April First - a post in two parts

Happy April Fools Day! I have decided that I will indeed post every picture from our California trip, no matter how bad. ;-) (I also found some extra pictures that may be good candidates for a future post.) I'm going to end this post with some more Kennywood memories, so feel free to read what you want! 

Let's start out with this high-quality picture of the Timber Mountain Log Ride:Next is this slightly dark image of the Primeval World Diorama. If you squint, you may be able to make out the brontasauruses (seriously).

I have no clue how I skipped over this picture-perfect image on the Disneyland Railroad when I went through all my pictures the first time. But here it is in all its glory for you to enjoy:

While taking pictures of the Three Fences, I noticed a submarine on the prowl through the trees on the right, and I had to grab a picture. Compared to the other pictures, this one is only 95% bad!

Most of my Haunted Mansion pictures are feasts for the eyes. Take this example of Madame Leota:

I think I am the happiest person to ever get his picture taken with an Adventureland trash can.

I might just be the no. 1 Haunted Mansion photographer of all time.

Sometimes, you just want to get on Big Thunder Mountain so bad that you have to use your ninja skills to summon the train. Or something.

My dad took this picture because he was fascinated by this old tree, and it is pretty cool!

What did I take a picture of this pot of stew on the Columbia? Because it was rad.

My picture of Max, Buff, and Melvin in Winnie the Pooh didn't turn out too great, but at least I got the shot.

BLAM!

And to end, here's a picture that's not bad by itself, but since you may have seen a similar angle millions of times before, I'll just leave it here. The Mark Twain.

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Here are some more Kennywood memories to finish out this post because I didn't include everything in "part 1" two months ago, and I enjoy typing this stuff out!

The kiddie Ferris wheel is one ride that many people dread operating, but I didn't mind it on the couple of occasions I operated the ride. Even though you have to crouch to help kids buckle their seatbelts, the task of balancing the wheel keeps things interesting, and it's funny seeing kids whirl around in the cage-like cars.

For Kennywood's Halloween event, the park's midways are covered with a thick blanket of fog. This photo is looking across the lagoon for the Pittsburg Plunge with the Phantom's Revenge and SwingShot in the background.

In the summer, the lagoon is covered with fountains, and it's one of my favorite spots in the park. 

This picture shows a large reason why the Racer is my all-time favorite ride: I love the design of its station from 1927. They don't build coaster stations like this anymore!

My favorite spiel at this ride would be "When I say 'race,' you say 'er!'" So everyone would sound clueless saying "errrrrrr...." as the train dropped out of the station.

The ride in the foreground is the "Pittsburg Plunge," (old spelling of Pittsburgh), and it was one of the first rides I operated. Since it's a typical shoot-the-chute ride where you get drenched, the majority of riders were overly excited pre-teens, and there were a lot of shenanigans. Every time you told the riders to "exit to the right," they would without fail jump out to the left and look around like they were completely confused. 

At my orientation in early 2022, we had to sit through a three-hour-long PowerPoint presentation that relied heavily on 2000s-era clip art. One slide had a picture of a military tank representing no weapons, and the presenter told us, "Don't bring your tank to work." No one laughed. 

Here's a snow-covered Jack Rabbit, which is set in one of the park's ravines. Opened in 1920, the Jack Rabbit is the oldest ride operating at Kennywood. I hope you enjoyed this off-kilter post!

Universal Orlando

Day four of our April 2023 orchestra trip brought us to the Universal Orlando Resort and its two theme parks. We only had a half day to see everything, so though we missed several major attractions, I got to ride all my old favorites from our 2018 trip as well as some of the rides that have been added since then. By this point in the trip, many people were tired, but I was still full of energy of course.

Though you have to go through CityWalk to get to the Universal theme parks, they are still closer together than the WDW parks, with the Hogwarts Express serving as transportation between them.

