Shockwave

Photos part 2! Thank you Fårup Sommerland for a brilliant day! Here's the entrance sign one more time, Just because it was such an awesome place! The corkscrew position is her favourite. She also loves going upside down for you. She rides pretty well. Knocks you about a bit on the bends, but a bit of abuse can add to the fun. Check out her lovely lady humps. We took a couple more rides on Lynet before we left her. And just after buying a lot of merch, I saw three kids who'd gone for a swim! They all got out fine in the end. They sell toy vans with Erik's name spelled correctly on them! Towards the end of the day, we did some shopping. Falken gets ready to swoop down on some unsuspecting rodents. Airtime makes me pull funny faces. And it starts right here. It's more floating out of the seat-time! There were no lines for this all day, so we did it a few times! So we went back to something we were both good at, riding roller coasters! Bit of a let down after the achievement of the monkey bars! To be honest, we weren't that good. After the obstactle course, we decided to go and shoot stuff. Credit to this guy for pulling us across! And near the end, another raft on a rope. And then there's more nets... This kid managed to pull himself across! After going through the ship, you get onto a boat on a rope. Inside, you see what the two head honchos of this site might look like after a day of making videos, photo updates, organising trips for hundreds of people, and caring for a baby at the same time. Forget an obstacle course, that is hard work! Type your own Anita's back door joke here. Halfway round the course is the good ship Anita. Then it was time for Divv to face the water Gods. Hi Joey! YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! I'm touching the edge!! I was getting tired by this point, but I was so close! Getting closer... Halfway across, and the facial expressions get funnier. And now you're going to see every agonising photo. THE MONKEY BARS!!! Naturally I gave my money, car keys, phone, camera and shoes to Divv before tyring this. I'm stupid, but not that stupid. Then the grovelling began, and just when it was getting difficult, it was time for the hardest part. Easy so far. Well as it turned out, very! Well is this easy so far. How hard can it be? After pulling the cute girl, it was time for the infamous obstacle course. This is a slide. Her name was Adriana, and she was lovely. So here I am, doing a myspace photo with a TPR slush, and then the girl at the kiosk does a pose behind me! Hot hot hot hot hot hot slide. Success!!! We found the easy side, and Divv went for it. Here's some more plastic fantastic. We got round this log flume first time. And got just as wet! It's a nice ride which gets you wet enough to keep you cool, but not enough to drench you. More smart organisation was to be found. Because I did just that, we hit the rapids. There are several of these bouncy things around the park, and they were awesome! Expect if you stand the same spot too long on a hot day, they do get rather warm! Plenty of porn for all you through the trees nerds! As is the Mini powered coaster. It's a through the trees sort of ride. ...acutally it can mean many. But this is a big roller skater. The Vekoma sign can mean only one thing... Even though there's no railroad barriers, the Danes are still very responsible! Hi Matt. The one's for you! Fårup Sommerland is a pretty big park, and we've not even done a quarter of it yet.

