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    Gilroy Gardens Debuts Food & Wine Festival- Harvest @ Night

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    Hey there, Park Journey readers!

    This Sunday, I ventured down to Gilroy to check out the new Harvest @ Night, the November edition of Gilroy Garden's new "@ Night" series. In case you missed it, we recently reviewed their October event, Halloween @ Night

    Harvest @ Night is the park's "Food & Wine" style festival, intended for more of an adult audience. This fall themed event offered a nice way to relax in the park while taking in some rides and beverages. 

    ​Written by Andrew Cunningham
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    Gilroy Gardens is a beautiful park, and it was nice to have the opportunity to walk around without it being so densely packed with families. The park's lighting really brings it to life at night, although most of the displays remained unchanged from the @ Halloween event. The main difference was the noticeable absence of children. 
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    Unlike the park's previously evening events, Quicksilver Express was open for night rides! The wooded area that the ride occupies was decked out with colorful lighting, which added some extra fun to the coaster. 
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    Long queues were definitely not a factor. The ride crew allowed us to stay on and cycle as many times as we wanted. I always thought Quicksilver Express was a really fun coaster, so having our own nighttime ERT session really made our visit! :-) 
    Dessert Menu
    Savory Menu
    Mission Plaza Menu
    Chicken Wings with Cranberry Glaze
    Pork Slider
    Elotes (Grilled Corn-on-the-Cob with Mayonnaise, Chili Powder & Cotija Cheese)
    Apple Crisp
    Next up was checking out the food, which was unfortunately the low point of the event. 
    For a Food & Wine style event, the menu was really limited, with the food quality ranging from average to poor. Our favorite thing was the cranberry chicken wings, but those took us about 20 minutes to get. The pork slider was probably my least favorite, as it was really just ham deli meat and wasn't very appetizing. 

    ​Oh well- you win some, you lose some. 
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    With that said, the beer selection was great! 

    Next time, I'd eat before coming to the park and then spend my time strolling along with drinks. :-) 
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    The park set up a stage for bands to perform. The music set a very nice atmosphere and people seemed to really enjoy the shows. 
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    They also had a selection of tailgating games and fire pits set up around the stage. This are was really popular when the bands were playing. The fire pits were all occupied and people were out playing games and drinking beer.

    ​Not a terrible way to spend an evening!
    A visit to Gilroy Gardens always requires a visit to Bonfante Falls, which really come alive at night. Even more fun to run through the falls with a drink in hand! 
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    The train was also open for night rides, complete with some near pitch-black moments. As you can see, we definitely had our pick of seats. 
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    And that concludes our visit to Gilroy Garden's Harvest @ Night event!

    While it wasn't a complete home run, it was still a really fun way to spend an evening at the park. Night rides on Quicksilver Express were definitely the highlight of the event, with the beer, fire pits, and tailgating games also adding a lot to the atmosphere. 

    And remember, NorCal locals- Gilroy Gardens is included as a perk on the California's Great America Gold Pass. 

    Cheers and thanks for reading!
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    The Holidays Kick Off at Disney's Hollywood Studios

    Disney Parks Disney's Hollywood Studios Walt Disney World
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    It's time for our first Holiday Update of the season as Renée headed out to Disney's Hollywood Studios last weekend to take in the all new holiday events at the park. 

    And they have a LOT to offer this year, let's check it out. 
    Written by Renée Girard
    ​Happy Holidays from Disney’s Hollywood Studios! Let’s see what’s new for Christmas this year.
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    ​But first, beer. At the new Baseline Taphouse, which is awesome and has a great selection of beer.
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    ​So it’s a little crowded tonight at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. 
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    ​Some of the Jingle Bell Jingle BAM merchandise at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. 
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    ​The hot chocolate flight at Dockside Diner is heavenly. 
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    ​Sunset Seasons Greetings transforms the Tower of Terror into a variety of holiday themed buildings.
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    Video Preview of Sunset Seasons courtesy of Walt Disney World 
    ​Due to the crowds, we didn’t get to experience everything DHS has to offer for the holidays, but we’ll definitely be back! 
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    Is Universal Orlando about to go on an adventure?

