Florida 2012

[Mark9]

If Mark thinks Universal is a better Thorpe, I dread to think how you'd feel about Cedar Point

I wouldn't be going to Cedar Point expecting one of the best theme parks in the world.

[Tom]

Totally agree that with all the screens in rides comment about how all the rides are turning into the same thing. I guess universal suffers because of the popularity issue; rides at disney are made from disney classics and pixar films so don't suffer from the 'despicable me.. what is this' in 7 years time.

I rode the Mummy twice in february and my first time it was truly spectacular and smooth but the second time I suffered the roughness. I think without the theming and

faux ending

this ride would lack. From what I remember the end was better than the hollywood version where

you have an awkward turntable with strobe lights. Weird.

so I'd probably rate it higher as a comparison.

[Deleted Users]

Universal Management seem to be treading lightly and I think it's because of Harry Potter. Non-duelling dragons because of people dropping stuff? Horror maze actors told to run away after a scare becuse one of them got punched? I think they don't want any bad rep being attached to Potter.

I'm pretty peeved I won't be able to get on the proper dragons when I go.

[Benin]

Dragons not duelling is more a result of the sue culture they have, cannot blame them for risk prevention when all it takes is one idiot to throw sommat at someone else and the injured person to sue them...

Then court costs and a bad name... Not a good thing for any park... Any sensible park management would attempt to prevent any injuries, of course sometimes it can be overdone, but in the long run, they cannot be blamed...

[Deleted Users]

It's just a bit silly because the same thing could happen on any of the other coasters just with somebody not on the ride getting hit. I'm pretty sure this only happened because 2 incidents occured within a short period of time. If it's anything like the rides at Universal Hollywood there would have been warnings everywhere and the lockers are right by queue entrances.

Yes the ending of Hollywood Mummy is poor and the ride itself is far too short.

[Benin]

It COULD happen is a lot different to an incident actually happening though...

No one had fallen off Tomb Blaster's queue in how many years? One kid does and then we get 6ft fencing everywhere... The modern world is so focused on danger preventation especially after incidents actually happen, and most rides that involve going over major pathways use nets in order to prevent these risks...

[Mark9]

Rest Day - 6th October 2012

One thing you must do when on a Florida trip is to try and fit in a rest day. Whilst being in theme park central is like a never ending supply of chocolate for coaster enthusiasts, the days are long and tyring and after five days of near 12 hour days, rest is essential. We used our rest day to check out one of the water parks, Downtown Disney and to go to a restaurant show.

And so it was off to Typhoon Lagoon

When I say a rest day, I mean being pummelled by several gallons of water every few minutes.

Holy Moly!

Whilst I love the wave pool and the near prospect of drowning, I loved the lazy river more.

So after three hours of splashing we went off to Downtown to grab a sandwich from the Earl of Sandwich. What do ya know, a British themed restaurant again.

Downtown Disney is a weird place though, mainly consisting of shops and closed down bars.

Essentially the biggest Disney store you ever did see.

And finally dinner at Camp Wilderness at the Hoop de Doo Musical revue. I cannot stress enough how amazing this restaurant is. Food is served swiftly whilst a musical show goes in the theatre. The comedy value is high as is the unlimited food and the unlimited sangria. Such a love and so much fun to be in.

AMAZING CAKE

Beary good.

We made our way home via Magic Kingdom and got to see Wishes from a fair old distance away. We made friends with a random Texan family who take a vacation to Disney World every year. They were cool and the kids now have friends in England. Hoorah!

[Mark9]

7th October 2012 - Busch Gardens

To finish off the year of B&M's triumphant return, I really pushed to visit Busch Gardens this time around. I got my wish and after an hour and a half journey we were there. Hoorah. I had heard a lot about Busch so how would it meet expectations?

