Garet

I voted 2019 because of the habits I have. I don't watch the Oscars and I know they are last years films but my fingers just automatically type this year when I search for them and that's before your picture reminded me that they are named after the airing year, not the movies. I think I'm the same when I want to see the results of other awards as well. I think I do that for a lot of things, in the TEA example, I think the only reason I don't see the wrong year is that it's here in the TPR forum. I think if I want to see some awards results and just quickly open google, I'm going to automatically type the current year into the search bar subconsciously with the name.

So I realize this is a huge long shot of anyone having any information on this from a 12 year ago TPR trip and it's just curiosity but does anyone have any information on the Gyro Swing that was at Children's Grand Park in Korea? I was in the area recently with my son and remembered there had been one years ago when I was there on a school field trip pre-renovation but I had never seen it running. I had a look around and asked one or two Korean park fans but there's not a single rider report of it or a video on youtube of it running. The only information I could find was it was perhaps called Hurricane. I think I just always assumed it was installed late into the parks life and when they decided to re-do the park, they decided they were going to open it with the other new rides. Here it is included in the preview art before the renewal opened (Thanks to Darren Mullins TR) but it seems even though it was already installed, it was quietly removed around then so 2013/2014. I did a quick look on Naver street view and found it was in the park in 2011. I kind of assumed that maybe it came after TPR went to the park in 2007 since it wasn't mentioned being Intamin fans but it's here in their 2007 TR in the background. It just seems weird that this park made such a huge investment since I think only two had been built pre 2007 (Drayton Manor and Lotte World) and other companies hadn't entered the giant frisbee market yet but it never seems to have run (I couldn't find testing footage) and have sat for maybe 7+ years before disappearing. Does anyone know if it ever ran, was it scrapped or sold onwards to another park? It's just a creepy ghost ride that seems to sit in the background of videos and images of the park for years.

Source Is this an old policy? For some reason, I thought that hopping out of the line for any reason at Disney was frowned upon and you had to go before getting in line so as not to disrupt other guests. I've seen bathroom passes in Korea but I've seen guests hop out with the kids for the bathroom at the very start of the line and come back 25-40 minutes later at the end with a whole bunch of snacks.

Found a POV of the it now, the area starts at 8:40 and ends around 12:00 [youtu_be] [/youtu_be] For comparison, you can see what the road looked like before here: [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

I'm not 100% convinced on this. It wouldn't surprise me considering all the cost-cutting the park has had (paths, restaurants, and rides closed in areas and left SBNO, smaller parades, rides taking split shifts (one ride opens morning, one afternoon with a lunch hour of both closed), most new attractions either being upcharges like the VR rides you mentioned or gardens have replaced removed rides (Eagle's Fortress and Global Village) but nothing has been confirmed by the park and most reports about it are coming from this weekend. First of all let me stress, even on the original Lost Valley, the water part is not very long. It's mostly there as a cool-factor that kids seemed to love that the bus was now a boat so it's not a big change. The new Lost Valley was open this weekend for a soft opening and they were stressing it was on a test run. The ride normally is 5 points on the app to get a q-pass but it was 2 only because the ride was pass only with no standby line and only running from 1-5. So, at least from what I saw when you get to the old water part, there is a road next to it. The road has always been there but before it just seemed like an access road. Now the trees have gone and the bus runs along it and you can see the animals but they were all positioned perfectly now between the water and dry-road. Literally, the only thing I saw in this new area on the right side (so far from the water) was some antelope, some ostriches, and emu. Even the elephant was still way over on the water side. But here's the thing, even after all the construction, the wide water part was still there the road you came to still had a little divide as if the cars could choose, the water was flowing and life rings and buoys were all still laid out. Nothing has been blocked off. I feel like if the water was permanently gone, it could have been filled in and used for bigger animal areas and removed than taking out some trees and putting in 2 types of animals. I don't know the reasoning the park decided to make the old un-used dry side road an area but the ride is one of the parks busiest. Then again before Lost Valley I remember the park adding a U-turn to the old safari ride and making a big-deal that it was now a 'Herbivore Safari' too so it wouldn't be the first time the park has done something like this. On the other sidee, perhaps using the dry road means the buses can make it around the course faster or need refueling less reducing the line-time or it will help in the winter but people I've heard from think it could go either way. It seems strange that they would re-fill the trough and keep the wide water road and make it nice again if it is gone for good.. The park was putting it out that this weekend was a testing period and I think they wanted to evaluate the effect the new path has on their numbers and flow. It makes sense then that all the buses would go along to see that new area but I think unless the park has officially confirmed it and I missed it, that it could be too early to know. Honestly, the whole thing felt weird to me. It just seemed strange that they would build this new tiny area away from the water, meaning they want the cars to be there, but removing the unique point of the ride from the other safari ride, and then still leave the water and road in place where passengers can see it. I know some kids on our bus ride seemed disappointed and were too busy asking their moms why the boat car didn't go into the water to notice the new animals.

