April 2008

Talk amongst yourselves in the comments....

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Sea World Orlando Trip Report

During our most recent trip to Orlando last November, we pretty much saw everything we wanted to see, and weren't planning another trip to the area for another few years. Much to our surprise, my wife and I found ourselves in Orlando for a quick weekend. As I had reported earlier, we spent one of our days at Aquatica, but since our trip was so short, and there were no major new attractions at other parks, we took advantage of our Busch Platinum passes and spent an evening at Sea World and a day at Busch Gardens Tampa.

We got into Orlando mid-day on Friday, and walked through Sea World's gates around 4 PM. We walked around the park and made reservations for the Brewmaster's Club, and watched Pets Ahoy. The show doesn't feature any sea creatures, but definitely has universal appeal and supports a worthy cause, with performers straight out of local animal shelters. We then took a few spins on Kraken, which for me is still the best floorless coaster in the world (even better than Griffon or SheiKra). We also went up into the Sky Tower to get a bird's eye view of Aquatica and a construction area in the center of the park that is rumored to be the location of a B&M flying coaster called Manta. While there's not much more than a clear swath of land now, it is likely an announcement will be made in the coming months detailing the anticipated new attraction. [That was quick! - Editor] Everything right now, including the shape and size of the construction area, points to a coaster.

Before coming to Orlando, we had decided to make reservations for some experiences that we had not done before in the parks. The Shamu Rocks Dinner Buffet gives guests an opportunity to sit backstage near one of the killer whale observation pools while enjoying dinner, and then proceed to exclusive seating to one of the shows at Shamu Stadium. The dinner costs $32/person, and includes a wide variety of foods including salad, carved turkey, seafood alfredo, homemade meatballs, beef burgundy, an assortment of desserts, and a selection of beer and soda. The dinner was excellent, and well worth the cost. The backstage views that are advertised are nothing special, but the overall setting does provide an enjoyable experience. Our reserved seats for the Shamu Rocks show were not needed on this particular evening, but would probably be very useful on very busy days. We had never seen this show before, so it was cool to see a killer whale show presented in a very hip and exciting manner. Shamu Rocks is not inspirational like Believe, and not educational like other incarnations of Sea World shows. It choreographs the killer whale behaviors to popular rock tunes with an impressive light display. I actually like it more than Believe, even through the behaviors are not as unique or original.

We grabbed a couple more rides on Kraken, this time at dark, before heading to our Brewmaster's Club reservation. We always go to Orlando in the fall to avoid the crowds, and the park normally has reduced hours during our visits, so it was cool to be able to walk around after dark and we were looking forward to seeing Mistify for the first time. I already knew what to expect from the nighttime spectacular, a Sea World version of Fantasmic, but I ended up leaving a bit disappointed. The show uses projections on water along with fountains and fireworks to tell the story of a boy as he dreams about an underwater adventure. The soundtrack was really good, and the fireworks and fountains were very impressive, but the projections on the mist were not very clear. It was pretty easy to follow the story, but if the visuals had been clearer, the show would have been great. Nonetheless, it's good to see other parks trying to compete with Disney in the nighttime spectacular arena.

Our evening at Sea World was short, but sweet, and since we had just been to the park a few months ago, it was very satisfying.

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Best Ride in America Tournament: The quarterfinals, day two

Click the attraction names for full descriptions, as well as TPI readers' ratings and reviews. (And feel free to add your own rating, then come back here to vote.)

(2) Indiana Jones Adventure vs.
(26) Dueling Dragons – Ice

(3) Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Disney World) vs.
(11) Kraken

Again, here is the tournament bracket [PDF]. Let's go for another good round of comments, too. Thanks, again, for everyone's participation in this year's tournament!

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Busch Gardens Africa Trip Report and Jungala Preview

Our day started with SheiKra, which for me is still a toss-up with Griffon for world's best dive coaster. There are elements of both coasters that I like, and if I could combine them both into one coaster, it would crack a lot of top 10 coaster lists. Don't get me wrong, SheiKra is still a great coaster, and converting to floorless trains adds some great visual elements to guests in the front row. We also rode Kumba, which is an excellent and intense looping coaster.

We made our way over to the Brewmaster’s Club at the Hospitality House where our presenter had noted that August Busch III would be in the park today for a tour. Sure enough, while we were enjoying our beverages, in walked Mr. Busch along with Donnie Mills, former Busch Gardens Europe General Manager, now General Manager of Florida Theme Park Operations. Mr. Busch actually had arrived to the park via helicopter, which we noticed parked near Gwazi. It was obvious Mr. Busch was in the park to check out Jungala before its official debut, and for those who aren't aware, Mr. Busch is actually very involved in the theme parks, and helped to develop the Brewmaster’s Club concept for the parks.

We continued our tour through the park, where I grabbed some pictures of Jungala.

The area will feature a number of animal habitats including Bengal tigers, orangutans, gibbons, and flying foxes. Jungala will also have two rides, one called Jungle Flyers, a zip-line attraction for kids between 6 and 13, and Wild Surge, a family-style launch tower ride.

The area will also feature Tree Tops Trail, a 3-story climbing area with cargo nets, tubes, and bridges for families to explore. Jungala will bring guests two new dining options with The Bengal Bistro, an updated version of the old Vivi restaurant, and Orang Cafe, which will feature seasonal entrees, salads, sandwiches, and an expanded kids menu.

From outside the temporary barriers and from the skyride, I was able to catch a glimpse of some of the animals acclimating to their new habitats.

It looks like Jungala will be a vast improvement over the previous animal habitats that used to be in this area, and the additional attractions and exhibits will more than make up for the loss of Python, which was declining in popularity.

