printersdevil78

I've had limited Internet access on the road for the past week, so I'm a little late to the party, but I wanted to chime in. As far as the UK trip, I agree with Elissa's analysis on just about everything (except for the things I didn't experience myself, like foreign Pizza Huts--and I kind of liked The Ultimate, in a quirky sort of way). Having said that, on the topic of being surprised about the bonus park time at Pleasure Island, I can speak only for myself when I say I was absolutely blown away. I didn't ride two of the three attractions they opened for us (which I don't mean negatively--I normally shy away from inverted coasters and Diskos/Frisbees since I tend to have a weak stomach for them), but I loved having the opportunity to see the park, and even after seeing the Boomerang in the distance from the road, I didn't suspect a thing. Of course, that's a big part of what hooked me on TPR trips in the first place--I always get more than I expect, even when I expect to get more than I expect. If that makes any sense. And the water park ERT... magnificent! I am 100 percent not a water park person, and I shunned the water park takeover at SFMM on the West Coast Tour, but adding the qualifiers "indoor," "climate-controlled" and "private"... I mean, come on! The only way it could have been more enticing was if someone had been handing out $50 bills to everyone as we walked in (I hope I didn't just miss that...). I spent most of my time floating around the lazy river (curse you, waterfalls!) and lounging in the open pool, and it was just plain fun. I actually think I enjoyed Splash Landings more than Alton Towers. And then, of course, came the "getting more than expected" coda with the amazing water park dance. And Mai Tais while listening to "bad karaoke" that turned out to be a hired "professional" singer at the Dragon Bar! Anyway, I really enjoyed this thread. It's kind of like a backstage tour of the trip itself.

^Ha! I didn't think of that, but maybe it planted a subconscious suggestion.... I think price was the deciding factor--it was the cheapest thing on the menu that I was interested in! Hoping to get Chessington up Thursday or Friday.

In showing the remainder of my photos to my fiancee this evening, I came across four more from the UK. I think these are the last ones I have. Gulliver's Warrington - Rio Grande Train Ride Gulliver's Warrington - Flight of the Pteranodon Pleasure Island - Lake Boats Pleasure Island - Razzle Dazzle

^Thanks! Actually, I thought black pudding was the food find of the trip! Wait for the Alton Towers and Drayton Manor updates....

Forgot one. Lightwater Valley - Dodgems

Larry, Great meeting you at Thorpe Park last week! I wish I had taken a look at the park index needs before I left. Just in general picture-taking I got some of what you needed from the UK parks, but not everything. Below is what I came up with in combing through my photos. Hope it helps! Camelot - Log Flume Camelot - Log Flume Camelot - Galleon Ship Gulliver's Warrington - Mad Hatter's Tea Party Gulliver's Warrington - Mad Hatter's Tea Party Gulliver's Warrington - Maze of Cards Gulliver's Warrington - Veteran Cars Gulliver's Warrington - Veteran Cars Gulliver's Warrington - Veteran Cars (scenery along the car path) Gulliver's Warrington - Runaway Train sign Gulliver's Warrington - Dodgems Gulliver's Warrington - Dodgems Lightwater Valley - Spinning Tea Cups Lightwater Valley - Vintage Cars Flamingoland - Cycle Monorail Flamingoland - People Moover Flamingoland - People Moover Pleasure Island - Cycle Monorail track Pleasure Island - Carousel Fantasy Island - Rhombus Rocket sign Fantasy Island - Rhombus Rocket sign Fantasy Island - Toucan Tours Fantasy Island - Toucan Tours Fantasy Island - Toucan Tours Fantasy Island - Toucan Tours Fantasy Island - Toucan Tours Fantasy Island - Toucan Tours Fantasy Island - Toucan Tours Fantasy Island - Gallopers

^Patience, young padewan, for your wait shall be rewarded....

