VegasCoaster

You: Your the retard, You: obviously. *You're* the retard.

Most unique thing was the fried oreos. Delicious.

I rode Countdown to Extinction when Animal Kingdom was open for resort guests, and someone in line claiming to be an imagineer said that those labels on the pipes were formulas for ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. At first glance it looks like that might be partly true. I see salt in the ketchup and my guess is the other ingredients are in latin by the looks of it.

If the final is Germany v. Australia I will be absolutely shocked. Group A: I think Mexico and France will be the ones to advance. South Africa has the home advantage, but I'm not sure that will be enough to top Mexico or France. Group B: Argentina and Greece, if Argentina gets their act together that is. Maradonna may have the hand of god, but he hasn't seemed to inspire a whole lot out of the very talented squad. Group C: England and USA. I think England could win it all but with Terry causing all sorts of havoc with other players I'm not sure if the drama will be able to be left off the field. USA will pull off some surprising wins, but I'm not sure if we'll get to the finals like we did in the Confederations Cup, which was mostly a fluke. Group D: Germany and Ghana. I think the talent Ghana has could be enough to throw off the other teams and I have little doubt Germany will be going through 1st. Group E: Netherlands and Cameroon. Again I think Cameroon has enough talent to get out. Denmark is good but as Non German Tom mentioned, Bendtner will need to be a little better than he normally winds up playing. He will eventually be a good player and he does score some pretty decent goals, but he lacks the finishing to usually be that deadly in front of goal. Netherlands is no doubt going through, even if Van Persie doesn't recover, I'm not sure they'd be stopped. Group F: Italy and Paraguay, because I had to pick someone else aside from Italy to get through. Group G: Brazil and Ivory Coast, though after seeing their play during the African Cup of Nations, I might have to go with Portugal. Portugal wasn't playing too well and Ivory Coast has a ton of talent. Also Cristiano Ronaldo is a tool. He's talented, but I can't stand the guy. Group H: Spain and Chile again because someone other than Spain has to go through. I would like the US to win because I'm American, but realistically I want England, Spain or Netherlands to win.

An egg white sandwich with spinach and bacon for brunch and home made pasta carbonara with spinach and broccoli as I type this.

I lived less than a mile from GVR so it seemed a bit weird to be worthy of a reality show, but it was a good show. GVR is definitely the best local casino in my opinion since its got the best quality and its also still incredibly easy and quick to get to the strip. Might not be the cheapest local casino, but aside from the few newer local casinos, its in a league of its own.

If the car is actively being held to the track it shouldn't matter, and I'm thinking more of the Intamin 10 inversion roller coaster kind of heartline roll, not a zero-g roll like on a B&M.

I've always wanted them to have a heartline roll on F1 tracks since the cars generate enough down force they could drive upside down. Only problem is if you aren't at speed it doesn't tend to work so well. Cool trick, seems like a knock off show of Top Gear though.

At SFOT they have these signs in all the stations that say "Sense of Urgency" on them. I have no idea what they are for aside from maybe telling all the ride ops to hurry the heck up, but I found them amusing.

Man TPR is starting to sound incredibly official now! I'd think the drifting coaster would be like the Mack e-motion coaster as several people have said but could be incorporate something more like a spinning coaster to accomplish the drifting sensation. Essentially what I'm thinking is if the center of rotation is located near the front of a long car then the car would seem to slide around turns, kind of like a suspended coaster but on a different axis. Guess we'll see once everyone gets back with more detailed reports.

The fair is somewhat expensive, but everything runs off of coupons including the food with 20 coupons being 10 bucks. Don't know if you were looking at the food prices and thinking it was $8 for most of the food, but its not that bad, but not exactly cheap either.

I just thought of another thing. I've only been on these body slides a handful of times at Wet 'n' Wild Las Vegas, but how far do you typically drop in one half of a revolution? Managing to fly around fast enough to catch the entrance of the other slide would be quite fun too. Obviously if you make the bowl diameter bigger this becomes less of a problem, but then I'd think you get less revolutions as well.

