LoneRider92

^ Whoops! Thanks for pointing that out Chad! The last batch of pictures will be the wrong size again unfortunately. Making a mental note for the future... The end of the report! Little Titans doing it's thing. A credit I'll never be able to get. =( A little info on the man behind the park. Looking back across the park heading up Zeus' lift. Oh God, I hope I make it... (*Checked and okayed again*) Zeus' first drop. Hopefully this isn't the last thing I see... Flying through the turnaround. This part of the ride normally is pretty sucky, but in the front it is manageable. Zeus has some unrealized potentially, IMO. The speed never lets up through the ride and there are 4 good moments of airtime (like here). I would be very pleased to see this ride run in top condition. That would give the park one heck of a one-two-three punch. Getting ready to roar passed the station. Slaloming through the last bit on Hades. As you can see, the ride's speed never lets up. Here's the thing; Mt. Olympus had a bunch of space behind the park to do something, ANYTHING with. Instead, they flattended it all and made it into this parking lot. The problem is I have never EVER seen it being used. The original lot is already huge, and if this lot was ever needed, it would be far too busy for me to even visit the park. Also, the money spent here could have been used in other, more worth while places. Personally, I think a small steel coaster (like an El Loco or Eurofighter or something along those lines) would be a great addition to the park, but we'll see what Mt. Olympus has in store for the future. Turning up into the wild pre-lift section. Hellish lift hill shot. As the next several pictures show, Hades a.) gets nice and close to the queue line and b.) is very speedy. One more trip through the woods. The ride might have been running fine, but that didn't mean it wasn't having it's troubles today. The front left seat (my favorite) had trouble unlocking all day and at one point a seat divider in the middle of the train came out, leading to the removal of the entire bench. The only nice thing was that the ride ops were filling empty seats on every train. Now if people didn't act like such a**holes and make a huge deal out of moving back 2 rows... Navigating the small air hill at the end of the ride. The entire ride is so fast, it's BLLUUURRYY. Our last ride of the day comes to an end. =( Goodbye Hades. Hopefully I'll see you again soon! Whew, they made it out! Some food pictures are in order, I think. =D (Wait, is that pizza after every trip report so far? Bay Beach? Check. Noah's Ark? Check. Great America? Check. Wow, I might be a pizza-holic...) Pizza Ranch, while not the most spectacular pizza place in a town filled with stellar pizza, is a nice way to get everyone something they want at an affordable price. It is quite good, but a major problem the place has is it's VERY popular and can be an absolute zoo if you visit around 8 or whenever parks close. However, with several different pizzas and one section of the buffet devoted to not-pizza offerings, it's a place I love to hit after a long day of riding. Too busy? There's one nearby in Baraboo that's far less overrun, so a short drive might be your best choice. The aftermath of our pizza destruction. So much California chicken pizza and Cactus Bread. X) If you've made it this far, congratulations! You survived LoneRider's assault on Mt. Olympus. Thanks for reading! As always, questions/comments are appreciated. See you all again soon!

