DerekRx

^!?! Although I had plenty to drink this weekend down in Florida, I was so tired that I forgot my camera for Food and Wine Festival. Don't worry, others picked up the slack of my picture taking (though it did feel weird drinking without one hand holding a camera!). And at BGA I was denied the AB beers I was actually looking forward to trying, the Jack's Pumpkin Ale and the Stone Mill Pale Ale. The Hospitality House was way too crowded for me to wait thru while trying to help my friends accomplish their credit whoring, and nowhere else in the park would sell anything besides Budweiser, Bud Lite, or Budweiser Select. So, my AB beer drinking was solely done at the TPR House. Due to lack of beer at Super Walmart, the only other beer I had was some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. A very pool ready Derek enjoys a Wally brewed Wild Hop Lager. Actually pretty tasty and not bland like Bud

Well put. I really agree with this, Busch had cool scare zones that were longer than Universal's, and even had some "hidden" scare zones, but the overall theme just seemed to be startles. I really liked the themes of the houses at HOS, and they were really long (almost too long!). I didn't really care for the excess amounts of strobes though in almost every house, it really slowed up the lines. While most of the houses remain the same year after year, I was pretty impressed with the new one. The only house I really didn't care for was Freaked, though it was cool how there was more than one path to choose. Busch did a surprisingly good job considering they don't have all the makeup talent like Universal does. I do give the nod to Universal though for its constantly changing houses, better scare feeling, and costuming. Also, their shows were far superior, and the lack of shaker cans is always a good thing. I don't think a zombie or a vampire would ever attack a person with a shaker can. Big kudos to Robb and Elissa for setting up another wonderful weekend trip to Orlando. Every year gets better and better and I anxiously look forward to next year's Halloween season in Orlando. Now if only I could find some extra vacation days somewhere, like in the sofa cushions or something.

Maybe Elissa isn't in any pictures because her and Robb are having problems and need to seek a marriage counciler with 16 years experience in the field. If things get heated, I'm outta here!

The left side of Primeval Whirl, just because it was opened and Joe wasn't there to get the credit

These pictures do not make me happy! I'm supposed to be there, but instead I'm stuck in the heart of Wootah Country. I'll end up being the Real World guy who gets stuck with the antisocial roommate, or worse, Ryan! I'm just thankful Barry isn't in the house

I drank nothing tonight! I was IN Harrisburg for a flight, but couldn't get to ABC in time, and the stupid terrorist level thing won't let me bring any beer with me. So now that I'm in limbo in Charlotte and everything is closed, I'm beerless. I'll be sure to make up for that tomorrow!

Yeah, last night's episode really seemed odd, but I have a feeling its nothing more than a dream/hallucination. Think about it, no one cared about the hatch being imploded, everyone inside the hatch survived and ended up in the woods, Charlie wasn't injured anymore (during the attempted door blow up). I'm sure it will make more sense in a few weeks when they finally get back to that side of the island. At least, I hope! Thats the one thing I don't like right now, too many characters they're trying to develop.

I'd expect the place to be pretty crowded, but I don't know about numbers that high. I think Saturday's crowds were because of the really nice weather that day with temps in the 70s. Add in Fright Fest and people not having work and school on Sunday and all the season pass sales (especially after that deal they did this year) and that's probably where the crowds came from. But yeah, always expect crowds at Great Adventure on a Saturday, and try to go any other day of the week if possible. Last Sunday it wasn't too crowded, at least not in the early part of the day, unlike the week before (but that was also because Monday was a holiday, so Sunday was pretty much the same crowd types as Saturday).

The back is a bit better, but the front is the place to be for the full floorless aspect. As Herc said, its not going to make all the difference in the world though, just a pop of air on the first drop and another tiny one before the final flat spin.

^Good to know, Wally. I hadn't heard of it before, but Elissa called me today from Super Walmart for my beer order for the weekend, and that name sounded somewhat fun, so I went with it. Expect my review in a few days! As for tonight, I went with my Avery Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest. I could barely make out the Oktoberfest portion of it though, because the alcohol was so strong. Good stuff, but a little too much for me to enjoy as an Oktoberfest. Thanks Heath! Only one way to have The Kaiser, in the official Oktoberfest mug

No real loss in the Hurricane being scrapped, but I'm sad to see the Haunted House go. That one was pretty nicely done with its recent rehab.

That's not Joe! If it was, it would have quad boobs!

