"Liva Italia" - Trip Reports
- Thread starter Hixee
- Start date
Tomatron
Giga Poster
Great start to the trip so far!
Lovely meal on Sunday night, and Gardaland today was great. Big thanks to Bruno at the park for the lunch, fastpasses and goodies.
Here's my wrap-up:
Raptor - Great ride, lots of fun. Thorpe should have a good ride on their hands next year, so let's hope they don't cock it up!
Sequoia Adventure - The most pointless ride ever created. I've had more fun getting my appendix taken out.
Magic Mountain - I stayed off as I'd done it on a previous visit, but from all accounts it was pretty much what a 30 year old Vekoma should be like (i.e. Rough!)
Ortobrucco Tour - Massive Big Apple, good times all round.
Mammut - Not bad, bit bouncy, but I've been on better.
Blue Tornado - Bonux helix just prolonged the pain. Still better than Kumali.
Fuga d'Atlantide - SUCH A CRED!!!
Other stuff of note was the Pirates Of The Carribbean knock-off, which was random but awesome, good Intamin drop tower, cool shooting dark ride, trippy Spinning Room thing, mildly moist rapids and log flume, and if you're inclined that way, we got our picture taken with the park mascots.
Movieland tomorrow, waterpark and movie themed rides FTW =)
Lovely meal on Sunday night, and Gardaland today was great. Big thanks to Bruno at the park for the lunch, fastpasses and goodies.
Here's my wrap-up:
Raptor - Great ride, lots of fun. Thorpe should have a good ride on their hands next year, so let's hope they don't cock it up!
Sequoia Adventure - The most pointless ride ever created. I've had more fun getting my appendix taken out.
Magic Mountain - I stayed off as I'd done it on a previous visit, but from all accounts it was pretty much what a 30 year old Vekoma should be like (i.e. Rough!)
Ortobrucco Tour - Massive Big Apple, good times all round.
Mammut - Not bad, bit bouncy, but I've been on better.
Blue Tornado - Bonux helix just prolonged the pain. Still better than Kumali.
Fuga d'Atlantide - SUCH A CRED!!!
Other stuff of note was the Pirates Of The Carribbean knock-off, which was random but awesome, good Intamin drop tower, cool shooting dark ride, trippy Spinning Room thing, mildly moist rapids and log flume, and if you're inclined that way, we got our picture taken with the park mascots.
Movieland tomorrow, waterpark and movie themed rides FTW =)
Nic
Strata Poster
Pretty much what Tom said. First piece of news... no one had to do the walk of shamew on Raptor! 
Raptor is FAB. No, it's not a massively thrilling coaster, but it's a hell of a lot of fun. I found myself giggling and squealing all the way round each time I rode. I'm now looking forward to LC12 a lot more, but unless its well themed, it'll be pointless.
Again, masssive thanks to Bruno for the fantastic hospitality yesterday. He's clearly very passionate about parks and coasters, so was also very entertaining to chat to. The fast passes were also fantastically useful.
We've just got to the hotel following today's trip to Movieland Studios. I'd heard terrible things about the park, and the fact that it only has 2 CREDZ (one of which is a go gator!) did not make me look forward to it. However, it was a really really nice surprise. Some of the themeing is fantastic - the "Magma 2" special effects tour thing was fantastic, even if I did end up getting soaked from head to toe. The park also gave me my first chance to ride a first gen Intamin drop tower (Freefall was still open when I did SFMM, but I didn't ride it). The airtime on the actual drop is unbelievable... shame the G-force and roughness of the flat section and return to the station spoil it.
Mirabilandia (or Mirabundiland if you ask Marc! hehe) tomorrow. It's going to be a LONG day, but with ERT on Katun to start it off, I'm sure it'll be worth it Although, apaprently Master Thai is goin gto spite us :'(
Rainbow Magicland on Thurs to complete the trip. I can't believe we're halfwy through already.
All in all, I'm having a fantastic time and this is shaping up to be one epic Live
Raptor is FAB. No, it's not a massively thrilling coaster, but it's a hell of a lot of fun. I found myself giggling and squealing all the way round each time I rode. I'm now looking forward to LC12 a lot more, but unless its well themed, it'll be pointless.Again, masssive thanks to Bruno for the fantastic hospitality yesterday. He's clearly very passionate about parks and coasters, so was also very entertaining to chat to. The fast passes were also fantastically useful.
We've just got to the hotel following today's trip to Movieland Studios. I'd heard terrible things about the park, and the fact that it only has 2 CREDZ (one of which is a go gator!) did not make me look forward to it. However, it was a really really nice surprise. Some of the themeing is fantastic - the "Magma 2" special effects tour thing was fantastic, even if I did end up getting soaked from head to toe. The park also gave me my first chance to ride a first gen Intamin drop tower (Freefall was still open when I did SFMM, but I didn't ride it). The airtime on the actual drop is unbelievable... shame the G-force and roughness of the flat section and return to the station spoil it.
