Hey, Remember Treasure Planet Was A Movie People Paid To See Once

The other night the kids and I popped in Treasure Planet, Disney's 2002 animated futuristic adaption of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel Treasure Island. It's one of the last few Disney animated classics that my kids haven't seen yet, and I myself only saw it once upon it's theatrical release. At the time, it was a rare misstep for Disney Animation but having had another odd flop a few years earlier with Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) it was to signal the end of Disney's decade long reign of producing classic animated fare year after year. Now, Treasure Planet sits on a growing list of titles like Chicken Little, Bolt and Home on the Range as lesser loved and lesser known Disney Animated Films.

So it is with some trepidation that I started up the movie. For me, Disney films are best when they are about princesses and magic and funny animals. They are at their least inviting when they are trying to do something outside of the "Disney Box." Treasure Planet is not a bad film but it's one main flaw runs throughout the entire film. The character design of almost the entire cast is unpleasant and perhaps uninspired.

A dog/man scientist, a cat/person captain, a rock thing is a suit, a lobster, a spider...none of these really played for laughs. The human characters are all bland, and the Long John Silver character is supposed to be half machine half something else...I'm not sure what.

The story is tight, the action is good, there's plenty of humor...although a Star Wars reject character that only speaks through rear-end noises seems a little low brow by Disney standards. I just can't get by how ugly and unappealing the characters look.

Two characters stand out as having a traditional Disney look; a little floating shape shifting blob called Morph and a crazy robot named B.E.N who is voiced by Martin Short. These are the only two characters that could even support any merchandise from this movie. And that's kind of the strange thing about this movie, because even though it's only 12 years old - I don't think the suits at Disney would even finance a movie nowadays that wasn't chockfull of characters that would easily translate into plush toys, action figures, T shirts or the 100 Million other things they need to make a movie a real cash cow nowadays.

In the end, Treasure Planet is not as bad as it's legacy would lead you to believe. It's based on a time tested story retold by master storytellers who chose to step a little too far out of the magical world of Disney for their visual inspiration.

This Is The Best Ice Cream I Have Ever Had

Imagine you've only ever seen your favorite movie on a 20 inch television screen. Now imagine seeing that movie on a 70 ft. Imax screen. That lame analogy is my way of describing the depth of flavor you'll feel when you take your first taste of Mr. G's Old Fashioned Hand Made Ice Cream. It is hands down, the best ice cream I have ever tasted!

Mr. G serves up his outrageous ice cream from a century old building in Gettysburg's tourist area. In fact, Mr. G has such a great location - Abraham Lincoln walked by the place on his way to give the Gettysburg Address. If you don't believe me, check out the trees on either side of the building. They both have plaques confirming Mr. Lincoln's passing by! I'm sure the building was used for something less exciting than ice cream back then, but it's still a cool distinction.

Mr. G's is a quint little shop that is pretty big on fun. The inside is not too big and it can get pretty tight in there on nights when the line stretches out the door. Each day Mr. G offers up only a handful of flavors. You won't find crazy designer flavors like Ben & Jerry make. You'll find a pretty typical collection of ice cream flavors. But the homemade work that goes into each batch of ice cream can be detected the second you take your first lick. I'm sure it has to do with the amount of butterfat or whole cream or some science mumbo jumbo like that...I don't know, all I know it is easily the best tasting ice cream I have ever had!

The shop offers a few other selections like Root Beer Floats, Milkshakes, Sundaes and even soft serve, but it's the homemade hand dip scoops that have people buzzing about this Summer sweet spot! My personal ultimate indulgence at Mr. G's is a waffle cone with a scoop of Birthday Cake Batter and a scoop of Chocolate Peanut Butter. I always ask for the latter scoop on top so I have easy access to the huge chunks of thick peanut butter floating in the chocolate goodness. My wife like the fruit based flavors like their super fresh tasting Peach or the yummy Dreamsicle, The boys did Mint Oreo while my younger daughter is just happy with anything you put in a cone and then hand her!

 

There is a little bit of seating inside the historic building and plenty of seating outside all around the place. Another big attraction at Mr. G's is the number of Ring and Hook games they have set up on their property. This is the simple game of trying to swing a small ring attached to a string onto a hook on a pole in front of you. If you've never played this game it might sound easy, but it takes a certain skill to get the hang of it. The best part is, it keeps kids mesmerized for hours. My kids have literally spend half an afternoon standing there playing it, while I lounged at a nearby picnic table eating my daily caloric intake and scrolling Facebook. The game has become so popular at Mr. G's that have even organized some tournaments help periodically throughout the season.

 

When you're done with your ice cream you can stroll through the rather large Mr. G's Gift Shop located in a separate building directly behind the ice cream shop. Back there, Mr. G sells Gettysburg souvenirs as well as a few keepsakes of his own place. They also carry a full line of Life Is Good apparel as well.

 

Mr. G's Old Fashioned Home Made & Soft Serve Ice Cream is a great way to cool off in the middle of a hot summer day. It's located right in the middle of all the tourist fun of historic Gettysburg at 404 Baltimore St.

 



Chalk It Up!

Our town hosts an event every year called Chalk It Up where everybody is invited to the downtown area and given a square of sidewalk and some sidewalk chalk and create a temporary work of art. Everybody from little kids to professional artists come out and make all kinds of cool creations on the walkways in front of the downtown businesses. We've been wanting to take part in it for years, this year we finally made it down. The kids had a blast. Here's a look at our process and our finished product (which we were all pretty proud of!)

New Amusements For You in 2015

Spring is in the air and all the theme parks and amusement parks are rolling out new attractions for the upcoming Summer season. Here's a rundown of what's new behind the admission gates of some of the parks in the region...

Kings Dominion updates it's water park and gives it the new name Soak City. Besides the name change and facility upgrades the new park will feature several new attractions. "Hurricane Heights, the 65-foot tall slide complex features three thrilling new attractions. On Paradise Plunge, thrill-seekers will step into one of three chambers and wait anxiously for the floor to drop out from underneath their feet, sending them in a high-speed, almost vertical free fall through a series of loops and s-curves in a translucent flume. Aqua Blast will send riders twisting and spiraling through an enclosed chute featuring four intense 360-degree loops across 449 feet of slide before they’re dropped out into a pool of water. A wet and wild adventure will await guests on Thunder Falls as they climb into a single or double raft before being launched down a series of intense drops and turns." There will also be a new kids area.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg debuts a new roller coaster: "In the rich tradition of the classic Italian daredevils, no single man wowed the crowds like Tempesto. Busch Gardens’ daring new roller coaster, Tempesto, lets riders take center stage and recreate his signature stunt. Guests daring enough to take on Tempesto will race into unbelievably tight turns at 63 miles per hour and defy gravity as they roll through a complete inversion 154 feet in the air. Busch Gardens^® newest thrill coaster features three launch experiences and Tempesto’s signature loop-the-loop."

