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^^As I recall, Water Country heats the pools up to 82 degrees if the outside temperature drops below 78 (I think this is posted on a sign at the main gate). The pool was quite comfortable on Media Day, but it was a bit chilly on top of the slide tower. ^There were quite a few people there, some of whom won some sort of "contest." The parking lot attendants were doing double duty, because Kingsmill was also using the Water Country lot for their big LPGA tournament.

^Ah, but everyone needs a bit of El Toro. (But I also like Hersheypark.)

^I think Disney ran into a lot of local opposition to Westcot, as well (too big, too noisy, etc.). But I'm not entirely sure of this.

Some more dancin' 'n' slidin'. The King and I would like to thank you--thank you verra much--for reading this TR. One last look at the Jammin Juke Box as I head out (and the rain begins to fall). After some hard slidin', you can chill out in the lazy river, like these two dudes. This is where the video magic is supposed to happen. I guess those chest cameras can be picked up on that satellite dish. And here's the back of the lucky winner--oh well. They raffled off a weekend at the Kingsmill Resort and Spa. Shamu, you are totally going down! Yeah, how cool was that? "OK, I look cool. Chicks dig guys who can wipeout and still look cool!" Oh, the humanity! "Oh my freakin' God, what am I doin'?" You've done the "Twist." Time for a few wipeouts and splashdowns. Feet first, please. Here's some of the crew responsible for the slide videos. Is it just me, or does the DJ look a lot like "Terry the Toad" from "American Graffiti"? Maybe a little Paul Giamatti-esque? Time for a little funky chicken action. (Sorry--I missed the hully gully.)

After the twistin' comes the talkin' and the slidin'. Yep--there he is. More to come. I think this is Bryan from BGE Escape. Now, I'm pretty certain this is me. The camera rig is rather heavy. . . . the Hully Gully. Those feet could be mine, for all I know. Well, there's time to grab a hotdog before my ride on . . . Here's Kimberly, who showed us around during Media Day. Thanks for everything, Kim--you're awesome! Mark is a little soggy, but still happy to answer any questions about the park. Well done, Mr. Reilly! You're a man among men! And here's Mark! (At least I think it's Mark--kind of hard to tell with that bathing cap and all.) Then Suzy Cheely (director, design and engineering, Busch Gardens) joins John and Mark for the inaugural slide--in their business suits! (I think those are John's stockinged feet behind Suzy.) The pool crowd watches and listens in rapt attention. . . . and Mark Pauls, vice president, park operations, Busch Gardens. And we hear a few words from John Reilly, executive vice president and general manager of Busch Gardens and Water Country USA . . . A DJ sets the mood.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Island (RnR) is a new attraction at Water Country USA in Williamsburg, Va., and Busch threw a nice party to kick it off. Media Day for RnR, the park’s first new attraction since 2003 (when the Hubba Hubba Highway lazy river debuted) was held on Thursday, May 5. RnR is essentially a reworking of the park’s original Adventure Isle section, which was a play area with lily pads, a lazy river, and two body slides: the Peppermint Twist (or as one of my friends dubbed it, the “Atomic Wedgie”) and the Lemon Drop. Busch kept the lazy river and expanded the swimming area of the pool (more than half of RnR is reserved for swimming and relaxing), but they replaced the old slides with a new tower—Jammin’ Juke Box. Riders can plunge into the pool 33 feet below on three different slides named for old dance crazes: the “Twist” (pink slide), the “Funky Chicken” (the blue slide), and the “Hully Gully” (the green slide). These slides remind me quite a bit of the old Peppermint Twist, only without the wedgie at the end. Each is a fully enclosed, yet translucent tube, and they’re good rides. The “Funky Chicken” is the steepest and craziest of the three, I think. Each ride lasts about 15 seconds—a little longer if you’re wearing a business suit, or a life jacket with a camera strapped to your chest (I’ll explain later). There's also a new slide for kids--the "Little Bopper." Many water parks are putting in more-intense attractions, such as “tornado” or “half-pipe” slides, but Water Country’s philosophy is a bit different, or so Mark Pauls, vice president, park operations, Busch Gardens said. Families that visit the Historic Triangle of Yorktown, Colonial Williamsburg, and Jamestown are the park’s primary audience, and an attraction like RnR appeals to all age groups. Water Country has been around since 1984, but Busch purchased the park in 1992, giving it a 1950s/1960s rock-and-roll theme. Other attractions include Aquazoid (a big family raft slide with lighting and sound effects), Malibu Pipeline (an enclosed slide in ptich darkness), and the Jet Scream (which was the park's original set of body slides, but Busch converted them to tube slides in the 1990s). The park put on a nice little show (and provided free food, of course), with plenty of old-school rock-and-roll and dancing bobby-soxers and hepcats (or whatever they used to call the cool kids back in the 1950s). Here are the pictures from Water Country’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Island Media Day, along with a video of my slide down the Hully Gully. Water Country is currently open on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about the park, go to http://www.watercountryusa.com. "Uh, would you two like to be alone?" More to come. "Er, pay no attention to that guy in the pool!" . . . and get really funky (like Vin Diesel here). Yeah, let's all get down . . . . . . everybody Twist! Soon, Busch will strap a camera to my chest and I'll do the Hully Gully, but first . . . The old "lily pads" have been replaced with guitars and keyboards. Or maybe you'd rather be a "Little Bopper." If you're ready to Twist, Hully Gully, or Funky Chicken, the Jammin' Juke Box has you covered. But keep going past Surfer's Bay--then you'll find Rock 'n' Roll Island. . . . or the ghost of Buddy Holly. . . . or the shadows of the Beatles . . . . . . or some of the park's "beach party" themeing . . . Perhaps you'll see a big doofus trying to eat a giant plastic hamburger . . . Here's another change for the park. They had to move the entrance to accomodate a new shopping center next door. And what will you see as you enter the park? hullygully_cfc.zip hullygully_cfc.wmv Here's an on-slide video of the Hully Gully. You actually go quite a bit faster without a 10-pound camera strapped to your chest.

