Voyager's TRs - West Coast '09

[televisedconfession]

Mike, this is amazing. Thanks so much for sharing these amazing pictures. Fun times!!!!!

 

Wow, I miss this.

[Paul_Hollibone]

Mike, they are some awesome photo's. Love it. I'd say your the best photographer I know, but that may offend some of the people on this trip. There have been some very good photo's come out of this trip, and I mean very good.

 

Anyway, look forward to seeing more mate!

[hansrubens]

Great pictures thanks for bringing your gigantic camera.

 

It was indeed weird when we thought we were too late after the night ERT at SFDK and that it turned out that we were the first ones to be at the bus.

 

---Hans

[natatomic]

First the camera, now the laptop? That's just cruel. Have you been skipping church or something? (By the way, did you get your camera fixed?)

 

I'm glad you are enjoying the TR, and I've been enjoying yours. It helped me remember quite a few people's names, and you do a great job catching a lot of the wider angle shots that I tend to forget about. -Mike

 

YES. MY ELECTRONICS HATE ME. I got my camera back and sent my laptop out on the same day. My laptop was smoking. And I aged ten years after spending an hour on the phone with a million different people trying to figure out where to send it (it wasn't a simple send-it-to-the-manufacturer solution), and the amount of drama involved had me SOBBING on the phone to some woman who decided that she didn't want to listen to me anymore, so she PUT ME ON HOLD WITHOUT TELLING ME until I calmed down. Good times.

 

Bright side is that I had just backed up all my photos (including the WCT trip ones) onto my external hard drive THE DAY BEFORE my laptop died. Talk about luck! So I can technically still do my trip report, but my desktop is impossibly slow. I'll have to do them on days when I am in an extremely patient mood.

[televisedconfession]

^ If you had a Mac, you wouldn't be be so stressed out. <3<3<3<3<3

 

Neil "Macbook-Fanboy" Curiel

[Voyager]

^ If you had a Mac, you wouldn't be be so stressed out.

Not sure about that - a smoking Mac sounds even more expensive.

 

I'm getting ready for another large update, this time with CGA and SFMM coming soon, and maybe USH and some small parks too.

 

So, as the TPR calendar goes blank and the weather starts to suck, keep an eye on this thread for photos from some warm California parks. -Mike

[Voyager]

Day 3 - California's Great America

 

Having already been to CGA on Thursday, I decided to get some photos during ERT rather than riding the whole time. After a several laps on the very fun, short, but potent Flight Deck, I got out the camera to catch the last few trains.

 

Front seat fun on Flight Deck

 

The joy of ERT on a good ride - nice Tony Hawk wristband!

 

What a fun ride - Natalie and Kim enjoy Flight Deck

 

Well, everyone appears to be having fun except Roxanne. She partied pretty hard the night before this ERT, so let's zoom in on her expression....

 

G-forces or beer? Roxy, what was it?

 

These guys look happy in the front row. It's a B&M, how could you not be?

 

Next the ERT moved to Vortex.... but I didn't go, I stayed on the other side of the park to capture the moment for posterity.

 

Here's Robb with his first true love, his video camera. Look at that concentration - even Neil is impressed.

 

Amusement? Boredom? An early morning? Chris looks un-terrified.

 

I think Matt takes more video than Robb.

 

Well, here's an interesting train full of TPR people.

 

If Robb had turned the camera to the left, he would have captured this moment.

 

Instead, he turned to the right, hoping for video gold from TP Dave, but all he got was a puzzled look.

 

"We drank too much coffee this morning before ERT, but I'm sure we can hold it for one more ride!"

 

This very nice gentleman saw us taking photos, and kindly walked us through under Vortex so we didn't have to walk all the way around. Thanks! Matt felt like a VIP.

 

I took the initiative, talked to a very nice mom, and borrowed a kid to ride this kiddie coaster. He was terrified at first (the kid, not John) but after a few rides he was coming around. Then John rode with him for a few more laps and he started to smile.

 

Yes, we rode the kiddie coaster without having to pay a TPR kid to ride with us.

 

The kid's mom is seen over John's shoulder riding with her other kid.

 

Grizzly finally opened, and I think John or Matt and I rode in the front seat. It was not rough, but it rode like a boring family coaster.

 

Robb and Tyler head out of the Grizzly station, and Robb tries to make up for Tyler's lack of enthusiasm. (Robb has to REALLY try to make up for it, since Tyler appears to actually absorb enthusiasm rather than produce it.)

