Halloween Events

It's been a while since I did an update, but i've been really busy. After we went to Great America's Haunt, we did 3 other haunts. They were Pirates of Emerson, Fear Overload (for the 1st time), and Discovery Kingdom's Fright Fest. They were kind of disappointing, but we had fun nonetheless. Here are some photos.

 Fear Overload Photo

Fear Overload Sign

 Pirates of Emerson staff

Clown-Evil at Pirates of Emerson

 Me and my old friend Chuck at Fright Fest

Fright Fest- Awakening

Fright Fest- Pirates of the Dead Sea

Fright Fest- The Last Ride (coffin simulator)

That covers it for now. Join us soon as we check out some holiday offerings. Until then, Ben Out!

Halloween Haunt 2013

It's been a while since I did a post, but I've been busy over the last 2 months. Last night, we went to California's Great America's Halloween Haunt. Here's what we did.

Attractions
Dia de los Muertos
Slaughterhouse: Annihilation
Madame Marie's Massacre Manor
Cornstalkers
Zombie High
Fun House Express (Action Theater)
Werewolf Canyon
CarnEvil

Scarezones
Underworld Alley
Dead Man's Cove: Forsaken Souls
The Gauntlet

Shows
Overlord's Resurrection
Blades of Horror

Rides
Grizzly
Tiki Twirl

Here are some photos.

These tombstones are for attractions no longer at the park.

 The Overlord rises above the park to begin the night.

 Zombie High- And I thought my high school was harsh on me.

Slaughterhouse- They say there are too many people in the world and not enough food.

 Underworld Alley- The army of the dead rise to wreck havoc.

The Gauntlet- It's fueled by the haunting melodies of CarnEvil.

 I felt I was watched.

The Fun House Express was a nice surprise.

That covers it for now. If that Haunt wasn't scary enough, I'll have my wisdom teeth extracted on wednesday. Ben Out!

Great America- July 2013

Today my mom surprised me with a trip to Great America, where I rode Gold Striker for the first time. It was the most insane wooden coaster i've ever ridden! Here are some photos.

 Me in front of the ride. One of the day's first rides.

 The view from the Star Tower.

 Me taking mom for a spin on Barney Oldfield's Speedway.

 I get nervous every time I ride Drop Tower.

 Peanuts Pirates- Not that intense, but reridable.

 A tight fit, but I got on Woodstock Express.

A double splash today- Rip Roaring Rapids and Whitewater Falls.

That's about it for now. Join me soon when I check out a water park and ride Santa Cruz's Undertow!

Summer Kickoff-Part 2

I just got back from a perfect trip to Disneyland. Here are some photos.

 My older sister Mary on Roger Rabbit

 First time on new Star Tours. We saw Tatooine and Naboo.

I loved the updates.

 My older brother David on Buzz Lightyear

 New parade since last time I was there

 Brilliant fireworks as always

 Words of Wisdom from Mr. Lincoln

 Me and Dad on Main Street

A boatful of characters

 Me, Dad, and David about to tour Neverland

Me, David, and Mary heading into Small World

 Lucky we had ponchos

 Under the Sea

 World of Color

Dad in Radiator Springs

That's about it for now. Join me next time when I show you the county fair.

Summer Kickoff- Part 1

Hello there. It's been two months since my last post, but now would be the time to show you some photos of what happened since then.

Great America

 Don't worry; I'll cover Gold Striker soon.

 First ride on Vortex this year.

One of my favorite animated films is now a ride!

 First Firefall ride of the season.

Santa Cruz

 I consider Fright Walk to be fun, but it's really dark in there.

Ghost Blasters- My favorite ride here as a kid!

Pacific Park (Santa Monica)

 California's best-known ferris wheel.

Looks familiar? It's been in more movies than I can count.

I'll have a splurge of photos from the Disneyland Resort coming soon!

Universal Studios San Jose Plan B

I just got back from Great America, where we made the best of a crowded day. While there, I was saddened that the parks theming wasn't as spectacular as the parks down south.

Previously, I shared Plan A of Universal Studios San Jose, which would be Northern California's most elaborate theme park. I felt Plan A was for if I didn't have a lot of space, so I've cooked up Plan B, which will cover 125 acres. The park will be modeled after the Florida park (Plan A had rides from the Hollywood park).

