Boobuzz: Awesome

Once again, this weekend proved that Coasterbuzz events far outweigh any of the others I've attended. The group of people who attend are just so friggin' awesome.

I knew it was going to be a good trip when I got into the car at 6:40 am Saturday morning and heard Jimmy Buffet on the radio. There was another moment of Jimmy Buffett dorkiness on the MaXair midway that Coastaplaya captured on video that I've warned he's NOT to post on the internet.

ERT was fantastic. Warning: Gloat moment ahead.

When getting in line for the TTD ERT, I steered Kristen toward the left side of the ramp when she was heading for the right. It ended up being the better choice as we were on the first train out of the station. The train just began to crest the tophat when it slowed and rolled back. I think I could have left right after we had our 1.5 ride and been satisfied, but instead, I stayed and rode TTD 6 times before moving to MF.

If it weren't for the ERT, we would have gotten few rides in as by noon the place was packed. Even Draggin' Iron and Mine Ride had full queues. We were able to snag rides on Skyhawk, Gemini and Magnum before the lines got insane.

The haunted houses were packed, although we did get very lucky as Werewolf Canyon opened just as the Storyteller show ended. Saw The Raven this time, which was very well done. Werewolf Canyon was thick with fog, which makes the experience a bit more fun, even if the screamsters pretty much avoided me. The funny thing is they kept trying to jump at 'Playa who was so not reacting. CarnEvil was just as lame as last year, as was the new Fear Faire, but walking around in very thick fog is always a trip.

'Playa and I exited the Fear Faire just as the Tim Hill magic show let out, so we hung for 20 minutes to catch the next one. Believe me, that was the shortest wait we had in the park after noon.

Other Highlights:

The tour of the screamsters makeup area. Although the fellow who does the graphic and setup work for Halloweekends looked like one of the Village People in his black leather and chains (maybe that what he was supposed to be dressed as?), the presentation was really informative.

Kara and Matt duking it out with Gregleg and 'Playa to see who could spin the fastest on the Balloon Race. I manned the digital video camera and called Kara and Matt as the winners, although Greg and Playa feel they won. I think they petered themselves out before the ride even began.

An intense spin on Tilt A Whirl with Playa and Greg. Our car started spinning immediately and was still spinning when the ride stopped.

Hanging out with Kristen, Playa, Greg, Kara, Matt, and briefly with Tina, Jeff and Catherine. Meeting and saying hi to many others.

Low Light:

Coasters. Seriously, I know CP has a staffing problem for Halloweekends, but the cooks at Coasters were only making cheeseburgers. Anyone who ordered a regular hamburger waited twice as long, and they were not filling orders in the order in which they were placed. I waited a good 15 minutes for my order while people behind me were getting theirs. One woman ahead of me had already been waiting 10 minutes when I began my wait and they filled MY order before hers. She was livid and I don't blame her.

Sunday:

I woke to a drizzly rain, but manned with cheap gloves and a headband from WalFart and a long, heavy duty rain poncho (yeah, I looked like a dork but I was warm and DRY) I hit the park for Joe Cool entry and got 4 rides on MF before meeting up with "Playa for the day.

The weather was cold...temps starting at 49 degrees in the morning and slowly dropping as the day wore on and the wind picked up. Raptor ran for maybe an hour for Joe Cool, but was down the rest of the day due to weather...I suspect the wind more than anything as although we had very little rain...it was mostly brief periods of light drizzle. I think TTD tried to open, but i suspect there were weather related problems there too.

Needless to say, the park was empty compared to Saturday, and most everything we opted to ride was a walk on. Mean Streak was running great after a night of soaking rain and the only trimming was at the midcourse break.

We hit all of the haunted houses we couldn't get to on Saturday, primarily as sources to warm up.

My legs were like jelly after spending 13 hours in the park on Saturday and another 7 yesterday, but well worth the weekend I had.

I'm pretty sure the guy in black leather was supposed to be one of the Village People. It was really hard to hear, but I believe he said that they were doing Village People themed costumes that night.

Yeah, he said they do a theme each weekend and this week was the Village People.

^I thought his leather pants were cool. :) I didn't hear a damn word he said, though.

As far as Coasters, I felt bad for that lady in front of you as well, Linda. I have NEVER seen such crappy service at a CP restaurant. I know they messed up Playa's order and my fries were less than mediocre. I still find it strange that they were training new employees for NEXT year's season, which doesn't start till May?

Overall it was an awesome day, though. Hanging out with good friends and the priceless, gasmic ERT on Dragster was WELL worth it! ;)

-Tina