downunder

I'm sad about this, this guy wrote so many amazing stories, took us on some incredible adventures, and made the impossible seem plausible. RIP and thanks for the great books, Mr Crichton. http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5126060/scifi-king-crichton-dies-aged-66/

This is a fantastic poll, and thanks to Robb and Elissa I have so many more new coasters to add to my previous year's ballot, I've got some work to do.

The Australian cricket team's wives and girlfriends team would make a mostly extremely attractive package for American broadcasters.

^The kangaroos will tear you to pieces if you mess with them, they especially like maiming young children, bring a gun.

Halloween was big at Warner Bros Movie World on Australia's Gold Coast, here's the photos: http://themeparkphotography.com/TPP_H08.html Here's a preview of the carnage starring Ian from TPR as the surgeon general of zombie town:

Idle wild was a who needs drugs not so tragical history tour through childhood in remote Pennsylvania. It reminded of the dinky kids places I used to go to when I was a kid in Sydney where your imagination had to fill in the gaps in the theming, though Idlewild was much better than that. The coasters were fun, Rollo Coaster was a cute old woodie, and the Vekoma mouse didn't kill us, a bonus in my book. Adam, still having problems editing the videos - f*** Vista on my new laptop. Unfortunately, I sipped at the fountain of the Donnie Darko rabbit in the forest. I was feeling rather psychadelic after that, like I had just drunk a case of absinthe. The log flume was so cute like the rest of the place. The future was bleak, a snapping free Flyer experience awaited. The fresh paint on the sign told me they were ready for the lord and master of snapping, Robb Alvey. A convertible dark ride, the green canvas was so pre World War II. The caterpillar awaits, offering mystery and nausea. TPR it girl Ms Visage was the victim of Confusion Hill (well documented in other reports). The hand carts were a great biceps workout, we all came off with arms like Conan The Barbarian after one lap. "Hey Penguin dude I couldn't possibly embarrass you any more, who else should come up front?" "Hey folks, I'm just having a toilet break, thanks, all done". Next, we were coralled into Confusion Hill, our tour leader, Randy The Cowpoke taunts a midget up the front. Who's that third from left, nooo, it's Jigsaw from Saw, run for your lives or die slowly and unusually. Ellen "Hard Candy" Page was on hand to take the tour, I thought Smart People did well enough that she wouldn't need to take a summer job. To the 'hood of the R-dog, that's Mister to you, bitches. Where were we headed? What was waiting for us in the magical forest -sexual predators of the worst kind, more coaster geeks, ice crazed hippies? I thought this place for people who were wild about being idle like people from Sydney's western suburbs.

^I'm pretty sure you are right, Aus wins the last one they keep the trophy as current trophy holders - so I guarantee those Indians will play for a draw.

Raptors were too scared to live in our continent. Australia is so badass, we are like Chuck Norris if he was a country.

I think Mr Cricket is the only batsman who has shown much consistency through these dark times, my solution - clone Mr Cricket. I think India, being 1 up, will just play for draws in the next 2 tests - dead tracks with India still in their first innings on day 5.

Ditto on koalas, they are nastier than a rattle snake with hemmaroids, seriously cranky critters. Kookaburra's are mostly OK but during mating season, along with magpies, they will do dive attacks and possibly take out an eye if you walk in their turf. To top it off they like to laugh loudly at 5.00 am. Also we have jurassic park size crocodiles just waiting to devour tourists, aggressive monstrous lethally venomous snakes that can rear up and get you from 20 metres away. To top it off we have the funnel web spider which has fangs as big as a snake and when it gets wet, like to go into houses, I have found them in clothes piles in the bathroom on occasion, they rear up and attack when cornered. So come on down under, why so scared? The friendly funnel web spider, as lethal as it looks and twice as mean. Not popular as a pet.

Warney would probably settle for half the women of our country.

I rode Phoenix at least 30 times, it's so hard to split El Toro, Phoenix and Dash for me, they were all such different experiences but all so awesome. Those bumper cars, wow, there's nothing quite like metal on metal collisions, and those GCI guys were totally smashing each other, it was like the Road Warrior with bumper cars.

