Obviously, spoilers await…

It looks fun. And that just underscores what we’ve recently discussed – it’s a lengthy, detailed, elaborate, technically challenging and fun-looking [...]]]> Video leaked today of a presentation during which Imagineer Kevin Rafferty shows a pre-visualization video detailing a full, computer-generated ridethrough of the upcoming Radiator Springs Racers attraction for California Adventure.

Obviously, spoilers await…

It looks fun. And that just underscores what we’ve recently discussed – it’s a lengthy, detailed, elaborate, technically challenging and fun-looking ride… based on Cars. In a giant land based on Cars. Taking up a huge portion of a park that is called “California Adventure.” And so, no matter how much money, talent and effort was expended… it’s still Cars.

But hey, no poop jokes! At least the franchise is taking a turn for the classy.

The official Disney blog has released new artwork for Florida’s Fantasyland remodel, and it shows a new and revised perspective on the Storybook Circus area which will be based on the film Dumbo.

This “mini-land”, which occupies the space formerly belonging to Mickey’s Toontown [...]]]>

If you looked closely, you'd see tiny, angular carnies

The official Disney blog has released new artwork for Florida’s Fantasyland remodel, and it shows a new and revised perspective on the Storybook Circus area which will be based on the film Dumbo.

This “mini-land”, which occupies the space formerly belonging to Mickey’s Toontown Fair, has always been defined fairly nebulously, and was one of the vaguest elements of the original Fantasyland announcement. As construction begins, the design has been refined, and while we don’t know many of the details we’re getting a better look at what the Imagineers are going for here.

Compare the new image, above, to the following artwork, which comes from the last major update we received:

Storybook Circus, circa late 2010 or early 2011

One obvious thing you’ll notice is that in the new rendering, the budget for the area’s marquee has obviously been cut, because it’s nowhere near as massive as the one depicted earlier. Also missing is the calliope, which seemed to have been intended for this location. The replacement for the old Toontown train station, however, has grown more elaborate in the new artwork. It’s less “circusy” and more substantial, now being made of brick with a wooden annex.

Also less circusy is the Barnstormer queue, which was just a vague splash of big-top tents in the earlier design. Now, it’s clearly a refurbished version of the current attraction with a new color scheme. Recall that WDI seems to have considered several different thematic overlays for this kiddie coaster (once actually announcing a plan for it to be based on clowns), so it makes sense that its design was only locked after its final theme was determined.

The area itself has taken on a different aspect in the new rendering. It’s now not as spacious and open in its layout; the tents are huddled closer together, and a new small circular tent covers the formerly open area between them. Their colors are more vivid, as well. Disney has yet to announce what is actually in these large structures, but a shop and large dining facility are all but confirmed.

Recall that in early renderings, the Casey, Jr. Circus Train was used as a series of food stands? Well as we’ve known since the last release of artwork, the train will now be the centerpiece of yet another water-heavy play area for children. It’s now tucked between the train station and one of the big-top tents, instead of in a much more exposed plaza.

Overall, I’d say it’s looking good. I like the new color choices on the tents, and the area looks much more green and shady with trees than the earlier artwork. The less-sprawling plan better suits the material, I think; many of us thought that the circus hardly warranted a major themed area in the park, but this layout just seems like a nicely-themed enclave that will not draw more attention to itself than is warranted. It seems snug, which is much preferable to a giant, open area that would be yet another heat sink in the unforgiving Florida sun. It looks more inviting. The new train station seems far more “theme-agnostic” with regards to the circus, which is fine by me, and architecturally it looks nice – it’s not just a pre-fabricated steel overhang.

And is that water underneath the flying Dumbos? If so, that’s a design flourish we’ve yet to see in other renderings…

So hurrah for the iterative design process, and for making things better. Of course, if WDI wants to throw in a real Casey, Jr. train or Ward Kimball’s old Mickey Mad House, then who’s to say them nay?

It began, like so many things, with one little spark…

Although this was not a spark of imagination, but of conflagration. More specifically, a fire that took place this last January in the Magic Kingdom’s Enchanted Tiki Room – Under New Management attraction. Since this was [...]]]>

My siestas keep getting chorter and chorter...

It began, like so many things, with one little spark…

Although this was not a spark of imagination, but of conflagration. More specifically, a fire that took place this last January in the Magic Kingdom’s Enchanted Tiki Room – Under New Management attraction. Since this was far from a popular show, the big question at the time was what would happen next?

