printersdevil78

If I had a time machine right now, I would travel ahead five years, search the archive of this thread to find out what the opening date was for all these new attractions and then zap myself there. This literally sounds like the coolest thing since the opening of Disneyland!

You know, today's update raises an interesting question: Without TPR, would there be a Big Mike Road Show? Would it have originated or could its popularity have been sustained this long as a standalone site or via any other channel? What do you think, Big Mike? I guess the same question could be applied to most of the other long-term "series" threads on here--Shane's Amusement Attic, Mark's Postcard Paradise, etc. It's hard to imagine TPR without them, but without TPR, would their founders have thought to create them at all? And if so, where would they "live," so to speak? These are the things I think about when I probably should be counting duckies.

It's amazing how closely Big Mike's "Always Wanted to Do" list parallels my own. Keep 'em coming!

Awesome TR! Thanks for covering the event.

Last installment of the honeymoon series. Enjoy! We really didn’t have any special restaurants lined up the next day, but we found one in our travels, anyway: the Maine Diner in Wells, ME. Surprise! It’s been featured on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” Not only did they have Guy’s stencil inside, but you could buy a T-shirt touting his “seal of approval” in the gift shop. We had to wait awhile for a seat, but our meal was well worth it. The clam chowder was good. The corn muffin was great! But really, it all came down to the lobster pot pie. That’s it in the upper left-hand corner: the meat of a whole Maine lobster encrusted with a canopy of crumbled Ritz crackers and soaked in about a gallon of drawn butter. Had it not been for the full lobster the night before, this would have been the best meal of the trip, hands down. And on this trip, that’s really saying something! I was so stuffed after eating my lunch (and part of Kelly’s) that I had absolutely no room for dessert. But since it was included, I sampled the wild blueberry pie. And I do mean “sampled.” If memory serves, I didn’t make it past the first two bites. They knew I was coming! The Maine Diner was really the gift that kept on giving. While waiting to be seated, I grabbed a “freebie” newspaper outside the restaurant that included an article about Connor Bottling Works, the oldest independent soda bottling company in the United States (or something like that). The article said the company offered factory tours, and we were intrigued. We weren’t sure how far away it was, but I surmised that since it was in a paper at the diner, it likely wouldn’t be too far. We plugged it into the GPS, and I was right; it was located in Newfields, NH, only about 20 miles past our next destination: York’s Wild Kingdom. This is the entrance. The building was built when the plant opened during the Civil War. An adjacent natural spring provides water for the sodas bottled inside. Look at that 1930s bottling equipment! The guy inside (he was either an owner or a manager, and he reminded me for all the world of Rick Harrison from “Pawn Stars”) was shocked when we walked in. I got the impression that they don’t get many visitors, even though one other person stopped by while we were there. He said they had never offered “factory tours” to his knowledge, especially since the entire factory was pretty much the machine seen here. But he was more than happy to show us around and seemed thrilled that we were interested. These are the crates they used to use; now they’ve “upgraded” to cardboard. They were bottling root beer when we showed up. The guy asked us how we heard about the place, and we told him about the article. He wasn’t aware of it, so I ran back out to the car and grabbed it for him. I told him he could keep it, and he was so happy that he grabbed two root beers off the line and offered them to us on the spot. They didn’t even have labels on them yet! The root beer run finished while we were chatting. Here is the next batch of bottles, awaiting the next flavor. They offer 22 different varieties. Here are the “case” boxes they use today. Kelly and I ended up buying one. They’re willing to mix and match any combination of flavors. Kelly got a six-pack each of cream soda and maple cream soda. I got a six-pack of golden ginger ale for my dad and a six-pack mix for myself. Our favorite out of all of them were the maple creams. It’s just like drinking a liquid pancake! I presume this is the favorite of Dave Hester from “Storage Wars.” (You have to watch the show to get the joke.) Though the whole Connor Bottling Works experience lasted maybe 20 minutes, it was a highlight of the trip. And to think we found it completely by accident thanks to an amazing restaurant we also found completely by accident. For dinner, we stopped by the Dunston School Restaurant back in Scarborough. As the name implies, it’s an old elementary school repurposed into a buffet restaurant. This sign used to announce school events. Now it announces the lobster special. These students once learned where we’re about to eat. BUF-FAY! The first of many courses! By the time we got to dessert, they were literally shutting down the restaurant for the evening. The hostess stopped by our table to give us a “last call,” then they opened the buffet up to the employees to take whatever they wanted. Meals during the rest of the trip were a combination of forgettable hotel and theme park food, and favorite places already reviewed in this thread. The latter included the Glenwood Drive-In in Hamden, CT. I got one last hot lobster roll (still as good as the last time we were there), while Kelly tried a chicken sandwich and fried zucchini sticks. Obviously, we stopped down the street afterward at Neil’s Donuts and Bake Shop in Wallingford, CT, afterward for ricotta squares. The next day, as a prelude to our final park of the trip, Six Flags Great Adventure, we revisited the Circus Drive-In in Wall, NJ. We dined in the restaurant itself this time instead of in our car. Kelly got a BLT, which she enjoyed. Neither of us did our patriotic duty by having a burger for America I tried a cheese steak on garlic bread, which wasn’t all that great. I didn’t think the onion rings were as good this time around, either, but the coleslaw was still amazing! And that was it for our honeymoon. Up next: the thrilling conclusion of 2011!

