chargersmichael
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Posts posted by chargersmichael
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Just Announced! Cobra's Curse opening on June 17th! Next Friday!
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Not sure how to embed tweets but it seems typhoon lagoon is getting a new slide!
I just saw on my local news about an expansion to Typhoon Lagoon! I've never heard of it until now! This is exciting as Typhoon Lagoon is currently my favorite water park. I do think it needs a new slide...but I enjoy the atmosphere, the wave pool, the theming, and the swim area with the sharks.
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Lurker here, first post, figured I could contribute to the discussion.
I rode five times Saturday (6/4) and three times Sunday (6/5). Between those eight rides I've ridden in every row, and I've ridden in the front twice.
I've ridden Fury 325, Nitro, Intimidator (Carrowinds), and Apollo's Chariot so I have those for a baseline.
The first drop is perfectly designed for the height of this coaster: the way the coaster crests the top then gets to its maximum angle throws you out of your seat and keeps you out of it regardless of the row you are sitting in. This is something that I always felt was been missing from the other three B&M hypers I've been on. The back row is the best row for the first drop, providing the closest thing to ejector air that I can think of from B&M.
After that the coaster paces very nicely through to the turnaround right before the hill trim. The first airtime hill gives a great pop of air to the front seat over the top all the way to the bottom, a bit more than floater air for the middle seats, and nice air after the top of the hill in the back. The hill with the trim provides the most air in the front and floater air for every other row. Even with the hill trim the two hills directly after leading up to the MCBR provide better air than I can remember on the three B&M hypers mentioned above (with the speed hill being my favorite element on the ride). You do get a good pop of air into the MCBR if you're sitting towards the front of the train.
After the MCBR you barely get anything even resembling floater air over the next airtime hill, and the twists before the final brake run are taken at an absolute snail's pace...no forces even remotely worth mentioning other than to mention that they are completely forceless.
For the exception of the hill trim, the pacing for the first half of the ride into the MCBR is absolutely amazing and the airtime is the best I've felt on a B&M hyper. Based on the reactions of people on the train (and my constant giggles) the first half of the ride is all anybody really cares about right now and it alone is good enough for people to get back in line.
But we need to discuss the trims. There's got to be a calculated reason for them, but man I can only dream of riding this thing like the official POV shows. Each ride I've heard audible groans from people on the hill trim...there's nothing worse than losing quality momentum right before what would otherwise appear to be a perfectly designed airtime hill. While there's still plenty of air on the next two hills after that hill, I certainly wouldn't mind even more without the trim. The mid course brake run in my opinion ruins the ending of the ride...again there's no forces to speak of over the 'airtime hill' after the MCBR and the little curves before the station have no kick to them at all. I will note that between Saturday and Sunday, the ONLY time I noticed less trim force was when I somehow ended up on a train that was less than half full. Other than that the trims felt consistent between both days.
Mako is now my favorite roller coaster in Florida based purely on the first half of the ride. In my opinion it's a better ride than Nitro, Apollo's Chariot, and Intimidator. But it really pains me to know that this ride could be even better...and dare I say...a near perfect coaster...without the trims.
Wow thank you for this review! I'll be at SeaWorld on June 13th and am really looking forward to riding. One thing you mention about the ride irks me...that it COULD be better. It does make me a bit frustrated but I know I'll still enjoy the heck out of the ride! The same thing happened with Cheetah Hunt for me. After seeing how fast it was in the animated POV, I got my hopes up and it never tested at such a speed...yet I still enjoy the ride (even though I know it COULD be better).
(Should've, Could've, and Would've...and it would be Christmas every day)
The whole area itself looks absolutely amazing and I can't wait to get on it soon!
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Why do rides like this even have a trim? From every review I've read so far, everyone agrees the trim ruins the ride and the ending is slow. I guess what I'm asking is why do rides have the many trims? I became really excited once I saw the video of the test run as it looked really promising!! But now hearing the reviews, it doesn't seem to deliver...
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Just left the parks today! Even though many attractions are closed, we managed to complete a lot of rides!!!
