shepp

Having ridden TTD, KK, and Xcelerator, I gotta say - and I know it's a minority opinion arond here - that I love all three. Okay, they're basically one-trick ponies, but what a trick! And one need only ride Hypersonic or S:TE to realize how good the Intamins are, compared to what they could be. As far as their being "overrated"...Stand at the platform for TTD (or KK, if and when) and watch the returning riders whooping and applauding. (The only other coaster I've seen that gets that over-the-top reaction every time is MF.) Are you telling me that they only think they enjoyed the ride? Or that they shouldn't have? That they were somehow bamboozled? Sure, I know that S:ROS and MF regularly outscore the rockets in enthusiasts' polls, and I'd vote for them over KK, too. But... Conoisseurship is great, but sometimes I get a whiff of the wine snob thing: "How could you possibly enjoy that? It doesn't taste good, and I should know."

Having ridden both several times, I'd answer the original question by saying "About the same." Area themeing: Advantage Ka...The Golden Kingdom is nicely done, and the queue area and loading station considerably more pleasant than TTD's cattle pens. On-ride themeing: Advantage TTD...KK lacks the buildup to launch that TTD's Xmas tree provides, and the cars look like cars, not jungle whatevers. Loading: Advantage KK...the double platform worked nicely. Ride Ops: Advantage KK...Of course, when I rode KK it was new, and the ops early enthusiasm might wear off...if the ride ever goes back up. Restraints: Slight advantage TTD...KK's OTSR are minimally intrusive, but lack the pleasantly insecure feeling that TTD's lapbar gives while you wait to launch. Ride: Advantage TTD...It was a year since I rode TTD, but the launches, to the best of my memory, seemed equally intense...I doubt anyone can really feel the difference 8 mph makes. KK seemed to pause a bit longer at the top...a defiinite plus when you're in the front. But KK was perceptibly rougher, especially in the back, and really, the hill didn't provide any airtime I could perceive, either in the front or the back. Souvenir T-shirts: Tie...I love both of mine. KK's cost less, though. Realiability: I ain't gonna hire Intamin to fix my motorcycle, that's for sure. Oh, and PGA Thriller^...have you actually ridden KK? And you do remember TTD was down a full month during its first year, right? I rode TTD four times in its second season and each and every time there was a breakdown of at least 15-20 minutes while I waited in line...I would have ridden a fifth time except it went down for four hours. Hmmm...

It'll be operational for a couple of weeks, then down for an indefinite period.

It's lucky their coasters are more exciting than their site...

Y'know, I originally wrote that, but you're right. Many sections of USF - around Earthquake or Jaws, or the NY streets, for instance- really are more distinct and better-themed environments than the areas at MGM. On the other hand, though consistent with the whole soundstage thing, attractions like Shrek, BTTF, and Twister have lackluster exteriors, while TOT rocks. And hey, what's with this "well, I haven't been to (or ridden) whatever, but I'm gonna vote for or against it anyway" thing I keep seeing? Christ on a bicycle, aren't these polls jive enough already?

Oh crap, another poll. Okay, I'll bite: For families with small kids, probably Disney. For teenagers and above, Universal. (I'm talking the FL parks here.) Uni just has more of an edge and less self-mythologizing puffery. To put it another way: WDW is The Little Mermaid, Universal is Shrek. USO is T23D, WDW is the 3-D Muppets. Hell, WDW even replaced the Alien with Stitch 'cos the attraction had been too scary. Can't imagine Universal doing that. WDW is four parks to Uni's two, so the comparison is a bit unfair. Still, each of the Disney parks has too much dreck. I enjoyed the safari at DAK, but after that and the Lion King show, it was pretty much a gorgeously themed zoo. EPCOT is mostly a has-been disappointment: I thought TT was overrated, and though I liked M:S a lot, much of Future World is saggy. And the international section is pretty damn tired, full of second-rate versions of Las Vegas themeing without the slots. As a themed environment, MGM is better than USO, and it has two killer attractions, RnRC and TOT...but beyond that, what? That leaves the MK, the jewel in the crown, and it is in many ways a great park. There's also more to do at MK than IOA, though I greatly prefer IOA's themeing. (Seuss Island is just much more brillaintly conceived and executed than Fantasyland, and give me Port of Entry over Main Street any day.) But when you compare apples to apples - Kali vs. Bluto, Dinosaur vs. JPRA, ROTM vs. RnRC, ST vs. BTTF, Jaws vs. Jungle Cruise, MIB vs. Buzz, Spidey vs. HM, POTC, or any dark at Disney - Universal usually, though not always, wins out in my book. (Splash Mtn. has the theming, though Dudley's got the drop. And let's not even talk about Dr. Doom in the same breath as TOT.) And, of course, Universal has a couple of world-class coasters, and WDW doesn't...but it does have the ever-terrifying It's a Small World.

Well, it's your right to prefer PKD, of course. And prices at IOA (and all the Florida price-match parks) are a blatant rip, rising considerably faster than the rate of inflation. Sure, IOA is far from perfect: Doom is a yawner, Poseidon's Whatever a good idea gone bad, and the place is sorely in need of a new attraction. But Hulk, regardless of its stats, is one of my favorite coasters overall - I prefer the swoopier B&Ms, and Hulk's pacing, theming, and visuals are all first-rate. Judging from what you say about Spidey, you're probaby unimpressed with IOA's unmatched variety of immersive theming. But to argue that PKD is "better" than IOA merely because it has more rides for the money is like arguing that a smallish portion of duck confit at a fine gourmet restaurant isn't as "good" as a big bucket of the Colonel's chicken.

