thrillrider

It's all government/ politics based. Mostly about the constitution. With all the great things in this country, I am baffled why they did not go for another angle. If you look at any of the other shows at epcot, none are based on this. They all show off all the beautiful things in each of the countrys. Don't get me wrong, it's a good show,I just wish they did it differently.

At least it was not on a flying coaster.

I got an email from knotts today about the glasses strap policy..... Hi Dave, I am sorry that having to remove your glasses to ride was an inconvenience. Here in California , we are mandated to strictly follow the ride manufacturer’s requirements by state laws. The State of California mandates that if the manufacturer uses the words “should” or “recommends” in their manuals, then we need to define it as a “must”. This means that if it is listed in the manufacturer’s operating manual as a requirement to ride, we must enforce it. Unless it is changed by the manufacturer we cannot change the rider requirements. If we do not follow the requirements, the State of California can shut the ride down or place fines on the Park. Magic Mountain , Disney and Great America all need to follow the same California state laws and may have requirements listed in their manufacturer manuals that allow glasses to be worn. It is each individual ride manufacturer that dictates the requirements and each Park, at least in California , to strictly enforce those requirements. You are correct that Xcelerator and Top Thrill Dragster are made by the same manufacturer. In the manufacturer’s manual we received for our version it stated that eyewear, even with a strap, is not allowed. In the Top Thrill Dragster manual it states that eyewear can be worn with a strap. We have been asking the manufacturer to change our requirement, however, our requests have been denied. California has the strictest laws when it comes to amusement rides in the country. So, in the Pony Express manufacturer’s manual it is recommended that glasses not be worn, we have to enforce it as a must not be worn. I agree with you that sometimes having the lack of vision can take away from the ride, especially since I too wear glasses to see and I am also required to remove my glasses to ride, even when we are not operating to the public. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience. Sincerely, Joey Toyoshiba

^Yes, but it's been a few years. They almost had to roll me out of there because of all the great food. There was more food than an ACE buffet.

This is a picture from tiger01 trip report to blackpool. I believe this is what the new ride is. Here is a link to his trip report... http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56358 New ride for Belmont?

Talk about antisipointment for a lot of people. I couldn't help but laugh at this. The coaster enthusiests did not hear the words "chocolate chip cookies"...they heard this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ytCEuuW2_A

This is the most disturbing thing I have seen in a while.

Thank you.

I was just reminded that you don't have to use chopsticks, and there ARE 2 different restaurants. The smaller restaurant is a regular table service type place with a limited menu. The place that we ate(look at the pictures) had the grill right at your table. There is also another food stand outside of the restaurant as well. I think they sell mostly sushi.

I also have to mention that a cedarfair pass costs $160. Cedarpoint is only open 4.5 months out of the year. So your paying about $35 a month for the pass. A Disney pass is $531.00 for 12 months. That comes out to $37 a month. I forgot to add that the disney season pass also includes 2 water parks as well on top of the 4 parks. If you look here... http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/florida-residents/ You will see that it is only $531 for an adult disney annual pass, and $479 for a child 10 and under disney annual pass. Just type in the zip code 32802. That is for 12 months. When it comes time to renew the pass, the price drops, and they also give you 2 or 3 free months as well.So your pass is good for 14-15 months.

It's worth noting that a florida resident season pass to Disney, is $531...not over $600. The prices are as follows... $531.00 adult $479.00 child 10 and under That comes out to $37 a month for your pass. They offer monthly payments. If you go here and put in a 32802 zip code, you will see the prices. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/florida-residents/

On to the next country..... Morrocco. Morocco has a restaurant. It's good, but I suggest you look at the menu before making reservations. Inside the restaurant. There are lots of hidden stores in the winding paths. There are lots of things to buy. Aladdin makes an apearance. He wanted to race amy up a tree. Part of the market. In the next report, we will have france.

I believe it is differant. You can look at every menu with prices at Disneyworld here... http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm I use this site a lot when planning a Disney trip. Lot's of info.

Not personal...just pointing out facts.

I would recommend that if you do 10 days, that you take a break or do a water park somewhere in the middle of your trip. It's a lot of walking and sunshine. More pictures comming tomorrow.

