
Edwardo
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Where was Thunder Express at Dollywood?
Edwardo replied to bgwfreak's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Coasterdude, where did you get that Sat image? I can't seem to find any online of Dollywood. Yeah, and with that picture, there is really less room that the yellow line shows between where Mystry Mine will be and the walkways at Tenn Tornado. -
Yeah, Lou, but I wanted specifics . And Carnage, you can fly from the west coast to Japan for about $600-$800 round trip (sometimes even less). You just have to know where to look .
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If Robb and Elissa were going to do a trip to Japan in, say 2007 like they did this year to Europe, is there any possible price quote at this point so some of us that missed our Japan trip this year can start planning?
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PTR: Carowinds 4/1/06
Edwardo replied to Edwardo's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Hey, I like Hurrican AND Son of Beast, so don't give me any of that 'I can't handle my wood' crap . Seriously, though, it was running bad. -
Um, yeah, so you all know that me, and a bunch of other luxurious G.A.P. members traipsed down to the N.C./S.C. border for some spectacular coaster riding. Here is my PTR. My Actual TR should be up on my website by the end of the week, so check it out: http://www.angelfire.com/wv/TheScorpionLair/index.html Oh, and if you snapped any shots of me that show up online already or in the future, don't be suprised to see them on my site if they're good . So, Um, I was sick all week, starting on Monday. I wasn't even planning on this trip until Homey Gizzle gave me this Ginormous guilt trip about how I owe him one and how I need to go to Carowinds since he and the crew came to Dollywood and whatever. So I didn't figure he'd let me use the "I'm Sick" Excuse not to come. Yes, that clock is A.M., and thats what time I had to get up to get ready and leave. OMG! Where is all the sunlight?!? Oh, right, its before the buttcrack o'dawn here! So at 9:30 am, I had arrived and was waiting at the South Gate. Of course, no one was there, and I began to think "Maybe this really was a big April Fools Joke". Then Steve (mulchpuppy) and Karen showed up. I didn't feel so bad then, because at least if I fell for it, they did too. Eventually more people showed up, and then Tommy & James and Co. were there at 10am. I finally met Brandi and Jarsh! We all went in, and of course, everyone had to pose for a photo! So, of course, since we all had to wait on Bryan and Jeffery, we got on Top Gun as Tommy went to pick up something at the front gate. Top Gun was running well, and there wasn't a line for anything but the front. After that, we headed over for Alicia to get her Flyer on. This was my first time, and I suck. No snappage for me. Bryan and Jeffery couldn't get Habib to find the entrance to Carowinds and Tommy was getting ready to PMS. We weren't just going to stand around (Yeah, Right), so a few of us got in line for BORG. Brian made me do it. After Borg, peeps was hungry, so we went over to wings. We all split up for a while. Some of us waited while Teddy got his Vortex credit with Brian, which was when Tommy and some others went to get they season pass processed. I sat with Josh, Brandi, Alicia, Brad and Amanda, as we chatted and gossiped about everyone else there. Then we rode Goldrusher. Why? I don't know... We decided we needed some wood after our Drop Zone ride, so we went to Hurler, since the people over at Carowinds Connection said it was running well. Well, they be Liars. Here's us in line. I rode with Jarsh. Hurler was sucking, so we went over to the other wood, Thunder Road (backwards), which was Running great for it's 30th anniversary! Yeah, I know you had a bad ride, Tommy, but Jeffery and I had a great one. It was getting late and Brian and Co. had already left. But some of us wanted night rides on Top Gun and to ride Scooby's dark ride. This is what was left of the group at nite, sans Teddy, who didn't get his SP processed with everyone else. After all that, we retreated to the parking lot, said our goodbyes, and I took Jeffery to the Airport as everyone else left for Cracker Bizzle. Had a great time, and I hope to get to Spring Fling and hang with you peeples again.
