805Andrew

Ski Dubai looks fun. That black diamond though looks less steep than some of the blue runs I've done at Kirkwood, Squaw Valley, and Northstar-at-Tahoe.

Were you asking do you need to buy a ticket to the park on top of the event price? I'm pretty sure the $32 includes admission to the park. If so that's a great deal!

You forgot the $15 parking

Darn this is the same day as Epicenter in Irvine which I'm going to. I would totally go if it was the day before or after as I'm already going to be down in OC that weekend, but I'm doing Epicenter on Saturday Sept 24 which is an all day concert festival.

So how did Carmegeddon affect the park this past weekend...or LA for that matter? Haven't heard a peep about Carmeggeddon since last week. Sounds like it ended up being a lot of hype

^that looks like the most awesome water slide tower ever

I've done one of those over at Waterworld Concord. Looks like it's the same model too. Yea, that slide freaked me out. First I'm cruising along the tube and then it feels like everything drops out from under me. I don't think you want to give yourself an extra boost with these though unless you want to go flying out, literally. A few pages back I posted a youtube video of some dude coming out the tube in mid air and catching the slide about half-way down...I wouldn't mind trying that spiraling slide though...looks like it could pack a lot of G's. They also have this exact model at The Island Water Park in Fresno too, except the two drop slides are green and the tunnel one is a very dark blue (almost black). I found these slides to be very fun and not too rough on my back (the tunnel one was the roughest but not as rough as slides at other places). I like the fact that the long drop one has a covered beginning part so you can't see the drop until you'll already going down ( I didn't get air on it btw).

Going back to the theatres, there's a new theatre by me (Galaxy Theatres in Atascadero, CA) that has 10 screens and two of them are sectioned off as VIP screens for the 21 and over. These VIP screens have extra wide leather seats with very wide armrests to fit popcorn bags and other snacks and a bar-concession stand between the two screens serving beer and wine and making its own popcorn (separate from the main concession). I decided try out the VIP theatre with mom back in June (the opening weekend for X-Men First Class). The VIP screens were showing The Hangover Part II and Pirates of the Caribbean 3D, having already seen Pirates, we decided to see Hangover. The Galaxy Theatres was doing a free popcorn promotion weekend where every ticket gets you a free medium popcorn (normally $7). Sometimes the VIP screens will do bar service to your seat where you pay for a drink beforehand and tell them how far into the movie you want your drink delivered but not on the day I went as there was only one person staffing the bar. All the beers they had were bottled (Bud Light, Corona, Newcastle, Guinness, Heineken, Pyramid Haywire, Sierra Nevada, Firestone Double Barrel Ale) and they were all $6, so decided to get a Firestone (our local beer) for the movie (I don't normally pay $6 for beer but such they gave me free popcorn so what the heck). The VIP screen matinee was $10 ($2 more then a regular matinee) which what we did, after 5PM the VIP is $13 (Mon-Thurs) and $15 (Fri-Sun). The seats were great and comfy, the movie was hillarious, so the VIP was worth trying out, though I wouldn't do it very often as the regular screens also have stadium seats and really comfy chairs. Another thing our Galaxy Theatres has is D-Box seats on one of its screens. I finally tried out D-Box last Friday for the first time. I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II in the D-Box seats (an $8 upcharge). The D-Box effects were interesting and definitely kept you focused on the movie the whole time (as opposed to almost falling asleep in a previous Harry Potter movie). The D-Box effects were more noticeable when you lift your feet off the ground during its movement. There is a scene where Harry is riding a roller coaster in Gringotts Bank, so I got a virtual credit . D-Box is worth trying once if you use it on a movie with good special effects and one you know you'll enjoy, but I wouldn't try it again for quite awhile. Maybe I would do D-Box once every few years as $8 is too much of an upcharge to do it often. If D-Box was a $3 upcharge instead, I'd do it more often. Anyways I don't think the Dine-In Theatre is coming to my area anytime soon (or maybe ever) but with VIP screens, D-Box, and really nice stadium seats, I feel like I have a "big city" theatre in my relatively small town.