Hersheypark in Pennsylvania also has a unique new roller coaster. "Laff Trakk is the first indoor, spinning, glow-coaster in the United States. This family friendly house of laughs spins riders through an exciting adventure of sights and sounds complete with glimpses of colorful characters, a dizzying hall of mirrors, and more!"

 Impulse is the largest construction project in Knoebel's history. The traditional amusement park in Elysburg, PA has added a major new coaster to their lineup. "This steel tower coaster will consist of over 2,000 feet of track throughout which the ride will reach speeds of over 55 miles per hour. To begin the ride, the cars will be pulled via a chain lift up a 98-foot vertical hill, creating anticipation for what’s to come. Following the ascent to the peak of what is called a top hat hill, is a 90-degree free fall drop."

Dorney Park in Allentown, PA offers a new swing ride, Cedar Creek Flyers, to it's guests in 2015.  Riders will sit in one of eight “eagles” suspended from arms 28 feet in the air. As the ride spins, the eagles will swing outward – and riders have the unique opportunity to control their flight experience from mild to wild!"

Another variation on the swing ride with debut at Dutch Wonderland. “Bon Voyage Balloon Chase will take guests on a magical ride in one of eight flying hot air balloons where every seat has a view. The ride soars to lofty heights of 20 feet while rotating clockwise. Your balloon will ascend and descend as it spins; while the wheel at the center of your gondola basket lets you control the direction and speed of your spin."

For Six Flags fans, Six Flags America presents a shiny new version of a carnival classic, "Bourbon Street Fireball, a wild looping coaster. Our new coaster will seat riders in a forward and backward, face-to-face position for a pendulum style take off with multiple 360° revolutions. Just when you think you can’t take any more, the train will suspend upside down and reverse course for additional loops!" A similar ride will also debut at sister park Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, with the name El Diablo.

Quoted information from park's press releases.





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Treasures From The Bottom of the Dresser

I've had this button since before I can remember...

I'm pretty sure my parents bought this on a very early visit to the park when I was maybe just an infant. I can remember this hanging on a cork board outside our basement playroom when I was very little. I haven't seen the pin in years and then just this week it turned up in an envelope of stuff from my childhood home. Pretty cool button, no doubt, but the back of the button gives us s little piece of Amusement Park Obscura that I love...

Check out the original price tag sticker from a very early 70's Kings Dominion gift shop. Super cool! 

I also unearthed this sweet pressed penny...

In case you're not a connoisseur of fine tourist attraction souvenirs such as myself, a pressed penny 

Is created by dropping two quarters and a penny into a machine, turning a crank and smashing and imprinting a picture onto your authentic U.S. one cent piece.

  Now, the mystery here is figuring out which park this came from. The design of Fred is from a mid-90's make over of Fred, with the bigger nose and playful pose. Most of the Hanna-Barbera elements were removed from Kings Dominion during the 90's which leaves that the coin could also be from Universal Studios Florida. Universal hosted their own Hanna-Barbera attraction in the 90's, so it's possible it could be from there. I don't remember getting it anywhere...so who knows where it came from. It's cool and looks great buried under my socks in my dresser. 

Frozen Breakfast - A Cereal Review

I'm a firm believer that every G and PG rated movie should have their own breakfast cereal. I'd go so far as to say we've even been robbed of Hunger Games Flakes and Guardians of the Galaxy O's too but there certainly is no good reason why it's taken the fine folks at Kellogg's over a year to come out with a breakfast cereal based on the mega hit movie Frozen. But in this day and age of minimal grocery store tie-in's, I shouldn't complain when they finally get some good old fashioned Disney cereal on my breakfast table!

The cereal is simply described on the box as "Sweetened Cereal with Marshmallows." Back in the day, you'd have to come up with how the shape of the cereal related to the franchise it was based on. Ninja nets or Donkey Kong barrels were some good eatin' back then. Now, they don't find the need to come up with anything as long as the colors of the marshmallows follow the scheme of all the other merchandising. The marshmallows however, have been identified as Snow and Ice Crystal Marshmallows. So we got that going for us. The shape of the cereal pieces is a generic square, the exact same mold used for Kellogg's new Jif Peanut Butter cereal. They must really be getting their money out of the new Kellogg's Square Cereal Machine!

 

Frozen cereal tastes about as average as any other quick cash grab cereal would. Not quite as tasty as Lucky Charms, but pretty similar. The squares have a little bit of a sweetened varnish that keeps them from getting soggy and gives the little squares a nice flavor. The mini marshmallows are standard fare and will remind you of all the mashmallow based cereals you had as a kid.

Of course there is no prize inside the box, but what is really a let down is that the box has a cover image on both sides. There are no Frozen Fun Facts or a maze or nothing on the back of the box, and having something to read at breakfast time is a must! The box is a self-proclaimed Collector's Edition, it is shinny which is kind of cool...but at least a maze helping Olaf find his carrot nose or something would have liven up the clip art filled box.

Bottom line: My two year old daughter was beyond overjoyed when I took the box out of the grocery bag and she danced around the kitchen hugging it and singing "Let It Go" for 20 minutes - and I suppose that's what it really is all about...and not something to please a 41 year old guy obsessed with cereal based on movies.

Another Pointless List of Every Movie I Watched Last Year - 2014 Edition

Man, I watched a lot of Super Hero movies this year!

Edited 2/5/2015: Per request by a reader, I have added the date of each screening and took it one step further and also added the venue or source for each film. DVDs from Netflix are labeled Netflix DVD, while Netflix is used for films streamed through their service. Simply DVD is used for films from my own personal library.

