Weekend Update: Tokyo DisneySea, Diamondback, Toy Museum, Vintage Nevada
We know how much you love photos from Tokyo DisneySea, so TDLFAN has generously agreed to share some more views of the park from his recent visit there. We also have a Walt Disney World update this week from Denise nbodyhome Preskitt. That report is followed by information on one of the newest roller coasters in the U.S., Kings Island's Diamondback. As promised, we have the last installment in the NeverNeverland and YoyoFlamingo's trip to the Carter's Toy Museum. Last up is MickeyMaxx's trip back in time to Vintage Nevada.
Tokyo DisneySea
Tokyo, Japan
Due to popular demand... TDLFAN returns to Tokyo DisneySea.
Welcome to Tokyo DisneySea.
Where Imagination sets sails...
Characters parade on Mediterranean Harbor.
Via Paperino.
Spring Carnival 2009 is underway at TDS.
The Sentinel post.
La Picola fontana del Courtyard.
Streams...
This is not POTC.
Waterfalls...
Old fashioned cargo elevator.
Mediterranean Harbor and the TDS Miracosta Hotel.
On the way to Cape Cod..
Tower of Terror and Sakura Restaurant.
They mean it!!!
Canaletto.
Gondola Isle.
Let's get soaked in Waterfront Park.
New York Street.
Tower of Terror
New York facades.. on Broadway St.
Steamboat Willie's gift shop.
NYC Street... complete with elevated Tram.
Artwork greeting us at Electric Tram station in American Waterfront.. for a 1-way trip to Port Discovery..
Panoramic views from the Electric Tram..
Arriving at Post Discovery...
Lovely murals in the Electric Tram Station in Port Discovery.
Arriving in Lost River Delta..
Dense jungle in this area..
Lovely trail in Lost River Delta...leads to..
... the Temple of the Crystal Skull...
Mickey greets us in Arabian Coast!
Arabian Coast...
The Courtyard.
We go past Mermaid Lagoon on our way back to TDS' main entrance.
Inside Mysterious Island's crater..
One last look back before leaving Tokyo DisneySea.
Walt Disney World
Orlando, Florida
Denise nbodyhome Preskitt share this update from Walt Disney World:
Orlando, Florida
Denise nbodyhome Preskitt share this update from Walt Disney World:
I rode Characters in Flight once more, here are a few photos:
Stitch's SuperSonic Celebration:
I have a review up of Sanaa at the Kidani Village: [LINK]
Kidani Village:
Contemporary Resort Bay Lake Tower:
This area is for kid check-in at the Contemporary Resort:
Characters in Flight with my zoom lens:
Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade, now without the villain float but with MANY more characters:
And the first part (of 3) of my video from the parade:
Check out mousesteps.com for Denise's latest updates.
Looking for up-to-date reports from Disneyland
including photos, gossip, park schedules and more?
including photos, gossip, park schedules and more?
Visit these MiceChat columns each week:
Andy Castro's Dateline Disneyland
David DarkBeer Michael's In the Parks
Kings Island Strikes Back in 2009 with Diamondback
$22 million steel roller coaster will be park’s tallest, fastest, meanest ride!
$22 million steel roller coaster will be park’s tallest, fastest, meanest ride!
KINGS ISLAND, Ohio – The biggest and most exciting new attraction in Kings Island’s 36-year history, a 5,282-foot long steel hyper roller coaster named Diamondback, will change the landscape for thrill seekers when the ride makes its debut in 2009.
Diamondback will be the tallest, fastest and meanest roller coaster at Kings Island. The ride will stand 230 feet at its highest point with a first drop of 215 feet at a 74 degree angle and reach speeds in excess of 80 miles per hour. The ride features 10 vertical drops overall including drops of 193, 131, 129, 110 and 106 feet, two helixes – one at 323 degrees and the other at 287 degrees – and a spectacular splashdown ending. The ride experience on Diamondback will last more than three heart-pounding minutes.
“This ride is big – real big – intense and aggressive,” said Greg Scheid, Kings Island’s vice president and general manager. “Not only are the statistics of the ride awesome, but its use of the rugged natural terrain and spectacular splashdown ending ensures that no other roller coaster tops these thrills.”
