azza29

Yo-yos Tazos (kind of like Pogs, they came for free in packets of potato chips) Hawaiian shirts when they were briefly 'in' again back in 2002

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opened down here yesterday, so I saw it last night. I quite liked it and thought it had much better pacing than the first film, and some terrific action sequences. The dragon was very, very well done, both in performance and animation. A couple of observations: - how many times does Bilbo have to rescue the dwarves from their own poor decision making before they start giving him the benefit of the doubt? - did they seriously use a GoPro in the barrels sequence? Only three short cuts, but I found it really jarring against the rest of the nice "filmic" images. - 6 hours of film and only two female characters, one of whom had to be added to the story by the writers! - can you imagine if they'd had to shoehorn all of this into one or two films? I know they've added material but filming The Hobbit on its own would have made for one very frantic movie!

^Yeah I'm not sure about that. I was able to get it buckled without any help and I'm certainly not a small guy! But if more people can ride, that is definitely a good thing.

^Based on the concept art that's been released for Thunderbolt, I think they would still offer quite different ride experiences.

I'm surprised by all the Vekoma hate - the SLCs and Boomerangs can be a little rough but not enough to make me "hate" them. Togo is probably the worst I've experienced, although admittedly I've never ridden any of their Japansese coasters. Zamperla's Volare is clearly designed to punish rather than thrill.

I like them, don't generally visit the home page so it's another way to discover the "highlights" of the week, as it were. Plus,my trip report was featured this week - what's not to love about that!?

Tricky when a lot of these are just based on one or two rides for me, but here's my top 10: 1. El Toro 2. Phoenix 3. The Beast 4. Ravine Flyer II 5. Wooden Warrior 6. Thunderbolt 7. Boulder Dash 8. Apocalypse 9. Lightning Racer - L 10. Lightning Racer - T Bottom 3: 34. Roar (SFA) 35. Cyclone (Luna Park) 36. The Grizzly (CGA)

Park hours have been extended to 10am-11pm every day until February 1st (except for a handful of public holidays). Good to see that they are trying to keep up with the demand, and I wouldn't be surprised to see hours extended after that during hot weather. As far as theme parks go, reaching capacity at 10:30am really isn't a bad problem to have! According to this press release (www.villageroadshow.com.au/upload/Document/Sydney%20WnW%20Opening.pdf) 155,000 season passes have been sold, with 34,500 visitors on the opening weekend. It'll be interesting to see what numbers this place can do in its opening season. I think yesterday's "sellout" of season passes took some by surprise - there are some nasty comments on that Facebook page! Also a surprising number people complaining about the $5 bottles of water, when the park will let you bring one in from home. Duh-doi.

The last third of the film just killed it for me. Batman Begins worked as an origin story because it was understated, Man of Steel just went straight into "Superman saves the world" mode. Too many plot holes and nonsensical "twists". Action sequences we saw ten years ago in the third Matrix film, and the whole "send Amy Adams to the other side of the planet to help with that situation" just didn't work. Michael Shannon's Zod was the only good thing about that film.

This has been one of my biggest annoyances of the past few years, the 3D push that adds $2-5 to the cost of a movie ticket. Fortunately the cinemas here have started to offer a better balance between 2D/3D screenings lately, to the point where it's about a 50/50 split. I almost always prefer the 2D version, 3D is best left for motion simulator rides Worked out that I've seen fifty new films this year! If I was in charge of handing out awards, this is how they would go: Best Film: The Way, Way Back, with Rush and American Hustle rounding out the top three. Worst Film: Tie between Pain & Gain and Man of Steel. Proof that there are indeed worse films than Movie 43. Best Animated Film: Frozen, by a long shot. Looks like Disney has recaptured its mojo. Monsters University and Despicable Me 2 were pretty strong contenders too. Worst Animated Film: The Croods. Yawn yawn yawn. Best "Dumb Fun" Film: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. Yeah I saw it. Biggest Disappointment: The Lone Ranger. Wanted this to be good, but no dice. Biggest Surprise: another tie - Pacific Rim and Bad Grandpa. Two films that on the surface looked terrible but were actually quite entertaining.

