Antinos
Slut for Spinners
So, as some of you know, I was in Utah this past week skiing. Here's how my trip went:
Friday 13: Leave Detroit
Saturday 14: Downtown Salt Lake City
Sunday 15: Brighton Ski Resort
Monday 16: Solitude Ski Resort
Tuesday 17: Alta Ski Resort
Wednesday 18: Culture day, sightseeing, and Lagoon
Thursday 19: Deer Valley Ski Resort
Friday 20: Snowbird Ski Resort
Saturday 21: Fly home, Layover in Twin Cities
The skiing was great. I skid in the deepest snow I've ever skid in. A storm came in on Monday night and dumped 20 inches, but it didn't stop. Another 10 inches fell throughout the day. I was skiing in snow up to my knees. My favorite place was Snowbird. I'm not sure why, but it just seemed like I was most comfortable skiing there. Here's some pics of the ski portion:
Take off in Detroit:
Dark clouds of the approaching snowstorm:
Here's all the snow:
Sightseeing. Great salt lake:
Capitol building:
Olympic Cauldron:
More skiing:
I saw this when I boarded the plane and couldn't help laughing:
____________________________________________________
Ok, skiing done. When we were sightseeing, we stopped by The Lagoon, since the parking lot is pretty much right off the freeway exit. The park looks absolutely beautiful in the winter. After seeing Wicked in real life, I have now concluded that it looks like one hardcore coaster. Before, I thought it used to look very juvenile, but seeing it in real life made me think it looked very much like an Intamin. Enough talk, here's pics:
__________________________________________
Well, I didn't let this trip leave me totally coasterless, even though it is the middle of winter. We arrived at Minneapolis/St. Paul international airport at around noon, and then I found out we had a three hour layover. I asked my mom if she wanted to run to the mall, and we literally ran. We got in a half an hour later and ten minutes after that, around 1:10, I was on my first roller coaster of 2009, ending my short three month off season.
Spongebob Squarepants Rock Bottom Plunge
7.5/10
You start off with the bizarre feeling vertical lift. You slow down as you crest and are feet from the ceiling. You plummet down the 97 degree drop into a vertical loop. Over the small bunny hill and through the cutback. The 0g roll is next followed by a turnaround, mid course brakes, and two helixes. There is great airtime on the first drop and the small bunny hill after the loop. The loop, cutback, and 0g roll have great hangtime too. The ride was fun, but it wasn't what I expected from a eurofighter. The coaches were very comfy though.
Avatar Airbender
7.5/10
This was a surprise. I must be a sucker for rides that do this similar motion. All it is is a halfpipe with freespinning seats, but it's a fun ride. You get great weightlessness with spinning and some nice positive Gs. The ride is very similar to a giant frisbee in my opinion, which is probably why I like it so much.
Fairly Odd Coaster
7.5/10
This was another ride that surprised me. It doesn't seem like much, but it's still quite enjoyable. The wild mouse turns start you off spinning, and the two following helixes send you into a cyclone of spinning. The next part of the ride is tame, but the spinning from the previous helixes enhances the turns and hills. The end of the ride is a small bunnyhop which is quite fun taken sideways and a small helix finale. It helps to have two bigger kids sitting across from you.
Pepsi Orange Streak
6/10
I was running out of time. It was almost 2:00 and I my plane left at 3:15. I ran up the stairs to discover an almost empty queue. I was lucky. I got on around the middle of the train and we were off. This ride was relaxing. It gracefully maneuvered turns and gentle hills as it intertwined with rides like the Fairly Odd Coaster, Avatar, the log flume, and other rides. One part I really liked was around mid ride where you were about to ascend the second lift. You entered a rock like facade and intertwined with the log flume in a few caves. It really made me want to ride the log flume. The second half of the ride was just like the first.
After an hour at the Mall of America, I had to leave. I got all my rides in and I had to get on the train, go through security, and get lunch before getting on the hour and a half flight home. Overall, I felt that the park was a nice addition to the mall(even though I didn't see it), but just as a park itself, it felt like a glorified(and more expensive) carnival. If you go, spend around six hours there and get a wristband. This way, you can ride all the rides multiple times for $30.00. I paid $24.00 for four rides.
On to pics:
Me on Avatar:
Me on Fairly Odd Coaster:
I hope you guys enjoyed the report!
