BoddaH1994

I'll be there-this is bull****. Did I read right that when KI agreed to be part of Mason there would be no admission tax? This stinks all the way around. And KI-Orig-Emp-I agree with the Mason force sitting in the lot-that is just WRONG. Yep -- that's the story. They had a handshake agreement with Mason that they would not impose an admissions tax when they were annexed. Apparently Kings Island still possesses the letter. However, Tax Man's response is that it was an agreement between two different entities -- the council has turned over since the agreement and Kings Island is no longer owned by Paramount. So yeah, on top of everything else it's just an absolute lack of integrity on his part. I also want to point out that a lot of people are blaming the city of Mason for this. They have done nothing wrong yet. It's Tony "Tax Man" Bradburn that has proposed this -- more than once. That's why it's important to be there this Monday and help us convince the rest of the council that he's wrong. Remember -- he only needs 4 votes for it to go through.

That's the thing, you can't think of this so one-dimensionally. Sure, season passes and admissions will go up slightly but that's not what's going to affect you the most. The thing that will affect you those most is when group sales decline, they'll have to offset that in some way -- mainly by higher prices within the park and cutting costs elsewhere.

I will be there as well. Perhaps we should start a meet up thread. I strongly urge all of those who love KI to do the same. That's great! I know of a few people of the forums who will be in attendance, myself included. If this thing is defeated then not only can you be happy for Kings Island but proud of yourselves.

I doubt the timing of this meeting (as far as the season is concerned) is really an issue. However, I will point out that Tax Man opened discussions of the admissions tax at the last council meeting... which was something that was NOT originally scheduled to be discussed. He's trying to sneak this in quietly... at your expense.

Invite her to come to the meeting. If she's the one who forks out the cash for the Kings Island visits, it's going to affect her.

The tax? The residents of Mason would not pay a single dime unless they went to an attraction with an admissions tax. This is one of the reasons the gutless wonder who propsed this likes it so much. With VERY few exceptions, those who have to pay it don't vote for him and can't vote against him. The meeting? I assume it is a public meeting open to all. If you speak, be respectful, but make clear how much Mason could lose as you come to the town far less often due to the tax. Exactly -- that's why this is important. It's a tax within the city limits of Mason but it's not a tax on them. It's a tax on you.

Anyone can attend and anyone can address the CofC. I don't even live in Ohio and I'll be there talking some sense into Tony "Tax Man" Bradburn.

Group sales account for roughly 1/3 of ticket sales. That's what will be greatly affected. I doubt they'll revoke benefits already guaranteed to some, but you'd see them cease in future offerings. That's what I'm sayin'! So many people on here like to complain about high prices or whatever, and now here's something that's going to guarantee higher prices. If anyone's fine with this now, I don't want to hear them complaining if it passes.

Who knows? The fact of the matter is, this is going to cost you a lot of money. If they impose a tax on parking, that's a cost that you, the consumer, is going to have to eat. I find it unlikely that free parking with early season pass purchases will be an option in the future if this passes. Kings Island isn't making a big deal out of this because of greed. It is seriously going to hurt the business. If you listened to the conference call a week ago, chain-wide group sales are down. Now an admissions tax on an individual ticket may be $1 or so, but think of the group rates -- if someone wants to purchase, say 4,000 tickets that's an additional $4,000. It's going to be a deal breaker for a lot of companies. Cedar Fair will have to make up for this revenue somehow. How? By eliminating perks like free parking, cutting back operating hours, limiting live shows and entertainment, raising food and merch prices and cutting back on future expansions. This WILL affect your future experiences at Kings Island in a very negative way.

