andybarnes84

I can see the direction this is going in and it certainly wasn't my intention to rip to shreds the considerable investment WDW have made upgrading infrastructure, character meets, restaurants etc, the problem with forums is that it can be difficult to articulate opinion which ultimately what it's about. And a sense of humour hopefully. I'm only saying that when Avatar Land opens in 2017 it will have been 11 years since the opening of the last E-ticket attraction across the 4 parks. Really don't want to come across as obnoxious or anything as I'd like to think I'm far from it so apologies to all that I've caused offence to and particularly to Craig for distracting attention from his brilliant trip report.

That's perfectly understandable that WDW don't need to update or add attractions at the rate of Universal due to it's timeless and endless appeal, I understand that and the incredible demand for the place, it's just as a repeat visitor (as many Brits become) I should have emphasised that this was purely a personal observation that since the major investment of the late 90's (Animal Kingdom) to mid 00's (Everest at AK), there haven't been any major new attactions in the last 9 years other than Toy Story Mania and Seven Dwarfs Mine train which are great for their audience, and a couple of attraction updates. With Avatar Land slated for 2017, that's quite a gap. It's all probably financial I know, some grand plan etc. Maybe that's the problem, that I was a repeat visitor during one of the greatest investment periods ever for the Resort and became too accustomed to fresh attractions 98 - Animal Kingdom, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin 99 - Test Track, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Kali River Rapids 02 - Primeval Whirl (Okay now I'm using dirty tactics to emphasise my point ) 03 - Mission:SPACE, Mickey's Philharmagic 05 - Soarin', Lights, Motors, Action! 06 - Expedition Everest I think you're all brill so certainly don't want to get into a war of words over this, just making a comment from a *personal* perspective having visited Orlando many times in the last 20 years that there hasn't been much to tempt me back more recently (an opinion shared by my wiser better half), and when a 7 day pass costs £275 ($415) it does inevitably make you think a little about how much value you'd get out of that. I agree as a newbie, it's good value. Peace all! And anyways back to what this thread is about, Craig's first time visit and antics! Having read back through the TR once more am I right in thinking you're also a fellow former employee of the British Airways/EDF/Coca Cola London Eye? If so then cue the music "...it's a small world after all"

Absolutely, it's just refreshing to have both sides of the coin for once, with no fluff

Loving the honesty in your reports Craig, a few months after coming back I keep getting memory loss and think Orlando is the best place on earth, like Lourdes for us TPR'ers, but reading your experiences reminds me that it's maybe not all great but with quite a "great" price tag, still astounded after all these years at just how little things have changed at WDW in comparison to Universal.

SFOT & SFFT, SDC, HK Disneyland, Mirabilandia, Efteling and most German parks

And here I was having doubts about my decision to postpone my Germany road trip to 2016, no longer!

Talking of preshows how many on here have ridden Galaxy Express 999 in Shinagawa, Tokyo? Wow! Seriously the most tedious and random preshows (yes there were several I think) for such a short ride. It was just two of us and one very enthusiastic staff member literally reciting War and Peace, I wonder why it closed down? I don't really mind standing through the preshow for RNR at Disney Studios in FL as at least it's a little relevant, but the Paris one I REALLY can't stand, you can tell that even Aerosmith couldn't be with doing it, it's not good when the people getting paid to make the preshows can't stand preshows. Preshow rooms are the root of all evil and should be destroyed with fire Anyways, it's a lovely looking coaster with a great deal of thought going into it, but again it's dressing up a mediocre layout at the end of the day, was hoping for a little more but oh well, this is Europe after all, the continent where we prioritise the unspoilt romantic view over ancient forest from a romantic cottage balcony rather than a decent giga coaster that'll ACTUALLY kick your

10/10 for effort at least Lets just hope they haven't themed the rear

I certainly won't get my hopes up, I missed out on Goliath at SFGAm by 2 weeks due to the construction delays so i'm gettting used to disappointing near misses.

