The Bebes

The Bebes just trekked through PA and had previously trekked from PA thru Cleveland. Knoebel's was a highlight of our 12 day, 10 park trip. I wouldn't miss out on this great hidden gem if I were you. They only sport two coasters (one good one, and one great one!), but they have the most flats I've ever seen (many unique or rare). Their flats operate better than other parks too. Ride the Flyers at Hershey and then at Knoebels OR Knoebel's Wipeout compared to Waldameer's. They are like completely different rides. Hershey was also great, and big! Lots There!!! Kennywood shouldn't be missed if possible, they have three great old woodies, an enclosed spinning mouse, and a top 10 steel hyper in Phantom's Revenge. Waldameer has a great draw in Ravine Flyer II, a nice spinning mouse, and an old manual brake Woodie; but the park itself was a bit disappointing. My suggestion: 8o to Knoebels, south to Hershey, west to Kennywood, and northwest to CP. This is 630miles one way from NYC. It is 510miles from NYC to CP direct, without any pitstops, so this route doesn't really put you TOO far out of the way. It is an extra 110miles to squeeze in Waldameer. Read our TRs by following the Banner link below for more extensive info on all those parks.

Sadly, Big Mike, The Bebes were hoping to drive out to Arizona and surprise you at Castles n Coasters, but Mr. Bebe has to work and can't take time off. But, we would like to give you some tips. Mr. Bebe lived in Phoenix for 25 years and still has family there, so he's pretty familiar with the place. You SHOULD be able to get in and out of Castle's n Coasters pretty quick (LESS than three hours for sure!). They don't have very much. BUT, they DO require a certain number of riders on Desert Storm (8 or 10 if my memory serves correctly), and on a slow weekday that might take some time. I also think that they might only cycle it once every hour, or half hour, when it's very slow. OUCH. For those who want a history lesson, Castle's n Coasters was a miniature golf place called Golf n Stuff. They had golf, mini indy cars, bumper boats, a batting cage, and an arcade. Mr. Bebe used to hang out there on weekends in High School (it was quite a popular hang-out, as other teens would also "cruise" around the Metro Center Mall parking lot). They finally put a ban on "cruising" the mall and the hangout was no more. To increase business, Golf n Stuff ditched the batting cage and added TWO rollercoasters, a carousel, log flume, and a couple other flat rides. With this change came the new name: Castles n Coasters. Scnepf farms is ALL the way through Phoenix and could take some time to get there. Probably a solid hour +, more if there is traffic. Tucson is AT LEAST an hour and half drive from Schnepf Farms, More if there is traffic. If you can manage to get out of Phoenix before three o'clock, you might evade the traffic. Traffic in Phoenix during rush hour (5am-9am)(4pm-8pm) is some of the worst I've ever been in (including Los Angeles). And watch out for irate, road raging drivers, 'cause the heat makes people in Phoenix lose their minds!!! Stop at Eegee's in Tucson for a Pizza Pretzel and an Eegee's Frozen drink. Hope this helps you out some!!!! -The Bebes

Is it just me, or does that sound a bit naughty?? - Lady Bebe

Disneylander- LOL! Yeah, we're too cheap to pony up a buck for a locker everytime we go on a ride. We thought we found a great hiding place for them while we rode Tatsu, but a park monitor must have seen us stash them and disposed of them! As for the Tatsu vs S:UF pretzel loop - NO CONTEST. S:UF's pretzel loop is like a kiddie coaster compared to Tatsu. Haven't ridden Manta, but it looks about the same as Tatsu. As for the Tatsu vs Vekoma Flyer - NO CONTEST. Replace S:UF with Vekoma Flyer above and read out loud.

