AJ's 2011 Summer Adventures-Now With TPR's North East Trip

[rcdude]

Now that I have returned to school, my summer is officially over. However, I do have a few places I visited which I did not do a report on yet. Instead of giving each park a full report, I am going to give mini-reports (1-2 pages instead of 6-8) for each of the three remaining parks. All of them have been reviewed by me before, so you can refer to those reviews for more details.

 

August 17th, 2011-Universal Studios Hollywood

 

Universal Studios Hollywood is one of those places that I enjoy visiting, but don’t visit very often. The problem with the park is not that it is bad, but instead that there are very few attractions and it is very expensive. In fact, in the whole park, there are only six attractions I care for. Four of them are rides, and that includes all four rides in the park. The other two are shows. In addition to these six attractions, the park does have a few more shows, a haunted house, a kids area, and a few other miscellaneous attractions, but even on a crowded day I have never needed more than 2/3 of a day to get everything done. How expensive is the park? $77 if you do not have a discount for a one day ticket. That is outrageous, and gives USH the title of the most overpriced park I have visited. If it was $30-40 instead of $77, however, I would likely visit once per year. Fortunately, the park does have a “buy one day, get a year free” promotion a lot of the time for So Cal residents, or offers a discount of around $15, but this isn’t a park I’d visit more than once per year and it is still expensive with the discount, so those don’t help me much.

 

In fact, I wasn’t planning to visit the park until next summer, but my brother and sister both wanted to go, as we haven’t been in a couple years (I usually visit once every three to four years, usually when they add a new attraction). I was somewhat reluctant, as I wanted to wait until Transformers opened, but when I saw that Club TPR had an offer of a three-day ticket (any three visits within 12 months of first use) for less than a one-day ticket, I decided I’d take them now, and then go back next spring/summer once Transformers opens.

 

Due to LA traffic, we didn’t make it to the park at opening. Instead, we arrived about 9:30 or so. The day just consisted of making our way around the park, riding the rides and seeing the shows. I’ll give full reviews for a couple things, then just assign letters to the others. Attractions are listed in the order we did them.

 

The Simpsons Ride-B

 

Revenge of the Mummy-B (still my favorite Premier Rides coaster)

 

Jurassic Park-The Ride-B

 

Studio Tour-Part of my reason for going was this attraction, as I wanted to see the “new” King Kong 360: 3-D segment as well as the rebuilt New York section of the back lot. Well, the King Kong attraction wasn’t my least favorite of the staged events, but it really was one of the weaker parts of the tour. All it is are a pair of 3-D screens and a motion base where you watch a 2 minute movie, and it is promoted as a stand-alone attraction. Maybe it is just me, but this seemed way overhyped and I wouldn’t be surprised if quite a few people are let down by it. Of course, it could also be because I don’t like 3-D films in general. Personally, I still think Earthquake is my favorite staged event on the tour, enjoyed the old King Kong Encounter much more than the current one, and would rather have the Collapsing Bridge (as simple as it is). I also wish they had a better solution for the glasses, as you have to hold them for the entire tour just so they can be used in that one park. The new New York street, on the other hand, looked pretty good, and I like that they’ve added a “modern” section to it. As a whole, the Studio Tour is still a pretty decent attraction, and King Kong must be working, as the ride had the longest line I’ve ever seen for it. B overall, but King Kong gets an F.

 

Terminator 2: 3-D-B (I really hope this isn’t leaving soon. It’s my favorite show in the park.)

 

Waterworld-B (Same with this, but second favorite instead of favorite)

 

Special Effects Stage-This is a replacement for the epic failure of Creature from the Black Lagoon (which I never saw). It’s a bit different from the old show, but does have some references to it and demonstrate a few of the same techniques (along with plenty of new ones). I think I liked it better than the old show, but only slightly. It’s still my second least favorite show at the park. C

 

Universal’s House of Horrors-C

 

Shrek 4-D-C

 

Universal’s Animal Actors-C (my least favorite show)

 

We only did each ride/attraction once, except for Revenge of the Mummy, which we did three times. We ended up leaving before 6 P.M. since we finished everything, and then got dinner in CityWalk before heading home. Unfortunately, we had more traffic to deal with, but I’ve seen worse and we made it home by about 8:30 P.M.

