By Domenik Jost: Universal Orlando just released a little sneak peak of the Halloween Horror Nights 20 commercial directed by the Spierig Brothers who are best known for having directed the horror movies Daybreakers (2009) and Undead (2003).

If you don't want to wait until September 6, a version of the commercial has already aired at least once, and you can find it by scrolling down to the end of today's update and view it.

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Busch Gardens Tampa has already opened it's Shop of Horror with a large dedication to this year's MyX theme. The shop has quite the decorations ranging from electric guitars, posters, band mannequins, and even those cut off bloody fingers hanging inside of it. They have already begun selling T-Shirts with the myX theme, one of them reading "I gave my X the FINGER".

The team this week went to the studio to lay down some growls, screams and sinister laughs for this years event which opens in three weeks.

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Busch Gardens Williamsburg has released a little video teaser for their fans letting them know that Howl-O-Scream is coming.

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Central Florida Halloween event countdowns:

Walt Disney World's "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween" begins in 12 days on the 14th of September, 2010.

Busch Gardens Tampa's "Howl-O-Scream" and Universal Orlando's "Halloween Horror Nights" are only 22 days away opening on September 24th, 2010.

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And as promised for those who can't wait to see the commercial on TV, here is the version of the Halloween Horror Nights commercial that has already aired.

And as a little extra, another version had already surfaced last week if you click here you can see a second version which had been released during the previews in local movie theaters.

For those who watched the TV commercial, thoughts? Has anyone actually seen it on TV already?

By Robert Niles: Does anyone else play this game?

My kids love this one: on airplanes, restaurants and other places that serve ice with a hole in the middle.

Each player fishes one piece of ice from their drink (use spoons, please!), then threads it across the top of the glass, using a straw. Like this:

The winner is the one whose ice drops last.

Yes, this is incredibly silly. But it kills time when waiting around like no other no-cost solution I've found.

By Robert Niles: Hey, I love Disney World cast members. Heck, I used to be one. But there's one thing that some Walt Disney World employees do which drives me nuts, and I really wish they'd stop.

Here's the scene: My son and I are walking out of one of Epcot's Future World pavilions, just before lunchtime. We're heading over to The Land, but the August mid-day heat's already baking the park. As soon as we walk outside, the hot air slams us and my son just starts to melt. He'd been having a great time, but the high heat and humidity - coupled with a rumbly tummy - are draining him.

We walk past the cast member stationed at greeter.

"Hey, you need to smile!" he orders my son, while sporting a huge grin. "No need for a grumpy face."

This comment immediately changes my 10-year-old son's mood from tired and hungry to seriously ticked off. All he wanted to do was hurry across the hot plaza to a nice air-conditioned lunch. But now he's got some Disney World cast member riding him, because he doesn't look happy enough.

I've had Disney employees pull this on me in the past, too. Yes, Disney wants its cast members to smile. And it very much would like its guests to be happy and smiling, too.

But, dear Disney cast members, while it is your job to smile, it's not ours. You are getting paid to be there and smile. We're paying out the wazoo to be there, and can sport any facial expression we want, thankyouverymuch. Your job is to give us reasons to smile - not to order us to do so.

Worse, by telling a guest to smile you are, in essence, criticizing him or her - which was an absolute, you're-getting-a-verbal-now no-no back when I went through Disney University.

I suspect that the Disney University lesson that cast members should try to get guests to smile has morphed into a belief among some trainers that cast members should tell guests to smile. That's a training error that Walt Disney World management needs to address and correct.

I'd like to encourage that greeter to find ways to put smiles on the faces of the hot, tired and hungry people emerging from his pavilion. Wearing that big grin himself was a great start. Asking people if he can help, complementing them on their clothes or souvenirs, or even simply wishing them well all can initiate a positive interaction between cast member and guest.

But telling someone to smile sounds like an order - and that's a negative interaction, something cast members should be working hard to avoid.

I've not ever encountered this demand at other companies' theme parks. I attribute that to Disney's obsession with promoting guest happiness in its parks, shown by mass smiling. While that's a noble goal, giving people a reason to smile and telling them to smile are two very different things.

