N'at Man

For the weekend of 6/23. Anyone coming from the PA Turnpike to Kennywood expect delays. From the Post-Gazette: If all goes as planned, the Parkway East will close again next weekend at the crucial juncture of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel, thereby necessitating detours through east suburban and Pittsburgh's East End neighborhoods. The closing, tentatively scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Friday, will shut down the inbound, or westbound, Squirrel Hill Tunnel to permit contractors to work on the Commercial Street Bridge and other locations between the Edgewood/Swissvale and the Squirrel Hill interchanges.

The wood coaster's tracks are in excellent condition. No real track roughness. The Racer has no moments where you need to be defensive. The double dip on the Jack Rabbit is pretty extreme but if you pull your seatbelt tight it's not a problem. Thunderbolt you need to be rather defensive on the curves because your partner will slam into you. The Phantom (steel) is not a problem as far as fighting the ride but it does have major airtime moments with some hard landings. The Exterminator will toss you around a bit.

Anyone who is headed to Kennywood on a weekend this summer should check for I-376 closures and detours as they may occur up to 12 times this year. This will be worse than the current weekend lane closures that have been going on the last two summers. The first closure is this weekend, 6/9/2007, with the eastbound lanes of I-376 (Parkway East) completely closed from Squirrel Hill (including the tunnel) to Edgewood/Swissvale (typical Kennywood exit). Taking the Homestead exit is a good detour to Kennywood in theory although the traffic backups will probably be severe before and after that exit. If you are going to the park from Monroeville/Turnpike on westbound I-376 you are OK on 6/9 aside from possible congestion due to the eastbound detours in the area. Apparently the westbound lanes in the same will eventually be closed on certain weekends too. That would cause the delays coming from Monroeville.

Pennsylvania beer news - potential positive impact for the beer thread. Senate panel advances legislation easing restrictions on beer sales Thursday, June 07, 2007 By Alex Roarty, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette HARRISBURG -- The state Senate Law and Justice Committee voted yesterday to send a bill to the full Senate that would give consumers more choice over the quantity of beer they purchase at distributors, restaurants and taverns. Senate Bill 674 would allow distributors, for the first time since Prohibition, to sell beer in six-packs, 12-packs, 15-packs and a new package of 18 cans or bottles, as well as the traditional 24- and 30-can cases. Restaurants or taverns with a beer license would be allowed to sell three six-packs of beer or an 18-pack. Currently they can only sell one or two six-packs at a time. The chairman of the committee, Sen. John Rafferty, R-Montgomery, said the decision was "a long overdue change to antiquated provisions in the state's beer sales law. This is a change that the public has requested for decades." Action on the bill by the full Senate and House may not come until the fall. Mark Meyer, executive director of the committee, said if the bill passed, Pennsylvania would no longer have the most restrictive alcohol laws in the country. "For the first time ever, Pennsylvania consumers will get what they want like the rest of the country," he said. Microbreweries would benefit also, according to Mr. Rafferty. He said consumers often are unwilling to try lesser-known beers if they have to buy a full case because it's too expensive. Grocery stores also might be among the biggest beneficiaries. Although the stores themselves cannot apply for beer licenses, some have recently started to set up restaurants within their stores, which can apply. Consumers would have to pay for the beer at a separate register, but would be able to buy an 18-pack or three six-packs in the same place they buy their milk and eggs. The boon to grocery stores, however, could be trouble for beer distributors because it breaks up their monopoly over selling large volumes of beer. Mr. Meyer said he was unsure if the Senate would vote on the bill before the summer recess starting June 30 because of other pressing issues, including the budget, facing the Legislature. The bill still has several hurdles to clear before it can become law, including potentially being sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee if it is determined the bill could have an impact on the state budget. It also must win approval in the House and be signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell. In another move to liberalize the sale of alcohol in the state, the committee also sent Senate Bill 896 to the Senate to allow farmers to sell wine at farmers markets.