Awesome TR Big Mike, though it made me sad... A feeling kinda like being home sick! Holiday World is one of those parks that gives me that fuzzy feeling in my tummy!! But I'm glad you had a good time and I was sooooo happy to see that you liked The Bebes' #1 coaster so much! We were looking forward to hearing what the Big Man thought of The Voyage, especially because lately people have been saying it's not as good as it used to be... I'm glad it's still worthy of a top spot! And I'm jealous of all of you that got to spend the day with Big Mike, it really is a treat!! - Lady Bebe

Awesome X2 pics!!!!!!!

^^ Actually, Justin doesn't have motion sickness. He claims that the pretzel loop on Tatsu "crushes" his chest. Or so he claims........ We like to tell him that he's just not as EXTREME as we are!

Marshall visits SFMM June 16, 2009 On Saturday night we planned a Tuesday outing to SFMM. If there is a day of the week to visit a theme park, it’s Tuesday. The gang for the day would be Mr. Bebe, Lady Bebe, Justin (JustinJJ) and Marshall. Marshall hadn’t been to SFMM in over ten years, so there was going to be a lot of new stuff for him. Justin had yet to get a credit on Déjà vu, as it was always broke down, as well as a new credit on Terminator:Salvation. SFMM was busier than we hoped, but still a really great time. And it’s soooo much fun to take somebody new to the park and see their reactions!!! Next Stop: TPR Termination Day! Finally dark, we got three pretty quick night rides on Terminator: Salvation. What a totally different experience at night!!!! Awesome! It wasn’t quite dark, but we got in line for Terminator anyway. Hardly any wait and we were off within 10 minutes. Justin said he was feeling fine now, and we got in line for Déjà vu. Hmmm. Familiar. The line was only about 30minutes now and Justin completed his park credits! On our return toward Terminator: Salvation, Mr. Bebe scores a super yummy sliced chocolate covered caramel apple. We wanted to ride Terminator in the dark, so we decided to waste some time on Jet Stream. And Justin felt good enough to go on. The line was really long. After waiting nearly an hour, we called Justin to see if he was feeling better. Nope. He said he was probably done for the day. We finally got on. Marshall loved it!!! And rubbed it in Justin’s face. Here we are. The only ride in the whole park that Justin has never been on: Déjà vu. Alas, the pretzel loop was too much for Justin, and he elected to sit out. Marshall gets Freaky! The girl across from us got drenched from head to toe. I’ve never seen anybody get so wet on a non-waterfall rapids ride. Justin felt that he could handle the rapids. Lady Bebe and Marshall wanted nothing to do with unacceptably wet rides, so Mr. Bebe and Justin went alone. We got a front seat ride, then came back around for a back seat ride. The pretzel loop killed Justin, as it had in the past. One time, OK. Two times, not good. Justin may be down for the count. And we lost our souvenir bottles that we stashed behind the lockers! That's four lost so far this year! Finally back around to Tatsu, where the line was gone, but the misters were in full force. Round and round we go, and where we’ll stop, nobody knows. Viper. The Bebes always enjoy Viper, especially when you can re-ride 3-8 times without stepping off. Only one lap today though. It still has the classic old Magic Mountain trains, but they’ve been fitted with poorly designed and uncomfortable over-the-shoulder restraints. And the layout is riddled with trims and jarring transitions. Too bad for the world’s first looping steel coaster. Next Up: the Revolution. The Bebes usually skip Revolution, but we rode it for Marshall. It’s no wonder Six Flags was in such a dire financial situation. They hire people to mow the cement sidewalk. Goliath has gotten some new hang grabs. Unpainted to match. The nerds have been flooding The Bebes personal Inbox, upset that the entire TPT:P2 didn’t have a single “nerd” shot. So, here it is: Nerd Shot. Noted. We hit the food court by Goliath for some Mexican food. Mr. Bebe got these nachos. He’d regret it for the rest of the day. After eating, it was onward to Goliath. Marshall : “What’s a B&M Floorless???” Lady Bebe Screams for B&M Floorless! Justin Screams for B&M Floorless! We took a lap on Colossus before being conveniently pooped out of its' exit right next to the Scream entrance. As usual, Batman delivers a smooth running, tight, forceful ride that everybody enjoys. Mr. Bebe makes a pit-stop for a quick game of Whac-A-Mole on our way to Batman: The Ride. “Holy Standing Ovation, Batman!!!” Marshall exclaimed as we landed. Déjà vu hadn’t opened yet (sorry Justin), so we headed to Riddler’s Revenge for a spin in the back seat. Terminator:Salvation wasn’t as good this time around as it was the first time we rode it at night, but still a solid ride. The mist was off and the audio was broken in our train. The Terminator train has a station flyby above the loading zone. It is actually flying by in this pic. Do you see it? This would be the first Daytime ride for the Bebes and a new credit for the rest of the gang. We cruised over to the back of the park and jumped in line for Terminator: Salvation. While we were standing in line, Marshall kept hearing the opening riff of Enter Sandman. It was really annoying him that they didn’t play more of the song. He had no idea he was hearing on-ride audio from X2. We scored a front and #2 row for X2 and it rocked!!! We got into the queue line quick enough to only have a 1 hour wait. Sheesh!!! Along the queue are posters that ask if your are Type A (lame) or Type X (Extreme!!!). This man is Type A. Mr. Six entertained us until the gates opened. Then, it was a mad dash for X2! We finally found them. (left to right: Mr. Bebe, Lady Bebe, Marshall, and Justin) The crowd at the front gate was plentiful, and finding Justin and Marshall turned out to be a daunting task. As we approached, we saw our worst nightmare: SCHOOL BUSES! Mr. Bebe’s Blood began to boil!!!! We got up early, grabbed our SFMM souvenir sport bottles, season pass-holder coupons, and headed out. The Mountain is about a half hour drive from our Chatsworth condo.

