking field trips to the local collage to have lunch with some students and a tour of the campus, including dorms. Keep in mind, year round schools go the same amount of days as the old antiquated schools do they just spread out more days and weeks off during the school year. So as far as days in the classroom they are the same.

Evidently year-round school has come to Ohio and right in the back yard of Kings Islands. From the Cincinnati Enquire; http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2002/08/0...und_school.html Word of mouth is a powerful thing!

Cory; at the bottom of this page I have just took the first three links to back up what I am saying’ as far as studies they all are flawed the teachers unions have commissioned several studies that shows some serious flaws and they accuse the other side that they are doing the same thing.. So the real test is results. I can tell that you do not live in an area that is currently offering this because if you did like I do you would actually see the results from the students in year round schools taking the same test as the regular school calendar scoring almost 42% higher on their state wide test. That has convinced parents her to put their children on the long waiting list to get their children in. We had to sign our daughter up to a lottery to get her in ( we prayed for like mad for months). The rest or put on a waiting list. The states largest school district has just announced that they will be shutting down about 8 schools next year due to the parents opting to take their children to this new program. The Superintendent said more schools will be closing every year until the trend changes. Surrounding townships schools took note and started to offer half there district to the year round school, then after a long waiting list and parents complaints a couple districts decided to have year-round school district wide. You see parents will decide what’s best, not some skewed study. Her they are signing onto long waiting list to get their kids in, while the old antiquated system can take you anytime with no wait list. As far as teacher burnout, a lot of teachers are asking for this so much in fact in my daughters school it was the teachers who begged the school board to make the change. I can show you a study that shows the teachers say that the old way is what causes them burnout. So that’s a wash and I can give you my daughters teachers phone number to back this all up. Here is the challenge find me one teacher or parent that has went through the year round schedule for one year and report that they disliked it. (actually you may find 1, but 99.9% will tell you they love it!) My neighbor laughed at us when my daughter started last July 20th but by Thanksgiving she was at the school trying to get her two children in after seeing the benefits first hand from us. They are on the waitlist for next year. Don’t knock it till you try it, or at least ask someone who has been through it,. As always when reading a study report find out who paid for the study first. Hey it’s not for everybody, but watching this transformation here and being a parent in a nervous gym prying while listening to other parents scream with joy when they her their child name being read from a lottery, I would have to say the teachers and parents are in fact saying bring it on. But let’s not forget what is best for the students in today’s world. http://www.hometownsource.com/columns_opin...ies/120100.html http://homeparents.about.com/cs/backtoscho...roundschool.htm

I agree they do but over time this is going to happen. IMHO a good management team would not fight such a societal change but adapt to it. By housing more inside attractions they could remain open year round on the weekends, holidays and during the week when the schools on break. I think they would make far more doing that than what they are currently doing. Infact Marketing could target certain areas by offering students low prices for their families if the achieve certain standards such as, attendance, grade, reading program, bands and sporting events. But that would require thinking outside the box and a major financial investment over time. If they embraced the changes they could hold onto their student staff year-round and not letting them find new jobs in the off season then subsequently losing them. Because they would be open on weekends and when schools are out they would still be able to depend on them being avaliable. By the way the tourist industry is already seeing the advantages from the year-round approach. They are saying that families who are on that plan take more out of town vacations because they are spaced out over 4 long periods vs. the old way of trying to do all the vacations in the summer and over the crowded, over priced spring break period.

They maybe able to lobby their own state to resist change but the parents of Ohio will demand to catch -up to the rest of the nation , so eventually Ohio will too. Then if Cedar Fair resisted to make the changes they will learn the lessons that Kodak and the Bell companies have when they scoffed and continued the status quo.

