pianojohn

Whereas Great America was a mere 3 trains from San Francisco, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom was 3 trains and 2 buses away. And I ended up missing the 2nd bus! Oh well, I made it! The park was a lot nicer than I thought it would be! I assumed when Six Flags bought it out that they would tear out the trees and shows and just add coasters. However, the park was beautiful with lots of landscaping and a TON of shows. Very impressive. Also impressive was the HUGE crowd including the General Mills company picnic. Since my time was limited I went ahead and bought the Speedpass for $20 which got me front of line access for 7 rides. I ended up only using 3 of them but it saved me about 2 1/2 hours in line. Quick recap and then the pics: Vertical Velocity: fun ride, strange inline twist Roar: still pretty rough even with the GCI trains Tony Hawk: fun but too much spinning for my taste Cobra: fun kiddie coaster with a LOOOONG train Medusa: good coaster with TOO long of a line Kong: horrible Vekoma hang and bang Boomerang: typical Vekoma Some other observations. Roar only ran one train since the 2nd train was in pieces near the station. Seriously? This is peak season and they didn't have both trains going. Same for Kong with the 2nd train just hanging there and Medusa with the 3rd train in pieces on the transfer track. Enough ranting. Here are the pics! The main entrance sign Medusa from across the street More Tony Hawk Roar Shouka the whale Some of the animal exhibits Hmm...Shamu and Sylvester...sorry....Shouka I think is the whale'sname Medusa More characters V2's crazy inline twist Tony Hawk's Big Spin The animals did the YMCA before they opened the rides. Cool animals on display everywhere. I think this was a bunny rabbit : ) Waiting outside the gates with a throng of people The gas prices in Northern California Here I am!

Just returned from a great 5 days in San Francisco. I was there to play piano for the SF Improv Festival as well as one in Santa Cruz. The shows went great! If you are interested, they are uploaded in their entirety on YouTube: The first show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy3aaQCud-0 The second show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkjr7uep8oY The final show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY7nadaa_2k Anyway, on to the parks! Thursday I took public transportation to Great America. Relatively quick, inexpensive, and convenient! I wish all parks were accessible this way. Not much in the way of crowds. I got all my credits pretty fast. The park is very pretty, well laid out, but small. And although there are a lot of coasters, they are all pretty forgettable. I was going to get my 400th credit today, and I wanted it to be something special. Unfortunately, the Grizzly did not open until noon which meant IT would be my 400th. See video below. On to the pics! Thanks for a fun day! Luckily a few short blocks away was a great restaurant called TOGO. Cheaper than eating in the park! My 400th coaster....not looking forward to it. More characters Did this used to be an IMAX theatre?It was not on the map. Flight Deck....by far the lamest B&M inverted. I mean...come on! How about adding another loop or something! The new top spin had great fire effects The Psycho Mouse was good. Better than a spinning mouse IMHO. The Demon was ok....but the loops were friggin rough! Invertigo...eh, it was ok. Just like Illinois! Yup, a Cedar Fair park for sure Spongebob and I hanging out! This way to the fun! Finally after 2 hours on 3 trains There is my stop Ready to ride Choo choo time Hollywood Studios Epcot again Pop Century Wide World of Sports On my flight out of Orlando, I was able to get some shots of Disney. Here is Epcot San Fran 2008 979.avi The pride of my 400th coaster...and the shame that it had to be on The Grizzly!

So I will be in San Francisco next week! Does anyone know the easiest (and probably least expensive) way of getting from downtown SF to Great America and SFDK? I know there are buses and trains that SAY they run there, but if there is anyone who actually has taken them, I would appeciate any advice. Thanks!

Well, I am a stockholder but I also still work for BGT. In the short term, most stockholders would welcome the $$$ gains made from this sale. But in the long run, is it worth the extra money now to selling out down the road and losing what is, in my opinion, the only truly great theme park chain as far as environment, landscaping, great rides, food, and shows? I don't think so.

Hmmm.....

There really isn't anything they can do about this. I worked at the park for 5 years and every single Saturday night was a nightmare trying to get home. And you really cannot compare CP to Disney or Busch because CP is located on a peninsula. There are only so many lanes of traffic that can move at once. Unfortunately, there really is not a solution out there. So either leave early, stay overnight, or leave after the crowds have thinned out. Sorry!

Great TR as usual! Fun and informative! OK..get back to work!

Hmm.....I have no idea how this will play out. Since I worked at BGW from 1994-97 and BGT since 2003, I know first hand the commitment to quality in the parks. Little things to some people such as landscaping and strict guidelines as far as food quality go are second to none in this business. I was just at Aquatica yesterday and was amazed yet again at the theming and basic quality overall. I really hope if the sale goes through that AB will hold onto the parks and run them the way they have been run. I know Disney would not be interested in the parks. If they did buy them, they would probably turn around and close them down to avoid the competition in the Orlando market. First the housing crisis, high gas prices, and now this! I am ready for a change of news (and soon!)

