Sir Clinksalot

I just think that floorless is the new standup ...

Those trains actually add to the problem. They are so frickin' heavy, too heavy. They have ruined both of SFMM's woodies ...

Yes - Pre Northridge Earthquake Psyclone was actually my favorite ride in the park. Revolution was my 2nd favorite back then. My how times have changed.

If you want a ludicrously over detailed guide, check the bit I posted under the thread "Orlando Newbie." Actually, if anyone wants to spot check that for me, I'd appreciate the input. I would follow what it said in my second edit point about doubling back towards Seuss Landing after Marvel Superhero Island - anything that can cut down those lines at Dragons is going to be helpful.

^ Good call on Colossus and Revolution. Viper on the other hand is debatable if it was ever good ... Stitch ... Ghostrider was insanely fast, and insanely smooth for a woody, and has not been maintained ... same with Psyclone. Colossus has not been maintained. Revolution added OTSR's on trains that were not designed to have OTSR's, therefore making the trains heavier, and therefore causing them to add trims to slow the ride down. Viper is an Arrow ... nuff said.

Psyclone at SFMM Ghostrider at Knott's

I don't know how Flashback can be running any smoother than it already has been for the last 2 years ...

^ Don't add anything else!!! Your already too busy ... A year ago or so we were hanging out with Robb and Elissa every weekend ... now ... were lucky if we get to see them once a month. Of course, it could be a combination of you guys being busy, and us being busy ... but still ... We need to all get rich, quit our jobs and do one of those business things we were talking about ... as long as it doesn't take up too much time ...

The best was Reverend William Dickgraber ...

All of these ideas sound good. Any chance it will be open by next month ... LOL!!! :laughing:

Mahjong on Pogo

BITE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE First thing you need to do, of course, is grab a map (though you've probably already got one printed up and are studying it). Go straight through Port of Entry and take a hard left into Marvel Superhero Island. If you're carrying a bag, hang the first left you find (actually the exit pathway for Hulk that runs directly underneath the big purple lauch tube) and get that thing stowed away. The lockers use fingerprint ID scans and can be a little dodgy at times. Make your way back out (along the exit path of Hulk) and hang another left - this'll put you towards the entrance to Hulk. At this point, there should be absolutely no wait for the back seven rows. The line for the front row, however, will probably be about a five minute wait (on a busy day, they're undoubtably going to have two trains running). Once you're off Hulk (okay, once you're done with Hulk - scoring a fast re-ride can be awfully tempting), follow this route: as you make your way out of the exit, you're facing the Cafe 4 (pizza joint). Even though it won't be serving food yet, the door should be open. Go into Cafe 4 (passing restrooms to your left) and continue through - Cafe 4 is connected to the Kingpin's Arcade. Continue on out of the Arcade and Doctor Doom's Fearfall is going to be down the "alley" to your left. There shouldn't be much of a wait for it yet, and even if there is the video in the queue is very entertaining. After you hop off the Fearfall, the exit places you BACK into the Kingpin's Arcade. Go out the same way you did last time, but this time don't go down the alley that leads to Doom. Move around the shop that's on that corner and you should be face to face with the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman. If everything is working right for you, this should be damn near a walk-on. The only con to that is that you miss out on all the videos in the waiting areas that really explain what the ride's about. The storyline isn't incredibly easy to follow the first time around, so I'll sum it up quickly: Doc Ock and the Sinister Six have stolen the Statue of Liberty utilizing Doc Ock's levitation laser thingy (thingy - that's a technical term). The laser fires a green beam to make things levitate and a red beam to make he levitated stuff drop. You're a civilian, but that doesn't stop J Jonah Jameson from throwing you into a SCOOP (the next gen news gathering vehicle, sponsored by Toyota!) to get out there and get the story. Chaos ensues. Spider-man exits into that gift shop you passed a while ago. Okay, fine. Go ride Spidey again. We'll wait for you. Alright, that finishes up Marvel Superhero Island (oh, did I skip Storm Force Accelatron? Yeah, so should you. That thing's a placeholder attraction if ever there was one). Continue along and you'll find yourself entering Toon Lagoon. Make your way along the main pathway (oh, take some of it in. There's a lot of clever visual gags along the strip). There's a pathway that shoots off to the right of Cathy's Ice Cream. I believe there's lockers in that area too (hope you didn't leave your bag over by Hulk). That path will put you out pretty close to Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. You will get wet. You'll probably get soaked. Once you're off of Dudley, make a beeline over to the opposite side of Toon Lagoon (check your map for that one - it's hard to explain that pathway off the top of my head) and take in Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges. Any part of your body still dry will not be when you get off (maybe a good idea to have a towel in that bag). Just past the entrance to Popeye is Me Ship, The Olive. This is a multilayered kid's play area, but you can get some really nice shots of Hulk from the top level. You can also vent some frustration by shooting water at people who pass beneath you on the Popeye ride. It's a fun diversion, but it's totally skippable (I walked on for the first time last weekend, and as you can probably tell from this I've been there quite a bit). Next up is Jurassic Park. As you enter this area, you'll see Pteradon Flyers going overhead. Pteradon Flyers is a kiddie ride that will easily already have a 20 minute wait (very slow loading). It also has a MAXIMUM height restriction, which I doubt anyone in your group is going to meet. Skip it, as well as Camp Jurassic (which, I have to admit, is probably one of the coolest kid playareas I've ever seen - I spent a good 20 minutes there on Saturday). If everything's going well, it's still obscenely early. The Jurassic Park River Adventure should have a pretty short line...and you are still wet from Toon Lagoon. Enjoy. The Jurassic Park Discovery Center is over on your right. It's all well and cool, but the Dragons are waiting for you. If you want to check it out, I'd recommend doubling back around later (in fact, doing a second lap around the park is ideal for really soaking in all the atmosphere, seeing characters, etc. Right now you're rushing to beat the crowd. A crowd can't screw up just walking around enjoying the park's intricate theming). Moving through Jurassic Park (and it's a hike, by the way), you'll enter the Lost Continent. Once you're over the bridge, the Flying Unicorn is to your left (go get your credit). If you aren't riding the Flying Unicorn, there's no reason to turn to the left. Bottleneck. Moving to the right, you'll pass a smoking area (ah, my landmarks) and come along on the Enchanted Oak Restaurant and Alchemy Bar. Best. Counter. Food. Ever. If you don't go to Mythos (I can hear Elissa screaming "blasphemy" already), I highly recommend the Oak. Oh, what's that over to your left? Looks like two Dragons locked in eternal struggle. Go over to the left of the dragons to stow your gear and get your hiking boots on. The queue for Dueling Dragons is about half a mile long. That is not a joke. There are ways around it, but I can't really recommend them because the theming in the castle is really amazing. You'll eventually reach a point where you must choose your Fate: Fire or Ice. I won't get into the debate over which Dragon is better. Fire is faster (though not by much) and has a slightly higher drop, but Ice has a nice cobra roll... what does it matter? You're riding both, right? The wait for the front rows will be pretty bad at this point - the latecomers to the park who opted to go right instead of left will be there before you. The front row is great and all, but I don't think it's terribly necessary. You can see all the near collisions (just not as IN YOUR FACE) from all but maybe the back two rows (at least one collision is almost invisible if you're in the back row, unless you're looking directly down at the right moment...and maybe holding a mirror (DON'T TAKE MIRRORS ON ROLLERCOASTERS)). There's a very convenient re-ride entrance, so you won't have to do the half mile hike again (okay, if the lines aren't bad, here's something you MAY be able to do: When you first enter the queue, you'll pass some stairs that lead down to the exiting area - if you head down the stairs and turn left towards the castle, you MAY and I only say MAY be able to skip a lot of the walking in line and go straight in where the re-ride entrance is. I've done this before (actually a staffer showed it to me), but as you may get stopped I can not wholeheartedly recommend this course of action. Don't screw up and go over to the Express entrance, 'cause they'll pretty much poo poo what you're attempting). Moving along through Lost Continent, you'll pass the Eighth Voyage of Sindbad stunt show and Poseidon's Fury (an effects show). I know you said you're not big on the shows, but I think both of these are pretty enjoyable (god knows I prefer Sindbad to the tedious Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular). If you want to do them, great. If not, I understand. Check your map for showtimes. Lost Continent goes on a bit further, and you'll find yourself in Seuss Landing. There's some shops about, then the Caro-Seuss-el to your right (fun, but it is a carousel), One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (also fun, but it's yet another Dumbo clone with some water thrown in for good measure), and the Cat in the Hat will be along in front of you (don't worry, there's no Mike Myers to be found). Of the three, Cat in the Hat should be done, the other two are strictly optional (and the wait for 1 Fish can get pretty bad). Continue along and you'll find yourself back at Point of Entry. If all went well, you should have been able to get through almost everything without much of a wait (Dueling Dragons notwithstanding). I doubt it'll even be noon yet. Go back to Mythos or the Oak, have a nice lunch, then get back out there and start re-riding stuff (or catch some of those shows in Lost Continent). Now's a good time to start trying to use your Express Passes (though if it's a slower day, you may never need them!). /edited to remove totally stupid incorrect information. //edited again to add this bit: this is the most linear method for doing the park. However, if it hasn't warmed up much, you may want to consider doubling back after completing Marvel Superhero Island, switching to a counterclockwise direction and moving into Seuss Landing next (thus saving Toon Lagoon and its refreshing but chilly waters for later in the day - while the lines in Toon Lagoon may get a bit longer, liberal usage of your Express pass should make mincemeat of the crowds (and while you wait for a return window, enjoy some ice cream or something).

^ Um ... I think Elissa was being sarcastic ... Okay ... I KNOW Elissa was being sarcastic ... that's what is for ...

Robb ... I didn't remember until I saw that archive, but I actually found your site back then. I remember we were thinking of doing a CP trip and looking up coaster stuff. I saw your site and thought, Roller Coasters and Video Games ... sweet. I can also remember being jealous of your video game collection, just as I was when you told me about it. At the time I didn't have my own computer, just a friends so I never really looked more than a few times. It's odd what you can remember 8 years after the fact. Gregg "Had no idea that TPR was that site I stumbled on way back then" C.

