Photo TR: TPR's Middle America Trip

[XII]

Ok, so 2 months ago, I as went on my first TPR Trip, which was the TPR Middle America Trip. And just as I expected, it was awesome. While I'm still sad that it's over, now I get to relive the madness through this Photo TR. Now I'm going to let the Photos take over telling the story.

All right. Day 0 started out at the Mall of America.

Hey! If this is a roller coaster trip,then why are we going to some giant mall?

Oh yeah, they have a theme park in here. (And for it's size, it really packs a punch.)

Well, I didn't ride any rides today since I would get to ride them all for free tomorrow.

Instead we all decided to head on over to Ikea.

Bed the ride. It goes from 0 to 0 mph in 0 seconds. That's infinity folks.

I see a bad case of Puppy Love.

Hmm. I wonder what color the Green Room is?

This is way better than any stupid theme park.

Oops. Sorry Nickelodeon Universe. I didn't mean it. You're much better than the Ikea.

If you ever need to explore Nickelodeon Universe, just hop on Dora's Ferris Wheel and she'll help you explore the place.

Nickelodeon Universe is approved by Spongebob.

Speaking of Spongebob, I look foreword to riding you tomorrow.

Unfortunately, my video camera died in the Mall of America. (Meh, it had a good long life.)

Luckily it died when I was in a giant mall so I was able to get a replacement.

It's not as good as my old camera, but it'll have to do for now.

Hooray!! The TPR Middle America Trip has begun!!!

Not only did we have Spongebob ERT...

But we also had bonus Avatar ERT as well!

This may have been my first half pipe, but it certainly won't be my last. These things kick ass!!

This ride can really spin. It's awesome.

Every mall should have an Avatar clone in it. (Especially the one in Ventura.)

And now back to Spongebob ERT.

ERT may be over, but that's OK since the park is empty.

Pepsi Orange Streak. It's big. It's long. It's indoors. That's about it.

It's sort of what Jaguar would be like if it was in a mall.

This may be the Pepsi Orange Streak, but really. This ride's all about American Girl.

You know this isn't even a credit guys.

Don't look at me! I'm ashamed of my credit whoring self!!

Up next was Nickelodeon Universe's latest crazy flat ride. Brain Surge.

Yeah, this thing kicked some serious ass.

If a teacup ride and a Moser Gyro Loop had a child, it would be Brain Surge.

If there's anything on the Middle America Trip that I'm still kicking myself in the balls for not doing, it would be riding these backwards chairswings. What was I thinking to not try this?

The final credit needed here would be the Fairly Odd Coaster.

You know, I've been on many spinning coasters like this and there's even a clone of this at Worlds of Fun. And last time I checked, clones were fairly common. Guess this should be renamed the Fairly Common Coaster.

Fairly Common Coaster through the trees.

In all seriousness, Fairly Odd Coaster was a pretty good spinning coaster.

Lunch Time.

This McDonalds is extra awesome. Why is that?

This McDonalds serves Mtn Dew.

Food and Pepsi sitting in a tree.

Up next, Log Chute.

"Hey! Where's the Hooters at the end of the light?"

This log flume is awesome.

SPLOOSH!!!!!

No, that's not a blurry photo. The log ride really is that fast.

What the hell is this?

Dude!! It's one of those Tapico Tumbler style rides!! I love these things!!

Stupid Knotts Berry Farm. This ride is awesome.

Dude!! They have the Taiko Drum Game!! Next time, I'll be sure to play it.

Up next, the Splat-O-Sphere.

Giant Frog Hoppers Rule.

More Spongebob Goodness.

They even have a shooting dark ride here.

It may not be anything special, but it's still a lot of fun.

Don't shoot!! We surrender!!!

They even managed to fit in a Hammerhead style ride in here.

I think it's pretty safe to say that this is Knotts Berry Farm Flat Ride Heaven.

They even have a ropes course at Nickelodeon Universe.

It actually looked like a pretty challenging course.

"I think I just sh*t myself."

AARRGH!!! YOU SHALL WALK THY PLANK!!!!!

Time for a few more Spongebob rides before we head out.

And now time for dinner at Buca di Beppos.

Buca di Beppos is a family style restaurant where they just give you more and more food.

It was one hell of a meal.

BUMP THE NUNS!!!

Are these girls eating spaghetti or vomiting it?

We have a long drive in the middle of nowhere. But that's OK. We can pass the time by playing Ask Robb a Question.

And Corn!! Don't forget about all those fields of corn!!

Well, we made it to our hotel.

This place was like the Bates Motel.