 

Unfortunately the ride causes absolutely no enthusiasm. I could have fallen asleep on this ride. Notice how ALL of the TPR people are holding onto the seat in front of them.

 

TPR does Survivor - the Disk-O ride - it was a lot of fun.

 

After surviving Survivor, you can take the "final challenge" by the exit of the ride. You balance on some wooden posts while trying to knock your friends off of them. Here Robb sizes up Piers' lack of balance/hangover....

 

Robb seems to really enjoy attacking Piers with an empty Coke bottle.....

 

Next he attacks Piers' ass with the Coke bottle! Piers seems to like it. Robb is disturbed by his own actions and flees.

 

Some more people show up and attack Piers, and it turns into a "Manwich". At this point I fled.

 

Raise you hands if you're a credit whore! (Taken near the kiddie coaster, where people were paying a TPR member's kid to ride with them!)

 

And now, TPR does the CGA flyers. Note the prominently displayed TPR T-shirt. Snappy snap snap, anyone?

 

Natalie and her pointy bandana get ready to fly - the bandana is quite similar to the shape of the wing painted on the back of the car. I think she planned it that way.

 

"DAMN..... I should have farted AFTER the ride started...."

 

Work it, Natalie!

 

Up, up and away!

 

"That fart made me dizzy...."

 

Log flume!

 

Brace for impact! (Yes, I know there's a joke in that phrase when there are three guys sharing a log like that....)

 

Jazz hands?

 

All in all, it was a fun day at CGA, and I had time to take photos since the only coaster I needed to ride was Grizzly, and we managed to be the first people in line for that early in the day.

 

Luckily everyone had normal rides on Invertigo, because its lift chain broke the next day and people were stuck on it for three to four hours. People actually called my cell phone the next day to see if I was on that ride!

 

For me, the best ride there was Flight Deck, but they just don't have any signature attractions. Sadly, with the park's future a bit up in the air, I don't see them getting one any time soon.

 

We left mid-afternoon to make yet another long, boring drive back down to Valencia. On the way we stopped at the same middle-of-nowhere exit with fast food and gas stations.

 

There was a severe shortage of stalls in all of the restaurants, and I was lucky enough to find one. As I am sitting there, some woman and her kid managed to yank open the stall door and barge in! And yes, this IS the men's room! I don't remember what I yelled, but it was a string of obscenities. I don't give a #$%! how bad your kid needs my seat, I'm not getting off of it! She finally left, without apologizing. #$%& you, California mom, and stay out of the Men's room!

 

Anyway, the drive was soon over, and Robb got on the bus PA system to explain to us just how close we were staying to Magic Mountain. Then he mentioned it again. Hmmm.... something is up....

 

Robb said we could walk over to the park if we wanted. Then after a strategic pause he said the bus would take us over and pick us up. Applause breaks out - bonus time at Magic Mountain!

 

Another pause, and he adds that we will have ERT on Goliath for an hour on this night - raucous applause ensues!

 

More about our bonus evening in my next installment - Six Flags Magic Mountain!

[Paul_Hollibone]

Great photo's yet again mike. That expression on my face on Flight Dek is indicative of the forces on that bloody ride. Mind you that was my second ever B&M ride and my first ever B&M inverter, but man was that ride forceful and fast.

 

Whilst others didn't really appreciate CGA as a park (well thats the feeling I got) I actually quite enjoyed it. It does have some decent rides there, and it also has a somewhat decent atmosphere, but I somehow get the feeling that it won't be around in 10 years or so.

Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoyed the park, and I thought it had a decent offering, but it just felt like there was something missing.

[jonlocke]

Yes, we rode the kiddie coaster without having to pay a TPR kid to ride with us.

 

I still can't believe I rode a Taxi Jam for three back to back to back cycles without getting out of the train.

[krazekiddd]

The expression on Jenn's face is just Priceless!!

[Voyager]

Day 3 (Sunday Night) - Six Flags Magic Mountain

 

In my last installment, our hero, Robb Alvey, (Elissa is our hero too but Robb was the one with the microphone) had just informed us that we would be getting a bonus night at SFMM....

 

......AND we would get an hour of Goliath ERT!

 

Goliath was one of the rides I was most looking forward to, so I was psyched.

 

After quickly checking in to the hotel, we all got back on the bus and took the short drive to the park. Park Director Neal Thurman was there in his Indiana Jones style hat to greet us and get us in the gate as quickly as possible.