As we continued around the park, we noticed that Irish Thunder, a favorite of ours from Busch Gardens Europe, was playing at the Desert Grill, so we made sure to catch the classic show. It was a little different from the version we were used to, but the Desert Grill was certainly not the best place to stage such a popular show. We managed to also catch a training session with the park's Asian elephants.

Being the music nerds we are, we also took some time out of our day to catch Orleans at the Stanleyville Theater. Orleans is not what I would call a headliner, but their three hits, “Dance with Me,” “Love Takes Time,” and “Still the One” are still decent songs, and their set was worth a mid-day break.

We wanted to do something new on this visit since we had visited the park so recently, so we made reservations for the Sundowner Safari before our arrival. The experience is billed as an up-close and personal tour of the Serengeti for adults 21+, in contrast with the Serengeti Safari, which is for anyone over the age of 5. The $40 price tag may seem a bit high, but after finishing our tour, I thought it was worth every penny. Guests go through an abbreviated version of the Brewmaster’s Club before hopping on a truck. Once on the truck, guests are treated to more beer (2 bottles per person) and an amazing experience with the park's giraffes, bongos, and zebras. The heart of the experience is the giraffe feeding where the animals come into the truck- well, their heads and necks at least- to snack on some lettuce provided to guests by the tour guide. These majestic and gentle animals are simply awe-inspiring. It was surely an experience I will never forget.

We finished our day with a walk through the animal exhibits, some rides on Montu, and a final ride on SheiKra. Despite the park being pretty busy, we were able to see and do a lot. All of the rides were operating at or near peak capacity, and we never waited in a line longer than 30 minutes. I was a little bummed that we had just missed out on the opening of Jungala, but it's not going anywhere, and we will most certainly be back to this park in a few years.

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Best Ride in America Tournament: Spidey vs. Pirates semifinal

We will have the first semi-final match-up today, followed the the second tomorrow. And on Monday, the finalists will match up as you, Theme Park Insider readers, vote to select the Best Ride in America.

(1) The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man: Universal's Islands of Adventure

Photo submitted by daniel hutchinson

From the TPI rating and reviews page: "A four-time winner for Best Attraction in the Theme Park Insider Awards, Spidey takes you on an adventure with the web-slinger as he tries to save the city. You ride in a bucking, spinning SCOOP Vehicle-- 3-D glasses night vision on your face -- through 11 scenes, escaping fireballs, 100-story drops and other mayhem."

(4) Pirates of the Caribbean: Disneyland

Photo submitted by Todd Shewchuk

From the TPI rating and reviews page: "Pirates of the Caribbean raised the standards for all theme park dark rides when it opened in 1967, and endures today as the world's best family dark ride, as well as the inspiration for a hit movie trilogy. The popularity of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies has motivated the people at Disneyland to change the ride yet again. Instead of having the attacking pirates look for gold, they are now looking for Capt. Jack Sparrow."

Make your case for your favorite in the comments.... (And for those of you who joined us late, here are the previous votes/comments as well as the tournament bracket.)

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Kings Island turns its Racer around

Kings Island started running one of the Racers backward in the early 1980s. I was a high school student in Indianapolis at the time, and we thought that the idea of a backward coaster was pretty cool. Everyone thought that it was a temporary thing, though, a stunt to make a "new" attraction out of an old one, so I was surprised to discover that the train's been running backward ever since. (Shows you how much attention I've paid to Kings Island since I got out of the Midwest.)

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Best Ride in America Tournament: Indy vs. Tower of Terror semifinal

(2) Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland

Photo submitted by Ryan Lanning

From the TPI reader reviews: "Indiana Jones Adventure is a perfect example of movie re-formatting. The detail is excellent and the effects are very intense thus many children easily get scared in the ride. A must-see attraction in Disneyland, go early in the morning or one hour before the park closes." (Adriel Tjokrosaputro)

(3) Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Photo submitted by Mitchell Sentinella

From the TPI reader reviews: "A perfect example of what Disney does best: take a standard amusement park idea (in this case, a "freefall" style ride) and turn it into a creative tour de force. Simply the best themed attraction at DisneyWorld and one of the most thrilling and unique rides I have ever had the pleasure to experience." (James Rao)

So, let's get to it:

Have at it in the comments.

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It's Spider-Man vs. Tower of Terror

Those were the two finalist in a 64-ride single-elimination tournament here on the site over the past three weeks. Rides were selected and seeded according to their average reader rating on the site, and the top seed, Universal Orlando's Spider-Man, and number three seed, Disney World's Tower of Terror, advanced to the finals.

Voting is open to anyone, and will run for 24 hours, starting Sunday evening.

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Best Ride in America Tournament Final: Spider-Man vs. Tower of Terror

Here are your finalists, with complete Theme Park Insider descriptions, ratings and reviews behind the links:

(1) The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man at Universal's Islands of Adventure

Photo submitted by daniel hutchinson

(3) Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Photo submitted by Mitchell Sentinella

So, let's get it on:

Polls close Monday night. Last chance to sway the undecided, in the comments....

Comments (41) | Archive Link |

Best Ride in America champion: Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World.

Tower of Terror upset the tournament's top seed, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man at Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park. Voting was intense all day, with Tower of Terror jumping out to an early lead. In the late afternoon, Spider-Man closed the gap and pulled ahead, but in the end, Tower of Terror elicited enough votes to recapture the lead and win the title.

"We are very excited that the readers of Theme Park Insider share our enthusiasm and enjoyment of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios," Eric Jacobson, Senior Vice President, Walt Disney Imagineering wrote to TPI in a statement Monday evening. "Disney Imagineers add special effects, change timing sequences and incorporate new story elements in ways that create a new thrill with each experience. This ability, combined with a unique storyline that is equally flexible, enables us to continually reinvent the ride experience and ensures this timeless attraction remains a must-see for many years to come."

