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- Ghost Town Alive Hoedown LIVE from Knott's Berry Farm! https://t.co/blTLxOL60P 05:31:04 PM August 19, 2017 from Periscope ReplyRetweetFavorite
- Our own Rick West enjoying some face time with the Mayor of Calico at @knotts during Ghost Town Alive! #knotts https://t.co/gLCVpNyppi 04:33:59 PM August 19, 2017 from Twitter for iPhone ReplyRetweetFavorite
- The level of interaction at @knotts for Ghost Town Alive is impressive. We love it all. So unique for a theme park. https://t.co/IGsk9uLfws 04:02:05 PM August 19, 2017 from Twitter for iPhone ReplyRetweetFavorite
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Tag Archives: Rick West
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Fans Are a Devoted Community, Preparing to Gather at Midsummer Scream 2017
In just days, thousands of Halloween and horror fans will pour into the Long Beach Convention Center to experience Midsummer Scream 2017 on July 29 and 30. One of the most-anticipated presentations of the weekend will kick the event off at noon on Saturday – Beyond the 5th Dimension: Creating The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. This hour-long presentation will feature several individuals key to the design of the original attraction in Orlando, as well as the subsequent versions that were installed at Disneyland Resort, Disneyland Paris, and Tokyo DisneySea.
What will drive guests to this particular presentation? Their undying love of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and the fact that Midsummer Scream is going to give Southern California fans a truly fantastic way to come together as a community to listen to the attractions creators, and give it a proper farewell together as a group.
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Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor New Maze and Spirit to be Announced at Midsummer Scream 2017
As the excitement builds in anticipation of next weekend’s Midsummer Scream convention in Long Beach, the Queen Mary has just announced that it will be revealing a new Dark Harbor maze and character to fans during its hour-long presentation on Saturday, July 29 in the Terrace Theater (main stage).
Typically, each of the major theme parks and attractions that participate in Midsummer Scream thrill guests with enticing presentations and discussions of what’s to be expected come Halloween time. The biggest moments come when the attractions unveil a new maze or major component – that is the pièce de résistance as far as fans are concerned; it’s what they line up for, and it’s what they hope to witness when they pour into the theater each summer.
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Legacy of the Hallowed Haunting Grounds Panel Announced for Midsummer Scream 2017
The history of home haunting in Southern California is long and storied. However, one home haunt in particular – the Hallowed Haunting Grounds – changed the playing field dramatically in 1973, when a group of creative kids led by Gary Corb took to the front yard at 4343 Babcock Avenue in Studio City.
Over the course of 32 years, the Hallowed Haunting Grounds grew into the most elaborate and detailed Halloween yard display anyone had ever seen. What started out as a simple homage to Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, became a must-see roadside attraction each October; a virtual who’s who from the entertainment industry showing up nightly to gawk and whisper with the masses as they journeyed “beyond the graveyard of desolate souls”. The Hallowed Haunting Grounds was more than a spectacle; it became a cornerstone of Halloween in Los Angeles, attracting thousands from near and far to experience its subtle complexity – mournful spirits, crumbling church ruins, undulating graves, floating lanterns, and displaced ghosts.
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Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle Dazzles Universal Studios Hollywood Guests
Most major theme parks have their own “kiss goodnight” – an end-of-day spectacular of some sort designed to keep people around until after dark. Universal Studios Hollywood finally has theirs – The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle.
When The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened at Universal Studios Hollywood in April 2016, media and VIPs attending the grand opening party were treated to a stunning projection show on the Hogwarts facade, featuring a live orchestra conducted by John Williams, accompanied by fireworks behind the castle. When all was said and done, many of us in attendance agreed that it was the best projection show we’d ever seen, and that it absolutely needed to become a nightly occurrence in Hogsmeade – minus the orchestra and legendary composer, of course.
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Blood Alley 3 Sinks Its Teeth Into Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group
There’s a hot show in town called Blood Alley 3, presented by the extremely dedicated men and women who make up Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group in North Hollywood, California. You’ve heard of this team before via Theme Park Adventure; we love their Urban Death productions, as well as other spooky offerings they come up with throughout the year.
As you may have guessed, the “3” in the title indicates there have been previous Blood Alley productions at Zombie Joe’s, and you would be right. The sad fact is, we’d never experienced this particular show until just last week. A ticket and front row seat scratched that itch quickly – and as we arrived, I messaged one of the actors… “It’s our first time… be gentle!”
What came next was a rapid descent into avant-garde, extremely adult theater that blurred the lines of horror, erotica, and other genres that pretty much defy category. What is Blood Alley? If you have seen Zombie Joe’s Urban Death shows, you already know the gist of things – strange vignettes that depict all sorts of gross and frightening subjects, lasting only seconds for the most part before the lights go out and the next scene is readied. This repeats itself for about an hour. Blood Alley 3 is the same type of production – but much, much more intense in every aspect than Urban Death.
