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    Photo Tour of Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout

    2017 Attractions Disney California Adventure Disney Parks Disneyland Guardians Of The Galaxy - Mission Breakout
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    Today we're taking a look at the all new Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout courtesy of friend of the site Richard. 

    What's that you say? The ride has already been open for weeks and we're late to the party? That's just the way we like to roll. Let all those other guys have the opening act hoopla, we're gonna wait and headline the show. That's how it works right? 

    Enjoy!! 
    Pictures by Richard Michael Johnson
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    It might seem crazy, wearing stripes with plaid

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    I pick things up, I am a collector

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    And things, well things, they tend to accumulate

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    Don't you know you're going to shock the monkey

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    If I had a hammer

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    You're wearing a mask ... You look better that way

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    Rocket ... yeah!!!

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    I'll be your satellite of love

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    You don't know what we can see

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    You don't know what we can find

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    That's the last I seen of Harold ... Harold Of The Rocks

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    Hallway to Hell!!

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    I'm floating in a most peculiar way

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    The stars look very different today

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    Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do

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    Ghost Town Alive makes a triumphant return to Knott's Berry Farm

    2017 Attractions Cedar Fair Ghost Town Ghost Town Alive Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Scary Farm
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    This past weekend we FINALLY made it out to Knott's Berry Farm to check out this years Ghost Town Alive. Oddly enough for Fathers Day the park was pleasantly empty which meant a fun day for us and the awesome characters of Ghost Town. 

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    Written by Gregg Condon
    Welcome to Knott's Berry Farm 
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    Be careful or you might find yourself in jail 
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    Somebody stole the Catawampus 
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    Or did it escape? 
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    It was an absolutely gorgeous day at the park
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    We spent some time trying to solve some crimes and get edumacated ... 
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    Maybe we'll find the Catawampus on Boot Hill 
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    Excuse me sir, do you know where we can find Catawampus 
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    After wishing up a happy Fathers Day the Calico Gazette broke the news that Mayfield has been captured. Fake News? 
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    At the end of the day all is peaceful in Calico 
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    There are also some projects going on around the park 
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    Boardwalk BBQ is coming along quite nicely 
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    Over on the other side, lots of room for something ... 
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    Hopefully we'll hear what's going here very soon 
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    Last but not least, some Scary Farm prep has begun 
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    That's going to wrap it up for this update, we hope you enjoyed. This week we'll be heading up for our (mostly) "Great White North" trip with visits to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Sunday, Canada's Wonderland on Monday, Seabreeze on Tuesday and Darien Lake on Tuesday Night/Wednesday. Be sure you're following along all weekend. 
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    Cliff visits RMC in Idaho: Bendy Track as far as the eye can see

    Rocky Mountain Construction
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    Today we have an extra special treat for you, a quick look at RMC Headquarters in Idaho. 

    Our good friend Cliff is out having some fun visiting some out of the way attractions and sent us a few pics to share with you all. 

    Thanks Cliff, these are awesome and we can all now speculate on what rides they are for!!! 
    Pictures by Clifford Lake
    Welcome to Idaho!! 
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    Testing grounds!! 
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    Seriously, how amazing does this look!! 
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    Can't wait to see this built somewhere. 
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    A real quick video featuring the always awesome Cliff Commentary!! 
    Thanks Cliff for sharing these with us, it's very much appreciated. So let's speculate away!! 
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    Trip Report: Andrew heads to Vegas in search of Desperado

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    Last week Andrew headed out to Las Vegas and did some Coaster Investigating on a ride we don't hear much from anymore, Desperado at Buffalo Bills in Primm, NV (CA/NV Stateline). Rumors have been rampant for years about the coasters demise as catching it running seemed to be a rare occasion. Did Andrew get this seemingly elusive credit? Read on to find out. 
    Written by Andrew Cunningham
    Last week I took my first ever trip to Vegas for a work event. Like any proper enthusiast, I used my trip to a new city as an opportunity to get some credits! ​
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    The coasters in Vegas were easy enough to find information on, but when I started researching what was involved in getting on Desperado at Buffalo Bill’s, I really struggled finding any reports that were less than 10 year old. Many friends have told me that they’ve made the trip out to Primm in recent years, only to find the coaster SBNO during hours it was advertised as being open.
     
    It was also top of mind for me that Titan at Space World is due to close at the end of 2017, making it the first Arrow hyper to be retired. Given Desperado’s erratic operating schedule, it’s not far fetched to wonder if it may follow Titan’s fate within the next few years. Luckily, I was able to get on Titan back in 2011, but if I wanted a chance to complete the Arrow hypers (nerd alert!), I feel like I needed to put Buffalo Bill’s towards the top of my priorities list.
     
