robbalvey

You have to remember that we have been to a *LOT* of water parks in the world, and this was a shorter UAE trip for us this time around, so it wasn't possible to hit everything. We chose to at least go see the park rather than skip it entirely. Next time we will have a whole day to visit. We didn't "miss out" on anything. We did the trip exactly the way we wanted to.

After our visit to Ferrari World we did a quick lap next door of Yas Waterworld Water Theme Park! This quite possibly may be the best themed water park I've ever seen! The center of the park is a huge iconic building with slides coming off of it, the entire park is incredibly well landscaped, and even the supports for most of the slides have rock work and theming around them! The park also uses an impressive RFID wristband system to reserve rides, play interactive games, open your locker, pay for food & merchandise, etc. I feel like Yas Waterworld almost sets the bar for water theme parks! Oh, and did we mention there was an actual roller coaster right in the middle of it, too? Here's some photos & video. While unfortunately, we didn't have time to ride any slides on this visit, we rode the coaster and took a nice tour of the park! Here goes... Bandit Bomber is a nice "family suspended" coaster that travels around the park. We didn't use any of the water features for obvious reasons, and the park was nearly at closing time and that's why there aren't many people around the park... Next door to Ferrari World is Yas WaterWorld, one of the nicest themed water parks in the world! The theming at Yas WaterWorld is absolutely incredible! Not sure I've seen this much attention to detail in a water park! This is how impressive the attention to detail is... even the slide supports are themed with rock work! Amazing! An RFID wristband is used at Yas WaterWorld for many guest services like front of the line access, photo pass, payments, lockers, etc... You'll find interactive elements around Yas WaterWorld that are brought to life by tapping your RFID wristband! The centerpiece of Yas WaterWorld is the Grand Pearl and many of the slides come off this structure. Bandit Bomber is an interactive "wet" roller coaster where you can drop water bombs on guests below you! So impressed with how well themed this park is! The water parks in the UAE are easily the best in the world! The backdrop of the giant pearl looming over the wave pool looks fantastic! And keeping with the theme of the giant pearl, there actually is a "pearl diving experience" you can do at the park! Here's a look at the park map so you can get an idea of how big the place is. And of course they have a giant "water play area" for kids... SKLOOOSH!!!! Loved that the cabanas were all themed to Arabian tents! They are climate controller and are fully catered by the park staff! Everything you need at your fingertips to make your day even more enjoyable! Overall though, the park has a wonderful collection of slides that include a wide variety of thrills and fun! And the theming and attention to detail around every corner was amazing! We absolutely LOVED this park! Next time we visit the UAE we will budget even more time to do a full day here! And with the Warner Bros park being built right next door, maybe even spend a few days in Abu Dhabi! Thanks again for reading! We will be back with another installment soon! Oh yes, be sure to POST YOUR COMMENTS!!! (we took the time to write the report, the least you could do is say something nice about it!)

To be fair, it is on the park website, and it has been for quite some time as we looked into this prior to our trip. Maybe the ProTip next time you plan your travel is to check with the park to make sure if a major ride you are looking forward to is actually open during your trip? And then if you can re-adjust your travel plans, you can do so when said attraction is back open.

Yeah, I can't help to think that something seems a bit "off" with all the Disney numbers in that report. Every one of the parks reported taking a decrease in attendance, but oddly enough I've actually visited every single Disney park in the last 12 months and everything we saw (especially here in Orlando) points to those parks being constantly busy. The only exception may have been Disneyland Paris where so much of the park was closed this year to prepare for their 25th Anniversary. But seriously, here in Orlando, I feel like the parks are busy all year round now during periods where they never used to get busy before. Something just doesn't seem to add up with those numbers. Obviously I have no way of proving anything, but at a time where the parks seems to be doing very strong from my own personal experiences, I find it hard to believe they all took a hit this past year.

Something to keep in mind: from what I understand Disney does NOT give their numbers to TEA and from what I'm told by people who do have a much better idea of the actual Disney numbers, is that the TEA report is usually off when it comes to their Disney estimates (report is usually lower than the actuals.) I have nothing to back this up other than hearsay so if anyone else has any more factual info about that, please feel free to post. While I find the reports fascinating and I do reference them quite often, I also don't take the information as 100% "fact" but are very useful nonetheless.

