arrowfanman

Yea, I could have sworn that we saw the ride testing (right side) on a weekday, a few weeks back. Possibly has something to do with this, who knows. -Jahan

Having Wes tug on my "strap" on Soarin' and Laura club me with her left arm at dinner--that was the single most exhilarating night of my life! -Jahan

Straight black tea, nothing added. I dont go to Starbucks, but that's my "warm-caffinated" drink. -Jahan

When your "occupation" is 'TPR Bitch'. -Jahan

Update! Thanks to XP over at MouseTimes!... Oh WOW that looks weird! "Do you see what I see?" Glad to know the SunWheel is good for something! Here you can really see the construction on F***** Mania, as a whole. I like the string that is holding the two halfs together. I blame Elissa. Check out the full update, HERE! Now some people are saying that the removal is principally to give cranes better access to remove the buildings down there--but I like my story better--its more dramatic and cool. -Jahan

Ride up the hill to my house. -Jahan

-Jahan

Look closely, and tell me what you see...or it may be easier to say what you DONT see.... (Photo from EarKid at MiceAge) ...Yup! Due to having to cut away supports for the new Midway Mania attraction, California Screamin will remove its current loop and receive a new one over the course of the next three days! Now, apparently it had already been a rumor around CM's for months, that they would be removing the loop, and replacing it with new a new one (with new supportwork)...but it was totally unbelievable, so never gained much momentum. Well, now it would appear as if it actually happening. Yesterday, Screamin was down, as they ended up having to cut power to the attraction ahead of schedule, for the prep work. And now apparenlty it is actually happening. The ride is only expected to be down for a mere 3-days. But we all know how construction goes, so who knows. And yes--the loop will be replaced with another loop. So its not like it is being removed for good. For a second, I was going to have to sound a "Derek Alert", which is like the missing-loop-equivalent of an "Amber Alert". -Jahan

I went on Saturday with a ton of friends, but was unable to shoot an update. My apologies. Hopefully next weekend. Anyway, I didn't make my way over to Tatsu, to see that wall, however the pathway between Rapids and Ninja is still in fact, closed. The operations at the park weren't too shabby, however. While it did take seemingly forever to park (at opening, they only had 4 parking booths open, causing the traffic line into the parkinglot to reach Magic Mountain Pkwy), however they had a lot of rides open at opening! Tatsu was even running 2-station, 3-train operation, and decently, as well. The park is also, of course, playing generic holiday music throughout the park. But with no decorations or marketing for the holidays, it does seem quite random, even with Christmas 14 days away...shit! Christmas is 14 days away! I have some shopping to do! Hope that can hold you over for a week. Sorry again. EDIT: Whoops...forgot about the Alvey's update! Yea, they should have you covered there. -Jahan

Perhaps a little premature, but I just wanted to reiterate before taking up another round of bowling--that I am in fact, straight. -Jahan "...Yup." Makanvand

^ Because when the attendant is 15 years old, it literally is like taking candy from a baby. *cough* -Jahan

I'm drinking some flat Coke, right now. What?! They didn't have a "What Syrup/Water drink did you just drink" thread! -Jahan

Hmm...interesting, as there is a LA County Sheriff substation across the street from those toll booths. ...I guess they're just to busy yelling at kids in red Escorts in the parkinglot. *sigh* -Jahan

I got myself a copy of one of the recent Disneyland Albums...it had the preshow music to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. ...WTF!? -Jahan

Awww...sorry! I didn't mean to make you guys feel old! ...there's only a select few people who I actually try to make them feel old. Thanks for all of the nice comments guys! Thanks Guy, but after looking back at more of these home videos, I was actually quite a stubborn, smart-ass little punk! -Jahan

^ History, eh? Quite possibly, potentially, maybe, not entirely sure, but perhaps the route I will take. Die. -Jahan

Wait...why is everything white? -Jahan "It's 51 right now and I feel like I'm getting frostbite!" Makanvand

Hey everybody! So, I was looking through a bunch of old crap the other day and low-and-behold, I found video footage of my very first trip to Florida, way back in 1995! It was a family vacation we took and we hit up all of the "touristy" places: Gatorland, WDW, NASA, etc. So I figured it might be cool to capture it all and edit it together for you to see! Disclaimer: My dad did all of the filming! So unfortunately, all we have footage of is Gatorland, Epcot, and NASA. And my dad isn't quite into the whole "filming theme parks for the sake of filming theme parks" thing. So there is very limited footage Epcot itself. But there's enough to compile this thing! BTW...now that I look back at this thing, there really isn't a whole lot of footage which shows that it is indeed 1995! It's just little things here and there, like how Gatorland isn't on fire, Spaceship Earth doesn't have that hideous wand, the little date in the bottom corner says "1995", etc. And then there's the fact that I'm a skinny little punk. So try and enjoy! ArrowfanmanFloridaRVTR.wmv

