Jonathan

I do a combination of both usually.

It's a brake run and can stop the train if the block ahead is not clear.

Bring back the Flooded Mine.

This is awesome news, mainly due to the fact that this is not too far up the road from me.

Albert Pujols

Congratulations to both of you and good luck!

Click HERE for all 157 images including high-res versions. On Friday the 13th I figured there was no better time to go to Howl-O-Scream, so I headed north toward Williamsburg. I took the ferry across the James River on the way up. Good luck getting out of your car during the trip with the sea gulls waiting to bomb you. Busch Gardens is one of my favorite parks, and for the last three years I have lived just three hours away. Despite that, this was my first time to the park since 2000. I was a bit surprised to find the parking lot entrance moved over to near Apollo's Chariot. This is a beautiful sight. With Gryphon coming next year and my severe lack of visits to the park over the last few years, I decided to go ahead and get a 2007 season pass. It was way too cold to ride Escape from Pompeii today. I made a beeline for one of my favorite steel coasters, Apollo's Chariot. The ride was basically walk-on, so I got a few rides in then moved on. Apollo's Chariot is probably my second favorite of the B&M hypers, as I prefer it just slightly over Nitro, and of course Goliath is my favorite. Next up was Big Bad Wolf, which I still really like. I definitely cannot fit into those cars very comfortably anymore, though. I stopped by Das Festhaus just to look around. Curse of DarKastle was one of two rides (Corkscrew Hill the other) put in since I was last at the park. I haven't been on Spiderman at IOA, and from what I hear it blows DarKastle away, but I liked DarKastle a lot. The second time I rode it the guy beside me fell for the effects everytime, grabbing his lapbar in terror at the scene where the sleigh seems to fall over the castle wall. Alpengeist was the first really large coaster I ever rode, back when it opened in 97, but I have never really had a great ride on it. I've always thought it is a beautiful ride, but it's always been one of my least favorite inverteds. That changed today. The trim on the first drop was not turned on, so the first half of the ride was very fast and intense. I gained a new appreciation for this ride, and would now consider it among my favorite inverteds. What could be back there? Here's another new attraction since I last visited. More on this later. Here's me with a parrot, looking like I'm drunk just like most pictures of me. Busch Gardens has lots of animals. Like wolves... And bald eagles. Here's something else that is different from when I was last here. Hastings is no more, and Ireland has arrived. I definitely approve of the change. Corkscrew Hill was a huge surprise. Unlike pretty much every other simulator ride I have ever been on with a horrible script that tries to be clever and ends up horribly cheesy, Corkscrew Hill was actually very funny and creatively immersed you in the story. The dalmations did not seem to like being in their pen. The clydesdale says hello. Loch Ness Monster time. Here's my crappy Gryphon construction photo. The turn out of the station was complete when I was there. Loch Ness Monster is still fun, although a bit rough. The station was nearly completely empty for it. I'm pretty sure this is a required shot if you have a camera with you. Yay Alpengeist. Obligatory duck picture. Such a photogenic park. Such a photogenic park. The train was turned into a Halloween ride as part of Howl-O-Scream, and I was actually a bit let down. Unfortunately, it was still not fully dark when I did it, but it still was not nearly what I was expecting after hearing so many great things about it. Poor Drachen Fire had its station converted into a haunted house for Howl-O-Scream. The Lorikeet Aviary is the best part of the entire park. This bird attached itself to this guy and would not stop biting his hair and ears. Very true. Hi there. Yeah hey we're trying to sleep up here thanks. The sampler plate at Trapper's Smokehouse had brisket, bbq chicken, a spare rib, and a baby back rib. Highly recommended. I love the way Big Bad Wolf winds through the fake village. Ireland in Halloween mode. This was a maze in the England area near the front of the park. All of the haunted attractions were good, but none of them were great, and I really didn't find them to be all that different from what you would find at say Scarowinds. The Escape from Pompeii maze was the coolest, simply because the maze was actually inside the Pompeii building on the first floor. What really excited me was Apollo's Chariot night rides. It did not disappoint. After doing all of the Halloween mazes and getting my Apollo's Chariot night ride, I headed back for Raleigh. Busch Gardens is a fantastic park, and I can't wait to get back next spring to ride Gryphon.

I went to the fair for a little bit before and after the NC State football game last Saturday. Did not really see anything that appealed to me; just the same old stuff. I did, however, have a deep fried milky way, and it was fantastic. I loved that wood carving. And oh yeah Don't hate!

