Adam C

News from AW today.

OK, this is just my opinion so I’m not criticising anyone else’s view. I’ve not been to LA but have been to Orlando 5 times. Last time, my kids were 12 & 13. Firstly, the Holiday Inn Suites are an excellent choice. The location is perfect for all theme parks; especially if you want to have a mid afternoon nap with the little ones. Do get a WDW multi pass. I’m not sure what the current deal is but try to get a 6 day pass with 2 extra days in the water parks. Use them as follows. MK - 2 days in week 1 & 2. The MK is great for all ages. One tip is to do the left side of the park first. Jungle boat, Pirates, Splash Mt, Thunder Mt & Haunted Manor. Book your fast passes for Space Mt, 7 dwarfs and Goofy coaster (or meet the Princesses if the little ones like that). The MK gets stupidly full after lunch so consider leaving for a rest at the hotel around 2pm and return around 5pm. Or do the sit down attractions like the hall of Presidents, Philharmagic or ride the MK railroad. Take a pram for the 3 year old and if possible, a buggy board for the 6 year old. Finally, the Be our guest restaurant is awesome but needs booking online 6 months in advance. EPCOT - 2 days in week 1 & 2. EPCOT is very big. Pram is essential. Book your fast passes for Test Track, Frozen ever after and if possible Soarin. Lots of attractions for the whole family but more geared to older visitors. Again, consider a mid afternoon nap but come back for the fireworks around 8/9pm. Finally, try Germany for food. All you can eat BBQ. DHS - 1 day in mid fortnight. DHS is a bit of a building site at the moment. Star Tours, ToT & Rocknrollercoaster are main draws. Little ones make like Frozen singalong and there and B & Beast shows and a Little mermaid theatre. You may finish DHS by around 3pm so have a rest and return for Fantasmic around 7pm. It’s possibly the best WDW show ever. AK - 1 day mid fortnight. Fast passes for Exp Everest, Avatar and Na’vi River. Since Avatar opened, AK is now a full day. Lots of attractions but tends to close around 6pm. So think hard about a mid afternoon nap. BB & TL. 1 day each bit remember 1 park will be closed during Orlando winter. TL has the edge for teenagers but I’d pick BB for 3 & 6 year olds. Both are really good and Mum can relax on a sun lounger all day. Sea World. 1day. SeaWorld is great for the whole family. Sitting in the splash zone of the Orca show is a great experience but remember it’ll be cooler. The 3 Rollercoasters are arguably the best white knuckle rides in Orlando. Again. Lots of sitting attractions so don’t bother with a mid afternoon nap. Finally, arrive at the Shamu show 45 mins before the start. Dad & a teen can get snacks while the family save seats. Universal - Now we didn’t do Universal last time. Mainly because my kids aren’t into Harry Potter and my wife wouldn’t ride anything in IOA. That’s not saying don’t do U.S but we skipped it to make room for other stuff like shopping and KSC. KSC - Seeing the space shuttle was great but as for KSC, the boys loved it, the girls hated it. Volcoano Bay - is very new and I’ve not been. Looking at their website, it looks awesome and possibly better than BB & TL. Remember it’ll be winter and hold off on tickets until you know how warm it’ll be. Legoland - is targeted at young families ages 3-9. We didn’t bother as we’ve done the park in England. Finally, the Vineland mall near your hotel is the best one. Also, consider booking a table at T-Rex in Disney Springs. Awesome special effects but average food. And if you like LEGO, the LEGO store in Disney Springs is approx half the price of Australia. Just take a half empty suitcase. Happy Travels!

I meant people who are self employed who can imply they were entertaining clients, etc.

Well I suppose the customer is always right. Personally, I don’t think any average person would pay $250 for a cabana. Maybe people who can claim the money back on tax or who aren’t paying for it with their own money. I suppose,we’ll find out how successful it is if the fee remains or goes back to the previous $120.

I was at AW today. The wristband was offering a return ticket for $29.95c. That said, it was a Friday and 30c but the park was relatively quiet. So if you go on a weekday, you’ll probably only need 1 day.

I was passing the Great Escape yesterday. No surprise that it’s still locked up. What’s the thinking on maintaining the water slides? Will there come a point where they’ll only be good for scrap?

https://www.groupon.com.au/deals/adventure-world-3-717081658 AW have 25% off on Groupon.

I agree it won’t be next year. Possibly in 2 years but maybe even in 3 years. It all depends on how many paying customers come through the gate. Something will eventually be added or the park numbers will steadily decline. Lots of factors may play a part in this. Direct flights from London, WA mining picking up, the Chinese economy. I could go on. If AW are reading this thread, perhaps they’d like to comment.

I’m not sure about the cost, but the Krakatau aqua coaster in Volcano Bay looks great. I think I’d move house to live by it.

I’m sure we’ll have a designated thread in the future but any thoughts on what Mi4 might be? I’m guessing it’ll be a water attraction of some description. Mark did previously talk about a lazy river. Personally, I’d like to see a donut flume starting next to the Kraken and winding its way down to the go karts. Also, I wonder if I AW have decided what’s coming yet?