Nice POVs at Aquaventure. That looks like a great way to beat the Dubai heat and a must visit when in Dubai.

So Robb, what years were you a Cast member and what rides/attractions did you work on?

I have never been there but I would go to Noah's Ark water park in Wisconsin Dells for a day if I were you. Wisconsin Dells is famous for having lots of water parks and Noah's Ark is supposed to be the best one there.

SFMM does not have In-N-Out prices, if they did I don't think anyone here would be complaining about food. $1.35 for fresh cut French Fries, $1.75 for a Hamburger, $2.05 for a Cheeseburger, $3.05 for a Double Double, $1.95 for a Shake, $1.25/$1.35/$1.55/$1.75 for a soda with free refills, In-N-Out is cheap! (and it tastes great too) I'm sorry that I wasn't clear. I know In-N-Out is cheap but it was written wrong. I was trying to state that In-N-Out is one of those you get what you pay for type of places. I usually end up paying $10 a meal there so I was saying "In-N-Out prices" because what you pay for a meal at In-N-Out you only get a burger at SFMM. -Cookie I don't know you end up spending $10 on a meal at In-N-Out I usually get a Double Meat (no cheese), order of fries, and a shake and its just slightly over $6.

SFMM does not have In-N-Out prices, if they did I don't think anyone here would be complaining about food. $1.35 for fresh cut French Fries, $1.75 for a Hamburger, $2.05 for a Cheeseburger, $3.05 for a Double Double, $1.95 for a Shake, $1.25/$1.35/$1.55/$1.75 for a soda with free refills, In-N-Out is cheap! (and it tastes great too) How long ago was that? I remember seeing a "B" sign by the Mooseburger Lodge once back in 2004, but every other visit after that it had an "A". Since over 85% of LA County restaurants get an "A" grade, I wouldn't eat at the ones that don't.

Awww the Japan TR comes to an end. Great job guys. How much should I save up for the next Japan trip? Tokyo Disneyland does look like a greatest hits park, the only thing they're missing is a Matterhorn type ride. I would also say Indiana Jones but Tokyo Disney Sea has that so never mind. Again thanks for all the pics and details

The first time I rode X at SFMM in 2004. I had no idea what was going on during the ride. I was in the back row, far edge close to the station when going up the lift hill. Going up that slooow lift hill backwards with nothing below me but the lift hill and the ground really built up the anticipation to the first drop. That first ride was so awesome and made the almost 3 hour wait worth it.

I always wear sandals when I go to water parks, even up the slide towers, and I hold onto my sandals while going down water slides. My feet thank me at the end of the day. The Aquaventure pics are nice, their lift system to the slides looks really cool. I actually did go to a water park yesterday. We went to visit my sister who lives near Madera (2.5 hrs away) and afterward when went to The Island Water Park in Fresno. We did the after 3PM admission which was $16 each when bought online ($17 at the park). The park was open until 9PM so it gave us plenty of time to do everything. The Island Water Park has 11 adult water slides (and 2 kiddie ones) and they are all pretty fun and not too rough. I didn't take any pics and it isn't the prettiest park (it is Fresno) but the slides were fun with plenty to do in an afternoon and it was conveniently located off the CA 99 Fwy. I did 22 total slides (I tried all 11 adult ones) and the wave pool (but not the lazy river) and we stayed there until 8:30 PM before driving home to Atascadero (2 hrs away closer to the coast). It was 88F when we arrived (not too hot for Fresno) and about 72F when we left. I hadn't been to a water park in a couple of years and forgot how fun they are! I will be going to Raging Waters San Jose on July 25 (my next water park).

