Rastuso

Ferrari World, July 7th, 2011 After a decent night’s sleep, since I wasn’t worried about whether or not I would get the Formula Rossa credit, I went down for my free breakfast. Holy crap, the buffet was enormous. It had strange looking middle eastern stuff, weird fruits on a stick, a few cereals, hummus, strange seafoods, an omelet station (thank God), and lots of other stuff. The bread station had some of the excellent Arabic bread with some cheese and herbs. I took one to try, and loved it. I went back for many more. I’d never seen such a large selection for breakfast. I then went and checked out, leaving my luggage with the bellhops. I took all my free water bottles with me, and got a taxi to Ferrari World. The driver took a different route, which got us to some consruction. The fare ended up being about 25% higher than the day before, but that was still only $3. Taxis are super cheap in the UAE. Plus, my driver wasn’t scary like the night before. One thing I saw on the way was a guy that was wiping sand off of traffic lights! He was wiping them all off. I mean they were spotless at that intersection. The others had a fine layer of sand dust on them. Talk about a never ending job. And this is for an area that has very little going on in it, except Ferrari World. I couldn’t believe they actually pay someone to do this. I get to the park, buy a ticket and join about 30 other people waiting for the opening. I was the only one that headed to Formula Rossa. I had to wait a few minutes while they finished testing, and a handful of people joined me, including one guy and his family. He asked if FR compared to X2 in America. That sort of surprised me. Apparently he had been to LA, and X2 was the main coaster he remembered, and compared to FR, not Superman! We ended up riding the front seat together on the first train of the day. The launch was quite good, and the front seat definitely adds to the thrill. I went around for another ride, he ended up with me again in the front row. This launch, my 6th overall, was just crazy. He even commented how the second launch was much better than the first. The airtime throughout the ride was much more pronounced on the second ride. I took a third, and my final ride, near the middle. The launch seemed very strong again. I walked up and went out to the deck overlooking the track. A Ferrari World employee was out there, noting the temperature, and watching the coaster quite a bit. I started asking him some questions, and got some good info. The park is very concerned about how the ride will operate over the next few months, when the heat gets extreme. When it is over 40, they get worried. He made a comment how the ride manufacturer didn’t take the heat into consideration as much as they should have. He said there were two downtimes last year, the one that preventrf R&E from riding, which he claimed was from the cable stretching and not being the right length, apparently stretching after the first weeks of operation. He also said they had a heat wave above 40, and had some issues. It sounded like they did some heat management changes after that, and that is what he was watching closely. As we talked, the temperature went from 38 C to 46 C (115 F)!! It was fargin hot. The guy I rode with was there too, and he asked about the seemingly different launch speeds. The FR guy said they more weight on the train, the faster the launch. This seems counterintuitive to me, but who knows. He agreed the launches can change, but was acting like it was more a 2-3 mph shift, not the obvious changes that I felt. I’m honestly surprised the launches fluctuate, since KK and Dragster don’t seem to, but I would guess the launches I experienced were over a 15-20 mph range. One other thing about the FR station, they played a lot of great metal guitar instrumentals. I think heard Satriani and Vai among other stuff. I finally headed into the rest of the park. There really isn’t much there. It’s a huge building, most of the inner area is a kids car ride, and the Italian countryside car ride. I went to the back of the park, where the simulators are. I got a ticket good immediately for the free simulators, which really weren’t much more than what you see at Disneyquest, or Gameworks. They did have two upper level ones that were in fullsize cars, with big 180 arc screens in front of then on big motion bases. These were upcharges of about $20, and I passed. Next I rode the countryside car ride, which was pretty lame. It was mostly hobby shop quality trees on hilly landscape, with only a few large models. I can’t imagine this is what they planned to do originally, it just screamed of budget cuts. More to come... Breakfast fruit Cool infinity pool Circular building. Worst job ever. Main Entrance Waiting for opening. Yeah, I dont think so... The front car looks like a racecar, and doesn't fling its wheels off. NERD SHOT! Not the expansion piping right before the launch track The launch tracks dissappears in the hazy hirizon. View of the whole ride from the observation deck. A train on the track. Me with the cavernous building behind me. POV of the Italian countryside.

