Chadster's Vacation Adventures: Final Edition!

[kenshinmac]

Kinda bummed that when Colorado you seem to only have gone to Coors? I know it is one of the biggest in the state (not sure if it is bigger than the AB plant in Fort Collins) but you could have sampled one of the many many smaller breweries. (BTW New Belgium in Fort Collins provides 3 samples in the sampling room and 5-6 samples if you go on the free tour!)

 

I am curious what did you think of Lakeside? Also how easy is the credit whoring around Denver? I still haven't tried to get the credits outside of Lakeside and Elitch Gardens.

[chadster]

^ I did hit up Rock Bottom in Downtown Denver and had their chocolate beer, quite tasty!

 

As far as getting the other credits, honestly I could have done everything in one day if I just whored it out. With Elitch closing at 9pm and Lakeside closing at 11pm, it would have been totally doable. Basically had I known then what I know now I would start out at Santa's Workshop at the 10am opening, 90 minutes max if you ride the flats and walk around, next I would hit up the flea market, in and out in less than 30 minutes, quick drive the Heritage Square, maybe 30 minutes for both coasters and another 30 for the Alpine Slide. At that point, it should be about 4pm, hit Elitch for 4 hours, quick 10 minute drive to Lakeside and close out the night.

 

I actually really liked Lakeside, the nostalgia, the ride signs, it all just fit. I hope they don't change.

 

Next time I'm in town, and there will be a next time, I'll hit up the Fort Collins Tour!

[kenshinmac]

I need to go to Rock Bottom again... It has been a while since I visited one of them.

 

If you really love beers you probably would have to spread it out over a few days in CO. I think Fort Collins alone is up to like 7 or 8 breweries. Then there are several between Fort Collins and Denver as well. I think a lot of them charge for samples but there are a lot of great beers. If you want to check out a distillery the very young Dancing Pines Distillery in Loveland was really friendly and gave (obviously small) samples of all their wares (really good stuff).

[disneyfan1313]

Cool to see the tour! I remember doing the Busch Gardens brewery tour in Tampa years ago. What is Coors "banquet" and how is it different from normal Coors?

[chadster]

^ It's actually the same as regular Coors but in a fancy package. It sounds safisticated tho doesn't it?

[Chrisrad]

Wow, despite their top beers tasting like, umm..

 

What I meant to say was: "Yay, you went to the Blue Moon/Killians factory!" (those are the only beers I saw)

 

Looked like a pretty cool tour! Thanks for sharing.

 

And no Fat Tire tour?

[Pirouettes907]

Your third and final wish to grant is...

 

Credit whoring at Kiddieland in Pittsburg, KS.

 

(please.)

[chadster]

On August 20, 2011 I made my way to Denver, Colorado where, amongst other parks, I visited Lakeside Amusement Park located near downtown Denver and close by to the Jack and Grill restaurant featured on Man Vs. Food (which was really good btw)

 

Lakeside is an Art Deco park that brings you back in time. When I first drive up to the park and had to park in a sandy parking lot I was thinking what in the world did I get myself into. However, I was literally taken back in time and instantly fell in love with the park. As you will see each of the rides, with the exception of the zoom, features an art deco entrance or ride sign that lights up at night with colors of the period. The rides also looked very nice at night with most of the lights actually working, something you sometimes don't see at a major park.

 

Unfortunately I would be denied two credits. The Dragon I understand has been down for sometime and I was denied a ride on the kiddie coaster which I thought strange as I've ridden plenty of those in the past. However no amount of smooth talking would get me on the ride. But despite that small setback in my coaster counting, I took time to just enjoy the atmosphere. Ride prices were cheap when bought by the ride or you get get a pay one price wristband on the weekend for $19.95. When I figured up the number of rides I went on and their ticket pricing, I came out about even and rode a lot.

 

While I can see how some might consider the park to be sketchy, I rather enjoyed it and would certainly return next time I'm in Denver.

hmmm, where am I, looks like a casino down there

Hey look it's a coaster!

