Nrthwnd Posted July 22, 2008 Posted July 22, 2008 Here we go. Once again, I have shunned the obvious ease in taking photos digitally, and stuck with my old Pentax ESPIO115m camera for this TPR Tour. And ended up using six rolls of film for the whole trip! And a shout-out to Anneliese who also decided to bring film-in-a-camera, too! I think we did okay, hmmm? (Also, if I get one or two of your names wrong in my captions, my bad, and please let me know and I'll correct the error ASAP. Thanks, guys.) - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - First park in the tour was Parc Asterix which is a park based on a very well-known comix series. The first of six (eventually) mad house rides, Le Secret de Cesar, was really fun, especially all the pre-show they put into it. Unfortunately, the computer malfunctioned and we only got to see a few of our faces cavorting across the screens in cartoon form. But the whole attraction was an excellent one. The coasters were good, and even Goudurix, the steelie voted (in a recent poll) The Worst in The World, did not end up being as painful/bad as I thought it would be. Go figure, huh? There was also a nice pizza lunch, a TPR take-over of Caesar, a somewhat funky dark ride called "Transdemonium", and my only real wish for this park was a connecting pathway between Tonnerre de Zeus and Goudurix! Next park up was Walibi Belgium, and although there were already two attractions down we knew about (Vertigo and Vampire), the narrow pathways of the place coupled with huge crowds that day, and not a lot of shade to find while it continued to get hotter and hotter, made for a day that got harder and harder to enjoy, for myself. The ERT we had here was a thankful blessing, once we saw the crowds surge towards anything and everything after the park opened. Rode the train, did the ferris wheel with some of the guys, and generally stayed cool as best I could before we left the park for... Aventure Parc Wavre, an "adventure park" that gets you into a pair of coveralls and up into the trees for a very active, physical workout along courses of various lengths, strengths, and designs. I had already decided my physical well being was more important than huffing and puffing and generally wearing myself out on something like this, so I happily volunteered to babysit several of the guys' bags and cameras, waiting for them in a nice shaded outdoor area, with beers and a cheese/sausage plate to cool myself off. Very enjoyable, especially seeing everybody, one at a time, on one of the final main zip lines, speeding along there in the trees. To be continued... After the adventure park, we bus on to Bobbejaanland, while Kristen kindly reaches up to adjust our air conditioning. (o: Thanks, Kidtums! Some of the gang, coverall-ed up and Ready To Go! I then went and found shade, beer, and light refreshments while babysitting bags and cameras, lol. Looking up at part of the "Commando" (Black) Course. Un huh, sure I'll do it.... not. Aventure Parc Wavre! We arrive in the woods at the adventure park. No, Terry! Elissa is NOT a statue! (o: Outside the WB entrance - which we're leaving, for... View of Vertigo, not operating, from the wheel. Wonder what's eventually going to happen with that thing. Nothing but trouble I hear. Me and Mark, Peter, Stefan, Terry and Ivan "do the wheel" at WB. One revolution - who hoo. Ginny and Jeff (doing 'something') on the "okay" boat ride at WB. Thank goodness this shot wasn't in focus, hmmm? Michael, Miles, Ron (my tour roomie) and Shane (my Japan tour roomie!) cooling off in Walibi Belgium. Got enough water there, guys? Ginny, me and Jeff, and Goudurix, a "pretty good" steel coaster. I thought it was. Tim, Jeff, Ginny and Ben in line for Le Secret de Cesar, a mad house ride. It did not disappoint. First tour day, we leave our first hotel, to head to Parc Asterix.
robbalvey Posted July 22, 2008 Posted July 22, 2008 Awwww! Thanks for posting these! I love to see your photo TR's using that ancient stuff called film! --Robb
thrillerman1 Posted July 22, 2008 Posted July 22, 2008 Bill it was really fun chilling out with you at the ropes course enjoying a nice relaxing afternoon (especially after the MADNESS of Walibi). Thanks for sharing the cheese/sausage plate! Nice photos too!
Nrthwnd Posted July 22, 2008 Author Posted July 22, 2008 ^^ Awww, you're too kind, Robb. I'm so happy to keep the film business, IN business, hee hee hee. ^ It was great hanging out with you too, Mark! I forgot, though. Did you plan to do part/any of the courses, and then changed your mind? Or had you nixed on it, like I did when it first came up? The first time it was brought up as part of the tour, I knew I wouldn't have been able to handle it, even the (probable) easier courses. And after getting somewhat overheated at Walibi Belgium, I KNEW I had made the right decision on Aventure Parc. The cheese and sausage plate was a perfect addition to our beers and hanging around together, while the rest of the guys were "hanging around" lol.
