Theme Park Insider

Let's talk about international theme park travel with Stefan Zwanzger, 'The Theme Park Guy'

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:54:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Theme parks aren't simply an American phenomenon. Some of the most exciting developments in the theme park industry today are happening outside the United States, and few people have witnessed more of what's happening at theme parks around the world than "The Theme Park Guy," Stefan Zwanzger. A native of Germany who now lives in United Arab Emirates, Stefan's been covering theme parks on his website since 2007. I met Stefan in Singapore in late 2011, when we were both covering the debut of Transformers: The Ride. Some of our mutual followers on Twitter asked me to interview Stefan for Theme Park Insider, and I thought that a delightful idea -- well-fitting with my goal of bringing more Americans' attention to what's happening in other great theme parks around the world. We swapped emails over the past few days, and here's our conversation:

Robert: How did you get started writing about theme parks? What motivated you to get involved in this industry?

Stefan: Compared with you, Robert, who has a history with theme parks [I used to work at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom -- Robert], I have a filmmaking and online marketing past. When I started The Theme Park Guy in 2007, I had the rare combination of time and money, so I decided to learn a little, go travel and take a look at all of them. Who wouldn't? It's an ongoing journey, so let's see what it will lead to.

Robert: What were the first parks you visited in 2007, and what about those visits convinced you to continue doing this?

Stefan: The first park I visited was a new themed water park in Bahrain called "Lost Paradise of Dilmun." Exotic, beautiful, and empty. Very motivating. But I took the decision to do what I do after I had re-visited Tokyo DisneySea earlier that year. DisneySea is like Star Wars or Indiana Jones -- when you see those movies, you want to become a filmmaker.

Robert: How many theme parks, on in how many countries, on how many continents, have you visited?

Stefan: I just had to count. Right now I've got 188 theme park visits in 48 countries on the site. Add a few more that I have not mentioned or listed, and the total number will probably be just above 200. But it's really not about the numbers. Sometimes I return to the same park many times, because I can see and feel passion and attention to detail and enjoy spying on their progress.

Robert: So what is it that fascinates you about theme parks?

Stefan: Roller coasters are great fun, but for me nothing rivals a great dark ride. Of course that can be a coaster/dark ride combination, such as The Mummy or Flying Dutchman. Top-notch dark rides with real surprises are very, very rare, though. I am still looking for that perfect ride, and have high hopes for Mystic Manor which I will see next week. If I never find it, though, I'd probably have to get a team together and we'd have to try to create one ourselves.

Robert: So you are visiting Hong Kong Disneyland this week? What other trips do you have planned for the upcoming year, and will you be posting about them on thethemeparkguy.com?

Stefan: I surely will. I don't plan so far in advance, but in the upcoming months I hope to see Vladivostok's brand-new oceanarium, some theme parks in Malaysia and also take a look at the Shanghai Disneyland site again. Another visit to America is also long overdue. While writing this I realize that I have to motivate myself a little to cross the Pacific or Atlantic, so I can understand all those Americans who haven't been to Europe or Asia yet.

Robert: But we should! What are some of the best theme park attractions around the world that American theme park fans are missing if they don't travel beyond the United States? What makes those attractions so good?

Stefan: 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' at DisneySea. It's a brilliant dark ride with great theming and perfect timing. The Mount Prometheus volcano surrounding it, too. Also, DisneySea's uniquely themed Tower of Terror. Tokyo Disneyland's trackless Winnie the Pooh Ride. Japanese customer service, and Japanese Disney fans. Now, American theme park fans also might miss the Jaws Ride, but it's still operating at Universal Studios in Osaka. So you have lots of reasons to visit Japan. Beyond that, the gorgeous landscape surrounding Hong Kong Disneyland, giving it that special extra magic. The ingenious Atlantis resorts and water parks in the Bahamas and the United Arab Emirates, too. And the fastest roller coaster in the world [Formula Rossa at Ferrari World], installed by Intamin in the heart of the Middle East.

Robert: It seems that many of the big theme park announcements we've heard over the past decade (particularly those in the UAE) turned out to be vapor. Of the current proposals for big new parks around the world, which ones are least likely to be built, and which ones can visitors count on happening?

Stefan: You are asking me to predict the future -- that's tough. For example, even though Universal Studios Korea and Universal Studios Dubailand are delayed and, respectively, rot in the desert, I wouldn't rule out that they will be built eventually. The world economy and stock markets really took an impressive dive in the past years. Let me attempt this prediction: all those projects that have been announced prior to 2008, haven't been built yet and won't be restarted within the next five years, i.e. 2018, are probably dead.

Robert: What are some of the best values (relatively, of course) in international theme park travel these days?