Front Lot
Park Services

Now Shooting
Shrek 4-D: An in your face fairy tale
Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast: Rocket through the world of your favorite nicktoons
Soundstage 54: Gaze at Universal picture cars

In Production
Revenge of the Mummy-The Ride: A psychological thrill ride
Twister: Experience an F-5 Tornado
Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue: A spooktacular live show

On Location
Earthquake-The Big One: Experience an 8.3 on the Ritcher scale
Jaws: Meet 3 tons of great white fury

Cinemagic Center
Fear Factor Live: An extreme audience participation show
Men in Black-Alien Attack: Go on an MIB training mission
Back to the Future-The Ride: Rocket through the past

Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone
Animal Planet Live!: Animal Planet TV comes to life
E.T. Adventure: Help E.T. fly home
Fievel's Playland: A mouse-eye view of the world
A Day in the Park with Barney: Sing and clap along with a purple dinosaur
Curious George goes to Town: A wet and wonderful world for kids
Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster: Ride through Woody's nut factory

Hollywood
Terminator 2-3-D: A 3-D cyber adventure
Universal Horror Make-Up Show: See what goes into (and oozes out of) the most mangled, mishapen monsters in movie history
Lucy: A Tribute: A museum based on Lucille Ball

That's it for now! Join me soon as I share photos from our trip to Great America. Until then, Ben Out!

Universal Studios San Jose (Plan A)

Now my dear readers, my big plans. The thing is, I have multiple versions of it, so I'll just do plan A for now.

As good as the parks in northern California are, they don't have as high a quality as the ones in southern California. So, my theme park plans are to "bring southern to northern." And since my favorite theme park (for now) is Universal Studios in Hollywood, I give to you Universal Studios San Jose!

The park will be divided into 4 sections. we'll explore one by one.

Classic Plaza
Lucy: A Tribute: A walk through tribute to Lucille Ball
Special Effects Stages: Three stages show you makeup, digital effects, and sound
Backdraft: A 10,000 degree inferno

Action City
Terminator 2: 3-D: The world's first 3-D cyber adventure
Back to the Future: The Ride: Climb aboard Doc Brown's latest invention and rocket through the past, present, and future.
Fear Factor Live: The most extreme audience participation show ever

Adventure Town
Waterworld: A live sea war spectacular
Jurassic Park: The Ride: A water ride w/ an 84-foot drop to escape a hungry T-Rex
Revenge of the Mummy: An indoor coaster through Imhotep's tomb

Kidspot
Shrek 4-D: An in your face fairy tale
Nickelodeon Blast Zone and Fievel's Playland: Our 2 interactive playgrounds
Animal Planet Live!: Furry and feathery performers strut their stuff

That's all for now! Let me know what you think in the comments below. Goodnight everybody!

Season 4 Kickoff: Santa Cruz

Hard to believe it's been four years doing this. I plan to let you know a big secret after spring break. It's plans for something I hope to do when I get older.

Anyways, after 2 months of waiting for it to happen, the 2013 season has begun for my local theme parks. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk was the park we went to today. This year, the Hurricane, which I really miss, is being replaced by Undertow, which will be northern california's only spinning roller coaster (Pandemonium at Discovery Kingdom was replaced by Superman last year). It'll be Santa Cruz's first major addition since the new Haunted Castle in 2010 (which I rode today, by the way).

The lines were very manageable for the most part. Here are some photos.

 The Giant Dipper, one of my favorite roller coasters!

 I like the Pirate Ship as well.

 This is me and mom on the Sky Glider.

 The Carousel spins to fast for me to snatch those rings! (It has one of the last ring machines on any carousel in the country!)

The Double Shot is a tower ride that's the perfect height for me (when it comes to drop towers, anyway)!

 I rode the Speed Bumps for the first time in a while. (I also rode their other bumper cars, Space Race, for the first time!)

 The scoreboard on our Ghost Blasters car had an error; this is a LOT more than we scored.

I adore the Cave Train, it's cheesy (opened in 1961) but fun.

That's all for now folks. Check back for photos from the Walt Disney Family Museum and the reveal of my secret plans! Until then, BEN OUT.