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friendsarama

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Everything posted by friendsarama

  1. I was there in early October last year for 3 days. The first two (a Saturday and a Sunday) were insanely busy and I think I managed 2 rides on each of the days (if the queues get over an hour I generally don't bother). My last day, the Monday, was dead. The longest wait was 45 minutes for Crush's Coaster at the Studios park, and about the same for Big Thunder in Disneyland park. I did every major attraction (Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, Big Thunder, Tower of Terror, Rocknrolla Coaster and Crush's Coaster) by 1PM. It was great. So my recommendation is, don't bother on the weekend. My big complaint about the Disneyland Paris park is the entertainment. I think it's generally quite pathetic by Disney standards. The Candelabration show was probably the most dissappointing thing I've ever seen in a Disney park (short of the fireworks in Tokyo Disneyland - but at least everything else in those parks makes up for that!), and even the parades are generally much more basic. The Lion King show is pretty weak in comparison to its international relatives as well. The best thing about the parks is the layout (I find it the most immersive of the 'Disneyland' parks in terms of theming), and it really is the most beautiful (albeit not necessarily the best maintained). Big Thunder, Space Mountain and Crush's Coaster are definitely the highlights for me! When are you going specifically? Out of coincidence, I'm actually heading back myself this year and will be there for a couple of days in mid October too. Hope this helps! Mickey C
  2. There were alot of shots of Orlando parks in Never Back Down this year - mainly cos the movie is set in Orlando which kind of makes it impossible to not show a theme park somewhere in the 2 hours. They don't ever go to a park, but you get a pretty cool flyover of WDW. Also, Universal Studios Florida and Islands Of Adventure are in the fourth Bring It On movie. It was released the last time I was over there and they were showing shots of Dueling Dragons and Citywalk. Haven't had a chance to see it yet though to see if there was much else. Also, Sliders (tv series) was filmed in Universal Studios in Hollywood so they used the park alot. There's a christmas episode (season 3 I think) where basically the whole thing is shot in the park and in Citywalk. There's a great scene where you see the starway leading to heaven too. It's pretty funny. Mickey C
  3. I prefer Fire. It just feels faster to me and I like that more than the spinning. Really you should just do both though Mickey C
  4. Hey all, Second video is up... Mickey C
  5. Hey all, Thought you might be interested in a new video I've put together from my recent trip to the States. I've done 4 videos in total and will be uploading 2 onto youtube. The first is just of Anaheim and Orlando (with a little bit of San Diego zoo in there as well). You can check out the video here... I'll post a second video which will have parts of San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York in the next day or so. I'd really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks Mickey C
  6. I miss the Movieworld Studio tour too. I never went on it the last few years it was in operation purely because they never bothered updating it which was just laziness I feel. I think though with the current Movieworld thinking which seems to be more detail focused, I would like to see them give it a go again. I think the key difference here is that Movie World never really had the "studio tour" portion of Universal studios in Hollywood. If you're comparing apples with apples, you really would be comparing the Universal Effect Sound Stages instead of the studio tour as that essentially is what made up the biggest part of the Movieworld tour. Apart from in the really early years where you did do a 10 minute loop of the studios (basically looking at posters on buildings) and the occasional 'sound stage' (most notably the Batman Forever 'Riddler's Lair'), the Movieworld 'tour' was essentially the Superman Blue Screen effect, the Lethal Weapon Sound Stage, and the Memphis Bell set. This is much more in line with