Electerik

Flashback at SFMM is probably my least favorite, objectively. But, if you factor in all the effort, money, and hype that went into building it, Son of Beast was shockingly terrible straight out of the gate.

Food is an important part of the theme park experience for me. I know a lot of people will go outside the park for lunch (my family sometimes used to do that when I was a kid). But as an adult, I wouldn't dream of it. Even if the park doesn't seem to have the best offerings, I consider it part of the overall experience, and I want to know what it's like. I tend to favor full-service restaurants (if available), both because they're usually not that more expensive (relatively speaking) and because I like the way it kind of gives me a relaxation break in my day. Anyway.... Favorite Theme Park Restaurant: Mythos at Islands of Adventure (although Epcot has the best overall collection of full-service restaurants, of course). Best Park Food Overall: Knott's Berry Farm (1st...unless CF has ruined that too...it's been a while), Holiday World (2nd), pretty much any Busch park (3rd).

Um...no. No, there's not a secret ride announcement thread where all of us A-listers get let in on what the parks are building before anyone else. Forget I mentioned it. I meant this thread: Carolina Cobra to Strike at Carowinds for 2009 But upon further review, I think I actually (jokingly) called you a fanboy in a different thread...so never mind. Or maybe it never happened at all. Crap, where's the "delete post" button??

Hey, that isn't from my comment back in the ride announcement thread, is it? We're still pals, right? Anyway, thanks for the photos. I, too, am curious to hear more about how the new trains are.

Okay, here's my evil plan: I'll take the most expensive ride I can think of, and then figure out how much I need to charge per ride to make a healthy profit on it while still keeping it properly maintained. I'm thinking this shouldn't turn out to be too outrageous a number, since I didn't have to pay to have the ride built in the first place. Expedition Everest, maybe? How does $3.00 a ride sound? Then, with the money I make from that, I'll build a refreshment stand.....

I consider SheiKra a top 10 coaster. I like Montu, but I would put Afterburn at Carowinds way above any other inverted. (I might even put Raptor ahead of Montu.) Kumba is just not my cup of tea. So, yeah, in my eyes, BGA/T has one great coaster, one good one, and a bunch of "meh." In any case, my tastes run more towards traditional thrills. So a park could have all 10 of the best B&M multiloopers in the world and still lose out to, say, Holiday World or Kennywood when my vote is cast. But I freely admit that I might be out of my mind.

