Top 10 most popular theme park and attraction stories for 2011

During 2011 we posted almost 500 stories to our blog. That’s in addition to the dozens of original articles in the four issues of our magazine published in 2011. Let’s take a look at the top 10 most popular blog posts of 2011.

In 2011 we published four print editions of Orlando Attractions Magazine, launched a free iPhone app to go along with our iPad app, sent out 52 editions of our free e-mail newsletter and produced 51 episodes of Orlando Attractions Magazine – The Show. The show also made it to television through Bright House Networks in Florida. In fact, this week’s Show reviews of all of the big news in the past year.

Below is the list of the top 10 most viewed stories from our blog. Keep in mind that stories posted in January or in past years have had a lot more time to be viewed than ones we posted recently. Let’s count them down. Click on the headlines to read the full stories.


Number 10


Club Penguin Characters Arrive at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
This is our oldest story on the list. It was first posted in 2009 when Disney’s Club Penguin characters (from the kids’ online game) made a limited appearance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Maybe this is a sign to Disney that they should bring the penguins back.


Number 9


Remodeled Lego store at Downtown Disney reopens – Photos and Video
The Lego store at Downtown Disney had a major overhaul in April. It reopened with many large Disney sculptures outside the store.


Number 8


Seven Dwarfs Mine Train coaster among new additions for Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom
About a year ago in January, Disney announced their updated plans for the new Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom. The most exciting of the new announcements was the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train coaster, which will take guests on a musical ride into a mine.


Number 7


Spoiler-filled look at the new ‘Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey’ ride and the rest of the Wizarding World
Fans are still excited about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando, and they still want to know all about the Forbidden Journey ride.


Number 6


Beast’s Castle rises in Fantasyland at Disney’s Magic Kingdom
Another milestone in the construction and plans for the new Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom was when Beast’s Castle first appeared over the construction walls in April.


Number 5


Universal dropping hints to their new attraction – King Kong, Despicable Me or something else?
Universal played a little game when it came to announcing the replacement for the Jimmy Neutron ride at Universal Studios. And fans kept returning to our blog post as we updated it with the latest clues. Of course, Despicable Me was finally named as its replacement.


Number 4


Are you too big to ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey?
When the Wizarding World first opened, stories began to surface about larger people not being able to ride the brand new Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. We wrote about fan Banks Lee’s weight-loss goals to be able to ride. Banks eventually lost enough weight to ride. But just after that, Universal announced they modified some seats to allow larger guests to ride. Banks went on to become one of our TV show hosts.


Number 3


Disney Channel stars to help kick off Disney’s first Healthy Living Weekend at Epcot
I’m not sure why kids are finding our story about some of the Disney Channel stars visiting Epcot, but they’ve been posting their comments below the story all year long. The comments started out about food recipes, which made sense, but then migrated into discussions about Justin Beiber and Selena Gomez. Many of the comments appear to be from parents asking that Selena prank their kids. Very strange…


Number 2


Hidden songs confirmed on Rip Ride Rockit coaster
Our story from 2009 continues to be popular as we continue to update it with the full list of hidden songs guests can access on the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster at Universal Studios.


Number 1


Fantasyland Expansion Update: Aerial photos and video of Walt Disney World – Spring 2011
Although we have continued to provide updates on the construction of Fantasyland, our report from last spring is the most read story on our website for 2011.


That’s it. A surprise was the fact that the Lego Downtown Disney store made the list but none of our stories about Legoland Florida construction or opening made the top 10. An honorable mention goes to number 11, our story about Jaws and the Amity area at Universal Studios closing.

Stay tuned for another year of attraction stories. By reading and sharing your favorites with friends on Facebook and Twitter, you help decide which make the list next year.

We’ll leave you with this week’s The Show featuring the 2011 year-in-review:

MouseFanTravel

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2 Comments

  1. I am very excited mostly about the Beast Castle. Cannot wait to dine here. I predict this will take alot of business from Cinderella Castle for dinnertime. This will be the new hot dinner ticket.