coasterbill

So I have a question about the Universal Express pass and the 2 park ticket. We're going to Orlando in February and it will be our first visit to Universal. We only have one day. My first thought was to just go to IOA but now I'm thinking about getting the 2 park pass and the 2 park Universal Express pass because even though we'd like to spend most of the day at IOA I'd really like to check out Mummy and Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit (plus maybe a few other things if we have time). My question is is it reasonable to do all of this in one day or should we just stick with IOA? We'll probably go on a Saturday since the parks will be open from 9 to 9 and since we'll have the express pass anyway so I would think crowds wouldn't be so much of an issue (let me know if this is a stupid idea). I really don't know much about this park so all the advice I can get would be appreciated. I don't want to rush through it since I know the theming is amazing and I'd like to take some time to enjoy it but since we only have one day rushing is kind of inevitable. Also, besides the coasters is there anything at Universal Studios that we absolutely need to do (that's worth taking some time away from IOA)?

I'm not expecting much from this but you never know. Yes, and they're still working on it. It was originally going to be called Xanadu but now it's "American Dream". It's been under construction for years and according to Governor Christie it's the "ugliest building in New Jersey, and possibly America". Link. I have no idea what the situation is with this building but the project is now over 10 years old and all we have is a shell of the ugliest building in America with nothing inside which is going to be really embarrassing when the Super Bowl is played next door to it later this winter.

Ghostrider Mean Streak Wildcat (Hershey)

Going with rides that were new to me in 2013... 1) Maverick 2) Tatsu 3) Gatekeeper 4) Mystery Mine 5) Thunderhead

I agree completely but couldn't resist daydreaming about ridiculous coaster concepts that will never happen Welcome to TPR!

I like the direction the park has gone where they seem to be focusing on quality rides rather than rides that are designed specifically to break records. It's only a matter of time before someone builds a coaster with a 500 foot drop, but I doubt it will be Cedar Point. The most likely coaster type to do this is clearly an Intamin rocket coaster but since Cedar Point already has Dragster they would need to get more creative if they ever wanted to break this record without building something incredibly redundant (plus, their maintenance team would go on strike if they built another rocket coaster). Like I said I don't see Cedar Point going for this record, but if they really wanted to I wonder if they could do it with a B&M Dive coaster. What I'm picturing is a coaster with a 500 foot dive that basically does very little else (much like Krake, Oblivion or Diving Machine G5 but on a much larger scale). This is really more of a fantasy concept than something I ever see being built but I wonder if it's possible without being so expensive that it could never be justified.

I like the one's at CP, but the last time we played games there, half of them either weren't working or they just gobbled up your quarters without actually letting you play the game. I felt bad having to go to the attendant every ten minutes when the machines would malfunction. I love that huge arcade at Cedar Point, their collection of pinball machines is really impressive.

Knoebels doesn't really need anything right now but I'd love to see them add a moderately sized Starflyer. I think that would be really popular at Knoebels. I've thought about Laser too but more as a pipe dream than anything they'd actually do. Then again they just built a Flying Turns coaster so I wouldn't put anything past them.

Mean Streak is really the only one. Mantis always has a long line, Corkscrew is still pretty popular and there's really nothing wrong with Cedar Creek mine ride. It's a decent family coaster and Cedar Point needs family coasters. The height requirement is an issue though. Just because enthusiasts don't like a coaster doesn't mean it should be torn down. All you need to do is look at the lines for rides like Mantis, Iron Dragon and even Corkscrew which puts up impressive ridership numbers to see that a lot of people still enjoy them. Mean Streak never really has a line ad while it puts up decent numbers it's not even close to what it could do with a RMC treatment.

To be completely honest, this is probably the best ride in the park after maybe the Old Mill, so I'm very happy to hear this.

It looks like you had a lot of fun. I'm glad I finally got to Knotts this year. I need to go back and check out the refurbished log flume.

lol I'm so jealous of people that live near year-round parks.