You're kidding, right? PKD??? A better park than IOA? I was just there for the first time, and granted, Volcano was down for the duration, but...Scooby Doo's Haunted House better than Spiderman? Hypersonic better than the Hulk? FOF over DD? White Water Canyon vs. Bluto? Dude I don't think so. IOA may have only 15 rides, but many of them are world-class and/or uniquely themed. PKD has some decent wood, a nicely themed Top Spin, and a killer drop tower (clearly better than Dr. Doom), but aside from that, there's not much there that aproaches "special," unless you're ga-ga over a fake Eiffel Tower and a bunch of old movie titles engraved in cement.

Factoring in rideability, reliability, rerideability, and restraints: B&M. MF, S:ROS, KK, TTD, and XCelerator sure kick ass, though.

Breakers Express does indeed allow for early entry...or at least did last year when we stayed there. (Not that it mattered any...we ran straight to TTD, which then proceeded, right before we boarded, to break down for four hours.) I don't know if you can still get a package for those dates on the CP Website, but you might have a look. Our package deal at BE was a really good deal.

Yeah, it's kiind of overwhelming. Used to be people said that was because San Franciso's welfare payouts were so high, but that's a thing of the past. I'd say it's because the weather here, compared to many cities, is pretty mild year-round, making it less unpleasant to live on the streets; because the tourist area where you are is adjacent to the Tenderloin, the crummiest part of downtown; and because the city has always attracted drifters and the like. Actually, on my trip East, I was struck by the absence of panhandlers in DC and Philly.

I figured Great Adventure would have longer lines, but that's just insane. I got a gold qbot for SFNE and the longest I had to wait was 10 minutes for Superman. Most of the time on Batman I didn't have to wait at all. It's a nice feature and all, but I can't imagine paying $70 extra dollars just to cut my wait times down to a half an hour. Well, (and I know we've talked about this before...) IMO it's insanely greedy to ask that kind of money to butt into queues. SFGAdv raised their Q-Bot prices by a full 50% this year, no doubt because of KK...and we all know where that's at. For less than 70 bucks, you can buy a retail one-day ticket to Disney and do FastPass for free (tho that system's changing) or get into CP and get free priority spots for TTD and MF. Just to put things in perspective: the $100 a day gold Q-bots would have cost me and my partner was more than we paid daily for a nice Pricelined hotel in Mount Laurel, the rental car, our meals, AND the GAdv parking fee. I realize that we were lucky in being able to visit midweek before peak season, but without QBot (though with participation in the running of the bulls and some luck regarding S:UF) the longest we waited for anything in almost three days was about 75 minutes for one of our three rides on KK.

Huss Frisbees. Nausea City for me...

I've enjoyed the three Vekoma flyers I've been on. But Jesus, those SLCs...they're not fit to lick Montu's boots.

^Note that Q-Bot Gold is pretty fabulously pricey: about 70 bucks for the first person, 35 for each addtional. Also, even if KK is running, it only entitles you to one ride, and if KK should break down and you never get to Q-Bot the ride, you're SOL.

Batwing...better than the other Vekomas I've been on (Stealth/Borg and X-Flight) and the S:UF pretzel, spiffy as it looks, actually ain't all that.

On the basis of three days there, I'd say the single longest wait (except for KK) is definitely S:UF. (Posted waits for it were over two-plus hours when you could get on Nitro in 30-45 minutes. Both sides of Chiller were down when I was there.) The load times are very slow, and they were running one train at least part of the time I was there. Because it was raining during KK's Friday morning ERT, I just walked on, and was underimpressed...not nearly as good as Vekoma flyers, IMO. Nitro, however, rules, and the good news is it's better in the back, so you don't have to wait for the front row. The dual-queueing arrangement on the stairs to the platform is a mess, anyway.

Yes, but... If you compare the similar designs of Intamin and B&M clamshells, it's clear that the B&Ms overlap with the seat further around the body, making for more security with no loss of movement. (As riders get fatter and fatter, this becomes more of an issue.) It seems quite possible that the S:ROS accident would never have happened if everything had been the same except that the design of the T-bar and seat had met B&M specs.

Honestly - and I love TTD and KK - I can't imagine anyone shelling out megabucks for a "second generation," any more than X has led to the building of Y and Z. I can't imagine a ride whose predecessor was so troublesome, and that now breaks down less than a month into operation, is anything less than a fabulous lemon...whatever you might think of Six Flags.

Yeah, that thing was a very pleasant surprise, especially since I'd already ridden Joker's Jinx earlier in the week. It's way fun in the front, where you can just barely see the track...no, you can't...yes, you can....no, you... Would've hated to ride it when those barely-big-enough-for-a-gnome cars had OTSRs, though.

After being subjected to the militaristic jingoism at BGW, I'm thinkin' a Dick Cheney action figure might be appropriate...

Carry a compressible rain poncho with you, and remember there's lots to do indoors at WDW and a nice, brutal storm clears out the parks pretty good. And you are going to IOA, right?

I'm not a huge fan of Vekoma's, being B&M inclined - but then, I prefer Moby to deathmetal - but after riding Batwing at SFA and S:UF at SFGAdv in the same week, I gotta say I prefer the Vekoma fliers I've ridden to the B&M yawner.

I'm not a huge fan of helixes, and Goliath's is, as has been said already, pretty heavy-duty. But I really love the moment you get past it and the Gs suddenly let up...pretty cool. As is the plunge-into-a-hole-in-the-ground first drop...

Narrowing stuff down to 10 and ordering them is tough. Right now, I'm feeling: 1. MF 2. Nitro 3. Hulk 4. TTD 5. S:ROS (GA/DL tie-ish, haven't been to SFNE) 6. KK 7. X (back when it was running smooth) 8. Alpengeist 9. ROTM USF 10. Everything else good...OK, Apollo's Chariot...no, make that Ghostrider...no... Pretty cliche-ridden, huh, with a bias toward big B&M and Intamin steel...