pete4winds

^ I'm already planning an opening-day trip with my friend Tracy (yet another person who couldn't make it last Saturday), so get my number from Jay and we'll make a day of it!

OK, so it's a week late, but here it is. The suspects: Allan, up from PA for the weekend. Pete (that would be me) Corey, my 11 year old brother (the middle brother)... The scene: Six Flags New England Fright Fest, 10-27-07. The story: We did the all-day thing for Fright Fest, starting with our arrival at about 12:30. It was Allan's first time at SFNE, and oddly I still had two credits to get myself (Great Chase and Flashback - got 'em both, thank you very much), so we made with the coastering right away. Lemme backtrack a bit first, though, and mention Allan's D'Angelo's lunch credit. New Englanders will understand the significance of introducing Allan to the miracle that is the D'Angelo Sandwich Shop. Being a native of the greater Philadelphia area, of course he ordered a steak and cheese. I think he was impressed. Corey and I, of course, are both native to Massachusetts, so D'Angelo is a regular thing for us...lucky us! The day was wet (off-and-on mild rain all day), but it wasn't enough to "dampen" the fun. We were expecting the "Norwalk Crew" but unfortunately they couldn't make it...maybe next time, guys? The crowd started off really light and grew a bit during the course of the day, but even at its heaviest we never really waited more than 20 minutes or so for anything, and most of our early rides were walk-ons or nearly so. Fright Fest-specific attractions were collectively a crapshoot. The downside was that several walk-throughs were upcharged (unlike last year, if I recall correctly). Mystery Mansion (in Houdini's Great Escape) and Wicked Woods (at the picnic grove) could be seen on a combo ticket, but Wicked Woods was pretty much flooded out, so we saved ourselved $3.00 and just did Mystery Mansion. Waited maybe 25 minutes, but it was actually pretty good. Anyway, the photos tell the rest of the story: SFNE says "Thanks for reading. See you next season!" The brothers. Yes, there really is a 23-year age gap between us, and yes, we really are brothers. More orbs. This time last year, Tomahawk was in pieces. On the next episode of "Pimp My Ride." ORBS!!! See? The place really is haunted. This picture took a good ten minutes to get right. Corey says "Let's play 'Spot the cliche'." Even Reavers made an appearance. Shiny! HOLY CRAP!!! IT'S OPERATING! Great Chase was rockin' and rollin' today! Some of the better theming. The ONE thing Cedar Fair can learn from Six Flags: trash cans need not travel in packs. Gotham City Crime Wave actually looks pretty nice in its new home...and they turned the pictures around the right way. Allan doesn't even have to ride to get his head bashed by Mind Eraser. Much like NASCAR, cold = fast. Let's play "Spot the coaster geek." Mind Eraser was strangely kinda smooth (well, smoother than normal). SLC's may be many things, but they're actually quite picturesque. Man, Route 66 was CRANKIN' today. This was not our car. Still trying to wrap my brain around THAT. Catwoman says "I thought I was done with floods." Yes, we love you Catwoman. More empty station goodness. Tall, hot, and plastic...just like any other aspiring starlet. Empty midway = beautiful. Corey's just happy to get the hell outta New Hampshire for awhile. See? Much sadness. More crying... Sob... Scream was running one tower in combo mode and two towers in 200 foot paperweight mode. Taking ERT to a whole new level: the solo ride (front row left). Empty stations rock. Take one last look. Nice view of the North End from the ancient N.E. Skyway. Allan says "On this trip, there's about 300 miles between 'inconvenience' and 'a fricken travesty'." Need I say more? Even my local hometown legendary murder made a showing...Lizzie Borden. Holiday World? I thought we were at SFNE? Decent theming. If K.I.T.T. has K.A.R.R., then Ecto 1 has this bad boy. Yes, yes it is. Near-empty parking lot. This is a thing of beauty. Arrival. Cyclone, as seen from Main St. They can't be bothered to put flowers in any other D'Angelo's, but the one in a highway service plaza gets them. Go figure. Corey loves D'Angelo's as much as I do. This one is mine. I like my onions burned. If the onions catch fire and set off the fire suppression system, dust them off and give them to me. Allan's first D'Angelo sub. ...oops, spoke too soon. The weather's not so bad... Corey's killing time with some DS goodness. Just getting on the road...

