downunder

Arrr, I was a pirate last night, drinking and carousing, arrr, what a night.

^Nice report, ditto on the pre lift section of Hades that was sensational, especially in the back. I've got to say Hades at night in the back was amazing, it just blew me away, .

Martin's Fantasy Island - 2 coasters, one stock, one fantastic, and plenty of Ninjas. Canada's Wonderland - the park was nice and as big as Alaska, but not many good coasters. The arrow suspended, Vortex was a revelation at night, and Behemoth was great even though the trims pooped the party a little. Too pretty, a peaceful place to take what's left of your mind off the trauma of Flight Deck and Time Warp. With an SLC on the landscape, the International theme became cruel world. How many coaster fanboys have a similiar shot as their screen saver, and locks on their bedroom door? Behemoth, the best B & M hyper yet, but still grovelling at the throne of Intamin. Canadian stripper statue, tasteful and polite just like Canada. Yikes, a Ninja. I called Steven Seagal at the fat farm to come and save us but he didn't care. This ride looks innocent enough but if every part of you isn't wet on return, the ride op turns a hose on you. Cripes, Toronto is on fire! I called 911 again but they put me on hold this time. This crazy mouse spun so much I went back in time but unfortunately only as far back as the start of the ride. Silver Comet, which provided another memorable ERT session, they manage wear and tear on the brakes by not even stopping the train at the station. Not to be confused with (Cheech) Marin's Fantasy Island up the road which just looked like a big forest. I saw smoke coming from Marin's Fantasy Island and called 911, a little later sirens and then gunfire.

...which had to be removed because Zamperla had already patented the design for their flying coasters. Looking like he hadn't had a credit in a whole year Robb....

^Arrr, tomorrow in this here timezone ya scury dogs, arrr. Arrr, ye be putting down ye anchor at the Bavarian Bier Cafe to celebrate, arrr.

^Rap like a Pirate is as good as talk like a pirate.

^^Arrr, many many fine fillies down my way. Just look cute and don't mention coasters and it'll be smooth sailing, arrr. Arrr, only 3 more days to go, arrrr.

I wish they would just completely revamp the restraints into something simple like the clamshells on B & M hypers, it would be a win all around - a better ride experience, increased throughput. I'm in a similiar position in that I rode it in 2005 and came back in August and there was a big difference, it was very clunky, so I hope they fix all that.

Now onto Darien Lake and the first of the Intamin crown jewels (Superman) Ride of Steel, would this jewel be cubic zirconia? We would soon find out. One last look at Ride of Steel, it was like kissing a pretty girl goodbye but knowing there was a beautiful girl waiting just over the border. The Emporium in the background, which was full of surprisingly reasonably priced merchandise and friendly staff. Darien Lake was definitely a case for Six Flags selling more parks, their loss, our gain. SLC = Smashed Lower Cranium, this one was called Mind Eraser, another coaster was called Brain Teaser (though it was just plain tease to us, being a kiddie coaster) - a very cerebral park that Darien Lake. Why so sad? Intamin hyper coaster downtime will turn enthusiasts emo quicker than pre Black Parade My Chemical Romance. Said Arrow coaster and Jahan go behind the bushes for some of the love that dare not speak it's name, well is there an actual name for such a love? An arrow looper, this shot is like page 54 of the kama sutra to Jahan. Predator, the coaster that made me thankful I don't have breasts but regretful that I have a fully functional spine. Our first group lunch, I psychosomatically put on five pounds before even arriving, bring it on "Theme Pork Review". The great coaster god Intamin punished them for their lack of faith with the most fearsome ejector airtime that ever existed - "Consider yourselves smited bitches!" The great coaster god Intamin looked down from angry skies and spied hands down in the front row - "How dare you question my ejector airtime!" Man in black, front row, looking down at his crotch: "impotence cured". Obvious shot but still pretty like a Carmen Electra bikini shot. Why have a helix when you can have more airtime, Werner Stengel give yourself a swift kick in the balls for that faux pas. Now this is why Conan The Barbarian invented steel, and why coaster designers are obsessed with breasts. Or going down? Which do you prefer, going up? Darien Lake had great attention to detail, I didn't see a single reference to Superman anywhere. Kind of like some genocidal maniacs year zero, or maybe they had a healthy fear of trademark infringement lawyers. The crowd roars after another crotch searing blur of steel near death. I call the look on the girl in the yellow "the Darien Fake" - kind of looking like you enjoyed it but didn't feel anything, the coaster equivalent of a faking an orgasm. Motocoaster, I think the West Coast Chopper boys would have taken the blow torch to this and turned it into something a bit more exciting. There was something calming and pleasing about the name Darien Lake. Did it make me think of a hot girl called Darien? No. I then realised no more Six Flags in the name or any other aspect of the park.

^This Film Is Not Yet Rated, I really want to see that one. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I wasn't expecting much but I really enjoyed it, I thought Russell Brand was especially funny with some cool support spots from Superbad alum's Bill Hader & Jonah Hill. And then there was the drool facor of Mila Kunis and Veronica Mars (what's her real name?). Though there was an unneccessary amount of sausage in this film.

^^Thanks for that, I was wondering why they were launching Joker's Jinx so slow, the train really crawled through the course. SFA love to make you work for catered lunch too, the walk was so long to the picnic area. I felt like I was in the book The Stand where they walked from Boulder to Las Vegas, at least the devil wasn't waiting for me at the other end like the book, but there were still some scary people there. I'd hate to be at SFA when it's crowded, if indeed it ever manages to attract crowds anymore.

