cfc

Which is, in a sense, wearing another type of "uniform." There's a great line in an old Firesign Theatre sketch--"High School Madness." Porgy asks his friend Mudhead what he plans to do after graduation: "Find a bunch of guys who dress alike and follow 'em around!"

That really seems to be a bit much--more than you can prove in what should be a brief op-ed piece for a newspaper. You're obviously passionate about the subject, and your self-criticism is on the mark--the piece, as it stands, is rambling and repetitive. Casually flinging around loaded terms such as "socialism" and "communism" isn't helping you much, either. This sentence rates a "huh?" To which "Disney movie" are you referring? Aladdin? Beauty and the Beast? Condorman? In short, tighten, tighten, tighten. You need a clearer focus--perhaps how schools should promote individuality, rather than suppress it. And jettison the loaded rhetoric (such as references to promoting communism).

What? Coney Beach's Megablitz came in at 331? It's an outrage, I tell you! Glad to see that Nemesis did well (that was my favorite coaster in the UK last year).

^Oh, I dunno. You could blow some cash in the casinos on the Nevada side, then head southwest, play a round of mini-golf at Magic Carpet, then take a ride on Rolling Thunder. Then again, maybe not.

"Oh, lord, stuck in Lodi again . . ." So Micke's Grove is still in business, eh? Didn't have any coasters there the last time I visited (when I was about eight). How about this one? http://www.rcdb.com/ig652.htm?picture=1 Now that one makes ya feel dirty.

"(These Blues Are Gonna) Rub Me Raw" by Warren Zevon.

^I'm looking forward to finally hearing the voice of Horace Horsecollar. At least this won't be an issue for Dopey or Pluto.

I first read about this elsewhere online (can't remember if it was Screamscape or Miceage), and thought it sounded a bit creepy. But after seeing the video, I think it's OK (not as creepy as I expected). EDIT--One dorky question springs to mind: What if some kid, after seeing this show, wants Mickey to "talk" to him later in the day (while getting his picture taken in Toontown, for instance)? Is there a "cover story" for this?

When you come to Williamsburg, you might want to consider staying in one of the hotels on the tourist strip on Richmond Road. (Note that a big construction project, High Street, is going on on richmond Road--it's practically in the backyard of the Holiday Inn Express). The Princess Anne is a motor court with some funky "cottages"--it used to have a decent breakfast (but I can't vouch for it now because it's changed hands.) The ones near BGE are in the "Kingsmill" section and might be a bit pricey. But there are plenty of lodging alternatives in the 'Burg. If you stay at the Days Inn near Water Country, maybe you can get a room with a view of Presidents Park! (It's right next to the joint.) If you want to get on your way after PKD, you can probably find reasonably priced lodgings in Fredericksburg (about an hour or so north of the park).

What's really hated is competition in general.

Three words for Disney: "Just do it!"

Hmm--I wonder if the "Carland" is what's going in at the Disney Studios park in France (next to the new Crush ride). It all looks pretty cool, though.

That's not hail or snow, guys--its fallout! I'm sure your local Lowe's or Home Depot stocked up snow shovels, for which some schmucks will pay twenty bucks apiece (like in Williamsburg when it snows).

Al Lutz over at Miceage.com had a fairly extensive write up about the POTC plans for HKD (looks pretty cool if they follow through on it). But it seems that the next "E ticket" for HDK will be another version of It's a Small World that uses Disney characters along with the singing, dancing dolls (and that freakin' song, I guess).

And in Virginia--but that's changing tonight.

It's all part of Snyder's "final solution" to the Magic Mountain problem.

Well, since they're into Jim Steinman tunes, how about "Paradise by the Dashboard Light"? I'd love to see Ryan do the Phil Rizzuto "play-by-play" section.

^Quit torturing the lad.

^Well, Cedar Fair can't do much to screw up PKD's Hurler--Paramount took care of that. But please don't screw up Rebel Yell or Grizzly, CF.

40 degrees in southern California on Saturday--Disneyland open. Nearly 80 degrees in Virignia on Saturday--BGE and PKD closed. There is no justice. Thanks for the TR, Jahan. Don't worry--DL's Space Mountain will be crapping all over MK's again by summer.

^The new Cedar Fair administration is not filling me with confidence so far. Looks like everything is being handled on a park-by-park basis. For example, I was told that the Maxx Pass I purchased (when "renewing" my old Paramount pass) couldn't be used at any other Cedar Fair park during the 2006 season; however, Carowinds was, it seems, honoring those passes for Scarowinds last October.

I had no problems with my BGE-purchased pass at BGA or Adventure Island last October. My understanding about the Cedar Fair Maxx Pass is that you have to go back in the spring to park you purchased it from (in my case, PKD) to get your "permanent" pass, which is supposed to work at all Cedar Fair parks. We shall see.

The female black widow is the deadly one of the species--the poor male is killed and eaten after mating. So, yeah, I think Black Widow counts as a female coaster--especially if it kills and eats all male riders.

I've always considered BGE's Loch Ness Monster to be female (not sure what the park's take is on this, though). For all I know, Alpengeist could be female.

^The last I heard was Memorial Day--back when the Daily Press started their Griffon update site.