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

aparisi2274

aparisi2274

Member
SpacePirate Ridley said:
California Screamin shits all over RnR. Is fun, is long, is original... in fact, is probably one of my favourite rollercoasters. I love the music, love the better victorian fairgorund theming when they made DCA good (instead of the shitty 90's californian beach fair), I would probably add a little bit more theming to the queue, and an animatronic of a barbershop quartet guy inside a gazebo just next to the launch zone that goes with Neil Patrick Harris' voice, and cracks some jokes now and then (or tires to sell things) to the crowd watching launch just like mr potato in Midway Mania. That would be magnificent, never gonna happen though.
And have I already said how much I love the ride on music. Love the fairground flair it has when it goes up the climbs and in the itnro and outro. And the part in 1:42 when the bunny hops start is just epic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eppB_3rTMg0
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I agree that CS shits all over RnR, and I too love the theme of it, but I think the ride is starting to show its age... I mean when you come into the g-force spin horizontal loop at the end, right near the photo op, you can see how rusty the track is and how barren the inner circle is. Would love to see a fresh coat of paint on that coaster and maybe some plants or something in that inner circle.

zeemumu said:
California Screamin was my second loop rollercoaster (first was some rollercoaster in Legoland, I think). I'm surprised how short the line always is, considering its popularity.
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Yeah I know. I was in DCA about 2 weeks ago, on a Saturday, and in the middle of the day, the line was 5 min! FIVE MINUTES!!! Why is nobody riding this coaster???
 
Z

zeemumu

Member
aparisi2274 said:
Yeah I know. I was in DCA about 2 weeks ago, on a Saturday, and in the middle of the day, the line was 5 min! FIVE MINUTES!!! Why is nobody riding this coaster???
Click to expand...

I assume it's because the coasters load faster than the other rides because of the higher carrying capacity per ride, how short the ride is, and because they load two at a time. Plus really little kids can't ride it because of the height requirement and parents who could ride it can't leave their kids behind. But even then I'd expect it to be higher.

I don't want to see what happens to Carsland if by some miracle Cars 3 turns out to be awesome. The Monsters Inc. ride barely had any crowd at all in the months before Monsters U, then as soon as that movie came out, BAM, went from 5-10 minutes to 20-40 minutes. I wonder if Disney's ever put any consideration into modifying Matterhorn during the winter to become Frozen like they do with Space Mountain During Halloween and Haunted Mansion during both Halloween and Christmas.
 
B

BUNTING1243

Banned
zeemumu said:
I assume it's because the coasters load faster than the other rides because of the higher carrying capacity per ride, how short the ride is, and because they load two at a time. Plus really little kids can't ride it because of the height requirement and parents who could ride it can't leave their kids behind. But even then I'd expect it to be higher.

I don't want to see what happens to Carsland if by some miracle Cars 3 turns out to be awesome. The Monsters Inc. ride barely had any crowd at all in the months before Monsters U, then as soon as that movie came out, BAM, went from 5-10 minutes to 20-40 minutes. I wonder if Disney's ever put any consideration into modifying Matterhorn during the winter to become Frozen like they do with Space Mountain During Halloween and Haunted Mansion during both Halloween and Christmas.
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Out of all the rides at Anaheim, Matterhorn needs something new the most. The experience of riding it is way too painful to justify a boring, dark rollercoaster with a yeti robot. It'd be really cool to see it given the Big Thunder Mountain treatment.
 
S

SpacePirate Ridley

Member
aparisi2274 said:
I agree that CS shits all over RnR, and I too love the theme of it, but I think the ride is starting to show its age... I mean when you come into the g-force spin horizontal loop at the end, right near the photo op, you can see how rusty the track is and how barren the inner circle is. Would love to see a fresh coat of paint on that coaster and maybe some plants or something in that inner circle.



Yeah I know. I was in DCA about 2 weeks ago, on a Saturday, and in the middle of the day, the line was 5 min! FIVE MINUTES!!! Why is nobody riding this coaster???
Click to expand...


Yeah it probably needs a new coat of pain (as I said, i would love for it to be more of a disney experience and rethemed it even more). Its sad that seems there so little love for it if the queues say that.
 
