DaptoFunlandGuy

^that's some damn good advice. As for your answers to my questions - Since you've done Disney before, you can probably cut down the time you spend there. Sure you'll need some time to get through the additions to DCA, but DL itself hasn't changed 'too much' so you can definitely cut down time spent there. I'd still go for 2 days so you can be sure to catch the new WoC and Fireworks shows as I hear they're both well worth it (And if you're going within the next 12 months you'll catch the D60 celebrations too). I wouldn't miss Knott's, and as Gazza mentioned if you time it right USH would be worth the trip... If you haven't done them before (or in a while) you could probably spend all your time in and around L.A. and still enjoy yourself immensely... just depends on how many days and how far you want to go - but check out some of the trips Gazza has done to get an idea of the pace he keeps...

There are petitions online in social media, and slathered all over Sky's pages calling for her to be fired.

Is this purely a Coaster pilgrimage? Have you done any Disney parks before? Disney parks are worth the trip - but Florida is going to need a heck of a lot more time to get around it all than California will - if Coasters are your aim, Cali can be done in a day, and 2 days will cover almost everything (i believe 3 is necessary) - WDW by all accounts requires far more time to 'do it right'. Whilst you're based in LA, USH & Knott's are kinda a given, and each offers their own pros and cons (again - if it's purely a coaster pilgrimage - i'd say skip USH, but don't miss Knott's. Cedar, Dollywood are also on my to do list, but I guess it depends on what sort of coverage you're going for. I'm frequently amazed at the mileage Gazza gets out of his trips, and know that I could never come close to that kind of endurance... so you need to work out precisely what you want and where. Everyone is going to have different suggestions, must-dos, and even 'theres a credit that's only a 10 minute detour off the highway that only costs $5' - for me - those kinds of "credits" aren't worth it... unless the ride itself is actually very good, and worth the stop...

^Precisely. Many think that the animals aren't fed well enough if they don't perform. Simple fact is that each animal's diet is carefully monitored, and those animals having an 'off' day will still receive the same quantity of food (and this is why sometimes you'll see 2 dolphins doing aerial stunts, and sometimes more - it depends who is 'in the mood'). The animals who don't perform aren't "punished" but they do receive negative reinforcement - which is usually the trainer ignoring them beyond necessary interactions - ie: they receive their food, but not the usual back scratch \ eye contact \ praise \ playtime. There is no punishment, only the restriction of positive behaviour.

Well, the source is reliable...

I got it in one Brad - Richard likewise responded just as the Merlin guy did and held it well.

I mean the point she kept trying to make - that they're going to extra lengths to ensure safety - that's like saying that a car manufacturer, or an airliner manufacturer builds unsafe passenger carrying vehicles because one vehicle crash identifies a one-in-a-million fault, which - nevertheless each manufacturer immediately spends a fortune retrofitting every one in their fleet...

^that woman needs a shovel to the head.

Testify! Amen Brother!!!

I know a few who would disagree with you Push...

​The issue with both of your suggestions is that the ride is themed and licensed to the film, not the animations. If you want to start showing cartoons in the queueline, you'd likely need a different license... and same for the alternative theme song.

Before my statement gets distorted - with regard to JP - I am not, have not, will not say JP doesn't qualify as a 'classic'. It's one of my favourite franchises and my wife feels exactly the same (although we quibble over which one is better)... my specific point is that i've never heard (or considered) it referred to as a Classic before today - with my view that a 'classic' is kind of that 'golden age' of hollywood, or animation. "Walt Disney Classics" was always releasing things like Snow White, or Bambi. It'd be a hard argument to say Frozen is a classic - but chances are it will enter that category at some point. I guess for me, JP just doesn't feel like it's been around long enough to earn that status... and then complete strangers mung on about how the film has been out 22 years, and suddenly I feel really old. As for Captain Cutler's Ghost, or the Black Knight - the point is ALL of Scooby's villains were generic. I mean come on - you've offered two examples of "non-generic villains" and one of them is the black knight? There was rarely any backstory or motivation behind the villain other than 'loot'. Scooby as a series went through different iterations that offered different things - earlier eps were local crackpots in a mask that "would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids" but as the series wore on, there was only so much they could do 'realistically' and so they started working with supernatural themes and creating REAL ghosts and such that couldn't be explained by Velma with a reveal at the end whilst the police hold onto the guy in cuffs... and I think thats when the series went downhill - the supernatural beings that had no 'human' motivation - really - weren't winnable... how do you imprison a Ghost? So let's analyse how well those 'iconic' villains did in the series... (Reference : http://scoobydoo.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_monsters_and_villains ) Total appearances for Captain Cutler's Ghost: ONE Total appearances for The Black Knight: TWO. Interestingly enough - they are the first two villains ever encountered within the original Scooby Doo - Where are you? Series. I'm inclined to say - less iconic, but possibly more memorable simply because they were the first two episodes on the VHS cassette that got watched over and over - and therefore stuck around a bit more. The Black Knight doesn't make his second appearance until Ep6 of S3 - and never again since then. Hardly "iconic" when you're considering there's pretty much a new villain every episode (and in later series the 7 minute shorts meant an 'episode' consisted of more than one mystery, and therefore more than one villain), totalling well over 200...

