Coaster Palooza Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 I want to thank R&E for putting this on the front page. Thanks so much guys! Hopefully I can finish this trip report up today. There's only 3 days left. ^^^^Hey Kevin, yep we were gone for a little while. Maybe I should post a few of those Pub picks in the beer thread. As for the London Eye, I believe it is $32. You can get package deals, or do a fast track, but the basic "flight" price is $32ish. Great to hear from you! ^^^I'm glad to see you found out about it too Mike. I will have a question for you once I post. ^^Maybe we rode the bus together from the Staines station? The rain was terrible that day. ^No problem Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 ToT Mickey is probably the best plush version of that character. Nice report, Rick, and I concur with you on the coaster lineup at Paris Disney. Larry and I actually rode Space Mountain twice and found that the front seat was actually worse than the back. (Leave it to Vekoma.) Loved the park's versions of Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder, and Pirates, though. I was actually surprised at how much I liked the Studios park--a pleasant surprise. All it needs is one or two more "big" attractions. Crush's Coaster is very good, but that low capacity hurts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Palooza Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 ^Hey Chuck, It is good to hear we have the same opinion of Euro Disney and their rides. Did you go up the castle? We both thought it was great to be able to do that. There are some good views from up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Yep--we checked out the castle from on top and below. The dragon was pretty cool. Larry and I also checked out the Aladdin walkthrough, which was a nice way to get out of the rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursemelis374 Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 I am heading to London in a couple of weeks and really appreciating your trip report! Thanks for posting! I am so excited for my trip, I have been to Asia and South America, but no Europe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Palooza Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 July 10th We did more sight seeing today with our Hop on Hop off tour. This time we would get out at Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel tower for some up close photos. Our tickets had us leaving Paris in the evening on Euro Star to go back to London. The coach we were in though was totally hot. No one could stand it and we sat on a seat in between the cars of the train. A little different, but hey when in Rome…or Paris, or London, you get the picture! When we got on the train, our car had no air in it. They were giving away free water, but we couldn't stand it anymore. We sat in between two of the cars. The air was better there. I am having a beef jerkey and a beer. Back to London for our last 2 days. The train station was so hot that I had to put ice on my head to cool off. Back to our hotel. Some things I just find amusing. There are some great flower, and fruits and vegetable stores in Paris. The HRC tip bell looks like it has been worked a little bit. I wonder if the bell at Legend at Holiday World has the same chips? We made one final stop at HRC for lunch before getting back to our hotel and heading to the train station. A Gap store, in Paris...Why? They also had a STRONG military presence there. Scott (BeemerBoy), here is your postcard. Did it make it? Does it have an Eiffel Tower Stamp? Big Mike, did your postcards that you mailed have the stamp? Did you mail them from this mailbox, or the one on the other side? Is there another mailbox? So many questions... Alright, now for the moment you all have been waiting for. The mailing of the postcards! There is a mailbox beneath the Eiffel Tower. Legend has it, that it has an Eiffel Tower stamp. Must...Get...Artsy...Photo.... Man, this place was crowded. We didn't walk up the steps like our hero Big Mike did though. well that's a dead give-away! back on the bus...to where? Hi Gyendolynne! I'm here too! The next set of photos are brought to you by Gyendolynne. I hope you enjoy! Unknown soldier, everlasting flame... After wandering around like an idiot, we found where to go under the road. It is a tunnel! Hooray for us! Hey, that's us! We got off at Arc de Triomphe. I know I have seen this somewhere before, on someone else's trip report... The River Seine We're here again waiting for another 10-15 minutes while our driver is boarding people. The driver behind us got so mad, he came out and kept pounding on the back of the bus to get going. This affected our overall time to the sites we wanted to get out and walk through. Here is that building that looks like it had a couple of shots to it. There is one up a little higher on the left. I am not saying this for certain, it is just a guess. yep, Notre Dame! I think I know what that building is... Across the River Seine...again. If you look through here, you can see Arc