MrMorgan

They have those at the German fairs here in ...well, Germany. I've never done it, and to tell you the truth, now that I think of it I don't know why I've never done it. I'm a "push and swing until you make it over the top cage ride" virgin! Maybe I'll go do it today and post a PTR.... Anyhoo. I was just home visiting my mom last week and now I wish I would have raided our old picture collection for some fun old pics of our vacations to Valleyfair, WDW, Circus World, etc.

NO FAIR! When I was there with my sister last summer we weren't allowed on Little Titans. The ride-op told us it was "just for little kids". Dang, I'm 5-5 and my sister is like 4-10, so I would assume you are all "bigger" than we are. We got screwed out of a credit!

I got Fahrenheit about a half a year ago. At first, I was really into it, but it got kind of annoying after a while. I much prefer the scenes where you have tasks to accomplish and problems to solve. The stupid "fake fight or action scenes" where you just have to mimic the directions with the controller are so annoying. I mean, you're not really controlling the action and you can't even watch it. I haven't played it in quite a while now.

Wow! Playland has changed a lot since I was there 8 years ago. These traditional parks are great, though, aren't they? I think we should start a national "Visit a non corporate run theme park" day... Anyways. Why should we be afraid of the bathrooms? For whatever reason, I have a bathroom at Playland in my memory. It was ginormous and had like 24 urinals and I remember thinking, "Is this the only bathroom in the whole park, or why is it so big?" Do you know which one I'm talking about, or am I confused?

Sorry I didn't see the question! The fair starts this Friday and runs for 4 weeks. I sent you a PM with more info.

OK, it's a good thing I checked. As strange as it is, there will be NO major coaster at the fair this summer!?!?! The "HAMBURGER DOM" fair happens 4 times a year, and I've in this city for almost 5 years, meaning I've experienced at least 19 DOM's, and this is the first time EVER that there has been no major coaster. Sorry, but I guess that makes your trip planning a bit easier. Enjoy your stay!

Hello from Hamburg, (the closest major city between Hansa Park and Heide Park). One suggestion I'd like to make is to stay in Copenhagen so you can be in Tivoli Gardens at night. There's nothing quite like it. They have their own "Illuminations" type show with lazers and fog and whatnot, and the whole park is lit up beautifully. I personally think it's really something you can't miss. ALSO, (I think you'll be really happy to hear this), here in Hamburg will be the big DOM fair, and I'm 99% sure that the rediculous Schwarzkopf Olympia Looping will be at the fair this time around. The websight hasn't been updated yet, but since the fairgrounds are in my neighbourhood and they've already started putting everything together, I just have to walk by tomorrow to check and I'll let you know. Try to plan at least an afternoon here in Hamburg because you shouldn't miss the opportunity to experience a German fair!

Eurostar is kind of rough, but like I said, it's smoother now than it was a few years ago. Maybe it all depends on how they've assembled it at it's current location? I know when I first rode it at Oktoberfest a long time ago, it was crazy rough and I vowed to never put myself through that kind of torture again. It seemed smoother this time around, although the g-forces are still insane in the turn into the 2nd brake run, and the helix into the final brake run. I made a 2nd row POV which I hope to have up on my websight sometime in the near future, (i'm still working out all the kinks with my webmaster), and, in the video, you can hear everyone in the train go "owwww" when it slams into the final brake. It's kind of funny.

Wally, yes, the Rheinkirmes is always in the middle of July. If that doens't fit into your other plans, don't forget there are TONS of fairs in germany during the year. The biggest is, of course, Oktoberfest. Next is the Canstatter Wasen in Stuttgart, (happens around the same time as Oktoberfest, I think). Then comes the Rheinkirmes. After that is the Bonn Kirmus, I assume... The list goes on and on.

