Meteornotes

In 2005, Robb, Elissa, Dan, Joey, Mary and I drove around for three weeks in a van in Europe. During this trip, we all noticed that Elissa says and does the same things all the time. We deciced that there should be a game called Elissa Bingo to amuse us, and to further torture her. The next year for the UK trip I decided to do this to perhaps amuse people on the bus during the trip. And bought prizes at the Dollar Store, because the Dollar Store always has awesome merchandise. And thus Elissa Bingo was born! This year the game was changed to Elissa Photo Bingo, requiring participants to take photos of stuff (usually Elissa, as she loves the attention). There was also an Elissa Bingo Instructional Video, hosted by me and Falafal (aka my partner in crime). People seemed to be generally amused by the video (which had all the effort and productions values of a really bad public access cable TV program), and I can tell you that next year's Instructional Video is already being planned. I can only say at this point that it will feature puppets. And commercials. On most trips, almost no one plays because my nonsense generally annoys everyone. But for some reason on the recent US trips, people seemed to be really into the game, which has restored my faith in humanity. Or perhaps everyone was just really interested in getting some unidentifiable Dollar Store stuffed animal. Whatever the reason, Elissa Bingo will live on to amuse and torment everyone on TPR trips in the future... dt

I do love these updates. I can't believe they finally built the mountain part for Dragon Mountain. That took, um, forever! They don't seem to be too quick to do anything at that park. I hope people enjoyed their Elissa Bingo prizes from the Dollar Store in Cockysville. It's the quality Dollar Store, not the dumpy one that sits between a check cashing place and a liquor store. It does suck that the giant pile of home pregnancy tests was gone, though, as they would have made awesome prizes. And because a situation like that is clearly something that you want to trust something from the Dollar Store to help you out with... dt

All these Elissa Bingo references...I hope you won something! And I hope it wasn't too lame, though given where the prizes come from, that's kind of hard. I have only been to SFNE once, but remember liking it. I do need to make a trip back there some day for more S:ROS rides. Really enjoying the pics and video. You kick ass. dt

From what I remember, it was broken in the morning, and then when it reopened it got a huge line, and I decided to ride Nitro with you guys instead of getting my credit. Ah well, at least after six or so visits to the park, I finally got the credit! It just took awhile... dt

^Actually, I have found something at CFA that I love: the nuggets. They're the best chicken nuggets ever, and are damn tasty without any sauce. So I get a box of those and I'm happy. And yes, Falafel loves CFA, so we try to eat at places where there is food that she likes, since she has a diet similar to Elissa's. Glad people are enjoying this. The pictures are kind of odd, but hopefully they show that we still had awesome fun even if it did storm. dt

Bare Wires was a local Baltimore band that some people I know were a part of. They broke up a long time ago. That shirt is like the most comfortable shirt ever, which is why I was wearing it. I have no Bare Wires songs on my Ipod, so keep guessing! There's actually a really easy way to find out some of the bands I listen to on this forum. I'm amazed this still haunts you, though I guess it involved looking at me, which usually requires intensive therapy for most people, so... I never think of things ahead of time. Occasionally, we'll spot something that Falafel has to have her picture taken in front of, but for the most part I don't even think about captions or anything until I load the pics up and get ready to make the PTR. I only have about five jokes anyway that I'll just repeat over and over and over and over, so it doesn't require too much of my energy. Glad you guys enjoyed this little slice of nonsense... dt

^Not everyone eats BBQ. Falafel has an Elissa-style diet, so I always just eat wherever she wants to. But there is NO excuse to screw up chicken strips that badly. And to charge that much for them. I've been going to this park since I was very young, and I never recall them having food any better than "OK". But I never remember getting anything this bad, either. Ah well, lesson learned and all that... dt

