In August of 2015, the TP&T team hopped on a plane and flew out for an incredible adventure in California. The visit included visiting several of Southern California’s incredible list of theme parks and learning about the history of the Walt Disney Company. In our visit, we went to The Jim Henson Company, Walt Disney Studios, Imagineering, various Hollywood attractions, and the Disneyland resort as part of the Adventures by Disney Backstage Magic tour. After the five day tour, we continued our journey as we visited Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios, and Six Flags Magic Mountain before returning home. In this article and several other articles full of photos, we invite you to join us in TP&T’s California Adventure! So sit back, relax, and get ready to journey into the Wonderful World of the entertainment industry!
For those of you first reading this series, welcome! I strongly recommend reading some of the previous articles. Links are below!
Part 1 – Hollywood – We visit several Hollywood destinations as our Backstage Magic tour begins! Enjoy photos and information from Disney Studios and our fantastic visit to Imagineering. You can find the article here!
Part 2 – An Evening in Disneyland – In this trip report, we journeyed through endless traffic on the Los Angeles highways and wound up at the happiest place on earth, Disneyland! This article will take you within the gates of the original theme park as we spend a very exciting evening in the park. You can find the article here!
Part 3 – A Day in the Happiest Place on Earth – With this photo update, you follow us into the original theme park as we venture through a park filled with hidden finds and awesome attractions. Oh yeah, we also went into the Dream Suite (and I have pics)! You can read the trip report here!
Part 4 – Disney California Adventure -We walk up to Disneyland, and for some reason choose to walk through the gate on the right. All of a sudden, we’re in Disney California Adventure. Here’s the link!
BONUS – I’ve got a Fantasmic! video up on the YouTube Channel! You can view the video here!
In the previous four sections of our California trip series, we ventured throughout Disney history, but now it is time to journey through the rest of Southern California’s theme parks, the first of which came from humble origins and emerged as a premier thrill destination…
That’s right, it’s Knott’s Berry Farm! Knott’s was created in 1920 by a family of the same name. By 1934, the family began building attractions at their farm in order to bring more visitors to buy their berries. It started with simple things such as a chicken restaurant and a small ghost town, and turned into the thrilling park we see today. One more fun fact, the boysenberry was invented by the Knott family!
One of the first sights upon entry to Knott’s is Ghostrider. Driving under the park’s wooden coaster is a fun thing to do!
After passing by a number of different gift shops and restaurants, which were very well placed in-between the parking lot and the park entrance, forcing guests to walk buy and be tempted to enter and exit, we finally went through the gates of the park!
Like some of its Cedar Fair counterparts, Knott’s has a massive B&M flying over its entrance (although not in as prevalent of a manner).
Our first stop in Knott’s was Ghost Town! We decided we should make our way through to get the worst ride out of our way.
Ghost Town was literally a ghost town when we visited. The hot weather and possibly the first week of school for California kept the crowds away.
The nerves were high as we walked up to one of the most hated roller coasters in the United States.
In the Ghostrider queue, and I believe a few other queues at Knott’s, there was one of the best safety videos I’ve ever seen at a theme park. Wild western characters demonstrated how to properly seat yourself on the ride.
Upon ascending the lift hill of Ghostrider, I once again began to question my choice to ride.
And once the ride got going, my nerves only increased. Ghostrider was definitely an extremely rough coaster, but nevertheless it was a kind of “fun” rough. I was expecting the roughness, but not in the way Ghostrider provided it. My bones were literally vibrating as we travelled through the course.
At the end of Ghostrider, I was truly terrified in a way that I rarely am on rides. It’s visible in my on-ride picture, which we did purchase but I am not going to show here. All I’m going to say is that it was a good one!
In the distance from Ghostrider, we could see two more members of the tall Knott’s skyline!
To get back on the topic of Ghostrider, the ride will likely be great with next year’s Great Coasters International renovation. The new millennium flyer trains should do wonders for the ride!
Another notable memory was the beauty of some of Ghost Town’s plants!
Our next stop in our visit to Knott’s was Silver Bullet!
Silver bullet was a fantastic B&M invert! It was smooth and it even had some elements I don’t think are particularly common on B&M inverts.
All of the inversions were fun, but what was probably my favorite part was the overbanked turn early in the ride!
And the ride also had a simple, but nice logo, which is now on a shirt that I own!
The station gave us a nice view of the surrounding sections of the park! This view must look a lot different without the Screamin’ Swing!
I have to say, Silver Bullet was probably my favorite ride of the day at Knott’s. I love a classic B&M invert!
And I’m so so sorry Ghostrider, but I did not like you very much!
I bet this view will look even better with the new stage that will debut in the Screamin’ Swing’s place next year! It will be highly themed based on the concept art!
Also, from the Silver Bullet station, I got a glimpse at a ride experience that I had never encountered in my theme park adventures, the Pony Express! It was not time for this yet though!
A little morning B&M always brightens your day!
This was going to be our next stop of the day, especially since it was already in the nineties outside!
Knott’s has a lot of interlocking roller coasters!
Jaguar is literally everywhere in the park!
I see Montezooma’s Revenge hiding in the back of this picture!
The Tower of Power… I mean… “Supreme Scream.”
Like most other parks, Knott’s has a beautifully decorated chairswing attraction! Although we did not ride at Knott’s, these are always fun to do!
We passed this incredible looking Intamin on our way over to the log flume!
After riding, all I have to say is wow! That was a fantastic log flume!