If only MacGilla could have held his body to together enough to play at his best for a few more years, bring back Warney too.

Nice photos Hanno, damn I want to be back at Knoebels, love that place. Phoenix was just mental, I hope you rode that one more than once.

Looks like fun, I don't think they have built it up enough yet to justify me flying up from Sydney but I'm glad they are doing it.

^Intamin Megalite please knotts, and while I'm asking can you get it in by August next year.

^Oh well, glory holes it is then.

An interesting question was raised before and I want to know too - what happened to the KBF Dinosaurs? Personally I think they might still be sitting in the building but I wonder if anyone knows for sure?

I hope not, I still think interantionals are the pinnacle, and the biggest drawcard, and should take up a proportion of the annual calendar. But I guess at the end of the day, money talks - so we'll see what it has to say about the future of cricket.

You are all wrong, they are getting the Gerbil Coaster (yes it's real, it was even on the 6pm news) from the Sydney & other cities Sexpo: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27289&start=10&sid=c3aaa90e494775e4b7dfb55aa9388234 I believe, there will also be a crack hospitality tent, much in the same way Busch has the beer hospitality. On a more serious note, I wish they would steal Maverick from Cedar Point and plonk it there, purely because Knott's is closer than CP for me.

televisedconfession wrote: Umm, I think I can speak for everybody on the East Coast, we love El Toro and we also love Boulder Dash. Why do we have to hate one if we love the other? I consider them both 10/10 coasters (I have 4 in that class), and if people prefer one over the other what's it to you anyway? They are both amazing but completely different experiences, I fully expected nothing to even come close to El Toro on the entire trip but I was wrong, I really had no expections of Dash. The sad part is they are about ruin Dash with trim brakes, so what we experienced will be never again probably.

Germany + October = Awesome. Nice TR, Olympia Looping looks great, it amazes me that there are portable coasters that are even better.

Nice TR, sorry you had a bad day, if it's any consolation the East Coast trip day was abominable we were reduced to marathoning Dark Knight because that was the only coaster open. I love that shot from the parking lot of ET, it really captures how insanely steep the drop, it doesn't look real. Also you are not going to want to party with a lot of the TPR East Coast people, Boulder Dash left us in shock and awe, very unexpected but true.

^Too true, those kind of movements register on the richter scale.

Waldameer Waldameer begs the question would you prefer a park with one great coaster, or a park with 8 not bad coasters? Credit whores need not reply. This is a park for people who don't need to be immersed in slick state of the art imagineering to have a good time, and a good time we had. The opening act for the Freddie Mercury of small town theme park shows, Trevor. Adam showing his TPR mandated change in orientation hadn't affected his balance. The phallus of fear, which put terror deep inside many a faint hearted TPR tourist. This was towards the end of the chair ride, note the discarded condoms. It amazes me how people could manage to use condoms in such a high up, confined space. Those Pennsylvanians must be a horny bunch. Pirate's Cove centre of photo, there was also Pilate's Cove nearby, no one showed for the ERT on that one, except me. RF II, a bit sheepish in daylight but rabid, chudlike, vicious, flesheating sheep by night. It kicked lateral a$$. The sky grew dark with the impending ERT apocalypse, I hope R & E did a head count that night, I don't think everyone lived. The wacky shack had a slight moment on track where gravity was involved in moving the train, TPR credit whores and Jeff Johnson disciples went ka-ching. The scary part is that these were real children painted bronze, it's a crime and tragedy that children are forced to work this young but at least they didn't have to star in a home alone sequel. This is the grandfather of ring tone sensation Crazy Frog called Cracker Frog. After burning bright in southern law enforcement up to the late 60's he retired to Waldameer. Where's Waldameer? No idea, Pennsylvania. First up, one I missed from Martin's. Robb has a look on his face like I just stole his soul by taking a photo of him. Little did I know, Robb steals your soul when you take a photo of him, he obviously wasn't impressed with my soul.