Mirabilandia (or Mirabundiland if you ask Marc! hehe) tomorrow. It's going to be a LONG day, but with ERT on Katun to start it off, I'm sure it'll be worth it
Although, apaprently Master Thai is goin gto spite us :'(Rainbow Magicland on Thurs to complete the trip. I can't believe we're halfwy through already.
All in all, I'm having a fantastic time and this is shaping up to be one epic Live
LiveForTheLaunch
CF Legend
Still in Rome but just thought I'd say I had a really nice time! It was really nice to see everyone again and although I went to Ghosterforce last October, I got more of a chance to get to know some English CFers which really was a highlight for me. Can't wait to post my report in a few days.
MouseAT
Hyper Poster
It's been a fantastic week. I got home a few hours ago, and having dealt with the important boring stuff like food and laundry, I'm going to sleep the sleep of ages because I am absolutely f***ing knackered!
The whole trip has been amazing fun, from the culture and group meal in Verona to the awesome B&M epicness that is Raptor and Katun. Once again, to everyone who attended: THANK YOU! You're a wonderful bunch of people and I miss you all already.
I'll try to post a slightly more in-depth trip report (or at least summary) when I have a bit more time. I've also got a load of photos to upload, but as I took over 400 in total, it's going to take me a while to sort through them. Rest assured they'll be online at some point.
The whole trip has been amazing fun, from the culture and group meal in Verona to the awesome B&M epicness that is Raptor and Katun. Once again, to everyone who attended: THANK YOU! You're a wonderful bunch of people and I miss you all already.
I'll try to post a slightly more in-depth trip report (or at least summary) when I have a bit more time. I've also got a load of photos to upload, but as I took over 400 in total, it's going to take me a while to sort through them. Rest assured they'll be online at some point.
I didn't take many photos, the ones I did take I tweeted from the parks. Everybody else was taking photos so I didn't really see the need to take my own! For the benefit of those that didn't go, I'll leave the in-jokes, faff and events outside of the parks etc to everybody else, I'll concentrate purely on the rides and parks.
Before I begin the first of my four reports, I'd like to thank everybody once again for making the trip memorable and enjoyable. I've really missed you all today! Thanks for the whip-round and CD (which is awful btw <3). Although I did find it stressful in places, I get a kick out of people enjoying themselves so I feel all rosy inside. Actually, that could be the wine I'm currently consuming. Big applause for the drivers, too! I absolutely HATED doing the driving and I'd thoroughly recommend anybody visiting Italy to use public transport because the Italians are the worst drivers I've ever encountered and the road surfaces are incredibly dire.
Anyway, let's start at the beginning shall we?
GARDALAND
The Park
Really gorgeous entrance. There's a spacious plaza with a waterfall and you can see Lake Garda and the mountains in the background. It's a really gorgeous setting for a theme park. The park itself is massive. There aren't really any themed areas as such (with the exception of the wild west and kiddy areas), just heavily themed rides. There's a lot packed in to the park but it never feels cluttered or claustrophobic. All the shops and restaurants are impressively themed with appropriate façades; it feels like a proper theme parks that caters for everybody. It never felt crowded during our visit either, queues were about an hour long and they were shaded. It felt like Alton Towers as it had many pathways, a good variety of rides and professional (although grumpy at times) staff. It gets a thumbs up for me.
We were lucky enough to have a chat with Bruno Lancetti, the Project Manager at the park. He was responsible for Raptor. We met him at 2pm, after we had several rides. It was Bruno's last week at the park during our visit so by the time you read this, he's no longer there He made us feel very welcome and told us that he's been following CoasterForce since the early days and spoke to Dan Farrell on several occasions! Bruno also reserved a few tables for us in one of the restaurant where we enjoyed a meal!
Few interesting facts: B&M have a fourth B&M Wing Rider on order. Raptor isn't as intense as Gardaland would have liked, but it suits their market. Gardaland will possibly relocate their extended caterpillar coaster to make way for a new big project, most likely a launch coaster. They also have height restrictions, just like many other parks.
Bruno also gave us all a "Roller Coaster Enthusiast" express passes meaning we could skip the queues on four of their biggest coasters <3
Bruno, if you're reading this (and I know you are :wink), thanks once again for the warm welcome and hospitality. We had an awesome day out and we wish you all the best with your new job!
Anyway, that's enough about the park & perks, here are my personal thoughts of the rides we had a go on.
Raptor
We planned to do Sequoia Adventure first as it has an atrocious throughput but that area of the park didn't open until later in the day. As we had to pass Raptor, we couldn't resist a cheeky go so went on it first.
Queue time was about 30mins which was filled with plenty of references to Jordan's sister who features on the artwork (blonde, front row).
The area around Raptor is great. You can see most of the ride and it's theme and the track crosses all over the place so you can get a good view. It's rather dominating. It looks really slow through, especially through the final inversion. The station is very Merlinesque; it's a mix of concrete an steel with the odd splash of industrial colour and several large guns that point at the beast. It didn't feel very atmospheric, more clinical if anything.