Here it is: http://www.teaconnect.org/images/files/TEA_235_103719_170601.pdf Time to open the discussion floor! Here's their press release about this year's report: The TEA/AECOM Theme Index and Museum Index is a collaboration of the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and the economics practice at AECOM, a global provider of technical-professional and management-support services. This calendar-year study of global attractions attendance is a free resource for park operators, land developers and the travel industry. Top worldwide theme parks, amusement parks, water parks, museums and theme park group operators are named, ranked by attendance, and industry trends are identified. The global market is studied as a whole, and each of its main regions is also studied separately: the Americas, Europe and Asia. There is also a table of the top waterparks in the world and in the United States, and of the top global chain operators. The study is published in late May or early June of each year. It is distributed electronically via TEA’s and AECOM’s websites, and a print edition is created by AECOM for additional distribution at trade events. TEA and AECOM have collaborated on the Theme Index since 2007, although the study itself has been in existence for much longer. It began as an attendance report of major U.S. theme parks, produced by ERA (now part of AECOM) with Amusement Business magazine (now defunct). Over the years, this study evolved to add waterpark figures and address the international scope of the industry. The Museum Index was added for the 2012 study. Inclusion in the annual Theme Index is a benchmark of success among operators. AECOM obtains the figures used to create the TEA/AECOM Theme Index through a variety of sources, including statistics furnished directly by the operators, historical numbers, financial reports, the investment banking community and local tourism organizations, among others. To be included in the study, a facility in general must be gated (entry ticket required). North American parks must have annual visits above one million. To be included on the top chains list, a chain operator must have theme parks in its portfolio. Every year TEA and AECOM hear from parks desiring to share their attendance increases and earn a place on the list. Operators who believe their properties should be included in the Theme Index are encouraged to contact the AECOM office in their region, after studying the current edition of the Theme Index and familiarizing themselves with the criteria. The more feedback and information received, the more accurate this report will become.

Your posts haven't even needed to be "approved" for some time. So why are you complaining?!?!? Please stop wasting my time.

With all the crazy things going on in the world right now, THIS is what you choose to complain about???

If you read on Twitter the park is getting absolutely murdered due to all the problems with Tapu Tapu. I don't understand why they just don't turn it off right now at least for ride reservations and let people stand in a normal queue until they get things fixed. Aside from that, people seem to be enjoying the park, so why not remove the one issue that seems to be frustrating so many people?

Some things to think about.... On the plus side, Disney handles weekend crowds much better than Universal does. Another thing to think about, Universal at least has an unlimited Express pass which if you switched your days to Universal on the weekend I would highly recommend getting.

We have arrived at Ferrari World! Home to the world's fastest roller coaster Formula Rossa! Here's our humble little group for this trip! I've got Starbucks, a media pass, and ready to have an awesome day! Starting off our day with a preview of the new Turbo Track! While we didn't get to ride as the attraction was still under construction, our cameras DID get to ride! Take a look... First coaster of the day we got to ride (and of the trip, actually!) Some family-friendly multi-launched Ferrari racing goodness! Sexy looking trains! Holy cow! Formula Rossa is still quite possibly the most intense launch coaster in the world! INSANE!!! Goggles on and we are ready for the world's fastest roller coaster! There you go at 149MPH! INSANE! While yes, they do brake you on the initial uphill (and they do this so you won't DIE!) you take the rest of the ride at a pretty swift 90MPH or so I'd say! Here's my "Formula Rossa Face!" lol! [twitter] [/twitter] And check out this cool 360 video we did! (You may need to watch it on your phone using the YouTube app..) Next up....and AWESOME new Intamin coaster! Seriously, this ride was AMAZING fun! Interestingly enough, not only is the coaster itself great, but it also has one of the most elaborately themed queues for any roller coaster. Take a look... Here we go! [twitter] [/twitter] And here's a little bit of coaster porn for you... And now some awesome 4K footage! And yes, of you want to drive a real Ferrari for an exotic car experience, you can! My favorite girl and my favorite number! Heeeeeey you two! The karting track at Ferrari World was amazing! Was super fun sliding around slick tracking all over the place! I cannot come up with a caption that can possibly match the humor of this photo. So I won't try. Instead just enjoy a photo of a bunch of grown adults with condoms on their heads! Benno presents his own ride! Loved this cool interactive dark ride! It's awesome that the interactive games you play while on the dark ride are more like "mini-apps" with things you have to do instead of just "shooting targets." We thought this was GREAT! [twitter] [/twitter] If your child is too small for the dark rides, you can put them on the ride in these Ferrari car seats! Amazing! Did we mention that @FerrariWorldAD also has some excellent theming throughout the park? The lift hill on Flying Aces is like a ride in itself! The steepness and the speed of that lift was crazy! The staff at Ferrari World were AWESOME to work with today! Huge thanks to the marketing & operations team! Kristen also had a GREAT day at Ferrari World today! There is plenty to do for all ages here! Oh yeah... We aren't talking about this! Thanks again for reading! We will be back with another installment soon! Oh yes, be sure to POST YOUR COMMENTS!!! (we took the time to write the report, the least you could do is say something nice about it!) Calico System.nltrack Conveluted.nltrack Inertiatic.nltrack Quatro_[R]_Real.nlpack

Going to move this into the general theme park board and I'm sure you can get some good answers there!

