What Now

Better: Mantis: This is actually a fun ride. New Mexico Rattler: You hear nothing about this ride, but it's awesome! LoCoSuMo: Ever since the damned thing opened, I heard how rough it was, but it just wasn't when I rode. If it weren't for Cornball, it'd be my favorite coaster at that park. Worse: Legend: Maybe it's just not my style of coaster. I found it to be rough and had to many laterals for my liking. Raging Bull: The trims kill it.

I picked up a SFDK Brochure at a hotel in Valencia.

I've never even heard of QVC. Have I been living under a rock?

US- Baby, Come to me- Patti Austin & James Ingram UK- Too Shy- Kajagoogoo Aus- Gloria- Laura Branigan No idea who these people are.

Top 10: 1. Cyclops 2. Raven 3. The Voyage 4. Pheonix 5. The Beast 6. Hades 7. New Mexico Rattler 8. Cornball Express 9. Twister 10. Blackpool's Mouse Bottom 5: 44. Mean Streak 45. Son of Beast 46. Psyclone (SFMM) 47. The Villlan 48. Rolling Thunder

21/25. um...yeah.

Wow, 19+ million and I thought LA had a lot of people (9+million).

Here's my flickr account:

1. Nemesis- Alton Towers 2. Raptor- Cedar Point 3. Top Gun- Great America 4. Batman- Six Flags Whatever 5. Alpengiest- Busch Gardens Europe I've also been on Great Bear, Silver Bullet, and Talon. The three of those are just meh. I really enjoyed Alpengeist, but it's been a loooong time I been there.

Tatsu at about 6:30 tonight.

To add to my list of overrated parks would be... Holiday World. Yes, it's home to two great coasters (Raven and Voyage), some great water slides, great people, but it's not all that and a bag of chips. Suffers from too much hype, like Knoebel's.

I hate Dallas, Texas. rtfhiusa iusz lkamne

Six Flags Magic Mountain Universal Studios Hollywood Disneyland Knott's Berry Farm Geuaga Lake Dollywood Nascar whatever Coney Island (OH) Holiday World Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom Beech Bend Indiana Beach Little Amerika Mt. Olympus Riverview Timber Falls Six Flags Great America Cedar Point Stricker's Grove King's Island Wonderland (TX) I don't think I've been to DCA yet in 2007. I need to fix that.

