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Paul_Hollibone

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  • Birthday 08/27/1988

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  1. Hi Chuck. Nice first day you guys had! I'll be reading this one very closely.
  2. Hi Everyone. Paul here from Australia with a Photo Trip Report of Corin Forest. Corin Forest http://www.corin.com.au/ http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Corin+Forest&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=40.409448,68.90625&ie=UTF8&hq=Corin+Forest&hnear=&radius=15000&ll=-35.515077,148.92118&spn=0.005083,0.008411&t=h&z=17&iwloc=B Corin Forest is a small, national park recreation area, located in the Namadgi National Park, located in South Canberra, the National Capital of Australia. The park is actually very close to the NASA space tracking centre, which assisted in the Apollo 11 mission. The recreation area originally contained just a Flying Fox, Snow Making facilities for the Winter, and a Toboggan Alpine Slide. The area was however ravaged during the famous 2003 Canberra Bush-Fires, with the business not really being the same since. The park’s website shows just some of the devastation back in 2003 - http://www.corin.com.au/fires.htm Post the 2003 fires, a Waterslide has been installed, the forestry has re-grown, and the Bobsled Alpine Slide rebuilt. I have lived in Canberra for 11 years now, but have never been to ride the Bobsled Alpine Slide, so thought it was time to visit, have a Picnic lunch etc. There are several POV video’s already out there on Youtube, so I decided instead of filming my own, I’d just link to a already made video. The Slide itself is reportedly Australia's steepest Alpine/Bobsled ride. Anyway, onto the pictures! Welcome to Corin Forest! This here is what we are here for! But First, lets take a look around. The waterslide was added post the 2003 Bushfires which ravaged the area. The ride was not purchased new, or installed as the complete ride, there are several slide pieces sitting across the road to the park. A Helix down before running into the chute. This is the only waterslide or water attraction in the park. The view from uptop. The other side. As you can see, the slide is running in the extremely Dan Friendly mode today... Thats enough of this Waterslide, lets go seek some Bobsled/ Alpine Slide Action! The slide is somewhat separate to the main "park", requiring a walk up for what some would consider difficult terrain to get to. Whilst it's not shown, there is a very steep and rocky hill to get to this point. Follow the Arrow! At last, we made it. This whole area was ravaged by Bush Fire in 2003. With the area not having fully recovered. There were several fire damaged lights along the course which serve as a reminder of what happened here. The ride is 1.2km (0.745645mi) in length, through a dense forest, down the steepest slope for an attraction of it's kind in Australia. The ride up is long, but peaceful. For you lift motor enthusiasts! Almost at the top... We're Hiiiigh UP! Nothing beats the sound of the bobsled going over the metal track! Metal track in my opinion is greater than the Concrete type. The final turn and observation deck. And back into the station. Overall, a great day out had by all. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the report of this little hidden gem of Australia.
  3. I've always loved our parks, I have never understood why people seem to bitch about them so much. Real Question of the day though Robb, how does our McDonalds compare to the US McDonalds? Thoughts?
  4. *Fyshwick Downunder. There was a time when we were also the only place In Australia where non-controlled Fireworks were legal. We also had a firework museum at one stage. Alas though, neither of these is anymore.
  5. When on the Giant Drop, one of the Best sensations (which you guys probably didn't get to experience) is when the Tower of Terror is launched whilst your are still ascending the tower. As the Tower of Terror pod hits that tower, you get a pretty shaken up experience which no other Drop ride can deliver. It's even better if your creeping the final few meters of the tower, waiting for the drop when it happens. On your first ride on it, it is a very "WTF" experience which I have come to hope for every visit now. It is Un-real!
  6. Nice TR Dave, it's always interesting to hear outsiders opinions to our parks. It's a shame you had a bad run at Dreamworld, personally (and I know a few people with similar views) it is the better park in the country when all things are taken into consideration. Your photo's of Sydney Harbour were also very refreshing, i'm glad to see you had a great time in this fair country.
  7. Dreamworld have been working on this project since early March, it's just that the ride is only just closing full time for the final pieces of the puzzle.
  8. In Australia atleast, It's not just turning the pod around, it's going to be a brand new pod. It's also interesting to note that the article quoted a page back mentions the Pod Launching at 161km/h which is just over 100mp/h, if I understand correctly, the current operating speed of the ride has been around 155km/h.
  9. Just on Superman, in Australia, Superman's Cousin the Tower of Terror is currently understandably going through a major ride overhaul, with reportedly a new Pod and launching system reconfigurations as just the tip of the iceberg. Is it reasonable to think that Superman is receiving similar treatment?
  10. Sweet photo's Divv. It's interesting what you say about the SLC and the extra Helix, ours in Oz is much the same, rough coaster (as is any SLC) except for that extra helix, which is the smoothest part of the ride, bar coming out of the loop itself.
