mad_dog_BB

Perhaps this is the time to revisit the thread about what inspires coaster designers to arrive at interesting layouts? http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=46024&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=120 The inspiration for Efteling's new ride has to remain - by contract - a secret, but the method used to generate this layout involved photoshopping a couple of pizzas and an old millstone onto a picture of a mixing station / railyard then tracing the resulting combinations of positive and negative confluence lines onto a wheatfield. But like I said, the methods are always kept in the strictest confidence. And for what it's worth, I think every designer has a sort of system that results in a recognizable dynamic signature in each of that designer's creations. I just hope my system of photoshopping onto Jay Leno's face is something that continues to bear fruit.

Incidentally, that's exactly the language we use here in the office as we go through the paces on each new coaster that we churn out. One of our employees form the East Coast actually had to be trained to stop saying things like "wicked dahrk tunnels" for the more midwestern "big ol' derk tunnel".

Pet Peeve: Parks that have no GCII coasters.

Rumblefest is this Saturday...if you're not going, then you're going to miss some massive ERT. There's not as many registered as last year, so odds are you'll spend a lot more time on rides than last year. Not that last year was lacking for serious cycles on the Rumbler. But I'm thinking lucky attendees could probably get into the 30's or more this Saturday. To register, please contact Beech Bend at the number on their website. Talk to Charlotte...she'd love to talk to you! Jeff

Dunno. I know the GCI guys read the forum and if they are able to say one way or the other, I'm sure they will. --Robb Yes, the ride is *slightly* different toward the end. I wasn't so happy with the previous ending, so I changed the double-down into an S-curve segment (like the one on Thunderbird at PowerPark), a hard right-hand turn with some good laterals, and a quick reversal into an undulating left-hand helix. The brake run is now parallel to the lift instead of crossing through it. We'll post New layout with cooler finale!

Regarding today's incident with wind: At around 12:30 today, a gale-force wind swept through the Sevenum area. The wind blew over 13 bents of the lift structure, but thankfully all employees were off-site eating lunch at the time of damage. Initial inspections of the damage reveal that the foundation and anchors are intact, and most of the lumber contained in the affected bents is salvageable. We will have to replace several large legs and batters with new material. It is important to note that a coaster is not as strong during the construction process as it is when completed, since all supporting batters, bracing and track are not yet in place. We hope to have all affected areas rebuilt within a week or so. Again, we are blessed that no employees were injured during this unforseen event. Jeff Pike GCII

Think so?

Soarin makes a few good points. Early layout concepts look a lot like the things I used to doodle on my notebooks in school. We use lots of "rule of thumb" to get a feel for how the ride should flow, where high and low points should be, how wide turns should be, etc. Then we just start skecthing with pencil over printouts of the site. Once we get a real *rough* idea of the layout and profile, we start entering *rough* shape information into our computers. The design programs we use were all developed entirely in-house by us, and we use LISP (AutoCad's programming Language), Maple (a math engine that performs the integral and differential calculus that Excel can't do efficiently) and Excel. Each is integrated with the other to create a system of programs (rather than a single do-all program) that helps us to refine the layout concepts into a true design. By the way, not sure what Intrex is. I think maybe the reader is referring to "Intraxx", a company that created a 3-D animation of Lightning Racer for Hershey. Final dynamic calculations are performed by Maple and organized for output by Excel. But that's just us. Everyone does things a little differently. Best advice for aspiring coaster designers: Keep with it, keep in touch, learn a programming language, learn AutoCad. Jeff

The event starts at 11:00am and will feature rides on the Rumbler while the media gets plenty of stock footage of people screaming their heads off. Lunch will be served, but we need to let Charlotte know about how many TPR folks will be there so she can order enough food. So if you want to attend, please email Robb. Robb, could you then send a number to Charlotte by Wed or so? By the way, I don't know if any other rides will be operating. It's possible, but I have not heard any official word. The park "Officially" opens on Saturday. Jeff

It'll be Friday, May 5th. Although the park officially opens Saturday the 6th, you can get a few spins and a jump-start on the season next Friday. If you've read any of the reports from the "construction" tour, you know that this ride kicks! Hope you can make it. If not, don't forget about Rumblefest! Jeff

Still cold, but this ride really kicks! The video is a TPR exclusive (for now, anyway, unitl I can figure out why it's not working on the Photobucket site). http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=167640 Enjoy! Jeff