I just wish that all Disney cast members would recognize that.

By Robert Niles: I tweeted about this a few days ago, but haven't yet addressed it on the site. It really doesn't have anything to do with theme parks, but since it involves one of the bigger names from the Walt Disney Company's history, I thought it worth mentioning here.

It looks like former Disney chairman and CEO Michael Eisner is set to become the next chairman of the Tribune Company, the (now bankrupt) publisher of the Los Angeles Times and Orlando Sentinel, among other newspapers. Tribune also owns 23 TV stations and has a stake in several websites and the Food Network.

I'm so conflicted on this story that I really don't know what to say, having worked and consulted for several Tribune properties, and worked for Disney during Eisner's time there.

So I'll punt this one to you, instead. What do you think?

By Robert Niles: Busch Gardens in Tampa has announced that it will be closing its live musical show Katonga on September 6, to replace it next year with a production of Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy.

That show played on Broadway starting in June 2008. Currently, Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy has two productions on the road, one at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, and the other (closing today, BTW) at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Connecticut. (That production stars former pop idol Debbie Gibson, which TPI readers of a certain age might find noteworthy.)

Here's a video look at the production, from the Cirque productions website:

Next year's shaping up to be a big one for Busch Gardens Tampa, as the park also will debut its as-yet-unannounced Cheetaka roller coaster in 2011, as well.

By Robert Niles: Here are some of the top new threads this week on the Theme Park Insider Discussion Board:

Dan S asks for your picks as the Best/Worst Thrill rides at Walt Disney World?

Tim W reviews some of the recent Rumors for WDW and asks which ones you'd like to see happen.

Joe Brown's considering a trip to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and wants to know if it is worth the money.

Nick Markham wonders about California Adventure Expansion: Phase 2

Kylie Bee asks Where to stay in Anaheim for Disneyland trip?

Michael Smith celebrates that Poseidon's Fury has its favorite feature restored!

Javi Badillo wants to know Which Universal Classic Ride Do You Miss the Most?

Victoria Jurkowski is looking for some Suggestions for a Labor Day trip?

Alex Gamso takes a look at recent changes and wonders if Cedar Fair is turning into Six Flags?

Rob P asks Theme Park Insider readers to Remember Your First Time On A Ride.

We'll close with a rant from Andrew Holden - Fantasmic: What's Up Guys?

By Robert Niles: The real question you ought to be asking as you plan your family's next vacation isn't "Can I afford this?" - it's "Am I getting value from this?"

Focusing on value instead of cost sharpens your thinking about spending. Too often, people get caught up looking for discounts instead of thinking about what they're getting for their money. It's not really a discount if what you get isn't worth even the cheaper price, now is it?

So let's keep a few questions in mind as you start thinking about your next theme park vacation:

1. Is the experience unique? Is this something you can do anywhere, anytime, or is it something that's available only one place on Earth?
2. Does this vacation engage your passion? Does the idea of visiting this destination get you excited? Or does it leave you feeling a bit more "ho-hum"?
3. Will this visit help you forge a connection with others? Will it give you the opportunity to spend more time and do more things with your family or friends?
4. Will you get something lasting from this trip? This can be tangible, such as unique souvenirs or photos, or intangible, such as lasting memories of something truly special.
5. What's my time investment? Think about the ratio of the time you'll spend doing what you want to do at your destination versus the amount of time you'll spend getting there, coming back and waiting around while you are there. Don't forget that the time you spend arranging the trip is part of your time investment, too!

Now comes the tricky part: You've got to balance those options with the money you have available. In business schools, instructors often present a simple challenge to students, to get them thinking about cost trade-offs. They give you three options:

• Good
• Fast
• Cheap

And tell you to pick two. Because you can't have all three.

Well, you could have a unique experience that fully engages your passions, brings you together with all your friends and loved ones, leaves you with lasting tangible reminders of the trip and wastes none of your time along the way - the trip's even planned for you!

But you're going to pay - a lot - for that vacation!

We've talked before about making a budget for your vacation: Ultimately, the best way to do that is to start thinking about value in everything that you buy. Do you need that cup of take-out coffee? Do you need that pre-prepared meal? What are you getting from that night at the movies?

