The Rockin' Journey to Hell in a PTC (Day 2 of 2) (Wisconsin Dells)
Associated parks:
None
---June 12th, 2005---
After the amazing little stunt of a trip that Matt Bacoulis and I had somehow pulled off the day before, we were looking forward to taking it a bit more laid back for the second day of the trip. We would still be visiting three parks but they are all within a mile or so from each other. The heart of the driving we would be doing would be from Chicago to the Dells.
None of us were fully awake by the time we slowly took our seats in James Raimar’s car. We knew we had to leave by 8:30AM in order to arrive at our first park at a decent time. We decided the night before that getting to the park at opening was not going to happen.
We left the Chicago area and headed north into Wisconsin. Shannon didn’t seem convinced that today was going to be a fun day. Remember, she is not a coaster enthusiast and we really put her on a lot of rides at Indiana Beach the night before. While it appeared that she had fun, going to another park so soon might have been overdoing it for her. Still, she decided to join us but wasn’t sure of what we were going to ride.
On the way up north we only made two stops. One for breakfast. The other at a rest area. Shannon and I attempted to get a couple of drinks at the rest area but the pop machine took Shannon’s money and didn’t give her a beverage. We noticed some random guy watching us. At first I thought he may have had some strange pop machine fetish but he ended up being the dude that fills up the machines. He asked us if we needed help. Shannon and I expected him to pull out a key to unlock the machine. Instead he pulled out a remote control and pushed a button. The machine opened and Shannon got her drink. Why am I mentioning this? I really have no idea. It was one of those slap happy mornings I suppose.
Once we were back on the road I asked James and Matt if we were ever going to talk about our upcoming insane trip. After all, the original reason we all decided to meet up was to do more planning for the big trip. We ended up talking about the trip for a good half hour or so before our attention was cut short thanks to some Mt. Olympus billboards advertising the new coaster. Short attention spans or coaster geeks in their habitat? You be the judge.
It wasn’t very long before we started to see the sights of the land of tourist magnets. It’s only fitting that the Dells are in Wisconsin as there are a lot of things that are cheesy in nature. Like Indian Jones with a machete in the jungle, we cut through all the traps along the way until we saw it.
There it was, standing in front of us. Shannon quickly blurted out there was no way she was going to ride THAT. We came to the area for a few reasons but the main reason was obviously to ride the new coaster we were staring at.
--Mt. Olympus Theme Park--
As we pulled into the parking lot I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. Despite the two or three pictures I have seen that were in ACE News, I didn’t view any more photos or even read a single ride review of the new coaster. I wanted to be surprised
After a quick shower of sun block, we made our way to the ticket booths and handed over our money. Every couple of minutes Shannon would look up at the new ride and tell us she wasn’t crazy about riding. I can relate with her as I had been in that same deal years ago when I was terrified of coasters. I knew that once she would ride it she would be fine but I don’t think anyone was going to force her to ride.
We walked into the park and down a very steep hill before walking to the right. On the way we passed the Miler water coaster and the entrance to Cyclops and Zeus. This was my first time to the park since 1999 and was happy to see roofs over the loading stations. The whole park looked to be drastically improved from my ’99 visit. It certainly has gotten larger with the purchase of the water park next door.
We continued to walk to the wall of wood and entered the queue. Instead of a series of zigzags, the queue is one long shot through some rocky terrain then up a loooooong set of wooden stairs. It wouldn’t surprise me if this ride has more stairs than an Arrow shuttle loop.
We clearly weren’t the only ones that wanted to see what this ride had to offer as the line started at the bottom of the stairs. It certainly didn’t look like it would be a big wait. James and I took this time to take a picture or two of the train whizzing by us.
Our wait ended up being longer than expected. By the time we reached the loading station 40 minutes had passed. Since the ride currently only operates with one train (this is supposed to change next year) capacity is pretty low. It doesn’t help matters that the coaster is very long. We weren’t complaining in the least other than the sticky heat that was beating down on us. It didn’t matter as we were about to cool off in a big way.
----Hades----(#624)
For my first ride I decided to ride in the back car as I was told this clearly was a back seat ride. Matt and James went up to the front. The loading station doesn’t hold a lot of people so they were somehow able to walk right onto the front row. As we sat down into our seat Shannon became visibly nervous. I asked her if she was alright to ride. She said she was but I could tell she still wasn’t crazy about riding.
