Totopez

Hullamvasut, Vidampark, Budapest. This Saturday.

I have been on Twister 30 times or so now, and tried out every different seat. It is a great ride! Even though it is not that tall or that long, it provides excellent action all the way around. Lots of good airtime (last row is amazing), tight turns, close headchoppers (in one place, you can actually touch the protective glass between Twister and Jetline, the Schwartzkopf steel above) and then more tight turns, and again, and again. I don't think I have ever been on a ride with so much action in so little time. The closest comparsion would be the Cornball Express at Indiana Beach. But that ride doesn't have the Timberliner trains, who provide a fantastic ride experience. So dont bother going to connecticut, same up money for a trip to Sweden instead!

I was pretty sure 42 was the answer to everything...

I am 39 (or "around 30" as I prefer to say...). The first coaster I ever tried must have been Nyckelpigan (the small Zierer Tivoli at Gröna Lund in Stockholm), must have been in its first or second year operating, 1976 or 1977. The first looping coaster was LisebergsLoopen at Liseberg, early 80s, most likely 1982. I believe this coaster still is operating in Brazil. Thats what I call relocation! The first woodie was Rutschebanen at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, perhaps in 1980 or something like that. Built in 1915, and as far as I know the oldest operating coaster in the world.

OK, last attempt. If isn't the chosen one, I will not try again...

I am planning a trip to Orlando, but it will not be until next summer. My biggest question is where to stay. From what it seems, staying on-site at Universal gives the great benefit of unlimited express pass, and that is worth a fortune. But what hotel should I stay at? Any advice?

Looks like BGT just jumped to an ever higher position on my "must visit in 2012"-list. Cheetah Hunt looks grrrrreat!

I will celebrate the 1,000,000th post by riding Twister at Gröna Lund, or at least dream about the Twister Twins!

We decided to give DLP another go this year, one day last year wasn't enough of course, so this time we decided to stay on site and spend three days in the parks. We saw an ad in a Swedish paper, offering full board included in the price, so we ended up paying appx. 800 € for a family of four, two adults, kids 10 and 6. Two nights at the New York hotel. But I just realized that I don't have a clue what the full board includes. I guess it will be like the half board plus with something extra for lunch. But where is the lunch vouchers valid? Has anyone tried the full board at DLP? Any restaurants you definitely recommend or not? Thank you in advance.

I actually think you might have picked a good time to visit the park. Midsummer is a big holiday, almost the whole country closes down and goes out on the countryside or to the archipelago, where they eat raw fish, drink loads of alcohol, dance around a phallic symbol and mate in the bushes. But very few go to the bigger cities, and Stockholm is basically dead. Specially on Midsummers Day (the 25th) when everyone are so hangover they dont want to think about roller coasters or drop towers. I haven't been to Liseberg on Midsummers Day in 20 years, but back then it was pretty deserted, specially if you arrive early. Gröna Lund in Stockholm was very nice last Midsummers Day. However, I would try to avoid the park on Midsummers Eve, late evening. At least Gröna Lund attracts lots of youngsters who perhaps had a bit to much to drink. But if you plan to go early, it shouldnt be a problem. Have a nice trip!

I haven't tried that many small woodies, but I really like Rutschebanen at Tivoli in Copenhagen. But everything will of course change as soon as Twister at Gröna Lund in Stockholm is up and running...

Balder at Liseberg, Gothenburg last Thursday. I had a meeting in Gothenburg that ended a bit earlier than expected, so I had one hour to spend before I needed to head for the airport. Decided to go for Balder... I entered the park at 3.35 pm, headed for the guest relations office to get my wristband and made a quick stop at Lisebergsbanan for two rides before heading to Balder. Stopped at Kanonen, one ride, then on to Balder for two rides. Exited the gates at 4.40 pm, 1 h 5 minutes after coming there. Probably the most efficient visit to an amusement park ever.