the Universal Studios Effects stages where they show you all this stuff, except that there, they change the theme extremely regularaly. I know everytime I've been it's been different (the last one was Heroes and Bourne related). I can't envision it costing a huge amount to change these over every now and again, especially since the show basically remains the same, just with the exception of the theme. But I guess the rights could be expensive. I think Movieworld has a better chance of successfully capturing this market over a 'studio tour' as I think the big selling point of the Universal Studio tour is the permanent outdoor sets, which is something Movieworld has little of. Having said all that however, I've been to Universal Studios in Hollywood quite a number of times, and I've never actually bothered doing the Universal Effects Sound Stages purely because I was scarred from the Movieworld experiences which I had done more times that I chose to remember. Whereas the studio tour I do at least twice every visit, because if all else fails, you're at least in for a good laugh. Mickey C
  7. That's awesome! I probably would have seen you there. I was there for 2 and a half weeks in January and spent almost every second day at Animal Kingdom. Was the program good? Mickey C
  8. I definitely noticed the lightheadedness as you go backwards up the first banked turn. The rides definitely impressive but to tell you the truth, I kind of found it a little disappointing. Other than that one bit of the ride, the rest feels really slow, and whilst I don't mind that for a Disney ride, other rides have the detail to overcome it. This ride looks fantastic from a distance, but is kind of basic inside and doesn't offer a lot in the way of exceptional theming whilst on it (other than the 5 seconds of Yeti time). Don't get me wrong, I still liked it, but Animal Kingdom is my second favourite park behind Tokyo Disney Sea, as I love just about everything in there (other then Chester and Hesters Dinorama), so it was just sad because I wanted it to be so much better! Just my humble opinion though. Mickey C
  9. I went last night. It definately was an improvement on last year again...which was awesome. They did have a "Fright Zone" area like they had last year in the Chinatown area. I didn't go in it because we ran out of time, but from what I could tell, they definately had built upon what it was like last year. They had lots of Scooby Doo props out front like the big Tiki Masks and things to make an entrance area. It looked really effective. I wish Wild West Falls had been open because it's such a good people guzzling attraction, it really would have assisted with crowd control...plus I think if they really wanted to improve the night, it would be the perfect attraction to overlay with a little Halloween ambience. But give it a few more years and I'm sure they'll do something to the effect! I still think it's awesome to have a park in Australia do this. It's a hell of a lot of fun. Mickey C
  10. I'm sorry, but as a huge fan of the Disney parks I don't really think that shutting down the 'thrill' rides is going to do it. Most of the deaths that have occured in Disney parks over the years have come from non thrill rides anyway. And are those people saying that Walt didn't like 'thrill' rides forgetting that the Matterhorn was designed as a family thrill ride. A ride, which I might add, is actually responsible for several Disney fatalaties. Lets not also forget that someone has died waiting for the Sailing Ship Columbia to dock. Would removing all the thrill rides have prevented that death? I can understand where people are coming from on this one, but I'm sorry to say, it's just not the answer. I spent last year doing a 10 000 word thesis on the issue of theme park ride safety. Trust me, cutting back on the number of thrill rides is going to do nothing. Which is basically why no ones been able to do anything about reinstating federal legislation of theme park rides in the US. There's not enough of a problem to justify it. You're more likely to be killed by a vending machine falling on you, than you are on a theme park ride. But, sadly, every now and again, accidents happen. It's truly a terrible thing, but life's full of risk. That's what makes it worth living.
