Early ride time is from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Park admission is required. 

• Friday, July 3 – Goliath, Vertical Velocity, BATMAN The Ride, Revolution 
  
• Saturday, July 4 – Goliath, Whizzer, Viper, Giant Drop 
  
• Sunday, July 5 – Goliath, Demon, Raging Bull, American Eagle 

This week, the new “Celebrating America” Concert Series at SeaWorld Orlando announces patriotic musical artists for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, and the addition of special summer discounts for both active-duty military and veterans.  During the summer series, every Saturday and Sunday guests will enjoy musical performances and daily happy hours. Plus, pass holders receive a complimentary sample of a tasty brew. Concerts take place in the air-conditioned Nautilus Theater at 5:00 and 7:30 PM, and are included with park admission.  

Weekend Concert Schedule: 

• July 4 – American Military Spouses Choir
  
• July 5 – Lee Greenwood
  

This Fourth of July, families and friends can enjoy one of Orlando’s most magnificent fireworks displays during SeaWorld Orlando’s Fourth of July Celebration.  The night sky will light up as bursts of bright colors fill the air. 

The fireworks display will take place at Bayside Stadium and will include a spectacular, patriotic-inspired show featuring the Navy Band Southeast of Jacksonville, Fla. This patriotic ensemble of musical professionals is one of 11 official U.S. Navy Bands in the country.

The Fourth of July Celebration begins at 10 p.m. and is included with park admission. 

When Britain's most famous ocean liner was still a dream, the Cunard Lines recruited the John Brown shipyard in Scotland to build what would become the world's most famous ocean liner. When Britain's certified LEGO builders, Bright Bricks Inc. decided to commemorate the ship in LEGO Bricks - they never dreamed the huge model would someday come to Long Beach and be displayed on the actual Queen Mary. "The agreement to display our model on the ship is the perfect end to a wonderful LEGO adventure," said Bright Bricks co-founder, Ed Diment.

On Independence Day, Busch Gardens® Tampa celebrates the red, white and blue all day, and even when the sun goes down, with thrill rides in the dark, live entertainment and an incredible fireworks show.

Open until midnight, guests can celebrate the Fourth of July festivities all night long. Challenge Florida’s top thrill rides, like North America’s tallest freestanding drop tower Falcon’s Fury® or Florida’s first and only triple-launch coaster Cheetah Hunt®. Plus, fireworks illuminate the sky at 9:30 p.m., with the best views in Gwazi Park right after the rock-fueled acrobatics show, Kinetix.

Celebrate America

A star-spangled salute to the red, white and blue featuring patriotic music, special daily entertainment, hot dog eating contest, and FIREWORKS nightly (weather permitting). Save $10 off full-price gate admissions with coupons from participating Giant Eagle locations. Don't miss all the great family fun, especially the 10th annual running of the Weiner 100! This popular Kennywood tradition, a hilarious dog race, takes place on June 30, the first day of Celebrate America.

Military members receive FREE admission on June 30, 2015 and their dependents pay just $21.00 for FunDay tickets when valid military identification is presented at time of purchase. 

July 1st - July 5th, Military Members receive 50% off the already discounted Military rate of $21.00 (pay just $10.50) while their dependents pay $21.00 for FunDay Tickets when valid military *identification is presented at time of purchase. Tickets must be purchased at Kennywood's Guest Relations Office. Click here to see list of accepted Military Photo IDs.

The Weiner 100 Race takes place on Tuesday, June 30 at 3 p.m. near the Merry-Go-Round. The Silver Star Meats Hot Dog Eating Contest takes place on Wednesday, July 1 at 2 p.m. at the Kennyville Stage. Interested in eating and competing? Sign up at Kennywood that day! Classic cars will be on location throughout the park until 5 p.m. throughout Celebrate America.

Celebrate Independence Day at Knott’s Berry Farm with world class live entertainment and a spectacular fireworks show the whole family will love. In addition to the full lineup of summer shows, like the all new ice show Blockbuster Beagle, the Mountain Fifes and Drums musical group will hold special patriotic performances at Knott’s Berry Farm in Calico Square at 12:00pm & 2:00pm. With extended hours, 10am – 12am, there is more time to enjoy all that Knott’s has to offer. Please visit knotts.com for the entertainment show schedule.

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You also may recall that at this years Disney Stockholder meeting, Bob Iger let it slip that this park would be receiving a name change, again, so obviously big changes are on the way for this park whether it's the long-rumored Star Wars Land or other things for this park. 

The interesting thing about the closure of the Animation Building is it's not really close to the area where the Star Wars expansion is rumored to be going. So hopefully this means it won't just be Star Wars but something more. An expansion of Pixar Place would be the most likely candidate and perhaps the long-rumored CarsLand/Radiator Springs Racers. 

We personally hope for something new and unique to the property and not another clone, there are too many at this park as it is. 

So as of right now, here is what is currently open at Disney's Hollywood Studios: 

Not to be forgotten at this park are the great sit-down dining locations. We're personally huge fans of the 50's Prime Time Diner and Sci-Fi Drive In as well as the Brown Derby. But two original E-Tickets (RnRC and Tower of Terror), 2 great stunt shows and 3 great restaurants do not a full-day park make. 

Obviously in the grand scheme the loss of the Disney Animation Building isn't as huge of a loss as one of these E-ticket attractions but it does possibly foretell the future of this park, which has been moving away from the "Studios" aspect for the last decade. 

It's going to be interesting to see what, if anything, is announced at D23 in August and just how big the maze of walls will get at this park over the next few years. 

There will be some growing pains, there will be some headaches, but we truly believe the best days for this park are ahead of it. 