And the award for biggest coaster station built goes to..... This looks great so far, but I really hope they get this open for early June, i'm sure it won't take long to install the track, good to see that it's starting to arrive and hopefully we'll finally get a good idea of the specific layout. It's interesting that half of the lift hill will be enclosed, I wonder what treats they have in store for that part, along with the tunnel.

Skyrush seems to come in at just under 45 seconds on POV vids so that'd be my clear choice but have yet to ride Outlaw Run, TTD is a close second.

Looks like it's some kind of "I'm a celebrity get me out of here" tv show based maze experience type thing [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

And construction updates at the following: http://www.themeparks.ie/europe/tayto/index.htm

Some construction pics: http://www.thejournal.ie/europes-largest-wooden-rollercoaster-tayto-park-1919808-Feb2015/

Finally an update! http://www.thejournal.ie/europes-largest-wooden-rollercoaster-tayto-park-1919808-Feb2015/

TAYTO PARK TO DEBUT EUROPE'S LARGEST INVERTED WOODEN ROLLERCOASTER IN SUMMER 2015 2015 is shaping up to be a monumental one for Tayto Park. It opens to the public for its fifth season on Thursday, 26th March and today (Wednesday, 4th February) Tayto Park's founder Ray Coyle unveiled the first look at the rollercoaster that is currently being built in Tayto Park located in Ashbourne, Co. Meath. The rollercoaster will have a strong Irish mythological theme and will not only be Europe's largest inverted wooden roller coaster but also the ONLY one of its kind in Europe. Ground was broken on the project on 10th of August 2014 and construction commenced on the 1st September 2014. Tayto Park has employed the services of globally renowned rollercoaster engineers The Gravity Group from Cincinnatti, Ohio who have created over 50 wooden rollercoasters around the world including the first ever wooden rollercoaster in China. A team of 70 engineers and builders have been hard at work to ensure that the rollercoaster will be completed by Summer 2015. As the first ever inverted wooden rollercoaster in Ireland and the largest of it’s kind in Europe, it will boast epic proportions (in it’s category). With over 800,000 kgs of yellow pine wood transported from Southern USA, more than 100 tonnes of steel and collectively over 700,000 nails and bolts, the rollercoaster will reach dizzying heights of 32.05 meters with a stomach churning drop zone of 29 meters. Niamh Reynolds, Tayto Park Marketing Manager said today "We have been taking calls and emails from rollercoaster enthusiasts around the world for months, asking to be on the rollercoaster on the first day. We have even had someone asking to be on the ride on the first day so that he can propose to his girlfriend!" Rollercoaster builder Jeff Mason and engineer Korey T. Kiepert from The Gravity Group have over 40 years collective experience both designing and constructing some of the worlds most adrenaline fuelled rollercoasters. Between them they have worked on over 73 rollercoasters around the world. Korey said today “We always try to make each ride the best ride possible for its size. When we have the chance to break a record – we go for it! When this ride opens to the public, its overbanked turn will give people a taste of going upside down – a first for a wooden coaster in Europe, so we are pretty excited about this.” In addition to the rollercoaster, 2015 see’s the arrival of seven extra heart-racing attractions to Tayto Park which will all be up and running for Summer 2015. Taking its cue from world-renowned theme parks, the ‘Air Race’ will set hearts pounding and eyes bulging from March onwards. The Tayto Park ‘Air Race’ is the perfect way for adrenaline junkies to ease their way in to the park clocking up some pulse racing speeds. Next up is the ‘Rotator’, an incredible high speed spinning sensation that is sure to set you back a step or two when attempting to keep a steady stride afterwards. With only four in existence worldwide, this is a one-of-a-kind theme park hotspot for Ireland and the UK. The thrills and spills for little ones continue with the ‘Sky Tower’, a 10 meter vertical climb that will have little ones feeling like they are on top of the world. Other new attractions include a three carriage road train that will transport visitors from one end of the park to the other, a steam train track ride which will operate on a traditional track around Tayto Park and the only 5D cinema in Ireland, screening five and ten minute movies, depending on how much time you have to spare! Adding to the impressive animal enclosure and perfectly timed with the 2015 release of movie Jurassic World, is the new ‘Dinosaurs Alive’ attraction, a tail thrashing, roaring and clawing exhibition that will delight visitors of all ages in a unique and fun learning experience. This awe-inspiring, life-like animatronic dinosaur spectacular will feature the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex, Stegosaurus, Apatosaurus, Dilophosaurous, Baryonyx. Commenting on the rollercoaster and the brand new attractions for 2015, Tayto Park founder Raymond Coyle said “From bigger landscaped car parks to a stunning new admissions building we are aiming to give people the very best experience. We are very proud of the conservation work we continue to do with the animals in Tayto Park and our whole team is very excited about the new attractions not least the rollercoaster. The new attractions and new infrastructure represent a very significant investment of €26 million overall. We believe in Tayto Park and we absolutely believe that it stands alone in Ireland for offering all day entertainment and value".