Hi everyone. Last Monday, we went down to Dusseldorf to visit the fantastic Rheinkirmus Fair. It was 20,000 degrees and the fair was packed, but we still had a great time. Here's some of the shots I took that day. On our way out at 2am, we walked down to the river to help raise the water level with some previously used altbier, and I got some great night shots of the Eurostar. More on my websight. I bet this is not what most people picture when they think "German Beer Tent". Doesn't the guy in the bottom right corner look like he's turning into an Agent? This one's for Phishybrewer Wally. This is the where we met up with our friends. OK, can you say "crowded"? It's MONDAY NIGHT!?!? Imagine what it's like on the weekend You spin wildly while sliding down the top part, then you splash into the pool at the bottom, getting wet. Thus the ride's name. New on the Fair Circuit this year is the very fun Wild N Wet waterslide/rafting ride. It has a cool rotating elevator lift which I, unfortunately, could not really get a decent picture of. I know this is a bad picture, but it was getting late and we were behind schedule to meet our friends in the beer tent. Anyways, this was the other "major" coaster at the fair. It's a classic, non-looping Schwartzkopf. Probably won't see this attraction in the States, either! Wow, it's not even side-boob. Yes, it's a boxing game. It works like this: You pay money. You step in ring with some illegal migrant fair worker from eastern Europe. He knocks you out. Your friends laugh. Really. Won't see that in the States. Inversion or no inversion? The feet ARE over the head... Let the debate begin! Ahh, the Eurostar. The worlds first travelling inverted coaster with inversions. It's a pretty mean dog, if you asked me, but it has seemed to lighten up a bit since I first rode it 10 years ago at Oktoberfest. ...but this is! Does anyone else think this photo looks like it could be a screen capture from NFS or Tron or something? No, it's not Mauerer und Soehne... This is one spin-n-puke ride that I actually like. A picture doesn't do it justice. Has anyone ever seen one of these in the USA? Let the caption game begin! Would "Happy No. 2 Dream" be something for constipated people who dream of releif??? Wildwasser has 3 drops, a backwards section, 2 tunnels, some fun crappy themeing, and don't forget...PORTABLE! First ride was this awesome log flume called Wildwasser. Hopefully that guy never gets the runs! Here's an overview from the train stop.

I've never heard of this place. Thanks for posting! What do you mean by "boat on wheels"? It doesn't float freely, or what? I love dark rides, especially involving water, so I guess I might like this, although $12 for a ride is rediculous. That's worse than Manhattan Express in Vegas!

Oh, the antici pation!

So, as you can see, it was not meant to be an interview.

Have the winners been posted? Did I miss it somehow???

Thanks for the suggestions. Holiday World to Indiana Beach and back is a little far for one day, if you ask me. Most of the itineraries I've been looking at have been, for example, arriving in Louisville at 6pm on Monday, flying out at 8 am Wednesday. Anyways. I'm going to Knoebels and Hershey in October, and the only new ride at Kennywood since I've last visited is Phantom's Revenge, so that's out, too. At the moment, I'm still leaning towards Holiday World and Beech Bend. I'm just so intruiged by the Voyage!

Well, I have been to Orlando, albeit also not for 12 years, and i REALLLLY want to experience Everest, but like I said, I will only have one full day and will be travelling alone. Disney is really NOT the place to go credit whoring by yourself. Know what I mean? My Better halF and I are talking about doing a Disney vacation sometime in Spring 07, so it's out of the question for now anyways, (and I was just at TDL and TDS last September).

I just can't decide what to do!!! Basically, I can fly anywhere I want in the states for a day and a half. Here is my dilemna: I will be visiting family in the USA the first 2 weeks of August and I have a free flight I need to use before it expires. I can only budget a day and a half into my time frame. SO, for people who have been to the parks, would you rather spend a day alone at A) Cedar Point and Geauga Lake or B) Holiday World and Beech Bend or C) Other. I was thinking of Point/Geauga because I haven't been to Ohio in 10 years, it would be a great way to expand my coaster count, and I will have a Cedar Fair Parks season pass which will get me into both parks. HOWEVER, I would really love to ride the Voyage, (almost more than getting all the credits that I've missed the last 10 years in northern Ohio). Plus, I've been to Holiday World before and I know it's not the kind of place you feel like a loser walking around alone all day. Of course, I'm open to other suggestions, but those are the 2 that seem the most interesting to me. I'm planning on going to Knoebels for the Pfun Pfest, I was in LA a few years ago, and last year I did all the new coasters in MN and WI. What would you guys do???

