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Review of Island H20: A Wonderful Water Park Day!

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Island H2O Sign

Island H2O is the Orlando areas newest water park located just south and adjacent to Walt Disney World in Kissimmee, Florida.  It combines family fun with technology using an internet and social media theme with attractions like Follow Me Falls, Reply Racers, Chat Creek and Live! Lagoon. Island H2O isn’t the largest water park, but it essentially has one of everything you could want in a water park in a great layout and manageable size. Each of the slides and attractions it has are well done and sincerely great versions of that type of slide or flume. Island H2O is very much a quality over quantity approach to a water park with excellence at every point from the food to the staff.

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Rivers of America at Disney’s Magic Kingdom Closes Forever to Make Room for Piston Peak National Park

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Steamboat riverboat on Rivers of America at Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom
Rivers of America (Photo by Matt Brinkley)

On on July 6 2025 Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island at Magic Kingdom closed Forever to make room for “Cars Land” and specifically what is being called Piston Peak National Park. Rivers of America have been part of Frontierland and Liberty Square since 1971 when the park opened, but the Liberty Belle steamboat and Tom Sawyer Island were actually added in 1973. This has long been known as a scenic and relaxing area of the park. This area is now being reimagined into a Cars themed land with a ride similar to the Radiator Springs Racers, a high-speed ride at Disney’s California Adventure. However, this is not a carbon copy of the California attraction located in the desert town of the first movie, but instead it will be an off-road adventure in a mountain and water-filled National Park.

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No More Virtual Queues at Disney World!

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Standby at Haunted Mansion at Disney Magic Kingdom
Lightning Lane at Haunted Mansion at Disney Magic Kingdom

It was announced earlier this year that Disney World’s Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind would cease using the virtual queue system on February 25, 2025. This followed a similar previous announcement in September 2024 for Tron Lightcycle Run. This means there are currently no rides at Disney World using virtual queue for the first time in years and every attraction will have standby lines available. It also ends the stress for many of waking up at before 7am on the morning of a Disney vacation and feverishly hitting the refresh button to try to get a boarding group to ride the lastest Walt Disney World rides sometime that day without paying extra. Virtual Queue was the only “free” way to ride without paying for a Lightning Lane Single Pass, which could cost $100 or more for a family on top of a regular Lightning Lane Multi Pass (formerly Genie+).

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Was This Mountain at Tokyo DisneySea Originally Destined for California? How Disney “Blue Sky” Concepts are Never Truly Dead.

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Tokyo DisneySea volcano

Disney loves its mountains, see Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and the former Splash Mountain as examples. One of the lesser known “mountains” is the volcano known as Mount Prometheus at Tokyo DisneySea in Japan. For those not familiar, according to the DisneySea website it is, “The only Disney park themed to the myths and legends of the sea. Each of the eight themed ports features attractions, restaurants, shops, and more, inviting guests to a world “Where Adventure and Imagination Set Sail!” This is the 7th most attended theme park in the world and many consider it the best and most beautiful of all the Disney parks. However, did you know many of the concepts of Tokyo DisneySea came from a park called DisneySea California that was cancelled in 1991?

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Get Your Engineering Cub Scout Adventure Loop at Fun Spot America Kissimmee with Mine Blower!

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Fun Spot America Logo
Scout leader and scout in front of the Mine Blower roller coaster at Fun Spot Kissimmee

Earning the Arrow of Light “Engineering” adventure loop has the potential to be one of the most fun and exciting activities in scouting, especially with the increased interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). What’s even more exciting is that one of the recommended adventure activities in the cub scout handbook is to have scouts build their own roller coaster! A theme park is a great place for the scouts to explore and learn about engineering and Fun Spot America Kissimmee is perfectly suited for this adventure. Earning the “Engineering” Adventure Loop at Fun Spot Kissimmee can be as simple as watching a few YouTube videos, having a discussion, riding a roller coaster and participating in the park’s “build your own roller coaster” activity or doing your own at your next den or pack meeting.

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Adult Review of Peppa Pig Theme Park Florida

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I visited Peppa Pig Theme Park at LegoLand Florida with no kids while visiting Winter Haven on a business trip and had a very enjoyable couple of hours. I mainly went to get the roller coaster credit for Daddy Pig’s Roller Coaster, but found myself really enjoying and appreciating the rest of the park as well. The roller coaster is really phenomenal for what it is (a kiddie coaster), but the overall atmosphere is very lighthearted and pleasant. You’ll basically be able to do everything in a couple of hours and if you plan your visit accordingly you can do it at a reasonable price too.

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Wild Oasis at Busch Gardens Now Opening July 15th with Capybaras!

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Wild Oasis Sign at Busch Gardens
Wild Oasis Sign (courtesy of Busch Gardens)

Update July 2025: It appears Wild Oasis will finally open to the public on July 15, 2025 and to pass members starting July 13, 2025. This has had a couple of delays, but this large redesigned and new land should be worth the wait. The full schedule is below.

• Platinum Pass Members Only: Saturday, July 12 l 10:30 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.

• Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Pass Members: Sunday, July 13 | 10:30 А.М. – 5:00 Р.M.

• All Pass Members & Fun Card Holders: Monday, July 14 | 10:30 А.М. – 5:00 P.M.

• Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting – Open to All Guests: Tuesday, July 15 | 10:30 – 11:30 A.M.

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Roller Coaster Patents: Epic Universe’s Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Madness Has a Patent on it!

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Patent sign from Tellus Museum
Donkey Kong Mine-Kart Madness layout

I was walking through Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Georgia and they had a great display about patents that actually highlighted the patent on the Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Madness ride. This roller coaster has a unique design with hidden lower vertical track and a “boom” arm to create the illusion of jumps, movement over rough terrain and fast track switches. However, Universal is far from the only company to protect their work with parents as with a quick search you will find patents from companies like RMC, Disney and many more.

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SeaWorld to Combat Epic Universe Opening with New Expedition Odyssey Attraction and Free Beer!

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SeaWorld logo

Update September 2025: It appears the strategy may have worked as United Parks (SeaWorld parent company) announced that SeaWorld Orlando’s attendance was up in the 2nd quarter of 2025 post Epic Universe’s opening. It’s rare that United Parks announces park specific performance, so it’s obvious they were trying to make a point. CEO Marc Swanson said, “Our attendance at our SeaWorld Orlando park has been up in attendance since Epic opened on May 22,” he said. “It was up for the full second quarter, and it was up if you measured from the date Epic opened through the end of the second quarter. It continues to be up quarter to date in the third quarter through Aug. 6 on a day-to-day basis.” Swanson also said attendance was up at its Aquatica Orlando water park and Discovery Cove, and revenue also was up in Orlando.

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Anything for a Credit? Adult Review of Going to Peppa Pig Theme Park to Ride Daddy Pig’s Roller Coaster.

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I was in central Florida for business and happened to be working and staying about 5 miles away from LEGOLAND Florida and the new Peppa Pig Theme Park. I mentioned to my guests about my roller coaster habit and adults visiting Peppa Pig just to get the “credit” (number of unique coasters ridden). They asked if I had done that yet, which I hadn’t, and they kindly arranged for me to visit and ride the surprisingly great Daddy Pig’s Roller Coaster by Zamperla.

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