arrowfanman

Thanks for all the comments guys! Really appreciate it! We got this baby on to page 13! Yea, thanks Ryan! I'll give you guys the credit of having the history you do! Perhaps its for that exact reason that I was a wee bit dissapointed this year. And nice meeting you too Ian! Anyway...onward! We're really getting there!... Soooo…I spent the night at TJ’s place, as it was like, 2 in the morning by the time we got back from Knott’s. Regardless, it would be only 6 hours later that I would wake up and make my way to the final parks in my quest—the parks of the Disneyland Resort! Unfortunately this time, I would go it alone. Don’t get me wrong, it’s always better to go with folks. But I had always been curious about hitting up the Disneyland Resort by myself. Give me a chance to see a different side of it, really take my time to do things I normally bypass in a group, not to mention take advantage of the glorious single rider lines. So I really wasn’t all that enthusiastic to find company. Also, this is the first year that the Disneyland Resort would be “celebrating” Halloween. See, this year they decided to try and establish the same idea as the Christmas “season” at Disneyland, but for Halloween. Oftentimes families go to the parks twice in a year—once during the summer and once during Christmas, because the parks are all decked out for the Holidays. So I guess they figured, why not try to establish a second “season” at the Resort. You know, deck out the parks with Halloween/fall décor and see if they can bring in more crowds on decorations alone. And it worked. Very well. Curious to see the park in a new light, after 18-months of the “Happiest Celebration on Earth”, tons of guests filled the park. I can definitely tell that they’ll be doing this again next year. Do not get Disney’s HalloweenTime confused with Mickey’s Halloween Treat, which is essentially the west-coast version of MNSSHP, in DCA. Anyway, onward to the reports!... I arrived there relatively early for me and got me my free parking with my AP. It was a nice beautiful day in Anaheim! Some of the new Halloween décor set up on the tram-route. First things first. Remember how I said I wanted to do things that I would normally bypass in a group? Well, first off all that means breakfast! I have never had breakfast at Disneyland, so I figured, “why not?!” I entered Disneyland, but I didn’t do anything except head for breakfast, so I have no report for it until after DCA. After running into some friends ( …more on that, later), I made my way to the River Belle Terrace, in Fronteirland. I was sure getting hungry! I saw a family walk by with those Year of a Million Dreams FastPass lanyards, and got thinking….they should really make a “Food’s FastPass”. 45 minutes. It took 45 minutes for one person to get breakfast! Judging from my other food’s experiences, I would assume that’s about normal for Disneyland. In fact, by the time I got to the register, I was sooo hungry that I ordered 2 breakfasts! Watching them make the food next to me was cute, but didn’t help as I was going on 40 minutes in line. My breakfast…a Mickey-pancake and Mark Twain breakfast! Just what the doctor ordered! Yes, it was my first Mickey-pancake and I gotta say, it was really good! …Even though the thought of devouring Mickey Mouse was a little unnerving. After breakfast, I made a run for it. I had already missed the opening of DCA, thanks to breakfast….so without further adieu, here we go!... Park XII: Disney’s California Adventure Disney’s HalloweenTime The “California” sign, all decked out in candy-corn. For those who don’t know, the DCA entrance is supposed to appear head-on as if you are walking into a “CA postcard”. Today, DCA was my park. Why? Well in case you didn’t know, nearly every major (and even some minor) attraction has a Single Rider queue. The only exception would be the Tower of Terror and it is for that reason that I headed right for it with some pace. Giggity. The hotel had a special “Halloween” entrance this month. The lamp-posts even received these funky…things. …even the lobby had its own assortment of Halloween theme! (technically the TOT story has always taken place on October 31st) So far, we’re on par with Florida! Yay! Albeit the lobby’s a bit more illuminated over here. It’s a Saturday morning and the Disney-park’s “new” attraction has quite the wait. *sigh* I personally really like the “cartoonish” lighting of the boiler-room. Isn’t “better” than Florida’s but it’s a fresh difference. It’s time! Florida has forever tainted my CA-TOT rides. *sigh* Like I said, this isn’t any less of a ride! I just have realized that it totally lacks another “dimension” to it, literally. At this point, it really feels like you never actually enter the Twilight Zone, because face it—you never physically enter the Twilight Zone! I totally enjoyed my ride! Fo sho! But after riding both Tower’s within a week of each other…well, you know. A good ole’ California exit-hallway! It could be worse…it could be in Paris! Next I thought I would hit up the new dark ride, Monster’s Inc.: Mike and Sully to the Rescue!...which happens to be one of the longest ride names I have ever come across! The new Mickey-fountain really adds dimension that the “cardboard-cutout” entrance façade lacks. Monster’s Inc.: Mike and Sully to the Rescue…whoah…my fingers hurt from typing that out! Here…. MI:MASTTR was “cute”. The queue could definitely use some work, but at least it felt like the ride got a fair amount of attention. Much better than “Super Star Limo”, the former attraction. I don’t know why this is, but I think the fact that the animatronics mouths don’t move appears more obvious in the newer dark rides, than in the old. Perhaps just because I was young and stupid, when I rode the older ones! After I finished up my short tour of Hollywood Pictures Backlot, I was off to take advantage of the parks vast array of Single Rider lines! The sun in Sunshine Plaza gets a lot of crap, but you gotta admit that it is pretty. Good to be able to ride a Soarin’ Over California…in California, again! I love you! I got to bypass 55-minutes of standby wait, and got on in less than 5-mintues! Er…wasn’t I just here, like…a week ago? You know, despite the fact that it’s the same exact ride, I prefer Soarin’ in DCA, rather than Epcot. Strange, I know! The reason why, is DCA severely lacks things for the “whole family” to do. When I go with my aunt or grandparents, this is really the only major ride that they can do! Where as in Epcot, the whole park practically caters to the family. So in