Ultra Fanboyism The biggest problem I have with the awards is the voters always vote with what I refer to as "Ultra Fanboyism" in that they vote for the three parks that are the fanboy havens and those are Knoebels, Holiday World and Cedar Point. Now I really don't have too much of an agruement with CP taking home a lot of awards, because that is a world class park with an incredible collection of rides, my issue is mainly with the other two. Now don't get me wrong I have enjoyed my visits to Holiday World and Knoebels, but I like them for what they are smaller scale regional parks. These parks get way more love then they deserve in the coaster community for a number of reasons, being a good value, being family owned, offering 'free' soda (thats not actually free, but rather worked into the admission price) having a PR person that post on message boards, or being old fashioned with old fashioned rides, but I don't think either one should be considered with the best in the world. Neither of these parks have attractions (with the exception of Voyage in the wood coaster category) that should be ranked best in the world. The parks get a lot of votes for things they don't deserve such as Cleanest/Friendliest/Best Food, not because they are deserving of these awards, but because the fanboys pick the parks that are there 'friends'. A few awards are clear examples of this one being the Best Waterpark, Holiday World won this award completely undeserving (EDIT CORRECTION: Splashin Safari got 2nd place), its a nice waterpark but not 'World Class' it is largely unthemed and most slides at the park are stock and can be found at most major parks, there is nothing about it that stands out, if it wasn't at Holiday World it wouldn't be close. The other one that angers me is Knoebels getting 3rd place in the 'Best Halloween Event' THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. They have a haunted car ride THATS IT. How is that better then events like Hallowscream at the Busch Parks or Halloween Horror Nights on the West Coast, Hell No.
Lack of International Parks For an awards that claim to be the "Best Of The Best" sure seems like the best of the USA. I guess the ballots must only go out to this country or something cause international parks get very little love. I mean don't you think something like the incredible looking Tokyo DisneySea be up there with Cedar Point or how about this Incredible Looking Waterpark In Siam I would much rather spend a day there then at Schlitterbahn or Splashin Safari. Of course these parks wouldn't be considered "Best Of The Best" because there voters haven't been there, which isn't a problem with the parks, its a problem with their system.
No Love For Disney/Universal The Disney & Universal Parks have the highest attendence of the parks in the world, they spend far more money on attractions then anyone else, but get no love. I can't figure this one out, I mean is these are truley incredible places, maybe it because the voters are 'Coaster Enthusiasts' and don't really care for theming or a hundred million dollar dark ride. Look at it this way take 100 people off the street and put them on Knoebels Haunted Mansion and then put them on Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure, which one is going to be the overwhelming favorite?
Confusion On The Criteria I have to say I am quite confused on the criteria on how people are supposed to vote. When someone is voting for 'Best Park' what exactly are they supposed to be voting based upon, attractions and operations are the obvious ones, but what about things like price? Are people supposed to vote on which park is great or which presents the best value? I am also confused by some of the categories like 'Best Kids Area' is this supposed to be the best singular kids area like the Nickelodean area of Kings Island or the park with the best overall kids areas I mean places like SFGAm & SFGAdv have 4 different ones. The same goes for 'Best Outdoor Night Production' do you vote based on park or by the show, I mean Magic Kingdom has SpectroMagic & Wishes, Disneyland has Remember & Fantasmic do you vote for the show or park?
Surprising Amount Of Love For Hard Rock Park Apparentely all 40 people that went to Hard Rock Park this past season also are Golden Ticket voters. The two things I really want to do at the park & the two parts that got the best reviews, Bohemian Rhapsody & Nights In White Satin The Trip both did well. Good for HRP, they could probably use some good news.
Lack Of Change The same parks tend to win the same categories year after year (deserving or not). I have to think over the past 10 years things like park with the best shows & best park probalby should have transferred hands a few times, but not in these awards. Is this because the voters are stuck in their ways or they just don't get out enough??
Whats The Impact? If you look at any of the major Coaster Message boards the Golden Ticket Awards are pretty much blown off as biased unchaning BS and deservedly so. The awards that are the closet thing the Theme Park World has to the Oscars has become a complete farce. The only people that seem to take any stock in these awards are the PR people that can slap things like 'Best Shows' or 'Best Food' even though I bet in their mind, they know there not.
