Tag Archives: Themed Entertainment

Immerse Yourself into “Pandora: the World of Avatar” at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

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Prepare for an expedition into one of the best examples of themed environment immersion at Disney’s Animal Kingdom (DAK). Journey to the planet Pandora to experience the sights, sounds, and beauty of the world of the Na’vi. Whether you are there for the rides or the sheer spectacle of it all, you will no doubt immensely enjoy your experience at Pandora. For those who may be worried that the extreme separation of time from the first Avatar movie and still a couple years from the next one(s) mitigates the full experience of this world based upon that which was created by director James Cameron, no need to fear. Whether you have seen the movie once or multiples times or even enjoyed the movie or not, the Disney Imagineers who conceived this themed land, based upon the movie, designed it to be equally enjoyed by fans of the franchise and those who may not have even seen the film. In theory, that approach works very well; however, the disconnect from the movie and perceived disconnect from the future films does little to immerse you into the story of Avatar. After previewing the land, I am left wondering if the land would have been more appropriately titled Pandora: World of the Na’vi. Personally, I did not care for the movie–found it to be Dances with Wolves meets Fern Gully meets Pocahontas; but we are here to explore this new land, not the movie. My point is, if you are looking to feel as if you are part of  a story, then you may be a little disappointed in some of the important experiential factors of a themed entertainment land; however, despite the separation between this land and the cinematic franchise, the enjoyment factor is still exceedingly high. For fans of Soarin at Epcot, Pandora’s new attraction Flight of Passage will blow your mind and take flight simulator attractions to a “whole new world.”

Before we get into further details about Pandora, I want to take a moment to point out a little known rock formation that rests just above the river park guests cross over on the journey from Discovery Island to Pandora: the World of Avatar. Those who are familiar with the park’s early (pre-open) days, you may recall that what became Camp Minnie-Mickey, home to Festival of the Lion King (former CM at the Lion King show here), was originally slated to be a mythological creature land. Even more interesting, the Dragon Challenge coaster (formerly Dueling Dragons) at Universal’s Islands of Adventure was originally built and intended for this mythological land at DAK. Anyway. The rock formation I spoke of is in the shape of a dragon’s head. It was built there when the land was going to be home to dragons and other mythological creatures, but of course the theme of the land changed. With Disney’s attention to details and aversion to cross theming between lands (to avoid contamination of the experience), one might have thought that the rock formation would have been removed–not so. All through the days of Camp Minnie-Mickey and even today, the dragon head is still there. In fact, one might say that the land has come full circle, as Pandora is a mythological world and the Banshees appear closely related to dragons.

From the moment that you first enter the land, you will instantly feel transported to a far away world, rich in flora and fauna. Imagineers worked diligently to make sure the outside world–even DAK itself–was completely left behind. Those that live in Florida are no strangers to lush greenery; but for those who come from desert climates, mid-Atlantic, or northern parts of the country that are not green year-round, Pandora will serve as an escape from the dry or cold harsh world to a land flowing with crystal clear water and flowers of all shapes, colors, and varieties. There is little left of Camp Minnie-Mickey, and rightly so. However, if you pay close enough attention to walkways, you might see some of that old world in this new one. Make sure you have plenty of room on your phone or your camera’s SD card because you will want to take dozens of pictures on your first visit. There is so much to see on your first visit to this land. While many are talking about the floating mountains–and those are pretty dope–I am more excited about the exceptional lighting and forced perspective of the mountains off in the distance. Up until this point, Universal Studios always boasted more realistic forced perspective in its parks; but, this new land at DAK proves that Disney can integrate forced perspective just as well–if not better. I also appreciate the layout of the pathways. The pathways are laid out in such a way that the land feels larger than it actually is; furthermore, the different elevations also lend to the realism of the world and providing various perspectives and vantage points form which to gaze upon the exquisite design. Who doesn’t love a great water feature? There is something about moving water that is instantly refreshing, and there is plenty of moving water, water falls, and water creatures in Pandora.

