netdvn

Stateside coasters Intimidator 305 Skyrush *rode July 2013* Bizarro El Toro *plan to ride August 2014* X2 Maverick Boulder Dash Phoenix Voyage Every single coaster built by Rocky Mountain Afterburn Nitro Goliath South Mindbender (both versions)/Shockwave All remaining Arrow suspended coasters Foreign stuff Blue Fire iSpeed Balder T-Express High Five Dueling Dragons Knight Valley Mountain Flyer Starry Sky Ripper Expedition Ge Force Atlantis Adventure Olympia Looping Bahn Nemesis

I posted my review of the event on *some other fansite*. It was a good time, although the park really does need to tweak some stuff before calling the event a total success.

7 to 10 year olds are probably leaning toward bigger rides (swings, rapids, wooden coasters, Stunt Coaster) to care about this expansion. That being said, this was needed as the old area was becoming tired. Regarding kiddie rides, the current selection of rides/coasters they have there is fine. Plus this is CF we're talking about. Its a far cry from Disney or even Busch level theming. Nothing wrong with that. Most children's areas are just that anyway. A bunch of spinning rides, a small coaster, and a few other options.This is gonna be no different from most kid's areas. It's an expansion. That's all that really matters in the end. Families are gonna come to enjoy it. If you want KD to get another coaster, just wait a few more years and one will come in no time. -- I honestly CF/SF should invest in a licensed themed children's area that everyone can enjoy (kids, parents, even teens) because both Peanuts and Looney Tunes are timeless classics, but we all know that's not gonna happen.

I was really hoping that a water park expansion would be included with this. Other than that, the announcement was pretty expected. The children's area needed an update and some higher ups were spotted with blueprints in Kidzville earlier in the season. No major land clearing/construction has been spotted, so it's pretty clear this would be a Peanuts themed expansion. Hopefully next year will be the magic year for the water park. That area is the only area that's overdue for a major expansion.

Aruba Aruba was the biggest, most touristy island we visited on our cruise. Unfortunately because of that, we didn't get to explore much of the island. As our family usually does on these kinds of trips, we did lots and lots of walking (and not really going anywhere). It's too bad really because there was a really awesome bus thingy parked outside the cruise terminal that I hear is pretty cool. There are malls and jewelery shops all over the right side of the terminal. To the left, an industrial area that looks kinda scary. Overall, Aruba was the island I really wanted to explore the most, but didn't get to because we did more walking than necessary. Hopefully we'll get to spend more time down there in the future. It definitely looked really impressive sailing in. We did one of the beaches close to the port. It was beautiful. Like always, it was better than Virginia Beach. I really feel like I've been spoiled. Coming into port. As you sailed into port, you could see the island's megaresorts and touristy stuff. Just too bad we didn't get to see it. The port itself was small. There was a huge duty free mall at the entrance. Huge mountain thing in the background That's actually an outdoor shopping mall. Goodbye for now Klassy Kruise The area near the port was lined with high end shops and t-shirt stores Bananas are awesome! Still bigger than Disneyland's castle, but about as well themed as a Chinese knockoff Raptors don't just open doors, they advocate delicious imported beers too. Still nicer than Atlantic City. And in a better climate too. Stay Klassy For all you flower enthusiasts At this point we're headed to the beach. We walked around some of the malls they had (there were malls everywhere) and through some of the touristy stuff that was available. Ships were docked outside the island. At night you could see them in the distance. Not really sure why they were parked out there. Maybe the port is too small? Random attempt at being artsy. This was a nice looking hotel/timeshare thingy. You could see some of the bigger resorts in the background. I like this shot. Closer look at the bigger resorts Heading back to the ship Perfect shot to end our trip to the beach There were some interesting sights on the way back. It almost looks like something out of a war zone, not a tropical paradise. An abandoned beach resort. I didn't expect to see something like this anywhere in my travels. I'm sure this place was quite the hotspot when it was open. The sign was warped from years of wear and tear. I wonder how long this place has been abandoned. The restaurant was covered with trees so you couldn't see much of it. I'd love to explore this place one day. The area past the hotel is largely industrial. It was kinda creepy walking by some of those boarded up buildings and huge water tanks. It almost felt like we ended up on the wrong side of town. Gotta love the towel animals. Overall, it was nice checking out the island, but Aruba seems like one of those places where you have to spend a week. We unfortunately boarded the ship early, which was kinda disappointing to me, but oh well. I hope to definitely return there in the future, whether on a cruise or flying in for a week. - Thanks for reading. Curacao is up next!

Universal still has a Marvel Superhero contract east of the Mississippi for a few more years, so don't expect a Marvel-themed area anytime soon. That being said, I really don't wanna see Carsland come to MGM. Carsland fit with the Route 66 motif at DCA because Route 66 and deserts fit with the California theme. Something like that just doesn't fit the studio theme that Hollywood Studios has. I'll admit, there is way too much Pixar coming to the Disney parks, but I wouldn't mind seeing another Pixar E-ticket attraction coming to DHS. Maybe that long-rumored Monsters Inc suspended coaster could really come to life.

