PhantomNick
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Posts posted by PhantomNick
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Happy Monday, Team TPR members! In previous years, TPR member Kara had worked with GKTW and poured her heart and soul into that wonderful place. In particular, she was very passionate about this event, as she was the main contact/coordinator for it. She has moved on to even better things, but I always felt like she shared some amazing stories on here about some of the magic that happens at GKTW every day. In honor of her tremendous work and dedication to making Coasting for Kids the best event it could be each year, I'd like to revisit some of her touching posts and stories. Folks, THIS is why we do this each year and are so passionate about the cause. These stories go to show what kind of impact your fundraising can make! Keep at it, Team TPR, so we can make the biggest impact yet!!
First up is this touching letter Kara shared from a family who stayed there.....
I am over the moon excited to see what TPR members are capable of this year! I'll again be posting in here as frequently as I am able to share more about GKTW's impact and answer any questions about the event. Whether you're participating, donating or cheering on your fellow riders-- thank you to this awesome community for having a heart for this event.Today I'm going to kick things off with a family letter. Be warned it's pretty emotional, but our story is best told in the words of the families we serve:
Our family was changed forever when our beautiful four-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. Hearing the words, "Your child has cancer," is a moment in time my husband and I will never forget. Our world was flipped upside down and we didn't know if there would ever be something to celebrate again. We were so wrong! There was joy and happiness all around, we just needed to find it again-- and we did, at Give Kids The World.The Village was like nothing we had ever experienced. Amelia, or Miss Millie as we call her, was the happiest we had ever seen her, which was quite a contrast to how she had felt during the worst of her treatment. We were able to hear her contagious giggle as she spent private one-on-one time with her favorite princess, Belle, while riding the carousel. We watched her get a mischievous, yet darling look on her face as she gobbled up ice cream for breakfast. We were able to witness a complete change in her countenance when she was at the pool splashing around freely and being a kid again.
My family has never felt as overwhelmed by the love of strangers as we did when we were staying at Give Kids The World. We are eternally grateful for what they did for our family and for our sweet Millie.
Just days after Millie finished over two years of chemotherapy, we learned that she had already relapsed. She is currently in the hospital fighting for her life all over again. Words cannot describe how grateful we are as parents, during this frightening time, that we have such wonderful memories to cherish. Give Kids The World treated Millie like the princess she is and we can't wait to come visit and have ice cream for breakfast as soon as she defeats cancer for a second time.
--Amelia's Mom, Utah
Meet Amelia
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I gotta say, Thunderbird looks pretty great, and seems to be a PERFECT fit for Holiday World! That setting over the course of the ride looks fantastic....I'm guessing it's going to be an awesome night ride too. The only wing coaster I've ridden is GateKeeper, and I guess I stray from the typical enthusiast opinion on them, as I find that coaster to be very good. So, I'm really excited to try Thunderbird out someday! That launch looks pretty solid too!!
Also, I'm a huge fan of how the ride station and surrounding area turned out! That looks top notch visually.....kudos, Holiday World!!
Oh yeah, and I too love the shirt!
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Done. Happy birthday and thanks for all the hard work!
Thanks so much for the donation!! I just made the matching $25 donation to your page!
Keep up the good work, and good luck through the rest of your fundraising!
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Today might be my birthday, but I'm looking to GIVE a gift - a matching gift, that is! The first Team TPR participant to donate $25 to my page and get me to 700 bucks will get a matching $25 donation from me in return! Just click on that handy link in my signature below! So, who's it gonna be?? Ready?? GO!
In other news, I've updated the first post to reflect all the new Team TPR members on our roster! Links are now there for everyone's fundraising page, with screen names for the ones I know or could figure out. If you know of screen names for any others, let me know and I'll add it! We had a big surge of new teammates at a couple parks, and Team TPR is now up to 51 Coasting for Kids participants!! That's just fantastic!
That said, we still need riders for Michigan's Adventure and Worlds of Fun! Calling locals of Michigan's Adventure and Worlds of Fun: WE NEED YOUR HELP!! PLEASE join Team TPR and sign up to go Coasting for Kids!! Help us in support of GKTW and their wonderful mission!!
I also ran our latest totals, and without further ado, here we go! Team TPR had a HUGE surge recently, and we've now raised an AMAZING $10,355 for GKTW!!! Absolutely tremendous work so far, everyone!! Let's keep it going for these wonderful kids that deserve our support! Way to go, Team TPR!!
