DerekRx

Wow, awesome photos, Captain! I just booked my Munich hotel room yesterday for next year's Oktoberfest and am very much excited to go. Olympia, Eurostar, and beer; what more could anyone ask for!? Well maybe Phantasialand, but we're going there too on that trip!

Its sort of true. While we were there on Saturday they were running 3 trains, but they never did the loops at the same time. One train has to just have left the first loop when the second train is dispatched. Its gotta be done extremely quickly. Maybe with a really amazing crew and intelligent riders who sit down immediately, pull their restraints down, and don't carry 17 stuffed animals, a book bag, a small cooler, their laptop, and a mini-bike it can be done. The best I've seen this past weekend is 1 train going down the first drop while the second train was doing the second loop.

I echo Robb on this one. While its quite easy to credit whore your way through these parks, I like to have a full day at Knoebels just to feel like I've done everything. From all the different weird foods to Phoenix and Twister warming up at night, the bumper cars, motor boats, 2 trains, haunted house, all the weird flats, as well as all the other goodies like the eagles, anthracite mine museum, log flume, and the overall laid back atmosphere, a full day at Knoebels is a definite. Dorney you can do in less than 2 hours if you're just gonna do all the coasters for the credit, but try to include other stuff like the Whip, log flume, as well as the signs that point out the history of the park. If you like waterparks, the best thing to do is visit in the summer on a weeknight, do the coasters and stuff from like 3 to 5, then head over to the waterpark. The lines will drop significantly and you'll be able to do everything multiple times with minimal waits. Robb, Elissa, Dave, and myself did that a few years ago. If anything, I'd say maybe try to start off with a morning at the Jersey shore parks in Wildwood and Ocean City, work your way up to SFGAD, finish off the night there and go back the following morning for a few hours. Head out around 2 for Dorney, then the next day to Knoebels, followed by Hershey. I doubt you'll be able to include Kennywood, maybe you should save that for another time, doing that park, Idlewild, DelGrossos, Lakemont, and Conneaut and/or Geauga Lake.

I'll be at Knoebels, I doubt I'm gonna do the PPP wristband deal though. If I get there early enough, I'll do breakfast, but are you certain they actually do breakfast still that time of year? In the past I remember the international foodcourt being closed for PPP I think. If I'm not there, I'm sure I'll see you throughout the day, Ted. Dave, you gotta go, strength in numbers against the enthusiasses!

BGW usually opens like the 2nd to last weekend in March on a weekends basis. They're also randomly opened for a full week during Spring Break in Virginia, but I have no idea when that is. Not sure if it revolves around Easter or not, but I think this year it was like the first full week of April. If you go that early, prepare for such random things as snow, sleet, freezing rain, wind chill factor, "below zero", and other things most Floridians never see or hear of.

Finally, some Great Wolf Lodge photos: Tipping bucket of doom drops 1000 gallons every 5 minutes, the same effect that 1 standard ACEr makes by doing a cannonball in Knoebels Crystal Pool The wave pool even allows you to have tubes in it Some kids on the Lily Pad pool. Some were even brave enough to try it MXC style, and they weren't even Japanese The hotel is very Elissa friendly with a Pizza Hut Express and these little rodent dudes everywhere Looking down on the indoor waterpark The main lobby has benches and a fireplace, not that a fire is needed when its already 90 outside, but its atmospheric (ahhh, the atmosphere!) Here's the front of the Lodge. It looks like Grand California or Wilderness Lodge, but its in Virginnia

Now for some Howl O Scream photos Here's a dude with a chainsaw cutting some other dude apart. Pompeii is all spooky at night, oooooooooooh Haha! Its in the werewolf section, and wolves howl, but it sounds like the millionaire from Gilligan's Island, HAHA! Ireland is loaded with pumpkins. I call the big one ACEr Pumpkin Festa Italia turns into an evil crazy clown infested hot pad Here's one of the signs pointing out all the different attractions for the Halloween event. As small as these are, people still could find the old Drachen Fire area just fine More pirate skeletons in the England section of the park Arrrgh, I'm a pirate skeleton, gimme your booty

