cfc

From which she can make fondue!

Hmm--it is an amazing simulation of what happens after consuming a keg of brew.

And here's another credit for you (at South Lake Tahoe) if you don't already have it--Rolling Thunder at the cleverly named Tahoe Amusement Park (http://rcdb.com/id652.htm). I think I may have rode this little sucker back when I was in high school.

Did you check out the Atlantis resort? My friend Linda is the voice of their elevators. I remember when the Peppermill was just a nice coffee shop.

^^Well, it's good to know that PETA won't get medieval on Holiday World, then.

Hot dang tamale! Looks like I'll have to keep next summer clear.

I'm learning a lot since I joined this site; before then, I probably wouldn't have even heard of a place like Holiday World. Now I want to explore these midwestern parks. Thanks for the report. Is the objective of Gobbler Getaway to blow away turkeys? I live just an hour away from PETA HQ, you know.

Hmm--link goes to what appears to be a "redirect" screeen, but it's in Italian. Click on what appears to be the "redirect" link, and it just comes back to your post. Anybody for Devo's "Stuck in a Loop"?

But nothing tops South Park's "John Denver Experience."

I see that Batman, as he does at SFMM, is wearing the Adam West suit with the Michael Keaton cape and cowl. Nice job--thanks for the pics.

Funny stuff. I remember an old SNL sketch that featured Dan Ackroyd hyping a new thrill ride at "Uncle Bob's Funland." Don't recall the whole name of the ride, but it ended with "Upsidedown Inferno!"

OK, kid--do exactly what I do, and someday thousands of people will join your Web site!

^Yep--they should just call it the Cannonball. I stayed well back and used my zoom to get a picture of that one.

^Dunno--it wasn't there last season, though. Seems to me that the Lemon Drop once had three slides in a previous life, but I wouldn't place a bet on that. I need to check out a Disney water park one of these days.

^^Thanks, Jeff--I seem to have the name "Vortex" on the brain lately. I remember the third slide, too, but from what I recall they didn't use it all the time. I don't remember the Rampage's double sleds, but there is one thing Busch did to improve that slide--you no longer have to carry the sleds up the steps! You're right about Wild Thang, too--not quite the slide it used to be (when it was called "Vortex," er, I mean "The Amazon"). But still a great waterpark.

Oops! I missed your question re. Great Wolf Lodge, Kumba. It's about a ten-minute drive from there to Water Country. The lodge is on E. Rochambeau (not too far from Pierce's Pitt Barbeque, if you're familiar with that joint). Turn right on Rochambeau, pick up I-64 E toward Norfolk, then take the exit for Yorktown (WC is on Rt. 199).

Do you mean the Rampage? If so, yes I did (there's a picture of it in my TR). There's an inflatable, three-person tobaggan slide called Meltdown (hard to get a good picture of it, though), which I also rode. My raft stopped dead for a moment right before the splash pool, until this big wave shoved it the rest of the way. (This happens with single riders all the time, the lifeguard in the pool told me.) ^I didn't bash my head on the Peppermint Twist, but they do advise you to ride with your ankles crossed and your arms crossed over your chest (and not to sit up).

^^Yep--I think I could do that. Perahps some of the other folks on the site could make it, too. The night pics were pretty cool; I'll try to spend a few more evenings there this summer (as I do at BGE).

Two weeks until Italian Job opens, eh? Maybe I'll brave the mob and check it out. You what my favorite pic is out of all of these, Jeff? (Of course not--I haven't told you. Please ignore my silly question). It's the one where Volcano's track has that eerie green glow.

^Good question. Their last new attraction was the Hubba Hubba Highway, and that was three years ago. Not sure when they'll jump on the "tornado/toilet-bowl" band wagon. Personally, I'd like to see one of those slides where you're propelled uphill--those sound pretty cool.

^When it comes to most Busch products, I prefer to neither drink nor smell them. But, like you said, Jeff, the smell does bring coasters to mind.

^No problem with it yesterday. The previous owners installed this slide, and it was called "The Vortex," I think. They had this really cheesy commercial with ominous music and some dude saying, "Im not afraid of it!"

^I don't think it could've been Ford's Colony because it's on the other side of town (and in another county)--perhaps the same developer? Busch did do quite a bit to improve Water Country. They also added a fee for parking, but you take the good with the bad (or you buy a season pass). The latest is that some sort of high-end retail development might be built in the area near Water Country (I'm hoping this doesn't pan out).

And the sad-and-pathetic tour of Water Country USA continues. And then there's the Wild Thang--but does it really make his "heart sing (sang)"? . . . but he chooses to go on a "Rampage" instead. He considers sacrificing a child to the shark god . . . . . . or the atomic wedgie of the Lemon Drop. Perhaps by enduring the extreme enema of the Peppermint Twist . . . Just how does one escape the existential terror that is the Hubba Hubba Highway? How can one cleanse one's soul after such an ordeal? Have you ever snacked with the devil in the pale moonlight? The mighty T. Rex, once the terror of the primeval world, is reduced to doing the hula for tourists. More weird scenes beside the Hubba Hubba Highway. Just what are these rogue alien appendages doing to floaters by?

Well, being as the weather was nearly perfect on Saturday, I pulled out the ol' Platinum Pass and cruised over the Water Country to do some slidin' and picture takin' all on my lonesome. Why? Three reasons: 1. I don't recall seeing any pics of WC on this site. 2. My local friends wouldn't be caught dead at BGE or WC. 3. My friends who are into water parks live hundreds of miles away. So, off I went to slide around, get drenched, and sunburn myself like a damn fool--yee haw! 'Twas a fun day, even for the sad and pathetic, with nice weather, a very small crowd, and virtually no waits. Highlights: 1. Aquazoid--This is the park's biggest, and best, slide. Most of it is in the dark with some lighting and sound effects (that is, the roaring of Aquazoid, a Godzilla-esque monster), and those four-person rafts really book and climb high on the flume's banked curves. 2. Hubba Hubba Highway--A fast-moving river with some retro "Route 66" themeing. The best way to enjoy this one is to strap on a life vest and just go with the flow. 3. Malibu Pipeline--Another slide that takes place in mostly pitch-black darkness (one- or two-person tubes). 4. Rampage--A short, steep slide on a tobbaggan, where you skim across the pool like a stone on a pond (scariest thing at WC, other than some of the guests). Now, a sad-and-pathetic photo tour of Water Country USA. He orders a cocktail at a roadside lounge. The sad-and-pathetic one walks the Hubba Hubba, where he sees a small boy berserk and drunk with power over those floating by. To say this aloud is almost as embarrassing as ordering IHOP's "Rooty-Tooty Good-and-Fruity" breakfast. Ah, he contemplates the soothing darkness that is the Malibu Pipeline--and wonders why the fellow in the center is sniffing his thumb. Does he know where his thumb has been? A closer look still fails to answer the question. (This "old-school" slide is pretty fast, though.) Hmm--Is this poor man's display one of domination or submission? And why this particular spelling of "pouf"? The H2O UFO hovers menacingly over carefree children at play. He is overwhelmed by the size and splendor that is Aquazoid--cutest lifeguard of the day, too. And, yes, Aquazoid--nothing says "fun" like "Incredible Destruction" and "Certain Cosmic Doom!" He also wonders about those who bob about in an articficial wave pool when there's a real ocean only an hour away (well, more like two hours in the summer). He ponders, with great sadness, those who do not know their heads from their feet. But the sun god mocks him: "No dive show for you today, o sad-and-pathetic one!" So, he consults a map, hoping to bring order to chaos. The sad-and-pathetic lone guest is immediately bewildered by the multiplicity of choices at WC.