viking86

Just had a quick look on the twitter feed, lots of ignorant people indeed. However I'm not sure if the approach SeaWorld is taking against Blackfish is the correct one, as it seems to fuel the fire somewhat. I feel it might be better to ignore the whole thing. Then again, I'm sure they're absolutely fed up with the Blackfish bullshit and sometimes feel the need to release some steam. I don't know excactly, just some thoughts from my side...

Fantastic report, looks like you had an amazing time! I would love to attend an event like this! Crowds also looks "highly acceptable". After looking through the parade pictures from my trip I have observed that there apparently were many other girls there. Not quite sure how they were hiding so well in broad daylight... I guess you managed to get a whole lap this time... I hope you said Hi to Elsa for me!

Fantastic post! While I knew that Fantawild was expanding rapidly, I had no idea how big the company is getting. The parks themselves are also looking pretty good.

On May 17th, the Norwegian national day, Viking Cruises newest ship "Viking Star" was christened in my hometown Bergen in a spectacular ceremony. The ship itself is not very big, with a length of 227,2 meters and a capacity of 930 passengers. But it's big news here as it's the first time in 10 years that a new cruiseship is registered under Norwegian flag. Here is the official video from Viking Cruises.

Been following this project for quite some time. I really admire your patience and dedication, and it looks fantastic!

Well, I woke up the next morning to the news that it was snowing back home so that does not make you special! I may live in Norway, but we are talking May here and the Norwegian west coast isn't excactly well known for getting a lot of snow, you need to go up in the mountains for that... It is a creepy picture isn't it??

Day 4 - Magic Kingdom After waking up and happily confirming that the pain in my left knee was pretty much gone, I headed out for what would be an absolutely amazing day at Magic Kingdom. Started the day alone, but in the evening I was joined first by Robb and later by Tom and Jack. This would also be the day when I met Elsa for the first time, which was not planned when I arrived at the park. So sit back and enjoy the tale of what would become one of the happiest days of my life... I decided to take the ferryboat across the Seven Seas Lagoon. Takes a little longer than the monorail, but well worth it if you have plenty of time. Oh, and I spy a castle in the background... Got a great look of the new bungalows at the Polynesian Resort. Staying there must be an incredible experience. Getting closer... FINALLY I’m back at Magic Kingdom, possibly my favorite park! Got into the park just as the dance parade started. To be honest I didn’t really like it that much, found it kinda more annoying than fun The view down main street never gets old. Castle selfie! (no stick required) The show in front of the castle I did like! Plus it has fireworks and that makes everything more awesome! Had to got the toilet after this so there was only one thing to do.... look for the tower! I still can’t believe they made an entire restroom area themed to Tangled. And yes, it’s awesome! I had heard many great tales of the evils that lie within these walls. Little did I know I would be forced to experience it for myself.. When I took this picture my date with Elsa was still scheduled for the next day. 90 min wait on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train? I think I’ll leave this one for later... Such a great looking ride (and a lot of fun too). Space Mountain is always great fun! With the main parade getting closer I headed over the newly refurbished hub to do one of my favorite activities at Magic Kingdom. Yup, just chillin’ on the grass! It’s such an awesome place to rest, and there’s always plenty of space available. I would have liked to have a wee bit more shade, but it’s still awesome! Some of the beautiful details of Magic Kingdom. Parade time! Here’s Beauty and the Beast! And this is why the spinning platforms on the float is such a stupid idea. Seriously, who came up with this?? I had a fantastic spot and this was the view I got of Anna and Elsa as they passed by! This was the best view I got of them... I was not happy! The Tangled float was pretty spectacular, everyone gets a great view and Rapunzel looks fantastic! Everyone loves half-naked Ariel! Merida is pretty bad-ass! FIRE!!! This dragon was seriously awesome! Dwarfs, Snow White, Alice, Jiminy Cricket and more all at once... And of course it all ends with Mickey and Minni. I'm not a big "parade person", but this had some pretty damn good parts. Upclose shot of the stunningly beautiful castle. Big Thunder Mountain is a great ride. Night rides is a must on this one! Happy riders on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Went back to the grass to get a little more rest. Here’s how Robb found me when he arrived at the park. First up was Splash Mountain. Me and Robb got front seat and experienced what can only be described as an unacceptable amount of wetness... Tom arrived at the park and got this shot of us. Time for sillyness on Space Mountain. Jack seems to enjoy the ride Space Mountain sillyness #2. With the wait time for It’s a Small World posted as only 135 minutes we simply had to ride. “No Tom, I’m not amused!” Oh.... After some more rides, including Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (off the ride in less than 20 minutes, even though the wait was posted as 40 mins), we headed off and watched Celebrate the Magic. Loved this show! Screencap from Robbs Periscope stream, I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that he sent me a screencap from the Frozen part! After this Tom and Jack left, and me and Robb went to check out the wait time to see the girls. It was posted as 50 minutes, but a quick look inside revealed a wait time that was more like 5 minutes. So I hereby bring you my first encounter with Elsa... OMG ELSA IS TOUCHING ME!!!! Happiness level reached a new all-time high! Or to tell the truth it was more like trying not to simultaneously pass out/poop my pants, Robb is being all “Look at this guy” while Elsa goes “Who is Craig?”. My heart might belong to Elsa, but meeting Anna was pretty damn awesome too! And Robb is always happy to meet Anna! So that was it for an amazing day/evening at Magic Kingdom, and the best part about it?? There were plenty of awesome nights to come during my trip!!