That flexibility appears to have been the deciding factor in the tournament's final match-up. Fans cited Tower of Terror's addictive random drop sequences, which reward repeat riders with unique experiences, something that Spider-Man could not match.

Not that readers had anything negative to say about Spider-Man, a four-time winner of the Theme Park Insider Award for world's best attraction. Fans raved about the ride's cutting-edge technology, immersive effects and strong story-telling.

Tower of Terror and Spider-Man were judged the top two rides in the country in a three-week-long tournament, pitting 64 of the country's most popular rides against each other in a series of single-elimination online polls. Rides were selected and seeded based upon their average rating by readers of ThemeParkInsider.com over the past year.

Before the tournament, Theme Park Insider readers were invited to submit their guesses at to what the top four rides would be, as well as their pick as the winner. No one correctly picked the top four, but reader Ryley Hoffman came closest, picking three of the top four, with his fourth pick losing in the quarterfinals. As a result, he is the winner of the $100 prize.

Watch in July for the announcement of the Seventh Annual Theme Park Insider Awards, which will again honor fans' picks for the best theme park, new attraction, theme park restaurant and theme park hotel. In addition, if you've enjoyed voting in the tournament polls, watch Friday for the return of Theme Park Insider's weekly "Vote of the Week."

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's tournament. We look forward to doing this again next year, with many of this summer's crop of new theme park attractions participating!

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Lessons from the 'Best Ride' tournament

1) Parks really need to invest in interactive technology.

I am convinced that the deciding factor in the final match-up between Tower or Terror and Spider-Man was not a Disney vs. Universal conflict, larger attendance at Disney's Hollywood Studios or fatigue with Spider-Man winning so many honors from this site over the years. It was the fact that Spider-Man offers the same ride every time one goes on it, and Tower of Terror does not. Tower or Terror's random drop sequences make each ride unique, a strong appeal for the video game generation.

Tomorrow's theme park rides must be unpredictable. As on Buzz Lightyear, Men in Black and the upcoming Toy Story Mania rides, readers should be rewarded for riding again and again, with a different experience each time. Tower of Terror achieves its unpredictability in a different way than those shoot-'em-ups, but the ultimate effect is the same. Ride again, and you'll have a different experience than last time. That's part of the appeal of playing a video game in lieu of re-watching a movie. It's also part of the appeal of any live performance (no two SeaWorld shows are exactly alike).

Want to attract kids raised on the unpredictability of video games? Want those kids to keep hauling their families to your theme park? You'd better offer them rides that stay fresh after multiple visits.

2) Leave the children's rides out of the tournament

As I explained in an earlier comment, a "best ride" tournament that includes all types of rides, from roller coasters to flume to dark rides, is going to have some mismatches. Especially in the early rounds. But I could avoided a couple turkeys had I left rides that appeal solely to young children out of the draw.

I'd already decided to exclude shows from the tournament (making it a 'best ride' contest instead of a 'best attraction' one). Some children's ride, such as Dumbo, got into the draw based on their relatively strong reader ratings and large number of reviews. Those ratings were based on parents' assessment of how those rides entertained their young children, as they should have been. But the simplicity and elegance that makes top children's rides so much fun for toddlers and early elementary kids makes them boring and often inappropriate for older kids and grown-ups who are not just riding along with a younger pal.

When we do this tournament again, I will make an additional effort to leave those rides out. Which, will clear the way for...

3) Use discretion to admit more "wild card" candidates

Curse of DarKastle should have been in this tournament. So should have Universal Hollywood's Backlot Tour. A handful of really engaging rides, that had not gotten a minimum number of votes or who got beaten out by higher-rated kiddie rides, did not make the cut for the final 64. Next year, I plan to take a closer look at the rides in the bottom quarter of the draw, and to use my editorial judgment to exclude some of them should I feel another ride is more deserving of inclusion in the tournament.

I'll also reserve the right to reorder to bottom half of the draw to create better first-round match-ups. Remember, top seeded rides deserve to face lower seeded ones, and in the first round, that's going to mean some mismatches. And I'd rather have the mismatches early, rather than create a roller coaster bracket, a flume ride bracket and a dark ride bracket, which simply would postpone the mismatches to the later rounds.

But I could have shifted a few match-ups around to make for more engaging battles in round one. Adding a few overlooked rides into the mix will help me to do that.

4) We need more ratings for parks outside the U.S.

Disneyland Paris' Space Mountain: Mission 2 should have been in this tournament. Its reader rating on the site would have placed in the top half of the draw. But I thought the ride would have been at a huge disadvantage as the only ride outside the U.S. in the tournament. Many readers were not comfortable voting on match-ups where they had not ridden both rides. So to help make the match-ups reasonable for those readers, I decided to limit the initial tournament to U.S. rides.

Ideally, though, I would love for this to be a 'Best Ride in the World' tournament. For that, though, we need to have more ratings and reviews submitted for rides at parks outside the U.S. As a website written in English, we've limited ourselves to non-U.S. parks that attract a substantial English-speaking audience. And that's not likely to change. But we could get more input from folks in Europe, and maybe even Japan, on the Disney, Tussauds and Universal parks there. The more international visitors we get on TPI, the more inclusive our tournaments can be.

And yes, I used the plural there. I am mulling ideas for additional tournaments, as well as additional efforts I can make to get more readers involved in contributing content to the site. Remember, we have a trip report contest this month for anyone visiting the new Hard Rock Park. I'd also like to elicit more thoughtful essays from readers about their park experiences.

