Erik Johnson Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 This was a bit of a nice "surprise" trip for us since as of a few weeks ago we had no plans to go anywhere this week. Since our other mega park trip fell through this year, this turned out to be a really great alternative. There are quite a few non-coasters/parks pictures in this Photo TR, but life is not all about coasters....isn't it? Anyways onto the pictures... And it is only about 15 minutes away from where I was staying. OMG! The Wisconsin State Fair started while I was there! Oh yeah, we filled up on this stuff all week as well. Our homebase was in Racine, Wisconsin. Most famous for Kringle.....YUMMY! Yeah, its impossible to find sweet tea outside of the South. I am so ready for some food. We landed in Milwaukee, only to find my parents waiting. Hey look, its the Wisconsin State Fair. Though the airline has a little bit of a sense of humor. Just plain evil. Yeah, it has been a while since I have been in a plane. Yeah, we are ready to start our vacation. Our bags are TPR approved. Unlike most people, we fly out of Florida for vacation. I has been a while since I have flown out of Orlando. I hate you lawn mower, I really do. Maybe I need to just buy a new one. Crap, my lawn is going to be extra long when I get back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 Day 2: Â Pictures! Well, I guess Madonna was in that movie, so it makes a lot of sense. The is where the Racine Belles played, ever seen A League of Their Own? Slave labor. This is what the modern lighthouse light looks like now. Ok, so one nice photo in the trip report is fine....I guess. I know those people down there. See, it is Lake Michigan. Pretty nice view from up here. Whew, made it to the top. 115 of these scary stairs. Ready to go upstairs? I always thought these things were very cool. So exciting, isn't it? All about this lighthouse, open to the public 4 days a year. We went back into Racine to go see a lighthouse. What a super happy day... See, it is Wisconsin cheese. See, it is Wisconsin cheese. I am getting closer. No cheese yet. Yes, it is a Farmer's market, I wonder if they have cheese inside. Ok, we made it to the other station. These things actually travel pretty fast. Hey Benzo, how you doing? "Ok, just do not beat me up, please." "Gimme your tickets!" Not very PC, is it? All 2 miles of it. The only remaining electric trolley line in the Wisconsin/Illinois area. Yeah, I guess we are a bit of transportation buffs as well. There had a large collection of electric trolley cars in this building. If you heard about any derailed trains in Wisconsin, it was not because of me. The dork and his ice cream. Yep, Horlick is originally from Racine, Wisconsin. Looks a bit dated, does it not? Many inventions came out of this area, including malt, and milkshake blenders. Before our ride, we wanted to get some ice cream. I am sure a few TPR members would like to check this out. We get to ride an electric trolley ride. We went over to East Troy, Wisconsin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 Day 3: Â Ok, are you ready for some coasters? We really thought Six Flags Great America was a really great park. While the coaster collection is not the very best in the world, it is still decent though, the overall operations were top notch. Every single coaster was open the day were went so we were able to clear the park on our very first visit. Ok, onto the pictures. I hope to ride this one again in a near future. Two thumbs up for Viper. Weeeeeeee..... Just in case you forgot the name of the coaster. Plus they have spent some money on Viper's theming as well. It is very well maintained. I found this one to be my favorite coaster in the park. Yes, Six Flags Great America's employees totally rock. Good job! Sorry, I do not see anyone's name backwards in this sign. People were flowing like water through this queue. You can not use a Flash pass here, but with these awesome operations...you do not need one. Arrow vertical loop goodness. It's the Demon, best theme music ever for a coaster. "Hey Joe, how is it going?" Best $15 you can spend in the park. Wonder Woman rocks. See what I mean? Look, more Halloween theming in Aug. I love Vekoma's Deja Vu. Two down, two more to go. Deja Vu, while it went down twice while in line, was running well. Only a 45 minute total wait time. Holy crap, I may actually get lucky today. Poor Skytower was not working today. I still prefer Batman, myself. Yeah, all three Superman: UF's in one year. Leanne was really happy. Yeah, that was kinda fun. Here we go! Ready to take on that pretzel loop. Superman is ready for its next batch of riders. Look at all those people behind us, already. First train of the day. Some nice theme park walking shoes, eh? "Nothing is going to stand in my way to ride Superman." Notice the gum on the sign? Our first credit of the day. Slyvester was happy to see us. Holy crap, there are a ton of people behind us already. There already started putting out Halloween stuff. They let us in the gates about 30 minutes before park opening. It is always good to get to this park early. Heck yeah! No coasters closed today. Leanne's favorite coaster, Superman: Ultimate Flight. It is a coaster day! Leanne is wearing her Supergirl shirt, it must mean one thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FRD714 Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 HAHA its Brad from Dejavu. He does the same thing for every photo. Â http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/files/dsc08454_187.