Tr0y

Tis’ the season.

So during my week stay at Orlando I spent 3 days at Disney World after previously going to Seaworld the day before. Got to Disney Hollywood Studios 20 mins early to get better parking in the standard lot. First impression at the gate was how incredibly busy the park was for a weekday early in the morning. This would be the case for Magic Kingdom and Epcot in the proceeding days. The crowd would only continue to get worse from park opening as the day went on. The lightning lane was a must during my visits, as quite a few lines were over 2 hours long. During my visit, Disney was offering dining packages that included preferred / guaranteed seats at select shows. To which I took advantage of because of the crowd levels, and it was totally worth it. The prices for these buffet / family style restaurants was quite steep being roughly $65 before tipping. My best meal while visiting by far which I’ve never had a bad meal at Disney was at Topolino’s. Topolino’s is a more upscale restaurant and sits ontop of the Riviera Resort. Being that it sits ontop of the Riviera Resort, if you book your time right. You’ll get an excellent view of Epcot during the Luminous show, and to Disney’s credit they also played the show’s music through the speakers on the observation deck at the restaurant. Which was really neat. In summary I had fun at the parks, however if I had to do it all over again, being a once a year visitor. I would have chosen a different time to visit Disney world. The parks were incredibly busy, and if you didn’t stay at a Disney Resort you’d run the risk of not being able to book a spot in one of Disney’s virtual queues. Being that i was not able to ride Tron because of it. Also as far as Christmas goes, the parks in the best way I can describe it as status quo Disney. Clean, themed, and very well landscaped, with a hint of Christmas. Kings Island is much more immersive with the Christmas lights and decor. You do get to see the Christmas shows and they are fantastic, but Disney puts on fantastic shows all year long, for example the Fanstasmic show at Hollywood Studios. So in my opinion unless if Christmas is a special holiday for you, or you are a passholder. I would pick a different time of year to visit.

Yep, however Seaworld still has theirs, with Coca-Cola fountain drinks.

So for the sake of keeping this review somewhat short, I also visited couple of the Disney parks during my stay in Orlando and will be posting a trip report on that separately. 12/17 My first park to visit while in the Orlando area for the week was Seaworld. Seaworld, has changed over the years from what I remember. Which used to use to be heavily aquatic animal focus to now also providing thrills to the enthusiasts of all ages. The park and even the coasters are well themed, and had up some Christmas lights and decor for their holiday special event: Christmas Celebration. I got there about 10 mins before opening to take advantage of my Platinum pass’s preferred parking. As far as coaster lineup goes, if you are a fan of B&M’s, this is a park you will want to visit. Given that they have 4 of them with Penguin trek to open in 2024. My favorite ride there is Mako, a Diamondback like coaster that has tons of airtime. I also got to ride Pipeline the Surf Coaster. Pipeline, being a standup coaster surprised me not being uncomfortable on the boys like the other B&M standup’s I have ridden. It also provides a very unique kind of airtime, being that my feet left the board a couple times. As far as shows go, anytime I have visit Seaworld I’ve always made time to take a break and watch the Orca encounter show. The show is a bit different with what I remember as a kid. The trainers now no longer enter the water with the Orca’s. Nonetheless I’m always amazed to see the shear size of these animals up close. They also host other animal shows as well, but this was the only one I attended during my visit. I ate at two places during my visit to Seaworld. For lunch I ate at Voyages which is a BBQ joint that serves more than just pulled pork, turkey, and fried chicken. Which I cannot say about my home park. I ended up getting the brisket platter with fries. No substitutes were allowed for the side of fries. For dinner I ate at the Sharks restaurant , which provides a unique experience of eating basically next to the shark tank. I got the Filet Mignon with a side of steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes. The food and service was excellent. As dusk approached I got a better viewing of what was to be the Christmas Celebration. To my surprise the park was not as decorated with lights anywhere near as many lights as Kings Island. However the Winter Wonderland on Ice show was Disney level of production. The entire lake had trees that light up and were in sink with the show, as well as fountains. Although some of the lights and fountains did not work properly. The talent of the Skaters was incredible. Definitely a must see show if you plan on visiting during the Christmas holidays 12/21 I got up early to make the hour long drive to Tampa to visit BGT. Arrived early again to take advantage of the Platinum pass preferred parking. I attempted to take a ride on Iron Gwazi but it was down the entire time of my visit. I made a stop at the gift shop to grab my pass-holder ornament, and afterwards went to what to my surprise used to be pass-holder lounge which I was told was closed and not returning. I didn’t get to ride much of any rides or stay late for their Christmas Town due to the crowds and the fact I had to leave early for dinner plans I have made. All in all I had a fun, almost every coaster was running. Although some of the coasters only were operating one train, which caused longer lines. The Christmas lighting decor left much to be desired, compared to Kings Island.

Merry Christmas you filthy animals!

Even with those lights out, there are still more Christmas lights on display at Kings Island than any given Disney park in Orlando.

At KI you get a VIP lounge. Busch Gardens Tampa quietly removed theirs:

I received my pass-holder ornament from Busch Gardens Tampa. To my surprise, it’s made of glass!

Yes! It also does an animations using the wallet app on your iphone: RPReplay_Final1703079833.mov

One of the coolest features at Disney is being able to use my Smartwatch for lightning entrances: IMG_2462.mov

BGW still has a huge plot of land we’re Drachen Fire coaster used to be. And there last two coaster additions were Intamin’s. I think they’re more concerned about ride experience than maintenance.

Here are the pass perks rewards I received this month from BGT. Interesting enough, they already have the rewards lined up for next year.:

I think it’s related to CGA.

Yep, those parks have the staffing to pull it off. Kings Island however doesn’t. Heck Kings Island is already short staffed for 2024!

You mean like this?

Shoes are optional to wear at Winterfest:

Yeah but do most ball parks charge you separately for cheese to go along with chips? Kings Island believes so. Afterburner Chips $8.99 Add Beer Cheese $2.99

Agree but at the same time, CF doesn’t do much to reward those who do spend money.

Considering how busy it was last night. Kings Island will be open 4-10pm as usual.

It could be worse, you could’ve spent $18 then be charged an additional $1.29 for house sauce, or pay $5.29 for Swiss Miss infused hot tap water. Oh want to add whip cream? That’s an additional $1.29. Those up charges I just told you are free at the other parks in the CF chain.

That area is gonna look great! I have heard they are retiring their 24’ Crown steam locomotive and replacing it with an electric locomotive. That is disappointing.

How’s the wind chill on Orion? I’m thinking about riding it tomorrow.

I’ve been on Rail Runner at Anakeesta, and Mountain Flyer at Ober Mountain. Between the two, I prefer Rail Runner. There is nothing like making it to the bottom of the hill on Rail Runner and questioning yourself on how you survived. Ober Mountain however does have the Alpine Slide which is very fun, as well as the iconic cable car that takes you there. These and all the other attractions are included with the wristband. Unlike Anakeesta which up charges the coasters, and such.

If there is one thing I can say about CF’s merchandise is that for the price you are getting it is quality. This year I discovered the Homage brand from two purchases I made while visiting a CF park. I liked the fit and finish of them so much so, that I paid a visit to Homage’s online store and recently added some of their Bengals swag to my collection as well. The shirts are made in USA, and the company (Homage) is based out of Columbus, Ohio.

Well that debunks my conspiracy theory.