better_by_design

This will undoubtedly get me to visit (and drag friends/family with me) Fun Spot again once it opens... which, in the end, is the whole point, right? Great layout, very aggressive, twisty, and hopefully the hops deliver great airtime... this could be an excellent smaller coaster, which, as we all know, can easily beat the heck out of the bigger rides when done right. Excited to see this ambition from Fun Spot to differentiate themselves in the Orlando market! Good luck and many successes to them!

Sooo nice to hear that...thanks for giving me feedback ! GeorgeT You are more than welcome! It's a huge treat to be able to read reports from regulars before visiting a new park for the first time - I always feel MUCH better prepared and get a lot more out of my visit. You have a great, GREAT home park! And to echo many folks here regarding Wodan: -placement in between Atlantica and Blue Fire is fantastic (and Wodan is a great backdrop to that whole area - I love how Blue Fire has to turn away at one point from a potential collision with Wodan!) -HANDS DOWN the best queue for a wooden coaster in the world. Period. -The queue can be argued to be the best coaster queue in the world. Debate whether Dueling Dragons famous queue is actually better or not... with it having been Potterized, I'm giving the edge to Wodan. This is no small achievement for Europa Park! -They seem to be having some teething problems - ride started and shut down twice between 9am opening and 10am... so I had extra time to admire the queue! -My first ride of the day was very "meh" after the first couple elements... speed just died on it, rendering the second half of the course nice, but not exciting. -My second (and last) ride around 7pm (extended hours) after a nice warm day in the upper 20's © was COMPLETELY different -Although it seems to end a little soon (short? Plus no final signature memorable kick) the trains FLEW through the whole course, and was quite wild -That said, it was butter smooth, quiet, no rattle, no jerking, and not a ton of force after the first pull up out of the initial drop -In other words, a PERFECT coaster if you are aiming at a wide audience - much like Blue Fire is AMAZING without being abusive or intimidating -If Wodan's consistency improves, I think this will be a fantastic addition to the park! Very glad to have had a chance to ride it so early in Wodan's life!

I just went on Saturday after taking this advice - loved the park (LOVED! ADORED! WANT MORE!) and am so glad I went for that day, but if I get a chance will come back for at least 2 days. I got in all the coasters and major rides, but saw no shows, and missed so much more! (Not to mention hurrying through meals). SO GOOD! And thanks for the advice in your TR GeorgeT! Hugely helpful! I'll post my own as soon as I can!

Thanks for all the encouragement about Europa Park! I will endeavour to visit there this weekend then! Assuming I survive a crazy work week leading up to it, and then potentially the German Autobahn, if I end up with the week with a car loan. I really appreciate the quick advice from the TPR community and will report back!

Quick post - I'm "in the field" now as they say, and had a logistical question - Basically this weekend I'm debating between trying to hit Europa Park (I'm going to be in the Munich area at the end of the week for work) or a couple of the Paris area parks (since I have to start my work week there on Tuesday). My major concern is with the upcoming holiday weekend, every hotel at Europa Park is fully booked... as are all the Disney hotels. I'm sure there are alternatives around, but is it fair to say the parks will all be slammed and jam-packed and unenjoyable? I haven't heard about Q-bots or other such line-skipping technologies at Europa or Parc Asterix, so am somewhat concerned. The biggest thing is that I may be visiting both areas again in a couple months during non-holiday weekends. Thoughts? Especially advice from the locals/regulars would be highly appreciated!

The proposal was one of my favorites too, although I'm sure it would have fallen into my wife's ruling of "No public proposal, including awkward restaurant shenanigans and especially no sporting event/Jumbotron proposals!" In general, I always find totally nonchalant on ride photos amusing.

Who doesn't love a good ride photo? I have to say that I've never got one as good as these... anyone care to submit their own on-ride photos of awesomeness? www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/124107 I particularly love the Raging Bull / Rocky IV homage. Moderator Edit: The URL link in the topic description is for linking to the posts in the thread, not to external sites. Thanks! -Eric

Yes, this. Exactly. Thanks for the amazing TR Divv! Loved the pics AND the commentary! I need to get to the non-Disney Japanese parks sometime!