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Alright, the first post is now updated to include all posted itineraries from the parks that have released the info! The only ones left to release their itinerary are CGA, Canada's Wonderland, and Valleyfair. Later tonight (hopefully), I will update the team rosters (as I know there have been some new additions) and run our latest fundraising totals.
Also, very nice to see Chuck getting such a good response to his very generous offer! Thanks, Chuck!
Finally, please don't forget to setup your snazzy and slick Custom Signature Banner!! Details on how to set them up, along with the 4 choices, are in the first post.
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It's match time again! Any Coasting for Kids participant who donates $5.00 to me will get same in return--until April 22, 2015 at 12:01 am!
One lucky donor, chosen at random, will get $10.00!
Go Team TPR!
Since you set the deadline for on my birthday, I figured it was only fitting to send 5 bucks your way to support our awesome cause!!
Also, I want to send a big THANKS out to you guys who have been keeping me updated via our thread here when parks are releasing their schedules! That is very appreciated.....I will get that info updated on the first post of the thread ASAP!!
Some fun and interesting changes in some of the itineraries. Loving the variety at CP, including that early morning hour on Millennium!! I'm a little curious as to why KD made their event so incredibly short this year. Any insight from the locals?
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^ Maybe with a bigger role than in the original one? I'm a fan of his.....he's a good actor!!
Trailer looks pretty sweet actually! Looking forward to checking it out in June!
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New rumor going around launched RMC and drop tower plus kettle corn could be making a come back
Plus, where are your sources?
I think we all know who his sources are......
Pssst! Wanna know the latest scoop??
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^ CONGRATULATIONS!! That is awesome!
I'll throw something else out there, what if you asked GKTW if you could change your wife's page into a "virtual rider" one? Then your friend/brother/whoever can just join up normally. No need to "transfer" anything that way. Just a thought.
Oh, and nice banner!
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I'm hoping to sign up for Great America, assuming I have that day free. Does anyone know when the itineraries come out for the day? I'm curious to see which rides we'll be riding.
Well, there's no "set date" when they release the park itineraries, so all I can say is to keep checking the site for when they are updated. Also, there will be posts in here as soon as that information is released, and I will update the initial post of the thread as well. It's funny, in past years there were itineraries for at least some of the parks that were released by now. And some folks have posted in here with partial itineraries they've seen from the park sites. That leads me to think that the holdup is more on the GKTW side. They'll be released soon enough though, so don't worry and just sign up!
In other Team TPR news, I wanted to let everyone know that this year's CUSTOM SIGNATURE BANNERS are complete and ready to use!! Thank you for being patient while we finished them! I updated the first post to show them, along with instructions on how to set yours up (it's really easy!). I am also posting that information below. Go ahead and set yours up today so people can see it each time you post to the forum....I've got mine!
**NOTE #2** - YOUR CUSTOM SIGNATURE BANNER!Once you are registered, head to TPR and add your signature banner! BE SURE YOU HAVE REGISTERED UNDER TEAM TPR! We have come up with 4 different banners you can choose from to add to your signature:
c4k_2015_banner1.jpg
c4k_2015_banner2.jpg
c4k_2015_banner3.jpg
c4k_2015_banner4.jpg
Setting yours up is really easy! Just follow these instructions.....
Go to:
User Control Panel > Profile > Edit Signature
And this would be the code:
[url=http://www.LINK_TO_YOUR_FUNDRAISING_PAGE.com][img=http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/files/LINK_TO_THE_BANNER_HERE.jpg][/url]
So it should look something like this:
[url=http://support.gktw.org/site/TR/CoastingForKids/General?px=1020149&pg=personal&fr_id=1371][img=http://themeparkreview.com/forum/files/c4k_2015_banner3.jpg][/url]
And the final product would appear like this:
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Update time! Added some new members to the Team TPR roster on the first page, along with running our latest totals.
Team TPR has now raised.......drum roll.......$4,024 for GKTW!!! Awesome work thus far, everyone! Let's keep the train rolling!!
On another interesting note, we have our first team that's ready to cross over into 4-digit territory for money raised so far.....Team TPR at Cedar Point currently sits at $990. So, the question is - who wants to donate to one of their riders and push them over $1,000?? Come on, you know you want to!!
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^ Well, Chuck....I've put up!
