Double0Kevin

I'm still not sold on Wing Riders, but at the very least this is turning out to be a pretty ride. I guess I'll find out next year on the Texas/Mid-West Tour.

I am not talking about your comment, but the lack of work done to date comments Do the pieces of the ride need to be present in order to do ground work and pour concrete? I mean, Cedar Point took out Disaster Transport 3 months ago and GateKeeper has a completed lift, first drop and inversion. SFMM took out Log Jammer over a year ago, and they don't even have a footer poured yet. I would definitely say a delay is or would be in no way Premier's fault. But we are all kind of used to it with Six Flags by now...

So just to be clear... Harry Potter isn't real and people that died in the books/movies can still exist in the new land because it was all a lie? Don't tell these guys it was fake...

Then that is different indeed. It used to be 36 to ride with and adult, 42 alone, over 54 with a child. Kinda sad I remember that...

^ Delay a day and hang out with all of us! News to me, though my friends at the park don't really keep me up to date on stuff like that. I would be kinds of surprised if this is for real. The park already has a pretty high ridership as it is, letting anyone ride seems like a recipe for a longer line and bigger headache. Having ridden that thing many times, it's pretty violent to adults, you aren't missing much (except the credit of course).

^Let us know. Sounds like this will be quite the TPR Meet-up. You got a kid for Road Runner? They are pretty strict about that ride and not letting adults on alone.

I did not realize Sunday was going to be a big meet-up. I was just planning on meeting RAWKIN_coaster38 and Angry_Gumball there. Sounds like it will be a fun day with everyone there! I'm not one for responsibility so I will not be collecting contact info. RAWKIN_coaster38 knows how to get a hold of me, plus I'll be a little late cause I'm going to see The Hobbit in the morning beforehand. And this is why I hated operating Nairobi's Lookout Balloons. But sadly for you, that section of the park is closed during Holiday in the Park.

^ No, you have to have it processed at the issuing park. In fact SFMM likely won't let you back in off that print out. They generally require you process on the first visit. You will likely need to go to Guest Services on your next visit to get in, but usually they count that as your one time free look-up, as if you forgot your card at home. Without a doubt though, you will be turned away from SFDK until the pass is processed.

How do you mean? I have a number of photos when they were in the process of changing it at home (they are pretty amateur though, I was 14). I can upload them later tonight/early tomorrow if you like. I'm not too worried. The forecast shows clear the day before and the day after. The likelihood that it happens directly over Vallejo on the hours of operation and is so much that it would cause issues isn't likely. I think the worst we will have to worry about is some showers. I'll be there either way, so you guys better show up too. Haha.

^ I highly doubt it would ever happen, but I agree about getting rid of FP on Indy. I never use FP on Indy just because there is really no value to it. There have been times where you can get your FP cause the line is huge and totally full outside, but then you come back at your FP time and it's all within the indoor queue and you suddenly have no benefit to FP. Maybe Nextgen would allow for some serious overhauls of the queue to fit in FP, but that seems like it would be a huge project that costs a ton.

^I did not notice any single rider lines at either Busch or SeaWorld. I will admit that I wasn't really looking though. The lines were non-existant so a Single Rider line was never needed at either park.

^Roar has some serious trouble spots, and it's nothing like it was back in it's early years, but I agree it's not brutal. There are much worse rides out there, Roar East for example.

