Busch Gardens Williamsburg Howl-O-Scream
If you live in the Washington, D.C. area and love theme parks, there's really no competition: Busch Gardens Williamsburg is the prettiest, coolest park around. Period. And after attending this year's Howl-O-Scream, I can add they have the best Halloween event in the area, as well. Sorry, Kings Dominion. There's a level of detail that goes into Busch Gardens' events that you simply can't find at the competition. Kings Dominion certainly boasts more attractions (scary and otherwise), but it's the typical problem of quantity over quality. With one exception this year, Busch Gardens has the quality. The Walt Disney Family Museum
Walt Disney played an interesting role in American history. He was a pioneer in animation, film, television and theme parks, just to name a few areas. His name is known by parents and kids all around the world. Yet like most people, there were some less-than-magical chapters in his life — the 1941 studio strike and subsequent testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee being the largest. I had a journalism professor in college who used to joke about visiting the Nixon Presidential Library & Museum in Yorba Linda, CA, and noting the only mention of Watergate was a dusty display in a corner lit by a single, flickering bulb. But unlike that whitewashing over Nixon's biography, the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco doesn't shy away from the controversial moments in Walt's life. It's surprisingly straight-forward, painting a full picture of the man who built an entertainment empire from a mouse. BrickFair 2012
BrickFair, the largest LEGO fan convention in the U.S., is one of those events I always tend to forget about. It's not far from me, over at the Dulles Expo Center, so distance was never a valid excuse. I just never made it a priority, despite my love of LEGOs and models. This year, I had a free day, so I said "Why not?" and drove over. What I discovered was a lot of talent in a very large space. I definitely did not set aside enough time to see everything. Here's a short run through some of the displays. Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary sits southwest of Brisbane, Queensland, and despite the name it has more than just koalas. Pretty much all of Australia's major marsupials are respresented, as well as crocs, snakes, birds, monotremes and a sheepdog or three. But really, the large koala population is enough to melt your heart 50 times over, and for a fee you can have your picture taken with one of the cuddly guys or gals. Here are some pictures from our trip there. Universal Studios Hollywood
Transformers: The Ride opens this month at Universal Studios Hollywood, and I got the opportunity to check it out before the grand opening on May 25. Along the way I hit some attractions that have opened since my last visit and some old attractions that are likely to disappear over the next couple of years. With the addition of Transformers and a certain boy wizard (hopefully before 2016), the park is really turning up the heat on the SoCal theme park competition. It's still not quite as extensive as the Florida parks, but it's getting there. |
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