Shockwave

^^^Great song and a great postcard Mark! Naturally when I was at Six Flags Over Georgia a few years ago the ride was doing a very good postcard impression while I was there.

Great photos and video Erik. The castle looks fantastic in its winter decor!

This raised an eyebrow the other day: New coaster for Iran

I'm calling up Guinness to see if there's a world record for the internet debate with the most virgins involved.

That's exactly it. The fact that it doesnt' contain many coaster elements is missing the point. Yes, as a 'rollercoaster' it'll be pretty poor. But this ride is all about the experience of high speed, which is what the circuit wants to keep in with its repertoire for high speed thrills. As an adrenaline rush it'll be great for those who aren't old enough to drive on/are too scared to tackle one of the most fearsome race tracks in the world. The second half is unfortunate because it's just a slow tour back to the station, but no-one is really gonna care about that, because that first few seconds is what people will remember. If you ever got the chance to ride that G-Force dragster ride which used to be next to Old Town Kissimmee, it's the same sort of idea. Really fast launch, slow down, back to station. Nothing else required.

The Thrillseekers Feat. Sheryl Deane - Synaesthesia (Fly Away). Hope that answers your question.

Bad Religion - Man With A Mission

Seems to be working well here so far.

So that's an awesome launch, but awful coaster then.

^Yeah I was fine. I had a small cut on my ankle, and that was about it. As far as injuries go, this was only about a 3 out of 10 on the Dave Thomas scale.

The coaster part seems to have got a lot more to it than I was expecting, there's loads of track there already and still some to go. I think I've been putting off a visit to Europa Park for too long.

^I guess that'll be the for Martin & Vleminckx connection. Or maybe the ride's being themed to the Great Daylight Fireball of 1972, then I'm very much mistaken. Looks quite a good ride in progress. Hopefully it'll be kept running well by the time I've got myself over there to ride it.

^^I think that GCI are doing up/have done up some of the bits on Cheetah that need work, but it's a CCI creation from the start. Can't say I'm suprised that Cypress Gardens didn't work as a rides park. There was nothing about the place that stood out, it just seemed like it had no heart or soul to it. ...except the gardens, which were quite nice, but I wouldn't pay to see them alone, plus parking, etc etc.

Well at least somebody had some sympathy for me! The sad thing is, I actually used to be able to jump over stuff without falling over and making a fool of myself. But if I hadn't failed so spectacularly, we wouldn't be talking about this now. Sufice to say, my jumping days are now well and truly over.

^When did they remove the Dragsters? Can't say this surprised me. Joe and I were about the only 2 people in the park when we were there a couple of years ago.

Great photos Dave! Corkscrew was closed for me when I went on the 27th so I didn't get to ride it one last time.

Funnily enough that happens a lot when England play. Her's to hoping Kev Pietersen and co. can make us a success again, he's started well so far!

Yeah, they wouldn't be able to impliment an age restriction effectively. I assume they'd just say it's not suitible for those under 12 and let the parents decide... I imagine if the theme had anything to do with losing body parts and the like, this might come with the usual safety warnings plus "scenes of a dristressing nature" warning. In some respects it's an odd choice for a theme, because the Eurofighter really opens up a new market for them because of it's low minimum height restriction. But Thorpe must be happy with keeping Chessington as the park they aim at families, and are doing good business from their current clientele, hence the ride keeping with the park's current raison d'etre of scares, thrills and adrenaline.

I watch it when I can. I live a couple of miles from Lancashire CCC, so I try and catch some of their Twenty20s when I'm free. I think Twenty20 is a good way for the game to go. Getting Twenty20 to take over where the one days used to be will do the sport a world of good.

No. Linnanmäki is in Finland.

^I doubt it. They're not exactly competing for each other's business.

Haha, this is gonna go down a storm. All things considered, more so when you think about the demographic of people who mostly visit the park, this could just be a really good idea. And it's great advertising to annouce it just before the Fright Nights start next weekend.

^I think that was in reference to Shockwave at Great America, which was pretty much a huge lump steel that was overwhelmingly spread out. Now I can't think of too many parks that would want a 28-year old coaster which is becoming more and more expensive to maintain year after year. But as Erik says, there's still market for older rides (looks at all those old Schwarzkopfs still knocking about) so we may not see the last of it yet.

For continuity's sake...

Flamingoland had the ride until the end the 2005 season when it got replaced by the Vekoma SLC which sits on the site that Wiener Looping/Bullt used to have. The park isn't the same without it and Drier Looping/Magnum Force. As for the ride, I've not heard much about it since it left the park. Would be nice to hear what's going on with it, or whether it still exists.