For some of us, Day 0 saw the first park of the trip: Adventure Island! This was a nice little seaside park with a good number of coasters and a great dark ride. It was also the day we got to meet our bus driver, Nigel, who was a great person to have at the wheel--despite a few (OK, more than a few) bad jokes! It was a great preface for the official trip. Time to start the day with a hearty breakfast of sausages and beans! I wonder if Frosties are as grrrrrreat as Frosted Flakes. On the way to the park we received our trip bags, which included (drum roll please...) TPR pedometers! Robb announced there would be a prize for whoever recorded the most steps during the trip, but I think that was kind of forgotten once everyone realized that just barely shaking the device for a minute or two would record about 1,000 steps! We also got our name tags... featuring bonus descriptor ribbons! Mine was right on, though others ("Dork") drew some raised eyebrows from those not in on the joke. It was a fun add-on to keep things fresh. On another note, the Alveys varied the bag colors this time, going through to make sure no one got the same color bag they had on any other trips in the past three years. That's attention to detail! After a short nap, we were at the park! Restricted... for everyone but TPR, that is! Can you say "ERT"? Rage was an unexpected hit! Many named it their favorite Eurofighter until we got to Saw at Thorpe Park on the last day of the trip. Its compact layout reportedly really packed a whallop. After ERT, it was time to get our wristbands for the day. We got the "Mate's Rate!" Oh no... couldn't we have picked a different time of month to visit Adventure Island? Follow Peter Pan to the rest of the coasters! Are we ready to credit whore? Gator in a fedora. Yep, that says "Green Scream" to me! I won't embarrass myself and my fellow credit whores by showing the rest of Barnstormer. Mighty Mega Mini, on the other hand, was a legitimate, if not particularly interesting, coaster. But the real treat came when many of us were able to get the elusive Blue Flash credit! Time for some flat rides! So why is this the "American" Whip? Do they not have whips in Europe? Devil's Creek Gold Mine was... interesting. I'd never ridden a spinning tub ride before. Mike said it was reminiscent of an old-time Virginia reel. Jack? "Hi, I'm Beelze Bob. Get it? Welcome to my gold mine!" "I'm scary hell hound! Go ride the helter skelter!" AKA the slide o' death. At least the view from the top of the slide was cool. Hey, there's the Crooked Old House! And what's inside the Crooked Old House, you ask? Why, there's the Crooked Old Man eating dinner... ...the Crooked Old Man going to bed... ...the Crooked Old Man shaving... ...and an all teddy bear band. WTF? Hi, Moose! Prior to ERT, we got a brief tour of the park. I have to admit that I wasn't able to hear much during most of the park and backstage tours we received throughout the trip--you Brits need to learn to speak up and enunciate! But I did hear enough this time around to know that this was the park's new dark ride, and it had a surprise ending. I won't spoil the surprise, but I will say that it, like most other scenes, involved this guy, the Undertaker, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. In fact, Over the Hill was my favorite dark ride of the trip because of it. Blackbeard's Pirate Adventure was the best cheesy 2-and-a-half-D (not quite 3-D) show evar! Creepy! The seasick turtle swings were the second best swings of the entire trip! Hi Rosie! Many of the flat rides were really well themed. Take Pharoah's Fury, for example. This skater dude version of a Rockin' Tug looked pretty cool in motion. Mike and I rode this dragon, which turned out to be a themed version of the Himalaya. The kiddie rides were pretty amazing, too. Like this viking boat ride that inexplicably played "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirate's Life for Me." These are the Flying Jumbos. They're pink, they fly and they're elephants. Told you so. Also, onride pink elephant photos! "Grrr, I'm crazy triceratops! Gimme some candy!" Like most of the other seaside parks we visited, the area around Adventure Island was full of arcades and other amusements. However, the non-park amusement we were most interested in was Southend Pier. The terminal offered a unique view of the park. At 1.33 miles, Southend is the longest pleasure pier in the world. It was so long, we had to take a train to the end. Er... this train! The tide was pretty low while we were out there. This talking telescope was programmed to tell you what you were looking at while you viewed places across the shore. At the end of the pier was a Royal National Lifeboat Institution museum and gift shop (emphasis on "gift shop"). This was one of the few exhibits in the museum. What was there was nice... if sparse. After about a half hour, we needed to get back to the park... ...because it was time for lunch! Turns out I dress casual smart almost every day! Our dining accommodations afforded a great view of the beach. We dined beneath these tents, outfitted with outdoor heaters that made the place feel like 100 degrees F when they were on and 30 degrees when they were off. Now that sounds good! The Caesar salad was amazing and a meal unto itself. The fish and chips was also good, but Mike informed me it was "posh" fish and chips and not "traditional" fish and chips, and therefore not really fish and chips at all. I really liked the mushy peas seasoned with what tasted like mint, but I think I was about the only one. I was curious to find out what balsamic ice cream tasted like, but 'twas not to be. Not only was dessert not on the menu, but a couple minutes after I received my fish and chips (and about half our table had yet to receive theirs), Robb announced that we had to leave in the next five minutes or risk being late for our dinner stop. Suffice it to say the service was a little slower than originally expected! I slept most of the way back to London; this was the view when I woke up. It took us only a couple hours to get from the hotel to Adventure Island, but more than twice that long to get back thanks to what Robb called "ERT on the M25." This was also the only time it rained during the entire trip. Robb was right, of course; had we spent even five minutes more at lunch, we would have been late for our welcome dinner at Sipson Tandoori Restaurant. Both the quality and quantity of food were amazing! A few people refused to try most of it, but I was in heaven! Because almost no one else I know shares my love of Indian food, I rarely get to have it. Proof that ACErs aren't the only ones who can put away a large amount of food in one sitting! We ended the meal by munching on some sweet, sugary balls. Back at the hotel, I wondered how Imperial Leather was made. I would find out a few days later at Bubbleworks! No better way to end the evening than with some nice, relaxing British QVC! Ring the bell if you had a good day! Thank you, Adventure Island. Thank you very much!

