Rastuso

TR: Schlitterbahn Galveston 8/5/11 We hadn’t been to the Galveston Island Schlitterbahn for quite a few years. We went right after they opened for a Winterfest that included a pretty chilly ERT session on the indoor rides. We then returned later that year for an ACE day at the then unfinished Schlitterbahn that had the inside section, and then the lazy river, two blaster slides, and the two family raft rides. Since then, they have completed the aquaveyors, the long tube chute rapids section, and the slide tower that has two high speed slides and two intertwined slides. I believe these slides were moved from Wet N Wild in Orlando. THere is still some empty room, and they need some more slides, bad. I don't understand why they haven't installed a signature big blaster ride. We were also at this park for Winterfest this year, which sadly didn’t include any riding, and only a bit of hot tub time. But, we did dine in the lazy river, which was cool. Plus, we all got free tickets to any Schlitterbahn park, which we used today. I forgot you had to call ahead 2 days to get the first rides on the blaster slides, so we didn’t get to do that. We woke up, and pretty much headed right out. I had a frozen Frappucino from Starbucks in the fridge. They have a great deal going that if you get a coffee in the morning, you can get a Grande cold drink for $2 in the afternoon. And a Frappucino is over $5. Anyhoo, the drive is about 90 minutes, and we missed rush hour thankfully. We pulled into a fairly empty lot, but a steady stream of folks were arriving. It took a bit to get our free tickets, since the worker hadn’t seen one of the cards before. We got in about 10 minutes after open, got some tubes, and headed up to the Dragon Blaster, which still had no wait essentially, so we didn’t miss out on anything. These two blaster slides are simple, with just two uphill sections each, and they dump you to the lazy river. We decided to get out and go to the large family tube ride, which also had very little wait. However, by the time we rode it, all of these rides now had pretty long lines. We then got in the lazy river, and headed to the aquaveyor. This is new since our last riding visit, and I was anxious to see how the tube chute was. Surprisingly, this was a VERY fun ride. It was quite similar to the very excellent rapids sections I rode during my visit to Aquaventure Dubai, just a little less crazy. The lift was less than half the height, and the rapids sections were about half the drop, so they were fun, just not crazy like in Dubai. Still, a VERY fun ride. We did want to get out and ride the new slides, so we took the beach exit. We had to take off our shirts and watershoes for the speed slides. There were no waits at all, but only one of two was running for both slides. I got the feeling this was because of it being Friday, not because the slides were down. Only one aquaveyor was running too, plus a ton of food/drink stands were closed. By the time we left, all the slides had pretty long waits, and the food stands had VERY long lines. Poor operations, Schlitterbahn, sorry! We first went down the intertwined slides, that were fun, but short . We then went to the top for the speed slide drop slides. I had my camera with me, and surprisingly the attendant said I could video my slide ride.It turned out well, as you can see below. One BIG issue with this park is flow. This slide tower is in the back corner, and only accessible via a long one way path. You can take the tube chute like we did, but you really can’t get back in there, because there are no tubes available, and you can’t ride that section without them. So, we had to walk back, across the bridge, to the original section to find tubes to get back in the river, and back to the now very crowded aquaveyor. The line was crazy packed from where it left the river. I walked up and luckily got the last two single tubes. On the end of the aquaveyor, I realized that you could walk up some stairs and get in the top of the rapids river, bypassing the entire wait. So, after our second ride through, we took the stairs for a third trip. This section is a TON of fun, and hopefully The Falls has is very similar to this at the original park. We then took the river into the inside section, and the torrent river, which was packed. My son flipped on a particular crazy wave, which put him in a crabby mood. We rode the river back outside, and were going to do the other tall slide tower, but it had a line almost down to the ground, and as my son said, they probably were only running one of the two twisty slides, so we bailed. My opinion on this park hasn’t changed much. It is nothing compared to the New Braunfels park, but it does cater more to tourists than locals, so it doesn’t have to rely on repeat visitors as much. I can only imagine how long the lines are on Saturdays, as it was 1 pm, and the park was borderline miserable crowded, with long waits for everything. I did notice a few other stands opened. But, while my son spent some time in the new, small wave pool, I notice all the stands were closed, even though that was the main reason they added the pool, was to give guests another area to eat and relax. I noticed that about ¾ of all the parking lots were full, and folks were still walking in. It wasn’t going to be fun there that afternoon with the crowds and heat. So, we headed to the to the beach. I’ve lived in Houston for 12 years, almost to the day, and decide it’s finally time to visit the beach in the Summer. Surprisingly, there weren’t many folks there. There is about a mile long stretch of parking spots along the seawall, and damn near all of them were empty. We parked, and went down the stairs, across the large rocks at the bottom, and onto the beach, which was pretty clean, and not very crowded. I was also surprised at how shallow the water was. There was one section that was especially shallow that let us go pretty far out, and still only be about waist deep. The waves aren’t that great in the Gulf, but we still had fun watching the pelicans diving for fish, and some fish jumping out of the water. Unfortunately, there weren’t too many bikini clad babes. My son had a lot of fun, and we headed back to the car to change. On the way home, we were going to Kemah. My son didn’t feel like riding the Bullet, and I was a bit uneasy, since it still seems to be pretty brutal. We rode it opening night for the epic rain rides, and I don’t’ want to tarnish those really. So, we stopped at T-bone Toms, as seen on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. This was a pretty big place, and excellent as advertised. We started with the amazing Armadillo Eggs, which are brisket stuffed jalapenos that are deep fried. Add a little BBQ sauce, and you have perfection. My son then had bacon burger that was covered in bacon. I had the beef stir fry that was made with tenderloin. There was a lot more on the menu that looked great, so hopefully we can go back some time. Of course, we ended up right in the middle of rush hour traffic, so we bailed to a movie at the huge AMC 30 cinema that was supposed to have been upgraded. However, our theater was small, and had an old film projector for Cowboys and Aliens. My first film viewing in many years, and hopefully my last for a while, perhaps ever. The movie was decent, and very violent/gory for PG-13. All in all, it was a great father son day. The first drop of the day The two big family raft rides are on this fairly short tower. POV. THe splash pool for the family raft ride. The other one is straight down a series of drops. The aquaveyor The rapids section, a little tamer than Aquaventure, but still loads of fun. THe newest slide tower, from Wet n Wild, I believe. The indoor section, and the other tall slide tower A rapids section from above The boy taking the plunge Yeah, the line to the aquaveyor has gotten a little worse. chaos ensues as everyone has to get on just one Another POV of the Whitewater river Yeah, you've outgrown those, I believe. A great day. Galveston Beach. Pretty much deserted, even though it's August, and about 100 heat index. The amazing Armadillo eggs The secret stairs.

