Rastuso

I plan on visiting there for the Dino Quest interactive exhibit and the Pirate exhibit with my son. Are there any coupons available in the LA area for discounts? -r

What was the deal with that alternate way of leaving the tower? Was it basically a zipline from hell? That looked pretty insane, very freaky with teh person actually holding on, although I'd have to assume you were harnessed to the line. Still looked aweful steep with an abrupt ending. Rastus

I know some enthusiasts knew about Voyage waaaaay before it opened, and were asked some things on the design. I also recall some media coaster types saying they were consulted when Legend was built. So, it's been long enough, and supposedly they are even shown in a coaster special overseas, so were the "secret 9" ever revealed. Rastus

WOW, totally opposite of one I found on the web, from someone who was comped to go to it and review. Ahhh, the power of comps. If there was no one there on Friday the 13th, that's gotta be a bad sign. Although, it's a cool idea using closed down attractions for one last hurrah. The sets should be quite good. Oh well, I've already made my trip to Orlando anyway. RO

Anybody been and would like to post a review full of spoilers? Sounds like this is pretty good, and might include some things I always thought might be a bit too much for haunted walkthroughs, like plants that meet their demise. Rastus O'Ginga

Day 2 continued– Animal Kingdom After my Segway tour, I hightailed it out of Epcot and drove over to Animal Kingdom to meet my family. I had thought I would be there at 10, but the tour lasted until after 10:30, and I got to the gate at about 11 to an upset son and wife, since I had all the tickets. We went in, and decided to head to Everest first. I’m sure the title of this trip sounds weird, but Expedition Everest would mark a milestone for me and my son. It was to be my 400th coaster and his 50th. It was my wife’s 37th or so. As we walked to Everest, I noticed the lack of coaster sounds. We saw that Fastpasses were already up to 2:30 pm. And, yep, it was DDM at the time. So, we got the FPs, and headed back to Kali. It posted a 20 minute wait that was really 10. My son wondered why the trees were all burned down, solidifying my opinion that Disney dropped the ball on the theming on this ride. We did, however, see an empty train going up the second lift of EE, which was a good sign. My wife got pretty wet, much to my son’s approval. We decided to hit the safari next. A posted 30 minute wait ended up being almost an hour. That rarely happens. Some Mexican girl thought she was so cool by sneaking up past a lot of people in the queue house. Too bad the rest of her party wasn’t going to get past me, so she waited at the end to rejoin them. My wife was particularly snarky that day and made a few comments to her. Of course, the girl pretended to not understand. Luckily we did see quite a few animals, although no lions. The dumb story line is a bit better now, without the worst job at WDW, the guy standing there saying the same line to every passing jeep about the poachers. I noticed some sort of tour jeep that was getting VERY close to some of the animals. Anyone know the story on this tour? I’d guess it’s pretty expensive. We saw one of the cool tree walkers. She was doing some very impressive stances lifting up one leg and holding a pose. She even walked over me as she went backstage. We were still almost an hour from our EE FP time, but I thought we could wait for one ride, then use the FPs. Standby was only 20 minutes, so that’s what we did. Some white preppy jackass with a phone grafted to his ear walked passed the entire line, and ignored my comments. We asked for the front row for the special occasion, and to be sure no hands were in front of my son’s face in the photo. SPOILERS************* Off to number 400! The first lift is sorta strange. It leads to a nice terrain section that made my wife think this was like BTMRR. I knew this ride would push her limits a bit. Then to the big, fast lift. The dead end comes quickly, and you sit there quite a bit before heading backwards. I don’t like going backwards much, and add total darkness, and a long helix, and I really didn’t like the backwards section at all! We finally stopped to see the really cool projection of the Yeti’s shadow tearing up the lift hill. Then we were launched down