live2tell75

The next 2 days, Olivia and I checked out Sea World San Antonio, The Alamo and a few of San Antonio's attractions. Sea World was larger than I had expected. The park was dead, so there were no lines which was great. I absolutely loved Steel Eel the first 3 times when we rode it in the front. But than we rode it in the back and I thought I lost my spine on the last part of the bunny hills. It was so smooth in the front, but riding in the back messed up my back for a week! It sucks getting old. =( Overall the park was nice. The flume was was pretty big. I think I read somewhere that this was the flume from Boardwalk and Baseball. I used to love to ride that when I was a kid. I love Journey To Atlantis in Orlando, so I have been disappointed riding the ones in San Diego and now San Antonio due to the lack of theming. On our last day in San Antonio we visited The Alamo to check out the basement, which was amazing. We also checked out 2 of the Ripley's attractions across the street: Ripley's Haunted Adventure, which was a pretty good walk-thru haunted house and The Tomb Rider 3D shooting dark ride which was ok. Also across the street I checked out a mirror maze which are always fun. And finally we finished the night off with dinner on the famous Riverwalk. Onto the photos: I had a great time in Texas, it was a blast hanging our with Olivia. Next up a visit to Disney's Hollywood Studios to check out the then brand new Toy Story Mania. Stay tuned! We had some good Mexican food and yummy drinks along the river. The Riverwalk. The Mirror Maze was pretty elaborate. The interesting part was that all of the customers had to wear plastic gloves to keep the mirrors clean. To bad it wasn't worth the money. Pretty good theming. Looks promising. The ok shooting dark ride, Tomb Rider 3D. Before you enter the haunted house, you take a service elevator complete with special effects to the top of the building. Olivia was terrified! Ripley's Haunted Adventure was a pretty scary walk-thru haunted house. Again, beautiful. The Alamo's grounds were really beautiful. I was told my stolen bike was located in the basement of the Alamo, so we checked it out. But no luck. =( Steel Eel was great until I broke my back sitting in the back. Ouch! During our visit, Sea World San Antonio was celebrating the park's 20th anniversary.

^You are correct! You win a cookie and are a hero in my book for knowing that wonderfully gay-Madonna knowledge!

^ Hey Brent, it was great to meet you too, it was a fun day! In the end of April, I went out to Austin to visit my good friend Olivia. It was a quick, but fun trip. We drove over to San Antonio and hit up Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Sea World San Antonio, The Riverwalk and Alamo area. This was my first time ever visiting Texas, it was nice, but super hot! First up: our day at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. I actually thought this park was very pretty. The natural rock formation with water falls surrounding parts of the park was really nice. One of the only downsides to this park is, I can't even imagine how hot the park is in the summer, there was no shade. We were dying and it was only April and we are both from Florida! We enjoyed all the attractions, rode my 200th credit on Goliath. Superman and Tony Hawk's Big Spin was a lot of fun. Overall we had a great day. So it wasn't that crowded, but when we left the park, this was what we encountered. The photo employees made a barricade to make sure everyone leaving the park was asked at least 3 times to check out their photo. We thought this was a little much. Oh well. Next up, the rest of my photos of my trip to Texas. Stay tuned! I rode the clone down the street the next day at Sea World San Antonio. Goliath was a fun standard inverted coaster. Yes, I'm a dork. Got to take one more photo by the falls. Other than the wierd 2nd half of the ride during the never ending, bumpy helix, the ride was a lot smoother than I thought it would be. It is a beautiful looking wooden coaster. I was a little worried how rough The Rattler was going to be. Road Runner Express was cool the way it was built on the side of the large rocks. Superman, like the Dark Knight at SFNE was fun. Wanted to do the rapids ride, but the line was too long and didn't except the Flash Pass on this day. But because I could see where we were going, Poltergeist, wasn't as rough as being in the dark on the Flight of Fear. I like the enclosed version of this coaster at Kings Dominion. Had a few fun drops. A little bit of theming. Bugs Bunny's White Water Rapids flume ride was fun, has lots of potential for great theming, but only seemed half-themed. The Hustler was a unique looking version of the Teacups. Tony Hawk's Big Spin was a highlight of the day. The Crow's Nest ferris wheel and Scream! free-fall ride. No matter what park I'm in, I've always got to check out the Scooby Doo ride. Frisbee was fun. The boardwalk area with a couple of flats. The rock formation added to the beauty of this park. The waterfalls were nice. Olivia in the blazing sun. The park is well themed. With Olivia before entering the park.