We left the station and were thrown up into the lap bars as we made the steep, long drop to the ground below. This wasn’t just a pre-lift drop. This was a major drop and it really caught us off guard. We saw the drop while walking up to the ride but we didn’t know it packed THAT big of a punch.
The ride wasn’t done throwing surprises. Not by a long shot. We flew around a tight right-hand curve before going over what looked like an innocent speed hill. Looks mean nothing as we were thrown up once again. We dropped once more and were treated to yet another ejector air moment thanks to a clever double dip. Our laughs increased as we few around a couple more curves before diving under some track and getting ejected one more time before finally grabbing the lift chain.
Already I couldn’t believe what was happening. There are four, count them, FOUR pops of major air before the lift. Has this ever been done before? Has there ever been a wooden coaster like this with such an incredible beginning? Not out of the coasters I have ridden.
As we climbed the lift I could tell that Shannon was once again nervous. She said the lift hill is the worst part for her and she did everything in her power to not look around. As we rose higher I could make out two other coasters at two other parks to the left. We would be visiting those parks a bit later.
When we crested the lift, reality became a total blur as what follows is something that defies human nature as we understand it. We tore down the 65-degree first drop and into the tunnel of the unknown. All I knew is that there was a 90-degree banked turn somewhere under there. As my vision became filled with darkness, I expected to curve to the left and into the big turn, and then back out into the real world. I was wrong in a big way.
We flew over a nice ejector air before curving to the right. Another nice ejector hill followed that seemed to rip the train from us. I honestly couldn’t tell what we were doing next as I couldn’t see a thing. Just as I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I could tell we were exiting a large curve.
The exit of the tunnel is incredible with its mean double up. Talk about airtime, Damn! We slowed a bit as we crested the top of the turnaround. This is virtually the only breather you are going to get as the ride is not over. This section of the ride is so far away from the start that it looks like two different coasters. As a matter of fact, while we were in the parking lot we heard a woman telling her husband that this section was indeed a whole other ride. It’s that grand.
The return portion of our voyage continued as we made a quick right hand swooping drop into another very, very effective air hill that exits back into the tunnel of doom. We made a couple more turns and drops before getting tossed to the side thanks to an inverse bunny hop.
As we exited the same tunnel for the second time we flew up and over a nice floater hill before diving down past the station steps and into a great airtime/lateral hill which leads into the final portion of the ride.
We didn’t lose any speed as we tore through some ground hugging curves and tight hills. The last left-hand curve shot us up into the final brakes with so much force that I had to question the physics knowledge of the folks at The Gravity Group. How in the Hell were they able to get so much energy out of this ride? It doesn’t let up and has tons of energy to spare to give it a crazy ending.
As we pulled back into the station I looked over at Shannon and could tell she really like the ride. You can bet your enthusiass that I did as well. Folks, Hades is the most complete wooden coaster I have ever ridden. It has an insane start, an absolutely crazy middle, and a very powerful ending. It honestly tells a story via coaster track. It’s just too bad I couldn’t have somehow made it my 666th coaster. Ha!
Matt and James were totally blown away as well. There wasn’t much thought into riding again. We just joined the line once more without anyone asking if everyone wanted to ride. As we were making the walk to the stairway to hell, I gave Mike Graham (TGG) a quick call. When he answered all I said was, “Dude!?” He didn’t hesitate at all and came back with the response of “You must have just gotten off Hades.” I guess the tone of my voice said it all as I didn’t tell him I was planning on riding this monster of a ride. I also managed to tell him that whatever he was doing he needed to keep it up, as well as the rest of the guys that put forth the incredible effort to build this coaster.
For our second ride we switched ends. Shannon and I rode up in the front while James and Matt took the back. I thought the beginning was even more powerful up front minus the big drop out of the station. The double down and other hills and curve were just as effective as they were in the back of the train. The same goes for the rest of the ride. I was told in advance that the front wasn’t all that powerful. Things must have changed since the ride first opened as the front definitely was stronger feeling. Not by much but it was noticeable.
