RonFrost

I may be in the minority, but I actually prefer spending the day at California Adventure over the Magic Kingdom. I find the park more "adult", and less crowded than Disneyland. I grew up only 45mins from DL and spent many, many days there in my youth. But now I only go in to hit a couple of rides then head out. DCA may not have all the bells, whistles, and fairy dust like it's big sister, but I like the "old California" feeling and theming. Improvements are always welcome, of course.

Wow, 500? You 'da man! Congratulations to my one night stand...er, I mean, my one night roomie! Hope to see you on anther TPR trip, but I can't be your roommate anymore - you snore! I now know why Steve drank so much--he needed to pass out in order to get any sleep. - I kid. You're loads of fun, and it is great to have met you.

^www.southwest.com If you're planning on the Mainland Europe trip, Southwest will not get you there. They don't yet fly internationally. Flights have just become available for the dates of the Europe trip (airlines schedule flights 331 days from now), and I've priced them out for travel from San Francisco. I've been seeing fares around the high $1200's and low $1300's. I will say that it is still really early, and fares tend to drop some around mid September. Last year for Spain, however, the fares never dropped below $1150 (from SFO), and I paid slightly more than that. Because of the mess American made of my flights last year they credited my account with enough miles for a free ticket to Europe. Bonus! Summer is high season, and Europe is a popular travel destination. It is not likely that there will be any super bargain fares over there. As long as people are willing to pay the high fares, the airlines will charge them. I would suggest you sign up for a flight tracker option on one of the travel sites. I know American has it on their website, but I think it's available on Orbitz and Travelocity. You put in a destination, and you're notified when there is a special, or fare sale. If you're willing to pay a service fee, a travel agent may be able to find you a Consolidator Air ticket below market prices. Air Consolidators buy seats in large amounts from their preferred airlines, so they often get them at a discount. Hope that helps. Ron

I miss Tommy! These photos are great, and it was very enjoyable hanging out with you on the Spain trip. I sometimes wondered if you were laughing at the jokes we were telling, or just laughing at the Panthers being silly queens. Doesn't matter really, as it was good to see you were having fun.

Ah, such a lovely update! It seems so long ago that we were there. You got some great pictures of Bar tha lona. And, I loved it that we had to keep going around and around on Dragon Kahn. Hung over or not, that ride was great - one of my most favorite of the trip.

I noted the presence of Bouncy Bouncy, too. That could make it worth the trip, if it is as insane as the one in Zaragoza.

Great video Jimmybo, and all your updates have been highly entertaining. I love the ERT song!

These "cauldron" styled boats, while really cool looking, don't allow for much wetness. The boat are also reticulated, so the water is channelled along the division toward the center. Only the couple of people sitting on either side of the channel get wet. Personally, I prefer a lower profiled seat, so that a splash down produces a massive wave that soaks everyone on that side of the boat. It's much more fun that way.

I know you must be busy, and I am just giving you grief. I must say, though, that I'm a bit concerned that the other boys have finished their Trip Reports already. I hope we won't have to sing the Pokey Bear song to you.

LIAR Um, Hello! Where's the update? It's two days later. Just kidding - you know I love you more than my luggage! Girl Please!

I can't believe you still don't have your luggage....that sucks! Forgot to tell you - nice TR. I've enjoyed it very much.

I felt bad about you guys missing your connection in Chicago. I was, for the first time, happy that my scheduled layover there was 4 hours long.

Dudes, I'm so sorry you didn't get pink scrunchies. They were handed out during trivia on the mini-Europe trip. And well, you decided it was best to leave us after Spain and go do some work thing. That'll learn 'ya! ** On topic ** I LOVE big, gay Robb! And I'm jealous that he got to take in a fun concert with Miles!

Dude, if you had anything to do with that pre-show safety video then you are a God!

Hanno, As it's been said, your pictures are great. Regarding that Swing of Death ride, I may look relaxed in the picture, but what doesn't really show is how hard I was clutching that safety bar. Literally, my knuckles were white. That thing scared me silly!

That very well could be... I was trying to think were he was on my list, then I realized there were no women on it. Now it all makes sense.

Rob, Truly we did everything we could. Including trying to get you so drunk you couldn't make your flight home. Then you would have had no choice but to come along on the add-on. But alas, your livers are just too strong for that Spanish beer.

Yes, the bar tender, Omar, was really great. He had that food brought over from the wedding reception, I think. When we were back in that same hotel on the night we returned from the mini-Europe trip, he gave us Panthers more free food. We took care of him with tips!

Hey Kyle, Sorry you have to be at work today. I'm having a recovery day. Got home around 11 PM last night, so I'm glad I took today off. I've spent the day going through Personal email (316 of them 90% spam), and work e-mails (only 165). Now I'm reading through the Spain updates. We, the rest of the Pink Panthers, really missed you guys on the Mini Europe trip. You would have really enjoyed it. Although there were far fewer half nekked mens, "I Love Spain" continued as we were really featuring the beauty of the Germans. This is a great update. I keep looking at the pic, and thinking "oh yeah, I was there". Keep up the good work. Ron

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Sergei Rachmaninoff Op 43, variation 19 - L'istesso temp Goes great with a cup of Java in the AM

I think my first coaster was at Santa's Village in the San Bernadino mountains, near Redlands CA where I grew up. I must have only been about 5 years old, and don't remember much about it. The one I really remember from a very young age was the Matterhorn at Disneyland. I think I was 6 years old at the time, and I was not scared of the ride itself, but was afraid of the dark (it was night when we rode). I thought it would be dark inside the mountain, but there were green lights throughout the ride. I loved it!

This is truly spectacular news! I'm very happy for both of you, and welcome to a wonderful world of Coasters and Themeparks Kristen.

Hello All, My name is Ron, and I live in San Francisco. The park I live closest to is SFMarine World, but I don't know that I'd call it my home park. I get out that way only about once a year. I grew up in SoCal (Riverside), so I really think of Disneyland as my "home" park. When I was in High School (a short 20 years ago), my best friend and I had annual passes, and went there nearly every week. I also worked one season in the Magic of Christmas Parade, right after I graduated. My best gal pal Jolie and I are signed up to go on the Spain trip next summer. She and I have been on several trips that have included multiple parks, and we're really looking forward to going abroad to ride coasters. The first coaster I remember riding is the Matterhorn when I was about 6 yrs old, and now my coaster count is somewhere over 100. I have lots of favorites, including Top Thrill Dragster, X, Roar, Alpengeist, Ghost Rider, Kumba and Nitro. I think Robb and Elissa are the coolest people in the world! *removing brown from nose*