No, we live in a shed and eat Pork N Beans out of the trash.

Tonight was opening night for the new Happily Ever After fireworks show. This is no question a "Tokyo Disney" caliber show. I was so impressed. It may very well be the best fireworks show I've seen at a Disney park....

Well, that's not usually how these things work. How many years has Cedar Fair been managing Gilroy Gardens but they don't own it?

They didn't purchase this property, they are just managing it. It is not owned by Six Flags.

Just got back from seeing Matilda at the Dr. Phillips Center here in Orlando. First off, I just want to say how impressed I've been with the Broadway season we've had this year and next year looks amazing as well! Shows like Gentleman's Guide, Matilda, Finding Neverland, American in Paris... all awesome shows this season and next season we have Waitress, Rent, The King & I, Lover Never Dies, Lion King and a triumphant return of one of my favorites: Book of Mormon! I know we have a lot of Orlando locals that read our forums and I strongly recommend season tickets or at least becoming a member of the theater (the pre-sale tickets option is worth every penny) and you can find more info here: https://www.drphillipscenter.org/ Now onto Matilda. I'm sure most of you know by now that Matilda is one of our all-time favorite shows. We love it (and when we say we I mean the whole family including Kristen, who is ten now, and has even sung some of the Matilda songs at her elementary school) and it's the intelligently written dialogue, the witty humor, and the sarcastic if not sometimes really dark subject matter that makes it a huge win for us! One thing I will say about Matilda is that it's not really a "kids" show. And while it has a lot of kids in it, and many people who go to see it think it will be like the "British Annie" it's really so much deeper and darker. The kids in the show are FANTASTIC and you'll get emotional with them, but the show does deal with some pretty heavy subject matter at times such as suicide, child abuse, and murder! Be prepared to laugh, cry, and be a little bit shocked at some of the scenes. They are so well written and completely amazing! We actually saw this show two nights in a row and it was interesting because we got to see different girls play Matilda (there are three total on the tour) as they take turns playing the role and going to "real school" (not just Crunchem Hall!) Jenna who we saw on the first night was just incredible. For a ten year old girl her singing/dancing/acting/British accent talent was just incredible throughout the whole show! We saw Gabby tonight and while she seemed to have a bit more trouble with the British accent, she NAILED songs like "Quiet" which is not an easy number at all. The entire cast was incredibly impressive and watching the adult ensemble during "School Song" and the kids during "When I Grow Up" gives you all the feels in many different ways. And all the adult main characters: Miss Honey, Trunchbull, the Wormwood's, etc, are all fantastic in their own ways. You'll laugh at them, you'll hate them, and by the end of it, you'll be very happy you came to see this show! This is the fourth time we've seen the show and it keeps getting better each time! And we are always so impressed with the touring casts as it's nice to have a bit of Broadway quality right here in Orlando! On to some photos.... We arrive at the beautiful Dr. Phillips center for the show! Kristen brought some school supplies to help support A Gift For Teaching charity! Kristen is sporting her Matilda shirt from a previous viewing of the show! I of course had to pick up the "Children are Maggots" shirt because I happen to agree with this! Kristen is VERY happy to be back in a theater playing Matilda again! Even happier because it's our awesome home town venue of Dr. Phillips Center! I know I've said it many times before but the theater is just fantastic and I'm so happy we have this new venue here in Orlando! We've taken our seats and can't wait for the show! This video clip was from the Tony's but it will give you an great idea of the AMAZING talent, writing, and pure magic that you'll see in Matilda! (and also the fact that it is introduced by Newsies makes this one of the best Broadway videos you can ever watch!) Here are three Matilda's. Jenna on the far left and Gabby in the middle are the two that we have seen. Both VERY talented kids! Sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty! The "story" monologues are some of the best writing I've seen in a show. It's like a show within a show and they draw you in very deep. It's even crazier that they are spoken by kids 9 to 11 years old! AMAZING! What can we say about Miss Trunchbull? As much as you hate her character she steals every scene she's in! Miss Honey's character is, well, pathetic, but she's the heart of the show. And the Jennifer Bowles playing her... WOW... she was great! And let's not forget the Wormwood's. Incredibly stupid people and you hate them as well, but you can't help but to laugh at them. They clearly would have voted for Trump. And Mrs. Wormwood thinks reading books is for idiots. Let's just say she doesn't get very far in life! My mummy says I'm a miracle... It's hard not to get a little emotional during "When I Grow Up." It's interesting. I think this scene reads very differently for kids than it does adults! Here's a clip from When I Grow Up. Take a moment to watch. It's amazing! These are all revolting children!!! MAGGOTS!!!! The intermission ends with a great "break the 4th wall" moment where Mr. Wormwood talks to the audience about the "Telly!" It's a great scene and a wonderful introduction to the 2nd act. I absolutely LOVE this little cheat sheet they do for the show to help Americans understand the British slang! lol Matilda has quite possibly the best curtain call with all the cast coming out on the scooters! I love this! During the show the kids throw out paper airplanes into the audience. (Watch the Tony Awards video posted above) We caught one. Even the paper they throw out has a "progress report" for one of the students! I love this little detail about the show! And yes, it's on both sides! The show closed on Broadway on Jan 1st, 2017 (it is still playing open-ended in London) and here is the final curtain call for that show. You can see just how awesome it is! Once again we are just so fortunate to have such an amazing venue like Dr. Phillips Center here in Orlando! Please take a look at their upcoming shows and if you're a theater fan subscribe or become a member! https://www.drphillipscenter.org/

