Archive - Park Journey

Published on

October 13, 2014

Twisted Colossus Update #6

Welcome to our sixth Twisted Colossus update. Wow, six updates in just under two months. I can't imagine how many we'll have by the time this ride opens next Spring/Summer.

Today we'll look at the track that continues to head up the lift hill, we'll also take a look at Apocalypse which had an incident on Friday. We actually have EXCLUSIVE video to share with you.

We'll wrap up the update with a couple of notes about the rest of the park and our thought's on #Peptocopter ... Intrigued, well read on!! =)

Twisted Colossus

Since our last update, track has continued to move up the lift hill making it's way almost to the top of the post-fire structure.

I know a lot of people don't like the Green and Blue track, but it does really look good up against the white.

Some more wood or steel or steel that looks like wood has been stacked up.

Looks like these pieces have been configured to go on the lift, possibly replacing the parts that burned?

Speaking of the fire, does anybody else think it's odd that they haven't cleaned up some of this, painted it or replaced some of it? Maybe that's coming?

Moving inside the park, a close up of one of the track supports. As you can see, things have yet to be tightened which will happen once the entire track is complete.

A close up of two track pieces. If you can count, you can build a coaster. Ok, it's not quite that simple. =)

The chain at the exit was down ... while tempted (because those pictures would be awesome) we resisted going back here. We did let the park know and we assume there is a chain here now. They probably should put more up during construction.

A look at the lift from inside the park

A close up of the lift ... not sure if this is soot from the fire, but you'd think they'd clean up 36 years of dirt and grime before installing new track. Maybe some rain this offseason will take care of it. We could sure use it here.

Apocalypse

Unfortunately, Colossus isn't the only wooden coaster we need to talk about in this update. Apocalypse "Valleyed" on Friday afternoon and apparently caused some damage to the track.

Reader Antonio sent us the following video and this was a minute or so after the initial incident as the coaster was still coming to it's final resting place.

While we don't expect the park to put up a "the ride broke" sign, something other than "Annual Maintenance" would be nice, as it's obviously not that.

That said, hopefully this incident will allow them to give the ride a nice rehab because it surely needs it.

Once we hear anything about a reopening date for the ride, we'll let you know.

Around The Park

A few things going on around the rest of the park, some good, some not so good.

But let's start off with some good. We saw this new food offering near Full Throttle. Looks like it's just around for Fright Fest. I would have tried it, but I was solo and since I'm starting my training for the LA Marathon, I'm not sure eating this all by myself would have been the best idea. =)

Some readers on our Facebook page were VERY quick to point out the Pepto Bismol ad at the bottom of the sign, which is probably needed after eating this.

Which made this sign near Jet Stream very funny.

While we get the need to do ads in the park, having people think of getting sick in an amusement park is probably not the best idea.

It's not quite as bad as this ad from 2012 for Payday/Car Title loans though.

Speaking of Jet Stream, we have to give some kudos to the park as they actually have been doing flume work on Jet Stream during the week over the past month or so.

While it's not all done yet, you can certainly tell the difference while riding, and see the difference in that there aren't as many leaks in the flume these days.

Now they just need to systematically take the boats for a complete refurb as they are still VERY bumpy, and kind of ugly. The wheel's are in desperate need of replacing on all of the boats. Too bad we can't just get a new fleet of boats.

Lastly a couple of pet peeve's ... first, this is how the trash cans in the parking lot looked upon our arrival at about 2:30pm on Saturday. Obviously this isn't all from Saturday and probably isn't even all from Friday (which wasn't very busy). Which probably means the trash, at least some of it, had been sitting out since last weekend.

Sadly this isn't the first time we've seen this, and with the bee problem they have in both parks you'd think they'd address this.

That said, we did see the trash crew coming and emptying the trash cans ... although isn't that something that should be done after the park closes or before the park opens rather than at 2:30pm on a busy Saturday?

We'd like to do our part to keep the park clean, but if there is nowhere to put it, it's kind of hard.

Lastly, the drink stand between Tatsu and Roaring Rapids. This is probably the most narrow portion of the "main" walkway around the park, and probably one of the busiest, especially on hot days.

A) Would it hurt the park to actually think ahead and put up a queue for the drink stand? This happens pretty much every weekend. They've got plenty of temporary queue fences as they use them for Fright Fest. Although this particular location could use a permanent one.
B) Would it hurt these guests to think "Hey, I'm blocking up the main walkway, maybe we should take it upon ourselves to move out of the way".

