Episode 38 7/28/08

Doug_Barnes · Episode 38 7/28/08

For this week we are working on a new format for the show; please accept our apologies for the rough and “experimental” segments throughout the podcast.
As for the show itself – Brent reports in from China and Shannon and Doug banter in the Season Pass Discussion room about the September to So Cal (the conversation digresses to a past Texas trip as well… Married People!?!)
Thanx for listening and thank you for your patience as the next couple of weeks might be a little chaotic.

http://seasonpasspodcast.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=363638

e_tapley0687

Here's the most recent and detailed info I have on the Carowinds inccodent:
http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstori...71608-krg-carowinds.5e4b81d0.html

It's great to hear from Brent again! Also, once again great to hear from Shannon too!

I didn't know Knotts is a resort now! I just looked up the hotel and it looks great!!!!!! BTW, is that famous fried chicken in the park as good as everyone says it is? On one of those amusement park specials on Travel or Discovery Channel had people in line for this fried chicken and I began to think they were beginning to go over the top when they said some of the people buy season passes just for the chicken... So again, is it that good? lol

LOL!!! @ "What's a flying coaster?.... uh, it's where you fly???" & "Oh, everyone like a smooth BM..."

I never really had a desire to go to Fiesta TX till now lol. It didn't seem like a.... [stops typing and listens to podcast] WOAH! I might go there now! I just heard Shannon say Schlitterbaun is 30 min away! lol

Waiting in line for food in parks is gets on my last nerve!!! To begin, most of the places in the parks have some type of specialty. For example, there's burger, ice cream, funnel cake, pizza, etc. shops and it makes no sense how it could possibly take forever to get a frozen lemonade when thats the main thing the place sells! I hope I'm making sense lol. There maybe only 5 different food choices a restaurant may have to offer, how come it takes them forever while it takes McDonalds or Burger King outside the park to get you your food within 1 or 2 minutes? Then on top of that, you have the genius who waits to get up to the window to decide what they want.... I'm just not a fan of waiting in restaurant lines when I'm hungry lol... my apologies for the rant.

I'm so glad that yall get to go to Orlando finally! I think yall are gonna have so much fun and I'm definitely looking forward to hear your stories from your visit! 8 days to do Sea World, Busch Gardens, WDW, & Universal is a lot to do in a week lol. Well here's my break down:
* Sea World: Kraken and Atlantis are neat... Atlantis doesn't always have all the effects on, so hopefully if yall ride it all the effects will be on so you can get the full experience.
* Busch Gardens: Montu and SheiKra are a must! You can always ride another B&M twister but Montu and SheiKra are ridiculous! lol
* WDW: Are yall going to all the parks? I definitely think yall have to try Expedition Everst. Although it's not the most thrilling, it's something that's not in CA and it's very fun!
* Universal: Definitely ride the Mummy in USO and in IOA Hulk and DD are a must! Hopefully when yall go they don't have DD closed off.
* If you have time, yall should go to Wet N Wild! It's not too expensive and it's one of the best water parks I've been to.
* Check out the Sling Shot on International Dr.... I think it's at Fun Spot or Old Town, one of the two. It's really fun!... and it's right down from Wet N Wild [hint hint] lol
* Kissimmee is pronounced the second way you said it Doug... Ki-sim-ee... I've been told from some friends who live there, the tourist are the ones who say Kiss-ah-mee. lol

ZipperRules

The Kiss place is pronouced not like the word kiss, but the other way.

Next to Old Towne, there is park called Fun Spot USA. They have a Skywheel ride which supposed to be a wicked Ferris Wheel called the Skywheel. I never got to go on one of those, but those seem to awesome! http://youtube.com/watch?v=2exD06fhAhM&feature=related They also had a Flying Bobs I would recommend.

At Old Towne, they have a roller coaster, and it's not that great. It's like the same type of ride at Six Flags Over Texas like Runaway Mountain, but this one is much rougher.

