Jonathan

Will pass along the message to Ed 8) John and Jen have posted their Kentucky Kingdom pictures at http://www.americoaster.com/index.php?s=214b334d4df6646a173496d6c9a7a51e&act=module&module=gallery&cmd=sc&cat=92 and their Holiday World pictures at http://www.americoaster.com/index.php?s=214b334d4df6646a173496d6c9a7a51e&act=module&module=gallery&cmd=sc&cat=93 6/6/05 Midwest Conquest Day 3 Paramount's Kings Island After our incredibly long day on Sunday, we were able to get a decent amount of sleep at our hotel, and we got a free breakfast with our room at the restaurant adjacent to the hotel. The morning started off fairly uneventful, and astonishingly enough we managed to pull out of the parking lot close to the scheduled time. Apparently I drifted off to sleep in the van, because when I woke up we were in the parking lot at Paramount's Kings Island, and it was about 9:00 AM. Once we all made it into the gate, we got reservation tickets for The Italian Job, and then gathered for the morning walkback. The morning at Kings Island did not go very well for me and some others. We rode the Beast twice after being walked back before opening, and I personally was absolutely beaten to pieces. The brakes every couple hundred feet of track were wonderful as well. After that we found that Tomb Raider had yet to open, along with a lot of other rides. The Italian Job was scheduled to open at noon, but maintanence did not even begin walking the track until 11, and the noon opening was missed. The highlight of the morning was the Nick Central area, where Dave, Mark, Jay, and I rode the log flume, which we got totally soaked on, and then joined the rest of the group for Beastie and Scooby Doo & the Haunted Castle. Beastie is a fun little woodie, and Scooby Doo was oustanding. Delirium was down and would not open all day, and Son of Beast was down as well, although it would open later in the day. We rode Vortex, which made the Great American Scream Machine at Great Adventure look like a pretty smooth ride, and Racer forwards, which was jackhammering and bouncing all over the track. After hanging around at The Italian Job for a bit, some of us went to Wings and had lunch. After a pretty discouraging morning, we were content to sit in there for over an hour. Thankfully, after lunch the day really started to pick up. Some of us headed over to The Italian Job and found that it had opened and was running two trains. Thanks to the gold pass lane, we were on within minutes. The Italian Job is a pretty fun ride, and I have to say I was impressed, although the fishtail effect was either off or unnoticable, and the stair effect is off. By no means is it a ride near Disney or Universal caliber, but it was fun, and the pitch black tunnel was a blast. I just hope the park keeps it in good shape over the next few years. After another trip over to Racer (the backwards side was much much better), the group took a ride on Adventure Express, which is still one of the more insane mine trains I have been on. Someone suggested that they take some of the brakes off of the Beast and put them on Adventure Express. Then we went over to everyone's favorite wooden coaster, Son of Beast. Actually, it is my favorite wooden coaster in the park. While I think most people in the group hated it, I still found it to be enjoyable, although definitely rough. Following that, some of us went on Drop Zone, which is an amazing drop ride. Top Gun, which had been down, was back open, so we rode that next, and had a good ride. Things certainly improved from the morning. The Italian Job was still only running for those with reservation tickets, and luckily we had some, so we rode a second time, waiting about 20 minutes. The rest of the group then broke off, while Jay, Martin, and myself did the unthinkable, and rode Son of Beast again. Then, being ill in the head, I rode Son of Beast for a third time, and headed for the Eiffel Tower to meet the group. The park was open until 10, but everyone was through by 6, so we got a head start for Indiana. We ate at a La Rosa's (or something), which was a wild experience with our group (what isn't, though). Arriving in Shelbyville, a few members of the group were excited to find that the hotel had free cocktails, and some of us hopped in the pool for a while. The whole group ended up mingling by the pool for a couple of hours, and now that it is midnight, I think it's about time to head to bed. We're off to Indiana Beach in the morning. A couple more comments on Kings Island: Jay: I miss Kentucky Kingdom Dave: N/A (appears to have just fallen asleep)

