Seriously, there is zero need to do this. We got to Toy Story lot at 5:30am for an 8:00am opening, and that was even too early. You only have to be in the park by 8:00am. That said ... ​

This is just to make sure you don't get nervous about getting in. We want to make sure this process is as stress free as possible. You never know when there may be a system issue, you pick a bad line, you have a ticket issue, etc. ​

When we got into the park (about an hour and 15 minutes before the park opened) everybody headed straight to Starbucks. Forget that. We went to Jolly Holiday, found a short line and sat and relaxed. 

The hub was filled with people, but 5 minutes before park opened they released all of these people into the park. ​

So we decided to just stay where we were and it worked out. 

We can't stress this enough. Download the Disneyland App. Make sure all of your groups tickets are linked on the app. On everybody's app. The more people you have trying to get a boarding group the better your chances are. ​

We think this was the biggest mistake people made. Instead of waiting for the page to refresh, click "My Status" as shown below. Another page will open and allow you to join a group from there. 

Many people actually tried to re-start the app because the Join Boarding Group button didn't refresh. And by then, it's too late. ​

Once one person in your group gets a spot, you all have a spot and the app will lock everybody else out. 

There's no need to hang out in front of the ride, or worry that you're going to miss it. You have a 2-hour ride window, so go enjoy the parks. If you have a group from 1-30 chances are your group will be called within the first 4 hours of park opening (as long as the ride does not break down). So I'd stay inside Disneyland. Groups past that, feel free to do whatever. ​

Just because you have a boarding group doesn't mean you are going to get to ride in 5 minutes. We had group 27 on Saturday and we got in to ride about 11:15 (after the ride shut down for about an hour at around 10:15, when our group was originally called). We were done about 12:10.

​The queue wait time was probably 30-40 minutes and the entire experience from beginning to end is about 20-25 minutes. ​

But we have heard of the queue being close to an hour prior to boarding. 

Seriously ya'll, this is an experience like no other. Our group of 5 were completely blown away, from beginning to end. There are jaw-dropping moments everywhere. 

So what did I think of the ride? You can see my non-spoiler review below. 

We hope these tips help you to make the most out of your experience. We've now experienced one day and seen 3 days of the process, so we are pretty sure these tips will be beneficial. 

If you've experienced Rise of the Resistance and have any additional tips, feel free to share them below!! 

We'll have a general park update posted later today including Lunar New Year fun. 

This morning, a series of events has caused Six Flags to issue a red-flag warning about the near and long term future of the company, and that the financial situation there is finally coming to clearer view in 2020.

If you've read some of my analysis of the issues at SFInc. for the past few years, I've issued some warnings based up on their fiscal situation, and the issues carrying forward. Their debt situation, the gambling on foreign growth, and the lack of forward investment in their existing parks has been a background cause-effect push that is now showing the results.

In the long-term, the future is not clear, and nearly impossible to completely figure out a due course on. However, there are some things which are clues to the future and to what the next steps for SFInc. are.

DEBT:
​
SFInc's debt picture has never been very strong - in fact, under Jim Reid-Andersen's leadership, the company has racked up a rather stunning $3.6 BILLION in direct debt. At the same time, the spending and paying out of dividends for the company have been nearly all of the operational profits in the company for the better part of five straight years. This, combined with an unwise stock buyback program has kept the stock price artificially high. Where other companies (more wisely) will take portions of the profit and re-invest them back in the company's interests, the company chose to give the money back to the investors and shareholders, of which a good chunk of the board of directors at SFInc. The result is the assets owned now are exceeded by the debt of the company, with a nearly $1.0 BILLION negative equity ratio. What that means is that there is more debt to assets at SFInc, and that the situation is not getting better.

FOREIGN PARK LICENCING/MANAGEMENT:
​
SFInc. has been busy trying to grow the brand by licencing out their parks overseas. Operations in the Middle East (Dubai/Abu Dhabi) and China (Several parks) would have granted additional cash flow into the company with little investment directly. SFInc. was to have made profits off of operating and licencing the parks, as one estimate under J.R.A. was as high as nearly $400,000,000.00 per year.

The bubble burst here. In fact, as of the notice this morning, the Chinese projects have defaulted in payments to not only SFInc. but also to several major ride builders. This alone will cost the company directly (The actual figures are not known at this point - but will be soon.) In addition, the Dubai/Abu Dhabi projects died in progress - leading to an even bigger deficit on the financials of SFInc.

