ECZenith

Does anyone know if the ride will receive a new paint scheme?

The Del Mar Fair as well as the fairs in LA, OC, and Riverside Counties are done by Ray Cammack Shows.

I remember going on one at the NY State Fair in Syracuse when I lived on the east coast. Since I moved out west I'm not sure if one even travels out here.

^ It's located in San Diego, CA. As for Airwolf and Flying Circus, they don't run outside of Europe. I'm still trying to find the show that has a Top Scan, anyone know which fairs get them?

I was able to check out the Del Mar Fair this past Sunday. The midway was abundant with beautifully maintained rides including the Mondial Fighter and Evolution rides. Check out the photos! Xtreme, a KMG fireball Thanks for checking out the photos, watch for other reports from other socal fairs as they come around. Wind Surf was like a top spin on crack, they even had water fountains that sprayed riders! Techno Power Another shot of the Tango, it reminds me of my favorite midway ride, Mondial's Top Scan. The Star Flyer, scariest ride ever, no joke, would definately do it again though. Spin Out is small but packs a mean punch! KMG Speed, I love these rides but they can be a bit expensive. The midway also had a reverse bungee shot ride and bungee jumping for upcharges. The fairgrounds are so large they even have an aerial tram so you can easily cross to the other side The gigantic Moscow Circus funhouse Mega Drop was a good sized tower Lots of flipping and spinning, very disorienting! Magnum, another rare find for an American midway. This ride is known as a "shake" and manufactured by Mondial. With the covers down... This unusual ride is a himilaya-type spinning ride taht has fabric covers that flip over the cars halfway through the cycle It had some decent drops! The Hi Miler coaster I had never seen a Mondial Fighter before! It was a really fun ride, I had no ideas these travelled outside Europe. The two best rides on the midway, the amazing Evolution and the KMG Tango. Both are disorienting and intimidating! Creep Show, a 2 story dark ride Crazy Mouse Bubble House funhouse

I second the comment about the Grand Canyon, it's at least a day to get out there and back but definately beautiful but maybe it should be saved for another trip? If you're going to go to one theme park in Cali, be sure to visit me at "the temple", I'll get you guys front row.

While I will miss the old dark ride, Ghostwood Estate looks amazing! I'm glad it was presented as more "PG-13" than most other shooting dark rides that come off as kind of kiddish... you can never have too many severed heads.

With the help of Faller and our "up to $600 federal refund", we can use this Top Scan model to help stimulate the economy!

I'm so happy to see the falls working, way to go SFMM! Looking forward to the campout, I'll bring the sacrifical peeps...

^^ You can bet in one way or another the media will flip this into faulting Disney... I just heard the news and it is very sad to think about what would draw a person to do such a think, but also a traumatic experience for the eyewitnesses at the resort on a busy Friday. I'm surprised to see people joking about this tragedy, I know we're supposed to "have a sense of humor" in the forums but damn... My thoughts go out to the victim's family.

Fellow amusement ride modelers rejoice! Faller will be releasing a working HO scale Top Scan model for 2008, this will be their most complex and expensive model to date at $460.00!

Monorail red will take its first passengers at 6:45 am Monday morning. Over the next few days, the new Mark VII monorail will be available for cast members to ride before the park opens and after the park closes. Me and Allison will be there tomorrow to take a ride and I'll definately be bringing the camera!

That looks like something you'd find at one of the Japanese Disney ripoff parks.

Jim, that sounds just like WDW's Barnstormer coaster.

Monorail Red should definately be running soon as they need to get purple (the one they're currently running) out to Vancouver to be rebuilt. I'll be hanging around Tomorrowland after work Thursday, hopefully the rumor is true that it will be running that day.

One of my trainers has been on TSMM as she's going to be one of the opening day leads. The ride track is flat and doesn't have any elevation changes, or at least she didn't mention anything about them. Looks like cast preview dates could possibly be in mid May! I'm getting even more excited about this one! Also, as far as the long term billion dollar plan is concerned, the Carthay Circle theater will no longer house a Walt Disney film, it just be an empty building with a great facade. There will probably be many more changes to the plan before ground is broken on any of the projects. For those as interested in Walt Disney Imagineering as I am, a new DVD came out this week that focuses on WDI's Disneyland Resort projects. I'm going to pick up a copy today, they're for sale at the Disneyana store and I believe World Of Disney at DTD.

I was definately a little nervous when I did Summit Plummet at Blizzard beach for the first time. Taking the skilift up to the top and then still having to climb stairs was pretty intimidating.

FYI, the best time to catch the new Mark VII monorail (Monorail Red) is between midnight and 2 am, and you can see it pretty good from the McDonald's parking lot on Harbor Blvd. I've seen it a few times last week when I worked late shifts, it's so pretty...

