Hercules

In Mick Foley ["Mankind"]'s second book [he has quite a few, all of which have been bestsellers and many of which were critically acclaimed], he actually has top ten lists of favourite coasters, parks, non-coaster rides, and waterparks. He's a huge coaster nut. And WOW, WRESTLING IS "FAKE"? I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED. THANK YOU FOR ENLIGHTENING ME. That is true. I have seen him at Great Adventure a couple of times, and I'm sure that a few other people have too. He is a huge fan of coasters.

Exactly what you said it is. I've heard extended ride time too.

What are their inspirations for ride concepts? Do these things just come up in their heads and they start working on them to see if they are feasible, or have things inspired them to create such models as inverts and dive machines etc.

School kids showing up at closed amusement park... that kind of reminds me of Phantazy Land. Oh wait, that park was actually open when those kids were running sprints on the go-kart track? Nevermind.

I'm going off topic here, but I still don't get the Hydra headbanging thing. If I catch it for a bad ride, I get very minimal headbanging. I don't find it to be that great of a ride, but that is just because I find it boring. But yeah, European coasters are so tempting because it will be so hard for a lot of us to make it over there. It is like the forbidden fruit... the blinking red button that says "Don't touch"... the hot secretary... I'll stop now.

I'll take bets if you guys want. I'm the official TPR bookie. Steel: Expedition GeForce - I'll give you 2 to 1 odds Wood: Balder - I'll go straight up on that

Uh oh.... 8 in the second

For some reason I'm a big fan of this picture. I just think that I took it at a great time of day. The sunset makes for a nice backdrop for the cobra roll of Hydra in the foreground, and the addition of Steel Force in the background really makes this a special picture to me. Needless to say, I'm proud of it... especially since I'm in my early days of photo taking. Hydra: The Revenge, 2005

It will be in this new area.

Before you get yelled at by a mod or something, I'll just say nicely, Please do a Search before posting http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23704&highlight=hersheypark There are construction pics on screamscape somewhere and I don't think that they have broken ground on the water park yet.

Yup, you are thinking of Six Flags America. Personally, I didn't care for the park that much. If you have a Six Flags season pass then I would say it is worth it. I didn't find Superman all that great and the staff and park atmosphere were pretty bad. The bright points for me were Wild One and Joker's Jinx, yet the flat collection is nonexistant. My personal preference would be don't waste your time, but if you haven't been there, why not give it a shot?

I totally agree with that Wes. To tell you the truth, I am one of those people who can tell you the vital stats of every coaster at Magic Mountain and can give you the second hill speeds on a lot of things, and I haven't been near Magic Mountain in 14 years and probably haven't been on 97% of the coasters that I can give you the speeds of. I knew that this would kind of come off the wrong way. I am in no way attacking anyone. And I totally respect what people do as long as it does not hurt anyone else. If you are into going out and getting that Taxi Jam credit and are having fun doing it, go out and get it. It just comes to a point that there are people that think that their opinions are fact and there are those that attack others based on their opinions. Those are the kinds of things that bother me. There are times that the fun is just sucked out of it. I am not a person that will go out and ride a kiddie coaster just for the credit. If you like that kind of thing, go for it. I'm not one to judge. If you like calculating how many miles you have been on coasters for, or how many hours you have been on a ride in your life. Great! I hope you can get it down to the last second. I find it fun to ride, write, and learn about coasters. I have just gotten into videos and photography too. I really want to become a big name in the coaster industry and work in public relations at a park. Those are my goals because I find it all so facinating and fun. It just seems that there are others that try to make too much of everything and suck the life out of it, and it kind of makes me doubt the world, if that makes any sense. Go out and have fun, just don't attack and make obscene statements. That is all I'm saying. Thanks a lot for sharing your story Wes and thanks to all that have read this. Jay "See you on the midways" Willis ^ By the way, thanks for the remarks. I appreciate it. I agree with the coaster count thing totally. That is what I was getting at. I think a person knows what a good ride is no matter how many rides they have been on. Thank you very much for the feedback.

There are still Putt Putt courses around. And there is still the National Championship (or whatever they call it). They even have the one with the kids too. They show them on ESPN once in a while. I haven't seen one in a while, but I am almost positive that they still have them. And if I remember correctly, all of the Putt Putt courses are the same.