Awesome to hear that Wicked Cyclone is running as amazing as it looks! It really is incredible how RMC are transforming aging wooden coasters into masterpieces!

Looks fantastic! Very excited to see the final result!

Seriously, this looks like an incredible ride! I must also say that I think the grey support structure looks quite good now that it's all complete.

Great to hear that the ride has turned out so well. Wouldn't be surprised to see more of these appearing in the future....

Day 3 - Busch Gardens Tampa & Downtown Disney Okay, time for some more pictures. As Kumba was scheduled for maintenance from May 7th I would have to visit BGT by this day if I was going to make it before it closed. I was still suffering from lack of sleep at this time so my body was not overly pleased with the intense rides that BGT has to offer, but I did all the major rides and I still enjoyed my day. All the rides were running well, and with the exception of Cheetah Hunt all rides were walk-on. Met up with Austin (rcrider4) who joined me for a few hours, which was great. In the evening I also headed down to Downtown Disney to have a look at some of the new stuff. Here we are at Busch Gardens Tampa. Lion topiary at the entrance. We started off with a ride on Cheetah Hunt before it got a line. Definitely one of the coolest looking rides I know. Most random inversion ever! I kinda wish they had left it out so that it could run with lapbars only, but its still an incredibly fun ride that I could ride over and over. Then we headed off to Montu. Walk-on and two trains running. Way to go BGT! Rode Montu in the backseat. This ride is incredibly forceful, particularly through the batwing. I love the ride, but due to the lack of sleep my body was not overly happy with the raw intensity. The ride is a bit weak towards the end, but it's still one hell of a coaster! Digging near Montu... Hello kitty! Time for a ride on Falcon's Fury! I do like this ride, and the point when you feel your weight shifting from the seat to the restraint can be a bit nerve-wrecking. However I do prefer the standard drop towers as I feel they have a much better dropping sensation. Skipped Scorpion on this visit. It sure looks great tough! Time for some real old-school B&M! Kumba was only running one train, but there wasn't really any need for more. I love this ride! So forceful and it only gets a little rough when it gets to the corkscrews. I can't believe this ride is well over 20 years old considering how well it's running! Am I back at EPCOT? SheiKra was running great as always! Love the first drop. The second drop is also pretty damn good! SKLOSH!!! Disney aren't the only ones who can do beautiful topiaries. Loved the octopus topiary. Gwazi entrance closed and sign removed... ...but the Gwazi giftshop was still there (as well as various Gwazi games). The only sad thing about this view is that the ride occupies a huge plot of land that could actually been used for something good. In the evening I headed down to Downtown Disney to check out some of the new stuff. "The Boathouse" looks great! The amphicars are sooo cool! Also went to check out the new bridge. Downtown Disney looks fantastic in the evening! Overall I really like the look of the new bridge, and it definitely helps connect everything together and spread out the crowds in the marketplace. My favorite store in Downtown Disney. So much awesome Disney art. I was however surprised by the lack of Frozen art. Last year there were tons of it, now there was almost none. I found this version of Elsa to be slightly creepy. Again this place look fantastic at night! At this point my left knee was hurting really bad, so I decided to head back to the resort. I was worried that it would affect the rest of the trip, fortunately it was fine by the next morning. This was good because the next days would fall into the category of truly epic Disney days...

