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[Razgriz-Specter]

As someone who grew up in southern california, the idea that teenagers may think they're too cool for disneyland is incomprehensible. Everyone always enjoyed going regardless of age. The only criticism ever leveled at it was the cost.

My problem was I knew of all the the cool stuff Universal & Busch Gardens had but expected Disney to be all Teacups and Dumbo.
So it built up in my mind as a waste of time and money that we could use to spend a few more days at Universal.
I also thought Seaworld would be a waste of time.
Both proved me wrong when we got there.

I will still say I hated Animal Kingdom though. Just a miserable experience.

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Got kind of bored of six flags over georgia after the second trip. lots of coasters, lots of kid rides, very little of anything else (besides overpriced food). Could also be the fact that i stood in line for 4 hours for a mediocre ride (dare devil dive). Ready for something new.

if only I could afford a trip to california to visit SFMM...

Why would you want to go to Magic Mountain? How you described with Six Flags over Georgia you might as well been describing SFMM. Lots of Coasters, some kiddie rides, and little else. They only thing you are missing is the entering the park through metal detectors, Cholos and their hood rats, and the miles of walking up and down hills in 100+ degree heat. SFMM is a shithole and would probably have been better if it went toes up and became a housing development.

 

[Linkified]

I had never gone to a Disney park until I turned 21, after I went I was that asshole who would tear apart the lack of theming at other parks.

I don't think we're gonna hear much of anything at D23 aside from maybe Carsland coming over to Hollywood Studios. Lights Motors Action hasn't had their contract renewed, and that is some prime real estate.

I know Georgie has been axing entertainment like a mad man to avoid further cuts and to help to get the new MK day time parade, rebuild of MSEP with brand new floats and a new Firework show at MK open.

I'm visiting Disneyland this summer, but damn if they open up Carsland as is in Florida they haven't learnt their lessons from Test Track and water on the track problems.

Can't wait until all the strategic planning team are removed from the company.

 

[Xun]

A bit off-topic, but I wish they'd repaint the Cinderella castle at MK.

Tokyo has a fantastic paint job of the castle, and it certainly has a lot more detail because of it.

 

[peteykirch]

A bit off-topic, but I wish they'd repaint the Cinderella castle at MK.

Tokyo has a fantastic paint job of the castle, and it certainly has a lot more detail because of it.

I know Disney can be quite efficient but I think it would be quite an eye sore to see people painting that castle. It's not like the castle is looking filthy and decrepit. It's not like they can totally repaint the thing in one evening and have it ready for the next days opening.

Also that castle in Tokyo looks a lot bigger, I guess it's because it's newer, and the trees haven't had a chance to grow as the trees at MK has. It's amazing how the sight lines around all of Disney World has changed over time due to trees and bushes reaching full maturity.

 

[Xun]

I know Disney can be quite efficient but I think it would be quite an eye sore to see people painting that castle. It's not like the castle is looking filthy and decrepit. It's not like they can totally repaint the thing in one evening and have it ready for the next days opening.

Also that castle in Tokyo looks a lot bigger, I guess it's because it's newer, and the trees haven't had a chance to grow as the trees at MK has. It's amazing how the sight lines around all of Disney World has changed over time due to trees and bushes reaching full maturity.

The castle is an exact copy, aside from a different interior and paintjob. Also whilst being newer it's still 30 years old.

Both Cinderella castles were repainted back a different colour back in 2006.

 

[Chucker]

I know Georgie has been axing entertainment like a mad man to avoid further cuts and to help to get the new MK day time parade, rebuild of MSEP with brand new floats and a new Firework show at MK open.

I'm visiting Disneyland this summer, but damn if they open up Carsland as is in Florida they haven't learnt their lessons from Test Track and water on the track problems.

Can't wait until all the strategic planning team are removed from the company.

As much as I'd love to see Carsland over here (Due to my last trip out west being in 06), I can't see them just plopping down an upgrade of Test Track down the street after they spent the money on Tron Track. Also: Can I get Haunted Mansion Holiday over here ONCE. Tourists be damned.

