Reflecting on the 2002 season [long]
I love reflecting on the past summer so here goes...
2002 was quite a unique year for me. It started on Jan 1 (lol, duh!) at IOA on top of Me Ship, The Olive. Was there with two friends from SFGAm and had an unbelievable time...drove all the way from Chicago to Orlando and back in the middle of winter. Yeah, we're not too bright, heh.
The next trip was in March to sunny SoCal with good friends Jack Wlezien, Chris Murray, and Phillip Ruess. Riding X was easily the highlight of the trip, but hanging with those guys made everything we did hilarious. This would be the last trip I took before moving to Atlanta, and it didn't disappoint at all (X = #3 steel woohoo).
Now I'm a southern boy living in Georgia, and the first park I did was SFoG obviously. Went to SUF Media Day and had a blast, rode 25 times. Pretzel Loop is still kickin ass!
April was just more SFoG, IOA, and WAd trips...then came the real start of the season -- May!
May took me to lots of places including CP's Wicked Twister Media Day (36 rides anyone? hello intensity!), Fiesta Fest (God, what an awesome event! Try to make this one if you can), and Stark Raven Mad. Of course SRM is always a highlight of any coaster season. This time I had to fly back up north to visit the ol' gang and we drove down from Chicago together in the "Hoopdy" or the Big Ass Blue Van. We had a rather large group for this trip consisting of myself, Eric Perez, Clayton Hauck, Scott Schaffer, Mike Parker, Keith McVeen, and Glenn Dobbs. This was Keith's first coaster event trip ever so it was cool to see it from a newbie's eyes. Needless to say, SRM 02 was as amazing as ever, and became my favorite ever event at that time. Legend was hauling hard core and just pushed itself that much higher into its #1 spot. Nothing will ever touch it for me.
June started the craziness though. I had planned on going to CMania with Kyle, Chris, Kevin, and Sean F and that would have basically done it for trips that month. However, I guess SRM really left a lasting impression on Keith, as we ended up going to TimbersFest, and also got suckered into going to Kennywood (no, not Phantom's Revenge, anything but that!) on the CMania trip too. At SFWoA we got to meet up with SFOJulie, who we'll be going on more trips in the future with as she definitely needs to see things other than SUE ;). June will go down in history for me as the most trips I took that were last minute, with little to no planning whatsoever (I decided to leave for TimbersFest from ATL at 11pm the *night before* the event). But you know what, that was okay with me, and the theme would continue into...
...July. Wow, where to begin with this month! I guess the last minute (read: planned *three days* prior to departure) East Coast 2002 Road Trip to PKD, SFA, DP, SFGAd, SFNE, PC, SFoG, BGW is a good start. Thanks to Dave Johnson and Landan Ansell for letting us use their houses as free hotels. :) Favorite memory of that trip (besides all the last minute decisions on which parks we were going to hit and when lol) was riding Nitro on July 4th at night with fireworks exploding behind the lift hill. Again, all of these parks were basically new to Keith, so it was like seeing everything for the first time again -- that's why I love going to parks I've been to with first timers...you get a whole new appreciation for things.
The other big news for me in July was that one event...the European Coaster Odyssey I think it was called? :) Needless to say, the entire 17 days over there will never be forgotten. I urge everyone who even had the slightest urge to go on that trip -- GO on the next one! I guarantee you will not be disappointed! It wasn't even all about the coasters, just experiencing a completely new way of life with close friends and doing what you love and seeing new cities and all that jazz...so completely worth it.
Then August came and yet another random, last minute trip for me...this time back to HW and SFGAm! It worked out perfectly since my sister had to visit people in chicago, and I had to ride Whizzer one last time before it left.* Taking that "last ride" on that Sunday in early August was one of those "moments." I had grown up with that ride and it was a big part of me getting into this hobby so it was pretty sad to know it was going. Got to see some old friends from Chicago again at the park (Clay, don't cry, Whizzer is staying!) and hung out with Corey Jessup (nice camera!) and Keith again, the two people who are almost always responsible for convincing me to drive hundreds of miles to visit some park.