^ It was nice to meet you too Eric! I remember taking that photo, was it with your camera? That sucks you had to be stressed out about losing the camera. Hopefully you were able to find it? It would be great someday to meet again! Let me know the next time you're in Florida! Time for a long overdue update. So in April, Erik and I met up at Universal to check out Mardi Gras. Normally I would never go to the parks around spring break, but there was a good reason to brave the crowds - LL Cool J was in concert at Madrdi Gras at the Studios! Since Erik and I are big fans we couldn't resist! LL rocks! His concert brought Erik and I back to our middle and high school days! He did a lot of songs and all of his hits like I Need Love, Big Ole Butt, Rock The Bells, Around The Way Girl, All I Have, Hey Lover, Loungin (Who Do You Love), and the 3 highlights of the night: Doing It, Going Back To Cali and Mama Said Knock You Out! The crowd was immense and were all dancing and signing along. This was a really great time! Hopefully he'll be back for Mardi Gras next year![/i] Oh and it was little crowded leaving. Next up, my trip to Texas featuring Sea World San Antonio & Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Stay tuned! So E&E conquered LL, Mardi Gras and Universal Orlando during Spring Break! As you can tell, there was a big crowd that showed up. I had a great time! The reason why we came - LL Cool J! Mama Said Knock You Out!!!! Erik was like "I only got a few beads" You can't tell, but the floats are really cool looking. So my camera sucks at taking moving night photos. =( So the parade crowd during Mardi Gras was interesting. Unlike Disney during parades having parade employees every 10 feet, Universal have parade employee every 100 feet or so. So kids and adults were basically able to run up really close to the moving floats to get the almightly amazing plastic beads! It was really scary but entertaining to watch at the same time. Over at the Studios. For people that know me and based on my sreename, why would I want to stand in front of this movie facade? Anyone that can name what this movie is from, will be a God in my book and get a cookie! - And no Erik you can not answer since you took the photo! Did I mention that it was spring break, so it was a little crowded. Spiderman's outside queue was completely full! Yeah, the new restraint bars and seating on Ripsaw falls totally sucks! I can't for the life of me understand why I would take this photo. I guess it will remain a mystery. Hee hee. Can you believe that out of all the times he had been to IOA, Erik had never been inside The Discovery Center in Jurassic Park - so we had an emergency visit! I met a big friend at the Discovery Center. A behind the scenes exclusive shot of Erik documenting the former Lost Continent. May The Enchanted Oak rest in peace. =( First up: lunch and a few attractions at Islands of Adventure. The reason why we are here: to check Mardi Gras 2008!

So Far: Epcot Disney's Animal Kingdom Busch Gardens Africa Aquatica Disneyland Six Flags Magic Mountain Islands of Adventure Universal Studios Florida Adventure Island Six Flags Fiesta Texas Sea World San Antonio Disney's Hollywood Studios Blizzard Beach La Qua Nasu Highlands Seibuen Tobu Zoo Joypolis Tokyo Disneyland Tokyo DisneySEA Aqua Stadium Fuji Q Highlands Yomiuriland Toshimaen Hanaysahiki Cosmoworld Wet n' Wild The Magic Kingdom • 16 new parks visited this year • 43 different visits combined to the above theme parks this year • Been to about 65 different theme parks over my lifetime

Bravo Matt! It was good to see you during the trip. You got some awesome shots. I agree that Epcot is very orgasmic! It is one of my favorite parks. Looking forward to the rest of your TR.

^ Thanks to everyone for the kind words. Part 2 will be updated soon. Thanks! -Eric

All of "the part 2: coming soon" posts in this thread have now been updated.

Special thanks to the Busch Gardens Africa PR department for creating this event. Thanks to Jill Revelle for organizing everything and inviting Theme Park Review to be part of this unique night. Scott Swenson for helping explain what was going on throughout the night. Matt Marrriott for taking the fantastic infrared photos during the ghost hunt. A special thanks to both Lauren Hoyt-Williams and Kelly Heckinger for all of their help throughout the event. And finally thanks to Haunted South for opening my eyes to the world of the unknown! If you would like to learn more about Haunted South, then check-out their web site: http://www.hauntedsouthparanormalresearch.com/ And since I’m a big Halloween haunt and Howl-O-Scream fan, be sure to check-out Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens Africa. This year’s event is full of thrills, chills and fun, including 6 haunted houses, 3 scare zones, 3 shows, many of the fun Busch Gardens Africa attractions, including all 7 coasters in the dark! Each night Howl-O-Scream begins at 7:30 p.m. and runs on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays until November 1st. For more info check out the official Howl-O-Scream website: http://www.raventwins.com/main.aspx Thanks to Robb for giving me this opportunity to cover this event. It was a lot of fun and memorable. Hope you enjoyed reading my account of the night's events. Maybe the next time you visit Busch Gardens Africa, have a bite at The Crown Colony House, you never know who or what may be dining with you!

