Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island

...Because...
who wouldn't want a beach day while driving the 6 hours between Charleston, South Carolina and Orlando, Florida?
Jekyll Island, Georgia is pretty much the half way point between the two and only some 30 miles north of the Florida state line. I'd driven past the area a few times and always had it on my 'to do' list... and since I was now having a free day and with no amusement parks to till my void I looked up things to do and came across something called Driftwood Beach... and it seemed like the perfect rest stop to make along my drive. I could have used a nice 'relax day' on the final day of what was a 14 day / nearly 4,000 mile trip (some 60 hours of driving!) from Orlando to Boston and back... with several out of the way stops along the route! haha. Annddd since I'm also a fan of finding some semi-off-the-beaten-path places... it seemed perfect.

Woo.

After crossing over onto Jekyll Island and driving to the northern tip of the island.. I found what I hoped was the right place.. parked my car.. and headed down a trail into the woods.

leading to the beach...

Woo, Driftwood Beach!

The best way to describe the place would be...
a tree graveyard.

Over time the beach eroded away and the trees along the shore died, fell over, and became sun bleached and such.

Leaving the area covered in massive parts of trees in all sizes and shapes and levels of decay,

It was hauntingly beautiful.

yup

Hey look, I'm... enjoying.
After taking a whole bunch of photos, I had a nice couple of hours at the beach... that I had pretty much to myself! And enjoyed a swim and other beach type activities before deciding it was time to head out and finally head home.

And back down the trail I head to my car to complete the drive to Orlando... with a stop in JAX for some foods, good foods. <3

Woo, adventure.

iPlay? Maybe not... But iRode

Because who wouldn't wanna stop at a 155,000 square foot enclosed amusement park in New Jersey while driving from Boston to Orlando by way of Pigeon Forge?! I mean.. there's a coaster inside sooooo...
iPlay America opened in late 2011... but went pretty much unnoticed by the coaster community until 2016 when the park decided to install an SBF Spinning Coaster. Dusa Rob was surprised to find out he'd now have a coaster in the town he lived and went to check it out... A few months later while I was driving back home to Orlando after visiting my parents, I made my visit. ha

iPlay America, yup.

Inside was actually... surprisingly nice.
Like, its way bigger than I was expecting and there were a lot of people here!

Sky Trail High Ropes Course

Dizzy Dragons

Spin Zone Bumper Cars

Carousel

Happy Swing

Kite Flyer

Uhhh........

But also, the reason we came here.....

Ah... Behold the amazingness that is... Freedom Rider

Because who wouldn't wanna +1 on an SBF Spinning Coaster?!

One of at least 11 I've ridden so far...with plans to ride at least *6* more new for me ones this year
:D

yaayyy

At least I felt the sting?

I don't know. I'd been lazy and kinda sitting on this post for like.. 2 years.... But in light of new photos showing the destructive removal of Stinger at Dorney Park... I felt the need to go on a slight ramble.

So Dorney Park announced it was gonna be removing its Stinger coaster and then went ahead and blow-torched the ride to death...

Yup.

So uh, Stinger

One of the four Vekoma built Invertigo coasters.
(I've tracked down 3 of them :D )

The ride opened at Dorney in 2012.. But was often closed and spent almost all of 2014 SBNO
(it almost spent a full year closed while in California)
((It had run at Great America from 1998 to 2010))

Five years after it was built, the ride was removed the park.. And cut into pieces...

So.... that makes Stinger the first Invertigo to be scrapped.
(and possibly the first boomerang of any type to be scrapped as well)

In 2016 I made the trek to go get the coaster. It had been some 7 years since my last visit... and as I knew the ride would be open.. I left Great Adventure early and made the 2 hour drive to the park.

I bought an 'After 4' ticket for the park online and got to the park some 20 minutes before the ticket was valid...and proceeded to stress myself out the entire time... It had been off and on raining at Great Adventure but Six Flags is pretty good about running rides in the rain. Cedar Fair parks.... not so much. So as I wait to enter the park.. I watch the storm clouds rolling in..... As soon as 4 hits... I head to the entrance where I'm warned there is no rain check and that thunder storms were moving into the area... So I ran down to the coaster, a walk on, thankfully and got my credit ride. As soon as I exited the ride, I went for a second lap as there was no line. By the time I made it off... The entire park closed for rain.
So...with my "$34" (more like $45 ticket after the *convenience fees*) and some $18 for parking...Making my 2 ride...1 credit, less than an hour visit to Dorney Park total
$63.......

Uh... but at least I got 2 rides on it?
(+1, #840-something)
Oh, Stinger.
#RIP
...In the long run.. it was probably for the better, since after leaving the park I still had a +5 hour drive to my parents house in Massachusetts and now that I was leaving way earlier than expected, I'd be getting there around 10, rather than the midnight arrival I had planned. 