Hey TPR, We've been battling the snow for the past couple of weeks trying to get Thunderbird ready for it's grand opening (tentatively April 29) and we finally sent it over on April 10th! We had to shovel about a foot of snow off the track, but Thunderbird came screaming into the brakes no problem! We put a few shots up on a photobucket.com site. Here's a link: http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h22/gciijeff/ The read-only password is gcii. Hope everyone makes the trip to Finland this year! Thunderbird Rocks! Jeff

Hi Everyone. Just got back from Beech Bend, and things are really coming along nicely. I snapped a few shots to share with you guys and get you pumped for Rumblefest (which is May 28, remember?) Enjoy! Jeff I think this is a cool element... A neat view of the twisted track. This is the "Roll in" side of the station building. Here's a look at the "Roll Out" end of the station. You can see the unique exit ramp under construction. It hugs the track and does a circular zig-zag down. A look into the station from the "Roll out" end. The Q-gates are installed but you're looking at the exit platfrom so you can't see them. This is looking at the "Roll Out" End of the station building, which is complete. Notice how the station is just sort of "part" of the rest of the ride. Fun little run to the lift with a bunny hop! A view from inside the park This greets you from the entrance road

Hello TPR, This post was lost in the big crash, so here it goes again: I wanted to give everyone a heads-up that Beech Bend Park announced during NoCoaster Con that they will host the First-Ever RUMBLEFEST on Sunday, May 28th. Beech Bend will post the official information and a registration form on their website sometime this week. Although this info is subject to change pending the official website update, here is the basic plan: Date: May 28th Registration Fee: Around $24.00, subject to change when the official flyer is posted. Includes: * All-day ride wristband for Sunday * Dinner at 7:00PM for all attendees * ERT on Three coasters (Wild Mouse, Brief Encounter and the KENTUCKY RUMBLER) This is a good deal, since the basic all-day wristband by itself is $24.00. You'll be getting dinner and ??? hours of ERT for FREE, essentially. ERT Times: Subject to change for the two steel coasters, but the RUMBLING begins at 8:00PM. The RUMBLING will last until at least Midnight, but could go later depending on how many people want to stick around. Chris Gray and Yours Truly from GCII will be operating the coaster during the RUMBLING, and we promise to make it a memorable evening. We will gladly accept coffee (good coffe...I'm a coffee snob!) as a bribe to remain at the controls longer. I hope everyone has a chance to update their plans for that weekend. I understand there is some other kind of event the day before at some park nearby... See everyone at RUMBLEFEST '06!

Just came across this link on another newsgroup. Look at pic 3 of 3. Absolutely beautiful! http://www.coasterclub.org/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=107 What a view!

Hey everyone, A friend let me know that PowerPark has installed a webcam focused on the new GCII woodie. Go to this link and click "Webcam IV" http://www.powerpark.fi/English/webcam.html Looks like the ride is resting comfortably under a blanket of snow! Also looks like it's nearing completion! My friend also told me that the park is installing a light package that will highlight the structure at night. (Not the construction floodlights in the webcam). J

Really, it was designed to incorporate the lines and patterns of the classic seaside twisters (kind of long, high at both ends, station surrounded on all sides by track) but retain the "twists" that GCII is known for (curving first drop, fan turns, s-curves). The Coney Tornado and Santa Cruz Dipper were something of an inspiration for these (along with Savin's Thunderbolt, to a lesser extent). I think the balance looks like it worked out, but I'm hoping for tracer lights. That'll complete the vision. J

Hey everybody! This thread is simple! Rather than having a million little threads about everything that goes on at PowerPark, this thread is designed to consolidate it all into one user-friendly thread. Feel free to use it to post updates, trip reports, questions, comments, and of course, general discussion. For pictures and videos of the park as well as past updates, see TPR's Park Index Page. PowerPark Official Park Website Below are some links to past updates from the park, you may be interested in. Enjoy! --Robb _____________________________________________________ 2005 October, 20th 2005 - GCI Thunderbird construction photos (see below) 2006 April 17th, 2006 - Thunderbird is testing 2007 PowerPark to install a shooting dark ride 2012 PowerPark is building a "Super Flume" 2015 March 18th, 2015 - Park is building a Gerstlauer LSM for 2015 March 24th, 2015 - Park officially announces Junker _____________________________________________________ Original Post: Hey everyone, I thought some of you would enjoy these progress pics of the Thunderbird GCII twister in Finland. http://www.nojespark.net/nojes/powgci2006/ http://www.guenter-engelhardt.de/entert ... oaster.php (scroll all the way down to see the most recent pics) http://www.powerpark.fi/English/homepage.html (click the pink icon at lower left) As of today, there are only two more bents to stand at the high part of the lift. Then it's all mechanical, electrical and track work. J