Tour conclusion and my personal final thoughts - coming soon. For now, here are some more photos. Haunted South team member Justin Guilluroy monitors a four-camera surveillance system recording several rooms in Busch Gardens’ Crown Colony House restaurant where unexplained phenomena have been reported. One of the many cameras stationed throughout the building to record any possible paranormal activity. Haunted South co-founder Rae Abney uses a K2 meter to measure changes in the energy field surrounding a child’s ball and toy doll, left on the floor in hopes of attracting the spirit of the 8-year-old girl rumored to haunt the Crown Colony restaurant. Called the “modern-day Ouija board,” the K2 meter is used by paranormal investigators to gauge answers to yes and no questions based on energy surges. The view of the old Brewmaster's club on one of the surveillance monitors.

Tour of the lower floor dining room - coming soon. For now, here are some more photos. Haunted South team member Justin Guilluroy uses a digital thermometer to record “cold spots” and other temperature fluctuations that could signal a spirit presence in Busch Gardens’ Crown Colony House restaurant. Haunted South co-founder Lisa Abney takes digital photographs of an area where elevated electromagnetic energy levels could mean paranormal activity. These digital photographs, shot in near-total darkness, sometimes show lights, “orbs” and other things not visible to the naked eye.

Tour of the old Brewmaster's Club - coming soon. For now, here are more photos. Rae Abney, one of the founders of Haunted South, explains how the group is going to try to contact the "energy" or "spirits". Jill Revelle, the PR organizer of the event with the creative director of Howl-O-Scream, Scott Swenson give a history of the Old Brewmaster's Club.

Stay tuned for Part 2 and the conclusion of my night of ghost hunting at Busch Gardens Africa. -Eric

To see if these stories had any truth to them or if they were stories of some over-active imaginations, we were introduced to Haunted South. This group of paranormal investigators was founded by Rae Abney and his wife Lisa Abney. Haunted South or H.S.P.R., investigates claims into the supernatural, ghost / poltergeist activity, hauntings, and locations where unexplained activity has occurred. H.S.P.R. conducts an investigation and intensely analyzes any and all evidence. Their team uses infrared cameras, electromagnetic field meters, digital voice recorders and a psychic experienced in the field of paranormal phenomena. Their psychic, named Jenny likes to say "she uses her gift to help and improve the existence of both the living and the dead". During her intro, it was mentioned that she had already started to pick up on things. After the introduction of Haunted South’s investigation team of eight and some of their instruments, it was time to start the tour. So we gathered all our stuff and headed downstairs to what at one time was, the Brewmasters Club to start our investigation into the unknown! – The Haunted South Paranormal Research team are briefed on the history of Busch Gardens’ Crown Colony House restaurant in the main dining room, where Crown Colony employees have reported serving trays falling off their stands and seeing a “fog” move through the room..

During the eight years when the restaurant was closed to even recent times, different Busch Gardens employees have had unexplainable experiences in the Crown Colony House. One such person is Kent Roy, a former Crown Colony House employee that has worked in the park for fourteen years, four of them being at The Crown Colony. His “haunting” experiences include on a few different occasions, feeling a chill on the back of his neck after pressing the elevator button on the fourth floor. Closing up late a couple of nights, hearing sounds of children playing and bouncing a ball in different areas of the building. Another experience was when staying late one night alone, Kent watched the T.V.s in what used to be the Brewmaster’s Club. He thought he felt someone come up behind him, he turned to his left and a woman wearing a white nightgown with blue dots appeared, by the time he blinked she was gone. There have been other reports of ghosts over the years, including an elderly bartender. A few people reported looking at the windows in the Veldt room, seeing in the reflection a piano player at the piano, but once they turn around he was gone. The most common story of haunting of the building involves an 8-year-old girl named Wendy. Named by a former Busch Gardens employee, Wendy has been said to materialize as a fog in the main dining room and even stopping the elevators between floors. Witnesses have claimed to seen a ghost playing this piano.

