pianojohn

Florida can see it, but that doesn't mean we know how to vote! John "I can say that since I am from Ohio" deHaas

Very cool TR! I need to hit some of the lesser known Florida attractions. Every time I drive to BGT, I pass Dino World (I think that's what it is called) and I NEED to check it out! Enjoy EE when you come to DAK! I will be up in Virginia for 6 weeks doing another show. Need to get in as many coasters as possible between now and Saturday!

OK, that "summer is going fast" ad for Cedar Point used to almost bring me to tears!! Anyone else?? It was such a great ad, and as someone who grew up at the Point every summer, it pretty much bummed me out thinking that I would have to live without CP for the next 8 months! I guess that's why I worked there for 5 summers and try to get back every single year.

No, it just looks that way. It is very smooth and gives you a nice view of DAK on the way up. It is nowhere NEAR as steep as Sheikra!

Well, I guess it is a new movie for BGT, but the film itself is at least 8 or 9 years old. But ANYTHING is better than that Lighthouse movie! You would think they could at least hire better actors! Geez!

Hello all! A short report and lots of pics! Just got back from the Cast Member preview of Expedition Everest. WOW! I loved it! It had a great mix of theming, lush greenery, and a cool coaster to boot. I am not going to tell all the secrets, but it is definately worth a trip to Orlando. I also was at Busch Gardens yesterday working (and riding!) . Sheikra was great as ever. Gwazi was not. It has gotten so rough with lateral banging. It felt as if every bolt was sticking through the tracks. It is too bad since it is a cool layout and could be an AWESOME ride with new Millenium Flyer cars and some serious re-tracking. Finally, had lunch with Tommy and James as they headed back north. They are as crazy as ever! Enjoy the pics! And yes, Kumba was closed as they finished painting her/him/it! Loop time Is this an acceptable level of wetness?? It was a beautiful day to take pics of Sheikra Artsy shot Sheikra goodness Saw this line of 5 wheel chairs at Busch. HAD to take the picture The view from the very top. One of the many tunnels Almost at the top 2nd chain lift First chain lift In the front seat with my friend Tim. Uh oh My first ride on EE! Me at the ride. Sorry, no cool caption. The cool cars. The steam comes out as the train leaves the station. Ahhh! Tommy and James with myself and my partner Shawn.

Awesome spots! I remember the Demon Drop one and that sinister "Demon Drop" chanting in the background. The Gemini one is kind of funny. I guess after a long winter, all it wants to do is run over that kid in the commercial!

If Six Flags really wants to turn their company around, they need to start with good customer service and better training. Unfortunately, the corporate mentality only looks at dollar signs and not good will created. It is really sad when a multi-billion dollar company like Six Flags has forgotten what their company was all about: to entertain people and not rake them over the coals. Give me Holiday World any day over Six Flags.

As someone who has ridden two different Ultra Twisters in Japan, I thought this ride was great. Short but intense, and not nearly as rough as Manhattan Express. I am also looking forward to riding this one this summer!

WOW! Those pics are great, esp with the golden/red hues of the sun. Cannot wait for this one!! Thanks!

Yeah, since I work for the Mouse and it was REALLY busy, I just wanted to get my Space Mountain fix and take some pictures. Plus, we had an awesome breakfast! Thanks for all the well wishes...it was a GREAT B-day! But then again, ANY day that includes a coaster is a great day!

Just got back from a quick few hours at the Magic Kingdom. Since 1999, I have been going there every year on my birthday (save for 2001 when I was in Osaka and had to substitute Expoland. Not the same!!). Had plans to do the Luah tonight with friends, but due to the cold weather (30's and 20mph winds!), they cancelled it. So, we did the character breakfast at the Crystal Palace, a quick spin on Space Mountain and WEDway People Mover (or whatever it is called now) and headed home to prepare for our OWN luah at the house! Enjoy the pics! And Happy Birthday to me!! My birthday gift from my parents: the Disneyland 50th CD set. Thanks Mom and Dad! The Lab Retriever Cool, no? On to my favorite ride at the park: Space Mountain. They even got me a card! (To go with the 5 others I have from past years...) Breakfast Buffet with Pooh and friends. Like I say, it is always GREAT to start your day with a little Pooh~! Yippee....I could not think of anything clever to say! Yea! My free birthday button from the Mouse! I now have like 5 or 6! With my coaster riding friend Tim. He LOVES Pluto! OK...this picture took like 20 takes...but it is well worth the effort! I think.... The opening celebration complete with train, characters, and streamers! Woo hoo! My partner Shawn and I waiting for the gates to open. Brrr...it's cold but sunny