I have kind of a weird relationship with Busch Gardens Tampa. Certainly, it’s a pretty park. And it has lots of individual attractions that I really like. So I always go back to it optimistically, wanting (and maybe even expecting) to love it. Yet I inevitably walk away with the impression that the park, as a whole, is just okay. Maybe it’s the fact that, outside of SheiKra, I’m just not knocked out by the park’s coaster lineup. Or maybe it’s that I always end up encountering some kind of seriously weird and/or bad employees/operational policies there. I don't know. All I know is that, for me, it can't hold a Yankee Candle to its sister park, Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Having said that, this visit was probably one of the most enjoyable I’ve had there. Possibly because I purposely focused on the things I already knew I liked, and didn’t worry too much about hitting every coaster. A train full of Montu riders wave goodbye with their sock-feet, bringing this trip report to a close. Thanks for reading, and drive safe. Montu Rules The Sand! I do like Montu, but not as much as the similarly laid out Top Gun/Afterburn at Carowinds. But the big attraction in Egypt is this thing. And it exits into the coolest looking gift shop ever. Tut's Tomb is a walk-though attraction. It's minor, but nice enough. And now off to the land of Egypt. The Crown Colony House is a full service restaurant with a view of the savannah. (And one of the few things BGT has over its sister park up north.) The jeep in the background is an upcharge type deal. I've never done it, but it looks interesting. More 'Edge of Africa' goodness. "Holy Hell, was that a lion?!" Some yummy humans. Presented in Super Hippo Vision. Edge of Africa is a large walk-through animal exhibit, and might very well be my favorite thing at BGT, outside of SheiKra. Hooray, we made it! Yeah, you can see the track. It's still really amazing, though, to see this jeep ride become a boat ride. I like Rhino Rally way better than Kilimanjaro--but only if the river section is working properly. Pardon me, a Rhino has interrupted my thought. Obviously, it is a bit like Kilimanjaro Safari's at DAK. Doesn't this look like a promotional photo from the 70's? :OP Rhino Rally is (arguably) the park's signature non-coaster attraction. "I AM YOUR LIZARD KING!" - "Hey, uh, watcha doin' there, Ralph?" There's something really disturbing to me about this setting. Timbuktu is kind of like BGT's "county fair" section. :OP How many rides can you see in this photo? (And does the Sky Ride cable count? :OP) I never did get all the Kumba love. I mean, it's okay. Kinda rough for a B&M, though. Uh-oh, the kid in yellow has spotted me. Congo River now has monkies in its queue. I'm pretty sure that's new, as well. Congo River Rapids, with Kumba peeking out from the bushes. I like this photo more than I like Kumba. Jungala offers several neat ways to view tigers, including an air conditioned option. More topiary. I like it. The semi-enclosed frog hopper. We didn't climb around much, as we were all wearing sandles. But it looked fun. Too easy. Jungala is part kiddy land, part animal exhibit, and actually pretty cool. Just a bit splashy. This is not going to end well. :OP And...going down. Going up. That's Jungala between us and Kumba. It's way better than we're making it look here. :OP The Tanganyika Tidal Wave used to be a slow Jungle Cruise-esque boat ride, apparently. Just some of the offerings at the Zambia Smokehouse. And I love my camera. :O) I still love the way SheiKra interacts with the area it's in. In all its "better than Griffon" glory. I'm not sure that the new "floorless" aspect really adds much. However, the seats are now stadium-style, which is nice. SheiKra's giant queue building. The best coaster in Florida, so far as I'm concerned. Pink chickens on stilts. (Yeah, I know that's a lame joke. I stole it from a Rhino Rally driver.) The Garden Cafe (formerly, the Hospitality House). Gwazi is almost as difficult to photograph as it is to ride. :OP We're ready. (And, um, dorky.) Only running one side (of course). I'm not even sure which one it was. The lion topiary out front is new (to me).

The policy for adults riding P-Flyers without a child has changed several times--so everything everyone here has said is right. Last I heard, adults could ride without a child, but it was actively discouraged by the employees (sometimes at the behest of management, and sometimes in contradiction of). Interesting thing about Universal Orlando is that the ride ops very seldom change rides, but management moves around constantly.

Great TR, with some very nice shots! (I especially liked the one of Mr. Freeze's station.) I agree that SeaWorld San Antonio is fun, but lacking. Shame about Shockwave; I'm rather fond of that one.

Thanks for this. I've never been, but Chessington is a park I'm fascinated by (even though it seldom gets rave reviews). Cheers.

Hooray! One last (short) set of photos to wrap up the day. Since Animal Kingdom closed at a rather early 5:00pm, we headed over to Downtown Disney to check out its new restaurant, T-Rex Cafe. "Chocolate Extinction" (Hey, come on, it was my birthday! :OP) We dined in the ice age room. I enjoyed it, but of course you're paying for the atmosphere more so than the food. It's rather like the Rainforest Cafe--maybe too much so. Misty representing.

I believe the turtles are located in Da Vinci's Garden of Inventions. Am I right? Oh, and that same dryer thing at Dollywood is only $3.00. You Viginies is gettin' robbed, son!

Yeah...it's a waterproof camera! Olympus Tough 6000 at Amazon.com You're too kind. Thank you. That had always kind of been my experience there, too. That's why I was keen on spending the whole day there (and SeaWorld, too). I guess that approach also made some of these Orlando parks a bit more "fresh" to me, even though I am pretty familiar with them all (having lived in O-town for a while). Thanks again for the kind words! (And for those keeping track, this park was actually visited the day before SeaWorld, so I was only halfway to figuring out the camera at this point. )

Happy to have helped. Thank you.

