Xcoaster

That Gold Ring burger was easily the best thing I've ever had at a McDonald's (and with so much packaging!). It looked like they were doing a different fancy Quarter Pounder every few weeks. It was funny, after you guys went back to Disney, I found a bunch of models from Disneyland CA in one of the Akihabara model/toy stores.

I just noticed that the Carnegie Deli has a sign in the window for the "United Carnegie Pickle Eating Contest". If a Pickle Eating Contest isn't a clue for the Olympics, I don't know what is. Also, a google search for Scott Pilgrim and the Olympics brought up two relevant results: Shaun White's guilty music pleasure is "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" soundtrack Olympic trampoline athlete Jason Burnett was a stunt double for Michael Cera in "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" So yeah, final destination is Sochi, but currently at AMS (based on Euros and airport photos).

Pleasant The Legend @ Holiday World - Ok, I wasn't expecting it to be bad, but for years I'd always heard people say that Raven was so much better, and later, that Voyage was so amazing, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found that Legend was actually my consistent favorite at the park. Skyliner @ Lakemont Park - I expected this to be a one-and-done, but I found that it actually delivered some pretty decent airtime when riding in the front car, so I ended up taking at least half-a-dozen walk-on rides. Wild One @ SFA - I'd heard nothing about this one, and it turned out to be a very fun ride with an unusual layout and some great headchoppers. Saw @ Thorpe Park - I'd heard it was an incredibly rough, awful ride, but I thought it was just fine and actually a lot of fun. Granted, I only managed one ride on it, so maybe I just got lucky, but I didn't think it was any worse than any other Eurofighters. Air @ Alton Towers - I'd always heard it was far too tame and by far the worst of the flyers, but I actually really liked it, as it delivered lots of soaring above the landscape without any of those body-crushing pretzel loops. Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rock-It @ USF - I never heard much good about it, but I ended up really liking it and riding a bunch of times. Blue Streak @ CP - I love the airtime you get in the front car. I had heard some good reviews of it, so I wasn't too surprised, but I still didn't think it'd be one of my favorites in the park. Grizzly @ KD - It hasn't been running as well on my last couple visits, but on my first few visits I was very impressed and re-rode many times. Dominator @ KD - I'd never heard too much about it when it was at Geauga Lake, but it turned out to be one of my favorite B&M designs. Thirteen @ Alton Towers - I thought it was a really fun ride for what it was. I understand all the controversy and what not, but it didn't detract from the ride at all for me. Boardwalk Bullet @ Kemah - I'd heard it was unbearably rough, but I thought it was actually a pretty good ride. Unpleasant Voyage @ Holiday World - This was back when everyone was still raving about it, and I'd yet to hear much about the roughness. My first ride on it was so incredibly rough that I was a little afraid to ride it again. Later I did get some amazing smooth-ish rides on it as well, so it kind of balanced out, but I was just so taken aback after that first ride by how violent it was. Huracan @ Belantis - Roughness on Eurofighters can tend to vary a lot by installation (and where you're sitting), but this one was just terrible, and the layout was pretty uninspired. Most people in our group opted to only ride it the one time (I went back later to give it another try, still bad), and we ended up passing up on ERT. Swarm @ Thorpe Park - I actually really liked Raptor @ Gardaland, so I was looking forward to this one. I only got one ride, so maybe it was just me, but I found the layout to be mediocre and short with very little scenery interaction. Iron Wolf @ SFGAm - I didn't realize how rough a B&M could be. Maverick @ CP - Ok, so first off, I actually love this ride now, but on my first ride I wasn't prepared at all for the neck chopping action, and I didn't enjoy it very much. Since then I've gotten used to the restraints and it's become one of my favorites, but initially I was a little let down by what I was expecting to be an instant favorite.

