Shockwave

I just quit my job. And I've never felt better!

The Shield currently tops my list. Followed closely by NYPD Blue, which they hardly show over here any more! More DVD purchasing to follow... Law & Order and the various spin-offs get honourable mentions.

The Bravery - Self-titled album.

I don't care who you are, that was funny! Unless you never saw his show, and never heard him sing that stupid song. Then your excused. Just for you guys... "Frasier has left the building!":lol: I'll get my coat.

Scrambled eggs all over his face I think.

Robb, have you ever heard of a Dutch Euro-pop group called the Vengaboys? They were pretty big back in the late '90s, and they've done some really bouncy tunes. Most of their recent singles came from "The Party Album" - click below. I'd recommend stuff like "Boom Boom Boom Boom" and "We Like To Party". http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dzb1z88a1yv5 I'm pretty sure I've found them on a DDR machine so you may have heard them already!

Nemesis will still top my list for a while. But Katun is on the horizon, so that'll be a big challenger. And there's always the awesome Jubilee Odyssey and the amazing El Condor to come! Well, you've got to chuckle sometimes...

I really hope that the oil refineries get blockaded like in 2000, that's the only way that prices are ever gonna drop over here. Even if it means not using my car for a few days. I'm fed up of having my arms pulled off every time I fill up. Currently it costs me just under £40 to my FIAT Punto. It's only a 1.1 engine, so it gets a pretty good MPG, but fuel prices are seriously extortionate.

I've had my lap restraint open on me on the Wild Mouse at Flamingoland (Maurer Sohne Wild Mouse) on the lower bunny hops after the switchback section. It was quite scary at first, but the forces on that ride aren't enough to throw you out of the seat, so we just held it down till the end.

I'm considering a day trip to Walibi World when you guys visit, money dependent of course. It's only a short hop accross the channel, so I'll let you know if I can make it out that day.

I reckon I'd be a small, as anything bigger would just smother me!

In order of anticipation... Space Mountain: Mission 2 (DLP) Barnstorm/Project X (Drayton Manor) Velocity (Flamingoland) I might get to ride Sequoia Adventure later in the year. :shock:

Look at the top of the park. Shockwave still lives on!!!

Yep, Nemesis is looking a lot more picturesque this year. Shame about the rest of the park! As for best B&Ms categorywise, I've not been on enough to say - USA 2006 should sort that out somewhat. I can't imagine too many Inverted Coasters will better Nemesis, but I am looking forward to the Superman Flyers and Shakira down at Busch Gardens Tampa. Here's a brief review of the smallest B&M coaster ever built, from a Christmastime trip in 2004... **EUROPEAN COASTER SPOILER FOR ROBB & ELISSA COMING UP - IT'S NOT LIKE I DIDN'T WARN YOU!** I finally got to ride my first floorless coaster, Daemonen at Tivoli Gardens last December. For a small ride it packs a big punch, especially through the Immelman loop and the zero-G roll. The pop of airtime before the brake run is also a nice surprise. It was a great move for Tivoli Gardens. The ride very short, but it's not a problem. Aesthetically pleasing from start to finish, and for those lucky enough to go on it around the yuletide season, it's even better to ride it in the snow! B&M once again prove that size doesn't always matter, it's what you do with it that counts.

Currently my favourite first drop is the douple-dip on the Grand National. Ejector airtime all the way! This opinion might change after I ride Tonnere de Zeus at Parc Asterix, and Megafobia at Oakwood.

Just sorting my trip to Paris as I speak. There's a bit of a Paris clique happening here! I hope the launch on Space Mountain is gonna be better than Rita's!

I'm mostly on Coaster Force, and I don't check out Westcoaster as much since I've been on here a fair bit.

Alton Towers have a habit of making unassuming yet spectacular rides. And even though this isn't the record breaking wooden coaster I wanted to see, it's still gonna be damn good. It's gonna be all about the airtime, which is what the ride is designed for. It looks a lot faster than I thought it would be. I hope the theming just the ride some justice as well. At least they put the bricks back in place. Tom "And not a car park in sight!" Hardwick

From the places I've been: 1. Blackpool Pleasure Beach 2. Tivoli Gardens 3. Gardaland 4. Alton Towers 5. Chessington 6. Thorpe Park 7. Drayton Manor 8. Flamingoland 9. Pleasureland Southport There isn't a number 10 in mine, because I don't consider any other park I've visited good enough to make it in there. And I haven't got outside the UK much upto now. But by the end of 2005 I expect all this to change.

Hey, what's up! My name is Tom, and I live in Manchester, England. I post occasionally on Westcoaster as "Darkwing Duck", but can can be found more regularly on Coasterforce.com as "Shockwave", where I help organise the site's "Live" park trips. It's taken me over 10 years to really get into amusment parks, and this year is gonna be a good one for me. I'm determined to hit 100 coasters by the end of the year (only at a paltry 65 so far!) but with a trip to Disneyland Paris planned, and a new car to get around the UK, it should be no trouble at all! What I'm really hoping to do is finally get to the US by the end of the year and hit SoCal for a week, but there's a lot of planning to do before that gets off the ground. Tom "Ten years too long!" Hardwick

I remember learning about this in English Language class at College. So, provided we get the first and last letters right - does this mean we can now spell as badly as we like provided we get the first and last letters right?

Now that I'm back in Manchester, my nearest parks are: Gulliver's Warrington, 20 miles (distance) - 20 mins (drive) Camelot (near Chorley), 30 miles, 30 mins Pleasureland Southport, 40 miles, 60 mins Blackpool Pleasure Beach, 50 miles, 50 mins Alton Towers, 50 miles, 90 mins Even though Gullivers is closer, I consider Alton Towers more of a home park than the others because I went there so many times when I was at University in Stoke-on-Trent.

Oblivion and the other Dive Machines have the head-first factor which no drop tower can offer. Also, I think that the feeling of freefall on Oblivion beats any other freefall ride. You get a real floating sensation on the ride, becaues the restraints allow for a lot of airtime when falling, whereas you get pinned down by the restraints on Average Drop Tower 101. Everyone expects too much because it's technically rollercoaster, when it's really a drop tower on wheels. Now that the ride has been explored more, it can offer more. Oblivion was the protoype, Sheikra is the Dive Machine Mark 2.

It's a real shame that it's come to this again. I can understand Corkscrew's lift hill needing green paint, as that's as close to the treeline as you can get. But RITA is 10 feet lower! Plus when autumn comes the leaves will be red. Will the locals complain about the high visibility green track then?

Just couldn't wait for April Fools, could you? So what did they real sign say?