Anyone know if this is going to open this year? Things have gone very quiet in recent months and can't find any construction pics anywhere so my guess is that it's been delayed to 2016.

Have they recently changed this arrangement as embarrassingly on my last visit to Hershey I arrived at the wrong car park (chocolate world) and had to drive another 15 mins just to get to the main car park entrance!

Wow some great thoughts on this topic so far, thank you everyone Just a reminder of the proposed layout of Paramount London: One issue that is London Paramount's major stumbling block so far would appear to be traffic as the main road to feed visitors into the resort is already very congested, and whilst they claim that won't be too much of a problem due to the park opening and closing outside of peak traffic times, I still think there is going to be major trouble, as do most of the locals. This leads me on to kindly ask you to think back through your worst memories of traffic delays into a park/resort and why you think this occurred and why you think that particular park is vulnerable? What do you do when you don't have the luxury of free space such as WDW to filter your traffic through? Questions in my own (confused) mind at the moment are: 1. Has the new Mickey & Friends parking structure at Disneyland California greatly reduced traffic issues in the area? 2. Do other parks such as Cedar Point generally cope well when it comes to traffic management? http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/oh-erie/hundreds-of-people-were-stuck-in-the-cedar-point-parking-lot-saturday-night-after-halloweekends 3. Which parks have the most efficient parking booth employees and which are the slowest? Should there be seperate lanes for those who have pre-paid parking online or is this just a recipe for confusion? Any thoughts on traffic issues at your favourite parks would be fantastic to hear, and also any further thoughts on noise abatement such as previously mentioned with California Screamin', also Silver Star and Balder etc would be useful.

Hi everyone, So I've got my invite for the masterplanning and infrastructure workshop being held by London Paramount Resort in March, which will focus on the importance of good masterplanning and design for long term success along with noise abatement, visual impact for neighbours and sustainable infrastructure. All very dry topics I know! But it got me thinking, what parks around the world have got it right when it comes to planning and infrastructure? And on the flip side, which parks have failed miserably? What parks have you been to that have come up with an idea, no matter how simple, to make things incredibly efficient in their operations or to blend in with the local environment with minimal impact?

Certainly lots of experience and great advice coming up in this thread, after reading through newer comments I'll just point out a few things: 1. Things work very differently here in the UK when booking car hire, generally there's often not much of a difference between cities for all inclusive prices when booked here but if booked through a U.S. site directly with the car hire company, prices can be very high. Make sure you either book with a UK travel company such as ebookers or netflights otherwise you'll have lots of additional fees to pay and what seemed like a cheap price certainly won't be when you arrive (my Sister made this mistake recently on a trip to Texas). If the truth about NY state applies to UK bookings, again you'll benefit from flying into Newark Intl rather than JFK as it's in NJ. If going with Alamo, they usually have the EZ-Pass fitted and ready to go, you pay a small fee to use it and then you get billed for the tolls you go through a little while after returning the car and flying home. 2. I have to admit I generally preferred the "split the journey up" routine, staying somewhere half way to reduce fatigue. The jet lag and time difference of -5/6 hours will help with those early starts. 3. TomTom is your friend, if your mobile is with Three you have data and calls/texts included when you visit the USA which is an amazing benefit, if not then pick up a Three payg sim and make sure you activate it more than 30 days before your trip. I use the USA TomTom app on my phone and do a 1 month subscription to traffic too just before flying out which has been an amazingly useful tool to minimise hassle with these drives. Remember these cities are massive and everyone uses their car over there so you will inevitably meet some epic traffic areas, especially when heading to parks around the morning rush hour, but TomTom will lower the delays drastically. Still my trusted tool for getting through Central London every day. If you can't do this, then buying a TomTom from Walmart, Best Buy or Target when you arrive would probably be ok, can often be cheaper than renting one and can always sell it on when you get back as many people going to Florida would be very interested. You wouldn't have traffic info (unless you forked out a lot) but it has IQ routes which has all the historical traffic info so still your best bet. 4. We booked and paid for most of our hotels ahead of the trip but at the very least you could make the free reservations (with free cancellation 1 day before etc) to plot it out and if things get unpredictable, you should be able to improvise and cancel your existing night.

