Jonathan

^ There was a log flume in the Country Fair area. It was removed for the Country Fair makeover last year.

Maybe I'm just reading this wrong, but you do realize most of these sattelite photos have not been updated in years, right? To update all of them live would require millions of satellites positioned over every portion of the planet.

Glad you survived the trip. Is the shuttle loop still standing? How long did it take you to get there from Charlotte?

I know most people here don't care about hockey, much less the Hurricanes, but I'm sure there will be at least one person who will find this interesting. I have put together a slideshow of memories from this year's Carolina Hurricanes championship team. My photos aren't the best, but I decided I only wanted to use my own images. Here it is: http://www.jonathanhawkins.net/photos/displayimage.php?album=121&pos=0

Bump

Fantastic article. Reminded me of how much I love that park.

Correct. What you were looking at is the old Dolly musuem. With the opening of the new one (forgot which section of the park it is in), they haven't had any use for that building. Originally I thought that was going to be the location of the Mystery Mine, but it seems as though that will be up in a new area near Thunderhead. Like everyone else, I thought the Flooded Mine at SDC was awesome, and it would be interesting to find out if the one at Dollywood is still standing (I don't think it is, though). I thought that was one of the real advantages SDC had over Dollywood (that, and the crooked house). EDIT: I looked at a satellite photo and couldn't see it, and then I saw this on Wikipedia referring to 1997: "The Flooded Mine dark-ride is closed and demolished in October."

