OrlandoGuy
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Posts posted by OrlandoGuy
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Whoa now, I wasn't bitching about anything...you made a point to comment on the new decorations in the report so I figured they were fair game for discussion. I dont think the new ones look bad at all, just at first glance I thought "oh something is missing".
When comparing the two pictures though, I definitely see the benefit in ditching the full garland deal from the past...it makes the castle look much better. I guess as a local I never really cared about pictures of the castle, but now that I think about it I'd be kinda peeved if all that garland was getting in the way of it. In any case, it still looks great, I dont think Disney could look bad during Christmas even if they tried.
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Love the concept and the fact that Cedar Fair is branching out trying new things. But that name really doesn't roll off the tongue at all, does it? This should be a great addition to one of Cedar Fair's more well-rounded parks, hopefully being next door to Disneyland will motivate them to really up the ante on this one and make it a much-improved version of Guardian.
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Looks great as usual. Me and my girlfriend already have tickets for the 19th!
I do have to say though I dont like those new Main Street decorations as much. Main Street seems bare without the garland hanging across the street...maybe that's just because Im used to the old decorations. I'll see what I think in person.
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EDIT never mind
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I totally agree. The Orlando news is also citing one of the main reasons for the decline is that the Universal and Disney parks have major TV channels behind them and basically get all the free advertising they want.
Luckily, TV commercials are becoming less and less important to companies' advertising/marketing strategies. So if SeaWorld really tries, and invests in something substantial to promote, they can be successful. It will take a lot of work and money, but at the rate they're going that's probably their only option.
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I don't know about the rest of you, but to me it really seems like the biggest mistake SeaWorld is making lately is how much they are promoting their rescue, care and conservation for their animals and orcas.
Look, SeaWorld, we get it...Blackfish was a load of crap and anyone who isn't a pro-peta activist knows this. We realize this was a huge upset and people are making claims that aren't true, and you guys are fully in the right to defend yourself. We support that. But you guys are a THEME PARK and you need to start acting like one again! Instead of constantly tweeting about your new orca habitats coming in 2018 or whenever, how about tweeting about how awesome your Manta roller coaster is? Or how much fun your dolphin show is? Or how cool it is to hang out with your family at your theme parks?
If you look at SeaWorld's Twitter feed over the last few months, you would have NO IDEA AT ALL that they were a theme park, and instead you'd think they are some sort of animal conservation group, and that's ALL they are. I feel like SeaWorld has completely lost touch with the fact that they are a theme park and their recent message totally reflects this.
Remember "Sea of Surprises?" Yeah, neither do we! This was supposed to be their huge 2014 promotion. When was the last time they promoted it?
Look, I love SeaWorld and I 100% stand by them. But they need to remember what they are and get back to those roots. Quickly!
That's a really good point. People's minds are already made up if they're pro-Blackfish and anti-SeaWorld…no amount of promotion by the park will change their minds. They may as well stop trying to defend themselves on that front and market themselves as a theme park rather than a conservation/research facility. People are going to be adamant on their views about the animals in captivity, but it's hard to have such an opinion on roller coasters. Although they may find it hard to justify, a big new investment in a ride that does not feature animals would be a big step in the right direction.
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^yeah, that's why he's saying he's surprised to see that in the video it was not a stand-up....nothing weird or dumb about that comment at all.
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ROFL. They actually made "Orange is the New Track" into a shirt. This just made my day
https://www.holidayworld.com/holiproduct/orange-new-track-t-shirt/
They put a picture of the shirt on Facebook and people are already making comments about how they can't believe HW would use a phrase off such a (and I'm quoting somebody off FB) "pornographic" show to advertise one of their products. People take this stuff way too seriously sometimes.
I am not ashamed to admit that I already own it.I just ordered mine, no shame.
That's one person, lol, chill. The other 3 comments are pretty positive.
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You'd have more fun shoving a pine cone in your rear end than going to Disneyland anytime that week. Disneyland will be nearly impossible to walk around in. CA Adv wont be as bad but still godawful. I HIGHLY recommend saving your money or going another time if at all possible.
If you're absolutely 100% deadset on going, though, I'll do my best to help.
DISNEYLAND--get Space Mountain FPs first, followed by Indiana Jones and then Big Thunder Mtn (assuming its too cold for Splash Mountain). Indy has a single rider line as well, as does Matterhorn. Not sure what the deal is with Haunted Mansion FP during the holidays. Avoid Pirates during mid-afternoon. Hit Fantasyland dark rides late at night. 11-12 the park slows down greatly so use that time to your advantage. Famtasmic is first-come first-serve seating, and people camp out in their spots as early as 3 pm...you may get lucky and nab a standing spot later but I doubt it and you'll still have to wait around a couple hours.
