Voyager

Day 5 - John's Incredible Pizza Our third and final stop on this day had a pizza buffet and an indoor kiddie coaster, as well as an indoor Tornado type ride where you can spin yourself silly. I folded myself into the Incredible Express and then took some photos of others enjoying it. I think Ben is sitting sideways and doing a dance move. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Robbie's evil twin rides in front of Natalie, who shows proper crossed arm kiddie coaster riding technique. Having as much fun as they can After this a few of us rode the Tornado BEFORE eating a bunch of pizza and ice cream. Having run out of tickets we watched other people play games, including KidTums, and then our party was over. Next stop - Sea World San Diego

Day 5 - Scandia This is a fairly short report, since it was very quick stop. The first thing we saw when we got off the bus at Scandia was this. What, no articles of clothing designating membership in an organization? Guess we'll all have to take off our TPR shirts and go shirtless, but shirts are required. I am puzzled. We headed for the first ride and handed them the appropriate number of tickets. No multiple rides on this stop. I left my big camera on the bus, but the pocket camera did a decent job for this short stop. This ride was fun, but it was not the type that I like to ride without hanging onto something, as it kind of throws you forward and backward in your seat. In other words, it's the perfect ride to practice your videotaping skills on. We don't care if you think we are dorks, our video cameras keep us warm at night, thank you very much. OK, at least one of the cameramen is now hanging onto the lap bar. The other TPR people are showing a wide variety of reactions. The only people putting their hands up are the NON-TPR people! This proves we are smarter. Wait, is that TP Dave in the BACK SEAT videotaping? Now that is impressive. Some more hands have gone up by the end of the ride. Pure credit whoring. Of course I rode it too. As I recall this ride went up the lift, then started going backwards before the motor kicked in and hauled it up the hill. Everyone is smiling, including Mike Austin! The bunny hops at the end where fun. This rider pauses for a moment to ponder - "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear, am I still a credit whore carrying a videocamera?" (Yes, yes you are.) After our whirlwind tour of Scandia, we were hungry, and luckily there was food AND a coaster at our next stop. Next stop: John's Incredible Pizza

Day 5 - Universal Studios Hollywood I really had no clue what to expect at this park. I knew we were getting a backstage tour of and ERT on the Mummy, but I really hadn't researched parks before this trip (takes some of the fun out of it) and I just wanted to be surprised. I had no idea that the first ride of the day would have the slowest first drop in history - the USH escalators to the lower part of the park. After making our way to the back and bottom of the park, we were shown into the maintenance bay of the Mummy. Then we made our way into the very well themed station. Robb - "Everything's going great!" Universal guy on the right - "Robb, you are annoying the hell out of me, and I am going to throw you under a train when I get the chance." We were led back along the track by the very nice Universal guy, and (big surprise) Robb videotaped it. We saw where the arms dropped down through the ceiling, and the theming was very impressive. "If any of you fall off of the walkway, we will just leave your bodies down there under the track because it will add to the theming." I wonder if this is the first time a stroller has ever been pushed along this walkway? Might be a first for KidTums. "This is my treasure and I will figure out how to fit it all on the bus. Now just move along, move along please....." They let us roam around inside the main ride area, and of course every nerd in the group had their camera out trying to take photos in the low light conditions. Okay, I'm confused....... Is he putting his arm around the guy, the cute girl, or the coaster track?!? (Really, he is just confused, because he is wondering "Am I covered in coaster spooge or something else?") This is the excellent part where they make the coaster go backwards. Seriously, I had no idea this was a part of the ride, and was really impressive, especially in the dark on the actual ride. So, can you tell what piece of treasure Robb stole? Robb - "I am so cool." Universal guy - "Alvey, you are cool, but I still want to throw you under one of these trains." The Mummy station theming is excellent, and I managed to take photos without a flash. The Mummy control desk. What's that, you say you need a volunteer to run the ride? How about this guy - he looks trustworthy..... NOT The Simpsons ride was fun, and very entertaining. I think we did that before the studio tour, anticipating long wait times later. Luckily for the tour I sat on the left side of the tram. Put your grandma on the right side when you take it. Dancing cars with fire - this is roughly what the California freeways will look like when the next big earthquake hits. This is what California looks like after is rains. The rains put out all of the fires, and then the whole state floods. Natalie, this will show you just how much of an airplane can remain intact after a crash. Thankfully they removed all of the body parts before we got there. We rode Jurassic Park, but I don't think I got quite this wet! I honestly didn't know the splash was this big until I rode it. I just put my bag under my legs and ducked. Lots of fun, and in CA it is so dry you dry off quickly. Thankfully I sat near the back, not in the front like these soaked people! Oh wait, all of the people I just rode this ride with with now want to go into the air-conditioned attractions so we can all freeze our asses off. Brilliant! We saw Terminator 3D, which was loud, but impressive. The pre-show and live action were entertaining. Backdraft was a bit of a let-down. I have seen more impressive fire in bonfires I have helped make (sometimes involving couches). We looked for another attraction. This led to the thing on the trip that pissed me off the most - Euromorons. Now before anyone gets pissed off, let me say that I have done research at a major university and have done research with and hung out with countless Europeans, and probably half of the TPR trip was from Europe, and I honestly can't remember meeting anyone that wasn't incredibly nice. Really, I have met a far higher percentage of Americans that are jerks. So we went into the special effects show. When you walk in, you are supposed to walk all the way down to the end of the row of seats and sit down. If you don't, the whole line backs up and there is a delay and not enough room. A whole group of European tourists sat down in the MIDDLE of my row, and they refused to move, holding up their "front of the line" passes and claiming they could sit wherever they wanted! We all yelled at them for about a minute. The @$$holes refused to move! Now, these weren't teenagers or kids - these were mature (looking) adults, and clearly should have not been behaving like this. No one from Universal did anything about it. Personally, I think they should have confiscated their passes on the spot and kicked them out of the show, but no, nothing, just "please take your seats, the show is about to start". We were just stuck there, standing halfway to our seats. People finally started squeezing by, but there wasn't enough room, and the "Euromorons" weren't exactly moving their legs to help the situation. When I finally started to go past them I made sure I vocalized my displeasure, and I made sure I elbowed and banged my leg (hard) in to EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM. The show was OK, but I was cold and thanks to the Euromorons I was stuck sitting all the way at the end of a row, not the best of seats. After this I was pissed and cold, and I had lunch while the rest of the group went off to try other attractions. Sitting outside in the sun eating some food made me feel better. This was the one park where I felt I didn't have enough time to do all of the attractions. I could have skipped lunch and done something else, but then I would have just felt bad. On my own, I caught Shrek 4d and enjoyed it. After this it was time to head for the bus. Next stop - Scandia

Yeah, you're right - that's what I get for writing that TR after looking at V2 photos. -Mike

You did it for the kid - at first he didn't want to get on, then he didn't want to get off. You may have assisted in creating a future enthusiast. -Mike