No, unfortunately we didn't have time for the Hurakan Condor. I wanted to hit all the coasters first, and after we took a small break for dinner, the park was closed and we missed out. Oh well. I've been on several drop rides before, so it's not THAT important to me. I'm sure it's fun, though!

Hey Elissa, if you read this, I just realised I spelled your name wrong. Sorry! I've been trying to figure out how to edit the headliner, but I can't do it. can anyone help? Thanks, Morrgann

About a month ago, I went to Port Aventura with my good friend Bernhard. It's taken me this long, but I've finally got the goods together to post a PTR! By the way, if you want to see more of my photos and videos, come to my brand spanking new websight, www.gutenmorganproductions.com. Back down in the town, we went pass the Europa Park hotel. It was no where as awesome as the hotels at the REAL Europa park. Teetle. Oh well, that concludes my PTR. Thanks for reading to the end, and be sure to check out my new websight, too! Before we knew it, it was 8:00 and we had to go, but I had time to take this awesome sunset shot. If you look really closely, you can see one of El Diablo's 7 lift hills cresting over the trees. This fountain is awesome. It's all interactive, and shoots water and smoke and stuff out onto unsuspecting passersby, coupled with 3 Stooges like sound effects. So, after everyone gets their eyebrows singed off in the Templo, they are all forced to squeeze thru this tiny gift shop to excape back into the park. Templo Del Fuego is their awesome special effects show. I had no idea what to expect and was very pleasantly suprised. I've heard this is better than Poseiden at IOA. Opinions? More rodents! This is definitely Ellissa friendly. Dragon Kahn: The Chaka Kahn thrill ride is surrounded by rabbits. Seriously, there were like hundreds of them! A closer look. Here's a cool pic I took of the overly awesome Dragon Kahn. Doesn't it look fake somehow? I think it's cuz the auto focus is focused on the wall and not on the coaster. More El Diablo. El Diablo is their mine train themed lift hill. Seriously, this ride is all lift and no ride. It does have a fun suprise beginning and a huge spiral ending. This is how it all ended. Berhard tried to sweet talk her, but then this cowboy showed up from a long shift up on Brokeback and started checking out his hindquarters. Then, I saw this lonely chorus girl sitting around. I figured we had a lot in common, but she wasn't interested. Don't worry, it's not real. Bernie just wanted to know what it's like to be well hung. Since I already know, I offered to take the picture for him. Teetle. Bernhard got in closer to ask him directions to the casino, but the guy just kept staring off in space. He must have been seriously baked. Anyways, Bernhard said he had a funny feeling after we left him... After conquering Stampida, I needed to calm down a bit. Luckily enough, this friendly guy let me take a deep hit on his Peace Pipe. The second drop(s) on Stampida. They were racing all day. How many racers do that? Next up was the awesome racing woodie; Stampida. This ride seriosuly rocks, even with the trim brakes all down the first drop(s). Has anyone else noticed how hard it is to get get photos of Stampida or Omahawk? They're hidden behind so many trees and f Omahawk was our longest wait of the day, because they were only putting one person, junior or adult, in every seat, AND they were stacking trains like world champions, (as seen in this photo from the brake run). First up on our roster was the Junior woodie; Omahawk, (sponsored by Mutual of Omaha insurance). I seriously didn't photo shop this. Dragon Kahn signature shot! A lot of people don't know this, but Dragon Kahn was actually designed by R&B songstress Chaka Kahn, (kind of like the Michael Jackson Thrill Ride at Phantasialand). This park has awesome themeing, and a great tropical environement. Somewhere around this area is where the new coaster will be, but at the time of our visit, it wasn't announced yet, so I didn't go looking for signs. The websight said they were open until 10 that night, so imagine our suprise when we arrived at the park and saw this. Guess we shouldn't have layed on the beach until 4... Here's me at the entrance. Some places still say Universal, but mostly it's gone.