November is school term time so on average it’s a lot quieter. If you come on a weekday, 1 day will be enough. If it’s a weekend, buy one day as they will offer you a return ticket for a reduced price. Last year, local Woolies stores had 2 for 1 ticket offers on their till receipts which expired on Christmas Eve. I’ll keep an eye out and post it if it happens again. And one final note, AW is only open 5 days a week. Closed on Tue, Wed.

This one of my kids at Typhoon Lagoon.

Excuse my ignorance but which bit is the dive loop? Is it the 90 degree drop at the start? I always find the camel hump makes me feel odd. In fact I always get a bit anxious when I approach it.

I know what you're saying but I know a lot of people who will spend a lot of time at the lazy river. Especially if it had lots of extras and add ons. And it's an attraction that would be used by almost everyone. I'm guessing Mi4 will be a water attraction and I think a lazy river would tick one of their boxes very nicely.

It depends if you're doing just Disney or doing Paris as well. If you're doing DLP, stay on site. DLP has lots of offers to try and fill the hotels. We did Paris and DLP so stayed at the ibis at Val Fontenay. The hotel was 50m from the RER A train line which was 20mins from DLP and Arc de Triomphe. Also had a giant Auchan hypermarket next door for supplies. Free breakfast and WiFi and really good value.

And I've just seen this in Stuttgart, Germany.

I've not been to any German parks,but I've heard their very good. As for the ones I have done:- 1. Disneyland Paris - If you've never done Disney then DLP is worth doing. 2017 is a good year as a lot of the rides were refurbished in 2016 for the 25th anniversary. Last September, I got a much better deal booking my tickets in advance online. 2 parks for the price of 1 but not available at the gate. The studios park is worth a visit as it has its fair share of thrill rides. And finally, if you're staying in Paris, the RER train takes you straight to the front gate. 2. Alton Towers - Often self described as Europes best theme park, Alton Towers is a must for thrill seekers. From the Smiler with its record 14 loops to a large selection of white knuckle rides. Again, book online for a better deal. I would say to look outside for hotel accommodation as AT is expensive. Also the park is only open from March-October. 3. Terra Mitica - TM is a fantastic park in Benidorm Spain, themed on ancient lands around the Mediterrainien sea. Open through the summer and weekends during winter. We got 2 for 1 vouchers from the local McDonalds. It has a good mix of thrill and family rides and definitely takes a whole day to do. Only issue might be its halfway down the Spanish east coast.

I did smile when Bountys revenge was advertised as the big ride. I had a couple of observations. when did the mini beach in front of the castle get filled in? Also, was water mountain a free for all in terms of how many people could ride without a time delay?

Had my first visit to Cirque Extreme today. What a fantastic show. I went in with lowish expectations but came out really impressed. I'd certainly recommend it to all who visit AW during January. As for the rest of the day, the park was quite full early on. The queues were sizeable right from 10am which for me was a bit unusual. I wonder if the opening temp of 35c encouraged an early turnout, especially as it was 27c by 3pm. While it was a day for water rides, I must mention the Japanese gentleman in the front row of the Abyss. I've never seen anyone go quite so bananas on that ride and have no idea what he was saying.

1. Smiler (Alton towers) 2. Space mountain (DLP) 3. Galactica (AT) 4. Nemesis (AT) 5. Abyss (AW) 6. Crush Coaster (DLP) 7. Oblivion (AT) 8. Rita (AT) 9. Rock n roller coaster (DLP) 10. 13. (AT). I've been on Manta in 2014 but not on Mako. Tell us what was good about Mako.

Supermarket discount dockets have surfaced for AW. 2 for 1 deals. This one came from Wollies in Ocean Keys. Expiry Christmas Eve.

I was on the Smiler last week. There was no line and my son and I walked into the front row. It was interesting that some riders opted not to sit in the front row but that's their perogative. Another thing about my day at Alton Towers was at every ride I attended, the staff member would ask me if I'd been on the Smiler? Perhaps a bit of subtle marketing or plugging? I'd finish off by saying that the ride itself made me feel the most bizarre/dizzy of any coaster I've been on. (It did have 14 loops) Definitely one to ride before lunch and not after.

Putting on my Deer Stalker for a moment, Mark mentioned that he'd tried out other versions of Mi3 in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and the new ride will take visitors to new heights. Without being too assuming, I'm guessing the Southern rides weren't in South America or Africa. So if it's Australian, might we be looking at a new version of Tower of Terror 2? The only question mark is that Wikipedia quoted a build cost of Au$ 16m. But I'm not sure if that figure included the subsequent refurbishment and/or the Freefall ride bolted to the side of the tower.

Picking any coaster of your choice is a tricky one. For AW, I'd chose something on the lines of Megaphobia at Oakwood. It was the biggest wooden coaster at opening but I'd settle for a smaller version.

The first Groupon of the season is out. $45 for the day. Christmas week is an exception. https://www.groupon.com.au/deals/adventure-world-717081646