rcdude

July 31st, 2011-North East Trip Day 3: Playland & Funtown Day three was one of my favorite days of the trip, partly because we visited one of my favorite parks, and partly because it was the most relaxing day. After our long, long day at Six Flags New England, it was nice to have a day where we could take it easy and still get everything done. The day began with a 9 A.M. departure, followed by the first lengthy drive on the trip. I don’t remember the exact time, but it was about 3-4 hours since we had to go from Connecticut all the way to Maine. Along the way, we watched various TV shows, such as Simpsons, Kitchen Nightmares, South Park, and my favorite show for a TPR trip: Baggage. There were a few others, but I don’t remember them all. In addition, we had the first snack time of the trip. This was also the day where I switched over to Robb’s bus, which I remained on for the remainder of the tour, so no more stories from Brian. It’s nothing against him, I just knew more people on Robb’s bus and it was slightly less crowded. Eventually, we arrived at our lunch stop, Jimmy the Greek’s. This is not a Greek restaurant, as the name might imply (and as I thought until I learned more), but is more of a sports bar. They had standard stuff you might find in a place like that, as well as many different types of beer. Of course, what you choose is up to you. For most group meals on TPR trips, unless they are done buffet style, you are given an allowance (typically $25) and are allowed to use it for whatever you want. You can choose an expensive dish with no drink (except water), no food and all alcohol, or anywhere in between. People sitting together can pool their cash and distribute it however they want (ex: a table of four has $100 between all of them), and if you do go a little over you can always pay Elissa. Occasionally, heavy drinkers will open up a personal bar tab, but I don’t think this is too common (especially on our trip, where we had two days of free beer already). I chose to sit with Skycoastin’ Steve, Jennifer (paiging_jen), and Neil (televisedconfession). I know I had pizza, and if I remember correctly so did Neil and Jennifer, while I think Steve got Fish n’ Chips. I thought the place was pretty good, but most places TPR visits are. It was also nice getting to chat with the others at my table, as I didn’t really see them much before or after this point. A little bit behind schedule, we left Jimmy the Greeks and drove to Old Orchard Beach for our first park of the day. Palace Playland Let me start by saying this…Palace Playland is a permanent carnival. If you go expecting anything more, you will be disappointed. The park consists of rides set up on two city blocks, with a road in between them. However, it is right on the beach, so that gives visitors something else to do while they are there. A lot more people come for the beach than the park, as there were no lines anywhere outside of the two coasters (where the line was 90% TPR members). We gathered at the ticket booth while Robb purchased tickets, then we were each given seven tickets (equivalent to one ride on each coaster) and told to meet by the entrance at 4 P.M. Most went for the Galaxi first. I, on the other hand, along with about twenty others, headed for Orient Express. Orient Express-This is a family coaster, and looks identical to a ride that I rode a couple weeks previously at the Orange County Fair. The only difference is that the OC Fair’s is called Cobra and the train is a cobra (of course), while the train for Orient Express is an eastern dragon. However, the ride was just as rough, just as unpleasant, and just as pointless. D Galaxi-I’ve been on one other Galaxi, the defunct Screaming Mummy at Pharaoh’s Adventure Park. While this one was in better shape, I think the Pharaoh’s ride was a better ride. However, even though it is in semi-decent condition, this ride is still just a carnival coaster and wins the award for the sketchiest coaster of the tour. They were running three trains, but the ride is entirely manually operated. An operator sits at the load point with several buttons, and each controls a set of brakes on the ride. I’m sure if the brakes weren’t applied correctly, you would either hit the unload platform too fast or would stall on your way there. A second operator here is in charge of locking the lap bars, then when it is clear they hold down a button to lower the block in front of the train. If they don’t raise it quickly enough after the train has passed, they will accidentally dispatch two trains, as the next one sits behind the first with nothing else holding it back. Finally, at the unload point, there is a third operator, who has a large brake lever and must stop the car at the correct position. Yeah…at least the operators weren’t total carnies. The ride was just okay…not good, not bad. C After I got off Galaxi, I walked down to the beach (but for some reason didn’t consider going into the water). I walked around the crowded beach for about ten minutes, then emptied my shoes and walked back into the park. I checked my watch and discovered that I had 45 minutes left. 45 minutes! Instead of walking around the town like most people did, I went to the ticket booth and purchased ten tickets ($1.20 a ticket, so $12) just so I would have something to do. As every ride at the park (or something like it) except the Galaxi and Power Surge (which would have made me sick) had appeared at my local fair a couple weeks before the trip, I wasn’t sure what I’d use my tickets on. I eventually decided to try what appeared to be the most thrilling ride first. Adrenalin-This is smaller than other, similar rides I have done elsewhere. However, I still think this was a lot of fun. The ride spun quite a bit, and it was actually a decent cycle. However, it was a little on the short side, but I still really enjoyed the ride. Probably the best ride at Palace Playland. A I next headed over to Moby Dick, but as soon as I saw that the ride was four tickets and not three, I decided to skip it. I also passed up the Euro Slide (did the same thing at Quassy) and the Fiesta Loca (not a huge fan of spinners). I ended up deciding to do Cascade Falls, even though it’s a fairly pathetic log flume and identical to the one at the OC Fair. However, I’m really glad I did because as I was walking up to the station, there was a mom and a couple kids. The two kids wanted to ride, but the mom didn’t, and the operator was telling her that they couldn’t ride without an adult. They were about to leave, but I told the mom I was by myself and they could ride with me if they wanted to, so I essentially loaned myself to a parent (the opposite of borrowing a kid). Cascade Falls-I know it is a fairly pathetic log flume with a simple layout, but I actually found it somewhat fun. The ride just goes up a lift, around a turn, down a drop, around another turn, and repeats (see picture). However, it does get you a little wet, and the bigger drop is at least decent. C After getting off and being thanked by every member of the kids’ family (their mom, dad, and grandparents were there), I headed back across the street to the smaller section of the park. As I was walking around here, I noticed the fun house and decided to do it. Grand Orient Fun House-I love funhouses, and that is the primary reason I continue to go to the OC Fair every year (they aren’t common in normal parks). This one was small, and it was so bad it was actually a little fun. The funhouse had a few of the more common gags, such as sliding/tilting/rotating platforms, rollers, punching bags, bungee cords, and a rotating barrel, but there were several rooms that were randomly empty and some of the effects weren’t on. Now that I’ve done it once, it isn’t worth paying $2.40 to do a second time. D As I got off the funhouse, I noticed Steve, and he asked me if it was any good. Of course, I told him he should try it, so he got a couple tickets and did it, along with Skycoastin’ Steve (who was also nearby). I watched them, then walked around taking pictures. I was going to buy a few more tickets to do Drop Zone, but since it looked identical to the Quassy tower but with a different seating arrangement (5 x 3 instead of 3 x 3), I skipped it and hung out by the entrance as a group began to congregate. At 4 P.M., we began walking out toward the busses, and had to hurry across the street to beat a parade. Unfortunately, as the busses pulled away we realized that someone had been left behind (and I cannot remember who it was, but not someone I ever hung out with). Overall Thoughts: Palace Playland is a permanent carnival, nothing more, nothing less. If you are in Old Orchard Beach, it is worth an hour or two of your time if you want to do something different. Otherwise, don’t even bother. Ride Count Orient Express-1 Galaxi-1 Adrenalin-1 Cascade Falls-1 Grand Orient Fun House-1 Total-5 rides in 1 hour (5 rides per hour, but that wasn’t really the goal) After a short 15 minute drive, we arrived at the main park of the day. Funtown Splashtown U.S.A. Funtown Splashtown is the largest park in all of Maine, and is a combo amusement park/waterpark. Despite this, and the fact that they actually have a major coaster, the park is small. It felt about the same size as Castle Amusement Park here in California. Despite its size, the park did require more walking than I expected, as it is laid out in somewhat of a G shape. We were all given our wristbands and meal tickets, then set loose in the park. As Splashtown closed at 6 P.M. and it was already after 4 P.M. when we arrived, I headed there first. I rented a locker and got changed, then hit the slides. Corkscrew-A head first mat slide, but an older one that uses flat foam mats as opposed to the newer, easier to grip ones. As a result, when I dove down the slide, I almost lost my mat. As far as mat slides go, this one was probably my second favorite after High Extreme at Raging Waters San Dimas, as I prefer these types of slides to the standard mat-racer. C Liquid Lightning-This was not only my favorite of the two tube slides I did here, but it is one of my top five tube slides. The ride doesn’t look like much, but it goes fairly fast and feels as if you are going to tip over at a couple points. It’s not the longest ride out there, but it is still quite fun, and is worth the wait. A Splash-An enclosed tube slide, but in a transparent tube. We chose this one since it had a shorter wait than the dark tube. It wasn’t great, but is far from the worst tube slide I’ve been on. Still, with my limited time, I didn’t care to do the similar, but dark, Splish. D Tornado-We were going to do this one at the end, but as there was a lifeguard getting ready to close it we opted to go here first. I joined up with a couple other people (whose names I forget) for this one, as no singles are allowed. It was better than the SFNE Tornado, but still not the best funnel I’ve done. I did like how the funnel was in the middle of the ride instead of the end, however. A Speed Slides-I didn’t know about this until I got to Splashtown, and I wasn’t planning on doing it, but there was no line and it looked bizarre. Unlike most speed slides, which are a steep, straight drop from a 50-80 ft. platform, this one is a ramp from a 25 ft. platform. The ride starts out slow, then gets a bit steeper before leveling out in a pool instead of a runout. Was it any good? For kids, it probably