CGM

Woo! 77/100 on the A quiz 80/100 on the B quiz 7/10 on the mini quiz I could have done better but I kept answering questions before I had read them through properly. The really hard ones were about the American 1920s/30s era defunct parks many of which I'd never even heard of

That's because it isn't a Top Spin, it's a Zamperla Wind Shear. The main difference between the two is that the Wind Shear's arms can rotate independantly. pictures- http://www.zamperla.it/dettaglioImmagine.asp?nome=immaginiFoto/dettagli/windshear3.jpg http://www.zamperla.it/dettaglioImmagine.asp?nome=immaginiFoto/dettagli/windshear4.jpg

Interestingly, I think I may have done when I last visited Great America in 1999, but I was only 7 at the time so my memory of it is very blurred. As far as I'm concerned the worst woodie I've been on is Terra Mitica's Magnus Colossus- insanely rough even in the slowest parts, badly paced and gives you a headache even though there's nothing to bang your head on. But anyway, my point is that it was the coaster that everyone loved to hate and I for one will miss that

Wow! I was expecting the demolition to take a number of weeks, but suddenly it's just gone! I've never actually been on it but I've still got mixed feelings about its removal. On the one hand it's great because it didn't do the park any favours and it's cleared a huge area of land. But to be honest I am also quite sad to see it go. I find that it's the kind of coaster that you just love to hate. It may of been a terrible coaster that beat you up, but now which coaster will consistantly take the claim of roughest coaster and come bottom of the Mitch Hawker wood poll? Some coaster's got to do that and Phsclone did that brilliantly. It's like if all Togo coasters were all suddenly removed, yes many of them are vey bad coasters, but you just love hating them and I would be sad to see them go. Phsyclone, you were the best at being the worst coaster in the world and for that, I salute you!

But you could say the same for Villa Volta. There is no logical reason why the room should suddenly invert apart from the fact that there's a curse on the house. Admittedly, I haven't actually been on Villa Volta, but from what I've seen of it it doesn't look as good as Hex to me. You can see the framework for the spinning room and it's far too bright for a dark ride so it doesn't have any creepy atmosphere to it. I still think it looks to be a good ride but it doesn't have the storyline or the detailed themeing of Hex. I still love the soundtrack though!

I'd say that silver Bullet actually looks pretty awesomme, it towers over everything on the skyline and its not half as ugly as an SLC is. The only thing that's wrong with its appearance is that the lifthill looks steeper than the first drop (which it probably is)

Well, yes it's a pretty low-down layout in comparison to other Rockets but the whole thing is elevated about 20 ft in the air

That's really wierd, it doesn't look anything like Rita despite being almost an exact clone. It must be because it isn't as high up and because it's in a wide open space

Eurostar?

Tornado, Gardaland? Not a portable coaster but it's blue and white

Well, it wasn't a B&M coaster but Magnus Colossus uses magnetic brakes and it slowed the train down very quietly and smoothly. I wouldn't say that it was in any way uncomfortable. It's funny that that the only part of the ride that can be considered smooth is the brakes. It's really strange the way you go from slam - slam - slam to B&M smoothness. If the rest of the coaster had been built as well as the brake run, it would have been a great coaster. But then again what do you expect from RCCA? I've probably been on some B&Ms that use magnetic brakes but never noticed them as I had only heard of them being used on Patriot