Balance the value of those smaller expenditures throughout the year versus the value that you want to get from your family vacation. Thinking this way can help you justify spending less on things that really don't deliver you that much value, so you can have that money available for things which do.

Then, after a few weeks of saving, when you have an idea how much you'll have available for a vacation, you can start balancing your goals. For example, if you're willing to invest more time in your vacation planning, you'll be able to find better deals on more unique opportunities than you would if you decided to hit the road with no advance planning. (And some folks find planning the vacation a fun part of the experience, too!) The farther you're willing to travel, the more likely you might be to find a unique experience, but maybe that prevents you from bringing along as many friends or family members.

It's always a trade-off. But focus on the value you get from each of those options, and weigh what's more important to you.

I've met a few wealthy people in my life, and had wondered how they approached spending money: Did they just buy whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it, with no advance planning? After all, they didn't need to budget their money. What I found was that the wealthy people I know spend even more time thinking about this stuff. But they don't think about the amount of money they're spending. They think about the value that they're getting for that money. Ultimately, that's how rich people stay rich: By never wasting money on anything that doesn't bring them value.

That's a great lesson for the rest of us, too: Plan your vacation like a rich person would: Focus on value instead of simply looking for the cheapest discount, and you'll end up with a vacation that you both can afford and will enjoy.

Please share some of your value-building vacation-planning tricks and tips, in the comments:

By Robert Niles: I've mentioned before that the most difficult thing a theme park attractions cast member has to do on a daily basis is to ask women if they are pregnant. But here's the second-worst thing I had to do when I worked at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom: Cutting the line and telling people they were going to have to keep waiting for the next show.

Cutting the line creates a moment of conflict that can escalate into a day-ruining (or at least a moment-ruining) experience. In effect, you're doing what you are not supposed to do as a park employee: You're telling someone "no."

Yet I've found most theme park fans to be smart, friendly people - when given the chance to be. If there's a line snaking outside a show building, you understand that there's a good chance that not everyone's getting into the next show. And that someone's going to be the last one into the next show, meaning that the person behind that person is going to have to keep waiting.

Of course, given the choice, folks would rather be the last one into that next show. :-)

Cutting the line isn't a big deal at rides, such as Pirates of the Caribbean or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. If someone doesn't get on the current boat or train, no big deal. There's another one coming down, right away. Anyone can wait a few extra seconds. Cutting the line only creates scenes at shows, where if you don't get into the next theater, you're stuck waiting for that show to finish and the theater to clear before you can come in and take a seat.

On the Magic Kingdom's west side, we ran three shows. I never worked the Hall of Presidents, and the next full show at the Tiki Room might be the first in a generation. But we had to cut the line frequently at the Country Bear Jamboree.

At "Bear Band," as cast members called the show, we had a pre-show waiting area that supposedly held as many people (standing) as would be able to fit (sitting) inside the theater. And we had a back-and-forth queue that snaked around our porch and the sidewalk area in front of the Country Bear theater building to hold the overflow that wouldn't fit inside the pre-show.

Knowing that, the logical thing to do might seem to be to fill the pre-show area with folks for the next show, then hold the people for the show after that at the turnstiles, backing into the queue. In fact, the turnstiles could be set to admit just the number of people who'd fit into the next show. As you came close to that number, a red light would illuminate on top of the turnstiles, and when you hit that number, the turnstile would lock, preventing anyone else from entering.

Seems simple, right? Well, simple isn't exactly comfortable when you're standing at the turnstiles position next to the unlucky folks whom you've just told to wait for an extra 18 to 20 minutes. Since the pre-show area typically takes less 10 minutes to fill, that group will be standing there next you in front of locked turnstiles for 10 minutes, often giving you the stink eye the whole time.

So I quickly learned two rules about cutting the line:

• Don't put the spotlight on the unlucky party
• Under-promise and over-deliver

No one wants to be the person standing there at a locked turnstiles for 10 minutes. It's bad enough having to wait an extra show; let's not pile on the humiliation of the "velvet rope syndrome," where you're left standing watching everyone else who is getting in, with that cold metal barrier keeping you out.

