restoca

My screen name is an anagram of "coaster", so no surprise there. I've had the following set for my signature for quite some time, but it doesn't appear. Elissa Alvey = Ye Evil Salsa; Yes, El Saliva Robb Alvey = Baby Lover; A Blob, Very

When I put up a bird feeder this is not quite what I had in mind...

Electerik is the winner! (here's your basketball...)

a couple of old standards: verticle insanity: ZIPPER horizontal insanity: CRAZY DANCE/BREAKDANCE and real oldskool pee-yer-pantz: SKYWHEEL

Thank you, Tim, for your thorough and informative report. I've never been to this park, but am very interested. I wish them all the best and maybe your report will incourage others to step up and support a national treasure. Keep us posted!

Those are some great photos! Thank you for sharing here. You're 16 and can drive now, right? Get to travelling this summer and give us some more PTR's!!!

Um, to quote the late Mitch Hedberg, "Waffles are like pancakes with syrup traps!" So much better than pancakes.... -James "The waffle maker in the dining hall got me through college" Dillaman OMG!! I didn't know Mitch had died! I only saw him on TV a couple of times, and it was, uh... unusual that to see that someone was so obviously so wasted. imdb.com indicates he died 03/29/05. Tomorrow morning it's memorial MH waffels from scratch! (actually really easy, and delicious!)

Those are very good guesses, and the actual park should be flattered! How many guesses/hours/days before I should give the answer? 5/24/1? Hint: fairly new park... central time zone... state begins with the letter....

Well, there's the first-ever one on Kirby, between Richmond and Alabama. then the second one opened on Voss, I think, near Woodway. Zio's is really a great value. Nice selection and very reasonable prices!

I think the family that started Carrabba's has some kind of arrangement with the Outback parent company for expansion purposes. As I understand it, the two original Carrabba's locations in Houston are still wholly owned and operated by the family. Slightly different menu, look, etc. I actually prefer the other ones. There are some new ones opening that are sort of Carabba's Express, although that's not indicated on the signage. They have an abbreviated menu, so don't count on your favorite item being available...

Joyland only wishes its surroundings were so nice!

Silverwood!

Expedition Tree-force? At Oakwood? errr... sorry. but that's a lotta tree in that shot...

Just last week I drove from Nashville, through Chattanooga, Atlanta, and Birmingham. No question that the Waffle House restaurants outnumbered the McDonald's restaurants. And definitely saw "Waffle" more than "Donkey". On a related note, last year's road trip through some New England states revealed Dunkin Donuts were wildly popular. Especially in CT!

Uh, Will... which part was it again that you thought was too slow?... Will PTC have to develop OTSRs for this thing by midsummer when the weather is warm and the coaster operates until 10pm some nights? Surely it will be running considerably faster than at the moment. Speaking of PTC, does their standard seven-car train now come with a jet engine on the back?!?

Naw... at least he doesn't have BLUE hair!

Agreed. Some work better than others. Have you noticed that all these celebrity guests have a new cd to plug? (Not sure if that applies to Queen, but aren't they on tour in the US?) So I guess we could just look to the "adult comtemporary" chart for a clue as to the themes of the coming weeks... And if I'm wrong about that, friends and I were joking that maybe they'll have the songs of Emerson Lake & Palmer, Devo, Kraftwerk... songs of the 19th, 18th, 17th century... ugggghhh!

Maybe (I'm thinking) that there seem to be relatively few open lesbians at theme parks is the general prevalence of teenage het boys at them, maybe? It's been my experience that if you take notice, some of those "teenage boys" are actually thirty-something lesbians...

Wow! Excellent research skills exhibited here! Certainly a factor in Houston's short life is the fact that a very popular AstroWorld had opened only three years earlier, featuring a much larger variety of rides/attractions. Back then the metroplex wasn't quite large enough to support both major attractions. There was also Sea-Arama marine park in Galveston, long before TX saw a Sea World (or England saw a Bananarama...). I wish I had some photos. I can remember only some kind of (boring to me at the time) boat ride, and some kind of tram-type attraction, besides the usual bird(s) show and brewery tour (drunken birds/drunken humans?). Since I was only a child I will assume my foggy memory is due to the passage of time, not that my chaparones were unselfish at the Hospitliity House...

ACE-free since about 1997! I had no desire to attend any further events, and the news was (is?) so slow, each mailing was like a history lesson. The internet RULES for coaster/park news. News of any kind, for that matter. A toddler (or donkey?) could tell you that...

What sticks in one's memory may not always be entirely fair to a park. My most vivid memories of a thoroughly BAD time at a park are almost completely because of weather. My only visit to Valley Fair was one very hot & humid summer. I don't remember the park being unusually empty of guests, but most all concessions/shops were closed, as though it were at the very end of the season and an hour from closing. A small thing like that, combined with the suffocating weather left a bad first impression.

That aerial photo makes me wish I had visited. Looks like every square foot was utilized. Just down I-10 (1,500 miles!) was another Busch Gardens park at the brewery in Houston. I visited this attraction a couple of times. I remember a polar-themed penguin exhibit and the huge pagoda. Our brewery is still there, but the park didn't last long, maybe because AstroWorld had opened just a few years earlier. Here's the only souvenir I can find...

^Yeah, if they were all owned by one company they could sell generic merchandise that said WILD MICHIGAN'S GREAT ALABAMA WORLD OF ADVENTURE! (I know there's no more World of Adventure, but I was on a roll...)

I think I have others that are "worst" than this one, but none older. This may have been the first year for season passes at this park.

Well I guess it all depends on personal perspective. This coaster was the first woodie I ever rode, when it was brand spanking new in 1976. No question it was a mere shadow of its former self, but unlike many coasters/parks this one sat within a major city and right on a major thoroughfare. I passed it often and I guess it stood as a visual reminder/memorial of the memories I have from its PTC days. Now there are only the memories. sniff sniff... Enjoy your ride on the Cyclone. You've had a tetanus shot, right? Now where's that Freeze Frame kiosk? Plaza de Fiesta and Oriental Corner sections. Serial Thriller SLC used to live here. Coney Island section looking more authentic? Bad indeed! Fright Fest lights still decorate the bridge across the freeway. A few remaining pieces of Batman safely in a corner. Everything's going. Including the administrative building.