is, but for me, it didn’t do anything. D At this point, all the lines were closed, so I got changed, returned my key, and headed back to Funtown. Honestly, if you are just going for slides and nothing else, Splashtown is a really good water park. It’s not the best, but it does have enough for a couple hours and it will be getting six more slides next year. However, if you are into lazy rivers or wave pools, this isn’t your waterpark. There really isn’t anything here other than slides and a kids area. Even though I like waterslides better than many non-coaster rides, I wasn’t going to bother with doing this one, but as I skipped the Lake Compounce waterpark and never planned on doing Splashwater Kingdom, as well as getting minimal waterpark time the day before, I chose to enjoy an hour or so at Splashtown. I’m glad I did. When I headed back into the park, I decided I’d do a few rides and then get dinner. Well, might as well start with the credits. Also, as you will likely see if you read other trip reports, this is the first park on the trip where my opinions began to differ significantly from the majority. Wild Mouse-This ride was exactly the same as the Gotham City Gauntlet mouse at Six Flags New England, but minus the cups of water. In addition, there was a no single rider rule, so I had to wait until a couple other people showed up before I could ride. Fortunately, it only took a couple minutes, and there was no line anyway. As for the ride, it was like GCGEFAA, but not as good. In fact, it hurt a little.D Excalibur-Okay, I was expecting nothing out of this ride. It looked fun, but I was expecting it to be rough and my least favorite CCI. I ended up loving it. Not only is the ride the smoothest CCI I’ve been on, it really delivers a lot of airtime in the first half. I would almost say this is like junior GhostRider, but much smoother than current GhostRider. If it weren’t for the forceless double-helix ending, this would be one of my top five wooden coasters. As it is, the ride falls at 10th place, just one spot lower than GhostRider. I did think it was that good, and would recommend coming to this park to ride this the next time you are in Maine. Second-biggest surprise of the trip. A- Astrosphere-What did I know about the Astrosphere pre-trip? It’s an indoor scrambler with special effects. I had no idea that it was so detailed. The ride began like a normal scrambler, but as soon as the lights went out and E.L.O.’s “Fire on High” began playing, I knew it would be something awesome. The ride has normal lights set up all over the dome, but also has projections, strobes, disco balls, and lasers. The best way to describe it is a scrambler mixed with a light show mixed with a rave. The ride isn’t the most intense scrambler, which is probably a good thing, but it is certainly fast enough, considering the cycle lasts at least three to four minutes. I also love how this ride is treated as an experience rather than just a ride. Before riding, everyone is told what they are about to experience while inside of a dark tunnel, and is given the chance to exit if they can’t handle it. Following the ride, the employees “debrief” you before letting you out. I get a sense that they really have a lot of pride in this attraction, and rightfully so. There are very few flat rides I ride multiple times in a day, and I rode this twice, and would have done it over and over again if I had more time. As I said, go for Excalibur, but ride this as well. In my opinion, the world’s best scrambler, hands down. A Dragon’s Descent-First, any ride involving dragons gets bonus points in my book. Second, this ride was the tallest S&S on the trip, so it was certainly one of the best (hard to say for sure, but probably second after Scream). Third, this ride held you at the top for a really, really, really long time. I am used to Supreme Scream, which waits about 3-4 seconds before dropping, and most other towers I’ve been on wait about 6-7 seconds. I timed Dragon’s Descent on one cycle, and it waited a full 14 seconds at the top. This one also seemed to give a pretty good downward shot, though it may just have been my slightly foggy memory (I was still hearing “Fire on High” in my head when I rode this). Great fun, worth multiple rides, and some of the best theming I’ve seen on an S&S tower. B After Dragon’s Descent, it was already past seven, so I decided to grab something for dinner. I redeemed my voucher for a hot dog, fries, and a drink (never got around to the ice cream). Whatever the place was that I picked, it seemed popular as I found many other TPR members here, including the group I had hung out with at Compounce (at Funtown, I was by myself pretty much the whole time and I hung out with some others at Splashtown). As they were headed for the log ride, I decided to join them for a ride. Thunder Falls Log Flume-Another concrete flume, so not the most comfortable ride. However, this one wasn’t as rough as the one at Holiday World, and it was a bit longer. I enjoyed this ride, especially since it had a pretty decent drop (although there was only one significant one). Not the best, but not bad either. C Once we were done, the group decided to do some flats, and I was on my own again. I chose to do the closest ride next. Antique Cars-This was a long ride, but it was partly because the cars were slow. Still, the layout was pretty good, and this was the best of the three car rides I did on this trip. I wouldn’t have wanted to wait much more than I did for them (about ten minutes), but I’m glad I rode. C At this point, I decided to head back over to the Astrosphere, as there was a scheduled TPR takeover at 8 P.M. Just as I arrived, TPR members began to get in line, so I jumped in with the group. I have a feeling everyone enjoyed the ride, and as I was on the first of three TPR cycles, I had a bit of time before heading to the Tea Cups for the takeover at 8:30 P.M. As a result, I chose to do a second ride on Dragon’s Descent, then headed over to the teacups takeover. Tempest in the Tea Cups-Well, the takeover failed. Not only was the ride half-full, but even with four people we couldn’t spin the cup much. So much for an insane ride. Oh well. F+ As there was still time before ERT, I chose to do a nearby ride. Flying Trapeze-Most swing rides I’ve been on are Waveswingers. This one is a YoYo. They both give different rides. I don’t think one is necessarily better than the other, but I do think the YoYos are slightly more intense. I enjoyed the ride, but didn’t find it any different from a standard model. C At this point, I headed over to Excalibur for our night ERT. Since the ride only has one train, the park was doing double rides. We were going to play “Pass the Sword” on the ride, but unfortunately the park wouldn’t let us. Too bad. The ride was still fun, and was even better at night. After three double rides, I took a break and watched the Pac-Men grow. Apparently there was a special in the Skee-Ball tent, and a lot of TPR members took part. Toward the end of ERT, I hopped back on the ride for one final lap, then joined the remaining folks on a walk out to the bus. We got on, then headed down to New Hampshire to get to our hotel. On the bus, we had the first “Storytime with Canadian Nick,” where Nick would get up and tell a story. I’ve got to say, some of them were quite good, and I’m sure being a paramedic gives plenty of stories to tell. Overall Thoughts I really enjoyed Funtown Splashtown U.S.A. In fact, I think it was probably my favorite small park of the trip. The place reminded me a lot of Castle Amusement Park, a small park in Riverside, California that I enjoy visiting every few years. However, Castle Amusement Park doesn’t have a top-tier coaster or an amazing flat ride yet, and that is what sets Funtown apart. It is a small, out of the way park that has a couple of the best rides I’ve been on. In fact, it is probably my second favorite small park after Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park, and is certainly one I would like to visit again when/if I return to Maine. It isn’t a whole day park, especially thanks to the lack of lines, but for a half-day outing it would be difficult to find somewhere more fun to go. Really, unless you’re looking for thrill rides, this is an excellent place to visit, as only Excalibur and Dragon’s Descent are true thrill attractions. Ride Count: Corkscrew-1 Liquid Lightning-1 Splash-1 Tornado-1 Speed Slide-1 Wild Mouse-1 Excalibur-8 (seven during night ERT) Astrosphere-2 Dragon’s Descent-2 Thunder Falls Log Flume-1 Antique Cars-1 Tempest in the Tea Cups-1 Flying Trapeze-1 Total-22 rides in 6 hours (3.67 rides per hour) Photos Time for lunch at Jimmy the Greek's. This was the surprise restaurant that wasn't announced until the itinerary was handed out on day one. Old Orchard Beach. Unfortunately, there would be no TPR beach party on this trip. We were just here for a quick stop to add a couple credits to our counts. Here is how much it will cost you if you want to get the two credits. Each ticket is $1.20, and most rides are three or four tickets. Both credits are actually across a street from the entrance. Galaxi was on the larger side for a fair coaster, a bit ghetto, and less fun than the Hi-Miler. Okay, I'm done with the credits. What should I do next? Adrenalin looks like fun. Let's try that out. This Euroslide is only about half the size of the one at my local fair. It's not worth two tickets. This is the ride where I loaned myself to a parent. It was more fun than either coaster. This was actually the first time I've seen a portable waveswinger. My fair always has a YoYo. I've always wondered if a pirate ship is acutally seaworthy. Super hokey busted funhouse with a foreign language on it. The ferris wheel looked relatively new. I didn't investigate further. Although the park was fairly empty, the surrounding area was quite busy. I guess people were visiting the various stores next to the park. Hmm...I wonder why so many TPR members decided to wait outside this store...maybe there'll be something going on at the hotel tonight. This is the most unusual seating arrangement I've seen on a drop tower. They are ususally 3 x 3 or 4 x 2, with occasional towers being 4 x 4. I should have done this since none of my local parks have one and I didn't see another one on the trip. Maybe next year. "Okay, we've been here long enough, let's leave this dump!" No, it wasn't actually that bad. Hooray, a good park. I'm surprised I actually enjoyed this park better than Canobie. First things first, get the mouse out of the way. Yes! Time for the most awesome flat in the North East (excluding Catapult). Inside that building, the magic happens. I won't tell you what the magic is, but I will tell you that after the Astrosphere, a normal scrambler will never satisfy you again. There are very few S&S rides I truly enjoy. This is one of them. "Hello! I'm the guardian of this ride. Don't worry, I won't bite, I'm friendly, just a little camera shy. That's why I defocused your image a bit. Just don't touch me, and be on the lookout for my relative down in New Hampshire tomorrow. May the G-Force be with you!" I literally waited for the ride to stop at the top, pulled my camera out, turned it on, and took this picture all before it dropped. I didn't take any more pictures because I was too busy having fun. However, here is the result Robb's OCD and the TPR Skee-Ball takeover.

