montezooma

I love doing it....I have been saving this stuff for years and it is great to share it with others that really find it interesting...Lots more to come!!! Unfortunately La Ronde is one of my smaller files

The OD Hopkins stuff probably is from the early 90's.

Here's a quick update from a couple of manufacturer's IAAPA brochures. The one below is from OD Hopkins , makers of Sky Rides (the county fair kind), Log Flumes, Rapid Rides and Steel Coasters (the county fair kind...lol) IMO OD Hopkins is the poor man's Intamin. And speaking of Intamin, if you love Drop Rides, Water Rides, Dark Rides and motion based Simulators Rides, check out the link below to see the updated Intamin - Ride Trade IAAPA brochures that feature all those rides. Intamin - Ride Trade

After Arrow did all the research and testing of this great concept Vekoma came up with this... you can see that this ride was licensed to Vekoma from Arrow. Vekoma's marketing piece for their "Swinging Turns" ride. Brochure from IAAPA convention mid 80's

THey each have their good points but the Schwarzkopf has no bad points and the Arrow version has several. Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop Positives: - Great launch - Great loop and great sensations both forwards and backwards - Instant change in motion from forward to backward. - Great finale, up that back tower at such a steep angle and then a rush back into the station. - Lap bars. - Their popularity has withstood the test of time. - They just look extremely cool! Scwharzkopf Shuttle Loop Negatives: -Not enough of them Arrow Launched Loop Positives: - Great airtime after the launch into the drop both forwards and backwards. - Great airtime at the top of the hill on the reverse side if you are in the front of the train. If you are in the rear of the train it happens on the return trip. - They kind of look cool (I am struggling to come up with more positives) Arrow Launched Loop Negatives: -The climb both up and down. - Weak launch. It was kind of like being pulled by a team of Donkeys. - Arrow loops just don't do it for me. They are small and to clothoid-ee. - The slow braking on the other side and then the wait for the reverse launch. Talk about a buzz kill - Because they were so high in the sky they always had ugly stations. 8' tall chain link and no shade cover. - They didn't stand the test of time too well. - Over the shoulder restraints.

I have updated the Boardwalk & Baseball - Circus World page with a bunch of information, facts, post cards, maps, press releases, and souvenir book from Circus World. Go to the link below to see all this great stuff on this park of the past. Circus World

MAGNUM XL-200

^ Thanks for clarifying that for me. I knew there had to be some reason for them to remove the ride otherwise why wouldn't they have just kept the Laser Loop and added the Steel Phantom. After all at the time they were calling themselves "The Coaster Capital of the World" I had heard that there was problems with the Laser Loop footings, and your explanation makes perfect sense. I remember walking thru the Entrance under the loop, it was a cool view while the ride was running but the entrance was less than attractive. Also about the paint job...either way it was the ugliest of all the shuttle loops I thought. Too bad they didn't make it look like they advertised it looking on the front of the brochure. PS. Loved the additional pictures you added, yes even the acid washed jeans, all of us from the 80's went through that phase, but thank God we came out of it!!!! That is quite a description for a shuttle loop! But it is all true. Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loops...one of my all time favorite coaster creations!!!! The Laser Loop would have looked awesome if it were painted in this color scheme!

BONUS POST! Wow over 22,000 views! I am so impressed that so many of you are popping in to check out my thread. I guess you are enjoying it so I will keep on adding stuff, and as a bonus for the 22,000 views here is a little bit on a coaster I know all enthusiasts have a strange fascination with... UPDATE: Just added this clip on Drachen Fire from a TV show called "Theme Park a Go-Go on E! Listen to the comment the rider makes at the end of the ride and you will understand why this ride is no longer around. thanks for checking in and for all your comments! Did they really run trains on Drachen Fire that close or is this the beginning of Photo Shop? Busch Gardens 1994 brochure. The last year of the corkscrew that followed the MCBR. Busch Gardens brochure from the 1993 season

^ Shouldn't they be starting construction of these rides that they bought from AstroWorld? A lot of rides from AstroWorld were salvaged: Batman, Greezed Lightnin, Ultra-Twister, Serial Thriller, Mayan Mindbender, but they all remain in storage. I hope that some of the rides make it out of storage soon and back to entertaining riders. At least AstroWorld could kind of live on in someway if these rides get rebuilt. I know I probably would never make the trip to Joyland, but you can bet your sweet a$$ that when and if they ever get that shuttle loop up and running again, I am so there!!!! The simple answer to this question is: Things always become "good" when they end and are no longer around. I remember the abuse AstroWorld used to take from enthusiasts in its last day, well now that it is gone it is almost like a saint.

Believe me, I roomed with Bill in Japan. He IS Marvel McFey! And I mean that in the nicest way!

^ Yes I do.

