disneyfan1313

It's funny - up until we did the tour the other day I had only seen the coaster from the surrounding roads while it was under construction. It is a LOT more impressive up close and the level of theming really seems to be great. It also really is going to be impressive to see as you enter the park - it has great positioning and will be a focal point when you first walk in.

They have also already played the commercial during the pre-show which is going on now. I'm sure there are less viewers than during the peak airing during the superbowl tonight, so you have a better chance watching for the commercial now I would imagine. A few other important details - only one free ticket per household and when you enter you are also entered into the drawing for a free UO vacation that they will be giving 1 per day away of during February.

I wish kid shows were that insane/cool when I was a kid! Thats awesome!

So I saw this thread and got all pissed thinking you visited orlando without telling us... then I realized that you just suck at doing TR's in a timely manner We miss you Dave!

Great report, but I would like to see the alternate ending where your food taster dies of food poisoning...

Its actually "In the future, packages will be sent to distant worlds via beams of light." because of the prior FedEx sponsorship.

LOL - the gators, turtles and birds all seemed to get along together. The only option to feed critters with is hot dogs... the turtles didn't seem to be interested. They do have some very large Galapagos turtles as well that I didn't get a pic of. I love the injection mold machine (is it plastic or wax?) the wording and the graphics on the machine make it look like its from a worlds fair in the 60's and at 2 bucks a pop its a great deal!

More photos of reptiles? Sure! The back of the park is beautiful and natural with an overlook tower and lots of boardwalks (and more gators!) I will leave you with a photo of this sign at the facepainting booth.. Stay classy gatorland! They also have a really cute and well done water play area. This is a picture of the old train - the new train is a $2 upcharge and not really worth it unless you are a train enthusiast! You can't forget the GATOR WRESTLING show! They have these really cool molded plastic machines from the 60's - here is Stacey holding hers up to dry.. I finally convinced Stacey to try them.. Not her favorite thing They really are not too bad and they do taste like chicken! What visit to Gatorland is complete without trying some gator nuggets and gator ribs. They also have a close up scary creature show with things like tarantulas and snakes. Random cute photo time! Look Ma - I can ride this here gator!

Gatorland was offering a great price of 9.99 for Florida Residents for the past few weeks, so we decided to take advantage and visit one of the "Other" Orlando theme parks. Overall we had a great time and I would recommend it if you are looking for something different to do for a 1/2 day. They have improved the overall theming, shows and exhibits since I last visited about 8 years ago. They now have more of a cohesive "old florida" theme. Anyway... on to the photos! This crazy big bird was following Stacey and pecking at her since it realized she had hot dogs! The pretty flamingos stay away from the gators. Most of the birds have no fear of humans. We rode the train later in the day, but this is the old train tracks and station that used to go over the water! The gator jumparoo is the big show where raw chicken is dangled over the water and the gators jump out to grab it. It's very impressive! And I shall call him "Stumpy"! We had little luck throughout the park getting the big gators to eat the dogs - they tried but the birds got them first. You have to throw it right next to their eyes or they will not see it and one of these crazy birds will sweep down and eat it. One of the fun things you can do is buy hotdogs to feed the gators with. The also have parrots throughout the park and a lorikeet feeding exhibit. This is also the largest gator EVER. It is very scary and the only one in a full glass enclosure. There is also a "Snakes of Florida" exhibit that shows all of the poisonous snakes in Florida and how to recognize them. Gator Orgy! There are both water enclosures with gators throughout the park and also some natural habitats. OK - we have our map and our gatorland wristband... we are good to go! Signature Shot!

Wow. I am actually pretty shocked about this. I know a few people who keep up their annual passes just because of the beer samples. It will be interesting to see if it hurts them in the long run...

Add Us!!! Name: Stacey Town: DCA Friend Code: 1247-2337-2148 Fruit: Friggin Apple!

No - It's not pathetic, it is just a sign of our times. The economy caused many companies to pare down what they would show (think of the costs of shipping, set up, etc) since they knew money would not be flowing quite as freely from buyers. Think about it - with all the parks closing and all of the hardly used rides on sale why would you display new flat rides?

