DerekRx

I don't like green grass, it just means it needs to be cut soon. I actually really liked Canada's Wonderland. They didn't have a standout coaster, but the park was really nice and well maintained and operated, unlike my last couple of visits to SFGAd. Of course, I like my location and don't plan on moving to PCWo anytime soon (at least not until Paul finishes funding Canaba and forms his own country)

Tonight for dinner I went out with mom again, this time to the Peanut Bar for some good steak and crabcakes (and beer!). They supposedly have the best wings in Reading, but since I'm going to Buffalo tomorrow, I'll save the wings for then. Beer and beef, closer to happiness For the turf of my surf and turf Then they gave me giant knives! Wheaty and good Tonight's beer will be a Paulaner Hefe-Weizen (served in a Franziskaner glass?!) When you're done eating the peanut, you throw the shell on the ground, as seen here See, this is a peanut, used to make butter and stuff They call it the Peanut Bar so they serve you peanuts, or they serve you peanuts so they call it the Peanut Bar Check it out, Peanut Bar is that a way!

^Hey! Yup, another blazing day. So while I'm probably going out tonight, I thought I'd start cooling myself down immediately since I turn the AC off while I'm at work (hey, I gotta save up for the TPR trips somehow!) oooh, hoppy Hops Infusion, activate! Form of refreshing liquid

I'm only interested in any trips if they have an add-on to Liseberg. No Liseberg, no Derek. Oh, and Casey, eastern Pennsylvania is nowhere near the midwest!

^Yup, the Electrical Water Pagent still goes on a few times a night. We caught the 10:30 show as we were boarding the monorail back to the resort. Staying onsite at Disney is always great, especially if the majority of your time is going to be spent there. Of course, the three resorts with monorail service are the most handy, especially after a long tiring day at the park. I hope Disney does the new Fastpass thing sooner than later so I'll have more incentive to going back and staying there!

After it cooled down a tad bit, I decided to face the music and mow the lawn. Well it was still really hot, so when all was done, it was time to enjoy another good IPA. I'm tired, sweaty, and shirtless. With this beer, I'm a little bit closer to happiness though More Indica, por favor

I was so busy tonight that I almost forgot to have a beer! Shame on me. Luckily I stepped outside and realized how hot it was and only 1 thing could remedy the situation, going back inside and drinking! Much better than going outside! Time for an Alpha King

So with the way I spend money on souvenirs, the Spain trip could end up costing MORE than the Japan trip. Good to know!

^^Rapa Nui maybe? or something like that ^Yeah, the ride had a 40 minute wait. The new stuff is pretty cool I guess, especially the Davey Jone's effect. Barbosa didn't look that great to me, especially on that dinky ship, but Jack was pretty cool, especially the first two. The last scene was pretty average, I miss all the drunk pirates shooting at random stuff.

Another scorcher of a day, so after washing the car a nice refreshment was in order. Too bad I grabbed a Saranac brew and popped the cap by mistake, so I had to drink it Yup, not really that refreshing on an average day, definitely not on a hot day Oh goodie, another Saranac that is probably meh, especially since its their pilsner

Tonights brews, to celebrate summer or just because I like to drink (I don't need a reason!): Still satisfying Next, the old 'Head It should stay limited, not very wheaty, more watery Started out with the Saranac Hefeweizen, a limited edition

I've been collecting since around 1999, and its pretty much the only real souvenir I try to pick up, as its both cheap and small. Of course, neither of that is true about Disney, but I guess we have them to thank for the renewed spark of interest in them. Too bad I don't think I make enough money to be able to buy every new pin Disney makes, and they make a new pin on pretty much every visit I take! SFMM collection Cedar Point premier collection Disneyland Resort Disneyland Resort Paris Other WDW stuff WDW Season Pass pins/resorts I've stayed at WDW Etickets The new page International parks More small parks Dollywood and SDC The other CF parks Cedar Point Various smaller parks Dorney Park and Knotts Six Flags The Busch page The Universal page The Paramount page

After Kennywood a few weekends ago my Exilim pretty much died, wouldn't come out and play anymore. I guess it needed camera Viagara, but since I didn't have any of that I just upgraded to a Nikon CoolPix S6, complete with 6 MegaPixel and WiFi. So far the only things I don't like about it is the seizure flash and that it can't take really good indoor pictures, thus you see no pictures from inside Pirates.

Smile, somebody in Compton loves you.