Definite: * TPR Scandi Tour + 1 week pre-tour going around Netherlands, Belgium, & France - I haven't decided yet how many parks I'll hit on the pre-tour, since I'd like to do a fair bit of sightseeing as well. Probably at least Duinrell, Drievliet, and Plopsaland, but I'd also really like to go to Parc Saint Paul and Nigloland. * SFMM - I have a season pass and it's close so I'll probably go a few times this year. Plus there's a new kiddie credit, and I'm looking forward to Batman backwards. Probably: * KBF - No plans yet, but I'll probably go for WCB and Haunt. Maybe...: * USH - Might go for HHN, depending on the lineup. * SCBB/CGA - I went last year during a long weekend, but I'm tempted to go back for the new spinner credit and more GCI goodness. * Disneyland/DCA - I haven't been in a few years, but I'd like to go back. * Adventuredome - El Loco! * BGW/KD/Knoebels/Hershey/Japan - If I get very lucky, but probably not.

The first raven turn on X2, if that counts. I love the flying sensation coming out of it. I generally I prefer rolls to loops. As for more normal coaster inversions, my favorites are Mystery Mine's dive loop, YOLOcoaster's loop, and the OMFG Rusutsu Ultratwister heartline rolls. The most intense inversions (not necessarily my favorites) would probably be Tatsu's pretzel loop, Blue Fire's heartline roll, and any Schwarzkopf loop.

It is, they have Mystery River at Movie Park Germany. One of the better attractions at the park, IMO: And I guess there's also Jurassic Park at Universal Singapore. I think they should theme up rapids rides more often, I know it'd get me to ride them.

^Yeah, that's what I meant by Classic Colossus. I'm pretty sure that if they RMC'd one side that they'd at least refurbish and topper track the other side (otherwise you'd have New Hotness and Old & Busted side-by-side). But hey, it's Six Flags, I also wouldn't be too surprised if they just Hades 360 the whole thing.

^^^^ I think it's possible that they'll join both sides, based on the Screamscape rumor that they: But, as Elissa brought up, they could also very easily use this to get a net increase of one coaster, either by RMCing one side (New Colossus) and leaving the other intact (Colossus Classic), or by RMCing both sides, but making them different enough where it's clearly two coasters ala Dueling Dragons (ie. Looping Colossus and Airtime Colossus). Another possibility would be getting rid of the two track concept altogether and just making one single track, single lift coaster using the old support structure.

Are you sure it wasn't 939 yen? 9,390 is about 90 dollars (which could also be believable, considering how good it sounded). One eyed guy = Hitotsume Kozo; winking blue flame ghost = typical Yurei; the one-eyed parasol guy = Karakasa-obake; cat geisha = Nekomata (Thanks to the book "Yokai Attack", which I picked up after one of these trips). I agree with you on the dark-ride, that one was among my favorites. It had the perfect mixture of creepiness, cuteness, and WTF Japanese mythology. I was like you, I saw that mountain and was all "OMG, something incredible must be in there!" But then I noticed it was called "Dowsing Mountain" (which sounded odd, and boring), saw that it appeared to be some kind of interactive walkthrough, and so decided to skip it in order to save on time. Thanks for making me feel good about that decision. You managed to get a good first Jet Coaster - Red Falcon is probably my favorite of that variety.

The OMFG dive loop Ultra Twister at Rusutsu feels like you're going at warp speed through those heartline rolls, so it gets my nomination. iSpeed's corkscrew is pretty snappy though, so it might be the real winner.

Yeah, definitely Journey to the Center of the Earth for me. The initial queue is impressive on its own, but the actual station after the elevators feels to be miles underground (I had to convince a slightly claustrophobic friend that it was just an illusion), with endless fog-filled tunnels, massive supports, crackling dynamos, and those awesome ride vehicles. Someone isn't manning their post... Tea break! Monitoring station This mysterious tunnel gives me the willies. Also, the massive car jacks (?) supporting the station ceiling are neat. Dynamo! Suitably awesome vehicles

My top five most heavily themed: 1. Tokyo DisneySea 2. Islands of Adventure 3. Europa Park 4. Disneyland Paris 5. Epcot After that it's just more Disney, Universal, a few European parks (Alton, Efteling, Tivoli, Phantasialand, Gardaland, etc), the Busch parks, and so on.

