I must admit that I am no fan of water parks. It's not a body issue thing, it's simply that in my instance, when you get to a certain age, running up stairs & ramps all day long loses it's lustre. I did W&W many times in the past as well as the Water Works at Mt Druitt, Manly Beach & Grundy's Gold Coast but I much prefer rides. I can exercise without having to pay a lot of money & line up for the privilege. So I say go for it all those who enjoy them :-)

 

Terrific post Gazza, living the dream

Still... they couldn't do something like the Wipeout where you put your things in pigeonholes on one side of the wall, and then retrieve on the other?

That's exactly right, there are many ways this could be done that doesn't fleece the guests.

^{I have to disagree, I think the modern improvements to The Haunted Mansion are great. I love the new Hat Box Ghost & feel they have done an exceptional job on bringing him back to the mansion. I also loved Mystic Manor & thought the effects were amazing but...I suppose it's a matter of personal taste}

_{Another great update Alex. I agree wholeheartedly that Adventure Land is beautiful but needs more attractions & their version of the Jungle Cruise is a little lacking IMHO accept for that finale. There was a street stall you passed on the side where the Lion King show was, I don’t know what they were cooking there but BOY did it smell up that end of the river. Have fun at the next three lands & say hello to Albert for me ;-)}

Wonderful updates Alex, you will love Mystic Manor & Grizzly Mountain.

Wonderland was a fantastic park & I always had an annual pass for it. I'd go there with a friend of mine at least once a month & never grew tired of it. We could actually see the Space Probe & the top of the Demon from our back patio.

I rode one at Expo Park in Japan. It was very long & rather boring to be honest. It made a lot of squeaking noises every time it went around a corner & I was glad to get off it.

Funny but I don't like normal drop tower rides. The TOT at DL,WDW or TDS are the only I will ride. The Space Probe at Wonderland almost made me faint, I much prefer the ones that shoot you up.

I'v read a fair bit about the lilly belle carriage, what a honour that would of been to go for a ride in Walt Disney's personal VIP carriage, so many famous people even ex-president's have Gone for rides inside of her

Yes it certainly was an honour for me to ride it. The attention to detail is amazing & something that a Disney nut like me really appreciates

Just curious if anyone here has road that Mount Everest coaster at Walt Disney world? Just keen on what your experience was like on it? Hopefully i'll get around to riding it one day.

Yes Jakev8 I have been on Expedition Everest several times. It's quite thrilling, probably the most thrilling coaster Disney has built IMHO. It has some fierce drops, a great backwards part in the dark & a huge animatronic Abominable Snowman. The theming is everything you expect from Disney & this attraction doesn't disappoint.

My best was riding in the Lilly Belle carriage on the Disneyland Railway. This is a special carriage that Walt built for his wife & it is still decorated in Victorian splendour that she liked so much. Very few people have a chance to do this as it isn't running everyday & you have to be with someone who is a member of Club 33 to board it when it is. After the trip around the park we went to the club for a wonderful meal which rounded off a perfect day.

^{I don't recall any soundtrack in the mine. I remember some lanterns on the way up the lift hill & a skeleton on a corner that you swerved to miss, the rest was just a lot of darkness.}

Heavily themed, Tokyo Disney Sea's is my all time favourite dream park however.... I can still appreciate a great amusement park too. The Santa Cruz Boardwalk offers amazing water views & some classic & new rides including their Giant Dipper wooden coaster.

Not according to this which I received today?

LPM was a really good place & it's sad to hear that it's been allowed to get so run down. I went there many years ago, at that time they had some attractions that haven't been there for years like the Giggle Palace which was a smaller version of Coney Island at LPS. There was also a small River Caves, wooden Big Dipper & The Whip which was brought out from Coney Island USA. The park was old back then but still seemed well maintained.

Sorry Alex but I haven’t been to Michigan but Michigan's Adventure looks like the biggest park from what I can see. I’m sure you’ve seen the POV’s of Shivering Timbers which looks like an amazing coaster & the size of it is quite mind blowing.