California, the ride seems to really stand out more. It definitely feels more “grand” and “major” on the west-side. Moving along, I ran into Grizzly River Rapids…also a single-rider friendly attraction! Oooh….pretty! This shot would have been real nice, but there’s a big ugly building in the background! Lol! Now, I take that back—the Grand Californian isn’t ugly. But it is definitely obtrusive, no doubt. The hotel that borders Tokyo Disney Sea really seems to blend into the park, where as the GC stands out of the park! So we really need to get some trees against that thing! …the masters of forced perspective, at work! The good news is, I got onto Grizzly in a mere 5-seconds, thanks to Single-Rider! The bad news is, its always awkward when your have to sit with a family of 7! Especially when 5 of them are little girls and you keep getting stares from the parents like, “you aren’t staring at my girls, are you, punk!? What’s the camera for?! Back off!” At least towards the end of the ride, they eased up a bit and began to talk to me…or was it “John”. Grizzly is still my favorite rapids ride. It has caves, waterfalls, geysers, drops (two, one spinning!), scenery, a pre-ride lift, and some really awesome rapids! My only issue with it, is it really doesn’t have one, well blended story, but rather has several stories, each which don’t quite make sense! The ride has a sort of “rapids-company” story, a “mining” story, and of course the “grizzly bear” story, all in one! They don’t mesh together well. I think if Disney were to throw in a real juicy grizzly bear animatronic and focus the ride around the scary bear that roams the mountain or something (sort of give it an Expedition Everest feel), the ride would be even more successful. That, along with a few other animals (like a bird-on-a-stick ) would really make the ride feel all the more “Disney”. But at least I got soaked! Trust me, the mom couldn’t stop laughing about how “John” got soaked! I didn’t include a “landscape”-oriented photo of the ride, so I thought I would! While I was there, it would appear that they implemented sort of a “Disney’s PhotoPass Beta”…just not as good as the real Disney’s PhotoPass. …but no worries, as of now, the Disneyland Resort now offers the real Disney’s PhotoPass! These “Push” roving/talking trashcans are real popular! “Golden Dreams” theatre had a Halloween-themed meet-and-greet with the Disney-villains. I was hoping to get a photo with Jafar, my middle-eastern homeboy, but he wasn’t out! I had now left the Golden State and entered Paradise Pier…first ride on the PP-Circuit: Mulholland Madness! MM is also known as the “roller coaster behind the wall” ride! Mulholland Madness is just a toned-down Mack wild mouse, surrounded by walls, with road-signs bolted to the supports. It’s fun, as a ride, but I don’t think that it is really fooling anyone as a Disney-ride! It’s about as heavily themed as Galaxy Spin, at Cypress Gardens! See what I’m talking about with the “walls” and “Grand Californian standing out? Oh God…that is not a pretty picture of me flying around that mouse-turn! I swear, the guy who does the speil for this sounds JUST LIKE Fry, from Futurama. Up next was Maliboomer, an S&S Space Shot, and one of less-major attractions to utilize a single-rider! Again, as a ride its fun, but it really it really isn’t fooling anyone as a “themed attraction”. Although the “screamshields” are always fun. For those who don’t know, the “screamshields” are plastic covers which essentially keep screams out of the hotel rooms. …when I finally stay at the Grand Californian, they’re going to need scream shields to keep the screams inside of the hotel room. You see the theming? No?... Its way up there, at the top! See it now? At this point, I really only had one more attraction I had to do!... SCREAMIN! Now that is a train of happy riders! …except for the guy in row 6, but you don’t want to be his friend anyway. Screamin’ is a very spiritual experience for a couple of riders. This one’s for Derek. Even after an extra 24 credits, California Screamin’ is still one of my favorite roller coasters, ever. It is 4 years older than Tatsu and smoother. They trimmed it, you still get airtime in places. Its got hills, turns, banking tricks, speed, and of course, the inversion. What’s not to like? I personally would prefer as a more “tan” or “light-brown” color, to help further establish it as a ride themed to a “wooden coaster”, but you cant get everything. The queue could use some work, but that doesn’t matter to me today—I’m using the extremely popular single-rider line! …and the operations aren’t too shabby, either. Dude! Screamin’ almost gives me Kumba-hair! I love this view. I love this ride. What’s that? Aren’t you supposed to be behind Florida’s castle?! For those who don’t know, DCA will be getting a new fun little attraction in over a year! I wonder if it will also be sponsored by Liberty Mutual. After Screamin’, it was time to head out. I know it was early and I know that DCA had more to do, but I had a whole ‘nother park to get done! Bye bye Paradise Pier! That concluded a very awesome visit to Disney’s California Adventure. This visit was a very good one thanks in part to the numerous single-rider queues, which enabled me to finish the park in literally, over-half the time it would take me otherwise. The park is a good park. Second-best in California, I’d say. The rides are fun, the castmembers are awesome, the park is beautiful... …its only really shortcoming is that it doesn’t feel “Disney”. Going to Florida helped broaden my concept of what “Disney” is, but I still cant say that this park fits that description. The “Golden State” region of the park (ironically the section with the fewest things to do) has the best atmosphere, whereas Paradise Pier and Hollywood Pictures Backlot really seem to lack here. Don’t get me wrong—they’re beautiful lands. They just havn’t been able to achieve that “Disney feel”. One can only hope that the $650 million dollar, 5-year plans that have been rumored on the internet, are true! Aaaaaachhoooooo! And with that, I exited Disney’s California Adventure, bringing my 12th park journey to an end. But by scoping the horizon, I knew exactly where this crazy adventure would come to an end… …the place where it all started. Alright folks…that concludes another addition to this trip report! Just one more park to do and I have this trip bagged! Be sure to check back soon for that one! Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it! As always, feel free to post questions, comments, concerns, or praise! -Jahan

