jmicha

"Cedar Point is not building an S&S, a B&M, a Grav. Group, a Mack, or a Gerstlauer." From Facebook.

^^I don't even think I'd say it's the trim that kills it, I'd say it's just that the way they design all of their hills is the same. To have floater air. In my opinion, floater air only works on large hills where it is prolonged. On the smaller hills you really need ejector air in order to make the hill worth it. The train just crawls over the final hills as they are too rounded. I LOVE the first four hills, but after that they really don't do much in terms of intensity. But the ride is still a very good ride, just could be so much better with better end hills. And I really loved the Beast. I've always had a fascination with it since the first time I saw a video of it, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. It's one of those rides that I could ride over and over and never get tired of. Sure, it's nowhere near the most intense coaster I've ever been on in terms of a variety of forces, but it pulls off laterals amazingly and it is just pure fun for me. And I've always liked long rampy hills to build up an element, and the massively long drop into the helix is so fun for me. I really wish more parks were capable of having massive rides that followed the terrain like Beast does. In fact, I wish Diamondback followed the terrain a little more and didn't require the woods to be mowed down around it as I think that was a missed opportunity. But what they got is still a very good ride, so I'm not going to complain.

I went to Kings Island for the first time this weekend and have a few rides I would like to add to this discussion. Well, one is always mentioned as having a bad ending. And that is Adventure Express, yet I loved the randomness of the final lift hill. Maybe it was just the people I was with or the fact that we rode it five times in a row at the end of the night, but I loved how silly it was. We mimicked the arm movement of the "you will pay" guys each time we rode and had a blast riding it, and the rest of the ride is surprisingly fun. Diamondback's ending, however, was pretty bad. The ride up until the drop off the MCBR is amazing. The amount of floater airtime over the second hill is crazy and the speed is really fun. But the final bunny hops and helix are insanely tame and really kept the ride from being amazing overall. I still really liked the ride but the weak ending kept it from being one of my favorites. The Beast is another ride that I feel has an awesome ending. We rode the ride twice, once in the front, once in the very back. The time we rode it in the back was at 9:30 at night so it was nice and dark. The ride is awesome at night and the double helix is insane. I'm not sure how people find The Beast rough. The only parts I even considered even remotely uncomfortable were the transitions into the final turn before lift 2 and the entrance to the double helix. And those weren't even that bad. I loved the ride and can definitely see why so many people do too. I have a thing for massive terrain coasters and this ride was just a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to whenever I can get back and ride it again. It's in my top coasters now just for pure fun.

^Lol, thank you for that. He's not the first person I've heard have this opinion. The problem is that some people went in expecting a pointless action movie, cough*Transformers*cough, and were disappointed when the movie became extremely political and actually responded to real life instabilities and racism. Some people just don't care for these things and only want action (which this movie had plenty of, and awesome action at that). It's sad because the rest of the movie is fantastic and pulls it off in a genre that is typically filled with meaningless crap.

Yeah the violence is pretty gruesome. Like ^ said, one of the alien weapons basically causes the humans to liquify and explode. They didn't hold back either on the very graphic violence towards the prawns. The humans are very brutal towards them and the movie conveys this injustice very well.

I saw District 9 last night and it was fantastic. The plot was fantastically done and the political statement about the treatment of minorities in that area of the world was very powerful. This is really the only movie I can think of that the aliens in an alien movie are really the good guys. The humans in the movie were awful and really made me lose faith in humanity and the manner in which it was done really made you feel an emotional attachment to the prawns...and the action was awesome lol. The balance of incredible special effects, action, and deeper meaning really lend to an awesome movie. Go see it now. 9/10.

I've been to Universal Studios on five separate occasions (once a year) during slow parts of the season and can only think of a handful of times it didn't duel, all because something held one of the trains up in the station after they had sent the other. For example, a man would not put his camera away on Ice so they held the train and there were a few times where parents with children took exceptionally long while loading so they just sent the other train alone. As far as I know, it is extremely uncommon for the ride not to duel, so you must have just been having really bad luck that day. The ride loses so much of its dynamic nature when only one side is going, so it's unfortunate you didn't get to experience it in its true glory.

^^^^Not only are they the new namesake of the building, but they are putting the building through a massive renovation to make the building significantly more energy efficient (I believe 75 percent more efficient if I remember correctly). All glass panels will be replaced as well as upgrading all heating and cooling systems so it will use significantly less energy to operate and upkeep (which is actually the reason Sears left the building so many years ago). This seems to be a common trend today with older buildings, such as this and the Empire State Building. This was a very cool trip report. I went to chicago last October and it's very interesting to see the changes made to the Sears/Willis Tower since then. I'm excited to (hopefully) go back next year. Chicago is my favorite city that I've been to and I'm looking forward to seeing the Trump Tower finished and hopefully see the Chicago Spire pick back up construction. Chicago is an amazing city and the views from these new glass boxes.

