nesdude

Oh man, yes. I had the "pleasure" of riding Tiger side in late December. It was so bad, it almost lost my faith in wooden coasters completely. An hour wait for that added insult to injury. -nesdude

Two questions and I'll guess I'll be in: 1. Does it have to be closed circut? 2. Train length? -nesdude

You look like you had an incredible time! Just seeing those pics (and seeing the sheer excitement of someone going to WDW for the first time) is quite an experience. I myself just coming back from a Holiday trip down to the House of Mouse (tip: prepare for people and 4 hour lines), it really makes me excited to get back there once again. Excellent, excellent photo TR. -nesdude

A formal TR for Magic Kingdom and Busch Gardens will follow, but I gotta make a mention of a few things. First, we got to Busch 10 minutes before opening, and were some of the first people in. I got to hit everything (only one side of Gwazi, no Cheetah Chase) in 4 hours. We left the park at 1, and coming back to Orlando was terrible. There is/was a HUGE accident on I-4 East outside of exit 62, and if anyone knows ANYTHING about it, if you could leave a post here or PM or email me, that'd be appreciated. We waited out there about 2 hours in standstill traffic and watched people drive up the (wrong way) off ramp. It was insane. The thing we heard was it involved 7 cars and a motorcycle. Thanks in advance. -nesdude

Quick question - in terms of coaster quality, which do you all recommend? Universal or Busch Gardens? Any quick help is appreciated. -nesdude

DAY THREE - 12/28/06 - ANIMAL KINGDOM What a surprise this day turned out to be. Our original plan was to hit the Downtown Disney area for my mom today. Somehow, that turned into "spend the entire day at Animal Kingdom". Which, as it turns out, was amazing. Since the plans were last minute, we didn't get to the park until 10-10:30ish. The parking lot was near full, and I heard rumors that they were out of space at 11. Good for us, but man. That parking lot tram service brings out the worst in people. People shoving all for that coveted seat on the tram. Craziness. Anyway, the park itself. Since I've never been there, it was nice to do a quick (ha, quick) walkaround of the park. But man, it was PACKED. It was like a being a sardine in there, packed tight. The theming is amazing there; small details make the world even better than what it seems to be. The only I wanted to do was Expedition Everest. My sister, who doesn't do the whole coaster thing, was frightened but mildly interested in riding. We got Fastpasses that allowed us to return at 6:35. Since my parents don't ride, we got 2 FP's a piece. My parents and sister wanted to do the safari, so we split to meet up at a later time. Which turned out to be great for me. Whoever had the idea of a single rider line for EE is my new hero. The regular line was 140 minutes, yet the single rider line allowed me to ride 3 times in an hour and a half. The ride itself? Amazing, and a great addition. So it's not the tallest or fastest, big deal. The theming is phenomenal, the main drop is fast and exciting, and that Yeti is breathtaking. If you haven't gotten out to ride this thing, I highly recommend you do so. After 3 rides of that, I called my parents to ask about meeting up. They just boarded the safari, so I hiked over to Africa. Long walk, lots of people. We headed to Dinoland, I wanted the spinner credit, but the line was 70 minutes. Forget that for now. My dad and I rode Dinosaur (never again) and my mom and sister took a break. Dinosaur... ugh. I guess I don't like dinos, but I freaked out and buried my head in my fathers arm. Oh well. My dad liked it, and he doesn't do the whole rides thing. We got in line for the Nemo Musical and somehow managed to be third in line for the 4:45 show. Lemme tell you, this show was incredible. Good music, excellent performers... all together really well done. The closer you sit the better. Oh, and any actor/actress that can sing, use a puppet and flip on a wire at the same time has my respect, hands down! A quick run and a half hour wait for Primeval Whirl (sister and I rode it, got a laugh out of it) and a water break later, and we were ready for our EE fastpasses. As I said, my sister does not do the coaster thing, and was freaking out in the Q and as we sat down in the train. I promised her an Onride photo and an EE pin for her collection if she rode. The ride, for her, was awful. She screamed a ton and kept her head between her legs, not glancing up once. But she ended the ride laughing and smiling! She pulled me back to the FP entrance, ready to go again. It happened, she enjoyed a large, non-wild mouse roller coaster! And wanted to do it again! The second ride was much better, and a good onride photo came from it. I'm slowly breaking her in to liking coasters! All I have to do is get her on Rock n Roller Coaster (she's freaked out at loops), any suggestions? Anyway, it was near closing then, we headed out for some dinner and went to this Italian restaurant with the worst service ever. A 2 hour meal was unacceptable, with a terrible waitress. Giordano's of Kissimmee. Don't go there. And now I'm here. Enjoy the few pictures I have today, and expect more tomorrow. Magic Kingdom day, you see. -nesdude After EE, look how happy she is! Seriously, I'm so proud of my sister for riding EE. Third for Nemo? How'd THAT happen? I really hate dinosaurs. (Front row, right side. Yeah, that's me) Mmm. Tasty mountain. It's Animal Kingdom! Everest and a packed parking lot. Bagel. Starting the day right.