I MUST be in the right place!

Sure enough, I'm at Lakeside today!

Rock on, party hard dude!

I walked through the tower after paying my $2.50 entry fee and stepped back in time. I was instantly in love.

The park was clean and full of life.

In case you didn't know, the coaster out front is the Cyclone. I love the station!

The signage is art deco which is a matching theme throughout the park. I wonder what these signs look like all lit up at night. And even a bigger question, do they work?

Can't have a spide sign without a spider! The signs were built to also be used as individual ticket booths at one point in time.

This is just awesome! It was running full tilt!

The scrambler was running balls out as well!

Through the bush shot

Funny, I have the same rules...

Speaking of Wild Chipmunk, let's go hop on the Chip.

Nerd Shot!

The preceeding nerd shot was brought to you by, the brakeman. Yep, that's right, not many of these exist anymore.

OMFG! It's gonna fly off the track!

And a classic overview

"Hey, quit grinding on me" "Sorry hun, they said we had to sit close together" "It's okay babe, I can't feel it anyway"

Double coaster train/car shot!

The ol' girl still stands.

Outside of the Cyclone, this was simply the best ride station at the park, heck, one of the top ones in the country IMO.

Here we are at the INN

Where you can find food at reasonable prices. As far as quality is concerned, I can't speak to that. I was still full from my 7lb burrito

Next it was time to slay a dragon, so I took a stroll along the backside of the park.

Closed. I did notice that they have their Cedar Fair trash can ride closed signal down pat. If the inlet is facing you, the ride is closed. If the inlet is facing left or right, the ride is open.

Oh well, let's take a stroll and see what else they have, like this classic ferris wheel, complete with yup, another art deco sign.

Snappy Snap Snap Snap Snap Snap

We will we will whip you. This was mighty tame compared to others I've been on.

A very brief overview of kiddieland

and the denied credit

Bumpity Bump Bump Boats, with yet another cool looking sign!

ACER's be warned.

So two rides down isn't so bad.

Darkness was starting to fall and the lights were coming on. This here Matterhorn played no music and really didn't have the fire power I'd expect. Oh, and watch out for the pigeons

"Worlds Most Exciting Ride"

The "Zoom" was the only ride without an Art Deco Sign. I was told it's 3 years old and cost them $3million to install. ouch!

"I think I just peed myself"

Ahhh, I'm in ahhh, see, ahhhh

Operator controlled, oh yeah, make him mad, you hang upside down for a while.

Starting to get really dark at this point with storms brewing to the South, so it was time to see the park all lit up at night.

Hello Cyclone, not only do you have a nice station, but in the dark, the tunnel leading to the lift hill is quite exciting!

I love this shot. The ride itself doesn't beat you too bad and there are no seat dividers, so if you get to ride by yourself like me, you get to slide all over the bench!

These were on the ironwork railings, I thought they were cool.

Dude looks like an ACEr, certainly not like a lady.

They didn't even check your belts, you got in, sat down, connected the clip, they asked if you were buckled up, and sent the train. Overall I liked the ride, not too rough and the layout was nice with a 30+ degree bank going into the turnaround. A top 20 woodie for me.

The line was getting long for the Cyclone, so off for a night ride on the Spider. And the sign works! The spider flashes green, but no good pics of that

I just liked the fact the most all of the lights, except for the entry tower, worked on the rides. I love a good park with working lights, it just gives it a special feel that you don't get in the daytime.

Flying High, or just High, one or the other

Rock my world little country girl, oh, sorry, singing again, the Rock-O-Planes needs some lube, lost of squeeling and not a lot of action.

Even the whip has some cool art deco to it.

Time for an icee

Off to skoot a boot

These bumped and kicked some ass.

Life is all fun and games until...

...its time to go.

Thanks Lakeside, I enjoyed my stay!