For Nicole: "Blurry" Puddle of Mudd

I hadn't seen a Shamu show since I was like 12, so I decided that since one was about to start, maybe I could still grab a seat since it was still early in the day. Definitely a good couple of hours at SeaWorld. Can't wait to spend more time here sometime in the future. The End. No trip to SeaWorld would be complete without me saying hi to the sea turtles Here comes the vile "wetter than Valhalla" part that Joe has no clue what we're talking about Finally Journey to Atlanta reopened and LOTS of people wanted to see Joe file papers Its like we're back in Norway! "Hey Frank, what're you looking at?" "I dunno, but those weird humans are looking at me, figured I'd stare back" Oooh, Penguins, lets check em out! SeaWorld's got pearl divers in the Waterfront area, and you can buy their finds No explanation needed But the shark area smells like fish, and not the kind I like In the tube you can see SharkTums' relatives "Leave Elissa alone, fanboy!" Oooh, SharkTum's Encounter, a fanboy favorite But not just any donkey, the Budweiser Donkey! No TPR PTR would be worthy without a donkey "I'm a Clydesdale, hows it going?" Time for a stop to see the Clydesdales They've also got a Brewmaster's Club, but I didn't want to experience the beers all by myself Not too bad! Time for the AB summer brew, Beach Bum And its not crowded yet either Woohoo, I killed enough time that the Hospitality House is opened Check out the flowers and stuff Shamu claimed 4 victims already by the end of the first show Much like the Velociraptor, one distracts you while the other one attacks There goes one victim Hi, I'm a Shamu. Keep in mind I am a KILLER Whale though. Prepare to die! and wave pools! Dorney already bought 12 of them and ripped out more of the parking lot and trees Whales can be used for all sorts of things, like boats The Shamus are hoping to be the next Boy Band, or would that be Bouy Band? I think the big one is Rosie O'Donnell The new show is called "Believe" Don't believe me, ask the whale Unless you're a platinum passholder who stole a cop's signature move Wow, they're not kidding when they say show up 45 minutes early for a good seat Either this is where the whale show is or its the ACE buffet

Part 3: SeaWorld On Sunday I decided to head over to SeaWorld instead and let them do anything else at the Magic Kingdom that they wanted. I didn't want to use another park hopper day off my pass for a mere 4 hours at the park, and I could grab the Shamu Express credit and maybe score some free beer. Best of all, with my platinum pass, it was pretty much a free day! Look, its a Brazilian tour group, complete with flag. And look, my finger looks really really long! Back row of the helicopter offers the most motion (but no beer) Sweet, we're going to the Dells to get pizza and beer! Another first for me, Wild Arctic I remember the old one that used to be here. Mom yelled at me because I was having too much fun or something and she wanted to leave. Good times "Yeah, definitely!" "I think I can get seriously injured in there" Cargo net playground of doom Fun ride, just remember it doesn't open until 10am! Thats a long train, typical of Zierer Oh, its also this spinny ride's name Heehee, dirty A different layout than most of these Shamu looks happy Maybe I can trade him this shirt for some donuts and handcuffs though I got a new credit, a Balder hammer, awesome hair, AND now Rich's signature move! And a credit! Then onward to the new Happy Harbor area, with this funky themed Samba Tower But I was more disappointed because I thought it was Journey to Atlanta and I could go see Joe filing papers Journey to Atlantis was closed when I walked by Even though he ate Mr. Depp, he's still my favorite sock puppet floorless coaster Too bad the waterfall was turned off With not one, but TWO vertical loops! Early enough that there wasn't a bad wait! "Yeah, I knew you couldn't resist!" These Flaming O's don't smell as bad as the ones in the UK Here's the future waterpark across the street "Come on dude, I'm running AND I have this awesome vertical loop!" The Shamus are still chilling, no show until 11 And there be Kraken. It says "hey dude, I'm opened, come ride me" Ooooh, free with my pass. Woohoo! I finally decided to ride the SkyTower. Nicely themed, see? The fairly newly themed Waterfront area of the park, lots of shopping, food, and some nighttime show "Hey! I'm a baby dolphin. Hows it going TPR! Guy, stop giving us a bum rap! Sorry Derek, your coaster doesn't open until 10am, hang out with me for a bit!" "OK, where is this new coaster?" Must...resist...urge to go to...Kraken first... On every visit since 2000 I've only ridden Kraken and JTA and then left! So lets see the park more this time Yey, back at SeaWorld. A park I haven't really "been to" in like 14 years!

After a nap and some pool, back for more Magic Kingdom. Though the girls favorite ride was "the Ponies". Next time mom can save $3000 and just take them to Knoebels up the road instead Gotta love the teacups and their spinning ultimateness Skylar even rode Space Mountain twice, but Jade was too small And I made it a business trip by trying out new chemo protection devices We also got the girls the Barnstormer credit Still uber popular, and I'm not quite sure why. Guess this won't be leaving for a Dive Machine anytime soon another shot just in case any Zamperla people want to use my photos for marketing... and I experience Mickey's Philharmagic in either 12-D or 81-D! Random shot to please Elissa And my chocolate mousse cake was pretty tasty, even when it was getting sawed in half But its fun for the youngins You need to make reservations here months in advance! Why its Elissa friendly Gus and Jack! The castle is nicely themed, and whats that on the upper ledge? and meat one I did! And meet one they did I reserved dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table so the girls could meet a princess Hooray, its a real castle!