the big drop. It’s really not much of a drop, very gradual. Following that is more stinking helii. I was really unimpressed with the actual roller coaster portion. If you are going to leave the mountain, add a few small hills. I also think it is weird how most of the track is in non-snow covered sections. I realize they scaled the snow right with the real mountain, but you really lose the snow effect, so the Yeti’s appearance well below the snow line is a bit of a miss, imho. After the helix, you enter the main show room where you finally see the Yeti. The setup is pretty good, and you get a good long look at the Yeti before going up an unseen hop to get quite close to his outstreatched arm. His movements were perfect, and he looked great. This room was pretty much pefect. So, the coaster itself is not my cup of tea, but the effects are excellent. END SPOILERS***************** Since my wife had enough, my son and I took a second ride, and I used the third FP for a final solo ride. After that, I had had enough of the backwards section. I went to Dinoland to rejoin my family who were wasting money on the games. We won a few things, and went to the spinning mice. My son got a bit of a whiplash head know near the end, and did not like it. I’m not a fan of them either. I went to get FPs for Dinosaur as my son played in the dino playground. My wife had a bit of an altercation with the guardian of a little kid who needed one hell of good ass-whipping based on how he was treating other kids. I was hungry and actually got a free chocolate banana. I don’t know if it was part of the celebration or not, but the girl said she was waiting for someone to order one so she could give it away. We went to Dionsaur, didn’t need the FP, and got in. I can’t believe what follows the preshow. They actually have a section of queue that you walk down, and back to the stairs SOLELY to hear an announcement of how McDonalds sponsored the ride. Unbelievably bad show. My son didn’t know what to expect. I was surprised that the movements seemed to be ramped up a bit. The first red dino was sleeping. The ending is still quite cool, although the ride is too friggin loud. We got the son’s approval for a reride. This time, I gave an Isaac for the onride photo. The last thing to do was Bug’s Life 3-D. My son had yet to see this, as we thought the show was a bit intense for a 4 year old on the last trip. The foreground characters seemed a touch fuzzy. But, this is a fun show with two great animatrons. We headed to the gate to go change at the Caribbean Beach resort, and return to the AK Lodge for dinner at Jiko’s. They were supposedly now strictly enforcing their dress code, although we saw t-shirts and jean shorts. This was another double table service meal. This one, however, at least offered a real kids menu that was worth the double points, unlike the Brown Derby. For appetizers, my wife had a squash soup, my son had a VERY good looking fruit salad that was yummy, yummy. I had the BBQ chicken flatbread pizza with coffee and apple shavings. It was friggin awesome. Lots of strange bedfellow tastes that really did work together. For entrée, my wife had the pork tenderloin, my son had the filet, and I too had the specialty filet mignon on macaroni and cheese. This was one of the 5 best steaks I’ve ever had, and held its own with top tier steak houses like Ruth’s Crist. A very good cut of meat on some great white cheddar mac and cheese. The red wine reduction sauce was VERY strong and flavorful. Adding in some mushrooms from my wife’s plate, and it was fantastic. I savored every bite. My son inhaled his steak too. My wife’s pork was very good, but I didn’t like the sweet (not yams) mashed potatoes. For dessert we both had the pistacio creme brulet and my son had make-your-own smores. The bill came to over $150, and was free on the dining plan. A fabulous meal. I don’t know if I’d pay for it, but if we do the dining plan again, there’s no doubt I will return. Rastus O'Ginga

I asked about an advanced course. As worrisome as they were, I can't see it. I never faltered or gave any inkling that I wasn't in total control, yet they still treated me like a kid. I need to look into the San Antonio Segway tours. I'd say non-Disney ones let you get a little more aggressive. Of course, there's always the option of purchasing. I work about 2 miles away from my house... RO

