N'at Man

This season I added 101 coasters to my count to bring me up to 733. It was a very good year as far as new coasters and old favorites. The year started off with a traditional trip to BGW/PKD in April. That was followed up with an early trip to Carowinds for the first time in several years. I also did Knoebels opening day. Throughout the season I visited many of the local parks in PA and OH. I was able to ride many new for 2005 coasters including Hydra, Mr. Six's Pandemonium, Hades, Italian Job (PKI), Raging Spirits, Galaxy Express 999 and SheiKra. Japan was the big trip of the year but I also did the ACE Con which I really enjoyed. The Spring Con was fun down at Lake Winnie and Dollywood. The Granite State trip was excellent as was my trip to the NYC area parks including Adventureland for the first time. After my recent trip to Florida I can now say that I finally have ridden every operating wooden coaster in the US after riding Triple Hurricane. I think I'll keep that status after the 2006 season if all goes well.

The Michigan's Adventure Corkscrew has my favorite support structure. And the station isn't bad either. WTF?

I've seen that done more or less with other bumper cars but that would be scary at Knoebels considering they're old, steel Lusse cars. I've been involved in what we've called "bumper car incidents" in the past. Essentially you set up chain reaction of multiple cars into the wall of the bumper car arena. Often times it's most fun to do it into a springboard but other walls will do. I will say that I've never tried this at Knoebels and I don't plan on it. That could be painful if not hazardous. Plus I respect the old cars too much to try it there. You can plenty of fun with normal bumping there. Anyway, VisionLand was where these "incidents" were perfected. It was very easy to create a chain reaction and "beach" a car over the short side wall. See the pic below. VisionLand beached bumper car circa 1998

Great topic and one I try to keep tabs on. Knoebels and Hoffman's have the old style cars but Knoebels also has a few slightly younger cars and Hoffman's has some of the Lusse sport skooters. Those are two of the best places to ride Lusse skooters. Keansburg was mentioned and they had quite a mix of cars in not the greatest condition when I visited several years ago. Bushkill Park had a few old models in bad condition running before the floods but I don't know their current status. Does anyone know? I have an absolute gem for you. It's the Lusse skooters at Interstate Amusements in Seaside, Oregon. They're all old cars in great condition. It's an old school setup with neon and you can pay per ride and just stay on. The floor is like a mirror. If you're out in the Pacific Northwest and you like bumper cars, do not miss this place. http://www.shopseaside.com/bc/bc.html Here are some places that have what I call the Model T themed Lusses. Dutch Wonderland, Oaks Park (Portland, OR) and Dixie Landin' (Baton Rouge, LA). DW and Oaks are pretty hard hitting cars while DL were kind of lame. I believe Paramount Canada's Wondeland still has sport skooters and Erieview Park had some beat up ones as well. I visited one of the most off the beaten path parks, Family Funland (Farmington, NM), to pick up some coaster credits and I found a few Lusse skooters there. The park was so dead that they weren't running although only two cars appeared to be serviceable. I've read that the following places had Lusse bumper cars of some sort but I question if they still have them. They would be Atlantic Playland in Nova Scotia and Bumper Arcade at Bagnell Dam Strip (Lake Ozark, MO). I'd love to here anything about these two places. This is a skooter from Oaks Park. You'll find similar skooters at Dutch Wonderland. A closer look at the Seaside Lusse's shows the great condition of the cars and the clean, shiny floor. The Seaside, Oregon operation is a true gem.

Classy post.

I'm actually on here under this new handle. I've been over on RRC for years though.

Yes, I have ridden Thunderhead in the dark during the ACE Spring Con. Back to the poll for a second, I looked through the ballots and the only thing that really bugged me is that I found about three ballots with a really bad method of ranking which possibly threw a big monkey wrench into things. A few people ranked their top ten but then left the rest of the coasters in state order and numbered them sequentially. What they should have done is just mark all of the rest 11 or something but not number them sequentially by state, park and coaster name. Being too lazy to mark the rest of them with the same number defeats the efforts of everyone who took time to do the poll. Still, Mitch's poll is the most accurate as Robb said. We're just seeing some different tastes come out.