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob O Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Great photo's!!! Looked like you had a great time in the midwest and looking forward to more great photo's Nicew to see people enjoy themselves in my home state of Wisc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 SFGam...Part 2. Inverts, what a great coaster style. These coasters are intense, even in the front row. So that is where the Bat Cave is. Looks like I am not the only one. I really do like these coasters. The one that started it all. More Halloween theming. But, it counts as a real coaster credit. Pretty much a standard Vekoma skater. Yeah I know, but we went ahead and got it. It is easy to miss out on this credit. Iron Wolf. This one did not change my opinion of these coasters. So far the only stand up coaster I like is SFoG's The Georgia Scorcher. Oh dear, Iron Wolf. Yep, got all three of those credits. Another well maintained wooden coaster, we like those. Here is the blue train, but we ended up liking red better. We both liked this one. Or both of them. More Halloween theming. Look, a farmer's market. I wonder if they have Wisconsin cheese. The Demon tried to sneak out of the tunnel to steal our souls. Even while sitting down, eating lunch. But it still takes a good picture. Out of the 4 B&M Hypers in the United States, Raging Bull is my least favorite. Except for that blasted trim, it could have been a top ten ride. It was a pretty decent coaster. Here comes the train. Sure beats waiting 45-60 minutes in line. We used our 2nd Flash Pass on this one. The first was used on Whizzer. Yep that is its name, Raging Bull. Yeah, they got one of those B&M Hypers here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 SFGam...part 3 A good way to finish off a great day. I can not eat as much as Joey though. Munchie time. Thanks to Joe, we found this place. Yeah, we did finish off with this ride. It is a classic. One final picture for Joe. The map said Stargate, boy were we wrong... Yeah, Leanne would rather take home Superman, rather than me. It did spin quite a bit. Though I wish we could have used a flash pass on this ride. This took a while. It had a little bit of theming. Pretty much a standard spinning mouse. The extra hang time on the back spike was unexpected. I can't wait to try some of the other ones. It was a lot faster than I was expecting, also it is very loud in the station. We totally loved this one. Oh yeah, our very first Intamin impulse coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterFanatic Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Seperated at birth? Â Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 Ok onto the next day. We went to the most popular tourist spot in Wisconsin. Nope, not the Wisconsin Dells, The House on the Rock. It is kind of hard to explain this place, so I will do it in pictures: I wonder what we could do the next day? Thank you Moosejaw. Yep, I am wearing the hat backwards. They also have pizza and pasta as well. I simply felt like a burger. Yeah, this place is Canadian friendly. The Beer and Cheese soup was pretty good. Not only do they brew beer, they make their own soda as well. Oh yeah, that is where we are. Poor Bullwinkle. See how cool it is? All of us enjoyed this place. We rather just go here though, it was less than a 1/4 mile from our hotel. Plus if you got hungry, you could just cook yourself a horse. Weekdays a much cheaper at the Dells. We got this place for under $50, yeah it was clean and convienent. And thanks to Bob O., I am ready for the Wisconsin Dells. Back on the road. Oh cool, I hope the Midwest TPR meet includes this place. Bye House on the Rock. Yeah, I am ready to go somewhere else after 6 hours. A family photo. Yeah, more gardens. This is the guy who built the place. Thousands upon thousands of items at this place. Some people may still try to count it though. No, this one does not count as a credit. Donkey! No Derek, I did not try to steal one. See how big those things are? I see that Derek donated his collection. Where to Mr. Wizard? Here are the stats. And no, you can not ride it... They also have the world's largest merry-go-round. And yes, full room sized music machines. Such as silly things as this. Oh yeah, after the house part you still have about 5 more hours of stuff to look at. Me just hanging around this Tiffany lamp. Though I am not sure if it is a real Tiffany lamp. The infinity room, from outside and above. I want a dragon table. These things are huge. Another one of those music machines. Oh, you can better see what the Infinity Room looks like with this picture. The room kinda shakes a bit at this point. You basically walk to the very end of this room. The coolest room in a house, ever. I seem to be a bit too tall to be walking around this house. Oh well, I guess I can duck. Pretty. This is the start of one of many "large size" music/band machines. Awesome bathroom. Well there is a building, but it still is not the house. I still do not see a house. You sure that is the way? I do not see a house. How about that as a flower pot? Where is it we are going to again? Oh yeah. Benzo was not home. Even more expensive than Florida fuel. Here we go again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 Mt. Olympus was a fun park. I wished we had more than 4 hours to explore it, but we were able to get all 7 credits as well as one of the go-kart tracks. Most of these pictures are video grabs so I am sorry about the quality. But this is the new edition, right here. The keep the Disk-O outside during the summer. They have go-karts for little kids as well. Kiddie coaster POV. Heh heh heh, hot dog men are funny. But just like the others, it too has a drop out of the station. Pegesus was the lesser of the four wooden coasters. See what I mean? Yeah, you get wet on this one. This was the longest wait of the day, if it was not a credit we would have skipped it. It must be for the wicked ejector airtime you get on this drop. See what I mean? Cyclops was next. While very short, it was pretty intense. Hi Leanne. Yeah, you could get some airtime on them. These things were a lot of fun. Go-kart time. Again, another nice drop out of the station. This one was also pretty good. Next was Zeus. The drop out of the station has some bite to it, especially in the back row. First train on the day. This guy was making sure all the nails were in its place. Mt O. loves to build its stations way above the ground. First things, first. Yeah, the name of the park is that. Yeah, its Hades. Good-Bye Mt O. Hades is a powerful coaster. For some reason, many people lose sandles while riding Hades. It really did not spin much, for a spinning mouse. Opa! Opa! Opa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 After Mt. O we went to get some lunch and did the