Photo TR: TPR 2014 SCANDI Tour - Bill's Awesome Revisit!

Sunday Bonus Video Day!

Actually, I posted this video back in the beginning of this report.

But this is really where it belongs.... in Linnanmaki park, Helsinki.

It's not that Kieppi runs like a flat on crack, it's the "second part"

of the ride that seems to catch a lot of riders off guard.

And screaming more and more. This video starts at that second part....

[coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=MVI_6055_mohr[/coastertube]

EDIT To Add: And I felt soooo queasy, just filming this, too. Watching it was enough to get me ill, lol.

And finally, Linnanmaki Park ~ Helsinki, our last park of the tour.

But what a great way to end the tour, in this park! Another in-city park, and one

of the best parks I have been to, in any tour. Everything is built atop a hill, and

it makes for some very good walking exercise.

We started our day there, with ERT on most of the main coasters to enjoy again

and again and again! And when I wasn't riding something again and again, the

park allowed us to wander here and there to see where everything was, before the

park opened for the day.

Our last hotel of the tour. looking "almost religious' with that dome behind it.

The schedule for the day. And it's a full day at Linnanmaki!

The modern entrance of the park.

The newbie at Linnanmaki - Ukko, a Maurer Sohne Skyloop. And I really liked it!

Good old Vuoristorata. And it is an old coaster, too. One of the oldest around.

Artsy shot of Ukko.

Kirnu, an Intamin ball coaster. A bit less intense than Insane over at Grona Lund.

And it's still as great a ride, especially unbalanced!

What I was also looking forward to riding. The park's new revamp of their dark ride. I had followed

all the news about their gutting the old ride and redoing it entirely, with a new storyline and such,

but keeping a few 'things' from the old ride. I was so looking forward to this! And the outside

facade looked just incredible up close! So different from the original ride's facade. Awesome.

The fun house, left half with entrance. And to the left of that, the entrance to Kot Kot.

Or as it's known with TPR....The EGG Ride!

The right half of the fun house. After two visits here, I still haven't gone in.

So I better do it soon, before my aged body says "No ya don't". (o;

Salama, the Maurer Sohne Spinner, with an interesting 'metal sculpture' in front of it.

Ooooooooooooo fire.

Whatsit? No idea, but the topiary is pretty good, although I think it needs a bit more.....neck.

This is also new. And probably still being argued about.

Is Pilotti a coaster....or not? Hmmm...

It's (Mostly) All About Kirnu!

After wandering around a bit, I headed back to Kirnu, to grab a few more ERT rides,

and take some pix in the area around the coaster...

I liked this mashup shot of Ukko and Vuoristorata.

Ah yes, KIRNU. Great coaster, and if you enjoy this, you'll <3 INSANE over in Grona Lund!

Through the support structure...

Going up.

I caught the sunrise in the top of the ferris wheel.

There are lots of great shots of this coaster, from all angles.

In between coaster shots - a shot with Elissa! Thank you again to you and Robb, and everybody involved,

for another awesome TPR Tour!

From where Kirnu is, this is what you can see of the woodie. With a train rushing by!

Now watch this shadow closely....

And BAM! ~ An unbalanced car coming over and through!

This is honestly one of my fabourite photos taken, of the whole tour. The look on Shawn's face,

after riding an unbalanced car on Kirnu, says it all. Coaster Bliss. And through the side shield,

I really wasn't sure the photo would turn out at all. Happily, it did.

The dark ride is not open yet (we're still in morning ERT time), but the facade sure looks great, to me.

Lots to look at, all over it.

You can never have too many skeletons, around.

Oooo who's that in the window, there?

Must be "The Owner" of the place. Will be sure to pay a visit, later on.

Did you enjoy Linnunrata while in Linnanmäki?

^ Yes I did! It's one of my favourite indoor coasters that I have been on, and it was great riding it again.

...And this was my Linnunrata Boarding Lane Number!

