Garet

This 100%. I used to be so eager to book my next Universal trip to check out their new attractions, but with everything becoming just a different version of sitting in front of a screen while being shaken, I'm more hesitant. Maybe I'll be wrong, in fact I hope I am wrong, but if this current trend continues, I don't see myself going back for a few years. Although it's more popular in some countries than others (we have so many here in Korea) with 4D cinemas increasing in numbers at cineplexes, I just can't see the theme parks continuing with it as a trend. They would have to up their game to offer something that can't be found at multiplexes around the country.

Well those are cars from the real train for the pull-through so the rest of the cars could be on-site. They tend to only use a car or two for pull throughs. I'm not an engineer so I can't say for certain but I'd assume the reason for that is having more would just be redundant for checking clearance and that's it probably a lot easier and less stress to winch a car or two around the track since it's a slow process than holding a whole train on those hills and inversions.

From the guest's perspective, it makes everything seem to be the same. I'd be incredibly bored if Universal kept putting simulators in. Enthusiasts, yes I think they will get fed up of all these screen rides but for the GP I'm not so sure. As I mentioned earlier in this thread Lotte World have been putting extremely similar rides or upgrading existing screen ones as the new for the year rides for almost 7 years now and people still lap them up. Existing when I came to Korea: - Dynamic theater (3D movie simulator) - Ghost House (static 3D movie) - Desperados (2D shooting ride on a saddle that wobbles so simulator) Added since 2010: - Desperados 2 3D upgrade (3D shooting ride on a saddle that wobbles so simulator) - 4d shooting theater (3D shooting ride on a seat that wobbles so simulator) - Dragons Shooting (2D shooting ride at screens from a trackless vehicle) - Wild River (simulator) - Wild River (simulator) - Wild Wings (simulator) - Lottys Balloon Ride (360 degree screen) - Beluga Talk (Lotte Worlds version of Turtle Talk) Robb also pointed out how many both Universal parks have together, and you can now add Jimmy Fallon to the list by the sounds of it:

Clearance testing by the look of it so it's not the full train. Hence the fins on the sides of that first car. ^ beat me to it.

^ I've always taken the N'EX train when I leave from Shinjuku, I normally fly to Osaka since it's just over an hour by plane and then make my way park to park from Osaka to Tokyo and end my trip at Disney but because i'm usually on a cheap budget i've always found a budget hotel around one of the side stations of Shinjuku one-two stops from the main station (Shinjuku-Gyoemmae) instead of staying on site and then take the subway to Tokyo and transfer for Disney, as you said the buses have a limited schedule and could take 50 mins with traffic. The subway wasn't that much quicker with transfers but they were way more frequent than the buses. I generally just end up in that area to connect easily to the many buses outside shinjuku (fuji bus etc) and because shinjuku connects to many subway lines if I'm going further out, it was always easy for me to find my way back to (Tobu and Yokohama etc)

Dragons had a pretty awesome queue line, but one of the issues is that the ride was both at a park that rarely had giant crowds and was a people eater. The queue line simply ended up being something to pass through quickly en route to the station and the almost constant walk on crowds (a bit like now, honestly). Reminds me of Lotte World, they had an amazing queue line for Pharaohs Fury but because of graffiti you had to wait outside so people just passed through quickly when let in and they ending up ripping out most of it for a separate attraction, a trick art gallery, instead of passing a lot of exhibits, you now just end up in a tiny exhibit area and straight into the excavation section.

I would be surprised if it did beat TLD and I don't know about people in Japan and I only have Korea to go off here but for Halloween, Everland is packed even on weekdays compared to the other parks during Halloween, people really lap up the horror mazes even though they are the exact same ones every year. It's always one of the busiest months by far even more than during vacation time (the summer people crowd the water park so the park is actually quite quiet) It's not like back home where there are many options for haunts. Even here, HHN has a reputation as being the one you have to try, but the family friendly Disney style doesn't seem to get as much international recognition. Not sure how much attendance would go to Korea or other Asian tourists but there's also the fact I don't really see many Disney adverts, mainly because they really don't need to, but USJ have really been pushing hard to promote, using the internet here in Korea I see USJ adverts all the time. Over the years I've seen a lot of friends or older students who go across for the long weekend (we have a couple of public holidays in October and sometimes a 3 day holiday on top of that) and it's nearly always Osaka for the short breaks since it's just over an hour by plane. Tokyo isn't that much further but I do tend to see a pattern that a lot of people do Tokyo on the big vacations and Osaka for a long weekend/4 day trip. My teachers recently went and I need to find out their tour group since they got express passes before they went. Whenever I check the English groups it always tells me park only and I've heard that since Harry Potter opened in busy months like this they are sometimes gone before the park even opens its gates.

^ Yea you beat me to it. A lot of tour groups went around Halloween week. One of my middle schoolers just came back from going last week during normal park hours and she said although Harry Potter was around 90 minutes, the line for Backwards Hollywood Dream (being one of the only rides that isn't an option on any of the express passes) was 4 hours long!

Do you mean this guide?: http://www.themeparkreview.com/japan2004/japanguide1.htm I always use Hyperdia when I make my trips for the bullet train: http://www.hyperdia.com/en/ I also made this guide for some of the parks I visited although some of the information may be out of date (ToT no longer has single rider) and that express for Universal is old since they made a new page attached to the ticket page after Harry Potter came, if that helps at all: http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1142982#p1142982

It was a simulator in the same building where the Simpsons ride is now. What happens is that Biff Tannen steals a time-traveling DeLorean, and you have to catch him and bring him back. Here's a video of the Universal Japan version. And the English version is on most of the BTTF blu-rays. I just found it included on BTTF 3's bonus features. There's also a new short on the 30th set starring Christopher Lloyd about why 2015 is so different now from the movie version but I haven't seen it yet. Not sure it really needed an explanation apart from the future is crappier than people thought it would be. Bonus fact: I had no idea Peyton Reed (Ant Mans director) was the writer of the ride. My wife got me the new blu-ray box set that had the animated series and he also wrote some of the episodes on that.