We may be stuck in the middle of nowhere, but we're still gonna have a good time.

First off, we had our Snack Exchange.

People brought snacks from all around the world to share.

Here's my contribution to the Snack Exchange. (Divv, you better have appreciated those Doritos.)

"GRR!!! I LOVE ALL MY DORITOS KEVIN!!!!!! NOW GO AWAY WHILE I MAKE SWEET SWEET LOVE TO MY DORITOS!!!!!

The good news is that the brits brought double deckers.

The bad news is that it didn't live up to the hype. It was still far better than the average american candy, but it wasn't even the best thing at the snack exchange IMO.

To spice up the middle of nowhere, we got Leslie Hall.

"Umm, Leslie...I don't really feel comfortable with you in that position."

"There we go. That's much better."

Not even the snacks were safe from Leslie.

And keep in mind, this is all just Day 1 of a TPR Trip. Much more will come later.

Edited June 27, 2011 by XII

[the ghost]

Awww... I miss Knott's old tumbler! It may be my favorite flat of all time, and it is CRAZY fun. Anyway, good way to start the TR!

[XII]

Ok. So for Day 2, we were at Adventureland. This was one of the smaller parks on the TPR Middle America Tour and while it was a small park, it definitely packed a pretty big punch with a really nice atmosphere and some good wooden coasters. Anyways, onto the photos since they do a better job of explaining the trip.

You know you're in the midwest when you wake up to this.

Yup. We have definitely arrived at Adventureland.

So far it seems like a nice little park.

Hmm. I know I've seen something like this before. I just can't figure out where though.

They've got a nice Main Street here.

Unfortunately, half of it was reduced to dirt due to that fire earlier.

But don't worry. They can rebuild it. They have the technology. Main Street will be better than ever.

This park is really beautiful.

If the popcorn comes from the pigs stomach, does that mean that it's Bacon Flavored Popcorn?

Aww. I miss Spin Out. =(

All right. Time for woodie #1 of the trip.

Yup. There's corn on the other side of the lifthill. We're in the midwest.

Good news. Tornado is actually a pretty good woodie.

While it's not mindblowing or anything, it's still a very fun and enjoyable ride.

Unlike this evil contraption.

Yup. I have officially found my new worst coaster ever.

We haven't even reached the lifthill yet and I've already gotten the living crap beaten out of me.

This ride is so horrible that it's making me flashback to the most horrible times of my life.

I'm surprised that nobody has fractured their skulls on this thing.

Yeah, I really regret not doing this. Oh well. Just another reason for me to come back.

This frisbee actually runs a pretty good program.

Time for another woodie. This one is called the Outlaw.

Aww. But I just got here. =(

And like Tornado, it's a really fun ride.

Hey, it may not be top 10 worthy, but at least it's a fun ride.

Ok, next up was the Underground. People usually call this the 4th credit at Adventureland, however my gut is telling me that this is a dark ride and not a credit. It's in my count for now, but don't be surprised if I suddenly take the Underground off my list.

Credit or not, it's a pretty cool and bizarre ride.

After being disappointed with CGA's breakdance, I had low expectations, but this one was hauling ass!

We have our own spot because we're special.

This is a nice break away from traditional park food.

Not only can I feel the wind in my face on this Space Shot, but it didn't close this Labor Day.

This top spin actually ran a pretty good program.

Inverter = Epic Win!

"MINE MINE MINE!!!!!!"

A couple more rides on Outlaw before we head on out.

I'm gonna miss this place.

And in case you couldn't tell, that is in fact the city of Des Moines. (You can tell because otherwise you'd just see more corn.)

[jray21]

Great update. Can't wait to see more. Any chance we will be seeing the bee sting!?

[larrygator]

^^Never underestimate a flat ride at a family run park by comparing it to the same ride at a corporate park.

[XII]

Continuing on with Day 2, we then spent the rest of the night at Worlds of Fun. There we rode many coasters, had lots of fun, and of course, found Prowler and got to experience it and all the holiness that that ride has to offer. Anyways, onto the photos. (Oh, and yes Joey. You will eventually get to see the bee sting.)

 

Oh yeah, and to any rollercoaster photographers considering a TPR Trip, Just remember that you can get a lot of really rare backstage shots as shown in this Prowler Video. (This ride is too godly to be seen in photos alone.)

All right. Next park, Worlds of Fun. And bad news for gun nuts. But this is not a gun friendly place.

All right. First ride of the night was indeed Patriot.

For me, Patriot was just like a Midwestern Talon. It's fun, but not one of my favorite B&M Inverted coasters.

Timber Wolf was actually a really good woodie. Not Prowler good of course, but it was still much better than I had expected.