The ones I've been on rank like this: 1. Dominator 2. Medusa (big gap) 3. Scream! 4. Batman-The Dark Knight 5. Bizarro Dominator is just such a different ride when compared to the others. It doesn't feel like it is rapid-fire inversions, and it does other things as well. Medusa is really good too, but it does seem like the second half is a bit uneventful. As for the others, Scream is the smoothest of the three (at least in my opinion), but I'm not a huge fan of the layout, Batman is the shortest, and Bizarro...well, it's Scream but rougher and with an annoying soundtrack (better location, however). I like all the floorless coasters I've been on (floorless is my favorite type of looping coaster), but some are better than others. Also, although not technically a floorless, if you wanted to include Griffon it would be between Dominator and Medusa.

Until I know the full details of Verbolten and Dollywood's coaster, I'll refrain from voting, but those might be among them (especially Dollywood's). Others I am excited by include... Leviathan SkyRush Superman: Ultimate Flight X-Flight Ones I am likely to ride next year: Leviathan (only if LeviaTHON trip happens) Manta Superman: Ultimate Flight

I've got an idea! Why don't we ask the people on the Australia Trip how noisy it was riding Giant Drop while Tower of Terror was running? That should answer the question. I'm assuming both rides have similar noise levels since they are built by the same manufacturer and are the same type of attraction. In all honestly, while I find Superman loud, I don't find it unbearable (I've stood under the thing while it ran without plugging my ears or anything). However, I think people on Lex Luthor are more likely to be worried about how high they are getting and won't be paying too much attention to the noise of Superman. I'm sure that the designers have also measured the noise levels and determined that they aren't loud enough to cause ear damage, or they are coming up with some type of sound shield. Maybe we'll get California Screamin' style tunnels on Superman or something (they are both Intamin, after all, but I do think that would look hideous). If its a big deal, bring earplugs or don't ride. If not, enjoy the Drop of Doom. I'm also hoping the entrance is over by Colossus as that path indicates. It would give more room for a longer queue line, and wouldn't cause the whole thing to be a giant cattle-pen. Although I doubt we'll be seeing X2 length waits for this thing, it will no doubt be very popular its first year or two.

I've found that it varies by park and by ride type, but it is more common for arms across the chest. That is my personal preference on all body slides except the body bowls, where I prefer hands behind the head (you can get a pretty good whack if you aren't expecting it when you enter the bowl if you're arms are on your chest). Even when not told to, I also cross my legs, as it seems more streamlined and I think it can increase your speed slightly. Plus, it will decrease discomfort when you hit the runout.

It will almost certainly be Lex Luther: Drop of Doom at this point next year, but as I have not ridden it yet I am going to say Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney California Adventure Park, with Scream at Six Flags New England being a very close second. Drop Tower at Kings Dominion is very good as well, and while it has a better drop the overall ride isn't as good as the other two.

But not most S&S Towers at major Six Flags parks. True. I should have specified a single S&S tower. According to the S&S website, a 12 seat tower is 360 pph and according to wikipedia, Australia's Giant Drop is 550 pph, so I guess this will probably end up being slightly less capacity than a two-tower S&S, and most Six Flags parks have two or three tower S&S rides (though I've never seen one operated with more than two towers at once). At least SFMM has plenty of coasters to distract people from this ride, although I'm sure it will be very popular its first summer. I'm just glad that SFMM is getting a non-coaster ride worth more than a fifteen minute wait for once, and that we're finally getting a drop tower (an amazing looking one at that).

Looks like a fun little ride, but I've got to wonder what the capacity is like on this thing. If it only has the single train, it could be a nightmare unless you ride first thing. I can't imagine the ride has more than two, and even then it probably would have less capacity than Pandemonium. However, it is a decent enough ride that I'm now planning a visit here next summer (hoping I can make Bay Area Bash for once).

This ride looks amazing. I really didn't think it would be done, but I guess they've found some way to make it work. I'll bet it feels like you're falling forever on one of these things, and it will be a complete freefall all the way down. It may not be a coaster, but I'm probably more excited about this than I would have been for many coasters. As for capacity, it holds 16, which is still more than most S&S towers. The eight seats on each side are all in a row, so they should be able to be checked fairly quickly. Also, I believe each side of the tower is operated independently, which should speed up operations. I do not know for sure how long the ride cycle is, but I could see the ride handling around 600 people per hour, which is probably comparable to or greater than most of the park's flat rides. I also don't think this will be as popular as a coaster, so I doubt the capacity will be an issue. It still has better capacity than Green Lantern, Deja Vu, or most of the park's coasters operated with one train.

I've kind of been expecting this one ever since I heard Cedar Fair purchased three additional Windseekers. Kings Dominion is the largest park in the chain that did not get one this year, so it makes perfect sense to install one there. I don't think it's the best park for one, as the park already has several tall rides, but it might end up working well. I'm really interested to see where the third one goes, because if Worlds of Fun gets it all of the large Cedar Fair parks will have one.

Great TR of an out of the way park. Ever since Wicked opened, I've wanted to check this place out (before then, I didn't even know it existed). Maybe I'll have to plan a late season ski trip to Utah (early-mid April) so I can visit the park, because other than that there isn't much chance I'd ever be out in Salt Lake City.