I would be very surprised if Disney doesn’t at least purchase an option on the Garden Walk property. They own or potentially own every property on three sides of it — how does it make sense not to at least option it? As for its use, I don’t see a third gate happening for Anaheim any time soon. The company just poured $1.2 billion into fixing DCA. If anything, they’re already building their “third gate” on top of the ruins of the second gate. If there is a true third gate in the works, I would bank on it being a half-day water park, like Typhoon Lagoon, long before it’s a traditional theme park. That said, there is at least one option for the Garden Walk property that I haven’t seen touched on yet: How about a fourth hotel for the California property? They’ve recently fixed up the Disneyland Hotel, and the Grand Californian and Boardwalk always seem to do brisk business. Could there be a market for a Disney value resort hotel on that side of the street? I didn’t think Garden Walk was all that the one time I visited; in fact, it was a ghost town. It would be nice to see someone do something useful with the property, whether it be Disney or someone else.

Ice Bat cookies FTW!

Wow, it’s been awhile since I last had the time to update this thread. The good news is, I’ve been eating at (and photographing) plenty of amazing restaurants since then. So let’s continue, shall we? We started our next morning at the Standard Baking Co. in downtown Portland, ME. The Morning Bun came highly recommended on several websites, and rightfully so. It’s difficult to tell from this photo, but the pastry had a croissant-like consistency rather than the cake-like density of most cinnamon buns. The caramel and pecans on top perfectly complemented the buttery, flaky roll. Standard Baking’s gingerbread also was recommended in some online reviews. It was good, but paled in comparison to the Morning Bun. We went antiquing that morning and ended up at Len Libby Chocolates in Scarborough, ME, during our travels. For the uninitiated, Len Libby is home to the world’s largest (and maybe only?) chocolate moose, Lenny, weighing in at more than 1,700 pounds of lusciously sculpted milk chocolate. New to the display this year were three sculpted dark chocolate Maine black bears: Libby, weighing in at 380 pounds, and her cubs, Cocoa and Chip, barely tipping the scale at just 80 pounds each. I don’t remember what our rationale was at the time, but we decided it was a good idea to have dessert before lunch on this particular day and took advantage of the shop’s two-for-one ice cream cone deal. Mine was caramel pecan ripple. From there, it was on to our lunch stop, Duckfat, back in Portland. The seating area was microscopic, and to be honest, I was really surprised we didn’t have to wait. We ended up seated on a ledge against the wall, complete with magnetic poetry to help pass the time. Good thing because the service was sloooooow. A sampling of Kelly’s phat rhymes. Per the recommendation of just about every website that reviewed this restaurant, we started with an order of duckfat fries. We had a choice of sauces, though I don’t recall exactly what we picked. I know one had something to do with garlic aioli, and I think the other might have been a dill mustard? Either way, the fries were just so-so, and the mint-hyssop soda on the left tasted exactly like carbonated pickle juice! I was very glad to have found a hair in it (and no, it wasn’t planted) so we had an excuse to return it and ask that it be removed from the bill. Again at the behest of reviewers, I got the meatloaf Panini, which was… OK. Overall, Duckfat was the dining disappointment of the trip, followed closely by Becky’s Diner. It was back to Kennebunkport that evening for an event we had been planning for a long time: our big Maine lobster dinner at Mabel’s Lobster Claw! We were careful not to fill up on bread, though I will say that the blueberry bread at left was phenomenal. They sold it packaged by the loaf, as well. The clam chowder was good, as well. The salad was kind of “meh,” but I’ve only had maybe three salads in my life that weren’t, so I’m probably not the best judge Finally, the piece de resistance! This was the most tender, best-tasting lobster I’ve ever eaten! I didn’t care much for the steamed clams, however. Too gritty for my taste. Time to get crackin’! Unfortunately, our experience at Mabel’s was tarnished when, several days later, we learned that they had overcharged the Visa gift card we had received as a wedding gift and saved specifically for the lobster dinner. Not only that, but they somehow demagnetized the strip on the back so we were unable to use what little did remain later in the trip. A call to the card company got us back the overcharged amount, but the demagnetization was still an issue until we found someplace willing to go the extra step of calling in the number on the card instead of just swiping it and telling us it was no good. This is one of the many reasons I despise gift cards.

