Red Mosquito

Carl Sandburg wrote:There is a wolf in me . . . fangs pointed for tearing gashes . . . a red tongue for raw meat . . . and the hot lapping of blood—I keep this wolf because the wilderness gave it to me and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fox in me . . . a silver-gray fox . . . I sniff and guess . . . I pick things out of the wind and air . . . I nose in the dark night and take sleepers and eat them and hide the feathers . . . I circle and loop and double-cross.

There is a hog in me . . . a snout and a belly . . . a machinery for eating and grunting . . . a machinery for sleeping satisfied in the sun—I got this too from the wilderness and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fish in me . . . I know I came from salt-blue water-gates . . . I scurried with shoals of herring . . . I blew waterspouts with porpoises . . . before land was . . . before the water went down . . . before Noah . . . before the first chapter of Genesis.

There is a baboon in me . . . clambering-clawed . . . dog-faced . . . yawping a galoot's hunger . . . hairy under the armpits . . . here are the hawk-eyed hankering men . . . here are the blonde and blue-eyed women . . . here they hide curled asleep waiting . . . ready to snarl and kill . . . ready to sing and give milk . . . waiting—I keep the baboon because the wilderness says so.

There is an eagle in me and a mockingbird . . . and the eagle flies among the Rocky Mountains of my dreams and fights among the Sierra crags of what I want . . . and the mockingbird warbles in the early forenoon before the dew is gone, warbles in the underbrush of my Chattanoogas of hope, gushes over the blue Ozark foothills of my wishes—And I got the eagle and the mockingbird from the wilderness.

O, I got a zoo, I got a menagerie, inside my ribs, under my bony head, under my red-valve heart—and I got something else: it is a man-child heart, a woman-child heart: it is a father and mother and lover: it came from God-Knows-Where: it is going to God-Knows-Where—For I am the keeper of the zoo: I say yes and no: I sing and kill and work: I am a pal of the world: I came from the wilderness.

tragabigzanda wrote:The Jardin D'Acclimitation in Paris very recently reframed this whole topic for me. Top-to-bottom the best amusement park I've ever been to, as everything was clean and safe; food was cheap and EXCELLENT; lines were incredibly short and fast; and all the employees seemed happy, healthy, and had good teeth. Our kid had a BLAST, and their two rollercoasters were scary enough that both she and the parents could have a real thrill.

The splash pad in the middle of the park was a huge bonus, and the live peacocks, ample green space, and modern art museum were all really nice bonuses too.

Fuck every other amusement park.

tragabigzanda wrote:The Jardin D'Acclimitation in Paris very recently reframed this whole topic for me. Top-to-bottom the best amusement park I've ever been to, as everything was clean and safe; food was cheap and EXCELLENT; lines were incredibly short and fast; and all the employees seemed happy, healthy, and had good teeth. Our kid had a BLAST, and their two rollercoasters were scary enough that both she and the parents could have a real thrill.

The splash pad in the middle of the park was a huge bonus, and the live peacocks, ample green space, and modern art museum were all really nice bonuses too.

Fuck every other amusement park.

Monkey_Driven wrote:

tragabigzanda wrote:The Jardin D'Acclimitation in Paris very recently reframed this whole topic for me. Top-to-bottom the best amusement park I've ever been to, as everything was clean and safe; food was cheap and EXCELLENT; lines were incredibly short and fast; and all the employees seemed happy, healthy, and had good teeth. Our kid had a BLAST, and their two rollercoasters were scary enough that both she and the parents could have a real thrill.

The splash pad in the middle of the park was a huge bonus, and the live peacocks, ample green space, and modern art museum were all really nice bonuses too.

Fuck every other amusement park.

clearly you've never been to Silver Dollar City

Carl Sandburg wrote:There is a wolf in me . . . fangs pointed for tearing gashes . . . a red tongue for raw meat . . . and the hot lapping of blood—I keep this wolf because the wilderness gave it to me and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fox in me . . . a silver-gray fox . . . I sniff and guess . . . I pick things out of the wind and air . . . I nose in the dark night and take sleepers and eat them and hide the feathers . . . I circle and loop and double-cross.

There is a hog in me . . . a snout and a belly . . . a machinery for eating and grunting . . . a machinery for sleeping satisfied in the sun—I got this too from the wilderness and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fish in me . . . I know I came from salt-blue water-gates . . . I scurried with shoals of herring . . . I blew waterspouts with porpoises . . . before land was . . . before the water went down . . . before Noah . . . before the first chapter of Genesis.

There is a baboon in me . . . clambering-clawed . . . dog-faced . . . yawping a galoot's hunger . . . hairy under the armpits . . . here are the hawk-eyed hankering men . . . here are the blonde and blue-eyed women . . . here they hide curled asleep waiting . . . ready to snarl and kill . . . ready to sing and give milk . . . waiting—I keep the baboon because the wilderness says so.