Sheikra

Every time someone starts a poll about Sheikra and Oblivion, the general concensus is that Sheikra in all its elongated glory, doesn't hold a candle to Oblivion. This strikes me as odd. Sheikra doesn't just have the length, it has the height, the inversion and the second untamed vertical drop. Riding it throws up a lot of opinions. the thing with Busch seems to be that aside from a giant sign and the odd bit of rockwork, their theming ideas are minimal. Sure the ride will look pretty but the queue will be a series of metal fences last seen at Port Aventura. Unlike that Spanish park, queue-jumping is rare so thats a huge positive from the word go. Like the other non-Disney parks a locker system is in place, charging you a quarter every time you use. Nice and cheap, I approve.

There is no doubt that Sheikra looks the business. The Red and Blue of the ride goes beautifully with it's sheer size. It's hard to convey through words and pictures just how huge the structure is. Oblivion looks tiddily in comparison. I have to say its an interesting choice hiding the main first drop away from the eyes of the public, the train dropping next to a few tables.

A trait in America is for the front rows to be nabbed by the Americans leaving the other rows empty. Most of our rides were in the back which is ironically the best seats in the house. The front offers the views but the back offers some extreme air time. And so up you go the massive lift. It takes a while to bulk those massive trains up their but once you arrive it really takes effect. I noticed that Sheikra doesn't use chains at the top to slowly guide you to the holding brake. Instead, Sheikra uses kicker wheels which stop the train quite abruptly and a little bit uncomfortably. The holding break holds you for a good five seconds. Oblivion seems to have given up but Sheikra draws out those seconds. But once you fall the sensation is fantastic. I'd actually say that the drop feels nicer then Oblivion because you don't have that horribly steam hitting you in the face. It loses out with the lack of hole but I can take that change. The inversion is quite something, it's amazing to think a train of that size can do that sort of manoeuvre.

You dive (wahey) under the main structure and into a mid course break run. The train undeterred and without a holding break falls down another vertical drop. This one is sensational throwing you into the top of your restraint with such smoothness. I loved it. The turn around into the splash pool is a wet fish (wahey again) but hey, its economical and provides something nice on a really hot day.

Sheikra is a lot of fun and well recommended.

Yes, we liked Sheikra.

Sheikra - Graded A-

From the top of the tree to the bottom, I arrive at Cheetah Hunt the new ride for 2011. The things I could say about this would fill a few books. I'll start with my favourite thing. I adore the colours, green and yellow should be used on attractions more because Cheetah hunt looks fantastic. The tree thing looks worse in person then it does in pictures. It just resembles ugliness and with a train slowly moving through it, doesn't exude excitement. You enter the queue, for us it ranged from 10 minutes to 20 minutes.

ugly tree

The trains also look fantastic, I love the way they've been designed to resemble a cheetah. The attraction appears to run six trains at a time, akin to Maverick. Unfortunately they have those god awful restraints that almost destroy Rita and really hampered I-Speed. One day they shall get them right. Busch are incredibly picky about loose items, the ride was delayed whilst an arguement over a wallet went on. Tiresome.

And so you sit down and get wheeled out. Out of nowhere your train launches to 40 miles per hour and then immediately slows down as the train barely makes it round a turn around. I just can't believe that this ride was designed like that. From force to tiresome in two seconds. Eventually your train does make it down into a small clearing and zooms off again to 60 miles per hour. Yet again you slow down again as you emerge into the ugly tree. Rather amazingly this turned out to be one of the rides main positives. There's a lot of air time in that small hill, we saw loose change flying out on one of our rides. The turns are fast to up there as the train dives in and out before dropping downwards into a small ravine.

SLOW

People laugh at Shockwave and its straight track. Cheetah Hunt does exactly the same here just moving you straight for a few seconds before emerging from the undergrowth and flying over the cable-car wire. Back down towards the ground before flying up and into a corkscrew type inversion. I have no idea why this ride needed an inversion. Anyone have any ideas?

Right after the pointless inversion you circle around some water and start zig-zagging over a small trickle of water. If the train was going slightly faster this may have an impact but as it stands, this part of track just seems like an inconvenience. So through a rock and into another launch section, this time up to 40 miles per hour and over a small air time hump and back over towards the station.