Last bit. Thanks for reading / browsing! Also had a fried coke, which was nauseating. Not nearly as nauseating as the $25/ person ride on the Skyscraper (aka ferris wheel on crack). I think the expression is better than normal sex. Had to try the Reese's macaroon. Back to the midway to hunt out some more fried goods before heading to the traffic jam back home. This guy! Again hard to get scale in there but he was immense. This guy was huge too, but nothing compared to... You can't go to a state fair and miss out on the animals. Longhorn and baby. Never heard of this place. Looks like a nice little family park after further investigation. This pig was HUGE! Didn't think throwing my hand in there for scale would help, but I think he weighed at least 1 ton. Literally. I trust you, random guy at the state fair in scrubs, with my teeth.

So onward with Fright Fest and fried food! Not Vince, don't care. When they said butter sculpture I wasn't picturing an entire bar scene. The amazingly intense bake off. Oddly enough I think a guy won. Apparently building K'nex is now an art form. Same with Legos, but I've seen actual Lego art. Of course this is right across the way. Didn't try this, doesn't sound appetizing at all to me. Aside from deep fried butter though it might be the top fair food. The juxtaposition of the baby pigs with an ad for pork is rather interesting. This guy had a dog who could do a backflip. Never seen a dog do that that didn't wind up first. And the cows from Borden! In the agriculture area they had a grocery store full of Texas products. And a huge stage. i think I heard the Commodores were playing that night, not sure on the accuracy of that though. They also have a small railroad museum. The very extensive classic car section. I think a ticket is the least of your worries. Is that an Egyptian with an arc welder? Architecture. ...and climb rock walls. Unfortunately it was infested with little kids so no attempt from either of us. In the car show you could pretend to drive a Ford truck... mmmmm....fried things. Quick, I feel my blood moving! Fried grilled cheese and fried Peaches and Cream. The peaches and cream won an award, so thats what we tried. Must be a Texas fan. Hook 'em! Pretty scenic minus the guy wires. Awwww. Big Tex! He's got a ton of model trains running around his base. If you like bananas, this is your place. Well at least it would be if any of it looked good. Because chicken fried steak would be too refined. We thought pacing ourselves would be a good idea so we walked around. Sorry OU fan, well not really but I don't mean to rub it in your face. See the flavor just oozing out of it? Oh wait thats the jam. We opted for the fried PB&J with the classic it has fruit so its healthier defense. It was amazing. They also had fried pizza, fried coke and fried PB&J w/ Bananas. Fried Butter. Yes you read that correctly, deep fried butter. Fried cookie dough sounds amazing, but alas they were out. We'll start off normal with a fried Snicker's bar. Amazing. And now I try and kill myself with fried food! Fried Pralines, fired oreos, fried Reese's Macaroons... Does this really need to exist? Really? Sploosh. The nation's largest ferris wheel. The flume ride got really popular later in the day. Makes me wonder if this was always painted like this. No one knew what this was supposed to do. They just sat there like they were on a bench for the entire ride. No idea what this does, but I think I've seen it before. Again get to the fair early if you want to do any of this in a timely manner. I like the subtle use of a giant cup of Coke. Oldie, but fun. Now on to the more intense spin and puke rides. Actually this might be more of a coaster than the train. So innovative. Sausage...on a Bun!!! They even have a drop tower. Automatically the best fair I've been to, just couldn't go on rides. One of the many fun houses / mirror mazes. More spin an puke rides. Good ride, don't know how intense of a program they were running though. Looks cool, but never flips upside down. Old school neon. Probably looks great at night, but I had hw due the next day so no shot at figuring that out. The biggest and best for last. 4 credits in all unless you count the train. Now thats a bit better. Even more whorish than the Dragon Wagon. Gigantic slide and another credit hiding in the distance. Why must I be on a grad student budget with all these rides around? Gah. How do you fry guacamole and queso? Didn't try this one, but interesting none the less. Jeff Johnson credit? Credit numero uno at the TX State Fair. Steak and Shake was surprisingly empty for being this close to the park. Choosing the right shake burger pairing might be more vital than choosing the right wine to go with a fine meal. Decisions decisions... Horrible picture of Titan at night. Suddenly we're transported to CA! Didn't expect to run into Disney merchandise in the random stores in Six Flags. Another maze right around the corner from the circus one. Hey look its a scare actor talking to his friends! Scary! Another one of the mazes. Superman Tower of Blur. Had an idea for a great shot involving this but I'd need an actual camera. Night shots of flats are always good. More hot half dead chicks! Not sure how much Oingo Boingo they danced to. Batman's line was all the way out in the park area so all I got was this stupid picture. Mr. Freeze at night. The line dropped down to 1-1.5 hours but still not worth it in my opinion. Someone whiter than my girlfriend! Alert the press. (She doesn't normally rock the sunburn) This guy was creepy, but all he did was take pictures with people. And this is what it looks like normally. I prefer the acid trip. This is what the Looney Tunes area looks like if you're on acid. Then this guy gave out full size candy bars and fright passes for playing name that tune. I won one for identifying the theme from Mork and Mindy. Nanu Nanu. Three other people and I learned how to do the Thriller dance from this dance group. Audience participation fail. And for the girls and some of the guys, half dead dudes. Hot half dead chicks. Check. They have this in arcade form now? Why? Oh my god watch out for that lamp post! Good element. Damn you for blocking the credit! Entrance to the Studio 13 area. Aquaman has the power to make people disappear! Tony Hawk's not worth that long of a line for one spin. Gaaaahhh! Boo. One of the mazes. Since Michelle is scared a little too easily didn't wind up doing any mazes, though I won a fright pass later that night (donated it to a family). Pink Things. Not sure why they are only here, but they are pretty good. Our lovely DJ for the night. You just want to run up and cuddle with him don't you? Patriotic much? These guys and some random spiderwebs and tombstones make up 90% of the fright fest theming. This chick had epic boobage. Nice start to Fright Fest.

