robbalvey

So I've been going back and forth on this for quite some time now. TPR is on just about every popular social media platform where it makes sense for us to be, and Reddit is one of those platforms that keeps coming up...should we or shouldn't we? And especially with Reddit being in the news quite a bit lately, there's been a lot of activity around it. I find the current theme park/roller coaster subreddit offerings to be filled with fairly obnoxious people and very poorly managed. In short, if we did it, I think we could easily do a much better job! My only negative thought would be is that would it detract from our current TPR forum and take traffic away from here, or would we actually been increasing our overall exposure being on this forum-like platform? Your input is greatly appreciate! Thank you! --Robb

Two very awesome features of the San Diego area! Belmont does not disappoint!

Yeah, I'm trying to understand why this is suddenly "news" - We reported that Intamin was doing the coaster back in February.

Right. Which is pretty much what Test Track is also and that seems to still be insanely popular after 20 years... I get what you're saying though. If you're going into Journey thinking it's going to be an OMFG THRILL RIDE, then your expectations are set incorrectly, but it is by far the most detailed, impressive themed ride that Disney has ever made, with an awesome thrill at the end. It's just also "very Japanese" and I know that's hard to translate in video form. But every bit of the ride works on crazy levels.

No, sorry, we don't have anything like that.

^^ Got it. It's sometimes very hard to read into what people are saying. And you know, when you are all excited to announce something like a crazy amount of ERT on quite possibly the best coaster in SoCal, you're kind of taken aback when almost immediately after you announce it, you read "Wow, that's great at all, but what a bummer about Revolution being pulled from ERT." That was about the LAST thing I expected someone to say. That's kind of how it read to me....

I'm honestly shocked to hear this. While yes, I'm glad you would agree it was a good trade off, I'm honestly shocked to hear anyone suggest they need MORE rides on Revolution besides what they could get during normal park hours. I actually have not been on Revolution in probably 5 or 6 years, and maybe it's just me, but that's a ride I can easily miss while at the park. Seriously, if I had to add up the amount of complaint questions fielded during Q&A of rides people hate on at the park, Revolution probably tops the list. And now someone is disappointed that we took it off the ERT list??? In favor for MORE Twisted Colossus??? Please...

What I'm saying is that I wanted enough Twisted Colossus ERT so that people can spread out and do other things and not feel like they might miss out on rides on Twisted Colossus. My biggest fear that if we only had it in the morning, that everyone would rush to that coaster, and create a huge line, which isn't what ERT is about. Now I feel like people can go and get a few rides in on other stuff knowing we'll have plenty of time on Colossus as well.

I am happy to announce we will have... FOUR FULL HOURS of ERT on TWISTED COLOSSUS! Two hours in the morning - Two hours at night! Here is our ERT schedule for the event: 8:30am - 10:30am TWISTED COLOSSUS!!! Full Throttle Goliath Lex Luthor Scream 9:00pm - 11:00pm TWISTED COLOSSUS!!! X2 Superman Tatsu Viper That's four hours of ERT on 9 different rides with FOUR HOURS TOTAL on Twisted Colossus! Get your tickets NOW! We expect them to sell out even faster! http://www.themeparkreview.com/store/index.php?categoryID=22 West Coast Bash is a theme park "fan event" that includes "Exclusive Ride Time" before and after the park's public operating hours without waiting in any lines as well as many other awesome perks! Click the link above for event details & to buy tickets! --Robb Alvey http://www.themeparkreview.com

Oh, yeah, I see it. Wow, that's really obscured!

Nickelodeon Universe sent us this press release today, but I have to be honest, I'm still a little confused as to what this ride is. The description sounds like some sort of Frisbee, but the image provided doesn't really show anything. So here goes... Prepare to mutate: Shredder’s Mutant Masher is the newest thrill ride coming to Mall of America® Based on Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ most evil villain, Shredder’s Mutant Masher is opening November 2015 Mall of America® announces newest thrill ride Shredder’s Mutant Masher to open in Nickelodeon Universe® November 2015. The skyline of Nickelodeon Universe® is about to drastically change with the addition of Shredder’s Mutant Masher. This new ride is a 5,000-square-foot interactive attraction, sending riders through a unique “mutation” experience in addition to the pulse pounding thrill ride experience. Upon entering the queue, riders will begin the mutation experience by stepping into a mad-scientist-like lab where they pass hazardous material containers and remnants of past mutant experiments. All are props of course, contributing to the immersive Shredder narrative. The ride itself functions as a giant pendulum, spinning and swinging riders more than 50 feet in the air. When the ride is finished, the “mutation” is complete. Riders will have the opportunity to view their mutant photo, complete with horns, bug-eyes and other super-imposed features. Photos will be available for purchase. Based on Nickelodeon’s popular CG-animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Shredder is the infamous villain responsible for the Turtles’ mutation into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Turtle fans will be instantly familiar with the character’s significance. “Shredder’s Mutant Masher will be a complete interactive experience for kids and kids-at-heart alike. Whether you’re a long-time fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brand, or just looking for a new way to defy gravity in Nickelodeon Universe, this ride will deliver thrills from the moment you get in line,” said Jill Renslow, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Mall of America. “The immersive storytelling makes this attraction truly unique, reinforcing Mall of America as being always new.” Taking the place of the recently retired Danny Phantom’s Ghost Zone, Shredder’s Mutant Masher will also include retail space featuring Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles merchandise and other Nickelodeon products. This is the second Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-themed ride to open in Nickelodeon Universe, joining the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shell Shock ride that opened in spring 2012. Located at the east entrance of Nickelodeon Universe, Shredder’s Mutant Masher will join the more than 520 world-class shops and attractions at Mall of America. Riders must be at least 48” tall to ride without a chaperone and admission cost is six points.