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Well, if you've never been, go this year or you won't get a chance. I just hope the rides get saved. I hate that the rapids ride and haunted house likely won't, but the coasters and flats (esp. the mouse) should be picked up. I'm certainly not happy, as MB needs this far more than another shopping area. http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/business/industries/tourism/14056612.htm
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Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg Weekend December 16-18, 2005 Last year, I had the bright idea to go to Dollywood in December. Since it was open, and they run the coasters in the winter, I wanted to go try out Thunderhead. I wasn’t aware until last year just how close the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area was. And Thunderhead was screaming at me to come and ride. So I brought it up to a few people, eventually everyone else did the planning, and we went on a Saturday in December. Ten of us, and we all had lots of fun. After coming back and talking about it for some time, many more coaster geeks and such decided that they would like to come as well if we did it again. Well, this weekend, we did it again. With seven more people than last year, and only 6 repeats from last year (what’s up with that?). So, months of planning went into this weekend. Of course, I took it upon myself to plan. And one thing the group (or most of them anyways) learned was not to trust Clint with money. More importantly, I should say, don’t trust Clint with Math. Ever. Ever ever, in fact. Though next year, I think I can handle just reserving the meal. I did a good job with that. So after literally almost a year of planning, we had a group of 19 going. Then Josh (Rampage) and Brandi (his wifey) had to back out. So, we were down two people, but since they weren’t going to eat at the buffet and they didn’t have to pay to get in with their season passes, it wasn’t hard to re-plan anything. In fact, we didn’t have to at all. So the week finally came. I was driving from Southern West Virginia to Pigeon Forge by myself. I was off for the week prior to the trip, so I was able to adjust my sleeping (I’m a day sleeper) during that time. So, on Friday, December 16, I woke up early and headed south. The drive from home to the Pigeon Forge area is about 4 hours, but interstate once I reach Bluefield, Va., which is about an hour from me. Since my Xterra drinks gas like a fish drinks water, not to mention I’m in need of new tires (c’mon income tax refund), I borrowed my parent’s Honda Element for the weekend. I got my ginger pills, bufferin rip off, XM Radio, and CD case from my car and off I went. I like driving. Thank goodness for XM Radio. I arrived in Sevierville around 1pm. Beth A., who had picked up Kris Allen (Bucknut) and Danny Perkins (+Danny) were heading to Louisville to pick up Mike Case (Boblogone) and Matt Scott (Acoustic Viscosity) as their flights landed…or so she thought. Unfortunately, when Matt arrived in Cincinnati, they canceled his flight to KY, so he was on a bus that took far longer than they had anticipated. I arrived to Pigeon Forge after Tina (coasterqueenTRN) and Ed (chillforce), so I met up with Ed as Tina waited at the NASCAR Speed Park for Nicole (CoasterChickN). Half of the power was out in Pigeon Forge, and none of the traffic lights worked. The coaster at NASCAR Speed Park was closed for the weekend as well, bummer. So I met Ed at Best Western and we headed towards Gatlinburg, stopping for me to pick up some stuff on the way. We stopped to look at Hillbilly Golf, which never opened, and then we rode thru Gatlinburg, where I had never been before. Tina called, and she and Nicole decided to meet us back at the parking lot by Hillbilly Golf. Since we weren’t far away, we drove around downtown Gatlinburg a bit. While down there, I had seen a Ferris Wheel and a Yo-Yo and something else I couldn’t make out up on a hill. We drove up a road to see if we could get closer to investigate, and found a park that had to have been closed for quite some time, as everything was needing to be painted, de-rusted, and what not. It was abandoned. It only had a couple of rides in it, but it looked quaint. I couldn’t figure out how to turn around, but the gate to the park was open, and that was the only place the road let to turn around, so I turned around by the Yo-Yo and headed back down. Interesting, to say the least, never drove thru an amusement park before, and I didn’t really mean to this time. So we picked up the girls at the parking lot and headed to park in Gatlinburg. We went to the far end, paid, and left the Element in a covered car park. Then we headed out into Gatlinburg, as none of us had ever really been there. We were going to go thru the Ripley’s Haunted House, but I wasn’t paying $14 just to go thru. That was far too expensive for something I’ve done elsewhere, and while good, isn’t too impressive. So we walked more, found a candy shop where I had a wonderful green apple dipped in caramel and chocolate, and then we walked down to the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies at 4pm. Mike Bartlett (MABrider) was just arriving in the area, and was going to meet us here in a while. So we paid and went on in. Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokeys-The Aquarium was wonderful! I had been thru the Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach and loved it, so I knew I would like this one. It was very similar, but also different; though that could be more because it has been a few years since I had been thru the one at Myrtle. We wandered around looking at fish and what not until we arrived at the tunnel going under the shark and fish tanks. We all really enjoyed standing on the moving walkway as sharks, sawfish, eels, turtles and more swam around us. We liked it so much that we wanted to do it again. Then I realized something. Mike may have been trying to call…but you don’t get a signal when you’re under thousands of gallons of water on your cell. So we went to call him, but actually saw Mike standing on the balcony above us. We went up to meet him, and got a chance to do the first half of the aquarium all over again, which was fine, as we really kind of wanted to anyhow. This place really was great. We spent quite a lot of time at the aquarium, saw some feedings taking place, and petted the stingrays and lots of other stuff. Then the crew picked up a few things at the gift shop before we headed out. It was getting dark by this time. Walking down main street Gatlinburg, someone saw a shop down one of the offshoot alleyways. I mentioned how we had plenty of time, so we could go and look. We did. After coming around to the back of the shops, we walked down by the hotels and what not on the other street. Then I saw something I had read about and was interested in, Mystery Mansion. This was a haunted attraction in Gatlinburg that I’ve heard good things about, so since everyone wanted to go, we headed towards the Tiki Torches. Tina was happy about that… We arrived to the almost glowing white house to see nobody else around. The attraction was open, but it was still early, and no one was there but us. So we paid our way and headed in. This was by far one of the best haunted houses I’ve done in a while. Mystery Mansion-This was a rather large attraction. They have live actors that can not touch you, nor can you touch them. It was really well done. And it was an entire building filled up with haunted house offerings. I was spooked a couple times, after complaining to the actors that they weren’t doing their job by scaring me. They made up for it after that. One thing that was fun was standing on one of the balconies that were outside on the front of the ‘mansion’. Mike B. made the comment that it would be funny if it dropped. We laughed. A few minutes later, we were in an ancient Egyptian Tomb themed area, and I went onto another balcony. And it DID drop. It also made me scream. Good job, scared me. The actors got better. We were the only ones getting the attention, after all. Oh, and I have to say that the room with the doors was a nice touch. As well as the first room, which was very much like a generic version of the first room on Tower of Terror at Disney’s California Adventure? Well, except that you don’t get Rod Searling talking to you, and you have to find your way ‘behind the fireplace’. So we walked back to the main street and picked up my car after checking out Ober-Gatlinburg. We took the girls back to their car after checking on Mike’s, which was by the Aquarium. We were to meet the rest of our group at the Hard Rock Café at 8pm, but I wanted to get there around 7:30 to make sure they knew we had quite a few coming. I parked, the girls parked, and the five of us went on in to the Hard Rock to meet Brian Yarbororrorwgh (Homey G.), his special lady friend, Alicia, and his good friend Brad (or was it B-Rad? I can’t remember…). We all got a table and waited. Beth and company were supposed to be there soon. So we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Beth and Co. were not having a good trip. They did finally arrive at the hard rock around 9:20. We had eaten by that point and had a very nice time getting to know one another in person. Hard Rock was standard, but there were far more Mohawks, kilts, and pre-op transsexuals working there than at other Hard Rock Cafés I’ve been to. Don’t ask, just trust me. When the BethBus did arrive, we walked down to Wendy’s for them to eat as Hard Rock was getting crowded. We all sat there for quite a while, and eventually went our separate ways. Beth had rented a cabin, so Matt, Danny, and I rode in my ride for the weekend up to the cabin. We got turned around a couple times, but found it. It was really quaint, even without the Foosball table and the fact that their hot tub didn’t work that nite. Oh well. Sleep came fast for me when I eventually made it to my bed. Would tomorrow cooperate?
