Philrad71

Thanks Mark! I see that it was only supposed to be 67 in Tampa today...but compared to the 40's that we had when we were there, I would gladly take 67! And I agree about BGT. There is just something special about it that makes it my 2nd favorite park (only to CP). I guess it's because I am an animal lover and like to view and learn everything that I can about every species. Combining a zoo with great theming and rides just puts it above most parks for me. It was too bad that it was so cold the day of our visit that most of the animals were hibernating in the warmth. We also didn't arrive until after 1, so the day was relatively shortened for us.

Dayum...can't wait to get back to this park soon to give this thing a whirl or two. I foresee a trip to Richmond to visit Michael's son, daughter in law and grandkids next summer - with side visits to BGW and KD in the mix, of course!

I definitely want to go to this park, but I agree...beer and moonshine would be a most welcomed addition.

^ LOL! And if a giga DOES come to town, it damned well better be named 'Laser Snake Horse On Fire' too!

Hey folks! While everyone is testing out the new coaster poll site, I thought that I would sneak in another update for your viewing enjoyment... People really dig this thing. And for damned good reason! Even though Kumba ranks third behind Montu and Cheetah Hunt as my favorites at BGT, that's really saying that a park has a really kick-ass coaster line-up when a dive coaster ranks 4th in a park! I got to ride in the magic seat without a wait and it was as OMFG amazing as everyone says it is. Love how the B&M roar on this thing is almost deafening in the back of the park. Here are a few for the "Coasters at sunset" thread And speaking of #4... While Michael went in to catch a show, I marathoned Sheikra about 8 times in a row. All we had to do was exit and wait if there was a seat open and hop right back on. It was surreal power riding Sheikra in 40 degree temps...what an effin' blast. Even though Sheikra ranks 3rd in the US dive coasters, it was the first DC that I ever rode and I love the hell out of it. I hope more parks in the US start building these with higher heights, more loops and perhaps even a few airtime hills! The sun & temps are going down faster than our (moronic) presidents approval rating...so with that, I will pause for station identification. More to come soon...and as always...thanks for reading!

Just bought one of these 12 packs the other day and having one of the Double Hop IPA's right now. While not as good as my go-to beer (Southern Tier), it has some pretty damned good beers in it - if you're a hop fan. Mmmmm....hoppy goodness!

I see the same as Larry although I am using Chrome instead of Firefox (using Windows 10). Would love to have the "move up and down arrow" feature versus using just the up arrow, but I know you guys will get it all worked out. I'll hold off and try again later. Great job - love the site and idea of this!

^ Yep, still lots of room over there - especially if (or when) they remove Dinosaur's Alive. I wasn't a fan of them putting the SkyCoaster there, but understood the need to relocate due to the Soak City expansion and Challenge Park removal. I think that it would be a great place for a new (and better designed) flume...or an Intamin Mega-Lite to compliment Maverick.

^ That stunk that the majority of the rides at Prater were closed for a storm when we were there. I was actually looking forward to trying that boomerang out. In terms of the poll, I will take some time tomorrow to check it out, do some ranking and provide some feedback. Glad to see that you guys were able to come up with something that looks pretty sweet so far - good job, Chase and crew!

isn't that near the entrance to where the old "Shoot the Rapids" was? when we were there last year for Coastermania!, the guy in the museum in Frontier Town did heavily imply that SOMETHING was going to go there to make use of the empty space. maybe a Rodeo flat or something of that type? Bert - that photo is right next to Snake River Falls (SRF on the right, Maverick and Thunder Canyon on left), so it's a little bit past where Shoot The Rapids was. And I believe that they installed RipCord in the old STR spot, didn't they? To be honest, I am almost surprised that SRF hasn't been removed.

I remember riding Chaos the year it opened at CP - right where TTD now sits. I seem to recall blacking out on it and it caused me to go into a mild panic attack when I came out of it, so I never rode it after that.

Throw me in the group of Giraffica haters. It looked like the coolest flume ever...and then you hit the water at the bottom and then that abrupt stop. I bit the inside of my cheek hard enough to draw blood. Ow. Glad to hear about the shows though...this park needs something like that.

My parents used to take me and my sister to CC when we were younger and give us a roll of quarters where we would spend hours playing video games while they gambled. Yeah, no cell phones or any other way to communicate other than Mom saying, "Meet me at the giant staircase in one hour". Then we'd meet, get another roll of quarters and off we'd go for another hour to play video games. If she was buzzed and winning, sometimes we'd get two rolls each. I loved the vibe and (even then) the overall cheesiness of it. There was no Adventuredome, but they had Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Jr. Pac-Man, Baby Pac-Man (remember the little pinball machine?) and even Super f%cking Pac-Man in their arcades...and that was all that meant anything to me back then (although, yeah...an indoor amusement park would have been the icing on the cake).