Nrthwnd Posted July 23, 2008 Author Posted July 23, 2008 Next up on the tour, was Bobbejaanland, and although leaving my reading glasses on the bus and then being nearly flattened and fried in the park's Fly Away (i.e. The George Foreman Grill Ride to some, here) nearly ended my day before it even started, things improved. Riding Typhoon (Gerstlauer Eurofighter) was fun, my glasses were found, I found my stomach again, there was the bizarrely-enclosed R/Evolution coaster with it's long, long (looong) train and it's bump-thumping lifthill music, strange dark rides, a nice spaghetti lunch (chocolate mousse dessert!) for the group, and a great 4-D movie called "Haunted House" with a cat's-eye view that was pretty cool to experience. I enjoyed the park, and only wished we had an hour or so more, there. But, now we were heading on to Toverland, which originally offered a unique indoor park and rides setup, but now also offered one of the first BoosterBike coasters built, a totally kicking indoor/outdoor bobkarts (we rode again and again and again, a reverse indoor/outdoor flume ride that was fun... and - Troy. I loved this coaster. It was great. Couldn't get enough of it. Oh yes, and the park set us up with a great buffet dinner, free drinks (alcohol and non-), and all told over TWO HOURS of ERT to ride all the big stuff, as much as we wanted, and hitting the bar when the mood... struck. And it did - often for several of us, heh heh. It was awesome. To be continued... But even ERT (and the open bar) must come to an end, sniff sniff. )o: Bye bye, Toverland. And thankyou for some great rides-Troy- beer-food-Troy-bobkarts-boosterbike-Troy... did I mention Troy? A mini-Adventure Parc at Toverland, with Michael and Miles showing how obviously, truly, ea-sy it is to do! Go Go Panthers! Troy. I and several others in the tour absolutely LOVED this coaster. Again and again and again and.... (o: I <3 Troy. Friends helping me get this "thing" out of my larger shot of... Buffet dinner, shortly to be followed by MAJOR ERT! And open bar! And ERT! And more open bar!!! (Happy dance.) Everyone looking in rapt awe at The Klimhoed, or as we know it, The Death Slippery Slidey Triangle Thing. And Elissa circles, carrying the all-important Klimhoed Survival Kit. (I'm just guessing - what IS she carrying there?) Stefan, Peter and Ivan show how the Toverland Tea Cups are ridden, TPR-style. (whatever that is) And now - Toverland Tea Cups! With Ben! - Mark! - Brad! - Steve! Dream Catcher coaster with Teepees and randomly-placed 'things' for themeing. Strange ride, but a nice little invert. The Twins. Speedy Bobs. But only Left Bob was being speedy today. Along with some dancin' Ma-donna Mu-sic in the load station! A look over at the Bob Express, one of Bobbejaanland's coasters. It ran two cycles, and is powered. I liked it. Ivan, Mark, Stefan, and Peter are my Reuzenrad (ferris wheel) co-riders at Bobbejaanland. Jes, Brian, Craig, Ginny, Anth and Ivan. Lunchtime at Bobbejaanland. Happy spaghetti eaters, all. (o:
cfc Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 Sigh! Virginia needs its own Toverland--or at least Troy. You photography's getting better, Bill.
thrillerman1 Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 Bill in hindsight I think I would've done the Aventure Parc ropes course. Originally I had just planned to stay at Walibi (but we all know how that went down with the insane French crunch kids), so I'd had my fill of that place by the time others were leaving for the ropes course. However, in the end I think it actually all worked out for the best to chill with you, enjoy the beer and snack, and watch others not quite kill themselves lol. I did do the ropes course at Toverland and had a blast! Oh and thanks for posting the Toverland tea cups photo. Those were probably the best I did on the whole trip...some really almost "tea cups of death" spinning thanks to Ben, Steve, and Brad. I'm really enjoying this so far and looking forward to seeing more!