Ed and I sat back row on the left (as you look at the train) and we both agreed that the coaster is forceless. I found it very boring on the back row. I couldn't see anything and it didn't thrill me. Everybody else seemed to enjoy it, but I couldn't feel it. It felt bland and unimaginative. I left the ride feeling somewhat disappointed. The first drop and water splashes were good though. They were well paced and it felt exciting where it hugged close to the pools of water. However, the rest of the group really enjoyed the whole ride it so maybe it's just the back row that's turdio?
We rode it again with the express passes later in the day and that time I did second row (again on the left) and it did slightly improve. It felt quicker and tighter.
Bruno gave us extra express passes which I distributed to the drivers and Ramses' winners (more about that in a bit), so on third ride I did left front row.
WOW! Front row is the only seat (out of the three I experienced) which would make me rank this coaster highly. On the front row, I could experience all the water splashes, foot-choppers and inversions first hand. Having that front seat view made all the difference. I loved Raptor after riding up front and felt quietly confident about LC12.
Bruno did say that the ride isn't as intense as some enthusiasts would like but it's deliberate because it's B&M's first Wing Rider attempt. LC12 is going to be more intense and geared towards the adult market...and Dollywood's is going to be ever better than LC12!
Sequoia Adventure
Urgh. I wasn't looking forward to this in the slightest. I really dislike hangtime. It's no wonder there aren't many of these horrible coaster types in the world. I liked the feeling of going through the 180° turn, but as soon as I was upside down I could feel my blood draining to the tip of my head and it felt unnerving and uncomfortable. I can't express how uneasy it made me feel.
I will never ride this type of coaster again. I've done it once to try it, but it's not even worth a +1 to my coaster count. It's **** turd. It's worse than a spinning wild mouse coaster, but only just.
Ortobruco Tour
It's an extended caterpillar coaster. Nothing special. It was a +1 coaster for me and nothing more. It did have a bit of vibrating bottomness to it but it's still lame. It didn't do anything. Positively, for a young child it would be a perfect coaster.
Magic Mountain
It's an Arrow looper (so I'm told). I greyed out after the first loop. It's very much one of those old fashioned coasters that would have thrilled people many years (decades?) ago, but coaster and thrills in general have moved on. This type of coaster is well past it. It's more suited to a country park than a top class park like Gardaland. Yes, it's "special", but it's really dull. And it's heavily sponsored by Fanta.
Space Vertigo
It's a drop tower! Tbh, we only rode it to kill time before meeting Bruno. The throughput is terrible. The dispatched time seemed to vary between fur and seven minutes per drop (Vadge timed it!). The queue line is dire, too. It's an unshaded cattle pen separated by hedges instead of fences so it's impossible for first time riders to see how far from the ride you are.
Eventually we went through the turnstile and into a space stationed theme internal queueline. It looked good, a bit like something out of Star Wars.
The drop itself was better than I expected. Not immensely forceful, but enough to get my heart pumping at an accelerated rate. I walked away feeling glad I rode it and all thoughts of the horrible queue dissolved from memory until I sat down to write this! It's certainly worth a ride but only if the queue is less than 15mins.
Flying Island
It's an observation tower. With beautiful views to be had, we had to do it!
Mammut
We used our express passes to ride this so we skipped the soul destroying 45min queue. It's a mine train coaster themed to a snowy mountain range. The theme is nicely executed. It's no Big Thunder Mountain, but it's a close second best imo. The ride experience itself is forgettable, but all the fake snow and the mammoth model make it worthwhile.
Jungle Rapids
We queued for about an hour for this rapids ride in a horrible cattle pen. The ride itself has a good length to it and it's moderately well themed, however, I don't think it had enough wet parts to make it "rapidy" enough. Not worth the queue and my least favourite raids ride of the trip. I'm not saying it's terrible but the others were much better.
Blue Tornado
This was our final (proper) cred. When I saw it was an SLC, I started to dread riding it. Thankfully our express pass helped us skip the long queue (although we still had to wait about 15mins).
I really enjoyed it! It wouldn't feature in my top 50 coaster list, but it would be number 1 in my SLC list if I ever made one. It's as rough as your mum's after ten shots of Malibu and a kebab, but it's a really tight coaster. The inversions are packed together, it's disorientating, the water splash is great, it's incredibly well paced and it has a superb, yet basic, ride layout. The first drop is great and it flies around ferociously. I felt violated after riding it. I loved it.
I Corsari
I was told it's like Pirate Adventure at Drayton Manor. I can see the similarities. It's a water boat ride full of animatronics enacting different scenes. I hate using the word "epic" but it's suitable in this instance. The queue line heads down hundreds of stairs to a dockyard themed station. A boat then sails through several different scenes, each one dramatically different than the last. It borderlines on the side of strangeness, but at the same time makes perfect sense. Very atmospheric and I'm glad I rode it.
