anonymouscactus

Better get there early! Source: http://attractionsmagazine.com/seaworld-orlando-introduces-spot-saver-virtual-queue-kraken-unleashed/ Back when I worked the park, the entire Kraken / JTA area is COMPLETELY dead by 8pm on 10p close days. I would guess that still holds true as the other side of the park is where the action is at night.

There are 4 different pricing tiers for flash passes depending on expected demand / attendance for the day. If you look online and select different days you will see there is an "A" "B" "C" and "D" price. Also there is a $5 discount per person with any six flags season pass if you purchase in person.

Too crowded for your liking? Gold Flash Pass. Don't buy it ahead of time. Problem solved. Well, not for food. Just make sure you reserve your rides as soon as they scan your previous one. Don't wait to get off the ride. Gold will be good enough.

Let me preface by saying I have never done a VR coaster experience and I can't say for sure this is how it works. This is based on what I believe I remember reading about the technology. I have no idea how the Kraken headsets work as they appear to be a completely different system, but for the Six Flags coasters with the Samsung VR headsets, I believe I remember reading that the headsets sync to a 'black box' on the train via Bluetooth, and the box itself knows where it is on the track due to various Sync Points on the track itself which tells the black box controller 'I just passed X point on the track'. This accounts for variations in speed due to weight of the train, weather conditions, or if the train were to say stop on the lift hill, the video could resume when it passes over the next sync point. I'd imagine there is a similar system in place on Kraken with some sort of sync on the track itself to account for variations, and that it wouldn't be a static video length / it would slightly speed up or slow down the video at various points, or jump cut occasionally without the rider really noticing. I could be way off, but having operated Kraken myself on cold windy days vs warm full trains without wind, there is a pretty hefty variation in runtimes, so I'm curious how the system accounts for that, if at all, or if they would get more out of sync (but not enough for the rider to notice) as the ride goes on. Does anyone have more information about the setup of Kraken's VR or can confirm my understanding of the Six Flags VR coasters?

Regarding the pepperoni, I have always called it 'Buffalo Style Pepperoni' because 95% of the local pizzerias in the region have those cupped pepperoni. I love it, personally. Growing up I never realized it was a thing for this region; I thought most pizza was like that. 'Buffalo’s pepperoni is slightly thicker than in most places, and cooked more, with the result that it sort of curls up into a saucer shape, crispy with a bit of oil in it, what is locally known as “cup and char” pepperoni. It has more flavor than the bland flaccid disks many pizzerias across American now use" Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/columnist/greatamericanbites/2016/09/22/bocce-club-pizza-buffalo-new-york/90695016/ The cookie dough looks amazing too. One of our local malls just opened up a shop with the same concept, I wonder if it compares. I've only seen a few touring Broadway shows but your report was great and makes me want to catch a few more shows. I live about 6 hours away from NYC but have only been a handful of times. The pizza tour sounds great and I'll definitely look out for that ticket outlet you mentioned for cheaper tickets. Unfortunately that's the one thing that keeps me from going to see more theatre but I guess I never really looked for the best ways to get tickets, either. Love the cupcake sign!

Alright... I'm done now.

Foster the People - Doing It For The Money

No bro, it's definitely a national landmark.

[emoji1] [emoji1] [emoji1] great report! I have to get back there soon, especially since I remember the 'old days' of Superman vs the recent few sluggish years. It seems the general consensus is the train is running much faster again like its hayday. And of course I need some awesome WC rides in the mix [emoji41]

The new night time show that premiered last night looks really nice for a SeaWorld Production. I approve. They are really trying and stepping up their game in so many ways, unfortunately I don't think it will ever be good enough at this point for the park to really succeed... which is a shame [emoji17]

Because it may be very expensive to operate and maintain? Think about how many employees, water pumps, etc are required to operate that ride? I don't have the exact data, but it's not like parks remove rides to be Scrooge McDucks for the fun of it. Or do they?

I know that nobody reads the signs, but if you are unsure what an attraction is, or know you can't handle certain experiences, you should read the signs at the entrance or ask someone; you can't expect a ride employee to explain the attraction to everyone coming through.

Sorry, I don't have answers to your questions, but for Halloween you can purchase a ticket to "Ark in the Dark" and do the entire attraction in pitch black. Unless they've had a lawsuit by now, lol. They told us there would be a little bit of light on the stairs but it was pitch black there too when we did it. Tons of fun!

Why didn't Pythagoras want to take a bath after he hurt his foot? He didn't want to Soak-a-Toe-a!

Great photos!

Great report. Sorry about the snafu but as you said at least it was your only one. Looks like they got rid of the wristband timesavers that everyone complained about in the beginning of the season. Looking forward to your opinions of Holiday World!

Weird that you guys had no issues. Maybe it had to do with early entry (the sign specifically said Kings Island gold pass)? Or I just have bad luck. No idea. It definitely scanned just gave me an error about not being in the system or something to that effect and to see an attendant. I keyed it in manually as well. Of course no issue when the attendant scanned it. Oh well. Banshee and the bat rode better than I remember in the past, them cutting the caramel apples for you is awesome, and I did my first slingshot for $10 but it didn't do much for me. Adventure Express still makes me laugh everytime and Diamondback is a ton of fun and better than I remember as well. Overall a great visit. What's in the shed? Delicious caramel apples that are bigger than my head! My apologies to the guy behind me for getting caramel all over his face. Had a fun weekend with Bernie:

My personal hell was going in the "2017 gold pass" parking lane with my Cedar Point platinum pass and not having the gate open. Everyone honking at me. And then I had to do the dreaded cedar fair platinum pass backup maneuver to go into a lane with an attendant as everyone loudly huffed behind me when the reverse lights came on. So the moral of the story is you need a Kings Island pass to use the automated Kings Island gate. Oh, and mystic timbers was great.

Finished up my new video from Holiwood Nights. I didn't do the Thunderbird/Voyage walk back this year (I opted to take a nap instead, lol) but I used some old footage combined with some new footage of the Raven/Legend walk back. Here is the link:

^ Awesome report and photos! Still giggling at Dick Rock Falls as every trip report since Coasterbill's now appears to have the iconic photo... lol. I agree the out of town special is awesome. Also, I did find the parking confusing as well, but we eventually figured it out. If that's all I had to complain about than they did a pretty good job!

Plymouth Rock Cafe is my favorite. Got a TON of (delicious!) food and well worth the price.

Thanks for the heads up. I was looking at the wait times in the app and noticed it went down quite awhile ago. My fiance is still sleeping after a long long morning of driving since 430am and being at the Cincinnati Zoo so I think I will wait it out until tomorrow. Thinking of doing soak city as well since we will have the whole day. I guess we'll play it by ear.

Call me crazy but Raven at night is still my favorite ride in the park. (It used to be Voyage when it first opened, but damn, I'm getting old -- it's pure insanity but not something I enjoy as much any more.) At one point I stayed in a Raven train for 9 rides in a row, and with all the fireflies along the track in the woods it made for an awesome experience. During the event they did a water cup challenge on The Legend at night. lol... so so so much fun I was laughing the entire ride and it was MUCH more difficult than I had ever imagined. Good times. Definitely a solid event and ALL of the staff both during the day and the event were phenomenal as always. Thank you! I'll have a video soon.

^ great report! Debating if I should hop in the park tonight as we are staying at a nearby hotel, so that way tonight I can get a night ride in Timbers (never been on it yet) and then tomorrow get on the beast at night. Either way, your trip report makes me excited. I agree with you that Cedar Fair food lines in general are absolutely terrible. We seem to have similar experiences every time we go. Thanks for the post!