​THE PARK
 
DEEP SEA ADVENTURE
Deep Sea Adventure is coming soon and as mentioned before, we had the opportunity to take a hard hat tour through the ride. Here is a photo of the outside as well as the concept art of what the exterior and the submarines are expected to look like.

​Our first photo shows the majority of the track system followed by a photo of the pool and the track system. Because the ride includes live aquatic life, an underwater track system would be dangerous for the fish. You will also notice that the ride is relatively small but the ride moves very slowly which results in a 4-5-minute ride. I’ve included some photos of the concept art and models below.

​The ride queue is nearing completion. As you can see, it’s off to a fantastic start. 

​Here are some photos of the models that are inside the pool. Rather than using a metal internal frame, they used fiberglass to avoid rusting. The master builder was excited that this will be the first time they will maintain the models under water and they have gotten their scuba certifications.

UPDATES
Just because the hotel is being built and a new ride is being added, doesn’t mean the park gets neglected. They are adding some exciting new models. As you can see by the signs, Mann’s Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Bowl are two major features. According to one of the workers, the rest will continue the Southern California/Los Angeles theme.

Thanks again to Chris and his family for this amazing look at what's coming to Legoland California. We can't wait to see all of the new attractions!! 

Written by Christopher Moghtaderi 
(click any picture below to see a larger version) ​

​On Wednesday (April 25th) we had the privilege to take part in the soft opening for Legoland’s newest addition, Legoland’s Castle Hotel, which opened on the 27th to the general public. The new hotel adds 250 rooms to the resort property with each room themed in one of three designs, Dragon, Magic Wizard, or Royal Princess. Some neat features include a separated kid’s bunk area with Lego building table, a zero-entry pool, an entertainment courtyard complete with climbing structure, interactive Lego creations such as portraits and statues, and over 2000 Lego models. In addition to our Castle adventure, we got a behind-the-scenes tour of the anticipated new interactive ride experience Deep Sea Adventure which opens this summer.
 
So, let’s start by taking a tour of the hotel!
 
THE CASTLE
As we drove up to the hotel, we were taken aback by the attention to detail on the castle exterior.
 
The castle looks very much like a large Lego constructed building. They even included the occasional mismatched colored yellow piece since, as when you were a kid, there weren’t enough gray pieces to finish it.

​As you can see in the following photos, we arrived with a punch of list of items yet to be completed. Much of the ground improvements including sod, plants, and other finishing touches were still underway. However, they were working from morning until night to get this done. You can see the difference that a single day, a broom, sod, and some flowers had around this 

​THE LOBBY
Once inside, we were greeted by the Legoland staff, getting us our passes and welcome kit and then checking into the hotel. 

​We were amazed that the level of detail only seemed to increase. A Grand staircase, a royal welcome by the princess of the castle, a magical (Wizard) centerpiece which spins and lights up at the press of a button, photo opportunities, 2-way Lego Portraits, vinyl-wrapped Elevator doors adorn the lobby. 

While it all looks fun, the thought process behind this was genius. There are things for kids to interact with while parents are checking in their kids. Kid’s first is a theme that we picked up on in the design and service of the hotel and park.
 
DINING
As you make your way to the 1st floor, you find the Dragon’s Den Dining area. This colorful dining hall continues, very well I might add, the castle motif throughout. This dining hall is open in the morning for a buffet breakfast, which is included with the cost of your stay. At night, the service converts to full-service dining experience and the open kitchen design allows guests to observe the chef’s in action. 

​Just outside the dining area is a play area for guests who are waiting for an open table. A clear example of that same thought process designed into the lobby.

Even the tables come equipped to entertain and keep the kids occupied. The 4 person tables have games built into the tops including Checkers, Brick-Tac-Toe, Maze Race, and Brick Target Practice (watch out for bounding pieces).

​The rest of the tables are standard but comfortable with some offering views of the entrance to the Park.

​The Décor maintains the festive Lego feel with models in various locations. There are hidden Mickey's, we mean Lego mice throughout the dining area. Can you spot any of them in our pictures?