J

Jailer of Hope

Member
I'd love to be able ride CS while it looks like this:

iy36mMX.jpg
Click to expand...

:p
 
Z

zeemumu

Member
Jailer of Hope said:
I'd love to be able ride CS while it looks like this:



:p
Click to expand...

It, the Ferris Wheel, Silly Symphony Swings and the Zephyr are all closed during World of Color. I'm sorry. The coaster, swings, and zephyr go right along the water so They didn't want to risk any safety issues, and the colors on the wheel are part of the show.

I don't know if they close them permanently after the first show or if they reopen them in between showings. If it's the latter, you might be able to ride it during the post-show song when they turn the lights back on.

BUNTING1243 said:
Out of all the rides at Anaheim, Matterhorn needs something new the most. The experience of riding it is way too painful to justify a boring, dark rollercoaster with a yeti robot. It'd be really cool to see it given the Big Thunder Mountain treatment.
Click to expand...

It needs a middle ground between current Matterhorn, which is a bit outdated, and Expedition Everest, which has animatronics too complex to properly run with our current technology.
 
J

Jailer of Hope

Member
zeemumu said:
It, the Ferris Wheel, Silly Symphony Swings and the Zephyr are all closed during World of Color. I'm sorry. The coaster, swings, and zephyr go right along the water so They didn't want to risk any safety issues, and the colors on the wheel are part of the show.

I don't know if they close them permanently after the first show or if they reopen them in between showings. If it's the latter, you might be able to ride it during the post-show song when they turn the lights back on.
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Yeah, I'm just saying it would be pretty neat if the show lights were on as soon as it gets dark, which can be pretty earlier during winter. They sometimes run a few trains between shows. They let guests line up during shows where the single rider entrance is and they cut it off if it gets too long, and they turn off the show lights during operation.
 
Z

zeemumu

Member
Jailer of Hope said:
Yeah, I'm just saying it would be pretty neat. They sometimes run a few trains between shows. They let guests line up during shows where the single rider entrance is and they cut it off if it gets too long, and they turn off the show lights during operation.
Click to expand...

Yeah it would. I remember riding that Rocket Rods ride that used to be in Tomorrowland while the fireworks were going off. Amazing.
 
aparisi2274

aparisi2274

Member
BUNTING1243 said:
Out of all the rides at Anaheim, Matterhorn needs something new the most. The experience of riding it is way too painful to justify a boring, dark rollercoaster with a yeti robot. It'd be really cool to see it given the Big Thunder Mountain treatment.
Click to expand...

Matterhorn needs some damn shock absorbers! Holy Moly... I got off that thing last week, and my back my was killing me! It was so bumpy and annoying that it totally took away from the overall ride experience...
 
B

BUNTING1243

Banned
zeemumu said:
It needs a middle ground between current Matterhorn, which is a bit outdated, and Expedition Everest, which has animatronics too complex to properly run with our current technology.
Click to expand...

Agree completely, Everest with the borked yeti animatronics still blows the Matterhorn out of the water. I worry how much they can really do with that space though, if anything

aparisi2274 said:
Matterhorn needs some damn shock absorbers! Holy Moly... I got off that thing last week, and my back my was killing me! It was so bumpy and annoying that it totally took away from the overall ride experience...
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's really not worth riding past the views of the park and nostalgia.
 
Z

zeemumu

Member
aparisi2274 said:
Yeah, but you can't even enjoy the views of the park because you're getting thrown around so much....
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Yeah. It's unfortunate the mountain's size and shape doesn't allow for wider turns. Maybe they can add something into that space where the basketball court is if they haven't cleared that out already.

I wish that they could add more in that little corner of the park where Winnie the Pooh is. It feels like a dead end.
 
B

brerwolfe

Member
Universal just posted this on the team member site:

teampreview_zps2822c157.jpg


Ugh... I'm flying to D.C. for a job tomorrow morning and won't be home until Saturday. Don't know if I'll have time to get out there since I fly out for another job Monday morning.
 
aparisi2274

aparisi2274

Member
LuuKyK said:
Did you watch the video I just posted? I feared that too but its actually quite an open area.
Click to expand...