Pics! Pics! More pics! Remember guys, I ask for questions/comments/concerns because I really do want feedback! The last report I did basically got nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. (And thank you to those who did. It was greatly appreciated). Well, here we are! Hades awaits! Hades welcoming me to the park in the best way. =D Zeus doing it's thing as well. Eh, I guess it good to see you too... Is that the line for Zeus?! Holy crap. O.O I pray it's not that busy today (luckily it mellowed out not long after this). Ah, one of my favorite rides out there. Enough waiting, let's ride! Oh wow, that sign would have such a HUGE impact. If it wasn't up every. Single. Day. At least it tells the truth. A long, long climb up. If anyone ever said Hades runs so fast it might shake itself to pieces... Well, you might not be that far off. The drop out of the station is honestly great! In fact, the pre-lift section is probably better than some coasters. This is the section of the ride that needs the most attention. However, if you are expecting to run like, well, a wood coaster, then it's not too bad. Besides, it's hard for a small section of track to ruin an entire hell-raising ride. One of the couple very good moments of airtime before you even hit the lift. This area of the ride needs some help too, but there are so many worse rides out there. Diving down after the return trip through the tunnel. I love the queue for the ride as well. Getting up close and personal with a couple of PTC cars at 50 mph is pretty awesome. Also, some timely holes in the barrier provided me with some nice photo opportunities. What is it with the Dells and gum? Scorpion's Tail has the gum tree and here Hades has the gum post. Good thing I wasn't hungry... I see a lot of happy faces, so I'm excited. =D I think the kid in row three might be dead, however, so I'm also apprehensive. =\ How about some POV pictures? The drop out of the station and the beginning of our adventure. (*Checked and okayed by the ride ops*) A lift hill shot for those of you out there into that kind of stuff. We just have to make it under the parking lot and over there. Piece of cake, right? Oh man, I love this drop. =D Don't forget to smile for the camera! Well, we made it through. Let's do it again! Some great airtime all the way back down into the abyss. Yay, we made it out! And little low g's into the hairy part of the ride. More airtime into the last turn, another problem area. No worries gang, it was running great! This attraction is far better than the one it replaced. Honestly, Dive to Atlantis wasn't a bad ride. It just wasn't very exciting and it had the most *agonizingly* slow line ever. That concrete slab is all that is left of what was the best moment of airtime on a go-kart track ever. =( THE drop. The airtime is OMFG insane, but this also the most brutal part of the ride, and I thought Mean Streak wasn't that bad at all. Still, Cylops has at least 4 moments of wicked airtime and should not be missed. Just don't expect to marathon it. Mt. Olympus is home to a wide variety of unique go-kart tracks. If you're looking for adventure, try Trojan Horse or Poseidon. If you're into more traditional racing, try Hermes. And it's LoneRider approved! =D Little Titans for you credit whores. Sorry though, there is a max height. Here's a bit of a beef I have with the park; there is enough shade by the wooden coasters, but once you get to Hermes, it's wide open and very hot. Perhaps a few more trees or something would be appreciated. Pegasus rounding the bend. Seriously, for the smallest wooden coaster here, this is one of the worst out there! Watch out for that last turn. It is an absolute neck-snapper. Hey, at least I got two trains in one shot. This hill might not look like much, but watch out. Holy ejector airtime Batman! There's just five words to say as you fall down, down, dooowwwn... I think your butt is still completely out of the seat here if you're in the back . At least this part of Mt. Olympus is Dave approved, right? Airtime here? Maybe. A little discomfort? Most likely. Hades hurtling through the woods. Cresting the hill out of Hell. I'm my own group leader. I am the LoneRider after all. 8D A brief moment for everyone to catch their breath before plunging back down. Flying high all the way down. Not the best pic of Trojan Horse, but it gives you the idea that it is an expansive, enjoyable track. I took this picture because I too have crabs. =D (hermit crabs) Here was a new one; men working on the ride structure while the ride is running. I hope they get paid enough... Back over to Hades, where everyone is having the time of their lives. Avalanche/Hellcat way over on another hillside. It's kind of Hades' little brother, but it's just as crazy. This view never gets old. I just realized now I could have used the night mode on my camera to get pics inside the tunnel. =( Then again, I don't want to ruin the experience for anyone. ;D Hmm... Maybe later. Let's hit the waterpark, shall we? The new DJ in the wave pool was an interesting touch, I thought. Nothing like listening to tunes while being rolled by a mammoth wave. Here's TPR first - POV of Poseidon's Rage. Let's just say this won't end well... (Yeah, those sunglasses will protect you...) One of the few serene moments in Poseidon's Rage. Until this happens. Yep, that's a 9 footer. It's amazing. =D This year Mt. Olympus opened up their new water playground area. I was very happy with the result! It was highly popular and immersive. Water coming from ALL directions. I loved it. =D The area had just a touch of theming (I wasn't asking for much) and it was very original. The structure had the big bucket, little buckets, nozzles, hoses, bells, whistles, the whole nine yards. It was interesting to see you could almost drown on dry land. The big mat racing slide. This was also the first time I had ever seen someone go all the way through the splashdown area and off the end of the slide. O.o The quarter-pipe section of one of the raft slides. It was very popular and looked pretty fun, so I say it was a good call on Mt. Olympus' part. Here they come... Well, they weren't exactly flying up to the top of the pipe. Maybe with a little more girth... Any TPR members up for it? ;D One thing I liked a lot was this geyser on the top of the structure. Not only was it unique and creative, when it went off, no one was safe. A complete drencher. The bowl slide was fun and eliminated the scary-as-hell haphazard dump into a pool. Eh, just thought I'd show off my crazy awesome farmer's tan I have going on. Working outside everyday has it's benefits. ;D Looking back on the quarter-pipe. And with that, the Lost City of Atlantis gets the LoneRider stamp of approval. Good job Mt. Olympus! How about a little SplashCam? (I think I'm going to regret this...) Just observing the wall of destruction as people go flipping everywhere. Unreal. Yes, thank you dinn. This was the spot the Kuka robocoaster used to occupy. It's too bad they got rid of it. That was one heck of a fun ride. Some areas of the park seem passable for theming, while others don't have a shred of theming to be seen anywhere. The areas that do have it look alright though. These slides are fun, but they always have such a long line. Yes, I'm sure it's exactly like Mythos at Islands of Adventure. ;D Another glance at the water play structure. See? Some nice looking areas, others like this lazy river that just seemed thrown together. A little more attention here wouldn't hurt. The Wave can't quite measure up to the insanity that it Poseidon's Rage. Then again, I don't know how many other wave pools could. These body slides, while not outstanding or earth-shattering, are still very fun. The triple drop slide on the right is pretty darn scary when I went flipping over on the last drop. There are lazy rivers, then there are ultra-lazy rivers. I'm not sure if the people even moved in 5 minutes. What is it with these tube slides? Almost every tube had someone hurtle off the tube on the splashdown, my sister included. Still plenty of fun. While not as huge as Point of No Return, these body slides were a little better in my book because they didn't try to shear layers of skin off my back. One thing you can't deny, however, is that Mt. Olympus is a huge park. That's a long way to the other side of the park. Another look at the body slides. Plenty of airtime on the triple down. Oh gee, where oh where could TPR members be found? Yep. It's a complete mystery. A look at Opa. The entire "indoor" park could be missed and you wouldn't even care. As far as spinning coasters go, this one is very Elissa friendly due to the fact it almost never spins. The Skycoaster out over the wave pool was another cool idea. And I only tried to soak them a couple of times, I swear. ;D Something salvaged from Extreme World across the street. EJECTOR SEAT WINCH MOTOR NERD SHOT! More pictures coming up after work. Stay tuned!

