Philrad71

Being that everyone thinks Freestyle is doomed for failure in one year, why not name it 'One Hit Wonder Park' instead? Just think of all of the possibilities... * Led Zeppelin - The Ride renamed after the Norman Greenbaum 1970 hit 'Spirit in the Sky' * Moody Blues: 'Nights in White Satin' dark ride themed to Paper Lace's #1 smash: 'The Night Chicago Died' * 'Maximum RPM' is now 'Pilot of the Airwaves' based on the Charlie Dore song that taught AM radio a lesson back in the 80's. * 'Slippery When Wet' is now Rick Derringer's 'Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo' * 'Shake, Rattle & Roll' with Bill Haley and the Comets? Not when you could have a themed coaster to Billy Joe & The Checkmates: 'Percolator (Twist)'! * And of course...the new B&M dueling coasters: 'Metal Church vs. Stryper' (Heaven & Hell)! I think this would be perfect for the park not to mention the exclusive rights to use the songs and band logo's would be killer cheap! Imagine the profits, people!!

$177 for "decent" seats at the opposite end of the stage (in the arena) to see Elton John and Billy Joel - yikes! And this is in "blue collar Buffalo" where people can hardly afford to pay to $50 to see their NFL team! Maybe I need to get back into death rock...at least the concerts were cheap!

True! I did not date any girls in high school and yet my friends were still a little shocked when I told them in later years. I never went to school dances, proms, etc...never had a GF, but no one ever really questioned it. At least not until I was in my late twenties/early thirties and STILL didn't have a girlfriend or wife! If you are uncomfortable about telling people, then don't. You will know when the time is right and the situation presents itself. Sounds like you made a bold first step with your sister, but she now needs to oblige your desire for secrecy and respect your wishes. Contrary to some people that may say it's better to come out at a younger age, in certain situations that isn't always the best idea. Everyone's life is different and as they say...there is a time and place for everything! It's your life...you choose when it would be best to come out to friends and family! Best of luck to you!

HAHAHA! Wow...that one definitely came from the retro depths!! In watching the video, I was thinking that the lead singer had a screechier, much cooler voice and was a bit creepier looking (remember 'Start the Fire' and 'Ton of Bricks'? lol). So...I had to do a Google search and found out that the original singer (David Wayne) died in 2005...guess I have been slacking in the heavy metal trivia department! You heard it hear first folks...the new coasters are going to the Freestyle Music Park as dueling Metal Church (red) vs. Stryper (yellow) coasters. HELL!!!! Heaven versus...

^^At least Suzie was smart enough to not chase the balloon over the fence and get creamed by the Tumble Bug! Interesting video seeing KI back in the day. Does it look like some of the Racer is new and not even painted? The first drop was white, but the rest looked natural. Cool to see the Sky Ride behind the Eiffel Tower too...

