Date: Thursday, January 6th, 2005
Park: Universal Orlando
Location: Orlando, FL

We woke up a little later than expected, and were at the park at about 9:45. We headed over to Universal Studios first, because I wanted to ride the Mummy, and one of my friends rode it last spring and he like it over any of the rides in either park. We head back there and its about a 5 minute wait, unfortunately, I didn't have my glasses on (though I probably could have) and this guy was carrying what my friends told me was a plastic crab, but it scared the crap out of me because all I saw was pinchers and I didn't know what to think. We headed up the stairs to the station, and hopped on (I dont remember what row, but towards the front). Anyway, one of the ride ops told me that my shirt may be offensive to some people (from Family Guy when peter's shirt says No Fat Chicks). Oh well, if it comes up again I'll change. The Mummy was awesome, so many suprises, I just would feel aweful if I ruined any, but it is certainly the best ride at the Studios, I just dont know if I can compare it to Spiderman, I mean its a coaster, so that makes it difficult, I am still undecided on which is better, because both have very good features. I think it will hit my Top 10, I'll have to think about it some more, but the best special effects for a ride period.

Once we hopped of of that, we headed over to expereince Twister, which to me, is kinda weak. I mean, unlike most of the rides/shows in the park, Twister didn't seem to have anything to advance a certain technology. To me, its the same thing as Earthquake, except it didn't even improve upon it, no advancement whatsoever. We then hit the previously mentioned Earthquake. No suprises here, same old Earthquake. We then went over to Jaws, a ride that I had never been able to experience. We sat in the front row, and I liked the New England fishing town themeing, but thought the captain/actor was weak. Next we headed across to MIB, which I had more fun on this time. Last time I was with complete strangers, but this time, competing with friends was fun. Our side won, but sadly, I didn't win out of our trio. I forgot to press the red button :( Next up was Back to the Future next door, where the woman in the entrance told me she liked my shirt (1 and 1). Up we went and rode the ride, which I still like, don't get me wrong, but can get much older than some other rides in the park.

We then walked back and around the corner into the kiddie land, and had a blast in the Curious George playground pelting this one little kid with foam balls and then heading outside and squirting these European kids. We tried to fill the water buckets up. We thought we had made it, but nothing happened. Me and one of my other friends went down, while one stayed on the deck. He didnt realize that the bucket was the one on top of him, not the other one. Needless to say, it eventually filled up, and he got soaked. Once we were tired of torturing the kids, we headed over to Terminator, my second favorite attraction in the park, wich unlike some of the others, never gets old. The 3D rendering is just amazing, it really makes the shows awesome. We were ready to head back and try to ride the Mummy again, but the like was outside, so we passed, and decided to head out of the park. We got stopped near the Twister building and were each paid 15 bucks to do a food survey for Pilsbury cookies. Mmmm... Chocolate chip. We then left, and went to City Walk again, and at this time, it was about 12:30. We really accomplished a lot, and now we were ready to eat. My one buddy is a huge Marley fan, so we tried to eat in his place, but it was closed, so we settled for the Margaritaville and one of the best burgers I have ever had.

We were then set for our first venture into IOA, by this time, it was a bit after 1:00, and we headed for the Hulk first. Up we went, through the lab and into a walk-on situation. My one friend heard that the back seat was the best, and obligingly, I trekked to the back with him. We buckled in, and off we went, to the left, and then up the tunnel. "I think... I think it's gonna work!" And then we shot out of the synchronous launch into the zero-G roll, still one of my favorites. In fact, the bang-bang of the launch, zero-G, cobra roll and then dive into fog and the vertical loop is one of the most explosive and best starts to a coaster period. I had already ridden it three times in my last visit, which resulted in the Hulk becoming my number 1, but nowadays, I think that it may slip a bit. We rode again in the back, again a walk-on, and I can see where people could say that the Green Machine is getting rough thanks to my experiences in the back, but the back is usually rougher.

Next up was Spiderman, which was about a 10 minute line, but well worth it, because even after all of these years, it still is in the top of its class. We then headed back 65 million years to Jurassic Park, and we rode the Jurasic Park River Adventure (walk on), which is not one of my favorite types of rides but still is my favorite boat ride. Though we sat in the very front, I didn't get overly soaked, so I was happy not to get too wet, but that may hurt the ride's rating a bit. It's the pre-drop stuff that really makes the JPRA so good, with awesome animitronics to make the Dino's look amazingly realistic along with bona fide plant life and the indoor scenes.

After that brief glimpse into the past, we decided to head back towards the present, stopping in the Middle Ages by entering the Lost Continent. We first went over to Dueling Dragons. Once we got to the split, I convinced my buddies that Fire was a better choice. We waited for the front, which was about four trainfuls. By the time we got to the front of the line, next to go, this crazy drunk guy who claimed to also be tripping on acid showed up looking for an empty seat. We let him in and he told some wickedly humerous stories, and all the way up the lift I'm thinking "Dear God don't let this guy throw up on us or die". So off we went, and what an intense ride it was, especially on the first drop, it pounded my head in severely (mainly due to the head/neck aches that I had been having).

Once we got off, we headed down through the Marrakesh-esque village, checked out the singing fountain, and went to watch Poseidon's Fury, which was my first time and a very good show overall. Next we headed down into Toon Lagoon, which was looking nice with the Grinchmas Decorations still up. We caught part of the Grinch show, and for some reason, my friends wanted to ride the Cat in the Hat. I have no problem riding, but these guys wouldn't even let me go on the Flying Unicorn or the Nuthouse Coaster (which I can deal with). By this time, is is after 6PM, and the sun is just setting, so we decided we were about to leave -- after we rode the Hulk again.

I pleaded with my friends and convinced them to wait the extra three trains and take a ride on the Hulk in the front row. They agreed to it and we blasted out of the tunnel into the dusk sky which was beautiful. The guys said "screw the back" after the ride. We then left the park and drove back to the hotel. We decided to keep in the complex for the evening, opting for the pool and later Papa Johns delivery and some television.

Date: Friday, January 7th, 2005
Park: Universal Orlando
Location: Orlando, FL

My friends knew the taping of Fear Factor was coming, and seeing as they are both media-related students, it certainly interested them. So, we headed to the park a bit early, arriving right at 9AM. The taping today was set for a IOA, but the time wasn't set and the clouds were ominous. First, we stalled near the lakefront in the Port of Entry, where a giant crane was set up and the "base" for the Fear Factor people seemed to be. We just stuck around for 5-10 minutes, and then skipped over to the Hulk, riding twice in a row, once in the front, and then in the second to last row on the second trip (the only empty row upon our return after the first run). One of the guys got a little light-headed from the second ride, so we skipped any more quick ride opprotunities and we headed over to Dr. Doom's, which is the only tower ride I like for some reason, and then over to Spidey. It was a walk-on, in fact, most of the rides were this morning, except Dr. Doom's which was about 15 minutes.

It began to rain slightly, but nothing horribly bad or anything. We ran up to Toon Lagoon, and after only a little debating, we went on Ripsaw Falls. I had never been on it, but boy it was a blast. Too bad the queue, even when "shortened", was rediculously long, I could only imagine how many people it can hold. Anyway, the ride was amazing, I absolutely loved it, by far the best flume from the great themeing (this is Universal) to the fact that we got drenched. Hardly a spot was left dry. So, already wet, we decided to take a spin on Bilge-Rat Barges. Once again, we got soaked. This one reminded me of Shipwreck Rapids, and I'm sure its the same company that made them judging from the spinning station. This one got us very wet, but I still liked the speed of Shipwreck. We got a free second ride, though we didn't want it, and got wet... again... now nothing was left dry.

We headed back through JP. Someone suggested that we go on JPRA, and that someone was told to shut up. We noticed a camera tower behind the Discovery Center, figuring it was for Fear Factor. Next, we headed to Dueling Dragons again, and took a ride on Ice this time, in the front row, which was also quite intense, especially the zero-G roll. The coasters didn't seem to do that great of a job as far as the dueling aspect goes... at least not compared to other rides. We then headed over and checked the next show time for Sinbad, and headed into the sword shop. Coming out, we saw a familiar face surrounded by people. As we hurried to get our cameras out, we only managed to get a shot of the back of Joe Rogan and his posse. They ducked into Mythos, the winner of the Best Resteraunt award from Amusement Park Insider for the past two years. Never again was Rogan seen.

After missing that, we headed back through and around the main loop, through Suess Landing and back towards the Port of Entry. By this time, it was around noon. My buddies wanted to check out the Fear Factor set-up some more, so I told them that I was going to go take some photos throughout the park, and that I would give them a call before 1PM to see if they wanted to meet me at Sinbad. Well, no one answered their phones, so I went back looking for them and ran into them coming out of the Marvel arcade. A publicist told us Fear Factor was slated to begin within 30 minutes or so. We headed back to the Port of Entry and noticed the contestants being brought in by boat from somewhere in Toon Landing, and then preped for their stunt.

There we tons of people gathered there, so I took the guys over to the area over near the Spiderman building. Around 1:30, the sound of the helicopter could be heard and within 10 minutes, the stunt began. Jet Skis dumped the couple in the middle of the lake, where they had to grab onto ropes dangling from the helicopter. They then had to climb up and get flags attached to the rope. The stunt lasted maybe 3 minutes, but was pretty cool to see in all come together. I don't watch much, but I'll probably watch this episode (season finale May 23rd I think).

After that, my friends were done with the park for the day, they saw what they wanted. We headed back to the hotel, chilled by the pool and then proceded to take showers. Around 6, we departed for the park again, this time intending on staying in City Walk. We finally were able to get into Marley's, and we had a big 'ol meal. I ordered up some Chicken Wings with Jerk sauce which were absolutely phenomenal. I do it at home but of course their jerk sauce was just amazing. We all had the fried snapper, one of my favorite fish.

