jedimaster1227

I'll be ordering this along with the Take the Tunnel shirt with my next wave of orders... This one is definitely a keeper!

^^^^Thank you very much! I'm sure you'll really enjoy the park Erik! Just so you know, the best seat that I found on Texas Giant was back left with the best being second row, left seat for Freeze. ^^^Nope. I didn't have any of those problems. I was a little in shock from the intensity of the ride, but nothing to worry about. Those signs you've just listed don't seem to be particularly good... ^I did get to walk briefly into the queue, but the ride broke down shortly after. If you say its as long as Georgia's, I'm definitely impressed.

Freestyle Music Park upbeat in tough year http://www.thesunnews.com/news/local/story/951478.html This is a complete 360 from what the previous article mentioned... Oh, and I'm happy to announce that Freestyle Music Park has finally ditched their blog setup for their website and have moved completely to a new system: http://freestylemusicpark.com/. Interestingly enough, the new site hints at a free iPhone app for the park, and features a comprehensive set of descriptions for the park's shows, restaurants and attractions. At least on this end, they seem to be getting something right.

Today I had the chance to run over to Universal after work, meeting up with my friend Jake from the East Coast trip. Sure enough, Rockit's work continues, but I was fortunate enough to see one full test run, and I've even got pictures! This is a pretty photo-intensive update, so be forewarned. Awaiting the Freestyle Music overlay... Goodnight Universal! This curvacious beast finishes its run directly after this pictured section. Tilted edginess in honor of my edgy partner in crime, Bryan. Does a photo like this even need a watermark when you know I'm the kind of person to post it? And so the train returns to the station, awaiting further tweaks and test results (if there are any). I didn't see the ride let up for one moment during its cycle... This thing really flies through the brake runs. Thank you TNA! And back down we go... Up... It's testing! Notice anything strange with this photo? Coasters don't typically pop out of my skull, but in the rare instances they do, I have my camera ready to document this phenomena. Jake walks away from Domowood, grinning from ear to ear. Fail no more. I found the cameras in the firehouse! Now all we have to do is find Carmen Sandiago and Waldo... A darker take on my typical "sun shots," I bring you, "sunset shots!" But Domo has got dibs on the first proposal! I think I've found an Alton-esque proposal spot in Orlando! Dark, yet beautiful. Thanks to TNA Wrestling, the production studios entrance was open, allowing us to get photos like this. The worker decided to kiss the water dummy before it rode off into the sunset. Universal, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The "queue arches" are no "queue covers." Who would've guessed? Nothing new here. Move along. And no. There are no rings. Fin. Curvy. I think I'll get used to seeing this eventually. Not a bad touch, if you ask me. New stickers have been applied to the station/queue's sides to further connect the ride to its theme. A construction-free, grassy view of the Citywalk portion of the ride. I already feel like I'm in line for The Simpsons Ride. At least the queue isn't entirely outside. Some shade, some music videos and a few fans can make the queuing experience so much better! Is this the fabled seperate ticket entry location for Rip, Ride, Rockit that we've all been hearing about? The stairway seems to be configured much like Men in Black with three lines, allowing for potential single rider or Express Pass entry. Into the den of the rockers you go! After riding Mr. Freeze earlier this week, seeing a mechanical belt like this one definitely excites me... The walls around the Blue Man Group side of the station have finally come down to reveal a unique queue.

^^I got to the park at around 2:30 pm and had to stand at the main entrance to greet our attendees for about an hour and a half. I left the park at around 8:30 pm to head back to the hotel. ^I had no issues breathing on the ride, so I'm not entirely sure what that sensation would feel like (nor would I want to). I listed the attractions I rode in the original post, Flashback and Conquistador not being on that list--they'll be there for my next visit.

