Rainbows and Roller Coasters

This past Saturday, I made the 17-hour trek out to Orlando to begin my college program internship at Disney World.  Most people's jaws drop when I tell them that I drove straight through, but it's not as bad as it sounds.  For me, the 17-hour drive was actually a nice change, since the journey to and from Utah takes about 21 hours.  Seventeen hours?  Piece of cake.  The drive actually wasn't even that bad.  I-10 is actually a decent highway, minus a few spots here and there between Houston and Baton Rouge (sorry Louisiana).

I got in about 3am eastern time and stayed the night with my friend Kevin who was my follow-up trainer on my mission.  After getting a good night's sleep, we attended a very interesting YSA (young single adult) ward for church that afternoon.  I won't go into further details, but it was quite interesting.  Later that night, Kevin introduced me to Geocaching (click here for the official website), which he had just experienced for the first time the night before.  There were two caches just a mile away from his apartment, so we checked those out.  I quickly learned that Orlando really is a swamp, overflowing with swamp-friendly creatures.  Regardless, we successfully found both caches.  Both had been found the night before by another fellow geocacher, but one cache did not have anything in it yet.  The other had its first entry dating back to 2009.

I checked into my new housing this morning.  I was glad to see that I got the complex I wanted, and I only have 3 other roommates.  On top of that, the apartment is in good condition and there is a lot of space.  My roommates are pretty chill, and I think we are all going to get along just fine.  Us new college program participants attended a casting session where we took care of paperwork and got instruction about our upcoming trainings.  As a quick note, there will be probably be a lot that will happen over the next several months that I won't actually be able to discuss due to confidentiality, but I will try to share what is allowed, especially with regards to pictures.  We were given permission to take a picture of the front area of the casting building, but could not use our phones from there on out.  I scrambled to take a picture before they got us moving again, so it didn't turn out all that hot.  Feel free to follow me on Instagram(Username:  zedamora) and Twitter(same) as I will try to share frequently on both those apps.

After attending our casting meeting, I learned where I am going to be working.  Drum roll, please...  I have been assigned to work Front Desk at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.  According to the people I talked to, it is awesome and it has animals on-site.  Hopefully I won't get too distracted by the giraffes while working.  Here are some pictures from Google:

   



Other than the check-in procedures and paperwork, it was a fairly open day, and I got a chance to familiarize myself more with the area.  While the toll roads are almost necessary to go into downtown Orlando, all of the parks are near where I live and can easily be accessed without shelling out a ton of cash (minus the tickets, of course).  Driving back home after the crazy amount of rain, I passed by SeaWorld, which is like 5 minutes north of my apartment.  Stopped at an intersection, I could see Kraken (Sea World's tallest coaster) on the right and an awesome rainbow on my left.  I wanted to take a picture, but the light changed before I could pull out my phone.  In that short moment, I thought to myself, "You know, I think I'm going to like it here."

As a quick aside, I attended the media day for Six Flags Fiesta Texas' Iron Rattler last Wednesday.  I talked my brother into going with me, and it was a great experience.  I didn't want to double-post about the Rattler, so I held off on talking about it, but basically it was a fun event with lots of news stations and coaster critics.  If you ever have an opportunity to attend  a media day opening for a new ride or show, I would highly recommend   Not only do you get to experience it before it opens (and before the lines stack up), but you also get free stuff.  Stay tuned for more about my magical life at Disney.  It is supposed to rain all day tomorrow, and I have absolutely nothing to do.  Indoor rides at Universal?  Perhaps so...

Wait...the track is orange!?

Iron Rattler Commercial Shoot

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of attending the commercial shoot for the all-new Iron Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas.  I learned about this opportunity via Twitter a week or so ago and immediately applied to participate.  Since I am just home for a few weeks, I didn't have any other kinds of commitments and was fully available.  The shoot was supposed to take place on Thursday, but storms were expected and so all the filming was moved to Wednesday.  