Not sure. It was reportedly really lame but the park really needs another thrill ride. They should spice it up if needed. Its in a big area in the middle of the park. R

TR: Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, July 6-7, 2011 I was in Dubai the day that was SUPPOSED to be the grand opening, but a sheik died, and it was cancelled. I was mega-bummed, but then went to Wild Wadi and had a blast. Well, I made it back to Dubai, sadly on a trip to Saudi Arabia for work, and wasn’t going to miss Ferrari World again! I arrive in Dubai a bit early, fly through customs, get my bag, and get into my free chauffeur ride to the Shangri-La hotel in Abu Dhabi. Emirates gives a free ride anywhere in the UAE to business class customers, so I chose a hotel near FR. I wish I had stayed at the Yas Hotel instead, since it was basically next door and would have saved me $30 or so in cab fare, but the Shangri-La had much better reviews, and was a phenomenal hotel. Plus the asian babe at concierge was hot, and was extremely nice, and really made my stay excellent. So, I get to the hotel about 8:30, and realize I could hit the park that night. I have them call to see if Formula Rossa is running, but they couldn’t get anyone to answer. Fuck it, I drop off my bags, don’t bother with checking in, and I’m going. I get in a taxi, which is the longest 15 minute taxi ride of my life, as I’m nervous as hell that the ride will not be operating again. We pull up to the park, and I rush up the escalator, and to the ticket booths. The girl there is quite surprised that I’m wanting to pay 225 AED (62.50) when the park is closing in one hour. She checks on FR’s status, and says it has a short line. OK, give me the damn ticket. I’ve paid $8 to ride Flitzers for cryin’ out loud. This IS the fastest roller-coaster in the world we’re talking about. I breeze through the gate and start jogging back to the left, getting lots of weird looks on the way. The park was reasonably busy, but this is essentially their Friday night. I get to FR, got down two flights of stairs, and am waved into the queue. I round the corner to see people getting into a train. YAY!!! The line was quite short, but thanks to brutally slow loading, one train operations, and the fact that the train only holds 16 people, it still takes 20 minutes for me to hop in. The trains are shaped like Ferrari F-1s of course, and they are NOT idiot friendly. You must climb into them, over fenders, and sit down. Thankfully, it is seatbelt and lap bar only and no stapling. I am given a weird clear glasses cover to wear, and I have a ride op take my photo, since someone else did. Of course, she wouldn’t let me ride with it then, and tried to get everything else from my pockets, but I didn’t let that happen. I don’t get separated from my passport. They make front seat riders, and anyone wearing glasses, wear goggles. They also made most women in abayyas wear red lab coats to prevent their robes from getting stuck in the wheels. Of course the glasses fogged up some, since it was about 239% humidity outside. They do a decent job in keeping the station a bit cooler with air curtains. As soon as we get outside, the glasses cleared up, and we stopped in the launch, which was right outside. The rear of the train is barely out of the station. We creep back a bit, and I know we are locked and loaded. The lights turn green, and we haul ass down the track, and I scream with glee. As I hinted at before, my first launch was not THAT impressive. It seemed very similar to Dragster and Kingda Ka. The ride delivered no airtime anywhere, but it is definitely fast, even after the long line of brakes on the way up the first hill. After the first hill, which is a long swooping turn, you go into a large figure 8 with very slow transitions at the crossing, so no speed twists like other Intamins. On the return leg, you hit two smooth bunny hops, and a third one with the brakes. The final brakes are pretty abrubt for magnets, and you very slowly creep to the unload station. There is water spraying the train in the station, at launch, and at the brakes. I of course get immediately back in line, luckily a much shorter line that gets me on the next train. The second launch seemed MUCH faster, and definitely more than Dragster and KK. The wind caught my mouth, blowing it open uncontrollably. I guess a lot of ACErs would like this feature. I took two more rides, and the fourth was without a doubt the best. The launch was great, I was thrown out of my seat on the first hill, and even got some floater airtime on the bunnies. The back car was a little rougher than the middle two. I was quite shocked at how much difference there seemed to be in launch speeds, but the amount of air you got during the brakes, and on the bunnies varied quite a bit, even in the same seats. Ultimately, this ride is a one trick pony, the track after the launch is taken at a very fast pace, I would guess 80 or so, and you are very close to the sand, but the transitions and bunnies are very uneventful, and pretty tame except for the speed. However, when the launch really hits top speed, it delivers quite a thrill. There are VERY few ways a human being can be accelerated to 150 mph, in an open air vehicle, without a helmet on. In fact, I don’t know if there is any other way to do it. And I honestly don’t see this speed being topped anywhere. You really are pushing the limits. When you get facial distortion from the wind, and must wear goggles in the front seat, you are about at the max. I just can’t see a US park topping this ride any time soon, and definitely not by more than a few mph. I perused the gift shop on the way out, and saw a pressed “penny” machine. They cost 10 AED, or about $2.75. That turned out to be the bargain the century, since most everything else in the gift store was INSANELY expensive. Want a Ferrari World coffee cup? That’ll be $22. How about a t-shirt for the kids? Sure, only 189 AED, or $52.50. Want a nice polo shirt? A real bargain at only 295 AED ($82). And that includes tax, so it’s even better! I couldn’t believe the prices, and not surprisingly, few were buying. This park is struggling. They get a pretty small crowd, and really need to boost attendance. However, these souvenir prices, along with pretty expensive food and drink aren’t helping. Sure, there is a market for ultra-rich Ferrari owners to come to the park and buy $500 in shirts for the family. But there aren’t enough of them to keep the park afloat. Ferrari World REALLY needs to realize this. They are trying to sell a boutique brand to theme park goers. I don’t think a Gucci theme park would go over well, either, if a pressed penny holder cost $50 because it said on Gucci on it. I got a taxi ride home with a pretty scary looking guy who is probably in Al Queda, had an overprice burger, took a hot bath, and passed out. Luckily the park doesn’t open until noon, so I could sleep in before a return to experience everything else that FW has to offer. -RO I wanted to kill my driver when he stopped here to apparetnly piss, as minutes were ticking by. Me and my nifty eyewear. One of the toughest credits ever, for me. Ferrari World at night is pretty dark inside the cavernous building. What a nice coffee cup, and it can be yours for only $22! Don't forget to stock up on V12 merch. The ride will probably never operate again. And NO, it is not on clearance. Huge mosque across the water from my hotel. The hotel had a very good arab vibe. Huge shower with two heads. I'm sure the concierge chick would have fit in there fine.

