*** THE BEBES *** Rainbow Magicland ITALY TR

[Meteornotes]

^As a MD/Baltimore resident, I think G&M is vastly overrated, and was unimpressed the last time I was in there. I had no idea it was sold, but that makes sense.

 

If you tell me your schedule and where you're going to be in MD, I can probably recommend some places to get tasty crab cakes.

 

dt

[Wood Dragon 1988]

I had no idea they were sold, but haven't eaten at the restaurant since 2005. I like them so much I have gotten them delivered to my house in the past few years, and still think they taste great. I just prefer crab cakes with little to no "filler" or "mustardy taste" and G&M to me is almost 100% crab and nothing else. If you prefer Maine style crab cakes or more traditional Maryland style crab cakes even, you may not like them.

[The Bebes]

we will be passing through Baltimore on our way from SFGAdv to Washington DC after SFGAdv has closed (see our schedule on pg1), so it will likely be pretty late by the time we get into MD.

 

Any recommendations around the DC area???

[The Bebes]

Hey everyone!

 

It’s Day Five of The Bebes Theme Park Tour: Part Deux, or as we’ve been referring to it, TPTP Deux, and we’ve just now gotten around to putting some of our TRs together. Riding roller coasters is exhausting stuff!

 

We hope to post the Day 1 stuff tomorrow, but until then we wanted to share a little mini adventure that we had the day before TPTP Deux officially kicked off.

 

We spent most of the day Sunday packing and preparing for our trip when we decided that we wanted to take a quick trip to SFMM for our 97th credit, Terminator Salvation! We read that the park was open till 10pm that night and we pulled up to the gate around 8:15pm and there was a sign saying that the park was closing at 9pm. So we ran!! We got in line, no problem, and waited… For an hour and a half.

 

We went through the first 2 pre-show areas and kinda missed what was going on before going to the third pre-show area. We were taking some photos and watching the video when we realized that a lady behind us was having a seizure. A lady from further back in line came running up, we assumed she was a nurse, and one of the employees called for the medic and there wasn’t anything else anyone could do except just watch this lady seizing. It was so surreal. One of the guys she was with just very calmly told us that she had epilepsy and that she was having a reaction to the flashing lights. He was so calm and we were just standing there with our mouths gaping. And then we got ushered into the station and, needless to say, we can’t tell you anything about the pre-show. As we were entering the station, one of the employees looked back and said, “Oh, is she seizing?” and went back to help. The way he said it, it made us feel like this had happened before. And the ride had only been open for three days. So, if you have epilepsy, skip the pre-shows! We weren’t able to find out what happened with her, but we hope that she is okay!!

 

And then, finally, we got to ride Terminator Salvation. And it is FAST!! We were both very pleasantly surprised at how much we liked it. We were worried that it didn’t have a big drop and it seemed to be short, but what it lacks in those areas, it makes up with speed, smoothness and airtime! We couldn't hear much of the audio but we did hear, "TAKE THE TUNNEL!!" and we both started cracking up! The only complaint we have is that we couldn’t go on it again. When we get home, we’re really looking forward to riding it another dozen or so times! And we especially hope that next time everyone gets through the line safely.

 

 

Coming up next: Day One of The Bebes Theme Park Tour: Part Deux

 

Will we be able to get to Pittsburgh in time to make a mad dash to Waldameer and ride Ravine Flyer II??

The Bebes reaction to Terminator Salvation... TAKE THE TUNNEL!!!

The corridor right before the station. This is where the flashing lights were.

The first pre-show room that we can't remember anything about

The train whips right around the queue line!

Lady Bebe as we entered the queue

[traincrossin]

A seizure? Seriously? I hope she was okay. Sounds like Terminator was a lot of fun! If i'm ever in California, I totally have to ride (not anytime soon). I'm looking forward to your reports!

[the ghost]

That was an awesome TR, and although it sounds like a big deal, seizures are not that bad. I work at a waterpark, and if people have a seizure on land they fall(thats the scariest part) and you just clear people away from them. They eventually get up and are like "WTF"(literally, just not abbreviated) and we asked if he was ok and he said yes. Seizures are really scary to see, but no huge deal.

