rollin_n_coastin

^Paul, sounds about right, and especially through that helix haha I may be totally imagining things, but is the layout of Shockwave at KD a bit different? It's not quite mirrored but some elements are on the other side as compared to Sky Rider? Love the ride through the forest and still really like these rides in general. The 15 minute wait for Shockwave was such a welcome as the Sky Rider is usually a good 45 or more.

Looks like yet another awesome trip. Definitely some great pics! Hope to get on a Europe trip with everyone one day. I've heard so much about the famous Euro Mir and that song. ^Ryan, diid you 'do' an ice bar for me? If so, was it also in a Mexican restuarant? haha

Divv, this is awesome! You hit it spot on about stuff in Italy. Definitely design first, function later. With the exception of some fine motor vehicles, so many things there are eye candy but but lack substance. I really felt let down by Gardaland in that respect (It is beautiful there) and would have chosen Mirabilandia, had I know it existed back in the day. Thanks for letting us follow along. Cheers, J

People voted to leave to return to Gardaland? Great TR Larry! I have to say, Italy in the summer for parks -- a very brave thing! It's usually Dante's Inferno temperatures. Italian water parks are quite something if you've ever had the chance to visit one. A must in the summer if not at the beach or islands. Looking forward to seeing the rest and especially the solo pics! Cheers, J

Thanks Kim! Sorry it didn’t work out with you swinging by the area. I can understand family overrules any side trips. Dave, I hope I can deliver. But just in case, please feel free to send me a pic or two of Ice Bat to feature. I didn’t see him/ her/ it as much this time around. Jon, I don’t think it’s changed that much, those rapids are one of the best I’ve been on, definitely a lot of fun. They do exactly what they’re supposed to do. The one at Busch was pretty good too. I think I was just lucky in Scandi not to get water falls in such. Those were definitely the best themed though.

^haha pretty much! Although the office can have its rewards.....wasn't it two-times ice cream day?

