Photo TR: Behemoth/Ravine Flyer Trip

[natatomic]

It's official, I'm hooked on TPR trips.

 

I realize that there have already been about 87 TRs started for this trip already (and how weird is that, since there were actually only about 50 of us there?), so I won't go into too much detail here in the actual report for now. I think that's pretty much been done.

 

But let me be another to say how INCREDIBLY AWESOME the TPR trips truly are. I tend to favor Disney/Universal/Busch parks, with their intense levels of theming/ambiance/technology/general awesomeness/etc., so I wasn't sure if I'd find these smaller parks as enjoyable, but - oh my gosh - NEVER in my life have I underestimated something SO MUCH. My eyes have been opened to a whole new world of amusement parks thanks to R&E, and I'm already looking into selling my eggs so that I can afford another TPR trip for next year.

 

You read that right. And it'd be totally worth it.

 

Day 1: Seabreeze

Day 2: Darien Lake

Day 2: Martin's Fantasy Island

Day 3: Canada's Wonderland

Day 4: Marineland & Waldameer

Day 5: Idlewild

Day 5: Lakemont Park

Day 5: DelGrosso's

 

But yes, here are the photos for Day 1: Seabreeze. A charming park, as are most parks that size, as I came to learn. Enjoy.

And there you go - Seabreeze and the start of the B/RF trip. Darien Lake up next, but knowing me, it's gonna take a while.

televisedconfession took the remaining photos in this TR. He didn't want to ride the Himalaya, so I let him play with my camera while those of us who weren't little sissy girls went for a ride.

Oooo...nighttime, slow-shutter magic!

Two TPR credit whores in this photo, and only one got a fun kid. I can't say much though, my stolen child didn't hold his arms up either.

I dunno...I liked this photo...

Screamin' Eagle. [/caption]

Don't be fooled by this log flume's short stature - this was one of the most intense drops I've ever been on, flume-wise.

 

Hah... "flume-wise." That's a word I need to start incorporating into everyday conversation.

Okay, I'm probably not giving this coaster the credit it deserves. It is fun. Exhilarating? No, but fun? Sure.

Yes, you know what kind of shot this is.

I don't think construction gets much more slapdash than this. Seriously, did these people never hear of a level?

If you just glance at it quickly and don't think too much about it, it kind of looks like a real ghetto Expedition Everest.

 

But, really...don't think about it. It just won't work that way.

See? Cute. I'd like to gut one of these cars and convert it into a crib for my future children.

This ride was cute. Note the lack of other adjectives.

Man, I loved going down backwards.

 

Yeaaaah, your mom liked going down backwards last night. (that was for you, Neil)

I think life would be a lot more exciting if actual cars spun like this.

Honestly, these coasters put spinning wild mice to shame.

My first spinning Maurer Söhne, and it did not disappoint.

That girl in the middle seems rather petrified, but come on lady! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT FEAR IS.

As well as this weirdo.

I finally got to meet the women of Tums.

Here's a first for one of my trip reports - a photo of people who were actually on the trip! And even more rare - a photo of ME on the trip!

 

Man, what a time to be alive.

Ooo, I'd like to pull that ride-op's lever.

Oh, that's the name of this ride? For serious? Wow, talk about coincidence.

I didn't take a picture of the entrance of the park apparently, so let's just jump right into it with a coaster shot. Yes, jump, perhaps as a Jack Rabbit would.

[Y2J2003Y2J]

Great photos and great TR. I want to go on one of these trips but I don't have the money to do so. I like the slow shutter shots and the sun silhouette station shot.

[kraken613]

Great pictures but great descriptions! lol

[STR8FXXXINEDGE]

These are some very nice pictures!

I'm excited to see the rest.

[Mr. Starr]

This is definitely one of the better Photo TR's of the B/RF Trip. Hilarious!

 

For Serious?

[printersdevil78]

Don't be fooled by this log flume's short stature - this was one of the most intense drops I've ever been on, flume-wise.

 

Yep, all it needed was a paddlewheeler at the bottom.

[dammie16@vt.edu]

I like the second to last picture best and the screaming eagle one is close 2nd.

 

Some great stuff here look foward to the rest!

 

And I can't wait til' next year when i get to post photos from my first TPR trip!

[televisedconfession]

televisedconfession took the remaining photos in this TR. He didn't want to ride the Himalaya, so I let him play with my camera while those of us who weren't little sissy girls went for a ride.