Stefan: I just visited India's Adlabs Imagica, which has a ticket price of about US$22, and some great rides, too. That was one of the best values I have experienced so far. I think, in general, most theme parks provide great value when you compare what you pay for flights, hotel stays or fun fairs in which you pay for every single ride.

Robert: Let's talk about one of those expenses -- eating. Which theme park has the best food?

Stefan: Theme park food is a real issue for me. Epcot is an admirable exemption, but apart from that I rarely come across great food, especially outside Disney, Universal and Atlantis. I tend to look for fruits and vegetables, but find burgers and fries, instead. That's terrible, because you could easily lose a kilo or two from walking and running around the park the whole day, but then mess it all up by having a burger lunch and burger dinner in between. Where is the connection between theme parks and junk food? Who came to the conclusion that they are related?

Robert: No kidding. You mentioned Disney and Universal, and I have to say that I enjoyed every meal I ate at the Tokyo Disney Resort even more than I have enjoyed eating at Disney's U.S. theme parks. Another reason to go there! But let's address a concern that some people use an excuse not to travel. Based on your experience, do you see a difference in the safety of theme parks in various countries around the world? Where do you feel most safe, and are there any countries where you worry about your safety in a park or on its rides?

Stefan: In America, Europe, Japan, Korea and Australia, for example, I feel very safe. In countries with a GPD/capita of below US$2000, or in places where men stare, I don't. But why tremble? I ride everything. If I die on a coaster, or better yet, on a dark ride, what a great end!

Robert: (Laughing.) Okay, let's take down some more barriers. What mistakes do "rookie" international travelers make that hurt their enjoyment of traveling, and what should they do to avoid them?

Stefan: Rookie or not, if you REALLY want to travel, travel alone. If you travel with your family, partner, friends, group or you bring any kind of comfort-zone with you, you probably won't grow much through your travels. You just take an expedition out of your living room, with your living room. If you leave everything and everyone at home that defines you as the person you are at home, you will travel and rediscover yourself at the same time.

Robert: Wise advice. And let's not forget that traveling along allows you to take full advantage of single rider lines! Wrapping up here, what's your best argument to encourage theme park fans, especially Americans, to travel more?

Stefan: You are so so lucky. You just need to apply at the post office and get a passport. You have visa-free travel to most of the world's countries, including those with high theme-park density, e.g. Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and the UAE. Africans, Arabs, Indians and Chinese can't travel the way you can. They have to apply for visas to nearly every country in the world, one by one. Traveling is a tragedy for them, sometimes coupled with humiliation. Americans just book a trip online, and off you go.

I know you've got two big oceans on both sides separating you from the all the other continents packed with great theme parks, and that makes travel neither convenient nor cheap. But "Round-the-World" trips can be bought for a few thousand dollars, and you will see everything at once (and come back a different person). Theme park fan or not, if you can afford to travel, but you don't, you will miss incredibly much -- excruciatingly, incredibly much. Don't wait for someone to invite you or to drag you off the couch. (And take a look at themetours.com -- I have posted all my travel tools and experiences there. That might save you a little fortune.)

Robert: I suspect I know what your answer to this question will be, but I will ask it anyway. For an American theme park fan deciding whether to cross the Atlantic and visit Europe, or to cross the Pacific and visit Asia, which direction would you recommend? Where would theme park fans find the higher quality attractions and better value?

Stefan: Definitely Asia. But again, as an American I would take Round-the-World tickets, and do both in one go. The price may not differ much from what you pay for a return trip to Asia or Europe, especially if your itinerary includes several destinations on either continent. I can recall buying a RTW ticket for some $2,400 or less when I lived in London back in 2009. And that included Europe, Asia, Australia and America.

Robert: Thanks, Stefan. I look forward to reading more of your reports, and perhaps running into you again at another theme park premiere somewhere around the world.

This article originally appeared at http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201305/3488/. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this on a personal RSS reader (such as Feedburner) or on http://www.themeparkinsider.com, you are reading a scraper website that has illegally copied and stolen http://www.themeparkinsider.com's content. Please visit http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201305/3488/ for the original version, along with all its comments.

Update from Orlando

Wed, 22 May 2013 01:22:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: ORLANDO -- I'm in Central Florida this week, mostly cover the opening of Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin at SeaWorld, but I'll be stopping by Walt Disney World during my visit as well (and maybe Universal Orlando -- see below). I'm taking requests -- if you have something in the Orlando theme parks (including Downtown Disney or CityWalk) you'd love to see full-on reviewed here on Theme Park Insider, please let me know in the comments, and I'll see what I can do for you!

We're on our way to SeaWorld! (Photo by TH Creative)

Taking a moment for much more important news, though, the folks at Holiday World are raising money for the American Red Cross to provide relief for the many people who've lost their homes, and more, in the tornado that struck the Oklahoma City area this week. Holiday World's put up a package with admission tickets, VIP pampering and a trunkload of memorabilia. If you'd like the details, and to bid, visit the Holiday World website. The auction's open until next Tuesday.