 

Then I asked him the really important question - how long is the X2 line? We found out we'd probably be able to get a ride in in the dark and then head over in time for quite a bit of Goliath ERT, so that's what many of us did. Others headed for Superman or other rides. I had no idea how long the X2 wait was and I was eager for Goliath ERT, so I was a bit concerned, but I waited, and it turned out to be a good decision.

 

We reached the station about the time of park closing, and I think John and I were the first of our group to get on the ride. It was dark, and next thing I knew I was on the X2 lift listening to Metallica.

 

The ride was fantastic, and at least in my seat, not at all rough. The fire was AWESOME at night, and feeling the heat was amazing as the night was cooling off.

 

After that, we ran (well, jogged) all the way across the park to Goliath. While doing this, I found out I was in better shape than I thought I was!

 

Goliath ERT was excellent, and I think I managed about six rides. We all gathered outside the station and when people had finished buying their on-ride photos (they even kept that open for us) we took some group photos in front of the giant Goliath letters. That was the end of a fantastic, unexpected bonus evening at SFMM.

 

Day 4 - Monday - Six Flags Magic Mountain

 

The next morning was an early one, and we had ERT on Revolution, Tatsu, Viper and X2. I rode Revolution a couple of times, and it was fun in the front seat. Tatsu was next, and was immediately my favorite ride of the trip along with Goliath. In the front and back seats, it delivered, and I knew I'd be back to ride it later in the day after it had warmed up.

 

Viper in the front seat was excellent, though not as intense as Tatsu. Finally I made my way over to X2 and probably rode it about six or seven times. It was MUCH rougher than the night before, with quite a bit of head banging as the seats rotated in a very jerky manner.

 

This is what X2 looked like at the end of ERT - I just couldn't get on it any more after all of the headbanging, and the trains were mostly empty.

 

Mikel and I headed to the back of the park next, riding Deja Vu a couple of times (front and back seats).

 

Here some other TPR people take a lap on Deja Vu before Mikel and I got our front seat ride. Being afraid of heights would NOT make for a good front-seat experience!

 

Next we tried a daylight ride on Terminator (we had ERT later that night, but there was really no line to speak of at this time of morning). We rode Riddler's Revenge, Ninja, Superman, etc. and made our way around the park. I think we actually had nearly all of the coasters under our belt by lunch time.

 

Here's the "Take the Tunnel" crew enjoying a front-seat ride - don't they look sharp in those black T-shirts.... on this completely sunny, hot dry day.

 

Did I mention it was like 95 degrees and they are wearing black shirts?

 

These guys liked their back-seat Scream ride. They're wearing black T-shirts too.....

 

Hey, that's me! I finally made it into my own TR!

 

Here I am (on the left) enjoying a re-ride on Scream - the crowds hadn't made it back to this ride yet. I'm not wearing a trendy black T-shirt, but I will be less likely to get heat stroke! Mikel is on the right imitating a deer with antlers.

 

We got more Scream re-rides around park closing time, I think about four or five without getting off, but maybe changing seats. I really enjoyed the ride, and hopefully someday they will put in landscaping in place of the parking spaces beneath it.

 

Lunch was great - a nice private seating area, and they just started bringing us food. Many of the park officials and management were around to say hello and answer questions. It was impressive to see these guys carrying around EZ Reachers (the things you use to pick up trash without having to bend over). We'd seen Neal using one the previous night as he escorted us out of the park after ERT. They actively take part in keeping their park clean, and that is nice to see.

 

Don't make these guys mad or they will beat you with their trash-picker-uppers! Also - don't be a litterbug!

 

After lunch the lines started getting longer, and we headed to some of our favorite rides to ride them again (Tatsu, Goliath, Riddlers, etc.).

 

Mikel and I tried the log flume, and it offered some cool views of the rides you couldn't get elsewhere. Mikel tried out some of the wetter water rides.

 

This is what the list of coasters looks like after being in your pocket on a water ride.

 

It's a TPR takeover of the raft ride! They got soaked. Not wanting to deal with wet clothes while walking all over the park to take photos later, I passed.

 

We had a great front-seat ride on Goliath as the sun was starting to get lower - that meant it was time to take photos!

 

Mikel headed for the waterpark, and I met up with Robbie, Neil, and Natalie for....

 

.... a TPR takeover of the Tweety Bird Cages!

 

Vote for your favorite caged TPR member - Neil or Natalie

 

I judged the "Tweety Bird Cage gymnastics" - Natalie won.

 

After this I headed off on my own to take photos of as many rides as possible.