It's quite something, before finishing up 2009, primarily Scandi, here comes 2010! The 'now' is more exciting I suppose. Up first is an awesome Canada Day & 4th of July weekend in Virginia. Kerry, Chuck and Dave helped make it a memorable one! Right after, stay tuned for TPR's Middle America trip: The C-Jay Perspective! Kerry & Jason in....A Virginian 4th of July! Day 1 - Kings Dominion (Below) Day 2 - Virginia Beach Day 3 - Busch Gardens with Chuck, Dave & Ice Bat Day 4 - Water Country USA, Pulled Pork and such! Day 5 - Kings Dominion, day 2 TPR's Middle America: The C-Jay Perspective! Middle America Video - Random Clips Day 1 & 2 - Iowa & Adventureland Day 3 - Worlds of Fun, Lambert's & Branson Day 4 - Silver Dollar City Day 5 - St. Louis Downtown (Arch and City Museum) Day 6 - Six Flags St. Louis Day 7 - Holiday World Up Close and Personal Day 8 - Indiana Beach Up First: Kerry & Jason in....A Virginian 4th of July! It's been almost a year since that awesome spontaneous adventure that saw Kerry and I crash Deep South 09! Time for another adventure! Luckily, Intimidator 305 was just too much of a pulling force that got us into Virginia for an incredible weekend. Chuck, thanks for all the advice and awesome hospitality! It was great hanging out last weekend! I hope Angus didn't mind that we took your attention away for what I"m sure to him was an unacceptable amount of time. Also, a huge shout out to Dave who drove down in long weekend traffic to hang out at Busch Gardens last Saturday. It definitely was a great day. Hopefully this will add to Chuck's very cool TR and tell of what really happened during those other few days. Although exhausted from getting up early that morning, we had to go and check out Kings Dominion knowing that it was only a five minute drive away. Here's Day 1 in Doswell/ Richmond after arriving in Richmond around noon. The weather was amazing and the park was in good shape. The only thing that really spoils it are the huge swaths of asphalt and all their heat absorbing tendencies. But overall, operations were great, the park was clean and the rides were all running. Couldn't ask for anything more. Oh, did I mention how incredible i305 is? It's incredible. On to the pics.. The hotel. From this tranquil courtyard, you'd never know that the front of the hotel was buzzing with excitement! Now, I know what you're thinking: There MUST be a Waffle House in the parking lot. Why yes. Yes, there was! Who loves walk out patios to the pool and courtyard? We were both suffering from some directional challenges and completely didn't see this sign. We ended up in staff parking...... Lots of time left! Hopefully it won't be too busy so we can a lot of stuff in. Ah, the sites of KD. Wow, it really does get busier as the day goes by?? It was about 1pm at this point. So far, so good. The weather is phenomenal and the people, well, there were hardly any! We hopped on Dominator first. Oooh now what is that? This is really quite impressive in person. Seriously, this was the extent of any crowding anywhere. We got in quite a few rides, including front and back. Had to take only very short breaks because of those grey-out/ black-out moments though. It didn't matter, this ride rocks! It is even better in the dark! Although running earlier, this train went to sleep for the rest of the day. Even so, the line moved fairly quick, with the exception of the front seat. That start on the hill is a decent angle. Still can't get over how fast the train makes it to the top. ..and queue happy riders arriving back, finally able to catch a breath. BTW, those straps are very comfortable. Perrrdy.. "I bet you can't get a geekier shot". Try me. Geeky enough? Kinda sorta. There we go. The front seat was fantastic. Just an awesome ride. KD really is a very well rounded park now. Oh. We did ride Anaconda . That hurt. Lest we forgot...Volcano. Still love this ride, especially with the short wait. Oh look. I didn't know I made this stuff. This along with Flight of Fear were running well and still a ton of fun. Oli, again? Ah, time to get a bit patriotic. It looks innocent enough. Back in 2008, it went at a decent speed but stopping completely at the mid-course really putting a damper on the excitement. I can safely report that this thing was haulin'. It was to the point of hurting a bit and it barely slowed down at the mid course. USA. A-Ok! Yep, just kick back an relax. We were in the same line and it worked out that I got this one. Very convenient. Now,I again know what you're thinking. What would be a visit to KD without some pain? Well, ever since 2008, Hurler was still very fresh in our minds to we skipped it. We opted instead for the credit we couldn't get back then. The Togo Death Machine. Kerry is kinda ready. Why?? It wasn't so bad. Actually never mind. It did hurt, especially in the helix. Right across the way, we had none other than Rebel Yell! A ton of fun, especially at night. With this ride, a new credit. The left side wasn't open during our 2008 TPR trip. So, how about those water rides? Luckily it was still fairly warm out. The flume wasn't so bad. We thought, you can't possibly get that wet on these things. In fact, most I've been on have been a splash or two at most. Again, absolutely no line. Kerry is dry. Shall we begin? This, this was pure insanity. I don't remember ever getting that wet on a water ride that wasn't a shoot the chutes. How? Why? Ok, never mind. A bit of water... So yah, perfect way to end the day. Thankfully, I305 helped dry us out. For no reason, I'll end this section with the ultimate mechanical claw prizes - Brian in a banana. Bizarre.

Wow I'm really late in posting some pics. That was a terrific weekend. Thanks for posting Chuck! Queue the Banjos!

Ah memories. That was the craziest movie ever. Has anything in your queue topped it yet?

Disney's Luxury Homes at Golden Oak Disney to Build Luxury Homes - Wall Street Journal

Larry, this is fantastic! Can't wait to see it after Phase 2 joins in next summer.

Looking back, the Insane and Tornado restraints gave a bit more of a freedom feeling and would be awesome on a coaster without insane/ intense maneuvers. But, without having anything to "bang against" or solid to hold on to and brace yourself with, your head keeps going and it kind of gives a whip lash feeling, if that makes sense. That's in addition to what Larry and Robb referred to. So really, both have their pluses and minuses but dare I say it, I prefer being able to grab on and brace with the plastic restraints if the ride has any crazy maneuvers. Personally still really looking forward to riding this. To be honest, I was really scared of riding this because of greying/ blacking out since I don't like that feeling at all. As someone who greyed/ blacked out on a Piraten (a mega-lite) around the first curve up the first hill, the anxiety has been reduced a bit. Riding it as designed would have been a really cool experience as well at least once, but not sure how much more after that if blacking out was a given. Maybe I'm not the only wuss out there?

