frozenflames

I wish I could have gotten a chance to ride this on my big California trip when I was a kid. Looks like a fun coaster!

Looks like quite a fun little ride! Now if only more parks had some of these....

At least some of the water slides were running when I went on Thursday. The only ones that weren't were Bonzai Pipeline (that I saw, anyway) Mako, Hammerhead, and Reef Runner. The latter three had water pouring down them the whole day. It doesn't make sense to me that they would have a restriction on running some slides, but not others. Also, Renegade Rapids, Shipwreck Falls, and Penguin's Blizzard River were all operational. It just seemed weird to have that sort of inconsistency.

I went to the park for the first time in three years today, and spent most of the day there. I don't know if it was because of the extreme heat (I think it hit 102 degrees) or because today is Thursday, but there were very few crowds. Here are my general observations: -I thought it was interesting how the park was almost "Cedar Fair-ized" regarding the trash cans. There must have been 18 trash cans for every 100 feet of walkway. I didn't see any litter, so that's a good thing. -Half of the slides in the waterpark weren't running. Paradise Plunge and both slides of Shark Attack were closed, despite the fact that they had water coming down them. Why even turn on the pumps for the slides if they're not going to be opened? Also, if it's that hot out, as many of the water slides as possible should be up and running. -NONE of the misters in the park were working. It also wouldn't hurt to install some sort of foot-sprayers, as the concrete in Hurricane Harbor was unbearable to walk on. -I didn't quite understand why every coaster had only one-train operation. Granted, it wasn't that busy today, but still. -We were told upon entry to the park that Bonzai Pipeline would be up and running, but I never personally saw anyone on it all day. -There was a person taking a short survey about whether I had been to the park before, how long it had been since I was there, and asking if I had ever visited any of the park's competition (Hersheypark, Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens, and Six Flags Great Adventure to be specific)/held a season pass to any of them. I thought that last past was a little bizarre. -I actually was impressed with the themeing efforts on Apocalypse. -Someone needs to tell the ride-ops that they should enunciate when they're using the intercom. Most of them were completely unintelligible when they were giving the ride spiels. -I preferred the old lockers that opened using a wristband. The new ones with the numeric keypads seemed to take too much time, although I did like their use wasn't mandatory in the main park. I managed to get on Tornado (twice), Reef Runner, Half Pipe, all four slides of ZoomAzon Falls, the bumper cars, Renegade Rapids, Mind Eraser, Superman, Apocalypse, Joker's Jinx, Shipwreck Falls, and The Wild One. There were several rides that had breakdowns. I was in line for Roar, and the lift both stopped while the train was in the station/had to be manually restarted, and stalled with the train almost at the crest of the hill, so I never got on it. Apocalypse and Superman both ended up doing several safety test laps while I was in line, and Shipwreck Falls had one of its boats hiding behind a shed near Roar, and the other boat had a broken restraint in one row. I also got very fed up with the stupid layout of the park, as well as the lack of shade. The other main complaint was that all of the coasters I went on, except Superman, has gotten rough to the point that I didn't want to re-ride any of them. I did manage to have a good day at the park, but I have a feeling it will be quite a while before I get back there again.

I'm having trouble finding pictures, but would Revenge of the Mummy (Orlando) and Back to the Future count? In ROTM, you're launched through Imohtep's mummified face, so that would be more creature-like, and in BTTF, you're swallowed by a T-Rex before being spat out.

Wow, some of these videos are crazy. That "pregnant lady" thing could definitely never exist in America, because it would probably cause people to see it as "emotionally disturbing and traumatic." But these videos are all perfect examples of why TPR rocks. Thanks for bringing a small bit of theme park fun to this month!

For Orlando-area parks, I would suggest Boston Lobster Feast (www.bostonlobsterfeast.com) for dinner. There are two locations, both of which are within minutes of the parks. One is on Irlo Bronson in Kissimmee, and the other is smack-dab on International Drive, fairly close to Sea World. I'm not an Orlando local, so I don't get there much, but I've been there 4 times in the past 9 years (2004, 2005, 2008, 2011), and the food has always been consistently good. It's an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet, and the food is constantly refilled. It's very fresh, and there's a large selection available.

