chadster

Yesterday I met up with Jake(Jakizle) at Six Flags over Texas to properly pay our respects to Anton by visiting his Holy Shrine, Shock Wave. For those who have never ridden one of Anton's greatest works you are missing out. Anton gave us some unexpected airtime both in the front and in the rear. He took us up and brought us down with a quickness that was neither too hard nor too soft; it was just the way we liked it. The intensity we felt was like no other as we sat and he spun. In fact there were times that he gave it to us with such intensity that he put us on the verge of a blackout. One thing that did not go unnoticed was his ability to give it to us with the same intensity and heart pounding action time after time without slowing down or taking a break. It was that that kept us screaming for more again and again before finally wearing us out. But even while we took a break and enjoyed a beverage we watched as Anton delivered enjoyment to 28 people, all at once. Shock Wave is a true design marvel and everyone is highly encouraged to visit SFOT and let Shock Wave, and Anton, give it to you just the way it was given to us, smooth yet forceful. Jake and I hope you enjoy the photos we took of Shock Wave, and while looking at the photos might not be as good for you as it was for us, you will be able to fully enjoy this great work. And there he is, all primed and ready for us. This excites us. OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG Lift hill porn! Lift motor porn! I think I just.....never mind, I was about to share too much with you people. Shock Wave was flying, just like that plane! So beautiful. No expense was spared in the equipment used to photograph this masterpiece. Incoming! Brake porn. I just about lost it marveling at the mechanical aspects of this system. Yellow train has satisfied yet another 28 people. mmmmmmmmmm Sexy station drive wheels. And the blue train arrives and shows us... ...his naughty parts. Mmm Mmm. I prefer it in the rear. More satisfied riders. Taking a look out the back door. Look Ma! No OTSR's! So how many loops does Shock Wave have? Is it one? Or two? If you said two, you are wrong. It has a horizontal loop out back How about some transfer track porn? Yes you say? OK. Look at that drive wheel being all naughty Wouldn't you just love to cuddle with it? Oh my, what do we have here? This must be where Anton get's freshened up each morning. Whew, the plane was able to fly thru Delivering action to those who want it. We take a quick break to show you this upskirt action. This pole is not small, it's average. Put your hands up in the air, ride it like you just don't care Oh. My. Gawd. This is effing amazing. Just look at that perfection. Taking a look at Anton's rear station entrance.... ...before enjoying yet another ride. Now you see it. And now you don't. Even tho it was cold outside, Anton warmed us up. Time and time again. Double pole action keeps things stiff, yet flexible. And after numerous sessions with Anton, we were worn out.... and left feeling satisfied. Only Anton can provide you with that feeling.

I see a lot of hours of meticulous work ahead of them in the painting re-creation department

I must have missed the segment in the interview where he talks about regretting not bringing in QBots.

^ Yuuuuup! I agree!

Red Ryder BB Gun Canon t3i luggage

Wow, full on Toyota seat belts on the Tower of Terrror, that's amazing! Not sure about those bath gels tho

Ok, well it looks like you guys have earned the opportunity to see a little thing I call the Jersey Shore Whore coming up the first week of 2012. Merry Christmas!

^ Yup! The train is advertised as a 'sing a long' and is actually quite fun. The narrator will sing and try to get the passengers involved. Along the way the train slows and grandpa reads to everyone about the birth of Christ which takes place on the outskirts if you will. After the reading the train steams along and takes you through the park to see a good portion of the three million Christmas lights. It takes a good bit of time (around 20-25 minutes) so the lines can get long.

Glad you guys enjoyed the visit! The icing just bumps it up a whole nother level. I suppose it's their twist on it.

Anyone up for a takeover of the Observation Tower at Knotts?

