Emiroo

Backgrounded! Thanks again.

Sorry, I tripped over my tongue. What I was trying to say was that while I do enjoy theming, a truly great ride needs no theming to be successful/popular.

Man your CP design is GANGSTER! I'd LOVE to have that on a t-shirt. You really ought to submit that to Cedar Fair. It's amazing. Red please!

I gotta pick ride over theme. Don't get me wrong, great theming can spruce up an old favorite (X2, Bizarro). As well, it can make an already awesome ride amazing (Crystal Wings, The Mummy). But great theming can't save a bad ride from itself (Dark Knight). You can dress it up all you want, but a pig is still a pig. If you have a great ride to start with, theming is unnecessary. Remember, truly hot chicks don't need makeup.

Oh man I didn't even consider track damage. If there is any kind of metal damage, it could be a while as Intamin will have to fabricate, ship and install a totally new piece...at 300 ft. And then there would be the testing and re-certification of the ride. But to their credit, they managed to do all that (at 50 ft) in about a week when they switched out the heartline roll on Maverick.

Anyone know of exactly what was happening when it broke? I imagine we would have heard by now if it snapped while taking a loaded train up...but then again maybe not.

^I haven't (knock on wood) had a problem with the knee smashing (I'm 5'10"). What I've had a problem with is the damn thing being open. I've been to HW 5 times this season and have only gotten to ride on 2 of the trips. It's constantly down. There appears to be an issue with the mechanism (or related sensor) that pushes the boat from the platform onto the ramp. I know it's an Intamin, but it's bordering on rediculous. I'm sure the park cannot be happy about this as not only is it their new ride, but they have never been known to have extensive downtime on any of their rides. At any rate if you get to ride it, it is fun and you will get wet.

I love this TR! From start to finish, your captions are hilarious! People at work are giving me strange looks because I keep guffawing!

This is an extremely hard to get shot. They almost never let the second train go until after the first is past this point. 2 train Voyage shot = Epic Win! And some interesting trivia for you: the flaming diver...is a girl!

Great TR! I cannot stress enough to everybody what a fantastic vacation spot STL is. And what's more most of the major attractions are either FREE or extremely reasonable. St. Louis Arch - FREE (Small upcharge to ride to the top or watch the construction movie) St. Louis Zoo - FREE ($5 for parking and it's the best zoo I've ever been to) Budweiser Brewery - FREE (And you get free beer samples at the end of the tour...and you can go on the tour as many times as you want.) City Museum - $12 (As you saw in this TR, it's amazing) St. Louis Cardinals - You can get a nosebleed ticket for next to nothing! St Louis Cardinal Museum/International Bowling Hall of Fame - $15 (They are both in the same facility) Six Flags STL - Six Flags Tickets are usually $20-30, but there's always a better deal out there somewhere. And this is just off the top of my head! In a tough economy, STL is a great destination!

I first want to say thanks to everyone who entered the contest and put up with the initial controversy over the rules. Running a good contest is harder and much more work than I imagined. However, hands down the hardest part was picking the winner. You guys all entered some really magnificent shots. In the end, there was actually dead heat for the prize. But after much deliberation the winner is: PKI ManJZ You can literally thank your lucky stars for this victory. Those three prominent stars in the sky gave your photo the winning edge. The indigo blue sky and clouds at the left are a luscious backdrop for Diamondback but then there’s those stars. They caught my eye more and more every time I looked at the picture. Combined with the stratus clouds, they make it magical. Is it dusk? Is it daybreak? Is this real or a dream? Those clouds and little white specks blurred ever so slightly by Earth’s rotation combining with your shutter delay really make the shot. And then of course there’s the coaster too! Great track lighting and a train streaking through the tree line. I would also love to see this shot with a static train if you have it. Again, congratulations. PM me your mailing address and the Worlds of Fun ticket is on the way! I hope you have as much fun there as I always do and I look forward to seeing your photos from there as well. I also want to briefly spotlight the runner up: kumba830 I LOVE this picture. It looks like it comes from another planet. It is so “technical” looking that it really draws attention. Is this really a coaster? Could it be a glimpse of a futuristic transport? Maybe it’s an advanced killing machine. I don’t know! And that’s what I love about it. The sun flare at the front gives this one an awesome look. I wish I had a second ticket to give because if I did, you would have gotten it. Be VERY proud of this shot. It’s amazing! To all concerned: I have contacted PKI ManJZ and he wants the ticket. It's already in the mail so no more discussion about who should actually get the ticket. Well, that’s it. Again, I hope everyone had as much fun playing as I did hosting. Everyone give yourself a big round of applause. You might not be getting the ticket, but you’re still winners in my book!