Day 3 (Sunday Night) - Six Flags Magic Mountain In my last installment, our hero, Robb Alvey, (Elissa is our hero too but Robb was the one with the microphone) had just informed us that we would be getting a bonus night at SFMM.... ......AND we would get an hour of Goliath ERT! Goliath was one of the rides I was most looking forward to, so I was psyched. After quickly checking in to the hotel, we all got back on the bus and took the short drive to the park. Park Director Neal Thurman was there in his Indiana Jones style hat to greet us and get us in the gate as quickly as possible. Then I asked him the really important question - how long is the X2 line? We found out we'd probably be able to get a ride in in the dark and then head over in time for quite a bit of Goliath ERT, so that's what many of us did. Others headed for Superman or other rides. I had no idea how long the X2 wait was and I was eager for Goliath ERT, so I was a bit concerned, but I waited, and it turned out to be a good decision. We reached the station about the time of park closing, and I think John and I were the first of our group to get on the ride. It was dark, and next thing I knew I was on the X2 lift listening to Metallica. The ride was fantastic, and at least in my seat, not at all rough. The fire was AWESOME at night, and feeling the heat was amazing as the night was cooling off. After that, we ran (well, jogged) all the way across the park to Goliath. While doing this, I found out I was in better shape than I thought I was! Goliath ERT was excellent, and I think I managed about six rides. We all gathered outside the station and when people had finished buying their on-ride photos (they even kept that open for us) we took some group photos in front of the giant Goliath letters. That was the end of a fantastic, unexpected bonus evening at SFMM. Day 4 - Monday - Six Flags Magic Mountain The next morning was an early one, and we had ERT on Revolution, Tatsu, Viper and X2. I rode Revolution a couple of times, and it was fun in the front seat. Tatsu was next, and was immediately my favorite ride of the trip along with Goliath. In the front and back seats, it delivered, and I knew I'd be back to ride it later in the day after it had warmed up. Viper in the front seat was excellent, though not as intense as Tatsu. Finally I made my way over to X2 and probably rode it about six or seven times. It was MUCH rougher than the night before, with quite a bit of head banging as the seats rotated in a very jerky manner. This is what X2 looked like at the end of ERT - I just couldn't get on it any more after all of the headbanging, and the trains were mostly empty. Mikel and I headed to the back of the park next, riding Deja Vu a couple of times (front and back seats). Here some other TPR people take a lap on Deja Vu before Mikel and I got our front seat ride. Being afraid of heights would NOT make for a good front-seat experience! Next we tried a daylight ride on Terminator (we had ERT later that night, but there was really no line to speak of at this time of morning). We rode Riddler's Revenge, Ninja, Superman, etc. and made our way around the park. I think we actually had nearly all of the coasters under our belt by lunch time. Here's the "Take the Tunnel" crew enjoying a front-seat ride - don't they look sharp in those black T-shirts.... on this completely sunny, hot dry day. Did I mention it was like 95 degrees and they are wearing black shirts? These guys liked their back-seat Scream ride. They're wearing black T-shirts too..... Hey, that's me! I finally made it into my own TR! Here I am (on the left) enjoying a re-ride on Scream - the crowds hadn't made it back to this ride yet. I'm not wearing a trendy black T-shirt, but I will be less likely to get heat stroke! Mikel is on the right imitating a deer with antlers. We got more Scream re-rides around park closing time, I think about four or five without getting off, but maybe changing seats. I really enjoyed the ride, and hopefully someday they will put in landscaping in place of the parking spaces beneath it. Lunch was great - a nice private seating area, and they just started bringing us food. Many of the park officials and management were around to say hello and answer questions. It was impressive to see these guys carrying around EZ Reachers (the things you use to pick up trash without having to bend over). We'd seen Neal using one the previous night as he escorted us out of the park after ERT. They actively take part in keeping their park clean, and that is nice to see. Don't make these guys mad or they will beat you with their trash-picker-uppers! Also - don't be a litterbug! After lunch the lines started getting longer, and we headed to some of our favorite rides to ride them again (Tatsu, Goliath, Riddlers, etc.). Mikel and I tried the log flume, and it offered some cool views of the rides you couldn't get elsewhere. Mikel tried out some of the wetter water rides. This is what the list of coasters looks like after being in your pocket on a water ride. It's a TPR takeover of the raft ride! They got soaked. Not wanting to deal with wet clothes while walking all over the park to take photos later, I passed. We had a great front-seat ride on Goliath as the sun was starting to get lower - that meant it was time to take photos! Mikel headed for the waterpark, and I met up with Robbie, Neil, and Natalie for.... .... a TPR takeover of the Tweety Bird Cages! Vote for your favorite caged TPR member - Neil or Natalie I judged the "Tweety Bird Cage gymnastics" - Natalie won. After this I headed off on my own to take photos of as many rides as possible. Keep in mind, a number of people had trouble with the heat that day, and I was guzzling water out of every fountain I walked by. I did a lot of extra walking to get photos of almost everything I wanted to, and I managed to feel pretty good all day. So here was my photo tour of Magic Mountain, just to shoot random people having fun on rides. Let's start with X2. Here's the lift. Riders fly for a bit near the end of the ride. Close up of riders as they see FIRE! More FIRE! Guy on the right - "Hey, look at the FIRE... and look there's some dork in the parking lot taking photos of us!" "We are HIGH UP!", but not for long.... she can't look! Now she's trying not to scream These girls are doing their impression of "Cousin It" from the Addams family, and it's not Halloween. Girl in red and white shirt - "Ahhh!!! Scary fire!" More random people - the guy at top left is trying to keep his wallet in his pocket. Stowing loose items a good idea on X2, because the ride will literally shake things out of your pockets. I had my wallet zipped in for this ride. More first drop fun Flying along.... Are we gonna hit that post? Extreme close-up of previous shot That's all for X2. I caught a few shots of Revolution even though it was in the shade by this time. Check out the guy in the second row - constipation or fear? Hey, let's ride got2b glued! Wait, I don't see it on the Q-bot.... Oh wait, that's Viper. Holiday World has free sunscreen, shouldn't Magic Mountain have free hair gel? That seems perfectly logical to me. Viper was brilliantly lit by the sun, which was getting lower by the minute. The lighting was excellent. Tatsu riders fly into the setting sun Ninja was a fun family ride flying along the hillside Goliath riders hurtle into the brakes and setting sun I loved the smooth ride and great turns. Going upside down while standing up does funny things to people How many more shots can I get before the sun goes down? Corkscrewing.... I love shots where everyone is having fun! Timed this one just right to have most people's faces visible My last shot of the day - pushed the ISO way up to get enough light to see these Tatsu riders - great expressions. Next time I'm there I will shoot a lot more photos from this spot. I would have loved to have had another day at SFMM to ride a bit more and take photos (a good excuse to show up on Robb and Elissa's doorstep). I didn't get any shots of Terminator because I ran out of light, and because our ERT was at night. I also didn't get any photos of Colossus, and I would have liked to get some closer shots of Goliath. Nighttime ERT on Terminator was awesome, and after about ten rides I headed out to the front of the park to collect my stuff from the all-day locking box and head to the bus. But wait - my stuff wasn't in my locking box. What the #$@%? Apparently they weren't really all day locking box, they were only good until the park closed at 10pm. So, if you happened to be in line for a ride, your stuff gets taken to lost and found. This pissed me off, since my camera and lenses were in the locking box, and I had to go try to describe the bag they were in to a fairly clueless person at lost and found. I also had to retrieve Mikel's bag. At first they couldn't find either bag, and I was about to go postal on them, but after some looking and some angry words from me, they managed to figure out what the hell was going on. Luckily, I got both bags and nothing was damaged, but I was still mad. I just went from Terminator bliss to pissed. Why did I have to go through that? So, Magic Mountain, please don't advertise your $12 all-day locking boxes as all day until you clean them out (as you should) after the park has been cleared of all guests. Still, I was the first one back to the bus, and had fun talking with Larry until everyone else showed up. Despite the locking box issue, I had a great day and wished I could spend more time there. I certainly will in the future, when I show up on Rob and Elissa's doorstep. Next stop - Universal Studios Hollywood!