^ Was that an invitation? Because I'd totally be up to play with your Wii. -Jahan "Have we already exhausted the 'Wii' jokes, or can I still say them?" Makanvand

^ Well...someone is bound to have problems! It ends up that several people are getting a little too excited, angry, or drunk when they go to slash an enemy in Zelda or bowl a stike in the bowling game...causing them to accidentally chuck their Wii-mote across the room, and often times into TV's! http://www.wiihaveaproblem.com/ -Jahan "Forgive me if this has already been posted. I dont need to read 44 pages on everybody else's Wiis" Makanvand

Crowded. ABC usually has a set up in there, so combine a small park that has reached capacity and is giving priority to camera crews and all their equipment, and you get the idea. I went on Veterans' Day, which also hit capacity and also had a crap-load of camera rigging and equipment set up (mostly set up for the fireworks and parades, I believe), and it isn't easy to maneuver around. If you're in a small group, I guarantee that you'll get everything major done. If your in a group larger than 3, it begins to get tricky. Larger than 5...ouch. And larger than 8...you might as well split up at that point. So to be frank, I would personally only go if you are in it for the "New Years Experience." If you really want a nice day at Disneyland, I don't suggest going that day. -Jahan

Awesome report Joe! Some very nice pictures! I'm loving your curves! Cant wait for the second-dinner's worth of photos! -Jahan

As long as he is in good, healthy condition, than you should have no worries. I used to have contact with the Imagineer who worked on the pneumatically locking seat belts, that both rides utilize. Hearing his interesting stories on how they would test them, as well as with children, I believe they're pretty safe. He would literally tell his own son, while the ride was not opearational, "if you can get out of this seat belt, I'll buy you donuts." And he would watch his own son try to escape the seat! Hence why Soarin' has the little loops that the seatbelts run through, for shorter children. So I believe that they're perfectly safe. Any "incident" had to do with the individual being of poor health. I think his issue might be that he gets intimidated inside of the queues! Best of luck! -Jahan

Six Flags Magic Mountain Six Flags Marine World Knott's Berry Farm Paramount's Great America Disneyland Disney's California Adventure Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney-MGM Studios Epcot Magic Kingdom Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Orlando Universal's Islands of Adventure Sea World San Diego Busch Gardens Africa Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Silver Dollar City -Jahan