Short trip report. Disneyland Paris seems to have changed the system for fast passes, and you are now only allowed to have one valid fast pass at the same time, opposite to what was written earlier in this thread. A bit sad discovery when we got there, but it worked out fine anyway. I went directly to Peter Pan to get passes for the whole family there, and got a window in just 30 minutes. As the waiting time was only 20 minutes, the whole family rode it once and then gave the fastpasses to the wife and four year old son, who could then ride it twice more without waiting. As these two didn't want to ride so many of the Fast Pass-rides, me and the daughter could use all four entry tickets to get the fast passes we wanted. The daughter and myself went on to BTM, got passes, did the Haunted Mansion, went back to ride BTM twice, went to Space Mountain, got a window in just 30 minutes, waited 30 minutes for Star Tours, rode Space Mountain twice and met up with the rest of the family for lunch. Before that we got FP for Buzz Lightyear. We ate at the mediterranean buffet located in the Casbah in Adventureland, Agrabah Café. Great oriental/mediterranean food, excellent value for money. After this, son and wife got to ride Buzz Lightyear twice while the rest of us headed over to the other park. Got FP for ToT (60 minutes wait) and entered the line for Crushs coaster, also a 60 minute wait. After Crush, we did our two times at ToT, got fastpasses for Flying Carpets, took the tram tour, wife and son rode Flying Carpets, got passes for Rock N Roller-coaster, had icecream and said goodbye to wife and son, rode RnR twice, went back to Disneyland Park and did another two rides on Space Mountain, one on Pirates of the Carribean, one on Indiana Jones (which was closed most of the day with technical problems) and one final on BTM before heading back to Paris. A great day, and I think that we were able to do 18 rides or so, in early July. Having double tickets of course helped us getting on many fast pass-rides, along with effective planning. We spent 12 hours in the parks in total, and both kids fell a sleep on the train back.

I was riding Jetline a few times yesterday, and tried to imagine how the interaction with Twister would be. My office is overlooking Gröna Lund, and I look very much forward to follow the construction and see it grow in front of my eyes. And I can't wait to get to ride it! Given the very little space available in the park, I am amazed how they manage to put in more and more rides, and fitting them perfectly in the environment. But I guess this will be the last new coaster until the opening of the new area on the parking lot... Even though they have surprised me before!

Well, it seems like you will have a great time! I went to DisneySea the same time last year (I was in town for Tokyo Game Show), and it was pretty crowded. Waiting time for Journey... was never less than 90 minutes, most of the time at least 120. All Fastpass slots for the rest of the day were gone around 1 pm, to all rides that I wanted to ride. But as you will have two days in each park, I am sure you will be able to ride what you want. One tip, if you don't mind riding with strangers, try the single rider-line that is available on Indiana Jones, Raging Spirits and 20 000 Leagues... It allowed me to do five rides on each of Indy and RS without any waiting time. And as said before, Popcorn! Curry and Black Pepper are my favourites, I am not that much into sweet stuff like caramel or strawberry. Regarding LaQua, Thunder Dolphin is definitely worth a ride. You might end up with a few bruises, but the first drop is worth it!

Hello friends! We are planning a trip to Paris this summer (first week of July), and will of course do Disneyland Paris while there. I know its perhaps not the best time of year to go, but it was the only option we had. After long discussions between the not so theme park-oriented part of the family and myself, we have agreed on a two day visit, and need some advice. The family has never been to Disneyland before, apart from my visit to Tokyo DisneySea last year (by the way, thanks for the help on that one). We will most likely not be staying on site, we have the opportunity to borrow an apartment in Paris for free. Or should we concider staying on site, to be able to get in earlier? To give you a picture of the family, there is four of us. Myself, 38, action fanatic. Loves everything that moves. Altius, Citius, Fortius. Favourite coasters are Balder at Liseberg and X at SFMM. Wife, 37, likes soft coasters, hates spinners. More kiddie rides. Daughter, 9, 137 cm. Just like myself, loves all rides. Wants to ride all things that she is allowed to. Son, 4, ~100 cm (never stands still long enough to be measured). Likes softer rides, mostly car-oriented. Has so far not liked any roller coasters, but only tried "Nyckelpigan" at Gröna Lund in Stockholm and another similar one. So it looks like it will be me and the daughter trying to get all the big ones, and wife and son the small ones. So my question is, how do we plan this? When to go? I guess all days in early July will be pretty crowded, but are any days of the week to be preferred? What to do first? Where to use the Fastpasses? Are there any of the "younger" rides that are worth using fastpasses for, or could the two more adventurous of us use all four passes? How many times will we be able to use the Fastpasses each day, if planned properly? Does any of the attractions have a single-rider system? I used this very frequently in Tokyo last year, getting to ride Indiana Jones and Raging Spirits five times each... I am pretty sure that you will be able to give me some excellent advice, thank you in advance!