After dropping 90 bucks for dinner, I needed some fun. We headed over to City Jazz which was transformed into a comedy club for the evening. Our five-day tickets got us in for free (we only had to be 18 :D) and we kicked back and had some great laughs. The MC started off with about 10 minutes. He was a big fat black guy that was very funny, and I wish we could have heard him some more. Up next was this middle-aged white man with a son at FSU playing football. He was pretty funny too, but the headliner was the best to me. We got to see the Grandma from Last Comic Standing and she was freaking hilarious. I had never been to a comedy show, though had always wanted to, and now, I'm gonna have to do this more often. We were expecting a slightly dull show, but this is Universal, and it was rough but hilarious.

The show had started at 8 and didn't let out until about 9:30. My buddies really wanted to hit the clubs, especially the Groove, but would have settled for the Latin Quarter too. I didn't really care, I was cool with going and cool if we couldn't get in, but after being rejected, my one friend was pretty bummed. He was ready to head home, by now, it was about 10:30, and we were headed home and to bed for the evening.

Date: Saturday, January 8th, 2005
Park: Universal Orlando
Location: Orlando, FL

We slept a little later on Saturday, and didn't get to the park until a bit after 10AM. This time, camera towers were set up around the City Walk lake. We headed back to Universal Studios, with hopes of riding the Mummy, MIB (I needed to win...) and also get a few of the shows we missed. We started off by heading back towards the Mummy. We saw that the lines were long, so we got Express passes. We headed back and did Shrek 4-D, which I enjoyed just like the movie, and Jimmy Neutron, which was a bit of a disappointment. Then, we did the Nickelodeon Live thing and had fun cheering for the blue team in defeat. After that, our Mummy passes were approaching their time, so we headed that way.

We got stopped by a worker and were given wristbands to be balloon handlers for the mini Macy's Parade. We then proceeded back to the Mummy and were still a bit early. We decided to skip the major line and go on as single riders. Then we did it again. Then we used the express pass line. Then, for the fourth time in 25 minutes and fifth and final time of the trip, we rode the Mummy. The water effects didn't seem to be working as well as the first day, but it still is a great ride, and the multiple rides may have added to my rating, and the ride that I did with my glasses on may shoot it into my Top 10.

After the mini-marathon, we headed back towards the World Expo, skipping repeat rides on Earthquake and Jaws which both had 30 minute waits. We did the single rider on MIB, and this time, I figured out how to play for real. I still didn't beat my friends, but I did improve my score to a respectable 350,000. We skipped Back to the Future, and saw that the Animal Planet show had just started. We headed in there, and caught a pretty nice show, with good audience interaction which is always fun. After that, we headed out of the theatre, and noticed they were setting up the stunt for the third day of taping for Fear Factor, driving a car off a ramp that they built into the lake. Not bad... we saw that the make-up show was about so start.

Once inside the theatre, we were certainly pleasantly suprised. The show had some great comedy and some interesting stuff, both through the dialogue, the props, and the films. The two guys on stage certainly worked well together and it may have been the best suprise in the park. After that, we headed back towards the gate and debated what to do. It was 2PM by now, and we were supposed to be back at 4PM to prepare for the parade. We decided to leave the park altogether, heading over to the Hooters (not my choice) on Kirkman right near the park. Would have been better if I didn't have a girlfriend, but the other two enjoyed themselves and I had a great chicken sandwhich with the 911 sauce.

Next, we headed back to the hotel, and again, chilled down by the pool. Around 5, I said let's go back to IOA for the night. We again headed to the park, and headed for the Hulk. The wait was 30 minutes, so we said screw it, and we headed towards DD. The line was listed as 20 minutes but we walked up into the station. We went on Fire first, in the second row, clenching my flip flops through the intense ride. We then hopped off, went up the re-ride path, and took one last ride on Ice, again with flip flops in hand, and Ice was probably more of a challenge to hold onto them than Fire. We got off and headed towards the exit, now that it was near 7PM and most of the queues were closing. I stopped in the Trading Company and bought some stuff and we headed out of the park.

Earlier, coming in, we saw a line from where the Fear Factor set was (down on the water near Pastamore) winding in and out down to the bridge to Universal. Now, it had gotten darker and the stands were filled with people and hundreds more looked on from above for the eating portion. We totally skipped that part and headed to the Cineplex to see the Life Aquatic, which I though was an awesome movie, but I can see where most people wouldn't agree. This is a movie where you have to be a certain type of person to really love it.

Date: Saturday, March 19, 2005
Park: Paramount's Carowinds
Location: Charlotte, NC

To kick of my spring break three-day blitz, I woke up at 4:30 to get ready to head out. By 5:00AM, I was on my way to Charlotte for Carowinds, a large park 4-5 hours away that I had never been to. Even without speeding, I made it a half hour quicker than MapQuest said I would, arriving at the park around 9:15. I paid $8 to park, and I wnet and purchased my ticket for something like $22. With a half an hour still left to kill, I just checked out BORG testing, and patiently waited.

Right at 10AM, the security guard welcomed us and walked us back to the BORG Asimilator, a Vekoma Flying Dutchman coaster relocated from Paramount's Great America last year. There weren't too many people ahead of me, maybe a train and a half, but they wouldn't let me in the queue because I had my camera bag, so I needed to go get a locker. I was ok with that, but kinda bummed. Here is where some problems developed, because you couldn't buy the locker from the cart that was supposed to sell them because of a computer problem, and the lockers didn't have the lock assemblage on them. In all, it was a mess that I can only attempt to decribe, but not that important. I got my locker, and headed back to the BORG's queue. I was about three trainloads away from riding, and I only moved up a little bit before I heard the magical words "we are temporarily suspending operations". OK, I was outta there quick. What's the next coaster I see? That would be Vortex, an early B&M Stand-up. So, I headed up to the station and walked on to the back row. The ride was ok, I had heard a lot of negative things about it, and I thought I was going to be suprised a bit, but in the end, it was very disappointing for a fan of B&M's.

Next, I went over to Ricochet, a fairly normal mouse coaster. Once again it was a walk-on, and as usual, the mouse provided some nice thrills in the tight space. After Ricochet, I headed strait to Carolina Cyclone, the Arrow Loopscrew coaster that was very similar to Cedar Point's corkscrew. I rode in the front car, second bench: the ride was ok also, it interacted well with the pathways, and the first too loops were fairly smooth, but the other half was rough and not fun. After knocking myself around on the Cyclone, I went back to the Drop Zone, a mid-sized drop tower. Again, I do not get a lot of thrill out of those rides, and this one was no different. Up next came a ride in the front seat on Hurler, a mid-sized woodie with a pretty unique layout, that had a nice amount of air but really banged my knees thoroughly. It was decent, worth a second ride later in the day.

After hitting four coasters within the first 45 minutes or so, I decided it was time for some flat rides in the area. I first took a ride on Scream Weaver, a nice Huss Enteprise with a decent ride cycle, and then I headed over to ride Kaleidescope, a scrambler that lacked forces and proveded only a mediocre duration. After that, I went to the back of the park. Wandering through, I noticed that Carolina Goldrusher and Super Saturator were closed, scheduled to open later, and the water park was shut off for a while. I came across the Runaway Reptar suspended family coaster. I decided to take a spin, having never been on one like it. It was mildly fun, certainly not worth another ride.

At that point, I realized where I was, and that a Flying Scooters ride was just steps away, so over I went. I waited in line for three or four cycles, by far the longest wait in the park at that time, to take my first flight on the Phantom Flyers, relocated this year from King's Island. Once aboard, I experimented with the rudder and how to fly. I had gotten th emotion down well, and decided to return later. Off I went, to the south entrance area, for my first date with Top Gun: The Jet Coaster. This Inverted marvel from B&M got my attention thanks to rave reviews and the fact that it was visable from a couple of miles up the highway. I took my first ride in the front row, far left end. The ride was aweome, and I ended up riding it 7 times within about half an hour. Once I was done with that, I decided to head for Thunder Run, which I saw running from the TG lift. I went and rode both sides once apiece: the forward side in the back, and the backward side in the middle. I then proceeded to ride the Dog'ems bumper cars over there, which weren't too fun at all.

Ready for some more flying, I went back to the Flyers. I again waited a few turns, and this time, I finally got to do some snapping. It was a blast, and I instantly hopped back into line to do it again. After my second ride (3rd of the day), I went and rode the Nick-O-Round carousel, which lacked prestigious beauty. After that, I went over and rode the Fairly Odd Coaster in the front car. It was a fun little woodie, something that I wish I could have grown up on. By that time, I was done in the kiddie land, and headed back to see if BORG was open. It wasn't, and I was hungry, so I grabbed a burger at the Outter Hank. The burger sucked, but I'll address that in my park review. Filled up with crap, I headed over to the Goldrusher, a fun Arrow mine train coaster with well-kept rolling stock, complete with a smokestack engine front. I went back and rode Vortex once again, this time up front with similar results. I went back and took a second ride on Hurler, this time in the back seat.

I made my way back to Top Gun, riding Super Saturator on my way back, which was an ok ride, but more run to get the other riders wet. Once at Top Gun, I rode again and again for a total of 7 times in that mini-maraton, for 14 on the day, and at least one ride in every row. Since Top Gun didn't make me feel like a pilot enough :rolleyes: I went back to the Flyers. Once again it was about a 15 minute wait, and once I got on, I had a disappointing ride, not getting any good snaps in. Beginner's luck? Gosh, I hope not. I went towards the front of the park again, riding the Rocket Power Air Time falling star ride on my way.

Once up front again, with the sun beginning to set and no line, I went and rode the Carolina Skytower, taking a bunch of photos while rotating at the top. I saw that BORG had reopened, so I headed right to the queue next dorr after dumping my stuff off at the pitiful locker system. I waited four or five trainloads to get up and board the train. Overall, I thought it was a good coaster: the layout was good, but the restraint system bugged me a lot, so I think it's about even with Superman Ultimate Flight. As the sun began to slowly set, I went to the south gate once again, wand took three more Top Gun rides for a total of 17 on the day, which could have been in triple digits if I really wanted to with the crowds that I faced.