YOU BETTER RUN, DAN

The following is just a tiny sampling of the photos I took over the last week. Here are all of the photos with high-res versions: - Stanley Cup Finals Game 5 at Damon's Grill - Stanley Cup Finals Game 6 Viewing Party at RBC Center - Airport After Game 6 - Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 Morning Skate - Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 - STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS! - Stanley Cup Parade and Celebration - Tilly & the Wall at Cat's Cradle When tickets went on sale for the finals, I bought one for Game 7, just in case. As the series unfolded, it looked like I would be getting my money back. But things slowly changed... Wednesday, June 14 - Game 5 - Carolina leads series 3-1 No, we didn't have tickets, but we drove to Raleigh anyway. Unfortunately, Alberto flooded part of the city, and the lawn party outside the arena was cancelled. Chris wanted the Canes to close out the series so he could finally get rid of the playoff beard. We got to Damon's at 5:45 and put our names on the list for a table. At 8:00 when the game started, we realized that we were not going to get a table until after the game. We crashed in the aisle. The dessert was good, but the end of the game... not so much. It was a thriller, but it was a long drive back to Charlotte after Edmonton won 4-3 in overtime on a shorthanded goal following a turnover by the Canes in their own end. Saturday, June 17 - Game 6 - Carolina leads series 3-2 The game was in Edmonton, but I was on my way back to Raleigh again. Why? Tailgating, of course. It was perfect weather for tabletop hockey. The RBC Center was open for everyone to watch the game on the jumbotron. What are you doing here Mike? You're supposed to be in Edmonton. And shouldn't you be there too, Stormy? Apparently they weren't the only ones that didn't show up in Edmonton, because the Oilers completely ripped Carolina apart. It was a bittersweet moment for me; I was very upset about the loss, but at the same time knew that Monday night would be a dream for me. I would be seeing the Stanley Cup hoisted in person by someone, although it may not be my Canes. I never imagined I would get to experience something like that. Well, at least we still have the Prince of Wales trophy. Sunday, June 18 - RDU Airport Sunday afternoon we headed out to the airport as the team flew in from Alberta. Yes, the team lost (okay, got destroyed) the night before, but they needed the support more than ever as they came back to town on the eve of the biggest game in franchise history. It's hot. Could it be them? There they are. Mike Commodore. The team was excited to see the large fan turnout. Da coach. Monday, June 19 - Morning Skate My stay in Raleigh continued, and my day started at the RBC Center for the morning skate. The media was there. The captain was focused and itching to play. Everyone was in good spirits, having put the last two games out of their minds. It was awesome to see Erik Cole back on the ice. I even hung around to see the Oilers warm up. Monday, June 19 - Game 7 - Series tied 3-3 Well, this was it. A day that I will never forget for the rest of my life. Darth needed one, but I wasn't selling mine for any amount of money. TSN made the trip to Raleigh. Too bad ESPN doesn't give a damn. I guess they were covering a poker tournament or something. NBC likes hockey. I hope they're ready.... I'm ready. Erik Cole is ready. Mike Commodore is ready. This is what we want. The crowd took a page out of Edmonton's book and sang both national anthems loudly. And so it begins. The crowd was absolutely INSANE. I have never heard anything that loud at any sporting event, and it was the first time I have ever seen a hockey game where the entire crowd remained standing the entire game. GOAL! Frankie Kaberle makes it 2-0 with a slap shot from the left point. Getting closer... Just four minutes to go. Absolute insanity. Words cannot express what is happening in this picture, but to quote Chuck Kaiton: "STAAL GETS IT UP THE MIDDLE TO WILLIAMS HE'S WALKING IN ON AN OPEN NET AND HE WON THE STANLEY CUP!!!!!!" Cuba Gooding Jr. is happy. We're all happy. The Oilers want to have a brawl but the Canes will have nothing to do with it. "THE LONG SLAPSHOT OVVVEERR THE CROOOOSSSSBAR AND THE HURRICANES HAVE WON THE STANLEY CUP!!!!!!" Let the celebration begin! The handshakes. It was a great series, and a great effort by the Edmonton Oilers. The rookie gets the Conn Smythe. And there it is. The ****ing Stanley Cup. They've waited their whole lives for it, and Rod Brind'Amour and Glen Wesley finally get to raise the Cup over their heads. It's the first major league sports championship for the Carolinas. Unbelievable. It's going to be a summer to remember for everyone in this picture. The fans were tremendous, and the team thanked them for that. And here's the proof that I was there. The party was going strong outside the arena. A couple of hours after the game ended, I finally made it to my car. I drove downtown in a big line of cars honking horns and raising hell. Too bad I forgot to turn the flash off on the camera. Glenwood Avenue was shut down and flooded with people, and it was a night of celebration in Raleigh. Only one car was flipped, I believe. Tuesday, June 20 - Victory Parade and Celebration After driving all over town in the morning trying to find a newspaper (they were sold out everywhere), I went down to the RBC Center and waited in the massive line to get a t-shirt. In the afternoon, the masses came out to celebrate. Construction had downtown in a mess, so it was determined that the RBC Center/Carter Finley Stadium area was the only place large enough to hold all of the people for a parade. That's right Canada. The Cup is on Tobacco Road. Nothing like a Stanley Cup parade in 95 degree weather. It was weird to see everyone with their playoff beards shaved off. Mr. Cup-clinching empty netter himself. Eric Staal had one of the greatest years in franchise history. Ray Whitney was elated. It seems as though the Cup has been spotted. The crowd waits patiently. No Cup yet, but there's Cam Ward, and he's got the Conn Smythe with him. Doug Weight may have separated his shoulder, but he finally has his Stanley Cup. Brind'Amour was sporting his NC State hat. The old man's finally got his name on the Cup! We're not done partying yet. It's been a long time coming. Ray Whitney had the 70's porn storn look going. Commodore was hanging onto the beard and fro for another day. How good it feels. The Prince of Wales arrives... And then the Stanley Cup. In just his first full year with the team, Coach Laviolette won it all. Their names will be engraved on the Cup forever. Thank you Carolina Hurricanes. What a year. Tuesday, June 20 - Tilly & the Wall at Cat's Cradle As if the 3 hour drive home and the early wake up call for jury duty the next day were not enough, I headed out after the festivities to Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill to see Tilly & the Wall play. The show was an unintentional add-on to my Stanley Cup celebrations. Actually, I'm sure most of the people there were just a bunch of hipsters who hated sports, but hey, I'll just pretend everyone was there to celebrate the championship. Great show, lots of fun, go see them. What a wild week (and year) it has been. When I first got into hockey I can't say I ever would have in a million years dreamed that the Stanley Cup would come to North Carolina, and there is certainly no way I would have thought that I would get to experience it in person. The memories from this season will last a lifetime. Here's to the 06-07 season, and another great year for hockey down south! To see all 708 of my photos from the 2005-2006 Carolina Hurricanes season, go HERE.

