downunder

^The address you put in has to match the credit card holders address on record or the transaction will be declined is how it normally happens. It sounds like I'll definitely check this out next year. Some questions: *The RIP tour gets you front fo line all night once you are done with the tour guide, as opposed to the front of line which only gives you 1 go at each thing? *Does staying on site at Universal get you unlimited Front of Line access to rides during the day at IOA and USO, do you just have to show your room key or something?

^It was only a recent change, I've had no problems with eCheques until now. I normally do an eCheque from by bank account, though I've never tried that cover the fees thing.

I checked this out with Paypal (a lot of fun calling them - not). Apparently, they made changes where if you have a bank account and a credit card registered with them, eCheque is no longer available. So they said if I still wanted to use an eCheque, I have to delete my credit card. I did that and did a test run and now the eCheque appears. Stupid, stupid Paypal - what was the point of doing that? You can't do an eCheque on a credit card, why take the option away. We need a paypal rant thread...

This is a really interesting topic, I wonder what kind of retribution people have experienced for scaring peeps. This is an extreme example: http://www.smh.com.au/world/cop-gives-haunted-house-employee-fright-of-a-lifetime-20091027-hhy2.html

Trent, where are you going to do some snorkeling while you're there - the Thames? I've worn that shirt you gave me on the Deep South trip, though not in public yet.

Part 2: Going For The Juggular or Fangs For The Mammaries I stayed on site at Universal which was wise considering I rarely went to bed before 5am. Halloween Horror Nights was definitely my favourite experience ever at an amusement park. Which is ironic given I wouldn't even bother with Universal during the day. At best, Universal is a once every 5 years park, but not anymore - I'll be back next year for sure. To be continued with reviews of all mazes.... Thanks to some Weird Science from some nerdy types, the girls had been multiplied. Though they only had one heart, which they were fighting over. C'mon since when do girls like that have hearts? Miner/minor who gave me $50 earlier to purchase alcohol for him was getting rather anxious for his beer. Murder came easy after the disappointment of not being able to convince Universal to put in a Miner Mike coaster. You are what you eat, so in that case this individual is human. HHN was like Night, Dawn, Day, Happy Hour, and Discount Buffet of the Living Dead. A real where are they now. The three stooges had been left to decompose in the Universal backlot. After Mission Improbable 3, Tom Cruise was consigned to a shallow grave in the backlot but they had mistakenly buried some other random angry midget. We were hiking out in the woods, it was very hot and we had to take off all our clothes...What, mind wandering, back to the show. Okay I now have one reason to watch Watchmen, well, actually 2 reasons. They should have called Watchmen - Fantastic Two. HHN was not recommended for anyone under 13. I think many 13 year olds would have started puberty after watching the Bill and Ted show. Production values at this show were not at Knott's. A sexy time that Bruno would not approve of. Best Janet ever, Susan Sarandon pass the baton (who knows what they would do with a baton in this production). Looking up at various times during the pre-show why did the name of a furry animal that dwells in rivers and builds dams come to mind? Just an elevator ride and a short walk through the Hilton to Horror Nights. On the way back, an assisted late night drunken stumble through the Hilton, a half an hour trying to find the elevator button, and raised eyebrows from Sheraton security.

I missed the Ninja weapon store in Gatlinburg when we were there in August. I could have stocked up before doing our Haunted House marathon. As soon as a zombie jumps out, a dozen star knives to the face - "oops sorry, I thought you were a real zombie. If it's any consolation you had me totally convinced". I wanted to do the chairlift too but it was too late when we were there, and I didn't even know there was an Alpine slide.

^Mine just disappeared and I have used it in the last 3 months, I don't know if my bank initiated that or they just got rid of eCheques. I will investigate. I might have to add a balance to my paypal account and pay from that but I don't know if that avoids the fees that come up at Robb and Elissa's end. I'm also setting up a hedge fund in USD, GPB and EUR which is attached to my primary bank account, so I might be able to do a transfer from that.

I had problems with PayPal this time around, too (though supposedly the problems were initiated by my bank, not by PayPal). I e-mailed Elissa and sent my check snail mail. Turns out the post office really is still good for something! I had problems with paypal too, the eCheque option seems to have disappeared, which I can live with for a small payment but might be a little annoying on larger payments. I was in a rush when I was paying my deposit so I'll look into it when I have time.

Zombieland - 9/10, a lot of fun, loved it, really nails the fine line between horror & comedy. Paranormal Activity - 9/10, scary, Blair Witch meets the Exorcist, very effective. Jennifer's Body - 8.5/10, really interesting movie with lots of subtle undercurrents - I got it, but it seems like a lot didn't.

Sounds like they haven't killed Dash with trims yet, wish I was there, maybe next year.

This sounds like a fun event, I'll put it on the itinerary for a possible Halloween visit to Orlando next year. And I've never been to Busch and they have a pretty good coaster lineup.

Ghostrider at Knotts 16th October - ouch, ouch, f***ing ouch. In summary, there was pain involved. Someone else in my group had a bleeding hand by the end of it and I barely avoided a back spasm. I may ride the Wild Mouse at Luna Park Sydney next Saturday but I don't know if I'll bother.

