DerekRx

To end this PTR, we'll spend a day park hopping the other 3 parks of WDW. Originally I was going to do Epcot after Magic Kingdom closed and then again the next day, but knew it wouldn't be necessary to get all the things I wanted to do accomplished, thanks to lack of lines and single rider lines at some key attractions. or not. Thanks for reading! before making our way to Pleasure Island... and we end our time at Epcot with some explosions TPDave may not know what a Black and Tan is, but what would he know, it has nothing to do with toilet paper anyway! Hey look, a place to get a pint! Yay for belly dancing Moroccans! America has a tree, which I would gladly trade for a Starship performance "Ich möchte Bier trinken!" And while I don't leave seeing Sören, I am content with my consolation prize, a Spaten Oktoberfest Donde esta Sören? Wait, wrong language. Oooh, I know this! Before Dinosaur came about, this was your source for all things random The world is a better place after a margarita But we do find a newly opened tequila bar, Woohoo!!! Inside Mexico we don't find secrets to 2012 Yup, Epcot has a giant tree too, can't forget that Just a reminder that not everything free is good Spaceship Earth at night is probably Matt's last thoughts as he drifts off into dreamland each evening Our test track ride took us through 2, 5, and 7...yes, 7! I just get sad when people choose the less intense training. Though any training with Gary Sinise is intense enough! and then you get to ride your design, (and look at the person's reaction who is riding next to you) on the screen in your own personal robocoaster. Jeff Johnson could end up with a coaster count almost the same number as his age...give or take 1257 years and then you name it. Because no ride sucks if it's got Bullet as it's last name, I went with that! here's the horrible layout I concocted When this baby hits 88mph... It's pretty much like Cyberspace Mountain at DisneyQuest. You are given a card and a computer and you create your own roller coaster course using elements they offer you at random. Only this time you have to test it first to see if you can make it through the ride. So you adjust the heights and speed Holy Jebus! Epcot has a robocoaster?! WHY HAS NO ONE MENTIONED THIS BEFORE!?!? What the heck is the Sum of all Thrills? This redeux, on the other hand, is a big re-doh! I really like the change they did to the Living Seas...err, the Seas with Nemo and Friends. The Nemo dark ride is way better than the Hydrolators Hi Matt, hi Scott Onward to the final park of the day, Epcot! "Dark Places.......and some scary dinosaurs occasionally...but pretty much just dark places" is how it should read. And they left out "Lots of confusion" and "Guests may experience loss of IQ" Before we leave, I have to give my brain something to think about on the drive over to Epcot. Thus, Dinosaur comes into play! Yeti himself was still not moving and was hardly even noticeable. You'd think they'd put some lights on him or something!! being a SyFy junkie, I was happy to see they threw Josh Gates in the queue for the Yeti museum Yes! Bird-on-a-stick is back!!! A major highlight of the trip was here at Expedition Everest, which was walk-on all day The Tree of Christmas The Tree of Life next, onward to Disney's Animal Kingdom Rock 'n' Rollercoaster, still starring Aerosmith, until Steven Tyler leaves the group, I guess. It was closed for a little while, but the permanent single rider line was a big help in riding it at least once this visit! mmmm, good Tower. Made better by the walk-on conditions. One time I rode it with only 2 other people in the same car, so I spent a good deal of my MGM time here "I'm a big hat, I block out Mann's Chinese Theater and its MGM-ness!" Even though I didn't arrive at the park until around 10:30 (well after the park opened at 9), Mania was still only a 10 minute wait, even though Fastpasses were being distributed for 1:50-2:50 Where, yes, they do happen to have a big tree We begin the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Walt Disney World- what else can be said about this place that hasn't already been said? I hardly consider myself a Disney Fanboy, I don't remember or know every