Shavethewhales

The Kiddie Park in Bartlesville OK still has their ancient mini tumblebug. Man I have some great memories on that thing; it's probably the best ride in the park.

I don't get why some people go to parks just so they can post long TRs about them complaining about what a bad time they had. Isn't there anything better to do in the FL/GA area? The park doesn't look all that bad to me - it may be nothing compared to the parks around it, but I would love to pay it a visit myself. The flaws it has will surely be mostly worked out in a few years as the Herschends bring it up to their standards. Good photos though.

Internet rumors are useless, don't get too caught up in this. I don't know all that much about DW, but BF's sister at SDC is extremely popular, and I can't imagine the Herschends wanting to take out such a favorited attraction. How many rides does DW have that can dependably run in any weather? Unless there is some credible info on Blazing Fury being in some sort of unrepairable condition, I'm calling BS.

Not to be rude or anything, but I don't understand why it's even an issue for FFC's to block older-folks without kids from entering. I mean, whose really that desperate to increment their 'credit total' by riding a tiny coaster with a bunch of kindergartens? It's just a bit freaky sometimes. As for other parks with their specific people group days - unless the particular group actually buys out the park for a day, I think they are completely bull. What actual purpose was served by only letting Coloradans in? It's even worse when it's for a specific religion or organization. While I respect a given park's rights, I think it's bordering on abuse when a popular, public park uses it's resources to push an idealism.

^That's putting it lightly. Before the PARC buy-out, the park was on the verge of collapse, and the big SF execs were RIGHT THERE. Insane... Anyway, this is only a small taste of what we've been and will be enjoying at FC lately. PARC has been fixing things all around the park, adding new shows, painting all the rides, fixing the buildings, lowering prices, offering new food options, and so on. We're all hoping they'll throw us a massive new star attraction soon to really get the park off on a completely new foot, but for now I'm pretty satisfied. The way I see it, this new coaster will allow them to get rid of the rather droll Wildcat to make room for something much better.

Wow, it's been a long time since I was last there, but it really looks like it has become more of a random jumble of rides than ever. What's inside the building next to the 4D theatre?

Apparently SDC has been telling everyone to get excited in advance for 2009, as they will be getting the biggest addition in their history. That's right, bigger than Wildfire. It could be another Troy, set in the wilderness, or it could be an advanced version of Mystery Mine, - or it could be the invert that everyone was sure would happen in 2005, we'll just have to wait and see. Either way, I'm excited.

At Coaster Christmas, it was apparently announced that SDC will not be getting a new ride for 2008, but will get a new culinary arts/ crafts demonstration building that will host various craft shows and cooking classes. SDC will also be getting a new parking lot addition, and the road that currently flows through the lots will be redirected, so we won't have to deal with so many traffic jams. CC will be getting Geauga Lake's old Shipwreck Falls. Apparently it may be put in the current employee parking lot rather than take the place of the existing flume ride, so that the park will have two water rides. Construction has already started on the craft barn at SDC, midwestinfoguide.com has some photos. Don't be fooled though, the area is actually much bigger than it seems in the pictures. My thoughts - I'm happy that SDC is starting to remember that other people besides thrill seekers go to the park as well, and I'm really glad CC is getting a 'big' new ride, but I can't help feeling that 2009 can't come soon enough.

Sigh... There was nothing that could reasonably be done, but it's hard to see them go - and I've never even been to NJ.

Oh yeah, I forgot to add my eatery experience. I stopped at what once was my favorite place to eat in the world, the Riverside Rib House over by TGS and Lost River, and got my usual pulled pork brisket sandwich. This time, however, it was not only at least $2 more (with a season pass discount even), but it also tasted pretty bad. It wasn't as bad as park food anywhere else, but it wasn't nearly as good as what SDC food used to be. What gives?

Here's a few more. I found this awesome bit of theming on the other side of Wildfire's observation deck. You can't really see it from the path. One of the best shops here at SDC. I ended up riding TGS quite a few times. It's still such a mediocre ride, but at least it's really nice looking. A bit of SDC awesome SDC theming. For some reason, this wax place was really popular. Can't pass these things up. A wood craftsman.

