azza29

Not sad or surprised to see this one go. Unpopular ride with maintenance issues taking up a chunk of land in a park that's very tight for space. They were literally storing pieces of old rides underneath the lift hill, and it is the least family-friendly ride in a park that is aimed at a younger audience. I'm sure whatever it's replaced with will be better, no question.

I am seriously impressed that you lasted the whole time. Balder is probably the only woodie I'd ever be willing to re-ride for an extended period of time. Well done mate!

The only one I can compare it to is Xcelerator (I think that still has t-bars?), which I didn't have any issues with. I haven't been on any of the other megalites though.

I don't think I've ever found one particular type of restraint or manufacturer to be consistently problematic. Intamins have a reputation for being small but most of them aren't too bad. Piraten was extremely tight (thanks again for getting me in Robb!) and Jet Rescue isn't friendly to anyone with big thighs (although that is not the case with Juvelen). For me it's more been random rides you expect to be fine that end up being a squeeze. I had to walk of shame on Technic Coaster at Legoland Billund, but never had an issue with any other Mack wild mouse. The mine train at Ocean Park had extremely small seatbelts that I've not seen anywhere else. I've found that the vast majority of coasters are pretty good at accommodating bigger riders. I probably feel worse for the tall guys whose shoulders get in the way of OTSRs because, well, if I don't fit I can at least lose weight and come back another day. But if you're too tall, not a lot can be done about that.

^If S&S could work out a way to improve the capacity (8 riders per side in a 4x2 configuration perhaps?) it might be an easier sell. But as it stands the ride is really only suitable for a small park like Skara - didn't they say they only had something like 70 operating days each season?

B&M: Great Bear - snoozefest. Intamin: Mick Doohan's Motocoaster - more fun to watch than ride. Possibly the least practical restraints ever designed for a rollercoaster. GCI: Roar (SFA) - ouch!

^Well the middle seats definitely gave plenty of consecutive rides during ERT. I think I rode Balder for about half an hour without having to get out of my seat once! And sorry Thad but you're wrong. The back row is definitely the best seat on Helix.

Isn't that the point of a test seat? Also, at what point are parks letting ride ops make a judgement call on safety? Most modern coaster restraints have sensors which indicate whether they are locked or not. If the restraint isn't locked the guest doesn't ride, seems straightforward to me.

Movie World has been running seasonal night-time events for a while - but up until recently just the standard fare of Halloween and Christmas. This year the park has introduced a new event with a loose Brazil/New Orleans/party theme. It's definitely inspired by Universal Orlando's event but, this being Australia, the term "mardi gras" tends to conjure up images of glitter, feathers and leather so the park have gone with the more generic "Carnivale" name instead. It had a fairly limited run, lasting for six nights over three weekends, and fortunately I was back from Scandinavia just in time to check out the final night. I headed in with fellow TPR member Harrison (also from the Scandi trip) and was overall fairly impressed with the quality of the event, especially given that it was the first year. The park went all out to build a party atmosphere, with new lighting and decorations everywhere, lots of roaming entertainment and even some special food booths (including plenty of "safe" options for less adventurous diners). And for a park that normally closes at 5pm, there was the opportunity to ride the coasters at night - awesome! Carnivale time! The park put a lot of effort into lighting/theming the event. I'm assured the opening show was superb. My fault for not getting there early. Plenty of roaming performers, including lots of ladies on stilts. Read into that what you will. I believe the gentleman on the left is the King of Carnivale. Which is why he gets to ride in the back of a pickup truck adorned in rope light. With Bugs and Lola. Aerialists! And fire! Juggler doing his thing in an outfit inspired by Liberace. The house band played such classics as "La Bamba" and "Hot Hot Hot". And it seems they had Dame Edna as lead singer. The entire promenade was lit very colourfully, with quasi-latin dance music pumping through the speakers. Some performers were clearly ride ops who thought they knew how to play steel drums. Others, like these guys, were pretty impressive. Some of the food options were definitely there to appeal to picky eaters. "New York Style" in this instance refers to the giant single slice serving, not the price tag. There were also some more adventurous options, like clam chowder and gumbo. Nothing groundbreaking but not bad for a park that typically considers waffle fries "gourmet". Aforementioned clam chowder. It was hot and tasted good, although they went a bit crazy with the spring onion. The lines were much longer at the "safe" food stands, where hot dogs and chicken wings were on offer. Perhaps next year the park might look at promoting the more unique food offerings better, to encourage people to try something new. The rest of my group were boring and decided to grab a hot dog. Nobody added jalapenos. Wimps. Movie World isn't completely licensed but does have a bar near the front if you really need some booze. They even had a couple of special drinks on offer. This is the "Big Easy", consisting of whiskey, cola and granita. It tasted like someone had tipped raspberry Fanta into a bottle of Coke. So not bad. More stilt-walkers! The guy on the left is not on stilts, he is just tall. Insert your own "fire lady is hot" joke here. Coasters are tricky to photograph at night. This is my least overexposed/blurry shot of Superman. Projection mapping! Just like Disney World! Blues Brothers meets Batman meets Brazil. And yet somehow, it works. The lighting was really well done, and the park was not passing up any opportunity to sell objects that glowed or flashed. Almost every corner of the park had been decorated, including this beaded tree. The hula lady, treading the fine line between street performance and burlesque. More of the fire woman, because why not? The evening's climax was a parade. Not quite Disney-level, but still pretty impressive given that the event only ran for a few nights. Flowery skull. Because Carnivale! Another stilt-walker twirling ribbons. This giant head blinked slowly at onlookers. Other floats included an alligator, Poseidon, and court jester. The parade ended with a dance party and streamers! Overall we had a great evening, and the effort the park put in definitely paid off. It was great to see Movie World try out an event that is a little left-of-field for the typical Aussie GP, and hopefully they'll build on this for an even better Carnivale in 2015! Photography nerd alert. Green Lantern's LED logo is insanely bright, and while we were waiting to get out of the carpark I discovered that it even gives off a Green Lantern-shaped lens flare!