It seems like most of you already have this included, but for anyone going to Holiday World next year... Please make the short trip to Beech Bend as well. I really believe the new woodie there will be well worth the drive, and it's not too far out of the way for anyone driving East - West. It's right on the way for anyone driving from the south to HW. J

Hey everyone, You might remember a couple of years ago there was a tour at the GCII office the Sunday after PPP. It turned out to be a pretty big deal with donuts, juice, milk, Chris Gray's good humor. It seems like more than a hundred people showed up to get a glimpse of the place. As I understand it, there will be a tour again this year for anyone interested. Add in Dan C's (CoasterPunk) whimsical personality, and I think we're looking at another smash hit. Stay tuned for more info regarding times, directions, etc.

Julie, I think you were missing my point. I didn't say that BB was as nice as HW. What I said is that it could be the NEXT HW type story in the US amusement industry. Holiday World wasn't always the mega-woodie ultra enthusiast destination that is is today. It got to that point (and won an Applause award) because the people who run it are dedicated to their craft and do everything they can to continually improve. I get the impression that BB's current owner and operators have the same kind of passion and dedication. They're just getting of the ground, though. HW got off the ground decades ago. J

The situations at PowerPark and Beech Bend are very similar, maybe even eerily similar. Consider the following: Beech Bend: Transportation company tycoon (D. Jones Enterprises / Clay's Trucking) turns amusement park operator out of his desire to create a fun family destination PowerPark: Transportation tycoon (Lillbacka Global Transport) turns amusement park operator out of his desire to create a fun family destination. Beech Bend: Small but well-run park that previously focused on camping and racing, turning to thrill rides over the past few years (Mouse, Pinfari Looper, Power Surge...) to offer a diverse mix of entertainment PowerPark: Small but well-run park that previously focused on camping and racing, turning to thrill rides over the past few years (Mid-Sized Steelie, Brand new boomerang, awesome frisbee-type ride) Beech Bend: Fairly secluded but absolutely beautiful setting in the country surrounded by water, trees and HUGE fields for future expansion, all green and complete with cows. PowerPark: Fairly secluded but absolutely beautiful setting in the country surrounded by water, trees and HUGE fields for future expansion, all green and complete with cows. Beech Bend: The next real small-guy turns big-boy story in the U.S. amusement industry (Think HW), focused on providing the right mix of entertainment for families looking for an alternative to the "Big Parks" surrounding PowerPark: The next real small-guy turns big-boy story in the Nordic / Euro amusement industry (Think Oakwood), focused on providing the right mix of entertainment for families looking for...well...just looking for something to do in central Finland. Beech Bend: Building radical new GCII woodie that I predict will blow everyone away, kind of like a mix between OW and Thunderhead. PowerPark: Building radical new GCII woodie that I predict will blow everyone away, kind of like a mix between OW and Thunderhead. The similarites go on and on, right down to the size of the parks, attendance, employment, it's kind of bizarre actually. Even more interesting is that Dallas Jones and Jorma Lillbacka (BB and PP owners, respectively) both personally handle all of the contracts / payments / negotiations and they both know exactly what it is they need to be successful (Thye've already proven that with their respective entreprenurial ventures over the years). I just thought these similariteis were interesting. Coincidence? Or are Harma, Finland and Bowling Green, KY portals to another dimension? (from an insider's POV). J

Hey I was wondering... Do you suppose anyone here could convince Beech Bend to host an event the week that HW is doing theirs? What kinds of ideas for an "Over the Top" event do you guys have? I'm thinking of a "Beech Bender" night that has ERT well into the night. Families with kids can be there for the first part of the evening, and "Die-Hards" could hang out until everyone gets sick of riding. In any case, the event would have to be safe and have some "twist" that makes it different and attractive. Thoughts?