Photo TR: Behemoth Bash!

[dandaman]

I honestly can't say enough about how totally awesome Behemoth Bash was! First off, thank you so much to R&E, Cameron, Paul, Jerry, Larry and everyone else I hung out with. As it was my first TPR event, I was pretty afraid that I'd be kind of on my lonesome for most of the day. I sincerely think that it's only because I was surrounded by such good company that I had the great time I did.

 

...All right, enough mushiness. Two hours of ERT! Almost killing ourselves on the various Death Machine installations! Watching Dan almost melt by getting him wet TWICE!

 

Despite my living in Ontario, which some people would consider to be "local" to CW, I'm actually about 4 hours away and haven't been in the park since 1999, back when I wasn't a coaster enthusiast in any sense. Cedar Point's actually about 90 minutes closer (border times excluded), and I had the good fortune to purchase a Platinum Pass for the season. Not only did that give me a $20 discount for Behemoth Bash (which, for the record, is worth about tenfold what we actually paid), but I realized as we went to the hotel in Vaughan that I could get in the park whenever I wanted! So my parents ended up dropping me off for about four hours while I took some pictures and rode two coasters (Italian Stunt Job Coaster Track Ride in the front, and Wild Beast which killed my back).

 

As a result, I've tried combining the pictures from both days, so if the lighting seems a bit off at certain sections, that's why. I've tried staying as true to our Behemoth Bash park-touring as possible, so bear with me, please!

 

If you're like me, you've already skipped down to the first picture, so let's get rollin'!

"You'll never guess what's on my iPod!"

 

TPR trivia was great, and turned epic with the self-awarded 100 bonus points and Larry's 6.7 points via counting in metric.

 

I'll post the other half of the day when I get a chance, likely tomorrow.

Mass consumption of goodness for all!

Why, a BUFFET SMORGASBORD SPECTACULAR, of course!

Welcoming us to what, you ask?

"Whose idea was that?!"

 

"Robb's."

 

"WHAT!!!"

Now, if they hugged him AND threw bags of sugar at him he probably would have melted!

Action shot!

"THERE he is!"

"Well, guys, the ride's over... what do you want to do now?"

 

"Let's all go attack Dan!"

More jazz hands!

"MOMMY!"

"OH CRAP!" (Props to the TPR member on the right doing full-force jazz hands!)

"This isn't so bad..."

"We're all going to be soaking wet for lunch!"

The girl wearing the red Hollister shirt looks almost uncannily like my friend... who's a GUY. No joke!

OMG! Definitely NOT Dan-approved!

Speaking of dragons, this was regrettably the only picture I got of Dragon Fire, the park's resident Arrow looper. Sorry, Jahan.

This iron dragon is still better than CP's!

Dan's Personal Hell

Dear Mr. Kinzel, please grow the following for CP's 2009 season. Thank you.

"My God, the goldfish are HUGE in Canada!"

ATM ERT w/ CDN $$$

"...And we just got a 'Dragon Mountain' credit a day early!"

"We're all taking over the 15th coaster that Robb doesn't count!"

Thunder Run was technically my first genuine powered coaster as well... it was actually pretty fun, despite Jerry (astroworldfan) and I trying and barely managing to fit both our asses into one seat!

TPR takeover of the Multi Faith room!

Not only did I neglect to get my first Intamin Drop Tower credit, but I didn't even get an action shot! I'm just that good.

Despite his best efforts, I still managed to make my right knee go numb due to braking and legroom and lack thereof!

I ended up riding with Dave, who probably saved my life by telling me certain techniques of Vekoma survival as we were going backwards up the lift!

...THE PADDING! IT DOES NOTHING!

This is what happens when Cedar Fair wants to "improve" a ride with leftover paint from Behemoth! (Paul: "Why in the world wouldn't you keep the supports black?")

NOTED!

"You'll pay for making this even smaller than the Disneyland castle!"

*bzzz* *bzzz* *bzzz* *bzzz* *bzzz* *bzzz* *bzzz*

I actually already got the Fly credit back in '99, as well as Ghoster Coaster and Taxi Jam! (Therefore, minimal whoring for me today.)

Let's just pretend the sign behind Dan's head says "Keep Cock From Hooker" so I don't ruin the reference.

"The Dippin' Dots of the Future!"

"Top o' the world, Ma!"

If the RKO tower and the St. Louis Arch had a love child...

Me: "So, guys, is this about average for an SLC?"

 

Jahan: "More or less."

 

Me: "Dammit!"

...And right here's where the ride lost its charm. (And I lost my SLC virginity.)