Fuga da Atlantide
I sat this ride out because I had to send an important email. By the sounds of it, I didn't miss out on much. It does look gorgeous. I felt quite content sitting in the pillared observation area for 30mins taking in the scale of the theming.
Albero di Prezzemolo
It's a Mad House set inside a massive tree with orange balls. The ride starts off in an incredibly slow morning life (American: elevator) that lowers riders. During the lift section, a story is told (in Italian, obviously) and a face on the ceiling moves further away.
The next section is presumably set inside the parks mascot's house. Different objects around the room move, such as clock hands, book shelves and pots and pans. I'm quite sure it was all relevant but as I don't understand Italian, it was lost on me.
The Mad House part wasn't well done. The gondola and the walls seemed a little out of sync. Ok, so the effect worked but it didn't have the same impressive feeling like Hex at Alton Towers. Comparing it to Hex, I prefer Hex but I put that down to understanding the story more than the whole themed experience.
Gardaland is one of those parks that made me realise why I love visiting theme parks; variety and discovery. Loved it!
Before I begin the first of my four reports, I'd like to thank everybody once again for making the trip memorable and enjoyable. I've really missed you all today! Thanks for the whip-round and CD (which is awful btw <3). Although I did find it stressful in places, I get a kick out of people enjoying themselves so I feel all rosy inside. Actually, that could be the wine I'm currently consuming. Big applause for the drivers, too! I absolutely HATED doing the driving and I'd thoroughly recommend anybody visiting Italy to use public transport because the Italians are the worst drivers I've ever encountered and the road surfaces are incredibly dire.
Anyway, let's start at the beginning shall we?
GARDALAND
The Park
Really gorgeous entrance. There's a spacious plaza with a waterfall and you can see Lake Garda and the mountains in the background. It's a really gorgeous setting for a theme park. The park itself is massive. There aren't really any themed areas as such (with the exception of the wild west and kiddy areas), just heavily themed rides. There's a lot packed in to the park but it never feels cluttered or claustrophobic. All the shops and restaurants are impressively themed with appropriate façades; it feels like a proper theme parks that caters for everybody. It never felt crowded during our visit either, queues were about an hour long and they were shaded. It felt like Alton Towers as it had many pathways, a good variety of rides and professional (although grumpy at times) staff. It gets a thumbs up for me.
We were lucky enough to have a chat with Bruno Lancetti, the Project Manager at the park. He was responsible for Raptor. We met him at 2pm, after we had several rides. It was Bruno's last week at the park during our visit so by the time you read this, he's no longer there
He made us feel very welcome and told us that he's been following CoasterForce since the early days and spoke to Dan Farrell on several occasions! Bruno also reserved a few tables for us in one of the restaurant where we enjoyed a meal!
Few interesting facts: B&M have a fourth B&M Wing Rider on order. Raptor isn't as intense as Gardaland would have liked, but it suits their market. Gardaland will possibly relocate their extended caterpillar coaster to make way for a new big project, most likely a launch coaster. They also have height restrictions, just like many other parks.
Bruno also gave us all a "Roller Coaster Enthusiast" express passes meaning we could skip the queues on four of their biggest coasters <3
Bruno, if you're reading this (and I know you are :wink), thanks once again for the warm welcome and hospitality. We had an awesome day out and we wish you all the best with your new job!
Anyway, that's enough about the park & perks, here are my personal thoughts of the rides we had a go on.
Raptor
We planned to do Sequoia Adventure first as it has an atrocious throughput but that area of the park didn't open until later in the day. As we had to pass Raptor, we couldn't resist a cheeky go so went on it first.
Queue time was about 30mins which was filled with plenty of references to Jordan's sister who features on the artwork (blonde, front row).
The area around Raptor is great. You can see most of the ride and it's theme and the track crosses all over the place so you can get a good view. It's rather dominating. It looks really slow through, especially through the final inversion. The station is very Merlinesque; it's a mix of concrete an steel with the odd splash of industrial colour and several large guns that point at the beast. It didn't feel very atmospheric, more clinical if anything.
Ed and I sat back row on the left (as you look at the train) and we both agreed that the coaster is forceless. I found it very boring on the back row. I couldn't see anything and it didn't thrill me. Everybody else seemed to enjoy it, but I couldn't feel it. It felt bland and unimaginative. I left the ride feeling somewhat disappointed. The first drop and water splashes were good though. They were well paced and it felt exciting where it hugged close to the pools of water. However, the rest of the group really enjoyed the whole ride it so maybe it's just the back row that's turdio?
We rode it again with the express passes later in the day and that time I did second row (again on the left) and it did slightly improve. It felt quicker and tighter.
Bruno gave us extra express passes which I distributed to the drivers and Ramses' winners (more about that in a bit), so on third ride I did left front row.
WOW! Front row is the only seat (out of the three I experienced) which would make me rank this coaster highly. On the front row, I could experience all the water splashes, foot-choppers and inversions first hand. Having that front seat view made all the difference. I loved Raptor after riding up front and felt quietly confident about LC12.
