Skycoastin Steve

^Third in a row, don't forget Possessed!

Generic name, but awesome logo!

^The media never said anything about it being blown over. There were a couple reports that either a tornado had touched down near the park or that there was a tornado warning in Jackson. I checked all during the whole fiasco, not a single news report about any rides falling over. People are just that stupid.

Yeah, every time I rode Alien Encounter, little kids came off crying. The one time I rode Stitch, little kids came off crying.

Why the eye roll? Are you shy or something?

^Why would it? Mach Tower has already opened to the public.

^Astrosphere was awesome. You need to stick a building around your Scrambler.

Time for another update! After the incredibly long, exhausting, and at times frustrating day at SFNE, we made a nice little drive deep into New England and stopped somewhere in southern Maine. This would end up being BY FAR the most relaxing day of the trip, and I kinda wanted to spend another day there after we left. Lunch at Jimmy the Greek's was delicious (I think I had fish and chips........let me think, yep, fish and chips), and their beer selection was heavenly! I also got to sample some of the pizza that Jen couldn't finish, and that was also very tasty (not Lombardi's tasty, but good nonetheless). Palace Playland was a quaint little beach side park in Old Orchard Beach, and I honestly had expected the place to be a ghost town. However, Old Orchard Beach was actually a fairly touristy little town that reminded me a lot of some of the beach towns further south that I've been to. It was also a very warm day, and I'm sure that had a lot to do with so many people being out that day. Either way, it didn't feel overcrowded or anything, I was just surprised that people actually live in Maine. Palace Playland was pretty typical, a Galaxi and kiddie credit with some other flats, but it had some personality, as well. I enjoyed the fact that it was right on the beach, and Jen and I took a walk down to the beach and stuck our feet in the water. I was expecting freezing cold water, but once again, my ignorance showed, and the water was very comfortable, especially considering how sore our feet were from the day before! After we were done at Palace Playland and we cut in front of a parade down Main Street (we don't miss the bus for anything!), we made the short trek to Funtown Splashtown. This was yet another small New England park that was overflowing with charm and personality (and once again, a nice change of pace after SFNE). Excalibur was a fairly mediocre CCI creation, although had the ending been as good as the beginning, it would have been top 20 worthy. The front row had excellent airtime on the first few hills, and the back row was "stand up ejector air" on the first drop. Funtown also had one of the best flats I've ever been on, the indoor scrambler/acid trip light show Astrosphere. Even though the scrambler itself didn't spin that fast, it was worth it to watch the light show! We also had a CRAZY bumper cars takeover, and I may have broken a few ribs in the process. We ended the day with an epic screaming match on the pirate ship between TPR and some 12-13 year old girls who said we were on our man periods. ERT on Excalibur was actually a LOT of fun, and somehow I lasted the entire hour without needing an organ transplant. I definitely think that if/when I return to the New England area, Funtown Splashtown will be on my radar for things to do. It'll be nice to get a whole day there when I'm not half asleep! Here come the photos, the full album is on facebook here! I think literally every single trip report done on this day includes this picture. The food was good, beer was better. I found out during this trip that New England has some damn fine breweries. Time for Palace Playland! I was surprised to see that this place needed a park map, it wasn't exactly a sprawling amusement park. Pedo bear? Um.....you spelled it wrong. This was my first Galaxi credit, it wasn't horrible. Oh good, I was hoping this classic from Worlds of Fun would live on! Although they seemed to have reprofiled it and the interlocking loops were gone. Neil seemed confused about the new layout, as well. Pedo clown? Oh look, a beach! Since it was one of the 17 hot days of the year in Maine, the beach was rather crowded. There was also a pier, not to be confused with Piers. Oh look, an amusement park! Sasquatch feet. Pretty cool, we were on vacation at this beach in Maine, and there's an amusement park right there! Under the pier, not to be confused with under Piers (that's Garbels' job). This was so bad it was awesome. Panorama of the beach and the entire population of Maine. Funtown Splashtown! There sure have been a lot of S&S towers on this trip. Yesterday, it was huge. Now, it's only big. This was definitely the most well-themed S&S tower I've seen (other than the one at IOA). The dragon only has four teeth, maybe this theme would have been more appropriate at Alabama Adventure. TPR member. While we were in Maine, we experienced an eclipse. Camelot! Camelot!! CAMELOT!!! .......it's only a model. The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your king. Oh look, a White Castle! Mini burgers FTW! This was my favorite sign of the trip (except for Dr. Poon's office). "None shall pass." Since Jen had her special 200th coaster sign, and since I had no major milestones on this trip, I decided to mark the coaster that brought me halfway to the devil. LD MOU Scrambler? check. Dome? check. Darkness? check. Laser lights? check. Disco ball? check. Trippy ELO song? check. Best flat ever? check. I had never ridden one of these, it was a bit disconcerting. The seats tilted forwards and backwards and occasionally rammed into each other. Jen was terrified. On second thought, let's not go to Camelot. It is a silly place. Excalibur climbing. Why have a flag pole when you can just build an S&S tower instead? The rather difficult to photograph first drop of Excalibur. I like this picture. This bunny hill had incredible airtime followed by a back-breaking pothole. It reminded me a lot of Rampage's similar bunny hop followed by a pothole. This is just about where the ride begins to peter out. Excalibur was nestled snugly in the back corner of the park, and you can get good shots from the parking lot. Any idea what she's pointing at? I'm glad the Lady of the Lake held this aloft from the bosom of the water. Everyone seems to be having a good time. Everything looks better at sunset. Site of the epic screaming match. OM NOM NOM NOM

I do know that if the NW trip happens, and if I go on that trip, I'll be doing my own pre-trip stop in the Bay Area to get those credits. Caesar, we can have our rematch then.