[The Bebes]

Hey All!!

 

We never realized how totally exhausted we would be on this trip and how completely impossible it would be to keep updated on our trip reports!! But we've finally gotten around to putting together Day One, so here it goes...

 

Day One of The Bebes Theme Park Tour: Part Deux was originally just going to be a flight to Pittsburgh with a little relaxation and a trip to Primanti Bros. before hitting Kennywood on Day Two. But, Mr. Bebe had the idea that we might be able to make a mad dash up to Waldameer to ride Ravine Flyer II before they closed at 10pm. The only problem was that our flight didn't land until 6pm, and with the two hour drive up to Erie, that would get us there with just about an hour AT THE MOST. So, the big question of the day was, do we risk it?

And then this frog ate Mr. Bebe's head.

 

This concludes Day One of The Bebes Theme Park Tour: Part Deux. We hope you enjoyed and we hope you come back and check out Day Two: Kennywood!

The Bebes took some photos on their way out of the park

On our second time around on Ravine Flyer II, the park caught wind of the fact that The Bebes hit their 100th credit and set off some fireworks in celebration.... Well, maybe it wasn't actually for the Bebes, but we'd like to think so.

AWWW There it is! So pretty.

Ravine Flyer II was also Mr. Bebe's 100th credit!! But for some reason, Mr. Bebe only went 45 degrees!?

Ravine Flyer II was Lady Bebe's 100th Coaster!! NINETY DEGREES!!!

Both Bebes thought Steel Dragon was super fun!!

 

Wait, what credit is this??

 

That must mean....

Next up was Steel Dragon

Lady Bebe gives Comet the 'thumbs up' even though she thought for sure that the train was going to come off the track

For some reason Mr. Bebe was relieved to find that he was tall enough to ride Comet

We got our unlimited ride wristbands and GIANT handstamps

We checked out the park map before heading inside

THE BEBES MADE IT TO WALDAMEER!!

 

After we landed in Altanta for a layover, we were able to hop on an earlier flight to Pittsburgh, ensuring our arrival at Waldameer before closing time.

Where does the GPS say we're going? And why does the clock say it's only 5:19pm?

Maybe we're going to Beaver?? Mr. Bebe sure hopes so!

We're on the road! But where are we heading?

We've landed! Now, all we have to do is get our car and head out.

Hey, we can see Pittsburgh down there!

[STR8FXXXINEDGE]

Great start!

I absolutely LOVED Ravine Flyer II!

I also love those "Ninety Degrees" shirts! Did you guys have those made up for your trip?

Looking forward to seeing the rest of your photos.

Thanks for sharing!

 

P.S. Congrats to the both of you on your 100th credits!

[traincrossin]

Haha, great report! No Ravine Flyer 3 action? I loved those Ninety Degrees shirts you had. Congratz on 100 coasters!

[Big Mike]

The Bebes have some top notch comedy!!!

 

So did you think it was going to be easy to do all this traveling and putting trip reports up at the same time??? lol

 

I love the 90 degree shirts actully printed so you have to be 90 degrees to read it, very smart!

 

I just want to tell all the Valuable Bebe Readers out there that even though Lady Bebe looks great in these pictures, she was absoluely gorgeous in person Mr Bebe is one lucky dude!

 

The Bebes were awesome to hang out with!!!

 

Keep up the great work, I love your trip report style!

 

 

Peace, Big Mike

[The Bebes]

Thanks guys! We're glad you like the shirts, they were a last minute decision with some iron on transfers we had!

 

traincrossin: They had a sign posted at Ravine Flyer 3 saying that we had to have a child to ride with, and although we briefly looked around for a child to snatch, we had to let that one go.

 

Big Mike: Glad you like our Trip Report style... We've studied the master!

 

- The Bebes

 

P.S. Big Mike, you've made Lady Bebe blush!!

[robbalvey]

OMG! A "Ninety Degrees!" shirt is actually something we are about to put together for the TPR store!