If Mason City councilman Tony Bradburn has his way, it will cost you more money to attend Kings Island in 2010. An attempt to impose a 3-percent admissions and 5-percent parking tax was made at the most recent Mason City Council meeting November 9 without the park’s knowledge - and without your knowledge. Bradburn, chairman of Mason’s finance committee, has been a staunch advocate of higher taxes on businesses including the promotion of the admissions tax since joining council. To consider such an “anti-business” proposition in today’s economic climate makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. A final vote is expected on Monday, November 23. If the tax passes, increases will go into effect for the 2010 season. To voice your opinion on being assessed an admissions and parking tax when you visit Kings Island, attend the November 23 Mason City Council meeting held in the Mason City Building located at 6000 Mason-Montgomery Road. The open to the public meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:00pm. Mason council can also be reached by phone at 513-229-8500 or via email at council@masonoh.org. Thank you for supporting Kings Island and other area businesses. We look forward to seeing you at the park in 2010. TELL MASON CITY COUNCIL THAT YOU DON’T WANT TO BE TAXED: User Tax - This is not a tax on Kings Island, it is a tax on Kings Island’s guests. For example, the average family that purchases their season pass this summer: - 4-pack of Regular Passes and One Parking Pass = $13.40 in additional taxes - 4-pack of Platinum Passes = $19.20 in additional taxes Bad for the Entire Area - Warren County’s #1 industry is tourism. This tax will create a negative effect that will be felt by other businesses in the area. This tax will be especially damaging to area hotels, restaurants, and service stations. Job Cuts and Future Investment - Fewer visitors will result in the elimination of full time and seasonal jobs at Kings Island and many other area attractions and businesses. Terrible Timing - With so many people struggling in this economy, this idea couldn’t come at a worse time. Many families and companies are forced to make cuts to survive the current downturn. Why should the city of Mason be an exception? Credibility Issue - A promise was made that an admissions tax would never be enacted when Kings Island was annexed into the city of Mason in 1997. What confidence can other business prospects have? Kings Island Employees Pay City Taxes - Park employees have paid nearly $440,000 to the city of Mason in income tax over the past two seasons. Kings Island Pays Police - Over the past two seasons, Kings Island has paid nearly $110,000 to cover the cost of Mason Police patrolling the park with no cost to the city of Mason. Bad for Kings Island - A forced price increase of any kind will have a strong, negative effect on overall attendance and revenues and could prevent further expansion and development. Far Less Traffic Now Than in 1997 - Kings Island entertains nearly 1 million less people each year than when it was annexed into the city of Mason. During that same period, the city of Mason has nearly tripled in size. IN THEIR OWN WORDS - RECENT QUOTES ON THE TAX DEBATE: Tony Bradburn, Mason City Council Member / Cincinnati Enquirer - Nov 10, 2009 "They'll survive." Tony Bradburn, Mason City Council Member / FOX 19.com - Nov 10, 2009 "We only need four votes to pass it." Greg Scheid, Kings Island General Manager / Dayton Daily News - Nov 11, 2009 "It's really disappointing. Mason's slogan is 'Your business partner,' and I don't feel like they're being a very fair partner right now." Northeast Cincinnati Chamber / Cincinnati Enquirer - Nov 12, 2009 “The economic impact on the area will be devastating, because even though visitors come for the attractions, they use many ancillary businesses while they are here. To consider such an “anti-business” proposition in today’s economic climate makes no sense.” Kate Storch, The Beach Waterpark / Cincinnati Enquirer - Nov 10, 2009 "The idea that they would introduce a tax like that today is just really hard to fathom. It's not what the city of Mason needs. It's not what we need to maintain our viability here." Ralph Vilarado, The Beach Waterpark / ONNtv.com - Nov 11, 2009 "Our attendance goes down and therefore as people come into the city of Mason, they don't just come visit us. They come visit all the other businesses. They support the hotel, they support the restaurants, the gas station" Dave Moushey, Mason Resident / Dayton Daily News - Nov 11, 2009 "It's not the time to start taxing people. People are hurting enough right now." In the News: Mason Proposes Amusement Park Taxes Kings Island, Chamber Vow to Fight Admissions Tax Kings Island Admissions Tax Proposed Mason Proposes Tax for Visitors to Kings Island NEC Chamber Opposes Mason Admissions and Parking Tax