I am just rambling on here so forgive me now, or don’t read any further! Eventually most schools with switch over to the year-round schedule and I believe that the seasonal parks who don’t adapt or formulate a plan to try to offer the kids who will or those who are now only off for 5 weeks in the summer will suffer from some very lean years in attendance and financially wise until they make some changes. In fact some parks or reporting drops in attendance levels while year-round schools are increasing attendance levels rapidly with each passing year. I think Parks like Cedar Fair who have lots of tall mega Coasters will need to be more creative in trying to make coming changes in the future. I can see real good possibilities to a park like Kings Island adapting to the coming changes down the road by starting gradually now. Such as putting most future attractions in doors, maybe a dome over International Street with a great musical fountain and a several sit down restaurants. In fact I could see this being done gradually over many years. At some point if done right I could see Kings Island becoming a year round park, adapting to a national societal change. I am not saying that everything should be indoors because those outside attractions will keep guest coming back for a different experience at the park as the seasons change. So in reality parks that converted would be able to attract guest to come to their parks multiple times throughout the year instead of trying to get them to do it all in the few weeks of summer. If your reading this then there is no need to apologies for my ramblings as you have already forgiven me. To prove a small point, most year-round schools are out till next Tuesday so alot of rooms are booked at GWL on this Thursday night so us families can get those great off season weekday rates. The Point is I don’t believe there are a lot of schools in the Cincinnati area on the year-round schedule. So these are out of towners who have decided to come over in February. If Kings Island was adapted to a more winter time indoor attractions I believe the out of towners would include a visit to Kings Island as well.

Other than maybe one picture in my house you will not find anything with a “logo†or a “place†name on it. But we do have a lot of favorite items bought from our travels throughout the years from most places we go. Such as decorations a real nice shirt but all having the same thing in common “no logos or a place name on itâ€Â. But many, many items in our house are not only a nice decoration but they also have a story behind it from a time when we went to. So from Kings Island; our favorite bought item is a beautiful pink bird house that we had bought from the gift shop at King Cobras exit. When we have family/friends over the bird house is so original that we get asked about it often. It came with a wonderful day with my late father and I enjoy being able to display it without all the logos plastered all over it. Besides clothing and stuffed animals we have not added much Kings Island stuff to our collections for the last few years because the lack of selection and logos on everything .

I agree, Disney uses a lot of indoor pavilions to house a lot of rides. I could never understand way northern seasonal parks didn’t move in that direction too. If most attractions in the north were housed in pavilions the seasons could be extended and Winterfest would get a bigger draw.

As always the devil is in the details!!! First this quote by the Mayor Tom Grossmann Now my comments from that quote There is no way this will cost your town 2.1 million dollars! In truth your town will take in 2.1 million dollars less due to your town no longer over charging your constituents. So instead of budgeting your town with the same tax rate that other Ohio counties have learned to do. Your town has gotten to used to that extra cash cow from over charging your tax payers. That now you would rather offend a community friendly business in your district that your town had made prior verbal agreements with, by forcing that business to take money from their customers that otherwise could go to that business in the form of sales. I could only support a tax like that if they would allow all the citizens who pay that tax an opportunity to vote for that town council. Because if they could that city council would have never proposed that idea. Taxation with-out representation!!! The next Quote comes from Greg Scheid I am grateful that somebody is fighting for us families from another forced tax on us. So I will take Kings Island word that they will fight it as hard as they can.

Well the storm has started here in Indy about 45 minuets ago. Everybody stay safe.

Westcoasterman; Always take what the Lemon Chill guy says with a grain of sugar. He squeezes out rumors and then hands you some sour information and hopes some of it is sticks.