Pandora: the World of Avatar offers two attractions: Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey. Each ride offers a completely different attraction design. Compered to other attractions in the Disney parks, both the new rides at Pandora have entrances that are organically woven into the environment. This adds to the natural beauty of this lush planet and the aversion to the effects of industry on the landscape. Located on opposite sides of the land, the layout will aid in crowd movement and control during the spring break, summer, and holiday seasons when the parks are at their busiest. Pandora’s Flight of Passage is a brilliant flight simulator design in the vein of Soarin and the Na’vi River Journey is a boat ride, a classic Disney design, in the vein of Pirates of the Caribbean and the new Frozen Ever After.

Flight of Passage was epic! The suspension of disbelief was incredibly real. Disney Imagineers have really outdone themselves this time. It’s no secret that Soarin is one of the top draws at Disney World and that Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is still one of the top attractions at Universal Studios. Essentially, Imagineers took the ride platform of Soarin and combined it with the feel of Forbidden Journey and threw in some Spider-Man (Univ/IoA) to create an amazingly innovative ride experience. Only suffering from high demand, low capacity, sluggish turnaround time (hmm, now that I think about it, that’s kind of a lot), this attraction will convince you that you are flying on the back of a banshee (the English name for the ikron in Na’vi language). Matched with an avatar that allows you to move about Pandora as a Na’vi, you then make your way into the flight chamber to board a jetski like device that allows you to maneuver your banshee throughout the skies and caverns of Pandora.

If you allow yourself to breakaway from the 4D simulation (4D because there are aromas, wind, and water effects), you’ll notice that the ride design is similar to Soarin in that there are multiple levels of these ride stations in front of an IMAX screen. The big reveal is done exceptionally well because as the screen is revealed, there are several busts of bright white LED light that conceal the movement of the wall in front of you. Unless you are looking for the mechanisms that create the magic, you’ll not notice the wall ascending or descending. One of, if not the, longest rides at Walt Disney World, this attraction lasts several minutes and each second is filled with high-flying adventure. Honestly, it is the most incredible simulator style attraction that I have ever been on–and I’ve been on a lot. Prepare yourself for a wait time of up to 4hrs standby (standard queue) or 6hrs (extended queue) for this attraction when it opens. If you are in the standby queue, the research facility that you get to walk through is certainly a site to behold as well. And don’t miss one of the most lifelike animatronics in aqua suspension as you make your way through the line to the launch facility.

Perhaps you’re afraid of heights or even the most organic-feeling flight simulators make you not feel the greatest. Then, make your way over to a classic Disney ride design reimagined for Pandora. The Na’vi River Journey is a serene, gently moving boat ride along a tranquil river surrounded by plants and animals bursting with bioluminescence. If you’re lucky, you may even catch rare glimpses of the Na’vi along the way, hidden in the foliage. Featuring some of the technology first debuted on Epcot’s Frozen Ever After, this boat ride offers a time to relax and simply absorb all the gorgeous plant and wildlife of the planet Pandora. While most of the non-plant life is clearly rear mapped projection, there is an impressive animatronic Na’vi shaman chanting as you glide by on your boats. Everything from the smells, to the sights, and sounds of the Na’vi river will convince you that you are in fact traveling down a mystical river. With no height restriction, this attraction is perfect for a family or group with young ones who may not meet the height restriction on Flight of Passage.

Pandora also offers two quick/casual service restaurants with robust menus of food and drinks. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to experience the restaurants because they closed about 15mins before the preview ended. I’ll definitely have to go back and try the food and drinks as they looked absolutely scrumptious.