omnio55 Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 I hope the tea cups were before the open bar, cause I can just imagine how bad of a combo that would be Great TR so far, love the old school photos
Nrthwnd Posted July 23, 2008 Author Posted July 23, 2008 ^ Yes they were, LOL. Most of the indoor rides were shut down when the park officially closed. The log flume, and the the bobkarts remained open during our awesome ERT. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Our touring now continued with Efteling and Drievliet in The Netherlands. To visit Efteling and not be knocked out by all the landscaping, gardens, and merry-go-round after merry-go-round in all shapes, sizes and conditions... well you would be missing out on a big part of this lovely park. It has its coasters sure, and there's that Flying Dutchman (Vliegende Hollander) flume/coaster, but the charm of the place is in the smaller stuff. Just like the Disney parks, IMhO. We got ERT on Pegasus (family wood), Python (Vekoma looper) and Bobbaan, a good bobsled although not as great as Parc Asterix' Trace Du Hourra some would say, myself included. Dutchman wasn't open yet, but we got a quick walk-through of the queue and boarding docks. Very impressive themeing inside. Wouldn't want to spend a couple of hours (or more) in it, though. And later, through the magic of text messaging to the group throughout the park, we all found out about it's eventual opening, got to it before the huge gp crowd did the same, and finally got our credit ridden, heh heh. After Efteling, we bussed on to Drievliet in The Hague just outside of Amsterdam. I had visted there the previous year, and had ridden all the coasters as well as the new one, Formule X that had just opened. So I was able to take it more easy in this park and not rush around getting the credits and riding other stuff - crowds were lighter too, which helped in enjoying it more. And I believe that Formule X was a real happy surprise to most of the group, especially those who had done the UK tour in '06 and experienced the unpleasant riding of an earlier Maurer Sohne coaster, G Force at Drayton Manor. Although this launch coaster had a quick cycle, it was fun enough (and definitely painless enough, too LOL) to be ridden again and again (and again!) during our ERT on it. After Drievliet, we got to our next one-night hotel, and while myself and others stayed there for the night, with a meal and resting, others in the group went to Amsterdam that evening for some "non-credit touring" wink wink nudge nudge know-what-I-mean say-no-more say-no-more.... To be continued... And the money shot (my money shot, heh heh) of Formule X, our zippy little Surprise! coaster of the tour. And Michael and Shane enjoying the refreshing Jungle River...uh....river. Ron and Jon on the Jungle River flume at Drievliet. Got Wet, guys? And here's Jeff, trying not to look embarrassed, after riding Spookslot. No where else to look, got to exit here, lol. Ginny coming out of Spookslot at Drievliet. So, were ya scared huh? Huh? Pretty cheesy dark ride it was, IMhO. And a carrousel building in Efteling! Would have loved to see this in the evening with all the lights lit up. Really backed up LOL! Darned if these snails didn't travel faster than most people thought, huh? The cute Snail Monorail we rode, looked to be having a small "backup" problem, back at the loading station... Flying Dutchamn in front; Pegasus wonnden coaster in back. With lots and lots of trees and surrounding countryside, too. Tim and our view from the Flying Pagoda observation ride, in Efteling. That's the top of the Fata Morgana bldg. sticking out of the trees, there. Group shot! In front of the un-PC "interesting" indoor boat ride, Fata Morgana. Jeff, Tim, Me, Anneliese, Ginny... and an Efteling Map! Ready to tour the park.
