printersdevil78

when the family summer vacation doesn't go as planned... Looks like a backdoor pilot for Disney’s first original Fox show: “When Theme Park Guests Attack.”

I got 83 out of 126, but health issues largely have kept me away from amusement parks in the past couple years, save for a few local ones and two very worthwhile trips to Orlando, so most of my credits are older. Still fun to learn that I've ridden two-thirds of the wooden coasters in North America.

I enjoyed the Twilight Zone TV show. I'm not a big fan of drop towers, but I like the theming in the TOT attractions. That said, my generation (and probably only a small percentage of it) is probably the last generation that's even heard of The Twilight Zone, much less cares about or has any emotional attachment to it. And there's still a Twilight Zone TOT in Orlando. And it sounds like it's basically going to be the same ride but with different characters (whom a larger portion of today's audiences will have heard of/be able to identify). Sounds like a win to me. Unless retheming-inst

It's been a long time since I posted a TR.... My wife and I had a great time at this year's final weekend of the Busch Gardens Williamsburg Food and Wine Festival, so I thought I'd share. Enjoy! To all who enter this happy place, welcome! We bought the 15-sample dining package, good at 14 food stands around the park. First up: Ireland! Many of the stands were decorated with representations of food or actual kitchen items. What better decoration for the Ireland booth than potatoes? Speaking of potatoes... here are some bangers with colcannon (mashed potatoes with cabbage), toppe

Assuming the headsets don't all break in the first year and they abandon the project, I think these could easily tie into Fright Fest and, for the parks that have it, Holiday in the Park, as well. It's not hard to imagine changing the programming to simulate fleeing from a coven of broom-mounted witches or vampire bats or (insert flying malicious ghoul of your choice here). Or maybe you're hitching a ride on Santa's sleigh. This seems like a good way to breathe new life into old coasters. If it works at Six Flags, I can see other parks (especially chain parks) getting in on this.

The local newspaper today covered the new "cart coaster" -- a mash-up of a go-kart track and roller coaster -- at Jolly Roger Amusement Park in Ocean City, MD. Photos and video here.

And... we're into 2014! Enjoy! Summer 2014 began with a trek to northern Pennsylvania to visit Conneaut Lake Park… while I still could. En route was a visit to The Snowman in Portersville, PA. No, seriously. It’s a snowman! Unlike most snowmen, this one serves tasty frozen treats. Plastered on a T-shirt hung in front of the stand on a breezy day, this yeti moved a lot more than the one at Animal Kingdom! Can’t afford a Yeti right now? Charge it to your Diner’s Club! So this is the Yeti milkshake — ice cream, syrup and crushed ice blended to a pleasant consistency and topped

Holy molasses, that Fun Bun looks amazing! Also, Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies look awfully familiar....

Maybe they should rename it "French Fries: The Ride."

As always, thanks for reading! I promised a couple 2013 leftovers before we head into the 2014 Roadfood adventure... so here we go! In November, I took my sister on a bus trip to New York, a place she's always wanted to visit, as an early Christmas present. While there, I purchased some roasted chestnuts from a street vendor. For those who have never seen the inside of a chestnut, here it is! And for those who have never tasted one... well, they're just plain awful. At least these were. Maybe they're an acquired taste. I can't imagine why anyone ever would have written a song about them

Time for another update! After my big summer trip, I spent most of the rest of 2013 at home on the Delmarva Peninsula... but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of good restaurants there! Here are a few of them. On the way back from a day trip to see Kelly's grandfather in August, we stopped by the Vanderwende Farm Creamery in Bridgeville, DE. The building itself is unassuming... ...but the pasture out back guarantees all the milk, cheese and ice cream inside is fresh! Cookies and cream for me. Here are the rest of the flavors. After Hopkins Farm Creamery (reviewed earlier

Thanks, all! I've never been to Dick's, but it sounds like a place to check out if I get back to Seattle. And speaking of Seattle... this update contains the last of the photos from my 2013 Pacific Northwest/Northern California trip. Enjoy! On the way back to our hotel after Otto's, we passed Annie’s Donuts, which was on my list for breakfast the next day. We decided to get a jump on things and stop in. The interior was very ’70s. The selection was pretty large. We’ll see about that…. Our assortment included a regular glazed, chocolate frosted, sour cream, buttermilk (that’s

On this leg of the adventure, we head down to Portland, OR. Enjoy! That evening, having eaten lunch at Wild Waves, we stopped by a Burgerville in Portland, OR. Burgerville is a very localized chain with several dozen restaurants, all in the Portland metro area. More faux-’50s décor. Burgerville prides itself on using only locally sourced ingredients. The burgers were good, the fries and onion rings were OK, but the shakes were out of this world. Chocolate for my dad, blackberry (seasonal only) for me. And then it was time for dessert. This place has long been on my food-stop bucket

Wow, all that Key West food looks awesome! The schnitzel restaurant and Ford's Garage definitely will be on my itinerary should I ever venture down that way.