azza29

Buzzsaw has the U-shape (?) lap bars and doesn't just invert but actually holds you there for a few seconds. Still felt quite safe and it was great having the freedom to move. Excellent design, makes me want to try more Maurer-Sohne coasters.

The Twister at Wet 'n Wild was basically a waterboarding simulator, so I thought it was going to drown me. Magic Mountain (Merimbula) has a couple that are completely underground so it's pitch black and very disorienting. I'm yet to brave one of those speed slides with the almost-vertical drop, not sure if my butt crack can handle the wedgie

^It does indeed. Glad to see a park buying a motocoaster that lasts more than 45 seconds!

You can usually hear the difference between "screaming because I'm enjoying the ride" and "screaming for the sake of hearing my own voice". The former is OK, the latter I find incredibly irritating.

Theming adds a lot to an otherwise average ride. Think Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland, without any theming it would be pretty lame. Scooby-Doo at Movieworld would just be a stock-standard wild mouse. But then there's Goofy's Sky School...

Dreamworld: Buzzsaw, Shockwave, Motocoaster DCA: Little Mermaid DL: Star Tours II

^I find that most foods with a 'Mr.' in the name are pretty solid choices.

I don't know how unique this is but there's a bungee place in Cairns that lets you ride a BMX bike off the roof of their bungee platform. (http://cairns.ajhackett.com/products/index.html) As far as other extreme rides go - Australia has its fair share of skydiving/zorbing/whitewater etc but NZ is definitely the home of this stuff. Occasionally the trams in Melbourne go around the corners a bit fast but that's probably a different kind of extreme.

Gifts acquired and ready for sending. My giftee is something of an enigma so the present is a bit random but hopefully they'll like it. In other news, I discovered that you're not allowed to mail liquor to the USA so I'll just have to enjoy that part of the gift on their behalf...

What's the go with the huge open plazas/walkways at a lot of these parks? Do they normally cater for much bigger crowds, or expect to? Seems like it would take ages to get anywhere.

I was down there on the weekend and it struck me how inefficently they use what little space they have. They have a few flats which use up a lot of room but aren't anything special, and the overall layout is fairly haphazard. A quality, permanent wild mouse or compact would be a great addition - rather than the temporary fairground rides the park cycles through. And a decent dark ride would give them something else that could stay open during bad weather. It doesn't help that their pricing is insane. $45 for an all-day pass or $10 for individual rides, for a park with two coasters and a handful of flats. So we decided to skip the rides...

^True, especially given that there's not all that much track to build. Maybe it'll go vertical quickly and then they run into issues with the multi-launch system that delay opening.

I'm not sure if you mean Arkham Asylum at Movie World or Cyclone at Dreamworld, as operations on both rides are equally terrible. Gold Coast parks definitely know how to turn a short queue into a long wait. Cyclone's unique "the theming broke so we swapped the exit and entry" approach has always confused me. And since both exit and entry intersect they have to have a ride op let you through one group at a time - awful station design.

Thunderbolt at Dreamworld. Double loop = awesomesauce!

Given the huge crowds they have to deal with, Disneyland's operations are superb. Last time I was there they had California Screamin' running 4 trains and no stacking. If only every park could be the same

So what are the odds on Memorial Day? Or are we looking at mid-July?

^Wow. My first 'big' coaster was almost a Vekoma SLC (Lethal Weapon) but I chickened out (was 8 at the time). Not a bad thing in the end as after riding it a few years later I realised that it probably would have scared me off coasters for life.

Just got the message with my giftee's name so I guess I should post a bit about myself. Pop-culture wise I like Muppets, Batman and Indiana Jones. I'm big on sports (Aussie Rules, cricket, rugby league and rugby union). I have a (currently small) collection of theme park magnets. T-shirt size is XL. LEGO is fun. Really, really hoping my person posts something about themselves as I've been able to discern nothing from their posts or profile. Facebook stalking might be a last resort...

Fantastic trip report! I'm visiting BGW for the first time in 2013 and it looks great!

BIG theme park plans for next year: New: Sea World (Gold Coast) Knotts SFDK CGA Coney Island Quassy Lake Compounce SFNE Waldmeer Cedar Point Kings Island Kennywood Knoebels Dorney Park Hersheypark SFA Kings Dominion BGW SFGAdv SFMM Revisting: Warner Bros Movie World (new coasters!) Luna Park Melbourne (new coaster!) Wet 'n Wild (Gold Coast) Pacific Park Disneyland/DCA Universal Hollywood Providing everything is open I should be able to add 140+ new coasters

Sounds great - any announcement on whether they will honour Cedar Fair season passes for the 2013 season (given any Platinum passes already sold would have included access to the park)?

This thing is looking great - just under six months until I'll (hopefully) get a chance to ride it!

Great coverage - the new ProSlide slides (ProSlides?) look incredible. Definitely making a special trip to Sydney just to ride the bowling alley!

We have an extensive tram/light rail network in Melbourne, it's actually a very efficient way of getting around. And in most instances it doesn't trouble the traffic much (there are a few trouble spots but that is more due to poor planning).

Should've gone for the monorail. Would have put Anaheim on the map, alongside Ogdenville, Brockway and North Haverbrook.