Meh. I don't have time for this. I've got better things to ride.

Like Mamba for example.

How come the Worlds of Fun Vending Machine only has pictures of Cedar Point roller coasters on it?

Mamba was pretty much just like Steel Force. Only with a headchopper helix.

Ooh. Look at the pretty lights.

Yup. They have one of these here as well. (Well, at least this one isn't too rough.)

Cha Ching.

After this and our Prowler ERT, I'll be done with the WOF credits. (Well, except for the Wacky Worm. But I still have some dignity left inside me.)

And now for the highlight of the entire Middle America Trip, Prowler ERT!!!

This is more than just a sick crazy session of TPR ERT, This is a religious experience.

Not only did Worlds of Fun give us awesome Prowler ERT, but they also threw in bonus drinks afterwords. Thanks WOF, you guys are awesome.

But the party doesn't end there, now we're off to Waffle House for more craziness.

Now this is a view I'd like to wake up to everyday.

Yup. We're back at Worlds of fun for more fun and awesomeness.

Now we have Patriot ERT!

Unfortunately, ERT was postponed due to technical difficulties.

But at least we still got first rides of the day. Thanks again WOF.

Up next, more Spinning Dragons.

For those who don't know, Spinning Dragons is basically a clone of the Fairly Odd Coaster in Nickelodeon Universe.

Well, at least if you don't get wet on the log flume, at least you'll be cooled off by the shade.

Yup. I'm reliving my childhood days at SFMM on the WOF Rotor.

You know, I think an enterprise might just make a perfect fit in Spin Out's old spot.

I gotta have more Prowler!!!

Random Worlds of Fun Flat Ride that I did not ride.

Meh, lunch may be good. But just wait until dinner.

During the raffle they had during lunch, I ended up winning a Prowler hat and patch. Now I may not be a hat person or a patch person, but still. It's a miracle when I win anything at all. (Plus, they both have the mark of Prowler on them, so that makes them amazing.)

To make this as epic as epic gets, a Prowler Backstage Tour.

Here's a little fact. Prowler is actually a medically proven cure for cancer.

I used to be an atheist. But after that Prowler ERT, I have now accepted Prowler as my lord and savior.

Pathetic little trees failing to cover up Prowler's holiness.

Prowler showing off it's own merchandise.

The all mighty Prowler must flee the scene before the TPR Paparazzi downgrades it to their levels.

Ok, in all seriousness, Prowler is not what I described in those captions. But it still is my favorite GCI to this date. And that's not a Prowler is god joke. It really is.

Sorry people on the train. But this is a private backstage tour. Please leave as soon as possible.

I'm not sure how many people did Cyclone Sams, but all I know is that the answer is not enough. This ride was awesome. More Wipeouts need to be themed to tornadoes.

Good Bye Worlds of Fun. We shall meet again someday.

Up next, dinner at Lamberts Cafe.

While some people looked around in the local shops while waiting, I tried playing a little football in this field with some other TPR Members. I'm pretty sure if any of us tried real football, we'd receive $1,000 if we promise to never touch a football ever again.

All right. Time to eat.

Why it appears that that guy is making a jackass of himself. Catching bread in his mouth like an uncivilized animal. Why, just saying that makes him look like a jackass.

Yeah. The food here was f*cking huge. I couldn't even eat half of that.

Here's a little tip. Whenever you see a TPR Group, aim for the head.

Yup. Dinner was awesome. Although now I never want to hear the word food again. Silver Dollar City Photos will be up soon.

[cal1br3tto]

I LOL'd at "The food here was f*cking huge." Very true very true. It was definitely too much for me, but the rolls made the visit worthwhile!

[XII]

Ok, sorry about the long delay. I just had something called life get in the way. Oh well, on to the Photo TR. And where else to pick up again than from my favorite park on the trip. Silver Dollar City. This park is awesome. Everything about it. Why ramble up here about how awesome Silver Dollar City is when I can just show you photos to prove it?

Ok. That's really depressing. We need something to cheer us up.

That'll do the trick.

Today was an awesome day at Silver Dollar City.

Don't believe me? Just take a look at our itinerary for the day.

This place is stunningly beautiful.

They really nailed down the 1800s town look.

Just to let you know where we are.

Yikes. Look at all the funky jerky they have here. I should've tried the Kangaroo Jerky.

Ok. Enough of that. We have rollercoasters to ride.

This ride was awesome.

Another thing people rave about here is their Cinnamon Bread.

Surely, it's just bread. It can't be THAT good.

"Holy Sh*t!!! This stuff is amazing!!!"

