Boo

So it's just about the end of July and in the world of theme parks that means it is time to to talk Halloween. Fortunately for us, we live in Florida and are able to play host to Busch Garden's Howl-O-Scream and Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights. Both of these events offer their own takes on what defines scary by incorporating scare zones, walk through houses, and an overall theme for the event. Historically, I have enjoyed HHN more so than HOS. I feel that when your trying to scare the masses nothing can really compete with a film company. Especially a film company that owns the rights to such flicks as the "Saw" series, Freddy Krueger, Jason, and Chucky. While the houses do not always reflect the movies (althought this year they will) they are more detail oriented and are always renewed every year, whereas HOS houses/scare zones are in place for three year cycles. Despite, their reycycling of themes HOS will make some changes inside the houses every year to keep guests on their toes. So with this brief history, let us look at what is in store for those enough brave enough to venture to HHN and/or HOS this year.

Universal Studios Orlando Halloween Horror Nights
Ripped From the Silver Screen

This year's theme is that of an abandoned Universal Movie Theater. This movie theater does not have such a clean history as the web updates tell us. Many strange things happened at the theater during its tenure. One such event was a group of high school boys that went missing after sneaking into a film, the only thing that was found was their ripped apart clothes and a wrench. Another guest reported a human finger in their concession stand food and after a film had ended management found toys strewn across a theater. However, these were not ordinary stuffed animals these toys had mutilated and sewn together using parts that did not belong; one guest also reported these toys coming to life and trying to kill him.

In addition to these gruesome stories we can tell that there are three "marquee showings" that will be featured in this year's event. The movies include the Saw series, The Wolfman, and the Chucky films.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
House of Vayne

The theme for HOS is well kind of lame. Granted there haven't been many updates to the site so it's hard to pass judgment yet but the overall concept here is called House of Vayne. Apparently, House of Vayne is some new age, goth, leather heavy clothing line. The site features some models strutting their stuff in these clothes and that's about it. No information or even hints as to what the houses will be like as the theme is typically not related to the ideas of the houses at all, as we saw in last year's Raven Twins.

So it seems that Universal has hit the ground running while Busch Gardens is taking thier time in releasing details. As of right now, I would have to put my money on Halloween Horror Nights being the better experience because of the intricate way the theme is developed into the houses and because creepy dolls like Chucky and JigSaw scare the hell out of me.

Now We Wait

Way back on March 18 2008 Universal Studios Orlando announced their plans for a new roller coaster attraction called "Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit". HRRR is promising to be one of the most incredible coasters the theme park industry has ever seen. The Universal company has launched a website devoted solely to the attraction which can be found here. The website outlines the many features that make this ride standout as well as an autobigraphy of the promotional character created for the ride, an 80's rock star Syd Vinyl.

So what makes this ride so special?

- The lift tower is 90 degrees straight up. That is flat on your back for 167 feet. No worries though, the developers created a custom evacuation system in case a train gets stuck.

-After the first drop the coaster launches into a loop where the train never goes upside down. That's right a loop without inversion. Awesome.

-The track continues as it bends and twists into a shape resembling a treble clef.

- Next the track features a "jump cut" something that resembles a corckscrew but again without inverting.

-Then we do a crowd surfer as we tilt to the right and soar over everyone in line.

-The ride concludes with two jumps and one twist as you come into the station.

And that is just the track. The cars are just as awesomely unique. Each car features stadium seating allowing for a better view as you go back. Riders will not be pushed down by shoulder harness they will be secured by a ergonomic one of a kind lap bar. Once on board, riders will have a choice of song selection from many genres to make their ride experience truly exiciting. Did I mention you load from a moving sidewalk? Yeah that should be interesting. This ride will indeed change the landscape of the coaster industry for years to come and possibly give Universal Studios a strangle hold on the competition for adrenaline junkies. While no official opening has been given for the ride we can only expect that when Universal is ready to rock they will rock hard.

Huff and Puff and Blow This Coaster Down

A story on ThemeParkInsider breaks the news about the Big Bad Wolf Coaster at Busch Gardens Europe. The official statement from the Busch Entertainment Corporation can be found here.

According to the official statement, the ride has "simply reached the end of its service life". I am translating this to mean that Big Bad Wolf is down on rider attendance and the parts to maintain and keep this coaster going are becoming too expensive. The ride will officially close on September 7 2009 after opening in 1984, giving this ride an impressive 25 year life.