detail about every ride at the resort, but I do know I've enjoyed going there ever since I was little. It's a place that still holds a special place in my heart and is the only place that always has me giddy months before my trip. I knew my time here would be limited to 2, maybe 3 days, but figured with the help of single rider lines, lite crowds, and a gameplan I could get pretty much everything I wanted accomplished, with the exception of Space Mt which was still in rehab. Maybe there was a shot of a soft opening, but I wasn't counting on it. What surprised me the most is that in 2 days I got MORE than I could ever hope for in terms of rides at the parks, all thanks to a huge lack of crowds. To me, the most humorous thing is that as empty as it was for me last week with 5 minute stand-by waits, this week is exactly the opposite, with 115 minute stand-by waits according to certain wait time iPhone apps. Moral of the story, go the week BEFORE Thanksgiving, not the week of! and Main Street sees snow fall, resulting in much amazement to the crowd. (following is gags as they try to eat a snowflake or yelps as they get one in their eye) and once MVMCP starts, the Castle Dream Lights kick on As night sets in, the castle looks very peaceful A park visit wouldn't be complete without a ride on the carousel, this one built in 1917 and operated at Detroit's Palace Garden Park and Olympic Park in New Jersey. Soon this ride shall spawn and move under the Big Top and Dumbo, which is so simple yet still brings out those memories of being a little kid Having ridden almost every ride in the park thanks to no lines, I decided to try and go for all of them, including the Astro Orbiter, which I don't think I've ridden since I was like 10 Basically the ride is exactly the same, just a LOT darker inside and a little smoother. Minor touch-ups to the energizing and re-entry tunnels also came about, some new space projections, and no more glowing rockets. Yay, easier to remember now which side you're riding before you get onto the lift The ride now has a photo spot and you can see your photo as you exit the rocket The trains have just slight changes, mainly to the seats. Still wish they had added music though but now with air gates Loading is still pretty much the same The new station, now without a view of the rockets on the track The queue game wasn't working, but then again there wasn't a wait for the ride anyway, so no need to stop and play I don't really see this as being too far-fetched! The queue walk is still the same, but everything inside has changed Around 3pm or so Space Mt had surprisingly soft opened, hooray! I loves me some Big Thunder Mt, my first "big" coaster when I was little Back over by Splash Mt they had turned the riverboat into a show for the new movie "The Princess and the Frog" and the lights were on inside the Mt. as the People Mover went through Space Mt they were cycling trains Erik will be pleased that I used the Sans Skyride Bathroom in his honor. Space Mt wasn't opened that morning, but the People Mover was, allowing this shot ooooh, pretty I don't think I saw this show since like 2001, so I decided to check out Barackin' Hall of Presidents Haunted Mansion was great as usual, but I really wish they'd try the Nightmare change over Despite the evil water cannons getting me wet, I rode this 4 or 5 times throughout the day. I just love this ride, as it helped me get over my fear of drops some 14 years ago Splash Mt wasn't even using the Fastpass machines! With Space Mt being down, Big Thunder is the only major coaster in the park, so I made my way there first, expecting more of a line. Walk-on all day though Not nearly as big as the one I created myself over at the Polynesian Resort a few days prior! First stop, Aloha Isle for a holiday inspired Dole Float Without too many people in the park, it's easy to get a nice shot of the Cinderella's Castle Main Street is all decked out for the holidays, and on certain nights Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party occurs (for an additional fee, of course) _insert castle size comment here_ Magic Kingdom, here we are! Time to hop on the monorail for a fun Disney-filled day. (you're welcome, Scott!)