^ Thank you for your kind words! Thanks to Mark and Ryan, as well! And now, ladies and gentlemen, the final installment of Jahan's Super Sweet October Trip-Trip Report!... Park XIII: Disneyland Disney’s HalloweenTime Alright, I have to say that I wasn’t entirely honest with you in the DCA update. I didn’t just have breakfast in Disneyland… Lens cap and shadow in the shot. Classy, I know. That’s right! This is what really went down!... When I entered Disneyland, I darted straight towards Space Mountain. I figured my best course of action would be to grab a FastPass for the parks most-popular attraction, before having breakfast. As I was leaving Space Mountain with my FastPass in hand, a cast member intercepted me and said, “Excuse me sir, I’m afraid I’m going to have to take that pass.” I stood there dazed and confused, before looking to her left to find Chuck (a fellow TPR-er and CM) standing there with a large grin! I gave a good laugh at their joke and chatted with them for a good few minutes, but took off when they started to get attacked by Annual Pass holders for prizes! So I just want to say thanks to Chuck and Angela! Your guidance helped make my dream come true! It was at that point that I made my way across the park to the River Belle Terrace. Sorry Elissa…this shot just doesn’t work in California! Well, as luck would have it, it took me so long to get my breakfast and eat it, that I was eligible for another FastPass on the way out! So I grabbed me an Indiana Jones Adventure FastPass and then I was off to DCA. But of course, you already read that trip report, right? Right? Now, I made my way across the Esplanade and entered Disneyland at around 1pm. I think. Don’t exactly remember when. It might have been 2pm… …Point being is that I am now back in Disneyland. The cute Mickey “floral”, made out of mostly small pumpkins. Made my way onto Mainstreet. At this point the California sky was already hazing-up. Hey Walt! How come your out of focus in California? Anyway, I thought that it would be best if I start knocking out these FastPasses, as by now they had both technically expired. First up: good Space Mountain! I love this picture! I walked up the FastPass queue and right into line. As always, the queue was backed up a little past the station-room, but it was moving quickly, as always. Ooooh…pretty! Disneyland’s Space Mountain’s station is a very nice mix of old and new. The only thing I don’t like, would be the “window into space”…it’s very obvious that it’s just some plasma TV and the animation on it is too quick to be the flight of a “space station”. Anyway, I was on in a matter of minutes. I. Love. This. Ride. That is the Space Mountain I know and love. It is such a thematic experience. I know it uses 30-year-old effects and lacks a real “show” inside of the building (unlike Hong Kong’s, which has SFX throughout). Regardless, the lifts provide an excellent build-up of excitement and anticipation. The ride is smooth as Joe’s hairless butt. You feel the speed, despite never really topping 30 MPH. The turns elicit cool little g-force effects. I got me more airtime than in the SM that’s supposed to have “airtime”. And it was even better, as I rode it in the day…Space Mountain daytime rides tend to appear darker than at night, as your eyes aren’t quite fully adjusted to the dark. So it was basically a beautiful ride. I suppose that I’ve said enough. Pirates merchandise in the Star Trader? A bit much, no? And with that, I made my way across the hub, to use my second FastPass… It’s a real nice castle, you have to admit! *cues background music* Is it really necessary that I review Indiana Jones Adventure? It is my favorite ride ever. Enough said. I used my FastPass to bypass a line’s worth of dirty looks and got straight into the temple. Again, the line was backed up to the bat caves, but it was constantly moving, so all was good. I still havn’t decided which queue I like more…this one or Dueling Dragons. This one feels much more real and believable, but I have to admit that the Dueling Dragons queue was pretty kickass! Indy or Dueling Dragons?…either way, they beat Dinosaur! The ride was the same fun-machine that it always was. Although, after talking with Julie, I have to admit I did notice that Indy too had a lot of “dark”. Between the Gates of Doom and the main chamber, as well as between the main chamber and the dart room (although I do like the web effect). Another thing is that this ride could really use some TLC! The bug-effect doesn't line up with vehicle, the EMV-speakers are blown, the animatronics are twitching out on us, and there used to be so much more fire! So this ride definitely gets a Jahan "Refurb Me" stamp! Either way, Indy was a load of fun! It’s got a great story, amazing scenery/theming, and the ride-system is always beyond-enjoyable! To think my favorite ride isn’t even a roller coaster! A shameless plug turned “story moral”. This truck would mean something if a certain someone would just watch the darn Indy films! You can either complain about the system, or you can work with it. So Robb, Elissa…I’m going to borrow KidTums for Disneyland now and then. I want a good Fantasmic viewing spot, too! Pirates of the Caribbean had a 60 minute wait and I had been on it probably 8 or 9 times in the last month, so I thought it would be ok if I bypass it…just this once. I know, I know! Lame, I know! But there were other things to try out, such as, well… “A long time ago, longer now than it seems, in a place that perhaps you’ve seen in your dreams”… … “For the story you are about to be told, began with the holiday worlds of old.” That’s right folks! Time for Haunted Mansion Holiday! For those who don’t know, Haunted Mansion Holiday is the holiday layover for the Haunted Mansion, 3 months out of each year. It lasts from October to December. Basically, the idea is that Jack Skellington and the other Nightmare Before Christmas characters have come to deck the halls of the classic Haunted Mansion. It’s a real great idea and loads of fun! The Haunted Mansion portrait, mid-change. Good thing my name isn’t common, or else Mr. Snake Dude would have eaten it by now! … “And what better gift, on my friends to bestow, than a graveyard that’s covered, in ghostly-white snow!” Instead of hitchhiking ghosts, you get a holiday treat from Oogie Boogie! Haunted Mansion Holiday is a great attraction. As Robb said in his last Disneyland Trip Report, it is one of the better ideas that Disney has thought up of in recent years. And this year has been rumored to be its last year (each year, this is the rumor), so who knows. One positive side effect, as well, is that it guarantees that the Haunted Mansion gets a very thorough refurbishment by default, each and every year! After HMH, it