downunder

This report convinced me to go to the London Dungeon tomorrow. Nemesis convinced me to go to Alton Towers the day after tomorrow. Did the Passage of Terror (and no it wasn't Elton John's colonscopy video) at the West End today, okay, not worth 15 quid, some good scenes though with Jason, Freddy, and the Exorcist chick. It's a walk through with actors and a 3D presentation in a theatre as well.

Awesome, I loved my first HHN last year and I'll be back this year. Knott's was a long way behind HHN last for quality. I've seen on twitter that are doing something new for the flume (Sleepy Hollow Mountain), Terror of London (yay!) and Dia Des Los Muertos (nay!) are back, Fallout Shelter & Virus Z are new. Quarantine and Alien Annihlation are gone, and there's a new scarezone replacing The Guantlet.

As paltry as it as a coaster, the Rail Chase is on rcdb which is good enough for me to count it. I never even went on Space Probe 7, I'd visited Wonderland for what would be my last time even before that went in.

Harry who? I'm tossing up whether to go Thursday 9/30 and Fri 10/1 or sunday 10/3 and thursday 10/7. In any case I'll wait to see what the express pass options are like, is the RIP tour worth it? The resorts have got some excellent deals before 10/8. In the mix is whether to do Hollywood HHN on the first night, the only issue is if I can get a Front of Line before they sell out. I loved my first taste of HHN last year so I'm looking forward to this.

I went to Sega World, didn't get the credit though, I think it was down when I went there. It was close to deserted when I went there. The new building that is going up on the site will where I'll probably be working when it's finished. Ah Wonderland, it was very ordinary, I only went there 3 times in it's existence and two of them where free. At least I got to re-acquaint myself with the coaster formerly known as Demon last year.

This is awful, I am really sad about this. I always felt that the greatness that is Holiday World was a refelection on Mr Koch. My heart goes out to his family and his extended family at Holiday World.

My friends just got back from the mountain, I wasn't sure what they would think because they have never been to a major amusement park and have never been interested that much - they were amazed. They said Deja Vu was down but they got to ride X2 and 10 of the other coasters. I might be able to seduce them into coasters trips now.

Some friends are back in LA before from a surfing trip in Mexico and they needed something to do in LA before heading back to Sydney - I suggested Magic Mountain and they have taken up my suggestion, it will be interesting to see what they think given they have never been to a large amusement park. I think they will be blown away especially if they get to ride X2, though they have been surfing monster waves in Puerto Escondido so anything else may seem tame by comparison. Maybe they will become theme park fanatics after this experience, you never know.

Sigh, still over a year to the Rugby World Cup. Go Australia! After the USA warm up game, they are looking very much like a 0-3 go home early team. The Ghanians and Germans have been good enough to lose their top players, now if only they could lose their next best 10 or 20 (Aus might be a chance against 3rd stringers). Somehow Aus managed a draw with Croatia last time, maybe they can manage the same or better with their good friends Serbia.

Nokia 6700 with 5MP camera, it's metal and solid. It wouldn't surprise me if people have been mugged with a Nokia 6700.

Go for it, the launch isn't that bad, I think you find it more exhilerating than frightening.

I'd laugh even more if they didn't fit when they got there.

This raises a question of how many celebrities or just plain rich people have their own private waterpark and/or amusement park? I can't wait for Diablowood - unwanted Intamin First Gen Freefalls lined up in a field like the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo.

Very impressive, I don't view riding lots of quality coasters credit whoring. Credit whoring is performing unspeakable acts with a toothless carnie to get a ride on a Dragon Wagon and that sort of thing. I think you should tell B & M - they may be flattered by your effort. Every Intamin coaster - that will have a far higher higher degree of difficulty. Every Vekoma SLC would constitute an assisted suicide.

