coasterbill

Yes, there's a little sidewalk thing (more of a painted pedestrian lane).

Did they put 2 acers in the back seat? Damn Coastermania day....

Time for another update. Sorry in advance for the limited amount of pictures. As I said I didn’t plan on doing a TR and we were too busy having fun to worry about picture taking. The ones we do have are of us, meant for social media basically. The next update will have tons more pictures. This one might be a little text heavy but I'll try to break it up and hopefully it's semi-interesting. This will cover Saturday and Sunday. The major order of business for Saturday was the wedding, and as it was for a family friend my mom and her husband came down late Friday night and we decided to spend most of these 2 days with them. They had planned to go to Disney on Sunday (for the first time since I was a kid) but had to straighten out our ticket situation on Saturday and decided to do so at Disney Springs. DISCLAIMER: We know nothing about Disney. When enthusiasts talk about "the GP", that's us when it comes to Disney. Things like our lack of knowledge of how anything works, the places we ate or the order in which we hit rides may drive locals crazy but we purposely went into this with very little research. Messing around in Disney Springs So we had kind of a strange situation regarding tickets. In 1997 when we were kids, we got lifetime passes to Disney. Basically they're one time use tickets that never expire. In order to use them though we had to go to Disney Springs and get them changed into regular tickets, then link them up with the other 2 tickets. I was thrilled that we were able to use these things and that we weren't charged the difference between kids and adult tickets. The only downside was that we had to wait until the day before to book Fast Pass so once we got it all straightened out we headed over to the nearest bar and tried to figure out how to use the app. Also, we only had one day at Disney so we decided on 1 day, 1 park tickets to Magic Kingdom. Let me just say, Fast Pass Plus is a pain in the ass. Once you get it set up it's great but I would have been thrilled to throw money at them like I can at Universal, Six Flags or Cedar Fair and just get a wristband without needing to link up an app, scan everyone's tickets with a smartphone, add them to the group, still not have them added properly added because they were already added to another group and eventually just give up and try to get ride times that were semi close together. Again, locals may be thinking we're idiots and it sure felt that way but at first we were cursing this system (though it's free, so I guess how much can you really complain). Of note: After leaving Disney Springs we did have one more pit stop in Kissimmee before the wedding invloving alcohol and a 300 foot skycoaster but sadly I don't have any photos of that one. There's a video, but it was shot vertically for some reason so I'll spare everyone. lol Fast forward to the next day, it would be impossible to break everything down in order so I’ll give my thoughts on the attractions we did along with some general thoughts on the park as a whole. Good Morning from the Happiest Place on Earth! So first, the rides… we’ll start with the good (actually the great): Pirates: We hit this first “Why??? IT NEVER HAS A LINE ANYWAY!!!” yeah we know, don’t say I didn’t warn you locals, we had no strategy at all. Anyway, this ride is still just as amazing as I remember it. The Jack Sparrow animatronics are ridiculously good but somehow they don’t detract from the others at all. What is there to say about this ride that hasn’t already been said? It’s amazing. We lost count of how many times we rode this. Big Thunder: After Pirates we went to Big Thunder and were greeted by a quick 10 minute wait. Initially this ride was going to be closed for refurb during our visit (according to a few Disney sites) but luckily that got pushed back because it was my favorite ride as a kid and I was really excited to ride it again. It didn’t disappoint. It’s a great family ride with awesome theming. We loved the small details in the queue and were blown away by the interactive dynamite thing at the exit. What park would even bother doing something like that since very few people would even notice it? Big Thunder gets a big thumbs up from me. Splash Mountain: This is one of the best rides in the park. Awesome animatronics, great queue and a nice little splash. We rode it twice, once with a 10 minute wait and once again when the wait was pushing an hour with Fast Pass. Haunted Mansion: I lost count of our rides on this but again, it’s every bit as good as I remembered it. It’s a nostalgia trip but much like Pirates, it still stands the test of time. We made this our last ride of the night. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: Our group was mostly disappointed with this because the line was 90 minutes and the ride was a bit on the short side but I enjoyed it for what it was. I’d say it’s the weakest of the 3 coasters in the park but it looks great and I’d love to re-ride it with a shorter line. Space Mountain: After spending about 12 hours in the park we finally made it over to Space Mountain. When we were booking Fast Passes only Brit and I booked this one but my mom and her husband didn’t because he has a medical issue where he can’t be jarred around too much and he was a little worried about it. We decided that we could all ride it though after he rode Thunder Mountain and Mine Train and they had no forces to speak of but at the last minute decided maybe it was better if Brit and I scoped it out first. It wasn’t time for FastPass yet but we figured we were up for re-rides so we waited in the stand-by line. About 30 minutes later we were in our rockets and um… holy sh*t. This ride is loaded with insane laterals, great pops of air, awesome effects and given the train design and the dark ride area it felt absolutely out of control. This ride doesn’t get the respect it deserves, it’s utterly fantastic. As we pulled into the brakes we both looked at eachother and had the exact same reaction. “Holy sh*t, that was a roller coaster. Like a real one.” Lol. We got to the exit and had to break the news that riding that would be a terrible idea, but as we kept gushing about it I could tell my mom was loving everything we were saying (unlike him she loves intense rides and has been known to power ride El Toro on multiple occasions) so we decided we had to get her on the ride. I tried to get her to go with Brit but she insisted on giving my mom her ticket so she could use the Fast Pass and I could ride with her. The second ride was as awesome as the first and I’m happy to report that she loved it. I owe Brit big time for that one, lol. So anyway I know I’ve done a lot of gushing so far and while we had an amazing day and loved the park, there is something I need to say before giving my thoughts on the other rides. But first, a disclaimer… ====== Okay… so Disney Fanboys, Skip This ======== I’m not sure if this is a popular opinion or not and I was a bit surprised by it but Brit and I both felt the same way and didn’t mention it once until we got back to the hotel because we didn’t want to share it with the rest of the group. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, and some rides can and should get by on it forever. A few rides have also been updated to the point that they’re both loaded with nostalgia and would be excellent even if they opened today (Mansion, Splash, Big Thunder, Space and Pirates). Some rides though (actually a lot of rides) don’t seem like they’re even close to being on the same level. Maybe we had unreasonable expectations because we hold Disney on a pedestal, but as far as delivering consistently cutting edge, amazing attractions we both felt like Universal was not only beating Disney but they were utterly destroying them. When we went to Universal, there were some rides that were noticeably better than others but for the most part we felt like every ride was just home run after home run after home run. The only exceptions were Shrek which still wasn’t all that bad and E.T. but I was at peace with that because I loved it for being the one beacon of Nostalgia left at Universal. As I mentioned, I feel like some rides can and should get by on nostalgia forever and E.T. is one of them. To be fair we skipped Twister and Disaster because we heard they sucked but Universal already removed both of them. I feel like Disney is more than happy to let rides continue to run when they don’t live up to their standards whereas Universal would give them the axe immediately and overall that actually made us feel more “blown away” by Universal than Disney (and it’s not close). ============= Okay, it’s safe to come back ================= So first, I know I had mentioned that there are some rides that could get by on nostalgia forever even though they don’t hold up to modern standards. The ones that come to mind here are Carousel of Progress and It’s a Small World. We enjoyed them both for what they were. Disney got Carousel of Progress right, they presented it properly as a ride Walt loved and between the intro and the soundtrack “It’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” the ride is such an overwhelming nostalgia-gasm that guests probably don’t care at all that it’s dated. They understand that it’s a piece of history with a direct connection to Walt and despite the fact that it’s dated it’s still enjoyable. I loved it. It’s a Small World (unlike Carousel of Progress) also has a catchy song but this one happens to be rage inducing. Still, it’s fun for what it is. An old world’s fair ride that’s great for families. My mom loved the thing way too much, so much so that she wanted to make it our last ride of the night at 5 minutes to midnight before I pointed out how close we were to the Haunted Mansion and sanity finally prevailed. The ride’s not for me but I can appreciate it. I have a thing for 64 World’s Fair rides I guess (Great Adventure if you ever touch that Skyway I swear…) Since the Magic Kingdom doesn't serve alcohol, this statement takes bull*** to a whole new level. Okay, so now for some of the rides that I think need some work. I liked them all but they’re a MAJOR step down from the rides I’ve mentioned so far. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (This felt more like a Cedar Fair boo blasters level of theming than a Disney dark ride), Peter Pan’s Flight (and by the way, what’s the obsession with this thing? The lines for it were obscene all day), Jungle Cruise (this one might hit a nerve with Disney fans but we have actual safari rides now with real animals… one of which is at the same resort), Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid (great queue, mediocre ride. I can’t believe this is a modern attraction. Am I correct in saying that this is the first dark ride at the Magic Kingdom built from scratch after Universal opened Forbidden Journey? Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad ride but the 2 parks are not playing on the same level here. I didn’t expect forbidden Journey as this wasn’t the E-ticket, super hyped ride that that was but I expected better than this). Sorry for the negativity… as I said we had a great time and loved most of the rides but we were surprised to see these rides at the Magic Kingdom. Before I stop with the little bit of negativity though I have 2 attractions that I really want to highlight as being hilariously awful. Why do these exist? Why? The Enchanted Tiki Room: So it’s come to my attention that Disney fans have a hard-on for this thing. Really? I mean… really? I get it. It’s old, but it’s terrible. So terrible, like really, really terrible. I hated it with a passion and as I looked around the room I saw nothing but people questioning their life choices and bored kids that wanted to leave and ride something else. Nobody in the entire room seemed to be enjoying it. I don’t blame them. And last, and certainly, certainly least… Stitch’s Great Escape: I don’t feel that any further explanation is needed. I really don’t. Kill it, kill it with fire. Everyone hates this ride, right? Right????? If someone out there tries to argue with me and tell me this thing is good I’ll be shocked. …As I said though, with those 2 exceptions we enjoyed everything in the park (even if we did see a major fluctuation in quality). We stayed from open (I believe 9AM) to close at midnight and had a blast. We also saw a few shows. Country Bear Jamboree and Hall of Presidents were both cool. The theming throughout the park was top class (except maybe Tomorrowland which was good but a little dated) and we also took a spin on the Peoplemover which is really a marvel with the way it intertwines with everything in Tomorrowland. Just a few final thoughts… - The Staff was truly tremendous. Everyone we encountered (other than one obnoxious tram driver) was amazingly friendly. - One negative thing was the food. Maybe we weren’t looking in the right places but we thought of all the Orlando parks (except Fun Spot, though they have cheap beer) they had the weakest food offerings. We ended up at a pretty good fajita place in Frontierland but the options in Tomorrowland were terrible and they weren’t overly great on Main Street either. This is probably a point in the TR when a local is shaking their head thinking we should have rounded some corner and gone to some amazing place we didn’t see… who knows. Maybe our lack of preparation is partially to blame but we weren’t impressed. - The projection show was mind-blowingly good. I’m really glad we decided to stop and watch this. Nothing will make you sip the Disney Kool Aid like watching this show. - Most importantly we had a great day. Maybe our expectations were a bit high but we still loved the place. Would I make it a “must-do” whenever we visit Florida like Busch Gardens or Sea World? No. But we’re not the target market and if you haven’t been there you really need to go. It’s a great, great park. Thanks for a great day Disney! One more update to come from Florida: Sea World! And I promise there will be more pictures.lol