Day 3 - California's Great America Having already been to CGA on Thursday, I decided to get some photos during ERT rather than riding the whole time. After a several laps on the very fun, short, but potent Flight Deck, I got out the camera to catch the last few trains. Front seat fun on Flight Deck The joy of ERT on a good ride - nice Tony Hawk wristband! What a fun ride - Natalie and Kim enjoy Flight Deck Well, everyone appears to be having fun except Roxanne. She partied pretty hard the night before this ERT, so let's zoom in on her expression.... G-forces or beer? Roxy, what was it? These guys look happy in the front row. It's a B&M, how could you not be? Next the ERT moved to Vortex.... but I didn't go, I stayed on the other side of the park to capture the moment for posterity. Here's Robb with his first true love, his video camera. Look at that concentration - even Neil is impressed. Amusement? Boredom? An early morning? Chris looks un-terrified. I think Matt takes more video than Robb. Well, here's an interesting train full of TPR people. If Robb had turned the camera to the left, he would have captured this moment. Instead, he turned to the right, hoping for video gold from TP Dave, but all he got was a puzzled look. "We drank too much coffee this morning before ERT, but I'm sure we can hold it for one more ride!" This very nice gentleman saw us taking photos, and kindly walked us through under Vortex so we didn't have to walk all the way around. Thanks! Matt felt like a VIP. I took the initiative, talked to a very nice mom, and borrowed a kid to ride this kiddie coaster. He was terrified at first (the kid, not John) but after a few rides he was coming around. Then John rode with him for a few more laps and he started to smile. Yes, we rode the kiddie coaster without having to pay a TPR kid to ride with us. The kid's mom is seen over John's shoulder riding with her other kid. Grizzly finally opened, and I think John or Matt and I rode in the front seat. It was not rough, but it rode like a boring family coaster. Robb and Tyler head out of the Grizzly station, and Robb tries to make up for Tyler's lack of enthusiasm. (Robb has to REALLY try to make up for it, since Tyler appears to actually absorb enthusiasm rather than produce it.) Unfortunately the ride causes absolutely no enthusiasm. I could have fallen asleep on this ride. Notice how ALL of the TPR people are holding onto the seat in front of them. TPR does Survivor - the Disk-O ride - it was a lot of fun. After surviving Survivor, you can take the "final challenge" by the exit of the ride. You balance on some wooden posts while trying to knock your friends off of them. Here Robb sizes up Piers' lack of balance/hangover.... Robb seems to really enjoy attacking Piers with an empty Coke bottle..... Next he attacks Piers' ass with the Coke bottle! Piers seems to like it. Robb is disturbed by his own actions and flees. Some more people show up and attack Piers, and it turns into a "Manwich". At this point I fled. Raise you hands if you're a credit whore! (Taken near the kiddie coaster, where people were paying a TPR member's kid to ride with them!) And now, TPR does the CGA flyers. Note the prominently displayed TPR T-shirt. Snappy snap snap, anyone? Natalie and her pointy bandana get ready to fly - the bandana is quite similar to the shape of the wing painted on the back of the car. I think she planned it that way. "DAMN..... I should have farted AFTER the ride started...." Work it, Natalie! Up, up and away! "That fart made me dizzy...." Log flume! Brace for impact! (Yes, I know there's a joke in that phrase when there are three guys sharing a log like that....) Jazz hands? All in all, it was a fun day at CGA, and I had time to take photos since the only coaster I needed to ride was Grizzly, and we managed to be the first people in line for that early in the day. Luckily everyone had normal rides on Invertigo, because its lift chain broke the next day and people were stuck on it for three to four hours. People actually called my cell phone the next day to see if I was on that ride! For me, the best ride there was Flight Deck, but they just don't have any signature attractions. Sadly, with the park's future a bit up in the air, I don't see them getting one any time soon. We left mid-afternoon to make yet another long, boring drive back down to Valencia. On the way we stopped at the same middle-of-nowhere exit with fast food and gas stations. There was a severe shortage of stalls in all of the restaurants, and I was lucky enough to find one. As I am sitting there, some woman and her kid managed to yank open the stall door and barge in! And yes, this IS the men's room! I don't remember what I yelled, but it was a string of obscenities. I don't give a #$%! how bad your kid needs my seat, I'm not getting off of it! She finally left, without apologizing. #$%& you, California mom, and stay out of the Men's room! Anyway, the drive was soon over, and Robb got on the bus PA system to explain to us just how close we were staying to Magic Mountain. Then he mentioned it again. Hmmm.... something is up.... Robb said we could walk over to the park if we wanted. Then after a strategic pause he said the bus would take us over and pick us up. Applause breaks out - bonus time at Magic Mountain! Another pause, and he adds that we will have ERT on Goliath for an hour on this night - raucous applause ensues! More about our bonus evening in my next installment - Six Flags Magic Mountain!

Not sure about that - a smoking Mac sounds even more expensive. I'm getting ready for another large update, this time with CGA and SFMM coming soon, and maybe USH and some small parks too. So, as the TPR calendar goes blank and the weather starts to suck, keep an eye on this thread for photos from some warm California parks. -Mike

Go for it. I knew you'd enjoy that photo. I also have some good ones of "happy Natalie" on the flyers at CGA, coming in the next TR installment. First the camera, now the laptop? That's just cruel. Have you been skipping church or something? (By the way, did you get your camera fixed?) I'm glad you are enjoying the TR, and I've been enjoying yours. It helped me remember quite a few people's names, and you do a great job catching a lot of the wider angle shots that I tend to forget about. -Mike

I posted more 6 minutes after your request, but I will only do that once! Next updates will be California's Great America and Magic Mountain. -Mike