We were all supposed to meet for a group photo in front of the Hard Rock Cafe before going into the park, but I told my sister that we weren't dealing with that, so we blew it off and went straight into the park. No regrets. :)

Though we didn't visit Universal Studios Hollywood when we visited California, I imagine that Universal Studios Florida's New York-themed area is similar to the real Hollywood backlot's New York set. This area has a Blues Brothers show, "Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon" (I have never ridden that), and the Revenge of the Mummy coaster. Thanks to something that I'll explain later, we were able to skip the Mummy line with a single-use Universal Express ticket. It's a short coaster, but the special effects--especially the fire-filled ceiling--make it one of the best attractions at the park.

One ride that I wouldn't miss for anything is E.T. Adventure (photo from 2018)! This suspended dark ride is the Peter's Pan Flight of Universal Studios Florida, and I'm glad they recognize its value and old-school charm. The rest of this area of the park is currently behind walls for reconstruction, but they're leaving E.T. alone. You have to walk down a long corridor lined with construction walls to get to the ride, but I was happy to see it was open. It's a really charming ride, and thanks to our "E.T. Adventure Passport," E.T. even knew all our names at the end. Amazing.

The Jaws attraction has been gone for a decade now, but I believe this part of the park's San Francisco section is a remnant of the old area. It borders Diagon Alley, which replaced Jaws. 

Diagon Alley, part of the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter," was the most crowded area of anywhere in the two parks, and its intimate scale is not conducive to crowds. We missed the Escape from Gringotts coaster, but we did see the dragon breathe fire. Everyone in the image is staring up at the dragon, eagerly anticipating the fire. 

People get really excited about this, stopping in the middle of the walkway with their phones in the air.

The Hollywood section of the park is reminiscent of the entrance to Hollywood Studios at WDW, but it features some unique architecture like Mel's Drive-In. I love all the facades in this area.

You can see the Mystery Machine parked on the left. I wish we could have stayed at the park after dark to see this area's neon lighting.

LA landmark Ciro's still lives on here in Florida. There's a Brown Derby too like at Hollywood Studios, but here it's a hat shop that's a reproduction of the restaurant's hat-shaped building.

The only two attractions we rode at Universal Studios Florida were Revenge of the Mummy and E.T. Adventure. We spent most of our time at the other park, Universal Islands of Adventure. The park recently introduced a new logo, but it wasn't on any signage yet.

While Universal Studios Florida falls a little short with regards to theming in its studio-themed "backlot" areas, Islands of Adventure excels in most areas. The Port of Entry is a unique take on the Main Street "corridor" entrance, bringing you to the park's large central lagoon.

The Incredible Hulk Coaster is probably the most intense coaster in Orlando in terms of positive g-forces. The entrance marquee features a great Hulk statue grabbing a train on some mangled track, which was actually removed from the ride when its track was completely replaced in 2015.

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man might still be the number one don't-miss attraction in the whole park. Even though it's now almost 25 years old, it is still one of the best dark rides I have ridden, and it does not feel dated in the slightest. The physical sets, screens, fire, and water combine with the motion of the vehicle to create a still-amazing experience.

The Marvel Superhero Island area that surrounds the Spider-Man attraction feels a little out of date with its comic book-inspired look, but Toon Lagoon is probably the area of the park in need of the most attention. I believe that Islands of Adventure was initially conceived with a theme largely based on cartoons, and Toon Lagoon was part of the park plan from the beginning. I don't want them to get rid of this area because it almost feels vintage at this point, but I don't think most guests are familiar with all the characters represented on the land's buildings.

I'm part of the generation who unfortunately was not exposed to all of these cartoons as a kid, so while I know some of them from the comics, other characters like Dudley Do-Right (whom the log flume is themed after) sadly don't resonate with me.

The ride that I was most looking forward to experiencing was Velocicoaster, the new roller coaster in the Jurassic Park area. It features two launches and a top speed of 70 mph with a 155-foot max height. Some people think that it is an eyesore on the park's lagoon, but others don't mind it. I guess it depends on whether you appreciate roller coasters or sightlines more.

