Consider this a verbal Rorschach test of your optimism about Disney Parks. Does this mean that Disney's anticipating a hit, and making plans to follow up with even more attractions? Or that Disney's dropping yet another half-finished theme park on us in 2015 and already trying to pre-empt criticism with early promises of a fix?
Last week, Disney unveiled concept art for an 11-acre gardens that will stand at the hub of the park. Today, Rasulo said that the Shanghai Disney Resort will be 1,000 acres when it opens, third in size behind the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris resorts. But Rasulo said that Disney expects Shanghai ultimately could top Tokyo's 28 million annual attendance, placing it second behind only the Walt Disney World Resort. It's hard to imagine Shanghai doing that without a second gate. Is that the expansion Rasulo teased? We'll see.
Speaking of the Disney parks, Facebook has revealed the top 25 destinations worldwide for check-ins using the social media service in 2013. Facebook excluded airports and other transportation hubs to focus on destinations, instead. Four of the world's five Disney resorts made the list: Disneyland in Anaheim, California, Tokyo Disney in Japan, plus Disneyland Paris in France, and Hong Kong Disneyland. Curiously, the Disney resort with the most actual visitors — Walt Disney World — did not make the list. Does this that Disney World visitors are less likely to use Facebook? Or does it suggest that Facebook check-ins skew more toward locals on a day trip or night out than toward visitors on vacation away from home?
One more Disney item: Our new Orlando correspondent, Krista Joy, reports that the popular Beaches and Cream at Walt Disney World's Beach Club Resort will begin taking reservations December 18th.
Here's something for thrill fans: Adventuredome at Circus Circus in Las Vegas this week is planning to complete the track for its new El Loco roller coaster. This new S&S Worldwide model will allow "riders to enjoy movements never before experienced," according to a press release from MGM Resorts International, owner of Circus Circus. More details:
Accompanied by a customized soundtrack, El Loco’s unique elements will provide guests with a 72-second, adrenaline-pumping adventure, including:
- 90-foot ascent followed by a greater-than-straight-down diving drop producing a negative 1.5 "vertical G"
- 45-degree outwardly banked curve
- 180-degree turn that races over the edge into a barrel roll
The ride description and the car photo remind me of Universal's Rip, Ride, Rockit. Thoughts?
Finally, we're pleased to announce that our new Orlando guidebook, Theme Park Insider: Orlando 2014 is now available via iTunes! You can read Theme Park Insider: Orlando 2014 via the iBooks app on your iPhone or iPad. The guidebook also remains available for Kindle (and Kindle apps) at Amazon.com. Or you can buy the book in paperback. (Readers in the United Kingdom can buy the book via Amazon UK, too.)
If you've already gotten a copy, first, thank you! And, second, we'd certainly appreciate your reviews of the book, via Amazon or Apple. Positive reviews help encourage both Amazon and Apple to suggest the book to more readers, so please support your favorite authors by reviewing their books, no matter who they are!
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Three years ago they had the World Expo here, and the lines for everything were incredible. There are a lot lot lot of people here.
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