rosscoe Posted October 18, 2010 Posted October 18, 2010 Since that was my first ever bash type event. I had no problems with the lines. I think I got five rides in the morning on the B and M, and the wooden one was more than enough! I was front seat on the first train of the day on I305, and when that rain started on the lift hill, by the time the train got back into the station, I have never been more thankful for a ride to end. AJ great report mate
rcdude Posted October 19, 2010 Author Posted October 19, 2010 IntimidaTour: Part 7 Day 8: Monday, August 23rd, 2010-Departure Day As all trips must, it was now time for this one to come to an end. The bus was scheduled to depart the hotel for RIC airport at 10:15 A.M. Some had earlier flights and arranged an early shuttle at 7:00 A.M. A few had even earlier flights and arranged a super early shuttle at 3:30 A.M. Fortunately, my flight wasn't until 12:55 P.M. so I just took the bus. As the bus drove to the airport, only about half full, there was none of the excitement of previous days present. Instead, there was the feeling of sadness and remembrance. People discussed their favorite parts of the trip with each other, talked about the next year's trips, and exchanged phone numbers/e-mail addresses. The bus arrived at the airport a little before 11 A.M. Robb thanked everyone for coming, and we all went our separate ways. Richmond airport is an interesting airport, not because of its layout, but because of the lack of people present. There was no line at the Continental ticket counter, and about two people in front of me in the security line. After we had gone through security, we found that we still had an hour and a half before our flight was scheduled to leave. We got lunch at Cheeburger Cheeburger, then walked around for a little bit before taking a seat at our gate. Our flight ended up being delayed at the gate by about ten minutes, then had to wait out on the tarmac for another ten minutes before taking off. This decreased our already short connection time of 55 minutes. Fortunately, we got to EWR quickly, and everything worked out perfectly. After disembarking from the plane, claiming our gate-checked bags, and saying goodbye to a fellow TPR member heading to Arizona, we headed to the terminal transport bus. We got down to it just as the bus was getting ready to leave, got on, and rode from terminal A to terminal C. We got off the bus, headed up the stairs, and got to our gate just before it was time to board our rows. In total, I have now been in New Jersey for less than an hour. It is barely a layover state credit. After our flight left, it was a boring six hour flight back to LAX. We were given turkey dogs for an in-flight snack, and had free entertainment provided by monitors in the back of the seat in front. Everything went smoothly and we touched down at LAX right on schedule. We then waited for about twenty minutes until our dad arrived to take us home. The End Overall, the IntimidaTour is one of the best vacations I have ever done. TPR trips are perfect for anyone who enjoys visiting amusement parks and wants to have a fun time doing it. I'm convinced that Robb & Elissa are among the best in the business, and even if they aren't, they will give you a trip unlike any other. I'm hooked on these, and want to try to do one every year. I'm currently signed up for the North East 2011 trip, along with my brother, although he will most likely drop. Unlike me, he has other things he spends money on and doesn't want to save up every year for a trip. He has told me that he will likely do an Orlando, East Coast, or Texas trip if they are offered in the future, but at the moment the other US trips don't interest him and he doesn't have enough money to travel overseas. My dad has shown interest in these trips, and considered joining me on the North East trip next year, although he decided not to. Instead, I've got a different vacation planned with him. Maybe I'll get him on one of these in the near future. Also, for anyone who is unsure of whether or not to do a TPR trip, I recommend you go for it. Try a shorter, one week trip first, then, if you enjoy it, move up to a longer one if your budget will allow. They aren't for everyone, but they are a lot of fun. Like I say to people who are unsure of whether or not to ride something at a park: "Try it once. If you don't like it, you never have to do it again." Trip Awards: On the trips, krazekiddd gives out awards to participants who qualify. These include things such as the "biggest credit whore", "DUI on a coaster", "most amazing person", "banned from the USA", and various other awards based on previous participants and things they did. My awards are not quite the same. These are for parks, rides, perks, etc. on the trip. Each one has a best and worst category, but worst is a bit of a misnomer. I would definitely do 90% of the stuff on this trip again, so worst is really just the thing I liked least for that category. Most of these can be guessed by reading through the trip report, so this could also be considered a summary of highlights and not-so-highlights. Okay, here we go... Best Park: Dollywood Worst Park: Carowinds Best Coaster: Intimidator at Carowinds Worst Coaster: Speedway Draft at Nascar Speedpark Best Non-Coaster Ride: Curse of DarKastle at Busch Gardens Williamsburg Worst Non-Coaster Ride: Tie: Boo Blasters on Boo Hill at Carowinds & Europe in the Air at Busch Gardens Williamsburg Best ERT Session: Tie: Dollywood night ERT on Mystery Mine and Thunderhead & Busch Gardens Williamsburg morning ERT on Apollo's Chariot Worst ERT Session: Kings Dominion/ECB morning ERT on Grizzly Best In-Park Group Meal: Lunch at Dollywood Worst In-Park Group Meal: Lunch at Carowinds Best Perk: Super-extensive backstage tour of Busch Gardens Williamsburg Worst Perk: Bungee jump discount at the Track Best Outside Park Group Meal: Carrabba's Worst Outside Park Group Meal: T.G.I. Friday's Best Non-Park Activity: Zorbing Worst Non-Park Activity: Nascar Speedpark Best Hotel: Comfort Inn Carowinds Worst Hotel: Quality Inn & Suites Dollywood Lane Best Bus Ride: Richmond, Virginia to Fort Mill, South Carolina Worst Bus Ride: Williamsburg, Virginia to Doswell, Virginia Best Snack at the Snack Exchange: Shawn's Cookies, Andrew's Cheerwine, and Belly Flops Worst Snack at the Snack Exchange: Who am I kidding, they were all good Best Bus Ride DVD: Shark Attack 3: Megalodon Worst Bus Ride DVD: Can't remember any bad DVDs Once again, even the worst categories were still good, and with the exception of Nascar Speedpark and Go-Karts Plus I definitely would do everything on this trip again. All four parks exceeded my expectations, and I'm sure I'd have a season pass to Dollywood, Busch Gardens, and possibly Kings Dominion if I lived within a two hour drive of them (not so sure about Carowinds). Once again, I would like to thank Robb & Elissa for an awesome trip, and I can't wait to see what kind of craziness they have planned for next year. Now that my summer is over, this trip report is complete. I will still be visiting Knott's Berry Farm once or twice this year, and possibly Six Flags Magic Mountain, and maybe even Castle Amusement Park, but if I post trip reports from those parks they will be posted separately. This thread will receive one final update, however, when I get around to finishing my IntimidaTour video. It will probably be two or three weeks before I have enough time to finish it, but once I do I will post it. I hope everyone enjoyed reading this thread, and I hope to meet more TPR members on future trips.
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