Life is what happens when you are making other plans~ John Lennon
An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind~Gandhi
The time is always right to do what is right~ Martin Luther King Jr.


Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Do's and Don't's of Going to a Theme Park

Everyone probably has their own set of do's and don't's when going to a theme park. It's usually based on what is witnessed by that park goer, personal experience or some other factor. It's always good to know what to do and what not to do so you can maximize the amount of fun you have and the memories you create. Here are some of my do's and don't's based on what I've seen at the local theme park, Kings Island, in Mason, Ohio. Also, I'll put some personal experiences I've had with those situations.

Do

Research the Weather

-Watch the local news forecasts before planning your trip to a theme park. Weather is an unpredictable beast and can unleash its fury upon you at any given time. You don't want to go to a theme park and suddenly look up and see black clouds scudding across the sky and feel sprinkles coming down on you. That means one thing-thunderstorms!! And if you're going to a theme park near the ocean, like Universal Studios in either Florida or California or Disney World in Orlando, Florida or Disney Land in California, then you know the beach and ocean are nearby. Storms can pop up like weeds being so close to the ocean. So it's good to watch the weather forecasts and plan accordingly. Nothing ruins a theme park trip quicker than foul weather.

-And if you happen to be in the park when a storm rolls in, park employees are quick to respond. That is why there are intercom systems throughout the park to make sure any important notices reach every set of ears. If there is a storm rolling in, employees will get on the intercom and say something to the effect of: "Attention, the National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning. We urge all present in the park to seek cover because severe lightning, wind and rain has been predicted." This is the park's way of ensuring their guests are safe at all costs. You don't want to be ready to board a steel coaster and suddenly have to worry about lightning. Do the math; lightning + steel coaster = new take on the phrase "ride the lightning".

-Personal experience: When me and my sister were kids, we had gone to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. We had gone to the separate park Epcot and was getting ready to ride the GM Test Track. This is a high endurance roller coaster where you can build and design your own virtual concept car and then test run it on the built in track. We were getting ready to head into the building when announcements about an incoming thunderstorm were blaring throughout the park. We couldn't go on it. To this day, I have yet to be on it. I don't even know if me and my sister would have been safe enough to ride it because I wasn't sure we were tall enough to ride it. A lot of rides have height restrictions only to ensure the safety of the riders. I would say that there was no threat to us since the ride was indoors, but lack of power due to a thunderstorm means if the power goes out, we're stranded until the power returns

Dress for the weather

-Simply put, if it's hot out, wear light colored, lightweight clothing. Wear something that is going to keep you cool. And even if you are wearing light colored, lightweight clothing, if you get hot, just jump on a water ride real quick. With theme parks, you're going to be walking around a lot and will get hot. Just jump on a water ride real quick or look for an indoor ride because you know they'll have AC. If you visit Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, my recommendations for water rides include Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown, a log flume in the Rivertown part of the park and White Water Canyon, a large rubber inner tube able to seat six people right next door to Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown. Indoor rides include Flight of Fear and Boo Blasters on Boo Hill.

-At Universal Studios in Florida, water rides include Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rats, which is the same type of ride as White Water Canyon at Kings Island only Popeye-themed. There's also Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls, which is a log flume. Both of these rides were in the Toon Town part of the park. Indoor rides at Universal Studios include Kongfrontation, where you ride in a sort of skyride-type car and traverse the world of King Kong, Revenge of the Mummy, which is indoors and in the dark partially. It's a thrill ride where you don't know what's coming (A cool fact is that there are real hieroglyphics written on the wall and they really read "danger", "warning", "danger ahead", etc.). Men in Black Alien Attack! is an indoor ride where you board a car and start shooting aliens with a laser gun (this is the exact thing you do at Boo Blasters on Boo Hill at Kings Island and previously when this ride was Scooby Doo and the Haunted Mansion). But with Men in Black Alien Attack! the cars will spin out of nowhere. The back story is that the Men in Black facility has been overrun with aliens and you must shoot them to save the MIB facility. But, of course, if you need to cool off, you can also jump on a roller coaster. That'll cool you off with a nice summer breeze. If you're looking for a fast coaster, head on over to Islands of Adventure, where all of the Marvel-themed rides are and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is located. Jump on The Incredible Hulk coaster; you can't miss it. It's green and massive.

-Personal experience: I've done this. I've worn dark clothing with the thought in mind "it won't be that hot." Big mistake. That's why I included this on here because I have done this. My sister's boyfriend gave me heat for it. Of course, he was laughing the whole time while saying it. I had a red and black Iron Maiden tee on the day he, my sister and me went to Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. It was right after they had built their new wood coaster Mystic Timbers. The line was ridiculous because the ride had just opened and ridership was riding a high like no other. He told me to take the shirt off and he started laughing at the fact I had a black tank on. He laughed and said "you're the older sibling. You're supposed to be smarter." I told him that walking around, we would get cooled off and if need be, we can hit up a roller coaster or a water ride. He agreed.

Consider Your Diet

-If you have any sensitivities to food or any allergies to food, your first stop in the park must be Park Information so you can seek out any food places with food that will avoid aggravating said sensitivities or allergies. Just let the person you speak with know about any allergies or sensitivities to food and they will quickly point out the best options. Too much salt on food can make anyone sick; salt is an emetic, meaning it induces vomiting. For some reason, some people are not affected by overly salty food. The only downside is you get thirsty quicker. If you have a sensitive stomach and can't handle overly salty food, try and seek out a mild option for food. A lot of theme parks have nationally known chains like Subway, Chick Fil-A, McDonalds, Starbucks, etc.

-Also, if you have a sensitive stomach and can't handle overly greasy food, look for a safe option inside the park. Look for restaurants or food options where food is baked, rather than deep fried. When and if you talk to Park Information, ask them if there are any places in the park that don't make overly greasy / salty food. They may quickly answer your questions with a good suggestion. Also, it's good to ask Park Information if there are any gluten-free options since it seems recently, more and more people are getting diagnosed with Celiac Disease, a gastrointestinal autoimmune disorder that causes damage to the intestines and diarrhea if wheat-based foods are consumed. Luckily, all theme parks usually offer a wide array of foods in addition to the usual hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken fingers and French fries. They will often have stand alone restaurants that are sit down and be served by a waiter-type situation or restaurants part of a nationally-known chain with seating options to sit and eat. And some people even prefer to eat their food on one of the raised planters acting as a seating wall.

