If October was a coaster for We Were Inverted, it would no doubt have been a multi-launch. Every time things began to slow down, we were blasted back into something else full steam ahead! Whether it was visiting parks, both local and distant, or focusing on site improvements, there was always something going on. These things have made this site better and I am proud of the strides that took place over the last 31 days. Here is a recap of the most notable happenings:
All New Photo Galleries Section
Over the last couple months I have been messing around in the background with the idea of adding photo galleries to the site. Although I do place galleries at the end of each trip report in the Blog section, I thought it would be nice to have all the photos from each park in one centralized location. I tested things out and asked several Flight Crew members to give me their opinions. Everyone agreed that I should add them to the site.
Starting Off w/ Recent Visits
Even though I did my test galleries using parks like Hersheypark, Knoebels, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW), none of these galleries were ones I included for Galleries section launch. More on this in a bit. The galleries I launched with included:
- Carowinds (08.12.2021) – 66 photos | 14 rides
- Casino Pier (09.25.2021) – 23 photos | 4 rides
- Family Kingdom Amusement Park (08.10.2021) – 19 photos | 4 rides
- Fantasy Island (09.25.2021) – 8 photos | 5 rides
- Funplex: Mount Laurel (06.24.2021) – 7 photos | 3 rides
- Funplex: Myrtle Beach (08.10.2021) – 7 photos | 2rides
- Holiday World (10.17.2021) – 23 photos | 5 rides
- Kings Island (10.16.2021) – 60 photos | 14 rides
- Morey’s Piers (06.24.2021) – 25 photos | 9 rides
- Playland’s Castaway Cove (06.24.2021) – 9 photos | 4 rides
Adding in Some Pre-We Were Inverted Galleries
A few days after I launched the Galleries section I had a random idea pop into my head. The idea was to add in some “retro” galleries consisting of parks I visited prior to We Were Inverted’s launch from 2009-19. Just like with the section’s launch, I went with 10 galleries that include:
- Clementon Park (05.28.2018) – 3 photos | 1 ride
- Conneaut Lake Park (06.27.2015) – 9 photos | 3 rides
- Great Escape (08.22.2019) – 19 photos | 5 rides
- Greek Peak Mountain Resort (08.21.2019) – 4 photos | 1 ride
- Holiday Valley (08.20.2019) – 2 photos | 1 ride
- Jolly Roger at the Pier (09.28.2009) – 5 photos | 1 ride
- Niagara Amusement Park (08.20.2019) – 13 photos | 4 rides
- Quassy Amusement Park (07.30.2018) – 6 photos | 1 ride
- Sylvan Beach Amusement Park (08.21.2019) – 1 photo | 1 ride
- Trimper Rides (09.28.2009) – 4 photos | 2 rides
More Galleries Soon to Come
Moving forward I will be adding galleries to the site randomly. You might see one or two pop up, but I could go wild and add in another 10. I have placed in placeholders on the page for most of the galleries I expect to add. Some of them will be quite large and others might be just a couple of photos. Take a look at the page and tell me which of those parks you are most looking forward to seeing. Perhaps I can try to focus on those first.
YouTube Presence is Growing
Last month I made mention of a desire to do more with this site’s YouTube channel. In September I published a couple of POV videos from Adventure Park USA (APUSA). Then, at the end of the month I began compiling my Quest for 399 vlog series. All six parts were uploaded in October and detailed my stops throughout New Jersey. Although these are all small parks with smaller scale coasters, the response for the videos was positive. It seems like my blogs, and now vlogs, on smaller parks are some of my more popular content.
In addition to the Quest for 399 series, I also recorded some footage of all the ride re-paints going on at Hersheypark. The video’s stand out footage is what’s going on with Sidewinder. I doubt that name will be sticking around for long. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, check out the video and you’ll see exactly what I mean.
On October 31, while at BGW, I was able to film several POV videos on: Griffon, InvadR, Alpengeist, Apollo’s Chariot, and Tempesto. I published InvadR just yesterday and the others will be added in the days to come. You can find it on the channel. I didn’t include it here since it was a November video.
Credits 400 & 100 for Patrick & Kaylee
During our two days at Kings Island on October 15 and 16, 2021, both Kaylee and I received milestone credits. I went into Day One sitting at 399 credits and was able to make Orion my 400th during a night ride. The next day, on Flight of Fear, Kaylee reached number 100. I’m glad we were able to get ride photos from each coaster to mark the occasions.
Kaylee Earns Commander Rank
When Kaylee visited Holiday World with Sam and I the same weekend we went to Kings Island, it marked our 10th park visited together. This earned Kaylee the rank of Commander here on the site. Since then she has already gained Rank 11 at BGW. She is only four more parks away from moving up to Captain with Mindy. Not bad for someone we met at the end of March 2021. At this pace, I feel like Kaylee will join Sam, James, and Greg as Admirals before this time next year.
Ending the Month at 639 Pins
Over the course of October I ended up adding 28 new pins to my Pin Collection. These pins came to me every which way possible – park visits, online stores, friends, eBay, and a purchase from a Facebook group user looking to unload some pins. I really need to write up a blog telling people how I find pins, but you all better not grab all the ones I want if I do!
Putting in Some Mileage
Although I was able to hit up Six Flags America (SFA) and Hersheypark this month, the majority of the crew’s trips were parks 3.5 hours away or more. One was 11.5 hours from us here in Baltimore, but thankfully we decided to couple it with one that is 8 hours away. It was a good thing CARlie (my car’s name) got all new tires a few months ago! Here is a rundown of the parks we visited and links to their trip reports:
- 10.15.2021 – Scene75 – Columbus: Credit 399 Finally Obtained
- 10.15.2021 – Kings Island – Dropping 300 Feet to Earn Credit 400
- 10.16.2021 – Kings Island – Kaylee’s Flight to Credit 100 & Beyond
- 10.17.2021 – Holiday World – Our Non-Legendary Voyage
- 10.22.2021 – Six Flags America – A Merch Run Turns Into Much More
- 10.24.2021 – Hersheypark – Savoring Some Skyrush & A Jolly New Paint Job?
- 10.31.2021 – Busch Gardens Williamsburg – Howl-O-Scream on Halloween
A First-Time Visit in November?
Now that I have a platinum pass for BGW I think I’m finally going to give Sesame Place a visit for Oscar’s Wacky Taxi and Vapor Trail. This park, which isn’t that far from me, has been one I’ve always balked at visiting for no other reason than it’s super high admission price. Since my new pass gives me access to the park and free parking, it’s time to head on up. The park has two days of their Halloween Spooktacular event remaining and both coasters are listed as operating.
Other than Sesame, I think the primary focus on We Were Inverted for November will be the galleries and some back end file updating. I’m also overdue on an entry into the Influential Coasters of My Childhood series, so I really need to get on that. The good thing is, I already have the coasters (yes, plural) picked out for the next entry.
Before closing things out here, I just want to say thank you to everyone who supports this site. Whether you’re reading blogs, following and interacting with us on social media, or watching the recent additions on YouTube. it means a lot. I love interacting with all of you as well and if you checked out a few of the blogs above, you know I even had a chance meeting at Hersheypark with someone who follows the site! I’d love to meet even more of you and hopefully that happens moving forward.
