downunder

I got raptured you ghastly infidel; up here there is only Intamin coasters, Eagle's Fortress, and Phoenix. There's no wimpy B & M or crappy coasters like Prowla or Voyage, and militant coaster fanboys are not allowed in. They might let me back down to go on TPR trips and Halloween.

^My guess is it would be for the new disk-o coming in June/July. In the second photo on the left that piece looks like the track for the disk-o. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than I can confirm I'm wrong and it's an Intamin hyper (dream on - pun intended).

Nice VR. I was completely caught by surprise by the lift hill launch first time I rode Tornado. Mine Train Ulven was pretty good, I was so impressed by the first drop - for some reason I thought this was an outdoor version of Skull Mountain, but I'm not so sure about that. Looking at rcdb it says the park opened in 1583, wow, I'm sure JJ was there.

Now we're talking - haunt. Hopefully the TPR Haunt event will be on this year that looked pretty good. Not a bad outcome, though I didn't mind Labyrinth. I wish they would either get rid of, or do some work on Slaughterhouse that has been pretty ordinary in 2009 and 2010. Maybe a few too many apocalyptic ones this year - Virus Z (excellent in 2010), Fallout Shelter (not bad) and End Game. Invasion Beneath sounds promising, I enjoy the mine ride, but the haunt lacked a little action the last couple of years, and the giant spider was looking a little worse for wear and tear. One thing that annoyed me last year is that some of the shows weren't going on non-peak night whereas they were in 2009, and it was the one's I wanted to see.

^Thanks, good to know. I'll be there in late July, and I'm bracing myself for some long waits for NTAG - I'll use the q-bot to get most everything else out of the way. Freeze, Ntag, and Shockwave are the ones I want ride most. I'm staying across the road, so I'll get there very early the three mornings I'm there (Sun-Tue).

Is that the Old Texas Giant Flash Entrance you are referring to, or (hoping against hope) does NTAG now have Flash Pass?

I've ridden 7 of the top 10 (lucked out on number 8), 5 of those 7 made my personal top ten. I rated X2, Montu, Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster, and Kumba in my top ten which was a bit higher than the poll - just what I enjoyed personally. Though I'm confident that if I'd ridden Kawasemi, i305, and GeForce they would well up in my top ten. I think the poll is fantastic, and Mitch seems to have weeded out a lot (if not all) of the fanboy rigging. Is it just me or does the fanboy fervour seem far greater for favourite woodies? Like I don't see the same levels of misguided devotion to any steel as there is to Prowler or Voyage. Though I am disappointed that Robb didn't instruct Mitch to make Lethal Weapon at Movie World Australia number one*. *please read disclaimer at the bottom of the page before taking this comment seriously.

I could just see Prince Harry pestering the DJ to play this at big bro Willie's wedding reception: "God Save The Queen" by The Sex Pistols God save the queen The fascist regime They made you a moron Potential H-bomb God save the queen She ain't no human being There is no future In England's dreaming Don't be told what you want Don't be told what you need There's no future, no future, No future for you God save the queen We mean it man We love our queen God saves God save the queen 'Cause tourists are money And our figurehead Is not what she seems Oh God save history God save your mad parade Oh Lord God have mercy All crimes are paid When there's no future How can there be sin We're the flowers in the dustbin We're the poison in your human machine We're the future, your future God save the queen We mean it man We love our queen God saves God save the queen We mean it man And there is no future In England's dreaming No future, no future, No future for you No future, no future, No future for me No future, no future, No future for you No future, no future For you

^Monte has still got a kick to it, though I didn't think Greezed Lightning at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom was quite as forceful, albeit it used a different launch a weight drop as opposed to Monte's flywheel launch. This is rapidly become the Schwarzkopf love thread, bring it on.

This is a real song by an Australian punk band called Frenzal Rhomb (some of their more serious songs would go great on TPR videos), it's a short but insightful take on paleontology (meteor my a$$): I Know Why Dinosaurs Became Extinct by Frenzal Rhomb I know why dinosaurs became extinct, It's because they learned how to suck their own c***s.

^^While I didn't rate it as highly (in comparison) as others, Mindbender is a fantastic coaster. It's glass smooth, it was uncanny that such a forceful coaster can be so smooth. Plentiful g-forces, perfect inversions, airtime - I rode it over and over again when I was at SFOG. I like the setting of the coaster as well, in that wooded little corner near the back.

Everyone I've come across seems to hate Flight of Fear, either Ohio or Virginia versions, but I really enjoyed my rides on it. Kings Island especially was a real buzz. I don't mind being thrown from side to side if there's no OTSR for my skull to be cracked on, I would hate too if they still had OTSRs.

^In the order of merit, you are first, not riding a boomerang is a virtue and for the best. This man has ridden every boomerang in the world, the first photo is before and the second is after, let that be a cautionary tale to you: I reckon this dude could even pull movie stars like Reese Witherspoon & Amanda Seyfried; but he loved Vekoma more. The decline was rapid from the repeated Vekoma head trauma.

Out of the ones I've been on (which is 13/20 that have existed in North america, notwithstanding relocations), amazingly they're all fairly forceful Beemers except for Silver Bullet: 1. Montu - Busch Gardens Tampa 2. Afterburn - Carowinds 3. Dragon Challenge - Islands of Adventure 4. Raptor - Cedar Point 5. Alpengeist - Busch Gardens Williamsburg 6. Great Bear - Hersheypark 7. Talon - Dorney Park 8. 4 Batmans & a french Canadian Vampire - Various 9. Silver Bullet - Knott's Berry Farm

My ideal trip that has parks in reasonable geographic proximity and has maximal A-list (in my eyes) coasters: Lake Compounce Six Flags New England Six Flags Great Adventure Knoebels Kings Dominion Busch Gardens Europe (or Kennywood on the way to CP) Cedar Point

I was in Lake Havesu in September 2006, it's a pretty dead place, and the heat is amazing (so don't go outdoors). I checked at 6pm and it was 55 degrees celsius (around 140 fahrenheit?). I echo the sentiment - you can do better.

Vekoma. (sorry Dutch Erik).

Great report, that alpine slide looks like an epic adventure. Love the look of that indoor round-up, don't let actual ravers find out about it, they'll all be taking ecstacy and riding it.

^Tor Johnson had a son and called him Texas?

I saw Scream 4 last night, and I was pleasantly surprised. Wes Craven showed many deft satirical touches while still delivering the thrills. First movie in a theatre this year.

^^I was joking about the trouser cam. The video is really good and gives a great view of the ride experience. Also, what's better - back or front? Edit: question answered: back. Is there any coasters that give a similiar ride experience to NTG?

Robb was that camera in your pants (trouser cam) or where you just enjoying the ride? But seriously, is Texas Giant a top ten steel in the Alvey canon? Can't wait to ride this in almost exactly 3 months. Now lets see what jobs RM might be getting now?

SCAD tower, I've never been more scared.

^I guess it's a matter of personal judement, I counted the UK as one country, and even though I went to Hong Kong when it was a separate country from China I counted it as China (I've been to mainland China as well). Oh damn, I forgot Macau on my list.

^That was intentional, many count that as two credits, and given the distribution of Boomerangs geographically - it's a good summary of people's coaster travels. There are a few up there that have been relocated 3 times - for instance, I've been on Titan, Demon, and Alabama Zoomerang, all the same piece of machinery. Though I must admit Asia seems 'rang deprived, but Togo was giving masochists their fix in that region, especially in Japan.