First, there were only baseless yet fervent hopes and pleas for a return to the original Tropical Serenade. Then there were actual rumors, and then leaked information, and even more rumors. It soon became apparent that not only would the Tiki Room return, but it would return without some of the most offensive elements from the Under New Management show (which had either perished in the January fire or been ruined afterwards by the fire suppression system). There was even the possibility that the original show would return – or at least elements of it. But which elements? And why did the officially-announced reopening date keep getting pushed back?

The first real word was handed down at last month’s Destination D event in Orlando. At the end of a somewhat peculiar session discussing upcoming Imagineering projects in Florida, the voice of Tiki Room emcee José came over the convention hall loudspeakers and it was announced that the Enchanted Tiki Room would indeed be returning. But this announcement was tacked on to the end of the presentation and amounted to little more than “OhyeahtheTikiRoomiscomingbackkthanksbai.” There was no discussion of when it was returning, and in exactly what form; the announcement that Disney had tweeted approximately a half hour before the Imagineering presentation contained the bewildering phrase that the new attraction would be “reminiscent” of the original show. In this day and age, such vague verbiage is enough to send fans into fits of anxiety. What did they mean?

Thankfully, it appears that we have nothing to fear. Disney has announced that the Tropical Serenade will indeed return as simply “The Enchanted Tiki Room,” with a targeted opening date of August 2011. The tiki gods have indeed been kind; I can’t tell you how it truly warms me to the core of my soul to read – in an official Disney press release – the words, “The ‘new management’ has been let go.” Here are the other relevant parts of their statement:

The Sunshine Pavilion, featuring a show variously known as “Tropical Serenade” and “The Enchanted Tiki Birds,” debuted on Oct. 1, 1971, in Magic Kingdom. In 1998, following substantial refurbishment, it re-launched as The Enchanted Tiki Room – Under New Management, with two famous Disney birds – Iago from Aladdin and Zazu from The Lion King – taking control and trying to spruce up the show.

The “new management” has been let go and the future of the Adventureland landmark is in the wings and wit of José, Fritz, Michael and Pierre – four crooning parrot hosts who ushered in sophisticated Audio-Animatronics technology at California’s Disneyland in 1963 at The Enchanted Tiki Room.

In time for fall 2011 vacations, The Enchanted Tiki Room (as the Magic Kingdom attraction now will be called) is being prepared to reflect the show at Disneyland that represents a milestone in Disney theme park entertainment. While Walt Disney’s creative team previously had produced movable figures, none had the sophistication of the bird-brained cast of the Tiki Room. José, Fritz, Michael and Pierre produce movements when solenoid coils hidden inside receive signals recorded onto magnetic tape and are regarded as the first “true” Audio-Animatronics figures.

They introduce a musical presentation by more than 200 birds, flowers and tikis. Even the audience gets into the act, joining in during the musical ditty “Let’s All Sing Like the Birdies Sing.”

For the devoted Disney fan, there are victories and there are victories. Restoring the original Tiki Room show to the grand and glorious Sunshine Pavilion – a facility more lavish than its Disneyland counterpart – is a victory on the scale of D-Day. It’s been a long time since fans have been able to see a proper show in the Sunshine Pavilion, with rain falling outside the windows in front of a distant, smouldering volcano. It’s hard to believe that something so long hoped-for has actually happened.

Of course, for those of us who are never satisfied, this begs other questions. What will the pre-show be like? The building’s queue area has been walled off for some time now, so it seems certain that whatever appears there will be something new. The pre-show is something that neither the original Florida Tiki show or its 1998 replacement ever got completely right, so there’s certainly room for improvement here. The Tiki Garden, which acts as a pre-show for California’s Tiki Room, is far superior in both content and atmosphere, and would of course be a welcome addition in Orlando. Current rumors suggest that there’s something interactive planned for the queue, which would certainly fit with Imagineering’s current fetishes, but I hope that whatever appears is more focused on creating a mood than squirting guests with water.