I got up about at about 5 am and left for San Antonio around 5:45.  Traffic in Austin was not bad, but by the time I got to San Antonio, traffic was backed up on I-35 and the 1604 loop.  Regardless, I got there a little before 8 am when it was scheduled to start.  There were about 200 people there total, with some coming later or leaving early.  They took pictures of us with a nameplate and then escorted us through the empty park to the food area next to the Gully Washer.  We were able to get breakfast, and then they gave us the rundown of how the day would go.  Basically, we just stood there for many hours while they tested the ride, put us into groups for different shots, and then had us wait some more.  I was paired with a younger girl who had finished all her school work early so she could miss that day.  There were actually a good number of kids there, accompanied by their parents.  The first group of participants did not get to ride till 11:30, partially due to technical difficulties and cloudy weather.

I finally got to ride about an hour after lunch (once all the brisket had settled!) and it was amazing.  Six Flags did not really provide much instruction about how we should perform.  Basically, they wanted natural, happy reactions while trying to avoid looking terrified or in pain.  Additionally, we were asked to not look at the cameras or swear verbally.  Some cameras were mounted on the ride while others were at various locations on the ride's track.  Later in the day, they used a "helicopter" to take aerial shots of us while riding.  I used quotations because they made it seem like they were going to have this huge chopper flying over the park to get footage of the whole ride.  What they actually used was this little RC, wasp-sounding thing with a camera strapped to it.  It actually provided a good laugh seeing that thing floating at different spots around the track. Hopefully it provided some good footage, too.

They asked for volunteers to go ride some other attractions while taking aerial footage to give the effect of the park being open and busy.  Some people rode the Scream and SkyScreamer while others got to ride Superman: Krypton Coaster.  I opted to just stay and ride the Rattler.  By about 5 pm, they had collected pretty much all the footage they wanted.  We were then allowed to just ride non-stop from there on out.  There were a few people there who had now ridden it more than 25 times.  I personally lost count, but it had to have been at least 15 for me.  By the end of the day, I was sincerely beat, but still running on excitement and adrenaline.  The drive back to Austin seemed to fly by and I was back home by about 8 pm.

Does it still rattle?

So now we'll get down to the nitty-gritty:  What is the ride like?  In one word, EPIC! (That's the marketing team's buzz word for it) The Iron Rattler was built by Rocky Mountain Construction, the same company that re-made the Giant at Six Flags Over Texas just a couple years ago.  The track layout is similar to the old Rattler's, except the triple helix section of the ride no longer exists.  The ride features a 171-foot drop at an 81 degree angle.  From side shots, the drop looks (and feels) vertical.  This new drop height is almost 50 feet taller than the old Rattler.  The girl I rode with told me that she couldn't breathe during the first drop, and I will confirm that it is pretty intense.  Also, the new top speed is 70 mph, a little bit faster than the old rattler.

Throughout the track, there are several overbanked turns and airtime hills.  The highlight, however, is an amazing zero-gravity roll that keeps you completely weightless while spinning in the air.  Between that and the previously mentioned hills, you'll spend a lot of time out of your seat on this ride.  The ride ends by plummeting off the canyon wall (another fantastic airtime moment) into a tunnel.  As a caution to those of you looking to check this one out, you might want to hold on for dear life as you're coming out of the tunnel.  For whatever reason,  they decided to ditch the old station fly-by and, instead, the ride brakes as soon as it leaves the tunnel, resulting in a whip-like effect on your everything.  It's not unbearable, but still surprising.  The rest of the ride is quite smooth and natural.  Also, the nasty,thigh-crushing restraints found on the Giant were thankfully withheld from the Iron Rattler.

The Iron Rattler truly lived up to expectations and I highly recommend it to everyone at least 48" tall.  Check out Six Flags Fiesta Texas' Facebook and Twitter pages for more pictures and updates.  Enjoy the POV testing footage:

Although there were plenty of long waiting periods, it was all worth it to get early access to one of the best new coasters this decade.  I will never get another chance to experience that ride so many times in a row.  I got to meet some awesome people and learn more about the amusement park industry and ride promotions.  I especially want to thank my friend Brent, a fellow theme-park enthusiast who I met there, for sharing his pictures with me.  Media day for the Iron Rattler will take place on Wednesday May 15th.  Be sure to check this one out once it opens to the public!

