805Andrew

^^^^ My last concert was the Offspring also. I saw them at Avila Beach (an outdoor venue on a golf course next to the beach) on Wed Oct 3. You must of seen them in San Jose the night before I saw them I'm guessing. They were awesome and their opening acts Neon Trees and Dead Sara were really good too. Here's a quote Offspring put on their Facebook page as their concert was at the same time as the first presidential debate http://www.facebook.com/Offspring Good times

How many of these parachute rides are left? Was this one SBNO for awhile? I vaguely remember riding the one at Knotts when I was a kid. I would like to ride a parachute ride as an adult to see what its like before they are all gone.

That park with most of the rides closed down looks like pictures of North Korean parks I've seen on the internet where some rides are operational but many are SBNO and are rusting away.

Changing the subject....what ever happened to that guy that fell off the waterslide? Did he survive? Or did he get a Darwin Award?

Great pictures! Looking forward to more of this China TR

Just read up on this project. I'll believe it when I see it opening its gates. Of course it would be cool if this project actually happened, although its looks like the theme park will just be a fraction of the project. It kind of reminds me of when reading about new ski resort proposals that never happen. In my own personal opinion, I would have rather have this project (or a theme park) be built it in Fresno as there is no theme park whatsoever in Central CA (unless you include Santa Cruz as Central CA). Tracy doesn't have much population, and although it is relatively close to Sacramento, and the Bay Area, the Bay Area already has two theme parks that are rarely super-crowded, and Tracy isn't near a tourist destination, its just a place people drive by on their way to the Bay Area or Lake Tahoe/Sierra Nevada mountains. Fresno itself has half a million people, Clovis adds other 100,000+ people, and there are at least another half a million people in the surrounding area - not including the proximity to Bakersfield or the Central Coast. That of course isn't reason enough as there are areas with more population w/o theme parks. Fresno is centrally located in the center of CA, and is the gateway to Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks. Yosemite is a major tourist destination and is world famous, and Fresno is the closest metropolitan area to Yosemite. A theme park in Fresno could be marketed as part of your Yosemite vacation. A theme park in Tracy, part of your Sacramento vacation? Tracy is kind of out of the way to be part of the Bay Area vacation and would be overshadowed by many other areas near the Bay Area such as Santa Cruz, Monterey, Sonoma, Napa, etc. I may be a little biased towards Fresno as I live only 100 miles away In all honestly I doubt either of these cities will ever see a theme park.

^Wow! Thanks for all that info! You basically answered all my questions (at least the coaster/park related ones). Well I guess I do have one still...was it the general consensus the Dualing Dragon (the High Five coaster) was the favorite ride of the trip, or was there another one that stood out on top of the rest?

Just caught up with the official TPR China TR. Awesome videos, and really hilarious! That looked like a really fun trip and almost as fun as reading the Japan TR last year. What park was that Vekoma Stingray in btw? I take that the trip is officially over now. How many days was the trip (I take it was split into two portions) and how many parks did TPR visit? Thanks for the TRs as always.

I always wanted to ride Son of Beast back when it had the loop, mainly out of curiosity. I was bummed when they took out the loop. I guess I wasn't missing much after hearing it was such a horrible ride. But I am mainly bummed that a ride that looked so visually appealing turned out to be such a dud. What a waste of all that wood and what could of been an exciting ride through scenic woods with record breaking heights if it were designed correctly. Hopefully Kings Island makes good use of this now vacant space with well thought out planning and a quality coaster/attraction design.

"Itchin' On A Photograph" by Grouplove

I know its too late to win a Bag-O-Crap but I wanted to share this picture anyway since I just noticed this thread. This is the best loading station view I've ever encountered. Muntanya Russa at Tibidabo in Barcelona, Spain. This is also the park with the "best view" of all the parks I've been to (until I go to Ocean Park in Hong Kong possibly).

