Theme Parks & Roller Coasters |OT| The Happiest Place on GAF

caramac said:
Lots of visitors from the UK do this, book into a Universal hotel for one or two nights just to get the unlimited express passes and of course to experience the Universal hotels. If things go to plan myself and my family will do this in July/Aug next year.

Also I believe if you stay at the Cabana Bay hotel you don't get a free express pass.
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Correct about Cabana Bay. Though you'll still get early entry to Potter.

Another pro tip is that staying one night at the other hotels will get you two days of express. It's good the whole day of check-in through the whole day of check-out. A good thing to keep in mind.
 
I'm planning on doing both Knott's and HHN Hollywood this year since I get discounted tickets and can actually afford it this time. I'd like to go to Mickey's Halloween Party too since I've never gone.
 
So I took a drive out to Coney Island today, wanted to try out the new Thunderbolt, and all I have to say is:

WOW!!!!!

This ride does not disappoint. It is fast, it has some crazy camelbacks with insane air time, and it is smooth as hell!

If you find yourself in the NYC area, get to Coney Island ride this before the summer is over!!!!

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I know its probably bad timing considering what happened last week, but I'm headed to Magic Mountain for the first time tomorrow. I can't believe that for as long as I've lived in SoCal, I've never gone there. I'm totally a coaster junkie and love inversions and things like that. Anything I should be looking out for or rides I definitely should get on?
 
SilentSoldier said:
I know its probably bad timing considering what happened last week, but I'm headed to Magic Mountain for the first time tomorrow. I can't believe that for as long as I've lived in SoCal, I've never gone there. I'm totally a coaster junkie and love inversions and things like that. Anything I should be looking out for or rides I definitely should get on?
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X2 is a must; one of the best rollercoasters that I've ever ridden. I think Colossus is closing so you should get a ride in on that before it closes. You can ride Full Throttle too if the line's not too long. And regardless of what anyone tells you, DO NOT stand on your toes while you're being strapped into Riddler's Revenge. It is a trap and will hurt. Have fun, be safe, and stay hydrated!

Edit: Yeah do Tatsu as well. Tatsu, X2, Batman, Goliath, Colossus, and Scream should be on your list first, then everything else. Ninja might still be down due to tree-related problems.
 
SilentSoldier said:
I know its probably bad timing considering what happened last week, but I'm headed to Magic Mountain for the first time tomorrow. I can't believe that for as long as I've lived in SoCal, I've never gone there. I'm totally a coaster junkie and love inversions and things like that. Anything I should be looking out for or rides I definitely should get on?
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From what I've heard, Tatsu and X2 are probably the best rides there. Apocalypse, Batman, Goliath, and Scream also look pretty good. B&M can do no wrong.

I live in Vegas but can't seem to get over to California lol. Someone else can probably give you a better idea.

edit - beat
 
SilentSoldier said:
I know its probably bad timing considering what happened last week, but I'm headed to Magic Mountain for the first time tomorrow. I can't believe that for as long as I've lived in SoCal, I've never gone there. I'm totally a coaster junkie and love inversions and things like that. Anything I should be looking out for or rides I definitely should get on?
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X2 and Tatsu are the best. They have the longest lines too. Scream can be ridden anytime as it usually has the smallest line. Green Lantern is a fun small coaster that should be ridden at night. Apocalypse is a really fun wooden coaster despite the lack of height.


X2 and Tatsu need to be the first and you should get to the park before it opens at 10 am because the lines will get long.
 
Thanks guys, I'm definitely planning on getting there when the park opens. Since I have no idea when I might be down there again (I'm moving away) I want to get on as many of the best rides as possible. Looks like X2 and Tatsu will be the first ones I'll go on. I'm so excited like for real.
 
aparisi2274 said:
So I took a drive out to Coney Island today, wanted to try out the new Thunderbolt, and all I have to say is:

WOW!!!!!

This ride does not disappoint. It is fast, it has some crazy camelbacks with insane air time, and it is smooth as hell!

If you find yourself in the NYC area, get to Coney Island ride this before the summer is over!!!!

14639473582_bc1280a4fe_c.jpg
Click to expand...

Was going to ask if it was a similar type of ride (sans dark ride elements) as SAW the ride, but seems is even a different manufacturer.
saw3.jpg
 
SilentSoldier said:
I know its probably bad timing considering what happened last week, but I'm headed to Magic Mountain for the first time tomorrow. I can't believe that for as long as I've lived in SoCal, I've never gone there. I'm totally a coaster junkie and love inversions and things like that. Anything I should be looking out for or rides I definitely should get on?
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I'm going tomorrow (Monday) as well! Looking forward to getting back on Colossus, the ride that nearly ejected me 3 months ago (the bar just failed in locking basically).

