Summer Kickoff-Part 2

I just got back from a perfect trip to Disneyland. Here are some photos.

 My older sister Mary on Roger Rabbit

 First time on new Star Tours. We saw Tatooine and Naboo.

I loved the updates.

 My older brother David on Buzz Lightyear

 New parade since last time I was there

 Brilliant fireworks as always

 Words of Wisdom from Mr. Lincoln

 Me and Dad on Main Street

A boatful of characters

 Me, Dad, and David about to tour Neverland

Me, David, and Mary heading into Small World

 Lucky we had ponchos

 Under the Sea

 World of Color

Dad in Radiator Springs

That's about it for now. Join me next time when I show you the county fair.

Summer Kickoff- Part 1

Hello there. It's been two months since my last post, but now would be the time to show you some photos of what happened since then.

Great America

 Don't worry; I'll cover Gold Striker soon.

 First ride on Vortex this year.

One of my favorite animated films is now a ride!

 First Firefall ride of the season.

Santa Cruz

 I consider Fright Walk to be fun, but it's really dark in there.

Ghost Blasters- My favorite ride here as a kid!

Pacific Park (Santa Monica)

 California's best-known ferris wheel.

Looks familiar? It's been in more movies than I can count.

I'll have a splurge of photos from the Disneyland Resort coming soon!

Universal Studios San Jose Plan B

I just got back from Great America, where we made the best of a crowded day. While there, I was saddened that the parks theming wasn't as spectacular as the parks down south.

Previously, I shared Plan A of Universal Studios San Jose, which would be Northern California's most elaborate theme park. I felt Plan A was for if I didn't have a lot of space, so I've cooked up Plan B, which will cover 125 acres. The park will be modeled after the Florida park (Plan A had rides from the Hollywood park).

Front Lot
Park Services

Now Shooting
Shrek 4-D: An in your face fairy tale
Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast: Rocket through the world of your favorite nicktoons
Soundstage 54: Gaze at Universal picture cars

In Production
Revenge of the Mummy-The Ride: A psychological thrill ride
Twister: Experience an F-5 Tornado
Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue: A spooktacular live show

On Location
Earthquake-The Big One: Experience an 8.3 on the Ritcher scale
Jaws: Meet 3 tons of great white fury

Cinemagic Center
Fear Factor Live: An extreme audience participation show
Men in Black-Alien Attack: Go on an MIB training mission
Back to the Future-The Ride: Rocket through the past

Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone
Animal Planet Live!: Animal Planet TV comes to life
E.T. Adventure: Help E.T. fly home
Fievel's Playland: A mouse-eye view of the world
A Day in the Park with Barney: Sing and clap along with a purple dinosaur
Curious George goes to Town: A wet and wonderful world for kids
Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster: Ride through Woody's nut factory

Hollywood
Terminator 2-3-D: A 3-D cyber adventure
Universal Horror Make-Up Show: See what goes into (and oozes out of) the most mangled, mishapen monsters in movie history
Lucy: A Tribute: A museum based on Lucille Ball

That's it for now! Join me soon as I share photos from our trip to Great America. Until then, Ben Out!

Universal Studios San Jose (Plan A)

Now my dear readers, my big plans. The thing is, I have multiple versions of it, so I'll just do plan A for now.

As good as the parks in northern California are, they don't have as high a quality as the ones in southern California. So, my theme park plans are to "bring southern to northern." And since my favorite theme park (for now) is Universal Studios in Hollywood, I give to you Universal Studios San Jose!

The park will be divided into 4 sections. we'll explore one by one.

Classic Plaza
Lucy: A Tribute: A walk through tribute to Lucille Ball
Special Effects Stages: Three stages show you makeup, digital effects, and sound
Backdraft: A 10,000 degree inferno

Action City
Terminator 2: 3-D: The world's first 3-D cyber adventure
Back to the Future: The Ride: Climb aboard Doc Brown's latest invention and rocket through the past, present, and future.
Fear Factor Live: The most extreme audience participation show ever

Adventure Town
Waterworld: A live sea war spectacular
Jurassic Park: The Ride: A water ride w/ an 84-foot drop to escape a hungry T-Rex
Revenge of the Mummy: An indoor coaster through Imhotep's tomb

Kidspot
Shrek 4-D: An in your face fairy tale
Nickelodeon Blast Zone and Fievel's Playland: Our 2 interactive playgrounds
Animal Planet Live!: Furry and feathery performers strut their stuff

That's all for now! Let me know what you think in the comments below. Goodnight everybody!

Season 4 Kickoff: Santa Cruz

Hard to believe it's been four years doing this. I plan to let you know a big secret after spring break. It's plans for something I hope to do when I get older.

