bkroz

Action Park! Home to world's first looping water slide (and a few lost teeth, broken bones, and lost lives...)

I believe Disney's Dining Plan is only for resort guests, since a lot of the restaurants you can get your snacks and meals in are actually located within the resorts. I don't know for sure though, so I'd look that up.

SeaWorld is a beautiful park, and I suppose if you're keen to see each show (which really, you should), I'd give it two days. Busch Gardens is also fantastic (though I much prefer its Virginian sister, which puts me in a minority, apparently), but it is sort of a hassle to get there and back. One day with their Quick Queue really seems sufficient to me, but again, I find that the park lacks the atmosphere and immersion of Busch Gardens Williamsburg, so I visit it more for the rides whereas I'd visit Virginia's for the experience. The Discovery Cove experience is fantastic, and you won't regret it. The website uses a lot of adjectives which may make one think they're over-estimating their own park, but it truly is a very V.I.P. experience. You get a light breakfast and a freshly prepared lunch (or two, or three, as many times through the line as you'd like). That park also has free parking if you end up in a vehicle, and you get a laminated lanyard & ID tag with your name and photo (something to keep). The dolphin swim experience is very nice, but it's hardly a spiritual, beautiful thing the way you might expect. It's very rigidly designed, and your actual interaction with the dolphins is probably 15 minutes or so. Still EXTREMELY memorable and lovely, but make sure you envision Discovery Cove as a day of sunning, snorkeling, waterfalls, and relaxing that just happens to involve dolphins and not as a day playing with dolphins or you're likely to be let down. The water (all except for the dolphin tank) is warm and relaxing, and the lazy river travels through a bird aviary (with two waterfalls acting as natural doorways. You can then exit the river and feed the beautiful tropical birds with free food. It's incredible. Also worth looking up on their website is the new Grand Reef experience. It's an up-charge (of, I believe, $50.00), and you get to wear a giant, weighted helmet and literally walk along the floor of the reef. There are also photographers absolutely everywhere who snap your pictures throughout the day and record you with the dolphins, then at the end of the day, you can visit a photo booth and see the entire album of your interactions throughout the day and purchase it if you'd like. Either way, I believe you do get one free image of your dolphin interaction. I also bought some cheap $10.00 underwater cameras from a drugstore and got some of the most interesting photographs of my life, inches from manta rays and clown fish... It's incredible. Based on size alone, my ideal Disney agenda would involve one day at the Magic Kingdom, two at Epcot, one at Hollywood Studios, one at Animal Kingdom, and perhaps a fifth day to re-visit Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom for a half-day each. And yes, the water parks would probably require a day each, too, though I've never been to either. It's true that, when planning a vacation like this, there comes a time when you realize you may as well go all-out and just enjoy yourself. To me, part of that is creating as much of an "all-inclusive" itinerary as possible. For example, Universal offers $19.99, all-day, you-can-eat dining options. It's really a fair deal and saves the hassle of worrying about a food budget, if even for a few days. I believe SeaWorld offers something similar. Some debate the morality (as you've seen here) but Quick Queue passes and Express Plus Passes really do alleviate the stress of these trips, even if you only plan to have them a few days here and there. It's easier to sleep knowing you'll not be waiting in lines the following day. I had all the transportation paid for beforehand, too. So the only public transportation I used, in a sense, was too and from the airport which, again, could've been shuttles for a little more money. Other than that, I used hotel shuttles and the trolley, which saves a LOT of gas, and a LOT of $14.00 parking days. (If you drive or rent a car, it may seem more "worth it" than flying initially... But imagining $8.00 a night for parking at the hotel, and $14.00 for each day at the parks, you're looking at (8 x 14 = 112) and (14 x 14 = 196), so about another $300 from parking alone... If you fly, you will literally pay none of that.

Termites wouldn't want anything to do with that wood! GYK, not making a joke about Son of Beast being a bad ride.