With the lights coming on, I wanted one more chance to fly, mainly to redeem myself from my 4th ride. That ride, which would become my last, was probably my best. I was really zipping around and snapping like crazy, having a blast. At that point, it was about 7:30, and between being in the park for 10 hours and the fact that I still faced a 1.5 hour drive to Winston Salem, I decided to pack it in for the night. I had a very productive day, with 11 new coasters added to the count (3 wood, 8 steel), and my first 5 rides on a set of Flying Scooters. I went to my cousin's house in Winston, stopping in Kanapolis for gas and a Steak & Shake meal.

Date: Sunday, March 20, 2005
Park: Paramount's Kings Dominion
Location: Richmond, VA

After departing from Winston Salem around 5:30, I jetted up to PKD in a little less than 4 hours. After getting gas, I parked around 9:30 AM. The parking lot was almost deserted, but then again, the park still had a while to go before opening. I went to the guest services office and purchased my ticket, and they let us into the International Street area, and even as far back as the Old Virginia Section, where the Paramount Theatre was playing host to a dance competition or something like that. Once 10AM rolled around, the park still didn't open the rest of the park. So, pissed a bit, I just walked around, browsing through stores and other buildings in the International St. area. Finally, 10:30 came, and the park opened up.

I followed the security officers who led a small crowd (less than 100 people) back to the Congo area. I had a choice to make at this point: Volcano or Tomb Raider. I picked Volcano, and headed through the queue. The queue was cool, and I decided that my first ride would be in the front. I waited three or four turns to launch from the front, and was blown out of the crater at 70 mph -- what a rush! After that, I decided to go check out Tomb Raider, watching a circuit and photographing,just waiting for my turn. I boarded and rode Tomb Raider, and it was awesome. I will post my photos later (they are uploading), and a review once Shortcake gets to it. All I can say as of now is that it joins Wheelie and the Phantom Flyers among my favorite flat rides.

Once I was finished riding and then photographing TR:F, I went and took a ride on Avalance, a decent bobsled coaster which was a bit more fun than Diaster Transport, but still not worth multiple rides. After that, I rode the scrambler over there, which was ok but again not tops in its category. I then trekked back deeper into the Congo section, deciding to take a ride on Flight of Fear. I didn't feel like waiting, so I took a ride in the second row as opposed to the first. Off we went out of the station, and it was a very enjoyable coaster, even though it was so disorienting I had no freakin' clue what just happened after I got off. The spaghetti bowl was cool, though still no the best indoor Premier launch coaster.

When I was done with FoF, I wanted to ride Anaconda, but it as not going to open until noon, which was about 1/2 an hour away at that point. I opted to head to the other side of the park, picking Shockwave to be my 4th coaster of the day. I took only one ride thanks to the lack of true thrills. While I didn't think it was as bad as some say (though the damn seat/restraint assembleage sucked), it still wasn't overly thrilling. After that, I rode two flats in the area, the Dodge'ems and the carousel. At that point, I was like "screw it" and I headed strait for the Flyers, after having such a great time at Carowinds. After a 5 minute wait, I boarded and flew. I couldn't snap them, which according to some folks on this site is due to the high speed of operation, which is reasonable explanation.

I was ready for some more coasters, having gone an hour or so without one. I went over to Ricochette, and rode it once. It was better than the mouse at Carowinds which bears the same name. I then got in line for HyperSonic XLC, which was about a 5 minute wait. I rode it once, in the second row. It was a great launch, probably my favorite actual launch, but the ride got rough and unpleasant after the vertical decent. I then tried to go and ride Grizzly, but it was closed. I opted for a ride on Rebel Yell, going backwards, which was fun, but my ride on the forwards side was better, so I took two more rides for 4 total, including a ride in the front of both trains (first to go over the crest) and the back twice on the forward side. It was fun and had some good air, which puts it ahead of Collossus and Thunder Road.

Next up was a ride on Hurler, which ended up being a copy of the one at Carowinds. For a woodie that is only 10 years old, it is pretty rough, and the trains make it hard to bear in the back. I was done with Hurler, and I wanted to check back on the Griz. It was still not open, so I headed back to Old Virginia and tried to snap the Flyers again. I did manage to get them a little wobbly, but no real snapping. I figured it was a lost cause. After that, I went and rode the Log Flume, which was kinda boring and didnt get me too wet, which is good and bad once again, but still, not bad for a walk-on. I then proceeded to ride the Eifel Tower, and took a bunch of aerial photos. I saw that Anaconda had opened as scheduled, so I headed over there. At that point, it was starting to sprinkle, though it was still sunny, so I was not worried.

I got to Anaconda and saw that the back seat was empty, so I decided that I would ride in the back. The ride was fun, and not too rough in the back, for the most part. The diving under the water feature was cool, and the tall loop (a la Viper @MM) was pretty smooth and forceful, but once you got to the brake run the problems started. The series of banked twists and turns were pretty rough, as were the corkscrews, which are habitually rough elements for Arrow's which seem to lack the ability to navigate them smoothly. Back into the station, I decided not to ride again. I took some more photos, and was getting tired of the park a bit.

At that point, it was around 2PM. I had called my Dad to see when Tech was playing baseketball, and he told me 4:45. So, I took a ride on the Scooby Doo coaster, or whatever its called, since some were renamed. Though it was a very tight fit, it was fun and a bit better than its Carolina sister. I walked around and snapped a few more photos, deciding to call it quits at 3PM.

I drove down to my hotel in Williamsburg, and I was ready to watch the baseketball game, but they instead showed Duke :angry: Oh well, we got beat badly anyway, and I got a long night's worth of sleep for the first time in four days.

Date: Monday, March 21, 2005
Park: Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Location: Williamsburg, VA

I woke up early and rejuevenated, I headed to the park way to early. I decided to go and get some breakfast, though I can't remember what I had. I got to the park around 9:30, just as the parking lot opened. I took the tram to the entrance, and got my ticket. The park began taking tickets about 10 minutes shy of the published opening time of 10AM, but you couldn't go to far, basically just the entry area and the Scotland section. Fortunately, this includes Loch Ness Monster, which I decided to ride. I took a ride in the front seat, waiting a total of 10 minutes or so. It was a fun coaster, and my favorite traditional Arrow looper. The loops were cool, and it wasn't too rough, so I came off smiling. Once again, just like at PKD, I was left with 15 more minutes to kill before the rest of the park opened, so I shopped around a bit. Am I the only one who gets thoroughly pissed because the park advertises a 10AM opening and doesn't open most of the park until 10:30? At least SFOG opens the front of the park at 9:30 or so, and then the rest of the park at 10AM.

Once 10AM rolled around, I darted back to the Festa Italia section, aiming to get the first ride of the day on Apollo's Chariot. Thanks to a few kids who sprinted, and my lazyness not to sprint, this did not happen, but I did walk onto the second ride in the back seat. Up I went, 170 feet, and down I went, 210 feet. The airtime and speed combined to thrill me without end, so I decided to ride again, and again, and again.. this went on for an hour, in which I rode 8 times, with one ride in every row but the third. I decided that as good as the park was, I didn't want to miss the rest of the park. I took a ride on Roman Rapids, a mild rapids ride that didn't get me wet much at all, except the little kids with the water canons. The view of Apollo's was good though, and since I had to bring my camera on board, I think I successfully got one good shot from the boat.

I then began to backtrack towards Pompei, but I saw the train chugging into the station there, and knew I couldn't pass up a ride on a steam train. I took the train to the back of the park, and it was a beautiful engine. Once we arrived at the New France station, I was awed by the crimson colored locomotive that they were firing up. I took a few photos, and departed the station. I then decided that I would try to ride Alpengeist, but it was closed temporarily due to maintance issues. Instead, I took a ride on Le Scoot, an ok Arrow log flume. I checked back with Alpi, and saw that it had opened. I queued, waiting for either the second or first row (I cant remember) for about 10 minutes. It was a fun ride, intense and thrilling, but not the best of the inverts, and it didn't leave me rushing back into the station. Instead, I began to make my way back towards Ireland, where I took a ride on Corkscrew Hill, which had a story/animations that I enjoyed better than Spiderman, but the Spiderman cars were 10 times better than the moving seats.

After that, I proceeded to photograph the 14-time defending champ for the World's Most Beautiful Park, a title which I cannot refute. I ended up walking over the bridge and headed through the Oktoberfest section. I headed back to Das Festhaus, but I didn't really feel like eating there, to my own amazement, so I decided I would wait and try to eat at the BBQ place in New France that I had smelled earlier. I took some photos of DarKastle, which featured a bunch of workers sculpting the outside of the castle building. I checked to see if Big Bad Wolf was open, but a sign stated that it would not open today, so 87/89 (my count/coastercounter.com's count) coasters is where I would end this trip at. I then walked down through the Land of the Dragons, using it as a staging location to photograph Nessie and Alpi some more.

By that point, I was hungry, so I headed over the Trappers Smokehouse and waited in line 30 minutes or so to get my food, and it was worth it. I spent 20 bucks and went wild, getting the sampler platter which came with BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken and brisket. I also picked up a side sausage and a piece of cake, all for the 20 bucks which is about the same you would pay at an outside resteraunt. Coming from a true connoisseur of BBQ, I proclaim that it was fantastic. The sauce was delectable, the ribs and chicken were both close to perfect, and I, a huge fan of brisket when it was done right, give all the praise I can to the brisket, the best I have had outside of Texas. For 20 dollars, it was worth it, and there is no such thing as a bad park if it has good food :)

With a full tummy and a good 2000 extra calories, I wanted to ride Alpengeist again. I headed over and walked onto the second to last row, which was also enjoyable, and not too rough in my opinion, though others may disagree. However, I was still in need of Apollo's rides. I headed back around, rode Nessie again, this time in the back row (which was still not very rough) and at this point (around 3PM), I was ready for some more Apollo's, since I had ridden everything I wanted to ride, with exception to the Sky Ride which was closed. I stopped for a few minutes to take pictures of the beautiful train that was now in operation (the crimson one that I saw earlier in the day), and some photos of Escape from Pompei. By 3:15, I was back in line for Apollo's, which averaged a 2-4 minute wait per ride.I rode again and again, this time, for a total of 13 rides within about 2 hours, finishing with a ride in each row, 6 in the back row and 3 up front, with the far left seat in the back as my favorite. Once I was done, I bought a pair of Apollo's souvenirs, and headed out of the park, having just been fully satisfied and then some with the park, easily my most enjoyable experience of my trip.

