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Tapper

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  1. Funny thing is, I have them normally wiped down before I take photos, its a very bad camera- like when I went to tour the French Quarter I had to keep cleaning the camera lens cause I thought they kept getting smudges but it didn't improve the quality at all. In a few photos it probably does have smudges here and there, but it's all in all a bad phone- the front camera is even worse- its very hard for both the front and back cameras to get any sort of quality photo that is clear. The Front as said is the worse of the two though.
  2. This is a ZTE Smartphone- Capable of running Instagram, and all the stuff the new phones can (Considering its maybe about 2 years old?), but the camera I don't think was the major focus on this phone. I was shocked of the quality of the camera, really disappointing but if it ain't broke, don't fix it considering the screen is extremely cracked- it still works somehow, a bit slow but I can't complain.
  3. @DBru, I know it was a odd choice but there was a few signs around the ferris wheel and I think near the old X-Treme (I am GUESSING, it might of been removed due to an accident a few years ago that involved a woman's death) that said something about 2019, possibly means they are getting replacements for the rides? Tbh the park does have this low quality feel, I know it's family owned by they have that new aqua-loops, so it's obvious the park owner, Samuel Haynes Jr, has some money considering the park had a live chimp at one time as well, it feels like he focuses more on the water park then Dixie Landin' itself.
  4. This is Ty, aka Tapper/Galaxian with this trip report to Dixie Landin' and Blue Bayou in Baton Rouge, Louisiana which is my current home park as I live about 2 hours away and I'm preparing to depart to north Louisiana for college. I intentionally took around 70 photos but went through them to cut it down heavily. This was actually 1st of August, 2018 (yesterday) I went so here it is: I also want to do a special shoutout to Nicholas B. who was our conductor for the train for his awesomeness, if you're reading this Nicholas thank you! PS. I apologize for the quality of the photos this was done on my phone. Their a lot worse then I intentionally thought it was going to be. Didn't think about even bringing a nicer camera till I was at the park. This trip started at waking up at 5 AM, and it was arranged with going with my church group. With a few of us from my Methodist church going with only 15% chance of it going to rain. (It ended up starting to rain around 5:30). There was a lot I wanted to take photos to but didn't due to my own camera, the rain, or simply having to much fun at this small local park. We begin entering the park and infront of the lockers is the Voodoo and these racing slides (I can't quite remember their names) but the Voodoo was exciting, the drop was much more apparent when we had two people instead of four in our raft. With the only two of us our raft zoomed through the bowl a lot faster then the last time we came a few weeks back. I know most of us want to see the dry side of the park- Dixie Landin'. The dry side opened about 1 PM, there are simple rides like this spider and all, I didn't take pictures of every ride sadly but this is what I can provide. This is where they originally kept the park's live chimpanzee Candy till she passed away. It was major controversy due to her poor living conditions such as concrete housing, and animal doctors claimed she suffered of depression that the park previously denied. On the otherside of this park is the 'Fun Fair' with antique cars, rides under this large structure and some little train called Old 99 Train. Though it looks like the Old 99 won't be running today.. Small attempt at themeing at the park. Now why did I take a picture of this? Well this year they removed the ferris wheel and the X-Treme. When I asked Nicholas he didn't even realize there was a ferris wheel right here until on the train ride the recorded tour guide talked about a ferris wheel- that was no longer there. The HUSS Rainbow from the park came from the 1983 New Orleans' world's fair. It shows it the ride frankly was a bit questionable to me. With the ride's platform tilting slightly and the visible damage on the ride. Now some photos of the Rajun Cajun, the park's boomerang coaster. That wasn't running till about 3 PM as it was getting heavily cloudy. I want to again thank Nicholas for his awesomeness during this trip to Dixie Landin', very funny person! Now I did notice though the park did toot about this being one of the two Iron House Hershel trains left, the tender (where the driver sits) had visible repairs needed with the wood top coming off exposing the insides. The Galaxi was pretty sketchy with visible rust, most of us with the group commented that it looked like it was going to fall apart with lack of maintenance. A few of us rode it and it is a bit agreeable with that. I tried getting images of the Hot Shot running but it had a lot of mechanical issues that people kept complaining about while I was there, I saw it running for about 20-30 minutes before breaking down again. I should of taken a picture, but I ate at the small restaurant in the water park with some decent prices (ok well 2 dollars for a drink) the food was pretty good, did find the fries a bit to crispy for my taste though. We did also have the Sweet Magnolia with some gosh darn good ice cream (I recommend Vanilla). I didn't ride it but from what my close friend had told me, it was extremely rough. I was watching it, and the ride op pulled the breaks suddenly, giving it a certain jerk when stopping it, watching her also one time she pulled the breaks to late and the train was partially up the lift hill. I'll be back Dixie Landin'.... My final thoughts: Well I did enjoy the park, I felt though there wasn't enough in the water park. I personally feel like the park has more on the water park then the amusement park side. With the amusement park's rides needing some sort of maintenance. Or rides just disappearing at random. Once you ride everything it really is no reason to come back but the water park on a very hot day to cool off. Though as Louisiana's only park (other then City Park in New Orleans' small amusement park) that is open, I thought it was acceptable enough for Louisiana.