Either way, it needs to be fixed.

That's going to wrap it up for this update, I know we keep saying we don't know when our next update will be, but I really don't know when it's going to be. I've been at SFMM each of the last 4 or 5 weekends, so I'm thinking a break may be in order next weekend.

Of course, if there are major changes on Colossus that could change those plans. =)

Be sure to check back tomorrow as we'll have a full update from Universal Studios Hollywood including Wizarding World, Springfield and Fast and Furious. We'll also have our look at the LA Haunted Hayride on Wednesday.

Thanks for reading ... Gregg

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Published on

October 13, 2014

Wizarding World starts to get some themed elements at Universal Studios Hollywood

2015 Attractions 2016 Attractions Fast And Furious: Supercharged Harry Potter Harry Potter And The Forbidden Journey Hogwarts Simpsons Springfield Studio Tour Universal Citywalk Universal Studios Hollywood Wizarding World

Now that Halloween Horror Nights has been open for a few weeks and we've done pretty much all the reporting we can do on it, it's time to turn our focus back to construction going on at the rest of the park.

And there's been a lot going on over the past few weeks both inside and outside of the park as they prepare for the crowds that are sure to descend on the park in 2016.

Wizarding World West

We'll start our look with Wizarding World, as that seems to be where most of the changes have been over the past few weeks.

As you'll see below, some thematic elements of Hogsmeade and/or Forbidden Journey have started to take shape backstage.

Snowy roofs and lots of rock work

A look at Forbidden Journey, lots of work going on inside.

Moving inside the park, the scaffolding shows that they are hard at work on the exterior portions of Hogsmeade.

No weekends off for this project, they are working 7 days a week.

From the tram, a look at Forbidden Journey

Some new structures are being built

Greenhouse portion of the queue?

Still a pretty big hole at Forbidden Journey

Nothing to see here ... move along. =)

A bit of an aerial view shows just how much work has been done recently.

There's still a LOT of work to be done, and only about 1 1/2 years left to do it. It will be interesting to see this project grow over the next few months.

Springfield

Work is also flying along at Springfield which is set to open in 2015

Starting to see some things related to the facades that will go in front of these buildings for the individual Springfield locations.

Believe it or not, the walls have actually been moved out even more heading towards the Studio Tour. This is how cramped it is right now between the walls and the Kwik E Mart.

From up top you can see the two story approach they are going with. Still interested to see just how this is going to work.

The area is so cramped with construction right now, but seeing how close the buildings are to the construction walls, not so sure it's going to get any better once Springfield opens.

Fast and Furious: Supercharged

If that wasn't enough, Fast and Furious: Supercharged continues to speed along like a Big Block Hemi with NOx boost.

It's pretty much just a big building and really, there isn't much to see here.

2016 Preparations

Moving outside of the park, there is a LOT of work being done in anticipation of epic crowds for 2016. I think it's safe to say that 2016 will be the biggest year in the history of the park.

The new parking structure continues to be built.

Probably even more important than finding places for people to park is getting people in and out of the parking structures quickly. And the preparations for this are EPIC (apparently).

The road heading up to the park from Lankershim is now only 1 lane as they make improvements

Work is also continuing on the new boutique hotel

If you are taking the red line or other transportation and need to make your way up or down the hill by walking, this is what you are greeted with. Not fun.

Since they will be encouraging people to use public transportation with the building of the new pedestrian bridge, it'd be nice if they figured out a better way to get people up the hill.

Speaking of the new bridge, work isn't moving quite as quickly as it is inside the park. Still odd that a bridge is going to take as long as the rest of Wizarding World. That's public works for you.

Around The Park

Just a couple of notes about the tram, the rest of the park and CityWalk.

A look at the production schedule for Saturday. Not many changes on this.

Apparently the President was hanging out at the park. =)

They've started talking about Jurassic World on the tram as you pass by the cars from The Lost World.

Work is also continuing on the new trash compactor near the Studio Tour.

Moving out to City Walk, we've heard rumors that Bubba Gump may be on the way out after the first of the year. We've also heard rumors of what may be replacing it, but we don't want to jinx it. Let's just say we'd eat at the new place more than we'd ever eat at Bubba Gump.