(Also, the Cedar Fair rain policy is the stupidest park policy I've ever come across... and its screwed me over on at least 2 other park visits... One leading to a nearly SEVEN HOUR wait for Maverick at Cedar Point because of off-and-on rain)

The Real Housewives of Kissimmee

Magic Castle Inn & Suites
(focal point of the film, The Florida Project)

So...last year a movie came out by the name The Florida Project (a play on the development name for Walt Disney World) I had wanted to see it after everyone started raving about it but failed to get the chance. Luckily during a delightful 16 hour flight I was on to Hong Kong, it was being offered as part of the inflight entertainment... So I watched it... and I really, really enjoyed it.
The film follows of the lives of people who live in the hotels off 192 right behind Disney. Knowing the area and living/working in the area.. it almost seemed like the film could have just been a documentary of life in Kissimmee... and up until the very end of the film.. it seems like it could have even been a reality TV show. While obliviously a movie and not real life, it does give a very real feeling of what its like for people who live and work right on the doorsteps of the Disney empire but might never be able to afford the chance to visit and how millions of visitors yearly have no idea whats really going on where they vacation. ....But I guess that could be said for anywhere, really.
 But it was kinda neat to see a whole bunch of places I've been to or been past. Showing things like Orange World, Twistee Treat, different crappy gift shops, the Mickey Pylon!... and even signs for Cici's Pizza and Ichiban Buffet (one of my favorites!)

I almost feel like had I seen this film before moving down to Orlando... it might have even put me off it. ha
But yeah, Magic Castle Inn & Suites.

Yup.

And much like in the movie.... there were even Sandhill Cranes!
((AND A BABY!!))

(((yyeeeessssss)))

Annddd.... here's the Trailer for the movie.

So yeah... if you haven't seen this movie yet... you probably should.

and here's a rather good news story about the hotel and movie - click

บวกหนึ่ง : โยโย่แลนด์ (because, why not?)

When visiting a country... on the other side of the world... and for the first time... obviously, the first thing you'll wanna do is visit the mall... right? Uh....
Who needs Buddhist Temples, Royal Palaces, or anything with any sort of cultural value... when you can visit.... the mall!

Ah, Seacon Square, because, why not?

Originally this wasn't gonna be a stop on my trip. But since I had finished my morning/afternoon activity in a timely manner and was sooo close anyways.... I used Uber for my second time, ever... And made my way over to the mall.

So... yeah, Seacon Square. A rather large mall in Bangkok. (its one of the largest in the whole country!) And also one of like.... 8... I ended up inside of over my 3 days in Thailand...
But at least I wasn't here to shop?

They were having this odd... Auto Show going on... I guess.

Also, this bear <3

Bread Talk!!
But also, the reason I'm here.. And not doing something of historical or cultural value....
BEHOLD!

Yoyo Land! โยโย่แลนด์
...home of Bangkok's only indoor amusement park // roller coaster!

Park Map

the park, mostly geared toward kids was a lot bigger than I had thought. It also had way more rides than I was expecting... Like this fun looking kiddie Viking ride.

And a small kid sized log flume with better theming than most Cedar Fair parks.

Cowboy/Horse ride.. with fake cacti!

Bumper Car(s)

Ghost House

Snowland?!

BOOM BOOM!
(I laughed way more than I should have)

Things weren't looking so good for Hotel Pooh
also, I laughed at this too, haha, Pooh.

Kinda neat looking double helix car ride.
But also, the reason I came here and the only thing I rode....
wait for it.... wait for it!!....

Roller Coaster / รถไฟเหาะ / Zoom / ซูม !
yeesssssss

a Zierer custom built Tivoli model

Featuring this epic clear blue tunnel...

Lets do this!
(My fourth and final Thai coaster!)
Zooooooooooooooooom!

So...excited.... here we go!!
The ride starts without even a lift hill. Booster tires just push you out of the station and you start rolling past all the other rides and arcade games. slowly making your way around to the lift that comes pretty much two thirds of the way around the course.
(and that adds no more than say... 5 feet of elevation change.. haha)

Such an exciting layout, I know.
The ride used to be something more worthwhile but in 1999 the park and coaster were both down sized and what was once a pretty cool looking coaster became more of a 'tour around the park'
(see this image from RCDB - https://rcdb.com/2239.htm#p=38792 )

Post the rides modification, this became the only substantial drop on the ride, and it comes pretty much at the end, after you glide around over-top of the rest of the park area.

Each ride consists of two laps around the layout and since I'll probably never be back here. I went back for a second ride. Taking both a front and back seat double lap. haha

Via YouTube, I found this delightful on and off ride video showing the coaster in all its glory.
Not my video, but it shows off the ride well enough that I included it here. ha.

Uh and because why not, some bonus Twitter stuffs.
https://twitter.com/CanobieFan/status/970588302448496640
https://twitter.com/CanobieFan/status/970594964630638592

(Hey look, semi-actual content for once!)