Theme Park Insider

2010 Best Theme Park Attraction nominee: Busch Gardens Tampa's Katonga

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:25:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: We kick off another week here on Theme Park Insider by welcoming Busch Gardens Tampa's Katonga to the daily attraction spotlight. Katonga joins the 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction Tournament as the seventh seed in the Best Live Show bracket.

Set in the 1,200-seat Moroccan Palace Theater, this 35-minute musical show debuted in 2004 and follows a day in the lives of aspiring storytellers, called Griots, as they strive to become masters of their craft. To accomplish this rite of passage, the performers evoke traditional African stories to entertain the audience.

I have to fess up that Katonga is one of the few nominees in this year's tournament that I have not experienced in person. So I'll turn it over to TPI reader Russell Meyer, who wrote: "I wasn't sure what to expect from Katonga, but I came out realizing that I had just watched the best theme park show I've ever seen. Many people will probably want to draw comparisons to Animal Kingdom's Festival of the Lion King, but I think Katonga's imaginative story and original score elevate it even higher than any of Disney's show offerings."

And here's Joe Lane: "As our story begins, we meet Karume, a master storyteller, who calls together the best storytellers of Africa, called griots, and challenges them to tell the best stories they possibly can. One tells the story of Whirly, a young monkey who learns about being confident (to the tune of Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy"). Next, we have the song of Kipopo, a caterpillar struggling to find her place in the world of insects, follows with a story about Rok Rok, a bullfrog who's taught a lesson in living with others in harmony (accompanied by the Leslie Bricusse song "Talk With The Animals"). The finale is a story from about an African crowned crane named Kilinda and a great flood that threatens to wash away two lovers. The song "Celebrate the Light" is perhaps the true highlight of the production, uplifting and inspiring--and it's original, written by Tampa native Desmond Boone who has been writing music for BGT for 25 years."

Busch Gardens visitors, what do you think about Katonga? If you haven't seen the show, here's a clip of "Celebrate the Light":

Theme park cast member stories: Finding what you didn't know you were looking for

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:16:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: As I was wrapping up my senior year at Northwestern, some of the folks I knew there were planning to head off to Europe for a while before settling down to their post-graduation jobs. I would have loved to go to Europe and see the world, too. But I went to school on a Pell Grant and more than once had to hunt coins on the floor to pay for a fast-food Sunday dinner (when the cafeterias were closed). No way could a lower-middle-class kid like me afford a European tour.

Well, if I couldn't afford to go out and see the world, I knew where to get a job where the world would come see me. So as soon as my classes were over, I crammed my belongings into two pieces of luggage and couple cardboard boxes (those were the days before airlines charged you for luggage, thank goodness) and I hopped a flight for Orlando.

I'd been working as a CT (seasonal) employee at Walt Disney World for the past two summers. And I'd worked the previous Christmas holidays, too. But now I'd be joining the Disney World cast full-time. My long-term plan was to go to graduate school in journalism, but I'd take a year away from school first to see the world.

As the world came to see Disney, that is.

So while my classmates were sitting in Northwestern's basketball arena a week later, collecting their diplomas, I was sitting in the theater at the Country Bear Vacation Hoedown, trying to elicit a rowdy "Howdy" from several platoons of Brazilian teen-agers. I'd, uh, enjoy several awkward moments with young Brazilians ladies over the next few months, as well as with some elderly British ones.

Disney World introduced me to the first head of state I'd meet. When Michael Jackson died last year, and his funeral snarled traffic throughout LA, my kids were talking about whether they knew anyone who'd met Jackson. To their shock, I told them that I had. Jackson and his crew had boarded my boat at Pirates of the Caribbean.

But the "regular" guests stand out as much as the celebrities. One day, while walking Tom Sawyer Island, I heard a whoop from two middle-aged British ladies. When I walked over to see what was the matter, they begged me to take their picture next to the "Cardiff Hill" sign on the island.

They told me that they'd been trying to find a shortcut from Thunder Mountain to the Haunted Mansion. But they'd gotten themselves royally lost on what they still hadn't realized was an island. Yet their growing frustration had melted away and now they were thrilled. Why? They were from the city of Cardiff, in Wales, and were delighted to find a sign referencing their hometown in the Magic Kingdom.

So I took their picture with the sign, shared a laugh and walked them back to the dock for a return trip to the mainland. (I told them how to get over to the Mansion, too.)

Funny how things work out. They'd been looking for one thing, gotten themselves good and lost, and only then could they find that thing they hadn't known about, but that ended up making their trip. They traveled across an ocean to find a delightful reminder of home.

And so it was to be with me, in a way. I thought that my year working at Disney World was a year off, a diversion from my future career in journalism. Little did I know at the time that within a generation, the newspaper industry would self-destruct. And that as hundreds of former colleagues have lost their jobs (and the paper I worked at in Denver closed), I would remain employed in journalism as... the editor of a website covering theme parks.

So I didn't take a year off, after all. I was starting a career that I didn't yet know I'd have.

Funny how things work out.

Read more stories about working in Walt Disney World, at www.themeparkinsider.com/stories.