So here we go with the complete list of every movie I watched in 2014:

1.  Saving Mr. Banks (2013) 1/2 Frank Gettysburg 10
2. High Noon (1952) 1/6 Netflix
3. We're The Millers (2013) 1/9 Netflix DVD
4. Fantastic Four (2005) 1/10 DVD
5. The Way Way Back (2013) 1/12 Netflix DVD
6. Lovelace (2013) 1/13 Netflix
7. Mel (1998) 1/14 DVD
8. Critters 2 (1988) 1/16 DVD
9. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) 1/16 DVD
10. The Lone Ranger (2013) 1/18 Netflix DVD
11. Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) 1/19 DVD
12. Turbo (2013) 1/19 Netflix DVD
13. The Great Muppet Caper (1981) 1/21 DVD
14. Loving Annabelle (2006) 1/21 Netflix
15. Meet The Spartans (2008) 1/22 DVD
16. Blue Jasmine (2013) 1/23 Netflix DVD
17. Daredevil (2003) 1/24 DVD
18. The Starving Games (2013) 1/26 Redbox DVD
19. Secretary (2002) 1/27 Netflix DVD
20. Don Jon (2013) 1/30 Netflix DVD
21. Doctor Strange (2007) 1/31 Netflix
22. In A World... (2013) 2/3 Netflix DVD
23. A.C.O.D. (2013) 2/3 Netflix DVD
24. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013) 2/6 Netflix DVD
25. The Lego Movie (2014) 2/11 R/C Hanover Movies
26. Flowers in the Attic (2014) 2/11 Lifetime
27. The Rescuers (1977) 2/13 DVD
28. The Rescuers Down Under (1990) 2/14 DVD
29. Enough Said (2013) 2/18 Netflix DVD
30. The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2014: Animation (2014) 1/20 The Majestic Theater, Gettysburg
31. Iron Man &  Hulk: Heroes United (2013) 2/21 Netflix
32. Austenland (2013) 2/23 Netflix DVD
33. Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013) 2/24 Netflix DVD
34. Caddyshack (1980) 2/27 DVD
35. Ass Backwards (2013) 3/3 Netflix DVD
36. Dallas Buyers Club (2013) 3/4 Netflix DVD
37. Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope (2011) 3/6 M-Go
38. Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014) 3/10 R/C Hanover Movies
39. Sleeping Beauty (1959) 3/14 DVD
40. Frozen (2013) 3/18 DVD
41. Muppets Most Wanted (2014) 3/26 R/C Hanover Movies
42. Escapade in Florence (1962) 4/10 DVD
43. Condorman (1981) 4/11 DVD
44. The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979) 4/15 DVD
45. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) 4/17 R/C Hanover Movies
46. A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969) 4/18 DVD
47. Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue (1953) 4/21 VHS
48. Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery (2014) 4/25 Netflix DVD
49. Honey, I Blew Up The Kid (1992) 5/3 DVD
50. Rescue From Gilliagan's Island (1978) 5/5 Netflix DVD
51. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) 5/7 R/C Hanover Movies
52. Josie and the Pussycats (2001) 5/9 DVD
53. Iron Man 2 (2010) 5/10 DVD
54. She's All That (1999) 5/12 Netflix
55. Godzilla (2014) 5/15 R/C Hanover Movies
56. Captain America (1979) 5/20 DVD
57. Iron Man 3 (2013) 5/30 DVD
58. C.H.O.M.P.S. (1979) 5/31 DVD
59. The Flintstones (1994) 5/31 DVD
60. Bananas (1971) 6/2 DVD
61. Escape From Tomorrow (2013) 6/5 Netflix
62. X-Men (2000) 6/12 DVD
63. Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher (2014) 6/12 Netflix DVD
64. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) 6/20 Netflix DVD
65. Dear Mr. Watterson (2013) 6/21 Netflix
66. Ernest Goes To Camp (1987) 6/26 DVD
67. All's Faire in Love (2009) 6/27 Netflix
68. Planes (2013) 6/30 DVD
69. Good Burger (1997) 7/3 Netflix
70. I Know That Voice (2013) 7/3 Amazon Prime
71. The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000) 7/5 DVD
72. RoboCop (2014) 7/9 Netflix DVD
73. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) 7/14 DVD
74. Ernest & Celestine (2012) 7/17 Netflix DVD
75. Smokey and the Bandit (1977) 7/19 DVD
76. Summer Rental (1985) 7/26 DVD
77. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) 7/30 DVD
78. Yogi Bear (2010) 7/31 DVD
79. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) 7/31 R/C Hanover Movies
80. Captain Ron (1992) 8/1 DVD
81. Pack Up Your Troubles (1932) 8/10 YouTube
82. It Felt Like Love (2013) 8/11 Netflix
83. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) 8/13 R/C Hanover Movies
84. Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014) 8/14 Frank Gettysburg 10
85. Fierce Creatures (1997) 8/15 DVD
86. Cross My Heart (1987) 8/18 DVD
87. Heaven Is For Real (2014) 8/24 Netflix DVD
88. Angel (1984) 8/25 DVD
89. Ping Pong Summer (2014) 8/27 Netflix DVD
90. Back to School (1986) 8/29 DVD
91. Every Other Day Is Halloween (2009) 8/30 Amazon Prime
92. They Came Together (2014) 9/1 Netflix DVD
93. The Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Story (2014) 9/3 Lifetime
94. Trust Me (2013) 9/4 Netflix DVD
95. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) 9/5 DVD
96. UHF (1989) 9/6 DVD
97. Up The Creek (1984) 9/7 MGM HD
98. Divergent (2014) 9/10 Netflix DVD
99. Waiting For Guffman (1996) 9/11 HD Net Movies
100. Bears (2014) 9/12 Netflix DVD
101. The Other Woman (2014) 9/17 Netflix DVD
102. Dumbo (1941) 9/21 DVD (outdoor screening)
103. Non-Stop (2014) 9/25 Netflix DVD
104. Stay Tuned (1992) 9/28 Netflix DVD
105. Quick Change (1990) 9/29 HBO
106. Fed Up (2014) 10/1 Netflix DVD
107. Space Station 76 (2014) 10/5 Redbox
108. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014) 10/26 R/C Hanover Movies
109. Hocus Pocus (1993) 10/27 Lifetime
110. Ernest Scared Stupid (1991) 10/29 DVD
111. Sex Tape (2014) 11/5 Netflix DVD
112. Her (2013) 11/6 Netflix DVD
113. Jitterbugs (1943) 11/8 Netflix DVD
114. A Cookie Cutter Christmas (2014) 11/10 Hallmark Channel
115. Big Hero 6 (2014) 11/14 R/C Hanover Movies
116. Snow Bride (2013) 11/24 Hallmark Channel
117. Video Games: The Movie (2014) 11/25 Netflix
118. Ducktales The Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990) 11/28 DVD
119. Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever (2014) 11/30 Lifetime
120. Farewell Mr. Kringle (2010) 12/2 Hallmark Channel
121. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (2014) 12/3 R/C Hanover Movies
122. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) 12/4 DVD
123. Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas (2013) 12/7 Netflix DVD
124. Jingle Bell Rocks! (2013) 12/16 Amazon Instant
125. A Very Brady Christmas (1988) 12/18 ABC Family On Demand
126. Jingle All The Way 2 (2014) 12/21 USA
127. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) 12/23 DVD
128. Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas (2011) 12/24 DVD
129. Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas (2004) 12/28 DVD
130. Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997) 12/28 DVD
131. It's A Wonderful Life (1946) 12/28 DVD
132. The Road to Christmas (2006) 12/31 Lifetime