    Islands Of Adventure Universal Orlando Universal Studios Florida
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    Happy Tuesday everybody and welcome to some fun early week speculation. Just like we did with NintendoLand last year (or was it earlier this year) we're going to have some fun with some park stuff that may or may not happen (let's face it, it's probably not going to happen). But that's not going to stop us. 
    Written by Gregg Condon
    A couple of things have inspired this, so we're not TOTALLY coming out of left field. 

    First, reports that a TV series based on The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings is in development. Which means only one thing, the suit between Warner Brothers and that of the estate of Tolkien that was resolved in July has led to a softening of the relationship and they are ready to work together again. This had to do with characters in The Hobbit Movies used in online slot machines and other games which led to the Tolkien estate not trusting Warner Brothers anymore. And who could blame them. 
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    So let's look at that aspect of it first.

    ​I think anybody who's a fan of Tokien's work could tell you the Hobbit Movies were a HUGE disappointment. For me, The Hobbit is my favorite all-time book. It's the first book I remember reading growing up and I've read it every couple of years since. I was very excited about these movies, and even re-watched them over the weekend once this news broke, just to refresh myself with them. 

    Now I will say, on this recent re-watch I actually enjoyed them more than I had before. Sure, the movies aren't close to the book AT ALL, but a few scenes such as "Riddles In The Dark" are perfectly done. 

    But at the end of the day, there was way too much added, too much from the book not in the movies, WAY too much CGI and WAAAAAAY too much color correction done for these movies to be part of my yearly rotation. 

    In fact, this was a problem we all could have seen coming with the release of Return of the King which suffered from the same over-use of CGI and color correction. 

    ​But I digress ... 
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    So all that being said, I'm actually interested to see where a Hobbit and/or Lord of the Rings series could go. A lot more time for character development for sure. Because we all know why all those battle scenes were added to The Hobbit, because there aren't many in the book, it is a children's book after all. 

    Still, I'd love to see a straight book adaptation of both stories. And then have the side stories created with the input from the Tokien estate. That would be the perfect scenario for me, as a fan of the books. 

    So why is a theme park site writing about this, and why is it in the Universal Studios section of the site? 
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    Well in Orlando, it's been rumored for a LONG time that Universal Studios is planning on building a third park in the future. They've been buying land like crazy as we've written about quite a few times. 

    And last week, they added another 100 acres of land in the proposed area of the third park where they already had purchased 450 acres in 2015. 

    And today they announced 2 new hotels being built on the former site of Wet and Wild. So the expansion is coming, they are getting ready for it before they announce a 3rd park. (imagine that Disneyland Resort)
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    So what if the softening of the WB/Tolkien relationship happening the same week that Universal purchases even more land isn't a coincidence at all? Universal has worked with WB to bring theme park worlds to life, to the benefit of all. 

    A theme park based on Tolkien's work has been rumored and thought of since long before Peter Jackson's movies made their debut in 2001. 

    So maybe now is the time? The property is so rich in character, so steeped in literary history it'd be hard to pass up the chance to turn this into a themed environment. 
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    The possibilities are endless. In the Tolkien works you have the possibility for both thrill and family attractions. Dining with the Dwarves. Drinking with the Hobbitses. Singing with the Elves. 

    Do we think there will be a complete park based on Lord of the Rings? No. But a fantasy park with a Tolkien based land as one of the main anchors, it's definitely something that could happen.

    And that trip to visit Middle Earth may be as close as Orlando in the very near future. 

    What do you think? Is it finally time for the world of Middle Earth to come to the world of Central Florida? Would you be excited to have Middle Earth as an anchor of a 3rd Universal park? 
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    Museum of Ice Cream- A Theme Park for the Instagram Age

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    ​On my most recent trip to Disneyland, I was very excited to check out the newly reopened Fantasmic. We had great seats, sitting almost front and center with just a family of four in front of us. Right before the show began, the young girl sitting with her family whipped out her phone, and didn't put it back down until the show had concluded. As the show went on, she took hundreds of blurry photos and dark videos, all while never glancing up and smiling ear-to-ear. Over and over again, on basically every attraction we went on, there was a similar trend- young people on their phones. 

    It struck me, as I'm sure it's struck  many of you, that social media has created a whole generation who are more excited by documenting experiences than they are by simply watching them. The only problem- your traditional amusement park isn't really built for this. While many have tried, it's basically impossible to get quality content from your phone while on a roller coaster or dark ride.

