azza29

^^There's definitely an element of the enthusiast community that is up and ready to hate on anything they perceive as a delay. Twitter caught fire when Knotts had to delay the log ride reopening by a single day, various Disney fansites are up in arms about the Seven Dwarfs coaster not being open yet (despite it being announced for 2014), SFMM didn't announce a specific date for Yolocoaster but still copped criticism because it wasn't open by Memorial Day. So this sort of commentary is hardly surprising. Flying Turns might have taken a long time, but given they are developing a type of ride that hasn't been seen for decades that's to be expected. Hopefully the end product will make their efforts worth it!

I haven't visited at that time of year but since it's early May you're probably looking at moderate crowds. There are lots of websites around with information about Orlando/WDW trip planning, most written by mildly psychotic Disney fans, and some actually more useful. Some of the useful ones are: - www.touringplans.com - in-depth look at attractions/resorts/restaurants at Disney World and Universal, including crowd calendars (subscription required) and suggested itineraries (although how useful these are will depend on how much of a control freak you are prepared to be on your vacation.) - www.easywdw.com - WDW planning blog, alternative look at crowd levels and very detailed analysis of which parks to visit on which day - www.orlandoinformer.com - slightly more fanboy-ish than the other two, this has plenty of attraction and planning info about Universal - www.mousesavers.com - if there's a discount to be found on any Disney park, show, or cruise, it is probably listed on this site. Kept up-to-date. I'm sure other TPR members can provide some specific advice as well. Have a great trip!

I agree. A few too many plot holes for a film that's seems like it's trying to make some sort of political point. Saw Kick-Ass 2 on the weekend. Not good. Where the first was somewhat inventive and edgy, this sequel was a paint-by-numbers gross-out flick that took itself far too seriously. Probably the first real turkey I've seen in a while.

Looney Tunes River Run from Movie World. Park replaced a great dark ride (that admittedly needed a little TLC) with kiddie go karts. Heinous.

Just saw some screens from the 3DS version of Disney Infinity. Gameplay must be amazing because the graphics look terrible. Didn't expect it to have the same visuals as the Xbox but I've seen better-looking games on the N64! And that's to say nothing of the gameplay differences. Very disappointing indeed.

There's a tram/streetcar route in Melbourne that has a tight S-bend, even at low speeds you can get some serious lateral Gs on that one.

In my opinion Intamin have the market cornered - Volcano, Superman Escape, Maverick, Xcelerator just for starters. Their (tire launched!) Jet Rescue is a fantastic family coaster, much more thrilling than Backlot Stunt Coaster or Verbolten (although Verbolten's drop is a cool effect).

Pain & Gain. Decent at best, and despite what the trailer suggests it's absolutely not a comedy. Some funny bits but a lot of (sometimes gruesome) violence, made worse by the constant reminders that this is based on a true story. First time I've asked a girl mid-film if she wanted to leave...

Went to see The Way, Way Back after work tonight. Absolutely loved it! Fantastic film - very well written with just the right mix of comedy and drama. I thought the casting was pretty spot on as well. Also, made me really want to visit a water park... too bad it's winter here!

Love that the Krustyland front gate activity is 'searching bags for outside food'. But anyone else disappointed that Kang and Kodos' Twirl'n'Hurl doesn't appear in the list of rides? Thought that one would have been a given. No sign of Captain Dinosaur's Pirate Rip-Off either. At least the Wet and Smokey Stunt Show made it in!

Looks like you can now see who has tapped on your buildings while you were away. Quite like this, lets me know who to reciprocate with.

Don't be too afraid to visit parks on the weekend at that time of year - I did a similar trip earlier this year, and also thought I should avoid Saturdays/Sundays due to crowds. But to be honest they were some of the least crowded days, because on weekdays the parks are busy with buses full of noisy schoolkids. And there's always the Fast Lane/Flash Pass/Quick Queue option if you need it!

Well if the track is manufactured in Germany then obviously the construction workers must be German. And the ride ops. And the guy selling on-ride photos. And the gift shop staff. This coaster is nothing more than a blatant plot by the German government to destroy the Australian economy!

^It looks like the last bus to the park leaves at 4pm, but the last bus from the park doesn't leave until 9pm: http://www.nwstbus.com.hk/routes/oceanpark/index.aspx

^^I stayed at the Red Roof a few months ago, it was pretty decent for the price, no complaints.

^Yes, Riddler is great! Green Lantern at SFGAdv is pretty solid too. Standups are definitely a novel concept, but I'm yet to find one that wouldn't be just as good (if not better) if it had sit-down trains instead.