I throw in my two cents on this year's poll. This is the first time the results of this poll really shocked me. I've been participating for years and most of the jumps or falls are predictable. I honestly believe that with the push made to vote here on TPR brought in many first time voters and really shook things up. I'm not saying that's good or bad but I think it made a difference this year. Balder is worthy of top five status due to some of the most extreme airtime to be found. But it loses some points with me for weaker curves and repetition beyond even Shivering Timbers. I think the European voters from this forum helped put Balder back on top. I honestly enjoy Thunderhead quite a bit but I really don't get the #2 rating. Logically I can't see how we go from a coaster with extreme airtime and functional curves at #1 to a coaster with minimal airtime and plenty of overbanked curves at #2. There must be a certain fun factor that most people use in their ratings that can override the various forces of the ride. That's the only way I can explain the high Lightning Racer ratings. To me, night rides on Tremors, Boulder Dash, Rampage, Raven and Legend absolutely blow the doors off Thunderhead. Night rides are a big factor with the ol' CCIs because they need to warm up. Shivering Timbers, Tremors and Boulder Dash are classic examples of this and I continually find that people give up on the parks or coasters after some average afternoon rides. But I really don't understand the freefall of ST in the rankings this particular year. I would have expected it two years ago when the trick track was a mess. This year the track was smooth and the ride seemed as good as last year. Strangely, Rampage bumped up a bit. I rode it two years ago and while it maintained its rank from me it was rougher. Again, it must be the influx of new voters. I'm surprised to see both Raven and Legend fall as much as they did. For some reason PNE Coaster keeps falling and I don't know why. I figured that Aska would jump up due to the reviews from the ECC/ACE trip but at the same time I don't understand Viper dropping so much after very good ERT conditions at the ACE Con. Aska is definitely better but with them being mirror images the difference still isn't that extreme. Bump Aska down at least 10 and bump up Viper at least 10 and then I think you have a ranking that makes sense to me. And for the annual Lightning Racer sandwich we have the Dania Beach Hurricane. I couldn't tell the tracks of LR apart to save my life.

My first coaster was the Little Dipper at Kennywood about a year or so before they tore it down. It's a real shame that one had to go. I was about 10 years old at the time. My first looping coaster was the Corkscrew at Geagua Lake followed by the Double Loop later that day (BTW, I like the picture above with the rocket ships in the background). I was probably around age 16 by the time I had the guts to ride something that went upside down. Regrettably, I never did get on the Laser Loop at Kennywood.

The grant would be for planning and development. I'm not totally sure how these things work but I'd guess the money wouldn't be used to pay off debt. I think the idea is to spend the money on planning and new development (possibly fixing up things that are broken) but not just paying off debt. Hopefully good planning and development would in turn create a situation where the park could start eliminating its debt. To touch on the subject of the Blue Streak trains, I used to dislike the Vettel train when it was reintroduced. It didn't have the same punch as the NAD train and it lacked capacity. While capacity is still a problem, I like that it is a smooth ride that most people enjoy and can reride. The NAD train could inflict some pain but it also gave a more thrilling ride with the longer train and three bench configuration. Maybe the ideal situation would be to get to the point where you could sure up the structure to the point where the NAD train could run on the weekend and the Vettel train could run during the week.

