We've Moved!

Hello! We've moved to WordPress! Check us out at themeparksandtravels.com!

The Top Ten Theme Parks in America! (That I've Been To) Early 2015 edition!

#10-Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey

Image-Wikimedia

Six Flags Great Adventure is by far the best Six Flags park that I've been to! It has some great coasters such as El Toro, the airtime filled INTAMIN woodie as seen above, and Nitro, an amazing B&M hypercoaster. They are also home to Kingda Ka (the giant green roller coaster in the background), the world's tallest roller coaster (until Skyplex comes in 2017) and Zumanjaro, the world's tallest drop tower (on the front of Kingda Ka, it isn't in this picture). It's a great park, but the theming isn't as good as other parks! I strongly recommend visiting this park!

#9-Universal Studios Orlando

Image-MSNBC

Universal Studios Orlando is home to rides from The Simpsons, Despicable Me, Harry Potter, and so much more! This is one of my favorite parks! It provides thrills through what has become a decent amount of thrill rides, but I like some other parks just a little bit more. If you are in Orlando, you have to go to Universal!

#8-Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is home to some amazing B&Ms! The one in the video (Scroll Down for Subscription Link) above is The Griffon, their B&M Dive Machine! The park also has Apollo's Chariot, an awesome B&M hypercoaster, and Verbolten, not a B&M, but a great Zierer ride for the whole family with the only vertical drop on a roller coaster in the United States. This park is a hybrid on theming and thrills, which is what I love in a park. It has some of the best theme park landscaping around!

#7-Busch Gardens Tampa

Image-Wikimedia

Busch Gardens loves B&Ms! This park is home to Sheikra, Kumba, and Montu, three amazing and powerful B&Ms! On top of that, they have some INTAMIN glory in the Flying Drop tower Falcon's Fury, and the ride for everyone to enjoy, Cheetah Hunt! This park has a great Safari, some great coasters, and some good landscaping. The theming is relatively good, like its sister park in Williamsburg. Definitely head over to this park from next time you are in Florida!

#6-Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia

Kings Dominion gets points for being my home park! I love I-305 and Volcano, Oh the INTAMIN glory of this park! You can't forget a ride on Dominator, the B&M floorless coaster, and of course the classic, Premier Rides built, Flight of Fear. Kings Dominion is not the best park by any means, but it is a great local park, it definitely is the best in the region!

#5-EPCOT at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida

EPCOT, or the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow was Walt Disney's biggest dream. Unfortunately, it was nothing like he planned it to be. He planned it as the sprawling city of the future, with what was actually built as its centerpiece. EPCOT is a permanent world's fair, not the city of tomorrow. Fortunately for us, EPCOT has some great thrill rides, like Test Track, and some awesome family rides like SOARIN! This park has beautiful theming throughout, and delicious food, especially in the world showcase!

#4-Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida

The Magic Kingdom is the most visited theme park on earth for a reason. It is one of the most well themed parks on Earth, with a wide array of classic and modern attractions such as Space Mountain, the Jungle Cruise, It's a Small World, the Haunted Mansion, The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and countless others! The Magic Kingdom is great for every age, from 1 to 100, the headline park of Walt Disney World is fantastic!

#3-Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida

Disney's Hollywood Studios is the last Disney park on the list, but I want to give an honorable mention to the Animal Kingdom, it needs some more rides to be great. Hollywood Studios is a park in transition, there are so many rides closed in this park. I can't wait to see what the transition will bring to this park. Even with the closures, this is my favorite Disney park, because it has theming and thrills! From The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, the best drop tower that I've been on, to Rock n' Roller Coaster, which has some awesome Aerosmith music, to Toy Story Midway Mania, the fun family shooter, Hollywood Studios is jam packed with some of the best rides in the country! This park is worth your time while you are in Orlando!

#2-Islands of Adventure at the Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida

Image-Universal Orlando Resort

I love Islands of Adventure, they have a bit of everything! It is the best place to find thrills and theming combined together! From the Marvel Universe, to Jurassic Park, and Harry Potter, this park has it all! It has some great dark rides like Spiderman and The Forbidden Journey, it has the family friendly Dr. Seuss and Toon Lagoon areas of the park, and three amazing B&M coasters (Dragon Challenge is two roller coasters)! This is by far the best mix of theming and amazing thrills that I know!