[chadster]

Wish 2 granted. Now for wish three, I might need to take a shower

[PAL]

I wished wisely. Wonderful lights and classic architecture. Very nice. Too bad you found toothless old school flats. It saddens me that you missed Knoebels, infinitely better than shore whoring. Quality over crappy quantity sez I. Maybe you're waiting for Flying Turns.

[MayTheGForceBeWithYou]

Considering I'm from Colorado, and about an hour away from the park, I've grown fond of this place. It's a great park that still has that classic feel to it.

[chadster]

Your third and final wish to grant is...

 

Credit whoring at Kiddieland in Pittsburg, KS.

 

(please.)

 

Seriously? If so, I'll grant it soon.

[christianscoasters]

Here is the coaster in Kingman.

^I've never even heard of that place, but apparently it's still open! If you want to be a REAL credit whore, go to Kingman, KS and try to find the kiddie coaster there. It's hidden and I had no clue it even existed.

 

Anyway, I live in Greeley, CO now so I'm an hour away from Lakeside. As broke college kids, we're planning out things for us to do. Lakeside is one of them Super, super cheap. Hell, I remember paying $3.50 for a souvenir cup. Compare that to $13 at Six Flags. Although a bit more pricey, we're going to Elitch's for Fright Fest when the time comes. I love Colorado

[Stitch_101]

Ok, I'm officially in love with Lakeside's retro look. One more added to my ever growing list of parks I need to visit.

[sspaz1000]

Just read all your TR's like I said I would. You have some awesome pictures! Can't wait to see more.

[chadster]

^ Thanks for stopping by!

 

^^^ Checking the road map now, maybe I'll try to sneak up there this weekend!

[chadster]

So someone wanted a little whoring for the third wish that I was granting, so, here it is

 

This is Kiddieland in Pittsburg Kansas. Kiddieland is located inside Lincoln park where you can find a golf course, putt putt golf, and other park type things you would expect. I haven't located too much info on the park, but the gentleman who runs it absolutely adored the kids that were there and treated them all as if they were his grandchildren. (Yes, he was older) Looked as if he only had one employee and they rotated operations of the handful of rides on property.

 

So, without further talk, here is a very short whorish report.

Here we are, ready to whore.

But first, lets take a quick look around.

I couldn't fit

These were some old school 40's rides

And a do it yourself ride

Do you like to do it youself? Well, on this train, you can't.

Hmmm, what is that back there?

Why yes, yes it is! It's a NERD SHOT!

Oh yeah, and a kiddie credit. So no, I won't show the picture of me riding it. Sorry. Not gonna happen. Cost me $1.50 to get spun around about 10 times. The old man was having a blast with the kidos that were there.

 

You know, it really was a neat, very small park in a small town that just was peaceful. Who knows, maybe one day I'll settle down in a small town, but just not anytime soon!

[simon8899]

No, no.no.....you wouldn't get onto that kind of coaster.....

 

The smallest I do are Zierer Tivoli - but only in the "Large" variant - and Vekoma MK-900s....in the back seat.

[PAL]

^^Self respect is over rated. Let's see it!

[Pirouettes907]

Ahem. Chadster, I requested a trip report of this place with the expectation that I would see photographic evidence of you sinking low in your whoring endeavors. Track layouts can viewed anytime. But watching you wallow in the dark side of this hobby, whoring yourself out and doing the dirty work of credit collecting is what we wanted to see.

 

 

Okay, actually, in all seriousness, thank you very much for posting this. I requested it because I was planning on stopping there myself this summer (until life events happened and I moved halfway across the country instead) and wanted to see what I missed. This place looks amazing. There were a few ride models I've never seen before (like the planes in the second photo down and those do-it-yourself cars) and it is really neat to see that such rare rides are still preserved and in working order. It's like a step back in time.

 

So now I'm wondering: will we get to see the rest of your Colorado adventures soon?