I headed back to my car, took a few shots of Apollo's running, and packed it in. My Spring Break '05 3-day run was over, and I went up to the Beltway, where I stayed. My mom is in town working, and I am planning on hitting DC tommorrow, specifically, the Air and Space Museum and the American History Museum, if I have time, plus the new WWII memorial, before heading home Thursday. What a great three day spring break kick off!

Date: Thursday, May 19, 2005
Park: Six Flags Great Adventure
Location: Jackson, NJ

We arrived at the park around 11, picked up passes for the passholder-preview for Kingda Ka, and decided to head to the Boardwalk area first, hoping to catch Superman with a small line early in the day. We were wrong, and Superman's line stretched out of the queue. We headed over to the Scream Machine instead, and after a 20 minute wait we took a ride. I didn't think it would be all too rough, but I was wrong big time (at least it produced one of the funniest on-ride photos in memory, with two faces that tell of the agony). We did catch a couple of early launches for Ka, and were just happy to get a chance to ride later in the day. Next, we went around the corner and checked out the Golden Kingdom and I as impressed with what Six Flags put together back there. The animals were a great touch, though I can see where problems may arise with the turtles (the short fence was easy for a kid to hop over and lay down next to one of the giant turtles to take a photo, which undoubtedly scared the hell out of the reptile).

Next, we headed back to the Frontier area, and hopped in line for Medusa, which was also about 20 mins for the front row. Medusa was a solid ride, and the setting was great. We then went over and rode the mine train, which we were able to walk up to the station for, but the ride ops were too busy trying to emuate the Gestapo and taking far too much time. They managed to take a two-ride wait and turn it into 10 minutes. The ride was ok, it got a bit rough on my big legs, but the real detractor was the operations, at least to me. We then decided to eat, stopping at Ted's Cheesecakes. The food was pretty good but the pricing was probably the highest we saw all trip. Over to the other side of the park we went.

My girlfriend, a sucker for animals, saw the dolphin show and wanted to watch. I agreed to it, but with a bit of time to kill we hit Skull Mountain, which was a walk-on, and a fun little ride. Back to the dolphin show, which we both enjoyed but I don't think it's quite on the level of Sea World yet (still good for SF). It was now 2:50, and we went over and rode Batman in the back row after a 15 min wait. Same old same old, though I did like the new paint scheme more in person. By that time, our date with 128mph had drawn near. We entered around 3:30, which was our ticketed time, and waited about 30 mins for a back row launch. Though it lacks the originality of Dragster, I still think the great themeing redeemed it plenty. Also like Dragster, they had lockers at the entrance, though I wonder if those are enough for a 3+ hour queue. The line is incredbily long too, it's probably longer than Dueling Dragons, which is a big feat. Coming off, we ran into Herc who we missed earlier. He went and rode, though it would be a while before we caught back up.

We then went over and rode Rolling Thunder. The ride was another short wait, but 1-train operations hindered the experience. The ride was not as bad as depicted, though Nathan assures me that it was running better than usual. Speaking of, coming off of the ride, he called me and just so happened to be near the exit. We met up, and talked our way to the gate. Christina and I had intended on going to the Wild Safari part of the park, but it closed before we could get a chance. Nathan then went and rode Medusa with some friends, while we went to eat dinner. We ate at Mama Flora's near the Chiller and ordered a Calzone. While it was very good, it was a bit small (not big enough for two to share), especially for the price.

Nitro and those B&M Mega trains called my name, and off we went, and 20 mins we waited. It was a solid ride, and after getting off my girlfriend needed a sweatshirt. We went to the car (a reoccuring theme). Herc called and was looking for us. We were in the lot, and he decided to get a bite to eat. We met him reentering the park, and still had two major coasters to hit. Superman or Robin? We settled for Superman because we had seen a fairly short line from the parking lot. We went over and it was broken down. With a little bit of work, the ride began taking passengers again and we probably waited 15-25 mins for it too. Same ride, different experience. Nathan called and met us all near the photo booth, and I said we still needed to ride the Chiller so to the Chiller we went. We got lucky and they still had 4 empty seats on a train about to launch. I enjoyed the ride a lot, though dusk and closing were both approaching. The four of us then headed to Nitro and took another ride, this time somewhere in the middle. Still a great ride.

The park was near closing time, and we were about to part ways when I spotted an enteprise. I was going to just skip it, opting to do some shopping, but when Nathan said "it's a Schwarzkopf", I replied "I can't say no to that". We rode and by the time we got off the park was shutting down. We split up again, and me and Christina did some souvenir shopping and headed to Allentown that night for a day at Dorney on Friday.

Date: Friday May 20, 2005
Park: Dorney Park
Location: Allentown, PA

Though I thought the park opened at noon (Dorney changed it to 10A at some point since I planned the trip), we arrived a bit after 1. It was a cool, rainy, and dreary day, but we were going to try to have fun. We headed towards Talon first, after taking the customary "how-many-trash-cans-can-you-spot" photo. Talon was about a 15 minute wait though I thought the park would be empty that day (there were a lot of busses in the parking lot). We then walked towards the back of the park, and hopped on the Whip, a ride that I have never seen before so it intrigued me. It was a pretty fun ride. We went back even further, and I tried to ride Laser but it was closed on account of the rain. After realizing I was too tall for Little Laser (if I cant ride the big one I might as well try to little onw, right?), we opted for Steel Force. It was a great ride, and we caught up with Jay at the exit.

We went over to the Gameday Grille to eat, and the pricing was better than Great Adventure but the food I got wasn't as good as I would have hoped. As much as I'm sure herc wanted to do it, we headed over to Hydra. I had been advised that riding Hydra for my 100th coaster would be a cheap excuse to say "jojo", one of the funniest names for an inversion ever. With a line equaling that of Talon and Steel Force, we waited for a seat near the back. Even as much as I didn't want it to hold true, Nathan and Jay were right about it being good but not great. I think we then went and rode Thunderhawk, which I thought was an ok woodie. We then went over, skipped the mouse because of lines, and rode Hang Time, the top spin. It was enjoyable as well and a solid flat for the park, and next we hit Meteor, which my girlfriend, who doesn't like swinging ships, skipped after I tolder her it was ship on steroids. (Those two may have been in reverse order, I can't recall at this point) I enjoyed it as well, and I think from there is where we got our second ride on Talon. Somewhere in there we rode the swings as well.

We then tried to head to the back of the park again, hitting the Enteprise along the way. We took a ride on Steel Force, then one on Revolution, and then a ride on Laser, which had opened after it had stopped raining. We then rode Steel Force one last time, and parted ways. I think Herc went to ride Hydra again, while I grabbed some more photos near dusk and Christina did some shopping.

Sorry that part of the TR is short, I we didn't do all too much, but more than anything, I just don't remember the order of events all too well for some reason. What's worse is that my photos from Friday sucked, my camera hates poor weather and I just was not having a good day with it. Sorry guys.

Date: Saturday, May 21, 2005
Park: Hersheypark
Location: Hershey, PA

We got a very late start on Saturday. We left Allentown around 11AM, hit construction (I like how Cyclonic refers to the construction cone as the state bush of PA) and a wreck, and didn't make it to the park until a bit after 1PM. Upon entering, we headed to the left first. I saw a fairly short line for the Flyers, so we jumped in line. It was a 1 circuit wait and we finally got to ride. I didnt have as much problems with operations, but we did have to ride together and it was difficult for me to get them snapping. Next we headed to Storn Runner, which had a line out the queue, and an attendant at the entrance said it was 1.5 hrs from that point. We decided to go for it and ended up waiting 55 mins, and we sat in the third row. I enjoyed Storm Runner.. a lot. Unfortunately, my girlfriend has some weird thing where she gets cold easily, so for the third strait day, we had to go to the parking lot to get her a sweatshirt. On the way out we did our souvenir shopping, and coming back in we did the chocolat dark ride, which was fun though I want more than just one piece of candy :( We got back in the park after 3PM, ate lunch at the pizza joint up front, and hit Comet with a 20 minute (give or take) wait. I thought it was a solid ride with a great setting, and we sat in the first car, second bench.

Next up, y'all know me: I could feel the power of the Schwarzkopf in the area. So, of course, we headed over to SooperDooperLooper, and it was almost a walk-on. As I told Herc, it is sad to see a Schwarzkopf in such condition. Its almost as bad as Revolution's condition. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a let down. Next we went and rode Great Bear, which was a 30 minute wait for the second row. It too was a solid ride, as uncharacteristic of a B&M Invert (GB was my 10th) as it is, it stil provided thrills. Next, we took a ride on the Kissing Tower. For a walk-on, it was a great chance for photos, but I did forget one thing... to kiss her :( Again, my girlfriends love of animals came out and we went and toured Zoo America. It was ok, but no Busch Gardens my any means. Sadly, it was now approaching 6PM, and I hadn't even tasted GCI all day, so I was getting a bit frustrated and worried that we wouldn't get a lot in. So, quickly, we headed in that direction.

First, we took a pit stop and rode the mine train, which was a pretty lame version. I took some Storm Runner photos (I found it to be a very attractive steel coaster and my camera just couldn't stop photographing it). We then meandered over to the Midway America section. First came a ride on Lighting Racer's Lightning side in the back row(after a 2 ride wait), and it was a solid ride. We then walked over and waited 10 minutes for the Wildcat. I didnt think it was a bad ride at all, though it was too rough for my girlfriend to handle. Shaken by it, we headed to Decades and feasted on a burger (for me) and a wrap (for her). While she finished eating, I grabbed a few more photos, including one depicting Cyclonic as a theatrical star, and then Christina said we should ride the Ferris Wheel. No problem, though it was about a 10 minute wait due to operating procedures. The ride was nice, and provided a good platform to photograph the park from at dusk.

