Meteornotes

Thanks for posting those pics, they were great! You and your brother were really cool, and I'm glad you could hang out with us all for three days. Dave "I stayed off the obstacle course!" Thomas

I'll be posting my own TRs and photos at some point (Mary took about 1800 pictures!), but I just wanted to say that Mary and I had an AWESOME time on the Europe trip. Almost all of the parks were great, and I now have new #1 wood and steel coasters (Balder and Expedition GeForce, of course!). Thanks to Robb & Elissa for organizing all of this, and for putting up with us on the trip. And to Dan and Joey for putting up with us too. Really, you couldn't think of a better group of people to spend three weeks with. And all those people that came out to the parks to hang out with us were cool too. I suck at remembering names, so I can't name people individually, but we both enjoyed talking to you all and learning more about the parks and places we were visiting. We came home to a house full of cranky animals (though they seem to have been well fed in our absence, so I'm not sure what they were complaining about!), a giant box full of mail, and no interest in eating at McDonald's any time soon... Thanks again everyone! dt

Do they have a lot of concerts there like they do at Wild Adventures? They likely boost the number of people that visit the park. Just a guess, as like you, I don't quite see anything at this park that would entertain anyone for more than an hour or two. And certainly not multiple visits... dt

This is indeed sad, but like others have said, there was likely an underlying medical condition that was previously unknown that caused this. As far as height restrictions go, I think they only take into account that someone will fit correctly into a restraint system, not whether or not the ride may be too intense for someone. I have to say, though, that Disney goes way beyond what anyone would expect notifying people about the intensity of the ride. There are signs everywhere, and multiple announcements are made about it, so I don't think anyone could get on the attraction and not have some idea that it's fairly intense... dt

I had four impacted wisdom teeth removed years ago. I was knocked out for the surgery, so obviously I don't remember that part. Afterwards, once I could take all the gauze out of my mouth (that crap tastes awful!), there was a little swelling, but the pain really wasn't all that bad. Everyone has a different reaction, but it's pretty common surgery and you'll likely have no problems, as long as you follow the doctor's instructions and take any medications they give you... dt

One thing about Knoebel's is that the parking lot can be packed, but the lines won't be so bad, especially if it's a weekend. Most of the people are there for picnics, and don't ride as much since it's tickets only on weekends. Plus, Knoebel's actually knows how to operate rides to capacity, so even if there's a line, you won't be waiting long... dt

It's not really intense at all. There's one decent moment of airtime, and while the helix can be intense, the train usually comes to pretty much a dead stop at the mid-course brake, making it so much less intense. It's an OK ride, but nothing compared to the S:ROS hypers at other SF parks, or even the B&M hypers... dt

It is official, the Axe Murdering Duck is the GREATEST ITEM EVER!!! Thanks for posting those pics, I might make one into an avatar... dt

Kennywood is one of the greatest parks in the country. It's clean, has a great ride collection, excellent operations, and the fries kick ass! Seriously, it is worth visiting if you've never been there... dt

Awesome TR and awesome photos, but you need to post the picture of the Axe Murdering Duck! That sounds like the best gift shop item ever! dt

OK, the guy using SFMM as a public bathroom needs to be the Official Photo Of SFMM! That may be the best photo EVER!!! That looked like an awesome time. I almost flew out to terrorize everyone with my presence. Perhaps next time... dt

These are kicking ass! I'll have to work on one if I get a chance... dt

Oh man, that has special episode of Cops written all over it! That's a great story. And it uses my current favorite device, the taser! If only I could be armed with one when out grocery shopping or at Target... dt

You know, thinking about it, Robb is probably on the right track here. TTD and KK really push what's been done before with this type of coaster. The technology seems to work pretty well in smaller rides like Stormrunner, but there are likely a lot more engineering problems to overcome with each additional heighth record they attempt with one of these. I remember all the complaining about Superman at SFMM not opening when it was supposed to, but I seem to recall it running fairly well after they delayed it. Of course, it has all sorts of problems now, but I think that's more of a SFMM budget issue... I think that the manufacturer and the park probably share the blame here. But is this unexpected? This is a very complex piece of machinery, and the more complex something is, the more likely it's going to break. I doubt that SFGAdv was running the ride in some sort of crazy manner causing it to malfunction. At this point, there's no official word of what happend, just some speculation. I think it's more a case of problems not coming up until they run the thing with people on a regular basis. It's sort of like software. You can test it over and over, but until you get it out to your users only then will you see how well it operates and/or what problems you have with it. It sucks that it's down for anyone planning to visit, but hopefully they'll make a note of it on their website, phone message line, and on a prominate sign that is highly visable BEFORE people pay $10 to park their cars, which should cut down on guest disatisfaction a bit... dt

Local Giant grocery stores are selling discounted PKD tickets. And Diet Coke cans have $7 off for PKD. dt

Another kickass photo update! Ozark Wildcat looks like fun. And you gotta love that horse statue. Branson is a strange, strange place... dt

And so the "So Many Bees" song was born... Last place I remember seeing bees on a ride was on the second lift of Twister. Adds a little excitement to the ride! dt

There were some amazing photos in that report! Thanks for posting. That new entrance at Kennywood looks reallly good. I haven't been to any of those parks since 2001 (other than Kennywood, which I visited in 2002). I need to get back to some of those places... dt

I got dizzy just looking at the coconut dessert! I want to try that restaurant the next time I'm down there. We thought about it back in March, but I didn't think there would be anything there that Mary would eat. As always, Derek's TRs RULE! Looking forward to the next part... dt

Wes, it sounds like you need an industrial strength taser near your desk. Or a people sized bug zapper to capture the unwary that wander into your cube. Also, when they're discussing Star Wars, just constantly yell out "Ewoks Rule!" In fact, do that during the World Of Warcraft discussions too. Should keep them confused... dt

Ah, the things you see when you're out without your tranquilizer gun... dt

Batwing first, as it's a slow loader. The other ride that takes awhile is the Invertigo, but it also seems to be down a lot. I'd personally get Batwing then S:ROS since you're already in that corner of the park. Superman will likely have the longest line of anything in the park. Everything else shouldn't take long. Roar never seems to have a line. If you see the Typhoon Sea Coaster actually running, get in line! I've been to the park over 20 times, and have manged to get one ride on that thing. They don't run it a lot as it requres a lot of operators, plus it seems to break a lot. It's worth a ride if you like water rides. Have fun! dt

Joey wins the "Post Of The Week" award! I'll be bringing some extra pennies along to Europe for you... dt

Could someone please explain the logic to me behind the "slack" belt on MF? I always figured that if a belt was properly fastened, then it was doing it's intended job. It seems to me that it's a pretty easy call, since either you can fasten the belt or not, instead of this judgement call thing they're doing now... dt

Wow, that was the first actual account of the looping waterslide I've ever read. I've seen pictures of that torture device, but never had heard of anyone that actually got on it, until now. I think I need to visit the doctor just from reading that account, though, as that sounded like it was beyond uncomfortable... dt