Part 3: San Francisco & California's Great America After Knotts it was time to head north. My last visit to San Francisco had been far too short, and it during the off-season, so there were plenty of coasters to check out for the first time. First up we visited California's Great America. I'd really been looking forward to checking this place out - partly for the chance to ride Gold Striker, and partly because it just seemed like a great little park. Unfortunately my timing was a bit out and we ended up visiting after the promo shoots but before Gold Striker had opened to the public. But we still had an awesome time, Flight Deck kicked ass, and overall CGA was just a great park to enjoy a day out in (thanks to rolercstrluvr for meeting up and showing us around!). I enjoyed myself so much I kind of ran out of time to take many photos, so I'll start with some San Francisco highlights. Onward to San Francisco! Well, Oakland... No visit to NorCal is complete without a visit to the home of Jelly Belly! Never before has a car so been so well suited to it's advertising wrap. The tour was interesting but slooowww... but well worth it for free jellybeans at the end. Jelly Belly is very expensive in Australia, so we emptied our wallets to buy such reasonably priced candy in the store. Found a Melbourne tram on the Embarcadero - feel like I should point out that back home this type of tram is also just for the tourists. We have actually bought a few new ones since the thirties... Ghiradelli = delicious! Golden Gate Bridge. Because, y'know, San Francisco and that. Artsy. To escape the freezing winds of the San Francisco summer, we visited the Walt Disney Family Museum. It was more interesting than I'd expected, and there were a few really cool pieces, like this scale model of Disneyland in the early days. Took this after walking across the bridge. I think the fog is a permanent feature. It's sunny in San Jose though! This park is beautiful, like a garden with rollercoasters in it. Hooray for fountains and the double-story carousel! Since there haven't been enough pics of Gold Striker in the CGA thread, here are some more. Launching soon! But not today. Of the handful of coasters we missed out on on this trip I was most disappointed to not get a ride on this. Such curves! Phwoar! Not a tunnel in sight. On to the other woodie. I was expecting Grizzly to be particularly terrible. It wasn't. It was, however a bit slow and quite rough in spots. But no worse than most other old wooden coasters. Ghost train. The park are clearly aware of how rough this ride is. The trains have a seatbelt. And a lapbar. And a seatbelt for the lapbar. Good times! After Grizzly, an Arrow corkscrew looked very promising. I don't know why but this is the only shot I got of the track. At least there's a train on it I guess... Love the Disko coasters! The Survivor name might be gone but the theming is still great. Tiki room reject. It wouldn't be a trip to CGA with a turn on these things. I managed to fluke a few snaps after some experimentation. I'd not done a standup coaster before, so Vortex was my first. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but I was still glad when it got to the end. I'll end on a high note. Flight Deck is just awesome, easily one of the top five B&Ms we rode on this trip. The finishing helix was just icing on the cake, and for a ride that's been running for two decades this thing is still very smooth - 10/10! That's it for this installment. Next up: Discovery Kingdom!

Space Shot Invert or floorless?

^Ninja's is bad, but Adventure Express is just deceptive. Lift hill through a highly themed tunnel to get you ready for a drop which never comes... Beast's ending is the best I've seen on a woodie. Magnum's airtime hills had me almost flying out of the seat. Flight Deck's helix-over-water is a winner. But Loch Ness Monster's triple-helix-in-the-dark-then-loop-through-another-loop is the most memorable for me. It's like it's not even an Arrow!

200 donuts for Kamp Krusty? $20 for a character skin, some new tasks, and a drawing of a building. Meh. I'm honestly over the 'free-to-play' game model - not just Tapped Out but Plants vs Zombies 2 as well. Call me old fashioned, but I like just buying a game and that's it. Tapped Out desperately needs a huge update - I'm not sure what Krustyland entails but I'm thinking EA should just add 10 levels in one hit, the current drip-feed of content is just more of the same. Squidport was a good idea but ruined by the glacial pace at which you can build boardwalk pieces. Maybe it's time for me to put the game away and just come back in 3 months or so, that way there might be enough new content to enjoy...

^Your plan is doable, but those will be some of the busiest days of the year for Disneyland, so set your expectations accordingly. Park hours will be long and there will be plenty of entertainment scheduled, but you'll definitely want to use Fastpass and single rider lines where possible. At Knotts and SFMM you can always but a fast lane/flash pass if the lines are too long. As always, best to get to any park a bit before opening - with DL/DCA check which park is offering early entry and plan to visit the other one that day.

Not a rumour but definitely a crazy idea. Australian billionaire Clive Palmer (the man also bringing us Titanic 2: Iceberg's Revenge) has received approval to open a supersized version of Dinosaurs Alive in Queensland: www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-25/palmer-gets-go-ahead-to-build-worlds-biggest-dino-park/4842292. According to the report residents should not worry as the animatronic beasts will be "classy". I assume this means they will have monocles, top hats and pocket watches. At any rate, one more reason for TPR to do another Aussie trip I guess...

^As much as I enjoy the LA parks, if I was coming from the UK I'd pick Orlando. Universal East is much bigger and better and while SFMM and KBF are great parks I wouldn't cross the country just for them. I'd add another vote for adding KD/BGW to your trip if time/budget allows. Both are superb parks with some great coasters. If it's definitely not an option you could look at Hersheypark, excellent park with a great selection of rides. As far as renting a car goes, I'd say you almost definitely need one to get from Cleveland to CP, and I'd even recommend getting one to get to Great Adventure so you're not a slave to the bus schedule. I used rentalcars.com (they are UK based) and got some good rates with all the insurances included (tip: if you call up and ask politely, they'll usually knock a few dollars off the price). It might even be cheaper than a couple of bus tickets.

^11 parks in one month is easy! By my count there is 31 days in a month so you could get in 30 parks (you'll need two days at Cedar Point)! B&M have some 'big boy' seats on some of their coasters, but they're more designed to cater for girth rather than height. However most of their trains have plenty of legroom so you should be OK. From what I've seen at the parks you're more likely to run into issues with older coasters - Revolution could be painful - and any credit whoring on kiddie coasters might require some gymnastics to get into the seat.