Returning to Orlando news, NBC's Today Show will be broadcasting from Universal Orlando this week, on Thursday morning. (Remember that NBCUniversal owns, well, NBC and Universal.) It's a lock that the Today Show crew will be promoting Universal Studios Florida's new Transformers ride during the show -- which leads one to wonder: If Matt Laurer gets to ride this week, can a public soft opening be too far away?

Switching focus to Disney, our resident Jungle Cruise advocate, TH Creative, appears on the Jungle Crews podcast this week to share the love for his favorite attraction.

And if you're in the mood to share the love for your favorite Disney attractions, Disney's now joined the late 20th century and begun accepting reader reviews of its attractions on the Walt Disney World website. (Just like you've been able to do here since 1999!) And, yes, even Disney's own website users rate Stitch's Great Escape with lousy reviews. The feature's in Beta now, so we'll have to wait a bit to see what Disney chooses to do with this much more public customer input.

This article originally appeared at http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201305/3489/. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this on a personal RSS reader (such as Feedburner) or on http://www.themeparkinsider.com, you are reading a scraper website that has illegally copied and stolen http://www.themeparkinsider.com's content. Please visit http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201305/3489/ for the original version, along with all its comments.

Spring ticket price increases begin at the Orlando theme parks

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:56:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Universal Orlando over the weekend kicked off what promises to be the latest round of Orlando-area theme park ticket price increases. Universal raised its one-day, one-park base ticket price from $89 to $92, before tax.

Universal is betting that its major construction at Universal Orlando will drive demand for Universal theme park tickets, allowing it to raise prices this week. Photo by TH Creative.

A single-day ticket that gets you into both parks -- Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure -- went up four bucks, from $124 to $128. As before, you can find much better per-day ticket prices on multi-day purchases. On its website, Universal is offering to US and Canadian residents a three-day admission ticket for $146.99 for park-to-park and $125.99 for one-park-a-day access. That puts your per-day admission cost under $50.

History shows that whenever one of the Big Three in Orlando -- Disney, Universal and SeaWorld -- raises prices, at least one of the others follows. So if you're on the fence about buying Walt Disney World or SeaWorld Orlando tickets, you might want to hurry up and do it before those parks match Universal's increase.

This article originally appeared at http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201305/3487/. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this on a personal RSS reader (such as Feedburner) or on http://www.themeparkinsider.com, you are reading a scraper website that has illegally copied and stolen http://www.themeparkinsider.com's content. Please visit http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201305/3487/ for the original version, along with all its comments.

Play your day at Walt Disney World's Epcot

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:04:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Third in our series of trip-planning posts, for visits to the world's top theme parks

Walt Disney envisioned EPCOT as an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, where people would live, work and play in a new urban community, designed for modern efficiency. But he died before his "Florida project" could be completed. Walt's successors at the Walt Disney Company honored his vision with Epcot Center (now, just "Epcot"), a kind of permanent world's fair, with sections devoted to modern scientific and industrial accomplishments (Future World), as well as to the nations of the world (World Showcase).

The iconic Spaceship Earth at Walt Disney World's Epcot

What to do before you go

Epcot was the second of the four Walt Disney World theme parks. Please see our guide to the Magic Kingdom for advice on booking hotels and buying tickets to the Walt Disney World Resort.

Epcot's most popular attraction might be its restaurants. Each of the nations in World Showcase features at least one restaurant, including many table service restaurants that rank among the better theme park restaurants in the world. Getting for Advance Dining Reservations well before your trip is a must when planning a visit to Epcot. Call +1-407-WDW-DINE or visit Disney World's website to book, up to six months in advance of your visit. The toughest table in Epcot is Canada's Le Cellier Steakhouse, but Theme Park Insider readers also give high marks to Teppan Edo and Tokyo Dining in Japan, the Garden Grill in the Land pavilion, and Monsieur Paul in France, a fine-dining restaurant open only for dinner, where the bill can run higher than at any other in-park Disney restaurant in the world. Visit our Epcot listings page for a complete list of restaurants in the park.

Herb-crusted rack of lamb at Monsieur Paul

Visitors on the Disney Dining Plan (often sold as an ad-on with on-property Disney hotel vacation packages) flock to Epcot's restaurants to use their meal credits, due to the relative high quality of the park's restaurants, so call as early as you can to secure tables at the restaurants you want.

