WFChris

Found a few more! That long-ass hill to get to the castillo COULD be avoided by taking this train, which honked at you if you got in its way. A picture at La Feria de Chapultepec Omar and I at Six Flags Mexico!!!

Cool park visit! I think the posts from around the world are what make TPR awesome!

^Yeah, I would consider that first drop to be a new element, unless somebody can cite a coaster that does...whatever exactly it's doing

I could use a little Guadalajara right about now....maybe I'll be able to report back soon on this thing

I know somebody that thinks 'An American Horror Story: Coven' is real. Sometimes with Americans, I just....can't.

To be honest, I did very little picture order work throughout the whole report (although there was some). The memories came back in the order the pictures were received and it was kinda fun telling the story...in fact at some points I think it came off as random which is perfect. These last few though, are in a really bizarre order that my computer assigned. It's cool though because it started with a picture of myself and ended with SFM so it almost looks calculated. Almost! Thank you ROBB for providing the best place possible to share all this, for getting my ass out of the country, and for being featured on the front page 3 times! Totally didn't expect that!!!

I on the other hand have always had an interest...I love Mexican people, Mexican food, and Mexican culture that exists here in LA, so I had a hunch that I would love it. Still, based on it's reputation, I needed to find the right way to visit. The TPR trip was a no brainer for me. I was on a plane 2 months after the trip to visit again, and again 2 months after that! The USA likes to think it's evil, and to be honest with you, I kinda want them to keep thinking that to a certain extent so that Mexico City and Guadalajara don't get overrun by USA tourists like the beach towns have! Nonetheless, I hope my pictures and experiences have provided some insight to this awesome, often misunderstood (or under-understood maybe?) place.

I think Finding Nemo should stick around because you always have about 1,000+ people crowded over there waiting to ride or riding it. Those 1000+ people are not clogging up the rest of the park!

Sooo glad I can continue to avoid Texas but not RMC That drop looks unlike anything else out there...at all! Very cool!

Looks really nice! I just suddenly REALLY started missing Summer!

I'll admit it. I'm bored. Here are a few very random pictures from my visits to Mexico City after the TPR tour. In no particular order. Here we go! Here I am with the guys who swing from the pole and play a flute and a drum. Culture! We ate at this large food court near the zoo and the anthropology museum. Sadly, it was some of the worst food I've eaten in Mexico. Seriously. Everywhere. This is just a random city shot. I really love Mexico City. Ohh...and this is where we ate said not-so-good-food a few pictures back. Love this sign. MY FAVORITE!!!! We ate at this restaurant near the Zocalo that was once again, AMAZING. A tourist would not just randomly walk in here...we got a plate of meat that served 2 very comfortably for $90 ($6.95 USD). This was at the Anthropology Museum. This may have been made by the first enthusiast ever ever. There are lots of random stores, like this Sex Shop / Wedding Dress place. We saw the Zocalo during the day. Here it is all creepy at night. They had this mini city set up in the square, it was apparently a free driver training program. I would want to take this before driving in Mexico City...driving looks completely insane in that city. A random food stand on Insurgentes. Another creepy dark picture at the Zocalo. Aaaaand another picture of the random driver training class. Here, you can even see they made a mini Angel to drive around! Here is what the menu at Hooters looks like in Mexico City. The 'macho' wings are no joke. And I'll finish off with OMG AN ACTUAL THEME PARK PICTURE! This is Six Flags Mexico as you approach from the street. I did get a chance to say #adiosmedusa about a week before it gave its last rides. Medusa and Superman look really cool from outside the park. Ok, that's it. Maybe I'll do a random photo upload again. Maybe I won't. I do promise to continue to cover Mexico as I visit it into 2014 (already have some trips planned!) PLEASE COMMENT. BECAUSE WHY NOT.

My guilty pleasure ride is definitely, 100%, Ariels Undersea Adventure.

Didn't this happen here in California in the last couple of years? Except instead of wildlife it was a dude trying to retrieve his hat?

Cool TR! I miss Alpengeist I need to get back to BGW someday, but for now my only domestic desires are SDC and DW. Other than that, my attention is focused on not-in-the USA!

This thread has been around for a long time. And, I for one get a kick out of it, it's kind of a 'let nerds be nerds' instant gratification thing. Besides, most of these people shouldn't be commenting anyway. I don't know anything about basketball, so you don't see me commenting on the Lakers page with something like 'Why doesn't Kobe do that dunk thing he did 3 years ago?' The internet is over-saturated with moronic comments that NEED to be called out!