Friday 13: Leave Detroit
Saturday 14: Downtown Salt Lake City
Sunday 15: Brighton Ski Resort
Monday 16: Solitude Ski Resort
Tuesday 17: Alta Ski Resort
Wednesday 18: Culture day, sightseeing, and Lagoon
Thursday 19: Deer Valley Ski Resort
Friday 20: Snowbird Ski Resort
Saturday 21: Fly home, Layover in Twin Cities
The skiing was great. I skid in the deepest snow I've ever skid in. A storm came in on Monday night and dumped 20 inches, but it didn't stop. Another 10 inches fell throughout the day. I was skiing in snow up to my knees. My favorite place was Snowbird. I'm not sure why, but it just seemed like I was most comfortable skiing there. Here's some pics of the ski portion:
Take off in Detroit:
Dark clouds of the approaching snowstorm:
Here's all the snow:
Sightseeing. Great salt lake:
Capitol building:
Olympic Cauldron:
More skiing:
I saw this when I boarded the plane and couldn't help laughing:
____________________________________________________
Ok, skiing done. When we were sightseeing, we stopped by The Lagoon, since the parking lot is pretty much right off the freeway exit. The park looks absolutely beautiful in the winter. After seeing Wicked in real life, I have now concluded that it looks like one hardcore coaster. Before, I thought it used to look very juvenile, but seeing it in real life made me think it looked very much like an Intamin. Enough talk, here's pics:
__________________________________________
Well, I didn't let this trip leave me totally coasterless, even though it is the middle of winter. We arrived at Minneapolis/St. Paul international airport at around noon, and then I found out we had a three hour layover. I asked my mom if she wanted to run to the mall, and we literally ran. We got in a half an hour later and ten minutes after that, around 1:10, I was on my first roller coaster of 2009, ending my short three month off season.
Spongebob Squarepants Rock Bottom Plunge
7.5/10
You start off with the bizarre feeling vertical lift. You slow down as you crest and are feet from the ceiling. You plummet down the 97 degree drop into a vertical loop. Over the small bunny hill and through the cutback. The 0g roll is next followed by a turnaround, mid course brakes, and two helixes. There is great airtime on the first drop and the small bunny hill after the loop. The loop, cutback, and 0g roll have great hangtime too. The ride was fun, but it wasn't what I expected from a eurofighter. The coaches were very comfy though.
Avatar Airbender
7.5/10
This was a surprise. I must be a sucker for rides that do this similar motion. All it is is a halfpipe with freespinning seats, but it's a fun ride. You get great weightlessness with spinning and some nice positive Gs. The ride is very similar to a giant frisbee in my opinion, which is probably why I like it so much.
Fairly Odd Coaster
7.5/10
This was another ride that surprised me. It doesn't seem like much, but it's still quite enjoyable. The wild mouse turns start you off spinning, and the two following helixes send you into a cyclone of spinning. The next part of the ride is tame, but the spinning from the previous helixes enhances the turns and hills. The end of the ride is a small bunnyhop which is quite fun taken sideways and a small helix finale. It helps to have two bigger kids sitting across from you.
Pepsi Orange Streak
6/10
I was running out of time. It was almost 2:00 and I my plane left at 3:15. I ran up the stairs to discover an almost empty queue. I was lucky. I got on around the middle of the train and we were off. This ride was relaxing. It gracefully maneuvered turns and gentle hills as it intertwined with rides like the Fairly Odd Coaster, Avatar, the log flume, and other rides. One part I really liked was around mid ride where you were about to ascend the second lift. You entered a rock like facade and intertwined with the log flume in a few caves. It really made me want to ride the log flume. The second half of the ride was just like the first.
After an hour at the Mall of America, I had to leave. I got all my rides in and I had to get on the train, go through security, and get lunch before getting on the hour and a half flight home. Overall, I felt that the park was a nice addition to the mall(even though I didn't see it), but just as a park itself, it felt like a glorified(and more expensive) carnival. If you go, spend around six hours there and get a wristband. This way, you can ride all the rides multiple times for $30.00. I paid $24.00 for four rides.
On to pics:
Me on Avatar:
Me on Fairly Odd Coaster:
I hope you guys enjoyed the report!
)