How To Fix It? There really is no good way to acurately determine which is the best. I know the Golden Ticket Awards way of doing things as a popularity contest among biased isn't the way to go. I really think there are two much better ways of doing things, the first would be having a much more complicated ballot and intricate award algorithm such as used in the Mitch Hawkers Polls. The other option would be to have a panel of experts that visit every single park, every single year that could unbiasedly determine the "Best Of The Best".
Now I bet a lot of you are thinking "Hey Pat McCabe, How Would You Vote?" So here would be what my Ballot would look like if I had one, and I wouldn't be an accurate voter as I have only been to parks in the US & Canada, so I am only gonna make picks in this country and only pick from places I have been:
Best New Ride Toy Story Mania The Simpsons Ride Steel Hawg (The only other new ride I got on this year was Dark Knight, I might try Evel Knevel this weekend)
Best Park Disneyland Magic Kingdom Disney's Hollywood Studios
Best Waterpark Typhoon Lagoon Blizzard Beach Splish Splash
Friendliest EPCOT Magic Kingdom Animal Kingdom
Cleanest Magic Kingdom Hollywood Studios EPCOT
Best Food EPCOT Dollywood Busch Gardens Europe
Best Water Ride Splash Mountain Popeye & Bluto Bilge Rat Barges Dudley Do Right Ripsaw Falls (I would vote Pirates @ Disneyland, if that qualifies)
Best Waterpark Ride Aztec Adventure Any Tornado Slide Any Behemoth Bowl
Best Landscaping Animal Kingdom Busch Gardens Europe EPCOT
Best Outdoor Night Production Disneyland (Fantasmic & Remember) Magic Kingdom (Spectro & Wishes) Disneys Hollywood Studios
Best Indoor Coaster Mummy Orlando Space Mountain Disneyland Rock & Roller Coaster
Best Funhouse Noahs Ark Frankensteins Castle (Can't seem to think of a 3rd)
Best Wood Coaster Voyage El Toro Lightning Racer
Best Steel Coaster Millenium Force X S:ROS SFNE
See I have a tough time saying what is the "Best of the Best" I can only vote for the "Best I've Done". I hope you guys enjoyed my thoughts on this years Golden Tickets.
So I was back at my home park of Six Flags Great America this past Saturday. My In The Loop cohost Clint Novak was in town and wanted to hit SFGAm for the first time in 15 years. For the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend, the park wasn't nearly as crowded as I figured it would be. Dark Knight had the longest line and that was only an hour long. Rode everything in the park, except the hour line at S:UF and the closed B:TR. Got some pics:
My $14 dollar lunch (fuckin six flags) was actually pretty good. The Mooseburger Lodge is my favorite SFGAm eatery.
This was my first time ever on the Jetsons kiddie coaster at SFGAm (Roller Coaster #298). The coolest part of the ride was that the station played the 'Meet George Jetson' tone every time a train launched.
The dog tag shack had quite an odd selection.
I am sooo happy this is coming back for Fright Fest. Its the best part of the event and probably the best show I have ever seen at a Six Flags or Cedar Fair park.
The former Deja Vu spot has construction signs up and a pirate flag for the rumored 2009 Splash Battle.
And I finish off this report with an image that will haunt your brains for a long time.
Ride Count Dark Knight Coaster Condor Rajun Cajun V2 Planet Earth Sky Trek Tower Iron Wolf American Eagle Demon Viper Raging Bull
So this past Tuesday Nightmare Before Christmas came out on 2 disc DVD specail edition and is jam packed with specail features. Now being the theme park dork that I am the one that drew my immeadiate attenion was the feature about The Haunted Mansion Holiday Overlay At Disneyland. This has been an attraction that has always intrigued me, but never have experianced. Those unfamiliar with the overlay how it works it that Disneylands Mansion shuts down for 2 months each year (I think September & January) to install & uninstall the props. So for October-November-December of each year the haunted mansion becomes a almost completely different attraction based on the characters of Nightmare Before Christmas. The DVD has three different parts on the overlay, the first is a professionally shot ride thru with the attractions holiday soundtrack. The second is a ride thru with pop up trivia all about Haunted Mansion Holiday. The third is the highlight and is about a 40 minute documentary all about the overlay and goes into detail about every major show piece used in the Holiday Spectacular.
