Author: Theme Park Wizard

I am a huge fan of theme parks!

My Thoughts on the Sony/Disney Spiderman Feud and How it Affects Marvel Land

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized

So today some rather breaking and shocking news came out regarding Sony and Disney’s Spiderman deal. It was widely being reported that Sony and Disney were renegotiating the Spiderman deal and that Disney wanted a 50/50 partnership for future Spiderman movies compared to the 5% they get now per movie.

Spiderman is Sony’s biggest and arguably only franchise so it would make sense that Sony would want to keep most of the financial gain from Spiderman to keep the studio afloat. With that in mind, Sony quickly rejected Disney’s initial offer and is currently negotiating a new deal or is threatening to take back full control of Spiderman putting the future of the MCU as it is right now at risk. It is also putting Marvel Land at risk because the headlining attraction is of course the Spiderman ride.

Lets say the deal falls flat and Sony gets back Spiderman, let’s talk about the potential implications of Marvel Land. So let’s say that Sony says that Spiderman cannot be a part of any attractions in Marvel Land, what will Disney do? Well for one I can definitely tell you the ride will be delayed by a few months to possibly a year because Disney will have to change it to a new Marvel character (I vote Captain America or Doctor Strange) as well as re-film all of the scenes and change out psychical sets to match the new story of the attraction. That would be quite the blow to California Adventure as it definitely needs continued investment and rather quickly. It would also be a blow to the Disneyland Parks Panel at D23 because the main announcement for Disneyland is Marvel Land as well as a model showing the land.

So what do you think about this developing story and how it will impact the theme parks? Comment below your thoughts I would love to know them!

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My Top 5 Rides at the Disneyland Resort!

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized
Sleeping Beauty Castle

Welcome! Today am I going to list my top 5 rides at the Disneyland Resort! I would love for you to comment below whether you agree or disagree with this list. This top 5 is from both Disneyland and California Adventure so let’s get started right now!

5. Hyperspace Mountain

I absolutely love this version of Space Mountain. It is my favorite version that is offered at the Disneyland Resort and it takes you on the same track as the classic Space Mountain, but with special effects and music themed to Star Wars. This version is currently being offered at Disneyland right now and an end date is not known at this time.

4. Radiator Springs Racers

Arguably the best themed attraction Disney ever made is 4th on my list because the other three rides ahead of it are more thrilling, but mark my words this is a MUST DO attraction while your at the Disneyland Resort. This attraction and Cars Land itself are a reason to get a park hopper ticket alone. This masterpiece of a ride is half dark ride (with incredibly impressive animontronics with mouths that move on some of them) and half thrill ride implementing a Test Track like system that propels the vehicles on a racing track to the finish line. Not only is the ride amazing, but its showbuidling is among the best out there. Cadillac Range is so beautiful you forget you are at Disneyland and think you are in the deserts of Arizona.

3. Incredicoaster

This thing is an absolute thrill machine for Disney standards and I absolutely love it! Blasting off from 0-55 mph in 4.2 seconds is such an amazing feeling and going up and down through drops and twists and turns is exhilarating. Then of course there is the iconic loop over the Pixar Pier logo that can be nauseating at first if you suffer from motion sickness, but riding it again and again eases it considerably. In terms of theming, I feel Disney could have done a lot better inserting the Incredibles theming in there and I feel they went cheap with all static figures and Jack Jack hanging on a stick. If you are a thrill seeker, then definitely ride this when you visit California Adventure.

2. Splash Mountain

Personally, I think Splash Mountain is better here at Disneyland than at the Magic Kingdom because I like our style of the music and the style of logs more over at Disneyland. I also love that our indoor drop is a roller coaster style “U shaped” drop. Splash Mountain is so iconic because of its theming, songs, animatronics, and family fun atmosphere. This is really a ride you can take the entire family on and pose for the picture at the end.

Number One: Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout!

Here we go the absolute best Disney ride in the world in my opinion. Yes, people will probably completely disagree with me and hate me for it, but I really love the ride system of this drop tower whether it is Tower of Terror or Mission Breakout. Mission Breakout is definitely more thrilling and I love the selection of songs they chose for the ride. It is even more exciting that it will be anchoring an entire Marvel Themed land next year so it won’t look so out of place in the future.

Well that is my list of top 5 rides, what’s yours? List them in the comment section below and lets compare and contrast!

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Disneyland’s Tomorrowland French Fry Rocks Coming Down!

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized

Finally! Those of you who have been following my Youtube channel and Twitter for a while know that I have been waiting for this moment to happen for months! It was heavily rumored months ago that as part of Project Stardust that the massive French Fry rocks would be coming down at the entrance to Tomorrowland.