^Because I didn't take as many pictures at KD (or SFA). I just didn't pull out the camera as often. And because BGE and SFGrAd are more-awesome parks.

Kings Dominion has a campground, but I have no idea what it's like: http://www.kingsdominion.com/visit/visit_accomodations.cfm. I don't know your precise timetable for your trip, but Busch Gardens Europe is only a little over an hour away from Kings Dominion (as is Water Country USA, Busch's waterpark in Williamsburg). You could squeeze in Six Flags America on your way back to New York from KD. (Rt. 301 is a nice way to avoid the Washington, DC Beltway madness--you can pick it up one exit north of KD off I-95). Hope this helps--have fun!

It's pretty tough to judge the ride's "immersive feeling" from this video; after all the person with the camera can shoot what he wants, while riders may have to look at whatever the imagineers want them to look at. But we'll see--I'm looking forward to riding it this year.

The headline in the linked story reads, "Camel Punching In Vallejo Leads to Arrests." Of course, maybe he was just camel herding.

^So his stomach spasmed on GASM, eh? One ride on that thing was enough for me, but Great Adventure has a great collection of coasters.

"Oh yeah? Well I once smoked a camel!"

Here's the last batch of picture from an awesome weekend! I had a great time with Erik and Will--and our "special guest stars" Jeff and Larry. Thanks for reading! . . . we take one last look at El Toro, because we all love it so. And as we bid a fond farewell, to Six Flags Great Adventure . . . But it does give you a good view of what's left of Chiller. Yeah, it was kind of cold up there. And now it's time for Nicole's most favoritest ride ever. . . . I can understand why there's always a couple piles of kitty litter or sweeping compound near the station. You know, after riding a couple of these B&M flyers, . . . Looks like Superboy could use a new jacket. . . . when they could be lining up for this? . . . for this, . . . OK, why are all these people lining up . . . . . . Medusa! Well, here's Runaway Train in all it's Arrowness. It's actually kind of fun, and it's near . . . "For thar be credit whores off the port bow!" "But keep a weather eye open!" "Ahoy, me hearties! It be time fer a ride on Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train!" Is it just me, or does Erik look like a cardboard cutout in this picture? "No time to lose, Robin! I have a date with Catwoman tonight!" "Holy emasculation, Batman!" What's this? One of Batman's balls, left on a random rooftop? Could this be the work of that crazed conniver of conundrums, the Riddler?

