robbalvey

Hey everyone! I have just heard today from Alabama Adventure that 1 hour of night ERT on Rampage has been confirmed! If you are interested in the Deep South or any other TPR trip, please email robbalvey@aol.com ASAP! --Robb

YEah, we are fixing a couple of things right now. Should be back to normal in a day or two.

BTW, looks like Monsters Inc is in previews and it looks totally awesome!

And now...part 3 of 4 Tokyo Disneyland Resort Photos!!! Ooooh..Space Mountain all lit up...pretty! OMG...does that say 140 minute standby with all FastPass sold out? YUP! "What do you mean no pin trading at Tokyo Disney???" "Hey Dale, who put the 'kick me' sign on your back?" "I think I want to go on Buzz Light year...no I think I want to go on Pooh...no maybe Haunted Mansion..." Not in the shot - Donald Duck wearing a Scream Mask holding a gun. No, we're not at Universal... SEE! The entrance to DisneySea is very dark. No, it's not night time, it looks like this all day long. Weird. We see you active volcano! From some angles the lighting is very "minimalist" but it works so well! "And this hours random popcorn flavor is Sea Salt!" (which oddly enough tastes just like normal salted popcorn!) "Intense Shaking and Turbulence!" For some reason, Raging Spirits ran pretty smooth this visit! There is a train there, it's just cloaked. "Grrr! I'm the god of ANGRY FIRE!!! GIVE ME SOME CANDY!" Little Miss Sitting on Fake Genie. Yup, still active. You never get sick of this ride, it's just "perfect" in every way. "Is this floppy gyoza kosher?" Aww, good thing Big Bird is around to help hold up the bottle! Ooh..."Almost Good Tower" lookin' SEXXXXXY! And OMG! Another angle of sexy almost good tower! Flat Shiriki says "Which do I eat first? The bird or the baby?" To view this photo correctly, please stand slightly cooked to one side. We aren't going to tell you which side, but if you really do not know which way to stand you can ASK DAN! mrt0ad13@aol.com We recommend you email Dan and ask him "Learning towards which direction should I stand to view this photo?" Our hotel was amazing. I cannot stress how great it was staying on property. While some of the hotels here can be quite expensive, look into them as you may find some good deals to be had. Now THAT is what a castle should look like! "I thought you said we were getting my picture with Chip N' Dale?" Can you find the hidden Mickey in this picture? Here is the Mickey Mouse Revue. Originally opened at Walt Disney World in the 70s and moved here when Tokyo Disneyland opened. The show features all the classic "Disney and Friends" characters as animatronics. Ok, so it also features some apes, bunnies, and elephants too! Take a really good look as all this will be gone VERY soon! Bye bye Mickey! Soon you will be replaced with a 4D movie! Did we mention that they have a castle that you can see from outside the park? When you see this, you know that very soon... ...YOU WILL COME FACE TO FACE WITH THE EVIL LAVA MONSTER THAT WILL EAT YOUR SOUL!!!! This is Tokyo Disneyland #25. I personally find this the best of the 30 Tokyo Disneylands. Ok, so this is why Tokyo Disneyland is so amazing...while this may look like a normal "stroller parking" it is not. This is actually found about 2/3 of the way through the Pooh queue so that you can have your stroller in the line while you wait and then you come to this section, park your stroller to wait the last 1/3 of the queue, and they nice Japanese cast members take your stroller and line it up so it's ready for you when you exit the ride! Hundred Acre Wood cost over a Hundred Million Dollars! So random note...go to the park when it's raining! It looks like this! Space Mountain only had a 15 minute wait this day! So one day it's 140 minute wait for Big Thunder Mountain, the next day, due to the rain (and it wasn't even raining that hard) the place was a ghost town! OMG!!! PEOPLE!!! It is not often you see the entrance plaza this EMPTY! Can you spot Elissa and KidTums in this photo of all the aliens? I can't. Hey look! They've already got the Cars Land toys! Cutest photo ever? I think so! Yay! Star Tours was open! (Ok, so I'm only slightly excited because it was closed on our last two visits...) LIGHT-O SPEEEED-O!!!!! (No, seriously, it actually says that, I'm not just making fun of the Japanese!) Oooh, what is this I see...something new? That's ride! In Ride and Go Seek you'll be able to discover camcorders, Blu-Ray Players, and all sorts of other electronics made by Panasonic. All I've heard about this ride is it's supposed to be "Toy Story Mania on Asteroids" ....or maybe it was steroids...I dunno, it was some kind of iods which means the ride is going to KICK ASS. "How many TPR members can you cram into an elevator?" If you know the answer... EMAIL DAN! mrt0ad13@aol.com And if you haven't seen our Tokyo Disneyland Video yet, check it out HERE! --Robb