Then it was pushed back until sometime after Galaxy’s Edge opened because of expected crowds that never showed up. Now it is almost Fall and the project is under construction in full force. It is actually a two part project, one part deals with lowering the curbs on the East side of the hub, and the other part deals with bringing the rocks down. Below is a current view of what it looks like inside the construction walls.

, Disneyland Update: Pumpkins, Crowds & Bees Buzz Into Disneyland
Tomorrowland marquee is gone and to the left the rocks are ready to be demolished. All images courtesy of MiceChat.
, Disneyland Update: Pumpkins, Crowds & Bees Buzz Into Disneyland
Image courtesy of Micechat

Here are some photos of the curb lowering portion of the project and again all images are courtesy of fellow blog Micechat.

, Disneyland Update: Pumpkins, Crowds & Bees Buzz Into Disneyland
, Disneyland Update: Pumpkins, Crowds & Bees Buzz Into Disneyland

I am very excited to see this project finally happen. It will take a couple months for both sides of the rocks to come down, but when they do we will have a grand wide open entrance to Tomorrowland. It is unclear if the Tomorrowland marquee is coming back in its current form or not, but I would personally like to see an arched version like the one at Walt Disney World come to our Tomorrowland.

This project along with rumors heating up of a complete Tomorrowland revamp (potentially to be announced this weekend at D23) have me super excited that we could be getting a brand new Tomorrowland within the next few years possibly beginning constrcution as early as next year! If you would like to hear the latest Disneylan rumor update regarding the future of Tomorrowland click here!

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That’s it for today’s Disneyland update, what do you think of the curb and rocks projects? Are you excited for a potential new Tomrrowland? What would you put in a new Tomorrowland? Comment your thoughts below!

Knott’s Berry Farm Celebrates 100 Years in 2020!

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized
Knott’s Berry Farm Skyline

Next year Knott’s Berry Farm will celebrate its 100th anniversary by having, “A Knott’s Family Reunion”. This will be one of the summer long promotions Knott’s does so very well and will pay tribute to Walter Knott and his family.

knott's family reunion

According to Cedar Fair, guests will be immersed in a once in a lifetime celebration that will include lots of festive decor, themed food and merch, plenty of entertainment, and more! Knott’s will release more details about this event as summer 2020 draws closer. I would personally expect by spring break they will have more information. If you have been to Knott’s previous summer events such as Ghost Town Alive and Knott’s Summer Nights, you know that Knott’s does an EXCELLENT job with all of their summer promotions so look for this one to be better because it is their 100th Anniversary promotion.

Also if you think that this is all they are going to do for their 100th, then you are certainly mistaken. Look for a massive expansion of a Ghost Town including multiple rides and a coaster to come for the 2021 season and to actively be under construction during 2020.

Are you excited for this new summer promotion? Comment your thoughts below and also if would be lovely if you gave this page a follow and a share!

California’s Great America Water park to be expanded and re-branded into South Bay Shores

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized
2020_SouthBayShores1
Concept art of new water slide complex coming to South Bay Shores

Cedar Fair parks announced all of their 2020 projects yesterday and with that California’s Great America announced that their water park, Boomerang Bay, will be expanded and renamed to South Bay Shores.

The expansion will include upgraded food and beverage locations as well as six new water slides. The new slides are SharkReefPlunge which are four vertical drop slides. Next up is Feeding Frenzy which is an enclosed tube slide that will finish in a giant bowl element at the bottom of the slide. Lastly, Barracuda is a slide that will feature a tight constrictor style series of spins and end with a splashdown at the end.

Some other features to be added are a family play and pool area to be called Tide Pool and Pier 76 which is a new restaurant location.

What do you think of CA Great America’s expansion? Will you be visiting? Comment your thoughts below!

More Spider-Man Concept Art

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized

WDWNT continues to leak supposed Spider-Man ride concept art including the pre show area and some ride scenes and I am about to break it all down for you right here!

Pre show concept art from WDWNT

Here is the pre show area which continues the very industrial vibe of the attraction. It looks like guests will be given a tour of the W.E.B building as it seems they are hosting an open house of some sort.

Second pre show photo from WDWNT

This photo it looks like guests will be given a tour of the office and this is the place the premise of the ride itself will likely be given.

Ride Scene provided by WDWNT

Here is a photo of one of the ride scenes where it looks like a ship of some sort has crashed through the wall. It is also interesting to note that there is a track on the bottom which if accurate means the vehicles will not be suspended.

Another ride scene

In this scene it looks like were going past more sets in what increasingly looks like a training facility.

Moving along I don’t see a track here so maybe this is part of the queue area?

Now with multiple tracks going different places this could represent different ride experiences or maybe some maintenance bays for the vehicles.

In this scene it looks like someone or something spilled tons of paint everywhere.

