805Andrew

That Kawasemi "airtime filled" Intamin looks awesome, especially for its size. That coaster doesn't BS around, it just goes straight to the airtime moments. I wish the San Diego or LA Zoo or some zoo in CA had a coaster like that. The world needs more Intamin coasters, especially CA. So was that the last day of the official TPR tour, or is there more to come?

Going back to the Crazy Mouse, I think its the same one that comes to the California Mid State Fair in Paso Robles, CA in late July/early August. If so then I have that credit The rides for the California Mid State Fair are mainly operated by Davis Enterprises of Fontana, CA but they don't do a Crazy Mouse coaster so they get that one from a different operator (hard to find on CoasterCounter.com and Coaster-Count.com). I wish we had a Hi-Miler or Wind Storm at our fair, but at least we get a Crazy Mouse. I will know for sure who does our Crazy Mouse when I go back to the Mid State Fair on July 27 to see Kid Rock

I missed the old Tomorrowland before Disneyland redid it in 1996. I thought it was strange to put a high-speed thrill ride on a flat People Mover, but the biggest shock for me was removing the rocket ride from the top of the People Mover tower and putting a new rocket ride on the ground by the Tomorrowland entrance. Talk about the ultimate way to neuter a rocket ride. Rockets are supposed to give the sensation of flying in the air and the old one did a great job of doing that being three stories in the air and added a thrill element simply by being that high in the air. The current one is lame and tame and is another "Dumbo" clone with a rocket decor. Rocket Rods (not to be confused with the rocket spinning "Dumbo" ride) was alright but was not the thrill ride it amped itself up to be. It wasn't thrilling except for the initial launch and wasn't more thrilling then driving fast in a convertible car. It did have a really cool queue line through the Circlevision theater showing Walt Disney's 1950's/60's vision of today (he would be sorely disappointed ) that made waiting 90 minutes (the first time I rode it in 1996) bearable. Rocket Rods must have been plagued with problems since it closed 4 years later and nothing has been put in its place since. I wish they would do something with the People Mover track, anything! Put a parade on there or another track ride, or best of all, bring back the People Mover. The People Mover was a great relaxing "lets take a break" ride to chill and eat some snacks. Every time I go to Disneyland I ask a cast member what they are going to do with the People Mover track and I get they might put a parade on it or bring the People Mover back but the CMs not sure and agree they should do something with it. Disneyland has made good use with Tomorrowland in recent years by adding Buzz Lighter's Astro Blaster's to Rocket Rods old queue, connecting both Autotopia tracks to form a longer one, bringing back Captain EO (waay better than Honey, I Shrunk the Audience - and more surprisingly relevant), updating the submarine ride (which I never liked and still don't like) to Finding Nemo's Submarine Voyage (better than an empty lagoon I guess),and updating Star Tours, so maybe there is hope for bringing back People Mover or something similar. And hopefully they will see the light and but the rocket ride back where it belongs - on top of the People Mover tower

Those looked like a fun two days doing smaller Tokyo parks. I like the fact that you have to ride a gondola into Yomiuriland (reminds me of smaller Spain amusement parks), and Joypolis looks like a very interactive arcade/amusement park hybrid (I wish we had one of those here in CA). Tokyo definitely looks like video game heaven. So was this the last day of the official TPR Japan trip, or do you still have more to see and do? If the trip is still going on, are you guys going to Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise (the 5th most visited park in Japan)? Just wondering...

I hope Knott's builds this thing. CA needs a gigacoaster. Heck, we only have one hypercoaster, Goliath. (I don't call Xcelerator or X2 hypercoasters even though they are over 200 ft because they have different elements than a traditional hypercoaster.)

What was more shocking was they kept it for all those years

I guess earthquakes are so commonplace that the buildings must be retrofitted very well there. Saying "there's an earthquake somewhere in Japan did you feel it" would be like saying "there was an earthquake in Parkfield, did you feel it in San Diego". Wow 4 days at Tokyo Disney and you guys are going back at the end of the trip . Sign me up for the next TPR Japan trip (probably 3-4 yrs from now). Looking forward to those pics at the end. How many more days do you have in Japan btw?

OMG I just found out why so many members on here use the term lockers. When I type L0CKERS it equals lockers SO FUNNY GUYS!

If parks are are going to charge $15+ for parking they should have well maintained and covered parking lots/garages. Universal Studios Hollywood and Disneyland both have nice parking garages and Disneyland has a well organized tram system with a tram arriving every few minutes. Six Flags Magic Mountain has a run down parking lot and a run down tram that arrives every 10-15 minutes. Its little things like this that make a difference in justifying a $15 parking charge. Still, I forget all about that $15 parking charge when I'm on X2 or Tatsu. Actually paying for lockers by the major coasters to put my backpack bothers me more than the expensive parking - whatever happened to those cubbies by the rides? At least Deja Vu still has these cubbies.