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a park I always liked, but always seemed to go only in the beginning or end of the season, when the trees are all dead, there are few flowers, and its usually bitter cold. With the aid of my Platinum pass and the slight convincing of my fellow Coaster Team members Dorney Dude, Dorneyette, FlyerACE, and SuperEllen, we made a full weekend out of it. We would have included a few hours at PKD, but they were closed for the whole weekend for a buyout. We decided it was a great idea to stay at the newly built Great Wolf Lodge, so that even if it was rainy and miserably cold, we could at least enjoy the indoor waterpark. Well we did do the waterpark, but the weather wasn’t anywhere near cold or rainy. Fridays after school starts back up is usually a great time to go, and this was no exception. We arrived at Busch shortly after 12 and after getting their Silver passes, we made our way in. We noticed immediately that the theming for Howl O Scream is everywhere and is pretty good. Lots of skeletons randomly chill out during the day. Our first stop was Apollo’s Chariot. We managed to walk right on and sit in the second to back row for 2 consecutive rides. We could have ridden more, but Adam and Ellen rode in the front and didn’t have the chance to stay on. Apollo was running just as good as it always does, offering great drops, floating air, and only a little slowing on the midcourse. I like it a lot better than the Morgan or Arrow Hypers. The ride is very well cared for, with no marks or chunks taken out of the restraints like at Six Flags. After Apollo we were getting hungry and we decided to make our way to the Festhaus for some German Samplers. On the way though we decided to stop to ride the new Curse of Darkastle. It was a walk on, and so we waited only through the preshow. Soon we were in our sleigh touring the old castle. It is a terrific dark ride, on the same caliber as Spiderman and 1000 times better than Dinosaur (here you can actually see stuff!) While it lacks fireballs and all the “4D” stuff that Spiderman offers, the 3D here is really good and the story is fitting. We all enjoyed it. Then it was on to das Festhaus for some food. On the way in we were talked into coming back to the Brewmasters Room later on. After stuffing our faces with potatoes, sausages, kraut, bread, and pumpkin cheesecake, we rolled out towards Alpengeist. We did a double ride in the backseat (yeah, it was that empty) which was running very well, but then again, compared to Silver Bullet or Hydra, lots of older B&Ms seem forceful. Luckily there was no eagle trying to build a nest on the lift like last time I rode. We then headed over to Big Bad Wolf for a ride towards the back. Afterwards we rode in the front before heading back to the Brewmasters Room. The Brewmasters Room is something new that Busch started. Its kind of like a replacement to the Hospitality House. Sort of like Beer School, but not as long. Basically you’re taken to a backroom of the Festhaus where you get to sit in a group of 4 to 6. You get 4 different cards with selections of beer on them. I chose the Progressive Tasting and ended up with Bud Lite, Budweiser, Budweiser Select, Amber Bock, and Bare Knuckle Stoudt. They also give you different snacks to have with the beers, such as crackers, strawberries, grapes, cheese, and chocolate. If it hadn’t been free, we probably would not have done it, as none of the beers even remotely were within our tastes. After 20 minutes in the air conditioned Brewmasters Room, we went back into the park, stopping off for another Darkastle ride followed by some Loch Ness Monster, neither of which had a line. Afterwards we headed over to Corkscrew Hill, which wasn’t as bad as my friends led me to believe. While Ellen and I shrunk down to wee person size, the rest of the gang had some infused draughts at Grogans Pub. Weak beer and tropical additives makes for a very disgusting drink. Its like drinking 12oz of Robitussin. We then rode the antique cars, which was getting a line because they were only running one track out of three. It was after 5, so lots of passholders were coming in after work. We decided to ride Alpengeist again, this time in the front seat, did Darkastle again, and then headed to Italy for some food. Howl O-Scream was just starting, but it was still very light out, and still scorching hot. We decided to start off with the Curse of Pompeii because we knew it was indoors. The coaster geek in me was very excited to go into the actual ride building, beneath all the action. Sadly, you couldn’t see anything from above, and the ride was shut down, so there were no effects. The maze was really cool though, with a sort of Indiana Jones type theme. From hanging snakes to skeletons to shooting spear chambers, this maze had it all. It was probably my favorite maze of the night. Next we did Sea Dog Cemetery, located where the petting zoo normally is. It was still slightly light outside, so it wasn’t as scary as it could have been. The thing was loaded with actors though. Some would try to scare you, others would know you could see them so they’d just blurt out something. One chick yelled “Chicken! I need Chicken!” so I asked her “Extra crispy or original recipe?” “Original recipe” she replied. Towards the end was a giant dude who was somewhat resembling Sloth from Goonies, only dressed as a pirate. As I looked at him, he asked “what’re you looking at?” “You, my friend” was my reply to which he retorted “I ain’t yer friend”. Quickly I batted back with “well, then I ain’t looking at you!” Despite the sunlight, the maze was still fun. While we waited for it to get dark, we decided to ride Apollo’s Chariot