All four of us could not believe the power that Hades possesses. It was almost too good to be true. We could have spent all day on this ride but we decided to move on to check out the rest of the park after a couple more rides.
----Zeus----
This coaster used to simply fly along its course. It was very smooth the last time I had ridden it. I don’t know what happened but it wasn’t very fun this time. There were some real nasty potholes on both the out and back portions of the ride. The speed was about the same as I remember but I certainly don’t remember the violent nature the ride owns now. Let’s just hope Hades doesn’t get as rough as Zeus currently is.
----Cyclops----
I knew from previous rides that this coaster isn’t exactly smooth. It’s rough in a good kind of way. It ran pretty much exactly like it did the last time I was there. The big drop in the middle of the ride is still one of those moments that scare me for a second. The same goes for the first drop. It’s still a good ride after all these years.
----Little Titan’s----(#625)
I had heard reports of adults being denied a ride on this junior Miler coaster. We had no problem getting on. The coaster is only 5 years old but looks much older due to some rust and faded paint. It ran fine but I thought for a second that the rust and faded paint were theming or some sort.
We walked over to the water coaster but saw it had about an hour and a half wait. We decided to pass on it as we continued to walk to the other side of the park. We saw some new flat rides as well as a new walkway leading to the waterpark and hotel. We were excited to see a Disk-O in the distance but were disappointed to find out it wasn’t running. We walked into a nearby gift shop to see what they had. I picked out a grey Hades T-shift while Matt ended up find something else to his liking.
We knew there were other parks in the area that had coasters so we walked up the hill from hell and left Mt. Olympus. We would be back soon as we didn’t expect to spend a lot of time at the next park. We drove up to Timber Falls park but were told the park didn’t offer an ACE discount (finding out after we got home that they do) so we chose to wait until the price went down at 5:00.
We were all getting pretty hungry so we went inside a nearby restaurant named Pedro’s This ended up being a mistake as the service was horrible. We ordered drinks that never came. The place tried to charge us for them as well but we pointed it out to our waiter and he came back with a correct bill. The entire lunch would have been ultra-sucky if it wasn’t for a text message that Matt received from Danielle Miller. She was supposed to join us this day but was unable to get a flight from Columbus. In the text message she included a picture of herself holding up a sign that read “I miss you guys.” Matt almost cried when he saw that picture. We did miss her and realize the trip would have been even more fun with her but all was not lost. Shannon was a decent fill-in even though she wasn’t an enthusiast….yet.
After our crappy lunch we walked around the outside of Timber Falls to get a few pictures. Hades could clearly be seen overlooking the entire area. It was almost a beckon telling us to head back to the park and take a few more rides. We would eventually get back there but on the way we stopped at another park.
--Riverview—
The last time I visited this park they only had one coaster. There are now three. Shannon didn’t want to ride anything here so she decided to stand by and take pictures. I wasn’t aware the park had gotten a brand new coaster this year. We decided to ride it first.
----Orient Express----(#626)
Yet another Wisdom coaster to ride. The ride operator ended up talking to James a few minutes before giving us a lengthy ride. We must have gotten 10 laps before it was all said and done. Shannon stood by laughing and taking pictures.
----Mouse Coaster----(#627)
Matt was not about to ride this coaster as he had a very, very bad incident two years ago on the same ride. I won’t go into details but I don’t blame him one bit for not wanting to ride. James and I rode and were literally on edge while riding. We shouldn’t have been considering this was nothing more than a Wacky Worm with a different theme but after Matt’s ordeal a couple years back, we had a kind of bad vibe about riding.
While we were in line we saw another enthusiast who was obviously doing the same kind of thing we were. We made our way back to Mt. Olympus to take in some more Hades rides and saw the enthusiast there as well. The line for Hades had gotten a lot shorter so we rode for another hour and a half before leaving the park once again and heading back down the street to our next park.
--Timber Falls—
James and I visited this park in 1999. We didn’t feel like riding the log flume at the time but we did want to ride the Skyscraper that sits out in the parking lot. That ended up being my first Skyscraper. While the program was fairly tame it was pretty damn fun. James and I wanted to ride it during this visit but there was other ride we were looking forward to riding. We quickly purchased our twilight discount tickets and walked up the loading station for our next coaster.
