imagineerz

Here it is, the moment you've been waiting for...... It's IAAPA BOX O' CRAP Time! Note to Robb: How the hell were you able to fit everything in that box?!? You should seriously look into being an engineer Anyway, onto the photos. In true TPR fashion, everything came in a flat rate box, wrapped in tape. A lot of tape. Now that we know that it's a box containing fecal matter, let's open it up! "After Dinner Mint?" Piles of Crap Nobody EVER wins a big A$$ map. Just to show the size of this thing, I've decided to include Creepy Asian Robot Girl. So.....Much.....Crap..... GCI Man-Purse FTW! Need I say anything? Best company tagline ever The Premier sheets were cool, especially the logo/QR code thing I find this tagline similar to "Never touch a germ covered soap dispenser again" Zamperla's stuff seemed to be centered around the Air Race One of the better magazines I've seen from the industry Maurer chose to do their own newspaper, which had some pretty interesting concept rides in it. Contact book for all the vendors, nothing big... Cool concept, but they REALLY need to work on their Photoshop skills Dunno if you can see it, but there is some serious hairtime going on in that train. But wait, there's more! Order now and you'll get a third Funworld for only .00 More (S+P not included) Moser always has concepts that are "different" I'd rather be greeted by this thing than Creepy Asian Robot Girl in the morning 150 Inches. Aww yeah.... Still trying to figure out WTF this does... The photos in here were amazing, as were the blueprints, specs, and 3d models The Apple of the brochures. Clean layouts and a good matte/litho combination. Best use of URLs in a brochure Creepy Asian Robot Girl x17 Odd size. I thought it was a postcard at first. Lo-Q must really be dedicated to the mobile space if their brochure is going that small... This would be much easier than opening the whole map on the floor, I would think. Anyone know what the reasoning behind the 3 ring binder punches? For the quality of these, those staffers must have been working overtime to get their pages done... Folder of Crap inside a Box of Crap: Crapception Inside the Crapception This was plastered all over this brochure. Understandable. Weird and Wacky is right! So.....Much.....Crap..... Now that we've established that crap is amazing, I would like to thank Robb and Elissa for choosing me, and I encourage you all to play for these. Whether it's IAAPA or regular, a Bag of Crap is fun for ages 2-92! EDIT: And thank you for magically knowing my shirt size And to finish up, an overview of all my crap.

Just received my Bag O Crap (More like "Massive OMG Box O Crap") Photos will be coming up today! You know you want to see them

Works great for me! Very fast!

^Seven. More is always better If the opposite of "pro" is "con", then is the opposite of "progress" "Congress"?

A nameless Maurer X Car Launch. Blitz-111013220929002.bmp Blitz-111013220831000.bmp

Yea, after looking at the flume pieces/supports for awhile, I'm pretty sure it's going to be a copy of the Downhill Double Dipper at Blizzard Beach. The main question that I have about the Water Coaster is where in the world are they going to put it? They've pretty much run out of space near Turbo Racer/Revolution, and it seems to me that the only space for expansion would be on the opposite side of Voyage to the Center of the Earth, but that's pretty far out there, being next to that school and all...

Walking into Water World (Colorado) today, I noticed a sign, a very exciting sign. It's about time... For a lot of coaster and water park enthusiasts, this has been probably the only thing that the park is missing, so this is incredibly good news. Does anyone know more?

While that does make sense, and could very well be the case, keep in mind that wooden coasters (with the exception of Intamin Plug 'n' Plays) are all built on site. Steel coasters are built at the plant and shipped off to the park, which I'm assuming means manufacturing starts almost immediately after a deal is made to ensure that the track gets there on time.