^ Oh man. I was having fun with the idiots on their facebook page over that fiasco. In case you didn't hear, a massive rumor started the night of the hurricane that a tornado took out Kingda Ka and El Toro. Twitter and facebook went bananas over it, especially on SFGAd's page. Hilarity at its finest.

Really? This one wins.

While at BGW today, this woman and her daughter were walking in front of me and entered the Alpengeist queue (ya know, right under that BIG Alpengeist sign). Not three seconds after passing under the sign, the woman stops, looks at her daughter, and says, "Wait, which one is this? Is this the Griffon?"

^Yeah I was pretty upset that that's how I found out. I checked both their facebook and website before I left and neither said anything about Mach Tower not being open. Considering it would have saved me a 3-hour round trip, I probably wouldn't have gone if I knew it was closed. They had the time to print out tons of white slips of paper to tell people at the parking booths, would have been nice if they spent 10 seconds to write something on facebook.

For the record, I've been going to both parks since I was a kid, and I have NEVER seen either park as dead as they were today (not counting those early spring Sundays).

^On like Donkey Kong.

^Yeah, I didn't mention that I stopped at KD on the way home and walked on to Dominator, Volcano, FOF, 305 twice, and Grizzly (well, Grizzly is always a walk-on). Good day for crowds thanks to the hurricane.

^I think it would be just as good, if not better. There are ZERO corporate parks on that trip! **Disclaimer: Not that I didn't enjoy every day on the NE Trip (it was a blast of epic proportions), we just all know what types of parks treat their guests better, and it ain't the corporate ones.

I'm trying really hard to think of a non-Six Flags example, but I have so many swirling around in my brain that it's impossible to think of any others. Most have already been mentioned, but putting the SLC at La Ronde when they already had the Batman clone was pretty idiotic. Cedar Fair's bumbling around with Dorney the last few years qualifies, as well.

Right now I'm using my Jedi powers to make everyone want to do the NW trip. It will be awesome. That is all.

Amen. And while I don't think I can make Chicago next year, there's always hope.

Everybody ready for a Verbolten construction update? Yes? OK! Went down to the park this morning to check out a few things, and mainly to ride Mach Tower. As it turned out, Mach Tower was closed for the day, supposedly "because of the hurricane." Le Scoot was also closed because of lingering effects from the hurricane (from what I gathered, it was an issue with the water). So I just took advantage of the fact that the park was basically EMPTY and walked on to every ride! Got 7 rides on Griffon, 5 on Apollo, and 2 on Alpengeist without waiting longer than one train for any of them. I also got plenty of pictures of Verbolten construction and some of the left over hurricane damage in the park. According to one employee, the park was without power for about a day and a half, but had backup generators brought in to salvage the food that needed to stay cold. Apparently there were "tree trucks" all over the park yesterday picking up trees that had fallen over. For the most part, the park looked great despite the fact that a hurricane blew through two days ago! As you can see, they have started building molds for the footers that will hold the indoor section of the ride. Some supplies. Looks like the lower portion of the wall to the building! Rebar placements for footers that haven't gotten molds yet. Pretty massive drop off. Looks like another lower section of the building wall is going up! While I was standing there, this truck pulled up with a crane on its bed. Closer look at the footer moldings. Looks like it rained here recently or something...... Since I'm a giant, I was able to reach over the wall for this picture of the old BBW station. Hardly even looks the same. I didn't have to reach over any walls for this picture of the old BBW queue. We've already seen pictures of these teaser signs, but I figured I would include them anyway. Oh, so THAT'S what's going on. I hope the steepest drop is steeper than a 25% grade. Dangerous roads ahead. We must be in New Jersey. SWEET! Looks like we'll get wet on this ride. Beware of sideways Z's? I guess in the Black Forest, large piles of crap fall off cliffs? I'm no expert on German things, someone help me out. Save Big Bad Wolf? This was a big willow tree in the Festa Train Station. As you can see, it fell over. They had already chopped most of it up. This tree was taking a nap in the grass. Does your branch hang low? Does it lag to the floor? If no one was around to hear this tree fall down, did it make any noise? Apparently, we aren't the only ones excited to see what's going on behind the fence. Irene went as far as to knock it over so she could check it out for herself. More steel reinforcement for the footers. Pay no attention to that construction behind the fallen fence...... I bet Irene was pissed when she knocked this one over and saw that there wasn't anything important behind it. The crane is erect. Working hard, or hardly working? I do like this one. Fail Tower was failing. Not a good sign. At this point, I'm fairly certain I'll find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop before I ever ride Mach Tower.

^Thanks, Nick! And you can definitely count on me being at CW for Leviathan's opening, that's not something I'll miss. I already am making tentative plans to hit all the western NY parks and Marineland on that trip, as well. Even if TPR doesn't have an official bash that early in the year up there, we'll all have our own "unofficial" bash! Ah, wasn't too clear about that for those who weren't with us on the bus. There was a row of seats on the bus that had something like double the normal leg room, and Brian (STR8FXXXINEDGE) and John (his roommate) graciously let Jen and I sit in that row the last couple days of the trip since we're taller than normal people. They had been sitting in it for most of the trip but were nice enough to give the giants of the trip a little more comfort.

No Timberliners? Wow.......

^Thanks! There was a discussion about this ride some time ago on here, it might have even been guessed in one of the old contests in this thread. It always stuck out in my head as weird that they added a 2nd lift hill. Then I saw the ride name in the Giovanola list on RCDB and it hit me. My head hurts.

It popped in my head randomly, I don't know why that took so long. TWSS.