DAY TWO - 12-27-06 - THE DRIVE SURPRISE (nesdude note: written at 11:37 on 12-28-06) Oh boy! More driving! After hitting Chattanooga last night, we started off into the good state of Georgia. What a long and boring day, even more driving. On the plus side, we got into the Orlando area at about 6:30pm, give or take. Since we didn't want to find a hotel room, we talked to the rental home people about getting an extra night. They agreed, and let us into the home a day early. (That was the surprise. Woo.) Oh yeah, about that. Disney resorts were sold out, so we turned to a rental home/timeshare/whatever it's really called. It's a really nice home, 3 room 2 bath, pool, kitchen, big screen TV... the works. Affordable, too. No pictures of that yet, but we have a few more days here anyway, I'll get some up soon. No real good pictures as of yet, but here's a few more of the long drive out there. -nesdude Goodbye Michigan weather, hello 60 degrees! This is me with my best "we still have another four hours to go" face. Freeway POV, for all those POV folks out there. You know who you are. THE BEST HOTEL VIEW EVAR! The Holiday Inn Express that we spent night one in. Nice place, with...

DAY ONE - 12-26-06 - THE BEGINNING (nesdude note: this post was written while driving) And so it starts. The time of this writing is 4:48 PM, Eastern Standard Time, on December 26, 2006, using a laptop with a slowly dying battery. Currently, the sun is trying to peak itself out of the clouds. The family is celebrating because for the first time in days, we can not only see the sun, but also just a peak of blue sky. This is coming off of a meal at Cracker Barrel, where full stomachs and empty bladders are aplenty. This is the story of my family and I, nesdude, travel to the Orlando, Florida area for a week of sun, fun, and hopefully some theme parks and coasters! Allow me to explain. This has been a hard year for our family, especially my mother. Both of her parents passed over the summer, and Christmas isn't just the same this year. So, instead of spending the holiday break at home, we decided to pack up and get a timeshare house like thing in Orlando, Florida, just across the street from the entrance to Walt Disney World. So now that you have background, there isn't much more I can say, considering today is Day 1 - The Beginning. The plan today is to get to Chattanooga, Tennessee. We're coming from an area just outside of Ann Arbor, MI. So far, so good. Really, there isn't much more I can say, and instead I'll just let the pictures do the talking! -nesdude (BIG EDIT: Sorry, TPR picture upload is screwy. All the pictures in this post are backwards, even though preview showed them the right way. Won't happen again, promise) 5:47 am, EST. It's gonna be a loooong day. Where we're going to spend about 20 hours. Gotta love driving. Gas to get us off. Yay, look! A blurry picture of nothing, I mean, Ohio! An overkillishly large Trailblazer. But it's our overkillishly large Trailblazer, so that makes it okay. Good eats. Brown Squirrel is watching you.

Not like it matters much, but it worked a-okay today, all 5 times I rode it. it's creepy how lifelike he looks and moves. That, and it was so much easier to see him when it was dark outside for some reason. Off topic, whoever made the decision to have a single rider line is my new hero. 3 rides in a hour and a half when the normal wait time is 140 minutes is amazing. -nesdude

While I don't have kids (being only 16) I can't agree strongly enough with the point of don't force a kid on a ride or tell them it's scary. That never goes well for anyone involved. Case in point - It was 1995, and I was at the wee age of 5 years old. Since we never really went to theme parks, going to Michigan's Adventure was a large trip and quite a big deal. It was also my first experiance at an amusement park. My mom, for some reason which I'll probably never know, wanted to get on Zach's Zoomer and ride with me. I remember not wanting to, because as a 5 year old, that ride was tall and scary. But she must of gotten me on it, as I can vividly remember that ride. We sat in the front row, and that lift was huge. Going down the first drop got me to cry and scream the rest of the way, and I can remember wanting to go home afterwards. My mother felt bad and thought I'd never ride coasters again. I won't bore you with the details, but it took a Magnum and then a Raptor ride at Cedar Point (both forced on by cousins) to get me back into coasters. But for the 8ish years inbetween, I wouldn't touch them. Don't force the kids on the ride! If they discover the thrill themselves, I'm betting you it'd turn out better in the long run. -nesdude

Alright, I see how it goes. SFNE, you're on. Just because you're good with wood and I'm good with steel doesn't mean we can't change it up a little. Let's see if I can come up with something what will totally own your coaster. Or, you know, at least put up a good fight before it's blasted into the ground. One of the two. -nesdude

