Gabe

The skeletons of the tents remain, but they were re-clad with much brighter, more vibrant colors as part of the expansion and will also house attractions other than character meet and greets that previously occupied the space.

I'm with you 100% on all your points..so many ideas, only so much capital and/or land. Disney basically has a whole dept of Imagneeering devoted to so called "Blue-Sky" ideas...basically they think of all the great new attractions if money werent an object. I personally would like to see them tackle Epcot next. Universe of Energy is looooong overdue for a refresh and the Wonders of Life is SBNO eating up valuable real estate. Another E ticket ride in the World Showcase would be great too! (Expedition Everest was once a Blue Sky idea for a roller coaster in the Japan pavillion).

Why put in more Snow White and Dumbo rides? I understand that these films are classic, but what I really would've like to have seen would be a ride/attraction based on The Lion King, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Aladdin, or even Tangled.. To answer, those are extremely popular rides, esp Dumbo, which had one of the worst capacities in the park. By adding a second dumbo ride, the park can accomodate more people at once on one of its most popular rides. Aladdin already has a ride in front of the Tiki Room in AL..granted, it isnt in the best location, but its similar to Dumbo except that the camel in the middle of the ride spits water on hot days. Snow White as well is the film that really gave Disney the credability to do what it wanted to do, so to not have a ride honoring that film would be horrible. The old Snow White ride was dated, so it was time for an upgrade. Lion King I believe is represented at AK. Tangled is represented throughout the park on merchandise, as well as having the Rapunzel appear as part of the characters one can meet on any given day. Also, Disney has announced that reservations for the Be Our Guest restaurant in the new Beast Castle will be taken beginning 8/31 for dates in mid to late December (when they anticipate opening, though there is a chance it could be open by Thanksgiving). It is going to be as big as Cinderella's Royal Table at the Castle (seating for 500), serving lunch and dinner for now, so if anyone is going around then, keep it in mind!)

and if ever there was a day where they came in handy it was saturday. the park was very busy and most of the big rides had hour plus waits by mid morning if not longer. The FL worked out great and I was able to get everything in and then some by the time I left about 6.

Yep. Still, money must be expended, so I'll be curious to see what kind of investments the new owners plan to make, but a rising tide lifts all ships!

Don't get too excited just yet. See=Bluegrass Boardwalk.

From what I've witnessed at the park this season, the only time I'd invest in a FL is on a Saturday. During the week and on Sundays (esp sun morn-mid afternoon) my waits have been minimal if at all.

Just be careful with the reservations as Disney now charges for no shows and late cancellations (within 24-48 hours I think) at some of its restaurants. Epcot in the fall has the International Wine and Food Festival which is spread out all across the world showcase and runs for about 6 weeks...it's very popular and worth checking out because they offer food that isnt available at any other time of the year from lots of countries not permanently represented at Epcot,

Splitsville is the new bowling alley that will open at DTD sometime in the fall..not in time for your visit at last report...it will be in the former building where the Virgin Megastore was once located. It will offer upscale food along with bowling. It is a chain--not owned by Disney. As far as dress codes, theme park wear is ok for everyplace except Victoria and Alberts in the Floridian--that is Disney's highest end place, not covered by the dining plan and jackets for men and dresses for women are required. If you're staying onsite, I know that some reservations are held back for resort guests, so ask the hotel concierge for help if you're at a Disney hotel (any of them). For food, the Benihana-type place at Japan in Epcot was quite good as well.

Check the Fields Ertel (exit 19 off I 71) or Blue Ash (exit 15) areas..plenty of places..plus there are a couple of places aside from the KI hotel at exit 25 (which is just outside the north entrance to the park).

agree w Terp..indoors..boo blasters!

I wonder what Blackstone, David Copperfield or Chris Angel would react if SC was revealing their illusions? If he claims he is in the entertainment field, then he should know better than to reveal a magicians trick. But if by chance he is some wannabe magician himself, then he is blacklisted for violating the magician's code. Time for his posts to be moderated and edited or deleted for revealing things not in the best interests of the park. which is exactly what hapened sev years back when fox aired a series of specials called "Magic's Biggest Secrets Revealed" which starred a 'masked magician' later discovered to be Valentino. In the show, they show him performing a series of tricks both big and small, then carefully deconstructing each trick to show how it was done. He was basically blackballed by other magicians afterwards. I watched them, but am still amazed at how some magic is done...whether it be Ed Alonzo or someone like Chriss Angel/Copperfield/Penn and Teller it's still fun to watch and I always try and catch a good magic show when I go to Vegas.

When I was there saturday, the sign outside listed it as closed, but I noticed it testing in the morning and opened for good around 2 PM. It was still running when I left the park about 6.