Not sure if you plan to go to Minnesota but if you do I highly recommend Valley Fair, it has an amazing line up of coasters & rides. Renegade is absolutely awesome & a relentless ride from that first twisted drop to the fly over end. Excalibur also packs a great punch as it twists around the track, I actually felt like I was going to fly out of the carriage at one point. Wild Thing is the tallest coaster there & it’s pretty cool to ride with its huge drops & tunnel. High Roller is the oldest coaster & is a bit rough but fun in parts as well. Steel Venom is a fantastic impulse coaster, we rode that three times. The water rides are pretty standard but a lot of fun just be prepared to get soaked on these especially Thunder Canyon. Also in Minnesota is the theme park in the MOA. It’s definitely worth a visit & is open year round. There is a huge amount of rides & coaters to enjoy there.

Sorry Liz, that wasn't my intention. I was there for the 35th too

Is anyone intending to go to Disneyland for the 60th? The celebrations will start in May & run for a year. I am booked to be there in August for 12 days, then visit some friends in San Jose for a week after that.

Thanks Jobe, no I couldn't see any dates on the website although the were really pushing Australia Day to be there for all the races etc that they usually have. Maybe it will be open by then but I would've thought that the current school holidays would've been the perfect time to open the coaster :-/ I'll be up there next week so I will take a look & let everyone know if it is.

^{Brad, I have been to many these parks all over the world so you are just going to need to trust me when I say it was not humour or customer interaction. Had you been there & heard the tone he used, you would agree.}

Hi Guys, I just got this sent to me so it looks like the Wacky Worm has been renamed, think it will be a nice addition to the park though

Yes, I imagine we could be a little jaded by our parks here & I'm glad that neither of you have had to deal with rude staff however, I have had several bad experiences.

Once when I rode Arkham Asylum with a friend, she commented to a staff member when he was checking the train prior to dispatch how the restraint’s had changed since she rode it when it was called Lethal Weapon. There was nothing nasty about what she said or…the way she said it but to have him roll his eyes & sarcastically say “ are you THAT old “ was just uncalled for.

Then one day on Wild Wild West I was about to stand up to exit the log & the guy on the loading platform commented on how he could see my breasts thru my wet top ( I said that much nicer than how her did ) Now just because I am 180 cms tall & have blonde hair doesn’t make me a bimbo that would casually laugh off a remark like that. I was extremely embarrassed & felt it totally inappropriate.

I went to guest relations to complain about the wet top comment & I was not offered any apology, the woman behind the counter just looked at me blankly & said that she could not imagine a staff member saying something like that to a guest….I then said to her Guess what?...Neither could I till it happened!!!!!...I left the park in disgust.

My brother & his 11 year old son stood in line for more than an hour for the Tower Of Terror July last year. I thought it was a bit suspicious as I couldn’t hear it running for about 40 mins, then a worker came in & said, Oh…it’s down right now. Now this had obviously occurred way before they thought that they should tell their guests & when my brother politely questioned him about it he just shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn’t care less. It was his son's first visit to DW & he desperately wanted to ride TOT, it was down the rest of the day.

I was about to board Thunder River Rapids I could clearly hear two staff member’s laughing & discussing the size of a guest & how the raft may capsize due to his weight. If they want to poke fun of the very people whose admission prices pay their wages then IMHO they are in the wrong job....I have never experienced anything like this at parks overseas.

Noxegon…Your right I did misquote you but it wasn’t done intentionally. With regards to the parks being less crowded then naturally, as we don’t have the population here as in the USA & I would imagine not as many tourists either. I personally avoid DW, MW & SW during the school holidays as I don’t believe they are worth waiting the extra time in the queues. If you are going to be here in two weeks’ time & visit these parks you will see what I mean. You may think that the Gold Coast parks present a very real alternative & that is your opinion which you are entitled to have. My opinion is that they are overpriced, have rude staff, close too early & don’t have enough rides but as I said, that is my opinion. Regardless, I hope you have a wonderful time here & I meant no disrespect with my comments

Your correct Alex, it was meant for the Aussie World thread where someone mentioned that our parks here are equal to the ones in Orlando.