Many of the comments on the story are of saddness, disbelief, or anger towards new company owners, InBev. While most fans are crying foul over this I feel like they are crying wolf on InBev. Sure InBev was behind the decision to remove the free beer from Busch parks but 25 years is old for coasters. Not to mention, this isnt't the first time an attraction was removed because of age/ maintenance cost. Anyone remember the Busch Gardens Tampa Monorail? Or how about Akbar's Adventure Tours formerly known as Questor?

This closing is not an evil scheme of InBev's design. No, I am afraid that this is only progression with the times. Besides, it's not all bad news read this user's comment on the issue

"Here's something to ponder...out with old, in with new??? BGW is known for adding another coaster to this park usually after another of the same type is installed at a sister park. (ie...Montu to Alpengiest, SheiKra to Griffon, and now possible Manta to ????)

I'm not confirming anything, just showing a way of thought that just might be happening??? A new land of Spain (which has been rumored) and a new B&M Flying coaster to go in???

Here is one last thing to think about....

"Bird-eating bat mystery was just solved by Spanish scientists. Many interesting animals live in Spain including wild boar, wolves, eagles and various reptiles. Due to loss of habitat, many species are endangered or declining, like the Iberian Lynx and brown bears. Bats are also prevalent – they are the symbol for the city of Valencia and if you lucky you might just see them flying around at night. In 2007 Spanish scientists proved why feathers are found in the droppings of one rare large European bat. They found the giant noctule bat actually eats birds! Migratory song birds travel at night and the bats snatch them out of the air while they fly."

Hmmm??? like I said...think of the wording used like endangered or declining??? Sounds like Busch conservation talk, or maybe not??? You can decide....."

So which is it? InBev being evil? Or Busch moving with the times? You decide.

Long Live the King

ThemeParkInsider recently gave an online poll for it's users to vote on what they consider the best ride in American to be. The final showdown came down to Revenge of the Mummy at Universal's Islands of Adventure vs. Cedar Point's Millennium Force. After a close match Revenge of the Mummy came away with the crown by capturing 54% of the vote.

While Millennium Force may have the height and absolute incredible force that only Cedar Point can offer, Revenge of the Mummy offers a "dark ride" experience with some of the best back-story and overall ride themes in the industry.

Upon entering the queue house, or line as many know it, we are led to believe that we have just entered the set of The Mummy and our ride will be a simple mine cart tour of Egyptian scenery. Nothing terrifying just a nice little go-around. However, during our wait in the queue we are treated to a "mock-u-mentary" that features Brendan Frasier, a nervous intern, and many other actors/ behind the scenes personnel. The films shows interviews with production staffers who, with the exception of Brendan Frasier and the intern, are wearing the symbol of the Med-Jai, the warrior guardians of the Mummy's tomb. When asked to explain why they wear this symbol everyone replies " To ward off the curse"; that is everyone except for Brendan Frasier because he is fearless and dismissive of the curse and our intern friend who seems tohave misplace his medallion. As the line moves it becomes apparent through the structure that we have entered into the tomb and are preparing to take our ride.

Once on board the cart riders are moved into a room where we see many mummies with one in particular that is still moving and talking...it's our little intern. He tries to warn us that, "the curse is real and we need to get out now!", but before we can do anything Imhotep jumps from his sarcophagus and launches us into a new room. The cart rolls into a dark room and Imhotep gives an ultimatum: join him and savor riches untold or fight and suffer a fate worse than death. The cart speeds up to slip under a falling wall but not before Imhotep's guards launch from fire to try and trap us.

Now the cart has hit an apparent dead end and just when things seem to not be so bad the room begins to fill with flesh scarfing scarabs. (Here is when the ride sets itself apart from most "traditional" coasters) The mine cart rolls backwards and is placed on a switch track that rotates a half circle as Imhotep taunts us. The ride then goes a fast launch system, similar to the one used on The Hulk, that shoots us into Imhotep's mouth as he demands that our souls are his.

The ride then goes into mostly darkness with only evil spirits lighting up as we twist, bend, but not invert. After some intense track and air time the cart rolls into a well lit room where we are greeted by a female voice that says " Thank you for riding Revenge of the Mummy" before we can exit though, we are greeted by Imhotep bursting through the control room, lighting the ceiling on fire, and relaunching us into darkness. The ride continues until the end when we pass the symbol of the Med-Jai and are safely greeted by Brendan Frasier on screen.