In line for Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland: Setting: 3 Teenage blondes (GP) chewing gum (obnoxiously) and talking with the stereotypical nasal tone at the load station. They proceed to ask a CM a question: GP: Look over here mister, we have a question. CM: Yes? GP: Can you stop the ride half way through so that we can get out and get Harrison Ford's autograph? CM: No GP: WTF?!? Why Not?!?!?! (At this point they board the vehicle) CM: It wouldn't be safe. GP: I thought Disney didn't care about safety! See, we're only wearing seatbelts! CM: *Checks belts, presses dispatch button*

Part 2 Really?!?! Really?!?! Vekoma with Sexy restraints Twistyyyy with Pointless Ride Corkscrew Overview Exciting Rainbow train in the Loop helix, Helix, HELIX! (2 Points for people who get that joke) Pretty Lift Hill shot Helix with many Laterals Pointless Ride! These guys were stopped there for like 20 seconds. Needless to say, I LMAO'd. This is where they take your photo Upside Down Colorado Boat World's longest Wacky Worm Strangest transfer track ever Jungle Rapids Skloosh! Oh S#!T Airtime!!! Prepare for impact.... SKLOOSH!! Mushroom Head 70's Alieny theming I Corsari (Underground) Egyptian Terminators Bada$$ Lighting Goodbye Gardaland! Thank you for an amazing time! (at the park at least )

And now, we travel off to the "magical" Gardaland! First impressions of the "resort" were not the best. We stopped at the Peschiera de Garda train stop to pick up the free shuttle to go to the Gardaland Hotel. The bus from Mirabilandia had been a beautiful coach with air conditioning, curtains, and other amenities. The Gardaland bus, ewwwww. It was literally a metro bus from the 1970's. No air conditioning, dingy, not a lot of seating, and all around gross. The bus had "Hotel" plastered all over the thing, so we hopped on it. Within 20 minutes, we're at the park, with our luggage, and no help from the driver as to where to go. We eventually were able to find a driver who explained that the buses were incorrectly labeled, and we needed to take the "Park" bus to get to the hotel. The schedule posted is almost pointless, as the drivers go whenever they want to. 30 minutes after we arrived at the park, the bus for the hotel leaves. The bus stopped at the front gate to the resort, leaving a 150 foot driveway up to the hotel to walk, with luggage. It takes around 5 minutes to check in, but our room hadn't been cleaned yet. We had to wait for around 20 minutes for the room to be cleaned, while listening to crying babies and those songs where the only lyric is "Gardaland" (I will refer to these songs as the "Kill Me" Songs the TR). We got into our room, which was fairly nice. Not many complaints here, except for when you open your door, the Kill Me songs play for around 30 seconds, in your room. There was a patio with chairs and a table, and a mini fridge that wasn't so mini. We headed off to the park, taking the dreaded bus (worst thing about the resort). To get into the park, you have to go under a road through a tunnel. Now this is no ordinary tunnel, because as soon as you see it, you'll think "OMG It's the escalator ride !!11!1!!!!!!1". For those who don't no, there's decorative lights all over it, and it plays the Kill Me songs. We get our tickets, and head in to the park. Just like at Mirabilandia, lines were almost non-existant. The longest line we waited in was 25 minutes for Sequoia Adventure, and that was because they had to remove a car from the track onto the storage track. The food here was very bad, even for park fare. It was also expensive. The layout of the park was also pretty bad, as there were many walkways that weren't marked, and we found ourselves lost at times. Ride Counts: (Over 2 Days) Raptor: 12 I Corsari: 5 Magic Mountain: 2 Sequoia Adventure: 4 Ortobruco Tour: 5 Monorail: 2 Colorado Boat: 3 Ramses: 6 Space Vertigo: 4 Fuga de Atlantide: 5 Jungle Rapids: 7 Blue Tornado: 1 Mammut: 10 Magic House: 2 I'll give quick reviews of the rides (except for Raptor. If you just want to read that, scroll down past all the other reviews) I Corsari: Gardaland's response to Pirates