I would wait more than 45 minutes the first time since I've never been on that type of ride before but after that I agree that wouldn't wait more than 45 minutes.

Here's the original post: Discuss. Is that Harry Potter music I hear to the Windseeker The Windy World of Harry Potter anyone? So this is what flying on a broom playing Quidditch is supposed to feel like

I can't wait to go Green Lantern, though I will wait at least a couple of months. With Green Lantern, Superman Escape from Krypton, and me not ridden Apocalypse yet (it was closed when I went to MM last year) a trip to Magic Mountain is in order for me sometime this year. If Green Lantern has a 2+ hr line when I go (which will likely be the case) I'll get in the line a few minutes before park closing. When I went to MM last year (late August weekday) I got in the line for X2 literary one minute before park closing (we dashed from Goliath to X2 in 7-8 minutes) and waited about 45 minutes. Anyone who wants to go on X2 but doesn't want to pay $15 extra for one flash pass ride, get in line right before park closing. Just plan your time accordingly so don't end up having to sprint across half the park to make X2 like I did.

There are photos of Tokyo Disneyland at the beginning of this thread and yes they were at the Disney Resort for 3/4 days before Fuji Q, Just be patient for the rest of the photos. They will come. I saw the Tokyo Disneyland ones from the very beginning (wasn't that the pre-trip?) and was just wondering why they jumped from Nagashima Spa Land to Fuji Q but I think you answered my question. I get it that they must have taken a ton more at Disney and it was easier to put up the Fuji Q report first (I did see the POVs of Journey to the Center of the Earth and Fantasmic) and that they are very busy everyday on their trip and I will be patient. On another note, Ernie are you on the trip with them?

I agree with you. If I lived further south I probably wouldn't go to these parks as much as I have. At least not because of the coasters. SFDK is a good park for non-coaster/ride-enthusiasts (such as people too old or too young for the rides) but it's just mediocre in the coaster sense. It's been a long time since either park had any great new coasters, and with CGA taking some of the best ones out, it's not getting any better. One problem I've seen with both parks is the lack of space to put new coasters. SFDK has very little space to add significant new rides and would have to buy new land and rework the entrance of the park to do this. I don't know CGA well enough to know how easy it would be, but I assume they have the same problem. SFDK also has a really insanely annoying height restriction of 150 feet (the height of Medusa, Sky Screamer, and V2). V2 used to be 180 feet until the county caught wind of it and ordered them to take it down to 150. I've never really known why they can't make anything higher (I don't know of any nearby airports), but this poses a significant threat to any coaster development. I wasn't aware of the height restrictions in Vallejo. San Diego and many other cities also have height restrictions (that's why you don't see any big coasters at their Sea World vs Sea World Orlando). A lot of cities are nit-picky with their height restrictions (beautification, blocking the view, scenery, etc. - it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with safety or airports) and that is fine if they don't have amusement/theme parks; but if they do have parks they should accommodate their biggest tourist attraction/draw to their city. These height restrictions help prevent these attractions from drawing more people to their city where they will spend their money. Medusa and V2 still manage to be exciting rides even with their height restrictions - maybe SFDK can become creative and built rides that go underground to make up for the height restriction like what Alton Towers in the UK does (one can only hope ). I wasn't aware of that they used to have whales and they died - though I knew it was called MWAUSA before and was primarily a zoo/marine park. I haven't been SFDK until it was owned by Six Flags (I've been there in 2004 and 2005). A buddy of mine and I had season passes to SFMM in 2004 and so that was our reason for visiting this place as we'd only have to pay for gas and parking. We had fun; the crowds were light-medium, Medusa was fun (but very similar to Scream! at SFMM), Roar was pretty good, Kong was rough and made me wish I was on Batman at SFMM (B&M>Vekoma), Zonga was horrible, V2 was closed , the Stargate 3D ride/show in the Dino themed theater was cheesy (and made Spongebob 3D at CGA look good), feeding the lorikeets were fun, and the water ski show on the lake was fun - we both decided this was more of a family park than a thrill park. My SFMM season pass included an awesome coupon booklet with several $15 bring a friend coupons to Marine World so I came back here in October with my sister and my parents and got to ride the water splashdown ride, Roar, V2 , and Kong before the power went out . While were waiting in line for Medusa 15 minutes, the power went out. I guess there must have been a big power outage in the area because 15 minutes later they announced the park would be closing for the day (only 2 1/2 hrs after opening). They gave return vouchers to those that asked (with proof of ticket) and gave us 3 (though not for me because I had a season pass) which were good until the end of the 2005 season. My dad was pretty ticked off about having to drive 4 hrs to get there and only being there for 2 hrs. My dad gave me his voucher for the following year as he didn't care about returning to this park and my mom, sister, and I had a much better time the following year. We saw a dolphin show in killer whale stadium and Shouka was in a tank but wasn't doing shows yet as she was being trained. All the major rides except for Zonga and the 3D Motion Theater were open but I told my mom and sis "you're not missing anything". We had fun but decided that Sea World San Diego was a much better park for animals and shows and SFMM was a much better park for rides. I will have to visit SFDK in the near future to see the Shouka show and ride the Tony Hawk spinning coaster and the Star Flyer. Hopefully SFDK can get another killer whale in the future, that would help Shouka. Tear down that ride and put something else in its place, ANYTHING. That ride is wasting valuable space at CGA. Even Psyclone at SFMM was better and it got second to last on that poll. I would like to see a bigger coaster utilizing the Grizzly and former Invertigo space being connected by a tunnel or bridge high above the walkway (one can only hope ). I know that CGA doesn't have very much space and doesn't have a city that's very supportive of its park. The 49ers moving to Santa Clara would bring lots of $$ and attention to the city and that's what Santa Clara wants. I hope the 49ers stay in SF as their my NFL team and I like the city of SF - besides could they still be called San Francisco 49ers if their in Santa Clara or would they be called Bay Area 49ers or California 49ers (no is going to call them Santa Clara 49ers lol. I think the best thing CGA can do is build a multi-level parking structure in what parking area they will have left - make do with the limited space just like USH and Disneyland.