France Since Miss Rae was still asleep and because of my personnel feelings about France at the time we just passed by and enjoyed the beauty of the showcase as we walked by. United Kingdom We had a great time walking through the United Kingdom showcase as they designed it to have us walk all the way around the street houses with many shop’s that offered Fish n Chips to trinket souvenirs. My daughter finally woke up here, while we were listening to a rock group called “British Invasion” (a Beatles parity group) in the outside courtyard. When we went into one of the shops Mary Poppins had one of the dignitaries make her a knight through a formal ceremony, afterwards the phone rings and they tell Miss Rae that the Queen of England would like to talk with the newest knight. Canada Canada was our last country to see in the showcase. We were hopping for a small showcase because we where really wearing out. That was not the case, Canada was very massive and offers wonderful garden walks They even have a mountain walk trough. A movie showcasing their countries features and if you are a steak lover then they have a restaurant called Le Cellier Steakhouse, that is a must! After Dark Second Time Around We took a break from all the walking and enjoyed some snacks by the musical fountain in front of Spaceship Earth and other various activities, until it got dark. Epcot after dark is exceptionally beautiful and almost seems like a whole new park. We checked over our souvenir list and made our final decision, so we decided on a meeting place, then split up so that we could cover more ground and see all the countries special evening lights at our own pace. My favorite video of this trip report <object width="678" height="500"><param name="movie" value="http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;12231627;"></param><param'>http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;12231627;"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;12231627;" width="678" height="500" wmode="transparent"></embed></object> Illuminations; Reflections of Earth Reflections of Earth is a nightly firework show that is shown at 9 pm every single night of the year. The show takes place in the middle of the lake and can be viewed from any location around the lake too.. The Firework show is synchronized to a sound track and also includes lasers, colored spot lights, huge water fountains, a huge World Globe, fire torches around the lake and also includes the lighting up of the different countries at certain time of the show. I was going to put some firework pictures to music to be shown, but thought better of it as I seen and got permission to share the videos below as it really captures the atmosphere so much better. They all run about 30 to 60 seconds, the first one basically shows the start of the show and sets the atmosphere of what the excitement the guest feels at the beginning of the show. <embed src="http://www.veoh.com/videodetails.swf?permalinkId=e81964q9eqgY8M&id=1&player=videodetails" width="425" height="340" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed> The second one shows some midshow highlights and allows us to get a good look at all the special effects going on at the same time including the fountains, the World Globe, colored spotlights and lasers. <embed src="http://www.veoh.com/videodetails.swf?permalinkId=e83654MGxXqCYC&id=1&player=videodetails" width="425" height="340" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed> This last one is a must see and leaves the guest saying either WOW or multiple WOO’S after the grand finale! <embed src="http://www.veoh.com/videodetails.swf?permalinkId=e83658Er35RpWh&id=1&player=videodetails" width="425" height="340" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed> Conclusion I will start the conclusion by addressing the comments made by some who have gone to Epcot and reported back that there is not enough thrill rides there. Travis was worried about going to Epcot, as some of his friends told him they were disappointed. So I told Travis don’t go to Epcot assuming it’s like other Theme parks but to think of Epcot as a Amusement Park for your mind., that is the best way to describe Epcot that I know. There is so much to do, see, hear and taste that it is just mind boggling. I have went now a total of three times and each time I have went away in awe and disappointed that I did not plan to include another day to spend at Epcot during our stay. So I do highly recommend to everyone that if you want to try to experience most of what Epcot has to offer, then plan a minimum of two days. That way you can take the time to see all the shows and to experience all the exhibits without the need to rush around the park wearing yourself out in the process. A sit down dinner at one of the many full service restaurants is a must as it is part of the Epcot experience. I really enjoyed the evening stroll around the world with all the lights on and every time I see Illuminations, I tell myself “why don’t more places take the time to do it right like they do here”. Leaving Epcot has always left my mind thinking back to all the memories of the day and I leave amazed at how much that there was to do. Older teenagers and adults will love this park if they like atmosphere as much as they do rides. Small children seem to get bored about half way through the day, as I think this park will overload their mind senses and that subsequently wears them out. I Hope You Enjoyed This Trip Report Of Epcot………….Jesse Special Note; All the music heard in this trip report is actual audio and recorded at Epcot, except for the Epcot After Dark video. I have received permission from a few sites to use some of the videos and photos used in this trip report. I did not include Universe of Energy in this trip report because we simply ran out of time to do so.

Italy Italy has a large showcase and also incorporates the large lake as part of their showcase, this gives guest plenty of room to stop and relax from a long journey thus far. They offer true authentic Italian cuisine from a famous restaurant in Italy called L’Original Alfredo di Roma Ristorante. They lay claim to being the founder of the famous pasta dish Fettuccini Alfredo and for desert the best Connolly you have ever tasted. Video of Italy <object width="678" height="500"><param name="movie" value="http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;11964888;"></param><param'>http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;11964888;"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;11964888;" width="678" height="500" wmode="transparent"></embed></object> The American Adventure The American Adventure is set in a turn of the century colonial town with lots of patriotic entertainment outside. Inside also offers patriotic singing groups and a 30 minute American inspiration show. Japan Japan is another large scenic plaza that uses both sides of the walking path. Natural landscaping is used in breathtaking detail. Japan also has a wonderful drum ceremony held several times a day and can be heard several countries away. We were lucky enough to catch two shows on our visit. I decided to spend my $70 park allowance on a Japanese made surf shirt. Video of Japan <object width="679" height="500"><param name="movie" value="http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;12324995;"></param><param'>http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;12324995;"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;12324995;" width="679" height="500" wmode="transparent"></embed></object> Morocco Morocco is set as an street market place that has lots of twists and turns throughout the showcase. We truly enjoyed doing some shopping at the street markets in this village, as almost all items used as decorations are for sale. They offer a couple very nice restaurants. Miss Rae finally gave out here and took a long nap till we got to United Kingdom. Video of Morocco <object width="678" height="500"><param name="movie" value="http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;11880388;"></param><param'>http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;11880388;"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;11880388;" width="678" height="500" wmode="transparent"></embed></object>

