packfanlv Posted July 24, 2009 Posted July 24, 2009 Since coming back to the United States last September, I haven't really posted many trip reports, so I have decided to combine all of my families' travels this year into this thread. (Read about our 2008 Asia Adventures right here!) So far this year we have mostly visited California parks, but my son and I will be heading up to Salt Lake City next week and to Spain and France at the end of August. Look for all of our trip reports here. For some of our adventures, my wife Jasmine tagged along, but Shawn Reece and I also took a week long trip up and down California by ourselves, so you will always get a good dose of us. Here is a list of some parks to look for in this thread: Disneyland, DCA, Knott's, SFMM, SFDK, CGA, Gilroy Gardens, SCBB, Sonoma Train Town, Belmont Park, Buffalo Bills, Scandia, Castle Park, Lagoon, Parque Warner Madrid, Port Aventura, Disneyland Paris and more!!! I hope you enjoy! _____________________________________________________________ Our first park is Buffalo Bill's. Despite living less than 30 minutes from Desperado for much of his life, Shawn Reece left with us on our travels before reaching the 48" mark. As a result, he never got the opportunity to ride Desperado. After two failed attempts to ride because of mid week closures, Shawn Reece finally got his 1st chance to ride the beast in April. I had warned him that Desperado was rough and that some say it feels like it has square wheels. The fact that after the first drop he turned to me and said, "You are right dad. It does feel like it has square wheels!" put a huge smile on my face! I love my coaster enthusiast son. I brainwashed him to be just like me! On to the show. I will leave you with this. Try tickling your son as you go down that first drop only to get your back jacked when the train starts going back up and turning. (6 rides in a row!) It is absolutely guaranteed to put a big smile on your face. (Sure there is pain, but I have never laughed so much in my life!) Thanks for reading this. More parks to come soon! Here is a shot of some of the targets. The guns were removed last year, making this quite possibly the most pointless log flume through a casino ride in the world! Dad what is the point of this log flume that floats through the casino now that they have taken out the guns. We also made a return trip last month to get some more rides and hit up the log flume. No caption necessary! Right after that and about twenty minutes sitting in the train waiting for the attendants to check restraints we were off. Please don't twist the seat belt. Sir please get off the rails. Kid please stop smiling! There will be no joy here! Oh I dare! Dare to sport the lovely UPS hoodie wonderfully provided by Big Mike at WCB! Finally we have arrived and Shawn Reece is ready with his ticket in hand. Quick!!! Smile so I can get a grainy picture of you with a confused tourist floating through a casino on a log in the background. Out in the parking lot we see the coaster running. Heading out in the car, Shawn Reece was getting pumped for this monster. Having been on Millennium Force, Desperado's height was of no worry to him.
Electerik Posted July 24, 2009 Posted July 24, 2009 I love Desperado/Buffalo Bills! Cool that your son was finally able to ride it.
Calicoasters Posted July 24, 2009 Posted July 24, 2009 Can't wait to read about the many parks to come! Cool to see your son is over 48 inches! When he reaches 54 he will be welcomed to the world of B&M!
The Bebes Posted July 26, 2009 Posted July 26, 2009 Nice start to a soon-to-be great thread!! The Bebes have probably had our fill of Desperado, as it was pretty jerky last time we rode and we didn't like it. Ugh!!! I guess you didn't get the memo from Buffalo Bill's Resort management: The log flume is now a Bring Your Own Gun attraction. And.... you looked marvelous in that sexy brown hoodie!!!! -The Bebes
andre8 Posted July 26, 2009 Posted July 26, 2009 You should take him to San Anton' and make him ride the Rattler!
nursemelis374 Posted July 26, 2009 Posted July 26, 2009 I can't believe they got rid of those guns on the log flume! That was such a fun ride!
christianscoasters Posted July 26, 2009 Posted July 26, 2009 You should take him to San Anton' and make him ride the Rattler! Now that would just be cruel
dino Posted July 26, 2009 Posted July 26, 2009 No more guns on the log flume? That was the only thing that made the ride worthwhile. I guess now I'll just have to shoot with my fingers .