SeaWorld Orlando was always, by far, my favorite of the SeaWorld parks. It seems to have the most animals and exhibits, the nicest JTA, and a really good floorless coaster. But it was never really a full day park to me. Not saying it isn't a full day park if you do all the shows and such, but I never really planned on staying that long in the past. With the addition of Manta, the park now feels more complete, like there's more to keep you entertained until the next show. To me, Manta is the perfect flyer; it still has the intensity of the Pretzel Loop, the pacing is really good, it doesn't spend too much time doing the same thing, and the placement of the ride makes it seem like it's been in the park forever. It also has one of the most beautiful queues I think I've ever encountered. I enjoyed my time there so much I went back for a second day. Thus concludes the days at SeaWorld. (applauds) Shamu on a stick! Shamu on a shore! If you're in search of Fire Sprinkler Risers this holiday season, I know where you can get them! The octopus is still trying to audition for SyFy More wetness and close calls with walls It's just like being a manta, if mantas lived above the sea and were attached to a track The Sea Turtles are a little bummed they lost out to the mantas in the ride theme Here's some more Manta goodness Colin is all "this isn't the manta I came here to see" The dolphins next door at the Dolphin Cove were doing their dolphin thing as well as divers diving, acrobats acrobatting, and birds flying by our heads. Very random Blue Horizons had dolphins jumping Andrew had never seen any of the shows at the park, and I've only seen Believe. We found it odd that the Anheuser Busch Logo was still very prominent throughout the park, unlike at Busch Gardens and the part of Kraken you can't see from the ride Atlantis and Aquatica Hello Manta Time for a ride on the Sky Tower Say hello to the baby dolphins It's great to view Shamu when there isn't a crowd ...the farther they splash The bigger they are... Even the baby born in 2004 has to work for his fish now. Free rides over, little Shmuu Now is time to Believe Coming soon to SyFy...Super Whale vs Ultra Seal, staring David Hasselhof and Belinda Carlisle. Check your local listings for show times This is what happens after an all night Coca-cola bender As is Wild Arctic, now themed to The Polar Express for the holidays Shamu is in the holiday spirit The sock puppet must have intimidated everyone, as no one is riding. Poor Kraken "hey, don't talk bad about me, I'm a vicious sock puppet!" Kraken is more than a good floorless coaster, it's a floorless coaster with a giant paper mache sock puppet theme Journey has a nice aquarium too, but you can miss it, where Manta's you cannot Lots of the effects were working on our ride, even the falling chandelier. Just get there early to avoid the water cannon people The best of the Journeys, but it would be much better if it was themed around Atlanta instead The aquarium built with Manta lets you view the fish from the other side and in different ways. Very cool "Someday I hope to be a Giant Octopus and get my own SyFy movie" and The Mantanas, dontcha wanna? Inside the queue is really nice relaxing music, themed lighting, and lots of aquariums The final inversion followed by a ground hugging turn is a nice way to end the ride You do get a little misty going through the water feature (note: I'm not dating misty either) The aerial acrobatics on this flow well. It's not like "wander around, wander around, straight section, here comes an inversion" As is the norm, the Pretzel Loop is pretty intense, especially in the back. So intense you can pass on the horseradish mustard and then it gets all dramatic and makes these weird submerging noises as you assume the position Much like Tatsu, it doesn't need the dropping floors So yes, this is Manta, B&Ms newest flying coaster, and my favorite one to date (Note: I'm not dating Manta) "We're over here, that damn Manta stole our spot when we had to make a shrimp run to Publix" Entering the park it's pretty hard to not see the flamingos first....wait, where are the flamingos?! Here it's also holiday time Welcome to SeaWorld Orlando