-And if you need a quick sugar rush, there are plenty of cotton candy stands to knock that blood sugar up several points. If you are diabetic and have to take insulin, make sure you wear a medical bracelet stating your status as a diabetic so that when security sees your glucometer, they won't think it's a weapon because it has a needle to check blood sugar. It's especially important to keep your sugar in good range if you're diabetic; low blood sugar can cause drowsiness, flushed skin, heavy sweating in anyone, no matter if they are diabetic or not. And even if you're diabetic and can only get away with taking the Metformin pills, still wear a medical bracelet letting people know you are diabetic. Make sure you stay hydrated and eat something to keep your sugar up, but nothing that will knock your A1C up so far you're officially Type 1 and have to take insulin shots.

-Personal experience: I have gotten sick at least twice at Kings Island eating the overly salty food in the German-themed Fest Haus there. The chicken and fries have far too much salt on them for my comfort. I've eaten those twice and gotten sick. The first time I went, I ate pizza and breadsticks from Larosa's Pizza and I didn't seem to have an issue with that. I only got sick because I got overheated. Other than that, the pizza and breadsticks were good. I seem to have a sensitive stomach and I have to be careful what I eat.

Wear sunblock

-This ties in with the "not applying sunscreen" listed below. It usually doesn't matter what kind of weather you're going to a theme park in. It's always a good idea to apply sunscreen. Except if you are going later in the day, when the sun is not as strong. Most if not all dermatologists would say that the sun's rays are strongest between 10am-3 pm. These are peak theme park hours. Simply put, if it's sunny the whole time you're going to a theme park, simply apply sunscreen every now and again. The last thing you want is to get sunburn or worse, skin cancer. Sunburn is bad enough. It stings, hurts so bad that you want to say expletives every time you move and when it heals, you peel so badly only to have the resulting tan last only a few days. Just wear sunblock. It might be greasy, but at least it smells good and will protect you. And when you get showered off later, put on lotion to moisturize your skin because of being out in the sun.

-Plus, with sunblock on, your skin can heal itself of any major skin irritations like eczema, psoriasis, acne and more. The sun clears that stuff up. Dermatologists will tell you that skin conditions can be cleared up with being in the sun. They advise people not to use tanning beds because those are the bad UV rays. The UV rays coming from the sun are safer with the use of sunscreen. So, if you love theme parks, but also have fair skin or conditions like eczema, psoriasis, acne or other skin conditions, put on that sunblock and let the sun shine on your skin. Those conditions will be no more with that beautiful sun in the sky. Also, even if it's an overcast day, still apply sunblock. What I've learned, the hard way, is that if you can get tan on a cloudy day, you can get burned on a cloudy day. If you're going to a theme park in, say, California or even Florida, where the sun tends to be stronger, up the SPF if you burn easily. DON'T USE  TAN ACCELERATOR UNLESS YOUR SKIN IS TOUGH ENOUGH TO TAKE IT SAFELY!! If you burn easily, tan accelerator is the last thing you need to worry about. Even if you're fair skinned, think about how easily you might burn. If you feel comfortable lowering the SPF, that's completely your call. If you feel more comfortable about upping the SPF, again your call. You will be the one deciding what is most comfortable for you. If you're fair skinned and feel comfortable using an SPF between 15-30, that's usually a good range to stay in. If you are VERY fair skinned, and we're talking Ed Sheeran-level fair skinned, you might want to stick to SPF 30-50 and apply it more frequently.

-Also, wear a hat or some sort of head covering. Your scalp will not only not get burnt, but it will keep the sun off of your face. And if you want sun on your face, turn your hat (only if it's a baseball hat) backwards, but put sunblock on your face. It might make your face greasy, but allowing the sun on your face will clear up acne. And if a hat overheats your head, wear a bandanna on your head. Tie around your head in the way motorcycle riders do-where the bandanna covers the top of your head. It's not only less maintenance, but the lightweight material bandannas are made of will allow your head to cool off. Baseball hats are good and so are large brimmed sun hats, but they make your head sweaty and most claim it causes baldness. So stick with a bandanna. Put it into a triangle shape and tie it around your head in the way that the triangle shape covers the scalp and ends over the back of your head. Your scalp and hair will thank you. Also, if you go on a water ride, the bandanna might get wet, keeping your head even cooler with the water.

-Personal experience: to this day, I've never used tan accelerator. I used an SPF 30 tanning oil when I went to an IMSA race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car track a few years ago and the only sunburn I had was on my ankles, which I somehow missed with the oil. I got a pretty good tan. I was initially nervous about using a tanning oil because I knew my skin was easy to burn. It's only because as I've gotten older, my skin has gotten less weak and more tough with being in the sun. I've learned the hard way that your scalp can burn. If it's skin, it burns without the proper protection. I've discovered the wonder of wearing a bandanna and not a baseball hat. Anytime I go to a theme park now, I wear a bandanna on my head and put sunblock on my face. It not only keeps my head cool, but allows me to get sun on my face, clearing my acne.

Bring a clear bag when going to a theme park

-Most if not all parks are all about security. If you bring a clear bag, that makes the job for security 100x times faster and easier on them. All they have to do is look through the bag to see if there is anything suspicious in there. If they see an item that looks suspicious, take it out and let them know. They simply don't want weapons or anything that can harm others coming in the park. If you're a diabetic and are bring your glucometer with you, tell them when you get to them that you are diabetic and have a glucometer on you. Simply put, if you bring a clear bag with you, it gets you through security 100x faster. You can even tell the guards that you brought a clear bag because you wanted to make their jobs easier. They will gladly tell you thank you and then some; that you are making their job easier for them. Their whole job is security. They don't want people bringing guns, knives or any type of weapon into the park that can cause harm. Mace is also considered a no-no. If you have mace on you, leave it in the car. Same with brass knuckles or black jacks. Both of these are weapons. You don't need these for a fun day at the theme park.

Ask ahead of time if it's okay to bring in outside water bottles

-Most parks are usually okay with people bringing in outside water bottles. But it's always a good idea to call ahead and ask the park information center if it's okay. If it's a clear bottle and even if they can see inside it, simply tell security what drink is in it, like Gatorade, Powerade, water, Pedialyte, etc. If it's an opaque bottle, open it up and let them see inside. Their whole job is security and the last thing they want is people openly drinking alcohol and getting rowdy.

