ginzo Posted July 18, 2008 Posted July 18, 2008 ^^The look on that guy's face is priceless. "I'm middle age German guy with a gut and a mustache. What do you want from me? Go away! No ice cream for you."
thrillerman1 Posted July 18, 2008 Posted July 18, 2008 I really had a blast at Schlossbeck. It was one of those little gems of the trip where I went in with no expectations and came out having had a great time! I loved all the DIY rides as well as the ice cream machine. The park mascot is Becki, the ghost. We kept looking for her around the park and never saw her (him?), so thanks for finding her and posting the pic Robb. Thanks Stefan for the insane swing rides and the "carousel of death swing around spinny ride" playground fun!
carolinacaniac Posted July 18, 2008 Posted July 18, 2008 The "do-it-yourself" park looks awesome! How did the pricing at the park work? Was it where you paid for admission, or was it a pay-per-ride type of park? If it was pay-per-ride, would you have to pay for some of the playground equipment style rides, or were those free to use?
ginzo Posted July 18, 2008 Posted July 18, 2008 The "do-it-yourself" park looks awesome! How did the pricing at the park work? Was it where you paid for admission, or was it a pay-per-ride type of park? If it was pay-per-ride, would you have to pay for some of the playground equipment style rides, or were those free to use? You just paid admission at the gate.
terrancew_hod Posted July 18, 2008 Posted July 18, 2008 ^ Geez, Will, you just HAD to post that and steal Terry's thunder, huh? That's why I didn't take some of my statue pics until I knew he was gone. At Walibi Belgium we distracted him long enough for me to get a picture with the statue in front and take off. Terrance
Moose Posted July 18, 2008 Posted July 18, 2008 All of your Asterix Statues (including fruit) were paparazi free.
terrancew_hod Posted July 18, 2008 Posted July 18, 2008 ^So are my pictures from part 1 of my upcoming European TPR: "Assault on Madame Tussauds" Coming to a web page near you...
WillMontu Posted July 18, 2008 Posted July 18, 2008 If I recall correctly, I had some "statue" pictures from Asterix, but after that I have very few. I'm sorry that I caused problems
Moose Posted July 18, 2008 Posted July 18, 2008 Are you kidding? I am sure Terry loved the attention.
terrancew_hod Posted July 18, 2008 Posted July 18, 2008 If I recall correctly, I had some "statue" pictures from Asterix, but after that I have very few. I'm sorry that I caused problems C'mon... let's have thicker skin. I'm teasing. But you do know you and that camera are practically inseparable. You can't communicate or interact with people effectively with the camcorder constantly running or snapping every single detail. Wean yourself of the constant documentation and interact with people more! I mean what would happen if Ms Right was standing next to you and you were too busy filming to notice?
WillMontu Posted July 18, 2008 Posted July 18, 2008 ^ I don't think I would notice "Ms Right" with or without a camera. It's what being on the autism spectrum does to me. I could go into more depth all about it, but that would take the thread off topic. It's just that I admire the abilities of people like Robb and Hanno and wish I could do similar things
terrancew_hod Posted July 18, 2008 Posted July 18, 2008 ^ I don't think I would notice "Ms Right" with or without a camera. Now now... you won't get her with that attitude! I'm usually oblivious to the same thing. You know how I met my last boyfriend? I tripped and fell on him! But if you are going to use the camera, scope out the scene and if you see something you like, put the camera away and try to say hi! You won't know unless you try! Terry
rllrcster Posted July 18, 2008 Posted July 18, 2008 In all fairness to Steve (and this is the only time this will happen), I must have been pretty drunk too as I have no recollection of this picture at all. Also, it's too bad there's no pics or video of Caitlyn and Gage on the coin operated horse chariot. They totally ran down a grandpa with a baby stroller! It was both mortifying and hilarious. Luckily, the baby was not in the stroller at the time, but the grandpa was not happy as it was and gave them a piece of his mind... in German.