Day 2 - Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Well, I already did all of the photo editing for my reports, and it looks like I maybe could have used a bit less compression on the images. (Oh well, it's not such a bad thing because one of Natalie's TRs is STILL loading since the images are larger files.) I might update some of the images later on. Anyway, back to California.... It was interesting to go from tranquil, uncrowded Gilroy down into a Saturday afternoon crunch of people in Santa Cruz. Driving into Santa Cruz we saw one thing - crowds of people. It was a nice day, and clearly it was going to be crowded on the boardwalk. We got off the bus and waited in line to get our wristbands, but people kept letting their friends in line with them, and we were moving at the speed of a government bureaucracy. We found another line and got our wristbands, and headed for the first coaster of the day, a kiddie coaster. It took a while to figure out how to get to the line, and there was quite a bit of a line. After maybe 20 minutes we had a very fun ride. I took my camera with me in my backpack, and after getting off I headed down below the ride to get some photos. I had no idea that such a small coaster would produce some great expressions from TPR people. Here Mike actually looks happy, and Robbie is having a good time. But what's going on in the back seat? Oh, that's Natalie. I think the look on her face needs no description. I know she already showed this photo, but I felt that it was my duty to post the full resolution version. I know she will appreciate that. The next train brought some more priceless looks of surprise. Again, Chris - terrified (thanks for pointing that out Natalie). The non-coaster enthusiasts a few cars ahead just look bored. This is proof that TPR members just have more fun! "I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch the sky." If I remember correctly, next we rode the other steel coaster, the Hurricane, and the drop in the middle made me fear for the health of my back. It was a fairly violent drop, we were near the back, and I leaned the wrong way. I think I nearly killed whomever was sitting next to me, and to that person I again apologize. One ride was enough, and I didn't even take a photo of it. We headed back to our private TPR deck for dinner, which was delicious. Yes, that's right, despite the massive crowds we had a private deck, and we all felt special. We also had unlimited beer for an hour or so. I had no idea the people around me could drink so much beer in an hour. However, I actually wanted to remember my rides on the Giant Dipper. After lots of beer, we played volleyball, and the quality of play accurately reflected our alcohol consumption! Some of the "standard" rides were really beautifully done, with amazing paint jobs. We met up for a tour of the underside of the carousel, and we got to see where the brass rings are dispensed from, as well as the mechanism underneath the carousel. This was followed by a walk-back inside the structure of the Giant Dipper. It was a lot of fun to get very close to the running coaster, and it provided some great photo opportunities that we wouldn't normally get, including getting to see the building that housed the running lift motor. This is one of the first photos I took, and I didn't notice until later that there was a guy in the back seat smoking a cigarette! He's got his free hand up, so I'll give him credit for that. In the front of the same train - definitely like father, like son! As the ride finishes up, HE'S STILL SMOKING! Now that's dedication! Great expressions in the front three cars.... ...and the back three cars, including some MAJOR hairtime in the back row. "Uh, hey, could the next two rows in front of me duck down so I could take a video of the ride? That's good - thanks. Oh, and try not to bang your heads on your lap bars during the ride!" Probably my favorite Big Dipper photo - pure fun (and no one flipping the bird) The look on the little girl in blue's face is priceless "We need this huge motor to haul you fat asses up the lift hill." Another fantastically decorated flat ride As the clouds and fog move in, it is finally time to ride the Giant Dipper, and I'm eager to get in line. Here's the group, waiting in the 15-20 minute line. A nerd in the front seat of the Dipper. Wait... um... what exactly is going on in the row behind the nerd? The ride was great, and I rode again later in the back seat, and I think I preferred the back. This is a really fun ride with some surprises in a fantastic setting by the ocean. Coming from Illinois, this was a real treat. Later at night we tried more rides, including an awesome indoor Wipeout complete with very cool lighting and loud music. The Cave Train was interesting, but not too exciting. I had fun watching people freak out on the Double Shot, right on the beach, while I waited in line. I enjoyed my ride in the dark, which featured a fantastic view from the top of the waves coming in. I finished off the night with a chocolate-dipped ice cream cone, and headed for the bus. SCBB treated us like royalty, and we had a fantastic time. The beach volleyball was an unexpected bonus after a great meal, and though the boardwalk was really, really crowded on this Saturday night, I still had a great time. The bus was full of exhausted people after this long day. I was glad I had and "easy" day on Sunday, since I'd already done most of the coasters at CGA on Thursday night. I decided I would take lots of photos during ERT. Next stop - California's Great America

Day 2 - Gilroy Gardens We arrived at Gilroy on a beautiful Saturday morning. It didn't really look like the type of theme/amusement park that I'm used to - all you could see from the outside were trees - which was a nice change. We headed to Quicksilver for our ERT, pausing for a group photo on the way into the queue. These people are awesome, yet mildly insane - a very fun mix. It was kind of early, and it is only a mine train, so some of the group were a bit drowsy, while the rest were ready to ride. This is what the station looked like. We had a bit of a wait while Gilroy's engineering staff approved Robb's sophisticated camera attachment rig. And now what caused the expressions of shock and amazement? Actually, they weren't expressions of shock and amazement, just boredom..... "Oh crap, he's got like three super-sized rolls of duct tape - should we just take a nap?" As we start ERT, at least Neil is showing ERT-quality enthusiasm. Do not piss these people off, or they will take embarrasing photos of you on a ride. Also don't tell them your hotel room number or leave the door unlocked..... Robb and his 200 mph duct tape job conquered the mine train. Seriously, this was one of the gentlest (but most scenic) mine trains I've ever been on. The camera would have probably stayed there with just a piece of gum sticking it to the car. Some TPR members are beginning to awaken and show signs of life..... ....others are not. OK, now these people are having fun! Or maybe they found an open bar? This elevator, near the waterfalls at Gilroy, was the scariest on the trip. Tower of Terror could learn a thing or two from this one. Fortunately this ride wasn't operating. Garlic - the ride. Dracula refuses to ride. I was safely secured, with a seat belt AND lap bar, for my high speed, super-thrilling monorail ride. The monorail goes REALLY, REALLY, REALLY fast!!!! Well, no it really doesn't go fast, but we got a nice view of the butterfly building, but I didn't see any butterflies. Had I been attacked by a giant butterfly, I would have been in trouble because I was safely secured by a seat belt AND a lap bar. Actually, I also rode the train, and it went MUCH faster than the monorail, but no seat belt or lap bar on that. Here's Mikel enjoying the view from the row in front of me. You won't see a flower like this at most other parks. There were lots of nice flowers to photograph, so I exercised the macro lens. The place is peaceful, and quite beautiful....... .....until you throw a bunch of havoc-wreaking TPR people into the park. Next thing you know, they're stealing hats and raising hell. Seems like I've seen this photo before..... What do TPR people do for fun? They get Chris lost in a rock maze, and then they give him bad directions while they watch from above. Chris soon had a near-breakdown. Then the lost Chris finally finds his way out of the maze, and everyone makes fun of him while Robb videotapes! (And Chris even paid to go on this trip!) This photo says it all - sun and swings are all you need. Life is good. Just got this shot past some tree branches.... hey Kim watch out for those branches! Natalie enjoys her swing ride, and I actually like the slightly out-of-focus shot. Happiness is a swing ride (until your butt goes numb). I didn't even take a photo of the other coaster at Gilroy, but it was kind of fun in the back seat for a few seconds, then it was over. I liked the banana-themed swinging ship ride (sorry, didn't get a photo of it), and the raft ride that we spun for most of the course (before the boat behind us ended up ramming us). Here's what part of the walk out of the park looked like. After our morning at Gilroy we took a very beautiful winding mountain road. Some people were concerned, not with the driver, but with the lack of guard rails. Larry did a fine job navigating us down into some smaller agricultural towns, and then into the coastal area. Next stop: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Thanks for the compliments! I'll be posting more of my TR just as soon as I can upload photos to the proper directory. Robb is working on it (thanks Robb!). I'll also upload some higher quality versions of the images from SFDK - some of those got compressed by the jpeg format more than I wanted, and that affected the sharpness and color. I'm trying to keep them under ~200KB each for the sake of my slow internet. If you'd like to hear about the turn of events that resulted in the shocked expressions below, then STAY TUNED! -Mike

Looks like the images that I uploaded were lost when the site was hacked, but I just re-uploaded them. Enjoy. More updates coming next week..... -Mike

