PhantomNick

Well, our original weekend in NYC to celebrate my wife's 30th birthday was postponed due to the blizzard that came up the coast in February. Much to my surprise, we were able to at least exchange our show tickets for a new date - thank you Disney!! Our new trip date finally arrived this past weekend - we had a BLAST!! It was just for the weekend, but we did a ton, including having my first experience of Lombardi's pizza! But on to what this thread is about - we went to see "Newsies" last Sunday! I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by that show!! Everything about it was phenomenal. The songs were great, the dancing was spectacular, and the story for the theater production was extremely good as well. My wife and I would both HIGHLY recommend "Newsies" to anyone visiting NYC. Robb and Elissa were right on with that one!

Kara, THANK YOU so much for posting that! What a beautiful video.....I'm not gonna lie, I totally teared up watching that. It is so wonderful to see all these great people involved in making the Village so amazing. The overflowing goodness of all the people involved down there (yourself included) should be an inspiring example to all of us!! It just makes me want to fundraise that much harder!! Go Team TPR!! $10k, here we come!

^ Or even a cool TPR button! Totally agree with what Robb & Nicole both said. I'm sure this year's fundraising will follow a similar pattern to last year. There's that initial surge of donations, then typically a lull in the middle, with a final push of donations in the last couple weeks. A reminder at about 2-3 weeks before the event jogs the memory of folks that saw an early post or email and thought "I definitely want to help out, but that's not until June". And Robb is dead on about utilizing Kara's stories/pics occasionally when posting. People like to see where their donations are going and who they are helping.

Ok, that was seriously funny - I let out a nice audible laugh here at work!! Thanks for that.....good way to kick off the end of a work week! Those trains are probably the coolest and most gorgeous ones I have ever seen. That snake head busting out of the front is total bad-a$$! And as an added bonus, they look incredibly roomy/comfortable from that side shot. If only I lived closer to Texas......

The trains look even nicer than I thought they might! And those glowing eyes are freaking awesome!! With Gatekeeper's track already completed construction-wise, I'm looking forward to seeing how the station/entrance plaza takes shape, along with the revamped park entrance. Kudos to that construction crew too, as they seemed to kick it into overdrive once they started on the keyhole track! Definitely looking forward to this one, and hopefully I might be able to snag a ride on it this spring/summer.

Well, the "In Like a Lion" challenge was a success! I am beyond stoked to have hit 4 digits in money raised by the end of February!! I only hope I can keep the momentum going through the next several months as well. Here's to everyone on Team TPR reaching their fundraising goals......and beyond!

