Sean Menefee

Add another non-stealthy photo to the pile of great Magic Mountain staff shots. The whole "I can't go anywhere without my I-Pod," thing has taken over the Mountain in a very bad way. You gotta love how the people who are running the attractions can't hear anything! I-Pod, Coke, and Jeans = Smile for the camera! Stay tuned for a full TR from my visit last week coming soon.

My friends and I really enjoyed... http://www.schnitzelbank.com/ & http://www.holidaydrivein.com/ after our Holiday World visit. The park closed early on our trip so we visited Schnitzelbank one night, and Holiday Drive-In the other. It was a very interesting change of pace, but we all had a lot of fun. You can see some photos from my midwest trip here if you're interested. http://sm2designs.com/thumbnails.php?album=25&page=15 Sean-

Great TR and you gotta love the beat down shot of Tweety you included. Good luck with your move dude, I'm sure you won't miss So-Cal all that much.

Aww, what up R-Dizz. I swear Im going to call you sometime this week. My bro was in town from Kentucky so Its been nuts around here. BTW Holiday lights this weekend dude? Kelly and I are thinking maybe Saturday night, (rain or shine damnit!) SM-

My girlfriend Kelly has been my partner in crime for the last two and half years. She wasn't into coasters at all when we first started talking and now she's traveled all around the country to visit parks with me. To top it all off she makes a mean gravy and can stock a buffet like no other. Kelly and I at Bonfante Gardens just recently. BTW You can check out the whole Bonfante update by following this link: http://www.sm2designs.com/thumbnails.php?album=29

Any good horror stories? ^

Such a plain photo until you framed it with the Mickey tile work... great shot! I really enjoy your photographs, thanks for all your trip reports as usual. Menefee-

Thank you, thank you, thank you for you post. It was needed. The only thought I have when I see a pack of glamed out, "emo" teens is this folks: 10 years from now this wave of the "emo kids" will end up looking just like these 80's rebels did. Funny how this sort of stuff keeps being recycled.

This picture would have been cooler minus the dorky CP shirt and the fact that it was taken at like 6:50 in the morning. Dude I totally pounded Chip last weekend.

I just got in on a few bottles of Sam Adam's "Brown Ale." Not anything super special but I could session this beer for sure. Pretty tasty. Sam & "The Bastard" Not worthy of "The Bastard" glass on an intensity level….but still a tasty brew.

We watched Hellavator at SFKK do the same thing this June. ^

It's been a bit since I've posted in the beer thread folks. I figured I would stop in and share some of the goodness that's in my fridge this slow Saturday night. Tough choice tonight due the "brewer choice" box of Sam Adams my girl gave me. I ended up going with Pumpkinhead Ale to start my Saturday night off on the right foot. Sam will have to wait. Sean "Gotta love frosty beverages" Menefee

I'm a fan of the Hi-Miler and it's crooked lift hill.

I keep hearing were moving close to this becoming a reality in the next few years. The park is also going to receive a TON of love, care, new paths, new branding, and paint this off-season from what I've gathered. It's going to be a bit strange calling it Discovery Kingdom but the name is really starting to grow on me, (not to mention it fits the park entertainment package better.) Glad to see you had a great visit and thanks for the update.

Thanks as always for the photos. I've never been to the Mountain during Fright Fest so this year's trip should be interesting by the looks of your update. Your photos and info is greatly appreciated. Sean-

The view from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's Giant Dipper.

Publicity for an upcoming show in L.A. I would think.

I never understood everyone's love of Stealth. Does anyone else remember the insane load and unload times and the constant break downs? Should I even get into the extremely rough ride it gave and the one train operations? To each their own but I thought Stealth was very sub par. Boom Bay is still a work in progress but I would take the water slides over that coaster any day of the week.