Last but certainly not least, a look at a couple of the great walk-around characters at the park. They really do a great job of interacting with guests and we think they are awesome.

Ok, that's going to wrap it up for this update that was a LOT longer than we had originally anticipated. Sorry about that, but we hope you enjoyed it.

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Published on

October 13, 2014
Rise of the Jack O' Lanterns comes to New York and Los Angeles

Rise Of The Jack O' Lanterns
The spectacular walk through "Rise of the Jack O' Lanterns" is back in New York for 2014 and makes it's Los Angeles debut.

Below you will find all of the info you need if you plan on attending in either LA or NY. But be sure to get tickets ASAP as this event does sell out. This event is sure to be fun for the whole family.

Los Angeles (La Canada Flintridge)

RISE OF THE JACK O’LANTERNS Coming to Los Angeles in October
– A Unique Halloween Event for the Entire Family

Lighting up the night this October in Los Angeles is a unique all-ages nighttime Halloween extravaganza – RISE of the Jack O’Lanterns. More than 5,000 hand-carved jack o’lanterns created by professional artists and sculptors are arranged in artful displays throughout a 1/3-mile scenic trail within Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge (1418 Descanso Drive, La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011). Set against a backdrop of the Rose Garden, spectators are invited to discover intricately carved images of favorite celebrities and sports figures as well as other large-scale displays based on popular themes. The entire family-friendly 45-minute stroll through the grounds is a multi-sensory experience that is sure to be a
lasting annual family tradition.

Tickets are available for advance purchase only at www.therise.org. Ticket prices vary from $18-28 depending on date and time. Discounts are available for kids 3-17 years of age and seniors 65 and older. Kids under 2 get in for free.

The event is held for 23 nights beginning October 3 through November 2, 2014 during varying evening hours ranging from 5:30pm – 10:30pm. The RISE is a rain or shine event. Parking is available for free and refreshments and merchandise are available as well on site. The surface of the trail is stroller and wheelchair accessible.
Some of the themes that will be featured at The RISE this year include: Hollywood Walk of Fame, a Kids Section featuring popular movie characters and child-friendly images, Sports Stars, Pop Culture such as the Kardashian sisters, Pre-Historic Dinosaurs, TV Shows such as The Big Bang Theory and Walking Dead, Wizard of Oz, and other popular iconic Halloween images.

RISE of the Jack O’Lanterns’ first event was launched in Old Westbury, New York in 2012 on the grounds of Old Westbury Gardens set against the backdrop of a historic mansion. The RISE will once again be in Old Westbury and is introducing Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles as its newest venue.

What is The RISE?
RISE of the Jack O' Lanterns is a 45-minute walking trail filled with 5,000 hand-carved illuminated Jack O' Lanterns artfully displayed in the Rose Garden of Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles. The entire family-friendly stroll through the grounds is a multi-sensory experience that is sure to be a lasting annual family tradition.

A little Bit More About The RISE
The RISE is an EXPERIENCE like NO other!
Family oriented… suitable for KIDS all ages from 1 to 101
We SELL OUT every year
Tens of thousands of spectators experience THE RISE each year
21 unique, exciting themes/exhibits… Dinosaurs, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Big Bang Theory, Classic Horror Films, Outer Space, Video Games, and more!
1/3 mile walking trail that takes about 45 minutes to walk through
Features the work of dozens of world-renowned and local artists
Refreshments Available
Free Parking

Logistics
Location: Descanso Gardens located at 1418 Descanso Drive, La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011
Dates: Weekends - October 3-5, 8-12, 15-19, 22-26, 29-31, and November 1-2
Times: Ranging from 6pm – 10:30pm
Website: www.therise.org
Rain or shine
Free parking on premises

RISE History
The RISE of the Jack O’Lanterns opened its first location in 2012 on the grounds of Old Westbury Gardens located at 71 Old Westbury Road, Old Westbury, NY.
Los Angeles location at Descanso Gardens is making its debut in October 2014.
Tens of thousands of tickets are sold each year to the RISE and demand grows each year.
Audience response to the RISE has been overwhelming – all nights consistently sell out and waiting lists are in the thousands.