I didn't get any beer at Moe's, so they must have only had like Miller Lite and such. Yes, that's Ruination in the avatar, which I'm also drinking right now and also picked up from Wegmans last week...creepy.

After a few hours at Universal (the parks close at 6pm this time of year) I had plenty of time and energy left to kill for the day, thus twas time to visit Old Town, with 2 new credits to obtain! Old Town is great to visit on a Friday or Saturday night as they have lots of classic cars that come out for what I've named "The Parade of Noise" There's that dirty feeling again, I may need more body wash than the 3oz the TSA would let me fly with Over in the "old" back section of Old Town we find the Wacky Worm, which has replaced the Dragon Wagon Yeah, I feel a little dirty, but a few beers and a shower later on should rid me of that feeling The reason I'm here, a kiddie coaster which I'm pretty certain came from the Pocono's. Sometimes parking spots are hard to come by at Old Town, that's when you just slap on some giant honkin' tires and park where you please The park runs on a ticket system, and each ticket is $1 or thereabouts. Each ride is between 2 and 3 tickets I haven't done this in years, but will have to wait until I'm there with someone else who wants to try it, too windy to do a solo ride that day First up is the fairly new Fun Spot USA. What used to just be the 300ft tall skycoaster has blossomed into a fully functional little park

Last week I was able to get away for a few days to spend some time in Orlando, ride some new coasters, spend some time doing other things, and enjoying WDW. I figured it would be a good time to go, as everything up north is already closed down for the year, it wouldn't be as crowded or hot, and there would be less risk of hurricanes ruining my plans. The weather was pretty much perfect, highs in the low 80s, lows in the upper 60s, and sunny every day. No hurricanes in sight, and while the parks did have people in them, almost every ride was a walk-on. After flying in on Saturday, the first park stop would be Islands of Adventure since I didn't really get to spend a lot of time there last month. We ended our day at Universal by shooting some illegal aliens on MIB I'm usually not a big fan of simulators, but I enjoyed this one. The story is cute, the theme park jokes, and queue show are entertaining I miss BTTF, but The Simpsons is pretty fun and not nearly as rough at riding in a DeLorean Mummy was a walk-on. The Mummy animatronic wasn't working and no music after the launch though on our train, boo. Love the ride though This time around there were no chants of "Shark, shark, shark, shark, shark!" Quite disappointing I like the ride, but it is very weird in a unique way I don't know if it was the jerkiness of the ride in the back row or choosing "Movin' Right Along" as my song, but when I got off my sides hurt HRRR had the longest wait of the trip With time to kill, Universal was the next stop Having done everything we wanted including Jurassic Park in about an hour, we say goodbye to Hulk from across the pond until next year Still two of the best inverts out there Working on a Saturday at Dueling Dragons castle. They MUST be behind schedule! The town is coming along nicely. In no time we'll be able to drink again at a bar! A look at Hogwarts Castle. I'd love to know how the ride will be, but I can pretty much guarantee it won't be as good as Dinosaur! Doesn't the Ministry of Magic screw up everything in the books and movies? Skip to Dueling Dragons which is just confusing right now, but at least it's still called Dueling Dragons for the moment, and a walk-on once you can figure out how to get through the lack of line Spiderman is still running well, but the film is getting a little worn. Just in case this goes away in the next 5 years, here's a look at Marvel Superhero Island before it becomes something like Universal Monster Island Signature shot! Hulk really needs a power washing though, he's very brown in the tunnels Here Dr. Bruce Banner still hasn't successfully rid himself of the Hulk, after 10 years of trying the same experiment day in and day out The park is now already set up for Christmas. It's a theme that will continue on to the other parks too. Back at Islands of Adventure. Hard to believe this place is 10 years old The most important thing to note: No line at Moe's!

This past week I was down in Orlando, and finally had the time to visit a lot of the places that weren't there yet when I lived in the area. Another good pumpkin ale, though I prefer Southern Tier's Pumking or Weyerbacher's when it comes to Imperial Pumpkin Ales After a stop at Knightly Spirits by Dr Phillips, I picked up Heavy Seas pumpkin ale In addition to some Oktoberfest in Germany, I had to go with a Black and Tan in England The next night was Epcot time Even Marlon showed up for some pumpkin ale. We were all happy to hear that they're going to start doing a new beer release every month here, instead of just once a season. Just another reason to go back to Disney! I also tried the Steamboat Pale Ale, which wasn't bad at all. Andrew joined me and also went with the pumpkin Again I was happy to hear they had their Spiced Pumpkin Ale on tap. A little more spiciness than I like, but still good stuff Time to return to Big River Brewing! The next night it was off the Disney's Boardwalk, which can only mean one thing... I just love me a spicy salmon roll and some mango roll Though they don't serve food at the House of Beer, there's plenty of other places to eat nearby, like sushi! I found being able to relax as it cooled down out by the fire a nice change of pace, definitely setting the vacation mode I went with the Cigar City Hunahpu's Imperial Stout which was just delicious with lots of chocolate notes, vanilla, cinnamon, and a hint of chili And a sweet tap selection of microbrews and international delights Pretty laid back vibe with some comfy sofas and such in an adjoining room Just recently opened in Orlando closer to the Kissimmee area is the House of Beer, a sweet beer bar in an upscale town center area The unfiltered Olde Pelican was my favorite of them all, though the Blackwater porter was really good too for round 2 I went with the Olde Pelican as well as the porter and stouts The Doble IPA was my favorite of the bunch, as it had a nice sweetness and hop cling I stuck to samplers, like this one featuring 3 different IPAs and the Miami Weiss A look at their current selection I just missed the tour, but was happy to have the tasting room pretty much to myself to watch the Gators game Later that night I stopped by Orlando Brewing Partners, located not too far off I-4 in the Orlando proper area Colin had a beer too! A root beer that is I was happy to hear the Pumpkin Ale was on tap. A nice balance of spices and beer notes The first stop was a BJ's located in the Millenia area

Fahrenheit tonight to end the local amusement park season.

