First off, a lot has changed for me since the last time I posted in September 2014. To begin with, I've changed my major after the Fall 2014 semester: instead of Industrial Engineering, I'm doing Digital Media. Fast forward to January 2018, and I am now entering my last semester at UCF. I am currently scheduled to graduate this May. Note: just because I changed majors doesn't mean I'm not doing theme parks. In fact, I feel that Digital Media will help me design parks better (by computer, you know). That Fall 2014 semester, I had to deal with Engineering Statics. It was then I came to a realization; is this really what I want to do? I enjoyed the professor, but I did not enjoy the class. I had to withdraw it before the deadline because I was struggling. It was then that I entered a crossroads; I thought "There has to be another way to design a theme park than this." It was then I decided to give Digital Media a chance for Spring 2015; and here I am now with 4 Dean's Lists awarded to me (and hopefully another one to come). I am enjoying this major and am applying for a Masters!
I've also recently parted with a gift that I've had for 7 years; a few weeks ago marked the end of my marching band career due to my impending graduation. From entering my high school in July 2011 to playing at the Peach Bowl in college and marching at Magic Kingdom, it was quite the ride! I would be remiss if I didn't say I'm really going to miss this whole experience. It helped me grow and expand my range of teamwork. But I know it will always be a part of me; a part that can't just be forgotten. Heck, I even enjoyed a football game for the first time ever when I was a part of the UCF Marching Knights! I will never let go of what being in marching band gave me, whether my time wearing a uniform is over or not (and yes, I will still play alto beyond my marching years in case you're wondering).
Now onto more positive things: I have been to many theme parks since my last post in September! I suppose I will list it by year:
2015:
I revisited Carowinds to ride Fury 325 (and it is one of my all-time favorite coasters!!). I also revisited SeaWorld Orlando for the first time since 2009, the year Manta opened; geez, it's been that long ago. I started going there a lot.
2016:
The next summer, in June, I rode Mako for my first ever soft opening experience and it immediately went right up there with Manta and SheiKra as my favorite coasters in the state. I also rode Skull Island at Islands of Adventure the day that it first soft opened; I was in line for One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish when I read a tweet from Attractions Magazine (I believe) that Skull Island soft opened. I immediately dashed over there as they were only letting a select amount of riders in. I really enjoyed Skull Island!
I also started revisiting Busch Gardens Tampa later that month. Before then, I hadn't visited the park since December 2012 when I was still living in Pembroke Pines. So I rode Falcon's Fury for the first time and I was immediately blown away with the mechanisms of the drop tower; the seats tilting straight down was jaw-dropping, as was the drop that came. It earned a spot in the all-time greats (without question the best drop tower I've been on). I also rode the new Cobra's Curse coaster (which was also the day it opened; June 17th), and it was a very fun ride as well!
That summer, I took a trip up north and visited Busch Gardens Williamsburg for the first time. I'll go over what I think the park is, but I'll say this: it is as great as everyone claims. I do admit I am in love with Universal, so I'm biased, but Busch Gardens Williamsburg is definitely a park I want to do again!!
I also revisited Cedar Point for the first time since 2012, so I rode Gatekeeper for the first time, making it the third B&M Wing Coaster I've ridden (the others being Flug der Damonen at Heide Park and Wild Eagle at Dollywood). Gatekeeper was an awesome coaster, but the presence of certain coasters (I'm looking at Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, and Maverick) makes the ride below the quality I expect from Cedar Point. It was still a great coaster however! I also rode the brand new Dive Machine, Valravn! While I wouldn't say it's as good as SheiKra (then again, I'm biased since I've loved SheiKra for so long), Valravn is definitely up there with the other great coasters at Cedar Point! Of course, Millennium Force, Maverick, and Top Thrill Dragster were just as breath-taking as they were in 2011 and 2012!
Additionally, I worked in Aquatica over the summer! And it was AMAZING! It really made me happy to be into theme parks!!
2017:
In addition to the parks I usually go to (Universal, SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa), I also had another northern trip. Very similar to the last one except instead of Busch Gardens Williamsburg, I visited Canada's Wonderland, my 4th Cedar Fair park and my first park in Canada! Canada's Wonderland was just amazing! A well-balanced park with thrilling coasters (Leviathan and Behemoth in particular were spectacular) and excellent flat rides! I'll talk more about the park along with Busch Gardens Williamsburg later on (just a teaser, there are two particular coasters at Canada's Wonderland that I loathed, so prepare for some fun. Heheheh...). Otherwise this trip is pretty similar to 2016 with another revisit to Cedar Point. The only difference is that rain threatened us towards the end and we had to hightail it before the park closed. Also Mean Streak was already in the process of becoming Steel Vengeance (can't wait!!!!!! 😍).
Later in the year as part of the Marching Knights, I visited Atlanta to perform in the Peach Bowl. One of those days we stopped at Six Flags Over Georgia, a park I visited in another band trip in 2011 for BOA. I was able to do a lot more than last time! I also just realized I didn't give the park a proper review back then, so I'm going to be talking about it as well with the other two parks later on.
2018:
7 days after the New Year, I performed with the Marching Knights at Magic Kingdom (just like in January 2014 after the Fiesta Bowl). I was able to visit Magic Kingdom afterwards, but I still wasn't able to ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (😡).
So there's a gist of where I'm at. I'll talk more whenever I have the chance! Additionally, I believe June 4th this year marks the 10th anniversary of when I first started this blog. So I'll probably do something about that! 😁