-Personal experience: I always bring a water bottle with me to Kings Island. It's large, see through and green. I always have Gatorade or Powerade in it and in addition to that bottle, I have my Kings Island Season Passholder green cup with me too. I have it clipped to my carabiner on my bag. They almost always know that when they see those green cups in people's hands and a water bottle in their hands, they are going to utilize one of the refill stations through out the park. I even tell security that when they see my green water bottle, I tell them what's inside. I usually say "it's just Gatorade, I swear." They always appreciate people making their job easier and faster so they can get more people in faster and easier

Call Park Information ahead of time and ask questions, lots of questions

-If you're going to a new theme park or going to a theme park you have not been to in a while, call the park information center and ask questions because if you have not been to said theme park in a while, things do tend to change. Ask questions about the best places to eat in the park if you have sensitivities to food or food allergies. The best places to eat in a sit down restaurant. The sights and attractions. If there are any shows happening. Park Information is your one stop shop for all things park-related. Ask them what security is like. Ask them if you can bring in outside water bottles or what the bag policy is. You want to ask ahead of time so you have time to prepare.

-Personal experience: I know, FOR A FACT, I will have to do this when and if me and my sister plan on going to Universal Studios in Florida and taking my sister's boyfriend with us. I will have to call the park information center ahead of time and take some serious notes on how things go there. From what I remember, they aren't too picky about the type of bags brought in, but I like to be safe, just in case. The last time I was there, I was a little kid and didn't have any bags with me. I'll be asking them what the bag policy is, whether we can bring in clear bags or opaque bags. If we are allowed to bring in outside water bottles. What the best places to eat are because my sister's boyfriend is rather picky in that he doesn't like hot dogs, hamburgers. He only likes cheese pizza, chicken fingers made a certain way, pancakes, bacon, sausage, French fries, etc. Considering how massive the park is, I'm sure there is somewhere in the park he can eat. I personally think that the only reason he is picky about food is because when he was born, his mother was high on drugs and that affected him somehow. Also, it doesn't help he's a former heroin addict; that can often affect stomachs. He gets sick to his stomach easily and has to take prescription-strength Zofran to keep him safe. I even tell him that, in a quick pinch, I can give him one of my Bonine pills (OTC or the over the counter for the unaware, version of the famed Dramamine pills but without the drowsiness). He always thanks me for having that on me until he gets to his medication. I like thinking ahead for others.

-I like making sure people are going to have a good time and a safe time, even if I'm the one sick, lol. I usually tell anyone that when I get sick to my stomach, just give me a few minutes and I'll be right as rain in no time. I just have to get over the sore stomach muscles and heavy sweating. I always joke that I wanted abs, but not from puking. I always try to make jokes about a bad situation to lighten the mood. But, as you can imagine, I go off on random tangents, lol. I really want to take my sister's boyfriend with us because I want him to see how insane the rides are there. I know for a fact that if I take him near the Jurassic Park Velocicoaster, he's going head long towards it.

Bring motion sickness pills with you and take one before entering the park

-My recommendation: Bonine. It's available at every store in the section for upset stomachs. It's usually near all of the Pepto-Bismal and upset stomach meds. And if your local grocery stores are anything like the Cincinnati-based Kroger grocery stores, this medication will be on the bottom shelf, near the floor. It's in a blue box and says "Bonine" on it. It's like Dramamine, which comes in a coppery or bronze-colored box, which is a well known motion sickness pill, but doesn't have the drowsiness that Dramamine causes. It even says on the box "will not cause drowsiness". This is your best option. These pills last up to 24 hours. Which means, you can take one pill before you enter the park and you'll be good to go. If you decide to take a pack with you and security asks, simply tell them the truth. Tell them they are motion sickness pills because you get sick easily on rides sometimes. Or just take the whole box with you so security sees what it is and already knows. And here's another thing to keep in mind: most if not all first aid stations in and around the park do have plenty of motion sickness pills in stock because they know people will get sick on the rides. Some people can handle rides. Some can't.

Look at that fabulous statement up top. That is the best statement ever! That's what you want to see. You want to keep from getting sick and you don't want the sleepiness Dramamine causes!! This is my #1 recommendation for motion sickness!!

Don't

Avoid drinking anything

-You MUST stay hydrated when going to a theme park. Avoiding drinking anything will cause you to dehydrate and thus, get sick. Nothing ruins a trip to a theme park faster than dehydration. Most if not all parks will allow you to bring in bottles of water or bottles of juice to stay hydrated because they figure you're going to buy something sooner or later. As long you're not bringing in weapons or alcohol, they don't care. Security will ask what it is you have if the bottle is not clear. but just be honest and tell them it's Gatorade, Powerade, Pedialyte, water or something that's going to hydrate you. Or better yet, let them look into their bottle for their own peace of mind. Their main job is to keep park goers safe.

-Personal experience: my first time to Kings Island, I got dehydrated. I was wearing jeans because it was very cool in the morning, around low to mid 50s. It suddenly got dead of August level hot out and before I knew it, I was getting overheated. I, of course, didn't get anything to drink (stupid on my part) and I got overheated and sick. I was lucky I didn't get sick on any rides, but I did end up getting sick right riding this incredibly intense spinning ride at Kings Island called Delirium. I got sick right in front of the Eiffel Tower model and my sister calls it one of my "crime scenes" since I got sick three times in the park: This time (100% my fault, I take full accountability for it), another time in Planet Snoopy (this was not overheating or dehydration; it was the too salty food in the Fest Haus) and once more at Halloween Haunt (The Fest Haus, a German-modelled dining hall, had over 100 people crammed in there like cattle and I got overheated and the food was too salty and I got sick not ten feet outside the door next to a trash can)

Eat food and then immediately get on a coaster

-This is a recipe for disaster. When you eat, you must allow your food to digest a bit before tackling that nearby big roller coaster. Those rides can be bumpy sometimes and if you go on a bumpy or aggressive ride almost immediately after eating, you're practically praying for disaster. Your stomach will quickly refund your food all over the ground or on the ride. No one wants to be on a roller coaster or ride and suddenly have vomit spraying all over them from some doofus who just ate and couldn't wait five minutes for his food to digest. Simply put, walk around, let your food digest. Your body needs food to run. It's like an engine and food is the gasoline to keep you running. Just walk around, check out the rides and attractions and scout out what you want to do while waiting a few minutes for your food to get through your system. Wait about 15-20 minutes and you should be safe to ride anything. And if need be, eat before you come to the park. You'll save money and be safe from the food making you sick

-Personal experience: One time when me, my sister and her boyfriend were going to Kings Island during the summer, I had actually eaten before we went to the park so I was already full. By the time we got there, we were ready to knock out some rides. I feel like, for me, eating before going to Kings Island is usually safer because for some strange reason, I have a sensitive stomach and can't eat certain things. I don't have food allergies per se, but I know what I can and can't eat from personal experience.