For those of you who get Kings Island's Newsletter, they're fighting back... If Mason City councilman Tony Bradburn has his way, it will cost you more money to attend Kings Island in 2010. An attempt to impose a 3-percent admissions and 5-percent parking tax was made at the most recent Mason City Council meeting November 9 without the park’s knowledge - and without your knowledge. Bradburn, chairman of Mason’s finance committee, has been a staunch advocate of higher taxes on businesses including the promotion of the admissions tax since joining council. To consider such an “anti-business” proposition in today’s economic climate makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. A final vote is expected on Monday, November 23. If the tax passes, increases will go into effect for the 2010 season. To voice your opinion on being assessed an admissions and parking tax when you visit Kings Island, attend the November 23 Mason City Council meeting held in the Mason City Building located at 6000 Mason-Montgomery Road. The open to the public meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:00pm. Mason council can also be reached by phone at 513-229-8500 or via email at council@masonoh.org. Thank you for supporting Kings Island and other area businesses. We look forward to seeing you at the park in 2010. TELL MASON CITY COUNCIL THAT YOU DON’T WANT TO BE TAXED: User Tax - This is not a tax on Kings Island, it is a tax on Kings Island’s guests. For example, the average family that purchases their season pass this summer: - 4-pack of Regular Passes and One Parking Pass = $13.40 in additional taxes - 4-pack of Platinum Passes = $19.20 in additional taxes Bad for the Entire Area - Warren County’s #1 industry is tourism. This tax will create a negative effect that will be felt by other businesses in the area. This tax will be especially damaging to area hotels, restaurants, and service stations. Job Cuts and Future Investment - Fewer visitors will result in the elimination of full time and seasonal jobs at Kings Island and many other area attractions and businesses. Terrible Timing - With so many people struggling in this economy, this idea couldn’t come at a worse time. Many families and companies are forced to make cuts to survive the current downturn. Why should the city of Mason be an exception? Credibility Issue - A promise was made that an admissions tax would never be enacted when Kings Island was annexed into the city of Mason in 1997. What confidence can other business prospects have? Kings Island Employees Pay City Taxes - Park employees have paid nearly $440,000 to the city of Mason in income tax over the past two seasons. Kings Island Pays Police - Over the past two seasons, Kings Island has paid nearly $110,000 to cover the cost of Mason Police patrolling the park with no cost to the city of Mason. Bad for Kings Island - A forced price increase of any kind will have a strong, negative effect on overall attendance and revenues and could prevent further expansion and development. Far Less Traffic Now Than in 1997 - Kings Island entertains nearly 1 million less people each year than when it was annexed into the city of Mason. During that same period, the city of Mason has nearly tripled in size. IN THEIR OWN WORDS - RECENT QUOTES ON THE TAX DEBATE: Tony Bradburn, Mason City Council Member / Cincinnati Enquirer - Nov 10, 2009 "They'll survive." Tony Bradburn, Mason City Council Member / FOX 19.com - Nov 10, 2009 "We only need four votes to pass it." Greg Scheid, Kings Island General Manager / Dayton Daily News - Nov 11, 2009 "It's really disappointing. Mason's slogan is 'Your business partner,' and I don't feel like they're being a very fair partner right now." Northeast Cincinnati Chamber / Cincinnati Enquirer - Nov 12, 2009 “The economic impact on the area will be devastating, because even though visitors come for the attractions, they use many ancillary businesses while they are here. To consider such an “anti-business” proposition in today’s economic climate makes no sense.” Kate Storch, The Beach Waterpark / Cincinnati Enquirer - Nov 10, 2009 "The idea that they would introduce a tax like that today is just really hard to fathom. It's not what the city of Mason needs. It's not what we need to maintain our viability here." Ralph Vilarado, The Beach Waterpark / ONNtv.com - Nov 11, 2009 "Our attendance goes down and therefore as people come into the city of Mason, they don't just come visit us. They come visit all the other businesses. They support the hotel, they support the restaurants, the gas station" Dave Moushey, Mason Resident / Dayton Daily News - Nov 11, 2009 "It's not the time to start taxing people. People are hurting enough right now."

Don't you remember 5 years ago when they "Hollywood-ized" The Beast for its 25th? The random light in the station and speakers leading up the lift hill made me feel like I was ACTUALLY on a Hollywood backlot!!! Oh wait, no. It was fail.

