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^^Stefano's in Williamburgs offers a "Thai" pizza with peanut sauce, chicken, and crispy noodles as toppings--it's pretty good, too.

And when the inevitable Dark Shadows redo comes around, the top names will be Barnabas and Angelique.

Aquazoid at Water Country USA doesn't allow single riders, either, because a lack of sufficient weight could stop the raft in the middle of the course (then they have to come and get you). Without knowing the rationale behind the rule, I can't really form an opinion. SFA uses the same rule for its bull-themed breakdance ride.

Such as Red Bull, perhaps?

Um, it costs me less to fly to the UAE than it does to fly to Orlando. The world is a big place It also depends on where one is flying from.

Wrapping an El Toro train in gum advertising is like adding a six pack of Pepsi to da Vinci's "Last Supper."

Hell, goggles might improve a ride like Kingda Ka (keep your eyes from getting plastered shut on the launch). I like the idea of a mostly indoor park with a massive ride the launches outside. As for the restraints, the concept art shows some sort of over-the-shoulder "straps," too (which aren't on the actual ride vehicle pictured).

I don't know whether to be impressed or freaked out by this.

32. Edward D. Wood, Jr. 33. Quay Lewd (aka Fee Waybill of the Tubes) 34. Lurch Ed Wood Quay Lewd Lurch

Haven't decided yet, but I'm quite sure that I-305 will crack my top five. Carowinds' Intimidator has a fair shot at the top ten because I ranked Diamondback at number 8 last year. Afterburn is probably going to move up quite a few slots, too. Recommendation: Stay off the wheel seat. KD's Rebel Yell is actually a bit smoother.

Yes, you can get the walkback if you bought your Cedar Fair platinum pass at another park. I'm not sure about bringing a friend, though (KD's Web site doesn't address this).

The "Intwinidators"! (Hardly identical, yet kindred.) My flyer-fu is quite weak, James, although I did get the thing to fly fairly high during my second ride. Larry was really snappin' em, though. And congratulations on your upcoming marriage!

Nice to see Anaconda's water effect working again (it was out of action a few weeks ago). It's the best part of that ride.

Here's the rest of our excellent, Intimidating weekend! Read it--unless you're too intimidated. Looks like Old Man Grimsdyke finally took out Scooby and the gang. ("I told you I'd whack those dadburn kids!") Excuse me, but where, exactly, does one obtain the 3D glasses? (You don't need them, anyway.) Yoiks! Looks like they got "real" ghosts now! And they're mean! "We're ridin' out tonight to case the Promised Land." Like Hurler, this is 20 miles of bumpy road--but this time you're riding on a faster John Deere, instead of an old Fergie. This ride, no matter what you call it, never disappoints. Still one of the best inverts anywhere. Hell, they could've named it "Ishtar" or "Howard the Duck," and it would still be a great ride. I do think I prefer this name to "Fairly Odd Coaster." Come to think of it, it's a better name than "Ghoster Coaster," too. But a rose by any other name . . . exactly the same as KD's version (right down to the peeling paint). And now, Larry's favorite ride at Carowinds. Larry showin' us how it's done! These pictures really don't do him justice, but Larry was snapping the hell outta these things. Lar-ry! Lar-ry! Lar-ry! Presenting the world's slowest, oddest Chick-Fil-A. The service took forever, but Larry paid for 24 chicken nuggets while getting 36! I paid for a small Sprite and got about about two gallons of the stuff. Yep--we're definitely at Kings Dominion now. Happy Platinum Passholders wait to be walked back to Intimidator 10 minutes before the rest of humanity. Oh, boy! First riders of the day! Unfortunately, we had to wait an extra half-hour while they took a train out of service. Such is life. There she goes. Here's the train with the sick wheel. I don't know if they got it going later that day or not. But one train is better than none. Our three rides were great. Here's another sick train. Unfortunately, they got it going for unsuspecting riders later. These sure came in handy--it was hot and humid that day. They still call it "Fort Cooper" in the announcements they play in the queue. Hmm--I wonder if there's still a Haunt maze in here? Yep. Haunt maze. This is a lousy picture, but I want to show you something a bit odd in Volcano's queue. See the drinks for sale on top of the trash can? The little sign on the upper left reads "No food or drink beyond this point." I guess you're expected to drink your lemonade in a single gulp, then toss the cup immediately. If I look a little blurry here, don't be shocked. The disorientation of the Treasure Cave's awesome tilted room tends to do that to me. Larry had to tackle yet another set of flyers. OK, Intimidator is great, but let's not forget Dominator. Miss, the ride's over. You can let go of your head now. "Yay! I rode this at Geauga Lake! I get to count it again!" Thanks for reading.