#1-Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio

Image-Cedar Point

The Thrill Capital of the world is home to Millennium Force, the number one roller coaster on earth, Maverick, the insane INTAMIN Blitz, Gatekeeper, an awesome B&M WingRider, and so many more insane coasters! This park pushes the boundaries of roller coasters, they were the ones who started the Coaster Wars! It may not have too much theming, but this is by far my favorite park because of the insane thrills of this glorious park!

Thank you for reading this blog! Be sure to check us out on these cool sites and be sure to follow and keep reading the blog!

Any images without a source are our own images, feel free to use them, but give us credit if you do!

Like us on Facebook for exclusive content and to stay up to date on articles- Click Here!

Follow us on Twitter for news and to stay up to date on articles- Click Here

Follow us on Google Plus for updates when we make a new article- Click Here!

Subscribe on YouTube for awesome videos of roller coasters and more- Click Here!

Theme Parks and Travel Polls March 2015-What is your favorite Cedar Fair park?

Last month's poll asked what your favorite Six Flags Park is, and the overwhelming winner with a 3-0 win was Six Flags Great Adventure, the only park that got any votes at all! We did that poll for half a month, so now we want to know what your favorite Cedar Fair park is! Go vote in the upper right corner of the site! Vote now before it's too late! Poll closes on April 1st at 11:59pm!

Image-Wikimedia

Here are the choices:
Kings Dominion-Virginia's roller coaster park!
Cedar Point-The "Thrill capital of the world!"
Carowinds-FURY 325's opening will make a mark on this park!
Kings Island-The Beast and The Banshee
California's Great America-Pretty much just Gold Striker!
Canada's Wonderland-The testing ground for Cedar Fair!
Dorney Park-Neglected, but not too bad!
Valleyfair-Neglected
Michigan's Adventure-Yet another neglected park!
Worlds of Fun-I don't know very much about this park!
Knott's Berry Farm-Voyage to the Iron Reef sounds exciting!

Thank you for reading this blog! Be sure to check us out on these cool sites and be sure to follow and keep reading the blog!

Any images without a source are our own images, feel free to use them, but give us credit if you do!

Like us on Facebook for exclusive content- Click Here!

Follow us on Twitter for brief news and to stay up to date- Click Here

Follow us on Google Plus for updates when we make a new article- Click Here!

Subscribe on YouTube for awesome videos of roller coasters and more- Click Here!

Why aren't there roller coasters on cruise ships?

Hello TP&T readers! Sorry for the long delay between our posts in the recent week, we've had a schedule change and have been extremely busy, but we are back with more articles! Today, we have an article discussing whether or not we will see a cruise ship with a roller coaster!

Cruise ships are getting more and more high-tech thrill rides and awesome amusement rides! There's looping waterslides (Norwegian Breakaway and Getaway), bumper cars (Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas), carousels (Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas), ropes courses (Norwegian Breakaway and Getaway are examples), rock-climbing (an example is the Norwegian Epic), observation decks (Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas), and so many more, but what about roller coasters?

Image-Source

To this date, we haven't seen a roller coaster on a cruise ship. There are some who have thought of the idea, but the cruise companies haven't put it into place. When you look at all of the rides that are already on cruise ships, it's shocking that the roller coaster isn't on the list. The waterslides even go upside down on some cruise ships now, yet there's not even a kiddie coaster.

Image-CruiseWithAGroup

Some will argue that cruise ships are too small to fit a roller coaster, but this is just not true. Look at how huge the Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas are, they could easily fit a coaster, and it wouldn't have to be a kiddie coaster. They could probably fit in at least a Wild Mouse if not an El Loco (pictured below). Other concerns would be that the roller coasters are "too loud." The solution to this problem is either take measures to reduce noise throughout the ship, which generally are quiet, so you can't hear much besides what's in your room, or possibly limit the operating hours. If you want people to be able to sleep, only operate the roller coaster during times such as 10am-10pm, which leaves people  plenty of time to get some rest.

Image-Wikimedia

Other concerns may include the ship "shaking" as the roller coaster goes by, but the ships are already built to withstand shaking. An even simpler solution is to use smaller cars like Euro-Fighter cars, El Loco cars, or take extra steps in the engineering of the ship to make it more stable. Also, you could make it even out with a dueling coaster! The forces on both sides of the ship should evenly keep the ship stable in its path.