Over the weekend I explored Dawg's Bottle Shop in Greensburg, PA. I wasn't expecting much as the one side entrance is a typical, crappy, Coors Light selling place. But on the other side of the building is a very nice bar area with organized coolers of bottles. The only problem is that they didn't have prices marked but the guy working there was quite helpful. Nice selection and average prices. The first two beers I tasted were from Samuel Smith (Oatmeal Stout and Imperial Stout). Both were excellent English beers. The only problem is that I can find American microbrews that are slightly better and cheaper. A tribute to our friends across the pond. Samuel Smith offers some very good stouts.

The bills are not just coming in. I'm sure the park was billed but they didn't pay all of the bills in total. Unpaid bills from the previous owner are mentioned in the article. It's just that now the electric company has set a deadline to for payment. Why the electric company is doing this right now I don't know. I also don't know if the park was paying any portion of their bills or if they possbily stopped recently to trigger this action. This is just part of the $2+ million (whatever the total is) of debt the park has accumulated.

I don't think this news will help the grass roots efforts to get the park open. There are some major long term issues that need to be solved. Past-due electric bill for Conneaut Lake Park hits $301K By Jane Smith 06/05/07 — CONNEAUT LAKE — Come Wednesday morning, the electric will be shut off at Conneaut Lake Park, except for Camperland and the water station — unless somebody comes up with a $150,000 payment. LeRoy Stearns, court-appointed overseer, said Monday the electric company will shut off the electric because the park owes a bill of $301,833.40. “It will leave the electric on for the water pump and Camperland and shut everything else down,” he said. “The balance is due in 30 days. ... We have no money to pay it,” he said of the park’s finances. The overdue bill includes $218,283.72 in unpaid electric bills he inherited from prior operators. The remaining $83,000 is for bills accrued from 2006 and the first five months of 2007. Stearns said since he is petitioning the court for his removal as overseer of the currently-closed amusement park, he can’t accumulate more debt for the future board of directors, nor can he make any more commitments for the new board to assume. “I am not trying to be the deliverer of bad news,” he said. “I just don’t know how the new board of directors is going to pay debts that are six- and eight-years old,” he added. In the meantime, he said the only people now working at the park are two security persons; Bob Morrow, water system operator; George Deshner, director of operations; and the Camperland manager. Stearns said he has a list of potential board members to present to the judge for appointment and he understands Crawford County Planner Jack Lynch has prepared a list for consideration as has the Economic Progress Alliance of Crawford County. A court hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. Friday to consider his petition for removal of the custodianship and appointment of a new board of directors. The court became involved in the park’s operation after attorney Dana Watson filed a lawsuit in 1998 against then-members of the Trustees of Conneaut Lake Park who had been deeded the park by former park owner Gary Harris to hold in trust for the public. As a result of that lawsuit, the park was declared a charitable trust. The overseer position was put in place after all but one of the first members of the Trustees of Conneaut Lake Park had resigned. Stearns had petitioned the court to sell 3.3 acres of land earlier this year as a way to pay off some of the debt and have money to open this year, but that petition was denied after Watson objected. He announced the park was closed May 29, but allowed a scheduled wedding to be held June 2. All other scheduled events at the park have been canceled.

The mouse was repainted gray in 2002 according to my notes. As far as the fan on the caterpillar, there is a fan underneath the one rise in the track. The bottom of each car is grated so it gives a nice burst of air beneath your feet as you ride over the fan. Idlewild has the last Caterpillar ride to use a fan like this. I take back my comment about the Idlewild TV not being as interactive as KennyTV. I found out today that the system at Kennywood is pretty much the same. No cell phone interaction or anything going on.