You had me at Opryland's Chaos! Never got to visit Opryland before it became a shopping mall and that ride looks... well... interesting!

Great replies folks! Until I get some more specific details on where exactly I'm going to be for work, I think my priorities will be - Highest: Disney Paris - my last unvisited Disney Parks, plus I'll almost surely be passing through CDG, as much that pains me Europa Park - I'll be in Germany at some point, and have to make visiting here a priority Efteling - I know I'll be visiting our offices in Brussels, and this looks very doable as a day trip Tivoli - Always wanted to visit here, and will hopefully have business reasons to visit Copenhagen Next: Parc Asterix - if I have additional time in the Paris area - always loved the comics, and looks beautiful Walibi (and other Brusells area parks) - Brussels time dependent German fair / Phantasialand - depending where work takes me in Germany Grona Lund - not likely, but if I have a spare weekend AND have taken care of the business above I'd love to visit UK parks, but I don't think I'll have time or work to get me over there at this time, sadly. There's a lot to be said about going places for your job, but in the end, it's still work and I can only influence schedules or destinations. My other wild card is whether I can squeeze in Original Legoland. When I was a kid, I dreamt visiting there was on par with Disneyland. And I love penguins. Probably won't happen, but one can hope! Thanks again! I am sure I will be begging for specific travel advice & tips in the coming months!

Speaking of potential TDR expansion, how many spots are left for new additions? TSM is clearly going on an expansion pad... there's a fair bit of space between Indy and Discovery Bay (enough potentially for a whole new land, or at least a MAJOR attraction) and maybe something over the backstage are behind the bridge/stairs from the Med Harbour up to Mt. Prometheus (beside the show barges docks). Otherwise, it looks like that's about it, until you start replacing existing attractions or taking out parking lot space...? I've always found it a little mindboggling/sad that TDR (where land is extremely dear) manages to add attractions at the same rate as WDW (where land is basically free and unlimited).

It looks like I may be going to Europe for work this summer - which I'm obviously not complaining about. I've been a few times for vacations before, and have a very short (though distinguished!) European coaster & theme park resume (Port Aventura, Tibidabo, Oktoberfest, Wiener Prater). The only "must do" places off the top of my head are Europa Park (which looks ridiculously amazing) and Disney Paris (because I'll admit to being a Disney fan, and have been to all the other Disney parks). I don't know exactly where I'll be going yet, or what will fit into my work schedule, but I hope to make these and a couple others. So: What would make your very short list of European must-do parks? Why? Hopefully a fun topic, and I will appreciate the help and advice!

Wow! Gorgeous looking park... and unique to the maximum! Thanks for the trip report and illuminating a park I'd never heard of!

Yes, this exactly! If I take a trip to a summer-only park the first thing I think about is "Man, what are the lines going to be like?" because if I'm driving/flying somewhere to go ride coasters on a Saturday, in season, in the heat, and may not get back to a park for 10+ years - well the opportunity to buy any sort of premium pass is phenomenal. Would this drive me nuts if it was my home park? Maybe, but when I was lucky enough to live near a park and have season passes, I avoided busy weekends like the plague (and went weekdays, or early/late season) because it wasn't fun, and I had the option. Heck, even now we don't do certain local activities (the zoo on holiday weekends, opening night movies, etcetera) for the same reason. If the parks do their jobs right and balance out the number/cost of the passes with the available capacity of the rides (and what rides are included) it can be a win for guests, and for someone who travels to parks, a HUGE win. PS: I love that at Dollywood it looks like the most use guests get out of Q-Bots is show reservations!

I hope to get back over to Dubai at some point, but probably not this year - would love to see some of the wackier stuff and will definitely take you up on your offer!