^ 80s space guy had me laughing uncontrollably in that scene. It was an awesome movie; easily up there with Pixar's best. It reminded me of Toy Story and Wreck-It Ralph, except much crazier and funnier. I also really liked the message about creativity (which, to bring this full circle, made me think of RCT parkmaking, and also discussions about theme parks and nostalgia versus innovation).

On my first visit the roster was ToT, 20000 Leagues, Indy, and Raging Spirits. Since then I think they've dropped at least 20000 Leagues. I've failed in using it with ToT, but I've had great success with Indy and Raging Spirits. The available rides are usually listed on the English map. Or you can practice your Japanese: "Shingururaidā!"

^ I also didn't remember having to take off my shoes from my previous visits. I think it's just another instance of Japanese parks and guests being extra worried about losing items while on rides. I've noticed that on other floorless coasters in Japan (ie. SLCs and inverts) people would usually either leave their shoes on the station platform, or in the case of Pyrenees at Parque Espana, the park supplied rubber bands for the purpose of securing shoes to feet. So this was my first visit to the park where I had time to do more than just the coasters. Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear was pretty awesome, mostly for atmosphere, the sheer massiveness of the place, and the amazing hallway scene. With a few more scare-actors it'd probably take the cake for best in-park scare attraction ever. I'm curious now if they add a lot more staff for Halloween. The kids walk-through fun house which replaced the coffin ride was pretty fun. The "GeGeGe no Kitarō" attraction was another "wear headphones while sitting in a dark room" thing, similar to "Murder Lodge" and "Room of Living Dolls", but aimed at kids and not nearly as good as either of those (but still not terrible). There's some kind of Gundam walkthrough, but we didn't have time for it. We also did the Evangelion walkthrough, which has the two giant robot heads.

It might be wishful thinking, but an RMC makes some amount of sense. They could use a looping coaster, and it'd fit that bill while continuing the trend of wooden coasters. Plus, it seems to match all the other hints. That said, they've got my business regardless of what they add.

Well no because its simply speculation and rumor. That's exactly how I treat Iron Colossus its rumor and nothing more. It's all based on speculation and assumption. Until there's evidence or confirmation' date=' iron Colossus is simply speculation and rumor.[/quote'] During the 2011 and 2012 WCB Q&A, SFMM management was extremely enthusiastic about the work that was done on Texas Giant. Nothing's certain until there's an announcement, but it's a realistic possibility.

I just checked rcdb.com to see if there was an update on this, and they now have it listed as a Gerstlauer family shuttle coaster. I didn't know such a thing existed, but apparently there are two: Gipfelstürmer - Freizeitpark Ruhpolding Gold Rush - OK Corral Gerstlauer even has a video on their site: www.gerstlauer-rides.de/products/roller-coasters/family-coaster-en-US/#Medien It looks like a very fun ride, and a much better fit for the park's demographic than the wild mouse (which I liked, but it probably wasn't a good match for the park). Plus, it'll be the first family shuttle coaster in the US, and it'll help prepare kids for Boomerang and Montezooma's at Knott's down the street.

Mine are about the same. 1. Santa Monica Pier - via Hwy 1, 45.4 miles, 1 hour 2 minutes: A beautiful drive down the Pacific Coast Hwy. Traffic is usually fairly light. Unfortunately, I haven't had a reason to visit since I got my credit a long time ago, but I still do the drive all the time. 2. SFMM - via Hwy 126, 50.5 Miles, 1 hour 6 minutes: Another great drive, this one through scenic farmland. Rarely any traffic. Really doesn't help to prepare you for SFMM. 3. USH - via Hwy 101, 54.9 Miles, 1 hour 6 minutes (no traffic), 2+ hours (with traffic): A quick drive if there's no traffic, but it can suck otherwise.