terrancew_hod Posted July 24, 2008 Posted July 24, 2008 I remember the ride almost left without you. There you were just trying to get everyone in the shot and the car starts moving! Get in! Get in! Terry
Nrthwnd Posted July 25, 2008 Author Posted July 25, 2008 ^ Yes I remember the ride op getting a bit testy with me, urging me to get in, etc. Then the doors wouldn't open easily. Either getting into the car or out of it. Good memories, huh? ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Our tour next took us to Walibi World which greeted us by having not just one, but two coasters down (the poor boomerang had been 'down' so long, it looked sadly in need of some grass trimming here and there, lol), but also had The First and Original Vekoma SLC (El Condor; it was an ouch and one ride was enough), a decent Mega Coaster (Goliath), a woodie that was also best ridden once for the credit (Robin Hood), a kid's coaster themed after the park's charming dragon mascot Wok, and a mouse that jerked and jilted with the best (?) of 'em. Other attractions included another mad house (Merlin's Magic Castle; down during opening hours, but open later on. It was pretty good.) another wheel to ride for those all-important overhead shots, and an area with a ....Canadian theme! Woo hoo! All there was in it was a flume ride, a swinging ship, and a train station, but that was good enough for me, lol. Later in the day, the park gave us a great soup and sandwich buffet meal that hit the spot for the long bus ride ahead of us that evening. With a rest stop for a quick bite, and/or a quick leg stretch, we finally got to Heide Park and the Port Royal Hotel, which greeted us with an evening Buffet "Snacks" meal to tide us over till the morning. It was great! And the hotel room was wonderful! All pirate themed, with wood floors, a cool woodish walk-in shower, and a nice view of some of the park, through all the trees and landscaping. And this was the first of a few hotels that offered us bunkbeds as well as main beds to sleep in! My roomie Ron, chose the bunks and I took the regular old bed, as I preferred not having to deal with going down a ladder at night, should The Call occur and the bathroom be.... needed? Next morning, we got another breakfast buffet to enjoy, we put our luggage back on the bus, and then hit the park... And now a wider shot, with Everybody Eating Hotel Snacks! And yes - you with your hand up. You may leave the table, as long as you cleaned your snacks plate! Grin. (And next morning, we breakfasted, and then toured Heide Park.) And now our table circle widens, and there's John and Lou enjoying their buffet snacks, along with Mike and Jon. And - Port Royal Hotel with the Evening Snacks, including (I was told, but did not try) VERY spicy wings, which Mike and Jon couldn't get enough of! Note the plates already stacked, there? (Smile) After WB, the long bus ride to Heide park, and here's where we Rest Stopped on this part of it. Spot all the TPR-ers! Ben and Mark having a "Goliath Moment". Awwww... Canadian Flags Shout-Out, and a truly Canadian name for a flume ride - Crazy River. Dem crazy Canucks, eh? Ginny and Jeff, my Grande Roue co-riders. And (shudder) El Condor - the first original SLC - in back. From left to right: closed Express, open and running Goliath. Easy. On WB's La Grande Roue (read: Big Wheel!) and watching for that castle to open, lol. Robin Hood in back. And two towers obviously bowing to the castle. Yes? No? Merlins Magic Castle... down. But not for too long we found out, later in the day. Canadian Yukon Territory! How mushy and homey do I feel now, huh? With a swinging ship in back there, too! Part of our group going... somewhere. Not sure. Didn't stalk them, heh heh. But eventually we all went through... Walibi World, and a happy bunch of credit whores on Wok's Waanzin, the kids' coaster. Oh, the shame. But it was fun!
Nrthwnd Posted July 25, 2008 Author Posted July 25, 2008 Once breakfast was done, the luggage loaded onto the bus (another one-nighter at Port Royal Hotel for us) we headed into Heide Park for some ERT on Colossus and Desert Race. And the rest of the park... Colussus was a great coaster with loads of airtime on it, but when the rain came down on-and-off that morning, it was like nails hitting my forehead. Not fun. I retreated over to Desert Race, and I must say it honestly reminded me of Rita: Queen of Speed at Alton Towers... only with sand under it... and more rain, lol. It was okay. Not spectacular, but a good ride. Other coasters were Limit, another Vekoma SLC (and another ouch), Big Loop, a basic sit down looper (not bad, not great, but not bad), Schweizer Bobbahn, a bobsled with great themeing all over it, a nice powered mine train (Grottenblitz) and a new kiddie coaster with the longest name, Indianer-Achterbahn. Flats and other rides included a great gyro-drop tower called (what else?) Scream, a bunch of Huss flats all in one corner, couple of flumes, couple of monorails, couple of small spin-boat canal rides... a lot of 'couples' in this park, lol. But it was all good. I also got a nice surprise with Peter from the TPR Japan07 trip showing up to spend the day with some of us! I ran into him and Mark at Limit, immediately gave him a big bear hug, then discovered it was his twin brother, Marcus! Enbarrassed, but still happy to see Peter (and his bro) nonetheless. After several hours in the park, we then had a nice group lunch at the Brauhaus Restaurant. Very nice schnitzel it was, I remember. And after a few more hours touring around and riding rides in the park, we then headed out for another long bus ride, with an included rest/eat stop, and an eventual arrival at the Hotel Ling Bao, right in Phantasialand. And Jeff finally got his German Wiener! No more comment needed here. That all-important rest stop. A bit better theming and seating and food, but Ginny still looked a bit "done" from the day's touring and bussing. Cloud formation, en route to our next hotel and park. And another tour bus! Mike, Gage, Craig... and Mike! On one of the two round-boat canal rides at Heide Park. Mike looking relaxed, Ben looking bored and Nathan looking bemused. On the mini-monorail at Heide. Cameron and Stacey on the Panorama-Turm observation tower ride. Up closer to Lady Liberty. Panorama #2 - Miss Liberty out in the lake, and Colossus in back. Panorama #1 - Big Loop in front of Limit, across the Heide Park lake. Mark, Marcus, Peter (surprise!) and me. Peter and his brother showed up to spend the day with us at Heide Park! Just hanging around with a buddy, before heading out to Heide Park.