I PMed you my number. I vote for a "ride 'em one last time" thing on all of these flats (assuming ANY of them are running).

SATURDAY!!!!! If you can, try to get up there and meet up with us. We'll be there pretty much all day. Oh, and in my personal opinion, none of these rides are a huge loss. Sure, they're ok (some better than others), but not a major loss.

^^ While the average person probably wouldn't, the letter of the law does automatically believe someone who pleads not guilty. That's how "innocent until proven guilty" and "burden of proof" work. It's ultimately the accuser's responsibility to prove the accusation, and I'm fairly certain the same will apply to this law, which is not really that new in other areas. Having taken some time read up on this law like everyone else has, my interpretation is that this "word of mouth" evidence pretty much adds up to "eye-witness testimony" which DOES carry some weight in all jurisdictions. Although, I suppose we should be glad that federal-property terminology isn't being applied to this law. There it's only 25 feet. Personally I support these efforts. I totally support anyone's right to listen to whatever they want, but my neighborhood has quite a few people whose car stereos are often played loud enough to rattle some of my furniture across the floor.

Meh, if Derek Acorah is your only reference, then I can certainly understand your feelings on the subject. Personally I think the man singlehandedly makes it entirely too easy to be skeptical, BECAUSE he's a sham. I'm a pretty firm believer that there are things about our world that we just don't have the means to fully understand yet, and ghosts are included in that. So yeah, I believe pretty strongly in the spirit realm.

Sounds like a great time so far, and I can't wait for further updates. But then again, I can get in on a ghost hunt just going to work every night. Oh, and is it just me, or does this picture just scream inspiration for new coaster theming?

Let's not forget that the "proper" title for Raiders was actually "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" (it was Paramount who wanted it shortened to just "Raiders of the Lost Ark." I agree that the new title is a mouthful, but as Larry said, is it really that important? The original point of this thread was to speculate connections between the Tokyo DisneySea ride and the plot of the film, now how many words Spielberg could squeeze onto a movie poster.

^ Agreed, and Temple of Doom & Last Crusade both had heavy supernatural elements as well, but none of the three had a supernatural antagonist as a central figure, which is why I tend to disagree with the idea that the movie and ride will be similarly themed. I think the 13 Mayan Skulls legend just fits a little better with the history of the series, that of Indy going after a specific thing which turns out to possess mystical powers that he was unprepared for.

If I was going to guess at the actual plot of the film, I'd go with the legend of the 13 Mayan Crystal Skulls. The Mitchell-Hedges skull is the most famous of this alleged set of 13 skulls, and the legend in general seems to be a natural next adventure for Dr. Jones. I'm sure elements of the ride could easily be incorporated, but the idea of a supernatural main antagonist (whether in on-screen reality or simply myth) just seems a little too un-Raiders. To illustrate my point (as Indy is packing his suitcase): "I don't believe in magic, a lot of superstitious hocus pocus. I'm going after a find of incredible historical significance, you're talking about the boogie man."

Well, I guess I can't keep this quiet anymore. Jen and I are expecting our second child. I've been a little gun-shy about sharing this news ever since our experience with our daughter Ceilidh. Most of you know that she died this past December from a genetic disorder, but this time we're being cautiously optimistic. I figured it was time to share the news. So far we don't know much, except that the projected due date is April Fool's Day 2008 (if I can't have a Hallowe'en baby, April 1st is the next best thing). The original due date was my mom's birthday. Wouldn't that have been cool? We decided that giving Ceilidh a sibling was the best way to honor her memory, and so now we're counting down the days. Right now the only thingthat could make me happier about this is if we get another daughter. I certainly won't ask for a refund if I get a son, but I've always wanted a daughter, and now I want a second one. Given what we went through with Ceilidh's passing, I'm hoping I can call upon the TPR gang, my second family, for prayers and well-wishes for a healthy baby. Whether we have a son, daughter, or multiples, that's all I want is a healthy one. My offer for cigars all around still stands! Pete "I got myself into it AGAIN!!!" FourWinds

I despise when people wait until the last minute. I always move over well in advance (unless it's an unexpected merge, such as at an accident, etc). I generally drive pretty big and/or powerful vehicles, and other than a couple of rentals I've had in the last couple months, the smallest car I've had over the years was my Monte Carlo, so I'm usually the one who laughs at people who try to squeeze in at the last minute and can't because they can't get around my (car's) fat ass. This is actually a pretty big problem in my area, because there are probably a dozen or more roadwork projects going on at any given time within 20 miles of my house, some of which have been delayed for years.