The theming in Timber Mountain was extraordinary, Knott’s did a fantastic job with the recent refurbishment of the attraction.
Here’s one of the ride’s animatronics!
Although I loved Timber Mountain, I have a shameful confession to make about the visit to Knott’s. We did not do the Calico Mine Ride. Feel free to send us hate emails for this despicable crime.
Well, we may not have done Calico Mine Ride, but we did head over to this wild ride next!
Xcelerator was Knott’s Berry Farm’s 2002 addition. It was Intamin’s first ever hydraulic launch coaster. This installation launches riders to speeds of 82 mph. Essentially, this was the experiment for two even faster coasters which came in the years after the debut of Xcelerator, Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka.
From the highest point of Xcelerator, there is a great view of the surrounding area!
Essentially, Xcelerator is a good ride, but it’s way too short. That’s the best way of describing it and its counterparts of Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka.
The launch and top hat are very fun parts of the ride.
But unfortunately afterwards the ride is a mediocre series of turns which end very shortly. It’s fun overall, but it’s not the best coaster in the park. That honor goes to Silver Bullet.
I say this way too frequently, but I LOVE the look of track close-ups!
The Knott’s Skytower loomed above!
Wait, what’s holding up the roller coaster???
Okay, this is one of my few complaints about the day, and it’s going to sound terrible, but FastLane on Xcelerator was awful. We went through the Fastlane entrance, but it was behind the end of the actual line, so essentially the FastLane did nothing. It was not a big deal, but it was a bit disappointing.
Another complaint was the lack of shade in Xcelerator’s queue. It was way too hot not to have shade there.
By the time we got off of Xcelerator, it was time for lunch. We then walked down the Knott’s Boardwalk in search of an air conditioned restaurant.
The recently redone land looked very good!
This was the only eyesore though. Although this was not operating, I avoid these while I’m at the parks. I’ve heard terrible things about them (I’ve never rode one though).
The park was still empty, but inside at Johnny Rocket’s, it was packed! All I have to say about the restaurant is that it was a fantastic break from the hot weather! It offered some great discounts for Cedar Fair passholders too!
After Johnny Rocket’s, it was time to get back on the rides!
The first of which was the now closed Knott’s Screamin’ Swing!
Although they are fun, the Screamin’ Swings have one flaw, the rides are too short. If they were another thirty seconds longer the attractions would greatly improve. It was not really worth the extra fee on the Knott’s version.
After the swing, it was time for the latest innovative attraction to come to the park, Voyage to the Iron Reef! Iron Reef was a fantastic attraction. It was well themed, the 3D was amazing, and it was simply fun! After riding, I really want a Triotech dark ride to come out to my home park of Kings Dominion!
Our next stop was Pony Express!
Although there are some who disagree, I found Pony Express to be one of the most fun coasters at the park. It was something I had never experienced, and I found it to be quite an enjoyable attraction.
My only complaint about Pony Express is the ride’s length, I wish it was a longer ride. Luckily, larger models of the motorbike/steeplechase coaster are popping up in other locations such as the soon to open Shanghai Disneyland!
Although we did not ride, Knott’s appeared to have a nice river rapids attraction!
Shortly after Pony Express, some members of our group sought relief from the hot weather of Knott’s, so they went to see the Snoopy Ice Skating Show. I was told it was not very good.
I decided I would go and ride the remaining Knott’s coasters while they saw the show. The first of which was Sierra Sidewinder, which unfortunately was not operating when I arrived, so I decided to save it for later in the day.
Making my way around the loop of the park, I stopped at Jaguar next. Jaguar was a very good family coaster that gives you a nice view of the park. It’s not tall or anything, but it’s a rather fun attraction.
After Jaguar, it was time for Montezooma’s Revenge. Montezooma’s Revenge was another fun ride. With almost no wait, you got a fun and relatively intense experience. You pull a lot of G’s in portions of the attraction.
Next up was Ricochet!
Honestly, I mainly rode Ricochet for the credit. It was nothing special, but still a decent ride. You can find similar wild mouse attractions at most theme parks.
Boomerang was unfortunately the next stop…
Although it may have a nice paint scheme, Boomerang is not very good. I gave it a chance because there are some very nice versions of the popular clone at parks such as Carowinds and Hersheypark, but with the older restraints like at Knott’s this attraction is just not worth it.
I like how the Knott’s skytower has the “K” on top. It differentiates this one from other installations of the common attraction.
It may be nice looking, but don’t ride Boomerang.
After meeting up once again with the group, we made our way over to Sierra Sidewinder to give it once last chance. Luckily, the Mack Spinner was open!
Although there are some terrible spinners out there, this one was fantastic! The banked turns are what made all the difference in my opinion. It was definitely a nice way to finish our visit to Knott’s.
We may have missed some essential offerings of Knott’s, which included exploring Ghost Town more and the Calico Mine Ride, but I still found our visit to be quite enjoyable and exciting. The park has several fantastic coasters, some nice theming, and continuously improves with its parent company Cedar Fair investing heavily in the park. In the past few years alone the park has received a fantastic dark ride, a completely revamped and fantastic boardwalk section, and now is working to improve it’s historic ghost town. The already fantastic park has a bright future in store, and next time I am in California, it will be a must-do theme park.
After our day at Knott’s, it was time for the worst part of the entire trip… driving on Los Angeles’s freeways to our next stop in Universal City. It took over an hour, but we finally reached the Sheraton next to the park, but to hear more about that you’ll have to see the next installment of TP&T’s California Adventure, where we will visit Universal Studios Hollywood and Six Flags Magic Mountain!