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Volcano Bay Opens at Universal Orlando Resort – Full Review
On the morning of May 25, 2017, Volcano Bay at Universal Orlando Resort welcomed its first public guests as Florida’s newest major park opened. Theme Park Adventure was fortunate to be there for the momentous occasion. New attractions open with regular frequency here in the United States; entirely new parks – those are rare happenings that are truly unique moments for all involved. It was an honor to sit front row and center for the park’s opening ceremony, as fabled Waturi people gathered on a white sand beach in the shadows of Krakatau – a 200-foot-tall steaming volcano – to perform tribal dances, songs, and to bestow a special Māori stone from the ocean near New Zealand on Bill Davis, the President & Chief Operating Officer of Universal Orlando Resort.
The opening of Volcano Bay is a significant event not just for NBCUniversal as a whole, but in the continuing evolution of Central Florida’s unparalleled tourism corridor. There is no hotter “battle zone” in the world of theme parks than the Orlando area – Universal and Disney are slugging it out on an unprecedented level these days. In the end, we all win; it’s an amazing time to be a theme park fan.
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Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle Show Coming to Universal Studios Hollywood
A new after dark spectacular is coming to Universal Studios Hollywood’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter this summer: The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle!
Following the incredible grand opening ceremony of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Los Angeles last spring, fans have been begging for a similar nighttime projection show to be brought back to the theme park for everyone to enjoy as Potter’s own “kiss goodnight” each evening. Guess what? Universal listened. Beginning June 23, 2017, guests visiting Universal Studios Hollywood will be treated to a spectacular projection show on the Hogwarts exterior several times each night, after the sun has completely set and it’s dark.
According to Universal Studios Hollywood, the Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle show will showcase the four houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin, with a finale of a fan of lights beaming upward into the night sky. The dazzling visuals will be accompanied by a brand-new state-of-the-art sound system that has been installed in Hogsmeade, as well as other special effects surprises that will “wow” guests viewing the spectacle.
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Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Panel Announced for Midsummer Scream 2017
One stormy night long ago, five people stepped through the door of an elevator and into a nightmare. That door is opening once again, and this time it’s opening for fans of the iconic Disney attraction – The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – as they converge on Midsummer Scream Halloween Festival at the Long Beach Convention Center this July.
Kicking off this year’s world-class presentations in the Terrace Theater at 12 noon on Saturday, July 29, is a must-see panel discussion titled, “Beyond the 5th Dimension: Creating The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror”.
Hosted by Midsummer Scream Creative Director Rick West, this thrilling panel discussion will feature Cory Sewelson, who served as the Production Designer/Art Director for the Florida version of Tower, and the Producer/Creative Director for California and Paris’ versions of the attraction; Michael Sprout, who was the Show Writer on each Tower project, including Tokyo’s, which does not carry The Twilight Zone theme; and Mark Silverman, the amazing voice actor who brought the persona of Rod Serling to life for the Florida, California, and Paris attractions.
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Final Weekend for Knott’s Boysenberry Festival 2017
It’s not too late! If you haven’t treated your tastebuds to the goodness that is Knott’s Berry Farm’s Boysenberry Festival 2017, there’s still time to do so… but not much! This weekend marks the end of the wildly-popular “food and wine” event at Knott’s, which has been going on since April 1st. The final day is April 23rd.
Now in its third year, the Boysenberry Festival has definitely become a well-oiled machine. We haven’t once encountered issues we have in years past, such as food running out or associates not knowing much about the event they were working. Notable this year was the much easier process of paying (in most cases) at the point of food distribution for those who didn’t want to buy tasting cards in advance; that was a huge snag in the past – waiting in a long food line only to be told you had to go pay somewhere else first. Now, in most cases, you can just walk up, pay, and get your treats; simple. The best method however, is to buy a tasting/sampling card at any of the multiple locations throughout Ghost Town; additionally, we recommend the alcohol tasting card as well, if you’re going to indulge in adult beverages throughout your visit. In the long run, this method is cheaper and you’ll be stuffed!
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Wizarding World of Harry Potter Christmas Programming Announced for Universal Orlando Resort
It’s the stuff of dreams, really: Universal announced today that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando would receive an extensive Christmas holiday overlay at both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.
Since Universal began rolling out their Wizarding Worlds, fans have been begging for a Harry Potter Christmas celebration, which would transform both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley into holiday spectacles, even more enchanting than they are already.
Between November 18, 2017 and January 6, 2018, visitors to Universal Orlando Resort are in for a huge holiday treat as both theme parks – Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure – are transformed into a winter wonderland with all the sights, sounds, and sweet treats that come with an epic Harry Potter Christmas celebration for the whole family!
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