Mike Austin

If you didn't know already, at the moment I'm at the University of California, Riverside, as part of Disney World's International College Programme (I go over to Florida on the 19th). As I'm over here, and probably not coming back here for quite a while, I managed to get in contact with a couple of TPR people who could give me a lift to Six Flags Magic Mountain and back (I knew it would pay off some time if I kept asking in my travel topic if anyone wanted to take me! ). Obviously I took this offer up, and despite one of them having a helicopter pilot exam in the morning, we eventually got to SFMM at about 3pm, giving us still an alright 7 hours in the park... I was rather scared that we were going to pull in and have a day at the :dontswear: that is Scandia instead, but thankfully we continued driving! X2 is the first thing you see as you drive into the park. The view from the car park. How many coasters [creds] can you count here?! We weren't the only people arriving to the park late, as we entered with a decent stream of other cars and the road train thing was still full up to get to the entrance. The classic park entrance. Annoyingly, one of the park's best coasters and one of the main reasons I wanted to go back to the park was closed today. I was going to buy myself a Q-Bot once we got into the park, but most of the rides it had on I wasn't really bothered about doing. First coaster, and first credit of the day was the new for 2011 Green Lantern. The queue was about 80 minutes long and the ride was pretty brutal, really throwing you against the restraints on the drops. Oddly, as you joined the queue a ride attendant gives you a little raffle ticket thing with the word "boarding pass" written on it. Apparently, this is designed to stop queue jumping, but it really didn't work as people were just getting a ticket, leaving the queue and pushing in later, and then the ride ops didn't seem to take note of these tickets anyway! All rather pointless really. The Green Lantern's full sign. After Green Lantern, we made our way over to Colossus. Luckily, the opposite side was running to the last time I came here, so new credit #2 for me. The ride's ok and rather smooth, but is really lacking in airtime. Credit number 3 and new for 2011 number 2, Road Runner Express. +1 Look how good Tatsu looks. The revamped Superman is excellent. Both sides are now running, which meant I could pick up my final credit of the day. The launch isn't too forceful, but you really feel it when it does get up to speed. It could do with doing more, but I still liked it. We were going to ride X2 next, but found it was down. We also noticed that Goliath was stuck on the MCBR, so instead we made our way over to Apocalypse, only to find that it was running 1 train and the queue was over an hour long! I noticed someone eating a huuge turkey-leg so decided to get some for myself... Om nom nom. I decided to eat it whilst walking back over to X2 and must have heard at least 10 comments by people wondering where I got it from and how big it was. SFMM would make a ton of sales if they actually advertised that they have this! Hector and Corey. I'm not too sure what their TPR screen-names are, but they've been to the West Coast Bash every year so you might recognise them. It gets dark so quickly in California, and after about a 90 minute wait we got off X2 at about 9:45pm. The audio wasn't working, which detracts A LOT from the ride, and the ride was extremely bouncy in the final part. It really didn't feel as good as it was riding in 2009, but the first half of the ride is still very good. After a quick dash, we managed to get over to goliath for the last train of the day. Again, this didn't feel as good as 2009 as it felt less forceful and it didn't feel as fast. And that was the end of the day. Overall it was a decent day but was really let down by X2's broken audio, Tatsu being down and Apocalypse only running one train. I would have liked to have a full day there to get on some of the other rides, but apart from Apocalypse and Tatsu I got on everything I wanted to. The day could have been better, but it could also have been a whole lot worse. So that's that. An extremely rare trip report from me, and hope you enjoyed it!

Sorry for the double post, but I'm now quite confused over some of the time people have given me. According to this: http://www.metrolinktrains.com/schedules/html.php?id=1115, on Saturdays, I can do the following: 351 Riverside 6:20am > LA Union 8:35am 261 LA Union 8:55am > Santa Clarita 9:48am 270 Santa Clarita 7:35pm > LA Union 8:35pm 376 LA Union 9:00pm > Riverside 11:15pm Therefore giving me a lot longer in the park than people have said and not having to worry quite as much about finding a platform in 5 minutes to catch the next train! Is this timetable correct, or does it go to a different Santa Clarita station or something? :?

Thanks for the information everyone! I'm thinking about going to SFMM on either the 9th or 10th, but I'm wondering if it's actually worth the effort? With limited time in the park and having to get up very early to try and use the trains, will it actually be worth it? :S Unless, of course, someone is up for doing the trip with me!