I vote for Theme Parks. I love Amusement parks, don't get me wrong, (partially because I like increasing my credit count), but I feel like I can get bored more easily. For instance, I love Hersheypark because of its great ride assortment, but a few years ago, I was there three times in one month (because of the camp I worked at), and I spent several hours playing skeeball because I felt there wasn't enough to catch my interest. However, I can make tons of repeat trips to a Theme Park and not get bored. It's especially true in a place like Disney, because there's always some new little detail that makes everything so much more immersive and enjoyable. And as far as lines go, I would much rather walk through a detailed queue environment like that of Revenge of the Mummy or ET than a giant mess of plain switchbacks.

It looks like I may be going to WDW in a few months with some friends, and we'll be staying onsite. Given that none of us have a smartphone, if we're selected to try the MagicBands, would we be able to obtain Fastpasses? I'm pretty sure that the distribution machines aren't compatible with the MagicBands, and I don't want to miss out on getting something that could help us enjoy the parks more.

There are so many places I want to go. I had opportunities to go to several of these places, but due to either financial or timing issues, I missed out. In no particular order, they are: London-so many interesting-looking things to do Scotland-looks really pretty Ireland-also looks pretty Greece- I was big into mythology when I was younger, and would love to see all the ruins. Plus I want to see the islands like Santorini. Italy-again with the mythology and ancient things, along with the fact that everything is gorgeous there. Japan-so much culture! And they have tons of crazy-looking candies that I want to try. Hawaii- Palm trees, beaches, Mt. Kilauea... enough said. Amsterdam-to see the Anne Frank House Portland, Oregon- Voodoo Doughnuts Australia more tropical/ Caribbean countries. I've been to Mexico and the Bahamas via cruises, and would like more time to explore there, and I've also been to Israel (and would LOVE to go back), and I also spent over a month in Trinidad and Tobago for a study abroad during college.

I know it's a few days late, but guess what was waiting for me when I got home from work last week? The bag-o-crap that I won from the HHN contest! This is just one of the reasons that TPR rocks! This awesome bag was just waiting to be ripped open! Let's see what's inside! Open Sesame! And the fun starts pouring out. TPR luggage handle, Coaster Expedition volume 12, lots of park maps and guides, mostly from Asia, TPR mints, a TPR pen (which I'm really excited about-- keep hearing that they're great pens), and an "Insane Coaster Wars/ Travel Channel" lip balm! Pretty darn cool, if I may say so! Thanks so much, TPR!!

I voted for the Coaster Expedition series. All of the TPR dvds that I own are from that series, and I really enjoy watching all of the silly antics in the videos. The clips from those videos (particularly Universal and Islands of Adventure) are what made me start coming to this site on a regular basis, plus they've allowed me to be exposed to music that I wouldn't normally be, which is always a plus. I like the RAW videos that are put up on facebook and youtube, but for sheer entertainment, I much prefer the Coaster Expeditions.

All I can say is : rollercoasters + that awesome backdrop = yes please! How can you go wrong looking at islands jutting out of that blue water? And the fact that you're on a coaster while doing so just adds to the awesomeness!

The Bag of Crap that I won after sharing the Manhattan Express video on facebook back in October arrived today. Sadly, my camera isn't working at the moment, so no pics. But I got several park maps, mostly from Japan with one from Kings' Island thrown in, a TPR pencil, Coaster Expedition Volume 6, and the book "Mouse Trap: Memoir of a Disneyland Cast Member 1987-2002." (See the post above me, as the contents of our bags were basically the same.) While I'm enjoying everything, I'm most excited about the dvd and book! Thanks so much for sending these out!

So it's a cross between a halfpipe coaster, a drop tower, and a Zipper? Uhhh... I think I'll pass. But I'll admit it's interesting seeing how people are designing and building their own rides.

About 12 years ago, I was in a Wendy's near my house. The food was fine, other than the service being slow, but what killed it was that I heard a scratching noise from above my head. I looked up, and there was a MOUSE running through one of the light fixtures! Needless to say, we got out money back, and it was a very long time before we went back there.

I think you just move the sword from side to side to keep the cannon from crashing into the wall and exploding.

Steel: Kingda Ka Wood: El Toro Kind of helps that they're basically next to each other in the same park.

