XGatorHead 8904

From http://www.theindychannel.com/news/18266492/detail.html: From http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=9509502: So one person is responsible for designing all of Universal Studios, Epcot and all the Six Flags parks??? I'd really love to meet this genius!!! And here I've been thinking all these years that hundreds, possibly thousands of people contributed to the creation of these places. And to think it took Allison Clark and Amanda Royalty from this little family fun center to show me the truth. What ignorant comments made by these two, to discredit the work of all the creative minds behind these places. I know Universal, Epcot and Six Flags; Universal, Epcot and Six Flags are friends of mine. Xscape, you're no Universal, Epcot or Six Flags.

^^Yeah, if it's a 5:00 open, I don't plan on getting there until 4 something.

I've already requested April 17th off work. That way, if it's a full operating day (which I doubt would happen, but it would be GREAT!) I can go all day. If it's just the evening (most likely) I can get there early with the rest of you instead of having to wait until 5:00 to get off work, drive up 71 3 exits and then fight the crowds!

I'm sitting here with a picture of Big One at my desk... It's the December picture of my roller coasters calendar! Looks fun. But yeah, I wouldn't say it's been "dismantled". Dismantled is what was done to X-Flight and Dominator to move them. Big difference.

NU worth a three hour drive for a 3 and 5 year old? Definitely! Of course, this is coming from someone who took a three hour drive to take their three year old to Holiday World this past summer. If your kids are anything like my daughter, take the trip!

^I just watched last week's (the penultimate) epsiode last night. In it, they sued the networks for not making shows for people over 50. I just had to laugh when John Larroquette's character, during a rant to the judge about shows not even having stars in their 50's, said something to the effect of "There's only one show that even dares to have it's stars over 50, and that's Bos... well, I can't even mention it because that would be called breaking the wall." I loved it. A lot of that episode felt like a rant against ABC for bringing the show to an end, even the last scene with Denny and Alan on the balcony. Denny said them going to the Supreme Court will be a great finale if only they would promote them, Alan said that it seems to be against the law to promote them. I have yet to watch the finale, I'll probably get around to it next week. I'll miss that show and it's humor. Denny Crane.

And the younger demographics that are not tall enough to tackle the white knuckle rides yet!

And the way to do that is through the magic of dvds! 2009's a new year. We'll see what they have in store then... There ought to be shows There really ought to be shows And soon it's next year....

OK, I read the press release 3 times, but I didn't see in there anywhere who or what organization named it the "Best Private Waterpark in the US". Was it Six Flags' corporate office? Now I've never been there, it might be a great place. But I hear of other waterparks in Texas and Indiana that have ranked higher than this one, and I know the source of those rankings!

So CBS did Winterfest at KI in 2005 before an eventual sale to Cedar Fair. And Busch announces Christmas Town before a probable sale to (fill in the blank) ??? So this is how parks get sold these days. Turn that rock music down and listen up HRP!

Nice article, but proofreading should have been required. Direct quote from above article: And my folks used to about going to Coney Island to Shooting Star. Now if only KI would get it's organ back!

Um, wow. As much as I would love to see this, heed the warnings of those that came before, as Terpy so kindly listed. My grandpa lives in Randolph County, the county just to the west of Perry. This area is very rural and the economy there is hurting. This park, if successful, would do wonders for the area. Area lodging would see an increase, and more would actually have to be built. We've actually had to move our family reunion from August to June, because the lodging is next to impossible to get because of a huge tournament at the new World Shooting and Recreational Complex, which itself has done a great deal to bring people to the area. I for one (or three counting the rest of my immediate family) would go yearly, but it would take a great deal more than us to keep it open. And as evidenced by HRP especially, this is not a good time to open a new park. Much less with another park a little over two hours away in St. Louis. Good luck Music City, Illinois!

Truth? I can't handle the truth!

Nice picture HoundDog. But if Mickey's seen that picture, you may have a big mouse hunting you down for stealing his girl if you show your face there!

^Exactly. The only one that I can think of that someone could fall into is the huge one near HVAC. Although I do remember hearing about someone climbing into one before to get something they accidentally threw in. But that kind of stupidity knows no age limit.

I don't know if the law's changed since 1989, but I operated the trash compactor behind Bakery that year when I was 16. Of course, that was 19 ( !) years ago. Great, now I just feel old...