    So how does the amusement industry evolve with this growing trend? Welcome to the Museum of Ice Cream- an attraction built for the age of Instagram. In fact, the creator has been described as "The Millennial Walt Disney", with ambitions to grow and scale Instagrammable attractions nationwide. 

    ​Written by Andrew Cunningham 
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    The Museum of Ice Cream launched in New York, heavily leveraging social media influencers and from the beginning. As they expanded to LA and eventually San Francisco, Gwen Stefani, Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian, and even Queen Bey herself took to Instagram with colorful photos and videos depicting life in this candy coated world.

    Day dreaming to when Queen Bey and Princess Blue came through our doors! #TBT #museumoficecream #insidemoic (cc: @beyonce)

    A post shared by MUSEUM OF ICE CREAM (@museumoficecream) on

    When it was announced that MoIC was expanding to San Francisco, I was intrigued and wanted to get tickets. Let me tell you- I was far from the only one. 

    Getting tickets to the first round of San Francisco was like getting highly sought after concert tickets. I used my Amex for pre-sale, sat in a virtual queue, and had about .02 seconds to find a time and check out. I ended up getting a Monday lunchtime slot, which was a lucky grab. Twitter and Facebook were immediately bombarded with people complaining that they spent their afternoon in a virtual queue only to find the experience was immediately sold out. 

    Clearly, there is a ton of demand for the kind of experience that MoIC provides.
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    Your experience starts by arriving at your assigned time slot and checking in at the museum entrance. You are assigned to a team of about 15-20 people, and then go through various pre-museum activities that seemed to be designed to space groups out to help with guest flow. We had to come up with a team name (Vanilla Sprinkles), go through an ice cream trivia contest, and were finally ushered to the Ice Cream Vault to begin our colorful journey. 
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    Once in the Ice Cream Vault, an MoIC employee did a spiel of the rules. Everything was pretty simple: most exhibits were interactive, but we were asked not to touch a select few things. The museum also has a strict one-way flow. You are able to spend as much time you like in a room, but once you leave a room you cannot reenter. 
    After departing the Ice Cream Vault, you are free to work at whatever pace you'd like through the museum. RIP team Vanilla Sprinkles.  

    The general flow of the museum is spread between pop art installations, interactive displays, and various ice cream stops. The ice cream stops usually correspond to nearby artwork, so you can take your photos with treats as you go through. 
    Naturally, the Instagram portrayal of MoIC leaves out a few of the lesser points of the experience. Almost every photo spot or ice cream station had lines that weren't managed at all. There were some definite moments of frustration trying to work our way through the exhibits and it did get pretty crowded at certain bottlenecks. There were also several picture spots that were dirty or tarnished from previous guests, which obviously made them less desirable for photos.  

    At scale, they definitely have a few kinks to work out in terms of guest flow and maintenance, but that's not unusual for an early-stage attraction concept. The demand seems to be there for them to grow and figure these things out. 
    I'm usually a pretty photo-shy person, and I don't even have an Instagram account, but I tried my hand at a couple photos. I think I have a long road ahead of me before I reach influencer status on Instagram.
    The museum's finale is the iconic dip in their 4 foot deep pool of (plastic) sprinkles. This was the one part of the experience that was closely managed by the staff- you were put into a group of about 10 people and given a time limit to go take a dip in the pool. 

    I have to say, despite my less-than-enthusiastic look in the picture, it was pretty fun getting knee deep in a pool of sprinkles. As I'm writing this article, I'm still finding sprinkles in my pants, pockets, socks, and many unspeakable places (or, unfortunately, nearby streets and gutters).
    Like any good attraction, MoIC ends with a trip through a gift shop. Various colorful, candy-themed items are on display and ready for you to bring home with you.

    Oh, and those jewel ice cream pieces? Priced at $4-$6k each. 

    Good for you, Museum of Ice Cream. Don't hate the player, hate the game. 
    So, what did I think of the Museum of Ice Cream? Personally, at $38 a ticket, it wasn't really my cup of tea. 

    With that said, I think it's a business model that'll be really interesting to follow as they attempt to grow. People are clearly willing to pay for these experiences, and if I were a major park chain, I'd be looking at ways to integrate the concept into my properties. They still have kinks to work out with the experience, but they definitely have the opportunity to hit on something big. 