  5. Welcome back to Miracleland! Some new big changes off season occurred as the Benton brothers attempt to revitalize their father's dream for a great amusement park. You can see at the bottom right corner of this picture here actually, is the brand new antique car ride in the Plaza Gardens. A new ride called, 'Casino', has been installed in the empty plains of grass behind the Ice Cream Palace. The park also has a new family area called 'Speedzone', it has great potential but many complain about how lazy the area was designer, in the area once prepared to be the kid's area of the park, with only two rides and a restaurant, it is heavily more lackluster then most thought it was going to be.. The 'Round-Up' (Very original name guys) is another new flat ride, but you can tell the park was lazy and opted to use cheaper mesh fencing across the paths to restrict guests instead of the standard brick and wrought iron fencing. Finally, the other new roller coaster the Ultra Twister, imported from Japan made by TOGO. Very dizzy and exciting coaster for this corner of the park. Though, the colors are a bit hideous for many people's taste its still a extremely busy ride. Did these improvements help the park, or is this just starting to look like a junkyard of nothing more then a collection of carnival rides near the beach.. Maybe you can pitch in on that debate.
  6. 2005 Update Link Button CLICK ABOVE FOR THE NEW 2005 UPDATE (22-JULY-2018) Welcome to Miracleland, established in 1943 by Ray Benton, who owned this small beachfront property since the 1920s, we jump into the park in 2004, under the Miracleland Park LLC, still owned by the Benton family- the park has seen much better days by this point. With Mr. Benton's death in 1965 the park has been on a stagnate state since about the late 90s when his grandson, George Benton took the park with his brother Woody Benton. Woody Benton owns a local family fun center and leaves most of his father's park's maintenance and daily operations to his son, who was previously the manager of Woody's, the family fun center owned by Woody Benton. We happen to be jumping in to see the newest coaster in the park, the Looping Lightnin'! We'll see that in a bit, but for all purposes just be warned- the park has seen much better days since the golden era of the park. With that, welcome to Miracleland! The entry plaza, featuring gift shops, a cafe, park services, and the grand carousel with its iconic and aesthetic fountains. Right off the bat, you have the old Schwarzkopf looper, could use some regular maintenance but an all time classic in the park itself. Going near the boardwalk you have the other steel coaster, the Jumbo Jet. Relocated from another park, sort of was just tacked on lazily into the park. But, most enthusiasts and travelers come to ride the iconic 1944, Thunderchief. The years though have caught up to it, when the ride first opened it was known heavily for how fast the trains 'zoomed' down the tracks, over time of lack of proper maintenance the wear and tear has shown heavily on the ride. Would cost a pretty penny for the entire thing to be redone. The empty track of land near it was once suppose to be a childrens area in the 1990s, but was never finished with the death of Ray Benton's son, Franklin Benton. Who's death began the 'dark age' of this local amusement park. The Hot Shot, and other small rides such as this old 1960s, Haunted Manor ride, in the area here. BUT, This is the brand new, Looping Lightnin', very unique wooden roller coaster. The only coaster besides the Son of Beast to feature a loop, as well as the world's ONLY shuttle wooden coaster! Many complain already of pains during the loop but the Benton brothers say its one of the best investments the park has made in years, and will help put the park back on track as a regional center for tourists and locals alike.. Lets, hope... [NOTE - Had to use cheats in OpenRCT2 for this to actually operate as a shuttle coaster] Only time can tell if this depressing park can once again see likes of its golden age. See you next time. Tapper (Galaxian).
