Gav

But using a bus is still cheaper (often if you use the route planner on transport authority websites it will give you a drive versus ride comparison, and ride almost always comes out cheaper) And while a bus would use more fuel, when you divide it by the number of passengers it works out being less fuel used per person than a car.

^Agreed. There are plenty of viable alternatives to using your car, and there are plenty of cars that are fuel efficient. If you choose not to do either of these things then having a high fuel bill is your choice entirely. The thing people need to realise is that oil is a finite resource, and there is a huge demand for it. If it were cheap then people would just be wasteful, supplies would run low (refining capacity would be overwhelmed) and people would miss out. We're talking fuel station lines kilometres long, full of people all jostling to get some fuel. Therefore prices need to be forced up a bit to curb peoples demand. The US is actually a good example of this principle at work, the US has the lowest fuel prices in the industrialised world, and consequently the US is a lot more wasteful, just look at the popularity of SUVs! There is no incentive to be prudent with fuel usage. Compare this to Europe where they pay more than double for fuel, and because of this people drive smaller more fuel efficent models (A nice thing I have noticed about European cars is that they dont just make their fuel miser models basic, they actually have a variety well featured and comfortable cars that are efficient....something the US auto industry could learn from) If people want to see lower fuel prices in the long term, a one day delay in using fuel will do nothing. Everybody would need to reduce their own fuel usage by some means, this would reduce strain on oil resources and prices would fall because of this lower demand. The fact is oil companies are in it for the profit, they will charge as much as people are willing to pay, and consumers having a little hissy fit wont change anything because they companies know that they will still buy fuel regardless. Now, if for example a large percentage of the population went cold turkey from fuel usage for an extended period, that could force their hand.

Ummm, no. Hamas doesn't operate any theme parks.

They aren't rip off's, they are original creations, its Rickey Rouse and Monald Muck.

Well, I'm guessing Rob and Elissa are 30 somethings, so even if they stopped riding say in their 50s thats still a good 20 or so years the site would have to run (if they decided to run it for the whole time...and decided to wind it up when they stopped riding) 20 years is a long time...What websites have lasted that long since the start of the world wide web anyway?I mean I probably wont still be using this website by then if you can see where I'm coming from. Would you still even be interested in theme parks? Something to think about.....

If it's an opinion piece then couldn't you just write what you think of the changes, and whether SF have stopped building huge rides? IMO its a bit lazy to just get someone else to write what they think and reword that.

Thanks for that. I'm guessing that since you list yourself as being situated in the valley that you might have used these services at some point. Roughly how long could a trip like this take?

I have never truly understood why coaster enthusiasts think they are better able to hold on to a camera than a regular person, hence making them above the rules in terms of being able to film on rides

^^^ Hey, Basically I'm going to be in LA to visit my sister from the 6th of June till the 20th, so naturally enough I'm planning on visiting SFMM, KBF, USH, DCA and DL while I'm there. I had a look at the LA metro website and entered in some routes. Getting to USH is quite easy via bus, and SFMM was quoted as being a 60 min ride , so getting to these two parks is quite bearable. However, getting to the Disney parks and KBF presents a bit of a problem (The website was saying 3-4 hours ) From where I am going to be, are there any better ways to get down to these three parks, preferably in time for opening? Edit: Forgot to ask, how busy are the parks in June?

My personal favourite is a show here called "The Chasers War on Everything" Basically one of those shows that pokes fun at current events, and has become pretty popular here. My personal favourite stunt is when they went to a rugby game and tried to sell fake weapons and balaclavas (in team colours) to the supporters of a team known for violence. see http://www.abc.net.au/tv/chaser/war/video/default.htm

A bat because you get to sleep upside-down and spread rabies.

Yeah, they had a report on last nights news about that. When the box is extending it reminded me of those sky bridges at airports. As for the price (About $13.60 in USD) well I'm sure that there will be no shortage of people willing to give it a go, and coupled with the low capacity of the box means there will be long queues for it. I'll definitely head down later on in the year to check Eureka Tower out, but wether or not I give the edge a go really depends on how busy it is.

