ytterbiumanalyst

Fire in the Hole yesterday.

We had some bored and restless kids today, so we decided to make a completely unplanned trip to Branson this afternoon. On the way back from SDC, we stopped by Track 4 to check on the Ferris wheel progress. It's looking good so far, seems to be on track for a June opening.

My wife recommends St. Petersburg. I haven't been myself, but she has, before we met. She says St. Pete Beach is way less crowded than Clearwater. Also, they have a Holocaust Museum and the Salvador Dali museum (which I very much want to visit myself, as Dali is one of my favourite artists).

Quoted for truth. The crazy thing is, even though I'm just in the next state over, it's almost exactly the same distance from me as it is from you.

I agree. It would be epic if Common would perform at Valleyfair in 2018.

Oh yeah, I forgot around here we're way more concerned about speculating what's coming for 2017 than we are about the confirmed things that are actually coming this year. Anyway, PS4 is now 2 1/2 years old, which is up there as far as computer lifespans go. Whatever's next likely has a release timeframe of summer 2017 Japan / fall 2017 NA, which is 4 years after PS4's release. That sounds pretty reasonable for a console lifespan. In the meantime, enjoy the PS4!

Earlier today! See, what happened was this: I was a-walkin' down the road with my fishin' pole a-slung over my shoulder, when outta nowheres this Giant Possum leaps out of the brush. Now, I know trouble when I see it, and this Giant Possum was trouble. He says to me, "Whatcha doin' with that there fishin' pole?" And I answer, "What do you think Ima gonna do with it?" And he says, "I think you means to fish in my pond." And he stands up on his hind legs and says, "Those are my fish in there, and I"--at this point he pokes me in the chest after each word--"don't--appreciate--you--just--takin'--'em." And I says, "Oh yeah?" And he says, "Yeah!" And I says, "Well, then, you're looking at a fight!" And he says, "Okay, let's go!" And I says, "You stay right here while I get my fightin' gear." And he says, "All right!" So I went and hopped in my boat and went out into the middle of the lake and went fishin' anyways, and 'tweren't a thing that Giant Possum could do 'bout it neither. Dumb Giant Possum. When was the last time you done tole off some wildlife?

A few weeks ago I went to return a belt I bought on JCPenney's website. It didn't fit quite right, but luckily I found the same thing at a thrift shop in the right size! When was the last time you made iced tea?

Considering that there are hundreds if not thousands of employees at each theme park, and hundreds of theme parks, I'm not sure such a vague question is going to get you any good answers. In such a large group of people, you're bound to have every variety of person there is.

I'm not sure why you were expecting that a computer you bought when it was over 2 years old wouldn't be quickly outperformed. Assuming you mean the American model, the only difference is power consumption. This isn't even the "slim" version like they've done with every other console they've ever produced. The European model does have a 1TB HDD, but otherwise is identical to the American version. Both these new PS4's have the same processing power as the original. I don't expect there will be any issues as far as game performance.

No, but I probably should start. That sounds relaxing. Have you ever eaten haggis?

I too am a little surprised by some of these results. I don't think the "B&M Rattle" is an issue... most of the time! Yeah, I don't get this either. I've ridden 9 B&M's, and I did not experience any rattling at all on any of them. Sometimes I'll even see trip reports from someone who was at the same park the same day I was saying their B&M had a rattle and I wonder if we were on the same ride at all. I think this is a generational thing. When I was growing up, Arrow was king and B&M were just getting started. CAD design wasn't widely used yet, so there wasn't an expectation that a ride would be perfectly smooth. A bit of jostling was considered normal and largely ignored. So when I hear "X ride has a rattle," I just ignore that opinion and go have fun anyway.

Aquatrax! BOATS Cincinnati Reds Steamboat: The Ride!

I'm planning to go for Founders' Weekend, so I'll see if I can take a spin on the Highway from Hell and get some photos.

That sounds like an awesome trip, and very doable over 2 weeks or so. You are spot on the time span. It will be an intense trip but totally worth it. If everything is up and running it's just over 100 coasters with every park and ride being a new one for me. I've only visited the North East of the U.S. before. Everything should be running by early June. Probably the iffiest ones are Justice League at Six Flags Great America, Monster at Adventureland and Lightning Rod at Dollywood. Justice League is no big deal, as you're going to Six Flags St. Louis; if it's not running in Chicago, just go on it there. The other two, just hope for the best and enjoy the day if the new ride isn't open. Monster not being open is a bigger loss to Adventureland than Lightning Rod is to Dollywood, but as I said, both should be open by the time you visit. Have fun!

This pretty much describes every Nintendo game at this point.

Oh god yes... Please please please let it be a darkride. If KI gets a new coaster before we do I just might boycott all CF parks

^ Thanks for posting that! It's hard to believe that all these things are happening right now, but this is definitely a big year! Fritz's Adventure looks to be a lot of fun, has that City Museum kind of vibe. Definitely on the list for this summer. Quite honestly, though, what has me most excited is the 76 reconstruction. The biggest thing stopping me from spending more time in Branson is how terrible 76 is. I avoid it if at all possible. Making that road driveable will greatly influence how much time and money I spend in Branson. This is the infosite for the project: http://bransonspiritof76.com/ And the detailed plan in pdf form: http://issuu.com/bnim/docs/branson_final_140731_print_reduced/1?e=1526089/9703672

You must be thinking of Goliath. I have never seen a wait of at least 2 hours, ever. The absolute worst I've ever seen was an hour and a half, and that was Saturday of opening weekend 2013. Almost always it's 15 to 20 minutes, even on Saturdays in the summer. Keep in mind too, that this is at a park with over 2 million guests per year and on a ride that has the same seatbelt/lap bar combination as Goliath at SFGAm. The difference is that SDC staffs a ton of people to check those restraints. I've seen them use 3 per side on busy days, plus one person at the controls, and one at the Trailblazer entrance. You do that, you don't stack trains, even on a minute and a half ride cycle.

The lift system is a prototype system. Name one other Boomerang in the world that uses electric motors for the lift instead of hydraulic. I'll wait. You'll be waiting a long time. I really and truly don't care what kind of lift system it has. Is it fun? Nope? Off to Screamin' Eagle.

That sounds like an awesome trip, and very doable over 2 weeks or so.

Except that Boomerang was hardly a prototype and had already run for 25 years in Dallas before we ever got it. That's like comparing apples to carburetors.

Silver Dollar City in 2 weeks for Founders' Weekend, bluegrass, and barbecue!

No, because it doesn't exist where I live. When I'm in places with transit, I very much prefer it. Is everything awesome when you're part of a team?