^I'm certainly very optimistic about this coaster, but I will wait and see what the reviews are like. For someone who lives overseas, KD is a bit out of the way (i.e. nowhere near any hub airports and difficult to get to by public transport). So it is a bit of a travel commitment for one coaster, so I'll wait and see how good it is. Then if I'm in the US next year maybe I'll make a special trip to try it. I305 should do well in the Golden Tickets, they love Millenniun Force and this is MF made better (at least in my opinion).

Another nice report. It's a shame because this could be an amazing park but problems with residents (lots of lawsuits) have prevented them developing the park. There was an arrow looper there (now at Dreamworld) but residents closed it and eventually closed the previous incarnation of the park which was 100% amusement park rather than the mix they have now of entertainment and function venues. This is the most coveted piece of land in Sydney to developers so there is constant pressure on the government to hand the land over for high rises. The orginal incarnation of Luna Park, which closed in 1979, was a lot like a mini Blackpool.

^I concur, it's a combination of so many great coasters that I love. It's got the Millennium Force first drop, megalite first turn, megalite/SROS airtime hills, Maverick turns. I think Intamin has taken many of the wasted opportunities of Millennium Force with this giga. Hopefully they get it right and I305 doesn't crawl over the airtime hills with little ejector air like MF does. Will this storm into the number spot on all the coaster polls, time will tell...

I just checked out the webcam a second ago, the structure is really starting to climb now.

I'm sorry this happened Robb, you are busy enough without having to deal with this. I received an email at work saying I'd been hacked, seems like it been going around today.

I decided to go and do Halloween in LA rather than go up to Movieworld but it is looking better every year. I think this event will keep evolving or at least I hope it will.

With the Aussie dollar going through the roof and airfares going down the toilet. I decided to make a spontaneous trip over to LA to check out HHN and Knott's Scary Farm which I have wanted to do years. All I can say is that I couldn't get enough of Halloween, and walked out the gates of Universal after 3am on Saturday night grinning ear to ear. I have plenty of spoiler photos which I won't put up until after October 31, but there were plenty of amazing sights at this fantastic event. To be continued... Hard times had hit the Dark Lords of the Sith, and light sabres had to be pawned for chainsaws. They even had to lay off Darth Vader, who now uses his ability to levitate objects by moving plastic bottles to states with return deposits. To be continued.... The mazes and shows were unusually devoid of males. This is where they were, all night, waving money. This proved to be an expensive trip. The master serial killer Norman Bates joined in the fun. Arise master Bates and don't forget to bring Hitchcock. Frustrated that every woman dies shortly after meeting him. A lonely and confused Michael Myers took to auto eroticism, though someone should tell him that doesn't involve humping cars. A Rob Zombie impersonator accused anyone passing by of heinous acts like public masturbation (to Rosie O'Donnell pics), copious fornication (with Rosie O'Donnell) and ACE membership. Unfortunately I wasn't there long enough to get my turn with Rosie. Meanwhile, pig head behind the girl waited patiently to give her a chainsaw wedgie. This had something to do with Bill and Ted, well I reckon Keanu would have been up to running a casting couch for everyone on that stage, and I mean everyone. Act scared and they won't leave you alone, a bit like ACErs. I couldn't tell in the dark whether it was blood or gravy covering those monsters mouths. The blood on the pick axe was from the last person who tried a miner/minor joke. In spite of this he did give me $50 to go get him a case of Bud Light. "Where's that screen writer who keeps using my name in vain, I am the true Diablo! The fresh Diablo of Hell Air! Oh, by the way my ass is on fire, isn't it? Argghhh!" HHN opened like a Van Halen concert minus the flaming gong and David Lee Roth's woolie mammoth like chest hair portruding through his jumpsuit.

Odd move with Demon Drop, I thought the whole reason they were getting rid of them was because they were too expensive and difficult to maintain, as well being superseded by other drop rides. BTW went to Knotts Scary Farm last week and had a ball, while it doesn't have the quality of Universal it was still very good.

Hey Matt, I'm actually sitting in my hotel room about half a block from Knott's as I write this. I thought about going to Adventure City for the two credits but it looks like a place more for kids, in fact I could go there right now but I won't, too creepy. I can confirm that Ghostrider is still snapping spines, front was fine, 3rd row was fine but 2nd row and 2nd last row started to make my back spasm. I can also confirm that Pony Express is still lame. Silver Bullet was hauling, and so was Sierra Sidewinder.

Great trip report Kyle, it's a shame I've been to Melbourne more than once and have never been to Luna Park - your directions might prove handy if I ever do manage to get down there. I didn't even know their Scenic Railway had a brakeman, those coasters can really crank up when the brakeman lays off the brakes which they don't normally do for fear of derailing the train unfortunately. Looking forward to your upcoming reports.

^How was Orlando HHN compared to Hollywood? I totally loved Hollywood HHN, it blew me away. Knott's wasn't anywhere near as good, but still plenty of fun.

Thanks heaps for that. I'm not sure how Knott's is going to be after totally loving HHN at Universal Hollywood, I didn't leave til after 3 am on Saturday night. I'll also miss those front of line privileges. I'm going on Wednesday night to Scary Farm so hopefully it won't be too bad a night, I've got Thursday and Friday night up my sleeve if I don't get everything done.