Up next, Fire in the Hole.

It may not count as a credit.

But that doesn't mean that this wasn't a kickass dark ride. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!!!"

Where can I find this attraction? I can't find it on the park map.

Yay. Now it's time for us to ride Wildfire.

For all you lifthill nuts out there.

It's no Kumba, but Wildfire is still an awesome B&M.

Hey! I didn't think this ride had armbanging!! Wait, how is that even possible?

No wait. That was just a bee stinging me on the ride. And the bee was still attached to the stinger, which made for a very interesting meet and greet, But look on the bright side. I'm still alive and that bee is not. XII 1. Bee 0.

Time for a ride on the Giant Barn Swing.

Hmm. Looks like an ordinary mine train.

Not only is this mine train more insane than any other mine train, but you can also ride it backwards.

Aww. River Blast broke down on us.

In that case, time to get the final credit needed here.

Cha Ching!!!

The Disko here actually runs a pretty good program.

"Teacups anyone?"

Aww. Nothing refreshes you better than a Cherry Coke Icee. (Yes, you can get that thanks to the beauty of the self mixing Icee machine.)

Sweet!!! River Blast opened back up for us!!!

You know, considering that this is a Splash Battle, this is an acceptable amount of wetness.

I think I'm wet enough already thank you very much.

Back to the Barn Swing.

This ride is awesome and I'm glad to see this ride is coming to Dollywood in 2011.

This park's sense of humor is awesome.

Yes, Silver Dollar City is so awesome that they make their own milk. And considering how much they gave us, we owe them a little manual labor.

Sweet! Time for the park's shooting dark ride.

"Can I take these guns with me back home to Australia?"

OMG! The food here is phenomenal. Everything in that skillet is awesome.

Hey Grandpa! We just popped back in Ventura to give you a quick visit.

Hmm. Something about this just isn't right.

Hey Grandpa. If this is what you did to your house,then I'm really looking foreword to seeing what you did with that farm in your backyard.

If I could, I would.

Dinner was awesome. This time, I won a book during trivia.

All right. Back to Powder Keg.

If someone said "I want to go on something more thrilling than California Screamin, but not nearly as insane as Maverick", you'd pretty much get Powder Keg right there.

EXCITEMENT 3...2...1!!!!!!!!!

All right. What's American Plunge?

I think I'll pass.

I'll just stick with Wildfire thank you very much.

This may not be as crazily forceful as Kumba, but hey. Kumba doesn't have ejector air on it's first drop.

Look out for those bees. They're gonna sting you.

All those excuses are lame.

Did I mention that this park is beautiful?

I'm really hoping that some other parks in the future will give their mine trains the Thunderation Treatment.

What exactly is the Marvel Cave you may ask?

The Marvel Cave is an actual cave that Silver Dollar City owns and gives tours to. And it's not an upcharge.

Welcome to hell. (Seriously, the local indians originally thought that this was the entrance to hell.)

While this is cool and all, I wouldn't recommend this for people with claustrophobia.

Am I really at an amusement park?

Then when it's all over, you get in this tiny little car and are dragged out of there. Well, that's it for Silver Dollar City. Next up will be photos and video of the City Museum.

[jynx242]

Thanks for the update Kevin! I miss my summer trip again Glad to re-live it through your photos. SDC was also my favorite park of the trip! What a great time....Can't wait till this summer!~

[tiger01]

This Tr is great! Prowler I must ride!!!! Wildfire looks stingin'!

[cal1br3tto]

Yay for more Middle America updates! Great photos and captions as always.

[mattnz]

Hey Kevin - just caught up with your TR. Nice work. Everytime I saw you there was a camera strapped to your hands. The hard work has paid off!

[jray21]

Awesome update! The pictures of the food, especially the cinnamon bread, made me want to cry That was such a fun trip. I was wondering if you had gotten a picture of your near death experience with the bee ! Can't wait for the rest!

[XII]

Thanks for all the comments everyone. And now onto one of the craziest days of the tour, the City Museum day. While there were no amusement parks on this day, there were still giant slides of death, hamster wheels, adult ball pits, and we even saw a famous landmark. So I'm pretty sure that will do just fine. Anyways, onto the City Museum day.

Hmm. So today's our no park day. If we're not off to a park first, then where could we be heading to right now.

Well wherever we went, it involved Bryan having to drive our bus through these cones. Bryan kicked ass as a bus driver BTW. Where could we be going that involved Bryan to have to perform such a maneuver with our bus?

Yup. We're off to Pizza Hut.

This little pizza hut in the middle of nowhere Missouri has offically been scared for life.

