Good journey!
Orlando, you've been so much fun as always!
Good journey!
Orlando, you've been so much fun as always!
I've not forgot to update this, it's just been a busy few days trying to get as much done as possible.
I'll probably give an overview of the past few days in one post, a review of CBBR in another and then might make a separate thread about my concerns about Universal because after 4 trips, 3 of them weren't great and the future is looking like a mixed bag.
Are you back across the pond now Scott?
ad to see the photos of Gene Wilder and Robin Williams on the walls, somebody in the queue made the comment that Rick Moranis was next followed by some nervous laughter.
That's Eric Idol not Gene Wilder....
but I knew he sang always look on the bright side of life
I must have a black hole in my heart as I do no understand the allure of meet and greets. Everyone seems to love standing with the person in the uncomfortable costume with a head that has to be sanitized day after day. Plus, one never knows if it is a boy or a girl inside the outfit despite the costume. I could go on and really curl your hair...
Eeep, I feel like I just crushed a few dreams...
Prior to kids I never did any meet and greets, but post kids we do them if the line is 20 minutes or less and we have time. The main reason is seeing your child's face light up is priceless. Or sometimes in my youngest daughter's case, seeing her freak out and run to mommy is really funny
I almost forgot, when we were leaving Wet n Wild, PETA were at the corner next to the car park campaigning against SeaWorld and were mostly being ignored by everybody passing by.
Anyway, the next day we went to Busch and SeaWorld.
It was a quick drive to Busch. I've always found it amazing that as far as directions go, it's a less confusing drive to most Disney parks but I think the distance scares a lot of people away. The drive was interesting due to the car going crazy over tyre pressures which were changing constantly due to the increasing hot. It turned out to be a hot day, briefly hitting 100F at one point.
Busch felt a little different this year as I've always considered the park to be huge but this year it felt relatively quite small. I think it was because Kumba was closed and it seemed to turn the park into 3 small areas instead of 4.
Again like most of the parks outside of Disney, the park was quiet. We almost always head around the park anti clockwise (I think Brits and folk from the US always take opposite routes around parks but that's for another post) but this time we went to SheiKra first as this was our 3rd visit together and Laura has never managed to ride due to the weather. Weirdly, it only costs $5 for all day locker access compared to SeaWorld's $10. Anyway, the locker system was fairly simple and lockers were a plenty compared to Universal's system. Since you only need to access the screen to rent a locker and not to open one, it cuts the people needing to use a screen in half.
It's kind of weird to see Gwazi still standing doing nothing. I'm hoping that an RMC overhaul is going to be on the cards as I always have fond memories of the ride and I can't really remember being that rough as people say but then again, I was younger and indestructible compared to the 27 year old now who can only handle so many coasters in quick succession.
SheiKra always catches me off guard. Vertical drop coasters always look so easy but the drop is always kind of terrifying, especially hanging over the edge in a floorless train. Compared to Mako, the drop doesn't seem any where near as big even though it's the same height. For an 11 year old beast of a ride, it's still quite smooth and enjoyable.
By this point in the holiday, the only water rides we had done was Journey to Atlantis and Splash Mountain and that's us now been to every park. Stanley Falls was a nice way to cool down as the temperature started to quickly rise. It's poorly themed and a little rough but it's perfectly suited to a warm day.
Does anybody know what's going on at the Tidal Wave location? It looks like plenty of construction was going on.
I was a little bummed about Kumba being closed as I was genuinely curious to make a comparison between it and Hulk but quickly moving on.
We avoided Congo River Rapids as we wanted to get a little wet not soaked so we did the next best thing and spent about $5 in quarters soaking the people who did. It's a fine art to really get people soaked but so rewarding and my god, some people were angry. I can't understand the logic, you go on a water ride and then get angry when you get wet?
We went to Pantopia next and did Scorpion (rough but fun) Sand Serpent (rough but fun) and then debated going on Falcon's Fury. I generally don't mind heights but something about this turned my stomach and Laura wasn't going on it unless I really convinced her. We sat by the bench and watched it for about 5mins as people happily got off the ride and figured, it could be minimum 2 years before we return or maybe even 10 depending on how soon we want to start a family so we got in the queue.
Mentally this ride is terrifying but physically, it's probably one of the most tame rides in the park. Just before we got on, a family of 4 got off with 2 of the people nearing crying. As we got buckled in, the couple next to us told us how scary it was and then we started to rise. It took a minute to get to the top but it felt like a life time and then the tip forward which I thought would have been worse but then the drop started. I focused on a small manhole cover below me which was quickly approaching and then we flipped up and it was over. The drop was smaller and far smoother than I could have imagined and I hope that when we return, if we're with other people, we will get a kick out of watching people wait in line in the knowledge that the wait is the worst part.
Cheetah Hunt is still silky smooth and a great addition to the park. We've always found this to be the busiest ride in the park but again, this was a walk on.
After speaking to the guy at the entrance to Cobra's Curse, we managed to skip the snakes and get Laura on the ride safely. I kind of expected a weird look when asking about skipping the queue but the staff were pros and I'm guessing this is a bigger problem than I thought. Cobra's Curse was a disappointment however. The lift system was cool and it was quick loading but that's about it. It never really seemed to gain any momentum and when you finally get to free spin, the ride ends quickly. It was nicely themed however.
Montu was rough rough rough. Inverted coasters always are a bit more intense but this was ridiculous. It was always a favourite of mine but I'm not so sure now.
All in all, a good day out but it was quickly done, managing to do everything in about 3 hours. The only concerning thing I seen is that most of the animals looked far too hot and it was distressing to see.
We made our way back to SeaWorld with the sole intention of doing Manta and Mako. I've always had a love/hate thing with Manta. It's a great coaster but that damn pretzel loop is crazy intense. Since I'm about 40lbs lighter since my last trip, I figured this should make things easier but it still packs a punch but besides that, it's a good coaster and it's nice to have something different. We got held at the brakes for about 2mins before returning to the station and it was incredibly uncomfortable. When exiting the park later, the train stopped at the mid brake run for about 5min. Weirdly, a staff member was walking past, asked us if it has stopped and then ran to the station. It was almost like they didn't know it had stopped. It was weird but I'm sure I took the situation completely wrong.
Mako has to be my number 1 coaster now in Orlando and best new ride since my last trip. We managed to get 3 rides in since it was a walk on and we switched between the front and back row managing to stay in the back row for 2 rides in a row without having to exit and then queue again which was the first time I've seen a member of staff do this at any park regardless of how quiet it is.
The overall morale in the park was low, I think all the staff couldn't really care as their jobs are on the chopping block come December, most were on their phones or talking to one another before addressing a customer which I found rude but like a good Brit, I can't complain. I've always admired people in the US for their ability to complain about things.
Nice overview of Busch Gardens! Thanks!
Disney will also let you stay on if no line, but the only ride this ever applies to is barnstormer which most on here are not going on. lol
Considering the fact that employees at Wet n Wild are being offered relocation opportunities to Volcano Bay, you'd think they'd be a little more 'on point' whilst at work. Even more so than ever really, if they truly value the chance to be kept on.
We actually used a FP for the Barnstormer because we would be passing by just as it started. It's still a fun ride and for the majority of young kids, it will probably be their first coaster.
That's a good point. They could be bummed out about the large gap in employment even if they're staying on.