Tickets
We SELL OUT every year so customers are required to buy tickets well in advance of event dates.
Tickets go on sale July 1, 2014 for Descanso Gardens members. Tickets for general public go on sale August 1, 2014.
Ticket Prices range from $18-28 based on date and time. Free for kids 2 and under.
Advanced tickets are required.
Tickets are non-refundable.

New York (Long Island)

LONG ISLAND’S #1 FALL EVENT RETURNS TO OLD WESTBURY GARDENS
5,000 hand-carved illuminated Jack O’Lanterns is Fun For the Whole Family

Lighting up the night once again this October on Long Island is a unique all-ages Halloween extravaganza – RISE of the Jack O’Lanterns! More than 5,000 hand-carved jack o’lanterns created by professional artists and sculptors are arranged in artful displays throughout a 1/4-mile scenic trail. The entire family-friendly stroll is a multi-sensory experience that is sure to be a lasting annual family tradition.

Imagine seeing thousands of carved jack o’lanterns arranged within a variety of exciting themes. Visitors will see a re-creation of the New York City Skyline, favorite sports stars from all of New York’s professional teams, amazingly carved images of famous TV stars, a giant graveyard made of jack o’lanterns, and a pre-historic arrangement of life-sized dinosaurs made entirely out of lit jack o’lanterns! The variety of themes are sure to impress visitors of all ages.

The event is held for 14 nights beginning October 16 through November 2, 2014 during various evening hours ranging from 6:00pm – 10:30pm (See TheRISE.org for Dates/Times). The RISE is a rain or shine event. Refreshments and merchandise are available for purchase at the event. The surface of the trail is stroller and wheelchair accessible.

Tickets are available for advance purchase only at www.therise.org while supplies last. Ticket prices vary from $18-28 depending on date and time. Discounts are available for kids 3-17 years of age and seniors 65 and older. Kids 2 and under get in for free. The best time slots for The RISE sell out each year so it’s important to get your tickets early.

RISE of the Jack O’Lanterns first event was launched in Old Westbury, New York in 2012 on the grounds of Old Westbury Gardens in Nassau County on Long Island. Located just minutes off the Long Island Expressway, The RISE is easily accessible from all five boroughs of New York City, upstate, and of course Nassau and Suffolk counties. The RISE will also be making its west coast debut in 2014 at Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles.

Below is a gallery of some of the great Jack O' Lanterns you will see during the event. All pictures courtesy of RISE.

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Published on

October 10, 2014

Six Flags Great Adventure's Fright Fest brings family fun during the day and frights by night in 2014.

Fright Fest Six Flags Six Flags Great Adventure

Trip Report and Haunt Review

This past Sunday we had the opportunity to experience GADV's annual fright fest as a family for the first time. We wanted to find out if there was truly something for every age and fright tolerance and we came off seriously impressed.

Lets take a journey into the park.

Sadly there were only mums and 0.0 mummies in this pyramid. The fountain featured festive fall flowers.

Declining by Degrees- We were last here in August and this statue was completely clean of cobwebs. Mr. Six must be turning in his grave.

This is what happens to you if you try to drink from the delicious Hawaiian Punch fountain.

Awww.. CJ (who wants everyone to know he is a big boy now that he just turned 3) loved the Trick or Treat Trail. As parents we loved the way GADV handled it. You get in line, walk 10 feet, and they hand you a delicious bag of quality candy that is filled to the top. You don't have to make multiple stops at different stations while your child runs around in a sugar induced stupor. Thank you Six Flags from the bottom of my heart. They also had four characters with no lines for some great photo opportunities. CJ approves this message.

If you squint long enough this naturally occurring rock formation somewhat resembles a skull.

There were a number of temporary food locations featuring seasonal delights setup. Here you could just swing on over for some Kettle Korn.

The Boardwalk is transformed into the Psycho Circus scare zone at night.

If you aren't afraid of clowns eating you it's a great place to hangout and check out the side show acts that are exclusive to Fright Fest.

In an effort to be more environmentally sensitive, Great Adventure has replaced their LED lighting with the eternal flames of unfortunate souls.

Cucurbita pepo; Howden Pumpkin -Rich orange color with deep ridges and good, sturdy handles. Weighs 25 lbs on average. Sizes up reliably and is tolerant to Black Rot. Developed in the Berkshires of Massachusetts in the late 60's by JohnHowden, it remains the most popular pumpkin in its class among both commercial growers and home gardeners. *The More You Know

Nothing to see here, just corn having sex with a tree.