6/5/05 Midwest Conquest Day 2 Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom Holiday World & Splashin' Safari Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom After a little more than two hours of sleep, I awoke to find that Dave had fallen asleep on the floor watching Sportscenter, and Jay had only gone to bed about 15 minutes earlier. After a lot of struggling to awake Jay, we found ourselves checking out, and arriving at the Godsey home shortly after 3:30 AM. Mark and Paul were already there, and our tired company set off in the van to the Microtel hotel to pick up the rest of the group. The drivers loaded up on caffeine, Martin got his first coffee of the trip (many more to come), and we hit the road bound for Kentucky. We arrived at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom shortly before 11 AM with the sun blazing, and temperatures likely in the 90's. The park operations manager met our group, and ushered us to the back of the park before opening. To our utter delight, we were given rides on T2, the glorious Vekoma SLC, before opening. The group stuck together for some rides, and split apart some, but everyone managed to ride all of the coasters, I believe. We rode the wonderfully painful B&M standup Chang, Thunder Run, Twisted Twin(s) (only one side was open), Greezed Lightnin', Roadrunner Express, and Roller Skater. Some people rode the Intamin giant drop, as well as the Stargate simulator ride, and the shoot-the-chutes. By the time 2 PM rolled around, we were all long ready to hit the road for Santa Claus, Indiana. Some thoughts on Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom: Jonathan: Would have been much better if it wasn't incredibly freaking hot. Twisted Twins and Thunder Run are both great, Chang and T2 are terrible, and Greezed Lightnin' is a lot of fun. I would have been happy with leaving an hour earlier, though. To Holiday World we go... Dave: Thank god we left at 2 PM. Bobby: A couple of really cute ride ops. Ed: It's alright. Chris: T2 was running really well. Jay: T2 was awesome, Chang was better than I expected, Thunder Run needs to end after the first turn, Twisted Twins needs different trains, the wild mouse needs to run a few more cars, and the Roller Skater was intense. Anthony: Not worth going back. Holiday World After Kentucky Kingdom, we headed to Santa Claus, Indiana, and Holiday World. The first thing done upon arrival was lunch, at Kringle's, and then it was off to Raven and Legend. The main parking lot was almost full, but the lines for the coasters were not too bad, and I guess everyone was in Splashin' Safari. Raven and Legend were both running one train, and Raven was running somewhat sluggish, although both coasters sped up later in the afternoon. We hit the Hallowswings wave swinger, as well as the Liberty Launch, the S&S double shot. Liberty Launch is probably the shortest drop tower I've seen, but it was one of the better ones. We took over the Howler as a group, which was interesting to say the least, and then invaded the play area. A few people nearly died on the adult teater totters, and I believe Ed nearly got stuck in one of the slides. We then hit the flying scooters, which were fun, but no one could snap them, of course. After that I spent some time filming the coasters, and then the rest of the night riding Raven and Legend. I didn't go to Splashin' Safari, but I believe a few people did. It turned out to be a good day, although some night rides on Raven and Legend would have been nice. Looks like the park may have quite a treat coming up in 2006. Some thoughts on Holiday World: Jonathan: Raven and Legend are still a lot of fun, although nothing like they were when I rode them at Stark Raven Mad 2002. I think I prefer Legend slightly to Raven now, although it's hard to pick. Free unlimited soft drinks are awesome, although I did have a Sprite poured on my head. Jay: Legend was awesome, Raven was anticipointing. The speed was there, the airtime wasn't. All of the flat rides were really good. Dave: A well balanced park. Natalie: Holiday World is the cleanest park we have been to, and will go to ever. The lifeguards were incredibly alert and attentive. Bahari was a lot of fun. The cell phone wristband program for lost children is a really great idea. Anthony: They need to teach other parks how to handle bags in coaster stations.