Cameron pointed out to me after the fact that there was literally an inch of space between the bottom wheels and the rails on the lift!

SCANNING FOR THETANS...

 

THETANS COULD NOT BE LOCATED. CONTINUE RELIGION? (Y/N)

"It's not Top Gun, it's Flight Deck!"

 

"It's not Flight Deck, it's Tom Cruise's Scientology Experience! Look, there's where the space planes are parked!"

...Oh, crap.

"We're better and more privileged than you, GP blob seething at ERT participants!"

 

This was taken as we went over to get another "iffy" credit before the public descended upon it not knowing any better...

Brave souls enjoying the smoothest part of the ride.

I would count random foliage to hide Time Warp as a ride improvement.

Second from left: "This is only fun because I'm used to Togo Death Machines!"

I was really confused how to even get my ass in position for the first 10 seconds of loading; I recall vividly slipping on the "steps" and hitting my head on Plexiglass something-or-other, then finally managing to drag myself up about 5 seconds before the cage closed.

I know I rode with Elissa... maybe Dave... and aside from that I don't remember. It was pretty funny to yell "HOLY CRAP! OWWW!" in unison, and it actually didn't seem as bad as I thought it'd be. (Then again, I'd be hitting my head more than enough times on the other new credits to make me forget a LOT of things!)

This was actually my first flying coaster, but I still had my first SLC, Boomerang and Togo Death Machine credits to rack up over the course of the day. Quoth Elissa: "That's a lot of bad cherries to pop!"

A few of us walked over to hang out with Elissa and KidTums over by the then-closed-for-ERT Time Warp for a few minutes, when it happened to open about 10 minutes before the GP rushed into this area of the park!

WATCH YOUR SPEED!!!

 

(Alternative: CHECK YOUR BLIND SPOT!!!)

After a few Behemoth laps, I think it was Cameron and I who went on Stunt Coaster. (OK, so this was taken at 5:00 the previous day... I already told you why in the text above!) I thought it was quite decent, but a bit rough considering how it looked.

Airtime + pre-lift hill action!

Know what this shot needs?

I was surprised by how steep the track bent upwards for the lift.

You can see this thing from miles around... especially the red LED's at night, courtesy of my hotel room view!

B&M and morning ERT fanboys rejoice!

Cedar Fair logo quota: met.

Here we are parked in front of the parking booths en masse, waiting for Robb to give us Bash credentials and porn out of the back of Dave's truck!

Behemoth had no idea it was about to be credit-raped twice in the same day by over 100 TPR crazies!

Thanks.

*ahem*... Could we get some better lighting, please?

Boobs aside, the Monte Carlo Inn was quite nice. Despite my not being on the Behemoth/Ravine Flyer trip, I happened to be staying at the same hotel as the 52 touring TPR members!

Second, a picture of the semi-pornographic hotel statue for everyone else!

First, a picture of DaCock for Jahan!

[kraken613]

Nice! I wish I could go up to that park it looks pretty nice and with Behemoth now!

[gk]

Looks like I shoulda gone to the other Canadian park on 8/4.

[coasterdude5]

Cool trip report. I gotta say, The Bat's new paint job looks pretty cool.

[doublex98]

Great trip report! Love all the pictures, looks like you had alot of fun!

[dandaman]

^^I must admit, it looks nice and vivid (at least in the first pic), but keeping/repainting the supports black still would have been the better idea, IMO; orange isn't exactly a bat-associated colour like black or even red.

 

Second half of photos should be up by tomorrow.

[Kennyweird]

Great Photo TR! Hopefully I can go on these trips one of these days.

[307]

Man, the Dave Trivia was just painful for me. I'm terrible at being witty with no preparation, and worse at speaking in front of crowds, so my being up there sure didn't make things more enjoyable for everyone else. I was waiting for the boos to start!

 

Dave never did explain what was on his iPod! I'll have to experience it at some point, though.

[larrygator]

Dan - nice to meet you also. As far as the trivia, I knew using the proper metric conversion would pay off. Agreed the bonus playoff between Jer and Nikki hosted by Dave Thomas was painful to witness. Robb really put all 3 of you on the spot.

[dandaman]

^^ + ^ I just found it hilarious how silent it was when Dave was trying to come up with crap to say!

 

Dan "The empty void in conversation spoke volumes " Smith

 

P.S. What two people were the subject of the question, "Are they brother and sister, or husband and wife?"

[larrygator]

^Nathan and Bethany Power

[dino]

Cool rainbow shot on the Riptide photo, that's like extra points. Great TR, looks like it was a great time.