I'm working on it. I was just worried because I wrote so much and I have a pretty good chunk of pics that it might be too much to post on one thing (one time it timed out on me and I lost everything). I'm going as fast as I can. I want them up too!

WARNING: A shmit-ton of reading ahead. If you want just pics scroll down. The first trip I ever took to Mt. Olympus was in 2004, the year it changed from Big Chief's (finding that website with no notice of the name change was a chore) and thoroughly enjoyed my visit. Since then it's been pretty incredible to watch the park explode the way it has by adding the waterpark next door and an on-site hotel. It was only to a point, however, as it seems like Mt. Olympus is beginning to devour a huge chunk of the Dells. Hotels left and right are being bought up (it seems like almost the entire left side of the strip into Lake Delton is owned by Mt. Olympus) or run out of business and the pricing is starting to concern me (it costs half the amount it does to park at Great America to get a less-complete park when only a few years ago there was no cost). It may sound like I have a bit of hate for Mt. Olympus, but in truth I really do like the park. It's a really expansive park that has a nice collection of wicked wooden coasters, some really unique go kart tracks, and plenty of waterpark options (including one of the most psychotic wave pools EVER). I always try to make at least one visit every year because it's a fun way to spend the day. The only problem I had is that for a place claiming to be a resort, it doesn't really *feel* like it to me. Sure they have the waterpark, the coasters, the hotels and everything, but I would hesitate to think of it as a resort compared to something like Cedar Point or any other comparable parks. A day here is often very hot, very tiring, and makes you leave feeling physically dirty. If they didn't try to market it as something along the lines of Disney, I wouldn't have much of a problem. I know that some people from the park might be present on this board and I hope they don't decide to ban me from the premises (shoot this man on sight ). I'm just portraying the park in great detail and offering my views. Once again, the LoneRider ride ranking system: => Category 1 - Must rides (Try your best to hit them) - Hades, Cyclops, Trojan Horse, Poseidon's Rage => Category 2 - Solid rides (Best to at least try, but won't ruin your visit if you miss them) - Zeus, Poseidon, Hermes Turbo Track => Category 3 - Up to you (Rides that might not be very exciting or good. Your choice on hitting these if time is short) - Pegasus, Opa After all the wooden coasters I've ridden, Hades is still my absolute favorite. I've never ridden a roller coaster than makes me laugh, drool, and have the time of my life every single ride. It really is one of the most unrelenting rides on the planet. Over the years, I noticed the bumps start to get more noticeable, but it was still amazing. The last couple of years, however, I was nervous each time I rode it, wondering whether I would come off the ride laughing and whooping or groaning and holding my head. With the extremely hot and dry summer we are having up here, I was worried that this visit would be a particularly trying one. However, after one ride, my fears were put to rest. Hades was running ferociously as ever and was no rougher than any other wooden coaster (heck, all of the rides were manageable today). As a seasoned rider, my best advice to have the best trip to Hell you can have is FRONT SEAT. It can make a shocking difference. The very front seat is an adrenaline-pumping ride, while the row right behind it can be a serious spine-buster and end your day very quickly. No worries, the wait for the front is often quite short and if you go on a weekday the wait is usually around 30-45 minutes. If you haven't done it before, try Cyclops for the backseat (18 years and up only!). However, more than one ride is not advised. The airtime on the ride is crazy, but it has gotten downright *brutal* with age. You'll be feeling this one for a bit. Zeus was actually pretty good on this visit, but it is also a front seat ride. The turn around can be a bit of a challenge anywhere else. For you first time visitors, bring your swim suit and try the waterpark. It is a nice one (not as nice as Noah's Ark), but still a good way to break up the day. And absolutely check out Poseidon's Rage. This wave pool is downright terrifying. You never knew drowning could be so much fun. Now, to give you guys an idea of what could be improved, a small list of things that could make the park better: - Coaster upkeep - PLEASE Mt. Olympus. You have a potentially outstanding line-up of wooden coasters here. I can only guess how much work goes into maintaining them and judging by some new wood in places, I'm glad to see you're trying. However, some more focus in this area could seriously go a long way. Hades is fantastic and the ride up to the hill out the return trip from the tunnel is fine. It's that looong turn that seems to be a trouble spot on the ride (much like Voyages' turn around). It's not too bad early in the day, but as the ride heats up it it's impossible to ignore. Those last couple of banked hills and turns could also use some TLC. You have a world-class coaster here! With a little polishing you could avoid some future problems if other areas start to deteriorate. Zeus could be a great ride and Cyclops could be even better if some more attention was given to it. Just by judging where the money seems to be going each off-season, I think this would be a better investment. - Two trains or Timberliners - Again, I think a better investment than enlarging the parking to a ridiculous size would be to add a transfer track to Hades (which is most likely not an option due to the design of the ride), so at least Timberliners would make me happy. It would just be another way to keep Hades running in the best shape possible. - Go-kart upgrade - As large as the theme park industry is, there must be *someone* that designs go-karts, and there must be some that are cleaner and greener than the ones that make up the Mt. Olympus fleet. I understand it would be a LOT of karts to replace, but it would vastly improve the experience. If I get exposed to too much cigarette smoke I get really sick, so sitting there in the station with the kart in front of me belching exhaust in my face for several minutes can be pretty sucky. I would just like to think there are some go-karts out there now that run much more efficiently, quietly, and cleanly. Alright, if you actually read all that I will be completely impressed! Pictures will be up next! Darn you deathbydinn for posting a report at basically the same time!

