Photo TR: Natatomic does the West Coast Trip

[natatomic]

^^I love that photo. It's like his right foot is on upside down.

 

^ Dave shows his wisdom once again, by drinking Fat Tire, and not Corona.

 

I'm probably gonna get kicked out of TPR for saying this, but I really don't like beer. Or at least, I don't like any of the beers I've so far tried (and I'm pretty sure I tried a Fat Tire on the trip). Anyone out there have any recommendations that I'm just 100% guaranteed to love? Surely there is a beer even for a picky girl like me.

[mcjaco]

I'm probably gonna get kicked out of TPR for saying this, but I really don't like beer. Or at least, I don't like any of the beers I've so far tried (and I'm pretty sure I tried a Fat Tire on the trip). Anyone out there have any recommendations that I'm just 100% guaranteed to love? Surely there is a beer even for a picky girl like me.

 

I think we can work with you.

[cfc]

^^I was once like you--a poor, deluded hater of beer. Then I had some Anchor Steam, and my eyes were opened!

 

Huzzah!

 

Not that I swill beer constantly. I just learned to enjoy good beer.

[printersdevil78]

Why do I look so pissed off in everyone's photos? I really was having the time of my life! Honest!

 

There are some amazing wipeout photos here! Again, sorry to hear you were sick for half or more of the trip. I honestly had no idea. Guess I was too busy standing around looking like I wanted to strangle everyone....

[CorkscrewFoley]

To beer, the cause and solution to all life's problems.

 

I, myself, love beer and will try any beer once...although I can't understand how anyone up here in Canada loves Luckys...it's gross...sewage at best...

[slither37]

Love this trip report. Your captions are the best.

 

My thinking is that you would be forgiven for the blasphemous statement made about that most wonderful malty, hopsy, barley-y, frosty, alcoholy beverage...whew almost needed some alone time there for a second..

 

Well anyway, you would be forgiven because you are just so funny and cute.

 

I do agree with someone earlier, whenever posting a photo TR, send the photos to Nat and have her do the captions, even though she will have NO idea what is going on, will still be better than most.

 

over weight coaster dork here, but now I am an OLD overweight coaster dork.......

[Speeddeamon128]

Awesome update! Thanks for the Flowrider pic!

[natatomic]

Well anyway, you would be forgiven because you are just so funny and cute.

 

Well, goodness, aren't you a sweet thing.

 

I do agree with someone earlier, whenever posting a photo TR, send the photos to Nat and have her do the captions, even though she will have NO idea what is going on, will still be better than most.

 

Oh, I'm sure I could make it up. That's basically what I've been doing here the last few updates. I mean, we're going on 4 months since the West Coast trip. I don't even remember taking half these pictures anymore.

[ebl]

"I really don't like beer." (natatomic)

 

I'm right there with you. I just can't develop a taste for it no matter how much I've tried.

 

Eric

[slither37]

Awww, now you made me blush....

 

 

My fave part of the TR is when you used the word "cockles", not sure what this means, but it sounds dirty, which is to say funny.

[gisco]

You need to go on a lot more TPR trips so we can have these awesome trip reports. I'm a little disappointed in Robby not getting a picture of the "girls"

[natatomic]

Day 8, part 1 - Legoland

 

Hi, I'm Natalie. You may or may not remember me, but I pop in every few years or so to update a trip report. This trip report, in fact. (I just felt like I needed to refresh everyone's memory). If you're lucky, one of these days I'm gonna get around to finishing my Disney World trip report from 2008.

 

Now, two very important things have happened since my last update: 1) I started my second Disney College Program at WDW, so come say hi to me on Expedition Everest and 2) I forgot every single thing that happened on the West Coast Trip. So more than likely, I made up every thing you read in all future updates including this one.

 

Honestly, though, there wasn't much for me to forget about Legoland, because I was still awfully sick and I didn't have a chance to form any solid memories of it in the first place. I remember it being adorable, I remember it had the most flavorless-pizza I've ever eaten, and I remember that I nearly killed myself on that firefighter ride because I couldn't stop myself competitive nature from shoving aside my illness, and in the midst of my resulting lassitude I just KNEW my obituary was about to read, "died tragically while pumping water out of a Lego fire hydrant." Beyond that, the park is very much a blur. A blur built entirely of legos.