The long standing battle between Kings Island, The Beach and other entertainment venues and the City of Mason are set to face off next week over a proposed admissions tax which will affect millions of park goers. Mason claims that a 3% tax on admissions and a 5% tax on parking will generate $2 million per year in revenue for projects such as street improvements according to this article by whiotv.com. The proposal, which was not on the council's original agenda on November 9th, is spearheaded by the chairman of the city's finance committee and tax advocate Tony Bradburn. Greg Scheid, vice president and general manager of Kings Island, describe a feeling of "shell shock" in an interview with Journal News. Scheid added that Kings Island had paid nearly $110,000 to cover the cost of Mason Police patrolling the park's property in the past two seasons and Kings Island employees have paid $440,000 in income tax over the same span. In the latest edition of the Kings Island Newsletter, the park warns of the likely consequences of this tax which includes a drop in attendance and revenues which will result in the reduction of full time and part time employees as well as a reduction in future expansion. The council is expected to vote on the issue on Monday, November 23rd. To voice your opinion, come to the Mason City Council meeting (which is open to the public). Mason City Building 6000 Mason-Montgomery Rd. Mason, OH 45040 November 23rd, 2009 7:00pm EST Or contact the Mason City Council directly at 513-229-8500 or by email council@masonoh.org Do you want the latest information sent directly to your cell phone? Sign up for KICentral's official mobile club and receive text alerts with the latest news and information about Kings Island! Signing up is fast and free! Click here for more information about KICentral's official mobile club! Are you an avid Kings Island fan or do you casually visit once a year? It doesn't matter! KICentral.com is the site for you. Why not register on the forums of KICentral and tell us about your thoughts and experiences involving Kings Island! Registration is fast, FREE, and easy. Don't forget to keep checking KICentral.com for the latest news, rumors and information about Kings Island amusement park!

Pin pointing one magical moment would be nearly impossible. I had so many great experiences there. Every time I did something, I expected one thing and got something ten times better.

Yeah, we did Toy Story Mania twice. I really enjoyed it. I didn't put every little detail into the trip reports because I didn't want to bore you guys.

Day 5 consisted of tying up some loose ends. We began the day with a return to Hollywood Studios. Upon arriving, we saw something kind of random... It was a parade... kind of... that consisted of one float -- A High School Musical 3 float. Apparently they stop in front of the gigantic wizard hat and do a full length show, but to the average person walking into the park, seeing one float rolling down the road, might think it's a bit strange. After riding Tower of Terror for the 2nd time, we went to check out the musical Beauty and The Beast. The show was basically the Beauty and The Beast film truncated into about 35 minutes. The performance was stellar and I honestly think that a full length version (same props, same performers) would sit right next to any Broadway show in New York. After that, we ate at the ABC Commissary restaurant. The food was good, and the place was beautiful, but it lacked the personality of the 50's Prime Time Cafe' which we ate at the day before. Time for the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with this show. The show was extremely famous, so I expected a lot, but it didn't deliver. Don't get me wrong -- the action sequences were cool, but after about 30 seconds of near-death misses and explosions there was about a 10 minute sequence of the actors making the crowd do stupid things and telling them not to try any of this at home. I'll give this show another shot next time I go down, but it's certainly not my fondest memory. After the stunt show, we went to Star Tours. Star Tours is the Star Wars themed attraction at Hollywood Studios. I can honestly say that the queue is better than the ride itself. They had dozens of life-like, recognizable animatronics of some of your favorite Star Wars characters. The ride itself is just a motion sim -- like you can find in any shopping mall. For a motion sim it was well done, but paled in comparison to the other Disney attractions. We headed for the Muppets in 3D ride, which was surprisingly good. It integrated live audio animatronics along with a 3D screen, not unlike Tough to Be a Bug, just without the extensive showmanship. The show did, however, have some laugh out loud humor. This was a ride that I did just for the sake of doing but will certainly be on my redo list for the next time I roll down there. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was more or less a play set for children that involved supersized everyday things. We headed to the Great Movie Ride, which showcases scenes from some of the best movies of all time. I found this ride experience to be fantastic, I really can't say enough about it. My favorite part is when you enter Munchkin Land from The Wizard of Oz where the munchkins (or little people, if you want to be PC) are singing The Wicked Witch is Dead. Right when you think your vehicle is about to pass out of the room, a recreation of the famous scene where the evil witch appears (seemingly out of nowhere) and rehearses the entire, "Who killed my sister?" monologue. This ride defines Disney quality. for Coaster Image's POV of part of the ride. (And yes, POVing on that ride is ok!) After the Great Movie Ride, we went to the Lights, Motors, Action stunt show. Although the show had some fantastic sequences, it had some of the same problems that the Indiana Jones Stunt Show had. You'd have 2 or 3 minutes of a fantastic show, followed by 10 minutes of a commentator explaining to you how everything works. I mean, that's cool and all, but myself and probably half of the people there saw that whole same routine on Modern Marvels when they did a special on Disney. Following the stunt show, we went through the Walt Disney Museum. The museum featured some memorabilia of Walt Disney's life as well as concept models for some of the parks and attractions. I thought it was really cool that they added this because I think Disney was an absolute visionary and his innovation an ambition should be honored. After another whirl on Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster, we headed to Disney's Hollywood Studios flagship show -- Fantasmic. This show had it all! It had perfectly timed pyrotechnics (as I'd come to expect from the parks), huge water effects, character appearances and an original score. The show starts seating 90 minutes before curtain call, and I can see why. The only complaint I had was that they did a water screen effect, which was really cool and elaborate but ran a little long at times. They'd use the water screen to cover up your view of the mountain so they could change sets and get people into place, which was understandable. I do, however, want to point out that this one little tidbit should NOT take away from how incredible this show really is. Following Fantasmic, we went to EPCOT and I met up with an old friend who now resides in Florida. We all had a good time on the last night of the Food and Wine Festival. Over all, one of my better days on this trip. Next : Busch Gardens Tampa