Thanks for all the comments, guys! I also think JtA looks unfinished, they should have at least covered up those evac stairs with a third tower structure. I don't know if it's just my inner cast member talking, but the ride also seemed to try to have a little bit of storyline to it with nothing to back it up. It's like, you go up the lift, go down a drop, and then a voiceover that sounds like Mya Angelo plays saying: "Well done, Atlantis salutes you, but what happens in the next few moments will determine the fate of Atlantis forever." And then something about the dolphins helping you in the elevator lift. I remember Orlando having a couple characters to support the story, like the little seahorse and the evil sea witch. Still a really cool ride though, and a unique experience.

I hope this does end up being a B&M flyer, then almost all of B&Ms catalog (minus a standup coaster) would be in southern Florida. There is, however, a new Vekoma flying coaster protype that uses shorter flying trains and a compact design so anything is possible.

Allison and I both had a few days off this past week so we thought it would be a good idea to finally get me down to San Diego and see the sights. We saw the seals at La Jolla, Belmont Park featuring the world-famous Giant Dipper, Sea World as well as some of San Diego's more prominent landmarks. It was a great time, and I'll let the photos tell the rest... One last shot of TSMM! Thanks for reading, look for more shots of Toy Story Midway Mania the second the walls come down! Mr. Potato Head could be heard behind the walls all day, he will "sing" to guests while they wait in line, in the way a boardwalk barker would. Day 3, and a quick run to DCA shows us some progress on Toy Story Midway Mania, check out that impressive marquee! JTA gets you drenched! Right before the second splashdown The coaster drop Inside the elevator lift... There's actually two elevator cars inside the shaft. As one car carrying two boats is lifted to the top of the tower, it rocks to the right while a second car descends to the bottom. POV's were taken WITH PERMISSION and my flash remained off per the rules. Here's my boat entering the elevator lift. A back view of the entire structure The second splashdown After a vertical, swinging elevator lift, the boats drop onto the coaster portion of the ride. This drop was intense! After the lift hill, the large flume-drop follows, but that's just the beginning... Up the misty lift Overview of Atlantis Journey To Atlantis was well-done but I prefer Orlando's version because of the dark-ride elements. You get absolutely soaked. I was impressed by Shipwreck Rapids' theming! Random flower shot! Sea World SD is landscaped wonderfully. Sea World has five rides, a sky tower, cable sky ride, Shipwreck Rapids, Journey To Atlantis and this simulator: Wild Arctic. You board a "helicopter" called White Thunder and it transports you to an arctic base. As you exit the ride, there's a huge display of arctic marine life, it's one of my favorite things in the park. I am the Walrus... Sea Turtles near Shipwreck Rapids More seals! Polar Bear at Wild Arctic Octopus A chambered Nautilus Jellyfish at Aquarium de la Mer Sea World isn't just home to marine life, tons of gorgeous birds are on display like these flamingos. Dolphins = Fun The dolphin show is really cool. Rare Commerson's Dolphins at Journey To Atlantis's exit, one of the highlights of my day was seeing these beautiful animals in person. Beluga Whale Me and a Budweiser Clydesdale, it was cool they let you take your picture with him. Mandatory donkey shot... Sesame Street: Bay Of Play is still being worked on. Day 2 brought us to Sea World, yay sea creatures! Cool pirate-themed arcade Allison and I ready to take my first ride on GD Wheeeeeeee!! More Dipper action The train looks great! As does the rest of the ride. I was impressed at how well-maintained it looked. A little airtime here... Another shot of the Dipper It was ALOT smoother than I imagined it would be, and overall a great coaster. An overview of the Giant Dipper We rode the new-style Tilt-A-Whirl, this is the only one I've ever seen. Me and Allison got it spinning pretty good! Intense!!! Yay! They still have a chaos! Now onto the park related stuff, this was my first visit to Belmont Park and it was pretty nice. Here's a KMG Afterburner placed at Giant Dipper's first drop. Petco Park, home of the Padres. It's baseball season people! San Diego has an electric trolley system that pretty much goes everywhere. There's a lot of them... yeah. More seals... It's pupping season in La Jolla so there are lots of cute little seal pups hanging out on the beach. What we came to see! First stop was La Jolla, really a beautiful place with some really nice homes.

Soo... any updates?

Wow, how did I let this one sneak up on me like that? Looks amazing! Nothing better than a themed Intamin!

This creepy thing made it onto Attack of The Show yesterday!

Those are some great photos! I was curious to see what the Mr. Potato Head looked like completed. Yesterday outside the Indy building there were some Paradise Pier CMs recruiting Indy CMs to work Toy Story Mania (the two rides use a very similar console system). One of them was my former Railroad trainer, and she told me she was able to ride through the circuit but the 4D effects were not all up and running. Can't wait till cast preview days! Should be here soon.