Who made you the grammar police???

This is what I said: So you weren't contrary. That's what I said. A park will be staying open later or opening early, every day.

Not to be contrary, Supercrack, but I just verified that info on the Disney website. It appears that at this point Disney doesn't plan to do the early openings on Sunday mornings (at least not in the month of May). They do do the late closings (an extra three hours) for a park on Sundays (and on the 15th, looks like it's gonna be the Studios). EDIT - heh heh. I said "do do"

100% agreed with Elissa and Soeren. I have gotten the "Skinhead" thing a few times just because I have a shaved head, and am from German decent. I'm proud of my heritage, thank you very much. I too just don't understand the mentality of somebody like that. It's idiotic. Equally as idiotic is blaming this on German's. It's the past, every country has one. Like Elissa said, not every whitey living here has relatives who were slave owners, and not every German has relatives that were Nazi's. Remember, alot of people were Nazi's because they were forced to. I doubt there were people who were forced to be slave owners.

^ It actually is wrong. Every day during the 50th celebration thing 1 park is either staying open later or opening early. When I get home I will check our "Unofficial Guide to WDW" book and let you know what it will be those days. There is also a nifty crowd gauge that may not be 100% accurate, but it will show attendance patterns based on previous years. At least go to AK to get your credit!!! Gregg "Thinking of moving our WDW trip up a month" C.

Is that Thunderhead at Dollywood? Now THAT is surprising. I wouldn't have guessed Dollywood would have something that ranks that high... (I'm going up there eventually. Just not in a huge rush).

What happened? I kinda like Anaconda...nothing special, but pleasant enough.

Alright, you'll have to forgive me 'cause I'm feeling prolific tonight. First off, you have to seriously consider what days you go to what parks. Since you aren't staying on Disney property, it is in your best interests to avoid the parks that have "early opening" for on-site guests. I have to imagine that that perk brings a lot more people to the parks in the early mornings (or maybe not - people can be lazy and sleep in instead). It's best not to risk that. On the 15th, nothing opens early. On the 16th, looks like Epcot gets the hour early treatment. On the 17th, the Studios open early (this information was lifted from intercot, so don't be surprised if it ends up being completly wrong). This brings us to the most important thing, something that I have to imagine a seasoned Cali vet knows - you're gonna get there early, right? If not, you're risking a lot... last Saturday, I walked onto the Hulk at 9am. An hour later the standby line was 60 minutes, and the Express return window was already at 4pm. If everyone doesn't appreciate the value of getting up at o'dark early, I recommend ya'll consider it. Parking at Universal consists of two massive parking complexes, but you don't park *anywhere near* the gates to the parks. It'll take around ten minutes to get from your car to the exit of the parking garage (there's moving walkways - use 'em, but remember they're WALKways, not STANDways). At that point, you've entered Citiwalk and still have a good five to ten minutes to get to the gates of whichever park you choose (along the way, you'll pass Cinnabon and the pastry shop of Pastamore - just in case you missed that healthy breakfast). For the Disney parks, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and the Studios all have parking lots that are conveniently within walking distance. This does not apply at Magic Kingdom - at MK, you park at the Ticket and Transportation Center, then catch a monorail or a ferry to the main entrances (if you have the time, the ferry can be quite serene. Watching the castle slowly get larger as you approach has a bit of magic all its own (then again, if you're a DL regular, you may not know what a castle actually looks like). For MK, you should be getting there around an hour before opening. For the other parks, you can give a little more time, but I personally always try to be at least 45 minutes to an hour early. Universal is known to open their gates early. Last Sunday, I was in the park, on and off of Hulk and exiting the park before the posted opening time struck. I've never seen Disney open much earlier than ten minutes, but I suppose anything can happen. The Florida sun is an evil wench. You won't know you're getting dehydrated until it's too late. Bring water bottles with you and refill them often. I don't care if you don't get sunburns - use sunscreen anyway. I'm sitting here with a bright red skull because I didn't think the sun would be a problem when it was only 50 degrees. It is. Don't even play with it. You haven't really specified what parks you plan on hitting under the Disney empire (other than the fact that you'll probably skip Animal Kingdom (which I can understand, but not entirely support)). If you can give a good guess on that, I'll see what strategery I can cook up for you (I'll be back later with some Universal thoughts - believe me, I can get you through those parks with hours to spare). As far as Sea World goes, planning ahead for that park can be exceedingly difficult because you're ultimately stuck having to plan around all the various showtimes. I don't know of anywhere that that information is posted in advance, so it's hard to say "go do Pets Ahoy, then double over to Shamu Stadium." You're on your own there, although I will chime in with "hit Kraken early, and hit it often." The lines for it may peter off in the later afternoon, but your best chances for easy front row come early in the morning (same applies to Hulk). More later.

Hulk...Sunday morning. Worst onride footage ever. But at least I tried. I want to go back. Okay, I want to lose the sunburn on my skull (Florida weather punk'd me) then go back.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7259823/ Turns out the kid was a neo-nazi. No amount of Gun Control or censorship would have stopped this kid. It's sucks that in the 21st century we still have idiots like this.