I actually feel much better about the park situation this off season than I did early last off season. The park is finally in the clear from the previous owner who I think is still doing hard time for tax evasion. The park is owned by the community and it was put in control of a community board, supervised by a judge. With that situation you don't have the threat, say, of an old owner who retires suddenly and sells the lakefront property to a real estate developer. Recently the community board resigned in favor of a two person management team. The good news about this new management team is that they put some professionals in charge of running the park rather than a volunteer board. They plan on getting a handle of the day to day operations of the park and set up strategies for the future. I've read that on a daily basis the management had no idea where their money was going due to poor book keeping. Another major challenge will be to reduce the debt. I saw tons of promise this past season at times. They had a rib festival weekend for the first time and it drew a huge crowd. The midway rides were very busy. In October they had a Pumpkin Festival, which is a bit like Knoebels Covered Bridge Festival, and it drew a huge crowd. When people find out about these events and they come to the park in droves. Yet local motel owners have reported that 9 out of 10 people calling for reservations asked if the park was still closed. Despite the current condition of the park, if people at least knew it was open that would be half the battle. Quotes from the new management teams says they think there's a lot they can do at the park and they plan to clean it up and bring it back. I think that's the right approach. Special events and festivals seem to be working so that would be a good area to focus on. Rides being closed were a definite problem this past year. It takes money and they haven't had it. But over the course of the summer they were able to get several rides up and running. I'm not trying to underestimate the challenges at hand but some issues have been resolved and now a legitimate management team is in place.

It's certainly a tough move for Kennywood. But give them credit because for the third straight year they will not be raising admission prices.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/11-17-2005/0004218855&EDATE= PA Governor Rendell Announces Investments to Support Tourism and Agriculture Projects HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced investments of nearly $2.7 million to support the state's agriculture and tourism industries, which already employ some 1.5 million Pennsylvanians. "Agriculture and tourism are two vital components of our economy, generating more than $68 billion in revenue and supporting nearly 1.5 million jobs," Governor Rendell said. "We are using our resources to support these industries and help them flourish across the commonwealth." "Pennsylvania's economy continues to grow, but it is not happening by accident. We are making strategic investments to provide new opportunities, remove the competitiveness of our businesses and support the revitalization of our communities," the Governor added. The projects -- funded through the $150 million First Industries Fund, a vital grant and loan program that is a part of the Governor's Economic Stimulus Package -- include the expansion of a pierogie production facility in Scranton and the development of visitors' centers along the Route 6 corridor. Since January, the fund has awarded money for 130 projects totaling nearly $20 million. The Tourism Program provides $50 million in grants, loans and loan guarantees for businesses and non-profit organizations engaged in tourism- related activities. Grants up to $175,000 are available to fund predevelopment and feasibility studies. Loans are available for costs associated with tourism-related projects, including historic, heritage, cultural, sporting, amusement, nature, outdoor recreational or retail destinations located in Pennsylvania; hospitality and restaurant establishments associated with those destinations; businesses that develop and market travel packages; and public/private partnerships formed to enhance or optimize the use of resources such as state-owned parks and state game lands. Applicants will also have access to loan guarantees up to $2.5 million or 50 percent of their outstanding project costs, whichever is less. The following tourism projects were approved by the CFA: Allegheny County Kennywood Entertainment Company Inc. will receive a $175,000 planning grant for predevelopment associated with expanding its amusement park in Duquesne. A 15-acre brownfield site lies adjacent to the current park and Kennywood will explore the economic viability of expanding on the site. The funds will be used for geotechnical investigation for engineering characteristics, environmental assessment, predevelopment planning, site development, and marketing and job development studies. The total planning cost is $455,000. [rest of article cut]

I'm a programmer / systems analyst for a major health insurance company.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05321/608034.stm Kennywood lays off 12 in response to rising costs Thursday, November 17, 2005 By Jan Ackerman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette In an unprecedented move, Kennywood Entertainment has laid off 12 full-time employees at two of its four amusement parks -- Kennywood in West Mifflin and Idlewild Park at Ligonier. The eight layoffs at Kennywood and four at Idlewild cut across the board and included managers, some whom have worked in the parks for many years. The employees were told individually on Nov. 9. "These are good people who have been here for many years. It has been very difficult," said Mary Lou Rosemeyer, park spokeswoman. She said the layoffs are a result of restructuring and increased expenses for gasoline, property insurance, health insurance and taxes. "Our property insurance is going up 25 percent due to the hurricanes," Ms. Rosemeyer said. She said the amusement and travel industries are facing both increased competition and costs, especially since the hike in gasoline prices. "Our revenues were good as a company, but our expenses increased," she said. Kennywood also owns Sandcastle, a water park in West Homestead, and Lake Compounce in Bristol, Conn. Park officials continue to push for the completion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway in Allegheny County, which they say is an important link needed to attract more out-of-state people to their parks. Ms. Rosemeyer said about 200 employees work in Kennywood's amusement parks.