Didn't Olivier fall asleep in the wait for the cave?

THIS!!! Seriously, just remember this will cost you about 30 bucks round trip, It cost me £20 ($38) to travel to central London today, and that was only a 50 minute trip! Thanks for the information Gigalyte!

Hmm, that's what I was pretty worried about. As I don't really want to replace SFMM for Castle Park, I'm now making an appeal if anyone fancies having a day out and don't mind providing some transportation (I'll pay for petrol...etc) to get there. Send me a PM or something if you are interested! Unless there is an otherwise decent option to travel with public transport relatively quickly which someone knows about?

On July 3rd I'm visiting Riverside for a couple of weeks to study at the university there. On one of the weekends, I quite fancy having a day out at SFMM but have no idea on how to get there. Unless someone (I've met before) fancies having a day at the park with me and don't mind collecting me from Riverside ( ), can anyone give me tips and ideas for getting to the park train and bus-wise? Thanks. Mike.

I've only been on the one at New York's Playland, but it is quite a common ride, especially throughout Europe. I didn't really find it "rough" as such, but more scary than anything! I felt that if I took my foot off the ladder thing then I would just slide out the back of it! :?

Hurler at Kings Dominion. Bend after first drop, face into Hanno's shoulder, pain for me, hilarity for Hanno, Hurler to the bottom of my rankings.

I've lost a ton of weight on every TPR trip I've done. I wonder why that could be? Saying that, I reckon even if I did like any of the food (how am I going to survive 6 months in Florida???), I still would've lost weight just due to the sheer amount of sweat that this trip brought!

Hmm, ok, thanks for that Chrissie, Swimace and Joey. I may go out and buy a couple of shirts and pairs of trousers anyway, just so I'm not wearing the same clothes to class every time! Otherwise, I might just hang tight for now and buy clothes out there if I find out I need more than I've got...

I've been assigned "Operations/Merchandise", so I'm presuming that this fits into the "non-constumed" description? In that case, I think a shopping trip is in order... Great!

I received the introduction letter from Disney today outlining the 'Disney Look', general rules, codes of conduct...etc..., but I'm now quite confused/worried on the dress code... The ONLY business-y style clothes that I own is 1 suit, which I bought specifically for the interview as before that I didn't own any business clothes. Otherwise, I just own several different coloured polo shirts, a few t-shirts, jeans and shorts. So, should I be looking to go out and buy a ton of business/dress shirts and trousers now?

I'm pretty surprised to see Hades within the top 20, especially after hearing all the negativity towards after the rides in August. Other than that, I think these results look fantastic, and it's one of the first times where I've felt the results truly correspond with what people really think and say about the rides! Bring on the steel poll!

Navigator's the Disk'O. I think the Frisbee is called Flip Flop, although I'm not 100% on that... And I agree that Blackpool Pleasure Beach is scruffy and dirty. I love it!

Whenever a park does an extremely bad and cheesy publicity stunt, I'm just blaming it on Morwenna Angrove now!

Indiana Beach is one of my least favourite parks I've ever been to. Cornball Express is massively overrated, the other rides are extremely unmemorable, the atmosphere was lacklustre, the lake's one of the most rancid I've ever seen and tasted (as they use that waste in their drinking fountains... I still can't believe people would actually swim in that stuff!) and, probably most dissappointingly, despite what everyone says, the park's actually nothing like Blackpool anyway. Sure, Blackpool has its major drawbacks (especially recently now they've closed the park to the wandering public and got rid of a ton of stuff for a couple of fountains), but I still massively prefer it over Indiana Beach. Grand National, Wild Mouse, Big Dipper and the Steeplechase are all much better than anything Indiana Beach has got to offer in my opinion. Ed, have you actually been to either of these parks? From the way you're writing, I guess not ("The Steeplechase is the one great plus I've ever read about"), yet you go on to write a load of quite utter rubbish. If you have no idea what you're talking about, then please stop. Anyhow, back on the main topic, and it really depends on where you're studying and how far you're willing to travel to get to a park. If you're willing to travel anywhere in the UK for a park, I definitely suggest Oakwood in Wales. If that is too far for you, then I'm just going to suggest what's already been mentioned: Thorpe, Chessington and Legoland are the obvious London parks. Alton Towers is the best park in the UK although can be a bit tricky to travel to. Blackpool and Flamingoland (if you are doing Flamingoland, you'ld might as well do Lightwater whilst you're at it) are northern parks which would need an overnight stop if you're studying in London (actually Alton may need an overnight stay as well, but I'ld suggest having more than 1 day at the park anyway). Drayton Manor and Adventure Island are also do-able, although neither of these parks should take a full day to complete. And that's pretty much every major UK park covered! If you can only pick 5, then I'ld go for Blackpool, Alton, Thorpe, Chessington and either Oakwood or Flamingoland. -Mike-

