jedimaster1227

5/10 for October...

Is there all that much that can be changed in the show for Horror Nights? Have they done this in the past?

I had the chance to visit the Mansion this past Saturday and let me say how great of a job the Imagineers have done with this refurbishment. While I have never seen the Disneyland version of the mansion, the upgrades we recieved from them (the new bride and the floating Leota) were great. The exterior of the mansion looks brand new, yet eerily aged to help set the new mood. Once inside of the mansion itself, you go into the normal stretching room, but the ghost host's new "floating" audio is a really great effect. The stretching room has recieved major audio upgrades, including creaking during the stretch, bats flying after the hangman drops and of course, the addition of a "new" line to the end of the ghost host's spiel. This line was apparantly salvaged from the original recording of the spiel and the dialogue itself hadn't been used in the mansions (other than Phantom Manor) before now. It really did sound perfect for the already memorable dialogue. The loading station looks nearly the same except for the old portraits from the former hallway scene that now adorn the wall to the right. It is easily noticable how much faster and more smooth the doombuggies are running since the refurb, and the speed of the ride has definitely picked up. The ride starts up and a new, very noticable entrance to the foyer greets you, leading to the new hallway featuring lightning-graced windows. The portraits on the wall opposite from the windows are very well designed and I found that I prefer the new ones over the old. The other most noticable changes included the new staircase scene replacing the worthless spider scene. Truly a step into MC Escher's famous painting, the ghostly footsteps make it even better. Our Leota has been given the floating crystal ball treatment and I have to say that I was really impressed. The last time I saw her, her face was literally falling off, with her nose placed over her mouth. With a near perfect alignment this time and a new fibre-optic-like hairpiece, the effect was definitely memorable. Constance the bride's story seems to fly by a little quickly through the attic, but what you see is nothing short of wonderful. Along with these major changes, some smaller ones including blinking wallpaper, recurring images (the grinning chair is much more obvious now) and colorful cleanups of aged figures (the red wine in the chandalier-couple's wine glasses looked pretty fine) helped to make this update what it is today. After seeing Disney update both Pirates and Haunted Mansion, I would have to say that I enjoyed Haunted Mansion just a bit more as the work done was definitely easier to see, and that was a good thing. I can't wait to go back and see it all again!

I am so craving a frozen Fanta Melon now! And I thought I had gotten my fix last month at the World of Coke! Anyways, you guys seem to be having another great trip! You all have fun!

^Come to think of it, it would seem odd that Busch Gardens would have two child-based areas (though some could argue that Jungala would appeal to many)... Maybe this would free up some room over in the Land of the Dragons, making room for a moderately sized attraction- or a station for a larger attraction... Aquatrax?

^I have added those great concept photos to the first post. I think that this can be compared to a more heavily themed version of Seaworld Orlando's Shamu's Happy Harbor. I could be wrong, but it seems to look similar, with the elevated playplace, water guns, the drop tower (which is similar to the crab-themed drop tower in Happy Harbor). I think the idea is still great, and I look forward to more information about the overall area!

I had sort of a love/hate relationship with Python. I've ridden it at least 5 times. The first time I rode it, I absolutely hated it, just because it was painful for my head and neck. I tried again a year later and things rode much smoother, and I rode it several times following. I made my way back to Tampa just to say my goodbyes and ride it one last time. My father and I rode it a week before it was finally shut down, and after riding it one last time, I felt like I was reliving my first ride. It was one of those rides that I appreciated for the memories, but was alright seeing it go due to its rough nature. I miss seeing the track in the background of Congo, but Jungala definitely sounds promising. I was thinking about the logistics earlier of the ziplines, and I still don't understand how they will get everyone to ride in a timely fashion (especially after looking at the single-seater cars shown in the concept art). I think this new land could bring the Congo back to life, with Stanleyville, Egypt, Timbuktu and the Harambe Reserve all "cleaned up," the park can only go up from here.

While I think Busch's main focus is for Jungala, I'm not sure if we will recieve any major additions. The rumors for a hyper have been there since before Sheikra was built, and I'm sure the option has been (and still is) considered, but I think the park's focus will be cleaning up (not too much work needed), but I could see them finally replacing Akbar's Adventure Tours, considering it hasn't been working properly for a very long time. Do you think the ride's building could house a proper dark ride or even an enclosed flat ride?