of the Caribbean. The entire ride is around 50 feet below the park, and uses two large boats linked together. The twisty drop, cave scenes, and underwater scene are really cool, but other than that it's just "meh." Magic Mountain: It's pretty fun to experience a Vekoma corkscrew the way it was designed, and the turnaround after the loops has some good air. Only drawback: the new restraints have belts that crush your collar bone. Sequoia Adventure: Fun but pointless. They've made the brakes ar the peak act as holding brakes, so you hang before you flip upside down. On ride photos are pretty cool. Ortobruco Tour: World's longest Wacky Worm. Has some good speed to it, but the trains are definitely meant for smaller people. Monorail: Almost identical to the one from RCT1. 'Nuff said Colorado Boat: Nicely themed log flume. The Last drop gets you soaked, but it's good on a hot day. Ramses: Egyptian Terminator shooting dark ride. Build underground like I Corsari. When you see a skeleton come out of a pyramid with machine guns, you realize just how messed up this ride is. Space Vertigo: Strange 70's space theming. The ride itself is just a normal Intamin drop tower. Still fun, but the drop is rather short. Fuga de Atlantide: This is easily the best splashdown ride I've been on. Since it has a cable lift you are almost launched into the turn before the drop. Didn't get very wet from the ride, but the water cannons that people shoot get you pretty wet, but not sopping. Jungle Rapids: Driest rapids ride ever. It has really good theming and good rapids, but they don't get you very wet. Blue Tornado: Sorry, I can't hear you. My ears are bleeding. Mammut: Big Thunder Mountain, but better, faster, and with airtime. That said, the fiberglass trains shake. A lot. Magic House: The elevator ride underground takes FOREVER, but then again, I couldn't really appreciate it since I don't speak much Italian. The ride is pretty cool, especially with the movement of the vehicle. I'm assuming the whole ride housing is on a motion base, since you could tell you were actually tilting at times, not just watching the housing go around you. And finally the long waited review of Raptor: I've been hearing a lot of complaints around TPR about the ride, and I can't figure out why so many people dislike it. It's not designed to be a super high adrenaline filled ride, it's designed to be a fun ride that you can re ride multiple times. The water effects are entertaining, and that actually got me more wet than Jungle Rapids did . Since the track isn't heartlined, riding on the left side of the train is different from the right side of the train. Since all the inversions rotate to the left, by sitting on the left, you will get more negative g's than sitting on the right. The theming is amazing, and the trains look great. As for the burning question about larger people not fitting in seats, they seemed fine to me. It isn't large that are a problem, but larger thighs. Despite that, they seem friendly to everyone . As for the trims, you only notice them in the 3rd row (that's where they activate). If you sit in the 2nd or 1st rows, you get a good pop of airtime on that hill, but behind said rows, it's meh. ***Part 2 Comes Tomorrow*** Yay! We're in Garda! Hotel Entrance. Seems nice, right? Then you come across these creepy fountains. *Insert Twilight Zone Theme Here* Fountain at the Center of the Resort Expensive Under the road Escalator Ride spinoff In case you forgot, this is where we are! We headed straight for the good stuff in fear of lines, which weren't there. Theming with an empty queue in the background I didn't know Raptor was made by Intamin! Lift Hill enthusiasts rejoice! This is definitely one of the fastest B&M lifts Crashing through theming The Aftermath Overview of the Layout Slow Twistyyyyy Drop over the midway Blue Tornado. No Lines. You may not ride Blue Tornado if you just broke up Seems innocent, but it's evil. Within the next few seconds, you could here a resounding "AH AH OW OW OW AH AH" from the train Mammut No Lines It's intense and fast, aka the opposite of what a mine train should be! Sexy