Okay I'm going to weigh in on the burger debate. FIVE GUYS I haven't tried Five Guys yet, as the nearest one to me is over 100 miles away, but I will eventually when I'm near one and I'm hungry and in the mood for a burger. It would be nice if they opened a location on the CA Central Coast. IN-N-OUT I really like In-N-Out and its my go to place for a fast food burger when I want a traditional burger (lettuce, tomatoes, onions). People wanting bacon, onion rings, fancy toppings, or huge burgers will be disappointed as In-N-Out has a very limited menu (burgers, fries, sodas, and shakes). In-N-Out is supposed to be very close to what a hamburger was like in the 1950s (of course I can't tell by experience being born in the 1980s). I really LOVE the sauce In-N-Out puts on its burgers, the fresh tomatoes and lettuce they pile on, and getting onions grilled on my burger (or going for Animal Style which cooks the burger in mustard also). I love the fact that they use fresh ingredients including fresh, not frozen, beef, and they cut their fries from potatoes right in front of you. I love their fries too (but not as much as their burgers) and dipping them in their "spread", but their fries must be eaten right away since they are fresh. The shakes, although simple, are very good too. I think part of reason why so many people here in CA love In-N-Out is not just because of the food, but the philosophy of the company: not changing the menu since 1948, using fresh ingredients, not franchising (all stores are company owned), keeping menu prices low ($1.50 for fries, $1.90 for a hamburger, $3.20 for a Double-Double, $1.99 for a shake) and treating their employees well (they start at $10.50/hr instead of minimum wage). Is In-N-Out the best burger place in the world (or even in my hometown)? No. But among the six main burger chains in California (McDs, BK, Carl's Jr, Jack in the Box, In-N-Out, Wendy's) I feel they are the best for a straight up burger, fries, and shake ( I do love the Bacon Guacamole Six Dollar Burger from Carl's so that's a tough one, but for a normal burger its In-N-Out). THE HABIT I was lucky that a Habit opened up near me in San Luis Obispo, CA a little less than two years ago. The Habit is like taking In-N-Out to the next level. They do fresh burgers, fries, and shakes like In-N-Out, but with more toppings, flavors, and sizes. They also do chicken sandwiches and salads (haven't tried them) which In-N-Out doesn't do. They are also about twice the price of In-N-Out (similar to Five Guys pricing I guess??) so I don't go there as often. FUDDRUCKERS I've only been there once in the Bay Area when visiting my sister. I thought it was overrated and while the meat was good (I had the boar burger), the burger lacked a good sauce since you put on the toppings yourself (I thought I would have liked this but with all the added effort required I would have rather had them put the toppings on for me). The shakes were really good if I recalled. I would try Fuddruckers again because they have several different meats to try "the Exotics" and I haven't had the regular beef burger there. Fuddruckers is another place where your tab easily runs over $10 per person. FATBURGER I've only been to Fatburger in Vegas and Lake Tahoe since there are none near me but I liked it the three times I tried it. I like the fact that their burgers come in different sizes (though I think XXL and XXXL are pointless) and they come with standard toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, onions) and you can add on other toppings if you'd like. I don't like cheese so I like not having to pay for cheese (most places won't discount the cheese for saying "no cheese" on a menu item that comes w/ cheese - In-N-Out and Chick-Fil-A being the exceptions). I also love the fact that one of the toppings you can add on your burger is a fried egg. I don't what it is that makes a fried egg on a burger so good, but I love it. I like that they do turkey burgers too. And the banana shake I had there was very good (I wish more places had banana shakes - not chocolate banana or strawberry banana but straight up banana). A&W I'm surprised A&W was high up on the survey, as I would have put it near the bottom of the survey. The only thing A&W has going for it is the root beer (which is very good on tap). Every thing else they have is substandard fast food and while their burgers are okay, I'd rather go across the street to McDonald's for anything besides their root beer. EUREKA BURGER Eureka is a small gastropub burger chain from Redlands that opened a location here in San Luis Obispo less than a year ago that is wildly popular here. RCFreak mentioned them, go try them! I've been there three times since it opened and it is very good, but don't go there expecting your average burger. All their burgers have fancy/weird/interesting toppings served with shoestring (very thin) or sweet potato fries or salad. I think they even have a uber fancy version of the western bacon cheeseburger. Don't compare them to a fast food restaurant though, they are a sit down restaurant. Their burgers aren't cheap ($10+) but they use high quality ingredients; go there for a special occasion or when you want to treat yourself. They also have 30 different craft beers on tap (no Bud/Miller/Coors served here) including a sampler that lets you try four different beers which I get each time I go there.

Thanks! A lot of videos in that link have Burt the Conqueror. I wonder if he will be hosting Insane Coaster Wars and whatever happened to his Bert the Conqueror show? Was it cancelled? I never got to see the CA episodes. July is a horrible time to premiere a new show by the way, I guess Travel Channel doesn't have much faith in this show. Hopefully they will repeat it a lot in the fall.

Looks like fun! Which Travel Channel show was that footage for? Or was it for a new special on roller coasters/theme parks? Also it looks like Fast Lane will really come in handy on those really busy days and for those that visit from far away.