I went through and copied some of the comments - unbelievable. This makes the "Dumbest things said in TPR" forum look pretty tame... “These rides are made in China and put together by high school drop outs with substance abuse problems, what idiot would let their child get near something like that?” “This is one ride my wife and I would never let our daughter ride when she was small. Despite all the protests, rants and tears we never gave in. Now that this tragedy happened, I finally got to show her why. Sorry for all the people who were hurt but this ride should never have been made in the first place.” “Seems like if you were to get on the Yo-Yo Ride or rides similar, the chain or rope whatever holding your car could break while spinning at about 60mph. Releasing your car into God knows where! You'll never catch me on one of those things.” “Arent they supposed to test the ride EVERYDAY with someone in it before it opens? And i hear they are supposed to check for lose bolts everyday” “How many of the parts on that ride/contraption were outsourced to china for unit build and assembly? Probably 95% or so, but that little nugget will never be published to any of you. You'd be sick if you knew what I knew.” “When I was growing up the carnie would offer teenaged boys like $1 and hour and all the beer they could drink to set up their rides. Anyone who takes a good look at the people running these operations is nuts to let their kids on the big rides.” “This is why they call it an "amusement park." Anyone amused?” “It is good to have them for the Kids, They just need to make sure these kind off ride are safe and ready for the kids to ride them.” “This is what makes carnivals so fun. One minute you are spinning on the Tilt O'Whirl, the next it is fire.” “Be careful with your kids. Looks like this Lolly ride took a "lickin" but couldn't keep on ticken.” “I wonder if the kids were a little too "big" for the ride and the extra weight overloaded it ... They say childhood obesity is really bad now in the U.S. ..” “Regulations come from people "pointing fingers." Without those people who start pointing fingers we'd regress till there were no safety standards at all. At that point you'd see way WAY more deaths. But then again we are overpopulated so who knows.” “I know someone who died on one of those rides. I would never ride one. Then to find out that the man that ran the ride and put it together was on drugs! I would never, ever ride that crap!” “Exactly why I refuse to ride carnival rides ever again. Yeah, I saw Final Destination 3. Carnival rides scare the mess outta me. Because knowing my luck, something like this will happen when I'm on one.” “Wow, I can't believe this happened at the Spring Fair in Puyallup. I wanted to go there this weekend, but couldn't. Anyway, I love riding rides, even though there's always that thought in my mind that something could go wrong. When I ride the rides, I spend my time enjoying it, but also thinking of ways to escape if something were to happen....” “They love with ice cream much. Are you always very eat many? Why are you make food cheat? She is food one every day ..."The children with dream ice cream".” “Don't ever go to a traveling carney or state fair to ride the rides. Inspection is minimal and the ride operators are often druggies (meth, weed or alcohol). The ride owners are after maximum profit with minumum investment. In other words, safety issues are an afterthought” “most of those cheap rides are junk, and not inspected by anyone but the drunks running them. stay safe and keep off the junk” “My husband refuses to let us ride carnival rides...he drove a truck years ago and has seen the rides fall off of trucks and drunk carnival workers/drivers. I am not surprised. This just proves him right and I secretly hate that.” “When you have 10 kids who are each 40 lbs overweight, what did you expect?” “betcha they found a 'made in china' sticker on the bottom of that thing.” “Please! These rides are set up and torn down by transient/local kids for extra $! They are then hauled on trailers from venue to venue, things loosen up, bolts fall out....I wouldn't take a kid to a carnival/fair for anything in this world! The rides are dangerous. The people that work in fairs/carnivals are often alcoholic/drug addict/transient/nutjobs/PEDOPHILES that can't handle REAL LIFE or are hiding from the cops/society......making quick cash that doesn't have taxes taken out. They can't be tracked that way.” “well now ill never go on kids rides hehe you know whats funny this reminds me of final destination 3 was it?” “Take a look at the $10 an hour low life's that assemble and run these things, parents should be slapped for their own stupidity.” “These traveling carnivals have become a major problem around the counrty. They are not regulated or inspected as well as they should be. Here's the problems: 1. The owners are greedy so proper maintenance suffers and they hire questionable at best workers willing to work for peanuts. 2. They are mostly using older rides, some from the 60's & 70's so the metal is fatigued and stressed. 3. Because they are put up & taken down repeatedly things get bent, hammered into place over and over and again fall apart more easily - welde joints fracture. Bottom line .... really pay attention ... if it looks old and seedy & the workers look like well crap .... take your kids to a movie post haste.” “sadly when so many rides are put up and taken down several times per month things like this are bound to happen. We enojoy the carnivals but exercise common sense when we go. We will play the games and snack on the goodies but save our money. Sadly the carnival that comes to our town would cost us over 50 dollars for just a few rides for 2 children. Saldy in this economy we cannot justify that amount. We save our pennies and go to disney world when they offer the free dining. You don't hear anything about a ride going wrong at disney world or disney land. These rides remain stationary until they decide to take them down to replace them with another. Those are the kinds of rides I will go on and feel safe with my kids on.”

