disneygurlz2s

And just to reinforce the points made, we were at PKI today in the wave pool when suddenly there was a good deal of commotion, with the lifeguard nearest to us pointing to the center of the pool near the "shore". About this time I saw another guard come running and I see a crowd around a big man, probably 50-60ish. I heard someone say he had passed out?? He was able to walk out of the pool on his own and I am assuming he was fine on his own as I never saw the little park ambulance come for him or anything, but there were a few hundred people in the pool at that point an no one else was having a problem, so clearly it was the guest and not the attraction. Shari

What's with the scary face on the Sugar Corn Pops box??? Shari "Playboy, Soren? and you wonder why you are getting a reputation around here?"Shoufler

^I agree with Ted, if you have some way of introducing them (perhaps a phone call, if not in person) then I would think that could go a long way towards easing any concerns. However, I have to ask... at 16, are you not allowed to go to BGT or other amusement parks by yourself or with a friend? When my stepdaughters were your age, maybe even a little younger, we would drop them off for the day at Kings Island together. We just trusted them to play it safe in the park, not to go off with anyone into any areas of the park or parking lot that were not "public" areas, that sort of thing. If you have a friend who shares your interest in rides, etc, maybe your folks would feel better if they went with you to meet up with the others? Or if your parents could drop you off at the park and meet the others before leaving you there? Shari

I am a 30+ year old mom and I absolutely loved this ride. Don't worry about the launch... it's a different "feeling", that sudden exceleration, but nothing horrible. Just remember to sit with your head back like they tell you to (this is me being a mom) because that's where people end up being sorry, their heads go slamming back. Shari "Now watch, this poor kid'll be the next one to croak and it will all be our fault" Shoufler (only kidding )

Like most, I define a "theme park" to be one where there are certain areas of the park distinquished by a theme. Disney is definitely a "theme park" by my definition. You go into Fantasyland and the attractions are built around that theme, the background music applies to that theme, the ride ops/cast members/employees uniforms go along with the theme. I agree with Gregg that some parks that used to really be THEME parks are still called theme parks by definition, but don't have the theme thing going for them like they used to. PKI is definitely one of them. Growing up, Kings Island had the Rivertown area where the attractions were themed to that, and even new rides that were added, such as the Beast, were somehow tied into that theme (such as that the Beast's station house was built around a logging theme and the "Beast" lurked in the adjoining woods). Those days are long gone. Recent park additions like Tomb Raider (Rivertown) or Italian Job (Coney) don't have anything to do with the themed areas of the park...their only theme is the Paramount movie they are themed around. I emailed Paula at Holiday World (you can read my letter on their HoliBlog) and that was one of my compliments to the park, was how it was truly themed... Shari "Although if I had hear 'Rhapsody in Blue' one more time, I think I would have screamed" Shoufler

And why is that??? Um, maybe because the public (including a lot of folks who hang out here at TPR) want (demand) that parks create faster, higher, more wicked attractions. For Disney's parks to stay competitive in the theme park market, it's pretty much something they have had to do. Small World and Snow White are great for those of us who just have to have that Disney nostalgia, but for families with teenagers, or people like me who have husbands that aren't so in to Disney but love thrill rides, it is what they have had add to meet the public's desires. That said, I don't think Disney's thrills begin to match up with what is out there in the theme park market overall. When we visited MGM in 2001, my husband deemed Rock n RollerCoaster and ToT to be "weak" and I am sure there are many thrill ride enthusiasts who would concur. ToT doesn't compare to something like PKI's Drop Zone and RnRC isn't Top Thrill Dragster. While I somewhat agree that people may think that with Disney they are going to get sweet little family rides, but that thought should end when they read their guide book or see the big SIGN as they enter the ride. If the warnings don't make you stop and ask a question or two, well, is that really the parks fault? I never ride an ride or allow my child on a ride without knowing something about it. I also know when I visit a park in the summer to keep my child hydrated, take a break from time to time, etc. Heat can cause so many health issues to arise in all ages. Just a couple of weeks ago, I chaperoned with my daughters day care to an afternoon Reds game. We left in the 4th inning, much to my dismay, because the heat index was over 100 degrees and there were two children who got sick in our group and were taken to first aid. The physician on duty told the group leader that it was unhealthy for the kids to be out sitting in the direct sun like that, and she later said that by "law" they aren't supposed to take the kids outside if the temperature is over 90. I can remember being at Disney in June 2001 and it was already 90 at like 10 am. Shari