Why not put a roller coaster on a cruise ship, it requires a minimal amount of energy, only a few employees, it shouldn't disrupt passengers too much, and it would be an AWESOME ride! The Simpsons did it, so why not in real life? So Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and all the other cruise companies, put a coaster on a cruise ship, and make cruises even better then they already are!

Thank you for reading this blog post! Be sure to check us out on these cool sites and be sure to follow and keep reading the blog!

Any images without a source are our own images, feel free to use them, but give us credit if you do!

Like us on Facebook for exclusive content- Click Here!

Follow us on Twitter for brief news and to stay up to date- Click Here

Follow us on Google Plus for updates when we make a new article- Click Here!

Subscribe on YouTube for awesome videos of roller coasters and more- Click Here!

The 5 Best Gift Shops in Walt Disney World!

That's right, the five best gift shops! This article is for those of you who crave awesome Disney merchandise and other cool stuff. The five shops on the list either have great variety or completely unique merchandise! There are so many great gift shops at Walt Disney World that it's impossible to include them all, so I have compiled a list of some of the best. I have an honorable mention for The Art of Disney in EPCOT and everything in the World Showcase, they are the best shops! If you have a gift shop you like a lot, tell us in the comments or tell us on Social Media, we love to hear your opinion!

#5-Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in The Magic Kingdom isn't big, but they stick to a fun holiday theme! We love the ornaments that are sold in that store! It's simply a fun, themed store.

#4-Main Street Emporium is great when you're trying to find awesome Disney clothes, and nearly every piece of merchandise, in the Magic Kingdom. Although, some other stores are better in our opinion, but not in the Magic Kingdom!

Image-Disney

#3-Mitsukoshi Department Store in EPCOT is our favorite in the world showcase. It's HUGE, it's definitely a department store! It has everything from Japanese foods to Pokemon. You can find everything Japanese in this store!

Image-Disney-Pal

#2-The Contemporary Hotel Gift Shops are a couple of gift shops at one end of the contemporary. You can find a lot of various Disney items in these stores. The two stores offer a large selection of objects that make them some of the best stores. I recommend stopping here on your way out of the Magic Kingdom!

Image-YouTube

#1-Mouse Gear is so large that it needs a map. It's located right in the center of EPCOT and has everything you can think of related to Disney! It's the largest gift shop that we know of at Walt Disney World. This is an urgent stop on any visit to EPCOT for us!

Thank you for reading this blog post! Be sure to check us out on these cool sites and be sure to follow and keep reading the blog!

Any images without a source are our own images, feel free to use them, but give us credit if you do!

Like us on Facebook for exclusive content- Click Here!

Follow us on Twitter for brief news and to stay up to date- Click Here

Follow us on Google Plus for updates when we make a new article- Click Here!

Subscribe on YouTube for awesome videos of roller coasters and more- Click Here!

3 Reasons that it is a terrible idea to "Empty the Tanks" at Sea World!

Before you read this article, we would like to state that we are in no way associated with Sea World, and we are writing this article simply to express our opinion. Also, if you have any criticism of this article, please let us know in a constructive and positive way! Thank you!

Sea World Parks have been a major topic ever since the movie Blackfish came out. Many activists have wanted to "Empty the Tanks" for the dolphins and orcas, but their are several flaws in their plans. Here are some of the reasons why emptying the tanks is a terrible idea.

Image-Wikimedia

#1-Where will the Orcas go? The answer is impossible to determine. It's unlikely that they will go to other aquariums because the orcas would remain in captivity and be no better off than they were at Sea World.  If they go into the wild, they will most likely have a hard time surviving out of captivity, and they may even die. If Sea World actually empties the tanks, the Orca's fate will most likely get worse.

Image-YouTube

#2-What will happen to the thousands of employees at Sea World? As two of the main attractions of Sea World, dolphins and orcas have full stadium shows. If Sea World closes these attractions, the jobs of thousands would be in danger. Budget cuts all across Sea World parks have already unfortunately cost the jobs of several, and if these key attractions close, more layoffs will happen.