OK, as always, before we begin, we must review Dave's Rules Of Engagement for his PTRs: - I like to write, make money doing it, and think everyone should read more. So you'll get to do just that during this PTR! Be excited! - I will say something that offends you and/or makes zero sense at some point. What can I say, I'm a slave to the nonsense that rattles around in my head all day, and must share it with someone. - I suck at taking pictures. There will be ones of "questionable" quality used in the PTR, and I will occasionally snag images from Google or some other place to illustrate things I either forgot to take a picture of, or just took one so bad that the subject cannot be identified by a team of scientists. You've been warned. With that behind us...let's begin! So shortly after coming back from Europe, I was talking to Falafel (aka My Partner In Crime) and remarking that since the TPR East Coast trip was coming somewhat close to where we live (well, to be fair, it was coming really close when they went to SFA, but since we'd both rather go to the DMV for the day than set foot in that dump, we were not going there), we should make an attempt to meet up with the trip, as no doubt people would just love to see us (yes, I am delusional). A quick check of the calender showed that Falafel and I were both free on the SFGAdv day, and so plans were made to meet up that day. We decided to drive up the night before and stay in a hotel near the one the trip was stopping at, allowing us to get to the park rested the next day. I've been to SFGAdv several times, but Falafel has never been there. The last time I was there, a number of rides were closed (El Toro had just recently completed construction, but had not opened yet). So I was looking forward to getting some new credits, and checking out the park again. I've seen this park go through a lot of changes over the years, and it's gone from being pretty much a dump to one of the best parks in the Six Flags chain. It's known for being quite busy in the summer, but Robb & Elissa were procuring Gold QBots for trip peeps and for those of us that were joining them for the day (thanks again, Robb & Elissa, for allowing us to join up with one of your awesome trips!), so these would help us with wait times. The drive up Saturday night was pretty uneventful, and shortly after we arrived at our hotel, the TPR trip arrived at theirs. We headed over there, as we had multiple items to deliver to R&E. We were amused to be greeted by a lot of people, many who we had never met before, that greatly enjoyed our Elissa Bingo Instructional Video and Elissa Bingo. It appears that Elissa Bingo has been a big hit on both US trips this year, indeed being more popular than it has ever been before (one of the things I was delivering was a bag of more prizes!). You have no idea how happy this makes me, and though Falafel seemed a bit amazed at the fact that so many people knew who she was, I know that she too appreciated the comments. Seriously, a complete stranger telling you "your video almost made me pee my pants" is amazing. Glad you guys enjoyed it. The next day came way too quickly, and we followed the buses to SFGAdv. We were again shocked when the group wanted us to join them for the group photo, and were amused when we were told to say "grilled cheese" when having the photo taken (you'll have to see the video to understand this, and I'm sure Robb will include it on at least one of the 2008 Trip DVDs). After this, we were taken over to our first ride of the day, Dark Knight. This was an OK ride. Nothing amazing, and the pre-show makes NO sense, though we did have fun adding extra lines to it ("I promise to arrest more bears"). It's really a mouse in a box, and the box should be darker. Next was El Toro. I have been anticipating this for a very long time, and I was not disappointed. The first drop and series of hills after that are completely insane. I do think it loses something in the twisty second half, and I think I still give the edge to Balder at this point. But still, ET is really in the running for best coaster in the US (only Phoenix comes close in my mind), and now I'm REALLY looking forward to trying the new one in Korea in a month or so. I will say that I did get the lap bar shoved so far into me on my second ride that it made it very uncomfortable. I still got a crapton of airtime, though, so the stapling doesn't hurt that. Just your internal organs. Next we were the first riders for Kingda Ka. This was also closed the last time I was here, so it was another credit. I've been on some smaller versions of this type of ride at this point, and still think that it's a lot of wasted effort for just up/down/brake. I will admit the launch is awesome fun, and the view you get for a second or so at the top of the hill is impressive, but if I waited in an hour or more line like most people do to ride this I would feel really ripped off. If they're going to build these, why not add some more bunny hills or something before you hit the brakes? It would be so much better. On a related note, I have to say "good job" to the guy working the mic in the station, as he was super enthusiastic and very funny, even at 10 in the morning. Almost all the employees we encountered that day (with the exception of food service) were really good and doing a great job. We got our QBot after this (Falafel had to carry it, as it makes her all hot and bothered and happy), and started riding stuff with no wait. We conquered Superman (fun, but I'm not a huge fan of flying coasters), Nitro (delivered the best ride I have ever gotten on it), and among some other random stuff, Batman. I