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THE BIG MIKE ROAD SHOW - 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PICS ON PG 769


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Hello Friends!!! What a whole bunch of important info we have for you today here at The Big Mike Road Show!

 

First off, this report kicks off Jeff Johnson Week here at The Road Show! For those not in the know, I credit Jeff as the inspiration for riding all these kiddie coasters and becoming a coaster collector. I would like to thank Jeff for coming to see me in California and driving me all over to these next 4 parks that you will see Jeff and Big Mike attending.

 

Secondly, Big Mike attended the ACE event last week called Eastcoaster, which is a well attended event with lots of speakers and lots of info. Having just recently attended the ACE NY event and exclusively reporting it here on TPR, Big Mike has been assigned a new assignment here, Theme Park Review North East in depth reporter!!!! I was proud to take the new assignemnt when it was offered to me I also am still the Public Relations Director for the Theme Park Review North East Division also, thus I infiltrated the ACE Event with Theme Park Review literature!

 

Attending this event, I was able to accomplish 5 major things:

 

1. Spread and promote the awareness of Theme Park Review.

 

2. Bring all the Valuable Big Mike Readers all the info and insights from the event.

 

3. Talk to Chris Gray from Great Coasters International and find out he is a HUGE fan of The Big Mike Road Show, and he offered Big Mike an exclusive anytime you want private tour of the facility just so we can bring The Valuable Big Mike Readers a behind the scenes tour and show them things like the trains for Terminator before they ship! VERY COOL of Chris!!!

 

4. While at the event, Big Mike got to pose with Flat Jack and is now prominantly displayed on the Knoebels website!! Not once, but twice!!

 

See it here:

 

http://www.knoebels.com/flat-jack.asp

 

Also, if you missed Big Mike on the Cedar Point website, here that is too:

 

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/fun/blog/index.cfm?entry=c8266f50-f68c-4e04-a941-dc3f10f3688d

 

5. Attending the event, I figured out a goal for The Big Mike Road Show 2009! Six Flags Great Adventure sent Major Super Hottie Angel Aristone to present once again this year! As all of you know, Big Mike admires major super hotties very much! So, it all makes sense that since she is a major super hottie, works at my home park, and I am a new reporter for Theme Park Review... it's a match made in heaven!! The goal for 2009: Interview Angel Aristone in one of my visits to SFGA for The Valuable Big Mike Readers!!! I also have a secondary goal, getting a picture of Angel Aristone giving Big Mike a kiss on the cheek!!! Of course, this all has to be approved by The Valuable Big Mike Readers constituancy, to see if this is something that you would be interested in seeing?? Let me know in the thread if you like it or not.

 

 

Another proud moment from the event came up when I was talking to Colleen Whyte, the NY ACE Regional Rep, about still trying to find a way to get on the kiddie coaster at Rye Playland! Colleen was pleased to tell me that she got a phone call from the guy who gave the presentation on Rye at the ACE NY event I reported on a few weeks ago. She said he saw the review I did on his presentation right here on Theme Park Review and was very greatful and happy! I was impressed that he read it and hopefully maybe this will help in getting on that coaster

 

FINALLY, I know, lots of great stuff in this report! This is the best news of it all though, and thats why I saved it for last!

 

Big Mike has been hard at work coming up with an idea for a holiday present for all The Valuable Big Mike Readers!! You all deserve it for sure! Well it is a little late, but with the help of Jon (reality15), it has finally been achieved at long last.

 

Big Mike would love to give all his Valuable Big Mike Readers a special banner to put in your signature displaying that YOU are a Valuable Big Mike Reader!!!! It is kind of like a membership card saying that you belong to the COOL club, or recognizes that YOU are part of the reason that made The Big Mike Road Show the #1 thread of 2008!!

 

Here is the special gift for all my friends:

 

 

If you would like to accept Big Mike's Holiday Gift to you, copy and paste this code into your signature:

 

[URL=http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=41995][img=http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/files/bigmikereaderrj7_113.jpg][/URL] 

 

 

I hope every enjoys the debut of Jeff Johnson week at Adventure City and Big Mike's first assignment of Theme Park Review North East Reporter at Eastcoaster 2009!