CA--get there before opening and rush to get RSR FP's...you MUST do this within an hour of park opening. RSR also has a single rider line but that can get lengthy. After RSR FP, you can get a FP for World of Color, which is essentially a reservation to see it; these are located at the entrance to Grizzly River Run. I would grab Soarin FPs as soon as RSR's FP allows you to, then Tower of Terror after that. Hit Paradise Pier early in the morning. Screamin, Goofy Sky School, and Soarin have single rider lines also.
Keep in mind that ALL single rider lines are subject to close if they become too long so don't rely 100% on them. You will be able to get some rides done but walking around will be torture at times so prepare for the worst. If your expectations are in check you can have a good time...but nevertheless I would wait to go at another time if possible.
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^ok, easy. I didn't mean to try you or anything, just an honest question. Didn't know that about the Wild Adventures ride, that's interesting.
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Is it me or does that S&S tower look awfully short. Also does anyone know what mode the tower will be running on?
The whole area is intended for families, so it is supposed to be shorter than their standard towers to accommodate more ages.
Doesn't that not matter though? Short or high, it has the same restraint system which is what warrants the S&S towers' 52" height requirement. I don't really consider a ride with that high of a height restriction a family ride.
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Additionally, if Uni could see the future, I'm sure they would be much happier today with a popular Jurassic Park jeep ride rather than the money spent on the failed Triceratops encounter (tears) and the Pteradon Flyers (which would be better with 4 seater setpoint trains...). The final choices for Rip Ride Rockit would probably receive more scrutiny as well, though overall it is well-loved by guests.
It was either the Jeep ride or the River Adventure. Maybe they're kicking themselves for Pteradon's capacity issues, but they wouldn't have rather had a jeep ride there…it was decided it was too similar to the River Adventure. Considering it's got a tiny footprint I don't think they think it's a mistake--it's a nice part of the most well-themed area (Camp Jurassic) in all of Universal.
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Central Florida...better parks for one. But to live in, it's green, not overburdened with traffic, laid out nicely, and newer. SoCal is brown, too spread out, crowded, and has gross hazy air. The Dr Phillips/Windermere area especially is one of the best places to live IMO, especially when compared to the hazy desert that is SoCal
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I will be at this park somewhere during the third week of November (the week before Thanksgiving), and I have a couple of questions:
1: how are the crowds on a typical weekday?
2: just how bad is Gwazi? For me, what I consider to be a bad coaster (but still are/were rideable at least for the credit, even if not fun at all) are ones like these - Wildcat at HP, Hoosier Hurricane at IB, Psychlone at SFMM, Hurler at KD, Meanstreak at CP (on its worst days), etc. None of these I found enjoyable, but I was game to ride to get the credit. The only woodie I have found to be intolerable was SOB.
#3 what sorts of things (other than all of the animal attractions) are there to do for a non-coaster rider? My mom will be with me and she can't handle riding anything rougher than the Small World at WDW.
1: I've had very good experiences with crowds at Busch Gardens during the weekdays, and November should be dead as long as youre not running into school Thanksgiving breaks (which you wont be).
2: I love Gwazi but based on your preferences you will hate it. It is rougher than the coasters you listed (as far as I know, haven't been on all of them)...it is often considered one of the roughest coasters out there. For me personally I think that adds to the fun but it is definitely not everyones cup of tea.
3: BG has a few flat rides...an inverting swinging ship, a Frog Hop, bumper cars and obviously Falcons Fury. There are also three water rides (a shoot-the-chute, log flume and river rapids) but given the off-season and cooler weather, they may not all be open. For your mom, theres the Carousel, the train ride and sky ride (which have great views of the Serengeti), and a solid amount of shows. I havent seen a show there in years so some of the more experienced vets can tell you which ones are worth seeing. Ride-wise, theres not a whole lot aside from the coasters but the animal exhibits can take a good amount of time strolling through.
Hope that helps. You will have a great time!
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[quote name='"nicman
Why would Cedar Point do this. Now I do not like Cedar Point even more than I already do. I really do not like competition between theme parks epically like this were no B & M inverts could be made within 200 miles. Now all the parks close to Cedar Point can not enjoy an awesome B & M invert.
I guess I was wrong about Canada's Wonderland being neglected. I realized that ever since Cedar Fair bought it' date=' the park got huge rides. So it was just Paramount that was neglecting it.[/quote']
What are you talking about? Banshee is literally in the same state as Cedar Point!
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A 26-year-old man picking on some Boys and Girls Club kids over 4 extra spots in line (thats one row of a roller coaster). Come on man. I get that its frustrating and wrong but that just seems so petty to me to make a scene (loudly calling kids out) over it. Especially when its children.
