SharkTums

Glad we went the week before all this! Seriously though, there are some complaints online that the ship shouldn't have powered through to get back to Port Canaveral on Saturday. Many other ships delayed and did not sail through the tail end of the storm, while the Fantasy did.

So proud of all of you doing the 10k...I would totally come out for that next year!!!

^Yes.

VERY VERY SOON!

Kumba at Busch Gardens. Opening year...I was terrified as I didn't like coaster much back them. That ride is pretty much what changed me into a real coaster enthusiast!

Sorry to yell at you, but one of my pet peeves is people mistaking normal cooling towers for Nuclear Power plants. Your picture of those cooling towers is just that...cooling towers. There is no major Nuclear Power Plant in Beijing. In fact, most of China is still coal powered and they have very few nuclear plants. Those cooling towers are used for all sorts of energy production, even renewable types! I think we can all blame the Simpsons for this very common misconception.

Oh man, can you imagine a Megalite and a SkyRush at the same park!?!?! Not to mention it's also a park that hands you raw dough to bake!?!? I will move there.

Mears is pretty much a transport monopoly here in Orlando so there aren't many other choices. With IAAPA going on you could always ask your front desk if they have any cheaper options, but most likely just arrange a cab or car service to take you in the morning. Now for your choice of timing. This is why so many people bitch about airports and miss flights. Even if you're not checking a bag, you are not leaving yourself enough time in case of any random issues or problems. Cab shows up late, traffic or accident, long security line, etc. 4:45am is the absolute LATEST I would arrange a cab for. If you're checking a bag make sure it's much earlier than that.

I think we all got that...we were just commenting that we were all thinking back to that!

Yeah, so I don't think there are any real 'chains' in the US with Pepsi now. The 'free' soda parks are all Pepsi right? (Holiday World, Lake Compounce, etc.) <> Hey Paula, can we get you guys to switch too!?!??!

^Congrats! That's a great raise!

Oh dear. And to think I just said something nice about Cedar Fair in the Coke thread!?!? Oh well, at least we can always count on Cedar Fair for their amazing naming schemes and paint jobs!

Ok, now that I'm over my initial amazement, joy, and outright giddiness I've thought about it... Robb and I always had this theory that whenever Six Flags was on the rise, Cedar Fair was on the down slope...and vice-versa. It really seems right now that we're seeing CF moving in the right direction (new rides, adding fastlane, switching to coke, improving haunt events, etc.) and Six Flags...well...should we be expecting an announcement about them switching to Pepsi!??! I do wonder if there's something else going on behind the scenes. While I fully understand that amusement parks are such a small percentage of a huge soft drink companies portfolio it does seem odd to lose both the Busch Parks and Cedar Fair parks within a 12 month period.

Honestly, this doesn't surprise me that much. The way the park has been slowly going down hill this would just be another step in that direction.

OMG!!!!! LOVE!!! BEST NEWS FOR THE 2013 SEASON!!!!!

Is it bad that the first thing I thought when I saw this picture is "I wonder if someone is going to complain about the wheels hitting the bolts" like the last time we saw one of these being built!!!!???

^I would also guess Germany or Denmark...they're too stylish and thin to be American's!

FYI - Went to Food & Wine today...don't be too jealous!

^You have a valid point.

Worst kept secret that Gerstlauer was the manufacturer?

It's about a mile in BOTH directions to the nearest BWW and about 3 and 5 miles in BOTH directions to the nearest Carrabba's.

^From what you say it really sounds like you shouldn't cruise at all. If you do decide to go, maybe try a 3 or 4 day Disney in case you hate it. I actually felt that Disney was the most 'THIS is when you eat, THIS is when you see the show, THIS is when you go to the pool' of all the lines I've been on. It just seemed like everything was extremely structured so if by chance you didn't want to see the show there was nothing else going on or to do at that time.

There are many lines out there that are fancier and more posh than Royal Caribbean. They even have to fancier brands themselves. Celebrity and Azamara. Same with Disney, it's not really fancy by any means. Fantasy and Dream are sister ships; nearly identical with a few small changes but the same size overall. Allure is the biggest and very awesome right now, but if you're looking for the 'Titanic of Luxury' you're going to want something by Cunard, Azamara, etc.

The upcharge restaurants are always very good but for the most part I'm fine with the normal free options on the ships.