Hello TPR people... For some rather strange reason, Disney World has offered myself and a a few of my friends who also applied a place on their International Study Programme thingymabob (I know right! It's a good job they don't read the trip boards on this site much. ) as part of a certificate in Hospitality & Tourism Management by University of California Riverside from July-January this year. I can't wait to go etc.., but I am quite pooing myself over essentially what will be my first ever job. Obviously I'm not expecting a walk in the park by any means, but as with whenever I try anything new, I'm still extremely nervous about going. It doesn't help that the role I've been assigned is "Operations/Merchandise", which could pretty much mean ANYTHING in ANY of the parks bar character, lifeguard or restaurant person. Oddly, the 3 friends who I'm going with have all been assigned completely different roles (Filipinan friend got character, Indian-British friend got the hotel one and Ginger friend got lifeguard (they're all girls)). Anyways, I just thought I'ld might as well ask how people on here got/are getting along with their programmes (especially if you're on an International one)? Is it a struggle to do all the college/uni work they give you to do (I'm taking an extra online module as well by UCR) whilst also getting in all your work hours and chores as well, or not? What's your top tips (besides trivial stuff such as "hope you're lucky and get a room mate you like") for the first few weeks when everything is bound to seem a bit mad? And, possibly most importantly, is the course fun and challenging yet actually manageable? Thanks if you can answer any of these or have any other general tips/hints (What's the best machine to choose to do your laundry? What seat on the bus to the grocery store is the best to sit on...etc...) for me. -Mike-

I'ld count a "rare coaster" as one where not many (if any) people that I know has ridden it. So, something like Blackpool's Virginia Reel, I only know of a couple of people who rode it and count it as a "credit", so to me it is "rare". It doesn't matter that millions of people rode it over the years, because I don't know any of them people, and none of them would be adding it to a "credit list" anyway. If, for example, I meet a load of people tomorrow who took a holiday in 1960 to Blackpool, and they all rode the Virginia Reel, and they all added it to their count, then I'ld just say "It's not as rare as I thought". So, on this basis, it's definitely that the longer ago the coaster closed, the "rarer" it is. That isn't to say that some new-er coasters aren't "rare", as I don't know anyone who has ridden something like Orphan Rocker!

I found Voyage to be MUCH better on the Raven train than it's own original train. On it's own train the ride was BRUTAL, having me constantly readjust my spine, especially after the turnaround. However, on the Raven train it was like riding a totally different ride, although still nowhere near good enough to break into my top 5. If people rode it last year and still claim that it "wasn't rough", then either they're hard or the only other woodies they've been on are at Kings Dominion!

