Scream Zone: Review and Trip Report

By D.Z. "Theme Park Specialist"

On Thursday evening, I was able to visit the Scream Zone! This event is hosted annually at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego, California.

 

 

The event features 4 amazing "attractions".
 

 House of Horror: Out of all the other experiences, this is my favorite. This maze will take about 10 minutes to complete as it includes tributes to many horror films. Inside, there are a number of dens with monsters everywhere you look. I had so much fun going through this maze and sure you will too!
 

 The Chamber: In this maze, you get experience the living dead."The Chamber" includes the longest spinning kaleidoscope tunnel in all of Southern California. The maze takes about 5 minutes to complete and is very enjoyable.

 

 Haunted Hayride: In this "attraction", you get to board a tractor full of hay as you journey through the horse stables of the Del Mar Fairground. You come face-to-face with clowns, zombies and even monsters. For about 15 minutes, you are put into scenes of many popular films. They even have a tribute to The Walking Dead. This is a must see on any trip to the Scream Zone.

 Zombie Paintball Safari: One of the newest additions to the Scream Zone is the Zombie Paintball Safari. This experience allows you to put your paintballing skills to the test. You are faced with unarmed zombie's who are ready for the run.

We also got to talk with Linda Zweig, Media Relations and Public Information for the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

As you can tell, The Scream Zone has a lot to offer. Every year, they bring back the same attractions, but update them in a unique way. The only thing similar to last year's event is the name! The Scream Zone is for sure a must do event!

  

The Scream Zone runs from Friday, September 27- Saturday, November 2.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.thescreamzone.com 

Dream It, Do It: Book Review

(Marty Sklar receiving his window on Main Street.)

By D.Z. "Theme Park Specialist"

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been immersed in the book "Dream It, Do It" by Marty Sklar. The book is about a long time Disney employee Marty and the experiences he went on during his 50 year career (over than that actually). He is the only one who has opened up all 12 Disney theme parks. He was hired 1 month before Disneyland opened to be their writer. A lot of signs, press releases and even Walt's speeches were written by him. This book includes the openings of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris and more. He even talks about working on the World's Fair projects. I learned so much about him and the company. This book is great. The only part I didn't like about the book was when parts were out of order. It could make it a little confusing at times.

 Everything else about this book is great. It is a MUST READ for all Disney theme park fans! I would give the book a solid 8/10. It is a new release, just hitting bookstore's a month ago.

 

www.amazon.com/dreamitdoit

Optimist Documentary Review and Storyline

By D.Z. "Theme Park Specialist"

On Monday, September 16, Amelia posted her documentary on Youtube. The video includes a lot of tweets, guests and comments from her blog! I even found me in it!


I actually created a whole storyboard it: (click on them for full screen)

 In the documentary, Amelia recited something from her grandfather. "Take time to appreciate a sunrise. It means tomorrow is here." The day after this video was released, I went around asking people what this quote means to them. This included parents, adults, children. A common answer was, "I don't know." I really want to know what you think. Email or tweet me (infogeekcentral@gmail.com) telling what the quote means to you and I will feature it in this weeks podcast.

“Tomorrow” Documentary

Published: September 16, 2013

Story Orbit Films

(Transcript)

 My name is Amelia Moreau. I live in Providence, Rhode Island with my mom. We have two cats, Nora and Sophia. They are not the most exciting cats in the world, but they are awesome. My grandpa used to live with us in the apartment above the garage. He kept to himself a lot up there. I remember hearing him type away on his typewriter when my friends and I played soccer in the yard. It was his sanctuary. He died earlier this year. Even though he was old and not doing so well, a part of me assumed he would live forever. He death was tough. Even though grandpa and mom rarely saw eye to eye, I think his death was harder on her. She never wanted to talk about it. She just wanted to handle all of his things herself. Nearly half a year passed, and she hadn’t even opened the door to his apartment. I knew he loved to write. I knew he loved to tell stories. And I knew he had really cool glasses. But he never told me his story about life before I knew him. Neither did mom. I was not prepared for what I would find.

Mom taught me how to be independent and strong. It’s why she’s my hero. But I couldn’t quite make sense of these discoveries. And I realized very quickly I couldn’t do this on my own. So I reached out for help. And I got help, immediately. From the most amazing people. I did not expect this.

Together, we discovered that grandpa was a part of something big.

That he worked for a legend. That he was associated with a society of revolutionary thinkers.

Together, we found evidence of great projects being worked on. Innovations ahead of their time. Ahead of our time.

And grandpa was a part of it.

My mom had a tough time accepting what I was doing. Sharing everything I knew about grandpa. As much as mom wanted to avoid dealing with grandpa, I knew, like so many of my new friends, that she had to see what we found out about him. That all of his work was for her.

