This edition of the monthly CAG Report is going to be a bit on the shorter side. Although things started off hot and heavy in January, it was mostly due to having to publish all the trip reports and vlog content from park visits at the end of December. Since that first week, however, things have certainly cooled off. In all honesty, it felt good to relax a little bit and catch up on some other hobbies and interests of mine – mainly some movies, TV shows, and games.
With all that said, a few items of note still took place in January. As always, here is a recap of the last month here on We Were Inverted:
More Busch Gardens POV's Hit YouTube
I have to say, I love Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s (BGW) policy for filming on ride. They’ll let you do it, but only after inspection and approval of your camera and harness equipment at guest services. Safety is key and all rules should be obeyed at all times. I despise people pulling out cellphones on ride, risking the safety of everyone riding with them, or in the queue and walkways below. Don’t be one of those people! Just a little soapbox moment, I apologize.
With all that said, I hope you had a chance to check out the two BGW POV’s that hit the We Were Inverted YouTube channel in January. They were filmed during the December 27, 2021 visit, but I held off on publishing them until later in the month. I wanted to get the general vlogs online first since those featured a lot of Christmas and New Year’s themed content.
Mach/Nacht Tower
The Mach/Nacht Tower POV offers great views of the park since BGW runs the ride in observation mode for Christmas Town. Myy goal was to see if I could get some good aerial views of Pantheon and I did. What I didn’t expect was just how much you could see the rest of the park and the coaster layouts throughout the rest of the park. With it being December, all the rides normally hidden by the trees revealed themselves a bit more than I was used to seeing.
In 2022, I hope to get another POV of this ride in its normal drop mode. I tend to have bad luck with this ride being down during most of my visits. So I’ll hope for the best!
Verbolten (Spirit)
The second POV features Verbolten – the coaster I missed during my Howl-O-Scream visit due to my camera shutting off mid-ride. No worries though as this POV, featuring the Forest Spirit encounter, came out better than I expected. With the indoor and outdoor portions of the ride I wasn’t sure how well the camera would adjust or pick up on the elements indoors. I got my answer when Chris D. said this to me after watching the video, “That Verbolten POV is one of the better ones out there.”
For Chris, who visits the park regularly, to say that, it made me quite happy. What do you all think? I’ve been getting some good feedback from the video as well as my other BGW POV’s. Be sure to check those as well. Links below:
Busch Gardens Williamsburg POV Videos
Only 3 New Pins, Only 3 Pins Shy of 700
During the month of January, only three new pins were added to my Pin Collection. Off the top of my head, I believe that is the least amount of pins added to my collection since the June 29, 2020 launch of We Were Inverted. Those three pins, Sea World San Diego’s Journey to Atlantis, Cedar Point’s Cedar Creek Mine Ride, and Knott’s Berry Farm’s GhostRider, leave me just three pins shy of 700, which will be achieved very soon.
Here in February I just need to sit back and see which of the three pins I’ve ordered through eBay and an online friend will be pin number 700. The candidates include a Space Mountain pin from Disneyland and two Ice Breaker pins from Sea World Orlando.
Speaking of pins, I want to know your opinions on an idea I have for the site’s YouTube channel. I was thinking of doing a series dedicated to showcasing the pins in my collection on a park-by-park basis. While showcasing those pins I can talk about how I acquired the pins, share some personal stories about the park, and give my overall feelings on their pin offerings.
Blue Streak's Demise
With only a few blogs hitting the site last month, there is one I wish I wasn’t given a reason to write – “2015’s Mini-Marathon on Conneaut Lake Park’s Blue Streak.” As many of you know the coaster met its demise in January and coaster enthusiasts were not happy. In my editorial I touched briefly upon the unfolding story, but dedicated the majority of the piece to my experiences in 2015 riding the coaster with Mindy on a rainy day.
Since this editorial was published, it has been one of the most popular blogs on the site. Did you get a chance to read it yet? If so, what are your thoughts on seeing more pieces covering pre-We Were Inverted memories? With the success of the Galleries section showcasing some older photos, I thought it might be nice to do occasional blogs talking telling some of those stories as well as others. What do you think?
A Series Return & Hopefully Upcoming Interviews
Speaking of older memories, I have been saying for the last few months that I needed to get back to my popular series, Influential Coasters of My Childhood. Adding all those galleries and dedicating so much time to the vlogs and POV videos, just didn’t afford me time to sit down and get that done. Well, good news! I have begun the next piece in the series. And yes, it’s going to touch on Vekoma Boomerangs! No, I’m not messing with you.
In the mid to late 80’s and into the early 90’s, I thought Boomerangs were so cool – as did a lot of kids my age. So yes, they influenced me a great deal in loving coasters more and more. Included in the piece will be Tidal Wave at Trimper Rides, Sea Serpent at Morey’s Piers, and Sidewinder at Hersheypark. Until now, all of the previous installments in the series focused on a single coaster. Since these coasters were clones and all were built during my childhood, it felt only right to combine them into a single piece. I mean, unless you want me to do three separate installments? I kid, I kid!
Another thing I am hoping to have on the site again soon is a new interview. Steven from Thrill Maxx has agreed to take part as has Cris from the YouTube channel, Cris the Girl. Now that the holidays are over, I need to touch base with them to get things in motion.
Is there anyone out there who you’d like to see me interview for the site? Let me know and I’ll see what I can do. See you again at the end of February for yet another CAG Report!
