ginzo

Yeah, he is great. Though I just read that he's currently shooting a new Sherlock Holmes movie directed by Guy Ritchie with RDJ as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson. I gotta say I'm very skeptical about this project. What are the chances that RDJ could unseat Jeremy Brett as the definitive Holmes? I'd say very small.

Maybe it's because RDJ is an exceptional actor? Why else would he be given so damn many chances after screwing up time and time again? The award is "Best Supporting Actor", not "Best Supporting Actor in a Serious Role". Hat tip to the academy for doing something different this time. Though I'm not really a fan of that movie at all. Robert Downey Jr: American Hero and Role Model to Millions

Looking good. I'm still fully expecting this to be the best of the B&M hypers.

If you're that worried about it, just get there at opening when they're trying to push the big line through the gate. Personally, I'd rather spend the few extra bucks for the peace of mind of having a legitimate ticket. Disney is expensive, but they often have sales if you're willing to go outside of peak times.

If you want to see some real toothless crackers, go to the Indiana parks.

They have white people in Ohio???

Moderate-to-light crowds at Cedar Point means you'll only wait 3 hours for major coasters, instead of 5 hours. All joking aside, May in general should be a great time to go to Cedar Point. Light crowds and the weather should be fine aside from a few freak thunderstorms. You're going to Ohio, not the Arctic Circle. Don't pack for a ski trip, just bring some sweat shirts and what not in case it gets chilly in the evening. And it'll probably be pants weather throughout. Oh, and like Larry says, avoid Physics Day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhM6wnRAMs4

Very sorry to hear this. The best suggestion that I can give you is to strictly follow the advice of a good, science-based oncologist. There is a lot of bullshit quackery when it comes to cancer. Don't fall for it. Medical treatment of cancer is better than ever. All the best.

Happy birthday, Mike.

Dave, I loved this report. It's the best I've seen from you. Maybe it's the beer talking, but your photography doesn't really seem as bad as you say it is.

I'll throw in another vote for GeForce. It's by no means the tallest drop, but the combination of the absurdly steep drop angle while doing that funky 90 degree track twist make for a very unique sensation. I'll give an honorable mention to Maverick mostly because its drop takes you completely by surprise considering the relatively short height of it.

This BPB site shutting down represents a big win in the war against illiteracy.

What a beautiful letterhead. And, at the same time, what a depressing letter.

Yeah, but if InBev is anxious to unload the parks, they might be trying to have as few strings/liabilities attached to the deal as possible. Wouldn't a potential buyer question the wisdom of having to pay for a promotion that mostly benefits InBev? It seems that InBev is quite serious about getting rid of the AB parks post haste, which might be the best thing as I doubt they'll do much in the way of capital improvements so long as they're stuck under the umbrella of a severely cash-strapped and notoriously stingy parent company. Still sucks about the free beer though.

I think it's already too late for you. You don't have enough time left to make it through Fuji-Q's infamous lines before you turn 54.

Liz, I think you should skip Tobu Zoo. Your brother would be really disappointed if he didn't get to ride Kawasemi when everyone else got to. Also, then you won't have to worry about having a top 10 coaster credit that I don't have. Also, you should skip Tokyo Disneyland. It's obviously no good. There's a MUCH better park in Japan: http://www.fuji-q.com/index.html

Both of Larry's loops here are pretty good. Nice parks and not too much driving. I normally wouldn't say this, but I think Kings Island is a must-do now with the new B&M. You should hit Diamondback in its first season just in case CF decides to brake rape it down the road. If you buy the Cedar Fair Platinum Pass ($150 USD), you can get unlimited access and parking to both Cedar Point as well as Kings Island. The Platinum Pass also gets you into both Cedar Point and Kings Island 1 hour before the parks open. This is great for hitting the stuff that normally has horrible queues. As for accommodations: Cedar Point: Breakers Express seems like a decent value and it's just down the street from the park. Hotel Breakers, the on-property hotel, is nice, but expensive for what you get. Though Breakers does have some cheaper rooms in an older wing of the hotel. Kings Island: Not sure what option is best, but only do Great Wolf Lodge if you feel like spending $300/night in order to get access to the indoor water park. Holiday World: Santa's Lodge is nice, usually reasonably priced, and very close to the park. Indiana Beach: Pine View Resort is a budget motel that is right next to the park. If you want a nicer room, there's a Best Western up the street.

Wow. Do you have a link for this? Is the ride actually beyond repair or is it just more of the crappy, we-don't-care-how-long-we-leave-rides-down maintenance philosophy of this company?

You're taking this too seriously. Shane's original point was to show a silver lining in the dark cloud of HRP's failure: there's an opportunity for a smaller park to get a B&M at an affordable price. He then proceeded to do some fun brainstorming from bird's-eye view about which parks could, in theory, use a B&M sit-down looper based on their existing coaster line up. He wasn't writing business cases for each park with actual ROI analysis, market research, and the like. His post was about what parks could broadly use this type of coaster based on the contents of their existing assets. It's obviously up to the individual park managers to decide if the numbers work out enough to bid on LZ.

Happy birthday, Robb.

Nice guy.

Never actually been to one. They used to do a booming business in t-shirts back when I was in like grade school. Kind of funny that so many of my classmates went to exotic locales like London only to come back with t-shirts advertising a cheesy chain restaurant.

I don't know what they have to complain about. They agreed to license their name and were paid for it. They could have, you know, looked at the business plan, hired industry experts to evaluate the project, etc. Maybe they're mad because they're among the $300 million worth of unpaid bills.

^You really should paste in the URL when you want people to look at your site.