Up next, we're off to the St. Louis Gateway Arch.

What? Culture in the middle of a roller coaster trip? How blasphemous. We need more Intamin Hypers and less famous landmarks. That would make the world a much better place.

Anyone else think they should just convert the Gateway Arch into a bigass Skycoaster?

Gateway Arch Crotch Shot.

All right. Let's head up to the top of this thing.

Just incase you thought we took the North Tram up to the top.

"F*ck Culture! If they don't have any rides for Kidtums here, I'll make one myself!"

The Gateway Arch isn't recommended for anyone claustrophobic.

The top of the arch isn't that much better than the pods you take to get up to the top.

From the Gateway Arch, you can get such lovely views such as the Missisippi River...

The rest of St. Louis...

And even the bottom of the Gateway Arch itself.

Shadow Shot of the Gateway Arch.

Ooh!! Artsy Shot of the Gateway Arch.

Notice how the culture dominates above the typical TPR Member.

The Gateway Arch through some unimportant random St. Louis building.

Ahh. That's enough culture for now. Let's do something fun. Like hang out in this f*cked up contraption.

In case you don't know, that f*cked up contraption is the St. Louis City Museum. And it is amazing.

For those who don't know, at the City Museum, you basically just get to go through all sorts of crazy insane contraptions.

Ok. So what exactly is the Cave Slide you may ask?

Basically you climb up a huge flight of stairs...

And then you slide down a 10 story slide.

"Are we there yet?"

Well, here goes nothing.

Unfortunetly, it was pretty slow due to the heavy friction it creates. (You can tell that this was made for shoeboxes and not humans.) But still!! It's a 10 story slide, and therefor, is amazing.

Hello. My name is Mr. Fish. At many places, I'm the star of the show such as at the aquarium or in the ocean. But I'm the most boring thing here.

Another look at the 10 story Cave Slides.

Time to get crawling through the coils.

This is a very bizarre place.

Another giant slide at the City Museum.

Time to go into the Outdoor Part of the City Museum.

This may be hurting my legs, but I love it!!!

"I may be out of shape, but dammit!! I KNOW I can make it through these coils!!!!"

"A little help here?"

All right!! I made it to the plane!!

"Hey. I don't remember parking my plane here. How did that happen?"

We have encountered another giant slide.

It too, suffers from Too much Friction Syndrome and is not nearly as fast as you would think.

Vertical Slide Goodness.

FIGHT!!!!!! FIGHT!!!!!!! FIGHT!!!!!!!!

"Wait? Why are we fighting each other? The real enemy is right over there."

"DIRECT HIT!!!!!"

This is not going to end well.

"My mommy says I'm not allowed in the Ball Pit. So I'm stuck here in the Sponge Room."

All right!! I see a beehive! Now where's that bastard who stung me on Wildfire!!!?

There you are. Well Mr. Bee, what do you have to say for yourself. Do you think it's fun to sting people on B&Ms? How would you like it if I stung you while pollenating those flowers?

Anyone up for Bob's Big Boy?

Anyone up to try out that Vertical Slide?

"Hey! There's no slide too dangerous for me!!"

Yeah. That's the expression most people have while sliding down the slides here.

Oh boy!! I can't wait to see what sort of crazy stuff they have on the roof!!

Hey, this actually looks pretty peaceful. (For the City Museum.)

They have their very own ferris wheel on the roof.

Yeah. This place is amazing.

HOLY CRAP!!! THE CITY MUSEUM IS BEING ATTACKED BY GIANT MUTATED GRASSHOPPERS!!!!

St. Louis at sunset.

Dude!! This slide is actually really freaking fast!!!

And now, to finish off this night, White Castle!!!

It's been a long journey, but we finally made it to White Castle.

Unfortunetly, White Castle isn't that good. "DAMN YOU HAROLD AND KUMAR!!!! YOU LIED TO ME!!!!!!"

Screw the Gateway Arch. We now have the White Castle Arch. This one's better because we added a drop tower/lightning rod at the top. Six Flags St. Louis Photos will be coming soon.

[mattnz]

Awesome photos of the City Museum - and Whitecastle! Andrew and I weren't sure if people were exaggerating the awfulness of Whitecastle, but an hour or so later...well let's just say it wasn't pleasant!

[XII]

Onto the next day, Six Flags St. Louis. This was one of the more memorable days of the trip thanks to the blazing heat. This was without a doubt, the hottest day of the trip with temperatures of 112 degrees. However, with all the days on this trip, we still managed to have a blast. Anyways, onto the photos.

We're here!!!