There is an eagle in me and a mockingbird . . . and the eagle flies among the Rocky Mountains of my dreams and fights among the Sierra crags of what I want . . . and the mockingbird warbles in the early forenoon before the dew is gone, warbles in the underbrush of my Chattanoogas of hope, gushes over the blue Ozark foothills of my wishes—And I got the eagle and the mockingbird from the wilderness.

O, I got a zoo, I got a menagerie, inside my ribs, under my bony head, under my red-valve heart—and I got something else: it is a man-child heart, a woman-child heart: it is a father and mother and lover: it came from God-Knows-Where: it is going to God-Knows-Where—For I am the keeper of the zoo: I say yes and no: I sing and kill and work: I am a pal of the world: I came from the wilderness.

Carl Sandburg wrote:There is a wolf in me . . . fangs pointed for tearing gashes . . . a red tongue for raw meat . . . and the hot lapping of blood—I keep this wolf because the wilderness gave it to me and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fox in me . . . a silver-gray fox . . . I sniff and guess . . . I pick things out of the wind and air . . . I nose in the dark night and take sleepers and eat them and hide the feathers . . . I circle and loop and double-cross.

There is a hog in me . . . a snout and a belly . . . a machinery for eating and grunting . . . a machinery for sleeping satisfied in the sun—I got this too from the wilderness and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fish in me . . . I know I came from salt-blue water-gates . . . I scurried with shoals of herring . . . I blew waterspouts with porpoises . . . before land was . . . before the water went down . . . before Noah . . . before the first chapter of Genesis.

There is a baboon in me . . . clambering-clawed . . . dog-faced . . . yawping a galoot's hunger . . . hairy under the armpits . . . here are the hawk-eyed hankering men . . . here are the blonde and blue-eyed women . . . here they hide curled asleep waiting . . . ready to snarl and kill . . . ready to sing and give milk . . . waiting—I keep the baboon because the wilderness says so.

There is an eagle in me and a mockingbird . . . and the eagle flies among the Rocky Mountains of my dreams and fights among the Sierra crags of what I want . . . and the mockingbird warbles in the early forenoon before the dew is gone, warbles in the underbrush of my Chattanoogas of hope, gushes over the blue Ozark foothills of my wishes—And I got the eagle and the mockingbird from the wilderness.

O, I got a zoo, I got a menagerie, inside my ribs, under my bony head, under my red-valve heart—and I got something else: it is a man-child heart, a woman-child heart: it is a father and mother and lover: it came from God-Knows-Where: it is going to God-Knows-Where—For I am the keeper of the zoo: I say yes and no: I sing and kill and work: I am a pal of the world: I came from the wilderness.

tragabigzanda wrote:

dad wrote:

Monkey_Driven wrote:

tragabigzanda wrote:The Jardin D'Acclimitation in Paris very recently reframed this whole topic for me. Top-to-bottom the best amusement park I've ever been to, as everything was clean and safe; food was cheap and EXCELLENT; lines were incredibly short and fast; and all the employees seemed happy, healthy, and had good teeth. Our kid had a BLAST, and their two rollercoasters were scary enough that both she and the parents could have a real thrill.

The splash pad in the middle of the park was a huge bonus, and the live peacocks, ample green space, and modern art museum were all really nice bonuses too.

Fuck every other amusement park.

clearly you've never been to Silver Dollar City

the last rollercoaster i rode was at Silver Dollar City. I think it was called the Time Traveler. it was several platforms linked, and each platform had about four seats. the platforms rotated while running over loops and twists. it was fun, but a long wait, and a bit disorienting. one of my twins went on it with me and passed out a bit on the initial drop - poor guy. the other twin liked the one called the powder keg.

i think my favorite coaster i've been on was at Cedar Point in Ohio. It was millennium something...it went 90mph.

for nostalgic purposes, I loved going to Riverside Park in Southern Massachussets as a kid. I think it was eventually bought out by Six Flags, but was well after I'd moved away.

Dad are you a Water Country kind of guy?

tragabigzanda wrote:

Jorge wrote:

tragabigzanda wrote:The Jardin D'Acclimitation in Paris very recently reframed this whole topic for me. Top-to-bottom the best amusement park I've ever been to, as everything was clean and safe; food was cheap and EXCELLENT; lines were incredibly short and fast; and all the employees seemed happy, healthy, and had good teeth. Our kid had a BLAST, and their two rollercoasters were scary enough that both she and the parents could have a real thrill.

The splash pad in the middle of the park was a huge bonus, and the live peacocks, ample green space, and modern art museum were all really nice bonuses too.

Fuck every other amusement park.

Any individual rides you'd highlight? I will probably never go but that's what this thread is about

Understand that I got an amazing pot of fresh risotto with peas, mushrooms, and gruyere cheese for five euro...

dad wrote:

Monkey_Driven wrote:

tragabigzanda wrote:The Jardin D'Acclimitation in Paris very recently reframed this whole topic for me. Top-to-bottom the best amusement park I've ever been to, as everything was clean and safe; food was cheap and EXCELLENT; lines were incredibly short and fast; and all the employees seemed happy, healthy, and had good teeth. Our kid had a BLAST, and their two rollercoasters were scary enough that both she and the parents could have a real thrill.