Great to see them expanding already.

Gotta represent Showing some love with my pumpkin rice pudding cone on a typically cool PPP day, a nice change from previous years

Last weekend I found myself in Delaware participating in my first 5K race, the Dogfish Dash. Dogfish Head Brewing holds a 5K and 10K race every year to benefit the Delaware Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. I was made aware of it last year but there was no way I would be able to do it, but this year I decided no better time than the present, even if I had to miss out on sweet coaster ERT elsewhere. In all, over $25,000 was raised for the Nature Conservancy and it was a lot of fun and very rewarding. I'll definitely do the Dogfish Dash again next year and among the drinks, some 60 Minute IPA (though I will say I wasn't really in the mood for a beer at 9am after just running for 3.2 miles, and pretty much stuck with water) With the race over, it was time for some celebrating, complete with live music, Keg races, awards, food, and drinks Here I come down the home stretch with an official final time of 32:57 and #264. Certainly not the best time, but I'm happy with myself. Next year I'll try to shave a few minutes off my time Some people ran in costume Off we go The rain stopped just before the race started and about 800 people of the 1000 registered still managed to come out With the iPhone playlist all set, it's time to stretch and get ready to run On a very wet Sunday morning we arrived at the Dogfish Head brewery in Milton. In previous years the Dogfish Dash was held in Rehoboth, but this year would be different Step! After some Punkin Ale, I finally tried Dogfish's Bloody Mary, made with Dogfish Head's own Blue Hen Vodka While at the brewpub, may as well have dinner, as well as the brewpub exclusive Altoberfest Registration and package pickup was held at the brewpub in Rehoboth on Saturday. In all, 1000 people signed up to run

Yup, one minute she was walking right next to us through dense fog, the next she was about a foot shorter and very wet. I *think* that was in 2001.

After an enjoyable day at Great Adventure with nay, we decided to check out one of New Jersey's brewpubs that I heard good things about that was on the way home for her. This one was pretty unusual too, because it had a cool twist. Renee went with the Bootlegger Blonde which was light and a little buttery from the hops used. Still easy to drink though. and the summer seasonal, a hefeweizen which was my favorite of the night, but all of the beers were decent or better and represented their represented style well. With 6 beers on tap and no clue how any of them tasted, I opted for the sampler that included a blonde, red, pilsner, ipa, and porter This Pizzeria Uno in Metuchan happens to brew their own beers on premises, which AFAIK is the only one that does

El Toro today, running as good as always, and with minimal lines making it even better! and the skyride was running, Ka wasn't too crowded, and Rolling Thunder was running both sides and attempting to race. It was like Bizarro Great Adventure!

Phoenix earlier this afternoon.

Good stuff, Chuck. I'll just piggyback a few pictures onto this as well. and to make Chuck's PTR more complete, here's a kinda sorta shot of Iron Horse...which played no music on our ride, but still had fire so it gets a gold star. Hopefully new for 201X, Aqua 8 Trax At least this remained and still played Stairway to Heaven, sort of, at random, even when no one was "playing" the strings I don't think there were this many people in the entire park last year when I visited, yet alone in line for The Led Zeppelin Time Machine Several blistering minutes in the sun later, a train broke through the space-time continuum into our realm again Round About was pretty much like a giant rollerskater with a funky lift and random onboard 80s music Not quite soaked, but refreshingly damp. Kinda disappointing though that there are no waterbombs on the train The Gibson guitar got to stay, and yay, Soak'd is working on this trip! They must have paid their bill on time farewell, mural, we hardly knew ye A lot has changed since last year Wow, it's REALLY a good idea for adults to get there before 5pm!! If only you could leave your kids in the car (or at Beach Church) until after 5, or just buy them a _______ pass, then everyone gets in cheap! Boy, this sign is all sorts of messed up. Not that anyone is paying over $20 to get in these days anyway. Onto Myrtle Beach and Freestyle! Me sad poor Wolfie go bye-bye Last chance I'll get this shot of the Rhine First stop, Busch Gardens for my final BBW ride ever.

