bulldogmom

Sad, funny, and disturbing at the same time... Seriously, I'm surprised nobody has pillaged that stuff for souvenirs. The pizza sure looked good

I was afraid of this thing at Kennywood when I was little- I think it's pretty clear why!

I like ginger ale with this drink mix stuff- non-alcoholic- it's called mango something. I call them mango ginger ales. And I LOVE lemon slices in Coke- the more lemon, the better.

Looks like a nice little town. "Just One More" is the perfect name for a bar!

Great pics! The scariest thing of all is the prices on that menu!

The most disturbing part of this is the part that says "The state doesn't require mandatory inspections". This is pretty hard to comprehend, especially in this age of lawsuits.

Awesome! Lightning is so cool.

Thanks- now I remember why I mostly work from home! (my office is downtown) BTW, you can get to Kennywood and avoid the Parkway- you just have to be creative. The Swissvale exit is almost always backed up, mainly because Swissvale is small with lots of thru traffic. One alternate way is to get onto 48 somewhere and go south to McKeesport- then you're almost at Kennywood.

Great pics! What a beautiful park, especially the flowers. I must say this is the most original theming I have ever seen on a coaster!

A story: when I was little, I remember being at Kennywood and trying to see if I was tall enough for the "big rides". According to the wooden characters- Snoopy or whoever- I was tall enough for the Jack Rabbit, an "adult" coaster, but not the Little Dipper, a kiddie coaster (?) So my mom went to the manager's office and asked how this was possible. They said that the insurance companies made these decisions and they had no control over it. Of course, this was 30 years ago- maybe things have changed since then. Anyway, I find the Jack Rabbit to be much more "adult", with the double dip making you fly out of your seat, than the now-defunct Little Dipper, which was pretty lame. Strange.

Congrats on your first TR! The pics and descriptions were good- the rides themselves looked pretty crappy. Re: the price- you got ripped off! Something about a store in the background just ruins the amusement park mood...

Age: 37 Middle Name: L (just L) Pet Peeve: rude drivers Color of your bathroom: is mildew a color? Best Movie of ALL time: "Rollercoaster" Best Song of ALL time: none Best TV Shows: hockey Favorite Band/Artist: Abba (go ahead, laugh) Favorite Ride at Disney Parks: Haunted Mansion Yummiest Ice Cream: Birthday Party If you could eat lunch with one person, who would it be: Peter Forsberg Morning Person or Night Person: Night! Pets: Pug (Peter), bulldog (Humphrey), cat (Ichabod), 10 (yes, 10) guinea pigs Favorite Color: green Where you would go for fun (not an amusement park): beach Coke or Pepsi: Coke Opinion about Peanut Butter and Jelly:good Best Vacation Spot: Jersey Shore Cook or Go Out: Go out Beach, Desert, or Mountains: BEACH Hobby: reading Favorite Food: spaghetti Favorite Store: Barnes and Noble Favorite Video Game: RCT 2 or the Sims 2 Favorite Board Game: Trivial Pursuit Favorite Magazine: "Mental Floss" Favorite Inversion: corkscrew Favortie Flat Ride: Ferris wheel Favorite Car: Toyota Favorite Animal: bulldogs Favorite book: "The Complete Works of Shakespeare" If you could go anywhere, where would it be:Las Vegas

Personally, the idea doesn't appeal to me- seems too much like cheap exploitation. Maybe an alien themed section of a park would be cool, but I can't see an entire park. I don't think it would appeal to a wide enough variety of people, and I can't see people going out of their way to visit it. New Mexico has so much natural beauty anyway- I think something like this would detract from it.

I commend you for posting this and for educating us about it. I totally understand where you're coming from- I have had anxiety/panic disorder for most of my life and have run the gamut with shrinks, meds, etc. I'm very open about my illness and am always willing to answer questions about it. I think most people follow my lead and see that, because I have learned to take it in stride, aren't scared/intimidated/whatever. You have obviously done a lot of research on the topic, which is one of the best things you can do- the more knowledge you have over your illness (any illness) the more power you have over it. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk about anything. -Debby

Thanks for the great TR- this looks like it was really fun. Great captions, too!

Oh no, my favorite coaster! At least nobody was seriously injured. Didn't something like this happen on the Thunderbolt at Kennywood a few years ago? I remember that one train was parked at the station and another crashed into it. I think there were a lot more injuries on that, though.

I'm with Jahan. Although I've never had the pleasure of having a Dole Whip, most park treats aren't the same unless they're actually eaten at the park- it's the whole experience. Like Potato Patch fries at Kennywood.

I thought it was funny, but I do have a sick sense of humor. I liked the bumper cars one best.

Front- always

I've been to both and would pick BGE any day. The theming, the coasters, the general atmosphere- love the "Rhine"- the food, the whole package. I think you actually feel more that you're in Europe here than you feel like you're in Africa at BGT. Also, you have VA Beach, one of my fav beaches, nearby, and as somebody mentioned, Colonial Williamsburg.

You're right, articles like these are disgusting. These are written by people who go around looking to stir up trouble and create incidents where there is no evidence of any wrongdoing/malfeasance. If you count everybody who has ever been "hurt" on an amusement ride, it would probably be a high number- considering your definition of "hurt". The first time I rode Raptor I banged my head on the restraint and had a headache. Did I "report" this? Did I sue CP or B&M? Call the newspaper? Of course not. When you engage in any type of activity, you run the risk of some kind of discomfort. You have to look at things in perspective. Most "accidents" are the result of carelessness, stupidity, or clumsiness (most of mine are the result of clumsiness). MOst accidents occur in the home because, obviously, this where people spend most of their time. All this kind of "reporting" does is encourage people to go around filing lawsuits about every little thing, as though it weren't a big enough problem already.

Great pics. That walrus is so CUTE! I want to hug him. The other animals were cute, too.

Wow, what a scary video. It must have been terrifying for those poor people on board. Luckily nobody died. I'm a (inactive) volunteer firefighter, and if I remember correctly, dark black smoke such as seen in this film suggests an electrical fire (different colored smoke means different types of fires). I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the fire was an electrical malfunction, possibly caused by having too many things (rides) operating on one circuit. Did you ever have too many things plugged into one circuit and start a fire? I have Definitely it would have been worse to keep the ride going. As someone pointed out, oxygen only fuels the fire and motion only spreads it. I think they handled it in the best way that you could handle such a thing.

Beautiful pics! Griffon looks totally amazing. What a splash it makes! Everybody on the train looks happy. BGE continues to be one of the prettiest parks around with the most photogenic coasters. I never get tired of looking at shots of the "Rhine".

The ultimate underrated coaster, in my opinion, was Drachen Fire. Coasters I like that don't seem to be too popular: Disaster Transport, Georgia Cyclone (SFOG), Vekoma Boomerangs. Someone mentioned Swamp Fox- I agree- great coaster.