de Triomphe in perfect line with this. Yes I know, I have said this before... This is a hop on-hop off spot, but our driver stayed here for around 20 minutes! The next bus had already pulled in. We wish we would have known because we wanted a neat picture in front of the following picture's structure. Oh well... You enter through one of those archways to get into the Louvre. It is pretty cool to see a bus squeeze inside. We are entering the Louvre again. This street leads up to the Opera. We are driving away from it. Well that's me with the side of the Opera building behind me. This is the Opera, for everyone that wants a little culture. As I have said before, if I know what we took a picture of, I will post it. Otherwise, this might be blank. I never claimed to be smart. I would guess that this poster is of Dark Knight now. We're walking since the bus had issues. If this was America, you would probably see an empty beer can, or bottle, but in Paris you see a cork on the street! It is very efficient compared to walking each bag up some stairs. Gyendolynne got a kick out of this guy using a lift to bring up the cement. Our first stop, though, was for a morning coffee and Diet Coke...or is it Coke Light? Heading to our Hop on Hop off pick up site. BTW, the bus came late, let us on, then kicked everyone off for some reason. We walked to the main area to ride the correct bus around Paris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Palooza Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 ^^Hey Melissa, I hope you have as good of a time as we did. If you're sight seeing, my advice would be to get your tour tickets before you go. The exchange rate out there is terrible. The other tip, which was probably the best one, is to get to the Tower of London by 9am to see the Crown Jewels. The beefeater tours start at 10, but you'll be able to see the jewels before the tour. This will save a lot of time once everyone else gets there. Have a great time! If you have any questions, please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaptorBoyASU Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 ^Would you do hop on/hop off tours again? I saw a lot of tourists using them when I was in London. I did all my traveling by public transit in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Edinburgh, and Dublin and got along fine, but it could be confusing at times pulling out maps to figure out which lines to take where. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Palooza Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 ^Hey Kyle, We did everything through public transportation as well, except for the tours. I would definitely do the hop on/hop off tours again, especially in Paris. I don’t read or speak french. The tours helped out quite a bit. Since we booked a couple of other tours (London Eye, Saint Paul's Cathedral, etc.) through AAA, we were given a free hop on/hop off tour in London. It also comes with a cruise on the River Thames. I think we could have gotten around through the underground quite easy as well. It was great to be on the top of the tour bus for the views though. I would do at least one day of hop on/hop off to get adjusted, then I would travel through the tube. If you are doing really good, take the doubledecker bus. I wouldn't be going that good. When Gyendolynne was in Amsterdam, she did a hop on/hop off tour and really liked it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mike Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Ughhhh! I guessed wrong! LOL I just checked my parents postcard that I sent them, and it did indeed have an Eiffel tower stamp on it, actually two stamps! I did not mail it from the ground level though. The Eiffel Tower has its own post office midway up the tower, I think it is on the 2nd level. Thats where I mailed it from Thanks for the shout out on your report!!! Peace, Big Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Sweet update Rick, thanks for posting all of this. It looks like that it isn't too difficult to get to EuroDisney from the UK. I will have to keep that in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyD Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Nice trip report Rik, it's cool seeing some of the culture and landmarks of places as well as the coasters, glad you enjoyed your time here in England too! Erik - it's really easy to get to Disneyland Paris from England, if you're in London you can get a EuroStar from Paddington Station all the way to the gates of Disney, if you're driving around England you can go to Folkestone and get a Shuttle through the Channel Tunnel and drive to Disney, although that takes a lot longer! Hope that's helpful info! Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Palooza Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 ^^Erik, it should be easy to get there, as Matt explains, there are a number of ways. ^^^I can't believe I missed out on the post office of the Eiffel Tower! We asked people while we were there where we can mail postcards from to get the stamp. They directed us to that box! The French make me so mad sometimes. Now I totally feel stupid. ^Thanks for reading the report and posting Matt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Palooza Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 July 11th Back in London! Our tour today was to Saint Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, and a little tour around the West End of London. Aside from a little rain...yep we’re back in London, it was a neat tour. The changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace was different. Our tour guide took us to 3 different stops to show it to us. We ended the day with a little pub crawl. Final stop, the Duke of York. I was thinking that the BACT team would be proud of the 3 pubs. I think that if Derek, Heath, and Kevin were here, that we would have "crawled" to a few more. The final update will have Windsor Castle, Oxford University, and Stonehenge. I hope you enjoyed this! Second stop, the Albert. The start of our pub crawl. First stop, Sanctuary House. This is the Westminster Abbey church. There were services going on also. Pariliament Big Ben, once again! I think Terry would be going crazy with all the statues and monuments... We walked through White Hill and started to explore the West End. The horse was getting upset because people would jump out into the street to get a "good" picture. The police kept telling them to get back, even to the point where someone asked, "do you want us off the street?" No, we don't, that's why we're screaming it! They were going up to relieve the "old" guard. Just for some proof that we were there. Buckingham Palace! The lady with the yellow umbrella was our tour guide. I called her Mary Poppins. Insert National Lampoon's Animal House quote here... Here they come! The video turned out rather well. We saw the changing of the Guards. This was our first spot. We went to 3 different areas to see it. Our next stop was Buckingham Palace. No pictures or video are allowed inside. We had a guided tour through. Even with our hotel room, and bathroom, we don't look any worse for wear, do we? We're at Saint Paul's Cathedral. Next tip, make sure you get a bathroom that is bigger than this! I couldn't believe that the shower floor only had a "lip" before the floor of the bathroom. It is a learning experience, so learn from my mistake. Gyendolynne was a trooper! Random hotel picture. Decorated nicely, but I don't know if it is all that great inside... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillgeek Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Wow you took a ton of pics! Thanks for all the great pics of the awesome London scenery and things to do. My aunt and cousin live there and I would love to visit in the next few years. Glad you two had so much fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Palooza Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 July 12th This is our final day because we leave the following morning. The tour for today was Windsor Castle, Oxford University, and Stonehenge. We saw the changing of the guards at Windsor Castle. Unfortunately the fire alarm went off in the main castle and that cut into our time walking around the inside of it. We couldn’t take any photos or videos inside anyway, but we would have liked to look around a little bit more. Oxford University was so busy. It is actually made up of multiple universities and not just “one” Oxford University. I didn’t know that. Our guide took us around and showed us the neat things about Oxford. We finally had a pastie on the trip too. I make them back home and I was wondering what the actual “English” version would taste like. It was great! The tour continued to Stonehenge. I have always wanted to see this and find out what the hub-bub was all about. It was amazing to see. I can’t believe this was actually started in 3000 BC. You can form your own opinion about it, I have mine now. July 13th Fly home…I guess that is it! I hope you enjoyed it. Don't know where we're headed next, but I will update this thread once we go there... That's it from England. I don't know where we're headed next, but I will be sure to update this thread when that happens. Have a great summer and coaster season! Gotta make a phone call from the red phone booth. I think this was a Fuller's beer. Gyendolynne had toads in a blanket. Our last day and I finally had fish and chips! The last local London brewery. I hoisted a couple in their honor! A rainbow. That must be that it is either raining or it had been raining, naturally, we're headed back to London! More mounds in the area. There are those goofy kids again! This is the North rock that would provide the people direction as they were bringing the stones up from below. A better view. There is a rock on the opposite side signifying the winter solstice. This stone is set to the summer solstice. I believe it was built by the sun/stars/moon. There are many mounds around the area that are burial sites. I believe the "moat" around it was supposed to be filled with more stones... They had a recording that you can listen to about the legend