switch_79

i worked valleyfair back in the summer of '97. i was in high school... wanted to make *some* money so i opted to do food service. eep, big mistake. i might've made more than the ride operators, but it was pure torture. i hardly went a week without a bout of heatstroke. heck, i did better standing in the sun at the renaissance festival than cooped up next to some fryers in a barely-ventilated corn dog shack. yes, the buddy passes are nice. yes, the ride-any-time-you-want opportunity is nice. but in reality, you could get a job with equivalent pay in someplace like a video store or a movie theater, buy yourself a season pass, and actually get through a summer with both lungs intact. just providing a counterpoint here: i could've lived without the experience. -h

...crappeh! i'll keep an eye on it, thanks.

hey folks. i was just browsing wikipedia today for random information when i decided to see what the self-proclaimed experts had to say about TTD. you can read for yourselves here (tasty), or just read the part that grabbed my attention: wait a sec... it has? then how come i can't find it?? i tried CF, not a word. tried here, but then i reminded myself.. what are the odds robb and elissa were there to capture the moment? perhaps a little higher than the average joe, and yet... nada. i'd be delighted to track this footage down. can anyone point me in the right direction? danke. -h

guys, don't forget about the mighty axe: not a coaster, but still a sweet ride if i e'er saw one. you''ll need a little pick me up after the ripsaw too, trust me, lol!

YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHH BBBBOOOOOOOOOIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!! steel venom, WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

::bummed out:: announced just a few days too late... drat. i bid for my schedule every month (as is the life of a flight attendant), and that bid must be created by the 19th of the previous month. we get our schedules on the 24th. if i had known... !! ah well. you guys have a faboo time! heather "at least i'm not missing the classic shockwave headrush blackout" pinklepotts ps. my last name is not really pinklepotts, but let's just pretend it is. edit: doubletake on the thread... there's a ride called the Goerge Foreman Grill?!? lol!

phil, let us know how easy it is to get to those three by train! i'm going to be setting up base camp in chiba city and am hoping all are within reach... well, i KNOW laqua is. whatevv... hope you're having a blast! >h<

elissa, i'm very sorry to hear about your lil buddy. everyone knows loss, but only you and robb will really know life before and after rattums. i hope good times are still possible in the next few weeks, and that the lil guy will enjoy his last few moments in your company. i send my best wishes your way. >h<

i suppose i should do a formal entry as well... mmkay. hi everyone! the name's heather. i'm 25 and i live in minneapolis. my first coaster was what is now called "mild thing" at valleyfair. i'd ride it repeatedly, and if my parents ever yoinked me off it too soon for my tastes i'd insist that they call me "trainlady" for the rest of the day. then i'd promptly disappear while we'd be waiting in line for the antique cars, and my folks would make a bolt for mild thing and, as sure as rain in april, there i'd be. when magnum opened at CP back in the day, that began the spark in my heart to make it there. i finally did for magnum's 10th anniversary, as well as the inaugural season of millenium force, in 2000. i returned in 2003, and it remains my favorite park. now my goals are to hit up the west coast parks (the last time i was in cali was a DL trip in 1982, at the age of 3), so SFMM and knott's berry farm are absolute musts. i've been to florida enough times to make me look like a junkie on paper, but in truth i've never known a place in this entire world to build up a thicker layer of sweat on my body. gross. however, i haven't been to islands of adventure either, so i'm going to have to suck it up and check it off at some point. there are three parks i know backwards and forwards due to research and/or experience, and they're valleyfair, CP, and SF great america in gurnee; well, i guess you can count camp snoopy in the MOA as well, if you want. so if you have any questions about these places, don't hesitate to contact me! i look forward to adding my own experiences to this forum, and to meeting some very cool coaster freaks! robb, thanks for making this possible man! cheers. heather

as a token of my affection, i present you with this loving and adorable monkeydog... please feed him only bamboo shoots and pick his ticks on a regular basis. thank you.

hey captain, i too am planning a trip to japan and want not only a little coaster action, but some cultural experiences as well. check out Fodors 2005 guide to japan, it's bene helping me quite a bit. also lonelyplanet's guides are good, but the maps look like they leave a lot to the imagination. also, check out http://www.fodors.com for destination guides. they even had a snippet on parque espana i found the other day (said it was opened to great acclaim 10 years ago but is a ghost town these days, hehe), and i'm scouring the site for more hidden park info. my biggest fears are the language barrier and figuring out the trains. i'm not too concerned about the culture because i get this high from immersion itself.. and i have a friend who'll be pointing me in the right directions. here's hoping i've done that just a bit. good luck!

what about japan's rendition of the dollar menu? was it like a 100 yen menu? that would still be over a dollar here, but it's my best guess.

