Electerik

I want to say that I saw Graeter's in a grocery store or something once, but didn't realize it was supposed to be anything special, and thus didn't try it. I will make a point of it next time I'm in an appropriate area of the country. According to their website, they'll ship anywhere in the continental US--but at $80 for 6 pints, I may have to hold off until I've tried it first. According to their website, they weren't actually scheduled to be open any time while we were there. Still thought about driving by, but never got to it. We definitely want to do it at some point, though.

^ Smisty and I are just great photographers.

Yes, just down the road from Jaxson's Ice Cream Parlor is Boomers of Dania Beach, home to the best wooden coaster in Florida, the Dania Beach Hurricane. Now here's the weird part: Boomers isn't anything special. It's a Family Entertainment Center--a bit bigger than average, but no better than any other. And yet, somehow, this (s)crappy little FEC manages to keep their 10 year old wooden coaster running great, when they can't even keep the majority of their mini golf courses open or their arcade games working. Don't get me wrong, the Hurricane is a bit rough in spots, and it squeals a bit around the turns--but I've been on much, much worse coasters at much, much better places. Boomers!, Dania Beach Yes, we're here for the coaster. But we like mini golf, too. So this should be a good day. They seem to be making plenty of money. Uh-oh. This is the line to buy tickets. To everything. (You know, you'd think they could manage to keep the counter that takes peoples' money properly staffed. I'm just saying.) I stared at this the entire time in line, and still couldn't make heads or tails of it. I ended up buying the 250 for $50 and two unlimited coaster wristbands for $12 each (since the coaster isn't included in any packages). So, there's an arcade, a snack bar, and a really sad carousel. Ooh, a coaster game! We're not too into Laser Tag, so I can't comment beyond the fact that they have it. Indoor rock climbing. Venturing out one side of the building, we find some small family rides... ...some odd-looking (yet still tiny) thrill rides... ...batting cages... ...a really big bumper boat pool... ...and a rather dull-looking oval go cart track. Heading back in, we spot this mini bowling alley thing. We attempt to play (since none of the stuff we just saw really appealed to us), but find that it's not working. Wow, an FEC with a bar. Awesome. To get to the mini golf and the Hurricane, you must go through the birthday party room. Hey...this looks pretty nice! First up, mini golf. There are five(!) courses. Here's number 1. Number 2. Number 3. Um...uh-oh. And over there, blocked off and closed without even the sign that number 3 got, are courses 4 and 5. So, as I was saying, there are two mini golf courses. (According to an employee, the others have been closed "for a long time now.") But, hey, we can at least play the two! "I'm sorry, sir, all we have are children's putters." We tried to play a few holes anyway, but the putters were just too small, and we gave up on the mini golf idea in fairly short order. So, really, we should have just bought the coaster wristbands and been done with it. The ride rules. Pretty standard, though "no casts of any kind" seems a bit more strict than most theme parks. The controls operator has a laptop, no doubt tied into the safety system so he can monitor what's happening anywhere on the ride. He's not just goofing off on his own laptop he brings to work with him, no sirree. High tech stuff there, Boomers! And now, a ride on the Dania Beach Hurricane. Wait, this ride has a transfer track?? Oh, no it doesn't. It just had extra bits of track back there. I'm confused. Wow, look at that go cart track! We didn't see that! How do you get over there?! Well, we'll worry about that later! Wow, this is actually a pretty good coaster! Lots of airtime, not too rough (mostly), and a pretty interesting layout. I never got to ride Thunder Eagle in Pigeon Forge (it was long gone by the time I moved up there), so this was my first experience with Coaster Works. Kind of a shame that they're not still around, based on this. This shot makes it look like an out-and-back, instead of the twister it really is. Squeal!!! (Oh well, nobody's perfect.) I'm going to go ahead and go on record here: This is the best wooden coaster at an FEC anywhere. :oP Exiting the station. Hey...the new operator doesn't have a laptop. Hmmm.... What the heck is that? I mean, I know what it is, but why is it there? Is there something in it? Well, it's blocked off, so maybe it's just...um...theming for the coaster? The gift shop stand thingy. Hi, Barry! So, at this point, we still had lots of "points" to spend, so we burned 'em up on Skee-ball and the bass fishing game. There were some other things we wanted to try, but (shockingly) they were out of order. Ooh, I want a cotton candy maker! Oh. (Okay, okay, that's just a joke. Misty got some good stuff.) Oh, right, let's go try to find that thing. Yes, it's "just across the street." And, well, down the street. A bit. And there's no crosswalk or sidewalk or anything, but you'll figure it out. This...doesn't look so good up close. Oh my. Um...are those port-a-potties? Are there not bathrooms in the arcade? Oh. I guess putting "arcade" on the sign is better than "abandoned building." No long hair! These go carts ain't for hippies! (Seriously, there are like 20 of these signs around the entrance. I guess they've had some problems.) Boy, would I! Let's get the heck outta here. Hey, that looks fun. Let's go back over there (before we get stabbed!) This coaster being here is like seeing a homeless man wearing a Rolex. (Actually, that would make *more* sense.) We sure will, Hurricane! Oh, wait...will you still be at Boomers?