 

 

Your mom's a sissy little girl...

 

 

 

IN LENOXFORD!

[Cyber.Fiber]

Flume-wise, I'd have to say I am really enjoying this TR!

[DCody]

Your mom's got a slow shutter, if you know what I'm saying.

 

The picture of the Screamin' Eagle reminded me why I chose "Ice Cream: The Ride" instead. SCARY!

[Millennium Force 44]

Awesome pictures Natalie! I had the time of my life on this trip. I can't wait to go on another TPR trip. There is no better way to enjoy an amusement park than with Robb and Elissa and a whole group of TPR's!

 

By the way, do a lot of cameras have that slow shutter speed capability.?Or can you only do it with one of those Digital SLR cameras?

[Erik Johnson]

I have to admit that my expectations for many of the smaller parks we visited were quite low. Boy was I wrong, as they were the nicest parks on the trip. I can not wait until the next installment, which I hope will feature pictures of the log flume.

 

[Carnage]

I really liked the sunset station shot. Quite cool.

 

The best pictures are taken somewhat by accident.

[dammie16@vt.edu]

Awesome pictures Natalie! I had the time of my life on this trip. I can't wait to go on another TPR trip. There is no better way to enjoy an amusement park than with Robb and Elissa and a whole group of TPR's!

 

By the way, do a lot of cameras have that slow shutter speed capability.?Or can you only do it with one of those Digital SLR cameras?

 

On my older digital camera you could have a slow "shutter" speed and it was a really crappy Point-n-shoot so I assume the new ones still can but IDK for sure.

[TheRapidsNerd]

Yes, you know what kind of shot this is.

Wow it's like a bondage club full of support wires in here?

 

Natalie, it's official. You now have a signature element that sets apart your TRs. The "Orgy of Support" pic.

 

Great read and pics as always.

[downunder]

Nice report, it's hard to believe I was actually on that trip, and still on the East Coast trip. I am so jaded now even Domintor couldn't raise my pulse above 60 beats a minute. And we have 2 hours of ERT on an SLC tomorrow morning - I think R & E have me on suicide watch.

 

Sea Breeze was fun, even if it is nowhere near the sea though Lake Erie is a pretty substitute.

 

Just to one up you on the kiddie credit whoring, so many of us tried getting on the kiddie coaster at Lake Compounce, that they wound doing an impromptu ERT session (one abrupt lap and off) just before Boulder Dash - which is now the one coaster to rule them all - I'm still in shock at how good it was.

[Wood Dragon 1988]

Sweet, another Dash fan. Just wait for Phoenix though......

[All Clear]

Yeah, I was hearing all day today about how amazing Boulder Dash was...and how it won't be so amazing next year.

[natatomic]

Day 2a: Darien Lake

 

Sorry, for the wait everyone, but I am notorious for taking forever to get my trip reports up and completed.

 

Darien Lake seems to be about your average park - it's enjoyable, but not particularly noteworthy. Still, ERT on Ride of Steel was incredible, though I almost got a black eye on Predator when my own boobs nearly hit me in the face.

 

MotoCoaster got a unanimous rating of "cute" from the group, and that's all we really had to say about it. If only it were longer, maybe then it would have bumped up our opinion to "precious."

 

Boomerang wasn't terrible; I've been on worse, and all I really wanted was the credit anyway. Mind Eraser, however, was by far the worst SLCs I've ever been on, and it's definitely in my top three on my list of Rides That Make Me Cry Out for Mommy. Not everyone agrees with me on how terrible things things really are, but I think I'm at the perfect height (5'4 1/2") for my head to receive the optimal amount of banging against the OTSRs.

 

And Viper...well, it was a standard Arrow looper, another type of coaster that I generally ride just to get the credit. I tend to black out and bang my head a lot on most Arrows, so I usually have to give myself a "You can do it, Natalie!" pep talk just to get myself in line. And I did do it, but I wouldn't say I was happy about it.

 

One last thing, before the photos: I was with a group of people who decided to use our Exit Passes on RoS TEN MINUTES before the bus was scheduled to leave. We DID make it, but just barely, maybe with 3 seconds to spare, and there is nothing in the world more terrifying than finding out just how out of shape you really are when your speed (or lack there of) is the sole determining factor in whether or not you have free transportation to the next park or not.

 

But that final ride we got on Ride of Steel? By far the best one of the day, so it was TOTALLY WORTH IT.

And a SBNO stand up across the street to bring this portion of the TR to a close.

