Non-Disney Theme Parks
Topic: HRP: Led Zep Review from Soft Opening

#	Author	Message
1	dshyates Wed 4/16/2008 8:36a	The guys from Rex and the Beast.com bought seats on the first ride on the new Led Zep coaster. They wrote a great review, and answered my question on how are they going to theme a coaster around Led Zeppelin? I figured it was going to have a few wall hangings, music in the queue, and if we are lucky a flat screen or two. Boy was I wrong, this beauty has a full on multi-faceted RnR style preshow. Here is what they said: "Now, the Ride. As you walk up to Led Zeppelin, you notice the great themeing that is in place. The load area is covered by a huge silver zeppelin and various statues surround the area. There is a signature double neck guitar that has music flowing from it (and water too) in front that is interactive...when you take certain actions around it Zeppelin tunes come from it. As you walk through the queue, you have big screen tvs playing Zeppelin concert clips and great posters and other wall hangings (including a reproduction of the cover of The Song Remains the Same). Ultimately, when you get to the pre-load area, there is video playing of a pseudo-Wayne's World (without Myers or Carvey) and then a funny explanation of the safety systems comes on (at one point the characters scratch themselves and take other funny actions while the explanation is running). Then you enter a darkened room where short video interviews with the members of Led Zeppelin play before it breaks into a concert/video clip of "Whole Lotta Love" (the video includes a shot of Robert Plant on stage showing a little of where the title comes from). Then, in the middle of the playing of that..the doors open to the ride vehicles..." Well, the "Sound Check", which is their wording for soft openings for the park started yesterday. Guys, it looks like we got a New Kid on the ...nah, I won't go there. Here is a link to the entire article. http://tinyurl.com/64v887 Here are some images they took from around the park. http://tinyurl.com/5mhfy4 I am interested to read a review of the "Nights in White Satin: The Trip" dark ride. This park looks great. It is definitely on my must see list for this summer. Start the day at the AMPed coffee bar for a shot or 3 of espresso and a pastry to get ya going. Ride all day. Catch a band like George Clinton, Kid Rock, or Sister Hazel at the Amphitheater. Then head on over to The Whammy Bar, which is a full on liquor/ live music bar. Have a beverage, listen to a tune or 2, then off to the coasters again. I believe I can suffer through it.
2	davewasbaloo Wed 4/16/2008 8:58a	Man, I am considering a trip to the HRP. I wonder about flying into Washington DC - enjoying the city, a week in Williamrburg, down to HRP and then maybe WDW (how much driving would this be?) I love the look and sound of this place.
3	dshyates Wed 4/16/2008 9:21a	I love Williamsburg, Busch Gardens is tied with IOA as my favorite non-Disney theme park. Dave, I have been listening to you dis WDW and now your thinking about including it? Here is what I think you should do. In Williamsburg there is a Great Wolf Lodge. It is very Wilderness Lodge like. It has an indoor waterpark, giant arcade, spa, and this cool game called MagiQuest (the kids love it). There is also a Marriott Colonial Estate there. Hit Busch Gardens. Be sure to ride The Curse of DarKastle. It is the first ride to use the Spiderman tech after Uni's 5 year lock ran out. Myrtle Beach: Stay at the Marriott Vacation Club property. And hit HRP. Then on the Universal Resort Orlando. Stay on prop, do both parks and CityWalk and compare to your recent Disney experiences. Then hit WDW if your not parked out.
4	davewasbaloo Wed 4/16/2008 9:31a	Well I do wonder if our bad experience was a one off as everyone treats me as I am crazy. If we do go for this trip we are likely to do one week MVCI in Williamsburg, then a couple of days at Myrtle Beach - my last tastes of this part of the country did not agree with me.
5	dshyates Wed 4/16/2008 10:30a	Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce says, "Myrtle Beach is unapologetically American". If you really want a good dose of the real America, as SF isn't very indicative of where I live, skip FL and throw in a trip to Dollywood and Great Smokey Mountain NP. It is also on my top 5 favorite non-Disney theme parks. The food is the best of any theme park short of Epcot. Its not in any way gourmet, think more "comfort food". But it is finger lickin' good. Like a 2" thick Funnel Cake. They have a theme coaster, Mystery Mine, that easily competes with Everest. The themeing isn't quite as strong, but the ride system rocks. Plus Gatlinburg would blow your mind. Seriously. Blue Collar Comedy Tour come to life. Git-r-Done. And the Smokeys are stunning in their own way. Williamsburg on the other hand is very nice. Be sure to check out Colonial Williamsburg. The all access pass is pricey $36.00 but includes very well done films and tours.
6	davewasbaloo Wed 4/16/2008 10:34a	Well dshyates, the reason I thought of Florida is cheap direct flights back to the UK. And $36 is pretty good. Entrance to the Tower of London will run about $60, and there are no tours or films included in that.
7	dshyates Wed 4/16/2008 10:43a	"Well dshyates, the reason I thought of Florida is cheap direct flights back to the UK" I hear they have a few good theme parks down there. Have you ever been to Williamsburg before? Myrtle Beach?
8	dshyates Wed 4/16/2008 10:52a	By the way, its about an 8 hr/500 mile drive from Myrtle Beach to Otown. Very easy, but a full days drive.
9	FerretAfros Wed 4/16/2008 10:54a	"(how much driving would this be?)" It would probably be quite a bit of driving. When we lived in North Carolina, it took around 6 hours (with a couple rest breaks thrown in) to get to DC, but probably an hour to an hour and a half of that was driving east to get to the right interstate. I believe Williamsburg is about 60-90 minutes from DC (it's in Richmond, right?). Busch Gardens is only about 15 minutes from there, from what I recall. From Richmond to Myrtle Beach would probably be about 5-6 hours, but I'm not entirely sure. They were both about 5-6 hours from where I lived, but in opposite directions, and quite a bit east of us. From us to WDW was around 10-11 hours, so I would expect at least 8 from Myrtle to Orlando. It sounds like the whole trip from DC to Orlando would probably be around 15 hours, but it would be pretty easy to split it up(especially if you're stopping in different places along the way). It's a longer distance than from LA to San Fransisco, and there's not a direct route (but there are tons of different ways to get anywhere on the east coast), so it would be quite an undertaking. I also can't sing the praises of DC, Williamsburg, or Busch Gardens enough. Most of what's in DC is free, and really well done. There may be a couple museums that you need to get tickets for (think of it like FP) in advance, but they're still free (do the Native American and Holocaust museums still do this?). It's a great experience, and there's always neat stuff to see, but I don't know how interesting it would be to non-Americans (heck, it might be more interesting to see the perspective on things). Williamsburg is very well done, and really unlike any other place I've ever been. The scope of the place is incredible, and it's all very thoughtfully recreated. Busch Gardens is a really nice park, but it's not quite in the same league as the Disney parks. That said, I think I would take BGW over any non-Disney park any day. It's sort of hidden in the woods, and has a very natual feeling to it, along with some great coasters (my last visit was before Dar Kastle). I would say that there's easily enough to fill 6-10 days doing these things alone, especially if you want to take your time. If you really rush things, you could probably do it in 4-5, but you would definately feel like you were missing out on a bunch of stuff (especially in DC).
10	dshyates Wed 4/16/2008 11:22a	Here are some more photos of the park. They show the interactive double neck fountain. When you strum the water strings it plays led zep. http://tinyurl.com/3zr2mo They are also planning a Hard Rock Hotel and a CityWalk like shopping and dining district.

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