Terra Mitica's entrance is pretty awesomme

Here's mine in no particular order. I haven't ridden many of these but I've based it more on the ride's impact on the theme park industry. Kumba The first example of a modern multilooper- it premiered in 1993 showing just what B&M were truly capable of for the first time and wowing enthusiasts. It also brought us a heap full of new elements such as the cobra roll, the sit down zero G roll, the dive loop and interlocking corkscrews. All of these are now pretty common on B&Ms but on Kumba they came all at once! I know that I would have been amazed. Particularly since the only other examples of multiloopers before that were all Arrow and Vekoma coasters. Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop I am genuinely shocked to see so little reference to Schwarzkopf in this thread. He is the man who basically defined the coaster as we see it today. I believe that Schwarzkopf was the first major manufacturer to use the "inside" track system and he was certainly the first to build loops and launches. Many of Schwarzkopf's coasters still run almost as smoothly today as they did back in the 80s and it's little wonder that he has now been called the B&M of his day. Many people may think that the shuttle loop shouldn't be on this list but when it was built, the idea of a launch had simply never been done before. In fact, it had never been done again until the mid-90s when LIMs first came into use. Furthermore, the coaster was cheap for a steel looper, it didn't take up much space at all and it was (and still is) a brilliant ride. It's not surprising that even in the years when we're seeing less and less Schwarzkopfs that you still find these everywhere. Olympia Looping This coaster is the complete opposite of the Shuttle loop- it's huge, it's expensive and most small parks probably couldn't have afforded it but it is still probably the greatest example of Schwarzkopf's achievements. If it was built today it would be seen as an amazing achievement. But knowing it was built in the time before you could use CAD to design a coaster makes it almost beyond belief. With the exception of Eurostar and Schwarzkopf's own Thriller, No travelling coaster has yet come close to the scale and ride length of Olympia Looping. Nemesis Another early triumph for B&M; even with the likes of Black Mamba, it is still a unique ride. Not only does it interact with the terrain and themeing brilliantly, it is absolutely packed with force and is incredibly fast paced. Its layout is still extremely unique and there has been nothing else quite like it. Magnum XL 200 As a ride it's not generally that high up on my list of must do coasters which is how it differs from many of the other coasters on this list, but this coaster deserves a mention because it was the world's first hypercoaster. This in the long run has lead to such great rides as: Expedition Ge Force, SM: ROS, Nitro, AC and many others. This is also the coaster that started the spree of record breaking coasters that is now generally frowned upon by enthusiasts. I must say that I didn't have a problem with record breaking at all; in fact I thought it was brilliant that there was such competition between parks to outdo each other. That is, until Top Thrill Dragster came along meaning that record breaking coasters will probably never be interesting again. However, it was good while it lasted and for that, Magnum should be better regarded than it is even if it does end up sinking into the ground. Huss Breakdance I have yet to come across such an insane ride in such a small space. This fairly tame looking ride never fails to impress and has certainly become popular across the world. It is also easily portable and compact making it a popular choice for showmen. Huss Frisbee This is flat ride that essentially changed the course of the flats industry. It's now hard not to find a flat manufacturer that doesn't make some Frisbee variant. Though as a ride it may have been surpassed by its rival's copies, this is the ride that started the Frisbee revolution. The S&S Spaceshot Never has a flat quite caught on like this. Ever since the first tower on Stratosphere, S&S towers have spread like crazy becoming a now well known feature of a theme park skyline in about ten years with even the likes of Disney buying them. Whilst it may not be the best tower, it certainly started off the whole tower craze and it is the ride that made S&S. The Voyage This is probably the finest example of how far wooden coasters have come since the 20s. It sticks to the traditional formula of out and back but everything else about it is completely modern and new. The idea of a coaster that has one or two huge hills and then a series of low to the ground bunny hops and turns is a fairly unique idea and it creates a huge sense of speed and relentlessness. So much speed that 90 degree turns can be used on a woodie. The fact that the layout is built heading into the hill means that the return leg has as much speed and aggression as the outgoing one, if not more. But what makes this coaster truly amazing is the cost. Only $6 million for a coaster that's over 6000 ft long and 160 ft high! For that amount, in terms of large custom steel coasters, you could probably build a fairly small Eurofighter, and that's it! Gravity Group certainly did an amazing job with this one. The Astroland Cyclone A coaster so good, it hasn't just been cloned by its own builders, but by others... and it is still being cloned in the modern day! This coaster proves that a ride's age doesn't affect its quality and the fact that many of the modern clones of it are worse than the original just shows how good a coaster is (or how well maintained it is). It was revolutionary when it was built and is still a great coaster today

When I saw this on the homepage, I thought that it must be an Intamin rocket being built that I hadn't heard of. If I hadn't of been told, I would have never guessed from the photos that it's a Zierer. Perhaps there's some kind of agreement between them and Intamin, sort of like the thing with Intamin and Giavinola. But I should think that it's simply a blatant copy. The only thing that gives you a clue that it may not be an Intamin is the zero G roll and the horse-shoe turn as the support style and transitions are identical. This is certainly a huge leap for Zierer in terms of coasters considering that they have only really built family and kiddy coasters. I hope to see more of these in the future as this looks to be a decent coaster

Well, I must be about the first to say that I'm actually quite pleased by the idea. As long as the island and DD remain relitively untouched, and it's not too much of a change I'd be fine with it. It seems almost a shame that the Harry Potter franchise has become what it is because the books are amongst the best I've ever read. It has just been tackified by this image of thousands of seven year olds running around in robes and glasses half of which have probably never even read the books. If you put all that to a side, there's an oppertunity for some amazing rides and themeing. I'm thinking a huge Hogwarts castle with a dark ride inside it taking you through verious scenes from the book. It will certainly be interesting to see how Universal deal with this if it's true

I generally go with the policy that if it looks like a duck, it's a duck. If you try to define everything exactly by classification, it just doesn't work because there will always be exceptions. For example, is jelly a solid or a liquid? For me, a hyper is a coaster with no inversions, long drops and airtime hills. It seems pretty simple to me. I mean, what is Expedition Ge Force if it's not a hyper?

