My Top 10 Favorite Coasters

For those of you waiting to hear my thoughts on Diagon Alley and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (all two of you), I'm not yet ready to do a write up on those.  I'm sure you're dying to know all the ins and outs of these new areas/attractions, but for now you'll just have to hit up the googler for pics or vids or all that.  I think I posted a couple of things on my Instagram (@zedamora) from Diagon, but I honestly haven't taken a whole lot of pictures.  Instead, I want to do a post that I think will be a lot of fun (for me, not necessarily everyone else).

Without further ado, I present my Top 10 Favorite Coasters!!!  As a rule for myself, I only listed rides that I have actually been on.  Expect a Top 10 Wishlist in the future for coasters I hope to ride soon.  

  

Number 10
Name: Rockin' Roller Coaster
Location: Disney's Hollywood Studios


This ride has been hugely popular ever since it opened and continues to boast hour-long wait times during the regular summer season.  Complete with on-ride audio from Aerosmith themselves, this coaster is a fun thrill in the dark with lots of great hits to jam along with.  Even though I've been on it quite a few times, I still get chills when the countdown to launch begins.  Rockin' Roller Coaster is also the only coaster at Disney World that goes upside-down.




Number 9
Name: Titan
Location: Six Flags Over Texas


The Titan, I believe, was the first +200 foot ride I ever went on.  When it first opened, it was actually more intense than its current edition.  Originally, the brake section seen in the picture had almost no effect on the speed of your train, resulting in heavy g's in the next segment.  This caused a number of riders to "black out" or lose consciousness, which can be obviously dangerous for your health.  The ride now slows you to almost a stop before carefully pushing you into the last part of the track.  Regardless, it's still an awesome coaster that holds the record as the tallest coaster in Texas.



Number 8
Name:  The Hulk
Location:  Universal's Islands of Adventure


Marvel Superhero Island is dominated by the presence of this awesome B&M hypercoaster.  No matter where you are, you will hear the roar of this ride and the screams of its poor victims.  The ride itself isn't actually terribly disorientating, despite the higher-than-average number of inversions and sharp turns.  You may end up with a slight headache afterwards, but it's a small price to pay.  I really enjoy the unique start to this ride as well.  You basically get the fake out from Dr. Banner's computer and then you're upside-down before you know it.  Hopefully this ride will stick around in coming years, as long as they continue to take care of it.

Number 7
Name:  Shockwave
Location:  Six Flags Over Texas


Whaaaaaaat??? What's this old, rickety POS doing my on Top 10 list, you ask?  Well this old, rickety POS was my first looping coaster AND it has back to back vertical loops.  That's what's up.

Number 6
Name:  Rattler/Iron Rattler
Location:  Six Flags Fiesta Texas


So I'm kinda cheating on this one because I grouped two rides together, even though they are very different from each other.  The original Rattler was a purely wooden coaster that featured all the elements you would expect:  rib-crushing turns, teeth-jerking wobbles, and that ever-present thought that it was about to fly off the tracks.  Nonetheless, the ride held up for a number of years with some cosmetic fixes here and there.  That all changed in 2012 when the ride closed down to undergo a transformation into Iron Rattler.  Using new hybrid wooden-steel coaster designs, the Rattler was reborn with a crazy steep drop, multiple airtime hills, and a zero-g roll.  I was fortunate enough to have participated in the commercial shoot and media event for this ride, and it easily holds a special place in my heart.



Number 5
Name:  El Toro
Location:  Six Flags Great Adventure


This woodie is generally considered as one of the best in the world, usually making top 3 on anyone's wooden coaster list.  The ride lives up to its hype, though.  It's been a while since I've visited Great Adventure, but I still remember the thrill of being launched over hills on a mostly-smooth wooden roller coaster.  The ride has a fairly simple layout, but sometimes simplicity is the best way to go.  It's also nice to have rides that provide steady thrills, instead of an 18 second burst of pure madness like its neighbor Kingda Ka.



Number 4
Name:  X2
Location:  Six Flags Magic Mountain


Yes, it shoots fire at you.  Yes, it's awesome.
The original X was groundbreaking:  a 4D coaster that spins your chair as you follow the track.  X2 saw a major re-haul of some of the outdated ride tech, along with the introduction of some crazy ride elements like flamethrowers and a pretty bangin' audio track (when it works).  This ride might seem like a complete cluster and it kinda is, but it's also a ton of fun.  You're never sure exactly how it will spin you next.