Nrthwnd Posted July 26, 2008 Author Posted July 26, 2008 But before we tour through Phantasialand, we first tour through two other parks on the TPR Tour Schedule... First up, Movie Park Germany which was originally a brand-name park, then later sold off and apparently re-branded using characters from.... Nikelodeon? Worked for me as the first coasters we ERT'd on were fun and not too head-bashing as one could find on a few other coasters, so so early in the morning. Jimmy Neutron's Atomic Flyer was a great speedy little family-style SLC. No loops, but it was breezy and kicky. Next up was Ghost Chasers, a wild mouse that was a former Tom & Jerry attraction. This was a tiny crazed ride that surprised several of us, as witnessed by Hanno's great reaction photos in his TR thread. Check them out. Very fun mouse. In between this coaster and the next (my #300!) they gave us ERT on the Avatar Air Glider, which suspiciously looked like a certain Fly Away from another park (Helloooo Heide?) that was not-very-nice to the front of peeps --- but this one was milder, not as intense and definitely readable, although I politely declined. And then, #300 to ride - a coaster with one of the longest names I've ever seen.... "The Backyardigans - Mission To Mars". And the coaster train looked like little space shuttles hooked up nose-to-butt! Sweet. And it was a sweet ride. One of my better number "markers" lol. The park also has a body-bustin' wooden coaster named Bandit; a b---s-bustin' drop tower called The High Fall (very original, yes?); another SLC!; several water-based rides, both wet (Alien Encounter) and not-so-wet (Ice Age). And a pretty good BTTF kind-of attraction (Time Riders). And we got this great buffet lunch, from the park to make this day more special for us. Then we headed off to a little (what was called) Do-It-Yourself Park called Schlossbeck park. But first, our lead bus had to overshoot the right entry road to the park (a literal few minutes from MPG), but once we backed up and found it, apart from the coaster credit itself (a very RCT-type it was too), there were a few interesting self-run attractions, most notably a boat that "jumps the lfthill" bottom and then hits a mini-lake in front. Brief, but enjoyable. Some slides were abused, a one-car rock-o-wheel was cying out for an opposing car to run with it - and several good old european playground equipment pieces that had TPRers testing strength, endurance and idiocy, along with the usual bottle of beer nearby. And then, back to the Ling Bao Hotel, and a "questionable" buffet with too many unknown seafoods in it, and not enough "comfort foods" there. IMhO. There was a finals game in the Europe Cup that night - and unfortunately, Germany did not make the big win, against Spain. So the Dragon Bar that night was fairly quiet, with more space for TPR people to enjoy, before the morning's breakfast and The Day at Phantasialand began... And now the finale of The High Fall - with Larry still holding on like his life depended on it. And Brian very carefully checking to see if "everything" was still... there. AUSGANG, indeed. And for those of you who actually couldn't read that piece of paper (myself included and I think, my paparazzi too) I was holding there at Mission To Mars --- #300!!! Scooooore! (Happy Dance.) Then it was all downhill after that, hee hee. But let's just skip Ghost Chasers, and get right to The Coaster That Counts, shall we? So where's the damned train in this photo, hmmm? Like I keep saying, they really don't show the names of these things enough, y'know? (counting #298...) After we get there, this is our view from Bing Lao Hotel room. Sunset... or Sunrise. I forget. Time to go to bed. I think. More tomorrow. And now the immortal classic of B-movies, COASTERS BEHIND BARS. (sample dialogue:) "But Officer Schloss, it just keeps goin' 'round an' 'round an' 'round every time we ride dis guy." Overview of the Ride-It_yourself rides incl. the boatjump hills to the left. Solo Rock-O-Wheel at the back. Slides to the right. Children and parents/grandparents... everywhere. Crowded but fun. Miles, Ron, Anth, John, Allan, Mike, and a log. And beer! At Schlossbeck Park!