  11. I think the Walt Disney World one was aired in the US before then. I've had it on DVD since March last year. And it was definately filmed before then, because it shows part of the construction of Expedition Everest. I would guess by the stage of construction it probably would have been filmed about August/September of 2005. But that's really only an educated guess. Mickey C
  12. I think something dedicated to television is exactly what the park needs. And WB television has an enormous amount of things available for them to use. My vote for a new ride would also be a shoot style ride. MIB is an amazing ride. I think they have enormous re-ride ability - more so than most other rides. I'm not even such a big fan of the style of ride, and I myself found myself going back to ride it over and over again in Orlando. It's incredible. I'd theme it to The Matrix. It seems like a perfect fit. Although I think a new water ride would also be of some use...particularly something along the lines of Grizzle River Run in DCA - it would knock Thunder River Rapids off the map. Mickey C
  13. Hey, Here's a couple of pix from the night. They're only of the Logo and the entrance. The entrance was covered in smoke for the first part of the night and this photo was taken at around 9:45 when the smoke machines had stopped. The other photos came out blurry so they didn't work so well. I've got some video footage too, but I haven't had time to look at that yet. The logo is definately by favourite Mickey C Oh...sorry. Here's the other one. Mickey C
  14. Haha. Thanks for the tip I've ridden it quite a bit myself, and I don't always get a headache, but to tell you the truth, I don't like the ride enough to warrant the risk. I'm not a big fan of lots of spinning. I'll take Superman Escape any day over Lethal Weapon. Plus, my rule of thumb is, if a ride causes me to need to take panadol, it's not fun. I think I'll stick with Superman, Wild West Falls and Scooby Doo for my Movie World rides Thanks though Mickey C
  15. The "Fright Zone" actually (I got it wrong last time). It was just a darkened section of Chinatown where there were street performers scaring people. The end part had a net around it so you had to walk through a narrow section where people would jump out. And yes, Lethal Weapon was open. I didn't go on it. I can't stand the ride. If I wanted a headache I'd bash my head up against a wall several times over before going anywhere near that thing. Sorry...its been the cause of a few too many headaches for me so now all thoughts of it bring pain. Mickey C
  16. One of my friends took pictures, I'll see if I can get a hold of them and post them soon. Some of the highlights in the decorations were the smoke machines (including smoke coming out of the Main Street Fountain), lots of bats and creepy lighting, and they had the Giant Screen with a red Movie World logo where the logo kept changing to form a Jack-O-Lantern. That was really cool. They also handed out double sided editions of the "Daily Planet" with show times and various details. The Haunt Zone wasn't too frightening, but given it was a first time effort, I think it's only going to improve. Some of the characters out and about included Halloween costumed Looney Tunes characters, Edward Scissorhands, Catwoman and Joker, The Scooby Doo gang, plenty of creepy Zombies (one even followed the girl on Superman trying to tell everyone to take everything out of pockets giving Zombie like examples of what she was saying), and Beetlejuice and the Gravekeeper measuring small children for coffin sizes But even non employees who were dressed up were being asked for photos. One guy was Willy Wonka and I saw him get asked a couple of times for photos. I wish tonight wasn't sold out, cos if it weren't, I'd be going back...and a few of my friends said the same thing. Mickey C
  17. Well I was there last night and I have to admit, it was pretty awesome! Despite all the comments suggesting queue times would be massive, it wasn't nearly as bad as I would have expected. Superman was about a 30 minute wait at most. Batman about a 10 for most of the night. Scooby Doo was the worst with a 1 hour wait (which was more like 45 minutes) for most of the night, but the park did end up opening Wild Wild West and it was about a 15 minute wait. All in all, I got to do Scooby Doo, Batman and Wild Wild West once, and Superman twice. Which for $15, I think was great value for money. Plus it was worth it alone for just the atmosphere that went into the park. Seeing the main fountain gushing with smoke was great I'd easily pay $20-$30 next year. But the rides were only part of the fun. Movieworld went all out with theming and the park looked incredible! It was bizarre walking around and having lots of street performers out and about, and even stranger sometimes not knowing who was a street performer and who was a visitor to the park since some of the costumes were incredible! I think alot of people underestimated Movieworld's ability to do something beyond the norm, and they went all out! If this is the amount of detail they did for something that I don't think was intended to be nearly as successful as it was, I can't wait to see next year with even more effort put in! Mickey C
  18. Hey, Well from the info I have received, they've only sold 6000 tickets. And Movie World has a much higher ride capacity than Dreamworld (particularly for rides such as Tower of Terror and Cyclone). Plus, I've had word that they're about to release tickets for a second night for November 1. Mickey C