Number 3
Name:  Raging Bull
Location:  Six Flags Great America

Although it was the first B&M hypercoaster ever built, in my book it still holds its ground as the best.  Unlike Titan or Hulk, this ride actually has you seated higher up, with your legs dangling.  This really helps to feel the effect of all the airtime hills this ride has to offer.  My favorite place to ride is in the back, since you start to get airtime as soon as you leave the station.  The ride has no inversions, but it doesn't need any.  It is just a quality attraction that does its job well.



Number 2
Name:  Revenge of the Mummy
Location:  Universal Studios Florida


The Mummy is a brilliant blend of dark ride and coaster.  The first half of the ride moves steadily through room to room, but things suddenly go south when Imhotep decides he wants you for breakfast.  The ride is full of surprises and impressive special effects.  I admittedly enjoy watching people ride it for the first time just to see how much they freak out.  Despite it being such a great ride, it also usually has no more than a 30 minute wait, since it has two loading platforms.  Don't accidentally pass this one by if you happen to be at the Studios.



Number 1
Name:  Maverick
Location:  Cedar Point


Maverick is hands-down the best coaster I've ever been on.  From the moment in hauls you up the lift hill, you'll be diving, twisting, and flying out of your seat.  The ride is actually not very tall, but it takes full advantage of its lower-to-ground perspective to keep you whizzing through canyons and skipping across the water.  I hope that more rides will be built like it in the future, even if they may end up being overseas.  Check out the ride POV video below for this one if you'd like.

Feel free to let me know what your favorite coaster/ride is!  Thanks again for checking out this blog and stay tuned for more to come!

I HAVE RETURNED!

Hey howdy hey y'all!  For those of you who actually read this blog, you are probably aware that I have not really posted anything in the past 10 months.  I don't have any good excuses as to why, but the predominant reasons are 1) I'm lazy and got tired of typing things 2) I always did really long posts that took a long time to create, and 3) a combination of items 1 and 2.

Therefore, I have decided that I will attempt to create shorter posts from here on out.  Hopefully that will encourage me to post more often as well.  A lot has happened in the past year, so I should have a lot to talk about in retrospective.  Today's post, however, will be about current events.

As part of their business strategy, Six Flags Entertainment has committed itself to bringing a new attraction to each of its theme parks every single year.  Sometimes those new attractions are small, flat (or carnival-type) rides, and sometimes they are large scale coasters or shows.  Six Flags introduces these new attractions every year on a certain date through a company-wide press release video, showcasing the new rides for the coming season.  If you are curious to see exactly what the upcoming attractions are for 2015, check out their official video below:




If you watched the video, you might have noticed a few things.  First of all, Six Flags apparently likes that looping thing A LOT.  Don't be deceived the change in names across several parks, it will be the same ride at all the parks.  Secondly, two existing coasters will be getting the Rocky Mountain Construction makeover: Cyclone at Six Flags New England and Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain.  Lastly, a new type of dark-ride shooter will be heading to Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags St. Louis.

If you know me, you can probably guess what I'm most excited about.  Additionally, you probably also know how I feel about the ridiculous cookie-cutter looping rides.  I understand that not every park can get a new coaster every year, but to literally build the same ride at 4 parks all at once is disappointing.  Hopefully the rides will not be very popular, or we can expect all other parks to be getting swarmed with loopers as well (coughskyscreamercough).

Anywho, back to the hype.  The RMC rides look pretty sweet.  I've actually never been to SFNE (Six Flags New England) and I never had a chance to experience the classic wooden Cyclone.  The re-designing looks promising though, especially with those zero-g rolls that are reminiscent of another RMC product, Outlaw Run.   Twisted Colossus also looks like an interesting ride, although I feel like the track layout is fairly bland compared to recent projects such as Goliath and Medusa Steel Coaster.  The ride is unique though in that it has the appearance of a hybrid racer, but it is actually a single-track coaster.  You can't really tell how this works from the promo vid, but check out the extended ride animation video:




Once the first half of the ride is complete, you actually go right back up the lift hill on the other side.  Both halves of the ride are nearly identical, but it will be nice to have a new coaster with a long ride time.  My one concern is that the "racing" and "high-five" elements of the ride will not always line up, since that would mean possibly delaying the next train's dispatch which leads to longer lines and upset guests.  Hopefully they've already got a system planned to make it an enjoyable experience.