I didn't have much luck taking photos at "Base Station Wild Arctic" either. Aquarium settings are one of the toughest things to photograph anyway (in my opinion), as they combine darkness, water, glass, and movement. But then Wild Arctic throws in lots of white, which really gives my camera fits. Plus, there are lots of areas for the animals to "hide" in. Which might be necessary for their mental health, but does nothing for my ability to photograph them. Still, I'd be interested in seeing some of your other (non-Manta) shots, if you'd care to post a few.

Okay, I'm going to be kind of an ass here, so I apologize in advance. But it kind of sounds like you're saying that you agreed that the Chester & Hester theming was bad until Disney told you it wasn't. So, yes, there is a nice cheap story to back it all up. And, yes, it's very clever. And, yeah, I actually do kind of enjoy the area for what it is--and maybe ultimately that's all that really matters. But it's still weak. And if this kind of thing is relevant to you, I'm pretty sure that Walt would not approve.

I celebrated my birthday with friends and family at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Why? Well, partially because I thought it was a park that everyone involved would like. But also because I wanted to see if Expedition Everest and Yak & Yeti’s made it seem like more of a complete park to me. The short answer is: Yes, they do. And yet, the place is still a bit of a mixed bag, with some areas being chock full of amazing theming, while others are simply beyond lame. Still, the park has its charms, and I enjoyed spending my birthday here. But we can't end on that note. So let's get back to the park for one final shot of Animal Kingdom awesomeness! And, outside, a petting zoo. So, basically, the whole thing is an attempt to turn their backstage area into its own “land.” (Since, you know, they had to build it all anyway.) Inside, there's stuff like this. ...whatever the hell this is. Once off the Backstage Express, you walk along this uninteresting trail to.... Now, maybe it's just me. But I would think that a train ride at an animal park could be built in such a way as to look at some animals or something. And the final section of AK (not counting Camp Mini Mickey, because I don't) is Rafiki’s Planet Watch. And you have to take this train to get to it. "I saw that, Henry." "Hey baby. I've got a tree branch." The ride exits into the Pagani Forest Exploration Trail. Fake baby elephant. No, I'm not trying to be funny. The safari ride actually has one fake animal in it. I'm thinking the rhino has the right-of-way here. Lions. Sleeping. Here's a nice shot of my mom's watch. Looks pretty safari-ish. One of these ops on this "ride" told me that they can do 4500 people per hour when running full out. I don't have any reason to doubt her. After all, I passed three employees whose entire jobs seemed to be wrangling strollers. :OP Thoroughly wetted, we head for Kilimanjaro Safari. (And yes, Misty is wearing my button. I got sick of being wished a happy birthday by about noon. :OP) Kali is actually my second favorite rapids ever, behind Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges. And that's a drop. Good luck there, Steve. Kali is themed to hard-to-spot tiger likenesses and clear cutting. Yet is somehow still really cool. Uh oh, Little Boo doesn't look too happy. I don't know these people, but I'm going to call them Margie, Jessica, Little Boo, and Steve. Ride op geek out time: See that boat on the right? It sits in its own little cul de sac, unaffected by the rest of the ride, waiting for guests who need extra time for loading and unloading (due to disability, say), and it is the greatest thing ever. Kali River Rapids' queue. Monkey Island. And, uh-oh, my RapidsNerd sense is tingling! See? A tiger. The sign out front now feels entirely justified. I like this sign, but I have no idea why it's trying to rhyme. Good stuff. Pot stickers, fried rice, and shrimp lo mien. Matthias presents me with an appropriately nerdy birthday gift. :O) Time for lunch. I tend to favor full-service establishments when I'm at a park. I still can't believe that AK originally opened without one. Oh god, we're dorks. ...and this is where you come out. Where the track ends. One interesting thing about Animal Kingdom is how the horizon is slanted. I'm not sure how they did that, but it's pretty cool. The transfer track. I'm not sure why I like this picture, but I do. :OP The load and unload stations. I liked the ride much more this visit. Perhaps it's broken in some. Or maybe I'd just lowered my expectations. The queue. I had only been on the ride once, and my first impression was that it just kind of cruised around a lot. Everest beckons. So it's performers running around with fish puppets on sticks. At first, I thought I was supposed to ignore the performers, but then they would hand their fish off to someone else and burst into song. I'm not much of a show guy, but my friend Matthias anted me to see the awesome cool weirdness that is Nemo. TriceraTop Spin and the world's tackiest gift shop (but it's on purpose, so I guess that makes it okay). Yes, you're at Disney. It's still fun, though. Primeval Whirl is a standard spin mouse with a few whirligigs tacked onto it. I’ll be honest, if this area had been created by some poor, family run park to cover for the fact that they couldn’t afford to spend much theming, I’d probably congratulate them on it. But I don't know whether to be happy or sad for all the WDW-patrons who have no idea how much better Indy is. It's a good ride, for what it is. Heading right, we enter Dinoland and encounter the first of the park's big attractions, Dinosaur (formerly known as “Countdown To Extinction”). The Tree of Life is the park's icon, and houses the "It's Tough To Be A Bug" 4-D show beneath it. Looks pretty darned good from here. The birthday boy with my spoils (including free admission). The entrance sets a nice tone.