Those rides aren't necessarily going to be scrapped. B&C is likely trying to sell them, but I don't know how much hope there is for anyone to buy any of those rides. I agree that the haunted mansion would be the biggest loss, and unfortunately it probably has the least chance of being bought.

Sounds like a hell of a birthday weekend.

Go get your ****in shine box

I went down to Myrtle Beach along with Wes on the 17th for my last rides, but unexpectedly found myself there Saturday helping out some people who flew in from LA to film a documentary (FYI it is called "Becoming Attraction" and they hope to have it shown on Discovery, Travel Channel, or History Channel; website will be http://addisonfilms.com at least temporarily). It was definitely an interesting experience, and there were a lot of emotions on display from people who have been going to the Pavilion for their entire lives. I heard a lot of different opinions from locals on the closing of the Pavilion and the intentions of the B&C company. It will certainly be weird approaching the beach from 501 and not seeing the park in the distance. Encore Video Productions, which is located across the street from the Hurricane's far helix, is going to mount a webcam on their roof facing the Pavilion. They plan to have live video streaming 24/7 of the site during deconstruction and construction of whatever is built there.

Click HERE for all 99 images from the Pavilion including high-res versions. Click HERE for Family Kingdom. With C3 a fading memory, I was off to the beach to pay my last respects to one of the last remaining seaside amusement parks in the country before it is destroyed for shops and hotels. I stopped at this welcome center about 30 minutes from the beach and for some reason I asked if they had Pavilion discounts. They did, and I was able to get a wristband for $22. "Great!" I thought. This was the sign that greeted me at the Pavilion. Yep, it's 'Familyy Day'. All wristbands $10. .................... Here's Hurricane as seen from my car. It's definitely a bit weird going to a park knowing that in a few weeks it's going to slowly begin coming down. It's always cool to see the ocean behind a coaster (look closely). Here's the building that started it all. Looks like the GAP found their way to Myrtle Beach. Of course, I have to include at least one shot of the actual beach. I met up with Tommy, Brandi, Josh, and Barron, and we ate lunch at Pier 14. Another obligatory Myrtle Beach destination is the Gay Dolphin. You can get mini license plates for virtually any name you can possibly imagine. One last shot of the beach before we go off to ride roller coasters. These signs were at many businesses in town. Here's Tommy buying his $10 wristband. I guess I get $12 of extra memories. Apparently the organ and carousel are going to be kept and possibly moved, which is a good thing. I wonder if Hurricane will be delivering smooth rides? No. The Pavilion was JAMMED. I'm guessing it was in part because of the $10 wristbands, and in part because of the whole permanent closure thing. Yep, this is the line for the wild mouse. Through the tree... literally. Mad Mouse is a pretty awesome mouse and never has any brakes turned on until the end of the ride. Finally... we get to ride. I hear this flume is really cool. Unfortunately, I will never know. :-/ For those who want to be the last to experience the park, you can come to a private event on September 30th. After two rides on Hurricane and one on the mouse, it was time to head over to Family Kingdom. I had hoped to ride as much as I could at the Pavilion, but the insane crowds put a stop to that. Over at Family Kingdom, I found some familiar faces on Swamp Fox. Whereas the Pavilion was jammed, we were virtually the only people at Family Kingdom. Also, ACE members were given free wristbands with their membership card. Can't beat that. Here's why you don't let Tommy get ahold of your camera. This log flume was excellent. Lift hill #2. "Don't forget to 'shmile' for the camera!" Luxurious. Yeah we got a little bit wet. Here's the beautiful view from the ferris wheel. Oh yeah there's some water over there or something. Whatev... back to taking pictures of Swamp Fox. We havin a party. Swamp Fox was delivering some enormous airtime in the back seat. Still ranked 8th in the country I see Wes came down from Charlotte specifically to experience this drop tower. It is without a doubt the best drop tower ever made. Yay for Sally dark rides. I said goodbye to the GAP people and prepared to head back to Raleigh. But, there was no way I was going to let them tear down one of my favorite dark rides without one last ride. I sucked it up and waited nearly an hour to ride the Haunted Hotel. Haunted Hotel is a classic very well done dark ride, and will probably be the biggest loss when the Pavilion is torn down. Goodbye Hurricane. Hopefully someone else will buy you and give you a little bit of lovin'. That thing is seriously brutal... It will be weird without the Pavilion in downtown Myrtle Beach, and without seeing Hurricane rising into the skyline (although granted, it has only been there 6 years). Hopefully a lot of the rides in the park will be relocated to other parks. Here is one final shot (there's a much bigger version of this in the gallery). So long and thanks for all the fish. Bonus shot of some dirt at the Hard Rock Park site. Bonus shot of South of the Border. Double bonus shot. Well, that's that then. Soon the Pavilion will be gone, and a little bit more of the character of Myrtle Beach will be sucked away. Hopefully they will put something worth going to on that spot, but I won't be holding my breath.