Image-Flickr

#3-If Sea World's animals are released, what about the hundreds of aquariums with similar dolphin and whale programs? There are hundreds of aquariums in the United States alone with dolphins and whales in them. If you empty the tanks at Sea World, it sets a precedent to empty the tanks at other sea life attractions that have them in captivity and shows too. If those dolphins and whales are forced to be released, what happens to them? It's dangerous to the animals to release them from captivity to the wild. Sea World Parks are the best environment for these animals to stay in.

Thank you for reading this blog post! Be sure to check us out on these cool sites and be sure to follow and keep reading the blog!

Like us on Facebook for exclusive content- Click Here!

Follow us on Twitter for brief news and to stay up to date- Click Here

Subscribe on YouTube for awesome videos of roller coasters and more- Click Here!

Two New YouTube Videos!

Hey Everybody! Today we have two new YouTube videos officially posted to our channel! Check out the NEW Tower of Terror POV and the NEW Test Track POV! More Disney World POVs will be online soon!

Thank you for reading this blog post! Be sure to check us out on these cool sites and be sure to follow and keep reading the blog!

Like us on Facebook for exclusive content- Click Here!

Follow us on Twitter for brief news and to stay up to date- Click Here

Subscribe on YouTube for awesome videos of roller coasters and more- Click Here!

Knoebels Impulse Construction Update!

Knoebels has made a lot of progress already in the construction of their new Zierer ride, Impulse! They have posted to their twitter account (@KozmoKG) several picture updates, so here's a recap of the updates!

First, here's a video of what the ride will look like:

The ride will be very similar to Gertlauer's Euro-Fighter roller coasters. It will be the first steel coaster at Knoebels!

Now for the construction photos!

On the third of February, they started installing supports!

On the 6th they put in the first track segment!

Here it is today, the 17th of February!

Impulse is going up so fast that it's unbelievable! We can't wait until this awesome steel coaster opens this summer!

Thank you for reading this blog post! Be sure to check us out on these cool sites and be sure to follow and keep reading the blog!

Like us on Facebook for exclusive content- Click Here!

Follow us on Twitter for brief news and to stay up to date- Click Here

Subscribe on YouTube for awesome videos of roller coasters and more- Click Here!

Theme Parks and Travel Polls-Which is your favorite Six Flags Park!

Hello everyone! We have for you a survey! Each month we will create a new Theme Park or Travel Poll and ask you a question! This month our poll is...

Which Six Flags Park is your favorite?

At the end of the month we will share with you the results! Be sure to vote by February 28th at 11:59 PM!

Thank you for reading this blog post! Be sure to check us out on these cool sites and be sure to follow and keep reading the blog!

Like us on Facebook for exclusive content- Click Here!

Follow us on Twitter for brief news and to stay up to date- Click Here

Subscribe on YouTube for awesome videos of roller coasters and more- Click Here!

I-Drive Orlando UPDATE!

We have exciting news from Orlando to share with you today! The record-breaking roller coaster "Skyscraper" at the SkyPlex Orlando will have another record breaking counterpart, Skyfall! Skyfall will be the largest drop tower on the planet! It will break the Zumanjaro Drop of Doom record! Skyfall will be a 450 foot tall INTAMIN drop tower on the side of the US Thrills Skyscraper tower! I don't know about everyone else, but I hope it's a Falcon's Fury Style face down drop tower! There is even more I-Drive Orlando news for you today...

Image-Theme Park Review

In other SkyPlex news, we have even more EXCITING news for the Skyscraper coaster! It will be designed by Ride Centerline and the great designers Alan Schlike and Joe Draves. They have designed the great RMC coasters we know today! Also, INTAMIN will manufacture the Skyscraper roller coaster! This project just keeps getting better and better! We can't wait until they announce more information soon! I wish it were 2017!


The last I-Drive update for us today is exciting Orlando Eye news! They will announce the Opening date this Tuesday! Tickets are already on sale, and we are so excited for it to come to Orlando!

Thank you for reading this blog post! Be sure to check us out on these cool sites and be sure to follow and keep reading the blog!

Like us on Facebook for exclusive content- Click Here!

Follow us on Twitter for brief news and to stay up to date- Click Here

Subscribe on YouTube for awesome videos of roller coasters and more- Click Here!

