pianojohn

I am so glad I bought my FunSpot season pass in November! $50 for the year! Woo hoo!

Sea World Orlando Fun Spot USA Magic Kingdom Disney's Hollywood Studios Animal Kingdom Epcot Universal Studios FL Islands of Adventure Disneyland Disney's California Adventure (1st time!!) Knott's Berry Farm Six Flags New England Six Flags Magic Mountain (NEVER again) Oaks Park Still to come: Cedar Point, Idlewild, Kennywood, Busch Gardens VA, King's Dominion, Dorney Park, and maybe Six Flags Great Adventure

I'd say the chances of this happening are slim to none. 500 acres? Cedar Point is only 365. Hotels? Restaurants? Have we learned nothing from Hard Rock Park? And yes...the clientele will be worse than any Six Flags.

This is the show I was doing: http://www.wakeupyourweird.com/ And we have a full week of shows coming up in Austin, TX May 8-12th Austin Scottish Rite Theatre (map) 207 W 18th St Austin, TX 78701 I wrote some of the music for the show, I music direct it, and I play piano for it!

Just returned from an 11 day business/fun trip. The business was playing piano for some shows in Boston and Portland. The fun would be the 5 days in between gigs where I managed to hit 6 parks! Started off on Sunday April 14th. Got a ride to Logan Airport in Boston where I rented a car for the day. Drove to Six Flags New England for some credits and to process my Gold Pass. Now, I don't live anywhere near SFNE, but with the pass, I get free parking, so I figured it was a good deal. The weather SUCKED! About 40 degrees and windy Luckily, I was bundled up and ready to ride! Season Pass processing took some time since they had about 20 computers set up to enter in your information, but only 2 people inside the building to do the processing. Luckily, more workers showed up, but not before a huge line formed down the midway. Bizarro. In my opinion, eh. The trains since they were modified for the sound system seemed tighter than other Intamin hypers I have been on. So after being stapled into my seat, I was not looking forward to any negative g's. It was fast and decent, but not what I would call the #1 coaster in the world. Plus, the train rattled a lot. AND if you are going to have the #1 coaster, you may want to run more than one train on it. Did Catwoman's Whip, Gotham City Gauntlet Escape from Arkham Asylum (way too long a name for a basic wild mouse), Batman - The Dark Knight, Great Chase (yay! A kiddie credit!), and Flashback, your basic Vekoma boomerang. Goliath was not running due to the new trains, but the park was thoughtful enough to have signs to this effect posted at the entrance of the park AND the ride itself. NOTE: this same decent gesture will not be in effect once I get to California). All in all, a decent day at the park. I had not been there since 1998, and it seemed to be in good shape considering this was opening weekend and the weather was cold. Got back in my rental car, drove back to Boston, and flew that night to Long Beach for 5 days in California! MONDAY: Disneyland Resort. I had not been to DL since 2000, and DCA was not even open then. Due to the fun of jet lag, I was wide awake at 5am! I took my time and headed over to Downtown Disney and the hotels. As a cast member of WDW since 1999, I am very familiar with the layout of the Florida parks, and I was really looking forward to seeing how CA compares. The hotels were very nice. I opted to stay off property to save money, and I am glad I did. The Red Lion Hotel was awesome! Very close walk to the park, a great rate ($59/night due to Priceline), and they played awesome 80's music in the lobby! Plus, when the park closed, all I had was a short walk home instead of dealing with the hassle of traffic, the parking structure, and crowds. Quick analysis of DL resort since most people have been there: GREAT! The parks were immaculate, CarsLand is awesome, and I was able to ride everything I wanted multiple times. Of course, I never did get my Soarin' or Space Mountain credits due to the DOSH issues, but that just gives me a reason to go back. PhotoPass. We have all seen this at the Disney parks. After I got a few pics taken, I was informed that as a cast member, I would get my cast discount on the basic package. End result: I bought the CD with 171 pictures taken of me at the two parks! Using this system enabled me to not worry about handing off my camera