dandaman

I laughed out loud at those last two.

Already done, and already done very, VERY well. http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23345

^The number of circles indicate the figures the park should expect to pull in on a monthly basis.

Sorry, I meant ideas revolving around the new name, not the one for park ideas a couple of months back. P.S. I refuse to call it "Freestyle Music" if they neglect the inclusion of the Boston Pops.

Oh, please let there be a Photoshop contest for this...

10 seconds of ecstatic screaming followed by 5 hours of crying afterward.

I'm still chuckling over that. Like most philosophical quotes, I saw it on a t-shirt once... Just wait until the next update... 1. I don't recall seeing any engines aside from No. 999, the Rocket, and an old trolley-looking cart which may very well be the CTC loco. 2. When we were passing by on our bus tour (again, next update!) the guide commented on that when we passed a White Castle location near the Loop intersection just south of downtown!

Well, technically we saw everything... unfortunately we more or less ran through in 90 minutes. I'd say anywhere from 3 to 4 hours to properly see everything.

Oh, rest assured, I got the humour. I was more or less regretting forgetting my tabletop tripod at home this trip when I was writing the paragraph though.

There's only two options for those kind of pictures... a) delete them immediately, or b) make a good enough story out of 'em so the picture quality doesn't matter. Dan "And they shall suck forever more!" Smith