Hang on, I could simply be misunderstanding you here, or maybe we are talking about different things. When you say 'load-unload configuration' do you mean that people will get on and off in the same place, or do you mean that there will be separate loading and unloading platforms. All i was talking about is that there will probably only be gates on one side of the station like a regular coaster.

But the station shot is pretty inconclusive, it doesnt really show anything except for the fact its a huge station. Also, I dont think the gaps in the barrels are for the convenience of the ride ops because they are on every row, and if they were just for ride ops there would only need to be one.

But if you look at the 3rd to last pic you can see that there is a gap in the barrels with a wide floor so you would simply walk straight across, no need for a split in the queue like on X. The second shot down here; http://www.coasterforce.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5418&start=855 shows what they have done quite clearly.

^People are just used to that terminology for that element even if its not really the correct word. I guess 'inline twist' would be a better term but at the end of the day people are just going to call it whatever comes to mind. I guess, its really not much different to your regular inverted coaster, except there would be a floor on both sides of the train. Also I imagine that for sitting on the seats on the far side of the train you would just walk across the gap in the barrels you can see in the 3rd last pic.

^^ Dunno why it's so important for rides to be heartlined anyway? Is forcelessness a good thing? I reckon it would be quite a cool element, as it will be like being strapped on the end of a propeller as the train twists through.

Yeah, I think it would work, just have a steel framework and it would be fine, though it looks a bit old fashioned, not really contemporary as you said, there is actually a shopping plaza in my town that has a similar roof design and it was built at the start of the 90s. The glass arch doesnt really do it for me. Good drawing skills there though, pretty much spot on perspective, I had thought for a sec that the 3D view was a computerised version.

^I cant seem to get your gallery to work, it asks me for a login.

^Not quite It just goes by your Year 12 results, you get that that ranking at the end of the year (0 to 99.95) and then most of the courses at the Uni's here have a particular rank you need to get in (Eg to do med you need like 98.00 at some Uni's, engineering is usually somewhere in the 80s, business you can get into with about a 60 at some unis, but it varies. I know that there are some courses out there that have other requirements to get in (Eg a folio for some design courses) but for the most part its all about your year 12 results. There is no "paying" your way in or anything like that, there is just one central agency that takes all your applications and course preferences, and everyone is considered at the same time. But does it seriously cost $80,000 or whatever to go to Uni in the US ? Here the most you would pay is $7000AUD a year (thats really only for high up courses like medicine,for most people its less), and even then you dont have to pay any of it till you have a job and are earning more than $30k a year.

LOL, i was a bit of a sketcher too, its a fun pastime; An inverted coaster themed to a disturbed spirit flying around wreaking havoc in the alley ways of an ancient city Just some random wild west themed woodie. An Intamin halfpipe with an Aussie surfing theme. Just a plan for an Indoor waterpark I did in an RE class once.

Just a little suggestion, if you want to post images of something you have done on the computer, dont take a photo of the screen, just hit the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard (Its to the right of F12), then go into MS paint and hit paste, and you end up with a screenshot you can edit and save. But that is all looking pretty good, it will be great to see it in 3D in real life.

To clarify the driving part, you have to be 16 to get a learners permit (only allowed to drive with a fully licensed driver supervising you), 18 to get your probationary licence (a few restrictions, such as BAC of .00, less demerit points up your sleeve, cant drive a high powered car etc, in some states you cant do over 100kmhˉ¹), then at 21 you can get your full licence. To get your motorbike licence you have to be 18 too.

Have you downloaded the NL demo and had a play around in that yet?

Nah, the parks are about 1km apart so they probably wont ever merge, plus the Australian Outback Spectacular (Basically a big shed/stadium type thing which hosts a show) sits between the two parks, and behind it are all animal paddocks etc which sort of gets in the way. And I dont know if people are being sarcastic or not, but Its pretty much confirmed as being a halfpipe coaster. if you need further proof look at this: http://ozcoaster.net/coppermine/displayimage.php?pid=555&fullsize=1 notice the straight section of track, this is the end piece and also note that the end of the rails are flat and painted. The spine of the track also lacks the bit at the end where it can bolt on to the next segment. However the other segments of track have grey ends with connectors so other segments can be joined on smoothly.