RaptorBoyASU

^^I think it means those that had rides. I'm not sure though. I know that Cedar Point opened their first coaster in 1892, and from what I can find online, Riverside/Gallup's Grove didn't have any rides until after 1900. I can't seem to find a timeline for Compounce

Ok, my parents were the kings of cheap amusement park visits. 1. Always look around for discounts, duh. But one of the most overlooked places is large corporations. Find someone who works for a large company, and see what kind of ticket prices they get, and ask them to purchase them for you. I know that here at work, we get SFMM tix for $28, Knott's for $25, and off-season Disney are discounted as much as $10 on single day (when almost no one else does single day discounts). 2. Pack your lunch. Not only is it easier, but many parks have picnic pavilions to eat in. We always brought a cooler with us to Cedar Point as a kid. We left it in the picnic shelter next to Blue Streak, and no one bothered it. I have fond memories making sandwiches and watching Blue Streak race by. 3. If on a coaster trip, Priceline and www.biddingfortravel.com are your friends. You can get stellar deals on hotels in the area. Use biddingfortravel to get hotel info and bid advice before you go to priceline. They'll explain how to get free re-bids etc as well. 4. Take your own pictures. Do you really need that onride photo? Or would a picture of you and your friends in front of the ride entrance provide the same kind of memory? Thats' all I have.

Here's the depositions from the family. Sounds like someone is going to be writing a HUGE check. http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080130/NEWS01/80130056/1008

3/10 I sucked this time

^I wouldn't count on the X fins to still be there.....

But I WANT IT NOW! I want a feast, I want a bean feast. I want braids in my hair and I don't want to share anything!!!!

Ramses from Zaragoza doesn't make an appearance, and I don't see any broader category that it fits in. Maybe it's not a coaster....

Why was there a urinal in the women's bathroom

Jeff laughs at me every morning at my responses to him as he leaves for work. I don't make much sense when woken up.