Mexico Is a large Pavilion that provides guest with authentic Mexico merchandise a fun El Rio Del Tiempo boat ride and a full service restaurant. Mexico offered a Mariachi Cobre group that played some wonderful sounds close by the outside counter service restaurant. Video of Mexico <object width="678" height="500"><param name="movie" value="http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;11898051;"></param><param'>http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;11898051;"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;11898051;" width="678" height="500" wmode="transparent"></embed></object> This was our first stop in the World showcase but already I was being asked numerous times, by my family “can you buy me buy this”. So I told everybody that they have a park allowance, so we decided to make a list as we went around the World and then that evening everybody could check their list and double back to purchase their favorite souvenir. (worked great) Norway Is set to an Norwegian small town complete with a authentic bakery, shops and restaurant. An inside Viking ship boat ride. It explains the Norwegians history and resources is offered to guest followed by a 5 minute movie. Travis decided that after a couple beers that he had enough courage to show his true Viking allegiance. We all enjoyed the live folk music played in the common area China As the Chinese symbol says above “Awesome” the one word that can sum up China’s showcase at Epcot. The whole showcase is brilliantly laid out, the shops were exceptionally large. They offered a restaurant, traditional Chinese street shows. I truly liked the size of this showcase, because it let us enjoy the beautiful landscapes and buildings, without the crowded feeling. On top of all the other activities at China’s showcase they proudly entice the guests to view either a 360 degree show or marvel at a live show performed by the Dragon Legend Acrobats. Video of China <object width="678" height="500"><param name="movie" value="http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;11899796;"></param><param'>http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;11899796;"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;11899796;" width="678" height="500" wmode="transparent"></embed></object> Germany Germanys showcase had us enter a small German town complete with a authentic German toy shop. This was a finger puppet show toy that Miss Rae wanted to spend her park allowance on, it’s from a German toy maker called Kathe Kruse. The small town feeling is dwarfed by a large castle in the background, that houses the indoor Beirgarten. Every couple of hours they offer live authentic German entertainment, for those who choose to dine or to partake in the true German beers in the large indoor Beirgarten.

