TR: Six Flags New England (10/29/2000)

For quite a long time, I have wished to ride in snowy weather. Why? I’m not sure, and now that I have, I wonder about said thought process even more. On with the show.

SFNE-

Its only my 8th trip to one of my two home parks (LC being the other). Only, this is my: a) last trip there of the year b)it snowed, not to mention the fact it was damn cold.

Total Experience-

I forgot to register for Jason’s event, and ended up coming in with the rest of the lowly GP. I picked up my brand new and improved 2001 Seasons Pass, and rode the usual collection of rides (T-Bolt, Cyclone, Supes, etc.).

First thing is first. Snow HURTS. More than rain. Why? Because its freezes in your eyes. It did make Cyclone and T-Bolt run better than usual today however. The cold nearly gave me hypothermia (as the Parmalees can attest, I had extreme problems eating spiral fries and crackers) and the music was as banal as that which was played at Oktoberfest. 1 train on everything, but there weren’t many people to begin with. In fact, right about now is when ERT was supposed to end (early close at around 8pm).

Anyways, to sum up, if SFNE could be opened today, I see no reason why it cannot be a year round operation.

TR: Knoebel’s Phall Phunfest (10/6-10/7/2000)

Finally, the long awaited TR that at least two or three of you
have been waiting for. Well, maybe two or three. Maybe just me. Who knows?

-Trip to the Hotel, 10/6-10/7-

Why am I starting the TR with this? Well, for one, it took us an extra hour to find our hotel. Why? Because, there is no Knights Inn in Danville. Apparently, there’s a Key Motor Lodge, and we had reservations there. Hmmpf. In addition to that, I thought I had found a decent college radio station. Then it turned on me. For myself, nothing is more of a slap in the face than a show called “The Underground: Punk, not Metal, dumbass.”

To add to that insult, the supposed punk fans then talked about how a show they had seen recently made them angry, because the punk band smashed the mike, and it wasn’t theirs. Then they played a bunch of songs from Fat Wreck Chords samplers even I have sitting around. But hell, central PA isn’t known as a punk haven, so I should give them credit for listening to something other than country.
-PPP-
What can I say? Essentially everyone I know (sans about 5 people) was there. It was fun. Phoenix and Twister owned. It didn’t snow nor rain. But it was DAMN cold. This hurt the Dippin’ Dots’ costume a lot, since I had to wear the leather jacket over the shirt. But most people still got it. BTW, the bubblemen should have won. Nothing against any of the other great outfits, but bubble wrap is just too metal. After the end of ERT, we headed over to the bonfire, where we promptly set hot dogs and marshmallows ablaze. We departed at about 1AM, taking Rus back to his hotel.

-Hangover Day-

Yea, we skipped Lakemont. But, we got home that night instead of spending an extra $50 on a hotel. It worked out for us. After arriving at the park, I saw Chris Kearsing, and no one else. He had no clue where anyone else is. So, on to Phoenix. No one else there either. Then, it clicks in my head, “Hey, what about that campsite?” Oh yea. There’s just about everyone. And I missed what should have been my first peep burning. Damn. But I got Carrie Drabek’s Pineapple Dumpcake, which made up for it. Then off to rides. Rides good. Cold bad. Somewhere around the last trips around, Robb says, “Aren’t you glad you didn’t go to Lakemont?” Yup.

-Trip home-

Why did I include this, you wonder? Simple. Because around the Rye area (you know, where 287 hooks up w/15), I realized that I wasn’t going to see almost all of the people at PPP for another 6, 8, hell, even 12 months. It was somewhat unsettling, since I was so used to seeing all the same faces just about every weekend for 6 months. So, to RRC collective (thats because almost everyone was there), I thank you guys (and gals, to be politically correct) along with Knoebels, and the bubblemen, for just making this event awesome. You all rock. And I’ll see you guys sometime in the faraway future of next April/May (unless you’re going to EastCoaster or SuperMania!: Jason, I’ll register this weekend).

TR: Dorney Park (Phall Phunfest Weekend; 10/06/00)

Yes, it is time for the first of two, count ’em, TWO TRs for PPP weekend. So, on with it…

-Dorney Park-

Looks as nice as I remember it from 1997, the last time I visited it. The addition of a wild mouse, some S&Ses, and a Skyscraper made it look even better.