They usually aren't the red/blue, however. There is a company that sells paint and glasses that do a decent job of a 3-D image. I don't recall who they are. I know I saw them at IAAPA. -RO

I've been watching FW's website, and noticed Formula Rossa has been down the last few days. I wonder if it has reached the "too hot" temperature they were watching for when I was there. It's supposed to hit 117 tomorrow, before heat index. It was flirting with 110 when I was there, but heat indexes were close to 120, I think. -RO

It is surprising, since HW's waterpark season is fairly short. Heck, when I was growing up, Burdette park had like two small body slides, and that was it. I recall shivering in pools in June. Now, HW has a waterpark that beats MANY parks in much warmer climates. How many rafts are on Wildebeast at one time? This thing is absolutely going to eat people, for a waterslide. I haven't been to HW in a few years, but if the waterpark is more crowded enough to justify $16 million in investment in two years, I shudder to think how crowded the lockers and pathways are now. -RO

I'd kill for this thing in Houston. However it seems like Hershey got raped for 25 million for a 35 second ride. Hershey isn't afraid to spend extra cash for unique rides. But I totally disagree on the lines. A clear view is much more important than dangling feet. It's exactly like an invert. Outside seats with great views and feet dangling. But the inside is still enjoyable with a view. I'm not thinking about my feet on a ride as soon as I'm going down the lift. -RO

There is NO issue with the inside seats. Cmon people, the GP sits in the inside seats on inverteds! I never sit in those. But the insides on this look fine still. The rows are plenty far apart, and there isn't a wall of posts in front of you. -RO

My wife really wants to do the event, plus it could be coupled with IAAPA, which would be great. However, the details seem way too fishy, imho. Very few details at all. No listing of actors at all. It could be Danial Radclif, or the guy who played the Slitheryn kid in the back table of the great hall in one scene. I mean, that's a pretty big detail to not be giving before expecting pay. Sadly, I think the Potterheads will buy up the tickets before any details are out for the more normal folks to decide. We haven't been to a Disney event in quite a while, and they were awesome, especially for HMH at Disneyland, so we're definitley game for a fun event. Another issue is hotel. NO option for onsite hotel. Plus, no real details on occupancy. Are they really charging a set amount, per adult. Usually such things are based on double occupancy, and adding a third is heavily discounted. If my son would be the same amount, and he'd just be stuck in our room, there's no way we're doing it, that's a rip off. I hope or more info before Sunday. -RO