I was talking to Lance (editor for screamscape) on twitter about Diagon Alley space, and he confirmed that it is extremely wide, and that Universal did an amazing job giving the illusiion of being in an actual alley, because they have all the building slightly leaning in toward the center of the street, so it makes it looks very narrow.

Well that is good to know.
 
S

SpacePirate Ridley

Member
The_Poet said:
Thorpe Park should be there instead of Alton Towers. Best park in the UK by far.
Click to expand...

Where should it be?

Also ive been to thorpe park and its not really a "theme" park to be proud of, apart of some rides that make it an excellent atraction park. But as a theme park its bad.
And ive never been to alton towers (not from the UK) but i had a friend when I was smaller that went there al lot, and talk to me of how amazing the park was, and brought me maps and photos I also followed how the park went years after thanks to the internet. From just that, it blows thorpe out of the water.
Only watching the map thorpe parks has now it makes me want to puke.
Don't get me wrong, it has some amazing rides like SAW and the swarm, and incredible flats, but as a theme park, it fails (not even taking into account the kind of people it atracts, although I have to be sincere and say they were actually more sensible from what I saw that the similar kind of people in spanish theme parks).
 
X

Xun

Member
SpacePirate Ridley said:
Where should it be?

Also ive been to thorpe park and its not really a "theme" park to be proud of, apart of some rides that make it an excellent atraction park. But as a theme park its bad.
And ive never been to alton towers (not from the UK) but i had a friend when I was smaller that went there al lot, and talk to me of how amazing the park was, and brought me maps and photos I also followed how the park went years after thanks to the internet. From just that, it blows thorpe out of the water.
Only watching the map thorpe parks has now it makes me want to puke.
Don't get me wrong, it has some amazing rides like SAW and the swarm, and incredible flats, but as a theme park, it fails (not even taking into account the kind of people it atracts, although I have to be sincere and say they were actually more sensible from what I saw that the similar kind of people in spanish theme parks).
Click to expand...
Agreed.

I'm still rooting for the Paramount theme park to happen since we need a decent theme park, but I have doubts it'll happen sadly.
 
S

SpacePirate Ridley

Member
Xun said:
Agreed.

I'm still rooting for the Paramount theme park to happen since we need a decent theme park, but I have doubts it'll happen sadly.
Click to expand...

Careful what you wish for, here they didnt do much good when they bought Terra Mitica (they dont have it anymore, but its still bad). And they want to build one in Murcia now that is probably cancelled.
Isnt Alton Towers good anymore?
 
B

brerwolfe

Member
LAME. Diagon Alley employee preview isn't open to 3rd party employees. I waited in line to find that out... doesn't say it on the website :(
 
Z

zeemumu

Member
HHN is about to start holding auditions for scareactors soon. I'd like to do it but I don't know if I would be able to because of work, but that sounds like it would be an awesome experience. I really wouldn't mind scaring people for several straight hours.

I'm also hoping that they start releasing more information on their other mazes this year, and Knott's should as well. All we know so far is that The Walking Dead is confirmed again this year, and apparently there's a tank involved so it's probably going to be the prison during Season 4. I'm more interested in Knott's mazes though because HHN Hollywood's mazes tend to be behind HHN Orlando's. Plus, Orlando puts more effort into there's. We typically don't have event icons and overall themes out here.
 
aparisi2274

aparisi2274

Member
zeemumu said:
HHN is about to start holding auditions for scareactors soon. I'd like to do it but I don't know if I would be able to because of work, but that sounds like it would be an awesome experience. I really wouldn't mind scaring people for several straight hours.

I'm also hoping that they start releasing more information on their other mazes this year, and Knott's should as well. All we know so far is that The Walking Dead is confirmed again this year, and apparently there's a tank involved so it's probably going to be the prison during Season 4. I'm more interested in Knott's mazes though because HHN Hollywood's mazes tend to be behind HHN Orlando's. Plus, Orlando puts more effort into there's. We typically don't have event icons and overall themes out here.
Click to expand...

Doesnt HHN marketing ramp up around late July, early Aug?
 
L

lush

Member
HHN news, rumors, and visual construction will start up next month.

