Mind Eraser

I absolutely *LOVE* them. The only two Vekoma coasters that I found to be excessively rough were Goudurix and SFSL Ninja. Part of the problem with those two coasters was that I didn't expect them to be as rough as they were, so I didn't brace myself enough, and they really caught me off guard! Sure, most enthusiasts hate Boomerangs and SLC's because there is an oversaturation of them throughout the world; but, if you take the rides for for they are, they're pretty damn good. Enthusiasts are just used to 15 years of being gently whisked around on B&M's. My opinion on this also extends to Arrows. I *LOVE* them. They are rough, true, but if you know how to brace yourself properly, they are fine. What upsets me is how the Arrows, in addition to not aging well, are losing ridership because frankly, the GP prefers the smoother B&M or whatever. Arrows are a dying breed. We've lost a bunch of major Arrows within the last five years, and I'm sure many more are on the chopping block. /end random tangent -kip-

When we went to this club in Southeast D.C. (which is the worst part of the city), I had to pay a bum to guard my car. It's a very common practice in Washington. You pay them and sometimes they even sit on your hood. No one one tries to steal a car with a bum on it! -kip-

Two things: 1. The official name for the looping Pinfari's are "Zyklon Loop 42" or "ZL42" for short. 2. Why do you think they suck? I love them! They've got a neat layout, a killer drop, and a wicked loop. They are rough, but only in the front (for some odd reason). I really like the one in Ocean City, MD. The only other one I've ridden was Klondike Mine at Drayton Manor, which has been since relocated to another UK park. Python in Ocean City, NJ was closed when I stopped by. -kip-

I was so relieved to hear that one of my favorite coasters (SFA Mind Eraser) was getting a much-needed makeover this past winter. It went from opening in 1995 to 2004 on the same coat of paint! By 2004, the blue track had faded to almost a white-ish color, and the red supports were all blotchy and faded. Now it is a glistening yellow and bold orange! -kip- after before

GIT R DONE

I always have fun with carnies. I love a wild flat ride. The key to getting a maximum intensity ride is to taunt the carnies as you're getting on. Yells things like "YOU CAN'T MAKE ME PUKE!!". Doing this, I've gotten 10 minute, manual rides on Top Scans, Zippers, and a bunch of other puker rides. But, be warned, do not taunt the carnies unless you can seriously handle an "extreme ride". -kip-

(BTW, it's Shirley Manson, not Cheryl) I actually waited about 6 hours for Volcano. I had gone twice prior in '98, and it had been closed both times and I wanted it so bad. So on my third visit, I got in line at 10am with hundreds of people. They were testing it, telling us it was broken, telling us it "may" open, etc. Well, by 4pm there were about 25 of us left waiting. They let the small group of us determined people ride once, and everyone else who had left didn't get to ride . You think coaster geeks can get excited?... try riding with the GP after a 6 hour wait! -kip-

Yeah, I was gonna say, CoasterSims can be a pain in the ass to deal with, but the tracks submitted are far superior to WeeWeeSlap's. -kip-

Wow, that ride is ridiculously long! How awesome. Is it a coaster (I don't know how those gadgets work)? -kip-

The best is when you see a fat woman at a waterpark, wearing a flower-print Moo Moo with curlers in her hair. Of course, her 8 kids are running around screaming and flailing about. -kip-

I am currently listening to a set of remixes by Valentin, Future Breeze, Cygnus X, Sash, and Ferry Corsten. Awesome trancey stuff. -kip-