The idea for this tournament came from a reader. So I'd like to ask you to suggest whatever you'd like to us do on the site to make this a more fun, engaging and informative place to visit. Thanks again.

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Bigwigs always have skipped the lines

The technology may have changed, but the practice is nothing new. When I worked at Disney World, every week I saw some VIP - including actors, musicians and government officials - being escorted past queues and on to attractions. We used to call it "back-dooring" the ride.

I remember some of the women I worked with at Thunder Mountain playing with a young Alexa Ray Joel on the grassy hill behind the queue while her dad, Billy, and his band rode the coaster. My sister almost gotten taken down by a Secret Service member when she told former President Jimmy Carter (whom she did not recognize) to get behind the ropes when she was clearing the parade route.

My favorite incident? When a confused and embarrassed guest services tour guide approached me at Pirates, asking for help because she's gotten lost in the queue trying to backdoor her VIP into the ride. (It was during the late parade and there was no line to skip.) I followed her through the queue to where she had left her VIP, and there we found, sitting quietly, former mayor of Paris and future French President Jacques Chirac (whom I did immediately recognize. Take that, Sis!)

That was the way folks used to skip the line, under escort of a Disney tour guide. (Walt himself being the original host to do this at Disneyland.) With the FastPasses, now VIPs can blow through the parks without Disney having to pay for the guide to show them around. Which, presumably, could allow Disney to extend the perk to more people.

Is it unfair for government officials, many of whom make decisions about laws and regulations affecting the Mouse, to get preferred treatment in the parks? Sure, but let's get real. Businesses have been handing out freebies, perks and deals to officials for years. Because Disney does not charge for FastPasses, though, these perks have no monetary value and do not have to be declared as gifts. (Unlike, for example, free admission into the park, which Disney also provides VIPs from time to time.)

Of course, the easiest way for Joe Schmo to get the same, no-wait treatment is to arrive at the park at its opening in the morning. Plus, there's the added bonus of no politicians in the park at that hour. It's waaay too early for them. ;-)

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Universal Studios Japan announces new official hotel

Archive Link |

Vote of the week: How many parks did you visit?

Which... inspired me to ask this particular question for the vote of the week:

Granted, an Orlando trip allows someone to knock off seven parks in one go (we're not counting water parks here). And keep in mind that we're just asking for the past 12 months here, not how many parks you've visited all time.

Tell us where you've been, in the comments.

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The four-hour theme park time limit (A Disneyland trip report)

1. Buy your tickets online and print them at home. You take the ticket print-outs directly to the entrance gate, where the attendant will scan them and hand you regular Disneyland tickets in exchange. These are the tickets that you can use in FastPass machines and for reentry into the park. Knocks off at least 20 minutes in line at the ticket booths, and allows you to decide on the right ticket, at home, with no pressure.

2. Avoid driving on Interstate 5, at all costs. We took the 210 east from Pasadena, to the south 57, then cut over to the park via Ball Road. It's a longer route, in distance, but took only five minutes longer than I-5 route would have taken... had there been no traffic. Which is not something that happens at 8 in the morning on a Friday in L.A. I'm guessing we saved 15-20 minutes by the end run around the 5.

3. Stick to a four-hour time limit. This is my new rule for visiting theme parks. I've been following it subconsciously for years, actually, but haven't bothered to articulate it before now.

Four hours is the time, I've found, that a family can spend together in a theme park before fatigue (physical or emotional) sets in. At the four-hour mark, it's time to get out, go someplace else, and either call it a day, or chill for at least six hours before returning to the park. Staying longer than that puts the group at risk for someone melting down. (With a toddler, knock an hour off the limit.)

Maybe newbies can let their adrenaline carry them through a "Special Forces"-style 12-hour assault on a theme park. I'll pass. I'd rather enjoy every moment of my time in the park, getting my money's worth from each minute, than suffer another family breakdown while tired people argue about what second-tier attraction to kill time with next.

Today, the plan was to do Finding Nemo, Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain. Then mess around taking pictures in front of the castle, go to Downtown Disney for lunch... and go home. We got into the park at quarter 'til nine and were out by 12:45. Five great rides (plus a repeat trip on Buzz, thanks to FastPass, and a trip down Main Street on a horse-drawn trolley) in four hours on a day when the park was open from 8 am to midnight (meaning it was a *crowded* day), with no hassle and no conflicts over what to do.

If we'd gotten out rears on the road earlier, we could have cut our wait time on Nemo and squeezed in a visit to Tom Sawyer Island as well. And if I had made this an overnight visit, we would have returned to the park from a hotel after dinner to hit two more rides (probably Matterhorn and another go on Buzz), then to watch the fireworks or Fantasmic.

Now, you might argue that $66 for an adult ticket for four hours in a theme park ain't a great deal. Well, we bought the SoCal resident 2fer ticket, so our $66 gets us an additional (yep, four-hour) day at California Adventure within the next 30 days. So we'll hit ToT, Monsters Inc., Aladdin, Grizzly River, and, for old times' sake, Jumpin' Jellyfish. We might try the Trattoria for lunch, or head back to Brennan's. And I'll take a slew of construction photos for the site.

With the two park visits, it's a reasonable deal, with no stress and plenty of relaxed enjoyment all around. So that's the key: Find a ticket package or discount that allows you feel comfortable with the four-hour daily time limit, and not frustrated that you're spending too much money for that amount of time in the park.

Here are a few pics from the park:

My final tip? Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney. Great food, much better than in the parks themselves, and I've never had a wait to get in. It's not cheap, but the high quality makes it a great value, in my experience.

