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bert joins TPR on the 2018 USA trip


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Thanks for some more additional pics of my kids that you've posted. Nice meeting you that day.

 

Great meeting you too!

 

(I hope it's OK to post the pics? if not, lemme know and i'll pull them down -- I got permission from a couple of folks who I knew are a bit "camera shy" before sharing pics..but didn't ask everyone. . so apologies if any issue!).

 

No, please post. I have most already from Elissa. You guys take much better pictures than me!

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Thanks for some more additional pics of my kids that you've posted. Nice meeting you that day.

 

Great meeting you too!

 

(I hope it's OK to post the pics? if not, lemme know and i'll pull them down -- I got permission from a couple of folks who I knew are a bit "camera shy" before sharing pics..but didn't ask everyone. . so apologies if any issue!).

 

No, please post. I have most already from Elissa. You guys take much better pictures than me!

 

I think I have a couple more Fascination that I didn't post

 

(these would still be from Andy.. or maybe from Joe Schwartz, since he's in one of the prior pics from the other angle, taking a picture)

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Day 9: Hershey Park - Part 1

 

We were up and at the bus to leave the hotel by 8am for the full day at Hershey Park.

 

This was going to be another long day, since although we weren’t doing any filming at Hershey Park, we were getting early entry access (along with Hotel guests and Season Pass holders), and the ERT here was post 10pm at Skyrush. Similar to how the Kings Dominion day had been, there was an opportunity during the day to take the bus back to the Hotel for a few hours rest during the day.

 

Also similar to KD, I chose not to take advantage of that (something I probably *should* have done. . you’ll see).

 

Instead I planned to stay at the park – after all, although I wasn’t planning on doing any of the waterpark activities, I really wanted to check out Zoo America, as well as hit certain rides I had missed on my 1 prior visit (Laff Track, Fahrenheit, the new triple towers), and also a visit to Chocolate World for the revamped Dark Ride.

 

We pulled into the lot, and once settled in and thru the gates, most of the group I was hanging with wanted to head down to Skyrush (since the Hollow Section is open for early entry).

 

Since I hadn’t planned to ride Skyrush yet anyways, I wasn’t in a huge hurry to get down there – although I HAD planned to give it another shot since I has absolutely hated it the one prior time I had ridden it (it was a ride that had scared the crap out of me, and I really thought I might die – my one prior ride was on a back wing seat).

 

I instead stopped at the park’s absolutely stunning Carousel towards the front entry plaza. No putting it off for later this time, it’s pretty much among the first “rides” one comes to, and as noted, it’s stunning: PTC (Philadelphia Toboggan Company) #47, a 4-across with 3 rows galloping, and hand carved horses by Master Carver John Zalar. It was built in 1919 (so next year is it’s 100 year anniversary), and previously operated in parks in Maryland and New York before moving to Hershy Park in 1944 where it’s been ever since. This Carousel is not only intricately carved – not just the horses, but the eagles around the inside canopy and the reliefs along the outside - but is also brightly painted from top to bottom (even inside the roof) with some beautiful landscapes and animal imagery. And bulbs everywhere – this thing lights up at night so fantastic I could watch it for hours – withough an LED lighting package.

 

The Carousel has a space for an Organ, and attention is called to that area, but if I’m recalling there wasn’t an actual organ in that space. However, the Carousel did play wonderfully loud Carousel music, that filled the entire area. Wonderful to ride, and be around, especially for a carousel freak like me.

 

Several in the group did stop to ride with me, or at least waited for me to ride, and then we headed down to the Hallow for them to hit Skyrush. But not before I stopped to get a picture with Chocolate Syrup. Oh the characters are Hershey Park are insanely idiotic (the candy bars, chocolate syrup, the nightmare inducing Hershey Kiss)..but they are out in full force, especially near the front of the park. And I had a stellar time posing for pictures with them thruout the day : ) .

 

While the rest of the group got in line for Skyrush -- which didn’t have much of a line.. I, instead, went over to SuperDooperLooper, and got a walk on ride in the back row. You could tell the park had just opened, as SDL was running a bit “sluggish”, but that resulted in some great hangtime in the loop. I got off it, and looked for everyone, and saw they were still in the Skyrush line as they had waited for the front row. So I sat on a bench and waited for them, snapping a few pictures. . and then decided – what the hell? There’s no line, and I was going to try riding it again anyways. So I went ahead and climbed the steps and ended up in the row behind some of my group. Following advice I had heard, I was going to ride on an inside seat towards the front.

 

Row 2, inside seat. And the restraint came down pretty good - "helped" by the attendant who pushed quite securely. . not quite a “staple” but close to it. I thought nothing of it, and I braced my legs on the floor of the train and prepared myself for Skyrush.

 

The lift his was super fast, and zipped us over the drop. .and I was loving it. . slight discomfort from how tight the restraint was on my upper thigh, but not too bad. Then the airtime hill. .and . . .it was not painless.

 

It hurt.. like bad.

 

And then the 2nd airtime hill, as it dives under, and it hurt so much I actually started to tear up. By the time we hit the final airtime “bunny hop” on the way back towards the station, I had my fingers trying to dig under the restraint to keep it off my thigh as much as possible – which wasn’t much as tightly as it had been clicked down.

 

We pulled into the station, and when asked if I liked it this time, my response to my friends was “no. . no, not at all”. . my legs were a little wobbly, and I definitely had some additional pain in my upper right thigh that I hadn’t started the day out with. I told them then that I would not be participating in the ERT later that night, based on two bad experiences I had now had on Skyrush. (until then I had been saying I likely would only be doing one or two rides during the ERT, but this morning ride cinched it.. it had really hurt).

