jzarley

I think Disney Imagineering really needs to take a critical look at their creative project development process and possibly learn a few things from Universal. The "Jaws" attraction gave its last ride at USF on January 2, 2012, and now just 2.5 years later Universal is (almost) ready to open what is arguably the most advanced and interactive theme park experience EVER (not to mention--opened Transformers & Springfield during that same span!) I love Disney...always have & always will--but they have to be seriously considering their whole project management process when looking at what their biggest competitor is doing a few miles down I-4. As far as that goes, I'd even go as far to say Disney could pick up a few project management methods from the "inferior" seasonals--SF & CF.

Personally, I'm not a fan (nor am I very good) at the "shoot at stuff" dark rides. (The only one where I actually felt like I understood the cause & effect relationships was Toy Story Mania at DCA...otherwise to me it just always feels like I'm randomly pressing a button and sometimes things happen & sometimes they don't...) However, I think the real value of this attraction is the ability to fairly easily swap out the software (either for special events like Halloween, or permanently). Similar to the value of the FX theaters that were introduced into all of the Paramount Parks back in the mid-90s. For that reason, I imagine we'll see a version of the "Guardian" (probably minus the "mountain" reference) show up at a good number of CF parks over the next few years. While waiting in line for The Beast over the weekend, I was wondering if the old "Tomb Raider" show building might be a good location for this ride in the not too distant future...

Yes! Discovery Cove is a very cool experience that is well worth the money. The dolphin interaction is amazing, but it's only part of the experience. From the moment you arrive, you truly feel as if you are on a tropical island; there is no sign of any kind that you are in Orlando, Florida. The lazy river varies from three to eight feet deep and requires you to swim through it (life jackets are available for those who cannot swim), and has some cool underwater photo ops. You can also experience swimming in a saltwater pool with stingrays and ocean fish (for which I HIGHLY recommend bringing a good waterproof camera), or just relax on one of several beaches. All food and beverages are included in the price of admission, even alcohol if the adults in your party are interested in that. I cannot recommend Discovery Cove enough. Do it; you'll be glad you did. I have to agree with jcgoble3 100%! The single best day I've spent in any park (and I've spent a LOT of days in parks over the years) was at Discovery Cove! (Even though hand feeding the rays creeped me out a little :-))

Ok, I had the quote wrong in the earlier post, but the point remains the same... :-)

To quote Arthur Carlson..."I swear to God, I thought turkeys could fly."

^ No, from the time of opening ('99 maybe?) IOA was always a separate gate from Universal Studios. Did you visit Universal Studios Hollywood as a child? If so, you might be remembering that...the Jurassic Park ride at USH is pretty much identical to the one in at IOA...

I use Fidelity, but that's only because I had gotten a stock grant and options from a former employer and they had set me up with a Fidelity account to manage the benefit. After I was fully vested (and eventually left the company), I just kept the Fidelity account. I've found it really easy to use and move things around in the portfolio (although, I think "portfolio" is probably an overly generous description when talking about my limited investments <g>).

I have 20 shares in FUN that I bought several years ago. I realized over the weekend that I have some cash sitting in my Fidelity account that came from several quarters of dividends that were paid from a utility company that I own, so I was seriously considering buying 10 shares or so of Disney. However, Disney stock is $80+ right now which is pretty high historically (their 52 week low is in the neighborhood of $60), so it seems a little expensive in comparison right now. I'm waiting for a down day in the market where it drops somewhere in the $70s before buying. I also considered buying Sea World...their stock is somewhat depressed right now due to recent financial results (as well as the bad PR from "Blackfish"), so I thought it might be a good buying opportunity. I'm also considering Comcast...while it's being held back somewhat now by the planned Time-Warner Cable acquisition, I think eventually that deal will raise the value. (Not to mention all of the investments they're pouring into the Universal parks right now :-)