Nobody told them you are supposed to be SCARED at Fright Fest.Of note: Lisa thinks she is a rebel because she is wearing a Disney shirt. She also threatened to cut us.

Artsy shot of Road Runner pecking the moon.

After a day of family fun which included marathoning a frog hopper, it was time for some scares. Being the amazing mother and wife that she is, Kristin took CJ to a "scare free zone" at the front of the park while Lisa and I headed to the haunts.

The evening begins with The Awakening which is a pseudo parade where all the ghouls and zombies come out and walk to their respective house or maze. It's a cool way to see the costumes and makeup in good lighting.

Wasteland
We weren't allowed to take photos inside Wasteland, a trail located adjacent toNitro and themed to mutant botanists and SWAT teams (yeah we didn't get it either) So what follows are some photos of the scare actors taken during The Awakening. This trail has potential, but lacked in many areas. During our visit they were letting large groups in quickly which also diffused the scare factor.
3 out of 5 stars

We then headed over to the Movietown section of the park to check out Dead Man's Party. This is a high energy song and dance show featuring every single Halloween song ever recorded. In the history of time. Ever. I'm not really a show person, but it drew a huge crowd.

A few clever guests parked their cars on the lawn to get a better view of the show.

This photo actually scares me. On May 11, 1984 eight teenagers were trapped and killed in a terrible fire inside the Haunted Castle at Great Adventure. Some people claim they haunt the park. I took this photo with my DSLR aiming at location where the Haunted Castle once stood. This was the result.

Asylum
Our first trail of the evening was Asylum. This is staged behind the former site of The Chiller and uses the old queue. Crazed mental patients have taken over the asylum and are torturing guards, doctors, and anyone else brave enough to make their way through the doors. The maze featured great fog effects, a few good jump out surprises and some of the most dedicated scare actors. We would give this trail
4 out of 5 stars.

The queue an hour before the trail opened. The lines can get 2 hours long very quickly (and this was a cold Sunday night). Our biggest tip of Fright Fest is to pay extra for the front of the line scare pass. It's worth the small upcharge and will allow you to experience everything in one evening.

I'm also not sure what I'm looking at.

Tons of hot chicks were out at the park this weekend.

Crop Circles
New for 2014 was Crop Circles - This trail is located in front of the former water ski stadium area. This is a great spot for a trail as it is dark and tree covered. With an intergalactic theme mixed with traditional ghouls, we thought the maze was out of this world (I really need a better writing team). It begins with what seems like you are walking in a giant spiral of corn which is really disorientating. You are then led out into a few more open areas featuring UFOs and close encounters.
5 out of 5 stars

The last few mazes and trails all prohibited any photography at all (rules were different all across the park) So we'll just give you a quick rundown.

Voodoo Island
Located adjacent to the log flume, this trail was themed to voodoo and the sacrificing of children. Of course on paper, this sounds like a great idea.I mean who wouldn't want to be cursed for eternity while watching innocent children be killed? But it's execution (see what I did there?), left us wishing we hadn't sacrificed our time to walk the trail. We aren't sure what happened here. Our working lead is that half of the scare actors were out sick with Ebola that evening, but there were huge parts of this trail with no scare actors, or effects, or really anything at all. Maybe we just caught them on a bad night.
1 out of 5 stars

Total Darkness
If you aren't familiar with this indoor maze, it's held in near total darkness where groups of 5 hold onto a rope containing a glow stick and are supposed to use that light to find their way through the maze. The scare actors all dress in black and most screams are of the jump out variety. Many people love this maze, but I like my steak rare and marinated for at least 24 hours in theming so Total Darkness is totally lame to me.
? out of 5 stars

The Manor
The other indoor maze is The Manor. While the theme here is basically generic haunted house, each room is different with its own set of scares and characters. The Manor also features the best effects and highest production value of any of the mazes or trails. Pro tip: You can do either of the indoor mazes starting at 2:00pm. Check them out early to avoid long lines later at night. You might even want to walk through The Manor twice.
5 out of 5 Stars

We had an amazing day (and night) at Six Flags and found that going as a family with a young child totally works (as long as your significant other doesn't mind hanging out in a scare free zone once the zombies attack). There was truly something for everyone to do throughout the day and all parties involved left our park journey smiling with a great set of memories and probably a new cavity or two.