For even more coverage of theme parks and attractions, you can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter,Periscope, YouTube, Google+, and Tumblr! Also, TP&T is now available on Apple News! Just search “Theme Parks and Travels” in the app, and hit the subscribe button!
Two years ago, at the IAAPA Expo, it was announced that the world’s tallest roller coaster would be coming to Florida. Last year, it was announced to be coming to Orlando. Today (December 1st, 2015), it was finally approved!
Skyplex is a large retail, dining, and entertainment complex proposed for north International Drive in Orlando. The proposed attraction is set to feature a US Thrill Rides Polercoaster, which is a large roller coaster wrapped around an observation tower, the world’s tallest drop tower, a “Unicoaster” flat ride, a zip-line, and more.
In recent months, the debate over the project became very intense. It began with the FAA approving the massive height of the polercoaster and became heated when one of the recommendation boards in the approval process recommended not to approve the project. This was largely due to the lobbying of a nearby attraction, the Universal Orlando Resort.
In the last few weeks, petitions have gone out for both sides of the argument, pamphlets against the project were sent to Orlando area residents, and the theme park community exploded with supporters and those against the project.
Today, the long anticipated project for several theme park and roller coaster fans was officially heard by the Orange County Commissioners Board.
Several Orlando residents, local businessmen, theme park bloggers, and representatives of Skyplex and Universal spoke. The vast majority of these people were in favor of the project.
Strangely enough, Universal did not seem to do nearly as much lobbying against the project as they recently have, although there was some.
After several hours of listening to speakers, the board members motioned to vote on the project with some limitations which were agreed upon by Skyplex. The most notable of these limitations was a 600 foot height limit.
Eventually, the commissioners voted on the project. The results were unanimous, Skyplex was approved!
Hopefully, the project will break ground soon! Joshua Wallack has said to expect Skyplex to open in 2018, with the Skyscraper rollr coaster and drop tower completed first. The nearby Mango’s nightclub and restaurant, also owned by Wallack, is likely to open sooner. Until then, we’ve got something awesome to look at from the Orlando Eye!
Personally, I couldn’t be more excited for this! The world’s tallest roller coaster is coming to a place I regularly visit, and it’s going to be an Intamin! Almost nothing sounds better!
What do you think of the officially approved Skyplex Orlando project? You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter,Periscope, YouTube, Google+, and Tumblr! Also, TP&T is now available on Apple News! Just search “Theme Parks and Travels” in the app, and hit the subscribe button!
Last week, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions held their annual expo in Orlando. At the convention, ride manufacturers showed off their latest creations and parks revealed even more details of their new attractions!
Here’s some links to some of the news that we covered in other articles:
The first news we’re going to talk about is out of the RMC booth. Our friend Brent from Pixels at the Parks sent us pictures of the booth.
The two models the company offered until recently are the I-Box steel track and the topper track. They are pictured in the above image with I-Box on the left and Topper Track on the right.
I-Box track is used on roller coasters like Twisted Colossus and Wicked Cyclone. Instead of a wood layer underneath a thin steel top, it uses a purely steel track. This steel track requires minimal maintenance compared to the wooden track featured on the original versions of these rides.
On the right is the RMC topper track. With layers of wood and a piece of steel on top of the track, this is what allows rides like Outlaw Run to be called wooden coasters. It uses a system that allows for smooth, versatile, and fun rides!
In addition to their two track types that revolutionized the wooden coaster, it appears that Rocky Mountain construction is venturing into the steel coaster market with their latest two offerings.
The first of the two new offerings is this wild looking track, the T-Rex track! On a first impression, it looks as if it’s just a giant steel table, but this is a one-rail steel track!
This is a video of the new concept, which has been a hot topic in the community since preliminary images were released. The ride looks like another wacky and incredible Rocky Mountain Construction design!
Although it seemed to be a “sleeper” announcement at the conference, Rocky Mountain Construction also revealed a new family roller coaster track. The green track looks very similar to that of the I-Box track, but it is of a larger size. From the looks of it, I think it is for another one rail coaster. It will definitely be interesting to see what a Rocky Mountain Construction family coaster will be like.
With a launch, a backwards section, and a drop on it, the new Zamperla Family Coaster will be one of the company’s most unique and innovative attractions to date. Similar to Verbolten (although Verbolten was a Zierer coaster), this will be another product from the company suitable for guests of all ages.
Extreme Engineering Zipline Coaster:
One of the strangest and most interesting new attractions offered at the expo was the Extreme Engineering zipline Coaster. Although some may not be excited by this, I certainly am. I heard good things about it from a couple of riders and I’d love to see
A few months ago, Playland Castaway Cove revealed details on their next roller coaster, Gale Force. As the first S&S Launched El Loco, the company revealed the above new trains for the new product at the expo! They look like very nice trains similar to those on Cannibal at Lagoon.
Quassy Announces New Ride:
The SBF Visa Group and Quassy Amusement Park announced their newest attraction, Reverse Time, at the IAAPA Expo. It will be the first installation of this flat ride in the United States.
Yes, that’s right, the Philadelphia Toboggan Company still exists, and they now offer roller coaster trains that can go upside-down! They revealed their brand new “PTCI 360” trains with the interesting design shown above. I’m not sure what to think about them.
The company also revealed a new device to help those who are handicapped to enter roller coaster cars. The lift will hopefully make roller coasters more accessible to those who have a hard time riding.