Just a quick report tonight. I'm going back again tomorrow, and photos to come. I got to my hotel early enough I went in to the park. The lady thought I was crazy paying 60, one hour before park close, but Formula Rossaa was running, and I wasn't missing out again. I got more crazy looks as I ran back to FR. I go down the stairs to find a fairly short ride, but one train ops with sloooow dispatches. I am fidgety as hell until finally getting my glasses cover, a photo by the ride op, and we exit the station and stop at launch, which is immediately outside the station. I must be honest, the FIRST ride, the launch seemed about the same as Dragster and KK. You slow down abruptly at the first hill crest. The main track is a huge figure 8, followed by two bunnies. All very fast and smooth, and essentially no air. My second ride included an OMFG that's a fast launch! Definitely more than KK. My 4th and final ride was just insane. Mouth blown open by the air, airtime at the top of the first hill. The difference between my first and fourth rides was quite large. I really thought, after 1 ride, that they weren't really hitting 150, but it definitely does. More tomorrow, I didn't ride anything else, and shirts are insanely expensive. -RO

That was my big gripe about Eejanaika--that the seats just flipped willynilly for no real reason at all, whereas the seat roataions on X2 made more sense and enhanced the ride. But I hear that Eejanaika has improved since then. The amount of rotations haven't changed, I'm sure. They are set by the track. -RO

Ahh, you beat me to it. As a Boilermaker, I am proud to see Pete is revered in Japan. Perhaps it will help me score points with the schoolgirls, when they find out I went there. -RO

I agree, getting to Tobu Zoo was the scariest trip I made. Getting a Real train ticket, not just riding subway type cars, was a mystery. I too had someone help. While most young Japanenese CAN speak English, most will act like they don't. Even a girl at DL, who switched to English when I was walking nearby her, seemed like she didn't want to talk with me, but I got a lot of info from her, once she realized I caught her. What amazed me was that at BOTH Disney parks, I had a LOT of trouble talking with them in the Guest Relations area, and throughout the park. In the US, I've seen them speaking tons of languages in GR. It shocked me that they didn't have someone fluent in English in the Tokyo Disneyland GR building. Americans are still avoided a lot by young Japanese. The ones dressed as maids in Akihabara, passing out flyers for the maid bars wouldn't even look at me, let alone give me one of the flyers. Maybe it was just me, but they seemed to want to avoid Americans. But then one guy in an arcade took a LOT of time helping me play one of the high tech battlebot type rides. -R