Some more photos... ( I have around 100, I'm trying to choose the best) This photo doesn't do it justice, but it did look alot brighter than the old tree. Oh yeah, almost forgot about the tree. Still closed... This may be the last time we'll see this thing. The Shoot-out was also tuned up a little. I noticed they replaced the graveyard with a more friendly canary. The plunge - through the trees. Yup, PK is quite the crowd pleaser. Why doesn't DW have one yet? I appreciate how they're trying to warn people, but the siren they sound off before the launch always makes everyone think the ride is malfunctioning. Still probably the best ride in the park - as the 40 min. wait showed. This nativity show has been around for awhile, but it seemed like they were stepping up the Christian influence all around the park this year. My camera just can't show you how awesome all those lights were. You know, most of us were worried about the Grand Expo turning SDC into more of an amusement park, but I love how they found the perfect way to keep it away from the city atmosphere while still keeping it a major part of the city. Tch, it was closed everytime I came over here. Sorry my camera is so bad at night, but this is one scarry-ass float. This place still has the most awesome Cinnamon bread ever. It does look different now... Some say this ride is only worth riding once in a while, but I still think Disk-O's are really awesome - definately worth hitting up every trip.

Sadly, this was the only time I could visit the park this christmas season. Even though it was extremely cold and pretty packed though, I had an amazing time. As we drove in, I saw them clearing land for the new road re-direct, and I finally got to see for the first time the cleared-out gully where the new parking lot will be. I never thought it was that huge, but it sure is needed - we had to park way back down the road in JD lot, which is a gravel lot past Deer Run. Being Black Friday, the park was pretty packed, but I still managed to have a great time. As usual, crowd levels started to drop after the first parade, but it was just too cold for it to be really worth it. In fact, it was cold enough to shut down even Wildfire; I believe it got to around the mid-twenties. I got one ride in on PK and Electro Spin, several on TGS and FiTH, and quite a few on both Wildfire and ThuNderaTion - and everything was running fantastically. The coasters were rattling just a little due to the cold, but they were still all very smooth. I would have ridden PK more, but the line was 30+ mins long, and I was sure it was going to shut down any minute. The lights were better than ever, especially on the main square. The new tree complete with the new light syncs was awesome, though there wasn't as much light syncing on the rest of the square as I thought there would be. Still, the new tree was extremely bright and very cool looking. I got tired of riding marathon riding Wildfire, so I started marathon riding ThuNderaTion Sat. night while the temps were at about 33 degrees. It was... cold, but definitely worth-while. Yeah, I can't really think of much else to report on, but here's a short list of things I noticed: the train added an emergency-stop cord sometime since my last visit this summer (did something cause this?); Grandpa's Mansion had it's effects tuned up and fixed; the tree house looked the same as ever; and they weren't saying anything about either the parking lot or the new craft house. Oh yeah, I looked at their back lot (from atop TGS), but I didn't see anything. And here it is at night. Still fun to shoot foam balls at random snotty kids. They had fixed up some parts of Grandpa's mansion, but I'm still holding out for them to do some major work on it this off-season. This guy was pretty funny, and he made some pretty great glassworks. The craftsmen are really awesome, this was one of the first times that I really actually payed them a whole lot of attention. Can't pass this up on any SDC trip. Yeah, I pretty much got to stay in my seat until it was just too cold to bear. It may be short, but the powerful forces and classic family appeal make up for track length. This is one of the rare times you can actually see the thing. With the advents of Wildfire, PK, TGS, and all the other new goodies that have come to the park lately, I had almost forgotten how much I really love ThuNderaTion. Wildfire might be more visible now, but it's still perched in a scenic spot. Mmmm, I like the sunset shots. They're about the only shots my camera does half-way decent with. After a couple hundred rides, Wildfire has kinda lost it's sparkle to me, but it's still pretty fun. mhhmmm, and that's all cooked in front of you. Ohhh yeah - best place to eat in the park, though debatable. Just so you know where this report is coming from.

Sweet photos. I was actually there that day as well. You really should come back in the summer - it's a whole different park, plus the water rides are really good. I've never seen those line vouchers before, and I've had to leave PK when I was next in line due to the cold. I guess they're new for this year.

^^I'm going to be there that day too. Just be sure to hit PK before it dips below 40. All the other coasters should be fine, especially Wildfire.

So, do you get to go around twice or something? I mean, I don't really get the point, it looks too short to be enjoyable. I guess this attraction is meant for a considerably younger crowd?

