PAL

^^^ The circled protrusion appears to be the front left and rear left corners of displaced cars. If you look at the angle shot from the rear, you'll see what I mean.

Very pretty. Epcot - no coasters, who cares? Love it. But not odd. Will you return to your regularly scheduled Florida strangeness soon? No doubt!

The ACE folks I bumped into at Magic Mt today said there was no joy on Xcellerator - they were at Knott's on Sat. They were sad, Xactly. Next weekend?

^No! They had ERT on X2 and Termie. Early entry today was for Tatsu. Selfishly, too bad. I'd have preferred X2. I suppose management is still testing the concept.

Would you pay $10 for 30 minutes of Tatsu ERT just prior to park opening? I did. Neal himself was at the gates this morning selling the wristbands right at 10 am. Cash only. Riding beats waiting any day, so it was an easy decision. He said they first tried it on Saturday. I hope this continues. I imagine it is an easy way to generate additional revenue, yet still a reasonable value for the guest. I'm not sure the GP understood. It was true ERT, with no need to exit and plenty of extra rows. Two train operation out of the left station. We completed our 3rd lap at 10:30, perfect timing to beat the crowds stampeding to X2, but we chose Terminator for the chance to reride minus the pre-show. 4 spins later we were off to a great start on the day. Ninja and the rapids are still closed. No audio on Termie. ACE was on hand, a little serious maybe but those I chatted up were pleasant (I was wearing a Club TPR shirt). I thanked them for spiffing up the Dipper back home in SD with one of their shiny plaques. We bailed at 1 pm as the place was filling up. The parking entrance was full nearly to the turn. We'd hit everything but X2 and Superman.

I can only get up there on weekends. Anything crazy going on tomorrow, the 25th? Will there be hordes of cheer leaders, church groups, or school bands? Its probably irrelevant - go at opening, skip X, quick spin on Tatsu, then over the hill and round the park before scooting.

Maybe, so I didn't answer the poll. At that price point I'd be selective. I'd definitely be looking for more than 60 minutes of content. It would also depend on the image quality. If the cameras you shoot with can dish out the quality, it would be a much more worthwhile investment. There you go, an honest unvarnished answer.

Brilliantly written!

I don't know much about the minute details of coaster operations, but I do know hustle when I see it. Its presence or lack of has a lot to do with corporate or organizational culture (see In n Out vs a poorly managed McDonald's). Disney has it for their headliners, as well as the resources to field large crews and really motor through trains. (Yes, they also field ride types that are simpler to run). Its a rare sight at other chains, which makes it that much more notable when a Goliath crew is flying or an El Toro staffer gets on the mike to urge more speed 'cause they're falling behind the pace. That brings me to my question. How much would throwing more people at Riddler, Manta or Flight Deck help move things along? Before anyone answers, take Montezuma's Revenge at Knott's for example. Two rides ops goes a long way towards explaining slow operations. That I've never seen the restraint checker move at more than a saunter says so much more. How can manager's encourage pride and accountability?

The Sarajevo Bobsleds! I was 18 the year it opened, cozied up with my high school sweetheart. Its been so long I can't truly say I remember the ride. I have a sense of randomness, of just enough implied threat of tipping over or falling out of the chute that my girl held on that much tighter. I'm sure the reality is nothing like the legend in my mind's eye. Thanks for posting such nostalgic shots.

^I saw three train operation on Viper on a Saturday just prior to Halloween last year. The ops were cranking them out. It was cool to see.

Toy Story Mania is nothing more than a ride through video game. It shouldn't be relevant or entertaining. Video games are everywhere, something to spend hour after hour playing at home (and putting money in Robb's pocket). So I told myself while it was under construction. Somehow it transcends - it won me over too. WOC? I haven't watched the video. I don't have high expectations, so why spoil what little novelty it might offer via an internet preview? I can predict this much - watching all that water shot high into the air's going to induce the potty dance in a lot of kids (some not so little).

^ Its about context, not base potty humor. Medusa east nee Bizarro isn't all that either when it sits in the shadow of El Toro and across the park from Nitro. Stick it in the Adventuredome or some other lesser park, it shines. The best coaster is the one I'm riding now, or can get to. Try living somewhere where there aren't any decent spins, you'll see.

I was just a Knott's yesterday, thinking that Scream would be far more appreciated in that park than Magic Mt. Personally I like the ride. The pacing could be better, and its no Medusa west or Kraken. Its better than a kiddie coaster any day.

Just a bit of spray in the edge seats in the back of the train, on out-reached hand and arm and the outward foot. Manta's near-miss interactions are fun. I think Tatsu's pretzel is far more intense. Breath-taking, there's nothing like it in my not so well traveled experience. The last time out it had an evil rattle that gave me a headache. Might just have been me after a long day of riding and not enough to eat.

