pianojohn

I hate the phrase "over stuffed sandwhich." Don't ask my why!

No fair with an IKEA in the background could be called ghetto!

I am always amazed at your great pics. Screw it if it's 7 months late...it's worth the wait!! Thanks!

Hopefully with the Harry Potter overlay, they will upgrade/tear down/ do SOMETHING with the Pteranodon Flyers. I got to ride it back in 1999 during previews and never since. I mean...who puts the LOWEST capacity ride in a park with HUGE numbers?? Anyway, fun trip report!

Well, the nostalgia buff in me must say 1978 for the following reasons: Gemini (then the tallest, fastest, etc) Colossus (also the tallest, fastest, etc) Loch Ness Monster (first interlocking looping coaster) Mind Bender (still a great ride!) Shockwave at SFOT (another classic) Montezooma's Revenge, Greezed Lightnin' and Tidal Wave (shuttle loops) Lightning Loops at SFGAdv (interlocking shuttle loops) You have to admit....quite a year! And I rode Gemini its first season when lines averaged an hour of so for this MONSTER coaster! My have times changed.

Damn! You all beat me to the news! My roommate works as a freelance audio tech for the park, and he called me a few hours ago. He told me they had been testing Maverick all day, and then he got a call on the radio that it would officially open Saturday! Woo hoo! Only a few more weeks 'til I ride!

As one of the characters in one of my FAVORITE movies (Elvira: Mistress of the Dark) says: "Class does not compete with trash." Guess you had to see it to get it. But....how lame! If you wanna get drunk and act like idiots, go to Club Paris in downtown Orlando!!

I think I got a headache just watching it flip! Although, I do love Tomb Raider at PKD with the fire and water effects.

Oh, one more thing! About 2 weeks after the marathon, a good friend of mine came down from Michigan for Spring Break. We went rollerblading one afternoon, and he fell and broke his wrist in 4 places. OUCH!! And we are both pianists. Luckily, he is healing now! So, for those thinking about blading or doing a marathon, ALWAYS wear wrist guards. Always! Ok....back to more coasters!

Well, this is all a matter of opinion. If you are looking for a park near other attractions, you would go with BGA. About an hour away are the world's greatest theme parks: Disney and Universal as well as Sea World. BUT if you are only going to one park, I would say BGE. Overall, the park is much prettier with lots and lots of trees and shade. And the Williamsburg area is nice if you like historic places. Coaster by coaster, it is a toss up for me. I prefer Apollo's Chariot and Alpengeist, but I also love Sheikra and Scorpion. Have not been on Griffon yet, but I am sure it will be great.

Sheikra is AWESOME. The first time you ride a dive coaster, it can be intimidating. And that's the way they design it. On Sheikra, the entire time you are climbing the steep lift hill, you can see the vertical drop right next to you. The very slow turn and stop at the top all serve to build suspense. The hold before the drop is a little scary, but you are not facing straight down, even in the front row. Once it lets you go, for a split second you get that "I'm gonna die feeling" that I ALWAYS feel on drop towers. But that feeling is replaced by sheer joy as you float out of your seat for the entire drop. The rest of the ride is fun, not as intense as the big first drop, and the splash looks better from the ground. Don't think about it. Just ride it and I guarantee you will want to re-ride. Dragster, as someone already posted, it very quick. The launch is intense, but by the time your body realizes how fast it is going, you are climbing the tower, cresting, and dropping. I don't remember anything other than the launch. If you can, try to enjoy the view since it only lasts a second or so. Intense but over in a matter of seconds.

Back on April 1st, I completed my 1st Inline Marathon! Actually, a half marathon (13 miles) but it was a blast. We got to skate through the streets of MGM and EPCOT, but mostly it was a lot of skating on the freeways and in parking lots. Enjoy the pics! (Hope this fits in as a Theme Park related topic!) And here is one of the pics the professionals took of me in China!! Yeah! The finish line with my partner Shawn. Almost done! The joys of skating on a closed freeway. And the big ball Welcome to Morroco! Around the Boardwalk by the Dolphin and Swan. The woman in front of me fell about 1/4 mile up and took out someone else in the process. And onward to EPCOT! Hollywood Boulevard at MGM Self portraits are my speciality! And another angle And this is what the Tower of Terror looks like from backstage! And we're off! One of my favorite pics Ready to roll! People warming up in the parking lot of Wide World of Sports Welcome to Disney! We don't open for 6 more hours!! Yeah, that would be 4:06am!!