Lock me in for the first round of the season pass/condo contest! This was the park at which I first met the Mighty Big Man back in 2008. It took me 17 tries before I had it lined up so that the park sign, the Big Mike sign and my face made it into the shot at the same time.

I think I enjoy these roadside attraction TRs even more than the park ones! Wall Drug is awesome (though the "ice" water was warm when I visited). Four Corners, on the other hand... that place is a crap hole.

How did I miss this until now? This looks like my kind of place!

Apparently not only can you view items from this exhibit; soon, you may be able to own some of them: http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-artifacts-auction-ny-april-163655594.html

^Unless they have a multi-year deal with Dreamworks, I wouldn’t bet on it, unfortunately. It looks like they go with a different franchise each year. Last year was “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=57694&p=975976

The grand finale! That weekend was the Jaycees’ 39th annual Children’s Christmas Shopping Tour. I’ve posted about this event in previous years, but for the uninitiated, our foundation raises money each year to take 200 local underprivileged children Christmas shopping at no cost to them or their families. The kids are chosen by local guidance counselors and given a time to meet us at a specific location. From there, we bus the kids to Walmart. This is necessary to prevent parents from joining their children. The children typically follow our rules; the parents typically believe they’re the exception. What rules, you may ask? Well, throughout the years, we learned that some parents were forcing their children to use our event to purchase big-ticket items to pawn or sell for drug money. We learned that others were sending their kids with lists and making them buy the family’s groceries for the week. And we learned that parents, in general, are a big pain in the neck to deal with. So we removed them from the equation and replaced them with sheriff’s deputies. Who, quite frankly, are a lot more useful when the kids start acting up. For the record, we’ve only ever had to send one kid home in handcuffs. Most kids head straight to the toy section, though others bring a list of every member of their family and make sure they’ve purchased a gift for everyone on it before getting anything for themselves. Walmart always makes sure to have at least one model of bicycle on sale in the price range we give the kids, and several take full advantage. Not a year has gone by yet that we haven’t had at least seven or eight bikes to deliver back at the parental meeting spot. A local appliance store volunteers its trucks to transport the kids’ purchases back there, as there wouldn’t be enough room for all of them on the buses. Walmart’s employees also volunteer to serve as gift wrappers at the event, and the store donates all wrapping materials. Walmart also turns over its employee break room for use as a party room for children who are waiting for their buses to leave. The store provides snacks and videos for all 200 kids. Meanwhile, we provide games… …and coloring pages. Volunteers from a local church help us staff the room, while high school and college students chaperone the children during their shopping. And, of course, Santa comes to visit, as well! Last year, my friend who produced the Renaissance dinner also brought in a Chinese dance troupe just before Christmas. Since Santa Claus apparently is not a part of many Chinese holiday traditions, she thought it would be a nice cultural gesture to include him in a reception for the dancers, and she asked if the Jaycees would be willing to provide him. He was a huge hit, so this year when a second Chinese dance troupe came in, she had him make a repeat performance. Santa had a LOT to smile about that day! And finally came the big day itself. Santa brought Lauryn some educational presents… …and some not-so-educational ones. Merry Belated Christmas, everyone!