 

Universal Studios Hollywood is a good park, but unless you are interested in movies (especially behind the scenes stuff) I don’t really recommend skipping another So Cal park to visit it (except perhaps Knott’s). The park is too small and has too little for how much they charge to get in. Now, Transformers is a really good start, and a much needed attraction, and if they ever add Harry Potter Land West, this would be a must visit destination. However, for now, it is not.

 

September 11th, 2011-Wild Rivers Waterpark

 

As many waterpark fans probably know, Wild Rivers is a waterpark in Orange County, California (specifically Irvine) that has been struggling for several years. Land developers want to demolish the park in order to make way for new housing, but up until now the park has managed to get a one year lease extension every year. Now, however, they have been denied the extension, and after twenty five years of operation Wild Rivers will close forever on October 2nd. As I have been going to this place nearly every summer since I was about five, I knew I had to get one final visit in before the park faded into history.

 

Wild Rivers is not the best waterpark out there by any means, and it’s not even my favorite in Southern California. Given a choice, I would almost always pick Knott’s Soak City-Buena Park over Wild Rivers, and if Six Flags Hurricane Harbor was closer I’d go there more often as well. However, the reason I really like Wild Rivers is not because they have the best slides, but because they have the most unique ones. At modern waterparks, most or all of the slides are made out of fiberglass, and although they may have similar ride layouts, the experience is similar. At Wild Rivers, however, a lot of the slides are older, and are made of concrete with foam and a rubber coating on top. This gives the rides a very different feel, causing the rapids ride to jostle riders around and flip tubes often and the body slides to feel more like natural waterfalls. In addition, among the rides at Wild Rivers are several rides I have not seen elsewhere, such as Bombay Blasters and Sweitzer Falls, slides that end several feet above a pool and shoot riders into the air so they land with a big splash; Wahtubee, a standard style mat-racer that is done on double tubes, and Serengeti Surf Hill, a very old mat racer where it is extremely common to lose your mat or get stuck partway down. Now, some would call these rides ghetto, but it is the ghettoness that sets them apart from what can be found elsewhere.

 

On the visit, we arrived before opening, and as a result were able to ride everything once or twice before the lines got significantly long. At this point, however, everyone else I was with was pretty much done, but I kept going for a bit longer, getting multiple rides on the attractions I liked, and trying to remember every last ride. By about 3:30, I felt I had done enough, and ended my day on Wipeout, a somewhat normal body slide other than the fact that it begins by flushing you down the slide with 200 gallons of water. There is no particular reason I chose this to be my last ride ever at the park, especially since I’m generally not a huge body slide fan, but it is one that I remember thoroughly enjoying on my first visit back in 1995 (or so).

 

As we walked out to the car for the final time, I looked back at the park and thought, “This place has given me enjoyment for 15 years. I will miss it, but perhaps it is time for it to move on.” While I really do not support the closure of it, especially since the amphitheater nearby (which shares the parking lot) will remain for several more years and the housing market is already oversaturated enough, some things just cannot be stopped. If you have not had a chance to visit this amazing waterpark, enjoy waterparks, and live anywhere in Orange County, visit this weekend if you can. After that, it’s just a couple of private events and then the park is gone.

 

Goodbye, Wild Rivers. You will never be forgotten.

 

September 13th, 2011-Knott’s Berry Farm

 

As Knott’s is my least favorite of the seven major Southern California parks, I usually don’t visit it too often outside of special occasions (WCB, Family trip in November due to Veterans promotion, birthday, and Summer trip with visitors). However, I do have a pass, so I can visit it more often if I choose. As Knott’s got a new ride this year, and it didn’t open until August, I decided I’d go ride it before school started.

 

For those planning to visit Knott’s anytime soon, off-season weekdays are an excellent time to go. The park was DEAD! I’m guessing there were probably around a thousand people in the entire park. GhostRider and Perilous Plunge were both closed, but all other major rides were running. During my visit, I managed to ride every major ride once, many of them twice, plus a few rides I rarely ride (Calico Mine Ride, Calico Railroad, Carousel, La Revolucion, Pony Express, Riptide), eat lunch at Pink’s (outside the park), get 4-5 laps each on Xcelerator and Silver Bullet, plus two rides on the new Windseeker, and leave by 3 P.M. I think I counted at some point, and discovered that I ended up getting 28 rides in 5 hours, or something like that. That’s 5.6 rides per hour! It’s almost like full park ERT! I never had to wait more than two trains for any of the coasters (granted, all but Sierra Sidewinder were running one train), and everything else was a walk on. I got solo rides on Riptide and Timber Mountain Log Ride, and there were less than five people on the entire ride when I rode La Revolucion and Pony Express. I saw some random guy get a solo ride on Xcelerator while I was on Supreme Scream, but unfortunately I was not that guy. Now, how about a review of the park’s newest attraction?