Thanks for the comments guys! You know, I think its safe to say that Reed, Ryan, and I exhausted the WDW/DLR debate, as it has been exhausted for 35 years, so I needn't contribute to this one! I thought their Space was fun...I only called it "bad" to grind some gears. And Dave...thanks for your insight on Dinosaur. When you put it that way...I'm sold! Well just because its Disneyland does make it better by default! Just kidding! In my mind, I was finally able to separate "the best" with "personal favorite", so I could allow myself to admit Florida's superiority without imposing on my home-bred love for the CA park. Anyway, onward! We're getting there!... Park XI: Knott’s Berry Farm Halloween Haunt I have some advice for you folks….don’t wait for the weekend before Halloween to go to a Halloween event. That’s right. October was coming to a close back home in Southern California, and I had a mere one weekend left to cram in the remaining parks on the tour. After sorting out the schedule with my friends, I almost called it quits, I admit. The only day available to make it to Knott’s Berry Farm’s Haunt, would be Friday, October 27th…the Friday before Halloween. Ouch. But I couldn’t quit….I had already started the PTR thread! Some how each year, we always manage to get stuck going to the Haunt the last weekend before Halloween! After getting out of my 3-hour philosophy class on Friday afternoon it was time to hit the road. I bought me the new Chili Peppers album, earlier that day, to accompany on me on the drive and good thing—it took me 2 hours to drive the 65 miles to TJ’s place! But I digress…upon arrival, TJ, Julian, and I piled into Julian’s car and we were off to Knott’s…but not without grabbing some In ‘N Out first. We weren’t even off the freeway yet when we started to hit the Haunt-induced traffic! My God it was bad! It took 45 minutes to get from the freeway to the parking lot (a distance of like, a mile!)! Yes…let me explain…that’s 3 lanes-worth of cars, in 2 lanes, all trying to merge into 1 lane! *sigh*…Welcome back to California. Finally we parked and made our way to the park (we were in an overflow lot, across the street!) *drools* We made it to the back-side entrance and got in past security with too much ease… . Finally, we were inside. And it was crowded as hell! Very chaotic. We decided that the best course of action would be to just walk to the first maze we see and wait for it, first skipping any maze that we did last visit….and without complaining! So that’s what we did. Unfortunately this report, the pictures don’t quite tell the story of what we did as they do in other reports. Truth is, I cant really remember exactly what I felt about the mazes! Anyway, try to bear with me please, and I’ll see you at the end of the report! …Yup! Up first was Hatchet High. Julian seems a little more excited to be waiting in these lines than TJ. I find me some head. Do you guys remember the cartoon Gargoyles? I miss that show. I LOVE the look of light filtering through the trees like that! We then made our way to the two mazes over by Ghostrider. A 2.5 hour wait to smash your spinal cord into small fragments. No thanks. “It would appear that he has lost…his mind. Obviously he wont be getting, a head, in life.” “Ok, I’m done.” What was cool about this, is you would wait in one line, for two mazes. More bang for your wait…. …What wasn’t cool about this, is it felt like they had one maze-worth of scare-actors managing two mazes! They really lacked on people! They made for some cool views of Ghostrider though. The bad news is, after seeing all the Halloween events I did this year, I clearly wasn’t entirely impressed with Haunt, thus far. The good news is, the flash in these conditions makes me look tanner than normal! It was a little crowded. After those two mazes, we made our way around front, for Red Beards Revenge. It’s long line allowed me to grab some shots of Silver Bullet. I took like, 20 pictures, and they all look the same, so I might as well post one! Oooooooooohhhh…….who lives in a pineapple under the sea?! Red Beards Revenge was my favorite maze of the night because as I nearing the end, one of the scare actors came over to me and moaned a “See you on TPR!” Best scare of the night, fo sho! Cell phone #1! What?! It’s just so natural for me now! I don’t know if it was the secondhand pot-smoke, or what, but I paid 3.50 for a churro! Lore of the Vampire….grrr!...Your stupid for buying a churro!....grrr! This guy made me happy. Did I mention it was crowded? At this point, we had finished all of the mazes, minus the ones we did last time and the Grudge 2, which had like, a 4-hour line! Julian didn’t have his Xcelerator credit, and REALLY wanted to ride, so we granted him the favor. Oh God…I think I’m going to regret this. WTF? Laser pens?! *licks lips* Despite the long line, I really needed to get my Xcelerator fix, so I stayed motivated. The line was actually moving quite well. Was I sad because I was waiting so long, or hiding from some gang members gave me dirty looks for introducing my theory on Mavericks LIFT HILL and how it relates to potential/kinetic energy in line? I need to die. Xcelerator is still one of my favorite rides! I was actually really glad that I waited for it! Another TPR story… As I was boarding the ride, I walked over to the cubby to set my stuff down and as I was walking back to sit down, the operator goes, “I’m sorry sir, I’m afraid you cant ride, since you’re wearing a Theme Park Review shirt.” I said, “Oh, I suppose that means your going to staple me real tight now!” He was all, “Yea…especially since I haven’t had the chance to staple Robb Alvey yet.” The best part is, he didn’t staple me! The Annoying Thing is at Knott’s now? Wow! I didn’t believe it until I saw it with my own eyes! Flash photography really DOES set off all the effects! At this point, the park had closed….yup. But they were smart, and kept their upcharge Screamin Swing open. Julian hadn’t ever been on one, so we had to take him on it, as well. I love these rides! On occasion, it’s ok to treat yourself to a cycle on this baby…even if it does cost 5-bucks. Now coming to Universal Studios Hollywood! In the end, I was glad I went to Knott’s Haunt. Despite the crowds and waits and high-prices and traffic and all, I still had a very fun night. As far as the event itself is concerned, I was a little disappointed. Compared to the Universal mazes I just experienced, these mazes felt rather “thrown together”…but I suppose it isn’t necessarily fair to compare them. But what I can compare is the talent and I gotta tell you—they just weren’t feeling it tonight at Knott’s. Firstly, a lot of the mazes seemed to lack actors—not something you would expect, the Friday before Halloween. Second, the actual acting “talent” just wasn’t really up to par with years in the past. But as I said, despite the fact that everything seemed to play against us, as we made some bad choices as to how to hit the park, I’m definitely glad I went!...even if only for an Xcelerator fix. Welp folks, that should just about do it. We’re almost there! Just two more parks! Thanks for reading! As always, feel free to leave any questions, comments, concerns, and of course, praise! Thanks again! -Jahan

