Philrad71

Can't believe that no one has mentioned that they would love to ride the big 'Steel Eel' ...or the ever-zany Aquatrax.

I was amazed at Maverick in '07, but was a little disappointed in it during Halloweekends in '08. It seems to be getting rougher and the headbanging against the restraints is worsening during the tight transitions. Don't get me wrong - I still like the coaster...but I was a little disappointed in it when I rode it three times last October. I tried switching from front seat, middle seat, and back seat with head fully back against the head-rest, head poking ahead...you name it, I tried it and still had the same ear-boxing experience. My sister would not even ride it again after the first time due to getting her head slammed around in the back seat...and she followed the proper rider guidelines of "head back and hold on to the handle grips." My dream would be getting rid of the OTSR's on this ride. I am concerned that this ride could get quite painful as it continues to mature and will drop down people's favorite steel coaster list. Anyone else notice this in '08??

Nice report! However, I think that I would have to side with Stacey on the gator meat. I only tried gator once (gator tail as an appetizer) and it was not all that good. Seemed as if it had a really funky aftertaste - kinda like if I took a bite off a chicken leg and then chased it down with a glass of pond water!

Ouch!

Good luck! I know that the fans and Buffalo media were riding him pretty hard when they could not win more than two games in a row. Even Lindy called him, Roy and Vanek out for their poor play - it looks like they have all responded. He has been playing well as of late, but either of those Spezza goals the other night should never have happened. At least he was man enough to call himself out after the game and say that it was simply a "bad shift" for him!

Well stated!! My only hope is that they will at least offer Becks, Stella or Bass for purchase now...or some other decent import.

My Sabres are still unbeaten in '09! Okay, so it's only three in a row and we still have a way to go to catch the Bruins and Canadiens in the East. But I will definitely take three division wins in a row...despite the fact that Ruutu tried to take a bite outta Peters hand last night!!!! WTF was that all about??? Edit: Ruutu got a two game suspension for his temporary flesh hunger. Word in Western NY says the Sabres got the dentist from Seinfeld to confirm the toothmarks in Peters' finger. Yeah, they might not have been Jon Voight's teeth marks - but they were indeed Jarkko Ruutu's! What a dumb a$$!!!

HAHA! So true, so true! I am almost embarrassed to admit this, but I have been to both BGT and BGE and never even noticed this free beer hospitality tent. Perhaps if they had a BIG sign that said "free beer" on the front of the tent it would have garnished more popularity? Hell, I would have pulled a George Costanza and bowled over kids and old ladies to get in there if I would have seen a free beer sign! I love beer, but my giddy anticipation to ride Griffon, Sheikra, Apollo, etc at these parks...I must have simply missed this listed on the park map - fail. I actually bought a Bud and my partner snapped a pic of me with one in my hand because I normally won't touch the stuff. I will say that it was not bad on a 90 degree humid day in Virginia! I paid $6 for THIS? Yeah, it was 90 degrees and I love beer...

Hmmm...that is interesting. Perhaps we have some new (shy) members? Nahhh...I have a feeling that someone is voting lesbian just so we quit talking about not having any lesbians in TPR!

Three gay Phillip's, but still no lesbians...ain't TPR the zaniest??? And yes...for the record, my BF is definitely gay!!

Lot's of kick-a$$ stuff, but this was the Grand-Daddy of them all....

WTF...no lesbians in here?? Only gay guys and straights like coasters/theme parks? C'mon now - we need to recruit some lesbians in here, pronto!!! Oh, by the way...I'm gay (and so is my boyfriend) so that makes me part of the 2nd majority - woot!

Decided to head out to the EBC (Ellicottville Brewing Co.) this afternoon for some lunch and to pick up some reserve brews before another snowstorm settles in tomorrow... Ahhhh...cuddled up back at home with some Pantius Droppus! Now I will be warm for the rest of the weekend! Hey, it's just like being at a Bills game! Perhaps he/she should not have had that 30th Miller Lite? Two Brothers hoppiness on left vs. the E'ville Blizzard! If I had to pick between the two, it would have been extremely difficult!! Michael went with a German Stein for the first and a Two Brothers Pale Ale for the 2nd. Guess he liked it! Kidding...this was just a pose - he sipped it the way most gentlemen would a pale ale! Dad opted for the 8.5% Hey Guy Rye Ale in a bottle. I don't think he was anticipating it to be 22 oz!!! The E'ville Blizzard! A medium bocked ale with some mildly hoppy overtones. Very tasty! Food time - pastrami rueben with a pound of garlic fries! Couldn't get through half of it because I wanted to save room for... Description I went with the 11th annual German Stein... Beer selection: Side B. Beer selection: Side A. I was expecting the place to be packed with skiiers being that we just got whalloped with a sneauxstorm the day before - as you can see, it wasn't real busy. Sil-ver and copper, sil-ver and copper... Why, hello there!

OMG...too funny! I had a friend that worked at Chess King in the mall. Our town was not cool enough to have a Merry-Go-Round unless you counted the small used clothing store that carried the same name. Love this thread!!!