http://www.meadvilletribune.com/local/l ... 14438.html $200,000 grant will help Conneaut Lake Park with planning and development By Jane Smith 11/16/05 — Conneaut Lake Park hopes to secure a $200,000 planning and development grant by working through the area’s economic development agency. The Economic Progress Alliance of Crawford County will seek a state grant to prepare the park to seek developers to upgrade the facility. Struggling through millions in debt amassed by previous owners, the historic amusement park recently had its volunteer board of directors resign. Because it’s operated as a charitable trust on behalf of the people of northwestern Pennsylvania, the Crawford County Court of Common Pleas named new managers. One of those managers, LeRoy Stearns, explained that in addition to helping with the grant, the alliance will help “set up the procedures to move the park forward.” In the meantime, the lease for Camperland isn’t being renewed at the request of the company that was leasing the campground that is part of the park. Stearns said the park intends to run the facility next year. A lease for the midway games expires Dec. 31, but no decision has been made yet whether to open that lease for others to bid or whether to have the park operate the games. In addition, a financial report on the park’s operations through Labor Day — which was due in Crawford County Court on Sept. 25 — still hasn’ been submitted. It was to be prepared by the Trustees of Conneaut Lake Park, all of whom have resigned. Terry Deitz, former chairman of the board, said the report is complete, but he wants to “talk to the rest of the board to look at it and have it approved before final submission.”

I don't know about Mr. Furley either. He's afraid of the carousel. At least Larry likes the bumper cars. Larry! Mr. Furley!

Robb's thoughts pretty much sum up how I feel as well. I picked up my Astroworld credits while doing a "Texas triangle" trip, also picking up the parks in San Antonio and Arlington. I've been back to Texas twice and I've been close enough to go to Astroworld but I didn't. The first time I had time for one park and it had to be SFOT. The next time it was SFOT and SFFT as I had time to visit two parks. SFAW was a distant third option for me. Yeah, if I knew I'd never have another chance to visit the park again I'd have probably stopped by since it had an varied collection of coasters. But only a few of them were worth reriding. Aside from the rides, the park itself didn't stick out to me. It seemed cramped for a Six Flags park. It wasn't ugly but it was average looking. I've never been the biggest fan of the look of SFGAm compared to SFOT or SFOG (or even SFGAdv) but SFGAm is nicer looking than SFAW was. Either way SFGAm has a much better coaster selection as do the other parks I mentioned. SFAW reminded me a bit of Nagashima Spaland based on the caliber of rides, minus Steel Dragon. They had the same model Schwarzkopfs too. But Spaland was a much more attractive park. Another park I can compare Astroworld to is Canada's Wonderland. Clearly PCWo is a very attractive park that blows away SFAW for looks. But the coasters at PCWo haven't drawn me back to the park for 12 years. In that respect I think it is like Astroworld. Regardless of how I feel about the park it is a crime that it closed down. The Houston market seemed to support the park just fine considering that only one brand new coaster was added over the last 20 years.

With the skid brakes, two train operation on the Jack Rabbit was very time sensitive as they didn't want a train coming into the unload area while the other train was still in the loading area. If the warning bell went off that meant that the loading train needed to dispatch ASAP even if all of the riders hadn't finished buckling their seatbelts. Now with the magnetic brakes they can wait and make sure everything is set before dispatching, even if the other train is in the unload area. I like the magnetic brakes as they are smooth and consistent compared to the typical fin brakes you see. The magnetic brakes don't wear out like the pinching fin brakes do as well. The brakes worked so well on the Wild Mouse at Idlewild that Kennywood has used them on the Jack Rabbit and Phantom's Revenge. I believe the Racer is having magnetic brakes installed over the off season. It makes sense to do that one now as it has new trains. I'm sure Thunderbolt will see them soon enough. Speaking of the Racer trains, they now have seatbelts as PTC will not ship new trains without them installed. I know that Knoebels doesn't use the seatbelts but any park that doesn't want to use them probably has to deal with their insurance company before they do so. The only concern I'd have for the Nash is that the seatbelts will simply slow down the operation as it did at Kennywood. I think the ride experience will be fine with the new trains and brakes. In another post it was questioned why BPB would do this and I think it's due to the fire damaging the other set of trains, right?

