TR: Spring Break Parks

[rcdude]

This week is spring break for me, so of course it may seem like a good time to visit parks. Unfortunately, most of Southern California has spring break this week or next, so parks are crowded. As a result, I wasn't planning on going to any parks over spring break, but it quickly turned into two park visits.

 

My cousin decided to come visit us for spring break. She arrived on Saturday and just left today, but she wanted to go to an amusement park while she was down. Knowing that she is 11 and her favorite amusement park is Legoland California, we decided to go there on Tuesday, April 7th. It had been about three years since I visited the park, so I would get a chance to see the Land of Adventure and Pirate Shores areas, and my uncle had never visited the park. Originally, showers were predicted for this day, however as it got closer the showers moved a day later.

 

Legoland California has always been a park that I liked due to the usually somewhat short lines (despite all rides being low capacity) and it has many unique attractions, although they aren't the most intense or best rides out there. Knowing that it was spring break, I advised my uncle that we had to leave by 8:45 to get there early enough to do everything. This would have worked except for the TV commercial they saw saying that you get a free kids ticket with a full price adult ticket with a coupon from Subway, resulting in stopping at three Subways, none of which had the coupon. I had a different coupon for ten dollars off up to six tickets, which was a better deal anyway, but they thought using both would be a good idea. I don't think it would have made that much of a difference in the long run, since the coupon they saw on TV was for a park hopper ticket only.

 

We got to the parking lot after opening to find what looked like at least two hundred cars in line. This meant that by the time we got into the lot, got to the gate, bought our tickets, and entered the park it was already 11 p.m. and the park was getting lines all over the place. Luckily, almost everyone was in the front two thirds of the park until after lunch so we didn't get any major lines until later in the day. I will give a review of all the rides individually like I usually do.

 

Technic Coaster-We didn't end up riding this until later in the afternoon but I'll do it first since it is my favorite ride in the park. Technic Coaster is a Mack Wild Mouse and is probably the best wild mouse I have been on. The ride features a large first drop followed by a standard wild mouse layout. Although the braking is a bit heavy at some points, the ride is still fun and does have one spot of decent airtime. Unfortunately, we had to wait over a half hour for this ride due to the crowds. If we had gone here first thing like I usually do, the wait would have been about twenty minutes shorter.

Lost Kingdom Adventure-This was our first ride of the day. It is a shooting dark ride, themed with Lego's of course. I didn't pay too much attention to the storyline of the ride, but it was something about saving the girl and stopping the bad guy (in other words, pretty generic). The ride itself, however, was probably one of Legoland's best rides. The only downside to it was that the guns were a little difficult to hit targets with, but other than that it was an excellent ride for families. I don't think it was quite worth the forty minute wait, but I'd probably wait a half-hour to ride it again.

Dragon-This is a Vekoma Junior Coaster/Dark Ride hybrid. The ride starts with a Lego dark ride then leaves the castle, heads up a lift hill and has a roller coaster segment. While the roller coaster part is just okay, the dark ride is one of Legoland's most creative features. Seeing all the lego models in the ride is great, especially when you realize each of those was put together brick by brick by hand in the Lego workshop. Definitely worth the twenty minute wait.

Splash Battle-I had seen this ride under construction on my previous visit but hadn't got to ride it until this one. Although it looks like a fun ride, it is just okay. You have the potential to get very wet, but if nobody else is really shooting at you it is pretty dry. The track layout allows riders to spray each other as well as onlookers, but onlookers can spray back at the riders. The most fun part is spraying people who aren't expecting it, then watching them turn around and run for it. Considering there is a sign at the entrance of Pirate Shores that says you may get wet, I think it is fair to spray them. I would wait the ten minutes or so I did for this again, but not much longer.

Captain Cranky's Challenge-The rest of my group bailed on me for this. They didn't seem to think that a themed Rockin' Tug ride was worth a ten minute wait. However, I think they are one of the best family rides on the market right now. Anyone can have fun on them, and they aren't crazy spinning so most will not get sick. However, they are not as great once you have experieced a Disko, but they're still a fun ride.

Driving School-Obviously, I didn't ride this, but I watched my cousin do it while I ate lunch. After waiting a half hour in line and riding, she decided that it wasn't really worth the wait anymore. It is one of those rides that, from doing it before, is good when you are young but once you start driving go-karts at family fun centers it isn't so fun anymore.