1. $600 for a whole year at 4 parks, is hardly outrageous.How is $100 per park for 12 months not a value? 2.When I go to Disney, I rarely catch the parades or fireworks. It's more about the attractions and the great time my daughter and family is having. My daughter was so happy, she was in tears when she saw goofy and pooh. I highly doubt many people will get as excited over harry potter. 3.You mentioned 1 ride at each park.Epcot alone has 3 or 4 e ticket attractions. You know...soaren, test track,mission space. You did not even mention Disney studios, where they have rock n rollercaoster, tower of terror, or lights motor action. I could go on and on about the many attractions at the magic kingdom. Animal kingdom has everest, kali river rapids, whirl, dinosaur, the safari,tree of life,many live shows. I don't see where you would find it a rip off to pay just over $100 a year for each park(plus 2 water parks)...not over $600. 4.Soda at Disney, is cheaper than most other theme parks...it's only $2.50 for the large size as seen here.... http://allears.net/menu/men_cr.htm not $3.50. And food at disney is 10x better and cheaper than anything you will find at 90% of the theme parks in america. 5. Free fast pass...enough said. Or you can go into ice station cool and get FREE soda. 5.I have just as much fun as my daughter does at Disney.I would choose to ride splash mountain or thunder mountain, before I would want to go to a park that has cookie cutter coasters. I find Disney to be a great value. The last time I took my daughter and girlfriend, it cost us just over $1200 for the whole week. That included our food(2 meals and a snack per person every day), hotel,park hopper tickets,extra magic hours, mini golf, transportation to the parks and the airport. How much would the same type of trip cost us to do the 2 parks at universal for a week? 6. I like universal studios as well, but I am not a harry pothead fan, so the new area with the exception of the NEW ride is not that exciting.I think I watched maybe a half hour of one of his films and turned it off. Disney has areas of the park, and characters that people have grown up with and continue to do so with the new cartoons as well.Unless your a harry potter fan, the new area is not too exciting. The "new" area at universal is nice looking and all, but it just does not offer us anything exciting. The only new things that were added to the park was 1 new ride, and a bunch of new themed shops. It sounds to me that your just not a disney person. It sounds like you would rather have the big coasters...and that's fine(I love the big coasters as much as the next guy), But to say that disney is a ripoff because it does not have 500 foot coasters is crazy. I know how much a disney trip is going to cost me before I sign the check, and nobody including disney twists my arm to sign it either. The reason I do, is because My ENTIRE family has a blast when we go down to disney (not just the little one), and we ALL look forward to the next trip. We did a family trip to cedarpoint a few years ago, and left feeling ripped off. There were 4 of us that went, and when it was all said and done, we spent more for a 3 day trip to cedarpoint, than we would have spending a week at disney.But we got to stand in long slow moving lines, get soup kitchen quality food at 4 star prices, lousy service, a hotel room that was old and outdated for $300 a night, when the motel six had an identical better room for much less, very few GOOD entertainment options,very few attractions the whole family can ride together...it seemed like you had to be a giant in order to ride anything. My point being, disney is a great value if you sit and think about it.

Yea. By me posting the pictures of disney, it's not helping me fight the urge to go back.

With the glasses straps issue, I was sent this response from Martins. "David, You can wear glasses with straps on. You cannot wear glasses without straps. I am surprised you were misinformed. I am glad you enjoyed our park and hope you can visit us again." This is totaly different than what I was told on the ride platforms. The workers told me I couldn't wear them, and there was a sign on silverstreak that said so as well. I am still waiting to hear back from knotts berry farm about the issue. One of the signes stating that you can't wear glasses.

Some more of the world showcase. Next up was Japan. Japan is a large pavilion. There is a koi pond as well. There is also some outdoor entertainment. Random theaming. In japan, they have a large shop with all kinds of...ummm...interesting things. The whole area is nice. This is where we ate dinner. I would recomend this restaurant to everyone. Can't wait to eat here again. Very good food. There are 2 differant restaurants in here. This is the smaller one. They had our table ready. They cook your dinner right at your table. Our chef was really funny. In the next update....morocco

Thank you.

