Test Track 2.0

The first visit I had to the parks in quite some time, occurred over the past month.  My dad and I visited for a couple of days as part of a graduation gift and some friends from school and I visited for about five days a couple of weeks later.  This roundup/review/recollection thing will pull from both experiences.  This first post will discuss some of the new and refurbished attractions.  

Firstly, Test Track in Epcot has always been very enjoyable for me.  The experience itself is fun and I have always appreciated riding with people who have never experienced it before.  In the past year, it went under a sorely needed refurbishment and redesign.  As much as I had liked the ride, crash test dummy warehouse is not futurey(?) enough for Future World.  

The new look of Test Track definitely fits well within that future theme.  The music is much better and no longer gives me a pounding headache.  Everything is much cleaner, as in no thematic clutter, than what it used to be.  

The best addition, I believe, is the design room where you and your party can custom build a car to then “take” with you during the attraction.  A cast member hands your party a card implanted with an RFID chip and you take it to a station where you can customize the look and elements of your digital vehicle, which affect capability, efficiency, responsiveness, and power.  I want to emphasize digital because the ride experience is the same every time no matter what alterations you make to your design.  The design process is very fun and there seem to be limitless ways you can design the perfect automobile.  

The ride experience itself may look different, think Tron, but feels the same as Test Track 1.0.  This is because the track layout did not change at all which I feel is a missed opportunity.  I could still predict every ride beat due to my experiences.  

Overall, Test Track 2.0 is a solid upgrade.  Pre and post show areas are fun and engaging, but I wish they did more with the ride experience itself.  The addition of a model of Progress City during the ride does get a nod of approval from me. 

Thanks for reading,

-Brian

Meet Brian

Hello there!  I’m Brian.  I’m from Virginia.  I love theme parks.  Parker was kind enough to ask me to write a blog post for Theme Park Nerds, so here I am.  Let me give you bit of background on myself in the industry so that you can get a better picture of where I’m coming from with this, and also to feed my ego monster.  I’m kidding, I’m the most modest person I know that’s ever existed for all time.  Anyway.  As said earlier, I’m Brian from Virginia.  A place that is not without access to some pretty spectacular theme parks.  Going to school in Norfolk for my undergrad and graduate degrees allowed me to visit my favorite park, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, the Most Beautiful Theme Park in the World, on a regular basis.  My working experiences in the theme park industry include two stints in Walt Disney World’s College Program.  In the spring of 2006, I worked Quick Service at Walt Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort in the food court.  Two years later, I wanted to do the program again and was placed this time in Merchandise at Mouse Gear in Epcot.  I met Parker when I transferred to Attractions during the summer and worked arguably the best attraction on property, Splash Mountain.  Enough about me though, you want to hear about theme parks, right?  This first post will be mostly a review of the new stuff I had yet to do at the resort and some thoughts on the parks in general.  I may ramble.  You have been warned.

Full Throttle HAS TRAINS!

Got your hands on the Throttle?

As Six Flags Magic Mountain creeps closer to the completion of their next mega coaster, Full Throttle, a big step has been taken that shows that ride testing is just around the corner.  TRAINS ARE ON THE TRACK!  Two to be exact.  One near the station on what appears to be a transfer track and one just outside of the launch tunnel near Superman.

Here's a shot of the train that's outside of the launch tunnel.  You can see riders will sit two by two, with two cars making up a train for a total of 12 riders.

From the sky tower, you can see the second train on the transfer track.  This is going to be a VERY tight turn around from breaks, to station, to launch.  To the left of the train is the break run coming of the top hat over the 160 foot loop.  The platform to the left appears to be where the station will be constructed.

Through the trees near the old Log Jammer station, you can see what the restraints look like.  No over the shoulder harnesses for this record breaking loop.

From the tower, you can see the entire layout of the new coaster.  It starts in the center of the picture, behind the orange track of Tatsu, launches into the loop, goes over the bridge to Superman to the left, then under the bridge into the launch tunnel, then launches again up and over the loop and back into the station.

A look at the station area from above.  That's a very short launch to get you over a very tall loop.

I have some additional photos and video of Full Throttle's construction you can see here.

So what do you think?  Is Full Throttle going to be another Jewel in Magic Mountain's coaster crown?

Welcome to Jurassic Park!

Hey there visitors to Isla Nublar,

The Jurassic Park River Adventure in Universal Studios Hollywood has been a hit since it's opening in 1996.  Two duplicates of the ride have been made in Japan and Florida, and while I have yet to venture to the land of the rising sun, I much prefer the original to the Orlando copy.

Take a look at the full ride through of the attraction I recently filmed.

Those of you familiar with the version at Universal's Islands of Adventure, here are a few of the differences.

- Only one hadrosaur in Hadrosaur Cove
- A crashed boat is in the entrance to the cove
- An animatronic Dilophosaurus is in the crashed boat across from the Velociraptor pen (replacing the two small dinosaurs fighting over the popcorn box, who appear earlier in the ride in Hollywood)
- A car falls off the side of the wall on the approach to the chain lift, much like in the movie (this was replaced by the falling raptor box in Orlando, which isn't nearly as good)
- More raptors in the chain lift
- A fully animatronic GIANT T-Rex head coming from the ceiling just after you leave the chain lift (this was replaced by the scratches on the wall in Orlando, which just doesn't compare.

Take a virtual ride and see for yourself, and please let me know, if there is anyone else out there that has rode another version of the ride, what you think.

Until then, WATCH OUT FOR THAT DINOSAUR!  Just kidding, I'm a kidder.

