Mr.Peabody

Does anyone know if Kennywood still sells cheese-on-a-stick? I'll be heading there for Phantom Fright Nights this year and would love to indulge in one if they do.

Darien's Slingshot is $20. I believe the Skycoaster is $35/$25/$20 but I'm not entirely sure about that. I was too busy dodging rain on Saturday to take any pictures, but the park was fairly crowded due to the Gus Macker tournament. I was surprised that the major rides kept running despite the rain, which was quite heavy at times. The giant wheel was closed all day but it looked like all the coasters were kept open. I got an early pre-rain ride on the Predator and found it smoother than it had been on preview weekend. A lot of people complain that it's too rough, but it has improved over the last couple of years. The Nik Wallendas show was impressive for a free show and well worth the time. I'm looking forward to seeing it again the next time I go to the park in August.

In the case of the Zipper, the no single rider policy was implemented by the manufacturer after concerns arose that a single rider might be able to twist sideways and out from under the lap bar. Enforcement is strictly up to the operator, as was discussed in the thread on Zippers. I once rode one at the CNE as a single rider. The James E. Strates Shows, however, enforce it. It depends on the ride and the park. I've ridden Waldameer's Spider by myself without a problem. Try to make friends with the owner/operator of the carnival. That's how I got the Zipper ride of my life from a friend of mine who was determined to make me sick, and failed. Problem is, he only did it once, but that was enough.

Banshee, twice.

I'm going on Saturday and will take some photos. The weather is expected to be much better so hopefully it will prove more representative of their average attendance. For comparison, though, I'm also going back on a weekday in August and will report on the crowds then.

The policy with the Crazy Mouse came about because on one very windy day a few years back at the beginning of the season, they loaded a car with two small children and the car valleyed just as it went over the station. They started not running cars with fewer than three occupants on windy days, then just escalated from there. I don't think the park is in trouble because of this, because most of the GP doesn't know the difference. As to the topic, I'm not sure what the park could do other than only pairing adult riders with other adults or only seating children with family members. It's not like they can do background checks on every guest in the park. Perhaps the best thing that will come of this is that it will raise the awareness of parents that it's no longer safe to just let your children run free, even in a family-oriented amusement park. It's sad commentary on the sick society in which we live, but more responsible parenting will surely help reduce this kind of outrageous occurrence in the future.

These are the reasons I stopped going after 13 years of holding a season pass. The other policy that irks me is having to strip down to ride the Mega Disk-O. No fanny packs, no hats, no flip-flops (not an issue for me), no glasses or sun glasses even WITH a strap. Waldameer doesn't require this. I haven't ridden the one at Seabreeze but I doubt very much they do either. Between that and the stapling on the Silver Comet the park has ceased to be fun. They wouldn't even run the program on the Mind Warp in which the seats start swiveling from the beginning, though I was told by a ride-op they run it for the employees during testing, but they won't run it for guests. Go figure. Someone needs to tell Marty his park isn't big enough to have TPM. I can see having to balance the Over the Falls ride by pairing up riders, but if they have two or four people in line at the beginning of the day, will they put two in each end or make them wait until they have enough to completely load the ride? I believe the ride's capacity is eight, four per car? It would seem to me that if they enough riders to load each end evenly they should run the ride.

Mrs Peabody and I visited the park this past Monday and the crowds were pretty thin. We rode Banshee twice in a half hour and wanted to do more, as we still had an hour and a half on the locker rental (NO FANNY PACKS?!?!?!) but the green train shook Mrs Peabody up too much and did her in for the day. It had quite a rattle to it. Our first ride in the purple train was much better (2nd row). I did notice the Yuengling in the Festhaus, but didn't partake as we went to Newport the following day and had lunch at the Hofbrauhaus after Mrs Peabody spent the morning communing with the penguins at the aquarium. I do love Yuengling, but nothing beats Hofbrau. I can't wait for the one in Cleveland to open so I can hit it on my way to Halloweekends in September and then visit the one in Pittsburgh in October for Phantom Fright Nights. Coasters and great beer, what more could one ask for?

River King Mine Train at Six Flags Over Mid-America (now Six Flags St Louis) in the mid 70's.