^ No rules beyond what I already laid out. You just have to get a Kraken train and something else cool that moves. You know, like a shark eating a penguin or something. In any case, it was just a silly thing for fun. So, remember, there are no prizes. I look forward to your TR in July. Oh, and I don't think there's a train here, but appreciate you working for me.

My first ever attempt at posting a video on TPR. Keep your fingers crossed. [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=Sky_Tower_dcc1[/coastertube]

Thanks, Larry. I'm a big fan of the park index, and I definitely take that as a compliment. (And I'm glad I finally figured out my camera. ) It is a beautiful park--the rival of BGE, even. And I think that, in the past, I've made the same mistake that many coaster enthusiasts do by treating it as just a place to pick up a credit or two. But there really is quite a bit more to do there.

During my four years in Orlando, SeaWorld was the one park I always felt I never spent enough time at. So on our most recent visit to that part of the world, I was determined to spend at least a full day there--and maybe even, you know, see some shows. Since Kraken is visible throughout much of the park, and since Misty and I both had cameras (and are both total dorks), a sort of contest quickly sprung up. The idea was to try to capture a Kraken train in the background of interesting photos of non-static things (say, a show or animal exhibit). Sounds easy, right? So who was victorious? Read on.... One last shot of the entrance as we depart. But now I offer you, gentle reader, the same challenge: Does anyone out there in TPR-land have a better "Kraken Challenge" photo? And it's a big fat WIN for Misty! Let's give her a round of applause! Remember the Kraken Challenge? Nice picture of the whale and trainer, but no train for Erik. There's a souvenir for a lucky fan. I recall that the SeaWorld used to emphasize how undeserved the name "killer whale" was. Now they're all about how it's the "top predator of the sea." Hmmm.... This is, though. Shamu! Shamu! These are not real killer whales. The Sky Tower from across the lake. AND a big statue out front! Dude, wake up! :OP See? Here are some likenesses of him in the gift shop. I wonder if this polar bear realizes what a big deal he's supposed to be...? It's got awesome SeaWorld Orlando exit theming, though. Wild Arctic. It's a Star Tours style motion simulator with a pilot even worse than Pee Wee Herman. Misty getting jazzy with it. Jazzy Jellies Ocean Commotion This one was much better than San Antonio's version. ...like the Shamu Express. Now it's full of awesome family rides. Shamu's Happy Harbor has changed a lot though, since I was last here. Apart from the beer no longer being free, this area doesn't seem very different. We didn't ride the paddle boats. Sure are purty, though. My favorite fish: the Leafy Sea Dragon. See it? It's right there! Underwater tunnel thingy at Shark Encounter. Who wants to feed some sand sharks? I forget what this was called, but it was awesome. [Edit: "Heavenly Delight Sun & Moon"] And now to satisfy my urge to eat someplace expensive, Shark's Underwater Grill. Lady, you're not a penguin. Penguins rule. Ever wondered what stingrays feel like? Well...they're furry. They seem nice enough down here. Misty doesn't like dolphins. Why? Because they're cocky. (Yeah, I don't get it, either.) Do not disturb the Kraken's eggs, as they have little eels in them. Close up shot! (With JTA in the background.) Weeee! I would call Kraken above average, for a B&M multi-looper. I prefer the Steel Eel, though. :O) Wait...what? Kraken has nice entrance and exit theming. That's not funny, Misty: Octopi are TERRIFYING. ...with cool stuff like this in it. The best gift shop ever. It has an aquarium in it. Mom leads the way to the gift shop. Secret coaster-part splash down. "Leaving so soon? I think not." The storyline isn't really apparent anymore, but it's still a fun ride. Maybe you have to have been a ride op at a Disney or Universal type park to really appreciate it, but JTA's loading dock is the greatest thing ever. There used to be a preshow video in the queue that kind of explained things. Misty had never been on JTA, so I busted out the sepia. My official entry in the Kraken Challenge! More sea lions at the Pacific Point Preserve. Note to self: Don't volunteer for shows at SeaWorld. "Clyde & Seymour Take Pirate Island" (And Kraken Challenge fail.) Let's go check out the Otter & Sea Lion Show! Nothing going on in Bayside Stadium today. Shamu Stadium Kraken doing its thing. Journey to Atlantis How do we get on that??? Let's see what this park has to offer.... Technically, it's an upcharge ($3.00 or so), but it was free with our BGE platinum passes. I was really excited to finally get to ride the Sky Tower. It had always been down on my previous visits. Pearl divers. It's really just an elaborate scheme to get you to buy pearls, but it's an artful one. An artistic shot of an art gallery type gift shop (by Misty). The Waterfront section is comprised mostly of shops and restaurants. Manta is shaping up nicely. Not quite ready for this visit, though. SeaWorld Orlando has my favorite entrance of any park, ever. Hooray, we're here!