Well, for some reason, in two schools I've been to / I'm in, everyone's very fashion conscious. If people decide someone's not wearing the right thing, they'll get picked on and bullied. However, with uniforms, this problem is eliminated. Yes, there's still bullying but not as much as there perhaps would be if everyone wore their own clothes

Well, it looks very impressive. Amazingly themed. I didn't realise the extent of the dark ride section. I also like the way that the boat "floats" onto the lifthill and back to the station. I get the impression from what the guy was saying (obviously, I don't speak Flemish) that Intamin had put a cable lift on the lifthill although I'm probably completely wrong. They obviously did something else to the train to get it round the course as the track certainly hadn't changed much. It did still looks a bit slow in parts though, particuarly the turn around. It looks to be a good quality, fun, unique ride and hopefully it will be worth the wait. I'd certainly like to see more from Kumbak in the future but preferably without the glitches

Well here in the UK, every school has a uniform and as much as I hate to say it, it works. It means that fewer people get bullied whilst at school because of what they wear. You can tell this because whenever a non-uniform day comes around, some people recieve no end of stick because of what they are wearing when usually they would be left alone. As for people who feel the need to express themselves, you still get people who will wear their uniform in a certain way so it's not as if they are ordering everyone to look the same, and it doesn't affect you out of school. The thing I do have issue with though is making students cut their hair. I have been to two schools which both make people cut their hair once it gets to a certain length. It seems unfair to me that people must have to follow the school's dress code so that it means you will be affected in your day-to-day life

Well, I think that most people here would consider it to be a drop. Sudden drops like the ones you are reffering to are more commonly found on wild mouse coasters. If it's that kind of drop you're worried about, don't because they virtually don't exist on large coasters

I think that he's reffering to the last drop in the tunnel that takes you back under the lake. It is deffinately the highlight of the ride, particuarly if you're not expecting it and you get a real sense of speed on it

It wasn't too long ago that I was in your possition. Trust me, don't just do dark rides and mini flats, if you do that then you are really missing out on the best aspect of a park. The first thing to remember is don't be put off by the smaller coasters. The last drop on BTM is on par with some of the larger coasters and it's a pretty good coaster by any standards, so don't go thinking that the huge coasters are ten times more extreme. Drops can be quite strange the first few times, but after you've experienced a few, you soon get used to it and you learn to enjoy it. Coasters always look much more intimmidating than they actually are and don't be put off by buzz words such as "intense" as it is really just fun. I would advise starting with a ride like Air that's smooth and not too fast. You should come off thinking "Yeah, that was alright" and then move onto some more intimmidating rides ie. Nemesis . That's how I got my start

Zero G Roll all the way! Particuarly on the B&M sitdown/floorless coasters, (They just don't seem to be as good on inverts). There's nothing quite like the sensation of airtime, hangtime and insane spinnage that can be found in this inversion. This is followed by the Vertical loop which are very good if forceful

I'd have to say Alton Towers for the simple reason you can't see it. This may sound very daft but it does really build up the anticipation as you wind down the tiny country lanes and suddenly you see the Towers looming over the forest

This park has changed a lot in the last ten years. compared to my lfirst visit, the park (well mainly the front of it) is barely recognisable. I almost prefer the old Marine World, when it was Marine World Africa USA and it was just an animal park. It had much more atmosphere to it before Six Flags went on a carpark coaster spree. But anyway, the new name. I quite like it. I don't see the need for the name change and I'd prefer for the name to be kept as Marine World, but it's one of the better park names that Six flags have come up with and it fits in with the current African theming. The idea of retheming worries me though. I'm hoping that Six Flags won't try to phase out what's already there and replace it with generic theming. I'm particuarly worried about the Sky themed area because it might just be an excuse to build a load of unthemed coasters out the front as they keep doing