 

The guys, I think decided to get back in line and ride again (but not wait for front row?), so I waited on a bunch rubbing my upper thigh, and quickly enough they were done, and we headed to SDL, for my 2nd ride, their first. This time I sat more towards the front, and it seemed less sluggish than it had been a ½ hour earlier. . if I had gotten back on it later in the day, I’m sure it would have warmed up even more.

 

Since we were still in the Hollow and it was getting close to the end of early entry, we hopped in the short line for Comet, and got a pretty good ride on that classic woodie too (making sure sit near the front, and not in a wheel seat). .tho not a lot of airtime, which was surprising with all the bunny hops. Still, not a rough ride.

 

we then decided that since it was the very end of early entry, we should head to the Triple Towers (which we really didn’t need to, since for some reason they didn’t seem to be drawing much of a line). We decided we’d ride all three, starting with the biggest one, and it was this decision (coming so close after riding Skyrush) that I really believe caused me the biggest problem of the trip – the operator absolutely stapled me in on the big tower – that one has the launch up, as well as the drop. When we hit the top of the tower after the launch up? My right thigh hit the restraint brutally hard, and I actually saw stars.

 

It hurt bad, but I rubbed my thigh and after a few moments of putting weight on it (which I used the excuse of standing to take a picture of Russ getting on the next cycle), I seemed to be OK, and we went around and got in line for the medium, and the smaller tower - me making SURE that I had plenty of room under the restraint – although it turned out the other two towers don’t have that violent “launch up” that the big tower has. I enjoyed them, but based on how much the big tower hurt? I think the middle tower was my preference.

 

The park was now open, and we decided to head down to Coal Cracker – the flume ride with airtime at the bottom of the drop. It was as great as I remembered it, and we didn’t get too wet.

 

And just after headed over to the Great Bear, where we hit our 1st “real” line of the day, and I believe we used our 1st Fast Track voucher here, to skip some of the line. This is just a great suspended coaster. While I think Afterburn at Carowinds, and Alpengeist at BGW were more forceful, but the location of this one really is hard to beat, zooming in and out of the trees, and crossing over and under SDL, with great views of the other coasters in the Hollow. Just a really good ride, and while not my favorite (that would be Storm Runner), it would make the top 3 in the park for me (after SR, and Fahrenheit).

 

James had a missed credit he wanted to get, and it was operating, so we all headed down into Pioneer Frontier for a ride on Trailblazer. It’s a mine train, that’s basically a big long helix. .but it’s OK for what it is (even if it’s also a tease, since you get great views of a much better coaster right next to it if you get to see Storm Runner launch as you pass by it). Still, it’s a family coaster, and was perfectly fine. . and James got his ride.

 

I think after this we decided we needed to eat, since we had been given two food vouchers for our day at Hershey, and it was already past 11. So we didn’t want to wait too late to eat.

 

Note: I had apparently blocked this out, since I had to ask James to remind me where we ate for the 1st meal (LOL), but he reminded me that we went to the Pioneer Frontier Food Court: which had options of Moe’s, Chickie and Pete’s, and Friendly Flavorful Food (the “healthier” choice).

Moe’s and C&P both had longish lines, but some folks wanted those so went there. Phil and I (and I think maybe Christopher?) went over to the FFF place, which dind’t have much of a line, but where we were stuck behind one very confused woman trying to use a food voucher, and an even MORE confused counter guy who simply could *not* get the order entered into the register correctly. (oh, there was also an apparent manager standing behind him waiting to make the food, but did not want to interfere to help him ring it. . so she basically just stood there an waited until he figured it out. . which after about 8 minutes he did. But then it was my turn to order, and it was obvious within about 2 seconds that the woman in front of me had not been the real problem.

 

after about 5 minutes of back and forth – which was like a bad SNL skit – he’s ask me what I want, punch some buttons on the register, ask me to confirm what he had punched (which was not what I had ordered), clear the register, and repeat.. the Lady finally simply asked me over him “you have a voucher, what would you like” . .and she got me my (correct) food while he was trying to figure out the register. I think poor Phil had the same experience once I got my food and went to get us a table.

 

Shockingly, Jon and James hadn’t even made it to Ordering at Moe’s by the time we sat down. . so apparently the problem wasn’t just with the service at our food stand of choice. I will say the sandwich I got was decent (can’t remember what it was tho, and it came w/ a fruit cup side), just the ordering and actually getting the food portion was frustrating. Too funny that I really blocked this part out! I had completely forgotten.

 

We did get some entertainment while we ate tho, as one of the marching band entertainment groups came over and performed.. tho for some reason I either didn’t take any pictures of them, or the picture just didn’t come out. I do recall that the ice cream stand, advertising Cheesecake on a stick – of course, right NEXT to the Healthy place (LOL), wasn’t open when we first sat down to eat, but did open up and Jon, Phil, and James all wanted to get the treat. . only to be told it wasn’t ready yet. Yes, they had opened up the storefront, but weren’t able to serve yet. We were there so long tho (lunch easily took almost a full hour to order, and then eat), they eventually did get to order it and enjoy the frozen treat, before we moved on to the next rides for the day.

And what’s the best thing to do after eating? Why a launch coaster, of course. .so we headed to Storm Runner, which was a fantastic ride – so much air, tossing me into the shoulder restraints. I loved it. So, so good, and I recall this one too had quite the line, so we used Fast Track here too . . and on the following ride: Fahrenheit.