^Yeah, it really was unfortunate that the sky ride was closed. I was really looking forward to it. I imagine it is a bit like a first-timer visiting SFMM and finding out Goliath is closed when they get to the gate: it isn't the reason you came, but it is something you were excited about. July 30th, 2011-North East Trip Day 2: Six Flags New England Of all the parks on the North East trip, SFNE was the one I was looking forward to the most. From everything I’d heard, it was one of the best Six Flags parks, and it is well known as being home to one of the world’s best steel coasters. Also, this day had been opened up as a bash, which meant that there would be some extra people (I think there were around two hundred total). The only thing I was worried about were the Saturday crowds but this ended up not being a problem. Although the bus left at 8 A.M., I was able to sleep until 7:15 A.M. and still have time for breakfast thanks to a two-night stay at our hotel. I was grateful for this, as it would be a long day (we weren’t scheduled to be back at the hotel until 11:45 P.M.). On the ride, Elissa talked a little bit about the park, and told us that thanks to Q-bots we wouldn’t have to worry about crowds. She also did a lesson on “Q-bots for beginners,” discussing how to use them and what they did. In no time at all we arrived at the park, then waited around for a bit until all the Bizarro Bash participants were registered. We were let inside and greeted by a park representative, who told us we would have an hour of morning ERT on Bizarro, Batman, and Gotham City Gauntlet. Elissa gave a final reminder for all the trip participants to meet at the Hurricane Harbor entrance at 10 A.M. for Q-bot distribution, and we were then escorted to DC Superhero Adventures to begin our ERT. Given that I really wanted to ride Bizarro, guess where I went to first. That’s right, Gotham City Gauntlet. Gotham City Gauntlet Escape from Arkham Asylum-Yeah, I figured it would be a good idea to get the lowest capacity coaster out of the way first. This ride was okay. Not the best mouse I’ve been on, but not the worst either. There were no brakes for the switchbacks, which made those quite fun, but then the dips were taken at regular speed. This was my first Maurer Shone mouse and I think I prefer the Mack version to this (Mack mice seem a little smoother). D Bizarro-Everyone knows that Bizarro was formerly known as Superman-Ride of Steel and was the best steel coaster in the world for several years. According to our trip participants, the Bizarro transformation has made the ride worse. I’d never been on the ride before the transformation, and I haven’t been on any other Intamin AG Mega Coasters, so I wasn’t quite sure to expect. After my one morning ride (only one train during morning ERT), I loved it, but didn’t think it was good enough to make it into my top ten list. After it had warmed up and I rode more, however…OMG best coaster I’ve ever been on. Most people love this ride because it is glass smooth and has more airtime than almost any other coaster on Earth. While these are both contributing factors, I like it for a different reason…it really has a little bit of everything. The ride has large drops, airtime hills, an overbanked turn, high-g helixes, tunnels, fog, theming (albeit low quality), on-board audio (also not spectacular, but not horrible), and is so smooth and fun I could ride it all day. There is only one complaint I have about the ride, and that is the lapbars. No, they are not the worst lapbars out there, but they are fairly uncomfortable and due to the operating procedures of this ride you will likely get stapled in. However, that is so minor in terms of the overall experience that I can overlook those. As the soundtrack says, “Bizarro #1. Bizarro! Bizarro! Bizarro! Bizarro!” A+ Batman-The Dark Knight-I like floorless coasters. They are my favorite type of looping coaster, and I have not been on a bad one yet. Batman-The Dark Knight is generally considered as one of the weaker floorless coasters, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. I still really liked this ride, and to date it is the only floorless I liked better in the back row (instead of the front). However, it is shorter than most, and it is a little bit rough (especially in the corkscrews). Good, but not great. B After I did a couple rides on Batman, I headed back to Bizarro to retrieve my belongings from a lockbox (even during ERT these were required), then I walked all the way back to wait for Q-bot distribution. As I didn’t have a Flash Pass group, I just hung around until I found a group of three. As a result, I ended up grouping up with Dan (username unknown), Doug (DECoasterNerd), and Ian (Ian_D) (at least I think that’s correct…stupid name remembrance issues). Anyway, Doug and Dan had to retrieve their stuff from a locker still, so they did that while Ian and I headed into Hurricane Harbor for waterpark ERT. Typhoon-I like watercoasters, and this was no exception. However, after going on Wildebeest a few days earlier, you can’t help but feel a little disappointed in a ride that is half as long. The conveyor belts were also weird, as it felt like the raft would skid to a stop and then instantly accelerate on each one. Overall, a fun ride, but if you’ve been on better I wouldn’t wait too long for it. Also, as far as launch mechanisms go, I would say this: Hydromagnetics are preferable to water jets which are preferable to conveyor belts. C Tornado-Very standard tornado slide, identical to those that can be found at many waterparks. I prefer tornados that do more before the drop into the funnel, but even a simple one like this is still fun. C After we got off Tornado, the waterpark opened and people came flooding in. If I was by myself, I probably would have done a few more rides, but I didn’t mind leaving because A. most of the other slides looked very standard, B. most of the other slides looked relatively short, and C. most of the other slides looked like they wouldn’t be worth the waits they’d get on a crowded Saturday. Yeah, overall, even though Hurricane Harbor has a lot of slides, it honestly doesn’t look like that good of waterpark (short slides, no theming, overcrowded, etc.). Our Flash Pass group reunited outside the changing rooms, and we decided to see how many credits we could get done before lunch at 12:30 P.M. As it was about 11:15 P.M., that gave us a little over an hour. Without a Flash Pass, the answer would be zero or one. However, thanks to our flash pass, we managed three plus a flat. Mind Eraser-Yeah, it’s an SLC. Prior to this trip, the only one of these I’d been on was Kong (a notoriously bad one). I can’t remember for sure, but I think Mind Eraser was a nearly decent ride. In other words, I would happily wait two trains to ride it again on a future visit, or maybe around 15-20 minutes if I’m riding with someone who wants to ride or needs the credit. In SLC terms, it didn’t kill me. D Scream-I generally am not a huge fan of S&S rides. Scream, however, breaks that rule. Scream is an S&S combo tower, so you are first launched and then dropped. I believe it also has the capability to operate in Space Shot or Turbo Drop mode, which would decrease my enjoyment significantly, but putting both together into one ride makes it a whole lot better. Easily my favorite non-coaster ride at the park. A Thunderbolt-A 1940s wooden coaster. This was mostly smooth (although there was one rough spot), and would be a good first major coaster for most kids. It is fairly tame, but does have a small amount of floater air. Unfortunately, due to one train operation, the Flash Pass line still took nearly twenty minutes. At least it was still much shorter than the normal line. C Pandemonium-At this time, I have been on three Pandemoniums, and all three are a bit different. This one is the middle of the three. It has a nearly identical layout to the St. Louis version, but the setting isn’t quite as nice. However, it is still a bit better than the Discovery Kingdom ride. For whatever reason, this one felt like it spun the least out of the three, but it may have been just me. C After we got off Pandemonium, we queued up Cyclone, but before it was time to ride it was time for lunch. Lunch was alright, not great, not bad, but it was probably a little better than what you’d normally find in the park. And for those who can drink (a group I am not yet a part of), there was unlimited free beer. I can’t confirm it for sure, but I am pretty sure that there were some drunk/intoxicated people at the event by the time of night ERT. Given that my Flash Pass group were among the last in the lunch area, and stopped for several more beers during the day, they may have been among those (not that I care too much). In addition to a meal, the lunch included a Q&A session with a higher-up from the park (forget his name and position, but I think he was park president or general manager), followed by a game of TPR Quest. This is the third time I’ve been at an event with this game, and I have to congratulate Robb on coming up with a game that will probably never get old. Each time it is played, the items change, and they seem to get more random each game. Some old items return (a ClubTPR card, a park map from outside the US, a bra, etc.), but there were also plenty of new items as well (a human wheelbarrow, the best beer chugger, and a few others). This is always a fun game, and I really think Robb should continue having it at every TPR event if the crowd permits (but only at TPR only events, as other groups might not get it). Once we were done with lunch, we headed to Cyclone, but as a nearby ride distracted up we opted for it first. Catapult-This is honestly one of the most WTF rides I’ve ever seen. It looks like a giant fly swatter when in motion, as it consists of two platforms on opposite ends of a rotating arm. Elissa warned us that it was hardly ever open, so with a one cycle wait we decided to get it while we could. As much as I wanted to ride this, I was actually nervous about doing it (something that rarely happens with me anymore). However, the ride ended up being really good. In fact, this is probably my favorite inverting flat ride. It is extremely forceful during the bottom of the swing, so it was a bit uncomfortable, and the restraints were quite tight, but I still liked this ride. B Cyclone-Apparently this ride used to be rough. From my experience, parts of it were a bit shaky, but not too bad. I think the topper track really helped, as the parts I expected to beat me up were some of the smoothest. Now, this ride, at least in the back seat, is probably the most intense coaster in the park. The reason? Although this ride’s first drop is only 30 feet or so, in the back car it has one of the most insane airtime moments I have experienced on any roller coaster. I seriously thought I was going to be ejected the first time I rode as I wasn’t expecting it. The first half of this ride has a couple other pops of air, but the second half is boring, and so slow that it feels like the ride is going to roll back. A good ride, but it dies too quickly to be great. C Flashback-Apparently, this boomerang came from China. That would explain the gigantic air gates that look (and sound) like prison bars, as well as the extremely large and over-padded harnesses. Well, that padding does nothing. This ride sucked. It is the only boomerang I’ve been on that is actually worse than the one at Knott’s. I really hope this ride leaves within two years, especially since the park is getting Déjà Vu next year (much, much, much better than any boomerang), but if it doesn’t I do not plan to ride it ever again. F+ Blizzard River-I like rapids rides, and after missing the one at Lake Compounce I was even more excited about trying this one (which looked similar). I am really glad I did, as Blizzard River is now my favorite rapids ride (yes, better than Grizzly River Run). It is well themed for a Six Flags ride, fun without getting boring (some rapids rides do the same thing for too long), and had just the right level of wetness (soaked without getting drenched). I imagine that Lake Compounce’s was probably really good as well based on my experience on this, so I know I have two things to look forward to next time I get back to that park. B Twister-I like floorless top spins, but I do not like normal top spins because the restraints are uncomfortable. However, since a couple other group members wanted to ride, I decided I’d do it with them. This ride had a relatively uninteresting cycle with only two or three flips. I could have missed it, as I enjoy my local top spin (Riptide at Knott’s) much more. D After Twister, we queued up Splash Water Falls, but upon arriving found that the Flash Pass line was about 30 minutes. As this would require us to skip the backstage tour, we decided to come back later. Instead, my other group members got beers, then we headed over to the tour. The Bizarro photo tour was pretty good, as the location allowed us to photograph not only Bizarro, but also Catwoman’s Whip, Mind Eraser, and Batman as well. I got a number of photos, most of which are probably similar to what others took. As a result, this day of my trip report will look very similar to those of other trip participants, but that isn’t a bad thing. Once we were done with the tour, I went to get my last credit, Catwoman’s Whip. Catwoman’s Whip-Meh, these Tivoli coasters are just okay. Of the three identical layout rides I’ve been on, this is probably my favorite as it has the most dense foliage, but it is still a “ride it for the credit” type coaster. For kids and families, these are good rides, but for everyone else they are a bit boring. F+ Houdini-The Great Escape-I was very impressed by this ride. It is at a Six Flags park, but the ride itself seems almost Disney quality. Some people were calling it a dark ride, but I think of it more as a simulator, as it simulates the room rotating and inverting (or you rotating and inverting inside a stationary room). The audio was fairly quiet so it was hard to hear what was going on, but the ride was still fun.C Splash Water Falls-This ride looked neat, but it was actually a little disappointing. I was expecting it to spin the whole way down the flume, but it didn’t, and the ride really felt more like a slow waterslide that didn’t get you wet than anything. Also, due to the use of only three rafts it took a while even in the Flash Pass line. Very disappointing. F+ At this point, I went to retrieve my objects from the waterpark lockbox, then we got dinner. The service was way slower than it should have been, but I don’t blame the cashier because he had some lady yelling at him the whole time about not getting what she ordered. Of course, she didn’t have a receipt so they couldn’t help her. I was ticked off, however, by the number of people with souvenir cups that would jump to the front of the line to get a free refill. I really think there should either be a dedicated refill line, or customers should be required to wait in the regular line for refills. As a result, it took us 20 minutes to order with five people ahead, and then another 20 minutes to get our food. Ugh. I could tell the other members of my group were quite upset. I was annoyed, but I never expect good service at Six Flags parks (I have received very little elsewhere). After dinner, we basically went and re-rode Pandemonium, Cyclone, and Scream, then handed in our Q-Bot and waited for night ERT to begin. We were going to ride Great Chase, but it was closed by the time we got back over there, so I missed the credit. In the hour of ERT, I ended up getting several rides on Bizarro and a couple shots at the surprise Gotham City Gauntlet Water Challenge. I will say this about the water challenge: holding a cup of water causes you to notice every little bump and jolt in the ride, especially ones you would normally overlook. On both runs, I did well on the switchbacks, but failed completely on the dips (first dip on run one, double dip on run two). As our team could only manage about two inches, and the leaders were at nine (or somewhere around that), we quit and headed back to Bizarro without taking a third run. I got three rides on Bizarro, and was going to do a fourth, but once again I didn’t want to miss the bus. I headed out early with Elissa and a few others who had had enough of the long day. We got back on the bus, waited for about fifteen minutes while everyone made their way out, then headed back to the hotel. Overall Thoughts: Six Flags New England is a good park. It’s got a better selection of flat rides than most Six Flags parks, and the park is also fairly well balanced. Bizarro is really an amazing ride, and a couple of the other coasters aren’t bad either. In addition, there is an included waterpark (although, from looks it doesn’t look specifically great), and the food, while being standard Six Flags fare, seemed slightly better than at other parks. However, this is not my favorite Six Flags park. It is good, and I definitely would work it into another trip to the New England area, but I still prefer Six Flags Magic Mountain. Here is my reasoning. To me, Six Flags parks are coaster parks. They are the place to go if you want to ride major coasters and not much else. When I go to one, I expect quality coasters. At SFMM, there are at least six coasters I would be willing to wait an hour or longer for, and there isn’t a single coaster I would skip by default. At SFNE, however, there are only one or two coasters I’d wait an hour or more for, and there are one or two that I would skip by default. This is one of the reasons why I am in support of the park installing Déjà Vu: they really need another good coaster, and relocating Déjà Vu is cheaper than buying a new ride. Besides, although it is a good ride at SFMM, it isn’t really needed there, and is overshadowed by the park’s other coasters. At SFNE, it would probably be the second or third best coaster in the park (depending on how well it survives the move). In addition, I would like to see SFNE add another B&M. Inverted, Flyer, Stand-Up…whatever, as long as it isn’t a Mega or a Floorless. Add those two coasters, and SFNE could become my favorite Six Flags park. Ride Count Gotham City Gauntlet Escape from Arkham Asylum-3 (all during ERT-1 morning, 2 night) Bizarro-4 (all during ERT-1 morning, 3 night) Batman-The Dark Knight-2 (both during morning ERT) Typhoon-2 (both during waterpark ERT) Tornado-1 (during waterpark ERT) Mind Eraser-1 Scream-2 Thunderbolt-1 Pandemonium-2 Catapult-1 Cyclone-2 Flashback-1 Blizzard River-1 Twister-1 Catwoman’s Whip-1 Houdini-The Great Escape-1 Splash Water Falls-1 Total-27 rides in 14 hours (1.93 rides per hour) The relatively low rides per hour is more due to taking it easy during the day than due to lines, as we never had a wait longer than twenty minutes and did everything we wanted to (minus a couple flats) plus several re-rides. Most of the time, on a TPR trip, I average 2-3 rides per hour or greater (skewed due to ERT). Coaster Order 1. Bizarro (large gap) 2. Batman-The Dark Knight 3. Pandemonium 4. Cyclone 5. Thunderbolt 6. Gotham City Gauntlet Escape from Arkham Asylum 7. Mind Eraser 8. Catwoman’s Whip 9. Flashback Pictures: I’ve got a lot of pictures from this day, but two-thirds of them are from the backstage tour, so this may look similar to other photo trip reports from this day. Welcome to Six Flags New England, the largest park in North East USA. You can't have Bizarro Bash without ERT on Bizarro. But we had ERT on Batman as well. Although the ride was mostly smooth, this park did have some mild headbanging. I really hope this SLC is better than Kong. It was, but...oh no, it erased my memory of Bizarro. I would rather ride SFNE's Scream than SFMM's Scream provided they have the same wait, but I would take SFMM's over SFNE's if it had a shorter wait. I never got around to riding Christmas Ornament: The Ride. As there were only four ornaments and they only seated two each (or three kids), and there was no Flash Pass, the line would have taken forever. All three North End coasters can be seen in this picture. I wonder if a fourth will be visible next year. I didn't ride the Coney Island version, but based on what I heard I think this one is probably better. The Vengabus is coming, and everybody's jumping, New York to San Francisco, An intercity disco, The wheels of steel are turning...wait, what? Mr. Six got kicked out five years ago? Aw, man. Six Flags, you disappoint. Judging by how close we are to the coaster, I'm guessing we're on the tour. I just wish I could remember which coaster this is a tour of. It sure looks like an amazing ride...have we done this yet? Whoever was in charge of location planning picked a horrible spot for that building. That's right, this is the Catwoman's Whip backstage tour. Man, Catwoman sure is popular. A lot of people ride her every day. Mind Eraser eclipse. Come on...why does my head suddenly feel funny? Hooray, the Mind Eraser eclipse restored my memory. This is Bizarro, and is the best coaster here. Bizarro...through Bizarro. This part of Bizarro is kind of like Millennium Force Jr. I'm not sure if it is the best idea to stand under a Hang and Bang. This is how close you could get to track. I'm guessing it was probably about ten feet away and blocked only by a fence. I'm thinking Bizarro and that building are in some kind of a relationship. After all, there is some...nevermind, this is a family park. Good, only one person has died in the park today. You have to give Batman some exposure as well. After all, it is the second best coaster here. Oh no, Batman eclipse. It will make you sound like Christian Bale in the Dark Knight. RUN AWAY! Bizarro is so awesome, it can jump the sun in a single leap...without melting. Disappointing water ride number 1, because it was a letdown. Disappointing water ride number 2, because I skipped it and will never get another chance. And finally, we'll end with a picture of Bizarro's light and mist tunnel...which is better than World of Color.