 

--Robb "Great minds or however that saying goes!" Alvey

[moinab]

Great start! I'm glad to hear you were able to make it to Waldameer.

 

As a neurology RN, I have to add my two cents about the seizure. They can be very scary to witness, when you are unfamiliar with them, but the only thing you really can do is make sure the person is in a safe place, and wait for it to be over (usually less a minute.) The two major concerns with a seizure are injury from falling, and if they don't come out after three minutes or so, but continue to seize uncontrollably (status epilepticus,) which can be fatal.

 

My PSA for the day - if you ever witness a seizure, make sure the person is in a safe place (on the ground, nothing to bang into or roll off of,) stand back, and watch the time. Be aware that the seizing person may bite his/her tongue and/or foam at the mouth (and it may be bloody,) and possibly void the bladder. If the seizure continues for more than three minutes, call 911.

 

End PSA. Back to theme park fun!

[STR8FXXXINEDGE]

They had a sign posted at Ravine Flyer 3 saying that we had to have a child to ride with, and although we briefly looked around for a child to snatch, we had to let that one go.

 

I saw the sign when I was there too, but I got in line anyway and they let me ride and never said anything to me.

You guys should have given it a try!

[The Bebes]

^^^ Robb,

 

We were actually considering a "Take the Tunnel" shirt to kick off our Tour with Terminator: Salvation, but then you announced yours!!!

 

BTW - The Bebes "Ninety Degrees" shirts are available for $19.99 at.....

 

just kidding!

 

-The "we want royalties" Bebes

[The Bebes]

Day 2: Kennywood

 

May 26, 2009.

 

We woke up and looked outside to find pouring rain!

 

We had seen that the forecast for most of our TPT:P2 (Theme Park Tour: Part 2) was going to be rain, so we figured we would go buy some rain coats, nothing was going to stop us from our Tour. Kennywood is also the only park on the trip where we have already been.

 

Mr. Bebe’s Aunt Karen, Cousin Mike, and Mike’s girlfriend Jess all live in the Pittsburgh area and were planning on attending Kennywood with us. Aunt Karen has lived near Pittsburgh since 1985 and has NEVER been to Kennywood!

 

We thought the rain would surely dissuade them, but Jess is hardcore and said no amount of rain would keep her away! She also said that Kennywood won’t close the rides for rain, only lightning.

 

The Bebes spent the first few hours of the day trying to buy some rain gear, finally arriving at Kennywood around 12:30pm. The rest of the gang was waiting for us.

 

The crowd was light-moderate, more than I expected for a Tuesday right after Memorial Day, but most rides were a walk-on or one-two cycle wait, except Phantom (20min with one train operating). We rode almost everything in the park and got extra laps on the better stuff.

 

The rain was light and spotty all day, so it wasn’t so bad. It even got sunny and hot for a couple hours.

We weren’t planning on staying all day, since we had a long drive to Danville in front of us. Of course, we stayed until they closed, having to get one last ride on Phantom’s Revenge in the dark before leaving around 9:15pm.

 

We got on the rode and drove a miserable 3.5 hours to Danville in the rain and fog. THICK fog!

 

We finally arrived at our hotel at around 1:30am and set the alarm for 9:25am. Hopefully Knoebel’s and the highly touted Phoenix won’t be a rain out!

It's Magically Delicious!!!

Dejected, Mr. Bebe seeks ice cream to sooth the pain. Maybe if Mr. Bebe uses his imagination, he can magically pull the ice cream sign down and eat it!

This Lady saw the whole thing happen and didn't do anything. She just sat there and laughed and laughed and laughed.

Mr. Bebe interjects, but Kenny disposes of Mr. Bebe with ease.

Kenny Kangaroo makes a pass at Lady Bebe in public.

Mr. Bebe asked for some info and was told that it was an electrical problem and Exterminator probably wouldn't be opening today. Our first non operational coaster of the trip! Good thing we'd already been to Kennywood and gotten this credit in the past!

Next we went to Exterminator. It was closed.