Ahh....one of my childhood coasters is gone. I remember the year they opened The Corkscrew and the big ad slogan that year was "Double Loop and Corkscrew too!" This was big news back in 1978! I will have to look for some of the OLD pics I have of the park from the late 70's. It is such a shame that Cedar Fair decided to just close the whole place down. I could envision the park turning into a quaint Lake Compounce type of park, but that will never be. Here's hoping against hope that the Big Dipper can be saved.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: and this Wow. Like everyone else said, our hearts go out to the family, but you have to blame the kid. Restricted means restricted, and fences with warning signs should be enough of a deterent not to enter dangerous areas. But no one in this day and age wants to take responsibility for their own actions. Unfortunate but true. It's like jumping a fence or even just walking onto a freeway, getting hit, and then blaming the drivers or the highway patrol.

I love all the art deco in this park. I only got to visit it once in 1980, but I am glad they retained all that awesome neon!

Playing piano at Comedy Warehouse was my 1st job at Disney since starting there in 1999. I also subbed at Adventure's Club, so I will definately miss it. But like one of my fellow actors said, no job lasts forever. Hard at work! ( and wearing the same shirt as my head shot!!)

I am keeping my fingers crossed on this one. As someone who worked for Busch Gardens Europe for 7 years Sea World for 2, and BGA for 4 and counting, there is no other company out there with the resources and dedication to keeping the parks looking beautiful as they are now. Plus with the Dubai project just getting going, I truly hope they are able to stave off this sale and possibly a hostile takeover.

Magic Kingdom EPCOT Disney's Hollywood Studios (just call it MGM) Animal Kingdom Universal Studios Islands of Adventure Sea World Aquatica Busch Gardens Africa Cypress Gardens Mt. Olympus Timber Falls Little Amerricka Six Flags Great America Cedar Point Canada's Wonderland Darien Lake Waldameer Park Still to come: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Great America Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (possibly)

Funny funny stuff! Especially liked the "nards" comment. Looking forward to part two!

Just returned from a trip to Ohio to see the family. Took a mini coaster trip to Toronto, Buffalo, and Erie. Enough chit chat....here are the pics! Ohio Trip June 2008 583.avi The Darien Lake Motocoaster launch Ohio Trip June 2008 585.avi And caught this clip of the "show" at Waldameer. Interesting! 'Til we meet again!! See? But Maverick is very pretty at sunset I still prefer Sheikra's 1st drop If only they would build one in Florida!! Ah.....Millenium Hey, here's a thought: fix it or get rid of it! But to leave it standing there with a million people walking by it does not seem right. Wildcat was still closed. Mantis....it looks good but the ride sucks!! See? Not too hard to find either. Right off Rt 6 They now serve Toft's Ice Cream in the park, but I prefer the original location in Sandusky. Cheaper and a better value! Gemini was actually racing!! Garbage can? Check! Oh....I also found this little fair down the road that had a few decent rides. : ) So you go down the road to take pics of the bridge and first drop. It's a great coaster, but not easy to photograph. The line looked long, but I ended up getting 4 rides in about an hour. Final coaster of the day: Ravine Flyer II. And the trains rattled terribly There was more straight track than the defunct Sky Streak from Boblo Island! Also got my Ride of Steel credit. It was closed last year when I visited. But why is it that this ride and SFA's version suck compared to SFNE? Couldn't they have built three amazing rides? Coming into the station with Viper in the background. The next day I was off to Darien Lake for my Motocoaster credit. Fun ride, but nothing more than an ok launch and lots of figure eights. And exit The best shots of Behemoth are from the parking lot And one more Smile for Elissa! See? And saw this cute groundhog nibbling leaves! He was oblivious to the human world...which led to some good pics! Took some shots of Skyrider from right in front of it. Loved the Scooby Haunted Mansion, but this had to be the slowest moving line ever. Seriously...about a 45 minute wait with only 30 people in front of me. Scooby and I looking for snacks. And why doesn't Cedar Point have one of these?? Love the first drop on Behemoth Finally rode Sledgehammer. It looks scarier than it actually is. Anyone know if this ride is anywhere else in the states? That's Mr. Ass to you! This sign was across the street by the Subway shop. I think some letters may have gone missing. Dora and I at the fountains Ah..no shows today. Skyrider was looping Vortex was swinging The park has a Coasters Diner. And I skipped this one like I do at all other Cedar Fair parks. Behemoth would get two thumbs up, but my other thumb was holding the camera! The line looked long, but thanks to awesome ride ops, I never waited more than 20 minutes!! Behemoth! It was kind of windy and cool....but I needed the credit of.... Tim Horton's has the best frozen coffee beverages! And after waking up at 5am to drive from Cleveland to Toronto, I need all the help I can get!