So, I'm downloading Slender right now on my laptop. I have a feeling this will be a terrible idea...

What's up TPR? I'm posting for the first time on here with my brand spankin' new laptop.

Looping? Toboggan? *eye twitch* Oh dear. Thanks for sharing these pictures. They make me happy that we only have 'normal' toboggans and real roller skaters.

Well it's good to see the Travel Channel got a true expert for this show. I can't wait to tune in. I also can't wait to hear the comments go from "This show looks awesome!" to "OMG THAT LIST WAZ SOOOOO STUUUPID THEY ARE ALL WRONG!!!!! DX<" from fanboys.

Wow, that was very cool to see. Interesting to see how the ride and the park have changed over the last 2 decades.

A few more pictures! (Forgot to throw this pic in before) Another lengthy line, and on a day such as today, the heat can be a killer. Thanks to Lyle, we were able to get on, get soaked, and get off in no time at all. Such a great investment! Popeye's at Islands of Adventure will always be my favorite rapids ride, but Roaring Rapids is fun enough. Watch out for those water jets! Jeez Great America. The water was pretty nasty in most places, and at X-Flight it is bad enough that it is giving off noxious gas! Please do a little cleaning up. ;D X-Flight diving through a mess of supports. Plenty of near-misses during the ride as well. In case you forgot which ride you were waiting for. This ride op was very cool too. I was happy to see more people enjoying their job today. OOO-WOOP! =D One more key hole shot because it is a pretty awesome inversion. With it being near 8 o'clock, I wanted to try to get *just* one more ride on V2. When I went to reserve a spot, however, the wait jumped from 4 minutes to 16! Okay, fine God. I'll skip that last ride and call it a day. I only wanted to fit in *one* more ride. [Oh who am I kidding? I would have probably tried to fit in another ride. Or three. ;D ] Okay, the thing is that up here in Wisconsin, we don't have any Cici's, which I grew to love on my Kentucky trip. In a mighty show of good will by the Big Guy himself, one opened up in Milwaukee. I remember some TPR members not liking Cici's very much and I was curious why. The pizza is above average and the people who run them are often very awesome, friendly people. There were some I've been to that seemed a little down, then there were others where the employees were very easy-going and asked if you wanted your own pizza. This one was pretty amazing. =D My first plate, comprised of a slice of mac n' cheese pizza, cheeseburger pizza (complete with ketchup drizzle), breadsticks and a dessert pizza. It's not the *best* pizza I've ever had, but it is quite good and VERY cheap. I also got a kick out of it when JoJo told the owner he had never been to a Cici's, which was followed by a tap on the bell and a chorus of "Welcome to Cici's!" from the staff. If you haven't been to one, maybe just give it a try. It should be an enjoyable visit. THIS. This is a Cici's cinnamon roll. It is a sticky, sweet, amazing experience. I couldn't seem to get a picture of one without a bite taken out of it. ;D If you take a trip to Cici's, please have one. You will not be dissapointed. JoJo took one bite and gave me a stare that read "Why the hell has it taken this long to have one of these?" That concludes this exciting episode of The Adventures of LoneRider. Please tune in next time for (most likely) a visit to Mt. Olympus to tangle with Hades. Questions/comments/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks for reading!