While attending a conference just last week in Dallas, I had the chance to briefly visit Six Flags over Texas. The park immediately reminded me of Six Flags Great Adventure, with tons of attractions and lots of space to cover. Because of my limited time there, I didn't really have the chance to hunt for credits; rather, I sought to ride the few rides that I knew I would want to do for sure. Tony Hawk's Big Spin was extremely busy, especially as conference attendees (Six Flags over Texas was our special event for the conference) began to pile into the queue, pushing the wait time to well over an hour. It looked like a pretty good spinner, but I figured I could skip it in favor of some of the larger, more intense coasters. I started my visit out with Mr. Freeze, and I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I enjoyed it. Having ridden multiple Premier spaghetti bowls on the East Coast/Behemoth trips, I wasn't expecting much for this launcher (though the lack of OTSR's was great), but from start to finish, I was thrilled. The ride has an innovative duel loading station with three essential positions for loading and the launch. To try to make this explanation simple, platforms A and C are parallel to each other with a gap between them (position B). Each of the two platforms is rigged up to a massive conveyor belt of sorts, which pulls the entire loading platform away from the air gates into position B where the launch and brakes are placed. The ride then thrusts you into a nice straight-away, followed by in an inverted top hat (like the one that used to be on Great Adventure's The Chiller), leading into a banked turnaround into the ride's vertical spike. Addition Lim adorn the spike, adding momentum on the reverse descent which sends you back through the entirety of the track backwards. All in all, the attraction was fantastic--running really well (better and better with each ride) and was a great surprise. I ended up riding Mr. Freeze three times during the course of the visit. Next up was Texas Giant. I made it a point to grab a ride on this, not only because of its good reputation but for the fact that it would be retracked starting at the end of this season. The ride itself is very large and a good length, making the experience thoroughly enjoyable. The track is certainly in need of some work, and I walked away with a knee that had been jammed a few times, but the ride was truly a fun, wild ride. We rode Texas Giant twice that day. After roaming for a little while with one of my fellow officers, I met up with my good friend Uma, riding Titan as quickly as I could. My first Giovanola coaster, the thing was about as intense as I could have imagined based on previous descriptions. The airtime was decent following the first drop, but the star elements of the ride seem to be its two helices, both of which induced near-blackout moments. Funny enough, my non-coaster-enthusiast friends kept going on and on about seeing green and black spots over their eyes during the ride; I figured I wouldn't tell them what happened, trying not to scare them. Our last coaster of the was Shockwave, the park's Schwartzkopf looper. Having ridden Mindbender at Six Flags over Georgia, I had high expectations for this one. Though not particularly large, the ride features two signature Schwartzkopf loops with a real bite, followed by a few airtime hills that deliver on a scary level. The ride from the ground looks to be very small, but in this case, size mattered not, as the few dips provided offered knee-to-bar moments that rivaled those of its Georgian cousin. Following my new credits (I'm now at 191 credits, so I'll hit 200 on the Deep South trip), I stopped at the park's parachute tower, having not done one before. Just last Summer, I marveled at the beauty of Coney Island's parachute tower and had longed to ride one, so now I had my chance. The ride was only running one side but moved along quickly without more than a five minute wait. It wasn't anything too special, but now I can say I've ridden one. Overall, my impression of the park was pretty strong. I loved to see how friendly the cast members (if that is what they are called here) were to our conference attendees and enjoyed the visit wholeheartedly. The park's layout is a little confusing, but nothing too terrible. Id probably say that is my second favorite Six Flags park, with Great Adventure taking the lead as of now. Now, lets move on to some photos! "I'll be back for you later..." Proof that I was really here. Time to head out... I love historical touches like this in parks... Six Flags over Texas is home to a working oil well/pump right in the middle of its grounds (near the parachute tower). Uma and I on the parachute tower! Whee! Up they go. Down goes my liking for this park. Hiya Tony! This is just one of those photos that I'm really proud of, and I don't know why. Can I Flashback to a moment before I saw this monstrosity? Patriotic. Get your mind out of the gutter! My first parachute tower! asd;gagblahcliffcathangeraslkd;ghla;kshdg Am I in the right park? Uma really liked Texas Giant, even though I forced her to ride in the back row. Titan doesn't get much photo love, but its really great. Blackouts bring out the white in my eyes... My compliments to Schwartzkopf for creating a little monster such as Shockwave. Concrete: The Ride. Definitely a solid attraction. It rocks my world. Slab. Bashingly awesome! Time for some TPR Park Index love! Hello beautiful! Though I didn't get to ride it this time, it seemed like the queue for Batman: The Ride was also themed well. Now this, I like. (No implications here.) Mr. Freeze was actually pretty well themed. For an older Six Flags ride, I actually felt like I was at a theme park... But remember, if it has theming, its an amusement park, right Andrew? We did this. Mistake. See what I mean? Mr. Six needs to elevate the fun levels like he does over at Six Flags Hard Rock America... I genuinely believed that this man was a guy dressed up as Mr. Six! Gets me everytime! I couldn't really think of a caption to describe this one. A nice entrance to the park. Now this is interesting! Bloons and coasters... These are a few of my favorite things! What's that I see? Oh, and I forgot. This update was sponsored by Coca Cola and presented by the Six Flags over Texas cowboys! Special thanks to Uma for sharing some of her photos with me...