Skipper School-This is a ride where you drive boats through a course. It is a good ride, but not worth an excessive wait, such as the forty-five minutes we waited.

Miniland-Technically, this isn't a ride, but it is still an attraction. We spent close to a half-hour looking at all the displays here. They are all very accurate and pretty interesting to look at. The one thing I don't like is how a good number of the moving components don't work anymore. However, Miniland is worth half the price of admission alone and can be kind of thought of as a Lego museum (although the whole park kind of is).

Coast Cruise-This ride is simply a boat tour of the lake. It is okay, and isn't worth more than a ten minute wait. The jokes are lousy and everything seen on the ride can be seen by walking around the park, although not as close up.

Fairy Tale Brook-A lot of people I talk to really like this ride. I think it is skippable but worth doing if there isn't a wait. Luckily, this is the one ride in the park I never see more than a five minute wait for. It is a boat ride past Lego recreations of scenes from varous fairy tales. If I remember right, the scenes come from "Little Red Riding Hood", "Three Little Pigs", "Billy Goats Gruff", "Jack and the Beanstalk", "Hansel and Gretel", "Sleeping Beauty" and "Aladdin". Most of them have little humorous twists on them, but the ride still isn't worth it if there is much of a wait.

Fun Town Fire Academy-This is an interesting ride/attraction/show/game. Your party splits into teams of four. Each team gets into a fire engine. One person controls the gearshift (forward/reverse) and two pump levers to make it go. Once you reach the end of the track, everyone gets out and two people man hoses while the other two pump water. You have to spray enough water into a hole in a painting of fire on the side of a building. Once it is out, you get back in the truck and race back to the start. It is a very fun thing to do, as long as the wait isn't too bad. It was only ten minutes for us, but I've seen it much longer before, especially when only one set of engines is in use (they have two complete setups for the ride).

Kid Power Towers-This ride really isn't worth it if there is a wait. Since my cousin wanted to ride and the wait was only five minutes, I decided to ride as well. This ride is a thirty foot tower where you pull yourself to the top and then controlled freefall back down. The tower spins, offering a good panoramic view of the whole park. Unfortunately, it leaves you hands very tired.

Sky Cruiser-I have no clue why I always wait an hour for this even though it is a rather disappointing ride. It's probably because most of my group always wants to ride it. On this ride, you are in a car on an elevated track. You have to pedal around the track unless you want to go two miles per hour, but no matter how fast you pedal you can only get up to six or seven. It is good for sightseeing, but is worth nowhere near an hour wait. In the future, I should go ride Coastersaurus while everyone else does this as I like that ride much better.

Knights' Tournament-This is the only ride I went on multiple times during the day. This ride consists of a couple seats on the end of a robotic arm with four degrees of motion. It is the best flat ride I have ever been on and probably appeals to the widest age group as well. The ride has five different intensity levels, so anyone can ride it without being too worried about getting sick. I rode four times, but I'll review all the intensity levels separately.

-Level 1: This is the extremely tame intensity level, and the only one I have never ridden. It basically consists of two complete horizontal revolutions without any seat tilt, followed by one with a slight upwards tilt and a high spin. My cousin went on this level twice and said that by the second time it was too boring.

-Level 2: This is a good level for most non-thrill seekers. I only rode it because my cousin wanted one more ride on it and nobody else would ride with her. This level consists of various slower spins and tilts, including tilting up to completely sideways and facing straight down, but never inverting riders. When downgrading from a higher level, you are always expecting an inversion but one never happens, so it may be a bit of a letdown. It's still fun, just not insanely intense.

-Level 3: This is the most well-balanced level. It isn't too extreme, but does have higher intensity than anything else at Legoland. You will go upside down a couple times on this, but it is mostly spins and tilts. This was all my uncle could handle.

-Level 4: This is my favorite level. It feels most like a roller coaster, incorporating flips, inversions, spins and tilts in a continuous, seamless manner. I especially like the flying section and the downward facing roll-overs. The one thing about this level is that it will throw you around the most in your seat if the restaint isn't in tight, which may result in minor discomfort (especially for guys).