And so the positives? The colour of the track is beautiful, the tree of ugly is a lot of fun and the scenic elements such as the water are things of beauty.

But Cheetah Hunt as a ride is something that is trying to do to much and failing at most of it. There is no point in that inversion, it has three launches when realistically it only needed the two, the tree of life is good but then you drop into a straight themeless ravine with nothing to take your eye of the concrete. Everything about it feels so blasé. Am I a tough, scary rollercoaster or am I a ride perfect for the families with an inversion and three launches. Even now I don't actually understand the point of Cheetah Hunt, especially when it sits alongside Scorpion and the little wild mouse. The other positive I suppose is that isn't Furius Baco. And that means something in anyones book.

[Mark9]

Busch Gardens - 7th October 2012

Montu

When it comes to the rollercoaster tree, the 8 B&M's in Florida are more well known then any other on the planet. In UK you'll find people are more likely to know about Montu and the Incredible Hulk then anything about Katun and Black Mamba. On paper the Florida rides are bigger, faster with more inversions and set in beautiful sunny climates. But when it comes to sheer quality, Europe fully rules the roost. And nowhere is this more clear then at Busch Gardens, more specifically Montu.

Montu has a fierce reputation as a fast, inverting giant. The devastating batwing element, hiding in the far corner is one of its best assets. When first entering the parks coach park the most evident ride is Montu, its blue and yellow structure beautifully placed to get your tongue wagging. It serves the shame job as Oz'Iris at Parc Asterix. It's quite uncanny how similar these rides are even down to the colour of the trains wheel covers.

And so the ride. The station is a nicely covered Egyptian themed. It's not excessive but it does the job. All American B&M's seem to start off with a nice 180 turn out the station. Montu used to leave over crocodiles but they were moved as the noise of the ride was causing distress. Up the lift hill and down into a fantastic first drop and the ferocious vertical loop. It is a fantastic start to the ride. Sure it's ten a penny when you talk about inverters but as one of the earlier models, Montu's is excellent. The train at full speed rushes into an immelmann turn that is full of force but is more importantly smooth and fun. A zero g follows, nice and snappy.

And then the ride goes to pot.

The following inversion is the batwing but due to the full speed of the train, a very harsh trim break activates to take the sting out of the force. It is appallingly strong to the point that Montu falls from what was a top ride position, to nearer Nemesis Inferno and Batman La Fuga on my own personal rating scale. I cannot fathom why a park would build a ride, one of the most intense ride types available at the time and then allow B&M to kill it dead. Maybe the park got complaints about how intense it was, well duh its a thrill ride, designed to push you to your limits. I understand that there are days where the trim breaks don't activate. Wish I'd had one of those days. And so the batwing becomes just a tiresome, forceless excursion through a tomb. You re-emerge into the mid course break run, where adding insult to injury, another trim break takes effect and slows you down further.

In some ways I can understand why the mcbr does this. Katun does it, Superman de Acero does it, even Manta and Kraken do it. But Montu, which has already had it's bits cuts off, needs a further retooling is beyond me. It makes the rides circuit really predictable considering the majority of the elements can be found on sister ride Kumba. The vertical loop following the mcbr should be special, it isn't. The turn around are borderline insomnia inducing and the ride scuttles to the end with a last ditch attempt corkscrew. You hit the break run and all there is silence. There isn't the punch the air madness that Nemesis arouses and there certainly is the applauding audience of Expedition Everest. The worst part is that the ride starts with such promise, roaring through the sky, appealing to all to ride it. It just takes two moments to destroy such an excellent looking ride. At some points the train makes a dash for it and you can feel the train picking up huge speed but it's all for nothing when a meandering turn around numbs the train to a crawl.

When something surprises you it's the best coaster feeling of them all. The other side of that coin is when a ride promises so much and is ruined by an external feature. Thats the worst feeling of them all.

Trimmed Montu - Graded C

So to cheer myself up here's a picture of an awesome ride that if rumour rings true has also been ruined by park management changes.