How about some more randomness! I will leave you with this picture of a game where you get fish to race by blowing at them with a straw... Seriously. OK - I officially feel old.. Its a game where all you do is see who can text fastest! OMG!! A NEW STACKER!!! They seriously had 20 different versions on display. Its every furries favorite game! Tap a toon! Very random game where if you hit the button at the right time the novelty sized ballon explodes! I think this might be the worlds largest sky ride gondola.. Kinda scary! Obligatory B&M Booth shot Very few flat rides to try this year.. but this one packed a punch! Why do these keep getting creepier every year!?!? Heres a shocker.. I'm getting my butt kicked in Guitar Hero by an actual rocker! Look its the Big A$$ Wheel!! Oh wait.. Big Bass... nevermind.. Alright.. I guess I will throw in a picture of a coaster... ITS PLINKO!!!!! According to Stacey it feels like pins and needles as the fish eat the dead skin! It's only the coolest thing ever.. a Fish Pedicure from Japan! You might wonder... What is Dr. Fish... This game is called Pop the Bubble not Punch the Squirrel! Let me put on my shocked face! Look at the size of the girl next to Stacey.... REALLY?!?!?!

Figured I would tag along on this thread to show the photos that Stacey and I got today. The event really had a different feel than in the past few years - fewer freebees, more info about used rides and many of the big companies had much smaller booths. I think the good thing about this is there were many smaller companies that might not have been able to fit in a few years ago... Since John covered the big stuff so well, we decided to take a look at some of the more random stuff! On to the pics! Inflatable, Inflatable, Wooly Mammoth, Inflatable... WTF?!? Name the attraction! "Why do you keep making me pose next to things which creep me out!?!" Micro Bowling Alleys were also very popular, I have never seen one in real life though! Lots of vendors showing climbing setups this year. Ecotourism keeps getting popular! All I have to say is "Weird Slurping Noises". The lesser known theme of this year is "Creepy Kostumes!" Soon to be seen at a Halloween event near you! Yeah Baby.. My degree is in Tentology.... Sweet! Inflatable Rock-em Sock-em Robots! Does anyone else see the irony in a giant WALL-E inflatable made out of plastic?

How cool is that! I can't believe there is a newly found credit out there. Thanks for the great TR.

So I went the first regular night and I thought I would post my thoughts. As a bit of backround - I have been to almost every HHN since the first and almost always go a few times a year. Also - as everyone will tell you.. BUY THE EXPRESS PASS! Unless you have the luxury of going as many times as you want with the frequent fear pass, you need to get the express pass to see everything. Otherwise it just won't be possible. Overall - Kinda a weak year, which makes me a bit sad. It seemed someone said "WE NEED MORE OF EVERYTHING!", but just like wal-mart... more is not always better. Bill and Ted - I look forward to this every year and I always try to find the good in it. Some years the comedy is weak, but the dance numbers are great. Other years it has lots of fun characters and one liners but a horribly weak story. Unfortunatly this year suffered from the "MORE" attitude. It seemed as if they tried to stuff as many characters as possible into the show, but not much thought went into anything else. It looked like they wanted a huge hellboy tie in (even for some bizarre reason changing the title of the show), but only had him in for 2 short scenes. It was interesting to hear that most others shared my opinion as I was leaving. Brian Brushwood - Wow! What a fun, 30 minute magic show. A pleasant surprise that was the perfect pace and attitude for HHN. Don't miss it and its short length make it easy to fit in between other things. Scare Zones - Atmospherically it seemed as if a lot of money w scaresly as put into the props and sets, but they were all rather scaresly populated. It does not do much good to have more scare zones if there are few scareactors to scare. The best for scares was American Gothic which had an odd civil war theme but a small area to fit the scares into. The skoolhouse was beautiful with all the pumpkins but wide open so hardly any scares to be had. Houses in order from best to worse - I didn't get a chance to do Body Collectors or Interstellar terror yet. Scary Tales - This was built in a new building behind barney (much like the small building that was built for HHN in ioa). It had the right mix of parody, scares and beautiful sets to keep me interested. Creatures! - All houses should really be in soundstages... there is just so much more you can do. Fun sets but some cheesy plastic creatures. A few good scares. The Hallow - Had an old time Halloween and gothic feel that was very dark. Unfortunatly was in one of the tents behind BTTF so it was very short and limited in what they could do. Dead Exposure - Glow in the dark zombies? Really? Kind of fun though with the blacklight strobes and a few gags/scares I don't want to give away. Also located in a tent so way to short. Reflections of Fear - Why wont they learn and stop putting houses in the Jaws queue - they are consistently the worst houses around. Not even remotely scary with way to much noise and light leak even after dark. Really didn't even bother to try and tell the bloody mary story. Doomsday - "Based on the Hit Universal Studios move" Oh .. wait... you didn't hear about it either? It felt like the cobbled together alll the sets and characters they had left over and pretended it had something to do with a movie that no one had seen. LAME. Even though it was a bit of a mediocre year - it is still the best halloween event out there and I cant wait to go back again!

