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Special Features: European parks through Robb Alvey's lens

By Chip

Oct. 28th, 2005 -- Robb and Elissa Alvey, Dan Angona and Joey Mandel of Westcoaster.net, Tom Mueller and Dave Thomas take you on a tour of Europe's amusement parks in the Alvey's latest DVD release. What did Steven and Chip think of the footage? Find out below.

Steven: Overall I think this is his best yet. He did an excellent job compiling what he gathered during their European trip, though it's apparent Robb and Elissa aren't as prominent as they were before.

Chip: I completely agree. This is the best DVD I've seen. And it's easily the funniest. I laughed harder than I've laughed at any coaster video. They just have so much fun. Their antics are great, and showing all the wild parks in Europe really made me laugh.

Steven: Me too.

Chip: What was your favorite segment?

Steven: The park featuring the dog fart coaster at BonBon-Land. Of course, the whole park was about grotesqueness.

Chip: I thought that was hilarious. That park's insane. I learned about it a couple of years ago, but you can't get any effect without seeing it on video.

Steven: And they deliver.

Chip: Yeah. I laughed really hard when they were walking around that Alice in Wonderland place and kept splashing Dan with water. Holy crap, he got mad!

Steven: Especially since he doesn't like water.

Chip: Yeah. That was really funny. The way he ran away like a madman any time they got near water was good, too.

Steven: My other favorite was when Joey had that little segment about crossing that body of water via monkey bars. He couldn't do it, but there was that one girl who crossed multiple times.

Chip: Yeah, that was great. It kept saying "five minutes later," and he still hadn't crossed!

Steven: You know, while McDonalds was mentioned, I don't think I remember seeing one in this trip compared to other trips.

Chip: I saw at least one McDonald's. I saw a McFlurry machine, but that's it.

Steven: That's still all right then. I'm not too crazy about seeing them. I also learned how to pronounce Bobbejaanland (Bob e on land).

Chip: Yeah.

Steven: I also learned not to be a wimp, and if I want to get girls (or in my case, keep my girlfriend), to not be a wimp and do those monkey bars.

Chip: I wonder how deep that water is.

Steven: I think it's as deep as a normal creek, a few inches to a couple of feet.

Chip: He really should have just done it. I won't give away how it ended, but the "cheating" was really funny.

Steven: Yeah.

Chip: Don't forget the footage of Mirabilandia. I won't give it away, but there is some racy footage at that Italian park. And I'm not talking about how hot the weather or Katun are!

Steven: That scene was enough to stir up some male hormones. If you did not get excited with those women, you're lying to yourself.

Chip: That's all this entire video was. It was just hilarious antics and craziness at amusement parks. And Vekomaland.

Steven: Vekomaland. What park was that again? Walibi World?

Chip: Yes.

Steven: Speaking of which, I loved the "abnormal" boomerang. Supposedly not going back up the lift hill is normal. I remember riding one and I went back up the lift, but back into the station when I rode the one at Geauga Lake.

Chip: That was wild.

Steven: Yeah it was. I like the terminology used during that segment, though our readers will just have to watch for themselves. Disc 3, with all the contest entries and winners, were awesome. The ones I liked the best (compared to the last ones) were the European entries. Though, I found out that they look like movie quality (24 frames per second) versus video (30 fps) because of the conversion from PAL (European TV format) to NTSC (US/Canada TV format).

Chip: I really enjoyed Disc 2. I love on-ride POVs. That video of Katun was great. That looks like such a good ride.

Steven: Yeah, it looks underrated.

Chip: I love the footage of Colossos and Expedition GeForce. Those two Intamins look outstanding.

Steven: To tell you the truth, I didn't have a clear favorite. I liked them all.

Chip: I really liked them because of how crazy those rides look. The ride footage DVD is just fun to watch.

Steven: Being one who can ride Shivering Timbers in my sleep, Colossos isn't that appealing compared to my baby Timbers. Nevertheless, the POVs were great. The DVDs are better work this time around, though my only complaint is the re-use of the song “Barbie Girl.” They've used it at least once or twice before.

Chip: Yeah. That song was familiar.

Steven: Otherwise, the choices of music were great and the random segments were excellent.

Chip: I thought the music on this DVD was probably the best. It didn't have that annoying “Dance Dance Revolution” music the last one did, and they really edited the segments well with the music.

Steven: Definitely. Well, DDR is kind of associated with Japan, where in Europe they don't have it as much.

Chip: I also thought the short medley of Robb's comments were great. I loved re-visiting the shark holding a dolphin -- He did that in the DVD of the ACE European trip. This time he pointed out the odd rides and things in European parks as he made funny comments.

Steven: As did I. Between this set and their Japanese set, it makes us Americans look uptight with what there is to see. Especially at BonBon-Land.

Chip: Yeah. We'd never be able to get away with a Butterfly coaster. Those operate-it-yourself rides look great. And the monkey bars over water; that's all Europe!

Steven: You would never catch such a park here in the U.S. because the politically correct police would shut it down. And I'd have fun with the self-operated rides. I'd spiel, then go "clear" as I press the button. Maybe even do "ready, ready."

Chip: Nerd.

Steven: It's the ride host in me.

Chip: Those self-operated zip cords were cool. I also enjoyed the on-ride footage on a Skycoaster. That was amazing! It was like watching the Discovery Channel!

Steven: Yeah. If you can go on one that takes you partly over water (like the one at Michigan's Adventure) it's even better. Robb, we look forward to Volume 7 topping this one. It is, by far, the best compilation I've watched.

Chip: As I said before, this is easily the best DVD the Alveys have put out. Seeing Joey and Dan on film a lot was great, as it was a turn from footage of mostly Robb and Elissa. The fun they have and the food they eat are good highlights. But the best parts of this video are the strange ride footage and the great editing. If their Japan DVD was worth seeing a couple times, this one belongs on the collector's shelf. This is probably the best roller coaster and theme park footage I've seen.

Steven: Right there with you on that.

Theme Park Review’s “Coaster Expedition Volume 6: European Extravaganza!” is available at their Web site, www.themeparkreview.com for $30. TPR forum members get a $5 discount. The DVDs contain park and ride footage, complete POVs of rides and part one of entries in TPR’s 2005 video contest. Twenty parks are featured.

There is no shipping charge in the U.S.

Segments from this DVD can be seen here.

If you wish to read about their Japan trip and more (Volume 5), check out Chip and Steven's review here.