10 Favorite Films From 2014

It just wouldn't be a blog without some sort of year-end review of the best movies in 2014. Since I don't see anywhere near a sampling of all the movies to come out in a year, I always do a list of the 10 best movies that I saw for the first time in the past year. This year's list is exclusively made up of titles released in the last year or so. I only saw 132 movies this past year, in contrast to the previous years 200+ counts, and I relied on alot of old favorites throughout the year. Plus, as I've mentioned last year - having a baby in the house cuts down significantly on movie watching time!

Saving Mr.Banks (2013; dir. John Lee Hancock)

Of course a movie featuring Walt Disney as a character is going to make this list of best films of the year. Tom Hanks brings my idol to life opposite Emma Thompson as PL Travers, the author of Mary Poppins. It was neat to see a number of people who I've spent my life reading about portrayed in dramatic fashion by an all-star cast. The film is actually more about PL Travers than Walt Disney, but it's still a charming tear-jerker of film.

Non-Stop (2014; dir. Jaume Collet-Serra)

A super tight thriller with Liam Neeson as an air marshal being framed for a terrorist attack that is about to happen on the plane he is on. There's so many quick little shots in this superb movie that throw you off the trail of who's behind the crime that it becomes an exhilarating ride from most of the film's run time. They also employ quite a few neat techniques to make texting an interesting thing to watch in a movie. This is Liam Neeson's best action film since the fantastic first Taken picture.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014; dir. James Gunn)

This is a popcorn blockbuster done to absolute perfection. Everyone in the cast is fantastic, the action is top-notch, the story easy to follow, and even the somewhat familiar space opera settings seem fresh this time around. What stood out the most for me with this movie, was the relentless sense of humor running throughout the entire flick. Even straight-up comedies have trouble keeping the entire movie funny, and this Marvel blockbuster was just painfully funny all the way through. I loved it! Easily the funniest of the Marvel films, and also the most accessible to those who haven't followed the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014; dirs. Anthony & Joe Russo)
One of the coolest events of the past movie year was how much this Captain America sequel tied in with Marvel's Agents of SHIELD TV show. Although I would have liked to have seen more characters from the small screen crossover to the big screen, it was still a hoot to have this big budget action/thriller wrapped up with one of my favorite television shows. The action sequences here are top notch and the storyline relevant to today's headlines. This was a real tense, action-packed film that also had a great sense of humor throughout.

 

Don Jon (2013; dir. Joseph Gordon-Levitt)

A funny and delightfully vulgar romantic comedy with a great cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly and Brie Larson.

 

 

The Lego Movie (2014; dirs. Phil Lord & Christopher Miller)

As you've probably heard by now, there is no reason a movie based on building block toys should be so darn good. Yet, pretty much everyone agrees that The Lego Movie was one of the most fantastic movies of the past year. The movies manages to take us to a place we've never been, and give us a really good story mixed with hilarious humor from beginning to end. Unlike other toy based movies, it's only later when you are walking through the isles of Wal-Mart do you realize how much product they were selling us.

 Dallas Buyers Club (2013; dir. Jean-Marc Vallee)

Simply put, this is one of the only Oscar-contender kind of flicks I watched this past year and it was really good. Matthew McConaughey is fantastic as real life Ron Woodroof, a guy who contracts AIDS and helps other AIDS patients get the medicine they need. Jennifer Garner is also in this, she's always very good and Jared Leto is superb in this as well. I had no idea who Leto was before watching this, but he won the Oscar for best supporting actor - so you know he's good. McConaughey was also awarded an Oscar for her performance here.

Muppets Most Wanted (2014; dir. James Bobin)

The Muppet's 8th big screen outing was my favorite movie of the past year! It's not at the top of my list just because it's a Muppets movie, it's because 24 years after the death of Jim Henson - they finally nailed a Muppets production in the exact style of the old Muppet movies and shows. Gone are the literary adaptions or reunion attempts of the past four movies and instead is a zany, music filled crime caper that's big on laughs and little on plot development. There's at least a dozen superstar cameos, a soundtrack filled with goofy toe-tapping tunes, and the zany and irreverent sense of humor that made the Muppets a household name back in the 70's. Muppets Most Wanted is easily the best Muppets production since the passing of Jim Henson in 1990, and even though their last film, The Muppets (2011),  has it's loyal fans...as a life long Muppets aficionado I declare this film ten times better!

They Came Together (2014; dir David Wain)

True parody is dead. Over the last 10 years of so, parody has been watered down to just pointing something out or making a pop culture reference and leaving it at that. Then along comes They Came Together, which not only pokes fun of every contrivance of the modern romantic comedy, it also offers up zany puns, visual gags and hilarious set pieces to boot. Hands down the funniest movie of the year, this under-the-radar comedy is destined to find it's fans one day.

Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever (2014; dir. Tim Hill)

I saved this one for last because I know it's inclusion pretty much negates my entire list but hear me out...This was a funny movie! Now, honestly the 10th spot on my list should have gone to We're The Millers or Enough Said or even High Noon but I wanted to include Grumpy Cat because when was the last time a TV movie (on Lifetime no less) tried to be silly and zany AND actually pull it off?! The Christmas TV movie has become a genre which is here to stay. There are literally dozens of new Xmas made for TV movies each year now. Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever attempts to skewer those flicks with this silly caper about a mall robbery and a young girl who befriends Grumpy Cat and tries to save the day. I had zero interest in Grumpy Cat before this movie, but my kids and I laughed out loud several times at the feline festivities. (Also, it was directed by the same guy who did Muppets From Space!) This will definitely be required holiday viewing next Christmas time in our household!

What were some of your favorite film discoveries of 2014?