High of 70? I'm going to Six Flags.

Six Flags Over Texas Park Visit

Yesterday, my family and I went to Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington.  It's only a few hours away and the weather was perfect.  There was even a breeze!  I can't tell you how many times I have been to Six Flags in the scorching summer heat with no airflow whatsoever.  It was pretty crowded with lots of school groups visiting.  However, the longest wait we had was about an hour and a half for the New Texas Giant.  All in all, the wait times were not horrible.  I hope the days of waiting 3+ hours for a 45 second ride are long gone...

As per family tradition, we started the day with La Vibora, one of the last bobsled-type coasters in the U.S.  After waiting about 10 minutes, we realized there was a "single rider standby" line with only a few people in it.  That means we could hop on a train whenever there is an odd number of people.  Although we did not all get to ride together, we had all ridden it in about 15 minutes, skipping the 45-minute wait.

Pandemonium, formerly known as Tony Hawk's Big Spin, also featured a single-rider standby line so we figured we would ride that as well.  The ride is okay, but how much you spin depends on the luck of the draw.  The ride is obviously much more exciting if you get to spin a lot.  Unfortunately, the line for this ride is slow-moving and often backed up to the entrance, resulting in more than an hour wait.  The guy I rode with said it well:  "This isn't a bad ride, but the amount of waiting is just a waste."  If you're looking to spend more than a hour in line, go ride the New Texas Giant.

The Mr. Freeze ride has been at the park for many years, but last season the trains were turned backwards and it was marketed as the Reverse Blast.  I was skeptical at first that the ride would really be all that different, since it has always involved traveling both backwards and forwards.  However, I was very surprised by the difference made from being shot out of the launch tunnel backwards.  The ride was great and luckily the line only took about 45 minutes. 

One unique feature about this ride is how the two trains are loaded.  They reside on each side of the main track, and then slide over to the middle to be launched while the other train reloads.  It's not only efficient, but it looks cool too.  

We did not get a change to ride Batman: The Ride, but I took some pictures of it anyway.  The Batman ride layout is a staple at almost every Six Flags park, often using the same Batman theme as well.  The first Batman opened at Six Flags Great America near Chicago more than 20 years ago.  It was the first inverted, looping coaster and has been an extremely popular ride ever since.  It also set the stage for contracts and relations with the ride's manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M).  Other notable B&M rides at Six Flags parks include Superman: Ultimate Flight, Tatsu, Raging Bull, Medusa, Superman: Krypton Coaster, Riddler's Revenge, and X-Flight.  

This season at Six Flags Great America, the Batman will feature new backwards-facing trains.  The trains will be at that park for part of the summer, but then are planned to be cycled among the other parks featuring the Batman ride as well.  I included a POV video of these backwards trains filmed by Great America.

Judge Roy Scream, named after Judge Roy Bean, is one of the last truly wooden coasters in Texas.  It features a simple out-and-back layout and it's a pretty rough ride.  Regardless, I feel like it is my personal duty to ride these kinds of rides to show support for them.  There is something special about wooden rides that many may not understand.  In a later post, I want to discuss the differences between steel and wooden coasters and how they have (or haven't) managed to get along.

The awesomely-new Texas Sky Screamer is probably awesome, but it's not opened yet.  I have yet to ride the smaller renditions of Sky Screamer featured at other Six Flags/Cedar Fair parks, but I'm sure it is fun.  The only complaint I have about such rides is the wait time, since only one group can ride at a time.  The Texas Sky Screamer is one of the tallest structures in the Dallas-Ft.Worth area, standing 400 feet tall.  My picture doesn't really do it justice.  I look forward to checking this one out when I am able to come home again to visit.  

Ever wondered what the Six Flags stand for?  Six Flags Over Texas is the first Six Flags park (1963) and its name comes from the six countries that have ruled over the land known as Texas: Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, the Confederate States, and the United States.  Due to sensitivity  and political issues, the Confederate flag is not featured and instead has been replaced by the original thirteen colonies flag, thereby representing early America.  As far as I know, only the two Texas Six Flags parks feature the flags as mentioned, whereas the other parks fly six United States flags instead.  

