#Tac Talks Coasters

[tacoma-narrows]

Tac Talks Coasters - Post 3: #168

Photo Sources: All photos are mine

Swamp Fox at Family Kingdom!

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Opened: 1966 Manufacturer: Philadelphia Toboggan Company Height: 75 ft (23 m) Speed: 50 mph (80 kph) Length: 2,400 ft (730 m) My most recent ride: 2019

From what I see online at least, not a whole lot of people talk about this ride. That's understandable, as Family Kingdom is kind of out there down in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, away from most major parks people hit on road trips. I believe Carowinds would be the closest major park, and that's still about 3 and a half hours away.

But maybe it's for the better that not too many people have experienced Swamp Fox though, because based on my rides from my visits to this park in 2019, this thing was BRUTALLY rough. There was jack-hammering (bouncing up and down in your seat) through pretty much the entire layout to the point that I got off the ride with a killer headache that lasted me a good half hour afterwards. This was easily the roughest coaster I've ever ridden. It goes above Corkscrew and Nighthawk because those rides beat you up in a number of different ways (mainly due to the restraints on both), where as Swamp Fox just bounces your brains out, but it's not a lot keeping this one above those two.

From reviews I've seen online that have come out more recently than when I rode Swamp Fox, it's running better now, so hopefully that means the park is taking care of it or even did some re-tracking. I sincerely hope it's running better because it's a classic beachside wooden coaster and it's always sad to lose one of those. I'd be interested to try the ride again to see if it's running better now, because those reviews also said the ride had strong airtime pops, which I do remember, but not very clearly because I was focused on not getting rattled to death.

I do really hope the best for Swamp Fox, because it's clear the ride has good bones. It's just a matter of maintaining the ride properly, as is the case with all wooden coasters really. It looks fantastic in its park with it's classic white and red color scheme and just captures that classic boardwalk feel. So I do hope it sticks around and that it's running better now for more people to experience in the future.

Thanks for checking out today's coaster post! Keep an eye out for tomorrow's coaster!

[astrolovecosmos]

IC, Childhood and “Home”

The IC marks the beginning of the 4th House. It tells of your past, roots, programming, and childhood. Other notable places to look for childhood descriptions and associations are the 3rd house (early development) and the Rising/1st House. Some astrologers believe the younger you are the more you are attune to your Rising and 1st House environment. Some also believe as you age you get more in tune to the Rising. Maybe we lose it as we grow up and have to find ourselves again? 

Aries IC: Not coming home until the streetlights pop on. Late nights - never sleeping. Scrapes and bruises. Spicy, sassy, spunky moments. Competitive tyke. Center of attention. Brain freeze. Feels at home with satire, excitement, change, and room to breathe and make decisions.

Taurus IC: Finger painting, night lights, slime time. 🧸 Bright, colorful spring and summer days. Birthday parties and gifting holidays are everything. Taking their time - maybe a late bloomer. Camping or nature walks. Never letting go of a hand in a grocery store. Material needs highly met or under met. Feels at home with routine, boundaries, is safe, wealthy either metaphorically or literally, patient or slow moving.

Gemini IC: Climbing the walls. Hobbies, hobbies, hobbies. Schoolyard drama. That new book smell. Questioning everything. Imaginary friend. Speaking up or in the zone. Impactful friendships. Jumping on the bed. Tree houses. Home should feel talkative and sharing. It feels lively, always a new adventure, filled with wonder, a safe place to learn.

Cancer IC: Days and nights at the grandparents. Mamma’s boy or girl. Arts and crafts. Plenty of baking or sweets offered. Hugs and kisses. Family stories and heirlooms. Shyness or timid. Playing house, playing mermaid. Digging or wrapping up in warm laundry. Playing in the rain, mud, lake, creek. Blanket forts. Sticky fingers. Needs a home that feels safe, encouraging, stable, nostalgic, emotionally close, such deep bonds.

Leo IC: Playing dress up. Center of attention. Sore loser. No watered down juice. Sunny, special. Dancing and running. Sand castles. Art on the fridge. Always talked about in the family. Warm summer nights. At every sleep over. Roasting marshmallows. Playing with fire. Home is a place that lets them express themselves. Home should feel empowering, validating, and adoring. 

Virgo IC: Weekends at the library or YMCA. Girl/boy scouts. Hayrides. Adventures in the closet. Learning from the garden. Camps and summer school. Don’t mess with their routine. Understands the rules. Picky eater. The best patient or terrified of doctors. Playing doctor, playing vet, playing teacher. Chores and bedtimes. Feels at home with structure, caring, being prepared, busy or productive. It needs to feel organized, clean, or healthy and that can be literal or metaphorical. 

Libra IC: Well behaved. Never forgetting to give a classmate a valentine or party invite. Paper fortune teller. Tic-tac-toe. Secretly exploring attics, basements, offices, or closets. Spoiled or lack of discipline. Solving or hiding from parental arguments. Feeding the ducks or pigeons. Passing notes. Messing with parents’ jewelry, makeup, ties, clothes. Wants a home that feels peaceful, balanced, loving, and filled with feelings of fellowship and cooperation. 

Scorpio IC: Highly sensitive. Taking in everything. Reading or scrolling on an iPad under the covers in the middle of the night. Monsters under the bed and in the closet. Playing spy or detective. Solving puzzles. Eavesdropping on adults. Making potions. Hiding their diary/journal. Facing childish fears. Getting lost in fantasy. Always talking about their favorite subject. Master hide and seeker. Feels at home with sarcasm or honest humor, stimulating challenges, a place where they have control, reassuring.

Sagittarius IC: Nature or animal lover. Pillow, snowball, water balloon fights. Mischievous, prankster. Never ending questions. Giggly. Field trips and summer vacations. Book fair love. Tomboy. Horse girl. Sports star. Class clown. Playgrounds and the smell of wood chips. Acting out. Daredevil. Roller coasters. Water slides. Pen pals. Home should feel happy, exuberant, hopeful, filled with meaning.

Capricorn IC: Taking care of siblings. Expectations. Lemonade stands and homemade bird houses. Precious summer break and snow days. Little pleasures of crunching fall leaves or poking holes in erasers. Growing up fast. Mimicking adults. Feels at home with discipline, stability, possibly authority or hierarchy, privacy, when they have control, and material comforts.

Aquarius IC: Making up their own rules and games. Cherishing unique treasures or toys. Surprising everyone. Standing out in the family or classroom. Secret experiments. Sharing what they learned in school. Clubs and block parties. Ghost stories and prank calls. Wishing wells. Home to them is where they can truly be themselves.

Pisces IC: Vivid dreams or nightmares. Otherworldly sensitivity. 🌈Imagination 🦄. Fantastical adventures. Handle with care. All types of friends or unlikely friendships. Playing alone. Tears, laughter, smiles. Bubble baths. Making/finding their own toys. Fish or hamsters that mysteriously keep looking a little different every few years. Remembering everything or lost memories. From the mouths of babes. Training wheels and floaties. Besties with every animal they meet. Lack of rules or discipline. Home should feel connected, harmonious, completely free of judgment or harshness, compassionate. 