point out that we rode Batman because this means I FINALLY GOT MY CREDIT ON IT!!! Yes, I never have been on this ride before. Every time I have been to the park it has either had an hour long line, or has been broken. So I was quite excited to finally get this out of the way (plus, I still think the Batman coasters are awesome fun). We were lined up for Skull Mountain, but before we got on, a storm descended on the park and closed everything down. And sadly, it never let up. It looked occasionally like it would, but the storm never moved off. I believe the only reason they kept the park open all afternoon was because there was a concert there that night. At around 5, the TPR group voted to leave (with R&E already working out a way the trip peeps could get back to the park and get their credits if they wanted - again, I point out how hard these two work on these trips and will do everything they can to make sure people have the absolute best trip possible). And Falafel and I decided to leave as well, since the weather report showed it was not going to improve. We still had an awesome good time, and I want to again thank Robb, Elissa, and all the people on the trip for allowing us to hang out for the day. While we didn't get all our rides, we really enjoyed our day at SFGAdv, and we'll go back next year. Not a ton of pictures, as I figured I'd take more after we got Falafel all her credits. These are all mine, perhaps she will post hers later, though she's about to leave to begin her journey to becoming a Laaaaady Carpenter, so it might be awhile... Anyway, enough of my yammering, let's go to the visuals! And this was the only "myspace" photo we attempted all day. We wanted to actually have someone else take a picture of us, but never got around to it. Maybe next time. Thus concludes our visit to SFGAdv! We had an amazing time, and want to again thank Robb, Elissa, and all the trip people that let us hang out for the day. Other than the fact that stupid Delaware and its idiot traffic made our trip back take forever, we really had a good time. We have one more adventure planned for this year, but that will remain a secret - for now! Thanks for playing! May no rabid bears with flamethowers attack your place of residence until our next PTR... Before we leave, a shot in front of the fountain. No Falafel, you cannot run off with everyone's Gold QBot to some remote island where you can make them your harem! Elissa would end up with a nine billion dollar Visa bill, for starters... Hmm...Falafel and a pretzel...yeah, sounds good! We soon discovered that the unicorn made for an awesome hat. We also discovered that it easily passed on its unicorn syphilis by dumping pink spooge on all of us. Falafel has declared that the unicorn is her new best pal. The QBot may not like this! She won two prizes, a Big Bird that apparently had failed spinal surgery, and the unicorn! Elissa is the Whack-A-Mole Queen! Falafel waits out the storm with her best friend, the QBot. Again, if there was a fire, and she could only save me or the QBot, she chose the QBot. Ah well... Yeah, if you sat under a roof at a game stand for a couple of hours and had to put up with Dave, you'd look like this too. Elissa used her phone to keep us all updated about the weather. A bunch of us had a good time hanging out and listening to stories, like True Tales Of Ladies' Bathroom Terror! Food time! We had vouchers that were good at various places, so we chose to use ours at Papa John's. Not bad, but the service is really slow (I blame both the staff and the customers, though, as it seems some people cannot handle the difficult task of ordering pizza). Scary skull! Perhaps it eats babies. Which would be kind of entertaining. I FINALLY GOT MY BATMAN CREDIT! BATMAN! Nitro was running great on this day. Only Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland is better than this B&M hyper. So Falafel knew all sorts of Wiggles trivia, probably because she works in a toy store. I suppose this means she would know all sorts of Ron Jeremy trivia if she worked in a pornography store... Yeah, that pretty much says it all... and yet more! Hope you enjoyed this collection of park randomness. Please exit through the gift shop. and more and more and more Park randomness And the El Toro drop. Seriously amazing. This is a great ride, though I think I still give the edge to Balder. But really, this ride is amazing, and if you haven't experienced it yet, you need to get to the park and ride it. Even from the parking lot, El Toro looks awesome. I will not be dumb enough to ever ride you again, GASM. Seriously one of the worst coasters on the planet. Kingda Ka. It's tall. And that's about it. And some more. Coasters from the parking lot. Here's some of Superman. The Wizard Of Lamb sounds like it should be a Sci-Fi Original Movie The next morning, we spot something in the parking lot that defies explanation. So of course Falafel must pose next to it for a picture! Only an hour into the trip, and Falafel is already begging for the sweet release of death in order to escape my presence. Perhaps a meal at Chik-Fil-A will distract her from her misery for a bit... So before we can get on our way, we have to make some stops for supplies. We head to the Target in White Marsh to buy all sorts of random crap! And also thanks to EZ Pass, since it helped us zip through the ten thousand or so tolls between Baltimore and NJ. And thanks to Falafel for taking her job as Hot EZ Pass Girl seriously and helping us at all tolls. First, a shoutout to my GPS, which Falafel has dubbed with the name "Squawky". It once again did an awesome job of getting us to our hotel in NJ.