Goodie, Happy Birthday me.. :/

I however hope you have a fun time while you're there too! :)
 
HOLY SWEET LORD JESUS!!!! Magic Mountain is on some next level shit type of amazing. Tatsu was a damn near religious experience. X2 was intense as fuck, Goliath was crazy super amazing, and Riddler's Revenge was fantastic. Kinda bummed I didn't go on Viper or Colossus but I think Apocalypse was a better bet in terms of wooden coasters as that was far faster than I expected. I need to go back, I need it.
 
Freyjadour said:
There was some rumor floating around Twitter today about a Star Trek land coming to Universal Orlando.
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I could see it. Based on the success of Potter, Despicable Me, and Transformers, I think it's safe to assume that most projects going forward will include significant potential for merchandise and/or themed food. So yeah, Star Trek is absolutely fucking ripe for that - I can buy into the rumor with no hesitation.
 
SmithnCo said:
Imagine if that happens and they can build it before a Star Wars expansion at DHS.
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Only Universal could build a Star Wars killer before Star Wars Land is even done.

Actually, ten bucks says Star Trek Land opens before Star Wars even breaks ground. Universal is hungry as fuck right now. Avatar opens in 2017 IIRC, so if Universal breaks ground on Trek next year and it takes them two years to build (same as Diagon), we could see Trek and Avatar go head to head.

*mind explodes*
 
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The latest official HHN reveal came out just a bit ago, confirming a partnership with SyFy’s “Face Off” show to bring their most gruesome character creations to life in both Hollywood and Orlando.
Universal Orlando will feature a new scare zone street experience with a special look by Season 5 Face Off winner Laura Tyler, who also happens to be a make-up artist at Universal Orlando. “The hair-raising, horrifying characters will inhabit five unique and immersive environments within the scare zone, from eerie scarecrows that go to great lengths to protect a spinechilling farmland to ghoulish brutes that haunt dilapidated castle ruins.”
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Source
 
Freyjadour said:
There was some rumor floating around Twitter today about a Star Trek land coming to Universal Orlando.
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Long ago I lived really close to a Paramount park (Carowinds) and had a relative that worked there. In the mid 90's there was much talk of adding a huge Star Trek land there with rides and entertainment similar to what was once in Vegas.

None of that ever happened (well, they did build a Borg coaster) but I always thought it was a great idea.
 
Thinking I might take the plunge and get a Disney AP.

Planning to take a trip this fall, and then again early in 2015.

Seems to be cheaper than having to buy 2 sets of 5 day PHs, plus then I can get Tables in Wonderland for even more savings.
 
LuuKyK said:
Wow. lol If the actual hotel looked like that in real life I would pay so much money to be in it. There is no way its happening though.
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oh, no no no no, that is never happening... That artwork was a concept piece for what they wanted to do years ago... when Vegas was still in its theme phase. If that was actually built, it would lasted 5-7yrs before it was remodeled into something more chic to match Vegas' current mood.
 
BTW, talking to some park guests and a colleague (unrelated) tonight that rode Escape from Gringotts, they all said the posted wait time was nearly double what the actual wait was to get on the ride. The posted time was 120 minutes when they got in line.. the colleague said he waited about 90, the guests said they don't think they were in line for an hour.

So that's good news for those of you looking to make the trip soon.
 
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Looks like someone screwed up… an image was tweeted out by @HalloweenMovies earlier today and then quickly deleted, but not before screen captures were made, showing off “Look Who’s Coming Back!” Yep… Michael Myers is returning to Universal Orlando’s HHN 24. Shouldn’t be too long before Universal confirms the story with their own announcement.
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Source
zeemumu said:
Very nice. Is there a central theme this year yet?
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Nothing has been announced yet. Rumors are we won't have another icon until HHN 25.
 
A good friend works directly with the head art guy for Orlando's HHN. He told me this is the first year in a while that he's been really excited for their vision, but he refuses to give me details on anything.. I fucking hate him...

He's also a contestant on the newest season of SyFy's Face/Off starting tonight. If you're a fan of the show, keep an eye out for him! David O'Connell is his name, really good people.
 
Star Trek doesn't have the general interest that Star Wars does but you have to hand it to universal they do things well.

The problem with disney is they just don't need to they still slay universal in terms of visitors and things like HP probably don't even reduce wdw visitors a meaningful amount.

61 days till we arrive in Florida - 2 weeks just at disney this time, 3 year old has no interest in any of the franchises at universal so its a bit pointless us heading there.