Yeah, a little perspective is needed here. I bet the ones in Utah are a lot longer too. Why don't you go ski down one tomorrow? -RO

A couple of short vids, one again with no sound since my damn underwater camera sucks. Outside Ski Dubai: THen one from the top of the slope: -RO

YEah, it was reasonably steep. The short slop at the curve was very steep, but short. NOt a gimmick, real skiing. If the damn lift was about 3 times the speed, you could really enjoy it. As it is, you spends LOTS of time on the lift. -RO

TR: Ski Dubai 7/14/11 With scorched feet, and some exhaustion from being out in 110 degree heat at Aquaventure, I hopped in a cab, and was dropped off at the Mall of the Emirates. I walk in, take a left, and see Ski Dubai. That’ll cool me off!! I look for my colleagues, as I was going to ski with one of them, but could find neither. I walk around, taking pictures, and watching. You can’t see much of the slope from the mall, only the Snow Park. The windows with slope views are all inside restaurants. I call and call, and get nothing. I’m about to just go in, when I see one colleague, to find that the other one already started skiing, since I was late. So, we go in, I get a ticket, and a locker, that was a total of about $60. You can get $5 back if you return the card, but it’s a great souvienir. I haven’t skied in about 8 years, so I’m a bit nervous. I put on the fairly thin ski outfit, put my card in the shoulder pocket, and get my skis. I also put on my ski gloves that I brought. My coworker, who is from Minnesota, said he’d be fine, but after about 30 minutes he did complain of cold hands. The locker area is not any cooler than the rest of the Mall, which stinks, because you work up quite a sweat, getting your gear on. I then go through the gates to the ski slopes, towards the escalator, however I’m told the time doesn’t start until you go through the gates at the lift for the first time. It’s pretty cool, there are sensors at arm height that sense your card, and open the gate for you. It also tells you how much time you have left. Once you hit the escalators, you start feeling the cold. At the top, I get some poles, and head into the Desert Snow. It’s a nice, crisp 30 F during the day. It’s not too bright, which I like. I put on my skis, and wobbly make it to the gates, and get in line. I see my friend coming down the slopes. A six foot tall blond guy is pretty easy to spot, and we head up. He had done a few laps already. The lift is slooooooooooow. Really slow. But, that is in part because many people riding it are simply there to experience the cold, and watch the skiers. It never got old seeing a guy in full desert shiek regalia, and his wife covered in black, shivering, coming down the lift. THe watchers were givin snow boots and pretty big coats to wear. Half way up, there is a small lodge with a restaurant in it that I never checked out, and the lift makes a 60 degree turn, and you continue up to the top. Of course, my first ability check will be if I can ski off the lift safely. I punch my gloves together, scoot up to the front of the chair, and hope for the best. Yay! I make it! When you are at the top, looking down, its hard to believe you are in the desert, and the Heat Index outside is about 125! It’s nothing but a nice wide open ski slope, with a lodge at the bottom, and even a few fake trees. I slowly scoot to the edge, and see the steep slope dropping off, that really isn’t that steep at all. Am I getting too old for this shit? Only one way to find out, so I go over the crest, and start down. I dig my poles in pretty good behind me, to slow me down, and I shakily zig zag across, and make it to the flat area at the lodge. The second section has a bit of a steeper drop off, and is narrower, since there is an expert slope to the right of the lodge that is quite steep. I take this section a bit faster, as my confidence returns somewhat, and I successfully get to the bottom, and stop! Whew, I didn’t fall, and remember how much I LOVE skiing. We get back on the lift. There is a second lift that hugs the left wall all of the way up, which is the shortest route to the top. IT is a T-bar of sorts, where you have a disc to lean on at the end of a bar that goes between your legs. My colleague says it’s a lot faster, but does take some skill, and that we should try it next, as he’s already done it a few times. A lap, using the lift, takes about 11 minutes, less than 1 of that being spent on the snow, if you go fast, which, of course is what I like to do. The second time down I was much more aggressive, and the cold wind in my face brought back some great memories of night skiing at Kissingbridge in Buffalo, and one awesome snowy night at Perfect North near Cincinnati. I’ve never been mountain skiing really, unless you count the fake slope they used to have at Gatlinburg, where I learned to ski. I decided to give the t-bar a shot, quite nervously. Of course, I tried to sit down on it, got way too low, and crashed immediately. I got back up, grabbed another one, stayed standing up, and off I went. Things were fine until the corner, where you go up a pretty steep section. I crashed again, and had to bail to the slopes. Well, it’s slow lift for me. I think I got 10 runs in the two hours. I only crashed twice, once when a kid on a snowboard cut me off, and again when I was cut off at the very bottom, and crashed in front of the line for the ice slide. I got quite a reaction. I’m sure they haven’t seen too many guys in a full beard, with a snow covered face, getting up