  11. Oh Wonderland, how I miss that place. It's funny, I remember once having that park map/ guide with Barney and Fred on the Space Probe, but when I wasn't able to actually locate the map, I just put myself down as crazy. It's nice to confirm that I am not crazy and a map with this design actually existed. Thanks Elissa for posting it.
  12. Universal was great, but I am with Bas, I also missed out on a few said attractions, but it was mostly by choice. I missed out on Backdraft (I was at the time thinking "What is this Backdraft crap?"), Shrek (already seen it, wanted to use the time attending attractions I hadn't seen/ ridden), Creature from the Black Lagoon, Waterworld and T2. It was a great day though, the park did seem a little busy, but a good day none-the-less.
  13. I think the thing that amazed most about this park was that it is managed by Cedar Fair. Still a great park though, i'd love to revisit if I come back, it's a real good family park, however its location could cause some problems, due to the fact that it's isolated from the LA and San Fran area, and I have yet to be able to find any bus tours or any tour (apart from last years TPR Tour) from any area to this park, which rules us out revisiting again. I'll be damned if I drive on the wrong side of the road, since it is the wrong side of the road afterall. Great parks though and nice updates. Thanks again Robb, looking forward to the next reports on the list, you guys do an amazing job. And no, I am not trying to kiss everyone's arse, credit where credit is due, Robb and Elissa do a great job managing this site among other TPR stuff let alone their personal stuff. Thanks guys.
  14. Well it’s been 8 Months since the Theme Park Review West Coast Trip ended (really, seems like it was only last week) so I figured it’s time to bring this Trip Report home. So without Further Ado, it’s time for the Disneyland Resort Portion of the trip, the trip closer and the Aftermath. Disneyland Resort Even with all the great parks that we visited on this trip, all the great locations I visited, and all the great rides I rode, there was still one part of the trip that I was eagerly anticipating. Disneyland has been a place I have been wanting to visit for many years now, and reading up about Walt Disney himself only made the wait till the visit that so much longer. By the time we had got to the Disneyland portion of the trip, I had already had the opportunity to experience the Disneyland Resort twice, however both were only short evening experiences, and even then I was totally blown away by the experience, so you can imagine just how blown away I was by the park in a full day visit (there were about 7 whole days in the park that I had). I was simply just amazed by the small details in the park, and the amount of legacy left behind by Walt himself. Sure, the park isn’t as it was in 1955, nor is it the same park of 1966 when Walt passed away, and yes the park is certainly far from perfect, but it’s pretty darn close. I will say that the only thing which I was disappointed with at the park was Tomorrowland, sure it wasn’t that bad, Star Tours was still pretty good (and a ride I actually wouldn’t have minded waiting to ride, that queue line is impressive) Buzz Lightyear’s Astroblaster’s was a great ride, and despite what people say I still think it belongs in Tomorrowland, Space Mountain was impressive, but I don’t think Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (good ride) belongs in Tomorrowland, neither do I think the Peoplemover in it’s current form deserves to be sitting there doing what it’s doing (that’s not a whole lot). I have mixed feelings about Innoventions, I was impressed with the house of the future, but was disappointed to see it was just a big advertisement for HP and some energy company, a big wasted opportunity for that building considered what has occupied that building in previous years. The land also had a very 1980’s feel about it, especially the Space Mountain plaza area. Anyway, that’s all the negative’s I will say about the park, onto the positives. I will say the cast members at the park were ofcourse the best park staff I have ever encountered, not only that but I was surprised at the age of some of the parks working staff members. I encountered one day a nice lady who was in her 70’s/ 80’s who was employed by the park in the front ticket booths enjoying the park with her mother, she told me she often comes in to visit the park on her days off because it’s one of her favourite places in the world, and a place where she grew up as a little girl. So yes, I was very surprised at the higher maturity rate of the cast members at the Disneyland resort compared to the other Theme Parks around the world, and I will say she wasn’t the only cast member I saw that was of a more mature stature. Even though it was summer, the park’s crowds were somewhat acceptable, until ofcourse the Annual Pass blockout was lifted, that was when the Single Rider line came in very handy for many of the parks big key attractions. Now so I don’t bore everyone with more boring details about the park most of us know about, I will bring on the pictures (because everyone loves pictures!) If you want these, you’ll have to skip down to the pictures before coming back up here to finish the report off. Post TPR After TPR’s West Coast Trip moved onto Las Vegas, it was time for me to continue my own Tour of Los Angeles. During this time I continued to spend time in Disneyland, and did an LA/ Hollywood Tour, visiting places like the first LA Firestation, the Farmers Market in Hollywood, and the Mann’s Chinese Theatre. I unfortunately don’t have any photographic evidence that I visited these LA destinations because my camera was stolen/ lost at Disneyland, unfortunate to, it was a mighty fine camera. Anyway as my holiday came to a close, it was time to head