Started off at Walt Disney Studios!
(Good thing we got here early because Crush's Coaster had a long line really fast! We ended up getting a Fastpass for Ratatouille after we were done with Crush's Coaster since it was 50 minutes. Did Tower and RC Racer and headed back to Ratatouille)
-Crush's Coaster. This was an absolute blast tbh. I had low expectations but I really never have been on a spinning coaster like this before (only Primeval Whirl at Animal Kingdom). It was loads of fun! Probably my favorite ride of the entire day. Wish I rode it again!
-Ratatouille. This was a fantastic dark ride with great use of the technology. It didn't blow me away, but it amazing how the cars ride together then separate, etc. Really neat experience.
-RC Racer. Front Row. I had low expectations but it really was a fun experience! The loading process was a bit slow but there was only a 10 minute wait for it. Theming was cool!
-Tower of Terror. I didn't expect this at first! I knew it was a slightly different version than Hollywood Studios but I wasn't expecting to go backwards at first! Liked the different experience from this tower! Awesome drops!
Then we headed over to Disneyland!
(Really not too many waits. Most rides were 5 to 15 minutes! A great day to be at the parks!)
-Space Mountain Mission 2. Front Row. Launch was great! However, this ride is a head-banger. Lots of fun...but it was rough.
-Indiana Jones. Front Row. I thought this was pretty great! The drops were fun and that loop was really tight haha. Great ride.
-Phantom Manor. Really enjoyed this experience!! I like the different take on the Haunted Mansion!
-Pirates of the Caribbean. This was great! However, there were some audio/animatronic problems it seems. Much better than the Magic Kingdom version though.
We also rode the Casey Jr. Train and did a few of the walk-through attractions like the one with the dragon, the one inside the castle, and the one by Space Mountain. After this, we headed out as we completed everything we wanted to do! Fun time at Disneyland!!
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The coasters at Disneyland Paris & Walt Disney Studios!!
Crush's Coaster, RC Racer, Space Mountain: Mission 2, and Indiana Jones!
Great day at both parks. Heading out now!
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Lol almost 2:30 in Paris. Still not used to time. I'll be at the parks tomorrow. What is a recommended plan at Disneyland? Where to start in the park and where to get a fastpass? Which have single rider?
Any tips or tricks I should know about?
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Hello! My family and I are heading to Paris soon and we are planning to go to Disneyland & Walt Disney Studios one of those days. We are going to get the Park Hopper and try to do everything in a day since we have done some attractions before because of Disney World.
-To do both parks in one day, which park do you recommend we go to first? (We plan to get there before the park opens)
-What order of rides do you recommend/get fastpasses for?
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I was lucky enough to ride Mako 7 times during the preview day yesterday. 3x in front, 2x in 2nd row, and 2x in back.
Overall it is a fantastic ride! Easily the best B&M hyper I've experienced and I'd even say it's a strong contender for best coaster in Orlando. For reference, other B&M hypers I've ridden are Apollo's Chariot, Diamondback, Nitro, and Raging Bull. Mako reminded me of an improved and refined version of Nitro, with better forces and pacing.
I'll attempt to review it element by element:
First off, the lift hill felt pretty fast for a chain lift and provided a nice view of Orlando. First drop is great and decently steep for 200'. The back row is excellent here, I was catapulted out of my seat for the entire duration of the drop. Large overbanked turn is quick and fun with a bit of hangtime. The first large parabola hill provides fantastic airtime, strongest I've experienced on a B&M. The hammerhead turnaround felt similar to those on Diamondback & Nitro, but a little tighter. The next parabola hill provides great floater air. The trim was on every time I rode, unfortunately. It's a light tap, but it was noticeable. Next hill continues the floater airtime ending with a banked dive towards the water. Nitro has a similar shaped hill, but I've never gotten airtime on it like I did on Mako's. Next up is the speed hill - definitely one of my favorite elements on the ride. It provided long sustained airtime in every seat I rode in, just pure bliss. Then a small pop of airtime brings us into the MCBR.