Nrthwnd Posted July 28, 2008 Author Posted July 28, 2008 After getting through the previous day (#300 coaster, too much sun/heat, Ling Bao's semi-strange IMhO dinner buffet, feeling my worst the whole trip that night), things started to improve and get better. Much better. So this next day was spent at Phantasialand. I was really surprised by the park, and how much space there actually was to it. After seeing photos of Black Mamba being built and getting the park map the day before we toured, I was afraid this was going to be a tight tangle of rides, shops, places to eat - and not much else in the way of walkways and space in general. Surprisingly, there was lots of shade around, everything was laid out pretty spaciously and I enjoyed myself more than I thought I would. We started the day with ERT on Mamba. Pretty good, but a few rides was enough for me. Then we were taken over to Winjas, and I rode each "side," Fear and Force. Can't remember which I liked better. They both had their charm, LOL. (o: And we were given 2 VIP passes each which essentially let us duck into two ride's exit and FastPass past the crowd; Mamba and Talocan were exempted from this pass. I used mine for "The Michael Jackson Thrill Ride" coaster, Colorado Adventure and River Quest. Again, both surprised me by being better than I thought they'd be. And Temple of the Night Hawk could have used some more lighting effects inside of it, since it was a long (in time) enclosed coaster. Another mad house (Feng ju Palace) this time with an Asia theme; an enclosed upshot/fall tower (Mystery Castle) that was very cool to ride; a few very cheesy and somewhat worse-for-wear dark rides (Hollywood Tour, Gondelbahn 1001 Nacht, Silbermine); and an 'okay' simulator ride, Atlantis. Missed out on both intertwining flumes (Stonewash & Wildwash Creek), Talocan (really wanted to ride that), and a couple of other attractions. But I'll be happy to come back in a future TPR tour and get those, lol. Also, ate in the park, thereby avoiding the dinner buffet at the hotel, got on our busses and we were on our way for the evening, with another rest stop to break up the long drive, another one-night hotel for the night, quick breakfast and then off to Tripsdrill and Holiday Park. Friends. Which reminded me of that twosome in Knott's. But they had each other. And this guy was kind of sad, pathetic AND lonely. So I obliged him some company. For a few minutes. And then, bye bye to Phantasialand. We discover great ice cream, and a nice shady rest spot! Jeff and Ginny get a head start on theirs while mine sits sad and lonely, wanting attention with a plastic spoon, lol. Ginny, myself and Anneliese in front of a copy of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. And beyond that, a two-level carrousel. Lots of randomness mixed together in this park. And that worked out okay. Buddies. And I'm still not sure what "character" this was, lol. Even the souvenir book didn't help. Fountain at Phantasialand's main entrance. I liked it. Cross-shot of the two flume rides, Stonewash & Wildwash. Hard to tell apart, even close up. Very sneaky. Wozl's Wassertreter boat ride, from the monorail. Would have liked to try that, but didn't. Next visit. Seeing Gondelbahn 1001 Nachts from the park's monorail. Cheesy dark ride, but the gondola vehicles were cool to ride in, outside as well as inside the attraction. Lunch break in China with Anneliese, Ginny and Jeff. Gathering after Black Mamba ERT, to be escorted over to The Winjas coasters for ERT just before opening time at the park. Black Mamba ERT time! Heavily themed, low to (and in) the ground made for a unique coaster ride. Everybody meeting in the Ling Bao Hotel lobby for our morning ERT at Phantasialand. Also, we had to load the busses for when we took off that evening on another long drive. I still can't remember if this was taken at sunset or sunrise. But I liked the shot, so here's a repeat of it, lol.
cfc Posted July 28, 2008 Posted July 28, 2008 Thanks for the tip about that ice cream, Bill--great stuff.
Nrthwnd Posted July 28, 2008 Author Posted July 28, 2008 ^ You are/were most welcome, Chuck. Actually, when I sat down to start eating my ice cream after taking the photo, I lifted the spoon and suddenly ALL (well, most of it) of the candy topping POPPED up out of the cup! It instantly caught me and Jeff by surprise (Ginny was at the counter, getting hers) and Jeff couldn't stop laughing and laughing and... It was a good memory, topped by an unexpected random moment, LOL.
Moose Posted July 29, 2008 Posted July 29, 2008 As much as you are made fun of for using film, not that I made fun of you, (Not that I knew you were using film, otherwise I probably would have) these pictures are coming out looking really good. I am not sure what it is exactly (or what is causing it) but the lighting looks much warmer than all of the digital pics the rest of us took.