Attendance lower than owners hoped http://www.carolinalive.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=314661 FPI-MB may be padded for a year or so, but if this poor attendance keeps up, they won't possibly be able to stay afloat... I guess I'm glad that I'll be visiting the park next week, that way I can see it before it becomes the next Geauga Lake...

^I'm pretty sure AMEX (not American Express) made the track for the update of Disneyland's Space Mountain as well as for that of Hong Kong Disneyland, though I could be wrong. The only Vekoma's Disney in its parks are the roller skaters, Space Mountain: Mission 2 in Paris, Expedition Everest and the two Rock n' Rollercoasters.

Really? This is news to me!

Some permit information has been posted regarding construction at Busch Gardens Tampa. http://www.floridathrills.net/showthread.php?t=5972&page=3 According to the brief description, four buildings and a rollercoaster will be part of this project (and the construction needed to clear the area). My guess? We've got a Sesame Street themed area on the way...

Of the parks listed above, I only had the chance to visit two during my trip to Japan, but both of them can be highly recommended. Tokyo DisneySea is incredible, both for the non-Disney fan and for the uber-fan. The place bleeds detail and creativity and the atmosphere alone is worth the price of admission. La Qua (Tokyo Dome City) was also very nice--a little odd, but nice. That being said (and Elissa also noted this on my Japan trip thread way-back-when), it isn't always easy to get all of your credits in during one visit. During my short stay, it rained to the point where Thunder Dolphin and Linear Gale were both closed, leaving me with Spinning Coaster and GeoPanic. While you may not encounter the same kind of weather I did on that day, don't be too discouraged if you can't ride everything in the park. It sounds like you've got a great trip in the works and I wish you all the best on your way to Japan. I miss the place dearly and truly envy you for going back before I do!

^^I don't believe Vekoma has ever made any hypers...

^This is a Bryan-less Adam Show off-season update, I guess. He was there with me in spirit, but he's back in New York for now. It is funny that you would mention 'Up,' because I believe they did that with single passengers as a tie-in, somewhere not too long ago... Found it!

I went back once more to Universal, this time with family, so I had the chance to grab a few more photos of Potter... Not too much has been done, but the work over the last week is still significant. More steel has gone up in what will be Hogsmeade, but The Flying Unicorn and Hagrid's Hut remain untouched. More set pieces for Hogsmeade are sitting at Nassal and even more metal framing for the village (and Hogwarts) is sitting in the vacant lot awaiting transportation. Lots of steel fills in the gaps from last week. Untouched. Unchanged. Unimportant. The building on the left has received new metal framing to support its roof.

I went back once more to Universal, this time with family, so I had the chance to grab a few more photos of Rockit. I was pleasantly surprised to find that construction on the lift has resumed, picking up at a rapid pace to reinstall the formerly removed lift track. I got the park around opening and half of the lift had already been put back into place, and by the time I left, one of the last vertical pieces was being lifted for installation. Nothing new here. Prepare for the rise of the arches! This lonely worker was inspecting the newly installed lift track for a good twenty minutes. I figure it'll be done by the end of the day, or at the latest, early tomorrow. Arch junkies will love this ride. That was fast! Work continues on the station and the surrounding ride track. I think I ever posted a photo of this view, so here you go! This is some serious deja vu...

^^^^I love bacon and all, but something about that just isn't kosher...

Not to majorly bump a thread (I always feel guilty doing so), but I did have the chance to visit Characters in Flight yesterday at Downtown Disney. It has been open since before May, but not once had I seen it operational (while I was there) thanks to incliment weather. We finally caught it at the right time, and I feel that while it was somewhat short, the $16 admission fee was certainly worth it. While its no flying carpet, Characters in Flight is a unique experience that gives passengers an unparalleled view of the Walt Disney World Resort (and some of Orlando). Its definitely worth a try, especially for the photo junkies like me! The landing platform has a stylized compass built straight into it, just in case the pilot forgets which direction to go... Virgin Megastore is now a giant advertising center for Downtown Disney with banners covering every post and window, reminding guests to visit the neighboring shops and restaurants. The Celebrate Tonight! side of Pleasure Island sits quietly during the daytime... No celebrating today. "I loves me some bloons!" ~Bryan Off in the distance, the Contemporary and the newly completed Bay Lake Tower rise above the trees. The obligatory Epcot shot. The Motion side of Pleasure Island can be seen from above. Paradiso 37 just opened up, bringing a little more life into the area. "Just a few minutes ago, I was down there... But now I'm up here!" ~Fellow Passenger Can you spot the competition in this photo? This is Wetzel's Pretzels. Passengers look out at the many acres of Reedy Creek... Disney resorts in all their aerial beauty... I was pleasantly surprised to find that our pilot spoke to us during the flight, pointing out various landmarks (only the Disney ones) while warning us of the few shakes, bumps and sways we encountered during our ten minute flight. This little wheel makes the balloon go up and eventually down. Guests enter the carriage through either of the two doors, both of which are connected by the circular standing area where passengers dwell while in flight. Alright. Enough is enough. Two orbs glorifying each other... Like Tatooine's two moons. Is my Star Wars geekiness showing? My boarding pass ended up being my receipt... I love when my tickets remind me of how much I spent on them! Here comes a few of my token "sun shots" to glorify this "bloon" (here's one more to you, Bryan). Characters in Flight is now completely operational... Unlike the second Death Star...