^And you're on a mission to ride them all Gazza?

More of that humility, remorse and overall just a real level of maturity. THAT is why you're a Moron.

​Sounds like it was alright - any idea the age of the PTC trains out there? I've just got this image of this guy standing near the water cannons in a trench coat... and Gazza's like this:

​The next time WB Studios decides to do a reboot of the live-action Scooby Doo franchise, THAT will be the only time where the park should take the time (and money) to capitalise on the new release... "The New Doo" - even if it is only an updated lighting package in the disco room. I'm with Tbone - ​Lillard AND Cardellini both did a stellar job. FPJ and SMG were a bit cringeworthy - but take a look back at the cartoons, and you'll find it was Velma, Shaggy and Scooby who had the starring roles - Velma worked out the clues, and Sh\Sc provided the comedic relief. Early days for Daphne were a helpless female always getting kidnapped and needing rescuing. All Fred ever did was state the obvious. Only good acting those two did in the film were the 'body swap' scenes. Having done a lot of research on the film recently - and on the topic of casting - I am absolutely cut about what could have been - Tim Curry was originally slated to play the villain, however when he learned his character would later be found to be a robot housing for Scrappy-Doo, he pulled out of the project. Tim Curry is THE villain actor - but sadly he (like me) hates Scrappy-Doo.

There's a great comparison here too.... every once in a while, Disney (Dreamworld) come out with a stupidly fantastic product that everyone raves about - Frozen (Insert whichever ride you like best - eg: wipeout, ToT, GD etc) is the most recent example. But for all the blockbusters - like Frozen (claw) and the Little Mermaid (Thunder River), they also have their foul-ups - like Atlantis: The Lost Empire (MDMC) or The Rescuers Down Under (Buzzsaw). They can't all be blockbusters. If every film Disney did was the multi-billion dollar success that is the Frozen franchise - they'd have to slow down production - to give each film the chance to earn it's full worth before moving onto the next one. When Disney has a flop, it lets the film quietly fade into obscurity without much fanfare. They'll even halt work on a theme park attraction and go back to the drawing board if the film isn't as successful as they thought it would be (Atlantis \ Nemo Subs), but they don't withdraw the film for sale or viewing. They let it have it's run on video, and there will be some people out there who absolutely love it despite it being a bomb... This is MDMC. MDMC is Atlantis: The Lost Empire. It's a bomb. It's so bad because it was hyped up by the company prior to it's debut, everyone got excited. everyone raved about how awesome it was going to be... and then premiere day comes around.... and its disappointing... But all the merchandising and licensing agreements are in place and we've just spent millions... so we'll just put it out there, slowly try and recoup our costs, honour our licensing agreements and let it fade into the background slowly (or sometimes quickly).

Based on the descriptions above, i'd say that's bang-on.

​Not really sure why you can't send me a PM. I've had conversations with numerous members via PM and find it to be very useful. There is no reason why I would 'refuse' PMs... maybe an issue with the forum upgrade perhaps? As for calling anyone a moron, if you read the thread carefully, you'll find it was another member who used the phrase. Another member then questioned the use of the word, and my post was only in reply to those two, reinforcing that yes, a person who does such things would be as described. I'm not showing hate to anyone - i just think you're an idiot who doesn't understand what he did wrong (otherwise why else keep posting the photos and commenting about what you did). This forum has a long memory. (Scooby Eyes anyone?), and many long term members won't let you live it down when you make a mistake. Mistakes happen - I totally get that, and if you express humility, remorse, and quit bragging about it like you did nothing wrong - it will go along way with people... but the occasional jibe from someone where it fits isn't intended to be nasty, and only to have a bit of a laugh at your expense... this is why almost 10 years on - Scooby Eyes still gets a laugh... And despite having not seen a stall in any of our parks since Wonderland closed down - Dippin' Dots references still get a laugh, and everyone understands why. Anyone can sit down and write a contrite little note with mature wording and call the other guy a hater. I also appreciate you attempted to do it in PM... My views on you as a person will not generally be influenced by a little 'sorry note', rather by your actions and behaviours that follow.

