chadster

^ Guy, do you remember the name of the documentary or where you saw it? My interest is peaked to try and find it, I love stuff like that.

^The kids area over the years just lost it's luster, actually it never really had any, it was just there, not much for the kids. After tearing down the Orient Express and Zinger amongst other rides, they really just didn't have much to draw you to the park. I hated to see the Himalaya go, but the tradeoff in Patriot was worth the sacrifice and Prowler beats Timber Wolf like Timber Wolf beats you. It's a smaller park in the rides department with a large footprint so it needed something to keep people there which is what Cedar Fair appears to try to be doing. Holding true to form, I don't see any capital improvements in 2012 as it seems of late they only infuse major cash every other year.

I think it's easier to list the states I haven't been to: 1. North Dakota 2. South Dakota 3. Alaska 4. Hawaii 5. Utah 6. Minnesota

Just think, if you did that you'd be conditioned to be a mall Santa this Christmas! P.S. See you in KC, big boy

Nice stuff Steve. The Great White, uggg, now in my top 10 worst coasters, but the new restraints on The Nor'Easter are very welcome, it was like night and day.

Part II, includes just what in the world is up with Thunderhawk. Ah Thunderhawk, why aren't you up and running. At least you're hanging in the air and not sitting on the ground. But your wiring is still not connected. So, just what is wrong with you? Somewhere in this photo you will find the problem... So here it is. They are finally able to put humpty back together again. HUSS, being HUSS, doesn't keep parts on the shelf, so a few parts had to be custom made. Well, one thing leads to another, motors need work, HUSS issues a recall notice, and just when they got it all put back together, bam, dead batteries. And, you guessed it, Walmart doesn't stock a HUSS battery, so once again, they wait. However, all of the parts are in and humpty will fly again. Meanwhile, over at Planet Snoopy The wacky worm is still wacky. Snoopy still has cookies. The boutique is still a nice place to cool off. Snoopy is still top dog in the park. The balloons are up and running and looking good, a nice fit in this area. And the monorail thingy is up and running. Interesting factoid, this was classified as a super structure by the permitting office. Yes, I know what you are thinking, it's a kiddie ride. They do things differently in KC I suppose. Snoopy watching over the towers. Planet Snoopy really is one of the best improvements the park has made in some time. Yes, the new coasters are impressive, but as a whole, it's a tremendous overhaul and has been well received by the public. The line for Detonator was crazy! So I hit up the scambler. Not overly intense, but was ran well. So it was time for a train ride on ELI! The train ride is around 7 minutes and gives you a good tour of most of the park and allows you to see rides from a different perspective. Go Back! The one ride I haven't been on in a long time, mostly because these are typically slow loaders and draw long lines. So for those of you who have not been on PROWLER! I thought I'd take a moment and show you the first half of the ride and why it's so awesome. First, you come of the lift hill in a signature GCI twist that takes you back under the lift. shooting out from under the lift. through the trees A quick up and down to get your picture took then the speed stablizes and you make a slight turn And move side to side with your hands in the air like you just don't care. zoom past low to the ground where we you get a few more ups to get ready for... the turn around where you twist and turn all the way back to the station where your heart is pounding and your brain is telling you to run around, get back in line, and do it all again. YES!!! They are working to get Thunderhawk up and ready for inspection!!!! What the???? I guess its popular afterall, who woulda thunk it The second best restaurant in the park. What is wrong with this picture??? Ok fine, I'll just tell you so you don't have to guess...people actually WANTING to ride the boomathing! shocking. Doctors are standing by. hmmmm, I wonder why that is..... weeeeeeee Snoopy says it's dark enough for Hot Summer Lights! The tunnel of love. for those wondering, the sperm are still there. I'd be pissed too if I had something tickling my ass. It was a full moon tonight and the only place in the park I could get a moon shot and coaster shot was by the boomerang. So, here we go. So you are asking yourself, why? Well, for those that attended coaster mayhem, the park is giving away cash to the best picture taken during the event. And who couldn't use an extra hundred bucks. So yeah, that's why, hope you enjoyed the boomerang moon shots. And there you have it, good night Worlds of Fun! Thanks for another fantastic Coaster Mayhem, see you again soon!