    What are your thoughts? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, and of course, Instagram. 
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  • Published on

    Review: The Fleshyard Haunted House in Anaheim

    Written by Gregg Condon
    All Photos Courtesy of The Fleshyard 
    We weren't quite sure to expect when we made our way to The Fleshyard in Anaheim last Friday night. Located in a seemingly innocent pumpkin patch it seemed harmless enough. 
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    However, what we found inside was a thrilling, surprising and fun interactive haunt that shouldn't be missed. 
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    Part escape rooms (plural) and part Haunt, The Fleshyard was easily the haunt that scared my son the most this year. And it wasn't even close. 
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    The storyline is great, the actors are fantastic and the sets look amazing. 
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    Oh, and did we mention the chainsaws? 
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    We don't want to give too much away as the nature of the haunt should be surprising to you, but we totally recommend this haunt.

    ​Be sure to check out The Fleshyard for their final weekend. Details are here. 
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    Fright Fest 2017 at Six Flags Great Adventure

    Fright Fest Six Flags Six Flags Great Adventure
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    As we enter the home stretch of the Halloween Season we continue to trek along with amazing updates from amazing events.

    This time from Fright Fest at Six Flags Great Adventure where Chris, Renee and Christine had an amazing night. Be sure to visit this event for it's last weekend!! 
    Photos by Renée Girard
    Words by Chris Con
    Screams by Christine Grant 
    ​2017 might be an amazingly scary year for some to begin with, but if the ghoulish type of fright is more your taste than whatever you might be reading or seeing in the news these days, then Fright Fest 2017 at Six Flags Great Adventure is not to be missed.
     
    Every year they seem to up their ante with new scare zones, shows, and more theming.  We left shiverlingly impressed.
     
     
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    ​Walking up to the front gate you are greeted by a fantastic addition this year; the grim reaper himself leering over you as you proceed through the turnstiles.
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    ​For those brave enough to make it past, you are greeted by our perennial favorite, The Pumpkin King and his fountain of blood and bones.
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    ​We decided to make a quick left and head into the Demon District. One of the most heavily themed areas of the park and home to “The Awakening” (a ghostly parade), and “Dead Mans Party” a high energy, high entertainment dance show featuring amazing effects and choreography.
    These photos don't do it justice but “Dead Man's Party” is world class Halloween Fun.
    The Wicked Woods is a great outdoor maze with scare actors popping out of every corner.
    If you might need a bit of liquid courage to make it through some of these more intense scare zones, Wicked Brew and many other Halloween libations are available at a number of outlets for the 21 and over crowd.
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    Next we headed over to bloodshed, which has been one of our favorite mazes. Check out our facebook page for some live feeds that we posted of this and other mazes. Unfortunately the scare actors couldn't see our press passes and their was some profanity so for the easily offended you might wait till next year where we will be filming on the day set for media coverage.
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    We then made our way to two of three indoor mazes. Total Darkness ,which just like the name claims, is basically total darkness. Then we enjoyed a great scare at the Manor which is always one of my favorite mazes. The Manor and Big Top Terror always seem to have the best scare actors.
    ​Speaking of Big Top Terror, here is a taste of who you might find lurking around it. This attraction uses heavy black light, strobe effects, and 3D glasses which really adds to the tripiness and eeriness. Check out our facebook live for a peak inside the attraction.
    Finally we traversed over to our top two mazes of the year.. Cell Block 6, an asylum and jail for the most insane scare actors to preside over and Aftermath filled with a post apocalyptic world of mutants ready to engage you in fun conversation.
    While we didn't get to experience the new shows this year as we were a bit pressed for time we did hear other guests raving about them. We hope to make it back before Halloween to experience them for ourselves.
     
    Over the years we've covered the fun by day parts with our little ones. So if you'd like to see more information of what is truly a family friendly event then please check out our previous years' trip reports. We've also rated the mazes previously, so again I encourage to look back if you'd like to see some more comprehensive ratings.
     
    Happy Halloween everyone and we also can't wait to bring you our coverage of the “Most Magical Time of The Year” during Holiday in The Park at Six Flags Great Adventure in just a few short weeks.
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