natatomic

Actually, when the Nantimi winners got to talk to the folks behind the whole Nantimi thing, they told us that one of the guys just decided to throw those letters in last minute for fun, that they weren't really all that important. Not saying that it couldn't be something from Intamin, but I don't think the letters are related to the 2009 project.

Magnum, with Tennessee Tornado a decently distanced second. I dunno, I tend to have near-black outs on Arrow loopers more than any other type of coasters, so while I still ride them, they're just not my favorite.

I really waited until the last minute here, but I'll be going to Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens this weekend, and I was wondering if there's an optimal order to do the parks - Busch Gardens on Saturday and Kings Dominion on Sunday, or vice versa? Maybe it won't really matter since both are weekend days in June, so the parks are bound to be busy; but if anyone has any opinions or advice on the subject, I'd really appreciate you sharing it with me. And as a thank you, I'll be sure to post a really awesome Photo TR when I get back. Sounds like a fair trade to me.

^Ach, I was going to say the exact same thing, but you beat me to it. I don't have anything to say that hasn't already been said, but still...I do miss the little animated coasters at the top. By the way, "ach?" Sorry, I don't know where that came from.

So far this year: Epcot Universal Studios/IOA Six Flags America Kings Dominion Hersheypark I'll be going to Kings Dominion again and Busch Gardens this weekend, Six Flags Great America in July, and all the parks on the Behemoth/Ravine Flyer trip in August, with a Six Flags Great Adventure add on the day after. And if funds allow, I hope to go to Hard Rock Park sometime this year and maybe Epcot again for the Food and Wine festival.

Uh, I believe it's called Fantasyland. Duh.

I'm 5' 4 1/2" and I cling to that half inch like there's no tomorrow. It makes all the difference.

It's on the left side of the queue. I didn't use it when I was there, so I don't know - firsthand - how well it works, but when I was standing by the entrance for a moment, I could have sworn the greeter wasn't letting more people in the SR queue at that time, which was only about 15-20 feet shy of reaching the entrance (though it looked like there were only 50-75 people in the line). She said that she had to wait until the line only reached the bottom of the stairs (about another 20 feet away? maybe? I'm not the best at memorizing distances) before she could let more people in, or something like that. Can anyone confirm that that's how it works or did I just hear her wrong?

^ It's not scary when I'm the psycho.

^ And I shall take the first DVD I can get my hands on, break it in two, and take the pointiest edge and gouge your eyes out.

I can't STAND Savage Garden (I'm sure a good number of people will hate me for that). I don't even know if they're still around, but whenever I hear one of their songs, I want to take a skewer to root around in my ear and rip out my ear drums.

I'm a baby when it comes to scary movies. I cry...

Yay, Kidney Bean Inversion! Wow, I invented something that stuck! *self-high-five*

^Yep, that's the one.

^Kids also love eating their own boogers, yet I don't see Disney putting those on a stick and selling them for $4 a pop.

Maybe these are true for Splash at DL, but there are over some 40-odd cameras on the WDW version (the exact number escapes me at the moment). I'd say about 10 of the cameras, however, are either on staircases or the reservoir in the back, which the tower operator doesn't usually keep an eye on unless there's someone running around the Mountain who shouldn't be (advice: DON'T DO THAT!), at which point the intrusion alarm would be going off anyway... As for the "heavy people in the back" theory, that's not gonna keep you dry at WDW. The thing is, the big drop towards the end is NOT where you get the most wet (even if you're sitting in the front row, so long as you duck, you won't get much more than a spray). The place that gets people soaked is in between the 1st and 2nd lifts - about 30 seconds into the ride - when the log is directly to the left of the big drop and about to go into the "Old Mill." Here's a photo so you can see what I'm talking about. (The empty looking log directly in the spot where the water from the cannons would land) If it's timed right, a log will go do the big drop, at which point water cannons go off, bringing a large amount of water down not on the dropping log, but rather the log that's just calmly making it's way along the flume. Which row that gets hit by the cannon is really just random chance, but if you want to stay as dry as possible, the best advice I can give you is to sit on the left side. Or better yet, go ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Actually, I think they turn the water cannons off during the parades, so try to ride it then.

Stitch makes me want to gouge my eyes out with a toothpick. I don't care HOW "cute" he is, what is he doing in a Bell Hop outfit in the ToT merchandise? Why was he on the back of Hook's ship during the '07 Flower and Garden Festival? Why is he on a Pirates of the Caribbean pin? I know it's such a petty thing, but man, with as much as it irks me, I wouldn't be surprised if one day my brain just broke from Stitch Overload and I started running naked up and down the streets screaming, "HE DOESN'T BELONG! HE DOESN'T BELONNNNNNG!"

Probably because when the flume is drained, the brake is raised.

Geez, I make ONE typo (okay, one typo many, many times) and you get on my case. Man, I know better than that, though. I must have just had a rough day, then. I'm usually a stickler for grammar and misspellings. Just for that, I'm going to kick you in the shins next time I see you. ^Here's a photo I took of the Drop 4 Brake. I definitely don't remember there being any magnetic fins during my many runs in this area of the Mountain, and I don't think I see them in this picture. Am I missing something?

Great TR! Sorry for the crappy weather, though. We got hit with lots of rain and storms while we were there, too. At least you got avalanche, though! It was closed this past trip, and it's one of my favorite rides. Who doesn't love a good bobsled, eh?

Yeah, it seemed like in all of my photos the color of the track looked completely different, depending on the angle and position of the sun when I took the pictures. Notice how drastically the colors change from one picture to the other (photos #5 and #6 for example) - I didn't do that! They just came out that way. Now that you mention it, I probably should have gone through the photos and tried to add a bit more orange for some of them, because the track definitely looks fire-engine red in a few shots. At the same time, I don't remember the track being anywhere near the level of orange that came out in your photo, either. Take one of my pictures where the track looks red, take your picture with the track looking orange, mix the two together, and that's probably close to the actual color. I think that the track is really just your basic red-orange, with maybe a slight favor to the latter.

I know it's a bit lower than $1.2 million they're asking, but I'll offer them 50 bucks for it. C'mon, Dorney - let's haggle.

^Deal. Btw, I want to get married in the Italy Pavilion courtyard. What about you?

1. Sure, just so long as you help me out somehow with my wedding at Epcot. 2. Of course. I'll send it to you right now. 3. And yes, I know, but feel free to tell me many, many more times. (Also, if anyone would like full size copies of any of the pictures, just let me know!)

Fahrenheit at Hersheypark. Allow me to plug my TR.