Day 2 - Fårup Sommerland I'd heard a lot about this place from Robb & Elissa when they went a few years ago, but nothing really prepares you for when you get there. The whole place is just really relaxed with loads of stuff to do for all ages. The coasters are all a lot of fun (yes, even the spinning mouse) and the new one is a great little ride. And then there's the obstable course. It must be about a mile long from end to end, and there's so much stuff that you can die on! Sadly for most of you, I survived, and even put a certain Jewish site member to shame! The inflatable things and the trampolines were just too funny! Sadly I think the giant brocoli was gone, but that didn't make the day any less fun. And the speedboats did a lot of bouncing at full throttle down the lake! The food was also really nice, and a cute girl who served me a slush ice even wanted her picture taking with me! Should have got her e-mail really, but all the more reason to go back I guess! Everything just came together to make for an almost perfect day. This place has rocketed right upto one of my favourite places in the world, and I would go back there at the drop of a hat. Finally, in my first post I mentioned how I might have unintentionally bought the sountrack to TPR's Scandinavian trip a year before it happens. The park had just released a new CD of tunes played in and around the the attractions, and I bought it with no idea what it would be like. Anyway, I'll post a track and you'll get the picture. Here's a track of the Fårup Hits CD, and part 1 of many photos! I only just got on, but you can see my action shots in Divv's PTR. = lots of spray! Full throttle + gentle waves... This was really cool. You'd never get to do this in the UK! Because he's about the drive a speedboat! Why has Divv got a life jacket on? That's a lot of airtime out there. The station gets ready to spit the train out. Falken was a bit shaky round the bends, but it was mostly smooth and had some great floater airtime. Then it was time to ride Denmark's newest wooden coaster. Honestly, you'd think he was worse than me at losing stuff! Needless to say after this, he didn't forget anything. Flagermusen was actually OK despite these rides being like the the rabbits of the coaster world. Then Divv realised he forgot his hat in the Lynet station! He went back and luckily it was still there. So when he got back I punished him with spinning mouse treatment. Somewhere, there's a Danish e-mail in Robb's junk folder on AOL! So we did just that. You can email all your friends and tell them about the ride in Danish! Bonus prize to whoever finds Divv's corresponding photo! In case you were wondering how new the ride was, this is the turnstile counter. The geek in you can work out how many people went on it yesterday if the park was open for 8 hours, and the ride has already had 50 people pass through it this morning. Thank Jebus we didn't have to wait in that line! Then it's a couple more twists and you're at the end. ..for some time. ...and on... It goes on... This bit was like the Hanging Corkscrew of Babylon. You're about halfway around now... Nice curves too. As Divv said, this is the first coaster named after a Desperate Housewife! And like for like, they both have plenty of airtime. And over you go. Then it's top hat time. It starts off with a cool little drop into the LIM launch, and you're away. Yep, everyone had the same idea! It only opened yesterday, so we knew we had to get on before the line got busy. It's a Gerstlauer Launch coaster which as the sign says goes 0-80kph (about 50mph for you metric dinosaurs) in less than 2 seconds. First stop was Lynet, the brand new coaster. Yes, there's lots of fruit for sale here as well! Good for keeping your energy up. Believe me, you'll need it. Let's go inside! After our little shopping session, it was back to the gates for the day's raison d'etre. And Vodka comes in loads. Ed will be happy! Over here, spunk comes in two colours! Tom's giant Yankie can be found everywhere in Denmark. Jolly Jolly Jolly. It's strange to see stuff which is a staple diet of a British pub on the shelves over here. But they still make a lot of lager anyway. You'd probably need quite a lot to get an Elephant drunk. Just ask the South Park kids! Divv is amazed to see that Carlsberg don't just make lager in Denmark! So before going into the park, we decided to stock up at a SuperSpar! Good morning Friday! It's gonna be a hot one. 03 Track 3.mp3 Creamy - Æblemand Kom Infendor

^Love it! If TPR ever had its own Up The Arse Corner, that would appear in it. Besides, everyone has a thing for Canadians!

Great stuff so far Dave! I missed out on Ober Gatlinburg when I was there this time last year, and I would definetly want to hit it up on my next visit. Can't wait for more!

Yeah, petrol isn't cheap and hasn't been for some time over here. Irn Bru is a Scottish soda which outsells Coke by 2 to 1 in Scotland. You either love it or hate it! Looks like the tie dye trains were obivously designed by some ACErs while wearing their Duelling Dragons tie dye t-shirts. Apparently spunk does come in boxes in Denmark. It is quite solid stuff. And as for the jet engine... Like this?

Fantastic report Derek! I was a bit worried about what would happen to Mall of America when Nickelodeon moved in, but it seems to have turned out rather well in the end. I'm glad they kept their Tumbler, because I was stupid and didn't do it last year! I was a bit indifferent about Valleyfair, it came across a being a bit too sterile for me. Not Michigan's Adventure sterile, but still lacking something. The tiny Ferris Wheel's rules mean they won't let you take your camera on the ride so you can take photos, because it's a drop hazard. Although that said I could think of far worse parks to visit, and I would always try and give parks a second chance within reason. And it seemed to have less trash cans than the other Cedar Fair parks I've been to. Renegade was a great coaster, and I'd love to try riding that thing at night after it's been going for a whole day.

Djurs Sommerland photos part 2! Never mind that it doesn't have a big sign saying Djurs over the entrance, it was still a great park! See you tomorrow for Fårup Sommerland! Time to wave farewell and set sail for the next park. Upskirt shot for all you perverts. The girl in the middle knows how to strike a pose! As be that. That there be airtime. Handy if you're a Pirate! Fruit on the other hand is much nicer. It prevents scurvy. It didn't taste very good. Desperate times call for desperate measures. So I got my packet of spunk. We were shattered after this. And we had a much bigger course to try tomorrow! More logs. Some climbing as well. Then some more ropes. Then walk over some bridges. First you take a rope swing. Tarzanland. It's exercise time! Just because we love the death spirals, we did Thor's Hammer again, before... Divv powerslides his way round the course. Rally karts + hot chicks = good times! It's time for some rally karts! Look out Divv! This is about as high as I got on trampolines today. Time to take my New Balance clogs off. In Demark, you're responsible for getting yourself back to the station after getting evacuated! We did get all the way around it later in the day. But our boat didn't even get to see any monkeys as the ride broke down on the first lift! In the queue line, Divv decides that after the last boat ride had so many monkeys on it he wasn't taking any chances. Dan would definetly need a dryer after this. Time to cool off I think. Kerching. I spy a Wacky Worm... Feet shall become moist. Djurs has got one of those wonderful but weird Topple Towers. Divv visits the little boys room. Wasn't he in There's Something About Mary? Lots of dead western stars. There's one of those Wave Swingers with water jets as well. Into the tunnel of doom they go. It doesn't get you soaked, but there's some water bombs and squirty jets to keep you cool. Is that a reward FOR drunk riding? Steve, Miles and Ed would like this! Now it's time for some Wild West action on the rapids.

