Sandy Lake Park

While our primary reason for being in Dallas was to go to Six Flags, we did take the time one afternoon to have some Exclusive Park time at Sandy Lake Park, a little picnic park in the north end of Dallas.

While not a coaster park -- they had two kiddie coasters to their name -- this was still a charming little park.

For one, they had a classic Pretzel dark ride:

It was not anything really scary, but it was fun for what it was.  Pretzel rides are  dark rides that send you in your car into one large dark room where all the stunts are, meaning you may catch a glimpse of another car "tripping" a stunt.

They had a super fast vomit inducing swing ride:

And they also had some of the best bumper cars out there.  I would say they were in third place for me, with top honours going first to the ones at Knoebels and in second place the ones at the defunct Astroland.   One friend of mine managed to even lodge his vehicle under someone elses'!

So, while this park might not have a New Texas Giant or a Flashback... this park was definitely fun (we literally kept riding for our entire 3 hour session there), and they treated ACE well.  If I am in the area again, I will definitely stop by!

Six Flags Over Texas

Wow.. its been a while since I was posted... just been so damn busy!  Been to so many parks... time to catch up!

In June, we made the trek down to Texas for ACE's Coaster Con... the single largest roller coaster event there is.  Five parks and 2 water parks in one week.  Ambitious and sleep deprived are good words to use to describe the week.  But, it was fun!

The main host park was Six Flags Over Texas, in Arlington, Texas.  Or, as they say, "the original Six Flags".  We spent parts of 4 days in that park.  We endured some of the highest heat I have ever experienced.  We also had some of the most fun I have had there, too.

SFOT treated us like royalty.  ERT (exclusive ride time) was abundant.  Every coaster was covered in at least one session, and most were covered at least twice.  The food-- awesome.  The hospitality -- incredible-- free drinks for us our entire stay.  Free gifts every night (shirts, vintage stickers from the 1970s, a New Texas Giant glass mug).  They even opened up an old unused restaurant just for us as a cooling station.

But enough about that... lets talk about the rides!

While many of the coasters were run-of-the mill, there were some standouts.  Shockwave was a throwback Schwartzkopf that was smooth and fun... and unfortunately I did not take a decent picture of it.

Judge Roy Scream was an awesome little woody:

And, of course, there was the risen-from-the-dead-and-rebuilt New Texas Giant:

My verdict on this coaster?  FANTASTIC!!!!  Airtime everywhere.  Smooth as glass.  Freaky restraints.  A ride I would go on over and over again.  It was wonderful.

As for other attractions, the standouts for me were the parachute drop.....

...as well as the Looney Toones dark ride, and  their log flume, the first one ever built.

They even brought in the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders to entertain us!

All in all, I really loved this park, and want to go back someday!

Universal Studios and Islands Of Adventure

Ok... got my lazy ass into the writing mood.

To continue from the last post, I was in Florida for ACE's Spring Con.  The central part of the Con was Universal Studios and Islands Of Adventure.

Highlights included :

One hour of ERT on Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit

This coaster rocks... literally.  You get to choose your own rock soundtrack to play along on the ride.  Advanced riders like me had cheat sheets with secret codes to hidden tracks.  First one of those I played was Bryan Adams' "Run To You".  Actually, I played it a few times.  A marriage of my two main hobbies.  Was totally a spiritual moment for me.  Ended up trying a range of songs, from Judas Priest, Chemical Brothers, and even the Muppets.  Yes you read that right.  Laughed my ass off riding to "Moving Right Along"

Far and away the largest highlight was not ERT related, but was next door at Islands of Adventure, and their new Harry Potter themed area.

The theming.... incredible.   I could describe it here, but I will let the pictures do the talking.

Incredible, isn't it?

The above photo is also the entrance to the Harry Potter And The Forbidden Journey  ride.  All I can say is .... fantastic!

Oh... and I had about 5 glasses of Butterbeer..... amazing!

To describe it... think a high quality cream soda (not the mass produced stuff), with butterscotch flavouring and butterscotch foam on top.

Crowd wise , Harry Potter was crowded on the Saturday, but light on the Sunday. Got to really explore the area.

Anyways, my travels continue this weekend.  La Ronde and a trip south to visit several parks await me!

Old Town

So I came back from my trip to Florida the other week, and I finally have time to sit down and write.

While technically Universal's Islands Of Adventure was my first amusement park stop, I am going to start here with Old Town, where the ACE event started.

Old Town, located in Kissimmee, is a combination amusement park/shopping district.  Think of an old town's main drag, complete with shops and restaurants, with ride areas anchoring each end of the strip.

As we are coaster enthusiasts, we were there to ride the Windstorm and the Wacky Worm (#367 on my list).

Windstorm is a production model from SDC.  Not many are around, though, so it is unique to me.  I rode it first on a visit a year ago.  Very intense little ride.

 The above maneuver is easily the most intense moment on the ride.  This diving turn actually does a 360 -- it sends you back in the direction you were going, in such a tiny spot.  Caught all the new riders by surprise!

Wacky Worm is, well, a Wacky Worm.  I was denied the credit last year, yet was allowed on it this year.  Nothing special, like every other one of the model out there.

We also managed to walk next door to Fun Spot where we were permitted to ride (two adults per train only) on the aptly-named Kid Coaster (#368).  Despite it's name, it was quite fun, reminding me of a similar  ride I was on at Scandia in Ontario, California last year.  Nice abrupt humps on the ride sent us out of our seats a few times.

All kids' coasters should be like this!

Next up : Universal's Islands Of Adventure!

The ending of a long off-season

As I tell my friends, I enjoy all four seasons. However, if there was one that I enjoyed less than the rest, it is winter.  Why?  The sole reason is that all the seasonal amusement and theme parks are closed this time of the year, and I cannot get my coaster fix in.

Indeed, I last rode a roller coaster in November. Yikes!  That is a long time for me!

The end of this drought is near.   Southern parks have reopened.  Northern parks start opening up in a little more than a month.

I am not waiting for that.

No, to end my misery, I am joining the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) in two weeks as they embark on their Spring Conference in Orlando.

I will get to ride this baby:

That is Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, a roller coaster where you get to choose your own soundtrack to go along with your ride.  Last year I kept playing Motley Crue's "Kickstart My Heart" on it..... awesome!

This year, our club gets one hour of Exclusive Ride Time (ERT) on it.  I can't wait!

Of course, when I get back, there will be a trip report here, all about my adventures at Universal Studio, Islands Of Adventure, and Old Town.

Until then.....

Well... I did it.......

Some time ago, in a place far far away, I used to write about my travels, and, well, whatever else came to mind. 

Then, of course, life got in the way, and I also got lazy.

I look at my travels over the past couple of years, and I think to myself... it would have been cool if I had chronicled these adventures.  But, I didn't.

Thats about to change.

I have some epic travels planned for this year.  You will read about them here.

You also may read about my thoughts on a few other things....

So... until later....... keep coasting along!