Hilltopper39

Oh cool. I do love me some classic scramblers, glad to see this one get a fresh coat of paint and be prominently featured in this expansion.

I love the wild mouse coasters with the large initial drops, this things looks fantastic in that section of the park. Are both of the flat rides new new rides, or were they used rides Knotts bought and re furbished? (I haven't noticed a brand new scrambler in years, wasn't aware that manufacturer was still around).

Yeah, I'm no expert on seafood pricing strategies but I think with today's flash freezing and packaging/distribution technology prices for fresh seafood (and other meats and produce) aren't as drastically different regionally as they used to be. Here in north Florida most grocery stores often have fresh Mayport Shrimp seasonally (Mayport is a near the Florida/Georgia border) that are still several dollars per pound more expensive than previously frozen shrimp from Texas or Key West or China or where ever(and the quality isn't drastically different). I've even noticed Mayport Shrimp in other grocery stores across the southeast that are close to the same price if not slightly cheaper than the stores here that are 10 miles from the port!

This things looks awesome. I'm also glad to see a new coaster with multiple lifts, love me some multiple lifts.

That lobstah roll looks amazing! Now that I think about it I've honestly never had a lobster roll but next time I'm near one that will change.

It's a shame that this thing has opened to such average reviews, I haven't heard a single person say they were impressed with the overall attraction other than the themeing in the exterior plaza area (on these forums or from any other "GP" reviews from non coaster friends etc). Maybe the trackless nature of the ride can allow for the experience to be customized and tweaked over time to provide a more "entertaining" product, but at this point the thing kinda sounds like a bust (I'll still reserve my personal judgement until I can get on it one of these days).

Other than the fact that they are fairly expensive I've always wondered why more parks haven't built B&M dive machines? Maybe Busch Gardens still owns the rights to the concept in North America or something, but if not I'd love to see this be a Dive machine with an extended layout, could be a great addition. I also wouldn't mind seeing a taller, longer, extended version of a mini dive machine like Krake, I think that concept still has a lot of potential. Cedar Point spent 25-30 million on Gatekeeper, and Canadas Wonderland spent like 28 million on Leviathan so maybe an extended Dive Machine for Kings Island in feasible.

Would it be considered a bona fide occupational qualification if Universal wanted to exclusively hire Indian males to staff the Kwik-E-Mart just for consistency with the intellectual property? Also, I really hope they hire a feral Scottish guy to impersonate Willie and yell at all of the tourists that step on the grass and don't throw away their trash in the proper receptacles.

Looks like an awesome addition, I haven't been on the ride yet but it looks like something that might start to grow on you the more you ride it. Should be a great long term addition.

I've only ridden Wild Eagle and I was kind of underwhelmed by it. It was a fun coaster, the setting was beautiful, the area around it was very well done but the ride itself was just okay, good but not great, no where near my top 10. This may seem like a pre-mature statement given that fact that the wingrider concept from B&M is only 3 years old, but considering the design of the trains and B&M's history, when it comes to future installations of B&M wing Coasters Gatekeeper might be about as good as it can get. I don't see B&M building a 250 foot tall wing rider, or making rides that are that much more intense. Yeah, we might see some more unique inversions or some more unique themeing through key holes and fly-bys but the wing rider just might not ever be a top 10 kind of coaster. Not that it's a bad ride, it just might not ever be what the enthusiasts community wants it to be. I still think I highly interactive incredibly themed (maybe partially indoors) version of a Wing Rider would be a great fit at a Disney or Universal park but that's an entirely different discussion all together.

One band I've always thought was a bit underrated was Collective Soul. They kind of got lost in the shuffle of the 1990's rock music scene where bands like RHCP, and Green Day, and Counting Crows and Rage Against the Machine had the biggest hits of the era but Collective Soul had a ton of great songs that I still hear from time to time today. Overrated? Phish, WIlco, maybe Guns and Roses?

I've got my fingers crossed that they can get White Lightning opened by Mermorial day weekend, if so I know where I'll be spending my Saturday night.

According to Fun Spot's face book page it looks like Freedom Flyer is scheduled to open to the public today!

Yeah, that happens a lot.

I think it looks GREAT! They turned Rattler into a visual park icon. What's so wrong with that? I agree, the sign looks great! That ride just dominates that park from everywhere anyways and the sign just adds to that effect.

This seriously looks like an awesome little coaster. I don't know what the price point White Lightning was but hopefully this thing is successful enough that other FEC's in America will consider a similar addition. I know this expansion deviates Fun Spot for a typical FEC definition but you know what I mean. Can't wait to check the whole place out!

^barf

Great list, the only one that surprised me was Dauling Dragons. Other than the TPR China trip I've heard very little about that thing but it does look awesome.

The keyholes looks awesome, I still think Dollywood kind of missed the boat by not including some kind of keyhole element on Wild Eagle.

Looks great, can't wait to see more coverage!

The difference (I think) is that to ride the boat between the Studios and Epcot you have to exit the parks, you can't board the boat (or any of the Disney transportation) from inside the parks. With Disney's transportation you don't need any sort of park ticket at all to ride, you can just ride the boat from Epcot to the Dolphin to the Studios to the Boardwalk for free all day if you want. My guess is that to experience the train between parks, since the train will be loading from inside of the park gates, you will have to have a multi-park "park hopper" ticket before you get in line. Regardless of the technicalities of the ticketing this is a pretty ambitious project that I'm exciting to see come to life.

^The scotch egg! That thing has mysteriously been sneaking around the forums here lately, looks like a nice menu and I'm glad to see other parks attempting a Food and Wine esque festival.

It's pretty hard to pick out 3 favorite albums, so I'll just go with three of my favorite from three of my favorite bands. TOOL- Lateralus Arcade Fire- The Funeral My Morning Jacket- It Still Moves Honorable Mentions: MUSE- Absolutino Arcade Fire- The Suburbs My Morning Jacket- Z Bon Jovi- Crush Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit- Here We Rest Childish Gambino- Camp The Killers- Day and Age Meatloaf- Bat Out of Hell Tenacious D- Tenacious D

I think Juvelen translates to Legends of the Hidden Temple: The RIde..... Looks awesome, I'm glad parks are finally figuring out that a "family" coaster doesn't have to be a boring coasters. This thing looks great!

Awesome report, I had no idea that place had so many hotels. Europa is probably #1 on my park bucket list, it looks amazing.