And now Cedar Point time!! We made it to Sandusky after driving the long drive (most of it in Chicago). The causeway was dark, really dark. There was some light at a hotel here, a hotel there. The only light seen at Cedar Point were tracers coming off Raptor, for some reason, and maybe some other ride. Aside from that, no light from the park, not even Top Thrill Dragster (only the tallest structure for miles). At least nobody flew into Dragster. Certainly a surreal first impression. This also meant that the power was out in our hotel for the next three nights, Breakers. We stayed in our buses for a little while, while the hotel staff could figure out what to do about us. We finally unloaded our luggage and we were handed flashlights and our keys. It turns out, Dave and I's room was on the third floor. It was interesting carrying our luggage up three flights of stairs...in the dark. We manged. Walking the dark hallways of The Breakers was like being in a cheesy horror flick. I almost expected to see Jack Nicholson wield an axe telling me to take my medicine. We enter the room to find it eerily cold, despite the air conditioner being out (it is warm in the hallway). The power finally turns on at two in the morning. Some of us go to bed. blah blah blah. It is pouring rain the next day with brief spots of sunshine. If this was Indiana Beach, this wouldn't be a problem. But since this is Cedar Point, most of the rides are closed in a slight drizzle (where it rains all the time no doubt). Several times that day, I'd look outside the window and see that it was sunny out, scramble to get my stuff together, and run down stairs, only to find it raining again. The weather finally cleared at around four in the afternoon. Dave and I went in and head for Magnum XL 200. Wait while the thing tests and tests and tests... We see Top Thrill Dragster cycle and decide to head over there. The ride opens after a bunch of tests. We got on in twenty minutes. Top Thrill Dragster: I admit, I was nervous for this one. While it's not the longest ride ever, it does one thing very well, intimidate you. It's tall and it's fast. Woah! Next, it is time to get screwed! Corkscrew: Typical Arrow blah blah blah. It is pretty though. Next up was Magnum... Magnum XL 200: I actually enjoyed it more then I thought I would. I'd take it over Desperado anyday. Small ass trains, though. Gemini: I liked this one too. Some nice airtime. Mean Streak: I didn't find it to be rough at all. Just slow, boring. Pointless. Mantis: Not a bad stand up, actually. Next up my 200th coaster... Millennium Force: Best ride at Cedar Point! No, it doesn't really have airtime, but it's all about speed. Speed is what it does very well. Just watch out for bugs. eccch! Disaster Transport: A bobsled in a box. Quite fun actually. Wicked Twister: Another ride I enjoyed more then I thought I would. It gets bonus points for being right on the beach. Maverick: Awesome ride! I just hate those restraints. They do their job a bit too well. Might've been my favorite ride at Cedar Point without those restraints. We ended the night with another ride on Millennium Force. The first ride we rode during morning ERT was... Raptor: I like it. No it's not Nemesis, but it's the best Cedar Fair invert. Blue Streak: Best wood in Northern Ohio! meh Calypso: Fun little flat ride. Derby Racer: Slower then Blackpool's. Next was a re-ride on Mantis (and Dave didn't have the credit). Then time to re-ride Wicked Twister and ride Maxair. Maxair was fun, but could've been better. It was getting crowded, so it was time to get a bunch of pictures of stuff. Both sides of Gemini was open, so we rode the other side (blue I think). I still enjoyed it, even if others didn't. blah blah blah we rode and took a bunch of pictures of stuff. Our last ride of the evening was on Maverick. Still a great ride. Now for a bunch of pictures of stuff. Zee last pic. Next up??? Maverick going up it's 'lift-launch'. This was only an hour. *bang bang* meh Too lazy to photoshop those supports out. First highbanked turn! blah blah blah Millennium Force through the tress blah blah blah Yo, Max chill! A Top 50 Wooden Coaster!!!!11111 A super exclusive shot of Raptor. I'm so white and derby! A racing coaster that races. Who'da thunk? The trim held them there. Riders getting not so max air. um..It's Max Air It's not just coasters... It twists wickedly ssssssccccccccrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeee This is Magnum. And be sure to wipe your lens. Draggin' Iron Time to get Screwed! Broke Thrill Dragster! yup... It's like big and stufff. The luxurious Breakers. The view from our room. Welcome to Cedar Point.

