jray21

Like you mentioned before, it's time for SFMM and Knotts to switch the crappiness factor.

^WINNER!!!!!!!

^ & ^^ That's amazing to me. At our waterpark, we closed maybe one day in six years because of a massive thunder storm and temperatures in the 40's. People may not realize it, but rain affects a water park a ton(at least in Northern California) because rain is freezing, and everything you need to get dried off gets soaked. Yet even if it was in the 50's, we would still stay open. Not debating the rides being closed, even if it is stupid, just that they actually close the whole park! Talk about leaving a bad taste in the guests mouths!

^Last year you were able to sign up for one or both. We will just have to wait to see for 2011 when the details are released.

It looks like a hurricane ran through there! I WILL be going on the next China trip no matter what!

That's the best part! It's all fenced off so there's no real park to sit at!

^That's so true! Magic Mountain was worse this time than last time, and worse than Knott's!

Sorry, my post was in no way meant for your pictures. Unfortunately, since the re-design was started there have been a ton of know-it-alls. There has been a ton of 'experts' that were saying that there is no way the wheels would fit between the bolts, that it was a design error, etc. People also said the layout was wrong, the banked turn wouldn't be supported, etc. The problem is that people tended to state them as fact. Instead of saying, "Gee, what a neat design, those bolts on the top look different," they would say that the designed is flawed, that RMC screwed up, and how would they fix it. Robb even asked the RMC guys at IAAPA about it to quiet everyone up because they swore that RMC screwed up. Your pictures are great, and I love looking at them, but there are many people that are jumping to conclusions about the gaps, the supports, the bolts, the windows, the cars, etc. As for the Texas Giant. I can't wait until it's open! They still have a ton of time to finish it, so any 'problems' that seem to be on the ride do not worry me at all. It looks like it will be an intense ride, and I will definitely try to head out there for a ride!

Is this the old location?

The nachos were at White Water Snacks at the Grand Californian, right next to the DCA entrance. They were very good! The worst part about the lady was that she was facing everyone who was eating at Mel's Diner. Needless to say, it ruined our meal.