What?! It's a picture of me!

Hey Robb--an accident yesterday shut down the 405-south, jamming traffic from lax to miles into the Sepulveda pass. Just wanted to give you something to be thankful for today. Happy thanksgiving and enjoy the rest of your cruise. -Jahan

Friends and family...yup!

Excellent report! I havn't been to SeaWorld in years and I cant say that I've ever been to Belmont Park, so even though this makes neither seem "exceptional", I'm now thinking that perhaps it wouldn't hurt to make a run down to San Diego next year. Keep it up! We're all rooting for you on this one Tom! -Jahan

Holy crap! I turn my back for a few hours and there's 4 pages of people pouring out their hearts and minds! I want to thank everyone for sharing their thoughts! Discussion seems a little "one sided" at this point, so I'll try and play the devils advocate for a second... *sigh*...where to begin! Awwww...you guys dont already miss me, do you? Anyway, thanks for the rather in-depth post of the park, which seemed to elicit so much heated-discussion here! Although to be fair, I wouldn't say I was getting much "fanaticism" from this update. Everyone is entitled to share their own thoughts and feelings, regardless of their "expirence". I hold no "qualification" for discussions, as long as all responses are respected, at the least. Although I have had my share of "fanaticism" in the past. For Allen, Reggie, and other/former employees, I cant say that my expirences have been that different from yours. Thank you for sharing those stories with us. Granted, I feel that a lot of that attitude is (1) in a portion of the workforce anywhere and (2) can be attributed to the fact that SFMM is operated by mere teenagers, but yes, SFMM itself plays a large role in that. Paul, thanks for the "civil engineering info"! From the looks and sounds of it, they aren't anticipating a large, sudden landslide persay, but more of a gradual erosion around the footers. I understand that these footers are buried a good 30-40 feet into the ground (I would watch them bend the rebar once a week ), however the more uniform top of the footers is only, no more than 10 feet deep, if not less. I think the worry is if land is to slowly erode away from the sides of these things, they may be susceptible to new, lateral forces which weren't aticipated. (I would assume that a footer is designed with the vertical forces in mind, as the land itself provides the lateral support). But I'm going to be a History major, so what do I know?! As far as the "home park" comments are concerned...I perfectly understand where both sides are coming from. I can see Magic Mountain from my house--I grew up with the place. I think what we all have to acknowledge is that it is perfectly ok to "like" Magic or even find it to be a "favorite", despite all of its shortcomings. A quick, stupid example.... I can perfectly acknowledge that WDW's castle is superior to Disneylands. Face it...it's a better castle! But that doesn't mean I cant still hold Disneyland's as my favorite, for reasons beneath the surface. Same thing applys here. Hmmm...did I miss anything? I guess I'll wrap this up....Magic Mountain is ill. Like any sick person, it has its good days and its bad, but either way you cant escape the fact, that it really is ill. I have seen the park from the perspective of a guest, seasonal employee, and even "lower-management". The whole park seems to have established a standard lower than the industry standard and often struggles to even meet that. They've really created a little bubble for themselves. I dont think they always quite "get it". Especially after seeing the parks in Florida, I can safely say that the ride maintenence is laughable, ride operations are from "annoying" to "unbearable", and park-clenliness is on a "hit-or-miss" basis. As for the employees....they are under-age, under-trained, under-paid, under-staffed, under-supervised, under-appreciated, under-motivated, and over-worked. Just my take. Again, I want to thank everyone for their responses! -Jahan

^ Agreed. I myself have to go with Epcot. I loved it to death. Such a beautiful park with a beautiful theme. Islands sort of fell up short of my hopes. BGA is definitely up there...I want to definitely explore that one more next time I visit. -Jahan

I disagree. I think it'll be like Silver Bullet, which isn't all that great, but isn't bad either....its just "meh". Yea...this ride looks "meh". Ah well, another credit. -Jahan "whoever picks Cedar Fair's coaster colors should be shot" Makanvand

I do?! Anyway, it looks like you all are enjoying yourselves. I know I am . -Jahan

