let1gre

Today I went to BGW for the first time in 8 years. Let me start off with this: Busch Gardens (Tampa and Williamsburg) are the definition of a theme park. Everything they do is above and beyond the call of duty for what needs to be done, theming and otherwise. It was actually quite busy for a Sunday and the Quick Queue saved us hours on line time (thanks Robb!). We were able to get on 15 rides in total, which broke down as: Alpengeist x4 Griffon x3 Loch Ness Monster x2 Apollo's Chariot x1 Le Scoot Log Flume x1 Pompeii x1 Roman Rapids x1 Curse of DarKastle x1 Europe in the Air x1 My thoughts: Alpengeist: Holy crap. I have never been on a ride that intense and merciless that packs so much into a short ride. Definitely not showing its age in any way in my opinion. I would say, for what it's worth, it's the best all-around ride in the park. The ride ops were very efficient in 3 train operation all day too, so that's a plus. It's also crazy disorienting. Griffon: For something that I found a lot of the GP writes off as a one-trick pony, it's a damn fine ride. The drop is amazing and the rest of the ride is fast-paced and fun. Even though the ride claims that everybody has great sight lines (which is true) in every row, it is a completely different ride in the front row. Loch Ness Monster: We rode this twice, as bookends. After the first run we thought it was a very fine ride, but the second time was after several laps on Apollo, Alpengeist and Griffon and with those comparisons, was much rougher. Granted, Nessie is holding up really well for her old age, but she is showing her years. Apollo's Chariot: Sadly, Apollo's was down for most of the day for maintenance. We were going to ride it again before we left at about 8:30 pm, but right as we got in line it broke down again. On my one ride, I will say that it was running marvelously. It was a blast and I can definitely see why it ranks in the top 10 for the Golden Ticket Awards each year. I was really bummed that we didn't get a night ride. Curse of DarKastle: Technically very impressive and I'd like to do a backstage tour or something, but I was decidedly unimpressed ridewise. Europe in the Air: Seriously? This was the new 2010 installation? It was actually the only ride in the park that wade me dizzy and gave me motion sickness. Overall a fantastic day. Lines would have been long without Quick Queue but great, friendly staff and good operations meant we never got into a lin longer than 20 minutes. We live only two hours away, a straight shot down the interstate, so I am seriously contemplating buying a season pass for next year.

If you're going to buy anything, buy it on your way out. It cracks me up when I see people carrying around giant stuffed toys that they've won. That has to be the biggest hassle ever.

Backlot is pretty intense for it's size,good thing that the takeoff is gradual unlike FOF's otherwise you'd probably be looking at some serious neck snappage there. I did get some whiplash the first time I rode it because I had no idea how quickly it snapped into that turn. That helix is intense.

and this is why restraints fail in the first place, there are six reasons i found 1. some idiot decides remove his seatbelt cause of some reason (friend dared him or something) 2. maintenance doesn't test restraints cause they've working properly for a while 3. size and or weight 4. improper check by staff 5. idiot doesn't listen to safety information or doesn't bother to read signs on how to ride properly (keep your head back, arms down, and hold on) 6. freak accident I recently researched amusement park accidents for a researched Youtube comment (talk about an oxymoron!) and I found about 5 or 6 roller coaster accidents in the last half-century that were fatal that were not the direct result of rider stupidity/mistake. I know that's more than the GP would like to hear, but considering the maybe hundreds of millions of laps taken by roller coasters in that time, it pretty much accounts to nothing more than a freak accident.

For some reason, I always thought the zero car was a somehow preventative measure for injuries if the trains happened to run into each other... guess not!

No, I do not actually. You may not fall over, but it requires work to hold yourself like that for longer than a second. It would be a very uncomfortable six seconds if they had only lapbars.

They're going to be so terrible this year, it's not even going to be funny. I'm unaware as to why I still keep season tickets.