again. The line was just inside the station, and about 15 minutes later we were off on a night ride in the backrow. Amazing how it got dark so fast. We then went back to what promised to be the scariest maze of the event, Sleepless Hollow Manor. It was a heartbreaking walk, as the maze was in Drachen Fire’s old station and you actually had to walk the whole DF path to get to it. Funny, no one seemed to have problems finding the maze, even though the sign was only written on a 2X4. The maze was done up nicely to resemble an old house. Bedrooms, dining rooms, kitchen, a garden all were present, as was the Headless Horseman and several hidden chambers for people to scare you. It was fairly long too. With the best out of the way, we decided to take the train, which in my opinion was boring. I sat on the far side and was as far away from the “action” as I could be, not that there was much action other than like 4 actors on the whole thing. It was very ho hum, and the funniest part was that the narrator, Jack, talked the whole time in some awful Irish accent. Then at the end he tells you “by the way, I’m back!” in case you didn’t already figure that out from his 20 minute dissertation throughout the entire ride. We then took the long way over to the entrance, going by the Bird Gardens and Wildlife area. This was one of the only scare zones in the park and it was pretty good. While the main theme was werewolves, I was got by a bushman. It was pretty good. Arriving back at Sea Dog’s Cemetery we decided to go for it again since it was dark. It was pretty much the same as before, probably because we knew the layout. The chicken girl asked for chicken again and I said “that poor pirate girl, would someone please get her some chicken.” Who knows, I could have gotten lucky with a chicken loving pirate chick that night. Finishing off the night, we did Last Laugh Inc. over near Apollo. Its located in the area where the rapids usually are, but are closed for the season. It wasn’t long of a wait, and one of the clowns at the beginning chased Ellen with a chainsaw, so Adam was happy. The maze was done up like a toxic circus warehouse sort of theme, with giant barrels of “sludge” as well as those bouncy things you sit on, skeletons, evil clowns, hanging chickens, roaches, and body bags. It was pretty decent, although very hot inside. All mazes complete, we decided to head back to the hotel, as we were all worn out from the heat and all were desperate for real beer. On Saturday we decided to spend the morning at the Great Wolf Lodge and its waterpark. It was a great decision. While it wasn’t 90+ degrees outside, it was still fairly warm. We hit all the waterpark had to offer: 2 tube slides, lily pad pool, activity pool, tipping bucket funland, wave pool, hot tub, and family raft ride. It was even hot enough that they cleaned and opened the outside pool. We all proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that we were as white as can be by making about 4 out of 600 baskets in the water basketball court. The rest of the balls either fell short or ended up outside of the pool. I love these indoor waterparks, they are a nice temperature both water and air, don’t require sunscreen, and aren’t crowded at all. The longest waits we had were about 10 minutes for the family raft. We’d return on Saturday evening to find the park extremely packed like a Saturday in August. We only spent like 2 hours there, only doing Big Bad Wolf, Loch Ness Monster, and Haunted Lighthouse. All the coasters were running 3 trains that night, but we were spoiled and so a 20 minute wait for the old Arrows was all we could handle. We then called it a night and retreated to Sonic for food, and then the Great Wolf Lodge for some more waterpark fun. The best part was that the tube slide and family slide that leave the building are pitch black at night and you cannot see anything in front of you until you return to the building. Awesome stuff! Sunday was more what we were used to for a weekend in September, people in the park, but the lines for the coasters only filling the station. Darkastle had about a 45 minute wait, so we skipped it, but managed to ride each of the coasters, return to the Festhaus for some food, and then headed home. Traffic was no problem, and I was home in less than 5 hours. Tom trades in his RSX Type S for some good ole German engineering Obligatory B&M vertical loop photo Here's some eagles, chilling out. I think thats T.O. talking to McNabb about Sunday's performance One of the weirdest 3-D shows ever had the rest of the Team skipping out for some Busch beer. THAT is saying something! So Elissa, would you rather do Robb or Gregg? No wonder Supercrack ditched us for Hershey, he apparently lives at Busch! Something you may never see again, Tom smiling while holding a Bud Lite Tom is less than thrilled to be drinking Busch beer but Leann is happy because there is free cheese and chocolate Adam and Ellen are happy to get free beer Here's my Progressive Tasting sampler. They did not have a website showing me leading competitors prices though The secret entrance to the Brewmasters Room, located in das Festhaus Derek's ultimate fountain: naked chick, UF gator, and a turtle (not pictured). They may even use this water to make AB beer Hey look at me, I'm like the world's biggest Immelmann, gimme some candy Alpengeist does its first drop thing. Somewhere the is still an eagle P.O.ed at Robb, Elissa, and I for killing its home Darkastle had no wait. If I had to wait 3 hours for this (or any other ride) I would have probably hated it OMG I'm in heaven! 2 vertical loops interlocking!!! Its like a dream A shot never before seen! Big Bad Wolf's drop over the Rhine River!!