OK, as always, before we begin, we must review Dave's Rules Of Engagement For His PTRs: - I like to write, make money from it, and think everyone should read more. So enjoy this opportunity to do just that. - I will likely say something that offends you and/or makes zero sense at some point during the proceedings. I apologize in advance for my insanity. - I suck at taking pictures. There will likely be ones of "questionable" quality throughout this PTR. I will also occasionally use photos from other sources (like Google Images) to fill in for ones that either totally suck or that I just forgot to take. Just so you know. Plus, Falafel forgot the memory card for her camera, which made it sort of hard for her to take pictures, so you're stuck with my "quality" photography throughout this report. With all that covered...Let's Begin! So Falafel (aka my Partner In Crime) and I had such an awesome time when we went to Dollywood (you have committed that PTR to memory, correct?!? If not, you can view it here), that we knew we had to visit some more parks together this summer. But with me going on the Europe trip and then getting eye surgery, and her having a busier social schedule than most A-list celebrities, coordinating this was going to be a challenge. I asked the eye surgeon how soon after my eye surgery I would be able to return to riding coasters, and after pondering the question for a bit (he admitted that no one had ever asked this before), he told me ten days afterwards I would be fine. So ten days later, I found myself picking up Falafel at the local train station, and driving us to Hersheypark. Now, Hersheypark is the park that I've been to the most in my life. Besides growing up in the area, I worked there for four years as a rides supervisor while I was in college. So I know a lot about the place. It has changed a lot since I worked there, and has really changed a lot since I was last there three years ago. The obvious additions are the whole Boardwalk waterpark area, and Fahrenheit, the new coaster for 2008. So let's cover them now: Fahrenheit - We waited an hour to ride this. In the hot sun. Seriously, Hersheypark, it's usually 5000 degrees and 8000% humidity in the PA summer, did the thought of putting some sort of roof over the queue NOT occur to anyone?!? Anyway, aside from that, the ride is fun, though not as amazing as many make it out to be. It seems to fit into Hersheypark's collection of coasters that are fun, but don't blow you away. We only got to ride it once, as the line was huge all day, and the single rider line usually had an hour wait too (I'm not sure how a SRL has a wait equal to or longer than the regular line, but there you go). The Boardwalk - I'm of two minds about this. There's no doubt that it is hugely popular, given the massive crowds of people that were here all day. On the other hand, the placement is, um, not ideal. Honestly, I think it clogs up the whole upper section of the park, making it really difficult to get around. And I think expanding it next year is only going to make the crowding worse. Really, if they wanted to do a waterpark, they really should have used some of their other land they have available around the park, and left this area open. But I suppose I cannot argue with the success of placing this in the park. We thought about trying out some of the slides and stuff, but seeing a 20 or so minute line just to get into a changing room put us off this plan. I also have to comment on the crowds in the park, which were easily the largest I have ever seen at Hersheypark. And why was it so busy? Because some sort of insidious evil known as The Jonas Brothers was playing at the outdoor arena that night, meaning the park was clogged with 12 year old girls wearing homemade JB tshirts and engaging in shrieking contests all day long. We had hoped that the park would really empty out once the show started, but it never really did. As Falafel is still traumatized from being trapped in Hershey's parking lot after an N Sync concert, we made sure to leave before the show let out. We still had an awesome day. Hersheypark is one of the better parks in the US. While none of the coasters are top tier, they're all reasonably good fun. There's a decent number of flat rides, and the park is nicely landscaped and clean. While some rides had really long lines, and we skipped some due to this (Great Bear), we were still able to ride pretty much all we wanted to get on. We also took a trip out to Chocolate World, which Falafel had never been to in the afternoon, where we took the tour and I bought a new Reese's Pillow (these pillows are amazing and a must have for world travel). Overall it was a great day at Hersheypark with some frustrations, and when we go back, we're going to make damn sure to consult the concert schedule before we plan our day. And never forget, we could have waited in a line all day and still had awesome