If we can confirm the coaster will be open, we will most likely add it. If not, I'm not sure we can justify going there as it would eat into our already limited time in Pigeon Forge. I've been on contact with the park and we will see! --Robb

I'm going with dildo.

I really wish arcades that use the card system would also just let me put in good 'ol MONEY. I can't tell you how many times I've been at an arcade where you have to go get a card, I walk over to the card machine only stand behind someone who can't figure out the card machine...stand there for like 3 minutes and just "oh, screw this!" and I wind up NOT giving the arcade any of my money, when had I just been able to put 2 quarters in the machine I would have been playing already. It was bad enough with arcades started using tokens, but these cards are just annoying and terrible. Waterpark looks nice, though. I really think the US needs more indoor waterparks and attractions! --Robb

I actually think it's GREAT they've included it as an option. I know that if I were coming in from out of town and I didn't want to have to deal with the running of the bulls, I'd just pay the $10, get my ride in and be done. It makes your day a lot easier. For locals who know when to go and how to ride it without waiting, or don't have to ride it EVERY visit, I can't see many people buying the upcharge. But your once every year or couple of year visitors why not? BTW, Kingda Ka does some amazing capacity when the ride is up and running. And especially when it runs all four trains! --Robb

Yes it is. Exactly the same. --Robb

^ I'd like to keep the TPR colors and I think the background clashes a bit with the foreground. The "Theme Parks - Roller Coasters - Fun!" is kind of hard to read.

Evil Knievel is a clone of Thunderbird, yes. --Robb

Me thinks this has more to do with the park closing than the "economy" does. It seems like the "economy" has been a GREAT bail out for many companies who weren't doing so well to begin with to finally call it quits and be able to place blame on something, other than themselves, as to why they had to close up shop. It may have been a fun little place for locals to take kids and stuff, sure, and I wish there were more places like this to be honest, but we had so many different opportunities to go and IMO nothing about it ever made it worth the stop, not even to get the credits. I think some parks need to realize that they can't just "build it and they will come" they need to build and BUILD IT UP and continue to do so over time. And I don't mean just keep building rides, but build the buzz, the awareness, etc, about the park. Little Amerricka is a GREAT example of this. That place doesn't look like much, but every time I see it, or every time I get an email from them, it really seems like they are trying really hard to move forward. Other small parks should follow this example. --Robb

This year we have limited each trip to only 50 people. --Robb

From what I hear this place was pretty craptacular and they've been trying to sell it or auction off the rides for years...but there were no interested parties. --Robb

^ It's funny that you say that because I've always felt that the Miami area is the closest I've seen to Los Angeles anywhere in the US. And yeah, you DO find these similar things we mentioned in other areas, and sadly more and more lately, especially other big cities, but I think they are most prominent here in So Cal. Keep in mind we have traveled a *LOT* in our career and have lived in many places in the USA (and I've even lived in the UK for some time) and in our experience you see these things far more in So Cal than you do anywhere else. For example, when it happens to us in Orlando, you notice it because it's not the norm, but in So Cal, it's an every day common occurrence. --Robb

It has lap bars only

ERT on Thunderbird at Power Park! For those of you on the Scandi trip, you can look forward to an hour of GCI goodness on Thunderbird! For those of you NOT on the trip...sign up now! Email Elissa or I if you are interested. Check out Thunderbird - Can't wait! --Robb

