Photo TR: Andy's Texas/Midwest TPR Tour

[Kyle Coleman]

Man this just place just sounds like the worst in every aspect possible. Is there anything that you felt mt olympius actually managed to do right?

[Naina21]

The alcohol was good enough to make the rest of the day a fuzzy memory.

[Ccron10]

The alcohol was good enough to make the rest of the day a fuzzy memory.

If I didn't decide to brave the water park, I probably would've joined you guys. lol

 

So it wasn't just that first ride, but it occurred a couple of more times with the lapbars on Hades? Throw in your go-kart story (which makes me wonder where the hell the employees were to help you out) and it makes Mount Olympus even more insane and mismanaged. It makes the park on the movie Adventureland look better staffed.

Maybe Mount Olympus glues googly-eyes on their prizes as well to allow them more money to buy more hotels?

[mightypotato]

Man this just place just sounds like the worst in every aspect possible. Is there anything that you felt mt olympius actually managed to do right?

 

They let us ride Little Titans? Does that count?

[The Great Zo]

So it wasn't just that first ride, but it occurred a couple of more times with the lapbars on Hades? Throw in your go-kart story (which makes me wonder where the hell the employees were to help you out) and it makes Mount Olympus even more insane and mismanaged.

Hey, I was a hero in my own mind after surviving the go-kart incident! I wouldn't take that back for anything!

 

Maybe Mount Olympus glues googly-eyes on their prizes as well to allow them more money to buy more hotels?

 

I think their hotel expansion plan has two phases.

Step 1: Buy hotel.

Step 2: Paint the roof blue.

 

Man this just place just sounds like the worst in every aspect possible. Is there anything that you felt mt olympius actually managed to do right?

 

They let us ride Little Titans? Does that count?

 

Getting that credit is awesome for coaster bragging-rights, but it's only such a tough credit because of how strict they've been about it in the past.

 

But sure, I can give them credit for that. If I'm being honest, and I hope the pictures showed this, they do have a pretty decent water park. It's hard to get over the potential I think both Hades and Cyclops are sitting on. Unlimited ice cream? Paintings of Greek islands in the hotel rooms? Random goats? You're making me work to come up with stuff!

[gerstlaueringvar]

Your description of Hades360 is perfect! I remember before the first train was sent out, everyone's face was like but when the train came back, everyone was like

 

I like Zeus quite a lot and both of my rides were at the back row (wheel seat). It's roughness is not even as close to that of Hades360 and the layout is pretty nice.

[rcjp]

^It's interesting when people ride a rough coaster for the first time (or for the first time after it got significantly worse). Seeing how they are before/after riding it is kind of funny.

[piedude81]

I legitimately hate Mt. Olympus with a passion. When I went in 2012 (I think), everything was trash. Hades was completely miserable, and quite literally ruined my entire day. Zeus was miserable, Cyclops was actually pretty decent, but Pegasus was unbearable. Honestly, the worst part about Hades isn't the ride. It's the fact that there is only one train operating on a 4min ride with incredibly slow ride ops. What would have been a 10 minute wait at a Six Flags park with two train operations was an HOUR LONG WAIT. The line wasn't even long. The go-karts also looked miserably slow, which prompted me to avoid them.

 

The only thing that was halfway redeemable in the entire park was the wave pool. Both the body slides as well as the one slide I rode on the slide complex scraped up my back pretty badly, and even the wave pool left some pretty nasty cuts on my feet. I'm never going back to that place unless new management steps in.

 

Seriously, if you're going up to the Dells, go to Noah's Ark and hit up the S&S wooden coaster at Timberfalls. Also, Paul Bunyons is by far one of the best restaurants I've ever eaten at (as far as how fun it was).