And now, the grand finale....... Day 8: This was a Six Flags Park? So it was the last early morning of the trip for me (My flight the next day was in the afternoon). And boy did it hurt to wake up early, I blame Chueca. The last park of the day was Warner Brothers Madrid. The park used to be owned by Six Flags, and I believe was even built by Six Flags. But we learned very quickly that the company put quite a bit more money into infrastructure and theming overseas than they ever did in the states. Of course, to be competitive, you'd almost have to, since almost every Spanish park had fantastic theming. The bus arrived to the gate a bit early, and there was no one there to open up for us yet, in fact it seemed that security was totally baffled by our presence. While waiting, we watched a couple have sex behind their car while waiting for the gate to open. Well, they were hidden from view, but it was obvious what they were doing. Especially when the guy got up, and was "pitching quite a tent". Finally, we were let in, and headed back for ERT. The water tower This mornings ERT was on Superman: la Attracion de Acero. The coaster is a FANTASTIC B&M floorless coaster. It had two great airtime hills, and a pretty intense, low to the ground helix. Not to mention a great bitch-slap zero-g roll, and very smooth transitions. This coaster made my top 10 after just one ride. Theming in the cue of the Daily Planet press room Jon ready to ride Beauty from the back seat An early example of what I meant about being surprised this theming was done when it was a Six Flags Park....it's at Universal quality Time for a quick bathroom break.... in case you weren't sure what this sign was for, they illustrated it Next it was time for SPANISH DEJA VU (actually called Stunt Fall). I actually didn't care all that much about riding this, but we had super premium flash passes, so I took a spin. I neve got the Great America or Georgia Deja Vu rides, so I didnt' need this one to complete my Vekoma Giant Boomerang circuit Might as well get all the big rides out of the way early. Next on the list was Batman: La Fuga. Typical Batman clone, but themed around an asylum instead of a city park and dump. In case anyone didn't know..... Jon *LOVES* Batman This used to be a Six Flags? Seriously, this Gotham city was awesome So as the day went on, it became quite clear that it was going to be a scorcher. It was still fairly early, and it was already unbearable. What better way to cool off than the log flume, Rio Bravo. Here comes the retarded yellow hat club One of the best flumes of the trip. I had no idea it was a reversing flume until we were on board. Best part was the backwards drop. It was huge, and had an airtime hill after, none of which you could see due to being backwards. Seriously awesome. Next was lunch at the Mexican place in the Old West section of the park. I believe it was #69 on the map. The food was ok, but I'm not sure how pasta fits into the mexican theme, and why the heck a mini burrito looked more like an egg roll. Oh well, it was much more edible than the food at Isla Magica, even if the process was just as confusing. This used to be a Six Flags park? Next was Coaster Express. Not as bad as I'd been lead to believe, but not good either. Bounced as bad as Magnus Collussus, but a more twister layout. The ride op was cool though. I neglected a picture of this one. Only one more coaster left to hit..... Tom y Jerry. A family coaster themed around food The seats had a little divider that came up between your legs. It sat right on your balls, and the trains vibrated through the course. It was quite an odd feeling. With the temperature rising, we became more and more lethargic as a group (the lack of sleep over the last 8 days didn't help I'm sure) So we sat around a fountain in the kids area for quite a while. It was much needed, and provided ample opportunity for stalker shots. Hey there How you doin? Hey daddy And one for you straight guys out there, the one to the right Oooh, a Scooby Doo dark ride....... YAY FOR A/C It was decent, far from the best of the shooting dark rides of the trip, but better than some Oh, hey there again And more Kidtums was helping me check them out, she liked that last one Lou loves Marvin And then Robb has to make it into something else Porky and I suffer from the same follicle challengedness Mmm.......more Superman They also had a haunted swing For those of you that have never been on one, they're neat, but if you get motion sick easily, I would skip it. The washer women next to the fountain were helping the public cool off. Throwing water at them, ringing out their clothes over people's heads. I see you over there. Seriously, there were more men in the park with their shirts off than on Oh, if you're there, don't miss the rapids ride. I didn't get a picture, but it spun faster than any other rapids ride ever. The double shot S&S tower was also pretty good. They switched it from drop mode to combo mode right as we got on, so we got quite a surprise. Emo boy is ready to go, and I think everyone else is too. We ended up meeting early and taking off. Everyone was done, and wanted to get out of the heat. After getting back to the hotel and cleaning up, most of the group headed down to a local restaurant. It was very similar to souplantation or Fresher Choice or Sweet Tomatoes here in the US. The food was good, and their frozen yogurt tasted just like Pinkberry. YUM! It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, but I was also excited to get home. I was tired, and missed my sig other. I lasted an hour or so in the bar of the hotel before heading to bed to crash hard. My fantastic roommate Lou was up early to board the flight for Mini-Europe trip, and I vaguely remember saying goodbye. Everything about this trip was amazing. And for anyone thinking about going on a coaster trip, you can't beat the package that Robb and Elissa put together for a true ThemeParkReview trip. I can't thank them enough for the planning, the perks, and the people that they bring to an expedition like this. And for all of you that want more of a glimpse of what the trip is like, something I can't express well enough through pictures, buy the Coaster Expedition DVD http://www.themeparkreview.com/store/index.php?productID=23 It's not the same as being on the trip, but it will have to suffice until you go on one yourself. After a long day of flying (back through Miami), I arrived in L.A. and went to bed. I think Jeff appreciated the present I brought back for him. THE END!

You're my hero Chuck! Great Photo TR! I'll get this on the front page soon! --Robb Selective quoting........ he also mentions that the Disneyland Space Mountain is the best. Which is so true. I love the Florida Parks, but until the Florida version of SM gets some sort of soundtrack or is a bit more immersive, the Cali version totally wins.

OK, this def needs a mention. It's a new LED lit enclosed water slide. It's not open yet, but will be within the next year.

^Yah, we arrived back to the hotel early enough to see the wedding crash. Though I went to bed instead. LOL. Oriol, why did you have to ruin my self esteem like that. I thought we got to face the minotaur because of how awesome we were One more update left, sometime this afternoon. -Kyle

Yay for a PTR. As you may have seen, I brought my camera, but left my memory card in my computer.