^^ Yeah, aquariums are really tough: darkness, glass, water, and movement. It was more my SFOG photos that I was unhappy with. But not the ones I posted. I would have liked to have posted more, but most just weren't up to snuff. So perhaps instead of saying that my next one would be better, I should have said it will be longer. Anyway, thanks for all the kind words, everyone. I stick with small cameras that I can keep in my pocket. I know a lot of people that leave their cameras in the car, then go back and get them for a "photo taking tour," but I prefer spontaneity and the ability to keep my camera with me at all times. So I'll probably never upgrade to a DSLR. And no, I didn't get the slide credit. I'm too old, apparently.

How on Earth did you know that?? Anyway, yes. It's an Olympus Tough 6000. But some of the photos are from Misty's camera, which is a Pentax Optio W10. This was actually my first park with my new camera, and I honestly wasn't very happy with the results. By the end of the trip, though, I had the camera pretty much figured out, and now I'm very happy with it. I'm sure I'll have more trip reports up in the next couple weeks--and those will be better.

While in Atlanta, we checked out the Georgia Aquarium. I never used to be much interested in aquariums, but Misty really likes them. As a result, I've been visiting a lot more of them, and they're really starting to grow on me. I'm including these photos for anyone who might be interested. But be warned: the closet thing to a credit here is a slide. The exit gift shop. So far, this is the best aquarium I've been to. Thanks for anyone out there who's still with me. :O) I have no idea what these are. I mean, beyond fish. Hello...? Anybody out there? Here be the tropical fish. Jellyfish are from Mars. No fish served in the restaurant, but there was an impressive selection of desserts. The Georgia Aquarium actually has four whalesharks. See? I told you it was big. The world's largest fish, the whaleshark. Underwater tunnel fun. The entrance to the world's largest aquarium tank thingy (at the world's largest aquarium complex). Beluga Whales The alligators really seemed to like this little girl. Isn't that sweet? How many seahorses do you see? Kind of a boring fish, but I like the photo. The aquarium is arranged somewhat like a shopping mall. You are in your house (presumably). The entrance lobby. It's strikingly cool/elegant in person. Ticket booths. They also had a (temporary) Titanic exhibit and a 3-D show, both upcharges. An interesting challenge...I guess I could have just taken the stairs. :OP World's Largest Aquarium

Oh dear! What was I thinking?? Enjoy!