^^^The $40 I mentioned for BGT was full price for the Unlimited. Regular, the one spin for each major ride flavor, was only $15 less! Why wouldn't you go big? Platinum Passes were good for 10% off those rates.

Manta is quality when you take the entire showy package into consideration, but we didn't find it all that forceful during a recent visit. The front was mellow. The back much better. Notice the entry into the pretzel, with that pull up before the plunge. You can see how it slows the train.

^Yes, the portion of the queue that is open and in use as the temporary entrance / exit was scraped clean of any theming. It looked sadly barren during our spring break trip, dare I say Cedar Fairian? That open wound of a construction site was very bad show for, what? Nearly two years? I hope it proves worthwhile for the park and future guests.

Xcel's blue train was looking very lonely today, just sitting in the station at one heck of a long red light. Spoke with the ride ops next door at Supreme Scream. They said it was testing again this morning.

^Thanks. That explains the wristband's pure white dazzling hotness. Outstanding! We gave Ultimate Quick Queue a spin at BGT in the midst of spring break. They were definite day savers, getting us through hour to 90 minute lines in 5 to 10 minutes. At $40 per, worth every cent. You can bet I'll sport one of those bad boys when we get back to BGW this summer.

Freakin' yes! That takes me way back - best toddler / dad TV going. Robb, what's that sexy white wristband you're wearing? Quick queue or endless eats? How'd it work out?

^^^Regarding how SFMM's Goliath compares to other hypers. You guys would benefit from a trip out to the east coast. More money will come with age (and time-robbing responsibility). I enjoy Goliath west's first two drops and that floaty hill, but its nothing like Nitro or Apollo's Chariot. Those hypers are much longer and boast spades more air time, so much so there's little basis for comparison with Goliath. They don't belong in the same class they are so different.

^Score! That'll get you out of standing in the holding zone (penalty box?) if there is one prior to the show. Seems like way too much standing around especially considering the viewing area is standing only. That's three "standings" in two sentences, so you know its excessive. Just how crazy do you think it'll be in on a July weekday or any AP blockout date?

Just an FYI. If you are planning to use Silver Passports from another Sea World / Busch park at Sea World Orlando, you might want to print out and bring an explanation of the benefits when you go. We encountered a training and customer service problem that could cost you time and aggravation. Last week our family of 4 Sea World San Diego annual pass holders visited Orlando. Two of us have Platinum Passes, the other two Silver. When we visited the ticket booth, the attendant knew that our Platinum Passes allowed free admission - in fact, our original passes worked in the turnstiles here and at Busch Tampa. Impressive! However, neither this employee nor the other one working the station next to her knew that Silver Passport holders are allowed entry for 50% off the normal gate price. In fact, she was quite rude and argumentative about it when I asked to speak with a manager. (I was mellow - I'm on vacation to have fun, not raise my blood pressure) I eventually brought up the Sea World San Diego's passport member website on my iPhone to show the proper price, which didn't get me anywhere. It took quite a while for the manager to arrive, 15 to 20 minutes, who didn't so much as look at me but did square the ticket seller away. We got our 50% off tickets, but without any acknowledgment that they should have known better from the beginning. Maybe I caught them on a bad day. Basic courtesy goes a long way, and I've experienced nothing but excellent, cheerful customer service during our visits to the Sea World / Busch family of parks. We've never run into this at home, and only encountered top notch, friendly employees inside SWO and at Busch Tampa later that week. And I might as well add that Manta was great, swoopy fun with those teases of imminent collision (oh, but they made Tatsu's ops look blistering quick). Kraken was top notch, our new favorite of the B&M floorless variety, topping the Medusas and Scream.

^I agree completely. The "old style" fireworks were fine. It seems crazy to shut down the bulk of those overly crowded, lower capacity Fantasyland rides to shoot pyro from the castle. I get that Disney feels these are jaw-dropping nighttime spectacles that no one would want to miss, but come on! There are customers who prefer to stick with what probably attracted them in the first place - the attractions AKA rides. I suppose we should be grateful Disney doesn't decide to close the entire west side to accommodate Fantasmic. That's one they've gotten right, at least as far as cost / benefit goes. They're down, what, a river transportation ride (the Mark Twain and / or Columbia)? But that's still a loss for some; that trip around the Rivers of America at night is peaceful and romantic, conducive to fireworks after the park closes. Finally, I'd argue that shutting Paradise Pier is a bigger hit to DCA than Toontown and Fantasyland are to Disneyland, at least as far as major attractions go.