nice job! I really like how you changed up some of the colors can't wait to see more!

OPENING DAY!!! HIP HIP HOORAY!!!

Hey everyone!

I only had a little time too work this week, but it is done enough to open it up to the public! Warning: this is a mega post of sorts since it is opening day and is very, very long (sorry, couldn't help it). I decided that the entrance is going to stay the same for now but will be changed later. (hopefully)
Please comment!

On with the story!:

August 15, 2003

Hi!
Jon here! Nothing to much happened different to the park recently. Some decoration was added to the main entrance that looks like roller coaster track. This is a picture of it:

OHH AND IT'S OPENING DAY!!!! Crowds already starting lining up yesterday evening!:

Mr. Harrington was quite frantic and running around making sure everything was ready for the rush of park goers and media persons. The park opened at 11:00 AM. By 8:30 the crowd was growing rapidly:

Park admission was only $5.00. Every ride though required different amounts of tickets (tickets are 25 cents). For example: The Tower and the Zipper required four tickets while American Adventure (the roller coaster) required eight. The advertising department had advertised that the first 25 people in the park would receive unlimited free rides and a special memorabilia collectible Americana Gardens Hat! Here is a picture of the first guests exploring the new park:


This picture of the parking lot was taken by a media helicopter around 11:30 this morning. As you can see the parking lot was packed!!:


The following is an excerpt from a newspaper journalist covering the opening of the gardens:

The Gardens Open Today

Hundreds of park goers line up early to get into Harrington's Americana Gardens early Friday morning.

Some even started lining up yesterday evening for the chance to win unlimited free rides and a collectible hat. Here is a what theme park enthusiast, Andy Grepper had to say about the park: "I have been waiting for this day ever since I heard word that a new park was being built! Americana Gardens is a dream come true for me!" Amusement park review magazine LLC spokesperson and journalist, Brandon Bergmann was also there for the grand-opening celebration. "I came here all the way from California for this occasion. This park really has a possibility for a fantastic future. The crew members or staff are very friendly, the rides are brand-new and operating smoothly, the park is quite clean and landscaped with excellent eye-appeal, and there is a wide variety of different food and drink options. On the downside, the park is quite small and contains an utterly minimal selection of rides, American Adventure is a very mild family coaster not giving the expected and anticipated thrill, and the parking lot and entrance is almost bigger than the park itself giving off the false impression that the park is very large and contains several exciting rides. On our famous "Park rating scale" based on the different factors, this amusement park is given a 4.5/10 or a slightly below average rating. To improve this park and draw larger crowds Harrington needs to put in some more exciting thrill rides and coasters." Several entertainers were scattered around the park to entertain the park guests as they came through. Today the Gardens will also feature a $3,500 23 minute choreographed firework display to celebrate their grand opening. The display is set to begin at 9:55 PM tonight.

Reporter
Sam Wilson

Well despite what Mr. Bergmann had to say about the amount of rides we have, I think today was an excellent opening celebration! Here is some pictures of the VERY FIRST riders on The Tower, American Adventure and Zipper:




American Adventure, Zipper, and The Bumber Cars were by far the most popular rides today. Zipper had 356 riders, Bumber Cars had 287, and American Adventure came out on top with a total of 521 riders! Here are some pictures of American Adventure with a full train load and the Bumber cars:



The construction area that I had talked about last time is still there:

I heard Several people talking and guessing about what could possibly be going in there. It is way too small for any ride. I have no clue what Mr. Harrington's plans are for it.



The display that Mr. Wilson was talking about above in his article was REALLY spectacular! The guests loved it!! (us mechanics liked it too haha) There was some slight drizzle or sprinkling, but it didn't really bother anyone too bad. Here are some prime shots of the display:





It was an amazing day at the gardens! Unfortunately, for us mechanics, we had to inspect all the rides way before opening time and stayed till late after closing to make sure everything would be in working order for tomorrow. Good thing is I get payed triple for overtime, so I can't really complain! It was a long but fun day at the gardens. We now have 21 days or 9 weekends left for this year! The park is closing for the season on October 12. Mr. Harrington and the board of directors has already set the date for the opening day of the 2004 season: Friday, May 7th. Well, I'm totally worn out from the long day, so this entry is going to finally have to come to a close.

