darklingscribe

Aren't there a few year round haunted attractions (though not associated with any parks) in the Wisconsin dells? The only others I can recall are Fright Walk at SCBB and Frankenstein's Castle at Indiana Beach. I've been though both and encountered no actors at the time but I'm not sure if it is the norm for both of those attractions to be unmanned.

I second the comment that stand up drop towers are the worst ball busters. Here is a video from the TPR europe trip of Warner Brothers' Movie World's drop tower that I present as exibit A. Stand up drop tower.mov The sound has not been altered in any way.

I can't remember from when I was there a year ago, but does their water park have any speed slides?

I just saw this on the news last night. The California State Controller has set up a web page for unclaimed settlements and the like. Basically there are so many class action lawsuits against large companies that many people don't know they were a part of that California has a couple billion dollars of unclaimed settlements sitting in the treasury. http://www.sco.ca.gov/col/ucp/index.shtml Go to that web page if you are or were a California resident and do a search for your name to see if you are owed money. My name didn't come up, but apparently my Dad and my brother in law are owed about $100 each. I just thought I'd pass along the info, and to everyone not a CA resident it still might be worth your while to check your State Controller's page.

While I do tend to find most opening ceremonies a bit boring I was really impressed by the torch lighting. The image of that guy suspended by wires and running along the stadium's upper circumference was really spectacular.

It's funny but the best Vekoma coasters I've been on are all in Europe. Though looking over this list I need to revisit Florida sometime soon. Thundercoaster (TusenFryd) Colorado Adventure (Phantasialand) Rock N' Rollercoaster (Walt Disney Studios Paris)

I actually find Roar to be the second most enjoyable woodie in California, right behind the Giant Dipper. Though I understand that a lot of people just don't like the shaky ride a wooden coaster gives. And Ghostrider is a CCI design (I used to get GCI and CCI mixed up as well). Glad to see that you had fun on a busy day at SFDK Mechanic. I, myself, find it hard to enjoy most parks when they are nearing capacity even if I have flash passes.

I rode both in the front and the very back. The back offered much more airtime. Of the two trains I thought the blue one was running faster.

I was at the boardwalk on Friday and I'll say that just recently the Dipper had been running insane. It has never had as much airtime on it on Friday than any of my previous trips to the boardwalk. Good trip report, and let me express my amazement that you were able to use public transit.

I don't know how I should introduce this video other than saying if you are not sure how your work will react to cartoon gore it is probably not work safe.

<> Beaten to it. Even though I don't think this info would be on a foreign site I'll just take a wild guess, is this the long rumored coaster for Chicaco's Navy Pier? (the bingo card came from Chicago)

Great Meme thing, gave me a good laugh. Your character designer looks interesting, but i can already tell at a glance that it is way too involved for me to comprehend enough to do a self portrait. Perhaps it's just too late at night for my sleep deprived mind. I'll give it another look tomorrow.

Agreed. Europa was one of the best park experiences I've had. If they have this ride open and working reliably enough by next June I might head out to Europa either before or after the next 2009 TPR trip.

Yeah it was the hair color that threw me off.

My advice would be first to grab a show time guide. With a two year old with you you'd probably want to see the sea lion show first. It is the show geared most towards kids and usually only happens once a day around noon. the dolphin and killer whale shows usually have two to three show times a day and can be good places to relax in the shade when the park is at it's busiest. Try to stop by the butterfly aviary (I'm not sure exactly what to call it) and the animal feedings are also something you can do with the whole family (feeding times will also be listed in the show time guide). There really isn't much more info I can offer. SFDK has a lot to look at and do. None of the shows are lackluster, the tiger show being the biggest must watch of the bunch. The park is situated with the rides all pretty much in the front and the animal exhibits mostly in the back of the park. The layout can be confusing but the park isn't huge so it's pretty hard to get lost. Keep in mind that the parking lot is quite a ways from the park entrance, so think twice before bypassing the tram.

I read about that slide when it was under construction. It's nice to see it working well. I would ride it in a heartbeat.

Hey Tomi I really like you new comic but feel as if I'm missing a reference. I recognize Mr. Six but who's the Girl?

