BarryH

Cool!

Batwing is pretty much a clone of X-Flight. If you really want to ride it, you can do it first thing or after Superman: ROS. They're pretty close to each other.

Here's my DCA video again, but the quality is a lot better than my last posting. The video is in .wmv format, is about 18 MB large, and is about 3 1/2 minutes long. Here's the link: http://s42.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0NTY33J811O7T371XT8IWD6KOH Enjoy!

I went to SFStL a few years ago and I liked it. I thought the Scooby Doo shooting ride was one of the better Scooby Doo rides out there.

Here's my Disneyland video. You can see a lot of the Disneyland rides and attractions. You can also see the special stuff going on during the 50th anniversary celebration. I was there on 5/5/05 and I have shots of the opening ceremonies with Iger and Eisner. The file is about 15 MB and is about 6 minutes long. I'm trying a new link so I can upload larger files. Let me know how it works. Here is the link: http://s17.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2OKLS5WTBVMJS0GIHC6OELAKI4 The link is good for 7 days. Then it will disappear and I'll have to upload it again. Enjoy!

I edited a video of the Magic Kingdom's Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party a while ago. It found a permanent home on IOA Central. Take a look at it! The video quality is better than my past postings. It's not avi quality, but it's pretty good. I was hoping this video would make it as a finalist in TPR's video editing contest. You can view the video on the following link by scrolling down to the bottom of the page: http://www.ioacentral.com/news/columns/barrys_backwater_bar_stool/horror_vacation_part_one.htm Enjoy!

Here's a video of Disney's California Adventure. It's mostly a POV video of California Screamin' at night, but I managed to sneak in a few other rides and attractions too. The video quality isn't too great as usual, so no complaining! Enjoy! Disney's California Adventure.wmv DCA video

Thanks for the report! So is Deja Vu finally running at SFGAm?

Thanks for the tips! Actually, I've been to pretty much all the PA parks. Here's a list of the ones I've visited: Hersheypark Knoebel's Waldameer Lakemont Park (didn't get the Toboggan or kiddie coaster credit, though) DelGrosso's Conneaut Lake Kennywood Sesame Place I haven't been to Idlewild or Williams Grove. J2 will probably be my alternate #300 if Kingda Ka does not function. I'll probably do an after 5 pm admission to Clementon. I think I can conquer it in a few hours. I really want to ride J2 and meet the Swingman!

So how are the brakes on the Flying Unicorn? Are they still slam in your gut or they better?

OK, I decided to hit the road once again this July so I can hit 300 coasters. I plan to make Kingda Ka my 300th coaster. Hopefully, it won't break down and stay open when I visit! I'm at 272 coasters now. If I can ride 2 more at Cypress Gardens (Swamp Thing and Galaxy Spin, if open next month), I can reach 274. Thurs., July 14: Make the 15-16 hour drive from Florida to Richmond, VA Fri., July 15: PKD (12 credits) Sat., July 16: Williams Grove or Clementon Amusement Park (1 or 2 credits)/After 5 pm admission to Dorney Park (2 credits: Hydra and Woodstock Express) Sun., July 17: Rye Playland (3 credits: Flying Coaster, Dragon, and the wild mouse) or Lake Compounce (4 credits) Mon., July 18: SFNE (8 credits) Tues., July 19: SFGAdv (Kingda Ka) Wed., July 20: SFGAdv (2nd shot at Kingda Ka if necessary), after 5 pm admission to Clementon (J2 as my 300th as an alternative if necessary) Thurs., July 21: BGW Fri., July 22: Drive all the way home My friend said I was nuts to do all this driving. The difficult drive will be to and from Florida. The rest of the parks are around 2-3 hours within each other. The 4 drive from SFNE to SFGAdv might be difficult. I think I'll go over 300 at SFNE, but I just want some leeway in case something breaks down. If I have to, I can always sit out the boomerang or the SLC there. Not another boomerang or SLC for credit! So am I nuts or is this doable? The only concern I have is Dorney Park. I went there on Saturday and the park was insanely busy by noon. I hope most people will leave by 5 pm. All I really want to ride is Hydra at Dorney.

Has anyone found an easier way to get from the front to SheiKra? It's a long walk! I wonder if taking the skyride from Crown Colony to the Congo would be faster. It would save a lot of leg work!

I've been on the other CG coasters, but Swamp Thing was closed when I visited.

Thunder Road at Carowinds didn't race either. When I was at BGT Monday, Gwazi Tiger was down all day.