-Personal experience: that same day, me, my sister and her boyfriend were getting ready to board The Twin Racers, a dual sided, "racing" roller coaster with two trains, one red and one blue, that can race alongside each other. Park attendants had halted the boarding process because they had to clean the cars. One person had been ill on the ride and vomited in one of the cars. They had to completely clean and sterilize that area before it was deemed safe to let riders on. It turned out that the person who had gone on was a kid whose parents had forgotten to tell people they suffered from motion sickness and gotten ill on the ride. I even told the attendants that person should have taken motion sickness pills. I take one before I enter the park because they last 24 hours. The attendant even replied that they sell motion sickness pills in all of the gift shops in addition to basic meds and candy for diabetics to get their sugar up. These gift shops sell basic OTC meds, candy to get your sugar up, sunblock, hats and more.

Drink heavily

-The whole point of going to a theme park is not only to ride the rides, but create memories. You'll have no memories at all if you add alcohol into the mix. Sure, parks make boatloads on alcohol sales, but you don't want to drink heavily and then go on a ride. You'll not only get really sick, but you won't remember how much fun it was. Park security is always on the lookout for overly drunk, troublesome guests. If it's hot out and you're drinking heavily, you're going to be sick in record time. Sure, theme parks know that rides are not for everyone. That those who get sick to their stomachs in the park all have different reasons it happened. Park attendants are very sensitive to the causes of why someone got sick. They don't judge; they simply try and help the person if they can. Also, if park attendants see someone is visibly, fall down and/or stumbling drunk, they will prevent the person from riding. A lot of these rides require you to buckle yourselves in and the attendants will come by to double check. A lot of these rides not only require you to buckle yourselves in, but they have special attachments coming down over your shoulders if the ride does inversions / barrel rolls / loops or large lap bars if the ride is fast with sharp banks that the attendants will help secure in place. You can't do any of these if you're so overly drunk your arms are like limp rubber.

-Personal experience: my first time at Kings Island, I got overheated and got sick to my stomach outside the scale model of the Eiffel Tower. This ties in with the "dress for the weather" statement. My sister's boyfriend had gone to the nearby first aid station to get a motion sickness pill for me to take, which didn't last long. It came right back up. Luckily, a park attendant was passing by and asked if we needed assistance. My sister's boyfriend Matt asked if someone could get this cleaned up. The woman asked "what happened?" and it was not like a sarcastic response where someone would sarcastically respond "she's puking". It was a very considerate way of asking "what happened?" as if she were genuinely concerned. She asked me and I told her it was 100% my fault. I wore jeans thinking it would be cool out and didn't realize it would warm up so quickly. I got overheated and of course, my mistake, didn't drink anything and I got sick. She kindly told me to wear shorts the next time and stay hydrated. She also told me, "just between you, me, your sister and boyfriend", not to eat the chicken and fries or pizza and breadsticks in the Fest Haus. Those were overly greasy / salty foods.

-My best option would be the Chick Fil-A stand in the Adventure Zone part of the park, the Planet Snoopy Grill or the Auntie Anne's booth in International Street. She said those foods were easy on the stomach. She even suggested the Panda Express in the Fest Haus. Their food was usually pretty bland and it would also fill me up with the carbs I'd need to keep going all day. She started laughing at this last statement because she said she ate there anytime she came with friends and she was always good to go. But she said her stomach was practically scrap iron and she could eat anything. She asked if I had a sensitive stomach and I told her I did.

Go all day without applying sunscreen

-If you're going to a theme park and it's going to be sunny, wear sunscreen. If you don't, you're opening yourself to the opportunity to get sunburn. As someone with fair skin and someone who says they are in a committed relationship with sunburn, I can tell you that even if it's an overcast day, never take chances. Always apply sunscreen, even if it's an overcast day. Wear a hat so that your scalp doesn't burn. If your scalp does burn, once it heals, you look like you have a severe case of dandruff or psoriasis and most think that's disgusting for some odd reason. Put sunblock on all exposed areas-arms, shoulders, legs, face, anywhere you think might get burnt. If you are fair skinned, but can get away with a low SPF, still apply that sunblock just to cover your bases. Not only that, but most if not all dermatologists would strongly suggest wearing sunscreen to prevent chances of getting skin cancer. If you're going to a theme park down in Florida or over in California, where the sun tends to be stronger, wear a higher SPF, just to cover your bases. And if you are fair skinned, don't even contemplate wearing tan accelerator. That will not only not keep you from getting burned, you will actually burn worse because your skin is not used to it. You will be as red as the Russian flag. Unless your skin is tough enough to tolerate tan accelerator, don't use it. And even if you are fair skinned, but your skin is tough, stick with sunblock so that at least you won't get burnt, but you'll also get a tan just the same as tan accelerator, but with out the redness of sunburn

-Personal experience: I've gotten the weirdest sunburns going to theme parks. The last weird burn I got was when me, my sister Jessica or Jessie as I call her and her boyfriend Matt went to the local theme park in Mason, Ohio, Kings Island. It was a sunny day and we were all in line for the newly built wood coaster Mystic Timbers. I had sunblock everywhere except the backs of my calves, the one place I didn't think I'd get burnt because the line was only partially in the sun and partially in the shade. Big mistake. Later on, I wondered why the backs of my calves felt like they were on fire and sure enough, I got sunburn. My sister saw it and I thought she was going to wet herself from laughing so hard.

Bring weapons into the park

-There is no need to bring weapons into the park. You're there to have fun, not create a new level in a real life game of Mortal Kombat. Security at theme parks is tight and they will not hesitate to call someone out on causing a threat. That's why you go through security upon entering / exiting the park. When entering, they will show you, on a sign, the things that cannot enter. Don't bring any type of knife or gun or chemical weapon (mace, pepper spray). They will tell you that if you do have weapons on you, please return them to your car.

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Kings Island A Ride Through Time by Evan Ponstingle

This is a book about the local theme park, Kings Island. It's about 45 minutes from my house (I live in the Cincinnati, Ohio suburb of Delhi Township) and one of the biggest theme parks in the area of Mason, Ohio. It was originally in the smaller area of Kings Mills, Ohio, but was annexed to Mason, Ohio. It's a constantly evolving beast, no pun intended for the resident roller coaster, The Beast. This is a popular destination for residents of the Tri-State area of Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. Even out of state residents rent cars to come here. It's an interesting read for anyone interested in local history like this.

-This book talks about the history of the local theme park, Kings Island. It starts out talking mainly about another theme park located in the city of Cincinnati, called Coney Island. This particular park was more along the lines of a kiddie park because it had a big pool and low thrill rides. Rides that could be rode by both adults and kids. In fact, the most aggressive ride that Coney had to offer at one point was the Shooting Star or the Python, steel coasters that didn't have loops, just big hills and bunny hills (small, short hills for those who may not know).