I did all 8 parts, then found out at the end that you have to fill out a huge registration thing with your name, address, phone number, etc and stopped.

Click HERE for the full gallery of 56 photos including high-res imgs. Another year, another C3, and another morning breakfast meetup where 30 people say they will attend... And then less than 10 actually show up. With the opening of a new Cracker Barrel right across the street from the park, we relocated our breakfast (previously at IHOP). Over at the park, everyone was up bright and early. While previous C3's have been in August, this year it was pushed back to September because of the 100 degree temperatures at last year's event. Good decision. I want to go on something more thrilling than Restroom 1. Carolina Cyclone was the first stop of ERT. Then Ricochet for multiple rides. Much to my dismay we also rode Vortex once, then it was back to Ricochet to camp out for the rest of ERT. This place is packed. I wonder what nearly every single person at the event is going to make a beeline for as soon as the park opens. No flyer ERT this year This can only mean one thing... BIIIILLLLL Since Dave could not make the event, we took a ride on Dora's Azul Adventure for him. Good times were had by all. Both Eric and Robert had their first Dora experiences, and as you can see they were AMAZED. Looks like this squirrel rode Vortex. Don't give me that look. O RLY? I'm sooo bored.... Riding coasters.... *emo* Scott is on stage, which can only mean one thing. Game show time. I don't have any pictures of any of that because I was on stage for the whole thing. Whootah completely destroyed the GAP (which conveniently shut down after the event) in Family Feud. *insert canned ACEer food joke here* Here's our merry band of travelers. ACE: reuniting long-lost family members since 1978. ACE: reuniting long-lost PR staff and regional ACE reps since 1978. Next it was time for our EXCLUSIVE Scarowinds backstage tour. Some of this stuff was actually scarier in the light. They may seem innocent at first. But watch yourself. Pretty ****in terrifying. Poor Winterfest trees. I didn't realize that the Winterfest concentration camp was going to be a part of the tour. Apparently John finds Alan's sexual abuse of skeletons to be amusing. I recall a similar scene after last year's flyer ERT. And now we wait for ERT to begin on Thunder Road and Top Gun. And begin it does. It was another awesome C3. I can't actually remember what we rode, but it was great hanging out with everyone, and the game shows were a riot. Kudos to Max for scheming them up. We finished the night at Wild Wings Cafe, and then it was off to bed for me, as I had my sights set on Myrtle Beach the next day. Click HERE for the full gallery of 56 photos including high-res imgs.

To each his own, but in my own experience a great wooden coaster (including GCI's recent ones like Thunderhead and Kentucky Rumbler) IS that type of coaster, and an inverted coaster can get old after a while. I guess that's the beauty of opinions, though.

Dear Die Hard, You rock! Especially when that guy was on the roof! -Homer PS. Do you know Mad Max??

It's already been said, but yeah, there's nothing really special in terms of flats. In addition to what people have already said, the HallowSwings is a nice wave swinger, and their rapids ride is one of the better ones I have ever been on. If you like bumper cars, they have a really good set with spring boards around the edges.

GCI designed Thunderhead as well. Also, it's more "copying" Kentucky Rumbler, which featured 3 of those exact same station fly-bys. Anyway, this could be the best new ride of 07 as far as I'm concerned.

Millennium Flyers. I doubt you will ever see GCI build another coaster that doesn't use them.

I laughed. Looks fun, although I wish a lot of those smoothly banked turns were more like most of the turns on Thunderhead with the little hop at the top that generates airtime.

Good news on this. I was concerned about this as well. Someone brought it up to Scott Anderson (Carowinds PR guy) at C3 this weekend, and he said that the 5 Paramount parks are honoring each other's Maxx passes for the rest of this year. You might want to call ahead just to make sure, but he said it should be no problem.

Whootah totally trashed the GAP in Family Feud

Permently

Congratulations you've all just been PUNK'D by Paula Werne