BarryH

Universal might have a similar offer, but I don't really check into package deals all too often.

I had the evil "Page cannot be displayed" error last night, but everything seems to be working fine now. Yay, I don't have to read the DISBoards anymore!

Well, I must say the bestest video this week was mine! No really...after seeing the videos from the past two weeks, they were of excellent quality and I didn't think I had a chance of being a finalist. But here I am! After comparing my BGT video to the others, I don't think I have a chance in hell of winning this thing. But it was pretty cool for R&E to acknowledge that my videos have been around ever since the contest has started! Being in the company of so many other great videos is quite an honor and it has inspired me to become better. That's not so bad, is it? I was hoping my Disneyland video would be a finalist, but I've learned not to second guess R&E in this contest! As for the other videos, it's a mixed bag this week. Some videos were pretty good and others were kind of blah. I hate to say it, but the "Goat Encounter" was my least favorite so far. It just wasn't funny. As a previous poster said, it tried to be Guy's 4th Dimension video, but it just didn't work. Besides, Disneyland is a lot more than goats, coasters, and street shows! The "How to Use Your Camera" video was interesting, but it seemed a little too long. I think it could have been about a minute shorter. My favorite video out of this week (excluding mine because I am biased towards mine) is the BGT/Cypress Gardens video. I loved the music and it showed people having fun at theme parks! Cypress Gardens isn't an outstanding park, but it sure looked pretty fun! I'm surprised that there wasn't more onride video at CG and more at BGT. I've never really had a problem bringing my camera aboard rides at CG, unless the policy has changed. Erik Johnson's video was a really good POV video. It's one of the steadiest POV videos I've seen outside of R&E! Next year, I'm doing the Intamin-riding, McDonald's-eating Donkeys from the 33 1/3 Dimension video!

If the WDW packages are the same price, I'd go for Port Orleans over Music. All Stars Music is the value resort, while Port Orleans is a moderate (I believe). You might as well stay at the nicer place if you're paying the same! When I stay at WDW, I usually stay at a value resort, but I generally pay between $60 to $70 for it. Rack rate is $99 and I think that's way too much for a value resort! I'd rather pay $80 more and stay onsite at Universal! If you can get a good deal with the WDW package, go for it. If I were to go cheap and price it out separately, I can spend around $25 a night for a hotel off Priceline and $30 to $50 a day for food. Of course, I've been at WDW many times, so I don't feel a need to stay onsite every time. Besides, people call me "the cheap hotel king" for a reason!

I'm not sure why Derek's legs are so spread out in this photo. Is he giving birth? Is he doing the "Bubba prison" pose?

Robb, you can grab my boobs anytime, baby.

What's up with this?

Great photos! Thanks for the photos of Nicole's hair. I am blowing it up to poster size and hanging it on the back of my bedroom door. Is it just me or did Derek get a cheap feel of Nicole's boob in one of those photos? Oh, I wish I was Nicole then...er, I mean, Derek! And I wish Derek would have kissed me...er, aw, heck, there's no way out of this now...

1. Should we get Park Hoppers at WDW or not? I would invest the extra money on the park hopper option for your WDW tickets. Animal Kingdom usually closes at 5 pm and Epcot at 9 pm, so you can spend part of the day at AK and then park hop to Epcot for the rest of the night. I always find that I park hop at least once per visit. 2. Should we stay onsite at WDW? I've found WDW hotels pricey for what you get. The benefits of staying onsite are: - Disney transportation to the parks (buses, monorails, boats) - Extra Magic Hours However, you can survive WDW by staying offsite at a cheap hotel. Some hotels have shuttles to WDW. If you are renting a car, you can drive back and forth from WDW to the hotel. 3. When we go to Universal, should we stay onsite to get the Universal Express or is it really worth it? It depends on when you are going. If it is in early June, you really don't need Universal Express. The Universal parks tend to get busy as the days pass in June. You can probably find AAA discounts for the Royal Pacific for around $150-$200 during June. You might be looking into buying the Universal Express Plus tickets, but they will be around $40-$50 near the end of June. If you have 3-4 people your party, you can actually save money with Universal Express by staying onsite. 4 people with Universal Express Plus tickets cost $200. You can get an onsite Universal hotel for that much (each extra adult over 2 adults cost an extra $25 per adult). Universal Express Plus tickets can only be used once per attraction. Your room key can be used multiple times per attractions (restrictions may apply during busy periods). Additionally, you can technically use your room key for unlimited Universal Express access for two days. You can use your room key as early as 7 am on the date of your arrival to midnight of your departure date. You can check in as early as 7 am at the hotels. Your rooms may not be ready, but you can leave your bags with the bellhop while you have fun at the parks. You can call the hotel around 4 pm to find out your room number. Given a choice, I'd stay onsite at Universal rather than WDW. If you really need to save $ at WDW for the Universal onsite hotels, I've found hotels in the Kissimmee area off Priceline for around $20-$25 a night for a one star hotel. $25 is usually the magic number for one star hotels in the Kissimee area from Priceline.

