jray21

Glad everyone is enjoying it so far! Trust me - it's delicious! If you ever do decide to try it, get it from Garrett's. It's a Chicago company that's been around since 1949. It's the best stuff on earth if you ask me. I will probably try it someday, but that popcorn machine looked like it hadn't been used for days so there was no way I was going to try it there This was my first time to IB, so I don't know what it was like in the past but it definitely was run down and not taken care of. I remember a few people mentioning how much it had gone downhill since their last visit.

The next park was truly a food and fatties dream, Indiana Beach! We had an ton of fun checking out all of the locals. The park was pretty run down, and some of the employees were less than stellar, but when your with TPR it doesn't matter and we all had an incredible time! Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain was painfully fun, and the other rides were surprisingly good. Steel Hawg was a fun and unique ride, but seemed like a smaller and slower Eurofighter bred with a crazy mouse. The TPR takeover of the Fascination game was incredible and we collectively got a ton of awesome prizes! Some of the food was actually really good. They had a lot of variety to chose from. "Morning Bob." "Mornin' Carol." "Big bus over there." "Yep." "See ya' Bob." "See ya' Carol." Hey, it's not as foggy today! It was finally cooling down...a little. That's one Bad-A$$ looking group of weirdos! Eisele's always did brag about the size of his "Pronto Pup!" Noted! The local trailer folk fixed the sign so the english was more familiar. Beepers!? Welcome to the Mid-West! The shade was still more preferable. They still had the old track under the new track, including the old signs. Best party flyer ever!!! Looking to the right... ...and to the left. There was a ton of trash everywhere! Good luck on your one attlin experience! Why is there a bathroom in-between the two Cornball signs? The signage at the park was a little odd. TPR ERT!!! Jack hits 200! Thank you, I will! We got a quick quality meal! Unmelted cheese with burnt toast. That takes real skill! Next up was Steel Hawg! From Steel Hawg you get a nice view of a creepy abandoned compound. Must have been where all the rapture candidates were first translated at. Divv just wants a beer, and some Doritos. TPDave, what happens in Holiday World, stays in Holiday World! Hang On! They aren't too sure what to think about the ride. FYI, Dan doesn't like being taunted with fried Oreos! "TPDave, that joke was horrible." "Dan, that camera is horrible." "America, your ice cream is horrible. ;)" Dun Dun Dun. Remember her!?! Time for the Hoosier Hurricane! Tickets across the street? I think it's time to change the sign. Enjoying the log ride! This employee was still trying to learn what efficiency, management, approval, and dispatch meant. Somehow I don't think the kids like the log ride. So is it Tig-er, or Tig-er-er? It was a very fun coaster, and one that I had never ridden before. I loved the absolutely ghetto size examples. Are you sure your not on our trip? She's baaaaaaack! Caramel and Cheese popcorn doesn't sound good at all. A couple of TPR members really wanted to vandalize just to be 'keelhauled' by a pirate. They had a haunted shooting gallery where this wolf would jump out at you pretty good. Nice and brutal. Some fudge and a sliced caramel apple! Only a lazy fat man would eat a sliced caramel apples . Yes it was delicious. This was the "Award Winning" burrito. The only thing award winning about it was the damage I did to the bathroom after I was done. Ice Bat possessed Chuck and Barry M. Deeper and had them do his bidding for the rest of the day. He is well on his way! Nothing says 'quality park' like a bra next to the walkway. TPR swing takeover. Dan's Italian sausage is entirely sugar free! Ok, I've gotta try the food network world's best taco. It was actually really really good, but it was still just a taco. I would still pick a good filet of beef over it anyday. The walking taco was even better! Incredibly helpful signs! I don't think I want anymore tacos. More TPR swingers! Brother Ben celebrates his wedding to his 12th wife! More odd mid-west creatures. Nothing says Bad-A$$ like those gloves while riding the swings. I'm sure the stroller is just full of hostess cupcakes and Oreos. Proof that black holes do exist. Another quality sign! A small army of kids could sleep under that tent. Oh I get it. Your trying to hide by blending in with the flowers! Our perfect example of Kankles walked by for one last view Time for a fried Twinkie! Dan's trying to sneak a peek of my sugar porn! Time for TPR takeover of FASCINATION!!!! Fascination requires absolute concentration. No Amy, you need five lights in a row, not just one. Of course it didn't take long for TPR members to start waving their balls around! Even Kidtums played the game with us! The flying dutchman would influence the ball with some ancient blowing techniques. It's usually not a good thing when the wife has the ball. That's pretty much TPR in a nutshell! Time for another all-you-can-eat lunch! Fried chicken, hot dogs, and lasagna! A great combination. This kid was just sleeping there. For a while we thought he was sick/dead and almost contacted security...but first we had to take a picture. Good from far... ...And even better up close! A 'big' family and a kid with a killer mullet! How'd you like to grab a handful of that! These were the shortest stalls I've ever seen! There was no hiding from anyone! That cup is actually clear but the water was a nasty yellow color, and it even had a funky smell! Time to wash down the yellow water with an elephant ear! Very good stuff! Goodbye Indiana Beach, hello SyFy movies! Getting a culture credit by eating at the absolutely authentic Australian Outback Steakhouse! Why is this this thing so delicious! Lightly seared flesh off of a Tuna! I finally had people with my who liked fried mushrooms! I'm so glad that they got rid of the world's worst smelling French Onion Soup! This one is so much better! An awesome prime rib and side of Shrimp on the Barbie! Just kidding Bryan, it's not tofu, it's baby rabbits!!!! Amy enjoys her chicken while her vegetables are completely untouched. Up next is Six Flags Great America!