On this episode of The Adventures of LoneRider, will the LoneRider defeat X-Flight? Will he survive the excruciating heat of a hot June day? And does our hero finally have a riding companion? Well, in that order, yes, yes (mostly), and, eh, for a bit. It took a while, but I finally managed a visit down to Great America this year. My friend JoJo hadn't gone in a while either, so he wanted to come along (yes, I, in fact, was not the LoneRider for once). The day we picked originally had excellent weather and was shaping up to be a great day. Until earlier in the week when the forecast changed to 102*. Luckily it dropped slightly, but it was still a very hot day. Probably not the hottest I've faced at Great America before though, so it was fine. Unfortunately JoJo couldn't keep up with my pace (he nearly hurled on multiple occasions and was crapped out later in the day), so by the end of the day I was back to being the LoneRider. For those of you who haven't managed a trip up to Great America before, I encourage it. Of all the Six Flags I've been to, this is still my favorite. The park is very big with a ton of stuff to do and see. The coaster line-up is strong from top to bottom and there is a nice diversity of flat rides and themed areas (some more themed than others). I am also impressed with the water park; it seems to be above normal Six Flags quality and is a pretty good way to cool off for a bit with some nice theming and good slides. One of the only problems is that Great America is very popular, and lines at times can get quite long. Most of the rides are decent capacity (excluding our collection of wild mice), but on crowded days you might find yourself waiting a long time. That's why I've become a huge advocate for the Flash Pass, especially the Gold version. The initial cost may seem very steep and make you question whether or not it's really necessary (what if the lines are short and I waste a solid chunk of money?). Once you start blazing past hundreds and hundreds of people and wait next to nothing for most of the major rides, you will instantly love it. If you only can visit the park once or have a limited time for your visit, it is almost a must-buy. The longest wait we had all day was around 25 minutes for X-Flight. Speaking of which... I know X-Flight has already been reviewed numerous times and there have been several different view points, but come on guys! Let me have a turn! Word from the Coaster Nerd Wow, good job Six Flags and B&M. X-Flight was great! I rode in the last car, right inside seat and loved it. It was exactly what I was hoping for; something that provides a unique experience to the park with solid intensity and great capacity. Is it teh most amazing ride ever? (Well it has loops, so it must be. ) Actually, it isn't, but it is a very fun, different ride. I thought it was very interesting how, in the back, you get whipped over the first drop and alternate between high intensity and long, drawn out floatiness. The long in-line was awesome; it went on for a loooong time. It was very smooth, but I did notice in the last turn on both rides a bit of flexing action in the train and on the second ride my restraint got pushed down slightly, so the vest was very tight on my shoulders. However, if this is enough to ruin the ride experience for you, you're better off sticking to riding NoLimits coasters. As for my patented coaster ranking system, I organize the rides in this order: => Category 1 - Must rides (Try your best to hit them) - Raging Bull, V2, Batman, X-Flight, Viper, Whizzer (because I'll catch flak if I don't) => Category 2 - Solid rides (Best to at least try, but won't ruin your visit if you miss them) - Superman, American Eagle, Ragin' Cajun, Demon, Little Dipper => Category 3 - Up to you (Rides that might not be very exciting. Your choice on hitting these if time is short) - Dark Knight Onto the pics. Hope you have some spare time... This is JoJo. He will be accompanying me during our invasion of Great America. But can he keep up with me? We'll see. Waiting in line to pick up our Qbot. Here's the list of rides available today for Flash Pass. I'll reserve a spot for X-Flight as soon as we g- hey, where is it? Well, that's a bummer. I guess we'll have to do it the old fashioned way. Here's our little friend. His name was Lyle. Lyle was happy to help us have an awesome day. Thank you Lyle! Yes, I see you X-Flight. We'll get to you eventually, but we'll enjoy our Qbot a bit first. As much as Iron Wolfman claims it was his ride, I think I was one of the only other people who liked Iron Wolf. Sure it wasn't butter smooth (B&M had to start somewhere), but it was compact and intense and always worth a shot. I never found it as diabolically rough as others claimed it was. It was a good ride and I will miss it. Will a sign for something else be here next season? Who knows. First ride of the day (and season) for me, V2, a personal favorite. And all 3 signs in the picture as well. ^.^ NERD SHOT! I played around trying to get reaction shots when the ride launches. I think the girl in row 5 is hating her ride from the start. ;D That moment when everyone's heads are forced back against the seat. The same shot, only at 70 MPH. Congrats Batman on 20 years of great old school B&M intensity! We're both getting old, but the ride still delivers. I did notice some 'shivering' by the train during parts, but it's 20 years old! Hey, for the first inverted coaster in the world, B&M did some awesome work. Short, but VERY forceful and unrelenting. Another loop shot, now with 25% more tree! The 0 g roll, taken at a pretty good clip. Only a couple of rides and JoJo is already feeling it. "You're not *really* going to be taking pictures all day, are you?" While he catches his breath, I'll just keep snapping pictures. A pretty good loop shot for Derek and other loop enthusiasts out there. With the East River Crawler currently on vacation, the shot of the first corkscrew looks a little more tidy. With the temperature soaring today, we became good friends with the misters today. JoJo wanted a ride for old times sake on the Whizzer. Oh boy, a full queue. What's this Lyle? You can get us past the entire line and all the way up to the station with no wait? Thank you Lyle! =D Good old Schwarzkopf, still delivering almost 40 years later. (Darn, blur issues already) Sorry Rudie, I would have gotten more Shwarzporn for you, but this is all I got. =( I'll get some more next time. Onto Raging Bull we go! [That trim, that trim there can go to heck >=( ] Oh wow, look at that line. O.o Once again, the Flash Pass absolutely delivers. If Raging Bull ran trimless, it would be one HELL of a good ride. Still, it's an awesome ride with great floater airtime and some high-speed turns. I also like the compact-ish design. The trains looked a little more nifty this year. I liked it. =D I'm not sure how I feel about the sign now. The old one was more cartoony and this one seems to fit a little better. Maybe if they cropped the background a bit. Raging Bull is a must ride in the back. There are at least 5 moments of great airtime and several other moments of floater air. The drop off the pre-drop in the back is amazing. =D Nice to see Viper's original sign is back up. Oh look, another long line. Qbot to the rescue! Viper seems to have quite the following on TPR, and