Overall, Revenge of the Mummy is a innovative ride that will forever change the way rides are designed. This ride was voted the best in America and rightfully so.

Sweet Rides

An interesting article popped up on Yahoo Travel the other day. The article is written about seven record breaking roller coasters, interesting to note that only one of the coasters is actually in Florida. What's even more interesting is that three of the seven are located outside the United States.

The only two coasters on the list that I have ever ridden are Wicked Twister in the famous Cedar Point and Dueling Dragon in Universal's Islands of Adventure. Of the two parks, I have to give the better reccomendations to Cedar Point. True, that Cedar Point is only open seasonally (considering it's probably fairly hard to run coasters in snow) it still edges out almost any park in my mind because Cedar Point features 17 stomach turning coasters. Yes, 17.

But back to Wicked Twister, besides playing off the name of one of the most intense hair metal bands ever Wicked Twister is intense for it's U-shaped track. Essentially, the ride is a back and forth dizzying see-saw. As the article states, "This seriously wicked ride propels riders forwards and backwards five times at increasing speeds while twisting up and down its 450-degree double-helix towers. The U-shaped track extends 215 feet in the air while riders hang suspended from the track, with their feet dangling perilously below."

I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive of riding a ride like this one but like most good addictions after one time you're pretty much hooked.

Two? Anyone parties of two?

An interesting article was posted on ThemeParkInsider today. The article asks readers does it matter where you sit on a roller coaster? My first and natural instinct led me to hell no, I just waited an hour or more for this thing I want on. However, after some deeper thought my answer began to take on a different tone. With all this in mind, this posting will highlight two of the coasters located in Tampa's own Busch Gardens Africa.

Kumba
143 feet tall
Top Speed of 60MPH

Why Kumba first you ask? Why not? As you walk through the seemingly short, yet looped, and at times incredibly crowded queue house you hear the roar of what sounds like an ill tempered, over sized, zebra killing lion. No worries though, this is just the side effect noise of the coaster trains traveling along the steel track. An interesting side note, the word Kumba actually means roar in the African Kongo Language combine this with the fact that the Kumba coaster is located in the Congo area of the park and you have yourself a nice little theme park brainteaser. All that aside back to the original intention of the post. Does the seat really matter? Yes.In my opinion on Kumba there are three specific "seating zones". The first seating zone is, of course, located in the very front row of the train. This zone offers riders a full, undisturbed, clear view of all the insanely looped, inverted, and brightly colored steel ahead of you. I recommend this view to hardcore coaster enthusiasts at any time. However, this zone is also well suited to your average patron providing the wait time is not extravagant. The next zone is any seat located along the far right edge of the train. This zone is very unique due to the very close, very personal, and, for anyone who is long armed, very dangerous encounter you receive with the ground coming out of a tunnel at the very end of the coaster. The final seating zone is the final row. While this row does not offer a very good view of anything other than everyone's heads, it does exert the most forces on a rider. It's also important to consider that just because there is very little visibility of the track in front of you it is not necessarily a bad thing. I feel that the biggest selling point of these seats is the surprise of not knowing what is coming next.

SheiKra
200 ft tall
Top speed of 70 MPH

The other coaster I chose is SheiKra, while I do not feel it is the best ride BGT has to offer, it does include some very unique features and currently maintains the highest attraction levels. SheiKra is a drop coaster, this means that the first drop of the ride is a true 90 degree angle free fall. Naturally, the first response from most riders is a desire to ride in the very front row to get the full experience of diving nose first towards the ground. However, SheiKra offers it's riders a one of kind ride no matter where they sit because this coaster features staggered rows of seating. This method of staggering the rows in a way that makes the last row higher up than the first row allows SheiKra to give every rider the same heart pounding, pulse racing, vocal chord scratching experience regardless of where they sit. Despite of all these features I still do not consider SheiKra to be the best ride at BGT. No, I'm afraid my vote goes to another coaster but that's a whole different post.

So after all this, my question to you is: Does it matter where you sit?