Today's park is Six Flags St. Louis

First off, we got a backstage tour of Mr. Freeze.

Ooh. Getting personal here.

We had a park director come talk to us about Mr. Freeze.

Be sure not to fall onto the track.

Yeah. This is awesome.

Nerd Shot.

Who needs captions when you have photos like these?

"Mr. Freeze has had a very dark past. I am about to reveal some very shocking content about this ride that most of you never even thought was possible."

Meh. Backstage Shots like this are better than any dark past of Mr. Freeze.

All right. Time to actually ride some rides.

Good thing we have ERT on Evel Kinevel.

While not nearly as good as the all mighty Prowler, Evel Kinevel is still a very good GCI.

Standard GCI Twistiness.

And now it's time to ride Mr. Freeze.

More rides need restraints like these.

"In case we die, I just wanted to say that I love you."

Now that ERT is over, let's get this sh*tty ride out of the way.

"Hey!! That sh*tty ride over there is my 200th Credit!!!"

While it's not the worst coaster of all time, it's definitely in the bottom of the roller coaster barrel.

Yeah. You get a good smack to the head here.

And it has these horribly ugly Stride Wraps. While I've seen these Stride Wraps on other coasters and look good, they simply look bad here as black and rainbow simply don't mix. But look on the bright side. Why make a sh*tty coaster look good?

Up next, Batman the Ride.

Hmm. Something's not quite right here.

Ahh!! It's all backwards!!!

Cha Ching!!! Next!!!

Superman Tower of Power. One of the few things that survived from Six Flags Astroworld. Good thing because it's a fun ride.

Up next, Screamin Eagle.

It's not a bad ride. There's just nothing special about it.

Up next, another Tony Hawk Clone.

Not much to say other than that it was fun.

After this, I will have gotten all the credits here.

The Boss is sort of what it would be like if Ghostrider, Villian, and Son of Beast had a threesome and spawned a son that they sent to SFSL.

We got in all the credits before lunch. Qbots are awesome.

Yeah. Those were necessary today, being the hottest day in TPR History and boiling.

Anyone up for more rides on Evel Kinevel?

I'll trade Terminator for you. (Oops. I meant Apocalypse. My bad.)

I'm not a log flume person and normally will not ride them at parks I'm visiting for the first time. However, today was an exception due to the extreme heat and getting in all the credits.

Just in case you forgot where we were. (Hey, don't blame yourself if you did. It was memory destroyingly hot today.)

Ooh. What's this?

Now this is something you don't see everyday. A dark ride in a Six Flags Park.

Hmm. What's this?

Xcalibur is the park's evolution. I really hope more parks buy these rides as I really liked this one.

Ahh. Why can't Screamin Eagle run with those trains.

Oh well. It's still a fun ride. Holiday World Photos will be up soon.

[angryemobeaver]

Makes me miss SFStL! I remember how blazing hot it was when I went too, and looking out the window right now seeing about six inches of snow, that heat sounds pretty amazing! On my way to Worlds of Fun we could see the ferris wheel on top of the museum and had no idea what it was. Now I know!

 

Thanks for posting this, I love PTRs in the off season, that and keeping up with under construction rides is pretty much the way I survive this time of the year!

[jray21]

Awesome report! That was an incredibly hot day. The bathroom that was in the picnic are during lunch was literally like walking into a sauna. But it was still an awesome day!

[krazekiddd]

^Wasn't it at SFStl that we found those amazing bathrooms that were 30 degrees? I swear some of us stayed in there for a while.

[CoasterDude211]

Thanks for posting these! I enjoy reading PTRs more in the off-season as I miss going to parks. Personally, I really like Six Flags St. Louis, but I think I'm partial because I grew up going there. And as a result, every other Batman seems backwards to the one I grew up with!

[rollin_n_coastin]

Hey Kevin, awesome pics so far! Something to keep us all smiling during the winter. Love seeing people's Mall of America pictures since I couldn't make the pre-trip day....still can't believe that log flume and how soaking an experience it was.

[XII]

Onto today's photos. Well today we were at Holiday World, where we got all sorts of awesome perks and other cool stuff. And I'll let the pictures do all the talking from this point.

Sweet. This is a great view to wake up to.

This however, is not a great hotel to stay at. Not recommended.

Yup. Today, we're at Holiday World.

Wow. We already got a backstage tour first thing in the morning. Today is really looking great.

We were able to get very close to the coasters today.

Raven through the trees.

"Ooh!!! We're touching Raven!!! We're so cool!!!!"

Ok. That's enough looking around. Let's ride.