Certainly, a re-thinking of the Tiki Room queue could help solve problems with the attraction’s usage statistics; a re-located entrance along the corridor between Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean would help scoop up more passing guests who might otherwise continue on unawares. There has been a problem in the past with guests entering the pre-show area but leaving before the show begins; could this be because the uninitiated believe the amphitheater-like queue to be the show itself? Or is there simply too much dead time waiting in the unairconditioned queue waiting for something to happen? That’s not an issue in California, where the Flavor of Hawaii film and Tiki Garden show (not to mention a booming trade in Dole Whips) help keep things interesting.

Even better than a new marquee and a more prominent entrance would be a return of the Barker Bird, voiced by the inimitable Wally Boag. Not only would it be a nice tribute to the recently departed performer, but it would be a return of one of those lost bits of texture that used to make the Magic Kingdom special.

And since I am, in fact, taking credit for this whole turn of events (Disney obviously is only doing it to cave to my demands!) I will finish with these two … requests: An actual tree, in the Sunshine Tree Terrace. Seriously. Bring it back. Also, I demand a return of the original Citrus Swirl. With frozen orange juice, not any of that soft-serve shenaniganonsense. Square all that away, and all will be well with the Sunshine Pavilion, and I will have no more demands.*

So yeah, Tiki Room!

* The management reserves the right to continue all demands, beginning with the removal of the Flying Carpets spinner in Adventureland

Overnight, Shanghai Disneyland went live with their new website, with this more flattering rendering of the proposed new castle. Named “Storybook Castle” according to the site, it will be “the most interactive Disney castle yet, complete with entertainment, dining and performance spaces.” No doubt there will be plenty of opportunities to meet and [...]]]>

Overnight, Shanghai Disneyland went live with their new website, with this more flattering rendering of the proposed new castle. Named “Storybook Castle” according to the site, it will be “the most interactive Disney castle yet, complete with entertainment, dining and performance spaces.” No doubt there will be plenty of opportunities to meet and dine with princesses; this will surely benefit from all the planning done for similar proposed attractions in Florida’s Fantasyland.

Bob Iger’s focus on technology will obviously feature heavily in this new park; according to Disney, Shanghai Disneyland “will take advantage of advances in technology to place Guests in exciting worlds where they can be part of the action like never before” and “the park will take full advantage of advances in virtual technology as well as new gaming and ride systems that will fully immerse our guests in our attractions.” This could mean something truly new and exciting, if the art of placemaking in the real world doesn’t get overlooked in the rush for “NextGen” street cred.

Other details gleaned from the website include the fact that the two hotels Disney plans to build – one value and one deluxe – will total 1,220 rooms, and will surround a 100-acre lake alongside “other outdoor recreation facilities, and parking and transportation hubs.” A 300,000 square foot retail location, similar to Anaheim’s Downtown Disney, will sit adjacent to the theme park.

The promise that “classic Disney characters and storytelling will blend with Chinese customs and celebrations to create a unique experience for guests in Shanghai” hints again at the cultural mandate Disney has received for this park. I continue to wonder what, exactly, they have in mind to achieve this goal. My vote is for an area themed to 1930s Shanghai, a la Indiana Jones. It will probably be quite a while before we start seeing finished designs, and how Disney plans on ensuring that “Shanghai Disney Resort will have something for everyone – thrilling adventures, lush gardens where guests can relax together and enriching interactive experiences, all with the world-class guest service that Disney is known for around the globe.”

In Shanghai, tomorrow has already arrived and so Disney has finally and officially announced the Shanghai Disneyland project. Disney released the first renderings for the park on its blog, and Imagineer Bob Weis, who has been Tweeting pictures from the construction site, posted this brief video of the groundbreaking:

So what have we [...]]]>

In Shanghai, tomorrow has already arrived and so Disney has finally and officially announced the Shanghai Disneyland project. Disney released the first renderings for the park on its blog, and Imagineer Bob Weis, who has been Tweeting pictures from the construction site, posted this brief video of the groundbreaking:

So what have we learned from the announcement and first official renderings? Well, aside from the fact that it looks like Thomas Kinkade has picked up some work moonlighting at WDI, not a whole lot. After years of whispers that the park would be something truly striking and new, the first thing that springs to eye is that, once more, Disney has decided to build an imitation of Florida’s Cinderella Castle. Unlike the direct clone in Tokyo, though, this is a beefy, plus-sized castle, which Disney says will be its largest yet. As this is the first new park of the interactive meet-and-greet focused era, we can no doubt expect Cinderella’s new double-wide to be full of restaurant space and meet-and-greet opportunities. Disney wants to make sure that billions of Chinese consumers get full princess exposure.