This stretch of track is one of the best parts of the ride. You come straight down from the 155-foot drop and fly into this "Zero-G Stall" where the ride track hangs you upside down for a couple seconds. The whole ride is really a whirlwind, especially the high-speed finale, a barrel roll just feet above the lagoon's surface.

Using the single rider line (and the time saved by skipping the group photo), I was able to ride Velocicoaster twice in the short time we were at the park.

Islands of Adventure contains the original Harry Potter area that gave Universal its huge increase in popularity. The dark ride inside Hogwarts--Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey--sits right alongside Spider-Man as one of the best dark rides created in my opinion.

Another new attraction that I was looking forward to trying out was Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, a roller coaster with a long-winded name. It features seven launches and is fascinating to watch in operation. The trains combine in the station to form a continuous train of vehicles like an Omnimover ride system and then are spaced out following dispatch. The ride itself is a great family coaster with some fun surprises, but what impresses me most is the engineering required to keep all 11 trains running on the course at once.

We didn't ride the Hogwarts Express between the two parks, but this display in Hogsmeade provides a photo-op with a static engine.

One of my friends may have spent (wasted?) $35 on candy from the Honeydukes shop.

We missed Poseidon's Fury, which was a bummer since it closed permanently on May 9th, a month after our trip. However, I did get to see the show during our 2018 visit, and it was a cheesy special effects show that was saved by a few wow moments, mainly the stunning water vortex tunnel.

The final area of Islands Adventure is Suess Landing, home to the whimsical architecture and characters of Dr. Suess.

We wandered onto the Cat in the Hat ride, which had no line. It's a simple dark ride, but I still enjoy it! Near the end of the ride, our car came to an unexpected stop.

A few minutes later, the lights came on, and then an attendant came over the PA system to say that "Thing One and Thing Two have interrupted your journey" and that "cat helpers" would be around to assist us.

We got to walk off the ride and received a single-use Express ticket! I was very happy to be evacuated from a ride for the first time.

That's all for our April 2023 orchestra trip, but I hope you enjoyed this look at the Orlando theme parks. Three years after it was originally planned to happen, I'm glad that we had such a great trip and opportunities to ride so many recently-opened attractions. We flew back the same day as when we visited Universal and got home shortly before midnight. Then the very next day, we were back in the classroom for even more fun and excitement!

Good Old Kennywood

Today's post is a tad different from my regular "trip report" posts. Instead of reporting back from a park visit, I'm going to share some memories from my last two summers working at Kennywood. This was the park that started my love for amusement parks, and it still might be my favorite. Working there has made me appreciate theme park employees all the more, not to mention that it has long been a goal of mine to work at an amusement park.
Last summer, I was on the Racer crew, which also has to staff the paddleboats on the park's lagoon. On busy days, there is nothing better than being out there in the hot sun with all 14 boats out in the lake and a big line of people waving their tickets in your face. And of course, every boat will always want to come back to the dock at the same time. It wasn't too bad though, as operating the Racer was awesome and made this crew worth it! The paddle boat tickets were $10, and people would frequently ask how much the tickets cost. One time I told a lady that a ticket was $10, and she indignantly replied, "A thousand dollars?!" (I promise, I will be making none of these stories up.)

One of the best things about Kennywood is its stunning setting on a bluff overlooking the Monongahela River, with industry contrasting the surrounding Pennsylvania greenery. 

It just so happens that the last large steel mill remaining in the Pittsburgh area, the Edgar Thomson Works, sits directly across the river from the park. Built in 1873-1874, this was Andrew Carnegie's first steel mill and sits on the site of an important battle of the French and Indian War, Braddock's Defeat. Some of the roller coasters provide gorgeous views of the valley as they dive down the ravine. The arched bridge on the right of this image is the George Westinghouse bridge, which spans the Turtle Creek valley. Turtle Creek is where Westinghouse built major factories that transformed his business into an empire.

Here's what the view looks like at night from the park's miniature train ride.