LACK OF PARK INVESTMENT:
​
For years now, SFInc. has relied on the duplication process within most of their parks. Standardized rides such as Justice League, SkyScreamers, RMC rebuilds and other projects have taken center stage while the addition of unique experiences to other parks has become the driving force behind Six Flags's expansion strategy.

It didn't work.

While a handful of the parks got new and creative expansions (West Coast Racers, Wonder Woman at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, MAXX Force at Six Flags Great America), other parks and smaller parks simply got the runaround, and a series of duplicated flat rides with various DC Universe names on it. Some creative new flat rides ended up being duds and were expensive flops; other rides failed to generate the needed buzz and excitement. Even some of the largest (and more profitable) Six Flags parks did not gain much over the years, despite their ability to generate higher profits for the company.

And lest we forget Six Flags St. Louis. SFinc. certainly has. It has been many years since any serious investment in the park has happened.

​The result is that the asset base (the owned parks and the attractions therein) has actually SHRUNK - leading to less property equity on the balance sheet, and further eroding the fiscal state of the company.

LACK OF PASSHOLDER/MEMBERSHIP GROWTH:
​
It was revealed today that the company's plan to grow forward and increase the passholder base over the years has in fact failed - with a negative growth rate in 2019. Passholders generate quite a bit of revenue overall, and the gamble was their higher return rate to the parks would generate additional revenues overall.

In effect, this was a HUGE mistake.

With the rise of the dining plan, and the higher-tier membership plans, once those tickets are paid for, revenue per head drops drastically per visit. If you are a frequent flyer, you will cost the company more money per head than what they expected. This was a fallacy that has been many years in progress. In addition, these value based tickets were priced at bargain basement prices - ones that are unprofitable at almost any price level.

​If you compare the annual prices for a Cedar Fair Season Pass vs. a Six Flags Season pass, you see the prices for Cedar Fair are FAR higher. Even higher than that is a pass to a Herschend Park - at nearly 4x the price of a Six Flags pass. In effect, they are pricing the passes for profit - not for attendance drives. In turn, they are making more money per park entry than others are.

THE FUTURE:

Six Flags has been dancing on the financial knife now for many years. The new CEO who took over from Jim Reid-Anderson is now seeing the financial difficulties that the SFInc. is entering - and now has a situation that is going to be painful and long-lasting.

Over the next seven years, SFInc. will face financial obstacles including their long and short term debt issues, in addition to several very large payments due from 20 plus years ago. This includes issues with both the Texas and Georgia properties (neither of which are owned outright by SFInc, but rather owned by private lease-hold groups and managed by SFInc.) in addition to land leasing issues with a number of their parks (Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags Great Escape). These will be expensive to renegotiate, and potentially could mean further cuts and price increases.

The solutions are out there - the question remains how to make the best out of a very rough situation. SFInc. has some good strengths - but must capitalize on them to make right course changes in their company path.

First, they must SHRINK.

By this, it is time to let go of the Texas and Georgia properties, and sell them for what they are worth to new owners. These two parks will need nearly $500,000,000.00 in system and physical upgrades over the next 10 years - namely as these two parks are well into their 50's. Infrastructure upgrades are necessary to maintain these aging parks in addition to new attractions and restoration/revitalization of older ones.

Second, they must INVEST.

SFInc. needs to realign their spending and instead of pumping out massive dividends to keep their stock price afloat, they need to put money into all the parks in their system - both owned and leased. The Xerox machine needs to be thrown out, and creative minds without the expensive licencing agreements need to become standard again. Not every park needs Magic Mountain rides, but ALL parks need new attractions to stay fresh and creative - and to draw more people into their gates more often. Duplication failed - it's time for a new approach. At the same time, they must increase ticket prices - in some cases doubling the prices on some season pass/membership levels to reflect the appropriate level of visits and services expected.

Third, they must FOCUS.

Instead of trying to be the biggest name everywhere through management-leasing parks in addition to the owned chain parks, they need to FOCUS on making what they have work, instead of building a network of so-so (or worse...) parks. People will not visit other parks in the system regularly if they have no need to because their existing park is crap.

Fourth, they need to learn TREATMENT.

One of the biggest complaints I know from talking to people working at SFInc. is the treatment of the employees - and in return, the treatment of the guests. Customer Service in the parks is consistently inconsistent, and can vary from exceptional down to absolutely awful (Sadly, for some parks, the latter is more common than the former.) A return to friendlier policies and more guest-centered ideas should be a primary focus. Instead of looking at the guests as a nuisance, look at each one as a friend, a family member, a loved one. A better attitude and a better experience = more guests returning and spending money there.