This is from 6/12 on Screamscape:

According to the buzz on Twitter, building permits for two HHN Haunts to be built in the soundstages were filed this week, and even went so far as to give code names to the two haunts: Synergy and Evac.
Speaking of haunts in soundstages, HorrorNightsORL confirmed on Twitter last night that the new double-sized Walking Dead haunt would be built in one of the soundstages.
“It's facade will exist outside the soundstage so we can use every square inch of the interior.” / “Almost every major environment in season 4 will be featured. Prison for a small portion. The big spot and it's parking lot....” / “....The moonshine shack, the country club, the tunnel... Terminus.”
They also confirmed that there were still seven more mazes to be announced, a mixture of both IPs and original concepts.
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I'm interested to see if there will be a mascot this year. Hopefully they don't just brand it Walking Dead again, the scarezones were weak as hell last year too. The houses were all pretty good last year, even the licensed ones. RHPS returning was nice as well.
 
T

The Xtortionist

Member
Currently about 4 hours from Universal. Really hoping I can catch a soft opening in the four days I'll be there. Regardless, the hype is palpable! Omggggggggggg it's happening!!!!!!!!
 
Z

zeemumu

Member
lush said:
HHN news, rumors, and visual construction will start up next month.

This is from 6/12 on Screamscape:



I'm interested to see if there will be a mascot this year. Hopefully they don't just brand it Walking Dead again, the scarezones were weak as hell last year too. The houses were all pretty good last year, even the licensed ones. RHPS returning was nice as well.
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Agreed. The mascots/event icons were some of my favorite parts of HHN. Unfortunately, HHN Hollywood doesn't use mascots. It's pretty much exclusive to Orlando. But even so, I still like to read the backstories that they put together for some of these and how they tie into each of the mazes, like The Usher event's mazes all being tied to the movies (the movies themselves, the concession stand, etc.), Bloody Mary's all being the living phobias of her patients, and Lady Luck's all being the outcomes of the wrong choices that people have made when they meet her. Last year they had that weird blog that tried to tie everything together. It was interesting but it kinda dropped off near the end.
 
T

The Xtortionist

Member
Had a great morning at UOR! Hit IoA with early entry about 8:45 and got on FJ quick with single rider. Then hit Spidey twice, hopped to USF for Transformers twice (front+back row on each), hit MiB and Simpsons. Crowds in both parks are really light for a Saturday in late June. Going back in a few hours for more shenanigans.
 
Z

zeemumu

Member
The Xtortionist said:
Had a great morning at UOR! Hit IoA with early entry about 8:45 and got on FJ quick with single rider. Then hit Spidey twice, hopped to USF for Transformers twice (front+back row on each), hit MiB and Simpsons. Crowds in both parks are really light for a Saturday in late June. Going back in a few hours for more shenanigans.
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How similar are Spiderman and Transformers to you? I've been on both and they feel like the same ride with different skins.
 
T

The Xtortionist

Member
zeemumu said:
How similar are Spiderman and Transformers to you? I've been on both and they feel like the same ride with different skins.
Click to expand...

All IMO

Transformers is much more of a simulator, featuring more segments where the car sits in front of a screen. Spidey doesn't have any sections that best TF's driving scenes, especially in the front row. TF also has much more motion base overall - the car is constantly tilting or shaking.

Spidey focuses more on lateral movement through sets. Many screens are interacted with while the car is in motion, and the ride also features more 360-degree spins (TF has none) and physical effects (hobgoblin's fireball might be my favorite moment in any ride).

Overall, the rides feel pretty different to me. It's like having the same food item with two different flavors. I prefer TF a bit overall for its thrills, though it breaks down like this: TF wins in simulation, motion base, and thrills, Spidey wins in queue, story, effects, and lateral motion.
 
T

The Xtortionist

Member
Very productive day at Universal. Ride list went something like this

3x Transformers
2x Spidey
1x FJ, Despicable Me, Mummy, MiB, Simpsons, Kang and Kodos, E.T.

Gonna hit IoA at 8am tomorrow for some more FJ action and hopefully some dragons and Hulk. Also need to hit Mummy like, 20 more times.

Rumor mill is now saying Monday for possible Diagon Alley softs. Just a heads up to the locals on here. I doubt I'll stand around then but I'll be in USF for sure.
 
