Meteornotes

West Virginia nightlife looks very similar to central Pennsylvania nightlife! More people need to post TRs like this! I would, but my nightlife usually consists of either sleeping, watching TV, and/or yelling at the cat, which really doesn't make for excellent photographic subjects... dt

It made the late news here in Baltimore last night! The news woman said that many people were "terrorized" by the power failure. I think she might have been exaggerating a little... dt

^I remember someone throwing their shoes at one of my ride operators at Hersheypark! We laughed when security escorted them away. Don't recall anyone tossing a trashcan, but I do remember a guy trying to hop over a gate to linejump and getting his foot caught in a nearby trashcan and ended up sort of falling into it and knocking it over. I love it when people do stupid stuff and injure themselves in the process... dt

I would have no idea how many times I've been to any park, but my most visited has to be Hersheypark, since I gew up not too far away from it. I also worked there from 1979-1984, so I was there pretty much every day in the summer. Second on my list would be SFMM, where we went pretty much weekly when we lived in LA, followed by PGA, which we visited almost every Saturday when we lived in the bay area... dt

Football: Steelers and Eagles Baseball: Orioles Football is my favorite sport. Sundays in the fall are spent watching football and screaming at the television. A nice diversion from yelling at the cat... dt

The Hershey Arena was built in the 1930's, and is in pretty sad shape. I keep hearing different stories about what they want to do with that area (like tear it down and put a water park in that spot) but I guess for now it's staying. It seems a bit redundant with the new Giant Center, but I guess that it's close to the park keeps it open for some events, like the one you were at... dt

He gets his status for a couple of reasons. First, he runs/edits a print magazine, which is still of a higher status to PR and Media Relations people than any web or internet presence. Second, he's good in front of the camera, and is known for saying something positive about any new ride he encounters, which is what PR people want. I've heard that he's not as popular as he used to be in park circles, but it seems he's not totally worn out his welcome everywhere yet, so I guess he'll be making appearances at random media days for years to come... dt

There are about 30 parks within a six hour drive from Baltimore, MD, including such standouts as Knoebel's, Hersheypark, Kennywood and Cedar Point. I think the East Coast is a great place to live in general, but especially if you're a park/coaster fan, as there are just so many close by... dt

^It's a good thing we all like McDonalds... Dave "probably won't see a lot of sushi on this trip" Thomas

That's a kickass shirt design! Congrats!!! dt

I'm in no hurry to buy one. Hell, I just bought an XBox six months ago or so. I think they're going for a more "media entertainment center" than just a game unit, and I already have a kick ass media setup, so I'm not seeing right now how this is going to fit into my system. I keep hearing rumors of a $360 price point, but that's just rumor. I keep thinking it's going to be higher. I'll likely hold out until there are a lot of kickass games for the system... dt

I hope Kelly enjoys her future as a WalMart greeter. What an annoying skank. I was laughing when she said "I've had golf lessons" and proceeds to hit the ball about five feet. I've hit harder shots playing mini-golf... dt

Let's all hope that some fashion consultant doesn't decide to dress Robb up in some leather bondage wear for E3 next week... dt

^Right, those three parks are south of SF, and SFMW is North. And across the bay. It's a bit of a drive to SFMW from SF, and the traffic can be brutal until you get away from Oakland, so you'll need to factor that in. dt

^That phrase should go on the t-shirts... dt

These might be my favorite photo TRs on this site! You guys have too much fun... Dave "and yeah, bowling does rule!" Thomas

^Unbreakable goddamn owns! Best thing he's ever done. And it confused the hell out of everyone in the theater when we saw it, which just further proved that most people cannot pay attention to anything. That "From Justin To Kelly" movie looks like something we'd watch on HBO and just rip it to shreads and laugh our asses off in the process. I love really bad movies that are funny. The best one we've seen recently was "Volcano" which taught us stuff like lava can be contained by those cement dividers they use during road construction, and that you can stand right next to one where there's boiling lava on the otherside and not really feel the heat or anything... dt

I think this used to be more of a problem back in the '90's than it is now. There were some incidents there back then, usually related to some concert that was going on in the park. We just used to stay away from the place on Saturdays, which is probably good advice anyway, especially in the summer. I think the park has a much larger amount of security than they used to. It's not something I'd worry about now. On my last visit to the LA area, I thought the crowd at Knott's was much scarier than the one we saw at SFMM... dt

^Kennycon is about the only reason I ever think of joining ACE again. It is a great event at a great park. But then I figure that I can just go visit Kennywood on my own if I had any free time, and don't join. I was in ACE for awhile, went to some events, had fun, but realized that the group politics were not for me. Seeing some exceptionally immature behavior by some ACE folks that really should have known better pretty much put me off from renewing my membership. I can see cool coaster photos on the net (like here), get all the latest news and such, and have just as much fun going to parks with small groups, or just the two of us. I do sometimes think about joining ECC just because their magazine is some completely kick ass compared to any other coaster mag. But I am one lazy bastard and will likely won't get around that for awhile... dt

I worked at Hersheypark from 1979-1984, as a rides operator and rides supervisor. HP was not anything like it is now back then, in fact, in a book that someone published on the history of the park a few years back, the time I worked there was called "The Years Of Decay". Thankfully they decided to greatly expand and take much better care of the place, and make it one of the best parks in the US... dt

It's our 6 month anniversary. And she's still talking to me... dt

^Bwahahahah, I didn't even think of that! Of course, if I did do that, it would probably spark a nine hour conversation about their favorite Fraiser episodes, followed by a video tape full of "funny" moments from America's Funniest Home Videos, and then a discussion about Everybody Loves Raymond... Dave "visiting my parents is, um, fun!" Thomas

OK, that was funny! Looks like someone yanked his legs out from under him... dt

Bring me in as a "special guest instructor". She'll run screaming from the room within five minutes... dt

Some stuff you might want to think of doing at WDW: Illuminations Cruise Dinner at California Grill (this is a MUST in my opinion) The Cirque show (as previously recommended) I've never managed to make it to a waterpark there, but they look like fun. Pleasure Island is also fun for an evening. Be sure to check out the Explorer's Club and catch a show at the Comedy place. As far as cheap IOA tickets, they don't exist. I think there might be an AAA discount, but it's pretty much you pay what they're charging. IOA is totally worth what they're charging, at least to me. And if you get over there, don't forget to eat at Mythos! Have fun in FL! dt