On that trip, Holiday World had a record attendance day...yet the longest line we waited in for Legend was all of 25mins once. Rode it about 8 or 9 times that day, and got my precious night rides that I crave in to! Even suckered Chris Trotter and Phillip Ruess to drive the 4hrs each way to spend the day with us...had a blast. Funniest thing of the trip? Keith and his friend Andy spinning *NON FREAKIN STOP* on the Spider at HW...I almost pissed myself I was laughing so hard! I got nauseous just watching them lol!
So it was about this time that Coca-Cola called me and offered me a job. Uh oh, looks like the trips are gonna end soon. Wrong.
Almost as soon as I got that job, old friend from SFGAm decided to come down and visit me. So we went to SFoG (walk ons are the best, no?), Turner Field to catch a braves game, and World of Coke where I almost puked from mixing every coke product ever made (Peach Ice Tea is GOD). As soon as Clay, Jack, Greg, Nick, and Kris left to go back home, three other friends, this time from SFGAd, decided they wanted to go to IOA as an extension of their East Coast swing. They asked me to come along. Gee, let me think.
So off we went to spend the day at SFoG (more walk ons, hooray), then leaving from the park to hit IOA for a day. Matt Smith, Landan Ansell, and Mike [forget last name] from SFGAd are nuts. We had a BLAST at IOA, one of the best days ever! Single rider lines, Uni Express, and overall fast operations made the longest line for us about 25mins all day. Good friends, good parks, good times! Best memory of trip? Getting to Orlando at 3am and seeing IOA after a 4month absense...all while rockin' out to New Found Glory.
And wouldn't you know it, that was actually the last road trip I've taken! Besides trips to the home park, that has been it so far. This weekend I get to hit Lake Winnie though, so the madness begins all over again! Then the BIG Sept trip is CP, SFNE, LC (for OcBoulderFest), and SFGAd later this month with some of the usual suspects; Clay, Keith, Julie, and Dave Johnson! We are all damn excited for this trip as it's probably the last big one until December when everyone hits FL.
So that's about it *so far*...the season is obviously not over yet, but that is what my year has been like looking back. Since 00, I have been saying it can't get any better, but each and every year my summers somehow top the one before it! Is this a kick ass hobby or what? :)
* The Whizzer is staying.
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It tastes like burning.
I must say that this summer was awesome for me. With the help of Joe [legendary], I increased my coaster count from somewhere around 50 to 153!!! This summer alone I traveled to 21 different states, which is a record from my usual 3. And that spider ride at Holiday World is INSANE. My friend Andy and I rode together, and somehow our weight distribution worked perfectly for that ride. Joe spun himself dizzy before the ride even started and we laughed at him being a moron cuz he would get sick, then once the ride started, our car spun so freaking fast that it hurt my neck just to hold my head in place!! I was laughing so hard that I was crying, it just never let up the entire ride.. And I just remember Joe saying "stop spinning, you're making my sick just looking at you guys!".. and when the ride came to a halt, we were still spinning so fast that the ride ops had to stop are car... CRAZY!
But on the note of Holiday World, I am extremely happy that I have made it there twice this summer (and soon to be a third!!) It's one thing to read about a park being great and about coasters being great, but to actually go there and have your high expectations surpassed, is just amazing! The Legend is my all-time favorite coaster out of any wood or steel by far.. amazing... but I'll stop with the TLC since it gets redundant... but as a note to anyone who is contemplating coaster events, SRM is definitely the one to attend. (However, feel free to persuade people against going so I can get more rides on Legend!! woohoo)
Side note: Intamin hyper coasters are AMAZING.
In summary, my summer rocked... who can beat 103 new coasters in one season?!? And how can I ever top this summer... hmmmmm
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-Keith "Badnitrus" McVeen
*** This post was edited by Badnitrus on 9/6/2002. ***
My summer, of course, was all about Holiday World...