Two Awesome New Holiday DVDs

I love holiday episodes of TV series which makes me particularly excited for two upcoming DVD releases from the fine folks at Mill Creek Entertainment. First off, let me say how much I adore Mill Creek Entertainment. Besides Disney, they have got to be my favorite company putting out home video material today. They constantly have imaginative and unique titles on their slate, always at a very low beyond-reasonable price.

Holiday episode collections have become quite popular in the last couple of years, mostly with Christmas episodes but Mill Creek is getting ahead of the game with a fantastic looking collection of Halloween themed episodes of 13 different sit-coms. TV's Spookiest Halloween Episodes collects trick-or-treat fun filled episodes of a wide variety of sit-coms and offers them up in one neat package. What I'm really digging about this collection is the wide range of years this collection represents from early 60's (Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie) to late 90's (Mad About You, NewsRadio.) What's also impressive is the range of popularity of the series represented. Some obscure goodies like Square Pegs and Ned and Stacey are tucked in there along with The Cosby Show and Roseanne. To me, this collection is just about perfect. I'm not sure I ever need to watch an episode of That 70's Show, but all the others I can't wait to dig into, especially The Jeffersons, Square Pegs and The Facts of Life. This is just a solid collection I can't wait to add to my library.

Then we've got Mill Creek's Christmas edition of Holiday themed episodes with TV's Merriest Episodes. I already have an enormous collection of Christmas TV episodes on tape and DVD and I'm really looking forward to making this disc part of the yearly viewing traditions.  Again, there is a great variety as far as ages of the shows although this one is a little more heavy on the mid 80's to mid 90's. The collections two vintage episodes: Bewitched and The Flying Nun are the same episodes that appeared in Shout Factory's (also excellent) 1989 collection Merry Sitcom! But it does feature The Ellen Show, which was a great one season CBS sitcom that aired between Ellen's popular ABC sitcom and her huge hit talk show.

TV's Spookiest Halloween Episodes is released Sept. 16, 2014 and TV's Merriest Episodes is available October 14, 2004. Both have an MSRP of $9.98.

If Holiday episodes are you thing, there are also two new collections of The Dick Van Dyke Show out from Image Entertainment. Halloween Episodes Collection is available now and contains 4 episodes while Classic Christmas comes out October 7 with two episodes.

All The Movies I Saw in 2013 - A List For No Good Reason At All

A few years ago, for no good reason at all, I started keeping a log of every movie that I watched. Mostly it was done on this blog, but then I stopped doing movie write-ups but still kept the log going on my phone. 2013 has come and gone and I'm still sitting here with the big list of movies that I watched, and I figured I might as well post the list. In 2012 I saw 236 movies, which was up 33 movies from the year before. In 2013 I was able to see 212 movies. That's down a few from the previous year but two major life changes occurred last year. We had a baby in April, and while an infant is considerate enough to sleep in your lap for 90 minute stretches, there's also that precious need for sleep in the early months of parenting an infant. I also discovered hour long dramatic series in 2013. While I have prided myself on never watching any thing other than comedy on television, the past tv season saw me getting swept up into the likes of The Blacklist, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Fargo and Orphan Black. So many movie nights were "lost" to binging on quality television,  but it's all good. Anywho...here's the list:

1. A Bug's Life (1989)
2. Toy Story 2 (1999)
3. Cars 2 (2010)
4. Dark Shadows (2012)
5. This Means War (2012)
6. Cleanflix (2009)
7. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
8. Only The Lonely (1991)
9. Frankenweenie (2012)
10. Die Hard 2 (1990)
11. Compliance (2012)
12. Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
13. Mulan (1998)
14. Ernest Rides Again (1993)
15. Iron Man (2008)
16. Ted (2012)
17. A Haunted House (2013)
18. Rock of Ages (2012)
19. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985)
20. Deal of the Century (1983)
21. Joyful Noise (2012)
22. Pitch Perfect (2012)
23. 9 to 5 (1980)
24. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
25. Walking The Halls (2012)
26. Hey There, It's Yogi Bear (1964)
27. The Avengers (2012)
28. To Rome With Love (2012)
29. Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
30. Movie 43 (2013)
31. 17 Girls (2011)
32. The Invisible War (2012)
33. The AristoCats (1970)
34. Groundhog Day (1993)
35. The Dukes of Hazard: Carnival of Thrills (1980)
36. Flight (2012)
37. Oscar Nominated Short Films 2013 - Animation (2013)
38. Xanadu (1980)
39. National Lampoon's Senior Trip (1995)
40. History of the World: Part I (1981)
41. Sleeper (1973)
42. Race The Sun (1996)
43. Small Time Crooks (2000)
44. Repossessed (1989)
45. Here Comes The Boom (2012)
46. Escape From Planet Earth (2013)
47. Taken 2 (2012)
48. Mardi Gras Spring Break (2011)
49. Two of a Kind (1983)
50. Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
51. The Jetsons Meet The Flintstones (1987)
52. So Undercover (2012)
53. House at the End of the Street (2012)
54. The Hollywood Knights (1980)
55. Project X (2012)
56. The Babymakers (2012)
57. Police Academy (1984)
58. The Oogieloves in The Big Balloon Adventure (2012)
59. Mortuary Academy (1988)
60. Hot Stuff (1979)
61. The Princess and the Frog (2009)
62. Fun and Fancy Free (1947)
63. The Nude Bomb (1980)
64. For A Good Time, Call... (2012)
65. Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (1945)
66. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
67. Batman Begins (2005)
68. Clue (1985)
69. Paul Williams is Still Alive (2011)
70. Drive-In (1976)
71. Skyfall (2012)
72. Private Resort (1985)
73. Cool Runnings (1993)
74. Darby O' Gill and the Little People (1959)
75. Au Pair Girls (1972)
76. The Sessions (2012)
77. Robot and Frank (2012)
78. The Pill (2011)
79. Argo (2012)
80. Roller Town (2012)
81. Tyler Perry's Madea Goes To Jail (2009)
82. To The Artic 3D (2012)
83. The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000)
84. Fun Size (2012)
85. Bachelorette (2012)
86. Nobody's Perfect (1989)
87. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
88. Scooby Doo: Mask of the Blue Falcon (2013)
89. Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
90. The Fox and the Hound (1981)
91. The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
92. Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Apart (2012)
93. Hitchcock (2012)
94. Scary Movie V (2013)
95. Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
96. Wallace & Gromitt: The Curse of the Ware-Rabbit (2003)
97. This is 40 (2012)
98. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)
99. The Meteor Man (1993)
100. Chicken Run (2000)
101. The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001)
102. Iron Man 2 (2010)
103. Iron Man 3 (2013)
104. Foodfight! (2012)
105. Wild Wheels (1992)
106. The Guilt Trip (2012)
107. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
108. Blown Away (1993)
109. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
110. Safe Haven (2013)
111. Parental Guidance (2012)
112. National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)
113. Man of Steel (2013)
114. The Three Stooges (2012)
115. Attack of the 50ft. Cheerleader (2012)
116. All In: The Poker Movie (2012)
117. The Wrong Guys (1988)
118. LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite (2013)
119. The Noose Hangs High (1948)
120. Pinocchio (1940)
121. Freaky Friday (2003)
122. Mean Girls (2004)
123. Monsters University (2013)
124. Arctic Tale (2007)
125. Porky's (1982)
126. Spaceship (1983)
127. Oz The Great and Powerful (2013)
128. Despicable Me 2 (2013)
129. Wings of Life (2011)
130. Winnie The Pooh (2011)
131. Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005)
132. Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
133. Teen Beach Movie (2013)
134. Tuck Everlasting (2002)
135. Superman Unbound (2013)
136. Wiener Dog Nationals (2013)
137. Smurfs 2 (2013)
138. Planes (20123)
139. Behind the Candelabra (2013)
140. Summer Rental (1985)
141. Spring Breakers (2013)
142. House Party: Tonight's The Night (2013)
143. Admission (2013)
144. Tom & Jerry's Giant Adventure (2013)
145. G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
146. 21 & Over (2013)
147. Identity Thief (2013)
148. Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie (2012)
149. 42 (2013)
150. Because of Winn-Dixie (2005)
151. Piranha (1978)
152. Lay The Favorite (2012)
153. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
154. I Yabba Dabba Do! (1993)
155. The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie (2004)
156. Gidget Gets Married (1972)
157. The Smurfs (2011)
158. Annie (1982)
159. Disney's Teacher's Pet (2004)
160. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
161. A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)
162. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)
163. Epic (2013)
164. Top Cat The Movie (2011)
165. The Little Mermaid (1989)
166. The Sword in the Stone (1963)
167. Young Frankenstein (1974)
168. InAPPropriate Comedy (2013)
169. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
170. This Is The End (2013)
171. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
172. Mickey's House of Villains (2001)
173. The Call (2013)
174. The Kings of Summer (2013)
175. Monsters University (2013)
176. Thor (2011)
177. X-Men (2000)
178. Blackfish (2013)
179. Pepples (2013)
180. The Bling Ring (2013)
181. Expecting Mary (2010)
182. The Avengers (2012)
183. Ultimate Avengers (2006)
184. Jedi Junkies (2010)
185. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
186. Pete's Christmas (2013)
187. I'll Be Home For Christmas (1998)
188. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
189. The Road to Christmas (2006)
190. Holiday in Handcuffs (2007)
191. The Heat (2013)
192. Holiday Switch (2007)
193. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
194. The Hunger Games (2012)
195. Battle of the Bulbs (2010)
196. Frozen (2013)
197. Bad Santa (2003)
198. Ernest Saves Christmas (1989)
199. The Santa Clause (1994)
200. Terms and Conditions May Apply (2013)
201. Farmageddon (2011)
202. The Hangover Part III (2013)
203. Christmas in Conway (2013)
204. Gremlins (1984)
205. On the 2nd Day of Christmas (2007)
206. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
207. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
208. Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas (2011)
209. Strange Brew (1983)
210. The To Do List (2013)
211. Hell's Highway: The True Story of Highway Safety Films (2003)
212. Iron Man (2008)

Look What's Gonna Be On The TV

The new Fall TV Season is just around the corner. Here's what looks interesting to me:

Mulaney  Sundays at 9:30 on FOX First up we have a very traditional sitcom with a great cast. John Mulaney is a pretty funny guy. I'm familiar with him from Best Week Ever, he's made a few appearances on SNL and he's pretty good on Kroll Show. Here he plays a comedian, living in New York...if that sounds familiar, look at his apartment - it also looks like Seinfeld's apartment. The supporting cast includes the great Nasim Pedrad, defecting from SNL to fill the Elaine roll. Comedy legend and one of my very favorite personalities, Martin Short is also on board. It's a multi-camera sitcom, of which I'm a huge fan of the dying art form.



Gotham Mondays at 8:00pm on FOX Premieres September 22. Last year was the year of the Hour Long Drama for me. I've almost never watched any hour long shows until last year when I got engrossed in five different series! This new Batman-less Batman show sounds interesting. It follows the lives of all the Batman characters before they became the characters we know from the comic books and movies. My appreciation for comic book projects in growing, and this new drama feels like it's going to feed my hunger.

Marry Me  Tuesdays at 9:00pm on NBC Premieres October 14. If you've spoken to me in the past three years, then you've probably heard me go on and on about the show Happy Endings, which was in my opinion the best written show on television in a long time! Well, it was cancelled after three glorious seasons but the creator of that show in back with Marry Me, which feels like it will be very similar - it even has Happy Endings' cast member Casey Wilson as the lead!


Selfie Tuesdays at 8:00pm on ABC This looks like a train wreck, but I will watch.

The Flash Tuesdays at 8:00pm on The CW Finally, we have another superhero show - this one looks like it will be fun. I really wished I had got into The CW's Arrow series, so here's another chance for me to jump on from the beginning.

1984-a-thon: Angel

Today we are taking part in the 1984-a-thon, a celebration of the finest year in cinema: 1984! You can check out a ton of other reviews for just about every movie from 1984 over at Forgotten Films. Thanks to Todd who runs that fine film website for letting us take part in the festivities!

1984 brought us Ghostbusters, Gremlins, breakdancing and Steve Guttenberg as a leading man. It also gave us one of the finest films in the Dead Hooker genre, "Angel."

Molly is a pretty high school girl attending a private academy somewhere in Los Angeles. She looks like she might be pushing her late 20's but she has pigtails so she must be 15.  During her school hours she puts up with homework, tests, gym class and the school jock who wants to date her - but he's a jerk! Then at night, Molly puts on her black leather mini-skirt, red high heels and a ton of makeup (the standard hooker uniform) and hits Hollywood Boulevard as Angel the hooker.