 

[Goldrusher]

Paris' castle is the best.

It looks like the original, but it's as tall as the one in Florida.




It also has a cave with a dragon.

 

[Aeriscloud]

I wish Disney's America had happened.

It was to be built in Prince William county Virginia.

 

[Chucker]

I wish Disney's America had happened.

It was to be built in Prince William county Virginia.

I wonder if I would have taken it for granted like I did Kings Dominion and Wild World. It would have only been an hour or so drive from Annapolis.

Oh well.

 

[Skunkers]

I know Disney can be quite efficient but I think it would be quite an eye sore to see people painting that castle. It's not like the castle is looking filthy and decrepit. It's not like they can totally repaint the thing in one evening and have it ready for the next days opening.

Also that castle in Tokyo looks a lot bigger, I guess it's because it's newer, and the trees haven't had a chance to grow as the trees at MK has. It's amazing how the sight lines around all of Disney World has changed over time due to trees and bushes reaching full maturity.

It wouldn't be the first time they've painted it. Including the time they turned it into a horrific giant birthday cake for the 25th anniversary back in '96-'97.

 

[SmithnCo]

It wouldn't be the first time they've painted it. Including the time they turned it into a horrific giant birthday cake for the 25th anniversary back in '96-'97.

I thought of the cake as well, what an eyesore, haha.

 

[thezerofire]

Disneyland is all dependent on who you go with and when. When you're < 14 or so it's great with your family, but after that it's better to go with friends

 

[peteykirch]

It wouldn't be the first time they've painted it. Including the time they turned it into a horrific giant birthday cake for the 25th anniversary back in '96-'97.

I remember the Cake Castle

It looked interesting but it was like okay now bring back the signature castle.

 

[Chucker]

Could be worse, what if the only time you saw the Castle was when Stitch TP'd it?

 

[overcast]

going to disneyland again on friday, haven't been in like two weeks.

Damn, I'm going tomorrow night after work lol.

Oh my God, the castle in Paris looks incredible. I really need to see all of the castles. I do love ours in Disneyland of course.

 

[Exterminieren]

Video of a run of The Smiler.

 

[KidA Seven]

 

[D-Pad]

^ Full Throttle looks boring and is such a dumb execution of the (stupid) hill over a loop concept.

Why would you want to go to Magic Mountain? How you described with Six Flags over Georgia you might as well been describing SFMM. Lots of Coasters, some kiddie rides, and little else. They only thing you are missing is the entering the park through metal detectors, Cholos and their hood rats, and the miles of walking up and down hills in 100+ degree heat. SFMM is a shithole and would probably have been better if it went toes up and became a housing development.

SFoG got all that (switch some of the terminology and add shit crazy humidity to that heat).

I really just want to ride Tatsu.

 

[Exterminieren]

Tatsu's an amazing coaster. I visited SSMM when I was in the States a few years back, and the selection of top-notch thrill rides is unbeaten anywhere else I've been.

I nearly collapsed from the heat, though, so there's something.

 

[CB3]

Tatsu at night in the front row is something else. You feel like you are flying.

 

[ThreePiMatt]

So, I don't go to amusement parks nearly as often as I should (considering I live in Gurnee, IL no more than a five minute drive from Six Flags: Great America), but I just found out that Six Flags is now doing a season dining pass. And I've been trying to figure out if a season pass + parking pass + dining pass altogether would be worth it for the food alone and maybe just going to the park for, you know, rides and stuff.

 

[aparisi2274]

This right here is my favorite woodie coaster!

El Toro (SF GADV):

El Toro POV Ride

Picking a steel coaster is a bit harder for me, since there are so many good ones around the country...