Which for some reason I hadn’t ridden on my prior trip. Was glad we had Fast Track, as it allowed us to skip most of the line and get on it fairly quickly.

 

Out of the 3 coasters we rode with Vertical lifts on this trip (DDD, Impulse, this one), Fahrenheit was far and away my favorite. I dunno if it’s because it’s more of a “coaster train” than an individual (or two car train) that was the case on the other two. . but I really liked this. It ended up being a 1-and-done just as the other two had been, unfortunately. . although if I had been able (more on that in part 2), I totally would have ridden this a couple more times before the day ended.

 

We headed towards the back end /boardwalk end of the park, and the guys wanted to ride Wildcat.

I knew better from my prior visit – I always describe Wildcat as being in a car with square wheels going down a road full of potholes. I also was starting to notice my right leg was stiffening up – from the back to back restraint upper thigh bruising earlier in the day. . so I figured I should get off my leg as much as possible.

 

I told them to go with G-d, and I sat on a bench and people watched while they got their spines knocked out of alignment.

 

we then continued around the back of the park, stopping at Laff Track (which we again used Fast Track for).. which I had thought was a spinning, indoor mouse. I had been expecting a mouse, so when it wasn’t, it greatly exceeded my expectations and I liked it a lot. We didn’t get a lot of spinning, which would have made it better. .but I did enjoy the quick dips and turns in the ride. The theming was just OK. . a bit too bright in there for the blacklight effects to work great, but as noted, I did like the ride. The queue is great fun too, tho it was a bit odd they were holding the line outside of the indoor queue for the most part (there was only one line rather than back and forth in the inside building, so really once you got in the building it was only about a 10 minute wait). I guess they are doing that so those waiting can enjoy the funhouse mirrors on both sides of the queue, but why set it up as a back and forth queue, if controlling the amount of people in there so it never fills up the switchbacks? Regardless, Fast Lane got us directly into the building, so was only a 10 minute or so wait.

 

Getting in and out of the coaster car, I noticed a slightly painful twinge in my right upper leg, when bending the knee. (uh oh). And I had started limping a little bit . .but it wasn’t too bad. I certainly noticed it tho.

Luckily I was carrying some of my prescription meds with me, so I took an Ibuprofen, and we moved on to Lightning Racer and rode both sides, getting excellent rides in. This coaster remains super smooth.

 

We also took advantage of being over here to ride the Ferris wheel (good views), and we took a spin on the Hershey Park Whip – a huge disappointment, in particular after riding the Knoebels whip the day before. It is a concrete floor and it rides really rough. A short cycle too, but with it being that rough, not really an issue.

 

For the most part, the HersheyPark employees, while pleasant for the most part while interacting with, didn't seem to be enjoying their jobs today. Super noticeable to me, since the day before at Knoebels everyone seemed to be having a great time while working.

 

So when I saw a happy operator at the Whip, I asked her if I could take a picture (a kind of gothy lady, who was all smiles) – she was the most cheerful operator we had seen all day actually. And when I shared her pic with the group, someone responded that she was smiling because she was operating, abut wasn’t riding, the worst whip in the world.

LOL. . in fact, someone (I think it was Zach) referred to the Hershey Park whip as: “Shopping Cart: the Ride” -- and he’s absolutely correct, so I've been calling it that from that point on.

 

Although it was a tight squeeze, we also hopped onto the Wild Mouse while we were in this area of the park, and tho the line was “short’ it actually still moved pretty quickly (we didn’t even use our Fast Track, since the line would have dumped us past where it was reaching to anyways). They were running with very little breaking, making for a fun, if standard, Mouse ride.

 

we had seen the monorail running, so decided we’d take a ride on that, and after stopping to hydrate, took the short-ish ride – I think it’s just about 6 minutes - over the park, out over Hershey proper to see the original factory, and then back to the station. It’s not as great as the PeopleMover (but then again what is?), but it’s a very nice ride, and was nice and breezy. It had stayed overcast all day, but really no rain today while at Hershey Park.

 

After getting off the Monorail, it was time to shoot some kids!

 

Erm. .i mean, it was time for the Reese’s EXTREME cup challenge, a shooting ride where you shoot at targets, some of which look like kids. Hmmm. . yeah, it’s just a bizarre, F-ed up ride. It makes no sense, it’s kind of boring, and the Animatronics in it are pretty freaking frightening.

 

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They don’t even give you a peanut butter cup at the end any more. I mean, I guess I’m glad we stopped to see the bizarreness of it. . especially since it’s closing down. .but really, I just don’t get the point.

 

At least it’s right across the walkway from one of the main stands selling the “Big Boy Shakes”. . yeah, they were ~$15, but man, were they so worth it! 3 flavors: Cookies and Cream (with an ice cream sandwich on top), Hershey (with a chocolate cupcake on top), and Reeses (with frozen Cheesecake slices on top). . all in giant mugs, rolled in chocolate frosting with sprinkles and chocolate (or Peanut Butter) chips, and with two chocolate covered pretzels in em. Oh wow they were so good.

 

James, Jon, and I each got one of the 3 flavors, while Phil went “low call” and just got an Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich (which was still pretty dang big). Worth every penny, tho I was feeling the sugar high for a while!