Needless to say I LOVED this specail feature, in fact it was probably worth the $25 dollar price of the DVD alone. This is almost convincing me to take a trip out to Disneyland later on this year to give it a try. The thing I love about the overlay is the incredible level of detail that is involved and that each year the holiday is a lil bit different and imagineers do things like change the design of the gingerbread house to keep things interesting.
So Holiday World announced the Worlds Tallest Water Ride that they are calling Pilgrims Plunge. The intamin creation is a next generation of Shoot-The-Chutes ride. The ride has a absolutely crazy looking double elevator lift system.
Here are my thoughts on the ride:
- That is one odd looking ride, seriously it doesn't look structurally sound.
- I wish they would have gone with a Perilous Plunge-esque ultra steep drop instead of the mellow 45 degree one.
- Its giving me a 'Dive To Atlantis' feel.
- I love the idea that you can get to this ride from the waterpark as well as the regular park. I am someone who tends to avoid any rides that get you soaked head to toe while at the amusement park, the minor fun of getting wet isn't worth risking my cell phone/camera or having soaked shoes all day.
- $4.3 million isn't bad for the worlds fastest something.
- The elevator lift will probably be the best part of the ride.
- The Holiday World logo & American Flag at the top of the tower will make for a nice picture and an icon at the park.
- Could probably use some theming.
- I don't get the Over The Shoulder Restraints, you don't go upside down or even close. To me the feeling of being flooded by a big wave while under Over The Shoulder Restraints would feel like drowning.
- That park keeps getting bigger and bigger.
- To me the biggest question will be how much downtime will this thing have. Its an Intamin prototype, so problems are very possible and even likely. Holiday Worlds maitenance team has been excellent at taking care of wooden coasters, but this thing is another animal and its operation will be something to watch in the upcoming season.
- Not something that will get me to make a specail trip to the middle of nowhere Indiana (where Holiday World is at), but a cool looking ride.
So I rode Steel Hawg yesterday and it is a pretty cool ride. The new S&S coaster at Indiana Beach is different thats for sure. I actually had to wait an hour for this ride, which is quite a long time for me to wait for anything. The ride is in a really odd spot, in that it is right near the non-bridge entrance to IB and not really close to any of the other rides. Of course with the 4 person cars the capacity sucks ass, but it works for Indiana Beach cause they don't get too too many folks in the park. The ride cars aren't super comfy and the dual restraint system (like the old togo sitdowns) is kinda goofy, but the ride itself is smooth.
The ride starts out with a very steep lift, which is pretty neat. The turnaround after the lift hill is fantastic, as it provides a picturesque view of Lake Shafer. The 120 degree first drop is cool, but not as good as it could be because it has some brakes that limit the crazyness. Then there is a series of VERY VERY LOUD & TERRIBLE sounding mid course brakes. The next feature is very cool and thats the turn with the outward banking turn, something I don't think has been done on any coaster before and gives a real out of control feeling. Next up is the highlight of the ride, the flip over-hang time and loop. The loop I think is bigger then the drop and sends screaming guests past people in the queue. The ride keeps the crazy elements coming with the downward inclined heartline twist and followed with the overbank curve finale into some more noisy brakes.
I liked the ride itself and could best be described as a Wild Mouse on crack and is worth the ride. With its limited capacity be prepared to wait to ride the Hawg this summer at IB.
YES. I know its August of 2008 and most of us nerds are still thinking about the last few months and upcoming Halloween events of the 08 season, but I find myself REALLY looking forward to the 2009 season. I mean, was it just me or was 2008 just a complete suck year for new roller coasters. We saw a bunch of coasters moved around (Aftershock, Dominator (DAMN), Voodoo, Thunderhawk), some cheap stuff from Six Flags (Dark Knights/Tony Hawks), rehabs billed as new attractions (X2, Simpsons). I mean there were some bright spots Evel Knevel & Ravine Flyer have gotten good reviews, Toy Story Mania is a blast and all eight people that went to Hard Rock Park seemed to enjoy it mostly for the details and theme not the rides. Farhenheit looks rather mediocre, as do the dual coast motocoasters. But nothing that really had the HOLY SHIT book my flight I gotta get on that.