Unfortunately, I-95 is the most direct route there. My best advice would be to do the 295/495 corridor around Washington DC during an off hour to avoid the horrendous traffic and tie-ups. I would say anytime after 10am but before 3pm should be ok since all the crazy drivers will "hopefully" be at work by then. Whatever you do, do NOT attempt to drive around this area on a Sunday from 5pm until late. It seems everyone in the world is heading back home to DC and I always got stuck in traffic then. I took the Amtrak train from NYC to Williamsburg a few times, and it was not too bad. Of course, you would need a rental car since the Amtrak station is nowhere near the park, and Williamsburg is not a city that you can walk or take a bus around. Best of luck!

I just rode El Toro for the first time a few weeks ago. It was great! VERY smooth, fast, lots of airtime, and comfortable cars. In my opinion. it is hard to compare El Toro to The Voyage because they are both such different rides. Yes, they are tall and fast and all that, but Voyage for me is more like a terrain coaster (The Beast) whereas El Toro is a great out and back (Shivering Timbers, though ST is NOT all that it is cracked up to be). As Elissa said earlier, I could ride El Toro all day without too many lasting side effects. The Voyage, however, is just too intense, and I found myself needing some time off between rides. The El Toro cars were very comfortable, and with the low sides, they felt like Millennium Force cars. Lots of open space and air, unlike the PTC cars and their box-like feel. Just my observation. I would love to ride these two coasters at night to get a real feel for them. I am sure Voyage would be amazing with the tunnels and woods location.

My new CD HOME is now available! OK, I know this SEEMS like a commercial announcement, so hear me out! Plus, I emailed Robb and he said I could post this here. I have been working as a professional musician since graduating from college in 1987. Yes, I am THAT old! I have spent the majority of those 20 years working in theme parks, playing piano at Cedar Point, Busch Gardens VA and FLA, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios in both FLA and Japan. Still interested? Read on!! I recorded the CD last month here in Florida and it features 10 original new age piano songs. This is my fourth original release, and my most personal one to date! To hear a sample of the music on the cd, check out www.myspace.com/johnbdehaas Now, how do you order one? (or more??) CD's are $14 each or 2 for $25. You can order them directly from me in one of the following ways: Send me the money via PayPal. It is very easy to use and set up, and very safe. Click on www.paypal.com for more details on how to do so. If interested in ordering one or more, send me a private message here and I can give you my email address for PayPal. If you want to send a personal check, say so in the message, and I will respond with my home address. The CD IS NOW available at www.cdbaby.com/dehaas2. The individual tracks will also be available for download at Itunes, Rhapsody, and many other online mp3 sites! The CD cover The scene of the crime! In the studio last month

I was TOTALLY there on Saturday too! In fact, I was at the 1st Beetlejucie show. Must have missed you! But it was very crowded. Thanks goodness for VIP passes!!

Awesome pictures! I cannot believe how Griffon really dwarfs everything else in the park. I remember looking down on Loch Ness from the Sky Ride, but not it seems you have to look UP at Griffon! Maybe they should replace the roofs on the sky ride cars with glass!

My first ride on the Voyage was in the back, and I loved it. I also rode it in the fron and middle, and found each ride to be just as exciting and intense. Rough? Not at all. In fact, it was so fast, you really don't have time to think about anything else. I look forward to riding it again this summer. Enjoy~!

Just a suggestion: either change the date on your camera to the current date or turn it off. May not seem like a big deal now, but 5, 10, 20 years from now you may not remember when the pictures were taken. Though obviously it could not have been January since the park is closed. Anyway, thanks for the pics!