I have to hurry up then, Disney Magic will be in Bergen twice next month, June 11th and 27th.

Maybe I'll see you next time. I haven't started planning the next trip quite yet, but I'm pretty sure I have to go back when all the new Frozen stuff opens in Norway. Visiting Elsa in my own country would make me a very happy man! And whatever the ride will be I'm sure it will be more "educational" than what it replaced... It's quite funny, the wooden houses with the souvenir shop in the Norway pavilion are from my hometown Bergen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryggen) and houses several souvenir shops also in real life, selling the same and similar stuff as they do in EPCOT, except the Frozen stuff. My conclusion?? The souvenir shops here in Bergen needs more Frozen!

My last rollercoaster as well, except I rode it one day before you. Great ride!

Thank you for the nice comments, I had a wonderful time indeed. Lots of good stuff coming up over the coming week. It sure was a lot of fun!!

As it was a long journey to get to Orlando and I arrived late, I figured it would be good to start with a relaxing stroll around EPCOT as that would allow me to sleep for some time in the morning. Well, that didn’t happen as I woke up super early due to the 6 hour time difference. As there was no reason to stay at the resort I decied to head out and I was inside the gates at EPCOT at 9:45 in the morning. Overall I love EPCOT. There isn't a whole lot to do in terms of rides so I can understand that not everyone enjoys this park, but to me the park has such a unique and relaxing atmosphere that I have not experienced anywhere else. In the evening I was joined by Robb, Tom and Jen for what would be the first of many great evenings! Good morning Florida! Back at the giant golfball for... ... EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival 2015 The Radiator Springs area was really cool! Went for an early single-rider lap on Test Track. Really love the single rider line on this ride, you get on so fast. And the ride itself is so much fun! EPCOT is an amazingly beautiful park! Sorcerer Mickey. Time for a stroll around World Showcase, but first... ...time to get myself a Magic Band. I went for the Flower & Garden festival edition, LOVE it! Started off by taking what I can only assume is a highly accurate and realistic boat ride through Mexico. Construction walls up in Norway. There is absolutely NOTHING sad about this!!! Time to go to church. And some people claim that a Frozen ride doesn’t belong in Norway.... Moved on and came across some Lion King characters. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs can be found in Germany. Lady and the Tramp in Italy Woody in America. The Japanese pavilion is my favorite place in all of World Showcase (Until the Frozen ride opens in Norway that is..) Of course you can always expect to find some weird stuff in Japan. Entertaining street performers in France. Beauty and the Beast in France. Winnie the Pooh in England. The Bambi topiaries were really cute. Helloooooooooooooo Elsa!!! I can’t believe I walked around the entire park before I found the girls. You can’t write a trip report from EPCOT without including some food pictures. Food #1. Had Fastpass for Soarin as I didn’t try it last time. It was alright, but definately needs an upgrade. Would not be worth waiting in the standby line. Food #2. Monorail shot. I keep being amazed of how beautiful EPCOT is! I know there are mixed feelings about this ride, but I think it’s quite fun. In case you forget where you are these signs are all over the park Food #3 The sun sets over EPCOT, but the beauty of the park remains. At this point I was joined by Robb, Tom and Jen who arrived at the park. We did a quick ride on Test Track using the single-rider line, followed by a walk around the World Showcase before watching Illuminations. Fire and fireworks is always a good combination (well, thinking about it there probably are one or two exceptions...) BADABOOM!!! Illuminations finale! After Illuminations we went down to the Boardwalk area. I had not seen this area before, but it was really beatiful. Tom says “It’s not as comfortable as the grass”. At this point I did not know what he was talking about, but I would soon learn over the coming days (picture by Robb) How many parks can you think of where you are allowed to enter the park 90 minutes AFTER park closure because your car is parked in the main lot on the other side?? This is what the fountain looks like with no other people around (except Robb who was kind enough to walk back to the main entrance with me, and was right next to me at this point) Final shot of Spaceship Earth. While the park was still mostly empty, there were still some people leaving the park. This is one of the many reasons why I love Disney so much, they are not rushing to get people out of the park. Actually I believe the main reason Robb walked back through the park with me was that so he could get this picture and spend some alone time with the girls...

