BeemerBoy Posted June 3, 2006 Posted June 3, 2006 Well, since everyone and their mother has already posted a Holiwood Nights report, I figured what the heck, why not join the club? Not only was I finally able to get to Holiday World, but after Holiwood and Rumble, I had some business to take care of which gave me a chance to hit up SFNE for the first time and find out what all the fuss is over this so-called Superman thingy. The past week has taken me from Dalton, GA to Santa Claus to Bowling Green to Dalton to Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale to Springfield to Martha's Vineyard to Boston to Atlanta and back to Dalton....and almost all by car. Of course, in the spirit of John Candy, planes, trains, and even boats were used for this marathon of sorts. Anyway, now that I'm finally back and rested, here goes..... Naturally, first up was The Voyage. I feel sorry for those of you who sat home avoiding the "suspected" long lines. Maybe next year, huh? Now comes the portion where you all say "haven't we seen these pictures enough already?" Well, if you have, give yourself a pat on the back. If you haven't seen enough, keep looking....there's bound to be one or two angles that haven't been seen yet. No need to caption everything for the next several pics....I'm sure you can figure it out, huh? And evidently since it's popular to say 90 degrees in here.....90 degrees. Shannon and I take a moment to capture the walkback opportunity. And now for the money shot..... Since there is a strict No On-Ride photography policy at Holiday World, and because we like to play by the rules, I had our graphic artists work around the clock to bring you a realistic rendering of what it looked like to ride the Voyage during the late night ERT sessions. Are you ready for this one? Seriously, some of you really missed out on the thing that made this coaster go from pretty darn good to UNBELIEVABLE! Okay, here it is then.....I give you the Voyage POV rendering as seen from any seat at many points along the coaster's course late at night. Nice, huh? I'll be the 1000th person to tell you that the night rides were priceless on this thing. (note: some of you tend to miss the sarcasm, so be aware...that was a joke. No real picture was taken while riding. ) Okay, so anyway, the rest of our time at Holiwood Nights was great. Near empty stations and walk-on rides each night for both Raven and Legend. And you can't beat that. See? Ted seemed to approve as well. Anwyay, onto Rumblefest. Again, nothing you haven't already seen really, so I'll just throw up the pics for the heck of it. Enjoy if you will. I'm not sure why this cut out for the chain is cool to me....but it just is. They don't get much better than this. Was I the only one thinking there was something missing in the station...like ceiling fans? Anyone wanna stand there in mid-July? Here I am demonstrating how to treat a woman while standing in a queue line. The gentlemen in here will appreciate that, even if they're all lurkers. If a lack of ceiling fans was the worst thing about this coaster, then I can't help but give it a solid thumbs up as well. It was great meeting and talking with the GCI guys. Again, nice work guys! Unfortunately we couldn't stay for the evening's festivities due to the fact I had to leave from Atlanta at 7 the next morning. Business is business...but when it includes a trip to SFNE, that ain't so bad, I guess. Step one: Fly into Fort Lauderdale. Step two: Pick up car. Step three: Keep driving past ghetto "park" that's already been checked off the list. Step four: Stop in to SFNE. Step five: Head straight for S:ROS. Okay, time to see where it ranks. Step six: Get reminded that I'm in the presence of "greatness." Step seven: Quit listing steps and get on with it. Okay, time to prepare for the possible clubbing from fanboys, but this thing was only around #5 on the personal top ten. And now time for the blasphemy....I still liked MF slightly better. Also, the fact that the supposed "tied for Greatest Coaster in the World" is starting to look more pink than red, and the trains look like they were put together from an old Intamin garage sale kinda take away from the allure that should be present here. Oh well, I guess. Actually, if MF and S:ROS had a lovechild, then we'd be talking about best on the planet. Then I ran over to Batman where I learned that New Englanders don't quite understand how good this ride is....well, judging by the lack of people in line, of course. Hmmmm, this idea may be better off over at Superman. Empty station= Empty trains= one happy Beemer fan. Three consecutive frontseat re-rides is okay by me. Mmmmm, zero-G roll goodness. Closed out the day with a big surprise. As Guy also figured out, this classic woody is a great ride! From the front seat, I caught the most amazing ejector air I think I've ever felt at one point just before the turn for the station. Wow, I never expected it. Time's up here at SFNE. I really enjoyed my time here. I think I have a new favorite-looking SF park. Now it was time to head back to the car when I found a curious discovery in the SF parking lot. I guess we won't be seeing that MF/S:ROS lovechild anytime soon, huh? Finally arrived in time to put the car on the ferry for the boat portion of our show. Time to reflect on all the new credits. Time to dock and head off to the last treat off this marathon trip. And what is it, you ask? Well, it's the nation's oldest operating platform carousel and a National Historic Landmark. It's also a brass ring beauty! And, sadly, it was also closed. Evidently I was misinformed about the hours of operation. So no Flying Horses for me on this trip.....maybe in the fall. After a bus ride to Boston, it was time to take the Blue Line T to the airport for the train section of the story. A flight back to Atlanta, a ride home to Dalton, and some much needed sleep, and that's about it. And so the marathon comes to and end.
Canobie Fan Posted June 3, 2006 Posted June 3, 2006 Ewww I hate the blue line sooo much. Of all the lines in Boston it has to be the worst.
BeemerBoy Posted June 3, 2006 Author Posted June 3, 2006 ^ Yeah, I'd agree with that, but at least the Big Dig left the rest of the city looking great.
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