The winner will get the ticket no matter where they live. I will however, give them the option to select a different person to receive the ticket should they not be interested in using it. Of course, I have to pick the winner first...

The contest entry period is now closed. The winner will be announced Wed. May 27. Click here to go right to the gallery of entries! Thanks to everyone who entered. And no, I have not made up my mind yet!

Just a reminder to everyone out there: the contest closes TONIGHT (Sunday, May 24) at Midnight! Get your entries in before then. The winner will be announced on Wednesday May 27!

You sure take some great pics. Glad to hear you had a good time and also that you watched the dive show. I was there today with Big Mike and the crew....but I'll let his TR do the talking on that one.

^ Me too. Good luck.

^ I agree, but I got a real reaming in the first few hours this thread exisited because I originally encouraged all entries no matter how you obtained the photo. After the public outcry I changed the rule in hopes of making the contest a success. I guess it made me gunshy because I did DQ vffreak even though I knew the photo was probably his. I even alluded to this in the initial DQ posting. I have since PMd him about it and everything is cool. But yeah I did give him the boot because someone who didn't know he ran the site could have started crying about the direct link and the rules and all that. I'm running this think for fun and the truth is I didn't want to deal with any more bitching on the "stolen image" issue.

Very cute. And trust, me the days will go by in a blink. You'll be glad you took this TR. I just took my second child on his first trip to Holiday World. He loved the rides just like his big brother. I was left wondering how the hell we got to this point. It just seemed like I was driving my wife to the hospitial to have our first...

Congrats! Typically I give the groom the advice that's always worked for me: "Happy Wife, Happy Life". I'm not clever enough to spin into a similar saying for this case, but you get the point. Again, best wishes.

Nice shot of Thunderhawk there. When I was there, they were running the "high powered" program. I counted 8 inversions. This was many more than I'd seen on previous visits.

You picked a great day to go. The park will be dead. Guaranteed. Typically, you don't get too wet on the log ride. Your shoes will probably take the most abuse there. On the raft ride, there is usually one "unlucky" seat per ride that gets all the soaking. Most of the rest will stay fairly dry. But it's random. You will get wet on Pilgrim's Plunge. The Plymouth Rock cafe is the spot to eat. A ton of good homestyle food on the cheap. But do try the pizza and fudge while you are there. They also have great soft-serve ice cream at a few places. And even though the water will be freezing, don't skip the waterpark. It's a ton of fun and will be especially dead because the water is still cold. Do not miss the high dive show. It's great. Can't wait to see your TR. I'm very tempted to come and join you, but I've already got plans to meet up with Big Mike on Friday. But just in case, what do you plan on wearing? Have fun!

Yeah I know, but in the early hours of the contest, there was a huge backlash over a rule I had that originally allowed "stolen" pictures. So even though I knew he was in charge of the site, I wasn't going to risk any more drama and I had to give him the boot due to the direct link. We PMd about it and he was cool about the whole thing.

^ I read online that it's a Chance Wipeout. Now can anyone tell/show me what that is? All I know is that it spins a lot. I have a low tolerance for spinning so I've never had the nerve to go on it.

Typically, it's a 1 day park if you do both the waterpark and the themepark. Otherwise, the rides side can be done in about 4-6 hours (with low-moderate crowds). But if you skip the waterpark, you're really missing out. It's just as good/thrilling as the themepark. However, during peak season (July-August) all bets are off. Crowds can get huge (especially on weekends) and you could need 2 days to do everything on both sides.

I love this picture. Sadly, it reminds me of my original expectations for Pilgrims Plunge. (Ride is great and you get still soaked though.)