EDIT: My choice seating location for ANY coster is the last row in the last car of any ride. You get a faster ride (rest of the train is pulling you) and you get more air time as you go over the camel backs

 

[thezerofire]

Why would you want to go to Magic Mountain? How you described with Six Flags over Georgia you might as well been describing SFMM. Lots of Coasters, some kiddie rides, and little else. They only thing you are missing is the entering the park through metal detectors, Cholos and their hood rats, and the miles of walking up and down hills in 100+ degree heat. SFMM is a shithole and would probably have been better if it went toes up and became a housing development.

they've cleaned up the park a lot in the last few years, much less sketchy

 

[Xun]

It's a shame theme parks in the UK are lacking, but that's probably because they're all owned by Merlin.

It would be nice to see us getting a park that is of good quality.

It wouldn't be the first time they've painted it. Including the time they turned it into a horrific giant birthday cake for the 25th anniversary back in '96-'97.

First time I went to WDW was when the castle was dressed like this back in Easter '97.

Anyway it's crazy to think how much better the Tokyo castle looks, it's fantastic. It would be great if the Florida castle had that level of detail.

 

[bucknuticus]

This right here is my favorite woodie coaster!

El Toro (SF GADV):

El Toro POV Ride

Picking a steel coaster is a bit harder for me, since there are so many good ones around the country...

EDIT: My choice seating location for ANY coster is the last row in the last car of any ride. You get a faster ride (rest of the train is pulling you) and you get more air time as you go over the camel backs

This is what son of beast should have been, instead we got the world shittiest coaster, and probably the biggest waste of money a theme park has ever seen.

 

[Leeroy3101]

and probably the biggest waste of money a theme park has ever seen.

This

and

This

slightly disagree.

 

[BertramCooper]

I'll be at a conference at an on-site Universal Studios hotel this week. I've got pretty much all day Monday, and that will probably be it. (Unfortunately.)

What should be on my list? Harry Potter stuff is obviously a must. And I love coasters. LOVE coasters.

 

[Leeroy3101]

Hulk's worth a spin as are the Dragon twins. The must ride coaster is definitely mummy, though. Spiderman is a must, too. Get on buzzsaw falls if you don't mind getting wet. It's the perfect fusion between a log ride and a roller coaster.

Rockit is okay but don't get bent out of shape if you don't ride it. Try and catch a Blues Brothers show, too. Really talented performers in that show.

 

[SmithnCo]

I'll be at a conference at an on-site Universal Studios hotel this week. I've got pretty much all day Monday, and that will probably be it. (Unfortunately.)

What should be on my list? Harry Potter stuff is obviously a must. And I love coasters. LOVE coasters.

Coaster-wise, Hulk is an obvious one, as well as Rip Ride and Mummy if you have access to the other park.

 

[The Xtortionist]

I'll be at a conference at an on-site Universal Studios hotel this week. I've got pretty much all day Monday, and that will probably be it. (Unfortunately.)

What should be on my list? Harry Potter stuff is obviously a must. And I love coasters. LOVE coasters.

For coasters, definitely Hulk, Dragon Challenge (ride both sides - they don't share the same layout), and Mummy. Rip Ride Rocket at USF can be fun but it can also be very rough.

Definitely don't miss Spiderman and Forbidden Journey at IoA. Those are arguably the two best dark rides in the world. River Adventure, Ripsaw Falls, and Bilge Rat Barges at IoA are three excellent water rides if you don't mind getting wet. Simpsons and Despicable Me at USF are pretty fun simulators if you're into that kind of ride. Men in Black is a shooting gallery ride, similar to Buzz Lightyear at Disney but stacked with AAs and also a bit more intense. E.T. Adventure is a classic dark ride that uses a ride system similar to Peter Pan's.

Universal's attraction lineup is so good that it's almost easier to tell you what not to ride. If you're short on time, you can skip Disaster, Dr. Doom's Fearfall, and Storm Force Accelatron without missing much.

Are you staying onsite? If so, be sure to get your express pass at the hotel concierge. It's good for unlimited rides on everything except Forbidden Journey, which doesn't accept express. Use single rider for that one if you want to re-ride after seeing the stellar standby queue.