The trains on Diamondback will feature unique, open-air stadium-style seating that will allow riders to experience an unobstructed view of all the thrills and excitement on one of the world’s best roller coasters. Kings Island will be the first park in the United States with trains of this style on a roller coaster.
Diamondback will be located in the western themed Rivertown area of the park and will prey over flat land, woods, water and rocks, slithering along nearly one mile of track through gut-wrenching drops, twists and turns, leaving riders feeling snake bitten.
“The western diamondback is the king of all rattlesnakes with a fearsome reputation,” Scheid said. “They’re big, mean, aggressive and terrifying. The name Diamondback accurately conveys the image of the characteristics of the coaster as it resembles that of a coiled snake ready to strike.”
Diamondback will be the biggest investment in Kings Island’s 36-year history at $22 million dollars and will be the park’s 15th world-class roller coaster.
Kings Island is owned and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, a publicly traded partnership that is listed for trading on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “FUN.” In addition to Kings Island, Cedar Fair owns and operates ten other amusement parks, six water parks, one indoor water park resort and five hotels. Cedar Fair also owns and operates the Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park in Gilroy, Calif. under a management contract.
Carter Toy Museum
Zionsville, Indiana
Last week, YoYoFlamingo and NeverNeverland began our tour at the Carter's Toy Museum in Zionsville, located close to Indianapolis. You can find out more about the museum at this link: Carter's Toy Museum. And if you would like to see the all the shots our guides took on this trip, you will find those here: FLICKR
We start Part II with some treasures for the DISNEY LOVERS...
Dwarves...
CREEEEEPY Dwarf masks....
Mr Peanut Peanut Butter Maker = AWESOME
They also had a big train set on the 3rd floor.
Mickey in the Box!
Jeff and I really want to start a board game museum now!
Yay Robin Hood!
I found this motorcycle with the naked pink baby fascinating.
Disney tea set for sale in the antiques shop:
And a cookie jar that is Minnie on one side and Mickey one the other:
OF COURSE we had to have ice cream in the shop. Delicious!
his toy - the cutain would opn and the band would play. Neat!!
Again....all of the pics, including many more are in my flickr set.
Hope you enjoyed!!
Vintage Nevada
Nevada has long been a favored getaway. In the Mid-Twentieth Century it was long on beautiful vistas, provided a less hectic lifestyle, and, oh yes, did we mention gambling?
"The Hacienda Hotel where guests can enjoy their golf as well as one of the nation's finest Olymic size pools. The finest of entertainment is also provided nightly."
Rick has many memories of visiting the Hacienda with his parents as a kid. He and I went there many decades ago, to sample the "best buffet in town." It was a very long drive down the strip and it stood nearly alone. Hard to believe the Mandalay Bay Resort is now on this property. And it seems like such a short drive these days.
Quote:
In 1956, the 256 room Hacienda opened and felt isolated at the far south end of the Strip. It never spurred any development in the area. In 1980, the Hacienda opened an 11-story addition. Circus Circus Inc. built the Excalibur hotel and the Luxor in the same area. Their successes led Circus Circus Inc. to buy the Hacienda and place their premiere property-the Mandalay Bay resort. The Hacienda was imploded on New Year's Eve 1996.
"The Stardust featuring the Lido de Paris, with 60 Stars, Exciting Acts, Gorgeous Girls." How do you top that? Well, the Happy Jesters were also appearing at the resort.
Quote:
After 32 Years of Flash and Feathers, Las Vegas's Oldest Continuous Stage Show Packs Up Its Sequins Forever!
"Reno, the biggest little city in the world."
Quote:
Reno, Nevada is commonly known as the "biggest little city in the world." Although Reno has used this slogan since at least 1910, there have been other American cities both before and after that date that have used the "biggest little city/town" slogan.
Harold's Club's claim to fame was "the world's largest air curtain." Well, that and the stage bar, open 24 hours. They feature Red Nichols and His Five Pennies [get it?], The Marksmen, Saunders and Miller, and Deedy and Bill.
On the back of the Horseshoe Club card, "Most Intimate Club" is hand written. Does that mean it is small, or is it some kind of code?