Part 2: The Magic Kingdom Not much has changed here, though it was the first time I was ever here in the summer while Fastpass was around. Wow, what a help! I think the longest we waited in line was 40 minutes, and that was for the new Pirates, which of course doesn't have Fastpass. OK, its hot, its like 2pm, and its not about to rain. Time to utilize the nearby hotel and take a nap and some pool time Haunted Mansion is always good, and rarely a bad line But Big Thunder rocked as always (and was Jade's first coaster) Splash Mountain may have been home to Reid on this day, but I didn't want to wait in the standby line and I missed my fastpass time because of dinner Holy Crap! They sure aren't keeping the new animatronics a secret in here! The Magic Carpets of Aladdin now even give you proper attire while riding! These elephants were recently added like 35 years ago, I thought you'd enjoy them Exclusive shot with my new camera First ride, the Jungle Cruise (where our Captain was named Bobb) I am happy now, the trip is worth it. And yes, I still got brainfreeze at least 3 times Its already blazing hot so first stop of the day, Pineapple Dolewhip! We got to the hotel at 4am. 6 or so hours later, here we are at the Magic Kingdom! Yay with plenty of legroom for sleeping. Too bad the tardbox next to me decided he needed to read the entire time! Stupid reading Finally we were on the plane (and I had an exit row!) By 10pm I was tired and Skylar was still excited about going to Disney (we Benadryl-ed her shortly afterwards) Since I failed to mention it earlier, our flight on Friday night was delayed. Here I am charging my phone and IMming people at the same time (and taking the picture!)

So on my last trip to Disney in April one of my coworkers was supposed to be there with her kids so I could show them around a little (she really has problems finding her way out of a paper bag, so I can't imagine she can do Disney for the first time that well). Of course, the dunderhead screwed up her vacation and booked a Disney cruise, then needed to back out a few days early, thus never doing the parks, only the cruise. (imagine telling a 4 and 5 year old they're going to Disney World, and then never getting there!) Well, that made for some great jabs and insults for the past 3 months, and as a way to get me to stop making fun of her about it, she wanted to take me with when they finally went. Since she had tickets from the cruise that needed to be used this year, it was decided to go now (summer, ick!) before the one started school. So with me only needing to pay for my flight and tickets, I planned everything for them/me. Since it was the dead middle of summer, I knew it'd be crowded and hot, and with kids, and afternoon nap was pretty much mandatory. It made sense to skip Epcot and MGM until they're a little older, and focus mainly on Magic Kingdom. Of course, if we're solely doing the Magic Kingdom, we may as well stay nearby. Polynesian Resort won (as Grand Floridian was too expensive, and Contemporary wasn't much different in price from Poly). Part 1: The Polynesian Resort And there are also a few "Quiet" pools at other points in the resort And ending at the pool somehow Like other resorts, the pool is themed, with the water coming from a point inside the main lobby And the swimming pool was great. Themed to a volcano, with a waterfall and a slide As well as a beach The resort is right on the Seven Seas Lagoon, opposite to the Magic Kingdom, and has a marina Home of something for Robb to try, Peanut Chicken with Peppers! The other is a little bit lighter, but still nicely Hawaiian themed, Kona Cafe One restaurant is Ohana, home of everything grilled on a stick The main building has shops and restaurants on 2 stories, as well as the monorail entrance And a place to drop off the kids if parents need a night alone There's also a quick food stop and an arcade Polynesian music is everywhere and at 5pm the torches come on, scorching nearby plants And bigger than I thought! The resort itself is very lush and tropical And a tub/shower combo that's Casey approved and a toilet (wow!) The bathroom comes with 2 sinks As well as a balcony There's also a place for the family to chill out Complete with the new annoying Top 7 Things to do at Disney chick! And a sofa/daybed. Since the rooms were recently upgraded, there are also large flat screen TVs Standard is 2 queen sized beds The room buildings are like long houses So here we are, sleeping closer than the parking lot to the Magic Kingdom

Jersey week is usually the week of Columbus Day, so yeah, its the week you're going! Crowds shouldn't be too bad though, especially if they're calling for a hurricane. Just remember not to do the Magic Kingdom on a Saturday and you're good. You better take plenty of pictures at Food and Wine for the thread, and remember the times of the Sam Adam's beer school. Good free beer is awesome!

The incentive for a trip to Utah keeps getting more and more positive. Lots of wives, my own planet, Lagoon, S&S, 4 alpine slides, AND an alpine coaster. Its looking mighty good indeed...

Rich, I WAS your roommate and really could have used those handcuffs for when you were out of the room. Next time help a homey out! Glad you got your hammer, but mine is still cooler

Shamu Express at SeaWorld Orlando yesterday! Cha-ching baby! and fun too!

Sunday found me at WallyWorld, err SeaWorld, which of course has free beer, so I drank it. Not too bad! Best beer I ever had from Hawaii Back at the Polynesian Resort, I kicked back a Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale with lunch Not sure why they call it World Lager. Maybe its been on a trip around the world, but if it was supposed to be a gift to the world for peace or something, no wonder there's war! Shortly thereafter, the Anheuser World Lager Not bad for AB. Still kinda watery but it was drinkable, and free! First up, the Beach Bum Blonde Shortly after it opened, I was there