[x-birdbrains-x]

Something dumb and silly with my OC and @donivanessdoodles 's boy. Just based on a blank base they sent me and we picked who would be who.

Just alto of dumb boys spending time together and being chaos.

Modern AU

The three men had known one another for years and did almost everything together since they’d met in their early twenties. Getting a house together just made sense, it would cut the cost, give them a chance to get on the property ladder and they still got to keep their close nit friendship.

It started off that way at least, Thatch, Izou and Marco didn’t just spend all their time together, they had lives outside the four walls and one another and that’s where Ace came into the picture. Marco had met him and the two had started dating.

Thatch and Izou liked the younger man, didn’t mind when Ace became a more permanent fixture in the household, he was younger than the rest of them, had habits that Izou had almost smacked out of the raven-haired male. Ray wasn’t far behind, another of Marco’s partners. Thatch had teased the blond over and over about being into twinks, younger men with cute faces.

Izou once again had to knock some manners into the younger housemate. If one more person put beer bottles down on his lovely coffee table without a coaster, he was going to murder someone, probably Marco for bringing in the younger two.

For all Thatch’s teasing of his best friend for his choice in partner karma soon came to wipe the smug look off the chefs face as he met and started to date Willis. Marco was delighted he got to give Thatch the same treatment.

Once again Izou despaired at the very loud and boisterous younger members of the household, glad his room was on the other side of the house, not wanting to have to deal with what. Despite the mix of personalities everyone seemed to get on.

There wasn’t much strife in the house. Thatch and Willis were always happy to cook together in the kitchen for the rest of their housemates. Ray kept Ace out of trouble, for the most part. Izou sometimes forgot how manic the house could get until he introduced his sister to the household.

Everyone fixated with his beautiful, tall, and kind sister. He’d never felt like kicking so many asses at once. Despite that though, despite having to deal with a house full of extroverts Izou enjoyed all their company greatly.

Izou sometimes got frustrated at the situation of living with, well, idiots. One time he knocked on Marco’s door and was told to come in, he’d not been prepared to enter the room and seeing Marco, a man his own age and Ray playing tic tac toe on Ace’s forehead while the younger man slept.

Then there was Thatch and Willis which was another story altogether. He’d been talking to Willis while drinking his tea for a full fifteen minutes with no reply, Izou was about to snap at the young man being rude before Thatch entered the kitchen and kissed the man on the cheek.

“Hey babe” he said with a smile

“Oh hey! I’m almost done cooking” Willis said with a grin, Izou squinted at the couple.

“So, he talks to you” The man frowned when Thatch came to lean on the counter next to him.

“Let me guess, stood here talking to him?” He got a nod from the Izou and he chuckled rolling his eyes “He’s depth on that side, he probably didn’t hear a damn word”

The house was chaos, for sure. Izou was sat on the couch staring at the TV watching a movie, soon Marco joined him sitting at the other side with a book, catching up on some light reading he guessed. Ace soon came home from seeing his brothers.

“Hey” he said cheerfully and flopped down next to Marco, getting snuggled by his side, complaining and wanting attention from the blond.

Izou quirked a brow at how needy the younger man was being, Thatch soon appeared from his room sitting next to Izou and spreading his legs out, knees bumping into his and Ace’s. The chef grinned ear to ear and stared at the TV before looking for the remote.

“This was on yesterday..”

“Yes, but I’m watching it today” Izou said and tried to get the remote back off Thatch.

Willis soon entered the room from making himself and everyone a cup of tea, setting the tray on the table before glancing at the already packed sofa. Thatch patted his lap which Willis happily accepted, Izou sighed as the sofa got more and more occupied.

“Awww I saw this one last week, what’s on the horror channel?” Ray’s voice cut in as he appeared and leaned on the back of the sofa, reaching down to ruffle Ace’s hair and lean down for a smooch with Marco, purposely flipping the page he was reading to get his attention.

“Oh, a horror!” Ace chirped and shook Marco’s arm gently like he had any say in it.

Willis nodded, that seemed like a good idea, he took the remote from his boyfriend and started to look through the channels. All the time Izou felt his sanity slowly draining from his body. The movie started and Willis was getting fussy perched on Thatch’s lap, so he decided to get comfortable and draped himself across the others on the sofa.

He smiled up at Izou who gave him a look, pursing his painted lips in annoyance before raising his hands not wanting to be overly familiar. Ray laughed at the scene as he draped his arms around Marco, watching as Ace was trying to get comfortable again despite everyone’s legs in his way.

Yeah, the house was chaos, but it was their own little family.

[atc74]

Angelina’s Author Admiration Alcove

If you have ever talked to me here, you may have heard me say “We are here to build each other, not tear each other down.”

This is part of my ongoing mission to build each other up and spread more love. If you have an author you would like me to check out, see my side-side-side blog, @angreadsficsandauthors and send me an ask!

@wheresthekillswitch

My dearest Lee, what can I say? This gem is just that. Lee writes with the power to rip your heart to shreds and patch it up again. A few of my favorites?

Unspoken - A tale of two J’s. One has been her friend since childhood, the other she meets by chance and the hits keep coming, the emotions keep rolling. 

The Beginning at the End - I do love a strong OC and this has one. Strong, sassy and capable. 

Fort Winchester - Oh man, talk about pulling at your heart strings. This was such a phenomenal read and I only wish there was more!

@percywinchester27

Let me tell you about this little peach. I first fell in love with Ana and her Tic Tac Toe series. The fluff, angst and suspense she writes into each story is what keeps me coming back. If you are not following her, go do it. She is a gem and you can thank me later!

Tic Tac Toe - Reader is new and town and finds comfort in a game of Tic Tac Toe with a stranger on a bus bench. 

Constellation - An all around cavity inducing fluff fest. I couldn’t get enough of this and I was so sad when it was over! 

Stroke of Luck - This series is top notch. There are so many feels here, there should be a link from the Merriam Webster definition of ‘roller coaster’ direct to this series!

