Electerik

Okay, the "choose your own track" thing (ala Hollywood Dream) is cool and all...but, "The Time Machine"?! Holy Mother of Crap, that's a lousy name for a rollercoaster in a music themed park. /At least we know why it's pink now. //Wait, no we don't.

Traditionally, yes. But many new rides that create hangtime on purpose don't utilize that particular precaution--such as Gerstlauer's Eurofighters.

You know, if I were a giraffe or a zebra or something, I don't I'd mind so much being at BGT or DAK. I don't think I'd want to live in a concrete block cell in Minnesota, though. /Maybe that Lion robbed a guy, or something.

Hangtime is not my favorite, but I don't mind it so much if there's something besides the restraint to hold on to and/or seperate and redundant restraints. So, basically, I'm not too fond of, "If this restraint fails right now, I die." I kind of get that uneasy feeling on drop towers, too. Probably because I usually have that same thought about the seat.

Well that's disappointing.

So...is there a splash zone (as implied in the concept art) for non-riders or not? I don't think I've seen any photos yet of little kids getting soaked as the train goes by....

My take: The Georgia Aquarium is the best of the three aquariums that exist in the area you'll be traveling through (the others being the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga and Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg), but I like all three. (Coke, on the other hand, I could take or leave. Please keep in mind that Joe would prefer to ride a Coke-themed kiddie coaster over The Voyage, so his worldview may be questionable. ) Dollywood's breakfast buffet isn't anything special. I would recommend the Red Rooster in Pigeon Forge, instead. You just haven't lived until you've experienced Moon Pie Pancakes. As for beer at Dollywood, let me put it this way: Pigeon Forge is just now thinking about allowing hard liquor to be sold, but Dolly has allegedly threatened to pull out if they try it. Does that answer your question? Wait times at Dollywood are rarely extreme. Capacity is decent at most rides, and while most of the attendants are elderly, much of the parks clientele is only there for the shows. There really isn't much whitewater rafting in the immediate area, despite what you may have seen or heard. Which is to say, it exists--but most of it is literally in another state (North Carolina). I personally prefer Lake Winnie to SFOG, but to each their own. If you were to swing by Chattanooga, though (on this trip, or some other), I would highly recommend a visit to Rock City, as well. Just my $0.02 Joe would drink a Pepsi for this.

I couldn't agree more. I worked there then, and it would still be my favorite park if it was still like that. /Not as biased as it sounds. I've worked for lots of parks. //But none as good as 1999 Knott's Berry Farm. ///Haunted Shack, Kingdom of the Dinosaurs, Parachute Drop, Tampico Tumbler, er...Wind Jammer.

Billing itself as Tennessee's largest waterpark resort is the oddly named "Wilderness at the Smokies," at the far end of Sevierville. Though the resort itself is fairly huge, and still largely under construction, the indoor waterpark and first phase of the hotel are up and running. And while it's hard to say without actually staying there, it looks like what is open is pretty self contained--with the folks I've talked to, who've stayed there, saying that the construction didn't really impact them. But what I'm here to show you right now is basically just the indoor waterpark, “Wild WaterDome.” During the summer months, it's restricted to hotel guests only. But in the off season, they'll let anyone in. (Er...for a fee, of course.) I leave you with a construction shot. This is one of their two outdoor parks, "Salamander Springs." Both are currently due to open May 22. I'll have to get back up there once it's all finished. But what they have right now seems pretty nice. There's an arcade, too--right next door to the waterpark. This kid really like the Big Bass Game. One more shot of the wave pool and a sand play area. And that's pretty much it. I can see how it would be popular on a crummy day, though. And on the other side is their wave pool and some tables and such. ...and the three main slides that travel outside (see first photo). ...an interactive play area... It's not terribly large. One this side of the park, there's a Surf Rider... The outside entrance. You can also access it from inside the hotel, obviously. This is what'll catch your eye from the road. Make sure you ride that green one!

They told me mine was the best--but maybe they just told everyone that. I've also been toying with the idea of putting a free-spinning bench-style Ferris wheel car on a coaster track. (This could be done with the cars off to the side, ala X--or simply by suspending the car between two side tracks.) The idea is that (almost) no matter what the track is doing, the riders remains facing forward with their butts pointed at the ground. Picture a first generation Intamin freefall--except when you get to the bottom of the drop, you're still facing forward. I don't think it would be particularly tough to engineer, but a lot could be done with it--including backwards sections (without need of transfer tracks) and loops (thanks to centrifugal force). Here's a really bad drawing to illustrate: Coast.bmp For demonstration purposes only. I have no drawing skills.