Am I Montu or am I Oz'Iris?

Thankfully there was one more B&M left that could help in Americas favour. The original B&M sit-down Kumba.

Kumba

The newest B&M rollercoasters share one common theme in coaster forum circles; Their rides have become samey, too smooth and borer line boring. The concensus remains that rides like Nemesis will never be seen again because B&M want to provide for the masses and not for thrill hungry coaster enthusiasts. I don’t really subscribe to this theory however when riding one of the companies oldest rollercoasters you do notice a slight difference in how they ride.

But before I start the analytical slagging off that reviews usually come down to, lets talk about Kumba. It’s layout is the atypical B&M with .. no wait a second. This isn’t the atypical B&M roller coaster. Lets head back to 1993 when Kumba opened. There wasn’t another ride like this in the world. Seven loops, four across seating, comfortable restraints and seats that didn’t feel like you were sitting in a bucket. Emerald green track with ruby red supports. Blocky, thick track and spine and a giant roar whenever a train travelled along its layout, reliable and scenically beautifully and it’s signature trademark a set of interlocking corkscrews directly placed near the entrance and exit to the ride. Kumba wasn’t just a new ride, it was the start of a rollercoaster revolution. For those that are expecting themed queue line like Sea World and Disney, be dissappointed as Busch don’t do this. For those that have been on Dragon Khan, this is similar except with a lack of queue-jumping. The station is simple with a front row and back row separate queue and easy choosing off the other six rows You jump in the seat and just remember the room for your legs, the ease of the restraint and loading process. And off you go, the train rumbling the track and station as it engages onto the lift.

One thing I would love B&M to return to is track interaction. Here, the rides vertical loop encircles the lift hill and I would imagine it being quite scary for a first time rider. You reach the top and hell naturally is unleased. The train falls gracefully into into its first drop and vertical loop, flying out into an immelman turn. The zero g here is something else. Sure it lacks the whip off the inverters and the one on Khan, but it somehow pushes more force from the turn then its brothers. It’s gorgeous and done at full speed. Not a trim to be seen so far. The cobra roll is one of the better that I have seen so far. It looks fantastic from a nearby bridge, inverting in all its glory.

A break section inevitably hits and tries in vain to slow you down. Not much effect though as you drop dramatically into the corkscrews. Again the turn around lacks something compared to Dragon Khan but where Khan ends by throwing you into a break run, Kumba has more up its sleeve. I find this part of the ride absolutely inspired. The train flies out of the final inversion by turning the train on its side and diving under the station through a short dark tunnel. It then turns into a ground hugging uphill helix that somehow has more sustained force then the rest of the layout. It feels like your skin is being ripped from your face if you excuse the graphic description. It’s this point that made me smile because the ride didn’t just end in an explosion of multiple break runs and trim sections. It threw all its last momentum at its rider and a flurry of force and speed. Pure delight.

The amazing thing about the older rides like Kumba, Nemesis and Dragon Khan is that none of them ride like they should. We are talking about rides that are nearing their 20th anniversaries and yet all four run silkily smooth with only a slight bit of shakiness when the trains are at full speed. It is testament to the quality B&M build and each parks maintenance and care that these attractions run so well and have done for seasons on end. Sure, each ride has been surpassed as headline attractions by Air/Thirteen, Shambhala/Furius Baco and Sheikra/Cheetah Hunt. But when it comes down to the old reliable, I know which rides I’d want to go on over and over again.

Kumba - Graded A

[Fred]

Whats cheetah hunt's grade?

[Mark9]

I'd probably give Cheetah Hunt a C+

[Mark9]

October 8th - Mickeys Not so Scary Halloween party

After what felt like the fastest week in living memory, it was back to Magic Kingdom. We thought the park opened at 9 but it actually flooded its gates with guests at 8am. This meant the park was going for an 8am to 12am the next day close. Incredible opening hours but then I suppose, expected for the most visited theme park in the world.