Nice I love how it has much more theming than some other space coasters

^ Totally agree! I enjoy more of the black light stuff, which seems to be increasingly more sophisticated

than the "old school" of doing black light, etc. Projections on the walls of the show building are 'okay'.

Then again, the Halloween overlay on Space Mtn. at Hong Kong Disneyland was pretty awesome, too.

But Linnunrata is definitely a favourite among non-Disney "space coasters."

EDIT to add: I also rode my first ever Batman DarkKnight: Mad Mouse indoor coaster in Six Flags

Mexico, 2013, and really enjoyed the visual diversions of the ride, and what they did along the

track's way. Very cool. Pre-show I couldn't understand, and it was long. But that was okay.

I really liked this way they worked the mad mouse in a building! Very cool. TPR Mexico Tour, March 2013.

~ Pilotti ~

Linnanmaki Park also had another coaster recently opened, but there was

(and will be) discussion over whether this is an actual coaster, or not.

For myself, I didn't care which way the talk went. I just thought that

the whole thing was an inverted power coaster, while others likened it

to a ride system like Peter Pan (overhead guide rail, etc.).

No matter. A good bunch of us went on it, and man - was - it - slow!

It made the "shamefulness" of riding it (it was in the childrens' rides area)

all the more lingering, lol.

Here's some shots of it, and of a few who rode it. Tsk tsk tsk...

ERT was ending soon, and the park was about to open. So I started heading back to Pilotti, for a ride.

Also new for us, a drop tower in the park.

AJ and Lauren get ready to rise and fall.

All planes lined up, ready to fly.

I liked this one.

Here it is.

Boarding Platform.

A selfie taken right at the entrance! No shame, here.

My eyesight must be going. That appears to say "Muscatel". Wine, anyone?

A pair of locals, wondering what the heck is going on around this coaster.

Some of our group to the right of the pair. Not everybody rode Pilotti, but everybody stuck around

to see it run, and who was going to ride it.

I think Karl is telling us, "Steve wanted to ride it".

It's okay Keith, I feel your shame. And who's that hiding behind the post there?

The Aussies apparently had no shame whatsoever.

Same for these two.

Everybody is happy now, and so are the locals.

"And then there was this statue in the park..."

A few photos of an 'interesting' statue I came across, at Linnanmaki.

Freeky, creepy, and cute all at once! And those teeth! Then it

reminded me of something I had back at home, from my past TPR

Winter Care pkg, looking at me every day I was at my computer.

And then....

Walking by it, sometimes people stop in their tracks, I noticed.

Man, those teeth are something. But the photo closeup was still too dark.

So I lightened up the exposure on it, and...

Blue and still looking freeky. And then I remembered!

On the desk, between me and my computer.

There it was! AAAaaaaaaahhhhhhh-eek.

Happy Lief Erickson Day!

He was a Viking, so it does sort of fit here.

And Maelstrom in EPCOT just closed for it's

FROZEN refit. And so it goes.

But apparently Lief was from Iceland, which

really wasn't on this tour. But it was my

transfer airport for my flight there and back,

so it still counts, lol!

If Lief were working, today. (o; Off the Maelstrom mural above the former load station of the ride.

Linnanmaki Park: Three "In The Dark" Rides

After we had all shamed ourselves with riding Pilotti, I headed back to three rides

which all take place in the dark of sorts. The first was the park's indoor coaster,

Linnunrata which for my money had more effects and scenes than I had

seen in a number of other dark coasters. It's a fun ride.

Then I went over to the newly revamped dark ride, Kummitusuna, and it

was very enjoyable. They kept surprising you with sudden noise, lights, and fighting

wizards and witches at every corner. It was definitely an improvement over the

original ghost train.

Finally, I headed over to The Clown Ride. It's basically a ride through sets

and dioramas of the circus, with clowns aplenty through-out. It was alright,

although I seem to remember it being way more cheesier and somewhat 'darker'

five years ago. They must have cleaned it up. A lot, lol.