fun, as we are quite adept at entertaining ourselves (much to the confusion and annoyance of those around us, usually!). Anyway, enough of my yammering, let's go to the visuals! Oh yeah, almost forgot...DEATH TO THE JONAS BROTHERS!!!! Stupid people clogging the park...boo And at this point we were pretty tired, just like you're tired of reading my nonsense, so we'll end the report here. Thanks for playing! Coming soon: Dave & Falafel Go To SFGAdv! Until then, have a giant carnivorous bee free day... And we ended our day on the carousel, still one of the best at any park. The Comet heads down the drop. Those who never rode this without the trims really have no idea how much better this coaster was. Snagged from google images, I include this picture of the monorail because I forgot to take one, and because I made Falafel ride it because I spent a lot of hours when I worked at the park running it. I'm sure she was thrilled by these stories. If you define "thrilled" as hoping I'll stop talking at some point... Falafel's expression pretty much sums up the Reese's Extreme Cup Challenge. Seriously, this is the worst shooting dark ride ever, and the pre-show in the queue is just horrible and goes on forever. And they no longer give out peanut butter cups at the end. LAME! Splash! Still one of the best waves of water you'll see from one of these rides. Boat goes up the hill Lightning Racer is still awesome fun. We got multiple rides, including one where we had to sit on the brake run for ten minutes or so. At least our part of the train was under a roof, unlike most of the people who got to boil in the sun. Sucks for them! Piers, I had NO idea your sister was appearing in a show here! Falafel says, "Wait, I can sit here and enjoy some peace and quiet while you attempt to take pictures and fail miserably?!? I LOVE THIS BENCH!!!" Twisty! Still fun, but seems to have gotten a little rough since the last time I rode it. MySpace! The Storm Runner line shortened up a bit in the afternoon, so we decided to ride it then. And it's still a very popular ride. The Trail Blazer. Totally forceless, but I still like it, only because I spent a fair number of hours working at it. No Great Bear rides for us today, with a line that almost filled the queue (I've never seen it with a line this long). SooperDooperLooper! Still awesome fun, and LAP BARS ONLY. I really like this area of the park where a bunch of rides all intersect with each other. Candy everywhere! And I bought a pillow. I know how to shop! So mid-afternoon, we took a trip out to Chocolate World. Falafel had never been here before, and afterwards remarked on the lameness of the exhibit. I have to agree, it's not nearly as good as it was before the makeover. Unless you're really into singing cows. Then it would be the best thing ever. But at least it's free. And air conditioned. Falafel would like to inform everyone that she does not, in fact, have granny bugs. This sounds disturbing. And just who is the whip for, Falafel?!? We did ride a good number of flat rides while we are at the park. We both love the Whip, which Hersheypark has really put a lot of effort and expense into the sign... Goodbye, rapids ride. You have served us well. Hopefully some day the park will add another one, as not everyone wants to stand in a crowded wave pool. Falafel prepares to tear into a giant-assed chicken strip. I have to take a moment here to say ATTENTION HERSHEYPARK: YOUR FOOD BLOWS. Seriously, this food was horrible, some of the worst we've ever had a park. Neither one of us could finish it, and at $27 for two orders of strips, fries and a drink, it was a huge suck in value. Perhaps you could see to it that your food stands offer up something a little better than what prisoners are fed, Hershey... Ice cream, salad, and wraps. Sounds like an awesome diet! I should really install one of these over my front door, which would perhaps cut down on people bothering me. Especially if I filled it with bees... These bucket things are awesome, though. Pretty nice area, but it really makes it hard to get between other attractions up in this section of the park. Into the Boardwalk. And yes, it's busy. Roller Soaker! It had a massive line all day, so we never got on it. We did play with the water cannons around the area for awhile, though. It would have been more fun if they were real cannons, but I can see where the people on the ride might not agree with this idea. Through the support! Yeah, I really should not be allowed to own a camera... Hmm, I'm three pictures in, and I'm already out of caption ideas. This might be challenging... It does have a lot of twists and turns, but seems to take them a little slow. First stop, Fahrenheit! It's fun, but not amazing. Here we are at Hersheypark! After two hours in the car, Falafel would be happy to be anywhere, as long as it meant that she could get out of the car and away from my pointless yammering.