Didn't Bodda already post something about them doing the interviews for next years shows? Or are you talking about school? SOB_TOM and I are both members of a local community theatre, believe it or not. He acted in the most recent production of Children of Eden and did sound for the plays in the decade leading up to that. With my schedule, I've become less and less involved but I started out doing sound and now I typically do photography and videography for the group.

Yeah, yeah, but I'm a good friend and rode anyway....I had my yearly ride. Maybe I'll be fortunate enough to skip out on riding next year . Glad you like Hollywood Studios, Terpy. Beautiful park, but I don't go for the attractions....I've seen the shows all too many times at this point. We mostly stay on Sunset Blvd these days....Coaster, Tower and Fantasmic make a fabulous trio for an evening at the Park. - Todd KIC Event in 2044 will be at Magic Kingdom and we're going to marathon Small World for 8 hours. ha ha

Of course we rode it... much to Todd's objection...

Day 4 was a packed one for Ryan's Orlando Adventure. We did three parks -- Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. Disney's Animal Kingdom was absolutely beautiful! It's hard to believe that it was all man made! We began the day by riding Expedition Everest -- Disney's recent $100 million addition to the park. Expedition Everest is a great ride. Everything is themed, and you'd have no idea that you were on a ride if not for the ride vehicle itself. At one point, you are towed up a lift hill only be find that the track ahead is mangled. You are then released to roll backwards -- and you roll a different way than you came. There's actually a really intense part during this while you are making the turn in your inverted state. You have several encounters with the Yetti, one of which is a silhouette and another is with an animatronic. The ride experience over all isn't very intense, but it does offer a complete storyline that gives it a certain reride value. Disney has their own dinosaur ride that rivals Universal's Jurrassic Park. It's actually a really neat ride experience that utilizes a hydraulic car in order to simulate different effects such as rugged terrain and explosion impacts. The differing concept is the fact that with Jurrassic Park, you're essentially visiting the park of the same name while Disney's has you on traveling back in time attempting to recover a specimen. I think the thing I enjoyed the most about Disney's attraction is that you have a near miss with a meteor shower before traveling back to the future. We then headed for the absolutely beautiful Tree of Life. Within this man made freak of nature, there is a theatre that features Tough to Be a Bug, which is based on the hit Disney movie A Bug's Life. What I found most interesting about this interactive experience is that Disney could have easily simply made a high quality 3D film, but they went above and beyond. They decided to "plus it" as Walt Disney used to famously say. The 3D experience was as good as any, but the interaction of the characters on screen with live audio animatronics really created a unique experience. Following Tough to Be A Bug, we were seated in the theatre to see the very famous Lion King show. I must admit that I expected a typical set up -- amphitheater seating, stage, etc for this, but the entire setting was strange. It had four sets of bleachers which centered around a seemingly empty heart of the venue. I had joked with Todd before the show that the theatre looked nice and all, but "I kind of expected... you know... a stage." Of course, not uncommon to Disney, you can always take you expectations and multiply them by 10 and still be fulfilled. Huge floats were brought in -- all of which featured life-like wild animals. Everything from acrobatics to live signing and dancing made this one of the most enjoyable experiences at Animal Kingdom! This show takes a quiet, warehouse-like theatre and makes it one of the most mystical experiences you may ever have in your park-going life. If you're every going down to Orlando, make sure you check this one out. After Lion King, we rode the beautiful safari ride, which featured several species of live animals. If any of you watched the History Channel's Modern Marvels - Walt Disney World, the imagineers boast the fact that you can't see any fences or barriers in the animal exhibits -- and they were right. Trust me, I looked!! We then decided to head over to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Disney's Hollywood Studios was intended to rival Universal Studios, carrying a similar backlot theme. Although Universal's backlot was a little more convincing (sans that eyesore of a coaster) Hollywood Studios was an absolutely beautiful park. Upon entering, we decided we were hungry so we stopped by the 