1. It was our first summer without Mr. Koch. We've been up 20+ percent all season...I just know he's up in heaven, working the room. :)
2. The biggest SRM ever...so many friends, so much fun. Meeting Moosh's dad. The groom *not* dropping the ring during The Legend wedding
3. The mini-Prom for Mrs. Koch to celebrate her Masters degree. Watching her dance with Mick Foley, Mamoosh, Paul Drabek, Scott Holmes, Mike Dearmond, and Tom Rebbie. Such a sweet moment.
4. Hanging out with wrestling icon Mick "Mankind" Foley for the day as he played and rode rides with two Make A Wish children. That giant has a heart of gold.
5. Hosting more travel writers and news crews than ever--never a dull moment!
6. Looking forward to our last hurrah of the season--GOCC's Fall Freak Out on September 28.
Thanks for the memories! Paula
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Paula Werne
Director of Public Relations
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
Santa Claus, Ind.
JPWerne@holidayworld.com
I have a couple new additions from this weekend:
8. Spending a great evening at the Puyallup Fair with Rob "nasai" Jones, and getting a "bonus" lap in Ole Yeller for our last ride of the night.
9. A "beautiful" cold and rainy day at Vancouver Playland with Rob and his kids this past Sunday. The weather may have sucked, but the company and Coaster more than made up for it. :)
Thanks for the great weekend, Rob! I wish it could have lasted a bit longer.
Trip Reports coming soon.
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"The perfect machine, you seemed to be, when I built you up in my mind..." - Reverend Jon Autry
*** This post was edited by chris on 9/10/2002. ***
Way to early for me to start reflecting. I've still got SFNE, LC, SFWoA, CP (again), SFMM, DL and DCA, KBF, SCBB, SFMW, and possibly PPP at Knoebel's.
I guess I'll have to pull this thread back up in November.
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Without the chaindog, you'd never get up the lifthill...
*** This post was edited by Chaindog on 9/10/2002. ***
Still a few more weeks to go since I plan to hit some halloweekends...I had a lot of highlights this year.
Coasterbuzz Con at PKI, meeting some great people and adding a few more coasters to my track record.
Timbersfest, meeting even MORE awesome people, sitting behind Kara as she got in her 600th lap on ST.
Opening Day at CP
A trip in August to SFGAm, getting to ride some more great coasters, including Deja Vu, V2 and Raging Bull
Downsides: Dealing with metal detectors at a park for the first time (got better once we learned to empty pockets ahead of time). Shockwave being shut down. Price hike on bottled water/soda pop at CP
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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
The 2002 brought parks that I had previously been to, and ones I thought I would never get it.
The season started with a trip to SFGADV for some warmup riding. Got rides on all the favorites, including NITRO. And those lapbars Batman and Robin are a god send. In April, took a spin on up to SFNE for Batman: The Dark Knight Media Day. That is one compact coaster. Was really moving that day, although they only had one train going. Was still a good day.
May brought about a few parks that I had been to before. Early May, was on business down in Orlando (gotta love the job) and decided to do a little riding at IOA. All I gotta say about that is, Single Riders and Universal Express. Park was nearly empty on a friday afternoon, longest wait was about 15 minutes. Going with friends from work who have never been to the park was a great site. They had no idea that Hulk launched, boy was that a surprise to them.
Also, on Memorial Day Weekend, went to Hershey Park. Was expecting long lines, but was I wrong. Longest wait was about 10 minutes. Had to go and try out Roller Soaker and that is just an overall fun ride, even though by the time you get on the ride you are already soaked. Plus, visiting Hershey again got me the chance to ride my #1 woodie, Wildcat. I still love that ride, Lightning Racer is also up there in the top.