For the first time in foreve..... errr, since September last year; I went BACK to Orlando! Yes, that is correct folks! Ever since I visited Orlando back in September last year (read my trip report here) I knew I had to go back. However I had no idea it would happen so soon. It all started in early January, when I started looking at flight tickets and was surprised at the low cost. As there was no one on my friends list who had the possibility to go, I decided to look for people to meet up with here at the TPR forums. As response was quite good, I decided in late January to book the trip. Fast forward a couple of months and I was all ready to go. So here it is folks, my trip report of what would become another amazing Orlando adventure, featuring great rides, fantastic people, silly people, queens and princesses, lying on grass, fireworks and lots of general awesomeness! Day 1 - Travel (see below) Day 2 - Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival Day 4 - Busch Gardens Tampa and Downtown Disney Day 4 - Magic Kingdom - First meeting with Elsa Day 5 - Part 1 - Disney's Animal Kingdom Day 5 - Part 2 - Magic Kingdom - So many girls... Day 6 - Universal - quick report Day 7 - EPCOT & Garbles joins the fun at Magic Kingdom Day 8 - Sea World Orlando Day 9 - Disney's Hollywood Studios Day 10/11 - Last days of Disney before going home Day 1 - travel day In order to get from Bergen (Norway) to Orlando you have to travel for quite some time. So I’ll start off this trip report with a quick summary of my travel to get there. The trip started with a fairly short flight to Heathrow. The weather over the North Sea was great. Flying into London! The flying machine that would take me to Miami. I was not overly satisfied with the legroom for such a long flight. But at least the selection of movies was fairly good. Watched American Sniper for the first time, thought it was pretty good. MUCH better legroom on the short American Airlines flight from Miami to Orlando! Good night Miami! Day 2 and EPCOT coming up very soon!

The dog fart coaster is one of the greatest theme park themed pooping attractions ever! Only thing that beats it is of course Tangled Toilets! Tangled Toilets are pretty amazing indeed! As for this ride in Chine I don't have much to say except that it's a NOPE from me...

Currently enjoying the Orlando night with a couple of Heinekens on the balcony.

Damn it, every time I manage to erase this from my mind someone has to bring it up again!!! Their marriage is definitely going around in circles...

I will not be surprised if the ride gets scrapped. There simply arent many buyers for a ride this old...

I have no words...

Great to hear that the ride is running well! I will definately stop by Tusenfryd this summer.

We have dolphins and porpoises in Norway so thats no issue! https://www.regjeringen.no/en/historical-archive/Stoltenbergs-1st-Government/fid/Veiledninger-og-brosjyrer/2000/facts-about-whales-in-norwegian-waters/7/id419229/