from the snow. But, I didn’t care, I was having an absolute blast. I just wish I could have had my son there with me, learning to ski. They had a bunny slope with two conveyor lifts near the bottom for learners. One trip up, I saw two Muslim women, totally covered, obviously looking at me and giggling. One even looked back at me after they passed. Sorta weird. I got a little cold on the lift. Had I worn some sweatpants, instead of shorts underneath, I probably would have been OK. All in all, a fantastic way to spend a few hours in the desert. An all day pass is only about $30 more I believe. It would be great if they had some times when the lift was running faster for some more hardcore skiing. Of course, you could learn to do the t-bar, which would give you about 3 runs to 2 on the lift. And of course, this is the United Arab Emirates, so they had another gold dispensing machine. And I noticed, they also have the ultimate in pressed pennies. Not a penny, but instead a $300 gold bar with Ski Dubai stamped on it. Take THAT Disney!!! Collect em all! I got back into my desert outfit, and looked at some clearance items that were still pretty expensive, and went back into the mall. My colleagues were going to an old Souk, and we were to meet at the Burj Khalifa for the fountain show. So, I went around the mall a while. They have a huge toy store, but still not a single Arab toy to be found. There is also a large arcade area called Magic Planet. It had bowling, tons of redemption type games, some pinball and arcade games, and a fair number of carnival rides. They also had a Robo Coaster. And, to my sons delight, they had some Gacha machines with Mario Bros Wii figures. Not exactly Japanese goshapon, but close enough. The arcade was packed, as was the whole mall really. A lot more crowded than I recalled last October. I start looking for the Metro station, which ended up being a pretty long walk in the mall. I stop to get a Pepsi at Cold Stone Creamery, and am asked by the teller if the US is better with Obama in charge. I say I’m not a fan. I finally get to the Metro. It’s not clear if I need a two zone pass or not. I’m traveling in two zones, but only across one. The difference is a whopping quarter or so, so I buy a $1.60 ticket, and get on a packed train. It was a pretty long ride to the Burj Khalifa station. I get out right as my phone rings from my colleagues. We meet up, and start walking. Even though the station is officially for the Burj Khalifa, it is a LONG walk, and there isn’t an easy way to get there. You are essentially led to the parking garage entrance, and must then walk up to the mall, via the roads. You could stay on the sidewalk and walk around, but that would have been MUCH longer. A pretty poor setup. They REALLY need a short foot bridge to take you right to the mall entrance. We got to the viewing area at about 8:07. I thought they did the show every 30 minutes, but perhaps it is on the :30. We wait around until 8:30, when the show promptly starts, and ends about 5 minutes later. I thought they had a long show, but they only do one song each half hour. It’s very impressive, for sure, but very short. We go into the mall for a while, and end up buying a lot of dates in the Bateel store, which is apparently a pretty high end date company. I had a few samples that were quite good. We walked around a bit more, and decided to hail a cab, which meant we had to walk waaaaay back down to the parking garage’s furthest point to get in a cab. I’m sure our driver was not pleased with us, since our hotel was only a mile or so away. We got our bags, repacked some stuff, and our chauffeur arrived quite early. We actually got to the airport before we could even check into the flight. Once through all the checkpoints, we camped out at the enormous Emirates Business Class lounge. This thing has 2 cafeteria areas, with tons of food, another smaller one, and one for kids, where they hide the free Hagen Das. We all fought falling asleep before we boarded our 2:45 am flight. I had to get my bags checked AGAIN at the gate, since I had duty free bags. I bought a lot of Arabic trinkets, and stuffed camels. As soon as the plane was off the ground, I reclined to sleep position and passed out. I actually slept for about 5 hours, missing dinner. I had a snack, and fell back asleep for an hour. Then I woke up, had a cappuccino, and still fell back asleep for an hour. By this time, a good chunk of the flight was thankfully over. By the time I watched Paul, had breakfast, and played a few games, we were on descent into IAH. Best overseas flight ever, thanks to sleeping through most of it. I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to Dubai. I’m going to try and fly through Europe if I have to go back to Saudi. -RO Is it a mirage, or is it really a ski slope in the desert? Yep, it's snow! Really quite a feat of engineering. THe lines to get your tickets. Lockers This way to the slopes. Hey it really is cold in here. The view from the bottom. Starting up the lift. The only Black Diamond indoor slope in the world. ALmost to the top. C'mon, can't this thing go any faster? 2 hours ago, I was sweating my ass off on a lazy river. Don't forget your souvenir pressed gold ingot! Luis Vitton's had a doorman to keep folks like me out. Indoor amusement area. They REALLY need a coaster. How cool would it be if it ran out into the snow! Harry Potter and the super lame journey. Metro station. Incredible fountain show!!!!! THis is the best I got, sorry. Towers Rotana lobby. The last pic of the trip.