It's the next to last weekend of daily operation for Worlds of Fun and that can only mean one thing, the 6th Annual Coaster Mayhem held on August 13th. Coaster Mayhem is a park sponsored event open to anyone with a valid coaster club membership and comes with a very reasonable season pass cost of $14 + new for this year, $2 for will call pick up. So, you are asking, what do you get for your $16? Well, you get free drinks, lunch, ERT on Patriot and PROWLER!, VIP seating for "Don't Stop Believing" and several discounts throughout the park. Also featured this year was a Worlds of Fun history exhibit and working model's of WoF's past coasters. At lunch we were treated at a peek at the concept art for this year's haunt. Worlds of Fun is promising to become the best in the chain for haunt season so Knott's, are you listening Knotts? Watch out, the midwest is gonna strike! Also, I was able to quash one rumor, WoF will not be getting a Windseeker....in 2012. Yeah, I know, I was disappointed too. What does 2013 hold? Well, that's still a secret, they have plenty of space to expand, so let's hope Cedar Fair will give them something good in 2013 This will be a two part PTR as I'm including some stuff I don't normally include along with several pictures from the "weekend only" history and coaster model exhibit. So early, so quiet, yet so inviting! So why are we here so early? Why for coaster mayhem of course! This year the park gave out free refillable bottles with free refills all day! Uh Oh, my favorite flat ride in the park is still down. Must get to the bottom of this, it's been closed since summers end last year. In to the empty park we go! The Grand Carousel still looking good. Interesting factoid, the original sign was given to the folks who are achiving historical aspects of the park at lunch. Yes, I know, the horses used to go in circles at GL, but at least the original sign is going to people who will take care of and cherrish it! First up on today's agenda, an hour of ERT on Patriot! And few showed up which meant I never got off the train. I lost count of how many rides in a row I got in after 24. Sure, it's not the most forceful of the B&M's, but it's a solid ride. And for those wanting to know, yes, it's in my top 10 for mulitple reasons. After our hour of ERT, the public swarmed the ride so I headed to Cyclone Sam's Cloud Poofer 2000, still the best trabant ever. New in the park this summer is the Chippery, basically flavored fresh chips. Not new this year, but having returned is this doggy show. Is this thing even popular? Knowing that the line for Mamba would be insance, I headed thataway before the crowds infiltrated. No trains on the transfer track means at least two trains running! Well, in fact that's all they put on the track this year. Why you ask? Well, after some sleuthing we found it was for several reasons. The first being they just didn't have enough time to refurb all three trains by summer due to the construction of Planet Snoopy, The Grand Carousel, and one other thorn in their side which I'll tell you about in a bit. The other reason being they simply didn't need three trains but for a few times last year, so they figured why bother stressing over it. So, where is the third train you ask? Well, it's safe and rehabed in storage. This way, over the off season, they only need to complete the rehab on one train giving them all year to work on the second one on track. So, there you have it. It was so hot outside, even the bees needed a drink! Prowler completing the last of its test runs. So while I waited for Prowler, I went and shot up a few things. So what do we have here? Exclusive viewing time at this weekend only exhibit. I have to admit, I have never been in the All Stars Grill which overlooks the log flume and where the exhibit was located. I must say, they have some decent food and coupled with a season pass discount, reasonably priced too. But we weren't here for the food, no, we were here for the history and coaster models. They had press releases and photographs from park construction to present day. Its Eli! Zinger track piece And Zinger track plans. And the Schussboomer which I don't remember. And I don't remember this either. I know there are some Orient Express fanatics out there, so this shoe's for you! And a wheel. And an Orient Survival Kit and anti-rollback. Timberdog My, what a big nut you have. They also had a well thought out and good looking timeline displayed. Next it was time to take a look at all of the coaster models of past WoF coasters courtesy of coastermodels.com Here's the Zinger which was on maintenace for a special order part. However, if they manually pushed the train to the top, it ran with no issues. The Orient Express was easily the most impressive of all the models and it worked flawlessly. Everything was done exacting including the interlocking loops. All of these models were recently on display at Union Station in KC. It was so popular that they have offered the creator a permanent spot. As a result, the models will be spruced up and put in a more permanent configuration. For instance, the OE was broken down into 5 pieces for transport. Big or small, they build them all. They even have the transfer tracks. The models only have one train so the transfers are for looks. It only takes about 10 seconds for the train to make its way around the OE track. And a different angle. Death machine. Hmmm, so what are these people doing? Why flooding the channel of course! Isn't it ironic that they placed the shell of EXT next to a trash can? So now it was time to hit up a few more flats and get my Bamboozle on. Dragons were just now testing. Patriot doing its thing. Intersting. You can get a Chicago Hot Dog or Texas Pretzel at a Chinese Pagoda.

Well, I'm not going to book my plane ticket just yet...

