Gabe

The dining plan is only free if staying for 6+ nights at a non discounted room rate (no AAA, military, etc.) again, if your kids aren't big eaters, no need for it anyway. There are a decent no of blackout dates as well. I personally think a park hopper is a nice option, since you may want to visit more than one park per day, esp ones like AK and DHS, which to me are still half days. Room rates are cheapest after labor day through November, excluding Columbus Day and Halloween wknds, as well as Thanksgiving..its no secret that's also when the free dining plans are offered-October is usually a low attendance month.

I saw the show on Sunday with my kids, who both enjoyed it. Like Ryan, I too have seen multiple Cirque du Soleil productions, so I wasn't expecting that, but for the size of the stage, I'd say they made great use of it. I guessed the performers are all in their early-mid 20s, and they were quite skilled. I think the show will appeal to a broader audience than Alonzo did and I'm glad the park decided to go in this direction. I particulary enjoyed the last major act with the performers all vaulting up and down the set piece-which is a mainstay of all Cirque shows. Also, the clown balancing with the ring is also a common Cirque feature-albeit with a bigger contraption, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The theatre was prob about 95% filled at my showing with ushers finding seats for those arriving last minute. I hope the show does someting different if it sticks around for Haunt.

One side of AT is currently home to the Urgent Scare haunt which is used every fall. The other side as of recently was playing an edited down version of a 3-D dino movie which was first included with the price to Dinos (or a sep upcharge) , then was free to everyone last summer. I'm not sure if it's playing this summer or not.

There are ADA issues to be worked out if the IS restaurant is ever to reopen on a full time basis again. Given the cost to retrofit the area, I'm guessing the park will invest in standalone locations throughout the park and keep the IS Restaurant for special use only.

I would think the Coca-Cola company may like to know about this as well, since they require their products to be served a certain way in restaurants (aside from the occasional flat soda). If that hasn't been happening for some time, they might send someone out to investigate.

If I were a potential buyer, the first thing I'd do is have a structural engineering analysis done to determine the state of the ride. Judging from the pictures, the current 'owner' looks to be sitting on a $5k pile of kindling.

If you like fudge, Boddah in a different thread mentioned a new 'fudge pop' type confection sold at the park this year. They look good and the prices are right. I may check them out when I take my kids there on Sunday.

I don't know if the two can coexist at a CF park, but Disney seems to do just fine with having both a SRL and a FP+ line(or at CF Fast Lane) for certain rides throughout their parks. I know that abuse of the SRL was rampant during the DB days (witnessed it myself numerous times), but again, at Disney, if you're in the SRL with a group, you WILL get split up 99% of the time. It's just a matter of training. I also don't think that having wait times posted on an app keeps people away from the rides; on the contrary, it might encourage people already there to shop and eat while waiting for the lines to diminish(the premise of the orig FP). The park makes no money off you while you're in line....

The article cites a price 13 times the 5k you cite. And I'd advise "Caveat Emptor" for numerous reasons. As Gabe here can attest (and a couple of others), dealing with the "owner's" agent is not exactly pleasurable. And I seriously question whether at this point he has any interest to sell. As Terpy said, I advised a KIC member and her overseas partner for more than a year as they attempted to negotiate the purchase of the ride. It was a learning experience for all involved and I'd def recommend nobody on here trying to secure this coaster on their own. It's going to take a herculean effort to pry this from the owner's hands and I'm not convinced 65k is going to get the job done. I can only foresee a company with institutional knowledge on how to operate amusement parks buying this ride. You have to seperate your heart from your brain on you'll soon be seperated from your money with nothing to show for it.

In today's Money section of the USA Today, there is a short column on the values of buying Disney stock. The expert opioned that with the recent uptick in park ticket prices, it's clear that the parks are about to regain the lead as the big money maker for Disney. Still, he tempered that by saying that most Wall St. anaylysts have rated the stock as a neutral buy. Like others have said, it's a good solid buy for the long haul (esp if the Lucas and Marvel acquisitions deliver long term).

My dad invested in Disney when I was a tot; when I turned 18, he sold the bulk of it, and, through numerous stock splits, it managed to pay for my first 2 years of college.

The WDW site is best optimized for Chrome or IE 9 or above. Anything else could cause the probs you're experiencing.

Well, for more accurate times, they could install a system like Disney has been using for years--give random people a card attached to a lanyard, then hand it to the ride op upon entering the ride. It gets scanned and the wait time sign gets updated accordingly. Of course, that would require the park to spend a little bit of money for such digital signs instead of ones featuring dials that can be changed by anyone.

These days, very few companies let you buy stock directly through them unless it's in big chunks. You'll have to open a brokerage account to do so. Also, don't expect fancy glossy year end reports or stock holder events anymore. Disney used to host and send these regularly but haven't for quite some time. Also, stock certificates are rarely if ever issued anymore. Amusement park stocks won't make you rich, as their value doesn't really fluctuate all that much. Big congolmerates like Disney are a solid bet. Also remember that investing in the market should be a long term investmentg. Day traders rarely get rich anymore. For more specific stock-buying advice check out sites like the Motely Fool.

One last thing I forgot to mention in my orig trip report. The new Festival of Fantasy Parade at MK is nothing short of amazing! The floats created are fantastic and the mechanical dragon float (breathing fire) is a sight to behold. It just debuted last month so it will run for prob the next 5-6 years so don't miss it! As always, the best viewing locales are in Frontierland.

The best tour ever I've had at KI was of the sign shop on one of the orig KIC days--very cool how they create everything for the park. The place is also a museum of former attraction signs which line the walls. If it's ever offered, I'd highly recommend it!

Let's hope the dolls do a better job of recognizing your name than did a certain alien over at Universal who likes Reeses Pieces.."Goodbye, Gibe" lol! Epic Fail.

It's pretty darn good, but Amazing Spiderman is great as well, as is Dinosaur lol!

On the topic of restraints, I was interested to see that while at Disney, the restraint check simply meant either tugging on a yellow flap or a plastic flap for Space or simply pushing up on your restraints. Nobody went down the line manually checking each restraint. This greatly sped up load times and shortened the wait. Anyone know why this isnt done at KI?

How is the hot sauce selling? I don't even recall where it can be bought...

I also recommend the Red Roof on Mason Montgomery. Google Red Roof coupons and you can usually find one for 30-35% off your rate!

Meanwhile Seaworld is out there as well, focusing on Aquatica. I know Manta was a recent install but they'll have to keep up.

Yes. Starting with the characters later this summer. when you scan your Magicband, it will alert the character who will then talk to you by name (even the costumed characters are going to be able to do this, much like at Turtle Talk where the CM running the show magicaly sounds like Crush, so whoever is inside Mickey will have his/her voice transformed to sound like Mickey. There are already subtle changes to the costumed characters, whereby Mickey blinks his eyes and moves his mouth). I've heard the first such soft rollout will be at the Pirates experience in Adventureland where you can go around and collect things that will activate elements. The technology is quite amazing and will only get better.

Actually the ride has 5 fully built trains, just in case. I'm not sure why the old FP machines are still there--they're taking up valuable real estate that could easily be used to fit a food or merch cart. It's just a matter of unbolting them from the ground and taking them to a warehouse or sell them for scrap. I did also notice that there are still a very few paper FP+ floating around, presuambly to use if the electronic system goes down. Also, when you scan your Magicband at the FP+ entrance, your name comes up on the ipad inserted into the podium in front of the CM.

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.