Last weekend, Larry and I did our own mini-IntimidaTour with a little roadtrip from Williamsburg, Va., to Charlotte, N.C. (well, Larry actually started in Staten Island). Larry needed both Intimidator credits, I needed the one at Carowinds, and we both had some others to pick up, as well. The last time I was at Carowinds was a brief stop on my way home from the Smokies a few years ago, and I skipped all the "clone" Kings Dominion credits that day (Ricochet, Hurler, and Woodstock Express, formerly known as Fairly Odd Coaster). We both needed Carolina Cobra and at least one side of Thunder Road. So, after a heaping helping of various Chick-Fil-A products courtesy of Larry, six hours or so on the road, and a hearty Embassy Suites' breakfast, we hit Carowinds before opening on Saturday. We headed directly for Intimidator, of course. I liked this ride a lot. It has the floaty air you'd expect out of any B&M hyper, and they weren't braking it too hard that day at all. I think it compares favorably to Kings Island's Diamondback, and although its cousin in Virginia is the better of the two, they offer very different ride experiences (floaty air v. intensity). Still, no disapointment at all with Carowinds' Intimidator--it's just what this park needed. And my compliments to the Intimidator crew. They were really humming, and even with a full queue, the wait was no more that 40 minutes (three-train operation). You and your coworkers really have it down, Pufferfish--good job! As for Carolina Cobra, it wasn't bad as Vekoma Boomerangs go. The new trains and restraints were OK. Call it better than Knotts' wretched Boomerang (may it burn in Hell some day), but not as good as Cobra at Power Park (the best of the Boomerangs, I think). We passed on Nighthawk and Vortex--credits we need never experience again --and the mine train. The park really got crowded later in the day, and we had quite a wait to ride the park's superior flyers (Woodstock's Gliders) that afternoon. They actually encourage snapping here, and those present were in awe of Larry's superior snapping technique. (The ride op even asked him if he was trying to break the ride--and praised him for it too.) We enjoyed the "new" Boo Blasters as well--a nice improvement over the old Scooby-Doo shooting dark ride. I think Carowinds' Planet Snoopy turned out nicer than Kings Dominion's, too. So, it's a trade off. KD got the better Intimidator, CW got the better Planet Snoopy. We headed back to Williamsburg late that afternoon, then hit Kings Dominion before opening on Sunday. One train on Intimidator 305 was having some wheel problems, but the crew did a pretty good job even with one-train operation. We got in three rides between 11:00 am and noon before wandering off to ride Flight of Fear, Volcano, Boo Blasters (Carowinds' version is slightly better), the flyers (looking rather plain without their eagle appliques), and Dominator. It was a hot, humid day, but the park never got crowded (a spring Sunday is a good day to visit KD), so waits weren't bad at all (longest lines were for Volcano and Intimidator). Here's a look at an Intimidating weekend on Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. In the words of Scorpio from the movie "Dirty Harry": "My, that's a big one." Intimidator does dominate the Carowinds' skyline. You can see it from anywhere in the park. Yep--I'm definitely in a southern park. Hmm--I wonder where this lady got this t-shirt? Maybe she bought it here. And all this time I thought the "House of God" was on Longhill Road in Williamsburg. Shows you how wrong you can be. Will someone pleae fix me a mint julep? And maybe fix that bunting on the balconies while you're at it? "Submitted for your approval: a man whose hat is in one state, while his body is in another. He doesn't realize it just yet, but he has entered the State of Confusion, the capitol of which is The Twilight Zone." OK, why are we here, again? Oh, that's right--Intimidator! And what about this Intimidator, you may ask? Well . . . We interrupt this TR for some Index pictures requested by Larry. Sign. Ride. Sign. Another sign. Ride. "Grrr! Back to Intimidator or Domo hurt you bad!" OK, OK--freakin' gouchy plush doll. Aw, Domo's just frustrated because he's too short to ride Intimidator. "Gentlemen, start your engines!" Varoom-varoom-vroom! (OK, it doesn't actually sound like that. I don't want to give the wrong impression.) For Matt: "I'm travelin' down the road, and I'm flirtin' with disaster!" I just loved those curvy B&M drops, don't you? From the ride specs: "Insert airtime here." "And it's No. 3 taking the lead--which isn't too difficult since its the only car on the track at the moment." "Clinging to the lead on the far turn!" "And he's in the homestretch now!" "Yes, there's no way No. 3 can lose!" "But wait a minutel folks! No. 3 is already in the station! He's lost to himself! My God, we are in The Twilight Zone!" Intimidator was great, but we did experience a few more of Carowinds' attractions that day. Here's their version of Deja Vu (if it were a wild mouse). Y'all can enter ratchere. Yes, its deja vu all over again. Boy, Paramount must've got quite a deal on these things back in the day. KD's seems a bit more "out of control," though. Lord, for what we are about to receive, please make it not hurt so much. Amen! I didn't experience the customary Boomerang shaking and headbanging, but it is a fairly intense ride. Once was enough. This ride doesn't so much "hurl" as "lumber around." Yes, this is like taking 20 miles of bumpy road on an old Massey-Ferguson tractor. I took a courtesy ride on the Carolina Cyclone, an old Arrow loopscrew that seemed OK a few years ago. Hasn't aged well, though. Aghh! The new paint does nothing! (What is this mania for painting a coaster in so many different colors? Some paint saleman really scored with Cedar Fair starting with Dominator at KD.) More to come.