NOW 2009 on the other hand is going to just kick ass. I mean you already have three coasters announced in Sea Worlds Manta, Universal's Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and Kings Island's Diamondback that look better then any of the coasters that opened in this country this year. Then there is a trio of un-officially announced GCI coasters for California's Great America, Worlds of Fun and Six Flags Magic Mountain. Sure 09 has what a few that no one really care about (American Idol, Carowinds Boomerang and the insanely dumb Creature from the Black Lagoon Musical), but those 6 we know about sure sound solid. Out of the 6 I think I am most looking forward to Rip Ride Rockit pretty much cause I have never been on one of those before and flying around Universal Orlando with music blasting is gonna be outstanding.
After recording the hour and a half long episode of In The Loop and posting the latest A Walk In The Park video podcast, I came to the realization that I am a Podcast Whore. In the last 2 weeks I have been on 4 different podcasts and probably listened to 15.
Heres What I Been On:
A Walk In The Park Of course, this one, it is my show after all. I posted a really fun video from my old home park of Six Flags Great Adventure. My favorite part is when me and my brother are too fat for the Parachutes!!
In The Loop We are rolling strong with In The Loop now. This week we talk about Disney possibly buying Sea World, Hard Rock Park strug-a-ling, Diamondback, Sesame Street To BGE and plenty more. http://www.coastercrew.com/intheloop.php?action=play&fileid=157
Rachel's Coaster Cast One of the two up & coming podcast I guested on recentely. Very similar to In The Loop in the relaxed roundtable format. http://rachealscoastercast.podomatic.com/
Yep. There haven't been many updates here on the blog recentely. I haven't had any genius ideas for things to banter on has been one of the reasons (please if you got any ideas for things I should write about post in the comments section and I will do it up). I also have been working a lot, tomorrow is day 7 of 12 in a row.
I have some thoughts and pictures from my visit to Six Flags Great America from this past Sunday the 27th
THOUGHTS
- Holy shit was it crowded. I got to the park at 10:10 and already lines for The Dark Knight Coaster were 2 hours and Superman Ultimate Flight was 1.5. Lines didn't get any shorter all day long, crowds were nuts. V2 had a full queue with the full emergency line filled. Raging Bull was steady at an hour. The waterpark was at capacity and had a massive line.
- It didn't take me long before I realizied that I had to options: Buy the $27 Dollar FlashPass or have a miserable day. I bought the pass.
- I saw the parks big 'Show Stoppin' musical stage show. Pretty worthless with the exception of watching the hotties dance around the stage.
- Every ride in the park was operating, which was very good to see. - I rode The Dark Knight twice, I still enjoy the ride. Preshow is cool and as a wild mouse its a good one.
- The Pretzel Loop on Superman might be the most intense move on a coaster ever.
- The Planet Earth 3D show had beautiful visuals on the giant screen, but not great 3D.
- American Eagle is highly underrated.
- I think there was a show, sometimes multiple shows (most crappy) on every stage in the park, which is nice to see.
- Lunch was complete price gouging, $14 dollars for philly, fries and drink. Fuckin Six Flags.
- The souvenir shop had some pretty sweet shirts I picked 2 up, cause I just needed more coaster shirts.
PICTURES Psh, Way to totally rip off my name six flags Enjoyment Pose: Stand In Shower & Prepare For Deepthroat $14 & Mediocre Crowds Were Large NO CHANCE IN HELL I Would Wait In That Line In The Heat I Woulda Bought This One, But I Don't Like Tall Girls. I Did Buy This One. Its odd seeing disney stuff in a non disney park. One souvenir stand was selling Wall-E, Cars, Hannah Montannah and High School Musical merch.
Yes, It was as awesome as it looked in the previews.
I absolutely loved this film. By far my favorite movie of the summer and the year. Its 2.5 hours of eyes being glued to the screen. The storyline is rather simple Joker trying to destroy Gotham, Batman protects Gotham. Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker was awesome, the character was funny, creepy, evil & interesting. Now I was never a big fan of his and thought most of the roles I seen him in were 'lil bitch' roles, but he was very good in this one. The movie I thought wasn't without its faults, I hated the female lead, thought the ending could have been on a more 'spectacular' scale to match the rest of the movie and I thought Christain Bale's 'Batman Voice' was a bit of overacting. This movie is really helped by the small roles of Morgan Freeman & Micheal Caine, who both do an exceptional job. This is one I might have to go see again, it was that good.