    So, with that in mind, I decided to make a trip to find the status of this infamous coaster, once touted as one of the world’s most extreme and famous rides.
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    About a week before I made my trip, I reached out to the casino via email to ask if the coaster was even operating anymore. The casino responded and told me that they will not operate Desperado unless they have at least 10 riders on the train and the wind speed is less that 30 mph at the top of the lift.
     
    Welp, it wouldn’t be Nevada if you didn’t have to rely on a little bit of luck!
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    I called the casino the day of my trip, just to see if I could check the wind speeds. I was redirected to the rides department at least five times, and everytime the phone would ring once or twice and then completely disconnect. Things weren’t looking good, but I decided to roll the dice and take the drive out to Primm anyways.
     
    So I grabbed a rental car and took a drive out into the desert. The drive itself is only about 40 minutes from the Las Vegas airport, so it’s not too bad. Just be prepared to stare at a LOT of desert as you make your trip to the middle of nowhere.
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    Pulling up to the casino, I was ecstatic to see that the coaster was running!
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    ​ Oh, and just a reminder. It can get really, really hot out here! Time to head inside ASAP!
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    Upon entering the Casino, you immediately walk underneath the monorail station. The monorail was built to connect Buffalo Bill’s to its neighboring casinos, but it looks as though it has not operated for quite some time.
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    The next thing you’ll come upon is the log flume that runs through the casino floor. If you follow the ride path, it’ll take you back to the ticket counter and ride area.
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    Looks like we made it to the right place!
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    Ride stats and fun signs greet you as you come up to the ride area.
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    Well… some of the signs are fun. Some are a little more concerning…
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    ​Once up in the station, I was told that half the airgates were broken. If I stood behind an airgate that didn’t open, I was told to just walk around to another airgate. It wasn’t exactly crowded, so it wasn’t too much of an issue.
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    Speaking of not crowded… I have to say that they weren’t too strict on that “minimum of 10 riders” rule that they emailed me about.
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    So how was the ride?
    As far as Arrow hypers go, I thought it was better than Titan but worse that Magnum. Now I’m just missing Blackpool to complete my Arrow hypers! Woohoo nerd accomplishments! 
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    It was honestly pretty rough, but I did enjoy the classic Arrow ejector hills. The three hills leading up to the midcourse were brutally intense when riding in the back. Three cheers for lap bar bruises!
     
    (Seriously, I love intense rides that try to kill you)
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    Moving on from Desperado, I wanted to check out the log flume!
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    ​The flume is really nice, especially in the Nevada heat.
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    The lift hill takes you out of the Casino and into Desperado’s mountain. It passes by an area that looked like it was once set to be developed into an amusement park. There is a half-built train ride that runs around the area (the elevated concrete structure). There also used to be an S&S tower out here, but it is long gone.
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    Wohoo! Through the mountain!
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    After dropping out of the mountain, you do a short outdoor section outside Desperado before heading back into the Casino
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    The ride path inside the casino is well themed. The flume used to be a shooting ride, complete with rifles to shoot at the targets with. Unfortunately, the guns have long since been removed from logs, so the interactive element is no longer functioning.
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    ​Overall, I was really happy (and apparently lucky) to get on Desperado. The entire casino was pretty much deserted, and it didn’t look like it’s had much life in a while. Between the removed rides, the SBNO monorail, the half built railroad, the hit-or-miss Desperado schedule, and the missing guns on the shooting flume, it’s clear this casino attractions are operating on a pretty slim budget.
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    It also looks as though Desperado is down to one train. When pulling through the maintenance bay, it looks like the other two trains are being used as spare parts donors.
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    And with that, I made my drive back to Vegas so that I could take on much less interesting coasters.
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    ​If you’re a hardcore enthusiast, I would definitely try to make it out to Primm to check out this unique Arrow creation. It looked as though Desperado’s days are numbered, and judging by stories from friends, it is pretty lucky to even find the coaster operating anymore. I wouldn’t be surprised if the thing was fully SBNO within the next few years.
     