It was hard to move after drinking it down too as I was SO full, so we needed something “tame”. . and the choices were Kissing Tower (which involved going up a hill) or the Skyway which we were sitting right next to the station for : p . . . . . so we slowly waddled towards the skyway – something else I had missed on my prior visit (since we had really thought at the time it was for kids only).

 

The Skyway is actually fairly short, just going over the lake down in the Hollow, and then turning around. But it was a pleasant ride, and enabled me to get some nice pictures of the rides / coasters in that area.

I think around this time the bus was just about to leave to go back to the Hotel (or had just left), and we still had quite a bit of day left. So I noted that I really wanted to go to Zoo America, and everyone else was interested too, so we walked towards the triple towers, got our hand stamped, and headed onto the walkway that brings you across the road to Zoo America.

 

end part 1 of Hershey Park.

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we're here, and headed towards the entrance. . this sign was by the tram pick up station

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now at the front gates, in line with Hotel Guests, and passholders, for early entry (yay!)

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no waiting for good stuff today - immediately on the Carousel. 1st ride of the day.

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empty hole where the organ should be, but at least the space is there, and it's lit up.

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fully painted and detailed. just lovely.

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whee!

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yep, in a happy place

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so much so? even stopped for a picture with Chocolate Syrup :)

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Wave Swinger here too. . which I forgot, I actually did ride, while waiting for them to get off Skyrush the 1st time.

 

so I did actually ride two of these on the trip - one at SFOG, and here.

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Skyrush, while waiting for them to get off (I had already ridden SDL and the Wave Swinger, since they had decided to wait for front row)

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Skyrush and SDL (on the brake run)

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and now SDL and Comet. . . wasn't able to get the timing to get all three coaster trains in one shot.

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Speaking of Comet -- that's where we went to next. Little more than a station wait, but was surprised by lack of airtime this round. (maybe it just wasn't warmed up so early in the day).

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Then onto the triple drop tower.

 

Hi Ryan, Russ, and Christopher!

 

This is the pic I waited to take while trying to recover from the horrific slam into the restraints I had gotten on the cycle we just exited. The restraints hit me just in the "right" spot on my upper thigh.

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didn't actually take any pics while ON Coal Cracker, but here's a pic from the queue while walking by. Not too busy today, at least not in this queue.

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Who's the Greatest Bear? ??

 

according to James and Jon, *I AM* (wOOt wOOt)

 

and we're slightly splashed from our ride on Coal Cracker. . not super wet.. just a little moist :)

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Exiting the station, you can get some GREAT shots of the Hollow coasters

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not to mention Great Bear passing right by overhead.

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and the "airtime hill" at the bottom of Coal Cracker's drop.

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why yes, we're all Giant Fruits!

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and there's Peanut Butter Cup. . so of course stopped for a picture.

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walking back by the towers on the way down to Frontier area. this is the big tower, but I preferred the one in the middle.

 

photography angle fail. . . all 3 towers are here, but I stood in just the wrong spot that you can only barely see the middle tower, or the smallest tower peeking out in the back.

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Storm Runner. . . and this time you can actually see the 3 towers - even if the top of the tallest is blocked by the SR track.

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Storm Runner, Up

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and OVER

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and diving TWIST!

 

such a great ride.

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I didn't want to get wet, but plenty of other folks did - without even waiting for the ride.

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um. . no.

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I'm perfectly fine sitting right here on the bench out front. Y'all go "enjoy"

 

I'll people watch

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Dippin Dots are modest. who knew?

 

Actually, there were quite a few Amish folk, Mormon folk, and Orthadox Jewish folks in the park today - they even had a couple of food stands that were marked as Kosher (and with Hebrew as well as English writing on them). Kudos to Hershey Park for making it so accessible to many of the big religious groups in the area.

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in the Laff Trak queue

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oooo.. .

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I found a friend! still not sure exactly what he was (a catfish???). . but I hugged him.

 

(of COURSE I did). .

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Jon and James, across the station from us on Lightning Racer (I think they were waiting for Thunder). . and if I recall correctly, they won this duel with us.

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some nice views of the park from the Ferris Wheel.

 

Very overcast today but it never rained at all, and nothing ever closed down for weather

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oo.. chocolate factory smokestacks (remainders from the old factory, if I recall) from the Ferris wheel.

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Jon and I on Storm Runner!

 

(not sure who to credit this picture to. . it could have been Darryl, but I think it was Brad Roach, who was with another batch of TPR folks taking pics of the Boomerang next door, and just turned around and got a pic of us on SR).

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Phil and James on SR.. again, I think photo credit is Brad.

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Jon and I pretending to "surf". . tho the photo op makes it hard to tell exactly what's going on. You can't stand up on the boards, as they are angled, and when you sit on them with your knees, you get a weird picture like this one.

 

But this is by the Waterpark stuff, across from the Whip.

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Emily: the Happiest (and Goth-iest, and I mean that in a good way) operator we saw at Hershey Park today. . . working "Shopping Cart: the ride"

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then it was on to the Wild Mouse, which was fun in all the right ways a wild mouse can be.

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from the Monorail, looking down at the cars.

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the factory, outside of the park gates, from the monorail

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train-tracks and smokestacks

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ok then. .here's the good stuff.

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Phil wanted to eat something "light" so he passed on the big boy shakes, and "just" got an Ice Cream Sandwich.

 

LOL.. yeah, not much of a smaller snack.

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Mmmmmm-Mmmmmm good.

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on the skyride, with Darryl pretending I'm gonna stomp him.