^...yes it is...a Caddy that very comfortably holds five people and can go around the Nurburgring in 7:59 seconds in luxury and style...without having to be an over-the-top sports car. As much as I love the GTR, it's in a completely different field of vehicle. If you are going for sports car stats in a luxury sedan that is very easy to drive every day with your entire family, you aren't going to buy a GTR. Basing what you buy completely on statistics doesn't work. If you need a sedan you need a sedan. And if you can afford an $80,000 dollar car why not go for the fastest one out there? Well, second fastest. But I completely disregard the Panamera since, well, it's one of the ugliest vehicles I have ever seen. Seriously it looks like they took two Porsches, cut the back off one and the front off the other, then smashed them together. It's looks like the bastard child of a 911 and a humpback whale. It's awful. I'm not really sure what they were thinking when they made it. I mean, yes, it's a beast of a vehicle and in a purely statistical respect, it's amazing. But like I said, statistics aren't everything. It's just so dang stupid looking. It's a design exercise gone horribly wrong and unfortunately it has made it to the public. I don't see this car doing well at all, especially in this economy...well, maybe it'll do fine, the Cayenne did fine and that thing was insanely ugly too. I just think Porsche should stick to the cars it knows best, sports cars. Although their style hasn't changed really in years, I love the looks of their typical cars (minus the Boxter) and adding the Panamera to their lineup has taken them down a notch in my book. Anywho, being against anything domestic is a very close-minded way of looking at vehicles. American vehicles, especially GM products, are getting significantly better. Ten years ago I would agree with you, but now they're starting to be able to compete with some of the foreign car companies out there. They still have a ways to go but they shouldn't be dismissed just because they are American.

^Just as a little FYI, the Porsche Panamera beat the CTS-V by 3 seconds around the Nurburgring, but as you said, the CTS-V wasn't driven by a professional and they only did one hot lap and called it a day. The CTS-V is an extremely impressive car and is frankly one of the only vehicles I would even consider ever buying (if I had money that is lol) from GM.

^^Lol, yes I am sure. I am a car guy, so seeing the GTR was a sight to behold lol. Then my friend told me about a girl he knew of that had a silver one and I told him I had seen her. Then later that night we saw it again when going to the movies. The sound was amazing.

I've seen the same GTR several times by my house. It's silver and is driven by a 17 year old girl. She's basically my friend's dream girl lol. I myself have the great fortune of driving a 1994 Honda Accord. Cordelia is her name lol. She's still going strong with 132,000 miles on her although she's starting to get tired. Currently only the left two speakers work (and not very well at that), the cruise control is broken, the cigarette lighter is broken, the knob to change the temperature is broken (I turn the knob using plyers), the antenna is bent and causes the radio to come in poorly, back passenger side door handle is broken off, the interior lights are missing their casings, both back wheel wells are rusting, the door frames are rusting, the brake line rusted through and broke on me when I was stopping at an intersection, the emergency brake gets stuck when used, the hood latch is broken so when you open it it takes quite a bit of finagling to get it back into place, the driver side rearview mirror broke off and is bolted back on, there is a large scrape down the side of the car from where my brother's rearview mirror slid along it as he backed out of our driveway, the front and back bumpers are dinged and chipped (none of which is from me, I've never bumped anything in my life), and the paint is chipping on the entire car. Other than that though, it's fine lol. Although all this is wrong with it, I'm going to miss her when she finally does go. And that's probably not going to be too far into the future. It has broken down three times since we've had it, two of which had to do with a broken distributor that caused the engine to shut off randomly, and once for a hole in the exhaust due to rust, and my dad said next time is the last time he's willing to put money into it. He's looking to pass on his 2005 Sonata to replace the Accord as he is looking into buying a new car soon. I'm fine with that as I currently only have 500 dollars to my name and would love to drive that car. He's looking into a number of options. One is selling his heavily-modified 92 Mustang GT and getting a new Camaro 2SS or doing the responsible thing and passing down his Sonata and buying a V8 powered Genesis. In theory I like option one more since the Camaro he's looking at is a black on black one that is quite sexy, but option two makes more sense for my family's everyday needs. If only both could happen lol.