Also, here's something worth noting: Universal and SeaWorld both offer the same "Orlando Flex Ticket" (which appears to be their collective attempt to steal business from Disney). Right now, it's $315.00, and it does include unlimited admission for fourteen consecutive days to: Universal Studios Florida® Universal’s Islands of Adventure® AquaticaTM Busch Gardens® Tampa Bay SeaWorld® Orlando Wet ‘n Wild® Plus admission to clubs at CityWalk and the free shuttle to Tampa anytime you want. For $40 less, you can get the variation without Busch Gardens. So that's one way to "get it all," and would basically cover all your non-Disney admission for the entire trip. Another similar option is to do the dolphin-swim thing at SeaWorld's Discovery Cove park. There are different rates for each day, but it looks like every single day of September 2012, it's $199, which includes unlimited access for 14-days to SeaWorld OR Busch Gardens concurrent with your day at Discovery Cove. And for $50.00 more, it's SeaWorld AND Busch Gardens for 14 days. So basically, that one ends up at $250 and includes everything that the Flex Ticket does except with dolphins instead of Universal. Haha. It doesn't initially look like a cheap option, but I would take that Disney-resort money and put it towards Discovery Cove in a heartbeat. I did it last time I went, and it was fantastic. And getting unlimited SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Aquatica for two weeks for only $50.00 is really awesome. Especially considering the budget you've set, you can essentially get SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, an incredible water park, and a day swimming with dolphins for just 1/10 of your budget. So those are just two package deals that are offered that sort of make things a little simpler.

I also visited on a budget and I can say that everything went pretty smoothly. Upon arriving at the Orlando airport, I actually took a Lynx bus (which is public transportation) to the vicinity of my hotel (which was the Hampton Inn Near Universal Orlando). There were about three stops, and as I said it is public transportation so I suppose that may unnerve some people, but there were other travelers with us. I believe it cost $2.00 to ride all-day, so I just kept getting transfer tickets and had it all laid out ahead of time. There were a few 10 - 15 minute waits, but it really a non-issue. I'm sure for around $30 or so, you could get a nicer shuttle or even a taxi to make the same journey, and if I were to take the same trip again that's probably what I'd do, but for $2.00, you get what you pay for and it was a way to get to the hotel. Like I said, I stayed in the Hampton in about a half-mile north of the entrance to Universal Orlando, right at the end of the "International Drive" area. Including the walk through the parking garage or Universal's really beautiful pedestrian area, it was probably a 20 - 25 minute walk to the park gates, but I didn't mind it at all and would easily choose that over renting a car and paying $14.00 each day for parking. (Keep in mind, many of the hotels in the Orlando area also charge you $8.00+ per day to park a car). The hotel (and most others) offered a shuttle to and from the park, but it left once in the morning and twice in the afternoon / early evening, so I rarely used it. The International Drive area also has something called the I-Ride Trolley, which is basically just a shuttle that goes up and down International Drive. There's a red route and green route, and the green route stopped at our hotel. It didn't have a designated stop at Universal, but it stopped nearby, so that was nice. It did have a dedicated stop at SeaWorld Orlando, right by the front gates, so it was a very efficient way to get there, and no transfers or stops were required. It also stops at the Convention Center. A 14-Day Pass is $17.00, which is extremely reasonable. You can also look at the map and take it to certain restaurants or shops, and I enjoyed that opportunity tremendously. We used our hotel's shuttle to get to Disney World (which, again, I'd think most hotels have, but definitely watch for it because it's a huge perk). It only stopped at Epcot, so if you wished to get to another park, you needed to switch to the Disney Transportation System (which is free, and there are plentiful busses, monorails, and boats to quickly whisk you from place to place. It's truly not a negative experience at all). When we went, we did three parks in one day (since we were both returners), then went to Cirque du Soleil in Downtown Disney, so we missed our hotel's shuttle back, of course. My initial plan was to take another Lynx bus to point A, transfer there and take the bus to SeaWorld, then take the I-Ride Trolley back to the hotel, but we were exhausted after a long day so we just had a taxi take us back. It's quite a drive, and it ended up being $33.00 or something, so still not bad. And of course, if you purchase a multi-park ticket through SeaWorld that also gets you into Busch Gardens, you can pick up a free bus at SeaWorld that will drive you down to Tampa. It's $10.00 roundtrip normally, but if you have a multi-park ticket, it's free so long as you make a reservation beforehand. They played a movie on the way there and back, too. So basically, if you have that I-Ride Trolley pass, you can take the trolley to SeaWorld and then the free shuttle to Busch Gardens. I know that's long and complex, but basically what I'm saying is that by utilizing a cheap shuttle, a little public transportation, and an incidental taxi, I managed to visit all the area parks from one hotel. I wouldn't necessarily suggest staying in a Resort hotel unless you're really determined to have that experience. The "perks" are great, but not necessarily essential. For example, early September you're probably not looking at many lines at Universal parks, so their included Express Pass is certainly not worth the $200+/night rooms. Disney hotels are beautiful and it's certainly an experience, but if budget is a factor then staying in one may be superfluous, if you ask me. As far as park timing, I usually alot 4 days for Universal (because it's my favorite) and spend one at each park, then two just exploring, eating, and re-riding favorites. On one of those "exploration" days I usually buy the Express pass just so that I don't have to wait in line for things I've already ridden. This time of year, for example, an Express Pass good at both parks is $32.00. I think that's worth it. My personal opinion is that each Disney park can be done in one day (as in, a total of four days) but I know that many like to explore there instead of Universal. Universal is also great for changing plans. When I arrived early for my last trip, I was dying to get into Islands of Adventure for the evening, but didn't want to waste a "day" of my ticket. So I stopped at guest relations and found it would be $5.00 plus tax to add another day to the ticket. Obviously, I did, and that positive experience has stuck with me (one of the many reasons I prefer Universal to Disney).