Day 2 – Segway tour Today I started by FINALLY getting to ride a Segway personal transport. Epcot offers Around the World on a Segway tours that last 2 hours for $80. Pretty steep, but worth it. I arrived at 8:15, entered the park, and quickly got to guest relations where we waited a few minutes and headed to Innoventions. We went in and watched a simple safety video, got our helmets, and watched a video explaining how to work a Segway. I was extremely excited. We went out to the practice area and all stood behind our Segway and practiced getting on and off of it. Then we practiced going forwards, doing a 180, and returning to the starting point. After doing this quite a bit (and me being scolded for going to quick) we practiced going up and down a short ramp and some slalom around some cones. One older lady was REALLY having some problems and I’m surprised she was allowed to continue. Me and a couple other guys quickly got the hang of it, and were getting antsy to hit the open road. I quickly found out that you could lean back and forth and the Segway would rock you back and forth. It was sorta cool, and became a habit. I got scolded again for doing it, and was warned I’d run out of battery power by the Segway expert. We were kept to the lowest speed key, which is 5.5 mph. The one expert, who I remember from a few years ago when I visited Epcot, said he was the only one cleared to go the full 12.5 mph max. Finalyy, we head out of Innoventions in a duck line. And immediately the guy behind me crashed and fell. Apparently he went full tilt, the Segway did it’s way of governing your speed, which is to force your body backwards, and lost balance. Sure glad I didn’t do it. He got back on, and we were off. DAMN, these things are cool!!! Driving it is so intuitive. Unfortunately, the newest models where you turn by leaning also had been recalled. We used the older models where you have a turn knob on the left handle. I quickly found that 5.5 mph wasn’t as fast as I wanted to go, and mine seemed to be regulated so much I could barely keep up. We toured each section of World Showcase, stopping in some for trivia, and in others to go through twisted paths. We stopped somewhere near the Malstrom I believe to have some free time to zip around and have pictures and video taken. Once we got back to Future World, the park was open and getting crowded. Most of the folks we passed wanted to know how we got to ride them. It was pretty cool. You are about 8” taller on the Segway, and we sort of lorded over the masses. We ended up getting well over an hour of full-on Segway time. It is a bit tiring, since you are standing still the entire time. I tried to move my feet some, and do my rocking, which I was scolded about a few more times. We also got the obligatory Disney pin as a parting gift. I HIGHLY recommend the tour. Yeah, it’s a bit steep, but it is very well ran, you get to go over plenty of varying landscapes, and get to see World Showcase with nothing but maintenance people in it. Rastus O'Ginga

I have a Canon Elura, which is low end, but a DV cam can't get close to analog cams for dark filming without getting quite expensive. And the IR options just don't do it for me. Mine can do that. RO

Nope, PH is on the plan. I didn't even use my coupon. And PH is a hell of a deal on the dining plan, since they have big appetizers (Cap'n Crunch chicken!) and desserts. We used 2 table services for a bill that was around $80, iirc. I chose a bad entree, but I could have stuck with a burger and been happier. RO

Thanks. I guess I'll post the rest, and try to include some photos, although I switched over to mostly video now, since I FINALLY got a DV cam. I like the size, but really miss being able to take video of nearly anything, regardless of how dark it was. I'll still keep my VHS-C for dark rides, that's for sure. I think during the free dining plan, service will drop, but I have no real comparison, since we rarely eat at Disney table services. I'd imagine the majority of folks there were getting free dining. But, we did get some good service that week too at Jikos and Planet Hollywood (although PH's food was another story). RO