My home theme park, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, is also getting a new coaster; Batman: The Ride.  This exact brand of coaster has technically never been built before, but similar attractions can be found at other parks.  It was sad to hear that most of the Rockville area of SFFT will be removed or re-themed for the construction of this ride, but hopefully they will be doing more with the area in the coming years.  The ride looks interesting, although I personally was hoping for something with a larger surface area like a wing coaster.  It just seems unnecessary to have closed down such a large plot of land to build something with a relatively small footprint.



Another odd feature of this ride is its name.  "Batman: The Ride" was first used back in 1992 when the first looping B&M invert opened at Six Flags Great America, following the success of the Batman movie.  Copies of that coaster were placed at nearly every single Six Flags park, with the same name and themeing.  To bring back that same name, logo, and color scheme more than 20 years later for a new attraction seems very out of place, especially since Six Flags has rights to other Batman-themed ride names like "The Dark Knight Coaster" and "Batman: The Dark Knight."  It would seem more appropriate to name this ride after a more recent movie instead of just doing a straight throwback to the early 90s.  But in the end, I'm not going to be able to change their minds and the ride name, type, and color will all stick.

To finish up, Six Flags is also putting two new dark-ride shooters at two of its parks.  Not a lot was said or shown in regards to these rides, but I'm excited to see how they integrate 3D effects into these rides.  While they may not be on the same level as Toy Story Midway Mania, I'm sure the Justice League themeing will be something enjoyable.

That's all for now.  This post actually ended up being a lot longer than I expected.  So, you're welcome?  Like I said, I will try to go back and cover interesting news/events over the past year such as the completion of New Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom and the opening of Diagon Alley at Universal Studios.  Thanks everyone!

Danger: Yeti Crossing

In light of recent announcements regarding the future of Animal Kingdom, I decided to do a park visit and share a review of the park itself.  I will discuss the upcoming changes to the park later on, but for now I want to just talk about what the park has to offer and why it's one of my favorites.  I also feel very biased towards Animal Kingdom since I work at Animal Kingdom Lodge and get to see the park nearly every day.

Animal Kingdom opened back in 1998 and recently celebrated it's 15th birthday.  If you count the safari areas of the park, DAK (Disney's Animal Kingdom) is actually the largest park in terms of square footage.  In case you were wondering, Hollywood Studios is the smallest park.  DAK is not only a fun-filled theme park, but also one of the biggest educators for world-wide, ecosystem conservation.  Many of the shows and attractions include messages about co-existing with the environment and provide simple tips about recycling and reusing.  As a quick side note, all of the parks have switched over completely to the new touchpoint entrance systems.  Here is a picture of the new turnstiles and the fingerprint scanners:

DAK is made up of several "islands" including Discovery Island, Camp Minne Mickey, Africa, Asia, Rafiki's Planet Watch, and Dinoland U.S.A.  The centerpiece of the park is the Tree of Life, a massive structure with more than 300 animals carved into it.  Another hard-to-miss landmark is the man-made Mt. Everest.  I'll admit that every day I drive to work, I always turn to look at Everest.  In my opinion, it is one of the most incredible Disney landmarks on property, and also one of the most enthralling attractions.  In coming years, DAK will also be home to another landmark, and we may even see some exciting changes to the existing ones.  

On Discovery Island, you will find all kinds of great photo spots, shops, and a 3D adventure show that takes place beneath the Tree of Life.  In the queue line, you get a chance to see some of the Tree of Life's carvings up close.   The show is themed after "A Bug's Life" and mixes 3D effects with real life animatronics and props.  The pre-ride description adequately warns younger guests of the potentially frightening nature of the ride, since a gang of unruly insects appears mid-show to exact their revenge on mankind.  Ah yes, good times.  Admittedly, I always wanted a sequel to "A Bug's Life", but I don't think Pixar will be bringing it back anytime soon.  I should have "bugged" John Lasseter about it the other day when I saw him at work.  

Animal Kingdom has a wide variety of attractions featuring lots of real-life animals, but it also has a section designated to the really dead ones too!  Dinoland U.S.A. is a county-fair type amusement area with lots of games, cheesy signs, and seemingly dangerous carnival rides.  Dinoland also features the Dino Institute which houses the ride called Dinosaur (lots of creativity going on here).  Dinosaur is actually a fantastic, dark adventure with all kinds of twists and turns.  I enjoy this ride a lot more than the Jurassic Park River Adventure at Universal, since Dinosaur is able to rapidly change pace and JP only moves at a crawl-along pace until the very end.  When you visit, don't miss out on this one, even if it's a little hard to track down.  