 

Keep in mind, a number of people had trouble with the heat that day, and I was guzzling water out of every fountain I walked by. I did a lot of extra walking to get photos of almost everything I wanted to, and I managed to feel pretty good all day.

 

So here was my photo tour of Magic Mountain, just to shoot random people having fun on rides.

 

Let's start with X2. Here's the lift.

 

Riders fly for a bit near the end of the ride.

 

Close up of riders as they see FIRE!

 

More FIRE!

 

Guy on the right - "Hey, look at the FIRE... and look there's some dork in the parking lot taking photos of us!"

 

"We are HIGH UP!", but not for long.... she can't look!

 

Now she's trying not to scream

 

These girls are doing their impression of "Cousin It" from the Addams family, and it's not Halloween.

 

Girl in red and white shirt - "Ahhh!!! Scary fire!"

 

More random people - the guy at top left is trying to keep his wallet in his pocket. Stowing loose items a good idea on X2, because the ride will literally shake things out of your pockets. I had my wallet zipped in for this ride.

 

More first drop fun

 

Flying along....

 

Are we gonna hit that post?

 

Extreme close-up of previous shot

 

That's all for X2. I caught a few shots of Revolution even though it was in the shade by this time.

 

Check out the guy in the second row - constipation or fear?

 

Hey, let's ride got2b glued! Wait, I don't see it on the Q-bot....

 

Oh wait, that's Viper.

 

Holiday World has free sunscreen, shouldn't Magic Mountain have free hair gel?

 

That seems perfectly logical to me.

 

Viper was brilliantly lit by the sun, which was getting lower by the minute.

 

The lighting was excellent.

 

Tatsu riders fly into the setting sun

 

Ninja was a fun family ride flying along the hillside

 

Goliath riders hurtle into the brakes and setting sun

 

I loved the smooth ride and great turns.

 

Going upside down while standing up does funny things to people

 

How many more shots can I get before the sun goes down?

 

Corkscrewing....

 

I love shots where everyone is having fun!

 

Timed this one just right to have most people's faces visible

 

My last shot of the day - pushed the ISO way up to get enough light to see these Tatsu riders - great expressions. Next time I'm there I will shoot a lot more photos from this spot.

 

I would have loved to have had another day at SFMM to ride a bit more and take photos (a good excuse to show up on Robb and Elissa's doorstep). I didn't get any shots of Terminator because I ran out of light, and because our ERT was at night. I also didn't get any photos of Colossus, and I would have liked to get some closer shots of Goliath.

 

Nighttime ERT on Terminator was awesome, and after about ten rides I headed out to the front of the park to collect my stuff from the all-day locking box and head to the bus.

 

But wait - my stuff wasn't in my locking box. What the #$@%?

 

Apparently they weren't really all day locking box, they were only good until the park closed at 10pm. So, if you happened to be in line for a ride, your stuff gets taken to lost and found.

 

This pissed me off, since my camera and lenses were in the locking box, and I had to go try to describe the bag they were in to a fairly clueless person at lost and found. I also had to retrieve Mikel's bag. At first they couldn't find either bag, and I was about to go postal on them, but after some looking and some angry words from me, they managed to figure out what the hell was going on.

 

Luckily, I got both bags and nothing was damaged, but I was still mad.

 

I just went from Terminator bliss to pissed. Why did I have to go through that?

 

So, Magic Mountain, please don't advertise your $12 all-day locking boxes as all day until you clean them out (as you should) after the park has been cleared of all guests.

 

Still, I was the first one back to the bus, and had fun talking with Larry until everyone else showed up. Despite the locking box issue, I had a great day and wished I could spend more time there. I certainly will in the future, when I show up on Rob and Elissa's doorstep.

 

Next stop - Universal Studios Hollywood!

[Voyager]

I still can't believe I rode a Taxi Jam for three back to back to back cycles without getting out of the train.

You did it for the kid - at first he didn't want to get on, then he didn't want to get off. You may have assisted in creating a future enthusiast. -Mike

[WFChris]

Unless I'm missing an inside joke, I'm pretty sure you mean Deja Vu instead of V2?

 

Chris.

[Voyager]

Unless I'm missing an inside joke, I'm pretty sure you mean Deja Vu instead of V2?

Yeah, you're right - that's what I get for writing that TR after looking at V2 photos. -Mike

[Voyager]

Day 5 - Universal Studios Hollywood

 

I really had no clue what to expect at this park. I knew we were getting a backstage tour of and ERT on the Mummy, but I really hadn't researched parks before this trip (takes some of the fun out of it) and I just wanted to be surprised.

