Beeja

Hi Benny, thanks for all the great reports, you sure visited lots of parks this seasonn, that Fun Card was a great deal! And I'm really happy for you that you finally got to ride Anubis, Belgium's best, indeed! About the Giants: post your bests! I've seen some great pics on your FB, I think a selection will do fine. And like Larry already mentioned, you can always post more if asked... Well, take care and keep up the good work!

STOP MAKING ME JEALOUS!!! You're visiting every park I wanted to visit this year but I haven't got to any of them (except for Efteling, thanks to you!)... Then again, your fantastic reports ease the pain just a little bit and after looking at your pics, I'm going to make sure that I visit Europa, Phantasialand and Plopsa Coo next year! Thanks for sharing! Oh, and I love your shirt! HEY HO! LET'S GO!

Thanks for the comments so far! It was great meeting you and your daughter too, Benny! I hope you enjoyed the Tour! I sure hope we can visit some more parks together in the future, that would be nice. Now onto the rest of this TR! We also had ERT on de Vliegende Hollander (Flying Dutchman), which is obviously quite well themed. Going through this entrance is like being teleported to the Dutch Golden Age. The harbour with the enclosed lift hill en the beginning of the first drop. Yes, we're still in the year 2010! In this shed houses a mid course break run... Before... kerSPLOOOSH! Note that you're not getting that wet, all the water gets catapulted to the sides It's a great and good looking ride but in my humble opinion, Efteling should've done better with this splash... After all the madness, the boats return to the harbour in peace. After ERT it was time to get that Dora the Explorer feeling and wander around in the park. First stop: Carnaval Festival! A hilarious darkride with a catchy tune! It's a great way to score some culture credits. Unfortunately, the only sound my mind hears is "BBBbbbzzzzzZZZZzzzzZZZZ". I wonder where my brain gets that sound from... Maybe that recent sporting event? I don't know! Beer Country! At last!! I can die happy now This makes me a wee bit uncomfortable... Especially that priest ont he bridge! YIKES! Siamese sumo wrestlers?! Is that even legal?? Shadow piranha is eyeing his next victim... Hans is all "I'm outta here"! Belgium says "tot ziens" Next to the Carnaval Crazyness is the indoor roller coaster Vogel Rok (a Vekoma, quite good but a bit too dark inside). This weird fella welcomes you at the People of Laaf, a walkthrough and monoride village with lots of stuff going on... Stuff like little houses (this is the school) Stuff like watermills and exploding water holes (note: monorail snail in upper right corner!) Stuff like sleeping, grumpy old man. Stuff like Chris popping out of something that looks like a ... nevermind! (Hi Chris!) And I leave you with this totally crazy stuff: men! More coming soon, stay tuned!

Ohai! Thanks to Benny (Groteslurf) and his lovely daughter I had the opportunity to join the Europe Trip for one day at the Club TPR Day at the Efteling. It was a great day filled with plenty of rides on the new woodie Joris en de Draak and de Vliegende Hollander (I LOVE ERT), meeting old and new friends, walking around in the park, a fantastic lunch buffet at noon, and so on and so on... Joris en de Draak is a great addition. It's fun for all ages (it's not that high and the speed is just perfect) and the racing/dueling parts are very sensational. Both sides are part the same, part completely different. They both start with a great first drop followed by an even better triple up. From there on, they're following their own path, crossing the other here and there. And from there on, they both seem running out of control! Towards the end, both tracks come together again to complete the last part racing. Almost at the end, both trains have an über cool reversed banked part (which I adore!) right before the finish. Returning to the station next to the other train is great, especially when your train won! Seriously, the loss of Pegasus is already so forgotten! This first part will only contain pics of Joris en de Draak (the rest will follow, don't worry) and since I'm not that much into writing a long story, I'll let my pictures tell their own story. Enjoy! BAM! Here they are, Fire and Water in all their glory. GCI Joe checks if the trains can handle all the TPR geekiness. Oooooh, that's one angry dragon! Getting close... I was getting all excited right here! Hmmmm, this spaghetti of wood looks delicious! This is inside the station building. When the trains returned to the station, the flags of the winning side were lowered! Station building overview (note how the light of "coaster heaven" can be seen in the back) I call this one "Destination: Pure Bliss" "Swooooooosh!" is the only sound your brain is allowed to make here. Joris en de Draak is Peter-and-Hans approved! Robb and ...(Derek?), hard at work (the result is great!) Ick! Here's Miss Pure Evil again! Dutch airplanes flying over the Efteling are now required to fly parallel with her horns. A lovely turn for all you lovely turn enthusiasts. How I'd love to build my house right here... Oh God, she's procreating... Water (the left and my preferred side) is in the lead! This duck goes for the "swim with a view" option. Don't you just love those sexy GCI turns?! Yes, it's true! Joris en de Draak is even fun for THE CASTED (front seat, wtf?!) And to conclude this part, I leave you with this pic of the entrance (yes, my brain and my camera work in reversed order...)