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you can get some great pics from the skyride too, even tho it is a rather short journey

 

Skyrush

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Sooper Duper Looper

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Great Bear

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Jon & James

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on the way back now

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the Great Bear (s)

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love how the skyride goes right over the Great Bear's track. . can get some fantastic interactions.

 

like this.

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Comet's sign on the station.

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Great update! Sorry to hear about the pain Skyrush caused. I love that ride but can understand why it's such a divisive coaster.

 

I actually found it to be the opposite with the three towers. I found the taller one didn't have much air, but the two smaller ones had crazy airtime at the top, probably the strongest of any S&S tower.

 

And getting hangtime with just that lap bar on a Schwarzkopf must have been glorious. I don't think I've ever had that happen.

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Great update!

 

I actually found it to be the opposite with the three towers. I found the taller one didn't have much air, but the two smaller ones had crazy airtime at the top, probably the strongest of any S&S tower.

 

 

thanks.

 

I think it had more to do with being stapled in on the big tower, so any air I did get was right up against the hard restraint..and it was "launch" ejector air, so it hurt . . a lot.

 

the two smaller towers, I made sure the restraint was high up, so while I did get air, it wasn't painful at all, and I enjoyed them more.

 

 

and yeah. . the SLOOOOOOW loop on SDL first thing in the morning was pretty freaking amazing. I was back row, so it really slowly went around the inversion

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it took me reading this whole hersheypark and looking at all the pictures to remember where the second place i ate that day was. nathan's in the waterpark area. LOL i need an all day body cam with audio to remember half the stuff i did that you're writing about each day, bert.

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it took me reading this whole hersheypark and looking at all the pictures to remember where the second place i ate that day was. nathan's in the waterpark area. LOL i need an all day body cam with audio to remember half the stuff i did that you're writing about each day, bert.

 

Usually, I can look at my pics, and I remember, John.

I have a really good memory, so the trigger of the pics reminds me what order I did things in (tho I am leaving out stuff. . stories that either aren't mine really to tell, or private things that aren't for non-tour members to know about. . ya know?)

 

I think because I was calling home (of course, right when the band showed up!) that's why I had no pics of the meal at the food court.

once James reminded me where we ate tho, I recalled the whole thing with trying to order from that guy. . . LOL

 

but bodycam? hmmm. . maybe for my next trip that's a thought

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Sounds like you made it a good day anyway. Hershey's great about that, a lot to do and see that aren't rides.

 

And that shake...WAY too much sugar for me. Glad you enjoyed it though!

 

oh, it was a GREAT day -- hopefully it's not coming across that it wasn't.

 

even with mobility issues acting up, I still was able to get on every ride (at least once) that i wanted to, plus a whole lot of other stuff. and the shake really was too much sugar - but I'm still glad I got it.

 

I still haven't eaten the Hershey mini bar that they gave me after Chocolate World. . LOL. . I *really* need to finish unpacking

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I still haven't eaten the Hershey mini bar that they gave me after Chocolate World. . LOL. . I *really* need to finish unpacking

 

i don't think i got down the stairs and that candy bar was gone.

 

I emptied my bag over the weekend. . and it was a melted little blob. (of course I ate it anyways)

 

 

working on part II of HersheyPark, by the way. Hope to have it up at some point tomorrow. .then finishing out w/ 3 days at Cedar Point!

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Day 9: Hershey Park – Part 2

 

I’d never been to Zoo America, so was surprised at not just the amount of animals they had in such a small space, but how many buildings and exhibits they had crammed in too. There was a “suggested” walking path, to follow along to see the animals, and so we followed the arrows and started along the path – which had multiple steps in some places, and steep ramps in others.

 

We saw Birds, Bees (they had a sign pointing out a large beehive on the Hawk’s enclosure), Owls, Snakes, Otters, Elk, Prairie Dogs, Vampire Bats, Mountain Lions and all kinds of small to medium sized animals. I think the biggest they have size wise is a Brown Bear.. so nothing “big” as in Horse, Elephant, or Buffalo sized. Still, it is a fantastic assortment of animals and reptiles, and if you’re at Hershey Park, I really do recommend stopping in for a visit to ZooAmerica.

 

They also have a “comedy/juggling” group, that entertains the guests while providing information about conservation and the animals (the shtick seems to be that they are safety counselors informing the new group of arrivals about ZooAmerica). Silly, but we watched a little of it, and they did have some skill – tho I’m still not quite sure how juggling while jumping rope (while riding a unicycle) has to do with the plotline of the show. . LOL.

 

it was during our walking at Zoo America that I really started to have some issues with my Right Leg beyond just the limp – it was starting to “spasm” up close to my thigh, to the point that I noted Jon actually walking behind me watching so if my leg gave out he could catch me before I fell.

 

I was stopping to sit a lot, but I realized I was also starting to have real issues while bending my knee – as in, I couldn’t really bend my right leg.

 

I wasn’t about to take another pain pill so soon after the prior one (they are way stronger than over the counter, so I try to be careful with them), so suggested that since we were near it, let’s take a spin on the kissing tower. I could sit, it’s a fairly long cycle, and we could get some great views and pictures of the park.

 

So we lined up and did that (but not before passing Hershey Kiss out posing for pictures, so of course I stopped).

 

No one wanted to ride the sports cars right next to Kissing Tower – I wanted Phil to drive us again, LOL. . but it worked out ok, since it would have been an issue getting in and out of them for me I think. besides, I had ridden them on my prior visit with my Spouse.

 

So we decided to head towards the front of the park, and let’s do a little shopping and check out Chocolate World.