Rides:

-Steel Force-

My thoughts on it are seen in my first 3 rides:

–Ride one- Seat two, car 2-
“This is my number 4? How did it even make it in my top 10?”

–Ride Two- Front Seat-
“Oh, thats how it got in my top 10….”

–Ride Three- Last Seat
“Oh, that’s why its #4.”

Much better.

-Wild Mouse-
Decent mouse. Looks nice. Cool paint job on the cars too.

-Skyscraper-
Dan (Flare’s buddy) amd I hit this ride about 9:45. Cool stuff, but I was expecting much more. Seems like a tall, low capacity version of Power Surge (report of that with the PPP.

-Thunderhawk-
Get rid of those brakes on the bunny hops back. Otherwise, really good.

-Overall-
Totally worth it. Thanks to the RRCers that showed up, as there were so many, I don’t feel like typing all their names. You know who you were, and you all rule.

Oc Boulder Fest/SFNE Scream Party (9/23/00 & 9/24/00)

Yes, yes, yes. It was 2 days ago, yet it already feels like a lifetime. Wow. I still have PTC bruises and spinning vision for the 6 minute Rotor ride. But, first, you non-believers must read, read, READ my stupidly way too long TR. And no, the monkey didn’t quite catch on as well as we might have anticipated. More monkey news later….

TR: Six Flags America and Keansburg (9/16 – 9/18/00)

Wow, I’m home. And very tired. If you see 10,000 grammatical errors, remember that its been a VERY long day. So w/o further adieu…..

-9/16-

Going to SFA/Stopping 2 hours short-

As is atypical with us, we left at 5:30 from Col-E-Chester, and drove down down 95/Jersey Turnpike, hitting surprisingly little traffic, and arriving in Penns Grove (near the border of NJ/MD/PA) and the Wellsley Inn And Suites. We had stayed here 2 years prior on our way to what was Adventure World from SFGAdv, and other than the fact that I was nearly mugged, it was a nice place. We paid $62 for a suite, and got our money’s worth: stained couch, cockroaches, frightenening employees, etc. Avoid.

-9/17-

SFA Invasion-

We set out at 7:30 the following moring and arrived at SFA promptly (even got to use our SFNE parking pass) at 9:30. I met up with Sam (who was giving out name badges from the trunk of his car), Adam, Dooley (didn’t yet see Dana, but she was there too), Rob Vaccaro, the Maxwells, Stephen Fox, Sandy Nicholson, and various other folk.

First came the walk back to the coaster: half of us rode, the other half took pictures. I took pictures- totally worth the dead on shot of the first drop from 5 feet away. Afterwards, we we’re greeted with an empty queue (with the exception the people who went straight to ride), and I was placed in a predicament. Fox and I had made the agreement to ride Two-Face or Joker fist to get to respective landmarks on SROS (175 or me, 250 for him). But when you have a empty queue line, Agreements end quickly. All Steve could do was shake his head in dismay. Sorry.

Superman: Ride of Steel: #174-

Dead on. A beautiful ride in every sense. Not quite as perfect as SFNE’s, but I may like SFA’s the best of all three SROSes. For whatever reason, I find the close proximity to the ground to create a false sense of added speed, especially at night. I put it at #2 on my steel list, ahead of SFDL’s and behind SFNE’s.

After a couple spins, it was total chaos. I headed over towards Joker’s, but it was not yet open. Then to Two-Face- same deal. So, on to the Wild One. Indeed, it does seem wilder than in 1998. However, a trim has been added to the final helix. Still, you get good laterals in it, as it is on light. When I got off, I joined the Maxwell’s for a ride on Two-Face (which was now running).

Two Face (Invertigo)- #175 (yea)-

My first Invertigo! Hoorah! Different from a boomer or SLC, and much better than either one. Very smooth.

After this, It was time for a ride Roar. Looks like its wasn’t as good as I thought. Top 10 material, but its falling to the back in my book (#9 or so).

Now, it was Jinx time.

Joker’s Jinx- #176- At least you can see the track, and therefore anticipate (unlike other launched Premier Rides coasters I know). I guess SPEED spoilt me. Throw this one in the pile.