Great trip report. Tripsdrill was a fun park, I wish we had more time there as there were a few other rides that i didn't get to check out. The Reason why I was plugging my ears in the drop tower photo was because a bunch of, what looked like first grade girls, were sitting behind us and they would not stop their ear splitting shrieking from the moment the lap bars went down till the ride ended. While I am fine with people screaming on the drops it really bugs me when they insist on screaming non stop even when the ride is not yet moving. Sometimes I'm glad to go to parks which, due to community noise restrictions have a no screaming policy on their taller rides.

You don't need to apologize Bill. The mere fact that you are trying to embrace digital will soon mean that you'll no longer have to worry about how much film you've got left on future TPR trips. A great trip report for your first foray into digital.

I'd thought I'd bump this thread a week before the 25th to remind those who might be in the area.

Funnily enough I wasn't yelled at for taking pictures this way. It was when I was taking pictures openly that got people angry. And by Disneyland I had already abandoned the waist high stuff, it was only something I did out of boredom and I agree it had too much of a paparazzi vibe to it. Terrance, I'll email you the Higher quality photo of You and Bill.

I hope no lives will be lost. This might also spell the end for most rainbows, one of my favorite flat rides.

The last group of Efteling Photos and a few shots from Drievliet. And quite a bit of hang time as well. Thats it for now. Check back later for day 5. Offered a surprising amount of airtime. It was smooth. Formule X was the surprise ride of the day. On to Drievliet. I don't have many pictures of this small park. I guess I just wasn't in the mood. They had a ride called Volk Van Laaf in a section of the park. It is just a slow monorail like ride that makes it's way around a children's play area. It's cars were shaped like snails and yet the ride ops were stacking the cars like crazy. I found it funny that the snails were going too fast through the course for the ride ops to keep up. Another shot I took, trying to capture this park's beauty. The Flying Dutchman from above, with Pegasus's train just cresting the it's lift hill in the background. 04 Vogel Rok.mp3 Vogel Rok, while a short ride, has some the best timed music I've ever experienced playing on the train's speaker. Every rise and change in the tune is matched perfectly with the dark effects the train passes though.

Efteling part three. My only shot of Vogel Rok's building. It is in my opinion the best coaster at Efteling. Our hotel off in the distance. Why don't more parks with height restrictions build a floating island? On a field in the center of the park they were constructing a stage for a production of the Sound of Music. There were posters everywhere advertising this. From above I could get a new perspective on some of their beautiful landscaping. Up above I spotted Big Mike and crew below. This was the first Floating Island I've ever been on. Which is basically a rotating platform on an arm. After Fata Morgana (which according to Yahoo's BabelFish translates to Mirage) I headed over to their floating Island observation tower. Other TPR members waiting to ride, were happy to pose for some photos. When bored in line I'd often try to get candids by holding my camera casually at waist height an pressing the trigger. A strategy Terrance soon caught on to. Families had no qualms about just leaving their strollers unattended. The Lines by now were getting fairly long, but luckily Fata Morgana was a dark ride on boats with a fairly high capacity. Another example of the charm the park had to offer. If this park were to be built in the USA, this torch would have a light bulb in it. I find this blurry picture oddly eye catching. Some of the paths in this park felt very secluded. Somewhat reminding me of parts of Alton Towers. Speeding through the final turn before the splash. I like this Photo because of the way that rider has outstretched his arms, as if flying. The Flying Dutchman heading down it's first drop. De Vliegende Hollander - Haven (station).mp3 This is the Theme to the Flying Dutchman. It was playing all around the building and in the excellently themed queue. It really made the place feel like a fantasy adventure from the movies.

Efteling part two. Skipping ahead to 11:30, the Flying Dutchman was open and most of us got our credit. This should give you an idea of how forested Efteling is. This park can even make a Vekoma looper look inviting. Next up was Python, no worse than the average Vekoma looper. They were working on the ride for the moment. Trying to get it up and running before noon. An excellent view of the Flying Dutchman through the exit of Pegasus. The ride, while fun for what it was, was clearly designed for the entire family and offered little in the way of forces. Pegasus's hidden entrance. We past their swinging ship on the way. The detail this park puts even into their swinging ship is impressive. A gaggle of geese. Despite the funny term I kept my distance. These birds, as I've learned in the past, can be vicious. We were led to Pegasus, a considerable walk because this park is huge. 03 Holle Bolle Gijs.mp3 While I'm not sure if this particular sound byte came from the statue above, I'd though I'd include it to give an idea of the background atmosphere of the park. If you speak Dutch, I would be interested in knowing exactly what is being said.