June was kind of a slow month, but July picked up. As a gift for my girlfriends graduation, I took her to CA, since he has been her dream to go there. So, we added in a few park visits while out there. Got to SFMM, KBF, DCA, and Legoland. I will say this, was really not all that impressed with SFMM for all the hype it gets, favorites there were Viper, Batman, Goliath, and Riddler. And of course, NO X!!!! :-( Xcelerator was a great ride, but Ghostrider just blew me away. Even better when you ride it at night going through the structure, amazing. DCA was good, short lines, Screamin was excellent and smooth, Soarin over California was a unique ride. And what can i say for Legoland. WOW!!! Im into legos, so it was like paradise, and yep, rode all 3 coasters.
Beginning of August brought about a few more parks. Knowing people in Norfolk, VA, girlfriend and I took a trip down to BGW and PKD. Of course our first day was at BGW, and they announce the temperature to be 112. UGH!!! Didn't bother me, why, lines were nonexistant. Favorite of that park is Big Bad Wolf in the front row. Feels like you are going to hit all those supports, pure excellence. Apollo and Alpie were both flying. First time to the park, what a nice park. PKD was the next day, still temps in the 100s. Not all impressed with the park. Our favorites were Volcano and FOF. We couldn't get enough of FOF. Hypersonic was, eh, to us. We were not impressed with it. Some of the other coasters need to be melted down, or in the case of grizzly, burned down.
August was kind of a slow month, busy with other things, so riding was down. Made a trip up to Rye Playland to try out the Old Mill and other new rehabs. Sally Corp did a great job on those dark rides. September saw some more riding. Labor Day weekend was another trip to Hershey. Not crowded at all. Rapids (or should be called waterfalls), Tidal Force, and Roller Soaker, all in a row. Sneakers did dry out for days. But the coasters were flying, and night rides on Wildcat are just pure heaven. This past weekend saw a trip to SFNE. Very crowded up there. But thanks to my friend Q-BOT, we made it through quite alright. Except for the fact that SROS was down all day, reopened at 5:00pm with one train. Come on SFNE, lets get in gear and get both trains on there.
The season is still not over. End of Sept has me joining Keith (Badnitrus), Joe (Legendary), and the rest of the abcdefghi (or whatever Joe called this trip). That trip takes me to SFNE, then to BoulderFest, and back down to Great Adventure.
Also, October might bring about another Hershey trip and some more trips to Great Adventure. And if all goes according to plan, the season will end in November with a trip to IAAPA. We shall see.
Overall. I got to all the CA parks I keep hearing about, got to Legoland which was amazing, and finally, after years and years, made it to BGW and it was well worth it. I believe I added approx 50 coasters over this summer. And I will keep on going....
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Take a Virtual Ride:
http://badnitrus.coasterbuzz.com
Mike "Viper" Semtak
CBCon, Stark Raven Mad, CoasterMania, re-opening Screechin' Eagle, meeting ALL these great people, renewing friendships/acquaintances, launching an ACEr on Log Jammer, riding Cornball again and again, DoLT, Hershey (even without hostyl), H:XLC, so much more....
File under: "one door closes...." Goodbye CCI, hello GG....I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello....
I will re-visit this thread in about 10 days for some MAJOR updating....:)
Viper423 said:
Also, October might bring about another Hershey trip
If it does, don't plan on rides on Wildcat, Wild Mouse, Lightning Racer and Roller Soaker.
In October, Hersheypark is only scheduled to be opened for Hersheypark in the Dark. Only select rides are scheduled to be open. Basically, everything from at least Canyon River Rapids and back to Lighting Racer (all of Midway America, and a little beyond) is not scheduled to be open.
A few years ago Giant Food Stores did have a "Coustomer Appreciation Day" in Mid October and everything with the exception of the water rides was open (this was the year before Lighthing Racer)... but that has not happened since.
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Kind of hard to take a post as objective if a park or coaster name is part of the "user name"
Well, living in Mississippi doesn't present many coaster opportunities, so my 2002 season includes 2 parks.
Jazzland, New Orleans (now a Six Flags park) and Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
Jazzland is a great little park, and MegaZeph is the best wooden coaster I've ever ridden. It's like a really big carnival.