After welcoming us, we were given a little history about the Crown Colony House. The four story Crown Colony House was originally named The Old Swiss House. Built as a replica of a restaurant in Switzerland by then chairman of the board, August Busch Jr. as a gift to his third wife, Trudy. The Old Swiss House restaurant officially opened in December, 1964. Inside the restaurant, the interiors featured red velvet walls and cuckoo clocks. In the 1960’s and 70’s The Old Swiss House became a top dining experience for many in the Tampa Bay area. The restaurant stayed open until 1982. For the next eight years, the building was used by the entertainment department for auditions and rehearsals. Then after a two year renovation, The Old Swiss House reopened as the Victorian-styled adventures’ club, The Crown Colony House in 1990. The Crown Colony House is located in the themed Crown Colony area, featuring the gateway to the Edge of Africa, The Sky Ride and The Clydstale Hamlet. The restaurant features 2 levels of dining. The lower level includes quick service dining, while the upper level features a full service restaurant that has seating that overlooks the park’s Serengeti Plain, a free-roaming animal habitat. The original Old Swiss House as seen in the 1970's. Photo from the Official Souvenir Book: The Dark Continent: Busch Gardens Tampa, Florida The Crown Colony House as it appears today.

This last Wednesday night, Busch Gardens Africa ‘s PR department asked Haunted South, a group of paranormal researchers to investigate and confirm or debunk the existence of ghosts in the Crown Colony. As far as Haunted South has researched, this was the first time a major corporation and/or a theme park has ever let paranormal researches onto their property to investigate a haunting. The PR department also sent out an invite to a few different media outlets to join in the investigation. Theme Park Review was one of these outlets! Wednesday night comes and I head over for the event. I arrive around 7:30 p.m. and meet up with members of the Busch Gardens public relations department. While waiting for a few other guests, I can’t help to notice how the building that I have seen on many visits to Busch Gardens now seems so errie at dusk. Once a few more attendees arrive, we all head into the Crown Colony House. Our guides take us up to the Veldt Room, the main dinning room on the third floor where we meet up with the rest of the nights guests. Interesting old artifacts make for perfect theming for this restaurant. The Crown Colony House Clock Tower before starting the tour.

The sun disappears over the Serengeti, leaving orange-purple hues across the sky. Hundreds of animals throughout the park slowly retire for the evening. The thrilling screams from Shiekra, Montu and Kumba roller coasters fade into the twilight. A child is fast asleep in a car on the way home next to the gigantic white tiger stuffed animal won from a midway game in Timbutktu. The security guards lock up for the night. Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa is now closed. All the park’s inhabitants settle in for a quiet evening. All is quiet, except for maybe one place, the large older Victorian Crown Colony House that sits overlooking the Serengeti. For the last few decades there have been rumors that not all may be at peace inside this building after the sun sets. Sounds of children’s laughter, strange fogs that sweep through the main dining room, mysterious figures that have appeared and then disappeared are just a few of the tales that have echoed around the park. Could the Crown Colony House truly be haunted? The view of The Crown Colony House clock tower from outside the park's boundaries. Montu stands quite as darkness falls.

Part 1: A Eerie Night at the Crown Colony House The deserted Busch Gardens Africa parking entrance at dusk.

Back again, this time I have a few photos from 2 different visits to Busch Gardens Africa. The first one was a quick visit in January meeting up with fellow TPR members, Derek, Nicole, Erik and Colin. The second visit features photo highlights form the Jungala grand opening media day. If you haven't seen my Jungala report you can check it out here: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42898&highlight=jungala Onto the photos! Good-bye for now! Next up: LL Cool J at Mardi Gras at Universal Orlando with Erik. You read right! LL Cool J! You know you can't wait! This was another highlight of Jungala. Very cool. What are they looking at? Zipline flyers over Jungala's skyline. A very awesome tweens adventure play complex. Wild Surge peeking over the rock waterfall. I love this area! The tiger sneaks up on it's prey. Best tiger exhibit period. At one of the entrances to Jungala. Derek, Nicole and Colin surive the off-road adventure that is Rhino Rally. The Eric(k) Johnsons prepare to battle Montu. Nicole, Derek, Erik and I prepare for the sting of the Scorpion. Erik, Derek and Nicole in line for Gwazi.