There are also a number of open scare zones I didn't cover this report so I'll leave you with my favorite; The fountain area at night.

P.S. Great Adventure is now offering one of the best deals it offers all year on Season Passes: $61.99 gets you in for the rest of Fright Fest 2014 plus all of 2015. You also get upgraded to a Gold Pass which allows for free parking and admission to all Six Flags theme parks (normally $94.99). That's a killer deal.

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Published on

October 8, 2014

Queen Mary's Dark Harbor unleashes the scares (Part 2)

Welcome to Part two of our review of Queen Mary's Dark Harbor. If you missed Part 1 of our coverage, click here.

In part one of our update we walked you through the opening of the event, media night coverage, the all-new Encounters and the Freak Show. Today we are going to go through the mazes, which absolutely did not disappoint.

We'll start off with the mazes on the ship. We are going to give two ratings for both, one for Thursday which was media night (and thus we were taking pictures) and one for Saturday when we were just there to enjoy the event as a member of the General Public.

Submerged

Maze Rating
Thursday: 10 out of 10 / Saturday: 10 out of 10

Submerged is one of the original mazes from Dark Harbor, and as far as I'm concerned, if it's not broke, don't fix it.

The maze starts off in the "pool" which is apparently Haunted. A couple of pictures from our September Queen Harbor update to show you what we are talking about.

Picture one

And a second later, the same picture. Two people in our group have the same exact picture.

So with that in our minds as we entered Submerged it just took it to an entirely different level.

The first part of the maze doesn't really even need any props, it's spooky enough already. The pool room, creepy music and ghosts.

Creepy dark hallways and monsters with the freedom to follow you through the entire maze.

Submerged was quite simply the first maze this season to honestly "scare" me. While some other mazes have better effects, more talent or are equally creepy (Tooth Fairy at Haunt), this one really got to me. In a REALLY good way.

B340

Maze Rating
Thursday 8.5 out of 10 / Saturday: 8.5 out of 10

B340 is one of the new mazes for 2014 and is based on one of the haunted rooms on the ship that something VERY bad apparently happened in. Again, the creepiness factor is here because you are on the ship. The maze has some very tight spots, some great talent and scenery, but probably needs some adjusting before next year.

This is the room that made absolutely no sense to us. It was a bunch of foam that kind of looked like a brain, but it was never made clear what it was. It was cool to look at, just not sure how it fits into the maze.

The rest of the maze had some great set pieces that really complemented the story well.

Creepy

Soulmate

Maze Rating
Thursday: 8 out of 10 / Saturday: 9 out of 10

Soulmate is the 3rd and final maze on the ship and is also new for 2014. I really enjoyed this maze during our trips through, but for some reason I think it was better on Saturday. Maybe the talent was just finding their way. This has the potential to be as good as Submerged.

The talent in the maze was really strong and exceptionally creepy.

The maze ends at the most awesome Masquerade ball you'll ever see.

Deadrise

Maze Rating
Thursday: 9 out of 10 / Saturday: 8.5 out of 10

This was the one maze that people had told me was the weak link of Dark Harbor, and I have to respectfully disagree. I thought it was pretty amazing. The talent in this maze was probably the best of the entire event, and you could tell they simply loved doing it.

The haunted shipwreck theme is very well done and the nearby fire bombs add another cool element to the maze.

Lots of fog and even some sliders in this maze

Shipping containers create some great tunnels and enclosed spaces

The ONLY reason there is a lower rating on Saturday vs Thursday was due to the lack of fog in the tunnel below. It really creates an amazing finish to the maze.

The end of the maze has the best tag-team scares we've seen at any haunt this year.

These two guys are amazing, have a great time scaring people and we spent a good 20-30 minutes each night just watching them in action.

Kudos to these two amazing scare-actors for their pre-planning and love for scaring people. We love that they get so much freedom at Dark Harbor.

Circus

Maze Rating
Thursday: 8.5 out of 10 / Saturday: 8.5 out of 10

It seems that every haunt has clowns these days. So many people are afraid of them that I guess it makes sense. Just like zombies and vampires, I think it's time to move onto something else.

However, Circus at Dark Harbor is just different enough to make it unique. First, it's not ALL Clowns and second, parts of it are an actual "maze" that the talent inside can move around to really confuse you. Overall it makes it very effective.