2010 Best Theme Park Attraction nominee: It's Tough to be a Bug! at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:50:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Theme Park Insider readers have voted It's Tough to Be a Bug! in Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World as the seventh seed in the Best Movie or Animated Show bracket of the 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction Tournament.

It's Tough to be a Bug is somewhat unique among movie-themed attractions in that it debuted before the film upon which it was based. It's Tough to be a Bug debuted with the rest of the Animal Kingdom park on April 22, 1998. But Pixar's "A Bug's Life," which supplied the characters for It's Tough to be a Bug, didn't appear in theaters until November of that year.

It's Tough to be a Bug was Disney's second "4-D," movie, following Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. Playing inside (okay, underneath) the park's iconic Tree of Life, the movie stars the ant Flik, who just wants to show everyone that insects should be people's friends. This being a 4-D flick, of course, that lesson is delivered along with a slew of bugs, gunk and other assorted items being chucked at the screen, along with other in-theater effects.

The show can frighten small kids, but ends sweetly. Fans credit the show for its gags, though others complain that the gags don't hold up after several viewings. It's Tough to be a Bug also now plays at Disney's California Adventure, where it anchors the A Bug's Land section of the park.

How do you think It's Tough to be a Big ranks among other theme park 3-D movies? Let's hear your thoughts, in the comments.

Vote of the week: It's party time!

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:09:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: I'm looking for a theme park angle to the Super Bowl for this week's vote....

Hmmm, there's Holiday World in Indiana versus... well, Jazzland/Six Flags New Orleans closed after Hurricane Katrina. And the Nickelodeon Park idea doesn't seem to be panning out. So that's not gonna work.

There's always New Orleans Square in Disneyland. And, hey, the Indiana Jones Adventure is right next door!

Man, is that a stretch.

Okay, I got nothing.

poll by twiigs.com

Seeing as though I skipped a class period in high school to watch the Colts arrive in Indianapolis via those infamous Mayflower moving vans, I got Indy. But I understand that no one outside of Indiana's gonna be rooting for the Colts this time, not with New Orleans as the opponent. Still, I'm putting this up for a vote.

If you haven't submitted a comment to the Blog Flume before, consider this your invitation to de-lurk. Introduce yourself and say a few words. It's time for a party this weekend, so we might as well get it started here. Thanks, as always, for reading Theme Park Insider!

Six Flags announces Kentucky Kingdom closure

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:02:00 GMT

By steve lee: First they closed off a section of the park. Then they suddenly started taking down one of their most popular coasters to transfer elsewhere. Today Six Flags confirmed the final fate for Kentucky Kingdom. It's over.

Here's the statement from Six Flags:

Statement from Six Flags

It wasn't a great park, but it was fun. I'm sorry to see it go.

Carowinds makes first test run for Intimidator roller coaster

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:22:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Carowinds today conducted the first test run for its new Dale Earnhardt-themed Bolliger and Mabillard Hyper coaster, Intimidator.

Here's the video:

Intimidator appears to be on schedule for opening with the rest of the park for the 2010 season, on March 27.

February ticket and hotel deals at Knott's Berry Farm

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:52:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Knott's Berry Farm is offering tickets this month for $25 each, provided you buy two or more. Knott's is calling this its "TwoGether is Better" promotion, in honor of Valentine's Day. If you're planning on visiting the park more than once this year, though, you probably should opt for Knott's Season Pass, which is still available for $59.99.

FWIW, Knott's is also offering A Valentine's package at the Knott's Resort Hotel. The deal includes a one-night stay, in-room champagne, two tickets to Knott�s Berry Farm, a breakfast buffet, dinner for two and free parking... for $159. Call 866-752-2444 and ask for the Romance Package.

That said, I don't know if Valentine's Day itself if the best time to take advantage of that deal. Knott's also is promoting that it will host more than 200 Civil War reenactors in an encampment next to Independence Hall on... Feb. 13 and 14. ("C'mon, honey, what's more romantic than a Civil War reenactment?") Hey, maybe you're into that..., if not, the deals are good all month.

2010 Best Theme Park Attraction nominee: Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:39:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Today, the daily attraction spotlight returns to Disneyland, as the Indiana Jones Adventure joins the 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction Tournament as the seventh seed in the Best Themed Ride bracket.

Disney brought the flight simulator to the attention of theme park fans in 1987, when it opened Star Tours at Disneyland. In 1995, Disney moved the industry forward the next step, blending simulator technology with a more traditional track ride in the Indiana Jones Adventure.

Here's the story: Indiana Jones has just discovered an ancient, forgotten "Temple of the Forbidden Eye." As you approach the temple, clues are written in petroglyphs along the wall, describing the three treasures offered by the temple's goddess, Mara (money, eternal youth or the ability to see the future), as well as some of the nasty stuff that will happen to you if you break the temple's one rule. More on that in a minute.

Trouble is, Indy ran out of money to explore the temple, so his buddy Sallah's been running Jeep tours of the temple to raise cash. Even worse, Indy's gone missing in the temple, so you're going on a tour to help find him.

Buckle up, and don't forget that one rule: Whatever you do, don't look into the eye of Mara. (Because it's, like, you know, forbidden. Duh.)

