toughmudder

Hey everybody - I'm heading to KBF next Tuesday (July 3). I haven't been in a few years. We won't be arriving until early-mid afternoon. Any tips on what rides to hit at what portion of the day? We won't have Fastlane. Also, any recommendations on where to eat? The new BBQ place looks good, but wondered what else people recommended (outside of the chicken dinner). Do they have any Boysenberry-themed items or do they reserve that only for Boysenberry Festival. Thanks in advance!

Quick question - does the online ticket price go up the closer you get to the date you want to attend? For example, we are thinking of going on Thursday, July 5th. Right now the online price is $49.00 for Jr's and $50.00 regular. We're not sure we want to go that day. If we wait until 1 or 2 weeks before, will those online advance prices still hold, or do they normally go up? Also - for those that have visited around the July 4th holiday, is there a better day than others? We've debated on going either Tuesday, July 3rd or Thursday, July 5th. Not sure if one day is better than the other. With July 4th smack dab in the middle of the week, I'm not sure if more people will take the days leading up to the 4th off work, or the days after the 4th off... Thanks in advance!

The Park City alpine coaster is incredible, and I believe it is open year-round. I've ridden it in the middle of the summer, and the middle of the winter. Park City would be a great place to visit on your trip.

Quick question for KBF experts - We are heading down to SoCal in early July and wanted to catch an afternoon/night at the park. I haven't been for years, but the last time we went they offered a twilight special (discounted tickets after 4pm). I don't see anything on their website about it. Does the park still offer that deal? If so, what is the cost? Thanks!

Great lists! Thanks for all the work that went into creating these. I've missed Mitch Hawker's lists for years, and I'm sorry - but the Golden Ticket awards just don't cut it. Congrats to my home park, Lagoon, for having a Top 30 steel coaster in Cannibal! I never thought our little park would have a world-class coaster, but that it does. To think that it finished ahead of BGT's dynamic duo - Montu and Kumbu - among true coaster enthusiasts is dang cool.

That's awesome - yes, I've seen some of the pics of the scream tubes and they look really great. I'm just hoping they're able to paint the track and supports as well before re-opening in June. We'll see!

Great report! Tons of awesome pics and details. I'm impressed with this promotion - looks terrific! And oh, that food... In describing the transformation of Pixar Pier, specifically the Incredicoaster, did they mention if they are going to re-paint the coaster? I am very excited for the thematic changes to this ride, but hope they take the time to re-paint it while they have all that scaffolding up, as it will truly make this coaster pop. It was looking pretty worn-down and drab the last time I rode it.

Completely random DLR question: Does anyone know if they are going to re-paint Incredicoaster (aka CA Screamin') as part of the overlay/refurbishment? I am excited for the theming changes to the ride, but would be disappointed if they didn't use this time to give it a nice, fresh coat of white paint. The last few times I rode on it, it was really looking drab and beat-up. As fun as the Incredibles additions will be, I sure hope they go all out and paint the whole thing.

^ that's what I figured... I was just concerned because nothing was written in any of the press releases or articles so far... I think it would be disastrous to close down the Eastern entrance. We always stay somewhere along Harbor or the area around Harbor/Katella when we visit, and we always use the Eastern entrance. I was cautiously optimistic about the positive changes the Eastern Gateway Project would have brought, but somewhat concerned that I would essentially have to walk out of my hotel on Harbor and backtrack probably at least 1/4 to 1/2 a mile behind the hotels to go through security and enter the walkway/bridge to the Resort. I actually really like the proposal they've put forward and think it's the best solution right now given the pushback from Anaheim city council. My only request? Please include Earl of Sandwich inside the new hotel!

I know this spells the (near-term) death of the Eastern Gateway Project, but will visitors still be able to enter and exit the Resort/Esplanade from Harbor Blvd, or do they intend to funnel ALL guests through the west side? I can't imagine the latter being the case, but I haven't read anything indicating that everything will be status quo on the East side... Also, I'm guessing if nothing changes on the East side then that will kill the expansion of DCA northward (where Marvel Land was initially expected to go) which would match up with more recent plans that they will expand Marvel Land south of GotG and raze Bugs Land as well...?

I just read that Universal just changed the configuration of the splashdown pools for their three "drop pod" serpentine slides at Volcano Bay... but even worse - they changed the weight limit on 2 of the 3 slides from 300 lbs to 200 lbs!?!? It can't be the drop pods, as 1 is still operating with a 300 lb limit. Not sure why the others were changed... but again - this probably could have been figured out with extensive testing instead of setting an unrealistic opening date to try and compete with WDW's Pandora. Thanks for eliminating 75% of your adult male population on these slides, Volcano Bay! Can Universal do anything right lately? What a mess...

Not sure if this has been discussed yet, but as part of the Epcot 35th Anniversary celebration, Disney announced that the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride taking over Universe of Energy will indeed be a launched coaster with elements "unique" to all other WDW coasters. This link includes a rendition of what may be the footprint. They also announced that the show building will be 11 stories tall - so this ride is going to be massive. Looking forward to seeing construction progress over the next couple of years. Any speculation as to the ride system, and themed elements? http://blogmickey.com/2017/10/guardians-galaxy-attraction-epcot-roller-coaster/

Good observations... I didn't pick up on all that. Bummer

Interesting... Lance over on Screamscape just posted a video of some of the first sections of DD being taken apart. It appears that they are being quite careful with the removal (not a rip it down destruction type of thing). Could it be headed to another park? One can dream...