Hello once again, This next update is a compilation of my 2 visits this winter and spring to Aquatica. In February, Erik, Will and I checked out the passholder's sneak peak of the park. Since it was February, the pools were all heated. If they hadn't been, I 'd probably die! If you haven't seen my preview report, you can check it out here: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42040&highlight=aquatica I also came back with Kevin in April. When Kevin and I visited, the park had just officially opened. We got there at 8:30 in the morning and they were letting guests in 30 minutes before the park's scheduled opening. This turned out to be the best thing ever! We walked onto all the attractions in the park within the first hour and a half. It was great. By 11:30 there were over hour waits for everything! So after lunch we left feeling satisfied we had conquered the park. Since Kevin doesn't like anything too intense, Aquatica turned out to be one of his favorite water parks. If you haven't been to Aquatica, you should give it a try. It has a pretty good selection of attractions, minus the free-fall wedgie slides. And it has a very nice colorful atmosphere. Below are a mix of photos from both trips, enjoy Like I said the park is very colorful. Coming up next, a compilation of photos from a few different trips to Busch Gardens Africa this past winter and spring. Stay tuned! Kevin and me. The observation area is pretty cool. Wish it was a little bigger. Beautiful animals. Zipping through the dolphin habitat. The park's signature attraction, Dolphin Plunge. Erik is ready to conquer the flumes. Pretty fishies! I enjoyed this a lot. Erik and Will in the real lazy river. One of 2 lazy rivers, but this one isn't so lazy, actually it is very fast moving! The large racing slide complex. Erik during the passholders sneak peak in Feb. Aquatica is now one of Kevin's favorite water parks. Kevin and I during April's visit.

^^ Joe it was good seeing during that trip. At least this time we actually got to ride Tatsu! ^ Hector is was nice to meet you even for just a short while. I agree, hopefully we'll get to hang out sometime!

The next day was the West Coast Bash at Six Flags Magic Mountain. This was my first time at the event and I had a blast! Robb, Elissa and Ride World organized such a great event! From our many perks like ERT in the morning, private guided tours, lunch, the Q&A sessions with SFMM & S&S officials and the most amazing perk- ERT of the entire coaster collection for 3 hours after the park closed! It was such a great time! Thanks to Robb and Elissa for everything. And to Erik, Cameron, Will you guys were a blast to hang out with for the 2 days. It was great meeting so many new people: Dave, Hector, Rick and many more. And it was great to see old friendly faces. You guys all rock! Thanks again to everyone that made my California trip awesome! Next up: Aquatica & Jungala flashbacks- stay tuned! The Magic Mountain trolls rock! The new tower museum was great, well done to all those who helped put it together. You can't tell from this photo, but the view from the tower at night is awesome. At the Q&A session with Guy, Cameron and Dave. One of my top 5 coasters, Goliath. So the rides on scream were particularly awesome for me on this day. They were blasting Madonna songs throughout the ride, I was very happy, I'm sure other people weren't! =p I actually really enjoyed this visit's rides on Ridler's Revenge. I am usually not a fan of stand-up coasters, so this surprised me. Preview of the then closed X. On the tour, got to see lots of old attraction artifacts. Our group's fearless guide, Jahan - who did an awesome job! A classic, the Viper You really feel the G's after the gigantic pretzel loop. Another new credit for me, Tatsu. This was pretty intense ride. I actually only did this 2 times. Cameron and I model our superpower ERT bands. A new credit for me, Revolution. It was closed when I was at the park in 2006. All I can say is ouch! Let the ERT begin! Checking into the West Coast Bash. Again, thanks guys for all the hard work making this happen!