Fun Spot – Crazy Couch and VR Testing:
Very early in the IAAPA conference, it was rumored that Fun Spot bought a Skyline Attractions Crazy Couch. Shortly thereafter, the park confirmed this, and as of Wednesday, November 25th, the attraction is operating at the park!
In addition to this, the park’s Freedom Flyer coaster was also used to showcase virtual reality technology on roller coasters. According to those who rode, the technology brought a fantastic new element to the ride and was perfectly synchronized to the actual ride.
Phobia Phear Coaster Trains Revealed:
Premier Rides and Lake Compounce showcased the trains for the latest Sky Rocket II clone coming to the park this year. Luckily, these will not have the dreaded “comfort” collars found on Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Tempesto.
Maurer Sohne revealed their newest products at the IAAPA Expo, which included a wing coaster and a bike coaster! It’s interesting to see more manufacturers offering these relatively new ride concepts.
New Skyplex Renderings:
Finally, in addition to all of the above news, the developers of Skyplex and Intamin released the latest renderings for the wild polercoaster! The ride is going to break even more world records as it will feature the world’s tallest vertical launch, which will take riders from 24 feet below the ground and up to over 500 feet in the air, straight into the world’s highest inversion!
Also, with this new rendering, images of the world’s tallest drop tower, Skyfall, were shown for the first time. Another notable feature is an example of a US Thrill Rides “Unicoaster,” which appears to be a modern version of Knoebels’s Looper flat ride, is located near the final inversion of the roller coaster.
What do you think of these IAAPA announcements? Let us know by commenting below! You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter,Periscope, YouTube, Google+, and Tumblr! Also, TP&T is now available on Apple News! Just search “Theme Parks and Travels” in the app, and hit the subscribe button!
In August of 2015, the TP&T team hopped on a plane and flew out for an incredible adventure in California. The visit included visiting several of Southern California’s incredible list of theme parks and learning about the history of the Walt Disney Company. In our visit, we went to The Jim Henson Company, Walt Disney Studios, Imagineering, various Hollywood attractions, and the Disneyland resort as part of the Adventures by Disney Backstage Magic tour. After the five day tour, we continued our journey as we visited Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios, and Six Flags Magic Mountain before returning home. In this article and several other articles full of photos, we invite you to join us in TP&T’s California Adventure! So sit back, relax, and get ready to journey into the Wonderful World of the entertainment industry!
For those of you first reading this series, welcome! I strongly recommend reading some of the previous articles. Links are below!
Part 1 – Hollywood – We visit several Hollywood destinations as our Backstage Magic tour begins! Enjoy photos and information from Disney Studios and our fantastic visit to Imagineering. You can find the article here!
Part 2 – An Evening in Disneyland – In this trip report, we journeyed through endless traffic on the Los Angeles highways and wound up at the happiest place on earth, Disneyland! This article will take you within the gates of the original theme park as we spend a very exciting evening in the park. You can find the article here!
Part 3 – A Day in the Happiest Place on Earth – With this photo update, you follow us into the original theme park as we venture through a park filled with hidden finds and awesome attractions. Oh yeah, we also went into the Dream Suite (and I have pics)! You can read the trip report here!
BONUS – I’ve got a Fantasmic! video up on the YouTube Channel! You can view the video here!
Just in case you couldn’t tell from the title, our next leg of the California trip brought us to Disney California Adventure. After our long day in Disneyland, we got some sleep, and woke up early the next day to meet with the Adventures by Disney group. After getting ready, we had a character breakfast at the Grand Californian, and made our way into the park!
It was early in the day when we entered Disney California Adventure, which meant that the Grizzly Peak section of the park looked beautiful with the light!
We were unsure of where we were going, but our Adventure Guides took us over to Grizzly Peak Airfield.
I have to say, the area looked like an airport, but it was not the best themed Disney land.
In the distance, the glamorous 1930s Hollywood soared above the park.
Soon, we were told we would be riding Soarin’ over California!
The buildings were nicely themed and fit very well into the land as a whole.
We talked with a member of the Soarin’ maintenance team, and then the group was escorted into the massive building.
We rode Soarin’, which had been updated with new 4K projectors as part of the ride’s recent renovation. As always, it was a fun attraction that fit very well into the area. It was also nice that we didn’t have to wait for it like we did in Florida! Afterwards, we were told to stay in the area, so I got this unique shot of what it looks like above Soarin’.
Soon, we were escorted behind the projector for the ride! Although I was unable to take pictures, I did find this picture via InPark Magazine
Vekoma also had a good picture that could show what we experienced back there. They let us stay down there during a ride through of the attraction, so we got a nice view of how it works. Although the ride has minimal movements, it really creates an immersive experience. The cars appear to travel up and down a little bit and tilt from side to side. That’s all it took. A few tricks are also used on the ride to create the illusion of flight, one of which was that when tilting to the left, the car on the right is highest, and left is lowest, which adds to the effect.
Next, we went into the backstage areas of Soarin’. Inside, they showed us the chemicals they use to recreate smells and showed us the erector kit model that the ride was based on. The chemicals come in a salt-like form from what I remember. When Soarin’ Around the World flies in next year (read that last sentence again if you didn’t notice the pun), I expect to smell all around the world!