Is El Toro going to use Viper's old station?

Since Libertyland has announced its closing, I'm posting a TR that I posted to another newsgroup after my visit in 2001. I think it gives an unbiased view of the park without the knowledge that it would be closing four years later. In case you are wondering, I only had a limited amount of time at the park because I was heading to Magic Springs later in the afternoon. Posted to rec.roller-coaster on Jul 31, 2001 Libertyland - Memphis, TN With the park opening at 12 noon, I figured I could only spend one hour at the park if I wanted my schedule the rest of the day to work out. I hadn't heard anything good about the park or its woody but I was pleasantly surprised. The entrance is very traditional and there are many trees in the front area. The park reminded me somewhat of Adventureland in Iowa but not quite as nice and a bit more traditional. I got my first taste of some hot, sunny weather in Memphis as it was around 95 degrees at noon. My first ride was on the Zippin Pippin. This was my 400th coaster so I wanted it to be wood. Outside of the coaster is an old NAD car and a sign about it being Elvis favorite coaster as we've all surely heard. The coaster runs 3 bench PTCs with buzz bars and no seat dividers. I saw this coaster before the Liberty Bowl game in December 1997 and it reminded me of the GL Big Dipper. The out and back part did give hints of a good John Miller coaster. It did have some airtime and the turnaround, although braked, is much like the Big Dipper's. I was happy to get some airtime on this ride with the negative reports I've heard about it in the past. I walked around the park seeing that it wasn't too bad. It just lacked any really interesting rides like a dark ride or some other impressive ride. I found a Dragon Wagon coaster I hadn't heard of before. Nobody was around to run it so I skipped it although it would have counted as a credit because it didn't look to be a powered model. I headed over to the triple looping Revolution for my credit. The coaster is attractively presented on a nicely trimmed lawn. It's a typical Arrow but it has a horrible jolt at the bottom of the loop. It's one of the nastiest Arrow moments I can think of. OUCH! I headed back over to the Pippin for my third ride before hitting the gift shop and pop machine on my way out. I came away with a good impression of Libertyland.

While this poll is a pain to do the first time, make sure you save your ballot for next year. It will be much easier to add in your new coasters and make any adjustments to existing rankings.