Day 2: We didn't have much time at the Museum of Science and Industry, but I certainly wish we had... especially with the GIANT freakin' model railroad! Also, some loosely-tied-in-to-TPR action at Navy Pier, live jazz, and "The Cleaner: An Act in Three Parts". Also, for the "Bean" seen near the end of the update: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_Gate Act III: ...And Some Have Greatness Sucked Upon Them It is finished. For the Janitor, it is an unprecedented victory of man's wit and wisdom versus gravity's pure unyielding might... but for the vacuum, it is simply another link in the long chain of legendary battles fought by his ancestors. Thankless jobs, all... but if one does things correctly, the public at large won't be sure that one has done anything to begin with. Exit Janitor. Curtains. Fade to black. Act II: The Great Pursuit Leaping into action, our hero flies across the stage armed only with the knowledge of a trained cleaning professional and the tool with which he was bestowed since his earliest days of life. Climactic battle ensues between the dastardly blemish and the strong air current on which our very hopes remain pinned. Michael Bay "story-enhancers" optional. Act I: Ask Not For Whom The Switch Flicks On... Enter Janitor, carrying vacuum. He starts to clean the floor when he sees something odd from behind the partition. Further investigation reveals something more sinister than he'd feared: a missed spot on the stage! And now, our finale for the evening and Day 2 of my legendary Illinois adventures. The Millennium Park Players proudly present, "The Cleaning: An Act in Three Parts"! So this is the giant sculpture and centerpiece of Millennium Park: Cloud Gate, affectionally known as the Bean. The angle I took this at is a bit misleading, and I really wish we'd visited here in the day instead, but I digress. (See the link at the top of this update.) They happened to be filming a pilot for a new ABC show called "State of Romance", according to the security guard who limited my shooting distance to back here. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU ...Most messed-up water feature ever. Now let's check out the other pillar, and... oh dear God... ...But holy crap, it got a whole lot weirder. There's two of these creepy things facing each other, maybe 250 feet apart. Oh, wait, there's more... So these... monolith waterfall things in Millennium Park were odd but cool enough like this... Crazy-awesome solo speed record! OMG Andy's Live Jazz Band! These guys were amazing... it was just that perfect city feel, having all the people applauding when the solos were done, improvising all the way... even my cheeseburger was awesome! Plus my table (single... finally got away from the younger band members for but a moment) was the closest one to the stage and I got to talk to the trumpeter (the instrument I play, for the record). I'm so mad I didn't buy this shirt. Aaaaah No, thanks... it's cold enough here sitting at the top of the Whe, let alone spinning. Tour Guide: "That's actually Oprah's apartment building." Friend: "'Cause it's black and curvy?" Oooooh ...Ironically, I bashed my head getting into the bucket. The Navy 3.14 Ferris Whe: Presented by [Coefficient of Friction] Fun Fact #2: The first Ferris wheel was erected a few miles down the road and 116 years back. And now, the part I've been waiting for the whole trip...! I freakin' LOVE this town. It's like... as perfect an American metropolis can get. Everyone was actually very nice, and I saw a lot less homeless on the streets then in Detroit. Sure, it's a bit gritty, but it's a "we worked up from the ashes using only our God-given talents and faith in the American dream" kind of gritty. "Hey, hon, get me some Effen vodka!" *SLAP* The city of Chicago was compensating even in its earlier days.. Damn you, Hancock! Art Institute of Chicago: Guest starring Aslan On the way to our music performance... we ended up getting silver out of 2 bands. However, we both tied with official ratings of "excellent". Weird. Anyway, the acoustics were just like a full-fledged concert hall and it was undoubtedly the best we'd ever played. The size of this actually surprised me... I'd always had it in my head that U-boats were a lot smaller. Like half its actual size, max. *sigh*... Well, it's finally happened. I've come across a photo that contains absolutely no sexual innuendo. Nothing. Wait, maybe... aah. Dammit. Drawing a blank. Don't forget the classic! I don't know why, but I've always liked these types of war posters... The highlight of the museum (besides the hot train-on-rail action) is the only German U-boat on United States soil. Or water. Whatever. Donkey quota: met. Damn right! Mold-A-Rama! Minus the Chicago thing, I have about 6 of these I can find in my room from Henry Ford Museum. (Also 2 Lincolns and a certain Mouse.) El fail "The alpha engine approaches the crossing with little hesitance, knowing it is the dominant of the yard." BNSF goodness! And now, "Ultimate Model Railroad in Blur-O-Vision 3000!" My Train Simulator expertise has led me to this moment... They even had one of few remaining replicas of the "original" locomotive, the Rocket. Fun Fact: Galaxy Express 999 at Aqua Stadium in Tokyo was named after a TV show of the same name... which in turn was named after this engine. TPR connection in 2 degrees, bitches! The Empire State Express No. 999 was the first wheeled object to exceed 100 miles an hour on May 10, 1893. Eat THAT, Superman: The Escape. The hell with planes, it's all about record-breaking iron horses! ...Versus Orville Wright. Taking all bets. German plane... I call it, "Elton John: Trapped in the Phantom Zone". Minus the lanyard, I look like I'm dressed for a funeral. A really, really disco-themed funeral. (Granted it was for our music performance later that day, but still...) This is only here because I didn't get a chance to take one of the main entrance. (Only building still standing from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, which brought such inventions as Quaker Oats, Juicy Fruit gum, Aunt Jemima pancakes, Cracker Jack, and the Ferris wheel!)

I don't think I'd even have minded it that much if they were in different cities... putting too much of one architectural design in one place is just confusing. P.S. We watched The Blues Brothers on the bus and that line came on RIGHT when we passed the Skyway sign.

Well, that's either a steampunk fan's best friend or worst nightmare...