^I kind of wished it ended after the first one...lol. Honestly, the first one was creative, but then after that it went downhill and fast. By the third one it was no longer even remotely intriguing. And now a sixth and seventh. Beating a dead horse with a stick if you ask me. Although that's how they do it these days. Toy Story 2 (and probably 3), Shrek the Third, Pirates 2 and 3, Spiderman 3, Saw 2-5, Final Destination 2-whatever number they are at, and many others should all have never come into existence. It's just that the movie companies know they can continue to make tons of money off milking a series so they have no problem doing so.

^I saw it and honestly I thought it was awful. There was so much...nothing. The movie had its parts that were meant to be funny, and I chuckled a little, but the fact that most were set up and not actual situations made them less funny. And on top of that the fact that they weren't really all that funny made them even less funny lol. Honestly I thought it was one of the worst movies I've seen in a while.

^^^^I know that, but what I was saying was the only funny parts in the movie were the few gay jokes. There are gay jokes throughout the movie and those were the only jokes that actually did anything funny. The majority of the movie was just stupid, and not a good stupid like Monty Python stupid lol. I just think it failed miserably and don't even see where the movie could have potentially been funny.

I just got back from Bruno and frankly I thought it was awful. I disliked it more than Borat and I hated Borat. There were a few funny gay jokes here and there but that was about it. Seriously, about two or three minutes of funny in an hour and a half...not worth it in my opinion. Up made me cry it was so funny and frankly this was nowhere near as successful. 2.5/10

Man Disneyland Paris gets street view yet they still don't have my street done...seriously my street is one of the only ones in the cleveland area that isn't done lol. But this is pretty awesome. Gives those who aren't capable of getting out to France, like myself, an opportunity to really get a feel for the park. It would be awesome if they did this for more parks.

I went to see UP! finally two nights ago and I have to say that it was one of the best movies I've ever seen. It was absolutely hilarious. The way Kevin moved and acted had me in tears the entire movie. And when Alpha says, "mayhaps you desire to, SQUIRREL..." I lost it. The broken translator for him was one of the funniest things I've seen in a while. This movie was just outstanding in every aspect. 9.5/10

^Well if it's anything like the normal glass you can count on it getting dirty and staying dirty lol. There was crusted on dirt when I went a few months ago. I wonder how this will work with the $350 million renovation to become the Willis Tower that will use eighty percent less energy. Does anyone know if the skydeck and this attraction will be open during renovations (whenever it is that those start)?

I know what you mean, but it's a pretty big deal for the movie world. A huge summer blockbuster not living up to anywhere near its hype. And it's the media lol. When they get hold of something that will get them ratings they latch onto it and don't give up. I learned years ago not to let it get to me. It's just easier to turn off the TV or not go to the websites that continue being monotonous honestly. Or not go to them at all since they will ALWAYS talk about what's going to have the biggest impact and get them the best ratings.

^It's a movie. Movies rely on plots. This is a forum discussing our opinions on movies and their plots. If you don't want to hear bad reviews for the movie, then don't go to a public forum where people discuss how they feel about movies.

Yes actually. I'm not sure if you saw the pictures (they're on here somewhere a ways back) but there was one support in the second-to-last (I think) MCBR that did not line up with the track properly and it was cut off, refabricated, and reconstructed. This, however, was more than likely caused by the fabrication company and not Maurer. There have been cases in the past of this happening with coasters but it's usually a relatively quick fix if it's early on in construction and doesn't cause too big, if any delay at all.

^^^Only problem is that the support problem could have been caused by the fabrication company, not Maurer. And the tunnel clearance "issue" may not have been an issue at all. Sure it didn't work at first, but it's possible that they planned on enlarging the opening the whole time and were waiting for the clearance test to judge how large to make the opening. This could have been a way of reducing the construction costs by not needing to really survey the building and just wait to make it so the clearance tests worked. And weren't there rumors saying that the change to the lift hill was Universal's idea? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but that would in no way be Maurer's fault. I think the reason so many view this as a failure is that the ride is extremely visible to everyone that visits Universal Orlando and every aspect of construction can be viewed from the midway. For all we know there could have been several times as many problems with the installation of Revenge of the Mummy, but we just couldn't see them since it was indoors. I'd hold off saying this ride is a failure until it's actually ridden by anyone.

^I just saw it last night. It was alright. It had its funny moments filled with dry humor and sarcasm, but it was a little slow for my liking. Certainly not a bad movie, and this was one of the only movies where Jack Black didn't annoy the heck out of me lol. I'd still see it if you thought it looked funny as reviews really aren't a good thing to base your actions off of.

Nice PTR. And just so you know, your picture of the big blue empty space of Millennium Force is actually one of the best in my opinion. Empty space can be a huge friend to pictures lol. But it looked like a great time. Glad you had fun at the Point.