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

V

Vyer

Member
Exterminieren said:
Bloody hell, Magic Kingdom is just way too busy. 100+ minute waits for the Mountains, with Pirates and Haunted Mansion hovering around 50 minutes.

Surely something needs to be done?
Click to expand...

I went for the first time (essentially) the first week of June. It was insane.

Farthest value 'resort' + buses + huge crowds really put a damper on my first WDW experience in almost 30 years
 
M

mrhGB

Banned
I went on plenty of rides when I was a kid, but as I got older I got more and more scared of heights. These days I have a real phobia, it so bad I can't even go near a balcony, let alone look over it. I can't think of a worse day out than a theme park.
 
Goldrusher

Goldrusher

Member
bucknuticus said:
And now confirmed, Kings Island is opening the longest inverted coaster in the world called Banshee
Click to expand...
And the official website:

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/banshee

Banshee will send riders screaming through 4,124.1 feet of track and seven mind-bending inversions at speeds up to 68 miles per hour during the 2-minute, 40-second ride. In this section you’ll find a series of renderings for Banshee – the world’s longest inverted roller coaster!

img_track_layout_lg_fwyuet.jpg
Click to expand...

Looks great. That first drop. :eek:

It will also have brand new trains, using the same flexible restraints found on B&M's flyers and wingcoasters:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FUUwfG_ELc
 
aparisi2274

aparisi2274

Member
I was thinking that when they showed the POV during the night, they were going to add some cool Banshee effects.

Not sure if the low lying mist is an effect, or if they just added it to the video for ambience, but I would hope they add something for night rides.
 
Z

Zoso

It's been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely time.
Wow, banshee looks terrific. I'm glad to see Cedar Fair making major investments in their other parks besides Cedar Point. Gives me a great reason to visit Kings Island again.

B&M inverts are always super fun, Alpengeist is my current favorite. It seems they are taking elements they learned from the wingrider and incorporating it into this, such as the new trains and unique inversions. The vest certainly eliminates any headbanging, not that most B&M inverts have any headbanging - or at least none of the ones I've ridden.
 
F

FireAndBlood

Member
Exterminieren said:
Bloody hell, Magic Kingdom is just way too busy. 100+ minute waits for the Mountains, with Pirates and Haunted Mansion hovering around 50 minutes.

Surely something needs to be done?
Click to expand...

Disney has. They raise the prices every year haha.

Wish they would just uplift a lot of the aging parts of the other parks. World Showcase really needs some work.
 
F

Freyjadour

Member
Exterminieren said:
Bloody hell, Magic Kingdom is just way too busy. 100+ minute waits for the Mountains, with Pirates and Haunted Mansion hovering around 50 minutes.

Surely something needs to be done?
Click to expand...

www.easywdw.com

Magic Kingdom was one of the worst parks to be at today due to extra magic hours in the AM.

But, yeah, peak summer season won't end for another few weeks. You can do alright by arriving 40 or so minutes before rope drop and following the recommended parks on easywdw, but every park is going to be shit from 12pm to 5pm. Best to go early and take a break at the resort in the afternoon.

I've done the week between Christmas and New Years using easywdw plans and rarely waited more than 30 minutes. It isn't going to be the walk-on extravaganza that September and February are, but so much more manageable.
 
D

dimeat

Neo Member
Planning on going to Cedar Point in late august (8/22 Thursday). Any expectation of the crowds? Seems like it should be ok with some schools starting back up + week day but not sure.

Should I go for the FastLane pass?
 
B

bucknuticus

Member
dimeat said:
Planning on going to Cedar Point in late august (8/22 Thursday). Any expectation of the crowds? Seems like it should be ok with some schools starting back up + week day but not sure.

Should I go for the FastLane pass?
Click to expand...

That day there should literally be no crowds, you should be fine without a fast pass at all.
 
J

Jeff Albertson

Member
I'm dreading when we have to do WDW in summer holidays

Next September is the last chance we have then it will be July / August after that

Will be interesting to see how fp+ works out, it will be bad in a way but at least folk who plan can try for fast passes even on busy days
 
R

Raydeen

Member
My girlfriend got me hooked on coasters earlier in the year in Floria. Manta being the favourite.

Unfortunately everyone who has been tells me Thorpe Park in the UK is chav hell. Any other BritGAF have opinions? Anyone tried SWARM backwards? I can't imagine if going backwards is scarier or more fun? I'm guessing scarier.
 
