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For some reason, looking at Dominator from the Rugrats car ride cracks me up! "Behold your new master, Rugrats! Thou shalt call me 'Domintaor' and bow to my will! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!"

Just heard that Ollie Johnston died today. As one of what Walt Disney used to call his "Nine Old Men," Mr. Johnston worked on many classic Disney animated features, including Pinocchio and Fantasia. Just thought I'd pass that on: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gQEVsnYz7DkzKQBtLPySm4JKqNEgD902FSVO0

I had the same trouble the first time I tried posting pictures to the site. When you look at the pics in "preview" mode, they actually run in reverse order; when you post, they're in the correct order. I'm looking forward to seeing Toverland in June--thanks for the TR.

Yeah, they look like really old animated dummies from some boardwalk dark ride.

The Hurricane looks kind of messed up and painful.

I noticed that Houdini is no longer on the park's Web site. Too bad--I was hoping to check it out later this month.

^I like how both queues set up their rides' "stories." Both are very well done, using two different approaches.

^And Smoky Mountains National Park hosts more visitors than any other national park.

Thanks, Melanie. I do feel lucky to have such a cool home park.

Huh . . .? Wha. . .? I was distracted by the picture of the flank steak . . . Congratulations, Derek and Nicole!

My best suggestion would be to not think of this as a "job interview," but as a conversation with someone who doesn't know you. Answer the questions respectfully and don't be too pushy--just enthusiastic. Good luck.

Perhaps he was planning to stalk and kill a lion with his bare hands.

So, if the lockers were handled by strippers, that would be OK?

If you apply for early admission to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, just because a news story mentioned that they might build a roller coaster on campus.

I agree that it really isn't fair to rip non-enthusiasts for not being sufficiently "geeky." For example, I've heard a number of people waiting in line for BGE's Curse of DarKastle ask if it's a roller coaster. Being as the old artwork for the ride implied that it might be (it featured what appeared to be rails running past the castle turret), it's not an unreasonable question. But as for those who complain about getting wet on the Roman Rapids, Le Scoot, or Escape from Pompeii, all bets are off.

Mr. Toad at DL was always the best of the old Fantasyland dark rides, with Peter Pan a close second (but the line is always so-o-o-o-o lo-o-o-o-o-ng).

I liked the policy they use on the Hollywood Dream coaster at Universal in Japan. You put 100 yen in the locker, and after your ride is over, they refund your money if you pick up your stuff promptly. I usually don't carry anything but a camera in a fanny pack anyway, so the locker policy isn't a big concern for me.

Disney should set up a Web cam at a monorail station and start an online betting pool.

^^Are you thinking of the Columbia and Big Thunder, Hector? I might lump in the America Sings accident with that group (but that might be an example of "cast-member error").

^Sad to say, Wes, but rock music hasn't been "pure" for a helluva long time. The existence of the Hard Rock Cafe chain itself is but one symptom of that. And if any band just loves to be commercialized, it's Queen. Today's rebellion is tomorrow's soap commercial.

^You need to factor in how many of those deaths in Disney parks were due mechanical failures, ride-op mistakes, and other operations-related factors (as opposed to guest stupidity) for that statement to mean very much. Then again, I'm not clear on what you mean here at all. That Disney rides have killed a lot more people than this theme park in Thailand?

When I saw that picture of you and Shannon in front of Star Flyer, I thought, "Poor, sick bastard." You looked like a refugee cast member from Halloween Horror Night. But you still took on Star Flyer, for which I commend you. (I thought the ride was fun, once I got over the teeny little chains that held the seats.)

There are two types of rides that I avoid--spinning teacups and round-ups. I'm not crazy about Top Spins, either. I rarely have nausea issues with coasters (although Dragon's Fury at Chessington was pushing it for me, and my digestive system wasn't too crazy about Tatsu).

Just to clarify, while I do believe that Knott's was a much better park back in the "good old days" (that is, pre-Windjammer), I'm not calling for them to bring back any old rides that have been removed. I just think that CF (and before them, the Knott family) have made some unfortunate decisions. That being said, they've made a few right moves, too--for example, replacing the wretched Windjammer with Xcelerator (I like this ride quite a bit). Sierra Sidewinder is a good fit for Camp Snoopy, and I think the Pony Express will be good for Ghost Town (it should fit in better with the western theme than Silver Bullet). What bothers me is how the atmosphere of the place has declined.

As I recall, Knott's sold ticket books, too (basically "A-C" coupons, as opposed to "A-E"). But you could buy a ticket that just got you into the park (as you could at Disneyland).