Last weekend I headed down South for a quick trip, stopping at a few beer places along the way. and Chuck finished with a Blackberry Wheat of his own The White Ale was next on my agenda, keeping it light for as hot as it was outside Chuck went for Clyde's Pale Ale to start and he was happy with its hoppy character I started out with the Blackberry Wheat and downed it pretty quickly since it was so light and fruity The current tap list, only the brown ale was gone The next afternoon it was off to Myrtle Beach and Liberty for happy hour Chuck and I both went for the Stone 13th Anniversary Ale though, seeing how it was on tap A nice tap selection too with lots of local Virginia brews amongst the other usuals Pretty cool old vibe in here, and we arrived early enough to beat the crowds Afterwards it was off to Green Leafe Cafe, a beer bar across the street from William & Mary While at Busch Gardens, I found it hot enough to actually purchase a beer, Beach Bum, a blonde. Not the greatest, but definitely the best thing they offered at the park To go along with it, their Sawtooth, a witbier The first stop, DuClaw in Bowie, MD for a quick lunch

^At least the Friday's you went to had something local on tap, I don't think mine around here does, though if it did it would probably be Yuengling. Last week I returned to Texas with the TPR group. I knew of 1 place we'd be going and really wasn't expecting to do lots of beer stuff because it was a roller coaster group trip and all, but I was pleasantly surprised by all the bonus stuff we got to do thanks to a little iPhone app called Beer Hero. So hot that I even took shelter for several hours at SFFT and kicked back an $8 Shiner Bock and so concludes our adventure in Texas, a place that is really freaking hot in the summer! A look down into the TPR room at a few of the people We had one of the rooms just for us, Obama had the other A look at the bar area I tried some of the Live Oak Big Bark Amber Lager as well, pretty good stuff, easy to drink Dave and I started out with the Live Oak Liberation, another great beer for the style from the folks at Live Oak I was put in charge of the beer selection for the evening, so I went with some local stuff like Live Oak Liberation IPA, and Live Oak Big Bark Amber, along with some familiar stuff like Pilsner Urquell, Bass Ale, and Franziskaner Hefeweisse. Hopefully everyone of age found something they liked It's old, there's an outside beer garden area, but Elissa was smart enough to request indoors for us Our final day in Texas took us through Austin for our farewell dinner at Scholz Garten, the oldest business in Texas, built in 1866 and even recognized by the historic society Chris then braved some beer and got Pilsner Urquell while I was running out of options with most stuff I wanted to try kicked and went with Stone IPA Jewy also went with more Live Oak while everyone else was enjoying some sort of Woodchuck Monday was pretty much everything for $2.75, so more Live Oak Hefe for me. Stefanie got some Abita Purple Haze, and more ciders for the rest The next night we returned again with a few more friends. Nice to see Victory being represented! our final beers of the night before they closed at midnight was some more Live Oak, this time the Pilz which was very tasty and pretty hoppy Cool beer deco all over the place Gotta love getting served by waitresses dressed like that Not being into beer, Wes went with some pear cider which means Live Oak Hefe for Jew and I, simply fantastic and so sessionable Lots and lots of taps, and it happened to be local beer night, where all beers brewed in Texas were $2.75 per pint The next night we found ourselves in San Antonio where Beer Hero came to the rescue yet again and told us the closest beer bar was a Flying Saucer. Sold! Next Jewy and I enjoy a Piranha Pale Ale and Nitwit Witbier, respectively A few of us decided to head over for some food and drinks. I went with the Totonka Imperial Stout which was chocolately and roasty but still mild enough to enjoy in these hot times Later that night after some time at the Kemah Boardwalk we got to the hotel, which was conveniently across the street from a BJs. Thanks for booking that location, Elissa! This time I went with the Hefeweizen. Good clove and banana notes and very drinkable On Saturday we got done at SFOT again a little bit before our bus departed, so we went back for a quick lunch at the bar Even the pandas were coming in from the heat for a round Next up I went with a small Raspberry Blonde, just for something to help keep me cool. Nice raspberry flavor, easy to drink, and sessionable. A good amount of the people on the Texas trip decided to come with. Beer, good food, and Air Conditioning can sell anyone in a Texas summer I started out with the Big Red IPA, which had nice spice and pine notes to it. This 0.5L was the "medium", crazy Texas Humperdinks is home to Big Horn Brewing, with a pretty good selection on tap. I'm thinking this is what my little piece of the afterlife will look like On day 1 we managed to devour SFOT thanks to Robb's awesome skills at acquiring Gold Flashpasses for everyone, so we had time for dinner. Beer Hero located a brewpub 0.8 miles from SFOT called Humperdinks.