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Introducing the 'Four Hour' theme park tour plans

How good a deal is your vacation if no one enjoys it? Starting tomorrow, and for the next 10 days, I'll be posting on the Theme Park Insider home page a new tour plan for a different park. These plans will include instructions on how to see each park's top attractions, before lunch and with minimal wait time for each.

Now, these tips might not be new to veteran TPI readers. But this provides an easy way for new readers and trip-planning rookies to cut through all the conflicting advice from various guidebooks and websites, so that they can relax and actually enjoy their vacations.

I hope that long-time TPI readers, and other park experts will add their favorite tips in the comments section for each plan. (I might also revise the plans themselves based on the comments each receives, as well as if attraction line-ups change.)

Here is the publication schedule:

• Epcot, April 15
• Disney's Hollywood Studios, April 16
• Disney's Animal Kingdom, April 17
• Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom, April 18
• SeaWorld Orlando, April 19

• Universal's Islands of Adventure, April 21
• Universal Studios Florida, April 22
• Universal Studios Hollywood, April 23
• Disney's California Adventure, April 24
• Disneyland, April 25

As for other parks, I'd love to hear from TPI readers who live near parks such as Cedar Point, Busch Gardens Europe and would like to submit their "four-hour plans" for those parks. Just e-mail me, using the link on the bottom of the page.

Comments (1) | Archive Link |

Six Flags scraps plans for Dark Knight coaster in New England

Almost two months after local officials ordered construction to stop after a permit snafu, Six Flags has announced that it will not go ahead with the announced "Dark Knight Coaster" project. Work that has been completed on the project will be dismantled.

Six Flags officials in a press release cited an inability to get the coaster finished by its planned Memorial Day opening as a reason for canceling the project.

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The Four Hour Tour: Epcot

Epcot, Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida. [Map]

Theme Park Insider's "Four-Hour Tours" are designed to get you and your family to the top attractions in the world's top theme parks... before anyone can get tired and cranky. The attractions and restaurants selected for this tour are those in Epcot most highly rated by Theme Park Insider readers.

When to go: Epcot is one of four theme parks in the Walt Disney World Resort, located south of Orlando, Florida. All Disney World theme parks are open 365 days a year, although opening and closing times for each park varies from day-to-day.

In general, if you are traveling without kids, try to visit on a school day to avoid the largest crowds. If you need to visit during a school vacation, try to visit Epcot earlier in the week, as most visitors go to the Magic Kingdom first when visiting Walt Disney World.

If you are not staying at a Disney World hotel, avoid visiting parks on their Extra Magic Hours days, as Disney's hotel guests get into those parks early on those days, inflating wait times for visitors who arrive at the park's normal opening time.

Before you go: Buy your Walt Disney World tickets online at Disney World's website. For advice on picking the right ticket, see our guide to Disney World tickets, keeping in mind that for the Four-Hour Tour, you will *not* need the park-hopper option.

A large part of Epcot's appeal is its many wonderful full-service restaurants. Due to the popularity of Disney's Dining Plan, getting reservations at the more popular Epcot restaurants can be difficult, so we recommend that you call 1-407-WDW-DINE up to six months before the day of your visit to make your reservations.

When you get there: Epcot is divided into two parks, Future World and World Showcase. So we've divided the tour into two parts, as well. The morning tour will cover Future World and the evening tour covers World Showcase. (This matches the operating hours for the two sections of the park, which tend to be staggered - Future World opens and closes earlier in the day, and World Showcase opens and closes later.)

Because we've split the tour for this park, each part will be shorter than the normal four hours.

The Morning

As with all of our Four-Hour Tours, you must arrive at the front gate before the park opens in the morning, which typically is at 9am. When the gates open, walk to the right of the massive Spaceship Earth geosphere that dominates the park's entrance plaza and proceed toward The Land pavilion and the Soarin' ride.

1. You will be getting FastPasses, which are Disney's ride reservation tickets, for everyone in your group. That will allow you to return to Soarin' later in the morning without having to wait in a longer stand-by queue.

2. Once you have gotten your FastPasses, cut across Future World to your first ride of the day, Test Track.

3. After riding Test Track, walk next door to Mission: Space.

4. Next, head back to the entrance plaza for a ride on Spaceship Earth.

5. Then return to The Land pavilion and your final ride, Soarin'. Go to the FastPass return line, which will allow you to skip what will now be a substantial stand-by line.

6. Lunchtime! We recommend the Coral Reef Restaurant, located in The Seas with Nemo and Friends pavilion, next door to The Land. Since you should be able to complete the morning tour for Epcot in less than four hours, we suggest trying to get reservations for noon, assuming a 9am opening.

After lunch, you're free for the rest of the afternoon. Head back to the hotel for a nap or swim, or wander the park exploring some of the other attractions not on the tour.

The Evening

If you can get away with it, try to use the "International Gateway" entrance to Epcot, located next to the Yacht and Beach Club hotels. That entrance puts you right into the World Showcase section of the park, without having to walk through Future World. If you are staying at a Disney World hotel, you can take a resort bus to the Yacht and Beach clubs, then walk to the International Gateway entrance from there. If you are driving, you can try to park at one of the Epcot area hotels, also including the Dolphin, Swan and Boardwalk hotels, though that's not always possible.

If not, though, no worries, you'll just have a longer walk through Future World from the main Epcot parking lot.

1. Start your evening with dinner reservations at the Le Cellier Restaurant in the Canada pavilion. We suggest a 6pm reservation. (If you can't get that, go a little earlier rather than later, especially if you are visiting during a busy time of year.)

2. After dinner, walk over to the France pavilion for a showing of Impressions de France.

3. Next, it's off to U.S. pavilion for The American Adventure.

4. Finish the day with the nightly performance of Epcot's Illuminations, a laser and fireworks show that takes place over and around the World Showcase lagoon.

