Erik Johnson

The picture was totally worth the $60. Awesome TR as always.

Whenever I think of mini-golf, I always think of our game of super speed golf.

I love old park construction photos! Thanks for posting these.

It has been a while since I have been so freaking scared on a coaster.....in a good way. The airtime was simply insane. It simply is an amazing ride. Probably will make it to the top of my steel list for this year.

New Texas Giant is simply the most intense steel coaster I have ever experienced. If you love airtime, you will love this machine.....especially if you ride in the back row. Awesome event! Thanks for having me.

I still ranked Bizzaro #1 even though I have only ridden it as Superman: Ride of Steel a few years ago. Yeah, it still has a strong impression on me. However, that may change after I re-ride it again this summer. I am curious to see if it still will hold up.

^ Hah hah, I have not heard that name in a long while.

Even though I only need one credit in the park (New Texas Giant) I am willing to get one with some of you since many of you have never been to the park.

That ride would kill me.

Looks like it is already open. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv9HSILiypw

Crazy, awesome!

One more closer now!

Good to hear Ravine Flyer 2 is still awesome.

Looks great! Just a few more weeks to go!

One of my favorite parts of the trip is that you can have a guided tour of certain areas of the ship. Our tour concentrated on Remy as well as the set of lounges/bars on the ship. They are super informative and I highly recommend doing one if you have the time. We start the tour with the super swanky upcharge place of eating: Remy Remy's place setting. Can you find the hidden rodent? Remy is one awesome rodent. The back dining room is an exact replica of the one from the movie. They even got the carpet right. If you wanted to eat here, it does cost an extra $75 a person. I understand that it is really worth it. There is some expensive wine in there. Once you learn how to "read" your carpet, it makes things much easier to find your way around the ship. I will add a flag decoder key later in this report. The bottom half. Some random pirate video game on deck 5.....I think. These boxes contains the crew's life boats. Next was Pink. It was inspired by Dumbo's drunken scene in Dumbo. It is a really nice and pink campaigne bar. Next was Skyline. How many of you have seen it with the "daytime" windows? The 687 name came from the simple fact that The Disney Dream was the 687th ship built by German ship builder, Meyer Werft. Special bits of the ship are on display. The ship coin is also on display. 687 is pretty much a place to kick back with a beer and watch sports. I really want this in my house.

Disney Dream Part 2. These are all of the lounge names....Take you pick! The first show of the trip, The Golden Mickeys. We all thought it was the best show on the ship. This would be the logo for the show. Random rodents. Turtle Talk....Now With AMAZING food! Our table number, for the next 3 nights. Yes, you do hear a lot of, "DUDE" while you eat. Random dog on the floor. "We all know you want to be like us, but you might as well go home!" Our first towel animal of the trip. The next morning I wake up to Nassau. Atlantis The Hilton! Ramming Speed Ahead! Since I have never been here, I might as well get off for a little bit. Close up of the back of the ship. "Now, does everyone remember where we parked our boat?" Two things to look at while in Nassau, straw goods. And super clear water. Might as well get a photo with the ship. Part of the old town. I noticed this as we headed back to the ship. Look what is backing up! Yes, it is quite large. Epic, actually. While not bigger, The Dream is actually longer. Oooooo! What is this I see in the background? Yes, it too is huge. You know that the Carnival ship must feel really small right now. If you guessed Oasis of the Seas, you guessed right.

Yes, it is very much worth the price.

Hee hee. Though it did climb a few places this year after my super July 4th ride-a-thon at night during the fireworks show last year. Seriously I think I rode it 10 times in a row.

Sent off my Steel one. 1. Bizzaro (SFNE) 2. M. Force (CP) 3. Mindbender (SFoG) 4. Intimidator 305 (KD) 5. Dueling Dragons (IOA) 6. Ride of Steel (DL) 7. Kumba (BGT) 8. Phantom's Revenge (KW) 9. Shockwave (SFoT) 10. Behemoth (CW) Manhattan Express is again dead last.