BGW was AWSOME! The best coaster I've ever ridden is Big Bad Wolf. I don't know why their aren't more coasters like this. It's the most fun ever. Apollos Chariot was great (my first Hyper), and Alpengeist actually didn't meet my expectations (i was sitting in the back, and you can't see anything there). Loch Ness Monster is very underrated, and was a blast for such an old coaster.
Next summer I know I will make my usual trip to Jazzland (going for my 40th ride on MZ), and I hope to go to Six Flags Over Georgia.
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Six Flags Jazzland!
1. I learned that there are sooo many coasters so little time.
2. There are rides out there that are comparable to my favorite rollercoaster.
3. I didn't receive enough vacation time from work.
I have never visited as many parks as i have in the summer of 2002.
I visited PCW,SFGADV,SFDL,HERSHEYPARK,GREAT ESCAPE,PKD.
Out of all of these parks SFGADV surprised me. I have never had so much fun at one park! Great road trip there, I met a fellow enthusiast I had a ball!
When I get some more extra time I will be submitting my TR report from SFGADV. Great summer!!
*** This post was edited by darienlakefan on 9/10/2002. ***
darienlakefan said:
parks SFGADV surprised me. I have never had so much fun at one park! Great road trip there, I met a fellow enthusiast I had a ball!
Welcome to the fold of the few that are madly in love with this park
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I, am nobody, and nobody is pefect!
My highlights:
Before April: Earliest coaster rides, at the Boa Squeeze in Forest Fair Mall. Closest coaster to home, as well.
April opens. So does Kings Island. Tomb Raider was OK.
May: Quick visit to SFKK.
June: THE ULTIMATE COASTER TRIPS. First, SRM. In 3 days, going to the home park (PKI), then off to the midpoit (SFKK), then the overwhelming, action, lesiure packed SRM. The Legend- so many people were in that line, yet it moved well. Got many rides. And the Raven: "Woo Hoo!" Also loved Zoombabwe. The Sunday after, went to Beech Bend. Nothing special, just for the count...
Next weekend, I go to Northern Ohio, 4 hours away. Thursday morning was SFWOA, got my first Floorless, Impulse, and Flying in. And a monorail ride. On the other hand, you'd swear Mike Brown (Bengals owner) was in charge of that park. Later that afternoon, one of my greatest experiences ever. Just two words...
Cedar Point. Coastermania. Raptor and an operation you'd swear was a busy transit operation (in other words, there was serious capacity and movement). Millennium Force: Few words can describe this thing. Magnum was also something else with its severe hills and airtime. Blue Streak: Now this IMO has far better airtime than anything at Kings Island. No wonder it should remain CP's oldest. And Gemini: just. plain. fun. Hand slapping, which I have never done before (never been to Kennywood yet), and the people-moving fun. Didn't get WT in, and Mean Streak: just abbreaviate it PMS. Also went to Fun Spot the Saturday after. Again, just for the count. Better than Beech Bend, but nothing special.
Throughout June-August, went to LeSourdsville a few times. While they are tinkering with the operation some, the Eagle is the one thing they really got right!
Soon, the money ran out, and so did the highlights. I stayed around Kings Island, for some good, ok, bad, and ugly visits.
Above it all, 2002 just stood out. Coaster count now over 50.
Tom Allen
Never forget WTC. God Bless America.
I know this topic has been dead for a while, but I must revive it to reflect on my season which started on January 2 and then pretty much came to a halt. I don't get to travel that much to ride coasters, but I did ride a few away from my home park.
1) Skipping every line at DLP was nice. My mom stepped on a nail in our basement right before the trip so she was in a wheelchair. This gave us Fastpass like entry on many rides. Sure they aren't the best rides, but not having to wait for them makes it worth it.
2) In one day, my friend puked twice on mild rides, swing carosel and tea cups. This was not extremely fun, but this is a reflection and leaving such a day out would be wrongfully supporting my season.
3) I got consecutive walkons on Twister II one day which is an amazing feat considering its one train opperation.
Overall, it wasn't a very exciting season, but atleast I have next year to look forward to.
