Photo TR: TPR Midwest trip, Geauga Lake, and Dollywood

Awsome, Will! I am glad to see you didn't abandon your TR!

 

Ah... Cedar point... That was a wild couple of days.

I'm glad this thing is still going. Thanks for posting more

The kiddie coasters:

The signature move

Like some kiddie coasters, Jr. Gemini runs the circuit twice

Don't lose your hat!

Most of these people are riding this so that their kid could ride.

Duuuuuuuude!

They're looking forward to this ride

So far so good

Ryan, Tomi, free kid, and trash can. Tomi already had the credit, but he waited in the line anyway.

It's one of those difficult to get credits. Most of us passed on it

...to ride Junior Gemini

The reason being, he was offered the kid free of charge

Yes, he's texting again! Surprisingly, he wasn't texting much during WCB. I think he had his plan cancelled. Take a look at the kid to the right. He will return!

Spot the credit whores!

Ryan and Tomi (FLIPDUDE) get ready to ride

A closer look at the cars

Being Cedar Fair, the seatbelts have to be manually unlocked by the ride operators, making for a low capacity ride (though the line was not too long)

There's also an on-ride camera so you can relive your terrifying Roller Skater experience!

For this one, kids are optional

Unlike most rides at Cedar Fair parks, it has a little bit of theming

It's a Vekoma Roller Skater

Woodstock's Express was added in 1999, giving the park a total of 13 coasters at the time

Next up was the kiddie coaster (at least the only one we could ride)

LOL! This is great!

That is awesome!!!

 

 

However you forgot to mention that not only did Ryan not have to abduct a kid to ride Jr. Gemini, a kkid actually abducted HIM!

And I didn't already have the credit, otherwise I would not have spent 45 minutes(longest wait in the park!) and go all "Creepy stalker guy wants to abduct your children" in the midway.

Will, awesome report! Love all the photos, some fantastic shots in there! I can't wait to get up to Cedar Point for memorial day weekend. Man, those crowds suck. I can't believe I actually stayed for abit on a Saturday. I got maybe 3 rides in before noon. Crowds are so unpredictable, usually a hit or miss.

 

Can't wait to see more!

-JZ

This is great, I don't know how I missed this before.

 

I love that you inadvertently got a picture of me and my infamous losing of the kiddie strength game.

 

Still loving your TR, Will! Can't wait for the rest.

If I had a kid, there is no way I would trust Ryan with him/her.

Great pictures Will can't wait to see more.

As I said, there are probably over a thousand pictures in there, so there's pictures of nearly everyone.

Coming up: Maverick, night shots, and Kennywood!

And Ryan too

Tomi (FLIPDUDE) through the trash cans

This was the queue for Gemini

The parking area behind Magnum

This was found in the campground. Why is called a dump area if you can't take a dump in it?

This was the path heading back to our hotel

The beach itself

They go beyond the park to the beach

This one's different, and actually nicer than some of the trash cans found at other parks

There's no need to reach over the fence

This was the picnic type area near the Coral Dining Room

The queue for Raptor

With the rain and nothing open, there wasn't much else to do

The front of the park has a lot of concrete

Of course, it wouldn't be Cedar Point without seeing everything that the park has to offer

The Coral Dining Room was where we had lunch

Since few of us are ACErs, there's plenty of food to go around

Time for lunch

Random sign showcasing Cedar Point's first roller coaster, "SwitchHawk"

Heheheh, awesome shots man! However am I the only one that upon going to Cedar Point looks at coasters all the time as opposed to trash cans?

 

 

Your TRs are fun to read, they're full of photos so they really capture the moment. Keep it going! I want more!

 

 

EDIT - oh, and everyone, you can't tell, but there's actually an additional trash can in the pciture of me and Ryan through the trash cans. They were all liend up a couple feet away!

Finally done with Cedar Point. I might have Kennywood done before summer, and maybe Stricker's.

To be continued???

The next day, we got back onto the bus and headed for Kennywood

Dragster's station with Mantis' lift hill in the background

Dragster again

Dragster's station

Draggin' Iron and Power Tower

MF's first hill lit up

Looking towards the lift

The queue for MF

What do you do if you don't have a tripod? Use a trash can!

The wave swinger

This was one of those spin'n'puke rides at the front

The Ferris wheel

The carousel

MaxAir at night

I've seen these restaurants at Six Flags too

That retro fountain all lit up

I finish Cedar Point with a few night time shots

I didn't get a chance to try their swing

Theming? Won't a couple of trash cans be adequate?

I believe this was where the ride received its "Drachen Fire" treatment

Being the newest ride at the park, the line didn't get much shorter than this

Maverick's entrance (and the back of Ryan's head)

While they were running (and stacking) several trains, the lines for the ride were fairly long

This is one of the ride's unique elements

I didn't think that much of Maverick, but then again I only rode once, at night.