^^They said you should get an email within the next week. Nothing yet for me.

Awesome report! I definitely need to hit up Universal next time! How did you guys like the pancake things (Okonomiyaki)? I love that crap, but I love just about anything edible.

^^Did you get the free soundtrack? If you bought it on the 19 or 20, and registered it online, you got the soundtrack cd for free. Can't wait to be rocking down the street this summer in my car blaring Ocarina of Time

Awesome videos and pictures! I don't know how you can do it all! Thanks a ton! Did anyone try the sandwiches on the Bullet Train (Shinkansen)? I sure hope so! How are the lines? Is it still dead in June like I remember? Also, the reason because we cant' have those kind of kid areas in the US are because most Americans are stupid. They will steal the toys or just break them, put their nasty diseases on them because they don't wash their hands or cover their mouths, they will fight over the toys, the parents will fight over the kids fighting over the toys, and lastly, some creepy pedophile will just hang out there the whole time. Fixed!

^ & ^^^. Yeah, I know it was pretty terrible . I promise there will be more food type pictures in the report with Pat Koch. As for fatties, we really didn't finally decide to do the food and fatties until after this part of the trip. The Indiana beach and Wisconsin Dells days were absolutely the best for fatties. Stay tuned! ^^i used a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 (?). I do prefer the Olympus Tough Series ones but at the time, only Panasonic had HD movie recording.

I forgot how terrible the tube slide was. The ride itself was fine, But the heat in the tunnel was terrible. It felt so much hotter in the water than waiting in line. Even the lazy river was too warm. I think it was the first time I ever got out of the water to cool down!