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We'll of course start off with the entry arch to Hogsmeade. 

A zoom in of Hogwarts. 

A view of the front side of Hogwarts

Flight of the Hippogriff. 

Wonder if they are going to do anything with the office building right there prior to the land opening. 

The other side of Hogwarts

Hippogriff looks much different than the Universal Orlando version. 

A look at the Greenhouse

More of Hippogriff through the trees. 

The new retail/dining location is moving along very quickly and the frame now looks to be completed. 

A new Minions Scavenger Hunt has been added for the kids in advance of the new Minions Movie. 

We love the Minions and can't wait for the new movie. It looks like silly fun. 

More HHN progress down by Jurassic Park. 

Also, of note, even though it hasn't been "officially" cancelled, when we passed the CSI sets one of the stages was completely gutted. If the show is not coming back it will be interesting to see if these stages are used for Halloween Horror Nights. 

Some Jurassic World merchandise has made it's way out to the park, will be interesting to see how much more is added over the next weeks/months as the movie continues to make boatloads of money. 

Alright, that's going to wrap it up for this update. 

We're entering our "off season" and going to be taking a break from parks over the next few weeks so we aren't sure when we'll have our next update. If you are visiting any parks soon and would like to share pictures for an update feel free to send an email to admin@parkjourney.com. We always give full credit and plugs for sharing pictures and updates with us. 

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Independence Day is more than just a holiday, it’s the ultimate American tradition. July 3 - 5, Six Flags Magic Mountain is the premiere destination to celebrate our country, enjoy the summer, and share great times with friends.

Operation Homefront

Beginning Friday, July 3, Six Flags Magic Mountain will pay tribute to and host selected Armed Service members and their families through Operation Homefront.  The Valencia theme park will present Operation Homefront with a donation and the families will receive a VIP Tour for the day.  Operation Homefront provides financial and other assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors.  Since its inception in 2002, Operation Homefront has met more than 742,000 needs of military families and has provided more than $175 million of funding to programs benefitting military families.

Ride The Biggest Thrills of The Summer

July 4th is the peak of the summer, so why not celebrate it from the top of the world! Six Flags' tallest looping coaster Full Throttle is just one of the world class thrill machines daring you to race the wind! And there’s nothing more refreshing on a warm day than taking a ride on a classic coaster like the family-favorite, Gold Rusher. Even little kids can get in on the action with Six Flags’ incredible pint-sized rides, hosted by your favorite Looney Tunes characters.

Star-Spangled Nighttime Pyro Show!

It wouldn’t be July 4th without a festive pyrotechnic show! You’ll be dazzled by brilliant colors nightly throughout Six Flags’ July 4th weekend celebration with a musical salute featuring bands in the Park throughout the day capped off each evening with a dazzling star-spangled nighttime pyrotechnics show set to patriotic music.  

Coca-Cola® Fourth of July Fest

Can't get more American than Coca-Cola® and Six Flags! That's why we are offering Exclusive Ride Time from 9:30-10:30 a.m. on at least four separate rides before the park opens on July 3rd, 4th, and 5th! Bring in a can of Coca-Cola® with you along with your Admission Ticket or Season Pass to Six Flags Magic Mountain on those three days for early entry. Due to maintenance and other circumstances, some rides may not be available.

On July​ 3 from 9:30 a.​m. to 10:30 a.​m., enjoy Full Throttle, X2, Tatsu, Viper, Revolution, and Twisted Colossus. 

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Below we'll give you the run-down of the entire event and a re-review of the ride, as there have been a few changes since the last time we rode, some good changes. 

You can see video of the ceremony below. We've cut it down a bit to show the fun parts, there were lots of speeches given as well. 

The event was held down on the Metro Sets, more specifically in Courthouse Square, which was very cool. 

Courthouse Square

The park was very nice to give me a prime parking spot right down on the Metro Set's. =)

First thing we noticed were all the signs now include the tagline "Grand Finale of the Studio Tour". Hopefully this should set expectations where they should be. 

The Red Carpet

The stage set-up

Donuts on the Universal Backlot

Dancers kicked off the show with a fun routine

Larry Kurzweil arrived in style. 

Vin Diesel made a very nice speech where he talked about the franchise and his late friend Paul Walker. 

Vin Diesel ready to cut the chain and open the ride!!! 

Just as Vin Diesel is about to cut the chain, the FBI shows up to mess up the party. 

So just cutting a red ribbon or breaking a chain, not really Fast and Furious style, so they had a car do it with an awesome stunt. 

The aftermath

The creative team that put on the opening ceremonies. They put on a great show. 

Re-Review of Fast and Furious Supercharged: 

So last week we did a review of the attraction after the Media Preview, outlining some of the issues we had with the ride. We are VERY pleased to report that a lot of these have been fixed. 

The film print in both the pre-show and actual show have been cleaned up a bit. Not sure if this was due to a new print, lens adjustments or something, but it has DEFINITELY helped the overall experience. In addition, the water effects have been toned down A LOT as they weren't needed at all. 

While we still maintain this isn't a ride (and them adding the tagline "Grand Finale of the Studio Tour" is a good step in the right direction of having expectations set correctly) this truly is the biggest/baddest finale the tour has ever had. Hopefully this is just the first step in the continued "plussing" of the studio tour. 

We hope you enjoyed this look at the grand opening of Fast and Furious: Supercharged. The attraction officially opens today so be sure you head out to the park soon to check it out. 

We'll have our normal Wizarding World/General Park update tomorrow. 

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We hope you have enjoyed this look at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, a definite unique park in the Six Flags chain. 

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