  7. It's Galaxian (Tapper), I recently lost the info to my original account when I got a new computer, tried asking Robb for help and he couldn't so I opted for the route of just creating a new account, no big loss. Life happens I feel, so without further a-do. Here's, Six Flags Syracuse! _________________________________________________________________________ Welcome to Six Flags Syracuse, the park opened in 1948, under the name West Riverside Amusement Park, then in 1965 it became known as Riverside Gardens, before in 1994 being bought out by Six Flags. Which most locals would say when the park began seeing its decline under the big park chain. From Six Flags removing park rides and never adding new ones, tearing down old park buildings that were heavily iconic, re-theme the park nearly entirely, and just destroying the beautiful nature of the original park- the park has seen much better days. The amusement park still today though remains a popular one-day tourist destination for those visiting the area. Though, it is Six Flags' lowest performing park, doing worse then even La Ronde or Six Flags New Orleans which they just acquired this in 2002. It's amazing after all these years Six Flags still keeps a hold of the park. Even though, in the contract when they bought the park, Six Flags agreed they could not sell the park until 2009 if Six Flags saw the park as unprofitable or bringing down the chain. The main entrance of the park, built in the 1970s to replace the original one. When Six Flags bought the park they just stuck their logo, and in 2002 they finally updated it to the current Six Flags logo. This is the park's main street, inspired by small rural New England towns of the early 20th century, with a town square featuring a double decker carousel, and buildings built in the 40s-50s, it's one of the most beautiful places still within the park. Though Six Flags tore down chunks of the area, and modified buildings, whats left still remains beautiful and welcoming for guests. A example of a torn down section is the current Looney Tunes area entrance, it once contained the original pathway to the Monorail station and around the face of it stood the Square Gift Shop, and Catalini's Italian Restaurant, as well as other shops such as the Coinslot Video Arcade, and other buildings. The building to the right of the entrance that remained is the park's season pass office. This is the monorail station, this is one of the few parks with a monorail. When Six Flags bought the park, a agreement in the contract was that the monorail has to continue to operate till 2015, but can be modified, and expanded (which you'll see later how it was modified). Due to the new Looney Tunes area taking up parts of the original main street, it looks awkwardly placed (but as said, that was Six Flags' fault of poor design of the Looney Tunes area) This is the poorly themed Road Runner's Express, Six Flags, most people felt had no real passion or feel when putting in the Looney Tunes area, and threw it together so that they justify selling Looney Tunes merchandise in the park. On the opposite side, is the original kid's area- Circus Fair. Which featured from 1952-1994 (when the park was bought out), a live circus that performed twice a week at the park. Many people criticized Six Flags for not reusing the Circus Fair area for the new Looney Tunes area, but instead move half of it's ride selection to the new area or to other parks, and leave awkwardly the rest of Circus Fair and the vacant circus tent. Now, behind what's left of the entrance plaza, and the abandoned Skylift Station, is the Castaway, nothing that special. This was the site of the Funside House, a classic 1949 dark ride themed to clowns and circuses. Six Flags tore it down in 1993, and never rebuilt anything on it's site and just remains a vacant plot of land (very common with what Six Flags has done to the park). A major roller coaster, the New Yorker's Express built with the amusement park, though became a rough ride as Six Flags' carelessness and not properly maintaining the roller coaster- has remained popular for people for it's historic value to the amusement park. Next to the Castaway is another strip of old main street buildings, as main street extended it's maximum to the point here. Here is the Speed Demon, a pretty somewhat decent B&M, not one of B&M's greatest coasters, but ride-able and gives some excitement. Here is Gotham City, originally known as the Mid-Way Gardens- as it was the point where the monorail stopped, and the other end of the Skylift. You could go through gardens and scenic routes to transfer to the monorail to get to the back of the park. When Six Flags added DC Comic themes, they choose to destroy most of the original scenery and buildings but for the Skylift building, the Monorail building (which Six Flags heavily removed a lot of its Victorian decor and styling for a more, grunge Gotham City feel), and the Garden Restaurant. Just the boring standard Batman the Ride. The Skylift's Gotham City exit, Six Flags closed the Skylift in 2000. They deemed it too expensive to formally remove due to the fact it goes over multiple buildings and etc, so it's just been sitting abandoned across the front half of the park. Behind the Hot Shot sat the Timbermill Log Flume, tore down in 1996 by Six Flags, and not surprisingly- Six Flags never rebuilt anything and just left it to empty lots but for patches of trees. Though once you get past the old log flume site, or if you take the People Mover- you end up at the Boardwalk. Featuring the Thunderbolt, built in 1967, one of the park's most iconic rides. Also one of the few rides Six Flags takes somewhat care for. Closing out back the entrance, next to the Looney Tunes entrance is the abandoned Six Flags Hotel- opening in 1956 and closed in 1995, the People Mover at one point used to loop and station with it's own park entrance. Though when it closed, the People Mover was rerouted and Looney Tunes was built over parts of the old track. Though Six Flags did not remove the original monorail track over the hotel and around it. Leaving a awkward abandoned piece of monorail tracks of the People Mover. They at least tore down the station and bricked in the hotel. We'll see what happens in 2004- maybe Six Flags can finally realize their screwing up.
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