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I've taken about a dozen extensive trips to Disney World and a half-dozen to Universal. Both are really great. If you've never been to a Disney resort, I'd choose Disney World just for the sake of being there. If you have been to Disney World (or even moreso Disneyland), I'd favor Universal. Two days at one and three/four at another would be better than cutting one out completely, if you ask me. Universal Orlando is much, much smaller and more easily navigated, with two theme parks connected by a kidney bean shaped CityWalk entertainment / food / bar district. The second park there, Islands of Adventure, is really a triumph with or without the new Harry Potter island. The original park, Universal Studios, is not generally a favorite, but it does have some really great rides. At Universal, staying in the on-site hotels (there are three, and all are fairly expensive) gets you free Universal Express - your room key gets you to the priority boarding line on every ride that offers it, unlimited, all day. Depending on what time of year you go, that's very valuable (since a one-time-per-ride option retails for $50.00 per person during the busiest days). I used Universal's Meal Deal and really found it beneficial, but I'd always suggest at least a day without it to try the resort's world famous Mythos restaurant, which may or may not be around much longer if Potter's island expands further into the park as is perpetually rumored. Disney World is just very different. The four parks that make it up are miles and miles apart, so resort transportation is the only surefire way of getting around, and it's not always dependable. People wait 30 minutes through a deluge of busses to find one headed toward their destination. The thing I find "awkward" about Disney World compared to its Californian sister is that it basically has the same number of major, E-ticket rides as Disneyland, just spread across four parks instead of two. The result is that there are massive, beautiful, interesting parks that you can more or less finish in a day if rides are your primary interest. Still, it's wise to plan for five or six days at minimum, but there's much personalization that has to go into that: some people say Epcot is a two-day park. Some prefer to skip it. Would you spend a whole day enjoying the beautiful World Showcase area, sampling international food and watching "CircleVision" films of countries' terrain and industry? If not, you can plan less time there. Disney's Animal Kingdom, as its marketing constantly reminds, is not a zoo, but if you're not interested in animal exhibits and walking trails, you can really be done before the park closes. Dinosaur is a unique ride there, and Festival of the Lion King is a can't miss show. Expedition: Everest is a fun coaster and the safari ride is a must-do. After that, you've got a 3D Bugs Life show, a Finding Nemo show, and a white water rapids ride. All are very well done, but you can see how you might be finished with the park at four or five and think, "what now?" At Hollywood Studios, the "big rides" at the recently-redone Star Tours, Tower of Terror, and Rock n Roller Coaster, but I wouldn't skip the Little Mermaid show, the Great Movie Ride, the Indiana Jones Show, or the Lights Motors Action show. Toy Story Mania is also there, and garners the longest lines of any ride at the resort (and without FastPass). Another question is how you want to vacation. If you want solely to focus on parks and immersion, Disney World may be best. I like to arrive at the parks early each morning, ride what I like, go back to the hotel, then return in the evenings. At Disney World, you've got to consider about 45 minutes of transportation both ways, so it's almost impractical to do so. Disney World also offers "park hopping" tickets for a price more each day. Truly consider if you want that add-on, because it's quite expensive and given the transportation, may be impractical. Even if you plan to park hop on the fifth day of your trip, let's say, to reride your favorites at each park, you'd need to add the Park Hopper option to your entire trip which can be expensive. I'm sure there are many of us here who would love to add our input and help you plan, so ask away.

Please see my posts in the SOB thread. I cannot discuss my source, and without wanting to have said person(s) get into any entanglements. Just trust me, nothing has been done to SOB, except only things that are required to prevent people from being harmed by the structure. Same rules apply to vacant homes and structures.

Which might produce vertigo. Or, put another way, the coaster colors and sign colors face/off.

The gondola was unbalanced. Calm down people.

Nice. They brought it back.

Haven't done a trip report in a long time, so I figure this is a good reason to do one. I went up to SFGAm today to check out X-Flight. It was a hot sunny day, but the crowds were actually pretty light, especially for that park. I walked through the gates about 3 minutes before 10:00, and went straight back to X-Flight. By the time I got there, there was about a 15-minute wait. Well worth it. Now the nice thing about X-Flight is that even before you get on the ride, you can really enjoy it. This thing is just plain fun to watch. From the inverted first drop to the keyhole element, it's fun. And the queue goes right through the infield, so the coaster is always whizzing by. Not to mention some mist, water, and sound effects. Ok, now to the ride. I decided to start on the right wing, having heard that's better. And I sat in row 6, based on a friend's recommendation. And wow... what a ride. The first drop is pretty strange the first time or two you do it. On the right side you dip "under" the track ever so slowly, before diving down to the rest of the course. Then it's plenty of in-line twists and good turn-arounds, before you get to the keyhole. The keyhole itself is simply brilliant, and that's where the ride really differs from left and right. On the right side, it honestly looks like you're going to smack face-first into the walls of that tower, even after multiple rides. And the winged seats really help here too, because it doesn't matter if you're in the front, middle, or back. Just a fantastic element all together. And then there's a high-g helix to finish the ride. Overall, I thought X-Flight was fantastic. Easily my favorite coaster in that park. My second ride was front seat on the left wing. It was still very good, but I didn't really get the "scare factor" out of the keyhole on the left side. By that point, the line had gotten pretty long, so I did some other rides. Batman, American Eagle, and Vertical Velocity were all walk-ons, so I did a re-ride on Batman and V2. Then it was over to Southwest Territory for some Raging BullBore. After about a 20-minute wait, I was on the back seat. The first drop is fantastic. That's about it. Then I went to Viper for another walk-on. Every time I ride that thing I seem to forget how much fun it is. There are some really good airtime hills, especially when sitting near the back. I finished up Southwest Territory by getting a lap on Giant Drop, then it was back to X-Flight. I got two more rides on X-flight, both on the right wing, near the back of the train. It doesn't lose its fun value at all, even after multiple rides. Just a great coaster. Also, for those keeping track, I've been on Wild Eagle as well, and in terms of the actual ride, this thing is miles ahead of Wild Eagle. But the view of the Smokey Mountains is pretty incredible down south, and you're also not in a concrete paradise. I wrapped up the day by getting a quick lap on Demon, and then another ride on Viper. It was a relatively short day, but still very fun. Ride Count: X-Flight: 4 Raging Bull: 1 Demon: 1 Viper: 2 Batman: 2 V2: 2 American Eagle: 1 Also, I took a few quick pictures with my phone. Some turned out way better than others, haha. But if you wanna see them, here's a link. http://s1016.photobucket.com/albums/af282/dtrain1008/X-Flight/