Bruno did say that the ride isn't as intense as some enthusiasts would like but it's deliberate because it's B&M's first Wing Rider attempt. LC12 is going to be more intense and geared towards the adult market...and Dollywood's is going to be ever better than LC12!
Sequoia Adventure
Urgh. I wasn't looking forward to this in the slightest. I really dislike hangtime. It's no wonder there aren't many of these horrible coaster types in the world. I liked the feeling of going through the 180° turn, but as soon as I was upside down I could feel my blood draining to the tip of my head and it felt unnerving and uncomfortable. I can't express how uneasy it made me feel.
I will never ride this type of coaster again. I've done it once to try it, but it's not even worth a +1 to my coaster count. It's **** turd. It's worse than a spinning wild mouse coaster, but only just.
Ortobruco Tour
It's an extended caterpillar coaster. Nothing special. It was a +1 coaster for me and nothing more. It did have a bit of vibrating bottomness to it but it's still lame. It didn't do anything. Positively, for a young child it would be a perfect coaster.
Magic Mountain
It's an Arrow looper (so I'm told). I greyed out after the first loop. It's very much one of those old fashioned coasters that would have thrilled people many years (decades?) ago, but coaster and thrills in general have moved on. This type of coaster is well past it. It's more suited to a country park than a top class park like Gardaland. Yes, it's "special", but it's really dull. And it's heavily sponsored by Fanta.
Space Vertigo
It's a drop tower! Tbh, we only rode it to kill time before meeting Bruno. The throughput is terrible. The dispatched time seemed to vary between fur and seven minutes per drop (Vadge timed it!). The queue line is dire, too. It's an unshaded cattle pen separated by hedges instead of fences so it's impossible for first time riders to see how far from the ride you are.
Eventually we went through the turnstile and into a space stationed theme internal queueline. It looked good, a bit like something out of Star Wars.
The drop itself was better than I expected. Not immensely forceful, but enough to get my heart pumping at an accelerated rate. I walked away feeling glad I rode it and all thoughts of the horrible queue dissolved from memory until I sat down to write this! It's certainly worth a ride but only if the queue is less than 15mins.
Flying Island
It's an observation tower. With beautiful views to be had, we had to do it!
Mammut
We used our express passes to ride this so we skipped the soul destroying 45min queue. It's a mine train coaster themed to a snowy mountain range. The theme is nicely executed. It's no Big Thunder Mountain, but it's a close second best imo. The ride experience itself is forgettable, but all the fake snow and the mammoth model make it worthwhile.
Jungle Rapids
We queued for about an hour for this rapids ride in a horrible cattle pen. The ride itself has a good length to it and it's moderately well themed, however, I don't think it had enough wet parts to make it "rapidy" enough. Not worth the queue and my least favourite raids ride of the trip. I'm not saying it's terrible but the others were much better.
Blue Tornado
This was our final (proper) cred. When I saw it was an SLC, I started to dread riding it. Thankfully our express pass helped us skip the long queue (although we still had to wait about 15mins).
I really enjoyed it! It wouldn't feature in my top 50 coaster list, but it would be number 1 in my SLC list if I ever made one. It's as rough as your mum's after ten shots of Malibu and a kebab, but it's a really tight coaster. The inversions are packed together, it's disorientating, the water splash is great, it's incredibly well paced and it has a superb, yet basic, ride layout. The first drop is great and it flies around ferociously. I felt violated after riding it. I loved it.
I Corsari
I was told it's like Pirate Adventure at Drayton Manor. I can see the similarities. It's a water boat ride full of animatronics enacting different scenes. I hate using the word "epic" but it's suitable in this instance. The queue line heads down hundreds of stairs to a dockyard themed station. A boat then sails through several different scenes, each one dramatically different than the last. It borderlines on the side of strangeness, but at the same time makes perfect sense. Very atmospheric and I'm glad I rode it.
Fuga da Atlantide
I sat this ride out because I had to send an important email. By the sounds of it, I didn't miss out on much. It does look gorgeous. I felt quite content sitting in the pillared observation area for 30mins taking in the scale of the theming.
Albero di Prezzemolo
It's a Mad House set inside a massive tree with orange balls. The ride starts off in an incredibly slow morning life (American: elevator) that lowers riders. During the lift section, a story is told (in Italian, obviously) and a face on the ceiling moves further away.
The next section is presumably set inside the parks mascot's house. Different objects around the room move, such as clock hands, book shelves and pots and pans. I'm quite sure it was all relevant but as I don't understand Italian, it was lost on me.
The Mad House part wasn't well done. The gondola and the walls seemed a little out of sync. Ok, so the effect worked but it didn't have the same impressive feeling like Hex at Alton Towers. Comparing it to Hex, I prefer Hex but I put that down to understanding the story more than the whole themed experience.
Gardaland is one of those parks that made me realise why I love visiting theme parks; variety and discovery. Loved it!