I had a chance to stop by one of my home parks today, Idlewild. I realized shortly into my visit that it was 15 years ago when I started my string of four summers working at the park. Yikes! Time flies. The Flying Aces flying scooters from Premier is the new attraction at the park this year. I was expecting the ride to open today but they still had some work to do. A sign out front cited unavoidable delays and I believe the issues were with the manufacturer. The ride is nearly complete and it was testing while speed rail went up. They were running it very fast and the empty tubs were flying high. They did a nice job placing the ride and making it look nice with the signature Idlewild white fence around the ride. It really seems to fit where the old Trinado ride never seemed quite right (even though I liked that ride). There were several food stand changes and like Kennywood, Idlewild had a few flat screens with information (Idlewild TV). It was pretty blah if you ask me and you couldn't hear the sound. The water park was open but the large swimming pool wasn't open yet as they finished painting it late. The Loyalhanna Limited train had some new western theming which is a nice throwback to the days when the now defunct Lakeview Railway featured some ghost town theming. The park was dead as far as crowds go. It would be pretty light by weekday standards. Anyone who has been to the park knows that if the Wild Mouse is a walk on it's a light day. The one and only Mister Rogers Neighborhood of Make-Believe. Caterpillar (with operating canopy and fan). Rollo Coaster. The PTC Carousel. The Mouse in it's woodsy habitat. The former Alton Mouse. Here's the new Wild Mouse sign. Finally the Pretzel Barn has become the Feed Box with an expanded menu included sandwiches. Want fudge? You can find it in the new interior section of Sweet Treats. Pacific Traders replaces the fudge stand. Here's a review of the food stand changes. The Pasta Works is now the Back Porch. It still has pasta but has added Charley Biggs' Chicken. Idlewild TV is also new. Looks somewhat like what Kennywood is doing but I don't think it's quite as interactive. The tubs look cool. Note the Flying Aces insignia sewn onto the seat back. Flying Aces sign waiting to be installed. Flying Aces were not quite ready to open. If you look very closely you can see water dummys against the back fence. Fountain with carousel in the background. The #2 kids park in the world. Welcome to Idlewild's 130th season.

I'm irritated with this whole misadventure. The GM declares the park closed for the summer, period, yet there is talk that some sections of the park (like the Beach Club) will possibly open soon. It's a combination of scare tactics and also a effort to keep the park going on life support for a few more weeks before it runs out of money again. I'm glad there is some community backing as shown by those giving donations but I see no point in donating money at this time just to open the park up for the short term when there is no long term fix. Yeah, it would be nice for the park to open up temporarily and I would patronize the park if it did reopen for a while. But I don't see fundraising efforts of under $100K as contributing to long term progress and I can't convince myself to contribute to this because I don't see it helping the long term future of the park at all. Such fundraising is nice to get a ride like the train or bug open but it can't save the entire park or get it out of debt.

I spent the Memorial Day weekend in New York city along with fellow travel companions Dave and Janna. The pictures will tell the story but we started off with a laid back day at Coney Island on Saturday. Janna had never been there and we all wanted to visit before it is "transformed" next year. We had a really great time and the weather cooperated. We did all of the standard things like lunch at Nathan's, Spook-A-Rama, Wonder Wheel and the El Dorado Auto Skooters among other things. The Cyclone track seemed flawless yet the layout and four bench trains still meant some very intense rides. I used to think the Cyclone was somewhat overrated but recently it's grown on me. It's a ride that still strikes some fear into you and when you finish a ride on it you know you endured a wild experience. The in-your-face atmospshere is unmatched and who needs fastpass when you can reride for only $4 (normally $6) along with upgrading your seat. On Sunday we took in a Yankees game and we also spent some time in Central Park. We rode the carousel and Dave picked up the kiddie credit at Victorian Gardens (I already had the credit). I didn't take any pictures of Adventureland on Monday but we had a 50 minute visit. I'd been here before but it was new to Dave and Janna. We rode the two coasters, the dark ride and Crocodile Run. We really lucked out with the traffic. We seemed to be heading the right way while we saw some backups the other way (such as I-78 EB - Yikes!). Janna and Dave ride the carousel. Central Park Carousel Victorian Gardens in Central Park (aka Zamperla World). Beer thread! Let's see, should we spend $8 for Bud Light or Pilsner Urquell? A view from our seats. Tim in the outfield. Babe Ruth plaque We walked through Monument Park before the game with the Angels. Outside Yankee Stadium. We took the 4 train to Yankee Stadium. The Coney Island Sideshow The El Dorado Auto Skooters has a great sound system and light show. Bump, bump, bump your a$$ off. Another view of the Parachute Jump. Parachute Jump tower and the boardwalk. Astroland Midway The insane Break Dance at Astroland. Dante's Inferno dark ride in Astroland. Nearby the Cyclone is a history booth in the works where I got a glimpse of this old Steeplechase horse. Cyclone Cyclone The Cyclone lift hill and sign. Luckily the Coney Island Cyclone will stay put. Astroland is in it's final season of operation. Spook-a-rama is also located at Deno's. The main attraction at Deno's is the Wonder Wheel with its swinging cars. Deno's Wonder Wheel Park Saturn 6 ride The Bowery First stop is Coney Island, home of Nathan's Famous.