And how it will duel with the first half.

What am I, chopped liver!!? Sheesh. Don't flatter yourself.

Yes, exactly. What I don't get it how over the off-season people were chomping at the bit for Mean Streak photos that we were asked not to be posted and now that the park is open, where are the Mean Streak photos now that it's okay to post them???

I would also like to point out two things for anyone who is still thinking about bitching and complaining about this.... 1. Cedar Point is offering a discounted rate during these early season dates: Last I checked Disney isn't offering a discounted rate for half of Hollywood Studios being closed, and they don't need to. Why? Because there is PLENTY OF OTHER COOL STUFF TO DO AROUND THE PARKS!!!!! 2. Cedar Point posts this on their website and I'm sure it's on tickets and other information throughout the park.... Again, I just don't understand the complaining. Year after year. The same complaints and bitching. Seriously people, SHUT UP and just go enjoy the park. Sorry your stupid favorite ride is closed or whatever, get over it.

Most of the discussion in this topic hasn't been about "people who looked at this forum" - it's about the general public who pay full price without being told in advance that rides will be closed, which the best-in-class theme parks are very good about doing. It's about understanding why a park that was once voted "best in the world" (and is still considered so by many) is not following the examples of those best-in-class competitors. Please just shut the hell up. Your complaints and comments are insanely stupid and it's not even worth my time trying to explain to you why. Go back and read what I wrote. And if you can't grasp that sense of rationality, our forum isn't for you and please just leave and post your crap comments somewhere else. Thanks. --Robb "Has anyone else noticed that Robb seems to have lost all patience with stupid people lately? It's refreshing, isn't it?" Alvey EDIT: You know what...nevermind, I'm just going to ban this guy. So sick of trying to rationalize with irrational people. Don't want 'em on our forum. Don't need 'em. Bu-bye Felicia.

Two things... 1. If you're traveling a long distance and making your "only visit this year" on opening weekend, honestly, that's sort of dumb and poor planning on your part. And not even for Cedar Point but for ANY seasonal amusement park. And if you're a local with a season pass? Big deal! Just come back again some other time. Space Mountain was closed the other day at Magic Kingdom, did I go online and bitch about it? No, I can go whenever I want. Not a big deal. 2. I'm pretty sure that Cedar Point didn't WANT those rides closed and probably were also upset by the closure. And hey, if TWO rides being down is going to be a dealbreaker for your weekend at the park, which has a LOT of other really awesome rides, maybe you should try to find another hobby? Or at least some patience. I mean we went to Dollywood last year and their big new ride wasn't open. We flew half way around the world to Abu Dhabi and Formula Rossa was closed. We missed Taron by a week at Phantasialand. You know how much we bitched in those incidents? NONE. Because we were still at a park having an excellent time and being at Cedar Point with Magnum closed still has to be better than a day at work, right? So stop your complaining...