Over the next 90 days, Six Flags Inc. will be coursing a very narrow and dangerous path. Financially speaking, the bad deeds and bad habits of JRA's past are now coming visible, and SFInc. is now in a dire situation. It will take creative leadership and creative re-design of the company to emerge again ready to compete.

Or there will be one hell of a fire-sale on used rides shortly.

R.D. Dewberry 1/10/2020

Good Morning from Six Flags Magic Mountain!! 

My day started off with sitting on West Coast Racers for about an hour. Not a bad way to start the day. It was pretty chilly!! 

They've added a LOT more themeing since the previews. The garage looks like, well, a garage now!! 

After sitting on the ride I decided to get off and get some sunrise footage of the ride, because let's be honest, sunrise coaster rides are awesome and all too rare. 

Including a time-lapse of the area and coaster. 

Some really cool details, even on the turnstile. 

They've done a really great job with the rest of The Underground. The store wasn't open for us today, we'll do a walk-through next time we're at the park. 

A walk-through of The Underground and some off-ride footage of the ride. 

54" is pretty appropriate for this ride! 

Look!! Established 2019!! So there!! =) 

They've really done a great job plussing The Underground in the past few weeks. 

Even the Go Kart loading area looks great! 

I spliced together two pics for this one, because I think it looks cool. 

The ride is incredibly photogenic

We also got some awesome Reverse POV, POV video and Drone Footage!! We love the way this turned out. Shout out to Gabe from Theme Park Duo for riding with me. 

And of course, we now have an official POV of the ride!! 

Vroom Vroom 

They've also added some Fabrication and Paint department videos 

More photos of the ride in motion 

The Mr Six Bus belongs here!! 

A few more pics of the ride in action

So what did I think of the ride? Well, if anything I love it more than I did when we did this review during the previews!! 

West Coast Racers officially opens this Thursday (January 9th). We won't be there opening day, but if you will be, tag us in your pics and we'll retweet them!! 

MIAMI (Jan. 6, 2020) – Carnival Cruise Line has launched a new marketing campaign, “The Fun Ones,” that celebrates the playful spirit of Carnival’s guests, how they choose fun, and the unique bond they have with their fellow cruisers who are “shamelessly true to themselves.”
An evolution of the brand’s Choose Fun campaign that launched in 2018 and introduced Shaquille O’Neal as the company’s Chief Fun Officer, the Fun Ones, created in tandem with advertising agency of record Anomaly, showcases those guests who embrace life by being their most fun-selves on board.
Combining vibrant imagery with tag lines like “The Fun Ones Plan for No Plans” and “Choose a Vacation as Fun as You,” the campaign conveys the everyone-is-welcome atmosphere that attracts nearly 6 million guests annually and how they make vacations more fun, while reminding viewers that when guests board a Carnival ship, they’re not sailing with strangers – they’re among friends.
This message is delivered in out-of-home elements along with 15-, 30- and 60-second commercials airing in key markets such as Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Tampa, Houston and Orlando on television and radio, as well as national digital properties including YouTube and Hulu. To view one of the spots, click here.
In one spot, a guest goes “full flamingo” and dons a pink flamingo-shaped inner tube as he shamelessly struts along the Lido Deck much to the delight of his fellow shipmates, while a bride playfully takes a plunge into the pool instead of tossing her bouquet to the crowd.
“We all have a ‘Fun One’ in our lives – someone we love to be around or want to be like and this campaign showcases the exuberant spirit of our guests who truly make a Carnival cruise a vacation like no other,” said Pete Callaro, senior vice president of brand and product marketing for Carnival Cruise Line. “When consumers see the new spots, they will recognize the ‘Fun One’ in their lives and be inspired to have that fun together on a Carnival cruise.”
To learn more about Carnival Cruise Line,visit Carnival.com. Carnival can also be found on:Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.​

###
About Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line, part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is "The World's Most Popular Cruise Line®" with 27 ships operating two- to 24-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. The line currently has two new ships scheduled for delivery – Mardi Gras in 2020 and an as-yet-unnamed ship in 2022. Carnival Cruise Line is certified as a Great Place to Work.

We arrived to the parking structure about 11:30am, which was about 90 minutes before they shut it down. So score on that one. 