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Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg Weekend December 16-18, 2005 I slept okay, but not very long. I was actually awoken by the morning sun around 6am, but lay in bed until about 8. I showered and got read, as did everyone at Beth’s Cabin, and eventually everyone made it into the Element. The park didn’t open until 11, according to the website, but I had Ed’s backpack in my car, so we went back to Best Western to drop that off so that Ed could pick up Mike B. Since we had a lot of time to kill, we decided on breakfast at a sit down restaurant on the Pigeon Forge strip. I don’t remember the name of the place, but it wasn’t as crowded as it looked outside. We all sat down and ordered. I was in the middle of a conversation when I look around to see the waitress with our food. It wasn’t any longer than about 2 minutes. That was by far the quickest service I had ever gotten at a sit down restaurant, and the food was good. I ordered the big breakfast thing, which had 3 ginormous pieces of country ham (yum), three eggs over easy, plus biscuits and gravy. All was good, but even I couldn’t finish my food, nor did anyone else at the table. Ed called to say that they opened the park up and that they were waiting for us, so we paid, went around to the back of Dollywood, parked, and made our way on the tram to the park gates. We saw Ed, Tina, Mike B., and Nicole standing around waiting. Everyone with me except Danny had sent a check for pre-paid admission and food, so I was responsible for paying admission. This was the first lesson we learned on the trip, don’t trust me to know what I’m doing. It is actually cheaper for a Season Pass holder to buy tickets, so Nicole got a refund for me to put towards her Season Pass, since she wants to come back next year a couple times. This didn’t take too long, and she paid as I went to pick up the meal tickets for the group. After all of that, we were trying to figure out how much money I owed everyone, and I couldn’t seem to equate that correctly. Then Nicole realized why. With her Season Pass price, she basically got us all in to the park without paying taxes, which there are a lot of for amusements in TN. Well, I forgot to charge for taxes in the first place, so no one was really getting any cash back. It took a few minutes standing on the inside of the gate to figure that out. I went to the ATM to get the rest of the admission money for Nicole as well. Brian and his group hadn’t arrived yet, nor had Dawn (dawnmarie) and her boyfriend, whom we hadn’t met yet. So we walked up towards Thunderhead, but it was not yet opened, though they were expecting to open within the next half hour. So we headed down, around, and up towards the other major coaster, Tennessee Tornado. Ed and Mike B. commented on how it was weird that on the long walk up the hill towards Tornado and Blazing Fury that there were no rides, only shops. I explained to Ed that in the summer time there were offshoots of the walkway that went to the water rides such as Daredevil Falls and Mountain Slidewinder. Upon making it to Blazing Fury, which didn’t have a wait, we hopped in and I rode with Ed towards the back, with Mike B. in the back. Blazing Fury-Always fun. This isn’t the bestest coaster evar, but it is interesting. They were running at least 2 trains by this point. The ride does take a while to go thru, so you do get your waits worth in ride. The splashdown at the end is always not as wet in the winter as is in the summer, but you do get a sprinkling. If you’ve never ridden, you have to ride at least once. It is kind of rough in spots, but it is an odd ride, worth riding. After Blazing Fury we headed towards Tornado, but Brian called and reminded me I needed to pay Brad’s way in, so while the rest of the current group headed to Tornado, I went to the front of the park. I could see them standing on the other side of the turnstiles, but I had to get the cash out of the ATM for Brad’s admission. Once I was out, I met Tommy & James (oh my…) and told Brian that he needed to pay for Brad’s ticket since he had a season pass. We made it in, and the group was hungry. Okay, so James was hungry. But, then, James was always hungry. So we walked around, took a few pictures of people, places, and things. Then they decided to eat at the Backstage Restaurant. Beth was on the phone with Kris while I was heading up to ride Tornado with them, but she said to stay there and they would meet up with us. So we went in and were seated. I only got water as I had just had breakfast. James showed me pictures of their Chihuahuas and I told them about our new Chihuahua puppy. I was downing my water as the rest of the group came. Beth, Mike C., Matt, Danny and I decided we would go on over to Thunderhead, so we told them to meet us there as we headed out. On the way at some point, Danny talked to Dawn, who was in line for