Universal Construction Update

Hey there lovers of construction,

Universal Studios Hollywood has a lot going on in the upper lot in the way of improvements and new attractions.  I was recently in the park and took a few pictures of what's going on.

First, lets start with what's NOT under construction yet: Harry Potter.  It was announced not too long ago that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter would be coming to Hollywood and the Gibson Amphitheater would be cleared to make way for Hogwarts. 

 The Gibson is still very much in one piece and shows no signs of being under siege by wizards

The entire center of the upper lot is a large construction site.  Universal has removed the old Wild West Stunt Show theater and is replacing it with...something.  It looks like it will be a series of shops or food stands.  Here is the framework for a building that will be going in the front corner of the area.

 The back of the metal framework.  The House of Horrors maze is the building behind it on the left.

A side view of the framework above.  It looks like there will be some sort of roundish entrance-y thing on the front corner.

Moving around the block, to the left of the framework is the beginnings of some wooden beam structures.  You can see it peaking over the wall on the center left.

Continuing around the walls, this small wooden building is visible.

 In the back of the area, near the Animal Actors Stage, this wooden structor is being assembled.

Moving on, over by The Simpsons' Ride, work continues behind the restrooms. 

 They have dug a very particular, very layered hole.  Not sure why.

On to the good stuff.  Universal just officially announced that Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem will be replacing Terminator 2: 3D.  Construction has already been underway at the former T23D site for a few months now

 The store in the front has been re-enclosed after it got all ripped apart.

Further down, scaffolding is still up on what appears to be the new entrance.

Behind the tarps, you can see the metal frame of what appears to be Gru's house.  If they use this for the entrance like they did in Orlando, this make the entrance on the opposite side of the building from where you entered Terminator.

If you want to see more construction shots and videos I took of the different areas, check it out on the Theme Park Nerds YouTube channel.

Have a Tram-tastic Day Nerds!

Autobots: Roll Out!

Hey there nerds,
If you haven't had the chance to experience the new Transformers: The Ride: 3D: Fighting Robots! ride in Universal Studios Hollywood or Orlando, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!  If you like 3D, or fighting robots, or action, or crazy motion ride vehicles, or run, you should have already ridden it by now.

What I want to talk about this time around is the new character meet & greet location Universal Studios Hollywood has put up in front of their Transformers ride.  Since opening, the Hollywood park has had a location near the Transformers gift shop where you can meet Optimus or Bumble Bee for pictures.  If you haven't seen the character costumes for the Transformers, they're AMAZING.  Its a head to toe costume, requiring the actor inside to walk on stilts to pull off the hight of the robots.

The Transformers characters have always been a huge hit with park guests, regularly attracting long lines for a picture.  Recently, Universal upgraded their photo location to include large, armory style metal looking doors to provide each robot a dramatic entrance and exit.  They also added dialogue for each robot (music for Bumble Bee), including the name of the child our adult they are posing with.  Most importantly, Megatron is now in the rotation of Transformers you can meet with.

Check out my video of the Transformers in action in Hollywood.

Nerds, ROLL OUT!

Hanging at the Berry Farm

How's it hanging nerds?

I have been going to Southern California theme parks since I was born.  I have been to Disneyland, Universal, Magic Mountain, and SeaWorld so many times, I lost count years ago.  Dispite my being born in SoCal and frequent family and school trips to the area, I have never once stepped foot inside Knott's Berry Farm.

For years, the park had no draw for me.  Everyone said it was run down, the rides sucked, and it was attended by gangs and undesireables.  I had driven past it on many occasions and never made the turn towards the park, and never thought twice about it.

Over the last few years, I have been watching the park's developement online through various sites.  I watched as Windjammer (or whatever their old racing looping coaster was called) was demolished for Silver Bullet, I followed the progress of Pony Express' and Xcelerator's construction, and even studied the history and renovations to Ghost Town.  Finally, after years of watching from afar, I felt the urge to buy a ticket and set foot inside the park.

I really like Knott's Berry Farm!  I like it a lot, and far more than I ever expected to.  It's definately a local's park.  Sure, tourists from around the country go there, but by and large, you can tell that most of the park's attendance was from around town.  As such, it is filled with thirll rides.  Unlike most thrill parks, however, it also has a select few attractions that have a bit more thought and creativity behind them to make the park unique.

The farm's collection of roller coasters is impressive.  Ghost Rider is one of the longest, and many say, one of the best wooden coasters in the country and it was a favorite of mine.  Pony Express, through exceptionally short, was fun and different than your average coaster in the way that you sat on the trains.  Even Jaguar, a family coaster, was a bit unique in that it had a layout that took you over the top of a good portion of the park.

The two rides that I didn't expect to like as much as I did were the Calico Mine Co. and the Timber Mountain Log Ride.  They are two of the park's oldest attractions, and they manage to withstand the test of time even with their very outdated animatronic characters within.  Calico Mine is a train dark ride with a Jungle Cruise style guide making corny jokes along the way.  While the scenes inside don't hold a candle to the dark ride work of Disney or Universal, for a near 50 year old ride, it's still good fun.  The log ride was also a nice suprise.  The show scenes you float past as you quickly navigate the flume within the mountain are fun and, unlike Splash Mountain at Disneyland, the ride doesn't get you overly wet.  Both attractions are ancient by today's standards but still had lines throughout the day while I was in the park.

All in all, I am very happy I finally made the decision to check out Knott's Berry Farm and look forward to making it a regular stop on my sothern California theme park excursions.

I took lots of video during my day in the park.  Look for them to appear on the Theme Park Nerds YouTube channel soon.

Until Then, 

Later Nerds!