See: http://www.rcdb.com/id3462.htm It was moved to Kongeparken in Norway. Before Wild West World had it, it was at Myrtle Beach Grand Prix in South Carolina from 1999-2006.

Remember, Search is your friend. Already being discussed here: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?...t=0&start=0

Thanks for the great TR Jackson! I'm glad you chose not to do the scavenger hunt like so many people suggested you not do. There's so much to do at Dollywood without worrying about that. But how could you miss the train??? After reading your other topic on the trip last week, I hinted to my wife that it would be nice to go down there for Christmas time, and she agreed. Now the problem is finding a good weekend in December (there's only two weekends we don't have something already), and deciding if we want to chance the possibility of snow. They've added so much since we were last there in '01 or '02, but going this time of year we probably wouldn't get some of the rides. Maybe we'll wait for summer. Thanks for the idea!

Another great TR, thanks for sharing with us! It was good meeting you, as well as all the other KICentralers, that day. And hopefully next year Miss Rae can finally get that Delirium ride she wanted! This made me look forward to the day that GatorGirl finally rides The Beast. And you can bet that's one picture I'll be buying too. I currently have the picture of her 1st LBGC ride on my desk at work, and I can't wait to add to the collection. She's already let me know she can't wait to ride the big rides. 10 more inches to grow before she's on The Beast... We are so lucky to have a place like KI close by where we can enjoy this time with our young ones. I've learned that going with your child lets you see things in a whole new way, and it's like experiencing things for the first time all over again. Here's to more fun and memories in 2009!

Sub-par shows? Compared to what the park had under the last few years of Viacom/CBS? It could have been a lot worse, we could have gotten the dvd treatment like the chain that numbers it's flags. We thoroughly enjoyed the shows this year (with one exception in my case - I never got the chance to give that show a second try though). They were the best the park has seen in a long time.

FoF They're planning to build that Little Mermaid ride as we speak, though not in Disneyland. It's part of their billion-dollar makeover for California's Adventure. I had read a rumor of it possibly going into AK as well, but haven't seen confirmation of that yet.

^Thanks! Luff, I'd like to know more too. I see the Disney Cruise commercials on the dvd's and have wondered about them. I only know two people (Paul and Aaron mentioned in Day 1 of this TR) who have taken a Disney cruise a few years ago and they had a good time. HoundDog, Bay Lake Tower seems to be coming along nicely. We didn't get any pics of it, but going by on the monorail and on the boat we got a good view of it. I think vertical construction is done, as I had read somewhere a while ago that they were already constructing the fireworks viewing area on the roof. They also had the bridge connecting the Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower in place. More on Bay Lake Tower: http://allears.net/acc/faq_baylaketower.htm