Here's my steel ballot.....it's funny how the number of steel coasters drops once you lump together all the clones! It also tells me that I've ridden quite a lot of clones out of my roughly 110 steel coasters, since my ballot is only 76. I need to go on a TPR trip to pump up these numbers!! I'll be really curious to see where my favorite steelie ends up! This truly is the best coaster poll on the planet. Anyone that complains about it is, well, an idiot. LOCATION IN NEXT LINE (Please LEAVE THIS LINE IN BALLOT) ~"PA" NAME IN NEXT LINE (Please LEAVE THIS LINE IN THE BALLOT) ~"Nick" RANK THE FOLLOWING RIDING SENSATIONS <-LEAVE Abrupt Airtime_____________________________,y,y,1 Floating Airtime___________________________,y,y,2 Sensation of Speed_________________________,y,y,3 Out of Control Feeling/Directional Changes_,y,y,4 Lateral Forces_____________________________,y,y,5 Positive G's/Loops_________________________,y,y,6 COASTER NAME PARK LOC <-LEAVE Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,1 (El Toro) Skyrush Hersheypark PA,y,y,2 Intimidator 305 Kings Dominion VA,y,n,3 Millennium Force Cedar Point OH,y,y,4 Phantom's Revenge Kennywood Park PA,y,y,5 Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,6 Intimidator Carowinds NC,y,n,7 Diamondback Kings Island OH,y,n,8 Top Thrill Dragster Cedar Point OH,y,y,9 Griffon Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,10 Sky Rocket Kennywood Park PA,y,y,11 Maverick Cedar Point OH,y,y,12 Nitro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,13 Raging Bull Six Flags Great Am IL,y,n,14 Afterburn Carowinds NC,y,n,15 Storm Runner Hersheypark PA,y,y,16 Talon Dorney Park PA,y,y,17 Ride of Steel Darien Lake NY,y,n,18 Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point OH,y,y,19 Dominator Kings Dominion VA,y,n,20 Raptor Cedar Point OH,y,y,21 Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks **,y,n,22 Alpengeist Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,23 Steel Force Dorney Park PA,y,y,24 Great Bear Hersheypark PA,y,y,25 Volcano: The Blast Co Kings Dominion VA,y,n,26 Bizarro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,27 Wicked Twister Cedar Point OH,y,y,28 Kingda Ka Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,29 Firehawk Kings Island OH,y,n,30 Gemini Cedar Point OH,y,y,31 Speed Nascar Cafe NV,y,n,32 Loch Ness Monster Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,33 Exterminator Kennywood Park PA,y,y,34 Hydra the Revenge Dorney Park PA,y,y,35 Desperado Buffalo Bill's Res NV,y,n,36 Possessed Dorney Park PA,y,y,37 Vertical Velocity Six Flags Great Am IL,y,n,38 Fav X SC2000 Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,39 Superman – Ultimate F Six Flags Parks **,y,n,40 Backlot Stunt Coaster Kings Island OH,y,n,41 Backlot Stunt Coaster Kings Dominion VA,y,n,42 Flight of Fear Kings Island OH,y,n,43 Fav Spinning Mouse Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,44 Green Lantern Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,45 Mantis Cedar Point OH,y,y,46 Whizzer Six Flags Great Am IL,y,n,47 Viper Darien Lake NY,y,n,48 Flight Deck Kings Island OH,y,n,49 Fav Vek Susp Loop SLC Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,50 Vortex Kings Island OH,y,n,51 Fav Arrow Mine Train Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,52 Fav Vekoma Invertigo Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,53 Demon Six Flags Great Am IL,y,n,54 Fav Wild Mouse Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,55 Sooperdooperlooper Hersheypark PA,y,y,56 Fav Wildcat Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,57 Fav Schw Shuttle loop Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,58 Fav Vekoma Boomerang Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,59 Avalanche Kings Dominion VA,y,n,60 Iron Dragon Cedar Point OH,y,y,61 Fav Tivoli Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,62 Roller Soaker Hersheypark PA,y,n,63 Skull Mountain Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,64 Fav Intamin Bobsled Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,65 Fav Arrow Corkscrew Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,66 Fav Zyklon Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,67 Dark Knight Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,68 Vortex Carowinds NC,y,n,69 Shockwave Kings Dominion VA,y,n,70 Anaconda Kings Dominion VA,y,n,71 Fav Flitzer Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,72 Fav Vek Susp Family Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,73 Great American Scream Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,74 Roller Coaster New York New York NV,y,n,75 Fav Chance Toboggan Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,76

Wow, really dude? If by "fit" you mean joke, then yes, it was quite the fit. Netdvn, just to clarify, I was only messin' around with ya Really funny stuff being posted in here! Great work everyone!

Ahhh, memories! Mine was the always fun little Schwarzkopf shuttle at Kennywood - Laser Loop. Oddly enough, that thing freaked me out for the longest time as a kid!!

Those lights on their star flyer look pretty awesome! Very bright and colorful. The graph was also pretty telling in showing the decline in flats at the park. I loved the place when we last visited, but my wife and I agreed the park could use some more balance in their ride selection. Hopefully the upward trend the last couple years is a sign of things to come.

^ Hmmmm, where have I seen that one before??

Well played, Elissa.....well played! Some of these memes are hilarious! I thought I'd give one a go..... Prince Desmond does NOT approve!! Entry 1

Woot for our Team TPR at Dorney Park!! We have now crossed over $2,000 raised already! Great job, teammates!