Well the season has come to an end and I would first like to personally thank everyone who has followed along as I traveled to 87 different parks this year including the awesome North East Tour this summer. It really was a great year for me personally and while it is doubtful I will hit 87 parks in 2012, I will embark on several exciting adventures both in travel and in my personal life. So with that, here we go! I made the short drive to Branson to visit a park that has some of the best food in the industry, Silver Dollar City. Featuring over 3 million lights and receiving multiple awards for their Christmas shows, this is one park worthy of a visit during an Old Time Christmas. Wildfire was only 24,000 riders away from hitting a record high of one million (Achieved this past weekend!) and I am happy to say I played a small part in reaching that with around 20 rides. The food was amazing, people are friendly, and the park is everything you expect and more from the Herschend Family. Hope you enjoy, and if you do, post a comment. If enough comments are posted(what's enough you ask, well, more than 1, lol), I might just have a special 12+ park report I will post as a huge thank you! I want my past to include some awesome bread with cinnamon! Might as well start off with some good food. Turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, and all the sides are in this tasty restaurant. $15 will get you enough to last a week! But bypassing the food for now, I have a date with a certain B&M ride, but first, lets take a look at the flume in hibernation. Personally, I'd like to see them leave the leaves in, flood the channel, and sail the logs. But something tells me maintenance would not enjoy that idea. Last year I must have gotten a few bad rides on Wildfire, this year, it was running incredibly well, almost to the point I want to add it to my top 10. Back row has nice pops of air while the front yields some nice forces. After an hour of what was essentially ERT on Wildfire, I headed to another crowd pleaser, Powder Keg. For those that live under a rock, S&S came in and revamped and old ride, added some new track, and oh yeah, air power launch system. O.M.G. ahhhhhhhhhhhhh See ya later Keg, you are truly an awesome ride. Noted. Funding must be running low for signs... TPR & Higher Learning.... DO NOT MIX! Swing batter batter batter Bin Laden puppet They also sell pottery. Not exactly sure what this is supposed to be, but it has something sprouting out. Chroniq likes turtles. So that's where I left it. How to cook green eggs and ham. So back off in their newest area we set out on our maiden voyage That takes us over to the wave swinger That drops us off here. OMG, so effing good. Time for desert!! If you know what it is, comment! What better way to work off some of that food than another ride on Wildfire I'm single, I can warm hands, I might not even charge. But now it's getting dark and those 3 million Christmas lights are coming on! whoooooosh Every building is covered in lights, and every square inch. You could decorate gifts and stuff in here, I know this because the sign said so. They also have multiple shops to buy Christmas stuff For some reason these ornaments reminded me of Wild Bill But time for a little break for more food! Om nom nom nom nom Then more desert Let's mosey down this trail and see where it takes us. From the Giant Swing, you could see lights forever, it was actually quite pretty. This would be the best picture that shows what you can see from the air. So that's where the trail led me to, well, ok, if I must. Nothing like 41 degree rides at night. The line for the train was easily 1 hour+, so this time, I skipped it. But if you have never done the train at Xmas, you should wait, it's worth it. And finally tonight I take a walk through Grandpa's Mansion, kinda hidden at the front of the park, but worth the find. so, in we go and find this strange thing, still not sure what it is. Umm. Creepy. Grandpa was hanging out. Umm. Creepy. The last room was all caddy wampus and was really cool. I lost my balance a few times, glad no one saw me fall. And that's it. I had a wonderful time as per usual at Silver Dollar City. If you live close, it's worth a visit before the end of the season! Thanks SDC! And once again, thanks to everyone for reading. Post comments if you want to see a special Encore of 12+ parks from the summer! New season starts in February!

Unfortunatley no one was ordering it at the time so I couldn't tell exactly what it looked like. For instanace, on a stick, or a biscuit with gravy in the middle of it, dipped in batter and fried. Does anyone else have any idea? I suppose I could google it...but that would be too easy. The permanent installations are only open 3 weeks per year and are owned independantly from my understanding. In 2013 they will have a summer fair with the log flume, sky ride, and ferris wheel open along with a few other rides and attractions such as the 500 foot observation tower.