Now for Six Flags Great America! First thing was ERT on Raging Bull, Viper, and Giant Drop. Most of us headed to Raging Bull first, as some of us were getting kinda 'wooded-out' at this point. Raging Bull: I would love to have ridden it without the trims. While it's fun, it's my least favorite of the B&M Hyper's I've ridden. Viper: Not bad for a Six Flags woodie! It was actually smooth and had some airtime. Giant Drop: First Intamin Drop ride in awhile. It was a blast to ride, except for that sudden stop. Then, the park was open, while Erik and Leanne picked up the Gold Q bots. Dar and I headed for... Deja Vu: This thing was actually open! This Deja Vu was smoother then SFMM's, might be because it doesn't run as often as Elissa pointed out. Demon: Nothing too special. The Light tunnel was cool though. Whizzer: I'm sooooo glad SFGrAm didn't take this one out. It's a fun, fun ride. Next it was time to head for a ride that doesn't use q bot, Ragin' Cajun. The line ended up being an hour and had a three adults only rule, blah! I rode this with Carl (Homer). At least it spun quite a bit. Our first q-bot ride was Superman: Ultimate Flight. Thank god for the gold q-bot, We only waited ten minutes to ride, whereas people in the regular line waited 3 hours for this thing (it was packed that day). How was my flight? It was fun, but Tatsu blows it away. Next I think was, Batman: The Ride. Those rides are a blast as always. This one is cool because it is placed over the water. After Lunch, we rode V2. I forgot how much fun those things really are. I was the only one in my group brave enough to ride Iron Wolf. Once again, our gold q-bot came in handy. I wouldn't wanted to wait in that long line to ride it. Did I like that ride? Not really. Got back together with the group and we head over to American Eagle. Unfortunately, the line was kinda long and we had to meet up with the tour group in 30mins. We q-botted Raging Bull, but it started raining, nay, POURING when we got there. So, no ride for us. All we could do was wait for the rest of the tour group to show up and decide whether to stay or not. They voted to leave. Which meant we hit Chicago during rush hour. I do not envy the bus driver. We got to Cedar Point after midnight, ugh. Six Flags Great America is the first Six Flags park I've been to where most of the employees seem to care. They hustled to make sure the line was moving, they made sure you enjoyed your ride, and they even you if you had a good day. Why could SFMM be like that? *sigh* On to ze photos: and on that bombshell. It's time to end this PTR, so good night! Any park with a Double-Decker Carousel is cool by me. mmmmm Double-Decker. 'aaaaaaaaaah' It's V2 time. Yellow with gravy stains. This Batman is ACEr approved. Time to Whiz! (will the lameness ever stop?) It's no Tatsu. I can sleep on this. It's time to skip a three hour wait. Not as spicy as it sounds. This ride is Demonic! Are you experiencing Deja Vu? I've been lucky with the Deja Vus so far. ..or Apollo Raging Bull. It's no Nitro... Too.Much.Advertising..

Riverview and Timber Falls today. The first park Arrow Bus went to was Riverview. It was, um, a credit stop. The first ride was the Galaxi. It was fun, and one of the smoother ones out there. Next coaster was Orient Express. Cha-ching. Then it was onto the Mouse Coaster. Another credit. Yay! whatever. Then it was time to wait for the Bouncy Thing to open up. First, the mechanics got the music running, then the ride was tested, once or twice. Then, it was time to ride. Honestly, it wasn't as fun as it looked. The loading was slow and it wasn't much of a ride. Then, it was time for Timber Falls. Timber Falls is basically a miniature golf course with a few rides mixed in. We all came for.......... Avalanche: It was stuck by lightning the night before, the fact that the park got it up and running at all was amazing. The lightning strike freid all the sensors and all the computer controls, so, the ride had to be run manually. Machanics had to do some tweaking to the ride after each cycle, yet everybody got to ride it a few times during our short stay there. How does it ride? It's like the little engine that could, but except for it barely being able to make the hills, it zooooooomed across those hills and turns. Avalance is tiny, but packs A LOT of punch. It's crazy. Now for... Even Allison approves. Up next Six Flags Great America. Sean: "Dis iz my nu gf!!!" Christana: "Oh, gawd help me!" They hated it... See not very big. ooo people It.is.alive! 'Is my head in your shot?' Terrence: Helloo, Bryan! Bye-Bye Riverview Jen is all: @$*#$! It's the Bouncy Thing! Wes looks evil here, maybe because he is. I don't see no rivers nearby.

