Hhappy

This is such a fun ride (got to ride it today) more info later today

time will tell, time will tell.. i'm alway amazed when i hear these debates and compare prices.. but yeah.. if you really want it cheap.. go to one of those producing countries in the middle east.. for the rest.. stop wining (or do something about it)

sjeesh.. you're all so lucky.. here's what i'm paying at this time.. 1,75 euro per litle.. 1 US gallon = 3.78541178 litre 1 euro = 1.44 dollars so that would make 9.54 dollars a gallon.. and don't get me started on how much of that price goes to our government.. basically filling up the car (for me weekly) is 65 euro (93 something dollar) sigh

this sounds double to me.. see topic below http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56523 locked

There is a video camera installed that films you while being on the ride. Not sure about an onride photo point.. although it looked like one point was there but i'm not sure if it was active (yet)

Raptor at Gardaland

Video from the first tests this year (march 5th) has surfaced.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsj-D4wigpU Guess they take it easy and will built up the launch speed till opening day

No I hope the following image will help with that.. To the left and the right of the Danger are the exits (green arrows) so unloading is get off the train, walk towards the front and exit to the left or right (depending on which side you're sitting.) Hope this helps There is no seperate loading/unloading area (it's just one room) and it works perfectly. If you look closely you can see people on both sides waiting for the train to arrive. Regarding the forces/smoothness/airtime etc.. Did you read my report? did you see the pictures (hairtime) pretty sure i've answered that before..

Time for another update. Today was the media event at Gardaland for Raptor. This basically gave me the opportunity to get even more pictures of the ride and try some different things (angles) to get pictures of. I got to watch a nice presentation and had the opportunity to get some pictures from areas where camera's usually don't go.. (as in the Que and loading area) Somebody mentioned not getting the theme behind the ride (or something like that) here's the story from the press release: anyway Here we go. I do hope you like these. new day, new photo ops.. check out this view tree joke? nah.. the entrance gate/portal i might have posted something similar.. but i do like it.. calling home will it fit?? looks like it brakes, did not notice them at all during my rides this day peronal belongings (aka loose articles) hmmm bolts bolts bolts ok, back to the train and riders this is such a fun part of the ride see? between 140 and 195 cm's to ride big upper body and upper legs might.... just test to be sure hmm theming passing underneath the bridge always fun watching people getting damp just because... .. this will probably be the.. .. most photographed part of the ride. another train funny faces presentation time Candy Holland was here (nice story) and Chris McCormack was here impressive ERT time which for me was picture time in the queue area.. so close water = good (unless you're Dan) hmmm everywhere you look there's something to look at.. the bridge stupid fence just a slighty different angle looks like they enjoyed it still from the queue area up side down heavenly?? the colors and theming are just... having fun ladies? such a cool ride (and love the hair) "behind the scenes" underneath the train.. automagically people pull in their legs for a lot of ages water crossing the bridge and another look at that bridge roll yummie Raptor, time to eat and take pictures from a different angle (i forgot to take pictures of the awesome food) but first.. hairtime trees Just in case you forgot the name of this ride love the hair and joy priceless smile/laugh/scream if you like it Yeah!!! diabolic look hmm gravity.. hello front row.. ehmm.. so many possible caption here.. email Dan fail. bolts and colors random riders more gravity ok, back to "normal" so close.. yet so far away Love the shirt happy faces just another angle "Bruce ejection".. "Chris Ghost".. that was a hilarious story.. plenty of happy faces looking towards the turn before the lifthill, control room is above easy restraints boarding view.. aka gate to train theming loading area without a train looking in the direction the train will go.. just one (front) row in the station control panel view from the control room That's it folks, hope you enjoyed it

Loading process is just fine. at the end of the que they have 2 gates.. opening up for 14 riders each time (14 riders per side) which then go to their side and get ready to get on the train. Restraints are very easy (not like X2) and dispatch times are great. ( i have some pictures of the loading area in the next update) regarding left or right.. sure the ride is a bit different.. since you sit on a different side.. but it does not matter for the full experience. Regarding intensity.. not sure why you think it would be different.. since everybody (the entire train) has to make the entire move.. So bottom line.. not really, both sides are a lot of fun.

which trim?? This trim... Lol, it is that i have a picture of it that shows it's installed but i did not notice it during the rides at all. Guess that's good?