This was my talk from "Ignite Memphis" a month or so ago - it's one of those events that young, seemingly intelligent people give talks on subjects of personal interest. Mine was on rollercoasters and themeparks... which is important, obviously. Also, there is beer. And snacks. And wine. But mostly beer. Did I mention the beer is free if you give a talk? Anyways, very good audience response, but then again, this was all new information to them, unlike the learned members of TPR.

Exactly! Great job by whoever Tokyo Disney's ad agency is - localized for the market, yet unmistakeably Disney, and heck, all us foreign visitors loved it too - impressive!

Double yay for unexpected foreign airlines! Air China is actually pretty decent. Heck, China Southern and China Eastern aren't all bad either, really. Amazing what declining service standards in the US & Europe will do for perceptions! More Photo TR!

Gentlemen, Thanks for the great update! It's fair to say my interest level went from "Oh, that's nice, BGW is building something new" to "Wow! This is really cool looking, and what a bold, exciting new step for Busch to take on a coaster!" So, clearly BGW and TPR can both say Mission Accomplished. This really is a fascinating and undoubtedly unique ride!

Great trip report, and very excited to check out Legoland when I get a chance/excuse. I appreciate you blazing a trail for adults without kids to visit!

https://twitter.com/#!/BluegrassBwalk Also: "Thanks to the Fair Board. Professional. And you drive a hard bargain." Very interesting step for the Koch family - hopefully they manage to pull this expansion of their business off in flying colors! (also hoping this doesn't distract/detract from capital plans and quality at Holiday World)

Off the plane and in SoCal finally - SO excited for the next 2 days!