On June 29, 2011, I had the opportunity to visit the Albany Brass Ring Carousel Project in downtown Albany, Oregon. The project started in 2002 with the donation of a 1909 Dentzel mechanism by the Dentzel family and is thought to be the last ever produced. Wanting to preserve history and re-create the carousel in the way it was originally built, a team of volunteers assembled and began hand carving and painting replacement horses in 2003 from custom made drawings by volunteer artists. The carousel itself can accommodate 54 horses, however they plan on producing about 60 different animals. The extra animals will be rotated from time to time to allow for refurbishment and continued operation of the carousel. Aside from the carvers and painters, a second team of volunteers meets each Saturday to refurbish and rebuild the carousel floor and center pieces which we were told was ahead of schedule and near completion. The current plan calls for the demolition of the current building to allow for a new building to be constructed starting in 2013. Prior to that, the mechanism will be broken down and animals placed at an alternate location and assembled in the new building. The carousel, gift shop, museum, and workshop will all be housed in the new building. The project is funded 100% by donations, sponsorships, and items sold in the gift shop. Labor is all volunteer and anyone can donate their time or skills. You can learn more about the project here. Laura was hoppy to be here. Get it. Hoppy. haha Jasper was an actual animal that is to be used on the carousel. They had him set up on a mechanism to simulate riding on the carousel. Lucky for Laura, she is not an ACEr and was able to meet the posted weight limit. When you walk into the building you are basically walking in to the paint shop. Here we find a finished dragon. All of the animals here are ready to ride. You are allowed to sit on them as long as you meet the weight limit. These are some freaky looking animals. The idea is to keep them along the same line appearance and paint wise as what they might have been 110 years ago. This particular frog was awaiting a few final touches and multiple coats of poly. This side is known as the appearance side which is more detailed than the side that faces inward. Wet Paint. Noted! There is a lot of attention to detail here. Here are some of the artist renderings of the various animals. The drawings are blown up and travel with each animal throughout its process for the carver or painter to referrence. Random horse head. More random pieces in paint. Rosettes. Various pieces in various stages of paint. Here we go inside the "office" where we will find many pieces donated by the Dentzel family as part of a history museum. All of the pieces include signage telling you what it is. All classic stuff donated by the Dentzel family. All hand painted. Very cool. FYI: Not for sale. Well, some of the replica stuff is, but most of it isn't. At this point I will shut up and let you admire the beauty. Because no one likes an annoying person. Who tells you random stuff. Such as this lion is freaking heavy! So here is what the new building will look like. After passing by the set of building plans, we entered the carving room. As mentioned earlier, the drawings have been blown up and are included at each carving station. Here they are working on a fox. An overview of the carving room. The detail in the carvings is amazing. Words couldn't describe it. At this point, one of the carvers noticed our TPR shirts and took us on a personal tour of the carving area and mechanism area. Here they are working on one of the largest pieces, a stationary elephant. This hollow area is to be used for a time capsule. Many of the animals have them and are all sponsored. All of the ornaments are also sponsored. They are considering adding more to allow for additional cash flow via sponsorship. The project itself has attracted money, donations, and volunteers from all over. Finally we headed into the back room where the mechanism and floor was being rebuilt and refurbished. Bearings and whatnot have been refurbished We were told the motor was in perfect working condition. Various bearings and pieces. Here they are working on cutting, fitting, and assembling the final section of the carousel floor. Some of the floor is removed to allow for the current building's supports. These are some of the center sections. A boat maker volunteered to help make the curved sections when he heard of the project. My, what a big pole they have And various horse poles and canopy poles. All refurbished and ready to assemble. So there you have it. These guys and gals are doing a remarkable job refurbishing parts of the carousel that could be saved, and recreating other pieces such as the decroative panels and horses. If you are in the area, its worthy of a visit. Plan on spending about an hour, you'll be glad you did.

Warm Springs and Fort Apache, interesting location choice.

Son of Beast. Yeah, I know, probably not going to happen, but for some screw loose reason, I want to ride it.

Ok, so after listening to Robb on the bus yesterday about this event, I'm giving it some serious thought. Sure, it's more expensive than we are used to paying, however, when I look at what all you get as a package vs how much it would cost to buy the park admission, Coaster tour, lunch, front of line passes for haunt, haunt, and ERT, it's very reasonable. At this point, flight cost is my only issue. The cheapest flight I've found so far is $400 from Tulsa-Tampa. I've also search Tulsa-Orlando, no luck for the 13th to 17th at a cheaper rate. If there are any travel agents out there that can get a better price, let me know. Otherwise, it's my loyal Southwest and a little over time.

If this park reopens, I'll be there on opening day for a credit run as it's doubtful it will be open much past opening day. But hey, stranger things have happened, just look at Kat and Kiwi.

By far the best flat ride of Luna park was the air race. Lots of out of your seat spinning fun! The 12th Street bumper cars were also pretty amazing with the music thumping and fast cars to bump into each other with, it's for sure something that needs to be checked out by those taking a stroll in Coney Island.

Closed out last night on Superman: Ultimate Flight at SFGAdv. I LOVE the pretzel loop, so much force!

Ah yes, once again our education system fails. Why isn't it that we (schools AND parents)(also as Americans) teach our youth to be responsible, act responsible, and be dependable. Now, we have the government (albeit in this case possibly rightfully so) stepping in to pound regulations into the heads of people who should, on their own accord, follow the rules and regulations as they've been taught. I'm afraid to see the future where before someone is allowed to ride, they have to electronically sign a release. It's coming. I have no doubt.