 

(HOLY CRAP! JUST NOTICED THE NEW "SAVE AS DRAFT" BUTTON. I LOVE YOU R&E! You have made my TPR life SO much easier now!)

No, I thought it was Tinker Toy Town!

First stop, Future World East.

"Okay, let's move 'em up to the test area."

"Vehicle 1 is clear for hill climb."

"Okay, let's go."

"The torque and transmission load data are looking good!"

"Great. Let's proceed to the rough road tests."

"You got it."

Huh, seems to be heavier on the cornering and hairpin turns portions than what I remember.

Okay, okay, I'm done with the lame Epcot Test Track references. Sorry.

There was a dark ride in that building back there, but I honestly don't remember a single second of it. It might have been a shooting ride.

 

Then again, it might not.

Now this? *This* I'm kind of ambivalent about. It was kinda fun, but kinda painful, and they wouldn't let me wear my glasses, so it was REALLY blurry.

And, to steal a photo from Mike L. (thanks Mike!), exceptionally hairy.

I'm pretty sure this is the longest kiddie credit in the world. And between that and the fact that there was theming (think Dueling Dragons-lite) it was basically the only kiddie credit on earth a childless adult can ride without feeling dirty and whorish.

I love how parks take the most generic word possible, add "-saurus" to the end of it, and then pat themselves on the back for an attraction well-named. Coastersaurus at Legoland, Restaurantasaurus at Animal Kingdom, and even Castasaurus for Cast Member cafeteria backstage.

 

Lameosaurus.

Anyway, the coaster is called Coastersaurus because 1) it's a coaster and 2) there's a dinosaur somewhere within a 200 yard radius of it.

However, the train is not properly themed to dinosaurs at all (I don't believe Velociraptors got around by way of mine cars), nor is the track even vaguely shaped like a dinosaur, so all in all, I'd say it's about as un-saurus as a coaster can get. A more appropriate name would have been "Coaster: There's a Parasaurolophus Near By"

 

(I think Ben agrees)

OH MY GOSH. I forgot about this whole fiasco until I saw these stupid, stupid pictures, and now I'm angry about the situation all over again.

 

Okay, so we were in line to have our pictures taken with these Lego Star Wars folks, and when it was our turn, what happened? Obnoxious parents sent their kids into the pictures WHILE WE WERE THERE. So then we tried just stepping back into the line to wait for THOSE snobby kids to be done, but then the people behind us would simply cut in front of us like we didn't exist. Obviously, since we're over 8 years old we have NO interest in actually having our pictures taken with Lego characters, and we were just standing in line for KICKS AND GIGGLES BECAUSE WE'RE QUEUE ENTHUSIASTS. Seriously, we're WHORES for waiting.

That's the reason for Ben's face here (I cut the stupid kid out of the picture because UGH. STUPID. KID. I hate you and your parents.)

And these are the kids that tried to get in on MY picture, and at that point I had just HAD IT (Sick Natalie is not a Patient Natalie) and so I think I made some loud sarcastic comment about how I didn't want my picture taken with Darth Vader anyway GOSH, and then I walked away in a huff and had a good cry about it.

Yeah, I totally won that one. Showed those parents, I did.

Now, it seems to me that Legoland was really just a Lego-made Tiny Town that just happened to have a few rides, because these little exhibits went on and on and on...

Ben's all, "I'm so tough because my pants come with a cupholder, haHA!"

Honestly now? A replica of a replica of a landmark? That's borderline ridiculous.

There was a picture of the top portion of this on the cover of the WCT booklet, and it wasn't until AFTER I GOT BACK FROM THE TRIP that I realized that it was a picture of THIS version of the Stratosphere - not the ACTUAL Stratosphere. All summer long, I had been thinking, "Why would R&E pick such a pixelated picture?"

(Duh, Natalie)

And thus begins a massive series of Lego structure photos. Enjoy.