Here's the photos...

Now on a quick glance....hippy tin?

The entrance to Linnunrata.

Queue hallway, which was the EXPRESS route. Actually there was only one route.

My loading gate, and it's a 3. My lucky number! And the ride was great.

So after outer space, it was over to the dark ride.

More of the outside facade.

I think that's supposed to say "hotel", but don't quote me. (o;

I could not figure this sign out - until a local pointed out, it was about "10 and under" kids

not being allowed without an adult, etc.

In the queue, some people can't stay away from technology.

The ride vehicle. It looked like a school desk for four.

Like something out of Harry Potter, for intance.

Oooooo a pentagram. And what else is there on the wall? I'll find out later, when I ride it again.

Lunch. And it was My First Hot Dog in an overseas theme park, woo hoo!

The Clown Ride appeared more toned down, than in the past.

This would have been (to me) more awesome, if there had been more animatronics

going on. But it was alright as it was. And one ride was enough for this visit.

Linnanmaki Park ~ Here and There

A few shots taken before we all got back together, for our Farewell Dinner on the tour...

Evil, evil flat ride! (Video of it running, is back a page, 1/2 way down.)

Tulireki, the Mack e-motion coaster in Linnanmaki. I think it needed to 'lean' more, here and there during it's cycle.

"Ice Cream Break" (o:

Butt View, lol.

And for those who have a 'thing' about lollipops. This was insane! The whole wall of the shop!

New pinball machine. I tried it, and appeared to win games way too easily.

So I figured this was "turned down in ability" (?) for younger players. I ended

up walking away from it, with about 8 free games on the thing! Could - not - lose.

At the entrance to the park, a place for Santa! He wasn't home at this time.

I did get a "sort of selfie" taken in front of his house and emailed it back home. Cool!

I hadn't seen one of these flats filled up, in a long long time.

And this was my number #393 coaster - my last one of the 2009 tour - Vonkaputous, an awesome,

and very short, water coaster. Unfortunately, they had "turned down" the splash on this thing, as five

years ago, I wouldn't have been able to stand here for the photo. Great ride, still got wet. (o;

Linnanmaki Park - End of the visit )o:

After a really full day at Linnanmaki, it was eventually time to all gather and have our last

meal together on the tour. It was another wonderful buffet, this one at Caruzello, the park's

main eatery.

And after the meal, there was still a bit of time to get out into the park and hit a few more

rides. For myself, it was another trip on the dark ride, and by the time we had queued up

and ridden it, it was time to head back to the hotel.

Here's the last photos I took, of Linnanmaki...

Outdoor seating, outside of Caruzello Restaurant.

I am guessing drink glasses "fell off" of the balcony here, which is why there is

netting? Not sure, I never asked about it. But it's a good park view.

The Rainbow Enterprise in full spin.

Hello Audrey! I miss you.

Back on the balcony deck. JC and A.J. share a swing.

Everybody sat everywhere, including the kids' chairs, lol.

Cary got booze!

One of my plates of food. All excellent!

I see you A.J.!

The line to the bar was naturally, a bit long.

Another plate of food.

Back to the dark ride. I had seen this 'hat' before in the queue,

so I took another photo of it, beside the pentagram.

And when I got back home, lightened the exposure a bit, turned it 1/4 and...

Voila! Now doesn't this look like some sort of "sorting hat" from a "well known franchise?"

On the way out of the park, I took this shot. I liked it.

And on the bus back to the hotel, I saw these in the sky. Thank you Linnanmaki Park for a great, awesome visit.

06-29-14 ~ Heading Home

I didn't take a lot of photos on the day everybody left for home.

But there's a few familiar faces in a couple of shots.

And - More To Come! Souvenirs, On-ride Photos,

Duty Free!, some Artsy Fartsy Shots.