We hit a few stores along the way - and I did spot a couple of shirts I wanted, tho they didn’t have them in the sizes I wanted at this particular store, so I kept looking as we made our way towards the main gate.

 

the guys decided that they were hungry and wanted to use the 2nd food voucher, as we passed the Pizza place in main entrance area, but I wasn’t hungry. But I did really start to think I needed a cane, or something to help me with balance. So while they ate, I went into several stores looking for anything they sold that might work - either an actual cane, or even an Umbrella. Nope, nothing that would work. They DID have umbrellas, but they were the shorter ones, that wouldn’t be long enough for me to use. . . but I did stumble upon a store selling both Marvel and DC things

(not sure how that worked. . Disney owns Marvel, and the DC stuff is licensed to Six Flags – but there was Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, Superman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Avengers merch for sale at HersheyPark).

 

I had no luck, not even after asking in Guest Services. .they weren’t aware of anything that they sell in the park that might be of use . . so I went back to the table, told the guys no luck, but that I still wanted to go to Chocolate World – we would just have to move slow.

 

I carefully hobbled my way up the path, and to Chocolate World, although I had to sit on a bench inside the front doors the moment we got inside. Didn’t want to impact their fun worrying about me, so I rested for a bit on the bench and told them to go ahead and roam, I’d catch up.

 

It was while sitting here that I really thought about/regretted not having gone back to the Hotel for the mid day break.

To be fair, my leg had not been bothering me (much at all) at the time the bus left back to the hotel. .but if I had gone back, it would have started to seize up while I was already back there.

 

But I also realized that if I had gone back to the Hotel, I would have not come back to the park later that night – meaning I would have missed seeing ZooAmerica, and the other stuff we had done since the bus had gone.

 

So I sucked it up, and. and after resting for a bit got up and headed into Chocolate World proper.

 

I didn’t know where in the place the guys had ended up, but after resting, I was determined to go do the Dark Ride. The queue for that is very large, but it wasn’t super crowded, and kept moving (which made it a little difficult). The queue did have some steps. . which were a problem if one can’t really bend one’s leg, but if I went one at a time, and didn’t rush, was able to manage. Luckily, I got placed in a car with one other lady, and we each got our own row – so was able to sit kind of diagonal, without having to bend.

 

I don’t remember too much of the old ride, but this updated one was quite the hoot, and I smiled like an idiot thruout the whole ride. (and had that song stuck in my head for a while after). For some reason I didn’t take any pictures of it. . not sure why not, I just didn’t. but it was a nice, long, ride, and I learned all about how Hershey makes their chocolate. After getting off the ride, I really didn’t want to go browse the gigantic store. So instead headed back to the bench I had staked out earlier, and remembered I had Phil’s FB IM information, so pinged him to see where they were, if still in Chocolate World. . .the guys came and found me and we headed back into Hershey Park proper, after a quick restroom break – luckily I chose a stall that had handrails! Otherwise I’m not sure I could have stood back up, and would have had to text someone to come rescue me . . heh.

 

Speaking of toilets -- one funny thing is that Hershey Park pumps “cocoa” smells into their restrooms. It is kind of odd to go in there, and it smells so sweet. I only mention this because *someone* I was hanging around with was so proud of themselves during this day - that they had made a poop so stinky it overwhelmed the cocoa smell. # lifegoals LOL

 

Anyways. . . we slowly made our way back to the park, and I realized, and told the guys – there is simply no way I’m gonna be able to ride anything more tonight, I need to stay off my feet. They really didn’t want to leave me, but there was still at least a good 2 ½ hours until the ERT, and Hershey Park has a wonderful ring of benches around the main Carousel, so I insisted I’ll be perfectly happy sitting here and watching the carousel and listening to the music.

 

So they took off into the park to get some re-rides on things, and I enjoyed the atmosphere (people watching, chatting with folks sitting next to me, watching the Carousel spin, and enjoying the music).

 

I considered getting a ride on the Carousel, but resting seemed to be a better idea. So I sat. I really would have loved to get another ride or two on Fahrenheit, Storm Runner, and Laff Track – but there was just no way that was gonna happen, so I consoled myself with the fact that I had gotten on them at least once this visit, so I could be happy about that.

 

at points during the time I was on the bench, Characters would come out for picture opportunities. The first was Milk Duds, and his “handler” asked me if I wanted to pose for a picture, and I told her I was resting my leg and really couldn’t get up – so she told him and he came running over to me on the bench to pose for a picture with me.

 

Then a while later, Kit Kat came out and bee-lined right to where I was sitting to take a picture with me. It was super nice they came over to me, but I’m sure it was the same person in the costume and they just remembered I couldn’t really get up.

 

I’m not complaining at all. . just explaining. I really did NOT mind sitting watching the Carousel, and it was doing me wonders to be keeping off my leg, and being able to sit with my leg outstretched - not bent - allowed me to rest it.

 

I was determined that although I wasn’t going to ride, I wanted to be there for ERT cheering on the group. Some of the guys had come back by to check to see how I was doing, and I said hello to several from the TPR group as they walked by, so it’s not like I was there alone, and had tons of folks to interact with. so while not "ideal". . I was OK.

 

It was a bit after 9 (so under an hour till ERT), and I hadn’t used my 2nd food voucher yet. So although I wasn’t hungry, I went to the pizza place near the front and got some garlic sticks and a slice and forced myself to eat, hit a couple of stores to find/buy the shirts I wanted, and then back to the benches by the Carousel.

