Sir Clinksalot

Rattums decides he doesn't need his seatbelt on Raven either ...

^^^is that the first thing that popped into your head, Wes? Cause that's funny as hell. (meanwhile, Rattums is taken in shackles to Guantanamo because of the Patriot Act. We will soon declare all out war on rodentia)

Y'know what, Ghost? I don't believe a thing the man says. I honestly think he was making the stuff up as he went along. Sure, he did okay with ESB and ROTJ (thanks you, lawrence kasdan), but I have a really difficult time that twenty years ago Lucas was sitting in a room thinking ("yeah, a big political intrigue story with stereotyped aliens, just missing the intrigue part!). Was the main thrust of what kept him going the idea that one day he'd be able to get the perfect pod race on screen? And if that is the case, I would have hoped that he could have figured out some of those loose ends that are dangling all over the tapestry of the Star Wars universe (whoa, that's a horrible analogy). I think he planned the prequel trilogy extraordinarily poorly. That's why Episode III is so much better. All the crap that should have been covered in Episodes I and II should have been there, instead of spending an hour watching some whiny brat wander around Tatooine while his mother spouts overtly-Jesus like parallels...not that any of THAT ever went anywhere (yeah, I think Lucas was making some implications with that speech Palpantine had in E3 about how that dark sith master could manipulate midichlorians to create life, but since he never really flat out said anything, it's difficult to fully connect those dots. Funny to think that the throne room battle in ROTJ could have been a three generation family reunion...). Oops. That was a rant. I don't want Episodes 7, 8, and 9. He couldn't possibly tell stories that were interesting unless someone threw the cast of the holy trilogy into a wayback machine so they could be the right ages to continue on.

lemme know how you do as far as getting a decent rate, Wes. Loews has been pretty crappy about releasing good rates lately. We called with Annual Passes in one hand and an Entertainment card in the other, and the best rate we got was $219 off season for Royal Pacific.\ Considering we had stayed there during HHN for $109 a night, we had to pass. Royal Pacific, despite being the cheapest of Universal's resorts, is friggin' gorgeous by the way.

here it goes - I'm going to get egged for this. I hope it's NOT a coaster. Don't get me wrong, I love me some coasters, but I have to also think of the more coaster-phobic folks out there (like my beloved Karen). Apart from Spidey, Popeye, and Seuss Landing, IOA hasn't got a lot to offer her (she also won't do things that involve major drops, so Dudley, Jurassic Park, and Doom are all out of the running as well). I'd prefer a sweet dark ride, but i know that can really eat some space. Plus, they've already got the best dark ride hybrid thingy in the world, so there's some big shoes to fill. So yeah, I want to see the Jurassic park jeep attraction.

Not entirely sure that the lure of free beer is going to convert a 15 year old, Barry... But all of a sudden I feel the need for some busch gardens lovin'. Bah. An eight hour drive for 2 small free beers in the oppressive Florida sun may be a bit overkill. Oh, and to add to the laundry list of questions - are you (the submitter, I mean) going by yourself? Universal has a lot of single rider lines that'll almost certainly make dealing with the crowds a tad bit easier. You can't pick your row when you utilize it, but other than that it's good stuff.

Cool, this will give me a chance to practice my PhotoShop skills. I already have a cool idea.

If coasters is all you seek, then BGTB is your man. If coasters and one of the best theme parks is what you seek, don't bother with the hour drive to Tampa. Hit Universal and hit it hard. Apart from the coasters, there really isn't much that's terribly exciting at Busch Gardens other than your standard issue amusement park rides (oooh, bumper cars, wow, one of them looping pirate ships!). okay, the animals are nice as well...BUT - Compare that to Spider-Man, Men in Black, Mummy, Jurassic Park... Oh, wait. There's no comparison whatsoever. As for if it's going to be crowded...well, yeah. A theme park in Florida in the Summer is going to bring folks in. Plan your day wisely, no matter where you end up going, and for the love of Elissa GET THERE EARLY. I agree with the above poster re: Disney - there's too much to do, everything's too far away from everything else, and it'll be packed all day long.