6/4/05 Midwest Conquest Day 1 Libertyland I only finished half of my trip reports from the East Coast Trek, so we're going to try a slightly different approach this time. Jay, Dave, and myself are on Dave's laptop at the Baymont Inn here in Memphis, and if possible I'll keep posting these during the trip (probably not, though). Jay and I rolled out of Belmont, North Carolina at around 5 AM this morning, and we were in Dave's truck in Hendersonville and on the road by 7. With a few stops along the way, and a change in time zones, we arrived at our hotel in Memphis at around 2:30 Central time, and were greeted by temperatures in the 90's. After finding our way to Chris and Natalee's home without too many problems (and after encountering a Chinese restaurant next door to a "Gourmet Dog" place), we met the rest of the group. Chris and Natalee went all out, with ribs, bbq, hot dogs, and much, much more. After an outstanding meal and a little screening of my DVD from last year, our massive party party piled into the vans and headed across town to Libertyland for a little warm up. Libertyland was not very crowded, and we had a fairly relaxed evening, staying in the park from about 5:30-8:00. Libertyland has three coasters, the highlight of which was the Zippin' Pippin, the second oldest operating coaster in the country. Only two people rode the Dragon Wagon, and apparently they got on because they payed the operator $20. I'm sure it was a pretty fun ride, but I'm not about to shell out $20 to ride one. After the park, we made a fun-filled run to Wal-Mart for supplies, and then headed back to the Godsey home. Leftovers were eaten, and a final rundown of the trip was given. As I type this it is 11:40 PM, and we have to be back at the Godsey's at 3:30 AM to head for Lousville. Plenty of time to sleep in the van, I suppose. Here's what we thought of Libertyland: Jonathan: Not a bad park. It certainly didn't live up to the pre-trek stop last year (William's Grove), but good times were had. The level of madness amongst the group has already reached a level that it did not reach last year until the last few days of the trip. The Revolution was maybe the smoothest Arrow coaster I've ever been on, and the bumper boats were fairly comical. The Zippin' Pippin was a real surprise, though. A fairly smooth ride with a couple rib-smashing laterals and some surprisingly large amounts of airtime. Great ride, and today was a great kickoff to the trip. Time for a little nap... Jay: Zippin Pippin is definitely a hidden gem, as for the park it seemed fairly clean, and well run, despite its small size. I only rode the 2 big coasters, so I unfortunately can't comment on any other rides. Revolution looked horrible, but ran like a champ, much better than mega loopers more than twice it's size. One thing I've noticed about the John A. Miller creations is that while they are good in the back, they are phenominal up front. I definitely didn't expect to be thrown into my lapbar multiple times on the ride. All in all a very good day, definitely wouldn't mind spending some more time here if I ever happen to be in the area. Dave: It was fun. John and Jen have some pictures from today up at Americoaster: http://www.americoaster.com/index.php?act=...y&cmd=sc&cat=90

Cinderella Man - Despite Ron Howard's insanely heavy-handed directing, this movie was great. Russel Crowe actually did an outstanding job, and Paul Giamatti stole the show. The fight scenes were also extremely well done. The highlight of the night, though, was when the sound went completely robotic for about 10 minutes of the film, which had some of the theater rolling with laughter. 9/10 A-

What the hell? I'm pretty sure that's not healthy...

"The Fisher King" - More Terry Gilliam. Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges both give great performances in yet another wonderful Gilliam film. A- 9/10

I've spoken with your agent numerous times, but with our budget I'm afraid you are way out of our range. If I had known you had a season pass I would have invited you along!

That's certainly not the most flattering picture of me, to say the least.