[chadster]

While I still refuse to post that onride photo of me, I will say that had someone chosen the Jersey Shore Whore option, I would have gladly posted multiple pictures of myself whoring, but since no one did, you guys may or may not ever see it

 

^ Eventually, yes! I will run a little wish granting contest again this weekend with more options, so stay tuned, wish granting will continue next week, there *might* even be a VTR option...just sayin'

Edited September 11, 2011 by chadster

[chadster]

So here it is, the awesome, the amazing, the epic Deep South Bash trip report! First of all I would like to thank everyone at Six Flags who worked to put on an event that, in my opinion, showed up their sister park, Magic Mountain. Their hospitality was over the top with Melinda, the parks President, stopping to chat with us while she was out walking in the park.

 

Mindbender still beats Shockwave. Dare Devil Dive I thought to be a little tame versus what I was hoping it was to be, but is still a solid ride that is packing the public in with 2 hour waits. The ride crew on DDD was on their game pushing trains out as fast as the GP would let them. While I'm not a total fan of lockers, this is a ride they may want to consider it on as the ops spent most of their time trying to get people to put their crap up.

 

Overall, this is one event I would love to see happen again next year. The time of year brought lighter GP crowds and the weather was awesome! If you didn't attend this event, you missed out!

 

This will be a longer PTR than I would normally do because this place was so awesome and we all had such a good time. I'll start off with the Haunted Mansion tour! Yes, we got to walk up into the scenery and get personal with the animatronics!

 

Enjoy!

 

Oh, and if you are in any of these photos and would like an original fully watermarked copy for your collection, message me with your e-mail address and I will send it to you!

Up before the sun to attend one of the best TPR events of the year!

The park teased us the night before with Goliath, and they continued to tease us as they added the trains and tested.

These guys are all lined up to get their tickets at the ticket booth.

From the parks newest employee!

The gathering of the geeks.

Robb just asked eveyone if they would like FREE BEER and wine. Looks like majority rules.

"This lanyard has magical powers, is very durable, and if you lose it, no FREE BEER or ERT for you!"

The pearly gates have opened and everyone is running to the breakfast table

Good gravy people!

NERD!! Oh. Wait. That's ME! And thanks to Jake for the assist on the photo!

So after my #400 on DDD, we made our way to a Club TPR Exclusive.

A walk-thru tour of Haunted Mansion! Membership has its privy's

In we go thru the rear entrance

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

They let us walk anywhere we wanted as long as we didn't cross over. As you can see the ride was drained, but they had all of the effects turned on.

So, since everyone gave me so much crap about not floating through the mansion back in May, I not only rode it twice, but also walked thru it, so there.

You float from this way. I think. Basically we entered just after the photo op at the front of the ride.

The middle dude was yanking on the front dudes pants trying put something long and round inside.

This is a really tripped up ride.

This is where we took that group photo posted on the offical DSB thread.

My, what a big tounge you have

We are all still taking it in, trying to figure out who dreams this stuff up.

Open wide and say ahhhhhhh

We got up close and personal with this attraction. But not near as up close and personal as R.D. did with Mindbender. Want to see how close, come back for the next part to see.

This is where you turn and go into the creepy part.

NERD SHOT!

This dragon thingy...

is controlled by all this

Boat lift used to lift boats that are dropped off and pulled out behind those black doors. Yeah, true backstage tour.

We went through the door and walked in here.

Boom!

This is the crew that sings the monster anthem

Bye! But wait. There's more!

This is the reservoir for Monster Mansion

This boat was too scared to enter the mansion.

Out the back of the Mansion we found Goliath waiting for us!

Bunch of TPR members, I mean dummies.

But not for us! The tour of Monster Mansion was Epic, but the park was just getting started! Part II coming soon where we will have some lunch, go on a photo walk back of the entire park, and more!

Edited September 19, 2011 by chadster

[PAL]

Dork! Congrats on #400.

[chadster]

Here we go with Part 2 - Photo Walkback

So after the mansion tour we had tons of ERT on DDD, Mindbender, Cyclone, Scorcher, and Batman!