Jesus Christ... Pun intended

^^ End thread

Holy crap! A sunset picture that was actually taken at sunset! I'm impressed. If those Racer and Banshee pics above weren't in this thread I would have assumed they were taken at noon. Should someone post the definition of sunset? Here's a few I took @ SFOG last month. Jeezus...what's it take to get you people to not complain about anything? They're some great shots...my worst is still better than your best, maybe we should define great? Nobody's complaining, we're laughing because nobody knows what a sunset is. Have some fun, lighten up, it's Friday. lol

Yes

On that note... And I'm out

Everything is something to be sarcastic about. Also we were talking about this... Not Hurricane Katrina. Wtf?

At first I was in disbelief that someone bumped this almost a decade but that's actually a cool site that (in the case of Cedar Point at least) is very up-to-date. Where do they get that data? I mean obviously this one never needs to be updated because it's always right... But what about the rest?

I don't know about other states but in PA there's a rider safety act that makes it against the law to ignore the instructions of a ride op. So if the grouper says "You two need to ride together." guess what's going to happen. It's rare that Dorney would enforce such things though, considering there's 1 day a year where the crowds are heavy enough to warrant a "no empty seats" policy. Yeah If Dorney has a no empty seats policy they'd never dispatch another train between now and the end of time. That's totally reasonable on his part. Maybe the guy wanted to get a good onride photo of him and his kids and didn't want a stranger in the picture. Single riders should always ask first before sitting. It's the appropriate thing to do. Agreed

Your sarcasm detector is busted today.

I hope this won't affect any of the Cinnamon bread. I'd hate to see it get all soggy. ... I mean don't get me wrong I'd still eat it. A little flood water never hurt anyone.

I wouldn't go that far. I mean... Knoebels Dollywood I think they'll be alright At Knoebel's they'd call that a puddle.

He posted a list of the rides he's most excited about. I don't think the intention was to spark a stupid debate over what you think he "forgot" to include. If he was excited about it he wouldn't have "forgot" it.

You're 15, so I won't be too harsh but I'm just going to sit here and admire all the things that are wrong about this sentence for awhile.

It was still down for rehab last weekend and it didn't look close to being ready...train in pieces. ...that was how it looked when I was there back at the beginning of March. Have they done anything? Seriously. I'm wondering what the heck is going on with that ride. It's been down for most of 2016. It's June 2nd. I get it, it's frustrating but "Most of 2016" is a little unfair this early.

Opening with 2 trains is actually big news.

I'm loving that station. Thanks for the report Robb. Based on the layout I'm not surprised it rides like a standard B&M hyper but as you eluded to, that's really a great fit for this park.

El Toro is rightfully destroying the competition. I'm sure White Lightning will do the same. I agree, it would be cool to check on the others at some point though. Technically Fun Spot is a chain.

Don't think I ever posted this one... from 2015 Memorial Day Weekend at Cedar Point They see me Von Rollin' They hatin'

Good god...

They didn't run the lift but it looks like for those willing to hike there was June skiing despite one of the worst winters ever. I'm always entertained by the summer defying shenanigans at Killington. From June 1st: K Zone Forums

LE VAMPIRE... um I mean ERIPMAV EL