My favorite site for hotels reviews is Trip Advisor. It's helped me avoid some bad hotels in my favorite chains and also find some gems in the lower level chains. I like Choice Hotels, particularly Comfort Inn and Sleep Inn for reasonable prices and clean rooms. Super 8 is hit or miss. Most Red Roof Inns are reasonable places to stay. Here are some suggested hotels for you where I've found nice accomodations and a good price: Knoebels - Red Roof Inn Danville is always a good choice. There is also a new Best Western which sometimes has good rates. The Econo Lodge Bloomsburg is pretty decent too. Cedar Point - It really helps to stay "on site" for the resort ride time in the morning. Breakers Express isn't in the park but it's pretty close and much cheaper than the hotels in the park. Holiday World - Motel 6 Dale is a newer building a better than expected. If you don't mind paying more Santa's Lodge is a block away from the park and a nice option. Dollywood - I like the Sleep Inn in Sevierville. PKD - All I can say is DO NOT stay at the Best Western Kings Quarters. It's a poorly run dump. I would avoid the cheap places in Ashland. Maybe look toward Richmond or the other direction near Fredericksburg. SFGAdv - Nothing is nearby but the closest place I like is Comfort Inn Bordentown (NJ). I've also stayed at the Red Roof Inn Trevose (PA) to access the park.

Here's an interesting link. http://www.truthaboutconneautlakepark.com/

This is a truly sad announcement. Remember that the park was closed in 1995 and reopened. This isn't necessarily the death nail but it's not good at all and at best will be a huge setback for the future of the park if there is one. Strangely I felt better about the park future last fall than the previous fall. I simply can't understand why they couldn't sell the land to pay off the outstanding debt and give the park money to open up this year. I also cannot understand why they couldn't get more of an offer for the prime waterfront land (look at the palaces across the lake). So now they will look to liquidate park assets. Yeah, that's better than finding a way to sell of a little land which would have solved a ton of problems. I swear the local "leaders" are straight out of Mayberry. It didn't help that the park management still couldn't quite get a handle on their accounting either.

It doesn't look like a bad start for a park. But the place looks somewhat limited in attractions and it looks very hot. Reminds me of when VisionLand opened. I think some adjustments will be needed this year. Seriously, admission is higher than Geauga Lake and their hours are longer each day too. I can't see a small place like this out in Wichita charging that much and getting enough of a crowd at this early stage to stay open those type of hours every single day of the week.

JNoonez, you did a good job explaining your opinions. I'm curious, what wood coasters do you think are the best? The one complaint I hear about the Voyage is that it is too aggressive but that's what I like. Typically people who don't rate the Voyage highly prefer the Thunderheads or El Toros of the world (although Thunderhead is more aggressive this year).

That is a huge ripoff. I'm not even sure I would consider it now with how limited the options are (and the unlimited is too expensive). Can anyone tell me if the line bypass tickets at Alton Towers work the same way? The way it reads it doesn't sound like you are limited to one attraction or one ride but I want to verify the details. Thanks.

I have a question about the Thorpe Fastrack tickets because the wording on the website is confusing. They offer a Stealth Fastrack ticket for £4.00 which makes sense. But then they have an Extreme ticket for £7.00 good for "Colossus, Nemesis Inferno, X:\No Way Out, Tidal Wave or Loggers Leap." The "or" makes no sense to me. Is this for all five rides or just one from the list? Also, what happens if I book a Fastrack ticket for Stealth online and I show up at the park and it's down? How does the park handle that? I'm going the last week of July on a Monday with my group. That was the best we could do. It looks like the holiday season is starting but I'll take that with extended hours on a weekday over dealing with school groups in early July like I did in 2002 with ACE.

