Thanksgiving Week P:TR

krazekiddd · December 1, 2008

^Port of Entry had some decorations. The rest of the islands look untouched.

KerryB · December 3, 2008

Scott, great job on the TR and thank you for taking the time to put one together. I can't even explain how cool it was to get together with some of my new family for Thanksgiving. There was a discussion at one point of how sometimes it seems like forever since ECT and then we get together and it feels like the trip was just a few weeks ago. I really hope we can get the East Coast contingent together again a couple of more times this year!

Ice was so much fun...I still don't know why I couldn't seem to slide on the ice slides though! Very frustrating. I also was not aware of the Bubba abuse that went on during dinner preparation. That's probably because I was taking the refrigerator apart at the time! Anyway, we had good food, lots of park fun /antics, and great friends hangin' out. It was also cool to have some new friends meet up with us. Mike tolerated my teasing very well! This really was a great trip and a much needed break from the day-to-day. I miss you all already!

-Psycho Kitty OUT!

Jumboshrmp · December 3, 2008

I'm so glad someone else went to the broward county fair!

Just curious, why was Starship 3000 evil? It, along with every other ride there made me feel queasy that day, which is weird, because I have been on all of these rides before, and didn't feel sick at all, no matter what I've eaten before.

And I'm glad that someone else hates the carnies who try and get you to play their games. I always ignore them, and get whoever else is with me to do the same. It pisses them off so much when you walk past them and ignore them. One guy actually whistled to get my attention and I kept walking past, never made eye contact with him, but I told him next time to please treat me like a human, not a dog.

Early in the day before any of the rides were open, one of the game carnies came up to me and said "here, play this game, I'll let you have a free try, and you only pay if you win." I had no interest in playing the game but I decided I'd be nice and try the game. I missed, and he gave me another try. This time I hit a balloon and he said that I won and I had to give him $5 and pick a prize. I said "that's alright, I'm not interested, I was just playing for fun", and he told me I had to pay $5 because I just won the game, and the rules said you pay if you win. But he came up to me and the first thing he told me was that he was letting me have a free try. I don't care if he said pay if you win. So we started arguing, and he was sure he was going to get me to pay, convincing me that I had broken the rules. Then he started telling me that I played and now I needed to pay to cover the cost of the balloon I just popped. He kept repeating "give me five dollars and tell me what prize you want".

There were some nice big prizes up top, but then I realized there was no way I wanted to carry around something that big for 12 hours. Not only that, I was sure he was going to take my $5, give me some crappy little prize and then tell me to play again to trade up for something bigger. I asked if I would be able to pick any prize for $5, and he (without answering) just told me to give him $5 and tell him what prize I wanted. I asked him again (he repeated what he already said) and after the third time I told him to just answer the damn question. He refused to answer. I said I wasn't going to pay because he tricked me, and he said "No, you tricked yourself." That doesn't even make sense. He told me me I needed to pay for the balloon I popped, and I said he'll be able to buy another balloon with another sucker's money if he really wants one so bad. He repeated "give me $5 and pick a prize" again, and I began to walk off. As I was walking off he said "ok, pay $10 and you can get any prize you want" I just said "I dont want any stuffed animals that have been traveling around florida in a trailer full of carnies for months anyway" and he called me a word I can't use on this forum.

They do anything to get you to come over and just "try" their game for free. Most people would have thought they were the ones who were wrong, and they would have given him $5, and found out that they could have some crappy little prize, or try another "free" game and pay another $5 to get one from the next size up. I've seen this happen to people, and I've gotten other people to stop playing.

It's even worse when I'm with my friend (who happens to be a girl), because they usually assume we're dating and that they can pressure me into winning her some prize. Now, I have no problem with buying stuff like this for her, but I hate carnival games, and I would NEVER play one.

"How would you like to win that nice young lady a prize?" I just walked past the guy without even looking at him and he said "what, are you mad at her?", and when I didn't respond to that, he got annoyed, since that get 99% of the people to at least say something. I used to pretend I'm on the phone when I walk through the games area, but now it's more fun to have them know that you can hear them, and are purposely ignoring them and watch get frustrated.

There was a game where you throw baseballs and get them into a bucket, and the dude there said "hey, try this game and win ...whatever" This was already after my experience with the darts and balloons guy. I looked at him, and he tossed the ball to me. For most people, it;s second nature to catch the ball. Then, most people would walk up and hand it to them, giving them plenty of time to try and get you to play. I purposely missed it, let it land on the ground and roll away and I just kept walking. I turned around and saw the guy chasing it down the midway.

What an awesome feeling.

Emiroo · December 3, 2008

Great TR and great tradition. That snot sign from ICE will have me laughing for the rest of the week!

jynx242 · December 4, 2008

Great report Scooter! For those of you who had a "less than stellar" Thanksgiving - try joining us in Orlando! I'll be cooking the Turkey next year. Kerry - I'll find something really gooey to spill so you will be too busy cleaning to witness the Turkey Abuse!

David

krazekiddd · December 4, 2008

^Hahaha! That's the exact reason why I love you! Oh and I should have Universal up tomorrow since I'll have a day off finally. This new 4 day shift till 9 pm is draining me!

Just curious, why was Starship 3000 evil?

Because gravitrons are the most evil rides ever. I like them as a kid, but I did one at Beech Bend on the TPR Midwest Tour and I now hate them forever. Oh, and maybe when its 100 degrees outside, have some sort of air circulation in there!

And I'm glad that someone else hates the carnies who try and get you to play their games. I always ignore them, and get whoever else is with me to do the same. It pisses them off so much when you walk past them and ignore them. One guy actually whistled to get my attention and I kept walking past, never made eye contact with him, but I told him next time to please treat me like a human, not a dog.

Maybe he was whistling at you for other reasons. Normally, I don't mind carnies, but these were the worst. Absolutely rude and irritating.

It's even worse when I'm with my friend (who happens to be a girl), because they usually assume we're dating and that they can pressure me into winning her some prize. Now, I have no problem with buying stuff like this for her, but I hate carnival games, and I would NEVER play one.

See, when I was with my friend Reese, they did that to us. She just turned around and informed them that I was her property. It was actually quite entertaining.

krazekiddd · December 7, 2008

Today was the day that we went to Universal! Well really, we did both days, but on the first day, we just wanted to do Mummy and that was it. The park was PACKED. I mean packed as in even photo ops had freakishly long lines.

Thankfully we were smart and did the opposite thing everyone else did. It made a huge difference. Of coarse, we did The Simpsons first since that was the newest ride. We managed five to ten minute waits as we circled the parks. When we did our second loop of the park, it was completely different. The Simpsons was up to a 75 minute wait. I was thankful that we did what we wanted and then just goofed off and did random things.

Anyway, these are the last group of photos. I apologize for the delay since I actually had something to do which is opposite the norm. Oh and to Robb, these trip reports are a freaking pain! Not really doing one before, I never got to truly appreciate your mini updates on TPR trips! Seriously, I can't believe you even do them with how long they can take.

And finally, a giant mess! That is all.

A new coaster? Or a seriously messed up looking jungle gym.

Wow, that's a lot of balls....

You are not important until December 6th!