Hey everyone! This is a thread I've wanted to do for the last couple of years' TPR trips, but I just never got around to doing it. Basically, the point of this thread is to keep you updated on what's happening with this year's round of TPR Trips. We will keep you informed on: - How many spots open for each trip (based on recent drops/adds/etc) - When ERT is announced - Any special perks we will be getting at parks, etc. - Any additional information to share with you. The only thing I ask is please do not ask questions like "What are you getting at park X?" or "Is it possible to join you guys at Park X?" Please keep in mind that these perks are for TRIP PARTICIPANTS ONLY! There is always a possibility we will open up one or two days on a trip to other TPR members, but PLEASE, wait for that announcement to happen! Ok, here is the breakdown - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spots Remaining on TPR's 2009 Trips: Scandinavia - 4 Spots Open Deep South - 1 Spot Open Texas - 12 Spots Open West Coast - 6 Spots Open Un-official Shanghai (email us about this trip) All trip flyers can be downloaded HERE! If you would like to join a TPR trip that has spots open, please EMAIL Elissa or myself immediately! And remember, we can make payment arrangements to help you out. Elissa: emeridithw2@aol.com Robb: robbalvey@aol.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ERT and other cool stuff - Scandinavia - - Power Park - 1 hour of evening ERT on Thunderbird - Faarup Sommerland - 1 hour of ERT on Falken & Lynet Deep South - - Alabama Adventure - 1 hour of night ERT on Rampage Texas - To be announced soon! West Coast - To be announced soon!

I would love a new logo, it needs to use the Gadzoox.ttf font and fit the same size as the one above, but if you have any ideas or would want to submit one, GO FOR IT! No promises that we'll use any submissions, but it's great to see some ideas. --Robb GADZOOX.zip Gadzoox Font

The cars on Runaway Mountain are actually quite big. As long as yo don't mind an entirely enclosed coaster in the dark, you'll be fine. You can tell on the ride that the area the coaster is in is VERY wide and open. --Robb

I really hate so cal for many of the reasons that Dave and Elissa have already mentioned (and Wes too.) Now granted, there are basically two different "lives" I have in So Cal and one is my "work life" and the other is my "home life" I will say that I really can't stand 90% of the people I have had to work with in my "work life" during my career in Los Angeles. That being said, I *much* prefer the people who I am now working with in Valencia as there isn't as much of the "LA Attitude" up here. I can't really explain it, but I think most people who have worked in LA, especially the entertainment biz will know what I mean. As for my "home life" I think the people I interact with are much better and less "LA", same with most of the TPR people that I meet. I dunno, there is just a VERY different attitude in So Cal. It's a very "me first" attitude and a real lack of respect to the other people around you. Great example is that if you put your blinker on to move over a lane, in So Cal, usually the person you're trying to get in front of you will speed up so you can... "YOU'RE NOT GETTING IN FRONT MY CAR!!! ME FIRST!!!" Most other places in the USA, you put your blinker on and the person slows down to let you in. That doesn't happen ALL the time in other areas, but this is clearly the norm. I've lived on both the west coast and the east coast and there is QUITE a different in how people treat each other. For example, people in New York may be "brash" but "honest", and people in So Cal may be "Nice" but "Fake." I'd personally rather have someone be honest with me than fake with me. If you don't like me, tell me. Don't "pretend" to be my friend and then when something better comes along, or when I am no use to you any more drop you me a rock. *cough*penguin*cough* As crazy as it might sound I also miss "seasons." California basically has one season all year round, and every once in a while it gets a bit colder or it rains a little bit. I really liked being in an area that had four distinct seasons. I really miss that. I liked living and working in Orange County, and I really like living and working up in Valencia...I did NOT like Los Angeles proper. But if I had the choice and the means, I'd rather not be in California at all. I respect those who do like So Cal, but if you've never lived anywhere else, I'd reccomend giving it a try, some people love it here, some people are here because they need to be. I'm the latter. Just my thoughts. --Robb "As long as I can stay in Valencia and not have to go into LA that often, that's even better!" Alvey

Just an update...everything is back to normal...so if you want Roller Coasters in the RAW on your iPod, get them now! --Robb

We did actually consider adding on Lotte World and Cosmo's World for the ultimate "Malls around the World" trip! --Robb

Proof:

No, this was MUCH bigger and far more intense. I'd been on Magnum Force and thought it was pretty good (still prefered Bullet, though), but this ride blew us away...especially backwards! --Robb