Delirium in Adventure Zone next to Banshee. Most would say that engineers cranked up the G-force on this, making it harder, faster and more aggressive. WARNING: You will get severely dizzy on this ride. I rode this the first time I went to Kings Island and I had to close my eyes otherwise I was going to be sick all over someone

The retro pickup truck-looking cars of Mystic Timbers in Rivertown

Zephyr in the Coney Mall / Midway. This is one of my favorites because it's old school. Those white timbers you see in the background? That's part of the Twin Racers

-A lot of the rides were relocated from here to a large, empty plot of land being planned, in development, for a large park off of Interstate 71. The developers for the park noticed that Coney Island was off of Interstate 75, but Interstate 71 had nothing. They decided to build a new theme park and relocate these rides there. Of course, building a theme park costs money and developers asked local Taft Broadcasting for funding. The company gladly did when they heard the pitch for a new theme park. Once construction began, everything started moving in the positive. Once the park was built, the areas planned out, it needed a name. A contest was held to decide the name and a local thirteen year old named Rebecca Richards chose the name Kings Island as a combination of "Kings" from the area the park was located in, Kings Mills and "Island" from Coney Island.

WindSeeker. It's beautiful during the day. It's magical at night, especially clear nights. You can see everything, at least everything that's lit up. You can see the lights on the signs before the drops on The Beast, which is right next door. And on clear days, you can see for miles. Don't do what I did: take your phone on with you unless you have a death grip on it. This ride goes up pretty high, at least 300 feet. Otherwise that phone is smashed. I took my phone on it during Halloween Haunt and I took some amazing photos. I had the best view of Cincinnati's skyline all lit up

Celebrating 50 years of spills and thrills. Because it opened in the 1970s, in the Fest Haus, there was a 70s-themed show that would play periodically

The hanging, suspended cars for Banshee. Definitely my #1 favorite ride here. Designers engineered it that way to make it a fan favorite. Ridership is extremely high on this one because it's smooth, no bumps and the right amount of speed and thrill

-As time went on, things came and went, things changed. Initially, there was an animal safari park, but the cost of caring for the animals became too high and they animals were shipped to places where people could properly care for them. It was then decided that this park would just be, exclusively, a theme park. The layout was set in a four leaf clover design, each "leaf" being a different theme area with rides and attractions to that theme. Over time, the themes have changed, the rides come and gone. Currently, the theme areas are Rivertown (modeled after the early days of Cincinnati being a literal river town as it straddles the Ohio River. The buildings are all of that single sided clapboard shingling common to buildings during the days of river boats), Adventure Zone (originally known as Adventure Village where all of the heart-racing rides are), Planet Snoopy (originally known as Nick Central because Viacom, who owns the children's channel Nickelodeon, had rides modeled after their cartoons) and Area 72 (named after the year the park opened, 1972 and made to look like a super, top secret government facility).

A banner announcing the opening

Diamondback. This is my #2 favorite ride. I was nervous the first time I rode it, but after that first hill, it just got better. I always say it's that first hill that gets you every time.

The Eiffel Tower during WinterFest, a beautiful Christmas-themed event that didn't happen for several years because of low attendance. It was brought back to much fanfare and is the second most popular event at the park behind Halloween Haunt

Halloween Haunt. This is what would happen if a heavy metal fan and a horror movie fan put their minds together and also worked in a theme park. Heavy metal is playing loudly throughout the park. Rides are open, but the wait lines are long, usually 1-2 hours. But, the park closes at midnight. You can usually tell when the employees are preparing for closing when you see them roping off the entrances to the rides

-At one time, Paramount owned the park and had movie-themed rides throughout the park. The Drop Tower, as its's known by now, was originally The Drop Zone, after the Wesley Snipes film. This ride has you sitting in a row of seats, you're taken up in to the air and dropped suddenly. Another ride is The Italian Job, named after the movie of the same name. The cars you sit in are modeled after Mini Coopers since that film popularized the small British-made car. This is a stunt track-type coaster that shoots you off at 55 mph in four seconds. There's also Face/Off, a coaster that allows you to face the people across the car from you as you do both a forward and backwards lap. Top Gun was a suspended pivot coaster that swiveled to the left or right.

Invertigo, formerly Face/Off when it was still Paramount Kings Island

An old school look at Kings Island back in the 1970s. That ferris wheel-looking ride was called Zodiac. This is a view down the dual tracks of the Twin Racers

The Mini Cooper cars of formerly The Italian Job, but now the Backlot Stunt Coaster


Banshee lit up at night. It's one thing to ride it during the day. But it's completely different at night because you can't see what's coming. This is one of the biggest, fastest coasters in the park. And my #1 favorite. I wasn't even nervous about going on it. I was excited about it. And what's also cool is that at night, the wailing and howling you hear while waiting in line adds a sinister vibe to the ride in addition to the tombstones scattered around, bearing names of rides that have been demolished, such as Son of Beast, Vortex, King Cobra, etc. I laughed so hard the first time I went on it because it was at night and the wailing and howling startled my sister, who wasn't expecting it. I told her it was because the Banshee is also known as the Wailing Woman. A figure who brings imminent death to those who hear her wails

-But when Paramount lost the rights to the park, the rides had to be renamed and repainted. Top Gun was repainted in black and orange and renamed The Bat, after a ride of that same name once operated in the park. The Italian Job was renamed and painted the Backlot Stunt Coaster. Face/Off was repainted in a blue-green color scheme and renamed Invertigo. The Drop Zone was renamed The Drop Tower.

The park's oldest, but yet most iconic ride. It's been there since the mid to late 1970s and is still drawing crowds in the hundreds

The park and Mason-area's first giga coaster. This ride is tall and fast. The story behind it is a secret government facility is testing out a new escape transport to evade the meteor storm threatening humanity. And the riders are the test subjects to test its success at evading the oncoming meteor onslaught

A side view of Mystic Timbers with that large hilly coaster visible nearby being Diamondback

The Monster, now known as Octopus in the Coney Mall / Midway. Visible in the background is the initial hill you climb for Twin Racers


-There was even an onsite water park that went through many names. Originally, it was the WaterWorks. When Paramount owned it, it was heavily Australian-themed to tie in with the wildly successful Crocodile Dundee series. Then it was finally repainted and renamed Soak City. The book even talks about other parks similar to Kings Island under the Cedar Fair chain, which is the company who owns Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Those parks include King's Dominion in Dorney Park, Virginia, Carowinds in the Carolinas, Wonderland in Canada and, of course, Cedar Point in Sandusky.