As for the Phantom's Revenge.... Everytime we ride this monster, it ranks higher. It has great speed, a really neat course (2nd drop – WTF!), tons of forces, and great moments of ejector airtime. The trains are the most spacious and comfortable, and they run as smooth as butter. Top Notch!!!

But first, a quick game of Phantom Fling, where we must spit our gum at the bullseye. Haha! Mr. Bebe wins!!! No prize for winning and I don't have my gum anymore. Damn you Phantom Fling!!!! Worst game in the park.

On to Phantom’s Revenge!

Mr. Bebe tells a nice man all about the classic woodies he just rode. The old cowboy was a super listener, but really quiet.

Thunderbolt next. An OK ride.

Next was Jack Rabbit, Kennywood’s classic 1921 coaster with the double down. Lady Bebe wasn’t impressed last time we went to Kennywood, but this time she finally GOT IT. Lady Bebe thought she was going to get ejected and she LOVED it! So Mr. Bebe tried to steal the sign for her.

Went to Racer first, which was fun because half our group rode on one side and half on the other. Mr. Bebe slapped hands with Jess through one of the turns. Coaster was just okay but way fun when you’re racing against someone you know!

Rain or shine! We won't be stopped!

Kennywood, Here we come!!!!!

Mr. Bebe's crazy Pittsburgh relatives!

Aunt Karen says "Hi"!!!

This is what we saw when we woke up.

Edited January 25, 2011 by The Bebes

[eddie200330]

Just got back from a day trip over there Sunday 06/07/09 and the first 2 -3 hours the park was empty. Only line was PR which was 1 train wait!!! Got to experience my first ever "Screamin Swing". Boy was I surprised. It was an amazing yet quite scary ride. I was a little taken the first time when it took you backwards at full height and you kinda hang over the restraint for a second or two. Even when the park crowded up later in the day it was still a walk on. PR only kept 1 train ops and was up to almost an hour by 4 pm.

[Big Mike]

Big Mike here keeping up with The Bebes all the way from Germany!!!

 

Even in Germany, Mrs. Bebe looks stunning!

 

Can't wait for the Dorney Park update

 

 

Peace, Big Mike

[The Bebes]

Thx Big MIke,

 

We had a great time on our TPT:P2, but we are sooooo jealous of all the TPR people on the Scandinavia Tour! Bon Bon Land is one of our life goals.

 

We should be posting new reports every day or two, so Dorney should be coming up soon!

[coaster_dad]

Great Report, Bebes! My son and I were at Kennywood on the 29th. What a fabulous park! Unfortunately, it was packed! We still had a great time. I agree Phantom's Revenge is awesome! Looking forward to the rest of your trip. Now if I would only get busy and post my own trip reports...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Bebes]

Day 3: Knoebel’s

 

Wednesday May 27, 2009

 

We woke up ready to visit a small park called Knoebel's for the first half of the day, then around 4pm we would head out to Hershey Park for "preview night". Hopefully we'll have a nice day without rain and hit the highly touted Phoenix.

Lady Bebe and a Reece’s Cup give a thumbs up to a quick hour of “preview” at Hershey Park. After closing down the park, we headed to Applebee’s where we were almost too pooped to even eat. Got to the hotel around 10pm and fell asleep right away. Lady Bebe slept very poorly and was fearful that she may had caught a bug and was worried about not being able to have a good time the next day. TO BE CONTINUED....

Who thinks Mr. Bebe looks like this frog???

Another packed queue line as you can see, so we went on separate trains. once in the front and once in the back, then switched trains and did it again, front and back. Four rides in prime seats and the only time we actually left the station was to switch trains.

Then we went to Lightning Racer.

Next was Fahrenheit. Again, a walk-on somewhere in the middle. Loved it. Thought it was better than Stormrunner.

Across the way Mr. Bebe saw Stormrunner crest its’ hill. Stormrunner had been out of operation all season so we heading right for it. We walked on and rode somewhere in the middle. It was OK fun, except for the karate chop to the neck towards the end.