Behold!  The Titan!  This ride opened in 2001 and has been considered one of the top 25 steel coasters in the world ever since.  It is also the largest coaster in Texas.  What the ride might lack in terms of air-time, it makes up for in speed and force.  In fact, the mid-ride brake section has been altered to nearly bring the trains to a stop in order to reduce the g-forces felt in the second half of the ride.  I remember riding the unaltered version many years ago, and I also recall feeling like I was going to blackout.  It is now a little more family-friendly, but it retains most of its sheer speed.  

Last but not least, we also rode the New Texas Giant.  This ride received a major overhaul a couple years ago and changed from a wooden coaster to a steel coaster.  Many people were upset about this change, but the end result is really something spectacular.  Now it features multiple over-banked turns, a steeper drop, and lots of airtime.  For those of you that like getting thrown out of your seat, sit in the back and enjoy the ride.  

Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) is the group responsible for converting the old wooden track into a new steel one.  They recently completed construction on another transformation:  the Iron Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas.  And on THAT note, I am pleased to announce that I have been selected to participate in the commercial shoot and media day events for the new Iron Rattler opening in just a couple weeks.  I have never done something like this before, but I am very excited that I will have a chance to experience this new ride before leaving for Orlando.  I doubt I will get to take any pictures while there, but hopefully I will still have something to share :)

I do not know when I will be able to visit Six Flags Over Texas again, but I look forward to all of their news and updates in the coming years.  

Marvelous Marvel

Iron Man Three

Last night,  I went to see Iron Man 3 for the "midnight" release.  Interestingly enough, many of the theaters here had show times starting at 9pm, which is the first time I had seen something like this.  Needless to say, it was a much better option to see the movie at 9 rather than at midnight (especially with my siblings having school in the morning).  We were sure to get there early enough (about 8pm) to get good seats.  I'm kind of a taskmaster(get it!?) when it comes to movies since I want to get the best deal for my money, and that involves good seats at the cost of extra waiting.  It all paid off, though, and we had a great movie experience.

The movie itself was pretty good.  I won't go into spoiler details here, since pretty much any social media site is probably already littered with them.  The plot was okay with a few okay plot twists.  Since it is a Marvel movie, there really isn't anything too hard to follow or huge surprises.  However, I was surprised at the intensity of the film.  It has everything from betrayal to terrorist plots and keeps you on your toes throughout the movie.  Overall, I'd give it an "I liked it" out of ten.  Would I go see it again in theaters?  Probably not.  I need to save my money for Man of Steel.  For those of you wondering, there is an after-the-credits scene.

Upcoming Marvel Films

By now, you have probably seen trailers for the upcoming Marvel comics films.  This summer, the new X-Men movie titled "The Wolverine" will be released.  To be honest, I'm getting real tired of these Wolverine-focused movies.  I had hoped that Origins would be an ongoing series featuring the background of several X-men, but I guess they decided to just make more Wolverine movies.  This movie opens July 26th.  Here is the trailer.  Go see it if you want...





Next in line is Thor: The Dark World.  Admittedly, I never saw Thor when it was first released since I really did not care about his character at all.  One day, I decided to go see it at the dollar theater with my brother and it quickly became one of my favorite superhero movies ever.  Maybe it is because I had such low expectations for it, but I really enjoyed the plot, the characters, and the journey.  If your only exposure to the Asgardians comes from The Avengers, I highly recommend watching Thor.  As for this new sequel, I am not sure what it is even about, and wikipedia is just too far away :)  Regardless, it will most likely end up being more interesting than the trailer depicts.  Check this one out on November 8th.





As for 2014, several Marvel movies are scheduled to be released.  These movies include Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past (YES!), and Guardians of the Galaxy.  I plan on continuing the topic of Marvel films sometime in the future, possibly with the release of The Wolverine this summer.  I especially want to discuss the issue of licensing and compilation films (like The Avengers), but need to gather some more information (and I'm tired of typing right now).  So stay tuned, True Believers!