5/20/05 Friday morning I headed up to Pigeon Forge to get my Dollywood pass processed before the Ride World trip, so I could use it at Silver Dollar City and Celebration City. With rain pounding down and lightning in all directions, I left the house around 5 AM and picked up my friend Matthew. The outlook was not good, with the forecast calling for rain and storms all day, and it rained for most of the 4 hour drive. It was pouring when we stopped at a McDonalds in Asheville for breakfast, but had stopped by the time we got to the Tennessee Welcome Center where we met Jay Miller. After driving through the Foothills Parkway dodging fallen limbs and animals, and then getting lost briefly in Gatlinburg, we pulled into Dollywood. By this point it was raining hard again, but we were unphased, and at the park entrance we were joined by David Drake. After Jay and I processed our passes (Dollywood has the nicest quality season passes of any park I have seen), we headed straight for Thunderhead Gap. Matthew was a first time Thunderhead rider, so I took him up to the front seat, and needless to say he was impressed. The entire station was filled with annoying school groups, and Thunderhead was only running one train, but thankfully the second train would soon be put on, and by early afternoon the school groups would disperse. The coaster was running a little sluggish in the early hours, but was still an outstanding ride. By the time we got off the ride the rain had stopped, and the skies were clearing. I took our rain ponchos back out to the car, and returned to find everyone in the bakery near the front entrance, enjoying a pastry the size of a Big Mac. With blue skies and a warm temperature, it was shaping up to be a pretty nice day. We decided next to venture into the park’s new County Fair area. The rennovated County Fair looked pretty nice, and the new flat rides seem to be fairly popular. Our first stop was the Dizzy Disk, which none of us had tried before. The ride is actually very good, and it had a long cycle, although as a male rider I found it to be a bit uncomfortable. What I was looking forward to most, though, was the innocent looking new ride with no one in line sitting directly beside the Dizzy Disk. Yes, Dollywood has installed a set of tea cups, called the Lemon Twist. I discovered the wonder of tea cups last summer on the East Coast Trek with Dave and Jay at Six Flags Great Adventure, and then again at Six Flags New England. We found that we can get the car spinning at unnatural speeds, creating one of the most intense rides I’ve ever experienced. I decided to film this time, so Dave, Jay, and Matthew went, and had an insane ride. From my point of view, it seemed that someone was pushing a fast forward button on their car. With this model, instead of locking the wheel and then allowing the cars to slowly stop spinning, the cars are braked to an immediate hault, which is incredibly disorienting. After that, we headed into Craftman’s Valley. I look forward to riding Blazing Fury everytime I go to Dollywood. It’s incredibly cheesy, and not that thrilling, but it’s still just a really fun ride. It can also crank people through better than any ride in the park, so there is never much of a wait. Jay observed that “this ride makes less sense every time I ride it”, which is very true. While we were at that end of the park, we hit the Tennessee Tornado twice, which was virtually a walk-on. The Tornado was running considerably rougher than the last time I rode it, but it is still a great, although very short, ride. The first loop is one of my favorite inversions, and the “iron butterfly” is incredibly forceful. On our way to lunch, at Jay’s suggestion, we went up to Dreamland Forest and messed around for a bit, launching foam balls at each other with the air guns. After that little detour, we went to Ms. Lillians for BBQ, and I had a turkey leg that must have come from a turkey as big as me. We even met Ms. Lillian herself, who did something involving a rubber chicken and a buttermilk biscuit. I’m still not completely sure what happened there, but it was rather bizarre. Naturally, the best thing to do after lunch is ride the tea cups, so we went back over. The first time Jay, Dave, and myself rode, and then, surprised to discover I wasn’t sick, I suggested a second ride. Dave was smart enough to sit that one out, and Matthew joined in. I nearly lost it that time around, and was finished with the tea cups for the day after that one. Back down to Thunderhead Gap we went for a final ride before Dave headed out. The coaster was running faster than in the morning, and we had a great ride in the back seat. At this point Matthew discovered that the brutal tea cups ride had left their mark, as he had two giant red whelps on his back. Jay had a similar injury. Following our Thunderhead ride, Matthew figured it would be best if he went to first aid, so off he went, and I walked out to Dave’s truck with Dave and Jay. On our way out we were greeted by Alan and Barbara Martin, and John Bedtalyon, who were pulling into the parking lot to enter after 3 PM. Jay had left his car in Gatlinburg, so he went with Dave to get his car, and after briefly speaking with Alan, Barbara, and John, I went to summon Matthew from first aid. We went back down to Thunderhead to meetup with everyone else, and got some more rides in. John was treated to his first ride on Thunderhead, and the look on his face as the train came through the station fly-through told me he enjoyed it. Our group of six headed back to County Fair and once again over to the tea cups. Despite the pounding they had given his body, Jay rode again, by himself, and we were thoroughly entertained watching him. At the end of the ride he was so disoriented that he stood up while the ride was still moving, and was yelled at by the operator. We went over to Blazing Fury and Tennessee Tornado so that Alan and John could ride, and then stopped for some ice cream. We then rode the carousel (I got the rooster…), and headed for the front of the park. John, Jay, Matthew, and myself rode the Smoky Mountain Wilderness Adventure Tour on the way there. We sat on the front row, so the screen was so close that the entire ride seemed nothing more than a huge blur of colors. I wasn’t really impressed. Back down at Thunderhead, the coaster was nearly a walk-on, and we spent the final hour before closing riding over and over. I think I’ve decided that I like the back seat the best now, and Thunderhead is probably my favorite coaster. It’s good to have a great wooden coaster four hours away from me, although I certainly wouldn’t complain if Carowinds built one. After such a gloomy weather forecast that morning, it turned out to be a beautiful day at the park, and our visit could not have gone much better. After a very tiring day, Matthew and I said goodbye to Jay, and then, after getting groceries, followed Alan, Barbara, and John to the cabin they had rented, which was a really cool place up a mountain that had to be accessed by a steep and windy dirt road. Alan grilled up some great brats, and we had a relaxing evening. I needed it after getting up at 4 AM, driving 4 hours, and then spending all day in the park. I drifted off to sleep sometime during “Goodfellas.” 5/21/05 Morning came quickly, and Alan, Barbara, and John were preparing for a full day back at Dollywood. Matthew and myself said our goodbyes, and then drove back into Gatlinburg to check out Ober Gatlinburg. After parking in town, we realized we needed to drive to the top of the mountain, so we went up there and paid to park again. Ober Gatlinburg is a very odd place; the definition of a cheap tourist trap, really. It does have its gems, though: the Aerial Tramway (we didn’t ride it) is touted as the largest in the country, and then there is what we were there for, the Alpine Slide. The slide consists of two concrete channels that wind down the bottom of the mountain, and are accessed by a chairlift. Each rider sits in a small cart with a handbrake that controls the speed. It is possible to wipe out, but that didn’t happen to either of us. We were only there for a quick stop, so we didn’t opt for the wristband. The slide is a lot of fun, and after a very controlled run down, I opted to try again and go all out. As I came flying out of the trees at high speed, I discovered there was a girl in front of me holding back on her brake and travelling at about 1 MPH, if that. So, that wild ride came to a screeching hault. We had a pretty good time, and I definitely wouldn’t mind going back and getting a wristband for the slide sometime. We found an Italian place on the edge of town, and had a nice meal before leaving Gatlinburg. We didn’t get lost once on the way home, which was good, and the trip went off without any major complications. Watch the video here: ADVENTURE IN THE SMOKIES (14 MB, Windows Media) VIDCAP: Let the thunder roooooooooooolllllll VIDCAP: Dollywood was celebrating its 20th anniversary VIDCAP: The tea cups provided quite a violent ride VIDCAP: The Disc-O is a fun ride VIDCAP: The Tennessee Tornado, like Dolly, has many big curves VIDCAP: Thunderhead entering the station fly-through VIDCAP: Yeah... VIDCAP: Ms. Lillian VIDCAP: The Aerial Tram at Ober Gatlinburg VIDCAP: Matthew on the Alpine Slide VIDCAP: Me getting very annoyed on the Alpine Slide

