Top 5 Rides Opening in 2013

Yo Nerds,
To begin, if you haven't already done so, make sure you watch our video listing our top 5 new rides for 2013.  

Here's the thing.  We all like rides.  That's why we're here.  This year, however, while there are some looking to be excellent coasters coming out and a few well put together dark rides, there isn't really any OMG MUST GO RIDE THAT RIGHT NOW attractions coming out this year.  Especially after 2012 brought us Transformers in USH, Manta at SeaWorld San Diego, and the mega Cars Land in California Adventure, 2013 kinda pales in comparison.

None the less, there are still several excellent attractions opening soon around the country.  Here is our top 5.

5. Iron Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Six Flags loves their "firsts," and while this is not the first ever steel coaster being supported by a wooden structure, it is the first to do a barrel roll.  Iron Rattler is a renovated and enhanced new version of The Rattler coaster, which opened in Fiesta Texas in 1992.  Aside from the new track, they added the inversion and made changes to many of the existing drops and maneuvers.  Should make for a good time.

4. Full Throttle at Six Flags Magic Mountain
Another thing Six Flags loves is record holders, and they are claiming another record with Full Throttle.  At opening this will be the tallest, fastest looping coaster in the US.  Yes, there are taller and faster coasters (Kingda Ka is currently #1 in both) but with its launch into a 160 foot loop, Full Throttle stakes the claim that no other coaster will go fast AND high AND upside-down.  Aside from that, the ride also features a backwards launch, into a forward launch over the top of the super tall loop.  It's going to be hella short, but hopefully sweet.

3. Transformers at Universal Orlando
Last year, Transformers in Hollywood was one of the marquee attractions of the year and it did not disappoint.  This 3D robot fighting adventure to save the all spark continues to pack in the crowds in the lower lot of the park.  It's huge California success led to the ride being cloned for the third time (the first is in Universal Singapore) in Orlando.  While the ride itself will stand as a long term draw for the park and will have fans for many years to come, we can't get over the fact it feels like an appetizer for the HIGHLY anticipated Harry Potter's London area currently under construction on the other side of the park.  It will be the #1 draw in the park for a little over a year, which is just fine.

2. Gatekeeper at Cedar Point
Not only does this look to be an exciting and fun ride, but Gatekeeper as also dramatically changed the entrance of Cedar Point.  This B&M Wing Coaster dramatically soars over a redesigned park entrance, including near misses through keyholes in towers that now flank the turnstiles.  It also features a 170 foot first drop which is just awesome.  It's going to be a good time

1. Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin at Sea World Orlando
Three words: TRACKLESS PENGUIN RIDE!  Need we say any more?  When Sea World began tearing out the old Penguin Encounter in Orlando, we were intrigued.  When they announced they would be creating a penguin ride, we were excited.  When we finally found out this would be a trackless penguin ride featuring dark ride portions and a trip through the actual penguin habitat without glass blocking all the penguin sights and sounds (and smells), how could we not be nerding out on its awesomeness?

So there you go nerds.  Our top new rides for the year.  What do you think?  Would you have placed them in the same order?  Did we miss anything?

Let us know your thoughts.

Later Nerds,
Mike

Glowing and Showing

What up Nerds,
Blinking Mickey Mouse ears may be one of the coolest things ever.  Mickey Mouse Ears that blink with your favorite nighttime show at your favorite Disney park, supermegaawesomecool!  Of course, that only counts if your favorite Disney nighttime show is Wold of Color, Wishes, Remember, or Magical.  (F off Illuminations and Fanstasmic!)

For the few of you that haven't already seen them, Glow with the Show is the newest in park expenditure that every young child and nerdy adult needs to feel apart of the magic.  They are Mickey Mouse ears that have LED lights that blink and change color in time with the show.  It sounds very simple, but when you get a crowd of people together waring the ears, the effect is pretty amazing.

The ears get signals off transmitters hidden in the show viewing areas that tell the ears what to do.  Disney has been experimenting with secret signals to your toys for quite some time now.  In 2001, for the 100 Years of Magic celebration, they tried to make everyone buy pins that would blink along with your favorite rides.   Later, they had Pal Mickey, that would say crazy and annoying things whenever you got close to certain locations in the parks.  Both failed to really take off and faded into Disney marketing oblivion.