A Very Disney Christmas Part #2-The Magic Kingdom!

Hello Everyone! Welcome to park (no pun intended) #2 of A Very Disney Christmas! After an afternoon at Hollywood Studios, we decided to spend the day at the Magic Kingdom! We have brought you an update full of great pictures, writing, and even a video! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to edit all of our videos, so they will show up later, but we have one! So let's get started with this article!

The Grand Floridian Hotel looks great in the morning sunshine!

Good Morning Magic Kingdom! Thousands of tourists are ready to go down your beautiful Main Street!

Main Street was decorated for Christmas! As always, the decorations were fantastic!

Ooh! Artsy train station!

The architecture on the Main Street Buildings is exquisite. The Imagineers are careful and pay attention to each and every detail.

I see the Cinderella castle (and a pre-Christmas crowd)!

I wonder what that wire was for?  It went down to Tomorrowland Terrace.

Mickey and Minnie have some holiday spirit!

Even the Tomorrowland sign is covered in detail!

The construction had begun at the central hub.

The world of the future as envisioned in the past.

First up was Space Ranger Spin! I love this Toy Story Themed shooter! This is a must do for us, and families. It rarely ever has lines if you go early!

Next was Space Mountain. I didn't take a picture, but I got one of my last Disney World credits (by riding the second side)! Then came the TTA PeopleMover!

You can see the construction up there on the PeopleMover.

Next we swung around the Tomorrowland Speedway!

I see Space Mountain and the now closed arcade! Next we would venture inside Space Mountain!

More of the Hub Construction from December!

Looking at the castle from the future!

A closeup of the castle! What's that wire doing there?

Here's a great shot of a classic coaster!

From a little bit closer!

The Storybook Circus section of New Fantasyland looks fantastic!

Barnstormer was my last Disney World coaster credit!

Another view of this beautiful section of the park!

The castle was poking out through the trees!

Dumbo! This ride has an excessively long Looking queue, but it was only a five minute wait.

It's Dwarf Mountain, the newest mountain in the Disney collection!

I wonder where all the crowds are? It's three days before Christmas and nobody was at Dumbo!

Oh! That's where they are!

75 minutes! It's a good thing we had a fastpass (to be used later in the day)!

The back of the castle!

Peter Pan's flight suddenly got a long line!

But, It's a Small World didn't! By the time we got off, the lines had shifted between the rides!

Poor Rock, it must of hurt him to have fallen on Fred!

Haunted Mansion is a classic, but someone in our group hates it!

Splash Mountain! We wouldn't do this until later when we had a FastPass!

A reborn Disney Classic!

The fifty minutes was closer to 35 minutes!

Guess-Is it the Jungle or the Jungle Cruise?

If you guessed either of those, you are wrong! It was actually the Jingle Cruise full of fun Christmas puns!

Ursus H. Bear founded the greatest show on Earth, the Country Bear Jamboree!

A fun little show with the best bears around!

Look, it's the Haunted Mansion!

The Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe was extra busy since it was the 21st of December! 

Side view of the Cinderella Castle, with Space Mountain poking out!

After a quick lunch at Tomorrowland Terrace, as it was the least crowded restaurant, we waited thirty minutes for Asto-Orbiter!

Astro Orbiter offers a nice view of the area, but the capacity is miserable!

 After riding Space Mountain again, we went back over to Frontierland to ride Splash Mountain! I love Splash Mountain. The drop was simply awesome! Next, we headed back to our room at the Polynesian Village Resort, took a break, and had some pizza for dinner! We came back to the Magic Kingdom late and rode Laugh Floor, hopped on the PeopleMover, and managed to miss most of the fireworks. Then we rode Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for the first time. Here's a nighttime POV:

On our way out, I snapped this with a GoPro! It looks like Cinderella Castle is a thousand feet tall!

After a long day of riding great rides, dodging selfie sticks, and navigating through tourists, we went back to the hotel and got some sleep before another long day at three parks!

Thank you for reading this blog post! Be sure to check us out on these cool sites and be sure to follow and keep reading the blog!

Like us on Facebook for exclusive content- Click Here!

Follow us on Twitter for brief news and to stay up to date- Click Here

Subscribe on YouTube for awesome videos of roller coasters and more- Click Here!