Ah, yes! That's what surprised me so much about seeing SheiKra and Griffon in person. In photographs, they truly don't look all that big, but it's a case of perception issues - the track for those extra-wide trains is at least two times wider and thicker than standard B&M track, so with that scale in mind you can imagine how tall they truly are despite appearances in photos.

^Same. Truth be told, I've done all the Cedar Fair parks in "the vicinity" (Geauga Lake, Cedar Point, Kings Dominion, and Kings Island) so the only way to really get something new out of the Platinum Pass would be to visit Michigan's Adventure or Worlds of Fun, which I just don't have an interest in. So if I do get another Platinum Pass, it'll be "same old, same old." Six Flags, meanwhile, is a chain I've never really tried outside of Aurora and Gurnee, so this gives me the opportunity to try out Great Adventure, New England, America, Great America, etc. I can speak only for myself when I say I'm a little over-saturated with Cedar Fair, Kings Island, B&M hyper coasters, and their pricing "integrity" inside the park. A break is in order, and luckily the choice is increasingly easy, as Flags has decided to invest much differently in 2012 than FUN has, and I prefer the former's way.

As a very loose comparison, Flying ACE Aerial Chase has a theoretical hourly capacity of 650 riders per hour. Both that and Wildebeest's capacity (700) are under ideal conditions, and probably gross overestimations.

Imagine, if you will, what the line for a water coaster might be like at an extraordinarily-high-traffic park like Kings Island (and specifically, Boomerang Bay). Heck, the much-smaller Holiday World is adding a second one with much larger rafts just to offset the multi-hour waits for their first one... Take one look at our filled-to-the-brim wave pool, then imagine all of those people in line for even a six-person water coaster. Woof!

yes its still there and its the Son of Beast no, Vortex is referring to the animatronic? that was along side The Beast's track last season during haunt. they had fog machines around it and, i believe, red flood lights. also, wasn't it during the day they had a tarp over it so you couldn't see it except during haunt. Yes, and a tombstone next to it indicated that it was the son of The Beast (or that it was The Beast grieving over its son). I think that's what google13 meant.

http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24497&view=findpost&p=440966 That's about what I get out of it, too.

Well gezzz, I feel out of the loop! Glad I finally get it You shouldn't make jokes about that with Son of Beast still in purgatory... The train fell right out of the loop, ya know...

It's a spoof of Roger Ebert, the noted film critic who made the "thumbs up" slogan famous in film reviews. As you can see, his last name is "Deadbeat" (which is a Halloween-esque joke) and his two thumbs are severed. It's just for fun.

It's all semantics. If X-2 is a wing coaster, then isn't Griffon in certain seats? Roller coasters can be classified in so many ways, and these two new coasters have decided to highlight the physical layout of the train. Either way, I think they will prove to be revolutionary in the sense that they will probably not bankrupt their manufacturers, and that they'll probably prove to be consistant, fun, thrilling coasters that can easily be duplicated across chains and personalized by setting and interactive elements.