There are obvious departures in the park layout from the traditional model; as we had heard, there is no Main Street. Instead the area between the turnstiles and castle is filled with an 11 acre park which, according to Disney, will feature yet more meet-and-greets. According to these renderings, this area will also feature the traditional Carousel and Dumbo spinner.

The rest of the park is more mysterious. You can make out a smudgy, blurry Pirate mountain, originally designed for Hong Kong, in the digital rendering, but everything else is fairly indecipherable. Disney CEO Bob Iger has said that the park will be “authentically Disney but distinctly Chinese,” and according to the New York Times the Chinese government has insisted that the park be “sharply different” from Disneyland and that it heavily incorporate Chinese culture. It will be interesting to see how Disney intends to do this, especially when the castle and other elements seem surprisingly boilerplate.

As uninspiring as I find these images, this isn’t a cheap-out project like in Michael Eisner’s waning years. The large 225-acre park represents a $3.7 billion investment, while the entire resort will clock in at $4.4 billion. As long as all that cash doesn’t go into interactive character shenanigans and flat-screen TVs, WDI should be able to do something really impressive. Let’s just hope it’s not all franchise overload.

According to Disney, the rest of the resort area outside the park will contain “two themed hotels, a venue for retail, dining and entertainment, a wonderful sparkling lagoon and some outdoor recreation areas.” They are aiming for a completion date of 2015, which is extremely impressive considering that it’s going to take almost that long for them to build the single new Snow White ride in Florida’s Fantasyland.

It’s hard to say when we’ll find out more about this project; Disney wants to keep other fly-by-night Chinese theme parks from cobbling together cheap rip-offs of its planned attractions, so it’s playing its cards close to the vest. We also don’t know how finalized the park’s design is, but with construction beginning and the 2015 looming (and the fact that they’ve had 20 years to plan this) one expects that things should be pretty far along. I would have chalked up the vague nature of these renderings to the typical and expected fluctuations in the design process, and I wonder how much of even these concepts has been settled on, but they don’t have a whole lot of time to spare messing about. Hong Kong Disneyland’s makeup changed considerably in the time following its announcement, but this project is the subject of much greater scrutiny. Hopefully they have a good idea of what’s coming, and hopefully we’ll find out more soon.

Although I would prefer more of this:

And less of this:

Interesting and rather exciting news emerged today that Hong Kong Disneyland’s $467 million expansion will be completed a year early. According to sources, Toy Story Playland (ugh) will open later this year, while the two other new areas – Grizzly Trail and Mystic Point – will open in 2012 and 2013. This early [...]]]>

Interesting and rather exciting news emerged today that Hong Kong Disneyland’s $467 million expansion will be completed a year early. According to sources, Toy Story Playland (ugh) will open later this year, while the two other new areas – Grizzly Trail and Mystic Point – will open in 2012 and 2013. This early opening will allow the beleaguered park to build up some more steam before Shanghai Disneyland opens in (allegedly) 2015.

Perhaps the most exciting detail in the article is that Disney is already in negotiations with the local government for the next wave of expansion, which would begin in 2013. Considering how interminable negotiations for the current expansion were, it’s good that they’re starting early. It will also allow Imagineering time to develop some new expansion concepts, since many of the more elaborate attractions that Hong Kong refused in the last wave, such as the re-imagined Pirates of the Caribbean flume ride, are expected to now appear in Shanghai instead. Will the rejected Glacier Bay make a reappearance? Or Toontown? Or will Disney decide to in-fill the existing lands with some of the many, many staple attractions that are missing from the under-sized park? Time will tell, but it’s great to know that they’re starting to think about it now rather than later. Perhaps we’ll have a better idea about what might be next for Hong Kong if we get any clues about Shanghai’s attraction lineup during its unveiling tomorrow.

Nothing is set in stone – the article says that a park spokesperson “dismissed the report” – but if this is true it can only mean good things for Hong Kong parkgoers.

In fact, there have been a series of minor revelations about changes both expected and not, and the online Disney realm seized accordingly. A rather hit-and-miss record in the parks over the last fifteen years has left fans somewhat shell-shocked, and that can make [...]]]> It’s been kind of busy on the news front lately.