^Yes! That's it! Thank's for joining along for this, Diego. It's been fun having a local join in on the adventure!!!

I just got word that opening date is December 19th!!!

^Yeah, I somehow ended up clicking submit instead up upload photos. It's all fixed now! Feel free to comment about this or ANY other post on this TR. My only hope in posting this is that it has inspired somebody to look at Mexico differently than perhaps they did before. If you have any questions about how to visit any of this stuff I would be more than happy to help with that as well!!! But either way, if you enjoyed it, please COMMENT and let me know!

So my last big update (for now) is Xochimilco. Back in the day, Mexico City was built on a lake and many of the streets were actually waterways. Most of this has been paved over of course, but a large chunk of Xochimilco maintains it's waterways to preserve history and naturally presents a tourist attraction. I wanted to visit on the initial TPR trip but after researching, it turns out that it's just not good to go on your own. The best way to experience it is with a group of friends. On this third visit to Mexico City, I brought a friend and we hung out with a group of our friends in Mexico City. Anyway, for a culture stop I have far too many pictures for TPR but whatever, it should be fun. Let's get going! That morning we had crepes. Mine was pumpkin flower. It's kind of a long drive from central Mexico City, but there is lots to see Step one is to find the right embarcadero where you are not paying ridiculous tourist fees. If you look up Xochimilco on Trip Advisor, you find a bunch of 1 star and 5 star reviews. Very little in between. Picking the right embarcadero plays a big role in this. Prices range from $200 - $1500 pesos an hour, depending on what the boat driver thinks he can get out of you and the boat size. The 'posted' rate is $350/hr, however many gringos fall for paying $350 per person, or just flat out more for the boat. Some sorry Trip Advisor person paid $1000 for an hour. Sucker! The 5 of us got our boat for $250/hr ($19.25USD). We bought it for 2 hours but ended up extending for a total of 4. $1000 divided by 5 people = $200 pesos each ($15.50 USD) Omar and I. Every boat has a name or two. I hear you can plan ahead and get a specific name painted on your boat, but I couldn't imagine doing all that and actually hunting down your boat. No bueno. Ours was called Anal Aura So everybody floats around at about 1 mile per hour, and you just have a good time with whoever you are with. By good time I mean drink. This is our driver. He was a quiet man that did not accept our offers to give him alcohol. They propel the boats by hitting the canal floor with this stick and pushing the boat. You can find anything you would see on the streets on a boat. Here is a boat with miriachis playing for the group. Another shot of the miriachis. You can totally dance on your own boat to somebody else's miriachi. That's what we did lol. There are birthday parties, wedding groups, groups of friends, families, basically everybody is here to party with their group and have a good time. Sometimes, the canals opened up into big open areas, and there were docks everywhere. It was fun taking in the sights. There is a place called Isla de las Muñecas (Island of the Dolls), but it's really hard to get to, so this person made their own little doll thing closer to the docks. There are also vendors on boats. I'm not sure what they were selling. Maybe plants? Sometimes, traffic got bad. Every boat in this picture is trying to get somewhere, and eventually you do. It just takes some time. This boat was definitely selling plants. We bought some for our friends. It rained off and on throughout the day, but it doesn't really matter. We had shade, and lots of beer and tequila. Boat Jam's were not uncommon. It was fun because for a brief moment you can share a good time with another group. Sometimes, the other party boats will offer you food. Mostly because everybody on the canal is drunk and in a GREAT mood! It always cleared up eventually. One of the guys needed a Michelada, so he yelled 'Michelada!' and this lady appeared on her boat, grabbed onto ours, and made micheladas. There she goes! It was $50 for a michelada. Everything was quite affordable on the boats (haggling still applied to goods). Another scenery shot. This was really a surreal day for us. Miriachi, dancing on two boats, our driver; there was always some kind of stimulation to enjoy. Hmmm....what's that boat selling? Ahhh...corn! Yes please! Panorama of one of the more open areas. Headed down a slightly less congested canal. A memorial of some type. Floating along with lots of other groups. Everybody out here was having a good time. It was a Sunday, and weekend vibe was in full force. Omar got us little mini Xochimilco boats! They were fragile but mine made it home safely and sits happily on my shelf! Stray dogs are just kind of a thing in Mexico City. There aren't many in the central area but pretty much everywhere else, yes. Here is a goods vendor, if you wanted a random doll or something. When you are floating along at 1 MPH and drinking, these things become very tempting! When we extended again for another couple hours, he headed off into a quieter area of the canals. While the mayhem is fun, it was nice to get off into a quieter area and just enjoy our own boat for a little bit. If you had to pee, you had to find one of these WC signs, pull over, and pay somebody $5 ($0.40USD) for some toilet paper and access to the toilet. Extra paper was $3 ($0.25USD). Seemed to be standard pricing throughout the area even though these 'WC's' were in no way organized or classy. Sometimes you had to walk through random scenes to get to the restroom. This one was definitely interesting. Another 'not in Kansas' moment if you will. Surreal, in many ways. "That was a weird WC, let's keep going!" Scenery in Xochimilco. Me and my friend Brian. I think I checked in here on Facebook 3 times just because it was so fascinating and I felt so lucky to be here...and be doing it RIGHT!!! Yes, I'm a little drunk at this point. Well, the day wore on, and more and more boats were being parked for the night, so we slowly worked our way back to our dock. Yes, I was actually at 'the' Xochimilco, not some weird impostor! The time finally came to park the boat. By the time we returned, there was only room for one way traffic. We eventually just kinda stopped in the canal and climbed through other boats to get to the dock. There they all lined up! What a cool freakin day. We finished off by going to this CRAZY restaurant. They only had like 5 tacos on the menu, and you ordered them, and literally 20 seconds later they would be at your table. As soon as you finished, another guy would appear and be like 'what do you want now? tell me tell me tell me now now now.' We learned to just sit there with a taco or two on the plate if we wanted to take a break. It was the craziest fastest thing I have ever seen. Obviously, it was REALLY GOOD! So I am going to upload a few more random pictures that didn't make their way into the PTR, but for the most part, this is the last big update! I hope it's been enjoyable!!!