Nice Photo TR. I saw the report on WTAE with Sheldon Ingram riding the Rockin' Tug. It looks like Cosmic Chaos opens up a new midway. The new gift shop looks a bit goofy though. But the Rockin' Tug looks sharp with the life preservers on the side. It is a shame that they removed the classic games building to put in the basketball game. I saw this game at KD and while I think it's entertaining it looks terrible in the middle of the midway in front of the Auto Ride. This is Kennywood Park not Rucker Park. I'll be curious to see how the television thing goes. I'm not sure I fully understand it. I see my company slapped its name on the flat screens for advertising.

Just a quick update before I head off to California tomorrow evening. I've been drinking HopDevil quite a bit recently and Red Hook IPA was my most selection. The biggest surprise I've had recently was Hofbrau Maibock. I'm not sure I've ever had a Maibock before but I'll be on the lookout for more this time of year. I'll also be on the lookout for some Gordon Biersch at Six Flags in Vallejo (whatever it's called this week).

I think there's a difference between the Whalom Wales and the Conneaut tokens. Whalom was already a lost cause when wales were sold. In this case Conneaut needs money to open for the season since the future is held up in the courts. Selling tokens won't save the park but it could help get it open for a while. The problem I see is how long will that help if the land sale is held up in the court? Conneaut operates on such a shoesting budget that this may just work to at least get the park up and running for the season. The community came together to get the train and tumble bug going last year so this may work. If the land is sold then the park has a good chance to survive but who knows when that will happen. I really don't understand many of the details of the land sale such as why is only one person trying to buy this prime property and why can't the zoning laws be modified for something so critical to the community. Maybe the new Snow Waters developers should pitch in some money to make their property a bit more attractive. A struggling open park would still look better across the street than a closed down park.

I don't know the exact details of each park's pricing but it comes down to the market each park is in. Cedar Point charges so much because there are three CF parks right in Ohio and the average person (not enthusiast) who has a Maxx Pass in Ohio will likely get more benefit from multiple parks with the pass than someone in Kansas City. Enthusiasts are likely the only people who shop around for Maxx Passes while most people will only consider buying them from their home CF park at a price that makes sense for their particular market.