I agree. This is a fun thread. I'd like to start with something simple. Knott's Berry Farm Restore the Sky Jump Bring back the Parachutes!!!! Restore the Neon to the "K" on top of the Tower Red and White Checkers again please! California's Great America Tear down the Grizzly and use that space for something worthwhile. Repaint Top Gun to something other than black (Carowinds Top Gun) Restore the Demon to it former glory, bring back the rocks and the Demon theme song!

Well you are probably expecting to see something on Six Flags Great America now, but I haven't found my file with all the good stuff on that park yet. But while looking for it I did come across more great stuff on Circus World which will be my next big post. Hopefully I will come across my Great America stuff soon because that really was a beautiful park back when it first opened. Well as a matter of fact it still is a beautiful park! Happy New Year everyone! Shane

MAGIC MOUNTAIN OK, get your hankies out. This is a great look back at the park that used to be. Back to the days before the Revolution when Magic Mountain was a small family amusement park on the outskirts of LA. There wasn't a lot of theme at the time but it just was a great place. Then along came the Great American Revolution and put Magic Mountain on the map and in the Movies. Unfortunately a fatal accident on Colossus and a company that wanted out of the amusement business caused the sale of the park to Six Flags. Six Flags promised to build a better Mountain and for awhile they did. Six Flags Magic Mountain was the flagship park of Six Flags chain attracting over 3.5 million visitors a year, but somewhere along the way they lost the Magic. I believe the park is on it's way back. It has a great General Manager in charge now and I believe he is taking the park in a new direction that will restore the glory to the park that is once had. Well as long as he gets rid of those damn over the shoulder restraints on the Revolution. Anyways enjoy this look back at the magic that was Magic Mountain! oh and don't forget to "get HIGH on fun" Man this park used to ROCK! The Grecian Fountains and the Valencia Falls are some of the things I miss the most from the old Magic Mountain. Those fountains were so beautiful at night they way they were all light up in bright colors. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been to paint the Sky Tower with this great color scheme? No wonder when it came time to repaint it Six Flags went with the Texas Oil Derick Orange color scheme. This was about the extent of the thills at the mountain back then. But I would rather have the Mountain Express back compared to some of the newer rides they have installed ie: Superman, Deja Vu, Psyclone & Flashback

SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURE The next park aquired was Great Adventure. While Six Flags Great Adventure is now the Crown Jewel of the Six Flags parks it used to follow behind Six Flags Magic Mountain and Six Flags Great America. For awhile they just seemed to flounder, they put in a couple of Togo prototypes that just didn't seem to fit the park and also they where the victim of the Six Flags ride rotation program: Sarajevo Bobsleds and Shockwave. I hate to offend all of you SFGAd fans out there, but this is my least favorite of the pre-Time Warner Six Flags parks, I never really got the themed lands and how they tied together and I just am not a fan of the over sized themed elements or the Fantasy-Candy theme It just felt like a carnival to me. Anyways that is just my opinion. I admit I have not been to the park in the last couple of years and when I go this summer I just may change my opinion. One thing I did love about this park was the Lightnin' Loops. Loved the concept, Loved the Interlocking Loops, Loved the lighting at night, Loved the name...hated the climb up and down to the station and I am not a fan of the drawing they used for the ride in this souvenir booklet. Boy talk about your low clearance and head choppers! Again another rainbow proud park!!!

ASTROWORLD Well once Six Flags stopped building parks they moved into buying existing parks that were struggling financially. The first of the aquisitions was AstroWorld. Oh poor AstroWorld, it never seemed to find its place in the Six Flags family. It was first know as just a "member of the Six Flags Family" then it became Six Flags AstroWorld, later it became Six Flags Houston and finally back to AstroWorld a Six Flags theme park. Even though it was known among enthusiasts as the dumping ground of used rides AstroWorld was my favorite of all the Six Flags parks! There just was something special about this park. I spent two seasons working at the park. One season on the opening crew of Thunder River and the next season on Greezed Lightnin'! Of all the theme parks that have closed in the last while, AstroWorld is definately the park I miss the most!

SIX FLAGS OVER MID-AMERICA The Third and last of the original Six Flags Parks. For a while this park, rather than AstroWorld, was the red-headed step child of the Six Flags Family. It seemed that not much investment was put into this park back in the 70's and early 80's, as a matter of fact for a while they took out rides rather than add them. They lost the Sky Chuter and one side of the River King Mine Ride and they where the only park in the whole chain to never receive an Intamin Free Fall. While Six Flags over Texas and Six Flags over Georgia premiered such incredible looping coasters as Shock Wave and Mindbender, Six Flags over Mid America only got a portable single looping coaster, the Jet Scream, which only lasted a couple of years at the park before it was removed and shipped off to AstroWorld. I have to say that Time-Warner was a good thing for this park. Since they made the major investment of adding Batman:the Ride to the park, Six Flags over Mid-America has seen some great growth and great new attactions thus passing the title of red-headed step child to AstroWorld. For a time Six flags was owned by Bally's, manufacuturer of video games. Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man where the mascots of the park. Judging from the Logo of this park, it was a very prideful park back in the 70's

SIX FLAGS OVER GEORGIA The Second of the Six Flags parks. The hills and landscape of this park also make it the most beautiful of all the parks. Even though it is not featured in this souvenir booklet, I think the Mindbender is one of the best coasters at any of the Six Flags parks. Schwarzkopf can build one kick a$$ ride especially when there is terrain involved. I miss the Great Gasp with all those great lights on it. That was something to see at night!