With dining bringing in lots of locals, too, Epcot remains open for the same hours pretty much every day of the year: 9am - 9pm. The park offers Extra Magic Hours to Disney hotel guests in the evenings on some days, but that shouldn't discourage you from visiting on those days. Epcot is huge. At 300 acres, it's ~~Disney's largest theme park~~ one of Disney's largest theme parks -- even on busy days, crowds almost never become overbearing.

What to do when you get to Epcot

You'll pay $14 to park in Epcot's immense parking lot. You can ride the monorail over from the Magic Kingdom's Transportation and Ticket Center, but plan to park at Epcot instead, to ensure that you're in place at the park's gate before its 9am opening.

Unique among the Disney World theme parks, Epcot has a second entrance -- called the International Gateway -- located between the United Kingdom and France pavilions in World Showcase, and connected by a walking path to the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts. A boat service also connects the International Gateway entrance to the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park. We don't recommend using the International Gateway entrance first thing in the morning as Epcot doesn't open its World Showcase attractions until 11am, and it's a slow bus ride from that entrance to the Future World attractions at the front of the park.

Epcot has only three attractions that draw any significant wait times during the day -- all in Future World. But the wait times at these three attractions can be massive, so getting them out of the way early is essential.

One of the three, Soarin', is an exact duplicate of Soarin' Over California at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort. If you've been to California Adventure, or are planning a trip, you're better off seeing Soarin' there, as the California original offers a much shorter wait than you'll find in Epcot. The second of the Big Three at Epcot -- Mission: Space -- is a love-it-or-hate-it high-speed centrifuge ride that simulates a space flight to Mars. You'll experience several moments of weightlessness in a tight-fitting, four-person space "capsule" on this ride. If that sounds exciting to you, don't miss this experience. If that sounds like the most dreadful thing you've ever heard, then, by all means, skip this ride. Mission: Space also offers a "Green" side, without the moving capsules (the "Orange" side is the one with the weightlessness), but what's the point of cramming yourself into a tight space for a fake mission to Mars if you're not going to experience the physical thrill? Maybe if you're really into claustrophobia.

Mission: Space

That leaves Test Track, an interactive tour through an automobile design studio, where you help design elements on a car you'll ride through a high-speed test. Disney revamped this attraction in 2012 and it draws lines of several hours in the middle of the day. There is a single-rider line available which can cut your wait to under an hour, or if you hit the line at the right time, perhaps as little as just a few minutes.

If you want to go on just one of these rides, visit it first thing when the park opens at 9. If you want to ride two, grab a Fastpass ride reservation return time for one, then immediately do the other. (We'd suggest getting the Fastpass for Test Track before riding Soarin'.) If you want to ride all three, get a Fastpass for Soarin', then cross Future World to ride Test Track, breaking your party up to use the single rider line if you're visiting on Christmas week or some other very popular day when standby wait times already have exceeded an hour. (If the wait's still under an hour, just keep your group together and go ahead). After riding Test Track, look to see if your return-time window for Soarin' has opened yet. If it has (or is about to), go next door to get Fastpasses for Mission: Space before heading over to Soarin'. If not, and you can't get a Fastpass for Space yet, look to see if you have time to ride it before you have to be back at Soarin'. Worse comes to worst, return to Mission: Space to get a Fastpass for it after riding Soarin'.

Your other must-see attractions in the park are Spaceship Earth (the ride inside the iconic geosphere that looms over Future World), the American Adventure animatronic show in World Showcase, and Impressions de France, the best theme park movie ever made, which plays in the France pavilion. None of these rides attract much more than a 20-minute wait during the day, even during busy periods, so see them at your convenience. Just focus on bagging the Big Three in Future World (or getting Fastpasses to them) before lunch, then plan your way around the park to accommodate your dining reservations. Like we said, it's a big park. You don't want to spend all day criss-crossing it.

If you take advantage of Epcot's abundant shopping, which specialty stores stocking merchandise from each World Showcase country, take advantage of the park's package delivery service if you are staying at Disney hotel, or have Disney hold your packages for pick-up at the park's entrance at the end of the day. Just tell the clerk at the register you'd like to use the package pick-up service. If you want to avoid the hassle of schlepping your souvenirs home altogether, Disney will ship what you buy to your home via UPs or FedEx, for an additional fee.

Where to eat

We covered the table service restaurants above, but if you prefer counter-service meals, Theme Park Insider readers recommend Les Halles Boulangerie and Patisserie in France, Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe in Norway and the Yorkshire County Fish Shop in the United Kingdom. (Click through on those links for fuller descriptions, photos and readers' reviews.)

If you'll be visiting during the spring or fall months, consider skipping the park's restaurants and instead "eating around the world" at the many food stands the park sets up for its Flower & Garden (in the spring) and Food & Wine (in the fall) festivals. You'll find a wide variety of international specialities from the various countries in World Showcase during these weeks-long events. You'll also find many chef's demonstrations and special dinners available during the Food & Wine Festival, which helps make the previously sleepy weeks in the park between September and November alive with foodie Disney fans from around the world.