----Avalanche----(#628)
From what we could tell, this coaster really packs quite a punch for its size. I honestly couldn’t believe how fast the lone train was going through those curves. We were hoping it would ride as smooth as it looked.
We left the station and headed up the lift. The entire layout of the ride can be seen from here. It looked very unique as there is only one large hill on the entire ride and we were about to be thrown over it.
We tore down the very steep drop and into the heart of the ride. The left turn. There isn’t a single right turn anywhere on the ride. The layout is basically curve, hill, curve, hill, etc, etc. The speed and intensity didn’t let up for one bit. There are a couple of curves that aren’t exactly smooth but overall the ride was smashing. My favorite part of the ride is the last turn/hill combo. Just as you are curving around and expecting another airtime hill you start to float but the curve kicks back in providing a nice float around a curve with very little laterals. It reminded me of something B&M would create.
Once we shot back into the station we were allowed to ride again in any seat as long as no one else was waiting for that particular seat. Since the train is very short the forces are very similar no matter where you sit. We rode a couple more times before leaving and giving the log flume a ride.
This is a nice ride. You can’t see the entire layout from the loading area so we really didn’t know what to expect. The ride was much longer than expected. It also got us very wet. Since no one was waiting when we floated back to the station we were allowed to stay on. I don’t think I have ever gotten a double ride on a log flume before.
As soon as our second ride was over we walked back to Avalanche and took some more rides. The curves that were rough were getting to Matt and I. We took 3 consecutive rides before we decided to take a break. I never rode again as I wanted to take pictures.
I know there are plenty of nicknames for the ride. Avalaunch, NASCAR: The Ride and Lefty are just a few I have heard. I honestly didn’t think this ride would be as insane as it really is. It’s almost unfair to have two crazy rides so close to each other that offer different experiences.
I know of a few people that would much prefer to ride this coaster than Hades. I can’t say I am one of them as while the ride was fun, it didn’t offer a lot of different things. For airtime lovers I am sure it is one of the most extreme rides out there. While I like airtime, it has never been the main factor in if I like a ride or not. I have ridden plenty of rides that offer little or no airtime and love them. I really did like this ride but I couldn’t re-ride it the same way I did Hades a couple of hours before.
Before we left the park James and I purchased our half-off tickets for the Skyscraper. The last time James and I rode something similar was in Brussels, Belgium. While the Booster we rode was similar looking, it had a lot more force. So much so that we asked the ride to stop early as our feet felt like they were on fire from spinning so fast. The Dell’s version is the perfect introduction to rides like this. It doesn’t spin as fast as some of the others but you still get a good ride.
The ride operator who was strapping us in told us of a tip we could do to spin like crazy. He gave us a crazy spinning start that disoriented the hell out of James and I. We didn’t even know we were up in the air as we were spinning. When the ride stopped and rotated the other way for the second half of the ride, we tried the tip the ride operator told us and it worked a couple of times. Cool ride!
We drove back to Mt. Olympus and entered the park for the third and final time this day. Instead of going right to Hades, we decided to ride the go karts. I am not a big fan of go karts and had never ridden the long tracks that this park offers. I don’t remember the name of the track we rode but it was the closest one to Hades. It contained a large figure eight structure later in the course as well as a nice bridge with some airtime. I actually enjoyed my ride on this and if we had enough time I would have tried other tracks.
We wanted to ride the water coaster but it still had along line. We took a quick ride on Pegasus, the park’s smallest wooden coaster. I could have sworn that the last time I rode this it had a junior PTC train. Now it’s a full size PTC. The front offers a nice lateral jolt as it pulls into the final brake run.
We walked back to Hades and grabbed two more rides before Matt pointed out the line for the water coaster was short. We walked right onto the ride. Its good Matt pointed this out as the ride closes early due to the long wait. There wasn’t a wait at this time so I guess we lucked out.
---Dive To Atlantis---
After looking at the entire ride, I decided to not count this as a coaster. It spends more time floating than coasting. If a water coaster has more coaster track than flume, then I count it. While the track section did contain two drops, I believe it spends more time off the track. I know of one person in our group that did count it so it all depends on who you ask I guess.