Six Flags did, indeed, redeem itself in New Jersey. Great Adventure was the exact opposite of SFA the evening before--friendly staff, excellent operations (such as running three trains on Nitro, even though the crowd was pretty light), and, of course, El Toro--and Larry! This was my second visit to the park, but it was Will's first time, and Erik has the misfortune of visiting three days before El Toro opened. (He needed the Runaway Train credit, too.) So, we got multiple rides on El Toro and Nitro (the park's two best rides), made a good lap around the park, and even checked out the parachute drop--an excellent day (if a bit chilly at times). Here be the pics. Upon further reflection, I do think it's a better ride than Apollo's Chariot. More to come. Nitro was running great. Time for our accidental ERT session on Nitro. Three trains, no waiting! "So, don't pull a boner! Come to Skull Warehouse for all your warhousing needs! We now return to this TR already in progress." "We make no bones about it! We want your business!" And now a word from our sponsor. "Hello folks! Welcome to Skull Warehouse!" I like the old Parachute Sky Jump at Knott's better, but this is actually a pretty pleasant ride--but it was rather cold up there. I decided to salute our proud fighting men and women at Edwards Air Force Base. Darth GASM says, "Join me on the Arrow side, Will." Ka got over itself and started working. But El Toro still craps bigger than this thing. We sat toward the front, and it was still pretty shaky. My God! It's Darth GASM! Will detects a mysterious disturbance in the Force. But because we rode Toro first, Ka's feelings were hurt. It went into "emo mode" for about 15 minutes. (They even played sad violin music in the station.) Team Larry heads for Kingda Ka. "Mi es El Toro!" (Or something like that.) And it's Erik's favorite now, too. Yeah, it's definitely my favorite woodie in the U.S. "We are El Toro! And we are Seis Flags!" . . . straight to El Toro! Go Team Larry . . . Yes, guys--El Toro is over there!

This takes me back to my old high-school band days--marching in the All-Western Band Review at Long Beach, hanging out at the Long Beach Pike. The Pike? It's a wonder I'm still alive to tell the tale.

^I would strongly advise against renting a U-Haul, unless you're picking up a new refrigerator, or something.

Hmm--beaches, the Florida Keys, the Everglades, conch chowder. Yeah, there are a few other things in Florida.

"Sheriff! Mongo's back! He's tearing up the whole town!" "Mongo! Santa Maria!"

Hmm--oddly enough, based on some of the concept art, this ride is pretty much what I expected (I just thought there would be a few more animatronics involved in the show building). Call it a "D" ticket attraction (while Buzz is a "C"--but still fun).

Usually, it's all a matter of tone. How you phrase something can be the difference between a legitimate piece of criticism and an annoying bit whining or griping. Constructive criticism: I think the acoustics could be better in this section of the ride. But perhaps this problem is already being addressed. Annoying griping: Your sound sucks!

^I stand corrected, Erik. But as I recall, you'll have your chance to get it it this summer.

Hmm--I recall that picture. I think those folks were Mennonites, not Amish (at least that's what it seemed like from their clothes). Mennonites have similar religious beliefs, but unlike the Amish, they can use modern conveniences, such as telephones, cars, and dishwashers. My Dad's favorite tranmission repairman was a Mennonite in Modesto, Calif., where there's a pretty good size community of people who subscribe to that religion.

^Yes, Charlotte has become a major financial center. That being said, I do think that paranoia reigns in our country, and that terrorists would be more interested in more "high-profile" targets, such as LA, New York, or Chicago. As I said earlier, the story was pretty short on details. Perhaps more details will emerge later (unless these guys have been shipped off to Guantanamo Bay).

Then leave. Keep in mind that the nearest exit may be located behind you. I'm cautioning both of you to keep this conversation civil.

It seems to me that if taking pictures of a major tourist attraction and a large city's downtown area constitutes "suspicious activity," then all of us will be in prison at some point. Still, the news story was sketchy, at best, and we don't know all the details.