I bet the ticketing confusion issue is a big concern for Universal as well. My guess is that they'll probably have self-service kiosks, staffed ticket booths, and hopefully even satellite guest services desks at both stations to deal with "impulse" ticket up grades to multi-park (and the enivitable "issues" that will arise...) Based on the content they have now on their web site, I'm sure they'll have a LOT of signage at the gates and all over the parks explaining the necessity of having a multi-park ticket to be able to experience Hogwart's Express. Unfortunately, however, I've learned over the years that people tend to selectively ignore signage :-) I was making reservations at Royal Pacific for my planned trip in September and needed to call the res call center to take advantage of a special offer I had been sent by Loews that wasn't available online. While I was making the hotel reservation, the call center agent reminded me no fewer than four times that everyone in my party would need muli-park tickets to experience Hogwart's Express "and the entire Wizarding World of Harry Potter." Even though I told her a few times that I fully understand that and would be purchasing my multi-day/multi-park tickets at a later date online, she did her best to get me to buy the entire package while I was on the phone with her :-) My point is, that it seems that call center agents have already been trained to explain (then explain again...and again...and again) the ticket requirements for experienching Harry Potter in its entirety. That's not to say that there still won't be people who miss the message, but from what I've seen so far, they definitely seem to be trying to be proactive and address it.

USA Today featured a "behind the scenes" look at Diagon Alley in today's Travel section: http://www.usatoday.com/experience/america/theme-parks/diagon-alley-gringotts-wizarding-world-harry-potter/9125149/ The detail in themeing looks absolutely amazing (as we were all pretty much expecting...) I'm really curious about the "running through the brick wall" effect when entering Diagon Alley...I'm assuming some sort of holographic effect, but considering the crowds they're expecting it makes me wonder how this will work from a capacity standpoint. I'm also hoping they're investing well (in systems, staffing and training) to make the ticketing process as efficient as possible when moving between the parks on Hogwarts Express. In the past three trips to Universal, someone in my party has experienced some sort of issue with a multi-day, multi-park ticket. Last time it was me...the gate reader was indicating all three days had been used, even though the review at guest services showed that I had only used the ticket two of the three days. Guest Services was able to straighten it out, but it took almost 45 extra minutes, so we completely missed the early opening of Hogsmeade. Some system issues are enivitable, but I'm hoping they have planned adequate resources for that component of the "guest experience" to make sure they're the exception and not the rule...

Don't count on anything until the park announces the date. The 7DMT at MK just had its Media Day 10 days ago, yet at that event the opening date was announced as May 28 and all signs arfe poining toward very few if any soft opens before that time. Like I said...it's just speculation on a fan site. The only thing I'm "counting on" is that it's open by September 26th :-)

According to an update this morning on ThemeParkInsider.com (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite sites...present company excluded, of course :-)), Universal has started sending out invitations for a major press event to be held June 17-20. So, the speculation now is that the public grand opening will be Friday, 06/20. I scheduled a trip to Universal in late September...hopefully that will give the crowds a chance to calm down after the busy Summer season...but before the busy Halloween season starts :-)

Thanks for the very complete & objective review of your experience! I wonder when (or even *if*), the additional FPs (over the initial three) will be available to book through the mobile app? That definitely seems like the next iteration that makes the most sense as opposed to adding more kiosks (which adds not only hardware expense, but also the labor expense of staffing them...)

Screamin Demon

I feel really old in that I'm pretty sure I remember when that piece first aired :-) (Doug Adair, but no Mona Scott at that point...it must have been after the "unpleasantness" which occurred between them...) It's too bad that we never got to see what Paramount Studio's vision for the parks was going to be...I think things may have been very different if it wasn't for the Viacom acquisition in 1994. (Although, given the consolidation in the media landscape in the intervening years, it's unlikely Paramount Communications would have remained an independent entity for long anyway...who knows who else could have bought them, which could have meant even worse things for the parks...) The one thing I do remember about the early Paramount years was the quality of the retail merchandise (I still have both a "Paramount's Kings Island" and "Paramount's Carowinds" tee shirts that I sleep in, even though they're 20 years old :-)). Viacom/Paramount was planning the launch of a chain of "studio stores" (remember when those were big back in the mid-90s?), and used the retail outlets in the parks to try things out as a precursor to the launch of the retail division. (If I remember correctly, Viacom actually did open one of the concept studio stores on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, but I'm pretty sure it never expanded beyond that...) As the years went on, the aesthetics and the quality of the retail merchandise continued to go down hill...and (IMHO) is pretty awful under Cedar Fair (not just for KI, but all the CF parks in my opinion...) I might be open to the argument that it's now an age thing with me (maybe I'm not as enamored by theme park souvenirs in my mid-40s as I was in my mid-20s), except for the fact that I always still find myself dropping a lot of cash on tee shirts, hats, mugs, etc. every time I visit a Disney or Universal park :-)