The Glow with the Show ears make for an amazing effect when you are at the park with a crowd of people wearing the same ears, but once you take them home, they are nothing more than a memory of the awesomeness you are no longer taking part in.  Sure, if you live close to a Disney park, they are a sound investment towards continued nighttime amusement, but if you don't, it's a one time blink fest that has little additional use at home.

Check out our latest video on Glow with the Show.  We have included some shots from World of Color and Disney Dreams in Paris (both from the Disney Parks YouTube channel) so you can get a feel for what the ears add to the shows if you haven't seen it for yourself.

Glow on Nerds,
Mike

Monstrous Summer

Boo Nerds!

Did I scare you? Didn't think so.  

It's unfortunate because Disney is beginning their Monstrous Summer campaign on May 24th and they will need your screams to power all the projectors they are using to make Spaceship Earth look like Mike Wazowski.  The big kick off party involves Disneyland and Magic Kingdom staying open for 24 hours (much like they did for last year's leap day celebration).  Naturally, to celebrate the kingdom parks being the center of the party, they are advertising it on Epcot's icon....because....it's round.

While I understand the point of Monstrous Summer, it seems it's execution is a little half hearted.  Aside from the 24 hour parties and the projections on Spaceship Earth, there isn't really much else going on to make this event special.  If you miss the craziness on the 24th, then the celebration consists of meet n' greets with Mike and Sully, a Mono-rail wrap to promote Monsters U (much like they did  for Avengers, Iron Man, and Tron) and a new joke or two in Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (M.I.L.F.)

Since Disney obviously doesn't have the time to find ways to do this celebration properly, I have taken the liberty of coming up with some ideas for them :)

Monstrous Splash Mountain

Replacing all the Brer Rabbit Animatronics with Boo, Brer Fox with Mike, and Brer Bear with Sully, join Mike and Sully on a fun filled adventure to save Boo from becoming a tar baby.

Space Mountain: Monster Galaxy

Replace all the space nebula projections with Mike Wazowski dancing a jig to a rockin' Randy Newman soundtrack

Monsters of the Caribbean

A swashbuckling adventure ensues when Boo is let loose on the Caribbean island town of TorBOOga.

It's a Small Monster

Sail the scariest cruise in the world as you float through scenes of monsters scaring children all over the world, all to the most annoying soundtrack ever created

Monsterhorn

A high speed bobsled adventure with Sully trying to increase his scare quotient at every turn

Big Thunder Monster

Monsters in the west.  What more do you need?

Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Monster

Don't look into the one giant eye of the green idol

Buz Lightyears Monster Spin

How many Pixar movies can you cram into one ride?  Lets find out as you simultaneously shoot targets for points and scream as loud as you can to power the ride.

Sorin' Over Monstropolous

Take in the breath taking views and smells of the inhabitants of the city.  Just make sure your hang glider can fit through the door so you can get home.

Monster Tours

The preferred method of transport for monsters everywhere.  Travel to all the exciting destinations that have yet to be seen in any Monsters movies in stunning HD3D

 And I'm spent.  What this video where Parker and I go into more detail about the Monstrous Summer.

See you in the M.I.L.F.

Mike

Theme Park Nerds Episode 5

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Hey there nerds,

Theme Park Nerds Video Blog episode 5 is on the air.  This week, we talk about a few of the parks we are looking forward to visiting during the summer season, speculate and fantasize about a possible Star Wars mini land coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios, and nerd out on what the opening of Harry Potter 2 at Universal Studios Florida means to that resort.

Check it out!

Theme Park Nerds Episode 5

See ya nerds!

Mike

Fastpass+

Hey there Nerds,
So if you hadn't already heard, Disney has been working on a massive kinda secret project generally referred to as "Next Gen." Their hope seems to be centered around attempting to personalize your experience in a Disney park so that characters, animatronics, and attractions recognize who you are, as opposed to the cattle like herd mentality that currently prevails.

Central to this system seems to be electronic wristbands loaded with RFID tags that will store your personal information, including your name, the people you are traveling with, your dining reservations, your theme park tickets, your fastpasses, and any other information Disney can use to catalog you and differentiate you from the herd.  An early test of the wristband system is underway at Walt Disney World, as well as some of it's RFID enabled systems.

