Kings Island

Well, I finally made my first trip ever to Kings Island. And I can't wait to get back. I wasn't able to ride everything that I wanted to, but what I did ride was a blast.

We were in Cincinatti (or more accurately, Fort Mitchell, KY) for my father-in-law's Vietnam War reunion. He was in the 196th Light Infantry brigade, and they have a re-union every two years. Rebecca, her sister (Heather), her brother (David) and Jack (Heather's son) went with us for the trip. We got to Cinci on Wednesday, and decided that Thursday was as good a day as any for Kings Island.

We got a bit of a late start for the park, so we didn't arrive until about noon. It was pretty overcast and threatening to rain almost all day. While walking from our car to the gate, Face-Off was just starting to run. It took Rebecca and myself 15-20 minutes to get through the Season Pass process, and it's still weird having a pass with no picture on it.

We took our time wandering back to beast, ducking through Nick Universe. I'd wanted to ride the Scooby Doo Haunted Mansion, but wanted to get to the coasters first. After a short stop at Chik-Fil-A (we didn't eat before getting there) we found our way back to the Beast. Now is when I should mention something. Jack is 11 months old. And since the [url="http://www.pki.com"]Kings Island[/url] website is fairly weak on Parent Swap details, we were all the way back to The Beast before finding out that we needed to go to guest services to get the Parent Swap stuff. So, we did the old-fashioned parent swap. David and I rode first and then the girls rode second. We switched up partners all day, so it worked ok, but definitely slowed us down.

The wait for The Beast was only about 10-15 minutes, and David and I rode towards the front of the train. I can only say one thing, what the hell was this like when it was new. Because if it was this awesome at almost 30, then it must have kicked serious ASS when it was new. This was the best ride of the day.

The second ride of the day was Italian Job: Stunt Track was our next endeavor. Rebecca and I rode first after about a 15-20 minute wait (this seemed to be the theme of the day). Another GREAT ride. The first launch is great and it just keeps doing. We also both loved the working doors on the trains, and the fire from the front seat is great.

While waiting for Heather and David, I determined we would do Vortex next. Just looking at an arrow looper that size was giving me shivers. I have always been a fan of Arrows, and until Cedar Point decided that improperly thought out seat-belts were a good idea on CorkScrew, it was one of my favorite rides in the park. So, needless to say, I was a bit disappointed to see buckles on the horse-collars of Vortex. I shouldn't have been worried. The belts were made more than long enough for even a larger rider such as myself to make it connect. I really hope Cedar Point makes the switch. Vortex provided a somewhat rough, but still fun ride.

Our next stop was back to Flight of Fear and SuperFireMan:Ultimate X Hawk Flight. Heather and I rode FoF first, and it was good. I must say though, that I enjoyed Rockin Rollercoaster better. FoF would have been much better if it was pitch black inside. Even Space Mountain was darker.

While Rebecca and David went to ride FoF, I went to ride FireHawk on my own. After waiting through a 15 minute break-down that hit at about the 30 minute mark, I managed to cut way ahead in the line but answering the call for a single rider. Running to the station to make it before they locked it down, I was going to be in the back row. Now that I have ridden it, I will never get on another Vekoma flyer. It really wasn't that good, and the harness left me with an uneasy feeling throughout the ride. Combine that with the fact that I couldn't look forward to see where we were going (although from watching it, I knew the whole ride) made it rather un-enjoyable.

Since this took me longer than expected, we were after 6 at this point, and since Dad was back at the hotel, and getting hungry (as were the others) I was only able to hit one more ride, but I still had Son of Beast, Top Gun, Face-off and the Racer. Well, I chose Top Gun, (did I mention I love arrows) and it was ok. It was fun, but it wasn't great, pretty much an Iron Dragon on steroids. I kept waiting for that second lift hill, but the whipping through the trees is what Dragon should be like.

Overall, I enjoyed the park, and I think next year, we are going to make plans to go again at least once, if not twice. And that will be without kids, so we should be able to hit much more multiple times.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Global Warming Caused by Time Change?

I found this on the Free Beer and HotWings Morning Show website. I have to say, that even though I have serious doubts about the seriousness (or the effect man can have) of global warming, this woman just plain missed the common sense bus when it showed up this morning.

Its about dang time

I found out on Re-Imagineering that the giant wand on SpaceShip Earth is finally coming down. No more gaudy accoutrement on one of the best symbols of Walt Disney World. And it is just in time for EPCOTs 25th anniversary.

Caps and Wizards

We went to the WhiteCaps game last night, and it was much better than the last one I went to (a 1-0 13 inning loss for the Caps).

This one went considerably faster, and with much more offense for the caps. They won 6-1 after a 5 run burst in a 3 homer 6th inning.