back over to LAX for a massive 12 hour wait for my flight back home on the flying kangaroo. It was originally only supposed to be an 11 hour wait, but due to a delay at New York airport, the plane was somewhat delayed. I said goodbye to the United States of America at 12:50am on the 23rd of August 2009. So overall, it was a great trip, I had experienced so much, made so many new friends from all over the world, and I had an absolute ball. While I say goodbye now, this won’t be forever, I will be back, don’t you worry about that, you had all better watch out. So there we have it, I have finally made it! This Trip Report is now complete! Thanks to all those who have been following this report, I hope you have all enjoyed it because it has been a pleasure to relive this experience. Now onto the photo’s Welcome to the Disneyland Resort! Yay, I finally made it. Compared to this though, that's hardly an entry! And those California Letters are quite cool! People complain that Disneyland's Castle is too small, but hey it's taller than Hans! It's quite a pretty castle I say. "Whats that Mickey? There's not enough Trash Cans? No, this isn't a Cedar Fair park". So which one is Dumbo? I really don't get why people complain about Its a Small World, I thought it was great, but can see why it gets complaints. But seriously, if you don't like it, why ride it? Mickey's ToonTown was a Hoot, a great nod to Mickey and his friends. A standard Roller-Skater themed to someone/ something I have never heard of. Atleast Six Flags Magic Mountain's will be themed to Mr Six! I know who he is, but Gadget? What the hell? At first I thought Inspector Gadget, but no, apparently not. I'd very much like it if I could live here. I peek a Matterhorn behind those tree's. Tall and Intimidating. Absolutely Beautiful. Finding Nemo, great ride, I just can't see how it fits in the land of Tomorrow. Great ride though, I especially loved the nod to Australia with the Australian Voice Over's on the ride (I will say the narration voice was indeed Australian, not put on Aussie). Great sign, not a great attraction though. The Majestic Space Mountain. Simple yet effective queue line system. Thank for the lord for Fastpass! Oh Mr Peoplemover Rod attraction track, may something one day run on your track once again soon. Buzz Lightyear to Star Command, come in Star Command. They must be so sick of Endor by now. Back in the Hub. The Omnibus! I with a few other people were able to score a ride on the Lilly Belle Car which circles with one of the locomotives on the Disneyland Railroad. It was like having a personal guided tour of the park. As you can also see it's very lavish in there. On a separate occasion I was also able to score a ride with the Engineering Crew of the C.K Holiday. Being a rail buff, this was the icing on the cake for me. (Not My Photo). Adventureland, a very Lavish land. Atleast it isn't under new managment! So I imagine this is what New Orleans used to look like? I'd also very much like to live in there! Hmmmm, Spooky Mansion. Through the fence? See Dreamworld, a victorian painted classy Paddle Steamer looks much better than your current "Multi-Colored" paddle steamer doesn't it... Hello Mine Train through a Natures Wonderland! Zippity Doo Dah, Zippity Ahy. My oh My what a Wonderful day it was. It's Hard to believe that the whole Rivers of America area turns into a stage at night for Fantasmic! Day... Night, complete with Speaker and Lighting Towers which pop out of the ground! I can't say I was Big Thunder Mountain's biggest fan, yes it was a good ride, but it wasn't the greatest. I was also able to score a ride in the front Nose Cone of Monorail Blue during my visit. Moving over into California Adventure (because it felt so left out). Overall, California Adventure is still a great park despite it's problems, it's defiantly something that would show our Aussie Parks how to do it right. Don't you love those Sight Lines! Lots of Doors, which one is ours though? It's better than the real hollywood! I tried staying here one night, the Toilet was overflowing though... Soarin was one of my favourites in DCA, and thanks again to the Single Rider Line I was able to get many rides on this somewhat controversial ride. Just look at that Theme though... Coupled with the Sea World Poncho, this has to be the Best Rapids Ride Ever! I loved the feel and the smell of this area. Over here is this ride. Moving along... Paradise Skate Bowl. But the Real Star of DCA is Mr Potato Head. A Bugs Land was cool, really cool. It's Tough to be a Bug has to be the best 4D movie ever! The lighting on Mickey's Fun Wheel was very impressive. I love how no-body cares if you take a photo of your on-ride photo at Disneyland. Over here for example not only can you not take a photo of it (ok so thats fair enough) but they entice you to buy your photo after your ride even though you aren't supposed to have your wallet or money on you due to the rides loose items policy! This was the only dragon I saw on this trip! Ever wanted to see what Los Angele's first FIre house looked like? Well there you have it. On the way to the Anaheim Police Station to obtain a report for Insurance Purposes, I spotted this. Yep. Only in America were my thoughts also. And with that in mind, it was time to head back home. This was not my plane by the way, but same model aircraft. Yep, I was that bored at LAX I took photo's of random aircraft. In 50 years time this photo will be priceless! So bored I even went for a random walk around the terminals, that wasted 20 minutes. None of those are my aircraft! Bye Bye LA. Will see you again sometime in the near future!
  15. Nananananananananana BATMAN! I am so glad I read that incorrectly though, seriously, Batman and Bold and the Beautiful? Just for thinking that I am going to have to punch myself.
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