I posted these on RRC, and always get good comments on them, but I know many don't read on there, so I thought I'd post the first one here, and see if folks cared at. Day 1 09/28/06- Disney MGM Studios This was my first trip to all of Disney World in a few years. I visited all 4 parks in one day during IAAPA 3 years ago, and the family had gone 4 years ago. When I found out about the awesome special Disney offered for September, I had to jump on it. They offered free Dining Plan for all people in your room. Yes, I had to pay the undiscounted off-season rate, which was maybe $20 a night high, and you had to buy at least a one day ticket for each person. I upgraded my son's ticket to a 6 day for future use, and stayed with one day for me and my wife, since we still have some old tickets from the late 90s. The Dining Plan gives you a snack, counter service, and table service meal for each day. Snacks are basically anything under $4 (popcorn, churro, pop, water, ice cream). The counter and table meals include appetizer and dessert, and tip! I quickly realized we could go on a pretty nice 6 day trip, so I got us a room in Martinique at the Caribbean Beach Resort in late September, early October to get the special, and hit the Halloween fun in Orlando. My son's teacher said he didn't need to take any homework since he's doing great, so we were off. We had arrived pretty late the night before, so we wanted a park that we wouldn't have to be at for opening and still do it all. So, this was our choice. We headed straight to Tower, of course. I grabbed FPs for RnRC for me and my son first. Tower had a 15 minute wait since they were only running one shaft. My son was a bit scared. This was his first major-league E-ticket thrill ride. Of course, the ride is awesome, but the CMs were a bit lacking. Plus, I noticed the "evil tower" fallen letters are gone!!! WTF!!!! My son ended up loving it, and was proud that he rode something his classmates had chickened out of. We got the first of MANY squished coins, and headed to RnRC. I told him it was a double loop, since he had only ridden Viper before with one. I was a bit nervous, but knew he'd like it. He did, and wasn't mad when I told him it had 3 loops. We had an early lunch at Sci-Fi Drive-in since we had dinner at Brown Derby for the Fantasmic plan. So, we head back and waited. A few folks came in after us and were seated. We asked and were told they were going to outdoor seating. Does this really exist? Why would you go to this restaurant, but sit outside? Or, are there some seats not in cars? Anyway, we all squeezed in one seat, and met our greaser waiter who kept calling us "kids". He would quote the stuff on the movie screen every once in a while too. The food was decent, but small portions. We normally don't eat at Disney restaurants because of the price, but that was the main reason we were there, free dining! I didn't want too much food, since we had a big dinner, so I got a chicken sandwich. My son's non-breaded chicken fingers (part of a new Disney healthfood initiative for kids) were pretty good. He was non-plussed by the carrot sticks instead of fries. We got shakes for dessert. The tab was about $70, I think. The movie clips shown started to repeat pretty quickly, much faster than the normal meal time. WTF? They can't find more than 40 minutes of classic movie previews and drive-in advertisements? Very cool ambiance, and a fun lunch. After that, time started to become an issue. No matter what we wanted to do, we weren't at the right time. We decided to split up. My son and I did Star Tours and photos on the speeder bike while my wife did Muppets. My son and I then did the Motors show. Talk about a loooooong walk back. Why the hell couldn't they have switched the thing around to get rid of the walk? This show was good, but not enough action. Basically 5 (I think) stunt scenes that took about 5 minutes, and 30 minutes of banal filler. The trick cars with unusual driving positions were funny, but not good enough for repeat viewings. I wonder what the pin given to the kid in the show is worth? With only about 5 given out to kids per day, it must be fairly valuable. We rejoined and realized we just missed a Little Mermaid show. So, we went to Narnia, which had a long line. So, we did the Great Movie Ride. This ride is really showing its age, and the CMs were phoning it in. They moved the Alien from above the tram to the side, which removes the scare factor. My son was unimpressed. We saw the Narnia attraction had very little line, so we went there. Wow, what crap. Basically, a big wardrobe you walk through, a snowy forest area where the White Queen appears and talks to you, and then a 5 minute synopsis of the movie. You then walk past a few props, and that's it. We rushed over for the Indy show and got decent seats, even arriving late. This is still a cool show, and much more rewatchable than the Motors show. I love how the mechanic drops into the stage right when the airplane props hit him. We had about 30 minutes until dinner, so my son and I went to Tower again, and he really liked it. We got an extended drop sequence that included seeing the victims at the bottom of the shaft, between drops. We then went to the Brown Derby. This was a double table service dinner, requiring 2 credits per person. My son still wasn't too hungry, so he ended up not eating, and saving the credits. His intestinal track was pretty backed up. The $5 little bottle of MoM we bought at the resort finally did its magic mid-dinner. Our waitress wasn't too good, and a bit snarky. The meal was OK. I got a crabcake appetizer and steak. They lost our order, and we waited a long time. The bread was great, though. Our dinner took so long that we had to get the desserts to go so we would hit the Fantasmic reserved seating. The meal would have been over $100 and definitely NOT worth it. The food was tasty, but the portions very small. And, when I think of 1950s Hollywood, I don't expect a lot of Asian flavorings in the food like the miso potatoes that I got with my steak. And my wife didn't think much of her asian noodle dish. The desserts were good. I'm sure glad we didn't waste two credits on my son, since the menu there was the EXACT same as at the Sci-Fi, even though it cost double credits. That's pretty shitty on Disney's part. And by us not using his there, we used them on adult meals later in the week, so take that, Mickey. Our Fantasmic seats were pretty decent, and it was nice to arrive only 15 minutes early. My son loved it, and I always have. I noticed Mickey doesn't shoot sparks from his hands at the beginning anymore. Also, there was no Steamboat Willy, which REALLY sucked. I guess the boat is in rehab early, so during that part, the characters just walked out on the island and danced. And, good Lord, get rid of that damn Pocahontus part. That movie was unpopular when it was released, and it's now nothing more than thinly veiled PC crap to still be included amongst the REAL classics. Rastus O'Ginga