As long as he has the season pass voucher, he can process it by himself. He doesn't need the credit card that was used, but it would be a good idea if he had the confirmation number from your order in case there's an issue.

Avatar, without a doubt.

Hi, I'm Chris Hansen from dateline NBC. Why don't you have a seat over there?

Whatever. Go catch a predator. My next sting is in Santa Claus, IN.

No, no you are not. Thanks for the report! I was so waiting for him to spring alive, run towards me going "bark! bark! bark!" and licking my face. What a pretty picture that would be to see.

Guy 1 "Hey look Invertigo is painted blue!" Guy 2"Yeah its been blue since Halloween Haunt" Guy 1"Well i guess i didnt see the new paint in the dark!"

The left them up just for you, buddy.

36.99 adult tickets at my kroger in centerville close to dayton

I myself have a hard time riding some rides (Diamondback, Drop Tower, Flight of Fear). I have faith in all who set their mind to reaching goals. Good luck on your goal as i try myself to be able to slim down as well

And there is no such thing as a turn. It's a business, not Roller Coaster Tycoon.

Now there's an industry accepted source. (geegle)

I don't really know that I can point-blank rate Thunderhead as being better than Beast, or vice versa, though I realize I've got a top 5 on my "About Me" page* that doesn't include Beast. The coasters are great for their own reasons, and if you try to apply those reasons to one another, you're sorely disappointed. The Beast is the model for how to appropriately pace a roller coaster, even with magnetic trim brakes. It doesn't have airtime, and, quite frankly, I don't think it needs it. From the top of the first lift to the bottom of the second, the ride literally facades itself. It's wide, almost lateral-free turns and long stretches of straight track that lull the rider into believing the ride is tame. The pacing increases slightly over the course of this first half as you start to encounter the tunnels, the trains making this tremendous roar as you pass through the concrete portions to increasingly sudden turns. Then, just as the speed hits its peak--you hit the second lift. With how far you've come and how big the lift is, you almost expect it to be the end of the ride, until you remember you saw the double helix from the top of the first lift. You reach the top of the second lift and see the park in its entirety, but then you're turning away from that--the ride's teased you with the idea of being done, but its "worst" is yet to come. You're heading down this long stretch of track with a minuscule 10-degree downward angle towards this ominous tunnel mouth buried in the trees you thought you'd escaped, and the train is bucking like crazy and picking up speed. I honestly like the trim on this drop--it's like the ride's last-ditch attempt to let you "save yourself" before you get swallowed by the tunnel and go through the crazy intense helix. And only after that does the ride decide it'll let you go. Night rides only amplify the theatrics of the pacing, which is why people tend to like night rides on The Beast more, in my opinion--instead of The Beast toying with you, it's like he's chasing you through the dark woods. The helix tunnel becomes this pitch black hole that literally devours you, thus increasing the impression that you never really escape The Beast; he decides to let you go... for now. (The Beast is basically the Chuck Norris of roller coasters.) Thunderhead, on the contrary, only vaguely relies on pacing in comparison to The Beast. I don't mean that in a derogatory way; I'm just saying that the pacing starts on "fast" and ends on "very fast," where The Beast goes from "intentionally slow" to "fast." I see Thunderhead more as GCI's attempt to stuff as much airtime into a somewhat limited area as possible by using the terrain, and the results were these crazy fast banking/G-force transitions and high-banked turns that only increase their frequency the closer the train gets to the brakes. Does that mean it's a bad ride? Definitely not, but it's very difficult for me to appreciate it the same way I appreciate rides like The Beast, Kennywood's Thunderbolt, or Holiday World's Raven or Voyage, all of which also place a higher emphasis on pacing. I love me some Thunderhead, but it's not in the same way I love those other rides. It's a great ride, but there just isn't as much depth in the design as it feels like there is on The Beast, which is something that seems to be common on the GCI rides I've been on. The only ones that come close are Hersheypark's Lightning Racers, but not very. The Beast lulls you into a false sense of security then wows you with its double helix; Thunderhead throws everything it's got and the kitchen sink at you from the top of the lift to the brake run. It's almost apples and oranges. (Again, just to stress this: GCI makes fantastic rides. I don't mean to hate on them, as they're easily some of my favorite coasters to ride. I've just never seen a GCI that made me think, "Wow, they're really switching up the pacing like crazy on that guy.") By the by, guys, have I ever mentioned I really get into dissecting design elements and themes in rides? *My top 5 functions more like a "top 5 rides I'd most like to ride right now" list than a "top 5 rides I've ever been on" list. The only reasons The Beast isn't on there is because I've ridden it so many times and because it's so close to where I live. I might only get to visit Holiday World and Kennywood once each per year, so that's why they get a slightly higher priority. I can't wait to ride The Beast in a week!