I had a pretty slow year; I only did California parks (finally made it back to NorCal) and Japan parks (mostly the smaller and more out-of-the-way parks). My 3 favorite "New to me" coasters: 1. Gold Striker (CGA) (New for 2013!) 2. YOLOcoaster (SFMM) (New for 2013!) 3. Spaceship 2056 (New Reoma World - I have a soft spot for Space Mountain ripoffs) Runners up would be Venus GP and the crazy Dive Loop Ultratwister. And I think my only other "New for 2013" coaster was Coast Rider (KBF). My 3 favorite "Rode in 2013" coasters: 1. Gold Striker (CGA) 2. Eejanaika (Fuji-Q) 3. Apocalypse (SFMM) My 3 favorite "New to me" non-coaster rides: 1. Transformers: The Ride (USH) 2. Splash Mountain (Tokyo Disneyland - I'd missed a few rides on my previous TDL visit) 3. Rainbow Bandits (New Reoma World) Runners up would be TDL's Haunted Mansion and that Halfpipe ride at Joypolis. My 3 favorite "Rode in 2013" non-coaster rides: 1. Journey to the Center of the Earth (DisneySea) 2. Indiana Jones & the Temple of the Crystal Skull (DisneySea) 3. Transformers: The Ride (USH)

Including a expert team of traffic directors. The haunted house also had those horrifying wobbly orange gates. Wasn't this the walk-through with the explosive beheading? I think it was Elissa who brought up an interesting point regarding the mirror mazes, which was that this park has attractions run by independent operators, who each get a bigger cut of the profit if they get more guests (ie. scans of the wristband). So the mirror maze operators would try to get us to go through multiple times (thankfully, I didn't get lost the second time). It's the same reason that the Ultratwister "Megaton" at Southern Mitsui Greenland famously encourages people to ride multiple times. Which, like a lot of other Japanese haunted attractions, had us wearing headphones (I think the story was that we were getting our hair brushed?). It's a clever "Danger: High Voltage" sign with Raijin, the Japanese God of Lighting & Thunder. "Don't go past this fence, or you're gonna die!" Great TR! This was a nice little park with fun employees! Watching these guys direct traffic was the highlight of my day. Look at how precisely those cars are parked! Japan's Olympic Car Parking Team.

I don't have any solid coaster plans until Scandi, but I'll probably go to SFMM next month, so my first would likely be YOLOcoaster. If I don't go back until they start running B:TR backwards, then it might be that.

Yeah, my visit to SFGAdv in September 2012 was the last time I worried about the price of parking. I pulled up (planning on only a quick morning visit for a few rides on El Toro and Nitro, before the crowds arrived and I left to visit the soon-to-be-destroyed Jersey Shore), saw that parking was $25, and was very hopeful that they'd accept my SFMM season pass parking. Luckily they did (as they did previously at SFA, SFOT, and SFFT), and since the gold pass now includes parking at all SF parks, I no longer care how much SF gouges people for, other then the brief schadenfreude I get to experience watching someone fork over a couple twenties. My thought is, if someone's visiting without having a season pass, they probably visit only once a year or less, and so they've probably got their car loaded up with all their friends, and they can afford to divide the cost 5 ways amongst themselves. They'll complain about how unfair and ironic it is for a few seconds, but soon enough they'll be shouting YOLO and will have forgotten all about it. If you're a dedicated coaster nerd then you'll have no friends to share the cost of parking with, but you'll have a gold season pass from SFGAdv so it doesn't really matter. That being said, I do think that more than $20 for self-parking is a bit much.

It's odd that Sierra Sidewinder has lasted this long. Maybe the ride won't be cursed if "Wind" isn't a standalone word in the name.

I was actually a little disappointed by the lack of Vikings in Norway when I visited, so this seems like a great fit. In that regard, I'd liken this more towards Universal Studios Hollywood instead of DCA, as DCA initially duplicated Californian landmarks that tourists can still go and see if they're so inclined, while USH offers an in-depth look at Hollywood's film industry, which is something that most visitors to California would be interested in experiencing, but otherwise wouldn't have access to. In the same sense, tourists visiting Norway that want to get a feel for the Vikings could now do so in a venue that isn't a museum (open air (Skansen) or otherwise (Viking Ship Museum)). And yeah, since the Vikings plundered most of Europe at some point, there's definitely plenty of theming options. From the concept art, it looks like they're going with more of a LoTR-inspired mythological look.