bert425

^ I saw a TV show about that house, and Gentleman! it could have been on Hoarders?

Thanking Bill here too! I got some surprise Pride Sock from PNE, and a park map in the mail today thanks Bill!

BILL ! you really are the biggest sweetheart. look what I got in the mail today. (and I'll actually wear my gay sox. . LOL). thanks so much, what a wonderful surprise

yay for more TRs from the trip! love seeing other's views from what y'all did during the trip too! Looking forwards to seeing the rest, and getting to relive the trip

only 15 and into JA? I'm impressed (no seriously). tho I prefer "Nothing's Shocking". . in particular "the Mountain Song" over anything they did later on.

It's Japan! People take naps in public all the time. You don't have to worry about someone harming you or stealing your stuff...ugh, thanks for reminding me once again how great Japan is!!!! that really is SUCH a nice thing to imagine. . something we just don't get in America someday, Japan. . someday!

Well, I can complain talk about that later, but unfortunately HersheyPark also didn't impress when it came to food. is that because you didn't get one of these ?????? hmmmmm

very much enjoy your updates, Chuck. tho I have a question on this: is it a place to take a nap? you rent the chair for an hour? there doesn't seem to be any privacy screens, so can't imagine they want you to lay in the chair and nap. what is the deal here?

I'm still regretting that decision... Definitely the worst food venue I've been to in a very long time. The only redeeming quality is that it made part of the park smell good. at least it was right before Knoebels and then HersheyPark.. so maybe look at it as if the terrible food/service was just penance before you got to the good stuff? But makes me glad I didn't bother for eating at SFA

I'm picturing people jumping off their horses during the ride and dancing with them but I'm guessing that didn't happen. mostly it was folks looking at each other confused! it's right at the front of the park, and was crowded. .it was super weird! Come to think of it. .it might have been "Love in an Elevator". . we did NOT stay on for a 2nd ride, so can't really recall.

not shocking they aren't consistent w/ the glasses straps policy. . LOL but glad you are enjoying your day!

Runaway Mountain at SFOT. . some of those diving helix in the dark? wowza!

not sure how this hasn't made it here yet. . but here ya go:

it would have remained my worst music experience EVER on a Carousel.. except we went to SFOT last weekend. and I $#!t you not. . we rode the Carousel there to: Will Smith "Getting Jiggy With It" yeah. . . was NOT a good start to our visit there! Eventually, when I finish this report, will try to get a Labor Day SFOT report up. Never say never.. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, but if ever back in DC, or close to it. . might go back by (since would get in free w/ my pass). I greatly preferred Joker's Jinx tho. . . or even Wild One (which also has a long, boring Helix. . LOL) there's PICTURES of the rides, that show the hills. and i'm sorry, a large drop, an airtime hill, and 3 bunny hops - while fun. . . do not make a ride exciting when it also has LOOOOONG sections of just straight track, and then two *giant* helix . . . . may have been one of the first, but it's simply not a very exciting ride. Especially since a few days later would be riding Millennium Force. and thanks folks, for the compliments about enjoying the TR. . appreciate it I enjoy writing them.

yeah, I remember you telling us about that. And we passed Robb and some folks (while we were heading to Roar) in line at, I think, a chicken strips place -- and they looked exasperated and ready to tear their hair out. Luckily, I wasn't hungry, so other than water bought at the Superman shop, didn't really have to deal with any food/drink lines in the park. tho Zach telling about that Bartender being so good did make me wish I had stopped in at that particular place.

absolutely wonderful. . thank you for posting! SO much stuff to see, I'd be riding this over and over just to catch all the details.

another great update. . looks like y'all had a wonderful time! (and as I just noted to someone else who posted Knoebels update. . LOL. . I just started working on my next TPR park report (Knoebels) and you too have similar picture taking taste as I do. . some of the same stuff is gonna get talked about . . . like the Haunted House plotline, and I too have a pic of the "Dog Pounder". . LOL I had no idea they have a Scrambler. . wonder how the hell I missed that? but Knoebels has a SUPER-Round Up. . . yeah, cause it's Knoebels loved reading your report, it was so good!