Unfortunetly, I kind of found Raven to be overrated at first. (It got a lot better in the evening.)

Next up, the Legend.

While Raven and Voyage are better, I really found Legend to be a great woodie and it needs some more love.

Speaking of the Voyage...

"Whoa Whoa Whoa!!! I like you as a friend and all, but that's it!!! Just a friend!!! Back Off!!!!"

Yeah, this ride kicks ass.

And here are the Timberliners which I am looking foreword to seeing on Voyage in 2011.

Ooh!! Let's check out Splashin Safari!!!

Unfortunetly, I never really got a chance to check out Splashin Safari. But oh well. It just gives me another reason to come back to this awesome park.

Yikes. It's boiling out here. How much are soft drinks here?

At Holiday World, your soft drink is FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is awesome. For once, I felt fully hydrated at a theme park. Thanks, you guys are awesome.

Well, I at least managed to get on Wildebeest.

Wildebeest was freaking amazing.

And it wouldn't have been possible to experience this awesome water slide without this awesome front of the line pass. Once again, thank you Holiday World. You guys are awesome.

That may be it for Splashin Safari, but that certainly won't be it for getting wet.

Pilgrim's Plunge is a very interesting water ride.

Pilgrims Plunge is a giant shoot the chutes with an elevator lift and apparently, you don't get wet on it.

So far, it looks like the rumors may be true.

Nope. You do get wet. As expected from a giant shoot the chutes.

All right. Time to check out one of the more patriotic parts of Holiday World.

S&S Double Shots may be small, but man do they pack a punch.

All right lets just get this over with.

Cha Ching!!!

"Hey kids, now that you conquered Howler, you ready to go up against the Voyage?"

In case you didn't know, this was lunch. We ate this.

Yo Holidog!!! What's up!!!? Wanna tag along for the rest of the tour?

Those are the ugliest bunnies I've ever seen in my life. And I know what ugly is.

Gobbler Getaway is Holiday World's Dark Ride. And it's a very interesting dark ride.

You're not shooting the turkeys, you're calling them. (We had to do some compromising with PETA in the designing process.)

"Is that turkey doing what I think it's doing?"

So that's what we were calling the turkeys for. We needed them to run the Tilt a Whirl for us.

Anyone up for another ride on Pilgrim's Plunge?

Yeah. That whole "You don't get wet" statement is total bullsh*t.

I can't wait till we drag Samantha on this thing later today.

Oh boy. I finally got a job working at Holiday World.

Nope. This is just the start of our amazing backstage tour.

Hello. I'm Samantha. Long time park employee, Tour Guide for your tour, and until the end of this tour, Pilgrims Plunge Virgin.

Anyways, on with the tour.

Yes. Congratulations on 1,000,000 visitors.

First up, a park history lesson via puzzles.

In the 60s and 70s, Holiday World was known as Santa Claus Land and only had small flat rides.

In the 80s and 90s, They became Holiday World and added roller coasters.

And here's today. The puzzle is not complete as it was meant for employees to do a good job and then they'd get a puzzle piece.

Wow. I had no idea that the Voyage station was that big.

Ok. Who wrote that? We all know that a Holiday World employee wouldn't write Bad Butt on the whiteboard.

Ok, time for a quick ride on the Voyage.

Random Voyage Car sitting randomly on a random peice of random ground randomly.

Yeah. This ride is awesome.

During the backstage tour, I was summoned to a Funnel Cake Challenge to see who can make a better funnel cake.

Dammit!! I dropped my wallet in the batter. Better go fish it out.

It's no coincidence that I was summoned to partake in this funnel cake challenge. For this is just training for my appearence on Iron Chef.

So far, so good.

"Oh my god. Did I just create that?"

When I open up my own theme park, all the funnel cakes served will look like this.

"Ha!! You're going down Kevin!!"

Now this is how you make a funnel cake.

Oh crap. That's a good looking funnel cake. Maybe if I put powdered sugar on mine, they won't notice the properness of Samantha's funnel cake.

Yeah, I lost. Holiday World 1. XII 0.

And now onto our scheduled backstage tour.

Next up, the Sign Room.

That's a good looking picture. They should build a mural to put that photo in like they have at SFMM.

Hello, I have great ideas for Holiday World. I'd share them with you, but I'm not for obvious reasons.

And now, time for a Voyage Photo Walkback.

Run Voyage Run!!!! Run away from the Paparazzi!!!!!

Time for one last ride on Raven when it's running awesomely.

And one the bus to the hotel, we partook in Elissa Bingo. Up next, Indiana Beach.