 

 

Peace, Big Mike

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Those pictures did not do Angel justice. Here is her Facebook picture, where she just made Big Mike her friend!!!! YES!!!

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Lastly, another picture of Angel Aristone! Lets take a vote on if you want to hear from Angel on The Big Mike Road Show and giving Big Mike a kiss on the cheek! Hope you enjoyed! Peace, Big Mike

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My dish! I hope everyone enjoyed the trip report and the journalism!

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Now that Big Mike was done with his investigative reporting for The Valuable Big Mike Readers, it was time to be rewarded with food!!

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Funny man Tom Rebbie was last to speak for the Philadelphia Tobbagon Company.

 

Tom gave a slide show with Phillie championship pictures mixed in for added laughs.

 

7 of the top 10 wooden coasters use PTC.

 

PTC only has one new project this year, Fireball at Happy Valley in China.

 

PTC's winter rebuilds are Hellcat, Raven, Legend, Boardwalk Bullet, Roar, Wild One, Thunderbolt, and Comet.

 

116 wood coasters use PTC, thats 64%.

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Coastin Steve talked about Knoebels.

 

Knoebels did purchase the track, cars, and lift mechanism of the Golden Nugget from Moreys.

 

This wont be used for at least 2 years.

 

The High Speed Thrill Coaster is gone. It was too beat up and welded too many times.

 

Knoebels will replace it with a MODIFIED Miler family coaster.

 

Knoebels turned down the first coaster Miler had because it "wasn't aggressive enough".

 

Flying Turns will once again not be ready by opening.

 

There are 2 MAJOR with Flying Turns, which are Bridging and Space.

 

The bridging problem is that the wheels are coming off the trough, causing a dent, which turns into a chip, which turns into a hole.

 

The bridging is almost worked out, now being down to the last turn on the front car only.

 

The space problem is that there is too much speed into the helix and they need to change the track. The access road is what they are looking at for space.

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ACE President Mark Cole was up next.

 

If you are an ACE member, you now can get the 1st ride of the day at Wild Adventures on Cheetah.

 

Thier Spain trip is $1400 for 8 days.

 

So far, 3 parks have confirmed ERT, 3 are still in negotiation, and 3 have no ERT at all.

 

Personally, I would stick to the TPR trips :)

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Don the public relations director was now up from Kings Island.

 

Diamondback is their new coaster at 230 feet tall and a price tag of 22 million.

 

The general public will be very close to the track and the lift is on the midway.

 

The track was completed right on time and the trains should be added this week.

 

The trains are already on property and there are 3 trains.

 

Diamondback should open April 18th.

 

Kings Island has a goal to be the cleanest amusement park.

 

Kings Island is auctioning the 1st ride with bidding starting at $50. 70 of the 96 seats are taken already, go to kidiamondback.com if you want to be one of the 1st riders.

 

This is the Beasts 30th anniversary.

 

There will be 3 new live shows.

 

May 9th and 10th will be a Ride Warriors Event which you need a coaster club card to join.

 

The event will have 7 coasters on ERT, with both Diamondback and Beast on BOTH morning and evening ERT.

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Next up, Paul Wilson the owner of Waldameer.

 

The new ride this year is a Zamperela Mega Disk O.

 

There will be no smoking in the park.

 

The 1st 3 days of operation of Waldameer will be donated to a cancer fund.

 

Waldameer just has one owner and will keep it that way. The previous owner gave ownership to Paul, and Paul will give sole ownership to his middle daughter.

 

Paul showed a video of the Ravine Flyer made by Robb and when Robb's face popped up at the start of the video, there were some boos. What is wrong with these people????

 

Paul told a story of this one person who gave great opposition to the new coaster project. This persons house is now at the bottom of the drop going into the tunnel where it is VERY loud. Paul smiled.

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Great Adventure was next with Jenn and the Ultra Super Hottie Angel which we talked about before.