In fact, there have been a series of minor revelations about changes both expected and not, and the online Disney realm seized accordingly. A rather hit-and-miss record in the parks over the last fifteen years has left fans somewhat shell-shocked, and that can make things a little touchy when beloved attractions are altered without a heads-up. It also means announcements are meet with a skepticism that would previously have been unheard of. This leads to some interesting conversations.

First thing’s first. Following the closure of Toontown Fair, bulldozers have swooped in to clear the way for Storybook Circus. Mickey’s house has been demolished; check it out courtesy of this video by Jeff Lange:

You have to wonder why they’ve left the construction fence completely devoid of artwork or signage, leaving the poor conductor to improvise something that will keep people in their seats while the train is watered. You might also notice that the recorded narration in the train mentions the return of the Barnstormer. While we knew that the existing kiddie coaster would be retained for the new area, to this point the re-themed attraction has been referred to only as “The Great Goofini.” Apparently the Barnstormer franchise is just too vital to lose, as the full name of the refurbished attraction will be The Barnstormer Starring Goofy as The Great Goofini. Succinct, right?

Apparently WDI is trying to set up some battle royale between their beloved characters over who will lay claim to the mantle of “Great”, as judged by this concept art for the new meet-and-greet for Mickey in the old Main Street Exposition Hall:

Why even bother anymore? And what in God's name is wrong with that one kid's hand?!

Yay – more angular people with genetic abnormalities aggressively enjoying themselves. A kid standing on a trash can. Another apparently vogueing. Others flat-out sprinting towards the building – why are you sprinting if you have a Fastpass? And what’s the weird spectre looming on the second floor?

This rendering accompanies Disney’s announcement that the new Mickey meet-and-greet will utilize the Fastpass system for booking encounters with the characters. The building, formerly used for the Gulf Hospitality House, the Walt Disney Story, and a preview center for future attractions, has had its vintage infrastructure torn out so that the facility can be reconfigured as the Town Square Theater. It’s unknown if there will actually be any theater left – one of the two former Walt Disney Story auditoriums is currently used to screen classic Disney animated shorts – as the meet-and-greets will be themed to Mickey’s backstage dressing room. It sounds that very little will be left of the building’s past; the fairly famous character mural, painted by the great Disney artist Bill Justice, has already been destroyed.

The new meet-and-greet will feature an interactive standby queue to entertain those not using Fastpass to reserve time with the characters. Also note that Disney takes pains to state that Main Street is Mickey’s “new permanent home” – looks like he’s here to stay! So now we have the Town Square Theater (which may or may not have a theater) and the Main Street Cinema (which doesn’t actually show movies anymore).

Meanwhile, there’s the Haunted Mansion, where a massive queue redesign is underway. Pictures of the work can be found online, and reveal a number of references to obscure Mansion lore from the Sea Captain to Phineas Pock. It works in theory, but the brief glimpses we’ve seen really concern me that this new interactive queue is going to be way too on-the-nose. The pipe organ player’s crypt is shaped… like a giant pipe organ. With skulls coming out of the pipes. Just like in the ride! And the Sea Captain’s crypt has a bronze statue of a sea captain drowning! Right on the crypt! I know that I personally plan on having my cause of death commemorated in life-sized recreation on my own tombstone.

I know this is all nitpicking, but the more cartoony the attraction’s entrance becomes, the less effective it will be. The Mansion is great because it starts off as this mysterious, abandoned house – where nothing is obviously amiss but where there is an atmosphere of forboding. Slowly that unravels, and by the time Leota has her seance things go berserk. I’m not keen on scattering the queue with wackiness – especially wackiness that steals the thunder of the show’s original gags.

Yes, yes. Nitpicking.

The other big event on the Mansion front came a few days ago when, with no prior announcement, the “hitchhiking ghosts” segment was covered up and replaced with rather… inelegant… digital projections of the ghosts. Take a look, via Inside the Magic:

Word has emerged that this is only a temporary fix while the animatronics that usually inhabit this area are refurbished, but without any prior announcement from Disney the change caused widespread panic. In this atmosphere of change, with interactivity being added to the queue and “NextGen” on the way, I think that people had horrific visions of bad CGI projections interacting with the guests who had shelled out $85 extra for the magic NextGen RFID wristband. Thankfully, though, it appears that the animatronics will indeed return – the effect used for this scene since 1971 gives the ghosts a wonderfully dimensional and tactile appearance that projectors would be unable to achieve.