Over all, I was impressed by DAK’s newest land! Was it worth a nearly five year wait? That is certainly up for debate. But, the end result is beautiful and provides Animal Kingdom with a new draw that will hopefully figure into the next set of movies in Cameron’s Avatar universe to be released in a couple years. Whether you choose to see it as a botanical garden or Rainforest Cafe on steroids, or the most amazing experience you have ever immersed yourself in at a theme park, you are definitely going to enjoy everything that Pandora: the World of Avatar has to offer. I highly recommend booking FastPass+ for the rides as soon as your 30 or 60 day window opens (30 for passholders and 60 for on-site hotel guests) as the lines for both these attractions will be incredibly long. Hopefully the Cast Member and Passholder preview weeks will aid in mitigating the initial flock to the attractions and not force the rides to use the extended quests right out the gate or close the lines before park close. Ordinarily, Disney does not offer previews in the same manner that Universal Studios, SeaWorld, or Busch Gardens do, so this is a welcomed sign of the growth of passholder and Cast Member appreciation.

A Perfect Pairing of Food and Art at the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Food & Wine Festival

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Busch Gardens Tampa Bay launched its third annual Food and Wine Festival this past weekend. And it’s better than ever with expanded entertainment offerings and of course delicious food and spirits! With expansions to the comprehensive food fare and concert lineup, the festival has something for everyone. During my unofficial guided tour by one of the individuals who helped build many of the sets, I learned just how much time, care, and attention went into each and every element right down to the lightbulbs. Best part about the festival is just how much like a festival it feels. While Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival is by far larger, more comprehensive, and boasts a larger variety of food and alcohol, the Busch Gardens Food and Wine Festival includes the quaintness that non-theme park food and wine festivals have–or at least the very idea of food and wine festivals as it appears in our mind. Virtually the entire area from the front of the park to the flamingos is filled with artisan kiosks, food and wine vendors, and performing artists.

Coca-Cola makes a huge splash at the food and wine festival this year with its beautifully decorated sponsor area on the far side of the main festival thoroughfare adjacent to the flamingos. Debuting this year is this new expansion featuring Coca-cola products and more food! Some guests from Howl-O-Scream may remember this as a scare zone last year. I absolutely adore the brilliance of the nighttime display in the Coke area. It’s incredibly stunning and just goes to show the increase in quality at this young festival. A great deal of attention was put into the design of the decorative light and luminary fixtures. Lots of glass Coca-Cole bottles with light inside along with exposed string lights help to create a warm, inviting atmosphere. Be sure to checkout the Coke-flavored chocolate dessert in the Coca-Cola area; I’ve heard it’s delicious! And, I am definitely going to try it when I return to the festival throughout the event.

Before taking a stroll down the main festival walkway to procure some delectable goodness, I desired to check out the topiaries and performing arts. The two entertainment offerings that impressed me the most were the ice carving and Living Fountain. The Living Fountain is located near the main festival grounds in the gorgeously landscaped garden area between the festival grounds and the Australian animal encounters. Busch Gardens takes the concept of living statues to the next level. Living statues are a little all-too-common around Central Florida, so Busch needed to find what others were doing and perfect it–they did just that! More than living art (which is beautiful in and of itself), the Living Fountain turns a breathtaking living statue and transforms it into a show including water effects. Watch as the statue comes to life and dips her fingers into the enchanted fountain of crystal clear refreshing water and sprinkles it around on the earth allowing life to grow abundantly.

Just down the walkway, past the main entrance into Gwazi Field is the ice sculpture exhibit and show. Twice a day (once, during the day and again in the evening), watch as one or more ice sculpture artists turn a block of solid ice into a work of art. As I understand it, the artist never repeats a design (at least in the same day). The experience between the day and night differs only slightly. During the day, the ice sculpture artist takes his time in creating the sculpture and you can casually enjoy the evolution from an expressionless block of ice to a beautiful creation. The process of turning the ice into a sculpture takes about 1.5hrs from start to finish. If you choose to walk by the ice carving area at night, then you’ll witness a slightly more invigorating experience because you’ll watch as two ice carvers dual one another. You’ll be amazed at how drills, chainsaws, and jigsaws are used to create incredibly works of art. Enhancing the experience at night are added lights that illuminate the ice.