Amy and I did a quick visit to LA this past weekend. We did Disneyland on Friday, Six Flags on Saturday, Universal Studios of Sunday, and Knott's for half of Monday. Disneyland - Met up with Diabetic Dan and our friend Jessica. It was extremely busy so we just walked around a bit, and ate a ton. I was very proud of Dan, he totally destroyed me in eating the most. The holiday decorations were up, but it didn't seem like as much as previous years. The castle looked good though. Using the completely unfair and ineffective ( ) Fast Passes, we were able to do all the rides we wanted. We checked out ElecTRONica at night, and it was pretty cool. Just that tiny area was ten times better than the entire Pleasure Island. Lazerman was really neat, and watching the teenie boppers attempt to dance was the highlight of the night! Six Flags Magic Mountain - Because we were planning on leaving early, we decided not to get a Flash Pass. We completely lucked out though. It was Toys for Tots day, so if you brought a toy worth $15 you would get in for free. Amy and I hooked up with the Alvey's to get the special buy 4 season passes and get Hurricane Harbor free (Highly recommend it), and Amy and I needed to process our passes. Amazingly, there was absolutely no line for SP processing! They were very friendly and fast. After that, and because we arrived late, we were in line all the way to the metal detectors! However, I spied with my little eye a Discover Card entrance! I remembered the 5% discount, but totally forgot about the special entrance! We walked right past everyone showing how much better we were than everyone else because we had a discover card, and were able to get in a few minutes early. This saved us at least 2 hours. Why? Well, contrary to what a lot of people say, you have to X2 first thing in the morning. We had a 10 minute wait for the front, and after we got off, the line was already over 1 1/2 hours long! We stayed ahead of the pack and had a 15 minute wait for the front of Tatsu. After getting off of that, the line was an hour long! It was like that for the rest of the day. We skipped Ninja, the water boat ride, and Riddler (one train dispatch because they decided to send the other train to another park during the holiday season for some idiotic reason). We were able to hit every other ride within a four hour period. We were very lucky. Afterwards we headed to TPR headquarters to hang out! Universal Studios - We met up with Fernando (TPR Screen name: Nando) whom we met on the Deep South trip. We had a lot of fun, and had the front of the line pass. The Grinchmas Tree Lighting Ceremony was fun, but only if you have the Front of the Line Pass. Without it, I would never do it. I couldn't believe how long the lines were for it. The show on the tram ride was a nice touch, and made the set actually look worth being on the tour. I loved the set when it was new, but it always just seems so incredibly faded. The Grinch tunnel was a seizure victims nightmare. I have never been so blinded and confused by that tunnel. The flashing was incredibly intense. Dan met us for dinner, and we all felt like throwing up after eating too much at Tony Roma's. Knott's - Knott's was also having the Toys for Tots, but it was absolutely empty the first two hours! In 2 hours we were able to get 2 front row rides on Silver Bullet, 2 rides on Xcellerator (1 in the front), Supreme Scream, Jaguar, Montezuma's, Pony Express, and La Revolucion. We then were able to meet up with Christine and Melissa (it was her birthday) for a few more hours before flying home. Amy and I saw our first show ever in the birdcage theater and we really enjoyed it! We had a ton of fun catching up with them, and wished we could have hung out longer. The best part of the day was laughing at the mine train operators spiel. We had absolutely no clue what he was saying. R is for Ray's. Our last picture with the letters. This stage was virtually useless. It showed the opening ceremony for ElecTRONica, but wasn't used during the event. This is what happens when you use your cell phone too much. Dan introduced us to the best nachos! The nice fog in the morning and the smelly gross water reminded me of San Francisco. No more Maliboomer. They should just get rid of this entire ride. No pretty pictures of Goofy will save it. They missed Halloween by a few weeks. Dan and Jessica couldn't stop laughing about it. I wonder what's on Dan's mind! This lady had an incredibly unacceptable amount of wetness on her backside. It was disgusting. Hey John! This guy likes Osprey as much as you do! It's a Small World was all decked out for Christmas, and the lines looked like Black Friday at Walmart! X2 was running absolutely incredible! Of course you have to have the proper sitting position or you will get the crap kicked out of you. It was also our first ride of the day so that made it better as well. Amy's hair is already starting to go wild and we haven't even ridden a ride yet! If this tastes half as good as it looks, were in for a real treat. *I hope someone gets the reference Disneyland stole the idea of removing rides and putting in a park from SFMM. Giovanni is excited that Santa didn't forget him like last year. Antonio was concentrating so hard on solving his puzzle that the electric currents made his hair stand on end. That was one tough puzzle. William plays night stalker and goes after Kid Tums with scissors. It's always a good day when Hector is around! William threatened me with T-Rex because I didn't go see his Disneyland Brick. Loved this store as always, and they had a bunch of great sale items. I agree with Dan. The pre-show is ten times better than the actual ride. Hey look, it's Foster's! The greatest beer in Australia! Stupid parents and stupid kids. I was really hoping he would fall. The worst thing in the history of Universal Studios. To one of the best! This part was a nice touch, but nothing spectacular. More dancing The pizza at Universal was incredible! Still no upward progress on Transformers. The newer special effects show was pretty good, but I miss some of the older sections. The bloody knife is always good. Snooki was even there to take control of the Astronaut! And the camel toe of the year award goes too.... Waterworld is still a good show. Say hello to my little friend. If they combined Jaws with Waterworld! I am easily amused by fire. He enjoys that kick too much. Human on fire! Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh........Sploosh I will have this animal one day. These guys are awesome. The Grinchmas Tree. A lot of people asked if this tree was real. This 'who' looks like the chick from Blade Trinity. Cindy Lou Who is a book nerd. The Grinch was awesome! He had the greatest facial expressions. La-dee-who-dee-fa-lee-soo-dee whatever. They even had Max! There was a lady doing this exact same pose and it looked so stupid...so we had to do it! I wonder when Knott's is going to start using these. Still just a few signs of Haunt left. Perilous Plunge is empty for the winter. Can't wait for the 15 minute one boat cycle times next summer! Wait for it. Wait for it. Wait for it. CABLE! This was very good. A little too much teriyaki flavor, but still very good! A great way to end the trip!

Not true. Even a ginger gets fed every now and then. CGA has been pretty much ignored for years. We will find aliens on other worlds before we that happens. I really wish they would do something. It does have potential is they only invested some money into it. As for the stadium, I think it's a cop out to say that it will ruin the park. Sure the days there are events will cause problems, however, the events will bring in a ton of potential guests, and create advertising reaching tens of thousands of people. I would totally love to hang out in the park during the day and beat the traffic, and then go to an event. Also, I they just added an awesome ride, the increase in guests could more than make up for the few days they close due to an event. It's really sad though, I grew up with CGA and loved it. Now I rarely go.

There are a lot of rides that do exactly that. Like Wild Thing* at Valleyfair. It's a fairly fast ride until you get to the big turnaround. Of course, the absolute best ride at going fast and then going slower than a crawl is Grizzly at CGA. *Edited because I was in idiot and put Steel Venom!

Yes, you are missing something. You forgot that the internet makes people experts in everything. The people that are pointing out the little faults have more experience and knowledge than the builders. The builders have no idea what's going on, so they regularly follow this site to see the problems, and see how they should fix them.

So, then the fast pass does work and your entire post is useless because you said it doesn't work?!?!? . See Above I'm totally confused. You say they don't work for you, but then you say you never wait more than 15 minutes? You seem to have done research for the best times to visit parks, but you didn't know that Soarin is one of the most popular rides at WDW? Instead of complaining about the Fast Pass system you should have gone to Soarin first thing one morning and you would have waited no longer than 15 minutes. Don't blame Fast Pass for you lack of bad planning.

Gangsters, not really anymore. Scumbags absolutely, but that's with almost every park. The park does have metal detectors and bag checks for extra safety, as well as a few police officers. Family friendly, yes, but wherever there are teens you will have bad language and inappropriate comments (unless you are Guys kids then it is dinner table conversation ), but thats everywhere in general. Everyplace has it's good and bad but it's not like East LA if thats what your worried about.

