Archive - Park Journey

Published on

June 12, 2015

The DarkSide of Cosplay coming to ScareLA

Cosplay anyone?
The people behind the masks talk about transformation inside & out

At ScareLA we embrace self-expression through costumes, makeup, and play. For cosplayers, though, this isn't just about Halloween, it's a lifestyle! So this year we've turned to them for inspiration to help you make your inner monster shine.

Check out all the cosplayer fun we have in store for this August 8 & 9:

Cosplay Roundup - Saturday, August 8
ScareLA takes a look at four unique cosplay events and communities that transport cosplayers in the very worlds their characters were made to live in. Anime, Fantasy, Apocalypse, and Gore: The Cosplay Roundup panel participants:
Reel Guise
Labyrinth of Jare th
Anime Expo
Wasteland Weekend

Zombie Apocalypse
All weekend long our dark cosplay favorites from Real Guise will be wandering the ScareLA floor in character as your favorite zombie survivalists from "The Walking Dead" - join an interactive zombie shoot-down unlike anything you've ever seen.

Cosplay Inspired Classes
Scare Students will be to choose several classes specifically tailored to cosplayers:

Stupidly-Simple Distressed Costume Creation Techniques (Seminar)
Instructor: Bill Ramsay aka Dr. Terror Eyes

How to Do a Movie-Quality Prosthetic Makeup in Under an Hour (Demo)
Instructor: Scott Ramp, Six Flags Magic Mountain's Fright Fest

Cosplay 101: I Don’t Even Know Who I Want to Be!
Instructor: David Schoelen, Reel Guise Cosplay

Costuming Magic: Alterations
Instructor: Concetta Verna, Labyrinth of Jareth

Foam Fab 101: Using Foam to Create Any Costume You Can Imagine
Instructor: Kenneth J. Hall of Total Fabrication, Inc.

Less than 50 Scare Student tickets left! Book Yours Today

The Darkside of Cosplay
Join the Facebook group dedicated exclusively to the lovers of horror cosplay, Darkside of Cosplay, hosted by ScareLA and Real Guise.
Click Here to Join

Cosplay Roundup: the Panelists:

The creators behind the Mad Max inspired "Wasteland Weekend," which brings apocalyptic characters and stripped down vehicles to the deserts of Southern California. War boys (and girls) encouraged to partake!

The producers behind the rich fantasy world known as "Labyrinth of Jareth" where guests dressed as faeries, angels, and other creatures can mingle and participate in a variety of themed acitivites over a weekend in a variety of opulent environments.

The cosplay collective "Reel Guise ," which recreates the cast of "The Walking Dead" utilizing precise makeup and costume work, refined performances, and plenty of brooding attitude. (as featured on "The Talking Dead".)

Organizers from Anime Expo, one of the early embracers of the cosplay movement and avid believers in everyone's right to be who they want to be.

Ready to cosplay?

Become part of it all! Grab your ScareLA tickets now

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Published on

June 11, 2015

Walt Disney World - Disney's Animal Kingdom Update

Avatar Disney Parks Disney's Animal Kingdom Walt Disney World

We're back today with another update from Walt Disney World, today an update from Disney's Animal Kingdom thanks again to Renée.

We'll take a look at the work being done around the park and the new Harambe marketplace and the new Starbucks set to open soon.

Pictures and Words by Renée Girard

Taking a walk around Disney's Animal Kingdom, aka Disney's Construction Kingdom, to see what's new.

The former Creature Comforts building is being transformed into a Starbucks, set to open June 18 at Animal Kingdom.

Harambe Market is a new addition, in the Africa section of the park, offering quick service food and drink options.

A look at the food and drink menus in the new Harambe Market at Disney's Animal Kingdom (click to see a larger view)

Harambe Market fits in well in Africa at DAK. Great theming & a nice selection of food/drinks with large seating area

Thanks again to Renée for another great update from Walt Disney World. We're excited to start bringing you more from the FL parks and we'll be expanding our coverage even more in the next few months.

So stay tuned for that. =)

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Published on

June 10, 2015

Knott's getting ready to welcome Summer

Camp Snoopy Cedar Fair Coasting For Kids Give Kids The World Knott's Berry Farm

Last week we took a quick trip to Knott's to check out their preparations for Summer.

The park is kicking off a whole bunch of summer excitement this Saturday and we'll of course be there to check it all out this weekend. But in the meantime, here's some of the preparation that was going on last week.

Pictures and Words by Gregg Condon

It was a beautiful day at the farm, but was full of Middle School groups, not my thing so it was probably my quickest visit to the park ever, less than an hour.

How about a couple of pictures of Jaguar in action. The Coasting For Kids riders got a lot of rides in this past Sunday. You can still donate to the riders even though the event is over by clicking the link above.

A quick look at Iron Reef, the line didn't look too bad even though the park was relatively busy.