 

The Big Wheel gets a total make over this year.

 

The wheel will be fitted with eco friendly LED lights.

 

There will be a Saturday night lights fireworks begining July 4th called Rock Loves.

 

There will be a new park map and guide that will be totally redesigned.

 

There is the new Medusa transformation which has been termed Newdusa.

 

Clawshaw Industries is doing both Medusa and Superman Ride of Steel in New England.

 

They say Medusa will open on Memorial Day.

 

Two dates to keep in mind are June 6th for Coaster Celebration and September 26th for Riding of the Bulls, which will have 2 1/2 hours ERT on El Toro, Kingda Ka, and Medusa.

 

See all the info we got from Angel Aristone from this meeting! Imagine all the info we could get in an exclusive one on one interview!!!

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Talking about Moreys Pier, Norris gave the talk while Lindsey (not pictured but very hot) handed out prizes.

 

The Golden Nugget was talked about, 1960-2009.

 

They gave away a piece of the track in a prize pack .

 

The contract for the new coaster has not been signed, as they decide who should build it.

 

The new coaster will not be done until 2011, 12, or 13.

 

Moreys was overwhelmed by the attendance to see goodbye to the Golden Nugget. They made 400 gift bags and thought that was way too much, and they had over 1000 people attend.

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Chris Gray (the cool dude) from Great Coasters International.

 

GCI is working on 3 projects:

 

Prowler at Worlds of fun should have all structure standing by this week.

 

Prowler is very low to the ground with low bents which makes it very fast.

 

Terminator at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Chris brought some photos of Terminator but said to check Theme Park Review for more up to date photos and the crowd hissed lol. I still appreciated the shout out!

 

Freizeitpark Plohn in Germany is the last project and the coaster is unnamed at this time.

 

Expect a press conference next month.

 

The project is 6 weeks behind due to a shipment of nails that derailed from the train.

 

This coaster will be the first to have 4 bunny hops in a row.

 

Chris also built the roller coaster model that you saw in the Morey's Pier updates of the new coaster.

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The first presentators were Chuck and Carrie from Dorney Park also representing Cedar Fair.

 

Cedar Fair is opening 3 new coasters this year, Prowler at Worlds of Fun, Diamondback at Kings Island, and Carolina Cobra at Carowinds wwhich is the old Head Spin from Geauga Lake.

 

This is Dorney Parks 125th anniversary.

 

New this season is swimming lessons at Wildwater Kingdom.

 

Dorney now has the Gate Central Ticketing System, which connects them to the other Cedar Fair parks, which means no more going to Guest Services to get in.

 

Dorney will now have a live entertainment indoor venue called the Good Time Theater, consisting of a 60X35 ice stage seating 603 people at a cost of 5 million dollars.

 

Haunt at Dorney is expanding to 13 attractions with 4 new mazes, 2 new scare zones, and 2 new shows.

 

Cinnabon is now located at Dorney.

 

Breakfast with the Peanuts gang will be available.

 

Voo Doo is now called Possessed.

 

The shops will now have new 3-D shot glasses.

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There was a drawing for this special Golden Nugget Prize Pack which included a piece of the track. TPR member Pam took it home for a Theme Park Review victory! Big Mike also came away with two passes to Holiday World! Woo hoo! TPR dominance.

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This is Flat Jack, along with Sue and Big Mike! We came to a mutual agreement that if he puts me on the Knoebels website, I would fulfill his dream of debuting on The Big Mike Road Show!

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Also making his debut is Chris (gcichris). Chris is the tremendously awesome friend that will give the Big Mike Road Show a behind the scenes tour of his facility!

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Making her debut on The Big Mike Road Show is Shannon (shannonsomerville).

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Brian. I am not sure if Brian has a screen name. If you do Brian, let me know! Brian is like my new friend Mike that I sat next to at the event. Mike did not have a screen name either but knew me as soon as I sat down.