My full list looks like this: Boulder Dash Lake Compounce CT,y,n,1 Phoenix Knoebel's PA,y,n,2 Balder Liseberg SE,y,y,3 My Favorite Steel Anypark Anywhere **,y,n,4 Renegade Valleyfair! MN,y,y,5 Prowler Worlds of Fun MO,y,y,6 The Voyage Holiday World IN,y,y,7 Lightning Racer Hersheypark PA,y,n,8 Viper SFGAm IL,y,y,9 El Toro SFGAd NJ,y,n,10 Terminator Salvatio S. F. Magic Mountain CA,y,n,11 Megafobia Oakwood UK,y,n,12 Grand National Blackpool UK,y,n,13 Cyclone Astroland NY,y,n,14 Hades Mount Olympus WI,y,y,15 Timber Wolf Worlds of Fun MO,y,y,16 Giant Dipper Santa Cruz Bch Bdwk CA,y,n,17 GhostRider Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,n,18 Cyclops Mount Olympus WI,y,y,19 Big Dipper Blackpool UK,y,n,20 Tornado Adventureland IA,y,y,21 American Eagle SFGAm IL,y,y,22 Raven Holiday World IN,y,y,23 Evel Knievel Six Flags St Louis MO,y,y,24 Great White Wild Wheels Pier NJ,y,n,25 Giant Dipper Belmont Park CA,y,n,26 Cornball Express Indiana Beach IN,y,y,27 Cyclone SF New England MA,y,n,28 The Boss Six Flags St Louis MO,y,y,29 Avalanche Timber Falls WI,y,y,30 Twister Knoebel's PA,y,n,31 Zeus Mount Olympus WI,y,y,32 Roller Coaster Blackpool UK,y,n,33 Roller Coaster Great Yarmouth UK,y,n,34 Roar SF Discovery Kingdom CA,y,n,35 Colossus S.F. Magic Mountain CA,y,n,36 Wildcat Lake Compounce CT,y,n,37 Gwazi Busch Gardens-Tampa FL,y,n,38 Outlaw Adventureland IA,y,y,39 Thunderbolt SF New England MA,y,n,40 Wild One SF America MD,y,n,41 Rolling Thunder SFGAd NJ,y,n,42 Screamin' Eagle Six Flags St Louis MO,y,y,43 Thunderhawk Dorney Park PA,y,n,44 Comet Hersheypark PA,y,n,45 Wild Mouse Blackpool UK,y,n,46 Wildcat Hersheypark PA,y,n,47 Dragon Coaster Playland NY,y,n,48 High Roller Valleyfair! MN,y,y,49 Zipper Dipper Blackpool UK,y,n,50 Pegasus Mount Olympus WI,y,y,51 Underground Adventureland IA,y,y,52 Little Dipper SFGAm IL,y,y,53 Hoosier Hurricane Indiana Beach IN,y,y,54 The Grizzly Great America CA,y,y,55 The Legend Holiday World IN,y,y,56 Lost Coaster of SM Indiana Beach IN,y,y,57 Roar SF America MD,y,n,58 The Grizzly Kings Dominion VA,y,n,59 Rebel Yell Kings Dominion VA,y,n,60 Hurler Kings Dominion VA,y,n,61 In hindsight, I probably should start using the grouping system as outside my top 6 and bottom 9, there's really not alot in it.

Just sent my ballot. Boulder Dash remains by far my number 1, followed by Phoenix. My numbers 3-5 are all new to me in Balder, my new favourite steel (Powder Keg) and Renegade rounds off my top 5. Kings Dominion yet again dominates the bottom of my list with Grizzly, Rebel Yell and Hurler all right at the bottom.

I've got no idea where you are or where you're going, but here's my attempt at figuring out a few of the clues: Page 1: I think it's been well established that you flew from LAX. The hidden clue picture refers to "personal space", possibly because you may have flown Business Class? A quick search shows that Paris Hilton was born in New York, and the odd mountain picture may imply you're flying over mountains to get to this location, which would be true if flying to New York. No idea on the Hello Kitty picture though... Page 3: Apparently, Samsonite have headquarters in Massachusetts, which could link in to the New York/North East feel I got from page 1. International Arrivals shows you've landed at an international airport. No idea from the other pictures. Page 9: Flying over Utah (Hi Shane!), but then, and here's where my logic really gets screwed up, your flight path seems to be going from right to left. How does that work if you're flying from LAX? "Gnarly weather" suggests that it's unlikely you've gone south (although 20C in Peru could mean gnarly to people who live in California, I suppose) , and there's no way that you've gone over to Asia (as it's their summer at the moment). This is backed up by the pay phone picture, where there is an "Exit" sign in English. Singapore IS an option here, but the weather currently over 30C, so hardly "Gnarly". So, my guess for now has got to be the New York/North-East area, but it wouldn't surprise me if ALL of my logic is totally wrong so far!

This year so far, I've visited: Alton Towers Thorpe Park Chessington Legoland Windsor Liseberg Adventureland Holiday World Indiana Beach Knucklehead's Mount Olympus Nick Universe Six Flags Great America Six Flags St Louis Silver Dollar City Timber Falls Valleyfair! Worlds of Fun So 17 so far, and I should be visiting Parque Warner Madrid next week! Not bad me thinks.

All I really remember from this day is heat, sweat and screwed-up metal climbing structures! If it weren't for Elissa and Robb selling the bottles of water, I think I would have fainted! Crazy day!