^Do it. Great photos Jer! Can't wait to get back over there and see you all again.

^The theming is not super amazing, but they've made a good effort with it. The ride has got some great airtime over the tophat and the hills. It's a bit of the Gerstlauer shakes through the turns, but it's a good little ride that fits in really well with the park. Fårup Sommerland was without doubt my favourite park of the whole trip. There was just so much fun to be had, and even the spinning mouse (almost all of which I hate with a passion) didn't fail to bring a smile to my face. The whole atmosphere is just incredible.

And now for some parks! Djurs Sommerland was a really nice park. I'll break it down into easy to digest pieces... 1. Piraten was awesome! Airtime on every hill in every seat. 2. The whole Piratland area will look even better when more rides are put down. My money's on a Splash Battle of sorts to appear sometime in the next few years. 3. The park sells fruit, which is a great idea instead of having nothing but unhealthy snack stalls. 4. There's off road go karting which was free! There's loads of trampolines which are free! 5. Piraten was awesome! 6. The Gerstlauer Bobsled is good fun if you like death spirals! 7. The river boat ride is hystercial! You'll see more pictures of it later. 8. There's a lot of merchandise for sale. Coaster geeks will love it. 9. The obstable course was good preparation for what we were about to go through the next day, 10. Did I mention Piraten was awesome? Photos... Hope you enjoyed the monkey molestation ride! More Djurs Sommerland photos coming up soon. Despite the branch humping and the crocodile water skiing, the monkeys did what the US Army couldn't do, and caught Osama Bin Laden. Rafiki now plays drums in his spare time. The monkey really likes that branch! Now back to more monkey business. Maybe not. We might need a Dan Dryer... The tunnel looks quite wet at the end. King Kong escaped from Universal Hollywood just in time. Yes, that is a monkey waterskiing in case you needed a double take! But the monkeys have no fear! And some are scary. Some are fierce. There are other animals too. Some are intimidating. I never knew monkeys liked fishing until I saw this. No wonder it crashed, there's a monkey at the controls! Then you come across a plane wreck. It starts off with African guys looking rather menacing. And now for a ride truly in the spirit of TPR. It's Chico and the Poachers! Then its a big drop over water into a final helix of death! Bunny hill shed action! More hot helix of death action! Then it's some twisty wild mouse action. And then it's into this first drop/helix of death! Like most roller coasters, it starts with a lift. The scary prop with the glowing eyes sends you on your way. Complete with unexpected Engrish! Here's the trains. Xena's breast plates eventually found another use. And here's why! In the queue line, this goat looks a bit too happy. Stop! Hammertime! Thor's Hammer time to be precise. Pirate puns aside, Djurs has other rides too. And the helix of death can mean only one thing. And don't worry, we shall meet again. Piraten was a really great ride. Ye should all get to Denmark now and ride it! Down to the locker ye go... The lift hill takes you up before your descent to Davy Jones! Not even the shade can hide the airtime. First the first hill to the last, your hair will be going straight up. A-vast (amount of) 'air! The RRR-time is found almost everywhere! This ride meant that Roger just found a new reason to be jolly. Pirates call this RRR-time! These guys sing you some sea shanties before you walk the plank. The big skull reminds you that you're very much in Pirate country. And if you're still a bit thick, the Piraten sign makes it really obvious. Nobody used the test seat all day. The Danes are a very healthy bunch! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. Look out Piraten, here we come! This is the first thing you see as you walk along the path to the entrance!