I think a lot of the GP thinks of lap bars like this Whereas nowadays lap bars can look like this this or this. Very restrictive so, ideally, riders stay in their seat, but allow for much more mobility than OTSRs. It looks like it would take some serious malfunctioning or squirming to get out of any of those. If X-Cars can have lap bars and they have an upside down lift hill, then any coaster can.

I can vouch for rasterbation. I have a giant photo blown up in my room from that technique and it's very cool. Plus, if you friends ask what you did last night, you can say you rasterbated.

I watched one episode of Better Off Ted and I have to say, it was very smart and somewhat funny but I just couldn't get over the intense smarminess of that show! Also, why couldn't the name have been "Wanted Ted or Alive"? Or "Ted Man Walking"?

Dominator at KD. Great fun.

For future reference, please don't start a thread about a Trip Report until you actually have photos to post.

^^Nice work man! Stop-action is super hard and those were really good! As with paper animation, keep it simple. In paper, you have to have a character that won't kill you if you draw it 200 times, so in clay you need an easily moveable character that won't fall apart or break. Also, although 32 frames per second is one of the most popular and widely used rates for stop-motion, I'd suggest (for a beginner) to use around 15.

The great thing about Modern Family is there aren't any huge overarching storylines so you can basically hop in anywhere and pick it up quickly. Kind of like the Office before that turned into a soap opera.

I watched it last night on a whim because my schedule was pretty open during and after dinner. I am by no means a Jimmy Fallon fan, but he was very enjoyable compared to some recent hosts (I'm looking at you, Ricky Gervais). I was so so so glad that Modern Family won Outstanding Comedy. That show has one of the best ensemble casts I have ever seen. Eric Stonestreet's acceptance speech was also very well done and from the heart. It made me glad to be a fan of the show. I am as well a Glee fan so I enjoyed seeing Jane Lynch's well-deserved win. Also, I'm pretty sure every Lost fan knew that Mad Men was going to win 3 years running. It's like a fact at this point that it will win. It's like 30 Rock of several years ago.

1517 - The Whitest Boy Alive Smooth as they come.

Thanks Robb! 2D is where it's at! It's a shame that with massive animation production houses like DreamWorks and, yes, even Pixar, that the magic of 2D has fallen by the wayside to the average American moviegoer. Thank goodness that Disney started importing Miyazaki stuff, or otherwise all we'd have is Fairly OddParents and Dexter's Lab. By the way, A Boy and his Blob is gorgeous.

That ride looks like a blast. I've heard universally great things about Eurofighters and this looks like the most innovative, thrilling, and dare I say TWWIIIISSSTYYY one yet.

Welcome to America.

I see what you're saying, but you could also just comment and say "Robb going down the slide" or something to that effect, since its not a photo Robb wants to be tagged in. It all comes down to letting that person tag themselves if they want to. If you are afraid that they may never see these photos, tag someone in the posting of the album, e.g. "Great time with @Robb Alvey and @Theme Park Review at East Coast Bash!" along with it, and they will get notifications of that and be aware of the photos (but not be tagged in any unflattering/otherwise poor photos).

I saw a study recently about average plate size in American restaurants and in homes compared to 40 or 50 years ago (link below) and it is directly connected to rise in obesity. If you dump a Lean Cuisine or a Weight Watchers meal onto a dinner plate, it looks very small and you may be inclined to put more on your plate. But on a smaller plate, it looks like much more food. http://www.nutrimirror.com/people/jwarren/journal/1233236161/plate-size--waist-size

My mom keeps telling me that's what college is for, is to iron out what you want to do. Both my dad and brother changed their majors is college, so who knows with me...

I totally agree with both of these. What's with all the hate for Grizzly? It's a little rough and that first turn is the most boring thing ever, but that tunnel is something ELSE.

You did hit KD on a really great day! It looks like you were able to have your way with about anything you wanted. My brother and I also ended up in the staff parking when we went... our GPS told us that was the regular entrance!

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