Nice angle in that last picture of Phantasialand Great pictures as usual, Hanno! You and your camera are an amazing couple... I really love to look at your pics, they're always entertaining, special and sometimes "failed" but still beautiful! And you say your picture taking skills crashed that day?! My best skills don't even come close to yours on a "bad day"... Thanks for posting these and I'm looking forward to your Efteling update! Take care!

Dear mister Overlord, below some pictures of the Pony Ride at Bobbejaanland (Belgium). I hope you can use them! Oh, and it was nice meeting you at the Efteling! Take care!

^ I sure did! Looks like fun when everything goes well but I guess it can be very painful also... Great reports so far, guys! I'm really enjoying this. Katun looks very impressive, I hope I can have a ride on it one day... Is it also very forceful? Have fun at Europa Park (no problem, I guess) and see you guys on Sunday!

Great reports, Benny! I really don't mind the random stuff and cool cars are great fun! Plopsa Indoor looks like fun, it's a shame that I haven't visited it yet! Maybe I should that Fun Card after all... But it looks like your daughters are getting a little too old for Plopsa Indoor, your oldest hardly fits in that electric car Anyway, thanks for sharing and see you on Sunday! Btw, Hans: we should visit a F1 race together, I love F1! Oh, and I visited the pits at Zolder already... And I drove a Formula Ford car all by myself once See you too on Sunday!

Hi Benny! Great TR with some beautiful pics. I love the one from the Mega Mindy Flyer with the sun behind it! I'm really happy with this TR because I was still considering buying that Fun Card. Now that I've seen this park, I'm convinced! The park looks great and I love how they built some rides right in the middle of the woods. How were the crowds and queues? Thanks for sharing and see you soon! YAY!

Hey BeemerBoy (and other Kick Boodie Enthusiasts), I just read this thread and I thought of something I've seen in Italy once. The ride I'm talking about is your normal everyday chair swings but it's the activity that takes place on it. It's called "calcinculo" and the aim is to kick your friend in front of you high up! It's not exactly the ride you're looking for but I guess it's the same idea Here's a video of it, as seen on youtube (sorry for the bad quality, it's not mine, but it shows what I'm talking about) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAAZZQ--NHc

According to RCDB, De Standaard (Belgian newspaper) and the Plopsa fansite, Plopsa Coo will build a new coaster for 2011. CEO Steve van den Kerkhof confirmed the news. Here's a short extract from the article, translated via a website so I hope it's OK: With the arrival of the new attraction an investment of such a € 3.5 million would be paired. Which constructeur the new roller coaster can supply, is still unknown. The most attentive spinning coasters are built Maurer Söhne and Gerstlauer. Taking into account the planned budget it is very probable that the future innovation of Plopsa Coo by is built one of these two constructeurs. I hope they choose Maurer Söhne and they build something like Winja's! But then again, Anubis (the newest ride at Plopsaland De Panne) is a Gerstlauer and the company seems pretty satisfied with this baby. Then we get something like Tony Hawk's Big Spin! Fine!

Great report so far, I'm really looking forward to the other updates! And thanks to this report my brain keeps telling me: "Do the same! Go on a trip in Germany!! So many credits you still don't have..." Tripsdrill looks just plain creepy in your pics... But then again: no crowds > too much crowds! See you soon on our next park visit together!

Great report from a great day! I really enjoyed your company too and I hope this was the first of many park visits together! Your pics are extremely beautiful, I will not post mine because they will look like sh*t next to yours... Anyway, Bengal Rapid River was a wet ride already, my pants were still not completely dry when I got in my car to return home! You weren't on it, you can't tell!! Well, hope to see you soon again!