I wonder how exactly the dueling bowl slide works. I can just see someone freaking out and trying to slow themselves down on the slide just enough to slam into the other person going full speed. They both look like great slides though and I'm sure they figured out some way to prove the one is safe.

So my girlfriend and I needed to get up to SFOT sometime since we'll be leaving Texas after this spring more than likely, so we decided to head up to Dallas during UT-OU weekend. I'd highly recommend going during this time since Six Flags was empty until about 1 or 2, and the state fair is a pretty good time as well. After going to SFStL two years ago during Fright Fest I was looking forward to Fright Fest, but was rather disappointed by SFOT's, especially considering its the original park. The only time I saw scare actors was when they were walking through the park during the day to get to their mazes. Also there were zero scare zones throughout the entire park and while SFStL isn't exactly a premier Halloween event, it at least had all the elements. SFOT had shows, mazes, and a bunch of repetitive and often noticeably old decorations. That said, I had a great time in the park and the ride collection was rather balanced, just Fright Fest was a bit of a let down. The next day we went to the Texas State Fair and ate large quantities of fried foods, but thanks to the grad school budget didn't go on any of the spin 'n puke rides or any of the credits (4 in all). This was undoubtedly more crowded than Six Flags so I'd recommend getting there early if you want to get things done without waiting in long lines. Unfortunately wasn't able to stick around till night, but I'm sure the midway looks awesome at night. On to the pictures! Fright fest and State Fair to follow later. Bobsled dropping into the second half of the ride. Some of the layout. The rollbars make me wonder if they added them voluntarily or if they added them after something happened. Excited for some bobsled action! Bend your snake, not your hair? Schwarzkopf is taking over Six Flags! La Vibora, the surprise hit of the trip. Somehow one of the scariest coasters when it can get it on three wheels on some of the turns. Seriously could be a great ride and probably was. Ranks just below SOB and Psyclone for me with respect to pain at the moment though. Texas Giant, Titan, the Rangers Stadium...and oh my god its a UFO! What the rapids looks like when its dry. Judge Roy Scream in all its mehness. Pretty though. If only Batman were in the loop this shot would be perfect. B Shockwave. I think people hyped it up too much for me. I like Mindbender a lot more. Proof that there actually were people taking these pictures. I never manage to take many pictures of people. Oil Derrick pictures as promised. Ooooo. Most flattering picture of Michelle ever, courtesy of the Pink Thing. Try one, they are pretty good and also surprisingly cheap. Someone call Silver Dollar City or Dollywood, one of their skillets is missing! On a side note I know normal park food is a rip off but the FF stuff was nuts. $8 for a quesadilla? I never took this picture when I was in St. Louis, so I have to do it now. Sense of Urgency! Judge Roy Scream! Some ok moments of air, but nothing too great. ACE's plaque for Bill Cobb who designed... This also gives a good view of the park and is a great ride for the whole family. Not scary at all but unfortunately short. The single rider line for this ride is proof that there is a god and he loves us. 2 hour wait for Tony Hawk. No thanks. This crew is so fast its hard to get a picture of them. That or the lighting is bad. UT will win the rivalry. Mwahahaha. Green with envy. I actually liked the queue, especially the natural shade. He's been waiting for a while. Runaway Mountain was reasonably