Hello Everyone, Because of work, I have been super behind posting trip reports this year. So I figured I'll do an ongoing compilation photo trip report of all my theme park adventures of 2008. Below are links to the reports of each of the parks I hit in 2008. Disneyland Six Flags Magic Mountain - West Coast Bash 08' Aquatica Busch Gardens Africa Islands of Adventure Universal Studios Florida - Mardi Gras Six Flags Fiesta Texas Sea World San Antonio San Antonio Area Attractions Disney's Hollywood Studios Epcot Disney's Blizzard Beach TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip - LaQua TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip - Nasu Highland TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip - Seibuen TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip - Aqua Stadium TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip - Toshimaen TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip - Yomiuriland TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip - Hanayashiki TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip - Fuji Q TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip - Joypolis TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip - Tokyo Disney Resort - Disney Ambassador Hotel TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip - Tokyo Disney Resort - Tokyo Disneyland TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip - Tokyo Disney Resort - Tokyo DisneySEA TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip - Sea Paradise TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip - Cosmoworld Wet n' Wild Orlando Universal Studios Florida - Halloween Horror Nights: Reflections of Fear The Magic Kingdom - Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party Islands of Adventure / HHN Houses behind the scenes tour Busch Gardens Africa TPR BBQ, Disney's Animal Kingdom & Epcot I'll start this off with my trip out to California last winter for the West Coast Bash. It was a really jammed packed fun weekend. The first day I joined up with some old TPR friends at Disneyland. Had a fantastic group lunch at the Blue Bayou to celebrate Kristen's 1st birthday. It was nice to be able to relax and enjoy the great food and wonderful company. Once again, thanks to Robb and Elissa for arranging this great time! After lunch Erik (Gainesville Erik Johnson), Cameron from Chicago, Will (WillMontu) and I hit the park. I really love Disneyland. Since being from Florida and gone to the Magic Kingdom agazillion times, it is always a treat to experience the original Magic Kingdom. We had a fantastic day. We made sure we hit all the unique Disneyland attractions: The Matterhorn, Indy, Alice, Pinocchio, Roger Rabbit and the best: Mr. Toad. Had to pay our repect to one my most beloved Disney attractions, Mr. Toad. May Florida's version, rest in piece =( I was able to experience a few new attraction credits during this trip. Autotopia was cool, I liked the surprise off-road part. Nemo's Submarine Voyage was very enjoyable and peaceful at the end of the night. And I got a new credit, Space Mountain! It was closed when I last visited in 2005. I actually really liked Disneyland's Space Mountain. Loved the music and the special effects. Hopefully if we're lucky, maybe Florida will someday get the cool upgrade. Now onto the photos, enjoy! Some people will do anything to get the perfect shot! Actually this explains why his night photos are always perfect. Unlike my blurry ones! Coming up next, West Coast Bash at Six Flags Magic Mountain - Stay tuned! The entrance to Disney's California Adventure is nice at night. Will, Erik and Cameron finishing up the day at the Disneyland exhibit on Main Street U.S.A. I always love theme parks at night. The Orbitor is cool looking at night, but I think it belongs higher, back on top of one of the Tomorrowland buildings. Cam takes a spin on Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin. Erik in Toontown. The castles at the Magic Kingdom/Disneyland parks are always gorgeous at night! A little rough, but I love the Matterhorn. Our fantastic lunch group! Robb you're such a princess! Colin, Chris and Wes at lunch. Erik, myself and Cameron at lunch. Kristen celebrates her first birthday at the Blue Bayou! I already love the boarding area compared to Florida's. Time for a new credit, Space Mountain! 2 Eric(k) Johnsons driving a toad car, this can't be good! I miss this ride! =( It's been a long time, glad you are still living out here in the west. First up, give Mr. Toad some respect. Yeah the castle is small, but it is a icon. Can't come all the way to Disneyland and not take a photo of the front entrance!

I finish up this holiday tread with a fantastic day at Disney with great friends. A few days after New Year's, Kevin, Lynn and myself met up with the Alveys & Erik Johnson for a fun day at Epcot and Disney's Animal Kingdom. It was great - it wasn't too crowded being after New Years. We got to still enjoy the holiday decorations, have dinner at the then new Yak & Yeti Restaurant in Asia at DAK. And the best part of the night were the night rides on Everest in the dark. An absolute blast! I end this tread with a cute photo. Thanks to Robb, Elissa, Kristen and Erik for making the day so much fun! I am finally caught up with 2007. Now I can move on to 2008! Thanks for reading! Last Christmas tree photo for the season. Thought I would try and get a night shot of The Tree of Life, not so much luck. Behind the scenes footage Erik's POV of Everest at night. Erik, Elissa and Lynn are ready to come face to face with the Yeti in the dark. Best part of the night, Everest in the dark! As you can tell, the park was pretty empty by this time of night. Our dinner group. Checked out the new Yak & Yeti Restaurant, which was pretty good. The theming was great. I don't know if Elissa was expecting to be part of a Eric(k) Johnson sandwich on this day! So we are walking through Epcot and we came across this little gem. Kevin and Lynn with a group favorite, Goofy! On our way into Epcot we came accross this car with a very cool Nightmare Before Christmas paint job.