Dear Mr. Gator, here are some photos of the Garden Boat - Bootvaart at Bobbejaanland (Belgium). I hope you can use them! AND A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! Have a great day

After some sandwiches and a good cup of coffee I'm ready to post the next update! Enjoy! Time for dinner at the hotel and after that it was off to bed! We were exhausted... Stay tuned for day two! Myra and Belle (she only wanted her pic with the cardboard princesses) Myra and Sleeping Beauty (her favorite princess) And another shot of the amazing castle (I was impressed every time I walked on by...) Another pretty mural at the end of the ride Gepetto's lovely house b-e-a-utiful! The ride stopped for a few minutes (dunno why) so I got the chance to shoot some details. But again a happy end! (notice Myra's hand, she was waving all the time Ow, this makes me sad... Something went wrong... Don't laugh too hard, Pinocchio! Ooooh! Candy! Iek! Here comes evil Stromboli... Now that is just too cute! On to the next dark ride: Pinocchio! Phew, a happy end! Feed me your babies! Gah! Go away!! ... but gets very scary! In fact, they show only the scary scenes! Myra was not amused the first time... The tour starts with a lovely scene... A beautiful wall painting to look at while waiting... Time for a dark ride: Snow White! We visited Phantom Manor two times, Myra loved it! While wandering around, we saw Hooks ship. Very cool looking boat and I want one too! Bye bye everyone! Thanks for coming, I really enjoyed it! Sleeping Beauty shows off her lovely blond hair... Yay! More princesses! And who knew that Belle was Asian?! Woah! Eric is HOT! Eric and Ariel on the prettiest float of them all! Baloo and King Louie are having a party! "Those poor unfortunate souls!" Scar = pure evil! I don't know this character but YIKES! His is one cool looking bad a$$! Ooooh, a float filled with villains! The lovely Mary Poppins Here's Peter (yummie!) Here comes the Peter Pan float! Hook and Smee are having a great time... Woody says "You're my favorite deputy!" Here's Pinocchio. Don't you just love his shoes?! They're so cute! Come and give Mickey a big hug! Helloooo giant creepy sun! This one is for you, Elissa! Here comes the parade!

Hello folks! A few weeks ago I went to DLP and now I've found some time to share my pics and stories with everyone on TPR! I went with my little godchild, she got this week-end as a present because she received the Holy Communion for the first time. She's 6 years old and I found out that was the perfect age to go to DLP! Everywhere she looked, she yelled "Look, there's ...!". She knows all the characters and recognizes everything! She really had blast! And I did too We stayed for two days (slept at the Hotel Santa Fe) and that was just perfect. We did everything we wanted to do and had some time left to enjoy drinks, ice creams, etc. There was no need to rush and I was happy about that because it was too hot to rush (about 90°F). Overall we had a great time at the resort and I have nothing to complain about. The food was good, the cast members were friendly, the park was beautiful and clean, the queues were not too long, the hotel was fine,... Yeah, everything was OK! Except for some closed rides... I was disappointed about the closed rides because I was really looking forward to ride the with Myra. So there was no Alice's Curious Labyrinth, no Storybook Boat Ride, no Casey jr and no Robinson Tree House for us. Too bad! Luckily there's lots of other stuff to do! Well, I've been talking too much so I think it's time to get to the pics! Enjoy them and post your comments! Waiting for the parade took too long and she fell asleep Next update will include the parade! Now it was time for the parade. Myra has a box of popcorn and is ready to wait! Myra wants to investigate some more... Uh oh, he looks pissed! Yes, we found it! Aha! We're getting closer! (you really have to search, it's well hidden) After IASW we went to the castle to search the horrible creature that lives in the basement! Myra is looking around in awe! The beautiful sparkling themepark at the end. No stereotypes here... The USandA! Egypt with one happy and satisfied looking sphinx! Next stop was Russia. The sightseeing tour begins in London! Here we go for the first time (out of four, she loved it)! "There is just one moon and a golden sun!" (singing) "La la la laa laa, la la la laa laa!" "Aha! It's the ear torturing ride!" "A strange fountain! Let's have a closer look and investigate this thing..." "I wonder where we are going..." Wow, it really is big and beautiful... Time to see a BIG and BEAUTIFUL castle! Mickey knows what time it is... Time to visit the Disneyland Park, starting with something I can't afford (yet)! Godchild and godmother are happy to be at DLP! Myra and her themed backpack (including stuffed polar bear who went with her the whole two days) are waiting for the bus. After the nap, we took the bus to the park which leaves at the hotel entrance (Hi Clint!) Me and my shiny forehead spent some time reading... Myra was already tired at noon and happy to take a nap! We left the studios soon (not much to ride with small scared children) and went back to the hotel for a nap... Here's ToT again. I really wanted to ride but again, Myra was scared of the height... Interesting... Myra shows her "trash can ice cream" (that's how she calls it and you can't blame her)! After the madness that is Cars, we deserved some ice cream. More themeing with Luigi and Guido! Lightning McQueen is the man (Mater is just cute)! We're ready for some spinning! Myra presents to you: Cars Race Rally! So beautiful (I'm going to use those words a lot...)! On our way to the next ride, we passed Crush (no credit for me, Myra is scared of rollercoasters...) And one for the index! Genie's tiny little house. The carpets are just so pretty and shiny! The 'set' has a beautiful background. He's shooting a movie about Flying Carpets, a real blockbuster! Meet the famous director Genie! It's time for the first ride: the star-in-a-movie ride! "In front, we see a genius and a product of that genius." Back outside, ToT looms over Walt, Mickey and other visitors... Beautiful lighting and a great atmosphere inside the studio. There's Minnie! Yay! Myra was to impressed to go and say hi... It was the first time for me too (my last visit was around 1994) so I was really excited! First order of the day: the Walt Disney Studios! Yesss! A new Starbucks! Too bad Myra wanted to go to the park immediately... Bam! We're already at the Resort! The Panoramagique balloon welcomes us! But it's never too early to visit the bar! Here we are, on the train, looking tired (we had to get up at 5:30 am) This is the place where it all started: the train station at Brussels South! Now let's go find our bullettrain...