Fingers crossed i should be able to get those tomorrow. They don't allow any camera's or phone's on the ride.. and i did not see a way to get to the loading area from the exit.. hope i find a way tomorrow. which trim?? The park was not that busy today so it was a 1 train wait. And no.. they are pretty good with loading and unloading and i did not see them stack the trains..

The long awaited moment was there today. Raptor opened at Gardaland and guess what.. i was there I had a blast being at the park today, got to ride the new ride a bunch of times and took a lot of pictures. I do hope these images will give you a good impression of the ride, the area and the fun it is. About the ride.. (the following is based on the rides I had today and my personal opinion) To me it was a fun ride (I have not been on Furious Baco but have been on X2) Depending on where you're sitting it's an amazing view and lot's of fun or a ride that does pack a punch (not like Insane (ERT session) but sure makes you scream like a little baby. The theming is top notch. So many details to look at (pretty sure i still missed plenty), the que area gives plenty of opportunities to see trains fly by. About that "big" thing a lot of people were talking/worrying about.. Vibrations.. as soon as there are moving parts.. guess what there is vibration.. It looks worse in video then it is on the ride. Some of my rides were even very very smooth and some i could feel something. But it's not disturbing the ride at all. The restraints they put on this ride are amazing. They give you a lot of freedom. Tomorrow there's a media event so i'll probably have another update about that with some more info (i hope) and probably some more pictures. Pictures from the second day Anyway, picture time. Feel free to comment and if you are interested in specific images.. let me know and i will see what i can do for you tomorrow. Looks like i'm getting on the correct bus opening ceremonie what?? you missed the picture?? too late.. sorry happy people all around. group that won the first ride is getting ready.. those trains do look sweet going up.. last bit of test runs before the first group rides.. water effect.. might get you wet in the que.. important !!! lifthill funky element with the que area under it now that is nice !!! technical details for all the nerds on this world now this is important (i think) that looks like fun, time to ride ok, done riding.. time to see what else i can get pictures of so many turns and interactions in this area this looks like fun stupid sun.. more water effects rolling over the bridge next train headchopper watch out for that tree!! yeah.. upside down and close encounter with a tree happy riders ok, now this is more like it. Scream!! just look at those restraints love that they put the park name on the train. Did not notice that untill looking at the pictures.. probably due to the angle.. another tree shot track interaction just look at these trains hopping over the entrance sometimes it feels like you could touch them if you wanted to que shot/idea owh.. there's also fog another bit of theming and ride interaction me like almost back home.. going up side down hairtime darn you sun.. fog did i not already have this picture?? whatever, still looks pretty sweet. That area on the right?/ that's part of the queue looking up that's more like it (with a train is "always" better) ehm.. some seem to really really like it.. hairtime and another nice look at the restraints bye bye train here they come lots of happy people "fly like an eagle" just in case turn, turn turn another lifthill shot.. just because this train looks sweet zooming by reach out.. reach out.. test seat.. just in case trying to be artsy lines were not long today.. nerd shot just zooming in this is such a fun part of the ride (and good photo point) scream ok, time to check out some other areas going back up after the first drop theming from "high" up in the air you can see most of the ride what's up folks?? just kiddin, they did not change the name (yet) swisty, turns, rolls, headchopper moments, theming.. hmmm turnaround after the first drop rolling more happy riders tower encounter rolling going down.. that's one big roll another train something trees (aka fail) ok, here we go again this is such a fun/cool part how's it going?? happy riders such a nice view for young and a little older that's it folks (for this update)

Quick reaction to this. I got to ride it a bunch of times today (trying to work on a report at this time) and let me say you one thing. Vibrations?? not a problem. This is one very fun ride with some nice elements and different experiences depending on where you're sitting. Restraints are awesome and the ride to me is a job well done. More to come later on.