I think that a really high Starflyer is an excellent idea. I tried the one at Tivoli in Copenhagen this summer (with my 8 year old daughter who really loved it) and it was great. And the fact that it fits in almost no space at all makes it very suitable for the new expansion of Gröna Lund. Like in Copenhagen, you can have the boarding platform built on top of other things (even smaller rides) and the fact that it doesn't start to rotate until you are high in the air allows you to build it very close to the new coaster. A S&S Swing would require more space, and wouldn't fit in unless you could build it right by the water (but I think there will be a public walkway by the water, not being a part of the park). When it comes to the coaster, my guess is that it will be something similar to Piraten at Djurs Sommerland, just slightly bigger.

Thanks for the excellent advice. I went to DisneySea yesterday, and even though it was on a Sunday, it wasn't too crowded. As soon as I got there (around 10 a.m) i rushed to Journey, got a fast pass for 4 p.m and then started to walk around. I was there by myself, which turned out to be great. A few of the best rides, like Indiana Jones and Raging Spirits has the great single rider-system, and this allowed me to do five rides on each of those, without waiting more than a few minutes each time, and the normal waiting time was over 90 minutes the whole day. There was also a single rider line on 20.000 leagues under the sea, I did that once but I didn't feel I wanted to do it again. The only two attractions that I waited in line for was the Stormrider (pretty cool simulator) and the Tower of Terror. Stormrider was 60 minutes wait and ToT was told to be 70 minutes, but the first time I was actually out of there in less than 45, so I guess I was lucky. The second time on the Tower took 70 minutes. And of course, I used my fast pass for Journey, and it was a nice ride. But I had expected more, and I am really glad that I didn't wait in line for 2,5 hours to ride it. Overall, I had a great experience at DisneySea. 1xJourney, 1x 20.000, 1xStormrider, 2xTower of Terror, 5xIndiana Jones and 5xRaging Spirits is a pretty good day, just spending a little less than 8 hours in the park. I have also been to LaQua and rode the Thunder Dolphin. Well, the first drop is great, but the rest is so-so. I might have some time tomorrow afternoon, and in that case I will probably go up to Tobu Zoo to ride Regina. Nothing beats a good woodie...

Thank you, it definitely seems like I will be going to Disney Sea. I also discovered that my hotel in Shinjuku offers a complimentary shuttle bus service to the parks. But perhaps I will be able to fit in one other park, an evening tour. Would it be possible to do for example Tobo Zoo in one evening, if you leave your hotel around 4-5 pm? Or would you suggest another park?

Dear Coaster friends, I am going to Tokyo soon for the Tokyo Game Show. Lots of work, and very little time to play, unfortunately. This means I will only have time for one theme park during this trip, and it will probably have to be done in the weekend. Therefore I am asking You, probably the best theme park advisory board in the world. Which park should I go for? My favourite coasters are Balder at Liseberg for woodies and X at SFMM for steel rides, but I normally prefer a really good woodie over most steel rides. So please help me out here guys! And of course, if there are two parks that you can do in one day, that would be a great thing, if they are good. Thanks a lot in advance!

Hi all! My name is Daniel. 37 years old, from Stockholm, Sweden. I have been a coaster enthusiast since early childhood, and luckily, i have passed it on in the family. My 8-year old daughter did 11 consecutive rides on the "Rutchebanen" on Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen this summer, and she was really mad she couldn't ride "Demonen" and "Vertigo". When I don't ride coasters, I make video games. And play video games. I often play video games while at work. Great job. My favourite coasters are: Wooden - Balder, Liseberg, Gothenburg Steel - X, SFMM, CA (I haven't tried it since it became X2) Next trip will be to Tokyo in september, but I still haven't decided which park to visit, as I only will have time to do one. Advice anyone?