I began  this story about grandpa…. Then my mom became a part of it…. Even I played a role…. But like grandpa’s work, this story turned out to be about all of you… Those who encouraged me to keep going. Those who saw something special when I couldn’t. Those who gave up so much to receive grandpa’s message. Those who believe in the future.

Grandpa once said, “When you can, take time to appreciate a sunrise. It means tomorrow is here."

Disney Planes: Review

By Beemerboyz803

          On Labor Day, I was able to watch the Disney movie Planes. The movie centers around Dusty Crophopper, a cropduster who wants to change and become a racer in the Wings Around the Globe Tournament. However, he gets teased by the other flyers at the test trial, including Ned, Zed and Ripslinger, who sabotages anyone that gets in their way. After coming in in .10 seconds less then Fonzarelli, his dreams are crushed. Until it is revealed Fonzarelli used "plane steroids" to qualify, he was disqualified and Dusty was brought as his replacement. Before the race, he meets the other planes, such as Ishani, Ned, Zed, Ripslinger, El Chupacabra, Bulldog, and Rochelle. To my point of view, the plot was pretty predictable, like every other Disney movie. 

I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but Disney I think needs to surprise their audience more. Overall, the movie had me laughing out of my seat due to the humor from El Chupacabra's crush on Rochelle. Their was a lot of funny jokes, surprises, and even a sad flashback. In the ending, I rate the movie 8 out of 10 because of the humor that had all ages laughing. 

Legends of Chima Water Park

By Zach 
Earlier today, LEGOLAND California's General Manager Peter Ronchetti announced the 2014 lineup!

“2014 is a big investment year for us. A great corner stone to the Resort’s success is listening to our guests and striving to increase the value of their experience,” said Peter Ronchetti. “We are excited to build an entirely new Water Park based on the LEGO Chima product line immersing children and their families into an interactive world of play!”

LEGO Legends of Chima Water Park will be an entire new area at the resort. 

There will be 8 main areas, but only four have been announced:

Lion Temple Wave Pool: The main feature of the Water Park, an interactive pool centered around "Mount Cavora," an iconic Chima piece.

Cragger's Swamp: This will be a hands-on experience including water slides and water cannons.

Eglor's Build-A-Boat: Similar to "Build-A-Raft River" at the LEGOLAND Water Park, this will allow kids to compete in water obstacles, letting imaginations run wild.

Wolves' Cantina: Once you start to get hungry, you can visit the Cantina, a food and collectible store.

Legends of Chima Water Park will be included in guests admission to the LEGOLAND Water Park. The water park opens in summer of 2014!

ANNOUNCMENT: World's Fair Mystery

ANNOUNCEMENT:
For the next month, we will be uncovering the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. We will learn how this fair influenced many popular Disney attractions. We will be building this website, adding more information and tabs as we progress. We will also have a podcast, where we will discuss on air.

Along with that, we will discuss the new Tomorrowland movie, currently in production now.

 

 Visit the blog at worldsfairmystery.blogspot.com.

 

Questions? Email us at infogeekcentral@gmail.com.

 

Use the hashtag #worldsfairmystery.

New Entrance for SeaWorld San Diego in 2014

By Beemerboyz803
        With all the past theme park announcements with the replacement of Knott's WindSeeker and the Six Flags plans for 2014, SeaWorld San Diego has finally made their 2014 announcement. Recently, the park has surfaced their plans for a BRAND NEW ENTRANCE! Dubbed Explorer's Reef, the new ocean-themed entrance will feature four touch pools with 5,000 fish.
         Explorer's Reef is planned to open around spring 2014.

Photo courtesies of Google Images.
Information courtesy of the Los Angeles Times and SeaWorld San Diego's Facebook page.

Knott's Berry Farm Says Farewell to Popular Attraction

By Beemerboyz803
           Along with the announcement of Six Flags' plans for the 2014 year, Knott's Berry Farm has made an announcement. Unlike Six Flags, the announcement is saddening.
         Along with the Labor Day weekend closure of Perilous Plunge, the park's popular 300-foot-tall swing ride, WindSeeker, has been shut down for technical difficulties since September 20, 2012, when twenty riders were stranded atop the tower. This past Friday, August 30, Knott's Berry Farm announced that WindSeeker would be demolished in the next few months and would be relocated to Worlds of Fun, also owned by Cedar Fair. There, the ride is scheduled to open in 2014 under the name SteelHawk.
           The park has not confirmed any date of closure nor the final day for boarding yet.
           Along with three others nationwide, WindSeeker opened at Knott's Berry Farm in 2011, replacing a restaurant in the Mexican-themed area of the park. The ride quickly became a popular hit.
           So, it's finally time to say goodbye to Knott's Berry Farm's WindSeeker. What will be next for Knott's Berry Farm? What will happen to WindSeeker's former location?

The graphic was created by Beemerboyz803.

Sources: Wikipedia, KHSB Action News