Time to relive the 2010 TPR UK Trip! I never imagined I would ever get to see London in real life--much less all the sights in one day! However, this being a TPR trip, that's exactly what happened... and as usual, Robb and Elissa did an amazing job fitting everything in and making it fun! Enjoy my take on Day -1: Sightseeing Day! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so why not make it a saucy bacon toastie? For the unintiated, that's a slice of ham-like bacon and a scoop of baked beans all mashed between two slices of toast... yummy! Well, I've been to Underground Atlanta before... I wonder if this will be similar. If the gap knew what was good for it, it would mind me! Cockfosters! It's Big Ben and Big Ferris Wheel! This fancy building is where the laws of England are made... fancy laws! Westminster Abbey was OK... but not as fun as Winchester Cathedral. They wrote a song about Winchester Cathedral. This is Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court, which is where England's version of the Supreme Court meets. I wonder if they still wear those big powdered wigs. Parliament Square is the place to protest anything... and I do mean anything! There were signs and banners here complaining about everything from labor practices and foreign wars to oil prices and the environment. And now it's time for random iconic London imagery! Here we have a black cab... ...Dr. Who telephone booth... ...and London letterbox. Now that's a fancy statue! I wonder what it could be for. Why, it's a memorial to Queen Victoria! And this is where she lived: Buckingham Palace. And they've sent a jolly bobby to greet us! The sucky part about becoming a palace guard is, not only do you have to know how to fight and shoot; you also have to know how to play an instrument! A gun is not an instrument. Nor is a horse. "Simon says... hold out your right arm!" This is my favorite picture from the entire trip. After trying to glimpse the ceremony through the crowds for awhile, a group of Japanese tourists that had been standing in front of me left, and I suddenly had a front-row seat! The band played everything from "God Save the Queen" to "God Bless America" (really). We stayed for about 45 minutes, and they showed no signs of stopping by the time we had to leave. I've got to be honest: the palace itself looked more to me like a big library than someplace I would imagine a queen living... but hey, wherever you hang your crown is home! Now this felt like London! Is it sad that the only reason I knew what the Wellington Arch was, was because I saw it on "Friends"? I was sad to discover there were no elephants at Piccadilly Circus. During the lunch stop, Mike, Rosie and I dropped into a pub for some fish and chips at my request. Mike informed me these were "pub" fish and chips and therefore not "authentic" fish and chips... but they tasted pretty good to me. This was also where I had my first taste of mushy peas... once I figured out it wasn't advocado and stopped smearing it on the fish. Many of the men's rooms in England had machines that dispensed fake Viagra... among other things! After lunch, I had a "99." That's basically a soft-serve ice cream cone with a Cadbury Flake candy bar jammed down into the top of it... and it's awesome! I spy double-decker buses! I was kind of surprised at how short the "Tower" of London was. Anyone recognize this site? How about now? (Here's a hint: It ain't falling down--that was the London Bridge, which now, conveniently enough, is in Arizona). The view across the Thames River was nice. Some people call the buiding at the right the "Gherkin." Others call it something else. Like the Sir Norman Foster Building... good God, what did you think I meant? Nice port exchange-style building on the other side of the river. Way to take pride in your landmarks, London! We actually got to stand on the bridge to see it open, which was pretty cool. It opened to let this ship sail through. Its mast was actually taller than its hull was long! Did I mention that the World Cup was being played while we were in England? It took awhile for the Europeans to understand that, despite the early success of the U.S. team, the World Cup might just as well have been a drink special at Epcot as far as the Americans were concerend. The virgin pellican crossing was two blocks up. Next up was the London Dungeon, where actors introduced us to some of the most horrifying things in London's history. Like stone demons vomiting blood... ...and Uncle Fester. Actually, this place was a lot cooler than I expected it to be. Among other things, it included a mirror maze dungeon... ...and a boat ride to hell (where Josh apparently is very excited to go)! Instead of visiting the Dungeon, a portion of the TPR group split off and visited the Sea Life London Aquarium... which included its own bizarre statues! London may not have hot dogs... but they have plenty of sausages in baguettes! Happy 10th birthday, London Eye! Getting the capsule ready for TPR... or mopping the floors after we left? Each car on the Ferris wheel is bigger than my first apartment! The Eye afforded us some amazing views of London, including the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben... ...the Golden Jubilee Bridge and Embankment Railway Station... ...and a park full of people. These two looked like quite the happy couple. I'm glad I could be part of their big day. OMG, someone decapitated Donald Duck! While the rest of the group headed for dinner in Leicester (pronounced "Lester") Square, I grabbed a pasty in the tube station and headed out on a separate adventure of my own, passing St. Paul's Cathedral along the way. Thanks to TPR's schedule, I had the chance to drop in on a meet-and-greet event hosted by JCI London, an international arm of the civic and leadership organization known as the Jaycees in the United States. I got to present a bumper sticker from my home chapter to London president Solveig Malvik, and I've since been asked to submit this picture to our national magazine for publication. Turns out Solveig and I once lived only a couple hours away from each other in the U.S. By the time I got back to the Leister Square area, the rest of TPR was on its way back to the hotel, so I spent a little extra time in the area on my own. I lost two pounds (money, not weight) at this casino. One of these things is not like the other.... On the way back to the tube, I stopped by a French restaurant for a late-night snack of fried Camembert and raspberry sauce. I'm kind of glad I didn't decide to go to the restaurant across the street instead! Next up: a real amusement park!