WelcomeToOblivion
Giga Poster
JORDAN'S SISTER.Ian said:
This time I WILL do trip reports... Didn't take the "100 photos" Ollie told me to get. More like 30 a day. Because I was doing other things, like er... talking and socialising
I'll start with the first um 3 days?
Alexander James McQuire and I minced around Milan the first night, which was good. Then the next day we went to go into Milan but there was a train strike (obviously, it's sod's law). So we went to a play park and then went and sunbathed outside the station.
We arrived in Venice about 9:30pm, and met up with Tom, Ed and Gavin. They walked us to the clock tower Sue said she'd meet us at. The tower she was 1 hour and a half late meeting us at due to being Sue who forgot to change the time of her watch. We ate hope and dreams that night as everything was closed. When Sue and Owain arrived we headed to the room we were staying in.
Me and AJ were no longer tired, so we danced to Kate Bush in bed clothes, had a bed race to Owain and then had a boxing match on the beds. Which I broke. Woops..... LOL.
On Saturday we minced around Venice with everyone. It is a nice (but expensive) place. Gavin had found a theme park, Jesolandia, so we went there that night. Sans Gavin, who was ill. Spite much?
On Sunday we minced to the train station and went to Verona. Which we walked around and saw things like Juliet's boob.
Then we met up with Coasterforce at the hotel, and sat around till we went to see A. I. D. A.
After 4 hours of Italian Opera (Cultured
) and a woman farting and generally disrupting things (so rude), AJ, Ed, Gavin and I went for a wander around Verona, I mean, I needed to pee so we found an alley. After Kate Bushing with Dante, we headed back to the hotel to get a good night's sleep for our day ahead at Gardaland
LiveForTheLaunch
CF Legend
So, GARDALAND! I won't go into a massive amount of detail because let's face it, people probably only care about the photos.
Anyway, it was an early start to the day for me as usual, up two hours before we were scheduled to leave. After a lovely croissant and orange juice, me, Brad, and Rach got into Jerry and his wife's car an left to Gardaland! Soon enough, we were pulling up to the park.
There was a bit of faffing around the entrance, but it was funny none-the-less.
The sexy AJ <3
We walked towards the big ball tree hoping to hit the Screamin' Squirrel first, but since that area was closed, we went to Raptor instead.
On the way to Raptor, there was a water feature and poor Christine took a spill
But soon enough we were at Raptor!
Before riding, we had to make sure everyone fit since we had heard stories that the seats were really small.
Thankfully everyone fit, so we got in the queue which wasn’t terribly long.
I took the opportunity to get some photos of me with a few people.
Me with Ian from Coasterforce
Awful photo of me and Aidan.
Aidan and Brad
Only Gavin could get away with wearing a Spongebob shirt
Anyway, the review of RAPTOR
It was a good ride, and it was literally exactly what I was expecting, nothing more and nothing less. The ride was better near the front, so because I rode near the back on my first ride, I wasn’t overly thrilled. Nor was I thrilled about getting water in my face. However, the ride is still fun and it’s very flowy, best experienced near the front and in an outside seat. The first drop looks quite small but it actually packs a good punch, as does the first turn, especially in the back. Overall, it’s exactly what I expected- a fun ride, nothing too forceful, rerideable, and different. Like many have said, I have high hopes for LC12.
After Raptor we went to Sequoia Adventure and Magic Mountain, but not before planking on some cows.
Thankfully, Sequoia Adventure was a walkon.
My review of SEQUOIA ADVENTURE
I can understand all the hate for it, because it was extremely uncomfortable and really out of the ordinary, but I thought it was hilarious and a bit scary. Going over the edges is an odd sensation, and although I don’t dig hangtime, I found it amusing. It’s nothing I would want to reride over and over, but if I went back to the park I’m sure I’d go on it again. Nothing to write home about, but a unique experience for sure.
Then was Magic Mountain!
My review of MAGIC MOUNTAIN
It was a standard looper made better by the restraints. It was actually pretty intense, but wasn’t dissimilar to anything I had been on before, so it wasn’t memorable or anything. The only awful thing was the noise going up the lift, which I thought meant we were going to derail . Either way, it was enjoyable but would have been very bad if the restraints were the old ones.
After that, most of the group besides myself, Brad, Ian, and Tom rode the log flume. Poor Ian was the bag lady!
I’m glad we didn’t go on because we had the opportunity to spray our friends with cannons!
We did the extended Caterpillar thing after that, which I’m not gonna do a review on but it was still cute.
Once we got off, a lot of people got slushies, including Tom.
Instead of getting slushies, some of us decided to ride the Top Spin instead!
It was an alright Top Spin but I didn’t dig the cycle and it wasn’t as good as some others I have been on.
To kill some time before our lunch and talk with Bruno, some of the group rode the drop tower, which I got out of line for because I wanted a slushie like the fat pig that I am. It didn’t look that great anyway.
I was almost glad that I sat out because I got to marvel over these little guys.
After the drop tower, we went to wait for Bruno!