How can you jump to that conclusion? Why do you automatically believe they have everything figured out when they haven't even touched the coaster? Rastus O'Ginga

I think people are being way too quick on conclusions here on both sides. Do I think Wild Thing is unsafe? NOt really, this is just the second accident over hundreds of thousands of circuits of Morgan hypers. I simply think WT is just not a very good coaster, like most Morgans. I do think, however, that folks are letting the park and Cedar Fair off the hook too quickly. Sure, the ride was safe until this accident, but the true judgement of any safety program is what is done AFTER an accident. This is where Disney failed time and time again, with cleaning up crime scenes and hiding evidence. CF is not doing well either. Sure, they have left the ride untouched until Morgan arrives. That's great. But, I'm astounded that Mamba is running. I'd also be astounded if Steel Eel is running, or the other non-CF Morgans. So far, no one knows the failure that occured. People are acting like Mamba's 2 hour inspection on Monday cleared it for operation. I'd hope to hell Wild Thing was inspected for a lot more than 2 hours during the off-season, and that didn't stop this catastrophic failure. Ultimately, the odds of Mamba failing in the same way are probably slim, but unless VF already figured out exactly what happened, which I doubt, opening a near clone ride is absolutely beyond idiotic. WoF has Patriot as thier marquee ride now, shutting down Mamba wouldn't be a huge deal, and would the be safe thing to do. Rastus O'Ginga

How many days has the park been opened this season? Thier maintenance department sucks pretty bad if they can't find something this bad during the off-season inspections. This is an unimaginable failure. Even Mindbender was actually a design issue, not a metal failure, wasn't it? I never thought much of Morgans anyway, and once was enough for me on Wild Thing last year. Rastus O'Ginga

I'm hardly a fan of anything the racist La Raza organization does. Someone will ALWAYS be offended by an event. Just as someone will ALWAYS make fun of you for something. If you really think gays are the only folks that are made fun of in society, you really need to start paying attention. My advice is for you to accept that there are people that hate you, just like there are people that hate everyone on this Earth, and get on with your life, and stop blaming it on homophobia. If you go to a group function of a particular sub-group of society, you're an absolute moron if you think you aren't bringing attention to yourself, which will absolutely 100% guaranteed garner a negative response from someone. Rastus O'Ginga

That's a lie. Gays can marry in Ohio. And I'm sure thousands have. A man can't marry another man, however. But that goes for straight or gay men. Rastus O'Ginga

I find that hard to believe since Islam prohibits rape or adultery. Why would an Islamic theocracy say it's O.K. if Islam itself clearly forbids it? First off, I said "Arab", not Islamic. Not all Arab countries are ran by Islamic fundamentalists. Heck, Iraq wasn't that much. Secondly, since in some highly Islamic states, women can't even defend themselves, that sorta makes rape hard to prove. Yep, adultery is against the Islam faith. And of course, no Christians ever have adultery or pre-marital sex, because that's a no-no. C'mon do you live in reality? Where did the 19 ultra-Islamist hijackers go before 9/11? Las Vegas, not exactly Mecca. You have heard of the word hypocrisy, haven't you? I'm offended that your name contains the numbers 4 and 7. Rastus O'Ginga