Everyone will tagged in these posts - if you want off - let me know!  @iwantthedean @chelsea072498 @paintrider13-blog @d-s-winchester @just-a-touch-of-sass-and-fandoms @just-another-busy-fangirl @winchesterprincessbride @waywardjoy @like-a-bag-of-potatoes @mamaredd123 @ellen-reincarnated1967 @sis-tafics @deansdirtyduchess  @katymacsupernatural @tankcupcakes  @death2thevirgin  @wonderange @padackles2010 @smoothdogsgirl @meeshw777 @tmccarney @milkymilky-cocopuff  @ashstrom87 @zeppo-in-a-trenchcoat @scorpiongirl1 @gemini75eeyore @katewatso @cosmicpeanuthologram @jotink78 @l8nitl0vr @supernaturalyobsessed @memphisgirl1977 @bmcnally85  @ruprecht0420 @mskitty416 @theoriginalvicki @hexparker @nanie5 @whywhydoyouwantmetosaymyname @sandlee44 @fangirl1802 @moonstar86 @raylin19 @niamandthings  @feelmyroarrrr @kittenofdoomage @t-bear99 @hamartiamacguffin @colorfulobjectenemy @uttertrash--butlikecutetrash  @sammieb1127 @evyiione @you-didnt-see-that-cuming @moshingatthedisco  @winchestersmut  @alicat-life @mogaruke @cyrilconnelly @growningupgeek @charliebradbury1104 @evansrogerskitten @therewillbeblood @docharleythegeekqueen @megansescape @taste-of-dean  @scarlet-soldier-in-an-impala  @deathtonormalcy56 @wildfirewinchester  @notnaturalanahi @jensen-jarpad @impalaimagining @fangirlextraordinaire @itseverythingilike @jesspfly @love-kittykat21 @mrswhozeewhatsis @aiaranradnay  @supernatural-jackles @samwinlover @iamnotsaneatall @autopistaaningunaparte @blacktithe7 @emoryhemsworth @dracotomanddeansprincess23 @bringmesomepie56 @devilgirlsarah @spnbaby-67 @holytrenchcoatedsubtextchuck @emilycollins11 @myoutletforfanfiction @deansangelgirl @mizzzpink @jerk-bitch-and-an-angel @kayteonline @rockhoochie @wheresthekillswitch @anokhi07 @perpetualabsurdity @txp87 @akshi8278  @iamabeautifulperson18 @suzannebeaketa @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @deandoesthingstome​ @spn-dean-and-sam-winchester @boxywrites​  @deansangelgirl​ @sparklesuperwholock88​ @ericaprice2008​  @leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid​  @winchestersnfriends​ @flare-chan003​

[chocdono]

All The Best EASY Valentine’s Ideas in ONE Spot

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and if you’re like me, Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that is so much fun (I mean, it’s all about the people you love! hubby! family! friends! and also chocolate, don’t forget the chocolate) but this is one holiday that sneaks up on me and my good intentions every single year! Because the projects around here don’t take holiday breaks, and I’m guessing they don’t at your house, either. So, this year, we’ve teamed up with 20+ amazing friends to make Valentine’s Day as easy as click and print — for sweetheart valentines and date ideas, to kids valentines and crafts and class party printables, to super easy printable valentine’s decorations.  Literally everything you need for an awesome and easy Valentine’s Day bonanza!

We call it the

ALL THINGS VALENTINE’S DAY

Blogger Bundle

The BEST Valentine’s Day ideas in one place! 

AND we have the BEST deal for you, too! But you gotta act quick. The timer on this deal is ticking down FAST!

  See what we mean? Everything you need! What you’re looking at is almost 200 pages of printables for you, all in one handy dandy Valentine’s Day bundle. And OF COURSE, we slashed the price! So much that you’ll think it’s a typo. It’s not. The deal is JUST THAT AWESOME.

20+ crazy, cute printables—ONE crazy, low price!

You can get over $200 worth of ADORABLE items for only $15-$20!

We’re NOT KIDDING! Gorgeous wall art and decor, creative gift ideas, cute classroom valentines, craft and activity ideas for the kids, romantic date ideas, and MORE all from your favorite bloggers! You’re waiting for the catch, right? Well, there is a teeny, tiny one…

You’ll have to ACT FAST—this deal only lasts for THREE DAYS!

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:

This is a 3-Day sale, buuut the price goes up a little each day. So, you can snag it today because the price is going up tomorrow! Here’s the breakdown…

Buy on the 25th for only $15

Buy on the 26th for only $18

Buy on the 27th for only $20

After that, this deal is GONE FOREVER!

So basically what your mama always said is true- procrastination doesn’t pay!

Wait too long {like after the 27th at midnight MST} and this deal will be gone FOREVER!

And now, the big reveal. Everything that’s included in this awesome bundle.

WHAT’S INCLUDED:

This baby seriously has EVERYTHING you could ever WANT or NEED for Valentine’s Day! Including…

Beautiful Valentine’s prints to decorate your home.

Romantic gift ideas for your sweetheart.

Cute and creative classroom valentines for kids and teachers.

Meaningful activities and an advent for making memories.

Darling party printables and decor.

AND SO MUCH MORE! {See EVERYTHING below!}

Um, one page of wall art ALONE can be around $20 on Etsy! And you get ALL THAT JAZZ for the same price? This is a no-brainer!

WANT TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT EVERYTHING INCLUDED?

I thought so! We are so in l-o-v-e with every last bit of this printable bundle.

1. Valentine’s Day Scavenger Hunt by Ashlee Marie – Chose from two different Scavenger Hunts for your spouse OR kids! The Kids’ Scavenger Hunt will have them hunting for Valentine’s related items, and the String Scavenger Hunt leaves a trail of string with lots of sweet love notes!

2. Valentines Wall Art by C Dot Love – These 3 Valentine’s printables are perfect for displaying together or separately. You can trim to 8×10 for framing OR put behind a mat in a larger frame. (I’m thinking it would make for darling bedroom decor!)

3. Our Love Story by Kristen Duke – We just LOVE this next one. Check out this cute printable Love Story Journal. With places to write down “His Version” and “Her Version” this is a keepsake you’ll want to keep forever!

4. Valentines Happy Mail Kit by Crafting Chicks – Send some LOVE this Valentine’s Day using this adorable Valentines Happy Mail Kit. This printable kit includes a banner, cupcake toppers, and mailing label.

5. Woodland Creatures Valentine Craft by FaLaLa Designs – Help your kids create their own Valentines with this simple craft. I can’t even get over how CUTE these little critters are. The heart they’re holding even opens up to deliver a personal message.

6. 3 Valentine’s Prints by Family Ever After – Still need more festive decor to get your house decked out for V-day? We’ve totally got you covered. Print and frame all 3 of these cute Valentine’s prints, available in 4×6, 5×7, AND 8×10 sizes.

7. Love Coupons by Inspiration Made Simple – Give your honey some love coupons this Valentine’s Day! It’s a fun gift that keeps on giving. And who wouldn’t love some spoiling and pampering from their sweetie? It even has a page of blank coupons so you can personalize it with your own ideas!

8. Chocolate Bar Valentine Variety Pack by Less Ordinary Designs – Chocolate is a Valentine’s Day staple, and giving candy bars just got a whole lot cuter with these printable wrappers. This pack features 5 different designs sized to fit a standard bar of chocolate (normally around 1.55 oz). These wrapped bars of chocolate will be a sweet way to give a unique Valentine’s Day treat!

9. Valentine’s Party Printables by Love The Day – If you’re hosting a party this Valentine’s, this pack has everything you’ll need! We’re talking: Party Flags, Cupcake Wrappers, Drink Labels, AND lots of different Party Tags! (I think I’ll throw a mini-family party just so I can use them!)

10. Valentine’s Dinner for Kids by My Sister’s Suitcase – Let the kids enjoy a special dinner that’s just for them! Included in the Dinner Kit: printable Invitation, Coloring Placemat, Straw Flags, Mini Banner, and a Tic Tac Toe game (for a little after-dinner activity).

11. Heart-on-a-String Lunch Kit by Paging Supermom – Why not send the kiddos to school with a little extra LOVE in their lunch this Valentine’s Day? The Lunch Bag Seal, Sandwich String Charms, and Juice Box Wrap are sure to make it a lunch they’ll remember! (I’m thinking the hubby would love it too!)

