Hercules

Yeah, kind of a stupid statement on my part, but I was kind of saying that you can't fill things to capacity all of the time. However, if you think it over, they really could have gotten two rides for the price of one, or even less than that, which would have done the things that I mentioned. I know I'm getting nitpicky, but I'm just saying. Their attendance numbers are big, but not really huge. They are kind on the borderline of "A park that needs a ride with a capacity of 70+ per ride".

^^ Believe me, we are not offended at all. A lot of people think it is a stupid law. It is about 5 hours, probably closer to 6. I would think that you would probably go I-91 to I-95 to the Jersey Turnpike, but that is just going off of memory. ^ I believe that you can rent a car under the age of 25, but the rates are slightly higher for people 21-24. I would just make friends with someone at the school and hitch a ride. Make it a weekend trip with some buddies.

And to think, all I used to do on my Spring Breaks was go home to my parents house. My jealousy is at it's peak. I can't wait to see more of your report.

Your Report so far = Awesome Mr. Freeze paint job = I'd rather have pins stuck in my eyes than look at it Texas Giant = Summers woodie, what do you expect? But I am in passionate love with the dead man, so I guess everyone has their own opinions.

^ That is almost kind of the point that I was trying to make. There really wasn't a market for them, however, I would have thought they would have been a little more popular than what they were. I kind of figured that Cedar Point would get a giant top spin since they didn't have a normal one, and maybe parks some big parks like Great Adventure or another decent sized Six Flags park would have gotten something else (although, we know how Great Adventure is with their flats). Basically, those are the only places that would really need a large capacity, and actually be willing to blow cash on a ride. Look at some of the opening day pics from King's Dominion. Attendance was very light that day, as I'm sure it will be for a while at the beginning of the season, and "Drop Zone" had maybe 10 riders on it at a time. That is a lot of empty seats. Sure, it probably runs close to capacity during the summer months and the peak of the season, but about half of the season it barely has ridership I'm sure. That is kind of a waste of seats. They could have gotten a couple of smaller flats with the same combined capacity of "Drop Zone", been able to dispurse the lines a little better during the summer, and still kept the same amount of ridership and throughput I'm sure. However, having a huge tower like that is a big draw. I guess it is just give and take. You can't really criticize them for making a purchase like that.

I guess it is something "different" and slightly "interesting", but it definitely isn't something that will draw more people in. It will be something that will attract people just as a "Eh, that looks like fun, why not?" kind of attraction. I heard from my mother, who went up to Niagra Falls for the New York State bowling championships last year, that there was already a simulator up there with the barrel going over the falls - kind of figured they weren't going to do something like that then if she is correct.

It certainly does look like Speed Monster. Great observation Elissa. I didn't really notice it from the concepts of the ride, but seeing it built, it certainly does seem like a Speed Monster-esque ride without the launch. It should certainly be a popular ride. I'll need to find time in my schedule to make it to the park this year, probably for their Halloween event.

I'm not really too sure why some of parks didn't catch on with the giant rides. I really kind of thought that they would be a hit, especially since Huss was pretty popular back in their day. I really liked their concept for "The Land of Giants" and was really expecting, maybe a European park, to pick up the rights to it. I really think that in the end, the giant rides weren't that much different than the smaller versions, which were losing popularity, and Huss didn't come up with any new rides or features, other than bigger versions of their old designs. I would have really thought that Cedar Point would have jumped on the giant Huss ride idea since they always want things that are bigger and "better". I'm still really surprised that they never got a top spin, and would have thought they would have jumped on the giant top spin idea like they did with MaXair, or even the mega version of the Screamin' Swing. So like I said, I'm kind of surprised that the giant rides never caught on, but I can definitely see why they didn't. Why spend more money and take up more space for a ride that pretty much gives a similar ride to the smaller versions, and doesn't really boost capacity by a considerable margin?

Another great update from the day! I really enjoyed the pictures. Great Adventure has really changed once again, as it has done through out its course of history. There are a lot of odd things going on there especially with Chiller gone, and Super Teepee going down. It's kind of sad, but exciting at the same time. I just really hope that everything works out for the better at the park. I have not been to the park since 2006 when I last had a season pass, and I don't think that I will be making it to the park this year either (unless someone with a season pass wants to bring me with a Bring a Friend Free coupon ), but, I will look forward to people's reactions to the changes, and I'm sure I will be there in 2009 to get a taste of the park again.

