ParkTrips

Totally off topic, but hopefully that will change in 2 years.

Funny because I was going to say "as much as I dislike the Ford, at least its not a Panamera!" I owe you a beer of normal abv

lol both are vile indeed

I'm just sorry you spent the money on it!

I'd guess studying both would actually be ideal. Civil and Mechanical are fairly different, and both can be applied in any ride design project. Making a career in ride design is likely very tough. There are probably no more than 100-200 people world wide who design roller coasters. You'll have to hustle, do good in school, and probably get a bit lucky. Keep your options open - perhaps you could land a job designing water slides, play structures, flat rides - whatever! Roller coasters aren't the only way to get into the industry. That's really an opinion. Some people easily excel at some things, while others can not. I mean, hell, engineering alone is too broad to make such a statement. I may be able to do Aerospace Engineering, but I doubt I could do BioMed or Nuclear/Radiological Engineering -- they're just very different things. It varies by school too (ie, CS was considered the bitch at my school), and may even boil down to what professors you get.

You'd have me sold if you included "no clothes"

Wouldn't you be going nuts if your franchise dropped in value a quarter of a billion dollars in one night?

^ No joke. Wes > Simmons http://boards.espn.go.com/boards/mb/mb?sport=nba&id=mia&tid=7127549&lid=7

Youre not the only one: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100708 I especially liked this line

Is there a limit to how many prime time games a team can play, like in the NFL? If not, I imagine a loaded Heat team will be on twice a week btw, when is the avatar bet over? Scott's avatar is beginning to creep me out more and more. Damn you Kobe.

^ LOVE Two Hearted. Just bought a case the other day and have been enjoying it immensely. The best IPA available here in GA year-round. In fact, I just had a few yesterday! there's an awful lot of underage drinking going on here these days...

Each mug is 1L I hope the trippy dark ride is at Oktoberfest! I'd love to try to do that while intoxicated

If there was ever a way to sum up world cup emotions, it would be the end of the Ghana-Uruguay game

Calling Erie "sketchy" is a joke. All cities have good neighborhoods and bad ones, but compared to most places in the country, Erie isn't even "sketchy". Run down maybe but not unsafe As for Ravine Flyer III, the park index will help you answer your question http://www.themeparkreview.com/parks/photo.php?pageid=161&linkid=1644 (ie train full of adults = you should be good)

Looks like fun, but what is the beer like at the park, Hanno? Also, did you get to ride the other coaster? That's the one I'm looking forward to.

I'd do it a little differently. I would suggest doing SFNE and the Lake on the same day, only because you have been to SFNE already. You could easily get there at opening, ride everything big by 1pm since the crowds will be light to start the day, and be in Bristol by 2pm. That's up to you - honestly, I don't think you need a full day at Lake Compounce. We were there on a crazy busy day and truthfully got bored with the park after half a day. Getting there later gives you a better shot at night rides on Boulder Dash too, depending on closing time and sunset of course. We stayed at a hotel sort of between the park and ESPN - I think it was a Quality Inn, and it was decent enough. I want to say we paid $150, but it may have been lower, and splitting it 4 ways wouldn't be too bad. I'd say stay there, sleep in and try to get to Dorney around 5pm so you can enjoy the twilight discount (you are correct in that you don't need a full day here). We stayed at a Mictotel in Allentown - it was my first experience with the discounted chain, but it was a pretty good value for the money. Small rooms though, so 4 grown dudes may not like it as much as we did. If you haven't been to Knoebels, I'd suggest spending the better part of a day there. Perhaps leave in the early evening, and drive out to Erie (this is probably a good 4 hour drive too). You could even do the drive in the morning, since Waldameer opens later, but I'd personally do it at night with less traffic to deal with on I-80 (which is probably going to be under construction since this is a freeway through PA). Plus, there aren't many hotel options in the immediate vicinity of Knoebels.Try to check the calendar for festivals at the park, as they tend to crowd the park. While the super long ride cycles are nice, they also make lines move slower, and a crowd could potentially take away some of your enjoyment. I'd hit Waldameer at opening. This is the only park on your list I haven't been to, but I'd suspect 3 hours would be sufficient - an hour on to GG coaster, 2 hours for the rest of the park. You can stretch this day out if you want, or make it down to Pittsburgh and do a twilight special at Kennywood. I really like Kennywood, so I'm not sure if 5-10PM would be enough to really enjoy it, but it's what you planned to do and I can see it working out ok. Otherwise, I'd give Kennywood a full day. Doing Waldameer on another trip (since its halfway between the Buffalo area parks and Cedar Point) might not be a bad idea either. Plenty of hotel options in Pittsburgh. The drive to Williamsburgh is going to be long. It will be even longer if you go through the Baltimore/Washington area. Cut through northern Virginia if you can. Rest up that night, it's been a long trip already and you're only halfway done. $50 for a Busch ticket even with a discount seems about right. They just don't discount much and yet can still draw 3M visitors annually. I found a really good 2br suite online for about $75, but that was off season (March) and I couldn't even remember where its at. The rest of your trip looks good. Hotels close to Hershey are going to be expensive, you can find a better deal by staying in the Philly 'burbs (which also puts you halfway to Great Adventure). I didn't stay anywhere near KD, so I can't comment for sure, but there should be ample choices. What days you go to the parks is pretty important too. I'd try Friday SFNE/LC Saturday drive/Dorney Sunday Knoebels Monday Kennywood (skipping Erie) Tuesday drive Wednesday Busch Gardens Thursday Kings Dominion Friday Hersheypark Saturday Great Adventure (Saturdays can suck here, but you've been before)

I'd rather them lift the ban on showering than the ban on TPR.

Ditto to the rosso, but the black you posted is still "meh" in my book. I like the contrast with the yellow bbk/logos, but otherwise, its just another normal color. Like silver BMWs... WHY are there so many silver BMWs? Its such a boring color. Especially silver on gray, way to announce to the world that you are lame as hell.

I'm not pissed at all, its not like there aren't plenty of other good beers to drink in Bavaria! Thanks for trying, Norman!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4734938185_2ece040d4a_b.jpg This is my only beef with the 458 Italia - the location of the intake makes the car look a little "Lotus-y" with the bulges

"Even though I can easily step over you, I still respect you Mr. Teensy Backrow Airgate." At least they had an airgate! Many rides simply have a line painted on the ground

There is a link on the top of this page, right under the TPR logo on the far right, that says "Contact TPR" - enter your comments in the last box. Just be aware that they are in Europe right now, so you won't be able to have your problem resolved until they get back.

This is probably the worst yet most hilarious joke I've seen in a long long time. Congrats! Except the fact that being on Schindler's list was a good thing, so I imagine being on his lift is much the same

and hooking up (though they kind of go hand-in-hand)

I have a friend who smokes blacks - he's always had to go to the ghetto to buy them anyways, so whether or not they are legal, they can still be procured one way or another