 

I had no idea that the first ride of the day would have the slowest first drop in history - the USH escalators to the lower part of the park.

 

After making our way to the back and bottom of the park, we were shown into the maintenance bay of the Mummy. Then we made our way into the very well themed station.

 

Robb - "Everything's going great!"

Universal guy on the right - "Robb, you are annoying the hell out of me, and I am going to throw you under a train when I get the chance."

 

We were led back along the track by the very nice Universal guy, and (big surprise) Robb videotaped it. We saw where the arms dropped down through the ceiling, and the theming was very impressive.

 

"If any of you fall off of the walkway, we will just leave your bodies down there under the track because it will add to the theming."

 

I wonder if this is the first time a stroller has ever been pushed along this walkway? Might be a first for KidTums.

 

"This is my treasure and I will figure out how to fit it all on the bus. Now just move along, move along please....."

 

They let us roam around inside the main ride area, and of course every nerd in the group had their camera out trying to take photos in the low light conditions.

 

Okay, I'm confused....... Is he putting his arm around the guy, the cute girl, or the coaster track?!? (Really, he is just confused, because he is wondering "Am I covered in coaster spooge or something else?")

 

This is the excellent part where they make the coaster go backwards. Seriously, I had no idea this was a part of the ride, and was really impressive, especially in the dark on the actual ride.

 

So, can you tell what piece of treasure Robb stole?

 

Robb - "I am so cool."

 

Universal guy - "Alvey, you are cool, but I still want to throw you under one of these trains."

 

The Mummy station theming is excellent, and I managed to take photos without a flash.

 

The Mummy control desk. What's that, you say you need a volunteer to run the ride?

 

How about this guy - he looks trustworthy..... NOT

 

The Simpsons ride was fun, and very entertaining. I think we did that before the studio tour, anticipating long wait times later. Luckily for the tour I sat on the left side of the tram. Put your grandma on the right side when you take it.

 

Dancing cars with fire - this is roughly what the California freeways will look like when the next big earthquake hits.

 

This is what California looks like after is rains. The rains put out all of the fires, and then the whole state floods.

 

Natalie, this will show you just how much of an airplane can remain intact after a crash. Thankfully they removed all of the body parts before we got there.

 

We rode Jurassic Park, but I don't think I got quite this wet! I honestly didn't know the splash was this big until I rode it. I just put my bag under my legs and ducked. Lots of fun, and in CA it is so dry you dry off quickly.

 

Thankfully I sat near the back, not in the front like these soaked people!

 

Oh wait, all of the people I just rode this ride with with now want to go into the air-conditioned attractions so we can all freeze our asses off. Brilliant!

 

We saw Terminator 3D, which was loud, but impressive. The pre-show and live action were entertaining. Backdraft was a bit of a let-down. I have seen more impressive fire in bonfires I have helped make (sometimes involving couches).

 

We looked for another attraction. This led to the thing on the trip that pissed me off the most - Euromorons.

 

Now before anyone gets pissed off, let me say that I have done research at a major university and have done research with and hung out with countless Europeans, and probably half of the TPR trip was from Europe, and I honestly can't remember meeting anyone that wasn't incredibly nice. Really, I have met a far higher percentage of Americans that are jerks.

 

So we went into the special effects show. When you walk in, you are supposed to walk all the way down to the end of the row of seats and sit down. If you don't, the whole line backs up and there is a delay and not enough room.

 

A whole group of European tourists sat down in the MIDDLE of my row, and they refused to move, holding up their "front of the line" passes and claiming they could sit wherever they wanted!

 

We all yelled at them for about a minute. The @$$holes refused to move!

 

Now, these weren't teenagers or kids - these were mature (looking) adults, and clearly should have not been behaving like this.

 

No one from Universal did anything about it. Personally, I think they should have confiscated their passes on the spot and kicked them out of the show, but no, nothing, just "please take your seats, the show is about to start".

 

We were just stuck there, standing halfway to our seats.

 

People finally started squeezing by, but there wasn't enough room, and the "Euromorons" weren't exactly moving their legs to help the situation.

 

When I finally started to go past them I made sure I vocalized my displeasure, and I made sure I elbowed and banged my leg (hard) in to EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM.

 

The show was OK, but I was cold and thanks to the Euromorons I was stuck sitting all the way at the end of a row, not the best of seats.

 

After this I was pissed and cold, and I had lunch while the rest of the group went off to try other attractions. Sitting outside in the sun eating some food made me feel better.