With an express pass, you should easily be able to hit everything you want at both parks, even in one day. If you can't get express, spam single rider lines on everything. You should still be able to knock out almost, if not everything.

One more thing - if you find yourself hungry in IoA, check out Mythos. It's one of the best theme park restaurants around.

edit - wow, beat a few times. Good to see this thread a bit more active.

Hulk is better than Mummy imo

They're both amazing but Mummy has such great presentation. Love the fire effects.

 

[thezerofire]

Hulk's worth a spin as are the Dragon twins. The must ride coaster is definitely mummy, though. Spiderman is a must, too. Get on buzzsaw falls if you don't mind getting wet. It's the perfect fusion between a log ride and a roller coaster.

Rockit is okay but don't get bent out of shape if you don't ride it. Try and catch a Blues Brothers show, too. Really talented performers in that show.

Hulk is better than Mummy imo

 

[Chucker]

I'll be at a conference at an on-site Universal Studios hotel this week. I've got pretty much all day Monday, and that will probably be it. (Unfortunately.)

What should be on my list? Harry Potter stuff is obviously a must. And I love coasters. LOVE coasters.

Snoop around Transformers, we went 3 weeks before The Mummy opened and they were doing a "soft opening" so we got to ride it quite a bit because nobody knew it was running.

 

[Piano]

This is what son of beast should have been, instead we got the world shittiest coaster, and probably the biggest waste of money a theme park has ever seen.

What's the issue with Son of Beast? Loved it when I rode it a few years back.

 

[BertramCooper]

Awesome, thanks for the recommendations!

Since I'm staying at an on-site hotel, I get a complimentary express pass, which should prove useful.

 

[The Xtortionist]

Awesome, thanks for the recommendations!

Since I'm staying at an on-site hotel, I get a complimentary express pass, which should prove useful.

Sweet! Here's a neat thing you should know: If you go to any table service restaurant at one of the parks or even CityWalk and have to wait for a table, flash the attendant your hotel room key and they'll move you to the front of the line. Worked for me at Margaritaville at CityWalk.

 

[bucknuticus]

What's the issue with Son of Beast? Loved it when I rode it a few years back.

Thing destroyed your back and was one of te least popular coasters at the park. They tore it down last year, thing wasn't even open 10 years.

 

[Leeroy3101]

You forgot to mention the ever present danger of getting stung by wasps on the lift of Son of Beat, too.

 

[Goldrusher]

What's the issue with Son of Beast? Loved it when I rode it a few years back.

Mainly a serious lack of maintenance.

 

[whatsinaname]

Mystic Manor has opened at Hong Kong Disneyland.

on-ride video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=kEApcS_kVqM

It's basically their Haunted Mansion, but it's original in every way.
It's also not scary at all.

The house is owned by an explorer called Lord Henry Mystic.
You are his guest, about to get a tour of his very own museum, which is full of collectibles, curiosities and artifacts.
However, his pet monkey Albert opens a magical music box... and the entire mansion comes alive.

Amazing blend of animatronics, projections and screens. Music by Danny Elfman.

[IG]http://users.telenet.be/warner/mysticmanorfull.jpeg[/IMG]

video & pic: disneyandmore.blogspot.com

I have been playing Luigi's Mansion and I remembered this. They should make a Luigi's Mansion version. Each visitor gets a Poltergust 3000 to use.

 

[BertramCooper]

I'm at IoA as we speak.

Butterbeer is amazing, but I wish I could get a full cup of the foam they pipe on top. That stuff is phenomenal.

 

[BertramCooper]

Just left IoA.

Pretty cool place. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was obviously the best part of the park, by far. My only complaint would be the really poor theming on the Dragon Challenge coasters. The coasters were actually pretty good, but I said to myself, "These are obviously reskinned - and poorly reskinned." Anyone who has read the Potter books knowns Hungarian Horntails are black, not teal. Really lazy that they didn't even repaint the tracks.

