Mousekingdom Blog

The flights in Europe are resuming but airlines expect it to take several days till regular operations will be fully established and all guests that were impacted by the air service interruption forced by the volcanic ash will finally be moved to their original destinations. In other words: there are still thousands of toruists worldwide stuck away from home. For those stuck in Orlando respectively the Orlando area the Tourism Bureau has collected a list of special offers as we already reported on Tuesday. In the meantime the list maintained by the bureau has grown substantially with new offers. And certainly there is something new for everyone interested in theme parks …

It all started with SeaWorld giving away free tickets for SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. In the usual game of reactions in the Orlando theme park business Disney matched the offer by SeaWorld and started offering free tickets as well (even so the offer was limited to just two dates). The only one missing in the game was the Universal Resort. But no need to be afraid – just as the three major theme park players react to each other’s price increases, Universal did react to the free theme park ticket offer for stuck international guests as well …

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The volcanic ash that has been blown from Iceland across the northern half of Europe since the middle of last week has caused serious interruptions not only to the air traffic in Europe, but also to the holidays of thousands of vacationers across the globe. While many may end up missing their vacations somewhere in Europe due to the cancellation of their outbound flights at the start of the vacation (which most probably will also hurt Disneyland Paris in a year that is shaping up to be far from stellar so far) there are also thousands of Europeans stuck at their vacation destinations long past their original return date.

Being forced to extend their vacation indefinitely (as even once international flights to Europe will resume it will take up to a week according to current estimates till the regular flight schedule can be reestablished and most probably even longer till everyone has been moved back to their original destination) not only brings up the question what to do with the extra time to keep the mind of the problems caused (e.g. missed work etc.) and relieve the stress, but also the question how to finance the extra time away from home. The Orlando Tourism Bureau and its members have reacted to this by offering services and experiences to guests affected by the European air service interruptions for free or at greatly reduced rates. (more…)

In what seems to be an accidental death a 16 year veteran SeaWorld trainer has died during one of the live shows in SeaWorld. The victum is identified as 40 year old Dawn Brancheau. Investigation is under way to find out the cause of the incident. According to first witnesses the trainer was pulled into the water by one of the killer whales who then started to shake her violently forth and back. It was Tilikum a nearly 30-year-old, 12,300-pound bull orca who dragged Dawn into the water. This was the third death cause by Tilikum. In 1991 he was blamed for a 1991 drowning of a trainer in Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia and in 1999 a death body of a man was found lying across his back.

The Mousekingdom Blog team would like to express their condolences to the  family, friends and all the co-workers at Seaworld.

More about the incident on Orlando Sentinel.
Photo gallery of Seaworld from Orlando Sentinel.

Once Disney bought Marvel it was to be expected Universal would be used in the same article more than once. It’s even possible to open it with the three names in the first sentence. They will be linked with each other from now one, something not everybody might like, but unavoidable. Unsurprisingly the three names in one article will refer to the difficulties the new deal of Disney buying Marvel will be for the Universal theme Park. The question of what will happen to Marvel Super Hero Island was one of the first to pop up on many forums. No worries there, as most people already know, Marvel and Universal had signed a contract about 15 years ago where Universal had the sole right to use the characters in a theme Park. This contract has now been inherited by Disney when they bought Marvel and can’t be change. And if it could be change, would they want to? (at this time). The royalties that need to be paid for the use of the licensed characters is a nice bonus for the Walt Disney Company.

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OK, I admit, I’ll use the fact that Disney bought Marvel to get some of this artwork on the blog. But I must tell you, I am a big comic buff and love the marvel universe, so I had to share these with you. Not trying to convince you to trade Disney with Marvel, but just have a look at this amazing artwork for the Dubai Marvel Theme Park project…

More pictures here.

Artwork copyrights Chimera Design – Marvel Entertainment

In my previous one park vs other park blog entry I talked about Disneyland Hong Kong vs. Disneyland Shanghai. (read about it here). Now I would like to have a look at two parks even closer together, two parks that might be fighting for a lot of kids; Walt Disney World vs. Islands of Adventure, or should we say vs. Harry Potter.