^All good points. It is really fun analyzing this stuff but in reality it is probably very simple. When looking at it from a great distance, and experiencing this type of situation, when a senior exec goes, he or she may take some of his or her people with them at some point. Likewise, the new person brings in their own people. Expect Mr. Weber to replace/ fill key positions with his team over the next few months. Pretty simple and obvious stuff, but not very fun to talk about Should be cool to hear about upcoming plans and direction. I hope they keep doing well and improve attendance. My first trip to a Six Flags Park was after Mr. Shapiro took over and the stories I heard about how dangerous and dirty they were I heard before he took over. I've been lucky enough to go to a few. Dirty and dangerous would never enter my mind when describing them. I'm sure there's the odd anomaly though but overall, he must have had very positive impact on staff, moral, strategy and guiding direction. I think the partnership strategy was done well. The brands fit and Robb is right, every park does it. I don't necessarily agree with the train wraps and the Six Flags Cuts still seems really bizarre but everything else seems tasteful and well-executed. The lockers seemed to really help as well in terms of shortening wait times. Just bring some $1s and plan your day so that you can leave stuff in the lockers for the max time. It worked well at SFGA, we did half the park at a time and left stuff in lockers and even shared them when possible. Food prices are high and especially drinks. But really, in every F&B operation, drinks are a profit gold mine. With passes priced so low, food and merchandise are there to make some money for the park. The good thing is that those costs to us are somewhat controllable. You don't need to buy food or merchandise to get into the park or enjoy yourself there. Sure, other options are not very convenient (cooler in the car or leaving going off-site) but other options are available. The fact that they offer a refillable cup is huge and storing it in a locker sure makes sense compared to buying a new paper cup full of soda, like was mentioned earlier. To make it really family friendly, I love the Marineland approach, they have picnic areas inside the park and allow food in. However, thinking like a big chain, maybe make it mandatory to store your food in the picnic area as soon as you walk in and hey, why not charge for a refrigerated locker or reserved picnic tables for set eating times? With a reasonable charge for each service, that would still allow a family to come, add some revenue and still save a lot of money as compared to buying a prepared meal for everyone, plus drinks.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1219047320100512 According to Reuters, Industry Consultant Dennis Speigel felt that although there was no reason offered for Mr. Shapiro's abrupt exit, he wouldn't leave unless he came into disagreement with the board. Dan Snyder put in his choice when he took over and both he and Mark Shapiro had a great guiding vision that for some reason doesn't jive with the new owners. So, the new owners repeated the process and put their guy in the top spot for now. While in bankruptcy, Al Weber was an advisor to Six Flags' senior bondholders and then junior bondholders led by Stark Investments. As an interesting aside, you will notice that this article appears prominently above the latest Playboy news - "Playboy Raises the Bar with 3-D Centerfold". Tie-in? Most likely not but hey, perhaps a replacement for Pandavision....

Wow, seemed like a common theme at parks over the past few days. Love Waldameer. It's amazing with crowds and has that true traditional feel and hey, Ravine Flyer II isn't too shabby! I remember stopping by on the way to CP, but you could easily spend a day there. Thanks for sharing.

I think it's fantastic that Mr. Kinzel brought up the importance of a good business relationship. Lawyers for sure play an important role, however, it sure is refreshing to hear that a lawyer doesn't have to be involved in every single situation, especially relatively minor ones.

Love these! Just the right amount of soaking on a hot day I think. Best - Loved the one at Lake Compounce at dusk through the trees....very creepy. Best soak - Liseberg log flume Craziest - The rats in a garbage dump log flume...I think it was Bon Bon Land? Least favorite - Clementon Lake, since it is in the lake and used the lake water. Having that splash in your mouth....not so much fun.

LoL That would be interesting to see it open before Flying Turns. Regardless, they just do a fantastic job giving classics a new life. I'm sure Black Diamond will be no exception and even if FT opens after Black Diamond, I'm sure it'll be worth the wait.

Hey everybody, thanks for the comments, really appreciate it and glad you're all liking this particular take on ' the Lake. Herblackwings raises a fantastic point. Despite not having the best luck with weather during multiple visits to the Northeast, I'm determined as ever to keep trying until I have at least one visit without a drop of rain. In all fairness, these wet adventures mostly happened nearing the offseason on both ends. I don't think I would have been as happy if Predator was Catwoman's Whip though. I do remember that story about SFNE...I could feel the disappointment all the way up here! Needless to say, despite the unacceptable amount of moisture, the hot chocolate and Timmy's coffee sure hit the spot. As far as I remember, Superman at SFA is a mirror copy of Ride of Steel. Medic, I can totally understand how that could phase you out if you're not expecting it. I liked that Superman but I think the version at Darien looks better given that the helix is over the water. Nick has ridden both, maybe he can be so nice as to offer his take on it? haha Can't wait to try RoS to compare one day soon. About the headrests on the Predator trains, not really sure as I've never been on Voyage or knew what the trains looked like on it. Curious to find out though! Egads, what if they aren't trains from the Voyage after all? Cheers, J

^hmm maybe wind is an issue on the peninsula? Although it would be awesome. But for sure there are some parks that could be open around here. How cold does it get in that area of Japan? Awesome TR, thanks for sharing!