One of the other major components of the Next Gen push is an upgrade to the Fastpass system dubbed "Fastpass Plus" or Fastpass+.  The idea is to move away from the current, ticket based Fastpass ride reservation system and instead store your ride times on your wristbands.  Also rumored to be a component of Fastpasss+ is the ability to book your Fastpasses online in advance of your trip to the park, in addition to booking times at kiosks at each individual attraction.

It's the addition of the book in advance Fastpass feature that has many regular Disney park visitors more than a little concern.  In theory, tourists that plan their vacations months or years in advance will have the ability to schedule every aspect of their vacation.  From dining reservations to ride times, to seating at shows and parades, every part of your Disney experience will be practically perfect in every way.  It's an over-scheduled mom's dream.

For the casual theme park goer, it is a little more worrisome.  Attraction capacity will not change.  There will still be around the same number of Fastpasses available each day as there are now, only in this possible future, more of those Fastpasses will be taken early by those who have pre-planned their vacations, leaving less for the casual visitor who pops into their favorite park for the day on a whim.  In addition, vacation tourists who don't know the wonders of Fastpass, let alone that you can book them in advance, will arrive to a busy park shocked that they spent thousands of dollars only to find there are no more Fastpasses for Space Mountain when the park opens.

There are a lot of passionate opinions about the possibilities of the new Fastpass+ system.  Parker and I get into a bit of a heated discussion about it.  Watch us lose our minds a bit.

What are your thoughts?  Is Fastpass the best thing ever invented or the end of theme parks as we know it?

--Mike

Adventure Dome and El Loco Construction

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Hello nerds,

Today I took a little trip to the other side of town to check out the Circus, Circus Adventure Dome, and indoor amusement park on The Strip.  They are currently in the process of adding a new coaster, called "El Loco" in the former lagoon of their old tidal wave boat ride.  Let's take a look, shall we?

If you have never been to the Adventure Dome, the ceiling is made up of pink glass, so everything in the park has a bit of a pink tint to it.

You gotta love a construction sign! 

 This fence is outside the edge of the old lagoon for the old tidal wave ride.  It looks like this will eventually be the entrance for El Loco.

 A view from the bridge over old tidal wave lagoon.  As you can see, this portion of the flume has been removed and the lagoon has been cleared to make way for the coaster.

 There isn't really any signs of construction for the new coaster yet.

 Given how small and packed the dome is, this is actually a fairly large chunk of real estate being devoted to this little coaster.

 Looking up into the top of the canyons, you can see that portions of the boat flume are still present.  This was actually a pretty cool boat ride that took you through a few caves at the top of the dome before the big splash down.

 The removed waterfall from a different angle.

 The cleared site with the splashdown viewing bridge in the background.

 Onto a few shots from the rest of the park.  Here is the Canyon Blaster roller coaster in mid loop.  This is one of the opening day attractions.  A short, but good coaster.

 It travels through the center of the park, with two loops, two corkscrews, and a double helix before reentering the station.

The helix goes in and out of the caves above the laser tag arena and near the 3D theaters.

 Not sure how long this has been there, but they turned a few pathways in the park into a mini-golf course.  

 It was a very creative way to cram another attraction into a very small area.

 Here's their Inverter, a standard ride that is at many carnivals.

 Their Farris Wheel, with gondolas shaped like hot air balloons.

I actually liked Sponge Bob 4D more than I thought I would.  A cute show with excellent use of bubbles.

 Wanna see a move?  They gots movies!

Sea World isn't the only ones with a penguin ride!  The Happy Feet simulator is a very...interesting... concept.  I am not sure how someone decided to make a ride film out of CGI penguins, but it is fun.  I also like that this attraction reuses the motion theaters from the old Luxor ride.

 For everyone in Orlando, this is NOT like the Garden Grill in Epcot.  This one does not rotate and is not all you can eat, however, it is not infested with rodents trying to take pictures with your children.

That's it from Las Vegas for today.  As soon as El Loco starts to make some visible construction progress, I'll be sure to let you know.

Until then, Later Nerds!

--Mike

Six Flags Magic Mountain, May 2013

Full Throttle Construction Update

Good morning Nerds,

Last week, I was hanging out in California and decided to hit Magic Mountain to see the progress being made on Full Throttle, and ride some coasters (of course).

It was a nice and sunny May day in Valencia.  I went on a Tuesday, so the parking lot was mostly empty along with the park.