And... you're done!

The next tour: Disney's Hollywood Studios, posted on April 16.

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Opening date for The Simpsons Ride is set at USF

This is awesome, considering I was at Universal on Sunday and an employee said that they had no clue when the attraction would be open.

[Editor's note: Got a phone call yesterday from Universal Orlando with the media preview dates for the ride, so I can confirm the public opening date will be the 15th. Sorry I didn't get that posted yesterday; between tax day, my teaching day and the first "Four Hour Tour" post, I was swamped. - Robert]

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The Four Hour Tour: Disney's Hollywood Studios

Theme Park Insider's "Four-Hour Tours" are designed to get you and your family to the top attractions in the world's top theme parks... before anyone can get tired and cranky. The attractions and restaurants selected for this tour are those in Disney's Hollywood Studios most highly rated by Theme Park Insider readers.

When to go: Up until this year, Disney's Hollywood Studios was known as the Disney-MGM Studio Theme Park. It was the third theme park to open in the Walt Disney World Resort, in 1989. All Disney World theme parks are open 365 days a year, although opening and closing times for each park varies from day-to-day. If you are traveling without kids, try to visit on a school day to avoid the largest crowds. If you need to visit during a school vacation, try at least to avoid the week between Christmas and New Year's and the Fourth of July.

If you are not staying at a Disney World hotel, avoid visiting parks on their Extra Magic Hours days, as Disney's hotel guests get into those parks early on those days, inflating wait times for visitors who arrive at the park's normal opening time.

Before you go: Buy your Walt Disney World tickets online at Disney World's website. For advice on picking the right ticket, see our guide to Disney World tickets, keeping in mind that for the Four-Hour Tour, you will *not* need the park-hopper option.

You will also need to call in advance to make lunch and dinner reservations. Disney accepts reservations, via 1-407-WDW-DINE, up to 180 days in advance. Times do go quickly, so call early.

When you get there: Plan to arrive at the park's front gate before the park opens in the morning, leaving yourself time to park and either walk or take a tram to the front gate. You can check the park's opening time via Disney World's website.

1. Disney's Hollywood Studios will open its new Toy Story Mania! ride in May, so if you are visiting after then, head up to Pixar Place and make that your first stop, as it is sure to be highly popular.

2. After riding Toy Story Mania!, if it is open, head back to Sunset Boulevard and get FastPasses (Disney's ride reservation tickets) for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

3. Then walk next door to Rock n' Roller Coaster and ride that.

4. Return to Tower of Terror, and if your FastPass return time has arrived, use the FastPasses return queue to skip the stand-by line. If not, go ahead and wait in the stand-by line, then use your FastPasses to ride Tower of Terror a second time, without waiting. Tower of Terror won Theme Park Insider's inaugural Best Ride in America Tournament and features a random drop sequence that makes each ride unique, making this attraction worth a second ride.

5. After Tower of Terror, walk across the park to Star Tours, for your final ride of the morning.

6. Then it's lunchtime! Double back to the Hollywood Brown Derby, in time for your lunch reservations. (We suggest making the reservations for between 12 and 1pm.)

In the evening...

Theme Park Insider readers highly recommend the Studios' night-time show, Fantasmic! You can make dinner reservations at Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano that include priority seating for Fantasmic!, which is a nice way to wrap up the day with no waiting. Call the Disney dining number above in advance and ask for the Fantasmic seating at Mama Melrose's, while you are setting your Brown Derby lunch time.

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The Four Hour Tour: Disney's Animal Kingdom

Theme Park Insider's "Four-Hour Tours" are designed to get you and your family to the top attractions in the world's top theme parks... before anyone can get tired and cranky. The attractions and restaurants selected for this tour are those most highly rated by Theme Park Insider readers.

When to go: Disney's Animal Kingdom is the newest of the four Walt Disney World theme parks. Like the others, it is open 365 days a year, although opening and closing times vary. If you are traveling without kids, try to visit on a school day to avoid the largest crowds. If you need to visit during a school vacation, try at least to avoid the week between Christmas and New Year's and the Fourth of July.

If you are not staying at a Disney World hotel, avoid visiting Animal Kingdom on its Extra Magic Hours days, as Disney's hotel guests get into those parks early on those days, inflating wait times for visitors who arrive at the park's normal opening time.

Before you go: Buy your Walt Disney World tickets online at Disney World's website. For advice on picking the right ticket, see our guide to Disney World tickets, keeping in mind that for the Four-Hour Tour, you will *not* need the park-hopper option.

When you get there: Plan to arrive at the park's front gate before the park opens in the morning, leaving yourself time to park and either walk or take a tram from the parking lot to the front gate. You can check Animal Kingdom's opening time via Disney World's website.

1. Turn right when you reach the Tree of Life and head into the park's Asia section, where you will start your day with a ride on Expedition Everest.

2. After Everest, head back through Asia and into the Africa section of the park, for a trip on Kilimanjaro Safaris.

3. Head back across the Discovery River into the Camp Minnie-Mickey section of the park and get in line for the next Festival of the Lion King show.

4. After watching Lion King, cut back past the Tree of Life to Dinoland USA. Here, you have decision to make. If you have one hour or less before the next performance of Finding Nemo - The Musical, quickly detour over to Dinosaur to pick up Fastpasses, Disney's rider reservation tickets, for that ride, then go back and wait for Nemo. If the next Nemo performance is more than one hour away, and the wait is less 45 minutes for Dinosaur, ride Dinosaur now.

5. If you saw Nemo first, now use your Fastpass to skip the stand-by line and ride Dinosaur. If you rode Dinosaur already, now is time for Finding Nemo.