Anyways, after 2 months of waiting for it to happen, the 2013 season has begun for my local theme parks. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk was the park we went to today. This year, the Hurricane, which I really miss, is being replaced by Undertow, which will be northern california's only spinning roller coaster (Pandemonium at Discovery Kingdom was replaced by Superman last year). It'll be Santa Cruz's first major addition since the new Haunted Castle in 2010 (which I rode today, by the way).

The lines were very manageable for the most part. Here are some photos.

 The Giant Dipper, one of my favorite roller coasters!

 I like the Pirate Ship as well.

 This is me and mom on the Sky Glider.

 The Carousel spins to fast for me to snatch those rings! (It has one of the last ring machines on any carousel in the country!)

The Double Shot is a tower ride that's the perfect height for me (when it comes to drop towers, anyway)!

 I rode the Speed Bumps for the first time in a while. (I also rode their other bumper cars, Space Race, for the first time!)

 The scoreboard on our Ghost Blasters car had an error; this is a LOT more than we scored.

I adore the Cave Train, it's cheesy (opened in 1961) but fun.

That's all for now folks. Check back for photos from the Walt Disney Family Museum and the reveal of my secret plans! Until then, BEN OUT.

Attraction Profile: Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith

Now for another Attraction Profile! By request, here's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (commonly referred to as simply Rock 'n' Roller Coaster) is an enclosed steel roller coaster ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort and at the Walt Disney Studios Parkin Disneyland Paris. The Florida attraction opened on July 29, 1999 and is located at the end of Sunset Boulevard, next to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction. It's one of my favorites because, i'm a thrill geek

The coaster accelerates from 0 to 57 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds (making this the second-fastest attraction at the Walt Disney World Resort, behind only Test Track and the fastest ride at Disneyland Paris). The riders experience 4.5g (44 m/s²) as they enter the first inversion, more than an astronaut does on a space shuttle launch. Both versions of the attraction feature five trains, although only four can run at one time. The remaining train is kept in backup while being serviced (each train is rotated out periodically for safety reasons).

When Disney first thought of doing this ride, the band hosting was going to be the Rolling Stones. The band was too pricey, however, and Disney wanted a cheaper alternative. Aerosmith was the most affordable.

The ride's story is different in each park. In Florida, guests have to get to an Aerosmith concert on time, because they have scored backstage passes. The story of the Paris version is that Aerosmith, working with engineers, have created a revolutionary new music experience at the Tour De Force Records studios. After watching the pre-show which features Aerosmith's Steven Tyler hyping up the ride, guests are lured into the testing area where they board the prototype vehicle for the new experience, the Soundtracker.

The ride at both parks has two inversions- a roll over and a corkscrew. The coaster wasn't designed to be indoors, so Disney built the track first, then the building. This is one reason the ride's as smooth as it is.

Well, that's all I've got here. Write a comment and tell me which attraction I should profile next. See you soon!

Attraction Profile: Journey into Imagination

This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most beloved theme park attraction of all time: Journey into Imagination at Epcot at Walt Disney World in Florida. This is the first in a new segment called Attraction Profile. It'll talk about the most beloved theme park attractions of all time. Let's get started shall we?

Journey into Imagination was opened in 1983 at Epcot as the signature attraction at the Imagination pavilion. The pavilion's other attractions Image Works (a high tech playground) and Magic Eye Theater ( a 4-D cinema which has shown over the years Magic Journeys, Captain EO, and Honey, I Shrunk the Audience) opened the previous year. Journey into Imagination was a last minute decision to Epcot, and could not open with the rest of the park in 1982. The ride was a wondrous adventure which featured Dreamfinder and his friend, a purple Dragon (green would offend the pavilion's sponsor Kodak) on an adventure to collect colors, sounds, and other stuff to create ideas.
Here's a link to a photo of the characters.

www.startedbyamouse.com

In 1998, the ride went down for rehab. The main reasons (at least i my opinion) were
1. The turntable at the opening scene was a maintenance nightmare.
2. Ever since the release of "Something Wicked This Way Comes" in 1983,the Dreamfinder started to resemble the villain, Mr. Dark. Parents felt that younger kids would be terrified by a ride who resembled a character from what is possibly the scariest movie Disney made.

The new version was to feature Eric Idle as Dr. Nigel Channing, a role he originated at Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. The retitled Journey into YOUR Imagination opened in 1999 to universally negative reviews, mostly due to the absence of Figment and Dreamfinder. Disney redid the ride AGAIN in 2002 into its current form, Journey into Imagination WITH FIGMENT. Even with the Changes, the ride remains a walk-on. Bob Iger, if you're reading this,

Will you please make a Journey into Imagination IV?

Well, that covers today's Attraction Profile. Be sure to let me know which attraction should be next. Send E-Mail to themeparkdiary@gmail.com . See you soon!