Nrthwnd

And Thanks Jason. And the fact I made it through the tour at "about" the same pace as everybody else... Win! Well, sometimes all things must change, and in this case, it was The Weather on our way to Thorpe Park. A heat wave (to me) started up, with very high temperatures, humidity, and general feelings of 'stickiness.' This was also the first time, my bandage and tape on my back started peeling off, due to the humidity. But THANKS to the wonderful people who man the Medical Centre for the park, they re-bandaged/taped me up, and even gave me a bit of extra tape, "if things start to dissolve again," heh. And this was myy first encounter ever, with medical services in any park, and I was very impressed with how equipped, staffed and friendly everybody was. Thorpe Park is another fave park of mine in England. It really is a great mix of thrills, flats, family rides and stuff, shows, a water park. And most importantly....BIG SCREEN TV in the Glass House gathering indoor spot. This was where the game of the day was being watched in the summer's WORLD CUP. Needless to say, the place was PACKED with everybody (England was playing another country. Unfortunately, England lost the game ) on the chairs, on the floor... But that gave a bunch of us a big advantage. A few of us actually weren't keeping up with the WC too much (I raise my hand), then we found parts of the park really light in traffic and queues, etc. very nice. And of course, after the game, everybody starting exiting the place, so then we REALLY had some space in the park to stroll around in. The coasters are a really mixed bunch. Stealth (my first ever whatever this is called - 2006); another awesome Nemesis - Inferno; a totally f-ed up WTF coaster (X:/NO WAY OUT...uh?); the ten-looping headache-inducing (for me, honest) thing that is COLOSSUS; New Credit #1 - Family coaster, called Flying Fish (fish can fly AND coast? Awesome.); and New Credit #2 - SAW:The Ride. SAW was really something different for myself. I never saw any of the movies, and frankly, I don't intend too. Nowadays, the blood and gore is just going into overdrive for me, on film AND tv. Anyway... It was a vertical lift coaster, which I enjoyed very much, on most I had been on, before. And this was really great! Especially if you were loaded into the second car (no spoilers from me). I went on it a few times in our early ERT, and our Later ERT after the park closed. I love how a lot of these lift coasters are being enclosed for more themeing, and SAW was no exception. I enjoyed it! There was also a SAW: Walk-Thru, that I didn't go through (hot day - no walk more), but 'heard' from some who did, it was either good, or meh. So, the park gave us ERT on SAW and Inferno Nemesis, which when you look at a park map, are not exactly side by side each other, lol. So that was a good workout for myself, doing a few rounds on one then getting over to the other for a few on that one. Again, i really did very well for that day, considering the heat wave was going to follow us for the second part of the tour. And after the park, we bussed to a final dinner (#1) for this part of the tour. Some weren't doing all of it, like many of us were. So the city of Windsor greeted us with an amazing performance of parking our bus (These were very VERY narrow streets. Thankyou bus driver)...and a Wagamama's for dinner. A trippy chain that truly believes that most everything can taste great, if it's in a bowl. And it was! So - No Goodbyes...See You Laters UK, and Hello Italy, soon enough. So here's us with our lunch in the Glass House Restaurant. Very chic. And there's soon to be a World Cup game alllll around us. Yes, there it is, is Colossus. Lawdy, I must ride it at least once. I'm Home! Sort of. My first TPR avatar, btw. Unfortunately, the great little train ride was literally cut in half. And the family farm walk-around, closed New coaster coming in, we "heard" at that time. Sw.....att? Naw, This is Swatt! Actually, it's SLAMMER, another flat that for myself, once was enough. Very slow loading and unloading. And it wasn't really a thrill to me. More an anooyance. IMhO Mmmm, just as good as Daddy over at Alton Towers. I really enjhoyed this one too. But guess what? No pix of SAW to show! Even i was surprised when I got my FILM back home. Another reason to go digital, yes? And no pix of the dinner at Wagamama's in Windsor. )o: But this storefront cught my eye. Cupcakes and cake ALWAYS catches me eye. (o;

"Both Sides Now" (newest version, a bit slower and by...) Joni Mitchell

Great, thanks! Hopefully, I will be able to get back there, some year.