You're right. I've been to CGA twice, once as a Paramount park and once as a Cedar Fair park and it wasn't any worse/different under CF. Paramount did all the damage by getting rid of Stealth and letting the park just sit there. CGA does have potential, and with the former Disney executive Ouimet becoming CEO of Cedar Fair, that potential has a better chance of being realized.

On another note did you guys go to Tokyo Disneyland / DisneySea the days right before Fuji-Q? How many days were you guys at Tokyo Disney? Any pictures of the TPR group at Disney to put on here or were you guys too busy having fun I know you guys are very busy - I was just wondering

Fuji-Q looks like its actually fun - if the weather and crowds cooperate. Do they now have park maps in English at the park? I checked their website and their English section is decent, it even shows a park map in English. Fuji-Q has a good mix of coasters and flat rides it seems - too bad most of them are doomed by low capacity. Was the Star Flyer wave swingy thing operating yet?

I've haven't been to any parks that were horrible as I've only been to 12, but the worst one I've been too doesn't exist anymore. I'll rank the parks I've been to from favorite to least favorite. 1. Disneyland (My favorite park for themed attractions) 2. Six Flags Magic Mountain (My favorite coaster park) 3. Port Aventura 4. Disney California Adventure 5. Knott's Berry Farm 6. Universal Studios Hollywood (I would rate this higher than Knott's if it had more rides/things to do) 7. Sea World San Diego 8. Tibidabo (My favorite small park) 9-11. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (three way tie) California's Great America Six Flags Marine World (that's what it was called last time I was there) 12. Parc d'Atraccions Monjuic (Barcelona, Spain - closed in 1998) The worst park if been to was Monjuic which no longer exists - it was definitely dated and seen better days when I last went there in 1998 (I was 16) but I still had fun and they had some fun/weird/interesting rides. Tibidabo was the cross-town competitor and they did a better job of keeping up with the times and had a even higher elevation then Monjuic which added to the half the fun and experience. If you count a fairground with traveling rides as a park than obviously that's the worst - but I don't count that as a park. The worst park I've been to that is still operational is a tough one and is one of the Bay Area parks I've been to. I'm sure Marine World has improved since it became Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and may be better than CGA now, but the last time I was there in 2005 I actually liked CGA slightly better so its a tie until I revisit both parks. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has a great location and wooden coaster and an easy compact layout to walk around but if you put this park inland it is definitely worse than CGA or SFDK. CGA and SFDK definitely have better overall rides, but I love the location of SCBB so its a tie for these parks.

I can't wait to see the TR on Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea and Fuji Q Highland

I haven't been to many small parks but my favorite one is Tibidabo in Barcelona, Spain. Its mountain top location overlooking the city is what makes my fav smal park. The journey to Tibidabo is half the fun as you take a metro or FGC train line to the base of a funicular train and take that to another even steeper funicular to the top where Tibidabo is. There is a historic church right outside Tibidabo (a culture credit) and Tibidabo has funky and homemade rides you won't find anywhere else and the best traditional swings ride and bumper cars I've been on. Their Hotel 666 haunted house walkthrough is also excellent as they scare you in ways that could get them sued in the US. Although most of their rides aren't too thrilling, the mountain top location makes them a lot more thrilling. My runner up for favorite small park is Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It has a nice beach setting (though very mild, often cold weather), a great classic wooden coaster (the oldest one in CA - 1924), and is the closest park to where I live (2.5 hr drive).

