KBrylczyk

Nightmare Creatures? That was my first ever visit to HHN and I'm pretty sure that was my first maze, even. Those were the good ol' days when they still let you through the haunts in small groups rather than a neverending conga line. I was 16. Holy wow, that was way back in 2000! Jack The Clown's first ever appearance as the mascot! Sheesh, I'm old. The thing I remember most vividly was how much my parents loved me. Yeah, they put me in front of the group. The attendants opened those huge sliding doors to begin the haunt, I took two steps into the relentless fog and was quickly thrown into a screaming fit as a stilt walker came running up and got right in my face. That haunt was excellent! As for Kong, I remember it in bits and pieces, but I was a bit of a wuss when I was a kid so I always sat in the middle and looked away from the giant monkey. That video makes me miss the old school Universal rides, though, when they weren't afraid to have fireballs explode right next to the riders. I still love the Universal parks but the new, mostly digital experiences aren't nearly as great as Kong, Earthquake, and Jaws were.

Dungeons in San Francisco are generally a COMPLETELY different experience than Merlin is going for...

The Pumpkin Arch made me laugh. "Imagine the cash flow you can generate with thousands of pumpkins."

If it wasn't the heart of spring break season I'd be making a trip down there. As it is, though, I'll be waiting until the end of April to make the trip back to LA. Looks great, though!

^ Their PR department should really hire a better photographer.

I'd like to help in any way I can, haha.

^ Hey, I love Dinosaur, no question, but Disneyland already has Indy (far superior, IMO). Captain EO is historic (first ever 3D film) and was a HUGE memory of my childhood. I know it's cheesy as hell, but I love it like nobody can believe. Also, the walkout song is Another Part Of Me, my favorite MJ song. I can't help but dance like a moron every single time I see it!

The music is awesome, but it still has NOTHING on the reigning champion! [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

I've gotta get back to King's Island. It's been about 12 or 13 years now.

Joining the bandwagon and saying that the log flume looks EXCELLENT! I've always been a sucker for long log flumes. The ones with the double dip are especially awesome. The SLC, though, made me giggle. It's essentially the same as the cookie-cutter models you can find everywhere, but some of the turns are more drawn out and the turnaround after the corkscrews is added.

As much as I enjoy Nemo, I really hope they use the anniversary to bring back 20,000 Leagues for a limited time. Kind of like the original plan for Captain EO (before they realized Captain EO should totally be a permanent attraction because it's the greatest thing in the world).

Terrible news! The cupcake ATM is still closed. According to one of the guys working there it's going to open to the public later today because the first cupcake will be going to Holly Madison, since, you know, she's a cupcake connoisseur. Looks like I'll be heading back sometime next week to give it a try.

The other day we headed over to The Linq between Flamingo and The Quad, home to the (still closed) High Roller observation (ferris) wheel. Nothing crazy here, just a quick photo update. Oh, and also the greatest invention is the history of everything...the Cupcake ATM. Unfortunately the shop was not ready to open yet when we came by, but I hear they officially opened for business today (the 21st) so I'll be heading back over in a little bit to try the goodies out. This is the interior of one of the "hip" cocktail lounges that are popping up around town. The drink menu is incredibly imaginative. Definitely recommend a stop. Since I'm a professional lighting dude (theatrical), you get to see some of my lighting fixture porn. Standing outside looking into the cocktail lounge. So far there's no dueling pianos (and we're very happy about that). Quick overview of the central plaza. Sprinkles (on the corner there) is the home of the magical Cupcake ATM. The pyramid thingy on the roof changes color in sync with the High Roller's color scheme. Nice little touch! The cute little fountains. This is all they do (that I've seen). Later in the evening we noticed some maintenance guys cleaning the change out of the fountain while the pump room below flooded like Noah was in the area. Growing pains? Or did the designer not anticipate pennies? Oh. My. God. Yes, it is exactly what you think it is. You use it like an ATM and instead of cash dispensing, the door on the right opens to a cupcake for your yummy pleasure. The main sign for the cupcake shop. Brooklyn Bowl's marquee sure looks nice! If you aren't aware, they're a combination bar / restaurant / lounge / bowling alley / concert hall. Basically they're a House Of Blues but with bowling. Quite loud inside but definitely a lot of fun! Hopefully I'll get to a show here sometime soon! Looking down the main entryway to Brooklyn Bowl. Yep, the ATMs inside Brooklyn Bowl are modeled after Zoltar and his wife. Unfortunately they don't do anything when you use the ATM. Kind of a letdown. ACE members rejoice! There's a Ghirardelli shop! This is half of the menu. The other side was coffee drinks. High Roller's marquee. Currently only the gift shop is open, because even though you didn't ride it, you want the shirt that says you did! Yep, it's big. They haven't let the palm trees blossom yet. The palms are still tied together. The lighting is great!

Only then may one become a true Samurai. I'm both sorry for you and also glad that someone can finally beat my dreadful day at Magic Mountain a few years ago. My hat is off, sir. Now go do the TPR tour and make me jealous.

^ I meant the track completion being overshadowed by the semi-announcement of Wildfire.

I would ride that harder than Jenna Jameson.

Unfortunately this is being overshadowed by all of the Wildfire madness. I can't wait until June to give this thing a go!

[youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

High on life, Robb. High on life...

Sheesh, everyone in this thread is thinking small time. You really need to dream bigger. Intamin AquaTrax built within a manmade volcano using real lava imported from Kilauea in Hawaii rather than water that catches properly placed scenery on fire constantly, thereby creating an Intamin FireTrax. Halfway through the ride, the train threads onto Iron Horse track for an RMC launched woodie through the forest that happens to be on fire. After 15 wooden inversions (the coaster switches from Iron Horse track to wooden track after the launch, because physics or something) the train then threads back onto Intamin FireTrax track, only to head into a second launch up a 515-foot tower (with accompanying drop ride attached) that has fire effects following the train. Once it comes out of the top hat it enters a spaghetti bowl section akin to I-305...with fire. Finally, as the ride nears the end of the course, there is a huge Chinook helicopter overhead that dumps a waterfall over the track to put out the, you guessed it, Wildfire, leading into the insane finale of a good ol' Intamin AquaTrax. Also there's some more fire, just because.

Did they make that promo in MS Paint? Nah, that's the budget Franco. like when you hire Skeet Ulrich when you can't afford Johnny Depp.

^ I was unaware of the specific rules regarding what multi-million dollar amusement companies do with their money.

Two things - 1 - I'm sure Six Flags will really take your concerns over how they spend their money to heart. 2 - Cedar Fair is NOT Six Flags. They actually know how to let people enjoy themselves while Six Flags just beats you down. It's kind of like comparing Disney World with Disneyland Paris. They're similar in many ways, but EXCEEDINGLY different elsewhere.

OzIris would like a word with you. Same thing you're talking about with Banshee, but it is slow, forceless, and rough. OzIris blows.

^ Guys. Dueling coaster with mounted Nerf guns.