Before we get started with any of the pictures ... 
TWISTED COLOSSUS WILL OPEN ON SATURDAY MAY 23!!!!! 

So make your plans accordingly. We still don't know when media day is or if there will be any kind of "preview", but as soon as we know, we'll certainly let you know. But maybe try and get a couple days off towards the end of that week just in case. =)

We're also trying something a little bit different today for those of you who like to see video, a full video walk-through of the tour. If you like this let us know and we'll do more of them in the future. 

Alright, lets get to some pictures of the tour. 

From outside the park, it was a beautiful morning. 

Who thinks the best kind of G's are Zero G's? 

According to the park, about 45% of the total wood on Colossus will be replaced by the time opening arrives on May 23. 

This just seems unfair to all other coasters. 

Who thinks the best kind of G's are insanely crazy ejector positive G's? 

The final Double-Up which I'll be honest, seemed like a "eh" thing until I saw the video below. 

Later in the day, CoasterMatt was able to get some great pictures and video of the ride testing. 

Cresting the lift hill ... click to see a larger version. 

Heading into the High Five element

Right about here you're are probably going to be quite happy the ride has seat belts. 

In addition to a tour of the structure, we also got to look at the station and the rest of the Steampunk District stuff. 

Purple and Blue, ready to do their business. Green will be coming later as it won't be needed until one of the existing trains goes down for refurb. There will also be a building going over the storage track at some point. 

Fully functional ride op panel

A look at the station. Standing on where in August would have been the track of Colossus was very weird. 

Queue entry, the left will be the normal line, right will be ADA and Flashpass. 

OG Colossus signs. 

Stairs (check), twisty bushes (check), drought resistant plants (check)

They are also doing some really cool Steampunk'y art type things in the planters. 

Love this one. 

Looks like they are getting ready for the new entry display to the Steampunk District. 

Finally, the new Gearworks theater is looking great. I like the way they went with this. 

They were working on the Marquee

Alright, that's going to wrap it up for our last look at Twisted Colossus prior to media day. 

A special thanks again to CoasterMatt for getting the great testing video and pictures later in the afternoon. Much appreciated. 

I'll also be heading back up to the area later today for an NFL draft party, if I get any indication that the ride is testing I'll stop by and get some more pics and video. 

Thanks again for all the support, we'll see you on May 23!!! 

If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter and Instagram. Also, be sure to join our new Mailing List to receive our newsletter (will be sent out about every two weeks)

If you have any comments, please share them below.

From near Shrek, it appears the outsides of these buildings are almost complete

A look through the Arch

By the time the park opened at 9:00am, it was clear that they'd already been working for a couple of hours. 

Hogwarts is starting to receive it's rock-work. 

Looks like they are doing it in layers to give it that forced perspective look. 

The trees they planted a few weeks ago are already starting to come in nicely. 

A close up on the area of Hogsmeade they are working on most now. 

They are starting to work on Hippogriff as well. 

A look at Hogwarts from CityWalk. 

Just a couple of things going on around the park. Pinks has been closed and is now "Plaza Grill". 

Although some remnants of Pinks remain. =)

Statue guy is the best. 

Not really much to report on here. 

Outside, work on the parking structure is continuing and they were planting some new palm trees around the new entrance area. 

Alright, that's going to wrap it up for this update. We'll have more from Universal Studios in a couple of weeks as the official opening of Springfield approaches. 

Have a great week everybody!! 

If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter and Instagram. Also, be sure to join our new Mailing List to receive our newsletter (will be sent out about every two weeks)

If you have any comments, please share them below.

The roof awning has been installed which is a nice translucent plastic, which should look great day or night. 

The shiny bits extend down to the station. Not sure if that's queue up there or scaffolding. It looks like queue though. 

Pulling back a bit, you can see the boardwalk colors extending over in the top right of this picture. 

Will be interesting to see what else is added over the next few weeks. 

Not sure if that's the actual exit stairs or if the ride will continue to exit through the arcade like Kingdom of the Dinosaurs did. All indications are that it will no longer exit from downstairs. 

That's going to wrap it up for this quick update. Thanks again to CoasterMatt for the pictures. Are you heading out to ride Iron Reef when it opens in two short weeks? We'll have more as Media Day/Opening Day approaches. 

If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter and Instagram. Also, be sure to join our new Mailing List to receive our newsletter (will be sent out about every two weeks)

If you have any comments, please share them below.

And by guests, some people you may have heard of like Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and the ghost of  Harrison Ford. Plus the new cast of John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac. 

But before we get to the panel, just in case you haven't seen it (and if you haven't, what's wrong with you) ... If you have the ability to watch this on TV with a great sound-system, please, do so. =)

So our Star Wars Celebration began in the early morning hours of Thursday. After leaving our house around 3:30am we arrived in Anaheim just before 5:00am and walked from our hotel to the Convention Center. 

Unfortunately Will Call wasn't due to open until 8:00am so our hopes of possibly getting into the live panel was somewhat in question. Thankfully due to some great on-site staff we were able to get in the line around 6:30am and into the arena presentation. If you've been to the OC Convention Center you'll remember the arena isn't too big, so even though we were on the upper level, we had a great view. 