Kara, those villa renovations look remarkable! I can see why you are excited about those!! And I like the top fundraisers for each park being displayed on the Coasting for Kids home page. Definitely a cool touch! Plus, it's awesome to see all of those Team TPR avatars!! I think the name of that gal leading at Valleyfair sounds familiar.....where have I heard that name before??

I posted this to my Facebook page, but I figure it wouldn't hurt to post it in here too! If anyone here on TPR wants to help towards meeting this challenge goal, I would really appreciate it! Let's go "in like a lion"!!

I am thrilled to be coasting for kids at Dorney!! Go Team TPR.....and thanks Chroniq!

^ Kara, it really is so awesome that all those different characters from the different parks in the area stop by to visit the kids! That has to make them feel so special! This start by Team TPR has been awesome! Way to go, everyone!! With the extra fundraising time, if we manage to hit $10k by March 22nd (and considering the total raised last year), dare I say that maybe $50k raised by the event is possible? Keep up the stellar work, everybody!!

That quarry drop looks insane.....I'm just speechless at the look of this thing! On a somewhat related note, could Rocky Mountain be right up there with Intamin as one of the most innovative companies in the coaster industry? If I were a park with one of those late '80s/early '90s big/rough woodies (*cough* Cedar Point *cough*), I'd be on the phone with these guys immediately!!

I totally dig the layout on this thing! I know the Intamin Megalites are more intense and airtime-filled, but I think this would offer a good cost-friendly (I'm assuming) option for a smaller park that wants a smooth steel coaster with some decent air and a nice compact layout. I could see a park like Holiday World or Knoebels getting one of these for a steel coaster. I'm very intrigued to see if any parks bite on this.

^ What an awesome post Kara, and truer words have never been said. Being able to donate (both funds and time) to an organization like GKTW, and an event like Coasting For Kids, is truly what is important in life. These kids need, and deserve, our support and love. If you haven't done so already, donate to someone from Team TPR. You will make a difference and feel really great about it too! If you don't mind, Kara, I'm borrowing that gem to post on my Facebook page. Great stuff!

Donation made! What a generous offer, Jeremiah! I wish you the best of luck in your fundraising efforts!

Awesome work so far by everyone! And kudos to everyone on Dorney's Team TPR.....another 25 bucks and we will hit $1,000 raised as a team already!! Keep up the great work folks! I can only imagine how much Team TPR will raise overall by the time June rolls around! Also, kudos to Kara for the touching stories and the awesome Fundraising Tools page! I definitely plan on using some of that stuff. The thank you graphics are a tremendous idea!!

^ I submitted a donation to hopefully get you rolling! Besides, we fellow Pittsburgh-ers gotta stick together! Good luck!

Ready to rock and roll again for this AMAZING cause!! I love that I'm able to register earlier this year, which means even more time to drum up those donations! Here's my page for Dorney Park: https://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/nickmcsparrin/DorneyPark2013 Again, a HUGE thank you to TPR and GKTW for all their hard work in supporting this! Go Team TPR!! Let's make this year's Coasting For Kids the best one yet!!

I dunno, I still tend to think that Skyrush will at least crack into the Top 10 in Mitch's steel coaster poll. I for one absolutely loved the ride! In fact, it's my current #1 steel coaster. The airtime on it is absolutely insane, and those wing seats are crazy! (in particular towards the back) I also didn't experience any real "pain" on the coaster. Yeah, the lapbar tightened a bit during the ride, but it was nothing that noticeable to me. I was just thrilled to finally have an all-out "balls to the wall" airtime machine (as in, similar to how a Megalite is described) here in the U.S. And better still, it's in the same state that I live in! I'm curious how it will ride after whatever modifications they are doing to it. I haven't heard much about it, but I am hoping it's up in time for Springtime in the Park, as my wife and I are heading out there for the 2nd weekend of it. And if they decided to redesign the station as well, I'd be all for it! That was my only real "complaint" about Skyrush - nothing to do with the ride, but that station is the worst designed one I've seen. As an engineer, it made me cringe!