Day 1 - Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. The drive to the park was scenic, giving us views of the bay and surrounding landscape. It was a nice day as we pulled into the parking lot. Oh my God - coasters - RUN!!!!!! Hey! This is not a coaster, this is the parking lot tram! Calm down! If you water your wood coaster, it will grow and get taller! (Seriously, with the low CA humidity I wondered how they kept the wood from drying out and spontaneously bursting into flames, and now I know.) Robb, Elissa, and Mike lead the TPR crew into the park; KidTums hacks the Q-bot to get free HBO and Cinemax and unlimited rides. The camel is thinking - "Oh, hell no - this fat guy is not getting a ride." The SFDK people had a variety of animals out for us to see before heading into the arena where they tigers performed. We watched the tigers swim and do a few tricks before heading out to our first ERT session on Medusa. Medusa is a fantastic ride, and it took me a few rides to realize it had seven inversions. I got plenty of rides during ERT (five or so), and then Mikel, my roommate, and I fired up the Gold Q-Bot and started racking up credits. The second coaster of the day was this very long kiddie coaster. Mikel either gives the count or wishes for peace. The kiddie coaster produced a very nice photo later in the day when I was standing outside the gate shooting Medusa and Roar, and I just happenned to catch this shot through the palm trees. Medusa and V2 were my favorite rides at this park, and Roar was also very good, though rough in a few spots. If it had been a little smoother it would have been faster, and would have seriously kicked butt. My favorite flat was Hammerhead, but Tasmanian Devil also proved to be a lot of fun. Hammerhead was fun, despite the super-snug harnesses - when you are hanging upside down from them you don't mind snugness. After a fairly good ride on the Top Spin, we got stuck on it for 5-10 minutes when it didn't stop in quite the right place. This was made all the more unpleasant by the self-stapling restraints. I think Mikel and I had ridden all of the coasters by lunch, which was in one of the picnic groves. After lunch, door prizes and announcements, they brought out more animals. "I am the cutest animal you will see on the whole trip. Bow before me. I SAID BOW!" I took some other photos of animals in the main part of the park. In one tank you could pet a small stingray. They're actually not dangerous at all. DOLPHIN ATTACK! Oh wait - the trainer has fish. What does the "D" stand for? Not sure.... hey, what's that in its beak? Hey, those are feathers, and I think the penguin we saw at lunch is missing... "D" must stand for Dangerous. Bad penguin. Don't look at me like that or I will peck you to death! Are these sea lions? Whatever they were, they didn't want to look at me or my camera. I spy a Bay Area Bash attendee in this photo! ERT later that night was on Roar, V2, and Tony Hawk. Here Mike Austin actually appears to like a ride, and he's smiling, too, something you don't see often. Hey, I know those guys - they're from Kentucky, what the hell are they doing here? Earlier in the day, while most of the group was off touring a factory that made some kind of candy or snack food, I was taking photos. From just outside the main gate, I could see the stop and go traffic on the highway, and I decided that a photo of California traffic combined with a roller coaster was an appropriate photo for this trip. From this spot I could get great shots of Roar and Medusa. Let's start off with Roar - a very good ride, and there were some nice photo ops from just outside the main gate. Front row - "Raj, I love you." "Oh Sanjeev, I love you too! I thought this day would never come!" The one guy looks like he really, really, really has to pee. A variety of reactions to Roar's first drop The faces in rows 4 and 5 are kind of interesting Five kids, five different reactions After another drop, the kids look happier Bald guys love Roar! Medusa is just too damn photogenic. I couldn't stop taking photos of people having a great time on this excellent ride. Here are a lot of photos from various angles. First drop reactions Front row - we're lovin it! More hot corkscrewin' action The fun resumes with a great quick drop out of the midcourse brakes Row 1 - bliss, Row 2 - Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! More first drop fear Out of the 2nd or 3rd inversion and the fun is just beginning Write your own caption for this one, but be sure to use the phrase "moron with a camera" in it Front row hair Medusa is smooth and fun, and everyone in this photo is enjoying it Check out the kid's face in the 2nd row Look - Raj and Sanjeev, who just professed their love for each other in the first row of Roar, are now enjoying a front-row Medusa ride. How nice. I like the guy a few rows back on the right holding his sunglasses/head. V2 is a great ride, and the 45-degree front spike with a twist is really fun. Peekaboo, I see you! More flying hair on V2 Looking straight up the back spike - nothing like floating about 100 feet off the ground - I wish it was taller! Zero-G floaty fun Her yellow shoes match the harnesses I did not feel like getting soaked on this day, but many people did. Father and son tear up the track Mother and daughter are left in the dust I see the logic of the mandatory boxes that lock, but I still don't like them, though I did find it convenient to stash my stuff in one for a couple of hours. On another possibly unpleasant topic, some boomerang riders take their first plunge. This one wasn't that rough. More really, really, really wet people - not an acceptable amount of wetness! This ride was so bad I only took a couple of photos of it. These riders head for the sky... and then the chiropractor. Let's finish up with a great Tony Hawk ride, which was the scene of a massive soaking during ERT. Proper riding technique! Maybe my best hairtime photo of the trip! Turns are fun And finally - little Bobby and Tommy are in love! At the end of the night, after a last V2 ride, a few of us headed quickly to the front gate and caught a tram. We got to the bus with 5 minutes to spare, thinking we would be some of the last on the bus before it left, as Robb said it would, precisely on time, and not a minute later. We got on, and found we were the first two people back to the bus with the exception of Larry, the driver. The rest of the group arrived 15 minutes later! Of course by then we had already raided the snacks. Next stop: Gilroy Gardens

