To hope to start spreading some positive vibes among #ThemeParkTwitter and #DisTwitter again, instead of just doing a "Follow Friday" or similar type post, going to post some of our favorite accounts, and WHY we love them so much. Had originally started doing this on Twitter, but it was going to be WAY too long, so here you go. - Gregg

• @theseasonpass - One of the original, if not THE original Theme Park Podcast. At the very least, Doug's is probably the most respected in the industry. ​
• @westcoasternet enjoy some snark along with some amazing pics and theme park stuff? Jim is for you. One of my oldest and dearest friends.
• @CoasterForce just pure coaster enthusiast fun
• @BehindThrills great coverage of FL and CA parks with some beautiful pics
• @DLthings one of the most honest Disney accounts around, mad respect for Matt
• @CACoasterKings how many accounts do you guys even have now? Great coverage of parks all around the world, not just CA
• @mousesteps - Denise's blog is amazing, great coverage of Disney in both FL and CA, one of the nicest people to boot
• @knotts_network - Fantastic coverage of Knott's Berry Farm, and good people
• @isitoctoberyet - Not Hockey related (although they are huge Vegas Golden Knight's fans now), but all about the amazingness that is the Halloween Season. And some dear friends.
• @coaster101 - Another great coaster account, great pics and updates from parks all across the country
• @mouseinfo - Easily one of the most respected Disney sites around
• @SkwalkingPod - A great Disney/Star Wars podcast and site, one of the nicest theme park couples around
• @milestomemories - Travel tips beyond theme parks? You won't find any site better than this one.
• @thrillgeek - Just fantastic updates from Disney, Universal and everything else
• @coasterstudios - Honestly, a bit jealous of Taylor, he came on huge and has deservedly grown into one of the biggest and best coaster YouTube channels around.
• @ThemeParks - Dwayne has all of our dream jobs, but he doesn't let that get in the way of having some great content and fun
• @thecoasterguy - Kurt isn't as active these days as he once was, but any list of our follows would be incomplete without one of our earliest supporters and greatest friends
• @musetv - We first met Mike at our first media event at Universal Hollywood (HHN 2015 I think). His site has grown but he's still just an awesome guy and friend.
• @CPFoodBlog - Are ya hungry? You will be after giving them a follow. Great coverage of all of the different Cedar Fair parks, focusing mostly on food.
• @GamingShogun - Theme Parks and Video games = awesome. Another group of good friends.
• @socialhorrornet - A great resource for the Halloween scene in SoCal and beyond.
• @schmoofy - The self-described middle ground between blogger and troll. And he means it. A fun follow that always tells it like it is.
• @ParksAndCons - the ultimate resource for Cons. Seriously, don't go to SDCC without giving them a follow. And their theme park coverage is pretty amazing too. =)
• @MACC_Coasters - Great theme park page focusing mainly on parks in Georgia and the South.
• @SoCal360 - Hands down some of the most amazing theme park videos around.
• @TheCoasterCrew - Another great coaster page, along with some great events held in parks across the country. And just generally nice folks.
• @Horror_Buzz - Amazing coverage of all things horror, from theme parks to film.
• @OrlParkPass - Great coverage of all of Orlando, even beyond Theme Parks.
• @thechrisglass - Chris is definitely one of our favorite follows for his opinions on parks and other things
• @TPTravels - No, not that TP. Theme parks silly. And they travel to them. And do an amazing job of it.
• @WildGravityTravels - Great theme park coverage concentrating mostly on Ohio Parks, namely King's Island
• @Kevidently - Another great fun follow for theme park related stuff
• @DisneyCoastToCoast - A great Disney Podcast focusing on the parks and everything else related to the WDC
• @CoasterInsanity - Travels to theme parks around the world, based in the south, a great resource for traveling to that area
• @DisneyRunr24 - Justin is a great encouraging person when it comes to running that first or 50th Disney race
• @thisfloridalife - A great Disney follow, not because she's promoting stuff, just because she loves Disney
• @OneGoldenSun - A fantastic follow for Florida related theme park and non-theme park stuff.
• @ShowcaseWishes - There are SO many great Disney accounts out there, accounts that so love the WDC and their parks. Great breaking news account.
• @FLCoasterClub - Looking for a new coaster club based in FL? You won't find one better.
• @DeeMagicGurl - One of the nicest people on social media, and a knowledgeable resource for Disney
• @ThemeParkDuo - An amazing theme park podcast and website, have grown into a Trio. Can't wait to see what they do, watch out for them!!
• @Freaks_HHN - An amazing resource for all things Halloween Horror Nights. And super encouraging to other sites that do the same.
• @OrangeGrove55 - Another great Disney YouTuber (I think I'm too old to use that word). Super encouraging to all and a great follow.
• @CreepyKingdom - All of the awesome Creepy Stuff at theme parks and beyond.
• @KrisMeetsWorld - Another great travel resource for theme parks and other travel
• @ThemeParkConnect - Can you follow enough awesome coaster accounts? I certainly don't think so. A great site for Disney and coaster parks.
• @Coaster365 - Honestly, and I don't even think they know this, but one of the highlights of my day is always seeing their "Coaster of the Day" Tweets
• @ParkVault - Do you love theme park history? If you do, give them a follow.
• @BuckeyeCoaster - A great follow for coaster info in Ohio and more
• @VitalVegas - Tremendous resource for all things Las Vegas, they helped us with the Speed: The Ride Rumor
• @westcoasterintern - Last and certainly not least. Don't know why Jim needs an intern, but many times he's better than the actual thing. =)