It sounds rough but Hollywood Blvd circa 1984 must have been such a fun place. Angel has a whole group of friends she hangs out with on the strip. There's Yo-Yo, the Charlie Chaplin impersonator; Kit Carson, the ex-movie cowboy, and Mae, a transvestite who's as quick with a one-liner as she is with whatever else transvestites are quick with. Angel also has a group of equally attractive girlfriends who are also hookers. We don't get to know the other girls too well because it turns out there's a crazy hooker killer on the loose and he's killing hookers!

The fact that there's a crazy hooker killer killing hookers in the hooker's town is enough to make hookers and their cowboy friend yell at the cops and tell them they ain't doing their job. However, a guy killing hookers isn't enough to make hookers stop going into dark alleys and seedy motels with complete strangers. I mean, a girl's gotta make money, right!? One by one, Angel's lady friends are getting picked off...and the cops seem to think all these prostitute murders just somehow might be connected.

The guy killing hookers has got quite a backstory, or at least we assume he does. He's got newspaper clippings taped up all over a wall in his hotel room. Good newspaper clippings are never taped to the wall, it's always the clippings that piece together a crazy person's slow decent into madness. Even though we can't make out a word on those newspaper articles, we know this guy is a real sicko. He does things like shirtless sit-ups on a slanted board, eating an egg by poking a tiny hole in it with a huge knife and sucking out the innards, cutting his own hair and worse of all...he puts his boots up on the seat in front of him at the porno theater!

As you may have guessed by now, this movie is more about prostitute murders than it is about the  wacky or scandalous hi-jinks of a high school teenager turning tricks on the side. The high school side of Molly's life doesn't come into play until an hour into the film. Her secret life is found out when some boys from school spot her on a street corner, throw her into their car and try and gang rape her. (Boys will be boys.) By the time the school nerd offers her $22 bucks for a date, Angel has had enough of high school, being a prostitute and having her friends killed by the town prostitute killer.

As Angel's world comes crashing down around her, she eventually gets pushed to the limit. She buys a gun from a KFC employee who passes her the gun in the bottom of her two piece leg and thy combo meal. Angel takes to the street looking for the infamous hooker killer. When she catches up with him, an anti-climatic and confusing foot chase ensues for what seems like 12 minutes.

"Angel" isn't a good movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it has enough going for it to make it work somehow. After all, the movie did win Best Feature at the 1984 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival! The performances are fun. The adorable Donna Wilkes (Jaws 2) is perfect as Molly/Angel.  Dick Shawn (who once played Jack Tripper's father on Three's Company) steals the show as Angel's sidekick Mae the Transvestite. Veteran character actor John Diehl is super creepy as the guy killing all the hookers. Rory Calhoun looks like he's having a blast playing the aging cowboy movie star and he must have because he's the only one that reprises his role in the sequel. Only Cliff Gorman as Lt. Andrews looks like he's pretty bored with the whole affair.

With a tag line like "High School Honor Student By Day, Hollywood Hooker By Night" you'd expect a pretty steamy flick, but this drive-in classic doesn't offer much more than some gratuitous locker room nudity. We never see any of the girls turn a single trick and even the violence is kept to a minimum.

In the end, "Angel" is a silly and brainless offering that's one part comedy, one part exploitation film, and one part crime drama. It was profitable enough to have a sequel the following year, "Avenging Angel" and two more down the pike: 1988's "Angel III: The Final Chapter" and "Angel 4: Undercover" in 1994.

You can find "Angel" digitally through Amazon Instant Video as a rental or purchase, the DVD is also available for purchase through Amazon or rental from Netflix DVD.  



Hey! While you're here...why don't you read some of these other movie posts:

10 Best Movies With Robots In Them
10 Favorite High School Movies
10 Great Summer Movies

#EverySimpsonsEver Marathon (The First Half)

People always talk about how The Simpsons isn't as good as it used to be. What they are basically saying is, "I don't watch The Simpsons anymore. It's been on for too long. I've lost interest. Hey, let's watch videos of people dumping buckets of ice water on their head!" The Simpsons has been consistently one of the most funniest, and at times THE funniest, show on television for the past 25 years. Sure, they have had some off episodes that weren't as funny as others. But nowhere else on the tube will you find the rich, biting satire on American culture that the folks in Springfield have been providing season after season.

The Simpsons became a series in 1990. I was a junior in high school at the time. I have been watching The Simpsons for more than half my life! It's unimaginable to have a world without The Simpsons. Hopefully the show will be around for a long time.

Speaking of long times, cable network FXX (yes, that's a real station) is running every episode of The Simpsons starting Thursday, August 21 (my birthday) and running for 12 days until they run every single one of the 564 episodes and the feature film...in order, non-stop. That's pure television joy right there. I'm not in the position in life to lay around on the sofa for a day and watch non-stop, but here's some of the highlights from the schedule - so set your DVRs accordingly!

The #EverySimpsonsEver marathon kicks off this Thursday at 10:00am with the 1989 Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" and continues to run all of season one until 4:30pm EST.

Season 2:
8/21 5:30pm - Treehouse of Terror
8/21 7:30pm - Bart Vs. Thanksgiving
8/21 8:00pm - Bart The Daredevil
8/21 9:00pm - Bart Gets Hit By A Car

Season 3:
8/22 8:00am - Flaming Moe's

Season 4:
8/22 3:30pm - Kamp Krusty
8/22 6:00pm - Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie"
8/22 9:00pm - Marge Vs. The Monorail
8/23 12:00am - So It's Come To This: A Simpsons Clip Show

Season 5:
8/23 2:30am - Homer's Barbershop Quartet
8/23 4:30am - Treehouse of Horror IV
8/23 9:00am - Lisa Vs. Malibu Stacy

Season 6:
8/23 3:00pm - Itchy & Scratchy Land
8/23 9:00pm - Bart vs. Australia
8/23 11:00pm - Two Dozen and One Grayhounds
8/24 1:30am - Who Shot Mr. Burns? Pt. 1

Season 7:
8/24 2:00am - Who Shot Mr. Burns? Pt. 2
8/24 3:30am - Bart Sells His Soul
8/24 6:30am - The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
8/24 12:00pm - 22 Short Films About Spingfield

Season 8:
8/24 8:30pm - Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious"
8/24 9:00pm - The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show
8/25 2:00am - The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase (perhaps my favorite episode)

Season 9:
8/25 3:00am - The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson
8/25 7:30am - Miracle on Evergreen Terrace

Season 10:
8/25 5:30pm - When You Dish Upon A Star

Season 12:
8/26 7:00pm - The Worst Episode Ever
8/27 12:00am - Simpsons Tall Tales

Ok, it goes on for days. You get it...this should be a good start!