Day 0 - Thursday, Aug 6 - TPR bus photos and an evening at CGA Just before the trip, I was on Maui for a business trip and to visit a friend. I took the red-eye from Kahului to LAX on Wednesday evening, and I arrived at the TPR hotel lobby about 6am on Thursday morning. The first TPR person I met was Wes, and then most of the group filtered in for breakfast in the hotel lobby not too long thereafter. I talked to a few people, met Rob and Elissa for the first time in person, and we all headed for the bus. On the way out of LA Rob gave the trip rundown, and kept asking for questions and cracking jokes. All I could think of to ask was "How long is your standup act?" I think Rob thought I was tired of hearing him talk, but I wasn't - he was very entertaining - but that was really the only question I could come up with after taking the red-eye the night before! After getting to know a bunch of people on the bus and looking out the window at the traffic and parched, brown hills, I got out my binder full of coaster photos and passed them around, and that turned out to be a really good way to get to know people. The trip from LA to the Bay area was a serious haul, with not a lot of scenery, but multiple snacks. Here are some photos from the infamous TPR bus on various parts of the journey. The back of the bus - looks like I caught Ben by surprise. Middle of the bus - pretty enthusiastic, except for one troublemaker "Hi, I'm Robb, one of your tour organizers. I'll smile for your photo, but then get back in your seat and leave me alone." The front of the bus - also in a good mood We stopped in the middle of nowhere along the interstate. There was a McDonalds, a Carl Jr.'s, and some other stuff, but that was about it. The food was mediocre, and it was really crowded, since this seemed to be the only place to stop for miles. Since it was a ~7 hr. bus ride, we needed snacks and candy once and a while to keep us going. One of the most memorable moments on the bus ride was when Robb turned into the snacky-snack guy (complete with dayglo orange hat) on a night-time bus ride. Do not anger the snack monster or you will not get a snack! After checking into the hotel, John and Matt and I sampled some snacks at the snack exchange (can you see a pattern here?) and we decided to catch a ride in the hotel shuttle van to California's Great America, which was literally a 10-15 minute walk from our hotel. After arriving at CGA we were ready for our first rides of the trip. After the stand-up Vortex, we headed for the Demon, which was exactly like the Demon at Six Flags Great America near Chicago. Here's John and Matt (giving his official ride review) on Invertigo, the coaster that, four days later (one day after the official TPR visit), got stuck for about four hours with people on it. Personally I am very glad I missed out on that event. The wild mouse coaster was the only ride with a significant line, as the park was basically dead on a Thursday evening. Six coasters and credits later (Grizzly was the only one not running) we were happy to have gotten some rides in as we waited for the shuttle to return. I'm not sure if I even ate dinner that night after sampling stuff at the snack exchange before heading to CGA, but everyone else had gone off to Bennigans to get drunk and have dinner (in that order, I believe). I tried out the pool and the fairly slimy hot tub, and I think Mikel and I had a beer right before I took a much-needed shower and crashed after not enough sleep on the plane the night before. First official stop: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Mike's West Coast '09 Photo Trip Report - Links I will add links to each post/park below as I finish them. Click on the park below for a link to that page of my trip report (TR): Day 0: Bus trip, CGA sneak preview Day 1: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Day 2: Gilroy Gardens Day 2: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Day 3: California's Great America Day 3-4: Six Flags Magic Mountain Day 5: Universal Studios Hollywood Day 5: Scandia Day 5: John's Incredible Pizza Day 6: SeaWorld Day 6: Belmont Park Day 7: Legoland Day 7: Castle Park Day 8: Knotts Berry Farm Day 8: Adventure City Day 9-10: Disneyland, Disney's California Adventure Introduction, thank yous, etc. AS I begin to write this I am still smiling from my trip to Holiday World yesterday with some friends. We got a lot of rides, including the two last rides of the year on the Raven. The weather was cool, but beautiful, and the leaves were starting to show color. Fall is definitely underway, so the California trip (CA trip) during the summer seems way off in the past. I'm amazed that I haven't had time to do the writing and photo editing for this TR until now. While I remember names of trip participants that I hung out with a lot, I am terrible with names and have forgotten a lot of them since the trip. For that, I apologize. This was my first TPR trip, and I decided to go because driving all over CA myself did not sound like fun, and the trip visited most of the parks in the state. I'd never been to any of the parks before. I have to first thank Robb and Elissa for putting together a fantastic, though exhausting, trip. I felt very welcome. Thanks to Mikel for being a great roommate, walking fast enough to keep up with me, and for sharing Q-bots and beers. It was nice to get the credits out of the way and have time to take photos and go back and ride the rides that we liked. I apologize to everyone for walking so damn fast. That's just how I am. Thanks to Robbie, Natalie, Kim, Neil, John, Matt, and everyone else for hanging out with me and giving good park tips, etc. Thanks to Mike A. and Wes for sitting by me on the bus and for good (and entertaining) conversation. Thanks for the photo compliments, thanks to those who carried or held onto my camera while I rode rides, and thanks for the "Hanno Award". I'm also a member of ACE, and I had heard stories about the two groups not getting along. I found that was simply not true, and people were more concerned about riding, drinking, eating, occasionally sleeping and just having fun than what organizations you were a part of. Thanks to everyone for making me feel welcome. -Mike Now, on to the trip reports: Day 0: Bus trip, CGA sneak preview

Robb suggested that I just start a thread and put all of my TRs in it, so this is it. Here are some links to my past TRs: Hersheypark, Knoebels, Cedar Point Prowler Opening Day at WoF Diamondback Auction, Opening Day 2009 at KI KI, next weekend after DB opening day The first TR posted in this thread is from the 2009 California Trip, and the index for that trip is the next post. -Mike

You know..... I think you're right. Thanks for mentioning it, and nice catch. Even after looking at the full size image I still made that mistake. I think the facial expression and blowing hair contributed, though. My apologies. The caption has been changed to "person with the coolest socks in the park". -Mike

Thanks to everyone for the compliments. I'm glad you're enjoying the photos, I sure had fun getting them. Yes! I already used the caption "I'm catching lots of Aero" in my Diamondback TR, and I suspect I'll use it again soon. Way too many of these seen on rides these days. You may simply have been joking, of course--but, Dragster very specifically forbids riders from putting their arms up. In fact, during at least the first year of operation, they would actually hold the launch if anyone tried it. They did seem to have relaxed a bit on my last visit, but there's still an autospiel to that effect to riders waiting to launch. Yeah, I was joking - he just looks too serious! (The photo was taken a bit after launch, actually.) It seemed to be relaxed maybe a little bit (saw a couple of launches with a few hands up), but most people, myself included, put them up just after launch begins, and as the "voice" requests. -Mike

I went to ACE Spring Con at Hersheypark and Knoebels, and then a friend and I stopped by Cedar Point for a couple of days on the way home. Hersheypark was full of high school groups, but we had no problems getting our rides in during ERT and during the less busy mornings. I really enjoyed Fahrenheit, Great Bear, and the Lightning Racer. Springsteen was playing a concert in the stadium in front of the park, and I'll never forget my zen ride on Great Bear while listening to the concert. The weather was generally good, with the only serious rain coming during dinner on Saturday night at Knoebels. This cleared out the park, and wet the tracks of the Phoenix and Twister, and they were FLYING all night after that during ERT in the humidity, light fog, and lightning off on the horizon. I ended up prefering Twister of Phoenix. I loved Phoenix's airtime, but it seemed every time you were off your seat you landed hard, and I got punched in the stomach by the lap bar at one point, literally knocking the wind out of me. Twister was trying to do a Voyage impression, and I really liked that, especially in the dark. Cedar Point also had high school groups. Monday featured downtime of most of the coasters, but crowds lightened on Tuesday (compared to Monday) and rides were running more dependably. I got enough rides in Monday and early Tuesday that I decided to take lots of photos on Tuesday afternoon. Here are some of my favorite photos. -Mike And finally, while some riders are corkscrewing, some are being corkscrewed. You decide which is which. Proper MF riding technique - just have fun It's "Choke your friend for the on-ride photo" Day here at Cedar Point. Join the fun! (Seriously, this isn't funny not that someone on every train is doing it.) See shirtless guy - make up your own caption! Girl in pink - "I can't believe you're going on a TPR trip and you're not taking me!" Shirtless guys and scared kids Girl in white is scared by the orange tape of death Person on the right - "I have the coolest socks in the park" Nearing the end of the ride, but still hauling a$$ Corkscrew! Wheeeeeee!!!! Okay, that wasn't funny - whose cell phone just hit me in the eye? Hairtime fun! Guy in back seat - too scared to look, or maybe a double bug strike.... Possibly my favorite shot of the trip - three great expressions (girls in blue, guy in green) Hey... we're leveling off... we survived! More twisting.... Twisting.... More Dragster - "Oh no we're gonna hit the yellow thing!!!!" A tough shot to get - Magnum flies over its next to last airtime hill - happy riders rejoice. Finally, two people demonstrating proper riding technique. Screaming schoolgirls! Must.... pose.... for... the.... camera.... The girl in pink's expression is priceless. I think we have a future enthusiast here..... Ah, terrified Dragster riders, what great photo subjects. The green shirt is a Kingda Ka shirt, but strangely the guy is still hanging onto the lap bar. Get those hands up! Well, if you see me taking a photo of you, I recommend that you smile. Otherwise you'll look like a moron on the internet for eternity. Take that, guy making faces and trying to ruin my shot. Most riders enjoy dropping down into the second part of the ride.... Raptor riders "kick the sky" On to Cedar Point - I caught this shot with my pocket camera while waiting in line for Maxair. Twins and enthusiasts love the Phoenix! Kids love the Phoenix! The Phoenix flies down from the second turnaround - the front wheel of the third car is clearly seen off the track. Twister riders wonder what is next as they near the end of their ride. Riders endure the aggressive first part of Twister's helix. On to Knoebels - The Flying Turns is still not done. I describe it as a bowling alley on acid. Can't wait to try it out in a month/year/decade. Riders look a bit more relaxed after about four inversions. Only one hands-up rider on this train. I enjoyed the drop about 18 times during my time there. More of a side view of the drop. ....and this is the second car of the same train. Terror achieved! The lift of Fahrenheit goes straight up - 90 degrees. The first drop is 97 degrees. This makes for great reaction shots! This is the front car of a train going over the first drop.... Fahrenheit has an amazing looking station with laminated wood beams. The ride is a tangled mass of track. Some riders on Superdooper Looper fear the first drop and loop - others are simply bored. (It's a fun ride, especially in the dark.) "If I think hard enough, the ride will be over... If I think hard enough, the ride will be over....." Riders on Great Bear - "Oh crap, I'm upside down!" I wait for my first ride on Great Bear, a ride that turned out to be one of my favorites. Hersheypark - The Comet is taken over by a high school group