I love it. Correcting spelling is always a sign of desperation. And it says a LOT about you that you correct me on how to spell China's socialist dictator's name, yet you don't capitalize Constitution when refering to the US Constitution. It's clear where your priorities are. You're even admitting your poverty rates are based on median income. THe US median income is probably 10 times that of many countries, meaning that some countries are almost 100% in the US poverty range. And those lovely socialist countries have flat income curves, hence the term socialist. I like how you act like calling the UN or UNicef commies is wrong. I guess the whole oil for food scandal was just made up by the Republicans? You simply don't get the whole murder and rape issue. In Arab countries, a man can forcibly have sex with certain women and it is NOT rape and will NEVER be reported as such. Some people can kill other people, and it's really no big deal. So your numbers are absolutely meaningless. Don't you get it? But, I'm sure you also think terrorists can be reasoned with. Perhaps you should move to France. Be sure to take your car with you, they're running out of them. Well, since you can't even accept that terrorists are about 99% Muslim in the entire history of man, you put your ideology in front of facts. Again, not very impressive on the intelligence scale. You think the IRA was like Al Queda? Are you really that stupid??? Al Queda just kills. They don't care who, ask Jordan about that. They just kill. They don't plan on stopping until their Muslim brothers have killed all the infidels. The IRA wanted Northern Ireland back from British Rule. Do you really equate those two things? I mean, I realize you're a moron, but that's pushing it even for folks with single digit IQs. And how is bashing other countries against the Constitution? Do you even know what the Constitution is? The Constitution is for AMERICANS. Yes, the liberals want it to protect terrorists too. It's frankly scary as hell, but there are plenty of idiots like you that keep on voting for them. Mr. Hancock is spinning so fast in his grave, he's close to creating a black hole Hell YES I think the US is the best country in the world. And if you don't, then get the **** out!!!!!!!! Rastus O'Ginga Sorry again Robb : )

Where do you get your facts? The back of a box of Lefty-Os cereal? Let's run 'em down here. Murder and rape. Yep, there are probably more per capita in the US, but all murderers and rapists are thrown in jail. Well, unless they get a good wack-job liberal lawyer and plead insanity. In Arab countries, rape is OK, if it is between the right two people. Surely you can comprehend a difference between a government OK'ing some murders, and a country that is violent because of a myriad of things. And, surely you consider terrorism murder, don't you? Many Arab countries have been known to sponser terrorism. Do you really expect anyone to agree that the US is #2 in child poverty? Many African countries are filled with children living in sewage and eating dirt. Find me a single child in this country that has a bloated stomach like the African ones you see. I'd guess about 99.99% of all African kids would give literally thier left arm if they could eat as well as the average kid in the US in poverty. You're so whacked out here, it's scary that you are allowed to coexist with society. And do you really equate someone dying while they invade our country with a cast system that puts a vastly lower value on the lives of some races as compared to others? I hope you are like 11 or something. Because if you are an adult with such a poor grasp on reality, and so full of our media propaganda, you should be embarrassed to let others know it. But since you already pulled out the Liberalism 101 trait of calling anyone who thinks differently than you a racist and a bigot, I can see there is little hope. Please spare us all in the US and just move to China with the rest of the Socialists. They'd love to have you there devoting your life for the betterment of Kim Jong Il's. After all, he's quite ronery. Rastus O'Ginga Sorry for RRC-izing this thread Robb.

Exactly. Even the "good" Arab countries have horrible human rights laws and some sort of state sponsored racism and sexism. Americans working there are the same class as natives. European nationals are a bit lower, and then there are the Indians and Pakistanis that are treated like shit. And the women vary in their shit receiving level depending on the country. I always find it quite sad/scary that many people that have all sorts of issues with the horrible plight of blacks and others in the US are the same folks that don't think we should be in Iraq. America is a freakin' utopia for everyone. Damn near every Arab and African country has a class system of some sort that is strictly enforced by the government. It's good to be the King, as you said. The media attacks Bush for mistreating blacks in New Orleans, but thinks Saddam should still be in power. That line of thought is so F-ed up it's insane. Anyone who has any value to human rights whatsover should have no respect for any Arab government. My company has built some things in Saudi Arabia. There are some groups of people that simply don't matter there. If an Indian falls to his death during construction, who cares. As long as no Arabs, Americans, or Europeans die, they can claim a successful safety record. Rastus O'Ginga