was time for… …A zippie-doo-daa attraction! Well, there’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news, is Splash Mountain, while posted at an hour-long wait, is the only ride in Disneyland to utilize a Single-Rider queue, making it very Jahan-friendly today! I got on in less than two minutes flat! The bad news is I got loaded in a boat-full of, what I can only seriously describe, as medically-obese people. Like, I’m pretty sure they exited into an electric scooter to cart their asses around the park. No joke. So that meant that our log was riding pretty low in that flume! Now for those of you who remember the Magic Kingdom trip report, I got all and all rather SOAKED on their Splash Mountain. I really didn’t think that anything could soak me more! I was wrong! Why so sad, Jahan?... …Perhaps because what’s circled is my one and only “dry spot”…not wet spot…dry spot. Splash Mountain was fun as always, but it is one of the bumpiest log flumes I have ever been on! And I know that my log was riding exceptionally low on this particular day, but even in general—the log has a habit of hitting the flume quite hard, making the ride uncomfortable at times. I can still enjoy my ride on it, fo sho! I just find it a bit bumpy! After Splash, I thought I’d warm myself up with some McDonalds fries. Sorry Elissa! The jerks didn’t give me any Monopoly pieces! My next ride was hiding just around the river bend… …Yup! The next ride for me would be Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road! OMG! If you look closely in the middle, you can see a bird on a stick! Big Thunder doesn’t have a single rider and it was much too late to FastPass, but I thought that I would just wait out the 25 minute queue. Wasn’t bad at all. Probably ended up taking only 15 minutes, as well. I love when they over-shoot queue times! That makes me happy. Ahhah! Suck THAT Maverick! Big Thunder Mountain RailRoad has 3 lifts and a LAUNCH! Uh…Why are Big Thunder’s LIMs paying tribute to Balder? Weee! I see that guy trying to sneak a POV! Either I’m experiencing the infamous “goat trick”, a g-force trick on the second drop, or…well… Now THAT’S what we call a head-chopper! I think BTMRR is still in my top 10! I don’t know why…I just love it! It is a real solid ride! Lots of airtime, g-force tricks, amazing scenery…it doesn’t get much better than that. My only complaint would be its 3-lifts really kill the momentum, but what are you going to do? Bye bye Big Thunder! Love you! It was at this time that I would have gotten in line for a certain-fifth major attraction… Buuuuttt…it was closed. Lame not having the Matterhorn open. This refurb is lasting over 3-months, I believe. Lame. Laaaaaaame I tell you. I would really support the idea of the Matterhorn pulling a “Space Mountain”…taking a few years off, if it means totally-refurbishing the ride system and show. That would really help bring it up to date and prevent as much further down-time for these lengthy refurbishments. Although, the Matterhorn really fills a void you find in Florida. It’s probably my favorite Arrow. By the time I had finished with Big Thunder Mountain RailRoad, I walked to the hub to find a parade going on. Like I said, I wanted to spend today doing some things that I wouldn’t normally do, so I decided to watch the parade. It was actually rather nice. As I havn’t seen a parade in God knows how long, it’s amazing how far the parade technology has come. Like, after watching all these parades on TV this past month, I think Disney should just be in charge of them all! I wouldn’t say that I would go out of my way for a parade. But on a day such as today, when I’ve exhausted the park’s major attractions…why not. Mickey and Minnie, on a life-size replica of the castle. Oh God…I said my first “castle-size” joke…I think I need a shower. Now they’re giving us a reenactment of the Paris video that leaked! Oh God…I said my first “Paris-video” joke…I think I need another shower. I believe that Disneyland Ca is the only Disneyland that sells chimichangas on Main Street U.S.A. Hey, I happen to really like chimichangas, so no problem with that! After the parade had passed, I made my way around the hub. I had finished all of the major attractions available, so I just decided to take my time and simply stroll the length of Main Street, taking pictures and checking out the store windows. Very “old” of me, I know. Awww….I have camera envy. Apparently I was walking at a faster pace than the parade, as I caught back up with it! “I want you’re nuts.” Heh. The eternal lightbulb. The reason we have the coolest Firestation. After walking Mainstreet for about 15-mintues, I called it quits. I had more energy in me for more Disneyland and I even was planning on meeting up with some friends, who would be coming in a few hours, but all of a sudden I had this bout of “old”. I know I’m 17, but I decided that I was “ready” to go home. Wanted to be home for dinner. Lame, I know. But I was done. With that, I stepped out of the park. This is my “stepping out of the park” picture! Just one more tram ride. While I found myself very partial to Epcot, this trip reaffirmed to me that Disneyland is still my favorite park. It’s small, no doubt. But between its history, charm, offerings of amazing, well-kept attractions and entertainment, and great castmembers…it just feels like a very well “balanced” park. A wholesome park. What a park should be. And for me, it does have that “home” feel that they so heavily marketed on during the 50th Anniversary campaign. …a great way to end this amazing park-tripping expedition. You know, I’ve never done this sort of “trip” or “park-expedition” before. This was the first time in my life I had mustered up enough cash and freedom to execute something like this. And as I sat quietly on that tram ride back, I really felt a sense of accomplishment! I know others have done bigger trips. I know that. But this was my big trip. Thirteen parks in less than a month. I was exhausted. I felt as if I didn’t need to go to a park for a good while! But like I said, I felt accomplished. After all the hours I worked to pay for the parks I visited, rides I rode, experiences I had, and friends I made, I felt a sense of accomplishment. I know I will definitely be doing this again, in some way or another… Well folks! That should just about do it for the final update in this amazingly long trip report! Be it you just read this as your first installment, or you have been following it since Park I, I really appreciate you giving your time for my pictures, captions, reviews, corny-jokes, rants, expressions, memories, and experiences. Thank you much! As always, feel free to post any questions, comments, concerns, and of course, praise! “Nice having you…buh bye!” -Jahan