My parents recently purchased some property in the northern part of Pennsylvania. It is far away in the country and will be partially used as hunting land for my father and brother, but will also be used for weekend getaways for the rest of the family.

About a month ago, I took a weekend off of work and amusement park visits to spend time with my family. My father had invited me up to the property for what he called a picnic. I wasn't going to go, because it is three hours from where I live, but I thought of how great it could be to get away from the real world and go up for the picnic.

Apparently, the definition of the word "picnic" has changed drastically since I was a kid. I arrived in Little Meadow, Pennsylvania but was not handed the soda and sandwich that I had anticipated. Instead, I was given a pick and shovel to assist in the groundwork for the cabin my parents are building. So much for my weekend off. We aren't sure how long it will take to build this thing, especially since 80 percent of the time it will just be my parents working on it. My father's goal is to have it under roof by the first snowfall.

Skip ahead three weeks. The lumber and other materials for the cabin had arrived on a Friday, and I had promised my family that I would spend the weekend at the site to help out. Those of you in the Northeast US will remember that one weekend in the middle of May. It was the weekend that saw record low temperatures and miserable weather.

When I left my apartment at 4:30 in the morning that Saturday morning it was cold and rainy. When I got to the new property just five miles south of the New York border it was colder...and there was an inch and a half of snow on the ground. My father fell well short of having the cabin under roof by the first snow fall.

But on to more important things...

Coaster 3:16's Vacation In Orlando: Epcot Center

When I left off in the last issue, I was just leaving Disney/MGM Studios after three and a half hours of a very good time. You may recall that MGM's overall atmosphere left me a little disappointed, but the attractions themselves I found to be much better than I was anticipating.

As the free Disney Transport bus was approaching Epcot Center I realized that nothing about Walt Disney World looked familiar to me. It had been about fifteen years since I had been there, but I expected to get to the Epcot Center entrance and for everything to suddenly look like what I remembered. That did not happen.

As I walked into Epcot Center nothing at all looked familiar. That in and of itself was kind of disappointing to me, as I had hoped that all of my childhood memories would come flying back. When I had visited Disney as a child, I always preferred Epcot to the Magic Kingdom. There was something about it that just hit me the right way. I was fully prepared to be blown away by the updated attractions.

I didn't quite know what to do first. If the short lines at MGM were any indication, I wasn't anticipating having to wait much. There were only a few attractions I really wanted to do at Epcot, but I still wanted to make sure I had enough time. I was hungry, but not hungry enough to sit down and eat a legit meal. I was surprised to see the express McDonald's at Epcot, but was more than happy to grab some fries and a drink to last me until I left the park and could grab a real meal.

After eating, I though I would start with The Land. The boat ride had been my second favorite attraction before, right behind the now-defunct Horizons. To my surprise, the line for Living With The Land was posted at 45 minutes. This was much more than I anticipated. I was going to get a Fast Pass when I realized that if the Land had this long of a line, what was the line like at Test Track. Considering that the passes they were giving away for the boat ride were for 7:00 pm, I realized that I might not have time to get a pass for both the Land and Test Track. So I darted across Epcot to Test Track to see a posted 60-minute line. I got a fast pass for 8:05 and decided that after about 45 minutes it was now time to get on my first Epcot attraction.

First up was the big golf ball, better known as Spaceship Earth. There was no line at all for this, which was nice to see. Finally, after walking around Epcot for nearly an hour, the memories all came back to me when I walked into the Spaceship Earth station.

There's one thing about this ride that is funny. That is how much they try to play up communication as the most exciting thing in the world. Yes, the development of communication just may be the most important development for the earth, but the history is far from exciting.

Still, I'm a sucker for animatronics and I enjoyed the ride. The part at the end of the history section, when you come out of the tunnel and are looking down at the earth itself is absolutely phenomenal. I had forgotten about this part and when I first got to this part it literally took my breath away. This is what I had used my vacation day for and for the first time I felt like I was somewhere special. Make no mistake, this is a real dramatic ride if not for this reason alone.

I stopped off at the Living Seas and waited about 10 minutes to see the short video that precedes the aquarium portion of the attraction. This was the first real disappointment of my time at Disney World. There weren't many animals in the aquarium, and nothing seemed to be moving at all when I was there. That is one of the tough things about zoos or any wildlife park...you can't control the animals like you can animatronics.

I made my way back to the Land and decided to wait in line for Living With The Land. By this time, they had run out of Fast Passes anyway and the line was still posted as 45 minutes. It turned out to be something just short of that, and I was finally on a boat.

Now, I am a country kid at heart, and the rest of my family is into horticulture and farming in general in a big way. Heck, my first job out of college was on a farm, so this stuff is interesting to me. It was definitely worth the 40-minute wait. The tour guide was a bit overdramatic, but that didn't seem to matter.

I stopped by the Honey I Shrunk The Audience. The line for this was about 45 minutes and I still couldn't get another fast pass, so I decided to skip it. I had seen the Muppetvision deal at MGM and Hershey had just opened a new 4-D movie attraction, so this was something I felt I could skip.

