montezooma

I love the look of the old Arrows. They are not sleek and sexy like B&M's but they have such a great nostalgic feel to them. I am not such a fan of riding most of them, but I sure love to look at them.

One of the very first loop coasters I ever rode was "The Turn of the Century". At the time I didn't appreciate how great a ride it was. Once the change was made it became clear to me that I would rather have those two air-time hills over the two loops any day. Here are a couple of shots of the old Turn of the Century at Marriott's Great America in Santa Clara, CA. AIR-TIME! BONUS SHOT: The old Cycles from "Cycle Chase" at Knott's Berry Farm. This was probably taken circa 1978.

Before Terminator, Before Psyclone, Before Shock Wave...there was the Sarajevo Bobsled. Yes on of the first Intamin Bobsleds once thrilled (well, not so much) guests at Six Flags Magic Mountain. They ride once sported a cool Ice color scheme and Olympic theme. It now looks like a Spanish Snake at Six Flags over Texas. BONUS junk drawer shot...Cedar Point pre-Raptor

Hate to go all corporate on you again, but here are a couple from one of the big guys...Universal.

WOW! Busch really upgrades their parks over the years. Sea World and Busch Gardens Tampa look like completely different parks compared to the 70's and 80's.

Here is a couple more random old photos from out of the Attic junk drawer. I got a few so I will post them over the next week or so. Check back to see random shots of coasters or parks taken decades ago. Here is Dorney. The Laser and a very undeveloped park. This was pre-Cedar Fair days Hercules...didn't last too long once Cedar Fair took over this park.

Let me be perfectly clear...Cowabunga Bay will NEVER be Pepsi!

WOW! Do they make this ride in a "small"? I want one!

I believe the Morey group bought this pier which was at one time called Hunt's pier. They already had a couple of other piers that catered to the thrill-seekers so they wanted to change the clientele so they sold the thrill rides and went with the "Dinosaur" theme. Not sure what happened to the pier after that but we all know what happened to the Kamikaze.

I have been going through one of my junk drawers in the Amusement Attic and I have come across some random old photos...the first being those AstroWorld photos from when I worked in the park. The ones posted below should be of interest to any fans of Six Flags over Georgia. These photos are of the park's Ninja as it once stood in New Jersey as the "Kamikaze" I was not able to ride this ride in the Wild Wood location as it was still under construction but I was able to get some pretty cool shots of the ride before it ever opened. The coaster operated at Dinosaur Beach from 1989-1991 before it was taken apart and reassembled at Six Flags over Georgia. An interesting fact about this coaster, and someone correct me if I am wrong...this coaster and Dragon Fyre at Canada's Wonderland are the only coasters that feature counter clockwise corkscrews. Kamikaze at Dinosaur Beach Wild Wood, NJ a great shot of the corkscrew. The ride was originally built over a Rapids Ride, that is why some of the supports are kind of strange. in concept the butterfly element should be cool...but it's not A great shot from up on the lift. You can see the boardwalk below being constructed around the ride. The ride only operated in this location for two years from 1989-1991 then moved down south below the Mason Dixon line. The trains before they ever rode the rails.

Jeez...I was way back on page three, I guess it is time for an update. Well this post is mostly for Mike Robinson from AstroWorld Crew 1980 but if any of you others out there spent time working at the Houston park you may have interest. Mike- This is my Greezed Lightning crew from 1980. Gary was the lead. One of the pictures shows me scrapping gum of the loading platform as the train is about to be launched (those were simpler times) Another picture shows two of my best friends while I worked at the park, Kathy and Anne Marie (I think the other guys in the picture are Mike & Doug, maybe Keith?) anyways I have been trying to find Kathy and Anne Marie if you have any info PM me. Thanks Shane Greezed Lightnin crew 1980 "clear to launch" except for me extremely close the the train. AstroWorld friends

This is going to be GOOD...I am talking El Toro good!

White Water Landing Here is another lost treasure released from the Retro VCR. Enjoy this look at the Arrow flume ride that once lived in the spot of Maverick. White Water Landing didn't enjoy a very long life but as I remember it was one of Arrow's better flumes. I am also guessing that they pulled the water straight from the lake and did not treat it. I don't think that would go over to well with today's strict water quality standards. [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=White_Water_Landing_r1oh[/coastertube]

Kongker- Thanks for adding those commercials. I really like it when you guys add things like that to this post. I had never seen either one of those commercials before, so thanks again for posting!

^If that were to happen to a man, it would provide a VERY painful ride, but for women...I have heard it can be the same as leaning against a washing machine during the spin cycle.

I will be at Great Adventure this weekend, if they are up and running I am SO gonna do it!!!!

Six Flags Magic Mountain's Shock Wave Time for a double dose of Magic Mountain's Shock Wave. Here are two clips that showcase the ride when it first opened. Of course we all know the story of this ride. It started it's happy life on the site of the Sarajevo Bobsled site. It then moved to Six Flags Great Adventure, kept the name but got a new blue and white paint job. It then went to live out it's remaining years at AstroWorld, where it got some extensive themeing and was given the name "Batman: the escape" It's life was cut short with the idiotic closure of the Houston park. Things looked good for it when it was carefully taken apart and shipped off to Six Flags Darien Lake. It now sits in rusted pieces at Darien Lake...to be continued??? Or to be scrapped???? [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=ShockWave_SFMM_kr93[/coastertube] [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=SFMM_ShockWave_65ri[/coastertube]

I remember being a kid and not wanting to go on Journey through Inner Space. I was scared it would hurt when they shrank you. Super cool postcards. I love that old tomorrowland

If Kentucky Kingdom ever reopens I would love Twisted Twins to become "Lavern & Shirley" . Hey, it could happen, it used to be Lola & Stella

Actually the Monster we are talking about is the new inverted coaster that is being installed at the park this year. It is call 'The Monster" and is being moved from the closed Expoland in Japan...but thanks for playing.

I think the real discussion here should not be the name or theme of the ride (I think both are GREAT), but it should be about what the HELL they did to the Carolina Cyclone. That is the worst paint job EVAH and I truly hope this is not a trend Cedar Fair is running with. See the horrific pictures here...yuck

I took this photo years ago because the similarities between this woman's body and the "spare tire" planter were uncanny. Finally there is a thread where I can post this gem.

White Water lovingly referred to me as a "unique" client as I was opposed to using any off the shelf graphics for our structure. All those graphics were custom and unique to Cowabunga Bay. We did a lot of research through old surf magazines and books to get the feel and design style to represent a whimsical retro surf theme. We don't own the rights or anything and honestly I never even thought about it. I think it is cute that Cowabunga Bay is going to have a baby brother now.

I love it. I am extremely flattered by it...like you said, "Imitation is the highest form of flattery" ...Hey Magic Mountain, we just removed the unnecessary over the shoulder restraints from one of our slides... feel free to copy that too!!!! Hey Jay, if you need any actual photos for your promotions have your people call mine

WOW...that actually lifted the graphics right off Cowabunga Bay.