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Mike, I could probably meet you Friday after work.

^I'd be quite happy if they launched Anaconda to the moon.

^Plus, Kings Dominion needs another launched coaster as much as it needs a hole in the head. We shall see.

^A crowd that paid $4.44 apiece to be there.

You know, booze is good for what ails you. Yes, one little Bag 'o' Booze, and all your problems magically just go away. Only to come back when you sober up. So, buy another Bag 'o' Booze and keep your troubles at bay! We hope you enjoy this one last look at Hansa Park. Thank you, Hansa! TPR says, "Good night!" Time to call it day at Hansa Park--a great place run by some great people. I'll have to come back here again. Well done, gentlemen. Yes, we have just witnessed genius! Re-emergence must be sudden. Envelopment must be full and complete. Note the symmetry of their initial contact. These men are artists! Observe their subtle technique as they approach the pool. Well, Ron, Dave, Fran, Jon, and Michael are gonna show you how to make a man-sized splash. Pfft! You call that a splash? Hey, looks like three of the Five Bear Rugs found work, too! "We're sorry, but only goofy-looking cartoon people may board the log flume." "You know, my other mermaid just doesn't understand me." "Hello, sailor." (Yes, that was far too easy.)

The makers of Bag 'o' Booze would like to remind you to drink responsibly. Yes. We really would. Back to Hansa Park. Eventually, the singing carnivorous tree will eat of the cannibal, die, fall over, rot, and provide food for the next little flower. Yes, the Cycle of Nature in all its glory! One more set of Hansa pics to come. Then this cannibal will kill the gnome with his blow gun, then eat him (except for the spleen, which he doesn't fancy). And this is the Cycle of Nature. The frog will be eaten by the gnome--for that, too, is the Cycle of Nature. But, no. The little flower must someday yield to the water, and be eaten by the frog. Such is the Cycle of Nature. Witness, the case of this flower. Hang in there little flower! Nature, for all its beauty, can be harsh and unyielding. And now, a relaxing boat ride that illustrates the eternal Cycle of Nature. "Hmm--maybe we can just squeeze between these streams of water." Next group. They did it! Or did they? Kind of tricky when you don't know much German. How's it coming, guys? It did have this cool exit, though. You have to solve series of puzzles involving music and tones to get past the water obstacles. Kind of "meh." Here's an old ride you don't see too often anymore. . . . or ride the El Paso Express." "We're feeling a damp, drizzly November in our souls! Time to go to sea . . . "Of course, there are some people who like to go both ways. Sick puppies, I call them." "You know what this park needs? A Boomerang!" "I think this ride needs to sit back, take a deep breath, and meditate on the nature of existence." "More spinning. And the Swedish Bikini Team." "OK, everyone--what does this ride need?" Yep--even the station for the raft ride is pretty nice. (U.S. parks take note.) "What? Read the safety instructions to you? Do I look German, gringo?" And now, the not-so-spinny raft ride.

Well, Chuck has just finished cooking and eating a nice dinner of BBQued pork ribs with steamed broccoli and cauliflower. You know what would've been perfect with this meal? Yes, a nice Bag 'o' Booze! You can wash down damn near anything with the right liquor in nice, convenient, airline-sized bottles! Here's some more from Hansa Park. Turn . . . bang . . . ow . . . repeat. Still more to come. Even the mouse's queue is pretty well themed. "When we begin the beguine . . ." This should shake, rattle, and roll them awake. Aw, bless their wittle hearts. Problem solved. Of course, there is always the danger of "wardrobe malfunction." Jolie could so totally do that--she just doesn't want to. . . . and risk great bodily injury." "After all, there are other ways to warm up . . . "Why are we warming our hands around the imaginary fire?" "OK, you laugh--but at least I'll know where I've been." Hmm--not sure what it's inspired in Erik, though. The theming even caused spontaneous hoedowns to break out among the Brits. Why, why do European parks do such a great job with Wild West theming? The James Boys would be proud to shoot out windows on this street while on a murderous rampage. I fail at taking pictures of this ride--sorry. . . . Nessie! Yes, under the enlightened leadership of Engineer Liz, all returned safely from their close encounter with . . . "I'm Engineer Liz! Yay me!" "When some stupid with a flare gun/Burned the place to the ground!/Smo-o-o-oke on the wa-a-ter . . ." Hansa's mascot looks like a killer whale crossed with a penguin, which is odd because the former often eats the latter, right?