After the TPR North East trip, here are my current top ten lists. The rides with an asterisk are rides that rank higher at night, but due to their normal day rides have a lower official ranking. Wood: * Boulder Dash 1. Apocalypse (SFMM) 2. El Toro (SFGAdv) 3. Voyage (HW) 4. Thunderhead (DW) 5. Boulder Dash (LC) * Excalibur 6. American Thunder (SFStL) 7. Legend (HW) 8. Roar (SFDK) 9. GhostRider (KBF) 10. Excalibur (FS U.S.A.) Steel: 1. Bizarro (SFNE) 2. Intimidator (CW) 3. Dominator (KD) 4. Maverick (CP) 5. Griffon (BGW) 6. Mystery Mine (DW) 7. Nitro (SFGAdv) 8. Tatsu (SFMM) 9. Top Thrill Dragster (CP) 10. Kingda Ka (SFGAdv)

^Thanks. If at least one person enjoys my reports, I feel that they are worth the effort. I look at everybody else's as well, but generally don't comment too much while I work on my own (all of the North East reports have been good so far). It is time for the North East USA tour reports to begin. Exactly one month after the trip started, my trip report starts (I did not plan that intentionally, it just worked out). July 29th, 2011-North East Trip Day 1: Quassy Amusement Park & Lake Compounce The trip began with breakfast in the morning, at 7:30 A.M. This would actually end up being one of the earlier mornings of the trip (fortunately), but as we had two parks that day we needed the time. Originally, I believe the plan was to leave the hotel at 10:00 A.M., but it got rescheduled to an hour earlier since everyone could be here on time. The buses actually left the hotel early, so we were on our way. For this day, I had chosen Elissa’s bus, which was also the bus of Brian the Bus Driver. He told various awesome jokes and stories during the drive, but I either can’t remember most of them or they wouldn’t make sense elsewhere. Anyway, Elissa went over the rules, then told us we’d be at the park by 11:30 A.M. So, what would be the first official park of the trip? Quassy Amusement Park We actually arrived a few minutes before the park was scheduled to open at 11 A.M., so we were given the privilege of first in line on the park’s new for 2011 Gravity Group woodie: Wooden Warrior. Although we didn’t have official ERT, the park gave all TPR trains double rides, which was almost as good. Wooden Warrior-I have a feeling that Quassy would have been dropped from the tour if they hadn’t opened this ride. It is a small wooden coaster, only 35 ft. tall with a 45 ft. drop, but this is the absolute best ride of its size anywhere. The ride is excellent, and is just the right size that kids can ride without getting scared, and teens can ride without getting bored. It has a 42 in. height requirement (I believe) so it is totally family friendly. Where does it place on my wooden roller coaster list? I’d have to say right between Giant Dipper and Boss. It is seriously that good, and was better than half of the full-size woodies later in the trip. C+ After getting my double ride on Wooden Warrior, I headed to the park’s other credit. Little Dipper-Obviously, this is a kiddie coaster. However, I was slightly excited about it because it was both my first Little Dipper and my first Allen Herschell coaster. For a kiddie coaster, it wasn’t bad, but it was too jerky for adults to be comfortable on. F+ After Little Dipper, I decided to walk around a bit and take pictures. At 12:30 P.M., there was a scheduled lunch in the birthday pavilion. This was where one of the biggest non-ride surprises of the trip occurred. At lunch, every participant was given a ticket to ride the upcharge Quassy Boat Ride, a ticket for a free dessert, and a block of wood from Wooden Warrior. That’s right, we were all given pieces of the roller coaster…for free. The park also had beer for those old enough to drink (which had not been previously announced) and the food wasn’t bad, although they underestimated how much our group could eat. Once I was done with lunch, I headed back to Wooden Warrior and took the time to ride the front and back seats (it was only a 1-2 train wait each time). I also met up with Steve (kcsteve), who I knew from the IntimidaTour trip, and we ended up spending most of the time at Quassy together, just going on a variety of rides. Slide-I like old school spiral slides quite a bit. This one was pretty fun, and since there was no wait I did it twice. I wish you could find these more places. D Fun Slide-This, on the other hand, was a racing slide. I’m not the biggest fan of these slides, and the drizzle (it was threatening to rain all day) resulted in the slide being slow. However, there was no line, and I’d rather do this than a flat, so why not? F+ Free Fall ‘N’ Drop Tower-For a tiny tower, this was actually pretty good. Unlike most of this size, which either bounce or have a controlled descent, this one had a very short free-fall. You did get five or six drops on the ride, so it was fun, especially with no wait, but it is not nearly as good as any of the larger towers. C Train-A fairly fast train ride, but not that exciting. Just does a lap of the picnic area. A good way to see Wooden Warrior up close, but I ended up not getting any good photos. F+ The Big Flush Water Coaster-As Steve did not want to ride this, I rode with another random TPR person (whose name escapes me at the moment). Compared to other similar rides, this one is longer, darker, and wetter than most. I didn’t get absolutely soaked, but I was pretty wet at the bottom. However, it is one of the most fun rides at Quassy. C Galleon Pirate Ship-Smaller than average pirate ship. I think this was a portable model, as it didn’t appear to be bolted to the ground. Not that great, as far as pirate ships go. F+ At this point, Steve played SkeeBall while I watched, then rewarded some random kid with a ton of tickets. He then got a souvenir T-shirt (“I came all the way from Kansas City to ride Wooden Warrior”) and we headed back to the bus. As planned, the buses left at 2:30 P.M., but not before one of the best moments of the trip. Brian passed around a picture, and had everyone guess what it was (it ended up being a flower in the spring…literally a neon yellow flower with a spiral drawn on it (the spring)). He also said that if anyone got it right, he would give them a prize. Earlier, he had mentioned someone winning a picture with the bus driver and that he needed to get his leopard print thong out. However, for this one, he rolled down his sun shield and there was the thong. I didn’t get a picture, but I’m sure others did. I was too busy laughing, along with the rest of the bus. Overall Thoughts: Quassy Amusement Park is a very small park, so it isn’t going to be a full day outing. I had heard prior to my visit that the park was a little ghetto, so I wasn’t expecting much. However, the park was actually better than some of the larger parks later in the trip. I really did have a good time there, although I don’t think I needed any additional time. The park does have a waterpark called Saturation Station as well, but I didn’t do it. Right now, there are only two slides, but they are getting a new slide tower for next year (to replace the old Mad Mouse), so I’d definitely want to check that out if I went back. Overall, I’d say Quassy is a decent place for a three hour stop, and is worth going to just for Wooden Warrior, but don’t go expecting some major park. Ride Count: Wooden Warrior-4 Little Dipper-1 (2 laps) Slide-2 Fun Slide-1 Free Fall ‘N’ Drop Tower-1 Train-1 The Big Flush Water Coaster-1 Galleon Pirate Ship-1 Total-12 rides in 3 hours (4 rides per hour) Now for the second park of the day… Lake Compounce After less than an hour of driving, we arrived at our next destination. We were given tickets and let loose. Unlike Quassy, where I spent most of the day with just Steve, at Compounce we ended up joining a larger group of people. I don’t remember everyone for sure, and I know the members did vary slightly during the day, but I think it generally included Antonio (CoasterCrazy88), Jason (Jason10), Jeremie (Jerrykoala2112), JoAnna (Jojo19799), Kevin (XII), Nathan (kumba830), Nick (kunpc1), and Shawn (SuperShawn). As we were walking in, I consulted my checklist to figure out where to go first. However, I was distracted while we were walking in by the closed rides sign. I forget what other rides it listed, but to my great disappointment, the Sky Ride was closed. Fortunately, that was the only ride on the entire trip I was really disappointed to miss. Anyway, we choose to go to Zoomerang first, since it was the closest coaster to the entrance, and basically made a loop of the park. Zoomerang-Zoomerang is a boomerang. It is not a bad boomerang (in fact, it was the best of the three on the trip), but it is still just a boomerang. We waited probably about four or five cycles for it, which amounted to around twenty minutes. I thought it was reasonably smooth, but not the best boomerang I’ve been on. It is, however, still just a boomerang. D Saw Mill Plunge-Honestly, this log flume looked more impressive from the ground than it did on the ride. It goes up the lift, meanders around for 2-3 minutes, then goes down the drop. It was a fairly large drop, but I’ve seen bigger. The ride wasn’t terribly wet, but it did give you a bit of a splash, especially with more people on it (my boat had two, but others had four and we saw a boat of five that got soaked). D Boulder Dash-Okay, here is what I think of Boulder Dash. By day, the ride is really good. It makes excellent use of the terrain, maintains its speed well, has a lot of airtime, isn’t too rough (though parts are a bit shaky), and the layout is not very predictable. However, you can see where you are going to go. By day, it outstanding, and on my top five woodies list, but it is not my favorite. At night, however…OMG! This thing is crazy. When you are flying through the woods under cover of darkness, not only does it feel like you are going faster than you really are, but it is not at all possible to predict what is coming next. The ride has several double ups and double downs, as well as parts where it will be flat for a while, then suddenly turn, rise, or drop. The return run also feels faster at night, and the triple up really is the most ridiculous element I’ve experienced on a wooden coaster. I love this ride, and at night it is my favorite wooden coaster. A Wildcat-Ugh. This is in my bottom five wooden coasters, and was the worst woodie of the trip. It isn’t unrideable yet, but it is really quite rough, especially at the bottom of drops. You can also feel the cars flex as it goes around the course, which is quite an unusual sensation. I rode twice and it was slightly smoother in the middle row of the back car, but still…if the wait is more than two trains, I probably would skip this one on a future visit. D- Down Time-I think this name fits a drop tower, but would be a ridiculously funny name for anything else (although for some rides it would be strangely appropriate). The ride was pretty fun, but I generally don’t find Turbo Drops to be that impressive. B After Down Time, I decided I was going to go try the rapids. I began walking out toward them, but when I was about three hundred feet beyond the Trolley stop, I saw it coming. I turned around and boarded the ride to save my feet (I’d rather not get blisters on day one of the amusement park trip). The Trolley-This is more of a convenience than an actual ride, but I find it nice that the oldest park in the United States still has a working trolley (it was, after all, originally a trolley park). I was also surprised by how long this thing was, and feel sorry for anyone that had to walk out this way. D When I got off, I went to take pictures of the closed Sky Ride. I