Disney's Hollywood Studios is now previewing their latest attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow, to guests of the park before it officially opens on December 6th.
I didn't follow the announcement of this attraction too closely, and honestly wasn't too sure what it was until videos of it started appearing online yesterday. Orlando Attractions Magazine filmed the experience, so if you do not want to know just what takes place, then skip this video!
As you can see, the attraction mostly relies on audio, lighting, and video effects to entertain. I have to wonder if small kids might have a bit of a cry-fest in this one, the combination of loud and dark usually have that result.
The projection of Jack Sparrow is particularly nice, very similar to the characters in Universal's Forbidden Journey queue line. While the attraction is by no means a big marketable addition, it's certainly nice filler for the Studios, which could use it.
I love how it pokes fun of itself, too, as Jack departs with "come back in eight minutes and we'll do it all over again."
24 Kasım 2012 Cumartesi
Disney's Hollywood Studios Previewing new Jack Sparrow Attraction
Iron Rattler's Curves
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| © Six Flags Fiesta Texas |
The track is banked at what looks like 90 degrees, but take notice that it's not really during a curve, it's actually just banked that way on some straight track. I'm a little behind on this one, as the park posted it a couple weeks ago, but it's worth the repost in my opinion.
Also, did you all hear that the industry-famous Jeffrey Siebert is returning to the ride side of things from the word of Schlitterbahn by becoming the Marketing Director at Six Flags Fiesta Texas? Mr. Siebert really became a loved industry professional when he worked at Kings Island, and with Fiesta Texas debuting a massive new coaster this year I have a feeling we will see some interesting things from him.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving to all you NPN readers! We're thankful for you, for without you guys we'd be publishing for the endless empty depths of the interwebs!
While I have plenty to be thankful for in my life, I thought it would be fun to take a purely personal look at some things I've been thankful for so far this year, industry related of course. Here in no specific order is a lighthearted look at what I'm thankful for.
• Skyrush! Hersheypark's top notch intensity monster gave most coaster - and Intamin - fans something to be thankful for this year! I'm thankful to have the coaster and Hersheypark so close to me.
• Legoland Florida's successful first season, with the opening of the water park and several small expansions already underway. Many thought the park was too out of the way to work, and I'm thankful that the opposite has proven true.
• The Magic Kingdom's New Fantasyland. Whether it was designed to counter Potter or not, the level of quality and detail in the area is something that Florida Disney parks haven't seen in some time, thankfully.
• Verbolten! We're all still a bit sad about the loss of the Big Bad Wolf, but I'm thankful that the debut of Verbolten has helped ease that pain. Busch Gardens reimagined the coaster for the current century, and created a family thrill ride that's totally one of a kind.
• Since the announcements were in this year, I'm being sneaky and counting the addition of Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City and Iron Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. The extreme wooden hybrid coasters are so highly anticipated I'm not sure I'm looking more forward to them or today's big turkey meal!
• I have acknowledge the 40th anniversary of The Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm, which thankfully has helped guide the way for haunts to pop up all across the country. Like it or not the Halloween season is a major portion of most park's seasons now, and I think everyone should give thanks to Knott's for that.
• SUPERMAN Ultimate Flight! While the industry is constantly evolving, I was thankful to see a park work with Premier Rides to create an innovate coaster such as this. When working with such a small space, packing as much of a punch as Superman does was quite a challenge, no doubt.
• Matt Ouimet's first year of leadership at Cedar Fair has given me plenty to be thankful for. While not all decisions made this year can be attributed to him, such things as Luminosity and multiple technology upgrades across the parks are helping to bring the company into present day - which it really needed.
• The world's tallest free fall ride, at Six Flags Magic Mountain, I give thanks for thee. I love freefalls, and taking one as tall as was done for Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom (400 feet) is an achievement of large proportions.
• Ride removals... they're at times a sore subject, but this year I think that they were great moves pretty much across the board. Putting Son of Beast out of its misery, removing tired (and ugly) rides like Disaster Transport, and ones that were troubled and didn't fit their park - ahem Perilous Plunge - were smart moves. So thanks!
• Disney California Adventure finished up a really extensive transformation that has taken it from mega-flop to big success. Thankfully the days of the park being an embarrassment over - for that I'm sure we all will say phew!
• I'm all for preservation of certain rides, and when one gets some love that really deserves it, I'm thankful. Such is the case with the upgrades done to sooperdooperLooper at Hersheypark this season. A new train, brakes, paint and more have the coaster running as well as its opening day!
I shall stop there, as my appointment with a huge meal is quickly approaching. What are you guys thankful for? Be safe and enjoy!
We're Back, and We're Stuffed
So, the Transformers ride is opening. This is considered big news, so here's a recap. It's basically a new version of the Spiderman ride in my viewpoint, but I suppose this is a good backup plan for Universal if and when they ever lose their Marvel license to Disney. Slashfilm reported recently that the attraction vehicle is an actual transformer. Your car is a character. My good friends over at Topless Robot had this to say:
Transformers: The Movie: the Ride is just about ready to open in Universal Studios Singapore, and one of the local news stations did this report on what getting to the ride will be like. I feel like it's notable for two reasons:
1) That it could take up to 1.5 hours of waiting in line to actually get on Transformers: The Ride. The idea that anyone would wait up to 90 minutes for a ride based on Bayformers -- unless they were some sort of war criminal, and this was their court-mandated punishment -- depresses me to no end.