Jake, I guess this would be why I didn't notice any topper track on Tremmors, and I agree with the folks at Coaster Alley, it was running damn fine, though I have no previous rides to compare it to.

I did something similar to this on my trip to Carowinds earlier this year on a Saturday with heavy crowds expected. I hit most of the majors leaving out Vekoma's finest flyer, the mouse, and the kiddies. I then found a nice tree across the pond from Vekoma's finest, opened a $4 bottle of Powerade and enjoyed the park for a good 45 minutes and enjoyed every minute of it. After leaving for a bit and then grabbing the other credz, towards the end of the night I did something similar. I found a bench, sat down and enjoyed the park lit up while texting someone for a good thirty minutes. Doing just that made it much more enjoyable for me, maybe I should do it more often.

Mr. Freeze melted eh? That't too bad they didn't have the A/C turned on. SFOT also seems to ignore turning on the A/C except for when the switch to full week op or it's just really really hot outside. Nonetheless, thanks for the report, glad you had fun.

14,000 page views, thanks everyone ^ Haunted Mansion was alive and well! I thought it was really really creepy, but in a good way! It was well thought out and gave an authentic haunted house feel.

^ It was in there, we just didn't mention it by name, nor did I have a picture, epic fail on my part! We loved the Sally ride, I had high score 2 out of three times!

I thought this thing died already.

Part III - Last Part of Enchanted Forest! ewwww!!! Booger!! An old lady! (no not Laura) You went in the mouth and out the backside... My, what a big .... I have Have a seat! Look! We found a ducky! Weeee, we're sliding down the shoe! Weeee again! Bumper cars, not very good ones either! Two people in this PTR rode the hopper Yay! Ice Mountain Bobsled time!! This was a good ride, cheesy, but good, I would suggest riding it! And rode it we did! 7 times in fact, breaking Laura's previous six times in a visit record! So there you have it folks, a tour of a jacked up place. But you know what, we had tons of fun. The staff were laughing at us, I assume because of us being adults in a park geared towards kids, but we didn't care! But they were friendly and rides in good working order, can't ask for much more than that! So after we left the forest, we drove next door and took a look at some remains. We went next door to Thrill-Ville, or, what was left of it. The old slides. Laura said when the park was operating they made sure that people knew they were NOT affiliated with Enchanted Forest, LMAO! Rock o Plane. The only ride left semi standing. The go cart track sat silent, the crane had taken the coaster down, and the slide was dry. Well folks, that concludes the multi-park three state, four day tour! I hope you enjoyed following along, but I bet I had way more fun experiencing it! Stay tuned, more parks, more fun, more flags coming soon!

Part II This way down Storybook Lane, and to Pedo Bear. Humpty! Lil' Miss Mary's lamb.... had something very naughty hanging down. Would you like some candy little girl? Laura likes licking a good shroom The key hole! Inside the key hole we find another...glory hole? So Laura said she had to go to the bathroom, and I was like ok, and went to find somewhere to sit down... As I was trying to find that place to sit, she called out to me to join her. I was like OK! I really thought it was an outdoor bathroom like at the lake. FAIL! It was a maze! Noted! Yes I am! Maybe this was the hill they went up They had this house where the seven drawfs slept. .... Stepping stones with the drawfs names on them... and even a stone for an ACEr Looks like a nuke went off in here. Well, that completes part II of the tour, last part coming up soon! You don't want to miss it!

On the morning of June 28th we made our way to what I would say the most screwed up park ever, Enchanted Forest. This is one of those parks that has you asking yourself, WTF were they smoking? Normally I would give a brief narrative of the park, but this time, I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. So here we are at Enchanted Forest. During the week, the park is dead. When we arrived, I really wasn't sure if they were even open! The main entrance. My mind was instantly in overload with WTF being the main thought. When we walked in we headed to the right to check out the walk thru attractions. I didn't know Michael Jackson had a place here... So we walked past the indoor water show and made our way to the gravitron. This was actually really cool! But when I turned around I was freaked out a bit by these characters. Glory hole? Hey, Pony Express, THIS is MY Teepee! This road takes you back toward the flume coaster and dark ride shooting attraction. Which btw we rode three times, I had best scroe two out of three...just sayin' Laura will neither confirm nor deny that I'm storing Big Timber. One of the many scenes that you walk by. Dr. U R Hurtin, almost as good as Dr. Drill 'em Hard. Two things stand out on the rules. 1. No High Heel Shoes, and 2. Parents, you are responsible for your children. Imagine that. After walking thru the scenes, we went to walk around Storybook Lane. Look Chris! Turtle! And with that, I conclude Part I of Enchanted Forest, more to come soon!