I think that is what is going on. I think the launches are much faster, and the train is faster throughout. Another video I watched, which is a reverse POV, shows a nice smooth slowdown, and again a ride time about 5 seconds longer than my video. On my fast rides, the final brakes were severe. Maybe DubaiDave can chime in. He rode it over a span of time, including before opening. -RO

No, that's about it. Great launch, MEH everything else.

I made a new thread because this is not really related to my TR. I did post a video: You can see it is only 59 seconds long. HOWEVER, if you go to the POVs that are posted, the time it takes them to cover the same track is almost 10 seconds longer!! Take a look at this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGyqztIdUiQ It's from about :09 to 1:16 for the full run!!! And this one also: It's from about :16 to 1:23 for the full run!!! The both seem to be about 10 seconds longer, since in mine, it doesn't even launch until about :03. As I said in my report, some launches were INSANELY fast. I'd sure love to know some official specs on the speed, and corresponding lap times. THere seems to be a HUGE difference between how fast it was going when I was there, and back near opening. Now, maybe the timing on my camera is screwed, or it's something with Youtube, but I really doubt that. My raw video says it is 58 seconds long. -RO

THanks, I just wish my damn camera didn't crap out on thh audio after a few uses. I need a new underwater camera. -RO

I posted a few videos from Aquaventure. First is one of the awesome Rapids sections: One of the crazier slides: And also the Shark Attack: There are a few others on my channel too. -RO

^it was about $60 with a locker. ^^^there were employees at each slide, controlling entry. The main lift conveyor was constantly moving, but not the slide entries. -RO