[Vtafro]

I legitimately hate Mt. Olympus with a passion. When I went in 2012 (I think), everything was trash. Hades was completely miserable, and quite literally ruined my entire day. Zeus was miserable, Cyclops was actually pretty decent, but Pegasus was unbearable. Honestly, the worst part about Hades isn't the ride. It's the fact that there is only one train operating on a 4min ride with incredibly slow ride ops. What would have been a 10 minute wait at a Six Flags park with two train operations was an HOUR LONG WAIT. The line wasn't even long. The go-karts also looked miserably slow, which prompted me to avoid them.

 

The only thing that was halfway redeemable in the entire park was the wave pool. Both the body slides as well as the one slide I rode on the slide complex scraped up my back pretty badly, and even the wave pool left some pretty nasty cuts on my feet. I'm never going back to that place unless new management steps in.

 

Seriously, if you're going up to the Dells, go to Noah's Ark and hit up the S&S wooden coaster at Timberfalls. Also, Paul Bunyons is by far one of the best restaurants I've ever eaten at (as far as how fun it was).

 

 

Andy i imagine Timberfalls is next, wondering if everyone even remembers timberfalls...

[Naina21]

I can say I don't recall much of Timberfalls. I don't remember the group photo that was taken. I remember getting on and off the coaster, but I don't remember the actual ride. I believe I rode whatever water ride was there. And I do remember playing mini golf. lol I think I was sobering up during mini golf.

[gerstlaueringvar]

^ Haha I think most people in our group was drunk and don't remember about what happened at both Timber Falls and Little Amerricka.

[Ccron10]

^ Haha I think most people in our group was drunk and don't remember about what happened at both Timber Falls and Little Amerricka.

I think some didn't even come off of the bus. I do know that the bus was full of people out-cold heading to Great America. It seem tough to take a nap, but I blame Hades for that. lol

[cfc]

^ Haha I think most people in our group was drunk and don't remember about what happened at both Timber Falls and Little Amerricka.

 

That's probably the best way to handle the Dells Experience.

[The Great Zo]

Apparently my next post is going to be less "trip review" and more "trip-for-the-first-time" for a lot of readers .

[mightypotato]

Timber Falls was a blast. Most of the group had been drinking and was in good spirits (no pun intended). When we got to the park, what did they have available? Beer! It just made things a bit worse/better depending on how you look at it.

[Naina21]

LOL I didn't even notice the beer there. I remembered I grabbed a pretzel on the way out.

[The Great Zo]

Day 8 (Part 2) -- Timber Falls and Little Amerricka

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

 

Lesson of the Day: Planning and preparedness are very important things. TPR trips move fast and cover a lot of ground, and it's incredibly helpful to have a working knowledge of where you're headed. Before any trip, I think it's important to learn as much as possible about the intended destination. Are you familiar with the itinerary and timing? Do you know all the important rides and hidden gems? Can you find your way around the park map and local geography? You can give yourself a crash course the morning of the visit, but I find it's more beneficial to study up in advance.

 

Artifacts:

 

The only artifact I have from the second half of August 6 is my ride wristband from Timber Falls. Employees marked a line on the white portion of the wristband for every ride on Hellcat, and I think the intention was to limit people to five rides each. I don't know if anyone got up to that number (or higher) during our hour of ERT, but I thought getting on four times was good enough for me.

I couldn't find anything to take home from Little Amerricka.

 

Day 8 (Part 2A) -- Timber Falls

 

Scorecard:

 

Hellcat

Timber Wolf Log Flume

Hellcat (x3)

 

-------------------------------------------------

 

After our trip to Hades and back at Mt. Olympus, just about any change of pace was going to be good news. A short visit to Timber Falls was definitely a great start to the second half of our day. Timber Falls, occupying a small plot of land at the north end of the touristy area of Wisconsin Dells, isn't a full amusement park. Rather, they maintain a small collection of good attractions, which we had just over an hour to sample.

 

We arrived at about 5:15 PM, and got set up for a group photo in front of the main entryway. From there, we headed to the Hellcat roller coaster, which -- in the middle of the operating day -- TPR had bought out for an hour of exclusive ride time. Hellcat circles the Timber Falls park, with two other attractions nestled on the inside -- a mini-golf course and a log flume. Just outside the bounds of the roller coaster are a small pond for bumper boats and a Skyscraper ride. Across the street to the east, Timber Falls operates a few more mini-golf courses, which line the west bank of the Wisconsin River.