Prowler Opening Day, Worlds of Fun It was a very early morning as we drove on a reasonably scenic, but very boring road across Missouri. Daylight illuminated a partly cloudy day on which the sun never truly shone through the clouds. This was my first trip to Worlds of Fun, and it was no coincidence that this was on the opening day of Prowler. We arrived at the park around 9:30 am. We headed through the gate and over to Prowler where we waited in a short line as the opening ceremonies and ribbon cutting were conducted. The riders who had bought the first seats in the auction got their rides, and then it was time for us. The queue area was filled with only a couple hundred people or so. Soon we were in the station where an employee was assigning seats, but taking a few requests if you were nice and had good timing. This continued throughout the day, and at some point a single rider line appeared. As with Diamondback a few weeks ago, the line was used efficiently by the seat assigner to fill empty seats. Our first ride was near the front of the train, rows two and three, I believe. We rolled out of the station and picked up a bit of speed as we rounded the left turn and shot up onto the lift chain. To the right we got our first good look at the track heading out into the woods. Leaves were just starting to grow on the trees, so we could see a lot of the track. This will change quickly, though, because in only a week or two full foliage will hide much of the layout. This will make it harder to see what's around the bend during daylight, and will make the track area even darker at night as the trees block ambient light from the parking lot, etc. To the left the curving drop and the first "bump" could be seen, and the track disappeared under the lift. Going over the top is tons of fun. The track banks sharply to the left, and it feels a bit like the track is falling over. Acceleration is fast, and then we are slammed into our seats with positive G-forces. Over the first bump we get a little bit of air, but it is nothing compared to the off-the-seat time that comes as the train flies over the second hill and down near the ground. It is at this point that the on-ride photo is taken, and it just gets wilder from there. I won't describe every twist and turn because I don't want to ruin the surprise, and because I simply can't remember them all. There is not a straight piece of track on Prowler until the brake run. Airtime moments abound, I think I counted 15 or 16 times I was significantly off of my seat during the course of the ride, including the first drop. At a couple of points sharp turns follow airtime moments, so just as you land back on your rear the train yanks you to one side. Make no mistake, this animal bites! These sudden turns are hard to see if you're sitting in the back of the train, so beware - you will be tossed around! The turnaround is fast and forceful, and then comes a wonderful stretch of twists, turns, airtime hills, and lots of speed, all flying through the woods. This part really reminded me of the Voyage, albeit at a lower speed. A powerful right and then left hand turn brings riders into the brakes, where they can try to figure out what just happened to them! I was trying to figure that out too, and that's the mark of a great ride. Prowler is smooth and powerful, and it really picked up speed throughout the day as it warmed up. By the time it got dark, it was flying. I tried the very front seat and was rewarded with a fantastic ride with lots of airtime and a great view. In the back the airtime and turns are more intense and harder to see and anticipate. I loved both front and back, and the middle was great too. The Millennium Flyer trains (also used in the same state on Evel Knievel), are beautiful and supremely comfortable. I love not whacking my thighs on lap bars that attach to the side of the car, and the seats are padded and comfortable. This is not a long ride in terms of duration, but it packs a great punch, and is tremendous fun. I'd say it was the right length - not so short that it is over before you expect it, but not so long that parents riding with kids are wondering where the end is. Night rides are AWESOME, and should only get faster, darker, and better. At night, the on-ride photo blinds you for several seconds, but of course the ride doesn't let up for that! So, what would I compare Prowler to? Well, the pacing of the elements and some of the elements reminded me of the Voyage at lower speeds with a bit less intensity, with some of the elements of Evel Knievel thrown in. It's a nicely twisted mix of elements. How did I like it? I was smiling and clapping after every ride (9 total, 3-4 of those in the dark), riding with my hands up the whole way. Doing this the first time I rode in the back resulted in me getting tossed around unexpectedly, so watch out! Photography of this ride will be tricky. As the leaves grow out, much of it will be hidden, and getting action shots may require a long lens. The leaves will also cut down on the light and cast shadows. A final story - after it got dark I was waiting in the single rider line, and a guy walked up the stairs wearing cowboy boots... with spurs on them. As it turned out, the seat assigner paired us up, so I can officially say that I got to ride a coaster with someone wearing spurs. How many of you can say that? He was a really nice guy, and had a blast on what was his first ride. There you have it, Prowler is fun for families, enthusiasts, and cowboys. I can't wait to ride it again when the trees have all of their leaves. The rest of the park Lines weren't very long, though the Timber Wolf line was moving very slow due to a slow crew and one-train operation. Detonator (S&S upshot) was a walk on early, but the line moved slowly later on with another slow crew leaving empty seats, which frustrated me because I was a single rider for a while when my friends were elsewhere. The Spinning Dragons coaster also had many empty seats, but the line was moving along and I enjoyed the ride quite a bit. We had some good spin going, and there are lots of sudden drops on the fun layout. I tried out the Boomerang. I didn't find it too rough, but it definitely scrambled my brain after three inversions in reverse. I was surrounded by scream high-schoolers on this ride, and they seemed to have a good time. Credit scored - good thing, too, because it broke down later in the day. The Prowler crew was absolutely doing a wonderful job gettting people on and off of the trains. Some of them were literally running to get trains dispatched. I don't think they could have done a finer job. The Patriot and Mamba crews were also doing good work, and the line was moving nicely. Patriot was wonderful, in the back and the front seat. It was smooth, fun, and had some airtime as it flew over the station. Once again I was completely surrounded by screaming teenagers, and it was the loudest train I can recall being on, which, for one ride, was actually quite a bit of fun. I plan to catch quite a few more rides on Patriot the next time I'm there. Mamba was running well, especially in the back seat. The view of Kansas City was excellent, and I enjoyed it on five rides total. The airtime was not as strong as other rides, but the helix was powerful and fairly smooth. I will get a night ride next time. (Watch out for the brakes on the brake run and in the station - they will surprise you and slam you into the lap bar.) We had a great all-you-can-eat buffet lunch for about $8 or $9 with a season pass deal or a ticket-and-lunch deal, and then we rode the train to take Prowler photos and let our meal digest. At that point the battery in my camera went dead, and I just enjoyed the train ride. Overall, I liked the park, rides and food. I am happy to be returning for an ACE event in June with ERT on Prowler, among other rides. We saw Dick Kinzel and company walking around the park during the day, no doubt checking on the new ride and other things. Since I didn't talk to him, I will suggest one improvement here - larger bathrooms. One stall per bathroom is not enough, and the super-loud hand-dryers make it absolutely deafening. Take a page from Kings Island's book and super-size the bathrooms. The only other annoying thing this day was common at many parks - line jumpers. A friend had a run in with the angry father of a line jumper, and in the Prowler line between 9:30 and 10pm I got to yell at two girls who simply ducked into the queue rails and got in front of us ("Hey - NO WAY!! Get back in line! You heard me - NO!"), and a girl who wanted her boyfriend to jump and catch up with her ("No, your boyfriend can't jump, but you can go back to where he is in line" - angry stare follows, but she finally relented.) Neither jumping attempt was successful. After ~25 rides, I was tired, but happy. -Mike The park's sightseeing train passes near the first drop of Prowler - after an extended left turn the Prowler track "flies under" the lift hill and heads out into the woods. A train full of riders having fun (except the person in row 7!) and experiencing hairtime. (I swear I'm going to cut that branch off......) The proper airtime-enjoyment riding position is demonstrated as Prowler roars back toward the station Prowler riders returning from their hair-raising (literally) journey. The trains look superb. The lift, "fly-under" and station, as seen from farther down the exit The lift hill and "fly-under" of the lift, as viewed from the exit ramp First-time riders get ready to conquer Prowler, and I am next! The airtime-filled, exciting return run of Prowler, snakes through the woods. Prowler's very nice station, as viewed from the queue area People line up to ride Prowler in its first hour of operation. The line was not very long until ~11am. The opening ceremonies for Prowler, announced from the loading platform A nice sunset before our trip to WoF