[dandaman]

All right... what this second batch of photos doesn't show is our awesome 10-person-strong TPR water park takeover between 6 and 8 p.m... Robb, 'CTU Agent' and I managed to share a locker and probably saved $16 cramming all that crap into one space! Best part was everyone's cries similar to "OH SWEET ZOMBIE JESUS ON A POGO STICK!" upon experiencing the enclosed slide and the Toilet Bowl. (For the record, Robb's raft shot out of the first part of the Bowl like a cannon. ) Second prize goes to Robb walking casually under the "umbrella" fountain and regretting it immediately after. ("What the hell!! That was stupid!")

 

The rest is more or less documented below, save for maybe mine and Robb's Minebuster "experience". We'll get to that later... enjoy the second half of the pics!

Thank you to everyone who made Behemoth Bash so utterly amazing for me! I'd never have thought I could have so much fun in a single day!

 

Thanks to everyone for reading, and I highly suggest getting out there for whatever TPR event you've ever had an interest in.

 

'Till next time!

As everyone walks back to the entrance after the most awesome day in human history, we discover that Cameron is camera-shy and Paul has a jiggidy tumour on his right shoulder!

"Behemoth ERT rocks, now GIMME SOME CAJUN FRIES!"

 

I personally got in about 8 rides in a row before I had to subtly locate the closest available trash receptacle and "toss my fries"... even despite that, Behemoth night ERT was great!

"Pound It: Destroyer of Worlds"

 

While half our impromptu group went for a short bathroom break, he pounded 21 people, including three with a giant banana!!

8. And now we have a dish palatable only by Robb and possibly Satan!

 

(FYI, nacho cheese is pretty much my limit in terms of spice... my eyes were watering with maybe a spoonful of that cajun seasoning on my fries!)

7. Use both cups to shake fries and camera lens well.

5. Pour second half of fries into second cup.

 

6. I've got a great idea! Let's add more seasoning!

4. Add more cajun seasoning. (Couldn't hurt, right?)

And now, for a special presentation of "Robb Makes Cajun-Seasoned Fries."

 

1. Ask front counter for extra large empty cup.

 

2. Line bottom of cup with cajun seasoning.

 

3. Pour first half of fries into second cup.

EPIC line jump! Heck, if he has the ability to do that, he's probably an Olympic athlete who'd get front-line privileges anyway!

To be honest, #3 was where my reaction cycle stayed! It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected and I would ride it again... if it weren't for those horrible loading times. (Just remembered something: The restraints didn't let me stand up the whole way like I'm supposed to... and I literally mean it made me go a full foot shorter!)

Obviously not taken in the same timeframe, but this highlights the typical Togo reactions from left to right: 1. I'm happy going into this! 2. Now I'm a little unsure... 3. This is actually kind of fun! 4. OWW CRAP!

This is about two hours after the above was taken, due to our mini-TPR takeover of Splash Works. After that slice of sweetness pie, we went across the way to get my first Togo Death Machine credit!

"That was the first ride ever where I could actually feel my balls clacking together like a Newton's Cradle desk novelty!" --Robb

Only Canadians would stake claim to the roughest ride in the park! Why can't we put a Canadian flag on Behemoth already? Something at least to be proud of?

OK, so I had the good fortune to ride with Robb... and the bad fortune for it to be Minebuster! The first half wasn't all that bad... but holy crap, that enclosed helix beat us up like one of Christian Bale's family members!

 

I think the only way they could make it worse is if they hired someone to stand at the end of the tunnel and punch everyone in the face!

*silence*

 

"Aww... Jahan came... it stopped."

For example, the shaking brake run spurred the phrase, "If the Arrow's a-rockin', don't come a-knockin'!"

It was funnier to just make fun of Jahan's undying love of Arrow the whole time.

This thing's about eleventy billion times better/more intense than Iron Dragon. At night it was totally amazing!

All right, so it's not at night yet, but let's talk about the awesomeness that was Vortex ERT!

Gotta love when your photo TR's leave the collective forum community blind...

YOUR DOING IT WRONG

Not quite...

Good...

Pictured: Toronto sports.

For hot POV footage, visit TPR's video page!

Artsy flower time!

"What is the number of identical Coasters restaurants?"

"$5 says this is one of those rides where millions went into R&D and only one model was sold." --Robb

We rode this just before ERT around 9:45... I was surprised how quickly the line moved. In any case, I actually found it to be pretty tame yet fun!

"Deja Vu."

 

"No."

 

"But I gave myself 100 bonus points."

 

"Ryan wins!"