We're more interested in when the park will open than when the new drop tower will open. I think it's going to be late June before that thing opens and I wouldn't be surprised to see Ka closed too but as long as the park is open and I can ride El Toro I'll be happy.

We rode Thunderhead less than a month ago in the front and in the back and it was running great. I wouldn't consider it rough at all. Maybe you either caught it on a bad day or they've done some work to it since you rode it but make sure you give it another chance because it's an awesome ride.

Some of my favorite theme park jokes are the ones that the parks themselves come up with. It's nice to know they're able to laugh at themselves sometimes (I'm assuming that has to be what's going on here). This sign that used to be on Mean Streak And this sign at Six Flags America.

I think that's a great idea for Great Escape. I don't even want to think about what wait times will be like though since they'll probably find a way to run one car on it at all times.

Lakemont needs to be put out of it's misery. Other than Leap the Dips and Skyliner that whole park can be bulldozed, I couldn't believe what a dump it was. I expected nothing from Del Grossos but was pleasantly suprised by how neat and clean the place is and by it's popularity. Every ride had a decent sized line even though the weather was questionable. Del Grossos is a great little family park.

I hate stand-up coasters but they all seem to be very popular. I've ridden Vortex at Carowinds, Riddler's Revenge, Apocalypse, Mantis, Green Lantern and Shockwave at KD and I hate them all... Shockwave might be my favorite just because it's over quickly and really doesn't hurt until you get to the helix (after that it's horrible but the ride is almost over at that point). These coasters kill my legs and I found them all to be headbangers. I think Green Lantern is my least favorite, it's one of the longer standups and it's really rough. All of this being said, it's hard to deny that they're really popular rides and have maintained their popularity for a long time. People just love the idea of standing up on a roller coaster.

My favorite would be Adventure Express... least favorite has to be Traiblazer. They weren't even trying when they built that ride.

I didn't even notice that... I wonder why they decided to actually light the tower for a change. They used to have really cool lights like the ones on Goliath and now they never light it up at all.

When I rode Apocalypse for the first time this February I thought it was great. It was easily the best coaster in the park after Tatsu and Batman (X2 sucks, sorry). I rode it in the back and actually got a nice pop of air in the back row on the first drop. I'm really disappointed to hear that it's become so rough, it was really a great ride.

I feel like there is a contradiction here. If they have Iron Dragon then they aren't lacking it. They also have Gemini, Blue Streak, Mine Ride. How many more starters do you need? Should they add a few more kiddie coasters like MM? That seems a little redundant to me. I like Iron Dragon and hope it doesn't go anywhere, I just don't understand the point that was trying to be made in that post. I would argue that Gemeni (which was once the tallest coaster in the world) and Blue Streak aren't starter coasters. They might be at Cedar Point but even though they're not the tallest and fastest coasters in the park they're full size coasters and they'll scare a lot of people who are nervous about riding coasters.

Yes, you do. It really re-writes the rules of airtime (at least in the USA), coasters I used to think had amazing ejector air (like Bizarro at SFNE) got put in their place by El Toro. Ride it in the back car... as soon as you start going down the first drop (the whole thing is sustained ejector airtime) you'll know you'll never think about airtime the same way again. The ride starts out amazing with 3 consecutive moments of insane airtime and then has the best finale I can think of. There's a moment of airtime that comes out of nowhere and is probably illegal in 49 states followed by some ground hugging turns taken at ridiculous speeds with really fast changes in direction. The ride is flat out nuts. That's why I don't understand the Boulder Dash people... I love Boulder Dash but you've got to be kidding me if you think it's better than El Toro. When you say "I need to save some money and make a trip to New Jersey!!" I hope you really mean it. Seriously, start saving up... it's so worth it.

Has anyone seen the line for Iron Dragon? The ride is extremely popular and I really don't see why they'd remove it. I wish they'd put that 3rd train back on though... it could use it. I agree with Robb, Cedar Point should keep this ride around, it's a fun family coaster and the park needs some family coasters.