TR: Aquaventure and Ski Dubai Hurray!! Training was completed in one week, so I got the hell out of Saudi early, and didn't have to spend a weekend watching paint dry. So, we take the quick hop back to Dubai, and land in the evening. By the time we get to our hotel, the excellent Towers Rotana, we didn't have time to do anything really. I got this hotel for about $120 total, and the service was impeccable. Really, too good. If you appeared in the lobby, 2 or 3 people would swarm you. My first room smelled of smoke, so I switched to another one that I could see the tip of the Burj Khalifa from. Even though this was Saudi's Friday night, it was Dubai's Thursday night, so everything closed early. My colleagues took a walk around. I ordered room service, prepared for my next day, thinking I had everything I needed, and crashed. I hadn't set an alarm, since I wanted to get plenty of sleep, and I didn't expect very bad crowds. I got up around 9, and struggled to sleep a bit more, but got up at 10. Had I got up a bit earlier, I probably could have hopped in my friends taxi to Atlantis, but taxis were so damn cheap, it didn't really matter. I get packed up, and leave my bags with concierge. We already had our chauffeur set up to pick us up at 10 pm for our 2:45 am flight. And I had chosen the hotel since it was close to a Metro station, even thought I didn't take advantage of that this morning, since there is a gap between the Metro and the Palm Monorail that requires a taxi anyway. I ask where the closest Starbucks is, and am told it's 5 minutes in either direction. Crap, it's already well over 100 degrees outside, and no shade on the sidewalk, so I take off. I quickly realize I had forgotten my sack of stuff for the day, swimsuit, ski gloves, etc. I run back in, and am escorted to the room to get it. Damn, I really need that Starbucks. I get a Venti Frappacino that serves as caffeine and breakfast! I then hail a taxi and say “Atlantis”, and we're off. I recall first learning about the Palm project. Reclaiming a huge area of the ocean with a Palm shaped island. When you drive on it, you don't even realize it's reclaimed. It's massive, and such a total waste, since there is plenty of land to use, but hey, Dubai doesn't have much reason to be green, ya know. The island is full of apartments lining the main road up the trunk. Then, all of the limbs are full of houses and condos. Atlantis is on the tip of the circle around the Palm. The road takes a totally unnecessary tunnel to the hotel. I wonder if the tunnel cost much more than adding more reclaimed land. The monorail goes over a bridge, and drops you off at Aquaventure. My drive dropped me off at the mall entrance. I have Deja Vu, seeing the entrance door, and head in. It's a typical high end mall area, and then you see the Lost Caverns aquarium that my friends are probably in as I walk by. I head outside to a short line to buy a ticket to Aquaventure. Total price was about $60 for entry and a locker. I go to the locker, change, go out barefoot. WOW, would I pay for that. The one thing I did NOT pack was my crocs/watershoes. And I would be painfully reminded of that for about 2 hours. It was “only” about 105 degrees. Hell, my first barefoot trip to Schlitterbahn was about 100. But the pavement here was MUCH hotter, skin scorching hot. And the initial walkway up to the covered walkway was most definitely NOT covered with water sprinklers. SO, by the time I go to the covered section, my feet hurt, pretty badly. Not blistered, but definitely first degree burned. I stand in the shade, thinking what I could do about this, and decide pretty much nothing. I go from shaded spot to shaded spot quickly, and a few short sections of sidewalk are sprinkled. This is a HUGE issue with Aquaventure. With this setup, shoes should be mandatory. Had I known how scorching hot the pavement would be everywhere, I would had bit the bullet and bought some “cheap” sandals. And to make matters worse, the floor of the rivers is not smooth, but very rough, which also hurt. In theory, you never have to leave your tube once you get in the river for the first time, but they move you VERY slowly, and the long wading line to the main belt to the top of the Ziggurat was mostly empty, and had virtually no natural flow to it, another design issue. Once I finally get to the “lift hill”, I ride to the middle of the pyramid, and choose right. The short line leads to another belt that lifts and drops you into the slide. The two lowest level slides started with a pretty crazy couple of Master Blaster hills, and then into a long, totally dark slide, and dumps you out. The splash pools all have a sort of waterslide coming out of them, and these all join together before dumping you into the slow moving lazy river. To get BACK to the Ziggurat, you must go throught a shortcut tunnel, then back into the very long wading line, that everyone pretty much walked through. On a very crowded day, it would be nice to be able to sit in your tube for the wait. Today, there was a ton of walking in a huge circle to get back to the no-wait lift, which was quite a pain in the ass. I took the left slide this time, which was not much different, and then got back to the top, and got out. There were a bunch of mostly shaded stairs, thank God, as my feet hurt for sure. There were two more levels inside the pyramid. The very top had the Leap of Faith speed slide through the fish tank, and another Master Blaster ride that was light on the Blaster, heavy on the pitch dark tunnel slide, which is what I took. I realized there was a back staircase that avoided the lift belt, but it was equally hard to get to from the end of most of the slides. After this slide, I took the lazy river to what was labeled as “Rapids”. Sounds cool. First, was a very long lift belt, thankfully in a tunnel, which dropped you back into the very lazy river. However, around the bend, you saw a drop into a narrower section. And wow, was that section crazy. It was like riding an intertube through a river rapids ride at a theme park. It was VERY fun, but this first section was short. However, around a few more bends you went into another, much longer section, and