Note: We did not include any "media" accounts, just site/blog/social media accounts we enjoy.
Note 2.0: There are many, many other accounts we follow and all of them are worth it. We've just included the ones we've had the most interactions with over the years. Hope nobody feels left out by this. =)

They managed the crowd by only allowing a certain number of people in at a time. Even with this crowd management, it was packed pretty tightly and uncomfortably busy at first. Eventually, the crowd subsided and it was much more manageable.

Plus and Minus
+ This is one of the best shops with plenty of Easter Eggs
+ Fun and appropriate merchandise.

- The space is small and doesn’t allow for a large crowd at a time. I have a feeling that this shop may be overly packed when Star Wars Land no longer requires reservations.

Additionally, if you are feeling like you want to mortgage your house, or sell your firstborn, there is a life-sized R2-D2 unit that will set you back $25,000 + and $800 delivery fee (sorry, no passholder discounts on this one). As of our visit on June 11, the shop had sold 3 of these units

As a side note, the droids that you build here cannot be used in the park with their remotes. You are allowed to carry the unit around however which is something you will likely want to do. These droids will interact with the scenery and other droids they may encounter in the park. It is also my understanding that the personality chips in these droids will affect these interactions. There are three personality types:
1.Rebellion (not sure why the Rebellion symbol was used instead of the Resistance)
2.Scoundrel
3.First Order

Plus and Minus
+ The theming, again, is fantastic. 
+ The Easter Eggs here require a little more attention and thought.

- While we didn’t participate in the experience, we had heard that the lines were quite long.
- This was another spot that we felt Disney underestimated popularity and the small number of workstations will cause long waits.

Update: the new owners of the Sahara have confirmed Speed: The Ride is NOT coming back. 😢

https://www.cdcgamingreports.com/commentaries/sahara-2-0-rebranded-strip-casino-will-pay-homage-to-the-resorts-past-in-our-spirit/

​“He also shot down rumors. The renovations will not include a rollercoaster – in its final years the Sahara was home to “Speed-The Ride.” Also, NASCAR Café, which was home to the six-pound, two-foot-long burrito of “Man versus Food” fame, is not returning.
​
“That was a Sahara of a different era,” Hobson said.”

If you've been following us for awhile you'll know we don't really do a whole lot of rumors on this site. And we definitely don't do rumors sent to us from inside source at theme parks (yep, we actually DO have inside sources at theme parks, but we respect NDA's). 

But this one doesn't come from one of those, it comes from Vital Vegas (give them a follow for great Las Vegas updates). 

The long rumored name change of the Sahara back to the Sahara finally took place (it should have never changed in the first place). So that's a cool bit of Vegas history coming back. 

We saw this last night and started talking a bit about Speed: The Ride. 

A little history about Vital Vegas, they had a great source that had confirmed the name change back to Sahara. 

Well this same source has also said Speed: The Ride is coming back. 

For those who don't know, Speed: The Ride is a Premiere launched coaster that operated at The Sahara from 2000 to 2011. And it was all kinds of awesome. 

Have also talked to our Team Park Journey Las Vegas Expert (RD) who said that despite the ride sitting out in the Vegas sun since 2011 it is in excellent condition. And while it would need some "TLC", it wouldn't take much. 

In addition, the trains are not out in the open and are in fact in storage containers. But would also need some TLC of course. 

So there it is, our big Rumor. 