After we hopped off of the ride, we hopped over to Lightning Racer. This time, we rode the Thunder side in the second row, and won yet again and had fun in the process. We ran back around and jumped in line for Lighting again. We were already 2-0 and my girlfriend had found herself a new favorite wooden coaster. That third ride was an absolute blast. We rode in the first car, and up the lift we were talking smack with the other train (not just us, mind you). In the end, we beat Thunder by half a train length, and kept teasing them all the way back to thre station. We were having the time of our lives, while the folks in the other train looked dejected as can be -- it was priceless! I think the best comment was "on the count of three, let's all give a sigh for the losers.. one.. two.. three.. *sigh*" :LOL:

It was now well after 9PM, and we had a choice: ride Sidewinder, the production model Vekoma, or get a night ride on Storm Runner. Storm Runner won out, and we waited 30 mins to ride in the same exact seat and it was an even better ride. I didnt expect it to be so good, and now its shooting into my Top 10. Well, we got off around 9:50. What does that mean? We can get a ride on Sidewinder after all. It was a walk-on, and we rode in the back. It didnt seem to be as smooth as Darien Lake's (at least to me), maybe its the Vekoma trains? I got a kick out of this: 113 and counting, yet only 2 boomerangs (and only 1 SLC!). Man Ive been lucky :LOL:

In the end, it was a very productive day. Even with a late start, some detours in the middle of the day, and a fairly busy day, it was still fun and I thought Hershey was a solid park (all of them were solid actually)

Date: Sunday, May 22, 2005
Park: Knoebels
Location: middle of nowhere (Elysburg), PA

We arrived a bit before the noon opening (a miraculous first for this trip) and spent some time photographing the Carousel during its test run. We then headed to the Flyers and got an early run on them with a great cycle. Once again, I could not snap. I did ride with Christina, but that wasn't the whole problem. Once we got off, it was nearing 12:30 which was our scheduled meeting time. Jay had called me to say he was going to be late, but Larry and Nathan still made it, and we met up at the Phoenix. First, we went over and rode Fandango, which was only my second pendulum ride ever, after only Revolution at Dorney. I thought it was a great flat and wouldn't mind one of those at my park.

Next, we went next door to the Phoenix. In the days of corporations and lawsuits, saftey has become a chief concern. I think I provided one of the funniest/most memorable lines ever: "Where are the seatbelts?" Now, I of course was thrilled with the idea, but I guess my girlfriends face lit up for different reasons, so says Nathan (I guess the ride op rolled her eyes too :LOL: Stupid southerners...) The fellas said that Phoenix wasn't running too well, I thought it was still a great ride. Christina was shaken by it though, I guess she got scared earlier in life with some situation without seat belts. Anyway, she was upset for a while because of it. I think that is when we ate, while Larry and Nathan grabbed perogies we ate Mexican at the International Food Court. I also think this is when our daily trip to the car to get warmer clothes for Christina took place.

I think we went to the Haunted Mansion at that time, and it was a very sweet dark ride. From there, we went over to the Skooters, I believe. It was a one-ride wait, which isnt too bad, and we hopped on and crushed each other a bit. It was a fun ride, but after the first run I was let down a bit after seeing them on top of TPC for a while. We then went and rode HSTC, which was an ok but not great. No high-fives either, though the four or so cycles was cool :) Then, we headed to the Carousel, which was marvelous. After that, we headed to Twister, which also didnt have seat belts so Christina didnt ride. She was still upset from Phoenix, but I rode once and had a pretty good ride. Larry, Herc and Nathan rode again, and I photographed it a bit.

After that, we went and rode the Flyers a couple of times. I still couln't snap the damn things, even without Christina (who sat out). Nathan gave me some tips and on my second ride that time around (third of the day) I got a hang of it near the end (they rode differently than the ones at Carowinds, which was probably my biggest problem). We rode again and I had a pretty good flight and enjoyed them a lot. Larry, Nathan and Jay all did great, I think Larry called his second ride in that series one of his best ever. From there, we went back to the front.

We rode a bunch of flats at this time, from Power Surge (which was really fun) to the scrambler (which was ok) to Downdraft (which was fun and very dizzying) to the 1001 Naucht (which was fairly boring), to the pirate ship (which was fairly good) and finally over to the Whip, which was fun but not to the quality of Dorney's. All of them had limited waits, with only the long ride cycles slowing us down at all. Eventually, we made our way over to the Skooters again, and had a fantastic ride, which helped them to live up to all of the hype for me. We headed to the back again, and rode Phoenix two more times and Fandango once again, before it was nearing closing at 7PM. Somewhere in there we had grabbed some slices of pizza at Cesaris, but around 6:30, we split off. I dont know what the others did, but we picked up our souvenirs, funnel cake (Christina had wanted one since we got to PA and we kept putting it off, but it was good) and a ride on the swings, which she thought were very pretty and a fun ride of course.

In the end, we departed Knoebels and said goodbye to our 2005 Mid-Atlantic Adventure. I dont know when we'll get back in the area, but the four parks we hit were certainly great, and they combined for a fantastic trip. We got to meet some great people (even though Christina didnt talk much, she thought yall were very cool, she just felt intimidated and shy, especially when we got to talking like enthusiasts).

Date: Friday, July 3, 2005
Park: Martin's Fantasy Island
Location: Grand Island, NY

I arrived at the park promtly at 9AM and bought my ticket which was only $10, half off the regular admission since it was a short-hours schoolday. I was very pleased and headed strait for what I came there for: Silver Comet, a CCI hybrid woodie.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/24192637-M.jpg

I had to wait for the supervisor to come open the queue, upon which she told me that I would have to wait for at least 5 more passengers before I could dispatch. I still went forward and hopped in the back seat. Fortunately, the ride op didnt know about the minimum 6-rider rule, so he sent me on my way with an otherwise empty train. That first ride was mediocre, though I did get to roll back through the station and take a second lap without even stopping completely. Still, a slow and ok woodie at that point, but I knew it needed weight to really fly. At that point the supervisor had noticed the ride op's mistake and made him stop it and made me go back around. At that point, I opted for to ride Nitro, a Zamperla pendulum ride.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/24190179-M-1.jpg

The ride was awesome, one of the best pendulum's out there, and aided even more by a double cycle which the ride op treated me to (at this point there may have been a total of 15 people in the park, but it did eventually pick up). I then hit more flats, including:

A Wisdom Sizzler, which was run faster and longer than your typical Eli Bridge Scrambler:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/24184817-M.jpg

A Mulligan Sea Ray, which sucked and mid-ride I heard a big "thud" that startled the ride op but she took the "if you didn't hear it I didn't hear it" approach. Horray for precautionary safety.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/24184860-M.jpg
(by the way, that is approx. the max angle of swinging :()

Patriot, which I thought the rideop said was from Chance but I cannot identify the model or anything:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/24190508-M.jpg

Daredevil, a God-awful Chance Slingshot:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/24190315-M-1.jpg

Some nice Arrow 'tiques:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/24190326-M.jpg

A standard Chance ferris wheel:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/24190363-M.jpg

Did I mention the park was big on safety?

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/24184748-M.jpg

A Chaos:
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/24190258-M.jpg

and some portable bumpercars:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/24190245-M.jpg

I ended up going back to the Comet over and over again, riding it a total of 10 times, three up front and seven in the back. With a full load, it is one kickass woodie with some amazing laterals and some nice airtime. The ride also doesn't let up and actually build's speed as it progresses. It was also set in a nice location:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/24190441-M.jpg

One of the greatest individual lateral moments in existence:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/24190294-M.jpg

Perhaps the only detractor for the ride was that it could have been longer (but that costs more $$ so I can overlook that), the one-train operations probably make the line killer on busy days, and the sometimes-aweful staff.

I also rode Nitro about five times and also took a spin on the park's Chance Carousel, small version.

I ate at the pizzaria, and suprisingly it was pretty good and $5 got me a meal. The souvenirs stunk, but I did come home with a cup like I always try to do, and I also ate a Belgian Waffle which is new to me in amusement parks. I must warn you that it was good but you will get the powdered sugar everywhere so get bunches of napkins.

That's about all, I only stayed for about 4 hours total, but got my $10 worth and then some. Many people have spoken negatively about the park but to me it wasn't that bad (nor great either).

Date: Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Park: Paramount Canada's Wonderland
Location: Vaughan, ON

I had planned on hitting the park at opening, but as usual, I didn't. Rather, we arrived around noon. Damn Canadian highway system and there damn QEWs and crap. Well, my two main reasons to go to the park were to ride the Italian Job and to ride some of those great PCW flats. So, I decided to head strait for the newest coaster. That was a mistake, as the line was out of the queue (which doesn't have switchbacks but I later found out it is about an hour's wait from the entrance). So, I decided to torture my manhood and ride another POS Togo standup, Sky Rider. While it wasn't as bad as the one at Kings Dominion, it still sucked.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873829-M-1.jpg

The line was still long, and it was lunchtime to I picked up a sub from Mr. Sub. It sucked, as I expected since I was in 1) Canada, and 2) a Paramount Park. Dig deal, but I did get screwed with the exchange rate.