50s Prime Time Cafe'. This place was messed up. You'd think it was themed to the cliche' of a 50s diner, but of course Disney decided to "plus it" once again and make feel as though you are eating in a 1950's home. I'm not kidding. In fact, you were instructed to sit in the living room and watch TV while they prepared your table. The food was good, but the thing that really set the standard was the level of commitment to character by the servers. More than once, we were (in almost a rude fashion) instructed to keep our elbows off the table. Our server also yelled at us for having our "walkie talkies" (cell phones) on the table. This place was a blast. You must eat there next time you go down to Disney's Hollywood Studios. After eating our vintage meal at the 50s cafe, we headed over to the Aerosmith Rockin' Rollercoaster. The ride is actually themed to the band Aerosmith, and you have been invited to join them in the studio. Before long, their manager comes in to tell them that they're late for a gig. They remedy the situation by sending you, in their high-speed limo, to their show with an all access backstage pass. The ride itself is like a watered down Flight of Fear. I wasn't very happy with the coaster in itself, but the integration of Aerosmith songs added a special element of fun to the ride. Next, we headed to the Hollywood Hotel for one of my "must ride before I die" experiences on Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror. Ok -- I'm a little biased since I'm a big Twilight Zone fan (the old ones, not the stale retread) but this ride absolutely delivered! You are packed into a library and the TV flips on and Rod Sterling tells you the tale of the Hollywood Hotel and how it was struck by lightning. I guess they used old audio clips and modern technology to create the episode since Sterling died in 1975, but you'd really never know it. The ride itself is actually quite thrilling and integrates several surprises and special effects. Let's not kid ourselves -- it's a drop ride. But from what I understand, they actually pull the car down faster than gravity in order to make sure you get negative Gs. Totally awesome. This constituted about 5 rides in the time I was there. I think the most impressive thing was how they were totally committed to the theme. Everywhere you went -- the gift shop, the queue... anywhere, you were convinced that you were in an old run down hotel rather than on a ride. ^ Can anyone guess what that is? It's not the lobby of a hotel... it's where you can purchase your on ride photos! We headed over to Magic Kingdom to meet up with some friends, but don't fret -- we returned to Hollywood Studios the next day to pick up some of the slack. Magic Kingdom actually brought back some memories. This wasn't my first visit to that park. I actually went when I was about 2 or 3 years old, but only remember short flashes of it. We rode Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean first. I'm not going to harp on these rides too much since they're classics and I know many of you have experienced them. I will however say that the new animatronics with Capt. Jack Sparrow were so lifelike that I was convinced at certain points that they had an actor playing the roll. At night fall we watch the parade entitled Spectrum. It's really cool... really neat... lots of lights... but it gets old. Not gonna lie -- I'd take the Nickelodeon Celebration Parade over it. Next we headed toward one that I had been especially looking forward to -- Haunted Mansion. This was a ride that I kind of remember a little bit from when I went to Disney World as a small child. One word: amazing... absolutely amazing. They used every trick in the book to create special effects, many of which were almost impossible to tell how they were done. Next we headed toward Cinderella Castle to see Wishes, which is Magic Kingdom's big firework display. I liked how they integrated several classic Disney songs from the movies into the show, but I thought it was a downplay from Fantasmic and Illuminations. Part of the show has an original piece entitled Wishes, which is sung by a child. Word seemed to be getting out that it was sung by a child who did it as a request to the Make A Wish Foundation and passed away not long afterward. This seemed to carry a very special meaning for the locals. After Wishes concluded, we rode Peter Pan's Flight. Some said that the ride wasn't worth it because it was so short. I really think they're just a little on the spoiled side since the ride is every bit of 4 minutes long. We ended the night - at the request of The Interpreter - with A Small World. This ride is very famous with a very catchy theme song. Don't start singing it -- it'll be struck in your head for a year. Oh yeah, and there were some random shoes under Todd's car when we got back to the parking lot.