OK, I've got some free time in the lounge during my layover between Dubai and LAX, so I'll try to get in Ferrari World. First off - getting from Dubai to Abu Dhabi seems, in retrospect, ridiculously simple. Dubai isn't THAT big a place, and the main road (Sheikh Zayed Road) in the main artery... and if you keep going west, you leave Dubai, and enter Abu Dhabi. A little further, and you get to Yas Island, with LOTS of signs referring to the Yas Island Marina Circuit, where they host the Formula 1 race annually. This is also where they have an IKEA store... and Ferrari World. I am excited to be here! In the end, I arranged a car service through my hotel - I was freaked out by the whole "driving overseas" thing, and really should have just rented a car and drive myself. Ah well, live and learn. There's also bus services (which are dirt cheap) but seem like a pain - tour companies need to step up on this and start running shuttles back and forth. Also, FWIW, there's a fair amount of promotion of Ferrari World in Dubai. I feel welcomed at the Welcome Pavilion As a warning, there will be a lot of pictures, because I have a tendency to be a completist about documenting stuff. The glass well holding G-Force acts as a "wienie", being in the middle and orienting yourself in the building. You know, like a castle. But not. Soooo... did this thing ever run? And how do you replace it when you literally built the building around it? Walking in to Ferrari World feels a LOT like walking into a major new airport... closest is probably the giant new Beijing Terminal built for the Olympics... incredibly HUGE open space, very clean (scarily clean!) but almost antiseptic. Which is impressive, but pretty much the opposite from the gritty, (simulated) real life/fantasy feeling of a Disney or Universal themepark. Also a huge improvement over cracked pavement and dirty concrete, mind you. Of course, maybe if your theme is "luxury car factory" being insanely clean IS part of the theme. Clean... very clean. Note the person cleaning... like 30 minutes after opening, in case someone had touched something. After passing by the park's mascot (a bipedal camel dressed as a Ferrari driver, sadly I was too pumped to think to get a picture) I followed the advice of the girl selling me my ticket, and headed back to the racing simulators Yes, this DOES look like a professional flight simulator... for cars. They have a bank of 8 <?> simulators that are free with a timed ticket... and were easily the best racing game I've tried. Very sharp motion and more realistic feel than your average arcade. The big attraction were the two upcharge simulators (one pictured above) which looked EXACTLY like a pro-grade flight trainer. I was pressed for time, and declined to pay. Scuderia Challenge accepted! It's easy to find inspiration in Ferrari's history all around you. Now it was time to head to the left side of the park and check out the "main event". The big reason to come here. To echo other folks, they stations are remarkably bland... in contrast to the coaster cars, which are easily the most beautiful I have ever seen. I neglected to take pictures of FR in the general adrenaline/fear/preparations of boarding. First off, I barely fit on the thing... I'm a bigger guy and Intamins are always tough, primarily because of my general fatness, but exaggerated by having high floors which push my thighs up and forces a serious squeeze. FR was particularly bad in this regard, and there was much appreciated efforts by the ride ops to get me into the seat belt. I loved the goggles... and the fact that they made the ride ops give a total pass to wearing glasses on the ride. The launch is, obviously, completely insane... the acceleration is ridiculous, and lasts far longer than seems possible. The trims on the first hill are completely necessary; I have no idea how anyone would survive going over such a short (190'!) hill at that speed. That said, it would be something if they tuned them down on certain runs or time of day to provide some ejector airtime, instead of the floater that occurs. The rest of the ride is surprisingly strong - it's an incredibly smooth coaster, and some of the turns seem like you could reach out a hand and touch the ground. Overall a VERY unique ride, and not likely to be upset anytime soon. After which, I hiked over to the other side of the park to check out the other ride, Fiorano GT Challenge Who doesn't like to race? Overall, this is a great complimentary ride to FR: family friendly, medium weight thrill, fun, thematically consistent, pretty unique - how many other racing coasters get built, really? And car racing is a pretty good theme for one! I really liked this ride for what it is - not a huge thrill machine, but it delivers what it's supposed to... and for once, all the braking into turns, then accelerating out of them makes sense thematically! Hands down the prettiest coaster cars in the world. Just look at the interiors! Annnnd... they're off! The GT course Now onto the many other attractions at Ferrari World - Speed of.... MAGIC! AKA, "Give Me Back My Keys!" Speed of Magic is well produced - but lacking in physical effects. Plus, the story, though well told, is weird. It seemed desparate to use the Spiderman tech, without a real reason why. Learn where baby Ferrari's come from! The Ferrari Factory tour is the ride where it looks like budget cuts got made... it turned into a lame EPCOT pavillion ride real fast... ironic considering it's supposed to sell you on the fine craftsmanship of insanely expensive cars. If I remember my French, this means "Italian Mushrooms" The Bella Italia driving course is very pretty, and a good centerpiece to the park. It also had the longest line of the day by a wide margin! The course resembles a model train landscape more than anything Supposedly Soarin' Over Italy is coming soon? The other Omnimover type ride goes through the history of Ferrari racing greatness... and is still very EPCOT-esque, but with widescreen footage of racing, is actually decent. A LOT better than "Made in Maranello" Did I mention the building is HUGE? Park map, you know, for the park map people. A Schumacher championship car (from 2000), back when my employer sponsored F1 instead of NASCAR. Ahh, the good old days. The attractions really do round out the park pretty well... The Pit Wall is again, very EPCOT multimedia quiz show; large screen movie of Italy, etcetera. Didn't see the theatre show, but it got good applause. The pleasant surprise was the actual motion simulator, where the ride film was actually funny, original, and had GREAT in car film footage. Pretty impressive for a low expectations attraction. V12: Inside the Engine may be the weirdest ride I've been on. First of all, indoor log flume. Second, in the dark. Third, it's supposed to take you through a car engine? Huh. Again, it looks like they could have spent some more money finishing this one up. Plus, since it's indoors, the attraction building is crazy humid and chlorine stanky. The roundup of kids attractions and general Ferrari stuff in the park finishes things off nicely. The food selection is themepark pricey, but actually decent and fresh. All in all, I spent 4.5 hours there, rode the coasters 5-6 times each, and saw most (but not all) of the attractions - with almost no lines. It may not be a 12 hour day park, but you can definitely fill up a day. Next door, this is going on to compliment the indoor park: Grainy shot of construction next door. So, this is supposed to be a waterpark opening at the end of 2012? So, what's up with the inverted coaster? Goodbye Ferrari World! And how great is it that you can see the Ferrari logo from the F1 racetrack? Afterwards, I went to pop into Abu Dhabi's Grand Mosque. Think what you will about Islam, but holy cow, the craftsmanship on this building: Exterior - shiny white and huge Courtyard Every pattern is hand-inlaid stonework. Handwoven Persian carpet - about 2 football fields worth This captures a bit of the scale of the chandelier The place is a definite "must see" if you're going to Ferrari World, maybe 20 minutes away by car. OK, that's it for Abu Dhabi - a bit more from Dubai next time. Next stop - LA and the West Coast Bash! Kid-sized driving courses.