So I went to go see Hancock this week. This was one of the movies of the summer i was really looking forward to mostly because it was an original story not a sequel (Dark Knight, Indiana Jones, Mummy) not based on a comic book (Iron Man, Hulk) not an old TV Show (Get Smart). Nothing against those films, but sometimes I want to go see a big budget blockbuster based on a character I know nothing about. This one lived up to the hype I set for it, a very enjoyable movie. Will Smiths character is hilarious and had me cracking up quite a few times during the movie. One thing about Hancock is that in the middle of the movie there is a HUGE TWIST right in the middle, I was completely caught by surprised. It was nice to see some originality in Hollywood and I recomend going to see it.
THUMBS UP
and now to contradict most of what I just said tonight I am going to see the one movie this summer I was looking forward to more then any other The Dark Knight
So I was at the Walt Disney World Resort this past weekend and like all trips to my favorite place on earth I had an absolute blast. This trip was a little different then the other two times I been to Orlando in that there was no new rides to be the highlight of the trip and no media days to cover, it was just four days of playing in the ultimate playground with a good friend.
This was the first time I have ever used Disney's Magical Express service and was generally impressed with it. Within an hour of landing I was sitting in my hotel room at Port Orleans Riverside. This was also the first time I was staying at the resort and it was enjoyable, although I would have preferred to stay in the Magnolia Bend (Southern Mansion Style) instead of the Aligator Bayou (Southern Swamp Style) I ended up in. The resort has a sweet pool (even though rain kept me out of it) and an arcade with some excellent video games. The first night I got in I hopped on the boat ride to Downtown Disney for a night at (you could have guessed it) Pleasure Island.
If you read my earlier blog post, then you know of my displeasure at the decision to close the 6 PI clubs. In my evening (hooray for 2 dollar draft beers) I caught a show in the Comedy Warehouse, which was a lot of fun for an improv comedy club. When one of the comedian asked for a scene and a guest yelled out "protest against pleasure island closing" some really good laughs followed.
The real highlight of the night was the 3 or so hours I spent at the exceptional Adventurers Club. I encourage all readers out their to join the 5700+ that have signed the pettition. The Adventurers Club is a tough place to describe, so I am going to let these three youtube videos do the describing for me (the third one was taken last thursday night when I was there during the hoopla.....HOOPLA).
Looks fun doesn't it. I am still thinking that the AC will live on in some form past September 27th.
Well Adventurers Club closes down at 1, but me and my friend weren't quite done yet as Motion didn't shut down for another hour. And I must have been either pretty drunk or just in a really good mood, because I actually ended up on the dance floor.
Friday morning was well a tad hung over, but it was off to Magic Kingdom (my favorite of the WDW parks). Spent the morning/afternon there, before a trip back to the hotel to refresh and head back for Extra Magic Hours. Here are some thoughts from my day:
- Haunted Mansion is soooo much better with the enhancements - Captain Jacks Animatronic in the barrell is my favorite of the three - You gotta be crazy to wait 75 minutes for Pan - Small World is the longest ride ever - Country Bear Jamboree is a very fun attraction - Carousel Of Progess is a very boring attraction (even though I love the song) - Its a blast to tour the parks with another big time WDW fan - My favorite Jungle Cruise joke: "No one make the sound of a white marble, cause there are Hungry Hungry Hippos" - Wishes is my favorite WDW nighttime show - Stitch isn't nearly as bad as some people complain about it being - Laugh Floor is a lot of fun - Extra Magic Hours until 2 am are both awesome and exhuasting - The geyser on Splash Mountain can really soak you - Some people really like to scream in the tunnels on Big Thunder - Polynesian is a beautiful hotel
Saturday it was time for the EPCOT/DHS tag team. I hit Toy Story Mania twice early (122,000 and 149,000 not too shabby) I like this attraction more and more everytime I ride it. The single rider line at Rock & Roller Coaster works great, and allowed me to ride three times. Tower is still exceptional and Star Tours is still outdated. The new Narnia exhibit was not long or impressive at all.
EPCOT i did the high capacity attractions in the late afternoon (figment, grand fiesta tour, nemo, Spaceship Earth, HISTA). Honey I Shrunk The Audience was actually a lot of fun for an attractions thought of as 'stale' by many fanboys, the crowd reaction is priceless. I did American Adventure for the first time this year complete with all the warm & fuzzy feelings. A pastry from France and Illuminations Reflection of Earth made for a great end of the night.