One of the scariest sentences I've read in a while. This is great for the park though, even if they can't find more land I can see Zamperla swapping various flats in and out each season to keep the park fresh. And it while it might not happen because it's a different manufacturer, an El Loco would be a great replacement for either Soarin Eagle or Steeplechase.

^Weren't the "high" ticket prices supposed to make the place a ghost town? Glad to see the park having a good run in its first few weeks.

The idea of a Rango ride excites me no end. That film was seriously underappreciated!

^Wait, $12 is too expensive or too cheap? We usually pay around $20 here, although I usually get discounted tickets through work. Saw Frozen today. Great film, haven't enjoyed a Disney film this much since The Lion King. No over-the-top CG actions sequences, no gratuitous pop culture references, just a good story, with great characters and songs. Can see Disney getting a lot of mileage out of this one. Not a huge fan of the Mickey short beforehand though - I don't think the rest of the people in the cinema knew quite what to make of it either.

Nothing, however I think at a fundamental level you're either OK with animals being kept by humans (whether in zoos, theme parks, on farms or as pets) or you're not. I fall into the first group, and think SeaWorld are doing a great job. Frankly it would be more appropriate for these activists/PETA to focus their efforts on people who keep goldfish in tiny bowls. But I guess pet owners aren't a big corporation so there's not the same level of community outrage. Gotta fight the Man!

My copy arrived today, complete with bonus chapstick and pen. Thanks guys!

There was a great ride op running Boomerang at SFDK earlier this year, entertaining the waiting guests with some Taylor Swift karaoke. Hilarious!

Saw Anchorman 2 last night. Pretty solid, basically the same plot as the first movie but still very funny and a good film overall. I think fans of the first film will enjoy it as it's different enough to still be interesting, and there are some great lines and surprising cameos throughout.

^The round-trip will cost $36. Coincidentally this is the same price as the upgrade from single park to two-park admission.

^I've used donuts to buy 10 spins on the wheel, managed to pick up most of the bonus items that way. Should hit 30k gift cards today!

^^They didn't do anything for Christmas this year, not sure if they have in the past. Because it's already getting into summer and school holidays are starting, this is their peak season, so they don't really need to do much extra to get people through the gate. Movie World's event is an upcharge unless you're a passholder.

^Movie trailers really annoy me these days. Not only do they give away most of the plot, they also include the best lines from the film, so nothing is a surprise! There's nothing that makes me want to see a comedy less than hearing all of its jokes crammed into 2.5 minutes.

First coaster - Thunderbolt (Dreamworld) First wood coaster - Roar (SFDK) - I think, might have been a wooden wild mouse when I was really young First steel - Thunderbolt (Dreamworld) First 100 ft coaster - Thunderbolt (Dreamworld) First 200 ft coaster - Tower of Terror (Dreamworld) First looping - Thunderbolt (Dreamworld) First B&M - Silver Bullet (Knott's) First Intamin - Tower of Terror (Dreamworld) First GCI - Roar (SFDK) First B&M invert - Silver Bullet (Knotts) First Stand-Up - Vortex (CGA) First Flyer - Soarin' Eagle (Coney Island) First Floorless - Medusa (SFDK) First Launched Coaster - Tower of Terror (Dreamworld) First Shuttle Coaster (goes forward and backward) - Boomerang (Knotts) First Gravity Group - Wooden Warrior (Quassy) First CCI - Boulder Dash (Lake Compounce) First Spinning Coaster - Sierra Sidewinder (Knotts) First Premier - Revenge of the Mummy (USH) First Zierer - Jaguar (Knotts) First Arrow - Cyclone (Dreamworld) First Suspended - Iron Dragon (CP) First Schwarzkopf - Montezooma's Revenge (Knotts) First Vekoma - Lethal Weapon (Movie World)

^I'm happy to defend Mean Streak, have managed at least one good ride on it. It's not "that" bad. Grizzly, on the other hand...

The Skyloops are pretty fun, especially since you're only held in by the U-bar!