 

This was the one park where I felt I didn't have enough time to do all of the attractions. I could have skipped lunch and done something else, but then I would have just felt bad.

 

On my own, I caught Shrek 4d and enjoyed it. After this it was time to head for the bus.

 

Next stop - Scandia

[Voyager]

Day 5 - Scandia

 

This is a fairly short report, since it was very quick stop.

 

The first thing we saw when we got off the bus at Scandia was this.

 

What, no articles of clothing designating membership in an organization? Guess we'll all have to take off our TPR shirts and go shirtless, but shirts are required. I am puzzled.

 

We headed for the first ride and handed them the appropriate number of tickets. No multiple rides on this stop.

 

I left my big camera on the bus, but the pocket camera did a decent job for this short stop.

 

This ride was fun, but it was not the type that I like to ride without hanging onto something, as it kind of throws you forward and backward in your seat. In other words, it's the perfect ride to practice your videotaping skills on.

 

We don't care if you think we are dorks, our video cameras keep us warm at night, thank you very much.

 

OK, at least one of the cameramen is now hanging onto the lap bar. The other TPR people are showing a wide variety of reactions.

 

The only people putting their hands up are the NON-TPR people! This proves we are smarter. Wait, is that TP Dave in the BACK SEAT videotaping? Now that is impressive.

 

Some more hands have gone up by the end of the ride.

 

Pure credit whoring. Of course I rode it too. As I recall this ride went up the lift, then started going backwards before the motor kicked in and hauled it up the hill.

 

Everyone is smiling, including Mike Austin!

 

The bunny hops at the end where fun.

 

This rider pauses for a moment to ponder - "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear, am I still a credit whore carrying a videocamera?" (Yes, yes you are.)

 

After our whirlwind tour of Scandia, we were hungry, and luckily there was food AND a coaster at our next stop.

 

Next stop: John's Incredible Pizza

[Voyager]

Day 5 - John's Incredible Pizza

 

Our third and final stop on this day had a pizza buffet and an indoor kiddie coaster, as well as an indoor Tornado type ride where you can spin yourself silly.

 

I folded myself into the Incredible Express and then took some photos of others enjoying it.

 

I think Ben is sitting sideways and doing a dance move.

 

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

 

Robbie's evil twin rides in front of Natalie, who shows proper crossed arm kiddie coaster riding technique.

 

Having as much fun as they can

 

After this a few of us rode the Tornado BEFORE eating a bunch of pizza and ice cream. Having run out of tickets we watched other people play games, including KidTums, and then our party was over.

 

Next stop - Sea World San Diego

[Voyager]

Day 6 - SeaWorld San Diego

 

Well, we arrived at the park in the dreary early morning, with the marine layer still intact. Here's what Journey to Atlantis, the only coaster of the day, looks like under poor lighting from the observation tower, our first ride.

 

It looks like fun, but sunshine would improve everything.

 

While waiting for it to open, we checked out some of the wildlife. After all, it is SeaWorld.

 

This polar bear was also drowsy from the lack of sunlight, and he didn't care that TPR was there.

 

This whale was hard to photograph.

 

After those two photos we were all shivering from being in the "Journey to the Artic" attraction, a motion simulator that was just "OK". I had to walk outside to warm up. Very strange considering this was about the farthest south we would be on the entire trip!

 

Atlantis finally opened, and I rode it a couple of times. I put my stuff in a locker, but the first time I tried to lock it, it ate my quarters! I talked to a nearby cashier and they gave me more quarters. Annoyed at holding the whole group up, I finally got in line and we got on with our fast pass (or whatever they call it) very quickly.

 

The ride was fun, and we didn't get too wet. We had ponchos anyway, but those were doing more to keep us warm than dry.

 

Next we filed into the ampitheater for the famous "Shamu Show". Jumping whales are neat, but I was really there to see what cool photos I could get of said jumping whales, people getting splashed, etc.

 

Here's what I got.

 

Synchronized whale jumping! Yay.

 

This is the part where the whales go rogue, eat the trainers, and then go into the audience to find more victims.

 

A moment later the whale opened its mouth and swallowed her whole!

 

The whales got the crowd quite wet, but that just makes the tourists easier to swallow.

 

This one needs some whale Viagra......

 

So, after some other activity we had lunch and then we tried to get on the river raft ride with our fast passes.

 

We walked up to the ride-op, they looked at our fast pass and said "Those are for yesterday" and he walked away!

