disneygurlz2s

^^completely off topic, but is that Gary Burbank???? LOL Yeah, I am just really bummed. It was very well done last year and the night Sammi and I went, I thought the crowd was good sized, considering it was a Sunday night and also some light snow (which made it all the more beautiful!!) I think there will be some backlash and complaints, and hopefully CF will be open to having it once they get "settled".

^^ I agree with Dave.... I have never even SEEN one here, so I had no clue it was even a problem! Shari

No, if you read the article, it said the family went to raise money to pay for the boy's funeral...very sad. You know... there are few things I can speak intelligently about here on TPR (lol!!) but this is the one thing I can. I was born with mitral valve regurgitation, a really icky sounding medical term that means my heart valve does not close all the way. When I was born, there were no surgeries that were safe enough to do on a baby/little kid to correct it, so the doctors basically told my parents to take me home, love me, and hope for the best. That will be 40 years ago this October! My family always liked amusement parks...back then, we had Old Coney out here on the Ohio River, Americana and Fantasy Farm. A far cry from the thrill rides of today, but enough to scare the crap out of my mother every single time I rode something new or bigger or faster. But, she let me do it. And I fell in love with rides and amusement parks. Every time I hear one of these stories it really impacts me (you can tell that if you have read any of my posts) because I always think "That could have been me" or "That could happen to me". As a result, I have made the decision to choose wisely what I ride. I am going to Disney next month, and as much as it is making me crazy to pass on the "orange line", I will choose the "green line" for M:S. It's just not worth it to me. However, I can't wait to ride RnRC and ToT. Been there and done those before. Does that mean that I am guaranteed not to have something happen on those rides? No. Does it worry me a little? Sure. Especially since part of my trip I will be by myself with my 8 year old. But, I am also realistic enough to accept that I am taking risks with my life everyday by driving a car, etc. It makes me crazy that the media always portrays this as it being the amusement park/fair/ride manufacturers, etc fault somehow. No one would put that kind of spin on it if the kid died on a swing set or whatever. The reality is that whether or not you know you have a health condition, and regardless of whether you are 4 or 40 or 80, amusement rides have risks and you are accepting those risks when you board one, or allow your child to. I feel very sorry for this family, as clearly they thought this child was "cured" of his heart problem, and obviously he was not. Shari

Well, it DID, but a $25 a ticket, there were an awful lot of people who would have gone and didn't. If they had been smart (IMHO), they would have reduced the gate price, made season passholders free or at a greatly reduced gate price, and given it one more chance. The only way this will sit right with me will be if it's being cancelled because of all the incredible renovations and new coaster construction that will be going on...LOL Shari

Paramount Parks AND Cedar Fair??? Hell, while their at it, why not sue Taft Broadcasting, Carl Linder and anyone else who's ever been associated with the park??? Someone with a little legal knowledge please explain...... How does Cedar Fair factor in?? Obviously, this is why we have to cancel Winterfest now... Shari

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060725/NEWS01/607250346/-1/CINCI If this is how Cedar Fair's starting things off, someone needs to tell them they are getting off on the wrong foot..... Shari "I think this sucks" Shoufler

On the bright side..... At least it wasn't Disney! Shari

The same for Sammi and I.... I will make sure to message you a few days before we leave so that I have some idea when you will be working. Shari

I agree with Elissa... next year would be a better time to head to Ohio. Cedar Point's new coaster and (hopefully) Cedar Fair's influence on PKI should make both parks better for next year. Also, from here (southwest Ohio) you could also head south to Holiday World and/or even Dollywood (about 5 hours from PKI). One word of caution concerning August... before you head out anywhere, check the park's websites for hours and days. From mid-August on there could be closings/dark days depending upon when schools start in the area you decide on. When PKI went to closing weekdays prior to Labor Day (about 11 years ago), we had lots of angry customers at the front gate, all of whom reminded you of Clark W. Griswold. Shari

This is just another sad, sad commentary on the state of our society. I have personally told my hubby that, should anything EVER happen to me on a ride because of my pre-existing heart condition, to run straight to CNN and tell them it was not (insert Park's name here) fault. His comment... "Oh, hell no.... I'm going to sue!!" Money hungry SOBs. Shari

I am not sure what I am more bummed about-the closing of Millionaire (I had intentions of doing so well that even ELISSA would feel like a loser) or the fact that the umbrella is bone dry (I had planned to trick Sammi). In any case, this is my 2nd favorite of the parks, and I am looking forward to everything else there! Thanks for sharing your TR! Shari

Awesome pictures, Soren. You are helping to make my wait (35 days now, I think) more bearable (or maybe worse because I am so excited to get there!!). Looking forward to doing all the things you guys did on your day at MGM!! Shari

Classic!

