RC98

Double barrel roll?

Some more details on the new Avatar land are here http://themeparks.about.com/od/disneyparks/ss/Avatar-at-Disneys-Animal-Kingdom_2.htm. It gives details on the two attractions that will be in the area. According to this article, one will be a boat ride through the Pandora environment with "bioluminescent" plants, the other being the aforementioned Banshee flight simulator, except according to this article, it will be "more thrilling" and "ground-breaking" in some way.

I respectfully disagree about Skyrush- perhaps I am just young enough to handle it, but its intensity and the strong airtime you referenced are the reasons why it is my number 3 coaster, with El Toro one of the two ahead of it. It's also perfectly smooth in the middle seats. Its length (or lack thereof) I can live with since it puts the most possible thrill into the track it has. I agree with most of your other opinions of the coasters though.

 

Overall it seems like Friday nights are the best time to visit parks in October- looks like you got lots of rides in.

While I don't doubt that TDK in reverse would be fun, I think that its layout is rather predictable, even in the dark, because it is a typical wild mouse coaster, which would somewhat take away from the thrill of going in reverse. However, Skull Mountain's layout is much less predictable in the dark, which would make it more thrilling to go backwards on it. This is just my opinion though.

Kingda Ka in reverse would be a very thrilling ride. I also think Skull Mountain backwards would be fun, going backwards in the dark would add a bit more thrill to what is already an enjoyable coaster.

It would be interesting to see if they could do that; I felt that Safari Off-Road Adventure was under-represented in the park maps this year because it doesn't even show the full station and turnaround area for the trucks that is in the main park. It just has a tiny building with a number next to it. Hopefully they can fix this for next year.

I agree, the paintball building is one of the remaining problems in the park, either put a ride there (Jumpin' Jack Flash used to be there) or let people walk through. My memory may be slightly off, but when I visited the park last year a security guard even directed my family through the arcade to get from Plaza del Carnaval to the park exit.

 

Hopefully no rides will be removed over the next few years. The park has had way more than enough ride removals over the past 10 years.

I sincerely hope that doesn't happen anytime soon, the park has many things on their plate that they need to change (Movietown/Old Country, replacing Rolling Thunder, filling the old Safari Discoveries area, the old paintball building, etc.) before touching the fort.

 

In addition, demolishing the fort would put two important family rides, the Skyride and Runaway Mine Train, at risk. With Skyride being the only in-park transportation, and Runaway Mine Train being the best family coaster in the park now that RT is gone, the loss of these 2 rides would be potentially devastating to the park for families.

The only thing with moving the water park is would they move all the theming (or what's left of it) too? If moving the water park means plopping the slides down on concrete and leaving the current water park area abandoned (like the old Safari entrance) I would rather see it stay as it is.

I think this area should be given a chance first before being deemed a bad fit for AK. If they focus more on the environment of the Avatar world and less on the movie aspect (which judging by the video they seem to be), then it could work well. Most of the recent major additions put in the US Disney parks have been based around characters and movies (the last major non-movie based attraction in the USA was Expedition Everest, way back in 2006), Avatar probably is the movie/character set that best fits AK.

It looks like this will be very good for the park, giving it much-needed attractions, in addition to the increased hours and the nighttime show. As it is Animal Kingdom is really a half-day park, with Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, the safari, and Kali River Rapids as the only big attractions, these additions will help a lot in elevating its status to a full day park.

Wow... so many open seats on El Toro... and such an empty park- it's the kind of day I dream of having! The feeling of virtually having the park to yourself must be very cool! How I wish I could visit on a day like that... I could only imagine how many rides you could get. It was nice of the park to stay open for the people who were there.

Overall, yes it was, although they have made some questionable decisions (ex. War on Lines, ride removals 2006-2008, removing GASM). If Six Flags never took over, the park would probably be more on the scale of Busch Gardens Williamsburg, with less bigger rides but a better balance of attractions and a better atmosphere and live entertainment. However it most likely wouldn't be as well-known as it is now had Six Flags never bought the park.

I agree about the Golden Kingdom, it looks awkwardly positioned on the map (and at the park itself) starting near El Toro's turnaround and being squeezed between Plaza del Carnaval and Boardwalk. Plus with the entrance to the section being in Boardwalk it can be rather confusing.

Yes, I will ride it, I love the "stomach-in-your-throat" feeling drop towers give, and the anticipation rising up the tower and waiting to drop. Due to this they are the only rides that still make me nervous, in a good way. Also, a good drop tower is my favorite non-coaster ride.

I agree about the colors. The supports for Lex Luthor Drop of Doom at Magic Mountain match the color of the supports for the coaster it is attached to. If they could do it there, then they can match the colors here too. However, if they want the ride to stand out (which they probably do) then the orange works perfectly.

Thanks for the reply, and thank you for staying patient through all my questions! The technical, decision-making side of the amusement industry interests me quite a bit, in addition to the Jumpin' Jack Flash ride itself. I guess it left an impression on me as a young child for me to still remember it today!

Thanks for the quick reply. I guess the problems are what come with prototype rides. The New Jersey ride modification laws interest me though, as to what exactly counts as a "modification" according to the law. Could this be why Rolling Thunder kept the skid brakes for so long instead of upgrading to a more modern braking system? Also if it is required for modifications to be made with the manufacturer, does that mean parks in other states do modifications to their rides themselves?

 

Edit: Thanks for the reply also 29yrswithaGApass, your reply came as I was typing this post. It is interesting that only the cars were kept. I guess they weren't worth enough to be sold as scrap metal, or the center tower actually went somewhere other than a junkyard.

This ride has always intrigued me. My first visit to the park as a young child was in August 2003, the last season this ride was in the park, and for some reason, one of the only memories I have of that day is of this ride. For many years, I had remembered a flashy yellow ride near the Carousel that was gone the next year but I could never figure out what it was, until I found this site and this spotlight. As a result, I have wondered often about this ride- What problems did it have exactly; why couldn't it have been modified to improve operation like the Evolution ride? How often did it operate at the park? Where did its parts go after leaving the "boneyard"? I'm not sure if there are answers to all of these questions, but I have always been interested in finding out more about this ride. Seeing the video posted above, it looked just as cool as I remembered it.

This looks like a great ride for them. It also seems like one of the more unique family coasters because of the backwards section and special effects, in addition to having a launch and a chain lift.

Technically it is still standing. Not sure what it means but it is still there. Why they closed it way before breaking ground is beyond me...

It is probably just because El Toro runs through RT's infield so they are waiting for the off season but we can hope that they are reconsidering removing it. As for why it closed so early, there is probably some reason that they haven't told us.

i think it brought more people to that area

I agree with this, El Toro probably benefitted RT's popularity. Before it was put in, the surrounding area was almost deserted with the only other major ride being the often-closed and unpopular Viper.

Hi, I just joined the site, although I have been looking at all the spotlights for years; I appreciate the work you put into them. I am also on YouTube under the username "RollerCoasterRider98" and I am on Great Adventure Online under the same username I use here.