From there we hit the two giant flats in the area. First up was Psyclone, a Mondial Revolution, much more fun than a certain ride bearing the same name:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873745-M-1.jpg

And Sledge Hammer, a Huss Jump Squared

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873751-M.jpg

Well, at least we tried to hit Sledge Hammer, it broke down while in line and was closed the rest of the day - it looked insanely fun :(

It was finally time to head to the Italian Job and get the wait out of the way. The line was still out of the queue and it took an hour. I got lucky with the assigned seating and rode up front. They were having a ton of malfunctions, including airgates in the station and the lights/speakers on the trains. The launch was weak, the helix could have ended a 360 earlier and there was only one pop of airtime, and it was mild itself. The themeing was good but the ride still stunk, and is definately for families.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873857-M.jpg

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873878-M.jpg

I saw this while in line for Italian Job, and it's just plain wrong how they crammed the creek with fish:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873833-M.jpg

To round out the backside of the park, I rode the Mighty Canadian Minebuster in the back row. It was ok, not great atrtime and a tad rough. Traversing the waterpark was fun though.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873826-M.jpg

I then rode Tomb Raider, my first Zamperla flier. It sucked.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873885-M.jpg

Next, we headed to the centerpice mountain and hopped in line for Vortex, an Arrow suspended that had a decent setting but the ride was merely ok.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873903-M.jpg

Continuing in that area, I rode the park's Boomerang, The Bat. It sucked, even for a Boomerang.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873923-M.jpg

We then went and rode Thunder Run, a unique little powered minetrain type ride that gives two cycles through the mountain. It may have been the best ride in the park, and even it was merely mediocre.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873927-M.jpg

I was tired of riding all of the crappy coasters, so I decided to hop in line for another flat, and chose Shockwave, a Mondial Top Scan. The ride was stellar, and easily my favorite ride in the park. It was a fairly long wait (30 mins) but well worth it. It was suprisingly intense and fun, and now I want one closer to me. Nice footchoppers near the wild mouse ride btw.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873933-M.jpg

I checked out the Wilde Beast, an 80s model woodie that was also mediocre. Notice a patern of mediocrity yet?

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873937-M.jpg

Next up was Dragon Fire, a standard Arrow looper with two loops and a pair of corkscrews. It wasn't terribly rough but it was boring, and yet another crappy/mediocre PCW coaster.

I took a look at Cliffhanger, a Mondial Splashover,but couldn't ride because it broke down right as I was about to get in line. Too bad though, I have heard you get drenched and it was hot that day.

Heading back towards the front, I wanted to torture myself on their hang'n'bang, a Top Gun themed ride. It too was weak, though I have yet to find an SLC anything above weak.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873702-M.jpg

I almost skipped the ride, but I ended up riding their carousel, which was pretty old. They still rang the bell which was nicely nostalgic, and they rand the ride well. The horses were beautiful, but not top-notch.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29873730-M.jpg

At that point we left. The park sucked and it left a very sour taste in my mouth, and strengthened my disliking of Paramount Parks.

Six Flags Darien Lake
Darien Center, New York
Date: Wednesday, July 13, 2005

I rolled out of bed in time to head down to the park for opening. That, as usual, didn't work out as planned, but I only arrived 30 mins late this time. The sun was blazing that day, with temps peaking around 95 degrees and heat indicies hovering around 100 degrees. Fortunately, part of the reason I went was to ride the park's spankin' new ProSlides Tornado (not to mention ride Superman a couple of times, sample the flats a bit more, and to relieve stresses).

Upon arrival, I finally saw one of those giant slides that have been popping up over the past few years.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/30010399-M.jpg

I was pumped, but the waterpark didn't open until 11AM, so of course I headed to Superman. I have ridden this one before, and I enjoyed it a lot but it is nowhere near as good as it's younger sister in New England. I rode four times in a bit less than an hour, three in the back row one in the front. At least the coaster has the whole lake thing going.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/30010424-M.jpg
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/30010458-M.jpg
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/30010793-M.jpg (one of the best hills ever)

After that, I saw that Predator was a walk-on. Haha, still not worth it. I hated that ride and it will take a lot for me to even consider riding it again.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/30010438-M.jpg

Well, it was time for the waterpark. We lined up for the Tornado first (of course) and waited about 45 mins since it was so popular. The ride was much more fun that I had ever imagined, and if you go down on a 2-seat tube facing forwards, there is a little airtime sensation that was totally unexpected. I wouldn't mind getting one in my park if they ever plan to expand Skull Island

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/30010498-M.jpg
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/30010715-M.jpg

Next up was the wave pool, standard fun, and then to Hook's Lagoon, also pretty much your typical play area.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/30010516-M.jpg

After that I hit up Barracuda Bay (inner tube waterslides) and took the time to go down all four. Fun, but not great by any stretch of the imagination. After one more 45 minute wait for the Tornado, we dried up, changed back into regular clothes and ate lunch at a pizza place inside the waterpark. It was actually pretty good and moderately priced.

From there I was ready to hit the flats like I had intended, since none of the other coasters were demanding that I ride them. We headed over and rode Lasso, a Wave Swinger that was pretty much average. Then I saw this...

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/30010532-M.jpg

Oh, I was just weeping. Next up was the Grande Carousel, which wasn't very Grand, yet alone Grande. An average old ride that at least isn't a Chance fiberglass thing.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/30010534-M.jpg

I then went and rode Raging Seas, an older flat that is like a Himalaya but a bit rough in the transitions between going forwards and going backwards. It was kinda fun though. Sometime around here, I filled up my souvenir bottle with a frozen lemonade beverage that was nice but probably too much sigar for such a hot day.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/30010546-M.jpg

The Giant Wheel was next, a good gondola-style ferris wheel with a lengthy cycle that actually loaded fairly quickly because they boarded four gondolas at a time. This particular ride was from the World Expo or something like that back in the sixties.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/30010551-M.jpg

While on the ride, we saw Boomerang in action and just laughed at the thought of waiting in line for it.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/30010565-M.jpg

Then there was Viper, which is actually a decent ride but on such a hot day I was in no mood to wait for it, even if it was probably only 20 minutes.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/30010707-M.jpg

I sure as hell wasn't going to go wait half an hour for Mind Eraser, so that pretty much left me with Twister (a Top Spin ride) as the only thing I wanted to conquer. We went back, tried to ride after waiting a considerable amount of time (15 mins, but for this small of a park that's still pretty long for a flat located way in the back of the park). Upon boarding we got stuck just as the program was beginning and were up there for give/take 10 minutes before we were sent back down and off the ride. I was pretty much ready to go, but then I saw Silver Bullet, which is now the only Heintz Fahtze one I have been on thus far. It was good, but no Schwarzkopf.

We left the park around 3PM. It was hot that day and it wasn't letting up, and I had accomplished everything I wanted.

More photos at http://jophish17.smugmug.com/Travel

Date: Saturday, July 23, 2005
Park: Lake Compounce
Location: Bristol, CT

ACE Day at the Lake

Notice: I had a bad photography day, so bear with me on a more text-oriented TR here.

The park was scheduled to open at 11AM, with registration for the event running from 10AM to noon, and I was going to try to hit the park right at opening. Yea, right, I was travelling with Christina :rolleyes: We had stayed at the Clarion that is right near the entrance, and we could see the park from our window:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29997163-M.jpg

Quick tip: this hotel was very nice. It was clean and comfortable, but most importantly, very close to the park. Though it is more expensive that staying in Hartford or near the airport, I think in the end it pays off.

OK, to the park we go and we registered with the New England ACE staff. We met them and they were very friendly; they allowed us to purchase Midway Moolah which can be used anywhere in the park for 10$ off the face value, so I took in $20 worth.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29904682-M.jpg
(notice the park was busy, VERY busy)

What would most normal people do when they first hit the park? Boulder Dash, right? Well, we hit Wildcat first. We sat in the middle after a 20 minute wait (one train operation) and the ride was enjoyable. Not rough at all and the dips were pleasing, however, there was a lack of airtime in my mind.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29904753-M.jpg

From there we went and rode the Carousel next door. It was a very good mix'n'match Carousel with a working band organ. They ran it fast and with typical duration, and all they needed was a ring catch.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29904731-M.jpg

Next were the 80s-surfer-style bumper cars that were mediocre if even. The worst part was that we had an every-car-pileup that wasted half of our cycle. Ugh.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29997171-M.jpg

OK, enough messing around, I needed some Boulder Dash.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29997173-M.jpg

We went and waited, oh, maybe 10 minutes for the front row. The Lake was very good at dispatching quickly that day. Off we went, up the lift...

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29904805-M.jpg

.. and down we flew

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29904817-M.jpg
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29997194-M.jpg

The ride was great, even up front the airtime was abundant, sharp and enjoyable. I couldn't wait for the nighttime ERT and a few back-end rides. That coaster just flew remarkable fast, and ended up landing at #3 for me, sitting between Thunderhead and Phoenix.

We were then about to try the waterpark, but it was packed, and I mean shoulder to shoulder packed.I kinda/sorta talked her out of going, partially because I didnt feel like doing the waterpark thing, and partially because it was packed. We then went and rode the ski lift that many people rave about. While it was relaxing and such, it was just a typical ski lift to me.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29997212-M.jpg

With Thunder Rapids nearby and temps in the high 80s, I gave into Christina's wet and wild demands and waited 30 minutes to ride it. I almost made it through dry but about 3/4 of the way through the ride I got turned around facing the rapids backwards and got pounded and ended up wetter than everyone else. It was a very good rapids ride with nice, natural scenery.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29904904-M.jpg

We took the renowned Trolley back. While it was nostalgic and an easy way to be lazy, I didnt think it was anything too special, other than unique.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29997178-M.jpg

I then headed to the other side of the park, and hopped on the American Flyers. They looked sharp and rode ok, but nowhere near as good as other sets. Probably the worst I have been on. Sorry, no pic somehow. We then went and queued for Ghost Hunt, a shooter dark ride. The line almost filled the queue, and we waited almost an hour. It was a big dissapointment and almost a waste of my time.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29904951-M.jpg

It was... you guessed it... dinner time! So, we trekked back to the Pavilions on the absolute far end of the park. The buffet was impressive as we gathered at the ACE area. I ate tacos, ribs, sausage (with buffalo sauce), baked breads, strawberry shortcake icecream, and of course, free pepsi. Boulder Dash's maintenence guy was given a plaque by the group, and they raffled off various park memorabilia. Of the ~50 people there, at least half won something, but as usual, I was not included in that group.