But what about the food?!? Whatever kind of food you are in the mood for, you will likely find something to satisfy even the most discerning of palettes. Many of the food and drink offerings can be found along the main walkway, with a handful of kiosks sprinkled around the outside of Gwazi Field. Lobster, venison, shrimp, chicken, and more can be found at the Busch Gardens Food and Wine Festival this year. From new twists on good old-fashioned comfort food to trendy foodie delights, there is no shortage of variety for the park guests this year. The food prices are on par with pricing at similar events including Epcot Food and Wine. With the city of Tampa becoming increasingly known for its foodie and craft beer scene (presently ranked as a top foodie and craft beer locale according to several travel blogs and magazines), it was important for one of the most visited places in Tampa to uphold that growing reputation. Busch Gardens does precisely that with the sheer variety of food, wine, cider, and beer at this year’s event. Since I frequent the event several times over the course of its run, I typically have one or two food items and a glade of wine or two as to not break the bank (haha). This past weekend, I had the highly recommended grilled cheesecake sandwich and key limmen wine. As I am not a food critic nor sommelier, I can only tell you that the dessert was just sweet enough without being too rich, and the wine is mostly dry with a hint of sweetness that paired perfectly with my dessert. I appreciated how the combination wasn’t too sweet, thus allowing me to enjoy the full body of favors. While you are enjoying your food and beverages, be sure to catch the Busch Garden’s jazz cover band at the Peacock Stage.

A big draw to the Busch Gardens Food and Wine festival is the concert lineup each evening! Such a wide variety of music that should pair nicely with anyone’s taste. I did not stay for the concert, but I’ve heard the concerts are packed, and the park guests are thoroughly enjoying their time. On the topic of concerts though, there are three different concert packages that are available for purchase. Two out of the three include food and drink punch cards that give you a fixed number of complementary selections of the food and wine at the festival. The third package does not include food but does include a reserved seating section. Depending on which package you purchase will correspond to the reserved seating section. Sitting closest to the stage is the Tier 1 package and it goes back from there. The concerts are FREE; however, to ensure that you have a seat at the event, you may want to purchase one of the packages. For those who just cannot justify that additional expense in their respective budgets, there is an open seating section as well as plenty of standing room. You can even sit on the ground should you choose.

Food and Wine at Busch Gardens is going on now through April 30th. Don’t miss it!

“Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon” attraction review

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img_9103A cute, fun ride, but ultimately a generic experience. The anticipated new Universal Studios Florida attraction Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon began soft openings this past weekend. If you are unfamiliar with that term, a soft opening is when the attraction is essentially in tech rehearsal operations, meaning that it can start, stop, or turn off certain components at any time. With the successful run of Universal Team Member (staff) previews during the latter part of last week, the attraction went directly into public soft openings. When an attraction goes directly from staff previews to public soft openings, that is usually a good indicator that the ride is in prime operating condition. From the time I entered the queue to the time I exited through the gift shop, it was a flawless experience! Everything from the innovative virtual queue to the ride operation went off without a hitch. Due to the park being in the middle of Mardi Gras and the news of a soft opening of a new attraction, this combination certainly brought in the crowds. With a wait time of a little less than 60mins, it was all-in-all a pleasant experience during the ride’s preview. But, I wouldn’t wait more than 30-45mins for this attraction in the future.

Outstanding queue! Ever since Islands of Adventure opened in 1998 and increasingly so since the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened in 2010 at Universal Orlando, there has been a demonstrable trend in elaborate queue designs and experiences. Not only are ride designers focussed on the ride itself, but now are nearly equally focussed on creative an immersive experience in the queue. Evidence of this can be found in many of the attractions at Universal, Disney, and Busch Gardens that have opened in the last few years. But I digress. Without question, my favorite part about this new attraction is the queue design and experience. Although I have not been to the Rainbow Room, NBC Studios, or 30 Rock (aside from taking the express elevator to the observation decks), I felt like I had just walked off the streets of New York City and into the studio complex to be part of The Tonight Show‘s live audience. Much like a museum, there are exhibits featuring television production equipment over the decades as well as the evolution of NBC’s iconic peacock logo. Clearly the central figure of the attraction is the current host of The Tonight Show Jimmy Fallon, but there are also exhibits that dedicate a showcase to each of the hosts as well as a mural of all of the hosts together. I spent several minutes just walking around the–what amounts to a–museum.