Today was an incredible adventure at Holiday World! The Koch family founded and own Holiday World, and they do an incredible job! You can definitely feel and see the difference a family owned park has versus a corporate owned park. We got a ton of backstage tours and extras thanks to some awesomely smart auction bidding by Robb and Elissa, and a lot of help from Raven Maven! We all got some exclusive park tours with the different park managers and directors. Amy and I had the amazing honor of being led around Holiday World by Pat Koch herself! That part of the trip will be it's own report given the nature of this report, and will eventually be found here The employees were award winningly friendly, the food was incredible, and the rides were a lot of fun. The free soda was also awesome, and made up for the fact that it was Pepsi One of the best parts of the day were the front of the line passes for Wildebeest! It was an awesome ride and definitely the best watercoaster i've been on! On to the pictures! The next update is Indiana Beach, with some truly amazing award winning Fatties and tons more food!!! The lobby of our hotel. We must be in Santa Claus, Indiana! Another lens fogging day! Yay, we're considered special guests! No waiting in lines to get in for TPR! The really terrible kids are held here. Time for a photo walk-back tour of Raven, and The Legend! One of the sheds that help keep all the wooden coasters running! I wonder if they number all of the nails as well. The Legend tunnels! Raven doing some test runs. Speaking of Raven, hello Paula and the rest of TPR! C'mon son, this belly won't fill itself! Mini Melts are better than Dippin' Dots because they have a halloween themed booth! Do you think Holiday World has a rodent problem? Holiday World is airing their dirty laundry for all of us to see! The Legend coaster was a really fun ride! Take the Tunnel! Time for some TPR Raven time! Quick, everyone show us what you do on the first drop! Trent is either a little concerned about this ride, or he's still recovering from the City Museum. It may be Pepsi, but at least its included with admission! Somehow I don't think there is anymore food in the 4th of July land. Thanksgiving land has good rides, and some incredible food! The Voyage towers over everything. But first we have to shoot, I mean "call," some turkeys! It was a pretty standard shooting ride but with a unique theme. Employees doing a test run of Voyage! Up and over! I love how the maintenance guys in the gray shirts have no emotion because they've ridden it a thousand times. After our tour with Pat Koch it was time for lunch. You can tell by the empty plates that lunch was amazing! Holidog also made an appearance! The waterparks also have sunscreen included in admission. Gingers of the world rejoice! The Timberliners are still just for dummies. Hopefully they problems that prevented them from being used by now will be fixed/solved soon. I spy some TPR members! I love people's faces as they ride coasters. I guess not hearing the coaster makes it less scary? I don't know how such a massive amount of Silly Bands could be 'lost' in one place! Ready for the massive first drop! Yes sir, you are so bad a$$ I'm sorry sir, but you were the one identified in the lineup as yelling "boobies" and "twisty" throughout the park. The BBQ was very good and worth every cent! Kristen adds another stuffed animal to her massive collection! Time for an incredible ride on Wildebeest! Don't worry, Chuck is now allowed to be near children again! That inch is the difference between life and death! Time to ride the world's tallest water ramp, I mean drop! Robb's group gets some exclusive Pilgrims Plunge access Time to float down the 90 degree burning hot lazy river! Family picture time. I distract Amy with the water as I push her closer to the hungry whale lying in wait. Time for some hot shower action! Michael and Kathryn try to escape the heat as well! There were a ton of these weird looking red bugs all over. Time for the nursery rhyme train ride! Remember kids, if you don't want your wife anymore, just knock her off and hide her in a pumpkin! I think she spiked her curds and whey with mushrooms if she was seeing a spider that large! Hey, where are all the pretty maids in a row you promised, Mary!? Great fall? Hardly. I think Humpty just wanted to be fondled and manhandled by all the kings men! I will be credit whoring that later! What big..Nevermind. If there is an ACE convention in town I could tell you where to find them. They would be right next to the gravy. I have no clue what nursery rhyme is, and I don't think I want to know! Sticking his thumb in things and saying what a good boy he is seems very much TPR approved. Giving them broth but no bread and whipping them is how all kids should be treated, and many adults as well. I don't care if he cries, I'll wake his lazy a$$ up! Yeah right they went up the hill to "fetch a pail of water." Time for some desserts! One of each please! Time for The Voyage photo tour! First drop! Flying around the turns! Scared and severely sunburned! Up and over the second hill! That's some quality hairtime! Special access to places not open to the public! Down the drop. Through the tunnels! Barry M. Deeper loves being this far inside a coaster. Lots of rusting 'wooden' coaster steel parts. Twisting and turning through the trees! She's having an Herbal Essence moment. A few fatties and kid who just broke his neck. "I know where you sleep and I will find you and kill you for taking my picture!" More TPR members and one freaked out girl! Not as spiritual and "rapturing" as Prowler, but The Voyage tour was awesome! Yes I am easily amused. Woosh! And the other side! Neil waves goodbye to whoever is still conscious after getting beat to death on the ride. Great photo ops! Is that guy in the back even in the car!? First drop! Second drop! Proof to those people who 'suck' that Robb is in fact the sun god! There are just too many things I could say about these

Must be your humility.

