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Looks like Hong Kong has the coolest Autopia of all. Thanks for the pics. this park was slammed quite a bit online while it was being built and right after it opened, but it looks pretty nice to me.

^It's also where they shot The Stunt Man starring Peter O'Toole and Steve Railsback. Hmm--for some reason, Derek, your TRs always make me thirsty.

Strange that this version's story seems more "Twilight Zone-like" than the other versions, in that it has a bit of a moral (that is, Hightower's hubris and lack of respect for others causes his "downfall" and leaves his building with a terrible curse). The original ToTs lacked this sort of message (they could've easily stripped away the "Twilight Zone" trappings and used the original story). I think redoing the ride's backstory was a smart move--a good way to freshen up the ToT concept.

This is a damn shame. The fun house wheel really made me fell like a kid again (just like the one at Santa Cruz back in the 1970s). The Cyclone was a good ol' woodie, and King Solomon's Mines was completely nuts--rough in a good (bordering on bad) way. Goodbye, Southport. Glad that TPR gave me the chance to check ya out.

To Robb, there's just something about a man in lederhosen.

Wow--you can get your picture on Cheetah Chase? Now there's something they never offered when it was the Wild Maus in Williamsburg. Actually, Python has been renamed Griffon and is being moved to Williamsburg. I'm kidding. Don't hurt me, please.

^Good question. The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera is playing at PKD following its stint at Universal in Florida and California, and Pirates 4D was at Thorpe even though it was originally made for Busch (I think). Those theme-park flicks really do make the rounds.

And now, a special bonus set of pics: Williamsburg's Yankee Candle Factory (or, as I like to call it, "Bizarro World"). If you said "Carrabbas Italian Grill," get yourself a cookie. Thanks for stopping by. Hmm--can you guess what's going up next to the Candle Factory, kids? And nothing says "New England" like singing robot rodents. You know, I think I've had enough . . . Touch yon trees, and I'll lop off thy hands, varlet! You know, we're actually native to the South Pole, so what we're doing here is a mystery to me. Just thought I'd mention it. . . . where it's Christmas all year round! Yes, I feel as though I've been transported to New England . . . Yes, the Yankee Candle Factory, just down the road from Ripley's--and it's every bit as bizarre (and admission is free).

Well, it's Labor Day Weekend, and I've survived the Burg's brush with Tropical Depression Ernesto. The town's a bit messy in spots, but intact, so I decided to check out my fair community's newest tourist trap . . . er . . . attraction: The Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum on Richmond Road. I haven't been to one of these joints since I visited the one on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco back in 8th grade. All I remember from that day was a log cabin constructed from shiny pennies and a stuffed, two-headed dog. Has Ripley's changed much since then? Not really, but this museum of oddities and odd balls does include a "4D" theatre with seats that give you a periodic butt massage and squirt you with water in time to some rather lame 3D flicks ("Deep Sea 3D" and "Escape from Dino Island"). So, how much fun does $20.95 buy you these days? Let's go in and find out. I escaped Ripley's via this hole in time and space. You know, it cost me fifty cents to find out what the whole world already knows, right? Er, right? Right? Hello-o-o-o . . . You know, I think I'll pass on the health spa. Thanks, anyway. Bleah! You like the paintings on my wings? Then let me suck your blood! You know, I really feel quite svelte today. (I'm the one on the right, wise guy.) And what young man couldn't use a hand-tooled penis sheath? And now, some gifts for that "special someone" on your Christmas list. What young lady wouldn't want a camel-scrotum powder horn? Why, yes, I'd love to purchase a used car. Just don't step on me, please! The ghost of Ripley appears and tells me to quit groping the sculptures. This is the only credit I could get at Ripley's, sorry to say. OK, now on to what we all came to see--hot, naked robots! (Well, a sculpture made from household items, actually.) How about taking a chomp from a president made totally out of popcorn? Looks more like boogers, if you ask me. First, a tenuous connecton with our colonial heritage--a famous painting of George Washington done in needlepoint. Here it is, in all its glory--a museum installed in a building that housed three failed restaurants (Bob Evans, Yukon Steakhouse, and Dakota Bay Grill).

Hmm--I've always preferred the California version of Space Mountain even without the music, but it does completely stink that DL doesn't have a Peoplemover anymore.

Hmm--Williamsburg's very own Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum just opened last week. Maybe I'll check it out (could be a hoot).

Well, Ernesto has come and gone, but not without causing his share of trouble in Hampton Roads. Williamsburg experienced about 8.25 inches of rain and howling winds, and there are still some people without power (mine was out from from about 9:00 am until 3:00 pm on Friday, so I was lucky). Things are pretty much back to normal here, but they took a worse hit in Virginia Beach (just in time for the outdoor American Music Festival, which was washed out yesterday, but is scheduled to start up again tonight), Norfolk, and other coastal cities. I imagine BGE has some rather soggy Howl-o-Scream decorations to wring out--this storm was a bit more than anyone expected. Not an Isabel, of course, but it did remind me a bit of Hurricane Floyd (which blew through here five or six years ago). Chuck

Hoping to do both, actually.

^Agreed--PKD has a better setup for little kids than BGE (although Land of the Dragons is OK).

Arghh! Be sure to play some pirate mini-golf while ye be at Santa Cruz, sez I!

Dan: Who farted? Derek: Whee, it was me! Elissa: Thank the lord you're not riding in that car.

Thanks for the pics--I'm hoping to check out BGT in October. I've never been, and I hear that their Howl-o-Scream is a bit more intense than Williamsburg's.

Hmm--dunno. Kind of wingin' it because of Ernesto, but I'll take some pics if I do something interesting. I guess I could treat you to photos of me sitting at a computer making my arrangements for Halloween Horror Night.

Well, we're gettin' it a wee bit worse than you lucky Floridians up here in Virginia--high wind advisory (what it's high on I couldn't say), flash flood watch (look out for naked water), tornado watch, fire and brimstone, dogs and cats living together . . . It is shaping up to be a pretty nasty Labor Day Weekend in the 'Burg.

"You are don't misses"? Oh, "your don't misses." You might want to edit that title.

In the case of Disney's skyrides, I understand that the decision to remove them had to do with staffing and accounting--that is, the rides required too many CMs based on the number of guests per hour. This was the same rationale used for closing the Subs a few years ago. But I'm not an accountant or an MBA, so take my post for what it's worth.

All Six Flags parks will now require a personality test for admission--if you have a personality, you can't get in. Six Flags is also in negotiations with John Travolta for the rights to Battlefield Earth: The Ride.

My Mom has never accidentally ridden a roller coaster, but she has jumped into other theme-park arrangements blindly. A few years ago, when she and Dad were visiting in me in Virginia, they decided to drive down to WDW because they hadn't been there since Epcot was just a huge hole in the ground. Mom made the arrangements over the phone, and it went something like this: Mom: I got us into some place called the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's new. [in fact, it was opening week.] They said it's nice. Dad: Um-umm . . . Mom: And I got us tickets for something called Cirque d'Soleil. They're 65 dollars each. Dad: That better be the best damn show in the whole wide world, then! And he thought it was.

And to think my brother and I missed this place when were in Glasgow back in 2004. How many Americans can say "I rode a Pinfari Death Machine in Scotland"? (Well, I rode one in Wales last June.) Thanks for the pics.

One thing I like about CoasterFanatic's list--it actually tells you how many (and which) members have actually experienced a particular ride (which does give a little more info to go on).