Prior to the start of every panel they had a great DJ and hype man, who would give away stuff and have some fun with the audience. 

The panel finally begins. Many people had been waiting more than 24 hours for this in line. 

JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy come to the stage. 

And introduce the new cast, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac. 

And of course, welcome some old friends. 

The droids, the amazing BB8 and R2D2. 

The panel itself was amazing. There was a lot of talk about how people came into the project, the energy in the room was insane and they gladly played the trailer twice for all of us. Lots of cheering, tears and emotion as I'm sure you all had. It's so awesome to have the franchise in the hands of "one of us", the fans of Star Wars. 

I know that people are skeptical, and with good reason. The last good Star Wars movie is 32 years ago at this point. Sure, the prequels have their place, and some people like them, and yes, Episode III isn't "terrible", but the feeling of these movies reminds so many of us of the original trilogy. The fact remains, if you combined the 3 prequels, you'd probably have one good movie. This one is really going to blow them all away. 

But of course, that was only the beginning of an epic 4 days of Star Wars. 

Thursday Night had an interesting sounding panel on the schedule, but really, nobody was quite sure what it was going to be. It sounded like a game show, but nobody really knew. This was the first time they'd done this at Celebration and it was SO much fun, I have a feeling it will be at all future celebrations and it will be MUCH more popular, not that it wasn't on Thursday. 

This was also my first panel with the main stage host James Arnold Taylor. If you don't know who he is, be sure to google him. You may not recognize the name, but you'll surely recognize the voice. He was a perfect host for all of the panels and made them so fun. He's definitely got a fan in us. 

Before every panel James Arnold Taylor had a great intro video, hoping that he'll eventually upload them to YouTube or something because they were fantastic. 

The Two teams that were playing. 

Anthony Forrest on the Dark Side ... you may not recognize him, but you recognize some very famous lines he said: 
Obi Wan Kenobi: You don't need to see his identification
Stormtrooper: We don't need to see his identification
Obi Wan Kenobi: These aren't the droids your looking for
Stormtrooper: These aren't the droids we're looking for
Obi Wan Kenobi: He can go about his business
Stormtrooper: You can go about your business
Obi Wan Kenobi: Move Along
Stormtrooper: Move Along ... Move Along

And yes, he said the lines. =)

The Light Side Team. Mostly voice actors from The Clone Wars, Rebels and Beru from Episodes II and III. 

Some of the fun categories and all of the answers. Click to see a larger view. 

The Dark Side totally kicked butt, but it was fun event all around and everybody really seemed to enjoy it. 

That's going to wrap it up for Day One Panels. We'll be back in a couple of days with Day Two, including some video to go along with them of the Anthony Daniels Panel that you won't want to miss. 

If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter and Instagram. Also, be sure to join our new Mailing List to receive our newsletter (will be sent out about every two weeks)

If you have any comments, please share them below.

As many of my readers & most people on Earth know, I have a certain, well, 'fondness' for German built & designed rides. OK, more than a 'fondness' - more of an absolute devotion to them - more so than any other ride builder. The Germans get it right - first time. They make insane, intense, thirlling rides, and do so with gusto. They push the boundaries of technology, they think outside the box, and they push the envelope further along with each stride forward. German rides WORK - and work hard. 

So what its it about these fine products from Deutschland that makes them better than what you have at your local park? I like to think of it this way: If your local park has a German in it, you're lucky. Two in a park? You're blessed. Three in a park? You're actually standing IN GERMANY, most likely at Hansa Park or Europa Park. A few parks in the USA have realized this - some of which have some real whoppers of attractions. 

Let's take a look at a few of the major designers that have created absolute German Perfection:

For the past 25 years, Gerstlauer has been creating new ideas in rides based upon their rich history and legacy as a base for pushing forward. Until the late 90s, they were primarily a shop producing ride electronics for Zierer, Schwarzkopf & other builders, but it was 1998 that brought forth their first coasters - in the form of a new-generation Wild Mouse concept called the Bobsled (or Bobs for short.) 2003 saw them re-think the idea of the compact coaster, and the Eurofighter was born. 

Combining a vertical lift, beyond vertical drops & insane geometry & inversions, this concept proved to be a hit - and then led to many offshoots and custom built coasters. The ability to put $10.00 worth of thrills on $2.00 worth of land became a calling card for Gerstlauer, along with superior quality, reliability & efficiency. In 2013, they took the Eurofighter concept one step further, with the Infinity Class - and turned the world upside down again. 14 times. Smiler opened, people arrived, and the world was thrilled. 

And now, Gerstlauer takes another leap forward with Karnan - a 218 foot tall monster that pushes the Infinity class to Hypercoaster levels - and beyond. With four Infinity Class coasters built to date, they have made their claim - and taken their stake - as a design house & builder NOT to be missed. 

Possibly the most prolific of the German builders, Zierer's roots started out in carnival rides & small carousels, and evolved into their popular (and NUMEROUS) Tivoli coasters. Inexpensive, durable & great for small parks, Zierer's Tivoli coasters became a calling card for a good family ride. Customizable models allowed almost any length, height & speed available, and a monster capacity made them great people-eaters in parks. 