 

I enjoyed our brief stop at Timber Falls. Since it's a small place with just a few attractions, it's not somewhere that would require any more than a couple hours to visit. If we'd had more time, I probably would have joined in for a game of mini-golf or two -- the courses looked pretty good. Both the log flume and coaster are good enough to warrant a stop for folks passing through the area, especially if they've misguidedly been patronizing the Greek-themed place just a mile down the road.

 

At about 6:30 PM, we left Timber Falls, and believed we were on our way out of Wisconsin. However, a peculiar piece of our itinerary suggested to me that perhaps our plans in the Badger State were not yet complete...

 

--------------------------------------------

 

Reviews of the attractions at Timber Falls:

 

Hellcat: Hellcat is my favorite coaster in the state of Wisconsin. That may not seem like I'm saying much, given the competition, but I genuinely enjoyed it (regardless of what I'd ridden earlier in the day). To be fair, I think my opinion of Hellcat was a little higher than the group consensus. Hellcat (formerly Avalanche) is one of only four wooden coasters ever built by S&S -- curiously, two of the four are named Hellcat. The ride's layout is basically a double triangle, wrapping counter-clockwise twice around the park's perimeter. I really enjoyed the air time hills on the straight sections of Hellcat -- I thought that was the strongest aspect of the ride. There are a few rough patches on the first time around the course, though nowhere near the same order of magnitude as what we found on Hades 360 earlier in the day.

 

Timber Wolf Log Flume: This was actually one of the better standard log flumes on the trip. The course starts with a hill right out of the station, and comes to a close with a bigger hill just before re-entering the loading area. The flume winds through extensive rock work and tunnels, and even passes an old airplane. I thought it was pretty neat how the flume went through the mini-golf course, making the most of its confined plot of real estate.

[The Great Zo]

Pictures from Timber Falls

 

Additional pictures and bigger versions of these images can be found here.

Our first view of Timber Falls from the bus ride out of Mt. Olympus.

TPR stumbles into Timber Falls. Possibly literally, in a few cases.

The front gate goes under a curve on the coaster track -- pretty awesome!

Taking a trip to the front desk to pick up our Timber Falls wristbands.

Welcome Theme Park Review! Our group bought out the Hellcat coaster for an hour.

Wait -- is it Avalanche or is it Hellcat?

TPR laughs in the face of danger.

Preparing for dispatch on what I think is the best coaster in Wisconsin.

The Hellcat station is located at the north end of the triangular park. Here's a view over the rest of Timber Falls from its rather elevated position.

Here's the main view of the lift hill from the station. You can also see some of the smaller airtime hills from the ride's second leg.

A train full of TPR riders heads down the first drop.

Double action in this shot -- one Hellcat train and one log from the flume.

Double action again -- the log flume ascends as a small group plays a round of golf.

Wait, what's that in the distance? No! Go away!

Hellcat and a bit of gratuitious lens flare.

Going down?

Going down.

A piece of coaster track for those who enjoy such things.

Heading over an airtime hill near the end of the first leg around the station.

Another view of the same hill. Are these people having fun?

The run back into the station.

Heading out for another lap. Hellcat uses small trains -- three four-passenger cars, for a total of 12 riders per train.

Go toward the light!

Moving through the big curve past the station and lift hill.

I admit that I'm amused that we rode coasters called "Hades" and "Hellcat" in the same day.

The silhouette of the Hellcat lift hill looks quite nice.

Hellcat zooms across the south end of the park.

Hands up over one of Hellcat's airtime hills.

A final view of Hellcat through the light posts and golf course decorations.

Next up -- a few views of the park's log flume. Wave goodbye to Neil, James, Doug, and Yin!

This is the first of two drops on the log flume, passing the Hellcat station at the north end of the park.