As for Busch Gardens, Sheikra to me reminds of a hyper coaster without airtime. Yes, it's has that drop, but it just not that impressive to me. It's feels like Titan, but shorter. My favorite coaster at that park is probably Kumba. That ride is just wow. I would highly recommend that ride at night because they have tunnels, and the lights turn on.

It kind of reminds of a expressway. When you go into the corkscrew on Kumba, move your head the other way, because otherwise you will get headbanged. The bumper cars are aweful!! The Rhino Rally is basically you look at some animals in a offroad jeep, go on this water raft which is quite lame, and than go back on land and look at more animals. There are less animals on this than at the Animal Kingdom which is called the Kilmajaro Safari.

I don't know if it's necessary to do both rides, but the one at Animal Kingdom is the better and bigger one. However, Busch shouldn't be that packed compared to Disney where it's not a big deal to go on. The water raft thing breaks down quite a bit for that ride at Busch Gardens. When it does that, they will just omit that portion.

Montu is a lot of fun, but the problem I have with that ride is the fact that it's so far away from everything. So, if it's breaks down, you are just stuck in that area until it opens, because it's far away from the other rides. The King Tut museum around that area is just stupid.

For Gwazi, I don't like it all. Yet, you like Beast, and wow I can't believe that. That ride in my opinion is the worst roller coaster I've been on. Second to that is another favorite of yours which is Texas Giant. Gwazi isn't as rough as the other two though.

Scorpion is a nice ride, but it only has one loop, and helixes. I like mouse coasters, and this one is very fun. For rerides, they only let you go on twice in a row.

For Walt Disney World, the rides I think you should ride are (Some of these aren't my favorites, but in general) at the Magic Kingdom are Space Mountain (Ups and downs, and not just go around in circles like boring Disneyland), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (By Splash Mountain in Frontierland, and not in the middle of the park), Snow White's Scary Adventure (Way better than Disneyland's), Carousel of Progress (if it's open), The Country Bears, Pirate's of the Carribean, Haunted Mansion, TTA, and Splash Mountain.

The Buzz Lightyear has the guns attached to the cars. Forget that.

Animal Kingdom is like there's not much to do in this park. The rides I recommend are Dinosaur, Expedition Everest (It's weak in my opinion, but other people like it.), and Kilmajaro Safari. The rapids ride isn't that good. People like the new Nemo show. I like the Pocohantos show, but it's more a kids show, and it's only like 15 minutes. They have a Lion King Show which is a show. Laughing

For EPCOT, it's half future world, and half countries. The Universe of Energy is a really long ride. The reason why you would go on this ride is if you like Dinosaurs that are animatronic. If not, don't do it. The ball (Spaceship Earth) has the history of communications it. It's an omnimover. Test Track is a must in my opinion. You can do single rider on this ride because lines are long.

I would say skip Soarin because it's Boarin Laughing

, and because you have it California Adventures so why go on it here? The Imagination pavilion is probably something you should skip. You have Figment ride which isn't that great, and you Honey I Shrunk the Audience which is at Disneyland, so what's the point.

Living with the Land isn't that bad. It's a boat ride. They also have the Living Seas Nemo attraction if you like Nemo. Mission Space is a screen you look at, and it spins really fast even though it doesn't feel like you are spinning, but you still could get sick from it. It's nothing special in my opinion.

For the countries, I go on the Norway attraction, the Mexico attraction (Well, it used to better without all these tv screens with Donald Duck.), and the American Pavillion is a animatronic show which is really quite long, but it's good if you don't fall asleep. They have that thing at night, but I always want to get of EPCOT. It's too educational, and boring. I always want to be at the Magic Kingdom of Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Snow White of course.

The last park for WDW is MGM or Disney's Hollywood Studios. Tower of Terror is so good, but they have the extended version unlike DCA. I like DCA's better because if you are only riding it once, you don't care. If you ride it a million times, it's an annoying part in my opinion. They have Star Tours. Disneyland has that.