 

I hope to have the Martin's Fantasy Island up before Christmas. Wish me luck!

One last trip on Ride of Steel, you say? With 10 minutes until the bus leaves? BRILLIANT!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Like Erik! Thanks Erik!

I'm not a big fan of water rides, yet somehow they managed to drag me on almost every single one during this trip.

 

Still, I had a strategy. I draped a T-shirt over my head and ducked behind someone much taller than me.

Neil decided to mark his territory right there in front of all of us.

Jake's all, "Eugh...have you seen those glasses Robbie's wearing behind me?"

Mmmk, last one

I don't have any good captions for these, so I'll just let the photos do the talking.

There are great photo ops of RoS to be found beyond the lunch pavilions here.

And Lunch ERT.

Forget coasters, let's get some Beer ERT.

Evidently, part of the lift hill is in Canada.

But even though they're not my favorite coasters, I still appreciate them for their photogenicality, which isn't even a word.

It had been closed for the first few hours of our visit, but they eventually got it up and running.

 

Yay?

You know, I really don't care for Arrow loopers. At all. But coincidentally, I ended up riding this one with Arrowfanman, and for a moment, it was like we were the Odd Couple of roller coasters.

Robbie playing with both sets of his balls.

FASCINATION!

And there's me sitting next to my "special" buddy.

 

(Just to be clear, I mean "special" as in "takes the short bus" not "special" as in "boyfriend." If you saw his scary, scary puppet show on the bus, you'd understand why I so desperately want to make that distinction.)

I had the PERFECT caption for this picture, but then I rode the coaster, and it was like...the caption had been erased from my mind or something. Weird.

He looks like a pleading puppy, right before you throw it in the incinerator.

Oh good. An SUghC. Called Mind Eraser. How fitting.

Robb's opinion? "Vekoma: Tastes like chicken."

The coaster wasn't moving in this shot, Vekoma trains are just that blurry.

Luckily for me, this one wasn't too bad.

Ugh, after "SLC," these are the 3 most terrifying syllables I could ever hear.

Most people had a good time on MotoCoaster, but it looks like Hanno actually found Jesus on it. If that's not a face of born-again redemption and faith, I don't know what is.

Ah, there's some smiles! And even a right-turn hand signal to let us know that they are about to - get this - TURN TO THE RIGHT to return to the station.

Hmmm....I don't see any signs of thrill or disbelief on their faces...

After ERT, most of us made a mad dash for MotoCoaster.

Like the middle children in families, the middle seats are always the neglected ones during ERT.

Neil pointing at the only two teeth that Alabama kid has.

My hair only had about a minute left to look this pretty after this photo was taken. Then it got all windblown and coasterfied.

 

The sacrifices I make for this hobby, you know?

I don't know what any of this stuff does, but I bet one would look good on my fireplace mantle. I think Southern Living would approve, don't you?

Since it's right next to Ride of Steel, I think they should change Predator's name to Ride of Wood. It's only appropriate.

Can you blame us, though? Let's see...boob-bouncing woodie, or Intamin smoothy?

 

It's a no-brainer for the girls, anyway.

Everyone awkwardly avoids eye contact with Predator during the first part of ERT.

Looks like Darien Lake has some separation anxiety issues, as seen in its desperate plea of a banner. The two extra exclamation points do nothing to mask the parks insecurities. Anyone care to donate some Xanax?

Group photo POV! Judging by the direction everyone is facing, I missed something spectacular happening to the right as I was facing left to take this shot.

If parks didn't blazon their names across their entry gates, would people REALLY not know where they were at?

 

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS ISN'T DISNEY WORLD?"

[printersdevil78]

I love Jahan's Bruno-wannabe pose!

[natatomic]

^Haha, I only got a quick glance of the brochure, so I didn't even make the connection.

[U2Rox]

OMG!!! Natalie those are some funny pix and captions!!!

You had me busting out laughing!!! Great memories!

 

"Your Mom" Haha

 

I love the photo of the girl getting her head busted on the log flume!! Now that was funny!!!

[Millennium Force 44]

^Hahaha yes that's a great picture! The one after it kept me laughing.

[All Clear]

I wasn't playing! I was making an adjustment and that's serious business.

 

And my sunglasses are awesome in a borgy kind of way. Anyway they were a gift. From your mom.

[natatomic]

^Yes, I recognize her taste.

 

And, okay, I actually did kinda like those sunglasses, but that caption just worked so perfectly.