Photo TR: Hanno joins the Middle America Trip

[Hhappy]

This summer was a blast for me. Had an amazing time with a great group of people.

But unfortunatelly all good things have come to an end and after 3 weeks of fun and travel it was time to get back to work.

 

Due to some unforseen things i'm a bit late with starting this report.. but i hope you'll still like it and will comment on it.

 

 

The following will be an attempt to present some of the pictures i took during this trip and hopefully show a part of the fun i had.

I had been to some of the parks on a previous trip and some were totally new to me. Benefit of these second visits was more time to chill and relax at these places. It is so much fun chilling at a park with an awesome group of people.

 

Enough rambling for the moment, it's time for some pictures.

 

Here's the update index:

Day 1: Mall of America (scroll down)

Day 2: Adventureland

Day 2: Worlds of Fun

Day 3: Worlds of Fun (and Prowler)

Day 4: Silver Dollar City (and Powder Keg)

Day 5: St. Louis Gateway Arch

Day 5: St. Louis City Museum

Day 6: Six Flags St. Louis

Day 7: Holiday World

Day 8: Indiana Beach

Day 9: Six Flags Great America

Day 10: Mt. Olympus

Day 10:Timberfalls

Day 10: Knuckleheads (Bonus)

Day 11: Valleyfair

let's get this trip started with a short morning walk to..

Mall of America

owh boy owh boy.. there's a themepark inside the Mall

let's go and ride some coasters

that's how big this place is.. small ferris wheel inside a building..

that does look like fun

coaster

ehmm

time for some first drop fun

hi there

gravity can be fun

same

and some random kids

it was cool to see how they managed to fit this fun coaster in this small area

signage

fosters...

ok, time for something totally different..

how's the ride Dan?

and yes.. it went round pretty darn quick

everywhere you look there's something else to see..

the second one of this kind i encountered

they even have a logflume inside

i see coaster, track supports..

ok, time to check out the mall

there is a roof.. but otherwise..

game over

Harley Davidson store

view from the top floor area

looking to the left..

just to give you an idea of how big that thing is..

spinning coaster fun

time to move on after having a quick look at some Lego

is this still the same mall?

ehmm, something does not look right here..

it was possible to decide which way to face on this

no fake trees (i think)

ehhmm

ok, back to this fun thing

how's it going dude

dutchman?? owh

more coaster pics

happy people upside down

and yes.. these trains have some moves

tight fit

just for the fun..

just about every single inch of free space is used

so close.. yet so far away

another overview look of this place

part of the spinning coaster layout

that does look like a very weird ride

whip fun

if you get to the Mall, don't forget to visit this corner

drum fun

fun ride

i spy TPR members

don't look down

showing of

yeah.. it basically goes all the way up to the ceiling

going up...

and that funny looking ride.. it produces hairtime..

Edited February 1, 2011 by Hhappy

[let1gre]

Great TR so far! I'm looking forward to the rest of it. The Mall of America seems to perfectly personify America to me... everything is about 10 times bigger than it should be. And it's great (mostly/sometimes/rarely!)

[mattnz]

Awesome - a Hanno trip report! Great pics so far. Was great meeting you on the trip.

 

Matt

[mightbeawannabe]

This is a great PTR! It would seem like you could wander in Nick Universe for days and still not see everything packed in...And then the mall! That would take forever. Glad you had fun!

 

Btw-Why is Hanno never in Hanno's TRs?

[Hhappy]

Btw-Why is Hanno never in Hanno's TRs?

 

Let me guess.. because he's taking the pictures???

[Guy T. Koepp]

MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmMall of America! Next year!

 

Whoot!

[MayTheGForceBeWithYou]

that does look like a very weird ride

 

Knott's used to have a Zierer Hexentanz as well. It was called "Tampico Tumbler", and it ran a wicked cycle.

Knott's version

[Louise]

YAY Hanno! Loving your work as always, looking forward to more.

[cfc]

Btw-Why is Hanno never in Hanno's TRs?

 

Let me guess.. because he's taking the pictures???

 

Hanno does show up in surprising places, though.

 

[larrygator]

Yay, for no bad pictures of Larry.

 

Keep up the great work Hanno.

[Hhappy]

thanks so far for the comments (love the picture Chuck)

Larry... i'll keep an eye out for pictures..

 

Anyway time for Day 2

Adventureland

 

Same story, i did not have a clue about this park before heading there. I gues i'm not much of a coaster nerd... Just wanted to have a good time and take some pictures.

I'm not much of a story teller, i just take pictures and hope people like them.

 

Here's a few of them.

I guess we're there

loving the small entrance building (area)

looking forward to the return of Mainstreet

plenty of shows, including 3 hours of Wonder...

random Jack

How come all the water looks so blue in the parks??

owh wait.. there are coasters here as well?? wicked

empty train... ehm.. magic?? owh wait.. they are still testing the ride.. duhh

park maps are handy so you can find your way back (in case you need to)

water, trees and coasters.. yup..

and yes, another one of these pictures..

raft rides are fun.. especially if they spin...

what goes up...

.. must come down...

somewhere behind that wall of water...

.. are some people.. (looking forward to the pictures from the other side)

have fun

owh wait.. there's another coaster here??

come on Dan, it's ok to smile

swinging and spinning thing.. ehmm

brings some fun expressions..

although some outfits might be tricky....

fish... plenty of fish

food area.. looks like a lot of people are hungry

fun flat ride

time for some more coaster pics.. Tornado

and yes.. a waterpark as well..

you do have some interesting angles from the waterpark...

looks like they are having fun..

turn time

looks like a lot of slides..

i just love long hair on coasters.. presents some nice photo ops

hairtime

the outlaw

looks like most people are having fun..

which one do you prefer?? loop1

or loop2??

and the silly silo.. another one of a kind ride (sort of)

[krazekiddd]

I love your trip reports Hanno! Awesome and I get to relive the amazingness of the MidAmerica Trip!1

[Hhappy]

I love your trip reports Hanno! Awesome and I get to relive the amazingness of the MidAmerica Trip!1

Happy to hear you like it, this keeps me going in doing these reports..