When we hopped into our logs/cars and were dispatched, we instantly sank. The ride operators told us we needed to push ourselves for the start of the ride. Once we began to push we started to float. A couple of time we almost came to a stop. We just grabbed the wall and continued to boost ourselves. I am not sure where the design flaw is as we did see water jets trying to push us. I guess they weren’t strong enough.
We stopped on a block area before the lift for a minute or so. By the time we reached the lift we had spent 13 minutes in the flume portion. I timed it myself. As we were heading up the lift we began to wonder if we had too much weight in our boat as we did sink at the start. When we watched the ride before we got on we saw a couple of cars barely make it around the turn before the big drop.
At the top of the lift we turned right and coasted down a small drop, picking up a lot of speed. When we started to coast up we could tell we were going very fast. We were pushed hard to the side of our boats as we made the final turn before the next drop. We didn’t slow any as we whisked downward and into the most evil splashdown I have ever done.
The water simply wouldn’t stop coming. At least it felt that way. We somehow made a splash that was just as wet, if not wetter, than some of the splashdown rides. We sat in silence for a few seconds as we took it all in. There wasn’t a dry section on anyone. We were soaked to the soul. This was not expected as we did see people coming off the ride fairly dry. Damn!
Soaking wet, we walked over to a food stand to get a couple of drinks. I don’t know what possessed Matt into thinking this but he had the idea of riding it again after we finished our drinks. James and Shannon clearly didn’t want to ride. Matt used his voodoo powers and convinced me to try it again. As we walked up to the ride we were denied boarding. The ride was officially closed. I had mixed feelings about that. I was happy I wouldn’t be getting drenched again, but I did want to give it a second ride to see if less weight mean we would have a smaller splash.
Of course, when you are that wet you should find a heat source to dry off. Our heat source was in the form of Hades. We decided to spend the rest of the night riding this thing. Over the last couple of hours we ended up getting in a lot more rides. We were hoping the line would dwindle down to nothing but a lot of people had similar ideas. The line ended up getting as long as it was when we first rode it.
While we were in the station we met other enthusiasts. We talked with Otto, Marshal, and a few other enthusiasts who were there to get night rides on this incredible beast. With each ride we took the sunlight would go down a bit more. Matt and I ended up riding in seat 1.2 for most of our rides. Every time we would pop over the large hill next to the lift we would visually measure how much further the sun was down as we were staring right at it.
Shannon sat out for some of our rides but got to talking with a family. There were a few girls that wanted to ride but their parents wouldn’t ride Hades. Shannon convinced the parents to let their kids ride with us. The girls seemed a bit scared at first but by the time we reached the station before riding they were ready. In the end they loved the ride and wanted to ride again but the parents wanted to leave.
Once the sun was down the ride went into overdrive. Talk about pure coaster bliss. I was in awe with each and every ride we took. I knew exactly where the 90-degree banked turn was by this time. It took me a few rides earlier to figure out exactly where it is as you really can’t feel or see it. At night the tunnel seems ever darker (if that is even possible). The only light we could see was a parking lot light as we exited the tunnel.
When 10:00PM hit the ride crew out one last ride. The crew wasn’t about to stay over and give rides so they announce that one more train was going out. Luckily everyone in the station got a ride even though it might have not been in the seat they wanted. The last ride was easily the best ride we had gotten on it all day. All I can say is WOW! If The Voyage……..hmmm, hmmmm, hmmm (user shakes head back and forth). The future looks great folks!
We were virtually the last people to walk out of the park. James and I took our cameras and did our best to try and get a good night shot of the coaster. I haven’t quite figured out how to take pictures with the shutter open for a few extra seconds so James ended up taking some nice night shots.
Still buzzing from our final Hades ride, we took back to the road and headed back to Chicago. We stopped at a highway Oasis to grab a snack. Matt and Shannon stayed in the car while James and I went inside. Our stop didn’t last long as we had a bit of a run in with a local employee. All we wanted to do was to get something quick at a McDonald’s but a simple minded employee decided to be a jerk so we left.
Once back at Shannon’s pad, we missed the chance to meet her boyfriend as he was at work. He ended up coming home as we were getting our precious couple hours of sleep but no one even heard him walk in. Sorry dude. Maybe next time.
