Traveling the Globe for the Best Coasters and Theme Parks
Sean and Alex disect the 2024 D23 announcements in detail. Reactions, Details, Analysis, and Questions – 90 minutes of Disney Horizons talk that covers all the bases.
** Please note this was recorded prior to Walt Disney World releasing plans to place the Magic Kingdom Cars attractions where Rivers of America are.
Continue reading “D23 Announcements – Answers and Questions!”
Rattle your way around the track of Phoenix Rising at Busch Gardens Tampa, travel down to the Bayou with Tiana and her many musician animal friends at Magic Kingdom, and join us on SeaWorld Orlando’s second 2-seater B&M coaster, Penguin Trek! How do these three major new attractions in Central Florida measure up? Do they live up to the hype?
Continue reading “NEW In Central Florida: Tiana’s Penguin Rising!”
This evening, the brand-new TRON Lightcycle Run roller coaster at Magic Kingdom reached another testing milestone. The ride’s massive canopy, light effects, and on-board audio were all synchronized for testing during park hours. Some trains even carried passengers. In addition, we’ve gotten a closer look at the accessible car at the end of select TRON Lightcycle Run trains, which allows those unable to ride the lightcycle while lying down to do so while sitting upright.
Continue reading “TRON Lightcycle Run at Magic Kingdom Tests with Light Effects and Human Riders!”
TRON: Lightcycle Run, a highly anticipated new attraction at Magic Kingdom, has been testing practically nonstop for weeks. The new Vekoma coaster has undergone numerous test cycles, but so far we have only observed empty vehicles and those with test dummies. Nonetheless, we now have footage of actual riders. Hopefully this signifies that the ride will open sooner rather than later.
Continue reading “Human Riders on TRON: Lightcycle Run at Magic Kingdom”
Beginning with resort-saving Space Mountain de la Terre a la Lune in 1995, Disney was the unlikely champion of the modern launch coaster. Before Premier Rides, Intamin, and other industry juggernauts had their hand at next-generation launchers, Disney partnered with Vekoma to create the first new catapult-propelled coaster in over a decade (one that, unlike its predecessors, would run multiple trains on a full circuit).
Continue reading “The 5 Best Disney Launch Coasters”
UPDATED – August 2022
We didn’t plan on riding Rex’s Racer on our 2019 visit to Shanghai Disneyland . The new credit was tempting, but we assumed the line would be too long to be a good use of time – after all, we already had the Paris and Hong Kong ones.
On Shanghai Disneyland day the crowds were light, and when we checked out the new Toy Story Land, we noticed Rex’s Racer going out with empty seats. “Eh, why not” we said. After riding, it occurred to us that we’d now ridden every coaster Disney has ever built – but not for long. Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleds will open at Hong Kong Disneyland before we know it, and with no plans for a Hong Kong Disney visit in our near future, we know our every-Disney-coaster-ridden claim had an expiration date.
Naturally we decided to write an article ranking all operating Disney coasters – it may have taken years for us to get around to it, but we’ve finally put it together. We’re also pleased to include both Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Avengers Assemble: Flight Force in our latest revision!
Continue reading “All Disney Coasters – Ranked”
About this time in 2017, we dropped a Disney Rides Top 20 to celebrate the opening of Shanghai Disneyland. Five years and two revisions later, we’re back with the 3rd Edition of our Global Disney Top 20. We’re proud to bring an increasingly comprehensive countdown of Disney’s top rides from around the world – each one pushing the limits of storytelling entertainment and illustrating for the visionary artwork of Walt Disney Imagineering.
Continue reading “20 Best Disney Rides in the World – 2022 Edition”
Tremendous buzz and rave reviews surround EPCOT’s new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind coaster. Meanwhile, Magic Kingdom’s TRON Lightcycle Run is testing, and opening details are imminent. With these two gargantuan, futuristic, resort-defining Vekoma launched coasters making their landfall at Walt Disney World within a year of each other (after no major, high profile coaster since Animal Kingdom’s Expedition Everest since 2006), it begs the question: How are these coasters unique to each other, and which one is “better?”
Continue reading “TRON vs Guardians of the Galaxy – Cosmic Rewind: Which Coaster is Better?”
It’s been quite some time since we performed a proper TRON Lightcycle Run update, so for our first update of 2022 we decided to brave the Magic Kingdom holiday hysteria for some photos.