The Harry Potter dark ride was phenomenal. Rode it twice.

Outside of Potter, IoA was kind of hit-or-miss. The theming was pretty nice throughout, but several of the areas are bereft of interesting rides. Perhaps I missed something, but all I saw in the Jurassic Park area was a water ride and a kiddie coaster. What a disappointment. The toon area was also pretty lame, and pretty empty all morning.

Hulk was great, as was the Spider-Man dark ride. But boy oh boy, Universal is fucked once Disney inevitably decides to yank Marvel from their parks. (I know they're contractually obligated to stay there for the near future, but we all know that Disney will pull them out eventually and start putting Marvel stuff at WDW/DL).

I'll head over to Universal Studios this afternoon. I was initially worried that I wouldn't be able to get enough park time, but I'm confident that I'm going to get to everything I want to see fairly easily, especially with the express pass.

 

[bucknuticus]

Just left IoA.

Pretty cool place. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was obviously the best part of the park, by far. My only complaint would be the really poor theming on the Dragon Challenge coasters. The coasters were actually pretty good, but I said to myself, "These are obviously reskinned - and poorly reskinned." Anyone who has read the Potter books knowns Hungarian Horntails are black, not teal. Really lazy that they didn't even repaint the tracks.

The Harry Potter dark ride was phenomenal. Rode it twice.

Outside of Potter, IoA was kind of hit-or-miss. The theming was pretty nice throughout, but several of the areas are bereft of interesting rides. Perhaps I missed something, but all I saw in the Jurassic Park area was a water ride and a kiddie coaster. What a disappointment. The toon area was also pretty lame, and pretty empty all morning.

Hulk was great, as was the Spider-Man dark ride. But boy oh boy, Universal is fucked once Disney inevitably decides to yank Marvel from their parks. (I know they're contractually obligated to stay there for the near future, but we all know that Disney will pull them out eventually and start putting Marvel stuff at WDW/DL).

I'll head over to Universal Studios this afternoon. I was initially worried that I wouldn't be able to get enough park time, but I'm confident that I'm going to get to everything I want to see fairly easily, especially with the express pass.

I felt the same with the jurrasic park and cartoon sections as well. JP needs more things to do! and the cartoon ones do just feel empty, I think its because its just that long section with not a lot of trees or anything.

I know you said you have the pass, but how busy is the park now? What kind of wait times are you seeing posted?

 

[BertramCooper]

I felt the same with the jurrasic park and cartoon sections as well. JP needs more things to do! and the cartoon ones do just feel empty, I think its because its just that long section with not a lot of trees or anything.

I know you said you have the pass, but how busy is the park now? What kind of wait times are you seeing posted?

15-20 minutes, mostly. I'm sure it will ramp up this afternoon.

I was glad to have gotten an extra hour at Potter for being a resort guest. Strolling through Hogsmeade with only a very small crowd was great. (And I got it for a resort room I'm not even paying for!)

 

[Branduil]

If you have plenty of time, check out Disaster and The Simpsons Ride. Disaster is really funny.

 

[BertramCooper]

If you have plenty of time, check out Disaster and The Simpsons Ride. Disaster is really funny.

Will do. Thanks!

 

[Aeriscloud]

That looks like something that would get a 9+ intensity on Rollercoaster Tycoon.

 

[Chucker]

If you have plenty of time, check out Disaster and The Simpsons Ride. Disaster is really funny.

I don't have Hate for the Simpsons, but just ire. It took Back to the Future away from us

That being said, I'd make sure to check out the Terminator 2 3D show. Who knows how long that will be around.

 

[Exterminieren]

Toon Lagoon has really great water rides. Have never gotten more soaked on a ride than I did on Popeye's Barges.

Seuss Landings is what really lets the park down, for me.

 

[overcast]

What are the differences between the mummy ride in Hollywood and the one in Orlando?