that was the main culprit that caused my Quad tear / injury (tho the triple tower "upshot" one shortly after was likely the final nail. the first time I ever rode Skyrush was a back wing seat, and it scared the crap out of me. re rode it this time in 2nd row on inside seat (but with some stapling). and it crippled me. that's a sign not to ride it if I ever go back to Hershey -- joining Wildcat, and the Boomerang on my "thanks but no thanks" list.

this is a fantastic trip report. . love the views you got from the Safari ride. . .and Wildfire? Oh my. . would love to ride that some day!

not only is that an amazing TR from Knoebels. . it's really funny, since i started last night writing up my TPR Trip Report for Knoebels (I'll likely finish that up and post on Monday), and we commented on a lot of the exact same things! in particular, is i typed about how tight the restraints were on 1001 Nachts (and even mentioned how rare it was that it was operating, so that's why we hopped on it). LOL great report, and just know ahead of time, i'm not copying you

hahaha, that was an awesome google search. No kidding. I totally wanna go there just for some of those Photo Ops! (that Superman / Wonder Woman one really made me giggle)

Day 7: Six Flags America We got to sleep in again this morning, but by 9:30 it was time to be checked out and on the bus. Today, we were on our way to Maryland (Six Flags America), for a short stop (~5 hours), before heading on to our hotel that would be our base camp for the Pennsylvania Parks. After a comfy bus ride, we pulled into the entrance to Six Flags America – another new park for me. I had heard horror stories about this park – the service, the atmosphere, the lack of shade. And other than the very real lack of shade . . I mean, there are a TON of trees planted, but none in *any* area that would provide actual shade over the main walkways, or ride waiting areas. . for the most part the staffing wasn’t bad, and I had some very pleasant interactions with the staff there. so overall, I had a very decent time at SFA. . . but then again, I didn’t order any food or drinks while there, and from what I saw/heard, some of the food stations just had horrendous service issues. (to be completely fair tho I also recall hearing about a great bartender that served some folks during our visit here. . so inconsistent seems to be the word that applies most). Upon entering the park, we gathered near the front gates, while Elissa and Robb went to go pick up the FlashPass. While we were waiting, Daffy Duck came out, so Russ and I went over to get a picture with him (remember, I love the costume characters, and Russ is my Brother from another Mother at this point. . we really have very similar senses of humor and fun). We posed, and then rejoined the group.. . but a few moments later, Yosemite Sam came out. I’ve not seen Sam out in a long time, so Russ and I headed back over to get a pic with Sam. Daffy wanted to be in the pic too, but we politely explained we had just gotten a pic with him, so we wanted Sam, and he moved aside to let us take a pic (Charlie’s Angels – fingergun style) with Yosemite Sam. . . until he decided to PhotoBomb us. LOL so ended up with a really fun pic, and a great memory of it. That’s why I like posing w/ the characters, fun stuff like this! The entrance “main street” of this park, is among the best I’ve seen at a Six Flags, if not the nicest. Oh, it’s the same stores, and food places you’ll find at other parks, but this street is modeled after Colonial America, with a couple of statues (including a Liberty Bell) and just some fantastic artistic design. As to the Flash Passes – at this park, they were the watch type that every person has to wear, and you have to find a “Flash Pass Stations” and each person has to select a ride, then ”push” your watch into the sensor to reserve the ride you wish to go on next. Then when you get to that ride, you “push” your watch into the sensor at the ride to reset the Flash Pass, so you can book another ride after you finish this one. It wasn’t super complicated – once you did it the first time, it was easy to follow the process each time, but had multiple steps, and was occasionally difficult to find a working Flash Pass station. Wasn’t too big of an issue, as the park wasn’t too crowded (I heard that the waterpark had a lot of people in it tho). We made our way to the Mardi Gras area, and as soon as we saw the line for Ragin Cajun the park’s spinning mouse., we knew what our first ride with Flash Pass would be. The line wasn’t too long, but it was all out in the sun (tho the park has misters spraying the line). With only 4-5 cars operating tho, the line was moving super slow. So we found a kiosk, figured out how to use Flash pass, and our group, of ~8 went up the exit ramp for Flash Pass. Although the attendant would only let us do 3 people per car, meaning we ended up taking the next 3 cars, he did sit us all back to back while we got glared at by those in line, who had to wait while we got priority. The attendant was super nice tho, and he had no problem seating those of us with the Flash Pass first, before the standby line. . . so kudos to the park employees, who were really good and quickly eroded any fear I had to bad employees. How was it? Pretty damn good. . . I spun more on this mouse than I think I ever have on one of these style ride. Sure, it was nothing special. . very out of the box design. . but once we got spinning? Quite good, and I’d recommend it. From there we knocked out a couple of other rides in Mardi Gras, including Wild One – which was really good near the front, although that ending Helix was a little bit rough. .still, fun laterals. And the Voodoo Drop, which was a super short cycle (and shorter tower) drop ride. .but that was good fun too. We skipped the Bourbon Street Fireball – it was simply too warm to want to get on an upside-down ride for me, but the design of it looked absolutely fantastic, and we also skipped the falling star here (which I didn’t even take a picture of. .not 100% sure why, but likely because we knew we only had a limited time here and wanted to hit the coasters first). The cut-thru to Gotham was interesting in that you actually walk through the structure of Wild One. We headed straight to Joker’s Jinx, a Poltergiest/Flight of Fear clone, and got there just as Robb was finishing some filming. He was going to do a rider-cam, and I actually ended up in the front seat with him while he did so, which got me a great pic to use of this insane coaster in action! Unlike at Kings Dominion’s FoF, Joker’s Jinx blew thru the Mid Course Brake (like Poltergeist does), and gave a fantastic ride. Loved it! It was here that I also got to ride my 1st Round-up – “Riddle Me This” In checking, I’m shocked to discover this ride has been part of Gotham for several years now, because it had absolutely no queue. Like none.. only a couple of stanchions – like you’d find at the front of a hotel check in desk. Seriously, a couple of standing poles, with just a “belt” between them to form a sort of line, but there was no direction to it, no actual queue, certainly no covering – and when the ride stopped and the operator was ready to load it, the gate swung open into the stanchions and we had to back away to allow the door of the ride to swing open wide enough for us to step into the Round-up. Very cheap, very ‘ghetto carnival’ and I was shocked by how trashy it looked. Especially being so close to Joker’s Jinx that had a wonderfully complex entrance queue (tho if you were standing in the covered queue there, you can’t really see the elaborate 3D sculpture of the Joker that hovers over the main entrance). Regardless of how crappy the queue was, as noted, it was my 1st Round-Up and I really liked it. So much so, that I rode a Super Round-Up the next day at Knoebel’s with no hesitation at all. To think of all the years I bypassed these at carnivals. . they are fun! We bypassed the Penguin raft ride, headed towards Superman: Ride of Steel, the next thing we had booked – which would be my 1st Intamin HyperCoaster, but stopped for a spin on the newest ride, a starflyer themed to Wonder Woman. Not the tallest starflyer I’ve been on, but it ran a really great cycle. . and I was happy it was themed to Wonder Woman rather than just called “skyscreamer” we got off that and went to get on Superman, after a quick stop to grab water in the gift shop – and to pose in front of the sign for the closed Batwing (which I would have loved to ride, but at least I had gotten on the flyer at Carowinds, as well as the Superman flyer at SFoG). What did I think of Superman? Hmm. . . we sat more towards the front, but it still had a bit of a rattle. Mainly tho? It was just kind of there. It didn’t really DO anything. The 1st drop was good, but then it just does long straight-aways with nothing, followed by a HUGE helix. . .then more straight-aways, followed by ANOTHER huge helix (in the other direction). . I just don’t really get it. It wasn’t “exciting” it wasn’t “thrilling”. . and the restraints weren’t the most comfortable I’d been on (they left huge indentions in Russ’ legs!). We discussed maybe getting back in line to ride it again, but decided instead to just 1 and done it, and moved on into the section that used to be Thomas Town, now called Whistlestop Park. It’s not called Thomas Town any more, LOL. .but really, all they did was remove the distinguishing characteristics. . . it still looks like it was Thomas Town. Apparently it’s been like this for 8 