I hit Animal Kingdom for the final morning of the trip. AK is home to my 2 favorite live shows at any theme park Festival of the Lion King (Timon has a talking head now!!) and Finding Nemo The Musical. Also home to some great thrills in Dinosaur & Everest. Before the Magical Express ride home it was back to MK for one more spin on Pirates, Mansion, Country Bears & Jungle Cruise.
One day removed from the trip with PDD (Post Disney Depression) in full swing, what I really will remember from this one isn't any particular rides or shows, but instead all the good times, laughs and stories between me and my friend who I visited with, which probably doesn't make for the best blog post, but made for one hell of a trip.
There were some things I liked about this movie and some that I didn't. First off the guys at Pixar do an incredible job with the animation, there movies are almost like watching pieces of art. I went into this movie with really high expectations (as I do with all Disney/Pixar movies) it was my second most anticipated movie of the summer only behind The Dark Knight. The movie is based around Wall-E, an extremely loveable charming robot. His character was the best part of the movie. Of course since its a Pixar movie one of the small roles in the film was voiced by John Ratzenberger. There was a lot of this movie that I didn't like. First off the other main character is EVE, Wall-E's love interest, I thought she was too bitchy to be enjoyable (.....yes its an odd way to describe a robot). The main thing I didn't like was the overall feel and preachy-ness of the movie. Where a large Wal-Mart-esque company pollutes earth to the point where we have to leave and humans turn into fat blobs in hoverchairs. While the movie was enjoyable and original, it wasn't the funny or happy movie I was expecting. I am going to give it a thumbs up............ but this one was close.
While I understand Disney's reasoning behind the move, PI sitting between the family friendly Marketplace & West Side wasn't the best place for a drunken party town and that they could make more money off high end shops/restaurants that are open longer hours then just the evening. But I still don't like it.
Now I haven't been 21 all that long (a little over 2 years now) so I don't have the long relationship with Pleasure Island that many others have. But I really enjoyed my time I spent drunkenly exploring all the clubs on Pleasure Island. When I go down in 11 days, you know a night of Adventurer's Club and Comedy Wharehouse shenanigans is in the works.
My thoughts are that there is really no big loss in the closing of 5 of the 6 clubs, because I can get similar experiances in my hometown at comedy or dance clubs, the real true loss is the closing of the Adventurer's Club. The Adventurers Club is a incredible and extrememly unique place to spend a night drinking. If you have never been the best way I can describe it is like drinking in a Ripleys Museum with live actors playing different roles and interactive experiances all over the place. There is a awesome library room complete with stage and mysterious piano that plays itself, where most of the main shows are performing including the HOOPLA to end the night. Also I think the AC appeals to a different audience, then the riff-raff associated with the 'dance clubs'. Adventurers Club has become a must do on disney property whenever I go, and I am going to miss it greatly.
I also hate that the plan to replace the clubs and bars with even more shops. Personally I hate the Downtown Disney West Side and this change appears to be an extension of it. I like to go to Disney World for experiances that I can only get their, I can go to a nice shopping mall and get the same experiance I can get at West Side.
Also closing all 6 clubs at once in addition to the 2 large dormant buildings on PI, gives a very dead lifeless area in Downtown Disney. I think it would have been smarter to go with the slow death method for the clubs, closing the individual clubs one by one (yes, the cover price would have had to be lowered) as the new owners are ready to start construction on whatever is next.
I am sure that I'm not the only one upset by the closing of the Adventurers Club & Pleasure Island. There's the thousands of cast members that would use PI as a place to socailize and relax after a shift. I am sure all the people that dumped big money on the 50 year agreement on buying into the Disney Vacation Club, aren't going to be happy that one of the few 'adults only' experiances is being taken away.
I know there is Citiwalk down the block at Universal (which if you take out the Adventurers Club, looks like the superior party location), but if I am staying at Disney there is no bus transportation to get there and it would cost probably around 60 dollars for a round trip cabfare. Sure there is the Atlantic Dance Hall & Jellyrolls at the Boardwalk, which both seem fun and I'm sure business is going to be booming for both of those come October. I have heard nothing but good things about Jellyrolls, which is a dueling piano bar and might stop by on my trip in a week and a half.