I'm glad to hear this. I'm planning on going in about two weeks, as Misty has never been. /Very much my kind of park.

Awesome detail, Soren. I can't wait for the Studio!

Obviously, this has nothing to do with terrorists. The big boys just threw their weight around because they don't want pesky enthusiasts snooping around and exposing their plans. Which I'm actually okay with. But, really, terrorists?

A few years back, I was part of a leadership program at one of the parks I've worked for, and (mostly just for fun) everyone was asked to come up with a new ride for the park and then pitch it. Pretty much everyone but me came up with the biggest, wildest, highly-themed dueling coasters one could imagine. I pitched a pirate ship in a building. Have some projections on the walls, throw some fog and mist in there, and maybe even make it look like you might hit something on the ceiling on the upswings. I still think that would be awesome. /Maybe with a nice "Vikings crossing the ocean" theme.

It is indeed the state song of Tennessee, "Rocky Top." See The Gatlinburg Inn for more details. True enough. I'll have to make sure to post Nascar before TPR comes through. And I'll see what I can do on the ninja weapons stores. Thanks for the kind words, everyone. There's lots more to come. (Until I or everyone else gets sick of it.)

Thanks so much for the pictures, Dave! I have no idea if this ride is going to be any good. But I'm enough of a Holiday Wold fan boy to give them the benefit of the doubt. And I'm sure Misty will make us go back this year at some point anyway.

I always enjoy your photos, Jeff. I think I even still have an IOA CD around here someplace. Is that a collectors item yet? Anyway, Jeff + Tokyo Disney = Awesome! /Suddenly craving popcorn.

This has been rumored so long, it's nice to finally see some movement. I hate that they're putting Episode 1-3 characters in, though. Give it up, George--let me just go back to pretending they never happened. /It's Jar Jar's first flight, too!

Yep. only Log Flume that I can remember going through an arcade. My fuzzy recollection is that the one at Buffalo Bills at Stateline does this as well. (At the very least, it goes through the casino.) It's been a while, though.

The biggest mini golf place in the area is Old MacDonald's Farm, in Sevierville (pronounced like the word "Severe.") It’s worth checking out if you’re into mini golf. We always have fun there. We won a pirate ball. Gar. Unfortunately, the one pinball machine (“Ripley’s Believe It or Not,” naturally) was out of order. But at least there was Skeeball. There's also an arcade. Ding, ding, ding! Because I’m awesome like that. All three courses converge on the henhouse ball return. Pretty good scarecrow imitation, I think. It’s right out in front of the area’s largest outlet mall, Tanger (pronounced like the space drink by the locals). “Pigs Do Fly” is Old Macdonald’s advertising tag line. The guard dog pops out if you hit the ball underneath him. I have no idea what I'm doing here. All three courses are of the “interactive talking animals” variety. Misty tries her hand at the Chicken Course. As is usually the case with these sorts of things, though, I can’t tell any difference. And Porky Putts is the hardest. Chicken Egg-Spress is the medium one. The Udder Course is allegedly the easiest. There are three separate 18-hole courses. It's part of the small Ripley's ("Believe It or Not") empire here in Sever County.

Even if true, that doesn't rule out "standard coaster." Which is an idea I'm liking more and more since (most of us are assuming) Sitting and Standing track isn't actually any different. /If people are still reading this thread, they can't possibly have any expectation of relevancy.

Nicely done, Dave. Very Wes-like. /Personally, I would love it to stand for suspended coaster (in the Arrow sense). //Prototype!

Well, actually, it's a bit unclear. The Cherokee called them "shaconage," which sounds a bit like "smoky" in English. However, the word actually means "blue mist." So the question is: Is it simply a mistranslation based on the sound of the word, or is "mist" enough like "smoke" that it makes no difference either way?

The adventures of Marco Polo. So, like, each ride is supposed to be themed to a different county he visited...or something. It's kind of weak. I have no problem with Griffon's lack of theming, though. It fits in well enough. (But I do like SheiKra better.) On balance, Busch Gardens Williamsburg may well be my favorite park. It's just so well balanced. /Now if they could just get a full-service restaurant, and a Tower of Terror rip off to go with their Spidey rip off. //I use term "rip off" lovingly.

^ I've been a few times, but not yet this year. I'm sure I will, though. One could definitely go broke doing all this stuff. Luckily, because the area has so few actual residents, most business give really generous local discounts. I even get into several places for free. /Still not used to that white stuff that occasionally falls from the sky, though.