Continue reading “Magic Kingdom / TRON Update – January 2022”
There’s considerable carnage over at Animal Kingdom’s Dino-Land U.S.A.! Let’s see how Primeval Whirl is looking:
Continue reading “Primeval Whirl Demolition”
Disney’s second park was the very ambitious “Florida project”. Magic Kingdom opened in 1971 with much fanfare and started what has become the World’s largest resort. Magic Kingdom as a park continues to be the most attended theme park in the World at 20M+ annual visitors (pre-pandemic). Today, let’s see if Magic Kingdom is worth the hype.
Continue reading “Magic Kingdom – Crown Rating”
This will be a rather unusual report because we’re combining Iron Gwazi, TRON Lightcycle / Run and Jurassic World: VelociCoaster into one update! We visited the three parks/projects over the past three days and though we didn’t quite collect enough for three separate reports, we definitely have enough to share for an exciting Central Florida Coaster Construction report! Continue reading “Central Florida Coaster Construction + Testing – Mid-December 2020”
It’s been two years since our last Florida Coasters Top 10 – needless to say a lot has happened in these two years. We planned on holding off on our next Florida Top 10 until Iron Gwazi and VelociCoaster had opened; with the way 2020 unfolded, we ultimately decided to sound off on the region’s current collection of coasters without them. The next two years promise a dramatic shuffle in Central Florida coaster hierarchy, so let’s consider this 2020 countdown the foundation upon which we’ll judge the region’s variety of new coasters.
Continue reading “Coaster Kings’ Florida TOP 10 Coasters – 2020”
In 1981 Dutch fantasy park Efteling decided to add their first roller coaster. Already a well established theme-park they chose to make an investment that would make a big impact on the European market. Working with Dutch manufacturer Vekoma they unveiled the largest roller coaster in all of Europe, Python. Although a copy of the existing Arrow Huss Carolina Cyclone, this 4 inversion monster was unlike anything in the region. It was only 2 years after Blackpool Pleasure Beach had unveiled Europe’s first modern looping coaster and the first time modern inversions appeared in continental Europe. Efteling had built something loopier, larger, and unlike anything else that Europe had seen and it became a phenomenon. Python has been featured in numerous Dutch TV programs, was used by Porsche to film a television commercial, and continues to be one of the most popular attractions in the park. So beloved is this ride that in 2018 the park spent an estimated 4.5 Million Euro ($5.3 Million USD) to re-track the majority of the ride and ensure it continues to run for future generations. Continue reading “5 of America’s National Coaster Icons”
It’s been a few weeks since we launched a new TRON Lightcycle / Run update on the site. With this week’s cool temperatures, we figured we’d spend a day at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and share a TRON update with you. Continue reading “TRON Lightcycle / Run Construction Update – Magic Kingdom, December 1, 2020”
We’re back with another exciting TRON Lightcycle / Run Update from Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. In today’s update we’ll touch on some of the rumors and delays expected for this project, as well as the work that is continuing at this time! Continue reading “TRON Lightcycle / Run Update – Magic Kingdom – October 26, 2020”
After launching our Coaster Line last week, we’re now adding five new pieces to form the Coasters and Landmarks Line. These new pieces take us across the globe to some of the most iconic landmarks in the themed entertainment industry. Carefully chosen and designed based on our love for these remarkable icons, this week’s wonderous landmark designs can’t be missed: Continue reading “SHOP – 5 New Landmark Designs”
UPDATED: October 2020
We’ve had the amazing opportunity to travel to all Disney parks in the world, twice! Along with that, we’ve also been passholders for 8 out of the 12 parks! We’re critics – and thus can’t help but compare every experience at each Disney park. We’ve reasoned back and forth and have taken the changes over the past couple of years in account to create this list ranking all Disney parks in the World. (Please note that this article has been completely rewritten from our January 2019 edition). Continue reading “All Disney Parks in the World – Ranked”
It’s been a few weeks since we provided you with a TRON Lightcycle / Run Update from Magic Kingdom. As the project is trucking right along, we get more excited each day. Let’s take a quick look: Continue reading “Magic Kingdom and TRON Lightcycle / Run Update – October 13th 2020”
Disney is truly in a league of their own when it comes to themed areas. Our recent podcast covered this in great detail, but we wanted to produce a follow-up article to make a couple changes and reiterate some of our key points.