Continuing on from where I left off..........5 months ago. Actually, I knew I never finished this, but a combination of laziness and time elapsed since the end of the trip made me put it off. However, after seeing how awesome the newest Coaster Expedition DVD was, and reliving all those memories through Robb's wonderful editing, has caused me to pick this back up and finish it. I know you all were waiting in anticipation. So without further ado.... Day 7: Terra Mitica, and all the great civilizations So today started by checking out of our fabulous hotel. It really was an amazing resort, and the models of what the finished project will look like blew me away. It was such a long drive to the park (about 5 minutes). Once there, we were greeted by the PR person, and Robb gave us the day's agenda. As was the case with most of the Spanish parks, the theming was impeccable. The park was themed to Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the Mediterranean. There were some grand structures present as far as theming, and many many statues and sculptures. Ron's spokesmodeling classes came in handy. Here, in all of his hangover glory, he points out the great pyramid. Onto Greece And the other great part about this park, a fantastic view of the Mediterranean Sea We started the morning with ERT on their giant frisbee ride, and then moved on to the Rome section for Magnus Collossus aka the ride that made me wish I was wearing a bra. Queue it up Everyone looks so enthused In case you forgot..........Chad is Rad This was obviously taken before riding In all actuality, the coaster wasn't that bad. It bounced a lot, but it was definitely rerideable. Not an amazing ride, even though there are elements that should have been "OMG!", such as the double down. It was worth a few spins. BTW, this couple, in their 70s, were amazing. I had quite a few great conversations with them. Unfortunately, our other coaster scheduled for ERT was not operational yet. It was pretty though. I LOVE COASTER TRIPS So does KidTums. What I wouldn't give to have someone push me around the parks all day. Roman theming And mediterranean theming as well How's this for branding. On a side note, I was amazed at how similar the landscape here was to SoCal. I was expecting a wet t-shirt contest, but rather found a children's area The park had sodas and pastries around for us. It was a nice touch, and a welcome pick-me-up. I think everyone was dragging a bit by this point of the trip. FANTA FANTA, wanta a FANTA. In addition to the frisbee, and the woodie, the park also opened their SLC a bit early for us, so we could get our rides in before the rest of the park was let into that area. I somehow forgot to snap pictures of it though. JON, what are you doing? I guess it fits in with the theming Lou was thirsty I couldn't understand what this guy was saying to us, but I'm sure in Spanish it meant that he was very happy to see us. The ride selection was quite good at this park. Highlights for me were the reversing Egyptian themed log flume, and the Minotaur shooting dark ride. The dark ride had the most impressive theming of any dark ride I've been on. Our car did quite well, making it all the way to the final room to battle the minotaur. And their swings were also quite good, with a great view of the park and the coastline. Watch out for that center dividing bar, Hector Lunch was a group lunch in the Greece section of the park, as you can tell from the inside of the restaurant There was a great Greek Salad, followed by a super rich Moussaka. I forget what dessert was...... Have I mentioned the abundant amount of statues? They also had two raft rides. One was more of a dark ride through the journey of the Odyssey The other was a traditional rapids ride, that got us wet, but not drenched. Water rides always bring out shirtless Spanish boys And clothed British boys Here's a view of our hotel from the park. It should give you a good idea on how close it was. We left the park mid-afternoon for a very long bus ride back to Madrid. What do long TPR bus trips produce? Makeovers Tickle fights And SCANDAL We arrived fairly late back into Madrid. That night, the panthers made our way down to Chueca to hit some bars ("No Chanclas"). It was another late, drunken night, but only one more day of parks left. Next: Day 8: This was a Six Flags Park?

I <3 Beavers........ especially giant furry beavers..... I had so much fun that day doing the touristy things I only do when others are in town.

^Just make sure you're back in England for my visit over New Years

Woot woot for Venice. Though the drug dealers weren't on the corner, and there was a lack of bums or street performers. Eventually you'll see it properly. BTW, I haven't been on the subs since your visit.

I did, for my meal at California Grille. These restaurants are destination restaurants, not just Disney restaurants. The table on my left was 3 business men that hadn't been to the parks at all, but were at the place just because of the food.

Wait, I'm confused. The sub ride is the same as the Camp bus no? And they already have those spinning balloons back in Camp Snoopy. Is Camp Snoopy being nixed or moved?

Tilt-a-Whirl

Pretending to be a flower? Are you saying I'm not one already?

THere needs to be more pictures of me.......when's the next update?

^Because you were drunk off all those virgin cokes?

This should be applied to more of the restaurants. Add Jiko and California Grille to that list pronto. They're not places that cater to kids well at all. We spent 1/2 our meal at California Grille trying to ignore the 4 kids under 10 at the table next to us. From their behavior, and their parents doing nothing about it, it was obvious the parents succeeded on that part much more than we did.