​For the adults, the is a bar area and dance floor which they were still installing some last-minute touches.

​ROOMS
 
As mentioned earlier, there are three different room themes and two room types. The standard room sleeps 5 with a king bed and a bunk with trundle. The suite sleeps 7 by adding a sofa bed.
 
WIZARD
The first themed room is the Wizard Room. This is the room we got to stay in. When you walk in, that kid’s first theme and statement is a physical one. The kids sleeping quarters are the first area you come to. With Wizard themed wall wraps, tv, Lego building station, and awesome night sky lighting, kids can keep occupied.

​The bathroom is a pretty standard high tier hotel bathroom. However, the toilet has a built-in child’s seat.

​The kitchenette has your standard fridge, a Keurig coffee maker, water, safe, and icebox. Yep, even the icebox is Lego themed.

​The parent’s sleeping area is last, creating some separation from the kids. The thought was to provide parents a break from the kids and having a bit of seclusion while the kids played or entertained themselves in their nook. The Wizard theme continues with owls, wall wraps and a headboard that lights up. In fact, all the headboards light up as you will see. Very much a line from the Disneyland Hotel headboards but done very well.

​DRAGON
The Dragon room is very similar in layout with the differences being the wall wraps, the Lego models and headboard which offers a lighted stained-glass feature.

​PRINCESS
The princess room we toured was a suite so there is a bit more to see. When you first walk in, you come into a living room with hideaway bed.

​The suite bathroom offers two sinks as well as a vinyl wrap on the shower wall.

​Again, different princess themed wall coverings and models are strewn about through the room. The kids area features a duck to dress up with Lego’s (not included in the non-suite rooms). And the parents are includes a magical headboard. Look familiar?

​If you happen to be on the first floor and have a courtyard view, your room will include a small patio area.

​PLAY AREA
The shape of the hotel is a giant U with a courtyard in middle. The courtyard houses an outdoor seating area with bar service and a massive kids yard. Moving our way from the outermost portion of the courtyard is an open seating area with a massive outdoor screen looping cartoons all day long.

​As we move further in, we see a climbing structure with obstacle course, multiple slides, and climbing wall.

​The courtyard has multiple Lego stations as well as giant blocks for building fun structures. There is a stage for entertainment where appearances are made by an acrobatic jester, dragons, a fairy, and Lego characters. Of course, the courtyard wouldn’t be complete with models showing off the master builder skills.

​POOL
At the very end of the courtyard is the pool area. The pool area is colorful and festive with plenty of seating, cabanas, a zero-entry section, and some pretty cool water features including a fountain and filling/dumping buckets.

​MISC DÉCOR
For those of you who are veterans to Park Journey, you know that my posts have only been Disney related until now. For full transparency, I’m a Disney fan. I’ve always appreciated the level of detail that Disney puts into theming their parks but I must say, I was thoroughly impressed by Legoland and the Castle Hotel. This hotel not only competes with that Disney attention to detail, but in some way surpasses much of what Disney offers. Take a look at some of the Merlin Magic in motion.

​Even the bathrooms got some attention. Don’t worry, these photos were taken while they were empty.

Alright, that's going to wrap it up for part one of Chris' amazing update from Legoland. Stay tuned as we'll have more from the hard hat tour of Deep Sea Adventure and some park pics later this week. 

So how does the new Legoland hotel look? Pretty amazing right? 

First thing, they are installing shade at the metal detector lines, something that is LONG overdue. Small changes like this may not bring in new guests or look good to the bottom line, but they help guests not get too much sun. 

Wonder Woman!! 

Let's take a look at the Boardwalk updates 

A new "hit the poop into the toilet game". 

I'll repeat: hit ... the ... poop ... into ... the ... toilet ... game. 

Are you S**tting me? What is this obsession with poop all of a sudden? Is it a generational thing? 

More non-poop

For some reason CraZanity STILL isn't vertical, whereas other parks with much bigger projects are getting ready to debut them. Isn't SFMM the flagship park in the chain? There's no reason this ride should not be open yet. 

On the positive side, Tidal Wave is getting some fresh paint. 