The splash pad in the middle of the park was a huge bonus, and the live peacocks, ample green space, and modern art museum were all really nice bonuses too.

Fuck every other amusement park.

clearly you've never been to Silver Dollar City

the last rollercoaster i rode was at Silver Dollar City. I think it was called the Time Traveler. it was several platforms linked, and each platform had about four seats. the platforms rotated while running over loops and twists. it was fun, but a long wait, and a bit disorienting. one of my twins went on it with me and passed out a bit on the initial drop - poor guy. the other twin liked the one called the powder keg.

i think my favorite coaster i've been on was at Cedar Point in Ohio. It was millennium something...it went 90mph.

for nostalgic purposes, I loved going to Riverside Park in Southern Massachussets as a kid. I think it was eventually bought out by Six Flags, but was well after I'd moved away.

ABNorman wrote:I'm biased, since I used to work there, but I'm way more of a Disney-style theme park goer - I'm not after big thrills on rollercoasters. That said, my favourite ride is the Tower of Terror at Disney World. On my last night working there, I went 20 times in a row towards the end of the night, and on my last ride had it all to myself. Lots of emotion as I was leaving the country and a romantic interest soon after, so it's kinda impossible to separate all that from my experience of the ride.

My second favourite ride is the Haunted Mansion at Disney World. I was looking up how to do cheap ghostly effects for a play when I stumbled on it, and that's what led to me going to work at Disney in the first place. Another highlight of my time working there: an early morning backstage tour of the ride - who knew about the hidden Jack Skellingtons?

Carl Sandburg wrote:There is a wolf in me . . . fangs pointed for tearing gashes . . . a red tongue for raw meat . . . and the hot lapping of blood—I keep this wolf because the wilderness gave it to me and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fox in me . . . a silver-gray fox . . . I sniff and guess . . . I pick things out of the wind and air . . . I nose in the dark night and take sleepers and eat them and hide the feathers . . . I circle and loop and double-cross.

There is a hog in me . . . a snout and a belly . . . a machinery for eating and grunting . . . a machinery for sleeping satisfied in the sun—I got this too from the wilderness and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fish in me . . . I know I came from salt-blue water-gates . . . I scurried with shoals of herring . . . I blew waterspouts with porpoises . . . before land was . . . before the water went down . . . before Noah . . . before the first chapter of Genesis.

There is a baboon in me . . . clambering-clawed . . . dog-faced . . . yawping a galoot's hunger . . . hairy under the armpits . . . here are the hawk-eyed hankering men . . . here are the blonde and blue-eyed women . . . here they hide curled asleep waiting . . . ready to snarl and kill . . . ready to sing and give milk . . . waiting—I keep the baboon because the wilderness says so.

There is an eagle in me and a mockingbird . . . and the eagle flies among the Rocky Mountains of my dreams and fights among the Sierra crags of what I want . . . and the mockingbird warbles in the early forenoon before the dew is gone, warbles in the underbrush of my Chattanoogas of hope, gushes over the blue Ozark foothills of my wishes—And I got the eagle and the mockingbird from the wilderness.

O, I got a zoo, I got a menagerie, inside my ribs, under my bony head, under my red-valve heart—and I got something else: it is a man-child heart, a woman-child heart: it is a father and mother and lover: it came from God-Knows-Where: it is going to God-Knows-Where—For I am the keeper of the zoo: I say yes and no: I sing and kill and work: I am a pal of the world: I came from the wilderness.

tragabigzanda wrote:It's funny, I definitely enjoyed the Tower of Terror when I went as a teen, and could totally geek out on the technical merits of it. These days I'm mostly interested in a comfortable, stress-free experience.

Jorge wrote:I really like the experience design aspect of those kinds of attractions. That one was really cool and pretty ingenious in its engineering

dad wrote:

Monkey_Driven wrote:

tragabigzanda wrote:The Jardin D'Acclimitation in Paris very recently reframed this whole topic for me. Top-to-bottom the best amusement park I've ever been to, as everything was clean and safe; food was cheap and EXCELLENT; lines were incredibly short and fast; and all the employees seemed happy, healthy, and had good teeth. Our kid had a BLAST, and their two rollercoasters were scary enough that both she and the parents could have a real thrill.

The splash pad in the middle of the park was a huge bonus, and the live peacocks, ample green space, and modern art museum were all really nice bonuses too.

Fuck every other amusement park.

clearly you've never been to Silver Dollar City

the last rollercoaster i rode was at Silver Dollar City. I think it was called the Time Traveler. it was several platforms linked, and each platform had about four seats. the platforms rotated while running over loops and twists. it was fun, but a long wait, and a bit disorienting. one of my twins went on it with me and passed out a bit on the initial drop - poor guy. the other twin liked the one called the powder keg.

i think my favorite coaster i've been on was at Cedar Point in Ohio. It was millennium something...it went 90mph.

for nostalgic purposes, I loved going to Riverside Park in Southern Massachussets as a kid. I think it was eventually bought out by Six Flags, but was well after I'd moved away.