Hi my name is Andrew and I've been reading many different TRs on TPR over the past couple of months and have been on lurking on TPR once in awhile before that over the last few years. I've searched different theme park/coaster websites on the web and yours is BY FAR THE BEST. Not is your site informative, but is very humorous as well. All your TRs make me fell like I am sort of there and I would like to become part of the TPR family and eventually go on TPR trips (2012 hopefully). I live in the San Luis Obispo area of CA in this town called Atascadero (pop 28,000). If you've driven the US 101 from LA to the Bay Area you've driven through my town (our most famous tourist attraction is an In-N-Out Burger). I grew up here (since I was 7) and went to college here (Cuesta College then Cal Poly SLO) majoring in Business (International Business and Marketing). I worked at a winery in Paso Robles for five years and now am looking for a new job. I may consider moving to the LA area or Bay Area since decent paying jobs here are lacking. I try to get to a good theme/amusement park at least a couple times a year. Six Flags Magic Mountain is about a 3 to 3.5 hour drive from me and I consider it my home park. Its the park I've been to the most in recent years. Disneyland would be my other home park as it is the park I've been to the most in my life (I was born in Santa Ana and lived in Irvine until I was 7). I've even been to Disneyland before I was born Disneyland is about a 4 hour drive from me. Other parks I've been to in CA are Knott's Berry Farm (4 hr drive), Disney California Adventure (4 hr), Universal Studios Hollywood (3.5 hr), Sea World San Diego (6 hr), Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (2.5 hr - its the closest to me but I don't go very often as I'd rather spend an extra hour getting to SFMM), California's Great America (3 hr), and Six Flags Marine World (4 hr - that's what Discovery Kingdom was called last time I was there). Outside of CA I have been to the Roller Coaster at NYNY and the current Stratosphere rides in Las Vegas; and Port Aventura, Tibidabo, and Parc d'Atraccions Monjuic (closed down in 1998) in Spain (I have relatives in the Barcelona area and visit every few years). I guess Port Aventura would be my home park away from home as I visit it every time I'm in Spain (been to PA 4 times) and its my favorite park I've been to after Disneyland and SFMM.

Countries I have been to: USA Mexico Canada (BC) Spain France Andorra Argentina If I include airports also: UK (London Heathrow) Holland (Amsterdam Schiphol) States I have been to: California (born and raised here) Nevada Arizona Utah Hawaii Oregon Washington If I include airports also: Georgia (Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson) New York (JFK) Illinois (Chicago O'Hare) I have been to a lot of cool places but I still have a LOT of ground to cover. Now if you if are talking theme/amusement parks I have only been ones in CA and Spain and a few rides in NV. Outside of CA and Las Vegas there aren't any remarkable rides/parks in the American West (west of the Rockies) - someone correct me if I'm wrong. However if we are talking National Parks they are many excellent ones here and I have many NPS credits in CA, NV, AZ, UT, HI, OR, and WA.

"Old Man" by Redlight King This is my favorite new song right now.

I just reread your post. If you are staying in Valencia they should have a train that stops at Port Aventura. If they don't then take a train to Tarragona and switch trains as from Tarragona it will be one stop (10 min). They have 4 hotels on the Port Aventura property if you want to spend the night, though they are resort hotels and aren't cheap. The nearby beach town of Salou should have plenty of lower priced hotels and you could take a bus or taxi to the park from here. Hope this helps.

I've been to Spain several times (I have relatives in the Barcelona area) and have been to Port Aventura and Tibidabo. Port Aventura has its own RENFE train station, so renting a car is not necessary. You can take a train to Port Aventura from Barcelona Sants that takes about an 1 hour and 10 minutes. The last time I went to Port Aventura (and Spain itself) was in 2009 and at the Barcelona Sants station you could buy a "Port Aventura y Tren" ticket for 47 Euros, a mere 3 Euros more than the Port Aventura park admission that included park admission and round trip train ride to Port Adventura and back to Barcelona. You could take a morning train (8 or 9 AM) to PA and stay there until almost 10PM (and see/ride about everything except the nightly fireworks at 11:45PM) and take the last train to Barcelona which leaves just after 10PM (don't miss it though!). Check your train timetable which they will give you when you buy a train ride to PA for the exact times. All my visits to PA have been in the summer time btw. Be sure to grab a drink from PA before you leave for a train ride back to Barcelona as no drinks are sold on the train or by the station. 1.50 Euro for a bottle water or 2.50 Euro for a Coke/Fanta/Sprite may seem pricey but you will be thirsty on that 1hr+ train ride back (trust me). Actually the water prices aren't too bad for a theme park and I'm glad water is cheaper than soda (as it always should be) as most US parks charge $3-$4 for water (I'm talking to you Six Flags). They are also 4 different hotels on site at PA if you'd rather get that true resort experience instead of simply a day at the park. Anyways Port Aventura is not to be missed especially if you've never been there.