After soaring over California, it was time for everyone’s favorite place, the restroom! By that point in the day, we knew about an unannounced Disney ride (at the time), Soarin’ Around the World. That’s right folks, I reported it two whole days before it was announced (we were at DCA August 13th, it was announced August 15th)! Anyway, now that I’m done bragging, I’d like to share my thoughts on the coming attraction. It will be great in Shanghai and Epcot, but terrible in DCA. The ride is in a park themed to California, and the land was just renovated to fit even more closely to many of the places featured in the ride (Sequoia/Yosemite). I’m sorry, but I think that explains it all.
Anyway, I think that concludes my Soarin’ rant. Everyone’s said what I said before, but I just thought I’d say it too. I loved the rock work in the land. It looked fantastic in the morning light!
The buildings were the perfect colors and style too. I think the renovation looks fantastic.
While waiting in Grizzly Peak Airfield, I caught a glimpse of our next destination, Carthay Circle.
In the park’s “hub,” guests were starting to pour in.
Standing up above was the beautiful Carthay restaurant!
The decorations on the building for Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary looked fantastic!
Inside, we took a long tour of the restaurant. Inside, there are a number of pictures of Walt and interesting details hidden throughout. Just look at the tabletops, you may notice something in the wood!
After a while of touring the restaurant, I was yearning to ride something. It looked like we were done, but we had another stop on the restaurant tour.
We entered DCA’s exclusive Club 1901, which is what the Adventure guides described to us as “Platinum Level Club 33.” Although the inside was beautiful, I needed a thrill (or a soda, but they weren’t giving us food/drink because it appeared to be closed).
Finally, after an hour of touring the restaurant, we began our walk to the next attraction!
The moment we got here, I was incredibly excited!
We entered the beautiful Radiator Springs, which is one of the best theme park lands out there (and that’s coming from someone who hates the movie Cars)!
The land looked as if it was straight out of the movie, assuming you replace Cars with people, and stick about quadruple the population of the town into it.
The Cozy Cone was one of the nicest looking buildings in town, I just wish they’d made it a real hotel!
Flo’s Cafe looked just like the one in the movie.
It reminds me of a nicer version of Sonic. 🙂
I wonder how many people have tried to knock down this tower?
Overall, Radiator Springs was a beautiful land. Disney added several little details to enhance the land as they always do. Some of the most noticeable details were how the stoplight flashes slightly longer one time than the others, and when night comes the land lights up slowly in segments.
Finally, it was time for an attraction! Half the group went backstage while half of us walked up to Radiator Springs Racers! The “Paddle of Power” photobombed my shot, I tried three times and I missed getting an unobstructed picture for different reasons every time.
The queue for the ride was beautiful!
On my one ride, I filmed a mounted POV of Radiator Springs Racers! I do not recommend doing this unless you are experienced with filming rides. I used a GoPro Jaws Flex Clamp mount and attached it quickly and easily to a bar on the ride. I am saying this because this is probably the easiest and only way you can do what I did. There was nothing in the rules of the park at the time saying this was not allowed (and as far as I know it still is allowed), and our Adventure Guides found out afterwards and did not say it was bad, but instead said how awesome that was. As far as I could tell, everything was okay, but I urge not to film without experience in that manner (I’ve done a couple of mount tests before on a car).
Here’s a fun game, is it Radiator Springs Racers or is it real?
How about this one?
Last, but not least, this one! Be sure to comment below or send us your answers on Twitter!
Radiator Springs Racers was an incredible attraction. It brought Test Track to a new level. The racing aspect, rock work, indoor theming, and a course that wasn’t just a circle all combined into a fantastic ride!
Shortly afterwards, we were escorted behind the ride and into the machine room of Radiator Springs Racers. Inside, we learned bit about what they do for maintenance and how the ride works. Essentially, these cars are a disaster for maintenance. Frequently, they are taken into the shop and are completely rebuilt (I believe this is every nine months, but I can’t remember). After the extensive rehab, which takes weeks, but used to take much longer than it does now, the cars return to regular circulation. There are SEVERAL cars on the ride and in maintenance at once.
Radiator Springs Racers also has one of the most detailed control panels available in its maintenance shop. The televisions within display every aspect of the ride for the crews to view. The animatronics frequently break and are repaired overnight. I believe two of them were down by the time we rode.
After the backstage adventure, we walked through cast member only zones and into Paradise Pier. There, we waited for the remainder of the group before our next attraction.
That next attraction was Toy Story Midway Mania. The entire tour group was brought onto the ride. Due to the fact that I was sitting next to an Adventure Guide who helped expose some of the secrets of the game for me, I proudly beat the rest of the TP&T crew!
While in Paradise Pier, California Screamin’ was down (it was testing in this picture).
Since we were getting hungry, we decided to go grab some lunch!
The hot California sun didn’t help our thirst either as the tour group dispersed (with five any-attraction fastpasses)!
Using the Disneyland app, we found a nice sit down restaurant in the white building.
The Cove bar had delicious food with a beautiful view of Paradise Pier. Food options were mainly appetizers, but the sliders, pizza, and spinach and artichoke dip were all delicious. The service was very good too!
Mickey’s Fun wheel was one of the few attractions I wished I had rode, but didn’t get to ride while at Disney California Adventure.
Testing continued throughout lunch, that ride has a lot of trains running at once!
During lunch, the ride reopened, and waits instantly soared up to thirty minutes or so.
I love the California Screamin’ logo!
California Screamin’ was one great Intamin! It really is what ties Paradise Pier together as a land. It was a very smooth, long, and flat out fun ride!
Speaking of California Screamin’, I filmed a POV of the awesome coaster! Unfortunately, my GoPro mount broke (literally, the main container holding the GoPro) before I got on. Unfortunately, I had to hold onto the camera throughout the ride, but luckily the footage still turned out pretty good!