And here are my comments to the rest of the entries this year. 16. Dan and Jackie Collison’s Epcot Video. This video is very solid and makes a profesional impression, but I don’t know, there’s just something missing. I never laughed or thought “cool!”. It wasn’t boring, but it just didn't hold my interest somehow. Sorry! The little princess with Goofy and Mickey was very cute, though! Is that you’re daugher? What a great memory. 17. Nick Collin’s USA Coaster trip. I loved how the video of the TTD rollback was mixed together with the break down in the music. Very clever. Lots of great offride and “having fun” shots, but, once again, I got sooo confused as to which park was which and which ride was which. The editing was just too random and chaotic for me to really enjoy watching the video. Sorry. Just my two bits. By the way, I can’t believe you went to Coney Island at night! 18. Kevin Gillan’s “What We Learned On Vacation”. The opening segment is VERY cool, if maybe a little too long, but when the video gets started it’s a lot of fun. Cute kid shots will get you bonus points every time. Nice creative editing and some interestingly composed shots, but, like many other videos, I get frustrated that it skips from park to park and you never get a chance to focus on anything. 19. Dave Arnold’s Fantazyland. Dave gets extra bonus points for just going to this park and making a video. OMG. Hilarious choice of music. I like the black ring around the outside of the screen. It kind of gives it a “hidden camera investigation” look. Unfortunately, there’s no onride shots or coaster footage, but I guess that’s a lot to ask when everything in the park is closed! Great finale. 20. Albert Lam’s Knott’s Halloween Haunt. Very nice beginning. It gives the video a nice creepy feel, and let’s you know right away what the video’s about. For me, though, the video lost my interest quite quickly. The little bit of coaster footage in the video was really well composed and edited. It would have been nice to see more of that because after the 55th person getting scared by a monster in a mask, I’m just not interested any more. I know the video is about the Haunt, but I just think it needed some more coaster footage to be a contender this year. 21. Pamela Lytle’s “Little Coaster Season 2005” video. Lots of great coaster footage in this video. You certainly hit some great parks in 2005. My only complaint with this video is the same I’ve had with several videos this year: the editing is so random, as a viewer, you never know which park is which and what ride is at what park. With a little more time spent on the editing and composition, this video could have been much more interesting if it was divided into parks. You have so much great ride footage, I would have liked to see it organized. 22. Jarivs Morant’s “My Hump”. So much fun! I, personally, love this song and I think it works well with the video and all the shots of speed bumps and small hills on coasters. Very creative. The editing is superb. I love the mixed shots of pov’s that sort of melt together. What editing program was that again? One of my main “complaints” about a lot of the videos this year is that they’re so chaotically composed and you never know which coaster belongs to which park, etc. This video is the same way, but it’s so cleverly thought out that it doesn’t matter. It keeps my attention the whole time and makes me want to watch it again. A great mix of pov’s, offride, and funny stuff. A definite contender for the #1 spot, in my opinion. 23. Paul Fowler’s Paramounts Canada’s Wonderland. This video does a great job of showcasing the park and the rides it has to offer. I had no idea Canada’s Wonderland had so many crazy flat rides!?!? That last one was insane. I’ve never seen anything like that, and I’ve been to quite a few parks… One question: why no footage of the Mighty Canadian Minebuster? You’ve got lots of shots of all the other rides, why not that one? Overall, a well composed video, but for me it’s missing that extra something to make it really memorable and a contender for my top 3. 24. Colin Coon’s Cedar Point. I really liked this video, but the song drove me CRAZY. It’s not easy to make an interesting video about a park we’ve all seen so much footge of already, but you had an intersting take on it and it was fun to watch. Just the song needs to be different. Haha. You must have been to the park quite a bit to get those shots of the impulse coaster and free-fall ride malfuntioning, or did that ll happen in one day? 25. Martin Hore’s Janfusun Fancy World. Bonus points for going to such an out of the way park and sharing the video with us. I like the intro, but the song is a little too aggressive for a fun coaster video. It makes me want to turn down the sound and just watch the video because I like to be HAPPY when I’m watching park videos. Also, it seemed like you kind of stretched out the footage to make it fit to the song. Why not just pick a shorter, (more perky), song and keep the repeat footage to a minumum. That makes it more interesting to watch and increases the "I have to see that again" factor. So, now I have watched all the videos, (except for the Everest video. Sorry!), and will be voting for my top 3. Writing all these reviews helped me realise what it is I think every good coaster home video must have. 1). A good intro that get's your attention right away. 2). A mix of ride footage and "us having fun footage". 3). A fun song. 4). Well organized editing that either makes it clear which footage is from which park, or is so creatively presented that it doesn't matter. 5). The "OMG, I have to watch that again" factor. 6). The "That made me laugh" factor. Since the contest is basically over now, I have no idea if anyone is reading this thread anymore, but I thought I'd post my reviews to give some hints to the contestants about what at least one person who's voting is looking for. Maybe it will also help people who've never made a video with a guide line of how to create a good video? I'm also hoping that some of the other contestants will write a review of my video to tell me what they think. Thanks in advance!

