dougdrummer

Imagine what his grandkid's birthday parties will be like?

11 hours ago, Lemur said:

The "problem" with the Looney Tunes IP right now is that it's a bit stagnant.  Many of the old cartoons don't get air time anymore for a host of reasons (newer generations prefer newer animation styles and characters, the inherent violence of LT cartoons, the fact that they aren't in heavy syndication the way they were in the 1980s, their last real forray into recognition was Space Jam in the 1990s), so the character recognition on them is slipping.  Unless Warner Brothers breathes new life into that IP, I can see SF phasing out the Looney Tunes theming entirely in favor of more Animaniacs should that reboot on Hulu prove popular (which I hope it does, as I loved me some Animaniacs).  

 

DC's IP right now is probably more paramount.  DC has a stellar cartoon lineup, but their movies are ... well ... objectively speaking they make more than they cost to produce but they aren't nearly as beloved as Marvel's movies.  (In all honesty, I despise the DCEU movies with the exception of Wonder Woman and quite frankly, even that one suffers mightily from the DC house style - the dark and gritty color palette combined with the dated "bullet-time" SFX nearly ruined a really great movie.  But that's another rant for another time.)  As long as the DCEU exists, that IP will be prominent.

 

That said, which is more important?  Neither.  They're skewed toward two separate audiences.  You need a kid-friendly IP for your family areas and adult-leaning IP for the thrill rides.  They don't have to compete. 

Not to mention that many today consider the older cartoons to be very politically incorrect, so to speak.

Start in March and complete by the end of 2019??  I've seen solar farms, including ones over parking lots, be built in 6 months or less. I'm still confused on why the Pinelands Commission was not the lead approval agency on this project instead of Jackson, and why the other environmental groups had to get involved with a lawsuit.  I've managed several infrastructure projects that required Pinelands approvals, and they have some of the toughest regulations of any agency.

23 minutes ago, Matt Kaiser said:

 

I just want to explain this more since I didn't get it the first time I heard about it. CityWalk is the area outside the main gates of both parks, so it's free to walk around. Basically like Disney Springs, but with more energy. You just have to park, which is free after 6pm. It's a really cool place to visit at night.

definitely putting CityWalk on my list!

Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz

Wow - I guess he got the permits.  I always wanted to build a coaster in my back yard.  My main questions are how often will this ride be run, who will maintain and operate it, and how will inspections be performed?  Especially since I assume this wouldn't be considered a commercial application.

50 minutes ago, SFGadv123 said:

They say 4,000 every year. That seems like a high number though, makes me think they have a high turnover rate

They certainly have a lot of turnover.  Based on my daughter's experience working there, I'd say a good percentage of youngsters don't even make it a full season.

My family of four (wife and two daughters in 20s) will be attending the wedding of a friend's daughter in Orlando area in mid April.  We rented a large townhouse and will be making a full week of vacation down there.  The whole friend gang wants to get together and "drink around the world" at EPCOT one day.  We were at Disney less than 4 years ago, so I also want to check out Universal, which I've never been to (went to Universal California way back in 1983).  So I figure on visiting both parks at Universal.  The wife is fighting me on doing too many parks because she wants to hang out more at the resort we rented since there is so much to do there (pools, bars, lazy river, etc) and parks cost a lot of money.  I see Universal has a 4-day pass for around $230 (can only do one park per day).  That isn't much more expensive than 2 one-day passes.  Even if we hang out at the resort during the day, we could scoot over to the park in the late afternoon or evening for some park time.  Or I take one of my daughters and leave the wife at home. 

Any suggestions based on your experience?

On 1/16/2018 at 5:30 PM, The Master said:

I bought a new (to me) car today. Its a 2008 Ford Crown Vic Interceptor, a retired Federal admin car which is low wear. 

sounds like a contradiction in terms.....LOL

My friend used to work for the NJ Dept of Corrections in the transport division.  When he drove one of the interceptors, he used to get it up to 140 mph driving the Turnpike up to Rahway prison.....

4,000??  wow!

I wonder how many of them are from other countries that live in their housing complex?

12 hours ago, Viper26 said:

Even though I'm from the Philly area, I personally hate Philly sports teams. The fans aren't the worst but they can really over hype their teams as if it was their religion. Eagles fans are generally considered the most intimidating in the league and can get angered easily if they see another jersey at home games. Phillies fans can start violence towards Mets fans and The Sixers Trust the Process hype is very overrated and the current team needs to be consistently healthy if they want to be in the playoffs. New York fans can get crazy at times but it really depends on the teams and how they act.

 

For Great Adventure and New England doing a Super Bowl bet, I think it's not a bad idea even though most think Great Adventure is part of the NY area. I think its part of both areas. If not a bet with Dorney Park is logical but like Ocean County, the Lehigh Valley can be considered part of both Philly and NYC area but they lean towards Philly more. I doubt a bet with Hersheypark could happen as the area they're at seems to support Washington teams; the Hershey Bears minor league hockey team is also an affiliate of the Capitals.