it is a good ride, but I don't enjoy it as much as other members. It's showing it's age a little bit, and if you don't have a Flash Pass the line can get a little long, but you definitely should try to get at least one ride on it. Much like Raging Bull, the backseat delivers one heck of a ride. It never lets up from the double down until the last hill. Try riding it after a dousing of rain for one seriously out-of-control experience. =D I liked the merch in the gift shop this year. I wonder how many TPR members this could apply to? ;D I was eyeing up this Raging Bull shirt and adorable little plush guy. Making a note for the next visit... With JoJo needing another break and us starting to feel the heat, we decided to take a dip in the pool. Like I said earlier, the waterpark is surprisingly good. This was the new addition last year. After Scorpion's Tail, these slides seemed a little tame. However, with no countdown, the drop was a little more surprising. This slide complex has some pretty darn good slides in it. The two body slides are particularly fast and intense. Looking back down the waterpark. Not only is the themeing quite good and the slide collection solid, but it's also fairly big. A nice way to break up your visit if you're getting run down from riding too much. The nice thing about having a water-proof camera is that you can get some shots that normally other people wouldn't get. For example, an overview of Raging Bull and Viper from another angle. An overview of Superman (man, a touch of paint would help some rides). If you haven't done a flyer before, give it a shot for the experience or if you REALLY enjoy it. Otherwise you can give it a skip. Superman pulls one of the longest lines in the park due to slow operations, so hit it right away or Flash Pass it. Hey, I didn't know Great America opened up lakefront parking! Might be a little difficult getting it out of here though... ;D Just a shot of Tornado. Too bad the line is always so long. I actually really do like the atmosphere at Hurricane Harbor. While Noah's Ark will always be my favorite (new owners better not screw it up!), this incarnation is very nice. Looking back on Viper. Soooo much potential for this hill. Still just a very fun ride. (curse you blurring issues!) X-Flight still beckoning us. We'll get to you soon... Maybe I should just build one of these play structures in my back yard. I love these things! I am definitely a humor kind of guy, so when I see things like this, I am very happy. =D Hehehehe... A TPR exclusive! We have RiderCam, RapidsCam, and, thanks to a water-proof camera, now introducing MistCam! Oooh! Aaah! Pretty MISTifying, huh? HAHAHA! Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week. Don't try this at home kids. Lift hill shot of the Demon. (Uh oh, a hazing effect. Maybe MistCam wasn't such a novel idea...) Demon loop THROUGH THE TREES!!1!1! Is JoJo surprised at the short line for Demon, or thinking "How many more damn pictures are you going to take?!?!" Sorry bud, a LOT more to come. It may not be anything special, and being an Arrow it won't be the smoothest ride, but I enjoy the Demon. I was really liking that they were playing the original Demon sountrack in the queue. That was very cool to hear. ^-^ For the best ride on the Demon, try the (surprise!) back seat. It is probably the smoothest seat on the ride and the kick of airtime coming off the first drop is REALLY good. Okay, enough putting it off! Let's see what X-Flight has to offer. The ride entrance, looking very Apocalypse-esque. (Blur, come on! Beat it!) There are already several keyhole shots out there. Well here's another! =D Coming out of the Immelmann. Looking very majestic and graceful. I like how the queue interacts with parts of the ride, and I really like how this pic turned out. =D "It's time to take this mission to the SKY!" The seats felt a LOT like Superman, but your legs were free. They were comfy enough, but I would suggest trying to get the vest to have has much slack as possible so it lessens the chance that it will get tight during the ride. You won't hear any complaints from me though! Checking out the X-Flight hair on myself, with a little artistic flair present in my sunglasses. Hmm, tough break for JoJo. The X-Flight look can expose those receding hairlines pretty well. Don't worry, I'll be there soon enough too. The first drop can pull some surprising g's in the back. Hooray for B&M awesomeness! The Great American Raceway remnants. Let's give the American Eagle a run as well, shall we? Just a word of advice, beware the line. It's quite a hike, so if it's busy, you might not be able to tell until you get to it. Station shot of American Eagle. If the blue side is running backwards, I would recommend it. Otherwise, the red side seems to win in my book. A slightly smoother ride, more hills, and good airtime. It was pretty heavily braked on this visit though. =( This view isn't quite the same. =( Us taking a stroll on Logger's Run. I believe JoJo is asking "Will we get wet?" in sign language. The answer is yes. Out of the two flumes at Great America, Yankee Clipper seems to get you more wet, mainly because of the up-kick at the bottom of the drop. I finally took a ride on Little Dipper. It was CLASSIC! Another trip on Batman? Yes please! Lyle doing his thing again. Around 50 minutes on the right -- no minutes on the left. =D Be warned of the sewer portion of the queue on Batman; it can get *atrociously* hot in here, even on a cooler day. It can be downright torture on a sweltering day, so plan accordingly. Luckily it was rather comfortable today. Who is the real Batman? Apparently not me. =( Me being the LoneRider, I appreciate this sign. =D If Dave happens to read this; I am building a loyal army of seagulls for you to use at your whim. All glory to Icebat and Dave! Taki's make what go BOOM, exactly? I'm scared to find out. Hmm... I am more than a little concerned... Great American Railway has broken down. Mechanic 1 - heading to fix Great American Railway. I wanted to get the corkscrew shot, but the bushes up on the ledge were untrimmed and full of thorns. Darn, guess I'm not a true nerd, being unwilling to endure extreme pain to get the right shot. =( American Eagle THROUGH THE TREES!11!!1! Just missed the shot too... I can tackle any roller coaster out there, no problem at all... But there's no way I can do Giant Drop. Or any drop ride for that matter. X-X Ricochet doing it's thing. Give this one a shot if you have a chance! At this point JoJo called it quits, leaving me with Lyle and about an hour of free time. The LoneRider rides again! Another ride on Raging Bull sounds like a capital idea. Here's the cutback after the drop under the lift. Raging Bull lift hill shot. This ride op. He was cool. I love it when they fun on their job. =D Raging Bull makes my hair FANCY! This is a hair style I could get behind Piers doing. (figuratively) The trash cans this year were very friendly. I liked them. =D Good news Dave. The Domos have decided to join the seagull army to create an unstoppable force. We are awaiting orders. Very friendly indeed. Speaking of pizza, that will be later... Last ride of the day? Let's make it X-Flight. X-Flight doing it's zero g thing. Throw on a buttload of wooden supports and what do we have? (Silver Dollar City?) More pics to come.