Hey y'all! Now I don't have a tattoo myself but I just wanted to share this hilarious story with you guys! Police in Belgium are investigating a complaint from a teenager who says a tattooist peppered her face with stars after she asked for only three. Kimberley Vlaeminck, 18, said she fell asleep during the procedure. "I woke up when he was starting to tattoo my nose... I counted 56 stars, it is frightening," she said. Tattoo artist Rouslan Toumaniantz, who is Romanian, said his client did not fall asleep and she got exactly what she had ordered. He rejects Ms Vlaeminck's claim he had misunderstood what she had asked for. Mr Toumaniantz says his client was happy until her family saw her face "She was awake and looked in the mirror several times as the procedure was being done," said Mr Toumaniantz, who works at Tattoo Box in Kortrijk. He says his client only regretted the tattoos later. "She agreed, but when her father saw it, the trouble started," Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws quoted Mr Toumaniantz as saying. The teenager has told Belgian media she wanted three modest stars tattooed near her eye and she awoke to "a nightmare". Ms Vlaeminck has said she wants to keep the tattoos on her forehead but would have the rest removed. From the BBC website... The result is seen here Yes, I've been Kimberlized too Way to go, Kimberly!

Wrong - Depeche Mode

Very nice report! Your pics are gorgeous and I really love the close ups! Too bad that you haven't got more... Nevertheless, good job! Same here!

Aaaawww... I wish I was there with you! Anyway, it looks like you're having a blast and that's the most important thing! Have fun my buddy, and keep up the good work!

Safety?! What's wrong with the safety in the front rows? The other rows are exactly the same! Last year everything was normal! I really don't get it... Do you know anything more about it? Anyway, glad you liked Troy, Loefet! I really like it too, it's the best woodie I've ridden so far. And I'm still enjoying the TR, can't wait to see the rest! Keep up the good work

Nice TR, I really enjoyed it so far! You got some beautiful pics, with those clear blue skies But what's with the Bob cars?! Did every car had a blocked front row? And what I really want to know is: WHY??? Have fun on the Scandi trip!

Part two! Ah, our day at the park had come to an end... Out last ride was the picknick-in-trunk ride! Bye bye! Or is it because of this slide? But it's defunct now! Too bad, actually... The whirlpool. Is it because of this gadget that the kids can't ride? The entrance of El Rio, the rapids. We didn't ride, the kids were too small... Liam waits for the longest train in the world! It's Evolution! The best indoor coaster ever! King Kong sees something on his left, I wonder what that is... I must admit that it looks cool but I think the ride itself is nothing spectacular... We didn't ride it though, the kids were a bit scared... Om nom nom nom nom... Oh god, he's really furious! Here's King Kong "agin" Something's missing here... Wheeee! I'm having fun! Alone... Look out below! Bump! Here comes a sharp turn! Speedy Bob's lift hill I have no friends... (actually Liam and Seppe rode it while I was with Myra and then I rode alone) The Speedy Bob coaster! Peek-a-boo! This creep is the entrance of a ride... Myra on her own horsie (she was so proud that she got to ride it alone) Not for Myra though, her legs were to short... The Horse Pedalo ride is amusing yet also tiring... The Aztek Express was pretty fast and wild, especially when it goes backwards! Nice turns! Please remove the OTSR restraints... They're unnecessary and painful! The train climbs the slow lift hill Dreamcatcher theming I like the contrast in this pic... At this point, everyone can smile again. Or should I write "agin"?! It's a Vekoma suspended and it's horrible... Time to ride the Dreamcatcher!