years! (since 2010. . so it’s strange that it’s so obviously still this other IP. . but oh well, maybe that’s what they’re counting on the confuse the kiddos?). They don’t treat the kids any different tho. . NO TREES to give any shade. .but at least there were several tables under large umbrellas that folks could sit in to get some shade, since I wanted to go on the small Zamperla Ferris Wheel – themed to hot air balloons. Other than Laura, no one else wanted to ride, so they all headed to the umbrella shade and we got a double ride – the operator asked us, and the only other folks on it, if we wanted to go again once the cycle finished. . so we stayed on it and rode it again. It was a very pleasant ride, and offered some nice views of several other rides (as well as a breeze). I think it was about this time, when a poll was sent out on the group chat, asking if everyone really wanted to stay until 5, or if people wanted to leave earlier. The vote was almost unanimous, so it was decided that we would leave earlier than we had planned (can’t recall if we were leaving at 3, or at 4. . but think it was 4pm, so an hour earlier). Someone will correct me if I’m recalling inaccurately. We still had almost 2 hours left, even with the earlier time, so the group I was hanging with headed over to Roar to give it a shot. I had heard all kinds of horror stories about how rough Roar is, but I got in a row near the front, in a non-wheel seat, and honestly didn’t think it was too bad. Sure, it was very rattly, and it threw me around a bit, but it was still less rough than I recalled Wildcat and Hersheypark being, or how bad Hurler at Kings Dominion used to be. I did think it was a little rougher than Grizzly had been, but I hadn’t thought that one was too bad either. Getting off Roar feeling brave since we had survived without damaged spines, we decided to head over to Mind Eraser, the infamously rough SLC at the park – which was basically a walk on (gee. . I wonder why?). This is the one that has the bizarre restraints with the bicycle handles (Robb noted when talking about his great video of it, that these were the standard SLC restraints when they were first introduced). Although some of the folks in my group headed towards the back of the train, after a brief conversation with the operator (there was no one in line, so she chatted with us as the train was cycling), advised riding it in the front row for the “best” ride. The operator, after snapping a picture for us (as noted, the operators at this park were all super chatty and nice), also advised that we keep our heads pressed into the side of the headrest to help with the banging. First thing I noticed when getting in the train was that the headrest area around the restraints was padded with TONS of padding – it felt like putting your head in a giant bean bag chair – so signs weren’t good that this was gonna be anything close to smooth. Which, we were aware of, but wanted to ride it anyways. .LOL. I braced my head as hard as I could into the right side of the headrest, and off we went. While not the smoothest thing I’ve ever been on (and certainly not as smooth as Robb’s video makes it look), it really wasn’t too bad. The only headbang I got was in the final corkscrew inversions. And yeah, those shook my brain up a bit. .but I didn’t get off it feeling like I was done for the day. Others, who didn’t ride with their heads pressed into the headrest didn’t fare quite so well tho. . but I thought it was OK. Didn’t get back in line to ride it again tho, so that tells you everything : p The only “big” coaster operating that we hadn’t gotten on was Apocalypse, and I had heard tons of horror stories about this stand up coaster being super rough (and uncomfortable in the restraints) too. . so I asked if anyone wanted to ride the Rodeo (a Huss Breakdance themed to steers) with me instead. Laura wanted to, so she stayed with me to get in line, and I wished the guys well as they headed off for Apocalypse. Knowing now that they are closing it, I kinda do wish I had taken a ride on it. But then again, I had ridden a great stand up coaster at SFoG, so why ruin that memory with a crappy stand up? So I missed the credit, but don’t really feel too bad about it. The Rodeo was very slow loading, I think there was only one operator, as the other one was on break, so it took two cycles to get us on, but it worked out in our favor, since when the other operator came back while we were near the front of the queue, she was chatty and once we got loaded was looking for enthusiasm from those ready to ride – which Laura and I gave her. And as a reward, our cycle went in both directions (the prior cycle only went clockwise). Oh, it wasn’t a strong cycle – I’ve certainly been on more forceful Breakdances - but at least it was a “better” cycle than the one we had witnessed while we were waiting in line. So I really appreciated that – and this same operator was super cool and snapped a pic of us in our steer before we headed out to the next flat. We also took a spin on Cyclone (the Scrambler) and this one *did* run a fantastic and intense cycle, that had me giggling and sliding into each other every time it swung around. Great ride. We got off this and discovered the rest of the group we’d been hanging about with had found us, and so we all met up again, and headed back towards Mardi Gras, so I could get my Carousel credit as it was getting close to the earlier leaving time we had all agreed on. but not before noticing Bugs was out posing for pictures, so I shanghaied James, and we got in the short line for a photo op w/ Mr. Bunny himself. We walked passed the main street, and the beautifully painted “Flying Carousel” (a wave swinger, which we didn’t ride), and I finally got a good look at the Six Flags America Carousel. By far, the most unimpressive we’d seen thus far (and ended up being the crappiest of the trip). Seriously, I was embarrassed for the park for having this piece of crap there. Nothing really special – all I could find online about it is that it is a Carousel by International Amusements – peeling paint all around the base, with a very worn-out top covering of Red and White stripes. It DOES get points for having a wide variety of animals on it, other than just the horses – in fact the entire outer ring of “non-galloping” animals were oddly wonderful things, such as Ostriches, Rhinos, and even incandescent Pink Elephants. It also had a large number of tigers and white-tigers mixed in among the galloping horses, which bizarrely were all “snarling” towards the horses - -so when the Carousel is moving, it appears as if the tigers are hunting the horses, that are trying to get away from them. Bizarre, in that people would be riding the horses (and the tigers). . so what were the designers thinking? it lost a lot of points for the multiple horses that were missing from the Carousel – maybe being refurbished? (recent pics from others’ trips show what looks like fresh paint?).. but thruout the ride, there were several open spots, with tacky green duct-tape over the holes in the floor where the “galloping poles” would go. I joked that I should have just stood in one of the open spots and jumped up and down as the ride moved. So yeah, that was disappointing. but the worst? Nevermind no live organ music playing. . there was NO CAROUSEL music playing here. you know what we rode the Carousel to? (and I $#it you not): U2 “Beautiful Day” Yeah. It actually kind of pissed me off, how the music was blasting loudly thru the speakers by the Carousel. As we got off, the next song was Aerosmith! Disappointing, and they should be absolutely ashamed of themselves that this ride was operating in this condition. If they are refurbing? Fine, shut it down and reopen. .but this was really annoying. Didn’t stop me from getting a pic hanging on the pink elephant. .but yeah, after this? I was more than ready to head out, not really caring we hadn’t done some flats. . bleh I should note, that thruout the day, we did follow the direction for use of the Flash Passes - booking our next rides as we moved around the park. But really it was so non-crowded, that the only ride we really ended up benefiting most from them was the Ragin Cajun spinning mouse. So we met up by the front gates, headed to the bus, and then after a dinner stop (several of us ended up in a great strip-mall Mexican Food place) and a shortish drive. . ended up at the hotel which would be our basecamp for Knoebels and Hershey. This hotel in Jonestown PA, was kind of in the middle of a small town, close to a Military base. But it was right across the street from a KOA campground that had an ice cream store, that was open until 9. So once we got checked into the hotel, many of the TPR folks walked over to the Ice Cream shop (along with what seemed like ½ the military base. .that line got LONG). But wow was that ice cream good. . and inexpensive! I ended up with a blueberry shake, and a cookies and cream cone. More than I needed, but hey, it’s vacation. After they closed up shortly after 9 (they made it thru the whole line before locking up), we all headed back to our rooms, and I climbed into bed. Tomorrow was to be the longest day thus far: ~16 hours at Knoebels and I was really looking forwards to it! what's that I spot from the bus? a Ferris Wheel. and we're here, another park I had not been to. and look at all those trees! but they are just a tease! NO SHADE given. . . the entrance sure is pretty, tho. and some of the Loony Tunes characters were out, so Russ and I