fun but I was expecting something other than complete darkness. Wooo Texas state school system! Not want! Show of hands, who's into S&M? Ok all kidding aside the ride was actually pretty fun, but one of the roughest I've been on in a while. It needs all of that $10 million and then I can see it being a seriously great ride. These people might not have internal bleeding yet. Porn shot! Hey look, a maintenance bay! Did someone steal the signature move? A rushed train picture for those of you rail enthusiasts. Finally Texas Giant opens. Chiropractors around Texas rejoice. Helices of Death! Faded, but still awesome. Texas Giant was closed until noon. Not entirely sure why. Jealous SFMM? Again, get to the park early if you want to get on stuff quickly. I think we were in the park for an hour and hit 6 of the credits. I think you can see all the layers of paint that have ever been on Shockwave here. Time for a paint job perhaps? Maybe? Not even the ducks or turtles want to be in the malaria water. The Oil Derrick. Great views of the park from here, but more on that later. This trashcan's family comes here too! - Michelle would like to take credit for that caption. Superman: Tower of really tall but not that forceful. Either Dallas was hit by a nuclear bomb or I didn't know what exposure setting my camera was on. Batman. Love the ride, hate the queue. No shortcuts and its long as hell. All of 5 people enjoying the overbank. I took waaay too many photos of this plaza. Credit number 1 in less than 10 minutes! Somehow felt stronger than St. Louis', no idea why. I suddenly feel like eating ice cream. Damn subliminal marketing! I hear this section is popular so we hit it first. A good choice in retrospect. Oooooo. I'm shaking in my tennis shoes. Damn you joker for taunting us on the other side of the rope! These guys makes up most of their FF theming. Rocking the camera bag. Very excite! There it is, taunting me above the trees. I was looking forward to this ride the most and it didn't disappoint. I'd recommend warp speed, gets you here faster. Warp speed to Six Flags. Stat. Apparently I'm insane until I actually wake up. Pretty excited for 5:30 in the morning. Couldn't risk hitting traffic for the OU game. 10 years ago this ride didn't beat the snot out of you. That or people were into that in the late 90's. First Helix of Death! Fixed! I wish they'd run this without slowing down the chain or having the MCBR on. Sure it might make people pass out, but it'd be sweet!

Yeah I was just wondering since there was one photo you had where pretty much everything other than the people came out in color. My camera has the same setting, but somehow I think yours works better.

For those who wanted to know, much like myself, what they do for Fright Fest, its pretty much the mazes and shows listed on their site and thats it. There was theming all over the park, but 0 scare zones or actors and nothing really frightening at all about it. Actually the only time I saw scare actors was in the afternoon as they were showing up for work and some walked around freaking out people, but nada once night fell. Might have a PTR sometime later, but swamped with school at the moment.

Are those through photoshop or just the normal color accent mode in the camera? Either way they turned out great, just asking since a few of them seem to pick up more than the standard one color.

Geez. Considering I rode it this summer and I thought the air on the drop was pretty decent, I'd hate / love to see what it was like in the first year. Maybe the backseat ride is too cemented in my mind, but I remember being thrown into the lapbar pretty well. I never found the ride that intolerable, but then again I think I rode three or four times. It was a bit rough, but in the normal woodie sense.