Part 4! The next day at the hospital, Kelly received the news that her grandmother was not going to get better. They gave her 48-72 hours. With that in mind, we thought about not attending the Georgetown, DE, Christmas Parade that week, but because the Girl Scout troop Kelly helps lead was going to be in the parade and because it looked like Lauryn would miss a caroling opportunity with her class in the same area early the next week due to funeral arrangements (which she did), we decided to go anyway. “By the time you get there, it will have burned down!” Lauryn was happy to be in the parade—not so much when she realized at the end that she had to walk back down most of the parade route to get back to our car. The next weekend, we had tickets to see a local production of “The Nutcracker.” No pictures inside, unfortunately, but they did have a great mural for photos outside the auditorium. That evening, we attended a Renaissance madrigal dinner that a friend and coworker of mine produced for the third year. Kelly and I went to the first one in 2008, and there were definitely some things that needed improvement. Ticket prices have gone up since then, and the food offerings have decreased slightly, but all the bugs from the first year were worked out, and now it’s a great event! The menu. The first year it also included a Cornish game hen course, but people complained that it was difficult to eat, so it was scrapped. The wine setup is different, as well. I don’t remember if it wasn’t offered the first year or if the time it was offered was just more limited. Mind your manners! No photography during this show, either, but here’s an idea of the costumes. It really is a dinner theater production that puts the diners right in the show. Lauryn was excited to pose with Sir Barchan of Dinglebury. He is supposedly the oldest (or maybe longest?) practicing Renaissance re-enactment knight in the United States and will be featured on a Discovery Networks show about jousting sometime next year. The next day, I helped run the 65th annual Salisbury, MD, Jaycees Christmas Parade, as I have since 2004. That’s me in the bear suit. Lauryn was supposed to be on the fire truck with Santa’s nieces, but instead had to travel with Kelly to attend her grandmother’s viewings. I joined them for the funeral the next day. The entry made by the local state prison is always a highlight. In 1999, my dad, who has worked there since the day it opened, co-founded a parade float rehabilitation program—believed to be the only one of its kind in the nation—for inmates. Each year they spend months making floats to represent the facility at local parades, as well as props for community theater productions, decorations for local events, etc. The floats are always full of moving parts, and some have rivaled those seen in the Macy’s parade. The American Parade Float Hall of Fame said as much when the institution was inducted a few years ago. The theme of this year’s Christmas float was SpongeBob SquarePants. On a scale of 1 to 10 based on their overall body of work, I’d rate it about a 7. The Jaycees’ state president, Tim Poole, came down for the parade. The Roller Girls were excited because they made the front page of the next day’s paper. The Lone Ranger is awesome! He comes to the Halloween event I plan each year, as well, though I’m afraid we might lose him once Disney releases its “Lone Ranger” movie next year. He already does several national appearances each year, and I’m sure that movie will place him in even higher demand. And unlike the SpongeBob float, he actually is licensed. Random band shot! The day after the funeral, we attended the Salisbury Pops’ annual holiday concert. No flash photography in there, either, so you’ll have to settle for this photo of the Salvation Army band playing outside the auditorium. Fun fact: My office is located about 10 feet to the left of this scene. Lauryn enjoyed meeting Sammy the Sea Gull, who guest conducted the final number… …but not as much as she enjoyed meeting Santa Claus after the show! Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion.