^I think Sculpin may be my favorite IPA now as well, having quite a few in the last couple of weeks. As far as posting goes, I'll be venturing into new beer territories soon, so if I can remember the camera, I'll be sure to do an update when I get back.

I saw Saving Abel, Papa Roach, Hinder, and Nickelback in concert last night in Camden, NJ. Great show, rocked hard and were all really good live. Nickelback's cover of "Highway to Hell" was pretty sweet, considering it was the first time they did it and incorporated Hinder's and Papa Roach's singers into it. Plus Chad getting pyro remains in his eye and continuing on is pretty rock.

I guess I'd have to go with "Kickstart My Heart" first followed by "Sabotage" and then "Rock Star". A wide assortment, but nothing that really jumps out at me as an "OMG, that song would be awesome to listen to on a coaster!"

Last month we headed down to Philly on Good Friday to catch the final home game of the season for the Philadelphia Phantoms before the team leaves Philly and their home, the Spectrum, is destroyed. Of course on the way we had to enjoy some beer stops! It was a great game, a great season, and a great run for the Phantoms. Sadly they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Hershey Bears. Philly will definitely miss the Phantoms and the Spectrum When all was said and done, they kicked the Bears back to Hershey and earned a spot in the playoffs They fought hard, and a hat trick was even accomplished Playing their rivals the Hershey Bears makes for some great fights! Then they had the final ceremony for the building, bringing out lots of Phantom's past players and coaches, as well as the Calder Cup First, some warm ups Lots of memories in this old building Let's go! and their old home and home of the Phantoms, the Spectrum The Wachovia Center, home of the Flyers and 76ers The Linc, home of the Eagles Finally we enter into the sports complex, here's the Cit, home of the World Champion Phillies We both chose to go with Stoudt's Scrawny Dog, a really light and easy to drink stout The bathroom was pretty cool though, with lots of famous beer quotes all over the place The place reminded me of a Philadelphia version of San Fran's Toronado, but without the awesome beer selection Next stop, The Grey Lodge Pub More tart and funky fruit for me in the form of Kerasus from Alvinne I went with Monk's Cafe's own Cuvee Kriek, made just for them by Cantillon. Tom went with St. Bernardus White Ale We chose to sit at the back bar area, since there were seats there, and more beers we wanted Next stop, Monk's Cafe. THE premier Belgian beer bar Say hello to William Penn and Penn's Curse Next up, battling the traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway to get into Philly I went with the Hop Bomb, which is exactly what it sounds like it should be. Tom went with the Barrel Aged Milk Stout, really sweet, but tasty and easy to drink! The current tap list (as of mid April) First stop, KOP's Rock Bottom for a quick, cheap lunch

Nights was the only ride at the park worth reriding, not just because of it's really messed up theme, but also because it's the only ride in the park that has air conditioning! Until they throw in some more cool rides like maybe a log flume or rapids, they really shouldn't be contemplating removing or retheming it so quickly. Chalk up another vote in the "this is your last season to get to the park" category!

I filled out the survey, but didn't like how nowhere was there a comment box to complain about how they did the giveaway; like how I won but my gf that entered 3 minutes before me from the same computer but lives at a different residence did not. Doesn't make much sense when it states "The first 100,000".

^While Pay-Per-Ride would be nice to draw people into the park, I don't think there are enough rides there that you'd want to ride over and over again (especially if you have to deal with Led Zep's preshow every time!) I would think it would be more beneficial to either have a cheap admission rate of like $5-10, plus parking, and then either pay per ride or $25 for a wristband, or just flat out make it $34.99 to get into the park for everyone to get in and enjoy all the rides and shows they want.