**cough**valleyfair**coughcough**

wow, is this guy searching for the fastest way out or what? lol!! don't be hatin'!

oof... japan the week before, and then spend my berfday at hurricane harbor? do you people honestly think i'm made out of yen? it's YAM, people, YAMS. i am made out of YAMS. ..okay, that was a lie. man i wish i could make it folks. i'm such a CP junkie, i have yet in my 25 years to check SFMM's coasters out. it's a midwestern thing i think. and yet, goliath beckons... hey, if japan falls through *knock on wood*, i just might be up for a birthday trip. brickin brick brick (and other indoor sports), >hms< p.s. two words -- sleep deprivation.

i would like to see mine say, um.... "the cheese is just for decoration."

i vote for all of wes'... i know there are four, but don't make me choose! too freakin funny, man.... okay, well to make it legit i guess you can bump huey to #4. so my faves are: 1) wes - colbertfanatic 2) wes - closetfanatic 3) wes - scientologyfanatic i figure nobody gets mine -- that or the fabio thing was way overplayed. at least i craack myself up. cheers. >hms< (wes' #1 fan)

although i was a guest on someone else's comp and didn't have admin rights to add the font for the "blank fanatic" avatar, i managed to kick mine out in about 5 minutes using MS Paint alone. it comes with any windows operating system and can be found under accessories from the start menu. although much more limiting than using photoshop, you can accomplish quite a bit with this little prog. to make my faboo fabio avatar, all i did was: 1) download the template from the forums onto my desktop 2) found a photo of fabio and ALSO saved it to my desktop 3) opened the fabio photo in Paint and adjusted the size slightly 4) saved and copied the newly adjusted fabio image (copy is ctrl + c) 5) opened the template pic 6) pasted the fabio image onto it (paste is ctrl +v) and moved it to make it fit 7) added the text to the bottom it's all trial and error with MS Paint. just play around with it a little bit. it's free, and so no money or hassle is really invested into it if for any reason the process doesn't grab you, or you don't grab it. a lot of the stuff you learn to do on MS Paint can be transferred over to using Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro if you so choose to take that leap, but for now, just try fussing around with Paint and see what you can do. And if you run across any more problems, don't be afraid to ask! cheers, >hms<

ohhh sooo dreamy... :shock:

i like donkeys..... ..... ..... .......... ..with a side of lemon butter sauce.

...the pirates will have beards made of seaweed. they'll chuck cormorants and inflatable boobies at the passengers. i have seen it in my dreams. thanks again for your help!

did you guys get a JR pass before you went? i'm guessing you did for all the traveling you undertook... but man, they are pri-ceee. but you know what? i'll persevere. i'm sold. and i'll bring back pirate boat ride pics fo shizzy.

would it be realistic or just plain costly to take a train from tokyo to the osaka region on a thursday afternoon, do parque espana in the morning, and ride all the way back to tokyo later on friday? seriously, am i just a total crackhead to do this? it really does strike me as the nicest park, with a brownie point for the bizarro factor that is the bullfighting coaster. but do you guys have any idea what the travel time and costs would run me?? laqua's happening on saturday -- my buddy who works in chiba city will be joining me. so once i get in wednesday and rest a bit, i want to make the most of the two days i have available. tomshimaen and yomiuriland are still options, as are any of the other parks if i were persuaded in one direction or another... hey, what would YOU do?

believe you me, elissa, parque espana crossed my mind more than once. but isn't it over in the osaka prefecture? i don't know if i have that much time to travel. also, fuji-q almost reeled me in with hamtaro alone.. ! oh well. i should double check where the log coaster is at one more time. that just might be the dealbreaker: werd.

ty gisco... my research has been paying off. i'm too excited about going! so far, i've trimmed down my options to LaQua fo shizzle , and either yomiuriland or toshima-en. i just can't make up my mind. i've spreadsheeted the pros and cons of each park like a big coaster dork, hehe, and i still can't decide between the two! advice? oh, and maybe i'll catch ya there! gotta renew my ACE card, though. do you know if any of the parks provide discounts?