The MCBR was little hit and miss for me. I had 5 rides where the MCBR was barely on, and 2 rides where it slowed us down quite a bit. They're obviously still testing it, so we'll have to wait and see where it ends up. But it really is a terrific finale if the train has that extra speed. The airtime hill after the MCBR is the weakest of the entire ride and is similar to the final hills on Nitro or Diamondback. The 90 degree banked turn into the park is awesome and provides a pop of sideways airtime if the MCBR didn't slow you down too much. Then you break through some beautiful shipwreck theming into another banked turn that gracefully dives towards the water and up into the final break run.
Overall, it's a magnificent ride with great airtime, nice pacing, and a wonderful location over the water. My favorite B&M hyper yet and I can't wait to see it with all the construction and theming elements finished.
Excellent review! I can't wait to ride Mako this summer. It sure sounds like a fantastic ride with plant of airtime. Looking forward to its opening.
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HULK TESTING DURING THE DAY!!! This is looking really fast!!! The trains look absolutely amazing too!!
Video from Mako Madness
[youtu_be]
[/youtu_be]Sorry for the double post
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HULK TESTING! Definitely a quieter ride. Can't Wait!!
Video from Mako Madness:
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Wow I am in awe about Pirates of the Caribbean. Absolutely blown away and that's just from watching the video!!
I really wish someday I will be able to make it out to Shanghai to experience this park. It looks amazing!
(BTW...on the Voyage to the Crystal Grotto...the outdoor segments...it looks like there will need to be a lot of upkeep to keep the figures clean/not faded...unless they are like water/weather/sun proof and can keep its color and structure forever)
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I think you and everyone else here has answered your question. When Universal announced Diagon Alley and the Train they at first didn't talk about the fact that you'd now need a park hopper ticket if you wanted to use the train or visit both "Harry Potter Lands" in the same day. Then once it was kind of figured out they talked about the hopper and how that's the only way to experience the train. I guess to them that train ride is worth at least $25!
But you are also getting another whole theme park for $25 extra...so the whole train ride wouldn't really be at least $25 extra
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The only things you’ll recognize when The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure re-opens in late summer are the world-famous twists and turns of the ride track.
Looks like we could be seeing Hulk open in August. I can't wait for this to open!
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AHH! This makes me so "incredibly" excited! HMU on that gamma radiation! I can't wait for this to open!!!
^Lol it is always my wallpaper! Haha
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Universal Orlando's FB Page released a teaser for Hulk!!!
The teaser video is roughly 4 or 5 seconds long but it is definitely the trains for the coaster!
I paused the video just at the right moment when the strobe light flashed on the train. It seems that it will feature the same restraints which I'm perfectly fine with!
Here is the pic I snipped from the 4 second clip.
Here is the teaser video:
[fbvideonew]https://www.facebook.com/UniversalOrlandoResort/videos/10153649813362852/[/fbvideonew]
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^So true!
I was at CP last summer and of the 3 days we spent there...only 1 morning Maverick was opened on time with no issues! (Might also be because Millennium Force wasn't ready in the morning that day too haha).
On another note, the sign for Cobra's Curse is now up! The area is really coming together! They were testing the elevator lift a lot on my visit.
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We were the first ones on Cheetah Hunt for the day in the front row...however...we sat in the train for about 5 minutes until the train was full in the station! They only had 3 trains running total with just one of the two stations opened. When we got back to the station...the 2nd train didn't even leave yet! The park opened at 10:00 and I didn't get off Cheetah Hunt until 10:17!!! That's ridiculous!
Wait a minute...you were the first ones on Cheetah Hunt (which is a complex multi-launch coaster)....at 10:00, you waited 17 minutes to board, ride and unload...and you are bitching about it?
Well, I just used this one in the Dollywood forum and hadn't deleted it from my desktop....I suppose that I might as well get one more use out of it.
All I was saying was that operations were really slow. Doing the math...they only dispatched 3 trains in that amount of time. A little over 5 minutes to load and unload riders seems slow to me.
Maybe that is fine for some people but I've never witnessed that kind of operations before ever at Busch Gardens.