Foolhardy Epcot visitors might also try to "drink around the world" at World Showcase's abundant bars, pubs and drink stands, but at theme park prices, that's a struggle to see which will pass out first -- you, or your credit card's limit.

Nighttime entertainment

Epcot closes its day with IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, a light and fireworks show that plays on and around the World Showcase Lagoon. Even though you can see the show from just about anywhere in World Showcase, you'll want to stake out a place before showtime to secure the best views. Plop down and grab a space around the World Showcase lagoon where you can see as much of the lagoon and Spaceship Earth as possible. You might need to claim your space up to three hours before show time on busy days, or up to an hour early on "normal" days. Or you can plan to eat at one of the waterside restaurants that offer IllumiNations viewing, which are the Rose and Crown Pub in the United Kingdom and La Hacienda de San Angel in Mexico.

What's next at Epcot?

A new Moroccan restaurant, Spice Road Table, will open waterside later in 2013. That's it.

We will update this entry, based on reader feedback in the comments. If you have a suggestion for this page, please use the comment section below to let us know. Thank you!

Next week: Disney's Animal Kingdom

Previously:

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Vote of the week: What's the top animated franchise you want to see in a theme park?

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:16:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Yesterday's opening of the new Madagascar stage show at Busch Gardens Tampa surprised a few readers who hadn't heard the news that Universal no longer holds the rights to use all the DreamWorks Animation characters in its United States theme parks. Universal and DreamWorks did not renew that licensing deal, though Universal has re-upped for the theme park rights to the Shrek franchise.

From the Shrek land at Universal Studios Singapore: Go home, Gingy, you're drunk.

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment then signed for the U.S. theme park rights to the Madagascar characters, setting the stage for the new production in Tampa this week. Another production of the same show will debut at sister park SeaWorld San Diego next month. Character meals and meet-and-greets are on the way, too.

These deals apply only in the United States, though. A trip abroad can blow the mind of any American theme park fan who's gotten used to seeing certain characters in certain parks. Merlin Entertainments has had the rights to use the Madagascar characters in its parks in Europe. And Universal retains the rights to these DreamWorks characters for its park in Singapore, where Universal's built entire lands devoted to Shrek and Madagascar. Universal also holds the rights to use the Sesame Street and Peanuts characters in its Asian theme parks, where SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and Cedar Fair don't have a presence.

The "Madagascar: A Crate Adventure" ride from Universal Studios Singapore

Licensing rights are multi-million-dollar deals for film studios that don't have their own theme parks, and for parks looking to expand beyond their own intellectual property. Market leader Disney's long relied on its in-house collection of animation franchises to populate its parks. And Universal's going all-in with its own Despicable Me franchise, building a new attraction and Super Silly Fun Land area at Universal Studios Hollywood, to complement the existing Despicable Me ride in Florida. But before Gru and the Minions came along, Universal had to rely on licensing deals, including DreamWorks, Nickelodeon, and Jay Ward characters.

But these licensing deals pay off for theme parks only when they move people to visit. Of the top movie animation franchises out there today, which is the one that would most influence you to visit a particular theme park, if it featured those characters? We'll make this our vote of the week. We're looking only at feature film animation franchises not developed by Disney or Universal. For our five selections, I've included four of the top-grossing animated film franchise, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, along with an up-and-coming franchise that promises to be the next into the top five, based on the success of its first film (of three now planned).

Obviously, the number-one grossing franchise, Shrek, already is in several Universal theme parks. But consider both existing attractions and the potential for future rides and shows when casting your vote. Or, if that's too complicated, let's just make this easier: Which franchise's characters would you most want to take a photo with in a meet-and-greet?

Please tell us in the comments how you'd like to see theme park use some of these franchises. And, as always, thank you for reading Theme Park Insider!

This article originally appeared at http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201305/3485/. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this on a personal RSS reader (such as Feedburner) or on http://www.themeparkinsider.com, you are reading a scraper website that has illegally copied and stolen http://www.themeparkinsider.com's content. Please visit http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201305/3485/ for the original version, along with all its comments.

Madagascar Live! Operation: Vacation debuts at Busch Gardens Tampa

Fri, 17 May 2013 01:46:00 GMT

By TH Creative: Busch Gardens Tampa's Stanleyville Theater will be bursting with thermonuclear "tween" energy when the park premieres its newest live stage show Madagascar Live! Operation: Vacation on May 18th. Backed by a live band and a cadre of fresh-faced dancers, the production features characters from the popular DreamWorks Madagascar franchise.

Busch Gardens' Park President Jim Dean poses with his newest star Alex the Lion.