I have to say, the new DCA is just a beautiful park. If Hollywood Studios looks like this once it’s complete, my excitement will be through the roof!
Across the way from California Screamin’, it was time for us to venture Under the Sea!
I thought The Little Mermaid was a fun attraction. It essentially summarized the entire movie for guests, but it is definitely a good dark ride for the little kids!
The building also had some beautiful architectural details!
After riding the Little Mermaid, we walked our way around Grizzly Peak trying to get into Hollywood. I’m not sure why, but we did take that long route!
Grizzly Peak reminded me of Yellowstone!
Even the plants fit in perfectly with the rapids ride!
It almost looked like a hot spring back there.
Passing through the hub again, the crowds were noticeably lower than before.
Overall, Hollywood Land was a decently themed area.
The facades looked great, with designs that look much better than those of actual Los Angeles.
Even Disney Junior fit well into the land.
The only problem with the land was this. I think the painting is very well done, but it just doesn’t fit well enough into the landscape of the town. I understand doing this at a place like Hollywood Studios, where the Streets of America represent a movie lot, but they should have placed an actual facade here.
It was time to be terror-fied! 🙂
We entered the queue, went through the pre-show, and entered the service room for the hotel. All of a sudden, we were going upstairs into a second service room above. It was strange, but it made sense to increase loading capacity. The ride started with a move backwards into the ride’s scenes. Eventually, you make your way up, and quickly transition into the drop sequence (unlike the Florida ride, which features a forward moving section of the drop tower). In this version, I felt like the drop sequence was longer, which is great. I love the drop on these rides, and they are the only drop towers I’ve ever enjoyed.
It was getting late and hot that afternoon. While some members of the tour took advantage of reserved seating at the Aladdin show, we went for a ride on Monsters Inc! Like Ariel, it was another fun ride that essentially summarized the movie. These two rides bring the classic dark ride into a modern context.
Since we were going back for a break in the hotel, we walked down through Grizzly Peak.
Using one of the fastpasses, I got one soaking and fun ride on the park’s water ride! I loved it! In my opinion, it was very comparable to Animal Kingdom’s Kali River Rapids (although I haven’t been on that in a while). I liked the overall theme more, and would rank this slightly above.
As it got late in the evening, we relaxed in our room for a little while before returning into the park for dinner and some more fun! Included in our tour was a meal at the Carthay Circle restaurant (as you recall, I “loved” touring it). Unfortunately, the service was slow, but my meal was okay. I had one of three items listed on the limited menu they gave us, the chicken. The meal just took a lot of time (and if you don’t have my diet coke out within fifteen minutes from me ordering it, that brings you down several points in my book).
We finished the meal, and moved on to Paradise Pier for the evening’s showing of World of Color! Meanwhile, our friends from Extended Queue also happened to be in the park that night (sadly, we didn’t bump into them). Adventures by Disney then brought us to a reserved area with a great view of the show. Overall, it was a decent show. Essentially, it was a very long Disney commercial. I wouldn’t say NPH ruined the show, but I would say that it wasn’t as good as some of the other shows at the Disneyland Resort due to the nature of it. It had a high emphasis on Frozen (we were “privileged” to listen to the entirety of “Let it Go”) and otherwise it was mostly a Disneyland commercial. Not particularly exciting.
Afterwards, it was almost time to go. While the rest of the group went back to the hotel, I got one more ride in on Soarin’ before I left. Although the people surrounding me on the attraction were rude and annoying (leaning on me, swearing loudly with young kids near them, and swinging the car while cast members requested for them to stop), it was still a magnificent ride. It was a great way to end my visit to the Disneyland Resort. The next day, we’d head down the road to what was once a family owned berry farm!
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Skyplex Orlando was set to become an incredible retail and entertainment district featuring the world’s tallest roller coaster and the world’s tallest drop tower when it opens in 2018, but recent news today is making this goal more challenging to achieve. Why will this be so hard? The answer, the neighbors of Skyplex Orlando, the Universal Orlando Resort.
With the backing of their parent company Comcast, Universal Orlando Resort fought the developers of the impressive new complex today in front of the Orange County Development Committee. They recommended that the project continue, but with height restrictions. They pointed to complaints from a nearby residential neighborhood while Skyplex’s developers pointed to nearby residents in support of the development. Without the height, the 700 foot tall tower with a 501 foot tall roller coaster would not be the same. The FAA approved the height of the Polercoaster in July.
Skyplex is one of many nearby developments that Universal has opposed recently. The theme park recently filed a lawsuit against the hotels surrounding a lake connected to their waterpark, Wet n’ Wild, because they drain into the lake. In the past, the waterpark had used the lake for recreational activities and shows, but they claim that it is currently un-usable because of the condition of the lake. The waterpark is set to close at the end of 2016, which leads several to believe that they are filing the lawsuit because they want to fill in the lake.
Several members of the theme park community have attributed Universal’s opposition to the project to the fact that the tower will be visible from within the park. It is similar to their complaint at draining into the lake. In my opinion, this is a ridiculous move by Universal Orlando. It prevents the development of another fantastic attraction that would bring people to International Drive and their park. Another problem I have with their opposition is that they used to be the underdogs. Disney developed Hollywood Studios to prevent them from emerging, and they are doing this to prevent Skyplex from emerging. In the past, Disney was portrayed as the “bad guys” for this, but now it seems Universal has done the same. It is definitely a sad day to see Universal doing what they are doing.
