Meteornotes

You know, Universal owns SyFy. SyFy shows a lot of great movies on Saturday nights featuring sharks. These movies would make excellent ride themes. Just saying... dt

^An insane amount of bitching. Otherwise known as the typical ACEr response to anything. I haven't watched the episode yet (it's on the DVR), but I had no idea that ACE was involved until now. I'm shocked that one of them made an inappropriate comment. Some of the things I've heard ACE members say at park events over the years were appalling. Robb's example of the totally inappropriate and off-topic question on that conference call is a perfect example of this sort of behavior. Some people just do not get it... dt

Sky Mall usually has the ramp to get your dog up on the bed on the same page as a device to keep your dog off the bed. So potentially you could really confuse your dog. dt

You already have one shark, which better be given a place of honor in your new home! And maybe I'll find a really good velvet painting of sharks for you. Though it's going to be hard to top flaming skulls and dogs playing poker... dt

Awesome report! Lots of fun to read. Now, some comments: This is good to see. I'm never sure if people will enjoy my nonsense, so I am happy to learn that people did enjoy the awesomeness that is SHARK ATTACK 3. This is beyond awesome! I was dying when I came across this part of the PTR. As do I! I actually had a copy from the plane that I was going to give out as a bonus prize, but pretty much forgot about it after I stuffed it in my bag getting off the plane. I am lame! As you can guess by looking at the Sky Mall Magazine, items in it are FAR TOO EXPENSIVE to be Elissa Bingo prizes! And the Dollar Store is in Cockeysville, MD. This is important to know, as it may some day be a question during TPR Trivia, and you'd hate to get that one wrong... dt

That was an awesome update. What an amazing day. The animals in the morning and at lunch ruled. And nighttime ERT was so much fun. Many, many, MANY rides on V2 and Roar! This made me laugh. I need one of those! Seriously, why did Kerry win a prize?!? BECAUSE SHE RUBBED HER RAFFLE TICKET ON ICE BAT! That's right, she took advantage of Ice Bat's mystical powers* and got herself a prize! She is smart. And awesome! Congrats Kerry! dt *Disclaimer: Ice Bat doesn't actually have any mystical powers. He usually just sits around and looks irritated. Kind of like the idiot that carries him everywhere. Then again, he rode the splash battle at Dollywood and came out of that totally dry, so perhaps he DOES have mystical powers. Clearly more research is needed on this topic. I need a government grant to study this...

^Yeah, that drive between LA and SF is pretty dull, with the occasional cool thing to look at. Good report, though you forget to mention the awesomeness that was Shark Attack 3. Well, I thought it was awesome, anyway. And I still say we could have easily re-created that "show" the guy was putting on at 3rd Street by giving Piers a bottle of Bacardi... dt

Sharks should destroy everyone. dt

Seriously? Since when? Last I checked there an awful lot of coasters in the US that are what I would call "extremely forceful" and contain lots of extreme airtime. LMAO @ the guy who thinks Dave doesn't know what he's talking about! Thanks! I'm used to this, though. Seems the internet is clogged with experts in everything these days. Those with actual life experiences, whether in business or in other activities are often ignored over whoever can yell the loudest. Sort of sad, really, and likely why less and less people "in the know" participate on open forums. In any event, those who doubt, serious question: have you been on a Mega Lite? Seriously, for the size/footprint, these rides deliver an INSANE amount of airtime/forces. Enough so that I put the first one I rode in Japan at #2 on my steel list (beaten only by the mighty EGF). Contrast this to what parks have been building: lots of B&M hypers. Nothing wrong with those, I do like them quite a bit (especially the ones in Canada and Georgia), but for anyone who's ridden both types of coasters, there is no comparison between the two. I am no construction expert (see? I admit when I don't know something), but given the size/footprint of a ML, I'm guessing that constructing one would cost less than a larger B&M or other manufacturer hypercoaster. So I have to wonder to myself, what reasoning would a park in the US take into account when deciding against building a ML? And I come back to the forces and air time. US parks are known for "overreacting" to safety concerns, partially over insurance premiums (which are insane), partially due to our giant nation of babies, who will sue for a billion dollars if they chipped a fingernail on a ML when the air time brushed their hand against the side of the car. Which is why I maintain one of these will never be built in the US. Again, I'd love to be wrong about this, but I doubt it. Anyway, this was way off topic. Again, I think the new ride at Carrowinds will be hugely popular and will be a huge hit for the park, and I really look forward to riding it. I'm not a NASCAR fan, but totally see why they chose this theme and think it will make it an even more successful project for the park and CF. Looking forward to next year! dt