^^ I agree, the new trains on their boomathing make the ride almost enjoyable. After Burn is easily my #2 Invert.

Season Finale Tomorrow Night! Join me as I visit Silver Dollar City's Old Time Christmas and help Wildfire to reach 1 million rides in a season!

Ok, the generator is full of win.

Part Dos So how about some rides. I'll start here. Ride tickets are .50 each. This required 12 tickets. And it really wasn't all that bad. Next up is this crazy thing. I ate too much fried beer! So yeah, never seen one of these before Can't have a fair these days without a flyer! Nerd Shot! And another Himalaya! I'm taking a picture of you taking a picture Best.Ride.Theme.Evar. I mean, I almost missed the giant Coke can in the middle! Time to get Zillerated! These ops didn't mind running multiple cars on track at a time. And another Himalaya style machine, but pay close attention The cars point the other way on this one! Still counts! Another permanent attraction (I think) Champion Stud. Typical Cheesy Fair Haunted House. Found and Noted this on the back side of the wheel. Finally we grab a rare and unique Arrow Flume credit. Nerd Shot. Off we go into the land of Willy Nelson! Creepy forest! NOTED! Me no dumdum, you dumdum Into the creepy forest tunnel Yikes! And up the lift for the big splash. And down the hatch! This is the shortest Arrow Flume I've been on. The creepy theme was awesome. So that's it, just a drop in the bucket of what all is at the fair. Open three full weeks in October, you should get down there, but beware, no POP ride option so it can get costly! Hope you liked, and if you did, post a comment!

After flying back from Orlando, the following weekend I headed out for the last day of Texas State Fair. I met up with my sister and hopped on the DART in Plano that took us straight to Fair Park. While I won't put you to sleep with much commentary here, I will say the following: 1. It doesn't look like a fair at all, it looks more like a permanent attraction. 2. Many unique rides not commonly found in the U.S. 3. Fair Park has tons of Art Deco, so if you are into that sort of thing, you will LOVE this place! 4. A new permanent 500 foot observation tower is coming next year. 5. In the summer of 2013 they plan to open a Summer Midway 6. Two Part Report. 'Our State Fair is a grand State Fair' You can tell you are at a fair when you have both a 'farm in a truck' and butterfly's in the same building. A permanent year round Aquarium is also on property. to enter during the fair. I also noted they are hosting a special "Sleeping with the Fishes' event. Arrive by 7pm, leave by 10am My what a big wheel you have So walking past the wheel we come across one part of the midway, so, we will start off with one of many himalaya style rides. And we take a turn and look down the gamesway And move our way over to this awesome thing. You don't see this everywhere! "I hope I don't lose my lunch" "We hope you don't either!" Now here is something that you dark ride enthusiasts will enjoy, and something you can't ride just any old time. And yes, it's permanent. Spooky two story Bill Tracy special! Winning! Om nom nom onom. This is where the "it doesn't look like a fair" comes into play. The food vendors aren't in trailers rather in separate uniform looking booths throughout the park. They even have advertising on the bottom of the Sky Ride. Creative use points. 'The eyes of Texas are upon you' #musthaveintexasorelse I know what you are thinking. B.S. But it was true, they really were 6. And no, I refused to try one. So out on another midway we show you some Art Deco buildings. The buildings on either side showcase their "Auto Show" A.K.A. car lot brought to the fair. Nothing new or earth shattering inside there. Except for this 9/11 tribute vehicle which was all airbrushed. Hmmm, wonder what's in here... More food! Deep fried biscuits and gravy. Yummmy (Ick) Deep fried Beer. Yummy.(Ick) So this building was donated by some rich people and is now a museum with an auditorium that people can rent out. And yet another building where you can get your culture on. I love the ceiling. They had some awesome murals that depicted what life was like back in the day "Come and Take It" Hey, wait justa....WTF is that over to the left?!?! They certainly do things different in Texas, that's for damn sure. Oh lord, another suggestive mural. Yay for Sandy Lake!!! That's it for Part I, Part II coming up shortly.

