Macro

By the way, this is authentic Paradise Bay algae. Okay... with a little help from Photoshop. The biggest chunks tend to congregate near the Fun Wheel. This one was about four inches across. Eeewwww.

^^The telescoping thing in the back has nothing to do with the raising lowering hardware. ^They gave a press tour of the platform and explained how the platform works. The platform actually submerges and surfaces like a submarine. The blue tanks which you can see in the third picture above are Boat Floaters. They're blown full of air to lift it and filled with water to lower it. The scissor lifters are used to keep the platform aligned as it moves up and down and they also have a bidirectional cylinder on them which locks the platform at a given depth.

It looks like there is something solid and very tall in the show. Theme park geeks can click these pictures for larger versions. There's a pit just behind the center of the World Of Color platform. They test mounted a very tall telescoping cylinder in the pit for a while. It looks like a pneumatic telescoping cylinder which extends vertically to make something rise out of the water. It looks like it extends to at least 60 feet (probably more like 80). The Chernabog may not be solid but something tall is probably going back there. I think I remember a very tall Zurg in some of the World of Color artwork. If it's not the Chernabog then it may be Zurg.

I've never been on La Revolucion and drive by KBF from time to time so I was just wondering whether it's worth stopping by. The glasses rules at KBF can be annoying and I'm blind as a bat without them (actually I think bats see better - they can still navigate). It really takes a lot of the fun out of rides if you can't see anything. I was surprised when they wouldn't let me on Xcelerator with glasses even with a safety strap. Riding it "blind" is like riding a great coaster in a world of soft, fuzzy blobs. Fortunately, you don't have to be able to see to enjoy the launch and the top hat. I'm not sure if the overbanked turns are more fun for sighted people but they're boring for us almost-blinds. If they won't let you on Xcelerator with glasses and a safety strap then I'd assume they won't on La Revolucion either but I just thought I'd ask. Thanks for any help.

That was definitely the case. The "good old bobsleds" were sleek and actually looked speedy. The "new ugly" bobsleds (the current ones) looked clunky with their big noses. The only thing I don't miss from the original bobsleds is the old safety strap. It was a thick belt with a bunch of grommet holes which you attached to a big hook on the opposite side of the bobsled. It looked like it could come off at any time. The newer seat belts at least are secure. If those pictures are real then this will be the bulbiest nose yet. I think I know where they got the idea for the shape.

I was at Disneyland last Friday and almost realized my #1 coaster goal: seeing the inside of Space Mountain with the lights on (okay... I guess I've set the bar low on coaster goals). Actually, riding it with the lights on would be better but just seeing the inside would be fun. Sadly, I was off by one train (rocket?). The ride faulted and the lights came on but I was in the last train to go back into the station area. If I had just been one train later then we would have been inside the mountain. Crap! So near and yet so far. The train in front of us was in the station so they released the safety bars and let those people out. Our train wasn't in the station so we just sat there for ten minutes while the ride ops handed out readmission tickets to the people in line. Then they finally got to releasing us. Our train is the one waiting on the track just before the station. It's on the track about three or four feet off the floor. There's no walkway next to the rear car of the train where I was. I just assumed they had some kind of Space-Mountain-themed hydraulic platform which rose out of the floor so we could get down. Or if not that, at least some kind of step ladder with Mickey Mouses emblazoned on the side. Nope. You just hop down to the floor. The ride op helpfully suggested that you could sit your butt on the side of the car and then slide down. I'm tall so I just hopped down but the two small women in front of me had to use the slide down approach. Somehow I expected it to be more thought out. This is Disneyland, after all.

I got stuck on an S&S Power Space Shot (Maliboomer at DCA). It was extremely boring compared to getting stuck on a coaster. It fired us up to the top and then instead of the boing, boing, boing stuff, it just dropped a little and stopped. Normally you get that cool hissing sound. This was more of a silent fart. We were probably 2/3 of the way up the tower. Then we watched as a California Screamin' train passed far below us. And then another. And another. And another. Unfortunately I was on a side looking outside of the park so I got to see the nighttime view of beautiful downtown Anaheim. It was probably a nice view for people who had a view of the park. It turned out that the thing was actually dropping almost imperceptably slowly. After about five minutes (it seemed much longer) we finally reached the ground and they gave us those special tickets that give you line cuts at either DL or DCA. I've seen them walk people down from the big hill on California Screamin' many times. That beats the crap out of getting stuck on a tower ride. It is a good way to get over your fear of heights though.

Apparently not. According to S&S Power, Maliboomer is a triple Space Shot and Supreme Scream is a triple Turbo Drop. They do make a kind of tower called a Combo Ride which can operate in either mode but most towers are either one or the other. I'd like to try a 250 foot Space Shot too. I like Maliboomer (the only Space Shot I've been on) but I wish it had a little more kick.

Hi. My name's Mark. Add me to the list of "check in or else you're deleted" people. I hadn't been to an amusement park for more than 20 years. My niece wanted to go to Disneyland but couldn't find anyone to go with so she got stuck with me. I didn't know until we got there that she didn't ride thrill rides. Space Mountain: "too turny". Thunder Mountain: "guy got killed on it" (and this is after her driving from San Diego to Los Angeles at 80 mph while tailgating 10 feet off of everyone else's bumper). Tower of Terror: "are you kidding?". California Screamin': managed to get her in line for that one but it broke down while we were in line and I couldn't get her back in line again. I finally ended up going on California Screamin' on my own. First coaster in a long time and I liked everything except the loop (too many G's for me). I had a good time so I went to Knott's Berry Farm to try some more serious coasters. I rode Ghostrider in the back row. Big mistake. I thought the fillings were going to rattle out of my teeth. Then I tried Silver Bullet (a fairly tame B&M invert). I got tunnel vision in the final helix. Then I took one look at Xcelerator (the first Intamin rocket coaster) and decided to call it a day. I've since been back to Knott's Berry Farm and enjoy Silver Bullet. And Xcelerator turns out to be lots of fun but is too short. I also enjoy Maliboomer (a 180 foot space shot) and Supreme Scream (a 250 foot turbo drop). I guess I've damaged my inner ear to the extent that I can now ride these things without losing consiousness. And despite being initially intimidated by the top hat on Xcelerator, I admit to an audible "oooohhhh, that looks like fun" the first time I saw a picture of Top Thrill Dragster. I guess I'm hooked. Mark