The reason for the ability to casually stroll through the sequence of showcases: a virtual queue. When you enter the attraction, you are given a colored ticket. Each of the colors for the tickets are taken from the six colors of the NBC peacock. The queue is composed of an entry hallway, NBC/The Tonight Show historic exhibits and showcases, and preshow room. Light fixtures and ambient light, in the various rooms, correspond to the colored tickets that determine what group goes next. When the light changes to the color ticket you hold, then you may proceed to the next waiting area. Making it easy to know where your group is in queue, the order of the colors called are the order of colors on the peacock’s tail. The entry hallway features the evolution of the NBC logo from it’s earliest days to the present. A similar exhibit can be found at the NBC Sports Grill and Brew at CityWalk. Making your way from the entry hallway to the first large waiting space, the next room features tributes to The Tonight Show‘s hosts over the years all around the room in addition to some television production technology over the years. With so much to look at, the time really flies by! This is the first room in which you wait for your color to be called; from this room, you walk upstairs to the next waiting area that truly has the guests in mind in terms of creating a pleasant waiting experience.

As much as I enjoy a museum-like experience in a queue, the next room is definitely my favorite! Enjoy Ragtime Gals and Hashtag the Panda? Then, you’ll be delighted to know that you get to be entertained by them in the final room before entering the studios for your exclusive taping of The Tonight Show. In addition to the live entertaining–which I’ll get to in a moment–there are several sofa-like chairs along the wall with ample USB ports for charging your personal electronic devices. Definitely a convenience if you’re like me and are catching Pokemon, listening to music, texting, and taking pictures while at the park. IMPORTANT: bring your own sync cable! If you are carrying a portable charger, then you already have your sync cable; but if you just have your phone, remember to bring your USB charging cable with you into the queue. In the area of the charging chairs, there are large flat panel displays that offer a variety of games to pass the time. Even with all the people in the waiting area, if I wanted to play the games, it wouldn’t have taken long for one to open up. This is partly due to the various offerings in the room as well as every 10mins or so (on that day), one of the colors would be called. The most entertaining element in this final room before getting on the ride is the Ragtime Gals! Their combination of traditional Atlantic City a’cappella mixed with covers of pop songs and a little lip sync battle thrown in makes them a show not to be missed! The sheer stamina alone was impressive. There had to have only been a few minutes between each set and the cast did not change (as long as I was in there). Furthermore, the repertoire was vast, considering that I never heard a repeat for the 30mins or so that I was in there. After the sets, Hashtag the Panda came out dancing and entertaining the audience. Honestly, this is probably the best queue experience I’ve ever had.

Up to this point, you may be wondering why my opening line included “but ultimately a generic experience” because everything up to this point makes for an exceptional attraction experience! That’s because the ride itself leaves a lukewarm “meh” in your mind. In terms of the race, the studio audience is pitted against Fallon in a race through New York and ultimately to the moon and back. Along the journey, you get to listen to the house band Roots, run into some familiar characters from Fallon’s show, and get to see some of the most visited sites in New York. Much like a video game race, there are checkpoints along the way and plenty of laughs to accompany your zany race through The Big Apple. Rumor had it that the attraction platform would be similar to Epcot’s Soarin’ Over the World (formerly Soarin’ Over California), but that is unfortunately not the case–at least, for the most part. If I were to compare this new attraction to a similar experience at Universal Studios, it would be closest to Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem and at Disney, closest to Star Tours: the Adventure Continues. There are some shared elements with Soarin’ but very few. Essentially, it’s a glorified 3D moving theatre with some water effects to add that 4th dimension to the experience. And that’s just it. What Universal Studios did not need was another 3D theatre attraction; granted, the technology is impressive and the movement of the bleacher style seating is impeccably timed with the movement on the screen. The attraction has some length to it, and it is mildly entertaining; but it simply fails to leave a lasting impact on the park guests. Like I said earlier, the queue is the best part!