Just after passing through the turnstiles, you are hit with the construction for Full Throttle.  This sign was in front of the entrance fountains.

 It's not a huge detour, but getting to the lower section of the park takes a bit longer than normal.

 The path to High Sierra Territory is blocked off by construction walls.  Don't worry, you can still get your fill of super hero capes if you don't already have one.

 As luck would have it, they had the construction walls open to allow for large trucks to enter the site.  Here is a shot of Full Throttle's loop.  As you can see, there is also track going on top of the loop.

 Construction at one of the nearby buildings.

 Parker joked about this in one of the Theme Park Nerds videos, but here is indeed brakes coming down off the loop. This will be a VERY short ride and the loop is right next to the station.  

Just to give you an impression of how tightly squeezed this ride will be, this is where I believe the station will eventually be built  As you can see, trains will come off the top hat into a break run, make a U turn, then be ready to launch into the loop for the next riders.  I am not entirely sure how they are going to squeeze a station into this area and still have room to get enough speed to clear the 160ft loop, but I'm sure they have it figured out.

One more shot of the loop before heading into construction wall land.

Construction walls around the site advertise the new coaster, and of course urge you to get a season pass.

 Somehow, given the short length of this ride, I don't think we'll see too many times when two  trains are on the loop at once.  If it does happen, though, it will be quite impressive.

Meanwhile, over near Superman, that portion of the track looks pretty much complete.  After launching out of the station, into the loop, the trains will next zoom over the Superman plaza.

A look at the track coming into the Superman Plaza.

 After passing over the plaza, you'll dive under it via this track going into once of the old monorail tunnels.  That's where the second launch is located that will get you up and over the top hat element.

If you would like to see some video of the construction, check out my construction update on the Theme Park Nerds YouTube channel or click the link below.

Full Throttle Construction Update

 Moving on from Full Throttle, here are some shots from around the park.  This is from Goliath's queue.  As you can see, I pretty much had the park to myself for most of the morning.

 Empty seats during a one train operation.  Something you won't see once the summer goes full swing in a few weeks.

 Over in DC Universe, they were preparing for Grad Nights.

 Apparently, graduates HATE flower beds!  Actually, it looked like they were building a temporary stage for the festivities.

 Love this ride, though it's not fun being stuck in the block brakes at the top for extended periods of time.  Just sayin'.

The Batman queue has some of the nicer landscaped areas of the park

 Deja Vu, may you rest in peace.

 Flashback, may you burn for all eternity.  This thing was a torture machine and I'm glad it's dead!

That does it for Magic Mountain.  Be sure to check out videos from the park on the Theme Park Nerds YouTube channel where we also have updates from other parks and news on what's happening in the amusement industry.

Until next time,
Later Nerds!
--Mike

Theme Park Nerds, Episode 4

What's up Nerds,

If you haven't already checked it out, Theme Park Nerds Episode 4 is live and has us rambling about the Las Vegas retail expansions, Universal Studios Hollywood construction, and the new Iron Man exhibit at Innoventions in Disneyland.  Check it out and let us know what you think.

Theme Park Nerds Episode 4

Hope you like it,
--Mike and Parker

Las Vegas Retail Craziness

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Theme Park Nerds YouTube channel

Hello Nerds,

If there is one thing the Las Vegas Strip isn't lacking, aside from casinos, out of place city landmarks, and Cirque du Soleil show, it's opportunities to buy things.  During the construction boom of the 90's and 2000's, it seems every major hotel on the strip added some sort of retail shopping space to capitalize on the stream of visitors traveling to, from, and through the resorts.  While area is pretty well saturated with opportunities to buy whatever your heart desires, Caesar's Entertainment and MGM Resorts is hoping there is still room for more.

Two major retail projects are currently under construction on The Strip.  Over at The Quad (formerly the Imperial Palace) construction is well underway for The Linq, an outdoor mall that will squeeze between that hotel and The Flamingo and stretch back to the new observation wheel being built in the back, the High Roller.  Along with the renovations underway at The Quad, Caesar's is hoping to breath new life into some of the older areas of The Strip.

Here is a shot of the Linq under construction.  The Quad is on the left, the Flamingo is on the Right, and the High Roller is the white A frame in the background.

