Tag: Arrow

After a long period of rehab work, Space Mountain has reopened. The opening was a soft one (no big ceremony or events), and the new additions seem to work for enthusiasts.

The first part of the queue has really been left alone, still with the new age music playing in the backround. What Disney has added, though, are some games further along in the queue. These symbol video games (in which players must blow up asteroids) are quick, easy, and not addictive enough for someone to hold the line up. This sort of seperates the line into phases, and when the game is over players either move forward in line, or let people move in front of them in order to further play the game.

The loading station has been changed as well. Instead of the roofless station the coaster originally had, the station now has a roof so about-to-be riders cannot watch glow-in-the-dark cars gliding by above them. I’ve heard this makes the ride much more dark and scary, which is what the ride was meant to be. The station also has new lights, making it brighter.

The ride itself is mostly the same, with some additions here and there, the track has been retracked and some props have been added to the lift hill. The post-show has been updated with new TV screens.

All in all, I’m happy Disney has decided to update Space Mountain. It is by far my favorite ride at Disney (Oh my! More than Everest and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster?? Yes.) because of its classic appeal and somewhat thrilling ride, and it truly deserved a makeover. I cannot wait to ride it this August!

What do you think about this makeover for Space Mountain? Leave us your park thoughts.

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Sep 20

Desperado Review

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Posted in Reviews | by Justice

In the hot deserts of Las Vegas, lies a massive steel monster.  Standing at over 200 feet, this coaster sends you plummeting downward into a mind blowing tunnel before sky rocketing upward.  From here the ride goes through many twists that will send you to the edge of insanity.  Desperado is the name, and scaring the pants off you is it’s game.

Opened in 1994, this new coaster put the Buffalo Bill Resort and Casino on the map.  For a while it was in the top 10 for fastest and tallest coaster in the world.  Not to mention longest, at more then a mile long with 5843 feet of track.

From BadgerBerrets photo stream.

From BadgerBerret's photo stream.

Desperado begins with a huge lift hill that gives you a inspiring view of the natural landscape in the barren sun.  Before you know it, you are heading down a 60 degree, 225 foot drop into a long tunnel.  The train jerks upward as you rise into the scorching sun right before entering a large twisted mess of the ride.  Desperado whips around several turns and twists before making bunny hops towards the mid course break run.

Once at the mid course break run, the train slows down quite a bit and makes a few dips over the parking lot.  It winds in and out of the resort’s log flume mountain as it travels through a helix.  Finally it shoots up an incline into the final break run.

Well what can I say about Desperado?  It is fast!  I got a fly caught in my mouth the second time I rode this sucker.  It is on the rough side for those of you who are terrified of rough coasters but the speed is pretty spectacular.

What do you think of Desperado?  Leave your comments and park thoughts!

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Sep 19

Top 10: Best Queue Lines

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Posted in Thoughts | by Austin

Typically, you spend more time in a queue line than anywhere else during your day at a theme park. Some parks go above and beyond to make sure guests are entertained, even while they’re waiting in line.  We see these as the top 10 queue lines in the world:

1. Dueling Dragons

This queue line takes you through castles, caves, and caverns, filled with skeletons, bones, and more scenery telling the story of the Fire and Ice Dragons.

2. Revenge of the Mummy

Revenge of the Mummy (there is a full review on this site)’s line takes you through the on-location set for the newest “Mummy” movie, inside an Egyptian tomb.

3. Flight of Fear

This line takes you inside an Area 51-style aircraft hanger, where they are holding a UFO. The queue line goes into the UFO, where you load the coaster. Something I found interesting was, I found a crack in the wall. I looked inside to see if I could see the loading station or maybe some behind the scenes stuff, but there was a pile of dead “aliens”. It is interesting that they used my curiosity to theme the ride even further.

4. Terminator Salvation: The Ride

Though I haven’t been on the ride yet, the queue line looks amazing! The outdoor queue has an apocalyptic feel with rusty metal fences and machines, and the indoor queue features three-pre shows, tunnels, and more.

5. Rock ‘n RollerCoaster

Rock ‘n RollerCoaster’s queue line is through a recording studio, where you watch a pre-show, and then into a very realistic “parking garage”, where you load the limos.

6. Space Mountain

Space Mountain’s queue, which is under rehab, took you through a light tunnel and had great mysterious space music, and the station also has no roof, so you can see green cars flying by in the huge dome. The queue shows no distinct theming, which might be what they are adding now.

7. JAWS

JAWS at Universal’s queue line reminds me of being down the shore, because on the TVs they have corny TV ads and shows similar to shore shows, and restaurants that would be found on the shore. On the walls, there is a poster giving out a reward for the shark that killed Alexander, the boy from the movie.

8. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

This queue line is western themed with wood, pretty generic, but what is cool is that you go through the rock formations, and you can the train negotiating the track.

9. Loch Ness Monster

The Loch Ness Monster at Busch has little, but effective theming. There is a board telling about the dive to try and find Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, and precedures for what should happen if she is found.

10. Batman: The Ride

I’ve only been on the clone at Great Adventure, but they are each themed differently. The queue starts in Gotham Park, with tons of greenery, shrubs, and fountains. There is a construction wall which says something like “Gotham, Building a Better Future” with sounds of jackhammers and picks and construction. Behind, you can hear cars passing over the underpass, and you see a junkyard with barbed wire fences, and hear police dogs chasing gangs. You enter the “Broad Ave. Storm Drain”, where you can hear Alfred telling you to hurry and come up to the Batcave, because trouble is following you. This is very effective, but does not reprieve a ride which is rough and not very fun.

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Built in 1978, Gemini was built as the world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster. It has a hybrid wood structure with a steel track. Many might think from the midway of the ride, that it is old. So people would ...

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Sep 18

Bottom 5 Roller Coasters

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Posted in Thoughts | by Austin

Everyone all over the internet lists their Top 5, 10, or 20 favorite roller coasters. Looking up “Worst Roller Coasters” on the internet leads to almost nothing. I’m here to give you my list of my least favorite roller coasters… see if you recognize a few.

At the 5th worst position ...

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I went on a trip to visit Busch Gardens Europe and Kings Dominion, to see which I liked better. Busch Gardens won by a land-slide, even though Kings Dominion had more than twice as many coasters. Here is why Kings Dominion, for me, was almost entirely not worth ...

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Today is Big Bad Wolfs Final Day after thrilling millions of riders.

Today is Big Bad Wolf's Final Day after thrilling millions of riders.

Today marks the final day of Big ...

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