They have Muppet's. DCA has that. Go see Beauty, and the Beast along with Little Mermaid. The Great Movie Ride is a vehicle, and it goes through movies like Wizard of Oz, Aliens, Tarzan, and so on. They have an Indiana Jones Stunt show you might want to see. Not bad. Pull on the rope outside the show. Very Happy

They have the Lights, Motor, Action stunt show which are cars stunts performed by people. They have a backlot tour. You can see the Golden Years house, and some props from old movies.

Rockin Roller Coaster isn't my type of ride, but people like it. They might have a single rider for this ride?? It's Arrow Smith music, an indoor building, and a Vekoma that only has one inversion. Boring.

They have Fantasmic at this park if you like stuff like that.

Doug_Barnes

Awesome. Thanx for the tips E-Tapley and ZipperRules.

I have been hearing for years that Montu and Kumba are amazing rides, so I am seriously pumped for those coasters.

ZipperRules- You have a ton of info we can use, thanx for the rundown (of course I hope for my first time I don't get too bored with some of the attractions. Smile

)

As for the wooden coasters... I can see your point about The Beast and Texas Giant; when I tell people that The Beast is my favorite Woodie I regularly receive the odd looks. Many coaster buffs find it boring; it doesn't have any airtime, rough, etc., etc., etc. I love this ride because of the setting (completely in the woods), I actually appreciate the long straight-aways (close to the ground-visual acceleration), the tunnels kick ass, it has a nostalgic presence that I find attractive, and the helix in the finale is intense & a blast. The Beast is completely different from the same ol' hilly woodie... It's aggressive and built for speed. I can get airtime anywhere, but I can't find an Angry Beast like this anywhere else. As for Texas Giant... hey it's aggressive too. Wink

Anyway, thanx again for all the tips.

Wylder

Good show I like the voices you used in the opening part of the show. Is that you doing the creepy old man from Family Guy though? If so, that's spooky.

You asked for our opinions and I am a big Disney nut, but I will try to keep it short.

Magic Kingdom- Haunted Mansion, (little different than Cali), and a Dole Whip

Epcot- (My favorite park, hope it is on your schedule)
-Mission: Space- not the best ride in the park, but I have never ridden anything like it.
-Living with the Land- relaxing and educational
-Test Track- same a Space - nothing else like it.
-American Adventure- amazing presentation
-Spaceship Earth - the symbol of the park
-Illuminations: Reflections of Earth- my favorite show in any park
-Stop in at Norway bakery and get a Skool bread- a sweet bread filled with a delicious cream and topped with cream and coconut.
- See Off Kilter at Canada, if they are playing that day.

Sea World -Kracken, Jouney to Atlantis, and if you have time for a show Blue Horizons, (Sorry Brent, it is more interesting than Believe)
-If you need a nap after the red eye, go see Odyssea, next to Shark Encounter, it knocks me out every time

Busch or Google or Yahoo!
-Gwazi, both the Lion and Tiger are Great twisting wood coasters.
-Sheikra, try and get the front car, when you hang on the first hill it is freaky
-Smoke house by Sheikra- good b-b-q

Universal Studios Florida
-Simpsons, lots of tributes to BTTF and a great ride
-Jaws, just fun
- Mummy
- Disaster, little changes made a big difference in the experience.

IOA - Popeye , great spinning raft ride
-Spidy, Hulk, DD

The rest of the parks have been covered well enough. If Epcot is not on your schedule, change that.

Have fun, early December is the best time at Disney because of light crowds and great decorations. You should have a blast.

dougscoastergirl

Wow, thanks you guys, our trip seems to be expanding exponentially.....One would like to think that 8 days would be enough to do all of the "essentials" but I'm wondering if that's the case. Oh well, LOL, I don't think I can handle any more time away from my babies.

Epcot is definitely on our list of things to do, we're very much looking forward to it and the fireworks show that they do. I'm really looking forward to the Osborne Street light show. I love TSO. I love Disneyland in the Winter, it's my favorite time to go.

Absolutely, a Dole Whip is on my agenda. Doug just turned me onto that like 2 visits ago to Disneyland. He couldn't believe that I had been going to Disneyland all of these years and had never had one. It's a pretty good "bargain" too, as it were. MMMMM. I heard that you can order a bucket of the mix so I'm considering that as well. excuse me while i drool on my computer.

