jedimaster1227

Glad to hear that the ride turned out so amazingly as we'd all expected! This is just one more Rocky Mountain Construction coaster I'm dying to try out that unfortunately, I'm not sure I'll get the chance to experience anytime soon.

There are just so many reasons why this expansion has me so interested! Kvasten at Grona Lund always looked like a fun little ride (though I'd love to have the other rides twisted into it ike they do there) and Wheelie was a great flat from Six Flags Over Georgia. White Lightning really looks great and I enjoy seeing it along the city skyline on my way to work each day (that goes for the awesome looking Skycoaster too). I've been visiting Fun Spot infrequently over the last decade that it has been around, but I really think I'll be going more often after everything is open. Everything about this project looks fantastic!

I see this as a smart move for Darien Lake (and most other parks). People don't realize just how much of a perk for conventions and meetings it is to have a "fun" location attached to their work space. It is a great selling point for the location, but also a much easier way to attract participants to join an event that an organization is hosting. Looks like a win-win for everyone, considering the extra business it will bring in for the park.

I'm glad to see that there are seatbelts on that ABC Rides coaster. Pretty interesting to see them design such a neat layout, even if you don't get to ride up the lift hill.

The fact that iFly is totally free to guests onboard is awesome! That same experience here in Orlando costs over $50 for the two, one-minute flights (along with the training beforehand). I'd definitely take advantage of this if I were on the ship! Once again, Royal Caribbean continues to impress!

While logically that would make sense, sometimes efforts like this don't always make the ride experience better (or at least significantly better). Gwazi was almost entirely retracked and received brand new Millennium Flyers, and yet the ride experience was still pretty much the same (some would even say worse) as it was before. I haven't been to Holiday World yet so all I have to go on is what I've been told of The Voyage, but I do hope that the Timberliners work out for the ride and make the experience better.

From the looks of it, my need to get back to Magic Mountain just became more sigificant... Man does that ride look nicer than I expected!

The facial expression of the girl in the green is priceless! Glad to see Force One is doing well for this park!

^Rocky Mountain has altered ride layouts significantly with New Texas Giant and Iron Rattler. I can't imagine changing the layouts on Twisted Twins would really be any more difficult.

Sandstorm was one of the few rides that I would willingly go on as a kid (along with the Crazy Camel), even before I was alright riding roller coasters. I'll admit that I haven't given it the time of day during my last few visits, but I do feel that it'd be a shame to see it go...

This ride seriously has me intrigued. It has definitely become a project I've gotten more interested in as construction sped up. The sheer amount of track and how twisted into itself the ride is has my attention and won't let go... Really looking to the eventual POV of the experience, as I won't likely get out to Alton Towers anytime soon to check it out in person.

^Hopefully it will be better than Adventureland.

Theme Park Review was invited back to SeaWorld on Saturday to experience Viva La Musica, the park's Latin music festival filled with music, food and plenty of unique offerings! Featuring Daddy Yankee as the headliner for the concert series this year, we were able to check out all that SeaWorld Orlando has to offer with this event, and we were thoroughly impressed~ The food was great (we liked it even better than Bands, Brew & BBQ) and the concert was especially fun, despite the fact that Daddy Yankee rapped in Spanish for the majority of the show. We also had the chance to check in on the latest happenings in the park, including the opening of a new Coca-Cola Freestlye booth. Now I can get my Fanta Lime at SeaWorld, and it is still amazing! Special thanks again to SeaWorld Orlando for inviting us. We had a great time and I know I'll be looking forward to next year's events! Viva La Musica runs on weekends at SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay through May 4th. There's plenty for the kids to enjoy at the Viva La Musica special event area. The same space is also used for the SeaWorld Christmas Celebration and Bands, Brew & BBQ. Sesame Street's Rosita was out dancing with guests in the events area. Themed character costumes! And of course, there was food! As if we didn't love SeaWorld Orlando already, they had to go and start serving Dippin' Dots Sorbet! An overview of the Viva La Musica special event section of the park. Not pictured but very important to the overall festival is the Atlantis Bayside Stadium where the main concerts are hosted. Bayside Stadium will host Willie Colon, Grupomania and El Gran Combo over the next three weekends. SeaWorld Orlando gave us some fantastic seats for the concert, also giving us the chance to see Daddy Yankee up close as he walked into the stadium. Not a bad backdrop for a concert, right? It should be noted that the concerts at Viva La Musica are extremely popular and the stadium could fill up quickly, so get your seats early! We were sure to sample the food at the event as well, and nothing underwhelmed us. Cheers for beers! Best of pals! New Coca-Cola Freestyle machines have opened up underneath Manta. And to close, a look at Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin. It really has begun to look like this could welcome guests very soon! It looks like signage has begun to go up in the new realm. We are really looking forward to checking out Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin on May 24th for its grand opening! Thanks again to SeaWorld Orlando for hosting us for Viva La Musica! We look forward to returning soon to experience Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin, opening on May 24th, 2013!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-merlin-entertainments-ipo-reu-20130403,0,225421.story

Drachen Snake Horse on Fire?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-03/blackstone-said-to-plan-moving-ahead-on-seaworld-ipo-this-month.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-08/seaworld-raises-amount-sought-in-initial-offer-to-500-million.html

^With that said, we don't condone those kind of reposted videos either, so I've gone ahead and removed the link. In more positive news, Cedar Point has sent us a press release announcing their First Ride Auction for GateKeeper, benefiting the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital and United Way of Erie County.

Kings Island has sent us a press release about their latest, record breaking addition to Dinosaurs Alive!, this time in the form of the world's largest animatronic dinosaur!

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/04/get-a-sneak-peek-at-pirates-of-the-caribbean-treasures-of-the-seven-seas/ [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

People have also claimed that Universal Studios Florida would never get a Spiderman-style ride because Spiderman was in the park just next door, and yet Transformers: The Ride (an entirely similar attraction) is set to open very soon. At the end of the day, if guest demand is there and the park wants to go for it, they will. I'm guessing we'll either see a brand new, highly themed environ with an integrated coaster (like Egypt with Montu) or we'll get some kind of major dark ride/family thrill attraction with a good deal of theming. Either of which I'd be totally happy with!

Looking at the video, I'm very much reminded of Wild Adventures in Valdosta, GA. I'll be interested to see if this park gets beyond the proposal stage and if it does, who is making that "top ten" wooden coaster.

^The loading procedures have been slow, even when they weren't dueling the trains. It really was inexplicable why this was always the case, considering that every other ride in the park (except for maybe Scorpion) pushes people through the lines so efficiently. I personally never thought Gwazi was ever unbearably rough, though I did experience a few runs (mostly on the old PTCs) where I was shaken a bit more than I'd normally enjoy. Unlike Son of Beast, which I think deserved to fall, I really hope that the structure for Gwazi doesn't go to waste. The current ride might not hold up to some of the newer thrills anymore, but knowing what insane things Rocky Mountain Construction is doing with old woodies, it seems a loss to take a good layout and a solid structure and tear it down for a "speed coaster" (whatever that is). There are so many possibilities out there that could ensure that Gwazi is salvaged in some capacity. I truly hope Busch Gardens explores some of those options before sending in the bulldozers.

Well it looks like The Smiler will shut up all of those people (at least temporarily) that claim that coasters never have enough inversions... But then again, it will probably ignite complaints from the park fanatics of every other park whining about how their newest coasters don't have as many as The Smiler. Honestly, this ride looks fantastic! I'm very impressed with the level of theming on this one... And I don't think anyone can argue that this is a serious step up from the former Black Hole that occupied the same spot.