Coaster Palooza

Thanks Evan!

Hot Stove Banquet last night. Here I am with a cool, refreshing Sierra Nevada.

For those that don't know, I umpire baseball games and I have been doing this from the age of 13. I umpired professionally for 6 seasons. The Hot Stove Banquet came up with an award to honor an amateur umpire. I am the fifth recipient of the award. Aside from giving the most awkward speech that I have ever given, it was a nice evening. The event was last night and the pictures are below. This was the Hot Stove program. Maybe it should have gone earlier in the report?? Best part of the evening. We went to one of my favorite watering holes for a couple more beverages. The place is Goosetown in Willow Glen. My friend Dan thought I should have a picture of someone "giving" me the award. Me, giving my awkward speech. Kevin Frandsen, a local San Jose product currently with the San Francisco Giants. Stanford's Head Coach, Mark Marques Sam Piraro, Head Coach for San Jose State. This is Mark O'Bryan, Head Coach of the Santa Clara University baseball team. Next speaker was Bob Geren, current Manager of the Oakland A's. This is Bruce Bochy, current Manager of the San Francisco Giants. Ryan don't get too excited. Nope! That's the wall behind them. These were the GREAT seats my friends got because I won this award. Can we get any further back? The person to my right is John Oldham. He was the long time coach of Santa Clara University. I guess this should go in another thread, it just might. The guy on the left is Abel Hernandez and the one on the right is Eddie Kubo. They help run the PONY West Zone. This is Dave, he nominated me for the award. This is a better shot of where I will be sitting tonight. See, that's me! There's the banner, my seat is up there all the way to the left.

^Great, I will go with the Colts and the Over.

This is all due to Global Warming. Up is down, where it snows - now is warm, where it is warm - now is snow...DOGS AND CATS LIVING TOGETHER, MASS HYSTERIA!

Hi Stu, Congratulations on the upcoming marriage! I thought I would give you the information I have on hotels and possible park times if you would like it. I went to most of these parks last year. My first thought is that you might not need a full day at some of the parks. Yes, I agree that being able to go through the whole park is fun, but some of the parks go pretty quick. One of our trips that I remember is going to Michigan's Adventure. We planned to stay there overnight and be there for 2 days. We were done with that park in 2 hours (including re-riding Shivering Timbers and other coasters), but we already had our hotels booked so we had to stay there. If I had known we didn't need 2 days there, we would have had more time at other parks, or we would have gone to another one. My thoughts on the parks and times are below. Lakemont - You can probably do this park in under 4 hours if you want to take your time. If you want to get through it quick, you can do it in 2 or less. DelGrosso's - I would add this park on the same day as Lakemont because it is so close to Lakemont. It is really neat and small. You could get through it in around 2-4 hours too. Idlewild - It is pretty close to Lakemont and it can be done the same day as the other 2. You might want 6 hours here, but you could do it in less time. Cedar Point - 2 nights and 3 days at the park should be fine. I would definitely stay at a resort hotel there. Hotel Breakers worked out for us. You also get early entry into the park. Mt Olympus and Timber Falls - Do both parks. Timber Falls only has the one coaster. It is a miniature golf course with Avalanche and a log ride. This can be done after you get through with Mt. Olympus. When we went, Mt Olympus wasn't that crowded. I think I rode all of their go-cart tracks along with riding all the coasters and getting re-rides. We made this a day trip from Gurnee. We stayed at the Hampton Inn across the street from Six Flags Great America. The cost for the 2 nights was $187.81. They had a free breakfast, both hot and cold. They also had a bag breakfast you could take with you. Six Flags Great America - Possible 2 days here. We didn't get it all done in the few hours that I planned and I am a little mad about that. Indiana Beach - This place is great! We really liked it here, but we wouldn't spend 2 nights here. We stayed at the Best Western on 6th street, which is right down the street from Indiana Beach. It cost us $80.99 for the night. They also had a continental breakfast. Kennywood - I don't know if you need 2 days here, but I wish I had a full day there. We didn't get on everything, but I was only there for 4 or 5 hours. I don't know where to stay around there either. It gets complicated too when you're driving there, so you need really good directions. Busch Gardens - A full day here is a must. We don't stay there because my wife's parents live in Fredericksburg. Paramount's Kings Dominion - A full day here is good too. I don't know if you would need 2 days here. We never stayed around here either for the same reason above. I would add on Dorney Park too. It isn't usually busy and you can get through it in about 4 hours if you want to take your time. Hershey Park wouldn't be a bad add on also depending on how much budget/time you have. I think you would need a full day here. We spent 2 days at Hershey and it was a little too long. We actually left early on the second day and headed to Dorney. Once we got there, we were done with that park that night. We went back the next morning, but left after an hour because we rode everything the night before and that morning (with re-rides). Sorry for this being very long. I am sure other people might have some more places to go to and hotels to stay at. Good Luck and Congratulations again! Rick

