ginzo

^^Or nothing if they were active or retired military. Not to mention they were putting on a big fireworks display on the 4th.

Ha. "Engineer Liz". Thanks for the laugh, Chuck.

It's really nice to see an old Schwarzkopf get some love like this. I can think of several that need the same treatment.

^Can you tell me the environmental impact of putting plates of food on the bathroom floor by the urinal while you pee? Is that more or less damaging to the environment than plastic bags?

Congratulations. This is quite an achievement considering how notoriously unreliable coasters can be at US parks.

I don't know. Jacko mania is at a fever pitch these days. >1.6 million people registered for a chance to attend his memorial service. I'm by no means a Jacko fan (quite the opposite actually), but ultimately the man was never convicted. And the second accuser was clearly a scam artist. I think they should bring back Captain EO. I've never seen it and it seems like a good way to bring in guests during a slump.

I'm just pointing out the obvious: Humans suck at operating machines. Computers do it better! If you think I'm dancing on graves, you've figured me wrong. Bring on Skynet!

The answer to this is obvious: Get rid of the human drivers. This should all be done by computers. Computers don't get tired and they don't crash into other trains because they are too busy sending SMS messages to their friends to notice that they are about to crash. There are already 100% computer-controlled subways, like the one in Copenhagen. There should be a push to convert ALL train-like public transport systems to similar systems. This would greatly increase safety by reducing the impact of human error.

I went to HW on July 4, 2006 and found it to be fairly crowded. It wasn't slammed, but wait times were not short.

^I think Liseberg is the winner because it succeeds on every level (rides, landscaping, food, atmosphere, theming), but Gröna Lund was a very close second. To me, these two parks were far and away the best of the trip and I can't wait to go back to them both. However, if Gröna Lund's expansion plans go very well, then they might be able to catch up with Liseberg or even beat them. Gröna Lund has that amazing waterfront setting. A very well-executed expansion could make this already great park that much better.

The park representative, Wikipedia, and RCDB all make that claim. 1583 is the year it supposedly opened.

Chain: they all suck. Local place: Adriatico's. They only have locations in Cincinnati and Columbus. While it might not match up to some of the stuff you can get in major metropolitan areas, I really love this place. Spicy sauce, excellent thick crust, and gigantic pepperoni slices. I've ordered from this place dozens of times and they've NEVER given me a bad pizza. And it certainly destroys the several pizza places I've eaten at in Chicago. Theme park pizza: Delgrosso's. I dunno if it's the sauce factory next door or what. But this is the freshest tasting pizza I've ever had at a theme park. Most sought after pizza: The stuff they sell in Sicily. I've seen this on several travel shows and it looks utterly amazing.

Robb is not kidding in this update. Gröna Lund is one of the best parks in the world: Excellent rides, excellent atmosphere, perhaps the best setting of any park anywhere, and the owners treated us as well as any park ever has. I miss Gröna Lund and want to go back RIGHT NOW.

But not Balder:

Very different situation with Orlando though. If they build down by Cypress Gardens, they'll have the problem of getting people to leave the Disney/Universal/Sea World area. Kind of like how HRP has the problem of getting people to leave the beach. It's an uphill climb, even for a first class outfit like Legoland. It makes far more sense to just build near everybody else, even if it costs a fortune.

I'd love to see a Legoland in Orlando and I think it could be a huge success because there are a lot of people who will travel to Florida, but not California. After seeing the amazing Legoland Billund recently, I don't think this company can do any wrongs as far as parks go. Legoland is absolutely world class! Though putting the park down in crappy Winter Haven would probably be a mistake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRS90V8BQGo

^Grrr. They charged me $36 last year with my ECC card.

As great as Kennywood is, I think it's a no-brainer for you to go to Knoebels. You're just not going to have enough time to do Kennywood properly. And, Kennywood can't stand up to the Phoenix-Flyers-Skooters trinity.

^I like HW just fine, but it is a poor value if you don't do the water park. The rides side just doesn't have a full day's worth of stuff to do.

Not my experience at all. I loved the way the Voyage ran in May of 2006. But in 4 subsequent trips to HW, I've found the ride to get progressively rougher. When I rode it late last year even the camel back wasn't particularly enjoyable due to roughness.

One little surprise was Tivoli had by far the best (read: most violent) bumper cars of the entire trip. I remember hitting some Asian girl so hard (with the car) that her glasses flew right off her face.

^It would take a lot more than new trains to make SOB track correctly.

No real news outlets are reporting that Jacko is dead right now. It's not hard to believe though. Dude was a serious dope fiend. That his heart finally gave out would be no big surprise.

If the park is so great, why isn't anyone going?