Good evening folks! I know it’s been quite some time since I’ve crapped out an update! I’ve gone to the mountain several times, but never grabbed enough to pull a whole update together, so I figured I would make my way down to the mountain today. That way I can combine a lot of my visits together and make it seem like stuff is actually going on at the mountain! Anyway, enjoy!... Tatsu’s ‘Achilles Heel’ If this is a footer, just imagine where the “heel” would be. Then notice the chunk of land missing next to it. Well, I’m sure this has gotten around to a fair bunch of you by now but I might as well cover it myself. A few weeks ago, the pathway between Roaring Rapids and Ninja (aka, the easy way up the hill) was suspiciously closed, once again returning the mountain back into a “cul-de-sac” as it was during the Tatsu construction, with all traffic forced up and down the steep side of the hill. Why? You’re not going to believe this… The explanation that I am repeatedly getting (which is reinforced by the work I see getting done) is that someone on the surveying team during Tatsu’s prep work/pre-construction made a serious boo-boo. Now, you might have known that the hill (which Tatsu is located on) isn’t necessarily stable. …bear with me. I always have heard stories of the 1994 Northridge earthquake doing quite a bit of geological damage to the hill, threatening Ninja at times. Well now with Tatsu’s massive 170ft tall lift hill grappling onto the side of this hill, exerting great pressure on the land, in combination with the natural erosion cycle of a poorly vegetated hillside, essentially….what’s the nice way to say this… …The hill is showing dangerous signs of erosion. The land around Tatsu’s lift-footers is giving out to gravity. Now, as of current, Tatsu is still operable…well, when the damn thing isn’t broken down, that is. But I’m hearing people say that if the problem isn’t “fixed” or at least “bottled, dammed, stopped, or temporarily held off” in a reasonable time-frame, the ride may have to go down….just as X has….for some major structural work. Imagine, the parks two major“ist” rides, broken down. I can’t see that going well with the public. Now what that “time frame” is, I don’t know. I won’t pretend to know. So the idea that it would go down is still speculation at this point…so no need to flip out quite yet. How about some pictures of the emergency quick-fix!... As I made my way to Tatsu, I was greeted by an empty train, broken down on lift…figures. The train is also conveniently in the “area of question”, on the hill. The entrance to the now-closed pathway. This cool little slide thing is probably for waste removal or something. No real clue on that one…but it looks cool! Oh wow! Some heavy-duty wall building is going on now! Grrr…I want my pathway back! Looks like they cut away a lot of railing, to make room for all of their work. An overview of the construction site thanks to Rapids queue…thanks Mike! Wow! That actually looks like quite a heavy-duty retaining wall going in there! And on a potentially related subject… Remember that “bomb shelter” looking thing, they installed beneath the drop?... Well, to this day I still don’t know what it’s for, but after the recent turn of events, my guess would be that it is itself, a retaining wedge (if you will). See its position in relation to that massive footer—my guess is it’s there to help hold the mountain back, so the footer can remain properly supported. Just a guess…sort of stretching it, but it makes the most sense to me. As far as the “natural erosion” is concerned, the hill’s natural attempt to flatten itself has led to little brick “shields” being built around a few of Tatsu’s footers, to keep them from being over-taken by dirt. It’s a little brick “dam”, to help keep the footers above-ground. I sincerely hope that these are nothing more than different colored bricks—that they didn’t have to “add more” when they found out that their first attempt at damming the mountain wasn’t enough! It should be very interesting to see what goes on in the coming months, especially once we enter January-March, when our sporadic rains begin. Remember last year, the West-Coaster-Bash tour of the construction site was canceled, as the wet mountain was too unstable? Well that same mountain now has a roller coaster on top of it. Everyone’s Favorite Ride Despite the fact that the mountain is once again “one way in and one way out”, regarding foot traffic, there is an alternative way off: everyone’s favorite ride, Orient Express. As reported earlier, the Orient Express has finally reopened after a seemingly-never ending hiatus, thanks to Tatsu construction. It was one of those things, like you left hand—you never realize how much you use it until you cant use it at all. It soon became apparent that this little transport system was everyone’s savior! A quick, efficient way up the hill. And now that more and more staff has been trained to operate the ride, it is finally open more regularly. I thought I would include a little photo-tour of the ride, for you all to check out the “new and improved” Orient Express! Enjoy… For those unfamiliar, O.E. is practically the most simple ride in the park. Two cable-cars transport SFMM’s regular barrage of gang members and crack dealers up and down the hill via a split track. The interior has been repainted and has a few new signs. Unfortunately, the audio spiel has since been removed. The lamps are so new, that they still have the instructions on them! The only way they’ll be able to hold back the damn mountain at this rate, is if they tear all of Psyclone down! …oh wait, that’s a good thing! Footprints on the walls, as O.E. doubles as an anti-gravity chamber, during Magic’s private parties. Ooooh…Impressive. The cars now have a brand-spankin-new WiFi system. I don’t know exactly what it does, but it has been installed! Corey (in his jacket, as always, despite the 90 degree weather) shows off the simple little ride’s new Allen-Bradley touch-screen panel system. Again, don’t know what its for, but it looks all hi-tech and cool! High-tech or simple, the point is we’re glad to have Orient Express back! Cell Phones to Baritones—a Bunch of Random Crap! Well as always, I’ve included a section in this update for the changes going on, that aren’t necessarily worthy of their own update “section”. I usually put this at the end, but for the sake of organization, I’m putting it right in the middle of this update…enjoy! Feliz! New banners have gone up on the walk-of-shame to the park! I don’t know how long this has been here, but it would appear that SFMM is experimenting with one non-turnstile counting thingy, like what the Disney-attractions utilize. Just one, at the moment. Cell phone # 1 Again…a nice little band, shoved off to the side. These guys are real fun, but just don’t fit in at a non-family park like SFMM. Robb’s modeling some leftover Fright Fest equipment! I thought this photo was kind of neat! …speaking of Goliath, it would appear that it has finally dropped the “Driving Force” sponsorship. Cell phone # 2...I swear, I’m not even trying at this point! …on that note, I don’t want people to think I’m just slandering SFMM! Please don’t! So I’ll take a moment to exhibit the hidden beauty within the park. …the fact that the out-of-focus Valencia Falls still aren’t working in this picture, is irrelevant. Some new plants have been planted in Revy’s exit. The fact I would notice them makes me seriously need to rethink my life. I, too, need to seriously rethink my life. And finally… This SERIOUSLY ticks me off. I mean, these guys had their name tags on and everything, just with their shirts off and around their necks. It really makes you think…is ANYBODY running the damn park?! Hell…Magic: give me my camera and a week…see what I dig up for you. Anyway, we’re almost done, so moving on. I Told Ya’ So! You know, as Tatsu-transfer station was being constructed, the coaster message boards were all lit up with jokes. A many “I bet they wont even enclose the transfers!” comments were thrown out there and seemed to summarize the general opinion. Despite it, many of us hoped this would not be true—only to be shot down by SFMM. Weeks passed, the transfers remained exposed, the ride opened, the transfers remained exposed, months passed, the transfers remained exposed. At this point, I’m sure that we have all given up! That’s why I’m pleased to announce that something caught my eye as I was walking up Tatsu’s exit today… WTF is that?! That’s right folks! They’ve finally begun to enclose Tatsu’s transfer station! Beware of the floating white-wall of doom! A close-up of the roof reveals the design to be nearly identical to that of Scream’s (which also was enclosed after the ride opened, remember?). More sheeting and supplies awaiting installment. Now, I’m sure you may be wondering why the walls don’t go all the way to the ground. This is most likely because they aren’t enclosing the transfers for aesthetic reasons. They have probably gotten to the point where the on-board computers, unhealthily roasting in the sun (and furthermore causing a large chunk of the rides numerous breakdowns) have practically forced SFMM to finally enclose the damn thing…just as B&M had originally recommended. I can just see them with their cool accents now… “I told ya’ so!” Freefall At Last! There ya go Joey…it’s all yours. It had been reported, as well as proven via some photo trip reports, that Freefall had left the testing stages, and was finally reopened last month. Despite all of this, I had yet to see it open myself…until today. (again, the staffing is beginning to become regular). No closed sign!...Sweet! Despite the fact that I myself don’t really care for Freefall, I had to ride it! Just because! It was open! What goes up… …must come down! A look at the panel….just because. Having it open just adds so much more movement and life to the area! …indeed, it does. Having Riddler’s, Freefall, and Tidal Wave all going at once really makes it one of the nicer areas in the park, again. So major props to SFMM for finally getting it open again! And just because I can, I’ve included a short POV of Freefall, at the end of this post! Enjoy! Well, that should about do it for this update! Feel free to post any questions, comments, concerns, and of course, praise! -Jahan (arrowfanman@yahoo.com) Arrowfanman_Freefall.wmv Freefall POV.

