GwaziBSRider1
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Posts posted by GwaziBSRider1
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I rode one of these in Abu Dhabi, and it was easily one of the most terrifying rides I've ever ridden. Standing in the capsule waiting for the floor to drop is so stressful!
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I would never call Dominator "mediocre" or "standard." That coaster has always been one of the best floorless coasters out there. Yeah, it's used, but KD got THE best coaster from GL.
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Part 7: Heritage Village, Old Souqs, and Sparky's Dubai
After a very modern experience in Dubai, it was time to learn about the older days of the city. There's not much of the old left in Dubai, but some still exists in Heritage Village (most of them are replicas). Heritage Village can best be compared to Colonial Williamsburg, but not nearly as expansive as its Virginian cousin. The Village greatly lacks in the information department. The buildings are there, but there are very few placards to tell you what things are and their significance. It was interesting to see what the old buildings looked like, but it left a lot to be desired.
We then walked a few blocks over to the Textile and Gold Souqs. We had been warned ahead of time about the high pressure sales, and the warnings were right on par. When walking around the Textile Souqs, there were plenty of sales people outside of the stores trying to put a scarf over our heads. WARNING: if one of these scarfs touches your head, you're buying something! As for the Gold Souqs, if you're looking for a Rolex knock-off, you won't have any problems. Plenty of sales people walked up to us with several on their arms for display. We took an Abra across Dubai Creek to visit the Spice and Electronic Souqs. The Abra was quite a fun ride and for just 1 AED, it was a cheap one, too!
We took a quick stroll through these Souqs before heading to the Metro for our first park of the day, Sparky's Dubai. Located inside of the Al Ghurair Centre (which was easily the nicest "locals" mall we visited), this was THE nicest of the Sparky's we visited. The coaster (creatively named Roller Coaster) is shoe-horned into the small space and looked like a lot of fun. Too bad it was closed for annual maintenance! The horror! We had lunch before going back to our hotel for our next destination, but that's for the next part of the report...
Onto the pics! Enjoy!
Welcome to Heritage Village!
I guess this hut is traditional.
The shopping area. Home to the same crap you can find anywhere else!
An old street.
The House of Poetry was one of the few buildings you could enter, but all that was inside was visualizations of the Koran. (KK)
Some building. (KK)
These gentlemen were performing traditional song and dance. It was very entertaining.
One of the few old buildings left in Dubai. It was built in 1931, and it has a face.
Textile Souqs. Don't let them put the scarf on your head! (KK)
More of the Textile Souqs. (KK)
Could this enchanting item become Lady Gaga's next showpiece? (KK)
Entrance to the Gold Souqs. (KK)
Dubai Creek - ready for crossing! (KK)
Riding on an Abra! (KK)
Crossing Dubai Creek. (KK)
A loaded Abra. (KK)
The Spice Souqs were my favorite. (KK)
There it is...the Al Ghurair Centre! (KK)
Yet another gorgeous mall!
It's credit time!
Roller Coaster's track.
The clearance is low in here.
The coaster is simply EVERYWHERE!
Coming into the station.
NOOOOO!
A roller coaster skeleton. Soon to be reassembled.
A Dubai Metro entrance. (KK)
An ad for evaporated milk that we saw EVERYWHERE. I guess the Emiratis love their waterless cow juice!
That's it for Part 7! Stay tuned for Part 8: Al Montazah Amusement Park, Mall of the Emirates, Ski Dubai, and Souk Madinat Jumeirah!
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I rode Hurler about a month ago, and I thought it was running pretty well. It's not the greatest coaster in the world, but it's still fun. Thunder Road is much better, though.
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^ That's such a neat idea! Of course, they also had hetero ones.
But did anyone see the "Gay Sailor" to repel Russian submarines?
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Predator - Darien Lake
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Nice report so far! Looking forward to the rest!
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I agree with boldikus! Just watching the video made me nauseous. This is one of very few coasters that I'm not sure I'll end up riding.
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Myrtle Beach is a place that I really don't have much of a desire to visit (other than for a quick credit run), so I'm actually MORE inclined to ride these coasters now that they're in Vietnam!
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I wasn't impressed by EPCOT at all on my first visit, but it warmed up to me as I was there. I will admit, Soarin' is easily one of my least favorite Disney rides. I find it incredibly boring.
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^ Hotels in Harrisburg have always been cheaper in my experience. You'll have plenty of options to choose from, and they're only about 20 min or so from the park.