If they build it, TPR will come. Eventually.

So....Sing lightly and carry a big Kong? (It made sense to me, at the time.) Oh, and for myself: The Book of Mormon > Avenue Q > Spamalot. But that's how awesome they all are!

Claws.

"I'm wood - I'm good - Get used to it!" Pinocchio - from SHREK: The Musical

^ No, I haven't seen this doc. Was this about ACT UP as well as others involved in the Gov't fight? There have so many, many films and docs coming up these past years, it's almost overwhelming to catch up with every one. Some of them thankfully, end up at our Queer Film Festival in Vancouver. But thanks for the suggestion.

Thanks for the wonderful TR, Benny! And between the Roller Coaster Restaurant and the Raclette place in the Swiss section, I have got to get myself back there, eventually! Where was the coaster restaurant, by the way? I didn't even give it a thought when we were there in 2010, and I believe the place was open by then. Of course, I also missed out on the raclette too, lol.

I know this is supposed to be in the Movies Thread but.... Dallas Buyers Club is an awesome film about the (beginning of the) AIDS era, mid 1980s. Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto AND Jennifer Garner are amazing in this movie. Especially the guys! Wonderful intense performances that deserve Oscar noms. And the movie itself certainly deserves a nomination, even if it doesn't win. It deserves recognition. If any of you out there want to know how "things were going" back then, this definitely a film to see. Much sadness, and much hope as well. 9.5 out of 10 for me.

^ Looks totally unhealthy, but

Forget the singing gorilla! It's all about (what they call themself) The King Men.

Wow, this park is really getting a variety of new stuff for next summer!

Found this article at Broadway.com about the men in the company of the Australian Production of KING KONG: The Musical. Seems the guys decided to put together a 2014 calendar for sale. And they included The Star in at least one of the photos. Here' s the link to where you can get one of these calendars for yourself, as a gift, or....? http://kingkongliveonstage.com/giveaways/ Man, those arms! ...... And the gorilla's, too! (o;

Woo Hoo!

That's my holiday season!

Some really great park t-shirts there, Martin. The Furious Baco, especially. Looking forward to seeing more of what you've been saving, all these years.

Suggestion - a StarFlyer. Not as high, but they seem much more dependable. And if it's in your back yard, you could have awesome StarFlyer Parties!

Friends once felt I needed a bit more "style" in my house cleaning. So one Christmas, they gave me a pair of (fake) Leopard Fur cuffed Black Rubber Gloves! Stylish, indeed. But not very practical, lol. (EDIT to add: I also think this thread should have the word Wierdest in it's title, too. My present wasn't really the "worst", but definitely in the "wierd" category... Just a suggestion.) The gloves in question. Inside a nice and stylish package too! (o;

^ Yeah, well one tries, at times.

Chris, I'm pretty sure some of your captions aren't with the right photos you've posted. I went through this in one of my current TR postings. I think the trick to getting everything back in order, is to just Preview it all again. Then hit the Submit button. Stuff happens. Even at TPR, heh. Those boats look neat. Would be nice to have one around here.

Amen! Unfortunately that's what Carolina winters are like - cold and rainy with little snow. As are winters most of the time, in Vancouver, too.

^ Have you counted the # of posts after this video, yet? Not sure. Not sure. It's probably a random kind of thing. Or hand-picked. Patience.

^ It's the best way to have a bathroom break! But I don't any of us used the bathrooms there at the park, LOL! I could be wrong, but the visit was really a quick one for the two credits and the extra flat ride. I was kind of hoping their recently opened dark ride (ShrieksVille), would be available for us too, but it wasn't. Which was okay. We had a great time with the three rides we got to ride. A Nice 'Bathroom Break' Surprise!

A jazzed up band version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"