Very cool trip report Jimmy! I love to see those sorts of pictures! They let you know where you came from and how far you came, as a theme park and as a family, if you know what I'm sayin. -Jahan

I got a whopping 1 for my real name (First and last). 18 for my screen name. EDIT: That was Image search...as for page search... 883 for "Jahan Makanvand" 11,300 for "arrowfanman" -Jahan

Hey everybody! As some of you know, over a month ago Elissa went down to EB Games to preorder her Nintendo Wii. She even made a PTR of it! Well, as it says in that PTR, as luck would have it the Alveys are out of town right now and therefore, asked me to pick up the Wii for them! Now, I know that it may sound sketchy that I would be able to do that--it's for that reason that last Friday, Elissa and I went to this very EB Games, to confirm that I would be able to pick it up for them. We walked in and asked the guy behind the counter very plainly, "Hi, I was just wondering, I will be out of town next week and have a pre-held Nintendo Wii I'm supposed to pick up--is it alright that my friend here picks it up for me?" The guy, without hesitation might I add, complied with "Oh yea, no problem. All he needs is the receipt and reservation slip." We asked again, just to make sure. After a reassurance, Elissa responded, "Oh good. In that case, am I available to pay it off now?" Again, the guy complied with "Yea, that would be great." Despite the guy's steadfast and confident responses, we still thought it would be best if I had a letter of consent from Elissa, as well as a photocopy of her drivers licence, for identification purposes. I felt so confident when I walked into that store today. Sooo entirely confident. I waited in a short line of guys that boost even my self-esteem, walked up to the counter and was immediately shot down with a blank stare and a "I cant give you her Wii." As the confusion was sinking in, I reassured him that I had full consent to take the Wii and he still refused, claiming to be the store manager. At that point, I didn't know what to do! I was so sure that I wouldn't have any problem, thanks to the confident response of the guy who helped us earlier, that I hadn't thought of how to deal with this (I dont shop very much. ). I left the store and struggled to get a hold of Robb and Elissa, but finally was able too. After a good pep talk on strategy from Robb, I took a deep breath and marched back into the store. As luck would have it, I was again, helped by the manager. I explained that I perfectly understood why he wouldn't give me the Wii. That isn't what bothered me. What bothered me is that Elissa and I explicitly went to this store prior to this date, to ensure that there wouldn't be any problems with me picking this up. Not only were we given a "yea, that'll be fine" response, without hesitance, but the man helping us was very confident. Despite this, we still felt it to be in our best interest to type up a letter of consent and obtain a photocopy of her drivers licence. And on top of it, I completely rearranged MY schedule so that I would be able to do this, asking my friend to postpone HIS birthday-trip to Knott's by one week as I wanted to go, but was bound to this engagement. ...and after all of that, you're still not going to give it to me and you refuse to speak with Robb or Elissa!?! (In my head I was just steaming up, but I was able to keep my cool.) He responded, "I cant give it to you, but if she's out of town I'll hold it for her." I said, "Can I get any guarantee on that? I understand that these are valued gifts." He cockily said, "I'm the manager...I can promise you that I'll hold it...that's better than any guarantee you can get." Now like I said, I'm totally new at this and obviously I made a few mistakes...I didn't get the guys name or a written confirmation that he would hold it. But I suppose that we'll be fine, thanks to Elissa...logically, the very fact that she already paid it off in full, means that it is no longer a "Reserved Item" but in fact a "Purchased Item" and they should be obligated to hold it at that point, regardless. Grr...I'm sooo pissed. Anyway, here's some pics... After two failed attempts to get their Wii...well...I think you get the point. This was supposed to be my "thoroughly disappointed/very pissed" face. I had enough information to legally adopt Elissa and her Wii!...but no, not enough for stupid EB! "The Adventure Begins..."

Dude...What was Jewish-topless-Mario doing at Citywalk!? He was supposed to be at my EB, today! Thanks for the PTR Wes. I believe I should be heading out for "mine" in twenty minutos or so. -Jahan

^ ...heh. *sigh* Great trip report Tom! Pretty honest report on SFMM, unfortunately. Glad you liked my IHOP. -Jahan

Thanks for all of the comments guys, and sorry I made you feel bad Ryan! Now its time that we finish Florida up!... Bonus Photos!: Park Hopping Around WDW! My last day in Florida! Alright, so I know thus far I have been organizing this bureaucracy of a trip report by “Park number”, but for my last day in Florida we went back to Walt Disney World for some Park Hopping…so I cant say that I’m visiting any “new” parks these days. But regardless, I think I took some nice pictures, so I thought I would share this last day with you guys as sort of a “Bonus Photo” page! I guess I’ll do a synopsis of the Florida trip, while I’m at it! Regardless, this report is more to just give you guys some photos, so enjoy!... We’ll start the day back off at DAK. Despite its horrid layout and lack of attractions, there really is no denying that DAK is a VERY beautiful park! The real reason I allowed them to drag me back here! …*cues background music!* After Everest, I finally got to ride Dinosaur. *looks around to make sure that Dave isn’t reading* Dinosaur was a sad, sad little ride. I don’t know if it’s the fact that my favorite ride period is Indiana Jones Adventure (this rides super-cousin) or what, but I just wasn’t too thrilled about Dino…sorry Dave! And on that memento, it’s time to leave DAK! Hmmm…where could Jahan be off to now?! Gorgeous, efficient, smooth…but enough about myself, the monorails were great too! You got it! I’m back at the Magic Kingdom! Despite getting in all of the major attractions the other night at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, I still yearned to see the Magic Kingdom in the daytime. I really loved the park, but was deficient on pictures to share, so I thought getting to see it in the daytime would be a great way for me to grab some shots! Expect this photo, again…just taken from a vantage point 3,000 miles away. One element of the Magic Kingdom that a Disneylander like myself was TOTALLY digging, was the vast expanses of room! I had to walk like, a half a mile to get to Adventureland! I really have to say, that’s an awesome castle! Oh…by the way, it was under refurbishment, thereby thwarting any attempt at a good picture. Thank God for Paint Shop Pro 4 and a blue Florida sky! … “Y…M, C, A!” A quick walk through Adventureland winds us up at Pirates Jr. “Holy crap! Would you look at that rack on that one!” Take a stroll around the good Splash. I love this picture! Postcard perfect! I personally thought that Fronteirland was the best land in the park. “Refurb me, please!” Against my better judgment, let us take a quick pass through Fantasyland. Holy crap! Strollers! Everywhere! Grrr!...stupid crane ruining my photos! At this point, I made my way into Tomorrowland (there is obviously a vacancy where a Matterhorn should go!) I had to do something, as I had to do the Peoplemover… …tell them what we’re doing Walt!... What?! Ok, so what!...I had a compelling desire to check out the Carousel of Progress! I had the 1964 track practically memorized, so I just had to finally check out the “tribute” version for myself. I was obviously glad I did it, but yea…it needs some major work! The old version was so great…it really focuses on progress…not just out-dated video games! It featured a progression of electronics, as well as a social progression…an element which has since been eliminated. Oh well…. *sigh*. At this point, I had made my way back into the Hub…the very, very large Hub! …not without taking some “Elissa-friendly” photos though, of course! Then I thought I would hit up a gift-shop, before trying to meet up with the rest of the gang… …West-side, represent! I was running a hundred bucks under budget, so I thought it would be a great time to finally grab one of these awesome Goofy hats! With that, it was time to head out to MGM, to meet up with the group! I guess I’ll grab a shot of “bad Space Mountain” ( ) on the way out! The MGM entrance centerpiece is just a disguised security tower! (look at those cameras!) At MGM, I had the fortunateness of getting to hit up Good Tower (my favorite ride of the whole trip) once again, as well as take a spin on the Great Movie Ride, which was “cute”. After that, it was con ti partio….we said our good byes, split for our separate terminals, and rode off into the sunset. Florida—I would consider it to be the theme park and resort destination in the United States. I have always heard so much about these parks, that the chance to finally visit them was almost unreal, especially in the amazing fashion that I did so, with TPR! The trip enabled me to more than triple my credit count, by snatching 24 credits with one swift blow (sad, I know). I visited eight parks in total—the four Walt Disney World parks, two Universal parks, Busch Gardens, and of course, Cypress Gardens, none of which I would consider to be a “disappointment”. The three Halloween-events were all fun in their own unique ways and I can only hope to get a repeat experience in the next few years. But more importantly than the theme parks, I have to say that I met some really awesome people on this trip. I cant say that there is a single person that I didn’t feel glad that I met—and trust me, I wouldn’t say that if it weren’t true. I made a ton of friends (which has obviously made the somewhat inclusive Theme Park Review that much easier to navigate). This all made for some amazing conversations, juicy stories, unique situations, and an experience that can only be described with “fun”. Seriously, this was like the highlight of my year, fo’ sho’! So I guess I’ll have to thank the culprits of all of it…Imagineers, Universal’s creative team, B&M…? No…Good old Robb and Elissa! A big thanks guys! I really appreciate all your efforts to include me in this and your persistence to make sure I was enjoying myself! I’ve never come across so much kindness from a host and hostess before! So thanks! I’ll buy you dinner sometime. Welp folks, that’ll have to do it for my Florida update! Thank you so much for reading it, I really, really appreciate it! But that doesn’t mean it’s time to leave!—I still have three more parks to showcase. So please, feel free to stick around. As Walt Disney said, “We’re just getting started, so if any of you starts to rest on your laurels, just forget it.” Thanks again! As always, feel free to post any questions, comments, concerns, or of course, praise. -Jahan