While the park's May 16th media event unveiled the show for the press, Busch Gardens' marketing team wisely packed the theater with a boisterous crowd of elementary school students who were ready to sing and dance with a familiar collection of Madagascar characters. Live on stage to lead the charge were Alex the Lion and Gloria the Hippo, as well as Skipper and his team of penguins � although the loudest squeals were reserved for the Lemur King Julian.

While the show's premise was a bit thin (the vacationing characters must cheer-up Gloria who misses her friends Marty the zebra and Melman the giraffe -- both of whom are absent from the production), the re-designed theater, music, dancers and gorgeous character costumes were more than enough to bring the younger crowd to their feet.

Julian, King of the Lemurs, welcomes his demographic... er, "subjects."

Clearly the jungle setting featured in the film fits nicely with Busch Gardens' theme. Park President Jim Dean expressed enthusiasm about the partnership with the DreamWorks films, noting that the Madagascar films "in particular complement our brand."

Vice President of Entertainment Nancy Hutson reported that the characters presence will extend beyond the Stanleyville Theater. Park meet-and-greets as well as character dining is planned.

While "Madagascar Live! Operation: Vacation" will be most popular with the tweener set that turned the film franchise into a billion-dollar enterprise, Associate Marketing Manager Kelly Heckinger correctly points out that the films' humor and charm "work on many levels with adults as well as kids."

Another production of the show will debut at sister park SeaWorld San Diego in June.

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Look east -- far east -- for Disney's best response to Harry Potter

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:19:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: With all the attention we've paid to Universal's Harry Potter over the past weeks/months/years, let's not overlook a potentially enthralling theme park franchise that rival Disney has started to develop -- one that's far from realizing its immense potential to engage theme park fans.

I'm not talking about Princesses. Or Avatar. Or even Star Wars. I'm talking about a Disney theme park franchise that the company has yet to introduce to its American theme park fans.

It's the Society of Explorers and Adventurers.

We first heard of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers at Tokyo DisneySea, where the group (take a moment to figure out its acronym�) plays prominent roles in several attractions inside the park. The Society makes its headquarters in the park's Fortress Explorations Citadel, which also serves as home to Magellan's restaurant, which one can consider the official Society dining room.

The headquarters of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, at Tokyo DisneySea

But the Citadel's not the only Society presence in the Tokyo park. DisneySea's Tower of Terror attraction focuses on Society member Harrison Hightower, a world explorer and antiques collector whose arrogance an contempt toward the ancient cultures he seeks becomes his undoing.

And there we find the conflict that animates this wonderful narrative. In Fortress Explorations, we see how the Society inspires visitors with the wonder of scientific discovery. But in Tower of Terror, we see the dark side of global exploration, when the greedy drive it toward exploitation of native people and their cultures instead.

Disney's not left the Society in Tokyo. This month, Disney opened Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland, and in it, introduced us to another Society member, Henry Mystic. Mystic's not as overtly evil as Hightower. If anything, Mystic's sin seems more of benign neglect -- failing to properly control his monkey assistant, Albert, who unleashes the potentially destructive magic of Mystic's artifact collection during our visit to the Manor.

Great narratives, such as J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, expose us to seemingly limitless new worlds of characters and conflicts, which echo archetypical stories from our cultural past. Potter reflects traditional coming of age tales as well as a classic Christ fable. (Harry dies to protect his people, and then is resurrected, all surrounding a chapter called King's Cross. C'mon, Rowling's just beating us over the head with it at that point, isn't she?)

With its conflicts in Tower of Terror and Mystic Manor, Disney's Society of Explorers and Adventurers' narrative echoes epic tales of discovery and of conflict between civilizations at first contact. And it does so while introducing notes of the supernatural, an archetypal element that's driven stories since the beginning of time. This isn't a single narrative driving a single attraction. It's an epic tableau, with the potential to drive a limitless number of attractions around the world.

What Disney has created so far tantalizes visitors with the suggestion of many more members of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, with epically engaging conflicts of their own, all as yet to be discovered by us. By doing so, Disney's created space in its as-yet under-developed Society narrative for our own imaginations to fill in, further engaging us in the story. True interactivity isn't simply triggering a special effect. It's causing us to become emotionally and intellectually engaged in a narrative, helping to craft and move it along, even if we're the only ones who see it happen.

Click for a larger version of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers' headquarters map

Disney's accomplished that grand task with the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. It's driven me to rethink my own budget, to start stashing cash to pay for future trips to Tokyo and Hong Kong, where I again can be with these intriguing characters. And it's making me long for Disney to further develop the story of the Society, and to bring it to an American audience, which, I am certain, will embrace and cherish the Society as much as I have.