 

Someone had taken my bench, so I moved to one closer, and sat and enjoyed the atmosphere for another 30 minutes or so, before starting to head down to the Hollow Section, which is where we were supposed to meet at a restaurant, so we weren’t forced to leave the park when they officially closed at 10.

 

It was mostly downhill, so was able to make it without too much issue, but by the time I made it to the tables I realized I had overdone it by doing that much walking non-stop. Things started to feel “wonky” and since I couldn’t really sit at the tables, so I leaned on them and focused on my breathing.. it was noticeable to the point that Robb asked me if I were meditating.

 

I flat out told him (in private) that I was trying not to pass out from the pain I was having in my leg. I wasn’t going to be able to do the Skyrush ERT, and that as slowly as I was moving? I really needed a head start to get back to the bus (since the group walks fast after ERT, to exit the park). I felt terrible, but Robb said he understood, and told me that Franklin was already out at the bus from when it had returned, and if I wanted to just head that way, he’d be there.

 

So when park officials gave Robb the OK for Skyrush ERT, I started towards the front gate, moving *very* slowly. . stopping every 20 feet or so to lean on a handrail or to stop at a lightpost.

 

It was incredibly strange to be walking thru a totally deserted park, hearing occasional ‘whoop!’ s coming from the Skyrush area. . and also occasionally being passed by golf carts with employees that would wave to me, or say hello. (not that I expected anyone to offer me a ride, but it was weird that a limping guy alone, in the park after hours, carrying a shopping bag.. didn’t give them pause to stop and ask me what was up with that?). LOL

 

it was good that I headed to the bus when I did, as it took me a good 25-30 minutes to get from the Hollow to the front gates – which were closed, but Security kindly let me out when I knocked on the office doors, and explained that the rest of the group was doing an event on Skyrush, but I had left early.

 

once thru the gates, it was another 10 minutes or so to make it up the entrance plaza ramps to where Franklin was chilling in his chair outside of the bus. He saw me slowly limping along, and asked what I had done. . to which I think I just said I had hurt my leg from riding Skyrush.

 

(SPOILER: what I had actually done, and hadn’t realized -- was (I think from) the “stapled” restraints followed by the hard restraint on the drop tower I had hit just right on top of the prior brusing? - I had managed a deep-level quadriceps bruise (which turned out to be level 2 quads injury (of possible 3 levels)). . so . I was moving, tho not great, or very fast for that matter, but I really should have been staying off it completely). I just didn't realize i had caused that much of an injury, and besides, I was on vaction. . . so kept going.

 

Franklin opened up the bus for me, and I hobbled up the bus, found a seat, and promptly conked out. Until the group showed up about 20 minutes later. We headed back to the hotel, I took a hot shower, focusing the hot water on my leg, and then popped another Prescription Ibuprofen, and went to bed – hoping I’d be in better shape in the morning. (and I actually was. . at least better than I had been at the end of the day the night before).

 

Tomorrow? Up and out at 9am, and then the drive to Cedar Point for 3 days!

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duckbill something at the ZooAmerica

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not at Kennywood. . but. . . TUUUUURRRRRRRRRRTTTTLLLLEEEEEE

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ssssssssssssssssssss

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Who's on 1st?

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Roadrunner (s) !

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beautiful hawk

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awwwww. . totally adorbs while sleeping.

 

Likely would try to bite my face off if it were awake tho

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Horny Elk

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Horny bert

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*****NIGHTMARE fuel*****

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Hey, what can I say? we follow directions well :)

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can get some great views from the Kissing Tower, even tho it was still a bit overcast

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where I planted my butt to sit for a couple of hours.

 

Nice view, great atmosphere. . tho I wish I could have gotten a few more rides in (even on this), still no real complaints. I enjoyed myself. (and was covered if it started to rain, which it did not)

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looking back the other direction. Kiddos were enjoying the heck out of those rockets

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some time had passed, still enjoying the atmosphere.

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hey hey.. .it's Milk Dud.

 

I actually had tried to stand up earlier and couldn't really, so instead sat, and he came to me.

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followed a while later by KitKat. . who came right over to me.

 

Look how stupidly happy I am. . yeah. . LOL

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after eating something, I moved to a bench closer, and it got darker.

 

Still beautiful to look at.

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Hershey was selling "glow" stuff too. . . wouldn't this have been fun to drag on Phoenix the night before? and it blows bubbles from the top hole.

 

LOL. . yeah. . .

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ok.. slowly making my way towards the front gates / bus. . . deserted all around me, but stuff still lit up, so took some pics

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TPR enjoying ERT on Skyrush

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yeah..not moving quickly. . but making my way towards the gates.

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the Tie Dye I bought my Hubby

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the Tie Dye I bought for me

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and the lenticular magnet I bought.

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Bert, Bert, Bert...your poor body! I'm glad you got a lot of enjoyment out of your day at Hershey, though.

Still, it all seems to have started with that arm 'injury' you had to endure last year, after our first ride on Dragster at CP.

 

Face it, you're falling apart LOL! Too early for your age! Hope the CP visit (3 days!) went well for you.

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Great report! I love the shots from atop the Kissing Tower. Hersheypark really is a beautiful mess of coaster track from above.

 

That quad injury sounds painful. Someone I play ultimate frisbee with got a nasty quad injury last year and I remember him being out for a good chunk of the season.

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Great report! I love the shots from atop the Kissing Tower. Hersheypark really is a beautiful mess of coaster track from above.