Photo TR: Idlewild's Hallowboo! I had a chance to visit Idlewild for their new for 2005 Halloween event, Hallowboo! I was joined by fellow enthusiasts Dave and Janna who rode out with me from Pittsburgh. As you may have guessed, the event is very much aimed at children and families. Luckily things were on par with what you would expect from Idlewild Park as they didn't go overboard to make the event only appeal to very small children. There really was something for everyone unless you were looking for a scary haunted house. That's what Kennywood's event is for. What an unbelievably nice day we had for late October in Western PA. It was sunny, light jacket weather with the fall foliage at about 100%. If you're familiar with Idlewild you know it is a beautifully wooded park with plenty of trees so the scenery was outstanding. We handed over our $4 off coupon at the toll booths so we only had to pay $11.95 each to enter. Upon entering the park we saw the creek along side the picnic pavilions was filled with fog. It was a nice effect. Most of the adult rides were open with the exception of the Wild Mouse, Trinado and the log flume. Some of the rides had new Halloween names. First up we took a ride on the Rollo Ghoster. After that we headed over to ride the Scaredy Cat (Caterpillar). Up in the pavilion area we walked though the dark Crazy Hay Maze. It wasn't a maze where you would get lost but it was a festive attraction with lights, music, props and pumpkins along with the hay bales. Over in the Raccoon Lagoon kiddieland, several kiddie rides were open. We took a ride on the Adult Hand Cars and for some reason they were really slow. It took some effort to make it around the course. Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was closed but we did do the little hedge maze. It wasn't very popular as the hedges were only 3-4 ft tall but it did have some decorations. I was amazed by how permanent it looked. If those hedges were always there I never noticed them. Down in Hootin' Holler there were several Halloween attractions. First was something called Creepy Peepers where you looked into a peep hole to see a haunted scene. It would be like a scene from a haunted house but it allowed kids to just take a peek at what the scenes looked like. Next we entered Confusing Hilda's which is a rethemed Confusion Hill tilt house attraction. They had some extra covering and they rethemed all of the illusions for Halloween. It had a witch and a warlock instead of western characters. It was pretty good. The train ride was converted into a round trip only attraction called the Haunted Hollow Train Ride. The train ride goes through the woods as normal (much like Knoebels Pioneer Train) but they added a graveyard, a fisherman, dancing scarecrows and several other smaller scenes along the way. The dancing scarecrows were quite amusing. They were actors and not animatronics. Nearby was The Parlor, a retheme of Dizzy Lizzy's (haunted swing). This was a funeral parlor with a very brief preshow with some extra actors along the way to the swing. Inside the ride they made a few changes but it was mostly the same boring ride you get in the summer. But it was interesting to at least see the retheming. On the way to Story Book Forest we passed some activity booths and the farmers market area. Story Book Forest was hosting trick-or-treating. This was a no brainer for the park and it was extremely popular. While the candy was only for kids 12 and under, we were allowed to walk through and we were even offered a piece of candy here and there. The park had some candy sponsors and they had some good stuff for the kids. Every attraction in the forest was Halloween themed. It was very well done. Idlewild did a great job with their initial Halllowboo! effort and I'm looking forward to see what they do in the future. It was so nice to be able to visit Idlewild a full two months later than normal. With the Steelers not playing, the event was the perfect way to spend a nice fall Sunday afternoon in Western PA. Old King Cole smoking grass. No lie, there is grass in his pipe. Jack in the Box is set with his own trick-or-treat bag. I wanted to get a shot of the decorated garbage can but this is also the only shot I have of the trick-or-treaters in Story Book Forest. This is The Parlor. Beware, it's one of those boring haunted swings! Foggy Hootin' Holler. Here comes the Haunted Hollow Train. Confusion Hill turned Confusing Hilda's. Janna struggles with the slow Adult Hand Cars. No wait for the Hedge Maze. Caterpillar gets my vote for best rethemed name. Tim wonders if RCDB knows about this. Janna correctly points towards the Crazy Hay Maze. Dave is just showing us his own signature move. The Olde Idlewild fountain is glowing yellow for Hallowboo! Welcome to Hallowboo! and Ricky's Pumpkin Patch.

I'd agree with some others that the Riverside Cyclone had the best drop/combo I've ever experienced. It was flat out sick. I looked at is as our link to the golden age of coasters and unfortunately it has been replaced. Nobody will ever build anything like that again. Here are my current favorites in no particular order: Lakemont Skyliner - Huge pop of airtime with and old, double bar PTC train. Coney Island Cyclone - Still right at the top. It can still strike fear into you. Georgia Cyclone - More ejection than the CI original. Shivering Timbers - Great floatage for a first drop. Rampage - Picks up some steam before a nice, steep drop. Tremors - Straighter than Rampage and probably better.

I was almost ready to ask why they only were getting 4, 3 car trains thinking that they had to have longer trains. But looking back it already had 3 car trains. The new trains look sharp and I like that they retained the gray material for the interior like the old trains had along with the lights. But I am a bit worried about some things I'm reading elsewhere about BPB. Apparently the Turtle Chase didn't run last year and it is being put in storage with the site set to be leveled. The Whip and the Black Hole were also SBNO last season. The flume, dodgems and even Noah's Ark appear to be on the endangered list. The Vikingar appears to be doomed and the cableway hasn't operated in a long time. Please correct me if I'm off on any of these rides but that is a disturbing number of endangered classic rides. I'm all for improvements but the classic rides are what make Blackpool special. What's going on?