I will never miss an excuse... I mean opportunity, to email Dan--especially on his birthday! Mine has been sent in. Having listened to the above entry (how could I ever forget such a charming voice ), I doubt mine is a winner...

^Why is that link affiliated with Hack Mail? Thats not a good sign...

Following up on the news that the top of the lift had been removed, I made my way over to Universal once more to grab some photos (and meet up with a good friend). Here is what I've got from today... And the rest is just an update of the newly stocked merchandise for Rip, Ride, Rockit, already on sale in the Music Plaza gift shop. A better look at the previous... The top brake run was being inspected today. (Notice the unpainted walkway extending from the staircase--that was added later.) The station has received a new mesh fence suspended from the roof, presumably to prevent guests from tossing anything towards the trains and guests while they are on the lift. Work continues on the station amidst, including the addition of theming to the queue area. Not only is the top of the lift missing, but now, the entire lift track itself is gone.

^You've definitely won the "Post of the Day" in my book. Sheer excellence.

During this week's visit to Universal Orlando, I had the chance to grab some closer photographs of the Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit as it looks in its almost-completed state. Plenty of work is still ongoing around the ride, but much of the final product is beginning to take form. I always thought the Guggenheim could use a coaster of its own! A look at the tall section of the ride, free of buildings. I think there are a couple hundred pictures around the net, just like this. The Ghostbuster's office has been busted thru... I dub thee, "Majestic!" The production facilities entrance has been cleared of most construction walls and work. See what I mean? These shots are all-too-easy... 95 degrees!!! What a beauty! The ride's station is visible from the new Music Plaza, teasing guests of what is to come. Workers crowd around the ride's car, tinkering with various parts and pieces... This area seems to be nearing completion... The ride's lift and non-inverting loop loom over the park's airspace. I don't know why, but I always find this element to be so photogenic! The original Blue Man Group Citywalk path has been slightly redirected to allow for construction of the fenced pathway that will surround the ride's tilted helix. Landscaping around the Citywalk/Blue Man Group portion of the ride has begun.

I was able to run over to Universal two days ago to grab a quick look at the latest happenings within the resort. Potter seems to be accelerating in speed with new set pieces sitting at the neighboring Nassal facility downtown. As construction climbs vertically along the side of the Potter Box and the village of Hogsmeade, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is beginning to truly take shape. More steel frames are continually installed as this focal point for shopping and dining takes form. Hogsmeade grows larger by the week... Although the rest of the area remains visibly untouched, the addition of Hagrid's Hut can be seen without too much trouble. Not too much seems to have been done with the Flying Unicorn... It currently sits dormant behind a construction wall.

Universal has released an official animation video which includes some POV footage for Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit, opening this Summer at Universal Studios Florida.

While it isn't in production anymore, it isn't hard to find spare models online to buy (my family owns five right now), but the Pentax Optio S5i is the camera I would recommend as both a standard camera and, with the optional waterproof case, an excellent waterproof photography and videography option. I have been using the camera itself for the last four and a half years to take all of my photos (and most of my video), including everything I've ever posted of mine to this site. It has a physical viewfinder, which most point and shoot cameras lack these days (and in the Florida sun, using a screen for lining up a shot isn't always easy) and has plenty of modes (including underwater photography and videography modes) that allows it to adapt to whatever setting you are in. The camera itself is not waterproof, but there is a waterproof housing that is made for this model (and its predecessor), allowing for the use of every button on the camera while underwater. The case is also designed to allow a clear view of the digital screen (and viewfinder) through the case without any obstruction. The case is durable and has allowed me to take photographs in waterparks like Wet n' Wild and Aquatica while also giving me the ability to take photographs and video while I scuba dive, as it is waterproofed to 40 meters (131 ft). Take a look and see if this is what you are looking for: http://www.scubascoop.co.uk/photography/pentax_optio_s5i_owp2_housing.php