Part 2 - Busch Gardens Tampa Here is a park I was really looking forward to. I've been to BGW and loved it, so going to it's sister park that is home to more coasters was pretty exciting for me. This park certainly did not disappoint. It's hard to compare the two Busch parks, BGW definitely wins in the appearance category, but BGT wins for it's ride offerings. To get to the park I used the complimentary bus that picked up at SeaWorld and takes you to BGT. The service was great! The bus was comfy and not overcrowded which made for a laid back ride to the park. I took a nap back and forth and was just generally impressed with the ease of the service. The park was pretty quiet, with Cheetah Hunt being the only coaster that wasn't a walk on (about 10-15 min wait all day). The only problem I had all day, which I discussed in my mini-TR on page one, was that the park's layout is awfully confusing. I must have gotten turned around and lost about 10 times. Even the Busch Gardens iPhone app was giving me directions on paths that no longer exist or were closed off. After I figured out the lay of the land, I had a great time. BGT was actually the only park I went to on the entire trip where I felt bummed that I didn't have more time in. I could have kept re-riding their coasters all day long. I even enjoyed the animal attractions (which, unlike Animal Kingdom, I could actually see the animals). As far as the coasters go: Cheetah Hunt - This ride was fantastic! I had heard people were let down by this ride because it didn't do a whole lot. I though it easily surpassed most rides we have out here in California. It was fast and kept changing it's style to keep it interesting (Launch coaster, wild mouse, random rock dodging switch track style section and then an airtime machine). It was thrilling enough for adults, but gentle for young thrill seekers too. Montu - Another winner for BGT. My first ride was great, but I wasn't totally sure if it took the winning spot for B&M Inverts. My second ride made my mind up. This coaster is a powerhouse and far exceeds the other inverts I've enjoyed. The "Batman Element" was pretty awesome, it's a shame only Montu and Afterburn have them. Lastly, any ride with loop post mid-course brakes gets a pass from me. Kumba - I wanted to LOVE this ride. Unfortunately Kumba made me it's bitch, and I got tossed around pretty bad throughout the ride. Here's the funny part, I still liked this ride a lot. Yeah, it beat me up a bit, but it was what we all love from the old B&M's. Fast, intense and just utterly relentless throughout the whole ride. SheiKra - Having been on Griffon, I wasn't as excited of SheiKra like I was for other rides at the park. Griffon was a great ride, but not as overly thrilling and intense. This is what I expected of SheiKra, boy was I wrong. SheiKra was what I had always hoped a Dive Machine could be. The drop was awesome, the forces were intense, and the scenery great. This one even got my heart beating a bit while I was dangling over the edge, unlike Griffon. Gwazi - Only Lion was open, which was a bit of a bummer in regards to my credit whoring. The ride was about what I expected it to be based of of what I had heard. It had a lot of rattle to it. The surprising thing about the ride was it's layout was kind of awesome. It wasn't a typical GCI and even had a good deal of airtime. Sad though, that the park has allowed the track to deteriorate the way it has (I'm sure it's more of a result of the years of PTC trains though). Scorpion - Why? Why can't rides be made like this any more? I cannot speak higher of this. Sure, I'm a huge Schwarzkopf fan and so a little biased, but this ride was the biggest surprise of my whole trip. It was amazing. And now... On to the pictures. Gorilla's like "Sup? Welcome to Florida." Aww... Kitty! Hey, hey you! Why aren't you laughing? Oh my god! They killed the tiger! Wait, maybe it's just asleep... Nope. They killed all the tigers. Here is Busch's representation of the archway into Hogsmead at IOA, if Disney had sent a missile into it. This part actually had some decent airtime. And this was a great drop. Over the sky ride. This was one of the most awkward inversions I've ever experienced. It was just so drawn out. Airtime! Loved the look of this building. Food wasn't too bad either. MONTU! Big loop. Immelman > Dive Loop Love those second loops. Did I mention I loved this thing? It's not the size of the loop... Yeah, I did this. It was fun, but the kids that rode it with me were annoying as hell. That's what she said. Right about here is where I became Kumba's bitch. In Florida, all Swiss coasters must have a underground tunnel or trench run. Ugh! Why does the net have to be there!? Oh, that must be why. Excellent parenting. SheiKra > Griffon It's fast. Into the obligatory Swiss-Floridian Tunnel. And, Splash! Gwazi... Lion Vs... well, there is a Lion. Lion going up the lift. It was just reopening so it was empty. Kumba off in the distance looking pretty. That's it for Busch Gardens!