TheLastGunslinger Posted July 19, 2008 Posted July 19, 2008 Is that a bullet wound in the side of the mascot's head?
robbalvey Posted July 19, 2008 Author Posted July 19, 2008 Day 8 - Phantasialand Lots of photos by many different people! Some by Robb, many by Hanno, a few by guest picture-taker Dirk, and random pics by Chuck, Big Mike, IggyAce, Jes, Russ, Rich & Mel, Young Jeff, Ginny, and other people. Thank you for your pics! And now for the most awesome "Dave Approved" ride in the world.... "Hollywood Tour!!!!" NERD!!! "Hi Joey...how's it going?" Yes! It really IS the Michael Jackson coaster!!! Oops! We can't forget about the Michael Jackson coaster! KidTums approved! Awww....beautiful Phantasialand. We got VIP tickets because DAMMIT! WE ARE IMPORTANT PEOPLE!!! What's with the evil face, Lou?!?! Can you tell which ones are the TPR members? "You may get wet!" Oh, yeah, did we forget Talocan? The most awesome Top Spin in the world!!! "We are going to eat ROBB!!!!" "Is it ok if I eat the panda? I know it looks big but I can probably take home what I don't finish..." "I'm just going to eat this little troll guy...he sure looks yummy!" "Me and my Patrick head tumor are going to have....GERMAN CHILI!!!!" "I'm having two dinners. One for me and one for my invisible super hero love slave." It's time for a feast. "Same" "HURRRR...I gots TWO baggies of Chrruos...HUUURRRRR!" "Screw you guys and your River Quest...it's all about the log flume!" (ps ELZ, you also owe Hot Fuzz Rich $50 for using his copywrited signature move) "I'm gonna nail these unsuspecting Mo-Fo's with my giant cannon!" But the end result is that you could get VERY wet!!! The best part of the ride IMO was the vertical lift the boats go on to get to the top (inside that tower.) The rest of the ride was "ok" as a flume ride, terrible as a rapids ride since it actually had NO RAPIDS AT ALL!!!! Wheee!!! Here we go down another drop! Wheee!!! Here we go down the drop! Well, maybe it was overhyped, I dunno, because the ride was fun, I just didn't "get it." First off, it has one of these whirlpool things, which you can find on several other rapids rides. Fun yes, but unique, no. Next up was "River Quest" the parks "I really look like a rapids ride, but really I'm just a flume with round boats" attraction. I gotta be honest, I had been told how FREAKING AMAZING the ride is...OMFG GOD ROBB YOU HAVE TO GO ON RIVER QUEST IT'S BETTER THAN SEX WITH *TWO* no *THREE* HIGH CLASS VEGAS HOOKERS...AND NOT THE KIND THAT THE PORN SLAPPERS GET FOR YOU OUT FRONT OF EXCLAIBUR WE'RE TALKING THE *REAL* HIGH CLASS VEGAS HOOKERS LIKE YOU SEE ON THAT HBO REAL SEX SHOW.... Be prepared to go up and down that long tall shaft! "Hi welcome to Sigmund Freud: The Ride...Please keep all your hands and Oedipus complex inside the vehicle at all times..." To make matters worse, this is one of the first things you see upon entering the queue! Ahhh! Fanboys are suddenly jealous of Mystery Castle! ...There! That should help you figure out what it looks like! The "mystery" is why it's shaped like a....well.....um..... Next up was Mystery Castle! And what is the mystery you ask? I wonder where all that darkness leads us to? Hmm.... Seriously, Winja's is often under-rated, not talked about, but it's honestly one of the best, most unique roller coasters in the world! Wave goodbye to your friends next to you! I'm not going to give away too many secrets of Winjas...because the ride does quite a bit of CRAZY stuff...but this is the first thing you see! "I'm KING OF THE WORLD!!!!" Robb - "Look everyone...I'm Madonna from Vogue." Piers - "Robb, I can totally get you hair products to fix that mess." Hanno - "OMFG I AM SITTING NEXT TO CHRIS!!!!" Chris - "Tee...hee...I like Lincoln Logs." SIGNATURE MOVE!!!! (Note - you owe Hot Fuzz Rich the sum of $50 for royalies for the use of his signature move) "I'm CRAAAAAAZY Winja's Ridin' maniac!!! GIMME SOME CANDY!!!" "Choose Thy Fate..." Now it was time for one of the best coasters of the trip....WINJAS!!!! NERD!!!! Big Mike hangin' out with the locals. There's a roller coaster down there somewhere... Our day started out on Black Mamba....and there it is! B&M goodness buried within the theming. Big Mike says "Welcome to Phantasialand...what the hell is this thing I'm standing next to?!?!?"