I get extremely sick on most coasters. I tried Dramamine, Dramamine less-drowsy, Bonine, Ginger, and a ton of other things and nothing helped. I finally found Trans Derm Scop, a small round patch that you put behind your ear for up to three days straight. It completely solved my problems and I can ride any coaster as much as I want. The main side effect is a dry mouth, and it gets very dry (but it's worth it IMHO). I would definitely try the Dramamine and all the other solutions first, as the Scop patch is only available through a prescription and is pretty expensive. I hope it's just your age telling you it can't do rides like it used to and not something else.

Just hit 9 years for us! So far so good (in other words, Amy hasn't gotten smart and left me yet!). This thread is such a fun one to read.

In honor of the TPR Japan trip, I'm listening to the Tokyo DIsney Sea Soundtrack, and specifically, "Journey to the Center of the Earth."

X-Men: First Class - 8/10 much better than I was expecting. Didn't really like the dragonfly girl. The Mechanic - 7/10 Not too bad, with a pretty good amount of action. I rented it on Netflix and this was the second time I saw it, not the best movie for re-watching. Super 8 - 8/10 Monsters, Aliens, and sort of Goonies/Stand by Me. Disclaimer: I usually like all movies except for romantic movies so my reviews are pretty useless.

Awesome report on LAX ! That place is terrible. At least you were going from the worst place in the world to the best! So terribly jealous

^Same here! Only 2 months left, and then all the payments go towards even more TPR trips!

^And those two rides have absolutely terrible waits with one train. I do like Knott's a lot, and there is much more to do if you aren't just into credits.

It totally does! BTW, has anyone tried the new BBQ place yet? It wasn't open yet the morning I arrived.

That is way too hot/humid for me! ^The fact that they reuse the ride names for completely different rides also screws me up. I can never remember which ride was at which park.

That is very true! Glad you all enjoyed it! Can't wait to see all of your reports and what has chanced in the past 2 years!

Just picked up Alice: Madness Returns for PS3. I loved the original game for the computer, I hope it's good!