12. Love Checks by Petite Party Studio – These darling love checks from “The Love Bank” make the perfect, meaningful gift for your Valentine. They even come with a cute checkbook cover to put them in! How fun is that?!

13. Cheap Date Night Printable Set by Printable Crush – Plan out weeks of inexpensive, fun, and creative date nights with this Cheap Date Night Printable Set! It has everything you need for a fun night out, or a night in, including a dating journal, photo props, gift tags, games, surveys, and more!

14. Red Dot Alphabet Bunting by Remodelaholic – This fun red dot bunting printable is so versatile! Use it to create the perfect Valentine’s Day mantel. Create a banner with you and your honey’s name, the word valentine, or another fun saying! Bonus- The pretty red color is also great for patriotic holiday, birthdays, or even Christmas!

15. 3 Love Cards by Smitten By – No need to buy Valentine’s cards this year, this printable pack has everything you need. Including: A DIY Scratch-off Card (with instructions), an “I Love You” card, and an “I love you because…” card! Good luck choosing just one. Clearly you need them ALL!

16. Valentine Advent Boxes by Somewhat Simple – Count down to “LOVE Day” all month long with these 14 ADORABLE Advent Boxes. Fill them up with sweets & treats, activities to do as a family, or anything your heart desires!

17. Valentine’s Dinner Printables by Tatertots and Jello – This printable pack is jammed packed with goodies for a memorable Valentine’s Dinner. Including: Cupcake Toppers, Banner, Plate Toppers or Silverware Holders, Place Cards, Straw Toppers, and even 2 5×7 prints!

18. EPIC Valentine’s Essentials Bundle by That Crazy Oil Lady – Do you LOVE essential oils? Whip up some crazy-awesome Valentine’s recipes in the kitchen and in your home with the Valentine’s Day Essentials Kit, Kids Scavenger Hunt, Printable art, and Valentine’s Cards! These beautiful recipe cards are great to create some sexy, sensual, and romantic moments, gift to a girlfriend for her Bachelorette party with some essential oils, or use as a gift tag along with the recipe you make yourself when you give it to your spouse! This beautiful bundle includes framable wall art as well! Also included is a set of 8 Valentine’s cards, ready for your personal touch, and a fun Scavenger hunt game for the kiddos!

19. At-Home Date Night by The 36th Avenue – Can’t get out for Valentine’s Day? This printable pack has absolutely everything you need for a romantic night in- no babysitter required! Including: Invitation, Menu, Napkin Rings, Coasters, Food Toppers, Small Banner, Bottle Wrapper, AND Valentine Print.

20. Choose Your Own Valentine Adventure Date by The Dating Divas – Get ready for an adventure! That’s right, we have your Valentine’s date already planned out for you. Just print the clever “Choose Your Own Valentine Adventure” booklet, hand it to your honey, and let him decide how the night will go.

21. “Dine & Be Mine” Bedroom Fun by The Dating Divas – Surprise your sweetie with this sassy but classy way to spice things up on Valentine’s Day! Give him the invitation to a night of romance, then present him with the romantic Menu of Services and his Love Cash. Now what man wouldn’t love THAT?! *wink*

22. 4 Valentine’s Day Prints by The Girl Creative – Add some instant V-day decor to your home with these 4 different, GORGEOUS Valentine’s Day Prints. You can print and frame all 4 in both 5×7 and 8×10 sizes! (These are so beautiful, I’d leave them up year round!)

23. You Color My World Valentine’s Pack by Thirty Handmade Days – You won’t believe all of the cuteness included in this pack! The Bag Toppers and Sticker Labels are perfect for pairing with a box of crayons as valentines for the kids’ classmates and friends. The two gift card holder templates are perfect as a cute teacher gift… AND the Valentine’s coloring page finishes off the set!

24. Valentine Gift Wrap Set by Whimsicle Designs – Your Valentine gift-giving just got a whole lot easier (& cuter!!) This darling set includes 5 gift tags, 3 bows, & 3 wrapping paper sheets! (And hey- you can use most of it even AFTER Valentine’s Day too!)

25. Valentine Monster Bingo Yellow Bliss Road by – Add some fun to the holiday by playing this cute but simple game with your kids. Bingo set includes 6 different Bingo Cards as well as the Calling Cards. (This would be a FUN one to bring to class parties too!)

26. Printable Coupon Book for Kids! by How Does She – Don’t forget your kids this Valentine’s Day. This coupon book allows them to cash in on a variety of fun activities! It’s a wonderful, simple way to make sure each kid feels loved this Valentine’s Day!

  See?! Told ya! EVERYTHING you could ever want or need this Valentine’s Day, all in one AH-Mazing bundle! Buy now and save BIG!

$200 worth of stuff for only FIFTEEN buckaroos!

Three super, duper important things to remember:

The price jumps up tomorrow! It’s only available for TWO MORE DAYS! Midnight MST on the 27th, this deal is gone FOREVER!

What are you waiting for?!

  Happy Valentine’s Day!

The post All The Best EASY Valentine’s Ideas in ONE Spot appeared first on Remodelaholic.

from mix1 http://ift.tt/2jYZWlQ via with this info

[sherlocklexa]

All The Best EASY Valentine’s Ideas in ONE Spot

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and if you’re like me, Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that is so much fun (I mean, it’s all about the people you love! hubby! family! friends! and also chocolate, don’t forget the chocolate) but this is one holiday that sneaks up on me and my good intentions every single year! Because the projects around here don’t take holiday breaks, and I’m guessing they don’t at your house, either. So, this year, we’ve teamed up with 20+ amazing friends to make Valentine’s Day as easy as click and print — for sweetheart valentines and date ideas, to kids valentines and crafts and class party printables, to super easy printable valentine’s decorations.  Literally everything you need for an awesome and easy Valentine’s Day bonanza!

We call it the

ALL THINGS VALENTINE’S DAY

Blogger Bundle

The BEST Valentine’s Day ideas in one place! 

AND we have the BEST deal for you, too! But you gotta act quick. The timer on this deal is ticking down FAST!

  See what we mean? Everything you need! What you’re looking at is almost 200 pages of printables for you, all in one handy dandy Valentine’s Day bundle. And OF COURSE, we slashed the price! So much that you’ll think it’s a typo. It’s not. The deal is JUST THAT AWESOME.

20+ crazy, cute printables—ONE crazy, low price!

You can get over $200 worth of ADORABLE items for only $15-$20!

We’re NOT KIDDING! Gorgeous wall art and decor, creative gift ideas, cute classroom valentines, craft and activity ideas for the kids, romantic date ideas, and MORE all from your favorite bloggers! You’re waiting for the catch, right? Well, there is a teeny, tiny one…

You’ll have to ACT FAST—this deal only lasts for THREE DAYS!

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:

This is a 3-Day sale, buuut the price goes up a little each day. So, you can snag it today because the price is going up tomorrow! Here’s the breakdown…

Buy on the 25th for only $15

Buy on the 26th for only $18

Buy on the 27th for only $20

After that, this deal is GONE FOREVER!

So basically what your mama always said is true- procrastination doesn’t pay!

Wait too long {like after the 27th at midnight MST} and this deal will be gone FOREVER!

And now, the big reveal. Everything that’s included in this awesome bundle.