really wish I could have gone on it, as I am a chairlift enthusiast as well (and track chairlift credits when I’m skiing). I still find it funny that A. a lot of enthusiasts have no problem with 200-300 ft. tall coasters but are scared by a 40 ft. tall chairlift and B. people call the Lake Compounce Sky Ride excessively steep. Yes, it did have a pretty decent slope, but if you want a steep chairlift, head to June Mountain in California and download on J1 (I wish I had a picture of that lift). I’m pretty sure that lift travels on a 40+ degree face. I next headed to Thunder Rapids, but as I was walking up the line I saw a couple people coming out soaking wet. Instead of riding, I walked around to the observation deck and watched. This ride was definitely a wet one, and due to the weather I didn’t think I’d dry. I would have used my TPR Poncho, but I neglected to bring it with me. As a result, as much as I do like rapids rides, and as good as this ride looked, I opted out and went to dinner a little early. Dinner at Lake Compounce consisted of items you don’t find as often at most amusement parks. I don’t remember what all they had, but I had Chicken and Tacos (more precisely, a chicken breast and a couple Chicken Tacos), and I think there were a couple other things. There was also beer (once again I am underage) and I think the manager said we drained a keg faster than any other group (don’t quote me on that). Anyway, dinner was pretty good, although I was halfway done by the time the rest of my group showed up. After dinner, a couple of them went on the rapids ride and got moderately soaked, then we headed back to the park and did the remaining rides any group members wanted to do. Ghost Hunt-I did not realize this was a trackless dark ride until I was about to board. It is still pretty much the same as every other Ghostblasters attraction, but due to a malfunctioning gun/car I didn’t enjoy it. Nobody in my car got a high score (I had the second-highest and it was right around 200, when I typically get in the 600-700 range on these), so all of us decided it wasn’t that great. If I got a working gun, my opinion might change, but I didn’t end up riding again so I can only base it off my one ride. F Thunder N’ Lightning-I love Screamin’ Swings. They are among my favorite flat rides. It is just really unfortunate that my local one is an upcharge, as I never get to ride them. Although only one arm was running, the ride was still awesome. My favorite flat ride at the park. A After Thunder N’ Lightning, a few members of my group did the twister. I should have gone and done a second ride on Thunder N’ Lightning while they did that, but as I didn’t I’ve got a video of the insanity that can happen on this ride when you put TPR members on it. Take a look below: [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=Twister_xe3b[/coastertube] Once everyone got done with twister (a few of them rode twice), we headed over to a few of the other flats in the park. American Flyer-The park’s flyers. These weren’t really snappable, as they took forever to get going and the ride cycle was short. I was, however, able to get mine going back and forth pretty good, and hit at least a few of the bushes on the inside of the ride. I’m really glad we rode this twice because the other flyers of the trip (Canobie Lake Park) was closed. C Zoomer’s Gas n’ Go-Car ride. Each of the cars had some type of sound effect. Mine played music, and I think there was one with a siren (can’t remember what else there was). The ride was fairly short, but it was nicely themed and had an on-ride photo. F+ Rev-O-Lution-I like Disk’Os, and just like Screamin’ Swings there aren’t any near me so I don’t get to ride them too often. This was fun, but it didn’t feel like it spun as much as some of them do. Maybe it was just me. Still enjoyable, however. C We then headed over to the Skycoaster, where the park was having a $15 per rider special. I believe there were five group members who wanted to ride (I think it was Antonio, Jason, Nathan, Nick, and Steve, but I may be wrong), but Skycoastin’ Steve showed up so there were six riders. I have never done a Skycoaster and I don’t really care to (I’m not afraid, they just don’t appeal to me) so I watched and took a couple pictures (discovering in the process how bad my camera really is with night shots). After the ride, our group split. Some members went to Boulder Dash to get an early start. I, however, was with the group that headed for Down Time. We rode that, then did another ride on Wildcat, then went over to the Kiddie Coaster for ERT. Kiddie Coaster-Normally, you must have a kid to ride this. However, Robb and Elissa arranged a half-hour of ERT on it so we could all get the credit. Due to weight restrictions, only three riders were allowed per train, and it was only sent around once to minimize the line. As far as kiddie coasters go…yeah, this one was pretty bad. It was pretty rough, and now that I have my credit I don’t care to do it ever again. F After I had my kiddie coaster credit, I headed over to Boulder Dash for ERT. When I arrived, I was told that due to a late start ERT had been extended until 10:20 P.M., but the bus would leave at 10:30 P.M., so don’t be late. There was only one train, but they were giving double rides. I chose to wait for the front row, knowing it would probably take half the ERT. Fortunately, the operator was entertaining, and we were playing Q&A with her while the train was out on the circuit. After a while, I got a double front seat ride, then got a double ride elsewhere. I was going to do one more ride, but didn’t want to push it for the bus (it was already 10:11 P.M.), so I headed out. Once everyone was back on the bus, we headed off to the hotel. Overall Thoughts: I enjoyed Lake Compounce, but wasn’t as crazy about it as I thought I might be. The park was nice, and was my favorite mid-size park of the trip, but other than Boulder Dash there weren’t really any stand-out attractions (and the other three coasters were all below average). It certainly wasn’t a bad park, but I was just expecting a little better. Lake Compounce is the type of park I wouldn’t mind going back to, but don’t really care about doing so until they get something new. Also, next time I go, I definitely want to try out the waterpark, as it looked better than it sounded on the website (I skipped it mainly due to the weather, as I would have had plenty of time). Lake Compounce isn’t really an all-day park, but it is probably a ½ to 2/3 of a day park depending on whether or not you intend to use the waterpark. Ride Count: Zoomerang-1 Saw Mill Plunge-1 Boulder Dash-5 (four during night ERT) Wildcat-2 Down Time-3 The Trolly-2 Ghost Hunt-1 Thunder N’ Lightning-1 American Flyer-2 Zoomer’s Gas n’ Go-1 Rev-O-Lution-1 Kiddie Coaster-1 Total-21 rides in 6 hours (3.5 rides per hour) Pictures I have a ton of pictures from this day, probably more than any of the other days on the trip. Although I started out the trip by taking quite a few pictures, after about the third day the number began to drop. The North East USA 2011 Tour has begun! First ride of the tour...Wooden Warrior. First train of the trip, with Robb and his camera right in the front row. It may look small, but this ride was really good. Certainly the best coaster under 50 ft. tall I've been on. As Yoda would say, "Size matters not." I can't think of a better roller coaster example than Wooden Warrior. This was better than half the full-size woodies on the trip, and was definitely a suitable 150th credit. Let's check out the park's other credit: Little Dipper. It certainly is little, at only 12 ft. tall (I believe that is correct, but if not please correct me). Although it is small, it is also quite fun, especially for a kiddie coaster. Unlike the trip's other Little Dipper, this one was capable of handling a train full of coaster enthusiasts. Despite its size, this ride was capable fitting several kids rides within its perimeter. 1952 steel roller coaster technology. That's right, this ride predates Matterhorn Bobsleds. Take that, Disney! It may be sad and pathetic to ride a kiddie coaster, but it is even worse to have a solo ride on one. Our lunch consisted of wood and paper. No, just kidding, we had hot dogs, burgers, and chicken. This wood block ended up being my only souvenir of the entire trip (I rarely spend money on souvenirs). Let's check out the rest of Quassy. Didn't ride this because Tilt-A-Whirls make me sick. Didn't ride this because, while I'm fine with these rides going forward, when they go backward I get really dizzy really fast and I don't like that. Yes. This is more my type of ride. There is a lake at Quassy. That is probably why the park was originally called Lake Quassapaug. This is the entire Saturation Station Waterpark. It only has the two slides and the funhouse. However, this will be replacing the Mad Mouse for next season, and will make the waterpark worth visiting. This is the smallest drop tower with an actual drop that I've ever seen. Quassy is mainly a children's park with flat rides and classics such as the Carousel. However, they have one other really good ride, The Big Flush Water Coaster. If you don't mind getting a bit wet, this is pretty fun. Good-bye Wooden Warrior. Good-bye Quassy. Maybe I'll be back some day. Oh no. Zoomerang means two things: 1. we are at Lake Compounce and 2. The North East Boomerang tour has begun. Get your survival kits ready. For those who survive Zoomerang, they are rewarded with Boulder Dash, the best CCI ever built (based on my limited experience with 7 CCIs). Most of this ride is hidden from view, and that really enhances the ride. There are a few surprises hidden within those trees. Wildcat is twice the size of Wooden Warrior. Which one is better? Here's a hint: think small. According to an employee, Down Time is 160 ft. tall. I think it looks more in the 180-200 ft range. Maybe the folks at Alabama Adventure can clear that up for us. No matter the height, it's still an S&S, so while it is good it isn't as good as an Intamin. The waterpark didn't sound too good on paper, and I skipped it due to the weather. It actually looked pretty fun. The Lake Compounce Sky Ride, a 1997 Garaventa CTEC fixed grip quad. 1900 ft long with 700 ft of vertical. Operating at a line speed of 225 feet per minute, the ride has a capacity of 1000 people per hour and a ride duration of 17:36 (round trip). You can only see approximately one third of the ride in this picture. If you didn't understand any of this, you need to read my ski area trip reports (beginning for the 2011-2012 season this December). I'm honestly more disappointed about missing this than I am about not getting the second credit of Le Monstre. Thunder Rapids, which I was planning to ride until two minutes before I took this picture. In about half a second, these people are going to find themselves in a floating hot tub (minus the heat). Good Luck Guys. Lake Compounce really is in a beautiful location. Magic Mountain looks like mini mountain when compared with these peaks. Check the video to see how crazy one of these rides can be. The North East Tour Lake Compounce Skycoastin' team! If I remember correctly, one of these three was a first timer. I've never done one of these, but your first time pulling the ripcord has to be scary as heck. Even though I like these, I didn't ride this one because I didn't feel like it after dinner and never got back around to it. And finally we end the night with ERT on one of the best coasters of the trip. What...no, not this. Kiddie Coaster was the most pathetic credit of the trip. I was talking about Boulder Dash.

