Photo TR: Patrick's Italian Adventures

[Six Flags Enthuseast]

I certainly agree that 2 Euros per ride isn't bad, although it becomes expensive if you're a multi-rider like I am

 

TPR will certainly have fun on the monkey train when they come in June!

 

Part 3

"Get me off this accursed ship and I'll assure you free rides on Euro Fighter for the rest of the year!"

More of Rapid River.

You must be at least this tall and not a dog in order to pay 10 Euros to watch the dolphin show.

Up these steps is a Russian Mountain.

Russian Mountain means Roller Coaster in Italian.

These single cars are a lot better than the double cars on Magic Mountain at Magic World. They deliver a smoother ride overall and are less jerky.

This ride still has old-fashioned manual brakes.

SKLOOOSSSHHHH!

These Italian guys obviously approve of this ride for its reasonable wetness!

One of these is different from the others... one of them does not belong...

This motion simulator didn't look so good.

Carousel.

One thing I love about Italy is the cheap bottled water. This 2-liter bottle was only 2 Euros!

People were actually riding Red Mirage!

More rapidity.

In all honesty, it doesn't seem to be that fast.

Obligatory crepe stand credit!

You can sorta see and hear the dolphin show from here... who needs to pay 10 Euros to get into the stadium?

I always thought Batman queue theming was missing something... and I just learned that it's missing a dirt mover!

Who doesn't love a beyond-vertical drop? You can bet that I do!

Oh what a feeling, Gerstlauer!

See? I was right, it is a Gerstlauer!

One more ride!

Aww, the ride's over already. )=

UPSIIDE DOOOOOWWWWNNN!

Two thumbs up for 5 rides on an awesome new Eurofighter!

I like the view from here.

Closeup of the loopage.

The lift hill takes up a very small area.

Smooth vertical and horizontal curves.

I now know why TPR loves these little things!

One thing you'll have to watch for in some Italian theme parks that you'd never deal with in an American park is a car just randomly driving through.

I liked X's old colors, so this is a nice throwback for me.

Dad decided to give the claw a shot. He inserted 2 Euros...

And he got Eva on his very first try!

Riders of this drop tower are usually surprised by the sudden interruption of their 20 minute stay at the top.

Get me out of here!

Because everybody will want to watch 'Godzilla 2: New York City'.

Finally, for the part you've all been waiting for!

A few people threw some little sticks into the chimpanzee enclosure, and I didn't understand what they were at first.

Then he lit up and smoked.

While I honestly disapprove of smoking, I thought this was rather entertaining.

Dad liked all of these trucks.

Goodbye, Zoosafari and Fasanolandia!

 

Thanks for reading! =D

[gisco]

The Chimpanzee smoking is just wrong.

[Six Flags Enthuseast]

And now, finally, for my last park of the season. Once again, I make the trip to Rainbow Magicland with a friend of mine, and we have a great time! Though it was my final park of the season, it was probably my best visit to Rainbow Magicland yet! I witnessed a rollback on Shock, learned that the Pixi-X-thingy-castle was actually a planetarium, and got to ride almost all of the major attractions at the park! Read on to get the full scoop!

Ok, ladies and germs. Welcome to a sight you have already seen several times, and a sight which you may not see from me in a while after this visit.

Hello once again, Mr. Griffon!

I'd heard that Italians don't officially celebrate Halloween, but Italians are interested in it. Rainbow Magicland had some mascots out on patrol, which clearly shows that interest!

Gatto Baleno has his Halloween costume on!

The park also has some theming!

But we're not here for special theming; we're here for this!

Thankfully, it was open.

And even better, it had a very short line!

They're getting ready to head into a galaxy of airtime! (Yes, I really did just call it a galaxy of airtime)

Whoosh!

We had a good ride, and I'm sure these people will, too!

Well, actually...

They got a rollback!

The ride-op had to explain to the riders that the fata$$ Americans broke the ride. =P

At least this ride can't be broken by Americans... or can it?

I wonder how they reset the ride when it rollbacks like this...

Walking toward the other side of the park, I notice this fountain filler.

Graves with Italian names and text.

Yucatan was having issues, or was testing.

Which way shall we go?

Right it is, and L'Olandese Volante we shall ride.