We wandered off to the park again, at this time it was a shade past 7PM. The sun escaped behind the mountain, so in typical fashion, Christina needed to go to the car to get a sweatshirt. So, we went back and upon reenetering we rode the Wave Swinger, which was better that average. We then rode the Giant Wheel, an ordinary gondola ferris wheel with a good view of the Mountain Coaster's first drop.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29904769-M.jpg

Too bad it was nighttime, or else this could have become a great photo:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29997324-M.jpg

We then went back towards Wildcat. First, we rode the Musik Express, which had a pretty good cycle but was oddly playing hiphop music (cant say I have ever seen that) so it attracted some of the most obnoxious people to the area. The ride was fun, and the ride op did a good job DJ'ing, but it didnt go backwards :(

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29997407-M.jpg

I then went to shop in the gift shop next to Down Time, their S&S tower, and got one great photo on the day:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29997400-M.jpg

I bought a Boulder Dash sweatshirt, and I rarely buy clothing at parks but I liked the green color and love the ride's logo. We then went and rode Wildcat one last time, once again it the middle and once again no airtime. It was still fun at night.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29997390-M.jpg

By this time it was 9:40 or so, 20 minutes until closing. We went to that beautiful boathouse-turned-resteraunt on the shores of the Lake, and grabbed some free pepsi. I dont like Pepsi, but when its free it tastes oh so better. At about 9:50 we began to head back towards BD when we hopped in line for the last ride of the evening on the Carousel. While waiting, we had to put up with this drunken "character".

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29997448-M.jpg

On the next time around we were flashed. Oh my dear Lord I have never seen so much fat, but at least we got a good laugh out of it. The park was closed, so it was time for ERT. We headed up to Boulder Dash and waited for the security sweep. We were ready, and off we went.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29997468-M.jpg

I ended up with six rides during the ERT, two in the very back, two more in the back and two in the middle. Great airtime all around the train and the ride just flies and is insane at night. Sadly, Christina was tired (shes not much of a park marathoner and we had been there 12 hours) so we took off pretty early. It was fun and a very good event but we had to go back to the hotel and rest up for SFNE.

Date: Sunday, July 24, 2005
Park: Six Flags New England
Location: Agawam, MA

We arrived at around 10:30, and have only once gotten to a park at opening this summer and that was Knoebels, which is almost unfair because it opened at noon that day. The place was filling up quickly, though fortunately a lot of the folks headed into the waterpark.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29881708-M.jpg

My plan was to ride Mr. Six's first since it was new and a low-capacity ride. We waited 50 minutes and then realized there was a single rider line that we could have exploited since no one was using it. It was actually a pretty fun ride and more intense that one would think.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29881768-M.jpg

We then picked up a souvenir bottle (another scorcher of a day), laughed at Flashback, skipped Cyclone and set off towards Superman. The queue said it was going to be an hour wait, but oh wait, who is that calling my name? Well, I'll be darned! We ran into Larry and I couldnt help but say "what are the odds?". While waiting in line we caught up with each other's summers, he kept preaching about Avalanche, I taked about SFOG's new coaster, we put up with the linecutting... it was all fun :) We rode in the third to last row and I was fortunate not to get stapled too badly. This is the epitome of an airtime machine and was simply spectacular, another top 10 resident.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29881843-M.jpg
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29882239-M.jpg

From there we split with Larry, who was going to ride Superman again but we were off to the waterpark. While I often do not like to hit the waterparks, I really wanted to try their water "coaster". We waited an hour for it and it was much, much better than it looks in pictures. Definately one of my favorite water rides ever. We then went and rode the Tornado and just like the DL one it was awesome.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29882009-M.jpg

After a bit of playtime in the water areas, we changed back and went to eat. We grabbed some buffalo chicken fingers that were very good but ended up being a mistake. At 4:30 we were supposed to meet up with Larry again in front of Batman, but just after I finished eating he ran into me refilling our bottle, which was a bit after 4PM. After we all finished eating, we went and rode Batman. After a 20-30 minute wait, we boarded in the middle. I actually kinda like the floorless trains if not for anything else, for the awesome floating through the zero-G rolls. Batman was fun and eventful but it still cant compare to Medusa, which to me is still the standard.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29882091-M.jpg
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29882074-M.jpg

Sitting close by and with a short wait, we decided to ride Mind Eraser. It was broken down when we got in line, so a lot of people left. Larry taught me a neat little tip for broken down rides, and eventually, two (or maybe even three, although short) breakdowns later we rode. This SLC just seemed better, and we think it was the softer restraints. Real good footchoppers though.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29882133-M.jpg

While in line for Mind Eraser Christina began to feel ill. After riding, we sat down for a while and tried to get her to feel better. Though it was only 6PM or so she decided it was time to leave. I think she was both tired and overheated, so we parted ways with Larry and left. It was a fun little trip with some good rides, pleasant suprises and great times.

Date: Sunday, July 24, 2005
Park: Hoffman's Playland
Location: Latham, NY

As hard as it may be to believe for you diehard Knoebels fans, but I truly believe that there are bumper cars that hit harder.

Where?

[url=http://www.hoffmansplayland.com]Hoffman's Playland[/url] near Albany. I remembered reading about them in one of the Skooters reviews, and since I left SFNE a bit earlier than expected (and since Christina finally felt a bit better, damn SFNE chicken wings), I decided to give her a ride on something "similar to the Skooters", which was her fav. ride at Knoebels. For $2.50, you can ride their well-kept Lusse Auto Skooters, which is more expensive than the Knoebels ones unfortunately, and they only run for about 3-4 minutes, and there aren't as many and the arena is smaller, but... they hit even harder, somehow :-P

Anyway, for some photos:

The park was small. VERY small. Almost like some rich guy's backyard.
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29717565-M.jpg

Overview of the arena:
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29718212-M.jpg

Look at those beautiful Lusse's:
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29718196-M.jpg

Banging in action:
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29718225-M.jpg

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29718218-M.jpg

A close-up:
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/29718202-M.jpg

These things drew bloood, I have a gouge on my leg now. The worst part about that is that my knee stil hurts. I once read a quote along the lines of "its not a successful flight on the Flying Skooters unless you have bruises"? Are Lusse Skooters the same way?

These ones hit so hard that my camera bag, which was on the seat to on my left, actually flew out of the car when hit hard from the left... and I mean 5-6 feet away from the skooter too!

Anyway, if anyone is going up towards Lake George or something, consider stopping by and taking a couple of rides. Both of my rides were as good if not better than the Knoebels ones, and I really do swear they hit harder :)

Thanks for reading this short TR.

Date: Sunday, August 7, 2005
Park: Myrtle Beach Pavilion
Location: Myrtle Beach, SC

I hit the park the other day hoping to get some nice photos of the park and at least one last ride on Hurricane. I didn't have much time to kill, so I only bought one ride on Hurricane and spent about an hour taking photos. Here we go...

The section on the beach side of Ocean Blvd.:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/31459876-M.jpg

I like the skies and the palm tree in this one, even if the train is hard to see:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/31459861-M.jpg

I rode Hurricane first, and it was rough as hell. The G-trains lived up to their reputation from the back at least, though I still like the ride in an odd, twisted sort of way. One ride was enough for both my head and my pocket ($5 a ride).

I noticed the park had a band organ house, but sadly, it was closed:
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/31459886-M.jpg
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/31459922-M-1.jpg

Ah, now for the Carousel. Originally built in 1912 by Herschell-Spillman, the Pavilion picked it up in 1950. Its a very pretty carousel, though not the best, still something to marvel at if you enjoy a classic carousel. Now for some photos.

The working band organ:
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/31459931-M.jpg

An overview (notice very few animals move vertically:
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/31459942-M.jpg

Nighttime photo from outside the park:
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/31460373-M.jpg

Historical sign regarding the carousel:
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/31460343-M.jpg

With redevelopment bound to happen eventually (only so many bad checks can be written), it would be a shame to see such a nice carousel be lost. Not too many hand-carved, 90+ year old, seaside carousels with working organs are around anymore, I just hope it gets picked up be somebody

I noticed that the organ had gotten louder or something at that point, so I went to look and saw the Ruth & Sohn band organ had opened up and was playing. Photos:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/31460417-M.jpg
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/31460428-M.jpg
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/31460452-M-1.jpg

Well, it was time for me to get moving, so just a couple more photos:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/31460398-M.jpg
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/31460488-M-1.jpg
(almost a very good photo... almost...)

Date: Saturday, September 3, 2005
Park: Lake Winnepesaukah
Location: Rossville, GA

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34589938-M.jpg
Knoebels of the south!

So yes, I finally made it up to Lake Winnepesaukah, or as most smart people would say, "Lake Winnie". For some reason, I can actually pronounce the name of the park, whereas most have to subject themselves to the abbreviated form, and the only reason I point that out is because I have a terrible time pronouncing things usually.

About a week ago, I was out in the pool trying to relax. My step father came out of nowhere and said that we should go back to Lake Winnie. He's lived in Georgia his whole life and never heard of the place until I suggested that we stop last year coming home from Dollywood. Well, on today's trip the park was actually open, and I had company so finally, I was able to visit Lake Winnie.

We arrived around noon after stopping in Tenenssee for gas at the "cheap" price of $2.75. Yippee! I proudly walked into the park and we made our way to the end of the lake. For those that don't know, the park is formed around three sides of the lake, comparable to a "U", with the entrance being near the bottom right hand corner of the "U". We went on the Scrambler first since those are among my favorites. It was ok, nothing more, nothing less.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34573526-M.jpg

Next to the Scrambler is the Wacky Worm, a Preston kiddie coaster with a max drop of about 10 feet. What's nice about it is that my mom was posessed to go on it. It ws her first coaster in 10 years and probably the first credit-whore type of ride that I've been on in ages. I usually skip them but didnt want to pass up the opprotunity for her to ride.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34575917-M.jpg

Next up was the Antique cars back in the woods, which featured a good ride but poor vehicles. This ended up being a rarity though.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34574796-M.jpg

We then hit the Carousel, PTC #39 which originally opened in 1916 at Lakewood Park in Atlanta and was relocated to Lake Winnie in '67. Here you go adriahna:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34574443-M.jpg
http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34575372-M.jpg
(Bad photo :()

From there we grabbed a quick bite for lunch. This is where my memory comes back in from Knoebels: the food was pretty cheap, and best of all was the HUGE selection:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34576967-M.jpg

For $17 we picked up two souvenir cups, a medium coke, chili cheese nachos, a corndog and onion rings, and 8 of those dollars went to the souvenir mugs. Good deal if you ask me, especially when you equate the variety in there.