Wish I was there. It's good to see the girls still show up in costume. Tokyo Disneyland is both huge fun and full of sexy Japanese cos-players. I'm pretty sure that's exactly what heaven will be like. -R

Who cares about the front page , I don't even look at it. What I wish you would do is get rid of the huge 100 page threads for parks. -RO

True, but DR and CRE were just theming overlays to existing rides. They are cool, and probably had a good return on investment for the park, but were not huge additions. The last one was the entire Blastenhoff complex in the late 90s. The Falls is a head scratcher until I see it. The best I can tell from photos and the new maps, it just doesn't connect to the existing parks at a good location. It looks to essentially be a stand alone, really long, lazy river that you can ride as you go between Blastenhoff and Surfenburg. I had hoped it was going to be a nice way to travel between those parks. As it is, I would assume it will actually make the trek to Surfenburg a bigger hassle, and will save a few steps, but greatly increase the time needed, to travel to Blastenhoff. I see it becoming a sort of overflow area during busy days where people that throw in the towel regarding long lines go, and just float around all afternoon. An alternative, for sure, but not a great one, imho. I do think this appears to be the first step in a much larger expansion to Blastenhoff, which could then make The Falls a bit more useful, but unless they are adding a new extrance near the Boogie Board, The Falls doesn't look to be very convenient for Surfenburg. I'll have a much better idea after Schlittercon this weekend, although I doubt it's operational. -RO

OK. Some good suggestions, so I updated teh first post list. I may work on getting some pictures added too. I've got some more to add too, sometime. It seems that the Magic Carpet courses were a chain, connected to the old Goofy Golfs. Hmmm. I'm really liking this thread, glad I started it. And I'm pretty sure Putt Putt still exists. We used to play the Polar Bear Putt Putt tournament back in the day, sometime in January. SOme holes would have ice on them. I also remember a Putt Putt on the roof of a mall in Seoul a few years back. It seems like AgilityNut.com is a great miniature golf resource. Maybe we should add to it's beginning list. -RO

OK, forgive me if a thread like this already exists but I couldn't find it. I always like searching out unique miniature golf courses on my travels. Places like the incredible Par King, or even Ellen's Amusement Center, which I'll be talking about in a TR if I ever get it on here. Courses that are unique, and the holes have tunnels, obstacles, and ramps. Not tons of theming between the holes, with fairly standard holes to play with maybe a rock in the middle, like so many courses are now. I remember my childhood vacations, and the awesomeness that was Goofy Golf. The courses were full of cool stuff, but alas, I don't think any survived the 80s. There are a few top 10 lists online, but they lose all integrity when they have Par King followed by fricken Putting Edge! I think TPR needs to become the top miniature golf source too. I know Eric and Misty do their best to cover all of them in Gatlinberg and Florida, but we need more. We need a resource for the best courses near amusement parks. I think this thread can become that. I don't want a lot of folks saying: "I love Fred's Meciocre Golf in Bland, OH because me and my friends have fun there, and they have a big Dinosaur next to the 13th hole" I want a list of unique courses. And, yes, I have an alterior motive. My son and I are heading to the East Coast, and I want to hit a few. Right now, I'm looking at Village Greens in Strasburg, PA, which I believe is highly rated. So, I"ll start off with a few that meet the requirements: California Sherman Oaks - Castle Park - 3 courses Carnelian Bay - Magic Carpet Golf South Lake Tahoe - Magic Carpet Golf Illinois Chicago (Lincolnshire) - Par King Indiana Evansville - Midget Links Kentucky Lexington - Bible Themed Golf - 3 courses Pennsylvannia Strasburg - Village Greens Texas Dallas (Cedar Hill) - Ellen's Amusement Center Galveston - Magic Carpet Golf Vermont Burlington - Pizza Putt -RO