I was surprised that I liked X2 at West Coast Bash (I absolutely hate its cousin in Japan), but two rides and I was done with it for the day. I probably would've felt pretty ill if I'd ridden it a third time. I like Tatsu, but it's a "one and done" for me.

The Intimidator crew was doing a great job last Saturday--nice work! I enjoyed the ride quite a bit (it compares favorably with Diamondback, I think). You do get some nice airtime in the backseat.

It's coaster Viagra!

They were working on a wheel on one of the trains yesterday, too. I hold your group personally responsible. My compliments to the I-305 crew yesterday. They were moving the line pretty well, even with just a single train.

^And the verdict is . . .

Like Robb said earlier, I'd be surprised, too, if this were some standard, off-the-shelf ride like Drop Tower Scream Zone. I'm curious to see what the actual plans are.

I think Voyage is a great ride, and it made my top ten last year (albeit two rungs below Raven). But it's not something I could ride all day, unlike Expedition GeForce (well, not today, but you get my point ). OK, back on topic. I'm looking forward to checking out Carowinds' Intimidator on Saturday. I'm especially curious to see how it stacks up to Diamondback, which I like a lot.

He's out of Chocolate? That's a catastrophe for Dippin' Dots!

Such "sheepism" is more prevalent among younger people--it's a part of growing up. And this is true not just on TPR, but of life in general (we all have our little groups, where we try to "fit in"). Eventually, people tend to find their way as they mature. Back on topic, I rather like Kings Island. It has flaws (SoB being, perhaps, the biggest), but overall I think it's a good park with a solid coaster collection (especially Diamondback and Beast).

Das Dropp Tower Scream Zonzen.