Invertalon

If you clear out the GTT, turnpike cars and employee dorms over there, you have HUGE space to work with. Pretty exciting... Although, I am sad the ice skating show is going away. Was our favorite show to see on summer days to cool off.

The Euclid Beach Carousel has reopened at the Western Reserve Historical Society on University Circle in Cleveland, Ohio. This grand 1910 Carousel is a historic landmark from the late Euclid Beach Park, which last operated nearly 45 years ago. It has been restored and opened up at the museum, and it was beautiful! We stopped by today to ride it along with capture some photos... Amazing restoration. It was really cool to see a few older couples who clearly had history with the attraction, holding hands while riding together side-by-side. Talked with some other knowledgeable people who explained some additional history along with information on the refurbishment. It was almost like stepping back in time a bit, and the vibe was really cool. They also had available some classic Euclid Beach custard (malt... mmmm), along with some other park tidbits such as bumper cars, rocket ships and signage. For more photos: Video: Enjoy! 1B5A5874.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5943.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5768.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5775.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5769.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5778.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5790.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5881.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5795.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5796.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5804.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5809.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5812.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5817.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5820.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5815.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5831.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5850.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5853.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5859.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5847.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5869.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5877.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5771.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5772.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5883.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5909.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5920.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5925.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5837.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5931.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5843.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5936.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5930.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5885.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5770.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A5879.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr

Was there Saturday and Sunday... Saturday all the big coasters closed except for Maverick which ran off-on throughout the day. Supposedly, winds of 90+mph gusts at the top of the rides. We ended up riding Mean Streak (trimless which made the first half really awesome), Blue Streak, Iron Dragon, etc... Saw a show and walked around. Sunday was picture perfect though... Every ride was open, crowds light and just an incredible day to be there. Rode everything except Maverick and Gemini for whatever reason, with Millennium Force being my final ride of the season in the front seat using my fast-pass ticket I had all year and never used. Really good last ride! Also did Slingshot which was my second time on such a ride... Really crazy! Amazing views of the park up top. But honestly, you could not ask for a better day at the park!

Here is the second half of the update! This one includes all the pics from within the zones. Again, more pics can be found Here! 1B5A3677.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3681.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3685.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3718.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3713.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4691.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4692.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4352.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3815.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3836.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4365.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4104.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3833.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3789.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4499.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4514.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4526.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4563.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4577.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4031.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4053.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4144.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4235.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4253.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4275.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4385.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4358.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4189.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4772.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4379.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4760.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4411.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4439.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4439.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4459.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4461.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4472.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4478.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4601.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4615.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4617.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4645.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4659.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3884.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3908.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3927.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3916.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3954.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3995.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A4337.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3973.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr

Thanks! And no, going through the houses does not spoil or ruin anything, IMO. We actually did the tour on our third night I believe it was, so we had two days prior to enjoy the houses as-is. I personally would never want to do the tours before going through them normally first! The tours do give you a much higher appreciation for the detail. I think once you see them lights on, you enjoy the houses more. You look for all the detail and all the hidden stuff you normally wouldn't. I absolutely love it! I highly recommend doing the the tours. This was our third time doing them and we plan to do them every year going forward

I finished editing my first batch of photos from HHN24 Orlando! Short TR Summary: The event was good, but not as solid as it was last year. My favorite houses ended up being Alien Vs. Predator and Dusk Till' Dawn. In total for four nights, we went through the houses 41 times total. The zones were really good and I like the variety of themes that they had.. I didn't really care for the Face Off zone, however... I would actually hardly call it a scare-zone and more of fashion show of sorts... I wish the characters were actually running around and not just on display. The makeups were pretty good though. My least favorite houses would be dollhouse of the damned and roanoke (beautiful, but the scares were lacking). Walking Dead was just so-so, and I wish they would move on from that franchise, but I have a feeling it will be back next year given the survey I got after the event... Oh well! I look forward to coming back to HHN25 next year! This first picture set just includes the lights-on tour photos from six of the eight houses... Next week, I will have part 2 uploaded and that update will feature all the zones and ambient stuff around the park. Video is planned as well, but that likely will not be for a few more weeks. Currently, I have just under 400 photos uploaded... To check out more than what was posted here in higher resolution... Click HERE! Note: The second half of this update with all the zone photos are a few posts down. Enjoy! 1B5A3184.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3188.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3189.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3192.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3197.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3200.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3204.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3213.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3217.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3225.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3227.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3235.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3240.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3243.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3247.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3249.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3251.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3256.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3261.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3262.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3267.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3271.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3274.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3285.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3292.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3299.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3306.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3312.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3320.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3320.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3328.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3334.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3340.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3346.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3348.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3349.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3360.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3362.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3364.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3368.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3372.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3375.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3382.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3482.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3577.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3583.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3592.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3593.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3597.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3600.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3621.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3630.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3631.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3635.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3636.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3643.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3644.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3650.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3659.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3663.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3666.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3669.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3385.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3389.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3405.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3422.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3429.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3441.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3444.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3448.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3455.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3457.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3466.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3470.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3488.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3493.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3501.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3509.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3512.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3518.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3521.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3528.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3540.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3542.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3559.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3552.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3560.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr

Spent the past week down in Orlando for HHN... Overall, very good year! We ended up going through 41 houses in 4 nights at the event. I think the house line-up was not as strong as last year but the zones were fantastic. Dusk till Dawn, AVP and Halloween were really good houses. Dracula, Dolls of the Damned and Gore and Giggles were at the bottom of my list. The others fell in the middle somewhere. I hope this can be the last year for Walking Dead, it is just so uninspired anymore. The house was decent, but zombies are just not exciting... While Halloween was a fun house, I think it is a bit overrated myself. It was far from scary and more-so cool just because the movie is so iconic. It was well done though, for sure. Roenoke is a really "pretty" house, but scares are lacking. Also, it is a very gory but you hardly see any of that unless you do the lights on tour. Incredible detail throughout, but it just fell flat in terms of experience. Alien vs. Predator I looked forward to the most... It did not disappoint at all! Amazing detail. Loved this one! I wish we had more houses of this caliber at the event this year. Dusk till Dawn ended up being the house we went through most (10 times)... I am a big fan of the series and this house was awesome. I can see others not being impressed, especially if they never saw the movie or just wanted something more scary... But IMO, it was just a fun, solid house. High energy and great scares. Tied between this and AVP for top house. Bill and Ted was pretty weak this year... Or I am just clueless to this past years pop culture, not sure. All the zones (except Face Off, if you could call that a zone) were well done. I enjoy the unique zones over a park-wide one for sure. The interaction with the crowds in the purge zone was really awesome, especially during the auction. Overall, not my favorite year... But still really good. I am working on all my photos (and video) from the event.. We did both lights on tours, so plenty of shots within the houses will be included as well. Some previews on my FB page if interested (here!) but I plan to do an update here once I get them all uploaded with a better TR.

Are people really comparing an animation to an actual POV and trying to see what will be faster?

Thanks! I also love that picture... It was just a really cool perspective with the lighting/fog and relatively unbusy midway. I was hoping to catch the shot without anyone in the way, but I waited around a bit with no such luck. Always some drifters... lol

Another batch of photos! Includes photos of Mantis, the decorated Hotel Breakers, midway stuff, etc... The next set will be more focused on "ambient" stuff in the zones/midways. 1B5A2445.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2450.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2451.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2453.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2458.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2461.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2464.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2466.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2467.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2469.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2472.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2478.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2482.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2486.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2495.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2498.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2508.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2511.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2515.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2521.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2528.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2547.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2590.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2866.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2914.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2938.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2942.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2651.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2671.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2674.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2681.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2700.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2717.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2724.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2736.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2742.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2746.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2756.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2751.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2797.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2802.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2806.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2812.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2825.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2835.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2837.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2965.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2968.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2978.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2986.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3006.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3018.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3015.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3030.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3037.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A3044.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr

Sunday was completely dead... Walk-on everything as far as I saw including Dragster, Maverick and MF. The houses had no waits, either. Weather was perfect. Amazing day.

I agree! There has been some great changes throughout the park this year. The front of the park has livened up a bit with the pony rides, kid pedal tractors, foam pit, etc... It was really popular with the families. The back of the park had the new zone (can't remember name currently!) by Maverick which was cool. I really liked the skeleton horses and wagon props. Overall, the park just had a really good atmosphere! We had gone back yesterday as well and had a picture perfect day (pun intended... those will be coming this week!). For those who are unaware, Hotel Breakers has also been decorated. The main lobby and hallways are just beautiful! Hundreds, if not thousands of bats above the guest rooms along with other décor. I never would have thought to check in there before, but it was awesome. I will have pictures of that as well coming in the next update here. We watched the Midnight Syndicate show twice more on Sunday... It was funny seeing people constantly leave the theater because they were scarred! Afterwards, you can talk with the two guys from Midnight Syndicate. They are really friendly, cool guys to talk with! They have been receiving excellent feedback from everyone and on Saturday night completely filled the Good Time Theater and had to turn people away. Great problem to have! We had watched the magic show yesterday as we had missed it on Friday night. The bass level was a bit extreme with the audio, but the show was good! Everything in the park was walk-on, including MF, Dragster and Maverick... Along with the haunted houses, so we did a few of those as well. I highly recommend the event this year! It is easily the best year I can remember for HalloWeekends! The house line-up is solid, the shows are great and atmosphere is better than ever.