Wow, my only trip ever to USO was when this was under construction. I think it was around 1996 or 97 since T2:3D was the new thing and I don't remember hearing anything about IOA.

It's a kids ride, we have one at Everland that still runs: [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

Did that slidewheel get built in the end? I couldn't find any information on it.

Funny I see this thread since I wrote this in my last TR of someone abusing it here in Korea because the park gives away and then takes back ride re-entry passes at the entrance of the ride people can line up for 10 seconds and push 70 minutes later. I'm not a fan of queue jumping at all but considering I'm a kindergarten teacher not far away and I nearly always bump into students around the park with parents I normally have to grit my teeth just incase of parents nearby. I I had told a staff member they were jumping before I said no to letting them pass me since it was right at the station and told them they would have to wait behind me (so about 4 boats worth of people). The parks response to the situation was 'we have to let people go to the bathroom' even when I pointed out there was never anyone who left the line in the first place. Apparently the passes are handed out and taken away at the very start of the queue which seems to defeat the purpose of even having the personally. It does seem a bit of a catch-22 for the park since I see so many families with children queue jump here in Asia with just the father holding the line than I see teenagers (they are there too though) and when it's the main demographic doing it even when you have signs and somehow its 'culturally acceptable' what can they do?

Isn't it Dynamic Attractions?

I don't know if you can put it all on what clientele Six Flags attracts though. People of all types will abuse the system. At Disney wasn't it people with a lot of money who were abusing the system? And here in Asia, I've seen the majority of queue jumpers are the families. Lines here are regularly over an hour long even for family rides and so one person will hold the line for his whole family. I almost got beaten up by a queue jumper who lined up by himself and constantly rang his family to tell them he wasn't at the station yet. They skipped a whole 80 minute line and when I wouldn't let them pass they lied and said it was because the children needed the bathroom to the staff (for 80 minutes apparently). Management told me they hand out passes to leave the line at the entrance to let people leave the line but since it's right at the start of the queue people can hop out after 10 seconds and come back 80 minutes later and push past everyone. If families abuse it, they can't really stop families and ask them why they took so long in the bathroom or accuse them of lying about where they were they just have to accept it and hope for the best. It's a bit of a Catch 22 for a park in that kind of situation. My point being different parks have different people who will abuse it and if they find a way they will do it no matter what. I'm sure if Six Flags ask for a doctors note, the people who are already abusing the system will easily get a fake note somewhere. I agree that you see different types of clientele at different parks but you'll always find a bad minority even in places such as Cedar Point or Dollywood.

^But will one guest slow down stupidly slow and cause a stack of cars going down the slope? And will the guests faces turn red when it happens?

You might want to share that on the thread for the TPR videos: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=66424

Standing in the lines? I only have Japan's version to judge lines and looking at the Gringotts opening TR's though, so maybe they are a lot less now.

It's BTTF day today. Going to try and catch a showing of it and part 2 in cinema this weekend since I can't make today's showing due to work. Here's me using the theme as a wedding march since in Korea the groom needs music anyway and the standard He's a pirate wasn't really for me: [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

There was a big incident in Korea recently where some-one visited multiple parks and took videos of the women's changing room/toilets while pretending to text and play a game on their phone and then publishing online: http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1622144#p1622144 I hear as a result they have people patrol the changing rooms and toilets for people with phones, sadly a result of 1 bad person resulting in rules for every-one else.

^ I can think of one or two in Korea that are year-round and super old and as far as I'm aware have never really had an overhaul or big rehab.... and they can be really rough and that's with one or two trains, so that's still probably less cycles than Hulk even though they are older. Lots of parks in Asia are year round and though, unlike Hulk, these get rehabs now and again, they don't have track replaced and you always here people describe the older coasters here as "good" and almost never as "great". Here in Korea, with some of the older ones, I think the Boomerang is now SBNO and Childrens Grand Park tore out their looper and replaced it in the end. I know other rides that replace trains and just do little jobs on the track where the ride has only a few days closure and then runs on the busier days of the weekday/weekends and they are still rough after all the weekday work. I'm glad they are doing such a big rehab instead of just a couple months closure to do spot-work.

No Butlins no longer has those slides. In 2012 they started a £13million redevelopment in the pool which included 3 new slides, an out door rapids and kids play area along other things. Bonus fact I was one of the last 100 people on the Master Blaster before it got decommisioned! I remember Center Parcs in Elveden having some really fun rapids, if they are anything like those I might have to head up to Skegness when I eventually come back to England.

Ahh, I see the visual pollution Universal is worried about now

My wife read it and seemed to think so but I feel if this was a confirmed announcement there would have been more articles than just the one. If I see anymore news I'll post it but it seems strange this is the only one that was making the rounds. I'd love a Disney park close enough to be a passholder but I'm not sure this announcement is it. I live in a city pretty close to where Universal Korea was supposed to go and as soon as that deal was confirmed there was lots of press coverage and the town had banners for the park everywhere and none of that is happening here. If the deal was finalized, I feel like there'd be a lot more fanfare.