Also, I'm glad you liked Manta! I feel like it's such an underrated coaster due to its size and because "It's not Orlando's Manta" but I think it's a solid family coaster and more parks I wish would install something like this.

I'm not sure exactly what this means.

Great start to the report. Looking forward to the Japan stuff.

Have a really cool announcement for West Coast Bash very soon! Just waiting to get details finalized. I would suggest getting your tickets ASAP, though!

That's such a misconception. The issue comes with many parks maintenance teams just not being experienced enough to work with Intamin's hardware. They really are more the Ferrari of the roller coaster world where a lot of the maintenance requires some specialized skill. I have always found it interesting how European Intamin installations don't have anywhere NEAR the trouble that US installations do. Hmmm.....

Here's a Dorney Park Hydra video in 60FPS that we shot a few weeks ago... Enjoy!

It started out with Kristen biking and riding quads with his kids. And they totally raced circles around me...even when I was down for the count! lol What's funny is that we've been friends with Alan & his family for many years, and when we hang out, things are usually quite calm. I guess this made up for it! lol

We aren't much into Rapids rides so they didn't bother. I've been back in that area on previous visits, and while it's nice, I didn't find it anything to write home about.

So today Elissa got to visit her last remaining "decent sized" park in the USA that she hadn't been to before. We can't think of many other major park with more than a couple of coasters that she hasn't been to now, so I guess this kind of completes her collection of "USA big parks!" It was a great day, although I was supposed to go, but I became incapacitated, and I'll get to that later. The weather was great (it rained a little, but didn't impact too much), the staff was friendly, and even though the park was crowded, they did manage to get people through the lines as quickly as possible. Cannibal lived up to the hype. It's a VERY solid ride. Elissa felt that while it might not be a "top ten" coaster, it most certainly was a lot of fun, had some nice elements and should be a huge, HUGE hit for the park! Great ride! Anyway, onto some photos... Weather is beautiful at Lagoon today! Mountain backdrop is amazing! Got to the park about 45 minutes before opening, they put us in a holding area for Cannibal, and we were one of the first on the ride! The coaster lived up to the hype! Super fun and solid ride! The elements were great and had a few nice surprises. This ride deserves to be a huge hit for the park! POV Video! Check out the video of Cannibal we shot while at Lagoon! Holy cow! Line for Cannibal is huge! Guessing 2-3 hours! They certainly have a hit on their hands! This is why it pays to get to the park early! Nice to see Lagoon hang on to the "classics!" Even though the "no single riders" rule was kind of odd, this is still a sold Schwarzkopf coaster! Speaking about Schwarzkopf classic roller coasters, look at this beauty! Taking a ride on the skyway checking out some great views! Not many parks have sky rides anymore, so it's nice to see this one is still here! The park really does have quite a good selection of coasters! And flat rides! There are quite a few of them here! For example, they still have a classic Rock-O-Plane! Time to take a ride on that Schwarzkopf! Colossus The Fire Dragon is 32 years old and still packs huge thrills today! Totally fun ride! It's too bad Dorney Park got rid of theirs. Time to take a ride on a classic woodie! Lagoon's woodie is simply named "roller coaster." Elissa is playing the part of Robb today getting footage at the park! Just rode the Wild Mouse. Fun little ride! They have a good balance of coasters for all ages here! Taking a lunch break at Lagoon! Teriyaki bowls FTW! Great stuff! Yes, there was good asian food in Utah! lol Kristen is just sticking with the plain rice! The park really did have a lot of great flat rides... You have classic older ones... ...and awesome newer ones! This is how you "cool off" at Lagoon! Bombora was a fully "in-house designed" family coaster... Including a fun "Roller Skater"-like layout and on-board train audio! Fun Facts! See! These are fun, right? Some very cool looking rides in the kids section of the park. Not sure I've ever seen a ride quite like this before. And yes, there is a kiddie coaster It was kind of a tight squeeze! lol What's that? You want some more Cannibal photos? Sure! You got it! The single rider line was open, and it ended up being about 40 minutes single rider later in the day. Wicked was having some mechanical issues earlier in the day, but it finally opened a couple of hours before we left. What a GREAT ride! That launch UP the tower was awesome! Very smooth ride with some great elements! Both this and Cannibal are huge wins for the park! Overall, Elissa's first visit to Lagoon was a huge success! Got on all the coasters she wanted to and really had a nice day at the park. It's great to see park this clean and this friendly with so many big rides! Thank you Lagoon for a great day! We will be back! Meanwhile, I was down for the count because I broke my ankle the night before riding dirt bikes with Alan Schilke! Maybe I should stick to riding his roller coasters instead of more "XTREME" thrills! Oh, well, hopefully this heals up quickly!

Yes! I love seeing Shark Tank pitches become a reality!

Sorry, no. Helix was a lot of fun, but possibly the most overrated coaster I've ridden in a long time.

We had to use a chest mount, so it wasn't the smoothest video we were able to shoot, but regardless, I don't think it rocked "so much" either. I think we are just spoiling people with our normally rock-solid mounting to trains!

Every time I hear that name, I think of sushi. I now want Lagoon to serve the "Lagoon Roll" sushi in one of their restaurants. Ugh, and now I just want sushi in general. "Lagoon Roll" sounds very tasty!