Then after a hearty lunch (I’ll also mention that Walt Breymier, MCB, Joe Schwartz, Jason Pytka, Coastin’ Steve, and XcaliburMike were there, as I met with them at lunch and at previous times), it was ride invasion time. I feel sorry for the Tea Cups and Swinger operators, they had no idea we were coming, let alone coming with those damned whistling straws. The Octopus op was less kind about them, and we were no longer allowed to use them. 😦

Now, fast forward about 2 hours to ERT. I blame XcaliburMike and the harvest moon for the utter insanity. GP stranded in the Joker’s Jinx queue got a ride in before us (a noble thing for the SFA people to do: If you were stuck there and got to ride Superman instead, you’d be ecstatic too), and we lost a half an hour due to that and the cleansing of GP from the grounds. Then came the rides. I got about 20 something in the hour and a half allotted- more than enough. As an added bonus, Robb Alvey came 8 hours late, and I finally got to meet him (Yea!). From there, we lost track.

Somewhere around 10, the Monkey thing started, and then XcaliburMike and I tried the whole “looking backwards from the last seat” thing. As I said, insane. So I’ll end it there.

-9/18- Huh?!?-

After resting at the Red Roof Inn an Lanham (a much nicer place than the Wellsely, but infested with teens having a party, instead of roaches), we set the alarm clock for 5:30 AM, and slept. We woke up at 7:05. To our dismay, we forgot to check what time it was actually set for (AM/PM was reversed). We missed Hershey. Damn. So, in typical Conceicao fashion, we went back to sleep. We woke up at 9 AM, and headed out at 10. On the way, I decided to look at whether or not Keansburg was open (I knew ahead of time that Clementon was not, my original idea). Indeed, it was! Off to a Schwartzcopf portable!

-Keansburg Amusement Park-

We are welcomed with the sight of a Double Shot. Whee! Overall, Coney-esque, minus ride-ops, dirt, and rust.

Double Shot- My first one! Joy. Hey, Canobie and Funtown, where are yours?

Wildcat- #177- Decent ride. Can’t complain. Ride-op was cool.

Sea Serpent- #178- Your standard Miler kiddie coaster. Same as the one at Upland, just with dragon trains and boat theming (which was quite nice). Overall, a fun little park. We were in and out in less time than it takes to listen to a Ramones album.

That brings me to the fact that I am now home and tired. Sorry to those who might have waited for me at Hershey, it was just that stupid clock.

TR: Belmont Park (7/28/2000)

Ending my week in SoCal was this a visit to the Giant Dipper at Belmont Park.

So, without any further adieu….

-Park Itself-

About 5 rides. One of which happens to be one of the last Prior and Church’s.

-Coasters-

-Giant Dipper- Sweet with a capital S. Dana and Dooley had told me that they thought of it as rather mediocre. I had also known going in that it was tempermental. They must have had it on a bad day. Violent, with sporadic airtime. Someone get this thing PTC’s.

-other rides-

What other rides?

-Overall-

Check it out.

TR: 7/27/2000 Legoland

Simply put, the biggest disappointment of the trip. Burn it, send it to hell.

-Park Itself-

Well, it costs $34 bucks to get in. It has trees. There are buildings made of Legos and other buildings that looked like they were made of Legos. Hence, Legoland. And there’s a bunch of fencing blocking stuff off. Why?

-Coasters-

-Spellbreaker-

Hey, COOL! A single car suspended! Wish they had finished it. Mid-way through construction right now. Joy.

-Dragon- Nice theming on a kids coaster.

-Other rides-

I waited 30 minutes for Driving School, then was told to leave because I was over their age limit. Bastards. Best thing in the park is the area where you make Technic Lego cars. Whee.

-Overall-

I wasted $34 and 9 exposures of film.

(writers notes, August 2012)

Often times I think about Legoland and how I should really like it. Maybe it is the company I kept? The expectations I had? Then I realize that whether I was 17 or 26, I was never the target audience for Legoland. Even a couple months ago, I was seriously considering heading to Florida for my birthday to visit Busch Gardens, the Florida and Central Florida Fairs, and also Legoland. Then I realized that going to Legoland for my 30th birthday was an enormously shameful thing to do.

TR: Six Flags Magic Mountain (7/25/2000)

After the godliness of Ghostrider, it was time to bask in the lukewarm glow of mediocrity. Where better to do that than SFMM?

-Park itself-

Hey, I didn’t pay to get in. Where the hell’s the shade? WTF is up with all the trims?