I think my tax return money just found a home. If anybody is interested in getting down there within a month or two of this thing opening, PM me. Usually around $300 round trip outta LA.

TPR definitely got me off my domestic ass. If anybody out there has been stalling on international travel because they have been waiting for friends to go with them or something like that, join a TPR trip! Never left the country before this year, and now I've been to Mexico City 3 times. 2014 is shaping up to be even crazier!!! Thanks again everybody for joining along with me. This really was one of the (if not THE) best years of my life. Unfortunately I don't have much material left but there's still a little more!

you're wrong, and just because you don't care for a classic band, doesn't mean they aren't popular in places. Willie Nelson could sell out WEEKS in a row here in Texas, if he so chose to play shows. Barenaked Ladies sold out multiple nights in Vancouver when I was last there. Heart is currently a nostalgia band, but all it takes is one new hit to make them arena draws again (see: Aerosmith back in 1980's), or KISS pre 1996 reunion. so no, I don't think this is "weird". .but I do think it's unfair that folks are pressuring bands to pull out of a contracted appearance because they are too blinded by a film's propaganda to properly research the truth behind the claims. (and that's not a liberal/conservative statement either. . Micheal Moore stretches the facts to make his points too, sometimes). all this to simply say -- if *I* don't go to SeaWorld, it's not because of some one-sided film about the supposed mistreatment of the animals. It's because I think the admission charge is too high. Whoa there cowboy, never said I didn't appreciate the music, I'm just calling it how I see it. Willie Nelson sold out a bunch of nights here in LA as well. I'm just saying they are the same bands that do the County Fair circuit because I have seen bands like, War, Crosby Stills and Nash, The Village People, B 52's, Peter Frampton, and Heart at the LA County Fair! The point was that these venues are in environments that are open to scrutiny about their animal handling, as is Sea World.

Yes it will be a new credit. Just like Irat and NTag were new. Hmm Medusa Steel Coaster needs a nick name? Medu, MeS, MeDuSt, MeSt. I've been jokingly calling it iMed.

Oh no he didn't. I think revamps for any screen-dominant attraction should be more common. Soarin, Muppet Vision, and Bugs Life could change every few years to stay relevant. The latter two don't seem to be very popular anyway.

Media Day for Goliath at SFMM. It hailed on us while we were riding...Going down the drop no problem, come out of the tunnel headed uphill and it was the most brutal thing my face has experienced. Then, it stopped on the MCBR, where we endured more rain, and giant rain drops that were dripping off the lift hill as well. And to finish it off a wheel broke at the beginning of the helix making it a bumpy finale. That was fun.