WHAT’S INCLUDED:

This baby seriously has EVERYTHING you could ever WANT or NEED for Valentine’s Day! Including…

Beautiful Valentine’s prints to decorate your home.

Romantic gift ideas for your sweetheart.

Cute and creative classroom valentines for kids and teachers.

Meaningful activities and an advent for making memories.

Darling party printables and decor.

AND SO MUCH MORE! {See EVERYTHING below!}

Um, one page of wall art ALONE can be around $20 on Etsy! And you get ALL THAT JAZZ for the same price? This is a no-brainer!

WANT TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT EVERYTHING INCLUDED?

I thought so! We are so in l-o-v-e with every last bit of this printable bundle.

1. Valentine’s Day Scavenger Hunt by Ashlee Marie – Chose from two different Scavenger Hunts for your spouse OR kids! The Kids’ Scavenger Hunt will have them hunting for Valentine’s related items, and the String Scavenger Hunt leaves a trail of string with lots of sweet love notes!

2. Valentines Wall Art by C Dot Love – These 3 Valentine’s printables are perfect for displaying together or separately. You can trim to 8×10 for framing OR put behind a mat in a larger frame. (I’m thinking it would make for darling bedroom decor!)

3. Our Love Story by Kristen Duke – We just LOVE this next one. Check out this cute printable Love Story Journal. With places to write down “His Version” and “Her Version” this is a keepsake you’ll want to keep forever!

4. Valentines Happy Mail Kit by Crafting Chicks – Send some LOVE this Valentine’s Day using this adorable Valentines Happy Mail Kit. This printable kit includes a banner, cupcake toppers, and mailing label.

5. Woodland Creatures Valentine Craft by FaLaLa Designs – Help your kids create their own Valentines with this simple craft. I can’t even get over how CUTE these little critters are. The heart they’re holding even opens up to deliver a personal message.

6. 3 Valentine’s Prints by Family Ever After – Still need more festive decor to get your house decked out for V-day? We’ve totally got you covered. Print and frame all 3 of these cute Valentine’s prints, available in 4×6, 5×7, AND 8×10 sizes.

7. Love Coupons by Inspiration Made Simple – Give your honey some love coupons this Valentine’s Day! It’s a fun gift that keeps on giving. And who wouldn’t love some spoiling and pampering from their sweetie? It even has a page of blank coupons so you can personalize it with your own ideas!

8. Chocolate Bar Valentine Variety Pack by Less Ordinary Designs – Chocolate is a Valentine’s Day staple, and giving candy bars just got a whole lot cuter with these printable wrappers. This pack features 5 different designs sized to fit a standard bar of chocolate (normally around 1.55 oz). These wrapped bars of chocolate will be a sweet way to give a unique Valentine’s Day treat!

9. Valentine’s Party Printables by Love The Day – If you’re hosting a party this Valentine’s, this pack has everything you’ll need! We’re talking: Party Flags, Cupcake Wrappers, Drink Labels, AND lots of different Party Tags! (I think I’ll throw a mini-family party just so I can use them!)

10. Valentine’s Dinner for Kids by My Sister’s Suitcase – Let the kids enjoy a special dinner that’s just for them! Included in the Dinner Kit: printable Invitation, Coloring Placemat, Straw Flags, Mini Banner, and a Tic Tac Toe game (for a little after-dinner activity).

11. Heart-on-a-String Lunch Kit by Paging Supermom – Why not send the kiddos to school with a little extra LOVE in their lunch this Valentine’s Day? The Lunch Bag Seal, Sandwich String Charms, and Juice Box Wrap are sure to make it a lunch they’ll remember! (I’m thinking the hubby would love it too!)

12. Love Checks by Petite Party Studio – These darling love checks from “The Love Bank” make the perfect, meaningful gift for your Valentine. They even come with a cute checkbook cover to put them in! How fun is that?!

13. Cheap Date Night Printable Set by Printable Crush – Plan out weeks of inexpensive, fun, and creative date nights with this Cheap Date Night Printable Set! It has everything you need for a fun night out, or a night in, including a dating journal, photo props, gift tags, games, surveys, and more!

14. Red Dot Alphabet Bunting by Remodelaholic – This fun red dot bunting printable is so versatile! Use it to create the perfect Valentine’s Day mantel. Create a banner with you and your honey’s name, the word valentine, or another fun saying! Bonus- The pretty red color is also great for patriotic holiday, birthdays, or even Christmas!

15. 3 Love Cards by Smitten By – No need to buy Valentine’s cards this year, this printable pack has everything you need. Including: A DIY Scratch-off Card (with instructions), an “I Love You” card, and an “I love you because…” card! Good luck choosing just one. Clearly you need them ALL!

16. Valentine Advent Boxes by Somewhat Simple – Count down to “LOVE Day” all month long with these 14 ADORABLE Advent Boxes. Fill them up with sweets & treats, activities to do as a family, or anything your heart desires!

17. Valentine’s Dinner Printables by Tatertots and Jello – This printable pack is jammed packed with goodies for a memorable Valentine’s Dinner. Including: Cupcake Toppers, Banner, Plate Toppers or Silverware Holders, Place Cards, Straw Toppers, and even 2 5×7 prints!

18. EPIC Valentine’s Essentials Bundle by That Crazy Oil Lady – Do you LOVE essential oils? Whip up some crazy-awesome Valentine’s recipes in the kitchen and in your home with the Valentine’s Day Essentials Kit, Kids Scavenger Hunt, Printable art, and Valentine’s Cards! These beautiful recipe cards are great to create some sexy, sensual, and romantic moments, gift to a girlfriend for her Bachelorette party with some essential oils, or use as a gift tag along with the recipe you make yourself when you give it to your spouse! This beautiful bundle includes framable wall art as well! Also included is a set of 8 Valentine’s cards, ready for your personal touch, and a fun Scavenger hunt game for the kiddos!

19. At-Home Date Night by The 36th Avenue – Can’t get out for Valentine’s Day? This printable pack has absolutely everything you need for a romantic night in- no babysitter required! Including: Invitation, Menu, Napkin Rings, Coasters, Food Toppers, Small Banner, Bottle Wrapper, AND Valentine Print.

20. Choose Your Own Valentine Adventure Date by The Dating Divas – Get ready for an adventure! That’s right, we have your Valentine’s date already planned out for you. Just print the clever “Choose Your Own Valentine Adventure” booklet, hand it to your honey, and let him decide how the night will go.

21. “Dine & Be Mine” Bedroom Fun by The Dating Divas – Surprise your sweetie with this sassy but classy way to spice things up on Valentine’s Day! Give him the invitation to a night of romance, then present him with the romantic Menu of Services and his Love Cash. Now what man wouldn’t love THAT?! *wink*

22. 4 Valentine’s Day Prints by The Girl Creative – Add some instant V-day decor to your home with these 4 different, GORGEOUS Valentine’s Day Prints. You can print and frame all 4 in both 5×7 and 8×10 sizes! (These are so beautiful, I’d leave them up year round!)

23. You Color My World Valentine’s Pack by Thirty Handmade Days – You won’t believe all of the cuteness included in this pack! The Bag Toppers and Sticker Labels are perfect for pairing with a box of crayons as valentines for the kids’ classmates and friends. The two gift card holder templates are perfect as a cute teacher gift… AND the Valentine’s coloring page finishes off the set!