Time for Six Flags St. Louis! The hottest day of the entire trip! It also may have even been the hottest day in TPR trip history! Supposedly it was the hottest temperature wise, but a day in Italy a few years back was purportedly much worse given the added humidity It was so hot that we even hung out in the bathroom during lunch to escape the heat! We had some incredible back stage tours and some awesome ERT! After the city museum we were all so exhausted, but luckily the park wasn't crowded so we had a relaxing day. It was an awesome day! Walking off the bus everything fogged up for quite a while! There is no way I am going to ride the Easy Bake Oven Ferris Wheel today! With this heat it's a perfect time for a backstage tour of Mr. Freeze! We had a ton of great photo opportunities! I have no clue what TPDave is doing to Robb, but the rest of us heard a cool background to the ride. Nerd Shot. Mr. Freeze, please turn on the air conditioning! One of the magical panels that make things work! Looking down the launch tunnel. Hey come on guys, no forking under the coils. Exclusive access to the launch building! There are a ton of electric panels! TPR launch tunnel takeover! I hope they remember to raise the door for the launch! The launch lasts about as long as most TPR members! Looking back to the loading area. These are just for Mr. Freeze! That's a ton of power! Can't get this shot normally! Robb is about to get a 'money shot' Mr. Freeze in all its glory! Twisty! Time for some food! There was a Krispy Kreme near the hotel and the sign was on! This fatty had 9 doughnuts for breakfast!!! One of the best named coasters of the trip! Doesn't look Evel Knievel crazy though. Time for some Evel Knievel ERT!!! I think someone was flashing the train! Woot Woot! The benefits of TPR Events! Jack and Jackie having an awesome time! Time for some Mr. Freeze rides! Whoops, did someone let an ACEr on the train? The true diehards! No Amy, don't look! Oh I get it! What jokers. Amy plays Santa Claus with Gossamer! Glad the cables held together on this ride! If it wasn't for the covering, we would not have even played one game. Time for Screamin' Eagle! It was a fun little woodie. Big Spin credit time! They have the look of bliss that can only be achieved on a TPR trip. What a cute couple! Bryan's bodyguards warn me to get the F back! Highland Fling does its vomit inducing spins! Speaking of vomit inducing, how about Excalibur? Derek has his rapture moment and is ready for heaven in October! Thank You! That place ended up being very popular towards the end of the day! Time for a lunch sponsored by Waste Management!? That can't be good! Thankfully, Waste Management sponsors the food going out, not coming in! Guy shows Barry M. Deeper the correct tassel spinning technique. You get a nice backstage tour in the Batman queue They may all be virtual clones, but at least they are 100 times better than Boomerang clones! Drop Towers are still a lot of fun (Worlds tallest at SFMM would be nice!) The face scrunch is key when riding Batman. Jack can't believe how empty the park is. Ninja was one of the most painful rides of the trip. Batman has held up very good after all these years. I think this is the most theming I've ever seen for a pirate ship. The things we do for a credit. My head hurts just looking at this picture. This fatty is extremely hot, as in temperature, definitely not looks. Derek shows that he still has got the moves. This company was started by a high school kid and is getting sued by The North Face for trademark infringement. Awesome! They had a lot of religious clothing. (I do find it ironic that Big Ugly Stick is superimposed on my reflection) Just got hungry so I had to post a food picture. Lunch was actually really good! The train was home to at least one fatty! Yay for Scooby Doo! While everyone sleeps I try to come down from my Krispy Kreme sugar crack rush! Mike Austin was doing his best to creep everyone out! Kidtums borrowed our camera for a bit. Amy looks like she has an alien coming out of her mouth! Amy has about 50 of these pictures on her phone Nothing says quality like truck stop cologne! Nothing but the best for TPR!!! Up next is Holiday World!