I was walking my dogs yesterday, and as I got to my house, I noticed my mailbox was open. Since I knew I had already gotten the mail, I was confused, so I went over to check it out. Lo and behold, my mailbox had my Japan Bag-O-Crap in it! So of course, I snatched it up and ran inside with my dogs to tear it open and see what I had gotten! Everything in it was really cool, and it made me really happy, since I collect park maps and stuff. Thanks so much, Robb! I really appreciate it! It's my first ever Bag-o-Crap! And it's a Japan one! Wow, this thing is FULL! Really excited to see what all is in it! Let's pour it out and see what we have here.... Wow, that's a lot! And there's still more coming out of the envelope!! Everything! Guide maps to Parque Espana, Nasu Highland, Mitsui Greenland, Sega Joypolis, Yomiuriland, Toshimaen, Nagashima Spaland, Space World, Yokohama Sea Paradise, Kijima Kogen, Universal Studios Japan, Tokyo Disney Sea, Tokyo Disneyland, two other parks that I couldn't figure out (the one with the rainbow wheel on the front and the pink and green one- any hints as to which parks?), a Entertainment and Times guide for Tokyo Disney Sea, a Little Green Man from Toy Story ornament, an Elissa-friendly Chip pin from Tokyo Disney, a swan pin from Universal Studios Japan, a robot pin, a cell phone charm of the Yomiuiland mascot, a Japanese vending machine pig-anatomy keychain thing, a build-your-own Pachycephalosaurus dino model, a mini inner-tube decorated with pirates and filled with beads, and one of those Tanabata wish cards from Tokyo Disneyland (which I had seen in the update and actually wished I could have just because of the colors!) Overall, a really cool assortment of stuff! Thanks again!

Once again, great update! Those pictures are incredible, with all the detail in the parks. And yet, somehow I'm figuring they don't do the visuals justice. I guess I will have to go there at some point and see for myself. Did you have waits for the rides when you got into the park early? Ohm and that gyoza looks tasty, if rather silly due to its size and floppiness.

I am soooooo jealous! The Japanese Disney parks look absolutely incredible! I'm dying to get a chance to go there. And those rides look insanely fun. This is all the more reason why I literally have "go on a TPR trip" on my list of things to do before I die. Can't wait to see more from the parks!

I agree with the idea of renting a car for the first part of the trip. I was just in Orlando, and from my understanding, the closest stop on the I-Drive Trolley to Universal/Islands of Adventure/CityWalk is still over a mile away from the parks, and there's not a very good means of walking there. I also second the comment about the ports of call for your cruise. Coco Cay is nice, but it's mainly just beaches. And Nassau is kind of scary. Although the straw market there is a decent place to get souvenirs, if you're into that sort of thing and don't mind haggling. The Disney transportation system is fine... if you don't mind waiting forever for a specific bus to show up. I've read that it can take up to an hour and a half each way for the Disney busses to go from a hotel to a park and vice versa.

Here are my suggestions: -Hit up the "mountain range" in the Disney parks (Space, Splash, Big Thunder, Expedition Everest, maybe the ones in the water parks) -Make sure you eat a turkey leg and a Mickey Premium ice cream bar -Go mini-golfing on International Drive (aka I-Drive) -Ride Spiderman in Islands of Adventure, and Revenge of the Mummy in Universal Studios -Take advantage of the cheesy, touristy photo-ops. Yes, they're silly, but you'll be on vacation so just revel in it and have fun -Check out Downtown Disney for all the shops, and maybe look into DisneyQuest or the Cirque du Soleil show -Go to the "world's largest McDonald's" by Universal -Check out all the funky billboards everywhere And for some basic tips, make sure you stay hydrated and drink lots of water, wear sunscreen, eat well to maintain energy, and most of all, HAVE FUN!!!

That's two celebrity deaths this week, since Clarence Clemons, the saxophonist from Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band, passed away earlier due to complications from a stroke last week.

^ My friends had to be a little more sneaky, as this was in a dorm room at college, and those doors are designed to not be picked. Plus our friend that was pranked had a feeling it was coming (since he's been pranked every year for his birthday), and duct-taped the lock shut from the inside. So the wire thing had to break through the tape and THEN un-do the lock.