TR: Dollywood 4/15/2007 Since my coaster buddies Adam & Ellen kept mentioning a desire to get to Dollywood for the first time I figured why not make the trip happen. They've been looking to front load this season with trips since they have time available now. I was able to make this a weekend only trip as I traveled to Tennessee with our friend Greg from Pittsburgh. It was my fourth trip to Dollywood. Our routes crossed in Wytheville, VA where we spent Friday evening before heading about three hours down the interstate to Pigeon Forge, TN. The forecast was not favorable but we gave it a go anyway. I'm happy to report that the weather cooperated enough to make for a fairly productive and enjoyable visit. We arrived at Dollywood around 10:30 AM to find that the crowds weren't too bad. Traffic around Pigeon Forge was pretty light so that was a good indicator. For those who know the Middle Creek Road short cut I can tell you that it is still a good option although it is constantly changing and under construction. Our first stop was the new Mystery Mine coaster because it's the law to ride the new ride first, right? I was impressed by the exterior theming and the appearance of the ride building. It was very detailed and the mine shaft had the same towering appearance that the Tower of Terror rides have at Disney parks. We waited about an hour to ride but it didn't seem like a bad wait. We rode in the front row to start and after later riding in the second row later I can tell you the front is the only place to ride. The ride ops assign you to seats but it wouldn't hurt to ask for a front row seat especially the first time you ride. I won't give away specific details but the inside theming is extensive with several scenes. There is even fire at one point. The finale has a great setup. It's been a while since I was that clueless about what was going to happen throughout a ride. Mummy was probably the last ride and Mystery Mine does remind me of Mummy in some ways. I knew there were some 95 degree drops but aside from that I didn't know exactly what to expect other than what I could see from the exterior sections. There is a bunch of wobbly track with extreme transitions. For the most part this works well but there are a couple bad spots. The one exterior turn after the first 95 degree drop is probably the most brutal section of track. But the inversion section is quite smooth until you approach the brakes. Overall Mystery Mine is very fine attraction and I found major improvements with this ride over the original Gerstlauer Euro Fighter coaster at Bon Bon Land. Next we rode Thunderhead. I think we were all surprised by how well the ride was running. I was saying that and I'd ridden it before. It has really developed an attitude, one not normally associated with GCIs. I found that the front was the best place to ride since it had the best lateral movement and airtime. But the back was no slouch as it whipped you all along the course at a furious pace. The train really attacked the course this visit. I have T-head ranked around #16 and it may contend for #10 after this visit. We looked for some food after our two coaster rides. There was a Festival of Nations going on so some of the menu items were adjusted but they all had their southern roots. We ended up at the Irish rethemed Miss Lillian's BBQ Pit. The food was excellent and crazy Miss Lillian was running around her place as usual. After lunch we continued up Craftsman's Valley to ride Tennessee Tornado. Again, we were all surprised by how good this coaster was. It didn't seem as rough as I remembered and I forgot how powerful it was. The first drop is hard to beat and is a top coaster moment anywhere. Nearby we rode Fire in the, uh, Blazing Fury. There's some odd attraction we had to this dark ride with coaster style elements. It had us obnoxiously saying "fire in the hole" all day at all attractions, much to the chagrin of park employees who kept correcting us that "fire in the hole" was for another ride. Along the way all day we checked out many of the interesting shops and attractions (insert glory hole joke here). Eventually we ended up in the Country Fair where only Greg and I had enough guts to whore the VeggieTales coaster credit. We had the obligatory stop at the pickle statue on the way out of the Country Fair too. I believe it started to rain around this time so we headed back to get a ride on both Thunderhead and the Mystery Mine where the lines were down significantly. We even rode the Timber Tower topple tower ride. I liked the theming but it's still a stupid ride. It's also a bit nauseating because you a moving slowly in a circle but trying to focus on scenes around the ride like the fountain, beavers, bear and buzzsaw. After our rides lightning was spotted and all rides shut down. This was followed by strong rain. We first hid out in the one skillet locations where I had skillet taters and the others had fresh potato chips. We moved onto the train station to see if we might be able to salvage a train ride. One departure was canceled but we made the next departure after the rides came back up. The train ride up the mountain is very impressive and definitely a must for park visitors. The park cleared out by about 99% so we had the park to ourselves when the rain let up for a short while. We walked onto Blazing Fury and got a double ride on Tennessee Tornado. Then we took a few rides on Thunderhead before the rain made it too uncomfortable to ride. After some waiting the rain stopped enough for us to ride Mystery Mine. Twice. Without getting out. In the front row. That was the benefit of a rainy day. But the downfall of a rainy day was when Thunderhead went down for the day after the one remaining train running was sliding through the brakes a bit too much. The GCI team was on site so the ride was in good hands. But our park day was done. I'm sure you will soon find some details of our post park activities on the beer thread. We stopped at Smoky Mountain Brewing for dinner and drinks. Despite the long drives for all of us and the rainy weather we were all very pleased with our visit to Dollywood. We got to do all of the major rides we wanted and more along with some good food. That was the trade off for the rain at the end of the day.

To answer Adam's question about Capital Ale House I had a Smuttynose stout (Imperial I believe). Two weekends ago I was out in the Bay Area and I stopped by two brew pubs. The first was the Rogue Ales Public House where I couldn't resist the Shakespeare Stout on tap. Overall I really liked the place and I would have had more to drink if I wasn't in the middle of walking all around the city sightseeing. The second stop was San Francisco Brewing Company where I had Emperor Norton Lager Amber Ale which had more flavor than a Sam Adams but not as hoppy. The pub is really old fashioned but unfortunately the few photos I took didn't turn out. Here's a shot of the San Francisco Brewing Co. The menu of Rogue beers plus a few others Look at all the Rogue taps! Rogue Ales Public House in North Beach, San Francisco

My strategy aims towards the second round as I take some chances picking against teams I think can't win more than one game. So the second round will be make or break for me. I'm shuffling off to Buffalo to see Pitt play today. I was hoping for Duke so we could get some credit if we win. The crowd will be rooting hard for VCU and it will not be easy at all. Pitt has played 5 mid major teams in a row in the tourney the past 3 years (losing to two) so I'm hoping they can move on to face a power conference team for a change. Pitt still needs to redeem themselves from the Georgetown debacle a week ago. My advice: Pound it inside. LET'S GO PITT! "rollocst"