coaster-crazy

^^No, as in a 2nd coaster. Put it back where the old Greezed Lightning/Tidal Wave used to be. All of the old footers are there and it could easily be placed back in.

http://rides4u.com/index.php/rides/detail/1107 Joyland's/AstroWorld's Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop has dropped down in price to only $299,000. Please Great America ... please? The removal of INVERTIGO really does sadden me. The park was already experiencing tough times, but now this? Such a great ride, and now it's gone. Oh well. I really hope that the park will make it. I would hate to lose CGA... ~Nicholas

Lotsa great updates recently.. loving it all. GREAT job. ~Nicholas

Love those Timberwolf postcards - Mark: Are we allowed to post our own postcards in here too? Or should I open my own topic? Reason I ask if because I have 30+ SCBB postcards. ~Nicholas

I too had a perfect visit to Six Flags Magic Mountain in 2010 ... Right at the beginning of June when LA kids were still in school, while us NorCal kids were out of school. Longest line, 20 minutes! ~Nicholas

^Thanks for posting this Scott. I'm definitley going to go one of those days! Also (to all members), expect photos of the progress of the Carousel building as time goes on. Stay tuned! ~Nicholas

Great new addition and I love the name, Washington's Whirl. Your park looks really nice so far and I'm looking forward to much more! ~Nicholas

Just a little editing. This is the Pacific Fruit Express from Happy Hollow Park & Zoo. It's a great little park that just had a MAJOR renovation. The park has been open for over 50 years. Taken on May 9th, 2010

Hahahaha.. that's a great photo! Looking forward to more. ~Nicholas

I love this kind of TR. Nice photos! It's good to see that it looks like they are still taking care of the property. ~Nicholas

http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-santa-cruz-boardwalk-carousel-20101206,0,3224860.story Great article on upcoming year for the Beach Boardwalk. New drop ride replacing the kiddie Freefall down by the Cave Train. New one will be at 34 feet - Moser Rides. Also includes info about 2011 Merry-Go-Round festivities for the rides' 100th anniversary! Read more at my blog: www.beachboardwalkblog.blogspot.com ~Nicholas

Sounds like a lot of fun! BTW, I hate how at Musee they say that their Laffing Sal is the one from Playland, which infact is incorrect. (real one is at SCBB) The nice thing about Playland-Not-at-the-Beach is that all games are on free play - only a fee of $15 to get in. They are open from 10 AM to 5 PM on weekends. Compared to Musee, it's probably cheaper, if you play a LOT of games that is! ~Nicholas

Giant Dipper @ Santa Cruz. 100%. Best. Ride. Ever.

^jray: You wouldn't happen to have any memorabilia/photos/artifacts from Playland would you? That's awesome your grandpa ran the Big Dipper at Playland. It looked like quite a ride. Have you ever heard of Playland-Not-at-the-Beach? ~Nicholas Ps. The old time games that were in the Cliff House have since been moved down to the Musee Mechanique down by Fisherman's Wharf/Pier 39.

This is great stuff. I love the Space Mtn. manual. You make me want to post pics of my collection! Can't wait for more! ~Nicholas

^The It's-It ice cream treats are still sold today and can be found in many stores in Northern California. (It's basically two oatmeal cookes with ice cream inbetween and then dipped in chocolate - it's great!) http://www.itsiticecream.com/ Also, there is a museum dedicated to the place in El Cerrito, CA (across the bay from San Francisco) that is called Playland-NOT-at-the-Beach. The museum pays tribute to Playland at the Beach, circus/sideshows, magic, amusement parks of the past and more. The museum has a small 15$ entry fee and included all exhibits including over 30 pinball machines on free play and many old games like skeeball and the like. You can win tickets and bring home prizes with you. http://www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org I would highly recommend anyone to visit this place. (Robb - WCB side trip? ) The above book Playland at the Beach: The Early Years by Jim Smith is a fabulous book and is worth the buy.(http://www.historysmith.com) The movie, Remembering Playland is also great. If you have any MORE questions about Playland, or Playland NOT at the Beach, let me know. ~Nicholas

Lady from Shanghai - 1947 - Orson Welles - The scene at the VERY end of the movie features Playland-at-the-Beach. (in San Fran, closed 1972) (You can also find the movie on Netflix) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8xQvthS1HI ^Skip to 6:07 Death of Ocean View Park - Ocean View Park - 1979 - Features basically the demolition of the park/park's coaster. I got it on DVD and it's EXTREMELY hard to find - well worth it though. Also, strangely enough, the movie Rollercoaster (1977) had its opening scene featured at Ocean View Park. They filmed there on it's last day of operation in 1977. The park then stood idle until 1979 when the Death of Ocean View Park took care of the rest. ~Nicholas p.s. I know of others. ... just can't think of them a.t.m.

Intamin actually built a very similar ride - they called it a Spiral Coaster. http://rcdb.com/1605.htm ~Nicholas

Thanks for posting those Haunt tracks, CGA! They're grreeat! ~Nicholas

Fantastic update. I have a TON of NAPHA magazines - they are great stuff. I need to make a topic of my amusement park goodies ... Hmmm.... ~Nicholas

You know, I had a season pass for that park every year from 1999 to 2009. However, the park seems to be so ... un-changing that we decided to not get a pass this year. The park is on its last leg for sure and tension from nearby businesses and the stadium project do not help along with the not-so-great economy. I'm sure the land is VERY valuable since it's smack dab in the middle of the Silicon Valley. The park really needs to do some little changes. Almost everything in the park needs some paint or TLC. They are trying hard to move on through this time and events such as Haunt seem to be helping. I still see it closing possibly in the next 5 years. It would be a shame. I really love the park, but my love for it seems to dwindle... ~Nicholas

Great update Shane. I really enjoyed the Marriott's ad since I live very close to that park. Looking forward to much more! ~Nicholas

Photo in front of the ride that I took a week ago. Looks like it will replace Cobra next year. October 23rd, 2010 - Cobra is in the background.

^LOL! I think I will have to agree with you on that one, Robb! == However, it is nice to see they cleaned up the joint. It looked more like a jail with all the fences they had around those rides! Just think about it: all the money they spent on fences could've been spent on fixing the rides! Maybe it was Prince Desmond's idea? ~Nicholas

My first attempt: donATEe!!!!1