Great photos! I'm a big fan of MFI and especially of the Silver Comet. I remember seeing the mist from Niagara Falls from the top of Flight!

1. The UK trip was an awesome time! This thread was great to come home to. Thanks to Robb and Elissa for putting it together and to everyone in general who made it so memorable. 2. Wow, a lot of people on here get really mean when I leave the country! Not altogether necessary, especially when Robb risks life and limb to deliver great "real time" photo TRs like this (and he really did risk life and limb--I thought the guy selling guns at the Skegness flea market was going to use one on Robb after he took that picture). 3. Yes, we very much got the VIP treatment at Thorpe. This TR didn't even mention the "Magic Money" cards they gave us on top of everything else (not sure if that was courtesy of TPR or courtesy of Thorpe--but they made it sound like a Thorpe thing, and my dwindling cash supply and I appreciated it either way). 4. I maintain that the only thing "bovine" about the giant burgers at Blackpool was the cow-hoof glue holding the little English flag to the toothpick on top. Or maybe that's just how mad cow is supposed to taste.... Jason "Jolly Jolly Jolly" R.

Add me to the "That looks amazing!" list. We're holding off until winter 2012 for our next Disneyland trip in anticipation of Carsland, but when we get there.... Gotta say, I worked in newspapers for more than a dozen years, and if you took all the press receptions I got to attend and smushed them together, the resulting menu wouldn't come even remotely close to the amazing things it looks like they had at this one!