Sorry if it seemed I was whining about it...but I just thought operations of the ride would be a lot faster comparing it to numerous other times I've been to Busch Gardens.
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Wow these pictures are stunning! The park looks absolutely amazing! Tron sure does look like a ton of fun!
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I was at the park today...and I was a bit frustrated!
We were the first ones on Cheetah Hunt for the day in the front row...however...we sat in the train for about 5 minutes until the train was full in the station! They only had 3 trains running total with just one of the two stations opened. When we got back to the station...the 2nd train didn't even leave yet! The park opened at 10:00 and I didn't get off Cheetah Hunt until 10:17!!! That's ridiculous!
We then went over to Montu which only had a one train operation. However no one was in the station so we had the ride to ourselves. BUT FOR SOME AMAZING GOOD NEWS: Montu did NOT brake on the MCBR and we flew through the 2nd half of the ride! It was absolutely AMAZING!
Then we headed for Falcon's Fury as I've never been on it before. As we were passing by Cheetah Hunt, it rose to a 40 minute wait! Doesn't surprise me considering how slow operations were!!! There weren't even a lot of people!
Here is when everything got really frustrating...
-Falcon's Fury was delayed due to "late testing." I'm assuming they just didn't prep the ride for a 10AM opening.
-Sand Serpent was also delayed due to "late testing."
-Scorpion was ALSO delayed due to "late testing."
-Sky Ride was closed and they said it was because they don't expect many crowds today.
-Sheikra was closed for Maintenance.
So we ended up doing the Log Flume which you can't go wrong with and we did Kumba which was also a one train operation. We even did the little drop tower in Jungala. The worker didn't have the ride ready for opening as she didn't expect anyone to be over there until 12PM or later.
We then waited around for Falcon's Fury as we asked one of the tech guys working on the ride and he said he is trying to get the ride to open within 30 minutes. After an hour, we left. As we were about to leave the park...I saw the ride actually make a test run so we ran back over and sure enough they finally opened the ride! WOW WAS THAT A RUSH! ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
Overall we had a fun day...but it was really sad to see the park this way. I used to come to this park like every day in the summer when I was younger and I was really looking forward to today but was disappointed with the way the park was run! I understand it was a slow day...but there was even trash on the pathways, unfriendly workers, and just not as fun of an atmosphere as I remembered it to be. I hope when I return in the Summer to ride Cobra's Curse, the park will be better prepared and taken care of.
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Left the park today and noticed Green and Blue water slide pieces in place! I don't have any pictures (as I was driving ) but it is exciting! From a first quick glance, the slide complex looks to be tube slides with the blue one the type of slide with the big sharp turns.
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Wife and I are thinking of doing the Universal "stuff" for our 1 year anniversary this October. How would crowds be on a Sunday (Oct 16th) through Wednesday (Oct 19th)? I know it's during Halloween stuff, but we really wanted to go in October. Otherwise, we can do September. She has never been to Uni and is a big Potter fan....and loves theme parks. Thanks for any help
The theme parks are typically quiet and slow especially in the morning this time of year. Universal Studios will close early for Halloween Horror Nights but Islands of Adventure is open until 8pm and it is really quiet once HHN starts. I don't think crowds should be too much of an issue.
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I'm headed to the park for the first time Monday through Wednesday next week, can anyone give any advice on food locations? Other than the butter beer (Which is clearly happening) any other food items that need to absolutely be eaten?
We are staying at the Royal Pacific, so we are getting front of the line passes!
My personal favorites . . .
Cowfish
Reds brick oven pizza
Emeril tchoup chop
I'd like to add to that! The Simpsons area has a lot of neat food options to try! All delicious!
In CityWalk, I really like Antojitos as well!
I'll be there on Wednesday too!
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WOW! That looks really fast too!
Ahh so excited to get to ride Mako this summer!
SeaWorld Orlando (SWO) Discussion Thread
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
Did anyone go to opening day at SeaWorld? A quick search on twitter saw that the line went up to 2.5 hours and overflowed into the Nautilus Theatre!