The first drop on Twin Racers. My #1 favorite wooden coaster

The red and blue cars of Twin Racers. I do apologize for having a lot of photos of the Twin Racers, but Kings Island is proud of this ride being the first ride in the park that was built and they take pride in it still being massively popular after all of these years

The Woodstock Whirlybirds in Planet Snoopy

-There are also facts I didn't know. Such as:

-Kings Island was the first to introduce pizza as a food option. Theme parks up until that point had only offered finger food such as hot dogs, hamburgers and French fries. Kings Island managers wanted to offer additional options for food. With locally-owned pizzeria LaRosa's being still in the process getting started, managers thought it would be good to offer the fare from this local pizzeria and it worked instantly.

-Kings Island's first official coaster built in the park was the Twin Racers, sometimes affectionately referred to as The Racer. Ride designers had been inspired by other parks who had "racing", coasters, roller coasters who raced side by side. Originally, the ride was painted red, white and blue, but a new paint job in the 1990s had the tracks painted white and the cars left red and blue. For a short time, the blue car ran backwards as a gimmick to draw more people into the park. It worked until designers realized roller coasters aren't supposed to run backwards. They reset the chain dog lift that pulls a car uphill back into the correct setting and now the blue and red cars run forward. Of course, this also doesn't stop people from the red and blue cars talking smack about who will get back into the station first. Of course, Kings Island's main "competitor", Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, also has a racing roller coaster very similar to The Twin Racer. They call their racing roller coaster Gemini. A lot of the rides at Cedar Point are incredibly similar to Kings Island

-Their model of the Eiffel Tower, built in 1/3 scale, is nearly as tall as the real one.

-The park is haunted. It's in almost every major book about haunted locations in and around Cincinnati. It was featured in an episode titled "Roller Ghosters" on the TV show Ghost Hunters. The TAPS team picked up the voice of a little girl who was thought to be buried at the cemetery near the front gate to the park. The cemetery is visible no matter which way you go in. Whether it be getting off at Western Row Road, going straight at the traffic light and following the cars, you'll see the cemetery on your right in a nice, shaded wooded glen, or getting off the highway at Mason-Montgomery Rd and turning onto Kings Island Drive and passing the Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park and hotel. It's visible on the right on this way as well.

-And the spirits not picked up by the TAPS team still haunt the park. The spirit of a 17 year old high school graduate named John Hartner haunts the Eiffel Tower. It was Grad Night sometime in the 1970s and his BAC (blood alcohol level) was more than twice the legal limit. He had tried to climb the staircase to the observation deck on the Eiffel Tower. He slipped and fell, getting tangled in the elevator cords. When the elevator operator noticed a "funny jump" with the elevator, training told him to run the elevator up to loosen the slack. This worked and unfortunately, allowed a drunk Hartner to fall to his death. It's believed his spirit is haunting the Eiffel Tower. His death marked the first time a guest was killed. Another unfortunate death involved a woman named Candy. Once again, alcohol was involved. This 32 year old woman and her friends were drinking heavily throughout the day and decided to get on the Flight Commander, a spinning ride in which you buckle yourselves into a sort of hang glider-like car. She was so intoxicated that she slipped out and her leg caught on part of the ride. When it went to do a revolution, she was thrown to the grassy hillside nearby, killing her on impact. Another series of accidents was labelled Black Sunday in the early to mid 1990s. It involved two people being killed and one seriously injured. At the pond in the Oktoberfest part of the park, a fountain without properly insulated wiring and GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter to prevent electrocution) had sprayed. The water was electrified and had electrocuted a security guard and a guest. Both were rushed to nearby Bethesda Hospital, but were pronounced dead on arrival. The other person was rushed to University of Cincinnati Hospital, but had survived. The park was fined $11,300 and ordered to put in ground fault circuit interrupters in all of the fountains throughout the park

-Park managers make sure that every guest feels safe throughout the park. This means adding in first aid stations, private suites for nursing mothers and plenty of food options and bathrooms. They also make sure to consider special diets and foods for those with food-based conditions such as Celiac Disease and any food-based allergies. They also have what they call "sitting walls", which are raised planters with plants and trees providing shade and a place to sit. They also offer sit-down restaurants that offer more than just your average theme park fare. One of the better sit down restaurants is the Miami River Brewhouse in Rivertown. It has a bar and regular, non-theme park food and a sit down environment if you want a change of pace for food. It's also right in the middle between two of the park's more successful rides: White Water Canyon and Mystic Timbers. There are even nationally and internationally-known chain restaurants in the park, like Chick-Fil-A, Skyline, LaRosa's Pizza, Starbucks, Subway, Auntie Ann's, Panda Express and more.

-Both The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family filmed an episode here. The Brady Bunch episode is called "Cincinnati Kids". The Partridge Family episode is titled "I Left My Heart in Cincinnati". David Cassidy from The Partridge Family rode the Twin Racers 12 times in a row while Danny Bondauce outdid him and rode it 22 times in a row

-This park is the reason there are Fun & Safety guides before every ride in every theme park in the world. This park introduced the concept of the Fun & Safety guides before each ride. It came as a result of a gentleman in poor health getting on an early coaster in the park, the Bavarian Beetle. It was a relatively smooth steel coaster relocated from Coney Island, a family-friendly park with a large recirculating pool. This steel coaster was aging and slightly bumpy. This 91 year old, who was already in poor health to begin with, had gone on the Bavarian Beetle and broken his neck. He tried to sue the park, but even his attorney stated he should have known not to get on a ride if he knew his health was bad. But, none the less, the attorney kindly asked park managers and even the attorney for the park to put up signs before each ride stating that if you have conditions that will be aggravated by the ride, please don't get on. It was more to cover the park's bases than anything else. They say it's not trying to ban people from riding; it's mostly if not all for the safety of the rider. Park mangers want to keep people safe. That's why before you ride each ride, there are requirements for height so you can ride safely. There are warnings to those with epilepsy if the ride has flashing strobe lights. There are warnings to little kids scared by loud noises if the ride has loud noises. There are warnings to those with cardiac issues if the ride is fast, warnings to pregnant women not to get on so as to not jostle the baby you're carrying and warnings to those with cervical neck braces to ride because of the bumpiness if there is any.