Kelly and I are already planning on being in Kentucky during June of next year. Now it looks like we just might have to make the drive up to Sandusky to check out their new toy. I'm a big fan of California Screamin because of the launch/first hill combination and I'm hoping Maverick's drop is somewhat similar air time wise. BTW the website for the new ride is some quality stuff. Sean “Who isn’t much of a Cedar Point fan, but really likes the look of the new ride!” Menefee

Could be a power source issue?? Did you make sure the board was compatible with the power source in your box? This is a random as hell guess but if it's not doing anything at all I would start there. Any lights, fans, beeps, etc happening on the motherboard when you attempt to boot? How old is the computer you're replacing the board in? Any of the other tech savy folks here want to weigh in?

True shame folks. It's now on the front page of Yahoo as well. BRISBANE, Australia - Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and environmentalist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray during a diving expedition. He was 44. ADVERTISEMENT Irwin was filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Queensland state when he was stung, Sydney's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site. He collapsed at Batt Reef, near Low Isle and the resort town of Port Douglas, Queensland state police said in a statement. Port Douglas is about 1,260 miles north of Brisbane, the state capital. A rescue helicopter rushed to the scene but Irwin had died, the statement said. Queensland ambulance service spokesman Bob Hamil confirmed that a diver had been killed by a stingray off Lowe Isles Reef and said cause of death appeared to be a "stingray strike to the chest." Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword "Crikey!" in his television program "Crocodile Hunter," which was first broadcast in Australia in 1992 and has aired around the world on the Discovery channel. He rode his image into a feature film, and developed the Australia Zoo as a tourist attraction. Irwin had received some negative publicity in recent years. In January 2004, he stunned onlookers at the Australia Zoo reptile park by carrying his month-old son into a crocodile pen during a wildlife show. He tucked the infant under one arm while tossing the 13-foot reptile a piece of meat with the other. Authorities declined to charge Irwin for violating safety regulations. Later that year, he was accused of getting too close to penguins, a seal and humpback whales in Antarctica while making a documentary. Irwin denied any wrongdoing, and an Australian Environment Department investigation recommended no action be taken. Irwin was also seen as a vocal critic of wildlife hunts in Australia. The federal government recently dropped plans to allow crocodile safaris for wealthy tourists in the Northern Territory following his vehement objections. Irwin told the Australian television program "A Current Affair" that "killing one of our beautiful animals in the name of trophy hunting will have a very negative impact on tourism, which scares the living daylights out of me." He is survived by his American wife Terri, from Eugene, Ore., and their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who used a photograph of his family at Australia Zoo for his official Christmas card last year, hailed Irwin for his work in promoting Australia through projects such as "G'Day LA," an Australian tourism and trade promotion week in Los Angeles in January. "The minister knew him, was fond of him and was very, very appreciative of all the work he'd done to promote Australia overseas," Downer's spokesman Tony Parkinson said. Stingrays have flat bodies and tails with serrated spines, which contain venom and can cause cuts and puncture wounds. The creatures are not aggressive and injury usually occurs when a swimmer or diver accidentally steps on one. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_on_en_tv/obit_irwin

Since this thread was short on photos I decided to kick in a few of my own from the other night. More coming soon when I finally get around to making a trip report tomorrow and update my site with a few new image galleries. Tons-o-flats, The Village People, and when food demonstrations go horribly wrong! Coming Soon! Zzzzzzzzzzzz............. Glad to see you enjoyed your visit. Sean-

Glad to see you made it back up to SCBB, (as I recall you were a local right?) Last time we went down about a month ago the place was packed beyond belief. The nice thing is the boardwalk is great place to people watch and just take in all the amazing scenery, the rides are just icing on the cake. Your kid is adorable as always, and glad to see he got to experience the little things that make SCBB so great. (was it his first trip?) Did you end up getting on many rides Crispy? Great trip report, thanks as always. Sean-

I really enjoyed my ride on Iron Wolf this past June. When you have PGA's Vortex in one of your home parks you get hip to what a bad B&M coaster can feel like. Iron Wolf didn’t fall into that category for me for some reason. Sean-

This was posted on the front page of yahoo news today: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060731/tc_nm/media_videogames_e3_dc