It is hopeless for the occasional visitor to try to keep up with Chicago-she outgrows his prophecies faster than he can make them. She is always a novelty; for she is never the Chicago you saw when you passed through the last time. --Mark Twain Well, it's been only about a month-and-a-half since my last trip report, but this time it was a hell of a lot different of circumstances -- some for the better, others not so much. My visit to Chicago was the result of a lot planning and patience on the part of our music director, so that we might compete in the Windy City. Granted, the Canadian nationals were being held in Toronto this year (and Ottawa last year) but we more or less agreed that we'd all been there before and Chicago would have been a better experience. And boy, what an experience. Giant city! With a Ferris wheel in the middle! Live jazz! Authentic deep-dish pizza! Trains everywhere! Exceeded exclamation point bandwidth! As usual, I'll post with a heavy helping of pop culture references, gratuitous that's-what-she-said jokes and unexpected delays between installments. Enjoy. "...And it was the BEST trip to Burger King ever!" Day 2 hopefully tomorrow... stay tuned for Navy Pier, live jazz, and a donkey! "Uhhh... so, hey, shot in the dark, you wanna... do somethin' sometime?" Just look at the sheer SIZE of his lance! (For the record, he managed to get it through a set of strategically-placed rings. I won't even touch that one.) Time slows down whenever he rides by... "My Little Pony, Apocalypse Pony, punish mankind for their siiiins..." Oh Em Gee! See, I intentionally take blurry photos to keep you guessing. Medieval Times dinner or Iwo Jima reenactment? The world may never know. "OFF WI' HIS HEAD!" "Hasn't started yet, Dan." "I know. Just practicing." So the whole thing with this is that we happened to sit in the section with the most handsome knight of the six. I'd made a comment along the lines of "Dude, I don't care if I'm straight, there's one guy that would cause any man to switch teams..." and it just kept snowballing from there. Final stop of the night, Medieval Times dinner... where it was all about RED-AND-YELLOW KNIGHT! "Hi... I'm art." I don't know, man... I just don't see it happening. BLASPHEMER! HERETIC! SLANDERER! "They're getting away, Captain!" "Not on my watch. FIRE THE TORPEDOES!" The lights flashed... the gates came down... the train passed by... and I JIZZED IN MY PANTS "Baroo... I am not a crook pretending to be someone who's not a crook!" (Though I might bash my camera in the kneecaps with a tire iron if it doesn't stop taking crappy pictures in cloudy weather.) "We're on a bridge, Charlie!" I think city council decided to have a little fun with confusing tourists when they designed the Hancock Tower over there to look most similar to the Sears Tower... Grainy Myspace stalker photo! I'm 1000 feet above the ground, but I've got both feet (and hands) clinging on for dear life. I may be a coaster enthusiast, but I'm still pretty afraid of heights. Not even porcelain deer can take that away. El Train FTW (Seriously, Chi-Town is a rail enthusiast's dream. You could barely look anywhere without finding an El, Metra, Amtrak or freight line.) "Now what else could make our city more artist-friendly? Well, how 'bout that old black tower?" "Chicago may seem uncomfortable and unwelcoming at first, but with a little effort... and some attractive porcelain deer..." It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it.

Can't argue with that logic.

Robb pointed this out at Behemoth Bash if I recall correctly, in line for SkyRider. EPIC line jump!

Our school band is actually 4 years old now (i.e. my first high school year was band's first as well); no marching band yet, but considering it's grown from 9 whole members in 2005 to 60-ish this year, it's a steady improvement. Plus we're going to Chicago on Thursday for a performance (Are we ready? Debatable), so it looks like it won't collapse after the "founding year" students are gone.

^Should've asked for more mayo. And OMG... if we don't talk about any insider information I could totally call in to that. Restrictions: No sexual innuendo, joke questions, cussing or beer references. Result: What is your opinion of the man who had his head knocked off at SFOG? 'Cause, y'know... PMW.

Either a urinal cake or a mint. (Note: only one of these is recommended to be taken orally.)

Let's go the full route of infomercial and assume he's wearing a Snuggie.

Sweet zombie Jesus!

I just read through from where the "main debate" started... you guys are all amazing at voicing your opinions on this. I mean it.

Win. All that ERT? Mr. Alvey, what unspeakable things did you have to do to convince the comedy trio to keep 14 coasters open?! Dan "Besides being Robb 'I juggle eleventy billion things at once and don't break a sweat' Alvey" Smith

Cutting out meat without harming the animal... vaguely reminiscent of Merchant of Venice, no? Dan "I'll take the cold-cut pound of flesh, please" Smith

That tail cam is freakin' sweet. Hope you have a good time visiting your childhood home while I visit your current one.