Meanwhile, across the street and a little south of The Linq project, MGM Resorts is beginning work on their new retail space that will span from New York, New York to City Center, taking up much of the current walkways in front of the resorts.  The facades of NYNY and Monte Carlo will be pushed out to the street allowing for additional retail space to be built on the highly visible and well trafficked Strip.   In addition, the former City Center offices, which sit empty between NYNY and Monte Carlo, will be demolished to make way for a pedestrian pathway connecting the strip to the announced 20,000 seat arena that will rise from the parking lots and corporate offices behind Monte Carlo.

In this shot of Monte Carlo from above, you can see some of the extra space between the street and the current casino entrance that will be enclosed to provide the extra retail space.  The white roofed building above Monte Carlo, just before NYNY, is the old City Center offices that will make way for the pedestrian walkway to the arena.

It's going to be an eventful year for Las Vegas with these new additions.  Be sure to check out more information on these, and other themed projects on the Theme Park Nerds Video Blog!

Theme Park Nerds Episode 4

Happy Shopping Nerds!

Mike

Universal Studios Hollywood Trip Report, May 2013

Hey there nerds,

I finally got out of town long enough to hit a few parks on my days off.  First up is Universal Studios Hollywood, where they are building bathrooms, parks, and homes for minions.

My video update showing off some of the highlights of the day is posted on the Theme Park Nerds YouTube channel.  Check it out!
Universal Video Update

Welcome to a cold and rainy day in Hollywood.  It was pouring most of the morning and continued with light rain throughout the day.  I don't mind getting a little wet, so it made for PERFECT theme park weather.  Everyone except the die hard tourists stayed home.

 Wide open paths free of crowds on the way in.

Down in the lower lot, the lines were non-existant.  It was a 15 minute wait for Transformers until around 2pm, Mummy and Jurassic Park were walk ons.

In a very good move, they relocated the Transformers Meet and Greet location to the left of the attraction entrance and gave it its own queue.  Much better than the old location on the other side of the gift shop. The people who waited to get their picture taken with a giant robot waited longer than the people going on the Transformers ride.   Maybe they were too distracted by Optimus to realized there was a super cool ride behind him?

New in the Universal Experience is the DeLorean from Back to the Future, a movie that in two years will be renamed "Forward to Today"

It's a cool picture car and is displayed very well in the center of the exhibit.  The stop motion sets from ParaNorman around the corner in the same room can't compete with the DeLorean's awesomeness.

Side note, someone puked in the exhibit before I got there.  The entire room smelled like the chemical used to absorb vomit.  Apparently the awesomeness of this car was too much for someone's stomach to handle.  Now that the scene is properly set, admire the hood of the car.

Because of the rain, the Dino Play area near Jurassic Park was closed, making so anyone under 40 inches tall had zero reason to be on the lower lot.

A shot of the wet, closed playground.  It's a very nice, well done play area.

Meanwhile, in the bushes of Jurassic Park, Dora was exploring Isla Nublar looking for Dinosaur embryos to sell on the main land.  She was later eaten by a Velociraptor.

Dino Splash!  They had all the extra water effects turned off on Jurassic Park, since everyone looked like a drowned mammal anyway.  Without the cannons, the splash is much more modest. 

I've never noticed this before, and it's probably been there forever, but this is the gate to the roads behind the Jurassic Park drop building.  I thought it was cool.

Now to the upper lot, where Krustyland was showing a 25 minute wait for The Simpsons Ride.  In actuality, it was about a two show back up.  No real queue outside the grouping area, but they were only running one theater because the park was so slow.

Orlando is getting all of Springfield, Hollywood is getting....a bathroom expansion....maybe. 

Walls were up connecting the Kwik-E-Mart to the current restrooms.  

A shot behind the construction walls from the studio tour bridge.  They have torn out the retaining wall on the hillside and appear to be doing lots of utility work.

Elsewhere on the upper lot, the former site of the Wild West Stunt Show is now a big empty area.  Not having the old, unused theater there really opens up the area.  It doesn't feel as small anymore.  Not sure exactly what is going in there, but many are saying it will be a nice park area, which is fine by me.

Wrapping things up for this update, the Gibson Amphitheater is enjoying it's last days before being magically transformed by a bunch of wizards.  Soon, Waterworld will be on the outskirts of Hogsmead, which is odd.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures.  Be sure to check out our YouTube channel for more on Universal and other parks.

Theme Park Nerds YouTube channel

Until next time,

Later Nerds!