Ghost Hunters' Brian Harnois (the one with the attitude and teeth in desperate need of realignment) pulled up behind me at a traffic light the other day. And while it may be more appropriate for the "Celebrities you KNOW" thread, my good friend Peggy Llewellyn is quickly establishing a bit of celebrity status for herself by clinching her eligibility a couple weeks ago in the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series Pro Stock Motorcycle championship "Countdown to Four."

^ The question is about coasters RETURNING to their ORIGINAL park/spot/etc. after moving to other parks. Your example of a coaster taking the place of an earlier identical coaster isn't exactly the same thing. And, eeerrmmm...nope. I can't think of any examples offhand.

That was more than a little odd (the park AND the TR), but the investigative-report thing totally put it over the top. Lots o' fun! Thanks for a very entertaining PTR.

Longest wait ever was SFNE's SROS in either 2000 or 2001, 2.5 hours, and only because it was my first time riding it. The wait wasn't what made it bad. While I was waiting, some small change came out of someone's pocket aboard the train going over the twist camelback just before the first helix, and caught me in the chin. That hurt like hell, but WTF? I ended up riding 8 cents richer...yay.

Partial list, off the top of my head: Black Widow at SFNE (then Riverside) Viper at SFGADV Python at BGA And since the flat and coaster threads have been merged: Every ride still in operation upon closing at Whalom Park Most rides at Rocky Point (Warwick RI) Most rides at Lincoln Park (Dartmouth MA) WDW's Mr. Toad's Wild Ride - my very mostest favoritest dark ride EVAH! Colossus, Joker's Wild Card, and Poland Spring Plunge, SFNE And just to be totally random, the former Riverside Park Speedway, now home to DC Adventures (I used to drive a street stock there). EDIT: 400th post. Big effin' whoop.

Part 4 - Final post: Our final entry. Thanks for reading! El Caribe, UMass Dartmouth's steel-drum band. We had the searing heat, so why not throw in the Caribbean music? FRPD K-9 unit. The Springfield Kilties came over 100 miles just for us? Awwww, thanks guys! From the Fall River Preservation Society. As did Spongebob. The ten-foot Elvis kinda scared me. The Hills-Mills Clown Band. I'm so getting their CD. Probably the most unique parade entry. Superman even made an appearance, but the greying temples told me "George Reeves-era"... Durfee High School cheer squad. What's a parade without cheerleaders? Fall River Housing Authority salutes our veterans. 1st Battery, Connecticut Light Artillery. ...but she was hot, too. I think she was Michaela Gagne, Fall River native and former Miss Massachusetts (in the Miss America pageant, NOT the crappy Miss USA). No idea who this chick was... They totally smiled and waved right at me. I'm a god. Miss Fall River and some other chick with a tiara. Even Captain Jack showed up. Let me put on my shocked face... Very nice classic Charger. Coast guard appearance, the sequel. The Fall River Chamber of Commerce will just let ANYONE in the parade, apparently. The Massachusetts Colonial Navy, Fall River. Even the HISTORY of my Navy was well represented.

Part 3: Parade day! Not sure I wanna go to war in that thing. Mass. National Guard band, local division. The Army Corps of Engineers. This is what a Humvee SHOULD look like. Sheriff's Department Mobile Incident Command Center...badass! No idea how Bank Five and a costume-character dog are related. FRFD Honor Guard FRPD Honor Guard Fall River's finest, the motor patrol. The coast guard even gave us a quick flyover. Jen enjoys the last bit of shade. Too bad there wasn't enough for her knee...it roasted. Our day starts off with the mandatory balloon-hawking.

