cfc

^Dude, I think this point has been addressed on each page of this thread--yes, they have.

It isn't a heavily themed section. I think a lot of the work went into reconfiguring the pools to accommodate the new slides. The old "Lemon Drop" pool was much too deep for the "Little Bopper." They also had to add a large ramp to replace the old stairs that went to Adventure Isle.

^^They must use a toliet-cleaning tablet the size of a warehouse to get the River Caves' water so blue. BPB is so cool on so many levels (particularly Valhalla, the Ghost Train and the Steeplechase).

Did you know that Busch Gardens Europe used to have a "face" character called "The Ratcatcher"?

Those tigers on the Amazon River ride look like the most lethal stuffed animals ever. But the T-Rex on the dino ride actually kinda friendly. Sunway's huge bridge looks like one of the coolest walkways anywhere, I think.

^Hmm--I do recall something about foot size being inversely proportional to the size of some other bodily appendage, but I doubt there have been any detailed studies of this phenomenon. And Happy Belated Birthday, Homer--even though I think that ToT trumps most standard drop rides.

Yeah, there doesn't seem to be a lot of point to this. Thread locked. And it would be a good thing if our older members would make more constructive comments to help out new members, rather than just "fail" jokes. It's all about having fun and sharing information, folks.

Does he call anybody a "hockey puck"?

Thanks for the pictures, Erik--and for warning us about the "spoilers" (I do like nice surprises). I'm looking forward to checking out both of these attractions, but, strangely enough, it looks like the Simpsons is more elaborate than people first thought, while Toy Story Mania is the opposite. Or maybe I should just go to your house and ride Toy Story Mania there.

^I never rode the mouse at the Pike--too scary looking. The old (defunct) wooden Wild Mouse at Sana Cruz was one sick ride, too (much scarier than the Giant Dipper). The cars leaned way over on the curves, and that double dip made it feel like you were going to be hurled over the beach and into the Pacific, where, no doubt, hungry sharks lay in wait.

I remembered how shocked I was when I saw sandbags in the cars on Megablitz at Coney Beach in Wales a couple of years ago. ('Blitz was one of those Pinfari death machines.) And "House of the Dead/Demons of the Dark"? Make up your freakin' minds, people! How about "House of the Dead Demons of the Dark"? "Dead Demons of the Dark in the House"? Thanks for the look at Playland. I haven't been to Vancouver since high school, and somehow missed the park back then.

Your paper is all over the map. Narrow your topic. Perhaps you should concentrate on, for example, the development of roller coasters, rather than the entire history of amusement parks. I strongly recommend that you make an outline before writing your paper. Come up with a topic sentence--that is, the actual point you want to make--first. Then let the rest of the paper flow from that.

I remember the lame commercial they used when the Sonic Whip first opened (pre-Busch, I believe)--low-quality videotape of some guy trying to look bad, saying "I'm not afraid of it!" I liked AB, as well, but it seems you and I were in the minority. According to one of the park officials, AB was "80s technology," which hints that there may have been some maintenance issues, too.

I'm locking this old thread. While posting about incidents you've witnessed is OK, TPR is not the place to brag about breaking park rules while confronting other guests (no matter "who started it"). In these sorts of situations, there is usually plenty of blame to be shared on both sides. Remember, it's all about having fun. Chuck

Just learned from today's Newport News (Va.) Daily Press that some of the rejected names for the new body slides were "Mashed Potato," "Locomotion," and "The Bop." Hmm--not sure I'd want to ride something called the "Mashed Potato" at a water park.

^Yeah, I'm thinking Amish, too--mainly from the clothes. Plus, the Mennonites tend to drive cars.

^Or beef-and-pork-hating omnivore.

^Er, you've seen all of it. Glad you liked it, though.

Daniel Waters, son of TPR member Jeff Waters (JnETrains), has written and published his first novel. My hat's off to him--I often have trouble enough sitting down to write trip reports, much less full-length books. Generation Dead show us "normal" folks what it's like for those who are a "little different" from ourselves--namely, teenage zombies. Yes, it seems that dead American teenagers have been coming back as the undead, and society, much less local high schools, don't know what to do about them. The book is available though Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=generation+dead Daniel maintains his own blog site, too: http://www.danielwaters.com/ It seems like everybody has a blog these days--even the undead: http://www.mysocalledundeath.com/ Again, congratulations to Daniel and his proud dad, Jeff, who is a veteran of two TPR trips (the UK in 2006 and Japan in 2007). Good luck with the book--I hope it's a hit.

^I think the Peppermint Twist used to have three slides, but I'm not sure. Jeff (pdkcoaster) might be able to field this one.

For BGE, you can take the train (Amtrak) from the Baltimore airport. There are two trains, one in the morning and one in the evening, that stop at Williamsburg (and there are cabs at the train station). Here's Amtrak's Web site: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/HomePage

^Hmm--it sounds to me like there was plenty of uncol behavior to go around on both sides here. Frankly, I think your entire party should've left the line when your sister went to find her purse, especially since she came and went "over and over again." Upping the ante while you were on the ride was immature--not the sort of behavior anybody likes to see at a theme park (or anywhere else). In a way, I think you were the fortunate ones when the other group left the line, as if you had, in fact, "beat" on them, you would've been kicked out of the park, at best.

^^Well, I think the new slides do use the same tower, at least.

Yes, I would leave the lack of caps and punctuation to ee cummings.

Actually, the Jammin' Juke Box slides are much like the Peppermint Twist, just not quite as intense (and without the forced enema and wedgie the old Twist used to give riders). They removed the Atomic Breakers, too, because they were the park's lowest-rated attraction. (Guests had to haul their tubes back up the hill after riding, which I suspect may have had something to do with the Breakers' low popularity. Then again, you have to do the same for the Wild Thang, which uses the same splash pool.) I was always indifferent toward the Lemon Drop slides--usually didn't bother with them. Here are pictures of the slides that used to be part of Adventure Isle, in case anyone's curious. Peppermint Twist Lemon Drop