Instead, I would cut the flow of guests into the pre-show area before the red light came on. First, why pack this relatively small pre-show area like a can of salmon? Cutting the line early gives everyone a little extra space. Sure, that means that some people will be held in the queue, rather than inside the building, but I'd rather be lined up in a queue on the porch than packed into that pre-show area, with its low ceiling.

After a while, I got a feel for how many people were in the room, and didn't need to wait for the red light to tell me that we were close. So I'd cut the flow of guests into the pre-show a couple of dozen folks short of filling the room. That way, I could tell the people waiting at the turnstiles that they would be getting into the next show, but that we didn't want to overcrowd the pre-show area.

When I phrased it this way, everyone around me was happy. The folks inside the pre-show area were happy that I wasn't jamming more folks in around them, and the people at the turnstiles were happy that they'd make the next show.

When the current show was ending, and after I'd done my pre-show spiel, I'd reopen the turnstiles and let that next party in. Then I'd start asking the folks behind them how many were in their party, using my loudest stage voice, so that people behind them in the queue could hear. By this time, the folks on the porch had figured that they weren't getting into the next show, but they could see that I was letting in a few "extra" guests.

So the party that, ultimately, would have to wait for the next show wasn't too disappointed, as they'd figured before that they weren't getting in anyway. And by the time I'd told them this, the folks in the pre-show area were moving into the theater for the next show. So I'd simply hold the folks at the turnstiles for a few seconds while I closed the door to the theater. After that, the "unlucky" party simply blended into the rest of the crowd coming into the pre-show, instead of having to wait for 10 minutes at the turnstiles, feeling like some spotlight was on them.

Even more importantly, I always made to sure to watch the wait time we had posted at the end of the queue. I'd note how many minutes until the show were left when I cut the flow of guests into the pre-show area. Then I posted a wait time 20 minutes more than that. So if there were 10 minutes to go before the next show when I stopped people coming into the pre-show area, I'd post a 30-minute wait. If the line of waiting quests extended outside of our "normal" queue when I held the line at turnstiles, meaning that folks at the back of the line would have to wait two shows to get in, then I added another 20 minutes on to that.

This way, I'd be posting the wait time for that "unlucky" family who'd have to wait the longest period to see the show. For the folks immediately in front of them, though, the wait would be about 20 minutes less. That made the cut-off go even more smoothly, as I wasn't adding 20 minutes onto the "unlucky" family's wait time by making them wait. All I was doing was letting them know that they'd hadn't gotten lucky enough to get a wait time 20 minutes less than they'd expected.

To this day, I get steamed whenever I have to wait for an attraction longer than the wait time posted. But I never get upset when I have to wait that amount of time, or less. Even when I'm the one who gets "cut off" in the line.

For more stories about working in theme parks, visit themeparkinsider.com/stories.

By Robert Niles: Schools are back in session in Florida, and crowds should begin thinning in the Orlando-area theme parks, as a result.

Summer vacation continues in Southern California though, which, coupled with the end of summer blockouts for seasonal annual passholders, traditionally makes late August one of the more crowded times of the year at the Disneyland Resort. But Los Angeles-area and Orange County schools will return within the next month, leaving all of the nation's year-round theme parks to face another off-season. Which, as savvy fans know, can be a great time to visit theme parks.

With kids in school, parks don't stay open as late, or offer as much extra entertainment, but even the most popular attractions often are available with little or no wait. A swift visitor can ride nearly everything in park, even with the shorter operating hours.

You don't need to stay on-site or pay extra for that easy, front-of-line access to rides, either. Even if you do wish to stay on-site, resorts typically offer some of their best deals of the year when schools are in session. Universal Orlando just sent out an e-mail offering 30 percent off mid-week rates at its hotels, and Walt Disney World's re-upped its free Disney Dining plan offer for hotel visitors, too.

The combination of short lines with strong deals might tempt more than a few parents to consider taking their kids out of school to enjoy a lower-cost, lower-hassle vacation. But would you do it? As a child, did you do it? Let's make these our votes of the week.

What do you think about taking children out of school for family vacations? Is it ever acceptable? If so, when and for what? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and experiences, in the comments.