Part 3! Here’s the reason we came to the Gaylord and the overall purpose of this year’s Thanksgiving vacation… Ice! The exhibit is housed in this giant inflatable tent. Half the Gaylords this year got “Shrek the Halls” while the other half got “Merry Madagascar.” Last year’s exhibit was “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and I liked the setup for that one a lot better. The cue wound through a traveling Dr. Seuss museum, culminating with a video of how the ice sculptures were made by professionals flown in from China. This year, there was a minor video thing in the cue, followed by a sit-down film presentation that included last year’s “making of” video, as well as a very cut-down version of the “Merry Madagascar” cartoon. To be honest, I’m kind of glad they included the last part because otherwise, I would have had no idea what story the sculptures were supposed to tell. All parka-ed up! Time to go inside. Brought to you by refreshing, delicious Coca-Cola! So basically the story is that Santa crash lands in Madagascar, and the Bronx Zoo escapees from the “Madagascar” movies set out to finish his trip around the world to make sure every child gets a present on Christmas. In return, they hope to catch a ride on Santa’s sleigh back home to New York. When they get back to Madagascar, they crash land into Santa, who completely misses their request for that ride, and they’re stuck in Africa all over again. Since these fine sculptures will soon melt and be lost forever, I present to you the complete “Merry Madagascar” Ice exhibit as seen at the Gaylord National. “Yay! Santa finally brought me that giraffe I’ve always wanted!” Fire made from ice? How paradoxical! It took Lauryn a couple tries to get the hang of the ice slides. At least she didn’t try to lick them! They’re bringing this piece back for next year’s “Planet of the Apes” edition of Ice. Of all the intricate character displays, Kelly thought the best sculpture was the frozen waterfall. All of the Ice exhibits end with a “Nativity” room. Similar to last year, there were also a few other activities scattered under the tent, though they were nowhere near as impressive. This year’s features included ice skating, sans the colorful backdrop from last year… And an upcharge train ride, which was recycled from last year’s activities in the hotel atrium. All aboard! More Christmas festivities to come!

Part 2! Following the Botanic Garden, we took in some traditional D.C. tourist attractions, such as two pigeons fighting over a hot dog… …and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Inside we saw elephants… Mummies… Sarcophagi… And hookers! Lauryn got to hold a millipede… …and a Madagascar hissing cockroach! I told her that at one point Six Flags Over Georgia was offering a free season pass to anyone willing to eat a live one. She was 100 percent onboard! Lauryn found Nemo! Kelly found a Jamaican fisherman! That evening, we went to National Harbor, where we had reservations at the Gaylord National Hotel. After checking in, we walked around this holiday bazaar just down the street. A giant Christmas tree on the water’s edge was the “weenie” for that area. The Gaylord’s atrium had a Christmas tree of its own, and we attended the uber-crowded lighting ceremony. Fountain show! There were some Dreamworks characters down there somewhere, as well, but they were un-seeable from our vantage point. After the ceremony, they pumped Disneyland-style snow into this area. Of course, Lauryn looked up and got soap in her eyes. For $27 we could have decorated a gingerbread man. Or bought 27 packages of Dollar Tree cookies. We split the difference and got some cookies at an Amish market (details to come eventually in the Roadfood Adventures thread). Christmas tree upskirt! This is where the fountain show takes place. Just so you know. Tree facts! Did I mention that all the Gaylord hotels this year had Dreamworks-themed holiday packages? Throughout the weekend we saw walk-around characters of Shrek, Po and Mort. However, since it cost lots of money to take their pictures, I declined to do so. Stay tuned for more!