I really like Robb's analogy to a point, but I'm having a hard time trying to figure out why so many people think this land is going to completely alienate anyone who doesn't have a lot of Harry Potter knowledge. Granted, if you are Harry Potter Fan No. 1, it's going to mean a lot more to you... but based on this TR, I believe there is enough context for everyone to understand what's going on. I know... not a lot about Harry Potter. I got dragged to one film (the one where Hermoine has the go-back-in-time thingy--which I think is the technical term) by an ex-girlfriend, and that's about the extent of my experience. But I can look at Ollivander's and say "Gee, there sure are a lot of magic wands in here. This must be... a magic wand shop!" "This Three Broomsticks place has a menu? Hmm... must be a restaurant!" I mean, I don't know a whole lot about pirates or ghosts, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy Pirates of the Caribbean or The Haunted Manson. And back in the day, they didn't even have movies associated with them to tell me what was going on! As far as not having sodas in Harry Potter World... from a profit standpoint, it's actually a pretty brilliant strategy. Removing Coke (or Pepsi--not sure which Universal has) from the equation gives them a monopoly on expensive upcharge drinks. And if you're really, really craving a Sprite during your time on Potter Island... well, I assume they don't have armed guards (or flying monkeys or whatever) at the gate to keep you from buying it at one of the other dozens of beverage carts at the park and bringing it in. In the enthusiast community, the rally cries always seem to be "Bigger! Faster! More theming!" To turn around and send a message now to Universal that "You have too much theming!" seems... conterproductive. Islands of Adventure has never had enough going for it to make me want to spend more money and an extra day in Orlando to get it on my itenerary, even though it was just mere footsteps from Universal. Wizarding World (combined with Marvel Superhero Island, which is the only other area that thus far has intrigued me) likely will give me enough incentive to pony up the dough next time I'm in Florida... and this is coming from someone who really couldn't care less about the books or movie franchise.

Before my fiancee lost her job last month, Indiana Beach had been on the list of potential road trips we were narrowing down for the summer. After seeing your report, complete with Dog 'n' Suds and a drive-in theater, I'm even more disappointed that we're going to have to put this trip off for another year if not two (our honeymoon next year may preclude our annual week-long summer road trip). I'm with you--I enjoy retro restaurants, drive-in theaters and roadside attractions just about as much as amusement parks. Thanks for sharing!

OK, so here's the question: Did the world really need another Thomas Town? If you ask my 6-year-old stepdaughter-to-be, Lauryn, the answer is an emphatic "Yes!" And since the newest--and largest--Thomas Town in the Six Flags chain opened this weekend at Six Flags America, just two hours from our home, we couldn't not go (OK, it helped that we had already planned to attend birthday party near the park this weekend, as well). We didn't make it to the big birthday celebration that opened the new section on Saturday, but we did see a custodial worker wearing a leftover Thomas birthday hat during our visit on Sunday--which is almost the same, right? Anyway, for those who enjoy themed lands, here's the latest from SFA (and for those who would rather see coasters--well, they're in the background of most shots, anyway). When we went to SFA on opening day in March, the "six flags" outside the entry area represented the early flags of the United States, as the have for several years. Today, they were the six flags that have flown over Texas. Maybe SFA's flags went to Texas as part of the big anniversary gift exchange? Why, look who we ran into right inside the entry gates. It's Sir Topham Hatt and his entourage! He was doing character duty with Honey Bunny and the Joker. Just follow the tracks.... Yay! Last time I saw this place, it was just a big pile of dirt behind some construction fences. First stop: Knapford Station! OMG, do you see who I see? This was Lauryn's first time riding inside a cartoon character.... Exit through the gift shop! Hey, wait a minute! The Capital Railways train is trying to horn in on Thomas' territory! Two trains in one shot! The Capital Railways train actually runs through Thomas Town, parallel to Thomas on one side, only in the opposite direction. There is theming and a roller coaster in this photo. What do they both have in common? Neither of them moved all day. There's another train! Or is it? No, it's actually the former Taz's Trucking Co. ride from Looney Tunes Movie Town with a Sodor Iron Works diesel train overlay. Why so cranky, Cranky? Is it because they stripped out your innards and turned you into a drop tower? There's our old friend Bertie the Bus! Hard to see in this picture, but they actually let Kelly take her full souvenir cup on the ride, which I thought was verboten at a Six Flags park no matter what the situation. What would Thomas Town be without old Harold the Helicopter? Actually... it would be kind of like Thomas Town at Six Flags Magic Mountain! After spending years traveling "Around the World in 80 Days" at SFA, these balloons traveled halfway around the park in several months to become the Sodor Carnival Wheel, with new ornate trim and pictures of the Thomas trains on their sides. Thomas Town also included a water tower misting area and a *very* nice slide/play space with lots of fun little hidden surprises. For instance, when's the last time you saw a marble labyrinth built into a children's play space? Lauryn's time in the play area was limited, as she wanted to get in rides on Wild One, Roar and Skull Mountain before an impending thunderstorm rolled in. Yep, she very willingly chose big, giant, scary coasters and flumes over a kiddie play area. Did I mention she just turned 6!? This gazebo was smack dab in the middle of this new section. I suspect it may soon become a meet-'n'-greet area for Sir Topham Hatt, but today, with temperatures in the 90s before 11 a.m., it was nice to find a ceiling fan in the otherwise unshaded Thomas Town. Actually... I guess "unshaded" really isn't a 100 percent accurate description since this mass of tables with umbrellas is also part of Thomas Town. It serves the area's only "eatery"... ...a Baby's Jon's Donuts cart. Prices start at $7 for a dozen mini-donuts, fried right in front of you while you wait. By comparison, the flea market near my home sells the exact same thing... for $1.50. Goodbye for now, Thomas Town! I'm sure we'll be seeing you again soon.