Revisits: SFDK CGA SCBB Disneyland Knott's SFMM SeaWorld San Diego SFGAm Cedar Point Gilroy (Maybe) Disney World Parks (Maybe) Universal Orlando Parks (Maybe) SeaWorld Orlando (Unlikely) New Parks (thanks to the Texas/Mid-West Tour): SFFT SFoT SeaWorld San Antonio Silver Dollar City Magic Springs SFStL

So instead of doing a day-by-day style TR. I'm going to do a park-by-park update since on some days I did as many as 3 parks and all my photos are jumbled. So, without further ado... Part 1 - Sea World Orlando I'm starting my Photo TR off with the park I actually visited last. I only had about 2 hours to get in to SeaWorld and ride what I wanted before I needed to head to the airport and fly home. I chose to see SeaWorld this way because I was only really interested in riding Kraken and Manta, plus it was that or nothing so I went with the 2 hour thing. Other than that I have already seen SeaWorld San Diego, and I wasn't interested in seeing any of the animal attractions. Having worked at SFDK for 7 years, you get kind of underwhelmed seeing animals at a theme park. My impression of the very small portion of the park that I saw was a positive one. It's very well landscaped and easy to navigate (which was a problem at some other parks). The front gate seemed kind of small to me, when most of the Orlando parks all have these more grand entrances. On to the rides, which was why I was there. Kraken - I was looking forward to this one as I had heard so many great things about it. I wasn't blown away with it, but it was definitely a great coaster. There was a lot of B&M rattle to it, and my head got tossed around pretty bad in the cobra roll. Overall I would rank it behind Medusa at SFDK but ahead of Dominator at KD and Scream! at SFMM. I loved the partially underground second loop. Manta - I LOVED THIS RIDE! I honestly haven't heard much about this ride since it opened. People seemed to have a positive feeling about it, but no one really talks at length about it. It ended up being way more intense than I had expected and felt far more complete than the other B&M fliers I've done. By complete, I mean that it had a number of highlights about it and didn't just end abruptly right when it was getting going. It easily beat Superman (I've been on the SFGAm one) and was much more fulfilling than Tatsu is. The park was running two trains, but they were still using both stations which meant we didn't have to just hang there in the break run for them to slowly load the next train (looking at you SFMM). Plus, I loved the loud sound effect that played when a train went into the flying position. On with the photos! Isn't the Kraken a giant squid? What's with the eel? Heading up the lift. Did I mention I love B&M's with straight drops? Is there a rule in Florida that all B&M's have to go underground or at least through a trench? These people just got screwed... corkscrewed. And I got screwed by pretty much totally missing the shot. This gets you wet... I passed. Manta going up the lift. Loved how this ride interacted with the park around it. The Entrance Down, down, down! Pretzel loop, this thing was awesome... as most pretzel loops tend to be. I got wet at this part... But it was an acceptable amount of wetness. Swoosh! Barrel rolls on fliers are awesome.

YES! That movie was friggen awesome! I was totally surprised and blown away.

2005 - Summer working at Cedar Point 2006 - Road Trip to SFGAm, CP and HW. 2011 - Trip to SFA, KD and BGW 2012 - Trip to WDW, SWO, UO, BGT and DCA finally being done with it's remodel Those are the top years for me.

Forceful, smooth, and feels like flying vs. forceful, violent, and headache inducing.... I'll let you figure out which is which. That video was cool except I could have gone without being reminded of some of the ACErs that were in EVERY show about roller coasters 10 years ago.

I just made an appointment to see a chiropractor due to the back pain I endured by just thinking about riding GhostRider 32 times... 32 rides on GhostRider and only 3 on Xcelerator and 5 on Silver Bullet... none on Montezuma? My mind is... I don't even know what my mind is, that's how bad it is.