Nrthwnd Posted July 29, 2008 Author Posted July 29, 2008 ^ Thanks Jon. Actually, I don't mind the ribbing at all about using film, etc. I loooooove the attention, lolol! The film was 800 ASA, which meant I didn't have to worry about most lighting conditions, movement, etc. Night time photos are still hard to take, as I should use a tripod of some kind for that. The "warmness" of the photos you are seeing, I have no idea how that's happening. Could be the way I am scanning the photos, heh heh. I put Photoshop on Auto Adjust, so that may be helping in adjusting lightness, colors. Thanks for the nice comment. And you may make fun of me any time you want to, moosie! ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~ Next day on the tour, it's CANADA DAY (July 1) for me and Jon/flossy on the tour! So what better way to celebrate this important day of our home country, than to ride coasters, water rides, drink wine and beer, eat foreign food and end the day by riding the #1 Steel Coaster In The World! All in Germany, too! First of our two parks this day was Tripsdrill which was a lovely landscaped park nestled in wine country that also threw rides into the mix. This was the park that had the "interesting" bathtub flume (old boobs, new boobs... it was all boobs!), ERT on G'sengte Sau and Mammut (mouse in the gardens, woodie that will get more landscaping, eventually), a WTF kind of Treehouse fall tower that surprised most of us, a rapids ride that wasn't much "rapids" at all, and a meal at the main Gashaus Restaurant. Mammut could have had a couple of more thrills thrown in for thrills' sake, but it was built "for the family," so I guess they didn't want to scare the schnitzel out of the young ones too soon, hmm? Got a free glass at the Vinarium wine making museum - and paid a Euro to get it filled, heh heh. The rope bridge at the park reminded me of our Capilano Suspension Bridge (shamepless PR plug HERE) back home - only with 200 or so less feet in height, lol. So after Tripsdrill, back on the busses and on to (what I call) the FIREWORKS of my Canada Day - Holiday Park .... and Expedition Ge-Force. The park itself has a few rather strange rides-with-scenes to travel through. Notably Burg Falkenstein, Kanalfahrt "Anno Tobak," and Tour des Fleurs, which was a mini-monorail that eventually went through a few circus-like tents that had strange wierd settings of flowers, faeries and 'things' singing and swaying. But - and I had totally forgotten - this was the park with a Star Flyer! I had been looking forward to riding one of these when they started being built, and HP's did not disappoint. The view was wonderful, the speed was just enough and the height... well, after so many years of fearing balconies, and ladders in general, TPR tours have definitely helped me overcome (most) that "obstacle" in my life. This star flyer, Lighthouse Tower, was great, and I only wished we had more time at the park so I could ride it again. And then, we got ERT and FOOD, at Expedition Ge Force, a steel coaster that most of the coaster-riding world seems to love riding again and again. The park gave us hot dogs and beer/beverages, at a setup right by the coaster, and the majority of us packed in as many rides as we could on this lovely sexy steel beast. Mmmmm. It was a fantastic way to end Canada Day on the tour. So here's some more photos of the day, and then we continue on to Hotel Colosseo and one of The Best Parks on this tour... Europa. Hands Up for the bunny hops! Great time on a great coaster. Thanks, Holiday Park! (o: Sexy curve there. Mmmm. First drop. Expedition Ge Force. Love it. Ah there he is! Unaware we're soon to be viewing wierd spaced-out trippy little scenes with odd music and dayglo colors on everything. And he'll probably blame ME for getting us all on it, lol! Holiday Park now - with Anneliese and Stacey on the Tour des Fleurs mini-monorail. But where is Cameron? The Tripsdrill Suspension Bridge. Not as high up as my local one (Capilano), but pretty wild all the same. Especially with several TPRers on it, swinging and swaying, bouncing up and down on it, lol. Shane, Miles, Fran and Michael in the boob-filled bathtub flume ride. The wonderful mini-drop tower 'with attitude', Doppelter Donnerbalken. Now say that three times fast, LOL. Me and a friend outside the Vinarium wine musuem in Tripsdrill. With the free glass. Filled up. (o: Mammut. It was okay. A good ride. But that was it, for myself. Sigh. Some people just can't stay out of restricted areas, lol. Actually, this was allowed. Hi guys! Bunny hop, up and down. G'sengte Sau at Tripsdrill. Just hearing the name said, makes me want to say Bless You! Grin. A fun mouse in the lovely gardens of the park.
eBen Posted July 30, 2008 Posted July 30, 2008 I guess they didn't want to scare the schnitzel out of the young ones too soon I'm glad to see I wasn't the only want using an old camera. And they come out just as well (if your not using a cheep disposable one) and there shiny too! Not that I'm a purist or anything but I did feel sad when they announced they were stopping making polaroid films.