packfanlv Posted August 19, 2009 Author Posted August 19, 2009 In April Shawn Reece and I took our first road trip of the year. From Las Vegas we drove down to Southern California and hit up Scandia, Disneyland, California Adventure, Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain. From there we drove up north and visited Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Gilroy Gardens, Great America, SFDK, Sonoma Train Town and Pixieland Amusement Park. It was a busy week for us. Here is Day One of this trip. We left Las Vegas on a very hot day. After making a quick stop at Scandia for the credits, we spent the rest of the day at the Disneyland Resort. Enjoy! Ahhhhhh that's better. If you like that, then stick with this thread. We know how to deliver!!!! Thanks for reading. Day 2 coming soon. We decided to take in a performance of the Dapper Dans. Everyone give the performers some space. MMMMM.. hello? Well since our view is obstructed we better go in for a closer look. It was just about this point in the day that my wife Jasmine called. She had been in a minor car accident and it kind of ruined the rest of the day, so we decided to leave. On the way out.... End of Shawn Reece/Mr. Toad pictorial now. I always thought Shawn Reece looked like a celebrity. I told him little girls can't get the sword, but he doesn't listen. SHAME SHAME SHAME on me! Life doesn't get much better than this. Shawn Reece says, "Dad let's go over to the real park." SHAME SHAME SHAME on him. It was nice to see Mary Poppins out and about in the parks. Yes in April DCA was a dirt pit. Oh wait, it still is! These next two are for KidTums to drool over. How about a father son coaster trip!!!! Hmmmmmm. What are we celebrating today? Usually we stick around to take some pictures of a park, but with Scandia we jetted. Where did we go, well luckily it is well documented. Daisy 7F! Getting off Shawn Reece made sure I made an appearance, bad hair and all! Oh now we get a smile! This station is being modeled by the snippy little eight year old known as Shawn Reece. But you are so handsome! "Dad!!! Do I really have to take another picture. The sun is bright and it is HOT!" Of course the baby coaster just wets our appetite for the Scandia Screamer. A view of the layout from the train. Shawn Reece says, "I'm still young enough to do this without being called a whore!" For being the end of April, it was a brutally hot day and we were the only people at Scandia. We wasted no time in getting in and out. That's better! Our first stop was Scandia. Wait..... This is Shawn and Shawn Reece hit the road. Let me fix this.
ebl Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 Too bad about management getting rid of the guns on the flume at Buffalo Bills. Were they just being PC or did the guns stop working, I wonder? It's always fun to shoot at targets on a ride. That's what makes such rides popular and fun. My last trip on Desperado was over 10 years ago. That thing had just gotten too rough, and I doubt it's any better. However, Diana doesn't have her credit on it, so maybe the next time we're out that way we'll stop. Looks like you two had a great time. One-on-one time with your kid is the best thing ever! Eric
Big Mike Posted August 20, 2009 Posted August 20, 2009 I thought it was going to be the Shawn Reese only show? lol Can't wait to see Utah Peace, Big Mike
packfanlv Posted August 20, 2009 Author Posted August 20, 2009 I thought it was going to be the Shawn Reese only show? lol Can't wait to see Utah Peace, Big Mike If he had his way it would be, but for now he is stuck with me!!!
lil jimmy norton Posted August 20, 2009 Posted August 20, 2009 Awesome pictures. It looks like you guys had a blast. Seeing you and your son having so much fun makes me want to have kids, eventually. How is your wife doing? Even though you said it was a minor accident, a car accident is a pretty traumatic experience, no matter how minor it is.
packfanlv Posted August 20, 2009 Author Posted August 20, 2009 Awesome pictures. It looks like you guys had a blast. Seeing you and your son having so much fun makes me want to have kids, eventually. How is your wife doing? Even though you said it was a minor accident, a car accident is a pretty traumatic experience, no matter how minor it is. She was fine, but the car had around $3000 worth of damage to it. This was in April so looking back from the future I can tell you everything is ok. My wife will surface in this thread eventually!