^Can't agree more. Helix completely surprised me, I thought it looked decent but definitely didn't expect a top 10-style coaster. And with Balder in the same park, I was just about ready to move to Sweden after that evening ERT!

I'm picturing that this ride will basically be a "vertical El Loco", which could actually be not a bad thing at all! I hadn't thought of that, but it definitely makes sense. I'm a fan of the El Locos (well, Green Lantern at least) so will definitely be looking forward to see what the final layout looks like!

^I did hear rumours of fastpass-style machines to hand out return times when Diagon Alley hits capacity. Perhaps something similar will be in place for the train ride.

Caught a few movies this weekend. X-Men: Days of Future Past - another solid entry in the series, even if the "future" climax reminded me a little too much of the Matrix trilogy. But, Jennifer Lawrence, so all is forgiven. Maleficent - liked this one more than I'd expected to. Kind of agree with Bert's comment on the script, the tone of the film is all over the place in some spots which is distracting. It did kind of feel like somebody saw Wicked and decided to give the Sleeping Beauty story the same treatment, but the movie basically works. Visually stunning. almost an Avatar meets Game of Thrones motif, I was definitely impressed by the production design. A Million Ways to Die in the West - more proof Seth Macfarlane peaked with season 2 of Family Guy. An entertaining hour and a half but tricky to recommend. If you're a fan of poop jokes you are in for a treat. The take on the classic Western genre was spot on, but let down by lazy writing. Some redemption, though, in one particularly well-placed cameo and a song that is still running through my brain. One thing I've noticed lately is that the Australian public has largely abandoned 3D films. The 2D versions seem to be pulling much larger audiences, definitely evidenced by the packed out 2D showings of X-Men and Maleficent I attended on the weekend (the 3D screenings had plenty of tickets left unsold). Is this trend the same in the US? Perhaps the novelty is wearing off.

^Thanks for the review. Planning to go see this one after work tonight!

This has always struck me as a little strange too. Why charge the people who are most likely to visit less for their passes? I can see why this is done in Orlando, as there's less of a "locals" crowd, but in Anaheim it seems an odd move.

I probably get the chance to go to the park once every 18 months or so, and my last visit was definitely much more "hectic" than a couple of years earlier, even though crowd levels were similar. Our day at Knotts Berry Farm was a massive breath of fresh air compared to the craziness of Disneyland. It seemed like people were happy to take their time at Knotts, while at the Disney parks everyone was racing to fit in as many attractions as possible.

Some of the price moves are interesting. The one day hopper is up $17, but a 3 day hopper went up $5, and the 3 day non-hopper only went up $1. Definitely making the multi-day visit even more attractive.

So I've started playing Hearthstone, which is basically the trading card game for people who wouldn't otherwise play one. Very addictive, good Blizzard humour, and the iPad interface works well. It doesn't cost a cent, and unlike other free-to-play games I've encountered I don't feel like I'd be missing out on anything if I choose not to buy the in-game items. Definitely recommend this one!

Yeah same, and I didn't find it all that fun either. Still for 50 donuts I was able to pick up most of the Gold items, which as Robb said is cheaper than most premium content.

Both, but primarily the park index. Easier to "read through" the reports without all the comments. I like the current "official TPR update thread" though, seems like best of both worlds.

Love the look of that Avatar boat ride. You know, the one MiceChat said had been "cancelled" earlier in the week...

Did this one last year, but at Wine Country Trattoria. Pretty good value at $30/person for a 3-course lunch and the preferred viewing ticket. From what I can recall the food was quite good, possibly the best in-park dining I've had at Disneyland or DCA. We got there 20 minutes before show time and were offered a spot in a fairly empty raised area, or equally empty part of the "splash" zone. Great view, front on to the show, and right up against the rail (so no iPad/GoPro "photographers" blocking our view). Definitely recommend and would do it again.

I'm sure whatever they come up with will be great, but I like the idea of a Frozen "show" more than a dark ride retheme. Disney World's first ice skating show, perhaps? The Anna & Elsa meet and greet seems popular enough in the interim though!

^

Has been the same for me, only decent prize I've picked up so far is Johnny Fiesta's.