Matt and James didn’t have to go home until Tuesday. I had to be back in Columbus by noon. This meant I would be leaving Chicago very early. A lack of sleep sometimes can have a strange effect on the mind as I was soon to find out. Once I was ready, I said goodbye to Shannon and thanked her for her hospitality before walking out to James’s car. Matt decided to tag along as well but he slept on the way to the airport.
My flight wasn’t to leave until 8:00AM. We were told that traffic to the airport wouldn’t be bad if we left way early. This was true for most of the way but we got into a nasty traffic jam a couple of miles from the airport. I looked down at my watch and noticed it was 7:30. I looked at the digital clock in James’s car and it also read the same. How did I oversleep? I told James there was no way I was going to make my flight but he told me that everything would work out.
It wasn’t until we got about 500 feet from O’Hara that I realized I never set my watch to match the central time before I left for the trip. James didn’t set his clock back either. In other words, it was only 6:30. When I realized the mistake I breathed a sign of relief. James realized the mistake I had and got a good laugh out of it.
I said my goodbyes to James and Matt and headed into the terminal. Getting a seat reservation took longer than expected due to a family that clearly had never flown before. The mother of the family asked every question you could about flying. Since I was told I had to stand in one particular line I wasn’t able to move to any other attendant. After about 20 more minutes of listening to this woman ask questions like, “Are you sure the plane has good fuel?” and “Are you sure the pilot will land in Los Angeles and not get lost?” the attendant gave her a set of tickets and told her to move on. In a way it was humorous but I could tell the Delta folks had enough.
Once I got my seat request, I grabbed a bite to eat. It wasn’t a very tasty meal but I knew I wouldn’t be eating much during the rest of the day so I ate what I could. Once people started boarding my flight, I checked out the standby list and once again thought I wasn’t going to be included on this flight. As with the other two flights the day before, I was the last person to be allowed on the aircraft. Phew!
The challenge to get home wasn’t over as I still had one more flight to make. I flew from Chicago to my least favorite airport in Cincinnati. There are good areas of the airport but the large area for ComAir flights is very primitive. Luckily I wouldn’t be staying long as my layover was very short.
Once we landed in Cincy I quickly walked to the flight display boards and noticed my flight back to Columbus was already boarding. It was also in a complete different concourse that would require a ride on a shuttle bus. I made my way to the shuttle bus area and just as I was walking up to the bus, the doors closed and the bus pulled away. I yelled for the drive to stop but it never happened.
An employee saw me trying to flag the bus down and told me another bus would be arriving at any moment. This was good news but I would be cutting it close. I had 15 minutes to arrive at my gate. Another bus pulled up and I hopped on but the driver didn’t leave. He said the bus needed to be almost full before departing. I was confused as the first bus I missed only had a few people on it. I wasn’t in the mood to argue. I just took a deep breath and hoped for the best.
It wasn’t a minute longer before a large group of people showed up and boarded the bus. We left the concourse area and made a 5 minute drive to the heart of the airport. Once in the correct concourse, I ended up running a bit to my gate. Yes, I suddenly became one of those people. You see them every time you fly. Running to their gate. I used to think people running to their gate meant they just were too lazy to show up on time or something. Now I fully understood. Most of those people are probably just trying to grab a connecting flight as I was.
As I approached my gate I noticed my name was no on the standby list. I stopped in my tracks and took a look around. There wasn’t anyone left. Everyone was on board. A few seconds later my name was cleared to board. Yep, you guessed it. Another flight where I was the last person on board. I even got a window seat. I wasn’t allowed to bring my luggage with me as they said there wasn’t any overhead space so I had to have it checked in just as I was boarding the plane.
The short 20 minute flight to Columbus would have taken off on time if it wasn’t for the action of a spoiled passenger on our flight. He also had to have a bag checked in at the last minute but complained that he should be able to get his bag back considering he could put it below an empty seat next to him. The flight attendants told him the plane was about to take off but he got out of his seat and made a huge deal. The pilot had to come out and tell him to calm down. This didn’t do much for the passenger as he started shouting that he was being treated unfair. He finally took his seat but I could still hear him complain even though he was many rows back. We ended up spending around 30 minutes on the ground because of this. The flight to Columbus actually took less time than his ***** fest did. Geeeze.