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Expect 'NextGen'-style animation and interactivity in Universal's Diagon Alley

Tue, 14 May 2013 20:34:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: The leaks keep on coming from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter -- Diagon Alley, now under construction at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando. We told you in December 2011 about the Gringotts coaster that will provide the centerpiece of the new land, and in March of this year we described about the various shops and restaurants you'll find when Universal Orlando's second Harry Potter land, which opens in the summer of 2014.

Now, we're hearing more about the various atmospheric details that will distinguish this new land.

You've likely heard of Disney's "NextGen" initiative, which, among other things, includes the installation of new animation and interactive elements in queues and other public spaces in Walt Disney World's theme parks. Well, Universal's creative team is raising the stakes with a similar initiative of its own inside the new Wizarding World.

Universal's pushing the intersection of technology and stagecraft with its development of these features, which, if successful, will help make Diagon Alley the most convincing and immersive themed environment ever created in a theme park. If Universal pulls off what it has planned, as one insider told me, Disney's NextGen will be several generations behind Universal's.

So what is Universal planning for Diagon Alley? Let's start by reviewing what we already know:

Concept art courtesy Universal

Diagon Alley Attractions

We've got two rides coming: the Gringotts dark ride, which will blend Premier Rides roller coaster track with a 3D story-driven dark ride. Twin, 12-person, Victorian-inspired open-air cars, arranged in three rows of four, will take riders through the Gringotts vaults, where they will encounter dark wizards, including Voldemort. The ride vehicles will have a motion-base component, making this a blend of Revenge of the Mummy and Transformers in the ride's technology.

The second ride is the Hogwarts Express, which will shuttle visitors between the two Wizarding Worlds: Diagon Alley in Universal Studios Florida and the original Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure. Trains will travel on an elevated track through the backstage are connecting the parks. The windowless train cars will feature digital screens that simulate windows overlooking the passing English countryside -- but don't expect a smooth voyage. As this is a theme park attraction, expect that something will go terribly wrong. (It might be best to keep some chocolate handy. I hear that helps.)

Riders will exit the Hogwarts Express outside the two lands, and might be required to queue to enter the Wizarding World on the other side during busy periods in the parks, according to a Universal survey obtained by Parkscope. The Hogsmeade station will be located underneath the Dragon Challenge track, exiting on the "Lost Continent" side of the Wizarding World. The Diagon Alley station will exit through the facade of King's Cross station, next to the Disaster! exit in Universal Studios Florida.

In addition to the two rides, I'm told that Universal is working on a live show, which will play in the open area under a glass canopy near the Gringotts ride's exit.

Gringotts Coaster building (lower left) and the rest of Diagon Alley under construction in May 2013. Photo from TH Creative's gallery from earlier this week.

Diagon Alley Restaurants

The Leaky Cauldron will be the main restaurant in the new land, standing next to the Wizarding World's entrance. Your other refreshment options will include Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, located near the Gringotts bank tower, and what looks on the land's plans to be a Butterbeer stand over one the other side of the land, nearer the Gringotts exit.

Diagon Alley Shops

Universal's creating another Ollivander's wand shop, this time with three rooms to handle to the "wand picks the wizards" show. In addition, you'll be able to stock up on Wizarding gear at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions and Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment (that will be the store at the exit to Gringotts).

The plans also call for Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley, located over to the left of the land's entrance, underneath King's Cross station. And that's where things get really interesting.

Diagon Alley's Interactive and Animated Elements

Here's where we get to the fresh stuff! The experience will begin even before visitors step into Diagon Alley, as the Knight Bus, which will be parked on the London promenade outside the land, will feature interactive talking heads.

We already know about the giant fire-breathing dragon that will inhabit the top of the Gringotts bank tower. This dragon really will breathe fire (if all goes well in construction, of course), and it represents the largest of the many animated elements planned for Diagon Alley.

It might be worth taking another look at the Weasley Wizard Wheezes scene from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for some clues as to the additional interactive and animated elements Universal's planning for its version of that iconic joke shop.

Elsewhere in the new land, be on the lookout for suits of armor that fall apart then rebuild themselves, as well as self-stirring cauldrons and some skeletons that perform with a surprising effect that my sources refuse to tell me about in more detail. And goblins, too!

The most cryptic clue I've heard, though, concerns the wands. There's a huge time crush, obviously, to finish this land by June 2014 (for a planned July opening), but I keep hearing hints that Universal's got something planned that involves wands. One's imagination runs wild.

Which, of course, is the whole point. Universal is working to create a land that will appear to come to magical life for each visitor. With so many interactive and animated elements, the idea is that the entire land becomes a platform for an individual experience within the Wizarding World. It's not just about queuing up for a roller coaster ride. Diagon Alley has been conceived as a public place that supports personal stories, as each visitor discovers the various details and elements available throughout the land.

