Scaparri

True, but a lot of things affect the speed of any ride. For instance, when I worked on Millennium Force one summer, there was a 15+ second difference between how long an empty train took to complete a circuit in the cold and how long a full train took to completely a circuit in the heat.

Am I the only one that thought it looked like it was haulin' ass through those inversions? That rattle definitely has me intrigued. Hopefully it's just something minor.

Eh, definitely not. It was a nice place and all, but it was fairly generic. Nothing really set itself apart from any other typical park. It didn't even have 25% of the theming and atmosphere that Dollywood has. It's still a shame it's gone. I really hate it. But I'll definitely say that it was no Dollywood. Yes, but it is still awesome and impressive.

It really is a travesty that they are leaving the Orange Bowl. Some places, no matter how janky they may be, simply should not be left and torn down. It's truly a shame that no one was willing to step up and refurbish the classic stadium. Awesome TR, Scott. I'm definitely jealous you were at the game. Too bad it didn't have a better outcome.

Well hell, the MP4-22 is probably more of Ferrari than a McLaren anyway, thanks to Stepney. I'm actually a Williams fan, but still, look at that thing!

1) 1966 Shelby Cobra 2) Aston Martin Vanquish 3) Ferrari 360 Modena 4) 1977 Pontiac Trans Am 5) McLaren MP4-22 2007- I'm not a McLaren fan, but jeez just look at it. Plus, it should have won the 2007 F1 world championship. But like Colin, I would also be dead by the end of the week. In the words of James, "Look at it!" Gotta be able to keep the county mounties busy while snowman carries the cargo. Ferrari 360 Modena Aston Martin Vanquish 1966 Shelby Cobra 427. Hurry and grab a box of tissues.

I used to weigh myself before and after dumps because of the same curiosity. I kid you not, I lost 5 lbs after one of the biggest dooks of my life. It was radiculous. And all you people thinking I'm weird now know that you want to try it too.

^Well, that at least sounds a lot better than emailing them simply to inform them that you think all of the new rides the chain is adding this year are "stupid." Depending on how you look at it, this addition makes complete sense to SF. Once SWT started getting competition from Fiesta Texas, what did they do? They added coasters. So when SFFT is feeling competition from SWT and are capable of installing a clone of arguably SWT's best ride, what do they do? Install it. It takes significance away from SWT and gives the customers of SWT less of a reason to go there. Sure, SWT is still a park that offers a very different experience than SFFT, but nevertheless, it decreases the attraction that ride might have had on customers. Just looking at it from a business perspective.

^That post just brightened my crummy day a little. I also am not a breakfast person. I'm just never hungry in the morning. I'm another person who will only eat breakfast if it's at Waffle House! Cracker Barrel does the trick too. I love a good country breakfast. Keep up the good work, Robb! Your buffalo wing eating reminded me that if you ever go to BW's or anything like that, get the hottest/spiciest food you can handle! Spicy foods burn more calories because they require more energy to digest! That's a fun little fact I learned a few weeks ago. Doin' good, dude!

I answered no- because they are too expensive. If it helps your assignment, I must say that if it were possible to buy them later at home online and they were considerably cheaper (a few bucks), then yeah, I'd definitely buy more.

Awesome Robb! Keep it up! I must say, I have never been in to drinking Diet Coke, but a few friends and family members have long tried to get me to. They claimed it tastes the same (BS, right). Well, I finally decided to start drinking to see if my tastes adjusted. Sure enough, a few weeks later, I started realizing that I actually liked the taste of Diet Coke. Yeah, you have to deal with drinking crap for a few weeks, but your tastes really do adjust to a point where it tastes about the same, at least for me it did. Just a little thing to think about if you're a big Coke drinker. But again, awesome Robb! Keep us updated!

^Wow, I never thought the day would come where Chrissie kicks Robbie to the curb!

And as somebody who has Voyage as #1, I completely agree with what Joe just said. Yeah, it's the best woodie I've ever been on, but I can totally see how somebody else wouldn't agree. People look for different things in a coaster. I personally love the out of control feeling the ride gives, along with the unusual turns and kinks, the awesome airtime, and the fast pace. However, I'll be the first to admit that the thing is by no means smooth and had multiple jerks that really rocked me. I know that if it got much worse, the ride would probably start to fall drastically down my rankings. Aside from the roughness, not everybody is going to specifically love those characteristics that I enjoyed. Some people might like twisters, some people might like a more straight forward out-n-back... the list goes on. I know I have some woodies ranked fairly high that many other people don't care for, and vice versa. I'm sure the same will happen even more often when the steel poll comes around. It's just part of it. People enjoy different things more, and people have different thresholds. I could careless that Joe has Voyage ranked #12. I could careless if somebody has it ranked farther down than that, so long as it's not specifically out of spite. As Joe said, to say that any ride is a guaranteed top ten in anybody's eyes is a little ridiculous.