The caps led off with an out, which was par for the day. Then added a solo shot to left center, a single and then a pitching change. After the pitching change, the relievers first pitch was lined over the left center wall for another 2 runs. Then the next batter worked a count before lining a pitch over the right field wall. The pitcher proceeded to load the bases before being replaced. The Caps sac-fly'd a run in to cap the scoring.

It was a fun game to watch, especially from the second row behind home plate. I don't think we'll sit there again though, the netting was a little bit distracting, at least from that close.

Robots in Disguise

Last night I saw the (second) best movie of the year. And if it wasn't a sci-fi action movie, it would get the academy's vote too.
It beat out Pirates of the Caribbean, Fantastic Four, Crank and Spider-Man 3.

I am, of course, talking about Transformers. The movie had everything you could expect from a summer blockbuster and more. The thing I noticed most though, and its not something you get from every summer movie (especially first time movies) is the character development. And unlike some movies that spent maybe a little too long on development that wasn't necessary, Transformers got it done QUICK. But that doesn't mean they skimped either. They made well-rounded characters and made it so you understood where they were coming from.

The action goes non-stop from the beginning to the end, and I never ONCE was wondering what time it was or felt like it was dragging on.

Go see this movie, enjoy it and then come back to read the rest.


And now its time for
********SPOILERS********


DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE



Ok, you've stopped reading if you haven't seen Transformers yet, right? Ok.

Now, I mentioned character development right, and it his dead spot on for the Autobots. However, the Decepticon side leaves a little to be desired. Megatron doesn't make his entrance until just before the last battle, and there is very little interaction between him and the other Decepticons. However, this doesn't hurt the movie at all (except for the lack of Starscream v Megatron banter, that while absent didn't hurt). You know the Decepticons are bad, and there isn't much that needs to be developed. They hate man, they hate the Autobots and they would follow Megatron into the pits of hell. The focus of the movie was entirely on the Autobots defending man from the Decepticon invasion.

It is unfortunate that Jazz was killed. However, seeing that Hasbro is making 2 versions of him for the movie, one as a silver Solstice and one with the G1 paint treatment (as a Solstice), I wouldn't be surprised to see him back in the sequel.

Shia LeBouf continues to be a GREAT young actor and is great in the role of Spike, I mean Sam Witwicky. You can definitely feel the awkwardness that accompanies being a junior in high school.

The personalities of each Autobot show through really well, from Jazz's kick back attitude, to Ironhide's trigger-happiness, to Prime's commanding presence. Even Megatron's contempt for Autobots and humans is very noticeable when he is on screen. I'm not a huge fan of his alternate form, as he never adopts an Earth form. This could be due to him being frozen up until just before the final battle and so he never selected one.

I also liked the transformations. I had picked up Blackout and Scorponok last week, and when Blackout transformed at the beginning, the animation followed the directions pretty closely. So it was definitely more realistic than the cartoon in that respect. It takes a couple seconds longer, but it feels real.

Now, the voices. Peter Cullen shines as Optimus Prime. You can tell he's older, but it just adds that touch of "distinguished" to Prime. Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith) provided the voice of Megatron, but the mechanization of it did a good job of distinguishing it from Agent Smith.

The set-up for the next movie was all there. Starscream escaped and was shown leaving the planet in a "bonus" scene. The Autobots (minus Jazz) have stayed behind to protect man. As a closing monologue, Prime sends out a call to all Autobots that Earth is their new home. Since Cybertron was destroyed in the war for the all-spark, Autobots and Decepticons have been scattered across the universe. Starscream is no doubt going for reinforcements (its been hinted that Soundwave will be in the next one) and I'm sure they'll find a way to resurrect Megatron. I'm sure the Autobot cavalry will arrive just in time to help, hopefully in the form of Wheeljack and Hound. I'm also holding out some hope for Grimlock, Slag and Snarl to be in the next one.

Anyway, that's Transformers. And it smokes ANYTHING that's come out in a long time (with the exception of 300).

Free Agency has begun

Well, the 2007 NHL Free Agency season has started. It started yesterday at noon and it didn't take the Wings long to lose and recover. Mathieu Schneider was taken by Anaheim by 2pm. It was a tough loss, but the Wings weren't willing to pay him the 5.75 million he was asking for. So, unfortunately, we lost a top-4 blue-liner.

A little over an hour later, Bryan Rafalski decided to come to his hometown team. A little smaller, but a little smaller and a lot younger (33 to 38). He's on a 5 year contract worth 6 million a year.

I'm hoping the Wings can get their other guys signed (Hasek, Bertuzzi) and fill in some other holes (could use another D-man) and we should be good to go.