We planned on leaving by 4pm so we could make our way to Hershey Park and take advantage of their “preview night” from 5:30pm-8pm, but didn’t even leave Knoebel’s til 5:30pm. It's a much bigger park than anticipated with TONS of flat rides. Great fun at a great park! We arrived at Hershey Park around 7pm. We didn’t have to pay for parking and got into the park to find NO ONE there. We asked customer service which rides might close due to rain, so we could get them done tonight, as rain was in the forecast for tomorrow. They said unless it was a downpour, all the rides would continue to operate.

Mr. Bebe illegally eats a hot dog in the NO DOGS ALLOWED area, and the Bebes are ejected from the park.

We finished our day on the “Best Bumper Cars”. And they were!!! Mr. Bebe LOVED the bumper cars. They were fast, slippery and super fun. With a little practice you could clip someone and send them into a nice 360 spin. Not one to disappoint, Lady Bebe stole the sign for Mr. Bebe.

While Lady Bebe rode the Carousel, I talked to this Hot Babe (She says “Hi” to Big Mike).

And Lady Bebe got the Brass Ring!!!! It was her second time around on her first ride. She received a ticket for $1 worth of rides (or a free ride on the Carousel) for grabbing the brass ring. But we had unlimited hand stamps, so it was just a nifty souvenir to take home.

It was starting to get a little late so we headed toward Knoebel’s classic carousel. This

1912 hand carved masterpiece is the only carousel I’ve ever been on (or seen for that matter) where you lean off your horse to grab rings as it circles around, hoping to be the lucky one to “Grab the Brass Ring”.

We ran around for another ride. Not ones to wait for much of anything, we took the first available seat near the front, row #3. The ride was even BETTER in lane 3. No seat belts on this ride, just a loose lap bar that crosses at the top of the car. Phoenix starts with a very long and unexpected tunnel run toward the lift hill. Then Phoenix sends you through a DOZEN or more hills that send you into the air like none other. On several occasions, the person on the right hand side of the car would come down on top of the seat divider (that’s like 6-8 inches high itself). After the train pulled into the station we both looked at eachother and exclaimed “Seat 3!!!!”. What a truly special ride this is, if only because of the lack of seat restraints and multiple instances of ejector air. We rode 3 or four more times in row 3! Also noticed it rode better with a full train than it did with a rather empty train.

Never-the-less, we rode again. We wanted to make it a point to try every roller coaster at lease once in the back and at least once in/near the front. So we waited a few trains for the front seat, snapping this snazzy lift hill photo. And the ride was…. OMG!!! Completely different!!! Crazy ejector air time and super fun!!!!

Lady Bebe jumps for joy!!! We got in and hopped right into the back seat with only a one train wait. And the ride was….. eh….. just all-right. Not sure what all the hype is about.

PHOENIX IS OPEN!!!!!

On to the Antique Car ride and …. What’s that behind the trees??? Is it???? Could it be????

Lady Bebe snaps this winning shot of Mr. Bebe on Wipeout. It was on this particular ride on Wipeout that we noticed the program of the ride was totally different that the one at Waldameer. This one was long, intense, and did things that Waldameer’s didn’t even come close to. So, don’t judge a Wipeout by its cover.

Another weird old ride at Knoebel’s was the Looper. A sort of head-over-heels rolling cage ride where the heavier person (Mr. Bebe in this case) controls a foot pedal while timing the roll of the cage to keep it rolling.

Mr. Bebe screams for his life as the Flyer spins, whips, and pops around. After the ride ended, the flyer was still swaying a lot. I expected the ride op to come around and settle the Flyers, but he just stood there. We had to stick our foot out of the Flyer and drag it across the ground until it came to a stop before letting ourselves out. So weird & NEVER at a Cedar Fair or Six Flags.

Next up were Knoebel’s famed Flyers. With just a small leather strap and a none-to-interested ride op, these rickety old things didn’t seem too safe. The Flyer was Lady Bebe’s favorite flat ride at the park, totally scary and dangerous…and great!

Everyone takes a picture of the Golden Bolt, so we did too.