  19. Hi, I think you're going to be hard pressed to fit everything in but it's still such an exciting place. Do your research first, that's the best recommendation I can offer. I spent 16 days over there last Novemeber and loved every second and I still missed out on things! I think 2 days is ample time for Universal and Islands of Adventure. Don't miss out on Dueling Dragons, Spiderman and Hulk in IOA and MIB and Revenge of the Mummy in Universal Studios. They were the standouts for me. I didn't find any of the Universal shows were really worth it. If you had more time I'd suggest doing them also, but the show's weren't great. The Disney ones are better. For me, Animal Kingdom was the suprise standout. I could spend hours walking that park. It's just so beautiful. Don't miss Festival of the Lion King there in particular. It's awesome. And I loved Flights of Wonder and Dinosaur too...and of course now you'll have to go on Expedition Everest As much as I love the Kilamajaro safari, I, unlike others, don't think it's the best attraction at the park. MGM Studios - Tower of Terror and Rock-n-roller Coaster and Fantasmic! definately! Don't miss any of them. I also think the Great Movie Ride is pretty unique and fun. Epcot - Test Track! Soarin, and Mission:Space are really very impressive. And I have a soft spot for Spaceship Earth. Jeremy Irons narration gives me goosebumps every time. I think Ellens Energy adventure is pretty unique also. But it's long and you might run out of time. Illuminations is also definately worth sticking around for. Magic Kingdom - whatever you're interested in. I think it's hard to recommend anywhere in the Magic Kingdom. It has so much for so many different interests. For me it's Mickey's Philarmagic. I could watch that show all day. I love the Disney musicals. I hope that helps. The place is amazing. You'll have a blast! Mickey C
  20. Hey all, I'd seen the Universal Studios segment before. It aired last year. You don't even go over the collapsing bridge anymore. It was decommissioned last year. The Hong Kong Disney segment was also a direct copy from last year (with some things edited out). So were all the Australian parks segments. I find it hard to believe that you can do a show about theme parks and not mention anything in Orlando. To me that just seems ridiculous. Why is it that the travel shows never ever seem to go there? It's bizarre. I know LA is the more popular US destination for Australian tourists - but surely enough people are interested to at least warrant a few stories in almost 10 years on air! Mickey C
  21. Disneyland California...although I still haven't made it to Disneyworld yet...But it might be better. Euro Disney is good...cos its new and has the space, but you can't go past Disneyland. And despite what others may think about California Adventure...it's definately an asset. Just California Screamin', Soarin', Tower Of Terror and Grizzly River make it better than most parks! They're fantastic... Counting down the days til the 50th celebrations... Mickey C
  22. Um...Obviously people did get annoyed over Universal closing down it's movie magic effects show. Cos I've been to Universal Studios Hollywood twice in the past 15 months and it's been running... In fact....It's better! Cos they now change the movies used in the show annually! I personally can't stand the Movie World one. Special effects in cinema have changed so drastically in the past 10 years that I can't understand, at all, how they can justify having the same special effects displays since the park first opened! I'd like to see them re-do it however. I think Movie World needs something like this...and I think it would be good...but they definately need to re-do it. Mickey C
  23. Hey all, New Member here. Just wanted to add my opinion. I just got back 2 days ago from a trip to LA which included 9 days at Disneyland and DCA and 2 days at Universal and I can tell you that there is absolutely nothing like the Disney parks. The Universal ones come close (I still haven't been to Islands) but the Disney ones are just in a league of their own. Like the others have said, the heart of Disney is the detail. And there's so much of it! You can't even begin to compare the Disney parks to ours in Australia - particularly not Dreamworld! The revenue the Australian parks make don't come close to the overseas ones! And counting rides is useless. Believe me, 1 Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye is easily worth half of the entire Dreamworld park. Not even Revenge of the Mummy comes close (although it does try to)! It's been over two years since I got one day to do most of the Disneyland Paris park, but I can tell you, it was amazing! Space Mountain is worth the cost of the trip alone! And whilst Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril (backwards) is a bit of a headbanger, it's still heaps of fun! So my advice is to just have fun. Enjoy every part of it. For me the most memorable part of this trip was seeing the smiles on all the kids faces as it was made to snow on Main Street. And it's moments like those that the Australian parks just can't duplicate. But if rides are your thing then enjoy them. Because even those in themselves are in a world of their own (The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror rocks by the way!). But most of all - Enjoy it Thanks for listening (or reading as the case may be) Mickey C
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