Loved the way you got your "bear" square. That's pretty creative. I have only been to DL once, and was kind of "meh" about the place, but I'm glad you all had a good time. Good to know that they're still taking care of the Ride Of Steel. dt

There is a ton of amazing music out there that you will never, ever hear on the radio or be able to buy at WalMart or Best Buy. If you're willing to do some searching, you can fine all sorts of amazing musicians working today, recording amazing music that will never be covered by mainstream media. If you like rock with amusing/thought provoking lyrics and amazing guitar playing, I have two words for you: Freak Kitchen. You can thank me later... dt

Churro cart. People do drop their churros on the ground all the time, right? I win. dt

Good to know. I'm really happy that people were enjoying the game. And hopefully the instructional video that goes with it. Falafel and I tried to make it entertaining. Awesome photos and video so far. Looking forward to the next part! dt

That actually looks good. I think that's a sign of the apocalypse... dt

Awesome PTR. I'm especially enjoying all the Elissa Bingo references. Looking foward to the next installment! dt

Falafel and I met up with the East Coast trip yesterday at SFGAdv. Much fun was had. Thanks for the awesome ERT and good times, Robb, Elissa, and everyone on the trip. Everyone we met was cool and fun to talk to, and thanks to all of you that commented on our Elissa Bingo video. Photos to follow... dt

Pallas - March On Atlantis dt

Mind's Eye - The Hour Of Need dt

The Crystal Method - Ten Miles Back dt

Nightwish - Bye Bye Beautiful dt

^Haha, the only way to find out is to ask to listen to it during a trip. I, of course, cannot be held responsible for the mental anguish that follows... dt

Yes, Behemoth Bash was awesome fun. Thanks for letting us non-trip peeps take part in the event. ERT was just sick fun. I think I got about 20 Behemoth rides in during the day. I'm sure many people were less than pleased about my participation in the trivia contest, but hopefully your therapy bills won't be too high... dt

Back from Canada, where I met up with the trip yesterday. It was awesome fun, and I rode Behemoth for an hour straight during night ERT, which was worth the whole trip. Well that, and getting to torture the people at lunch when Robb had me participate in the triva contest (I'm sure many people were demanding refunds at that point, having thought they would be safe from my nonsense). I'm sure everyone had an excellent time at Behemoth Bash. I know I did. I was very excited to see that people are playing and enjoying Elissa Bingo. So much so, that I had to go out and buy more prizes! And I'll have to go get more this week to bring to the East Coast trip, as the prizes I had sent them were to cover both trips! People on the BB/Ravine Flyer trip, you rule. And don't worry, East Coast trip participants, you'll get to enjoy the Dave Experience as well. I'll be at SFGAdv with a special guest... dt

I'm excited to know that people are playing Elissa Bingo. And yes, the prizes are indeed awesome. Though the store I went to didn't have Bobblehead Jesus, or otherwise I would have bought one! People on the trip, or the upcoming East Coast trip: KEEP PHOTOGRAPHING ELISSA!!! She loves the attention. And you might win an amazing prize... dt

Finally got around to signing up. See you next week! dt