If any of you were around for the 2006 Nickelodeon Universe revamp, you may recall that no construction was done until after the first of the year -- and that was a pretty major overhaul. I'd imagine this will be similar situation.

Oh, we saw Beetlejuice. It kind of reminded me of Ghouls Gone Wild (in fact, they make a reference like that in the show). It was a lot of fun!

After completing what Universal Studios had to offer we walked across the boardwalk to Islands of Adventure. IOA is a theme park that has a traditional feel, but with Universal Studios quality. We rode the Incredible Hulk first. The ride is absolutely massive and has a cool laugh effect. It's actually a better ride experience than I had anticipated. After Hulk, we rode the Spiderman dark ride. Thing thing lives up to its reputation! I figured it would be a dark ride like any other but just more elaborate, but that was an understatement. Like any other great Universal ride, there is a tasteful display of fire and floating objects. In the climactic room, you are lead to believe that you have lost touch with gravity and your vehicle shoots up amongst the skyline. When this happened, I held on tight anticipating a big drop, but there wasn't one... the vehicle never left the ground. They moved the scenery on the walks downward to convince you that you were going up and it certainly did work! This one constituted 2 rides. After Spiderman, we rode the Popeye and Ripsaw Falls water rides. As Todd quoted, "They're cool rides. You'll get wet and be miserable, but hey - you're on vacation." The rides were actually kind of cool. We did, however, dodge several bullets when it came to getting really soaked. Next we rode a ride that I was particularly looking forward to -- Jurassic Park. This ride was actually really good. I liked how not everything you saw was a dinosaur... sometimes you'd just see a tree shaking in the distance with no explanation. The end of the ride involves a near-miss with a T-Rex before splashing down into a lagoon. We went over into their kiddy area and rode their dark ride The Cat in the Hat. It was a typical people-mover, but the craftsmanship was over the top. It was like any other themed park ride, just with a lot of precision and thought put into it as it told you the story of the Cat in the Hat. Next we headed over to ride what is known as Dueling Dragons (at least for now). Both rides were good, but I thought Ice was better than Fire. Although the ride itself was good, the near-misses with the opposing side was what made the ride for me. It had some unexpected twists and turns that really got to me during the ride... overall pretty fun! Next we rode Dr. Doom's Fear Fall. Realistically, it's just another launch ride, but you do get to walk through Dr. Doom's layer before entering the ride - which is an element that adds a certain about of specialty and mystique to it. After Dr. Doom, we gave Hulk another whirl and were off. IOA was definitely a cool park! That evening we went to Downtown Disney and at at the House of Blues, which is something that I have always wanted to do... Day 4 is going to be a big one... Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom.

This report actually starts after day 2. I just wanted to note that after leaving Sea World, I met up with an old friend of mine down in Orlando and he showed me around a little bit. We stopped by Universal's Boardwalk, which was a very nicely lit up area outside of the Universal theme parks. We ended up eating at the Hard Rock Cafe' on the Boardwalk where I had some incredible mac 'n cheese. The place was as elaborate as any other Hard Rock. The most interesting part of the experience was when I was asked to take a survey as we were leaving the boardwalk. The question they asked was, "Do you ever post on theme park related web sites?" I told them I do quite often. ha ha Day 3 - Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We began day 3 at Universal Studios. The park was absolutely beautiful and totally convincing that it was a movie backlot. The operations left a little to be desired... the park opened at 9:00 with only four attractions. The rest of the attractions were scheduled to open at 10:30. Not that big of a deal, but a little irritating when you're trying to compress as much stuff into a week's span as we were. The first ride of the day was their famous ride themed after The Mummy. This ride was every bit as good as people say it is! The ending really makes the ride -- I'm not going to completely spoil it for those of you who haven't ridden, but let's just say when you think it's over the room catches fire. Next we went on to ride The Simpsons. It was kind of a bittersweet experience since I'm a huge Back to the Future fan and I had been dying to ride it since I was little and I know I never will. The Simpsons was, however, a really fun ride with some laugh-out-loud quirks including a billboard in the ride asking you to send money to Universal Studios and several direct shots at Disney World. Next we rode the famous Men in Black ride. I was impressed by how large the ride is. There were some rooms that were hundreds of square feet of just scenery. The ride was good, but I thought the shooter part of the ride was a little hard to operate. We waited for Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rocket to open, we decided to check out the Twister show. Like any other show, there is a long-winded preshow that sets the scene, but this one was worth it. You walk into this "movie set" that gets hit by a tornado. Before long, power lines are down, roofs are being torn apart, fire catches and the building that you're in looses its integrity Check it out: After we got out of Twister, Hollywood Rip, Ride Rocket opened. This ride can be summed up in one word: sad. The concept of the ride is that you're making a music video, and I liked the fact that you picked your own music for the ride. I pick The Devil Went Down to Georgia by Charlie Daniels. They did the best they could to sync the music with the ride but that didn't mask the fact that the ride experience itself was mediocre and it was an eyesore in the Universal skyline. It simply didn't fit in with the rest of the rides there. Why didn't this end up at Islands of Adventure? Somewhere along the way I got to meet a childhood hero: Dr. Emit Brown - inventor of the Flux Capacitor. I must admit that I felt like a kid again when I did this... I'm probably reaching the photo limit now, so check out pt. 2 of day 3 involving Islands of Adventure.

