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The Imagineer Josh 2018 Trip Report Thread

Imagineer Josh

Mega Poster
Welcome to Imagineer Josh's 2018 Mega-Thread of Trip Reports from this year! The goal here is to write the most interesting and humorous trip reports this side of the forum. As a lot of enthusiasts, I'm a credit whore, so you'll see a lot of little stops along the thread as the year goes along. Let's get started!

The date is April 29, 2018. Ever since No Coaster Con in January 2018, I've had the off-season blues, and with life being busy and my dad being at 99 credits wanting to make his 100th Steel Vengeance when we visit in June, I haven't been able to visit any parks. However, as fate would have it, as my dad invited me on a shopping run that involved new shoes for me, we were driving into the mall until we saw a Falling Star and a Ferris Wheel in a parking lot by the local Steak 'N' Shake. Upon closer inspection, the fair happening featured the likes of a WACKY WORM!! So after a bit of shopping, we parked near the fair and bought our tickets.

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Whaddya know? As fate would have it, I found a traveling credit!

The amusement ride provider, Fantasy Amusements, also had a Dragon Wagon listed on their list of rides, but after hiking around the fair, it turned out that the Dragon Wagon either wasn't going to be at that specific fair or that it was having issues and wasn't ready for the fair. Being a credit whore, that was a disappointment, but that's life. Nasty :emoji_zipper_mouth: happens.

So I got my tickets ready, got in line, but as it turned out, the ride would be a walk-on thanks to a random open row. So yay - nice and easy ride without the credit whore walk of shame.

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The ride marked a lot of firsts for me. First Wacky Worm, first traveling credit, and first new credit of the year. And obviously while Wacky Worms are meme coasters, in terms of kiddie coasters, it could be worse. Credit #129.

Wanna see a video of me being a credit whore? Here ya go!

Since the Dragon Wagon wasn't there, there weren't any more reasons for us to stay a whole lot longer. So we just ventured to find a ride that could fill our remaining tickets. At the end of the fair, we came across a ride called Freak Out (basically a Giant Frisbee but with inside-facing seats), and I'd heard very positive opinions on the clone of the model at PNE Playland from a fellow enthusiast. So we rode.

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Despite the accident in Ohio last year, it's so damn fun. The swing is powerful and some great hangtime is definitely there. The Giant Frisbee model reminds me of S&S Screamin' Swings, but rides like Freak Out spin, so that is a minor plus to them hence why I prefer it to Barnstormer at Dollywood and other models of the ride.

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We wanted to try the Falling Star, but ran out of tickets and the line wasn't very reasonable.

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Since we were on the other side of the fair, we thought it'd be fun to take the long way and take some photos from outside the fair itself. I love this photo that shows a lot of the bigger rides in the park!

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Wee! Hangtime!

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Falling Star vs. Freak Out! Fight! (I actually love this shot by the way)

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Here's one last photo for the first update of the year. The fair had a Zipper ride, but the mechanics were still setting it up, so that just sucked. I've wanted to try one for years. But like the Dragon Wagon, that's life. Nasty :emoji_zipper_mouth: happens.

Thanks for taking the time to read. I guarantee more fun reports are coming soon!
 
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Fixed the font size for you - for some reason it was all really big! Also, I think you've linked images from the private section of your Google account - none of them seem to be working!

Once that's fixed, we'll see how the report compares if you're going for "most humorous"!
 
Fixed the font size for you - for some reason it was all really big! Also, I think you've linked images from the private section of your Google account - none of them seem to be working!

Once that's fixed, we'll see how the report compares if you're going for "most humorous"!
My apologies; will fix that right away! Although I can't imagine that the first trip report of the year is the "most humorous." That's what I try to achieve by the time November's trip reports come however!
 
Looks better now!

Sounds like a decent unexpected fair - although admittedly they're not my thing. Never been a big fan of the 'spin and spews'.
 