There’s one last thing we should mention while we’re at the Magic Kingdom. We’ve all continued to wonder what’s happening to The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Managment since its fire last month. We’ve rooted, of course, for a return to the original show, but while Disney has neglected to reveal their plans a June re-opening appears to be on the cards. This has led most to assume that the Under New Management show will return as-is, but we’ve been told that Disney has not ordered a new Iago animatronic to replace the one that burned. This would preclude a mere restoration of the existing show, but what will appear instead is anyone’s guess. The original show? A hybrid of the two? Additional fuel for these rumors was added last week when one of the animatronics from the pre-show was removed; this could mean anything from mere repair work to something more significant. It would be nice to hear from Disney on this matter, but at least we still have a glimmer of hope that the terrible Under New Management show has gone the way of the dodo.

So that’s what’s happening at the Kingdom… for now. There are still rumors as to what happens next after the Fantasyland expansion – whether big things will be afoot for Tomorrowland or Frontierland – but that’s a story for another day. In the meantime, if you hear something, say something!

Disney has just completed their 2011 Investor’s Conference, wining and dining the analysts who will be setting arbitrary goals for the company in the upcoming year and punishing or rewarding them accordingly. Part of the presentation involved the still-officially-unannounced Shanghai Disneyland, and we now have another frustratingly [...]]]>

Tell me, what do YOU see?

Disney has just completed their 2011 Investor’s Conference, wining and dining the analysts who will be setting arbitrary goals for the company in the upcoming year and punishing or rewarding them accordingly. Part of the presentation involved the still-officially-unannounced Shanghai Disneyland, and we now have another frustratingly vague piece of concept art to obsess over.

Alain Littaye has given a nice summary of why Disney is keeping their cards so close to their vest, but hopefully we can actually get some concrete details about the park’s makeup if its official unveiling occurs as rumored in early April. I’m practically about to go berserk waiting for this, both because of what we don’t know and what we do know.

This is going to be a “Magic Kingdom”, but a different kind of Magic Kingdom. The layout will differ greatly from all of the other Disneyland-class parks, and from everything I hear from people working on the project they really want to do something unique and special and very high-quality. Unfortunately, while what I hear is good it’s also maddeningly vague. I hear about how everyone wants to do this right, with a classic WED-era ethos, but (obviously!) I hear no details. These are evil, evil people, folks, and they’re obviously conspiring to make me snap from trying to divine meaningful detail from cloudy, hazy, distant renderings. Maybe there isn’t even a Shanghai project at all! It’s a conspiracy.

But, just for fun, let’s look at this rendering and list what we do know about the new park:

• It will not have a traditional hub-and-spoke layout, and will not incorporate the traditional lands in a traditional way. There might also be some innovation in the way the park is integrated with areas outside the berm.
• Water will play a large role.
• There will be no Main Street area.
• The resort will have two hotels.

If you look closely at the rendering, you will see that the entrance appears to be a large, circular plaza with Mickey’s face in the center. After lots of water and greenery, a path reaches a castle – just whose castle, we don’t know. There’s also a brightly-lit area to the left of the entrance, which many believe to be the local equivalent of Downtown Disney.

It appears that Adventureland or its equivalent is located to the right of the park, where Tomorrowland would usually be. The one attraction we do know is going in the park, the pirate-themed flume ride originally designed for Hong Kong, can be seen looming over the area where Space Mountain might typically be sited.

Tim Delaney's concept art for a proposed Hong Kong Disneyland project shows the attraction that will be built in Shanghai - all the excitement of Splash Mountain combined with the franchisability of Pirates of the Caribbean!

The only other attraction widely discussed for the park is based on TRON, but we don’t yet know the nature or location of this ride.

One random thought that occurred to me is that with the water taxis and fountains on the lake, this will be the only other Disney park aside from those in Walt Disney World to be located adjacent to a navigable, Disney-owned body of water. Will this be Shanghai’s version of the Seven Seas Lagoon? Will it actually be able to, for once, match the ambiance of the approach to the Magic Kingdom? Wouldn’t that be nice? Here’s hoping that the details on the hotels and the resort itself live up to that challenge.

So, the long, long wait for details continues. I can be patient, right? Right?