Gabe

I was there last Friday from 2:30-10 and I didn't have any wait above 30 mins. A lot of ride ops were commenting on how light the park seemed. Banshee was 15 min, DB, FOF and FH were all 30, Beast was about 20-25. The rest were 15 min or less. I was actually on WindSeeker when it closed as we were about to ascend due to wind about 6 PM. (I was told by a supervisor there that too much wind causes the vehicles to bump together, but isn't that what the shock absorbers they added 2 seasons ago were designed to prevent?). It briefly reopened about 9:30 but I didn't see it ascend past 9:45.

Aren't most of the attractions at Universal Florida in said boxy buildings? Transformers, Kong, Mummy, SpiderMan, Despicable Me, ET? Universal cant very well tear those down anytime soon. As for the Idol building at DHS, it was also once the home of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, so times change. I dont see Indy leaving the park. Even on a slow day there last month when I visted, the show still draws large crowds to every performance (and is still a fun show to watch).

If you read about the history of the company before Eisner took over, none of Walt's living relatives were well equipped to run things. Roy E included.

So if you're not in line for FoF by 10:45, forget about it? A friend of mine told me that. It depends. Sometimes Firehawk opens about 15-30 mins after the park opens. If so, FOF lines can be long as soon as about 10:30. If FH is open, my experience has been getting there anytime before 11 should result in a short wait, esp since the vast majority of those entering at 10 AM will head straight to Banshee.

I got an email last night with the list of times for the events. As I recall, Banshee ERT was 9 AM followed by a Banshee behind the esnces tour, Carosuel/Scrambler ERT at 9:30, lunch at 2:45, VIP seating to a TBD show (prob Cirque) and an afternoon Beast tour. Then final rides of the night on Banshee. Looks like a great event!

I think some of Eisner's problems were compounded by the loss of Wells, who was to him what Roy was to Walt--the man who was tasked with putting the $ into the big ideas put forth by his boss. The ensuing internal turmoil that led to Katzenberg's departure (after being passed over for the job in favor of Ovitz) caused a lot of stress. Ovitz wasn't even remotely qualified for the job and soon found himself trying to make himself seem bigger than Eisner. Eisner was a forward thinker--he was the brainchild for SchoolHouse Rock at ABC--but like some houseguests, they wear out their welcome after a time. I was on the College Program at the height of Eisner's tenure and was lucky enough to meet the man during a Give Kids the World park event in 1993. Even though I was a lowly intern, he took several minutes to discuss with me what I liked/disliked about the resort and appreciated my feedback. I think Iger has the company on the right path and hope to see continued great things from him down the line.

Don't be so quick to poo poo Eisner. But for him, Disney would likely have been sold to a foreign consortium. Eisner was responsible for the installation of E-ticket attractions like Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster. He tried to improve the Studios and improved the park's cash flow. Not to mention ushering in the second Golden Age of Animation with Katzenberg as head of Animation. Yes, he was a brash, abrasive and often termpermental leader, but I think he did way more good than harm. You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

The zoo cited the new orang exhibit as the sole reason for dymanic pricing. According to their models, once the zoo reaches 9k people inside the gates, the experience diminishes greatly for the average guest. By shifting to this model, the zoo hopes more people will pre plan their trip and book online in advance. The prices will reflect that.

That's not entirely true. Marvel characters have been appearing throughout the resort (Iron Man and Cpt America come to mind not to mention the monorail wrapping.). Notice the agreement didn't mention transferability (ie what happens if Marvel is sold or goes away)? I'm sure Disney knows what it's doing with Marvel in regards to Universal. When it sees fit to do so, it will terminate the agreement. It wasn't hard for KI to rebrand its rides after Paramount left, so I'm certain Universal would use the opportunity to rebrand/retheme the area anyway. (I'm sure more Potter can never be a bad thing for Universal).

Not to stray too far off topic, buit if you believe he is going to be a threat to you or if he makes unwanted advances, please tell any park employee to call park security. The park takes all matters of security very seriously.