Nrthwnd Posted July 30, 2008 Author Posted July 30, 2008 ^ I have a really nice AND still-working old Polaroid camera myself, and sometimes still use it with a (fairly) fresh pak of film/pix. For those "party moments", lol. Instant pix are still cool in my books. And you can scratch them before they go through their final developing phase, and (usually) get some great "instant pix/art" lol! Maybe, and if I can still get some film paks by then, I might bring mine along on my next TPR Tour, heh heh.
BeatleBen Posted August 1, 2008 Posted August 1, 2008 I don't look too sure about those Toverland Tea Cups. Great work, Bill! Definitely enjoying this old-fashioned trip report.
Nrthwnd Posted August 1, 2008 Author Posted August 1, 2008 ^ Ben, one of my first great memories of this tour, started with you. When we had dinner together at the buffet that our first hotel (The Ibis) offered for the evening? And watching you have a go at.... your first escargot. And liking it! An excellent first memory of this great trip we did. Great to meet you and tour with you, buddy. I hope we'll tour again in the not-too-distant future.
Nrthwnd Posted August 11, 2008 Author Posted August 11, 2008 And now a word about a few of our tour hotels... In a word or two: awesome and then some, lol. A few hotels were what one would call "enough needed" for an overnight's stay and the simple amenities in the bathroom, etc. Then there were one or three that were simply OMG AWESOME, and the only drawback for a couple of them (Efteling Hotel, Port Royal/Heide) was that we only got tstay one night in each. But between the beautfiul flooring, the bunkbeds (my roomie Ron was a sweetheart and took those), and just wonderful themeing to the rooms, these were really especially neato hotels to stay in. And a two-night stay in the magnificent Hotel Colosseo right at Europa Park, proved to be One Of The Best we stayed at, throughout the tour. From the incredible enclosing open-air central area of the place, housing a great water fountain that "came alive" a couple of times each night with a great soundtracked Dancing waters show; ice cream that was available all day up to and including the evening hours; a beautiful welcoming table of fruit and water I did not know was free to us! (Maybe it's the 'mini-bar-itis' experience of other hotels that made me decline, even a lovely apple sitting there, beckoning, lol.); an excellent main dining room with a sumptuous (and recognizeable) dinner AND breakfast buffet during our stay; and just a brief walk over to One of The Best European Parks - Ever... Well, it was great hotel stay as we neared the end of the tour... and I even ran into an employee of the hotel gift shop -- who was from Waterloo, Ontario! Said she was so sad she couldn't share Canada Day with any other Canadians that day/night, heh heh. And I/we arrived two days (for her schedule) too late. But we wished each other a Happy Post-Canada day, lol! So, a few photos here of Our Room At The Colosseo. Then, on to Europa Park. Our last pair of bunkbeds on the tour! And my roomie Ron was so great, in taking them all. I felt happy-relieved I didn't have to manoever ladders etc. Thanks Ron! (o: Our Welcoming table, the fruit & water which I thought we'd be charged for, like the usual mini-bar thing? So I didn't touch it. )o: now that I find out we could of eaten and drunken it all, heh heh. Oh well, learn from experience, hmm? We'll be back... Grin. Looking down and over, throuhg the same window, to a nice little courtyard... just there. Our room-with-a-park-view at the Hotel Colosseo. That's the reverse track 'dip' of the Atlantica Supersplash water coaster. I counted it as a credit. (o:
IggyACE Posted August 11, 2008 Posted August 11, 2008 Funny, I thought the same thing about the water. So we didn't drink it and I put in my luggage only to find out it was carbonated and leaked all over my cloths! Craig
ginzo Posted August 11, 2008 Posted August 11, 2008 Funny, I thought the same thing about the water. So we didn't drink it and I put in my luggage only to find out it was carbonated and leaked all over my cloths! Craig Ha, I had a problem with the glasses from the vinarium at Tripsdrill. I had them wrapped in a shirt in my backpack. I forgot about the glasses, pulled the shirts out of my backpack, and the glasses shattered all over the floor of my room in Hotel Colosseo. I got more than a few cuts on my feet from that little stroke of genius.
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