Angry_Gumball

I can't really confirm it but I believe it's Siri-driven. Since you only have the 4, that sounds like it's the reason. Just like, in Settings > General > Accessibility, there's an option to turn on "Speak Selection" which is also powered by Siri. I'm pretty sure this feature is not available on the 4. Speaking of which, making Siri say crazy things has not been any funner. When I'm bored I've gone into the notes, wrote out some crazy stuff and made her read it off...or I'll hop onto TPR and have Siri read off a trip report to me. Perhaps she can tell me bed time stories

Yea, yea, I know...wrong ride

A few pages back I mentioned about how I like discovering little surprises that are not really 'announced' or highlighted. I just found a few minutes ago (actually when posting in the Destroy the Picture thread) that I can now upload photos onto TPR through the iPhone! No longer do I have to wait until I get home and drag the photos over just to upload (not that I'm going to write up an entire trip report on my phone). This will be great as I can now post stuff while I'm out at the park and use photos to support my posts! I guess there were 3rd party pay-for apps that were able to do this (Forum Runner I believe) but can now just do it in the improved Safari.

My boss had hooked me up with tickets for today's Railer-Steeler game. I'm glad raiders finally got their first win, was a really close game! While I'm a Raider fan, I'm more of a GP when it comes to sports stuff in general, learning as I go along about the team and sport. Raiders!

Just discovered I can upload photos via iOS 6!

I've blown through a pair of JVC Marshmallows as well, a couple within about 6 months max. I then went on and tried out a pair of some $40 Sony buds that lasted a little over a year and finally kicked the bucket. Sadly I couldn't find them anymore (they had a nice, thick flat cord) and opted to try the Skull Candy Titans (which worked/lasted as long as your average $20 buds, don't get it). Not sure if you can get them or not but I've been using the Philips "Specked" buds (co-branded with O'Neil) that I got at Target. For the price (I paid $25 for them), they can compare to the $40 Sony's I purchased a few years ago...the nylon cord is pretty durable and I had a pair last me almost a year. They are far superior to the Skull Candy Titans I was excited to try out. I'm not an audio expert by any means but do have an idea on what sounds good and these sound pretty great! I use earbuds 5-6 days a week, almost all day at work...so considering how much use they're getting. In the end, you get what you pay for, and also, it's all just trial and error. I did not expect my Philips Specked to last more than 2 months but was blown away. While I do have a pair that's dying (not dead yet, both sides still work but sound fades a bit when cord moves), I decided to get a new pair as that got annoying. I expected the $40 Titans to be comparable to the Sony's I had but I got the same use as I got out of a cheap pair. I am curious though to try out the new Apple Ear Pods...Apple buds seem to last a long time and sound great! They are just flat out uncomfortable to use for extended amount of time. Yup, these are them...you can find them (well, I found them) at Target. I probably should pick up another pair just to have on hand.

Honestly I don't think you can really compare the two... They are 2 different experiences. It would be like comparing surfing to snowboarding. They're similar yet they are different experiences.

I was kind of thinking the same... Until prehistoric reptiles came into mind. I'm not sure if a new sponge bob show would benefit the park much. In the end I have a feeling the current show will continue to live next season.