Stay Tuned.

Going Home Schedule. Thankfully, a bunch of us did not have to leave THAT early, lol!

Bye bye, last hotel room on the tour. Don't know why I took this. I just did.

First shuttle to the airport! Bye guys. Great fun being with you all, on this awesome tour! And you too, Gus!

Second/My shuttle. Such a happy, yet sad to be going, group. (o; See you all sooner than later!

Airport food. It wasn't bad. But it wasn't.....tour food.

Wall mural, on my way to my plane departing area.

"What? You goin' now? Well....gee....bye."

My last overseas beer, in the Reykjavik Airport bar.

What credits I got, on this repeat visit to Scandinavia (and Hansa!)

Before I "show and tell" such stuff as souvenirs and on-ride photos, he4re's a few photos I took,

and then when I got back home, played around with the exposure on each shot, for an Arsty Fartsy

Theme Park Photo.

Here's how it went...

In the International area of the Vancouver Airport. It "almost" looks like the diver has come

right out of the aquarium, there.

The pavement of Bakken.

Daemonen at Tivoli Gardens.

The Pagoda at Tivoli.

Tivoli's Star Flyer.

Disko, Bon Bon Land.

Daron and Chris, Hansa Park.

Piraten Load Station, Djurs Sommerland.

Liseberg From a Distance. (on the ferry, coming into port)

Grona Lund.

Psychadelic me! (Grona Lund)

In Flight, Power park.

Ghost Light, Waslandia Park.

Linnanmaki park.

It is hard to believe that was just 4 months ago. What a great trip. I came home with most of the money I took and a few extra pounds because so many meals were provided!

^ I know! And I'm still trying to get over (not really) China two years ago, and last year in Japan.

Unfortunately, most of my money did not come home with me. lol. But that was okay. And

I stayed about the same weight-wise, until I got back home. Then, I lost some weight!

Life goes on.

Scandi Tour SOUVENIRS!

Every tour I do, brings home several 'additions' to the household. I rarely go for stuff that serves no purpose,

other than to sit on a table of a shelf somewhere. Most souvenirs I get, I try to get useful ones, like coffee

mugs, a towel, candy (yum), that sort of stuff.

But I do pick up from time to time, things that just beg to be bought. Yeah, I'm that easy, heh.

Here's some of what i picked up along the way...

My t-shirts. And we got a free one at Djurs Sommerland, too! There's also a couple of tour shirts there,

one from Sarkanniemi (Birds Land), one from Tivoli, one from Tusenfryd... and Helix. (o:

This was my favourite (bought) shirt on the tour. And 1883 is the year Grona Lund opened!

Mugs, drink cups, and even bottles figure into my usual assortment of things to bring home.

Close up on the drink containers, including my first (at that time) Coke "Name" bottles.

Hadn't seen them until this tour. Now, they're everywhere, including at home.

Stuff to (mostly) eat, including lots of candy and leftover goody bag treats.

I bought this at Tysenfryd, then gave it to a friend on her musical show's opening night.

So - much - marshmallow!

When I fist saw these (at Djurs Sommerland) I laughed out loud. And bought them of course!

And after having both, the sweeter liquorice was more to my liking than the salty.

Some pins, a couple of fridge magnets, a few toys. And one music CD from Farup Sommerland.

Wait. What's that glowing in there?...

Personal products, like soap, a towel from Skara Sommerland, even a Liseberg-branded pack of wetnaps!

^ This is what's glowing there. I got it in Power Park.

[coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=MVI_6170_zkj5[/coastertube]

Here's two more videos of light-up stuff I bought on the tour,

specifically on the overnight ferry, from Stockholm to Helsinki.

They were all bought in a children's toy store, at the front cashier.

And while the glasses did look a lot like shooter glasses, that's ok.

Here's the light up "ice cubes" being tested out...

[coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=MVI_6327_h5f4[/coastertube]

And here's the glasses and the cubes going colour crazy in a tray of water...

[coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=MVI_6326_0rla[/coastertube]

Bill, did you have to take a spare set of luggage for your souvenirs?

You picked up an awesome collection! That salty licorice is a LOT of fun to prank people with, especially people that love the normal stuff. I bought some online for my mom. Her face: PRICELESS.

^ LOL nope. Not for this tour. I have gotten rather good at packing what I pick up along the way, without having to deal with an extra bag, etc. That said, I have in the past (hello Tokyo Disney Resort!) put a lot of stuff into a 2nd carry on bag, which so far, every airline I have ridden has allowed me to do. But that's rare for me.

So with that, here's the rest of what I picked up on the tour....

This was the tour for lanyards, passes and medals! Along with the one we usually get on a TPR tour, Grona Lund and Djurs Sommerland gave us VIP passes and lanyards into their parks. And then there's that AWESOME TPR Grand Prix medal we got at Power Park.

A little snow globe from Sarkanniemi park, bought in the Dolphin Show gift shop.

See? It works! (o;

Tags on my TPR bag - Liseberg/Helix dog tags; Bon Bon Land's farting dog that's a little flashlight (and no, not out "that" end, sadly); and a smart little souvenir from Sarkanniemi that holds a generic coin, used to get your shopping cart. Brilliant! Doesn't work over here, sadly.

PowerPark; Linnanmaki (on 'wood'); and a Djurs Sommerland pirate. Arrrrrr.

And these are all on the new, awesome TPR bag we got for the tour! With a side

holding net for bottles, too! Thank you Elissa and Robb for this!

Two caps. One free (thank you Hansa Park), the other I bought at our bonus park, Sommerland Sjaelland.

A neat "t-shirt" tag I found at Linnanmaki Park It has all of Finland's cities on it! And a couple of pins.

One I found (ACDC woo hoo!) and one for a Liseberg coaster I really, really enjoyed!

And they're on the new vest I bought in the mall where Fun Park (and a bonus credit) was.

I got into some of my candy exchange stuff immediately, when I got home. This variation on the Kinder Egg was interesting. Like pudding. Don't remember if there was a toy with it, or not.

And Duty Free to bring home! Three Iceland liqueurs from the Reykjavik airport.

The flavours are: Rhubarb; Crowberry (crowberry?); and Blueberry.

The Skara Sommerland towel, draped over the guest room bed.

Wait! What's there on the bed?

Aha! these souvenirs are all Stella-approved, lol!

^ Love the decor of your guest room! Can I invite myself over?

^ Hmm. Not sure. Hell of a cost just to "drop by," LOL.

Scandi Tour On Ride Photos!

The title says it all, so here's what I picked up along the way...

All in a bunch group shot.

Here we are on Fluch Von Novgorod on Hansa Park. With Robb, ever the busy film maker, on the left.

The back of the Fluch photo frame card.

Whoops! Whats all this about?

Right. Me, Benny and Nick on the Ghost House ride at Legoland.

The HELIX photo frame card. And it's a big one!

Why am I the only one with my hands up? Well, why not? (o;

Thunder Coaster at Tusenfryd.

Stats on the back.

And me, with my arms up again. Great coaster, in sunshine or rain.

Two photos from Grona Lund.

The first, we're on Vilda Musen.

Great bunch of kids on board with me. We talked about Vancouver and Stockholm, before screaming ourselves nuts on the ride.

The Twister shot.

I think she and I bonded during this run. Awesome coaster!

This shot was taken by Hanno, at Tusenfryd on their Super Splash coaster. I love my OMG expression on it, just before getting drenched. Great shot Hanno, thanks!

After that, I dried up as best I could, then got myself a mug shot, Viking style.

Not an on ride shot. More of an "on ferry shot". I liked it! This was taken as we went on board our overnight ferry, from Stockholm to Helsinki.

Love that picture of you on that water coaster!