jlp94

Ah okay, good to know. It really is eye candy and fits in with the park beautifully. Thank you! Yes, what a great place. Very underrated in my opinion, it ended up being my second favorite Disney park. Wow, it's been a while since I last updated this. It's now been exactly a year since Epcot and I never finished it. Let's see how far I get before I forget again! Day 2: Monday, March 25th - Epcot Another early morning brought some early trouble, but this time at the hotel. Two bad things happened - our toilet became clogged out of nowhere and the phones didn't work so we couldn't call room service. So that wasn't great. And a bit less of a problem but still annoying is that one of the elevators broke down so we had to take the stairs a few floors. The location of the hotel was very nice, though it could use some improvements. We got to Epcot and got a good parking spot in plenty of time before opening. It wasn't hard at all to meet up with my group and get going in the park without any problems. Entering the park was also painless, so good job to the employees working the front gate. WOW! My last visit to Epcot in 2015 was fairly jaded by constant rain that was shutting everything down, so I guess I forgot a lot of the park's charm. Immediately I am swept away by the beauty of the Epcot ball and all the flowers and topiaries below it celebrating the Festival! Right away, I am in love with this park. Way to make a good first impression! Everyone in the group desired a ride so we made a fairly quick beeline to Test Track hoping to beat some crowds. Guardians of the Galaxy coaster construction As we walked by, it was cool to see how big the building for GOTG is. I know it's apparently breaking some indoor coaster records and the size of it as it appears makes that very apparent. Unfortunately, we were not able to beat the crowds. We agreed to wait no matter what, but the posted time was already up to 90 minutes, somehow. We got a little closer, and it bumped up to 135 minutes. We agreed to wait, but wow it was frustrating. Ugh... great ride, but this is going to be a looong wait... And the most annoying part of this? By the time we rode, we only waited about 75 minutes! I don't know if this is Disney trying to scare away crowds or whatever, but it was stressful at the time. Tip for anyone coming to Disney - don't be afraid of a long wait time. I learned more than once (besides Test Track) that they like to over exaggerate. At least the queue has some pretty cool theming, including a full-sized Chevy car on display! The ride's queue is really cool, and I love how interactive it is. I've always had a passing interest in cars, so to be able to see some of the concepts that were on display was really fun. Almost time to ride! The design studio was pretty fun too. We ran into a couple troubles designing the car but I think that I'm pretty happy with the result. We scored the highest in our group as well, so I'd say we did a pretty good job! The ride itself is a perfect thrill ride for Epcot. It educates, is interactive, well themed, and a hell of a lot of fun all in one. If the line got any shorter than what we waited, I would've absolutely ridden it again as it's one of my favorite Disney attractions. But it's no surprise why the lines are always long for Test Track, because it's worth it. The atmosphere of this park is outstanding. At this point, we took a quick break and got some drinks at Starbucks, before heading into The Land for our Soarin' Fastpass. The Starbucks workers were pretty efficient so I have no complaints. It was pretty hot this day, I think more hot than our Animal Kingdom / Hollywood Studios day, so everyone in the group wasn't in the best mood, hoping that Soarin' would change that. This has changed a bit since my last visit... I remember riding Soarin' back in 2015 and thought it was interesting but not super amazing, though since then it's been turned into Soarin' Around the World so I went in with an open mind. It was a lot of fun. I appreciate what it is, and think the immersion factor (scented smells, wind effects) is well done, though aside from being fun I've never considered it one of my favorite rides. I'm glad we had a Fastpass because I wouldn't necessarily wait more than about 30 minutes for it. Very nice... We found a salamander The crews at the Guardians of the Galaxy coaster were hard at work that day For those of you who have forgotten, I came to Florida initially with my school band, so at this point we left for a few hours to work with a Disney music clinic. I have to admit I don't remember it super well, but it was really cool to have someone work with us on a few songs. Overall a lot of fun and a great learning experience, I wish I remembered more details from this clinic. Unfortunately, because of the timing and our ride times, we weren't able to have lunch at a reasonable time, so we had to hold off until dinner later in the evening. I was fine with this because of the schedule, though it would've been nice to have some food within the few hours of park break. It dampened my mood a little bit, but of course, being Epcot, dinner was well worth the wait. More on that in a bit. The clouds came in early in the afternoon, making the temperature a lot more manageable Lots of topiaries for the festival Mexico Since we had nothing else on the itinerary for the rest of the day, we decided to start the world tour, going clockwise starting at the Mexico pavilion. The inside of the pavilion was pretty cool, they had a restaurant there that looked pretty nice but was pretty packed and we weren't ready for dinner yet. The merchandise was pretty neat, and I would've liked to get a sombrero though they were all falling apart so I decided against it. The three caballeros! Of course, when you're in the Mexico pavilion, you have to do the cheesy boat ride with a lot of cartoons. It's essentially just It's A Small World, but I like this one more because the cartoons they show are pretty funny. We must be in Norway We weren't there to ride Frozen, as the line was super long, though we did do a bit of shopping. It was almost time for our Mission: Space Fastpass, so we went there next. Blurry, but here it is in all it's glory! This is the queue line... I think I really enjoyed my ride in 2015 so I was hoping it would be more of the same. Though I don't know what could've changed it, I didn't like it at all this time. I was really damn nauseous after the ride, and I just had a big headache and had trouble walking afterwards. I quickly regretted our decision to reserve a Fastpass for it. We took a quick stroll through the park's midway to admire the topiaries Epcot is sooo beautiful With that, it was time to continue the world tour, but going counter-clockwise this time. I took a quick break from taking photos as we took a venture through the Canada pavilion, then into the United Kingdom pavilion for dinner. We got some fish and chips, and they were GREAT! Served hot, but not too hot to eat; the perfect amount of hot that amplifies the taste. It took me a bit to finish because I had to savor how good they were. Hollywood & Vine the night before was fantastic and wasn't topped at all during the trip, but this food came close. Just what I've come to expect from Epcot. With that, we continued around the world tour, so the next few photos will be from that. Ah, France. Very pleasant area, and Remy's Adventure is coming soon! What do we want? More occo! I have to admit that I love Japan's pavilion. It's easily one of the most photogenic, if not the most, and the merchandise selection is excellent. So pretty! Welcome to Italy! Love the castle in the Germany pavilion. By the time we arrived at the China pavilion, we were well into night. The lights from each pavilion are fantastic! This is a bad photo, but there was a really cool Chinese Acrobats show happening when we arrived. China had my favorite merchandise of every pavilion, and I even got a straw hat that I still have in my room. I'm very proud of this purchase. As all of you know, the world tour is one of the most amazing experiences at any theme park. Flawless food selection, beautiful architecture and atmosphere, wonderful staff and performances, and great shopping. It makes Epcot worth a day trip alone, and while I could go on and on about how amazing it is, you've all heard enough praise from everyone who's been there. After that, we went to the front of the park for Illuminations! It was the best thing ever... obviously. Thank you Epcot. It was one of the best days I've ever had at a theme park and Epcot quickly became my favorite Disney park. It's already been a year and it's hard to believe. It's pointless to use words to describe how much of a great day I had here. Ride Count Test Track - x1 Soarin' Around The World - x1 Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros - x1 Mission: Space (Orange) - x1 Up next... Magic Kingdom!