 

Ocean County is very disputed when it comes to sports teams and generally anything below Toms River supports Philly teams. The county as a whole is part of South Jersey and both Philly and NYC areas and most towns in the county get news stations from both cities.

well said

I'm from Westchester County NY originally, so I am not a fan of any Phila sports team.  Their fans, particularly the Eagles fans, are among the most obnoxious in all of sports.  Although when the Phillies had their good run from 2007-2011, it was a horrible experience to go to CBP to watch them play my Mets.  Before that I could get any seat in the stadium and no one bothered me.

I equally dislike the Pats/Brady and the Eagles, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do.  In 2005, my older brother, a converted Eagle fan, burned his Eagle banner in his fireplace when they lost to the Pats.  Ironically just two days ago he ended up sitting behind no other person than Donovan McNabb on his flight back to Philadelphia.  Who can forget him chucking on the final drive?  LOL

it would be awesome if GA did tours of the Boneyard for season pass holders - I'd even pay an extra fee for it

crane central

Our good friend's daughter is leaving for Orlando in another week.  She has enrolled in the Disney University program, which lasts about 9 months.  I asked her what she is going to do at Disney, and she says she is scheduled to sell merchandise at Animal Kingdom.  She was originally scheduled to be a ride operator, but was ruled out because she is currently being treated for a back issue.

1 hour ago, Pineracer said:

A lot parks are removing their skyways, they can fit a Frisbee in that spot and just move Swashbuckler next to Cyborg so it can have a queue.

As for the Mine Train, I haven't ridden it so i don't know if NEEDS to go, but it will probably be going sooner or later.

I haven't ridden it since they supposedly replaced three pieces of track.  I wonder if it addressed the complaints about the jarring ride?  I think the Mine Train is important because there are very few options for patrons to experience a coaster that isn't extreme in one way or another.  GA is the king of extreme coasters, but offers little else for those that are not thrill seekers and graduated from the kiddie rides.

I also like the Sky Ride because it allows you a few minutes to relax and enjoy the view of the entire park.  It's an added benefit if you are tired and don't want to walk from one end to the other.

Also regarding the cold temps, I would imagine it is difficult for staff working outdoors to keep warm when it got down to 20 degrees.

Today it got above 40 degrees and feels downright balmy!  It's supposed to get up to 60 this weekend, but with some rain.  Bring on the new season!

On 1/8/2018 at 8:46 PM, ericthewanderer said:

First of all,some ski areas have been adding things like ziplines to make money in the off season.

Second of all,ski areas don't have expensive attractions like Kingda Ka to maintain or overpriced intellectual properties to pay royalties for.

Good points, but they do have the added costs of building and maintaining ski lifts, as well as making snow.  They also probably have more liability insurance since an injured person is getting taken off the mountain almost every day by the ski patrol.

As far a logistics are concerned, most ski areas have multiple scattered and non-paved parking lots.  So this is not setup to have one toll booth controlled access.  They also have separate day and night skiing sessions, and most now have a separate tubing facility.  However, I've been to many sporting events such as football, baseball and soccer, where they utilize several parking lots.  For those events, they station a person at the entrance of every parking lot to collect the fee.  On a side note, my cousin tells me that the parking for the New England Patriots is now $60 for one game.  He is a season ticket holder, so I'm not sure if he has to pay that each time.  For GA season ticket holders, a parking pass seems like a bargain!

The pathway that goes past where Cyborg is being built could work as a small loop of sorts around Movie Town, but until now its always been closed off.  Or they could just run the parade from one end of the park (or midway) to the other, similar to what they do during FF.

18 hours ago, Sluggo77 said:

Remove two of the parks longest running rides for an upcharge?  Heck no!

sacrilege!  lol

I used to ski a lot up until a few years ago.  I've been to almost every ski area in the northeast.  I got to thinking about the differences between ski areas and theme parks.  One of the main differences is that I have never had to pay for parking at a ski area.  Why is that the case, when theme parks charge outrageous fees for parking?

Both amusement parks (except in FL and CA) and ski areas are seasonal and have to make their money during a limited portion of the year.  One could argue that ski areas have even fewer months due to weather restrictions, although some now have opened water parks and other attractions during the warmer months.  A place like Great Adventure is now open 8-9 months a year with HITP and FF.

So why don't ski areas charge $25 for parking?  Are they not physically set up to be able to have controlled access to parking?  Or do they make enough money on ticket prices, rentals and lessons?

Maybe I'm getting too old, but I don't see the attraction to Escape Rooms, whether at a park or not.  I wonder if this will be a somewhat short-lived fad.

13 hours ago, Yoshi said:

I agree, even if there was a coaster that was supposed to be one of the best in the world and I knew I wouldn't be back to that park, it wouldn't be worth that kind of wait to me.

That's why I skipped Test Track my first time around when it was real new.  I didn't get back there for several years, when I got to ride it twice.

20 hours ago, Yoshi said:

Intellectual property

makes sense I wouldn't know since it had the word intellectual in it.....LOL

Are we talking specifically GA, or SF in general?  Because SF uses DC ride names all over the country.  I have no burning desire for LT.  I think that is more for the very young.

this thread has its own 10-year anniversary!