Hello TPR-friends! Here's already my next trip report! But don't expect one every week, it's only a coincidence that I visited two parks in a few weeks... So we went to Bobbejaanland on a weekday. We = myself, my brother-in-law and his two kids. The kids are 4 and 6 years old so our visit included some other rides than I would normally do (more kiddie rides were I just watched them having fun). The kids had a day off from school so we thougt the park would be quiet... WRONG! It was packed with Dutch families! Appearantly it was a holiday in the Netherlands. Luckily the lines were ok, only the Dreamcatcher and the Typhoon were a 30' wait. Well, onto some photos! Enjoy! Liam agrees! Wheeeeee! This thing is good fun! Through the trees! The lift hill with the cutest train ever! Time for another coaster, this time it's Oki Doki (a.k.a. the clown coaster) Someone forgot to use the spellcheck... ...others are absolutely not! Some scenes are really peaceful... Aaaaagh... Liam was taking it way too serious! Ah, time for the El Paso Special! One of the kids favorites! Phew, it was only a blurry pic... He's still normal! OMG! The flumes transformed Liam into a small orange ball! Seppe is rowing with imaginary paddels... The Wild Water Slide (a fancy name for log flumes...) Myra is dreaming while eating... Lunch time! Liams sure enjoys his fries (drowned in ketchup). Liam yelled "Wheeeeee!" right here! He's becoming a real coaster enthusiast... It's a fun powered coaster, it's pretty fast and wild but Liam loved it! Here's Bob Express with a log flume boat in front. Liam and I went for a ride on Bob Express and this is what the station looked like! ERT! The monorail (with the crazy ride op)! Seppe and Liam on the dino ride! Myra and I on the dino ride! Some boats were still covered, that's a pretty stupid sight... The boat ride again Here she is, enjoying the ride! Nice and quiet, perfect for Myra ( she's not that into thrills, unlike her younger brother...) The entrance of the boat ride. Here comes the fiesta train! SKLOOOOSH! Bob Express (coaster) and log flume This is Kinderland (an indoor play area for kids). It was actually really nice inside, the kids had a great time there. A nice fountain (I like fountains...) Liam and Myra on the monorail. We wanted to eat some cookies (as Myra demonstrates) while riding but the ride op yelled at us that it was prohibited! She coul've said it much nicer, the kids were a bit shocked... It looks cool but I can't tell if the ride itself is fun... King Kong is on fire! A gigantic monkey holding a train car... Who invents such things?! Here's the new ride: King Kong! Slegdehammer, as seen from the monorail. Typhoon looks like one big mess... A few seconds to enjoy the view! The loop with the cheap looking letters. The strange vertical lift hill. It felt like I was falling out... Ah, here's Typhoon with its beyond vertical drop... Liam and Seppe, ready to become seasick! We're flying high! We're flying right up to the sky!... (90's songs are cool) The next ride were the little planes (we had to do the rides in this order because the ride ops were working on two rides at the same time...) Myra says "Watch your speed!" First ride of the day: the trucks! The park has its own wind mill and its own beautiful clouds! Liam checks out the giant mutant tree at the entrance Here's the entrance (but the pic is taken when we were leaving) Looks like we're heading the right direction!

Thanks for the nice comments, everyone! Now for some answers: * El Condor is indeed a death machine! My ears were red and burning when I got out... About the new trains: I think they tested two new cars last year but that's all that happened... * We stole that Mercedes at the border * The park was not busy at all that day and there was only one train on Goliath. But we had plenty of rides! I really love the back * What's a wedding band? Is that the same as a wedding ring? If so: no, I'm not married! That's a ring I made myself and I had it on last year also. I've been wearing it for about 10 years now! Big Mike, thanks for the slide show, I really had a great day back then! Too bad I can't make it to Scandi this year... Well, I'm beginning a new trip report right now! See you there!