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It was actually Licensing issues. Cedar Fairs didn't get the license to re-create the scene from Italian Job, meaning they weren't allowed to do it anymore, they were allowed a year or two after the purchase of Paramount's parks, but that's because it took some time taking out the propane tanks and pipes, etc.
Those effects still work on the American rides...
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Do they not do concerts at Timberwolf any more? I saw a Weird Al concert there several years ago and it was such a nice venue.
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A few questions for the locals... How well does Roar run? Is it worse or better than Gwazi and Wildcat? How would you guys feel if RMC came in and re-profiled Roar?
I think Wildcat runs better than Roar, but I like Roar's layout more. I'd rather see a new RMC than a redo of Roar.
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^ There's the Mack spinning coaster at Knott's. I think there's a few Mack mice in the chain, too.
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Great Bear - Hersheypark
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Best seat on Vortex? If there is one.
Magic seat is first row of the last car. Same goes for pretty much every Arrow and Vekoma looper.
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Since TOGO's been out of business for 14 years, this means that parts for the Shockwave are hard to come by.
If KD wants to keep Shockwave, they can get the parts. One of Premier's specialties is manufacturing parts for rides who were manufactured by defunct companies. Premier does a lot of work with the old TOGO coasters.
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Looks like a great ride!
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That said, one other thing I'll close with is that the park's (newer) coasters are getting a bit stale to me. Exterminator is extremely fun and underrated, but it's still just a mouse in a box. Phantom is a great ride, but it's slowly losing that dominating presence it once had. And Sky Rocket is a great addition that has Kennywood written all over it, but it's hit that 5 year old mark, and is nothing more than just "fun." Maybe it's just the coaster enthusiast or thrillseeker in me talking, but they've only added ONE coaster since the Phantom overhaul 14 years ago. I understand it's not all about coasters, we're in a different era, and there have been many other capital investments since then that have greatly improved the park, but in my opinion Kennywood lacks that dominating presence of a monster coaster that the Steel Phantom once gave it. Without knowing what their budget is or what would actually be feasible for a park like Kennywood, something like a Banshee-style B&M invert, Skyrush-style Intamin (even with regular trains), etc. would be a nice compliment. Those are just my thoughts.
I would imagine there's a big project in the works to utilize their new land. I just don't see a B&M or Intamin ever coming to Kennywood, but I certainly wouldn't mind being wrong about that. Personally, I think the next coaster here will be wooden.
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^ There are four gates: Main, Marina, Beach, and Resorts.
Their main purposes:
Main - obvious
Marina - Access to the marina and the restaurant there.
Beach - Beach access
Resorts - Gate used primarily by the on-site resort guests, but also used to access Soak City and Challenge Park.
Even though most people staying off-site will park in the main lot and use the main gate, you can use the Resorts gate instead. When arriving at the parking booth, head for Soak City and park in their lot. The lot is very close to the gate and you'll walk into the park next to Magnum. If you plan on spending most of your time toward the back of the park, it will save you a lot of walking.
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Well, I think this confirms my trip to Germany in 2016!
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I rode it in 2013, and I actually liked the Nor'easter. I could tell how miserable it would be without the new restraints.
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Kennywood's ride runs very well. I was so disappointed when it was removed for the Wipeout (which was moved to make way for Swing Shot), but I'm so glad it's back now!
Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
I was at the park this weekend as well. A few highlights:
-Rain on Friday night right after close was kind of crazy. Driving across the causeway became quite interesting.
-Saturday morning's drizzle caused a bunch of issues, but everything was good about 1:00.
-I was incredibly impressed by Rougarou. I couldn't believe how much of a difference the new trains made. It was amazing!
-Mean Streak was riding smoother than I've ever seen it. I rode in the front seat, and it didn't hurt at all. There were even a few great airtime moments!
Now for the inevitable. As some on this board know, I have NEVER been a fan of Maverick. I've rode it in practically every row on every visit since it opened. Ever since I rode I-305, I wanted to see Maverick get those new restraints, and I was SO excited to try it out this weekend. I am sorry to tell you all that I am still not a fan of this ride. I will admit, the ride is better to me now, but I still can't enjoy those crazy turns that everyone seems to love. I was particularly not a fan of having my neck SLAMMED into the restraint during the turn after the second launch. I might ride it once if someone I'm at the park with wants to ride, but I've officially given up trying to like Maverick.