[XII]

All right. Sorry for the delay. I just had life get in the way again (Damn life). Anyways, I'm hoping to finally finish this Photo TR and not have it delayed again. So anyways, our next park on the trip was Indiana Beach. It's a nice park with some good coasters. Don't believe me, take a look at the photos below.

Our morning started off with us heading to the middle of nowhere. (We are going to yet another amusement park. Right?)

Oh good. Today is the Indiana Beach day.

We're here!!!

You're sure there's a theme park here? Looks like a dirt lot in the middle of nowhere to me. No sign of an amusement park in sight.

Well, I guess I should just trust the sign and see what happens when I walk through the gate.

Wow. We went from a cornfield to this in a matter of seconds. Quite a big difference.

First up, ERT on Lost Coaster. (AKA, What the F*ck the Ride.)

Apparently, this was originally a dark ride, but then Indiana Beach wanted another coaster, so they converted this to a roller coaster. Yeah, I can totally see the dark ride in this.

This ride is so confusing that it'll make your bones rattle.

Have fun you guys.

Continuing on with ERT, we're now at Cornball Express.

EXCITEMENT GUYS!!!!!!!!

Cornball Express is an awesome woodie.

The ride is filled with good airtime and laterals.

Yeah. This is much better than Lost Coaster.

Ok. ERTs over. Now it's time to go on a credit run. First up, Tig'rr Coaster.

For such a small ride, it packs quite a punch.

Yeah, this ride is good.

Well, we should definetly get this out of the way next.

This looks A LOT like an old crappy coaster that was at my local fair years ago. NOT a good sign.

Dude!! This thing was awesome! If you sit in the back, you actually get some great airtime!!

Next up, Hoosier Hurricane. This ride is parrticuarly special to me...

Because this was my 200th credit!!!!

YAY!!!!!! I HIT THE #200 MILESTONE!!!!!

Aww. Nobody cares. =(

Anyways, while Hoosier Hurricane wasn't a bad woodie or anything, Cornball is simply much better.

Well, at least my 200th credit wasn't nearly as bad as my 100th credit (A Boomerang).

Luckily, Steel Hawg opened for us right after we got all the other credits.

Wow. That looks like it was designed with a coat hanger.

So how was Steel Hawg?

Steel Hawg kicks ass, and I personally can't decide whether this or Cornball should be Indiana Beach's star attraction.

Aww. The Double Shot is closed. =( Luckily, the other flats were open.

Indiana Beach has one of my favorite park settings ever. The whole place has a lake smell that I really liked.

The good news. Indiana Beach has flyers!

The bad news. You can't snap them. =(

Ok, I simply have to say this. If you're at Indiana Beach, DO THIS!!!!!! IT KICKS ASS!!!!! I normally don't do upcharge attractions, but this is by far worth the price you pay.

Good thing we got on Lost Coaster when we did.

While Indiana Beach doesn't necesarrily have any amazing state of the art flat rides, the flat rides they do have, while standard, are definetly the best of their kind.

Though this was my first paratrooper, so I can't compare it to anything.

These chairswings kick ass. They have a great setting over the water and they sway giving the illusion of falling into the lake.

And yeah, their Falling Star is also great.

And now, it's time to get some shots from the Ferris Wheel.

You get some great Hoosier Hurricane Shots from up here.

Indiana Beach from the sky.

Yeah, it's now time for Music Express. (It wasn't that musical.)

Anyways, looks like TPR is going to have a Fascination takeover.

I however did not partake in any Fascination and instead just hung out with some of the awesome people on this trip,

All right. Time for our official dinner at the Skyroom.

Why is the Sky Room only 1 story above the ground and yet miles below the ozone layer? Some spot your skyroom is in. It's practically on the ground.

In all seriousness, the Skyroom actually served us some awesome food. Thank you Indiana Beach. You guys are awesome.

All right!! Bumper Cars!!!

Anyways, back to Steel Hawg and it's beyond verticalness.

Outside banking is awesome!!! More rides need outside banking!!!

Steel Hawg is awesome and I hope more parks invest in S&S El Locos.

Ooh. Twisty bit!

One last ride on Cornball Express before we head on back to the bus.

Good news for everyone. The people who played Fascination won a bunch of prizes and decided to give everyone on the bus a little camera shaped squirt gun. Thanks guys.

[jynx242]

Thanks for the update Kevin. You forgot to mention, that we were told that we needed to shoot Dan with our handy little fascination squirt guns!

[odene497]

Seriously great stuff Kevin! I'd like to go back to Indiana Beach, I was just so tired that day. Looking back it really was a nice park. I miss this trip so much, keep the pictures coming!