Gav

Having a hollow spine wouldn't change anything at all ...as long as the structure is strong enough you can hold the track together whatever way you want. B&Ms only fill their spines with sand to reduce noise.

Part of the problem also comes from the fact SLCs didn't have independent wheel assemblies, but rather a pair connected with an axle, with only one pivot point in the centre of the car, so they aren't able to track as well as B&Ms etc. This is because when the wheels assemblies are joined by a common axle, whatever one wheel is doing affects the other, and vice versa. When a train enters a curve, each pair of wheel assemblies/axle want to line up with the the pair in the car in front, and so on because they naturally want to take the shortest path possible around the curve to line up. This is in conflict with what the track wants the wheel assemblies to do, the track wants the wheel assemblies/axle to stay perpendicular. The diagram below shows an exaggerated example of this effect, so you can see how roughness can happen, because each wheel assembly is being forced in two ways. The other major problem, and this has been mentioned, is just how unforgiving the harnesses are, a lot of older arrows are rough, but their restraints dont have those 'fins' that go up by your ears.

Hmmm, I can't work out why all the rides have English names.

^See, that's the exact thought I was having...No doubt it's great to have plenty on offer for families, but in a place where the theme seems so adult oriented it's odd that there aren't more rides catering to this market. I have noticed a few people around saying "OMG this place is awesome", but i just don't really 'get' the place yet, the theming seems a bit sparse, and the park seems a bit bland, the a lot rides themselves seem to have been done better elsewhere, and some of the rides seem to have really tenuous links to the hard rock theme (And IMO, the WTF factor doesn't make a ride good) Yeah, the place is nice, but not really a must do place for me yet. I'd also agree on the fact that opening without a water ride is a big oversight. I thought it was a custom layout?

LOL, it might serve you well to read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_refining In simple terms, crude oil is what petrol (gasoline) is made from. Demand for oil is growing, but supplies are being depleted, this forces the price up since people are in completion for the supplies of it (if it was too cheap, more people would be buying it, and there would be shortages) To be honest, I think a better thing to be doing in the meantime (while this development takes place) is for people to start pressuring governments for better public transport...It's something we are already capable of implementing. Throughout the world, there are many countries and cities where people largely don't drive their cars, when its well planned out and implemented, its faster, cheaper, and more enjoyable than driving.

If the tube filled with water, wouldn't you just float back up the pipe at the level of the water? But anyway, the idea of it flooding is silly regardless.

^It always annoys me how diesel is more expensive than normal fuel, considering it needs less refining. Here in Brisbane it's at the equivalent of 5.33 USD/ Gal Haha, I looked back at that....times change don't they. It will be interesting down the track...Say once your prices hit $6 to $7 per Gallon, naturally people will be complaining, meanwhile the European members will still be marvelling at how much cheaper you get it.

The opinion I have on these matters in general is if you have to ask whether something is scary, then you are probably too much of a pussbag to be riding in the first place I mean, you've said yourself you've been on everything at DCA (So that would logically include California Screamin', Tower of Terror and Maliboomer) so why would any other big coaster be a barrier? The only way you will find out if you like something is by riding it yourself. So what if it turns out to be 'scary' (lol), it was two minutes of your life...it's not like you'll have recurring nightmares of Silver Bullet after because it was 'scary'. To be honest, I'd question the value of asking enthusiasts whether they think something is 'scary' anyway, because why would they be enthusiasts if they couldn't deal with rides? Of course they are all going to say 'Nah, its not scary at all'

It seems like a very cool twist on Dueling Dragons is planned now: http://www.rwsentosa.com/en_universalstudio.html If this is the case there is no doubt I'll be visiting soon after opening.

Is the volume button stuck down at all?

But thunderbolts are white.

^ And here is the POV, just to help people get more of an idea.

So where is the 'dispenser' located on the carousel? Anybody got any pics of the device, I'm having a hard time visualising how it would look.

To be honest, I'm surprised that the speakers made the cut, given they were saying they were trying to cut weight wherever they could, not that I'm complaining, music has the ability to enhance any ride IMO.