No Clue

^^^The Reason why it was so impressive is because without that protein, breads and pastas can fall apart and are usually gross. This was one of the best pizzas I have had in general, but hands down the best GF pizza ever.

Finally, We get to Amusement Parks! Part 5- Ravenna/Mirabilandia Ravenna is small. Very small. Mosaics are everywhere, and there aren't many tourists. Most of the places there do speak English, and prices are very reasonable compared to Rome. DSC01150.JPG[/attachment] Adventuredome.SV6DSC01167.JPG[/attachment] DSC01201.JPG[/attachment] DSC01205.JPG[/attachment] DSC01210.JPG[/attachment] jackalope.nltrackDSC01229.JPG[/attachment] Calico System.nltrack When we first saw these, I was like "OMG Hard Light Bridges!!!!!111!!!!1!" Then I realized it was just a bike path... I'm still confused on this one... I was soooo tempted to get this, but I resisted. Nobody EVER wins a Big A$$ Lighter Yay! We're Here! Crowds weren't bad I see a sexy Intamin beast. You? Top Hat=Airtime "Twistyyyyy!" The Launch The Slo-Mo roll was fun Twistyyyy off the top hat Autosplash. Soon to be AutoSkloosh. Giant A$$ Ferris Wheel Katun had a fast lift... ...AND an Old School cobra roll with the "Snap" This way! The graffiti was very well done More Theming Enter through the sewer... ...And you'll find the Statue of Liberty Bus Air Conditioning unit. Don't think that's working anymore WTF? Just outside of Reset, these slides provided a good pop of air. Even more theming. It's a very beautiful park. This was the BEST park food ever! Tortellini with ragu. Love this sign Fastest Mouse in the world Skloosh! Massive Ferris Wheel Max Adventures is no where near completion. This is one of the most genius dispatch systems for an Autopia style ride. The car is lifted off the track onto the conveyor belt, where it moves to the unload point. The car is lifted off the belt at the unload, and then after around 5 seconds is lowered back on to it. The same happens at the load station. This allows for an efficient easy to manage dispatch system. Very impressed. Before we leave, another shot of iSpeed for good measure Okay, fine. Here's another. On the way out. Goodbye Mirabilandia! Thank you for a great day! Back in Ravenna, we found a restaurant with a Gluten Free french fry pizza that was OMFG good! I ordered it originally because it was a special, but it ended up being really good!

Was I the only one who noticed that the words "Sky" and "Rush" are used in the first couple sentences? Maybe a fluke, but me thinks not...

Sorry it took so long to get this update done. My Macbook Pro was NOT happy with OS X Lion upgrade Part 4 - The Vatican The Vatican was pretty cool, but felt kind of creepy at times. There's a massive wall surrounding most of the place that makes it seem like a fortress. In addition, there are a crapload of security guards, and it felt like I was in Portal from all the cameras that seemed to follow our tour group . Tours should be done at night, because in the day time, it's impossible to move through the rooms because of all the people. The oh-so welcoming Catholic Church The model of the city The dome at St. Peter's Basilica Courtyard and cool moving sculpture This interesting ceiling lined the tour path They had a cool sculpture with a bendable light The coolest exit stairs ever The next day we went to St. Peter's Basilica. We started with the Scavi tour of the Necropolis under the Basilica. It was easily one of the coolest things we did on our trip. In the end of the tour, you get to see St. Peter's bones, which, OMG that was awesome! The Basilica is absolutely beautiful, but if you go there, you NEED to do it during early morning, or the crowds are worse than Magic Kingdom before opening. You can climb to the cupola, but our tour guide didn't recommend it. She said that by the time the they open and you are in it, it becomes an oven. She also said that the dome in Florence (sorry, can't remember the church) was much better. Facade of the Basilica Is it just me, or is St. Peter looking down at that TV Screen like "WTF?!?!?!?" Interesting lighting inside the Basilica The Dome Altar w/ floodlights Statues....of stuff.... Tomb of some people Holy Water fountain Up close and personal The crowds at 9:00 in the morning Crowds early in the morning. Pay attention to the fountain on the left. The security check/entrance is on the right. The same fountain, but note the people in the background. That's the line to get in. Oi Vey. They ran it Fuji Q style. Only 2 security checks out of 40 were open.

^^Service was okay. At restaurants, it would take awhile to get the waiter's attention, but it felt pretty nice to have time to relax and people watch. Everywhere else, some workers did seem irritated that we spoke English and not Italian, but they were still helpful and friendly. That said, there was one store in Rome where the lady wouldn't let us buy anything because we didn't speak Italian . ^ Glad you're enjoying it! There's more to come!

Part 3 - Ostia Antica Ostia Antica is a huge collection of very well preserved ruins. The precursor to Rome, Ostia Antica was a huge port for trade, as one section of the city was bordered by the Tiber River. It's a half hour train ride from Rome, and the short walk to the ruins feels just like Brooklyn. Maze of houses Mosaic at the Baths of Neptune The Amphitheater And the view from it Grain/Olive Grinder The Bar. No, seriously. Wine Bar. A drain at the main baths The Underground tunnels that were used by the slaves to help fuel the fires that would send heat through hollow bricks, up to the ancient version of a spa.

Just got this today, and I'm in love (Motorola Triumph) Sex on a waffle on a stick on a stick... So happy now that I finally have an Android phone without Blur (or whatever their calling it now ). Used to have a Motorola Charm(not the pink one though): Evil, Evil, Evil Phone... I finally broke my contract after almost killing myself from using that horrible phone.