Outside of the 'Little Dipper' at SFGAm (which is small and has a large portion of new wood) what large 100% wooden coaster of recent has been successfully relocated? Zippin Pippin doesn't count as it was 100% new construction off the original plans. I'm talking a full on move. I've heard the one at Little Amerrika was moved but it's also somewhat of a small one. It just doesn't seem very successful to move one as all you are salvaging is the frame and mechanical/technical components. I'm sure you probably save a little money, but will it ever ride the same?

Theme parks in China are like 7-11's. They seem to be everywhere! One thing your report brings to light is how the Chinesse stay so skinny. It's has to be the doit yourself rides like the Monorail in your report! Thanks for sharing!

^^Yeah, I think you said it best when you tagged it in the 'novelty' category. I mean the place was cool and all but even the cheap trees looked in bad shape. Maybe they were just picked over but I doubt it. I found several people walking around not finding anything and then returning the saw. ^ The worst part is: miss the hole, break your cobb

^ Nope! Anyone who can fit can ride!

With only about a week left to get the kiddie credit at Yesterland Farm, (a.k.a. Canton Christmas Tree Farm) until next October, I thought now would be a good time to post a few pictures from a recent trip. Yesterland Farm is located in Canton, Texas about 90 minutes outside of Dallas and offers rides, a corn maze, corn and pumpkin launcher and, you guessed it, Christmas Trees! The farm offers you the opportunity to harvest your own tree or purchase a pre-harvested tree. In the fall the farm offers a pumpkin patch and a number of Halloween events for all. Canton is known world wide for it's Flea Markets, something I didn't know until I drove through town and was all, why do they have so many RV parks and Flea Market out buildings, well, now I know and so do you! So, here is the farm, feel free to comment! Welcome Mazes, Trees, and More. Let's go take a look around, shall we? Up front they have portable rides that I understand they rent out. Get your NASCAR on Behind the NASCAR attraction you find Christmas trees. Basically if you want to harvest your own tree they give you a saw and a cart and let you have at it. As you can tell, they have a variety of sizes. Charlie Brown approved Noted. Now, it wouldn't be fair if I showed you pictures inside the maze as that would be cheating. It has a decent layout and will burn anywhere from 10-30 minutes of your time. That's right, no mating with the sheep. Dinner. A Christmas Story Dinner. "I know you are but what am I?" If you guessed ass, you would be correct. This fine creature is also known as the TPR Mascot. I have not seen one of these in well...ever. Making my way to the back of the park we have the Old West. Fittingly they have a teepee next door. John Wayne would approve. And I approve of the quality of construction Pumpkin Chunkin. This is where I wished I was traveling with someone so that I could have them take pictures of me chunkin a pumpkin. Total win, and well worth the $ Also worth doing is the corn cobb cannon. The object is to sail your cobb thru the hole. Facilities. Behind these walls were port-a-johns. No kidding. Surgeon General's Warning. And finally the signature attraction. They should have had sleigh bells on it. I had no visible bruises so it's classified as OK. And finally, before you leave, visit Santa, get your tree flocked, and then wrap it up, or not. Your choice. But I'd suggest that you wrap your tree if you don't want to arrive home with a bare one. So yeah, there it is. Time is running out for those in the area to get the credit, so do it. Now. Quickly. Before time runs out. Why are you still reading this, go ride it. Or, post a comment. Both would be fine.

Hi, and welcome! FYI: There is a WDW non park discussion thread here with more information on the resort

No only should the best be placed at the star rides, they should also be paid more to hustle, if they don't perform, they get knocked down to kiddie train detail. One should also have to prove themselves on the lessor rides and compete for the promotion. But that's just my opinion

I would totally buy a Santa Claw app for my phone.