M

MIAtrix

Neo Member
Subscribed! I'm a fellow coaster enthusiast. The wife and I have been to theme parks all across the US. We live in FL so naturally we frequent the FL parks a lot. And usually we take a few coaster trips every summer. Theme parks I've been to so far:

Disney World
Busch Gardens Tampa
Universal/Islands of Adventure
Seaworld Orlando
Six Flags Astroworld (RIP)
Six Flags Over Georgia
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Six Flags Great Adventure
Hersheypark
Dorney Park
Carowinds
Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Kings Dominion
Kings Island
Cedar Point
Knott's Berry Farm
Dollywood

Within the next year or so, I plan on tackling:

Six Flags America
Six Flags Great America
Six Flags New England
Silver Dollar City
Six Flags Over Texas
Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Holiday World

Eventually I want to hit some of the European theme parks as well, particulary the UK and Spain ones.
 
Goldrusher

Goldrusher

Member
Raydeen said:
everyone who has been tells me Thorpe Park in the UK is chav hell
Click to expand...
Nothing but teenagers in the park. And it's tiny.

I always tell people to visit Thorpe in the morning, ride the big 5 coasters, then get out and head to Chessington or Legoland to spend the rest of the day.
Chessington is beautiful and quite peaceful, Legoland can be quite crowded, but it's all families.

And remember, these days you can buy your tickets online with massive discounts:

£45.60 --> Thorpe Park gate ticket

£20 ------> Thorpe Park online ticket
£25.92 --> Chessington online ticket
£34.20 --> Legoland online ticket

Raydeen said:
Anyone tried SWARM backwards? I can't imagine if going backwards is scarier or more fun? I'm guessing scarier.
Click to expand...
I would assume it's mostly more nauseating.
 
S

SpacePirate Ridley

Member
Raydeen said:
My girlfriend got me hooked on coasters earlier in the year in Floria. Manta being the favourite.

Unfortunately everyone who has been tells me Thorpe Park in the UK is chav hell. Any other BritGAF have opinions? Anyone tried SWARM backwards? I can't imagine if going backwards is scarier or more fun? I'm guessing scarier.
Click to expand...

I went there on halloween (my fault, wanted to visit for once a theme park in halloween and thought the closing hours were pretty cool to see all), and was crowded by chavs. Surprisingly they acted more properly (or at least the day we where there) than the chav type people of my country (Spain) on theme parks like Port Aventura, Terra Mitica or Warner Park.
Still even with buying the fast passes (in the afternoon after seeing the crowds) we couldnt go to one of the good coasters (colossus) because they were very badly coordinated as it was halloween and had other things taking the space of the coasters queue.
The rides are really exciting (even the flat rides) has a good number of coasters that are pretty good (SAW ride and The Swarm where amazing), but the theme park itslef is not very pretty (theming I mean, the only good part is the swarm zone) and the park map makes you want to puke (the art is horrendous and its practically useless to know where the roads to each ride are).

I tired the Swarm in normal mode, so no opinions from me there.
 
aparisi2274

aparisi2274

Member
Just confirmed that I'll be heading down to FL this Oct for a bit of fun:

WDW
Uni
IOA
Halloween Horror Nights
Food & Wine
Discovery Cove.

I haven't been down in about 4 years, and not much has changed in Disney since then (NO, I do not care about New Fantasyland), so I will be concentrating on F&W at Epcot and the Harry Potter land at IOA.

Discovery Cove I plan on doing on the saturday before I leave to come home, so I can just relax and unwind all day.
 
B

bucknuticus

Member
All this talk of Orlando has me scratching to go back to Universal Studios. Havent been since the Potter stuff opened. Trying to convince my g/f, and trying to see if we could afford it.
 
X

Xun

Member
Raydeen said:
My girlfriend got me hooked on coasters earlier in the year in Floria. Manta being the favourite.

Unfortunately everyone who has been tells me Thorpe Park in the UK is chav hell. Any other BritGAF have opinions? Anyone tried SWARM backwards? I can't imagine if going backwards is scarier or more fun? I'm guessing scarier.
Click to expand...
It's a pretty crappy park in my opinion, especially nowadays.

It's tacky, and it is indeed chav hell.

I wish we had some decent theme parks.
 