My 10 Favorite Hersheypark Attractions



The WWoB Staff

A few weeks ago I took my boys to Hersheypark in nearby Hershey, PA. We spent the whole day there, arriving just as the gates opened at 10:00am and returning to the parking lot after the park closed at 10:30pm. There's a lot of great stuff at Hersheypark, even though the majority of the rides are typical carnival style rides you can find at dozens of other parks - Hersheypark does have plenty of charms that are all their own. I'm a fan of old school and more traditional theme park attractions as well as goofy things in parks too. Here's my list of 10 favorite attractions at The Sweetest Place on Earth!

Capital BlueCross Monorail First of all, the fact that Hersheypark has sold the naming rights to a handful of their rides is just a delight. Second, I love monorails. From Disney's world class transportation system down to ever the shuttle at an airport - monorails are good times in my book. Hershey's monorail serves strictly as entertainment purposes, with open air cars that travel not just around the treetops of the amusement park but also beyond the park fence and into the city of Hershey itself. The monorail makes a loop outside the park, offering riders a view of the town's famed Hershey Kiss street lights and the former Hershey Chocolate factory that Milton Hershey built over 100 years ago. Another highlight for an amusement park nerd (such as myself) is the ride past the mysterious unused Monorail station that sits outside of Hersheypark about half way through the ride. The station is almost a carbon copy of the one used inside the park - I assume at one time the monorail was used as a preview of Hersheypark for those not yet inside the park. Who knows!? (Nearby Dutch Wonderland once employed the same method with their monorail.) The monorail also glides over ZooAmerica, Hersheypark's separate but connected North American Zoo. The entire trip is accompanied by a delightful recording that not only tells the history of Hersheypark and the surrounding area, but also extols the virtues of Capital BlueCross health insurance.

Carrousel Hersheypark's carrousel is the real deal - a beautiful antique merry machine made up of all wooden hand carved horses and chariots. The ride was installed in 1944, it was bought used and actually dates back to 1919! The music is provided by a 1926 Wurlitzer Band Organ, which is a real treat. As someone who pays attention to such things - most parks not use prerecorded carrousel music, but there is nothing like the sound of one of these actual machines in action. The carrousel is not only beautiful but large and fast. It's a great ride, and the first one you'll encounter when entering Hersheypark!

Chevrolet Music Box Theatre  Hersheypark puts on some top notch live entertainment in their huge indoor theater. This season they offer two different shows; during the day is a rock oriented song and dance revue and in the evening hours three pianist duel it out. In addition to seeing a good show, it's also a nice opportunity to take a load off your feet in the air conditioning.

 

Comet  The Comet is Hersheypark's oldest roller coaster. Commissioned by Mr. Hershey himself, the classic out-and-back style coaster was built in 1946. It's amazing that a ride built that long ago can still hold up against any ride built today, but it does! The first drop and it's subsequent climbs and dips provide just as many thrills as any of the parks other coasters. This old timer won't make you sick or leave you hanging on for dear life, but it will make you scream and it will put a smile on your face. The layout of the track provides a nice long ride. This is a great coaster!

Dry Gulch Railroad  Bob Howdy, I do enjoy me some amusement park trains. Hershey's is a cute little miniature railroad which doesn't circle the park, like most theme park trains, but instead travels over it's own terrain. There's a miniature recreation of a classic train bridge and a little western town which you travel through. The town even has a few gags and animations that are still performing after all these years. You also get to ride past the engine yard where the train is stored and cared for. This is an above average amusement park train experience.

Hershey's Great American Chocolate Tour  Perhaps the most unique ride at Hersheypark, isn't actually inside Hersheypark. This elaborate and massive ride through of a simulated Hershey Chocolate factory is technically inside Chocolate World, just outside of Hersheypark's admission gates. Chocolate World is the largest corporate welcome center in the county, consisting of shops, eateries, shows and this great ride. The ride takes you on an Omni-mover tour of the chocolate making process from cocoa bean to the wrapped and ready to eat delicious final product. After the tour, everyone gets a free piece of chocolate! Any ride that gives you free candy is just begging to be put on a Top 10 List. Chocolate World is an attraction unto itself and is open year 'round, but you'll also pass it on your way in and out of Hersheypark. (It's usually open an hour later than the theme park so you can visit on your way out.)

Kissing Tower   Named for it's windows in the shape of the famous Hershey candy, and not for randy teenagers making out high above the park - this observation tower/ride takes visitors to the top of the 250 ft. tower for a rotating panoramic view of Hersheypark, ZooAmerica and downtown Hershey, PA. The view is spectacular and the height is just enough to be considered a mild thrill ride. There used to be a recording that played during the trip that featured the classic "Hersheypark Happy" theme song but sadly it was not in use on our recent visit.

Lightning Racer  Here's a fantastic roller coaster, built in 2000 that features two identical tracks with trains racing to a finish line. What stands between the station and the finish line is a 90 ft. drop and over 3,000 ft of twisting and turning roller coaster track. The ride seems like it's never going to end as the track cross over itself and back and forth several times before speeding through a tunnel and lining right up with the opposing train before crossing the finish line. This fantastic wooden roller coaster is a blast and has been ranked in or near the top 10 wooden coasters in the country every year since it's opening.

Reeses' Xtreme Cup Challenge Currently the only dark ride inside Hersheypark, Xtreme Cup Challenge has riders using backwards laser guns to zap various targets as you ride through scenes of extreme sports.  What's great about this ride is that it makes very little sense. Sure, you're just ridding through a shooting gallery but why are we shooting at defenseless, innocent extreme athletes? And why are there so many different types of Reeses' Peanut Butter Cups all over the sporting arenas? Most of the characters in the ride are flat two dimensional drawings except for two creepy sports anchors who are complete audio animatronics. They look like department store dummies who were brought to life by an evil curse. I don't know, this ride is a mess of things going on but in the end it's fun and completely different than anything else offered in the park.

Twin Turnpike - Sunoco Classic Cars - Twin Turnpike gives you the option of driving a classic Model T style car or a fancy little sports car. Whenever given the option, I always go for the classic car mostly because the sports car always means tiny and uncomfortable. The Twin Turnpike tracks follow the same pattern around a cute little area landscaped and decorated with faux highway signs. Fake highway signs make or break an amusement park drive-your-own car ride.

 

If you've been the Hersheypark, comment with your favorite ride, show or attraction...