 

We looked, and sure enough, they had put the wrong date on them. We found out later they had printed them the day before.

 

After some convincing and some calls to supervisors, begging, etc., we were finally allowed on the ride. Again, we wore our stylish Shamu ponchos and then I split with the group to take some photos before heading for the bus.

 

Yep, she got soaked.

 

Hey, check out the TPR people in the stylish ponchos heading for that big wall of water.

 

My favorite wildlife photo of the day - reminds me of Robb after a large meal.

 

All right, let's get on to the photos of the public on Journey to Atlantis. The theming was very nicely done.

 

Here's a bit wider shot of of the "front" part of the ride, the first drop and splashdown that is out for everyone to see, before you head back to the "other" part of the ride.

 

That little boat makes a really big splash!

 

I started out shooting photos in the "splash zone" - I'd get my shot and quickly step out of the way of the oncoming water. However, it was hard to get the shot without having the splash blocking all of the people, so I moved closer to the drop and started shooting photos of the boats coming down it. That was a wise move.

 

Then I started betting shots like this - people scared to death of what was maybe a 50 foot drop! Awesome.

 

This was one of my favorite photos of the entire trip.

 

I love the facial expressions in the front two rows.

 

Well, that's it for SeaWorld. After a little more than a half day we were off to another seaside park.

 

Next stop - Belmont Park

[televisedconfession]

Fantastic Sea World pictures!!! Seriously Fantastic.

[Voyager]

Fantastic Sea World pictures!!! Seriously Fantastic.

Thanks! I could have shot photos of the Atlantis drop all day.

 

Looks like I'll be posting the final parts of my TR tomorrow and Wednesday, so keep an eye out for it. It will be strange to be done with it. -Mike

[Voyager]

Day 6 - Belmont Park

 

Belmont was an interesting place. Not as large as Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, but they had other attractions, like the Flowrider and their artificial surfing wave, called the Flowbarrel.

 

It would have been cool to eat here, but instead we had yet another private deck all to ourselves.

 

I was in the first group of Flowrider participants, and it was a lot of fun. I even managed to stay up on the surf board on the last try, and that was very cool.

 

I changed clothes and started taking photos as the second group started their session.

 

After jumping into the flow on the board, you get the hang of things, figuring out how to get stable and move around a bit. Robb, who had done this before, demonstrated.

 

Nice boobs, Robb.

 

The next step was to "jump" up onto your knees onto the board.

 

Many others soon caught on.

 

 

The final step was to let go of the board and get those hands up!

 

Here Bas demonstrates. I managed to do it.

 

Robb, in mid-wipeout! Eventually you wipe out and the flow sweeps you up to the top of the ramp, where you hand the board off to the next rider.

 

Having gotten good photos of just about everyone in the second Flowrider group, I noticed that the sun was getting low. I decided to shoot some photos of the coaster before it got dark.

 

The Giant Dipper had the same trains as the Big Dipper, but it was a very different ride. They both have surprises.

 

It was not as intense of a ride, but it did have a kick to it. I did find it a bit rougher, though.

 

The guy in the front seat filmed his companion through the whole ride - here she does not look like she's fully behind the idea of riding a coaster.

 

However, by the end of the ride she looks like she's not going to kill him, or at least not right away. She'll probably wait until he's asleep.

 

For a while the ride was running nearly empty, but it was time for.....

 

........FOOD AND BEER!!!!! Yay!!!!

 

As the sun went down, the empties piled up....

 

....and people seemed to be bored. How can you be bored with a coaster and other rides a short walk away?

 

Here's a night shot of one of those rides (big swinging arm - very fun) and the Giant Dipper in the background.

 

We tried the awesome round indoor bumper cars with loud music. They were a blast, and we had several rides.

 

This was so much fun, especially after about five beers or so!

 

Finally it was time for our ERT, and many of us were still having a great time after the beer. This was the most buzzed I'd ever been on a coaster, and then something magical happened - someone started handing out glow sticks. Bas, was this your idea?

 

Pure genius.

 

Riding through the tunnel after the station was truly an experience with a few hundred glow sticks on people's wrists, necks, and being waved around randomly. I will never forget this - it was just too cool, and beer only amplified the coolness.

 

On the way out to the bus I saw this painted on the parking lot, and this is exactly what TPR gets you!

 

A lot of people (significantly younger than me) were complaining about being sore from the Flowrider the next day, but the only complaint I had was some pulled neck muscles thanks to the Giant Dipper.

 

Next stop - Legoland

[Voyager]

Day 7 - Legoland

 

I was curious to see this park, not knowing really what to expect.

