azza29

Wow - add that one to my bucket list for sure! Thanks for another very professional POV Robb - love that you guys make plenty of noise while riding, adds great atmosphere to the video. Photography nerd question - what lens did you use for this one?

Wow these guys are just pumping out the new parks - add these two to Wet'N'Wild Sydney and Las Vegas and that's four new ones in the space of three years! Hope they're getting the volume discount from ProSlide...

Scenic Railway, Luna Park Melbourne (1912). Amazing that this thing is a century old and still running!

Superman Escape at Movie World. I'm a big guy and the restraint fit, and the seatbelt was an inch or so past the yellow line. The ride ops spent 5 minutes discussing whether I would be OK to ride, apparently my chest was too close to the OTSRs. Eventually one of them says to me - "just lean back during the ride, because these things are only plastic and they might break if you slam into them" - and then they send the ride off! So I'm riding this coaster thinking, I hope I don't break the restraint! Fortunately all was OK...

I waited an hour for Mick Doohan's Motocoaster at Dreamworld once. Broke down once while we were in the queue, only one train running. It's an OK coaster but underwhelming given the long wait.

^ Probably erring on the side of caution. If it was a serious issue I doubt they'd be running trains at all.

I'll happily admit that I took advantage of Fastpass loopholes last time I was there, usually had 3-4 passes on me all the time. Generally ended up using them during the return time or shortly afterward though, unless a ride (probably Indy) had gone down. What annoys me about this change is that they're solving a problem that doesn't exist. I didn't see any evidence of late returnees jamming up the lines, usually the FP line was proportional to the standby line (i.e. short standby = no FP wait, long standby = 10-15 min FP wait). I dislike rules for the sake of rules. Also, looks like the CMs are getting an increasingly raw deal. Disney just milking their employees dry I guess...

^ Some people should be made to wear those things on their heads. Especially the girls sitting behind me at Maroon 5 on Friday night. Ears are still ringing... Regarding the noise issue I imagine it's a bigger deal in the lower lot, which is closer to the studios and backlot. Noise from rides near the front gate probably wouldn't carry all the way down there.

Interesting update from MiceChat today - looks like they're going to start enforcing FastPass return times (boo) a la WDW. Christmas will be an upcharge attraction in 2013 (more boo), and Iron Man will be replacing the advertorial that is Innoventions (hooray!). This last piece of news appears to have upset the Disney fanboys immensely, apparently non-Disney IP has no place in Disneyalnd (let's conveniently ignore Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Michael Jackson and the first 10 years of Pixar for a moment). Personally I reckon Tony Stark is a great fit for Tomorrowland - and Disney's recent track record suggests that whatever they come up with will be stellar. Link: http://micechat.com/14004-miceage-disneyland-christmas-extra/

^Due to space constraints it seems like USH is always going to be biased toward simulators/shows that don't use up much room. During my visit last year our tour guide kept talking about all the cool stuff they want to do but can't because there's not enough land to build it on (cough* Citywalk). Still, Movie World has a similar problem and they've managed to put in a couple of excellent yet compact rides that have reasonable throughput (Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster and Justice League).

Thanks for a great TR! Is it wrong that Roller Soaker is sitting fairly high on my ride bucket list? Something about the uniqueness of it I guess...

Gyro swings/frisbees are probably my favourite flat, with Diskos being a close second. Something about the undulating motion is just simple yet incredibly fun. But do water rides count as flats? Because if so river rapids are easily at the top of the list.

Farewell, Terminator. Not sad to see this go to be honest, it was a cool show but based on a film which hasn't aged well. Harry Potter will be a great addition to a park which really needs something fresh. Now to update the War of the Worlds and Whoville parts of the studio tour...

^The demand is definitely there, plenty of people and nice long summers. I'm surprised Australia doesn't have more of these places to be honest, even in Melbourne you'd get a decent six-month season from October to March where the weather is warm enough for it.

I am visiting on June 2nd, fingers crossed it will be open by then.

Shell out for the VIP Tour. $250 but well worth it, especially if you're interested in film production. Front of line access on all rides, priority seats at all shows, lunch, valet parking and a great tour. The studio tour is actually a proper tour as well, not a tram ride through the backlot. You'll get to see the prop warehouse (awesomeness), get out, walk around and take photos of backlots (more awesomeness) and you have a proper tour guide, not a prerecorded spiel.

I have to admit I'm surprised by the number of people who say they don't have a blu-ray player. Not a criticism (why buy one if you don't need/want it?) but I was under the impression they were basically ubiquitous now - i.e. most PCs bought in the last 2-3 years would have one, every PS3 has one and so forth. That said, I used to have 100s of DVDs, now my collection is probably 50% blu-ray, 30% DVD and 20% digital. The trend is definitely towards streaming/digital downloads though, and I won't mind the day when all my music/movies/games/books are completely digital with no physical media.

It'd be great to see themed question packs - woodies, steel, Asia, Europe, USA. Not sure if there's enough content to fill an Australian pack but I'd happily shell out for that one

I was floored when I saw those pics of the WDW queue, looks fantastic and probably takes the ride from 3 stars to 4 in my book. I don't recall ever spending much time in line at DCA but apart from the mural that queuing area isn't terribly memorable. Some of comments on the POV are priceless, but then again Youtube is hardly a bastion of rational debate and conversation to begin with. I'm not sure why people expect these rides to present a full retelling of the story in two minutes, in my mind it's always a "here's some memorable scenes from the film" sort of thing. And what is there is done exceptionally well - the Under the Sea scene in particular looks great in the video but absolutely has to be seen in person. From memory the WDW and DCA versions look pretty much the same, did you notice anything different during the ride?

This TR is helping me through a very long day at work - very entertaining!

^Thanks. I'm picking up a season pass for my trip next year, looks like SFDK is the first one we'll visit. Planning to get my pass processed on a Friday morning in May so hopefully can avoid the lines.

^^What offers do the coupon books typically contain? Can you use them at parks other than your 'home' park?

Just made me realise how awesome a Ghostbusters dark ride would be. Why hasn't this been done yet??? Gets me all tingly just thinking about it...

People who attempt to enter trains/trams/buses before waiting for passengers to exit first. Oh, and groups of high school girls who decide it's OK to walk six-across down a busy footpath, holding hands as a kind of human barrier to movement.

I'm not complaining, there are plenty of things I like about where I live that make up for the fact that I don't live next door to Cedar Point. I love that it's always a big adventure to go to a theme park, means I don't take it for granted when I do get to visit one. I just don't get the "it sucks that we're getting this new coaster" attitude. It's a new ride! Nowhere else in the world will have this! Surely that's something to be excited about, right?