Although, I donated a bit more than the required $5.00.....since I was already planning on donating to you! Have a blast at KD this year, especially on I-305!
Go Team TPR!!
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^ Thank you! I appreciate it!!
I'm officially signed up for my 4th year of Coasting For Kids!! Kept it close to home this year and registered at Cedar Point! I cannot wait to see how much I can raise for this amazing cause this year! If anyone is feeling generous and would like to donate to my fundraising efforts, here's the link to my page: http://support.gktw.org/site/TR/CoastingForKids/General?px=1020149&pg=personal&fr_id=1371
Go Team TPR!!!
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I had to dig up these 2 videos (I posted them last year as well) that can be found on the Give Kids The World YouTube channel. I'm pretty sure at least one of these was brought to our attention a couple years back by Kara, a friend of TPR who used to coordinate this event when she worked at GKTW. These 2 videos show exactly why we do this. THIS is the reason TPR fully supports Coasting for Kids and the marvelous efforts of GKTW. Once I found them, I watched them again......and they still make me tear up.
Take a a few minutes and check them out. Please support Team TPR - donate, join a team, and spread the word of this wonderful event and cause!! And if you have a fundraising page, I would strongly suggest sharing one (or both!) of these videos with family and friends.....by email, Facebook, whatever. Show your potential donors what they are supporting and where their money goes!
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THIS! THIS! THIS! THIS! THIS! THIS! THIS!
I honestly do not understand the mentality shared by so many people that "if new coaster is not automatically your OMFG #1 blow me away ride, it means you HATE it and want it burned to the ground."
I get this so often and it's so insanely stupid and annoying. There are a TON of coasters that I *like* and would go out of my way to travel for that do not appear on my top ten list. Hell, Tokyo Disney, Europa Park, and Grona Lund are some of my favorite parks in the world that I would spend thousands of dollars to travel to, and not a single one of their coasters appear in my "top ten" list.
But to some coaster nerds, if you're not violently ejaculating milk cartons over the newest coaster, you're the most evil, vile person on the planet.
And this sort of thinking really needs to stop. It's a cancer that infects this hobby. FFS people, just enjoy the rides for what they are regardless where they fall in yours or someone else's ranking list.
I can't say this enough and I know for some people it will never sink in.
Thank you!! Very well said, and this is one of the reasons I gravitated to TPR in the first place. This hobby should be FUN, dang it! I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. I mean, I have a Top 10/20 like everyone else, but I think if more people just, as you said, rode the rides for what they are, they'd enjoy this a lot more, instead of obsessing over why Joe Schmo doesn't have ______ coaster ranked exactly where they do personally. Your favorites are your favorites, and someone else's are someone else's. I'll reiterate what I said earlier in this thread.....
Some people will love certain rides, and others will feel they are "meh". My point is, who cares?? Go ride what you want to ride, throw your hands up, laugh, and have FUN!! Isn't that what this hobby should be all about anyway??Now, to figure out when I can sneak a trip to Carowinds in hopefully this season! By the way, THANK YOU to TPR (and in particular Eric and Derek who attended the event yesterday) for the outstanding Fury coverage!! Loved all the photos, along with the initial reviews of the coaster!
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Then again the Sky Ride can't go anywhere, I mean they just spent literally tens of dollars on new decals for it.
"tens of dollars".....nice! Man, between that zinger and your previous nerd ridership increase comment, you're on a roll!!
I really like the relocation of those couple rides back into that Wicked Twister/MaXair midway area. I've always liked that little corner of the park, right up against the beach....especially after they added GateKeeper.
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Last post on TPR:
I am really sick of all the "it looks good, but the ride itself is decent at best" comments. Do you REALLY THINK engineers design roller coasters for the hell of it and not because they have a passion for it? Maybe they WANTED to try and build re-rideable rides that aren't balls to the wall intense. Just because a ride doesn't need your ludicrous standards doesn't mean it was just put together to look good. B&M stepped out of their comfort zone on this ride, and all I see when I read this thread is "wahh it's not good enough! MOAR AIRTIMEEEE" and of course you don't see this attitude because you're too blinded by the ride's shortcomings (which there are barely any). Fury 325 will be a hit with most enthusiasts. You know what, how about ALL enthusiasts, because NORMAL enthusiasts don't complain about a giga coaster.
I'm done with the idiocy.
I'm guessing we won't actually be lucky enough for this to be your last post, but a man can dream.
