Meteornotes

^Exactly. WG was NEVER a great park. Or even a good park. This place was always a scary sort of permanent carnival, with run down rides and scary operators. I grew up in Harrisburg, and trips to WG were a regular event as a child, and even then it was a pretty scary place. And the years have not been kind to the park. Traditional parks can thrive, but they need to have owners that want to invest in them and keep them in prime operating condition. Knoebel's is a perfect example of this. The amount of money seemingly invested into WG over the years might buy you a case of beer. In fact, given some of the things I had seen at the park over the years, that's probably what they did spend their money on! I think this is one of those things where the park was there for years and years and no one paid any attention to it, but now that it's closed all of the sudden everyone has this sense of false nostalgia and are acting like a great historical treasure has been lost. If your idea of a historic landmark is a park where the operators regularly would have to kick the cinder blocks holding up the rides back into place throughout the day, and where the drinking of beer seemed to be a requirement of law for guests and park workers alike, well then I guess something has been lost. To me, this announcement is about the same as the announcement that your local mall won't be having their parking lot carnival any more... dt

The fun house was easily the best thing about Southport. It's a damn shame it is now closed. I'm glad I got to experience it once. dt

^Usually you have to be associated with some sort of media (television, radio, newspaper). Some parks might invite websites, depending on the PR person and their relationship with those sites. Non-media people can sometimes get invited through ACE or other organizations, again depending on the park's PR person relationship with the local group. Usually if local enthusiasts are invited, they're sort of used as "seat fillers" on rides, in order for shots to show full trains, as often most media people won't ride more than once. Like I always say, if you're invited to a media day, be polite, and remember that the day is for the park to promote their new attraction or whatever to the local media, not to provide enthusiasts with endless ERT. dt

Even if you're only going 2 or 3 days, you're going to be better off buying the four day ticket, as buying admission for a couple of days. At least that's been the deal in the past when I have attended. If you're going, get your hotel room now. If you can, as the rooms often are all gone months in advance. If you have more questions, ask away. dt

^Agreed. And the WG Cyclone was in horrible, horrible, shape. The odds of it just falling down on its own were pretty good, based on how I saw it run a few years ago. Even if some sort of magical spell was performed on it, and it suddenly got re-tracked and totally rebuilt, it still would not be a good ride. Not every old coaster is worth saving, just like not every old park is worth saving. WG was a dumpy place when I was a kid, and they never really did anything to improve the place. Without improvements, why would people want to visit? dt

Hahahaha, oh man, having "experienced" the Silver Springs flea market, this is so fitting a fate for WG. It's the perfect combination that should attract mutants from all over PA. Seriously, unless you were ever three, you have no idea how much of a dump the SSFM was. Buildings stuffed full of old junk that no one would ever buy, and outdoor vendors selling endless amounts of old tires and hub caps. I still say this place would be condoland if the race track wasn't next door... dt

While T2 3D does have an insufferable pre-show sequence (the only thing that would be "SUUUUUPPPPPPEEEEERRRRR" about it is if you were handed a rail gun to take potshots at that chick while she's yammering), at least it eventually leads to something entertaining, while the pre-shows on BTTF only led to a session of spinal damage. And I've been on Earthquake. I don't remember the pre-show experience being anywhere near as ponderous as these other two attractions. All I can say is more attractions should take their pre-show inspiration from Disneyland Paris's RNRC... dt

Let us not forget that perhaps other than T2, BTTF contained the most torturous set of pre-shows that you had to experience before actually getting to the ride. Which was pretty damn crappy anyway. Yeah, I won't miss this attraction. dt

Worst episode of Lost EVER! It was basically a "clip" show with just about zero new information, featuring characters that no one cares about. Boo. dt

Nice shirt, serious journalist guy. And yeah, that "we loot at websites when we're at home and bored" was pretty damn funny. dt

I really like the "Where In The World Is Yetiball" one. All sorts of fun could be had with that one. Don't forget the Weekly World News cover contest idea that someone suggested before. That opens a lot of possibilities too. dt

The Home Economics Story is the greatest thing ever broadcast on TV. dt

SFA is worth a visit if you've never been there before. Wild One is one of the best wooden coasters in the SF chain, Superman is a really good ride, and Joker's Jinx is also a lot of fun. I would advise staying away from the place on a weekend, just like any corporate park. If you go, get there before opening, and quickly make your way back to Batwing, since as others have said, it has really bad capacity. The area around the park is fine, and the traffic won't be too annoying. Yes, the park is nowhere near as good as Hersheypark or Kennywood, but if you want credits, there are far worse places you could visit. dt

Looks good, and makes sense from an organizational standpoint. Nice job. dt

Happy Birthday Wally! dt

Well, it depends what the park is promoting. I'm sure they'll be showing off whatever new attractions they have for the year, and there's usually at least one speech or presentation by park officials. If they're running rides, you might get some, just be advised that the rides are being run so media can get footage of them, which often means a lot of downtime between dispatches. A lot of non-media people think media events are supposed to be like ERT, which is so not the case. Have fun, take pictures, and enjoy the opportunity to visit the park when almost no one is there. Just remember the day is for the media, and they are the priority during the event. dt

Good to see Kristen is well and back at home with her parents and her guards, Penguin and Yeti Ball. dt

As always, Jahan's photo TR entertain. Looks like everyone had a good time. And I agree that Indy is in dire need of a rehab. I was really disappointed with my ride on it a few weeks ago, as so much stuff wasn't working right. And "Rockin'" Space Mountain must die! dt

Those pics of MGM reminded me of when I was there a few years ago during Spring Break week. Just after opening, Tower had a similar wait and fastpass return time to what you guys experienced. It was the busiest I had ever seen the place. But hell, a day at WDW, even during spring break, beats a day at most other parks. dt

Awesome photos. Nicole is now a better person for having experienced Dinosaur. And not experience Great Movie Ride! And thank god someone finally posted queue photos of that new Monsters Inc attraction. I've been dying to see those. dt

^Let's not forget our totally bizarre experience in the restaurant, where they would not let us BUY additional drinks. Yes, that's right, we wanted to purchase more drinks (as it was about 100 degrees outside), and we were refused. Yeah, that made sense. The park was nice looking, but there wasn't anything there that was a standout attraction, or anything that I'd want to ride again. There are a lot of parks in Europe I'd rather return to for another visit before this place. dt

I've been enjoying this photo TRI was in Vegas last week, and skipped all those coasters. One ride on ME many years ago was enough! I don't remember CB being too bad, and rode Desperado many, many years ago when it was still OK. I'm thinking that there will probably never be another coaster built in town, as the casinos seemed to have shifted away from any sort of "family" focus and are moving back to the old standards, gambling and booze. dt

The Cheese Shop goddamn owns. I never leave there without spending tons of money on all sorts of stuff. Including cheese. Across the street is The Trellis, which I highly recommend visiting. It's the place where the "Death By Chocolate" cookbook was created. The desserts are, um, really good... dt

The fact that ACE would spend $7000 on a sign shows everything that is wrong with that organization. dt

Happy Birthday Elissa! dt