This isn't a soaker, but it kicks up quite a bit of water...

...especially if you're at the front of the boat.

Here's another view of the first lift hill on the flume, which is right out of the station.

The log flume station, with several TPR and non-TPR people in line. We didn't have to buy this ride out, with fairly short lines through our hour at the park.

Here's a view of the north end of the park from further away. Hellcat's station is visible, as is the first hill on the log flume.

At the south end of the park is the larger of the flume's two hills.

Lucky for me, there's a log with three TPR members headed down the big drop.

Splash.

Bigger splash.

Huge splash at 1/1600 seconds!

Robb, Laina, and Hanno have survived the Timber Falls' log flume -- but perhaps a little wetter than they started.

Here's a straight-on view of the flume drop.

Next -- a quick look at the other attractions at Timber Falls. Here's one of the holes on the inside-the-park mini golf course.

Skyscraper flies over the parking lot.

A small bumper boat pond just south of the main entrance. Hellcat actually travels over part of the pond.

A few more mini golf courses are located just across the street to the east of the main Timber Falls park.

I walked out to the Broadway Road bridge over the Wisconsin River for a few more pictures.

The actual downtown are of the city of Wisconsin Dells is located on Broadway just east of the river, which sort of acts as a border for the touristy area to its west.

South of the bridge is the Kilbourn Dam, a hydroelectric dam that was built over 100 years ago.

Electricity is generated here, but the dam also had another benefit: raising the water levels upstream, which made it easier to navigate some of the natural areas at the actual Dells of the Wisconsin River.

Things I do not understand: why a 55-foot-tall dam requires a "DANGER: KEEP AWAY" sign, yet Hades 360 gets away with just calling itself "aggressive."

A view upstream, with the Timber Falls mini golf courses on the river's west bank.

Looking back toward the Timber Falls park from the Wisconsin River bridge.

Wait, when did we get back in San Antonio?

5 minutes before departure, and still a few people riding Hellcat!

One last view of Timber Falls, with a train cresting the lift hill...

 

...and yes, I remembered the Alamo.

Edited June 3, 2014 by The Great Zo

[The Great Zo]

Day 8 (Part 2b) -- Little Amerricka

 

Scorecard:

 

Wild and Wooly Toboggan

Little Dipper

Mad Mouse

Meteor (x4)

 

-------------------------------------------------

 

Our official itinerary listed only the following for Tuesday evening:

 

6:30 - Depart Timber Falls for Gurnee

Included Dinner

11:00 - Arrive Hotel

 

This was strangely vague compared to the rest of our agenda, so I had a notion that perhaps a surprise might be coming. My suspicions were heightened when we exited I-94 just east of Madison, heading north to the small village of Marshall. As we entered the village, I saw a Ferris wheel in the distance to our northeast. Could that be where we were headed? Elissa jumped on the microphone and told us we were about to stop for dinner, but would have to eat quickly so we could have time to pick up the four credits that awaited us at Little Amerricka.

 

We arrived at the park at 7:40 PM, and heard from Robb about the plans for our surprise visit. Little Amerricka was open exclusively for our group, with dinner being served, and all four roller coasters operating. Since we still had a drive ahead of us to get to Illinois, we didn't have much time to waste, but our visit was long enough to ensure everybody got the credits.

 

The coaster that ended up dictating our schedule was the Wild and Wooly Toboggan, one of only two permanent Chance Toboggan installations still operating in the western hemisphere. I got in line for this coaster first, which freed up the rest of my time for dinner and the others. We didn't leave the park until the Toboggan line had cleared, and it was lengthy through most of the event. I picked up two more of the credits (Little Dipper and Mad Mouse) before taking a dinner break, and then rode Meteor until it was time to depart at 9:00 PM.