finally hit a third section, before being back at ground level. This whole river took you all the way over to the main hotel building. Aquaventure covers a HUGE section of land, since it is not only a waterpark, but the main pool area for the hotel guests. At this point, I was trying to get to the back stairs of the pyramid, and finally found how to get there before the river went to another lift and another long rapids section. More parks need these rapids sections. There were by far the most unique thing about Aquaventure, and the most fun. I could float around the main river and through these sections all day, if I had the time. However, I didn't, so I got out, and gingerly got back to the stairs, and up to the middle level, where there were two slides, however one of them was a section that you could get in in the middle of a longer slide, It took me forever to figure out what was going on there. But, essentially, after you went through the long wading line for the main belt, you could get out, and take a long path back to another lift belt that was on a dedicated slide. It started out with a series of straight Blaster sections, and then delivered you to the middle of the pyramid, where you could get out, or continue to the final section that was pretty much all pitch dark slide. Bad thing was, the first section was only for double tubes, and required two riders, and I was solo. The second section could be taken single, and I did return to that after I took the other slide from this level, Shark Attack. This slide began with a belt that dumped you into a pitch dark tunnel under the pyramid, and dropping you into a long glassed in section under the fish tank that the Leap of Faith flew through. Difference was, you actually went through this slow enough to enjoy, even though the walls were hard to see through from all the condensation on them. You could see people flying through the LoF tube, and the people at the observation area. This was a really cool section, and you went through it slowly, only after a new rider's water surge came down into it. I got out, went to the observation area, and back up to the aforementioned slide, which once again dumped you into the lazy river. I also took a lap around the Torrent river. I had a great start as the lifeguard put me right in front of one of the water surges coming into the river. However, like all the other rivers at Aquaventure, this one was sloooow. The waves came through, but it wasn't nearly as fun as Schlitterbahn's original Torrent river. It was damn hot, and I didn't want to get burned, plus I had to do some snow skiing, so enough ultra-hot waterpark. I painfully got back to the lockers. One kind employee told me to “watch your feet” as I ran by him in pain. Thanks for that heads up, chuckles. Upon inspection, my feet still weren't blistered, and once I had socks and shoes on, they were only midly painful to walk on. I looked for a souvenir, but didn't find anything good, so I kept the wristband as one! So, for the inevitable comparison of Aquaventure to Wild Wadi. R&E gave some, but I don't think they went to Wild Wadi. I have now been to both, and give the nod to Wild Wadi! First up, it's slightly cheaper to get to from the Dubai airport. Both parks give great views, WW to the Burj Al Arab, at AV to Atlantis. Both parks are designed for essentially one line feeding all the rides, but there are ways get around it at both parks, although WW did have a second feeder to some of the rides that was also on the ground. One major advantage of WW was that getting BACK to the line was easier there, although you did have to stand in the line. If you went on a VERY crowded day, AV may handle those crowds better, since it is MUCH larger. However, most of it's long lines and rivers are painfully slow. WW now has the new slide complex, that was more like a traditional park, but still it's a lot more slides. AV would be fantastic if you were staying at Atlantis, and spending a big part of your day lounging around, enjoying the park, and having a few high priced alcholic drinks. Although rooms start at around $300. Wild Wadi is a much better stand alone waterpark, as far as thrills and being able to enjoy them a lot during a visit. If Aquaventure would let you take a quick walk from the end of the slides back to the wading line, it would be a huge improvement. However, although AV's slides LOOK great, they are all essentially just a couple of Blaster uphill sections followed by pitch black slides, which are NOT my thing. They got really boring after a while. Another surprising difference that was probably more because of the time of year, but AV had more women in “Muslim” swimsuits, and not as many string bikinis. Perhaps AV enforces their dress code more. I don't know if WW sprays their walkways in the Summer, but that was HUGE negative for AV. Basically, if you are visiting during the Arab Summer, bring water shoes. They are a MUST. AV does have a small mall attached, plus the aforementioned Lost Caverns that my colleagues said was a very good aquarium. I ate at The Burger Joint that was so-so for the price, and hailed a taxi to Ski Dubai. The taxi didn't have a taxi sign on it, and I think was a premium taxi, even though I asked if it was a regular one. The trip to Ski Dubai was a bit more than I expected, but really, cabs are so dirt cheap it doesn't really matter. I was dropped off damn near right at the entrance to Ski Dubai. The view from my hotel at night. And in the morning. The huge Atlantis resort. This looks familiar. For all your last minute shopping needs... GOLD! Nice paintings are on the ceiling. Entrance to the scorching heat. That's not what I want to see. The main river. The main line to the Ziggurat belt. The short wait for the main belt. The top of the belt. All of the rides have belts to send you on your way. The hotel is quite a ways away, the park is very long, and fairly big, although most of the space is beaches and river. View from the top of the Ziggurat Lift up to the rapids river. The entrance to a rapids section. All the waterfalls were cold water. The neat tunnel at the end of the Shark Attack slide from the observation area.

