pianojohn

Just got back from my day (4 + hours) at Hersheypark. Thanks to the great advice, I was able to hit all of the coasters I needed to and not spend too much time in line. We arrived at 9:30am to find a decent crowd waiting outside the gates. At about 9:55 we were let inside, and I made my way to the Farenheit area. Got on the 1st train right at 10am. OK coaster, nothing great in my book. Headed over to Storm Runner. Fun coaster with some nice surprises. Then got the Wildcat and Lightning Racer credits while squeezing in Wild Mouse and Roller Soaker. 7 coasters and it wasn't even 11am! Made our way to the other side of the park. Got the Trailblazer credit and then headed to tackle Great Bear, SooperDooperLooper, Comet, and SkyRush. Great Bear was about 45 minutes so we skipped it and headed to SDL. It was only running one train so we skipped that (for now). SkyRush had a 1hour15 minute wait, so we opted to do Comet. While in line for Comet, SkyRush broke down. We exited Comet just as SkyRush came back up, and the line was only 20 minutes! OK, here are my thoughts: The station: seriously?? Who designed a station where you exit and enter from the same side in the same place? I know Millenium Force does that, but they have an unloading and a loading area. It was a clusterf*ck everytime the train came back with people trying to get their items out of the bins and holding up the loading process. They could remedy this with two fixes: one costly and one practical. First, make the station flush loading. You enter from the left side and exit on the right. This would require a re-design of half of the building. Second, do not allow ANY loose articles on the ride. This takes up valuable loading time as well. Now the ride: it was fun, but after bottoming out on the first drop and having the lap bar stapled to my thighs, I just couldn't enjoy it anymore. I just kept thinking "When will this end so I can exit and get the feeling back in my legs?" Seriously! There has to be a way to have the bars lock in the station and not re-lock tighter during the ride. Fun day, hot weather, and a thrill packed 6 hour drive back to Cleveland!

Busch Gardens (FL) Sea World Aquatica Universal Studios FL Islands of Adventure Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney's Animal Kingdom Epcot Magic Kingdom Upcoming: Cedar Point Knoebels Grove Hersheypark Carowinds Busch Gardens VA King's Dominion

Off to Ohio tomorrow to see the family and ride some coasters! Wed June 20th Cedar Point Thurs June 21st Knoebels Friday June 22nd Hersheypark Monday June 25th Cedar Point (again!)

LOVED Rome when I was there last April! But I did the culture, and you guys are doing all the credits! Enjoy...and keep those pics coming! Love living vicariously through you!

Thanks for the great advice! The only new coasters for me are the three Intamins, Lightning Racer, and Roller Soaker (maybe the Wild Mouse too). Looking forward to it!

Some advice for a 2nd time visitor. The last I went to Hersheypark was 1998, the year of Great Bear. The lines back then were "bearable!" I am planning a trip there on Friday June 22nd. Any idea how crowds have been on Fridays? I am driving in from Ohio the day before and hitting Knoebels in the evening of the 21st. Just wanted some advice on what order I should hit the big coasters (SkyRush, Farenehit, Stormrunner). Are any of these walk-ons? Of course, I can always pick up their FastLane/FastPass (whatever it is called) but I'd rather save the $50 if I don't need to purchase it. Thanks!

The only wooden coaster near Orlando is Gwazi. I am SO excited for this! Cannot wait for 2013!!

Thanks for coming again! Mind if I use these pics on my Facebook show page? https://www.facebook.com/ThemeParkDivaTheMUSICAL Thanks!!

Last shout out!! We were picked as one of Orlando Weekly's top 20 most anticipated shows!! We open TONIGHT at the Orlando Fringe! Get your tickets at the door and save $2 with any theme park ID!! See you at one of the following show times: Thursday 17 May; at 9:15pm Friday 18 May; at 5:30pm Sunday 20 May; at 3:15pm Monday 21 May; at 8:30pm Thursday 24 May; at 5:30pm Saturday 26 May; at 9:15pm Sunday 27 May; at 11:00am All shows at Orlando Shakespeare Theater in the Margeson.

Just rode Jane's Carousel in Brooklyn Heights, NY. It is the former Idora Park carousel that was purchased at auction and restored over the last 25 years. It is beyond beautiful! And the setting in a glass building at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge is truly breathtaking. Enjoy the pictures!

And we got a great write up on MiceChat from Kevin Yee! http://miceage.micechat.com/kevinyee/ky050112a.htm Hope to see you all there!!