Today TPR's trip in Australia continued at: Dreamworld We also have a new video for you!!! Tower of Terror 2 Roller Coaster Front Seat POV Dreamworld Australia Cyclone Backseat POV Video: Mick Doohan's Motocoaster POV Video: Enjoy!! Next up on our Aussie tour was Dreamworld! Oooh! Looks like TPR may learn something today! First we were given good bags filled with surprises... Then we were introduced to the "Dreamworld Challenge", a scavenger hunt that would put TPR teams against each other! But first we were taken on a backstage tour of the park... First we checked out the water park filled with all kinds of great Proslide rides. We checked out the water filtration and heating systems. Head of maintenance, Bob, explained how the filter systems work. Perilite for the filtration system or what Charlie Sheen calls Saturday night...you decide! Next was a behind the scenes look at one of the most anticipated coasters of the trip! Tower of Terror 2! We got to look under the vehicle. They explained how the track is not welded to the supports, but is placed in these grooves so it can have flexibility to shift back and forth. arently these are a pretty hot commodity to parks that run an Intamin Reverse Freefall coaster. They let us check out the ride manual. Here's the control panel. And a very efficient way for riders to store their stuff. This swings out towards the car, so it's easy and quick to put away your bags, and then swings back so departing riders aren't in the way when the next train boards. What a GREAT idea! Here are the new backwards trains. Dreamworld claims they first had the idea of the backwards car in 1996. And then of course...TPR got ERT on TOT2! Backwards Tower of Terror is awesome!!! hen they re-did Tower of Terror, they turned the car around backwards and extended the launch tunnel to add more theming to the ride. They also added new theming and lights to the back area. Watch the video, the tunnel section is awesome! It is a slight bummer the ride doesn't go farther up the tower... But the theming and the new backwards launch still make for an awesome ride!!! "I can't ride yet, but at least I got to climb in it!" Next up they even gave us ERT on laser tag! It was an all out slaughter fest! We all broke off into teams to complete the Dreamworld challenge. "Wow, some of these questions are tough!" I feel like I've seen this sign before... Yup...Vekoma SLC in training! Cyclone is an old-school Arrow looper which used to reside at Luna Park Sydney. And when we say old school we mean coat hanger old school! Are these the old Drachen Fire trains? Good luck you guys!!! Giant Drop was pretty damn awesome! This thing is huge! TPR fan Amber shows us Giant Drop! Here is what the ride vehicle looks like. Giant Drop is right up there with Blue Fall and Hurkan Condor as the best drop rides in the world! Dreamworld also has a fantastic animal section. We got another kangaroo credit! Many of the kangaroos had joeys in their pouch. KidTums loved feeding the kangaroos... Although the kangaroos had their own ideas.. Plenty of us did the "fondle a koala" experience! Awww....don't you want to cuddle this baby koala? That is one lucky koala! Mr. Turtle approves this photo! Hooray! The Motocoaster opened! Nothing creepier than a bunch of grown men on the kiddie ride! KidTums wanted to do the skinny ride... Any ride themed to beavers is awesome! It was time to see who won the Dreamworld Challenge! We got points for riding rides. Some people took this very seriously!!! Our sad and pathetic winners!!! Give them a huge round of apple sauce! Thank you Dreamworld for a great day!!!

quick bump wait for it...

Nice updates so far. Looking forward to the next update..