^The main reason that we decided to fly US Airways was because with any other airline, we would be charged an extra 5-ish percent because the transaction was done outside the US. The tickets were almost $500 cheaper per person, and we figured it would be much better (since it was international). The flight to Philadelphia coming back was great. The attendants were very friendly, knew what they were doing, and were able to distribute all the meals and drinks with amazing speed. After Philly, it was a disaster. You'll get hear about it later.

Just got back from a 3 week trip to Italy. My mom is 100% Italian, and my dad is 25%, and nobody from either families has been there in generations, so we packed our bags and headed out. The Trip Itinerary went like this: 1 Week in Rome (No Rainbow Magicland, Sorry ) 2 Days in Ravenna (Mirabilandia) 4 Days in Florence 2 Days in Garda (Gardaland) 5 Days in Venice ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES: 1. My family is very Christian, so we went to a lot of churches and other religious monuments. My goal is to keep anything that could be considered religiously offensive out of the TR, but if the admins think that anything needs to be taken down, I will be happy to do so. 2. My mom has Celiac (an allergy to gluten/wheat), and I have a gluten intolerance (an allergy that happens occasionally). Because of this, you guys will get to see some very good Gluten Free food, and some very bad Gluten Free food. There may be rants. 3. For all the camera geeks, I used a Sony DSC-TX5 in HDR mode for everything but the amusement parks, which were shot in a high-burst sport mode. I have NOT altered the photos at all except for cropping. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part 1 The trip started with a flight from Denver to Charlotte on US Airways. The flight was pretty smooth, nothing special. As Denver is my home airport, I usually don't take photos since I've been there so much. It's a REALLY nice airport, but it's GIANT. The Charlotte Airport seemed nice, at least from what I saw of it, which wasn't much. I was pretty excited for the flight to Rome. The Charlotte Airport We're off to Rome! Then I saw the plane, an Airbus A300-330. It's a huge plane, seating almost 300 people, but with that many people, there is a con; Legroom. Non Existent. Whatsoever. I'm 6' 3, and most of that height is from my legs, so for the entire flight I was stapled into the seat and I couldn't move at all (It was significantly worse than any Kiddie Coaster). My 5' 6 mom had problems fitting into the seats, and when you're up in the air for 9 hours, comfort matters. Additionally, the flight crew was dreadful. We tried to flag them down to see if my mom and I had gotten the gluten free meals that we needed, but after we made eye contact, they ignored us. Finally we were able to get their attention, and they gave us the vegetarian meals, which contained pasta. We told the woman that we couldn't eat them because they had gluten in them, and she told us that all the special meals are the same. Is it just me, or does this sound like she gave the meals that we paid extra for to someone else? So after a 5 minute argument about this, she told us that we were A$$es (No joke, word for word. She was P.O.ed). So now that my US AIrways rant is 1/2 over (the other 1/2 will be at the end), let's move on. Passing Morocco! Almost There! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part 2 - Rome After landing in Rome, we picked up our taxi. Now, I had been told about the way that Italians drive, and I thought that it would be fairly easy to deal with. As we are riding in the taxi, there were MANY times where I almost screamed. It seems like complete chaos there (no lanes, lights are rare), but after awhile, you realize that it's an organized chaos. everyone has this mutual respect on the road, unlike in the US. Anyways, since we were in Rome for awhile, we decided to rent an apartment, which was fairly nice, and significantly cheaper than a hotel. We were a block away from the Pantheon, but it was tucked away towards the back of it down a small alley next to a fairly nice restaurant called "Miscellania". The Pantheon: The Pantheon itself is a beautiful building, as well as an engineering marvel. In the center of the building, there is a hole in the roof, which was what the Romans used as a clock (Sun makes a full revolution around the walls in a day). Every day, around 3 or 4, there sun points through the hole and the front door. This would be where the emperor would sit, and they used the sun as an enhancement to show his power and glory. Very cool stuff. Very Impressive The "Oculus," or eye of the building that supplies most of the light. Sexy Doric Column One of Many Frescoes Oooooohhh, 3D Ceiling Effect! Probably the best shot I took on the trip Oh the irony The Colosseum: A 3 minute bus ride from the Pantheon, the Colosseum is an ancient fighting ring. I recommend doing a tour, because if you don't have a good background, most things can end up being meaningless. The tour that we did was the "Underground Tour" which shows you things that the GP doesn't get to. If you do a tour, do this one, and do it early in the morning, before it gets too hot. Also, side note, you can get a "Roma Pass" in most of the tourist information booths. These allow you to get a 3 day pass on public transportation and entrance to certain monuments. It can come in handy when the line is really long for the Colosseum, Palatine, the Forum, etc. as it allows you to skip lines and go to the dedicated "Roma Pass" entrance which uses NFC (near field communication), so it's instantaneous and easy. Again, very impressive for something build by hand Most things here are pretty photogenic, but the early morning sun can before over saturating If you have Tron style glasses, giant a$$ hands, and have an O shaped mouth, you are not allowed in to this area. To begin the underground tour, you must first proceed to the -1st floor. Wait, what? The Water system is served by the aqueducts, and during certain times of the year , the entire bottom level will flood from the system. Support holes for the world's first elevators. It's estimated that there are around 80 elevators around the building, but this one is the best conserved example. After going below the Colosseum, you go to the upper levels where the GP can't go either. Secret Tunnels Collis Palatium/Forum Romanum: Next to the Colosseum are the Collis Palatium and the Forum Romanum (Palatine Hill and Roman Forum for those of you who don't know Latin). Both are very nice if you are in to the ancient Roman stuff. Just as an FYI, the Forum entrance isn't very well marked, so it's hard to tell when you are in it if you do Palatine Hill first. Palatine Hill was, according to mythology, where the cave that Romulus and Remus (Founders of Rome) lived. The Forum is a massive plaza/marketplace. As someone who studied a lot of Roman History and knows quite a bit of Latin, this was really, really, really cool for me. Heading through the entrance of Palatine Hill While the place is really eroding, it's still very cool Interesting design Entrance to the Forum. Sorry, all of the shots I took there were taken with a smudged lens We had a fairly nice lunch across the road from the Forum entrance, where I had a pizza, with salad on top. That's right; SALAD. Surprisingly, it was really good. Om nom nom Circus Maximus: Our journey continued to Circus Maximus, the stadium where the Romans would have Chariot races. And wow, what a disappointment. It's a field that's about 300 feet long, 35 feet wide, and nothing is there. It's just a field that's overgrown with weeds and covered in graffiti. The only surviving part is blocked off, and is 1/3 of one of the turns. Sad face. Overview What actually survived Trevi Fountain: The Trevi Fountain, while beautiful, is nothing but a mess of tourists. When there is nobody there, which is almost never, it's nice. But at almost any other time, it's packed and can be miserable. It's a beautiful fountain But the crowds can ruin it We found this little gem of a postcard at a market near the Trevi Fountain LMAO