There is a pretty decent mini golf course across from Morey's Piers on the boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ. I think it was like $8 for the two course combination, so 36-holes for the price of one round. That was a good deal. There used to be a neat little mini golf place down about 6 miles from me. It was on a farm. It was 9 holes. The obstacles were rusty and stuff. It really had a lot of character. I have some good memories from there. My dad took me there once in a while. I think I was one of the few that actually even knew about the place. I was sad the day it was gone. I went to a really cool place out in San Jose once. I don't remember the name, but me and one of my uncles went there like 3 times in my 10 day trip out there when I was, I believe 7. There were 3 courses (Easy, Medium and Hard) and there was a pretty huge arcade. If anyone knows of the place, please let me know what the name of it is. If my memory serves me correctly, that place was pretty awesome.

I realize that there are many different facets of any hobby or interest, yet every one essentially has one thing in common. With sports, there are the different aspects like competition and physical fitness. With reading there is a thirst for knowledge and a quest for creativity. People have those kinds of needs. People also have social needs and other needs that can be fulfilled through hobbies and activities. Yet, the main reason for taking part in these activities is because the people doing them or have an interest in them find them FUN. Aren't roller coasters and amusement parks supposed to be fun? Aren't amusement parks in the industry of entertainment? The more and more that I am involved with enthusiasts and websites within the coaster community; the more I research; the more I find the fun aspect being sucked out from me. I hear constant debates about what parks are better and what rides are the best. Sure, at times that can be fun, but only to a certain point. I am a man that respects opinion. We all have opinions, and that is all they are. Opinions are not fact. Laughing, joking, and poking fun is great, but when there are malicious attacks, I become angered. I hear such things as: "Are you crazy?..." or "If you don't like ______ you are nuts!..." I hate it when people degrade people and act like their opinion is fact and nothing else matters. I also have a problem with people who believe they are more knowledgeable than others are. Sure, there are people that know more about a wide variety of subjects in this industry, and there are those who are specialists in certain areas. Nevertheless, it seems that sometimes there is a certain amount of arrogance around. I just think that if someone has a question, someone with the answer should grant them the answer with a certain amount of respect and decency. Now I know there are pests and annoyances that plague the world, but there are just so many people that seem to think that they are better than everyone, and those are the bigger pests and annoyances to me. Something that kind of ties into that is the issue of coaster count. I know that this is an ongoing debate and there has been a lot said, so I don't feel the need to get into it. It just basically ties into what I just said. These factors have really taken the fun out of things for me, and I don't know, maybe some of you who are reading this. I'll continue doing the things that are fun to me: going to Dorney and Great Adventure, taking photographs, getting to new parks to experience new rides and taking in the atmosphere, and writing reviews for rides. Because isn't this what it is supposed to be about? FUN? I'm not trying to be pompous or a jerk who thinks he is Mr. Perfect, but these are just some of my observations. So after writing all of this I think I have taught myself a lesson. The next time I hear "Damn Great Adventure getting all of the rides that Magic Mountain should be getting...", I'll just shrug and laugh, and go have fun.

A Memorial Day opening really only makes sense. That is the start of the true busy season at Great Adventure and I would think that they would be shooting for, and will really try to get it open then. It would only be logical.

Great report there. I'm really happy to see that the train is in the station on Batman. I really hope it is running in a couple of weeks.

I'm probably really late on this one, but I'm with Robb all the way. I'm just not a Canon kind of guy. Crazy thing is that I was going to post something like this last week but never did. I actually went with an HP, and love it.

Robin The Chiller way back on April 2nd.

Maybe it is just an error on the website, but I'm pretty sure that the new ride is an S&S Screamin' Swing... one of the many that are being installed for this season. Since the post was changed, this post is useless.

Right. And they can test while they theme that area too, which will save time. However, you know how Jersey is with their testing and all. That thing is going to be broken in in no time.

But Lou Ferrigno is the man... This is a cool story if it is true.

This would be really cool if I can get my hands on a good deal of Great Adventure ones. Although, it seems like Great Adventure is already taken care of. Maybe when I head up to SFNE I can get my hands on a bunch or something. I like framing things. If I get my hands on a bunch of these, that is going to be a big expense, and a real loss of wall room.

^^ Oh dear God. Actually, if you sign up to get the news letter by mail, Coaster Zombies is only 10 dollars. That is new this year. Though, I'm not sure if that would be worth it to you since you are on the other side of the country of 95% of their events. I would just sign up for ECC. Being a member of something has its perks, and you don't really have to pay THAT much.

My girlfriend and I are both Volcano.