Once back in Columbus I grabbed my luggage, picked up my car and headed home. I wasn’t feeling all that great as I left the airport. I started to feel like I had the flu or something. I haven’t had a single cold the entire year so I thought my luck had just worn out. Well, it ended up not being the flu. I believe it had something to do with that nasty breakfast I had in Chicago. Still, I made it home fine even though I had to pray to the porcelain god a few times.
So there you have it. Everything worked out better than expected for this trip and I had a great time riding with Matt, James, and Shannon. I know Matt has some sick ideas for the next big trip and I still don’t know much about it. You can bet you will be reading about it here though. I can’t wait to to do another trip with Matt and James. They are great company. We are all on the same page when it comes to trips and make sure the primary focus is having fun. Sometimes that can get lost and arguments will happen but we try our best not to let that happen.
Until next time…
Thanks for reading,
-Sean
We drove up to Timber Falls park but were told the park didn’t offer an ACE discount (finding out after we got home that they do) so we chose to wait until the price went down at 5:00.
Where is it posted that TF offers a discount? I don't see it on the ACE website...
--George H
John Moore
13 minutes, dang I knew it was a long way around but didn't think it was that long.
Hades is unreal, got to ride 2 times about a month ago and it was nuts, did they turn the red light on at all or was it complete darkness?
Skol Vikings
Let's shoot us some deer Joe Joe!!!!
Sean Flaharty said:
“Underground, no one can hear you shout obscenities”It’s just too bad I couldn’t have somehow made it my 666th coaster. Ha!
-Sean
Amen to your quote, the first time was like "WTF just happened here"
666th coaster for Hades, now that would have been kind of creepy/eerie in a way.
Skol Vikings
Let's shoot us some deer Joe Joe!!!!
I stand corrected. I don't see it listed anywhere either. I know I saw it posted somewhere but I can't find it. Also, I talked with two other enthusiasts who said they got a ACE discount when at the park. Anyone else get one?
John,
I didn't think anyone could sink a boat either but it happend. I guess it is pretty common on that ride.
crazy,
They didn't have any red light turned on. I wasn't even aware there was a red light. That sounds pretty cool actually.
How much do you want to bet my 666th will be a innocent looking kiddy coaster or something? LOL.
-Sean
We will be sure to stay away from Pedro's. ;-)
"Are you sure the plane has good fuel?" "Will the pilot land in LA and not get lost?" That has to be one of the funniest things I have ever read! LOL!
-Tina
*** Edited 7/25/2005 7:42:29 PM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***
I think I read in the ACE trip they had a red light in there but maybe it was just for that.
As for the guy in Columbus, that sounds like something straight out of the show Airline on A & E (Southwest Airlines though).
Tina,
You and Bill are in for a treat when you swing through the Midwest. You won't be disappointed.
Skol Vikings
Let's shoot us some deer Joe Joe!!!!
I tried asking a couple of weeks ago when I was there and they said there were no discounts except the twilight deal.
Great trip report!
Brad
"Heavily medicated for your safety!"
Glad you enjoyed it Sean. I happen to be one of those that prefer the air of Avalanche just a little more than Hades, but barely. They are most definitly a pair of woodies not to be missed!
Chuck, who always enjoys your rather long winded :) but completely thorough TR's :)
Bob O,
Thanks for the clarification.
Tina, I have a feeling you are really going to dig the rides up in that area.
crazy,
That does sound like something out of Airline. I haven't watched any shows from this season but I recently picked up season 1 on DVD. Funny stuff.
Brad and Raven,
That would make sense then. I am still puzzled how two other enthusiasts got a "enthusiast discount" unless they thought the twilight discount was something else.
sparky,
Did you get to ride Avalanche last year? If so, was the ride just as aggressive or was it more of a smoother nature? I ask because I think I would have enjoyed it more if it tracked a bit better. I know a few people who went to Coaster Con and said it was running very smooth so maybe they did some work to it.
Chuck,
There is a chance I am heading back up there soon as it really is something special. I know you will like it. By the way, I thought abour our super rainy ride (whatever year that was) on The Beast while I was riding it last Sunday. That ride with you was the first time I had ridden the coaster with only two people in the train. I somehow managed to get a solo ride this past Sunday but it reminded me of that rainy ride even though it wasn't raining.
-Sean
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