While I don't think the price is unreasonable given all that you get and how expensive the park is anyway, I only have the budget to do one haunt event and I think I'm more likely to choose the Knott's one (if I do one at all). It's not just because of price, but its also because USH is twice as far away as Knott's is and I have classes on Fridays which I would like to avoid missing.

I could probably think of at least one of these for every major park, but I'm just going to list the biggest ones (in no particular order). -Six Flags converting many of their parks into coaster parks by adding several large thrill coasters in a short time span while removing many family-friendly flats. -Busch Gardens Williamsburg purchasing a drop tower from Moser, who doesn't typically make large towers, instead of a company that has built them before, resulting in not getting it open until two weeks before the end of the summer season. -In a similar manner, Cedar Fair purchasing several prototype rides that all had delays. -California's Great America removing THREE major coasters over ten years, during which they didn't even add ONE major ride. -Six Flags purchasing a ton of parks only to close or sell many of them off five to ten years later. -Disney opening DCA at the same price as Disneyland when it had half as many attractions, resulting in a lack of visitors and requiring a nearly complete overhaul within ten years. -Whoever came up with Hard Rock Park/Freestyle Music Park, and almost everything they did. -This one is still TBD: Cedar Point removing the Paddlewheel Excursions, a free, unique family ride, and replacing it with Dinosaurs Alive, an upcharge kids attraction that is likely very similar to the Kings Island version across the state. Unlike some people, I don't think installing duplicate/cloned rides is necessary stupid. While it may seem strange, if both rides remain popular and it helps the park improve their profits, I actually think it is a smart thing to do.

