If you’ve seen one of the many trailers for the upcoming Brave, then you know just about everything that everyone else does about Princess Merida. She’s independent, strong, and isn’t your typical “proper” princess. She spends her days loosing arrows at targets, searching for mystical beasts and befriending bears. Not the typical princess behavior of sleeping in a castle, dressing for a ball, or losing your fins in exchange for feet because you fancy a sailor.

The new meet and greet at Magic Kingdom takes you inside Merida’s Kingdom where you meet the fiery red-headed princess and her cubs. Merida at Magic Kingdom captures the essence of the film. In short…she’s crazy. In the time we were there, she never stood still. She was so full of energy and excitement that it spread to the faces of all the kids coming to visit.

Merida is not alone either, as she has with her three cute bear cubs. The animatronics for these cubs are simply fun. They make noise, move, blink and cry if they think you’re not sharing your snacks.

More Brave:

For more information, including tickets, visit the official Disney website!

“Verbolten is a next generation roller coaster that incorporates the latest in coaster technology with a storyline inspired by Grimm’s fairy tales. From Verbolten’s unique free-fall drop to its multiple launch elements, Busch Gardens’ newest thrill attraction is destined to be a favorite among coaster enthusiasts of all ages,” said Park President Carl Lum.

Verbolten opens officially on May 18th.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCI0A30ZIQo

Verbolten will also be featured in the Roller Coaster Insider Tour at the park, which also offers a behind the scenes look at many of the other coasters in the park including Alpengeist, Griffon, and the Lochness Monster. Guests who participate in the “riding” tour, can also take a trolly to the top of Griffon’s lift and view the park from 205 feet.

Here’s a collection of photos Busch Gardens shot during technical rehearsal’s last weekend:

Stay tuned tomorrow to our Twitter account, @BehindThrills, as we will be tweeting live from Verbolten. For more information about Verbolten, visit http://verbolten.com/. Click the banner below to buy tickets.

The event includes characters that roam the streets of Hollywood Studios for meet and greets with guests, celebrities, a themed parade, talk shows, behind-the-scenes presentations, Star Tours – The Adventure Continues, Hyper Space Hooplah (show featuring comedy, dancing, and high energy music, and autograph sessions. The event is perfect for Star Wars fans of all ages.

Celebrity appearances include:

Weekend 1 (May 18 – 20)

• Ray Park - (Darth Maul - Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
• Dee Bradley Baker (voice of Clone Captain Rex and Clone Commander Cody - Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Weekend 2 (May 25- 27)

• Andy Secombe (Watto - Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
• Ray Park (Darth Maul - Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
• Tom Kane (voice of Yoda - Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Weekend 3 (June 1 -3)

• Jake Lloyd (Anakin Skywalker - Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
• Silas Carson (Nute Gunray/Ki-Adi-Mundi - Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
• Catherine Taber (voice of Padmé Amidala - Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Weekend 4 (June 8- 10)

• Michonne Bourriague (Aurra Sing - Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
• Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett - Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi)
• Daniel Logan (Boba Fett - Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones)
• Nika Futterman (voice of Asajj Ventress - Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

This week’s Offsite Adventure-Keeper tells of Dark Shadows
April 2, 1971….a pre-teen monster geek runs home at top speed after school…dashes in the door..throws his homework aside…and sits down in front of the giant tv in time to catch the opening music for his “story”. He’s followed his “story” for a few years and it’s the last episode. He studies it, drinking in every detail, savoring the bittersweet parting as the camera pans the halls of Collinwood for the last time. He mourns…along with other of his type. He revisited again for one decent movie and a poor one…and then again 20 years later for a remake…which again disappointed.

Flash forward to 2012…41 years after being sealed in a coffin for all eternity…he hears the Collins clan is returning. He hears Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are attached to the project. They both tell similar stories of the dash from school to watch the interweaving stories of vampires, werewolves, ghosts and time travel just like he did. FINALLY!!! Kindred spirits that understood the need, like the need for blood, that he had. The need to go back one more time.

So, Yes I was looking forward to this…possibly even more than the higher profile summer goodies coming from Hollywood…until I saw the trailer. No doubt you heard my cursing permeate the air even where you sit. A jokey- campy Barnabas Collins. A magastic, almost regal character DOING FRICKIN ONE-LINERS in a standard “fish outta water” setting. How could this happen…I trusted Depp and Burton, how could they betray me and the rest of the fans?

As much as I wanted to stay away to avoid further heartbreak, I couldn’t pass it up. Now I’ve always said movies are all about expectations. You go in with high expectations and it’s a middle of the road movie and you’re disappointed. Conversely, when you go in with very low expectations and it’s a middle of the road movie, it seems much better. In this case there was just enough above averageness to save my memories from being completely ruined. In actuality, I might have been better off if I knew absolutely nothing about the history of those dark shadows.

Yes there were a bit too many comedy bits for my liking but no where near as many as the trailer led me to believe and most actually worked in the context of the story. The ending was a bit too full with Burton-weird to fully work for me but I appreciated what he tried. Burton took the original characters and stayed true to them (for the most part—no spoilers here) while re-imagining how the story could have played out. The movie stumbled a bit at times but when it worked, which was often, it really blew me away.

Firstly…Danny Elfman…fans need to hear no more but let me say he did a masterful job of using period songs, original compositions, and just a hint of the familiar atmosphere music from the original to weave a masterful soundtrack. Three words—buy it now! Burtons decision of making this a period piece really worked, the 70’s fashion contrasting with the majestic estate and the small fishing port made a field day for the art director and like all Burtons work, is a feast for the eyes. Colors jumped off the screen like in an old Technicolor extravaganza. Casting was PERFECT. This was one hell of a cast to begin with and they all fully embraced their characters …warts and all. For those that know the story the script takes wonderful creative zigs and zags that once you accept them, make for a fun journey.

So while I can’t give it a full “10 blood bags” review, it’s worthy enough to see on the big screen. Burton and Company treat the characters and story with enough respect, while pushing the boundaries and exploring new ideas. Not unlike a little 60’s soap opera that became much more than it started out to be. I wouldn’t mind visiting Burton’s Collinsport again, here’s hoping it doesn’t take another 40 years.