Yeah, I noticed it too, mostly in the back of the train, whenever I was off my seat! It was the train hitting the upstop wheels or floating between them and the main wheels. After all, if you're floating, so is the train! The main wheels then bounce around a little while it's not running on them. I could feel and hear the train come back down on the main wheels. I rode Raging Bull (RB) 16 times the weekend before DB opened so I'd have a ride to compare with. It was a lot of fun, and I tried front, back, and middle seats. The air in the back seats was similar to DB, but DB had more back-seat air on the first hill due to the longer trains. The air in the front seats was MUCH stronger on DB, which seriously surprised me in a good way the first time I rode DB in the front seat. RB has more turns and more positive G time. Wish I'd gotten to try RB before the trims. Hopefully people won't say that about DB in the future. All of these comparisons can get complicated because rides run different depending on temperature, etc. I noticed a little more air last weekend on DB than on opening day in the parts of the ride before the turnaround, and this was simply because it was warmer. The trim (on the hill after the turnaround) and brake keep the part of the ride after the turnaround more consistent, but I had no complaints because I was still launched into the restraint going over the hill with the trim on it! Everyone's got their favorites for various reasons. Some people want speed and intensity, some people want extremes in G-forces, others want elegant design and pacing, some people want a smooth ride and comfortable trains, and most of us want some combination of those. Everyone likes something a little bit different, and this causes arguments to break out on forums. So, I won't argue where DB "ranks" - all I will say is that I can't get enough rides on it. -Mike

Mess?! That photo with you in the station turned out pretty good, I think! Everything's in focus, and the exposure was good. I had your name misspelled in the TR so I fixed that. If I can make a recommendation, one of our next adventures should be at Holiday World. Let me know when you can head down there. Bring your camera and any friends that will appreciate wood coasters and you'll have a great time. I'll be at Ride Warrior Weekend, and back at KI at the end of May. -Mike

Well, no super-long TR this time, just an addition to my KI/DB thread from last week. Photos are just below. A friend and I headed to KI Sunday the 26th. During passholder early entry (1/2 hr before opening), my first DB ride had a 4 minute wait. The second was 10-15 minutes, so I got two rides during early entry. After rides on the Beast, Backlot Coaster, Vortex, Flight of Fear, Racer, and Adventure Express, we headed back to DB for a ride in Row 2. We tried the single rider line and got another ride in 10-15 minutes. After another Beast ride it was lunch time - LaRosa's pizza. We headed up front where I rode Drop Zone and Delerium, and then we went to DB again. After a ride or two I stayed there, and my friend went off to ride other coasters. I used the single rider line a couple more times. On the second hill of one ride I noticed that someone two rows in front of me had dropped something. They were trying to grab it, but they were having trouble reaching the floor, and the airtime was complicating matters. With the open seating, I had a great view. Turns out it was a cell phone, and as the airtime levitated it over the third hill, they grabbed it, but something came out and actually hit my foot on the way down. Turns out that was the battery! The moral of the story is - Diamondback eats cell phones! With all of the airtime, make sure it's secured or you might lose it! I decided I wanted a front seat ride. No chance of getting hit by cell phone batteries there. I waited in the full line by myself. I explained this to the seat-assigner, and was able to get row 1. I knew I would make someone in the single rider line very happy! It's amazing how coincidences happen...... A guy walked up from the line with a big smile, and I told him he had won the lottery. He was, of course, very happy to get a front-seat ride, but he looked slightly familiar...... We talked for a minute, and it turns out it was PKI ManJZ, aka Zach! He is a KI employee and has been posting great DB photos (see his thread HERE). We had even corresponded a bit. Small world! Anyway, we had an awesome front seat ride, and then we waited in line and scored a back seat ride. The splashdown had what we concluded was an acceptable amount of wetness. (I got a photo of my shoulder to show this.) Zach headed home, I got back in line. All in all I got 12 DB rides, 2 during early entry, and 3 using the single rider line. Even sitting nearer to the middle (row 6) it was a fabulous ride. Riding in the back right seat, I looked behind me and to my left and watched the water flying out of the scoop. Very cool. The front is still my favorite, though, for the wind-in-the-face feeling and the way the airtime feels. Some photos follow. The shot of people coming over the second airtime hill shows what a relatively inexpensive small point-and-shoot camera can do. I intend to try this shot with a much better camera and lens in the future. Next it's off to try out Prowler next weekend. Look for a TR at some point. PKI ManJZ waits with me for our front seat DB ride on Sunday. Great to meet you! An acceptable amount of wetness - my arm after a back seat DB ride (see previous photo of SPLOOOOOSH) SPLOOOOOOOOOSH! First-time riders procedure - roll out, tilt back, get death grip on lap bar, curse friends for making them ride. (This is so much fun to watch from the queue!) Lift hill to heaven.... The Crypt's building grew an awesome coaster! Photo taken with a small point-and-shoot camera from a long distance away - not bad! Row 1 - "If I fly out of this thing, I'm taking your arm with me!" Row 2, - "I'm catching lots of 'Aero'!" Row 3, left (as seen in photo), covering eyes - "I can't look. Is it over yet?" Row 3, right - holding her necklace down Row 4 & 5, left - "WOW!!!" Row 4, right - "If I hold onto the back of the seat AND the side of the seat, I probably won't fly out!" Row 5, right, Row 6 - "Hairtime!" Row 6, holding hands, "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!" I wait for a ride on the Beast. B&M artwork at Kings Island - I never thought the view from the Beast entrance would look like this!