-Kings Island has a set up similar to Disney Land in Florida only in the sense of having themed areas. The setup of Kings Island and the other sister parks under Cedar Fair have similar setups. They are set up in the shape of a four leaf clover, with each "leaf" being a different themed area and rides, games and shops themed after that area's theme. In Kings Island, some of the themes include:

 -Rivertown, which is modeled after the early days of Cincinnati, which is a literal river town. The single sided clapboard buildings harken back to the days when large river boats would land in Cincinnati to unload cargo and people.

-Adventure Zone, originally named Adventure Village. This is where all of the really fast, heart-pumping rides are. Planet Snoopy, originally Nick Central. When Paramount lost the rights to the park, all of the rides here had to be repainted, redesigned and renamed. Runaway Reptar became The Flying Ace's Aerial Chase and was given an orange and yellow color scheme. The Wild Thornberry's River Adventure became Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown. It was redesigned to look like an old lumber mill and as you get to the top of the flume, you hear buzzing sawblades to simulate going down the chute at a sawmill. The Scooby Doo Ghoster Coaster was demolished and instead in its place was It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. It's a small coaster for little kids, like preschool and kindergarten age kids. 

-Oktoberfest is a small part of the park where a lot of old school rides reminding you of carnivals exist and it's heavily German-themed. The International Street is, no pun intended, world renowned for its authenticity. It has buildings with different flags on it and the main fountain draws your eyes to the Eiffel Tower straight ahead. Some of the flags on International Street include the French flag, where you can get French-inspired food. The Spanish flag where you can get Spanish-inspired goods. The Italian flag where you can get pizza and other Italian food and goods.

-The Coney Mall / Midway is where all of the old school-type rides are in addition to being a heavy games area. Some of the rides here are that of old school carnival type rides. One is called Shake, Rattle & Roll and it's a tilt o whirl type ride. Then there's the Scrambler, which puts two people to each car and swirls them round and round.

-Area 72 is a small part of the park off the Coney Mall / Midway. It's designed to look like a super secret, top secret government facility. The "72" is from the year that Kings Island opened, 1972. This is where the region's first giga coaster, Orion is located, adjacent to the park's own indoor coaster, Flight of Fear. This ride has you locking in tight to your car and shooting you off at 55 mph in semi darkness. It will, quite literally, take your breath away because you don't see it coming. You also get off at a different station than where you got on. A funny side note. When me, my sister, her boyfriend and a friend of his went there for the first time, that was the first ride we went on. I, of course, forgot to put my glasses in our locker (you have to rent a locker for this ride so you don't lose your valuables). So when it came time to board, we seen empty cars coming in and my sister's boyfriend said "Where'd all of the people go?", knowing it would get my sister wondering. I can safely say that I had to hold my glasses the whole time and it quite literally took my breath away. I was shaking so bad when I got off the ride from the adrenaline. It was awesome, but I had to stand for a bit to let my legs adjust from the G-force I was just thrust into. While the story behind Orion is far cooler. You're test subjects in a new escape transport. A meteor storm is coming. You have to get out fast. Orion is your new escape transport and you're the test subjects to make sure it's safe and effective.

Friday, March 17, 2023

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)

This is the third film in the highly successful series

Summary

-Gandalf, Aragorn and their Army of Men descend into Sauron's territory to draw his attention away from Mount Doom, where Frodo and Sam are attempting to destroy the One Ring








Cast

-Noel Appleby: Everard Proudfoot

-Sean Astin: Sam

-Sean Bean: Boromir

-Cate Blanchett: Galadriel

-Orlando Bloom: Legolas

-Billy Boyd: Pippin

-Alistair Browning: Damrod

-Bernard Hill: Theoden

-Elijah Wood: Frodo

-Ian McKellen: Gandalf

-Viggo Mortensen: Aragorn

-Dominic Monaghan: Merry

-John Noble: Denethor

-John Rhys-Davies: Gimli

-Liv Tyler: Arwen

-Hugh Weaving: Elrond

-David Wenham: Faramir

Did You Know?

-Several hundred members of the New Zealand Army was brought in to serve as extras at the Battle of the Black Gate. They were so enthusiastic during the battle scenes that they got to keep the wooden swords and spears they used

-John Rhys-Davies was suffering from constant rashes due to his Gimli makeup. He didn't hesitate to throw his Gimli mask into the fire during the last day of photography

-Andy Serkis and Elijah Wood were both given prop rings by Peter Jackson and they both thought they had the only one

-Elijah Wood has the ability to stare for long periods without blinking. This came in handy during the scene where he is wrapped in the cocoon from the spider creature Shelob

-Shelob, the large spider in this movie, is based on types of spiders feared most by Peter Jackson, who is largely arachnophobic

-During the scene showing the destruction of Sauron's tower Barad-Dur, special care was taken to make sure that it looked nothing like the destruction of the World Trade Center. To do this successfully, the tower appears to disintegrate from the ground up, the sound made from breaking glass, so that it wouldn't look or sound as if it were exploding

-For the world premiere, 100,000 people lined the streets of Wellington, New Zealand. That's 1/4 of the city's population

-The scenes of the Battle of Pelennor Fields were filmed on a large field populated with rabbits. The location had to be heavily inspected for rabbit holes, which could pose a hazard to all of those who worked on the field

-When Merry and Pippin smoke their pipes at Isengard, Dominic Monaghan, who plays Merry, had to drink milk prior to the scene to keep from throwing up while smoking the pipe

-Orlando Bloom's heroic scene on Mumakil was done in one day on top of a pile of sandbags

-The set used for Minas Tirith was the same set used for Helm's Deep

-The model of Shelob was based on a New Zealand funnel web spider

-The first scene Andy Serkis filmed as Gollum was on Mount Doom near the Cracks of Doom while the last scene was where Gollum and Frodo fight and fall over the ledge

-The beacon system in this film is deeply inspired by history. During the Byzantine-Arab Wars, a system was created to alert those around of an enemy attack. If an attack from the Arabic people came on the border, the beacon fires would be spotted faster than a rider arriving, rulers in Constantinople would learn an attack was underway in hours instead of days. Around the same time, around the 9th century, Chinese rulers had a similar system. Their bonfires had wolf dung in them, which could rise to a high altitude without burning off.