The Land Pavilion Houses several attractions, 1 full service restaurant, with food served from their own garden grown inside the pavilion itself and a great food court. One attraction is called Living with the Land, which is a boat ride through state of the art greenhouses. The Lands new signature attraction is called Soarin. Soarin over California is an exclusive attraction to Disney. It took us on a ride that gave us riders the feeling that we were in fact gliding above various California landscapes. As usual the line queue was nicely themed. They again divided us up into groups, then when the doors open we were instructed to sit in a predetermined row and seat. When the attraction is started the top of our seats folded flat down above the us. Then all three rows were raised up into the air with the first row to be directly above the second row and so forth. As we were fully immersed into fling over all the different landscapes such as the orange groove, a small fan blew orange air scents. This air blowing made us feel like we were really in motion plus it allows for the different scents to be smelt at the proper times. Imagination! Is another large pavilion that offers three fun attractions that tries to excite the guest to use their imagination in their own lives. First attraction was a ride though attraction. We watch a character named Figment explain what and how to use our imagination. When exiting this ride we entered a hands on attraction that maked Chuckie Cheese look like a primitive fun house. We only spent a few minutes here but could have easily spent 1 hour + there. We rushed to catch the “Honey I Shrunk The Audience” 3-D show which is the other attraction at the Imagination pavilion. The theater entrance is on the outside of the pavilion and the line can get rather long. Not only does this 3-D show have great 3-D graphics but the Disney imaginteers included several Awe factors during the show. At one point the entire theater shakes and moves and they also shoot a blast of air to simulate that something was running under our legs. I must mention that as we exited the theater we were faced with two wonderful water attractions that drew us to stop and take a moment to enjoy while the crowd leaving the theater thinned out. The first one is a jumping water fountain that jumped over our heads from one spot over to another spot and some just jump up and down in various places, Miss Rae just loved these. The other Water feature is what looks like a waterfall but when we took a closer look and realize that we were still in the Imagination area, we could see that the waterfall was going backwards, making it a water-up. Living Seas They had two attractions open at the time of our visit, but was working on a ride that would have guest take a ride through the aquarium with him. So the first one is basically taking a tour of their very large aquarium with various hands on exhibits. The other attraction was called Turtle Crush, Which is a huge kids favorite. We had a reservation to eat at The Coral Reef, which is a full service restaurant located inside the Living Seas pavilion. Spaceship Earth Spaceship Earth is Epcot’s signature icon that can be seen from several miles away. Spaceship Earth is a ride attraction. that took us up an escalator and continued up inside the sphere. Then the we were loaded into a contentious conveyor car. From there we wound our way up, down and all around the sphere listening basically to Earths evolution in time and projected Earths future. The ride seems outdated and could use some updating. Video for Spaceship Eath <object width="679" height="500"><param name="movie" value="http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;12349095;"></param><param'>http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;12349095;"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://avatar.phanfare.com/video/2;12349095;" width="679" height="500" wmode="transparent"></embed></object> WORLD SHOWCASE Epcot World Showcase is a collection of 11 countries arranged around a large lake. The best way to describe the area is to think of it as a living museum showcasing the different cultures of Earth. Each country in the Epcot area is sponsored by that particular country and works closely with Disney as to the design and features that their country will offer to showcase at Epcot. Most countries offer cultural entertainment, restaurants, merchandise and in some ride attractions. Each country tries to being in workers from their country to work at Disney to give them an opportunity to education and internships, additionally it gives that country a more true cultural feel to its showcase. In this Trip report I will go around the lake clockwise and give a brief description of that country as well as offer a 45-60 second picture slide show to some select countries. Also the music played in the video is actual audio from those areas. They offer boat shuttles to cut across the lake for those who find themselves on the other side and would rather head back to the front gates. At the time of our visit they had a lot of extra free headliner entertainment offered to celebrate the Food & Wine Festival. To start video’s please click twice to start.