A big update for Resort Worlds Sentosa complex, there's a lot of updates in the article, but the big takeaway is Minions and Nintendo Land are coming. Apparently, the Minions area will replace the Madagascar area. I was underwhelmed by the main Madagascar ride but I'm kind of sad because the two rides there were park exclusive rides not seen in the other parks and I really liked the carousel design. also because this is TPR, a Kidzania has opened on the island since my last visit. Source

As I said in my TR, Lost Valley had been down for a long rehab for what is the parks signature attraction which could indicate a change. The park has just announced Wild Road, a new road that will be a part of the ride: http://www.everland.com/web/everland/now/news/1219105_10436.html The Plum Blossom Garden that has taken up Eagle's Fortress' spot and the area once marked for the hotel has opened. Source

Not sure Koreans get April Fools but Gyro Swing will run 360 degrees from today.

Were the updates made between Sept-Dec of 2018? If so there was a hack and we had to default to an older version? Yea I think it must have been October or November because I vaguely remember Halloween decorations.

The land where Eagle's Fortress once stood, then was announced as a hotel back in 2015 and then I think the garden announcement was 2017 is Finally going to open this weekend. [fbvideonew] [/fbvideonew] I was at the park recently. Normally I avoid the parks on days I know will be busy (Spring on a dust-free day, not too hot, not too cold) but I have a 3-year old who likes the zoo there so it's not a big deal for us. He's also decided he doesn't like rides anymore so we figured we go anyway and it'd give me a proper chance to try out the app on a moderately busy day since I normally either don't use it, or use it on dead days. So now I drive in Korea i've discovered this lovely road that loops around Everland and the water park. Driving from the left hand side at the bottom of the grey, the GPS and buses go down the bottom towards a roundabout but since that always has traffic lines for 10 mins I've been adding the 2km and looping around since the road goes above Everland, around the water-park and speedway with beautiful views. However parking isn't so fun to get out of since Everland follows the Korean rules of fill every space, then one lane of the road, then any additional space as long as you leav a gap with milometers to spare to squeeze a car through. The tiger area has had a revamp, before it had a moat and the tigers were quite far off. Now they have a lot more space and can come up close. My son spent literally hours here at the new exhibit. The wall to the right is a feeding area, the keepers come at scheduled times and meat is put through with tongs. The polar bear exhibit is now a construction site after the death of Tonki. A final look at the new tiger area. Lost Valley, one of the parks signature attractions has gone down for a 3 month rehab. Whether we will see new exhibits added or just a touch-up is unknown. Shooting Ghost opened in Mysery Mansion's building. It's the same layout but with new forward facing cars and screens added over old prop areas. Sorry Larry I wasn't going to wait 50 minutes for what is 3 U-turns to get pictures. So I incorrectly assumed before that you could win easily on Lenny's Chance. Unfortunately I lost when I tried for T-Express and got this. The English isn't correct since I just lost and wasn't late... ... as the time slot was still available. I know this because my wife offered up her points since Lost Valley was closed we didn't need to spend them to get my son on the Safari Ride... I lost again sadly. I should explain how the app works because I made some stupid mistakes. When you scan your ticket you get 1 point when you scan your ticket and gain 1 point every 30 minutes after that. You can only hold a maximum of 5 points. The slots open up at different times so people who enter the park later can play. Clicking the greyed out time-slots show what time they are available. Checking those times are crucial for planning out your day. I lost at T-Express which meant I kept my 5 points (the max) so I wasn't accumulating more. I then realized if I spent points too late I wouldn't have enough when the T Express tickets next came up at 4PM to even try so I couldn't spend points now but also couldn't accumulate them. Not the apps fault, it's mine for poor planning. A brief de-tour while I was snapping the app when I noticed the safari ride buses now had their own transformer toys. The 10 years SBNO ferris wheel had also had a repaint. Our now every visit stop-by of the Panda exhibit for my son. Small side-note, for the first time I can remember you weren't forced to watch the pre-show and could go straight through to the exhibit. I really will never get tired of how open this exhibit is compared to some of the others i've seen. Remember how I said I was saving my points for the last couple hours? Well some people must have lucked out because the tickets were gone in under 60 seconds of opening. I was the idiot who closed the app instead of having it in the background and by the time I had loaded they were gone. I always tell people to go on a Sunday over a week-day and they look at me crazy. This was the Monday after while school is in session. There are dead days on weekdays too of course but it's always a roll of the dice. Speaking of lines, there must be some very patient parents because I don't think I could wait 50 mins with my son for a ride only he could do.

