HighRoller

I was in to see "La Cage Aux Folles" at the Kennedy Center about 2 weeks ago (the touring company). I have to say: It Was OUTSTANDING. I'd highly encourage you to go see it if the tour is coming your way. I know they just struck here, headed to Fla and then westerly within the south, but I'm pretty sure they're back to Fla. in the early to mid-summer. And I'm still humming/singing the songs.

^I'm not holding my breath for a 2012 opening - the park's been dormant for too long. I'd guess that it will be ready to open on time for the 2013 season...and will be pleasantly surprised if it opens sometime this summer.

Interesting. Sounds to me like she has much more than $1.5 million invested in this already. Makes me think she's got a serious plan in place to get things moving again. It also makes me think that anyone else will have a long row to hoe if they want to outbid her, as she owns the park's debt, and could call that in if she gets outbid. Of course, once she owns both the debt ant the park, she can "cancel" the debt to herself and move along with a park that doesn't owe itself anything, except an operating season.

My first TPR event was Deep South Bash 2011, and I was attending without knowing anyone. The fact that this is the first event since then, and I am bringing a guest, should tell you how welcome I felt and what an awesome experience it was. Hope to meet you there!

With ERT beginning at 8:30, I'd say 6:30 is probably a bit excessive, unless you have another reason to be there that early...

^^ I have to say, this looks OUTSTANDING! This is one of those things that would certainly make me consider adding the waterpark to my day at GADV. Looking forward to seeing it in action.

Lock me in for four sand pail duckies! I also found one decoy ducky...

If you're up for counter service at Epcot, and haven't made it to World Showcase yet, Sunshine Seasons (in the Land pavilion) is easily my favorite counter-service restaurant in all of WDW.

Yes, I am. I went with my wife, sister, and three children last April. Spent one day in each park, used FastPasses virtually everywhere they were available, and never missed a single return window by more than 5 minutes. Agree wholeheartedly. It's not like you go up to the box and get a random time or even a blind pull. The current return time is CLEARLY posted above the distribution queue. Don't want that time? either a) get there earlier to get your FastPass, or b) wait around for a while until a time that suits you comes up. Oh, and don't' forget choices c) and d) (Gasp!). Choice c) Use the standby line instead. Then you don't have to worry about when you need to come back. Saw lots of that in April. Lastly, choice d) skip the attraction. It's not rocket science, people. Any park you go to will have LOTS of choices to make. The ones that make sense to you, you'll use, and the ones that don't you won't. Simple enough. Someone seems to have a short memory. Three adults with three children aged 9 and under seemed to be ok with it, because they were, as a rule, able to make the printed window. We only missed it once.

Makes me think you're going to Guangzhou/Shenzhen (sp?) area. The smileys say to me "Happy Valley" and the cultural Icons as well as "size matters" say to me Windows on the World.

Thanks! I'm signed up to go get my Coast-to-Coast medal with the Disneyland 1/2 in September. Any chance you'll be out there?

Amplifying though: The High Roller at ValleyFair! has been modified to include seatbelts - that stretch the entire width of the bench (one seatbelt per row). It keeps the insurance companies happy, and allows the coaster to maintain its "Classic" status. And yes, that was my favorite coaster growing up, and how I chose my screen name.

Not that I was one of those who opted for it, but is there any word on how the change to the annual pass structure will affect those who bought Lifetime Passes? While I realize that it's probably a significantly small population, I think it's probably an important question.

Monday - time to head home. I have an evening flight, though, so I'm going to do some resort wandering today. I'll be finishing with something that I've wanted to do since I was a kid - spend some time riding the monorail, just looking at the resorts and the grounds. I couldn't resist taking at least a FEW pictures, though. These are all from the monorail. I see you Electrical Water Pageant Floats! The most beautiful building on this side of Future World. I really miss Horizons, though. The Imagination! pavilion, with its upward waterfall. Hey! It's The Living, er, The Seas! with Nemo and Friends! And this one tells me it's time to head home. Until next time, WDW!

Marathon Day! I'm not running it this year, though. Congrats to all who did. Instead, I'll be at Epcot today, cheering on the runners and doing a little drinking around the world. I also discovered something that is somewhat special to this park, too! The Epcot Christmas Tree! Ran up and around this yesterday, today there's time to stop for a picture. Strange angle, though, because the marathon is still passing on the other side of it. Viking Helmet Ears? How cool! Lets see how many other countries have these! Norway makes 1! Germany makes 2! Can't leave Germany without lunch, though. And what would lunch at the biergarten be without a Bier Flight (foreground - mine) or a wine flight (background - sister's)? OK, moving on. Italy = 3! Mexico? Found you at the shop over by the international gateway. 4! Onward to Britain! 5! One of the Castmembers in Britain had just finished her sidewalk art for today. Hopscotch Court... ...in honor of Marathon Weekend. Thanks for the fun! After stopping to watch Off Kilter, we found the ears for Canada! 6! Headed back to Future World to find some food...but first a nighttime shot of the tree. Supper at my favorite quick-service restaurant in all of WDW - Sunshine Seasons! The quality and value here can't be beat. Wish there were more like this at WDW!