I've lived in Charlotte (right outside of it actually) my whole life, but I don't know anything about Louisville really, so I don't really feel comfortable comparing the two of them. Honestly, though, Raleigh almost sounds like a better fit for you than Charlotte. The nightlife, entertainment, and restaurants are much better than from my experience. Just out of curiosity, what made you narrow it down to Charlotte and Louisville?

JUST ONE MORE! I don't have tickets to game 5, but that won't stop me from making the drive to Raleigh to tailgate and watch the game on television outside the arena. GO CANES!

Actually, from what I've been told, it is running today.

I think I saw you in an ice cream parlour, eating orange push-ups cold and long

Carolina 5, Edmonton 0

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Canes take the first game 5-4!

As with Holiwood Nights, I took way more photos than I can include here. To see all of them plus high-res versions, go HERE. After a long two days at Holiday World, we hit the road on our way to Bowling Green, Kentucky, a couple hours away from Santa Claus. After a few wrong turns and a scenic trip through the big city of Bowling Green, we found our destination. Fields.... fields... fields.... Roller coaster? Over 400 people were signed up for the first ever Rumblefest. As you've probably been informed, the park has a new GCI twister known as the Kentucky Rumbler. How they were able to afford it I don't know, but I won't argue about it! The place really reminded me of Williams Grove but with a shiny new coaster installed. Beech Bend now has the distinction of being the first park where I have ever heard a ride operator say "Folks it is lightning out there but if anyone wants to go ahead and ride step on in." Unlike the station 'fly-through' on Thunderhead, Beech Bend's station 'fly-by' has airtime. Here is the Looping Star, or as you will come to know it once you have ridden it, the Evil Torture Death Machine. Here are Phil and John caught in the rain on the Shock Drop. Once the rain slowed, the operator tested it four times and then yelled at her co-worker across the midway "I ran it four times is that enough?!" Like I said, the place reminded me of Williams Grove (and that's not a bad thing). The Dragon ride operator quickly discovered that the tire drive lift will not function properly when wet. It took about 5 tries before he got it to crest the hill. Any park with a big slide is okay in my book. POV! They had a pretzel style dark ride. I LOVE these things. If you haven't had enough after the Looping Star, here is Evil Torture Death Ride #2, or as they call it, 'Scat 2'. Alan hopes that the machine will lie. O RLY? This was probably the fastest scrambler I've ever seen. Back to the Rumbla. This coaster was fun in the daytime, but by the late hours of the night it was really running insane. I didn't like it near as much as Thunderhead (but that's a tough ride to live up to), but I liked it a little bit better than Ozark Wildcat, so it is my second favorite of the GCI coasters. John and Phil took a ride on White Water Express. This place had the most violent bumper cars I have seen outside of Knoebels. They ran really fast, and the metal paneled floor allowed for great sliding and fishtailing. Miniature golf is free with a wristband! They had a pretty neat little course. Here's the helix of doom on one of the Splash Lagoon slides. My first ever emo shot. John and Phil take a ride on the terrifying Dragon coaster. On the first drop the car leans so much that it feels like you are going to fall out. We took a spin on the antique cars, but Alan could not control the wheel at all. Time for dinner, which was catered by some local BBQ place. They ain't got nothin' on North Carolina BBQ. Watch that first step it's a real doozy. Off to ERT we go. The Wild Mouse was really fun. Unfortunately, the Dizzy Dragons were not open for ERT, but they were really awesome! The sun sets on the Kentucky Rumbler. Despite the large attendance, the lines were not bad at all over at the Rumbler, and by the end of the night it was a walk-on. I'm pretty sure everyone attending the event tried on these hats at least once during the night. Congratulations you now have the sweat of 400 ACEers in your hair. Jeff and Mike from GCI were on hand to operate their ride. Station fly-by! What a ride! "Sure I'll be in a video for Whootah dot com that sounds like a nice wholesome website!" Please be sure to wash your hands after the event thanks. Apparently I got to ride the Rumbler with Geordi. Before we left, Phil had to harrass the local wildlife. Gimme some food. Over at our hotel, a Comfort Inn, the door was locked and not a soul could be found at the front desk. Both Comfort Inn and AAA tried calling the desk repeatedly, but no one answered. We got to stay free at the much nicer Quality Inn up the street. Sounds good to me. After a little bit of sleep, we hit the road, and made our way back to North Carolina. It was a fantastic trip, and two fantastic events. Beech Bend is a neat little park with an awesome coaster, and they really did a fantastic job putting on their first event. Thanks to everyone involved and everyone who attended for a great time! Remember to go HERE to see all of the photos!