stopped for a pic. the Main Street entrance really is pretty. . but see all that shade? yeah. the whole park is that way. not good when it's so hot and sunny out. while we were waiting for Fast Passes. . Yosemite Sam came out! Once upon a time, there where three little girls, who went to the Police Academy. . . . . . .and Daffy photobombs us. Headed into Mardis Gras section. . .look, a tree that's kind of over the path! so i took a picture. . LOL this was a damn good spinner. SO glad we had Flash Pass tho, as even with misters, the line is out there in the sun. we were able to bypass it and get right on. we managed to go to Wild One just as Robb's group was about to film. Voodoo Drop - possibly the shortest Intamin I've ever been on at 14 stories. so dang quick..up and down. was fun tho. they have a Fireball here, that was a pretty good size. Can get some lovely pictures too of Wild One thru it.. but would have died waiting for a dispatch, unfortunately. Was simply too hot to ride it. The area looked great, but again, no shade at all there! see? the entrance Plaza was lovely. . but. um, no, too hot to ride a fireball. Superman looming across the back of the park. looked more fun than it was, but still..kind it was a first of it's kind, so I'm happy I rode it. . but so many circles. . Wild One's track, and Apocolypse's loop. LOL. . no trains! Riddle Me This, the 1st round up I've ever ridden. Notice the complete lack of any kind of queue, or any kind of shade (again). wow..this pic came out good. .almost looks like a postcard! so does this one. . . a Six Flags swing ride not called "Skyscreamer". . but themed to Wonder Woman. and it was a good one, with some forceful swings. . really liked this. and not just because I'm a huge Wonder Woman fan. Joker's Jinx, and behind it.. Superman -- with a train on the lift hill! OMG. . LOL yep, agreed James. . it was getting HOT went over to Superman. pretty uninspiring, just a 1 and done (tho the restraints caused Russ some pain for most of the day). . but no Batwing for us (not shocking, we had heard it was down. .and at least I got to ride a version of this at Carowinds). still would have liked to ride tho. .but not worth going back just for this. the little Ferris Wheel in the kiddie section offers a chance to get some neat pics. . like this artsy one. Laura is the only one who would ride with me. She has good taste! she rides Carousels, and Ferris wheels, and hung out with me Joker's Jinx (no train. . LOL), and Wonder Woman (not cycling). . sheesh. . . .you think the park was busy? looking towards Wild One (which actually DOES have a train on the lift hill), and to be fair, Joker's Jinx has the train returning to the station post ride. . but no movement on Apocalypse or Voodoo Drop, or Fireball. . LOL from the little Ferris Wheel (called "Up Up and Away" that he let us ride twice), was able to catch some decent pics of Superman on the 2nd ride. Russ and I "Roaring" before getting on the coaster. I didn't think it was that bad. .I didn't LOVE it, but it wasn't awful. Front car gave an ok ride. Roar, Apocalypse, Superman, and Wild One . . all in one picture, with only Roar with a train (returning to the station). yes, it was hot. yes, there was almost NO shade. but we did come across this in one place in the park. . . Michael enjoying the misters. yeah. . we did it.. we got on Mind Eraser. we knew it was gonna suck, and it mostly did. . but we rode it anyways. LOL. .our faces. Rodeo! It's a HUSS breakdance, that was running a mild cycle. . but at least it went both directions. Whee!. . well.. pretending it was whee! but it does make for a good picture See? Huss. and then we found Bugs, and with not much arm twisting got James to pose with me! then this decrepit turd. U2? really? REALLY? look at that peeling paint. . please give this thing some Love Six Flags. at least it has a nice assortment of animals. including a Pink Elephant. I mean. . WTF. .and I didn't ride on it (since it didn't gallop), but you betcha I got a pic on it at the end of the day, it's a Carousel tho. . so of course I'm happy I got to ride. So is Laura, and James (I think). see? he's so hard to read! but look at that scary tiger, about to eat the horse I'm riding! Ostriches! One of my favorite pics from the trip. A hand camera capture, from Robb's filming on Joker's Jinx where I ended up next to him in the front seat. Ice Cream, AND a shake at the KOA campground. . . yummmmmmmmmmm the Red and Blue bandannas were a little confusing. . did we accidentally ride Bloods vs Crips: the Ride?

Joker family coaster wasn't operating the day we were there. . but that is really odd. . . LOL..

really good suggestions, I'm On A Boat I'm listening to OhGr, "Cracker" [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]