The majority of Kings Island visitors probably have no clue that a place called "Carowinds" exists, and couldn't care less if their websites look similar or identical. Just like how, during the Disney Decade, everyone complained about ride duplication. But do you think visitors to Disneyland give a rat's behind if a similar ride exists in Florida, or are they just happy to have a Tower of Terror? Same goes for the WindSeekers, I think... The enthusiast community knows and complains, but do Kings Dominion's visitors really know or mind if there's another version of the ride in Ohio? Probably not.

... And high price for everything else once you're inside! Haha. But personally, I think that if Soak City doesn't become an upcharge this year, it won't become an upcharge in the near future. The name change and re-marketing laid the right groundwork to say, "Our water park is new and improved, and thus we must charge a modest fee to keep it in pristine condition and to ensure that it can be enjoyed by those who visit without overcrowding." In my opinion, it would take another name change and marketed overhaul to justify a price increase in the future.

Well then we have similar tastes in Disney attractions! Hahah!

Upon seeing that RaptorGuy was the most recent poster in this thread, I thought to myself: "I wonder if RaptorGuy will somehow find a way of complaining about Kings Island or Honda in an otherwise very cut-and-dry thread?" To his credit, he did not find a way to complain about Kings Island or Honda. I don't see how sponsorships are a problem. If it weren't for sponsored attractions, many of Disney's world famous rides would never have made it off the ground. General Motors, Dole Foods, AT&T, M&Ms, Energizer, Eastern Airlines, Monstanto, Siemens AG, Delta Airlines, even General Dynamics (who specialize in U.S defense systems)... We may make fun of the Red Gold posters throughout Kings Island, but The Magic Kingdom had a ride called Delta Dreamflight for the better part of a decade...

Maybe that's for the best. Thus far, all the Wing Riders have really played up the interaction thing and had numerous head-choppers and near-misses. The fact that this particular Wing Rider has skipped that in favor of a sensation of flight is nice, because it means the concept won't become gimmicky and tired with every single one passing vertically through a watchtower / tree / broken fencing / etc.

And under attractions, the four big logos they chose? Flight Deck. Scrambler. Backlot Stunt Coaster. And The Crypt. Wow! Those are the four I'd advertise, too!

Hopefully this is the start of a one-time and unlimited option for Fast Lane, too. I would be much more likely to buy a $15-20 one-time-per-ride Fast Lane than a $50 (or now, $40) unlimited option. I've seen plenty of parks with only the former, plenty of parks with both, but never one with only the unlimited option.

I'm seeing the opposite (closing at midnight Saturdays and 9 pm Sundays), so either you misread it, or it's been fixed. I tweeted at them, and they fixed it.

And unfortunately, I don't think that was clarified... It makes a difference to me at least. Technically, he's breaking the same rule either way. But if you picture him as one of those "funny" dads who decided to come in the exit and sneak around a booth to find a parking space, only to be caught, reprimanded, and return a few weeks later - this time obeying the rules - it's one thing. On the other hand, if he was blatantly being an ass and was just too cool to pay for that and is one of those angry men, and he returned five minutes later trying to do the same thing... Well, that's different. Shouldn't be different. But it is... Hey, when it costs $20 to "reserve" a parking space for a couple hours, I can see why he felt the way he did. Multiply each car in that lot by 20, and you've arrived at the amount of money Six Flags has made for one day, pure income minus the pay rate for the parking lot attendants (and I'm sure the first dozen cars of the day covered their wages for a week). It's nearly criminal what that company charges to park, and if I were an innovative man, I'd buy a plot of land nearby, build a gravel lot, and charge $10 with a little pathway getting as close to the park as I could... And man, I bet people would pay for it. I would've walked 15 minutes extra to save $10.00!

I think it does look a little short, but it'll be interesting to see how it's moving when it approaches the brake run. Seems like it does a LOT of large elements in its short time, so it may very well be pooped by the end. Still looks like it'll be a fun one, and I think that's what Dollywood is about moreso than white knuckle thrills and stretching the human limits.