of Stonehenge. They say the stones were brought through this opening up to the area. There's the 2 of us again... More incredible was their placement. One-third of the stone is actually in the ground! It was incredible that the stones were put together with mortis and tendon joints. My theory on Stonehenge is that it was made for Pagan rituals. The 2 stones all the way to the left look like snake heads to me. It was made in 3000 BC, so the creativity wasn't much more than a few carvings. I'm sure many of you might have your theories as well. Enjoy! Well what do you know? We made it to Stonehenge. They can last 20-30 years! I think... These Thatched roofs were very interesting... The following photos are the views on the way to Stonehenge. That's all from Oxford... The cemetary around the Martyrs. mmmm.... These are pasties. My mom's side of the family is from England. We make these and I was looking forward to eating one while I was over there. These Oak doors are centuries old. This is the Library area. Each door has a different section. I believe this one was Science and Math. The following photos are great views from Oxford. This monument was made for the 4 priests (Martyrs) that came to Oxford and established it. I think. If I am wrong, sorry, but I never claimed to be smart. It is all I can remember. Too many roller coaster facts in my head to add any history. We're in Oxford! That's the view of the castle from the freeway. We couldn't believe how small the streets were. I don't know, some random train. time to hustle through Windsor to our bus. Our tour is over... This is the view from up there. The queen lives over in that part of the castle. This is the church at Windsor Castle. The flag has yellow on it. That means the queen is there. Well we're here for the changing of the guards too! Let's see what's going on over here. The queen lives there. They say that she calls Buckingham Palace her office, but this is her home. That makes sense... Wow! Here we are at Windsor Castle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mike Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Good Job Rick! It was a fun read Peace, Big Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Woohoo! It was awesome being on the receiving end of the postcards this time. Thanks for thinking of us! They also had a STRONG military presence there. Classic! This was an epic and awesome account of your trip. I'm glad you guys had a blast over there! No Tower stamp, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Palooza Posted July 24, 2008 Author Share Posted July 24, 2008 ^Thanks for the comments Scott! I'm glad you received the postcards. Nice cat BTW! Sorry about the Eiffel Tower stamp. We did ask where we should go to get the stamp. Unfortunately we must have asked the wrong French person. ^^Thanks Mike for the comments. It took a while to go through over 1200 photos and come up with the ones that I posted here. I didn't want to bore everyone to tears. I appreciate all the replies and comments! I know this wasn't one of your "normal" amusement park Trip Reports. Thanks for putting up with our sight seeing. I know it can't be easy to look at some of the photos without being there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisCrowder Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Great photo TR! Thanks for helping the UK tourism industry Someone a few pages back asked if anybody had any tips for saving money. My tip is if you want to save money, don't go to London, it's by far the most expensive place in the UK. Personally I'm not a fan of London, the times I've been there I've been left with clogged airways from the pollution, and it's a very dirty city. I don't think it represents the UK to the best it can be. I'd recommend anybody who is going to visit the UK, to visit the North as well, if you have to visit London. It's much nicer, people are much friendlier, it's cheaper, the food is better, it's cleaner. Basically it beats the south hands down, but the south gets more publicity because of all the rich businessmen live in London. Etc etc. Oh yeah almost forgot, random statement, my brother used to be one of the Queens guards, in the bearskin hats and whatever. I really enjoyed reading this though, you've shown London in a good light, and made me want to visit Paris again. Did you know that the Eiffel tower is the most disappointing tourist attraction in Europe? I enjoyed it when I went there, but I was 3, go figure So yeah, thanks for putting the effort into this, because it's made it very enjoyable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursemelis374 Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Thanks for the tips! we are indeed trying to pre-purchase as many things as possible. We are planning on getting to the Tower early too! We also are doing a Bath, Stonehenge and Windsor trip so those pics were greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mike Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Hey Rick, Why does your thread get all the cool posts with sex in it?? (I figure the