The stage for the new Vertical Impact shows, there is a day time and night show. They are definitely going for the Steampunk Theme here. Looks and sounds like fun, the description is below.

(NEW) Vertical Impact – Calico Square Stage: The show presents the ultimate blend of extreme stunts with high flying acrobats performing a one of a kind performance perfect for the entire family! This high energy show is set to the most popular songs of today, combining everything from trampoline stunts, BMX riders, skaters, dancers, and aerialists. Every show ends with an informal meet & greet for the guests with the entire cast on stage. June 13 - August 23. No shows on Mondays & Tuesdays

(NEW) Vertical Impact: Geared Up! – Calico Square Stage: The fun continues after dark as the cast pumps up the volume with the latest hits, the biggest tricks and awesome special effects. The pace is intensified, the stunts are electrified, and the cast is breaking down the walls, defying gravity, and taking it all to the next level. "DJ Nytemadness” keeps the party going mixing all the best of current EDM, dance & pop hits after each show while the gleeful cast invites guests become a part of the fun. June 13 - August 23; no shows on Mondays & Tuesdays

Some of the other shows coming to the park this summer.

(NEW) Blockbuster Beagle!...on ice - Charles M. Schulz Theatre:Snoopy and his Peanuts buddies "go Hollywood" bringing Walk of Fame glamour, dazzling movie lot escapades and California excitement to a brand new ice show adventure. Join Snoopy and our world-class ice skating stars for this amazing new production! June 13 - August 23; no shows on Wednesdays

Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies – Bird Cage Theatre: Things get krazy when Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies perform their toe tappin’, knee-slappin’, side splittin’ country comedy show that has Knott’s audiences clamoring for more! See Knott’s website for show dates and times

(NEW) Big Band Swingin’ Sundays – Boardwalk Circle: The timeless allure of swing dancing is something guests won’t want to miss this summer! Jump, Jive & Swing to the sounds of Orange County’s best local Big Bands. Sundays,June 14 – August 30

The Big Fat Steve Band – Boardwalk Circle Stage: Back by popular demand, The Big Fat Steve Band is a one-of-a-kind dance band with a swingin’ beat. Enjoy the live musicality of rockabilly, swing and classic sounds. The only thing missing is your dance moves. See Knott’s website for show dates and times

(NEW) Salsa Bands – Fiesta Plaza Stage: Fiesta Plaza stage heats up this summer with the infectious energy created by some of Orange County’s most popular salsa bands. See Knott’s website for show dates and times

Ghost Town Streetmosphere – Ghost Town Streets: Ghost Town is alive with townsfolk who will put you smack dab in the middle of the Wild West. New residents have put down stakes recently - Clem Culpepper, the ever hopeful gold miner, Ma & Pa Shine, our resident moonshiners & Nathan Quickly, the Pony Express Agent, and more Calico townsfolk

Charlie Brown’s Happy Campers - Camp Snoopy Theatre: Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, their friend JT, and the world’s most popular beagle, Snoopy will take the stage in a show that’s sure to make an outdoorsman out of anybody! Daily, June 14 – September 1

Knott's Summer events begin this Saturday, be sure you are following along on Social Media as we'll be covering the event all day.

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Published on

June 9, 2015

Star Wars Weekends 2015 - Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney Hollywood Studios Disney Parks Star Wars Star Wars Weekends Walt Disney World

Last week Renée spent some time at some of the parks at Walt Disney World and live-tweeted a bunch of really amazing pictures.

Below is a compilation of all of the tweets from Star Wars Weekend 2015. We'll have more from Disney's Animal Kingdom later this week.

Pictures and Tweets by Renée Girard

Spending the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios for Star Wars Weekends! @DisneyParks #SWW2015

Some of the treats you can get at Star Wars Weekends. New this year is the Jabba the Hutt cupcake. #SWW2015

Storm troopers and guards interacting with guests at #SWW15 to check that they have papers for their speeders.

Ray Park (Darth Maul) & Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) in the Legends of the Force Motorcade on Hollywood Blvd #SWW2015

Guests have the opportunity to play the Star Wars edition of Disney Infinity 3.0 at #SWW2015

Darth's Maul has all the #SWW15 merchandise, in its new location where the DHS Backlot Tour used to be.

Cool off with one of the specialty #SWW15 drinks, with light-up Death Star or Millennium Falcon glow cubes.

All of your favorite Star Wars characters make an appearance in the Legends of the Force Motorcade. #SWW15

Characters show up throughout the day on the now hat-less stage at #SWW15

Checking out the Rebel Hangar at #SWW15. If it's booked, they start taking names for walk up outdoor seating at 3pm.

During the day, it is the Backlot Express, but beginning at 4pm during #SWW15 it becomes Rebel Hangar.