We then headed to Castle, their dark ride. It was pretty good, not quite as good as Knoebels, but it still has its strengths. I'm proud to say that this truck didn't get me (and thats not a spoiler you can hear the horn from outside the building anyways)

At that point we headed over towards Cannonball. My mom, in here bravery, wanted me to try out the mouse to see if she would like it. My answer: no. This was an L&T mouse and I pretty much only ride mice when its a new company. This one kinda stunk, the laterals were strong but a bit too strong. There weren't any great drops either, though they did run it with limited trimming so that's nice.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34578815-M.jpg

We then hit the wave swinger. My mom again rode and didn't remember how high it got. She got over it though and I was proud of here :happy: The cool thing about this one is that they built it where you can swing out over the lake a bit, plus the cycle was nice.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34576893-M.jpg

From there we headed further back. I hopped onto the Cannonball and took my first ride in the back. True to Allen form, the ride had some good airtime but not anything overhwelmingly great. Still a very smooth ride with some great bunny hops and camelbacks and a nice, slightly-twisting first drop.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34589428-M.jpg
(I hardly ever bring my camera on the rides, but I couldn't get too many good photos and they didnt mind so I brought it on. I probably wont be doing that very often again, it took away from me being able to enjoy the ride to the fullest)

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34579070-M.jpg
(notice the cannons? ;))

At that time I then went and rode the Paratrooper, but noticed this first:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34577787-M.jpg

The rare Fly-O-Plane was inop today. I was quite disappointed and hope that I can get a ride on my next trip.

OK, for the paratrooper. My Mom went on this too, Mind you, I havent been on one in a long time and didnt know what to expect, so I told her it wouldn't be too bad. Well, she couldn't handle it and had a fit. On a positive note, they ran it very long too.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34577908-M.jpg

While my mom got used to walking again, I rode Conestooga, a Huss Rainbow. It was very good and there was considerable floating G's. At this point I really started to believe the whole "Knoebels of the South" thing. They too ran their rides well, except the so-so scrambler, but again it's just like Knoebels! They were really clean though, and Lake Winnie did have seatbelts

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34578277-M.jpg

After that, we headed over behind the Cannonball and hit the rides back there. First was an Orbiter which was run insanely fast, even for a ride that is already quite intense.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34580867-M.jpg

Then we all rode the bumper cars. Having two sets of bumper cars in my top 10, I have come to expect a lot from bumper cars. Well, these ones ended up being pretty darn good for non-Lusses. Once you equate in a good cycle and large arena/volume of cars, it's probably the best non-Lusses Ive been on.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34579950-M.jpg

We had pretty much covered that entitre half of the park by then and headed around the lake. We rode the Ferris Wheel first, which was new to them but just an old Eli Bridge ferris wheel. It was a nice ride hampered a bit by akward operating procedures.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34582857-M.jpg

It gave a nice view though:

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34583374-M.jpg

We then hopped on the Tilt a Whirl, which ran very good and we got two great segments of massize rotating.

http://jophish17.smugmug.com/photos/34584063-M.jpg

At that point we walked towards the Boat Chute, the only ride besides the Cannonnball that I did not want to miss. Well, I made a quick stop and rode the pirate ship first ;) It was run high, fast and long too. Can you say Kuh Kuh Kuh Knoebels?

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OK, we finally hit the Boat Chute. It had the longest line of the day of a grand old 10 minutes. For those that don't know, this is the oldest sawmill plunge in existence, dating to 1927 and hand-built by the park's owner. The ride was really cool, better than most splash boats out there. I knew it had a tunnel.. but I didn't realize how long and dark it was

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We proceeded to ride the Matterhorn. I've never been on one of these and it kicked ass. Though a bit rickety that added to is as you swung feely and wildly while rotating - a very nice ride. After that, we were going to try to catch the train but just missed it by seconds. I figured I coul dfit in a ride on their round-up while it took its trip around the park. Boy was I wrong they ran their round-up longer than I have ever seen. Sure, I haven't seen but a few in action, but this one was more than 5 minutes long. The train did its lap quicker than the ride went through its cycle: my mom and stepdad ended up waiting for the next train. It was very intense, which is a given, but the duration compounded with the fact that the padding was too short for my head (or I'm too tall) and I ame off dizzier than I have ever gotten off a ride, and with an ache of sorts on the back of my head, so my thoughts on it are mixed.

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I was ready for that relaxig trip around the park, and we took the next train. I have never been on a C.P. Huntington. I am a pretty big fan of steam locomotives and nothing less is inferior to me. In fact, I think these trains are a joke for anyhting outside of a kiddieland, but I rode anyways to get a valid opinion on the ride. It just isn't the same :(

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Once we got back that was about it for the day. We did pretty much the entire park in five hours. I ended up riding Cannonball again up front and going through their giftshop/museum.

Overall, it was a very nice park. You Knoebels freaks would like it, I know I did. It reminded me visually of THE Lake yet of Knoebels in pretty much every other way. The only thing they are missing is a modern thrill flat like Fandango or something. Another great atribute was the climate: it was in the low 90s today but considerable amounts of large, shady-bearing oaks and a constant breeze made it very tolerable, seemingly taking 15 degrees off of the temp. I can't wait to go back, its hard to believe that I missed out on this for 19 years.

BTW, Cannonball was my 74th new coaster of the year, and earlier this year I set 75 as my goal. I really hope that I don't fall one short, but so long as everything works out SkeiKra will probably be luck 75 :D Oh yea, feed me:

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Date: Friday, October 24, 2005
Park: Busch Gardens Tampa
Location: Tampa, FL

On Thursday afternoon I left Atlanta and headed south on 75 looking forward to visiting BGT. I got there around 10 at night and got a hotel near the park (thankfully one of the clean ones in the area!) and next morning I was up and ready to go.

I got to the park promtly and at 9:30 I was on my way to Montu. Larry was still en route so I figured I'd take a ride on Montu as a warm up.

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Montu used to be my favorite Invert but now it didn't seem as good as it used to be. The ride seemed slow and forceless at points but then again it was strong in others. I knew I'd have to try again at some point in the day :)

Larry called and was at the park and I was headed towards the entrance to meet him. Fortunately, he managed to pick the slowest moving line and I got to check out the marching band, one of my favorite things about BGT:

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Once Larry got in, where else would we go but to SheiKra! We passed Gwazi and went back to get in line for SheiKra. We figured the front row would be the place to sit due to the views on the drops. Up and down we went and I think we both agreed that it wasn't all that great up front. It was probably a 7/10 from the front, but we gave it another shot, this time in the middle row. Wow, I think we both were suprised by the nice bit of airtime on the drops, so we had to try the third row after that, and we did. I'm not sure what number the ride will get, but 8 is looking most likely. I think I actually liked the air we got in the middle row the best :)

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On we marched at that point, heading back to Kumba to ride the first B&M sitdown looper. We rode in the back row and I enjoyed the ride as much as I did before. It wasn't as rough as some of the Florida folks say it is and provided some sweet inversions and movements. Still an 8.5/10 I'd say.

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The classic Kumba photo

We then headed to the center of the park and took our ride on Scorpion, the great Schwarzkopf! It provided a nice punch in the limited layout and was pretty good, even for a Schwarzkopf. The G's in the helices were a bit too much to keep my hands up which is pretty sweet, though I did catch my hand on one of the bushes. Probably a 7.5/10, and I'm not sure how I will round at this point. It was fun but not quite as good as Laser so I'm guessing 7 will be the final score.

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We were going to get the Cheetah Chase credit for me but the line was too long for a mouse ride in my opinion, so we walked onto Phoenix. I never really liked these rides and it was just an "ok" flat.

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From there we headed back to Montu and got two rides in the back. The first three inversions are all pretty good but the batwing is where the disapointments start. On my first ride they had the trim turned off and the batwing was still the best part of the ride, but on these rides they were on and the batwing was rendered pretty forceless and just ok. On all three rides the mid course almost brought the train to a complete stop and the second half suffered. The inversions in the trenches were still pretty good, but in between (especially in the turn pictured below), the ride slowed down too much :( Montu is probably an 8.5 rounding to a 9 in the end, so it will apear that nothing is changing when in fact it is ;)

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By now it was around 2 and we needed to eat to conribute to Larry's food survey! Earlier it was determined that the Zambia Smokehouse would be the place to eat so we walked all the way across the park and I don't think either of us regretted it. I got the brisket while Larry sampled everything. We both agreed that the brisket was great and Larry's thoughts that the ribs were good but not great (tell me if I got the wrong) are identical to my thoughts from the Trapper's Smokehouse, which was very similar to the Zambia one. Still, a great place to eat and I think we give it two thumbs up :good::good:

After eating it was time to challenge Gwazi. Bear with me because I'm not the one who will remember, but we went right first and rode in the front seat of the back car (and for future reference this is where we rode Gwazi every time). The ride was pretty good but not great by any means, except the laterals were GCI good. We then rode the other side and it seemed quite a bit better (except the damn seat belt!) and we then decided to try the other side again, but it just didn't live up to the track on the left side of the station. Probably a 7 and a 7.5 respectively.

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It was about an hour 'till closing at that point, and Larry decided to leave before the mess of traffic hit (good call Larry). I figured I'd walk around and catch up on my photos, and took another lap around the park photographing the nice park. All of my photos are available [url=http://jophish17.smugmug.com/gallery/884286/1]here[/url]

I saw Sheikra was reduced to a very short wait so I decided that one more ride wouldn't hurt, and because of the stupidity of pretty much everyone in line the last two rows of the second train in the loading station were empty, so I walked on. The ride was pretty good from the middle again, but the second lap we took was the best in my mind.

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There is the end to my time at the park, a shot of SheiKra gliding into the evening. I drove back north and was back home by 1AM and had driven 980 miles and went to BGT in about 35 hours. This was a nice little trip to a pretty good park and I was able to pick up my 75th new coaster credit of the season, which was the goal I set back in the spring so it was very cool to reach my goal! Thanks for reading :)

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I actually have two-three more parks to visit this year so I'll just piggyback when they come, but I had a free night and decided to compile them when I had a chance