    With that said, Buffalo Bill’s is at least much nicer than Circus Circus, but is still a far stretch from your average Vegas resort. It is a very interesting and unique place, seemingly limping through time as a relic of the short lived amusement boom that came through Vegas in the 90’s.
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    LA becomes Gotham for a night in tribute to Adam West

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    Sometimes when a famous person passes away you start to remember how much that person meant to you, or in this case to a city. 
    In the case of the late-great Adam West, his attachment to the City of Los Angeles wasn't news to anybody who lives here. A man who touched generations of people not just with his most famous role of Batman, but even future generations by playing an amazing version of himself in Family Guy, voices in The Simpsons, Family Guy, roles in numerous TV shows playing himself.
    Seriously. Check out his Wikipedia page. 
    ​He was never one to shy away from the role that made him famous, he embraced his campyness, and we loved him for it. So much so the city of Los Angeles held a special tribute to him the other night. And Matt was there to take it all in. 
    Written by Matthew Nelson
    Los Angeles is my home.

    I grew up in Highland Park, and though I now live in the west end of the Valley; it's still the City of Angels for me.
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    Los Angeles City Hall - June 15, 2017
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    Very top of City Hall

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    This Is The City. Los Angeles City Hall has appeared in a lot of films and television shows.

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    Approaching City Hall. That scaffold tower mid photo has the twin projectors for the signal.

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    Daily Planet 1950's Superman

    Adam West, who brought Batman to life on TV for 3 seasons in what was then the most expensive production on TV, passed away last week at the age of 88 after a battle with leukemia.

    Mayor Eric Garcetti's office announced that Los Angeles would be paying tribute to Mr. West, with a Bat Signal lighting at City Hall. Details were sparse, and there was only a few days to get people to show up Downtown L.A. on a Thursday evening.
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    Fans of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds showed up, many arriving via Metro at the Civic Center station, and estimates are there were about 12,000 in attendance.
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    The Crowd is Building

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    Always love to see this row of flags

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    Some lucky kids at the observation level

    Although it was in memory of a great man, the atmosphere was fun, and it was more celebratory than funereal. The atmosphere that it reminded me most of, was at some of the city events in 1984, when the Olympic Games were going on. It was Angelenos together, enjoying their city.
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    When the Mayor addressed the crowd, he started with "Greetings Citizens of Gotham!" and the response was a rowdy roar of approval. Burt Ward, who played Robin alongside Adam West, was clearly overwhelmed by the response. It was a pretty magical evening. Ralph Garman, a bonafide Batman fanatic, sounded so happy to be at the event, and a little bit emotional. Then with Charlie Beck, Chief of Police - the Bat Signal was lit - and from my vantage point a bit further back on Grand Park, you could hear the applause and cheers echoing off the nearby buildings.
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    Just about time for the Mayor

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    The Bat Signal

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    ​I love this city, and this was one of those reminders of what a great town we've got here.
    Rest in Peace, Adam West
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    Preview: The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle

    2017 Attractions Harry Potter Harry Potter And The Forbidden Journey Hogwarts Universal Studios Hollywood Wizarding World
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    This past Wednesday night we were invited out to Universal Studios Hollywood for the latest addition to Wizarding World Hollywood. The AMAZING "Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle". 
    While the show doesn't debut until June 23 we hope you'll enjoy this sneak peek which includes video and a LOT of pictures. 
    Written by Gregg Condon
    Before we get started with the update we wanted to give you a heads up that Universal Studios Hollywood on Facebook will host a Facebook Live event to stream the all-new “The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle” experience at “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” on Friday, June 23 at 8:45pm PST
    Welcome to Hogwarts
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    We'll start off with a few of our favorite shots of the show 
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    It's quite simply the best projection mapping we've ever seen. 
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    Full video of the all new show. 

    Just a quick note: We attempted something new during the show which was mounting a GoPro on top of the DSLR so we could make sure we got great video and pictures during the event. While we are VERY pleased with how this came out visually, unfortunately the shutter on the DSLR made the audio a bit more muddled than we'd like. We'll be coming up with ways to remedy this in the future. But we hope you enjoy the video nonetheless. =) 
    Some more of our favorite shots of the show 
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    The show is simply stunning 
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    We took so many pictures we didn't know which ones to include, so we included about 90 of them in the slideshow below. We hope you enjoy!! 
    This show is truly amazing and unlike some other shows it won't take a lot of time out of your evening at the park, it's only about 5-6 minutes long. Which IMO is long enough for those of us who don't enjoy dedicating hours and standing in one spot for long periods of time to see a nighttime show. 

    Be sure you check it out soon. The show officially opens on June 23 but you may be able to catch a preview before then.
    A few more random pics from our visit. 

    A new Despicable Me photo spot is up on the upper lot 
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    Looks like they are doing some work near Universal Plaza 
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    The back wall for the new storefront/restaurant is up 
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    Because why not 
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    Shrek 4D soon to be ... 
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    You know =) 
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    Don't look sad ... Banana!! 
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