Thank you guys so much for taking the time to post these every few days. I'm sure its the last thing you want to do after your crazy days, but they are so fun to read!!

Wow! Upstop wheels catching you = bad. It's great to see all the cool random stuff!

I'm really looking forward to reading this report! Have fun and be safe!!

Stacey and I only got to be there for Coney, Lake Compounce and part of Rye but what a great time! The trips are so well done and organized and it really looked like everyone was having an amazing time. It makes me hope that we eventually can do a full trip - I'm sure it will exceed our expectations... BIG TIME.

OMG - that trip report was filled with so much goodness! I really do think you need to start an "American Chairlift Enthusiasts" club if only to piss ACE off.

It is interesting - after reading others comments and looking back through our photos, I think to a certain extent we were caught up in the hype and excitement of the new park. There really is not much to do which is a huge issue, it feels like it is hemorrhaging money which is going to stop/slow any future expansion which it needs to keep alive. I honestly keep coming back to the same thing that first entered my mind when I walked in - what demographic in the area are they trying to capture?! The area seems *very* religious which goes against the hard rock image - most Myrtle Beach tourists seem to be from the south and not international / big city. Time will tell I suppose! Misc Thoughts - Led Zeppelin - I didn't notice the roughness, but to me a pretty pleasant surprise. I really enjoy sit down B&M's so I am sure that had something to do with my enjoyment. The preshow is silly and designed by someone without a thought of how regional theme parks operate. If you have no interest in Led Zeppelin the pre show is borderline painful and if you want to have multiple rides....groan. The capacity issues that it will cause as well are huge, unless the preshow and load areas are working in sync your either going to be holding trains or starving load, neither of which is good. I would bet within a year the preshow is shortened, you are given an option to watch or not or the doors are just left open. Food - The food was of "six flags quality", but the prices were a bit silly. Having food and drinks priced higher than universal / six flags, etc will just cause people to leave the park. I guess they are relying on annual passholders getting a discount for most of their volume. Nights in White Satin - I like this ride because it is insane it ever got built. It appeals to such a small spectrum of the world and is insanely high on the kitsch factor. It's unique and thats why I enjoyed it so much. Staff - The park was horribly overstaffed, but also seemed to be of two camps - Really great levels of service or laughably bad "I'm emo and ignoring you on purpose". They need to trim a little and level out the quality of their staff. Hard Rock Cafe has shown there is a way to be different and have piercings but still provide quality service. Just some thoughts... Joe - Turner Field was the worst MLB ballpark experience I have ever had. We literally got yelled at by everyone from the parking to food, got missinformation or "I don't know" from everyone we asked a question of, and then got separated as we left because they decided to close off the main exit before everyone had left. Transcript of Conversation - Me - "My wife is in the big gift shop at the main entrance" Security - "Its closed - she ain't in there" Me - "I just left her there 3 minutes ago - the store says its open 1 hour after the game and its only been 30 minutes" Security - "She ain't in there" Me - "Look - I can see her - shes waving from inside - see her blonde hair" Security - "If you go down there i'm calling the police" Me - Sigh.

The rest! Plus some other random stuff we did in ATL. Thanks for reading! Please go to Hard Rock Park or Stacey will have to eat this whole pickle! We also did Stone Mountain park which had a fun cable car ride, train ride, and very cheezy 4-D movie. Amazing burgers and the restaurant looks like this inside - how can you go wrong! We ate in a cool burger joint called "The Vortex" Anyplace you walk through a giant skull is OK with me! The next day we went to a braves game in ATL - Turner Field SUCKED but thats another story. There fireworks show was done to Bohemian Rhapsody and was like a mini illuminations with a guitar instead of a globe! The park is nicely lit at night and Led Zeppelin is more fun when its cooler! Back at the park and we want some candy! Because of the crappy food in the park we drove about 5 miles away to the Hard Rock Cafe for Myrtle Beach. Nothing says rock like a pyramid! Awwww! Kinda a generic out and back woodie with some great views in a scary park. Stacey is THIS many tickets tall! We actually went to go ride the Swamp Fox - the 8th best wooden coaster in the USA? In what year? WTF!?! We decided to take a break and go TO THE FORUM! Oh wait - thats rock and roller coaster! You know a park is classy when they sell Pink guns next to John Deere hats!