I'm thinking I'll definitely do LeviaTHON if it happens, and if not I might do NEW HOTNESS USA (funds permitting). The main reason I wouldn't prefer that trip is because I've been to 2/3 of those parks in the past two years, and only two of those (Dollywood and Busch Gardens Williamsburg) are ones I care about going back to so soon. Question: How likely would an official Hersheypark and/or Knoebels add-on be for the LeviaTHON tour? I think LeviaTHON with a Hersheypark add-on would probably be my ideal trip for 2012, and if Knoebels could be done too that would be a nice bonus.

Update: #150 did end up being Wooden Warrior. #200 ended up being Rolling Thunder.

Okay, I will begin the North East reports tomorrow, but here is the bridge report between the two trips. Since my camera was packed, I don’t have any pictures, and since it wasn’t the most interesting day I’ll keep it short. July 28th, 2011-St Louis Trip Day 6: Return Drive and Flight to Newark Just as every day begins, we got up at the hotel and had a breakfast consisting of Morning Glory brand Pop-Tarts (not so good) and Gooey Butter Cake (still good after a couple days). We discarded what was left over, packed our bags, loaded the car, and headed out. Since my flight wasn’t until 4:50 P.M., and everyone else’s flight wasn’t until a couple hours later, we decided to stop at a couple locations on the way back to St. Louis. Our first stop was not far from Santa Claus: The Lincoln Boyhood Memorial. This is simply a national monument marking where Abraham Lincoln lived when he was a kid. Although he is known as coming from Illinois, he was actually born in Kentucky and raised in Indiana. This monument has a brass recreation of the foundation of the Lincoln’s log cabin, as well as a tombstone in the general area where Abraham’s mother was buried and a small museum. There is also a recreation of an old homestead, complete with costumed rangers playing the parts of inhabitants in the 1800s. The whole monument was a little interesting, and was a decent way to kill an hour, but is not a must-see attraction or anything like that. After leaving the monument, we headed back toward St. Louis. Coincidentally, we stopped for lunch at a McDonald’s right next to the gas station we had stopped at on the way to Santa Claus. When we reached St. Louis, we still had a little time to kill, so we headed back across Ead’s Bridge to check out the Gateway Geyser. The geyser is little more than a fountain that shoots water into the air for fifteen minutes every three hours. However, it is capable of spraying as much as 600 ft. into the air (in ideal conditions). Conveniently, we arrived a little before the 3:00 P.M. show, so we just waited around for it to begin. Unfortunately, it was a bit windy, so the geyser was only going about 100-150 ft. up. Not nearly as impressive as we hoped, but I’m guessing 600 ft. shots are rare. It didn’t take too long to get to the airport after the geyser, and once there I unloaded my luggage, double checked that I had everything (especially my passport), said goodbye to everyone, and headed inside. It wasn’t too crowded, so getting my boarding pass and going through security was pretty easy, although it took me a few minutes to find security, as I didn’t realize it was downstairs (all other airports I’ve been to have security on the upper level). Once through, I went to the gate and waited for my flight. The flight was uneventful, but I am pretty sure there was at least one other TPR person on my flight. How? I was on an Embraer ERJ-145, a small 50 passenger aircraft with a 1-2 seating configuration. Due to the size of the overhead compartments, all bags larger than a backpack must be gate-checked, and I believe I saw another suitcase outside with the neon-green luggage grip. What is the importance of noting this? There really isn’t one. I just find it interesting that out of all the places people come from for these trips, and all the flights into the destination airport, two people out of the twenty or so who did not do the early arrival activities would end up on the same exact flight. Anyway, after landing at Newark I retrieved my bag and headed to the Air Train. I was going to get something for dinner and obtain some Canadian currency at the airport, but it was 8:20 P.M. and I didn’t feel like having dinner, and I figured I wouldn’t be tempted to purchase alcohol at La Ronde if I didn’t bring any money (we had been told that there would be a cash bar at lunch). Besides, I figured that I could use a credit card or borrow a little from a friend if I really needed to purchase anything. So I just headed for the Air Train, then took the shuttle to the hotel. At the hotel, I checked in, then headed up to my room. My roommate, Jordy, had arrived earlier for the add-ons, but he wasn’t in the room when I showed up. I dropped off my bags, then grabbed a snack for dinner from the vending machines (a bag of Ruffles chips, a bag of Famous Amos cookies, and a coke). Once I was done with that, I headed down to the lobby. I didn’t keep track, but I was probably down in the lobby for an hour or more sitting with some trip people and talking. I’m more of a listener in large conversations unless it is a topic I’m interested in, but I still talked with a few people. We eventually made a large circle with the chairs and about 15 of us were engaged. Some of the people I recognized from my 2010 trip: the IntimidaTour. Some of the people I recognized from Robb’s DVDs. Others I had no clue who they were. As I am horrible with names, I don’t remember who all was down there, and I likely wouldn’t remember their name if we met again unless I hung out with them later. This is one of the nice things about TPR trips: It is really easy to meet people, especially ones with a common interest. During the course of the trip, I talked with Americans, Canadians, and Europeans, many of which I would never have met otherwise. At about 11 P.M., the room began to empty, so I headed up to my room. When I got back, my roommate was there. It just happened that he was one of the people in the circle of conversation, but due to my lack of remembering names (especially of people I haven’t met in person), I didn’t realize it at the time. I went and took a quick shower, then we went to bed, as the next day would be a somewhat early morning.

It depends what I'm having with it, but usually either Coca-Cola or Root Beer. However, I also really like Mountain Dew: Baja Blast, but I think they only have that at Taco Bell.

1st drop unless otherwise noted. Wood: Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain (always feels really steep for a woodie) Cyclone at Six Flags New England (insane airtime in the back car) Giant Dipper at Belmont Park (fun twisting drop) Hurler at Carowinds (only good part of the ride) Hurler at Kings Dominion (same as Carowinds version) Raven at Holiday World (5th drop-surprisingly big) Rebel Yell at Kings Dominion (4th drop-smoothest part of the ride) Roar at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (fun twisting drop) Steel: Anaconda at Kings Dominion (the underwater dive is a little different) Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (3rd drop-the twisting dive) Desperado at Buffalo Bill's Resort and Casino (4th drop-tons of airtime) Gemini at Cedar Point (fairly steep with a good headchopper) Millennium Force at Cedar Point (feels like it goes on forever) River King Mine Train at Six Flags St. Louis (drop into tunnel at end of ride) Skull Mountain at Six Flags Great Adventure (surprisingly intense in the back car) Technic Coaster at Legoland Californa (best drop on any wild mouse)

I think this is probably my biggest year ever. Completed: Six Flags Magic Mountain (3 visits-January, March, July) Nascar Cafe (not a park-March) Knott's Berry Farm (3 visits-March, May, June) Legoland California (June) Orange County Fair (not a park-July) Six Flags St. Louis (July) Holiday World (July) Quassy Amusement Park (July) Lake Compounce (July) Six Flags New England (July) Palace Playland (July) Funtown Splashtown U.S.A. (July) Canobie Lake Park (August) La Ronde (August) Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom (August) Magic Forest Park (credit run-August) Six Flags Great Adventure (August) Universal Studios Hollywood (August) All parks outside of California on this list (except Nascar Cafe) were new parks, and occurred during my two week summer trip including a family trip to St. Louis and the TPR North East Trip. Planned: Wild Rivers (waterpark-August/September) Knott's Berry Farm (up to two more visits-September and November) Six Flags Magic Mountain (October) Disneyland/Disney California Adventure Park (up to two visits-October and December) December Disney visits are only if I choose to get a pass, all other planned visits will happen (I just don't have dates yet). Total, if all possible visits happen, I will have made 30 park visits including 1 fair, 1 casino, and 1 stand-alone waterpark, and will have spent 25 days at parks this year.

Okay, here's my map. My list is on the previous page (page 22) and all details are listed there.

^It may be only on Deja Vu, but there is also a normal seatbelt that must be buckled before lowering the shoulder restraint. Every time I ride, there are at least a couple people who forget to do that and the restraints must be unlocked and re-checked. It is probably because several other coasters have the same basic restraint (shoulder harness with a safety belt) and none of those have a normal seat belt on them.

For a roller coaster, I'm going with the Flying Dutchman and Togo Stand-Ups for most complicated. However, X2, the Giant Inverted Boomerang (at least Deja Vu), and Monstre are all fairly complicated. However, for any normal amusement ride, I would have to say the old Perilous Plunge restraints. Before it received the current boats, the ride had a normal Intamin T-Bar and a belt harness with four adjustment points. Operators were required to tighten all points as much as possible on every harness, so it was considered very good if the ride dispatched in under 4 minutes (it usually took about 6) and it was rare to not have at least one rejected rider.