Sorry I'm new to the forum. I'm trying to fit in. But what do you mean by floorless. Can you explain? Don't worry Twizzler, you'll get the lingo down soon enough! It looks like Hydra is the only floorless coaster you've ridden according to your CF counter. Check out the wikipedia link to understand the difference between floorless and inverted. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floorless_roller_coaster - Lady Bebe

Psyclone SFMM I swear that I could feel my kidneys detaching!! So glad it's gone! A close 2nd: T2 SFKK - Lady Bebe

We had quite a nice time at SFA this June. It was cute and clean and friendly. Read about it in our TR thread.

Fun TR Guys!!! The Bebes have been to Vegas dozens of times and agree with you on almost everything! Speed is the best in Vegas. "RollerCoaster" at NYNY sucks, except for the great dive loop. Canoyon Blaster is pretty fun. Desperado, however, was way too aggressive last time we rode. The log flume at Buffalo Bill's is pretty nice, but the shooters weren't working very well when we rode. Sadly, we've never visited the Coke place. But we'll have to go next time.

1. Batman:KF / Dominator 2. Scream 3. Bizarro 4. Griffon (does it count?) 5. Hydra I rode B:KF / Dominator when it opened in 2000 and 2001, again in 2006, and recently here in 2009. It was butter smooth every time. Scream is the smoothest running of the bunch I've been on. At Termination Day we rode 5 times in a row without stepping off. FOUR times in the VERY VERY back were butter smooth. ONCE in the next row forward was rattling and rough. SO.... It would appear that the smoothness of the ride can vary greatly depending on the condition of the specific car you are riding. -Mr. Bebe

That WAS horrible, Big Mike!!!!

OMG Robb!!!! First, 90 Degrees shirts, then Credit Whore, and now Multi-purpose spoons!!! The Bebes beat you to that one on June 17th for our Philly TR. The Bebes' Theme Park Tour:Pt Deux - Day 6: Philly LOL!!! We must REALLY be a LOT alike! -Mr. Bebe Whatever you need, these spoons will serve the purpose.