1. Kraken ... ... 3. Rougarou 4. Scream I love Kraken a lot, very intense/forceful and I barely found it to be rough. Rougarou and Scream were both rattly, rough trash fires.

So glad to hear this. One of the most populated parks around re-opening soon... that's a glimmer of hope.

Glad to see Diamond Back get some love. The old Arrow shuttles are surprisingly fun rides. The Go-Karts plot is decently sized, hopefully something bigger to gain the park some more attention.

Looks really nice! Very excited to see how it does upon opening.

^^ I really liked Dragon too. Not very smooth, but forceful and surprisingly a lot of fun, if a bit short.

Six Flags Magic Mountain has some competition for the park with most coasters in the world, so it seems...

Looks really good. Hopefully I'll be able to convince my parents to add a day to our trip for Great Adventure!

They're so close to finishing the trackwork! And they've been working on the queue and station as well, so hopefully we'll see an opening sometime in April or early May?

EDIT: Accidental post

Nickelodeon Universe (Minnesota) over my spring break

Granted, but you are greeted by the IRS. I wish to ride Skyrush.

Nick Universe in a month SFOT in May (going to a wedding in Dallas) Knoebels + Hershey (and maybe SFGAd) in July Mt. Olympus and maybe Bay Beach in August

I think it's awesome that both coasters are towards the front of the park. It's quite a walk to get to G'sengte Sau, Mammut and Karacho. The park is absolutely gorgeous, so it isn't a bad thing at all, but if you want to get on the coasters, the easy access from the entrance is nice.