Thunderhead with her boyfriend. We made the arduous trek up the hill to Thunderhead, much of which is under construction for next years new attractions. We arrived in the Thunderhead station, which was running the normal one train during the winter season, saw Dawn and her man, and rode in the front half. I rode by myself as Danny and Matt rode in front of me, with Mike C. and Beth behind me. Thunderhead-This is always the highlight of Dollywood. I love Tornado, but it really is all about Thunderhead. It was running a bit faster than it was at the same time last year. I could honestly stay at this coaster all day and not get off, it really is good. After we got off, we all got back on. We made a quick introduction to Dawn’s boyfriend, Russ, who was also very nice, and a new coaster enthusiast in training. The second ride was just as good, as I rode with Beth. That coaster just keeps getting better. As we ascended the lift hill, over towards the right you could see the base for the new topple tower being installed next year, as well as all of the other areas being cleared out for attractions. Thankfully, Thunderhead Gap gets more for next year, as it needs it. Matt and I, and I believe Dawn figured out why they say that Thunderhead has ‘Double G Forces’, instead of saying it pulls 2 Gs: We’re at Dollywood, of course it has ‘Double Gs’. Okay, I know, that was corny. After the two rides we waited for the rest of the group to come meet us. It was warmer than it was the past year, but still very cool outside. Eventually, the rest of the group made their way up to us and we got in line. I rode this time with Tommy, then again with Matt. Thunderhead is a gem in the wooden coaster world. There is a reason it lands in the top 1 or 2 spot in the polls. It is a truly out of control experience. After our couple more rides, we were going to head to Tornado again. Ed and Mike B. were going to wait for Dawn, Russ, Beth, Mike C., Nicole, and Tina as I called to let them know. Danny, Me, Brian, Alicia, Tommy, James, Kris and Brad all went off on our merry way, with them doing the usual making fun of everyone. As we made it down from Thunderhead, I saw a woman who worked at the park with Taco Bell. Kris asked what she had, and apparently, she had a banana in that bag. I didn’t know you got bananas at Taco Bell… We also stopped by for a quick picture of us at the Thunderhead sign. Good times. So James was hungry again as we tried to head to Tornado. Thankfully I’ve been to Dollywood enough so that I don’t have to want to do everything in a short amount of time. I know what they have to offer. Add to the fact that they have tons of good food (hey, it is Dollyfood after all), so we stopped to get some sweet stuff at one of the many food places. It was warm in there, and I ordered a piece of chocolate pound cake. It was a chocolate monstrosity, with very good home made whipped cream. We had planned to go to Tornado, but we ended up going towards Country Fair instead as the normal Tommy & James, Kris, and Homey G madness ensued. I tried my best to give them a chance to get rid of me, but apparently they didn’t mind having me around, since Brian wanted to know why I wanted to leave the ‘cool gang’. So we walked over towards the flat ride County Fair section and looked around. Brian, Brad, Danny, and I all had to take a spin on the Veggie Tales Coaster to get our credits. Veggie Tales Sideshow Coaster-All left turns. The coaster wasn’t bad, if the trains were a bit uncomfortable to taller people, but you get two turns. It was interesting and worth it for one ride, but I doubt I’ll ride it again next visit. Hey, we got the credit. Next we made our way over to the Dizzy Disk. I rode in the summer and liked it. Brian almost backed out, but ended up riding. This apparently pushes his nausea threshold. Dizzy Disk-The wait was kind of long, but we had fun making fun of the people on the ride. Especially the little boy that looked very unhappy. I think that tenth cheeseburger did him in. Although we found out during their ride that his friend really had to use the bathroom, since he made it known to everyone. Kids are so vocal. The lone ride op was not having a good day it seemed. We all got on and I immediately got jumped because my feet weren’t flat on the ground. Then I got yelled at because I wasn’t holding on to the lap bars. I sat in the middle of Danny and Tommy. The ride op had a thick accent that sounded German. I kept referencing the Family Guy episode with Stewie and Brian in Germany. “Ve Ver On VACATION!” She liked to yell at us; thusly I dubbed her the Dizzy Nazi after the Family Guy reference was well enough established. Then we saw a haircut that was absolutely hideous. There should be laws… Next we made it to the Aviator, though I don’t know the name of the one at Dollywood. I had never been on one, and rode with Kris. Aviator Thingy-Boring. Although it was funny hearing James scream ‘Brian!’ with Tommy screaming out my name (or something close to my name…). Kris and I get off the ride and he goes in to ‘mentally challenged mode’, with me following suite. I think the woman getting off the ride in front of us thought it wasn’t an act, as she just smiled because we seemed to be having fun, even though we were ‘challenged’. “Hi!” This time, we were actually trying to make it to Tornado. It took a long enough time, but we did try. I can’t count the amount of times that we stopped for a potty break, or that James stopped for food. Sorry bout throwing those other potatoes away, btw (hehehe). We did finally manage to get to Tornado, though. Alicia didn’t want to ride as she was cold. In fact, we spent some time in a store by the Fair section so she could warm up. Kris and I were having fun with these little wooden guns that make a loud popping noise. I don’t think that the people working in there liked us very much… We had run into Dawn and Russ and Matt, who ended up not with us, and taking Danny along with them, it was just the 6 of us at this point. We stopped by the Eagle Sanctuary for more pictures and what not before heading up the rest of the way to the coaster. At Tornado, Alicia got in line with Brian and I, who were in line for the front seat, but she didn’t ride so I asked her to hold my water. I rode in the front with Brian. Tennessee Tornado-This is still the best Arrow out there. On the first drop into the loopscrew, Brian’s hat came off of his head, but the hood on his sweatshirt was holding it. Brian was pressing his head back against it so as not to loose his precious Gamecocks had, and the next thing I knew he’s going “Dude, grab my had!”. This made a less than fun ride, as he’s got his head pressed back and my left arm is holding onto his hat (I couldn’t get it from his head, but I didn’t want to lose it), so we both came off with cramps. Still fun, though. After that ride, we went again at least once more. Kris ended up with some 13 year old girl. That was fun, especially Brian and Brad hollering ‘Get the Digits’ and Brian’s…suggestive…hand movements. What was that text message you got from her again, Kris? As we went down the hill, we decided on another go at Blazing Fury, their first of the day, my 2nd. The line was longer, but still not bad. I ended up getting in line in front of Brian and Alicia so that Brian could point out the guy under the tracks in the station. I had never seen that before. Weird. Kinda creepy for sure. I got on with Brad and Kris a couple rows back. Another fun time, but I got a little wetter than before. One thing I had forgotten from the summer that Brian pointed out for sure after they got off was that you do get at least one or 2 points of major ejector air in seat 1-3 on this. Wow, a Magnum seat on Blazing fury. Too bad I had to pee when I got sent into the lap bars… As we came out, it was dark and the lights were on. It was almost time for dinner, but we had to stop for another bathroom break and a picture Brady Bunch style on some random steps. Tommy even does his ‘cheese face’ when he’s not in the picture. Classic. So we peed (poor Kris, weren’t those bathrooms disgusting?) and headed down the hill to Aunt Granny’s. If that isn’t the most incestuous name ever for a restaurant, I don’t know what is. We got to Aunt Granny’s and were greeted by everyone else, sans Dawn and Russ since they weren’t going to do the buffet. The line to get in was major long. I had gotten a call from Dollywood a week prior moving the location of our meal to Aunt Granny’s. I was hoping we wouldn’t have to wait since they knew we were coming, so I went in the exit and talked to the (slightly unfriendly) manager, who directed me to another server, who then told me to have everyone in the group line up at the emergency exit with our meal tickets handy. I went out that door and yelled for “All of my people to come here”, as the people in the back of the line looked at me, not looking happy. When we all lined up at the door, some kid in line asked his mom who these people were, and the mother said “They don’t know what they’re doing or where they’re going apparently”. As the server came and took our tickets, letting us in, the entire back of the line gave us dirty looks and what not. Hey, you pre-pay and you skip the lines next time too… We had a room pretty much to ourselves. There were 15 of us to eat, and we had a very fun dinner. After getting our drink orders, we were let lose, as I instructed everyone to the ‘ACE Line’. If you don’t get it, never mind. So we ate, chatted, and had a very nice dinner. The food was actually pretty decent. They kept the buffet stocked with turkey, fried chicken, and ham, pulled pork, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, breads, desserts, and much more. Our server was really great as well. Eventually Dinner was over and we headed to Thunderhead for some nite rides. Last year, they didn’t close Thunderhead down until 8:30ish. This year it was closed after dinner, though it wasn’t that cold out. We were surprised at this, and next year I’ll be sure to schedule dinner closer to 8pm. Since the outside coasters were closed, we headed down towards the gate to take a group picture. Brian wanted to look at the picture they had taken when they entered the park as well. This was fun standing around, but I ended up getting a little too close to Danny (what was that all about again?), making Ed laugh, as well as laughing at James’ constant yelling of ‘Brian!’ Eventually Dawn and her Man showed up while she was talking to Matthew (MaMoosh) on the phone. She got off and we found a very nice gentleman to take a picture of us at the front of the park. Immediately following the picture, the Homey gang was leaving. Alicia was cold and the coasters were cold. So we all hugged and said our goodbyes to the leaving group. Then we headed towards the Train for a night ride thru the Smokey Mountains. I didn’t get to do it last year and we just made it this year. In fact, due to them taking a bathroom break after I did, Nicole and Mike C. almost didn’t make it. We were finally on the train, something everyone was looking forward to. The ride is about 20 minutes, mostly in the dark. The conductor on the back of the train was a lot of fun and played along with us well. I love riding on a train. It just seems so relaxing. I just wish the trains at Dollywood had wider seats, my behind isn’t that small. After riding the train, Dawn and Russ were planning on leaving, so Danny walked towards the front of the park with them as we headed to Blazing Fury. We all hugged and said our goodbyes to Dawn and Russ, then headed for one last ride. The final Blazing Fury ride was fun as I had Ed sit in the ejector seat with me. I also showed them the guy under the tracks. As we came out of Blazing Fury, the park was empty up our way. We made it down towards the front gate, which was crowded because of the Carol of the Trees show Dollywood puts on. We ran back into Danny, who was still with Dawn and Russ. They left as we went to the Emporium. Some wanted to shop, but that place was far too packed for me. Matt, Mike C., and myself all waited around for everyone to purchase stuff as Nicole and Tina waited outside. Once we were all finished, we went out the turnstiles beside the Emporium so as not to wait. They only let you go out after the park is closing. We said our final goodbyes to Mike B., Ed, Tina, and Nicole as we got in line for the tram. They weren’t parked far from the front, so they didn’t need a tram. We decided we didn’t want to wait either as the line was very long, so instead we walked to the Element, which ended up not being far either. Before I drove the group back to the cabin we stopped at a gas station. I tried to hide from Danny and Matt, but that wasn’t so successful. We also stopped to see how much a ride on the Screaming Swing down the street was, but decided against riding. Once arriving back at the Cabin, Matt, Beth, Mike, and I got in the Hot Tub, which had since been fixed. Beth and I sipped on Coconut Rum mixed with Milk and Banana Schnapps. Mike sat out for a while but eventually went back in. I sat out with Beth and Mike till 3am. It didn’t seem that long. Eventually everyone went their way to sleep. Sunday was a hectic morning getting ready and what not. Beth and Co. left before I did and apparently backed over an embankment. I was going to hang around the area, but decided that since I don’t get many Sunday nights off that I would go ahead home and enjoy the nite off. The perfect end to another fun coaster riding weekend. Thanks to everyone for coming, next year the rest of everyone who was invited but didn’t come should at least think about it. You don’t know what you are missing with this. Next year, also, I promise not to organize anything but the dinner. Hey, I did good on that one!
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People often think that travel is far too expensive. Not if you budget and esp. if you are willing to make some concessions. We traveled a lot as a kid, to conventions, to visit family, on vacation, and more. But there were other things that my parents would not do because they were under the impression that it was too expensive. With the internet and what not, there is no way that someone can't find an affordable trip to anywhere they want to go. Clint, going to Japan in September for Tower of Terror, B.
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Balder, Thunderhead 1-2 in Mitch's Poll
Edwardo replied to cgodsey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Aside from ranking Swamp Fox #1 in my vote, I have to say that I agree with the placement of the coasters I've ridden for the most part. Thunderhead #2? Why, I think they copied that off of my ballot . -
Steel Dragon 2000 could be scrapped!!!