-Level 5: At the insistance of my brother and sister, I gave this level a try. Although many flatride enthusiasts, as well as intensity lovers in general, will love this level, it was too much for me. This level is basically turn the riders upside down as many times as possible in a minute. I have no problems with inversions, but I cannot stand being held upside down for any length of time. In this cycle, the third element is an inverted horizontal three-sixty, and from that point on I was just like "How much longer is this going to last?" It wasn't bad, just too much. If level five was about three-quarters as long, I probably could have handled it fine.

 

Overall, it was a decent day at Legoland California, but it could have been better. Due to crowds, I was unable to ride Coastersaurus, and Treasure Falls was closed. I didn't get to the other Land of Adventure rides but they looked pretty generic so it didn't really matter. And Aquazone Wave Racers was either too crowded or nobody else wanted to get wet when we were in the area so we didn't get to do that. It was more crowded than I would have liked but that can't really be helped. Overall, we did fifteen rides, a decent amount but I was hoping for a few more. We stayed until closing at 6 p.m., then left and went home, stopping at a Mcdonalds for dinner.

 

A few general comments about Legoland:

-If anyone has been to Legoland before, they probably saw the play areas a few of the queue lines have. In my opinion, these are both good and bad. It keeps kids entertained while parents wait in line, which keeps everyone from becoming annoyed. However, I have seen groups (and not always groups of kids), send one or two people in line, then all cut through the play area when that person gets close to the front of the line. When they're small kids it doesn't matter too much, but when you've got ten teenagers who each want to drive their own boat at Skipper School it significantly increases the wait time.

-Does anyone on here have first-hand experience with Treasure Falls? Since I like log flumes, I'll probably ride it if I see it open but I would like to know if it is really worth much of a wait, and if adults can ride without kids. It looks small but it could be fun to do once.

-I'm guessing the reason it was so crowded was because of the chance of rain the next day, making two days worth of visitors visit on one day.

-The Sea Life Aquarium looked fairly disappointing and ruins part of Fairy Tale Brook since you are in a forest, suddenly go by a giant building, then enter the forest again.

-Although Legoland is a good park, it is overpriced. Sixty-three dollars is too much for what they have there. In my opinion, the park is worth about forty dollars per person so unless I find a good discount or my cousin really wants to go back sometime I doubt I'll visit again until they add a MAJOR new attraction or a couple new areas. On their own, the Splash Battle and Lost Kingdom Adventure are not things I would consider reasons to go back, but both Pirate Shores and Land of Adventure make a trip worth it.

 

It may be a few years until I get back to the park, but it looks like they are doing construction on something new for this year right now. Hopefully next time it will be less crowded and I will get a chance to go on all the rides I haven't experienced yet. I'm sure the West Coast Trip participants will have a good time at this park, even though it can be done in a half-day when it is completely empty (especially by adults without children).

 

I will be going to Universal Studios Hollywood tomorrow so I will post that portion either tomorrow night or Friday depending on when I get back.

 

Edit: Part 2 posted below.

[ebl]

Many parks are priced high, but discounts are available online or at local stores. Except for Disneyland/DCA, discounts are all over the place. Many employers' HR departments offer them, too, so check with parents or friends.

 

But it sounds like you had a good time. I'd like to go back and see the place; it's been about eight years since I was last there.

 

Eric

[rcdude]

^I'm guessing that the last time you went to Legoland was when Technic Coaster was the new ride. You should definitely go back some time as most of the best attractions in the park have opened since then (with the exception of Miniland).

 

Part 2: Universal Studios Hollywood 4-9-09

 

I went to Universal Studios today for a friend's birthday party, along with my brother. They had originally wanted to go on Friday but I had warned them that it would probably be more crowded on Friday than Thrusday. I had told him that you can usually do everything at Universal Studios in one day even when it is crowded since it is mostly shows. My friend had said that his mom, who was taking us would come pick me up at 9:30 because he hoped to avoid traffic on the way to the park.

 

They ended up arriving at my house at 9:45, so at least they weren't too late. I always worry when I have to rely on other people for transportation, especially non-family members as one year (same friend, different birthday party) they told me they would be here at 9:30 and didn't show up until 11:00. Luckily, that trip was to Knott's and it wasn't spring break. Anyway, my friend's mom didn't know how to get to Universal Studios so I had to direct her. Honestly, I think they were a bit unprepared, as they didn't even know the park hours either (assumed 10-6, but was actually 9-7), the ticket price ($67, but they had a $20 off coupon), or what the park had at it (other than the Simpsons Ride). My friend hadn't been to the park in about ten years, and it had been three since I'd been there, so there were new things for everyone.