The goal here is to write the most interesting and humorous trip reports this side of the forum.
I'd say 'Oh, it's so on' but... unless Furie goes somewhere this year, I think Serena's probably already won that particular category :p
I'm also glad Hixee fixed the font size, that upset my eyes :p
Must be nice to have a Dad that counts creds rather than rolling his eyes at the idea, though then you can get sucked into the interminable debate of whether or not travelling counts!
 
Thanks for the much-appreciated feedback everyone!

Saturday May 5, 2018

Alright. Yesterday was a busy day. Our original plan was to take our dog, Gromit (anyone who knows what the name is referencing gets a follow from me), to a special day at a nature park in the Chicagoland area known as Morton Arboretum, then go on a bit of credit whoring. Was it all successful?

So we went to Morton Arboretum with all the other dogs and our little Gromit, and after a long hike, it got really warm and he got pretty tired, so we started to head back to our car. However, on the way back, our little monster got a little playful and decided to take a little swim in a pond on the side of the trail. (as you can tell, I used the word 'little' a lot. That wasn't intentional, but it fits since Gromit is a small dog. Havanese is his breed)
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I assume y'all know that I'm going for most humorous trip reports, but I can also try to be most friendly by showing Gromit. Sometimes a cute dog makes people laugh. So it seemed right.

Unfortunately, because of Gromit getting all dirty (but adorable), we had to cut the credit whoring a bit short. So we decided to not go to Go Bananas because it would've made the drive longer being across from O'Hare Airport, and no Santa's Village because it was a wee bit expensive and far north. So we went to Safari Land in Villa Park. I already had this credit, riding it back in September, but it's a damn good kiddie coaster, and one of the only Wisdom kiddie coasters that I can legitimately want to re-ride without being judged as a dirty whore by all my friends. Yeah, I'm a credit whore and all, but somehow I've gone this long without my friends calling me sad and pathetic amidst all the +1s.

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I hate trees being c*ck-blockers for photos as much as the next enthusiast, but this one just seemed so out of place. It was on it's own, away from other trees, and I couldn't take a photo of the sign with the caption "I'm here", and a photo of the gorilla next to the sign to make some sort of dirty joke about it.

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Wow. This sign totally shows how much time the logo designers put time into it. Man, I love how they just printed out the logo and pasted it above the doors. Much better than some dumbass 3D sign. And the macaw? I'm beyond words.

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Wait, I don't see a coaster anywhere. Are we in the right place? Oh wait, there it is. I assume it's there right next to that Deal Or No Deal arcade machine. Nice looking airtime there!

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For some reason (this is a serious caption btw), Tiger Terror is literally way in the back of the whole place. No signs (except for the one ride in front of the coaster in the photo), no nothing. When we asked an employee, he literally told us to follow the birthday rooms. "Yes, thank you Mr. Employee. We'll be sure to listen for the, 'That's it Jimmy! No dinner for you if you aren't going to be grateful for your gifts!' to find the coaster."

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Anyways, this is Tiger Terror -- One of the only kiddie coasters acceptable for enthusiasts to want to re-ride.

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In other words, this is a cheap-ass coaster, kids. Don't go cashing in your bonds to get a pathetic credit.

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Honestly, the part of Safari Land Tiger Terror is in looks like it used to be an Elementary School Gym. Weird murals, carpeted floors, and children fighting (I actually saw two kids who looked to be 4th graders have it out while taking a photo of the ride that'll come in later in the update)

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"I hope none of the kids in front of me take the front row. Judging by how much taller I am, they won't be able to see what I plan to do to that tiger."

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Well, I took Row 2 since a couple girls took the front row, but it actually is a fun and violent kiddie coaster that I'd recommend to any enthusiast for a credit, possible ridicule from children and dirty looks from parents, and to show those pesky animals what you really think of them.

So, what did everyone think? I want feedback; I love reading feedback! So please - leave your comments below.

By the way, here's my video of the coaster (note that I did get permission from the ride op before filming the POV)
 
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Considering I regularly walk past the Aardman building (indeed, it was colleagues in my office that designed their headquarters), the dog name isn't lost on me. ;)

Crikey, that is an intense lighting (and audio) set up on that kiddie cred!
 
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