The roof of the bumper cars looks great 

Speaking of poop, allow me to rant here for a second. No, not about paint or about how much I simply don't like Tatsu (don't @ me). 

It's about the operations on this ride. After 13 years they still can't seem to figure it out. EVERY OTHER RIDE we rode on Wednesday was a walk-on, with only 1 train operations (or in the case of Twisted Colossus, 2 trains). The ops were on their game, doing their job. 

But for some reason, this ride seems to have the most lackadaisical ride ops, there is no sense of urgency, no desire to try and get trains out in an orderly fashion. Just don't get it. There have been enough complaints about the ops on this ride over the years that management should be well aware of the issues. It's simply unacceptable for one of the flagship rides at the park (whether I like it or not). =) 

It had been awhile since we'd checked out the merch in the store ... and we found this. 

And this, and a few other designs of this that were REALLY nice. It's nice to see the park not making every piece of merchandise "flashy" or "extreme" and something that people can just wear outside of the park. 

And the prices aren't bad on these either. 

Lastly, another one of those projects that's probably not going to bring in any new guests, but is much appreciated. It's nice to see Lightning Falls get some TLC this offseason. 

Alright, that's gonna wrap it up for today, we hope you enjoyed. 

Be sure to get out to the park during the week before Memorial Day, you'll have the park pretty much to yourself. Ops for the most part are great, and I have to give a shout out to the new burgers by Justice League. The BBQ one was fantastic!! 

Written by Renée Girard

​Star Wars marathon weekend kicked off today at Walt Disney World! The 5k is tomorrow, and we’ll be running in the First Order Challenge on Sat and Sun. May the Force be with all participants!

Check out that bling! The feeling of accomplishment and getting one of these little beauties after completing a runDisney race never gets ol

​We are ready to begin day one of the First Order Challenge in the WDW Star Wars half marathon weekend.

​Looking forward to seeing all of the awesome and creative costumes, like this one, out there on the course. 

​Some people have interesting pre race warmups. I approved of this one! Naps are essential.

​And we’re off!

​Storm Troopers at Spaceship Earth right before the finish of the Star Wars 10k. Day one of the First Order Challenge is complete! On to the half marathon tomorrow...

Good morning from WDW! It’s time for the final day of the Star Wars Half weekend. Have fun, stay hydrated, and may the course be with you!

A few shots of the fireworks going off at the start of the Star Wars Half

Ever wonder how many people participate in runDisney events? This view of the starting corrals is just some of them. Congrats to all!

While Disney always does a great job with their characters during the Star Wars Half , the fan created ones are also absolutely fantastic! Thanks for coming to support the race this weekend!

Happy Earth Day and happy 20th birthday to Disney’s Animal Kingdom! We won’t be at the park today for the festivities but got to run through at sunrise during the Star Wars Half .

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Looks like the guitar at Hard Rock is getting a makeover ... 

Best Kong ever!! 

As you can see it was a beautiful spring day 

Some awesome Kung Fun Panda artwork has been added just beyond New York Street 

Coming soon, as in June 15th!! 

Chills ... every.time. 

Studio Tour was great as always. Noticed a few enhanced effects on Earthquake (haven't seen it since it was down for rehab last year" and some script changes on Fast and Furious. As well as the lack of talking about it until you enter the garage. 

Anybody know if this matches Orlando now? 

They were doing a LOT of work on the Escalators and some work on the first "landing" as well. 

The single rider line for Mummy was probably about 30 minutes. Had NEVER seen it that long. 

Transformers was a much more manageable 10 minute single rider line 

We also checked out the always fun Special Effects Show 

It was a very busy day, but we had an amazing time as always 

Our next update will likely be for the opening of Kung Fu Panda

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​Today we had the chance to check out the new Fast and Furious Supercharged ride at Universal Orlando. The queue is awesome!

​If you’re a fan of the Fast and Furious series (and even if you’re not!), you’ll enjoy all of the cool details in the ride queue. 

There is a preshow with live actors before boarding. The ride itself is fine, nothing groundbreaking, and similar to the Hollywood version, minus the 3D.