She looks like she's trying to push a fart out. -kip-

I finally got to SFA's Hurricane Harbor with a couple other people. This is a quick run-down of some of the slides. First up was the Proslide "New For 2005" Tornado. I was so excited. Looking at it, while the motions don't look like much, the whole massive structure can't help but get your heart racing. How was it? Well, honestly, I was rather disappointed. The large drop was great! I'd guess it was a (steep) 75 ft. plunge. The part that I didn't care for was the actual funnel. It was *very* abrasive! Very turbulent. I was literally assaulted by a wave of water in the funnel. It smashed my head so hard, and the water went into my ears, my eyes, and my nose. I guess part of that was my fault because I sure as hell didn't expect a waterslide to be so turbulent - seeing as it looks so gentle. Being the masochist that I am, we decided to give it one more try. This time, I was on-guard for those nasty walls of water. I don't dislike it, it's just not something that I would love to ride repeatedly. The GP *loves* it though! It's fun to watch people's reactions when they first see the funnel. So many folks think the slide turns you upside down, it's hilarious. Overall, it's a very interesting ride. You gotta wonder what people are smoking when they design these things. Next up was "New For 2005" Bahama Blast. I couldn't figure out why every loves this slide so much. Honestly, it's looked boring. I asked my friend what was so special about the slide. He said "You'll see!" So, we sit down in the 4-seater tube. Into the dark we go! A few seconds later, the slide turned and we flung up the wall! Then we flew up the other wall! The sensation was so effective, my first thought was "DID WE JUST GO UPSIDE DOWN??" I mean, I knew we didn't, but it really felt like it. It totally caught me off-guard! Pretty soon, we hit a sheet of water and burst into sunlight, where the other half if the slide resides. What a *FUN* slide Bahama Blast is! We hit one more slide. We decided to ride the one where the woman died a few days ago (Hammerhead, formerly Black Hole). The slide complex is called Shark Attack, and it consists of two similar slides: Mako and Hammerhead. Here is a picture from the web: Shark Attack (also taken from the same web page as above). http://www.sfafans.org/SFA%206-19/imagepages/image13.html Hammerhead is in complete darkness. Half of Mako is, as well. We all decide to ride Hammerhead. I went down last. I'm gonna try to describe the experience and hopefully, you might get an idea of why it was so hilarious. So, I get in the water, sit in my tube, and push myself off. You drop down about 20 feet, then slide straight for a little bit. At this point, I had forgotten that there was a huge drop in the dark. I'm gliding along, can't see anything, la la la, then suddenly the slide just drops out from under me, and I'm plummeting down in total black. It freaked me out so bad, I started screaming obscenities. Little did I know, these tight enclosed slides are like huge megaphones. I shoot out into the pool, stand up in the water, and everyone was laughing at me. Apparently, my friend said everyone heard *everything*. "OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIITTT" That concluded our mini-visit to SFA's Six Flags Hurricane Harbor. Waterparks are so much fun! I'm gonna try and throw in some of them on my coaster trip. Thanks for reading. -kip-

One guess is that the two gal pals developed a coke habit together. -kip-

How the hell do you make these pictures? Do you need Photoshop? -kip-

Six Flags Darien Lake was such a disappointment. *Superman was running horribly slow - virtually no airtime. *Predator, front seat, was fantastic. Wild air. Don't sit anywhere else. *Viper was rough, but very fun. Classic Arrow. *Boomerang, I skipped. *Mind Eraser seemed average/rough. Not as smooth as I had heard, but not as rough as SFA's or PCW's. Overall, I found the park to be very forgettable (which is probably why I can't remember anything about the actual park now ). -kip-

A woman died of cardiac arrest last night at Hurricane Harbor, located inside of Six Flags America. She died on the Shark Attack waterslide. -kip-

I would be simply shocked if they removed Son of Beast. Do you know how much time, money, research, and design went into that project? It's only five years old. I can see them tearing it down, but not anytime soon. If I got to choose which coaster to remove, I would say axe the Racer. That's the worst adult coaster in the park, in my opinion. And while we're playing make-believe, bring back the f***ing King Cobra! That ride kicked arse. They should have taken out PKD's Shockwave, and left King Cobra -kip-

I got ahold of a Zamperla catalog many, many years back, and Sierra Tonante was listed (with pictures) as their wooden coaster train option. Why? Zamperla probably underbid everyone else? I think the trains look nice. -kip-

Robb, those trains on Sierra Tonante were made by Zamperla. -kip-

Regardless of how he looks and what he's wearing, the guy is actually a good dancer. -kip-

Um... HELL NO! I've never had to draw the line at a ride, but I think this is where my line would be. Those normal chair swings freak me out. This is absurd. I saw a rendering of this ride years ago, but I never imagined someone would buy one. -kip-

People correcting the mistakes is far more laughable. Same goes for the enthusiasts who jump into other people's conversations, and correct them about stats. Hahah. -kip-

If I recall, this (old) video was at a small park in Asia - not a carnival. And nobody on the ride was hurt, even that kid who appeared to have been smashed. -kip-

Destiny's Child - Cater 2 U (J. Beck Mix) Cameo - Word Up Charanga Cakewalk - Le Negra Celina (Hex Hector's Cumbia Tribe Mix) Front 242 - Headhunter (Apoptygma Berzerk Mix) Khia - My Neck, My Back Trina - Pull Over Dat Ass Is Too Phat -kip-