Wow! Quite a response! Thank you, all of you for your nice comments! I agree with you Reed, that that was a good time that night, shooting off remarks back and forth! And very cool to hear that you agree, Chuck! And Derek, if the Grill is cheaper than Ohanas, than I'm there! Park X: Busch Gardens Africa Howl O Scream “God damn sign!” Welcome to yet another installment of the trip report! I’m really starting to get into the final additions, but if you’re just joining us now, welcome aboard! Busch Gardens Africa was one of my most anticipated parks of the trip! Usually when you have high-hopes for a park, your chances that it will come up short-of-expectations are higher. Despite this, BGA came up as one of my favorite parks of the whole trip! I really hope to spend more time there next year, because I feel like there’s so much more to be explored. I vastly underestimated the size of that park! After Cypress Gardens, Joe was kind enough to let me mooch off of his ride again. We all went and hit up a very random McDonalds (it was in the middle of nowhere, was themed to be ‘retro’, and had a touch-screen ordering system!...WTF!) Soon, we were all on the road for BGA. What a beautiful parking-lot greeting! Now we obviously got there with a couple hours to spare before the Howl O Scream event, so we paid for a normal admission and went into the park. Understanding what short time frame we were working under, we rushed to the first ride on the adgender…Gwazi. I really didn’t know what to expect from this ride(s). I wasn’t aware of all the commentary on it or whatnot. I rode in the back row for both rides, and I personally really liked both rides! When I got back home and started reading up on it, I was shocked to find out how many people found it horridly bumpy!...I mean, I thought it was rough. But so far, of the 8 woodies I’ve been on, most of them have been rough! I personally think that Gwazi is far better than Ghostrider, that’s fo sho! In my opinion, the worst part about it was the poor operations! At this point, Jon, Guy, and I had fallen behind the rest of the group by about 1 ride! Jon and Guy were filming footage for their awesome videos and I just chilled with them. But after a bit, I felt like I was being pressed on time as I still needed to get all my credits, so I decided to run ahead and try to catch up with the rest of the group. I got to Sheikra about 10 minutes behind the group, and due to delayed operations or something, I ended up being about one or two loads behind them! More on Sheikra in a bit. So after Skeikra, I ran even more and finally caught up with the group right before they got onto Python! Robb and Reed take the snake for a spin! You know, I know my screen name is “arrowfanman” and all, but I have to be honest with you…prior to this trip, I’ve only been on 7 Arrow coasters! And that’s if you consider the Matterhorn, let alone both sides! But the truth in all of this, is that I have yet to ride an Arrow that I didn’t enjoy! And Python stood true to this—I enjoyed it very much! My only complaint is that I find it rather short. But other than that, it was a great little ride. I don’t really see what can fit in that small of a foot-print, but I’m sad to see it go. At least I got my ride on it. I appear to be yodeling my approval! After Python, it was time for Kumba. Kumba….hmmm, what to say… WOW. I don’t know what it was about this ride that made me enjoy it as much as I did! I would probably say that it was my favorite coaster of the trip! It just felt so “natural” and “right”, if you know what I mean. Its element order also had a taste of Riddler’s Revenge in it (and sounded most-similar to Riddler’s, of all the B&M’s I have heard), so of course I’m going to like it! I was lucky enough to get two rides on it, both in the back, left seat. Thank you to everyone who was kind enough to arrange that for me! I’m forever in debt to you! Also, upon exiting the ride, we found that the forces had naturally forced my hair up, where it actually got stuck in a “Jew-froish” way! So the term has officially been coined and now whenever that happens to me, it is said that I have “Kumba hair”! After Kumba, with nearly 15 minutes until the park would close, Robb was awesome enough to split with me and rush me over to get my Montu credit! So big thanks Robb! Montu was fun, no doubt. The first half has so much sheer-awesomeness, that if it were able to sustain it the entire ride, it would no doubt shoot to become my favorite invert. But the fact that the mid-course was trimmed so severely!...wow! Talk about chopping the momentum out of a ride! I will say, however, that I enjoyed the batwing far more than any cobra roll I’ve ever been on. As soon as we stepped off of Montu, the park was closed. So then we slowly walked back to meet up with the rest of the group, who were all waiting out front the restaurant we were supposed to meet at. See, for the Howl O Scream event, we decided to do the “pre-scare dinner”-type of option. Therefore, we remained in the park and got to watch some dinner show for dinner and then we gained admission to the park, half an hour early. Dude! Ryan is totally a Ketchup bottle! Now while at dinner, I made the obvious mistake of leaving my camera at the table and furthermore asking those around me to watch it. …long story short, when I got to my PC and uploaded the day’s pictures, I was shocked to find 15 photos that I don’t quite remember taking…well, just look for yourself… …I learned my lesson. As for the dinner show itself, well, I cant say that any of us were too impressed by it, to say the least! It was called “Control-Alt-Deceased”, and while I admit I was partial to the theme of “dorky-internet blogger’s quest to find sex”, I cant say that the rest of the plot was much to write home about. It was another failed attempt to create their own “Bill and Ted”-esque show. As a matter of fact, I think I prefer Universal Studios Hollywood’s crappy “Fear Factor Live” show to this…especially since we had the choice to walk out on it, where as we were forced to sit throughout the duration of this show. …*sigh* At least they tried. After the show, we were let loose into the park again, now officially for the Howl O Scream event. We quickly ran to the nearby Scorpion and effectively beat all the other crowds. I really enjoyed Scorpion! A real solid little ride, and I’m totally digging the lap-bars! After Scorpion it was another rat race over to Cheetah Chase (that rhymed…heh). We got on in great time. Cheetah Chase was Mulholland Madness…there’s not much more I can say about it, other than it seemed almost as poorly planned and just “plopped” down as Mulholland Madness does! But props to whoever was shouting Buffy-swearing-keyboard-phrases around the mouse’s turns! After Cheetah Chase, we gathered together for a group photo, and then decided that as we had VIP passes to all of the mazes, why not try for one more ride on Sheikra before the line becomes unbearable? So we split for it! *Drools* I think that Sheikra had to be my most anticipated coaster of the whole trip and I have to say, I think it really delivered! The view from the top is absolutely amazing! (once you can look past the bees trying to kill you, that is!). And as for the “hold” at the top, I have to say I felt a little nervous! It’s rare I get that feeling on a coaster these days, so major props for that one! The immelman is absolutely gorgeous…you heard me, gorgeous. And the rest of the ride was fun, as well. My biggest complaint was that there wasn’t more! I enjoyed it so much, that I wanted more! I got a solid two rides on Sheikra this day, so I was happy! But after Sheikra, it was pretty much time to stop with the rides and start with the mazes…which would be very easy to digest, thanks to the VIP passes we all got. I cant say that I really remember what we did that night, so I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves for a bit!...(with the aid of a few captions, of course)… Lightsaber of Justice?! Oh, I get it now!... …I don’t know if he gets it yet, though. Sheesh! Fine!...I’ll just have to get my own cow, no thanks to you! Mr. Bungee guy was having a wee bit too much fun! I’m not even going to ask! Elissa brings order, with her mini-lightsaber. ….of justice! These guys reminded me of the two old guys from the Muppets…just not as cool. No one can be as cool as the Muppets! *sigh*…I’m sure you all know why I’m crying right now. The EVIL section of theme park stores—name specific merchandise! Nobody ever has “Jahan” keychains! Well, that was really the bulk of the Howl O Scream event. After doing Universal just two nights prior, I cant say that I was really all that impressed with HOS. Don’t get me wrong!—It was actually a nice event…way better than Fright Fest, that’s for sure. I would say it was about on par with Knott’s Haunt. It had some lengthy, enjoyable mazes, but in comparison to the Universal stuff I had seen, it was just pale in comparison. It all felt very “home made”…then again, that worked to its advantage a bit. For example, Universal’s felt so “professional” that at times, it felt too good to be scary! It was beyond-real, thereby making it like a fabricated theme-park-dark-ride-fake sort of feel. Where as when the maze feels home made, your more willing to succumb to fear when you get chased down with a chain saw! Still, I wouldn’t say that it was really all that scary. Hell, the scariest image of the night wasn’t even from the event…I’ll place it at the very end of this installment. Viewer discretion is definitely advised! Either way, I cant say that I didn’t enjoy myself at a great night at Busch Gardens Africa! Alright, that should do it for this installment! I know it was rather short, but it’s very late and I really needed to get it done! As you can tell, I really enjoyed BGA, and look forward to a more complete trip there, next time! Thank you for putting up with me again! Questions, comments, concerns, or praise, are all welcome, of course! -Jahan I told you it was scary!