Another familiar sight.

Yup. 'Nother shot of the dual Vekoma lift hills.

After having our spines rattled slightly, we headed toward another big attraction.

Time for me to once again conquer a very strange drop tower!

Mystika: A very strange drop tower that would have a lot more potential if it didn't have so many darn brakes.

Here's how Mystika works: Loud buzz, pause, another loud buzz, painfully slow chain lift to the top, slow down near top, stop at top for 20 seconds, buzz, drop, slow down 2/3 of the way down the tower, moderate speed fall to the bottom, finish.

Those brakes are waaay too weak to really be of any use. They slow the vehicle down early but don't slow it down enough to make the landing at the bottom smooth.

MC Escher: The Ride's building is still funky as always!

The theater has a Halloween-themed show going on!

 

Part 2 to come soon!

[simon8899]

Italy and France are my "backup plans" in case the Euro fails and travles into dollar country will be to expensive....

 

Looks like Italy is quite worth it....

[ginzo]

One thing you'll have to watch for in some Italian theme parks that you'd never deal with in an American park is a car just randomly driving through.

 

 

I guess they figure it's not a real Italian experience if some sort of vehicle isn't trying to run you over. I had a Vespa come straight at me and force me to jump off *the sidewalk* in Sorrento.

 

Love that you included pics of the trulli.

[Six Flags Enthuseast]

Italy and France are my "backup plans" in case the Euro fails and travles into dollar country will be to expensive....

 

Looks like Italy is quite worth it....

Italy has quite a few decent parks that are worth visiting and are relatively good value. However, the drive down the A1 and other toll roads can get expensive when driving from north to south and back. But overall, there are some unique credits here that are totally worth the trip!

 

^I usually have a bunch of pics at my disposal that are from side ventures. Perhaps I should include more of them?

 

I apologize for the delay with this update. I've been pretty busy at school and only have time to work on this during the weekend.

 

Anyways, here's Part 2!

Once again, time for the no-bull shooting ride, also known as

Untik (as Italiains would say it).

We watch the cartoon prologue thing in line, though we do not understand it.

Our chariot awaits us.

"I'm ready to blow the heads off of some alien cave thingy scum!"

"I hold my two guns sideways, like bank robbers do!"

After all was said and done, this was my score with both guns...

but of course Ian did a lot better!

I completely forgot about the picture at the end and thus had this "Man these glasses are rea-" *SNAP* kind of pose.

Let's go ride Shock again.

After all, there are NO LINES FOR IT WHATSOEVER!

Italians hate being scared, which is exactly why this woman is standing next to the entrance of the gift shop scaring people!

Will we have another rollback?

He shoots!...

He scores!

Once again, I hear the electrical shock of the train coming to a stop. Perhaps that's why they call it Shock?

*whooshh*

The Flying Island wasn't taking to the skies today.

Will more Shock work for you?

Of course it will! It always does!

I have a nice chat with our food server before she gives us our meal, and we get to the eating!

They say not to swim for 1-hour after you eat... but it's just an old-wives tale! (Note the cheaters in the pink ponchos)

The dragon seemed to spray a decent distance today.

Wow, they already need to replace this window!

The Italians seemed to like these dryers, although I'm not sure if they really work or not!

"RAWR! STOP! YOU DIDN'T PAY YOUR BILL! RAWR!!"

Time for an acceptably-wet water ride during a cold-but-clear Italian fall day! Not quite as refreshing as during the summer.

This rapids ride is a little disappointing as there is no finale or any type of added element to make the end of the ride special, like with many river-rapids rides.

They sorta managed to get the line system down, but there is still a lot of work to do!

This would be an unacceptable amount of wetness any day of the year!

There were actually more American riders than Italian riders!

They fixed L'Isola Volante, so we decided to take a ride.

ZEEERRROOOOO-GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSS!

Here's a look at the children-oriented section of the park.

I like the view from up here.

I like this one even more!

Ride 'till you're tired, and then shop 'till you drop!

Why doesn't SFMM do something like that? That'd really help in marking parking spaces, producing a little energy for the park, and keeping guests' cars cool!

The Eagle Has Landed. On Earth, that is.

 

Part 3 to come soon!