It could. I took far too many pictures to include all of them here, so this is just a sampling. To view all 259 pictures that I have from the event with high-res versions, go HERE. On Thursday, Alan, John, Phil, and myself set off from Raleigh for Santa Claus, Indiana. We got off on the wrong foot by going in the completely wrong direction, but quickly fixed things by taking a bunch of back roads through Virginia. We even got to see the spot where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant to end the Civil War. Oh the excitement. This was the sight that greeted us as we approached Lexington, Kentucky. We had hoped to make it there to a restaurant to ride out the storm, but that didn't happen. Eventually we did in fact make it through the storm, and after a long day of travel, we arrived in the small town of Santa Claus. Our home for the next three nights was Santa's Lodge. We arrived at the park for opening on Friday as we had decided to go ahead and pay the $19 extra to go all day Friday. Alan and myself had both been to the park before, but John and Phil were first-timers. First up was The Legend. It was running very well, although not quite up to its potential. Next came The Raven, which was running simply awesome. After having such disappointing rides on it when I visited last year, I was thrilled to see it in top form. John and Phil were surprised at how much punch the ride packed into its short circuit. But, now on to what we had all been waiting for. I had been waiting a year for this thing, and everything that has already been said about the ride is true, and then some. This thing is basically the ultimate coaster. It took my number one spot about halfway through the ride. I honestly don't know if we will ever see another coaster like this built. It is so intense and so aggressive that I couldn't see myself re-riding it many times in a row. Naturally, we had to ride again. In this picture you can see Phil, John, and Alan in the last car. Every seat on the ride is awesome. Oh yeah, there's another new ride at Holiday World this year: Gobbler Getaway. It was really fun, although they kept stacking cars and having to stop the ride on the course while we were riding. I'm sure they will get all of the bugs ironed out eventually, and I can see why Mrs. Koch is so proud of her ride. Oh yeah then we rode The Voyage a bunch more times. We ventured into the rest of the park. The rapids ride here is a pretty good one... The flyers, however, while fun, are quite tame. No visit to Holiday World would be complete without an invasion of Holidog's Fun Town. This is the best section of the park. Cha ching. John and Phil got their ride on The Howler. I knew we would be having fudge Friday night, but I just couldn't help but get an early start. We had a lot of fun on the bumper cars, as they have spring boards around the outside of the building. If you line up and run straight into the wall the result can be quite insane. Later on we found Catrina and Ted. Paula was glad to see Phil (I think). He was being indecisive about going on the trip, so I asked her to email him and tell him to go. He had no idea what was going on when he got an email from her. The masses gathered for ERT. I wonder where everyone will go first? The Voyage, of course. Not to worry; this was taken while everyone was filtering into the queue. The lines were very reasonable for The Voyage on both Friday and Saturday, while Raven and Legend were walk-ons both nights. I don't think The Voyage went quite as fast as this guy prepared for it to. Ted and Catrina's reaction to The Voyage after their first ride, like most people, was "What the ****?" The Raven was screaming both nights. I ended up getting the last ride of the night on it both Friday and Saturday. Back over at The Voyage, Will was pleased to see everyone having a good time. Or maybe he had just taken his first night ride? Time to open the switchbacks. Wes's first ride on The Voyage was in the dark. He had this look permanently fixed on his face the rest of the night. Only at Holiday World would the park be kind enough to let everyone know that a coaster at a competing park was open. The Rumbler was struck by lightning during Thursday's huge storms. Well, here we are again, back at Holiday World. Part of Splashin' Safari was open Saturday morning for us. Zinga and Jungle Racers are both awesome slides. Zoombabwe is awesome as well. It wasn't as insane as the 2002 SRM overweighted raft rides, but still fast. The biggest surprise for me was Bahari, which is one of the coolest wave pools I've seen. Another day at Holiday World, another day of riding The Voyage. Here I am in front of The Voyage. I'm sure the ride on Voyage was extra terrifying with hundreds of nerds with cameras standing all around the coaster. Yep, it was time for the photo walkback. I'm not going to post all of the pictures from the walkback here, so just go to the full gallery to see them. Here I am, though, being a camera whore again in front of The Voyage. While everyone was at the walkback, The Voyage was a walk-on. Alan, Phil, and John took this opportunity to get more rides. I took this opportunity to take a picture of them getting rides. There they go again. Here's a few of us in front of The Voyage. And here's some of the gang on The Legend. The charity that got the proceeds from this was excited because they knew enthusiasts will pay top dollar for worthless scrap metal. I shelled out the mad $$$. For $2 I got a Raven wheel bearing and a bearing from Legend's old Gerstlauer train. Whootah! Food. Alan tried to cut in front of some ACEer at the buffet and they did this to him. Another night of great riding was had, this time with more darkness. After that, we went back to Santa's Lodge bruised up and exhausted, and knowing that we still had to endure the Looping Star at Beech Bend the next day. It was an awesome two days, and a big thanks to everyone at the park for bringing this wonderful event back. If you haven't been on The Voyage yet, get out there and ride this thing. It is absolutely insane. Remember, go HERE to see all of the photos from Holiday World. Next up: Beech Bend

