cfc

Last night, I watched the movie Rollercoaster for the first time in years. (Some friends gave it to me for Christmas.) So, I got a dose of both Magic Mountain and Kings Dominion before some of their "charm" was stripped away.

Just wait, it gets worse. The terrible things we do for our children (but are usually for us). Peter Pan always has the most horrendous line in Fantasyland. The ride is fun, and I like it, but, oh lord, that capacity . . .

Sounds good--I like the look of the trains. If it's anywhere near as good as Winjas, Universal will have an excellent new ride.

^That's an excellent point. I hope there's an appropriate squealing-tires sound effect, along with the smell of burning rubber, before you plunge.

^^Wouldn't blame you if you did.

^Affirmative.

I think the longest I've ever waited for an attraction was 3.5 hours for Curse of DarKastle on its opening day at BGW and the same for Eejanaika at Fuji Q. Not sure I could deal with five hours.

Rcdb.com mentions a drop of 88 feet for Verbolten, and says that Big Bad Wolf's final drop was 80 feet.

Speaking of Verbolten . . . I went to BGW one last time on Friday night, mainly to get a look at the progress on Verbolten. The park was packed for the second-to-last night of Christmas Town, and there's been quite a bit progress since my last visit a few weeks ago. Here's one last look at Verbolten for 2011--unless someone else posts pictures today, of course. But I want my present now! There it is, hiding behind the trees. Let's take a closer look. There you are, Verbolten. Let's see, after you do the bit in the building, you end up here, . . . . . . nearly plunge to your doom here, . . . . . . roar through here, . . . . . . then face what ever fate awaits you in the woods. Yep--looks pretty "Big Bad Wolfish" to me, too--and that's good. The big show building. We already know of one gag that's going to happen in there. But what else could possibly happen inside? Meanwhile, back at footer central . . . . . . all sorts of reinforcement work has been going on. This is for all of you with a rebar fetish--you know who you are. Note that the picture is crooked--not the station. They've put up some walls for what should be a pretty heavily themed queue. Time will tell. All of you who are turned on by rebar and dirt are really lucky today . . . wait! What's that I see hiding in the trees? Aw-w-w-w . . . don't be shy, piece of track. No one wants to hurt you. Let's take one last look at the building. (I like how they've themed the wall signs to Christmas.) The track running into the building seen in "Green Mesh-o-Rama Vision" from the Autobahn queue. The backside of the building. This gives you an idea of how big this building is. The Big Hole we saw earlier in the season. Lots of work to be done here, . . . . . . and here are three of the guys who will eventually do it. One last, slightly crooked look at the station across from Mach Tower. Hmm--never seen the Rhine River boats tied up like this before. Happy New Year, Verbolten! See you in 2012! And a Happy New Year to everybody at TPR!

Chad and Jake, does this pretty much sum up your feelings upon encountering Shockwave? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UArbzOExaBg It is a great ride, as is Mindbender.

I've used a Panasonic Lumix for the last five years, and I really like it. In fact, I'm thinking of getting a new Lumix that's a step up from my old one.

^Save your breath, Elissa! It's not quite over yet! I was in California spending Christmas with the rest of the Campbell Clan from December 20 to 28, and had the post office hold my mail until today. The much-anticipated Priority Mail box was sitting on my front steps when I got home from work . . . What ever could it be? "Well, whaddaya waitin' for nimrod? Open it!" It appears to be something that requires some assembly. "Sorry, pal. Can't help ya out there. Now if it was something I could kill and eat . . ." Hmm--let us this mystery explore. Apparently, it has something to do with Dean Martin, . . . R2-D2, and . . . Danica Patrick. (Well, at least she's hotter than Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) What? A red warning light? Should I be concerned? Ah ha! A proper clue at last! Looks relatively easy to assemble. Done! But will it work? Let's give'er a whirl, shall we? Success! It shaved the hell out of that ice! I didn't have any syrup, so I just added some orange juice. I'll have to try some of the recipes in the owner's manual--or some alcoholic variations thereof. But something still puzzles me. What do I do with these extra parts? Merry Christmas, and thank you, Secret Santa!

And done again.

^It doesn't look particularly "weird" to me--maybe the angle of the photo is throwing you a bit. I'm hoping to get over to the park tomorrow to see for myself.

You would prefer provolone? Funny how there is all these great pictures and we focus on the couple of shots of food! Hey, we've seen pictures of the fireworks, castle show, and parade before. Now, the waffle sandwich--that's news!

^The only coaster operating during Christmas Town this year is Alpengeist (they've run Griffon the previous two years). Festa Italia, where Apollo's Chariot is located, is closed during Christmas Town--but who knows for the future?

^It's like waiting in line for the Santa Claw.

^Exactly. If I have to visit a park during a "peak time" like this, I know that the crowds are likely to be huge. Hell, Christmas Town at BGW on a Saturday or Sunday night can be pretty trying on one's patience, too.

I'm sure that this is a problem that Hard Rock/Freestyle Music Park would've loved to have.

That spicy chicken waffle sandwich looked good, if a bit messy. I'm glad they're tweaking the Magic Kingdom's food offerings; they've been pretty weak in the past.

The restraints do resemble something the Spanish Inquisition would've dreamed up. CONFESS!

^I've had good luck with the Extended Stay America in Stevenson Ranch (one exit south of Magic Mountain on I-5).

When I rode Bandit at Movie Park in Germany, I thought there was no way that any ride could be worse. Then I rode Anaconda at Walygator in France and a new champion was crowned.

I like Bandit--a little rough on the turns, but fun. Mitsui Greenland also has two very good Togo coasters: Megaton (an "ultra twister") and Milky Way (a racing stand-up/sit-down ride).

This addition is only going to make the best theme park in the world even better. I remember being a bit underwhelmed when the first Midway Manias were announced and built, but ended up liking them a lot.