Are you one of those people who easily takes on another's accent?

It has something to do with empathy levels, I think.

Or maybe it's just fun.

I remember, years ago, getting on an elevator with a person from the UK (England, that is ... not an institute of higher learning in a bordering state).

He and I started chatting and all of a sudden I realized I was putting a bit of Brit into my conversation. I was mortified, concerned he'd think I was making fun of him.

Either he was used to it or just didn't notice. Or perhaps he was just more polite than I appeared to be at the moment. An international incident averted.

A number of us have spent the week in Orlando, at the huge trade show for theme parks.

A group called the Coaster Crew asked to meet up with Dan at the ProSlide booth, to talk about Mammoth. When Dan came bounding over, ready for the video interview, it became immediately apparent he'd taken on ProSlide's Canadian accent, eh?

Suddenly "about" was "a-boot" and our Mammoth "boats" were "boots."

And speaking of "boots," we're curious to know your preferences. We've ordered six-passenger round boats, as pictured below, and there may also be an eight-passenger version - tobaggan-style, like on Wildbeest, but with riders positioned two across. Which do you think you'd prefer?

Please "vote" in our poll, below:

We first posted this recipe nearly four years ago, and it is by far our most requested HoliBlog entry, so here it is again.

With a photo and video, this time.

When we opened Plymouth Rock Cafe in 2007, we chuckled all summer long as emails came in requesting the recipe for our green beans. And as the park closed for the season, folks weren't just bemoaning the long cold winter without Kringle's pizza ... they were wailing about the lack of, um, green beans. That's right, the green beans were a big hit.

One newly engaged woman even asked for the recipe so she could serve our green beans at her wedding reception.

And so, here's our recipe. It calls for a lot of beans, but is easily reduced by half or even fourths for a smaller appetite.

Plymouth Rock Cafe's Green Beans

 10 lbs of green beans
  1 lb of butter
  1 oz of seasoned salt
  1 oz of garlic herb seasoning

  1. Melt butter in skillet.
  2. When butter is melted add green beans, then both seasonings.      
  3. Continue sautéing while flipping green beans until thoroughly heated but still crisp; they will continue cooking once you take them out of the skillet.
  4. Tip: You want them to wiggle just a little when you take them out. If they are floppy they will be very soggy when you are ready to eat. They only take a few minutes to cook and the closer you make them to the time you are ready to eat the better they will be.

Would you like to watch a cooking demonstration? Michelle takes you into our kitchen (please note she is making five pounds in this demo - but uses the full amount of butter due to the pan being so large; at home, half a stick of butter plus a squirt or two of olive oil should do the trick):

And no matter what time of the year you fix this dish: Happy Thanksgiving!