6. Lunchtime. Neither of Animal Kingdom's two table service restaurants, Yak & Yeti nor the Rainforest Cafe, have earned an enthusiastic rating from Theme Park Insider readers. Therefore, we recommend that you choose instead to eat at Downtown Disney if you want a sit-down lunch. If folks in your group are hungry right now, though, TPI readers do recommend the counter-service Flame Tree Barbecue.

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Magic Mountain drops tunnels from X2

Brady MacDonald at latimes.com reports that the Valencia, California park has dropped plans for tunnels on the new ride, though it still will add some special effects and music to the former X roller coaster.

X2 is slated to open May 24.

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The Four Hour Tour: Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom

Theme Park Insider's "Four-Hour Tours" are designed to get you and your family to the top attractions in the world's top theme parks... before anyone can get tired and cranky. The attractions and restaurants selected for this tour are those most highly rated by Theme Park Insider readers.

When to go: The Magic Kingdom was the first theme park at Walt Disney World, opening in 1971. All Disney World theme parks are open 365 days a year, although opening and closing times for each park varies from day-to-day. If you are traveling without kids, try to visit on a school day to avoid the largest crowds. If you need to visit during a school vacation, try at least to avoid the week between Christmas and New Year's and the Fourth of July.

If you are not staying at a Disney World hotel, avoid visiting the Magic Kingdom on its Extra Magic Hours days, as Disney's hotel guests get into the park early on those days, inflating wait times for visitors who arrive at the Magic Kingdom's normal opening time.

Before you go: Buy your Walt Disney World tickets online at Disney World's website. For advice on picking the right ticket, see our guide to Disney World tickets, keeping in mind that for the Four-Hour Tour, you will *not* need the park-hopper option.

You will also need to call in advance to make lunch and/or dinner reservations. Disney accepts reservations, via 1-407-WDW-DINE, up to 180 days in advance. Times do go quickly, so you should call six months to the day before your trip to secure a lunch reservation in the castle. We recommend a 1pm seating at Cinderella's Royal Table for this tour. If you can't get a time near that at Cindy's, ask for the Liberty Tree Tavern instead.

When you get there: Plan to arrive at the Magic Kingdom's front gate before the park opens in the morning. You can check the Magic Kingdom's opening time via Disney World's website.

Keep in mind that to reach the Magic Kingdom, you must park at Disney World's Transportation and Ticket Center parking lot, ride at tram to the TTC, then take a monorail or ferry boat across the Seven Seas Lagoon to the Magic Kingdom. It makes for a dramatic approach, but takes extra time. Give yourself an extra hour in the summer and half-hour during the school year.

1. Proceed to the end of the Main Street, nearest the castle, for the rope drop at park opening. Head left and cross the Adventureland bridge on your way to Splash Mountain, where you will pick up Fastpasses, Disney's ride reservation tickets, for everyone in your group. (Save a couple minutes by cutting through the Adventureland breezeway, opposite the Swiss Family Treehouse, into Frontierland, where you then can make a quick left toward Splash.)

2. Fastpasses in hand, head up the hill and ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, your first ride of the day.

3. After riding Thunder, use your Fastpasses to ride Splash Mountain. (If your Fastpass return time has not arrived yet, swap steps 2 and 3 and do Pirates now, followed by Splash.)

4. Head back into Adventureland for a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean.

5. Walk back through Frontierland to Liberty Square, where you next will ride the Haunted Mansion.

6. From there, head through the breezeway into Fantasyland, for the next showing of Mickey's PhilharMagic.

7. Continue around the park and into Tomorrowland. At this point, you have a decision to make.

If you are interested in riding Space Mountain, and a Fastpass return time is available for more than 20 minutes before your lunch reservation time, go ahead and pick up Fastpasses for Space Mountain. Otherwise pick up Fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin instead.

8. Either way, next head to Monsters, Inc. Comedy Club show.

9. After the show, it's on to Buzz Lightyear, followed by your Fastpass return to Space Mountain, if you chose that option.

10. Head back to the castle for lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table, or to Liberty Square for lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern.

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Vote of the week: Pronouncing 'Caribbean'?

Specifically, over how to pronounce the name of the ride Pirates of the Caribbean.

So we decided... to milk it for a vote of the week!

Defend your choice in the comments, or just jabber about whatever your want....

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The Four Hour Tour: SeaWorld Orlando

Theme Park Insider's "Four-Hour Tours" are designed to get you and your family to the very best attractions in the world's top theme parks... before anyone can get tired and cranky. Please visit our Four-Hour Tour page for an explanation of the concept, as well as links to additional Four-Hour Tours. The attractions and restaurants selected for this tour are those at SeaWorld Orlando most highly rated by Theme Park Insider readers.

Before you go: Avoid the wait at the park's ticket booths by buying your tickets online at SeaWorld's website. If you are planning to visit more than one SeaWorld or Busch Gardens parks in next two years, a Platinum Passport includes admission to all nine Busch-owned theme parks, plus parking and dining discounts, for two years.

(The Platinum Passport also comes with "ride again" privileges for Kraken, Journey to Atlantis and Wild Arctic, allowing a passholder to ride those rides a second time without waiting in line again.)

In addition, this tour plan suggests having the "Backstage at Believe" buffet lunch, which includes saved seats at the park's popular Believe show, starring killer whale icon Shamu. SeaWorld recommends advance reservations for the lunch, which can be made by calling 1-800-327-2424 or via the SeaWorld website.

When you get there: Plan to arrive at the SeaWorld front gate before the park opens. You can check daily operating hours at the SeaWorld website. Be sure to give yourself an extra half-hour after arriving to park and walk to the gate.