So what does everyone immediately do? ;-)

Say it with me know, something goes terribly wrong and now the wrath of Mara is unleashed upon you for a wild ride through the temple. After a series of narrow escapes, you're ultimately rescued by Indiana Jones himself.

With hundreds of effects elements in the ride, it's not surprising that some of them no longer work like they once did. At the recent premiere of the new Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show, Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter revealed that he's been lobbying to install a next-generation Indiana Jones animatronic on this ride, as part of a major upgrade. But that hasn't kept this version of Indiana Jones from enduring as one of Disneyland's most popular rides, and a seed in the top half of this bracket.

You can find another version of the Indiana Jones ride, Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull, at Tokyo DisneySea. And the ride system for Indiana Jones is quite similar to that of the Dinosaur ride in Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

What do you think of Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure? Let's hear from you, in the comments.

Theme Parks and Technology: Review of the MouseWait iPhone Application

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:19:00 GMT

By M. Ryan Traylor: In this day and age, having information immediately and fast breaking news seems to be the key. With many new fancy gadgets, our time has become less precious while we multi-task. And with MouseWait App for iPhone, you literally have time in your hands.

I�ve been to Disneyland four times in the last month to try out this new app as it has been going through some programming adjustments. The basic concept of the app is to provide users with accurate wait times for rides. This is based off of user inputs (currently over 33,000 and growing by about 300 per day), historical data, and guest attendance. MouseWait has a central command that collects the data and verifies the information before computing an estimated time. (i.e. you can only input in 5-minute increments, but the results are not so limited)

Unlike other wait time applications, MouseWait doesn�t just rely on users� input. (There is one app that only displays the last user input as the wait time) MW differs from other apps in other ways too: they provide tips and suggestions, food and restaurant menus, park hours, and a message board. Some of this information simply links you to the Disneyland website, but there is no delay in navigating to another program. Other information is in-house like tips that helped me raise my Buzz score to 300,000. (Personal best today at 547,800, partly achieved because the ride stopped at the Zurg loop)

MouseWait also claims that they are a social game, which just went through an overhaul according to MW. They give each registered user a �MouseRank�. The ultimate goal is to reach the highest rating of 10. The ranking is based on wait time inputs and message board postings. Wait times are given weight based on their importance. A wait time input given one minute after the previous input with the same time will be worth less than an input given an hour after the previous. It seems inputting a wait time after a ride re-opens scores the most points.

In the recent trips I�ve become slightly obsessed with giving information, trying to raise my rating and provide a better experience for other users. However, my last trip I decided to finally start reading the wait times. At one point, in Disneyland, I saw that California Screamin� had a wait time of 10 minutes. I walked straight over to that attraction, and it still had the 10-minute wait time. I also witnessed a 10-minute wait time for Toy Story Mania. Later on in Adventureland, Space Mountain was showing a 10 minute wait at around 2 p.m. I went Straight across the park, got in line and did not stop waking until I reached the loading platform.

What could improve this program? Wait time predictions. My drive to Disneyland could be anywhere between 30 minutes and one and a half hours. Sometimes I feel like I wish I knew how crowded the park will be when I get there. Also, notices have been popping up asking users to not enter times unless they are in the park or have special permission. A GPS indicator could be added to insure that a user is actually in the park.

Some additional thoughts:

I still need to try this program out on a very busy day to see the results.

Of course this app won�t be necessary for TPI readers during their first few hours in the park because you follow the rule of arriving early when the park opens and wait times will be at the minimum.

2010 Best Theme Park Attraction nominee: Mystery Lodge at Knott's Berry Farm

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:53:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Knott's Berry Farm's Mystery Lodge today joins the 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction Tournament as the eighth seed in the Best Movie or Animated Show bracket.

Image courtesy BRC Imagination Arts

Mystery Lodge opened in 1994, one of the last attractions added to Knott's Berry Farm before its sale to Cedar Fair in the mid-1990s. Created by Bob Rogers' BRC Imagination Arts, Mystery Lodge uses a "Holavision" system that Rogers had previously used in the similar "Spirit Lodge" show for the General Motors pavilion at Vancouver's Expo 86 world's fair.

The show takes place in a theater that looks insider a Pacific Northwest Native American longhouse. An elderly storyteller greets you from inside the longhouse, where a fire burns in the middle of the room.

As smoke from the fire twists into shapes, the storyteller believes to have seen an owl, a symbol of death. That prompts the man into a reflection upon his life, as he shares stories from his past, which collectively help illustrate the Pacific Northwest Native American experience.

Presented with great reverence, not to mention the "how'd they do that" effects, Mystery Lodge surprises many Knott's visitors who stumble into the show looking only for a cool place to sit for a few moments. This is the sort of educational, yet effect-laden, show you'd expect to see someplace like Epcot, and not necessarily in what's become known as mostly an iron park.

Still, enough fans have made their way to the back of the park to experience Mystery Lodge that the show's earned its place in this year's Best Theme Park Attraction field. I'd love to hear from other Theme Park Insider readers who've seen the show. Please share your thoughts, in the comments.