X

Xun

Member
Exterminieren said:
Alton is indeed a decent park, though. Have you still not visited?
Click to expand...
I haven't yet, but there's just something that turns me off the place. Like with Thorpe Park, they just seem to rely on silly little gimmicks.

Anyway, an update on the butchering of the Main Street U.S.A. pavements:

Update. Cue plan B. A neighbor tells me he saw the construction today and Emporium corner is still walled up and no other area is yet under construction walls. He talked to a manager he knows at MK and was told unexpected issues have emerged and that is why the project is taking so much longer than a week as was the original plan. Now 17 days late. Evidently in the park construction in 1970ish no one thought anyone in the future would think it a good idea to remove curbs. Something under the curb area can't be easily removed. I am thinking underground utilities or storm drains or your best guess. The new plan is to enlarge the ramp on the corner to about three times the previous width to help the '20,000 strollers' in the park have a wider ramp and leave the curb on Main St.. If they later figure out how to remove or relocate what ever is causing the work stopage perhaps they will give it another try.

At least we will get some new sidewalk in a brighter color.

This might not prevent them from removing other area curbs but the one by the Eporium has presented a problem. If they have any money left after the MyMagic minus fiasco they might try again.
Click to expand...
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...ct-begins-tomorrow.869481/page-9#post-5663877
 
S

SpacePirate Ridley

Member
I want to visit Alton Towerrs in the future, looks a thosand times better thematically than Thorpe (I remember a friend bringing me maps and talking about it when I was smaller, and wanting to know more about it), and better than the majority of spanish theme parks (the quality of them has gone down pretty fast in the last years).

Talking about Alton Towers....
Why hasn't the UK a Doctor Who ride in their theme parks? It could be like Star Tours but with more cast member interaction with the guests. I have an amazing idea for it in my mind, but this happens to me always when I think about theme parks.
 
M

mclem

Member
SpacePirate Ridley said:
Talking about Alton Towers....
Why hasn't the UK a Doctor Who ride in their theme parks? It could be like Star Tours but with more cast member interaction with the guests. I have an amazing idea for it in my mind, but this happens to me always when I think about theme parks.
Click to expand...

http://www.doctorwhoexperience.com/

(I would guess that it may only be able to be a standalone thing due to the Unique Way The BBC Is Funded; it's run by BBC Worldwide here, I believe)
 
S

SpacePirate Ridley

Member
mclem said:
http://www.doctorwhoexperience.com/

(I would guess that it may only be able to be a standalone thing due to the Unique Way The BBC Is Funded; it's run by BBC Worldwide here, I believe)
Click to expand...

Thought that was only temporary. Still, becuase the BBC is funded with taxpayer money that means that they can't let other companies do things with the franchise, like rides?

What about the time when Disney was going to buy the rights during the 80's? Could have been great to see a Doctor Who ride done by the imagineers during the time of splash mountain and Tower of Terror when money was plenty.
 
C

Chucker

Member
Every once in a while I get insanely jealous of my wife's perks of being a travel agent. Her work is sending her to USO the first week of October for "reference". We've been there a million times, but she's not going to pass up an all expenses paid trip.

Usually it's no big deal, but she gets early access to the park before they open, and an "RIP Tour" of Horror Nights.

I've been trying to get her to go to HHN ever since we started going in 2003, and now she's going for free, without me, and gets to skip all of the lines.
 
Jag

Jag

Member
bucknuticus said:
All this talk of Orlando has me scratching to go back to Universal Studios. Havent been since the Potter stuff opened. Trying to convince my g/f, and trying to see if we could afford it.
Click to expand...

It's really nice what they've done with that area, but it feels smaller than it should. They keep changing things at a decent place, but some parts are also showing age. Not sure on the ETA of the 2nd HP area, but you may want to wait until that opens as well.
 
aparisi2274

aparisi2274

Member
Just got word that my trip to WDW in Oct is going to allow us to use the new magicbands and FP+ services... pretty stoked to try out the new technology.

My only issue right now is locking down times for rides... I am using the iPhone app and when I select "Make new FP+ reservations" and pick the day and park, I am only allowed to pick 3 attractions at that park, and then I am presented with 4 options (different times and they shuffle the attractions around) and when I pick the option I like, it creates the FP+ reservations. Simple enough, right.... Nope. It seems that all you can do is make 3 attraction reservations per day and then thats it. So if you plan on going to Hollywood Studios and Epcot in a single day, you can only pick 3 rides from one park.... which does not seem right, especially after what I have read so far about this new tech.