Trust me, I do it every freaking time I pass. I believe when they built that Funhouse looking thing, they used to do their broadcast with the windows looking out at the street like the Today show did/does. Except no one cared and they might have had one lonely oddball outside at any given time. I think they scrapped that. Not certain though. Yeah, it was actually a Channel 4 (the NBC affiliate) studio space orginally, but they abandoned it pretty quickly. Channel 10 then took over the signage on the corner. One of our conference rooms at work has windows to that corner and you can see the sign animations reflecting off the conference table and in your peripheral vision...it can be really distracting. (Especially if it's during a meeting you've already sort of mentally checked out of :-)

^ not to mention the really good rail systems. It literally took me less time to take the high speed train from Paris to London than it takes me to drive to Sandusky from Columbus. While Spain's passenger rail network isn't quite as good as the rest of Western Europe, it's still considerably more extensive than the US rail system.

From a tourist perspective, that part of Spain (located between Barcelona and La Costa Del Sol area) probably makes a lot more sense than Disney's placement of DLP near Paris. (A lot of Europeans "holiday" in Spain...especially the British and Germans.). I agree that the mix of IP used for the attractions seems odd and generally not too appealing. (Bumper cars themed to "Grease"? Ok...) I wonder what happened to the hardware (and software, for that matter) from the old Star Trek Experience in Vegas? Is that still with CF, or did the attractions somehow revert back to Viacom? They should try to install those attractions in the "Future Plaza" area. The "Klingon Encounter" simulator at ST:TE was by far the best of that type of ride (as was the walk-thru of the Enterprise experience...). The "Borg" 4D movie wasn't bad either. I always thought that Viacom missed a huge opportunity by not bringing attractions of that type into the then Paramount Parks. (Of course, I shudder to think of the "miscellaneous generic science fiction name & theme" they would have received after the CF acquisition :-)

The parks are doing well too...I don't have the release in front of me, but if I recall correctly park revenue increased by 6%. (I read another article that said Disney's Parks & Resorts division was generating $1B+ A MONTH in revenue--$600M in profit for the quarter.). This was actually Disney's best financial quarter EVER. (Pretty impressive for a company that has been around since the 1920s...) The only real weak spot in the results was with the ABC broadcast network...but that's pretty much par for the course with all of the broadcast TV networks.

I just read this on Kindle on a flight out to Utah last week...really enjoyed it!

Speaking of dark rides... Does anyone else remember the old "Earthquake" dark ride at CP? I only have very vague memories of it (as a child, I went to KI much more frequently than CP...), but I seem to remember it being located somewhere along the main midway. I recall it being ride-through, and at various points it looked as though parts of the scenery were falling on you. It was certainly no "Funtastic World of Hana-Barberra" (but then, what else was? :-), but I seem to remember it being fairly fun (at least to a child of six or seven or so...) There was also a ride at Carowinds (early 90s maybe?) that was pirate ship themed...you simply sat on long horizontal wooden benches in a tube that was mean to recreate the hull of a ship. The outside of the tube moved around you in varying stages of motion...you never actually moved (I don't believe you were even belted to the bench in anyway), but it gave the most incredible illusion of making you feel as if you were turning upside down! Like the short-lived "Alien Encounter" ride at WDW, it provided an amazing sensory experience in a really low-tech ride.

This was some sad news about a true veteran of the industry: http://www.iaapa.org/news/newsroom/news-articles/former-iaapa-chairman-of-the-board-gary-story-passed-away-on-saturday-sept.-21

You mean like when Top Gun at PKI was sponsored by Gillette (with a billboard and everything), or Snake River Falls at CP was sponsored by Pepsi? :-)

Plans were announced yesterday for the redevelopment of the Scioto Peninsula on the West Bank of the river across from downtown Columbus. One of the most interesting things mentioned was a new indoor Columbus Zoo attraction which would be built near COSI. Here's the link to the Dispatch article: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/public/2013/08/13/scioto-peninsula-announcement.html

Very cool! Thanks for posting. I actually have the Haunted Mansion album with accompanying book that's shown in the video. I got it back as a child in the early-to-mid 70s. It's now in an album "picture" frame (from The Container Store) along with my albums of Bambi, Peter Pan, and the Mickey Mouse Club.