I find a lot of differences between disneyland and disneyworld. I belive that disneyworld edges out disneyland. Let me tell you why. 1.Each park has most of the same attractions, but some are better than the other.A good example would be pirates of the caribbean. The potc at disneyland blows disneyworlds out of the water, but the tower of terror at disneyworld is much better than disneylands version. It's a trade off. 2.Disneyworld has epcot, animal kingdom,disney studios and of course the magic kingdom.Disneyland has cali adventure and disneyland. 3.The only attractions that disneyland has that disneyworld does not is Mr toad,alice,storybook,monsters inc,and a few spinning rides from cali adventure,storybook....am I missing any more? 4. You can argue that disneyland has matterhorn,indiana jones, grizzly rapids,muholand madness(sp),aladdin, nemo subs,and california screaming. But in the same argument, you can say that disneyworld has everest,dinosaur,prime evil whirl,rock n rollercoaster, nemo ride at epcot,river rapids ride at animal kingdom(name escapes me right now) and the indiana jones , nemo, and lion king shows. All equally good attractions. So besides alice, toad,storybook, and monsters inc(disneyworld is getting a monsters inc dark ride in a few years), disneyland has the exact same attractions as disneyworld has, but not as many. 5. Disneyworld has too many more attractions than I can list. You have all of the epcot attractions, animal kindom attractions, disney studios attractions, and a few different attractions at the magic kingdom like stitch, laugh floor, mickeys philler magic,transit ride, carousel of progress,country bears, and hall of presidents. A lot of things you can't find in disneyland. 6.Disneyworld is much more rounded, and has more of a resort feel to it. Don't get me wrong, I also love Disneyland and can't wait to get back out there, but Disneyworld just has a lot more to offer. I will say that I like Disneyland park better than magic kingdom(it has a charm about it), but when you add in the 3 other parks, Disneyworld just has a lot more to offer. Harry potter may be a nice addition to universal, but it's just one little area of that park. With disney, you have a whole (4) parks full of that.I hope to get out to universal to check out potterland, but I could never compare that to anything at disney. And I believe that I just read that universal is now raising there prices as well. Animal kingdom is a work in progress. It's still a new park, but I can still spend all day in that park and still not be able to do it all. They have been adding onto it, and will continue. The same can be said for islands of adventure. I am not sure what you are talking about when you say that the disney studios has an identity problem. It's about movies and animation. Nothing confusing about that. As far as aging attractions, universal and any other theme park for that matter, is just as guilty. Universal still has E.T and Jaws. The only attraction I recall universal redoing is back to the future. Disney is always updating the attractions. Just look at space mountain, small world, haunted mansion,star tours,tower of terror,spaceship earth..and lots more. How can you compare the fantasyland expansion to potterland? It has not even been built yet. That's just like saying that intimidator 305 was gonna suck, before it was even open. If your a local in orlando, they have the florida resident season passes and at a really good price as well. Just look here.... http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/passholder-program/monthly-payment/?CMP=KNC-WDWFY10APPay_GOO&s_kwcid=TC|12632|annual%20pass||S||5093730803 I wish I lived in the area, so I could get that deal. That comes out to (depending on what option you get) around or just over $100 per park. That's a great deal for what they have. You can't tell me that magic kingdom, epcot, disney studios, and even animal kingdom are not worth $100 each for a whole year(12 months). I am not sure how that is cutting off the local market? Cedarpoint wants $112 for a season pass, or $160 for a platinum pass. Universal wants $219 for the florida resident season pass. So they are about the same as disney when it comes to annual passes as seen here... http://www.universalorlando.com/Tickets/Florida_Residents/floridaresidents.aspx?ComponentId=9185&SourcePageId=7805

Holiday world used to have a steel coaster. I think it was called the firecracker and was in the 4th of july section.

Onto a few more countries at epcot. Germany Italy America Next country....Germany There is a lot to do in germany. They have a lot of shops, a german restaurant with a show, and BEER!! Random shops. They have a minature train set. The restaurant in germany is very well themed. If there is beer, I am there. They also have a live show while you eat. The ricola guy plays in the band. Behind this wall, there was supposed to be a boat ride down the rhine river. It was axed at the last min due to funding. The building that was supposed to house the ride, is now used as a warehouse. Italy is next to germany. This is a replica of something in Italy. Me and the statue They have roving actors. I wanted to sail one of these to the other side of the lake, but they would not let me. Next up is the worst country at epcot. You would think that America would be one of the better displays...but it's not. Exciting...huh? This is the main show building. One of the entertainment offerings I do have to say that the show building is beautiful. The main attraction in america, is the american adventure. Info on the show. They have a small musium as well. The stairs up to the show. It was a slow day, but I have been there when this hall into the show was shoulder to shoulder. Cool looking statues in the show room. You could not use a flash inside, so the pictures were a little blurry. It really is a good show, I just wish that the show was about more than politics. The mass exodus.

More of epcot comming right up...

There is a lot in the world showcase. Rumor has it, they are going to be adding another country soon.