This is actually not the first time this rumor has come up, but the fact that the company that now owns the Sahara has reversed course on the name due to lack of enthusiasm, maybe, just maybe they'll try to draw some more people to that end of the strip with a roller coaster. 

We can only hope, because Speed: The Ride was truly awesome!!

Now, if we could only get it without the OTSR's. =) 

Entering Batuu:
“Batuu was once a thriving stop for traders and travelers before advancements in lightspeed technology. Now its lush forests and majestic mountain regions are known only to those who dare to venture this far into the Outer Rim. At the infamous Black Spire Outpost, smugglers and rogues peddle their wares among the towering remains of petrified trees while the locals cook up exotic dishes and spin tales of ancient settlers long forgotten. Recently, the struggle between the First Order and the Resistance has made its way to this remote locale, once a haven for those hoping to avoid entanglements with the First Order.” 

There are three entrances into Batuu and both our reservations brought us in through the same location. The Western most entrance (where we entered) is between Hungry Bear Restaurant and the Rivers of America. The other two entrances are located on the North side of Big Thunder Mountain. In my opinion, the two entrances by Big Thunder are smooth enough although not gradual. Contrast that with the entrance by Hungry Bear which is much longer and provides a more rich experience. We used the other two as exits and right before exiting, I doubled back to experience what it would feel like entering the land through this route.

Scenery:

As we entered Batuu, we were greeted by the sights and sounds of the planet. For some distance this consisted of path lights, mature trees and music/sound effects. As we continued further, we couldn’t help but feel that we were no longer in Disneyland but somewhere completely different. When I walk into Disneyland, under the train and down Mainstreet USA, I can’t help but sense that I have left the real world behind and entered into one of imagination. This is the same feeling I experienced when walking into Batuu from the western entrance. As I continued further, I began to compare this land to Animal Kingdom Park in Florida because of the path designs and foliage used. Maybe it was just me, but there seemed to be quite a few similarities. Let us know if I’m way off base on this or if this is your experience as well.

As you get closer to Black Spire Outpost, signs of civilization begin to appear. On your right, you will first encounter both an A-Wing and X-Wing pictured below. The X-Wing doubles as a stage area  and there is a short presentation which is described later in the “Characters” section. There are some other stage areas across the land that gave us the impression that more of these short immersive presentations were bound to be added later on.

​To the left is the ride entrance to Rise of the Resistance which will open during Phase 2. As you continue further, you will come across booths where you can grab merchandise on the way in or out. This was the first real disappointment as these shops felt like a distraction from the overall experience.  I get it, merchandise is a big part of Disney’s revenue, but as you will see later, the execution of this versus the Marketplace is night and day and I would have loved to have seen that level of integration here. It was quite anti-climactic.

The detail that went into the design of the land is spectacular. From the pathways and lights to the life-size Millennium Falcon, the overall feel is otherworldly.

​Plus and Minus
+ The transition from Disneyland to Batuu was quite magical much like passing through Mainstreet USA.

- The merch booths appeared very out of place and really detracted from the overall experience.

Characters
While the land offers no meet and greets, Characters roam the land and interact freely with the guests. Every hour, there is a show (really just an announcement of the beginning of an interaction period) where the First Order begins searching for Resistance fighters. Kylo Ren and Storm Troopers will question you regarding your data pad (cell phone), your allegiance, and the last known whereabouts of the Resistance members including Rey herself. Rey and resistance members will also wander the area and interact with guests. They will hide from the First Order, asking guests to stall for them or to help them hide. Rey will run around with kids and “sneak” around the land to spy on the First Order.

As mentioned earlier, there is small stage area around the X-Wing near the western entrance. There a Pilot and Chewbacca work to get the X-Wing airborne again. This short presentation with lights and sound effects are just a small added experience that helps make this land feel more immersive.

Storm Troopers are more than willing to stop for the occasional selfie. In the case of the photo below, the Trooper actually helped my daughter angle the camera just right. She was quite excited about the opportunity.

Overall, the character experience is quite fun and this type of interaction takes a page out of the classic Disney Book. Big Thunder Ranch, where part of Star Wars Land now sits, used to be a location where characters would come out and interact with guests in this fashion. They would take photos but their primary purpose was to play.

Plus and Minus
+ The interactions brought back memories of Big Thunder Ranch and some of the character experiences that my kids had years ago. 

- We only saw Rey and the Resistance fighters a few times. Seeing a few more characters like other resistance members or Storm Troopers out interacting would have greatly added to the feel of immersion.