Edwardo replied to viking86's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Coasterzak, I've heard pretty much the same thing. Here is what I posted on RRC: >From what I've gathered, and granted, my 'sources' aren't that good... The Japanese Govt. will not let Morgan fix the trains. Knowing a bit about culture and what not, the Japanese culture is very supersticious (SP?). When Steel Dragon had the problem, the Government wouldn't approve Morgan fixing it, since they were the ones that built it and it was apparently a fabrication/construction of the rolling stock problem that caused the issue in the first place. There is some contract in place that runs out at the end of 2005. When that apparent contract runs out, someone else can be commissioned to build/fix the rolling stock. I don't know if the contract is between Morgan and the Park, Morgan and the supposed 'owner' of the coaster (have to say, I hadn't heard that before, though I'm not going to dispute what I don't know about), or whom, but I would venture a guess that it was some type of warranty contract or some such, but again, I have no clue. I had heard that Next year (or 2007) would be the year that the coaster could re-open, and when I mentioned that *elsewheres*, a couple people that either went to Japan on their own or went on the ACE/ECC trip semi-confirmed what I had heard (and I hadn't mentioned what I had been told in the first place). So who knows. Perhaps what I've been told is true, perhaps it isn't. There were rumblings before that it would be scrapped, but I wonder if this is a case of 'too expensive' to tear down. It has sat there for a couple years, and they've obviously not went about preparing to tear it down up to this point, which leads me to believe that what I've been told could be true. Either way, if it opens, I'm hoping sooner rather than 2007. Otherwise, I won't get my credit in September. -
I talk to Brian too much. The other day I said 'That is the lick' in a sentance and one of my best friends was like "huh?" It beats saying 'Crunk' all the time .
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Photo TR: Robb's Trip Around The World!
Edwardo replied to robbalvey's topic in Photo Trip Report Archive
So Robb, I have a question: Since Hong Kong was all English Colony and such, is there a lot of english language there? Could someone with no knowledge get by in Hong Kong? -
Photo TR: Robb's Trip Around The World!
Edwardo replied to robbalvey's topic in Photo Trip Report Archive
Yay Hong Kong! -
Photo TR: Robb's Trip Around The World!
Edwardo replied to robbalvey's topic in Photo Trip Report Archive
Actually, I have gotten some of them, but unfortunately, I work Sunday Nites at a hospital, and I go to work at around 8:30, so no new Family Guy for me. I was happy when I found out Cartoon Network would be playing the new ones, but they play them on Thursday and weekend nites, WHEN I'M AT WORK! Oh well, I'll get them eventually. -
Wow, great pix, great TR. Doesn't even matter that some were blurry, IMO. I have got to go to Europe during fair season. I love fairs, and the ones in Europe look so much more fun than american ones. Why do other countries get all the cool stuff, like fairs, trains, mag-lev, sushi, etc?
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Photo TR: Robb's Trip Around The World!
Edwardo replied to robbalvey's topic in Photo Trip Report Archive
Even though you're having a boring time, Robb, I enjoy the pictures. I'd love to go on a business trip and just hang out in Portugal. I'd be happy even with out coasters. Oh, and no more 'Alvey's having sex' talk. Thats like thinking about my parents, guys! -
Yeah, Homely, but South Carolina Sux. Who would ever want to live there?
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Wow. Yeah, DCA sure sux. Which is Why I wish I woulda did two days at Disney when I was out there for solace. Didn't have time to do much in DL because I spent the day at DCA. Sure, Screamin' wasn't what I thought it was gonna be, it was still good. And soarin' was something I'd only do at each park probably once, but DCA was a whole new park added to Disneyland RESORT. And Tower doesn't suck. Try living in Southern West Virginia, when the closest coasters (and only 2 in the state) are 3 hours away, and to get to the nearest theme park, you have to drive at least 4 hours or more. Freakin' Whiner.
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Homey G's Big A$$ Kennywood Video!
Edwardo replied to Homey G.'s topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Then I'm calling back and telling them that I feel even more unsaferer. Video Cameras at parks MUST be stopped!