The fate of Dumbledore was revealed at The Hanging at Knott's Scary Farm last October, he outed himself with a musical number backed by the village people, and now Dumbledore and the Village people live happily ever after in one of those share houses that says "must be open minded" when advertising for new housemates. It looks like it will be really great attraction even though I have no interest in Harry Potter, I'll definitely be taking full advantage of my resort privilieges to check this out when I'm there in October.

Sorry Jay I probably should have explained that, I thought they have been retractable like what you see on some rocket coasters but it's all academic they'd never do it.

I agree it seems like a sensible commercial decision, though my personal preference is for the most extreme ride possible but that's not for the majority of visitors. I'm a little disappointed but I don't know if I'll ever get back to KD anyway. Maybe they could turn the trims off and run the coaster in extreme mode for part of the day perhaps towards close but I doubt that would be easy to do from an operations perspective and I don't think that KD would see any commercial reason for doing so anyway. Am I correct in the view that coaster enthusiasts make up a very small percentage of park visitors?

^Huh, are you talking about me, if so, I find your comment inappropriate and unjustified?

Wow, I love the look of Adventure Mountain, it looks like a perfect addition to the park. I always go to parks a year too early, oh well, Dollywood was awesome even without Adventure Mountain.

I have fond memories of my 2008 visit to Waldmeer, there is definitely a place in my heart for these traditional amusement parks, and RFII is a near death experience - just the way I like my coasters. Those quirky old school rides like Whacky Shack and Pirate's Cove are too much fun as well. I wonder if that dictionary definition of entertainment - Trevor, is still there doing Retro-active?

Dick Kinzel is the true Roller Coaster Tycoon, I demand: Dick The Movie (aka Trashcan Millionaire). After seeing the 1977 film Rollercoaster on the weekend I also demand a remake of this film in 3D, it has amazing potential for blowing stuff up - so Michael Bay should be interested. I see from another source that one prominent member of the film industry with ties to TPR is rather keen to be involved in this project, they have stated that they would even work in the food truck.

^Good point, I'll pack that, I have one for cricket and one for Karate fighting, I think I'll wear both.

I'd ride it but I wouldn't be optomistic about my chances of survival or at least avoiding a severe nut cracking.

Rollercoaster (1977) - I've wanted to see this movie again for a long time, I was a little kid watching it on TV when I last saw it, thinking - wow I'll never get to ride any of those amazing coasters in America. First thing, do not watch this movie if you are trying to give up smoking, everyone smokes in this movie - at one stage the main character (who is trying to quit) wins a game and gets handed a carton of cigarettes as the prize (I wonder if Kings Dominion still do that). Second thing, this movie is a coaster geeks wet dream with lots of shots of people walking the tracks, POVs, and a faux inside view of the amusement industry plus Ocean View, Kings Dominion and Magic Mountain are featured. Third, if you want to see the worst band that ever lived, check out the band playing at Magic Mountain for Revolution's opening. So what's the movie like? It's half decent, and held interest. In case you don't know anything about it, the story is about a psycho who blows up coaster track remotely to cause accidents in order to extort money from amusement park operators. One of the main set pieces is a bit of a take off of Dirty Harry where the main character gets shuffled around Kings Dominion with a 50 pound suitcase of extortion money and is forced to marathon Rebel Yell, as well as tons of spin and puke rides. The nostalgia value is priceless, seeing Revolution portrayed as the most cutting edge coaster on the planet is pretty funny. Essential viewing for all coaster geeks, I demand a remake - maybe if dcody gets bored on maternity leave she should give it a go.

I'd love to know what hard core coaster enthusiasts would call their offspring (well, the rare ones that reproduce) - Anton Schwarzkopf Bolliger Mabillard Miler Smith or start with Antonia if it's a girl. And nothing screams illiteracy like phoenetically spelled names - "Anfernee" for example. I don't know what the most popular names in Australia would be, maybe - Bazza, Gazza, Robbo, Jonno. It's sad to see the common denominator is coming down though I've come to the conclusion the majority are getting stupider.