Got back today from our mini vacation. Thought we would be totally rained out, and it did rain some, which cut down on the elaborate costumes folks wear. Seemed to get lots more candy this year. Each spot had pretty much the same, just a big barrel-o-sugar/chocolate. There weren't special places to get M&Ms and such like in the past. Two long trails that had multiple stops made candy hording easy. We hit every place once and both ended up with a few pounds of candy. My wife said my Spider-man shirt was not a costume, but two CMs agreed with me, or at least humored me. Hallowishes is cool, but my GOD the lame happy versions of scary music just sucked. Did Danny Elfman approve of this? We skipped the parade in favor of rides, but I assume it is unchanged. Did see the Headless Horseman though. Still the best deal you can get at the MK for basically an E-ticket night and free candy. We didn't wait for any rides. I must say that the Stitch encounter is a HUGE step backwards. The ride is still too scary for little kids and not even close to entertaining for adults now. The addition of a new creature instead of crispy Skippy was nice, but no plush available for him, to my wife's dismay. Rastus O'Ginga

^^^OK, thanks. AAA is always my backup plan for discounts. ^I will be there the day Freddy is there. I hope to get an autograph. Those were the only horror movies I ever liked. Rastus

I'm hitting Wild Adventures in a week and wondered if there are any local discounts. Coke Cans? Burger King? $40 is a bit steep for a bunch of Vekoma clones and the woodie that should have been in Astroworld. Rastus O'Ginga

I've been to both quite a few times, and even HHN at Universal Hollywood. I agree with a lot of what Robb said, but do have some different opinions. BUdget is no doubt larger for Universal. I think it also more expensive, unless you do an add-on if they still offer it. Universal has original mazes each year, but only about half as many total as Knotts. And usually only about 2 or 3 are real high budget standouts, the rest are on par with Knotts. The main negative to Universal almost every time I visit is maze talent. They usually have much fewer people in the mazes. Plus just the level of talent in general. Knott's Scary Farm is an institution. Many people work hard for years to get a coveted "slider" job. SO the ones that make it are hard core haunters, and it shows. So, for mazes, Universal has a few really good ones, Knott's has more. And yes, they rehash many of them. But Knott's also has more humor in mazes than Universal. Secondly, are rides. The log ride at Knott's is in a class all itself. It is fantastic and a must see during haunt with plenty of on-ride scares. The mine train has tons of potential (my band teacher always said that was code for "it sucks"). Universal doesn't theme any rides. Although Psiedon's could be neat this year, but it doesn't lend itself to being a maze. As for shows, I think the Hanging kicks Bill and Ted's asses. B&T usually devolves into a dance party at the end. Even the year where they were making fun of dance music when Mr. Burns was the main bad guy. The Hanging usually devolves into a non-stop pop culture slaughterama. I really miss Freddy, but last years was great. Especially the banned Six Flags segment that I got to see. And the Hanging uses blood packets in the fights and frags. The Hanging alone is a huge draw. General atmosphere is about a tie. Universal uses the existing theming in each area, and evils it up for HHN. But nothing beats Ghost Town full of fog and sliders. The foam zone at Universal was quite creepy one year. Crowds are bad at both, numerically speaking. But at Universal (even at the Hollywood one) it is mostly gang-free. Knott's has a horrible crowd packed with gang bangers from your favorite minority groups. Which made the previously mentioned Six Flags joke a bit ironic. The parade at Universal was really cool, but I think it has been on hiatus for years. Bottom line, DO BOTH!!! We try and alternate one place each year. ALthough we're probably skipping this year. Orlando obviously has tons of other stuff. Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is loads of fun. And Disneyland has the Haunted Mansion Holiday again this year, which is fantastic. Rastus O'ginga