For my coaster counts, I go by RCDB and the coaster counting websites. I never thought to count both tracks of Colossus or Superman the Escape or both new and old Space Mountain or even Journey to Atlantis at Sea World SD until I started logging my coaster counts on a couple of those sites last year, but since just about everyone counts those on the coaster counting sites, so do I. If I ride a coaster at one location, and it moves to another location without significant track/ride changes, I would not count it twice. I would ride it again if it was fun, but not count it again. I won't count a Boomerang that gets moved from one park to another twice (I think that's silly) but I will count two separate Boomerangs (like Knotts and SFDK for example). I would count a woodie that gets converted to steel (or vice versa) as two separate credits (like New Texas Giant -although I haven't been on the old one). If a ride is turned backwards, I would count it as a different ride experience, but not a separate credit - its the same track. I am debating whether or not to count powered coasters, I have only been on one that I can recall and counted it because it felt like a coaster experience. If the powered coaster feels and looks like a coaster I will count it, if not then no. I don't ride too many kiddie coasters and although I would count the ones I've ridden, I wouldn't go out of my way to ride them. I'd rather ride a fun and/or unique water/dark/drop/flat ride and miss the kiddie coaster credit at a park then ride the kiddie coaster just for the credit and miss a fun water/dark/drop/flat ride. Heck, I'd miss the kiddie coaster credit in a far away park that I may never return to re-ride another coaster or ride that I liked at that park. As for parks, rides with two separate tracks I will count as two credits, but only as one ride or coaster for the park's coaster count. For example, Superman and Colossus count as one ride each for SFMM's coaster count, but as credits, each track is one credit (according to RCDB). Sorry Magic Mountain, only 17 coasters for your park until ou built another, separate coaster. Traveling fairs is where it gets tricky. For fairs, I will count each coaster type according to its manufacturer/operator once. For example, I have ridden a spinning mouse at the California Mid State Fair called Crazy Mouse which was made by Reverchon of France and operated by some company based out of New Braunfels, TX (I forgot what it was called). If I saw another Crazy Mouse that looked exactly the same at another fair and it was made by Reverchon I wouldn't count it again. If it was a different spinning mouse made by a different company, then I would count it as a credit. The Crazy Mouse I rode didn't say who made it or operated it (at least where it was visible) so I had to ask the employee working the photo sales booth of the ride and he told me it was Reverchon. I don't count coasters I can't remember. There are some coasters that I may have ridden when I was very young that I don't remember. For example, I went to Knott's in 1989 but all I remember is a coaster with a big loop (Montezooma's Revenge), parachutes, and a log ride. I may have gone on Soap Box Derby or Corkscrew (if I was tall enough) but I don't remember so I don't count them. I also went to the Orange County Fair when I was very young but I don't remember what I rode there (I sure I rode a kiddie coaster). I like counting parks also but don't count traveling fairs or places with 1-2 rides as parks. A place would have to have at least five attractions (not necessarily rides) for me to count it as a park. Places like Sea World San Diego with minimal rides are definitely parks (they have a several attractions that are not rides) but zoos where the focus are not rides/entertainment (like San Diego Zoo which only has a skyride and guided tram tour) I don't count as parks (I'd gladly still visit them). I also don't count casinos like New York New York which have one ride as a park but would definitely count Circus Circus Adventuredome as a park and possibly the Top of the Stratosphere. I may make a count for traveling fairs if I get to enough of them, but I won't count them as parks. Well, there's my two cents on coaster/park credits.

Nice Port Aventura TR. Every time I go to Barcelona to visit family I make a day trip to Port Aventura. Its one of the best theme parks I've been too and rivals some of the better American ones. How did you manage to get that Tomahawk credit? I noticed adults riding without kids in your photos, did they change their rules? Every time I've gone to PA I've been denied riding on it (being with out a kid under a certain height) yet I was allowed on Tami Tami in 2004. Not that I care much about kiddie coasters, but I am curious to see what that kiddie coaster is like because it is a woodie. I am going back to Spain this summer so I will definitely make a trip to PA to ride the new Shambhala as well as re-ride Furious Baco (only rode it once back in 2009), Hurakan Condor, and all my favorites. I will also go to Tibidabo as I haven't been there since 2001 and they have added the Montana Rusa coaster since then. I hope you got to try Spanish food while you were in Barcelona, many restaurants in the city will give you an English menu upon request or will have a waiter that knows enough English to explain the menu items.

Now that is a euthanasia coaster

Nice TR! One of my friends was just at the Mall of America yesterday and he did all the rides there too.

That's one credit that I'll never get now, oh well. I will still make my pilgrimage to Cedar Point at some point in my life.

Cool pics of Tokyo Disney w/o crowds, the classy RCCL cruise, and Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland. Lucky you to hit Tokyo Disney w/o crowds and to have Journey open even though it was scheduled to be closed for refurbishment. From what I've heard most of Haiti is pretty barren but RCCL's private beach there sure does look nice. That zip line looks like it ends in the water which looks awesome. Speaking of cruises, last night's episode of the Simpsons was about going on a cruise, so that along with these pics and a lot of cruise talk lately on TPR really makes me want to go on one.

Just read the whole TR. Hilarious! I haven't been on a cruise yet (an overnight ferry, yes, but not an official cruise) but I will NOT go on a Carnival Cruise after seeing this TR unless it is with TPR or 311 cruise (or another cool band).

Awesome trip report. I am just starting to catch up with TPR after being away from here for several months.

Cool pics from the Transformers ride. I'm glad the ride is up and running (at least in its soft opening phase). I don't think any POV videos would do this ride any justice do to the darkness and the 3D elements. Its one of those rides you just have to wait and ride it. I'll have to make a trip to USH sometime this year as I also have yet to try the Simpsons ride or the new King Kong 369 3D element on the Studio Tour.

I'm all for it, anything to make USH better, and give attention to CA parks. Hopefully they'll differentiate it from the Florida one (Gibson amphitheater and Waterworld would be a good location), or at least if they make it similar they don't half-ass it.

Antarctica Empire of the Penguins looks great and a much needed step forward for Sea World. I wonder what type of ride will be attached to the attraction (hopefully better than Wild Arctic) and if the temperature will be cold enough where they will have to provide you with a jacket while inside the attraction (or you bring your own). Anyways this looks like it may be the biggest attraction in Sea World's history.