Excellent TR and photos! Looks like you had an awesome visit. I've seen many photos/videos of the Q'araq recently where the animatronic appears to be broken down (like EE's Yeti). Were you able to see it working live? If so, how was the effect? I'm wondering how accurate they can get the motion of the animatronic with a raft ride since the position/time of the raft is more unpredictable than a ride vehicle.

What a great tribute to a great ride(s) this thread has been! I was fortunate to ride Dueling Dragons in full dueling glory during 3 separate visits between 2000 - 2004. Between DD and Spider-man, IOA held two top ten overall theme park experiences in my book (I guess 3...) As I look back on my trips, one particular experience says a lot of how unique and loved DD was, and how disappointed I am that Universal is removing it. I attended the park with 5 close friends in 2001. I was definitely the theme park fanatic of the group, and had been to IOA one other time - so I was excited to showcase everything I loved about the park to my friends. We hit DD early on in the day, then went around to as many of the other rides as possible. About halfway through the tour of the park, my most discerning and difficult-to-please friend started complaining, and said "can we just go back to Dueling Dragons and ride it the rest of the night?" This was after riding Hulk, Spider-man, Ripsaw, Pluto's, Jurassic Park, etc. He had no desire to hit any of the other themed rides in the park... he wanted to ride DD as much as possible. This perspective - from a theme park "outsider" - certainly showed how much love there was for DD among the general public. R.I.P. - DD. You'll always be there in my dreams.

Quick question for those in the know... One of the big rumors at D23 was that since they didn't announce details of the expanded Marvel land in DCA (and also the GotG attraction at Epcot) that they were saving the big details for Comic Con the following week. Well... since Comic Con has come and gone I'm guessing it didn't happen? Any ideas on when we'll get more details, esp. on the Marvel attractions coming to DCA - or do we have to wait until D23 2019

That's great! Do you know what the price for an adult ticket is? (and does it begin at 4pm? I was just going off memory...)

Hey quick question for KBF locals (or anyone else in the know...) We're headed down to SoCal in July and are interested in visiting the park. Years ago they used to offer a twilight pass (I believe it was 4pm - 10pm or something like that...) I couldn't find anything on the website but wondered if they didn't start advertising/promoting it until summer. Do they still have something like this or do they not offer it anymore? Thanks in advance for your input.

All - had a quick favor. We're here in California (Visalia to be exact...) for my daughter's gymnastic competition. We have a free day tomorrow and the weather here and in the Sequoia's is horrible tomorrow so we're looking into other options... I'm thinking of heading down to Magic Mountain. It says it is 2 hours away... Do any of you have a promo code or any other tips on how to save $$ on a one-day pass? Typically I do the 6-7 day online pass in advance, but obviously can't do it this time. Thanks so much for any advice you can provide!

I sure as hope the skyway gondola rumor is true. Disney and More just posted an update that the original sources got their facts mixed up and it truly is a waterway gondola as speculated by the poster above ^... and not a skyway gondola... perhaps even an upcharge thing.

Robb - great trip report. I've followed the construction progress and opening of this park very closely, and hope to make it there one day. Looks like a beautiful park, and Pirates and Tron look fantastic. Couple questions - I'm guessing Roaring Rapids was closed? I didn't see you post anything about it. Wondered how the big Quaraq animatronic looked... I've seen some outrageous video of the Pirates stunt show. Were you able to see it? Some of the stunts look absolutely insane. I'm intrigued how it could have been so packed on the first day and so empty on the second. I rarely see this on my visits to WDW when there are a lot of tourist groups from overseas... (you get pretty consistently busy days) so wondered if there were reasons for the attendance fluctuation? Thanks for sharing - and have a great time at HKDL!

The general rule is if it doesn't fit in your pockets, it can't ride with you. So no purses or fanny packs. Many rides have fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo at the entrance, or you can put your stuff on the station platform on all rides (except X2, where they force you to pay $1 for a fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo). There's a deal where for like $10 you can move your stuff from fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo to fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo at each of the rides an Unlimited number of times all day as well. If you want an all-day fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo, there are some near the entrance behind Guest Relations next to the Flash Pass Center. Thank you! Great information

Quick question for the SFMM pros. I'm used to going to DL where I can shove backpacks, fanny packs and purses on just about any ride. I'm pretty sure I know the backpack rule...what about purses and fannypacks? Can you get on rides with them on or stick them in a cubby or locker? Are there lockers you can reserve for the day? If so, where are they located?

Awesome TR! I'm surprised that the park wasn't more packed for opening day... but perhaps the crowds were spread out due to the size. The wait time for Soarin' was still long, but it seems like some in the press were expecting mass hysteria on opening day - seemed very reasonable. Any word on the AA for Roaring Rapids? Waiting patiently for video to see if it's fixed, and if it's as cool as the concept art made it out to be...