After visiting Sea world TPR's day in Australia continued at: Wet n Wild followed by some evening entertainment at: Australian Outback Spectacular Enjoy!! The next stop on our Australia tour was Wet n Wild. Of course one of the reasons we are here is because they have a coaster, but the other reason is... The Flowrider! And if you know TPR, we love these attractions! The park has a ton of slides... They had four Aqua Loops and one of the mini drops, but unfortunately they were all closed While the slide makes a "loop", you don't really go upside down. The half-pipe slides were really cool! KidTums had fun playing in the kids area. "Hi there...please get me the hell out of here!" Te rest of us got our credit. It's time for ERT on the Flowrider! (Wow! That's a lot of man boob!) Elissa shows TPR how it's done! Elissa's moment of zen. Domo makes a guest appearance! Nolan starts off ok... But then goes into mega fish tail action Doug also starts to fish tail... He got good at the "kick the wall" trick. Edward was very confident... Bob popped his Flowrider cherry! TPR members young and old were loving the Flowrider! The Flowrider is one of the most awesome water park attractions ever! It's not as hard as it looks! Chuck looks evil!!! "Damn you, board!!!" Amy looks like a pro! Board...meet face! Down for the count!!! Kathryn even tried the Flowrider... She did great!!! The stand up board came out and now things get interesting! "Hey Nolan! Show us how its done...oh wait!" "Jes! You're Australian! You can do it!" Guess not... Miles looks a bit nervous... That's why. Doug is ready for launch. Didn't even make it past "go..." Josh was showing off... But not for long! Doug did a little better the 2nd time. And Amy rocked the stand up board! Go Amy!!! Well, at least for 5 seconds! Nolan goes for the five second challenge... FAIL!!! Jes was able to surf without the rope! Which of course killed him! Pull him in!!!! Beached David!!!! Our evening was completed by the Australian Outback Spectacular! "Hi...I'm wearing a cowboy hat...and I'm going to eat with horses..." It's like Medieval Times Austalians style...but at least there is a bar... And the free beer was flowing all night long! KidTums looked awesome in her cowboy hat! Yup...there was country music...and a LOT of it! The best part is that they let TPR participate in the show!!! They had KidTums come and out chase pigs! TPR got to face off in the boat race! The yellow team is trying to look all bad ass. The red team wins!!! (And yes that's the yellow teams boat in the background falling apart!) An awesome day ends with a ridiculous group photo!

Just added the Sea Viper Roller Coaster Front Seat POV Sea World Australia to the update on page 11. Check it out

TPR's next day in Australia started at. Sea World We also have more POV videos for you! Jet Rescue Roller Coaster Front Seat POV Sea World Australia Sea Viper Roller Coaster Front Seat POV Sea World Australia "Hi, I'm Dan. I proudly present to you... The Ocean! Now get me the fuck out of here!!!" Today TPR will be visiting Shamu Dundee! Our Sea World day starts with ERT in Jet Rescue! Jet Rescue was GREAT! A perfect family coaster for this park. Even had some surprise thrills! It's TWISTY!!!! Here's the first launch...yes, it's all tire driven! This could be the most awesome train design ever! "This coaster gives me hope for San Diego's Manta!" See! TWISTY!!!!! Awesome little ride! And yes...there will be POV! And there is Sea Viper...just sitting there waiting for us. The new trains made by Kumbak are interesting looking... We also had ERT on Sea Viper... The best part...it didn't kill us! Did you know? Sea Cucumbers take in water through their anus! The new Splash Battle and ropes course area was cool looking. Kind of your standard log flume...but still cool that they have a variety of attractions here. Ice cream makes any day better! NOTED!!! The Sea Lion show was cool. The moral of this story...beat your baloney... a lot! Even this park has nothing to do with the Busch parks, they also have a Sesame Street area! Yup, KidTums still loves her Frog Hoppers! Since this Sea World does not have killer whales, the dolphin show is their "signature show." The venue looked more like a natural lagoon rather than a theater. They did lots of dolphin tricks. In this show they pull two guests out of the crowd and let then spend time with the dolphins. This trick was cook when the dolphins flung the trainer through the air! More silly fish tricks! So is San Diego the only Sea World without covered theaters? seaworld32.bmp This section is Robb approved! Didn't know ACE was also in town this week This is a pretty cool idea. Yay! Spider Cakes!!! Another monorail credit. Artsy shot! KidTums loves the fondle pond! Kids 14 and older taste better! Hello polar bear... Next up was the pirate diving show... KidTums was not a fan! OH NOES!!! We checked out the new Penguin Encounter. It was cool how close up you could get to the penguins. Sure there was a glass in between you, but seeing them this close up was really cool and different from most other parks. This one has no head...it must be Joe's ROBB!!! DO NOT EAT THE PENGUINS!!! THEY ARE NOT ON THE MEAL VOUCHER!!! Thank you Sea World for another great day on our Aussie trip!