 

With its focus on smaller rides and preservation, Little Amerricka is a kids park at its core, but that certainly didn't keep TPR from having a good time! The ride operators were just as enthusiastic as we were, having a ton of fun getting us on and off of the park's assortment of interesting vintage attractions. Our group was obviously a much different crowd than they're used to seeing! It was also awesome to have them open their coasters for us on a Tuesday night. The park usually closes in the mid-to-late afternoon, but they stayed open for us well into the dark of the evening. I certainly give my thanks to Little Amerricka, but also to TPR -- a four-credit surprise and a really fun way to end the most uneven day of the trip.

 

--------------------------------------------

 

Reviews of the attractions at Little Amerricka:

 

Wild and Wooly Toboggan: It took us an hour and 15 minutes to get the entire group through the Toboggan, which suggests a capacity of around 70-80 people per hour. When you see the tiny cars and short track, it makes sense! Most of us rode solo, but a few brave people managed to squeeze two into a single car. I'm not going to lie and say that this was a comfortable ride, but it's definitely a piece of history and an interesting experience!

 

Little Dipper: This is a true "kiddie coaster" with a lift height that I'd estimate at only about 10 feet. The layout of the Allan Herschell coaster is short oval with a few tiny hills. This ride is perhaps better known as the "graveyard coaster," as it stands the closest to the Medina Cemetery right next to the Little Amerricka park.

 

Mad Mouse: Mad Mouse is also an Allan Herschell creation. It's an older type of wild mouse coaster, feeling a little more rickety than its modern variants, but keeping the same basic design elements (tight switchbacks up high, short bunny hills down low). The laid-out seating in the small cars was also a factor that makes the ride unusual.

 

Meteor: Hellcat may be my favorite coaster in the state of Wisconsin, but Meteor is undoubtedly the smoothest. This is a gem of a classic junior woodie, but it's had an interesting history, as Little Amerricka is its third home. It was originally built in 1953 at Kiddytown in Illinois, but it moved to Hillcrest Park in Illinois in the 1960s, where it would remain for a few decades. The ride opened in its current home at Little Amerricka in 2007. This is a fun-for-all-ages coaster with several vintage elements, including a curved station, bench seats, and hand-operated skid brakes. I was with a group that stayed on the ride until we had to leave, and we weren't just doing it amusingly -- this is actually a good ride that we genuinely enjoyed.

[The Great Zo]

Pictures from Little Amerricka

 

Additional pictures and bigger versions of these images can be found here.

We were greeted with one heck of a beautiful sunset as we arrived at Little Amerricka.

Our first stop, and one of the park's most unique star attractions, was the Chance Toboggan.

I count six full revolutions around the ride's central tower.

This sign refers to the ride as the Swiss Toboggan, though everything else referred to it as the Wild and Wooly Toboggan. Note the train conductor on the sign -- that's an important part of Little Amerricka's theme.

This ride's obviously done a bit of traveling. It operated in Indiana until the early 1990s, and got its start at a park in Arkansas.

Vertical lifts have been used on several modern coasters, but this one was very unnerving.

Freud would have a field day with this.

If you're claustrophobic, this is not the coaster for you. Those cars, though well-padded, are a tight fit.

Wave goodbye and good luck!

Alexis is smiling, because why not?

A little bit of light maintenance to keep the Toboggan running smoothly.

I have no idea how this works.

Rounding the short section of track after the big spiral.

The line for the Toboggan was about this long for most of the evening.

Here's a view in the other direction, with Meteor rounding the north end of its track.

Here's the main gate along East Main Street. The parking lot is off to the west.

 

How did Little Amerricka get its strangely-spelled name? The park was named for its founder, Lee Merrick.

Did I mention the awesome sunset? Red sky at night, coaster rider's delight.

The unmistakable shape of the Toboggan dominates this shot, but I want to draw your attention to its right, where a small sign announces the park's operating hours of 12-5. We didn't leave until 9 PM, after everyone had gotten a turn on the Toboggan. That's dedication.

Spiral down.

Hans is ready to ride Little Dipper!

 

Notice the "AH" on the front of the train? No, that's not for my initials -- it's for ride designer Allan Herschell.