1. Once inside, bear left and follow your map and the signs to Kraken, SeaWorld's floorless Bolliger & Mabillard roller coaster that will be your first ride of the day.

2. After a spin on Kraken, walk next door to the combo water ride/roller coaster Journey to Atlantis.

3. Next, head back toward the center of the park (where the big Sky Tower is), bearing left at the penguin exhibit, to make your way over to the Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island show.

4. Now, make your way toward the Believe stadium, stopping next door to it for Wild Arctic, a flight simulator ride followed by a walk-through a simulated arctic environment.

5. You can spend as long as you like watching the animals in the Wild Arctic walk-though, but keep your watch as not to miss your reservation time for the Believe buffet and show, your final stops on this Four-Hour Tour.

After completing the tour plan, relax and enjoy the rest of your day, either back at the hotel for a swim, nap or spa trip, or wandering the park enjoying the various animal exhibits.

In the evening... You might want to return after dark for SeaWorld's highly recommended Mystify! show. If you do, we suggest making a dinner reservation at Sharks Underwater Grill before the show.

[Next up, on Monday: Universal Studios Florida.]

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More details emerge on SeaWorld's Manta

According to the Orlando Sentinel, SeaWorld Inc. has filed an application for "Manta" to be trademarked to be used as "entertainment in the nature of an amusement park ride"
The application was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on March 12.

Today, there was an artist rendering that was leaked out to the public on two theme park fan websites, one of these being IOACentral. The artwork showed a B&M Flying train design in the shape of a manta ray. The vehicles included four riders across laying face down. On the renderings you can see what appears to be a unique splash wave created by the wing touching the water during one of the turns.
If these rumored artist renderings present to be the actual ride, then SeaWorld really has something special.

SeaWorld's vice president of sales and marketing, Joseph Couceiro, said "It's going to have animal components, marine-life components. It will have a very unique, state-of-the-art ride, a roller coaster if you will, that will provide a sensation of gliding" He also said, "The combination of the animals and the ride is what makes it special."

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The Four Hour Tour: Universal Studios Florida

Theme Park Insider's "Four-Hour Tours" are designed to get you and your family to the very best attractions in the world's top theme parks... before anyone can get tired and cranky. That leaves you free to enjoy the rest of your day... with a swim, a nap, or with pressure-free time to wander the park.

Please visit our Four-Hour Tours page for an explanation of the concept, as well as links to additional Four-Hour Tours. The attractions and restaurants selected for this tour are those at Universal Studios Florida most highly rated by Theme Park Insider readers. You may click on the attraction links below to see complete attraction descriptions and reviews.

Before you go: Avoid the wait at the park's ticket booths by buying your tickets online at Universal Orlando's website. If you will be visiting both Universal Studios Florida and its sister park, Universal's Islands of Adventure in the same week, your best value would be with the two-park unlimited ticket. If not, choose the one-park, one-day ticket. Choose the print-at-home option, no matter which ticket you select.

You'll also want to make your lunch reservation before you go. On this tour, we are suggesting lunch at Emeril's in CityWalk, located between the Universal Orlando parking garage and the Universal Studios Florida theme park. Call 1-407-224-2424 a week or two in advance for 1pm reservations on the day of your visit.

Please note that The Simpsons Ride opens to the press on May 15, with a public opening expected the next day. If you are visiting before then, you probably not be able to ride that attraction. If you are visiting within one month of the ride's debut, however, we suggest reversing the order of this tour, starting with The Simpsons Ride, then moving to Men in Black and continuing counter-clockwise around the park. That's due to what is expected to be huge crowds for the new ride.

Also, if you stay on-site at one of the three official Universal Orlando hotels, you get free front-of-the-line access to all rides... which means you should be able to blow through this plan in just a couple of hours.

When you get there: Visitors to both Universal Orlando theme parks park in the same parking garage, then walk through CityWalk on their way into the parks. Give yourself at least half an hour (an hour in the summer) to park and make the walk. Bear right toward Universal Studios Florida front gate. On some mornings, the park might be open early to allow early visitors to ride Jimmy Neutron and Shrek 4-D. If you can on and through one of these before the park's scheduled opening time, go ahead.

1. When the park opens, proceed up the street toward the indoor roller coaster/dark ride, Revenge of the Mummy. Make your way quickly through the queue, but do pay attention to the filmed clips. They help set up the attraction, and a first-time visitor shouldn't rush past and miss them.

2. After leaving the Mummy building, bear left and walk toward Disaster!, an updated and renovated version of the park's "Earthquake" attraction.

3. Keep heading to your left, into the village of Amity, where you'll ride Jaws next.

4. After Jaws, head across the bridge toward the shoot-'em-up dark ride, Men in Black: Alien Attack. (If you are visiting alone, or in a small group, this ride features a single-rider line that can cut your wait time on busy days.)

5. Now its time for Universal's newest attraction, The Simpsons Ride, which opens in mid-May, 2008. If you are familiar with the park, The Simpsons Ride sits in the old "Back to the Future" building.

6. Finally, if you have at least 45 minutes remaining before your lunch reservation, check to see if you have time to catch the next showing of Terminator 2: 3-D Battle Across Time.

7. Head out of the park, getting your hand stamped, and back into CityWalk, for lunch at Emeril's.

After lunch, the rest of the day is yours. Enjoy it by either returning back to your hotel for a swim or a nap, or by returning the park and wandering around, discovering the rest that the park has to offer (or just trying to "win the suit" on Men in Black.)

That evening: It's an extra ticket, but if you're up for it, check out Blue Man Group in their own theater at CityWalk. Or, head back into the park for the light- and fireworks show Universal 360 – A Cinesphere Spectacular.

[Tomorrow: Islands of Adventure.]

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