And here my comments for the next 5 videos: 11. Mark Owen’s Busch Gardens/ Cypress Garden’s. I like the way this video starts out, sort of a “this is were we went and this is who we are” type of thing. The editing is great, too, with the pauses and black-outs to fit with the music, and it’s a good mix of onride, offride, and “us having fun”, (although there could have been a little more “having fun”). Some of the offride shots were composed in a way that made me think, “wow, that’s pretty when you look at it like that.” Know what I mean? Very nice. Only complaint is the scattered “which park is which?” editing that appears in many videos this year, but that’s just my personal taste. 12. Erik Johnson’s Expedition Everest video. Call me a loser, but I don’t want to watch this video! I tried to read and see as little as possible about this coaster because I want to be surprised and feel like general public when I ride it the first time. Sorry Erik, I’m sure it’s a nice video! (I’ve also never watched a video of Mummy.) 13. Blake Fowley’s Goat Encounter. Well, what can I say? This video is weird!!! I like the footage of Disneyland and the goat encounter idea was really funny and strange, but it became just strange and not funny any more after a few minutes. I was hoping for some hilarious climax or something, but it didn’t come… Bonus points for the idea, but it just should of gone somewhere somehow, or been more of a video about Disneyland, with one goat encounter segment, not a goat encounter video with some Disneyland segments. Know what I mean? Fun, though. 14. Barry Hom’s FLCC at Busch Gardens Video. Another video that’s close to perfect, in my opinion. It’s the perfect mix of “us having fun” and onride/offride footage that’s all cleverly edited together in a way that’s not confusing, and it does a great job of showcasing the park. It never get’s boring, and it makes me want to hang out with the FLCC. I would be surprised if this video doesn’t end up in the top of the contest. 15. Phil Hart’s Carowinds. Extra super duper bonus points for the concept! Did you have the old video first before you got the park footage, or did you have the park footage and make it fit so well to what the announcer was saying. Great job of remixing and editing the soundtrack to the techno beat and stretching it out the whole video long. Besides all that, it’s also a fun video. Definitely top 5. More reviews coming soon...

Thirty two, and my first coaster was the Florida Hurricane, (aka Arkansas Twister).

