chadster

I took Ghostrider in the rear on both trains this morning before the rains came, neither ride made me cringe, and actually it wasn't bad. After the rains, I took it in the front, somewhat smoother up front, but nothing drastic. I think I have to agree with the presentation yesterday, their testing indicated the ride was running smoother than in years past. I had already thought that before the presentation compared to October of last year. Sure, it's a little rough, but it's not Mean Streak rough or Texas Giant rough in it's later years. Call me crazy, but I enjoyed my rides on it the last few days The only exception being a middle car ride that I was bouncing around on, but that was mostly my own fault

So now we've come to the afternoon/evening portion of WCB 2011 at SFMM. I spent most of the time riding, as such, I didn't spend time taking pics. The presentation was comical and the guys tried hard to answer each and every question. Nighttime ERT was a blast in the rain on X2 and Superman (WHAT?!?!?!, yes Superman was OPEN in the the rain!). Batman was hauling some serious A$$ on this night, with fog machines and an awesome lighting package, something they said they haven't done since 1999, hmmmm could they be doing a trial for Haunt, no one really knows. Apocinator was running wicked with it's single Smurf train. these two joksters were trying to convince everyone that soft restraints would be installed on Revolution. Since it had already been sprinkling, why not grab some ERT on jet stream there were at least some people riding, but very very few so yeah, I rode it, twice. Never having rode it before, this thing hauls tail in the second half, a pleasant surprise. What's that you asked, why no waterfall shot? Well, since you asked, here it is. And since I know everyone likes water, here's another and another with Superman running, ok, enough of the water you say? fine. be that way. first you want to see water then you don't....make up your mind! This is a scarey bunch of people, oh wait, I'm in that picture. Taking on Ninja. PAL said taking Ninja in the rear was the best, so we let him. And since PAL said Ninja was so good from the rear, I thought, why not take Gold Rusher in the rear. The new sign looks great at night!! That's all the pics, spent the last 45 minutes on X2 with an exclusive soundtrack, had a great time. Now it was off to the hotel for 4 hours of sleep before the drive to Knotts!! Almost forgot, here's a pic of on going track work.

We ended up getting ERT on the log ride, Scream, and Siera Sidewinder, in the rain, how awesome was that!! Thanks Robb, and thanks for the poncho's!!

the moose out front said the park was now closed

The backstage tours were crazy awesome today, getting to walk the flume is something I won't forget anytime soon. The rain is coming and going, right now it is coming. I see a break in the rain so hopefully ERT will happen. At the moment, the flats are up and ghostrider was sending a few trains. Keeping my fingers crossed!! The Q&A told of a new Haunt coming out, club blood I believe is history, Doll Factory WILL be returning. Other than that, don't look for a Rocky Mountain treatment anytime soon, if at all. The park says they conduct accelerometer testing three times per year and this year has tested smoother than in years past. I can say there is a difference between October 2010 and today, slight difference. The park maintains it's wood and they want it to have that wood feel. Oh and the almost complete stop on the MCBR, it's not going away, no reason given as to why it's really there. So yeah, there you have it. I just checked into the Knott's hotel, not a bad room for 69.99 pass holder price, the free interwebs is 384k, 2.99 for 1mb interwebs... so there you have it as of now... edit: oh, and I won a wheel off of Sierra Sidewinder during TPR Quest, awesome game indeed. Have lots of photos of Quest including girls taking off something.....

