milst1

We're going to HoliWood Nights at Holiday World in Indiana. We get in late Friday May 23 and spend the full day Saturday May 24 at Holiday World. Then we'd like to hit Kentucky Kingdom and Kings Island. We thought we'd fly into Louisville for HoliWood Nights, then do Kentucky Kingdom on Sunday, then do Kings Island on Monday, then fly out of...where? Is it easier to fly out of Cincinnati or Dayton? Or maybe better to do Kings Island on Saturday and do Kentucky Kingdom on the travel-shortened Monday, thus having a round-trip from Louisville instead of two airports? Your thoughts are welcome. Also, any decent hotel recommendations for these three parks? We're looking for value (more expensive is okay if it actually comes with benefits) and convenience. Thanks! Martin

This is really a shame. That was a gorgeous old dance hall like the big grand old buildings that used to anchor these amusement parks. It was not seeing much use, but it was definitely a centerpiece. It could be a blessing (room for something new) or the straw that will break the camel's back. I'm afraid it's the latter because the issue has always been financing. ------------------------ Fire destroys building in Conneaut Lake Park Friday, February 01, 2008 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette A major fire destroyed a building this morning in Conneaut Lake Park in Crawford County. The fire broke out around 2:30 a.m. in the Dreamland Ballroom. Flames reportedly shot more than 100 feet into the air. The building is said to be a complete loss.

I'm partial to Dr. Doom at Universal, Twilight Zone at WDW, Pittfall at Kennywood, Dominator at Dorney, and as someone mentioned, the Thunderbolt at Cypress Gardens is amazingly fun. I'm looking forward to riding Power Tower at CP and Blue Fall in Japan this year (I think it's on the Japan trip, not positive). I'm kinda sorta afraid of heights, so the most frightened I've ever been was on the Las Vegas Stratosphere's Power Shot. I don't even like being in tall buildings so riding on a chair on thin little tower on the top of a tall building really makes my blood run cold. Heartbeat...heartbeat...heartbeat...skip...heartbeat

YES! I had the same problem on Millennium Force and TTD! Something about those Intabelts. I had to sit on the left so that I could use my stronger right hand to push the buckle in. It freaked me out, I went on WeightWatchers (not as good as RobbWatchers) and it's now 31 lbs. down since Labor Day at Cedar Point. Can't wait to wear the newer svelter patch jacket! -Martin

I will confess that I occasionally suffer from the same problem. I first experienced this going backwards on Judge Roy Scream, and Arrow looping coasters always seem to get the best of me. One of the hosts on the CoasterRadio podcast had the same problem. Solution: My wife, the doctor, recommends, and I wholeheartedly endorse from experience, meclizine hydrochloride, which is sold under various brand names including Dramamine Non-Drowsy Formula. I pop one at the start of the day and I'm good for a full day of riding. I would imagine that other non-drowsy antiemetics could also be effective. Best, Martin Manhattan

Uh, oh, I guess I won't show the Disney Pin collection off here anytime soon. Unfortunately, the nature of my ADD personality is to collect crap. First it was coaster/park t-shirts. Then a Disney Pin phase (ongoing, very dangerous with a World of Disney store at 55th and 5th). Then coaster and park books (complete with little carousel bookends). Then old View-Master reels of parks. Now, it's patches, and it's actually been very exciting and quite challenging. Plush dolls, fridge magnets, etc. etc. I know, it's an illness. Good thing my wife has her own consumer behavior vices. I guess I'm accumulating all of this crap so that when I retire I'll have something to do, selling all the junk back on eBay where I bought most of it! Cheers, Manhattan Martin

I'll take 'em off your hands if you want to sell them. Whatcha got?

C'mon, I want patch porn, photos of individual patches in glorious color.

Since the topic has sort of circled back again with Robb's 30 lbs. in 30 days, can I request some close-up photos of the patch jacket? That thing looks so cool! -Martin NYC

It can't be helping that their upcharge boat ride cruises are not sailing due to the low lake level.