Them Is Fightin' Words

So as I scanned the interwebs looking for anything that would catch my eyes I came across this story of a guest who recently visited one of the Disney parks. This guest was attending the Flower and Garden festival, this is an event in which the park plays host to different vendors of plants, seeds, topiary artists and pretty much everything else garden related. The gist of the story is that as this guest was on his way of the park he began to admire some of the plants/sculptures on display. Part of his admiration for the work included taking photos of the works. After shooting a couple snapshots the guest was attacked and verbally harassed by a vendor at the festival for "violating copyright laws" by taking these pictures.

I really wish I was kidding.

Don't get me wrong I am not encouraging copyright infringment on any piece of art but the part of me that is baffled by this person is that is never seemed to occur to them that they agreed to be a vendor in a theme park. Theme parks are perhaps one of the most, if not the most, public venues in existence. For this ignorant fool to run at someone in a theme park taking pictures and promptly start to scream causing a scene really makes me pity the level of common sense of some people.

First off, lets try to have controversy with civility. Maybe the next time this guy gets his knickers in a twist he may want to try approaching the situation in a very cool, calm, and collected manner. As the saying goes, you will catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Second reason for lack of faith, if you are in a theme park expect that you/ your work will appear in some family photo albums. Yes you may be camera shy or very protective over your creative ideas but pictures will be taken. Deal with it.

The best part of this story is the end. After being yelled at and embarassed the guest went to guest relations to just alert management to the situation. No complaint, just letting someone know what some raving lunatic was doing to patrons. The guest provided some information on a standard guest relations form and was later apologized too and sent a specially crafted candy statue from an artist in the park. And so the magic lives on.



*If you have any good stories of theme park employees, both positive and negative, I would love to hear them*

Operator Error

As I stated in my first post, this blog will not cover only the wonderful things that occur at theme parks. With that in mind, tonight's post will be about the tragic monorail accident that occurred over the holiday weekend. In case you missed the first news story on this accident you can find an an article that sums it up here.

The only other development to come about from this was first posted on ScreamScape. According to the article, the driver of one monorail that had already left the station was going full speed in reverse to reach a switch in order to be stored for the night. This report conflicts with preliminary reports that the driver killed had originally rear ended the other monorail. Essentially the posting attributes the accident to human error, "...the blame all comes down from a major miscommunication between Central Monorail Control and the Monorail Shop while they were directing Monorail Pink through the procedure to take the switch beam from the Epcot line over to the Magic Kingdom expressway beam, before heading back to the shop for the night."

Apparently, there is a safety system in place that is referred to as MAPO. The basic function of MAPO is to ensure that these types of accidents do not occur and that every monorail travels at a safe distance and speed. MAPO "...was in an “overide” mode at the time, which is standard procedure anytime monorails are switched from one beam to another. At this point in time the pilot of Monorail Pink was pretty much going on the word of the control tower that everything was normal."

So with the automatic safety systems in an overide mode and tower controllers giving orders to the monorail driver, my only question is: Who is at fault? Would it be the driver for not using his rear view mirrors to detect what was going on behind him? The tower controllers for not properly instructing the driver(s)? Or is there something else going on here? What must be kept in mind is that this was the Fourth of July holiday weekend, a very busy time for theme parks. Perhaps, one of the drivers was over worked that weekend or maybe one of the drivers started his celebrating a little too early?

Either way there are lots of questions that need to addressed. For the sake of the killed drivers family and also for peace of mind of future monorail guests Disney needs to take action to ensure that something like this never again happens at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Why?

As I was searching for a topic to blog about I thought about the world’s current state. My thoughts led me to news outlets. From these outlets I heard and read stories of political and social unrest, military aggression, but most of all human sadness. I began to think why anyone would want read, let alone write, about such depressing events. With that in mind I set my topic on places where happiness freely flows and fun is always encouraged. I am writing about theme parks. My blog will cover every topic from the newest attraction news/rumors to the stories of absolute elation that a child felt when Mickey Mouse gave them a high five. To be clear, this will not be a purely fantasy blog. I am very aware of the real world and the troubles the world has to offer. I will not neglect the stories of sadness, disappointment, and sometimes tragedy that can occur in these happy places. However, my focus will try to center on those stories that bring about memories of laughter, friends, and good times.

Call me childish, that is fine with me. I am not writing to sound like the most interesting man on Earth rather I write to remind people to stop worrying and just live. I want my readers to remember what it was like when they were first heard the clicking of the lift chain on a coaster or the first time they nervously approached Goofy for his autograph and a picture. I just want my readers to remember the magic.