Moving on to the other side of the park, we have the two big attractions - Ride of Steel and The Predator. After riding and grabbing a bite to eat, the rain seemed to actually stop! Oh and it didn't rain again all night, unless you count snow. In between, it was the antique cars and bumper cars (we were the only two on each of those) to keep the staff company. Then, a final ride on Viper as they announced the park would close a bit early. A very unique but fun day. Definitely looking forward to going back soon to really experience it when it's a bit warmer out. Hope to update this with missed rides at that point. Enjoy the rest of the pics. Thanks for checking this out. Oh, why do you taunt us so. A bit of a different perspective. Ah, still closed though. Now this. This was open. One of two PTC trains from Voyage that has found a new home in Darien Center. Let's get a better look at this predator shall we? Happy Happy Joy Joy! This thing was flying pretty quick. Screaming already? What'll happen at the top? Definitely a lot of fun. Not sure how to pinpoint the smoothness. Probably a combination of the trains and re-tracking. So this is where all the beavers went. An indoor restaurant -- very much welcomed. It might as well have been a ski lodge since the first thing we ordered was hot chocolate. Good food, reasonably priced and a wobbly table. Well, at least the fake sugar stuff is good for somethin'. We were on the hunt for gloves. This is the closest we could find and we were seriously considering buying a pair to wrap along our recently defrosted hands. It was these or a large selection of religious items mixed in with Darien Lake t-shirts. Ah, we just sucked it up. No gloves. Easier to control the car. This one was having some serious issues but she managed to get her started. Just had to play with the choke a bit. Nick got the perfectly running car. Miracle of miracles. Mine only stalled once at the start then managed to warm up and keep going for the entire length of the track. I didn't know my uncle Tony had a garage here.... See, we made it back. After the park closed, we each had a bit of a drive back home so what better fuel than coffee from that friendly Canadian export, Tim Hortons? But wait, snow? In May? You bet! Yes, that is definitely snow. With that began the drive home. Thanks again for hanging out Nick.