Well, to get my coaster count closer to 300 for my July trip to SFGAdv, I need to ride 2 coasters in Florida that I have yet to conquer: Minor Mike at Celebration Station and the Dragon Wagon at Kidstar Park. I looked at photos of them on rcdb.com and I feel so dirty riding them! I feel like I'm pulling an Elissa! Anyway, for those who have been there, do they allow adults to ride the coasters without kids? I wish I could ride some other coasters, but I don't have time to travel out of state. I've already gotten all the credits in Florida except for Minor Mike, Dragon Wagon, and Swamp Thing in Cypress Gardens.

The big sign for the entrance is across from the entrance to the Log Flume, but the queue actually starts all the way back to the walled off area. For the first few weeks, follow the big crowd walking to Gwazi. But I believe if you walk past the aviary, the path will dead end to a handicapped ramp. Then you will see plastic barricades that start the queue all the way down by the walled off area.

Five bucks says it's going to Astroworld! Send Flashback there too!

One more...

More photos!

I went to BGT today and rode SheiKra four times. I don't know who came up with the name of the coaster because it sounds like something a drunk guy would blurt out. That sounds like a Pyramid clue -- "SheiKra." Answer: "What a drunk guy would blurt out!" But I found this B&M creation to be an awesome ride and -- dare I say it -- with forces! Gasp! A new B&M with forces. How many of you fainted? I rode it four times in these seats: 1.) Back row, in the middle 2.) Second row, on the edge on the right 3.) Front row, on the edge on the right 4.) Front row, in the middle The best seats are either in the front or the back. The back doesn't give a good view of the drop, but it did give two good spots of airtime in the drop and the twist in the Immelman. It had forces too! The front gave a rather scary view of the drops and was intense due to the wind blowing in your face. The second row was OK and was the least forceful area. The most forceful parts of the coaster was the right edge. The splash didn't get you wet. If you sat in the back, you got hit with a few drops, but nothing too soaking. I arrived around 9:15 and the line was all the way back to the opening gates (where the old ticket booths used to be). I got in by 9:30. The walk from the front gate to SheiKra was a good 15 minute walk at a brisk pace. I wanted a drink so bad, but none of the drink stands were open. There was a stand by SheiKra that was selling 20 ounce Pepsis for $2. That's the best deal for sodas in any park I've visited. Knott's charged me $3! It wasn't hard to find the coaster. I think everyone that entered the park headed to SheiKra. There was a long line of guests. I didn't see any running of the bulls. The wait for SheiKra was a low of around 25 minutes to a high of 40 minutes. The line moved briskly and the ride ops were dispatching the trains on a very good basis. SFMM could learn a few lessons from the SheiKra ride ops! The initial wait was around 30 minutes, but around 2 pm, it died down to about 20-25 minutes. SheiKra has its own splash zone right after the huge wave. The water splashes right under the track. It even splashes to an area in the line! So if you are crossing underneath red track, you may want to stop and watch where the train is. If you step into the splash zone at the wrong time, you might get an early shower! The good thing is that with most guests at SheiKra, the other coasters had a short wait. At the top of SheiKra, I kept on seeing half full or empty Kumba and Scorpion trains running. Brake: The Ride, er, Cheetah Chase was running empty trains. Bottom line: SheiKra has a stupid name, but it is a cool coaster! Here are some photos for your enjoyment.

Well, if I'm going to SFGAdv to ride Kingda Ka, I might as well go through BGW too. I've never been there and it's on the way for me from Florida. As much as I don't want to, I might have to do it on a Saturday. So any tips on how to survive BGW on a Saturday? I'll arrive 1 hour early to ride DarKastle a few times and then the coasters. If there is time, I can wander around and ride the flats and see the shows. Besides PKD, are there any other coasters within the BGW area?

Whatever techno music plays in the X queue. After hearing that for 30 minutes, I can't get it out of my head now. It's not even good techno music!

Finally! Disney makes perks to those staying onsite. I would think if I stayed at the Grand Floridian and spend $300+/night, I would want something more than a clean room and bathroom! I wonder how this will impact the free Fastpass system. If it changes the free system dramatically, I would think it would create many unhappy guests. Making unhappy guests seems contrary to the great customer service Disney is known for.

Cool! I think I will head up to NJ in July to make Kingda Ka my 300th coaster. I hope it runs fairly reliably over the next few months! BTW, is the coaster going to have a short ERT for passholders each day? I thought I had heard something about that.

OK, for all my video fans, here's a video of the VIP Experience at Universal Studios Hollywood. The video quality, as usual, isn't great. It's a rough cut, so I'm going to make some slight changes to it. ROTM is not in the video because the ride op made me put away my camera. BTTF didn't allow any onride filming either. The fun part of the VIP Experience was talking to a Foley artist, walking around the Hill Valley clock tower set area, walking around the "Crossing Jordan" set, and wandering through the Prop Dept. We also got front of the line access to the major rides and priority seating to the shows. The video file in in .wmv format. Enjoy! Universal Studios Hollywood.wmv