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/254729_10150738102235343_578800342_20040537_510605_n.jpg[img]
[img]http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/228992_10150738102465343_578800342_20040541_5636678_n.jpg
When he got there, he took us to take a group photo!
When we got into the restaurant, we found a lovely sign awaiting us, as well as some fab treats and juice. Many thanks to the park for giving us great perks and spending the time to talk to us!
Because the food was free, I obviously stuffed myself.
We went on the shooter after that, which was a way for Ian to determine who won the stuffed animals and extra gift passes. Sadly, I didn’t win. It was still a fun shooter though!
Then, we went on the Flying Island and admired the views. Actually I’m not sure if we went on the Flying Island before or after eating, but oh well.
After that we headed to Mammut, which had a massive queue, but thankfully Gardaland gave us gift passes to skip the queues on four of the major rides one time each.
My thoughts on MAMMUT.
I really enjoyed it! I know a lot of people weren’t blown away, but I typically really hate mine trains, so I was pleasantly surprised by this. The theming was good, the ride was fun, it lasted a while, and it was just enjoyable as a whole. Obviously not as good as Big Thunder Mountain, but miles better than the other mine trains I have been on!
Since Blue Tornado was right there, we rode that. Once again, we got to skip the queue which was awesome.
BLUE TORNADO
UGH, I have been on my share of SLCs and this wasn’t one of the better ones. Thunderhawk at Michigan’s Adventure proves that SLCs don’t have to be absolutely trash, so I don’t get why the majority are so bad. The one at Canada’s Wonderland is the worst I have ever done, but Blue Tornado is a close second, and the extra helix just extends the pain even longer.
The group got slushies as a reward for dealing with the pain of Blue Tornado
Then we headed to the rapids, which was the longest line of the day.
I didn’t get many pictures of the ride, but it was alright. We didn’t get wet at all, but I didn’t mind too much because I hate getting drenched on water rides. Not to worry though, because we headed to Fuda del Cred next, which was sure to get us a little bit wet.
The theming was really nice and although the ride was nothing to write home about, I enjoyed it.
I don’t have many pictures from the rest of the day, but I know we broke for dinner next which is when I got the cheeseburger of fab and Jordan showed off her table waiting skills. Richard led us to the epic Pirate ride after dinner, which was really well done and unexpected!
We did the madhouse afterwards with the whole group, and I don’t know what everyone was whinging about with the house not being lined up properly. Obviously the story and stuff wasn’t as well done as Hex, but it made me more dizzy than any other madhouse I have ever been on. While in line, Jordan pointed out the dog with the fanny-esque lips.
Then when we got off, someone noticed the PENIS BUSH.
We went back to the Pirate Ride quick which most people rerode, but I didn’t. Instead, I watched Brad decorate Aidan’s new Gardaland toy.
Our last thing of the day was a reride on Raptor. As I said previously, I got to ride closer to the front this time, which meant I enjoyed it much more. We had to wait around after our ride for a bit because those who got extra gift passes wanted to ride again but it gave us a nice chance to unwind before heading back to the hotel where some of us played plenty of **** and Bullsh*t. Then it was off to bed, looking forward to the next day at Movieland!
Anyway, it was an early start to the day for me as usual, up two hours before we were scheduled to leave. After a lovely croissant and orange juice, me, Brad, and Rach got into Jerry and his wife's car an left to Gardaland! Soon enough, we were pulling up to the park.
There was a bit of faffing around the entrance, but it was funny none-the-less.
The sexy AJ <3
We walked towards the big ball tree hoping to hit the Screamin' Squirrel first, but since that area was closed, we went to Raptor instead.
On the way to Raptor, there was a water feature and poor Christine took a spill
But soon enough we were at Raptor!
Before riding, we had to make sure everyone fit since we had heard stories that the seats were really small.
Thankfully everyone fit, so we got in the queue which wasn’t terribly long.
I took the opportunity to get some photos of me with a few people.
Me with Ian from Coasterforce
Awful photo of me and Aidan.
Aidan and Brad
Only Gavin could get away with wearing a Spongebob shirt
Anyway, the review of RAPTOR
It was a good ride, and it was literally exactly what I was expecting, nothing more and nothing less. The ride was better near the front, so because I rode near the back on my first ride, I wasn’t overly thrilled. Nor was I thrilled about getting water in my face. However, the ride is still fun and it’s very flowy, best experienced near the front and in an outside seat. The first drop looks quite small but it actually packs a good punch, as does the first turn, especially in the back. Overall, it’s exactly what I expected- a fun ride, nothing too forceful, rerideable, and different. Like many have said, I have high hopes for LC12.
After Raptor we went to Sequoia Adventure and Magic Mountain, but not before planking on some cows.
Thankfully, Sequoia Adventure was a walkon.
My review of SEQUOIA ADVENTURE
I can understand all the hate for it, because it was extremely uncomfortable and really out of the ordinary, but I thought it was hilarious and a bit scary. Going over the edges is an odd sensation, and although I don’t dig hangtime, I found it amusing. It’s nothing I would want to reride over and over, but if I went back to the park I’m sure I’d go on it again. Nothing to write home about, but a unique experience for sure.