Are you ready for the Disney Dream? Disney Dream: Part 1 Ooooooo! I see the ship. Did I tell you that this will be my very first cruise? The Disney Cruise Line terminal. Close up! Just follow the signs and you are there. The terminal was not very full yet. It was because we got there early. This is your identity card. If you lose you identity card, prepare yourself to be thrown overboard. I wonder how many it will take. Ok, I want to get on NOW! First say, "hello" to Mickey. Don't forget about the rodents. This would be the main door. Almost there! They announce every family name when they board the ship. Donald would be the main character for this ship. We see you Carnival boat. Ten minutes after boarding, I was already eating. The Aquaduck! The first watercoaster on a cruise ship. I just kinda hung out on the deck for a while. This actually was a great time to go ride the Aquaduck. The line was short. You must be 42 inches to ride The Aquaduck. This is where they feed the tubes into the machine that takes them to the top. Aquaduck Exit It is certainly a tamer version of a watercoater. So, do you want to take a look at our cabin? Wow, that is a super duper window. I wonder if you can fit a person in it? The answer would be....yes! The bed was super comfortable. Another angle. I wonder what is behind those two doors. Behind Door #1 would be the room of business. Behind Door #2 would be a second sink.... As well as a, "tall person friendly" rain shower. The bottom of the shower is actually a small sized tub. For no additional fee you can use these phones that work between cruise ship guests. For me, the real highlight of the cruise was the actual ship. It really is super nice. Unlike the ones on the Wonder and Magic. They do not need ladders to clean this one. You can get a more general idea how big that light is. Disney artwork, hanging on a wall. Part 2, coming soon.

I recently returned home from a trip to Kennedy's Space Center as well as going on a cruise on the brand new Disney Dream cruise ship. The cruise was simply amazing and I did return home with quite a few photos of the ship. I first would like to start off with a short photo trip report of Kennedy Space Center before getting into the real bulk of the report of the cruise. Part 1: Kennedy Space Center. The last time that I visited KSC, Return of the Jedi was a brand new movie. The current gate prices as well as prices for two different guided tours. This is the number for the final Space Shuttle Endeavour mission. It is currently still on the launch pad. Let us head on over to do the "included in the gate price" tour. You get to ride on one of these air conditioned buses. Where are we again? This would be the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB for short. This is where they connect the shuttle to the external fuel tanks. The windows that you see on the left is the launch command center. We see you Atlantis external fuel tank. They move the shuttles on one of these crawlers. It is along this road where a crawler takes eight hours to get to the launch pad from the VAB. Do you want to see a real shuttle? You first have to climb this metal structure. Not the real space shuttle. There it is. Just hanging out with the shuttle. Ok, just one more! This is all you can see of the now defunct Ares project which was supposed to replace the shuttle program before it was scrapped. Let us check out the Apollo Center V Center. This would be the control center back during the Apollo program. Yes, the Saturn V rocket is huge. Here are a few of the mission flags. Best video game ever! Impressive engineering. Yes, they do have a ride at KSC. Well, really more like a "Green" version of Mission Space. Must be THIS tall. Other than getting shaked around like a rag doll, the ride is not very intense. Not the real space shuttle. They are still waiting for a Go! Hooray for rocket gardens. Yes, you too can walk with history. Walk with history POV. That is a space station! They have astronauts give talks during the day. Wendy has flown on four missions. Does Basil still work here? Ron John Surf Shop. Well, not unless you also count the one in New Jersey. You must really like yourself if you buy this surfboard.

Georgia Cyclone would be mine. If you sit in the front row of the last car you really get some really insane ejector airtime on the 4th drop. Yeah the ride is violent and intense, but I love it.

Awesome. I used to live in Longtan, Taiwan which is a few miles away from Windows On China back in 1999. Looks like nothing has really changed in the park, other that I do not think that the Vekoma outdoor coaster was there.

I guess I am a terrible roller coaster nut because I never went down to go ride it.

Just a few more days!