With some time off work this week and no vacation plans, I have a lot of catching up to do as far as posting photos. Since the season is rapidly ticking away, I figured it would be most timely to start with a Christmas-themed TR. Enjoy! Each year we try to start the holidays with a mini-vacation on Thanksgiving weekend. This year it was kind of marred by the fact that Kelly’s grandmother went into the hospital just a couple of days earlier. We ended up spending most of this year’s trip there with her, but squeezed in a few fun things after visiting hours ended. On the first evening, that included a trip to Watkins Regional Park, near Six Flags America, for the Winter Festival of Lights, an event Kelly attended with her family when used to live in the area. Santa Claws! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Afterward, we went to the theater across from our hotel to catch “The Muppets,” which turned out to be a great movie! Lauryn said it was her favorite part of the trip. No photos inside the theater, naturally, so you’ll have to settle for her posing with this statue of Simon, which was in the lobby to promote the latest “Alvin and the Chipmunks” movie. The next afternoon, we took the train in to Washington, D.C., to check out the U.S. Botanic Garden. Boring, you say? Normally I’d agree with you… …but this happened to be the garden’s holiday celebration! The line to get in was loooooong. But instead of a picture of the back of people’s heads, I’ll spare you and share this photo I took during the wait instead. If you’re a train, you go in here! Once inside, the line was STILL long! At least they had interesting things to look at, like a video pre-show describing what we were going to see, as well as these cool ornaments with seedlings inside. They gave us a handout to show how they’re made. Kelly said she’s going to use it as a project for her Girl Scout troop next year (though I hope the plans are online because I’m sure she’s already lost the handout by now). Is it just me, or do these cocoa pods look vaguely erotic? It’s just like the Hershey’s factory tour! Trains! We waited nearly an hour to see you! The U.S. Botanic Garden’s holiday train exhibit is legendary. The trains ran through an enchanted forest-themed room complete with lots of “animal” and “fairy” houses. Where’s Captain Nemo? One section of the display took visitors “underground.” No trains here! Even the castle at the U.S. Botanic Garden is bigger than Disneyland’s! Thomas took the tunnel! The train garden ended with displays of selected presidents’ houses made from plant materials. Fun fact: Monticello would be a lot more fun to visit if it really was surrounded by a caterpillar train. Washington slept here. Lots of people slept here. In the center of the garden proper was this giant Christmas tree… …which, of course, had a train of its own! Another highlight was a series of models of D.C.-area landmarks made from plant materials, including the Supreme Court building… Capitol… Washington Monument (sans earthquake cracks)… White House… Lincoln Memorial… Jefferson Memorial… Smithsonian Castle… And the U.S. Botanic Garden itself. How authentic are the reproductions? Let’s check…. Um… well, they did their best. Our tour ended in a big room touting the way plants are used to make life better through prostate strengthener… …and beer! More to come in the next installment.

Thanks for posting this awesome report! I always get books about the Disney parks for Christmas, and in the past few days, I've been really regretting that I probably won't get to go back for at least another year (probably two). This was the next best thing to actually being there.

Merry Christmas, everyone! My haul this year: Cash (the greatest gift of all!) “The Garner Files” by James Garner and Jon Winokur “The Epcot Explorer’s Encyclopedia” by R.A. Pedersen “Four Decades of Magic,” a series of essays on the first 40 years of Walt Disney World “Love to Love You Bradys,” a behind-the-scenes look at “The Brady Bunch Variety Hour” by Susan Olson and others An original illustration by artist Mark Cline An illustrated book on the history of tobacco and caramel baseball cards “Rolling Stone” music trivia book Back issues of “The Wrapper” card collecting magazine Box of random Disney animated film promotional items (which were mostly reprints and DVD inserts, but included a theater-used 1976 “Dumbo” re-release lobby card) Rocky Glen Park DVD Idora Park DVD and unused ticket “Tripoley” card game “Munchkin Zombies” game (from TPR Secret Santa) Mickey Mouse pajama pants Various neckties Monogrammed handkerchiefs Cell phone car charger Tape measure Barnacles snack mix Peanut M&Ms Lemon-cranberry pound cake Famous Dave’s gift card

Kelly “organized” everything in the apartment last night, so I had to wait until today to find out where she put my TPR Secret Santa gift so I could take a photo to post. Is this the first TPR re-gift? Probably not… but since we’ve already seen it in this thread, I decided to post some bonus materials. You see, it seems this particular game has lots of cards representing TPR members. So I’d like to take a moment to say Merry Christmas to… Chuck (or, more specifically, Angus McNasty)… Renee… Piers… Dave… And everyone else on TPR! But I saved the most disturbing card for last. Thanks, Secret Santa from Indianapolis!

^^That's not icing; Chad just got a little too excited about his cinnamon bread.... Awesome stuff! I vote for the 12+ park bonus.

I got mine today! My camera's in the car, so I won't have a photo until tomorrow... but yay! Thank you, Secret Santa!

Spend it.

Colossus