“Everyone who enjoys the fun and thrills of riding a roller coaster will want to experience this attraction,” Scheid said.

Mystic Timbers will debut in the spring of 2017 and become Kings Island’s 16th roller coaster and its fourth wooden.

With the addition of Mystic Timbers, Kings Island’s wooden roller coasters will combine to measure 18,804 feet of track, which will be the most at any amusement or theme park in the world.
​
Those who cannot wait until spring may take a virtual ride on Mystic Timbers at mystictimbers.visitkingsisland.com. Visitors of the website may also access exclusive updates and features, including virtual ride renderings, ride statistics, construction photos and a live Web cam.

TRACK LAYOUT AND STATS

• Length: 3,265 feet
• Max Height: 109 feet
• Top Speed: 53 mph
• Airtime Hills: 16

Mystic Timbers is one of the most highly-anticipated new rides for 2017, and with good reason. The wooden roller coaster will be 3,265 feet in length, reach 109 feet in height and weave along steep cliffs, down ravines, cross over water and go through an extreme S-turn, among a forest of trees, at speeds of up to 53 mph.
The ride will feature a total of 16 airtime hills, a mid-course tunnel and interact with parts of the Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad and White Water Canyon attractions.

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Today was a HUGE day for Comic Con announcements (movie trailers, unveiling of new stars and even a Disney Parks announcement. So we figured we'd compile them all in one spot instead of just posting 10 updates today. 

Enjoy the run-down. 

We'll start off with the big Disney Parks news, a Guardians of the Galaxy retheme is coming to Tower of Terror at Disney California Adventure. 

This has been met with decidedly mixed ... mixed, who are we kidding ... decidedly negative reaction for a tower that is generally referred to as "bad tower". 

So we're taking a wait and see approach with this one. You can find out more about the addition being headed by Joe Rohde here. 

Next, we'll switch over to DC which held their panel before Marvel and a new trailer for Justice League was released. Apparently DC has figured out that they can actually have fun with their superhero movies. This looks to have a decidedly lighter tone than Batman vs Superman. 

They also unveiled a trailer for Wonder Woman, which also looks great. It's going to be interesting to see if the tone is different in Suicide Squad which comes out in a few weeks. 

Not to be outdone, Marvel unleashed a new trailer for Doctor Strange, which is a significantly shorter wait than the Warner Brothers movies. 

Some of the other big news is the long rumored star of Captain Marvel was announced ... it will be Bree Larson. And it's perfect casting as far as we're concerned. 

There were also some new logos revealed for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor Ragnarok. 

Moving beyond comic books there was also an awesome trailer revealed for Kong: Skull Island. 

Not to be outdone, a new trailer for "Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them" was released. 

Don't call it a prequel or a sequel, but lots of nods to the Potter universe it shares. 

Last but not least (for now), a new King Arthur movie is coming out that nobody really asked for. This one seems to be leaning more towards the "magic" side of the legend unlike the last King Arthur movie from maybe a decade ago? 

There's sure to be more coming out of Comic Con on it's last day, we'll be sure to add it tomorrow. 

If we missed anything be sure to let us know. 

​We are about six weeks from 'reveal' day for the Six Flags chain - the special day of the year when the SF corporate people reveal what parks are getting what for 2017. However this year has been full of leaks - leaks by the dozens in fact. And with that comes the realization that there is a LOT of disappointment abounding from many sides. 

Since Premier Parks took control of the chain back in 1997/8, the idea was to take former  Premier parks rides and try to work the magic that the SF name had on it around the country. Former Premier parks such as Geauga Lake, Adventure World and Riverside quickly flipped into SF parks, with the associated themes and rebranding of rides; additional coasters to fit the park's needs appeared almost as quickly as the names changed. Superman: Ride of steel appeared at three of the parks - all three former Premier parks, while other attractions began to spring up in     quantity - all with the same theme. Fortunately, most of this clone action was limited to three or four of a type... but it was a harbinger of the future. 

As we all know, SF went into severe financial hardship in the middle of the 2000s. This financial indigestion was felt throughout the chain, as capital expenditures began to be reduced. Parks had to go without major expansion while reorganization occurred, and the finances were paid down. A smart move to help reshape and rebuild a brand which had grown too fast too quickly - all on debt that was high interest and due quickly.

At the turn of the decade, the picture began to improve, and parks began to expand again. A handful of parks got new coasters in 2011... but in 2012 we started to see the beginning of a disturbing trend. Duplication... at every park. 

What's going on, SixFlags? Record profits, record turnstile numbers, record revenues & record spending in the parks should tell you that perhaps it's time to return to the roots and to the core values that Six Flags once stood for: Regional parks with a regional flair. The term Six Flags stood for something: Innovation and themes based upon the Six Flags that were raised above each park's home territory.  
While this has been dilluted down with the addition of non-core parks over the past 40 years, so has the differentiation between the parks. So many parks are now beginning to look identical in ride offerings, show offerings and such. You can't throw a stone in many of the base SF parks without hitting a BatClone coaster (even in Texas) from B&M.  And let's count the super-loops. 