2) On the other hand, as the newslady is happy to point out, the walls surrounding the queue will be full of buttons to press and switches to flip, so that people can "entertain" themselves while waiting. By pressing buttons and hitting switches. Like developing infants do with toys.
As harsh as that sounds, I can't disagree. However, I'm sure I'll be amazed with the technology once it opens. You can make up your own mind by viewing this video.
In other news:
-I should point out that we have seen a new type of ticketing system put into use that could possibly eliminate turnstiles.
-Coney Island is celebrating its roots with some new construction work.
-Kennywood sold Pitfall, so could a new ride be on the way?
-TDS celebrates its 10 birthday just in time for the holidays.
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! And if you didn't, it could be worse. The Pilgrims had to catch their own turkey. I'll leave you with a look at what that might have looked like, courtesy of Sally Dark Rides.
...we're back?
First of all, I definitely need to apologize for the lack of updates. I've been ridiculously busy with other things over the past several months, and I regret not updating this sooner. Sadly, I simply haven't had time. Thank you to those who have continued to visit and check on the site - I appreciate it greatly.
On that note, I'm hoping to get the site going again with news, Impressions, photos, and other possible new features. What better day to pick back up than on our one year anniversary! That's right, we've been up for one year today (even if we have been gone for several months), and that's an achievement I'm quite proud of. Thanks once again for your readership.
So, what have we been doing? Spring break this year included stops at Thorpe Park and Disneyland Paris, so expect to see reviews for those up sometime in the near future. On top of that, I still have one to finish off from last year; again, oops. Right now, I've just uploaded 100 photos from Thorpe to our Facebook page, including lots of pictures of The Swarm. Head on over and check it out, and maybe go ahead and like our page while you're at it ;)
I'll be sure to post as often as possible, but I can't guarantee daily updates right now. As always I'll do my best. For now, enjoy the Thorpe Park photos, and thanks for sticking with us!
-Wynn
23 Kasım 2012 Cuma
We're Back, and We're Stuffed
So, the Transformers ride is opening. This is considered big news, so here's a recap. It's basically a new version of the Spiderman ride in my viewpoint, but I suppose this is a good backup plan for Universal if and when they ever lose their Marvel license to Disney. Slashfilm reported recently that the attraction vehicle is an actual transformer. Your car is a character. My good friends over at Topless Robot had this to say:
Transformers: The Movie: the Ride is just about ready to open in Universal Studios Singapore, and one of the local news stations did this report on what getting to the ride will be like. I feel like it's notable for two reasons:
1) That it could take up to 1.5 hours of waiting in line to actually get on Transformers: The Ride. The idea that anyone would wait up to 90 minutes for a ride based on Bayformers -- unless they were some sort of war criminal, and this was their court-mandated punishment -- depresses me to no end.
2) On the other hand, as the newslady is happy to point out, the walls surrounding the queue will be full of buttons to press and switches to flip, so that people can "entertain" themselves while waiting. By pressing buttons and hitting switches. Like developing infants do with toys.
As harsh as that sounds, I can't disagree. However, I'm sure I'll be amazed with the technology once it opens. You can make up your own mind by viewing this video.
In other news:
-I should point out that we have seen a new type of ticketing system put into use that could possibly eliminate turnstiles.
-Coney Island is celebrating its roots with some new construction work.
-Kennywood sold Pitfall, so could a new ride be on the way?
-TDS celebrates its 10 birthday just in time for the holidays.
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! And if you didn't, it could be worse. The Pilgrims had to catch their own turkey. I'll leave you with a look at what that might have looked like, courtesy of Sally Dark Rides.
...we're back?
First of all, I definitely need to apologize for the lack of updates. I've been ridiculously busy with other things over the past several months, and I regret not updating this sooner. Sadly, I simply haven't had time. Thank you to those who have continued to visit and check on the site - I appreciate it greatly.
On that note, I'm hoping to get the site going again with news, Impressions, photos, and other possible new features. What better day to pick back up than on our one year anniversary! That's right, we've been up for one year today (even if we have been gone for several months), and that's an achievement I'm quite proud of. Thanks once again for your readership.
So, what have we been doing? Spring break this year included stops at Thorpe Park and Disneyland Paris, so expect to see reviews for those up sometime in the near future. On top of that, I still have one to finish off from last year; again, oops. Right now, I've just uploaded 100 photos from Thorpe to our Facebook page, including lots of pictures of The Swarm. Head on over and check it out, and maybe go ahead and like our page while you're at it ;)
I'll be sure to post as often as possible, but I can't guarantee daily updates right now. As always I'll do my best. For now, enjoy the Thorpe Park photos, and thanks for sticking with us!
-Wynn