Easy money for her!!!! An actual tv show about adult babies? And here we are in America stuck with Desperate Housewives - uggghhhhh!

^^Yes, I remember the 1.5 hour wait at CW to ride Thunder Canyon! I also remember when most rapids rides actually had all the waterfalls working...and boy did you get soaked if you were the one that hit it head on!!! Another great report, Shane - I sure miss the Lightnin' Loops. I remember the walk up those stairs...you could easily shed weight going up those stairs to board if their was no line and you rode it about five times in a row! Perhaps they need to make more roller coasters where riders have to climb ten flights of stairs to board. Might make a difference in the countries weight problem. Either that, or it would be a very short wait!

^ LOL! Yeah, but let's not forget that the straight community has this "role-playing genre" as well. Creepy to some and a turn-on to others, I guess!

^ I don't see it as weird at all. I saw plenty of families that day and there could have been many that had gay kids and/or parents. I don't think that the organizer of the event intended to have it on Father's Day to try and specifically entice gay father's and/or their gay son's to visit, I think it was just because they figured the park might not be as crowded. Personally, I would have no qualms at all about taking my father there on Father's Day along with my partner, Michael. We all love coasters and Michael just so happens to be older than my father (both of our families know) by five years! Guess, I'm just weird, huh?? Oh well, at least we're all a happy family!

^ Doesn't surprise me that the guy was denied entry. I would think that this sort of attire would be denied at just about any theme park these days. Of course, some will wear a jacket or sweater to get in through the gate and then take it off later...just to show how cool they are. At CP, I believe that the Gay Day is every Father's Day. Michael and I went last year and had a great time! The day was very nice and there were not a lot of people there. The highlight? Seeing two men about sixty five years old (maybe 200 pounds) that looked a lot like Santa Claus walking in Frontier Town proudly holding hands! I believe that they had blazing tight red shirts on with rainbow suspenders - totally awesome!

Being that it's always fun to try and play God (or...theme park president) every now and again... If it were up to me, I would offer a soft (or better yet - a partially limp) type of opening in April on weekends only. The hours would be from noon to 6:00 PM with a discounted admission price of $19.95 (with a weather asterix prominently noted, of course). I would offer a smattering of coasters and rides such as Batman, Nitro (if it doesn't valley), Toro, GASM, Skull Mountain and perhaps some flats. Save the more problematic rides like Ka, Viper, Lightnin' Loops and Batman/Robin - Chiller for opening day in May. If it rained, I would personally stand out in the rain at the exit gate with (Mr. Six, of course) handing out refunds to the parents and balloon animals to the kiddies - perhaps even dole out various slices of cheese if I were in an extremely stellar mood! Why, I could be the new Roy Wally of the East Coast!!! Yessiree, I could!

Waldameer is my closest "real" amusement park and I usually go once a year. Maybe more with RFII now at my disposal! Darien Lake is the next closest theme park. Last year was the first time I had visited in about five years or so. I actually had a great time and may go back there camping again this year. One of the two parks will also hold my company picnic. They usually rotate every other year. Last year was Waldameer, so this year could be Darien Lake.

YES! I do the same thing and although I do not buy my clothes at Wal-Mart, or K-Mart, it is not that hard to find decent (name brand clothes) if you are a smart shopper. For example, I got an Izod golf shirt that was originally on-sale at Bon-Ton for $29.99. I had a coupon for 40% off men's apparel from the weekly flyer I receive. Plus, if I used my Bon-Ton card, I got another 10% off. Not bad for a really nice name brand shirt which I really liked! As you probably already know...buy the opposite of what season is forthcoming, if possible. Wait for the 50-75% off sales and buy the winter clothes in spring and the summer clothes in the fall. Who says that gay guys can't be frugal, look nice, and be butch all at the same time??

Used to love the Pibb...never had the X-Tra tho... Anyone a Moxie lover??

