ginzo

This doesn't take a genius to figure out. China is the world's third largest economy by individual country. First and second place are the US and Japan respectively, which already have multiple successful Disney parks. Sure you've got HKDL already, but it's not convenient for a great deal of the Chinese. Also, China is huge.

To be fair, there probably is some sort of DSM-IV disorder associated with people who have traveled to Santa Claus, Gothenburg, and Jackson just to ride roller coasters.

This is a very good update! Thanks!

Although this does sound a bit harsh, Shanghai Disney must now be the envy of nearly every park in the world. How many parks get to take care of their problems with neighbors by forcing them to move? Don't like the noise from the rides? OK, we'll just bulldoze your house!

^"I wouldn't say I've been missing it, Bob."

It would be nice if this poll had every B&M and every Intamin mega coaster. With all the stuff built in the last few years, is there anyone that has even been on them all? I think even R&E might be missing one.

Yes, being delusional is a totally admirable trait. Not to mention being incredibly dishonest in your business dealings.

^^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gav8YvXPQWY

I'm sorry! It was definitely a strange day all around. Some parent had her kid line jump us for the kiddie coaster because we "weren't allowed to go on it". Immediately after that, we got right on the ride and the operators just smiled at us.

You might want to run those numbers again.

My favorite part of that day was when some line cutter almost started a brawl with SteveC in the Thundercoaster queue. She was convinced that it was her God-given right to waddle her fat ass out of queue, purchase a chocolate-covered waffle, then cut most of the line to reclaim her former place in line. SteveC was not as convinced of this.

But it was Voyage that got them to the 1 million guests mark. Even with Voyage, I don't view HW as a must-visit-every-year park. I tend to re-visit places when they add something new. There are too many places that I haven't visited at all yet to be going to the same places over and over.

I really hope this goes through. I went to Coney for the first time back in August. The place just screams of needing some love.

^ & ^^I love Bandit because of the on-ride videos.

^What do you mean when you say that SOB has potential?

^^I would have ranked it higher but those third row rides were so brutal. It was like hiring Kimbo Slice to bash your quads with a metal bar. However, it was easily the most extreme woodie I've been on. More extreme than the Coney Island Cyclone even.

^They did do a test run on Raven. So, they're not completely stabbing in the dark here.

Voted. Here's what I came up with for my top 10: 1) Balder - Liseberg 2) Tele2 Insane - Gröna Lund (My Favorite Steel) 3) Boulder Dash - Lake Compounce 4) Phoenix - Knoebel's 5) El Toro - Six Flags Great Adventure 6) Colossos - Heide Park 7) Ravine Flyer II - Waldameer 8) Avalanche - Timber Falls 9) Cornball Express - Indiana Beach 10) Raven - Holiday World

Wow, I thought that Brussels was in Wallonia because basically everyone there spoke French. This is all pretty dicey for us Americans as the concept of various regions of the same country speaking different languages is "foreign" to us. The main example we're familiar with is the locals speaking French in Quebec.

If only that were true, since The Bat was probably a lot closer to Eagle Fortress than Iron Dragon.

After we left Bruges, we took a series of trains to Amsterdam. We had some problems with this because it turned out to be a holiday, Ascension Day. We had no idea that reservations would be required on this day to get a seat on one of the trains. Oh well, they let us ride in the boarding area of the train. Not comfortable, but at least we got there. I don't know what "ladies parking" means in Amsterdam. If you do, email Dan (mrt0ad@aol.com)! A carriage awaits to take you to your airport hotel. Damn good question! Does anyone here have the Lichtenstein country credit? Amsterdam Centraal train station. I made a serious error in booking a hotel out by the airport. Sure I got a great price, but staying 30 minutes away from the city is not a good idea. Pay the extra money to stay in the city center! Back to the canals! Inside a coffee shop. I only enjoyed a soda there. Seriously. Another canal shot. Just one more reason to love this place. I took seemingly thousands of pictures of the canals. The town is full of interesting shops like this. And here we are in Amsterdam.

If you do make it to Bruges, definitely try to stay in the B&B we stayed in: http://www.b-bverhulst.com/ It's not the cheapest place, but it's really good. The owners are dedicated to making sure you have a good time in their city. I still need to check out Antwerp. It seems to be more popular among Dutch tourists than international ones.

Here is my second set of photos from Bruges. Craptacular shot of the main square of Bruges. All that seating was set up because they were going to bring Jesus's "blood" out the following day and parade it around the main square. But at least we got a nice view from the top of the bell tower, not a heart attack like the fat American did in "In Bruges". The definition of sucker: Paying 8 euros to climb 366 very steep stairs. The true Bruges experience: drinking alcohol at noon. This is a pretty tasty local brew. Canal during the day.

^There's no gate and they have a large picnic area.

^In my experience, they would run three trains, but there was a fair amount of stacking.