Chapter 4: Before the Deluge--Hansa Park Hansa is a very good park that's working on being even better--all starting with a new, operational, if not-quite-finished world-class ride in Fluch von Novgorod. This park was the original home of Legoland, and it's steadily evolving as a theme park with an nice collection of rides and some impressive themed areas (to the Old West and Old Mexico). But Hansa's future plans are what will really make it stand out. The entire front of the park is going to be extensively rethemed from a sort of generic entry portal into a tribute to the great port cities of Europe. It's a huge project and should be awesome when it's finished. Hansa's new ride will do (heck, is already doing) quite a bit to beef up their offerings. Fluch von Novgorod-- This new, launched Eurofighter, which blasts off from, around, and through a cursed castle, is fully operational as a coaster, even though they're still putting on a lot of finishing touches, such as theming in the queue and what should be a very impressive dark-ride portion (akin to Mystery Mine at Dollywood). The ride is already great in its "unfinished" state, and I'd love to go back when all the elements are in place. Plenty of air and surprises on this one. Nessie--Another nice, old looping Schwartzkopf. It's not exactly an airtime machine, but it whips around like the famous Scottish monster it's named for (complete with a crop into Nessie's mouth). Rasender Roland--This is a better-than-average mine train that interacts with Nessie (right through the loop, as a matter of fact). It looks like you could "high five" the Schwarzkopf riders when they circle overhead. Crazy Mine--For all you nuts who actually kind of like the "Rattlesnake" clones (like me), this ride is for you. Kind of rough, but very nicely themed (particularly the queue, which has its own "jug band"). The park boasts an excellent flume ride, a pretty good Mack splash boat ride (rather old school), and a decent spinning-raft ride, in addition to a respectable collection of flats. It could use a first-class ghost train (in addition to Fulch von Novgorod), but I really enjoyed myself. The park has a good vibe and is quite beautiful, too. Here's a look at Hansa Park. Some of the pictures are a bit dark (it was a cloudy, drizzly day--but nothing compared to what was coming). There is another surprise in the queue-if you take the wrong path. More to come, after I finish dinner. When you exit Fulch, you can take the stairs, or the Cursed Blood-Red Slide of Death! "Yeah, I think they've took care of every detail. . . oh my freakin' god! they forgot about this wall . . . crap!" "Wainscotting? Pots of geraniums, maybe? I think it's fine the way it is." "Hell, they got this twisty part done. So, what else do ya want?" "Looks pretty much done to me!" "Whaddaya mean this sucker's not finished?" "At least the electrician's on the ball. Now if we could just finish the roof to keep the birds out." "Damn Lowe's contractors! Never show up when they're supposed to!" . . . if not-quite-finished Fulch von Novgorod. . . . the fully operational . . . After learning what it was like to be some stuntman in a rubber monster suit, it was time for some ERT on . . . "So this is what it's like to be Godzilla!" Behold the future! Once again, here's a park that treated us really well. "Really, when you take into account the evolution of most coaster braking systems . . ." Crickets chirping . . . Hansa Park has a pretty impressive gate. Good eats, too. This was my favorite hotel of the trip until we got to Power Park. . . . then I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can." "Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp-drizzly November in my soul . . . We took a three-hour ferry ride from Denmark to Germany the night before. This chapter is brought to you by Bag 'o' Booze! Yes, we will definitely put you in the bag!

There is no way that Huge Hummel boy would work that cheap. For 9 euros, he will put on quite a show with his umbrella, though. So I'm told, that is.

^I repeat my previous point--no one really knows for sure what was going through this guy's mind. Just let the investigation unfold, everyone.

Everyone needs to cool off here--period. I think timberskara's comment, which makes a lot of sense, should be the last word on the mindset of the person who shot the video.

Power Park was the second most surprising park of the trip for me (next to Grona Lund). The hotel was the best one of the trip, the food was excellent, and the park itself was a lot of fun (particularly Thunderbird and the shooting dark ride). Even the Boomerang was the best one I've ever been on (a decent ride).