And Here's Mt. Olympus! The first coaster I rode was.. Cyclops: Most insane ejector airtime, I've ever experienced. I was almost in Terrence's lap when we went down that drop, yes, THAT drop. The rest of the ride has some good air too. You must ride in the back seat (never rode in the front). Oh, I never had the balls to put up my arms on this thing. Hats off to anybody who does, especially on THE drop. Poseidon: The "underwater" go-karts. Part of it goes through a tunnel below a pond. These were fun karts. I rode these several times during my visit. One thing I liked about this and other go karts at Mt. Olympus is that they are long. Zeus: I like it, although it can use some retracking. Pegasus: The jr. woodie. Actually a lot of fun. Not much to say about it. Opra: Yes, I like to call Mt. Olympus' spinning mouse, Opra, so sue me. How is Opa you might ask? Blah, another Reverchon mouse, give me a Maror-Shone (sp?) any day. Disk-o: I don't remember the name. I like it and hate it. Hades: Dar and I were two of a few people who got to ride it on the first day. The line was longer then it looked. It was down the stairs and near the turnaround. The wait was only like 20 minutes. As for Hades itself? I loved it. That loooong tunnel was insane. You didn't know what the hell was happening. The only negative was that turn that nearly destroed my back. SQQUUUUUUUIIIISSSSHHH! Screamin' Swing: What's the name of this? This was great because it was taller then the others and it seemed a little longer. I didn't ride Little Titans, because I wasn't that desperate for a credit, neither did I ride Dive to Atlantis because it's not a credit! We stay at the on-site hotel during our stay at the Wisconsin Dells. In some ways, it kind of reminded me of Splash Water Landings at Alton Towers. It's a fun hotel, and I'd gladly stay there again. I also actually enjoyed Mt. Olympus. It has some crazy go karts and some insane coasters. The employees were interesting. Now onto photos! and I end this PTR with some cock! Yes, another shooting gallery. Repeat after me: This is not a credit. Allison hits like a girl! Dave playing some ball..and missing! One more Hades photo.. Did y'all enjoy your ride? Carl is stunned. And now, underneath a coaster. Get your tissues out. These riders are about to plunge into the depths of Hades! They don't know what they are in for.. People enjoying Zeus..except those two in the back. Can anybody guess what this ride is? Dave and SFNErules about to experience the insanity that is that drop. The backseat isn't for everybody. See that guy in the back? I don't think he's TRYING to stand up.

^ LOL! Really? Now I feel bad....not really. Stupid me forgot to post all the photos I wanted, so here they are: It surely is mad. Mt. Olympus coming soon. 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!' They have a bigger Ferris Wheel too.

^^ Are you ok, Eric? You just said 'eated'.

Now time for some Grave fun! We got a 'sneak-peak' on Meteor, the park's newest junior wooden coaster. It was relocated from Hillcrest Park in Chicago, IL. Meteor is a fun, smooth (I'd be concerned about a ride that new being rough) coaster. Just right for the whole family. We had about an hour at this park, so, I tried to get all the credits I could. I succeeded. The next credit I got was the Mad Mouse Mad Mouse: It certainly throws you around. Not a bad ride, actually. The Kiddie Coaster from hell: It's right next to a grave yard. Toboggan: Not as bad as I expected, but it's not tall people friendly. So yeah, the park is next to a graveyard. So, if the rides don't do you in, the ride ops will. blah blah blah... and now, this PTR must depart. Some of us could just step over it. It's Hanno! No handslapping for you! Handslap POV! Looks like they enjoyed their ride. Where do you get in?

^ I have no idea, really. Those pics just came out like that.