Aladar's face always cracks me up.  It's just like, "This is a ride about dinosaurs.  O RLY!?"

Inbetween Dinoland and Asia is the Theater in the Wild.  At one point they had a "Tarzan on Rollerblades" show in that area, but now it's home to the Finding Nemo musical.  I watched it once a while ago, but it's a little too long to do every visit.  The puppets were really cool, but the songs were only so-so.  Since Finding Nemo wasn't originally an animated musical, there really weren't any songs to look forward to or connect with.  But again, the puppets are cool.  Just be ready to see the entire movie reenacted on stage.  

The Asia section of DAK is one of the most incredible sights across Disney property.  There is an incredible amount of detail into everything that goes on here, and you're sure to notice something different every time you visit.  As mentioned earlier, Mt. Everest is one of the largest landmarks at Disney World.  It is also one of the most expensive, costing around $100 million to create.  

Expedition Everest is a themed roller coaster that takes you on an adventure into the mountain in search of the legendary Yeti.  The queue for this ride has literally thousands of pieces of art, items, and equipment related to the myth of the Yeti.  Learning about your expedition throughout the queue is all part of the experience, so I would recommend using the stand-by line at least once.  The ride itself has all sorts of surprises, so I won't spoil it for you.  

In the same area, you can also find Kali River Rapids.  It's a decent water raft ride, with a bit of a dark side.  The premise of the ride is that of deforestation and so parts of the ride are just a burned down forest.  So yeah, it's pretty magical.  Nearby you will also find one of the animal trails, featuring tigers and chimpanzees.  Additionally, there is a stage show called Flights of Wonder.  As you may have deduced, this show is all about birds.  I didn't actually get any pictures of them because I was running low on phone battery.  

Camp Minnie Mickey has a few meet-and-greet character areas, but the main draw is the Festival of the Lion King show.  In my opinion, this is the best stage show at Disney World and a must-see for every guest.  The show is colorful, exciting, and moving.  Real talk - I usually tear up during the Circle of Life.  Make sure you get there early to get a good seat.  

Waka Waka!  This is Africa!  This area features a special safari trek that requires no additional cost.  There are other safari experiences that come at an up-charge, such as the Wild Africa Trek.  Kilimanjaro Safaris takes you into the savanna and jungle areas where you can get close to all sorts of African wildlife.  I've included more pictures of the baby giraffe, since that's the only reason most of you are reading this:

Harambe is the name of the village surrounding the safari entrance.  During the day, there are several street acts and performing groups.  There is also another forest exploration trail that features gorillas, reptiles, and naked mole rats.  You can also access the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch and Conservation Station.  Over there, you can see a collection of insects, check out veterinarian procedures, and even go into a petting zoo.  

Another side note;  All over DAK you can collect Wilderness Explorer badges as seen in the movie Up.  I only have a few of them so far, but I try to collect a couple every time I visit.  Even if you don't have time to collect them at all, at least pick up a Wilderness Explorer's booklet near the entrance to Discovery Island.  

Africa is normally a pretty happening place with very little breathing room, and, unfortunately, it's about to get a lot worse.  Starting in January, the Festival of the Lion King show will be closing for 6 months as construction is completed on the new show pavilion in the Africa section and all the show equipment transferred over.  Hopefully the new pavilion will come with an expanded courtyard area.  Either way, I am highly anticipating the refurbished show and will miss it in the meantime.  Although there haven't been any details about the new show, I hope they add a new song or two, like maybe "He Lives in You" from Lion King 2 and the Broadway musical "The Lion King."  That might be too much to ask for, though.  

So about those upcoming changes, Disney recently announced that Animal Kingdom will be receiving a very intense expansion.  An all-new Avatar land is already under construction and set to open in 2017 (long time, I know).  Just to clarify, this is James Cameron's Avatar, not the Last Airbender, although an airbender land would be cool, too.  This new land will include giant, floating mountains, fluorescent plant life, and maybe even an nighttime water show.  There has also been talk of refurbishing the Tree of Life to include night lighting as well.  

One of the best parts about working at Disney World is that there is always something new to look forward to.  The parks and resorts are always growing and expanding with new technology and features.  I am also pleased to let you know that I applied to extend my current college program, and my extension was approved.  Therefore, I will have an opportunity to stay with the company for a while longer and see these new adventures myself.  Hope you enjoyed this post!