Yay, I have a "OMG I'M GONNA DIE" moment. It was about a month ago, a simple trip to Cedar Point. Since I've now done the sweet 16, it was time to conqure my only fear in that park: the giant S&S tower known as Power Tower. As much as I love coasters, I've always have had a fear of elevators and straight-drops-that's-not-a-roller-coaster-hill. So, naturally, Power Tower had no appeal to me. However, after talking to some people online telling me I should do it and having the two people I was with practically drag me into line, I was convinced I could ride it and have a great time. We decided to do the Drop side instead of the Shot, even though the line was longer. The drop seemed like it would be... better? more terrifying? Who knows. Sitting in the seat and getting all restraint-ed up was a chore. My hands were shaking, something that hasen't happened on a coaster or thrill ride in YEARS. It was when the car starting ascending that I started to panic. Since we were on the side that pointed to the front of the park, we had a perfectly clear and unique view of the park. And that calmed my nerves - until the car hit the top, made a loud noise, and stopped. The panic came back again, this time stronger than ever. It took a few seconds to realize that there was only ONE way I was getting down from up here, a freefall drop to the ground below. I pondered this for a few more seconds, trying to soak up the views before the inevitable happened. I can still clearly remember those few seconds. A "PSSSSH" was heard, the car dropped, my body hit the restraint, I thought I was going to die and it felt like fireworks were going off in my mind, all within a fraction of a second. Another second and it was smooth falling, and since the fear was gone, I couldn't do anything but laugh. The car stopped at the bottom, grins all around my friends. We've conqured Power Tower and loved it! Was the "I'm gonna die" moment worth it? You better believe it! -nesdude

Annnnd... the PayPal for Midwest is sent. I'm excited, hopefully I make the trip! -nesdude

Well, well, well. Talked this entire Midwest trip over with my parents. If you would of asked me a year ago if I could of convinced them to let me go, I never would of believed that they would let me. But - yay - they did. So... the only issue now is making sure the check gets in on time. Not sure if it'll be through snail mail or PayPal, but one way or another, the payment will get there. Can't wait to meet all of you going on the Midwest trip! -nesdude

Wow - a response to my question in 2 minutes. And here I come back the next morning to hopefully see a response, and there it is. Thanks for the quick response. Talked it over with my mother, her initial reaction was shock that I would even be asking such a thing as to go on the trip, but then she saw it from my point of view and would consider it and get back to me. Yay. Once again, thanks for the quick response. -nesdude

So. After reading, re-reading, then re-reading some more, I think I'm finally ready to ask a question that I'm almost sure hasn't been answered before. My name is Chris, and I'm trying to do everything in my power to be able to go on the Midwest 2007 TPR trip. I believe that it would be a great experience, not only for the coasters but for the people that you'd meet. Well, the coasters are a big part of it too, I guess, as no one else in my family enjoy coasters and it's a pain getting them to parks. Next April will mark my 17th birthday. I understand from the flyer that 16 and 17 year olds need 2 additional things besides money: "a signed medical release and waiver from their parent or guardian as well as be personally approved by Theme Park Review." My question is how can we go about getting a medical release form and waiver for the parents, and how can we be approved by TPR? Does this happen after a deposit is in? The only thing I notice on the flyer is that the deposit must include your name, 'Midwest Trip', and detailed contact information including address, phone number, and email address. Should this also include our parents contact information? I would assume yes, but it's always better to check. And that's all I have for now, hopefully that's all I'll ever have. Thanks for your time answering these questions, and I hope to see at least some of you in 2007. -nesdude

Hiya! My name is nesdude. I've seen some of the videos offered at TPR a while ago and decided it was finally time to make an account and see what all the hubbub was about. I don't think I know any of you, so hi once again. I reeeeeeeeeally don't know what I can put here, so I'll just babble aimlessly for a few minutes. I love coasters, my home park is Cedar Point, and I've been very limited in my coaster choices. Some of my favorites include Magnum XL-200 (Cedar Point), Mean Streak (Cedar Point) and Silver Comet (Martin's Fantasy Island). I am consided a GOES (Guest of Exceptional Size) in some parks by just a few pounds. However, I've only been denined from one coaster, and that was Millennium Force in 2005. However, I did manage to sqeeze on this year, so at least my size is under control. Too much info? You be the judge, I did say I was gonna ramble on. A few other hobbies include computers, programming (C++ 4 LIFE), and building random NoLimits coasters. I don't get out much, but I do have friends and we do stuff. Like LAN parties. And hanging out. And stuff. That's it for me. Any questions? Comments? Feel free to email or PM me, I love to get to know new people! -nesdude