Disney World might have had the (big) edge on many levels, especially for the younger once, with IoA being more the teens and adult park (even with Seuss Landing), but with the coming of Harry Potter we might see a shift that could surprise many. There are already pictures of the new Harry Potter project starting to find their way on the web… and they look impressive (already and the project is far from finished).

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“Soarin’ over California” in Disney’s California Adventure respectively it’s WDW-incarnation ”Soarin’” in EPCOT has been one of the most stunning additions to the line-up of Disney theme park attractions in the last years – from a technical point of view as well as from the point of view of guest experience. The unique ride system allows guests of all ages to experience a flight over California on a huge concave screen with synchronized movements of the suspended seats simulating the experience of a hang glider flight. Even so guests frequently return over and over to re-ride “Soarin’” especially the arrival of the attraction at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT, where its title was shortened to “Soarin’” made fans wonder: when will Disney pioneer a new movie for the attraction – and what will it show?

There have been rumors galore on fan-sites from “Soarin’ over the US”, to “Soarin’ over the World” or “Soarin’ over Hollywood” (complete with scenes in which guests would be soarin’ over scenes from various movies). The latter was mentioned in particular in connection with the rumor that “Soarin’” was considered as attraction for the Walt Disney Studios theme park at Disneyland Resort Paris. However, so far Disney has not confirmed any new movie for “Soarin’” – maybe because there is no need, as the current movie still generates long lines in both parks … time for the Ferrari World to step in! Ferrari World? YES – an upcoming theme park in Abu Dhabi!

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2008 has not been the best year for the theme park around the world. Parks have seen their attendance and guest spending drop. The 2008 Attraction Attendance Report from TEA ERA shows a clear picture on 2008 and it’s, mainly losses of guests for some of the big names in the business.

In the 2008 top 20 of highest attendance in Theme Parks of North America you have the Magic Kingdom on top again. It closed the year with 17,063,000 visitors. They should be happy about that, even if that number is no improvement from last year, during these dark times of recession that isn’t the worst result. On the second place we find Disneyland with 14,721,000 visitors, a drop of 1% from the previous year. Epcot, just like the Magic Kingdom, also didn’t loose or gained any more visitors then the previous year, with a count of 10,935,000 visitors. Epcot got third place.

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Dubai could have become the world capital of theme parks – if all announced and proposed projects would be realised, including amongst others a Universal resort, a Paramount resort, a Marvel comics park, a Dreamworks Studios park and many more. After doubts about the feasibility of this cluster of leisure projects (including the climate challenge, pricing, travel affordibility, employee-availability, …) couldn’t derail the projects, the current economic climate might do just that. As recently posted the SeaWorld parks have been put on indefinite hold and question marks seem to loom (even if only unofficialy) over many of the other projects. According to reports the Formula 1 theme park project “F1-X” in Dubai, which has more than 50% of its construction already completed, got suspended in February as well – due to the “drying up of liquidity from banks and financial institutions”. However, according to the Marketing Director of F1-X “The project is founded on a strong business model that withstands recession whilst allowing for the future growth of Dubai”. The company believes that a financial partner will come forward to capitalise on the opportunity of a half constructed theme park and a project “founded on a strong business model that withstands recession whilst allowing for the future growth of Dubai”. In fact, the company believes that the recent suspension will only delay the opening till 2010…

Considering this series of bad news from Dubai it is worth looking across the border into Abu Dhabi, where just 90 minutes by car frum Dubai, two other projects had been announced: a Ferrari theme park and a Warner Bros. theme park.

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While the Mousekingdom Blog is all about the magical world of Disney we can’t help ourself to sometimes talk about some other great stuff in the world of theme parks. For me that’s especially true when it comes to Roller Coasters. It’s never been a secret that I love Island of adventure too (although Harry Potter could change this feeling as I am not a fan of that change in the park), and when visiting Walt Disney World, a visit to the Universal Parks is a given. However, Universal Studios has not been on my list of favorites. Nor me or my family are a fan of the park and the only reason I returned there in 2007 was because of my love for Halloween Horror Night. But… then they came up with Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit and I have been following the project from the beginning. Now, I can’t wait to return to Universal on our next trip to try that monster! All it needed to convince me to visit their park again was too add a great coaster (See how easy I am pleased).