The indoor theming for the Rebel Hangar is up all day and is pretty awesome #SWW15

Chips and Sith, and Slider Sampler: The Sith and the Jedi at #SWW15 Rebel Hangar

Had to try the drinks with the X-wing glass clip at #SWW15 Rebel Hangar. The Endor is quite tasty!

The mini cupcake trio comes in the Han Solo carbonite bucket at the Rebel Hangar #SWW15

Heading out of DHS after it got a bit stormy. Had a great time at #SWW15 @DisneyParks

Ok, first of all, how awesome does that view look without the Big Ass Hat? I've personally never seen DHS without that thing there so I'm totally looking forward to that in November when we are in FL for IAAPA.

Secondly, hope you all enjoyed this Star Wars Weekends update. It was one of our favorite things when we visited in 2007 and it looks like they are improving it every year. And with all of the rumors swirling around that park regarding Star Wars ... well, they are probably going to get even better.

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Published on

June 8, 2015

6-8-15 - Wizarding World Hollywood update

2016 Attractions Harry Potter Harry Potter And The Forbidden Journey Hogwarts Studio Tour Universal Studios Hollywood Wizarding World

Happy Monday and welcome to a new week of fun with us.

We'll start off the week with a look at Wizarding World Hollywood. We'd been using "Wizarding World West" but the official park hashtag is #WizardingWorldHollywood so we'll just start using that for our updates. =)

Pictures and Words by Gregg Condon

So now that Simpsons is open, Fast and Furious is about to open and the Night Tours are in "Technical Rehearsals" we can pretty much start to concentrate solely on Wizarding World. The rest of those things will come in separate updates for sure.

We'll start off where we always do, with the Hogsmeade archway.

Looking up to the castle. It's big.

Something is going on behind the trees

Some of the scaffolding has been removed to reveal ... windows!!!

The Great Hall was actually there behind all that scaffolding the whole time!!! =)

There's supposedly some Hippogriff track back there ... I may need to get my eyes checked.

From the other side, pictures just don't do this justice.

They are either planting more treees here or they are just growing.

Elsewhere around the park, the old Jaws was taking a well deserved vacation.

Hadn't noticed this before that the sports bottles only have a $0.99 refill price on the day of refill, so that means if you are an AP you can't get the low-cost refills on repeat visits. This is kind of odd considering pretty much every other park has refill options (other than Disney) and some parks even have a season-long Sports bottle now.

Lastly, the new dining/retail location continues to be built quickly. No word on what exactly it will be yet, but some kind of multi-use function is obviously what they are probably going for here.

Alright, that's going to wrap it up for this update. We'll probably have another update in a week or so.

Remember, if you have an AP you should have received an email about previews for Fast and Furious Supercharged, that attraction officially opens on June 25. The night tours are also coming soon which from what we've seen so far should be a lot of fun.

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Published on

June 6, 2015

Rewind Racers opens at Adventure City

2015 Attractions Adventure City

Yesterday we were invited out to Adventure City for the grand opening of their new family coaster, Rewind Racers.

This delightful little park in Stanton (just a few miles west of Knott's on Beach Blvd) is really a nice family park and Rewind Racers is a great addition to the park.

Pictures and Words by Gregg Condon

I'm actually kind of ashamed to admit that this was my first visit to the park, we had passed it on many occasions but for one reason or another had never taken the time to actually go in and experience the park.

Adventure City is charming, clean and the staff at the park is excellent. You really get the feel that this is a true family park, stuck in the middle of the sprawling metropolis that is Orange County.

We'll start off this report with the opening of Rewind Racers and then we'll take a look around the rest of the park later this week.

For the opening of Rewind Racers, the Mayor of Stanton as well as some City Council Members were on hand to celebrate the opening.

The mayor reading a proclamation for Adventure City.

After a few test runs, it was time for the first official ride. Here's the ride in action.

The first official ride, forgive my hand, I was also trying to Periscope at the same time. Learning process and all. =)

How about some off-ride pics of the ride in action.

Not sure if backwards or forwards, it doesn't really matter. It's all fun!!!

Be sure to check out our front seat and back seat POV of the ride. The park was really great about allowing us to get all the pics and video we needed.

The following pictures are for a very specific audience. You know who you are. =)

The safety sign ... a couple of things stand out:
1) The height requirement of 39" (with an adult). Awesome that they get another inch off from some other local rides. =)
2) First rule "Do not force a person to ride" ... that means you parents who have kids who don't want to ride.

So that's it for our look at Rewind Racers. The ride is very thrilling, very fun and it's great that it's a family shuttle coaster that can be enjoyed by many.

It's so great to see a small park like this doing something different. Nobody would have blamed them had they just gone with a standard roller-skater but they wanted to do something new and unique, and for that they should be applauded.

Be sure to get out to Adventure City this summer and ride Rewind Rewind Racers, you won't be disappointed.

For more information on Adventure City, be sure to check out their website.

Later this week we'll take a look around the rest of the park.

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