The Circus Room Theater Restaurant at John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks. "353 rooms, 7 restaurants, convention facilities, world's finest entertainers nightly."
The same family still owns the Nugget, and John is still alive!
Quote:
For more than half a century, John Ascuaga and Northern Nevada have been inextricably linked. In fact, the great growth and evolution of John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino Resort—originally a 60-seat coffee shop with only a handful of slot machines—has been a mirror image of the region's explosive expansion.
At the Silver Queen over in Virginia City, they had the Silver Queen Protrait. Her dress contained 3,261 silver dollars, the belt had 28 twenty dollar gold pieces. "While only a few of the coins are of the Carson City mintage, a large percentage of them undoubtedly contain silver that was first mined thousands of feet beneath this very building." Undoubtedly!
Even a small town like Tahoe was featuring big stars. Jack Benny was at Harrah's when this card was shot.
Before Downtown had the Fremont Street Experience, it had this "New Look . . . The new electic neon signs on the Horseshoe Club and the Golden Nugget light up the sky with a great blaze of color." I want to know how they got the cowboy sign to levitate back then. Too long ago to be a Siegfried and Roy illusion.
Joe W. Brown's Horseshoe Club in Downtown had a giant horseshoe displaying one hundred $10,000 bills. That's right, folks, a cool million bucks!
This is a great article which also tells several other interesting Nevada stories.
Quote:
A few years ago, Chuck Brooks visited the Horseshoe and it was gone. He asked an older female employee in the money cage what had happened. She said it had been sold to a collector for $13 million.
Thank goodness for free cocktails. All these lavish reminders of where all our money went might make us reconsider our twice-yearly trips to Nevada.
Visit Weekend Update next week to see SummerInFL's
trip to a classic roadside Florida attraction: The Sunken Gardens.
trip to a classic roadside Florida attraction: The Sunken Gardens.
And that brings us to the end of another week. Our photographers have just enough time to reload their cameras before we see you all again next weekend. Thank you to all of our wonderful readers, and as always, a huge thank you to our amazing team of global photographers, spies, and gossips:
TDLFAN
Denise nbodyhome Preskitt (mousesteps.com)
SummerInFl (wdwfanpics.com)
sir clinksalot
MickeyMaxx
BigPigletFan
Abominable Snowman
"Postcard Junkie" darkfairycthulu (postcardjunkie.blogspot.com)
Fishbulb
PhotoMatt
Jack Hollywood 1939 Wixom
A very special thank you to to our wonderful guest photographers YoYoFlamingo and NeverNeverland for sharing their vision with us.
Your Editor - Rixter
Where have YOU been recently? We invite you to share your photos of theme parks or any other destination that may be of interest to our readers. Please feel free to contact me via MiceChat Private Message (screen name Rixter)
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Total Comments 23
Comments
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Swell, just as we start getting enthused by the changes happening to DCA, you throw those TDS pictures at us. Now it's going to be hard again to appreciate the DCA enhancements, even if they did everything they promoted and then some.Posted 05-10-2009 at 09:34 PM by bfdf55
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fab pivs of vegas, reno, wdw/disneyland etc
Posted 05-11-2009 at 12:02 PM by wdwnut4life -
"Reno, the biggest little city in the world."
Quote:
Reno, Nevada is commonly known as the "biggest little city in the world." Although Reno has used this slogan since at least 1910, there have been other American cities both before and after that date that have used the "biggest little city/town" slogan.
"The Reno Arch, the open gateway to fun, glamour, and entertainment."
Harold's Club's claim to fame was "the world's largest air curtain." Well, that and the stage bar, open 24 hours. They feature Red Nichols and His Five Pennies [get it?], The Marksmen, Saunders and Miller, and Deedy and Bill.
On the back of the Horseshoe Club card, "Most Intimate Club" is hand written. Does that mean it is small, or is it some kind of code?
I went to Reno Nevada for the first time, when I was 11 years old. I went with my parents and downtown Reno looked exactly like the photos above. I remember the crazy facade on the casino with the giant dolls, (look in the second postcard, just below the sign for Reno).Posted 06-17-2009 at 04:00 PM by Gullywhumper