With our new wealth of information, we headed to Twister, where Mr. Bebe used his magical sign grabbing technique to twist and bend the Twister sign. Twister was a relatively fun ride with some very interesting elements (weird double lift hill) and some good lateral G’s with moments of out-of-control feelings. Not exceptionally GREAT, but a decent ride non-the-less. We rode three consecutive times (all walk-ons). Best ride came in the front seat.

They remain optimistic and hopeful citing Fourth of July as a target date to open.

A new design of train is being worked on as we speak. THESE trains are already DEFUNCT.

He said not to listen to all the rumors about the Flying Turns. The biggest problem they’ve had, and what is currently holding up opening, is that Knoebel’s wants to operate Flying Turns with a 5-car train (for capacity). The long trains are slinkying and banging cars as they make the course run. He said the train runs the course perfectly with up to three cars on a train.

We didn’t get the workers name and he didn’t want his picture taken (though we got shots of the other workers), and he mentioned that he used to work with Dinn Corp and GCI.

More wood and stuff for current use.

Some wood and stuff under tarps.

A newly refurbished trough section.

A shot through the beams. Then someone got our attention. A worker on the site invited us to step right into the middle of the construction for some prime photos and some insider Q & A!!!!

And a set of train cars that were left uncovered during the rain. That cant be good for them.

We got some pics of the Flying Turns.

Oh, this paper answers all of our questions.

We walked over to the very vertical Flying Turns. It was also closed. “But Why???!!” Lady Bebe exclaims.

Dejected, Mr. Bebe wanted to drown his sorrows with food, but apparently, NO DOGS ALLOWED means Mr. Bebe’s shirt was banned from the premises.

Mr. Bebe cried too.

…until we walked up to Phoenix. Still Closed. And Lady Bebe cried.

We were clowning around and having a great time at Knoebels...

Kozmo hold Lady Bebe's portrait

We had some portraits taken, and Kozmo was kind enough to hold them up so we could get a snapshot to share with all.

This sign was outside the Haunted Mansion, and we couldn’t help but think a similar sign should be out front of Terminator: Salvation (see trip kickoff report pg.3 for SFMM).

We headed over to the Haunted Mansion and coughed up the extra $1.50ea to ride it. It is quite a long ride and definitely worth $1.50, if only for nostalgic reasons.

We found our way to the P.O.P. ticket booth, and our horrors were realized: PHOENIX WAS CLOSED!!!! A bit depressed, we bought our unlimited rides stamps for $19ea (which included the wooden coasters but not the Haunted Mansion).

It must help a lot that they employ paper-eating pigs to handle the clutter.

As we made our way to the Pay One Price booth in the middle of the park, we noticed what a nice and charming place we were coming to.

Our rain gear was coming in handy!

It was still raining pretty good by the time we got there.

We drove to Knoebel’s following some nifty directions the hotel provided us with.

We woke up to pouring rain again! Hopefully, everything (especially Phoenix) will still be operating at Knoebel’s despite the rainy weather.

Edited January 25, 2011 by The Bebes

[Wood Dragon 1988]

This is a great TR. I'm glad you got to ride Phoenix. I've been to the park 3 times, each time it rained, and Phoenix always rode better after the rain IMO! My best ride on it came in the pouring down rain in the third seat. I love that ride!

[alpengeist04]

I'm really enjoying the trip reports so far, and I'm glad to see you were able to ride my #2 favorite woodie, Phoenix.

[DrJazzDDS]

Great report!

 

I can tell that you stayed at the Red Roof Inn in Danville because I lived in that town for 14 years (before I left for college and grad school). I have to get back to Knoebel's after seeing these photos!

[The Bebes]

^^Alpengeist,

 

Curious what your #1 woodie is.....

 

 

 

^DrJazzDDS,

 

You are 100% correct. We DID stay at the Red Roof Inn Danville, and I might not be comfortable recommending it. While not a total pit, it was pretty run down and one of the least enjoyable places we stayed (in Mr. Bebe's opinion). Also, the Red CARPET Inn Hershey was bad too.