Hmm--I have been rather remiss with this thread. It's been awhile since I've added anything, but what with getting ready for the Scandi trip and all . . . I did visit BG on the Friday night following Scandi. So, here's a little interlude called "Reasons Why I Like Visiting BG on Friday Nights (Except for July 3, if It Happens to Fall on a Friday)." An impromptu employee rave was going on as I left. Thanks for reading. Reason #4: A two-train wait for the back row of Apollo's Chariot. (Reason #5 would've been a two-train wait for the front row of the Loch Ness Monster, but I didn't take a picture.) Here's the concert lineup. So, my wayward son, if you see a woman who's built like a brickhouse, and that gets you to reminiscing about the days when you were hot blooded . . . sorry, can't think of any Loverboy tunes. (Might check out Kansas, though.) . . . or Cousin Psycho Big Bad (complete with flashing red eyes and howling)? . . . his Uncle Stoner Big Bad, . . . It's BBW's 25th anniversay. Which plush member of the Big Bad family would you like: Darling Baby Big Bad, . . . "Just a routine check, folks. Let's see--couple of dead birds, a dead raccoon, human arm . . . yeah, we're good to go." Reason #3: A three-train wait for the Big Bad Wolf (front-row line was mobbed, though). Not the "most intense B&M," but a good ride. Reason #3: Just walk up the ramp to Alpengeist and wait one or two trains (more if you want the very front). I think the woman on the far right is about to give birth. Durn near looks like a TPR ERT session, doesn't it? Reason #2: A five-minute wait for Griffon. Boy, Busch has anniversaries out the wazoo this year--Water Country is 25 years old. Objective achieved. This was actually the longest wait of the night, thanks to the large, clueless family ahead of me in line. Ribs. Short line + Lazy Chuck = take skyride. My objective? Without a kid, you could be denied. Just a friendly reminder. And speaking of Forest of Fun, here's a new sign. Would-be credit whores might want to take note. Odd--wonder why they did that? You have to walk around the funnel-cake shop and up to the Forest of Fun to board the skyride now. Hmm--here's something new since I left for Scandi. They've closed off this old path to the skyride. Reason #1 of why I like Firday nights at BG: More people leaving than entering.

Have you ridden any other inverts? B:TR isn't really that good. IMO Yep--quite a few (the weakest being Silver Bullet at Knott's). I've only ridden three of the Batman clones (Magic Mountain, Great Adventure, and Central Park, where it's called Diavlo), but I think they're solid rides (Montu at BG in Tampa beats them, though, as does Pyrnees at Parque Espana).

I think the Batman rides are good, too, but for my money the most intense B&M rides are Nemesis at Alton Towers and Tatsu (especially that freakin' pretzel loop).

More's the pity--but I imagine this will change in a few years. Thanks for the look at Cuba, Soren. I'll be sure to use the proper bag if I ever need to puke on one of your flights.

^I think that guy "got" everyone who rode, Steve--even I was a little freaked.

Thanks for reposting this--looks like Bahrain has a very nice water park. The "pissing antelope" in the lazy river is a great touch.

I think that "nice" is probably the best word to describe Carowinds. Once you get past Afterburn, the coaster selection isn't particularly special, but the park is very attractive and pleasant.

Someone on KDfansite posted a recreation of the 2010 coaster in no limits based on a sketch that was taken from the planning board documents & it's one sweet ride but I'm still hoping for more hills & less curves on this ride but we'll all find out come august when the park announces the ride. Query: How can someone post a "re-creation" of something that has yet to be "created"?

Hmm--a big vague, wouldn't you say? Why don't you look here first, then come back if you have a specific question. TPR's Search function can help you with DF info, too. Thread locked.

I've been saying "Throat Warbler Mangrove."

I think it's way too early to be posting a poll about it.

^They have such a policy. However, if you carry items in "secured pockets" or in a fanny pack, that's OK.

I'm glad that you enjoyed your trip and want to share the fun with everyone else. However, never feel obligated to post every picture you take on a trip. For example, your joke about "robotic horses" required but one shot--of a horse. You used three (inlcuding one that didn't even feature a horse). Your comments regarding the castle v. the Matterhorn required only one picture, too. Yes, sometimes, you have to post a less-than-optimal picture to make a point (or, as I do from time to time, for a cheap laugh). But try to be a bit more selective in the future. That being said, keep on trying. My first TRs were virtual comedies of errors.