robbalvey Posted July 19, 2008 Author Posted July 19, 2008 More pics... "You guys ready for this amazing tour around Hollywood's most popular movies?" GONE!!! Our stay at Phantasialand was AWESOME (as always), absolutely one of the best parks and resorts in Europe! Going....going.... Guys, don't kill Divv this time around! In the Dragon Bar, everyone is required to turn thier head slightly to one side. Can TPR survive round two in the Dragon Bar? KidTums has a fanboy!!! Speaking about the Dragon Bar, it's time to head back to Ling Bao hotel. (Isn't it awesome?) This is actually a picture of Steve after another night in the Dragon Bar! "Boogy! Boogy! Boogy!" You guys ready for some more quality dark rides? "The Great Big APE!" "The Best Little Whorehouse in Kansas." "Tarzan the Elephant." "The Great White Fish"
Ryancrash Posted July 19, 2008 Posted July 19, 2008 First off - Schloß Beck! What an absolutely delightful park, I think this place really surprised a lot of us. So many fun little rides - the boat drop was just incredible. Rides where you actually felt that you were taking your life in your hands a bit. Stefan got us some truly amazing airtime on that swing (the one where you had to pull the cord) - I seriously thought the entire contraption was gonna fall over! I loved the TPR takeover of the slide. I loved the castle, and all the cheesy haunted house attractions in the basement (yes, I paid € 0.50 for each one of them). I loved searching for Becki the ghost (what a fun mascot). Did anyone get pictures of the water slide? That was another fun one, for those of us who braved the line for it. I liked the self-service ice cream machine, but that was definitely a case of "buyer beware" - the machine gave Ivan a broken cone, and then we had to hunt down a park employee for another one. I don't think it's been mentioned yet - but this was the night of the big Germany-Spain football match, which we watched at Phantasialand. That was a lot of fun! Hotel Ling Bao was one of the nicest places we stayed (along with Port Royal and Colosseo), truly another highlight of the trip. Guess I didn't notice the high food prices (I think I only ate there for breakfast, which was included). I guess I was a little underwhelmed by the Dragon Bar - I don't think it quite lived up to the hype that had been built up around it. Not a bad place, but the service was really slow, and did they have to insist on playing Will Smith? Seriously?! How the hell does Will Smith fit in with supposed Chinese theming? Really, that's some music best forgotten! Just the same, I liked the large dragon hanging from the ceiling. Phantasialand was one of my favorite parks of the whole trip (along with Heide Park and Europa Park). Nice theming, great rides! Mystery Castle was the best drop tower I've ridden - it was like a drop tower inside of a Hammer Horror film! Black Mamba and Winjas were excellent, even better than expected. "The Michael Jackson Thrill Ride" was a surprise - this was the best mine train I've ever been on! I loved the dark rides, even the Hollywood-Tour (with Jaws and King Kong each in serious need of some TLC). Geister-Rikscha was fun. Talocan was great - even if it was a bit of a ball-smasher. And unlike Robb, I totally loved River Quest, even if it lacked true rapids (guess I don't scrutinize water rides as closely as I might scrutinize coasters). I think we used both of our VIP passes on this ride. The park had some good food - hot dog spezials (topped with onions and pickles). I got called up in front of the group for the demonstration inside Casa Magnetica, and had to try to put my limited German skills to use. I also managed to get lassoed and spanked by cowboys near the "Michael Jackson Ride".... WTF?!?! All in all, Phantasialand rocked!
Ryancrash Posted July 19, 2008 Posted July 19, 2008 Phantasialand was one of my favorite parks of the whole trip (along with Heide Park and Europa Park). Nice theming, great rides! Mystery Castle was the best drop tower I've ridden - it was like a drop tower inside of a Hammer Horror film! Black Mamba and Winjas were excellent, even better than expected. "The Michael Jackson Thrill Ride" was a surprise - this was the best mine train I've ever been on! I loved the dark rides, even the Hollywood-Tour (with Jaws and King Kong each in serious need of some TLC). Geister-Rikscha was fun. Talocan was great - even if it was a bit of a ball-smasher. And unlike Robb, I totally loved River Quest, even if it lacked true rapids (guess I don't scrutinize water rides as closely as I might scrutinize coasters). I think we used both of our VIP passes on this ride. The park had some good food - hot dog spezials (topped with onions and pickles). I got called up in front of the group for the demonstration inside Casa Magnetica, and had to try to put my limited German skills to use. I also managed to get lassoed and spanked by cowboys near the "Michael Jackson Ride".... WTF?!?! All in all, Phantasialand rocked!