Day 6: Thursday, September 18th – Unplanned Bonus Day We were supposed to leave to go to Daytona Beach this day, but Mrs. Gator was extremely sick throughout the night, with the same problem that GatorGirl had on night 1 (and then some), and, without going into too much detail about her maladies, there was no way she would have been able to make the trip without having to stop at a rest area every five minutes. So we made the decision to stay another day at Pop Century. I called the front desk, and we were able to extend our stay but at the regular, non-discounted price. This left us with a problem. How to occupy a 3 year old while her Mom is sick. There was no way that we were going to stay in the room with her (even though I felt bad for leaving), and I wasn’t sure how GatorGirl would feel about swimming all day (she probably would have loved it though). So I had to get a little creative and plan a day on the fly. There were a few things that I had in mind to do at some point if we ever found ourselves with some spare time, so I figured we would do them then. GatorGirl and I left Mrs. Gator, with the stipulation that she would call me if she needed anything, and went to Downtown Disney. Our first stop was World of Disney. This is the largest Disney store anywhere, and we had fun playing with all the toys and trying on the hats. She looks a little goofy in this one. She doesn’t make a very convincing pirate. Two princesses Pretty in Pink Next we went to the Lego Imagination Center. There was a big area outside the store with these tables with bins of Legos in them. We played with Legos for about 2½ hours, making different buildings and cars. They had these giant Lego sculptures outside the shop, including a Transformer, a tourist family, dinosaurs, a shark and fish, and this dragon. We had lunch at Rainforest Café. GatorGirl loved the elephants, gorillas and the rain. She had chicken nuggets with a whole banana and I had a pretty good grilled chicken sandwich. Afterwards we played for quite a while in their gift shop with all of their toys. After quick stops at Mickey’s Mart, Goofy’s Candy Company, Pooh Corner… …and Disney’s Pin Traders… ...we rode the little carousel they had there, then stopped by Once Upon a Toy. There was a large table with a bunch of Mr. Potato Head accessories to play with. We made different Potato Head combinations for quite a while. We liked doing Malificent’s hat with Cinderella’s slippers, Darth Vader’s helmet with Ariel’s tail, etc. Our next stop was Ghirardelli’s for some ice cream. I had the Warm Caramel Sundae and she had a scoop of vanilla with sprinkles (even though she asked for no sprinkles). It was good, but I’m not used to paying $7.95 for a sundae and $3.95 for a single scoop. Graeter’s isn’t even that much! We had spoken to Mrs. Gator on the phone a couple of times, but it was time to go check in on her. While we had been at Downtown Disney, she experienced… MAGIC MOMENT #5.1: Mrs. Gator lay in bed all day, drifting in and out of sleep and watching TV in between. When Mousekeeping came to clean the room, they could tell right a way she was not feeling well. The Mousekeeper, Stacy, was very kind. She prepared Mrs. Gator an icepack, a cool wet washcloth, and made sure that she had everything in reach that she would need. Stacy was new to Disney (had only been there a little over a week if I remember correctly), and she had worked at a health clinic before that. She went out of her way to make Mrs. Gator feel as comfortable as she could be. When we arrived, Mrs. Gator was feeling better than when we had left her. I had an idea on how GatorGirl and I could spend our evening, but I had to make a phone call to verify times. And I found out that we had just enough time to drive over to Ft. Wilderness Campground for Chip & Dale’s Campfire Sing-Along. GatorGirl and I arrive at the campground and take the bus to the stop closest to the campfire area. If you’ve never been to Ft. Wilderness, their bus system can be a little confusing, but I had read enough on it ahead of time to have a general idea of how it works. The site has wooden benches, bleachers, a little stage, a big movie screen, two campfires and a booth where you can purchase food and drinks. We go to the booth and get a large bag of marshmallows, a smores kit which consisted of a Hershey bar and a small box of graham crackers, some drinks, and sticks for roasting. GatorGirl had never roasted marshmallows before, but she did it like a pro. She liked the roasting, but didn’t want to eat the marshmallows or the smores. She did, however, insist on eating a majority of the Hershey bar! A cowboy comes out on the stage with a guitar and starts singing campfire songs for us all to sing along with. He’s soon joined onstage by Chip and Dale, who eventually make their way around the crowd to greet everyone. The cowboy sings Hokey Pokey and the Chicken Dance, so GatorGirl just has to join the crowd and dance! After these two songs, we head back to our bench and are soon visited by Chip. Trivia: the way to tell Chip and Dale apart are their noses. Chip has a black nose (like a chocolate “chip”) and Dale has a red nose. Their teeth are also different, but the nose thing is easier to remember. After Chip and Dale have greeted everyone, and the cowboy is done with his set, it’s time for the movie. The movie that night: The Little Mermaid. They show different ones each night, and we got lucky that it was one of GatorGirl’s favorites. It was great watching the movie under the stars, with GatorGirl leaning against me as she watched. We could see some of the fireworks from Wishes, and some of the flashes from either Illuminations or Fantasmic in the other direction. It was some great daddy/daughter