Me too! I always have liked how Mantis looked in the park! I heard there is land clearing going on around the ride currently. Makes me wonder if there is more going on with the ride/area than just floorless trains.

Photos from the first night of HalloWeekends! Yesterday was the opening night of HalloWeekeneds! The park again threw an event for coaster club members along with media, and it was another top notch event. We were treated to Gatekeeper ERT from 4-5pm, early entry rides, dinner at the Midway Market, first guests into the new Hexed house and a bright orange HalloWeekends hoodie! The park was filled with really cool new midway decor and the Hexed house was really well done. We had the opportunity to try out the skeleton key rooms and those were a unique addition to the houses. The standout skeleton key room was at Eerie Estate. Although we missed it somehow, we heard the Zombie High room included eating or drinking various insects or other gross items. I guess I am somewhat glad we missed it! We saw two shows yesterday including the Midnight Syndicate show in the Good Time Theater which was AWESOME! At first I thought it was a bit slow to start, but a really fun story line built up and the ending was just amazing. The production of the show was a step up and included some really great effects. The crowd was really into it and the show received a well deserved round of applause following. There was even a surprise once you left the theater... Here are some pics from the event... More to come later this week. To see more, click HERE! 1B5A2135.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2142.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2148.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2151.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2156.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2158.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2159.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2163.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2166.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2441.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2189.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2201.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2223.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2247.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2259.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2261.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2317.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2335.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2340.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2342.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2351.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2353.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2357.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2359.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2361.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2367.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2369.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2376.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2384.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2419.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2432.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A2438.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr

This coming Sunday. Since the park is closed both Friday and Saturday, there won't be too many weekend-resort guests visiting. Also, the weekend before HalloWeekends has always been an amazing weekend to go. In the past, this Friday has been open. In fact, CP decided to eliminate this coming Friday from the calendar just a few weeks ago (pretty lame to change it weeks out) but historically has been the best riding day of the year IMO. We go each and every year and its usually DEAD. Two years ago they let you cut from unload to load on Dragster just to get weight in the trains and there was not enough people to get the train full. Everything was walk-on.

Yeah, GK is far from overhyped. Most enthusiasts don't care for it much. I have talked about it a few times now, but opening year up until about mid-season I would have agreed. Media day, I was completely underwhelmed and I thought that until about mid-season... They ride then had higher operating condition limits for windspeed (it used to close often for wind), the ride was running faster (likely due to wheel compound change) and the vests no longer lock on you. After that, it became one of my favorite rides in the park. The night rides are just incredible, IMO. During media day, the ride would just glide through the MCBR with no slow down at all, now it actually hits with enough speed to slow the train down a bit before the ending helix. Even better is the super-high capacity and minimal lines near closing on very busy nights. I only really ride stuff at CP when walk-on anymore, so its always welcome.

I have a degree in mechanical engineering and currently work as a combustion engineer/product manager. I support a line of high-velocity industrial burner products used for forging, pre-heat, melting, glass/brick production, etc... My day-to-day includes technical and field service support, quoting and engineering custom burners, emissions estimates, a little bit of project management, etc... On the side I also do some freelance photography stuff which (park wise) included working with Cedar Point to do their live-entertainment photos last year (which can be seen on their website, brochures, etc...) along with supplying photos to Fun Spot America. I have done industrial photography for a few large companies for advertisement/marketing/archival purposes, along with special events as well. Photography really is just a hobby for me, but if somebody is willing to pay me for my services I absolutely will do the work. One of my favorite (yet free) projects was working with them on supplying any of my photos for the HHN 23 yearbook: http://www.hhnyearbook.com/?page_id=6706

Some pics from a recent hotel stay... The hotel opened a few days before we arrived (Hilton's Homewood Suites). Was a really nice hotel nearby to Kings Island. I did not expect all the park photography in the room, cool touch! 1B5A0268.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0270.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0285.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0282.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0278.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0290.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr

This ride seriously looks like pure perfection to me. Leviathan is one of my top rides of all time and this layout takes Leviathan and just adds a whole bunch more awesomness to it. I can't wait to get to this park next year... So jealous!

I agree... I don't like the use of numbers in a ride name... Intimdator 305... Magnum XL-200... Fury 325... But it's not that big of a deal.