Those are some weird boogers!

^Strip clubs? Let me put on my shoes because I am coming! No, I really am not, but one can dream...

What's up with this?

I was watching "Dateline" tonight and they were catching sexual predators. To my surprise, I saw an ex-coworker on TV! He was Don Morrison. He's the one that went into diabetic shock when he was taken the jail. He left my workplace a few years ago and I wondered what happened to him. With the way that he worked, he probably got fired! It's a good thing he doesn't work at my workplace anymore. If he came back to work, people would kick his ass! Now I know what he was doing all these years -- he was doing perverted and sick things!

^^^The infamous Dutch Wonderland video is at: www.robbalvey.com/dutchwonderland.zip

What's up with this?

Great photos! So why did you go with Mr. Whiny Whine if he complained about everything? I would have kicked his ass!

I thought the best video this week was the Elfteling video. It put a smile on my face. I don't know why, but the last 30 seconds of audio in the "Coaster Season 2005" video cut out! Sadly, that was also my least favorite video. There were a lot of coasters, but there were a lot of the same type of shot -- keep the camera still and let the coaster roll into frame. After seeing about 6 of the same type of shot, the video got boring to me. A better variety of coaster shots was in Mr. Hawkins' video. I want to know what dentist Mr. Mueller visits. He has a great smile and great teeth! I hope to see one of my videos soon!

Brokeback Magic Mountain

I had planned to visit SFGAdv on May 16 to make KK my 300th coaster, but it appears I will have to cancel my travel plans. I hope I can make El Toro my 400th, but my attitude now towards KK is if I ride it, fine. If not, I won't be crying. I tried to ride KK last year, but it had the major breakdown.

What's up with this?

^I must be tired too because I thought you wrote "I want to go to bed with Tom!" Sleep is good...

The Blue Streak Challenge is indeed a real event. It is a fundraiser to raise money for the Blue Streak roller coaster at Conneault Lake Park. Here is a link for information on the event: http://conneautlakeinstitute.org/clpps/bschallenge.htm While it is commendable to participate in charitable events, posting something on a public forum to ask for donations may not be the right course of action. It arouses suspicion. Not including a name to your address makes things even more suspect. Perhaps a better course of action would be to e-mail Robb or Elissa about this and obtain their approval to ask for donations. I'm sure if Robb or Elissa posted something like, "Hey guys, this is a good idea. We should support him!" you would get a better response. We have had several charitable events that Elissa has posted and they have had a good response.

^Well, it's because you have a crappy work computer! You've got to use the cool computer you bought from AFES!

I saw all 5 videos this morning. The Magic Springs video stood out in my mind because the song was stuck in my head all morning! The SLC was truly rough! Still, all the videos were really very well done. I was surprised with the Slagharen video. The park seemed so deserted! Who scared off the guests? I hope my video is posted soon. We must all see "The McDonald's-eating, Intamin coaster-riding donkeys, midgets, and hamsters fun coaster antics!"

I was pretty excited to ride TTD because it was my 100th coaster. I also was one of the first riders on it because I did the Red Cross first riders for charity event. I was only able to ride it once that day, but I remember a great joy riding it. I think that may have been colored by the fact it was my 100th coaster and I was one of the first riders on it. At around 10 am when the GP was let in, the line was 4 hours long already! I didn't get to ride it again and I haven't rode it again since, but I wonder what I would think of TTD now that the hype for it has died down. I have ridden Xcelerator and Storm Runner since. I think I like them both better than TTD. Storm Runner has a lot more elements than TTD. Xcelerator has a better feel on the way down. I think I got some airtime on the way down from the tophat!