Part 2: See you tomorrow at the parade! The night ended with fireworks. The only really decent shot I got of the Los Lobos show. To show how much further back we were, during the Sammy Kershaw show we were beside the sound tower (that yellow scaffold) WWWAAAYYY up there. Apparently Cedar Fair owned the BBQ trailer. A view looking down into the food court. The most theming we saw all weekend. This is the BBQ place on the food court side. The rock wall was on the food court side. This side of the parking lot is the Artisans' Tent, with a few outside the tent on the right. The blow-up doll. The Hummer. Those marines were also here. They did not have a cool flight sim. They had a blow-up doll and a Hummer...hhhmmm. Very telling, isn't it? ...with a killer flight sim of the Blue Angels. My Navy was well represented here... Self portrait? (heh)...or, rather, the first mandatory food photo.

It's that time again for the annual Fall River Celebrates America multicultural fair in my town of Fall River, MA. I live three blocks away, so my neighborhood gets to really enjoy the overflowing chaos of traffic, etc. I used to get the eff out of town on this weekend, but starting last year my wife and I decided to enjoy it instead, and that's what we did this weekend. This year's theme was "honoring veterans," and it came with some perks. Being a combat veteran, I got free admission for all four days (I ended up using two, Friday and Saturday). I also got the Fall River Chamber of Commerce member discount for immediate family, in my case my mom and wife. My mom's also a veteran, but she wasn't able to come to the Chamber office by the deadline to claim her free admission. The discount for her and my wife was $8.00 for the weekend, versus $10.00 for the weekend in advance or $10.00 EACH DAY at the gate. Bargain! Friday night was "Country night." Yay. Normally, a country concert is the LAST place on God's green earth you'll ever find me (short of prison, perhaps), but I decided to take my mom to the show. This year's Friday headliner was Sammy Kershaw. All things considered, it wasn't a bad show, and we had a great spot. Thanks in part to the price I paid for admission, I enjoyed the show much more than I expected to. New England-based rising country star Stephanie Hansen opened the show. Jen, being pregnant again, wasn't really feeling up to it, so she stayed home and listened from the couch...we really do live that close. Saturday was that much more fun, as it was Los Lobos and the legendary Dave Mason (ex-Traffic and Fleetwood Mac, in addition to a stellar solo career). Mom and I headed off early and walked down to enjoy the rest of the fair (miniscule midway, international food court, artisans' tent, and such). It was really hot early in the afternoon when we left, so Jen again stayed home in favor of joining us later for Los Lobos. In the food court, I downed a GREAT chicken shawarma from the booth of the local Lebanese restaurant. I haven't had a shawarma in 12 years, since I was in the Persian Gulf, and this one was the real deal, JUST as I remembered, except much bigger. Bonus! Mom went a little more simple, with pizza from the Domino's booth. Another bonus...she got two slices for the price of one, because the guy selling them couldn't get the two separated. At two bucks a slice, I'm all for a two-for-one deal. The free samples of Simply Smart chocolate milk from Hood made me feel like I was in grade school again, drinking it straight out of the tiny half-pint cartons. We wandered around the midway and artisans' tent for awhile before heading back for a little rest and to pick (or wake) Jen up. Around 7:30 we headed back to the fair to grab our spots for Los Lobos. We'd listened to Dave Mason from the house, and it sounded like a pretty awesome show...it also sounded like a huge crowd. We were much further back for Los Lobos than we were the night before for Sammy Kershaw, but it was still a great show. The two young boys (aged maybe 6 and 4) in front of us with their parents made up a large part of the night's entertainment, constantly shifting between dancing and wrestling with each other. Hey...they were having fun. Fireworks immediately followed the show. We did have to move about 30 feet for the fireworks, because our view was blocked a bit by the tree that we were near. Fireworks are launched from the river alongside the park, so aside from moving away from the tree, all we had to do for a spectacular view was turn to the left a bit. Sunday mom left early, and Jen and I headed out at about 1 or so for the parade. I was sure the route was going to be packed, because it was just starting by then, but we were at the end of the route, so we lucked out and managed to get the last shred of shade. As usual, this will be posted in several parts (not nearly as huge a TR as my recent NHRA or Hershey trip reports, but still), so feel free to comment between posts. On to the photos (about 70 or so)! The requisite SuperSlide photo. Mom stops by the funhouse for a Kodak moment. The ever-popular Wipeout was SO popular, it wasn't even manned by an op when I walked by. Pretty basic scrambler. ...but it got some serious flight time in. The microscopic Wave Swinger wasn't much to look at... What's a carnival TR without a zipper? It was near-vertical above my head. Pharaoh's Fury was still getting as much air as ever. The entire midway was squeezed onto the State Pier. Sammy Kershaw. What happened to cowboy hats and boots? This guy had sneakers and a freakin' fleece jacket.