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I talked with the Dippin' Dots guy and he assured me that Cedar Point was to get that 10-inversion terra-woodie-invert-stand-up because Magnum is sinking. The current construction is for the new super-Dippin' Dots stall he is to run.
b) The Coaster Zombie trip to Texas
c) PKD
d) SFKK, HW, PKI, KW
e) SFGrAdv
f) multiple trips to SFA
All in spite of a 2-month hospitalization during the summer
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Dude, you're getting an Intamin!
*** This post was edited by Intamin Fan on 11/9/2002. ***
My first trip in 2002 was to Carowinds where I absolutely loved Top Gun.
Next I went to my pathetic but not for long hopefully Jazzland.
Next trip was to Astroworld where I loved the float time on Ultra Twister and wished that I could have gotten a taste of the g-force from Texas Tornado guess that's never gonna happen.
All of June was just spent at Jazzland.
Then in July I finally got my goods in.
First we went to SFOG and was miserable didn't get in S:Uf or Deja Vu, then SFA walk on S:ROS second seat. Loved it amazing airtime stood up almost the whole ride alltime fav coaster so far also liked Batwing, and was suprised with the goods of Wild One one of my fav woodies. Also went to PKD and loved Hypersonic, also Flight of Fear was much better than Joker's Jinx, and was pleasantly surprised with Anaconda smoothest Arrow ever been on.
In october took a weekend to SFOG totally differeent trip except for the crowds. Got a 10 min. for S: UF and was 10x better than Batwing, then the good stuff was Deja Vu got in two rides my 3rd fav coaster of all time so far.
2002 brout my coaster toll to 106
This year was pretty good for me. I added 32 coasters to my list and didnt drive cross country to do it.
1. What a great year at SFGAm. The season started for me at this park on April 16th(Private outing) and ended on Nov. 2 (Bonus weekend). Must have visited about 20 plus times in between.
2. First trip out to Ohio. Enjoyed both CP and SFWoA (Yes, I enjoyed SFWoA) (Did you hear me? I said I enjoyed SFWoA)
3. First trip down to IB. Great small park.
4. First trip to Little-A-Merrick-A. A privately owned park that has alot of potential. Especially if a replica of a classic woodie is put in.
5. Finally, a few visits to the Chicago area's 2 small parks, Santa's Village and Kiddieland.
Pretty basic but it was fun.
'Chitown', who is ready to take flight next May.
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2 superheroes in Gurnee next season? Oh the humanity. :)
1. My first overnight band trip. We went to SFOT after wining the contest. Rode Mr. Freeze with lapbars. Very fun.
2. Went to SFOT again, this time with my sister. I rode on TITAN on the front seat for the first time. The rushing air made this ride #1.
3. Went to SDC. I realized that atmosphere is more important that supplying 10 coasters. To me, all a park needs is one quality coaster and theming. The airtime on Wildfire on the last row on the first drop is insane!
4. Rode my local coaster (Zingo) for the first time since becoming a coaster enthusiast. The airtime is so intense. Height doesn't matter in a coaster. Every drop was unnerving with the airtime. Unluckily, on the 2nd drop of the 2nd ride, i hurt my back. My spine hit the seat on the top before anything else so the back bent back and hurts every once and a while. I understand why parks have high seat-backs, and hopefully I can still ride coasters
1] First visit to CP. The coasters were awesome and the park atmosphere was great.
2] My first B&M hyper--Apollo's Chariot. Lots of air, and very smooth. Lots of fun.
3] Another visit to SFA. The great thing about this park is that it hosts the coaster that got me hooked---S:RoS. Got another 9 - 12 rides on it.
4]Overall a good season i guess. Hopefully 2003 will bring more. With sure visits to CP and SFGAdv, it should be better than this year. Im also hoping for a trips to: Kennywood, Dorney Park, BGW, SFWoAdv and SFA. Not likely, but somewhat possible: SFKK and SFGAm.
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#1-MF #2-Apollo's Chariot #3-S:RoS
-Why a car if i could have a coaster train on wheels??
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