I hope that is why because if they did it to only make it look like a car window they would have failed almost as much as the Carowinds Intimidator cars.

Awesome report! That was an incredibly hot day. The bathroom that was in the picnic are during lunch was literally like walking into a sauna. But it was still an awesome day!

^That's my favorite!!

I tried looking for it this past Sunday, but there was no way I could see it. Next time I'll just have to jump off the ride and climb up to see it.

I'm not Robb, but I was at Disneyland this last weekend. It was absolute hell, and I bet Christmas Day will be as well. The longest lines were for Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, It's a Small World, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Finding Nemo had a small line at night. You are correct about the Urban environment. The greater Orlando area has approximately 2 million people, while LA has about 17 million! Add that two only having two parks and you can only imagine how horrible it can be. However, most of that time will be blackout days. Blackout days come with four levels (I think) SoCal select, SoCal Annual, Deluxe, and employees. For the most part, during the time you are there all the above will be blacked out. This will definitely put a limit on some of the locals, but for some it's a tradition so they will pay to go in, and all the hotels will be sold out. They do have magic morning at Disneyland, so if you are stating on property or at a good neighbor hotel, make sure you use it. But in all, it shouldn't be too different than Orlando. Fast passes will sell out extremely early, if you want to see a parade get there hours early, people will line up to get into the park extremely early, and do not eat at normal times. One thing I have noticed is that Disneyland likes to keep people in line behind about 6 turnstiles (they have a lot more), but at the very last second, they will open up a ton more. I've even heard cast members say they weren't opening them, only to see them open at the last minute. I always stand in front of the 'closed' lines, and they have always opened. Of course if it says 'cast entrance' or it's the exit, don't stand there. That's my two cents, but I have never been that close to christmas. Hopefully this bump will get some more expert responses.

I never got it last year either. With morning ERT and being a lot farther in the park than the GP for opening, we hit every ride with an hour of the park officially opening. Also, there are usually special event/tours/lunches/presentations during the day so for a large part of the day I wouldn't be using it. Nighttime ERT is incredible. A lot of people are tired from the morning ERT and being in the park all day, that many of them go home for evening ERT. Rides like Terminator, Batman , and Riddler were either entirely empty, or had just one other group the whole night. Amy and I rode Riddler's revenge twice with no one else on the train. I would just wait and see until the day of the event whether or not to get a flash pass, and what kind. If I were to buy one, I would wait to purchase it until the GP finally started making their way in and the lines started growing.

If nothing else, people can count it as two (JJ) credits!

It really depends on your experience. There is definitely a learning curve, but if your very familiar with other programs like Adobe, a big part is learning the different terms for the same thing, and the button combos. I do recommend getting a reference book. It took me quite a while (I am still learning it), but I am a beginner when it comes to advanced video programs like Final Cut. I used to use iMovie and that was really easy to work with.

When it comes to front of the line passes, like Robb said, it comes down to what you feel is important. I think if you go to any park and don't budget, your not very smart. The ticket price is just a small part of the overall experience. There is parking, food, and souvenirs. When I go to a park I know that I will need extra money for food, and front of the line passes, and none for souvenirs. For me, food and no lines are the most important things. It's not like I went to the park and all of a sudden there are all these hidden fees that no one was aware of. People shouldn't confuse 'secrets or sneakiness' with lack of knowledge. Front of the line passes are not a secret, not hidden, and not only allowed to certain people. Anyone can pay for them, or get them, if they do some basic research. Anytime I go to a park, even if it's one I go to regularly, I go to the website and see what's going on. For example, Knott's had toys for tots this weekend. Would I blame Knott's and say it was unfair that people got in for only $15 when the information was available to all? Of course not. Or with Knotts' halloween event. Was it unfair that only those people who belonged to a club got an incredible event with front of the line privledges? No way, because joining TPR is free (it was open to all members), and anyone could have gotten the same deal if they only did a simple search. To blame everyone or every system because a person didn't do their research just shows a complete lack of personal responsibility. This weekend I went to Six Flags, Disneyland, Universal, and Knott's. All the parks except for Knott's was an all day visit. Why not Knott's? It was simply because they don't offer front of the line passes. All the other parks do, and I hate waiting in lines. We arrived early Friday, and left on Monday evening. There was no way I was going to go to Knott's on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday with Toys for Tots going on and no front of the line passes. So I just did a 1/2 day on Monday. The first two hours were absolutely empty, but then it started getting a little crowded and not fun. If they offered front of the line passes, we would have probably spent a whole day there. This is where Cedar Point is pretty dumb. I know a ton of people who do not like to go to Knott's for the very same reason, yet I have never heard of even one person say that that is the reason why they only go to Knott's. Robb was saying there is no reason to wait in line if they offer a Fastpass. He was just saying that there is no reason to wait in a line if front of the line passes are offered, not that there is a way to get around waiting when all the Fastpasses are gone. In other words, if they offer Fastpass, get it, and you won't wait in line. If it's a ride like Soaring that will run out of Fastpasses, get them early and you won't wait in line. Now there was a special button when the machines first came out, but that was fixed pretty quick.