 

That quad injury sounds painful. Someone I play ultimate frisbee with got a nasty quad injury last year and I remember him being out for a good chunk of the season.

 

I'm back to almost 100%, but it took ~6 weeks to get back there!

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So sorry to hear about your injury!! I know how much something like that can affect your day at a park. When we landed in Manchester, UK, for the second leg of our honeymoon, my right foot progressively hurt more and more throughout the day, to the point where the next morning, I could barely put any weight on it. The timing couldn't have been worse, as that day and the next were designated for Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Alton Towers, two parks I had have been wanting to visit for twenty years. I was determined to not let my foot impact our experience, and for the most part it wasn't too bad at Blackpool, but the sheer size of Alton Towers forced me to take many more breaks than I had hoped for, and it ended up affecting how much I could experience (I had to let Rikki experience the gardens on her own, for example, and relied on her photos). I thought I severely bruised my foot, but it turned out to be gout - yet another wake-up call for my diet.

 

Glad to hear that you were in good spirits, though! Hershey and Chocolate World certainly help in that regard.

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duckbill something at the ZooAmerica

This is a Roseate Spoonbill.

 

 

heh. . thanks. it was odd, but pretty, regardless

I was really, really impressed with the amount of different animals they had on hand - for being a Zoo attached to an Amusement Park.

 

 

 

Nothing super scary tho. . not even the adorable Vampire Bats. . . certainly nothing as frightening as this. THIS is *nightmare fuel*

 

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Nick's response when I texted it to him during the trip, was "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

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Bert, Bert, Bert...your poor body! I'm glad you got a lot of enjoyment out of your day at Hershey, though.

Still, it all seems to have started with that arm 'injury' you had to endure last year, after our first ride on Dragster at CP.

 

Face it, you're falling apart LOL! Too early for your age! Hope the CP visit (3 days!) went well for you.

 

But it’s not age. . LOL.

 

You forget, I already *had* a shoulder injury. . Dragster just made it worse during our trip. .but I had already started the trip with a shoulder injury.

 

and CP went very well, as I respected my limits – tho Elissa did tease me that I couldn’t have been that injured, since I was going to ride the mine train (it was closed when I tried, which was just as well, as I likely could not have bent my knee to have gotten into the seats. . tho I did manage ok on Blue Streak).

 

 

 

Man, that's a rough injury. Cool for the characters to come make your day. Hershey is really awesome about stuff like that.

 

And yeah, for me it's been a year and I still have that song suck in my head too. "Taste the love all over the world!"

 

Yeah, the characters were out and about all day. . such weirdo characters.

 

But as noted (several times), I LOVE crap like that. . . just look at that grin with KitKat.

 

So yeah, listening to – and watching – the Carousel was plenty enjoyable (and remember, I DID get to ride everything I wanted, even if just once for most of them)..but the characters coming over was a wonderful little bonus.

 

. .and thanks. . now I have the song in my head again.

 

 

 

So sorry to hear about your injury!! I know how much something like that can affect your day at a park. When we landed in Manchester, UK, for the second leg of our honeymoon, my right foot progressively hurt more and more throughout the day, to the point where the next morning, I could barely put any weight on it. The timing couldn't have been worse, as that day and the next were designated for Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Alton Towers, two parks I had have been wanting to visit for twenty years. I was determined to not let my foot impact our experience, and for the most part it wasn't too bad at Blackpool, but the sheer size of Alton Towers forced me to take many more breaks than I had hoped for, and it ended up affecting how much I could experience (I had to let Rikki experience the gardens on her own, for example, and relied on her photos). I thought I severely bruised my foot, but it turned out to be gout - yet another wake-up call for my diet.

 

Glad to hear that you were in good spirits, though! Hershey and Chocolate World certainly help in that regard.

 

Yeah, and I was in the same boat as you. . .I was determined not to let it ruin my good time on Vacation, so kept walking on it.

 

But other than sitting out on Skyrush ERT (and then the next night at CP), it didn’t affect me too much – and not until just before the last park – which I had JUST been to last year.

So yeah, it was pretty easy to keep my spirits up, since I knew if I missed something at CP, it was going to be something I had gotten last year. And that’s exactly what I was able to do! (and get on the few things I was missing from that trip).

 

Glad to hear it didn’t really affect you that much too, and you got to enjoy Blackpool and Alton Towers!

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I love all the pictures bert. Thanks for putting up with me. And I'm sorry about the face I make in all the pictures. I swear I was having fun!

 

Don't be silly!

 

I very much enjoyed rooming w/ ya.. . (hopefully your scratch off lucky streak continued?). hell, if anything, you put up with me. . tho I THINK I'm easy to get along with.

 

as to the face you're making in the pictures. . LOL. . aren't you smiling in the vast majority of them?

 

well.. ok.. I THINK this is a smile:

 

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But it’s not age. . LOL.

 

You forget, I already *had* a shoulder injury. . Dragster just made it worse during our trip. .but I had already started the trip with a shoulder injury.

 

and CP went very well, as I respected my limits – tho Elissa did tease me that I couldn’t have been that injured, since I was going to ride the mine train (it was closed when I tried, which was just as well, as I likely could not have bent my knee to have gotten into the seats. . tho I did manage ok on Blue Streak).

 

I did forget you already had the shoulder injury. I'll explain my forgetfulness as an "age thing." Glad you were still able to enjoy yourself, there.

 

And how was that ride on Blue Streak? Compared to the thrashing we got (and everybody else on it I remember) on it last year?

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