Just two more hours at work and then I'm outta here! We're doing Holiday World all day Friday and Saturday, then the Beech Bend event Sunday, and a quick stop at Camden Park sometime Monday.

Oh the excitement

Here's what I picked up from the 1 PM media call: -Paramount and Nickelodeon are separate contracts. The Nickelodeon contract has been extended as mentioned above, but there is no decision yet on Paramount. From what I gather, it looks like they will be dropping that, and it was inferred that all parks will drop the Paramount name. -They will likely work out a season pass good at all 12 parks. -No changes to any of the parks for this year as the season has already started -They will re-evaluate pricing at the new parks. -"Most experts feel The Beast is the best wooden coaster in the United States" -The lease for the Paramount Parks corporate headquarters in Charlotte expires at the end of this summer. -The deal includes the lease with Bonfante Gardens. -The new Cedar Point coaster (errr.. mystery attraction) will be announced in late August. -They have no plans for national promotions and agreements (IE: the Six Flags Home Depot agreement). -500 acres for development at Kings Dominion and "a few acres at Carowinds" -no significant pre-existing ride deals for the 5 Paramount Parks (IE: when Cedar Fair bought Knott's Berry Farm, they had already signed a $20 million deal for Ghostrider). -4 more years on the Nickelodeon contract (they said 3 during the 11 AM conference) -the Paramount license runs for an additional 10 years, but there is a buyout clause that they may option after this season

Some tidbits from the 11 AM investors conference call: -They intend to keep all 5 Paramount Parks operational -After this, it is unlikely that they will purchase any of the Six Flags parks that are for sale -The Nickelodeon license extends for 3 more years and they have the option to extend it to the existing Cedar Fair parks -Management issues for the individual parks have yet to be addressed (or at least made public...) -Paramount contracts are being reviewed in regards to the movie and television licensing. No word yet on whether they will have to retheme or not. -The Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas is included in the deal -There are 939 acres of undeveloped land between the Paramount Parks that can be used for expansion (80 acres at Canada's Wonderland and several hundred at Kings Island; no specifics given on the other 3 parks) -hotels may be considered (similar to how Cedar Point has Breakers, Breakers Express, etc) For the most part, it was financial questions. I wouldn't be surprised if the 1 PM call for the media has more information that interests us.

My old web host gave me 1 gig of space, and that really limited me to what I could do. Recently, I moved to a host with 10 gigs of space, and then the other day, they informed me that they were doubling that to 20 gigs free of charge. So, now I really have no limit to how many videos I can post at one time. I have posted all of my videos from 2004, 2005, and 2006, and will probably do 2003 when I get time. A lot of these videos were only up for a very short time before because of my space limits, and some of them have never been posted before. There are 36 videos up at the moment. Enjoy. http://www.jonathanhawkins.net/photos/index.php?cat=50

I would hardly call this a rumor. It came straight from the top. I wonder if they have any interest in any other parks in the chain.

OH MY GOD I GOT MY PICTURE TAKEN WITH HIM *faints