This isn't so much a "last beer I drank" but a friend sent me this picture and I thought I would share it with the beer people. OH MY GOD!!!!

It was under 30 friggin' degrees here this morning. Still no precipitation, so no snow.

^Happy Anniversary Matt! Wow, 2 years... It's been 5 for us. Time really flies.

Looks like a great day. Hotel rooms at Disney are always special. It was nice that your parents could visit too! That ride in the Nascar must have been awesome.

Nice Trip Report. I need that credit. I am surprised at how many times my name is mentioned in this trip report. That cookie is the best though. If you go to BJs and don't get the pizookie, then that's your fault! It is good to see Donica. I haven't heard from you guys for a while. We were supposed to go to Christmas in the park last Saturday, but our re-modeling project won.

^I agree that the best time to go to the parks is the week after Thanksgiving. We have done this a few times and haven't had to deal with lines. The only thing that I was upset with this time was that we were too early for Grinchmas. They started Grinchmas right after Thanksgiving in 2003, but this year it opens on 12/8, I believe. I think it is really neat to see IOA all done up for Grinchmas. ^^As for Cypress Gardens, I just don't know. It's a nice park, but it is just too far away from everything with nothing special to add. I know I am not reporting anything that hasn't already been said, but I just thought I would throw my 2 cents in.

My Aunt and Uncle re-enact the Civil War, and have done so for years. He actually was the person who found (created) his unit. We were there 2 years ago for Memorial Day Weekend when they were re-enacting at Greenfield Village. A separate note, it looks like Guy in one of the pictures you have. Is it me, or does this look like Guy?

^You know what was funny was that while we were there, I made the comment to Gyendolynne that I think there were more employees there than there were guests! Not a good sign.

Thanks for posting. That sampler looks great. Man Wally, you go to some great places. I want to go to Sierra Nevada some day.

Thanks, I just posted the Osborne Family Lights to the video forum. http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=302475

Hey, It is our last day and it is raining! The day won't be ruined though. We rode Mummy around 7 times with no wait and all the other rides including Hulk. It was a great day. Here are the final pics. Ok, one final photo before we go. Time to leave....NOOOO hmmm.... Look at these wait times? Time for a quick beer I don't like green eggs and ham, I don't like them, Sam I am... Just in case you didn't know where we were. Must ride the carousel...or Suessel More Smashed Pennies. I still have no takers on my kit yet... Inside Spiderman's queue Is that the same guy from Universal Studios? Had to stop at IOA next door. Why not? we were at the World's largest McDonald's, now we're at the World's largest Hard Rock Cafe. We already did this. I think if you have been to one 4D show, you have seen them all at this point. The parade was going by at some point. Is that the actual train from the movie??? With no crowd, we figured what the hell. See, so crowded. It was really crowded. This guy didn't make it. The entrance. So much theming. Some kid tried to cut in front of me while I took this photo. Can you believe that? Did I say we rode this a few times? Just me with a couple of friends. See how crowded it is? Classic photo spot. You know where we are.