Oh, trust me, that was his last post!
And with that, TPR just got more intelligent.....or, depending on how you look at it, the "Dumbest things said on TPR" thread just got less active.
I still think Fury looks great! I've never been one to necessarily follow the "enthusiast norms" anyway (Millennium "Forceless" is still my #3 steel coaster, and I could ride that thing over and over and not grow tired of it!). I like what I like, and I sure do have a blast riding these new coasters! Some people will love certain rides, and others will feel they are "meh". My point is, who cares?? Go ride what you want to ride, throw your hands up, laugh, and have FUN!! Isn't that what this hobby should be all about anyway??
I have to add that the SPEED on this thing looks awesome.....right up my alley!
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So where do I want to ride this year?
I've done Dorney twice, and Kings Dominion once. I was thinking Carowinds, but I have plans on visiting there the weekend before C4K, so getting to Charlotte two weekends in a row is a bit tough.
I know I'm participating, I just don't know where yet.
Cedar. Point.
Just saying! Coasting for Kids would feel a little different without my riding partner in fun!
I'll be signing up there very soon....maybe tomorrow. I want to stick to the park closest to home this year, so I'm not far from my new baby girl!
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^ I knew something just seemed "off" with that Today show video.....thank goodness you cleared that up!!
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From the 9th floor of the Clarion Inn across the road.
Looks like someone might be there for a certain media day! Lucky guy!!
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Alright, time for a Team TPR update!! I've updated the first post of the thread, and I'm pretty sure the rosters/donation pages for the Team TPR riders are current! We are now up to a very respectable 34 riders across 9 of the parks! Good stuff!
That said, we have 2 parks without any Team TPR riders yet!! So, I'm sending a call out to TPR members who live near Michigan's Adventure and Worlds of Fun......we need Team TPR riders at these parks!!! So come on, don't be shy.....join this wonderful cause and represent TPR at one of these parks!
Also, after updating the rosters and checking the links, I noticed that some of the donation pages are not using the Team TPR Logo (found in the first post). Please use this logo once you sign up! Not only is it super cool, but it shows everyone that you're part of this amazing team of people who are united in support of the wonderful GKTW organization! And for those of you who have invited friends to join (who maybe aren't forum members.....which is fine by the way, and encouraged!), maybe help them out to display their Team TPR logo on their fundraising page.
I'm going to send a message to Robb and a couple of the moderators who have already signed up to participate to see if we can get this topic moved up into the "Stickies" section like in previous years. It helps get traffic into the topic (which in turn can generate some donations) when it's nice and visible at the top of the forum. I also noticed that some of you have gotten creative and done some signatures with links to your pages....and I love that! I'm not much of a wizard with creating some of that stuff, but I am going to try and see if we can generate at least one signature banner for you guys and gals to use like last year. If and when we get one, I'll post in here to let you all know, and then update the instructions listed in the first post for displaying it.
Last but not least, I ran an updated tally on our early progress, and we've climbed steadily into 4-digit territory!! The Team TPR fundraising total now currently stands at $1,877!! GREAT job so far, Team TPR!! Keep those donations coming, and remember to let your friends and family know via email, Facebook, etc. how they can donate to your fundraising cause - remember, every dollar counts!
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That entrance. That Sign. Those lights!!
This whole package just looks awesome! Between Banshee last year and Fury this year, I am loving how Cedar Fair is presenting these coasters! I may be developing this whole #FuryFever that's been talked about!!
Boy do I wish we could somehow work out a trip to Carowinds this year!!
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Put me in the camp of folks that think Impulse looks like a really fun ride! Seems like the perfect coaster for Knoebels, and a nice "big" steel coaster for them. Can't wait to check it out when I make my way back out there!
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My wife is already to the $75 mark and i'm to $74. Pretty good start for us being 5 days in to raising money.
I have been interested in ready Coasting for Kids trip reports if anyone has done one. I searched but was mainly coming up with the team TPR threads like this.
Nice! You two are off to a great start!! If you check out the later pages in the 2014 Coasting for Kids forum topic, there are pictures and I think a write-up/report or two. The pics quite honestly give a good idea of the kind of fun that goes on that day while supporting this awesome cause!
Coasting for Kids 2019--Be Part of Team TPR!
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
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^ Just donated $20 to you, Joey!
Consider your team officially into 4-digit territory!
Keep up the awesome work, and GO Team TPR!!