Wow! Lot's of stuff going on in this forum! Awesome! I agree that a lot of times, he does seem to have more energy than I do. I also remember that he had some issues with the inversions at first, but they do not bother him now that he is used to them. He used to tell me various points of the ride whether he had his eyes open or closed. At WCB, he rode X2 and Tatsu (front seat) with eyes open! Agreed...my BF has mentioned this before and he also has tenitis and after a while, gets burned out from riding coasters and will occasionally sit some out. I have even noticed at the age of 37 that I cannot handle the extreme spinning flat rides as well as when I was younger. PS - All other parts work just fine! Me too! As you get older, you will especially notice that shopping at Hollister, AE and A&F is a foolish way to spend hard-earned money. Once you own your own home, you don't have the luxury of spending $100 on a pair of jeans or shirt anymore. I am perfectly fine in a pair of jeans/cargo pants and a t-shirt, or something with the Bills or Sabres on it! (I know...they suck!)

That was my first thought while reading this report as well! My partners family lives in New England (Plymouth, Boston, Maine) and I know that they are all die-hard Patriot fans. I am sure that the park employees will get there fair share of jeers from visitors during the summer. Nice report of the park. Even though I have been by the I-90 exit for this park about a hundred times, I have never had the time to enjoy a visit there. Perhaps this will be the year, but not sure. Actually, in looking at the park and it's coaster/ride selection, I could probably breeze through it in a few hours on a quiet day. Please don't take that as a slam on the park or SF though...we did the same thing at Kennywood (about five hours) and loved it! PS - Especially loved the beer pic...some nice choices they have! Peroni draft is not something that you see every day.

Interesting article in the Buffalo News this morning about a water park sign that has appeared in Clarence (Buffalo suburb). Only problem is that the town officials know nothing about it and the owner of the land cannot be reached for comment! Gee, wouldn't one think that with a name like 'Thundering Falls' it would be better suited say...in Niagara Falls?? http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/northernsuburbs/story/639196.html

^Never mind - I already found this gem... http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39592&highlight=cheese

Pepper Jack Cheese-On-A-Stick? Man, I must have been looking in all the wrong places! Used to be that CP had seperate "Cheese-On-A-Stick" stands, but I had noticed that they took them all out a few years back - what I thought was an obvious "health choice" PR move made by the park. Guess that I will have to put on my Magnum PI cap and investigate this cheesy scene a bit more! Thanks! Due to all this cheese related goodness and cheesy fanboiz, maybe we should post a cheese lovers thread in the random section?

Not as good as the entire version on the EP - but still rocks. This song was supposedly going to be used for Pizza Hut's Stuffed Crust pizza, but PH failed and went with something else.

Ummm....maybe they should just not even make any attempt to open the park in April because the weather in the East ya know...most always sucks this time of year? Kinda like why CP does not open until the second week of May because it is usually either raining or snowing. I never plan a trip to CP in May because I know that it will always rain on the day I plan on going - Murphy's Law. Save yourself the frustration and go on a day when there is like zero chance of precip. Still not sure why I have such a hard time finding cheese on a stick with cheese dipping sauce anymore at CF parks? How could one resist cheese on a stick w/cheese dipping sauce along with some Happy Friar fries w/more cheese sauce??? Where'd the mf'in cheese go?

Don't give up hope! I also met my partner online (almost five years ago) and he was not into riding coasters at all - in fact, he was terrified of them! After a couple of theme park visits, he started riding some of the smaller coasters (think Mine Ride) and dabbled in some of the bigger one's (think Gemini). Now after only a few years of going to theme parks, he has ridden Tatsu, X2, El Toro, Millenium, Fahrenheit and TTD just to name a few. This year, he is excited to go back to BGE to ride Griffon, which he would not ride on his first visit. I think that it just takes time and a little patience to turn someone's fears into a passion - ya just gotta be willing to coach a little! And by the way - he is also 66 years old and thought Superman at SFMM at this year's WCB was lame!!!!!!

I have been holding out on buying White Album for this - awesome!

^Only if they can come up with much cooler names like... http://www.waterwizz.com/