Now mind you, gentle readers, that other park chains do the same thing. Cedar Fair has their fair share of duplicates - such as the S&S Power Towers, and to a lesser extent Morgan Hypercoasters. At the same time: Every Cedar Fair park retains their own image, attractions & such. You won't find 'The Beast' at Cedar Point. And you won't find I-305 at World's of Fun. Nor will you find Montezooma's Revenge at Carowinds (well... you DID... but long before Carowinds became a Cedar Fair park.) They've retained their identity while maintaining a sense of brand, location and purpose. And thus, they have an individuality to them like none other. 

Duplicating rides in parks has been a trade secret that was no secret for years. But when it came to key attractions - log flumes, coasters, etc. you always saw each park having it's own individual stars; ones that were unique to the park and to the chains they belong to. ​

It isn't working. While the GP go "Oooh, new!" for one season... the next year, they're asking for something different. They want originality. They want expression. They want something better. 

Six Flags promotes one of the facets of their season pass is being able to visit most any park in the chain for the price of their pass. At what point will people go "Gee, this is like our own home Six Flags" when they go in and see the same BatClone coaster, the same Justice League dark ride, the same Larsen SuperLoop, the same Star Flyer, the same...everything.  The novelty wears off quickly when all you see are the same attractions in every park everywhere you go. 

And it also causes a bit of backlash: How long until park attendance begins to drop due to the facets of duplication - and the lack of hard-core investment in original rides, shows & attractions begins to take its toll? I can say that it won't be long, that's for sure. Six Flags has walked themselves into a corner - and it is going to be a long and expensive route to get out of. ​

From our place in Southern California to the Bay Area there are 3 main routes we can take, the 99 (which really only makes sense if your'e going to Sacramento), the 5 (the quickest/most boring way north) or the 101 (which usually makes the most sense for us). Throughout our 3 day trek we'd actually travel on all 3 at one time or another. 

We started off on the 5 North, passing Six Flags Magic Mountain, through the Grapevine and ended up turning back West somewhere in the middle of nowhere. 

Our fist stop, "The last place James Dean got gas". 

After explaining to my son just who James Dean was we found the place just off Highway 33. Unfortunately this was about all there was to the place. There was a shop inside, but it was severely lacking in James Dean merchandise, not even a magnet for our magnet collection. Still, it was interesting and it's only about 10 or so miles off the 5 so it's a nice side trip. 

We also made note of the "Wonderful Pistachio" visitor center that was nearby for a visit on a subsequent trip. 

After our stop we headed north on Highway 33 and caught up with Highway 41 and headed back East. Which eventually brought us to "Bravo Land". 

Turns out this is a pretty popular stop along the 5, and we could definitely see why. 

Shooting range anybody? 

It's definitely unique and kitschy which is a hallmark of any great roadside attraction. 

We made note to stop here on the next trip for Cheese Curds and eat at the restaurant. But we had more places to be. 

Our next stop was supposed to be a large homemade Transformer (Bumblebee to be exact) but you can actually see it from the 41 on the way to Fresno, it looked cool, but there was no reason to turn around to see it up close. 

After a long trek through farms it was time for the "Largest Box of Raisins in the World". 

Now of course, the question came up "are there raisins in it". We honestly don't know. We didn't even think to ask. But the Sun-Maid has a nice visitor center, some samples and of course a whole bunch of different varieties of raisins. After getting a couple of magnets it was on to our next destination just up the 99 in Fresno. 

Blackbeards Family Fun Center!!! 

Considering it was 110 degrees there were literally no other people in the park, let alone kids to ride with to get the credit. 

Fortunately our good friend Cliff came out to play with us and after a bit of sweet talk we were able to get on the ride. 

Well, almost. Somebody (yours truly) was unable to fit in the ride at first, I mean, it's a kiddie coaster afterall. So Cliff and Josh rode first. 

After standing in 110 degrees for about 10 minutes I lost the inch I needed and got the credit. Be sure to check out our POV below. 

Some more pics of the amazing ride. =) 

We did it!!! =) 

After our ride it was time to hit the road again and for our hotel for the night, oddly enough back on the 33 in Santa Nella. After a nice dinner at Pea Soup Andersen's it was time to get some rest for our next day of fun. 

The next morning our first stop was at Denny's (hadn't actually eaten at a Denny's in at least 5 years) to have breakfast with our good friend and site contributor Stephen. After catching up a bit it was time to hit to road to ... Six Flags Discovery Kingdom!! 

This is one of our favorite Six Flags parks 

Unfortunately something is still "up" with Joker. 

When we rode on media day the ride was smooth and fast and fun. They were having some issues but that was to be expected. 

It's now a few months into the rides life and they are apparently still having some issues. The ride is still running 1 train, there is definitely something up with the wheels as they are loud and rattle a LOT and the train just seemed to meander through the course without any real force or urgency. 

I'm sure whatever it is that's going on RMC and the park are working hard to fix it, and despite some growing pains we're sure this ride is going to be amazing for many years to come. 