Hi, I am sorry it took so long to update this. Here is the following day in Orlando. We went to Sea World and then had a late lunch at the World's Largest McDonald's! Our plan was to go to IOA after, but they close too early today. We went back to my brother's house to have dinner since it was our last night in Orlando. Here are the pics. Bill Cosby and I were just joking with each other. It is actually very unique. There is an upstairs with an arcade in it. WOW! I didn't know about this place. Final shot of the Xmas tree as we leave. There are new babies at Sea World Another Polar Bear pic I thought this was actually a cool picture of Gyendolynne with the walrus The Polar Bear in the Arctic area A neat alligator landscaping. The #8 car...Ya all should know who it is. Another Christmas tree. The Hospitality Room, a favorite of most! This was the first time we actually saw the Clydesdales move. They were swimming overhead a lot. I love sharks and the Shark Encounter too. There I am again It didn't stop me from taking a second ride on Kraken Here is Kraken's queue line. They weren't crowded at all. All the animals used in the show are rescue animals. The one at Sea World San Diego is really good too. If you haven't seen this show, you really must go. We couldn't go to Sea World and not take in the pet show. Arriving at Sea World, yet another Christmas tree.

That is the best video I have seen yet. Thanks Wes for posting it!!!

Great pictures Soren! Your trip is making me want to go out there. I have never been to New York, maybe some day...

Hey Ted, I can't believe it took me this long to see this report! I was so happy that the Steelers not only won, but KICKED THEIR A$$. We actually watched it in the bar area at Chili's. Not as fun as Heinz field, but I was happy to have been there once. Are you going to the Baltimore game?

We heard that there was a winner from the guy that gave us our "dream" He said it was a little girl and her family.

We went to Cypress Gardens and MGM Studios on Monday. Tuesday we went to Sea World and also the World’s Largest McDonald’s. We were a little tired on Tuesday and just needed some recovery. Wednesday was our flight home in the early evening, so we went to IOA/Universal Studios. I agree that Cypress Gardens is out of the way and there isn’t much there to justify the drive. A couple of good things about the trip were that it was free (SFMW Season Pass!) and the gardens are spectacular. Other than that, I wouldn’t want to go again. I also got a shot of the construction for Starliner. We saw the Osborne lights at MGM Studios after we were at Cypress Gardens. That's about all the time we had for this day. This turned out a little dark. The hat in the dark Complete chaos It was really crowded when we tried to leave the area. Hopefully it came out okay. I haven't downloaded it yet. I took video of them lighting this. More photos Here are the Osborne light, un-lit Neat hat. It is sooooo crowded...Not at all I'm glad that the cast members get into character. Inside the lobby. No one has seen this before. mmmm there is the TOWER!!! The Chrismas tree at MGM Studios. Thank God we're at a different amusement park. Just for all you Cypress Gardens/Starliner fans. Here it is!!!! What do you know, a Christmas tree. Yes even more garden photos. It's a jungle in here. Neat waterfalls too. The grounds were just great. This tree was really neat by growing within itself. More flowers The gardens area was really beautiful. Yep, I used that word. After riding this at Beech Bend, I wouldn't ride it here. This thing bashed my head so bad. I can't believe they didn't have any padding for your head. Worst coaster EVER! Is that Survivor, nope. I think most people have seen a picture of the sign inside the park. I remember taking a picture back in 1976 here. Now where is that picture??? I have to admit, this one spun pretty good. A spinning mouse, never been on one of those before... Gyendolynne rode alone after I rode alone. Kiddie ride Hey, what's that? It looks like some construction. Yep, that is the first Starliner construction photo. Maybe I should start a thread? Second on-ride photo They're BETTER rollercoaster Cool lift hill shot. On-Ride Photo First Coaster Thank You! We're here. Those look like 2006 Six Flags Marine World Season Passes. It was pretty crowded today...not really. Park rules here at Cypress Gardens

We got our Million Dreams from Animal Kingdom. It was a ride to our car! Here is our link to the trip. It should be finished soon. http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31352 Thanks for the ride!

I still have a few more days left. We stayed there until Wednesday. I will post the rest of the pics soon. ^Always great to see you pointing my weight out. Yep, I have gained a few pounds. I will have to lose it shortly. I'm thinking the Slim Fast diet....hmmmm??? The fanny pack has been with me for a while. I just can't seem to get rid of it. The cameras won't fit in my pockets. ^^I don't know if we met at Holiwood Nights. My wife and I were there. We hung out with Ted for a little while both nights. ^^^The "gift" really surprised us too Ted, but I was happy to get something.