B

brerwolfe

Member
Tonight was the last night for employee previews so it's very possible they'd do softs next week, likely after they've had some time to discuss how things went the last three days.
 
Z

zeemumu

Member
backslashbunny said:
My friend loves HHN, went to both Hollywood and Orlando, and prefers Hollywood.

Have you been to both?

To the people that have been- pro/con it? Preferences?
Click to expand...

I've been to Universal Hollywood's.

Pros:
Special effects are better than Knott's because it's a working movie studio
Terror Tram
Cons:
Less rides and mazes
Longer lines because of less rides and mazes
Typically either no overarching theme or a recycled one from the early days of Orlando's HHN

Aside from the Terror Tram, which gives you the ability to walk through the backlot sets, I think Orlando's is superior.

I actually prefer Knott's Scary Farm to Hollywood's HHN because they have more mazes and they've been doing theirs for a while so their scareactors are usually better, but I always make a point to go to both because HHN has access to a lot of good licensed material like Resident Evil and Nightmare on Elm Street.
 
B

brerwolfe

Member
Are you using the new wireless network in the park on your phone? They were talking about it in the last company newsletter, wondering how fast and consistent it is. Haven't been in town long enough to test it out myself.
 
S

SmithnCo

Member
The London area looks so good at night, I hope they decorate it around the holidays. They had a streetmosphere sax player in the train station too which I hadn't heard about before. Jelly of the employees.
 
T

The Xtortionist

Member
brerwolfe said:
Are you using the new wireless network in the park on your phone? They were talking about it in the last company newsletter, wondering how fast and consistent it is. Haven't been in town long enough to test it out myself.
Click to expand...

Speed Test says 4.5 mb up and down. Not sure about consistency, haven't been on it that much.
 
T

The Xtortionist

Member
2nd day down. Here's another ride tally.

2x FJ
3x Dragons (twice back row on Fire...hooooly SHIT...also, shoutouts to the TM that fanboy'd over my Dueling Dragons shirt :D)
1x Hulk
3x Spidey
2x Transformers
1x Despicable Me
1x Mummy
1x T23D
1x MiB
2x Cat in the Hat (ride now spins more gently and less often. I think it's a huge improvement. Used to be way too intense for what it was.)
1x Suess Trolley

Unfortunately a torrential downpour messed me up at Studios for a good while. I'm way behind on my Mummy ride count. With rumors of Diagon Softs tomorrow, I'll be at Studios most of the day so it shouldn't be a problem. Will prolly hit FJ, Dragons, Hulk, and Spidey with early IoA entry tomorrow just like today, and then head to Studios. Wish me luck!
 
B

brerwolfe

Member
That downpour was nuts. We were at Hash House down the road on i-drive when it hit. Parked 30' from the door and thought I was being hit in the face by a hurricane. Completely soaked in 15 seconds.

Do you live in Florida? If you're looking for something to do in the evening, I can get Blue Man Group tickets for $35/person. Lemme know.
 
T

The Xtortionist

Member
brerwolfe said:
That downpour was nuts. We were at Hash House down the road on i-drive when it hit. Parked 30' from the door and thought I was being hit in the face by a hurricane. Completely soaked in 15 seconds.

Do you live in Florida? If you're looking for something to do in the evening, I can get Blue Man Group tickets for $35/person. Lemme know.
Click to expand...

I'm visiting from Tennessee. We're going to be a bit busy the next few nights until checkout, but thanks for the offer.

Yeah, that storm yesterday was ridiculous. I was trapped at Richter's for a good while. Had my poncho with me and still didn't want to challenge it lol. It was raining sideways! Was perfect out after it lol. Dat Florida weather.
 
B

brerwolfe

Member
No worries, and welcome to Florida. It starts raining most days in the summer around 4p, lasts for 30 or 40 minutes and goes back to sun. It's a fun little break.
 
aparisi2274

aparisi2274

Member
brerwolfe said:
No worries, and welcome to Florida. It starts raining most days in the summer around 4p, lasts for 30 or 40 minutes and goes back to sun. It's a fun little break.
Click to expand...

I can vouch for this! The 30-40min rain does a nice job of clearing out the parks for a while, so you can get on a lot of rides with no wait times...
 
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