PurcellMarian High School, Cincinnati, Ohio Class of 1984 Shari "God I am old" Shoufler

Given the fact that I have pondered the idea of how my family could get past the bag check with my urn of ashes so as to sprinkle them at the base of "my castle", your ideas, however morbid, are good. There are those of us who would seriously consider "the holy land", as I call it, as their final resting place. However, this is a bit off the actual subject. I agree with Julie, and also with a post Elissa made back in the ToT thread.... Disney gets millions of tourists a year...and I have no doubt that many of them, of all ages, arrive with pre-existing health problems and that those conditions, combined with the weather, excitement and other physical factors such as days of walking in the heat, riding rides, etc, have probably caused more deaths on property than we have ever realized. I can't help but think that it's all been just bizarre coincidence that three children have died this summer. To believe that it is anything Disney is "doing" is ridiculous. I believe the media is going full-tilt to make it sound as if something unsafe or sinister is going on, and that is just the media for you. Shari "any ideas on disguising my ashes would be appreciated" Shoufler

I am not sure I have seen the dreaded red X or not... here's my technique for taking my paper photos (from 35 mm camera) and getting them suitable for posting here: I take my photo(s) and scan them into Microsoft PictureIt. Once I have them all scanned, I select them all and email them to myself. There is a feature you can selected that allows you to resize them by selecting "custom" and then I choose "medium web view" which automatically turns them into 480x480 jpg format when they are received to my email. From there, I save the pictures again, now saving them correctly sized and in jpg format. That makes them ready for posting here! Shari "it's not pretty but it gets the job done" Shoufler

A few days after the incident I read an updated report on the Orlando Sentinel website that basically indicated her family was not disclosing any further information....... Never heard any further autopsy reports on the 4 year old boy at Mission Space either. My guess is once it couldn't be pinned on Disney doing something wrong, the media lost interest?!? Shari

We'd never even HEARD anything about Valiant until Sam's birthday party at RAVE cinemas...they had those window cling things all over the party room windows. It's Disney, so the "disneygurlz" will go see it and I'll give you my review then (as if you care!) Shari "Nice pun, Robb" Shoufler

My mom is the best, and I love her to death, but she is almost 80 and can't get around very well anymore. She had been using a wheelchair off and on for the last year or so, but it was one she borrowed from a family member and it didn't work real well on certain surfaces. She got it in her head to go buy one of her own with some bingo money she won (!!). So, she went out and picked this damn chair, with no consideration for how freaking heavy it was for us to lift into our cars. I nearly have a hernia trying to put it in my car everytime we go somewhere. Shari "but she thinks it's wonderful" Shoufler

Welcome back to the good old US! You definitely have a way of finding the unusual sights!! I love it. HK Disney looks awesome, but is there a castle??? It must be compact like Disneyland's?? Shari

You know, I wondered about that.... I kind of walked off and thought "WTF?? This is one of Robb Alvey's favorites??" But, unfortunately, time didn't allow for me to ride more, or in different parts of the train (I was in the second row, although typically I prefer the front anyway). I will definitely be going back and making a longer trips in the future. This was kind of a situation where I made it a day trip and wished I could have stayed longer. No, actually...that's how I look..... slightly slanted Wimpy teenage girls can't handle the hot sun. Me on the other hand, I looked like I tomato and felt like I was going to melt, but I just kept on going!!!

I was reading an internet news article about an "incident" at a theme park...there was a link to an enthusiast's site, and when I went to it I found references to Robb and Elissa on it.... that took me to TPR, which I found infinitely more interesting that that other site. I would entertain myself at work by looking at ALL their theme park pictures over and over again. People would walk by and go "Who are those people?" I was (and still am) glad they added the forum and chat, and it's great getting to know everybody! Shari "The Alveys have a great sense of humor and don't take everything too seriously" Shoufler