Kennywood was originally a picnic grove dating back to the 1860s, and it still retains much of its wooded charm. That includes wildlife too. One time a raccoon somehow found its way into a net that hangs above the station of the Sky Rocket coaster, and I watched maintenance trying to get it down by pelting it with water from a hose. The raccoon didn't want to budge, but I guess they somehow got it to leave eventually!

Several times I heard someone scream "90 YEARS?!" when I would play the pre-recorded spiel on the Whip that says "The Whip has been operating for over 90 years." The Whip is one of my favorite rides because it's a simple ride that never fails to get everyone smiling and laughing. Like the Turtle, the ride is still operated with a rusty speed control crank that is identical to the kind you see on old streetcars. It says "WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MFG CO. PITTSBURGH, PA USA."

Some of the picnic groves like this two-level building date back to the early 1920s. Kennywood doesn't have as many picnics as it used to, but there is still a fair amount throughout the summer. Catholic Day is always an interesting experience, especially when you get groups of priests coming up to ride a roller coaster. One time I came on the microphone at the Racer to say the safety spiel, and I heard a priest say, "Is that the voice of God?" The Catholic Diocese also does a mass every year in a picnic pavilion, and they even made a video a few years ago of a couple priests riding the Phantom's Revenge.

Kennywood's big claim to fame is that it is one of only two amusement parks in America that is designated a National Historic Landmark. It earned the honor in 1987 because it retains many buildings from the early 1900s, seven major rides from the 1920s (including three roller coasters), a few rides from the 30s, and rides from every decade since then too. It's always great when people have no idea that something is almost a century old. I'd have people ask me how old the Wurlitzer band organ was on the carousel, and they'd seem amazed when I told them it was from 1916. 

The Turtle is a last-of-its-kind flat ride that is from 1927, and it has a great neon sign with four turtles in a row. This has to be one of my favorite pictures I've taken at the park.

I got to operate this ride on a couple of occasions, and it's probably the most difficult ride in the park to operate because it's still entirely manually controlled. There's a forward button, a backward button, a stop button, and a speed control crank. Starting up the ride requires you to make it go forward then backward in the station to help the train of vehicles gain momentum, meaning it takes the following sequence: forward button, speed up, stop button, speed down, backward button, speed up, stop button, speed down, forward button, speed up. Then you have to kill the power at a specific time to bring the ride to a stop. It's easier to just actually do it than explain it here!

One time I forgot to hit the stop button in time and the train of turtles didn't have enough momentum to make it over the second hill. But it was easy to just bring them backward into the station, and no coworkers knew it happened because I was alone. All the guests were giving me weird looks though!

The Wave Swinger is the first ride I ever operated. We didn't need to physically check the restraints on this ride, so I would delight in speed-walking around the inside of the ride with my eyes darting to make sure every seatbelt was safely secure. People had the tendency to lose stuff while they were gliding through the air, including their souvenir drink cups, shoes, and cell phones. Someone successfully found their cell phone stuck in a tree once when the ride came back down to the ground. Sometimes the ride even joined in the fun itself and would lose a lightbulb while it was spinning. 

Multiple times on the Wave Swinger, I saw coworkers hit the "lift" button on the control panel, but they didn't press the "turn" button down far enough. If that happens, then the ride telescopes up into the air and tilts at an angle but doesn't start to spin, leaving everyone dangling! Also if you hit the emergency stop button on this ride, the ride will stop spinning, but it won't lower back down to the ground.

The park's 1926 Dentzel Merry-Go-Round will always be one of my favorite rides, especially for its band organ music. You have to walk around the platform while the ride is running, and at first, I had a hard time finding my balance and had to hold on to the horses as I made my way around the platform.

Here's a picture of me operating the Merry Go Round during Christmas that I stumbled across on Flickr. Photo credit goes to Philip Johnson. Note how fast the ride is spinning! ;-)

I hope you've enjoyed these Kennywood memories. I have enjoyed working at the park very much over the past two years! I have more to share that I will get to with time!