24. Valentine Gift Wrap Set by Whimsicle Designs – Your Valentine gift-giving just got a whole lot easier (& cuter!!) This darling set includes 5 gift tags, 3 bows, & 3 wrapping paper sheets! (And hey- you can use most of it even AFTER Valentine’s Day too!)

25. Valentine Monster Bingo Yellow Bliss Road by – Add some fun to the holiday by playing this cute but simple game with your kids. Bingo set includes 6 different Bingo Cards as well as the Calling Cards. (This would be a FUN one to bring to class parties too!)

26. Printable Coupon Book for Kids! by How Does She – Don’t forget your kids this Valentine’s Day. This coupon book allows them to cash in on a variety of fun activities! It’s a wonderful, simple way to make sure each kid feels loved this Valentine’s Day!

  See?! Told ya! EVERYTHING you could ever want or need this Valentine’s Day, all in one AH-Mazing bundle! Buy now and save BIG!

$200 worth of stuff for only FIFTEEN buckaroos!

Three super, duper important things to remember:

The price jumps up tomorrow! It’s only available for TWO MORE DAYS! Midnight MST on the 27th, this deal is gone FOREVER!

What are you waiting for?!

  Happy Valentine’s Day!

The post All The Best EASY Valentine’s Ideas in ONE Spot appeared first on Remodelaholic.

from car2 http://ift.tt/2jYZWlQ via as shown a lot

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Tac Talks Coasters - Post 2: #169

Photo Sources: All photos are mine

Corkscrew at Cedar Point!

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Opened: 1976 Manufacturer: Arrow Dynamics Height: 85 ft (26 m) Speed: 48 mph (77 kph) Length: 2,050 ft (620 m) My most recent ride: 2022

Cedar Point's numerous coasters span all shapes and sizes, and with their legacy of record-breaking rides, they had to break their first records with something. That something was Corkscew, opening in 1976. Corkscrew was the first coaster to feature 3 inversions, and the first coaster to go over a footpath. These were big things for their time.

The key phrase there is "for their time." Corkscrew, nearing 50 years old at this point, is no longer the impressive feat it once was and is now just buried in Cedar Point's lineup. And as you can see from it's second-to-last placement on my list, I'm not a fan. The ride just doesn't do a whole lot for me. Like a lot of old Arrows, it's rough, jerky and uncomfortable, and overall is just outdated design-wise. The one bunny hill between the first drop and the loop doesn't really deliver any air, and the transition into the namesake corkscrews has always been jarring like on a lot of Arrow coasters.

My guess as to the main reasons as to why it's stuck around at Cedar Point for so long are: A) It's not an expensive ride to maintain. Arrow rides are robust, clearly as a lot of them have had pretty long lifespans. Since Corkscrew isn't very big, it doesn't put as much wear on its track and trains so it can just keep on going. And B) There's not a whole lot that could realistically replace it. Corkscrew's plot of land is super long and narrow, smack in the middle of the park. Wedged between the midway, Top Thrill 2, Power Tower and the Super Himalaya on one side, and a backstage area and Hotel Breakers on the other, there's not really a whole lot that could go there without taking some other rides out or making some other kind of major change to the area. Unless you put in some kind of shuttle coaster or just some smaller rides, I can't think of too much else that would fit there, meaning that (I'd imagine) it's not usually on Cedar Point's chopping block.

Finishing up with some positives, similar to Nighthawk, Corkscrew does pull some surprising forces. The last time I rode it, I remember being surprised at how forceful the loop was, as well as getting a bit of hang time on the corkscrews. I can also see Cedar Point keeping it around for it's icon status as the first triple inverting coaster, and it's iconic corkscrews over the midway. The ride really does look nice right in the center of the park. Lastly, it also works well as an introductory ride to someone going on a looping coaster for the first time before moving on to bigger things, so I guess there's a market for that too lol.

So that's the first out of 21 credits I have from Cedar Point. Where do the others land? You'll just have to wait to find out :3c

Thanks for checking out today's coaster post! Keep an eye out for tomorrow's coaster!

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Tac Talks Coasters - Post 1: #170

Photo Sources: All photos are mine

Nighthawk at Carowinds!

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Opened: 2000 (Relocated to Carowinds in 2004) Closed: 2024 Manufacturer: Vekoma Height: 115 ft (35 m) Speed: 51 mph (82 kph) Length: 2,766 ft (843 m) My most recent ride: 2019

Starting off this whole thing is a ride that unfortunately closed pretty recently as part of the new Six Flags cleaning house. Nighthawk was a ride I was never very fond of. I always found it to be uncomfortable, rough, with bad transitions and even worse restraints. The main things I remember about it are the painfully slow operations and by extension, the really long and slow moving line you always had to wait in if you ever wanted to ride it.

Usually I enjoy flying coasters (or at least I've enjoyed the one B&M flyer I've ridden) but I don't think Vekoma really nailed it with this one. It was their first, and from what I've heard, their two others that came after, Firehawk and Batwing, do ride better than Nighthawk did. I never got the chance to ride Firehawk and have yet to get to Batwing though, so I can't speak for those.

The main reason Nighthawk comes up at the bottom of my list is that most coasters, even other bad ones, have something you can do to make the ride experience even slightly more comfortable if you brace yourself a certain way or something like that. You couldn't do that with Nighthawk, at least not in my experience. The restraints were basically light a straitjacket and if you were flying facing down and the train went up, you'd just get thrown into them in a really uncomfortable way. And if you're on your back, you feel the forces of the ride a bit more comfortably, but you're rattling against the seat back from the roughness.

A few pros for Nighthawk, because like I said in the intro post, every ride has at least something positive about it: Firstly, it pulled some strong forces. Especially in the loop you took on your back, the ride had a good variety of forces to offer. And secondly, visually the ride looked great. That bright yellow track and blue supports really looked nice and the ride's placement over the water right as you walked into the park made for a solid entrance plaza. But with it now gone, I'm sure Carowinds will do something great with that space.

Thanks for checking out today's coaster post! Keep an eye out for tomorrow's coaster!

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Tac Talks Coasters - Masterlist

This will be updated once a week to list all of the coasters I've talked about so far all in one place! Each will be linked for ease of access. The broken up into batches by the weeks they were posted.