I really think that the Adventurer's Club could have some possibilities down the line, I mean it could work as a restaurant for lunch and dinner for families, kids would love interacting with the colonel and the rest of the wild stuff on the walls. Then come 9 o'clock take out the tables and have it be a club again. Sounds good to me, but its just a pipe dream.
I do encourage all the readers of this blog to sign Petition To Save The Adventurers Club. Even though it won't do any good, I will attach my name to it.
Adventurer's Club will be missed and I encourage you all that haven't been to go down and spend an evening in this truly unique establishment, before it gets replaced by something else.
I really liked this movie. Its based around the old tv show......... which I have never seen. The movie was a lot funnier then I thought it would be. Steve Carrell has this outstanding dry humor that had me laughing the entire film. And of course the other big name in this movie is Dwyane The Rock Johnson, my favorite wrestler of all time and former guest of the A Walk In The Park Podcast, Rock's good in his role, but could have been in the movie a lot more. Anne Hathaway is the female lead, and is hot as shit. The plot is nothing spectacular nor are the action scenes, the humor is what makes the film. The movie also features outstanding small roles from The Great Khali and Azamat from Borat, Azamat is absolutely hilarious.
This weekend I am taking my first trip ever to Wisconsin Dells, actually now that I think about it I have never been to the state of Wisconsin. I am going to be at the Coaster Enthusiast Event at Mt.Olympus on Saturday, definetely looking forward to Hades & the giant wave pool. Not sure what I am going to do the rest of the time I'm there, but from the looks of all the attractions in town I know I won't be bored.
If anyone is gonna be up there this weekend, leave a message in the comments section.
After work today I am heading back to NY for a few days. I am planning on hitting up SFGAdv tomorrow and attending what will probalby be the last Yankee Stadium game I ever go to on Saturday.
So its been over two weeks since the highly antcipated Hard Rock Park had its Grand Opening. And so far the reviews have been well.............. mixed. Check out some of the reviews:
The reviews, some good, some not as good, but here are some things that are similar in most of the reviews.
- The park is small & doesn't have a whole lot of rides. - The theming is pretty good & the little details (insulting cow & wild bathrooms) are very well done - Led Zepplin is shaky for a B&M, especailly a new one. (The engineer in me thinks maybe the extra weight of the sound systems on the train might have thrown off B&M's smoothness algorithm) - Bohemian Rhapsody is well done. - Nights in White Satin is very bizarre and very cool - Everyone who has been there, thinks the park has the possibility of becoming a great park in the future.
The two most glowing reviews came from my good friends Clint/Will and the other from the coaster critic. They all visited the park during the media preview and I am always hesitant to believe reviews from things like that for two reasons. One the park tends to pull out all the stops to impress the media (free admission, free food etc.). Two I think a lot of fansites would be reluctant to post a negative review of a media event for fear they won't be invited back.
But the thing that has me thinking is that according to the reports I have seen online, well, no one has been showing up to HRP. This Report From Saturday June 7th (the first saturday of normal operation) saw Less Than 100 Cars in the parking lot at 1 in the afternoon and This Report From Saturday June 14th (the second saturday of normal operation) saw maybe 150 cars in the lot the whole day. These are what I imagine to be VERY TROUBLING to the people running the park. I mean this would mean theres around 600 people in the park on these SATURDAYS DURING PEAK SEASON, thats less then the hourly capacity of many rides.
So I been racking my brains coming up with reasons no one is showing up, and here is what I came up with:
- The high gas price paranoia sweeping the nation has been keeping a lot of people in there homes. - People don't know its open. - People don't know what it is. - Theme Parks are generally a family atmosphere and the Hard Rock theme doesn't exactly scream family friendly. I can't see too many moms saying to dads "Honey we gotta bring the kids to the new Hard Rock Park, one of the big rides they got a ride that simulates an acid trip." - There aren't enough rides. - The parks is priced to high at $50 for a one day ticket. - Myrtle Beach can't support a large scale theme park. - Led Zepplin, Moody Blues, Eagles only really appeal to older men.
Those were all I could come up with. I really hope the park is a sucess, because it seems rare that a new park opens up anymore. I really wanna try the Nights in White Satin and Bohemian Rhapsody. I am planning on visiting the park with my In The Loop Partners September 6-7 and I am just hoping that the park is still around.