I need to give them a call and see if I am doing something wrong, or if they are only allowing one park per day, because its still in Beta....
 
T

ToxicAdam

Member
I went back to Cedar Point for the first time in 10 years. Went on a Monday and the lines were pretty small. Had a great time, but surprisingly, after my 5th coaster ride I had an incredible migraine that wouldn't go away. No amount of caffeine or aspirin could do the trick. So, I pretty much took it easy the rest of the day.

Looks like I'm getting old. :(

So, I got to ride on Top Thrill Dragster, but missed a chance to ride on GateKeeper or Millenium Force.

Since I was limited on the rides I would go on, the upside was that I got to go in the Cedar Point "museum" they have there back near Frontierland. I had never even known that building existed or had so much cool stuff inside of it. It was an amazing dose of nostalgia to go back and see how the park has changed and what come before it. Highly recommended if you need to wind down for a half hour.
 
B

bucknuticus

Member
I went to Kings Island on sunday, was great no lines at all. Longest I waited was 15 minutes for flight of fear.Everything else was walk up to the station wait 1 or 2 trains and on.
 
T

The Xtortionist

Member
Jag said:
It's really nice what they've done with that area, but it feels smaller than it should. They keep changing things at a decent place, but some parts are also showing age. Not sure on the ETA of the 2nd HP area, but you may want to wait until that opens as well.
Click to expand...

Summer 2014 is the target date.
 
F

Freyjadour

Member
aparisi2274 said:
Just got word that my trip to WDW in Oct is going to allow us to use the new magicbands and FP+ services... pretty stoked to try out the new technology.

My only issue right now is locking down times for rides... I am using the iPhone app and when I select "Make new FP+ reservations" and pick the day and park, I am only allowed to pick 3 attractions at that park, and then I am presented with 4 options (different times and they shuffle the attractions around) and when I pick the option I like, it creates the FP+ reservations. Simple enough, right.... Nope. It seems that all you can do is make 3 attraction reservations per day and then thats it. So if you plan on going to Hollywood Studios and Epcot in a single day, you can only pick 3 rides from one park.... which does not seem right, especially after what I have read so far about this new tech.

I need to give them a call and see if I am doing something wrong, or if they are only allowing one park per day, because its still in Beta....
Click to expand...

One park per day is correct and the plan going forward as far as I know.

MyMagic+/FastPass+/MagicBands are a collosal mess right now.
 
B

bucknuticus

Member
mclem said:
That'd be awesome if they synced the drop with the train going over the top, so you could see your 'trigger' approaching.
Click to expand...

Hmmm the drop thing seems like it would need to be stable. I know Top thrill shakes a lot at the top, theres no way I could see one of those dropping while a coaster is going up.
 
aparisi2274

aparisi2274

Member
Goldrusher said:
Six Flags Great Adventure 2014
http://content.sixflags.com/comingin2014/greatadventure/zumanjaro-drop-of-doom/

Intamin drop tower; attached to Kingda Ka
• 415 feet tall
• 90 mph

Oh, and Rolling Thunder be demolished. It will close September 8.


thumb_sfga_zumanjaro_photo_2_8x10_300dpi.jpg


thumb_sfga_zumanjaro_photo_5_8x10_300dpi.jpg
Click to expand...

That looks super cool... hope it works as advertised and doesn't suffer from the same sort of downtime that Kingda Ka had when it first opened.

Also, kinda bummed about Rolling Thunder... Why demo it now, if you are not going to put anything in its place for 2014?

Lastly, as much as I like El Toro, I think I want that woodie that Great America is getting... that thing looks SICK!!!
 
J

jtb

Banned
Went to Universal Orlando this summer, it was really nice. Had a much better time there than I did at the Disney parks a couple years ago; really the only thing Disney had over it was the fact that it was, well, Disney.

Harry Potter was really impressive, Transformers was great, and the Islands of Adventures coasters were a lot of fun, even if the Dueling Dragons no longer duel :( The Rock-it coaster or whatever it's called at Universal is fucking terrible, I only spent one day in the Universal park because Islands of Adventures shits all over it.

Trying to round up some friends to go to Cedar Point for a couple days next summer.
 
J

jtb

Banned
also (been reading through the thread now... subscribed!), my god Twister was embarrassingly terrible.
 
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