Pretty much every SDC ride will be open, besides the water attractions that would obviously be closed. However, once the temps start dipping into the 40's, things will start to shut down. I believe the S&S rides close first (PK and TGS), and then ThuNderaTion closes at something like 34, and Wildfire closes at 32. Fire-in-the-hole, however, is always open! The thrill crowd usually isn't there so much, so the rides typically have shorter waits (excluding PK and probably TGS). After about 6 the crowds really start dying out, and 30 mins before closing you can ride WildFire back to back as many times as you can bear. It's definately worth a trip though, even if all the coasters are cold. There really is a ton to do.

Man, this would work so well as a web page background; so few photos can... Fantastic job.

Huh, I never thought the park was that hard to get around, considering it's one big circle, but I guess if you haven't ever been and you don't have a map it would be an adventure. That tunnel on the American Plunge used to have some awesome scenes in it, but when PK they rebuilt it, both for construction reasons and the fact that a new pathway will be going over the top of the tunnel in a few years. I keep hoping they'll go back in and put some stuff in it, but like with PK's splash effect, some stuff gets forgotten. I'm really glad you made it to Marvel Cave, most first time visitors don't find it or pass it up, and it's definitely worth it.

^Yeah, if they had been able to stumble along till the new woodie came, they might have made it, supposing nothing tragic happened, weather was good, and they re-aligned their business practices before the end of this season. Then again, who knows, that Etheridge was a total twit. Anyway, I like how the rides seem to be flying out of the park. Surely PARC will pick up a few for FC, the frisbee and flyers would be good in particular.

Yeah, Joyland certainly was better, but I wish Parks! had bought WWW, and invested a few million on trees, landscaping and a new headline attraction. After all, a small park that still needs to grow is way better than no park at all. The way things are looking, Wichita won't see another amusement park for a long, long time, even if it can theoretically support one.

I think you're being a bit over dramatic. How can Zingo be "rotting away?" Didn't they just take it down like 6 months ago? And you make it out like the Bell's guy sitting out, homeless in the cold warming his hands over a trash can fire. I highly doubt that's the case either. If it makes business sense, they'll find a new location and rebuild. Wasn't that the plan anyway? --Robb Whoops, I didn't mean to come off like that. Yeah, Zingo certainly isn't rotting away, but by the time it is rebuilt, if it is, it probably will be. Robby Bell is apparently having a rough time getting anyone to trust him anymore, getting evicted will do that, even if it was for idiotic reasons. It's pretty clear that he really wants to rebuild the park, and the area certainly could support it, but there are so many other things standing in his way - like getting anyone to grant him loans after everything Randi Miller has said about him. So yeah, the park is out there in limbo, and the chances of it coming back are looking slimmer all the time when it should be accepted again with open arms: that's what I meant. I hope things start to change for him, seeing as so much has been uncovered about his future plans, the Murphy's, and Randi Miller that shows what a great future the park could still have.

You may have heard my many laments almost a year ago when Bell's was kicked off the Tulsa Fair Grounds for having 'poor business plans', even though they were planning on many millions of dollars worth of expansions. Well, the karma's coming back around for the fair, as the midway is literally falling apart. Sure, the fair numbers are way up, but revenue is down, way down in the ride tickets area. Since the start of the fair last week, two separate accidents occurred on the crap-tastic Pinfari out in the middle of the midway, injuring several children. That ride has been shut down. http://newsok.com/article/3141064/1191589429 Next, I'm hearing several reports of girls being molested, gangs roaming the midways and causing trouble, and just general ruckus everywhere. It sounds horrible. Meanwhile, Bell's is out there in the cold, still working on where it'll go next, with Zingo rotting away in a warehouse. In case you didn't hear, Bell's was about to start work on a massive new Wooden rollercoaster, what would have been the state's largest. That's just the icing on the cake though, because the new roller coaster was just the lead project in a series that would have seen Bell's completely re-built from the ground up, with almost every ride replaced except for the classic 60's Allen woodie, Zingo, and the log ride. The Murphy's knew all about this, and ended up making quite a large 'campaign donation' to Randi Miller. All this is now well-documented and in the public view to whoever cares to see it. Well, at least some justice is being done, but it shouldn't have to have come around in the form of so many little kids being hurt. I'll only be truly satisfied when Bell's is rebuilt bigger and better than ever before, and the Murphy Bros. are shut down.

Just because it stopped on the brake run? I'm sorry, but almost all coasters will do that once in a while, even B&Ms. Ever hear of Superman: Ultimate Flight?

Damn, that's a good day right there.