^The SFA Flash Pass, did anyone even use all their tickets, I know I certainly didn't? Poor old SFA, it's like an extremely fit and healthy person who falls seriously ill and then can't get medical treatment. There are so many coasters there that could be great but were running terribly especially Superman, Joker's Jinx (the launch was so slow compared to Flight of Fear), Wild One, and Roar. I really felt for that poor PR girl, she wasn't getting much love from the rest of the team.

^Arrr, Oktoberfest aye maybe pulling into port for that one, started early on Friday at ye Bavarian Bier Cafe, arrrr.

^I'm just messing with you, the most embarrassing ones involve me.

Hey Adam, I have many interesting photos of trip members, some of which I may hold back, unless I don't get the blackmail money.

The adventure begins (or continues, if you've been to Islands of Adventure) with a 6 hour bus ride to Rochester, the people on the bus were a bit more diverse than a Greyhound but twice as scary. Seabreeze is nowhere near the sea but Lake Erie was a beautiful substitute, gotta love these cute, fun little parks. Onto the photos. The crowd celebrates another run on Jack Rabbit, no spines were harmed in the riding of this coaster. But soon this would not be the case. Onto the D Lake and MF Land. Obviously no one trade marked the name Jack Rabbit because there are dozens in the north east. Rye Gunplayland wanted to relocate this and call it "Jive Rabbit". Yes, a log flume with no water, I could here their cry "Brace yourself, we're going in rough". Not an upcharge ride but definitely an upchuck ride, it's wise to note the location of the nearest bin by the ride exit, if you last that long. "Production Values" the stage spectacular, presented in Awesome Vision. A wonderful opportunity to win a human sized stuffed toy to take the place of that imaginary friend. The drop on Bobsleds, and the little kids goes "weee", and the parents reach for another Huggie. Narcotics Anonymous doubled as a field trip for the Rye Slayland ride ops, though I think they were more scared of us. The trains reminded me of Toboggan Nordiques at La Ronde, minus the chain smoking French Canadians. Bobleds was a fun little ride, with the uniqueness of being converted from a wood coaster to a steel coaster. Whirlwind was a fantastic ride, if I remember correctly, completely untamed by killjoy trim brakes. Robb indulges his habit of trying to swallow impossibly large objects, the crowd looks on in horror and fascination. Seabreeze was also the name of my fave underage drinking establishment as a teen (though better known as the Sleaze Breeze). Thanks for the mammaries, Sleaze Breeze. The $2 store was cool, American Pie presents "Trouser Socks", just out of shot is the Jason Biggs signature range of sports trouser socks. I wanted to rent a car and explore this little town but the only rental car in town had recently been hired by Johnny Knoxville and would now be unavailable for a while. Gotta love those little towns and their little meat sales. I accidentally left my cell phone on, so the TSA made an executive decison and sent in a squad on another jumbo led by Kurt Russell and Steven Seagal. Unfortunately, the straight to DVD incarnation of Steven Seagal couldn't fit through the hatch and Kurt Russell left pretty quickly after I bombarded him with geeky questions about escape from New York.

I'm so excited, it sounds like it will be Delgrosso's with a race track instead of a sauce factory. Real TPR Tour material.

^Arrr, that thar is mite fine pirate talk, if I says so myself, arrrr. Arrr, only 8 more days, arrr. Yay for Nay, ride ops should do more for this day at theme parks, it would be fun. Arrr, X2 is scuttled for the rest of the day ya dirty landlubbers, arrr.

^Thanks for the tipoff, I don't really keep up with what M.Night or anyone else is up to, I was hoping he might be doing something with potential for greatness as his next project. Also thanks for the reminder, I must see Bladerunner again, that was a mighty fine piece of work.

^Ditto, on Tranformers - Clerks II had really put me off, but it was fun film with some genuine pathos at times. The Happening - better than expected, it actually kept me interested, it didn't work spectacularly but wasn't bad. I loved his first 3 films, so it's always a tough ask to live up to them. I couldn't say M.Night is back but he's a bit of a way down the road to redemption.

No, I can't say I do which is ironic given I work in IT. I just know what I want the thing to do, so as long as it does what I require I'm cool. My most expansive project was adding some extra RAM or wiping the hard drive, so I guess I'm a fail on computer geekiness. I love how PC and laptops seem to love to die just after the warranty expires, it's like the movie The Happening with PC's.

^^Agree with you there, we did a lot of Q & A's with Park management on the Emo/East Coast trip and when asked about how they select a new ride, the word demograhics gets used very quickly. There is a vast chasm between how enthusiasts and general public view coasters in many cases, we see another Vekoma Boomerang, they see a big contraption that goes fast and upside down.

^^ Arrr, PoisonedPirate yar commitment to the cause is inspiring, arrr. Arrr, this Sept 19 is going to be ye best ever, arrr.

The restraints look very similiar to the ones on the SLC Great Noreaster at Morey's in terms of the over the shoulder component. Which I have to say was a big improvement on the SLC though the ride itself wasn't that good but at least no ear bashing. This coaster gives me even less motivation to go to this park, I guess anything is better than nothing but I think they could have put up something new that would have been much better for the same amount of dollars spent. Additionally, I don't think they would have had much problem selling the boomerang rather than relocating it.

^Arrrr, ye force is strong in tha 'un.