Hey folks! Been a while since I've done a photo TR, but what with moving out of home and lots going on at work, I don't have as much time on my hands as I did last year. But that wasn't going to stop me from enjoying a few days in Denmark. As some of you will know already, I went over with Divv, and as you all know his trip report will probably get finished first. Now there's a few things you need to know about this trip. Firstly it was really hot. The temperature was up above 80 degrees Fahrenheit every day. Certainly not not I expected it to be like, but who am I to complain when it's that nice! Secondly, the girls are even hotter. Denmark has certainly got talent! Also, we don't speak a word of Danish (that's actually a lie, we can say "Tak" which is thanks in Danish) but since everybody there speaks almost perfect English that wasn't a problem. I always try to learn the lingo a bit before going to a country where English isn't the first language, but people didn't mind speaking English at all! And finally, I may have unintentionally bought the soundtrack to TPR's Scandianavia DVD which will be in the works after the 2009 trip. But more on that later. Anyway, I'm sure you're all hankering for photos by now, so here we go... And this is our rental car. Not long till Djurs Sommerland now! The Dan Dryer helped dry my hands after washing them to protect against bird flu. ...check to see if you have bird flu! We're down on the ground, but before setting foot on Danish soil for good... And the small village eating engine is happy again. Surprisingly he doesn't like people. There's Denmark! There's only so long that a bag of crisps can entertain you on a flight. So the Ipod stepped in. Divv didn't care for physics lessons. He was catching up on the early start. Any more elevation and the passengers will get covered in Salt and Vinegar crisps! One the flight I got a free physics lesson. Which is nice because I'm awful at science. At grear height, the bag of crisps has inflated because the pressure on the inside of the bag is different to outside the bag. Something like that. Up here there's no towns to eat. Just blue sky. Jet engines like to eat small English towns. But soon we were up, up and away! We did have some traffic problems just before taking off. There were loads of their planes around today! Maybe it's because of their take on inflight entertainment. I've always thought of Ryanair as a comedy airline. Can't think why. And this is our plane. In the short space of one photo, it's now Thursday morning and we're at Stansted Aiport getting ready to fly out. After all that, it was time to head onwards. Not long till Divv's house now! Here is what was left of dinner. Not much really. Hi Lou. You know you want me. Dinner is served. I even saw one of my vans doing the same thing! And then I needed to top myself up. There goes my TPR trip money for next year. Then I topped my car up again so I didn't have to do it going back home after the trip was over. I also bought some presents for Divv and his girlfriend for their hospitality. You can't go wrong getting a Scottish person some Irn-Bru! ...a plug adaptor! Don't leave for the airport without one! Halfway to Divv's, I realised I'd forgotten something very important. So I pulled into a Tesco and picked up... At least the roads were quiet so I could make decent time. Welcome to Wednesday evening, and I'm about to drive to Divv's house. Before leaving, I needed to fill up. Once again, it's time to point out how much the UK pays for fuel. My car runs on regular unleaded petrol, which is 117.9 pence per litre here. To save you the maths, it's nearly $9, yes $9 PER US GALLON!

^I wouldn't call the dust extreme, and I'm one of the worst allergy sufferers out there! Djurs was a nice little park with some quirky stuff and a great coaster in Piraten. The best bit was how much responsibility people took over there, a lot of the stuff in Demark would never be allowed in the US or even Britain because of the way things are.

Dragen at Tivoli Friheden.

It always makes me sad when a Schwarzkopf's ride's days are numbered, because they're such awesome rides. Hopefully it won't be going just yet.

This caught my eye... http://www.rwsentosa.com/en_universalstudio.html A duelling inverted floorless combo in the works for Universal Singapore? Well if it does ever come to fruition, let's hope it's better than Duelling Dragons, because that didn't really work so well.

Let's not forget this is also the same park that has encouraged people to ring in sick to work so they can visit, and riders to scream louder despite the park having noise restrictions placed on it. This sort of advertising really needs to be taken with a grain of salt. It's happened before and it'll happen again.

It's a clever way to get people's attention more focused on the park when they are there, rather than communicating with things outside it. And it's definetly worked as a publicity stunt, because otherwise this topic wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be writing this. It would be nice to hear from those people who have actually got families as well.

This was my favourite part of the report! Great report Derek, I feel slightly bummed out that all those parks I went to last year have now got some new rides which look like a lot of fun, but at least I have a good reason to go back there soon!

That lower minimum height limit makes me wonder whether the powers high above are trying to make it as accessible as possible. Sounds like the same thing has already been done with Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Europe (and these two parks are in the same chain). It's likely down to the management's decision dependent on who they're targeting the ride at, whilst balancing the legal issues at the same time. I can imagine for instance that a lot of Disney's bigger rides would have much more restrictive limitations if they were found in any other park, because some of them are really powerful. Back to the ride itself, it looks really good on paper, and I hope Seaworld can pull it off. I'm not expecting a huge powerful coaster like Tatsu, more like something along the lines of Air, which focuses much more on a gentle feeling of flight, rather than trying to be like a stunt pilot.

I love how the Sun call it "Ride Of Death". I'm beginning to wonder whether S&S build their rides out of melted down Action Man dolls.

Well done on breaking Farenheit, Nat! Glad you enjoyed it in the end though. I really enjoyed reading the whole report!

That's really great to see. That list was pretty full when I visited 18 months ago, so to see such a change is credit to the people who are doing their bit to make it a great park once again, from the ground up. And for a very different reason this one makes me smile as well.

They should just call it the Eastern Eurovision Song Contest.

I had no idea what the Burlington Coat Factory was, so I wiki'd it to enlighten myself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlington_Coat_Factory

Funny you should say that... http://www.rcdb.com/ig1414.htm?picture=50 Well, they sponsor it. Close enough.