Coasters-

Flashback- It wasn’t running. Good.

Revolution- Should rock. Doesn’t. Why are there lapbars AND OTSRS?

Psyclone- Took the front seat. Not as rough or as painful as I was led to believe. Just damn boring. Dragged ass everywhere. It seemed like a miracle that it made it the whole way around.

Colossus- Just taer the whole thing down. They’ve done so much to it, why bother trying to fix it?

Viper- Smoother, faster, more enjoyable than SFGAdv.’s GASM, the only other Arrow 7-inversion I’ve been on. But its still a cookie cutter Arrow.

Canyon Blaster- The F’n kiddie coaster outperfoms 85% of the rides here. THE KIDDIE COASTER.

Ninja- Hoorah. Only one trim.

Superman- Really damn tall. Really damn loud. So not a coaster. Zero-G? Where?

Batman- Umm, its Batman.

Riddler’s Revenge- I heard the back would have airtime. Maybe it would, if they wouldn’t slow the coaster to a 5-10 mile an hour crawl. Bah!

Gold Rusher- Oldest in the park, far superior to most SFMM coasters. Still a mine train, and still an Arrow.

And, finally-

Goliath- Obviously, the best the park has to offer. In the lower half of my top 10, it’s short, violent, and makes you see stars (just like a Motorhead song).

Smooth too. Just needs about 2000 more feet of track.

-other notes-

I think I got an aneurysm from Goliath. I blacked out 3 times on it, that’s for sure.

TR: Knotts Berry Farm (7/24/2000)

After having had 17 months to stew in the greatness of the ONE coaster I got to ride in SoCal before the obliterated trip I had with my father here a year ago (pre-RRC days), it was time to return. Now, Ghostrider, with a new helix, had to prove it deserves that number 1 spot on my wooden coaster list.

Knott’s-the park itself-

Very nice. Great theming all around, trees, water, and lots of other goodies.

-Coasters-

Ghostrider- Went straight to it at 9:15AM, and was shocked by the mediocre ride it presented. 4 hours later, I was basking in its glory once more. By 9:15PM, GR was stomping the guts out of Boulder Dash. All hail. If ST can get better than this, I’ll $#!+ a brick.

Boomerang- Um, its a boomerang. Number 8 for myself, I think.

Jaguar- Decent mine train. Uncomfortable seats, however.

Montezooma’s Revenge- Nothin’ says lovin’ like Schwarzcopf.

-other notes-

Huge bumper car pavillion, good food, and nice employees (especally Lorrie, at the Ghostrider booth. She rocks.).

TR: 7/26/2000: Disneyland and Adventure City

Well, it was supposed to be a short trip. Instead, we didn’t get back to Cathedral City till 1AM. Why these two? Claimed motive: Close to one another, 6 coasters in total. REAL Motive: MR. TOAD’S WILD RIDE.

Adventure City-

-Park itself-
Damn, I though Castle was small. Still a nice park.

-Coasters-

Bumper-to-bumper – Kid’s coaster, goes around a rock. Not too bad.

Tree-Top Racers- Why seatbelts? Lakeside didn’t have ’em. Still shreds.

-other notes-

Drinks weren’t to expensive, and there were lots of trees. And cool hobby shops too (I still want that Ayrton Senna die-cast).

-DisneyLand-

-Park Itself- New stuff looks awesome. May have to return. Took about 2 1/2 rolls of film, too.

-Coasters-

Matterhorn- Its the Mattherhorn.

Space Mountain- Its Space Mountain. Has FastPass, which was nice.

Gadget’s Go-Coaster- Isn’t this a Roller Skater? AND I WAITED 40 #%$@#% MINUTES FOR IT? WTF?!?!?

Big Thunder Mountain- Its Big Thunder Mountain.

-other rides (Namely Mr.Toad, and only Mr. Toad)

MR. TOAD- Why isn’t there a cult for this yet? I love this damn thing. Best dark ride ever. I mean, you hit a train, and go to hell. HOW F’N COOL IS THAT?!? I laugh myself into pains every time.

-other notes-

Those car things at Tommorrowland (no, not Autotopia) rock. Its like a Sci-fi movie. Me loves it. Theming, also happens to rock. And Indiana Jones can’t stay up and running when I get in its line. Damn.