Then was Magic Mountain!
My review of MAGIC MOUNTAIN
It was a standard looper made better by the restraints. It was actually pretty intense, but wasn’t dissimilar to anything I had been on before, so it wasn’t memorable or anything. The only awful thing was the noise going up the lift, which I thought meant we were going to derail
. Either way, it was enjoyable but would have been very bad if the restraints were the old ones.After that, most of the group besides myself, Brad, Ian, and Tom rode the log flume. Poor Ian was the bag lady!
I’m glad we didn’t go on because we had the opportunity to spray our friends with cannons!
We did the extended Caterpillar thing after that, which I’m not gonna do a review on but it was still cute.
Once we got off, a lot of people got slushies, including Tom.
Instead of getting slushies, some of us decided to ride the Top Spin instead!
It was an alright Top Spin but I didn’t dig the cycle and it wasn’t as good as some others I have been on.
To kill some time before our lunch and talk with Bruno, some of the group rode the drop tower, which I got out of line for because I wanted a slushie like the fat pig that I am. It didn’t look that great anyway.
I was almost glad that I sat out because I got to marvel over these little guys.
After the drop tower, we went to wait for Bruno!
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/254729_10150738102235343_578800342_20040537_510605_n.jpg[img]
[img]http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/228992_10150738102465343_578800342_20040541_5636678_n.jpg
When he got there, he took us to take a group photo!
When we got into the restaurant, we found a lovely sign awaiting us, as well as some fab treats and juice. Many thanks to the park for giving us great perks and spending the time to talk to us!
Because the food was free, I obviously stuffed myself.
We went on the shooter after that, which was a way for Ian to determine who won the stuffed animals and extra gift passes. Sadly, I didn’t win. It was still a fun shooter though!
Then, we went on the Flying Island and admired the views. Actually I’m not sure if we went on the Flying Island before or after eating, but oh well.
After that we headed to Mammut, which had a massive queue, but thankfully Gardaland gave us gift passes to skip the queues on four of the major rides one time each.
My thoughts on MAMMUT.
I really enjoyed it! I know a lot of people weren’t blown away, but I typically really hate mine trains, so I was pleasantly surprised by this. The theming was good, the ride was fun, it lasted a while, and it was just enjoyable as a whole. Obviously not as good as Big Thunder Mountain, but miles better than the other mine trains I have been on!
Since Blue Tornado was right there, we rode that. Once again, we got to skip the queue which was awesome.
BLUE TORNADO
UGH, I have been on my share of SLCs and this wasn’t one of the better ones. Thunderhawk at Michigan’s Adventure proves that SLCs don’t have to be absolutely trash, so I don’t get why the majority are so bad. The one at Canada’s Wonderland is the worst I have ever done, but Blue Tornado is a close second, and the extra helix just extends the pain even longer.
The group got slushies as a reward for dealing with the pain of Blue Tornado
Then we headed to the rapids, which was the longest line of the day.
I didn’t get many pictures of the ride, but it was alright. We didn’t get wet at all, but I didn’t mind too much because I hate getting drenched on water rides. Not to worry though, because we headed to Fuda del Cred next, which was sure to get us a little bit wet.
The theming was really nice and although the ride was nothing to write home about, I enjoyed it.
I don’t have many pictures from the rest of the day, but I know we broke for dinner next which is when I got the cheeseburger of fab and Jordan showed off her table waiting skills. Richard led us to the epic Pirate ride after dinner, which was really well done and unexpected!
We did the madhouse afterwards with the whole group, and I don’t know what everyone was whinging about with the house not being lined up properly. Obviously the story and stuff wasn’t as well done as Hex, but it made me more dizzy than any other madhouse I have ever been on. While in line, Jordan pointed out the dog with the fanny-esque lips.
Then when we got off, someone noticed the PENIS BUSH.
We went back to the Pirate Ride quick which most people rerode, but I didn’t. Instead, I watched Brad decorate Aidan’s new Gardaland toy.
Our last thing of the day was a reride on Raptor. As I said previously, I got to ride closer to the front this time, which meant I enjoyed it much more. We had to wait around after our ride for a bit because those who got extra gift passes wanted to ride again but it gave us a nice chance to unwind before heading back to the hotel where some of us played plenty of **** and Bullsh*t. Then it was off to bed, looking forward to the next day at Movieland!
"Liva Italia" - Trip Reports
Got home late last night so will do a report in the week.
Thanks Ian for faultless planning everything went so smooth, yes I even found love for the pope mobil that I drove lol.
Thanks everyone for making the trip fun and enjoyable. It was great seeing everyone again.
Got home late last night so will do a report in the week.
Thanks Ian for faultless planning everything went so smooth, yes I even found love for the pope mobil that I drove lol.
Thanks everyone for making the trip fun and enjoyable. It was great seeing everyone again.