Though I don't rank Belmont's Giant Dipper particularly highly, I love the look and compact nature of it. And I'm always up for mini golf! Looking forward to checking out more of this.

Yes, of course! I should have made it more clear that they make their own ice cream. (Though hopefully it was implied by my "best ice cream in Florida" declaration.) Honestly, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to visit them if they didn't. And for those that don't already know it, my number one ice cream anywhere is Toft's, in Sandusky, Ohio. /Ice cream nerd.

Just used it, and found it very helpful. I've voted in the past, but I tend to start from scratch each year so I'm not just voting for things out of habit. Anyway, my top 3 this year are all in Indiana. Voyage, Cornball, Raven.

Before I begin this update, I'd like to give a shout out to BeemerBoy, without whom I might never have heard of this place to begin with, and also for reminding me about it on Facebook just before we headed down that way. Thanks, Scott. Jaxson's Ice Cream Parlor & Restaurant, Dania Beach Part of a strip mall, but has allegedly been there for over 50 years. According to the menu, their signature "Kitchen Sink" is reserved for parties of four or more, is $12.95 per person, and sharing is not allowed. So by my reading, if there are four of you, it will cost $51.80. But if there are five of you, the same amount of ice cream will cost a total of $64.75. Real thing, or total BS? I'll let you decide for yourself. (Or, you know, you could Google it, I guess.) There's a walk-up window if you just want ice cream. Said ice cream, incidentally, is the best we've found so far in Florida. The inside of the first room, looking back at the entrance. License plates and craziness seems to be the theme. I'm very excited to be here. These are not today's flavors. These are just today's *special* flavors. There are about 35 or 40 normal ones. We're shown to the second room (which was actually the original half of the establishment, I believe.) The food is quite expensive, for what it is. But it is good, and the place is packed from about noon on. Luckily, we got there right when they opened (at 11:30am) and had no problems. Also, they give you free popcorn. :oP Our burgers were $12.95 a piece, and didn't even come with fries. But, again, they were really good. The chili cheese fires were just okay, though. Dunt-dunnana-na-naaaah! For the record, the big one is mine. It's a "Chocolate Suicide Sundae," except that I had them make it with "Death by Chocolate" ice cream instead of just plain old chocolate. So it was doubly deadly. But that's not what caused my heart attack.... The only bad thing about Jaxson's. If you like ice cream (and are independently wealthy), you should definitely go, if you're in the area. And why might you be in the area? Well, there does just happen to be a pretty good wooden roller coaster about a mile away. Stay tuned....

The Theme Park Guy has his own site, with more photos, that's well worth checking out. He's quite a nutjob. And also my hero.

Yes, for some people, the over-the-shoulder-restraints could be a problem. (*cough* me) Having said that, I do think Cheetaka* looks amazing. I especially like the spiky "crown" supports that go out past the track. /* I refuse to use Cheetaka's slave name.

I think it's great that they've stepped up their original (rather tepid) plans to something more exciting. I have to think it's at least partially in response to Harry Potter. (Not that Disney felt "threatened" per se, but when the other guy swings, you swing back.) Yes, I'm saying that if Potterland hadn't been a huge success, WDW probably would have kept their original "all princess meet-and-greets" plan.