Did the Gyeongju World index go back to an older version? https://www.themeparkreview.com/parks/k_406_gyeongju_world_kyungju_world I remember it was updated with signs and photos from my TR and the closed rides were updated but it's back to an old version now. I was maybe going to be down that way next month so was seeing if there was anything else needed.

For the U.K. Botton's Pleasure Beach have added a Freak-Out: http://www.pleasurebeachskegness.com/rides.html while on that subject I know that park removed Surf Rider after the accident and Storm is also removed since Rockin Roller replaced it. I think the only other update there is Paratroopers are gone since my last visit but i'm not 100% sure on that one. and Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach have added an Air Maxx: https://www.pleasure-beach.co.uk/rides Their Evolution ride is gone. That empty looking Korean section makes me sad.

^ It's a shame, I keep meaning to try Thunder Dolphin but I never get round to it. I convinced myself that trying a Spider-Man ride Japanese style and a parachute tower would be worth it but Tokyo always distarcts me. With Aqua Stadium removing their really unique Intamin launcher a while back and this park removing 2 coasters and it's unique Spider-Man ride, I've never been a person to care about a credit count so I always find myself ending up going to the two Yokohama parks (although Sea Paradise have now removed the dolphins from the pedalos so that unique ride is neutered) or Tobu Zoo instead for rides I know I like over a new credit that I hear for a huge Intamin is just ok-ish. Heck on the last two times I decided I'd go, I skipped rides or parks altogether because there are so many things I love in Japan non-coaster related, I think once I scored Ghibli Museum tickets from a Lawson vending machine or normally I give up a park to spend more time in Akihabara or any of the unique malls (and my wife will tell you I normally hate shopping).

^ A.J. wrote that lumping middle coasters under a number is also acceptable for the poll. So you could do top ten and bottom 10 and then grouping a bunch of coasters after that so coasters you really like are all 15, then good coasters under 20 and meh coasters under 25 etc.

I think Everland has the same giant double ship model, they only run one ship these days but the number of people one ship can fit is huge.

I still love the Blue Fall method of fake drop them into a brake, then really drop them.

Good news for single riders, that line will probably flow fast. Bad news is you're most likely going to end in a side-car. I joke, and I know like Robb's pictures, other parks have motorbike/side-car seating but I would hate to be the grouper for this ride. I'm sure for smaller parks you can let people choose and send cars half empty but for the new Harry Potter ride... 'How many in your group? 4. 'Take rows 2 and 3. We all want motorcycle seats. So either the single rider line becomes essentially the 'side car line' or your the poor person telling people who've waited 1-2 hours to take a seat they don't want. On the plus side at least with Universals strict locker policy, if you were paired with a single rider, someone can't quickly hop into your motorcycle seat while you're putting a bag onto the shelf.