Let us know how it goes since I will be attempting to go there the following Saturday before flying back to Orlando. The only credit I need (and want) is El Toro, and since I have a Six Flags Season Pass, I am not too concerned about getting my money's worth for the day. Anyone know how long the El Toro line usually is? I will probably just go and ride that as many times as possible, so I am not sure a FlashPass would be economical for my purpose. Anyway, have fun next weekend! And thanks to everyone for the advice.

So what exactly does one win? I was looking on the website to find a description of the prize. Airfare? Lodging? Tickets?

Didn't Knott's do this a few years ago with equally appalling results? I can only imagine what kind of crowd they attracted today and how many arrests were made in the park. At least it didn't turn out like Lotte Worlds promotion: Stampede at South Korea's Lotte World injures dozens 2006-03-27 By Robert Niles: Let's take a visit to "Irony-land" for a moment. More than 50,000 people gathered outside South Korean theme park Lotte World Sunday, the first day of a six-day free admission promotion at the park. The crowd rushed the gates, and the resulting stampede injured 24 people, according to the Associated Press. The reason for the promotion? Again, according to the AP, the park was trying to improve its image after a man fell to his death from the park's Atlantis Adventure Intamin water coaster on March 6. Park officials cancelled the free admission promotion after the injuries.

If this is in the wrong are, feel free to move it, but I have some questions from any New Jersey folks about SFGAdv. First, I have been there a few times before. My questions are more logistical in nature. Just got a mailer from Six Flags America to renew my pass, so I thought it would make sense (as well as cents) to do so and use it at other parks. I am flying into Newark to go to NYC to see shows and visit friends the week of April 23rd. I am planning to hit SFGAdv on Saturday April 28th. I know it's a Saturday, but I am hoping it won't be too insane since it is early in the season. Since I was just there 2 years ago, the only new ride I have not done yet is El Toro. Will it be open first thing in the morning or are they still having problems with it? Not sure if I should make the running of the bulls if this bull ain't runnin"!! Also, how close is SFGAdv to Newark airport? I am hoping to talk one of my NYC friends to go to the park with me and then drop me off at the airport in time for my 7pm flight that evening. Is this do-able or an exercise in madness and futility? Thanks!

Not going to get into a big argument here, but if shows are not your thing, that's cool. Just don't say they are forgettable and assume that everyone else will think so. IF you are into shows, and since I work on most of them, here is what they are and you can decide for yourself: Katonga: a 35 minute African inspired production. Lots of costumes, dancing, effects, etc. Mirage Canteen: a 25 minute USO type 40's show. I personally think it is one of the best theme park shows I have ever worked on, and I have been doing shows since 1986. Very fun, fast paced, great dancing and singing. Emerald Beat: the same Irish show that will be playing/is playing at Busch Gardens Europe. Direct from Ireland and it features Irish music and dancing. Pirates: A 3-D movie in the old Dolphin Stadium. Same movie that played at BGE. MUCH better than Haunted Lighthouse. There is also the Sheiks, a marching band that has been a fixture at the park for over 20 years and the Men of Note, an acapella group. Forever Friends is a children's show at the Land of the Dragons. They are also working on a new animal show that will replace the bird show, Wild Wings of Africa which is still running. As far as coasters, you should defiantely hit Sheikra first and get as many rides in as you can. They have been using 4 trains lately, so the lines moves pretty quickly. I recommend the Smokehouse for lunch since they have great BBQ and you can watch Sheikra splash down from the comfort and dryness of the air conditioned dining room. Both sides of Gwazi were running when I was there Monday, but they have not been dualing for quite some time. Have fun!

For those interested, I am playing keyboards in the pit for MAMMA MIA in Gainesville, FL. I have attached some pics for fun. If you are coming to the shows today (2pm and 7:30pm), lean over the pit and say hi! Doing my Mamma Mia face in front of the theatre In front of one of the MANY semi trucks that brings this show all over the country. You can see the house from here. Cool, no? Sitting in the pit