While they do have some coasters I'd love to see, from what I saw from some other DVDs it looks like a lot of them are rather meh (mostly Jet Coasters). If you make one and enough people rave about it I might consider buying it, but its not at the top of my list at the moment. Edit: After actually reading the rest of this, yeah if its slanted towards more of Asia I'd probably look into getting it. Its always cool to see some of the stuff they have over there since I won't be going anytime soon, but I'd probably need to look into getting some other DVDs to get all the ones I'd like to see.

I love how the motion blur on the hail is going up. My worst weather while riding a coaster would probably be riding things in extreme heat, which isn't all that bad. Riding MF at night and getting hit by bugs was worse, but not really a weather condition. Those little bastards sting when you're going 90.

Name: Alan Roberts Age: 23 What is your roller coaster count? 133 What is your home park? Six Flags Fiesta Texas What is the nearest big city? Austin, TX What is your occupation? Masters Student About how many times a year do you visit a park (including your home park)? 4-5 About how many times a year do you travel to a park that is not your home park? 3-4 When you travel do you go primarily to amusement parks or do you also try and hit other sites? Lately yes, but I like taking in more of where I'm visiting than just the amusement parks. What is the farthest you’ve traveled to go to an amusement park? 540 miles. I've been to Europe and gone to parks there, but going to theme parks was not my primary objective in going. Does roller coaster time get in the way of family time? (Do you choose to miss your children’s or family’s sporting events, holidays, birthdays, etc…) Never. Do you have any other major hobbies? Biking, playing trumpet, soccer, video games, music, movies... Do you get feelings of sadness in the offseason? Do you even have an offseason? Do you travel during the offseason? No. Unfortunately yes. Yes. Do you consider yourself friends with someone you met who works at an amusement park? (Or reverse it, if you work or worked and an amusement park have you made friends with enthusiasts?) No. Would it bother you to go to an amusement park by yourself? No, but I go to concerts, movies etc. by myself somewhat frequently as well. Have you gone to an amusement park by yourself? If so have you ever ran into another enthusiast and tagged along with them? Yes. No, but I have made acquaintances with people waiting in line. Do you find it easy to make friends with other enthusiasts? Yes. How do you get your coaster news? Theme Park Review, Screamscape, Westcoaster. How many different forum sites do you regularly post on? 1. If there was a poll that asked a large pool of enthusiasts what their favorite roller coaster is, what do you think would be the top 3 responses be for wood? And for steel? Wood: Balder, El Toro, The Voyage. Steel: S:ROS at SFNE (now Bizarro), Expedition GeForce, Maverick. Same scenario but for amusement parks, what would be the top 3? Tokyo Disnea Sea, Knoebels, Holiday World. Have you ever “stole a kid” to get a credit on a kiddie coaster? No, but I have thought about it. Do you cut other categories out of your budget to make trips to parks? (Entertainment, fast food, holidays, tobacco or alcohol, etc…) No, but I live a very spartan lifestyle so I would be hard pressed to find something to cut. My traveling to parks is not frequent or far enough to need planning. Before you visit a new park do you research the park finding the best way to navigate the park, get the best deals, or what days to go? To some extent yes, but I just generally look at the park map and guess which rides are most popular to make sure I hit those first. Do you feel the roller coaster enthusiast community is a warm and accepting community, or a negative and discouraging community? Generally warm and acceping, but as with any community there are always those few people who want to stir the pot. Do you like to talk about your hobby with people who are not roller coaster enthusiasts? Not extensively, but if anyone has any coaster related questions, I'm their go to guy.

To tack my question on to this, do they have any scarezones for Fright Fest? Went to Fright Fest at SFSTL and they did, but I can't find any info aside from mazes. I'll be going the day of the UT v. OU game so I'm thinking the park will be empty and I won't need a flashpass. Or at least I hope I don't need one since I don't think I have the budget for that being a starving grad student.

20/20 Almost got me on a few since I could narrow down to 50/50, but I guessed right.