^Wildcat wasn't that bad at all before the Flyers (in my opinion, anyway), but the new trains did make all the difference.

Part 7: Just some random sight we saw on the way home...sheds that look like giant doll houses. The remains our final meal Thursday night before breaking camp Friday morning...marinated chicken. Of course I need to get in on the act. Let's see...fanny pack, check. Sandals, check. Chunky gut...check. Nope...I'm not a coaster enthusiast. As does Mom. Jen gets nutrageous with...Nutrageous. As Rolo, Reese, and Original roll up behind for some dancing. Symphony and Nutrageous rock out to an Earth Wind and Fire cover performed by the Soda Pops. The Claw. Pirate, as seen from the Monorail. StormRunner from the Monorail. Heaven on earth, the Hershey's chocolate factory. Chocolate Ave, Hershey. Beautiful downtown Hershey...or, technically Derry Township. Condor...no, I will NOT call it Flying Falcon. The most RCT thing in the park. You see a buffalo, I see a couple of coats and several months' worth of dinner. Mountain lion. ...and his beotches. The elk pimp... The aforementioned prairie dogs. Black bear sleeping. Hey! I sleep like that sometimes, too. Sleeping river otter. He has the right idea. The very cool bobcat. ...and roadrunner NOT running. Roadrunner running... Turtle drag racing...very exciting. American alligators. There were also American crocs in this pavilion (in another tank, of course), but the pics came out like garbage. Eastern Diamondback

Part 6: Guess where we're going to get cooled off next? Artsy-fartsy StormRunner Hello up there! Some more Jahan-friendly Arrow helix-ness. What makes this helix truly great is that it's right over Freeman's BBQ. Yummy!!! For you coaster-IN-the-transfer-track enthusiasts. More cool Pioneer Frontier theming...very RCT. Jen watches one of her favorite rides in operation. See? A well-timed geyser meant the front riders on ths car got drilled square-on in the face. Nice shot of the crossover. Lightning Racer looms over The Boardwalk. Some of what makes Boardwalk truly great. We'll examine some of these highlights in more detail later in the broadcast. Tidal Force was putting some serious water into the air. Tidal Force theming. My very classy wife shares her opinion about waiting for Mom and Chelsea to show up for our next Canyon River Rapids ride. StormRunner THROUGH THE...Aquatheater canopy. ...until he was thrown into the wall at a very high speed. This kid was pretty damn good... I, however, had a great time watching her bodyboard. Once she finally did get on the board successfully, she didn't look like she enjoyed the ride very much. This young woman is on the process of losing her bikini bottom in this photo. It made her fairly popular. A little Waverider drag racing action. I must admit this is a pretty damn nice shot. Beautiful twisty steel.

Part 5: This looks a little more like high-speed. Well, as high speed as you can get on the Whip. High speed POV!!! Me, I like it both ways (whip rides AND photography). Chelsea, however, is...she's just not a fan of being photographed. Allan isn't such a big fan of Whips (well, not the theme park kind, anyway). Old Whip, meet New Whip. East Coast Waterworks is much bigger than it looks. More Boardwalk theming. A little wild mouse action. Does this count as an Elissa-friendly rodent photo? If not, there are some prairie dogs coming up. That's me, front row left. No, it's not a Cedar Fair park, as evidenced by the single (I repeat, SINGLE) trash can in this photo. This beautiful sight is what a queue looks like before park opening. While it was never truly crowded, Comet's queue never quite looked like this again. For you lift hill fans. More rolly coasty pics. This is Comet at "Sweet Start" time. The rooster and I conspired to scare the crap out of Allan. It worked. A DONKEY!!! This TR is now official! Menno says "Thanks for joining us for a buggy ride." According to Menno, this is the Amish Airport. Amish freeway. This is Menno, our driver. He's been with Aaron and Jessica's Buggy Rides since they started. More Amish farmland. Heh...I love Intercourse (Pennsylvania).