I have lobbyists?! Awesome! Thank you for your efforts Guy, but they need'nt be necessary. ...well, they are. But lets keep the organization on the down-low, and then in Summer of '08, we can start the attack ads. -Jahan

My comment was in direct response to your post: ...I believe the "right" I was refering too was free speech. Sorry Joe...nothing to you. I just wasn't feeling that comment. As you have proven, you can do better. -Jahan

^ So someone should be denied a human right because they aren't an American citizen. Hmmm... Not that it matters...none of its going to be inforced. Think about it--if you own a store and you can increase your revenue by catering to spanish-speaking population, your going to do it, no matter what some stupid little law says. I'm all for "English First"...but "English Only" is not only wrong, but it's impractical. *groan* ....I think this comment is going to make me throw up. -Jahan

TJ (TheBannedKid) and I broke down on the Many Adventures of Winnie the Poo last Friday and so I had to take an official "broken down picture". He didn't know what a "broken down picture" was (Guy and I perfected it on Spiderman a month ago), so I told him to improvise, resulting in a drugged up expression. At least I got my "scared" "broken down face" refined! -Jahan

^ Me too! Thanks for the update Joe! I love the video. Lol at the lady flipping the switch--she looks thrilled to be doing that job. Cant wait for more! -Jahan

I quit after seeing about 5 Cedar Point questions in a row. -Jahan

^ Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that Kingdom of Dinsoaurs was already gutted. At this point, I frankly dont care what Knott's does--its not going to do what I want. So I say, "What the hell...another credit." I'm with Derek on this one--I'm sure this will end up being the best coaster in the park. -Jahan