to them since I knew their pictures would turn out great. I highly recommend this if you are in the parks for a few days and want to get as many pictures as possible. I ended up back at the parks on Tuesday afternoon, all day Wednesday, and Thursday til about 3pm when I headed down to Long Beach airport for my flight to Portland. This airport is also great since it's NOT LAX and it's only about 15 minutes from Disney. JetBlue flies into here from most west coast cities and Boston, Austin, NYC, and DC. Cannot recommend this enough! TUESDAY Six Flags Magic Mountain and Knott's Or as I like to call it, a tale of two extremes. Got up early to avoid the LA traffic and get to SFMM when the gates opened. Didn't really need to since there seemed to be little to no crowds coming to the park. It was sunny but very windy. I have only been to SFMM twice before: 1st time in 1980 and 2nd time in 2000. Both times I had a great day being able to ride everything I wanted. Being a Gold Pass member, I was allowed in the park 10 minutes before the rest of the crowd. I was hoping to get a jump on X2 or Tatsu since I heard their lines can be long and slow. I got to X2 and was told it was closed due to "wind." Hmmm Walked over to Tatsu: closed due to "wind." Double hmmm Oh well, maybe I can do Ninja. Oh right, closed due to "wind." OK, now I was getting pissed. I ended up getting my Apocalypse the Ride credit 1st. It was ok though seemed kind of rough. Headed down to Green Lantern: First Flight and rode that once. Again, decent ride though I was getting a headache already. Thought I would get a ride on Gold Rusher, but it was closed as well. Now remember, not one sign at the front gate said any of these major coasters would be closed. Got my Scream credit, and headed over to Superman. Rode that twice, and actually had a good time and the ride op seemed to really care! Back down the hill and lo and behold, Lex Luthor is closed as is Colossus. Also, the tower (whose name I forgot) was also closed. I have been to the park 3 times over the last 30+ years, and I have never been up in the tower. DAMN!! Then I heard some screams and looked up to see Tatsu running. Now, it was just as windy now as it was when I got to the park, but the coaster was now open. When I got to the queue, I found a full 1 hour wait and one train running. F U SFMM! Not going to waste any more time here. Walked over to X2 but it was still closed due to "wind." I think the term wind means "we don't really care about our guests, and it's cheaper to not staff coasters and just tell people it's too windy than to actually deliver good customer service." I left the park vowing to NEVER return. They had just come off Spring Break weeks, so there was no reason for all of these closed coasters. I flipped off X2 and said, "Cedar Point kicks your ass and will ALWAYS kick your ass." Well, maybe I didn't say it, but I thought it! Down the road I went and luckily found an In and Out Burger which was the highlight of the day! Ended up at Knott's which was also a highlight. Clean grounds, great rides, friendly staff. This is how parks should be run!! Xcelerator was awesome! It was a little brother to TTD, and I got two great rides on it. That night, ended up back at Disneyland Resort and spent the new two days there. SUNDAY When in Portland, you MUST go to Oaks Park! They have two coasters: a kiddie one and a looping wild mouse. Both were decent, but the real star in the roller rink. It was built in 1905, and on Sundays features a live organist at the Wurlitzer! Totally worth the trip if you are in the area. And now.............. the pictures! Welcome to SFNE in April! Brrrr Bizarro DCA and Goofy's Flight School California Screamin' Awesome PhotoPass picture Awesome PhotoPass picture of CarsLand at night RSR Definition of a douche bag: guy who cannot wait til he disembarks Matterhorn to whip out his cell phone. As close as I ever got to X2 $17 to park. No thanks, SFMM The massive crowd anxiously awaiting the impeccable guest service at SFMM Superman logo still screwed up Closed Closed The empty parking lot at SFMM when I left. Yay!! Coast Rider looks ready to roll! Silver Bullet Windseeker was not running. Shocker! Looping Thunder at Oaks Park The train Ready to ride! Kiddie Coaster at Oaks A credit is a credit! Wheeeeeeeee! One of the awesome animals on the carousel the roller rink