Evolution of the Tivoli brought us the Force series of family coasters, which have been thrilling the masses for the past 12 years. 2006 brought their biggest step forward in the coaster market, with the addition of the ESC (Extended Seating Coaster) to the market, and introducing a whole new generation of full-sized coaster to the market. It is this technology combined with LSM power that has fired them to the forefront of family coasting with Verbolten, as well as to their next generation of rides in their Tower Coaster collection. The future is shining bright for Zierer, and with an arsenal ranging from mild to wild, they are here to stay. 

By far the oldest ride builder on Earth, MACK has been in the amusement business for 230 years. With such strong roots, it is surprising that their first coaster models did not appear until 1960, with their Meteor family coaster. 1976 brought their most popular model to date, the Blauer Enzian powered coaster series to light, a model that proved a stalwart of many parks around the world. Still popular to this day, the most recent model opened up in Hong Kong at Ocean Park in 2012. 

But it was the leap forward with two models that makes them stand out: 1985's Bobsled coaster, and 1996's Wild Mouse designs. The Bobsled was not a sales success - with only 10 opened over the past 30 years, but it was a show-stopper of a ride: A ride that allowed you to experience controlled bobsledding - but without the frigid temps required to do so. An excellent family coaster, these rides still stand in a handful of parks, with one at Kings Dominion operating as it has since 1988. The other big development of the era was the Wild Mouse coaster, which premiered at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in 1988. These compact coasters allowed parks the flexibility of an E ticket ride, in very little space. Customizable, creative & fun, these coasters have sprung up all over the world, and continue to prove that bigger is not always better. 

Their latest leap in technology launches them to the top of the list for parks wanting a quality ride: The Blue Fire series. These top-shelf coasters feature unpredictable direction changes, high-speed launches, multiple inversions, amazing layouts & very high capacity in a ride package that packs a punch. MACK isn't just building rides - they're building tomorrow's rides today. 

Schwarzkopf- (You REALLY didn't think I'd leave out Schwarzkopf, did you???) 

When we look at coaster technology, it all started with Anton. While Bacon, Morgan & Gurr started the tubular steel era, it was Anton who took it to the next level - and WELL beyond. It was a creative vision that gave us the roots from which every single modern coaster comes from, it was Anton's fussiness & obsessive passion for perfection that gave us modern track geometry & design.

Schwarzkopf's initial Wildcat series of coasters gave way to the JetStar series, then later the Jumbo Jet series, and onto the SpeedRacer series of coasters. It was the SpeedRacer that was taken one step further starting in 1972, into a world we could not have imagined at the time. Working with Reinhold Spieldiener, Schwarzkopf threw the world for a loop - a modern, successful loop - starting in 1976. The LoopingRacer gave birth to the HeartlineLooping/Doppellooping series, as well as the LaunchingRacer shuttle loop. Building compact rides that pleased the masses and drew crowds became a hallmark of Schwarzkopf's rides. As the Master worked through the 80s, His designs evolved, and Thriller & OlympiaLooping both made their way onto the world's fairground circuit. Constantly refining & reprofiling designs, Anton blessed us with some of the most intense, insane & thrilling coasters on Earth, ones that to this day draw crowds more than their more recent siblings. Anton's designs stand the test of time. A park with a Schwarzkopf knows they have a reliable, durable & time-tested creation which is a calling card of true German Perfection & quality, and many parks cherish their Schwarzkopf coasters as what they are: A shining diamond in a world of duplicated gems. 

Even though Schwarzkopf exited the stage of the theme park world in the early 90s, MACK, Gerstlauer & Zierer have picked up where Anton left off. Gerstlauer itself can be called the Son of Anton, having taken the factory & the patents for Schwarzkopf's technology to create their own new world of amazing rides. MACK is creating insane new rides around their Blue Fire technology, as well as re-thinking the ideas behind compact coasters. Zierer is going forward with family coasters which are standing out as the future. It is this future-forward thought of design combined with German precision, efficiency & durability that makes a German coaster so much better. While other builders have created amazing rides, it is the Germans who have led the world in bringing them to the public more often than anybody else. 

And thus, I say with great gusto: "JA! DEUTSCHLAND! JA!" 

If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter and Instagram. Also, be sure to join our new Mailing List to receive our newsletter (will be sent out about every two weeks)

If you have any comments, please share them below. 

Always cool to be driving down the road and seeing a coaster just on the side, especially a classic one such as The Classic Coaster. 

The Ace Brick

The Classic Coaster is of course and ACE Roller Coaster Landmark

Finally The Wildcat which was unfortunately not open for Gary's visit. 

How about an aeriel view of the Spring Fair. Looks like a lot of great fun to be had. 

Thanks again to Gary for sharing these pictures with us. Be sure to check out his report on his website for even more pictures. Hopefully we can have Gary share more with us when the Washington State Fair comes later this year. =)

If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter and Instagram. Also, be sure to join our new Mailing List to receive our newsletter (will be sent out about every two weeks)

If you have any comments, please share them below.