The Theme Parks, Amusement Parks, and Themed Entertainment Thread

How about Tokyo Disneyland's new Space Mountain, huh?

Why's it called Space Mountain when it's clearly on the Earth like all the regular mountains?

Because it sounds cool!

Disney backed themselves into a corner the moment Tomorrowland was created, because inevitably reality catches up to whatever future you theme the land to and then you've got to re-theme the whole thing. But it seems like they've finally accepted that and are working towards theming the various Tomorrowlands to the retro-future aesthetic of a "tomorrow that never happened."

It should be "science fiction land."

Epcot was supposed to be the more plausible exploration of things that might happen in the "real" future.

Belloq87 wrote:

Epcot was supposed to be the more plausible exploration of things that might happen in the "real" future.

And they ran into the same problem. By the time they got some new tech exhibit in, the tech would already be out or something new would be in the works to replace it.

Belloq87 wrote:

How about Tokyo Disneyland's new Space Mountain, huh?

I'm cursing Japan's current entry barrier to tourism.

Toyko Disneyland is definitely a bucket list destination for me.

Disney announced access to the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride at EPCOT will be via virtual queue and Lightning Lane only. No standy entrance at all.

Same procedure as when Ratatouille opened.

In that case, the virtual queue went away rather quickly and standby became available.

Lots of new concept art released for the ongoing (never-ending?) overhaul at Epcot...

The center of the park, where Innoventions/CommuniCore and the Fountain of Nations used to be:




Moana: Journey of Water, an interactive walk-through teaching about the water cycle...


Overview from above, with Spaceship Earth at the top, pathway to World Showcase at the bottom:


Supposedly this will all be done sometime next year (despite this October being the park's 40th anniversary).

Yeah, and they've ditched that multi-level festival center in favor of ... a stage. You can tell they've cut waaaay back, especially if you compare these to the original concept drawings.

People are also anxious because the proposed Walt Disney statue doesn't appear on any of the new art.

The statue is still happening.

I never liked the giant festival structure, as it surely would have blocked views of Spaceship Earth from various places.

Someone posted this picture of a menu board at SeaWorld Orlando stating that they're adding a 5% surcharge to all orders "to cover increased operating costs."



Not sure why they don't just raise the menu prices by 5%. People are more likely to swallow that than be told "Oh, that's not really the price you're paying," especially for overseas guests who don't have sales tax to deal with.

Pretty balanced review of Epcot's new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind from one of (current) WDW’s toughest critics.


An extremely petty part of me is mildly annoyed that the ride appears to actually be pretty great, as I’m quite distressed about the continued thematic destruction of what used to be my favorite theme park. And I also find a bunch of the super-enthusiastic reactions to this attraction have taken on a tone of “Epcot’s dead, just get over it, you stupid Epcot fan who doesn’t want to have any fun!” that I really don’t appreciate. Those people are sore winners. They got what they wanted, no need to kick Epcot fans when we're down!

But... do I like fun rides, and I look forward to riding it the next time I’m in Orlando (which may not be until Universal’s Epic Universe opens in 2025, as I’m prioritizing finally visiting Disneyland and -- potentially -- Tokyo Disneyland in the next couple years).

I've seen a couple of reviews that bemoan the fact that there are no animatronics, and one in particular that said the acting overall in the filmed segment is pretty bad.

I think the acting in the queue videos is very phoned-in.

Universal Hollywood revealed their first house for this year's HHN event:

Quote :

“If you thought one Universal Monster was scary, how about three? Better summon your scream squad, ’cause you’re about to get caught in the middle of an epic battle between The Wolf Man, Dracula, and The Mummy, together for the first time ever. Their mission: To find the amulet that will break their curse. And they’ll destroy anyone who gets in their way.”

I appreciate Universal continues to showcase the Monsters during HHN.

If you wanna spoil yourself, here's a POV video of the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride.

I didn't watch much of that, but it looks like the next evolution of Space Mountain.

With all the screens, it felt more like the evolution of Hyperspace Mountain.

That really makes me wish I was headed down for HHN this year.  I've yet to do it, but would really like to.  Can't go this year, though, so hopefully, they'll bring that back the year Epic Universe opens.

Ride looks cool!

There are numerous reports of people experiencing motion sickness after riding the Guardians ride, even from folks who don't normally experience it. Lots of dizziness and nausea and people sitting on the floor in the new restaurant trying to recover.