Well, I am up to 393 and my 393rd was the AWESOME Ravine Flyer II. But here is my dilemna: I will be visiting SFDK and Great America in July. So my 400th will have to be one of the coasters from SFDK, none of which really seem like the coaster I want my 400th to be! But what do you think?? If you had to pick one of these to be my 400th, which one should it be: Boomerang Coast to Coaster Cobra Kong Medusa Roadrunner Express Roar Tony Hawk's Big Spin V2: Vertical Velocity Thanks!!

This is so sad to look at. I was at the Idora Park auction in 1984. While it was great to see the park again, it was like going to a wake and a funeral. You knew this would be the last time you would ever see that person, and you wished they were still alive. As far as to why they do not aucition off individual signs: most people at auctions are not nostalgia collectors but other park operators. If they auctioned each individual sign, the auction would last for weeks! In hindsight, CF should have removed all of the collectable signs and had an enthusiast event to sell them off. Seriously....how many other park owners would really want a map of Geauga Lake??

When I was younger, my sister and I rode Gemini at Cedar Point 20X in one day! Back then, it was the biggest coaster in the park. And when Expedition Everest opened, I rode it 7X. Felt sick after all the backwards spirals!! And I think on the last operating day of the Idora Wildcat (Labor Day 1983) I probably rode it about 20 times.

Actually, the season parking pass was $65 inside the park. Just seems like they are really sticking it to the guests when they should be catering to them and trying to promote good will. See Holiday World for example. Free parking+Free soft drinks= Happy Guests!