170. Nighthawk 169. Corkscrew 168. Swamp Fox 167. Anaconda 166. Vortex 165. Stinger 164. Mean Streak

163. Green Lantern 162. Mantis 161. Twist 'n' Shout 160. Kiddy Hawk 159. Woodstock's Air Rail 158. Whistle Punk Chaser 157. Cocoa Cruiser

156. Woodstock Express (Dorney Park) 155. Lil' Devil Coaster 154. Blue Streak 153. Shockwave 152. Thriller 151. Tumblin' Timbers 150. Wacky Mouse

149: Grizzly (California's Great America) 148: Runaway Mine Train 147: Trailblazer 146: Skull Mountain 145: Wilderness Run (Cedar Point) 144: Tornado 143: Woodstock Express (Cedar Point)

142: Tidal Wave 141. Kōmbo 140. Great Pumpkin Coaster 139. Kozmo's Kurves 138. Wilderness Run (Carowinds) 137. Blazing Fury 136. Black Diamond

135. Flitzer 134. High Speed Thrill Coaster 133. Hurler (Kings Dominion) 132. Woodstock Express (Kings Dominion) 131. Woodstock Express (Carowinds) 130. Woodstock Express (Kings Island) 129. Nickelodeon Slime Streak

128. Harley Quinn Crazy Train 127. SandSerpent 126. Wild Mouse (Hersheypark) 125. Ricochet 124. Wild Mouse (Dorney Park) 123. Apple Zapple 122. Psycho Mouse

121. Goat Coaster 120. Alpine Mountain Coaster 119. Galaxy Spin 118. Exterminator 117. Dark Knight (Six Flags Great Adventure) 116. Dark Knight (Six Flags Great America) 115. Hurler (Carowinds)

114. Racer (Kennywood) 113. Carolina Goldrusher 112. Cedar Creek Mine Ride 111. Pandemonium 110. Hurricane 109. Laff Trakk 108. Boomerang

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Tac Talks Coasters - Post 51: #120

Photo Sources: x / x

Alpine Mountain Coaster at Mountain Creek Waterpark!

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Opened: 2011 Manufacturer: Wiegand Height: Not listed Speed: Variable Length: 2,805.1 ft (855 m) My most recent ride: 2015

The second of the two alpine coasters I've done, and this one may be shorter in length than the Goat Coaster, but I actually ended up enjoying this one more haha. The ride felt faster (although since you can control your speed manually with a brake lever on alpine coasters, you can change that speed if you want lol), and the layout was more interesting and dynamic.

I also liked the setting of this one a bit more than the Goat Coaster, since it has the same path through the trees that the Goat Coaster did, but also passes right through the middle of the park, under and around different water slides and past different attractions. Also just like Goat Coaster (though I didn't mention this in that post) the Alpine Mountain Coaster was a very smooth ride all the way through, which is always a plus as well haha.

Though what might be most interesting thing about the Alpine Mountain Coaster is what it represents at Mountain Creek :3 You see, you may not have heard of Mountain Creek, but you might know it by it's former name: Action Park. Action Park is infamously known as the world's most dangerous amusement park, with poorly designed, unsafe rides including the notorious Cannonball Loop (that water slide with a full-on vertical loop in it), and 6 people died there over it's 20 year run. It is a cornerstone of New Jersey folklore, tradition and history. They also had the Alpine Slide, which was a trough people rode down on a little wheeled sled and would often fly out of and get really nasty abrasions.

The Alpine Mountain Coaster is built as a successor to the Alpine Slide, and is thankfully much, MUCH safer lol. Riders are secured into the ride vehicles with a seat belt and the vehicles are secured to the track via up-stop wheels so they have no chance of coming off. So the spirit of the Alpine Slide and Action Park lives on with all the thrills, but none of the spills haha.

Thanks for checking out today's coaster post! Keep an eye out for tomorrow's coaster!

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Tac Talks Coasters - Post 44: #127

Photo Sources: All photos are mine

SandSerpent at Busch Gardens Tampa!

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Opened: 1996 (Relocated to Busch Gardens Tampa in 2004) Closed: 2024 Manufacturer: Mack Rides Height: 45.9 ft (14.0 m) Speed: 28 mph (45 kph) Length: 1,213.9 ft (370.0 m) My most recent ride: 2021

We're gonna be on a run of Wild Mouse coasters for the rest of this week, so brace yourselves lmao. I always felt like SandSerpent was a bit of a weird fit at Busch Gardens Tampa. Their lineup is stacked with great rides, and in the middle of the park, you had this standard Wild Mouse coaster. I understand the role it filled at the park, as a stepping stone for kids between Air Grover and Cobra's Curse, but it didn't seem to be up to the same pedigree I guess as BGT's other coasters.

Of all the Wild Mouse coasters I've ridden, this one felt to be the weakest one (though similar to the Woodstock Express wooden coasters, there's not a whole lot to differentiate them from each other haha). I don't remember it being rough or jerky, but on my one ride I got in 2021, the trim breaks were hitting hard and really killed the pacing. That's unfortunately not uncommon for Wild Mouse coasters, but I remember it being particularly jarring on this one.

To SandSerpent's benefit, it is one of the models with some larger dips after the initial switchback turns on top, but I don't remember getting a whole lot out of those either. Wild Mouse coasters by nature have a lot of good lateral forces in the switchbacks so that's a plus for all these models in general, but when they don't have a lot else to offer beyond that, they all tend to blend together.

Thanks for checking out today's coaster post! Keep an eye out for tomorrow's coaster!

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Tac Talks Coasters - Post 41: #130

Photo Sources: All photos are mine

Woodstock Express at Kings Island!

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Opened: 1972 Manufacturer: Philadelphia Toboggan Company Height: 38.6 ft (11.8 m) Speed: 35 mph (56 kph) Length: 1,350 ft (410 m) My most recent ride: 2019

We have finally reached both the last of the Woodstock Express wooden family coasters, and the final of the five coasters named Woodstock Express on my list!

This one I will keep short because to be completely honest, I am struggling to think of what to say here that I didn't say in the post for Kings Dominion's Woodstock Express two days ago, let alone the one at Carowinds from yesterday lmao.

Much like I've said for its sister coasters at Kings Dominion and Carowinds, Kings Island's Woodstock Express is a really nice, high quality family coaster. It's got some nice little airtime pops on its two biggest drops and some semi strong laterals on its turns. After I rode this in 2019, I thought it was maybe a bit more rattly than the other two, but not to the point where it detracted from the ride or anything.

Even more so than Kings Dominion, Kings Island takes fantastic care of its stacked wooden coaster collection, so I imagine this is still running great. I can't speak from experience on that specifically in the time since my one ride in 2019, but I have faith in Kings Island haha. Again, make sure you don't miss this little gem of a ride buried in Kings Island's lineup!

Thanks for checking out today's coaster post! Keep an eye out for tomorrow's coaster!

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Tac Talks Coasters - Post 8: #163

Photo Sources: All photos are mine

Green Lantern at Six Flags Great Adventure!

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Opened: 1997 (Relocated to Six Flags Great Adventure in 2011) Closed: 2024 Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard Height: 154 ft (47 m) Speed: 63 mph (101 kph) Length: 4,155 ft (1,266 m) My most recent ride: 2017

A lot of my thoughts from my post about Vortex will hold true here because I just don't like standup coasters as a ride style. There are a few pluses to Green Lantern, which is why it lands a few spots above Vortex. Firstly, the layout was a lot more interesting. With it's big inversions and overall better forces, you can see that B&M honed their craft in terms of their layouts and ride designs between when Vortex opened at Carowinds in 1992 and when Green Lantern (originally called Chang) opened at Kentucky Kingdom in 1997. And secondly, with the bigger elements and better layout, the ride had stronger forces than Vortex, and I particularly remember the strong positive Gs at certain points of the ride.