Things like this make me curse my computer for not being strong enough to run RCT3 to it's full potential and for me losing interest whenever I start a large project. Awesome stuff grrt!

Wow, this is a project I want to keep my eye on. Everything I've seen so far looks excellent. Yet another (potentially) awesome park out of my reach.

Just another day working out, and (not too brag too much) I can say that I'm probably in the best shape of my life. Just my little exercise spiel; find something you like doing that's active. It doesn't have to be much, anything is a good start. I don't know, I just felt like doing a little coaching bit. I like to help out. Here's to a happier, healthier you!

As someone from the Dairyland... What?? I hope they were trying to just sound really stupid (which annoys the heck out of me) instead of actually being that stupid (which annoys the heck out of me too). And not to try to be a backseat moderator, but remember this is more for the really weird things you hear, not just every dumb comment you see on a coaster video (I've learned not to read comments in any video I watch, for the sake of my own sanity). It's just a little tiring to click on the thread and see just another dumb comment from a video. Like the post from someone much earlier in the thread when someone was being asked if they could change the weather at Disney. That was pretty weird. ^ If anyone has a problem with this I can edit the post.

When Shock first opened, I thought "Meh, it doesn't look like much". Great to hear that the ride is much better. The overbank in the offride footage I've seen does look completely insane. I'm curious to see how this park develops over the next few years. Too bad I'll most likely never even get remotely close, and even if I did, I'm not sure I'd make it. Us guys from Wisconsin don't do well in hot weather.

Tomorrow is my graduation party and I was off from work so I could enjoy it. However, the grocery store I work at had so many people drop their hours this weekend that I got called into work tomorrow, even though I said I *really* couldn't. The party is joined with my sister's, so she still gets her party, but why does this always happen to me?!? I can't seem to catch a break.

I know I'd be all for a Midwest Bash! I'm still waiting to attend my first TPR event.

Admission to the fair is free. You just pay for all the food and rides you care to buy. It's a nice little diversion around Memorial Day; it's cheap, it's fun, and it's unique.

The final count from Brat Fest this year was 151,216 brats, a little disappointing to me since the opening day total was over 50,000. The weather on Monday definitely did not help, but the rest of the weekend seemed pretty ideal. Still, it was a good turnout and another fun year. I also managed to hit a couple rides down at the midway on a later visit. The Gravitron was fun, of course, but the Force 10 was one heck of an experience. I didn't bring the camera to prove it, but the ride sign claimed it ride pulled 3 g's. I wasn't sure how close that was to the truth, but it looked fast. Holy hell. After the ride, my head felt really funny, as if someone was pressing very hard against the back of it. It was fast, constantly intense, and really fun, but that was one tough ride. If it pops up at a location near you, give it a shot, but hang on for dear life. I look forward to seeing Brat Fest again next Memorial Day and any possible TPR members who mosey on up to the Dairyland.

My friend and I agreed that Hulk won the bad-assery award for completely demolishing any and all opposition, while Iron Man won the award for best overall dialogue. Pretty awesome movie. The only problem was that for several hours after the movie we were sitting around trying to think of other characters to add into a "most epic movie of all time" movie; instead of just the Avengers, why not include every amazing movie/video game character in history into one movie? It was getting pretty darn hard to comprehend how any of it was tied together at all. It was a great way to spend a night.

I've already sold my clothes, my house, my car, my sister, four and a half of my kidneys and most of my liver to raise funds for this noble cause. Aah, this was a great pick-me-up. Thanks for the laughs TPR.

Honestly, where do people keep getting "rollercoaster" from? Am I missing something? There hasn't been any sort of announcement about a rollercoaster. I just don't see it. I will, however, have to plan a trip for my first visit to Silver Dollar City at some point to check out the new ski slope, park offices, concession stand, and loading dock. Looks awesome!