Our show logo Hello Orlando TPRers! My musical, Theme Park Diva, will be presented as part of the 2012 Orlando Fringe Festival from May 17-27, 2012. What is Fringe? A 13-day-festival that is founded on the concept of offering 100% unjuried, 100% uncensored, 100% accessible theatre, music, dance, and art to all types and ages where 100% of the box office ticket sales go directly back to the artists within The Fringe. The Orlando Fringe is the longest running Fringe Festival in the United States, celebrating 21 years as “Orlando’s most unique cultural experience”. Orlando Fringe is a proud member of the United States Association of Fringe Festivals (USAFF) http://www.fringefestivals.us and the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF) http://www.fringefestivals.com. Basically, it is theater, dance, music, comedy, and lots of crazy stuff in between. Shows are rated G to R with some shows offering nudity! (Not mine....but we do say "bitch" twice and "ass" once or twice!) For a much more detailed explanation of the Fringe, check out their site: http://orlandofringe.org/how/howto/ My show is a musical about the made-up Galaxy World USA and the cast of the park's BIG show: Music Music Music Music and More! It features a cast of 11 made up of many Disney and Broadway veterans. I first wrote the show back in 1997 as part of the end of season banquet for Busch Gardens VA. I have produced it twice in the past at the Orlando Fringe in 2003 and 2005. I'd love to see you at the show! Tickets are $12 (which included the $1 service fee) and can be purchased online now right here: https://t5.clicknprint.com/Online/?siteID=1421&cartID=42ca013d-f2b1-426a-b09b-24c4114f0b15&eventid= Just scroll down to my show "Theme Park Diva" and pick your date and quantity of tickets. NOTE: I am also offering a $2 discount to all theme park employees. HOWEVER, you can only get this discount if you purchase the tickets in person at the festival. My venue holds 360 people, but I would suggest getting tickets early in case we sell out. Box Office hours on weekdays are 4 PM-Midnight and weekends 10 AM-Midnight. Orlando Fringe Box offices are located in the lower-lobby of The Lowndes Shakespeare Center and the back lobby of The Orlando REP from May 17-27th. Also, you must have a Fringe button to get into any show. This button costs $8 (I think) and you only need to purchase it once. There is also a BEER TENT! And lots and lots of food vendors on the lawn. It's a great place to hang out between shows and talk to other guests about what they liked and didn't like. And for those so inclined, I am looking for sponsors for my show. Basically, I have spent about $3000 of my own money on fees, ads, and other expenses. I have sold ads in my program and raised about $700. If you want to be listed as a sponsor or have your website listed, I am accepting sponsors for $25 a line in my program. Here is the link for that: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=GH6M5P2AHCREW Here is a quick link to my original post for the show in 2005: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1842&hilit=theme+park+diva Thanks and hope to see you at the Fringe!! Most of the cast with the show poster

I have a banner from EPCOT 2000 celebration A flag from the defunct Jack Rabbit at Idora Park A wheel from the Wildcat at Idora Park A Banshee button Every Cedar Point souvenir map from 1977-present Some postcards from the 1900's of Cedar Point and Waldameer Wood from the Riverside Cyclone its opening year (sold as souvenirs) Name tags from all of my theme park jobs (Cedar Point, Busch Gardens VA and FL, Universal Studios FL, and WDW)

If anyone is planning to go to the park this year, I'd love to know if my brick is still there. I bought one of the bricks in the entrance plaza years ago but never went back to see if it was installed or if they still exist. The brick should read: John B deHaas Theme Park Diva That's the name of my musical I wrote: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Theme-Park-Diva-The-Musical/218583551485752 Anyway, if you see it there, I'd love a picture of it! Thanks!

http://www.cedarpoint.com/what-s-new/fast-lane Here is all the info on it!

Hmmm....this may make my decision that much easier! I'm gonna say yes!

Hmm....I'd like to buy a vowel...and some punctuation....and a spell check. GEEZ!

I took a 3 day cruise on the Monarch of the Seas. The whole ship smelled like an ash tray. Good luck!

Yes there are TONS of sound effects. In the pet cemetery scene, each tombstone has a different pet noise (dog, cat). And the BGM (background music) is an awesome loop of fun songs such as "Thriller," "Little Shop of Horrors," "Werewolves of London" etc.

Got a chance to check out Hollywood Drive in Golf today at USF. I only did the Haunting of Ghostly Greens course and took lots of pictures. Enjoy! It's open! Prices Rules and some of the Sci Fi side And if you decided to play another round at the end, you can add it here. It is the same price as pre-paying for 36 holes. My score card front Score card back Inside the card (I stopped taking score but got all holes in one!)

So glad they are re-lighting the Giant Wheel. I took this pic a few years ago and most of the lights were out. And this was mid May! No reason whatsoever for so many burnt out bulbs

I did not get the email.

Hey fellow Orlando coaster enthusiasts: After cleaning out my office, I found about 40 past issues of Rollercoaster! magazine and at least 50 issues of ACE News dated 1999-2008. I'd prefer to donate them to someone who would really like and appreciate them. Just send me a PM (private message) rather than reply to this post. Also, I can meet you somewhere in Orlando (I live in Ocoee), but I cannot ship them, as they weigh too much. Thanks!

I don't know what's more annoying: the stupid comments the GP makes on Facebook or the horrendous spelling and misuse of words! And some classic responses: Um...I'd like to buy a comma. And a period please! Comon? Does this brain dead person mean Come On or the rapper Common? Either way...classic! A reminder that you are, in fact, an idiot. No words. BUT you did pay $5 to see KI's....so the joke is on you!! Um, what??

I did a similar type thing at Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySeas in 2003/2004. They had a New Year's Eve ticket which was good from 9pm on Dec 31st through 10pm on Jan 1st. We went for a few hours, headed home about 4am, slept, then headed back to the parks on Jan 1st around 3pm. It was cool but exhausting!