Hilltopper39

Maybe it's just me but the pictures make everything inside the building look really dark compared to like Ferrari Land where there's a ton of natural light. Did you get that vibe in person or is it just how things looks in photos? This place looks really cool though, just another awesome attraction in Dubai.

Haha, just last week I was thinking this thing will be open before ya know it, and what timing considering I'll be in town the 24th/25th.

Yes, it's insane. If you want shitty seats now, they will cost you at LEAST $500 - $600. I honestly don't get it. I've watched the bootleg of the show a bunch of times and listened to the cast recording over and over, and while I *LIKE* a lot of the music, and I can see it's appeal, I don't get why *THAT* show in particular is the one that gets $600 - $1,500 per seat ticket prices. I feel like it's just over-inflated hype beyond comparison to anything else on this planet. It's a good show, but it's not that groundbreaking, at least in my opinion, in terms of set design, staging, or song writing. Like, I would have understood if it was just while Lin-Manuel Miranda was in the show, but he's been gone for a year now and it still gets crazy prices. And not just in NYC, it's like that EVERYWHERE the show is currently playing. I seriously don't get it. Seems like Book of Mormon died down quite a bit after the original cast left but I guess Hamilton is still going strong. I'm glad it's still having a lot of success but kinda sucks tickets are still that expensive/hard to find. Maybe once the two touring casts roll out this/next year it'll be easier to get a (reasonably priced) ticket. And I'm kinda with ya in that's it's a good show, a REALLY good show, but isn't groundbreaking in set design or staging or anything. There were a few numbers that really blew me away (Satisfied, One last Time) but other than that it was just really good, but not $600 a ticket good. Book of Mormon > Hamilton is still my musical theater hot take. Sorry, I've sidetracked this thread enough with Hamilton stuff. Kinky Boots is a show I've heard great things about but I've never had much interest in. I need to listen to the soundtrack and try to catch that on tour sometime.

Yeah I agree with this so much. I'm not a "huge" theater fan but I've seen enough shows in various cities to know that there's just something different about Broadway. I've seen Book of Mormon like 4 time in 3 different cities and venues and one of the touring casts I saw in Orlando was honestly better than what was on Broadway but there's something different about seeing it in a theater of 1000~ people instead of 2700. You teased a picture of the Hamilton marquee, are tickets for that still hard to come by or has the popularity died down any a year later?

I always kind of forget about Splash Country even though it really looks like one of the better water parks in America. I've never been to Splash Country and it's been about 5 years since I was at Dollywood so I'm looking forward to taking it all in one of these days. Now if they could just get Lightning Rod operating consistent so I can plan a trip......

This picture makes it look like Woodstock is pissing in the bird nest you're about to ride in, it's an interactive attraction....

If I can't drink while riding then it won't be an authentic Mario Kart attraction.

Has there been an opening date for MineBlower set yet? I know it looks like there's a lot left but I wouldn't be surprised at all if this thing is open by July 4th weekend.

The Roller Soaker concept lives!

I bet it'll be a zoo next year with you know what opening. I remember going to Coastermania the year Dragster opened (or second year maybe I don't remember, thanks CTE) and the lines for it during ERT were as long as they were during the day, then again most everything else was pretty reasonable and it was still a great time. Anyone ever stayed at the Lighthouse Point Cabins or sandcastle suites? Seems like those two properties always get forgotten compared to breakers and I was just curious what people thought of them. The Lighthouse Point cabins look really fun but it seems like a decent walk to the entrance so might not really be that convenient, same with Sandcastle. I'm tentatively planning a few days at the Point next year with the kids and was looking for some ideas, but will probably just end up staying at Breakers snyway haha.

Don't know if anyone here shared it or not but this Saturday is Fun Spot's 19th birthday so they're running a pretty sweet special. $19 for single day passes and $19 for skycoaster tickets. The best part is that the special is available online and tickets don't expire until June 1st of 2018. $40 for an all day wristband and a skycoaster ticket is an awesome deal if anyone plans to check out Mineblower while in town anytime in the next year. If you're buying online make sure you check out the details in the link below, the deal is only available from 12:01 am til 2 pm, so don't miss it. Fun Spot 19th Birthday Special

If the conveyor for the mat racer slide is down I don't really get why people cant just carry their mats up the stairs to keep that slide operational, ya know like how every other mat racer slide at every other water park in the world does it?

When I read reviews on TripAdvisor I usually do so with a shade of skepticism, throw out the really bad and really good ones and kind of look for the average consensus on things (mostly hotels, never really read theme park reviews), but holy cow people are absolutely destroying Volcano Bay on there. 97 total reviews and 71 of them are "Terrible" or "Poor". Anyone heard if the wait time issues have improved any lately?

I'm with ya, they could turn that thing into something completely insane, but yeah fanboys the world over would freak .

Yeah I've been casually following it on social media and yeah the first few weeks is totally understandable for a new system and all but I'm still curious how it's going to work.

Speaking of height restrictions, not that anyone cares, but I just noticed Universal's website now has the rider requirement info for the Volcano Bay Attractions listed (it may have been there before I don't know), and every attraction other than lazy river, wave pool, and the Tot Tiki reef is 42" or higher. This isn't a knock on Universal (lots of other water parks are the same way) but I always find it interesting how Disney can have mat slides, 1&2 person tube slides, and family raft slides with no height restriction where everywhere else has a minimum. I will say the aqua coaster and pretty much everything but the body slides are 42" so that's nice.

^^Check the height of your "kiddie riders" because EVERYTHING at Universal has a height restriction, even like the the Minions ride has a 40" restriction. I've got little kids and haven't been to Universal for a few years because there's just not a whole lot for them to do there.

These specialty concert cruises have been popping up a lot lately, seems like every other week or so I get an ad for a new one on social media. Seems like a lot of fun if you're really into the bands playing.

^It's hard to tell, I'm a size 40 waist and have never had any trouble fitting on anything at either park, or anywhere for that matter. Seems like with most B&M's with OTSR's it has more to do with your chest/gut than your thighs but Mako and Rockit might be a squeeze.

Yeah, don't let the "Redneck Riveara" moniker fool ya, the Gulf Shores area all the way over to the Florida Pan handle is actually a pretty nice little spot to visit and a new park is just something else to do.

Every new construction pic of Mine Blower that comes out look better and better. I knew the ride was going to be compact but this thing is just crazy in places. Really looking forward to trying this thing out sometime soon.

^I really kind of like Happy Harbor (and my kids love it) but yeah it is a little dated. Would love to see that area freshened up a bit with a few more (slightly larger) flats and maybe even another family coaster.

Night rides? Don't forget Vortex, and Racer, and the log flume, and Beastie, and basically everything. Every ride is better at night.

Mickey's Jammin Jungle Parade, wow that's a blast from the not so recent past. That was a fun parade but it was also kind of a nightmare, the paths in AK were way to small to accommodate a parade so it was always a huge cluster, but still fun parade.

Interesting, I could see another Sesame Place being successful at another location. The SeaWorld Orlando news is great but man 2022 is a long ways away to announce something.