-David Wenham's first day of shooting was the House of Healing scene

-Many black metal bands have taken names from places or characters in Tolkien mythology. Some of these include: Norwegian metal bands Gorogoth, Burzum, Morgul, Swedish metal band Amon Amarth (Mount Doom), Netherlands band Carach Angren (Isenmouthe)

-While filming the scene depicting Saruman's death, Sir Peter Jackson told Sir Christopher Lee how to react after being stabbed in the back. Lee is a decorated WWII veteran with the British Special Forces and he assured Jackson he was aware of what a man who was stabbed in the back sounds like

-On the last day of filming, each cast member received a prop significant to the role they played. Miranda Otto received one of the dresses her character Eowyn wore and her sword. Liv Tyler received the dress Arwen died in. Orlando Bloom received the bow used by Legolas

-In the scene where Shelob stings Frodo, the white foam coming out of Elijah Wood's mouth was caused by two Alka-Seltzer tablets he had hidden under his tongue and chewed up

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

This is the second film in the highly successful series

Summary

-Sam and Frodo continue their journey to Mordor with Gollum at their side while also taking a stand against Saruman, the Dark Lord Sauron's new ally and their army of Isengard










Cast

-Sean Astin: Sam

-Elijah Wood: Frodo

-Sir Ian McKellen: Gandalf

-Cate Blanchett: Galadriel

-Orlando Bloom: Legolas

-Billy Boyd: Pippin

-Brad Dourif: Grima Wormtongue

-Bernard Hill: Theoden

-Christopher Lee: Saruman

-Dominic Monaghan: Merry

-Viggo Mortensen: Aragorn

-Miranda Otto: Eowyn

-Andy Serkis: Gollum

-John Rhys-Davies: Gimli

-Hugo Weaving: Elrond

Did You Know?

-Despite being a CGI character, Gollum was completely acted out by Andy Serkis in a motion capture suit. Peter Jackson wanted Gollum to be performer-oriented so the movements would look more natural

-The scenes from Helm's Deep were so grueling that the extras all got a free t-shirt from Peter Jackson. There were so many extras that they would recognize each other in the cities of New Zealand. The front of the shirt read "I Survived Helm's Deep" with the M scratched out to emphasize the "hell" of the experience. Two versions of this shirt existed depending on who played what role. One was black with red lettering on the back reading "Lord of the Rings Uruk-Hai Battalion". The other was blue with silver lettering on the back reading "The Lord of the Rings Elf Regiment"

-There were not enough men 6' and taller to play the Uruk-Hai soldiers, so men 5' and up were cast. They were jokingly referred to as Uruk-Low

-Since the Orcs have not only black blood, but black mouths, the actors playing the Orcs had to use a licorice-based mouthwash prior to their scenes to give them the black-inside-their-mouth look

-In the scene where Aragorn kicks the steel helmet of the orc pyre, he broke two toes. Peter Jackson was impressed with the painful cry Aragorn lets out for the fate of the two Hobbits, not realizing that cry was because of the pain from two broken toes. Mortensen also impressed Jackson by acting through the pain, despite his injury

-When Grima Wormtongue, played by Brad Dourif, sees the 10,000 strong army of Saruman, a tear rolls down his cheek. This is something he can do at will and filmmakers wanted to use that for the scene

-During the Helm's Deep fight scene, a one-eyed warrior turns to the camera, revealing an empty, scarred socket where there was once an eye. The actor who played this character showed up on set one day, wearing an eye patch. Director sir Peter Jackson asked him, politely, to see what was under the patch. Seeing that this gentleman was missing an eye, he asked if he would like to appear in this movie without the eye patch. The actor was reluctant at first to do this, but after filming had completed, he said the experience helped him with his self-confidence and made him more comfortable with his condition

-The battle chants uttered by the Uruk-Hai army were created by a stadium of 25,000 cricket fans being led by Peter Jackson. He led the cricket fans to chant "Dergboo, nashgshoo, dergboo, dashshoo" spelled out on the screen

-Andy Serkis based the desperation and cravings Gollum suffered from on the withdrawals of  heroin addicts

-To help maintain his voice and soothe his throat, Andy Serkis drank a combination of honey, lemon and ginger.

-During the wide view shots of Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn running from the Orcs, all three were injured. Orlando Bloom broke two ribs after falling off of a horse. Viggo Mortensen broke two toes from kicking a steel helmet during the Orcs funeral pyre scene. Brett Beattie, who was John Rhys-Davies' stunt double, suffered a knee injury. Peter Jackson was impressed with how they made it through the scenes. They all only said "ow", "ouch" after the scene finished

-John Rhys-Davies decided to pull a prank on director Peter Jackson. He had lost the tip of his left middle finger in a farming accident when he was a child. A prosthetic was made from a cast of his right middle finger. He took the prosthetic from his left hand and filled it with fake blood. He walked up to Jackson and said "Boss, I had an accident."

-In the scene where Faramir steals the ring from under Frodo's shirt, David Wenham, who played Faramir, was afraid of stabbing Elijah Wood. A swordsman was called in to do the scene instead

-The Dead Marshes were filmed in a water-filled parking lot. This is the same location that served as the mines of Moria in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Passing trains on the nearby railway were able to see Elijah Wood, Sean Astin and Andy Serkis acting in the movie

-When not filming, Brad Dourif maintained his English accent to stay in character. He kept this accent until filming was complete. It was so convincing that when he began to speak in his normal American accent again, Bernard Hill, who plays Theoden, thought his English accent was real and his American accent fake

-David Wenham, who played Faramir, was cast because he resembled Sean Bean, who played Boromir, his on-screen brother

-His hobby of rock climbing came in handy as Andy Serkis would be on his hands and feet for his role as Gollum

-Andy Serkis based the raspy voice of Gollum on a cat coughing up a hairball

-At the start of the movie, the Lembas bread Frodo and Sam eat were actually shortbread cookies baked by the art department

-Gollum's body language and pupils often betray what side of his personality is in control. When his shoulders are hunched up, his pupils like slits, like a wild cat, that is "Treacherous Gollum" in control, making him look predatory, sinister. When his pupils are wider his body movements similar to a happy child, making him look innocent and cute, it is "Friendly Gollum (Smeagol)" in control.

-All three films were shot simultaneously

-There are family members of the actors in this film. Elijah Wood's sister Hannah is one of the refugees in Helm's Deep, along with Viggo Mortensen's son Henry. Philippa Boyen's son Callum is the boy who gives Aragorn his sword. His voice isn't in the final cut. A different voice was used since Callum's voice had changed

-To create more of the Rohirrim riders, many of the "men" were women with fake beards attached. Peter Jackson noted that the women rode the horses better than the men

-Near the end, when Gandalf proclaims "The Battle of Helm's Deep is over. The Battle of Middle-Earth is about to begin." He said this as a sort of tribute to late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his most famous speech uttered to this day. It was from June 18, 1940: "The Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin."

-Brad Dourif, who played the character Grima Wormtongue, has a god daughter with the name Arwen

-Andy Serkis will use his raspy Gollum voice on his kids for fun or when they misbehave