above thread will be deleted soon) Peace, Big Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Palooza Posted September 16, 2008 Author Share Posted September 16, 2008 We went to CGA on 8/24 with our friends, Rodney and Nicole. They came down from Stockton. Aside from Invertigo not operating, we had a good time at CGA. We rode Top Gun (with no wait) as well as Psycho Mouse, Demon, and the Sponge Bob 4-D. We rode Firefall for the first time too, except for Rodney! We also got on other rides, but I will let the photos do their job. Heading to New York next! The Big Mike Road Show meets Coaster Palooza…PART II!!! They told me what this guy's name is, but I can't remember it. That is all for now! See you in New York... A final photo of Boomerang Bay. wet, all the way through! Yep... I actually did get them wet. I just couldn't time the photo with it. here they come... testing out the water... It was getting pretty hot. Rodney and Nicole wanted to get wet... We walked around Boomerang Bay a little bit too. I can't believe we're doing this. They look happy. Yes, we saw the Spongebob show. I don't think anyone can make that hat look good... Boomerang Bay Delirium from above. The next few photos are of Firefall. The trip wouldn't be complete without a sky ride. Hey, it's Jack! Another subtle reminder around the park. Yep, have to take this photo too. It looks like we all lost some brain matter on that one. There is no headbashing on this ride! Why not ride Demon instead? Curses to you Invertigo. I really can't complain. I didn't want my head bashed in... WEEEE!!! I think Rodney is actually a little nervous. The drop is great, as usual. Why are you people waiting for that ride to open???!!! Have to get this photo. I think they liked the ride. or Survivor... Rodney & Nicole haven't been to CGA since 1999, so they haven't ridden Psycho Mouse. Lots of fire and affects. You don't get wet though...or burnt! I think it is a good addition to the park. We finally got our chance to ride Firefall. A very busy queue! First stop... Noting that Halloween Haunt will be back in 2008. Already changing the bumper cars into a scary maze...The Jack in the Box was pretty cool. Hi Rodney & Nicole! The park was pretty dead in the morning. They had a concert later on that night and it got busier as the day went on. They're getting ready for Halloween Haunt, even in August! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bush985 Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Nice photos Rick. Sorry I wasn't able to meet up with you guys that day. Hope to see you back in a few weeks for Haunt. There are quite a few good suprises lined up! PS. That's Cosmo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Palooza Posted September 25, 2008 Author Share Posted September 25, 2008 Yankee Stadium Trip Report Hi Everyone, You might have read on The Big Mike Road Show thread about attending Yankee Stadium’s last series along with the first stay at Big Mike’s hotel and headquarters. The trip was fabulous! Mike is a great host and we all had a blast. Short re-cap and I will breakdown the trip by the day. I have a friend that has a friend who pitches for the Orioles. We came up with the trip back in April when we found out that the Yankees would be playing the Orioles for the last series at the stadium. We, Jim and I, flew out on Thursday (9/18). Big Mike picked us up from JFK and took us to dinner at the Fireside Restaurant and Lounge. The next day, we picked up JJ, Jim’s son, at JFK. We went to the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, and Hard Rock Café before going to the game on Friday night. Saturday’s game was a day game. We took Brian, Jim’s friend out to dinner after the game and hung out until around 1am. On Sunday, Big Mike and I headed to Six Flags Great Adventure for some coaster riding. We went to the game early so we could take in Yankee Stadium, one last time. It was a great night. We didn’t get to the hotel until 1am, our flight was at 7am. I will post the pictures as time allows. The following photos are from day 1, arrivial!!! The Big Mike standards are still being worked out as well. Since he just got into the hotel and headquarters, he has to inflate the air mattresses himself. Where's the help? So much for day 1. Next up, Statue of Liberty, Times Square, HRC, and Yankee Stadium. Checking into the Big Mike Hotel was a breeze. No credit card required. I have already booked our reservations for next year... First stop was the free dinner that Big Mike posted on his thread. We stopped at the Fireside Restaurant, where every night there's a party! We'll see you tomorrow... I love bridge structures Heading across the bridge. This is old and new Shea Stadium. We aren't going there. Jim had to immediately check his voicemails. The big man picks us up right on time! We didn't even have to pay for parking because everything was right on schedule. Jim and I taking off from San Jose to embark on our 4 day journey in New York. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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