Hey, it's the Great Movie Ride!

Somewhere in there, there's a little Lego replica of a Visage family reunion.

I was gonna try to make some joke about how that Lego guy is making all the Lego structures hardy har har, but it was just not working. Man, I'm rusty at this.

I'm sure this was a hoot and a half to ride, but I skipped out on it. The hair, you know. It must never touch water.

And to give you an example of how out of it I was from my sickness, I saw that sign and thought it said, "AUNDRE TE." It kinda *sounded* French, but I certainly didn't remember those particular words being in the French language, so I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the hell that building was supposed to be. Aaaand then a week later when I was going through all these pictures, that's when it hit me.

 

Laundrette, Natalie. *Laundrette*

All I can say is they better bring these over to the Florida Legoland, otherwise I'm not going. Well, I'll get the credits, but then I'll never go AGAIN. Yeah, that'll teach 'em.

TPR TAKEOVER!

No comment. Nope, I'm not even gonna TOUCH this one.

Okay, I don't care if I can drive real cars on real roads, I was VERY disappointed that I wasn't allowed to do this.

And I'll end with Lego Stegosaurus. He's my buddy.

 

Next up (eventually): Castle Park.

[cfc]

Hi, I'm Natalie. You may or may not remember me, but I pop in every few years or so to update a trip report. This trip report, in fact. (I just felt like I needed to refresh everyone's memory). If you're lucky, one of these days I'm gonna get around to finishing my Disney World trip report from 2008.

 

Ah, but these updates are worth waiting for.

 

I've been to two Legolands and have yet to sample apple fries.

[slither37]

I agree. Your updates are so much fun. Need more pics of YOU though!

[natatomic]

^Me? Psh, no, I'm overrated.

 

But since you asked...

[ebl]

Nice report, Natalie.

 

I got a kick out of your rant about "asaurus" being added to stuff. However, I have to admit that I'm guilty of doing that in real life---when my daughter was young, I'd tease her and call her "Diana-saurus." When I see someone do something really stupid, I'll call them a "Failasaurus Rex." And so on...

 

I've only been to Legoland once (shame on me because it's fairly close). And I've been to San Diego about four times in the last year without stopping there. Next time I'm down that way, I'll make sure to make use of the Cannon Dr. exit from I-5.

 

Eric

[grinch1313]

Great TR, Natalie! The photos and captions are great!

 

So what I remember most about Legoland was the hour long wait to ride the kiddie log flume. The apple fries were amazing though. They definitely better bring those to Legoland Florida!

[Meteornotes]

^The wait for that log flume was seriously one of the most soul-draining moments of my life. I can almost give myself a headache just by thinking about it.

 

Legoland is awesome fun, though. I really recommend anyone visiting the park if they get a chance.

 

dt

[dandaman]

^Me? Psh, no, I'm overrated.

 

But since you asked...

 

Natalie post-wisdom tooth extraction = HAWT.

[rctneil]

Fantastic report Natalie. Legoland was awesome!

 

Not been to Legoland Windsor in years but reading this report has made me want to visit it again.

 

Yes, the Dragon Challenge ride thingymajig was 100 times better to watch than ride!

 

PS: Your captions are hilarious!

 

Thanks

 

Regards,

Neil

[Director_Guy]

I really enjoyed this! You have such a unique voice!

[Hilltopper39]

Awesome trip report, so your doing your CP at everest? I did my College program at Everest last fall, i wonder how many of the same people are still there. I loved working at everest, hope your having fun!!

[FitchCoaster]

Thanks for the Photo TR, the captions were hilarious! Made me remember how much I love Legoland, it's just an overall fun place to be and there's just a certain charm to the whole park. I love it. Too bad you were sick and and couldn't remember much!

 

By the way, I stared at the picture with the Apple Fries for quite awhile. And salivated (in my head). Those have to be one of my favorite things, ever. Delicious!

[dino]

I got aggrevated just reading about the photo op line cut. As for the photos that weren't intruded upon, they were great. I may just have to go to Legoland now, since I still have my apple fry V-card. As always your TRs are some of the funniest things about TPR.