Park Thoughts

The official Disney Parks Blog announced today that two of the Walt Disney World Resort monorail trains would see a futuristic transformation to promote the upcoming “Tron Legacy” film.  The trains will feature the films redesigned version of the signature “Light Cycle” speeding down the side of the monorail trains leaving a glowing trail of light, one blue, one gold.

Below are renderings of the new look:

I have to say this overlay looks pretty incredible, and despite being an ad,  is certainly a nice change over the bland, white monorails that otherwise run on the resort’s “highway in the sky”. I definitely look forward to seeing picturing of them in the coming months.

Disney Parks said you can expect to see these trains on the Epcot line as early as the end of the month.

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Its time for a quick round up of the news that Park Thoughts has unfortunately missed in the past few days.

First up is the now gone, but not forgotten, Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom is now the subject of a battle between Six Flags and the Kentucky Fair.  Each of them have filed a lawsuit against each other,  Why is the Kentucky Fair in this?  They are saying that the rides are fixtures to the land, which is owned by the Kentucky Fairgrounds, therefore, the rides are their property.  The full article can be read here, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Joris en de Draak, or George and the Dragon for the English lovers, has gone vertical at Efteling.  The dueling Great Coasters International (GCI) wooden coaster will be a wonderful addition to the park’s top notch collection of elaborately themed roller coasters and other attractions.  There is some snow on the ground, but that is not stopping the construction workers to get this ride opened in the upcoming months.

Universal Studios Singapore is in preview mode right now.  Guests can buy a fairly low priced preview ticket that allows them to enter the theme park and get one free meal.  While the rides are not yet open, and are all still in the testing phase, its still lets guests absorb the atmosphere of the park experience the dining and street performers.  Sentosa Theme Park Blog as always has a collection of great videos and pictures.

Captain EO made its return yesterday.  It was a media filled event with guests lining up as early as 7 am, and the park did not open until 10!  However, more importantly there was a fire at the Disneyland Hotel in the same week.  The Disneyland Hotel, which is now under a massive renovation project, had a fire crew come in after one of the construction sites caught fire.

Six Flags has announced details about the new 2010 Funatic program.  Members will get items such as free refills,  Flash Passes, bring a friend passes, free parking passes and much more.  It certainly sounds like a very good program to get people to visit the parks more often.  It is going to be interesting to see how this event comes out.

Even more Six Flags news, with Six Flags New England announcing several new improvements for 2010.  In the park’s large Hurricane Harbor water park, the park will be adding Mr. Six’s Splash Island.  It is believed to be a refurbishment of the current play structure.  The park will also open a new Johnny Rockets as well as add a new float to the popular Glow in the Park Parade.

Does any of this news strike you as interesting?  Leave a comment with your Park Thoughts below.

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If you don’t know, tomorrow, February 14th, is Chinese New Year.  And in Hong Kong Disneyland, the celebration has just begun to honor Disney’s most recognizable tiger, Tigger!  The park is filled with luck as decorations flourish throughout the park. From now through February 28th, park goers will be immersed with a decorated Main Street, symbols of good luck around the park, and Mickey with his gang wearing traditional Chinese New Year attire.

Hong Kong Disneyland celebrates Chinese New Year like no other park.  Management goes full out to draw guests into the so-so attendance park.  One of the things the park does is decorate the park with new decor each year.  This year is no different.  From the moment you see the park, the entrance turnstyles have decorative golden Mickey figurines on top.  Main Street is covered with flowers and other traditional items in the windows and hanging down from the walls.

But the decorations do not stop there.  The castle bridge has special decorations as well as two banners on either side of Sleeping Beauty’s castle itself.   Then, located throughout the park are special picture points each highlighting a different symbol.  Genie represents prosperity, Aeriel represents wealth, Crush represents longevity, Snow White represents Romance, and Belle represents success in studies.  All of these decorations are expected to only last this year so check them out now before they disappear forever!  HKDLSource has a great gallery filled with all sorts of pictures of the decorations and all you have to do is click here.

The real highlight of the Chinese New Year Celebration is the entertainment.  Hong Kong Disneyland has two large scale offerings for their guests: Jumping Jam and Celebration in the Street.  Celebration in the Street is a small parade like celebration that runs down Main Street USA.  It features traditional music, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, and other performers as they march down Main Street twice a day.  Jumping Jam, is new for Year of the Tiger!  It is a 360 stage show in the “hub” of Hong Kong Disneyland, right in front of the castle!  It features over 40 performers, acrobats, drummers, and more.  Hong Kong Disneyland teamed up with an elite team of drummers so that each show would feature live percussion!

On each of the 4 spokes that extend out of the stage, there is a different style of acrobatics.  One of them is a incredibly strong couple, another is a balancing act you have never seen before, and there are several other acts that are very unique to Hong Kong Disneyland.

Towards the end of the show, Mickey Mouse joins the celebration and plays along with the rest of the drummers before T-i-double g-er comes out to bounce around in the grand finale.  Flags fly though the air as the beat of the drum radiates through the crowd in a spectacular confetti filled finale.

Hong Kong Disneyland may be small, but it is great at the things it does.  The Chinese New Year Celebration seems like a great time to visit the park with all of the decorations, luck, and entertainment going around the park!  I for one would love to see a park, stateside, do a celebration like this during 4th of July, but that is just my park thought.

So what do you think of the Year of the Tiger Celebration at Hong Kong Disneyland?  Leave a comment with your park thought below.

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