^^LOL! God, I remember that! I was sooo into the Bay area thrash metal scene back in the eighties/nineties. I remember when very few people in my high school even liked Metallica and the group promised that they would never sell out and do a music video! Once they started getting popular, I moved on to Slayer, Exodus, Megadeth, Venom and Nuclear Assault. Gotta say that 'Kill 'Em All' and 'Master of Puppets' was about as good as it got for metal in those days! Remember 'Cliff 'Em All' the VHS video tribute to Cliff Burton? I also still have the 'Creeping Death' gold album single release. Also, speaking of old Arrow loopers, I have an on-ride picture of me and my father on GASM at SFGA. I was wearing an Exodus t-shirt and my Iron Maiden jean jacket!!! I will have to see if I can find it, scan it and post...

And I never forgot when I first got a Colecovision for Christmas with Donkey Kong and Zaxxon! I was like the kid in the car commercial playing Centipede on the Atari 2600 - "best Christmas gift evar!" But didn't the screen shot look like the 5200 version?? Hmmm... I also had the Sony cassette walkman with Def Leppard's 'Pyromania' and Motley Crue's "Shout at the Devil." Mick Mars is still pretty creepy looking today! Sony walkman - although mine was a bit different. Perhaps mine might have been a Sanyo? Yay for Colecovision - even though the quality of the actual game overshadowed the kick ass graphics. Remember the front port where you could hook up to Atari?

^ Hehe...that could be a plan! Yes, I was so surprised by Big Dipper and to think when I visited the park before it closed, I was actually thinking about not riding it. Well, there was no wait and I got on the front and was amazed that I was being heaved out of my seat on almost every hill and actually had to hang on a couple of times! Unless I happened to hit it on a day when it was running really good, I was completely amazed with this little coaster! I would definitely say that it was the highlight of my day at GL (other than Dominator).

^ Agreed...the park could definitely use a nice hyper. Perhaps something in the 200' range to dominate the skyline at the front of the park. LZ seems like it could possibly be the "economic downturn - must save money" type of move by CF, if it turned out to be available for purchase. Another nice home for LZ could be Michigan's Adventure or Valleyfair. Another good move would be for Carowinds to take out Hurler and replace it with a revamped Big Dipper from GL. From what I have read in various trip reports, Hurler is just as bad (or worse) as the one at KD. Big Dipper isn't all that big so it would free up some space, plus it is a little airtime demon in the front seat! Someone needs to find a happy home for that classic!

^ Or they could just use the same name and buy the Led Zeppelin coaster from HRP?

I see that I am not the only one who thinks that Hurler is one of the worst coasters ever. Yeah, I might be getting old, but sheer pain on a coaster to me is not very fun. Had a similar issue on the racing one as well. Not too bad in the front seat, but ohhhhh....stay away from that back seat!!!! Nice TR - loved the chiropractor references to their ultra-crap collection of wooden coasters!

^ Hmmm..I don't really remember the eighties being quite so bleak. I look at it as a very fun, virginal time in my life filled with great memories. It wasn't until the nineties when I started the drinking and drug experimentation that were a time I would just as soon forget. That was my choice though - and I still live to regret some things that I did in my late teens and early twenties. But that wasn't the case with the eighties! I still remember going to Midway amusement park and roller skating every Friday night with school friends. I still remember how 'Stairway To Heaven' would always be the most requested song, thus they would play it towards the end of the night. I remember the smell of cotton candy and fresh popcorn and how we would occasionally sneak up to the amusement park area at night and get on the tubs-o-fun and spin ourselves silly until the owner caught us and kicked us off! I also remember the arcade in which they still had the old Skee-Ball with the wooden balls! They had the classic arcade games like Asteroids, Pac-Man, Defender, Galaxian, Mappy, Crossbow and my personal favorites, Galaga and Ms. Pac-Man! (Gee, could that have been a sign about my own sexuality...Ms. frickin' Pac-Man?) I really miss those innocent days of the eighties, though. I grew up in the country, so I was not really exposed to any crime and poverty. I would ride my BMX bike down dirt roads with friends, travel across the country every summer with my family, catch crabs in a small creek, fish, go to school, and listen to Top 40 endlessly. Simple, fun times. Of course, the eighties marked the first time that I ever went to Cedar Point as well! I still remember keeping the brochures and looking at them almost every day - fantasizing on when I would get to go back. I was a chicken-sh%t to ride Gemini, but after I did, I was hooked for life! Man, I feel like listening to some of Duran Duran's 'Rio', getting me a glass of Grape Crush and watching me some Family Ties re-runs!!!! Love the eighties - woot!

Yeah, I admit to seeing my pix show up backwards before I posted my first TR and then changed them. When I saw they came out backwards after posting the report, I admit to growling and cursing a bit! But in the end, I went back and edited them all back to the correct order...too anal, I guess! Nice trip report! This looks like a nice Waldameer type of park. Clean with lots of classic carnival-type rides. Now all they need is a nice woodie like RF2 and a Zipper!

^ Ahhh...I did find Nicole's trip report. Thx!