 

Windseeker-I will admit that I was very skeptical of this ride when it was first announced, and as the other three tested, failed, and experienced delays, I became even more skeptical that the ride could be any good. Boy, was I wrong. This is probably the best non-coaster ride at Knott’s Berry Farm. The ride looks impressive, and it gives a great view from the top. It also feels a lot higher than I expected it to, and this is amplified by looking up the tower as you ascend. The music is also nice, although I did not recognize most of what was played (only recognized Hedwig’s Theme and the Superman Theme), and it was a little difficult to hear at the top due to the wind. The ride spins at a decent speed, but not any faster than a normal waveswinger and certainly not fast enough to get most people sick. The only thing I wish the park would do is leave it at the top a bit longer, as it feels that you are only up there for about twenty seconds before the ride starts descending, and it takes at least twice as long to ascend/descend the tower. Overall, a very fun ride, and although it is not too intense, if you are afraid of heights it will really scare you (the seats are extremely open, even with a large lap bar). A

 

I don’t really have much else to say about Knott’s that isn’t a common thought among enthusiasts. The park has a decent ride collection, and the coaster selection is good (although it could use a little more variety and one more major coaster). However, the food inside the park is poor (except for Johnny Rockets), and the park is losing the charm of old Knott’s due to Cedar Fair’s construction of giant coasters, with the biggest offenders being Silver Bullet and Pony Express. Knott’s is my least favorite So Cal park, and my least favorite Cedar Fair park, but it is by no means a bad park. It is just a very average park in a whole lot of ways.

 

Conclusion

 

Well, that is it for my Summer 2011 report. While I still have a few park visits planned this year, they are mostly repeats and will not receive trip reports. However, I may post my reviews of the new attractions at Disneyland Resort to this thread after I visit next month (depending on if I feel like reviewing them). If I do end up doing the LeviaTHON tour next year, I may do another one of these. That would include that trip, plus coverage of all of California’s new for 2012 rides (Superman Ultimate Flight, Transformers, Cars Land, Manta, and Lex Luthor). Any comments or suggestions on how I could improve this for next year are appreciated (less text, more photos, shorter reviews, etc.). This has really been the best summer I’ve had, and it is unlikely I’ll have a better one soon (especially since I committed myself to getting a job next year).

 

Pictures:

 

I do have a few pictures from Universal Studios Hollywood to upload, but there are many better trip reports of the park. These are basically just random photos I took throughout the day when there was downtime.

First up at Universal Studios. Although the ride is almost as good as BTTF, I liked the old look of the building much better.

If there is one significant advantage to being on a hillside, it is the views.

The three astronauts of Apollo 13 and...wait, there's a fourth guy there. What in the world? (I seriously did not realize someone was trying to take a picture here when I took this).

This is the least Egyptian themed ride that is supposed to take place in Egypt that I've ever been on.

Jurassic Park is still the most well-themed splash boats I've been on (sorry Escape from Pompeii).

It also helps that the ride has a giant drop at the end (I think it's 85 ft, but I could be off slightly).

Transformers, as of one month ago. I'm hoping there ends up being more than meets the eye with this ride.

Back up the Starway. They really should count this as an attraction. I'd give it a C.

I've always found it interesting how the Upper Lot has little areas that are themed to various European countries, while other parts are completely fictional.

I wonder what would happen if the fountains actually sprayed coke.

Time to go see what the governator is up to.

After seeing the movies, little things like this make sense. I didn't realize the show took place inside the Miles Bennett Dyson Memorial Auditorium until this visit, and now I know why that is significant.

Finally, for those going to the Halloweeen Horror Nights event next weekend, here is what you get to do.

[805Andrew]

I'm going Wild Rivers this Sunday. I've never been there before and since I'm going to be in OC this weekend anyway, it works out perfectly, especially since I've always wanted to visit this park and its closing this year. I'm looking forward to all their old school slides. I will eventually post a Photo TR of the final normal operating day at Raging Waters.