OK, next stop: Dubai. My company was sending my team on some business that (fortunately) was being handled out of our regional office in Dubai... meaning I "had to" make stopovers. Yes, my life is hard. And of course, that meant stopping over in some of the most interesting new themed environments in the world. First came packing... Our cat wanted to come. She thought Formula Rossa would be fun. It was my first time to visit "The Home of the World's Largest _________" View from my hotel's breakfast. After some food, it was time to go check out one of Dubai's famous malls. Ski Dubai! But I was really here to try out this. While here, I noticed what may be the world's dumbest (or most brilliant!) video game idea. With some leftover credits, I played this (SUPER BONUS WHEEL EDITION!) Which, crazily enough, I won. With my insane number of tickets (my inner 9 year old was ridiculously pleased), I traded in for a marble rollercoaster set. Treasure! That taken care of, it was now time to check out one of Dubai's waterparks. Since I only had a few hours, I headed over to Wild Wadi. Although older than the Atlantis one, they were: a) cheaper b) had a "sundowner" discount c) were easier to get to d) I had never been to a full "transportainment" park anyways, so either would be good. Wald Wadi! The entrance area, check-in, landscaping, and really the whole park was incredibly well themed, first-class in every way. It definitely helped that it was February and a nice 80 degrees out. Which of course, the locals consider "Winter" and the place was empty. The Burj Al Arab lurking above the waterpark The setting was also BEAUTIFUL with one of the world's new iconic buildings overlooking the park, the beach and ocean adjacent, and the sun low on the horizon. The "new" slides... Tantrum Alley, and "Burj Surge" I really enjoyed both of their "new" slides (a Tantrum Alley and Bowling Alley) which each had maybe 3 raft waits. Both were new experiences for me, and I think really fun ones... not the extreme thrill of the giant versions of each, but very dynamic and wet. It's also important to note how INCREDIBLY nice the staff was... on the Master Blaster slides (which is the bulk of the park's offerings), tubes get stuck on corners while in line between sections, or need shoves by the staff; every time they were SUPER friendly and chill, asking how your day was, where you were from, etcetera. Obviously a very positive contrast from a lot of the US amusement industry. I hope the park is taking as great a care of their people as they are of their guests. Surf rider... and watch out for the first drop on Jumeriah Scarah! The funny thing was that the park had just re-opened from a winter tune-up... lots of cleaning, resurfacing of slides, and so on. They also had removed their big speed slide... though the tower is still there, waiting for a new attraction to be installed. The park even had a "Rest in Peace, Old Friend" poster up in several places, bemoaning the passing of the slide, and teasing a new ride for summer. Overall, I had a great time... I spent about 2 hours at the park, and with the light crowds, rode everything as much as I wanted to, even a few go rounds on the Flow Riders. The "transportainment" concept is fantastic... especially for when the summers come to Dubai and heat up the walkways and the sun beats down. When the crowds are this light, it was kind of a pain, as it took too long to circle the lazy river and re-blast up the slides! The next day - a trip to Abu Dhabi and the world's fastest coaster! But that will have to wait a couple days - I'm about to board a flight to LAX though... gotta make it back to the US for the West Coast Bash! Hope to say hi to lots of folks there!

Holy visual appeal! This thing is a stunner of a waterslide! And novel design... seeing the fiberglass being used for theming like this is very, very cool! And I've always found the big halflpipe type slides to be some of the most thrilling, with the most airtime.