I will say, the security and tram loading procedures at the park are MUCH better than they used to be. As we mentioned on our social media, there is a LOT of merging going on in the parking structure once you pay for parking. And Californian's absolutely SUCK at that. 

It was a beautiful day at DCA 

Our first stop after getting Soarin' fastpasses for later in the day was the Alfresco lounge which is now an AP lounge. The wait was about 1 hr 15 min. Which is odd, because for 19 years you could just walk right up here whenever it was open. But put "AP Exclusivity" on it, and well, you get an hour wait. 

The bonus of that "exclusivity" however is that the former "kind of AP Lounge", the Lamplighter, was about a 5 minute wait!! 

It was a warm day (for me) so a nice refreshing drink was in order. 

See, happy!! 

Lobster Nachos FTW! 

Since we hadn't been AP's since 2012 and our visit in December was kind of a whirlwind, we spent a lot of the day visiting attractions we hadn't done yet. Like this one!! 

We thought it was really cute. 

Nice to see Flik's Flyers still around. Still wish they'd kept this Bugs as it's my favorite Pixar movie. 

Alright, let's get to the food. Stuffing Mac and Cheese and some Cookie something or other Beer thing. Both were awesome. 

Macaron FTW! 

It was busy, we knew it would be. 

While waiting in line for the pork belly, got some pics and video of Avengers Campus. They've really improved the way they block construction for the bloggers. Thanks Disney. =) 

Mmm, Pork Belly. I love salty food. LOVE it. But this was almost too salty for me. Almost. 

The path from Cars Land to Hollywood is closed. 

We walked all the way around to sit in the Animation lobby and relax a bit. Still want this set up in my living room. 

We love Superstar Limo, err, Monsters Inc. 

Please, Disney, make Harryhausen's an actual eatery. 

Roz demands it. 

Heading back to try more food, this thing kept stalking us. So we stopped to watch. 

Paradise Pier as seen from the Little Mermaid Queue. 

EUREKA!!! 

We absolutely love this area of the park. (click any of the pics to see a larger version) 

After using our Soarin' fastpasses we headed back over to try some more food and drink. This is the Blood Orange Ale from SLOBrew. It was amazing. If you're ever in San Luis Obispo, be sure to go to their actual brewery. It's amazing. 

This was from our visit there last year. 

We then took on Radiator Springs Racers single rider line. We love it so!! 

The last bit of Christmas. 

After having a yummy dinner at Flo's we decided to walk through Downtown Disney on the way back to the car. We really like the new walkway and bridge. Like even more that it's a nice gentle slope. =) 

That's gonna wrap it up for this quick update, we'll be back at the park on the 18th for Rise of the Resistance!! Can't wait. 

Written by Renée Girard

It’s currently 5:25am and I’m here with just a few others at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

​CMs are saying that park will open at 7am and that we may be entering the park before then but cannot join the virtual queue for RotR till 7am. Has that always been the case? From what I’ve seen, people have joined the virtual queue before 7?

30 minutes later at 5:55am and the line behind me is huge. 

Cast Compliment to all the cast members at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that are up and working before the sun is up and managing the insane crowds. May The Force be with you this holiday season. 

6:35am, it’s raining. Gates are open! 

6:48am and I’m in the park but can’t join a boarding group yet. And Starbucks has quite the line!

6:53am. Nothing to do but wait and keep check for boarding groups to open, go shopping, or get Starbucks.

People are not happy that they got here early and can’t get a boarding pass yet. We’ll see how the app handles everyone trying to get one at 7am.

​Success

While I wait for my boarding group... let’s ride!

​No boarding groups have been called for RotR yet, so wait times for other rides are starting to climb.

“How about some boarding passes?”. 

Even with boarding groups opening at 7am, they are still gone before 8am.

Not a bad score for so early in the morning!

Breakfast at Oga’s and then it’s time to join the resistance. 

My group got called about 8:30am while I was at Oga’s. 

I’m going in! No spoilers, I promise!

​The queue has a Flight of Passage feel to me so far. Pretty sure the key word here is immersive. 

Heading in to get our assignment from BB8 and Rey.

​Just got off Rise of the Resistance. Absolutely incredible! There wasn’t any down time at all while I was in there. Lives up to all of the hype.

​I’m exhausted and going to nap now but once again, Rise of the Resistance is amazing. If the virtual queue bookings are going to continue to open at 7, I’d still get there early - they were already gone before 8. I was off the ride just before 10. Totally worth it.