"What ride name did Wonderland and Magic Mountain used to have in common?"

"And we all had a good time at Blockoland!"

 

"Don't you mean Wonderland?"

 

"Right, right... WONDERland."

Picture-taking of picture-taking quota: met!

"Back"

"Out"

shesaidboom: The smart one who wore sunglasses!

...88 MILES PER HOUR!!! (Hey Ryan)

To make this a true Dan Smith photo TR: we're clocking about 87, but in a few moments...

You can really see that odd yet subtle bend towards the end of the first drop here.

Row 3: "...Okay, NOW we love Behemoth!"

Keep an eye on the third row back...

I just found it funny to see Robb standing alone in the shadows while everyone else went all paparazzi on Behemoth. It's almost artistic! (For the record, he's on his Blackberry, not counting on his fingers how many coasters CW REALLY has.)

Eh... too blurry for my tastes.

And thus, the Behemoth photo onslaught commenced.

It was pretty funny to see the helicopter sadly return to position after every launch from Stunt Coaster.

Canada uses all of its resources at hand... even using pines for supports!

"Hello, sir, could I interest you in a classic Whataburger this afternoon?"

I must admit, this trivia question had me totally stumped until Cameron pointed it out: "If Behemoth were a teenage subculture, what would it be?"

So back to our timeline... while we were waiting here for our walkback, some people started commenting on who we were, mostly based on the shirts. The first of many to come was, "Oh my gosh, look! They're reviewing the theme park! What do you rate Behemoth?"

 

Special award to Cameron for trying to explain TPR and flat-out telling the truth: "*sigh*... There's really no way I can say this without sounding totally nerdy..."

"Uh... nah, you guys go ahead, I'll catch up with you later..."

Second diver gets props for his spot-on Peter Pan impersonation.

"...I didn't say push MEEEEEEEEE...!"

"Hey man, I might need a little encouragement on this."

...It's a diving board! Ultimately the show consisted of an announcer way too into his job for 15 minutes prior to the show ("Ever since there have been rocks... and cliffs... and water... there have been DIVERS."), and three people jumping off the mountain for about 20x shorter amount of time than the announcer built up.

See that little protrusion off the top of the falls?

We rejoin our photo expedition by awkwardly fitting in this segment and pretending it happened while we were walking over to our Behemoth photo walkback after lunch...

[trustkill22]

That banana was wicked.

[dandaman]

Now Ryan has to ante up and pound a different giant stuffed toy!

[Carnage]

I did have sunglasses.

 

They were just in my trunk broken in two peices.

[cfc]

Behemoth Bash looked like a lot of fun. I reckon I'll be seeing at least a few of you folks at BGE and KD next week.

[taytig]

It was a great day - too bad I got sick and had to leave early. Thanks for the pics!!

 

David

[dandaman]

Thanks again for all the great times, everyone. (And those who've posted so far and had to trudge through a lot of pixels to get their posts up!)

 

I remember Robb throwing around a few trip ideas for a future... getting into a full West Coast trip in a couple of years would edge just beyond bacon-wrapped anything in terms of awesomeness!

[Cameron]

Great photos, Dan. It was really nice to meet you .. although I didn't know you got sick on Behemoth. I must admit that I had to take a break on the night ERT, hence there would have been more than one "food escape"!

 

Cameron.

[thecoasterkid]

I'm glad to hear that I wasn't the only one that had to stop eventually on the night ERT! After doing 4 laps on Vortex, and another 6-7 on Behemoth I had to call it quits. My stomach just couldn't handle it anymore.

[ginzo]

Great photos, Dan. It was really nice to meet you .. although I didn't know you got sick on Behemoth. I must admit that I had to take a break on the night ERT, hence there would have been more than one "food escape"!

 

Vortex did make me a little bit dizzy after 5-6 rides, but I think I could have stayed on Behemoth all night. We rode all the way up until the end and wanted more! It was running quite nicely during the night session.

[printersdevil78]

Dave never did explain what was on his iPod! I'll have to experience it at some point, though.

 

I won one of his mix CDs in Elissa Bingo. I'm still on my own "extended" trip (writing from a hotel lobby computer), but once I get home on Sunday and listen to it, I'll let you know. He said they were all "local" bands. I'll just say I used to live near Baltimore, and I've never heard any of the ones he had listed on the sleeve....

[pops]

when you said 88 m.p.h on behemoth, you really clocked it that fast or was it something else.?

[MixedDrink]

^ 88 KM/h

 

It was nice to meet you Dan,

We should've stayed with you during the Waterpark takeover!

We never found Robb and you guys!