What do you think about Universal’s response to the Skyplex development? Let us know by commenting below! Also, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! You can also find us on Periscope, YouTube, Google+, and Tumblr!
Today (June 16, 2015), 131 years ago, the first modern roller coaster opened to the public, the Switchback Railway at Coney Island. It travelled at a speedy 6mph and was a hit. Since then, thousands of roller coasters have been built all across the world. Here are some of history’s most notable roller coasters!
The Switchback Railway at Coney Island, New York was built in 1884. As the first modern roller coaster, it inspired replicas and new models of roller coasters to be built all across the world. (Image-Wikimedia)
In the early 1900s, the famous roller coaster designer John Miller patented several advancements in safety for roller coasters. He also designed several roller coasters through the 1920s, which became the “Golden Age” of roller coasters. This coaster was the Ravine Flyer at Waldameer Park in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Image-Waldameer)
Another “Golden Age” John Miller coaster is the Jack Rabbit at Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. It is one of three John Miller wooden coasters at Kennywood that operate today (the other two are Racer and Thunderbolt). These are some of the few roller coasters that survived the Great Depression. As the economy collapsed, numerous parks across America collapsed with it. Fortunately, these three coasters survived. (Image-Wikimedia)
The Coney Island Cyclone is one of the most famous wooden coasters in the world. It opened on the 26th of June in 1927 and has given riders a thrill to this date. It’s another coaster that survived the Great Depression, or Dark Age of roller coasters. (Image-Wikimedia)
The next major step in roller coaster history didn’t occur until the year 1959, when Disneyland opened the Matterhorn, the world’s first steel roller coaster. This Arrow Developments roller coaster started the phenomenon of steel tubular roller coasters, which allowed for bigger and greater rides than ever before. (Image-Disney)
In 1972, Kings Island opened The Racer, a classic dueling roller coaster. The Recer started the second Golden Age of roller coasters. Similar coasters opened at other theme parks, such as Kings Dominion and Carowinds. The Racer began a new phenomenon of roller coasters in America. (Image-Wikimedia)
In 1975, the tubular steel track of the Matterhorn was used to create a roller coaster inversion. At Knott’s Berry Farm, Arrow Development, the manufacturers of the Matterhorn, created Corkscrew, the first steel inverting coaster. It started a revolution of inverting roller coasters around the world! The modern loop-de-loop was not on this ride, it was first used on Revolution at Magic Mountain, which opened the following year. (Image-Ultimate Roller Coaster)
In 1977, Kings Dominion opened the world’s first launched roller coaster, King Kobra. The Anton Schwarzkopf designed roller coaster was also the world’s first shuttle loop roller coaster. (Image-Flickr)
Another famous dueling wooden coaster was Colossus. It opened in 1978 at Six Flags Magic Mountain, which at the time was just Magic Mountain, and was the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster. (Image-Wikimedia)
1978 was the opening year for yet another famous roller coaster, the Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. At the time, it was the world’s tallest roller coaster. Its interlocking loops are still a famous symbol of Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
In 1979, Kings Island opened yet another record breaking roller coaster, the Beast. It was the longest wooden roller coaster on the planet. It is a fan favorite for several coaster enthusiasts. (Image-Wikimedia)
In 1981, Arrow Dynamics built The Bat, the first suspended roller coaster. It only operated for a short period of time at Kings Island, but it was re-designed and re-opened at a different spot at Kings Island. This type of coaster became the “it” family coaster. (Image-KIExtreme)
In 1989, Cedar Point started the roller coaster wars by building Magnum XL-200. It was the first ever roller coaster to break 200 feet. After this ride was built, parks around the world battled for the tallest and fastest roller coasters. (Image-Wikimedia)
In 1992, the famous roller coaster manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard created their first roller coaster (as their own company), Batman: The Ride. It was the first ever inverted roller coaster. Now, there are several of these across the world, including Montu at Busch Gardens Tampa and Alpengeist at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. (Image-Six Flags Great America)
In 1996, Kings Dominion launched itself back into the history books with Flight of Fear, the first LIM launched roller coaster. This premier rides roller coaster inspired clones at parks such as Kings Island and Six Flags America.