[Six Flags Enthuseast]

Part 3

Here's another one of those dirty Ice Street things that hardly works. They do help somewhat with the heat during the summer, though!

It says fast, but nothing in southern Italy is fast! (except for some drivers on the roads)

Rainbow Magicland seems to be taking TPR's suggestion for getting more shade!

This would be like a big tilt-loop if it did invert.

I spy a camera... could Shack: The Ride finally have a purpose?

This is about as far as the airtime goes.

Canopies in October... About time!

Comfortable seats and restraints + awesome train design = a nice train overall

S:TR is a photo booth!

"Do not wave your hands in the air like you just don't care!"

Photo point is broken. =(

I think they should make this photo booth darker; this was the best I could see of our photo!

Smooth magnetic brakes to the rescue!

"I am the Great Pumpkin! Send my homeboy Linus to talk to me!"

I spy a game stand, just like the ones at Miragica.

We rode the Pop Tower, and our hands hurt for a while afterward.

Pixi-Sticks River seems to be popular today! (Even though it's October and freakin' cold!)

These boats were pretty popular, too.

And now for the Wacky Worm named after the guy who named America!

I see some construction over there...

Up the slow lift hill they go.

Wheeeeee!

THEY HAVE A CAMERA ON THIS WACKY WORM TOO?!? WHERE'S THE PHOTO BOOTH?!?!?

This one was even harder to see.

I like this angle of Shock.

I learned that this is a planetarium. Thanks, park map with a list of shows and events!

 

Part 4 to come soon!

[Six Flags Enthuseast]

Part 4

Let's ride Cagliostro again!

This would be an awesome night park with all of this Halloween theming!

Ian wanted to ride Huntik again. Why not?

Short lines are cool!

Our journey begins!

Ian pwnd me once again. If he were to attend a TPR trip, he'd do pretty darn well!

It's sooooo preeeetttyyyyyyy.....

Vekoma guys walking away from L'Olandese Volante. Hope he's better than the one TPR caught fixing Deja vu at SFOG!

Stop! Gelato time!

What could be going on over there?

Let's check it out from the air!

Roman Arches, not Golden Arches.

Facebook-style!

There's plenty of room for more parking back there!

I see 3 things here: Italians talking, a Shock car stopped, and a rotating transfer. I never knew how the transfer on Shock worked until looking carefully at it!

"This doesn't do that much, but it's better than nothing!"

TWIISSTTTEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYY!

Halloween merchandise was quite varied.

They also have plenty of non-Halloween merchandise, including this giant-A$$ alarm clock!

"I've been waiting on this shelf since May for an Italian kid to buy me... still ain't happening. I'll have to wait until 2012."

Skloooooossssshhhhh!

Yes, this ride does indeed break the tradition of acceptably-wet Italian water rides (although that mostly depends on where you sit).

"I've been forced to hold this place up for centuries..."

The other Americans must have gotten to the Olandese Volante shirts in my size before I did. =(

Native American CDs priced as T-shirts?

I see people working...

And I also see another train that appears to have had a failed launch.

They appear to be adjusting a LIM.

Rather interesting ghost inside there...

Who doesn't love a Nutella crepe?

"I like cotton candy. Do you?"

The creepers are coming out of the shadows.

Ciao, Gatto!

"NOT AMUSED!"

You can actually walk right behind the float and touch it!

What could this be?

Bye bye, Bombo Run!

If you're allergic to monsters, don't get within a mile of here!

It's time to say goodbye to the Griffons one final time...

Arrivederci, Rainbow Magicland!

It's hard to believe how much this park has improved in just over 5 months! I went there the day after its grand opening (May 27th), and returned 3 times over the summer, each time better than the last! I had a great 2011 season, starting off at Busch Gardens Tampa in February, and ending here at my new major home park, Rainbow Magicland.

 

Thanks to everyone who's read my updates! I love sharing my experiences with everybody and giving tips and advice to those who like to travel, and it's partially thanks to everybody here at TPR that I love roller coasters so much. Thank you very much for reading my updates and sharing your comments! This update officially closes out my 2011 season.

 

Here's to a great 2012 coaster riding season! =D

 

Patrick Carnahan

Six Flags Enthuseast