I don't understand how expecting someone old enough to go around (mostly) unsupervised in a theme park to abide by the posted rules (as well as behaving like a decent human being) is "picking on" them. It's not. SMH
I agree that following rules is expected amongst parkgoers of every age. The appropriate way, IMO, to handle things like that would be to simply say "hey guys, youre not supposed to skip the line" or "you cant hold places in line" or whatever. Not be a bully who's significantly older than a fee Boys and Girls Club kids and make a scene loud enough to be overheard by an employee. Theres always a right or wrong way to enforce the rules and this was a pretty pathetic way to go about doing so if you ask me. But hey, if calling kids out is your thing, Im not going to stop you.
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Another thing I noticed today was that when YOLOcoaster had a longer line, they started issuing slips to make sure line cutting Did not occur. When it came to us handing our passes, my friend joked that he didn't have one. The ticket collector said "it's okay." My friend still have him his ticket, but what's the point of using these if they don't even implement them. Even if it's just to scare people in like from preventing them from like cutting, it seems silly by the enforce it. What's then to stop someone from line cutting after that instance, knowing they'd get away with it.
We were given a slip last Saturday morning for YOLO. We also had slips for some of the mazes last Friday night. I appreciate them trying to limit the line cutting.
I appreciate them too, but only if they're actually enforced.
Speaking of line cutting. The people in front of me on Tatsu just let three people who weren't in line join them. This is so irritating.
I'm pretty much always calling them out on it these days, even if nothing will be done about it. The last time anything happened was back in the 2010 season at SFDK some Boys and Girls Club kids had 1-2 stand in line and about 4 came in and slipped under the railings of Medusa. So I called them out over it loudly and I guess their staff member heard me and so she ended up taking them all out of the line and to the very back after I explained what happened.
A 26-year-old man picking on some Boys and Girls Club kids over 4 extra spots in line (thats one row of a roller coaster). Come on man. I get that its frustrating and wrong but that just seems so petty to me to make a scene (loudly calling kids out) over it. Especially when its children.
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If theyre going for the Behemoth-Leviathan-Ziz trio they really should have switched the names of Behemoth and Leviathan. Leviathan makes more sense for a coasted by the water and Behemoth makes more sense for the larger of the two coasters. The trio could be really cool if the names fit the rides theyre describing better IMO.
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In my humble opinion as someone who has worked as a monster....
Guest service doesn't go out the window just because it's Halloween. Working for a Halloween event instead of daytime operations doesn't magically make it okay to swear at park guests or insult them crudely. Filing a lawsuit is a little ridiculous, but I 100% do NOT agree with the "well what did she expect?" mentality people have been expressing. Guests go to these events for the same reason they visit theme parks during regular hours, and they should receive the same level of service.
So. Much. This.
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Wow I'm almost 100% positive we were on the same cruise . We take a lot of Disney cruises, and this summer was especially cruise-heavy, so I'm hazy on dates and don't have the documents right in front of me at the moment, but we had the Guardians premiere and the heavy storm upon leaving Castaway so I think it's safe to say we were on the same boat. Crazy how that stuff works!
Anyway, glad you had a good time, thanks for the pics.
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Oh, they could certainly drop $20 million on a really world class dark ride. We're not talking about the old Sally dark rides either, think about what Universal has been doing lately.
Um no lol. $20 million isnt gonna come close to what Universal has been doing lately. Noooooowhere close. Plus Dollywood has no experience with world-class dark rides, so their R&D costs would probably need to be higher just to match that. Im sorry, but thats a huge pipe dream.
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AquaDunk on the Disney Magic was pretty nerve-wracking. Im ok on most trap door slides, and that one is smaller than most, but getting in that capsule seeing nothing but ocean is kinda intense. And that thing is deceptively fast!
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Wow, awesome trip report! I cant believe how big and detailed those props are for the New York scarezone. I love how their event retains originality and has an actual icon (a rather well-developed one too so it seems). Looks great!
I also have to chuckle whenever I see Battlestar Galactica just sitting there. Universal fanboys always get on Disney for letting the Yeti just sit in Everest even though its a mere effect in an otherwise great ride, yet one of the signature attractions in one of their parks is dormant for similar reasons and nobody says anything...
Anyway, thanks again for the photos!
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I doubt their business plan was based on all locals...
This. Universal Studios isnt Chimelong Paradise. Its a globally-recognized brand. The intent is to draw tourists, a park on this scale cannot survive on local populations alone. Tourists are where the money comes from, and Beijing is a larger tourist base. Like the name "Universal Studios", "Beijing" is worldwide.
Is the Vertical Loop on its way out soon?
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
Why would guests that are scared of going upside down through a vertical loop not be scared of going upside down through a barrel roll.......?