 

Unfortunately, due to traffic we didn't get parked until about 11:30. At this point, we decided to get lunch at the Subway in Citywalk rather than wait until we were inside. After lunch we went to the park to get tickets and found long lines for each of the ticket windows. Not only were they long, but they were also incredibly slow. I'm guessing that Disneyland could get through twice as many people with half as many windows, as it took us a minimum of forty-five minutes with about 10-15 groups ahead of us. By the time we got into the park, it was well after 1 p.m. I told my friend that we wouldn't have time for any rerides, but could probably get most stuff done that was worth doing. I ended up being right.

 

The Simpsons Ride-We went here first since none of us had been on it before. I've heard that most people say this is one of Universal Studios best rides. I don't think so. It is definitely a good ride, but I like the two lower lot rides way better. Of course, I don't watch the Simpsons so that may be part of it but I just didn't think this ride was as good as I've heard. I would go on it again, but probably wouldn't wait more than a half-hour for it (what I waited this time).

Studio Tour-Everyone who goes to Universal Studios needs to go on this ride. It is the classic attraction at this park, and the only one that will never become outdated. The park is constantly adding new things to the tour, and when the New York area of the backlot is reconstructed it will be even better. I liked the addition of Norman Bates at the Bates motel, but I'm surprised that they would hire someone just to chase after every tram that passes with a knife.

Revenge Of The Mummy-This is my favorite ride in the park. It may be because I generally like roller coasters better than other rides, but I just think it is a good ride. It is quite a ways from being better than Space Mountain, but is a decent in the dark coaster/dark ride with some unique features, such as going backward on a different track. Worth a half-hour wait, like everything else at Universal Studios.

Jurassic Park-This is probably the best themed ride I've been on outside of the Disneyland Resort. The ride is a relatively tame boat ride until the end, which features an 85 foot drop in almost complete darkness. Unlike most other water rides, this ride has an adjustable level of wetness. Sometimes I've gone on it and it was about as wet as the average log flume, while other times it was wetter than Perilous Plunge. I know that they can turn off any of the water effects during the ride (dripping pipes, spraying dinosaurs, etc.) and I assume they can adjust the brakes at the bottom of the drop (sometimes it looks like it stops quicker). Regardless of what water effects are on, it is still a good ride, and is a must ride unless you're not a fan of large drops.

Terminator 2:3D-Of all the 3-D movies I've seen, this is probably my favorite. I like how they incorporate live actors and plenty of on-stage action into the show. The only thing I don't like is the seat movement, which seems unnecessary but I still see this show everytime I visit.

Shrek 4-D-I like this show, though Terminator is better. This show is very cartoony and comic, and is actually better than one or two of the feature length Shrek movies (never saw the third, but I heard it wasn't so great). There are numorous special effects in this show, but I think the water effect is overused and creates too many water droplets on the glasses, which are distracting. Good show, but one that can be missed.

Waterworld-This is the best stunt show I have seen anywhere. It is fifteen minutes of action, jetskis, fighting, and pyrotechnics put together in a very entertaining show. Some of the stunts in this show seem insane but they are all done for real several times a day. If you only have time for one show at the park, this is the one to see.

 

By the time Waterworld ended, the park was closed. After spending a half hour looking at stores in Citywalk, we left. Due to traffic on the 101 and a long dinner at El Torito, it was about 11 p.m. when I got home. Overall, it was a good day and we didn't miss too much.

 

Universal Studios is one of those parks I don't like too much. I find a lot of amusement parks to be overpriced, at least in my opinion, but they are still worth it every so often. Universal Studios, on the other hand, is not worth the admission price without a discount. $67 is not justified when there are only ten attractions. The park usually runs a buy a day, get a year free promotion, but I don't see the point of this. When it is mostly shows and you can do everything in one day almost any day, why do you need to come back frequently? Seaworld is the same way, and both are parks that I would say are worth doing once just to see what they are like, but you really need a maximum of one visit every two or three years. If you are looking for the most reasonable parks, I find Cedar Fair and Six Flags to have the best prices but that might be just me. Maybe they just give really good discounts.