packfanlv Posted August 20, 2009 Author Posted August 20, 2009 Day 2 of our trip brought us to Knott's Berry Farm. Enjoy! All together Shawn Reece got every credit except for GhostRider and I added Pony Express and Sierra Sidewinder to my count. Not a bad day at all! I do love Ghost Town! I never knew this saloon show existed. I guess it pays to poke your head around. I almost forgot where I am. I can't wait until he reaches 54" so I don't have to hear him whine every time I go on a coaster without him. Sierra Sidewinder's logo is awesome. He rode this several times on his own. This report is getting long so lets try to finish up. Shawn Reece liked Jaguar. I told you! See? Yes this is us. Yes we are dorks. No we don't care. Of course he paid for it! Well yes it is. Shawn Reece will get this credit today. Why this ride almost looks open. Could it be? I know its been said before, but can't Knott's replace the observation tower's windows already? And here he is with his new Australian daddy and brother from another mother on Perilous Plunge. They took good care of him. Since I wasn't in much of a mood to get wet, Shawn Reece rode the water rides by himself. Here he is with his adopted family on the rapids. It never did. At this point in the day we left the park for lunch and noticed they were doing some retracking on Ghostrider. Despite this, they were still insisting that it would open. Ride the stagecoach. Every time I'm Knott's, I make sure to do something that you can't do many other places. Man he loves racking up the credits. Next up is Delhi Belly! The launch has such great force and of course that is about it. Seriously Xcelerator is an awesome coaster. At one point we rode it 9 times without getting off. Just one more. He is so happy that we take thumbs up pictures everywhere. In fact he walked around the park the rest of the day with a big cheesy smile and two thumbs up. Cha-ching! Lucky for him the crew was too busy flirting with each other and they never checked his height. But all of the 51.5" of Shawn Reece was interested in Xcelerator anyways. Making our way through the back of the park we noticed Boomerang was closed due to some filming. Since we refused to leave, some teenagers finally came over and helped us out with some bumpage. Note to self: Going on the bumper cars with 2 people when there are 20 empty cars to maneuver around is not the best idea! Nothing a little solo bumper car action won't fix. Also the little guy was pinned in so hard that he just had to cry. Wa Wa. Seriously Pony Express is so short that it looks up to Gary Coleman. (Yo Momma joke extracted randomly from Google.) Shawn Reece says, "Motocoasters are lame. Even if they make them look like horses!" (Or maybe that is what his dad says!) Finally after a few more minutes Pony Express opened and we were on the first train of the day! Tired of looking at him yet? Since we still had more time to kill it was the log ride next. The drop in the dark on this ride is AWESOME! I really love this ride. Since Pony Express didn't open with the park we decided to head to the Calico Mine Ride to kill some time. We both really enjoy spinning coasters and this one was a lot of fun! Our first stop was a new credit for both of us! Sierra Sidewinder!!! OPEN OPEN OPEN One benefit of year round school is having a kid out of school when most other kids are in! No long lines at Knott's for us today! First we stop at Guest Relations to buy our Platinum Season Passes. Arriving at Knott's Shawn Reece is excited that he is going to get a lot of new credits today.
atem122 Posted August 20, 2009 Posted August 20, 2009 Haha you went on a day that they were filming 'Brain Rush' for cartoon network! Awesome PTR, I must say that I'm very impressed the little dude rode Xcelerator...I'm 15 and I just got my first ride on it last month haha
CoasterNERD502 Posted August 20, 2009 Posted August 20, 2009 I wanna be on that show Brain Rush sooo bad! lol. Too bad I live all the way across the country, in Maryland ... And wow! I never noticed how steep Perilous Plunge is! Man I regret not going to Knotts last time I was in L.A.
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