Ballot SENT! Love the Mitch Hawker Polls. Does he not do Steel anymore? --kevin*********@*****.com------ LOCATION FOLLOWS THIS LINE (LEAVE THIS LINE AS IS) ~"San Francisco, CA" NAME FOLLOWS THIS LINE (LEAVE THIS LINE AS IS IN Ballot) ~"Kevin ********" RANK THE FOLLOWING RIDING SENSATIONS <-LEAVE THIS LINE AS IS Abrupt Airtime_____________________________,y,y,1 Floating Airtime___________________________,y,y,2 Lateral Forces_____________________________,y,y,3 Out of Control Feeling/Directional Changes_,y,y,4 Positive G's/Loops_________________________,y,y,5 Sensation of Speed_________________________,y,y,6 COASTER NAME PARK LOC <--Please leave this The Voyage Holiday World IN,y,n,1 The Beast Kings Island OH,y,n,2 Giant Dipper Santa Cruz Bch Bdwk CA,y,n,3 Viper SFGAm IL,y,n,4 Wild One SF America MD,y,n,5 The Grizzly Kings Dominion VA,y,n,6 Roar SF Discovery Kingdom CA,y,y,7 Blue Streak Cedar Point OH,y,n,8 Raven Holiday World IN,y,n,9 GhostRider Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,n,10 The Legend Holiday World IN,y,n,11 Boardwalk Bullet Kemah Boardwalk TX,y,n,12 Gwazi-Lion Busch Gardens-Tampa FL,y,y,13 Hurler Kings Dominion VA,y,n,14 Colossus S.F. Magic Mountain CA,y,n,15 Rebel Yell Kings Dominion VA,y,n,16 American Eagle SFGAm IL,y,n,17 The Grizzly Great America CA,y,y,18 Racer Kings Island OH,y,n,19 Woodstock Express Kings Island OH,y,n,20 Ghoster Coaster Kings Dominion VA,y,n,21 Roar SF America MD,y,n,22 Mean Streak Cedar Point OH,y,n,23 Son of Beast (SBNO) Kings Island OH,y,n,24 Yeah seriously, I tried it a 3rd time after closing some excess tabs on Firefox and it worked fine. Otherwise I would have done it manually too. Amazing how people bitch when they have to put in a little extra effort.

I get the feeling that the operator was some thug teenager who just didn't want to hear people scream. I doubt it was an official rule.

^Well in that case I'm crossing my fingers for the next couple of years. After the remodel of DCA, I don't see them adding much over the next few years (Maybe in DL, but not within DCA). Maybe ToT will be a filler in the next couple years before the mythical "Phase 2" starts...

I remember that noise fondly... well not fondly, but it is permanently engrained into my mind. That ride always intrigued me. They are a pretty unique twist on Ferris wheels.

I'm excited to ride Indy again. It's hard to argue that it's a great ride, but it was showing it's age a lot the last few times I rode. It's amazing to me it's gone so long without a rehab of this caliber. It would be great to see them go in in the future and upgrade and enhance like adding the smoke ring effect or something completely new and cool to get it back to the forefront of dark rides, but I could see time and energy spent on other attractions that are in far more need of improvements. On a separate note. When are they going to upgrade the drops on Tower of Terror. For the last 8 years I've lived in blissful ignorance that it was a good ride, having never been on Florida's. Now that I have ridden "Good Tower" I have pretty much lost any desire to ride DCA's until it's made better. The randomization of drop sequences leaving a heightened sense of fear and anticipation made that ride significantly superior.

^This. I unfortunately missed Test Track last week so I can't totally offer a view on this. But my rides on RSR, though I love the ride, did feel like just when it gets going it pulls back and limits itself. Test Track (based off POVs) seems like it floors it and actually takes the cars up to what they are capable of. But as said before, they get compared because of the ride system similarities. When it comes down to it, they are totally different rides that stand on their own merits for what they are intended to accomplish (Test Track is a thrill ride, RSR is a family ride). Loved the update Robb, the ride look absolutely stunning. When I was at Epcot, the only negative I could find was Mission: Space being the only thrill. Had Test Track been open and rounding out the offerings a bit more, I think I would have been totally 100% happy with that park (Who am I kidding? That park was amazing regardless).