OMG - There is more! The one real disappointment was the Eagles ride. VERY rough and didn't go with the music at all! Roller Soakers suck when they bang as they roll and don't soak anything. Meh. Generic and lightly themed Roller Skater. It was at this point I realized that led zeppelin cracked the crystal on my watch... Cry. Food choices suck. This was $6 mac and cheese after 1 bite. There isn't even a hard rock cafe! They also have one of those shoot foam balls and get pummeled by them kid things. Its fun to get hit in the face with balls! Saddest arcade ever! The best part is trying to load, walk, unload all while they encourage you to wear the "3-D" glasses in the pitch dark. We rode it 8 times over the day. Pictures cant do it justice but it is the most trippy insane thing ever. I can't believe it ever got built. It is seriously worth $60 alone! This is the best dark ride ever. Whatever you do - DO NOT RUIN IT by watching any videos beforehand. Just take the trip.... Crazy rock dog is not nearly as creepy as crazy rock bear! WORST. STUNT SHOW. EVER. Quote overheard leaving the theater - "That was so bad even my 16 year old would hate it". Hmm - Good thing we arrived early - unfortunatly the theater only got about 10 more people in it before show time. AHHH! CRAZY ROCK BEAR IS GOING TO ATTACK ME! Oh wow - a recreation of the Shakespears Globe theater! I bet there is a top quality show inside! Yeah - whatever.. Its an MG! This was my first car - not with the union jack of course Stupid closed ride.

Stacey and I realized recently how life has a funny way of distracting you from your hobbies - we decided to try and break our rut by going on a road trip to Myrtle Beach and the new Hard Rock Park. We planned this trip for the first weekend after its grand opening celebration, which we thought might be a bit of a risky move..its gonna be crowded opening weekend.. right?.... right?!?!?! It actually turned out to be fun park that was really, really, REALLY dead. I don't know where this park is going to get its guests from, Myrtle Beach feels alot like Daytona and the folks that were milling around the "strip" area did not seem like the types to pay $60 for a theme park ticket. The day after we went they announced some ticket discounts - I guess they started to realize it as well. This is a fun and well thought out park that could use a few more rides and attractions and a slightly lower price point. But really - it was worth the 6 hour drive to ride the most amazing dark ride in the world... but anyways.. on to the pictures! Around the Round-a-bout! Creative name for a quick serve restaurant - you saw these touches all over the park. Jolly, Jolly, Jolly! Look where we are! Its the area of stuff that was supposed to be open by grand opening. Stupid MaxRPM started testing 2 days after we were there. Coaster Porn! What a cool quote! They even themed the power boxes around the park. There is a really cool water feature out front that you can play "Stairway to Heaven" on. Lots of nice touches like that around the park. Your in a zeppelin! Get it!? The one disappointment is the music doesn't go with the ride..its just kinda there. Its going to kill capacity when it gets busy - the guests were very confused and so were the operators Words can not describe how bizarre their loading process is - they have a cheezy preshow and you have to stay on a confusing grid of numbers. Hmmm.. This is a bit of a long wait..... Led Zeplin the ride was actually very fun - I miss traditional sit down B&M's. They *really* need a water ride at this park. This is their slightly themed water play area. They have different themed lands which all represent different music styles. It works very well and I hope they stick with it. This "signature shot" will be in every photo TR of this park....trust me. The park is very well themed although parts did feel a bit cookie cutter - this is their "Main Street" area. These boxes were VERY slow in selling me my tickets! Not everything was ready by opening day, including the automated ticket booths! uh - where are the lines to buy tickets?! Good thing the park is open until 1 am! Opening weekend at 1pm and less than 100 cars in the parking lot... Hmmmmm. Advertising was pretty heavy on the drive from Charleston - they really are relying on the local market - there was nothing on 95.