GhostRider was once the best wooden coaster I've ever been on, at my favorite park anywhere. None of which, sadly, is true anymore. But the question is: Is this Cedar Fair's fault for being shortsighted, or do they correctly gauge that the general public is only interested in new things, and therefore consider it a waste of resources to maintain that which is old? Does current Knott's make more money than old Knott's? Those two rides were the heart of Knott's Berry Farm. I've no doubt that Cedar Fair shall knock them both over someday, to put in something new and stupid and shiny. But until then, KBF still has some worth in it. Thanks, Bud. /Worked a lot of rides. None better than Mine Ride.

The first one (kind of): Corkscrew at Knott's Berry Farm. Followed by Revolution at Magic Mountain. Yes, I am that old.

They could also expand a bit further into JP. There's really not much between HP and the Discovery Center. But, yeah, I'm not sure why they didn't take all of Lost Continent in the first place. And for those bemoaning the possible loss of Mythos, I'm really going to anger you with my HP expansion plan: Tear out Dragons. It takes up a huge amount of space, and even with HP crowds, it almost never gets above a 10 minute wait. Put in a new, more compact single-track coaster, a proper Hogwarts Express train ride, and probably about 10 other things. /When they opened IOA, Dragons was supposed to be the killer ride that people would run to. //Now it's the middle of super-everyone-loves-it-land, and still no one will ride the thing. ///TAER IT DOWN Obviously, they're not actually going to do this. Even though they should. Yeah, I'm evil. Yeah, I'm an idiot. That's fine.

I feel about octopuses the way Tyler feels about mayonnaise. So, yes, there will now be one roller coaster in the world that I will be afraid to ride.

^ Okay, starting now, no one discuss over-the-shoulder restraints ever again.

Yeah, I came out pretty strongly in favor of Verbolten in the survey as well. "Revenge of the Black Forest"? That's almost as bad as Cheetah Hunt! What, am I being chased by trees??

^ I like that. I also like the way my thread has devolved recently. By the by, the just released CE14 starts with the song Fresh from Devo's new album, so props to Robb as well!

This sentence is amazing. I might just have to make special trip to Epcot's Liberty Inn for one of their new ham and bacon topped veggie burgers!

Go to Dollywood there are SEVERAL! Just to be clear: There are several multi-level go cart tracks in Pigeon Forge. Dollywood itself does not have go carts. /Sorry if that was obviously obvious.

^ Last time I rode Beach Bend's Haunted House, it was nothing but darkness and buzzers. So, it definitely needs something.

No mention of adding any type of coaster, from what I could tell. I dropped by the place a few weeks ago, but there really wasn't anything unique or appealing enough to get me to spend any money there. It did give me some ideas on how to make a good FEC, but mostly by being so darned standard.

Um...Ripsaw Falls? Revolution and Colossus at SFMM?

Ripsaw has been changed many, many times since it opened--largely in the name of safety. It seems to me (as an outside observer) that it's now a very labor-intensive ride with not-so-impressive capacity. Considering how much money the park has been pulling in lately, this might be the perfect excuse/opportunity to tear it down and replace it with something else. Especially considering that the park's largest expansion area is right next door. Wild speculation, of course. Obviously, much may depend on how much money it will cost to fix it. But if the two numbers are even remotely in the same ballpark (repair vs. build something new), my guess would be that they end up taking it out. Full disclosure: I worked on Ripsaw Falls for two years (back before the ride had lapbars), and back then, the ride was easily the most problematic in the park. However, I have zero information about what's going on right now, or whether the changes made to the ride previously have fully alleviated any concerns that might once have existed. I have heard the same rumors as everyone else that IOA is looking to expand Potterville, but obviously Ripsaw won't help them with that. So if we see and quick and dirty fix, with a substantial loss of theming, then I'm pretty sure Ripsaw's days will be numbered. /Personally, I hope not. //Mountie for life.

I had to read that, like, four times to figure it out. It's worth noting that that was my winter get up in Pigeon Forge, but this was the first time it was actually cold enough to wear it in Florida.

All I can add to this is that Shivers was definitely around during Spooktacular. But that was the first I had heard of him. Shivers, in superhero costume for Halloween.