After the very large and very tasty breakfast, we headed back to our room to shower and relax in the pool for a while. That made it about 4PM when we decided to head back to the Magic Kingdom to finish our day. I was not thinking much about pictures at that point, so just a few from that evening. Walt, Mickey, and the half marathon finisher. Accomplishments all around. Mine is probably more recent than theirs. The castle is still dressed for Christmas too! Love this one with the reflection. Such vibrant colors! Love the holiday lights on the Castle. It's been a long day. I'm not closing the park, but close.

Race Day begins - Spaceship Earth at 3:30 AM. Glad I've got my coffee... At the warmup and wait zone - a couple of runners and a couple of nuts. You decide which is which. Off to the starting line - sort of. I'm in the fourth group; not bad for my very first race! And they're off - wave 1 that is. I expected these fireworks at the starting line. But these fireworks surprised the sh*t out of me! D*mn! Those really are right over my head! My wave gets to start! with about 7 minutes between waves, that puts me 21-ish minutes behind the elites. Starting, that is. We'd planned 13-minute miles! What the... No time to think about that - we're at a pretty recognizable landmark. But we're still a long way from the park... ok, the math says that last mile was about 13 minutes - right on pace. But the clock?!? Yep, 13 minute miles. Wait - that's it! The 21 minute delayed start! That's right... that's the water bridge by the contemporary I'm about to run underneath! No time to think about mile markers... Welcome to the Magic Kingdom! Entering from backstage by the Mickey/Princess Fastpass station. The obligatory "Running up Main Street, U.S.A." picture. Headed for Cindy's Castle... ...by way of Tomorrowland! A quick stop across from "Old Dumbo" for the elusive Rapunzel AND FLYNN RIDER picture. OK, NOW we can head for the castle. One more look at Cindy's on the way to Liberty Square. uh oh... lost about 4 minutes while in the park.. got to make it up, and we're still in the park! but not before a picture in front of Splash Mountain. And one with the Magic Kingdom Railway. OK, made up some time. I was down by the Polynesian before I caught up to my sister, who ran it straight without the stops I made. But my knees are killing me from the shorter steps to stay with my sister... time to pick up the pace to keep from injury. Let me tell you, that 8 1/2 minute mile felt REALLY good. The finish line is just ahead. WTF?!?!? 13 mile marker? Quick run-by picture! I'm not stopping! Finished! Spaceship Earth at 8:40 AM. My chip time: 2:46. My sister finished with a very respectable 3:03. Celebrating with a nice big breakfast at Kona!

Day 2: A little wandering at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Let's see if we find anything interesting... Nice to see the Christmas Decorations still up for the runners! First we were off to the new Star Tours! Saw the show three times before the line got long enough that it wasn't a walk on any more. After that, we were headed towards... Fozzie and some of Gonzo's props? Must be... MuppetVision 3D! Don't forget the Scientific Doohickeys! Lightning McQueen visits us at Lights, Motors, Action! Some more wandering, we went to see Fantasmic! Because it was my first time, I elected to watch the show rather than worry about pictures. Afterwards, though, a little more wandering, to find... The Osborne Lights were still up too! A tree of Green and a canopy of dancing lights. Early morning tomorrow, so it's time to head for bed.

Day 1: Arrival Look over there... I know where I'm headed Across the pool, up the blue cone, to find... My home away from home for the next few days Now, off to the expo with my running partner: my sister. Hi Sis!

I thought that my first Half Marathon would be a good occasion for my first Photo TR. I'm hoping that it comes together as coherent; feedback is most appreciated.

I'd think that sticking with "Elvis' Favorite Roller Coaster" would get them more mileage than "World's 38th best Wooden Coaster!

It looks to me more like a double-up heading in to the turnaround. But given the limited perspectives available to us, it could certainly be either. Either way, looks like a great ride. The second layout picture, from the back side, shows that it's a double down! Just follow the track carefully. It has a small airtime hill before the turnaround, and a double down coming out of it. Got It! Turns out that I had seen the spot correctly, but missed the crossover of the outbound track under the return. That explains my confusion. I'm onboard now - double-down it is.

It looks to me more like a double-up heading in to the turnaround. But given the limited perspectives available to us, it could certainly be either. Either way, looks like a great ride.

Clearly, I need to go on a TPR Japan trip - I only got 7/20! I did get the bonus right, though.

Done!