I had a life-altering ride on a Zipper at a church's lawn fete, of all places. I was there with a friend of mine who tried a Zipper once and hated it, so I was figuring no ride. The man running the carnival was a friend of mine, so I asked him if he'd get a Zipper that someone could ride alone. He just said, "Go get in line." I was the only one in line. They emptied the ride and put me on, alone, as in no other riders. The carnival owner then relieved the operator, saying, "I'm running this one!" He turned to my friend and asked, "How green do you want to see him get?" My friend replied, "He won't get green." He must have taken that as a challenge, because the ensuing ride was the most intense ride experience I've ever had. I was flipping so fast I couldn't even find the horizon. My previous best ride had produced seven consecutive backwards somersaults, but I quickly lost count on this ride. My friend told me I looked like Renfield from Dracula when they finally let me off. My first words to the carnival owner was, "I wanna do that AGAIN!" I think I scared him, because he told me to take a walk around for awhile and when I came back he'd give me another ride. I went looking for him later but couldn't find him. He used to run a Top Spin and really had a touch at the controls. I think he tried his best to make me sick and might have thought he was losing his touch. Sadly, he moved on and doesn't operate that carnival anymore, so the experience is unlikely to ever be repeated. Now I'm looking for a Turbo ride, which I've been told will make me sick. HA!

Sorry for the delay in posting these, but some real life issues got in the way. Hopefully these won't prove too dated, but here are my photos from Preview Day. From the parking lot, waiting for the gate to open. Entrance Mall Main gate Gates open First stop, the Predator Galaxi Theater Mind Eraser from the parking lot ROS just before the skies opened up Barracuda Bay's grave site

Both.

I did attend the preview day and take photos. I was occupied this weekend installing a new graphics card in my home desktop system but will upload the photos within a day or two. I managed two rides on the Predator, which was not too bad in the front seat considering the cold. It should smooth out as the season progresses and the train gets broken in. Unfortunately, I did not stay long enough to see them open Ride of Steel but I should be returning in a few weeks.

Out of curiosity, why does that bother you? This isn't so much an annoyance as a "WTF" moment.

Add to this list parents who change diapers on benches or picnic tables within sight of restrooms and who see the stroller as a kind of weapon with which to barge their way through crowds. It's just a theory, but I have a suspicion that becoming a parent instills some subconscious desire to share your pain with the blissfully unencumbered. I have nothing against people who choose to become parents, but their behavior defies understanding at times. Have you ever seen a parent trying to reason logically with a squalling four-year-old who's obviously overwhelmed by the experience of being in a park? "What do you want to do now?" The child has no idea what he/she wants. I guess they don't want to damage their self-esteem by telling them they need a nap or a time out. I'm trying not to bash these people, but I just can't understand their behavior. The rules have changed too dramatically since I was a kid.

1. Line jumping 2. Smoking anywhere 3. Vacuum Dwellers in line letting huge gaps open while they stare at the ride, usually with their mouths hanging open 4. STROLLERS AND THE SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT OF THOSE WHO PUSH THEM - true story: I was waiting to exit Cedar Point at the Magnum gate during a rain delay when some Breeder rammed my ankle with his stroller. I turned to my friend and said to her (not to him), "That's why I hate those things." He snarled at me, "Then don't stand in line!" 5. Theme Park Mentality, which covers everything else not covered above or in just about every other post in this thread 6. The inexplicable GP habit of putting their arms up either in the station or on the lift hill, then quickly back down when the train goes down the first drop

The Silver Comet at Martin's Fantasy Island rarely cycled the train in less than five minutes, and that was even before the new draconian lap bar policy. They normally only have 2 or 3 ops on the station platform. Also, they will not dispatch a car on the Crazy Mouse unless there are at least three people in it, regardless of the length of the line or wind conditions. I stopped going because of the lap bar Nazi stapling fiasco but may return this year for a single visit. I very much doubt anything has changed, though.

I'm going to the season pass holders' preview day this Saturday. The weather may be iffy, but if I can I'll ride the wheel and take some pictures of the Barracuda Bay site and anything else that may be of interest.