Which way should we go? Hint, don't listen to the talent. Or do if you want to have fun.

Beware the Ring Master

I thought this was pretty cool looking.

Voodoo Village

Maze Rating
Thursday: 9 out of 10 / Saturday: 6 out of 10

Voodoo Village is the third new maze this year and our final maze at Dark Harbor.

I feel that I need to explain the difference in ratings between Thursday and Saturday. When we walked through the maze on Thursday, there was a LOT of talent, they were on point and just really amazing. I was SO excited to go back through this maze on Saturday.
Unfortunately when we went through on Saturday we only saw 2 or 3 people in the maze, and even worse we were just behind a group of EXTREMELY drunk and idiotic people. I know a lot of events like this don't sell alcohol (Universal as an example) and this was a prime example of why. It really took away from our enjoyment of the maze.

All that said, the talent that is in the maze is great, and the setting is very cool.

Lots of voodoo candles and a cool swamp scene

That's going to wrap it up for our Dark Harbor coverage.

Overall, the event is phenomenal. Lots of great scares, different bands and talent that really is allowed to let loose make this a very unique event. It's definitely a must-see this year. We thought the mazes were very solid, maybe the best line-up of individual mazes we've seen this year. I got more scares at Queen Mary than at HHN, Knott's Scary Farm and Fright Fest combined. That's not to say those events aren't great (they are) but I just got more here.

The way they regulate how few people go through the mazes is also great. Being pretty much alone through the mazes really insures a great walk-through. You won't find any haunted lines here.

Be on the lookout for Living Social deals for the event. Our tickets for Saturday were only $12 and it is so worth it. Just be aware if you are going to go on a Friday or Saturday night you may want to upgrade to the Front of the Line pass for the mazes. Be sure to upgrade before going in as it also includes a shorter line for entry into the event.

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Published on

October 8, 2014

Shawn visits Wonder La Park in Kerala, India (Part 2)

Welcome to part two of Shawn's update from Wonder La park. if you missed part 1 of the update you can click the link.
Be sure to check out Shawn's amazing travel website Miles to Memories for all kinds of travel tips whether you are going to parks or just planning a vacation.

During part 1 of the update we took a great look at the rides park and we'll continue that during the first half of today's update. In addition we'll look at the awesome looking water park.

Now lets look at some randomness before moving on to the water attractions. Popcorn costs 20 rupees or about $.33!

They are very excited about this Top Spin that is under construction.

The park is opening up 6 new rides over the next year.

A random look at one of their restaurants

I think I will take bottled JUST IN CASE!

A little over $2 for a full chicken meal. Not bad, but I decided to stick to popcorn.

India has the same brands you know and love!

Editors Note: Wonder if they have the same amazing "Coke Light" that you find in other Asian countries, because it's amazing.

This was a cool ride where you put out fires with a spray gun on a rotating platform.

The park also has a random animatronic dinosaur which spits water!

High tech.

Ride board

I really love the park's signs

Ok no more monkeying around. Time to look at the water attractions

Before heading to the water park, Wonder La has this neat indoor World of Color type show with Bollywood music!

There is a video if you want to see more

The water park is located down on a hillside below the rides park

It features a number of slides like this drop slide

Family raft ride

Boomerang

I love that there are no conveyors. Rafts are hooked to a pulley which carries them to the top of the towers

The park also has a kid's play area with seperate sides for women & children and men.

Another slide complex with older slides

These racing mat slides look amazing. Notice the uphill section

Airtime!!!

They seem to be having fun

The park also has two wave pools. Normally one is for men and the other for women and children

Since one pool was closed for refurbishment, they had a rope in the middle seperating the sexes

They also have a thing called the rain disco. It is basically a large room with disco lights and sprinklers overhead where they blare Bollywood music

The rain disco

Unfortunately the advertisement lies since this too is separated.

Finally on the far end of the water park is the park's final coaster.

It is basically a splash down boat that runs on coaster track

Splish

Splash!

As you can see, riders get SOAKED!

I hate getting this wet, but it is a coaster!

After riding the last coaster I had a chat with the manager and then left since my driver was waiting. (Yes my driver waited in the parking lot the whole time. I am special!)

Thanks again to Shawn for sharing his report with us. We hope you really enjoyed it, we sure enjoyed putting it all together for you.

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