^Debris?!? LOL! What kind of debris is going to be flying around in those winds that will inflict serious harm to people riding a coaster, trash cans?? If thats the case, Steel Force should be closed too, debris could hit you in the head there, you've only got one of them as opposed to 2 legs. The more stupid CF policies I hear, the more I wish they'd go bankrupt and have to sell Dorney off so it could be good again.

To go with my pumpkin pie snack tonight, I decided to go with the pumpkin pie of beers, Pumpkinhead! Plus you don't have to chew, just drink! and the burps taste better too All the goodness of pumpkin pie, in liquid form, with alcohol as a bonus!

Glad to see you had a good time, got to visit 2 new parks, and managed to do it all with minimal lines. Love your analysis of Dorney compared to Hershey, it really is a glorified carnival now, whereas in the past it used to have its own charm. Glad the winds died down enough for you to get on Talon and Hydra, even though they are pretty weak for their respective styles. I'm guessing they close for the winds because they're on the top of the hill instead of in the valley like Steel Force? Hopefully you took some chocolate from Chocolate World back home with you. Nothing says awesome quite like a 5lb Hershey bar. I know someone's mom who will be getting one of them for Christmas

I originally didn't purchase a parking pass this year because I refuse to pay $45 for one. However, if it is just affixed to your season pass and not to your car window, that may actually work for me. I'll have to evaluate how many SF parks I intend to get to next year, and for how many of them I'll actually need to park for. This year I visited like 7 SF parks, but only had to pay for parking 1 time, and therefore my parking pass didn't get enough use for its cost!

Fantastic news! This year's event was a great time, and next year is definitely something I'd love to get back for. Not sure how feasible it will be for me, but the very early notice of the event is very appreciated, especially when the boredom of the offseason comes about and we have nothing else to do but plan next year's trips!

Tonight was time to finally taste the last of my Southern Tier variety pack, the Porter. While I'm not too big into porters, it was nice and dark with a nice chocolate coffee taste and was pretty drinkable. Its no old leghumper or anything like that, but it wasn't bad, and pretty much what you'd expect it to be, not a surprise like the others in the pack. Surprisingly good with some coffee and chocolate hints. It actually tasted like a porter, hooray Southern Tier! Southern Tier Porter, prepare for a porter, but expect something odd

I wouldn't plan anything around these dates yet. Just got the latest ACE News today, and it says in there that Knott's Coaster Solace is going to be on Saturday, March 10, 2007. I'd wait until there is an official confirmation from the park before scheduling yourself off or booking a room or anything. little blurb about upcoming park events stating possible (?) date of Solace Sept/October 2006 issue (actually came in October!)

Finally remembered to catch this show tonight. Definitely looks like I finally have a show to watch on Monday nights now for the season. mmmm Ali Larter, even if her power is kinda "huh??" Hiro is pretty awesome though, especially in his future "costume"

Hooray for the Tumble Bug being back in operation and looking quite nice! Conneaut may just have to go on my list of places to get back to next summer, unless they go thru all the "are we opened, are we bankrupt" drama again next year.

^Yeah, nothing was worse than the year the "special hotel ERT" was shared with the honor students celebration. They may be smart and get good grades, but they're still really obnoxious and stupid when it comes to amusement parks! Needless to say, that was the last year I did that event with the hotel stay.

Yes, that was a Coors tap, but I'll let them keep a few "redneck" beers on tap as long as they have the ratio the way it should be 20:1 (20 good beers to 1 bad). As far as Oktoberfests go, you can't go wrong with Spaten if you can find it out your way (or any of the authentic German ones; Becks, Lowenbrau, etc). As far as American ones go, Sam Adams is a good choice overall. But if you have any craft brewed Oktoberfests around you, by all means, try them. As for me tonight, time for another pumpkin ale, this time the Imperial Pumpkin from Weyerbacher. Really strong ale with a nice mix of pumpkin and spices. Not a session beer like Pumpkinhead though, WAY too strong for that (at least on a Monday) Awesome stuff, just not something I could drink a lot of Thanks to Tom, I was able to get some this year, unlike last year

Medusa at SFGAd. Just enough to whet my palate until I can enjoy some Kumba goodness again soon.

Wow, so much for it maybe being moved elsewhere or being refurbished! And if the Drop Tower goes too, they really MUST hate Intamin! Perhaps they're renaming the whole park again to Lame City, Germany.