I just got back from a weekend trip to Chicago. I played piano for a show at the Chicago Improv Festival. But since this is Theme Park Review and not Improv Festival Review, I will try to stick to the coasters! After an hour delay, I arrived in Milwaukee to begin my mini Midwest Coaster adventure. However.... The weather did not look good. But I got into my rented KIA and headed up to the Dells. According to my GPS, I would not arrive until after 2pm. And the parks close at 5pm. However, I realized that the GPS was still on Eastern Standard Time and not Central. Woo hoo! An extra hour! But first, a little snack! I love Frozen Custard, although my favorite is still East Coast Custard in Cleveland, OH. You know you are close to the Dells when you start to see mega indoor water park resorts. And slides.... Tacky tourist shops A Ripley's museum... And an ode to the Magic Kingdom!! I rounded the corner to Mt. O and saw the most horrifying site known to coaster enthusiasts everywhere.... Buses. Rows and rows of yellow school buses. I only needed 4 credits, but this may prove harder than I thought. Luckily, most of the kids were at the water park which meant the lines were short, save for Hades. And speaking of Hades, I was able to capture the ride ops at what they do best: sitting on the track between trains, ignoring the guests, and texting their friends back home in Greece! My first ride was Zeus. I was not impressed. The face of disappointment. Next was Cyclops. I promised to keep an eye out for it! Hmm...why is there no one in the back seat? Since I was one of about 10 people over 18 that day, I opted to ride the ejector seat from hell. It wasn't too bad, but very rough. 2 down....2 to go. Ah....Pegasus. This was actually a good little coaster and not your typical mini coaster clone. And the ride would have been fun if the two girls behind me were not SCREAMING at the top of their lungs from start to finish. It's fun to ride a coaster while plugging your ears...not. Pegasus through the trees. Finally I headed inside to ride the park's newest coaster: OPA! I guess they didn't want to commit to the coaster long term, so they never bolted it to the ground. That makes me feel safe! And there has to be a safer way to load trains instead of standing in front of them! Oh...but wait....I had one more elusive credit to score! Yes....Dive to Atlantis!! But where is it? I mean....there's the sign.... And there's the....picnic pavillion. Oh....remove the ride but leave the sign as an homage? Sort of like the Euclid Beach Park entrance sign, right?? I cried. I shed a single tear. Well, since I was able to get all four credits in about an hour, I headed down to Timber Falls. I had heard great things about the Avalanche, and I was not disappointed! This way to fun! I was the only one in the park. And on the coaster!! Great first drop! Nice laterals. And a fun log ride, too! I decided to take a little break and head to my luxurious accomodations for the night: The BlackHawk Motel!! Ah, yes! Step back in time and relive the 70's by staying at the BlackHawk! A front porch for entertaining Bedding from your grandma's attic The always classy fridge, microwave, TV combo with in wall AC unit. You have been warned. The next morning, I was back to Mt. O to ride Hades before the crowds arrived and then on my way to Little Amerricka. More water parks Farms A barn The town of Marshall, Wisconsin. Main street USA. I made it to the park in time for their noon opening and was one of about 5 people there! Fun but SO rough on the final few bunny hops. I think I need a new spine. Adorable! Such a cute little coaster, and kudos to the park for using the traditional hand brakes and rounded loading platform. P.O.V from the back seat! I even rode the Kiddie Coaster though the ride op was nice and did not subject me to a 2nd ride! Ah, the Toboggan. Now, I am not one for tight spaces, and I had heard that this one was pretty small. But I wanted to get the credit, so I approached the station, palms sweating. I sat down in the car and asked the ride op to let me see if I could handle the confinement. As he closed the top, my head was hitting it. And my back was being squished. And I could feel the life leaving my body. Um....no thanks. I think I will pass. So call me a wuss, but I just couldn't do it. Plus, I still had a 2 hour drive to Chicago. Oh well, c'est la vie. I did ride the park's powered monorail. A front seat view. Anyway, I was off to Six Flags Great America. I only needed two credits: Ragin' Cajun and Dark Knight. However, I was not prepared for the following sight when I drove up to the park: ARE YOUR SERIOUS?? I paid my $15, parked my car in the back lot, and walked right to Guest Relations to complain. And if you think $25 is too much to pay to park a car, feel free to let Six Flags know as well! http://www.sixflags.com/greatAmerica/footernav/contact.aspx And just to prove my point, I did a little research and came up with the following: Discovery Kingdom Parking is $15 Magic Mountain $15.00, Valet $30.00, Buses 20.00, RV's $25.00. Over Georgia Regular $15.00 and Premier parking for $20.00 Kentucky $5.00 per vehicle for parking America $15 per vehicle. Preferred Parking is $20 New England Valet $30, Preferred $25, General $15 St. Louis Daily parking is $15 Great Adventure Daily parking is $15, Preferred Parking is $25 SFOT General $15.00, Preferred $20.00 Valet $30.00 OK...off my soap box and on to the rides. It spun. I did not barf. I got my credit and will never have to ride it again! How is it that Viper is an amazing coaster while similar clones (Georgia Cyclone and SFMM's Psyclone) suck?? The Bull was Raging. Get it?? Dark Knight. Ok theming, ok ride, WAY too long to wait. I spent about 1 1/4 hours in line, and the park was pretty dead. Now, the front of the park has all these posters advertising the various themed lands. They may want to check these out since this one STILL advertises ShockWave! Then again, on the Sky Tower, the pre-recorded Spiel touts Deja Vu!! Saturday I was off to downtown Chicago to perform my show. Here are some pics. Outside the theatre Backstage with Mark, the star of the show. The stage. The audience. The show. Sunday morning. My flight back to Orlando was not until 6:30pm, so I decided to head back to Six Flags for more fun. More Flags. More price gouging. Ah....have a Coke...for $3.50 Or a Powerade for $4.50!! More expensive than a gallon of gas! You go girl!! Me with Tweety and....Whore Bird?? From the sky tower I got some great shots. The Bull had no line all day! My favorite coaster in the park! Fast, smooth, and a great location. Front lot: suckers who paid $25 Back lot: suckers who paid $15 Hey, what's that empty lot?? Ahhh, no more Deja Vu. Fine by me!! I headed to the park's IMAX when the skies turned very dark grey. This can't be good. The rain which lasted about 2 hours. After it stopped, I gave the Demon a spin and got my butt soaked. Good times!! They never did run The American Eagle when I was there. I left the park about 2pm and went across the street to Gurnee Mills for lunch that would not cost me an arm and a leg! I then made it to the Milwaukee Airport at about 4:30pm for my 6:30pm flight. But the earlier storm had pushed my flight back two hours. Or so I thought... I ended up FINALLY leaving Milwaukee at 1am, 7 hours after my initial flight time and arrived in Orlando at 4:15am. Zzzzzzzzzzz Thanks for reading!

Thanks for all the great advice. If anyone is around Mt Olympus on Thursday and Little Amerricka on Friday, look me up! Later!

If you would like some constructive criticism, the paragraphs you wrote were too long. Think about breaking them up into 3-4 sentence ones to make them easier to read. And I didn't get through your video since it seemed to be a 12 minute slide show of the pictures you took. Most people do not have 12 minutes just to watch some pictures scroll by. I would suggest uploading the best pics so people can read your TR and check out the pics all in about 1-2 minutes. I am jealous of your 17 rides on the Voyage though!

I will be doing all of those parks in 2 weeks! Woo hoo! Hopefully they will get the 2nd train on Ravine Flyer II by then!

I hope that they also rebuild the smokehouse restaurant there and make it a large venue like the ones at Busch Gardens Tampa and Williamsburg. They really do need another large sit down restaurant, and though I love the food at Sharks, I also love the BBQ from the other parks! Looks like Orlando will be the place to be in 2009! Good thing I live here!