Started in 1983 by a grocery store owner who wanted to give back to the community, the World's Largest Brat Fest has grown into one of the largest festivals in the region. As you may catch in pictures, Brat Fest has raised over $1,000,000 for numerous charities over the years. The festival earns its namesake from the fact that, well, nobody sells more brats over the course of the festival than them. As the website says, "that’s more than Oktoberfest, more than Brat Days, and more than (Milwaukee) County Stadium… we think you’re the World’s Largest Brat Fest”. The result is 3 million brats sold in the event's 28 year history. Last year the event was marred slightly by the political protests occurring in the region. It turns out that the supplier of brats for Brat Fest donated money to Scott Walker's political campaign, so a large population organized 'alternative' brat fests. But I don't want to drag politics into a place they don't belong. Brat Fest is about eating tons of brats and food in return for supporting local charities and having a great time doing it. I love Brat Fest because it's so quirky; they have "Take Your Brat to Work Day" where people can drive through and pick up brats on the way to work (nothing like a juicy Johnsonville on the way to the office). Bosses have people run out and pick up brats in bunches for their employees (Can I get 60 brats to go please?). The wacky and wonderful Mustard Museum is always a big presence (don't let them catch you putting ketchup on a brat. Things will get nasty...). People can walk around in casual clothing or still wearing the suit from the office. There's tons of music and a carnival, among many special events organized over the course of the festival. It's just plain old fun. On to some pictures. Space Mountain? A UFO? No, the Dane County Coliseum, home of the World's Largest Brat Fest. At least that's what the sign says. Let's check it out. Place your orders for brats here. Don't worry, this was during a lull in the crowd. When it gets busy, expect to wait 30-40 minutes to order. The pricing for Brat Fest, very reasonable considering it's all for charity. For those of you who aren't from the midwest and don't know what a brat is, a brat is basically sausage, just bigger. They are practically their own food group up here in the Dairyland, along with cheese and beer. On the right, a normal brat with sauerkraut and onions (Mother Dearest's), and on the left is this year's specialty brat; chipotle chicken monterey jack with onions and Dusseldorf mustard (LoneRider's next victim). So good... =D (Darn camera still has some issues with blurriness...) When you're done stuffing yourself with deliciously charred meat, corn on the cob, and many other things, why not enjoy a little Brat Fest Cookie Dough ice cream? Super good and colored like ketchup and mustard. =D Accompanying my Brat Fest Cookie Dough is mum's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, also awesome. Today was a good day to get ice cream as the weather was sunny but enjoyable. I figured it was best to get it before Sunday when the temperatures hit the upper 90's. O.o Ice cream soup does not sound very good to me... More delicious ice cream flavors to wash down your brats with. Hey, it might be the brat's time to shine, but the Wienermobile is always a welcome sight. The world record for number of brats sold during the three day event in 2010. The number of brats sold as of 1 pm on the first day. Yeah, they are on a pretty good pace. An army of grills constantly pumping out brats for the hungry Sconsinites. Mmm, smells like good eatin'. (I could imagine this being the sight at a small ACEr cookout as well) Piers and a lot of other TPR members would be found here for a majority of the day. Just taking a second, this is an awesome charity event. The number of volunteers is gigantic, ranging from (local) celebrity cashiers to normal civilians running the grills, it's a pretty impressive sight. Brat Fest is held at Willow Island, known for the numerous Weeping Willow trees found on the small land mass behind the Dane County Coliseum. Questionably, they removed a large amount of willow trees a few years back while leaving the island largely unchanged, so now it's kind of more "Flat Open Space with a Few Willows" Island. Doesn't sound as catchy though. Being a theme park website after all, I had to head down to the carnival and check it out at least. CREDIT!!!! For some. Not for me. I'm just a little too big. Ah yes, nothing like the feeling the contents of your stomach [several brats, an ear (or more) of corn on the cob, ice cream, and a beer or two] forcibly moved from the front of your body to the back. Ah yes, it feels exactly like being at Disney. I'm sure it's liscensed and everything. (I hope I don't get them in trouble somehow) A few more spinning rides. I am a little bummed that I didn't see the Hi Roller that's been here for the last few years. The one ride I had on it a few years ago was one of the most terrifying, disorienting, and awesome flat ride experiences I've ever had. I was kind of curious to try out the Force 10 (pretty sure I saw the ride in the IAAPA report), but I didn't feel like spending too much today. Fairly standard carnival stuff. I was enjoying the ferris wheel set up too close to a tree that was whacking people every time it rotated. Machinery used to help set up? No, actually. There is such a huge number of brats being cooked that they have to unload them from the truck with a Bobcat. There are several stages set up around Brat Fest as well so you can enjoy music while you eat. There are different types of bands playing all the time, so it often sounds more like a battle of the bands. Plenty of Brat Fest merchandise to remember your experience. Eat so many brats that walking normally becomes a laborous activity? Don't worry, transportation is provided to and from the parking lot (again, all volunteers). As you can see, Brat Fest is a very popular event. This is on a Friday at 1:30. Just wait until the fireworks event or Saturday. That wraps up this brief report on the World's Largest Brat Fest. Thanks for reading! Remember, if you are ever in the area on Memorial Day weekend, come on up and visit us. Go ahead and try a brat. Even if you don't like it, you're still donating to several worthy charities. =D LoneRider signing out.

Watching Top 5 coasters on Travel Channel. New Texas Giant at 5 sounds good, Steel Dragon 2000 at number 4 seems high (but Travel Channel loves speed and height). At least Robb's POV of Steel Dragon was used.