I found it odd that while I was in Southern MI this past wknd, I saw multiple TV ads for Cedar Point, but none for MA. The TV stations were out of Grand Rapids. To Terpy's point above if the revenue doesn't come into that park on the level of the other ones in the chain, one can't expect Cedar Fair to invest too heavily into it. Of course, it would be nice for CF to spend some ad $ promoting its only Michigan park. I was prob about 60-70 min tops from MA from where I was staying.

The orang exhibit at the zoo features a skyride around the enclosure which gives you an up close look at the orangs as well as a great view of downtown indy. I believe there is a $2-$3 upcharge for the ride.

I urge anyone on this forum to come to the Indy Children's Museum this summer and early fall. The museum is currently exhibiting a collection of real terra cotta warriors from Emperor Chin's tomb. This is big, since the Chinese government only loans them out to 1-2 US museums a year and competition is fierce. The museum opened an exhibit a couple years ago featuring replica warriors and officials from the Chinese government were impressed enough that they put the Children's museum at the top of the list. The exhibit runs through 11/2, plus you can combine it with a visit to the new Orangutan center at the zoo! As an added bonus, the zoo has reopened their coaster (closed during the construction of the Orangutan center), so for those needing or wanting the credit, come on down!

I may be in the minority but I for one would be sad to see the Rivertown Potato Works food stand go. Every trip to the park in my childhood included a cup of their fries with cheese sauce. The fries in my opinion have gone down somewhat in quality, but are still a nice salty treat and the cheese dipping sauce still satsfies. As for the ET, isn't KI due to get the fountain upgrade this coming offseason? If so, perhaps they can repaint the tower too.

At Disney, we were trained to say that the ride is currently closed and we aren't sure when it will reopen. The only other question we could answer was that yes, if you had a Fastpass for the time a ride is down, it will be honored anytime that day after (and if) the ride reopens.

Well, they do, but not under the Hershey banner. Dagobah for instance

Not sure if anyone noticed, but Apple quietly executed a 7-1 stock split earlier this week, so those looking to invest in Apple should now be able to do so at a much more reasonable price point.

Snoopy, Linus and Sally were all at the kids height measuring station near the KI Theatre last Sun when I was there..no lines..just mosey on up, get a pic and a hug and off u go!

I believe the last thread featuring KI memorabilia was from an auction feauting old Encnahted Voyage props.

Now all they need is to add the Dapper Dans and they'll be set!

Perhaps Eve the Banshee wants the focus to remain on her all summer, so she created a diversion to lure guests back to her!

Case in point--when I was at the park last Sunday with my kids, the scrolling sign outside the main gate said that Surf Dog would be closed that day. From the time we got there, there were several maintenance workers fixing the ride and sure enough, it opened around 4 PM. Ride closures change constantly, so I agree that unless we're talking about an extended closure like Drop Tower it shouldn't be posted here. Heck, even Disney makes changes to its ride rehab schedule all the time. When we were there, both Astro Orbiter and the PeopleMover were slated to be under the knife. However, those rehabs were pushed back to August just a day before we arrived.

Trust me when I say Epcot is being addressesd. Disney is currently filming the next Soarin film for release in 2015 (they were filming when I was there). The plan is to add one more theatre to up capacity. Mission Space is a good solid attraction..much better than Horizons ever was. Like the MK FL expansion, these things take time..Disney has a lot of Florida irons in the fire..dont forget Universal doesnt have nearly the overhead Disney does. The park is not standing still.

Epcot is being addressed. They have already begun repainting the buildings in Future World to make them "pop" more and I know that changes are afoot. Over at the Studios, look for the Star Wars area to be expanded, as well as a retheme of the backlot area to incorporate Marvel. I believe AK is taken care of with Pandora (Avatar) and the addition of Harambe Nights, sales of which have been especially strong. Disney Springs Phase 1 will open next summer and more DVC units are coming online as well.

As of today (May 28) the FL expansion is officially complete in the MK with the opening of the 7 Dwarves Mine Train. Disney now turns its attention to the continuing construction at DTD as it transforms to Disney Springs and Epcot, having moved one of its key park execs to oversee what will hopefully be a multi year revamp of Future World, along with the possible addition of a country (or 2?) to World Showcase.