Heeeey, what's witht he question mark after the to be continued? Don't you dare quit on us now, Will! Your photo TR is great and alot of fun to read, plus you're %90 through!

Great photos! Looks like you had a wonderful time at Cedar Point! I especially love the station lighting for Top Thrill Dragster and MF... it looks beautiful! Quick question though... it says 1 1/2 hour queue time for Maverick but what was the average wait during the day?

^I don't remember waiting in line for more than 45 minutes.

Nice pics and TR's!!! I like the Dollywood, seeing thats my favorite park! lol Your doing a great job!

Kennywood

 

The initial plan for the Midwest trip was to go to Geauga Lake before hitting Kings Island. With the lack of "perks" and the fact that the park was closing rides faster than it was adding them, Robb and Elissa proposed that with a little bit more driving, we hit Kennywood instead. As an added bonus, Kennywood offered us ERT on Racer and Thunderbolt and the perks didn't end there.

 

After checking out from Breakers, we headed for the buses for a new state credit.

We are the champions!

Next up: Thunderbolt

But we do have the obvious weight advantage

Will we catch up to them?

They're really ahead now

They're ahead!

Going over the edge

We're going to win again!

Now we're on the other side

But if we want to get the "whole" credit, we have to go again!

And we finished in the lead

We do have a "weight" advantage though

But they're gaining on us

We have the lead

The ride was designed to be good for kids and families to rides, so it's not very intense

One of the unique features of this ride is that the trains run close enough so riders can slap hands with those on the other hand. It is a Kennywood tradition

Going over the first drop.

Are there really people stupid enough to stand up on wooden coasters (aside from rides like Cyclops)

Going up the lift

We were given permission from the PR lady (I forgot her name, sorry) to use cameras on the rides. The park probably does have rules in place, but they gave us permission to do this.

Generally, the train with the most weight on it wins

And ends up on the other side

A train starts on one side

Being a Moebius Racer, the trains must race

The ride was the second "Racer" at Kennywood, and this one opened in 1927 to replace an older 'side friction" Racer.

First ride of the day was Racer, a classic John Miller moebius racing woodie

Are you trying to tell us something Ryan?

First we need to get through security

We had the "TPR Funday Pass"

With a bit of duct tape and a lipstick cam, Robb made it

But first we have to get in

Visitors to the park are told to "look for the Arrows". I'm assuming this is one of them!

After arriving, we had ERT before the park opened to the public

Fantastic pictures, Will! You really managed to capture the ufn and exictment of the racer!

 

 

I love that first pic you took of me in the handslapping action part, it looks great!

 

Keep it up! You're almost through!

Awesome stuff, Will! Can't wait to see some more!

More of Kennywood.

 

My goal is to at least finish Kennywood and possibly Stricker's Grove. I will post Kings Island only if people want me to.

 

We were given permission from Kennywood to take cameras on the rides. Do not try this at home!

 

I'm not feeling creative in the caption department, but this update will mostly consist of coaster porn.

There is a lot more on the way, including: Thunderbolt/Phantom/Jackrabbit walkbacks, lunch, and some of Kennywood's other classic rides.

By now the park had opened

Some people couldn't marathon this ride

Robb shooting POV for the new DVD

Looking down the lift again

How was your ride?

Shooting POV's

Skid brakes aren't too common these days

Going down

There are a few brakes during the ride, but without them, there could be some broken bones

TPR loves Thunderbolt

Mandatory lift hill shot

The first drop

Approaching the last drop

That's a major headchopper!

Note the lack of air-gates

Returning to the station

Going down the third drop...

Not the most scenic of rides though

Looking down the lift

After the second drop, we catch onto the chain lift

The ride does pull a lot of laterals to the left side of the train.

The first and second drops come before the lift

It runs vintage NAD trains

Thunderbolt is known for requiring riders to have partners to ride, because the ride does not use seat dividers and has some powerful laterals

It was also part of our morning ERT

Next was Thunderbolt, another of the park's classic woodies

Almost finished Will, keep it up!

Hey Will, happen to remember from the magnum line?

 

If you want details, I was the random kid the squareish glasses and had A Detroit Tigers shirt on that day. We were kinda squeaky when we introduced ourselves. I said my real name is my screen name and just went our ways after riding.

 

It was nice to see you there, along with Dan/Casey and the other folks I met.

 

Nice TR by the way, I just started to read it around the SFKK bit and I'm continuing to do so.

 

Nice meeting ya and take care!

Yay!!!! Your TR ain't dead!

 

I knew the midwest DVD will spark it with life again!

 

Great photos! I lvoe thse extra dynamic looking ones!

 

Keep it up! Almost done!

Great pictures so far, all these trip reports are making me really want to go on one of the trips!

This one looks like Robb is missing something or someone...

"Hey, I was sure Elissa was sitting right next to me... At least, I was sure for the first 5 drops.. "

 

/Edward