I saw the 5:30 show Saturday and was amused. The mic cut out once or twice for a sec or two but nothing terribly wrong. I sat on the asile in the second row so I had a good seat for the whole show. Yes, it is fairly short and the tricks are a bit pedestrian, but I thought Alonzo was funny (esp during the bit with the kid) and kept the show moving. As for the dancers, that's part of a magic show--lovely assistants to focus your atention away from the illusion. All in all, I laughed and was amused, which is all I wanted. I briefly shook his hand afterwards and told him I enjoyed the show. His website shows him at Knott's during the month of October, so doesn't look like he'll be at KI past Labor Day. He has played Vegas and has a lot of gigs lined up according to his tour schedule, so I don't think that he was begging for work when KI called.

Glad you had fun! DHS is a nice little park, but is due for some updating..MuppetVision opened with the park in 1988 and the backlot tour isn't anything to write home about. I thought the star tours refresh looks great--its a diff storyline just about everytime you go on it. I'd love to see Carsland transported to Florida..they can get rid of its tough to be a bug and the backlot tour to do so.

I had the same problem when I watched it (sound cut in/out). I switched over to the SD feed and it was fine. Given that the show was from 1999, I doubt it was produced in HD anyway.

sounds like this production must have inherited the same curse that plagued "Spiderman Turn Off the Dark" on Broadway! Just bring back the days where you could see a fun band like Duran Duran at Timberwolf after a fun day in the park!

Thanks! I'm going to DHS tomorrow. I thought Toy Story Mania looked kind of dumb ... but I guess I should try it. No way!! It is one of the coolest rides anywhere in WDW..it routinely has 60-90 min waits within an hr after park opening..def get a fastpass for it..you won't be disappointed!

To answer a couple of quick questions/comments from above (as a former employee there and having been 3x over the past year, most recently last wek with my 5 yr old) DD--split into the west and east side with the former Pleasure Island stuck in the middle. The west side or marketplace contains the world's largest disney store, a big movie cineplex, plus some other disney and non disney-themed shops and restaurants on the casual side. The middle is Pleasure island, which is closed (former new years eve themed nightclub complex). The east side of DD features more upscale places to eat (house of blues, Wolfgang Puck), and is anchored by the cool-looking big top looking white bldg featuring the Cirque Du Soleil show La Nouba. The Dining Plan-you can purchase this when you book your pkg. Depending on which one you choose, you get several meals plus snacks a day. Be careful, though--if you are in tow with little ones/picky eaters, it's not worth the money, unless they throw it in for free, which they often do when you book a several day trip (for the basic pkg). There are ways to maximize the plan which I won't go into..go to any 3rd party disney tip website for hints. Most places throughout the whole resort take the plan with a few execeptions. As for the parks--soarin fastpasses always go quick, even on slow days..go early and get one, but be sure to be back within the time listed..no more latecomers, except if the ride is not operating during your window, at which point youc an come back anytime. Maximize the fastpasses..early in the day you can collect fastpasses relatively quickly in short time intervals. On busy days, the 'mountains' often are out of fps by mid Pm for the rest of the day. Hope this helps! Have fun! I can't wait to go back and see more of the new FantasyLand..prob this Fall.

they are not a good 'live' band in any of their incarnations..i've seen them several times and I wouldn't even spend the $15 on a lawn tix they're hyping for the first day of sales..stay home and listen to "Pet Sounds"

Don't everyone get all excited about those pictures. Companies spend a lot of money in their ad budgets on 'food art' to make the food look perfect for the cameras. Ever notice on Mcd's/Bk commercials the burgers always have a propotional amount of ketchup and mustard? there's a reason for that. I highly doubt when 50 people are lined up a hot day wanting burgers and funnel cakes that the employees will be making the food look anything like that which is seen in the pics.

With the right public/private partnership, the area could be vital again. No doubt any developer will be looking for some nice tax incentives and/or infastructure improvements from the City of Mason if they do choose to develop a portion of the property. As to the slides, I'm sure there will be a market for some of them in other parks across the country/world that could at least give the park owners a shot of short-term cash.

The park sits on 35 prime acres right across from KI with access to 71. I would think a hotel or some other retail development will come along at some point if the price for the land is right. My guess is the owners of the park will try and sell the land to pay back whatever debts they owe. As I recall, Surf Cincy was located in a much less desireable part of town, so that's probably why noone ever stepped forward. In real estate terms, the highest and best use of the land is probably not as a water park.

I'm not a mod, but I'm assuming that they'll accept ads for the site from any political candidate or organization, so long as said candidate or organization isn't associated with any discriminatory practices.

Enquirer has confirmation. http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120309/BIZ/303090101