In 1997, Six Flags Magic Mountain and Intamin broke history yet again by building Superman: The Escape. It was the first ever coaster to break 400 feet and travelled at 100mph. (Image-Wikimedia)
Next, Six Flags Great Adventure and B&M created the world’s first floorless roller coaster, Medusa, in 1999. It is currently known as Bizzaro and has a fantastic soundtrack! (Image-Wikimedia)
In 2000, Cedar Point and Intamin opened the world’s first gigacoaster, Millennium Force. It is still one of the most popular roller coasters of all time. (Image-Wikimedia)
In 2000, the Vekoma-built Stealth became the first ever flying coaster at California’s Great America. These roller coasters are some of the most unique and intense rides. It’s currently located at Carowinds and is known as Nighthawk. (Image-Wikimedia)
Another record breaker that opened in 2000 was Son of Beast. This was the world’s tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster when it opened. It was the only wooden hypercoaster and it was the first wooden coaster with a vertical loop. Unfortunately, the ride was plagued with multiple accidents and was closed to the public forever. (Image-Wikimedia)
In 2001, Kings Dominion built the world’s first Air-Powered launch coaster. The S&S roller coaster launched from 0-80mph in 1.8 seconds. Sadly, the roller coaster experienced frequent technical difficulties, and closed in 2007. The station still stands between the Hurler and the Grizzly. (Image-Wikimedia)
In 2002, Arrow Dynamics built the world’s first 4D roller coaster, X, at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The ride’s seats flipped as it travelled throughout the course. Sadly, like most other prototypes, the ride had several issues and closed in 2007. S&S ironed out the issues and it re-opened the next season as X2. Currently, the ride is a popular attraction at Six Flags Magic Mountain. (Image-Wikimedia)
In 2004, Intamin built the world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster, Top Thrill Dragster, at Cedar Point. That new addition initiated the coaster wars yet again. The next year, Six Flags Great Adventure decided to top them with the addition of Kingda Ka (pictured above), which became the world’s tallest roller coaster at 456 feet. (Image-Wikimedia)
The final roller coaster to make major history is Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. Outlaw Run was the first ever inverting wooden coaster manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction. Since then, they’ve built more inverting wooden coasters and have transformed old wooden coasters into steel hybrid coasters with inversions. Rocky Mountain Construction has transformed the Colossus roller coaster into Twisted Colossus, a dueling steel hybrid coaster. These Rocky Mountain Construction roller coasters are some of the newest and most popular attractions to date. (Image-Silver Dollar City)
The roller coaster has become the most popular thrill ride of all time in its 131 years. The 6mph thrill machine known as the Scenic Railway has grown into steel behemoths that travel above 100mph. After 131 years of innovation in thrills, I can’t wait to see what the next 131 years will bring to roller coasters. This blog probably wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for these thrill machines! So, after 131 years, and plenty of history, the roller coaster has evolved itself into the crazy species we see today. If you want to know more about these and other types of roller coasters, you can read more on our website and other theme park websites. Thanks you for visiting Theme Parks and Travels! Be sure to follow us here on WordPress and share with the buttons below! Also, you can find us on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and Tumblr!
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With the world’s tallest roller coaster, an observation tower, the world’s tallest drop tower, a zip-line, restaurants, shops, and more coming to Orlando’s Skyplex development, who would have thought they would announce even more! Today, Skyplex announced that they would add a surf park to this long list of attractions.
The Parking Garage where the Surf Park will be located is to the left of the tower. Image-Skyplex Orlando
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the surf park will be three wave pools situated atop the development’s 10 story parking garage. The pools will be accompanied by a bar and it is expected that the surfing experience will become a hit with Orlando locals.
This is the newest of several attractions, such as the zip line and drop tower, to be added to the project, which was originally planned to be the polercoaster (observation tower/roller coaster) and the shops.
Although these additions are exciting and fantastic for the Orlando area, they have slowly postponed the opening date of Skyplex from 2016, to 2017, and now, according to the Orlando Sentinel’s article, mostly completed in 2017.
Are you excited for these new attractions to arrive in the Orlando area? Do you think they will be open by 2017? Let us know on our social media! Thanks for reading the blog! Be sure to follow us here on WordPress and share with the buttons below! Also, you can find us on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and Tumblr!
Hello everyone, today we are asking you what your favorite gigacoaster is! These rides are some of the best out there. Whether it’s a B&M, an Intamin, or even a Morgan, these are all great coasters! Down below, we have provided you POVs of each of these amazing coasters.
There’s your choices and the Poll is down below! Thanks for reading the blog! Be sure to follow us here on WordPress and share with the buttons below! Also, you can find us on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Tumblr!
Any images here are our own unless stated otherwise. Please feel free to use our images, but give us proper credit! If you click on an image labeled as from another source, it will take you to the source.
There are several cloned roller coasters in the amusement world. From small Wacky Worms to large hypercoasters, several roller coasters are cloned each year. Generally, I’m against cloning a ride. If a ride is cloned, I hope that there are only a couple of them built in the world. The more unique roller coasters, the better. Since not all coasters are unique, we have listed the three best and worst cloned roller coasters right here! Enjoy!
The Best:
3) Intamin’s Mega-Lite
Intamin Mega-Lites are mini hypercoasters that are packed full of airtime and extreme thrills. They are some of the best clones out there! (Image-Intamin Worldwide)
2) B&M’s Batman: The Ride
Batman: The Ride is the original inverted roller coaster. There are several copies of this ride at parks across the globe, but they are all awesome! (Image-Wikimedia)
1) B&M’s Superman: Ultimate Flight
These rides are great, like every other B&M. The ride is fun and has the signature B&M flying coaster pretzel loop. Also, there’s only a few of these, which helps make it a more unique ride! These flying coasters are amazing! (Image-Wikimedia)
The Worst:
3) Vekoma’s Boomerang!
There are three different types of Boomerangs, and there are over fifty Vekoma Boomerangs in the world. They are okay roller coasters, but there’s just too many of these! (Image-Wikimedia)
2) International Coasters’s Hurler
Hurler has been very rough (for me) in recent years. This ride is respected by me because there’s not too many, but it’s just not very good. On the other hand, I think the RMC treatment would work well for this ride! (Image-Wikimedia)
1) Vekoma SLC
If you’ve been on one of these, you will understand why this is the worst clone. These coasters are some of the roughest out there. If you think a wooden coaster is rough, ride this, and you will be shocked! (Image-Wikimedia)
Those are the best and worst clones! Thanks for reading the blog! Be sure to follow us here on WordPress and share with the buttons below! Also, you can find us on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Tumblr!
Any images here are our own unless stated otherwise. Please feel free to use our images, but give us proper credit! If you click on an image labeled as from another source, it will take you to the source.