Raven at Holiday World. Years of hype, so many high rankings, everyone considering it a kickass woodie with an epic final drop... please. I rode it in 2017 with high hopes, but my lap bar came down several notches during the ride, making it super painful all around. Worse yet, all the forces I expected to have were barely there, and the famous last drop gave decent floater at best. Really need some re-rides on it.

https://ksoo.com/wild-water-west-to-build-sioux-falls-first-roller-coaster/ This article states that they got the permits they needed from the county which is good. Full quote: All we have done regarding this roller coaster project is get county approval first, which we received last night, to see if this project is even a viable option for us. We still have a lot of investigation and due diligence that has to happen before this roller coaster becomes final in any way versus any other options we are pursuing at this time. If this does come to fruition, we will have many more details to follow in the coming months. But for now we are just in very preliminary stages so there are not very many details to provide at this time.

^ And you have Lost Island opening in a few years in Waterloo, Iowa. Who knows what's next?

^ Don't worry, I'm not planning on it. Our current itinerary has a full day in Philadelphia on the 4th, and better yet, we found a great deal on a hotel that has a great view of the Delaware River, so we won't have to go anywhere that night.

So I don't know how this was found but I saw that the Wild Water West Waterpark outside Sioux Falls, SD is looking to get approved to build an RMC Raptor for sometime in the future. Here's a link to the city planning agenda tonight, with a nice big photo of Wonder Woman: https://www.minnehahacounty.org/dept/pl/planningCommission/meetingInfo/staffReports/022420.pdf What do you guys think?

Not a bad plan, though I am wondering, which tourist sites should be must-hit on the culture day?

I'm stuck between Hershey preview night and Dorney Park but as of right now scales are tipping towards Hershey since Dorney has gotten such a negative response from everyone who has helped. Otherwise, does the itinerary look good that I posted above? (taking Dorney out of the list, that is)

^ Oh no you're absolutely right, I'll probably get back out there sometime soon. I guess I'm just excited that I'm finally making it out east for the first time and make the most out of it. Thinking about it, it probably is smarter to save Kennywood for another time, and maybe couple it with Cedar Point, Waldameer, and other such nearby parks. New itinerary, and one I'm happiest with July 2: Drive out to Pennsylvania July 3: Six Flags Great Adventure and maybe some Philly culture with fireworks at Penn's Landing July 4: Knoebels and Hershey preview night (Dorney Park is a fat maybe right now, but if it happened it would be for like an hour on this morning) July 5: Hersheypark, full day July 6: Drive home (saving Kennywood for Coaster Con with Cedar Point in 2021)

I essentially added Dorney because they have a couple B&Ms plus a Hyper which is why I'm really only planning on staying there for an hour. Plus, since I don't know when I'll come back to the East Coast, I might as well knock it out now, since it's easy to complete. Kennywood, as much as it might not be a great park, it's my first time and they have a ton of intriguing rides, plus it's been on my bucket list ever since I first became an enthusiast in like 2012 (Phantom's Revenge really caught my attention early on). My parents would love to visit Kennywood as well because of it's large collection of classics like Noah's Ark and Jack Rabbit. Same goes for Great Adventure. If my parents are willing to add a 6th day for us to do it, I'll take advantage of it. I'm getting my drivers license really soon and will be taking care of some driving, especially since my parents are nice enough to be taking me on this trip. So it's sounding like a better itinerary would be this, although it doesn't include Kennywood or the additional Great Adventure day Day 1: Drive out Day 2: Knoebels all day (MAYBE Dorney) Day 3: Philadelphia culture + Hershey's Chocolate Tour and Hershey preview night Day 4: Hersheypark Day 5: Drive home

Alright, so my parents confirmed that we could go on a Pennsylvania trip this July, either over 4th of July weekend or the weekend after. To make it a long weekend, they stated that it would be 5 days, which I presume is 2 days of driving and 3 days of parks. My current itinerary is Day 1: Drive to Pennsylvania Day 2: Dorney Park and Knoebels Day 3: Hersheypark Day 4: Kennywood Day 5: Drive home We might add an additional day at Six Flags Great Adventure, but we haven't discussed how likely that would be yet, so for now I'm just working with the current five. Any early advice on how this can be improved?

I'm going to Six Flags Over Texas in May, currently planning the Sunday before Memorial Day (May 24th). As you guys have said, wait times will be long and assuming that Aquaman will be open by that time, will I need a Flash Pass that day?