Now it's Indiana Beach time! Indiana Beach is like a mini Blackpool Pleasure Beach. It has a lot of rides are stacked on top of each other practically. This park is also very random, like BPPB. A tiki head here, a pirate ride there, just whatever. The clintele also added to the randomnimity of the park. For example, this goth girl guy thing was wondering around. Nobody dared take it's picture because it would kicked your ass. I also loved how rides were placed directly over the water. That totally made the chairswings and the flyers. Not really gonna review the rides in any particular order: Cornball Express: I love love love that ride! There's airtime everywhere, ejector airtime! Christiana felt that she needed to hold me in. Forget Chang! This is a better stand-up coaster. Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain: I expected this to be a bone rattling experince, but it was actually a good ride. Good even when your facing backward. I rode this twice facing forward and backward. Den of Lost Thieves: Shooting Dark Ride! These things are always a blast. The best part, though, was getting to shoot at random people on the midway. Double Shot: One of the better S&S towers out there. Quite a bit of airtime, especially the 'pop top'. Dar and I made the mistake of riding it at night. The ride launch and it was RAINING insects. grrrrrrossss. Hoosier Hurricane: It is kind of like Colossus at SFMM. It's big and it looks awesome, but it's merely ok. Frankenstein's Castle: You'll either love it or think it's totally lame. I, personally, thought it was awesome. Then again, I love kitche. This walkthrough was right up my alley. Air Crow: This is a good set of flyers actually. I wasn't able to snap it, but others did. Oh, and did I mention that I like the location? And now... The horror movie monster guys says, "Thanks for reading". An X better then SFMM's. yo ho! Fun little Schwartzkopf Who's your hurricane? Cornball is a "family coaster" Awesome ride! One of the first rides you come across. Chris can hardly contain himself. Getting closer... What is a burgershake? La mapa. There's more then corn in Indiana. The area outside of Indiana Beach is creepy.

I usually move over ahead of time, whether it's on the freeways or city streets. It's just a lot easier then trying to nudge your way in at the last minute when people won't let you merge.

Now it's Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom and Beech Bend time! The first ride I ever did that day was Chang. Decent stand-up, but it's no Riddler. Next ride was Twisted Twins. Only one side was open. The park wanted to get it up and running for the group, Their was a mechanic working on getting the other side up and running. As for the ride itself, it wasn't as brutal as I expected, although that might be because of the trims. T2 was up next, not a very good ride. blah. Next was, Greezed Lightnin'! Probably the best coaster in the park (Thunder Run didn't 'Run' at all during our visit. Dar and I ended up riding Greezed Lightnin' a lot. It's a lot of fun, but Knott's still has the best shuttle loop. Next ride after ERT for some of us was the Rainbow. Fun, fun ride as always. I wish Knott's still had there's. sigh Then Christiana and I rode the musical instrument merry go round thing. Good times. I think she (or CoasterJoe) has the photos from that. Then it was time to head for their Roadrunner coaster. The line for that NEEDS shade, the typical Six Flags employee's didn't help much either. As for the ride, blah, typical crappy mouse. Then it was time for lunch. The 'Italian picnic' whatever was probably the best meal I had at a Six Flags park, especially the breadsticks. I ate a plate full of breadsticks. yum! Next was another ride on Rainbow followed by the simulator thingy. Didn't know there was a simulator at SFKK? Me neither. The best part? It was air conditioned! Then it was time for the last credit of the day, the Roller Skater. I had a row to myself, so I rode relaxed style. Then it was time to head to our next park. Beech Bend! It's really in the middle of nowhere. The parking lot is mostly grass. The first thing a lot of us rode was the Crazy Mouse. It can spin quite a bit with the right weight distribution blah blah blah. I rode with Vannessa and Cora, so we basically weighed the same and didn't get much spinning. Next ride was either the drop tower or the Dragon Wagon whatever. The drop tower was freaky. The kiddie coaster was also freaky, felt like it was gonna fall apart. Now for what really mattered, Kentucky Rumbler. Awesome awesome coaster. It's not the biggest or the fastest, but it's a lot of fun and very re-ridable. Yes, I prefer this to Thunderhead or any other GCII I've ridden. Enough yaking! Happy Rumbler ridders ride off into the sunset. Thanks for reading. wiiiii Let the thunder ro..wrong ride. "Let's get ready to Rumble!" KY Rumbler is not a new brand of lube, although this is smooth wood. So.Many.Lame.Jokes um..it's me. Terry: AAAAH!! David: I'm Fabulous! Gary: whatever It's a random foot! The only pic I got at SFKK. The battery died on the SLR soon after that.

I'd also pick Busch Gardens Williamsburg over Six Flags America. The family would be much happier there and the coasters there are nothing to sneeze at.