Well since we're going back tonight, we'll have to stop to have a group photo with Jack. Photo will then go onto the site as part of the Photo TR. Now off to the wavepool!

^The only scarezone on the main path that I encountered was on the righthand side of the circle (going thru Ireland and France). Going thru Italy to Germany doesn't have a scarezone except for a loud speaker bridge or two. The pathway going down the Rhine by Loch Ness Monster to Oktoberfest was closed off.

Having just got done the first "official" night of HOS, I can say that it is indeed actually pretty good. While its definitely not any Halloween Horror Nights, its a lot better than the Fright Fests or Halloweekends. Though the weather didn't fit the season (it was in the 90s today) all the houses were better than anything at Dorney. My favorite house was "Curse of Pompeii" actually held underneath the ride. "Sleepless Hollow Manor" was also very good (and is held in Drachen Fire's old station). The train was a complete waste of my time, as I sat on the far side where not too much scenary was. Luckily we didn't wait long for anything. Best part of the whole night was actually getting startled by a guy dressed as a bush. The whole park was done up really nicely for the event, and you can't beat the price (included with admission). I'm looking forward to returning tomorrow night after a day plopping my butt in the wave pool at the Great Wolf Lodge!

I don't think it would be anymore than the usual $90. Look at Knotts, located right outside of LA. It wouldn't be more than Cedar Point or Geauga Lake with their weird "you wanna visit the other park nearby, more money" deal. I think it'd be cool if CF bought them, think of all the trash cans and bright white pavement they can cover the park in!

Yup, I'm glad I live close by. I'm already out of vacation days next year and need to stay local more than this year. I'm looking forward to the announcement, as from what I've heard, this one's looking just as good as the other 2 Intamin woodies. And to think, I'll be riding all three of them in the same year! Bring on that announcement!

^I may just be dumb here, but why in the world would you have a 2 seat van?? Thats an oxymoron just like the "family sports car". ^^Have you looked into the SeaWorld/BGT shuttle? I think they still run it, and it will get you to and from Busch.

I've never been to a passholder day, and I probably never will. To me (who lives 1.5 hours from the park) I'd rather go to Busch Gardens, PKD, Kennywood or any other park 4 hours away from me, especially in the Spring or Fall when half of SFGAd's rides will more than likely be closed. If you're going simply because you want to get on Kingda Ka, don't hold your breath. If the park expects not many people to show up, I doubt they'll have the 8 mechanics on site (that means $$$). Besides that, if there is no Qbot (which they may not even sell being they're only opened for 5 hours), chances are you won't get on all the coasters. Whats more, why bother going when you gotta head back next year for another coaster? I doubt it will be that crowded, as most people won't even bother going (most people work until 5), but those that will be there are gonna be intending to ride Ka. Oh, and pretty much expect the park to be operating 1 train on every coaster if the crowds are lite, as the staff is back towards minimal with this change in the season. Originally my friends and I were planning on doing BGW on Friday and PKD on Saturday, driving home on Sunday. When we found out PKD was closed for a private event all weekend, we just decided to do BGW. Notice how much any of us care about riding Kingda Ka or visiting SFGAd? One of my best friends and regional rep still haven't been to SFGAd this season, and he isn't planning on going. I still think the smartest thing Robb and Elissa did was postpone their trip till next year, and I actually like spending time with them, even outside of the theme parks!

Superman looks to be, IMO, the best of the rocket coasters ever. I'm not sure how long the darkride portion will be, but the rest of it looks even better than Storm Runner and Xcelerator, the best of the rockets. Now if only Australia wasn't on the other side of the world and all my vacation days weren't used up already. Aussies, see you in 2008!

^I heard that too from CMs back over a year ago. I'd like to hope its true because the pavilion really needs a "ride" with the way they allow you to enter. If it was as easy to get into the Living Seas as it is to get into any of the other pavilions, I may actually go in more often for a brief visit. Waiting at least 5 to 10 minutes and then skipping the video anyway is kinda pointless. I wouldn't hold too much hope on the SeaCabs returning though, not with only a 3 month downtime.