OK... so, 30 some years ago, when I was a little girl here in Cincinnati, they would show this place called "Santa Claus Land" on the afternoon cartoon shows or something. I wanted to go there really bad!! I picked up a brochure at an Indiana rest stop a few years ago for "Holiday World", and when I started reading it, I realized this was the same place! One thing lead to another, and eventually I ended up here at TPR and I knew that I needed to finally go to "Santa Claus Land". So, last Friday, I did! I was up at 5:15 (I would never get up that early on a work day!!) and my little girl Sam and I were on our way to pick up Grandma (my mom) by 5:45. I hadn't had a very good night's sleep...my sinuses were killing me plus Samantha had woke me up at 1:30 to tell me "her stuffed Scooby looked like a hairy man, and, oh, by the way, was it time to leave for Holiday World yet?". Despite the poor night's sleep I was pretty excited, so with Grandma in the car (and Grandma's 100 pound wheelchair of death in the trunk) we were off to Indiana. The drive from Cincy was a breeze. We stopped for breakfast at about 8:30 at Cracker Barrel (yum) and through the magic of the Central Time Zone were at Holiday World at 9:30. Since my mom has a handicapped parking thingy, we got to park about 10 feet from the front gate (reason #1 why we brought Grammy) and we immediately see Santa standing there. Samantha freaks and announces she "Does NOT want to go talk to him". Okey dokey...apparently she has a few reasons to fear her current status on his list..... Sam and I got got in free, thanks to comp tickets my husband earned working at PKI, so that was a bonus! When they pulled the rope at 10, I promptly dumped my mother, Sam and the 100 pound wheelchair of death (what was she thinking when she bought this thing???) in Rudolph's Reindeer Ranch kiddie area right inside the park and I head for the Raven (#2 reason for bringing Grammy along). Now, I will tell you, this was going to be big test for me because after my most recent experience on The Beast (two words-brain aneurysm) I was starting to think my coaster days were over. I am quite pleased to say that is not the case, and this is a great ride. For a wooden coaster it was SMOOTH!! I do have to be honest and say that I was not as "impressed" with the ride overall.... it just didn't have enough elements or something for me???.... as I thought I would be, but it was definitely awesome and restored my faith that I am not growing too old for coasters! Once I got my ride on the Raven, I collected my family and we headed to the back of the park to Holidogs Fun Town where Sam played in the wet and dry play areas, but opted not to ride the kiddie coaster, The Howler, as she said "it doesn't do that much, Mom". From there we went on The Revolution, which is one of the parks newest rides, a "super-round-up" ride where you stand and it spins and you stick to the wall. Sam had never been on one of these before, so I talk her into riding, and this immediately became her new favorite ride. We hit the Raging Rapids ride next (from which you can see....DIRT! The Thanksgiving area is being build behind this ride) and then headed to the Splashin Safari waterpark area. I think 3/4 of the parks visitors were in the waterpark at this point, which was a little frustrating as the lines for the slides were 30-45 minutes long. Sammi really wanted to ride Zinga, because at HW she meets the height requirement, at PKI she does not, however, the wait was 45 minutes. We opted instead for Zoombabwe, which is a family raft ride in near total darkness. It was a blast. From there we went over to Bahari, their new wave pool. This is billed as a giant wave pool, because of the size of the pool, but it also describes the waves...they were HUGE. I thought I was going to drown because the waves in the 3-foot depth were probably 6 feet! Of course, my little daredevil was just jumping right in and going for it, which made me a nervous wreck, but she was loving it. We let her play in the other "kids areas" for a while, and then dried off and got dressed. I would have really loved to have had more time (and less crowd) in the waterpark. Trying to push my mom through that crowd of bare feet was a little stressful. Plus my mom was wishing she'd have brought a swimsuit :shock: so that will be something we do differently the next time. I noticed that by about 5:30, the waterpark had about half the people as it had at 1:00, so the next time we'll wait and hit it later in the day. After the waterpark we made a circle hitting a lot of the classic rides, including Revolution again, the Tilt o Whirl (one of my favorites) and the antique cars (which my mom could ride). I rode the Liberty Launch, which is like a baby Power Tower, and was a lot less intense. We also rode the bumper cars, which were the cutest bumper cars I have ever seen. They are called the "Rough Riders" and they are in the 4th of July section. Instead of cars they are horses and bulls. Too funny. It was great, too, because kids could ride with their parents, so this is the first time Sam and I have ever gotten to ride bumper cars together. The area you drive in though is pretty small, so they could have done better with a few less horses! I finished up my day by buying the girls some ice cream (less than $2.00 each!!... but more on that in a second) and heading off to ride The Legend. This coaster was a little rougher than Raven, but only a little..and, in my opinion, a lot more fun. It just had "more" to it. I really loved both the coasters, but pick Legend as my favorite of the two. When I got back to the gals and told them it was time to go, Sam started to cry, so I told her if she dried it up she could choose one more ride and, of course, she picked the Revolution! Following that, we made a quick stop at the gift shop for the required "t-shirt and stuffed mascot" purchase, and headed on our way home. I have to say that this park totally lived up to everything everyone has said on this website and theirs. It is so amazingly clean. No smelly trash cans, no ghetto looking employees or guests.... very nice family atmosphere. The park map is deceiving, because you don't realize how nice the park is laid out or how much "terrain" there is (a few less hills would have been nice though, given I was pushing the wheelchair of death). And, the best part, is how affordable it was. With the free parking and free pop, I spent less than $40 all day (I felt like Rachel Ray!!) On a side note, I really noticed a HEAVY safety emphasis. I am not sure that it would have seemed as obvious to me had I not been aware of what happened a couple of years ago, but I found it really interesting that you cannot wear a fanny pack or even a sweater/shirt tied around your waist on the coasters. Ride ops were really on top of things, and as a mom, I like that. I also liked that they had a nice place to stow your stuff (I usually carry a backpack) and were happy to take your bag and put it there for you...not be all "this isn't my job and I am not responsible for your bag" like they are at PKI. I highly recommend this park, especially to those of you with kids. I love parks where there are rides that everyone in the family can ride, and that have kids rides mixed in with the "big rides". The coasters are great and I can't wait to ride Voyage in 2006! Shari "Makes me not want to go to PKI anymore" Shoufler Sam took this photo, which has nothing to do with the fact I look stupid in it! Sammi's new "best ride ever", The Revolution. "When Fountains Attack" Me in my TPR shirt (the check's in the mail, Alvey's) that NO ONE commented on all day Sam with the Holidog Mascot Here's Sam, Big Max and the hundred pound wheelchair of death as we prepare to begin our awesome day at HW!