When thinking about that level of crowd. I can't help but think about the simpsons episode where no one shows up to Euro Itchy & Scratchy Land.
Booth man: Hello? Itchy and Scratchy Land open for business. Who are you to resist it, huh? Come on. My last paycheck bounced. My children need wine.
Well today I spent the afternoon at Indiana Beach. It was their anniversary weekend so Sunday afternoon all the rides were only 25 cents, quite the deal. I figured this would result in absolutely insane crowds, but it really wasn't anymore then I am used to at IB.
Before wasting anymore time I know you all want to see the Steel Hawg Construction Pictures:
First off, the pictures really don't do this ride justice as in real life it looks a lot taller. Second off, this thing looks ABSOLUTELY INSANE, the first drop on this thing is really gonna be a exhilirating moment and the inversions look really wild. Like everything at IB the layout is really compact. If this ride is smooth it will be a winner. Steel Hawg is really separated from the rest of the park and is back behind some cottages, check it out on this map:
See, odd location. Anyway this is one before my visit today, I wasn't really looking forward to, but seeing it in person now I can't wait until it opens (next month I hope). I was so excited by the structure I even bought a Steel Hawg T Shirt.
Not a bad deal for $12.95, I also picked up this pennant to put in my Amusement Park Themed Bathroom!!!
The non-steel hawg related part of the trip was very enjoyable as most trips to IB are. I rode all my favorites, played some games and ate some park food.
The Lost Coaster Of Superstition Mountain is one of the things I think of as "very indiana beach". Its a true one of a kind ride with the odd 8 person trains and decievingly wild ride thru a faux mountain. This is also a ride a big park would never be able to pull off because of the terrible capacity. Today they were only running one train which would run the circuit about every 5 minutes or so which means:
8 Guests Per Train x 12 Dispatch's An Hour = 96 Riders Per Hour
But I waited about 15 minutes, so no complaints today.
Skyride got a nice coat of paint this year.
As did some waterslides.
The park changed its 3D Ridefilm this year to a new Monster Trucks in 3D one. I am always up for a new simulator, but this one wasn't the best. The pre-show sets up the lame story about 2 friends are going to drive monster trucks to see who was the better driver. The film itself is just footage from in and around monster trucks mostly on a typical 'monster truck style' course. Last year they had the classic Dino Island 2: 3D movie, you know the one "WE GOT TO SAVE TONY". Even though the monster trucks weren't my favorite, I am sure this will be popular with the Indiana Beach clientelle, which is filled with lots of motor sport loving trashy crowd.
Of course no trip to IB is complete without a game of Fascination.
I did pretty good, played 8 games and won 2, both times winning double tickets for hitting the bonus line. Which allowed me to win this sweet Bernie Williams Framed Picture.
Speaking of games, the park got some new industrial looking game sheds this year. One is set up in front of the disgusting carp pound and the other in front of the former Chaos spot.
They don't really seem to fit in with the rest of Indiana Beach's 'random' style of building design.
I don't have a picture of it but I really like the Cornball Express. Thats a impressive wooden coaster for a park of this size.
I also did the House Of Frankenstein for the second time ever.
Its a neat house. Really more of a spooky themed fun house, then something designed to be frightening, but thats fine with my wussy ass so I enjoyed it. I really liked the room with all the doors in it and the Monster Band scene.
I rode the Den of Lost Thieves. I am not a big sally shoot em up dark ride guy, and this one is probably one the biggest reason as i have been on it a million times. Every time i ride it i think less and less effects work.
I shot a 490 today, not bad......... I think. When I was doing some shopping I did come across this T Shirt.
Hmmmn, "Dead Men Tell No Tales" wonder if I heard that at a theme park before.
The longest line in the park all day was this one:
It was for the specail 25 cent anniversary weekend hot dogs, I didn't wait for one.
My day at IB was cut a tad short because of weather, look at these two pictures one from when I arrived and the other from when I left:
Yea, that 'dark cloud of doom' brought with it quite the thunderstorm.
O yea I had to post this picture, Once I got back to my apartment look what I found parked in the lot:
WHAT THE HELL
Anyway, the afternoon outing was a blast and i really enjoyed myself. If you got any questions bout my day just post them in the comments section.