With less than 24 hours to go before TPR leaves for Japan, here is the final update! Of course I saved the best for last, Tokyo Disneyland Resort!!!! My favorite 'resort' park in the world! No point in useless words, on to the pictures! *Sorry, this report jumps around the parks a lot. I ran out of time to organize it better Oh yeah, one more thing. I'm sure you know all about the popcorn flavors, but one of the best parts about Disney Sea in the food! Unlike the other parks that have the standard hot dogs, turkey legs, and pretzels all over the park, almost every cart or food location in Disney Sea is different! It's like the food portion of the food and wine festival throughout the entire park!!! Make sure you save your money for this park! Welcome to Tokyo Disneyland! The covered main street so you can stay dry if it rains! The 'hub' in Tokyo is very large and open. By far the best Winnie the Pooh, and even kid ride! It is very different, and worth the wait! It may look the same, but it's not! Doing the classic 'V' sign! Brer Fox was out and about. There, now I can count this as a working vacation! Their Pirates has the Blue Bayou, and it's really good! Another 'V' sign in front of the Alice in Wonderland cafeteria style restaurant (this was also really good). While Tokyo Disneyland is awesome, it looks similar to Magic Kingdom and Disneyland. This was the funniest thing. When the fireworks started EVERY single person immediately stopped and stared at them like zombies. I of course took a picture of them Even the busses are so much more amazing than other parks! Anyway, it's time to head to Disney Sea since that is what you are all waiting for! This is in the Mira Costa hotel! I hear some people are staying here! I think we had the Tuscany view. Standard room, but really nice. The bathroom sink area. I thought you would all want to see 'functional' pictures versus the fancy pictures on the doors and hallway. I think this was at Oceano in the Mira Costa Hotel. One last look at the incredible hotel! This is from the Arabian Coast looking towards the other corner of the park. I miss the old version of Sinbad, but it was made for kids so I understand the change. The pictures still showed some of the original version. The Genie originally caught Sinbad stealing his Gold. He also used to be fighting Sindbad and his sailors. Now he plays music? Gotta try the sesame churro! Also, if you ever see Mets Grape, GET IT! It is soooo good! Different, but pretty good! Mysterious Island! My favorite ride Journey to the Center of the Earth was closed At least this food place was open! It had one of the longest lines in the park! It's for the incredible Gyoza (potstickers) Buns! They are so good! Next we got some jelly drinks and waited for the Aladdin show! It's a really good combination of 3D and live acting. The pre-show is pretty good and could almost be a show in itself. I finally decide to ride the one-way electric railway. For some reason this always has a long line and it doesn't even go that far. It only drops you off near Tower of Terror. I don't think I've seen Bianca out in the US parks. Or Bernard. The little Mermaid are is a pretty incredible kids land. I don't think I've seen this guy in any US parks either! Most of the rides, and a really good show, are 'underwater.' Their 'teacup' ride. The theater in the back has a really good show! Heading down to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Also, the Vulcania restaurant is really good, but don't miss the Nautilus Galley! They have a few different types of really good Gyoza (Potstickers)! The top left is where Journey has it's drop. Random stupid Indy picture. Fire! A nice view of the harbor... and many good food locations Ok, jump to nighttime. The boat has two really good restaurants as well. Yes, I really have eaten at every place in the park! Speaking of Volcanos, Good Luck Australia and New Zealanders! The harbor looks amazing at night! Everyone is getting ready for BraviSEAmo! Unfortunately you will miss it, but fortunately, you get to see the new Fantasmic!!! Mickey enters the harbor on his sea horse ship. I forgot what the story was, something about this white lady and the dragon falling in love? The show was awesome because it had an incredible amount of fire! The show then goes back to the white lady. And then they are together. Blah blah blah just give us more fire and fireworks! Thats more like it! It was actually a pretty good show, one of the few I would watch. This poor kid is a bleach addict. This is by far the best looking Tower of Terror. The queue is more archeological and indiana jones style. This window is a pretty amazing effect. The awesome Shiriki is, well, Awesome! Daytime shot. Quick jump to the other park for some doughnuts! This is what all the monorails Disney has should look like. These were by far the dumbest things we saw (sorry if some of you like them or have them) Quite a few people had them. He better be getting some action for wearing that stupid hat! A look at the Arabian Coast. And looking the other way towards Lost Continent. The Indiana Jones Show Building. Another stupid photo. The Indiana Jones queue is pretty amazing. I've ridden all the version this ride had, and I didn't like any of them. When it first opened it was very rough. They slowed it down over the years, and now it is just way too slow. Definitely not a fan (but their moving warning sign is unique!). One last "we're too cheap to pay for it" picture! It's such an incredible looking park! Oh please, no more! The Arabian Coast has a few cool areas. Bet you can't guess how good the food was here! Many of you will be seeing this in a few days Every place has two or three unique items, and all of these were very good! Family picture time. Another view inside the Indy queue. Fatty with a tapioca drink and Madelines! Heading out to Port Discovery. Storm Rider (the building straight ahead) was what I thought the Star Tours effects would be upgraded to. Aquatopia has a Dan friendly, and a Dan unfriendly side. Amy chose the Dan friendly side. It was really cool how they moved around with no guide rails! Time to eat at the Alice place again! I don't know if this show is there anymore. It was also one of the few I wouldn't mind watching. Pretty colorful costumes! They had the most impressive floats I have ever seen! Another view of the harbor. The ship and building to the right is an interactive play area with Leonardo da Vinci style machines to play with. This optical illusion picture had some TPR looking activities Amy is working the machines and getting a little arm workout! That's all! Thanks for following along and have an awesome and safe trip!!!

Shoot me now ^i just remembered that Sea Paradise had a cat play area, and a puppy play area in their 'mall.' Hopefully it's still there!

We have never really had a bad meal! Even 7-11's have awesome food! Our favorite food related activity goes along with the Tokyu Hands Store. The Shinjuku Takashimaya building also has the best food basement! It's not the largest, but it has the most high quality items. If you have never experienced a food basement it's amazing! It almost like a food court convention, but with very high quality food. I highly recommend it!