^Very true. Apple can now customize their maps how they want to and I'm sure with the amount of rants about their new map system, an update is coming soon. Here's my 'first impressions' so far...I'm sure I'll uncover several new surprises in the coming weeks. The good: I like the whole Facebook integration thing...Gone are the days of copying a URL and pasting it into FB...instead, I can share the page (and even text it to a friend). Siri is capable of posting status updates to Facebook which could come in handy. Sometimes I'm too lazy to type about my CGA adventures and can get it out quicker speaking it out. Speaking of Siri, at first she seemed like she went through a voice change and sounded softer/more raspy when she spoke. She's capable of giving me the score of the most recent game, and she can now launch apps (goodbye fumbling through 6 pages of apps). I then discovered (was not sure if it was available on the previous iOS 5 on the 4S but Siri is capable of reading off text that I highlight. It was quite interesting having her read off some coaster talk...she actually said "Vekoma" properly, and she sounded quite nerdy! The panoramic feature is going to be pretty neat though it did squish my TV when I tested it out indoors. I wish I could do a full 360 but it's limited to 2xx degrees (don't have exact number). I have not used Passbook yet, but I can only imagine the future of my Season Passes, being stored right on my phone. It could come in handy, can say goodbye to accidentally leaving a pass at home, losing it, or having a pass suffer 3 seasons of wear and tear (mine has a small crack in it now). I'll probably post more when I come across more stuff, hopefully I'll run into some nice little surprises even several months from now. Annoyances: I was a little annoyed that the Youtube stock app was missing but found that the youtube app you can get via the app store is more robust anyway and behaves more like the desktop site. I previously never bothered with getting a Youtube app since the phone already had Youtube as a stock app...a bit redundant. The map is definitely not perfect as it can't even find my home park, CGA. However, checking out a handful of amusement parks and test driving the 3D mode, it appears that CGA is the only map 3d-ified. The 3D could use some work if they choose to fine tune it. Some structures look cool, thinner structures don't look so good...check this out (I shared this in the CGA thread as well). This is the 3D rendering of Flight Deck. It was pretty neat though to see my neighborhood in its 3D glory...surprised the 3D was even done for my 'hole in the wall' city. I now have to get used to the App Store layout. It's neat but I'm not used to it whatsoever...it reminds me of the Playstation's "XMB" interface where you can scroll vertically and horizontally for the individual items...almost like the Wonka-vator that can go all directions Other than the map and lack of Youtube initially, I'm liking the iOS6. I am on a 4S so I'm capable to use all of the new OS's features. I can't really speak for the 4 users but speaking to one, they were let down as a lot of the big guns aren't accessible to the 4.

Well, I officially have iOS 6 on my phone, just waiting for it to configure. I'm glad that I'm aware of the inferior map system that the phone now as, as well as the lack of the stock Youtube app (I'll just download the Youtube app and put it on my home screen) but I'm looking forward to trying out the panoramic photo feature and utilizing Siri for Facebook (as long as she doesn't fumble up my posts)... Speaking of Siri, when we were leaving SCBB a couple weeks ago, I asked her to find the nearest McDonalds and she went off and attempted pulling up Kmart instead. After bad-mouthing her she finally pulled it up as we all got a good laugh out of the whole situation. Me: Where's the nearest McDonalds? Siri: No Kmart found Me: No, where is the nearest McDonalds? Siri: (I found 3 places matching ) Me: No! Siri, you fail! Siri: I'm trying the best I can Me: No you aren't! Siri: If you say so. Finally we found where McD's was. A quick update and question. First off I like the new update so far, minus the fact I had to download Youtube. It was pretty neat seeing my neighborhood in 3D as well, though some structures look a bit funky (trees look like turds). Also, was battery life improved with this? I've been playing with my phone for the past 25-30 minutes non stop and I'm still at 100%. I was normally down to 97-95 depending on what I was doing.

I'm about to see this map for myself, downloading the iOS 6 update now...looking forward to seeing a very cardboard-looking CGA. I noticed a couple of chunks missing from Flight Deck...good thing it's the off season To my knowledge this looks like the only theme park I've seen in 3D so far. Disney, SFDK, SCBB, Knotts, SFMM...all flat as a pancake! Update: I have the map, the best looking thing on there is probably the Rapids. Anything aerial is a solid chunk raised and 'shaped' to look like a coaster. Check out Flight Deck in all of it's funky glory! The 3D reminds me of the renderings used for the Gold Striker promo/rendering...not Goldstriker itself but the surrounding buildings and few rides (like the cardboard-looking carousel with the imploded/sucked inward roof). I just did the same...decided to be nice and add the website, phone and address as well. Other random note, the Logger's Run lake is drained and several of the flat rides look naked (see Celebration Swings) as this was done during the off season.

Well, the news made it up to the bay area, just saw a real quick blurb about Windseeker and how it was the second time for it to goof up this month. Atleast the report was quick, done and over with...like yanking a band aid off. You can see a helicopter flyby here: http://www.ktvu.com/videos/news/raw-chopper-video-of-people-stranded-on-windseeker/vd8Gd/ Note the current progress of Perilous Plunge stands now (or lack thereof standing )

Granted, but it is banned in the US. I wish I could actually get Siri to sing (and not just talk).