Waking up after a rousing night at Epcot, it was time for day 2 of my Orlando Adventure at Sea World. I had been told that I wouldn't be able to fill an entire day at Sea World -- but boy was that wrong! We started the day with Manta - a B&M flying coaster that opened earlier in 2009. Not only was this a great ride experience, but the themeing was amazing! You actually had to walk through an aquarium in order to get to the ride area itself. The ride isn't exactly Diamondback, but I'd take it over Firehawk. The best part is you get very close to some of the landscaping. When I rode on the left side my hand actually grazed the waterfall. There's also a dip right before the end where every time I rode I pulled my hands up convinced that they'd hit the ground. Following a handful of rides on Manta, we went over to Kracken. Kracken is a B&M sit down with some amazing dips and fierce turns. It's a better ride experience than Manta, but Manta probably wins out between the two rides because of the amazing integration of the theme. image courtesy of rcdb.com After that we went to Blue Horizons, which was the dolphin show. I had heard good things about the shows at Sea World, but had no idea of their magnitude. We arrived at Blue Horizons about 20 minutes before the show and the area, which sat about 5,000, was already standing room only. The show was very spectacular. They had performers jumping from the roof of the venue into the water, animal tricks, traipse artists and much more! I can see why thousands would want to see this show! Next we went to Journey to Atlantis, which is their dark ride -- and their first attempt at a ride. It actually featured some beautiful animatronics and was a surprisingly thrilling ride for a water coaster. After riding Journey to Atlantis, we went to Shamu Stadium to see Sea World's flagship show - Believe. Believe was incredible! It had gigantic LCD screens that rotated throughout the performance that just added to the majesty of the show itself. This show, of course, featured killer whales which is something for which Sea World has been famous for decades. The climax of the show involves a trainer coming out to the edge of the water and doing a monologue about how if humans can swim with killer whales then they believe anything is possible, which is quickly followed by the largest whale erupting from the water and doing a back flip. Amazing. Next I ate some ribs. Freakin' huge meal! I couldn't finish the whole thing. Following my larger-than-life lunch, I was invited to see a private showing of Believe, which was being performed for about a half-dozen people from Inbev and Blackstone. I of course took up on this offer. Just think - about an hour before, Shamu Stadium had to close its doors because it hit capacity... a capacity of 8,000. This was quite the contrast. Following the show, I was able to get quite close to the tanks. I was warned, however, that if the whales saw me they'd try to splash me... and they did... or at least tried to. Apparently that's their way of having fun with you. They have 11 killer whales at Sea World Orlando. All of which have their own names, identities and personalities - however they're all referred to as Shamu during the performance. I suppose Shamu is less of a name now and more of a representation of man's relationship with the whales. The largest one, Tilly, is typically the one that does the back flip during the climactic scene. One thing that I learned while I was there was that the trainers are very keen on NOT making the animals perform if they don't want to. I had heard stories of 8,000 screaming fans packing into Shamu Stadium and the show being delayed or canceled due to the animals acting strangely or seeming like they don't want to perform. I'm sure that's a GR nightmare for the park but it's something that I really came to respect in my time spent there. After that, I walked through several of the aquariums and exhibits before stopping by the gift shop to pick up a stuffed Shamu for my nephew. As you can probably tell, I had a wonderful experience at Sea World and it's definitely on the top of my list of redo attractions next time I find my way down to Orlando.