SIX FLAGS OVER TEXAS The first of the Six Flags park is also one of my favorites. It seems to be the park that has tried the hardest to stay true to it's History. This look back at the park is from the early 1970's. The Big Bend and the Texas Chute Out were the big rides of the time! I noticed that the park had a lot of Transportation rides; several trains, chug-chug, boats & canoes, autos and sky ride. Six Flags over Texas was also the one park out of the original three to not receive a wooden coaster. In the 70's Six Flags over Georgia and Six Flags over Mid-America both received record breaking wooden coasters. Six Flags over Texas was over-looked in the wooden coaster catagory until the 80's when then received the family friendly Judge Roy Scream, Awe West of the Pecos!

SIX FLAGS: the early years This next series of posts is like a Six Flags history course. Six Flags 101, if you will. We are going way back with these, back to a time when Six Flags over Texas was more about the History of Texas than Superman or Batman, when Six Flags St. Louis was Six Flags over Mid America and when Six Flags Magic Mountain was still Magic. These souvenir books are like history books that show how each one of these parks used to have such charm and character, when each park had it own identity, themes and rides. Most of these books go back to the early 1970's: Big Bend was the big ride at Six Flags over Texas, Sky Hook occupied the space where Mind Bender is today at Six Flags over Georgia, Lightnin' Loops was still a concept at Six Flags Great Adventure and Magic Mountain had not yet built the Revolution. But before getting to the good old stuff here is a look at Six Flags when I feel they "jumped the shark" well, this is when they became corporate parks. Marvel McFey, Bloop, Bleep and the Wizard were kicked out in favor of Bugs and Batman. Each park lost their individual logo infavor of a single look that was more nationally recognized and each park became more of an "Amusement Park" rather than a "Theme Park". Click on a link below to go directly to that parks souvenir book: Six Flags over Texas Six Flags over Georgia Six Flags over Mid-America AstroWorld a member of the Six Flags Family Six Flags Great Adventure Six Flags Magic Mountain That's All Folks! Six Flags Great America: Bigger Than Disneyland So Much Closer To Home Six Flags Magic Mountain: The Ride of Your Life! Six Flags Great Adventure: A Closer Family Experience. AstroWorld: Family Fun, Water Adventures, Heart Pounding Rides. Six Flags over Mid-America: The Hot Spot of the Heartland. Six Flags over Georgia: The World of Fun, Not a World Away. Six Flags over Texas: Nothing Else Comes Close. This is a general souvenir book that was sold at each park. It is very nicely down but definately when Six Flags got that corporate feel rather than their own identity.

^ I have old stuff on just about every park, it is just a matter of time getting it all scanned in and then posted.

I have a whole series I am going to be posting in the next day or two that looks at all the earlier Six Flags parks the way they were back in the 1970's. Boy when you see the Magic Mountain the way it used to be it will make you sad. Yes Magic Mountain truly used to be "Magic" PS. RIP Psyclone, did you go to Japan with us, I am trying to figure out who you are.

Well I thought that was going to be a pretty boring post cause I didn't have a lot of photos just all the press releases. But I just went back and read all those releases and there is a lot of interesting stuff about this park that I knew little to nothing about. It really makes me wish I was able to visit this park while it was still around. Very interesting how this park came about and that it was operated by a non-profit group. There are some really great "over the top" quotes in there from Mike Danshaw, Allen Ambrosini and Frank Gordon describing the Revolution. And I have to laugh at the general managers remark as it "being as safe as a baby's cradle". I recall that when the wind blew the cradle was rocked and then fell, baby and all. That doesn't sound too safe to me. And speaking of Frank Gordon, who was the founder of Roller Coaster Buffs International, the other coaster club that rivaled ACE back in the 70's, I found this photo of RCBI's first convention at Six Flags over Texas. There weren't too many of us there, but it was a BLAST! The club slogan was "Ride High with RCBI" How great is that? Group Photo of Roller Coaster Buffs International (RIP) on the exit ramp of Judge Roy Scream at Six Flags over Texas.

Can someone please tell me how to add pictures to my posts without having to have that yellow border around each picture...this thing I want to add pictures without this border thingy....help