ECZenith Posted April 2, 2008 Posted April 2, 2008 Allison and I both had a few days off this past week so we thought it would be a good idea to finally get me down to San Diego and see the sights. We saw the seals at La Jolla, Belmont Park featuring the world-famous Giant Dipper, Sea World as well as some of San Diego's more prominent landmarks. It was a great time, and I'll let the photos tell the rest... One last shot of TSMM! Thanks for reading, look for more shots of Toy Story Midway Mania the second the walls come down! Mr. Potato Head could be heard behind the walls all day, he will "sing" to guests while they wait in line, in the way a boardwalk barker would. Day 3, and a quick run to DCA shows us some progress on Toy Story Midway Mania, check out that impressive marquee! JTA gets you drenched! Right before the second splashdown The coaster drop Inside the elevator lift... There's actually two elevator cars inside the shaft. As one car carrying two boats is lifted to the top of the tower, it rocks to the right while a second car descends to the bottom. POV's were taken WITH PERMISSION and my flash remained off per the rules. Here's my boat entering the elevator lift. A back view of the entire structure The second splashdown After a vertical, swinging elevator lift, the boats drop onto the coaster portion of the ride. This drop was intense! After the lift hill, the large flume-drop follows, but that's just the beginning... Up the misty lift Overview of Atlantis Journey To Atlantis was well-done but I prefer Orlando's version because of the dark-ride elements. You get absolutely soaked. I was impressed by Shipwreck Rapids' theming! Random flower shot! Sea World SD is landscaped wonderfully. Sea World has five rides, a sky tower, cable sky ride, Shipwreck Rapids, Journey To Atlantis and this simulator: Wild Arctic. You board a "helicopter" called White Thunder and it transports you to an arctic base. As you exit the ride, there's a huge display of arctic marine life, it's one of my favorite things in the park. I am the Walrus... Sea Turtles near Shipwreck Rapids More seals! Polar Bear at Wild Arctic Octopus A chambered Nautilus Jellyfish at Aquarium de la Mer Sea World isn't just home to marine life, tons of gorgeous birds are on display like these flamingos. Dolphins = Fun The dolphin show is really cool. Rare Commerson's Dolphins at Journey To Atlantis's exit, one of the highlights of my day was seeing these beautiful animals in person. Beluga Whale Me and a Budweiser Clydesdale, it was cool they let you take your picture with him. Mandatory donkey shot... Sesame Street: Bay Of Play is still being worked on. Day 2 brought us to Sea World, yay sea creatures! Cool pirate-themed arcade Allison and I ready to take my first ride on GD Wheeeeeeee!! More Dipper action The train looks great! As does the rest of the ride. I was impressed at how well-maintained it looked. A little airtime here... Another shot of the Dipper It was ALOT smoother than I imagined it would be, and overall a great coaster. An overview of the Giant Dipper We rode the new-style Tilt-A-Whirl, this is the only one I've ever seen. Me and Allison got it spinning pretty good! Intense!!! Yay! They still have a chaos! Now onto the park related stuff, this was my first visit to Belmont Park and it was pretty nice. Here's a KMG Afterburner placed at Giant Dipper's first drop. Petco Park, home of the Padres. It's baseball season people! San Diego has an electric trolley system that pretty much goes everywhere. There's a lot of them... yeah. More seals... It's pupping season in La Jolla so there are lots of cute little seal pups hanging out on the beach. What we came to see! First stop was La Jolla, really a beautiful place with some really nice homes.
ghost007jas Posted April 2, 2008 Posted April 2, 2008 Sweet trip report. I'm taking a vacation to San Diego this summer, and I'm really excited to get my Sea World credit!
ebl Posted April 2, 2008 Posted April 2, 2008 Glad to hear that the Dipper got some TLC and is running smooth. The last time I rode (August 2001), I had a very rough ride. It didn't help that I sat in the second row right on top of the wheels, but I'm sure it would have been rough nonetheless. My last visit to SeaWorld was September 1997, so I guess I'm due to go again... Eric
RIP Psyclone Posted April 2, 2008 Posted April 2, 2008 The proper term for Mr. Potato Head is "barker."
dino Posted April 2, 2008 Posted April 2, 2008 Nice report. I liked the pics of JTA, I never knew it had a vertical lift section. I've got to get out to San Diego soon, the last time I went to Seaworld was probably early 90's .
arrowfanman Posted April 2, 2008 Posted April 2, 2008 Nice report Sean! The Giant Dipper must have been so smooth because it was just retracked. I know this because it was still closed when I went down a month ago. I'm loving the progress on F***in Mania. -Jahan
larrygator Posted April 2, 2008 Posted April 2, 2008 The new style tilt-a-whirl cars are similar to the cars on the Waltzers in the UK. I can't recall seeing those type cars a US park before.
robbalvey Posted April 2, 2008 Posted April 2, 2008 Wow! I'm impressed to see that Belmont is getting more "real" rides. I thought it was kind of a cop-out when they installed the Submarine and the kiddie-drop ride and tried to call themselves a real park. But now with three real flats, they are getting there! I still think that JtA is so ugly. It looks so unfinished: That view just looks so bad! While the Florida version isn't all that great either, at least the entire building isn't an eyesore. --Robb
coastercrazed49 Posted April 2, 2008 Posted April 2, 2008 I still think that JtA is so ugly. It looks so unfinished: I completely agree. It just doesn't fit, it kind of sticks out and is an eyesore. Other than that great trip report. Belmont Park is looking nice.
TheRapidsNerd Posted April 3, 2008 Posted April 3, 2008 Good TR! Been wondering about SeaWorld San Diego. Thanks capturing a couple of my fave things: Octopus and Rapids. According to other TRs, there's another Rapids fan about who'd like this.
ECZenith Posted April 3, 2008 Author Posted April 3, 2008 Thanks for all the comments, guys! I also think JtA looks unfinished, they should have at least covered up those evac stairs with a third tower structure. I don't know if it's just my inner cast member talking, but the ride also seemed to try to have a little bit of storyline to it with nothing to back it up. It's like, you go up the lift, go down a drop, and then a voiceover that sounds like Mya Angelo plays saying: "Well done, Atlantis salutes you, but what happens in the next few moments will determine the fate of Atlantis forever." And then something about the dolphins helping you in the elevator lift. I remember Orlando having a couple characters to support the story, like the little seahorse and the evil sea witch. Still a really cool ride though, and a unique experience.
VivaLaVibora Posted April 3, 2008 Posted April 3, 2008 Did you ride the Fireball? Did they give you a long ride? I have to ask, did it breakdown? Sadly, that ride can't be run that long because when you do run it long, it just shuts down. They didn't give that ride enough power. I haven't been on that particular one. I don't care for that those new Tilt-A-Whirl cars. They are so slow moving around the track. The old ones are so intense, but these are just weak, and you don't have to do diddly squat to get them to turn. Sellner, go back to the other way. You should have tried the Moser Spring Tower at Belmont. I really like that ride at another amusement park. This one might not be as tall though. I don't know. Thanks for sharing the photos. The Chaos looks sexy. I have no comment on the roller coaster. I feel that you have to try them before you can say whether it's a great ride, or not.
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