Sundays shouldn't be as bad. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. That being said, from past experiences, doing HOS in September is still far better than coming in October, when the park closes to capacity every weekend. Last year, both HOS weekends in September were completely dead (Saturdays included). As long as you hit all the major rides early in the day when crowds are manageable, getting rides in later shouldn't be too big of an issue. Verbolten's been pretty moody this weekend, so just be weary of any shutdowns. Once again, always hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

HOS crowds start off manageable and get progressively worse and worse as the day progresses. Make sure you hit all major rides early or expect 45-60 minute waits for most major stuff. Verbolten might be worse. Make sure you get in line for the mazes early or you'll be standing in 60-90 minute lines. Mazes will have smaller crowds around closing time too so if you run to one around that time, lines should be fairly short. Medium rides are a little different. After around 6-7, lines for medium rides shouldn't be that bad. Expect a decent wait for those during the day and an average summer day crowd during HOS.

Anyone know why KD is closing early that Sunday? It seems kinda weird that the park closes early for one Sunday and then opens late for Haunt for the other Sundays.

I sailed Karnival in May and still had a good time. Of course I'm still an inexperienced cruiser, but it wasn't too bad. My guess is that if you haven't sailed other lines before, you'll have a much better time than someone who has sailed multiple lines. Planning to expand my horizons next December with my first RCCl cruise. I can't wait to see the differences.

Quick question... I've been planning a trip up to KD around September 30th, but I've noticed that the park is closing early that day, even after two days of being open until 10 for Haunt. Anyone know if the park is still holding a Haunt event that day or if there's a special occasion going on that is causing the park to close early?

A lot of times the climate is too cold to keep many of the rides running anyway, so the parks shut down. Some parks hold Christmas events (Hersheypark, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Dollywood), but most aren't full year unless you travel further south. Wild Adventures operates weekends and has a decent woodie, but might be a couple hours out of your way if you're planning on doing the Orlando parks.

Some of those up close shots area amazing. What kind of camera do you use?

Count me in on the boat that thinks this is gonna be an awesome addition to the park. The ride itself looks pretty intense and outside of the weird backwards launch, the brakes being after the largest element on the ride, and the odd logo I'm pretty sure everyone is gonna love this when it opens to the public next summer. When those things are the only thing about the ride to really complain about, you've got a pretty cool ride.

But the park just got a new water slide, flat ride package, and a new coaster last year. I'd wait at least one more year before considering another flat ride package. I can see SF investing some more money in the water park though. Especially after other SF parks received multiple water slide expansions.

Rides/attractions are usually somewhat enhanced with theming. Maybe its just me, but I prefer rides that have theming and props scattered about over rides that are just plopped down with no thought put into them other than "oh let's just plop a coaster down to draw a few more people to our park". Isn't that what all theme parks are pretty much about? I don't recall SF passes being the cheapest option out there, nor do I recall other parks having cheaper extras. BGW charges about the same price as SF for lockers and around $10-$12 for parking. Yes BGW has better theming and better atmosphere, but I doubt the "extras" are that much cheaper than say your typical SF/CF park.

The park has potential, but I hear Jackson Township doesn't like the park cutting trees down for more rides/attractions. That's probably one of the reasons why the park seems to have a history of replacing old attractions for newer ones and building over the parking lot instead of expanding the park. I'm sure money also has something to do with the park not being able to expand too much. I know SFGAdv is a flagship park in a good market, but still. The park did consider giving each area a facelift similar to Golden Kingdon/Plaza del Carnival, but those fell through. I do recall the park also considering a resort hotel at one point, but I'm not sure if Jackson prevented it or if the plans fell through after the chain declared bankruptcy.

So KD decided to drop a teaser on us for another potential new attraction. Anyone wanna speculate? So far rumors say this has something to do with a record breaking Planet Snoopy expansion, but I have a feeling this might have something to do with the water park. Speculate away

If it was that simple, the park would've done it ages ago.

So it turns out that I'll be at BGW later in the day, so I'll miss out on the morning stuff (no real loss for me though). Hope to see you guys tomorrow. Make sure you wear something TPR related. I'll try to do the same. - I thought BGW Bash was today. I really had my hopes up too

I'm looking forward to seeing some TPR members at BGW bash day. Can't wait to meet up with some of you guys. Just a reminder though, Verbolten QQ is 10 dollars extra on the Unlimited and it gives you only one time use.

Texas Giant uses Iron Horse track, not Topper. GA Cyclone is an example of a coaster that received Topper Track. Topper Track is still classified as wooden coaster track because it's designed is similar to most traditional wooden coasters (steel beams with layers of wood underneath). Beast doesn't need Iron Horse treatment like Texas Giant and Rattler (straight up steel I-beams on wooden supports), but more along the lines of what GA Cyclone and SFNE Cyclone received on a larger scale. If that means removing the trims and bringing the ride back to its original state while reducing the need for costly retracking every few years, I'm all for it. That being said, I doubt Texas Giant and Rattler were terrible from day 1. It's just that those coasters were ahead of their time when they first opened. Texas Giant even won a Golden Ticket Award at one point.

^ Care to explain why bringing the ride back to its original state and last longer maintenance-wise with modern technology would be blasphemous? Adding Topper would mean the park doesn't have to keep the brakes and the ride can run just like it did in its early years.

Timeline isn't too bad really. I like the layout and the ability to customize everything. I got it during the developer preview to avoid having to deal with it months later when it was rolled out to everyone. I'm pretty much used to the layout right now so it's not that big of a deal. Maybe it's just me, but Facebook changes really aren't as bad as everyone makes them out to be.

Put me on the bandwagon who thinks Beast could definitely be improved with Topper Track. Reduced maintenance costs + brake removal = amazing. Most of the Topper-modified coasters have been giving smoother rides where the track was replaced, so why not give Beast a larger-scale renovation where a majority of the track is replaced and the brakes are removed?