Nearby, V2's trains are back on the track and we've been told that the train was entirely rebuilt. No sign of any change in theme to make this blend better with Joker, Penguin and Superman ... but it would make sense. 

Speaking of Penguins

One of our favorite animal shows at ANY park is Odin's Temple of the Tiger. It's so entertaining and fun to watch, but also very educational. A rare chance to see these beautiful animals. 

If you'd like to help the plight of the Tiger you can do so at TheFundForTheTiger.Org or WorldWildLife.Org 

Kitty!!! 

After the show we stuck around to say hi to our good friend Captain Lee who then asked us if we'd actually like to meet (meat?) the stars of the show ... who are we to say no to meeting such amazing animals. 

Last year I got to meet my favorite Penguins at Sea World, and that was amazing. This was just as awesome. The Tigers have so much personality and are so amazing to see up close. 

Odin likes milk as you can see below. (click any of the pics to see a larger version)

If you'd like to see more amazing pics of the tigers be sure to check out Matt's "Photographic Tour of Discovery Kingdom" from last year. 

After some lunch at the all new Pick Six and a few more rides it was time to head east and a stop at Jelly Belly!! 

We'll have a full update from the tour next week but we'll share a couple of pics for now. 

If you are going to do this tour we HIGHLY suggest going during the week when the factory is operational. 

Because if not, you just find yourself looking at machines that aren't doing anything. 

We hadn't actually done the tour since about 2005 but it's all self guided now instead of having a tour guide. Which is probably great during the week when stuff is going on. 

When we were planning our original Utah trip we had planned on staying in Sacramento the night before heading home. We had pricelined the room so we had to keep it, turns out Scandia was less than a mile from our hotel. 

So while it was quite out of the way for our Bay Area trip we weren't going to waste a paid for hotel, and well, we got a credit too!! 

This is definitely one of the more unique mouse coasters out there. 

We were also able to get some POV of the ride, so be sure to check it out. 

Some more pictures of the ride (click any of the pictures to see a larger version)

After the coaster and Go Karts (really not much more of the park to show off) it was time to get some rest before our last park of the trip and drive home. 

The next morning we found ourselves at California's Great America!! 

Still one of the better B&M inverts

The park is home to many classic flat rides including this awesome Enterprise (my favorite kind of flat ride)

One of the main reasons for our visit was to check out the all new Mass Effect New Earth. 

So some thoughts on the new attraction (you can also check out more pics and Andrew's review here)

Loved it. Now, I'm totally unfamiliar with the franchise. Have never played the games, don't know the characters, etc ... it didn't matter. The story was easy to follow, was fun and well done. 

But the effects, WOW. The video is literally the best "4D" I've ever seen. EVER!! Some of the shots, I honestly don't know how they did it without actually having some kind of physical set come crashing through the wall. It looked THAT good. 

I had heard a lot of good things about it, but I'm not a huge "3D/4D" fan, but this one is worth doing a few times. 

We had a great time at CGA, this park gets a bad rap due to it's lack of thrilling coasters but they have a great collection of flat rides and we always seem to have a great time at the park. 

We would love to see Grizzly get some RMC love though, that ride is just boring. =) 

And the last stop of the trip, to the Garlic Shoppe in Gilroy. We were out of "Garlic Dude Dust" and a few other things. ;) 

Overall we had a great 3 days exploring central and northern(ish) California. We hope you all enjoyed checking out our journey. 

Be sure to check back next week for our full report of the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield. 

The Scrambler has been moved up the hill towards Timberhawk. The all new Enterprise is being built in the old spot for the Scrambler. 

The S&S Tower is going up and should give a great view. 

Over at Timberhawk they demolished the old picture booth that has not been in used for some time, and replaced it with a wood hawk carving. ​

The wave pool has waves once again after not having them for a few years (which was one of the major complaints on the parks Facebook page)

Thanks to Gary for a great update from this out of the way park. Looks like they are making some great changes and additions. 

If you are are going to be up in the Seattle area be sure to check out "Emerald City History Walks" where you can hang out with Gary and learn some great history of the area. 

Is this how you Pokemon Go?

Editors Note: She looks absolutely thrilled to be here

Next lets head over to Disney Springs where there's always something new to check out.

Got a bite to eat at Frontera Cocina which was decent, but no seating for quick service guests

The new HomecomingFL looks great, and also has a nice bar with a grab and go window. Will try that next time!

The Polite Pig is opening soon DisneySprings and if it's anything like CaskLarder and ravpig it'll be delicious!

The main reason we went to DisneySprings this time was for the new UniqloUSA store, and it is awesome!

The UniqloUSA store Disney Springs is two floors of Disney and non-Disney clothing at affordable prices!

I was surprised by the amount of Disney branded items available at Uniqlo

Disney Pixar shirts at UniqloUSA ? Yes please, I'll take them all!

Some of the Alice in Wonderland shirts at UniqloUSA

Another look at some of the Disney Pixar shirts UniqloUSA . There are so many, I want them all!

Thanks again to Renée for yet another amazing update from Florida. Definitely could spend a few bucks in the Uniqlo store for sure.