Well actually - the laws of trespass would apply here, and needless to say, the rules enforced by the company and the laws enforced by the police referred to in this situation both circulate the same message - "it's unsafe to do what you did, which is why we told you not to do it." I think we've all concluded here that what was done was wrong, the photos taken were removed as Parkz did not want to be seen to endorse or encourage that behaviour. Clearly the park has reacted to protect itself from future instances of idiot by installing a door. There was no need for him to repost the photo taken from inside, as photos of the outside were already posted by others - Richard even going to the effort of restoring an image that was previously deleted to show everyone the context. As for your use of the phrase 'Aspy', the use is derogatory and insulting. *pauses and waits for Pushbutton to set off on another tirade* How about you just stick to debating on the issue...

Nobody has been appointed enforcer of anything. And by the sounds of things, the park has enforced their rules by imposing a ban. Look at it this way.... What do you call a person who gets absolutely blind drunk, gets behind the wheel and flies down a highway doing 140km/h before writing himself off into a tree? A moron. What do you call the same person who gets pulled over by the police before he has a chance to injure anybody, and subsequently charged with the offences he had committed? A moron. It's not just the police that are allowed to give their viewpoints on the stupid actions of an idiot... the media does it every day. Everyone is entitled to have their opinion, and they're entitled to share it, so long as they're prepared to receive rebuttals that may disagree with their opinion. ​^THIS.

Who insulted who? And how? Are you referring to Rappa's completely apt description of the guy as a Moron? Push - i've got news for you - that wasn't an insult. That was a perfect description of an idiot who wanders into a ride envelope, out of bounds, risks his life to take photos, brags about it, then gets all butt hurt when we don't react with absolute awe, and instead shout him down as the moron he is... so he continues to defend himself despite nobody supporting his position. Believe me - theres enough people on these boards that know who Rappa is - so there's no anonymity there. I'm with Brad on this one. Too many 'do-gooders' who stand up for others who don't need (and didn't ask) to be stood up for. The guy is PROUD he got banned from DW. He Brags... and continues to post the pictures he got shot down for... I don't think he wanted you to stick your brown nose into it... YOU feel upset about it, and YOU have felt wronged often enough on these boards even when stuff has had NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU. Stop trying to be everyone else's knight in shining armor. It doesn't suit you. By all means stand up for yourself... but your whiny-assed baby approach to defending others doesn't earn you a shred of dignity... and each time you complain about the actions of others (especially those who are the moderators and leaders - who make the rules here) you just encourage more of us to laugh at you.

So.... gut the ghost-train part of the ride? change the carriages, *gasp* even drop the MXPX 'film' version of the theme song so that we can go backwards? Look - granted, most critics gave the film poor reviews, however those that responded positively all said 'if you loved the cartoons.... then you'll love this'. SDSC's theme was relevant at the time it was constructed. The coaster opened June 2002, 3 days ahead of the theatrical release. Perfectly timed. Sure - the film has less relevance now, but how much money do you want to throw at the ride to change it to the animation? it's not just throwing up 'HB styled' set pieces... plus the IP owner probably wouldn't want the two 'mixed' so you'd have to de-brand all the film set pieces too... so many of the castle theme and elements, and a lot of the ghost train section would need to be changed too. Sorry - Scooby's "FILM" theme is staying. HB is not coming... EVER. So can we please discuss realistic improvements to the ride - ones that stay within the existing theme and don't rely on 40+ year old artwork?

^^For once I agree with Push. Yes the film is getting on in years... but so is the ride! Yes, WB owns HB... however one thing to remember is that VRTP are only licensing the names and imagery from WB. If they wanted to go down the cartoon licensing - they might be asked to pay extra, if their license only allows them to use the film.... which comes back to: "how much do you want to spend changing a ride that is getting on in years"? Just because you think a 2002 movie is less relevant than a saturday morning cartoon series that started in 1969 and "at best" finished in 1991 with "A pup named Scooby Doo" (which mind you is the eighth reinvention of the concept under HB alone), and "at worse" died when they introduced Scrappy Doo in the 1979-80 season... doesn't mean everyone else does... (The video posted above of the flume... showing all the HB artwork... wasn't that titled 'last ride'? As I understand it - that particular version of the Scooby Doo Haunted Mansion at SF St Louise closed down last year... what a perfect time to use a theme... when other parks decide to get rid of it!!!) I grew up with the SD series of cartoons - even the cringe-worthy Scrappy-Doo ones - but I find them less relevant today than a film that is currently 13 years old (as opposed to over 45 years old), especially when that film has specific ties to the gold coast as a location and is one of the few themed rides in the park that is actually relevant to the film industry on location. Yes - children's networks do show Scooby Cartoons these days - but they aren't (for the most part) the HB years - they are WB Kids and Cartoon Network remakes... and are unworthy of inclusion.

No wonder he got banned from DW.