So why this long introduction? Here is one awesome picture from the new ride, taken from a helicopter above the Studios. You can find the big version on the Johnnyupsidedown.com site. Not only will you be able to gaze on the fantastic photo, but you can also follow the work done on the coaster on the site. There are always a great set of construction pictures added on regular basis. Enjoy the ride…

Picture copyrights Jordan Scarano

Universal continues to improve its offerings for guests and thereby also encroaching Walt Disney World in what it believed in the past was its very own territory … now they just added a cruise experience! But let’s not get into this story head over heels. So from the start…

Andy already made several posts in the recent months regarding the slow or even non-existing reaction of Walt Disney World to the additions that the Universal Resort as well as the SeaWorld Resort have been premiering in the last year (in particular the outstanding “Simpson – The Ride” at Universal and SeaWorld’s new water park) and are about to premiere this year (in particular the flying coaster “Manta” at SeaWorld as well as the new coaster at Universal Studios), not to mention the upcoming Harry Potter land at Islands of Adventure in 2010 as well as numerous small but guest friendly concepts such as the free option for guests staying at the official Universasl Hotels to use their room key as unlimited “Universal Express” pass to bypass queues at the major attractions or the all “all you can eat” options valid for a full day Universal or SeaWorld. Now the pressure keeps mounting as Universal decided to go head to head with WDW in one more area: cruises! (more…)

Follow the link to see Dolphins create air bubbles and use them to have some fun. It proofs again how amazing these animals are.

I can’t wait to go to Discovery Cove this year so me and my family can swim with them.

Picture via New.com.au

Disney theme parks are more than just a collection of thrill and family rides – they are a unique fantasy world featuring attractions that present thrills and laughter in highly themes environments telling unique stories. However, Disney certainly is able to provide a good adrenaline rush to those seeking it – and most families traveling to Central Florida for a visit to Walt Disney World will have at least one member that is looking for the perfect rush. So it is only fair to ask, how WDW is fairing in this regard - the major daily of the area, the Orlando Sentinel, asked its “Theme Park Ranger” Dewayne Bevil to compare the various coasters in the area and rate them.

In the category “top-tier rides” for the biggest adrenaline rush SheiKra at Bush Garden’s conquered the top spot, but WDW’s sole looping coaster, Rock’n'Roller Coater at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, managed to claim the fifth rank with a ranking of 4 out of 5 in the wild or mild scale and a perfect 5 of 5 in the theming / atmosphere category. Certainly any rating and comparison has a subjective element. However, what I personally think more interesting than the actual place R’n'R conquered is one of the explanations in the article…

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Dubai wants to become the new and big tourist capitol of the world but with the world’s economy going down like a roller coaster so are the projects of Dubai. One big project scrapped is SeaWorld. Seaworld was going to be build on a Shamu like island. Together with Aquatica, a water park, it would open in 2012. Discovery Cove was going to follow with an opening set for 2015.

This is a big project they scrapped and one must wonder how the others feel about their parks and tourist attraction planned to open or to be build in Dubai.

Let’s hope economy will get better soon. If so the plans to build the parks might get new life.

Busch and Nakheel remained committed to the project and would move forward “when economic conditions permit.”(Orlando Sentinel)

Any theme park fanatic’s dream, a visit to the IAAPA show! I would love to visit it one day but until then I’ll have to browse the web to still my hunger. If you want to see some pictures visit the Coaster Crew website and you’ll be invited to view a collection of 400 pictures from the event that is currently taking place in Orlando.

There is enough to see on the collection of pictures to get any roller coaster, dark ride, or thrill ride fan’s hart beat a little faster.

Or, if you’re a visitor at the trade show, you can go and make an offer to one of the Cypress Gardens Rides! (a real shame)

Picture copyrights Coaster Crew.