^ Awwwww Bert...I know how hard it is. My co-workers (husband and wife) just lost their Rottweiler to a stroke last week. They were both devastated and I knew that they both really LOOOOOOVED that dog.

The Caramel Bacon Puffcorn sounds really interesting too. In terms of the burgers, I would likely try the Barcelona or the Manhattan. Make sure to grab a couple photos to share, Zach!

Yeah - Peterman with six interceptions out of like nine attempts to start his career probably isn't going to make it in the NFL. They just fired the OC today in Buffalo, which isn't going to hurt my feelings any. Dennison's biggest issues were that he couldn't make Tyrod a pocket passer - even though he tried his damnedest. And that he would make surprisingly dumb play calls at crucial times of the game. Hopefully they can get a decent OC that can either groom a good rookie, or will know how to utilize a veteran QB - should we land one in FA. In terms of the games this weekend, I guess I have to go with Pittsburgh and NE in the AFC as much as it sours me to do so. In the NFC, I am going with home upsets for both with NO and Atlanta pulling out the victories in Minnesota and Philly.

Great update, Zach...so nice that you were able to look adversity in the face and still have a great time. I can't tell you how many times that has happened to us...plane cancelled going to Aruba, two trips to Florida in freezing cold temps, Michael being diagnosed with cancer three weeks before going to a friend's wedding in Portland (of which Crown Plaza never reimbursed our money), snow blower biting the dust at Christmas, furnace dying at Easter, septic plugged on Thanksgiving, having a job offer in Tampa yanked out from under my nose for no legit reason, etc, etc. You just have to be able to laugh in spite of it all, because getting super pissed isn't going to help at all. At least we have life and at least we have each other!

Great report, Boldy...jealous that you got on Falcon's Fury as I was really looking forward to it this time and then it was broke down every time that we went anywhere near Pantopia. Maybe the trade-off was the bacon cheese pretzel next door to it, who knows? I feel pretty much the same way with regards to the coasters. Cheetah Hunt is just so damned fun that I could ride it all day, Sheikra is great (but not as good as the other two dive coasters in the US), Kumba ripped my face off during our visit, Cobra's Curse was okay and Montu is hand's down the most kick-ass invert ever. What a great way to spend your 40th!!

^ Don't tell that to my sister - she said that Valravn was her new favorite coaster at CP when her and her hubby rode it two years ago. She had never been on a dive coaster before and she just went nuts for it. They got FL+ and she said that they just rode it again and again and again...she couldn't get enough of it. Count me as another huge fan of Valravn and dive coasters in general. So smooth, so fun...and you just have to love that first drop. Is it my favorite coaster at CP? No, I still prefer MF and Maverick...but it definitely sits at a solid #3 for me. At least until next spring anyway!

^ I can ignore the custard Bill, but no way can I pass up on a good cheese curd!

^ I think that the standing room tix were what my co-worker and his wife bought. He said that they were going for $180 apiece which sounds about right once TicketMaster adds their price gouge to it. I already realize that if the Bills ever get a playoff game at home or go to another Super Bowl that I will never be able to see it live unless I win the lottery. It's all good though as I would rather watch it home and avoid the madness! Have a good time tomorrow - may the best team win!

What is buttery about it? The bun? Also, does Culver's serve beer? Or are they like a fast food place like McDonalds? Just curious as I have never been to one before.

^ I wonder about Bortles as well as he does have a rather erratic passing game. I am sure that the interception-hungry Bills secondary is reviewing a lot of film of his downfield throws. Poyer and Hyde are having outstanding years! I am sure that McDermott will still be asking Taylor to play conservatively, but I think that the OC needs to get creative here and come out with some downfield passes so that Jax isn't playing 8 in the box the entire game. My hope would be that Benjamin can finally break out and Shady will be able to play - so far it's looking like there is a good chance that he will play for at least some of it. Edit - Welp, so much for that. Congrats to Hilltopper & the Jags on the win! It was an ugly game and the Bills certainly had their chances...but unfortunately it doesn't appear that Tyrod is in our future. Dennison doesn't help with his horrible play calling and they did Taylor no favors in getting rid of Watkins and Woods. But damn, dude...wide open receivers and you can't see them and make the throw? Time to move on to either a free agent QB or move up in the draft. Go Bills!

^ Hehe...I just saw that on the news and have to admit that I would have one or four if I were going. Teal is one of my favorite colors! Of note, a friend from work came over this morning and told me that he and his wife just bought tix to the game on TicketMaster last night and were leaving after work to drive to the game. I guess that there have been over 20k tickets sold to this game with folks from NY? If so, there should be a great showing of Bills fans there! Let's both hope for a good and fair game!

Looks VERY good...thanks for sharing!