I've heard about GKTW for a long time, but I never imagined it was anywhere near this extensive. You've got my vote!

If only someone had dropped a million-dollar piece of jewelry into the ocean. Then it would have ended exactly like "Titanic." Still, "Lost" will forever rock.

^There were fries?!? I'm so ready to go back for some spicy peanut butter pizza. The best I can do around here is smear some Skippy on a slice of pepperoni and sprinkle on red pepper flakes.

Quoted for truth. Just out of spite, I'm going to start a hit novel and film franchise where the lead characters are named Sharmonquay and Zygoxxox. And then trademark them so people have to pay me to name their kids that!

^That's why I said it was a running joke.

That's the thing--there are no KFCs in Kentucky! My fiancee used to live there; apparently it's a running joke. The closest KFC to Kentucky (at least in the Louisville area) is in Indiana, supposedly.

That was pretty cool. I've heard about the Rocky and Bullwinkle fun centers, but I'd never seen pictures of one. Didn't they used to have a R&B Audio-Animatronic stage show, similar to the ones at Chuck E. Cheese only more copyrighted? I thought I read about them at one point. Seattle's one of the few major American cities still on my list of places I'd like to see. Hopefully I can cross it off my list soon.

I had to stay in town after work today for a civic meeting, so I stopped in the Kentucky Fried Chicken across the street from my office and tried one of these for dinner. Wish I had known there was a thread; I would have taken a picture! It was pretty greasy to hold without a bread barrier to hang on to, and I had to be careful not to let the excess drip on my tie... but besides that, it was pretty good. I'm not sure I'd get another one--though if they took away one of the chicken breasts, threw the rest on a bun (maybe with a pickle slice in between for good measure) and put it on their regular menu, it probably would become my go-to order at KFC the few times a year I end up there.

Oh thank God! I thought it was only me! I was motivated to finally quit being a lurker on TPR and actually sign up after I had a dream that the U.S. had undergone a nuclear holocaust, and Robb invited all surviving readers to a party to inaugurate the new east coast TPR headquarters (since California had pretty much been obliterated). I vaguely remember that the new HQ was in a bombed-out office building near the remains of Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and most of the "merchandise" in the TPR store was crap he and Elissa had scavenged along the road, a lot of which seemed to be old South of the Border "Pedro" stuff with TPR mailing lables stuck over the logo. Jason "I wish my dreams included the Coaster of Death" R.

Man, I thoroughly enjoyed that TR! I wish I had known that canal was there when we were in Venice for the West Coast Tour last year; I definitely would have wandered off the beaten path to see that. If I ever get back there, I'd really like to check out the Getty Museum and the Farmer's Market, as well as perhaps see the inside of the Chinese Theater. I don't know that I'd want to live in L.A., but it was a neat place to visit, especially the downtown area. Thanks for helping me relive some of those memories!