Kat Saka’s Kettle (No Discounts): 

• Bottled drinks 
• Sweet and spicy(cinnamon) popcorn. 

-Ronto’s Roasters (AP/DVC Discounts): 

• Bottled Drinks 
• Specialty Drinks
• Breakfast and lunch/dinner options

-Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo (AP/DVC Discounts): 

• Fountain Drinks, Milk, Coffee, Juice
• Specialty Beverages
• Breakfast and lunch/dinner options

Quick notes on the food locations. You may have heard that Ronto’s Roasters has the best food item, the Ronto Wrap. I have to say that I absolutely agree with this statement. At Docking Bay 7, we tried the Braised Shaak Roast and it was pretty good. The Yobshrimp Noodle Salad was a bit bland. The other items were alright but nothing special. 

Milk Stand:
Here you can try both blue milk from Episode IV and green milk from Episode VIII. The “milk” is  a mix of rice milk and coconut milk, so it is Vegan friendly.  I personally enjoyed the blue milk a bit more but half our group enjoyed the green milk. Try them both and let us know your thoughts.

Summary
Overall, our experience was quite positive. There are definitely a few flaws with the area such as the maximum occupancy of some of the more popular shops. Disney did a fantastic job at crowd control but I am curious to see how this plays out once reservations are no longer required. Rumor has it that time slots will still be assigned to guests entering the area to keep traffic flow moving, while just a rumor, it sounds like it may be a good idea for a while.

While the area was fun, our kids got a bit bored after a few hours. The land is definitely designed for fans and I would say even more so for older kids. But unless you are willing to shell out a few hundred dollars for your kids to build lightsabers and droids, the allure wears off on them quickly. I, on the other hand, could have spent hours just exploring the details.

Stay tuned for updates over the next couple of weeks as we continue to highlight Galaxy's Edge including the Marketplace, Oga's Cantina and of course Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run. 

Update in video form, and I promise Steven, I get to the point. 

Took the good camera and actually had the memory card this time, so we got some non-cell phone pics for a change. 

As you can see here, the entrance to the all new "Underground" is taking shape with some awesome looking supports. 

Some spaghetti bowl stuff here

Heading out of the Spaghetti Bowl and into the brakes 

Somebody's idea of a bad joke I bet. So we had to get creative!! =) 

High Five!! 

High Five (taken at a slightly different angle than the previous High Five)!! 

Nerd Shot #1

Nerd Shot #2

Moving up towards Samurai Summit, there is some extensive work also being done on Apocalypse. 

If they can get that ride running like it did 10 years ago then the wait will definitely be worth it!! Let's hope they include Apocalypse POV's during media day (Hint/Hint). 

Overview of the Spaghetti Bowl

High Five!! 

Still lots to be done, but it's very nice to see progress happening

A bit more of the Apocalypse work being done 

Up at the exit of Ninja, a bit of an overview of the entire area we can see. 

Assuming since the Port-A-John's are still there they are still working on the bathroom refurb. 

Lastly, as most of you know there was a small fire outside the park a couple of weeks ago (or was that just LAST WEEK?, been crazy) ... anyway. You can see some remnants here. 

Thanks for reading/watching. Not sure when we'll be back at the park for another update, we don't typically do the park during the summer but if there are some major changes to the ride or some kind of hard hat tour we will definitely head up. 

WONDER WOMAN Lasso of Truth is an oversized pendulum-shaped ride that sends guests on a dizzying journey to extreme heights. Highlights include:

• Massive, 17-story pendulum that swings back and forth;
• 40 riders propelled in counterclockwise circles as the ride swings continuously;
• Speeds of nearly 75 miles per hour;
• Riders experience feelings of weightlessness at 172 feet in the air; and
• Floorless seats that leave riders’ feet dangling as they whirl through the air.

 Six Flags 2019 Memberships and Season Passes are currently on sale. Members can now enjoy priority park entry, preferred parking and tremendous discounts of up to 50% on nearly all food and merchandise purchases all season long. Gold Plus, Platinum, Diamond and Diamond Elite levels are available featuring all the perks of a Season Pass plus other benefits including admission to all Six Flags branded theme and waterparks, skip the line passes, unlimited soft drinks and much more! For more information, visit the Membership Sales Center or go online to sixflags.com/greatadventure and sign up.
​
For more information ​about WONDER WOMAN Lasso of Truth, visit www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/attractions/newfor2019.

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