time, I’m glad we got the chance to do this. A little after Ursula gives Ariel her legs, GatorGirl wants to go because she’s tired. We walk to the nearest bus stop that will take us back to our car. We have to wait about 40 minutes until the right bus comes, but it was fun watching the moon rise through the trees, and we could hear the music from the Electrical Water Pageant as it went by on Seven Seas Lagoon. During our time at Ft. Wilderness, Mrs. Gator managed to sit out by the pool for a little bit to get some fresh air. GatorGirl is asleep by the time we get back to Pop Century. I manage to get her changed into her nightgown, and I go out to the food court to get something I had wanted to try all week. The Tie Dye Cheesecake. For the record, it wasn’t all that good. Day 7: Friday, September 19th – Goodbye World! Mrs. Gator is feeling much better, so we’re able to make the trip to Daytona Beach. When we open our door: MAGIC MOMENT #5.2: Taped to our door is an envelope with Mrs. Gator’s name on it. I hand it to her, and when she opens it, it’s a Get Well card from Stacy, our Mousekeeper from the previous day. This just blows us away. We never in a million years would have expected this. She was so kind to Mrs. Gator and this just topped it all off. When we checked out, we made sure to compliment Stacy on a job well done. The person at the desk wrote everything down, hopefully it was passed on that Stacy went above and beyond the call of duty! Before we leave, we take a quick trip around Pop to take some pictures. We like this resort the best out of the three we’ve stayed at (All Star Music and All Star Movies being the other two). 50’s Bowling Pin Pool 50’s Building 50’s Staircase Lady (note GatorGirl in the stroller on the right for scale)… …and the Tramp 60’s Hippy Dippy Pool Mowgli and Baloo (and there’s GatorGirl again) The Generation Gap Bridge, which goes across Hourglass Lake. On the other side of the bridge is an abandoned resort project, Pop Century: The Legendary Years. This was supposed to cover the decades 1900’s – 1940’s. They got the main building and two of the guest room buildings up (see DeLorean Rider’s post above for an aerial photo). It looks kind of weird seeing abandoned buildings at the World. The guest room building that we could see from the bridge looked run down, with deteriorated railings and peeling paint. I have a theory that come the 2050’s, this resort will open covering the decades 2000’s – 2040’s. 70’s Building with Giant 8-Track Tape Mickey Phone and Giant Foosball Court (does she keep getting smaller?) Big Wheel The sticker below the handlebars says it can take a rider up to 877 lbs. 80’s Buildings We then left for Daytona Beach to visit Nana Gator (my mother-in-law). Not much to tell from this part of the trip. It was very windy, a little chilly because of that, the tide was high throughout most of the daytime, and there was lots of seaweed on the beach. It was probably the least enjoyable trip we’ve had to Daytona because of all these factors. On Sunday 9/21, we flew back to CVG from Orlando, with a two hour layover in Atlanta, and with that, we return to reality. FINAL RANDOM THOUGHTS: We had a great time. There’s plenty to do outside the parks that don’t cost an arm and a leg, such as touring the other resorts, playing at Downtown Disney, and the Ft. Wilderness campfire. Our days were full, and we were very satisfied with the level of service we received on this trip. In order to receive special little extras, such as our little magic moments, it helps to have a cute kid along with you! Looking at all the pictures of GatorGirl with the characters, its hard to imagine being so innocent that you think they’re real, that there is no thing as make believe, and that fantasy IS reality. We’ve now gone to WDW three years in a row. As much as we love the place, we’re talking about possibly taking a break from it next year. I’m torn about this. GatorGirl will only be little for so long, but there’s so much else that we want her to see. If Disney comes out with a discount that’s too good to pass up (and their current offer is mighty tempting, but we’re not sure how we would do 7 days in a row with GatorGirl as young as she is), then we might change our minds about that. Mrs. Gator’s family has a reunion in PA every summer. We’re talking about possibly starting our vacation with that and doing a “Parks of Pennsylvania” tour, consisting of some combination of Idlewild, Kennywood, Hersheypark, Sesame Place, Dorney Park, Knoebels, and Waldameer. We’ll have to see what each park has to offer for each member of the family. And as the time draws nearer, I’ll probably start a new topic to get the opinions of people on here that would have insight into these places, as we’ve never been to any of them. If you ever have any questions about visiting WDW, just ask and I’ll be more than happy to answer your questions, or at least point you towards some good resources! Thanks for reading this TR, and for all the nice comments you’ve left along the way. I hope you enjoyed it! THE END

Thanks DeLorean! I'm pretty sure that was our skipper in the video. Afterwards Mrs. Gator repeated these three gems over and over to make sure she remembered them. "Why didn't the kid go to the pirate movie? Because it was rated Arrrr." "Why did Aladdin go into The Haunted Mansion? He was looking for Abu." Yeah, say it out loud if you don't get it... he was looking for a boo. "What did Snow White sing when she went to get her photos developed? Someday My Prints Will Come." And it's funny that you mention The Legendary Years... I discuss that in the final installment! I have a theory on the future of that site, but we'll have to wait a few years to see if I'm right.