So I can't sleep, so might as well upload some pictures from West Coast Bash @ SFMM - Morning. I didn't do the service road tour as I skipped out for a few hours (more on that another time) but did attend the Q&A. If you were following the TPR page you probably already learned a few things. Road Runner is still dirt, but might start going upwards in about 10 days, Green Lantern might be open around Memorial Day and will start vertical construction in about 10 days, the locker policy will be revised. Someone who shall be nameless (me) asked about getting drink holders in the ride station, and that question was answered with a more or less stay tuned So if that occurs, that will be a nice change. And the joke of the day with the Q&A was budget and spending wisely. They explained how they've gone in the hole the past few years on WCB and had to do something to make it profitable and adding others was a way to try and do that as they weren't allowed to run an event in the hole as they done in the past. A very reasonable and understandable explanation. So, no more ranting, on with pics. Some with captions, some you can make up your own if you want to. Welcome to WCB, or Physics Day, which ever you prefer. Robb managing the check in area, or maybe playing a game SCREAM!!!! Goliath took a break during ERT, wasn't used to be up so early. How about some Tatsu. Single train op as two trains were in mandatory rehab per B&M procedures. they were passing out ride vouchers to return at a certain time for Tatsu, so that was cool for the GP They opened superman a little early for everyone it soon got crowded when the park opened. The ride broke down for a few minutes, but they quickly got it back up. Each row must consist of 3 males and 1 female. weeeeeeeee Tour or the haunted house Bite II with the lights on. Not going to comment much, you can make up your own storyline. safety first sound room there's a giant fan behind curtain #1 what attraction used to be here? people bungee jump off this thing names of people who work(ed) on the maze same chicken exit and finally After the maze it was time for a BBQ lunch, at that point I left for a bit and returned for Q&A and dinner at Mooseburger Lodge, not bad. Next time, I will bring you night time stuff, and maybe pictures of people who like it in the rear.

^That's two of them! ^^The other two were Top of the World by Van Halen and Dancing Crazy by Miranda Cosgrove

^^ I knew that would come back to haunt me ^ well it wasn't THAT great, average at best.

Today (3.18.11) I went to Belmont Park to ride the Giant Dipper. Fellow coaster nerd PAL and I had been planning this venture since the dates for WCB were announced several months ago, and I can say the Dipper did not disappoint. I loved the banked turns, the few small pops of air, with a nice layout for a coaster of it's time. This is a coaster I could see GCI getting some of their inspiration from. Solid ride indeed. Their new ropes course was up and running, and I have to say, that Chance Uni-Coaster was an absolute blast. Many thanks go out to PAL for his hospitality at both Belmont and Sea World(more on that park later). Now, on with the pics! Welcome to Belmont Park. This place has all of the makings of a kick a$$ place, it just didn't seem to have hit it's stride. I love these things, nice ride program. Compared to others, this one ranks high as it actually stops spinning on queue. Others I've been on rely on the ride op to help stop it. Here's the new ropes course. Here's more of the ropes course. And this is how much it will set you back. This thing was awesome. Having the ability to control your spinning was insane. Multiple rides for sure, I put it face down for one ride cycle making it easier for those who don't like me to kiss my a$$ I love looking at the odd ball stuff on carousels. New school tilt-a-whirl, I prefer the ones with the large cage backs. And now for the Giant Dipper, an @CE Landmark no less. weeeeeeee This reminds me of the entrance to Bell's; only substitute Zingo for the Dipper From the non-beach side. weeeeee Really enjoyed this turn here we go again. OMFG The kids in the back rode there for at least a dozen times, myself, I took 8 laps. up up... and... AWAY!!!! Had a great time @ Belmont, small, yet just enough. Combined with the beach, I'm in love. And the C-TPR discount didn't hurt either. Funny story on that, as I was getting my wristband, the first cashier looked a little dumbfounded, who showed my membership card to another, who showed it another who was like, oh yeah! I read about this club this morning, just ring it up like ACE!! LOL. Thanks Belmont!

^ keeping your attention is hard to do, so it must be good!!!

First on my 2011 theme park journey was a trip to Six Flags over Texas on 3.13.11. This also marks my first Video TR, so be kind, this video may not live up to the "Alvey Quality" standards that we all love. Enjoy!