A family trip report from our recent trip to Disney’s Epcot Theme Park Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow (EPCOT) EPCOT Theme Park is such a different theme parks in contrast to what we the general public thinks of what a traditional theme park should be. I think maybe they should make another classification besides Amusement/Theme Park to accommodate Epcot. EPCOT is like having two major Amusement/Theme Park in one. In this trip report I will try to accomplish two things; one to share my families experience at Epcot and secondly try to give you the reader a better understanding as too what all Epcot has to offer visiting guests. I think it would be best to give a fun factual summery about Epcot and then divide the trip report into two sections the first being Future World and the second is World Showcase. The Table of Contents for this trip report is as follows; Epcot; fun factual facts summery about Epcot. Introduction and the start of the trip report Future World World Showcase After Dark Second Time Around Illuminations Reflections of Earth Conclusion Epcot; fun factual facts summery about Epcot. Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, began as Walt’s idea of creating a better city. He best explains it by his own words, Qoute; “A utopian environment enriched in education, and in expanding technology. A perfect city with dependable public transportation, a soaring civic center covered by an all-weather dome, and model factories concealed in green belts that were readily accessible to workers housed in idyllic suburban subdivisions nearby“. I have included a picture of Walt Disney with a drawing that shows one of these Communities behind him. Walt Disney also envisioned the World Showcase section in Epcot to be a real live interactive showcase. He wanted to have all the cultures from around the world have their own section surrounding the Seven Seas Lagoon, the lagoon Magic Kingdom is located on. He though that each world culture section would have a full service themed hotel complete with shops, restaurant’s, cultural displays and that culture’s entertainment would be preformed there too. So Basically Guest coming to Magic Kingdom would also want to stay longer to visit the other world showcases around the lagoon. I have included a early map of what Walt had originally had in mind. Due to the Walt’s death and intervention from accountants, Walt’s vision was put on hold and then later incorporated into another idea of incorporating both toned down ideas with each other to form one huge theme park. Epcot opened on October 1, 1982 and is a thriving unique one of a kind theme park still to this day. Other Epcot Fu Facts; Epcot Total Cost: US$1.4 Billion Epcot Construction Time: 3 years (at the time the largest construction project on earth) Official Groundbreaking: October 1, 1979 Card Walker (President of Walt Disney Productions) reveals plans for the theme park on October 1, 1978 Park Size: 300+ acres The pavement at EPCOT was engineered by Disney and Kodak photography to be painted a specific custom color of pink that makes the grass look greener and pictures look brighter. Current map of Epcot when we visited. Introduction and The Start of Our Trip Report On October 2, 2006 my family and I decided to be guests at Epcot for their annual Food & Wine Festival. The Food and Wine Festival allows the sponsoring countries in the World Showcase to put up a themed display that offers food and alcohol samplings from that country , as well as information about that country. As I always do I insist that we start any day at a theme park right at rope drop. So upon opening we were greeted by the wonderfully friendly Disney cast members and was really awing the size of Epcots signature icon named Spaceship Earth. To give you a good perspective to the size of Epcot I am going to include a short video that loops around Spaceship Earth (the big ball) and looks out into Future World while ridding in the Disnry monoral as it goes around. Click videos twice to play. <embed style="width:678px; height:500px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?=true&docId=4617897186783160905"> </embed> Future World Future World is the only section of the park that is opened at 9 am because of the size of Epcot, guest are not able to go to World Showcase until 11 am allowing the guest to enjoy Future World first. Future World offers extremely large indoor pavilions that are usually sponsored by a corporate business. They usually are showcasing the latest technology that relate to our way of life, by displays, hands on activities or incorporating these ideas by showcasing them by a medium thrill ride attractions. Test Track Test Track; Was the first attraction to start our day at Epcot. It was a basic walk on, but with most attractions at Epcot they group you into large groups to watch a pre show, so it does add time to ridding their thrill attractions. The pre shows are usually somewhat entertaining so we did not mind them, but if you decide to ride a second time the pre shows are a bore. When we got to the attraction we got in what looks like a car that is designed to go through car tests as the preshow had shown earlier. At first we went through various indoor test while sitting in the car such as; braking, sharp turns and various hot/cold tests and an acid test. The last couple thrills, is an announcement made that they have decided to test crash our vehicle into a wall and subsequently launched the car at a high rate of speed straight at a test wall. Fortunately at the last second the test wall opens before crashing into it. From there we found ourselves on the outside of the pavilion and now fully engaged in a speed test around the pavilion. The ride then slows down and the ends. After exiting we were invited to insert our PhotoPass Card to download an on ride photo as a ride souvenir. Since General Motors sponsors this pavilion we had to navigate through a maze of new showroom cars that they have sitting out for guests to sit in and to look over. Mission Space This is a very intense attraction and somehow we convinced Miss Rae to go with us even though they offered a milder less intense ride. The inside line queue had some fantastic space displays such as this spinning astronaut space capsule. I haft to admit the seriousness in the way they move you around as a group and the warning that they give at the pre shows it did get me concerned. We finally made it through all the build-up warning and shows and got to our capsule. They had instructed each of us that we were to perform a set of task to complete as to our predetermined title and that dictated our seating arrangement in our capsule. Once inside they close the capsule and proceed with a countdown. When it hits 0 a loud rumbling blast can be heard as well be felt. About 20 seconds into it, Miss Rea says “father I’m too heavy , something is happening to me, I can’t lift my legs”. I believe the ride spins around a track like a flight simulator does to test pilots for G forces, to give us that heavy crushing feeling. When the capsule screen simulates to us that we have entered Earth’s outer space the capsule slows down and we feel very light compared to all the G forces from earlier. After working as a team and completing all of or tasks the capsule opens up and congratulates us for a successful mission. At the exit they have several kids activities and some fun space mission control activities for the guest to try out.

OR Have PKICental.com get permission to put one up to promote their site and to build excitement for the park.

Hey guys; I found some yellow snow in my yard today and tried it. I don’t know what Kings Island does to theirs but my didn’t taste anything like a lemon chill, but more like dog p***. What am I doing wrong?

Westcoasterman; you obviously have put some thought to you plans and some pointers to back up you theories too. It’s nice to see new members contribute in such a positive way has you have. Welcome aboard glad you’re here!