With rides like TTD and KK, I find myself paraphrasing Dr. Ian Malcolm... "They spent all this time trying to figure out if they COULD do it, but they never considered whether they SHOULD do it."

It's not just Intamin rides ... X ... Deja Vu ... Case closed ...

So it's not just me that sees Ohio plates everywhere I go? I started to think the state was making fun of me for not going to Cedar Point yet... Seriously, does Ohio have any locals? They all seem to be on their way somewhere else. . .

If you are going to Carowinds and PKD it may just be better to get a Season Pass. When we were going to go to Dollywood we found a Days Inn in Pigeon Forge that was about $55 a night. It was only like 4 miles from the park or something.

They were making the boat ride spin, Elissa doesn't do well with Spinning rides.

I don't think so, but if it happened it would be Ep. VII, VIII and IX which I would like to see. But I'm more interested to see what would happen between the end of III and the beginning of IV. I mean, there is 20 years gap between them. The rise of the Galactic Emprire Leia growing up on Alderaan Luke growing up on Tatooine How Han and Chewbacca meet? How Han saves chewies life since Han was training to be a StormTrooper? Did Yoda have any other visitors? How did Obi-Wan communicate with Qui-Gon Jinn? And when exactly did Anakin stop whining, grow a pair and become the badass that is Darth Vader?

^ totally ... PM me and let me know when, I've only got another week of freedom before the kids are out for Summer break.

Nice TR!!! Lake Compounce looks like a totally awesome park.

I've decided that the new Diet Coke with Splenda tastes like Regular Pepsi ... and I'm liking it!!!

Rattler at SFFT

The "outside forces" apparently involved the guys who were spearheading the project apparently not being as legitimate as initially believed. The rumor (from Screamscape, at least) was that the new theme park was going to be in the Fantasy Harbor area - it was s'posed to be the first "Hard Rock Park." There were published articles that verified that bit, though little has been heard on it since. I go to Myrtle Beach once a year...off season. Walking by the Pavillion when it's closed is somewhat creepy.

The day the Florida department of Mental Health closed it's doors.

In our realy first "Coaster Whore" move this weekend we are thinking of touring all of the smaller socal parks. Our plan is as follows: Saturday morning: Drive the coast from Camarillo out to Santa Monica to hit West Coaster. Head east on the 10 to Ontario for Scandia then out to Castle and maybe Pharoh's. I should hit 100 at Castle park since I'm sitting pretty at 96 right now. Then out to Anaheim to stay at the Hyatt ($50 a night) and to Disney on Sunday. Anybody know of any discounts at these parks (except Disney)?

Doing USH on a weekday shouldn't be too bad. You should be able to fit in everything since there really isn't that much to do. This is how I would plan your day: Park usually opens at 9am (lower lot stuff usually opens an hour later) Arrive at park open and head straight for the studio tour. The tour takes about 45 minutes and is pretty cool for those who haven't done it 5 million times. After the tour head down the escalators and do the Lower Lot attractions. Mummy first, followed by JP, Backdraft and the Behind the Scenes stuff. Those 4 things should not take you longer than 2 hours, if that. Head back up the escalators and check the lines for Back to the Future and Shrek 4D, they shouldn't be too bad at this point. I would also try to see the first WaterWorld show (usually about 1pm). After WaterWorld head over and do Terminator 3D and check the times for Animal Planet Live and the new Fear Factor show. This should take you to no later than 4pm, and you are done. Have fun!!!

Thanks for the link. I really like both ideas for the rides and will certainly make me get back to the Deep South next year!!! Seeing what Dollywood has done with the past, I have the confidence that the rides will be very close to the concept.

^ She's not really that far from 2 six flags park. Hmm, no gay guy this season? I guess since they had 2 in Philly they don't need one now. Wonder if they will get jobs at Schlitterbahn.

I need to figure out all of the Platinum pass stuff we get with our Busch passes before November. Sucks that our home Busch park doesn't have platinum priviledges on the rides ... oh wait, the rides at SWSD suck. Thanks for the cool TR's.