First, a very Happy Mothers Day to all the hard working moms out there! Definitely hope you all had an amazing and well deserved day of rest and appreciation for all that you do! It is Mothers Day, combined with my mom's actual birthday that led to this TR. My mom's mother's day/ birthday gift that the family decided to buy her is only available in the US at this time. Being close the border it was delivered to a US postal box to take advantage of some free delivery goodness! It arrived this past week making yesterday the perfect day to hop over to Niagara Falls and pick it up. Since Darien Lake was only a short drive further, I thought I'd check it out for the first time. Also, the Club TPR (online only) benefit was a huge help! Now, the weather in the morning was windy but the sun was coming in and out and it was starting to look promising. Unfortunately, the weather turned out to be less than ideal. Some major rides (Ride of Steel, Boomerang and Motocoaster) were closed. After entering and walking around, the forecast that anyone would hope was wrong (since the weather people always seems to be wrong these days) wouldn't come true, came true. Wind gusts up to 53 mph and relentless rain, turning into snow in the evening. Regardless, it still turned out to be a fun day for any hardcore theme park fan. It was also really cool of Nick (odene497) to drive out to his home park and hang out also hoping with all hopes of hopes that the weather would take a break. I have to say, the weather was so bad and the amount of people in the park nearing the afternoon totally didn't seem to justify keeping the park open. I counted six to ten cars in the parking lot by 3pm. Kudos to Darien Lake for keeping the park open as long as they did in honor of the first day of the season! You definitely had a memorable first day that's for sure! It certainly gave quite a few of us in the park a day to remember for quite some time. The park closed only two hours early, which was remarkable given the weather. Despite being not too far from Darien, this was my first trip there. The park is actually in quite a nice setting. The first thing you see from a distance is Ride of Steel It does look really impressive over the water and through the trees. It was a bummer that it was down, which only means I'll have to get back there at some point. Not sure if it rides different from Superman at SFA but would love to find out. Construction of the water park expansion was moving along quickly. Water slide parts were out in the parking lot. Planters and concrete pads were being worked on. Upon entering, you notice Viper – back in black baby! The ride was a lot of fun. Oh, it was also smooth as glass. Seriously. The train sounded like a European Eurostar train flying by. It was almost as smooth as Tennessee Tornado, which is quite impressive. TT is still my favourite Arrow though, along with Dragon Mountain (pure nostalgia). What else was open? Well, in terms of coasters, there was The Mind Eraser and The Predator! Skipped Mind Eraser and headed for The Preditor. I've heard so many horrible things said about this ride. Yet, I rode it four times in a row and then again later in the day. My first ride was in the back seat. I figured, might was well get it over with but it was actually a lot of fun. Re-tracked? Yep. New Trains? Check. Smooth? Very. Airtime? Indeed. Fun? Oh, yes, that too. All and all, it was great after going in anticipating some serious pain and suffering. The Voyage train was giving a bit of growing pains with the lap bars not always releasing on queue but they fixed those issues up quickly. The trains looked amazing and rode very well! I wish Canada's Wonderland had a good wooden coaster, aside from the Ghoster Coaster. Yes, in it’s current form I’d welcome Predator there for sure. Oh, it was the only ride with a consistent lineup all day. Darien also has a great collection of flat rides, most of which were thankfully open. So, a good day all and all but will definitely have to make it back again soon when the weather is better to try out the closed attractions and maybe even to try out the water park and water rides. Oh, and yes, I think I saw two people actually ride a water ride. Insane? Perhaps. But then we were all already there wet from the rain in 53 mph winds. Darien Lake: Thanks for staying open for some truly devoted fans! On to some pics! Yes, people are on it! Here's hoping that the weather will clear but at least they run some coasters in the rain. Water park expansion work. It actually looks like a pretty substantial area. Oh look! Another TPR member came to hang out on this lovely day. In the meantime, Nick is trying to figure out where his arm goes. Oooh. A period of no rain. Yah, that lasted. Hey, that's normally Robb's job! The first day of the season brought out a few interviews. Hey fans, meet rain. ....oh and it brought along wind. 53 mph wind This thing is huge. I thought the one at Pigeon Forge was big until seeing this sling shot. The newly painted Viper. Apparently, it was originally all black to begin with back in the day? Loop! Everyone enjoying the paint job so far? Viper in action Pretzel goodness. Hmm? Different by design? Well I'm going to go out on a limb here but I'm thinking it used to be painted a shade of green up to the end of last season? As you can see, by mid afternoon, we were some of the only people at the park. It was fairly busy earlier in the morning. A great ride op training session going on here while they were waiting for people. Something about this ride looks quite majestic. A very smooth corkscrew section. Seriously. Viper and Ranger hangin' out. So if you're in love with these types of objects like that girl that went to Knoebels, it was quiet enough in this section to have complete privacy to you know...do your thing with the rides. A picture. A picture for Larry. Not surprisingly, Grizzly Run was closed so I couldn't get any pics of the ride itself but it seemed to be a typical water rapids ride. A few minds being erased. Love Love Huss UFOs! So glad we have one at Wonderland. Definitely a quiet day all around. Big fan of OCC. A bit of a bummer that the branding is gone. It's just called Motocoaster now. Hmm, they weren't kidding at the gate, definitely closed. Also closed for the day. Nick said that this has been given a new coat of paint as well. The rides all looked good. The scary thing is that this ride was closed all day, but the wheel was spinning. Slowly but spinning nevertheless. Yes, it was that windy. Ooooh, some good stuff in the background! Another picture! Another picture for Larry! For obvious reasons, this was closed for the day. More to come in a few!

^^Those are the ones! Great memories I can actually remember going on those. Thanks again, cool report.

Hey Jeff thanks for posting, it looks pretty good. Although kinda funny seeing Snoopy on the Hannah-Barbara rainbow. Do they still have the 1981 Baloon Race and Enterprise?

^Hey, thanks for sharing. I love that ride and so glad someone else is excited about it being up again. I guess it's not so insane as to prevent a lot of families from riding together on it, which they tend to do quite often - from grandparents to grandkids. Totally agree, just a few more awesome coasters! Maybe ship Flight Deck off to a park with a Batman. It worked for La Ronde Here it is from this past Friday afternoon.