Thanks for all the great advice. Also, I have been a cast member at WDW since 1999, so I have pretty much done all of the character dining options here and don't really need another buffet type place just to meet characters. Also, I don't drink, so any of the alcoholic suggestions are cool but not for me. Are the Voices of Liberty still performing there or was that just a summer time offering? Thanks again!

Question for locals or anyone who has been to DL/DCA a LOT! I am going to the parks for my 1st time in 13 years in April. Any suggestions on MUST do's particularly foods to eat or out of the way places to visit. I have never been to DCA so everything will be new to me. And the last time I was at Disneyland, Rocket Rods was still running! I'm staying at the Red Lion Hotel right across the street from the park. My plan is as follows: Monday April 15th DL/DCA Tuesday April 16th SFMM Wednesday April 17th Knotts 1/2 day then back to DCA Thursday April 18th DL/DCA 1/2 day then flying out that evening to Portland Thanks for any advice!

Here are a few of my favorite near Cedar Point http://sanduskyberardis.com/ This was the original supplier of Cedar Point's famous french fries. Good food, decent prices, and about 10-15 minutes from the park. The GRILLED BUTTERED CINNAMON SWIRL BREAD–(their caps not mine) is to die for!! And they are on Facebook, too: https://www.facebook.com/Berardis http://www.toftdairy.com/ Of course, you can also get Tofts at the park, but if you go to the actual dairy in which it is made, the prices are better, the ice cream is fresher, and the portions are HUMONGOUS! Plus, they tend to carry all of their flavors at the same time, and they also do huge shakes and sundaes. I always stop there after a day at the Point, but check to make sure they are open late since they close exactly at closing time!! http://www.cameopizza.com/ Good pizza and decent prices. When I worked at CP in the 80's, we always remembered the rudest waitresses worked there! They may be gone, but the good food remains. All three of these restaurants are off the beaten trail and not near the more touristy ones, so you'll end up eating with locals.

Quick SFNE question: if I were to buy a SF Gold Pass online, can I show the voucher the first time I go to the park to get free parking? I am thinking of going opening weekend and need to know if they will honor the pass before it is processed. Thanks!

Thanks. I did that and they all look pretty decent. Looking forward to seeing all that's new! (Which is a LOT!)

Coming out to DLR for the 1st time time 2000 (never been to DCA!) Any suggestions for nearby and reasonable hotels? I am flying into LGB airport and am considering not getting a rental car since I am just doing Disneyland Resort and Knott's. Any advice would be great. Thanks! My dates are April 14-18

I WISH! But I did get a solo ride on Mummy which was pretty awesome!

They opened the Transformers gift shop today and had the first meet and greet with the Transformers! I left before Bumblebee came out, but Optimus (if I have the wrong one, forgive me!) looks great. On to the pics!! Oh...and I highly recommend the Photo Connect card. I paid one price for the year and get UNLIMITED downloads of all pics taken in the park, including Mummy, Men in Black, Hulk, etc. Totally worth it! Gift shop Florida specific merchandise! see? And another

Just got back from a quick trip to the park in the light rain. No crowds! And Transformers looks AWESOME! Here are some pics!

I WAS going to try and go to SFMM this summer, but after reading all of the posts, I think I would be disappointed in how the park has gone downhill. Granted, I have only been to the park twice: the first time in 1980 and the second time in 2000. Twenty years apart and I noticed things that weren't as they used to be. And while my trip in 2000 was OK, I am sure I would be disappointed in how the park has declined. I guess we can only hope for another change in management that will bring back some of the lost luster.

I love the Barq's Diet Root Beer with Vanilla. The bomb.com

as·cet·ic n. A person who renounces material comforts and leads a life of austere self-discipline, especially as an act of religious devotion. adj. Hmmm....not sure how this fits in with Transformers. Oh...he meant THIS: AESTHETIC a : of, relating to, or dealing with aesthetics or the beautiful b : artistic c : pleasing in appearance Which one again proves the point that spell and grammar check are your friends!

Um. no. As someone who has worked at WDW for 14 years, that week is always the week after Christmas when the Magic Kingdom closes due to capacity several times. Islands of Adventure does as well. But I do miss the lull between Christmas and Easter when I could go to a park and ride everything with no wait. But more crowds=more new rides so I cannot complain! As far as the mini golf goes, I usually see more crowds at night after people have spent some time in the parks. And during the summer when it's WAY too hot to be golfing, it's pretty much dead. Maybe they should just do afternoon and evening hours on those brutally hot summer days.

Looks almost complete in the last web cam shot. Can't wait!

There are SO many classic quotes from the CP Facebook post with the new rendering of the front gate: UM...no it doesn't. Dumbass. Sure, before the technology was even developed. The parking lot is where it has always been. Hmmmm..doubt it. Yes. It is ready and running in mid February. Again...no. The epitome of lazy. Just do a search on the internet. Nope. I certainly hope so! Dumbass #2. Ok. You're stupid.

Yeah. It would be a shame if CP spent all that money on a new ride and MORE people showed up to go to the park, especially during August, the busiest time of the season. Good reasoning.

Awesome pics and great of Cedar Point to have ticket kiosks throughout the plaza. I am sure this will make it easier and faster for people to purchase tickets right there and also ones purchased at home. Very Orlando-esque!

Beside my usual parks (WDW, UO, Busch and Sea World), I will definitely visit Cedar Point (since I already renewed my pass for 2013) and hopefully hit some other Cedar Fair parks as well. REALLY hoping to do a Missouri trip to include my first ever visits to Worlds of Fun, Silver Dollar City, and Six Flags St. Louis. Doing a gig on the west coast (Portland, Oregon) so hoping for a few day trip to hit Disneyland, California Adventure (my 1st time there!), Knott's, and possible SFMM.

Since I have to work at WDW on Wednesday, I will either hit Space Mountain at MK or Rock and Roller Coaster at DHS.