The fabric store pictures cracked me up!!! What is your mother going to make with the blue fabric, anyway? Or, was she just compelled to wrap it around her for the hell of it? Shari

OMG! I don't DARE show my daughter this post. She is always bugging me to buy this and every other gadget they show on tv. She wants us to get every spatula, pan and cake pan they show on those commercials LOL! Let me know if the containers hold up as well as Tupperware and I may have to break down and get one of these. Shari

^^ LOL.... Guess I should have tried it! Shari

There are a group of islands off the Sandusky coast that are very popular destinations. One is Put in Bay, the other is Kelley's Island and there may be a third, but I can't think of it at the moment... anyway, you can take ferry boats from the Cedar Point area to these islands and there are beaches, walking/bike trails, fishing, dining, a winery.. that kind of stuff. Over in Cleveland is the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, Akron has the Football Hall of Fame, the Greater Cincinnati area (really all the major cities) have nice museums and other attractions if the folks aren't in to the theme parks. Dayton has a lot of aeronautic stuff because of Wright Patterson AFB and the fact that it's the home of the Wright Bros. Hope this helps you get your trip to Cedar Point. Shari "Proud Ohioan" Shoufler

^Ditto on that. But, wow!!! What views.... that looks absolutely amazing! Personally, I would have just been impressed to ride that Skyway and see those views, but, then again, I go see the shows at theme parks, so obviously that's where Robb and I differ..... lol! Sorry the coasters sucked, but the scenery looked amazing! Shari

^ Okay, now you're just showing off Shari "really green with envy here" Shoufler

^^^I spent 8 hours yesterday at Holiday World, and it really put PKI to shame. I will be posting my trip report in the next day or two, but it definitely reinforces what you and I are saying! Shari

I don't know why but this just cracked me up. I am just picturing Gregg as a Target cashier, first of all, but then having Luke Skywalker coming though the line.... I have met Belinda Carlisle (lead singer of the Go-Gos and my personal idol when I was a teenager), lots of pro baseball players, Luis and Gina from Sesame Street, a lot of "Surivivor" cast members including Rupert, Rob and Amber. I passed Davy Jones on the street during our city's Oktoberfest and he spoke to my daughter She was about 2 and could have cared less, I was freaking out. We met Marion Ross (Mrs. C. from Happy Days) this year at PKI. Can't think of anybody else at the moment... Shari

I tried to be a credit whore at Holiday World yesterday, but my 7 year old refused to ride "The Howler" because she wanted to go ride "big rides" Shari "Should have ridden with some other kid" Shoufler