I know right? Makes me wonder if it is a method to get people buzzing and create more interest. Maverick was leaked early, Banshee blueprints were leaked early and now Carowinds. They are not doing a good job keeping the information in trusted hands!

CP winning the golden ticket award is not a given this year... Last year, it was VERY close with Europa Park.... It could flip... It was 23% to 22% last year.

We headed down to Kings Island for the weekend to attend Beast Buzz on Saturday... I was pretty excited, as I have yet to have a night ride on the Beast (crazy... I know) and honestly think the ride is one of the most highly overrated rides, next to Magnum. But I will admit, that did change! Just a short summary: Saturday morning we had ERT on Banshee and The Bat for an hour. I stayed at Banshee the entire time, riding it eight times I believe. It has more vibration than it had earlier in the season, but still is a great ride. Now that the "newness" has worn off a bit, it has drifted a bit on my favorites list... I think I still prefer the more old-school inverts such as Raptor, Dueling Dragons, Talon, etc... But in general, they are all amazing rides! Next up was the half hour ERT on Diamondback. Only rode it twice, as I don't care much for this one. Not sure why, but it is my least favorite B&M speed coaster (I have been on all of them in the US except Intimidator, as well is both Leviathan and Behemoth in Canada). It is a fun ride, but nothing really draws me back to ride it. Afterward the park opened and we went right to Beast. We snagged the first train of the day, front seat. Nobody else was on the train, so we had it to ourselves. The ride was running very smooth. Still just OK. The ending helix is still the best moment of the ride, I just wish there was more on the first half. Afterward, we just took photos, saw shows, had lunch and went back to the hotel for a few hours before night ERT. When we did come back, we watched the fireworks in the area above the main gate and headed to Banshee for a half hour ERT once the park closed. Got a few more laps on it and then it was time to finally ride the Beast at night... We waited for the front seat for our first ride. The skies were dark, the full moon was out and the temperature was perfect out. I must admit, at night this ride is a far different experience. We had a BLAST on it! The entire ride was just awesome and really made me appreciate the ride more than I have in the past. I also really liked the music they played up the lift (somewhat like the JAWS theme). We ended up riding 5-6 more times in various seats, enjoying each and every ride. While I still think "daytime Beast" ranks really low in my books, at night, it is one of my favorites. I am glad to have finally experienced it the way it should be. I still would love to get just one ride without that trim-brake-of-death in that long tunneled straightaway, though! The first drop and second hill trims don't bother me much, but that last set slows the train down significantly and really ruins the pacing. I just love coming out of that second tunnel at night and just picking up so much speed for those few turns. On Sunday, we planned to stop at Stricker's Grove... We had heard it was open (I never knew it was only open to the public a few days a year), so we made the detour to stop in. Checkout at the hotel was at noon, so we had some time to burn until the 2pm opening. We visited Jungle Jim's for an hour or so, grabbing a few beers (Mmmm... Southern Tier's Pumpking on tap!) and doing a little shopping before hand. We arrived at Stricker's at 2:15, paid our $12 admission and went right back to Teddy Bear. Was nothing special, but a great little family coaster. Next up was Tornado, and we hopped on the very backseat. The ride had a few abrupt bumps and some floater air here and there, but there was on moment on the double-down type section which had some violent airtime. Made for a fun little ride! Afterward, we stopped by the arcade and played a few games of skeeball and then grabbed the camera from the car. Took some pictures for a half hour or so and then headed out. The park was actually very busy and the midways were packed by the time we left. I am glad we stopped to see this little park! Now for some pictures! I don't have much from Kings Island, as I had taken many on previous trips and really was not all that motivated this time around 1B5A0315-Edit.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0349.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0536.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0561.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0348.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0540.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0552.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0488.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0510.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0492.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0490.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0486.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0482.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0386.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0376.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0354.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0761.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0742.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0734.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0748.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0732.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0706.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0684.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0675.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0664.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0660.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0657.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0649.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0646.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0644.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0638.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0634.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0631.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0628.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0604.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0622.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0612.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0610.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0609.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0605.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0600.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0601.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0597.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0596.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0589.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0590.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr 1B5A0591.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr

The heart line is NOT an issue what so ever.

Keep in mind... The bigger the zoom ratio, the worse the image quality generally is. This is why the high end zooms (Around $2,000 for example) only have a 2-3x zoom ratio. That is for a good reason. That Tamron 18-270mm is a 15x zoom... There will be big compromises in quality. I would not expect super sharp results, and reviews will confirm that. For a cheap price, you can't go wrong with the 55-250 IS. Great little kit lens addition for the price.