One of the main advertised attractions isn't going to be ready for the opening? That's... really weird, actually. I'd honestly rather Disney wait to open the land with both rides. Why open a land without the ride with the better capacity? Well, I mean Star Wars fans will crowd and spend like crazy twice now instead of once. Instead of a few weeks of sold-out hotels and fans crowding the park they can do phases and repeat the press, publicity, merchandise sales, hotel income etc. If this works out well and brings in a lot of $$$ doing it this way, I can see future areas they expect to get big crowds e.g. Marvel areas open in 'phases' throughout their opening years.

So for all their hype, this is basically a new 3D film for the existing simulator with alternating endings. 2 screenings 30 minutes apart of 1 ending and then alternating. There is VR but it's only in the front row, everyone else watches the screen with 3D glasses. There are separate lines for each.

And even if for some reason you hate it, it’s not like the park is short on different flat rides or other types of roller coasters to enjoy.

Seems the Korean Water Resources Group have now given up on it being a Universal Park and are handing it off to Shinsegae Group to get their theme park off the ground. Source

I just saw Fantastic Beasts 2: crimes of Jonny Depp and it was ok... which is probably how I feel about most Harry Potter films but this one was more meh than most but I kind of realized, it's interesting this brand new ride isn't themed to this part of the franchise at all. Harry Potter isn't going anywhere, anytime soon but I find it interesting that even though this is movie 2 of 5 even this new ride is focused on a finished part of the franchise. I mean when was the last time a park ignored a currently ongoing series for an old one. The original Star Wars is huge but Galaxy's Edge is focused on the sequel trilogy, it makes me wonder how much faith there is in the Fantastic Beasts series.

I have a suspicion that most guests who are visiting the parks for all the rides will just refer to it as ‘the motorcycle coaster’ or something along those lines and even most potter fans will probably say something along the lines of ‘The Hagrid ride’ or something similar. I see hardcore theme park enthusiasts insisting on using its full name more than even Harry Potter fans actually.

Could it be the sub terra towers have been re used in this dungeon? The ride wasn’t that old to be scrapped and I think the London dungeon have the same tower for a hangman’s ride or at least one similar in that you load at the top of the tower and get dropped below.

Saw the Lion King tour here in Korea. I enjoyed it because I love the music (even if I'm one of the few who isn't the biggest fan of the story) but it was kind of weird for me. I've seen a lot of musicals here (mostly domestic productions and a few international tours) and we've never had problems getting tickets for anything but this sold out instantly and I think is breaking sales records. Every musical we've seen in Asia has been the same routine, polite clapping throughout without any cheering or standing no matter how great it was but then all hell breaks loose at the curtain call. Maybe we just got a bum day with the audience but you could feel the disconnect in the air. I would laugh at something and hear nothing and the curtain call was just polite applause. The drummer tried to get the audience to clap along after the interval and people just sat there or clapped along very half-assed. I think over-hype can be dangerous butI'm not sure if that was it or people were expecting something more special being an international tour. I've seen a lot of domestic tours, even with my Korean being passable at best, because the amount of energy Koreans put into the choreography and performance can be insane. We saw rock of ages on a whim because I thought it'd be cool to see how they fit Korean lyrics into the pop songs and the number of dancers and energy throughout was great and I don't even like the original. There were subtitles off to the side which I guess could be a big disconnect when you have to keep looking away from the stage but that didn't happen when we saw Avenue Q. Every joke got a big laugh there and you think how much that relies on language to keep the audience invested compared to something visual like the Lion King. It could be a case of puppets being dirty and foul-mouthed in English is more of a niche sale in Korea so everyone knew what they were in for and wanted to be there compared to Lion King where people came because it was THE musical that's breaking records. So yeah I enjoyed myself but felt very awkward laughing when only a few were or seeing flashes of screens as people checked their phones so I think I might carry on seeing domestic tours. There's been Korean performances of Lion King here that have come and went with little fanfare. My wife compared it to when we rode Jungle Cruise at HKDL. Chineses people getting on the English version ride without any understanding of English (even when the line was longer for that version) because they think it'll make them look more dignified somehow or that it'll be different than the one in their language (there were a couple of Korean specific jokes about Everland or Zazu singing a Korean song) and are then disappointed when they only just then realize they've just got the same they've seen before but in another language. People left happy and the performers gave it their all but like the skipper on that Jungle Cruise ride, you can feel the disconnect when it isn't landing too well and theirs that awkward silence.