It is actually built by water fun products. I have ridden one at Hawaiian Waters, and they aren't as good as a Tornado IMO, too much of a thud at the bottom, none of that awesome spinning, and it seems to loose its speed too much, so you don't get the same effect of a Tornado where there is tons of airtime when you go high up on the wall.

My advice is NOT to buy a FlexPass, instead you should deal with the parks individually because you can save money that way: COMPARISON: Flex Pass: 14 Days access to Busch Gardens Africa, Sea World, Aquatica, Islands Of Adventure, Universal Studios Orlando, Wet n Wild. Total Cost: $279.95 Buying Separately: 7 Day pass to Busch Gardens Africa, Sea World and Aquatica: $124.95 from here 7 Day pass to Universal Studios Orlando and Islands of Adventure: $79.99 from here 14 Day pass to Wet n Wild: $39.95 from here Total Cost: $244.89

The thing that intrigues me is why they are having so many difficulties, when the arguably more complex 'wiggly lift' used on rides Matterhorn Blitz, Journey to Atlantis, Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster etc seems to work without problem. I mean on them they have two lift platforms operating in the same shaft and in synchronisation, yet with this all they are doing is making a simple wheel turn.

Going by the Hafema website it appears the drop on the egyptian one operated at one point in time:

Ill agree with the majority here and say that floorless trains don't change much. The coasters would still be very good even if they only ran with regular trains. To me the whole thing of the track whizzing below your feet is about as exciting as watching road lines whiz by out of a car window. At the end of the day you spend your ride looking straight ahead, not at what is going on below your feet. However, I think the advantage of floorless coasters is selling the ride...it's another unique aspect you can advertise to the GP, and even if the gimmick doesn't amount to much in the end, its going to get them through the gate. The beauty of it all is that after riding, the coaster itself will be enough to impress them, so the somewhat overhyped nature of the floorless aspect then goes quietly unnoticed. Put it this way, if I were a park operator, and was putting in a multi looper I'd still go for the floorless trains ahead of the normal ones, not for ride experience, but purely for marketing reasons. On the other hand, floorless dive machine trains do make a big improvement, especially for riders on the edge seats who have nothing around them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4RMFit3OUc A very cool car ad that has never aired in the US.

Yeah, I don't see why it's so painful for you guys, even with your price increases the amount you spend on fuel is still only a fairly small proportion of income compared to other countries. I mean, in Europe the price of fuel is roughly 1.10 to 1.40 EUR/L That works out to be in the range of $6.58 USD to $8.38 USD per Gallon....and you guys think you are being ripped off In Australia its not so bad...we pay the equivalent of $5 USD per Gallon, but still quite a bit more than the US. To be honest, that sounds like a straight out irresponsible policy. It's going against the whole notion that people should be reducing fuel usage. It won't give people an incentive to drive more fuel efficient cars, nor will it encourage responsible usage of what is a finite resource. And at the end of the day, an artificially cheaper price through reduced taxation increases demand, and if demand increases then oil companies increase the price, so it wont really help a whole lot. To be honest, I think a better policy would be to increase the tax on fuel, and use the resulting funds to finance improvements to public transport.

Since RnRC and TOT are next to each other a good strategy is to get fastpasses for one and queue for the other in standby...RnRC has single rider dont forget, so you can save a bit of time with that.

ING was building that, not the government. Its up the back, Look to the left of the beehive thing in the corner of the park. It about halfway between the Beehive, and the white circus tent thing. Also The Sound, Can you take a digital photo of the pictures (just make sure you do it in a well lit room) as an alternative to scanning, I'm desperate to see the concpet artwork for this place. And Rooboy, good work at getting your letter in the paper. I guess it really comes down to what your definition of a world class park is....Its a bit stupid to compare with Animal Kingdom IMO since Disney manage to spend massive amounts Imagineering and getting everything perfect...On the other hand normal parks just get manufacturers to build fairly standard rides. I would imagine the park would really just be the standard of Movie World or Sea World, which is fine by me. I dont think people complaining is enough to derail this...WVTP wouldn't care about those people because its not as if they would visit any theme park anyway, so its not like they are in WVTPs market. It's much easier for people to write a letter to the editor whingeing about something then to positive. I think this is a case where the 'silent majority' will be happy with the park and make it a success.

What about this song? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLMkV7VyPns

Just plain cringeworthy.