two hour Upper Dells boat tour. After all of that we finished up the day with an awesome ride on the Avalanche at Timber Falls: I liked it quite a bit myself. It turned out to be Leanne's all time favorite wooden coaster. This little coaster has amazing speed and airtime. Just follow the signs. Yes, that is Timber Falls. Make sure you do not miss The Avalanche at Timber Falls. I got tons of video of the Dells Boat Ride, but only one high quality photograph. Oh well. We though wolves eating McDonalds was pretty funny. Upon closer inspection, you can tell it is another place of eating. Lunchtime, though this does look similiar to the Moosejaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Awesome photos. Avalanche does kick incredible amounts of ass, and is in my Top 10 (above Hades). Â If anyone has ever read Neal Gaiman's "American Gods" they should recognize The House On The Rock, as it plays an important role in the book. It looks like the sort of place I'd have to leave in about 20 minutes due to sensory overload, but I'm glad you took pictures of it, as I was sort of curious to know what the place looked like. Â dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 ^ Yeah, I've seen that place on the Travel Channel before. Cool to see it in a TR. Â I'm curious, has that carousel ever operated, or was it just constructed for looks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 Ok onto the next day we took a break from parks and visited more family, but I will not bore you with all of those details. However I am going to include some of our pictures from you day in Chicago. Yep, it was mom. Anyways I hope you enjoyed this Photo: TR. Someone in our car got the munchies. Sob.... You know which one that is? Now we get to pass by all these credits on the way home... Hey, look what I found in my camera bag. One of the coolest buildings ever built. This one is for Joe. Yeah, I have seen that Ferris movie. Leanne and I have been to the top of the former WTC as well as the Empire State Buildings in New York. Da Bears. Chicago is very large. The elevator was amazing, it only took 45 seconds to get to the top. That is 18mph, and you felt it. The tallest building in the U.S. The Sears Tower. What is that in the background? So we could go to the Museum of Science and Industry for several hours. Down to Chicago for the day. Yummy. Look for this place on the food network in about 2 weeks. Before we left Racine, we stocked up on Kringle. You can mail order it as well. Yeah, I heard this is Derek's favorite beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 Awesome photos. Avalanche does kick incredible amounts of ass, and is in my Top 10 (above Hades).  If anyone has ever read Neal Gaiman's "American Gods" they should recognize The House On The Rock, as it plays an important role in the book. It looks like the sort of place I'd have to leave in about 20 minutes due to sensory overload, but I'm glad you took pictures of it, as I was sort of curious to know what the place looked like.  dt  Yeah, House On The Rock certianly wears you out after a visit. After I edit a short video together, I will post it on the site. Photographs really do not capture the place very well. I agree with Avalanche, it turned out to be my favorite coaster in the Dells as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjaco Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 You were right, you have a lot of pictures! Nice TR. Â I work two blocks from the Sears Tower, I wish I knew you were coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niiicolaaah Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Great TR, Erik. It's nice to see people including non-coaster activities in their vacations. That house on a rock thingy looks really awesome! Â You may be ahead in the credit race for now... hehe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Was that the newly repainted Chang you drove by? And I agree with Nicole. It's always nice to see more than just coasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandaman Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Great pics, Erik! Couple of notes: Moose Jaw is a real Canadian city, hence the tie-in. Also, "Da Bears" = awesome reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CD Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Great trip report Eric, I really like how it wasn't all about coasters. Have you been on all of the superman's (not just the flying ones) out of all of them I think that SROS at SFNE and SKC at SFFT are the best. Very well done trip report again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 ^ Yeah, I've seen that place on the Travel Channel before. Cool to see it in a TR. Â I'm curious, has that carousel ever operated, or was it just constructed for looks? Â I believe it was constructed just for looks. I have been to the House on the Rock 3 times so far, the first being in 1986. Even back then you could not ride it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 Great trip report Eric, I really like how it wasn't all about coasters. Have you been on all of the superman's (not just the flying ones) out of all of them I think that SROS at SFNE and SKC at SFFT are the best. Very well done trip report again! Â The only other Superman credit we have is Superman: ROS at Six Flags America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 Was that the newly repainted Chang you drove by? And I agree with Nicole. It's always nice to see more than just coasters. Â Ding Ding, that is correct it was Chang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USRoadTripper Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Another awesome report Erik!! THat House on the Rock looks like just my kinda place. I *heart* funky tourist attractions! All these TRs really make me wanna go to the Dells  -Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroTre Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Wow! Those signs and lines at Great America look really familiar! You must have gone just about the same time I did. Let's see, August 6-12? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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