The drop was good.

Looks like Adam was having a good time.

Double shot!

But the real reason we came to DSB was for Mindbender! YAY!

This ride delivers! Ride manufactures today just can't seem to match the quality of what the pope of coasters could do.

Full of Awesomeness!

This is another reason we come to bash events, empty queues!

Empty Trains!

And an empty park, yea!

I just like this shot, so I stuck it in.

Another creation from the Pope. Best. Enterprise Wheel. Evar..

If you look close, you can see an arrow train and an arrowplane in this pic

Everyone lined up for lunch and chowed down on some of the best food at a SF's event I've ever had.

Om nom nom nom

and this is what we had in our backyard while chowing down

So it's photo walkback time. How many Club TPR shirts do you spot?

I gave up counting, but I did manage to get this shot of GASM

Shots you just can't get anywhere else but on a trip or at a bash!

....

Nerds walking.

Superman!

Judging by the looks on their faces, the water challenge should be, well, challenging.

GP just hanging out.

Graveyard.

Guys, NO! We are NOT touring the food warehouse!

These nerds are waiting for...

This!

They raise chickens in here for that awesome chicken sandwhich we had at lunch.

What's in here? Fresh vegies?

The girl in the "Resource Protection" office was waving to us. Can some please explain what the heck resource protection is? Is it the prevention of employees from leaving? EPA office? Theft?

Except for us!

Wile riding his rocket on the wall of fame.

Line for the mens room?

Dude, you have to have all of your limbs to ride. Too soon?

We got some cool shots of Goliath!

The park let us spread out a good distance as a group to allow everyone to get the shots they wanted. No cattle herding here!

This guy apparently thinks he's riding Mindbender.

Choo Choo. The people on the train were like WTF?

Zach was hanging with the park hotties. But you can see what I mean, they really let us spread out to take nerd shots.

Dive! Dive! Dive!

Noted!

What used to be here? Hmmmmm.....

 

Ok, so that's all of Part II. What? No Mindbender Porn you say? Well, I'm saving the best for Part III, the final installment.

[chadster]

Final Installment!

Let's get up close and personal with Mindbender!

I'm talking REALLY up close!

Weeeeeeeee!

The second train was undergoing some renovations. As a result, the line for mindbender was upwards of 90 minutes.

Through the trees!

Did I mention we got close, close enough to reach out and touch someone!

Loopy! Full of force, full of awesome.

Transfer nerd shot!

Rudie giving this oh sh!t section of the transfer track a complete inspection.

Make love to it!

That's the look of a man who is satisifed. Oddly enough, he had to burn one off afterwards.

OMFG!

This yellow thing makes Mindbender go vroom

They were adding boats to the rapids. I must say, this is one of the better rapids rides I've been on. It got us wet, forceful, and fun!

The Relax-o-nator!

Arrow log time! I think this was the third one built.

I wasn't going to ride Georgia Cyclone, but Sam talked me into it. We hit it in the magic seat and it wasn't too bad. But some of the expressions on these people faces tell me they had worse seats than we did.

Hairtime

OMFGFFFF!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arco was up and running, the park made good on their promise to try and get it up for us, and they delivered!

So it was TPR Quest and FREE BEER time, we had singing, we had theft, we had fried pies and beer, and we had...

Dogystyle?

WTF?

This quest business is really screwed up. Want to know how screwed up? You gotta show up!

So quest was over, the park handed out goodie bags that put the icing on a cake that was already iced. Full of awesome stuff. I can't thank them enough for all they did for us!

 

Now it was time for evening ERT! Ninja looks so good, but is sooo bad. Actually with the arrow trains, it rides pretty good.

So we practiced for the water challenge.

Empty? Go figure. Water challenge was awesome, we all got soaked, Robb was dumping water on people, but later got dumped on by Brad (Six Flags guru who set this whole thing up), but most important, we had fun!

What, that's all? Yep, that's all folks!

 

Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did at the park. Next time, join us!