FP+ day tomorrow!
 
backslashbunny said:
:o



Me too :D. My friend goes every year and I usually go with her. Oct 18 or 19 this year... we like being in the middle.
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Yeah, a few years ago I went to both Knott's and HHN Hollywood in the same weekend. It was a really busy weekend and didn't go that well but I'm still glad that I went. I'd like to get a group together to go to both this year as well, maybe not in the same weekend but I definitely plan on going to both. I hate being the one to do the planning though because getting a group together takes forever. I like Knott's a little more because they have more mazes and the lines aren't as long. Hopefully they put more work into the train this year. I heard that they're bringing back Elvira again!
 
Jeff Albertson said:
Star Trek doesn't have the general interest that Star Wars does but you have to hand it to universal they do things well.

The problem with disney is they just don't need to they still slay universal in terms of visitors and things like HP probably don't even reduce wdw visitors a meaningful amount.

61 days till we arrive in Florida - 2 weeks just at disney this time, 3 year old has no interest in any of the franchises at universal so its a bit pointless us heading there.

FP+ day tomorrow!
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Personally, I don't have much investment in most of Universal's franchises (Potter, Despicable Me, etc) but they pull them off so well that still I enjoy them immensely. Not that a small child would have much to do at Universal anyway (most rides have height requirements), but yeah. Put any kid on Spider-Man or Transformers and their heads will explode, franchise fans or not.
 
The Xtortionist said:
Personally, I don't have much investment in most of Universal's franchises (Potter, Despicable Me, etc) but they pull them off so well that still I enjoy them immensely. Not that a small child would have much to do at Universal anyway (most rides have height requirements), but yeah. Put any kid on Spider-Man or Transformers and their heads will explode, franchise fans or not.
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True enough he does love the super heroes but he wouldn't be able to go on Spider-Man sadly
 
backslashbunny said:
I've been to the Knotts one once, but I'll probably not do both this year.

I actually always get FOL passes for HHN 2014, and if we go early enough, we can get through all the mazes when it's only 15 minutes (we go at opening). Then, we use the FOL for once more... by the end of the night, we've been on every ride and maze twice. It's great.

What weekend do you think is best?
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Yeah a pass would definitely be useful. We went to the terror tram first, and by the time it ended, all of the line wait times had jumped by about 45 minutes. I prefer to go on Thursday or Sunday nights. The events are a bit more dead (no pun intended) on those days, and those days are usually cheaper. So sometime mid-month I think.
 
Holiday World (home of arguably the two best pure wooden coasters...El Toro, Texas Giant, etc. don't count...) has an announcement on tap tonight for some sort of steel coaster. Any of you tuning in for it?
 
Haven't posted in this topic since I introduced myself sometime last year, so I had a LOT to catch up on. I live in Orlando and refuse to spend hours in line so I will just wait out the crowds this summer before I check out Diagon Alley.

HOWEVER, I did take a trip up to Chicago for the 4th of July and managed to check Goliath off of my list. Haven't seen anybody here post anything about riding it so I'll give my review of it (skip if you don't want to know the ride details):

First of all, dat drop. You can see Goliath's drop from anywhere in the park. It's worth every bit of the buildup leading up to actually experiencing it. An 85 degree drop on a wooden roller coaster is just crazy. One of the better drops I've experienced on a roller coaster. The overbanked hairpin turn was cool, but mainly because I was still getting over the crazy drop. The next part of the ride was just okay. The airtime hill gave a decent pop of airtime, but nothing near the insanity of rides like El Toro or any of the B&M airtime machines. The dive loop afterwards was cool and unique for being on a wooden coaster, but wasn't much different than your typical dive loop on a B&M looper.

However, it did set you up perfectly for the zero-G stall which was the highlight of the ride for me. The fact that it holds you upside down longer than a typical zero-G roll combined with only having a lapbar holding you in gives a crazy feeling. The smaller hairpin turn was similar to the first in that you're still recovering from the zero-G stall. But sadly, that's the last that the ride has to offer. Before you know it, you're heading back into the station.

So yeah, the ride felt incredibly short for as massive as it looks. For a woodie, there was an extreme lack of airtime, although more attention was obviously given to the inversions. I rode Outlaw Run at SDC last month, and it seemed to have the perfect mix of crazy elements along with pure airtime. Goliath is still a must ride though for any coaster junkie!
 
Thunderbird looks great, finally a proper launch on a B&M!

I used to live in Indiana and visited Holiday World several times. It's a lovely park and I'm so glad to see it growing.
 
I had no idea Disney did a complete overhaul of Test Track. I loved the old one when I last went, like ten years ago, and I really don't like the look of the redesign. is it as bad as it looks? because it looks bad. does it break down less at least?
 
jtb said:
I had no idea Disney did a complete overhaul of Test Track. I loved the old one when I last went, like ten years ago, and I really don't like the look of the redesign. is it as bad as it looks? because it looks bad. does it break down less at least?
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It's... Eh. I think I like the old one more but the new one fits Future World a bit more. They took out some of the "tests" which kinda sucks.
 
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