Freshmen year for me was amazing, finishing with a weighted GPA of 4.7 However, that said, my Spanish teacher was the stereotypical old-crotchety crabby guy who hates his students Next year I get to take APUSH , IB Math SL, IB English, IB Physics, IB Spanish 2, and Yearbook (We Just won 1st in the Scholastic Competition )

The "Other" Folder is anything that doesn't fall into the categories of Media, My Windows Partition, School, Applications, or my Android Dev Files (Yea I know, I'm on a Mac with Chome as my browser and use an Android Phone). And yes, it's a shot of iSpeed. (I'm Going next week so I thought it'd be fitting)

It's a bit cluttered, but it fits my needs....

In general, the front page looks really nice. The site is straightforward, it's accessible on almost all devices, and it's not too complicated. However, there are a couple of changes I think should be made. A) Instead of the "Random Stuff!" Banner, I would split it into two sections, and place the most recent "TPR Update," and the most recent "Park News" update there. One thing that does bug me is that the link banner on the homepage and forums isn't uniform. Something else is that I think there needs to be a font refresh. Not huge, but just something more modernized. I talked to my uncle who is a website designer, and he said that the announcements on the front page take up a little too much space, and that causes the eye to go to them (not that there not important, but shrink them down a little bit) and the focus on the content below can be lost. Just my two cents.