TPR's next day in Australia was... Warner Bros Movie World We also have more POV videos for you! Superman Roller Coaster Front Seat POV Warner Bros Movie World Australia Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster with "Lights On!" We tried for a Xmas card photo, but someone wouldn't quite cooperate! TPR Members doing the Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb! TPR says goodbye to Sydney as we prepare for our first internal flight! "Today I will be playing the role of airline host...and I'll do a better job that most LAX staff!" And there is our plane! It's like the plane knew we were coming! And just when things couldn't get weirder, we get spotted on the flight by TPR fan Scott who also just happened to be our flight attendant! The view from our hotel.... Still our view! Our day at Warner Bros Movie World started out with ERT on Superman! Easily one of the best themed Intamin rocket coasters ever! And then ERT on Scooby Doo first with the lights off and then with the lights ON! Lethal Weapon was perfectly named...it was "Lethal!" It does have a BONUS HELIX!!! The park itself is very well themed and if it had maybe one or two more "major" attractions it would be on the map! It was time for credit whoring... Roller Skater...check! I need to let the Knotts guy know about this! KidTums had an awesome time on the kiddy bumper cars. This section of the park looked awesome! The log flume was cool...pretty much the same as the one at the Madrid park TPR gives it thumb up! The Dirty Harry bar serves what might be my favourite named item in any park! Yup...it's the "Make My Day Nachos!!!" Getting ready to blast off on BatWing. Superman is really awesome! Right up there with iSpeed, Xcelerator, and Storm Runner as the best Intamin launch coasters out there! The short bit going in and out of the building was great! Awesome coaster!!! And yes, there are WB characters here! And Looney Tunes! We checked out the stunt driving show... It was pretty much a Lights Motors Action rip off... But it was honestly pretty good! And big explosions make everything awesome! It was very cool to get a "lights on" look at Scooby Doo. The park tells me that they have never done this for any guests before! The dark ride parts were very cool. Reminded me of the "Dragon" at Legoland parks. And the dark ride section was quite long as well. The core of the ride itself is a standard 'extended' Mack Wild Mouse, like the kind you see at Legoland with the big drop. There are two major differences, though. The first being the elevator lift, which is similar to Europa Park's mouse or Journey at Sea World San Diego. The other difference is that this drop is taken...backwards! You then enter a turn table right after the drop to go forwards. And once you're turned forward it's pretty standard Wild Mouse stuff... Oh, yeah...there's a giant spider and lasers...it's like a Scooby Doo rave in a box! Is it just me or does Scooby kind of look like the dog from Redneck Batman? Did we mention that Superman Escape was awesome? The Superman figure on the back made me laugh every time I saw it! It was very cool that Superman was there...it just looks kind of silly and made me giggle... Superman is "pushing" the train to safety...no really, that's the actual storyline! (to be honest, it's brilliant!) Here's the launch track shot! This comes after a long dark ride section (watch the video!) Yay! More POV! I think I would put this one somewhere between Storm Runner and iSpeed. It was seriously kick ass! And TPR members enjoyed a bit of ERT on the ride this morning! And that pretty much wraps up our day at WBMW! Thank you to WBMW for a fantastic visit!

Looking forward to the moment the park will open. Just need to figure out when i can go there..

Time for a quick update. Today there was some more time in Sydney and then it was time to catch a plane to the Gold Coast. Tomorrow should provide more images. We tried for a Xmas card photo, but someone wouldn't quite cooperate! TPR Members doing the Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb! TPR says goodbye to Sydney as we prepare for our first internal flight! "Today I will be playing the role of airline host...and I'll do a better job that most LAX staff!" And there is our plane! It's like the plane knew we were coming! And just when things couldn't get weirder, we get spotted on the flight by TPR fan Scott who also just happened to be out flight attendant! The view from our hotel.... Still our view!

Looks like a new version (shorter) was "released"

Looks like they changed it.. bummer. It was pretty sweet.