Overall, I think we are doing a pretty thorough sampling of the best that Florida theme parks have to offer. We're really excited for it!!

ZipperRules

The regular Universal Studios I don't care for too much, but the one ride you must ride is Men In Black Alien Attack which is a shoot the monsters type of ride with your gun. It has a single rider line if you want to get on faster.

Shrek 3D is one of those rides like It's a Bugs Life in which things happen to you, and I think the seats move even though it's not quite like a motion simulator. For Twister, you stand and watch things go through a tornado. Listen to what E.T. says to you at the end of the ride. If you watched the movie, you should go ride E.T.

That's enough for that park. For Islands of Adventure, you have to ride Incredible Hulk, Dueling Dragons, Spider-Man, Jurassic Park River Adventure (even though you have one in California), and Popeye's raft ride. That raft ride at Universal gets you soaked, and it's just a very unique water ride compared to all the other rapids rides you have encountered.

This park also has a Dr. Seuss dark ride if you want to ride that. I'm not too impressed with Dr. Seuss so I don't care to go on that after the first time I've been on it. Posidon's Fury is so stupid in my opinion. The main thing I remember is that water goes over head in this tour guide.

I have never been to the California Universal Studios, but I do want to say that for Universal, they are connected to each other. So, you go into the parking lot, and than you have to walk a very long time. They have a little security checkpoint, and than you keep on walking. They have those walkways you find in airports to help you get there faster, but it's a pretty good walk.

Than, you get to the CityWalk where you have these upscale restaurants, and a movie theatre. Than, on the right you have the Universal Studios entrance, and the left you have Islands of Adventure entrance. Get to this park early because you will have to walk maybe 10-15 minutes to get to the actual parks.

For Walt Disney World, I forgot to tell you about transportation. It's much different than Disneyland. For Disneyland, I went in a parking garage, and than took a tram to the parks, and that was it. One park was opposite from each other. Not the same thing here.

The ticket and transportation center is the best parking lot for the Magic Kingdom, and EPCOT. This is because it has monorails, buses, and a ferry boat you might want to ride. You can take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, one goes to the resorts, and one goes to EPCOT. The ferry boat only goes to the Magic Kingdom. They all go to the Ticket and Transportation Center, and than you take ferry, or monorail to the Magic Kingdom. The Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios have their own parking lots, and have trams. You park in the parking lot, and than you can take a tram to the front entrance, but EPCOT has the monorail also!

If you only want to visit one park a day, just park in that parks lot. If you are going to multiple parks a day, maybe you don't want to move the car or something. I don't know. Just remember Ticket and Transportation Center is the Magic Kingdom, but you can get to EPCOT also through the monorail even though if you are just going to EPCOT, just park in the EPCOT lot.

There is boat (much smaller not ferry), but smaller that goes from EPCOT (outside the park on the right side of it) that goes to the Hollywood Studios (MGM). In other words, this boat is located around the countries, and not at the front entrance of it. However at Hollywood Studios, this boat is located towards the left front of that park.

You have to drive to each park. They aren't just a walking distance from each other. Each park has buses too. They usually for me take 15 minutes to get there, and sometimes, they are packed that you can't get on them so you have to wait for the next one. Once, you are in Disney property, they want you locked in there. It takes a little while to get off of Disney property while you are in there.

Animal Kingdom has a Rainforest Cafe. I don't know if you like that place, but I do. Downtown Disney is much further than walking distance unlike Disneyland. They have a free parking lot there. Disney Quest isn't that great.

Animal Kingdom I would go Saturday because all the other places will be a lot more packed in my opinion. Magic Kingdom is open the lastest, and guess where everyone will be. You can park hop from going to Animal Kingdom, and than going to Magic Kingdom.