Problem is that pretty much every park you have planned to go to is a must do (haven't been to Carowinds yet) other than Six Flags America. As you'll probably have a season pass to save mucho dollars, I'd make SFA a brief stop rather than a full day thing. Last summer we flew into Chicago and covered a lot of the Midwest such as SFGAm, Holiday World, SFOG, Dollywood, Kings Island, Cedar Point (again) and Indiana Beach over another 2 week period. I don't want to burst the planning bubble but it's not a bad thing having to go back again for another amazing trip

Lots of really useful information from Philrad71, really does cover everything. We did a similar trip a couple of years back, only 2 weeks however an action packed itinerary and I posted a trip report which might give you an insight into things: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=62989 From a UK perspective, few little things worth thinking about: 1. Newark was a great airport to fly into and not as intimidating as JFK, quite easy to navigate out of. Cheap flights usually easily available with United from most major airports here in the UK. 2. We also picked Newark from a strategic perspective, as it is close to Jersey City. As you have a car, to get into NYC easily, you can stay in the Newport area of Jersey City and take the brief trip on the cheap PATH Metro train, avoiding the prices of NYC hotels and without the stress of driving anywhere near Manhattan. We stayed in the Candlewood Suites Newport/Jersey City. 2. Book your pre-paid car rental here in the UK so that everything is included, you can get good discounts for booking flight+car with the usual companies, we usually opt for ebookers. In terms of rental companies, we generally choose Alamo as their prices are pretty good for UK customers through sites such as ebookers. Can't go wrong with most of them, but avoid the lesser known companies. Opt for a couple of car classes above the lowest as the price between them is negligible. We looked at dropping off in a different location but you do have to pay a hefty fee to do this. 3. I used Tripadvisor to check out all the hotel possibilities, generally worked really well but don't get too fussy about the class of hotel as you really don't have much time in the room with this kind of trip. Once the hotels have been chosen, book via Trivago for the best deals. Don't think too religously about staying right next to the park unless it's going to be a long day. Think about the driving distances between parks and how long you realistically expect to stay in the park (full day or half day), there will be some where you get things done quickly and can get a headstart with the driving and possibly stay somewhere half way. I often struggle with late night drives for the first 2 or 3 nights as you adjust to the time zone/s. If you want flexibility then Booking.com is your friend, just make sure they are free cancellation rooms with no deposit taken at point of booking. 4. Join Club TPR (if you haven't already) for many really good discounts on park entry that will probably cover the cost of membership! 5. These trips are flippin knackering! Remember when TPR do them, the coach driver does the monotonous bit! But you'll find the adventure of it all will keep you motivated. Your plan is incredibly ambitious, plus it's the height of the Summer holidays, so give it a good hard think when it comes to fatigue, heat etc plus hours of driving

Really amazing pictures! Can't wait to visit the park in early June, knowing my luck the new coaster will open the week after but I'm hoping my visit won't be too early to enjoy this new masterpiece, as long as it doesn't keep snowing there (even if nice to look at).

B&M - Sheikra Intamin - Skyrush