And, as always, thank you for reading Theme Park Insider. Please let your friends and family know about the site, if they're not reading it already!

By Robert Niles: What's the deal with some Disney fans and Universal?

It seems to me that no matter what Universal rolls out, some Disney fans will dismiss it. Take a look at the reaction to Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Theme Park Insider readers love the new land, and its top ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, voting that attraction the best new attraction for 2010. Universal Creative's work has amazed attraction designers throughout the industry - even folks within Walt Disney Imagineering have (very privately) expressed admiration for the project.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey drew one million riders faster than any ride in Universal history, while helping increase attendance at Islands of Adventure this summer, even as attendance at other Orlando-area theme parks (including the Walt Disney World parks) fell.

I understand that Harry Potter doesn't connect with some theme park fans. No theme or franchise will wow everyone. Even Disney's most popular franchises leave some visitors cold. I get that.

But beyond folks who just don't care for Harry Potter, by no objective standard can one consider The Wizarding World of Harry Potter an inferior creative work than what is available today at the Walt Disney World theme parks. I'm not insisting that Universal's Harry Potter is better than everything at the Walt Disney World Resort, just that it is ridiculous to claim that it's worse than the Disney average.

Yet that's what a few Disney fans continue to insist. On online message boards, and overheard around the Walt Disney World Resort, these fans (many of whom I assume have yet to visit the Wizarding World), bad-mouth Universal's work.

"The opening was a disaster." "A flop." (This argument reminds me of the old Yogi Berra line: "No one goes there anymore; It's too crowded.")

"Harry Potter won't last." "It's just a fad." (With more than $5 billion in movie ticket sales and more than 400 million books sold to date, this franchise isn't fading out anytime soon.)

"It's not that impressive." "Disney could have done better." (The Wizarding World is "not that impressive" only to people unwilling to consider it. And if Disney could do better, well, I would love for WDI to accept that challenge and brew up something new which tops it!)

Not all Disney fans think this way, of course. I personally know dozens of Disney-lovers who can't wait to visit the Wizarding World, or who have visited and think the new land delightful. But I also couldn't miss overhearing a few others trash Harry Potter, while I was in Orlando. (FWIW, I heard not one negative comment about the new land while on Universal property. Only while at Disney.)

Here's my theory: It's insecurity. Some fans see their love for Disney as an affirmation of their good taste. As consumers, they've invested heavily in what's widely considered the best in the business (Disney), so that must mean they're smart customers.

But what if another company comes up with something better than (or even just as good as) Disney? What does that say about those fans' financial investment in being a Disney fan? Does that mean they don't have the great taste and smarts that they thought they did?

The easy solution, then, for these folks would be to dismiss the possibility that anyone other than Disney can ever do anything as well as Disney does.

That's just silly, though. If you've dropped thousands of dollars on a DVC membership, or annual trips to Walt Disney World - great. You've gotten a delightful entertainment experience for your money. (Or, at least, I hope that you have.) But entertainment isn't a zero-sum game. A wonderful new attraction at Universal doesn't diminish your Disney experience.

If anything, it can enhance it. Go ahead, spend a day or two up the road at Universal during your next Disney World vacation, and enjoy it. Or even if you don't, just wait to see what Walt Disney Imagineering comes up with as it tries to wrest the industry "buzz" back from Universal.

Trust me, WDI has the ears of Disney management now (especially John Lasseter) and they are playing to Disney's corporate pride. I continue to believe that's part of the reason why Disney's revisiting its plans for the Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland expansion and why so many attractions at Disneyland in California are getting some much-needed love. Lasseter, Tony Baxter and others at Disney have no intention of letting Mark Woodbury and Thierry Coup at Universal Creative hog the industry spotlight for long.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey's been great for Central Florida tourism - and for the theme park industry. As we've noted before on this site, what's good for Central Florida and the theme park business is good for Disney, too.

So, to those few Disney fans who are dismissing it, you don't need to knock The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to prove your credibility as a Disney fan. Enjoy it, celebrate it, and wait with us to see (and, we hope, enjoy) Disney's inevitable response.