We did SeaWorld, Cypress Gardens, and Busch Gardens over a weekend about 3 weeks ago and I have to say that I liked Cypress Gardens the best of the three overall. I liked the slower pace, the friendliness of the staff, and the genuine landscaping (as opposed to the "vinyl leaves" feel). The rides aren't anything spectacular (that Vekoma family inverted "Swamp Thing" is a disaster), but the two woodies are fun and it was my first spinning mouse ride. And where else can you ride an Intamin Flying Island? I also got the feeling that it was more of a local park than an international destination, which I enjoyed but which can't be good for the coffers. Ride ops weren't that great and the souvenir offerings were definitely paltry. I guess the new owners want things jazzed up a bit. -Martin Intamin Flying Island at Cypress Gardens, December 2007

My wife actually got a SF guest relations person in NYC on the phone today and explained our situation, after which he emailed her a pdf letter on Six Flags letterhead that allows us to activate our Six Flags season pass at a park (one of the two Texas Six Flags) other than our home park (Great Adventure). He said it was unusual for someone to visit a park other than their home park on the first visit of the season but understood the 1 month NJ opening day lag behind Texas and was extremely accomodating and friendly about it. Cool. Kalahari Sandusky in 8 Days! -Martin

I'm sorry, can I add a Six Flags Season Pass question on top of this? We have a Great Adventure Annual Pass voucher (bought online during the one day sale). Great Adventure's season opens in April, but we're planning a Texas trip in March when those Six Flags parks open. Are we screwed vis a vis the Season Pass, or can we get the season pass voucher "processed" at a Texas Six Flags park before the Great Adventure season opens? Thanks, Martin

9 of 10 for me! It helped that I just watched the Modern Marvels: WDW episode a few days ago!

Bas- Dankjewel. Ik denk dat mijn vrouw en ik mogen in de lentetijd naar de Nederlandse en Vlaamse pretparken bezoeken. Mvg, Martin Wel aan het tripreport denken he Milst says he wants to do dutch and belgian parks, I ask for a tripreport My bad. I forgot to include an English translation. Probably because I'm too brain dead after figuring out how to say it in Dutch. Martin "The New Amsterdammer Who's Trying To Speak Dutch" Lewison

Very cool report and photos and discussion. I love the early 80's promotional material and park-visitor fashions of the time! First question: Are the Hanna Barbera characters still to be found at legacy-Paramount parks? I know I've seen Yogi Bear somewhere recently but I can't remember where. Second question: EBL mentioned Arrow's 4th Dimension Debacle...is there a thread on that somewhere? Was it problems with that one ride design that led to their being bought out, or a set of problems including that? I know it's a tough business, and I guess too much dough dropped into one big project that ends up not selling can really kill you. martin

Bas- Dankjewel. Ik denk dat mijn vrouw en ik mogen in de lentetijd naar de Nederlandse en Vlaamse pretparken bezoeken. Mvg, Martin

Is Toverland open all through the winter? Is Toverland geopened elke dag door de winter? Bedankt! -Martin

Looks like it's sold out from Danbury Mint (see screenshot below) but they still have it for sale and say there are seven left in stock at the CP webstore. Insert Clever Caption Here

Just scored our tickets. Just fyi, it took a *long* time for the transaction to process. Their servers might be gettin' overloaded. Eventually it came through.

Fairy tale or not, the goats appear to be very busy. Now tell me if this is a decent translation: Sprookjesachtig of niet, blijken de geiten hele druk. Thanks, Martin

I was checking out the Efteling website and looking at their opening days and times for Winter Efteling, their extended winter hours. I came across a neat little calendar on the Dutch part of the site (wasn't on the English site) that showed their busy days. My Translation: "Busy Days Calendar Based on experience, Efteling can accurately predict whether a day will be quiet, "cozily busy", or very crowded. This calendar is merely a guideline." This is cool. I know that enthusiasts and unofficial park guides share this kind of info. Is it typical or rare on official park sites? -Martin Yellow is quiet, Blue is moderately busy, and Pink is Busy. Not sure about the goats.

How does a Spanish company exemplify corporate America?

I'm in mild agreement on the argument you're making, but my guess is that the company received an offer that was probably the highest they've ever received and they had to send the offer to the 100 or so partners and the partners voted to sell. Those living outside of the Pittsburgh area probably have little emotional stake in the park and any feelings of guilt are assuaged by the fact that the current management remains in place and they're not putting any family members out of work by accepting the offer. For the Spanish company, they now have a toe-hold in the U.S. and the strength of the Euro probably made it bargain. Don't be shocked if more foreign operators buy U.S. parks. Walibi World Over Texas anyone? -Martin

I lived in Pittsburgh for 8 years and I've spent more time at Kennywood than at any other park. Overall, I see this as sad news, not just for us enthusiasts, but for the Pittsburgh-Mon Valley area. Expect to see more of this kind of thing as the value of the dollar continues to decline. When our currency becomes less valuable, our assets appear cheap to foreign investors. -Martin