Unfortunately, that's where the positives about Green Lantern end for me. Although the ride was taller, longer, faster, and overall more interesting than Vortex, it had one problem that was way more prevalent here than on Vortex: the roughness. I wouldn't call it brutally rough, but it had a very strong rattle all the way through which led to a lot of headbanging against the restraints. The bulky over the shoulder restraints that really boxed you in made the headbanging pretty much inescapable, even if you put your head forward. And then of course, the bicycle seat thing between your legs cause pain there as well. One of the times I rode this ride was in the front row in the rain. That was not particularly pleasant either lmao.

Overall, Green Lantern, and standup coasters in general are just not for me. There's one more you'll see in tomorrow's post as well. But like with several coasters we've talked about so far, Green Lantern was another one of Six Flags' victims this past year, getting removed with no pre-closing announcement and zero fanfare. It was a particularly bad year to be a green coaster at Great Adventure in 2024, considering it was not the park's only, nor the most notable, casualty.

Thanks for checking out today's coaster post! Keep an eye out for tomorrow's coaster!

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Tac Talks Coasters - Post 7: #164

Photo Sources: All photos are mine

Mean Streak at Cedar Point!

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Opened: 1991 Closed: 2016 Manufacturer: Dinn Corporation Height: 161 ft (49 m) Speed: 65 mph (105 kph) Length: 5,427 ft (1,654 m) My most recent ride: 2016

Big, long, fast and boring. Those are the four main words I would use to describe Mean Streak to you. The ride was huge, with it's almost 5 and a half thousand feet of track, but it chose to not do anything interesting whatsoever with that track. It was just long drawn out turn after long drawn out turn. The fact that the ride was rough also didn't help matters either.

It wasn't as egregious as Swamp Fox, but it wasn't a whole lot better. My favorite personal anecdote about Mean Streak is the way my dad described the experience: Imagine you're sitting on a stool in the middle of a blank room. A buzzer sounds, and a bunch of hatches open up at the base of the walls around the perimeter of the room. A half dozen or so orangutans all run out and start beating you with 2 by 4s for about 2 and a half minutes. The buzzer sounds again, the orangutans run away and the hatches close within a few seconds and you're sitting there trying to figure out what the hell just happened. Mean Streak, everyone lmao.

While the ride experience left a lot to be desired, I have to give Mean Streak credit for it's visual appearance. Not many coasters give you the sense of immensity that Mean Streak did, at least not in the same way. To quote my dad again, he said standing in the middle of the ride walking through the queue felt like being in the middle of a cyclone of wood, and honestly that was a good way to describe it. The ride felt huge when you looked at it. It was made with 1.7 million board feet of Southern Yellow Pine and I believe that metric. Flying through the structure that dense with wood towards the end of the ride was a pretty cool experience visually at least.

But in the end, Mean Streak closed at the end of 2016 to make way for something much, much, MUCH better :3c

Thanks for checking out today's coaster post! Keep an eye out for tomorrow's coaster!

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Tac Talks Coasters - Post 6: #165

Photo Sources: First two photos are mine / Last photo

Stinger at Dorney Park!

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Opened: 1998 (Relocated to Dorney Park in 2012) Closed: 2017 Manufacturer: Vekoma Height: 131.3 ft (40.0 m) Speed: 50 mph (80 km/h) Length: 1,013.8 ft (309.0 m) My most recent ride: 2017

Poor Dorney Park, you're my home park and you deserve so much better </3 Before 2024, this was Dorney's newest coaster and it was the first to go, even before they got anything else new. Stinger was not long for this world at Dorney, only having operated for 6 years at the park. I remember it opening the first year I went to Dorney and then being really surprised to see the announcement that it would be removed basically out of nowhere in late 2017. Given it's placement near the bottom of my list, clearly I didn't like the ride, but it was still sad to see the newest coaster at my home park get taken out so soon (relatively speaking) after it had opened.

But anyways, on to the ride itself. I don't usually mind Vekoma Boomerangs a huge amount. Yeah, some are worse than others but more than anything it's annoying that there are so many of them around. The inverted model of the Boomerang, the Invertigo model is significantly less common, with only 4 having ever been built. Stinger was one of only two in the US during the period it was open, with the other being Invertigo at Kings Island, which we'll see in this list down the line. Invertigo is fine for what it is, but I did not enjoy Stinger.

I don't know if it was the fact that it was relocated from California's Great America or what, but Stinger rode significantly worse that Invertigo did (which I didn't ride until after Stinger had already closed). I mainly remember the ride just being rough and jerky the whole way through. The cycle facing backwards was always worse than going forwards because you couldn't brace yourself as well for whichever element was coming next.

Being a rarer model, Stinger was something relatively unique for Dorney that did act as kind of a detriment to their lineup when they took it out. But even as a shuttle coaster going both forwards and backwards, it was still kind of redundant considering it was right next to Possessed haha. The ride's bright blue color scheme also looked nice and I do like how the ride's logo mimics the shape of the ride itself with the claws forming the cobra roll and the tail as the lift hills. Beyond that though, honestly Stinger is a ride I've barely thought about since it closed. At least it was replaced (eventually) by something significantly better.

Thanks for checking out today's coaster post! Keep an eye out for tomorrow's coaster!

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Tac Talks Coasters - Post 17: #154

Photo Sources: All photos are mine

Blue Streak at Cedar Point!

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Opened: 1964 Manufacturer: Philadelphia Toboggan Company Height: 78 ft (24 m) Speed: 40 mph (64 kph) Length: 2,558 ft (780 m) My most recent ride: 2022

Hello fellow Cedar Point enjoyers, this might be my most unpopular opinion thus far </3 Blue Streak is a ride I always go into with an open mind hoping I'll enjoy it because it's a classic wooden coaster, and more often than not, those tend to be enjoyable. But I don't know what it is, Blue Streak has just never been that enjoyable to me. In my experience, the airtime hills don't really deliver and the ride as a whole is pretty rattly. This could be because I've ridden it on a wheel seat, which generally offers a rougher ride experience on wooden coasters compared to a non-wheel seat. I've also heard that the best row for airtime is the front, so I'll have to give that and a non-wheel seat ride a shot next time I'm at Cedar Point.

Maybe once I ride Blue Streak in a good row, I'll see why a fair amount of people think pretty highly of this ride. But at the moment, every time I go to ride it hoping I'll enjoy it, I come off thinking "yeah, that's still not really it for me :/" Which sucks, because like I said, I want to enjoy it! Also for the record, this won't be the last ride that has the "I go into it with an open mind but end up not enjoying it" theme about it. Not even the last ride like that at Cedar Point, but we'll get there when we get there.

Another thing about Blue Streak that I don't like, and I have no idea why this is the case, but about halfway between the lift and the turnaround, on both going out and coming back, there always seems to be some really gross smell you pass through. It's sort of a rancid, gross smell and I have no clue what it might be. But I've noticed it over my last several rides on Blue Streak in both 2018 and 2022 and I tend to just think "ah yep, that's the Blue Streak Cesspool again" lol.

Anyways, I'm sorry Blue Streak enjoyers, I'm glad you can enjoy a ride that I don't. I hope Cedar Point continues to keep this classic around for many years to come.

Thanks for checking out today's coaster post! Keep an eye out for tomorrow's coaster!