As I was driving back from Florida Mall, I realized I had not been to IOA in quite a few months. Since my pass was going to expire soon, I needed a quick IOA fix! As you can tell by the pics, the park was empty and the weather was perfect! Couldn't have asked for a better day. Noticed quite a bit of head banging on the Hulk, but that's pretty much it. Enjoy the pics since nothing really happened other than a few quick rides and back home! The Spiderman queue...empty! Not sure which Super Hero this is...anyone? The Hulk as seen from Dr. Doom. Hulky goodness!! And these ones too! Check out those wait times!

For God's sake, SOMEONE get this poster a dictionary or a good spell check program. Sorry, it just does not make your case any stronger when every other word is misspelled and your punctuation is all over the place.

Sea World is getting a kiddie coaster and I highly doubt they will build another thrill ride. The two they have are great, but the majority of their guests go to the park for the shows and scenery. And as someone who worked there for a year and for Anheuser Busch Theme Parks for 10 years, I think I may have a good idea of where the park may be heading. Plus, they will be investing heavily in their new water park which is scheduled to open in 2007.

Great TR and pics! If I knew you were in town, I would have bopped over to IOA to say hello! Of course, I was in the throws of Garage Sale HELL on Saturday! (made $700!) Hopefully see you at EE soon!

I sooooooooo wanna be there, but I will be in the throws of rehearsal for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST in Roanoke, Virginia. Oh well, I will stop by HW on my way back to Orlando in July. I THINK I can wait 'til then!

I have lots of video and pics from the day I was there in 2001. It was a cute little park and the 3 coasters were all pretty good.

According to Screamscape: Japan - (1/6/06) One of our readers tells us that the Japanese park, Kobe Portopialand has announced that it will close forever on March 31st, 2006. This is sad, but when I lived in Japan, I was amazed by how many parks I visited where I was one of about 20 people there that day! It was a wonder how they kept it open. Still, I really liked this little park, especially the BMRX.

WOW....I guess I will skip all the holiday crap here in Orlando and go for the REAL thing next year! Amazing!

AWESOME TR as usual! I did the Mystery Castle tour as well back in 2004. Not sure if it was weird because 1) it was 4am on New Year's Day 2) It was about 20 degrees out 3) It was all in Japanese and we had no idea what was going on! But it was very cool knowing there was a dungeon/basement under the castle. Have a safe trip back!

I did the countdown party at TDS in 2003 and it was awesome! I remember they gave you a coupon book good for 2 snacks and unlimited soft drinks. THAT is unheard of in Japan!

I think that the Japanese culture doesn't freak out when they have snow or cold temperatures like the USA. When I worked in Osaka in 2001, it was freezing, snow, etc, but most of the people I saw going to work and school had nothing on but a windbreaker while I was in a down coat, gloves, hat, etc. If you had the parks open here, people would FREAK out if they didn't heat the outdoor que lines! I think we are just spoiled. Anyway, keep up the great TR! Can't wait to hear what you thought of 24 hours at TDL. I did that in 2003-04 and was amazed that most tourists just crashed on Main Street during the early morning rather than leave the park! We did the parks until 6am, went home and slept for a few hours, then went back in the afternoon.

Yes, I am a total credit whore. Cases in point: went on Fiesta Express at Cypress Gardens two days ago. If you have ever seen it, it is basically a zig zag track and a top speed of about 5 mph! Bribed my niece to go on Jr Gemini with me. When we got back in the station, all the kids yelled for another ride (I did not) but had to ride it again! The SMALLEST cars in the world! Did the kiddie coaster at SFGadv. They usually make you ride with a kid, but the two kids in front of me didn't want to ride with me. Such is life...but I got the credit!! At Lake Winnie...on some worm coaster! At Cypress Gardens. Ah, a credit is a credit!! At Six Flags Great Adventure. The two kids who DIDN'T wanna ride with me were wearing these HUGE blue circles over their faces! At Six Flags Great America

It was pretty weird, but the worst part was the OTSR's. They were VERY tight, and I pretty much freaked out on the ride since it went so SLOW at the beginning. I actually video taped myself on it, and you can hear me talking to myself and trying not to have a panic attack! NOT fun!