^^ Yeah, that was the Kentons Cove Keelboat Canal, and it was more about the drop (quite steep back in it's day) than the wetness. Shari

LOL That was sooo not a Dan-friendly attraction!!!! It had a totally unacceptable level of wetness. I miss that place. In the final years it was the pit of Hell, but still fun. I would have to say that my favorite is Splash Mountain, but runner up would be the Log Flume at Kings Island BEFORE it became Wild Thornberry's. You used to get a great SPLASH at the end, that used to cause the queue line to get wet, and people to laugh and cheer at the riders. Shari

Hi Soren!! Thanks... I love this post! It helps feed my Disney-frenzy as we (Sammi and I) are counting down the days until our trip next month. I definitely plan to look for you when we are there, so I will be in touch before we leave! Glad to hear your are enjoying it! Shari

My theory (on the DOA) is that this became their responsibility as a result of their connection to the local fair system here in OH. Ohio is pretty much know for it's county fairs and having the largest State Fair in the US, which has a ton of rides every year. Shari "That's just my theory, but I'm sticking to it" Shoufler

Hope your birthday is filled with all your favorite things (on a stick!!) Shari

Here's the thing..... a wedding invite is NOT supposed to be an request for a gift. Bottom line. I understand your feelings, and to be honest, I think there were one or two people who did not give us a gift, or who gave us a crappy gift. Actually, I got several crappy gifts. However, I have been on the other side of that as well. There have been times when, financially, I just could not afford a gift or had some other reason why I didn't give the couple something at the exact time of their wedding. I felt bad, but I don't know that any of the people held it against me, or anything. While I appreciate the fact that you didn't want to have "overlooked" any gifts, I think your emailing those people might have been considered inappropriate, and I sure as heck hope you are kidding about the thank you notes. Shari

M-I-C K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!!!! 39 days until I get to see Elissa's and my favorite rodents!! The really-in-a-costume-but-don't-tell-me-that-corporate-symbol kind!! Shari

Yeah, but Grissom mentions PKI, Cincinnati and SOB (and consider that a plug since Viacom owns(owned) both CBS and Paramount) so I thought it was cool. Shari

LOL Derek!! Well, there were people who used to call the park when I worked there and ask if we were an actual ISLAND....... I honestly don't know if it was retracked in the off season or not. I do know it opened later in the season than the rest of the rides. Thanks to Klockster, I did ride both Racer and Beast last week and they were the smoothest rides I have had on each in a few years, but the Beast brakes hard in places where it seems ridiculous for it to. Shari "Give me The Voyage any day" Shoufler

I am pretty excited to read (mostly) positive comments about AirTran. I have never flown them, but my travel agent through MouseFan got me a great price out of Dayton when my husband decided to bail on our driving trip to WDW next month. I have probably flown Delta more than any other airline, but the cost to fly out of CVG (Greater Cincinnati) is insane, and many flights out of Dayton and Indy require layovers in Atlanta, which I hate. Shari

I agree 100% with Dave on that one... I was really disappointed. I had been hearing/reading for so long about their great pizza and even they tout how much of it they sell in a year, but I found it to be the only disappointing and overpriced thing at the park. Their burgers, chicken and other items were much better. And I was ticked that I was charged more for pizza "ala cart" than I would have been if I had gotten it with the fries. Now, seriously, other than teenagers (and maybe ACE members) who eats fries and pizza together??? I am a LaRosa's fan, in and out of PKI, and I pretty picky about pizza so I usually don't eat pizza when I am at another park. Shari

I am really glad I read your post... Beast was always my favorite ride, until last year when I seriously thought I was going to end up with brain stem damage. It was God-awful, and I thought it was my *cough* age catching up with me, at least until I rode Holiday World's sweet woodies. If there has been some work on Beast, I might be willing to give him another shot this season, especially since my daughter is tall enough to ride now. Great pix! Shari