 

Immediately after our ERT on the Technic Coaster I headed for Knight's Tournament, a ride where you are strapped onto the end of a robotic arm that twirls, flips, shakes, and just generally throws you around chaotically.

 

It turned out to be my favorite ride in the park.

 

Here's Robbie and Natalie before their ride...

 

....and during the ride - nice hair.

 

Even better hair! (Nice Sandal tan, Robbie.)

 

We moved on to the other coaster in the park, and found a decent line.

 

TPR took over the firefighting attraction, where first you pump a handle in the truck, and that makes your truck move to one end of the track. You do some more pumping, and others direct the spray of water into a window until it closed or something. Then you pump the handle in the truck again to get it back to the end of the track. First truck back wins.

 

Here are some more takeover photos.

 

 

I think this group won.

 

Make up your own caption about the writing on the side of the truck....

 

I was going to try it after taking photos, but everyone left and I had no team to give it a shot with. Oh well.

 

I decided to go take some photos of Technic Coaster's first drop, and this produced some more of my favorite images of the trip. It's a good family ride, but some families aren't ready for it!

 

Dad looks the most scared.

 

Great expressions and nice hair horns in the back.

 

Fantastic expressions, and my favorite photo of the day.

 

That's about it for Legoland. I enjoyed it, but I like thrill rides, so it wasn't quite my cup of tea.

 

Next stop - Castle Park

[Voyager]

Day 7 - Castle Park

 

On the drive in we saw the HUGE miniature golf course area that Casle park had. That would prove to be fun later in the evening.

 

First off we headed for the S&S tower. We got on, strapped in and went up to launch position..... and then we returned slowly to the ground. That was fine, but then we discovered that they couldn't unlock the restraints so we were stuck on the ride for about 5 or 10 minutes.

 

Once we escaped we headed for the Fire Ball, the type of portable looping ride that you might find at a fair. I had actually never been on one. We sat there, wedged into the seats (which were not wide enough for skinny adults), uncomfortable harnesses locked, and after the longest loading time EVER we finally started to move. This may have been the sketchiest ride of the trip for me, and once was enough.

 

We went back to the S&S tower and rode it, and then I got to try yet another fair ride for the first time - I think they're called Gravitrons. You spin against the wall leaning against a platform that slides up once you reach "escape velocity". The lighting and music were cool.

 

Finally it was ERT time.

 

Mike Austin was going crazy from the heat and suspense.

 

The junior coaster awaited a station full of credit whores.

 

These coasters actually make for a fairly fun ride, and sitting one person per row you get thrown from side to side a bit.

 

Can anyone remember the name of this coaster? Wait, don't give me a hint... it will come to me....

 

This group enjoyed their ride. I had some rides with epic amounts of spin, which was great except my neck was still sore from the Giant Dipper, and that could make the fast turns quite painful.

 

Two thumbs up and one thumb down - thumbs up wins by a thumb!

 

The kiddie coaster was stress tested by all of us adult-size people, and it was getting dark by this time, so photos were hard to come by with my small camera.

 

After ERT we were hungry. Luckily they had a great pizza buffet set up for us, and we ate a lot. Seriously, it was good pizza.

 

After dinner Robb gave us an inspirational speech, but no one was very inspired, we were all tired and full of pizza, which is definitely a good way to end a day of coaster riding.

 

Next stop - Knotts Berry Farm

[Meteornotes]

 

I AM SO GLAD SOMEONE POSTED A PICTURE OF THIS!!!

 

I did not get a picture of the table, and was very sad. People that were not there will have no idea how much alcohol was consumed that day! The waitress kept bringing us tray after tray of beer. It was amazing! Not to mention...TWO DOLLAR MARGARITAS ALL DAY! And they were good and strong! Thanks so much for posting this. Though I should point out that by the end of the evening, the table was completely covered in cans. It was an epic sight.

 

Between all the booze, the food, the rides (especially the bumper cars!) and the insane ERT session, I will always proclaim this as the single best day ever on any TPR trip! It was that much fun.

 

 

This thing delivered INSANE rides! Elissa was NOT happy!

 

Thanks for posting all these pics. I'm really enjoying this report.

 

dt

[krazekiddd]

I don't even think that was as full as the table got. Honestly, I remember a lot more beer being there. Oh and "Never Have I Ever" with drunk TPR trippers! Awesome.

 

If anyone wants to know how much free beer we drank, imagine that table being cleaned about 5 times.