Yeah, I've been going to SFKK annually for about the last decade (minus last year) and was really impressed with the changes I saw. Everything was painted, there were lots of little landscaping changes, and they got rid of that hideous path from Top Eliminator to Twisted Twins and reopened the path that goes under Thunder Run. I'm looking forward to the future changes.

Then I would expect that person to have Favorite Steel Coaster ranked behind every wood coaster. Exactly. I don't get the "it doesn't feel like a steel coaster" argument unless those people do their ballots like that. If it's made of wood and you loved it, then shouldn't it be listed above the woodies that you didn't enjoy more, but had more of a woodie feel?

Good luck, dude! You can do it. It sucks, but I've been down that road too. I lost 55 lbs back in 2002 and lost 20 lbs this past summer. Lookin' forward to the updates!

^Well, you would be surprised. If you are a hard worker and do everything by the book, depending on how things unfold, it's possible to get promoted. A friend of mine got promoted to ATL (assistant team leader) at Wildcat during his first year by way of the previous TL and ATL's getting promoted.

Yeah, Hector pretty much just summed everything up. I'm sure he knows a bit better than I do. And I have to vouch for Wildcat, it's hard work, but it can be a lot of fun.

Easiest are probably Raptor, Disaster Transport, Gemini, or either of the woodies. Hardest is fairly arguable. Wildcat is pretty difficult because it's very hectic and physical. Most people don't realize that the person who "catches" the car as they come into the brakes does just that... they are responsible for helping the cars slow down. They also have a foot pedal that they must use to control the brakes once the riders are out of the car. They then have to push the car past the brakes and then prepare for the next car. The cars are a lot heavier than you think, and if you don't clear the empty car in time, then it triggers the block brakes and the entire coaster sets up. You also have to try and pair people together right before they load the car and you have to get rid of the people that have large loose items... right before they get on. It's all very hectic and loud, which adds to the difficulty. It's a really fun ride, but will definitely give you your exercise. Iron Dragon can be difficult because the trains also have to be dispatched in a very short time, otherwise, the block brakes activate and the trains all set up on each lift hill. Mantis can be difficult because you have to make sure riders stand straight up, but most really don't want to do that. It's very easy to get written up if one of your rider's seat isn't properly positioned. It's even harder when you have to spiel info over the head set and do this. Plus, the controls are insane for it. There is a separate release button for every single row on the train. Millennium Force is a fairly simple ride, but is hard just because the stress. It's one of the most popular coasters there and everybody wants to ride it, but the seat belts limit a lot of those people and you have to be the one to tell them they can't ride. Whenever you are stationed at the test seat, you have to ask anybody you find questionable in size to try the test seat. You can probably imagine how well that goes over. You also can't allow any loose items in the line. That doesn't go over well either. So, though the ride is a lot of fun to work (my personal favorite), you have to be strong willed because you will get cussed out a lot. If you can take the punishment though, it's worth it. And it's air conditioned! But by the middle of the summer, when everybody has a wicked tan, the DT crew is still pasty!

I'm sure it also has a lot to do with the re-designed, longer trains. A transition like the other hypers would result in some extreme negative Gs for the riders in the back who are getting whipped over such a quick change.

Ha, yep, you just summed up what the entire summer outside of work is like. Good ol' Thursday and Sunday nights at Louie's! Did you hit up Diana's? The food is so mediocre and overpriced, but for some reason, I still went there multiple times. Probably 'cause the only late night food options were it, Steak 'n' Shake, Friendly's, and Taco Bell. And for the record, as of last year, they bumped the wage up to $6.75 an hour (though minimum wage in Ohio is now $6.85) and the bonus is only 50 cents per hour.

^Yes, true, but you know what I mean. Though it may be balls hot out, the weather is still favorable for operating amusement rides year-round.

Those words alone are funny as hell.

^I applied in early December and I got a phone interview about a week or two later. As far as knowing what ride you'll work, that again, depends on how the interview goes. I was told at the end of the interview that I got the job, but wasn't told what ride I'd be working. A few weeks later, I got a package in the mail that revealed the ride. However, if they ask you what ride you want to work, chances are, you'll probably know what ride you are working before you hang up the phone.

^^Yeah, I must say that it seems really unusual that such a huge city with good weather year-round like Phoenix doesn't have a major amusement park within a four hour radius.