What sort of horror stories have you heard about Bobsleds? It's one of the funnest coasters anywhere. I love it. -RO

Finally got some vids on youtube, now that I'm back in the states. I'll be posting Aquaventure and Ski Dubai reports soon. Here are two vids from Ferrari World. First is an complete ride from the observation deck. You can hear the guy we were talking to about the ride, acting like 1 km/h difference was big. Trust me, the launches were A LOT more different than that. I've also posted a vid of the final scene from Speed of Magic. You can see that the 3-D isn't much, since only the Trickster in the final section has a major double image. You can also see how the screens were not very good, they weren't a solid white. -R

The Beach in Cincinnati has, or at least had, a waterslide with some gravity uphill sections. THere was a killer bunny hop going to the splashdown. -R

^^ On media day you could feel/hear almost ever section of track. Not hitting the bolts, but just the gap/seam between track sections. And, being an engineer, I never assume all engineers know what they are doing. Many of them don't, trust me. -R

Hmm, I recall stating in my media day report that the wheels bumped at every track section. -R

The final section. I have a couple of vids to get uploaded too. I finally made it around to the dueling coasters Fiorano GT Challenge. There are trains of 3 Ferrari Spiders, and you race through the track, going over and under the other track. You begin with a small drop out of the station into the first launch. The launches are not very strong. This is supposed to simulate an F-1 race, so you slow down, take a sharp turn, and then go into a launch. A lot of the track is underbanked, so the laterals are a bit high, and the seats are not very good for a larger person, I just didn’t seem to fit them with my broad shoulders. Both tracks were pretty similar, and you cover a lot of ground, but there aren’t very big hills. I was a bit upset that the squished “penny” machine wasn’t working, so I didn’t get any souvenir for the ride. That pretty much ended the loop around the park. There were a few big restaurants, and a couple of snack stands. I noticed the drinks were a little over $3 each. I skipped the shot tower, which seemed to launch up pretty slowly, then creep to the top, where you did see barely over the building, and then drop down. It was just too damn hot to ride a lame tower. I went through the store again, just laughing at the prices. I understand they try and make “Ferrari” a high end brand. But you really need a few cheap theme park items too. I did find a Formula Rossa magnet that was only about $6. One great souvenir is the park map, which is very well done, and made of very thick paper, and is very high quality. They also sold just Ferrari items too, including chromed exhaust pipes, watches, purses, and clothing. I got a taxi back to Shrangr-La, and tried to move my chauffeur ride up a few hours, but couldn’t, so I have a few hours to kill. I walked over to the Souk (mall) next to the hotel. They had a cheap Abu Dhabi souvenir stands, chocolates, high end clothes, and a grocery store with a non-Muslim area with Arabic SPAM!!! I got back to the lobby and the hot concierge babe came over to me and talked for a while. They had a guy serving coffee and dates to people. I tried the coffee, which had cardamon in it, which smells pretty bad, and doesn’t taste all that great either. I fell asleep on the ride back to the Dubai airport, and eventually go to the lovely Dammam airport in Saudi, bought some Krispy Kremes and went to the compound. The fun was over. The other two coasters at Ferrari World are down this long hallway. Want a Ferrari chrome exhaust pipe? That'll be $10,000. Here's the brakes and return to station for Formula Rossa Goodbye Ferrari World, I will probably never see you again. Formula Rossa from the taxi drive to the hotel. Another view The first hill Tea and crumpets, Arabian style. Arabic SPAM, I never thought I'd see this. Yag Go! WTF!

I then got to the Made in Maranello ride, which is an Epcot type ride that shows how Ferraris are made. It had a few neat visual effects, but was pretty lame. I was surprised it was in English, as was everything there. There really wasn’t much Arabic anywhere. I then walked by the large building that housed V12. I really wish it was still running. The park really needs another thrill ride, no matter how lame it is. But, it sounds like V12 is down for the count. They should try and spruce it up and salvage it. I then got to Speed of Magic, touted as a Spider-man like ride. You start with a preshow of a kid playing a video game when a guy named Trickster pops out and takes the keys. You then follow him through 5 or 6 scenes, a jungle, a desert, an ice area, and you chase him through. The ride isn’t nearly as advanced as Spidey. Each scene is on a 180 arc screen, and you vehicle slows moves past it. I don’t think there was any changing reference points in the 3-D, you simply moved past the screen. Between each movie, you went through a slightly themed area with some physical props. At the end, you get the Ferrari keys, and go to the unload. It’s a cute ride, but is advertised as a family ride, not a thrill ride, and that’s correct. The wind tunnel scene from Made in Maranello Oh noes, we're going to be burn by molten metal. Most definitely NOT like Spider-man. The Trickster is eyeing some Ferrari keys in the preshow video. One of the curved screens. The 3-D was pretty minimal, and did not seem to be the advanced moving convergence 3-D like Spidey. The practical jungle scene after the 3-D jungle chase.