It is my contention that one of these will NEVER be built in the US, as they are extremely forceful and contain a great deal of extreme airtime, two things greatly feared by US park owners. I'd love to be proved wrong on this, of course, but doubt I will be any time soon. As for the announcement, looks like fun. I'm sure I'll get down there to ride it at some point... dt

I really liked GG. Though I was confused by the lack of awesome garlic related food. At least I got awesome garlic fries at Santa Cruz that were COVERED in awesome garlic hot death! I think the conversation while we were waiting went something like this: Elissa: I hope he's making eight orders with that giant pot of garlic. Me: No, that's just for us! And it was! Not the best garlic fries ever (that still goes to the ones I had at the Gilroy Garlic Festival one year), but they were damn tasty. Um, Belmont was not for another couple of days... dt

Almost forgot: on the drive from Lake Winnie to AA, we had the Elissa Bingo Prize Ceremony. Anyone have pictures of the prizes, especially the two I gave Brooke? I don't have any pictures of any of this (it's hard to take pics and hand out prizes at the same time!), so if you could post them here or send them to me, I'd appreciate it. I have almost no documentation of any Elissa Bingo nonsense, and would really like to have some. Thanks! I will post the 2009 Elissa Bingo Instructional Video some time soon to Coaster Tube. Just need to add something to the end of it... dt

^Leave the middle of May 2010 open. That's all I'm saying for now... dt

More threads should be about Manute Bol. And Dio. dt

BEST. CUPHOLDER. EVER!!! Seriously, it was about 5000 degrees at AA, so I thought when Renee came up with the "unique" place to put her ice water when we were walking around, I was very impressed! And had to photograph it, of course. I have to talk about Rampage. Yes, it has some bad potholes, and is sort of rough. But if you were willing to put up with that, it delivered some of the most insane, out of control rides EVER! Renee and I rode it a couple of times, skipped a train, rode a couple of more times, skipped a train, and then came to the realization that it had pretty much numbed our spines at that point, and we couldn't possibly feel any more damage it might do to us, so we might as well ride! So we rode for the rest of the ERT session! I have no idea how many rides we ended up with, but it was a lot, and they were all brutal fun. This was EASILY one of the best ERT sessions on a TPR trip ever! Other highlights were singing Bohemian Rhapsody while riding the boomerang, riding the Rapids where we got wetter walking through the massive puddles in the queue than on the ride, the vibrating chairs (seriously, they did amuse!), and...THE TAVERN!!! Yes, that's right, there's a Tavern in the park, where many of us retreated to for awhile to avoid the heat, and where they were serving giant drinks for almost no money! And where we had a conversation about why there needs to be a TV show about Talking Pirate Cats, which I still think is an awesome idea, especially if they fight giant robotic penguins that shoot laser beams from their eyes and breathe fire. Someone should get to work on this! This was an amazingly fun day. AA was certainly a lot nicer than the last time I visited, and it seems like they're on the right track to making it a better park. And I was shocked and happy that some of my pics made it into the report! I suppose I can occasionally take a non-blurry photo... dt

That whole trip ruled, and the group of people we had was awesome, but having you and Kerry there for two days made it even better. Those days at Dollywood were just so much fun, and I can't wait to go back there again. We all need to coordinate going on a trip or at least to a park next year. Although Kerry is likely mentally scarred for life now after spending 16 days with me on West Coast... dt

I'm glad people enjoyed the shark movies. And I hope they enjoyed the Elissa Bingo video. I need to put that on Coaster Tube at some point... dt

My house is full of Ikea stuff. I've moved all over the place, and it's held up well. I love their furniture. Plus the Sweden one had Sharks! That makes it rule right there... dt

And you would be wrong. The single greatest day EVER on a TPR trip happened later. Stay tuned... dt

That trip to the porn store was one of the most amazing things we have ever done on a trip. I still think we should have gotten Tyler an escort from the LA Xpress paper. dt

Ikea rules. That squid now resides in my office, separate from Mr. Bitey so they do not constantly fight. dt

This rocks. Keep it up! dt

This rules. And I had awesome fun at that random place in PF watching you guys and all the mutants that were hanging out. There were some amazing sights at that place. I want to go back to Dollywood now! dt

So awesome to come home and see PTRs already getting posted. It seems like we were sightseeing a month ago! I look forward to more. Hopefully Ice Bat will show up at some point. I have to disagree with the In & Out love. We stopped there on the way back from Vegas, and the burger I had was so bad, it made me wish I had just walked across the street to Burger King. Seriously, I can make a better burger in my microwave. It's just another poor chain place to me now. dt

This rules. It was so cool having you guys there for a couple of days. I look forward to the Dollywood photos. Food Fest 09 indeed! dt