Team Thriller Posted July 19, 2008 Posted July 19, 2008 Phantasialand is still the most themed park, IMO. Black Mamba is extremely amazing. Winjas has those unique moments. Still I'm surprised. Talocan is the best top spin in the world in my opinion. I actually really liked River Quest. It's very unique, same with Mystery Castle (Even if it doesn't live up to its hype). There is so much to say about Phantasialand. So many hidden little things.. --James
ginzo Posted July 19, 2008 Posted July 19, 2008 Yeah, Phantasialand was a favorite for me also. While it was a bit smaller than Heide and Europa, it made up for this by having many excellent attractions. To me, it definitely had the strongest coaster line up of any park on the trip. Winjas & Michael Jackson were both in my top 5 for the trip. And Black Mamba and Temple were really good also. I think the general quality of Phantasialand's attractions was the best of the trip. The hotel was my favorite of the trip. The theming was excellent and the very close proximity to the park was great. I didn't spend any time in the Dragon Bar because I was far too lazy and tired to wait for drinks, but it did look nice for the 2 minutes I was up there. If Phantasialand had a little bit nicer dark rides, it would have been my favorite overall for the trip. But anyway, a real stand out park in a trip full of excellent parks.
ELZ Posted July 19, 2008 Posted July 19, 2008 who took the photo of the Brits with the Phantasialand character underneath the Berlin looking monument? and its MY signature move now.... mwahaha
Meteornotes Posted July 19, 2008 Posted July 19, 2008 Hollywood Tour is among the greatest attractions in the world. Much like Dinosaur, it gets dumber every time you ride it. Plus it has a giant spider and cowboys, and a monkey on water skis. None of this stuff has anything to do with movies, of course, which makes it all that much more entertaining. Miss it at your peril... dt
ginzo Posted July 19, 2008 Posted July 19, 2008 Hollywood Tour is among the greatest attractions in the world. Much like Dinosaur, it gets dumber every time you ride it. Plus it has a giant spider and cowboys, and a monkey on water skis. None of this stuff has anything to do with movies, of course, which makes it all that much more entertaining. Miss it at your peril... dt It also uses cheesecloth for its underwater scene and King Kong has THO.
robbalvey Posted July 19, 2008 Author Posted July 19, 2008 I think my biggest issue with River Quest was how much people hyped it to me...and history tells me that whenever something is hyped up that much, it can never live up to it. Had I gone into it not being told it was the best rapids ride ever, or had someone told me what the tricks of the ride were, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. But the whole ride I was going through waiting for these "unqiue and amazing things that you can't beleive happen on a rapids ride" and then the ride just came to an end. And I was all "WTF?" "Where was the cool stuff?" Especially when a lot of the "Tricks" that people were talking about (and wouldn't tell me what they were) can be found on other water rides that I had been on (although to others River Quest was the first time experiencing those tricks.) So to me things like the whirlpool and the multiple drops were not anything new or special. The only "trick" that was new was the elevator lift. And it's really not much different than the system used on Sea World San Diego's Journey to Atlantis. So not even that to me was all that special. When I got to the whirlpool I thought "Oh, please don't let this be what everyone is talking about...this is not unique..." I've seen this whirlpool on at least 3 water rides now. I'm sure there are others out there but Wild Adventures and Bobejaanland come to mind, and I *know* I've seen in somewhere else, but I can't think of where (Maybe Hansa Park?) The ride was absolutely fun, but when I was told it would be the be all, end all of rapids rides, first off I found it to be not a rapids ride AT ALL. In fact, the only thing that River Quest shares with a rapids ride is the fact that it has a round boat. Secondly, everything else on the ride was more like a giant flume ride. It was just a series of drops connected by large fast moving sections of water. No rapids. This is a "water ride" yes, but not a "rapids ride." Don't get me wrong, the ride was *fun* and I would agree that it's one of the "must see" attractions of the park. Any time you have a ride where you have lots of drops, you can get a fun group of people together, and you all get wet, that's awesome! It just didn't live up to the hype for me. --Robb "I really wish people would stop calling this ride a rapids ride, because it's really not...sorry RapidsNerd!" Alvey
MrMorgan Posted July 19, 2008 Posted July 19, 2008 I think my biggest issue with River Quest was how much people hyped it to me...and history tells me that whenever something is hyped up that much, it can never live up to it. Robb, I totally know what you mean. I had the same kind of experience on Balder this weekend. Everyone raves about it, and I was just waiting for it to blow my mind in some unbeleivable redonkulous way. It didn't happen, though! Of course, it's a blast, but because I was expecting soOOo much, there was no way it was going to meet my expectations. You probably think I'm crazy now because I know how much you love Balder. I have to say I think Tonnere de Zeuss is WAY more fun than Balder. Anyways, back on topic. I'm also a big Riverquest fan, and was probably one of the people who told you that it does things no raft ride has ever done before. Oops, I mean water ride. I never thought of it so specifically, but I guess you're right. It's like an overgrown flume with round boats when you boil it all down. Anyways. It's still one of my favorite thrilling water rides, right up there with Splash Mountain.
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