Straight from Busch's press page, it sounds pretty exciting to me! An overview of Jungala The children's area of the land is looking like it will keep the young ones entertained! The waterfall-themed drop ride The opportunity to have a close encounter with many different animals is at the core of the Jungala concept.

Looks like fun! Now if we could only get one of those over here in Orlando- we'd have a ski park, surf park, and skate park.

And I thought Tomb Raider at Kings Island spun me around... That looks pretty insane to me.

Hey Soren! Glad to see a new photo TR, and I'm glad that things back in Germany are going well for you. It feels quite odd not being able to go to the Germany Pavilion to see you anymore, though I do visit Joel at the Mexico pavilion when I go to Epcot. Anyways, thank you again for all of the times you took off from your break just to talk with me and I hope all continues to be well with you in Germany. Whenever you plan on returning to Orlando, let me know, maybe I can grab a quick photo or meet you at one of our parks...

WOW, just curious how you spent the 3 hours between the time they agreed to send a check and the check actually being sent. I did three hours worth of AP US History Research Homework...

That's pretty sad to see that the park is basically dead. I figure they could still make some money off of the Zippin' Pippin (if it is still in operating condition) by using the pay-per ride methodology... Shame to see the coaster sit there, but maybe Cypress Gardens' owner will buy this dead woodie's remains too...

^So I guess that means you won't be doing the East Coast Trip this year huh? I would have loved to meet you in person (probably sporting the magical hoodie), but anyways, I am glad to hear that you are working on a sequel (and I'm sure it will be greatly anticipated). Teaser trailers anyone? Thank you for giving us one of the best TPR movies on the forums here and keep up the great work!

I just sent in my deposit for the East Coast US trip, so I should be set! Glad to finally have some notion from my parents that I will get to do a TPR trip!

My parents have said they're going to let me send in my deposit for the East Coast USA Tour! It is still not a definite that I can go, but at least I have a chance for a spot on the trip now!

Still my favorite of the TPR "life-based" movies! And I still wear my magic hoodie in honor of this film!

Well, since my pleading for the Mainland Europe trip failed with my parents, I am going to try for something closer to home (and more in my parent's price range). I am trying to convince them to either let me go on the East Coast or Texas trip. I'm pretty confident that I will at least get one of the two. Personally, I'm drooling (already) at the thought of ERT on Kingda Ka, El Toro, Griffon or any of the other rides at the parks we would visit. I've never had ERT before (the closest thing for me was the time when Seaworld was empty due to a local forest fire causing it to rain ash, so the ride ops allowed my brother to not have to get off of the ride- we rode over 20 times that day), so the prospect of that is exciting in itself! Plus, the few TPR members that I have met can already tell you how happy I am to meet other members, so thats another plus. This is the third year that I have asked to go on a TPR trip, and I'm hoping that this year I will finally get a solid, "yes."

I just tried the same approach... Didn't work out too well. As of right now, I can't go. I'm desperately going to try to keep working at it, but I doubt this is my year...

Edit: I emailed you upon your request. Rather than bulk up the thread with my long post, I will keep the information in the email.

With or without the loop? My answer for the original poster's question would probably be Geo Panic. I was so confused as to what was going on with the ride and with my head banging around in those cage-like restraints. Still a fun ride though.

I posted a couple of photos of the evac procedures in process at Sheikra last month during my visit at Busch Gardens. They can be found here. Watching them evacuate the ride was interesting. The panels for evac are laying up agains the walls of the pre-station brakes' catwalks. The catwalk is long enough to hold another two-three cars in standby with both cars in the station. One by one, they manually place the panels over the track, across the catwalk and manually unlock the restraints on the ride, removing the riders from their seats, normally sent towards the right side of the station. As for the evacuation on the lift, this was a little scary to watch. A cable car to the left of the track which seats 6 (I believe) moves to the top of the lift where the train is frozen. The car is adjacent to the rows on the cars and each row of seats on the train has a matching row on the cable car. I only saw this happen once, but I have seen Sheikra evacuated near the station twice since the floorless conversion. My guess, they will close the attraction for a two-three day period to test and reset the system to prevent these evacuations from happening again (if not so often).

You really have done a great job with this coaster. I would personally be afraid to ride it, but it looks really cool. Keep up the great work!

^I would also recommend the Waffle House at the Crossroads at Lake Buena Vista. In fact, thats the only Waffle House nearby that I can think of.