Hey, I used N T G, but it was changed to NTAG, which I do not support R

One could argue that most of that maintenance was using decades old train technology on a huge modern woodie. New Timberliners could have solved that. And comparing NTG to coasters with MUCH taller hills is definitely going to be skewed. Maverick is comparable, and find it insanely hard to believe it cost $21 Million, unless the launch tracks are ridiculously expensive. MilF and Dragster were $25, and even Intimidator 305 was reported to cost that, and Maverick was $21? They got hosed on Maverick then. COmparing INtimidator 305 at $25 million to NTG at $10 makes Giant look like less of a deal. And one could argue that SFOT got a hell of a deal so the technology could be proven, and the next conversion will be much pricier for the new park. But comparable to tier woodies: Voyage only cost $6.5, and El TOro was supposed to be $12. Phantom's Revenge was supposedly about $5 Million when MilF was $25. HOwever, it reused lots of stuff. I was under the impression that the entire control system and lift was new for NTG. Add in the three trains, and that means the track only cost about $6. The more I run the numbers, I have a hard time believing any profit was made on NTG. Don't get me wrong, NTG is very good now. We'll see how it ages, as I said at media day, the constant bumping the wheels make concerns me. R

Lets not forget the cost, though. NTG cost 10 million. That would pay for a lot of a new coaster. For this to really take off, it must be a lot cheaper than the alternative of an all new ride. I would think Mean Streak would cost a lot more to change because of the structure. It's existing layout wouldn't work as a steel. And that's an issue for a lot of rides. Colossus would suck as steel. Giant was sorta a unique wood coaster. The flying carpet end was perfect for steel transition. RO

SFOT claimed on FB that Shockwave was open on Sunday. I agree with others, I don't really want to see everyone rushing to this change. We're losing wood coasters as it is. This should only be for the coasters that really can't work, because of their size. Traditional wood coasters over 150 ft usually don't work. Voyage does becauase the park spends a fortune to keep retracking. I could see this being a good change on coasters that few ride becasue of the roughness, like Texas Giant. Those rides would be Rattler, with a return to a big first drop, Mean Streak, and SOB. Collossus isn't too big, it could be fixed by competent track work. It would be a shame to lose collossus to the track. Especially since it has a pretty standard layout and flat turns. -R

I don't see that happening. It's good. But I don't see it being #1 steel. Maybe #10 the first year, but other coasters do a whole lot more than NTG. It's an amazing improvement, and a great ride, but not worthy of #1, imho. R

The line was 2.5 hours this morning, according to the queue sign, starting at Yosemite SAMs ride. It didn't open until 10:30. Good ole Six Flags. The rest of the park was dead at first. But by noon, lines were long. Of course Shock Wave and Judge weren't opening until 1 or so. More classic Six Flags. I did witness some Flash Passers going in at the bottom of the station stairs. -R

Interesting comment about stapling. I didn't notice the signs, but they did staple my son pretty hard, digging into his legs. They reset it, did it good, and a guy came by and again dug into his legs. We had to complain again.. The bars seemed to have a pointed bottom, not flat, so it would dig pretty good. My bar was pretty loose once, and I damn near stood up on the pre midcourse hill, which is insane. I like the fact that the insane air is short, not sustained and painful like T Express. A great coaster, but I think it will be around 5 on the polls. The last half is a little weak. Although it has yet to deliver night time summer rides, so who knows how crazy it will get. R

That's pretty much a PERFECT description of the ride. I foresee LOTS of phones being sacrificed to the NTG. R

Just got off after 7 rides without leaving the train. Damn near uked while leaving the station. This coaster is a real winner. Not mega fast, and actually slow in parts. But insane bucking bronco air on lots of hills. Especially the one before the mid course. The overbanks are awesome. The ride is very smooth, but it does bump an a lot of the track seams. Wonder how that will age. R

Just rode front seat back car. Excellent ride. Fast smooth, great air on the drop and tons of pops throughout. Great for an early, cool morning.

In line for the Giant right now. First train just returned. -R

Need two big hair front seat riders for your shoot? -R

Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag. Yeah, ACErs are 4:15 for a 5 start. Usually, once you are there, you can stay, so ACE should get the primo rides before lots of other folks show up, and can then stay for as many rides as they want. That's how TItan went. Plus, not everyone gets the food, usually. I hope it's a good day. -R