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Pam (yeti726) If you have every coaster dvd from Theme Park Review, you can check out Sue's dvd's at www.coasterdvdsonline.com If you don't have all the TPR dvd's, you should :)

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Dainan (cycloneman)

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Fearlessly sporting my brand new Theme Park Review Hoodie in enemy territory, I was made welcomed by a slew of great TPR friends!!! Here they are starting with Sue (Sue).

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HEY! How did those Theme Park Review flyers wind up on the table?? hehehe

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The annual table of flyers and literature.

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There were lots of merchandise stands to peruse.

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Eastcoaster was attended by 255 people this year.

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ACE Eastcoaster 2009 coverage brought to you by Big Mike Betzler, Theme Park Review North East Division Top Reporter!

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Continue to watch all week for Jeff Johnson Week exclusively here on The Big Mike Road Show 2008!

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Jeff showing that he helped Big Mike get two new credits.

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Credit #739 for Big Mike!

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Bunny hills.

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Tunnel!

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Lots of track!

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Overview.

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The not quite so straight lift.

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The car.

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Tree Top Racers!

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Other rides at Adventure City:

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Credit #738 for Big Mike!

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Watch out for the branches!

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Can't you see the thrill in Big Mike's Eyes riding with his idol!

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The lift.

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I had to follow in Jeff's foot steps.

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I am sure you can see the similarities between Jeff and I :)

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There goes my buddy Jeff, my mentor and role model.

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Jeff Johnson week has now begun!! Here is Jeff riding in his US Post Office car. There was even a police car for Rich to ride in.

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I love how this coaster went right through the trees.

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Freeway Racers!

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Here are the prices.

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Adventure City in California! Stop #94 on The Big Mike Road Show 2008!

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I hope my new signature works!

 

 

I am even having a hard time trying to explain it to you lol

 

 

1. Hit profile on top of the screen under FAQ.

 

2. Then hit profile again, but not the same profile button you hit the last time, this one is midscreen.

 

3. Then hit signature.

 

4. add the code I gave everyone in the original post to the empty field. (I cant put the code here now or it just shows the banner)

 

That should be it, any problems, let me know!

 

 

Peace, Big Mike

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I hope my new signature works!

 

 

I am even having a hard time trying to explain it to you lol

 

 

1. Hit profile on top of the screen under FAQ.

 

2. Then hit profile again, but not the same profile button you hit the last time, this one is midscreen.

 

3. Then hit signature.

 

4. add the code I gave everyone in the original post to the empty field. (I cant put the code here now or it just shows the banner)

 

That should be it, any problems, let me know!

 

 

Peace, Big Mike

 

 

thats exactly what I did!!!! Maybe i need to ride the short bus to SoCal in a few weeks instead on flying in the plane!

 

I will keep working at it

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Always glad to help a friend out.

 

Here is the code you can use to put it in your signature:

[URL=http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=41995][img=http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/2843/bigmikereaderrj7.jpg][/URL]

 

I sent it to Big Mike, too, so he can update that post.

 

Getting close to that 100th update, and already a head start on 2009. Can't wait to hear the 2009 schedule!

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Here is the code you can use to put it in your signature:

[URL=http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=41995][img=http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/2843/bigmikereaderrj7.jpg][/URL]

 

 

OK, please follow these steps with the above code and see if it works lol.

 

1. Hit profile on top of the screen under FAQ.

 

2. Then hit profile again, but not the same profile button you hit the last time, this one is midscreen.

 

3. Then hit signature.

 

4. Use above quoted code.

 

Please be patient when it comes to computer stuff and Big Mike

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WOOHOO! I got my picture posted again with the one and only Big Mike!!! It was great to talk to you in person too!

 

I was so happy to win the Golden Nugget prize pack too. I really wanted to go to the closing ceremony, but couldn't make it that weekend.

 

Thanks for the website shout out too!

Pam

 

Oh, BTW - these instructions worked perfectly to copy/paste the code in.

 

OK, please follow these steps with the above code and see if it works lol.

 

1. Hit profile on top of the screen under FAQ.

 

2. Then hit profile again, but not the same profile button you hit the last time, this one is midscreen.

 

3. Then hit signature.

 

4. Use above quoted code.

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