So to start off we followed a similar formula to the previous visit. Grabbed a fastpass for Peter Pan and noticed that the row of trees at New Fantasyland had now become a single rope. Could the area be opening this week, maybe even that day? Turns out it wasn't due to open that day but the buzz was there all the same.

Splash Mountain

I'm going to go on record and say this is my favourite water ride ever. It's the perfect blend of comedy, water ride and dark ride mixed together to give a delightful and gorgeous ride. Using Zip- a-dee-dooh-dah as it's main theme means that by the end of the ride everyone will be humming along. It's an appropriate level of wetness, it's a good ten minutes long featuring five drops along its voyage, it eats people like a Mark eating cake. No point looking for faults. There are none.

Splash Mountain - Graded A*

Using foreknowledge, we knew eating early was key to less waits for food. We'd booked Ohana at the Polynesian resort for this very reason. Ohana, is essentially unlimited grilled chicken, beef, pork and shrimp as well as a fantastic cake to finish off. It's a fantastic restaurant and kids will love being entertained as they sing and dance around the place. Excellent fun.

FOOD

After food we made our way back to the Kingdom for some more Disney fun. Whereas in the UK, rides in the dark and having people run at you, scream then run away is the main draw, Disney is very very different. The park puts on a range of activities, events and shows to get the crowds in. Chris informed me that on these days, rides are second. This is evident by the five minute queues for Big Thunder and Space Mountain whilst getting some free sweets had a 10 minute queue. Odd people are Americans. Another major draw is the chance to get to see some rare characters and to see other characters in different clothing. Below are a few examples.

These two had attitude and a mini-arguement during out meet and greet. Totally in character and completely awesome.

Clown Eeyore.

Butterfly Piglet!

Eight drawfs and me.

And onto the shows.

Disney Villains Mix and Mingle is a chance to see the evil nasties from the Disney world up close. I was very fond of Doctor Facillier form Princess and the Frog taking the lead role with 'Friends from the other Side.' Under-rated song for an under-rated villain.

Then there was Hallowishes, the normal show but taken over by the ghost host with the most from Haunted Mansion. This show was amazing with panoramic fireworks from all angles off the entrance plaza.

And finally Mickeys not so scary boo to you parade. Great parade and very long. Some of the cast members were handing out sweets as they went along.

We had an awesome time at Mickey's not so scary Halloween party. It was a fun event.

[Mark9]

Seaworld

This is a park that has changed the least since my last visit. Despite getting there rather late we managed to do everything we wanted to which was a plus.

So-

Manta

The queue was advertised as 30 minutes and the duration between trains going round seemed to indicate the ride was on one train. We went for it anyway, Manta was my favourite B&M after last yaers trip and it is worth the wait. The queueline is fantastic and it does its job of distracting you from the waiting. Eventually you make it to the station and it is then you realise the ride is on two trains, it's just the staff have no competence, no sense of getting trains out. I understand that it must be pretty boring to work on a quieter day at the park, but at least try and get rid of the queue

Luckily the ride makes up for the contempt I was having for the staff. Many do not like pretzel loops, even people who boast 200 coaster credits do not enjoy the feeling of heading skywards and diving down towards the ground. But I love it, it gives me such a buzz and gets rid of the idea that B&M do not know how to make an intense ride. I would love to try Sky Scrapper for its vertical loop and triple turn over elements. It's true that once the pretzel loop is out of the way it takes on the identity of Air more. Thats okay for me, after that initial burst of thrill, going back to something more traditional works well in the context of the ride. I do like the sprays from the lagoon even if they always make me close my eyes. What I did not like was the five minute wait in the break run. Come on staff, it's not like the ride is difficult to load, just get the sodding trains out. Despite the staffs convenience, I sitll think this is up there on the B&M scale, it just is a lot of fun.