What’s missing is more physical movement. With the massive integration of 3D immersive technologies into attractions at most major theme parks, the line between movie and ride is becoming blurred. And that’s not a good thing. Yes, feeling like you are IN the movie instead of learning about the magic of filmmaking (considering there is little magic left in the process) has been the trend for the last decade or so; but, when the experience on the ride feels like just a step above watching a movie, therein lies the problem. The MainStreetMouse on Twitter posted an article recently about how technology is ruining Disney rides, and I think there is a lot to be explored along those lines. Seems like with prolific amounts of mapped projection, elaborate 3D technologies, and synced movement, the unique experience of a “ride” is becoming lost. Physical movement is sacrificed for visual simulation. Not that every ride in a theme park has to be some version of a coaster or dark ride–not the case at all–but when the experience bares little significant difference to watching a movie, the magic of the theme park experience begins to mitigate. Had Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon been closer to Soarin‘ then I would have enjoyed it immensely more, or if it had been closer to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey then the experience would have been memorable, impactful. Since the entire ride experience consists of a moving 3D theatre, it just lacks qualities that make it truly memorable. Theme parks need to lay off the massive integration of 3D and spend more time on how to integrate significant physical movement into future attractions.

LEGOLAND Florida Resort’s Beach Retreat & Ninjago

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beachretreatWant to visit the beach and Legoland while in Florida? Well, Legoland Florida Resort will be opening their newest resort hotel property in April. The Legoland Beach Retreat combines the best of scaled LEGO designs with many of the amenities and features of staying beachside. Whereas the actual beach is over an hour away, Legoland pulled out all the stops to create that beachy atmosphere for future guests.

The Beach Retreat is a more affordable option for larger families or those families who are traveling together to Legoland. Since the resort hotel accommodations are in the form of beach bungalows, there is plenty of room for you and the kids! Each bungalow is placed in a cove with other bungalows with a playground in the middle. Located off a large lake, this resort property feels every bit as close to the ocean as the Polynesian Resort does at Walt Disney World. Incredibly colorful! I loved the feeling of being a LEGO figure amidst a beachside neighborhood. For those who want to dine at the resort or simply grab a drink, then head to the Lighthouse!

Although the resort is still under construction, I was able to attend a media day the other day. Once the hotel is completed, I will definitely return to take more photos. But, I have a couple photos included with this article so you can get an idea of what the hotel will look like.

Legoland Florida is expanding rapidly, and that is exciting indeed! With a theme park, water park, deluxe hotel, and now moderate hotel, where will it expand next??? Oh yeah, don’t forget to check out the newly opened Ninjago World as well!

A Short History of How the Cinema Shaped Theme Parks (part 2)

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dlr_castleFollowing the ending of the Studio System, the now bankrupt motion picture studios were purchased by various conglomerates looking for new sources of income. One of the sources of income that studios began investing into was the concept of movie-based theme parks. With the opening of Walter Elias Disney’s Disneyland in 1955, Universal Studios made the decision to incorporate stand-alone attractions into its newly reopened studio tour. Both Disneyland and the future Universal Studios used their intellectual property (IP) as the basis for creating theme park rides, shows, and attractions. Although movie studios as a “park” began with Laemmle, in its current incarnation, the convergence of cinema and theme park began with Disneyland, and later was perfected by Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Florida. Since the movie studios already had dedicated movie-going audiences, it made sense to capitalize on the idea of incorporating the concepts from the movies into attractions that the general public could enjoy and be immersed in. This action both acts as advertising for the respective studios and generates income for the movies and park improvements…

For the full article on the Thrillz website, click HERE!