^ By far worth the visit if you can make it there. You just have to find a way to get there. If you can get there in September, the park is pretty empty, so you could really have a great time there and be able to reride a lot of things, and El Toro is no slouch either. If I were you, I would get tickets to see the Red Sox play at Fenway Park.

Funny, just before I saw this I read an article in VegNews called "Meatless in Memphis". Nice report. It looks like a good time.

The season pass holder nights are COMPLETELY different than this kind of thing. The season pass holder events are strictly for season pass holders, and they are relatively empty at the park. Like mentioned, this is held during regular park operating hours. When I went a couple of years ago, it was, I believe, in June? - and the park was very crowded (I'm talking 2 hours for Batman - got on 4 coasters in 9 hours). However, if you are willing to make it the whole day with the morning and evening ERT, it is pretty much worth it. We got 7 rides on El Toro during the 1 hour night ERT - but if you wanted to ride Nitro at that same time, you could just cycle right through for the entire hour and get probably 20 rides if you wanted to. With this pretty much being Memorial Day weekend, I would expect the place to be packed. A lot of general public, and probably a couple hundred crazy enthusiasts.

^ I like your thinking. Can we blame Six Flags for trying? I mean come on. They are simply trying to make a good experience out of all of this mess. I could see bashing them if they made a really bad move, but this nothing to bash them about.

I'm a bit of a traditionalist, so sorry to rain on a majority of people's parades in here, but I'm not really a fan. I mean, why can't Universal stick with what they are good at? I mean, everything that they have had in terms of attractions have been enclosed, do they really need an outside roller coaster? I think it just looks weird. Maybe I'm just overlooking the potential of this.

Only the thought of a Wacky Worm gets me out of bed in the morning.

Fraud eh? I didn't know we would have to give our social security number with our unanonymous screenname. It's pretty much been said - it violates the first amendment. You can write into a newspaper anonymously, why not be able to write on the internet anonymously. Honestly, I don't really care if it gets passed or not (it won't). I just don't have anything to hide. I am who I am.

I never said that the concept of refillable cups is a bad thing. I think it is great as I am an advocate of recycling and doing good for the environment. I just don't get why people drink so much of the stuff.

Why not Sesame Street? Busch owns Sesame Place, so they have all of that worked out. I don't know how it would tie into the European theme, but hey, any kids area is a plus.

I'm sure he did keep it in top condition. And you can't really compare his private property to a Dolly Parton owned public park.

Possible, yes. But how likely do you think it is?

The choice is pretty simple if you are just looking to spend time at a quality park. If you want that, go to Busch Gardens. There are quality rides, quality staff, quality food, quality upkeep, quality operations - overall quality. However, if you are just looking for a lot of rides, and a generic park feel, then King's Dominion is the place for you. Personally, I would suggest Busch Gardens.

I guess the proposed law makes some sense, but it is not going to pass. A lot of chumps just hide behind a screenname, go on a website and bully, harass, bash and flame people because they are too big of wusses to do it for real. Then after they are done, they just go back to their regular pathetic lives. People don't see the internet as real interaction, when it actually is, with real people and real situations. I can see that people might not do things likes harass, or make threats if their name is attached to their words, but how will this really be enforced? Would we have to scan photo identification with our site registrations? I can see a lot of people just making up fake names. I just don't see this working. Besides, on a site like this, a lot of the core members already know each other and call each other by name all the time. If there is a troll of some sort, Robb, Elissa and the rest of the ASSistants are very good at disposing of them and their posts.

^^ I get your point about seeing other parks Rich, but there are some that just can't do it either because of age, money, lack of transportation etc. So getting something like a refillable cup is probably a good choice for them. I just don't get why they have to refill it so much.

^ The refills add up quick? Once again, how much soda are you people drinking? And how much do you need to drink? ^^^ It was a nice gesture? I don't think it was a nice gesture as it was more of an overlook by old management. And I'm sure they aren't forgiving people with anything. It is a policy that should have been implimented much earlier.

Damn. That kills my plans on taking my cousin this summer. How about a strip club?