[Dragon Khan]

Hanno, you wrote you're no story teller, you just take pictures and HOPE PEOPLE LIKE THEM ??? Well, 'like" is an understatement. Your pics are like ... how can I say ? Dutch coasterporn. And I love it ! More seriously though. I'm so glad you also took part to my first trip 2 years ago. For the nice dude you are, of course ! but also because my computer crashed after the trip and I lost absolutely ALL my pictures of East Coast. Fortunately, there was the photo DVD, but as I had lost all "personal" pictures with me on them, thanks to your website, I could find pictures of me on nearly all the good coasters and with all the great people who contributed to my first trip being a blast.

[Hhappy]

^ thanks for the story, i'm glad i could be of service to you

 

anyway..

Day 2 wasn't finished just yet.

We got to spent a couple of hours at Worlds of Fun before the park closed that evening.

We would be back the following morning for some more time at this park.

 

Here's a number of pictures i took that evening. More pictures from Worlds of Fun will follow in the next update.

Welcome

owh boy owh boy owh boy, the toys are coming out fo the dark fun

summer lights..

fire can be fun

behind the scenes

yummy

another coasters (with AC) and a dj booth outside

it's dark

trying some new things...

ok, those are plenty of lights..

more pretty lights

going round in circles.. (yeah i failed at capturing the building..)

to end the night

ERT on this fun ride, more pictures will follow later on...

[jynx242]

As always, a huge thank you Hanno! Your pictures are always wonderful, and you are sneaky. You get truly candid shots of people on the trips. I always love seeing your reports as they bring me back to the trip.

[saginawhxc]

Your trip reports are among my favorites. Thank you for posting them.

[mattnz]

Ah, Worlds of Fun! I really enjoyed our time there. Love the pics of the Summer Lights - I tried to take some but they didn't turn out. Thanks for sharing!

[Hhappy]

Thanks for the replies so far, it's always good to hear folks appreciate the effort that goes into doing these updates.

 

I'll try to do another update pretty soon

[Hhappy]

quick bump, next update is coming soon

[Hhappy]

Time for the next update:

 

Day 3: More Worlds of Fun (and especially Prowler)

 

After getting in most of the credits the night before today was a nice and relaxing day for me. There was a nice walkback for Prowler with some very unique photo ops (i feel)

So there will be plenty of pictures for all the fanboys.

 

Personally i love these walkbacks, the more time i get to spent in backstage areas the more i appreciate all the effort that goes into running parks (and coasters) and yeah.. i could spent the entire day just taking pictures of people having a great time while riding coasters. Trying to find that one amazing/unique angle/picture is always fun and challenging.

 

enough said, here's a selection of the pictures of day 3.

 

Hope you like them

is it time for Halloween yet??

point a finger to a ride..

enter the park

it looks so much different with light

hmmmm

ok, so what are those round thingy's??

pretty train

so many thing come to mind... caption contest time??

nerd shot time

nerd shot times 2

look who was here

it's ok to scream

yeah, looks like fun

check it out if you're there

creditwhoring time

i've seen this before...

ehmm

Wonka

a proud father and a happy child, how awesome is that

ok, time to start walking.. are you ready??

owh look at that

hands up ladies, hands up

nerds

travelling fast and close to the ground

putting a smile on everybody's face while doing it's tricks

but wait.. there's more

ehmm, all kinds of ways to get a picture of yourself and the train in the background..

here they come again

somebody lost something??

see there's more

trying to get that one amazing image

trying to get that one amazing image 2

going up

ehmm, ladies??

what, you want a picture of me??

sspppeeeeeeeddd

holding on..

did anybody say air??

lifthill structure and people around it

heading for that onride camera

something trees

flying through the structure

worlds of fun

ok, why do some of those dudes look like they are terrified while the chicks are having a blast.. whats in the water??

love the hair

sideway forces make me smile

what a joy

getting ready for the way back..

trying to get that one special and amazing looking image..

bye bye train

love the glasses

it's always fun to see how the kids enjoy the ride,

let me know what the first thing was that captured your eye in this(and the following) image(s).. for me it was the kid in the front row

same question, dad sitting next to the kid

same Q, lady in the middle holding on (second place to the white hair)

last Q, the kid with the amazing look of fear in his eyes..

first drop image

first drop close-up

prowler, fun ride

time for some home stretch images

almost there folks

some familiar faces

thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it.

[technfxrick]

Hanno, You honestly take some of the best pic's. Worlds of fun had to of been one of my favorite Cedar Fair Parks. looking at these pics makes me miss the trip even more though

[B-RadG]

The holes in the track on Patriot are where a trim used to be located. The holes are where the mechanics of the brake would have been held. They're put there because the track B&M uses for brake runs is more expensive and unnecessary to make for just a trim.

 

Awesome pictures of Prowler

[jynx242]

Thanks again for your trip reports Hanno! The Prowler walkback was a lot of fun, even if it was roughly the temperature of the surface of the sun outside . I've never had so much fun while melting as I've had on a TPR trip. Now I miss my TPR friends again .

 

David

[gisco]

You take great pictures. I love looking at peoples reactions when they are riding.