The cars are a little tight, but we made it work.

TPR goes for a ride on Little Dipper, sometimes referred to as the "Graveyard Coaster" or "Cemetery Coaster." Why?

That's why -- Medina Cemetery occupies the plot of land immediately east of the park! Medina is the name of the larger town that surrounds the village of Marshall.

Here's a view of the park's main building and restaurant, with Meteor on the left.

Perhaps the second creepiest clown of the trip, after the one at Fair Park in Dallas.

Looking north toward the main building and Toboggan.

A Toboggan car at the top of the lift, with the park's monorail in the foreground.

I mentioned earlier that trains were a part of the park's theme. The Whiskey River Railway is a 1/3 scale railroad, which operates on two miles of track, taking the ride well south of the park's boundaries. It's one of the park's most important attractions, and would have been pretty neat to ride.

The next coaster at the park is Mad Mouse, another Allan Herschell creation. Although the basic layout elements are similar to most modern wild mouse coasters, it definitely has a different look and arrangement.

Like any good mouse, the turns are abrupt and jerky.

The bunny hills on the ride's final leg are also rather sharp, but after a day at Mt. Olympus, this felt as smooth as glass.

Jay's ready for his ride on Mad Mouse. The yellow station lighting definitely has that "old-school fair" feel.

Will looks pretty pumped up for this one.

A view from the back side of Mad Mouse.

A silhouetted sign at the top of the ride.

Adrian's enjoying things up top!

Too much Wisconsin cheese? Mario's looking a little rotund.

Here's the Ferris wheel I saw on the way into Marshall.

The final coaster at the park is Meteor, a classic junior woodie.

One of the coaster's most distinguishing features is the curved station.

The ride op works the hand-controlled brakes. What's really awesome is the two people in the second and third rows of the train -- our bus drivers!

Meteor heads into its biggest drop.

With light now fading, here's another view of Meteor.

The line for the Toboggan was still lengthy -- about a half hour before our departure.

Little Amerricka has the Toboggan tower well-lit at night.

Even later in the evening, the line finally began to shrink. Less light means longer exposures and some interesting photographic results.

A look up at the tower.

Meanwhile, Meteor kept on running until just before our departure.

Mad Mouse was still moving as well, and the glow from the station lights really looked interesting coming off the metal track.

This is actually a little bit creepy looking.

Just a few more riders to end the evening on Mad Mouse.

The bright glow from the station may be the most obvious part of this picture, but I'm also drawn to the fence at the bottom of the shot. The rides at Little Amerricka are lined with attractive wood fences like this one, rather than the awful chain-link fences found at most parks. It's a small detail, but it makes the place look much more inviting.

Fun with long exposures: Mad Mouse edition.

One final view of the railroad crossing near the park's main building.

Fun with long exposures: Toboggan edition.

A final view of the Toboggan just before our departure.

Edited June 3, 2014 by The Great Zo

[Naina21]

So that is what Timber Falls looks like. lol I'm glad you got a shot of me on the coaster for proof I did make it on. You also got me playing mini golf. lol Great pics as always. At this rate you will be done before this year's trip begins

[Woodie Warrior]

I'll most likely be stopping at Mount Olympus and Timber Falls in July. I'm a little nervous about Mount Olympus though...

[Mrlittle]

Little Amerricka was an amazing surprise. Great photos of the park. Thanks for another photo of me on a coaster.

[mattnz]

Great coverage of two stops some of us won't have remembered so well! I thoroughly enjoyed Little Amerricka and their rare and wacky credits.

[gerstlaueringvar]

Great TR! The second half if the day was amazing. I remember Neil screamed through the whole ride of Tomber Fall's Log Flume because he was at the front and he got very wet. I also found out what a terrible golf player I am.

 

That surprise stop at Little Amerricka was fantastic! A whole package of classic ride, Little Amerricka made me want to go there so much while I was doing a research a few years ago. Glad I finally rode a real Toboggan Am I the only one who rode everything twice?