I haven't been there since my last trip to San Diego in 2005 which included the Wild Animal Park, San Diego Zoo, and Sea World. I've always enjoyed my visits to the Wild Animal Park and almost prefer it over the Zoo as it is more interactive. The WGASA Monorail was my favorite, I'm sad to see it go, as the 45 minute ride gives you a good chance to see animals in their natural surroundings. I know they have a tram now, but its not the same as a monorail. I also really enjoyed the African Outpost section and feeding the Giraffes, feeding the lorikeets, and the butterfly aviary. I'm glad they added a zipline, it looks cool and I may have to try it next time I visit there. I don't know why they changed the name though to San Diego Zoo Safari Park as I thought Wild Animal Park was a better and catchier name.

According to the Six Flags website they have Santa Maria style Tri-Tip sandwiches. If Santa Maria style BBQ is done right it can be pretty good. I was there the week it opened several months ago, and it's nothing like the last place . My meal was poor at best. It doesn't even smell as good as the last place as you pass by going to Riddler. Just me 2 cents. That's too bad. When I go to SFMM I always eat breakfast beforehand (like McD's, Starbucks, etc.) and I always eat dinner after I leave the park (like In-N-Out, Wendy's, etc) and I eat minimal food in the park (maybe one meal) and bring my own snacks (whatever they let me bring in) and drinks. This saves me a lot of $$ and even with having to rent a fluffy bunny every two hours on certain rides its still cheaper to bring a backpack with snacks and drinks.

Nice Italy pics so far, I'll have to get to there one day. Going back to the airlines, I've never been on US Airways but I've never heard good things about them except when Sully landed that plane in the Hudson. Sorry to hear you had a bad flight experience. When flying internationally, I always try to use International carriers (especially on long haul flights) if the price difference is not too great, as they are ALMOST ALWAYS better the US carriers. Last time I flew to Spain I used KlM/Air France (KLM outbound: SFO->Amsterdam->Barcelona and Air France inbound: Barcelona->Paris (4 days in Paris)->SFO). They were great (Air France was better though) and Air France had the best food I've ever had on an airline (haven't flown to Asia yet). On two previous trips to Spain (my mom is 100% Spanish, I have family there) I used British Airways and they were excellent too. When I flew to Mexico, I used Mexicana which was cheaper than the US carriers and included a meal and free alcohol. United was pretty decent when flew with them to Argentina in 2004 but I don't know how they have changed since then. Another perk with the International carriers is they give free alcohol and go by the drinking age of their own country (usually 18) once they are up in the sky (and never ask for ID, just what your age is). When I was 19, shortly after takeoff from SFO on a British Airways flight I was offered a drink and was simply asked "Are you 18?" and said I was 19 and was ready to pull out my ID and the attended said it wasn't necessary (she took my word ). I always find International carriers more interesting anyway, with different food and drink offerings, magazines, duty free items, and cultural differences. Anyways I hope you enjoyed the rest of your Italy trip and I'm looking forward to more pics.

According to the Six Flags website they have Santa Maria style Tri-Tip sandwiches. If Santa Maria style BBQ is done right it can be pretty good.

So does Tokyo Disneyland have both a Monsters Inc ride and a Buzz Lightyear ride, or the Monsters Inc ride instead? I wish the Monsters Inc ride at California Adventure was more interactive like the Tokyo one. And don't get me started on the crappy California Pooh ride. So jealous of Tokyo's good Pooh ride.

Carmaggedon just got mentioned on the Colbert Report. Wow, so a whole weekend without the 405 LA area people are going to avoid going to SFMM, so it may be a good weekend for Santa Clarita locals to head to the park. It will be interesting to see what the crowds are like this weekend at the mountain.

Don't post that pic here. You're going to make CGA install the fluffy bunnies that charge you to store your stuff while you ride like they have at some other parks coughSixFlagscough

God, that sounds very tempting. You're making me want to drive back to the Bay Area two days after I go to the Bay Area...hmmm

If I was just coming out of high school I think this is what I would want to do with my life. Oh well, I chose Marketing and International Business Management, there's no turning back.