See you in the Gardens!
Jon

wow nice update! I really like how its turning up so far! the change on the entrance looks cool, and the rides there also look nice, keep up the good work

Thnx! I hope that I can get another update up sometime this week.

I think you should quit this park because it is just too avocado good!

Umm Thanks, but about quitting the park I'm not so sure about. I'm getting really really interested in this park like I haven't on any others I have tried to make. (if that makes any sense, I'm kinda awkward with trying to describe things sometimes )

I saw on the news that at six the previous evening they were setting up sleeping bags and canned campfires. While we watched the reporter, in the background the guests were settling into their freshly fried chicken and roasting marshmallows.

Your photographer, who it seems regularly takes photos for magazines, has taken a lovely shot of your Dodgems ride.

The twisted steel work above your park entrance really adds to it. Parking the coaches like you did is a nice touch. And the park looks great with all the cars parked and guests arriving in hordes.

The next time the guests consider driving to your park they might want to consider buying new cars from Eletegna’s Street Elements CS auto dealership, or the Cars CS used car lot.

Don't Quit Now!

I was joking about quitting.

Your photographer, who it seems regularly takes photos for magazines, has taken a lovely shot of your Dodgems ride.

The next time the guests consider driving to your park they might want to consider buying new cars from Eletegna’s Street Elements CS auto dealership, or the Cars CS used car lot.

Thnx I just downloaded a new car dealership for Stony Mills! Next time the parking lot is shown it will have newer cars

I was joking about quitting.

that's a relief lol

Hey!

This is another update from the gardens! I didn't really add too much this week (yet anyway lol).

So here we go!:


August 20, 2003

Hi! It's Jon again. This first weekend at the gardens was AMAZING (and frantically busy). On Sunday our attendance peaked at 928 admissions! We had nearly 1,000 people in the park!! For some reason a lot more than on opening day. The weather conditions weren't that bad on friday, although Sunday it was sunny and about 75 and Friday it was sprinkling. Mr. Harrington has made some changes to the maps so we now have one main themed area: Village Center. But ironically, that would make Village Center the only area that there is at the gardens.

We have already determined which rides are the most popular and which ones are the least amount so.

This is our third most popular attraction (actually this is a show or live entertainment) with a total of 808 admissions:
THE CIRCUS!!! (Mr. Harrington tried to bring in some amazing acts to wow the audiences, I guess it worked)
Here is a night snapshot:


The queue line for the circus on Saturday evening:


This came in second with 925 admissions:
AMERICAN ADVENTURE!!
Undoubtedly, we figured it would be popular. Mr. Harrington wanted to make sure it was a gentle yet fun ride that the whole family could ride. I have two pictures and a POV video. (I'm really sorry about the really crappy quality of the video, but Mr. Harrington wouldn't let me use the park's HD camera equipment, he was afraid a clumsy guy like me would break it. Oh, and there isn't any sound either)

This is actually a picture from Friday when the fireworks where going off:


This is a picture of the queue line on Sunday afternoon:


Here is the bad-quality video:
(just click on the picture and the video will open in a new tab)


Okay now for the most popular ride in the gardens!:
THE TOWER!!! This ride really stole the show at 1,412 admissions over the opening weekend! That is almost 500 more than American Adventure! I have two pictures of this ride:

This one was taken by Brandon Bergmann, the spokesperson guy from the Amusement park review magazine:


Some geusts get a bird's eye view of the park:


Ok, now these shot of pictures are just random ones from around the park. It will say a description before each picture.
Here is a picture of the park on Saturday Morning:


Hoards of guests rush in Sunday Morning:


This is a picture from late afternoon on Sunday, as you can see several people are still coming in for the day:


Rumor has it that something is going in beyond this fence. This picture was from Friday:


This one is in the same area just 5 days later. They obviously have plans for it with all the trees and brush being cleared:


Guesses have been made it could be for another coaster or an expansion of Village Center (more shopping or restaurants). No one knows if it will be something going in fairly quickly as in yet this year, or something that might be for next season. I expect we will find out soon.

Well, I have to go for now. I need to inspect and make sure all the rides are running smoothly before this weekend comes.

Thnx and see you in the gardens,
Jon

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I forgot to mention: I will try to get another update up by Monday which will include some big and surprising news for the gardens!
Get Pumped!! Get Excited!! lol

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I'm sorry about the crappy quality video, I don't think Photobucket lets me upload videos in HD.