I did some of the smaller things at the front section of Epcot before deciding to walk around the World Showcase. It was about halfway around the Showcase that I realized that all of the countries looked alike to me. I had to read the signs in order to try to figure out what country I was in, and even then it was difficult.

I started by Canada and worked my way to Mexico. Along the way, I did my best to check out the shops, but couldn't care less about the restaurants. I did get to see some of the nice areas, like the small nook in the UK where you can go and get away from the crowds. The small stage that is located here looked like it made a great place to sit and listen to music.

Other than that, it was a rather uneventful walk until you get all the way around to Norway. Maelstrom is the boat ride inside Norway's main building. This Viking-themed attraction is well done and exciting. Like most Disney attractions, the thrill is left at the door, but the atmosphere is what counts. It was fun, and the backwards part and final drop make it worth a ride or two.

Next door to Norway is Mexico, where El Rio del Tiempo (The Rive of Time) is another boat ride. This is a nifty blend of It's A Small World and Maelstrom. But what makes del Tiempo so special to me is the theming inside of the Mexican building itself. The attempt to give the building a feel as if you are outside a Mexican village at night works like a charm. The restaurant in Mexico has an incredible atmosphere that is hard to find at any other restaurant that I've ever been to, let alone at any other theme park. If every other country in the World Showcase were even close to the atmosphere of Mexico, Epcot Center would be one of my favorite parks. As it stands, its just great to be able to visit Mexico as it is.

By the time I had finished my walk around the World Showcase it was almost 7:00 pm. I had two hours until most of Epcot closed (some of Future World) closed at 8:00. I also had an hour until my Test Track Fast Pass was good. I figured that if the Test Track line were still an hour I would wait and then ride a second time using my pass. Indeed, the line was one hour long and I walked to the entrance to get in line.

That is when I noticed the sign; the one encouraging visitors to either use Fast Pass or the single rider line. The single rider line. I had completely forgotten about this. I got in the single rider line and within five or seven minutes was buckled into my seat.

First off, I now realized that I had wasted my fast pass. I could have used it on the Land or Honey, I Shrunk The Audience, but oh well. My disappointment over this fact was soon to be erased.

Test Track blew me away. It was so much more fun than I was anticipating. Thrilling? Probably not. Fun? Beyond a shadow of a doubt. I simply felt like I was more involved in the theming of this ride than any other ride I had ever done. I became a test dummy, and the outdoor portion was a kick. I got off Test Track and got right back in the single rider line for a second go-around, enjoying it every bit as much as I had the first time.

As usual, I won't go into detail about the ride itself, except to say that the wild mouse portion was exceptional and the excitement factor knowing you were ready to either hit the wall or head outside was fun. Overall, Test Track rates as one of my favorite attractions I've ever done.

By the time my second ride was over it was just about 7:30. I still had a half hour before my Fast bass was good, so I went back to Spaceship Earth to see the Earth scene again before walking back to Test Track.

By 8:15 I was ready to go. What started as a somewhat awkward visit to Epcot ended in fabulous fashion thanks to Maelstrom, El Rio el Tiempo, and Test Track. It was difficult leaving so early, but I had had a long day and was getting hungry.

It took longer than I thought it would to get back to the MGM parking lot and to my car. I had to wait for 20 minutes at the bus stop at Epcot until a bus came to pick us up, but it finally came and I was headed for my hotel, a pizza, and a good night's sleep.

Six Flags Worlds Of Adventure Set To Grow

It's been a tough week for the Six Flags chain, with no less than four incidents resulting in injuries making the news. However, the past two weeks have been extraordinary for one of my favorite parks, Six Flags Worlds of Adventure.

The park has finally received permission to import the two killer whales that they had reached agreements on over the winter. The first has already arrived at the park, and the second could be here as soon as the end of June. Hopefully, the park will take care of these animals. There is some concern as to the well-being of the whales coming from people who really do care. The good news is, though, that the people who are now trusted with the health of the whales also cares. It is great exposure for the park from a business standpoint. Hopefully, they will take advantage of that opportunity, and the opportunity to teach its patrons more about this species.

The other item of note for SFWOA in the past two weeks has been local government's decision to extend the height requirement to 210 feet, giving the park the opportunity to build a long rumored hypercoaster. Although a hypercoaster isn't a sure thing (we could see any attraction taller than 200 feet, really), one would be a perfect fit for the near-perfect park.

Getting Ready For Some More Americana

The park once known as Americana (among other names) is getting set to re-open on June 6 after an unfortunate year closed. The new owners have spent considerable amounts of time and money in preparing the park for the re-opening and a visit to Paramount's Kings Island's little neighbor is worth the short drive from the park.

For more information on LeSourdsville Lake Amusement Park, visit www.lesourdsvillelake.com.


Well, another two weeks have flown by and the real summer is almost here. Mine will mostly be spent building a cabin, but I do have trips planned when possible to some of my favorite parks. It should be a good summer across the board and I hope you enjoy yours.

I'll be back on June 13 with the final part of my Disney World trip, a look at the magic and wonder of the Magic Kingdom. Until then, when an amusement park fits into your plans, please remember to take a back seat ride once for me...


                                                                                 Coaster 3:16

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You can reach him at:  Coaster_316@yahoo.com