Personally, I liked Hurricane. It packed a punch for its compact size. However it does tend to rattle quite a bit, thus being a rattle bucket But again, I also enjoyed Zonga at DK, in which the majority of/everyone I know hated it.

I still have yet to post photos of what I recently scored from the TPR RC Trivia app. Among a mystery DVD (One of the Coaster Expedition series, has Bonbonland), I got tons of maps from Japanese parks, King's Island 2011 map, Ferrari World map, some magical TPR pens and pencil, and a nifty lime green luggage gripper (which I put on the grab handle on my backpack). The gripper works out nice as I can easily spot my bag and the gripper's lime green glory when it's put into one of the storage bins when at the park...and it's 1 more thing to show off my TPR spirit!

Some good stuff happened this past weekend...not as much as I expected but still some little gems. Flagg o' Dim, Rjvader and I are in line for CGA's Woodstock Express (Intamin kiddy/family coaster) when this 10-year-old kid looks up at us all bug-eyed and spots my TPR shirt... After hearing us talk nonsense, the kid asks "Ooh! Are you guys really from Theme Park Review?" Again, would I wear a TPR shirt if I wasn't a TPR member? It gets better...we're leaving the observation tower later in the day where there's 8 of us, 4 rocking out our TPR shirts...kids heading into line (the same ones I saw at Woodstock's) get excited again: "Hey, there's the Theme Park Review guys again!" Almost made us feel like celebrities or something. And a line cutter fail story. We are in line for Psycho Mouse as it had just reopened after a 20+minute downtime. As we're going through the queue, some girl hops the rails to skip past the 8 of us, which would have made us wait another whole train. She must have had intentions of getting her group up there with her as we all just gave this stare...she ultimately just left the queue completely. +10 exp for us! End it with a funny reaction of me 'seat stealer' story. We are all putting our 'potatoes' (CGA ride op lingo for our loose articles) in the cubbies over at Demon while the air gates are still open. After putting my backpack in the bin, I come back to find some GP ready to climb into the train...suddenly, out of nowhere, you hear me saying "No, no, no, no, no! Not going to happen!" Suddenly they jump back behind the gate with an 'oops!' face. We then told them that all of these empty seats are taken, will have to wait for next train or grab the empty row up front. Just the way I sounded was pretty funny (perhaps a little over-reaction but still pretty funny).

You can smell fog, I can feel that pulse-pounding beat of Toy Factory! Oh, wait...that's only my computer playing it in the background Seriously, I'm really excited for my next visit, Sept 29th...I'm going to go all out and spend 14 long hours out at the park! I'm planning on getting there at opening, spend the day riding rides, then focus on Haunt/cram in some night rides (Demon, Flight Deck) and perhaps some Black Widows Cavern 'Clench 'n Squish' rides...though with my luck and being night, we will probably end up soaked.

^agreed about those flyers. Sorry Flight Deck for passing you by so we can kick the day off on their flyers (though when we did get back to FD around 10:30 the station was packed with...air. I got one of those rare walk-on front row seats. Also, I'm getting a Peanuts Pirates addiction. I'm currently in this phase where I'm liking how a ride experience can be variable and altered via weight load and being able to have some control in what's happening. I can really use a ride on the flyers right now actually...becoming...a flyer addict! Blue Fire Guy, I'm going to take your advice, spend the next 2 weeks studying up on flying technique and watch those Flyer Addicts Anon videos.

Thanks for sharing! Love the Woodstock Express ride, I can see how I just *barely* make it into the train, can see the tight fit!

Morning: makes me ready to ride...Arriving late and only hearing the B&M roar with lack of screams? Tells me that there's light crowds (before I look to see how many riders are in the train)...Mid afternoon empty train cycling? Tells me something happened with the ride, but should be back up shortly (hopefully).

She really told you that? I just opened the door and we got in, but didn't expect the whole pumpkin to swing as I stepped in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZhAT1kbOq0 For anyone who is intrested I posted an off ride video of Vortex. The whole thing was filmed and edited on my iPhone. That came out pretty good! Gotta love iMovie, pretty nifty app!