Manta - Graded A-

Next was Kraken, Chris's favourite B&M in Florida. Again they were running one train but this time there was no queue at all, showing that the back of the park always takes longer to attract guests then the front. We strolled onto the back row into those oh so comfortable seats and were let off. Despite this being as generic B&M as you can get I do think this is a good ride. It's intense in all the right places, it's zero g is a particular highlight as is the turn around through the Krakens cave. It's just a shame that the staff are so inept that they won't let you stay on it for another go. We had our second go and then it broke down with us stuck on it in the station. Hows that karma for you, ridiculous staff.

The rarely spotted Kraken train!

Kraken - Graded B+

[BenC]

So to cheer myself up here's a picture of an awesome ride that if rumour rings true has also been ruined by park management changes.

Not to take this too far off-topic, but what do you mean by this Mark?

Really enjoying your trip reports as always!

[Mark9]

Not to take this too far off-topic, but what do you mean by this Mark?

Really enjoying your trip reports as always!

According to a few forums, Oz'Iris has had its wheels changed and the ride is running slightly slower. Which is bad.

[Mark9]

October 12th 2012 - Final day at the Magic Kingdom

Time to visit the Magic Kingdom for one last time. We headed to Peter Pan as we had done for the last two times, collected our fast pass and headed over to Winnie the Pooh. We noticed something perculiar.

My tweets can explain my mood more.

Long line attempting to get Into new fantasy land at Disney world. Interesting..

This prompted much discussion between us. Would the area be opening? Would Little Mermaid be running as well? Would we get a chance to look around the restaurants and shops? Who knew. We didn't think it was worth jumping in line and potentially wasting our whole day waiting for something that may not open. So we had a go on Winnie the Pooh. We came off and the queue had disappeared.

New fantasyland open :-o

In we went, how could we resist entering an area on its first ever day of operation to anyone. Not even Walt Disney World's cast members had had their opportunity to ride. This was a complete surprise and just another example of how no trip to Disney World is the same.

The area is beautiful. There is not another word for it. The attention to detail is second to none and the join between the Beauty and the Beast area and The Little Mermaid area is seamless. Disney have truly excelled themselves. Sure its taken since the dawn of time to build but the wait was more then worthwhile.

Little Mermaid queueline.

More theming in the queueline.

Continuing Disney's mission to provide queueline entertainment, there was a game involving helping blue crabs collect treasure from a sunken ship and disregarding human stuff.

Theme

Scuttle. He looks a little fake to me..

The ride itself is an omnimover. It's a fun little ride that has too much emphasis on the songs and not enough on the story. Being the first ever group of riders meant that a lot of people were disregarding the no flash photography rules on the ride. Flash after flash from peoples cameras exposed some of the mechanics behind the ride. A slight shame to be expected from a newly opened Disney attraction.

Dead Ariel.

So we headed back to the Beauty and the Beast section and just fell in love with the theming.

Popular area.

Uses Antlers in all of his decoration.

We tried Le Feus' Brew, Disneys answer to Butterbeer. I prefer Disney's more fruity beverage, especially with the cream on top. There was long queues for the tavern especially with newly trained staff trying to get a grip on orders. The brew was very popular, as was the souvenir cup you can get with it.

And finally a view of the Beast's castle

When we had last visited in 2011, the castle had just been placed on top of the mountain. It seems to bookend this trip by seeing the castle closer up in this way.

The rest of the day was filled with rides on Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Dumbo,

Philarmagic and a final ride on Big Thunder Mountain.

And with that, twelve fantastic days of theme park fun was finished. Along with my other theme park visits of this year, I've come to really understand what I want from rides and attractions. I thrive in themed environments, on rides that may not push the boundaries but are enjoyable in their own right. Rides like The Swarm, Oz'Iris, Tonnerre de Zeus, Sambhala, Scorpion, Thunder Mountain are the kinds of rides I mean.

It will be a long time before I get to Florida again. Since my last visit Cheetah Hunt, Despicable Me, Star Tours 2, Little Mermaid & Storybook Land opened. Who knows what shall be there when I get to go back.

Till we meet again.

(If you've been reading since the beginning, thanks for reading. You are my heroes. )