^^I don't really consider the Living Seas to be an attraction anymore. Years ago it was one of my favorite pavilions (and I still like seeing the fish and all). With the removal of the Hydrolators its more like just a big aquarium that you can see throughout the world, like Baltimore, Tampa, Camden, etc. I haven't experienced Turtle Talk yet (and I guess I won't). Besides, the restaurant is still opened (and I'm assuming it will still have the giant aquarium wall opened to see all the fish and sea turtle).

I remember riding it backwards at SFFT. It was actually pretty good that way. The best part of the ride though was the Funhouse queue and the giant button in the station. I think that funhouse is the only reason I went back to ride it a second time though.

Its not an official site for Walt Disney World, but the information is pretty reliable. http://allearsnet.com/tp/rehabs.htm Looks like the only thing you'll miss out on is the Haunted Mansion.

^Save the harness, Guy, you're not Bond Drabek after all! We'll hook you up with one of those super fancy wireless ones that dogs wear that shock you if you go out of the perimeter. Either that or we'll just let you run around for a little while until you tire out. After all, Robb will have the Van keys, so you're pretty much S.O.L. Besides, even if you do hop a bus to rampage around Orlando, I'm in charge of the room key distribution. Staying and Screaming is cool. Last time I rode Dueling Dragons like 5 times before realizing a few mazes were opened for me, and they still didn't have a line when I finally got there!

I intend to ride almost every one of the announced 2006 coasters next year: Expedition Everest, Goliath, SFGAd's woodie, Thorpe's Rocket, SFMM's Flyer, Black Mamba, The Voyage, Beech Bend's, possibly Patriot. Of them, the ones I'm most excited about are: 1. SFGAd's woodie. Its Intamin, its wood, and it looks like its gonna be big. What else do I need to say? 2. Black Mamba. Its low, trenchy, themed, and could potentially have forces like the older B&Ms. Glad I'm going to Germany for this in September. 3. SFoG's Goliath. Its got a unique layout, location, and goes over existing rides and the parks entrance. Its definitely gonna change the look of the park. I'm also pleased with the Voyage, but I feel Holiday World got enough "on-air" time on the Discovery and Travel channels over last couple of years. Share the wealth!

So far this year I've been to 46 different parks, 64 total park visits, and 20 new to me parks. They are: Knotts Disneyland DCA SFMM Universal Hollywood Carowinds Knoebels Dorney Hershey SFGAd Casino Pier Funtown Pier Morey's Piers (all 3 of them) Dollywood Silver Dollar City Celebration City BGT IOA Universal Florida SeaWorld Orlando Sesame Place Blue Diamond Park Idlewild Kennywood Conneaut Lake Waldameer Del Grossos Lakemont Williams Grove Cypress Gardens SFNE Six Gun City Storyland Santas Village Mt Olympus Timber Falls Riverview SFGAm Little A-Merrick-A SafariLand Jeepers Funtown USA Canobie Lake Palace Playland Michigan's Adventure Clementon I've still got trips to BGW, all of WDW, return trips to BGT, IOA, USF, Hershey, Knoebels, Dorney, DL, DCA, SFMM, and Vegas. Not too shabby a year. Of them, my favorites were Silver Dollar City for its atmosphere and coasters, Dollywood for atmosphere and food, and BGT for B&M goodness.

Awesomely detailed TRs so far, Tim! You're really making me want to go to DisneySea and Fuji-Q, not to mention La Qua. I can't wait until I go in 2007. Hopefully Greg can finish the photos soon, I've seen them and they look great! Keep the trip reports coming, dude.

Totally shocking decision, but I guess it makes sense since the land is worth so much $$$. I just hope some of the coasters get saved. I can see SFFT getting Texas Cyclone, throwing it in where Jokers Revenge used to be. I wonder if SFGAd wants their Ultratwister and standup back? Its a shame though that Six Flags didn't try to just move the park elsewhere in the city, since it is the 4th largest market in the country. Any Six Flags park that can not add a new coaster since 1999 and still make money has to have something working in its favor, this time its city's population and prime location. Maybe outside the city wouldn't have worked, but we'll never know, as Six Flags doesn't build parks anymore, only buy old parks and keep them treading water for a few years before cutting them off. Sad though, I actually enjoyed Astroworld, moreso than SFEG, SFKK, SFA, Great Escape, SFNO, or Enchanted Village. It had some charm to it, and theming.