LOL. The trip didn't sound as bad as the topic suggests. Looks like some fun times. Did you manage to insert the pics into the body of the text??? How??? -Mr. Bebe

Do NOT post those pictures, Big Mike! Walking into the ladies' room is a crime in Virginia unless you're actually a lady (or a fairly convincing transvestite). LOL!! That is SERIOUSLY funny!!

^^We love surprises!!! ^We definitely remember seeing you around, Fitch. Certainly come say HI next time. If you don't, we will!!!!

Yeah, Isn't DarKastle awesome!!! It was one of our favorite discoveried during our big Theme Park Tour. I didn't notice a single-rider line when we were there. Where is it? Was GAE your NEW credit??? I Like how Grover is sitting in the front seat! I really wanted to get a photo of that, but we had to get our credit before they closed it down on us. -Mr. Bebe

Hey Shawn! The Bebes are going to try to hook up with TPR somewhere during the West Coast Trip, if possible. Mr. Bebe is contracted on a job through August 10th, so we'll see what Robb opens up for individual parks Aug 11-15. Otherwise, we might just party crash at SFMM or KBF! We might also go to SFMM on Sept 1 or 2 with Lady Bebe's Dad. We probably won't be anywhere else during the SUMMER besides our own No-Cal trip Aug 16-21 (TPT:P3). Although, we've never gone to any of the small So-Cal parks except for Bellmont, so who knows!!! BUT, we will be hitting KBF (probably on a weekday in September) and maybe Disneyland for Mr. Bebe's B-day on December 9. And also perhaps San Diego Seaworld sometime before our passes expire in March 2010. Awww Big Mike!!! We're blushing!!!!!!!

^^^ We wondered about that yellow spot in the bush as well. But it doesn't seem to be big enough in relation to the lens size to be a duckie (Unless the duckie is smaller than I think and that bush is larger than I think). The carnival duck game: I checked all around, and couldn't find any duck that had the BEACHBALL on the front left side below the bill. Calicoasters: I think you just circled Big Mikes FACE and refered to it as a duck. He might revoke your Mikestery card for that one!!! LOL!!!!

Agreed! We've been back for a month and we just now posted our last TR! That's why Big Mike is sooo cool!!

Actually, we REALLY liked Stormrunner and Fahrenheit! Fahrenheit was one of our favorites of the entire trip! As far as which two of the four parks you should visit... that's a tough question. We would say DEFINITELY go to Knoebels! It is different than any other park we've been to and we both agree that it ranks up in our top favorite parks of all time. Phoenix has out-of-control air-time (make sure to check out the 3rd row), the Flyers are SCARY FUN and don't miss the bumper cars (best ever)!! As for the other pick, we're struggling between Hershey and Kennywood. If it's big coasters and a lot of them that you are after, Hershey is the way to go! Besides Stormrunner & Fahrenheit, other notable coasters are Lightening Racers and Great Bear. But, if you're more into charm and history, Kennywood is that place. Phantom's Revenge is AWESOME and Jack Rabbit was built in 1921 and has the craziest single moment of air-time ever (make sure to sit in the back)! Both are great parks and I'm sure you'll love either one!! The only other "must ride" (in our opinion) in PA would be Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer. Have fun and we look forward to finding out which parks you decided to visit!

Awesome Trip Report Big Mike!! And congrats on finding that very hidden, super secret new credit! That's why you are THE MAN!! We're getting the feeling that The Bebes arn't very good at the Find the Ducky Game, we only spotted TWO DUCKIES. Final Answer.

Thanks Emiroo and MOinAB! You can look forward to a Part Tres THIS AUGUST! We are planning a Bay Area trip that will include Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, California's Great Adventure, Gilroy Gardens, and Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk! In addition, we have trip reports for SFMM and Termination Day in the wings, plus we may have a "special" wrap up style report for TPT:P2. We would love to meet up with other members along our adventures. Just let us know! -Corey & Danielle Giannantonio (The Bebes)