This seems to be a dark room with more paint or oil on the ground.

Finally we have the exit of the ride where guests will walk past the Avengers logo and back onto the Avengers Campus outside.

Couple of things to note here: This is NOT official concept art by Disney, we will get that at D23, so take this will a grain of salt until more details are unveiled next weekend. Also if most of the scenes seem like there is nothing going on, it is because this ride is rumored to rely heavily on augmented reality within the ride vehicles themselves.

So what do you think of this rumored leaked concept art? Are you excited for this attraction? Why or Why not? Comment your thoughts below!

Orion to be 10th fastest coaster in the world, coming Spring 2020 to Kings Island

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized
Concept art of Orion

Well today is finally the day that Cedar Fair has revealed their announcements for their parks and most of it was not too exciting except for Orion here at Kings Island. It has been widely speculated that Kings Island will be getting a Giga coaster next year and the rampant rumors were right.

Orion will be the tallest and fastest coaster at Kings Island and also quite long as well.

Orion will have a 300 ft drop and will go as fast as 91 mph making it one of the fastest coasters on the planet. The coaster will anchor an revamped land to be called Area 72. The backstory to the ride and land is that scientist are doing a special research project in the area and Orion is a special prototype for the Project X initiative and volunteers are needed. The researchers are trying to develop a vehicle that can traverse through meteor showers.

Orion will debut in Spring 2020 and will be the world’s seventh Giga coaster. This is a very exciting and excellent addition to the park and I would LOVE to hear your thoughts below on this coaster! Also let’s get others in on the action as well by sharing this article and following this page!

Silver Dollar City Announces Mystic River Falls for 2020

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized
Mystic Rivers Concept Art

After the success of Time Traveler, Silver Dollar City is announcing their next major addition, Mystic River Falls. Mystic River Falls will be will have the tallest raft drop in the western hemisphere. The ride will take rafters into the history Marvel cave which is where Silver Dollar City started about sixty years ago. Some cool new elements of the ride will include an 82 foot tall elevator lift hill, a six story elevated river channel, and a grand finale four and a half story drop.

This attraction will be the anchor to a new themed land called Rivertown filled with folks from the 1880’s. In 2020, the park will also have lost of events and entertainment throughout the year for its Diamond Jubilee 60th Anniversary. So what do you think of this new ride and themed area? Will you be going next year? Comment your thoughts below and do not forget to click the like and follow button for notifications on when new articles come out!

Universal Studios Hollywood Construction Update

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized

Hello all and welcome back for a quick Universal Studios Hollywood construction update. Today I will show you updates on the Secret Life of Pets, Super Nintendo World, and the Holidayz in Hell maze.

Secret Life Of Pets

First, let’s take a look at the Secret Life of Pets (SLOP) attraction being built next to the minions. Nothing really new has changed here since my last update as the building is still behind green scaffolding.

Secret Life Of Pets
You can see some detail and arched windows through the scrim
Grand Entrance

Super Nintendo World

Next up, I will show you some pictures of the under construction Super Nintendo World in the Lower Lot. You can see the Mario Kart foundations and track are really starting to come into focus and the layout should be completed in a couple of months. Some steel is going up near where the rumored Donkey Kong coaster is supposed to go (Side nearest to Jurassic World) so it will be very interesting to see how that area turns out.

The dirt curves represent the Mario Kart track
Mario Kart track up top, rumored Donkey Kong on the dirt lot to the lower left
Overview of Super Nintendo World

Holidaze in Hell Maze

I was with family and in a bit of a rush during this update so the only maze I was able to capture progress of was Holidaze in Hell. The only major progress I could see was they updated the facade to a really cool looking postcard like night time sky.

Holidaze in Hell Facade

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Cheetah Chase Announced in 2020 For Holiday World

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized
Concept art of Cheetah Chase

Holiday World in Indiana is looking to be and will be the water coaster capital of the world when their brand new water coaster Cheetah Chase opens up next year. Cheetah Chase will be the world’s first racing and launching water coaster and the first to be doing a complete circuit.

Riders will be launched 25 feet up a lift hill using ProSlide Blast Technology and will be zipping along at a speed of 27 mph along the 852 foot full circuit course. Each raft will fit up to three people and duel head to head to see who can win the race! What do you guys think of this new addition? Comment below your thoughts on this water coaster and your thoughts on the evolution of water slides in general.

THEME PARK WIZARD SUPPORTS ALS AND YOU CAN TOO!

The ALS Foundation of Southern California has a couple of events coming up that I would love to sponsor, especially since the sponsorship money goes to ALS to help research ways to fight this disease! If you would like to help me sponsor a water station at the upcoming Ventura ALS Walk click here! I am almost halfway to my goal!