I was very happy to see him put "Brazil" and "Miller's Crossing" on the list.

Well, there goes our pre-Ride World trip stop.

Hahaha I was rolling at whoever was freaking out during the ride. Nice video, Jarvis.

Out of Carowinds, Kings Dominion, and Kings Island, my favorite is Carowinds (granted, it is my home park). I would have said Kings Dominion last year, but the relocation of the flyers have moved Carowinds to the top. I haven't been to Great America or Canada's Wonderland, but I don't see myself enjoying either one of them more.

Damn... Sorry you had such a rough day, Jarvis. Luckily, my visits up there have been fairly pleasant and uneventful, but this certainly isn't the first time I've heard the horror stories. It wasn't your new camcorder that got stolen, was it?

I just watched Primer. I'm not going to rate it, because I honestly have no idea what the f*$& I just watched. I have seen many odd movies, but never have I been so totally lost as I was when this ended. My mind must be too small to comprehend it. However, I have this feeling that it does actually make sense, and maybe if I watch it about 30 more times I will somehow begin to understand it. I enjoyed it, but I have yet to decide if it was either completely brilliant, or a complete mess.

If that's true, then it's unfortunate that the director, screenwriter, and entire cast weren't in there when it burned down.

Picked up the "12 Monkeys" special edition today, and finally got a chance to watch this Terry Gilliam gem. I won't deny my love for Gilliam: "Brazil" may very well be my favorite movie ever. But this film blew my mind. The script seemed very well written, and I'm sure it would have been an excellent movie if directed by someone else, but with Gilliam's ability to immerse the viewer into an incredibly surreal world, this film was amazing. This was Bruce Willis's best performance ever, in my opinion, and Brad Pitt was great as well, as was Madeleine Stowe. Another masterpiece from Gilliam, and as far as I'm concerned one of the greatest films of the 1990's. 10/10 A+

I wanted to see Crash, but was outvoted or something and saw Unleashed instead. Normally I don't care for Jet Li movies, but I'll have to admit, this one was pretty darn good. I thought it did a pretty good job of combining action and drama, and Morgan Freeman was great as always. I'm not ready to start handing Jet Li an Oscar for his acting, but I liked this film a lot. B+ 8/10

My Six Flags pass is probably the worst picture of me ever. Unfortunately, I renewed online this year, so I'll have to use it again. Maybe I'll scan it in to show. A friend of mine's Six Flags picture is the best, though. They apparently didn't zoom the camera in, because you can see the entire season pass processing room in the picture, and then his head takes up the bottom 1/8th of the picture.

Actually, ACE only requested an hour of ERT on Thunderhead. Hell, they gave RideWorld 2 hours on Thunderhead last fall, and are doing it again this fall.

Thanks for the report, Paul. Guess I'll get to try Kings Island's with you in about a month. 8)

I'm going to cry. Seriously though, I've heard so many painful sounding songs that I can't even begin to think of them all. I will second the fact that Linkin Park should be put in a rocket and launched into the sun, but sadly they are very far from the worst I've heard. That crap Rockman89 posted came very close to being the worst ever, but I'm not even sure I would consider that music.

Wow, it looks like that ride turned out really good. June can't come quickly enough!