Welcome to my Vacation Adventures thread. Below you will find my past adventures as well as future travels. If you see I will be in your neigborhood, hit me up, we'll grab a few rides! So pull up a chair, a beer(or root beer), some nuts, and enjoy! For 2012 Adventures Click Here! 2011 Adventures: 3/16/11 - Six Flags over Texas visited (Video TR) on Page 1 3/18/11 - Belmont Park on Page 1 3/20/11 - Six Flags Magic Mountain (West Coast Bash!) - Part I on Page 2; Part II on Page 2 3/21/11 - Knotts Berry Farm (West Coast Bash!) - Part I on Page 2; Part II on Page 3; Part III on Page 3 3/25/11 - Sea World San Diego visited on Page 3 3/28/11 - Pacific Park on Page 4 4/01/11 - Universal Studios Hollywood on Page 4 4/10/11 - Joyland (seperate thread) 4/13/11 - Wonderland on Page 5 4/19/11 - Zonkers (Credit Whoring) on Page 6 4/19/11 - Rte 66 Carousel Park on Page 6 4/21/11 - Worlds of Fun on Page 7 4/26/11 - Sandy Lake on Page 7 5/09/11 - Six Flags over Texas on Page 8 Bull Run Video 5/11/11 - Dollywood on Page 9 5/18/11 - Carowinds on Page 9 5/21/11 - Six Flags over Georgia on Page 10 5/22/11 - New Texas Giant Bash on Page 10 5/24/11 - Kiddie Park on Page 11 5/29/11 - Italian Festival, McAlester, Ok on Page 11 6/04/11 - Worlds of Fun on Page 11 6/17/11 - Black Gold Days Carnevil on Page 12 6/24/11 - Circus Circus Adventuredome on Page 12 7/07/11 - Oaks Amusement Park on Page 14 7/08/11 - Tigard Balloon Festival on Page 14 7/10/11 - Riverfront Park on Page 14 7/11/11 - Silverwood on Page 15 7/17/11 - Wild Waves on Page 16 7/18/11 - Enchanted Forest on Page 16 8/16/11 - Worlds of Fun - Coaster Mayhem on Page 17 8/23/11 - Coors Brewery on Page 18 8/29/11 - Lakeside Amusement Park on Page 20 9/05/11 - Kiddieland - Pittsburgh, Kansas, on Page 21 9/18/11 - Deep South Bash - Six Flags over Georgia, Part I Part II Part III 10/02/11 - Northeast Trip on Page 23 10/11/11 - Sanata's Workshop - Cascade, Colorado, on Page 24 10/17/11 - Elitch Gardens on Page 24 10/20/11 - DENVER! 3 Adventures, 1 Day, 1 Sad and Pathetic Person! on Page 25 10/23/11 - Packer Tour - Green Bay, WI, on Page 26 10/24/11 - Bay Beach Amusement Park - Green Bay, WI, on Page 27 10/31/11 - Little Amerricka - Marshal, WI, on Page 29 11/14/11 - The Dells! Mt. Olympus, Timber Falls, Knuckleheads - Wisconsin Dells, WI, on Page 30 11/17/11 - Six Flags Great America - Gurnee, IL, on Page 32 11/21/11 - MillerCoors - Milwaukee, WI, on Page 33 11/28/11 - Lake Winnie - Rossville, GA, on Page 34 12/04/11 - Old Town/Fun Spot - Kissimmee, Fl, on Page 35 12/10/11 - 4 Disney Parks, 1 Disney Day - Orlando, Fl, on Page 35 12/14/11 - Busch Gardens Bash Tampa, Tamps, Fl, on Page 36 12/19/11 - State Fair of Texas, Dallas, Tx, on Page 37 12/21/11 - Silver Dollar City, Branson, MO, on Page 38 01/02/12 - Jersey Shore Whore, Jersey and NY, on Page 39

Yay!!! Thanks guys!

^ Thanks Management!

I was going to create a thread to post all of my trips and reports in today, but noticed the topic subtitle option is missing. I was planning to use that to list my most recent park. Is this a feature that has been recently disabled or is it just me?

^ What ever it was, it must have been super memorable

^ WOW

^ see you there

I thought the lock box was an AL Gore thing...anyway, now that everything is clear, for the hell of it I'll get the list of rides still on the don't bring ur crap to the ride policy. Windy day, oil derek is closed so no ariel video edit: looks like batman had the nazi crew first thing not letting you leave stuff, new crew, new rules, now we can leave stuff, weird, not sure what was up with that. They even have the drink cup holders which is a nice and welcome touch. Did notice the lack of locker atendants, a cost savings for sure.

that's the loose article policy I was referring to, I would assume people would have known that given the old lock box policy.

At the park today, gold flash pass is money. The loose article policy that someone said was going away is still in effect on some of the majors. Hope to have a video report tomorrow.

^ It's only an issue because of current park marketing, but yeah, I thought this was all settled

^ They were just trying to give you that classic wood feel

I may be the odd one out (ok, I know I'm setting myself for "odd" jokes) but I seem to rather enjoy the look and feel of the new websites they've rolled out at CP and across the chain.

There is a real possiblity I might be there