Theme Parks

SimonTemplar · Post by **SimonTemplar** » Jun Wed 21, 2006 10:20 am

I'd rank Busch Gardens ahead of Six Flags, although I've only been to the BG park in VA. If you're in to thrill rides, Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH is hard to beat (www.cedarpoint.com). That being said, WDW rules in my book !!!!

coco · Post by **coco** » Aug Tue 08, 2006 5:23 am

The theming at IOA is superb. Apparently CDs of the BGM used throughout the park used to be available. I've scoured the web for copies without success. Does anyone know of a good source for IOA music?

AKLRULZ · Post by **AKLRULZ** » Aug Tue 08, 2006 7:26 am

I have a CD with all the IOA loops that I purchased onsite - you might try calling down there.

Ketira · Post by **Ketira** » Aug Wed 09, 2006 2:09 am

JWKarlsen wrote:i'd like to see a wide range which would also include wet'n'wild, sea world and the ksc.

Whoa - Kennedy Space Center is not a theme park; it's more of a museum and is also an important part of the Space program here in the US. (Now that you're getting in more of my area of the woods - yes, I live in the same county, but south of there - it's time to set the record straight.)

Not only do the Space Shuttles take off from KSC, but so do other rockets. (Check the web site for dates & times on both.) Also, like with the last shuttle mission, Space Shuttles land there. The Shuttles also come back to KSC because that's where they're stored, repaired, and made ready for launch.

There's also a model for people to explore, so they see just what it's like to be in the Shuttle. There's a tour around the Center & base (Canaveral Air Force Base is part of the area). There's a preservation area right next door. (If you come for a launch, that unusual smell you get a whiff of isn't engine fuel - it's methane, caused naturally by the swamp around the pads.)

So yes, it's one of the places you should see. Just please do not call it a "theme park".

p.s: and if you just happen to plan to be here about the same time as a Shuttle is going up, make sure you get a beachside hotel and book ASAP. They fill up pretty quickly once a Launch is announced. Of course, you could camp out along the beach at 6am to get your spot to watch..... me, I'd rather watch from here at home (I do get to see some of it as it goes up into the atmosphere) and watch the camera replays on NASA-TV.

Yes, I'm a bit lazy....

jrcohen · Post by **jrcohen** » Aug Wed 09, 2006 9:42 am

I remember back in elementary school down in Boca Raton we used to watch every launch live on TV and just as it launched our teacher would run us outside and we could see the ship going up from around 200 miles away. It was pretty cool. Although the downside of the teachers doing that was my entire elementary school saw the challanger disaster live on TV.

Ketira · Post by **Ketira** » Aug Fri 11, 2006 1:44 am

jrcohen wrote:I remember back in elementary school down in Boca Raton we used to watch every launch live on TV and just as it launched our teacher would run us outside and we could see the ship going up from around 200 miles away. It was pretty cool. Although the downside of the teachers doing that was my entire elementary school saw the challanger disaster live on TV.

Would you believe I slept through that? S'truth.... I was in college (for the first time around) and had a touch of a cold. It was a religious-based college, so they had chapel about the time that Challenger went up. I skipped Chapel, hoping that a nap would help my condition. When I got up to go to lunch, the History prof had the TV on......and there was the replay. It didn't sink in until the news ran it full speed..... *sighs*

Of course, I'm also in the same town as the elementary school that was named after Columbia.... and that was mourned by all here too. This county doesn't forget things like that.

knedeau · Post by **knedeau** » Aug Sat 12, 2006 8:38 am

OH MY! I went to 6 Flags New England yesterday with Hubby and some friends. Can we say that I Appreciated Disney MORE AND MORE each minute I was at that park?!?!?! 6 Flags was DIRTY, and there was NO SHADE, and talk about HIGH PRICES! It was $60 PER PERSON, and customer service sucked, the food there was HORRIBLE AND expensive. Their employees, the ones who COULD speak english, DID NOT KNOW WHERE THE BATHROOMS WERE! The Bathrooms were few and far between! (at Disney... no matter where you are in the park, a bathroom is never far away!) The two restrooms that I visited were both SCARY! YUCK! I saw ONE water fountain the whole time I was there... and forget about using it... ewwwwwww. It was Funny though,, while we were all there, my firends were talking about how much Disney was a better park (except for my hubby) HHAHAHAHA

AKLRULZ · Post by **AKLRULZ** » Aug Sat 12, 2006 9:05 am

Gross! But that pretty much sounds like a typical Six Flags experience (although they do have great roller coasters - when they're staffed fully enough to have them open that is).

Post by **subsonic** » Aug Sun 13, 2006 11:46 am

I'll never forget the time I went to Magic Mountain with my Disney castmembers. We verbally tore that place up. Basically with all the stuff Knedeau said.

knedeau · Post by **knedeau** » Aug Mon 14, 2006 11:46 am

I'm Amazed that they even do business! 6 Flags SUX! Way too much money for such little reward. If you want a NICE park with nice Rollarcoasters, May I suggest Busch Gardens in Williamsburg VA (even the one in Tampa FL is nice). It's a bit of a hike for me (a short flight or a 14 hr drive) but since my dad works at the Anheuser Busch Plant in NH, I can get free passes (at least until he retires)! Woohoo!

AKLRULZ · Post by **AKLRULZ** » Aug Mon 14, 2006 1:12 pm

OOOH! Free is nice to Busch Gardens! BG in Williamsburg is my home park - we've got season passes!

They're adding a huge coaster next year like the one they added at Busch Tampa last year! 8)

knedeau · Post by **knedeau** » Aug Mon 14, 2006 1:38 pm

Really? OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I like the one in Germany (Alpengeist?) I love the hanging feet coaster! Hmmmmmmmm I think another VA/DC trip will be in Order!

AKLRULZ · Post by **AKLRULZ** » Aug Mon 14, 2006 4:12 pm

Alpengeist it is! Fun ride - Apollo's Chariot is my favorite - just try to keep your butt on the seat going over those hills!

knedeau · Post by **knedeau** » Aug Mon 14, 2006 5:00 pm

OMG Apollo's Chariot SOOOOOOO Scared me! The superman at 6 flags scared me too! I can't stand Rollercoasters with just a seat harness. They TERRIFY me.. and not in a good way! I prefer one with a harness that goes over my chest and shoulders Thank you!

Post by **js3901** » Aug Mon 14, 2006 6:11 pm

we had a guy die on our Six Flags Superman coaster. it used to just have the lap bar in the shape of superman's belt, and the guy that died was a little on the "chubby size" (the news report said he was well over 350 lbs, and perfect in shape (albeit in a round shape)), so the lap bar really didn;t restrain him too well. he lasted through the ride ok, but at the end just before pulling in the station, the brakes stopped the car dead and most people complained about slight whiplash as a result. well, long story short, because the restrait could really restrain him, when he stopped, he really flew for about 50 feet, sliding a good 30 feet of that over nothing but concrete and large gravel at a speed around 40 mph. as a result, he suffered a fractured skull, 5 broken ribs, and a punctured lung. it's the lung that did him in...