Hi everyone. I know how nice it is to get feedback and constructive criticism, (hint hint), for videos, so I've decided to write a little something about every video this year. It's going to take a while to get through them all, but here are my comments for the first 10 videos that were posted: 1. Conner Thompson’s Magic Springs. I really like this video. It’s got the right mix of “us having fun” shots and “ride” shots. The song is fun, the editing is well choreographed, and it holds your interest the whole time. I also like the “surprise ending with the train dispatch. 2. Julian Johnson’s “Don’t Look Down 2005” This video starts out great with all the “friends” shots, and basically let’s you know immediately that it’s going to be a fun video. The record scratching and musically choreographed editing is superb. What editing program was that? If I had one constructive criticism for this video, it would be that it’s a little too scattered as far as the park footage goes. It skips from park to park and coaster to coaster with no sort of order, (at least not that I could recognize). After a while, it gets kind of hard to watch because it’s not congruent and it becomes just random shots of all sorts of coasters. I prefer videos that showcase park after park so those of us who haven’t been there can get an idea for what the parks are like. After a few minutes into this video, I was so confused about what was what. Know what I mean? 3. Justing Saxe’s Silverwood. Great video showcasing this park that unfortunately few of us have been to. I love the onride footage of the paratrooper! It’s also cool how you used the flat rides to get interesting footage of the other rides. The editing fits great with the unconventional choice of music. Fantastic how it all climaxes with the footage of Tremors. A very well paced video. 4. Paul Ruiz De Miguel’s “Parque De Attractiones”. Fun fun fun ! I loved this video. In fact, I think it’s just about perfect. The right mix of fun people and ride footage, catchy music, great editing, and even some suprising special effects. Great. Love the footage of the “no line jumping” signs and then all the people jumping the lines. 5. Dennis "Park Junkie" Kolodzeizik's Slagharen Video Contest Entry“. I liked seeing the footage of this little seen park, but I have to say this video just didn’t do it for me. The onride footage is fun and clever, but the music is so aggressive it just doesn’t fit to a “fun day at the park” type video. Just changing the song would make this video a lot more fun, I think. 6. Nicolas Chavances’ Eftling video. Great video. The beginning is genious. You see the people sleeping, then it fades to the footage from the sky tower thing rising above the trees, so it’s kind of like waking up, (maybe I’m looking at a little too artistically?). The music fits great, and it’s lots of fun to watch everyone playing around in the park. There’s enough ride footage thrown in to keep it interesting for us fans, and then it ends with more sleeping. A very well rounded, fun video that does a great job of showcasing this awesome park. 7. Jonathan Hawkin’s “Midwest Conquest”. The opening credits start this video off very interestingly, and it’s cool how the footage of Hades’ first drop fits perfectly with the slide in the music. The song is great for a fun park video, and there’s a nice mix of footage. The only complaint I have is the footage is a little scattered from park to park, which makes it confusing for those of us who haven’t been to those parks, (see my critique for Julian Johnson’s “Don’t Look Down 2005”). The strongest part of this video is the “us having fun” clips, I think. Those guys spinning on the carousel are CRAZY! 8. Lars and Cornelia Theissen’s “Coaster Season 2005”. I like the intro with the Park logos and then a “signature shot” of the park, but after that it gets confusing as to which park is which. Nice cameo of Robb, but it’s missing the “this is us having fun” footage that’s so enjoyable to watch, and becomes a bit boring with only ride footage. Fun song, though, and it looks like you really got around in in 2005! 9. Jim William’s SFMM December 2005 Video. Lots of good coaster footage with creative editing, and you get bonus points for actually getting some footage of Deja Vous in action! Some very funny moments, like sleeping on the scrambler, screaming in pain on Viper, and whipping the horses on the carousel. There’s been so many videos about SFMM in the past, it was good that you included so much personal footage of you and your friends because I think even people who’ve never been to this park know all the rides inside and out from all the videos we’ve seen. 10. Tom Mueller’s Port Aventura Video. Moin moin aus Hamburg, Tom ! This video is close to perfect and makes a very professional impression. The beginning is fantastic with the build up of the music and the intro to the park. Lots of great ride footage and plenty of “us having fun”. It’s fun to watch and makes me want to go back to Port Aventura. Great job. I would be really surprised if this video doesn’t make it into the top 3.

All the coasters at TDL and TDS have lost of ride-ops. They are so efficient there, it's unbelievable! I swear, it's like they have two ops on each row to check lap bars and get people in and out as fast as possible.