And the technology that Universal's developing for Diagon Alley won't be limited to this land. Expect Universal, at some point after the opening of Diagon Alley, to begin work retrofitting the original Wizarding World with new interactive and animated elements, so that the magical experience continues at the same sophisticated level across both lands.

Update: I'm hearing now that Universal is working on a "new generation" of souvenir wands, which will have interactive capabilities inside the park and some (undisclosed) additional use at home, too. So your old wands won't be able to do what the new ones will. The wands' abilities are described as more complicated than simple RFID-based triggers.

Finally, many of us are debating just how animated the Gringotts dragon will be. Will it just breathe fire, or will it move, as well? I haven't heard a definitive answer on that, and anyone who's been around Animal Kingdom's Yeti can tell horror stories about trying to maintain a functional animatronic figure on that massive a scale. But the dragon inside the Gringotts ride? Well, that appears to be a different situation.

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Merida meets 'Murica

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:42:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: So Disney gave its newest "princess" a makeover, and that's making some fans mad -- including the person who created Merida.

Those are the before and after looks for Merida, the heroine of Disney/Pixar's Academy Award-winning Brave. Disney officially "crowned" Merida as the company's 11th Disney princess in a ceremony at the Magic Kingdom last weekend. To publicize the ceremony and Merida's inclusion in the highly lucrative Disney Princess merchandise line, the company released several images with an, uh, updated look for the Scottish princess.

The obvious change is the switch to the sparkly dress. Hey, even warrior princesses aren't always dressed for battle. But Disney's stripped several inches off Merida's waist and hips, perpetuating a stereotype of rail-thin feminine "beauty." And Disney's reshaped Merida's mouth in addition to laying on her eye makeup with a trowel.

That's elicited a backlash from thousands of fans, as well as from Brenda Chapman, who created the character.

Let's remember that Chapman and Disney haven't had a fairy-tale relationship in the past. Disney sacked her during production, though she retained directing and writing credits on the film.

Yet the makeover reinforces an accusation that Disney simply can't seem to wrap its corporate head around a female character that doesn't look like a Barbie princess. Disney's princesses no longer look like their original selves, but instead most resemble 11 toy dolls with interchangeable bodies, distinguished only by the colors of their hair and skin, their haircuts and their dresses. Which, of course, can be swapped depending upon the occasion. Reducto ad merchandisum.

It's that merchandising that drives this, of course. For every person who signs the Change.org petition to change Merida back, hundreds more moms and dads will shell out big bucks to buy their daughters stuff with Disney princesses and their prefab look.

Merida, meet 'Murica.

Contrast Chapman's conflict with Disney with the number-one talking point that gets drilled into the head of any reporter who covers a press event at a Universal theme park. You can't get through a Universal press event without hearing its PR and Creative reps talk about how Universal cultivates relationships with filmmakers when it designs new theme park attractions -- whether that's Michael Bay on Transformers, Peter Jackson on King Kong 360:3D or Stuart Craig on Harry Potter. Left unsaid is an inference that other companies (read: Disney) aren't so accommodating with the filmmakers with which they work.

Look, Disney's going to continue to crank out impossibly skinny, Barbie-like princess merchandise so long as people keep buying it. Don't like it? Don't buy it. But theme park fans might also want to keep their eyes and ears open for how battles like this influence the creators who inspire and make tomorrow's theme park attractions. Chapman's public stance against Disney provides a relatively rare clear glimpse into the struggles between creators and executives that usually take place well behind the scenes.

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More aerial construction photos of Orlando theme parks, including the Hogwarts Express track

Mon, 13 May 2013 04:50:00 GMT

By TH Creative: [Editor's note: TH Creative emailed these aerial photos of some of the big new theme park projects under development around the Orlando area.]

Universal Studios Florida, with Diagon Alley (upper right) and Springfield (lower left) under construction

Gringotts Coaster building (lower left) and the rest of Diagon Alley

Hogwarts Express track, backstage at Universal Studios Florida. [Editor: It appears that the track splits -- to allow two trains to pass in the middle of the route between Diagon Alley in Universal Studios Florida and Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure?]

The Hogwarts Express track from a different angle. You can see the Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit track to the right.

USF's Transformers building

Heading outside the park, its the new Cabana Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando, under construction

Islands of Adventure, with the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride building in the foreground.

Flying away from Universal to see Orlando's other big project, here's the Antarctica building, surrounded by other popular SeaWorld attractions.

This article originally appeared at http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201305/3479/. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this on a personal RSS reader (such as Feedburner) or on http://www.themeparkinsider.com, you are reading a scraper website that has illegally copied and stolen http://www.themeparkinsider.com's content. Please visit http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201305/3479/ for the original version, along with all its comments.