I don't know where you are staying, but they have these perks in which a Disney onproperty hotel guest can stay 3 hours after the park is open or something like that. You do that, and than you are tired the next day, and don't get to the park until 3 hours after it's open so does it really help? Sometimes, they have an hour before the park opens too. The park switches everyday. If you are at an on property hotel, I don't think you should take the bus.

Time is money, and you will wasting a lot of time with those buses unless you are staying at the park the whole day, or only going to EPCOT, and Magic Kingdom because you can always take the monorail in which I think is much faster than buses.

Doug_Barnes

Islands of Adventure is the park I'm most excited about on the trip, so it's good to hear the positive response for IOA. Also, I understand EPCOT is supposed to be really educational, but it's the WDW park I'm most interested in.

Doug_Barnes

dougscoastergirl

Curtis is Hysterical. He's so good at it, it is spooky. Especially when he does the pedophile guy from Family Guy, that's scary how much he sounds like him. He also does a pretty great Stewie. He can also do a lot of the Simpson's voices. He can pretty much do whatever he puts his mind to, he's that talented. And he's absolutely one of the nicest guys on the planet you will ever meet.

AWalkInTheParkPodcastPat

Hey Doug,

Good show this week.

I have headed down to Orlando 3 times so far this year, so I could give you some advice.

If your spending full days at the disney & universal parks you shouldn't have trouble seeing everything.

I'd recommend picking up "The Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World" which is essentially the disney world bible. It has mathimatically based tourng plans of how best to see all there is to do at the world, with waiting in as few lines as possible.

If you have a particular disney sit down restaurant you would like to eat at, make your dining reservations a few weeks in advance as they do get booked up. (personally my favorite theme park restaurant is the Sci Fi Dine In at the Hollywood Studios, great atmosphere).

If your not staying at a Disney resort follow the Crowd Calender at Touringplans.com. It will tell you which Disney World parks will be most busy & leasy busy on each day.

Don't go in with too many pre-conceptions and keep an open mind, I mean don't think "well all the disney fanboys say stitch is the worst attraction ever this is going to suck".

I think you said your going during December so there will be all sorts of Christmas stuff going on at Disney World. I have never been during Christmas Season, but I have heard great things about the Osborne Lights.

When are you going in December, I know Dec 11-15 is MouseFest the big gathering of Disney fans. I have never been (may go this year) but all the big websites and podcasters (inside the magic, wdw today, wdw radio, meandering mouse etc) host 'meets' in the parks.

If you were attending before September 27th I would highly reccomend The Adventurers Club at PI, but it won't be around, grrrrrrr. If you want to grab a few drinks one night try drinking the world at epcot or Jellyrolls Piano Bar at The Boardwalk (right next to epcot) or Citywalk.

I guess I will let ya know my favorite attractions at each of the parks:
Magic Kingdom - Mansion, Pirates, Splash Mountain & Wishes
EPCOT - Soarin' & Test Track
Disneys Hollywood Studios - Rock & Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Fantasmic
Disneys Animal Kingdom - Dinosaur, Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo The Musical (my fav park show ever!!)
Universal Studios - Mummy, Simpsons
Islands Of Adventure - Spiderman, Hulk, Dueling Dragons

If ya got any questions feel free to shoot me a message.

Jumboshrmp

So this is quite a long post, but I have quite a lot to input since it's my first post, and because I have been going to WDW for my entire life and have stuff I wanted to share after hearing your show.
I'll respond to a few quotes to put my opinions into the post.

Sorry if it's too long to read, I at least tried to hit the return key so it doesn't hurt the eyes.

e_tapley0687

Jumboshrmp,

Wats up?! and welcome to the forums, glad to have you here!

Doug_Barnes

Jumboshrmp, welcome to the Forums - Thanx for all the tips.

As for WDW, I agree, we're going to try to get as much time in those 4 parks as possible.

I am totally pumped about the "real" Tower of Terror! I'm also excited about Everest.

Thanx again.

R.C.

It will be an awesome trip for you guys and you go go with out worrying about the little ones!

WDW is one of the places that I really want to go to. I love Disneyland and it seems like WDW is just a bigger and better (for most things) place.

Doug_Barnes