rollermonkey

The VERY short, shaky and generally sucky little video is posted at the end of all the pictures back on page 54. I don't know why, but the video is super clear when I look at it as a .mov in Windows Media Player, After I convert it to a .mpg it still looks fine, but once I run it through Windows Movie Maker, it looks like crap! It was only 3MB, so I didn't even compress it at all except the required zipping. Any suggestions?

Actually, Bill, I took a couple other pictures that I didn't post. (67 in total, what'd I use? 50 something?) I'm about to add the short videoclips I took tring to show the train and the overall complete view from the ferris wheel.

Ha! I prefer "Dragon Coaster" at Yomiuriland, Tokyo, Japan. It was there three weeks ago, so I doubt it's gone now. (I was shocked to see it when I first went to the park, though!) Double check the story, there might only be two left in the states. I think there a couple more around the world.

OK. After pulling out my list and separating the coasters in Japan I've ridden, I have 129 coaster credits in Japan. From that I pulled powered, kiddy and mice without inversions. That left me 78. From there I pulled Arrow and Vekoma production models as well as the Batflyers and the lame Jet Coasters. Down to 61. Pull out the shuttle loops and the Ultratwisters, some of the lamer Meisho, Senyo and TOGO stuff: 45 coasters with something interesting about them or actually really cool rides. That's enough to make a top ten of GOOD coasters, as opposed to including historical stuff. Surprisingly, Thunder Dolphin and Big Thunder Mountain were the last two off the list before I cut it down to ten. 10. Hamanako Pal Pal: Mega Coaster 9. Himeji Central Park: Diavalo 8. Expoland: Orochi 7. Kobe Portopialand: BMRX 6. Kijima Amusement Park: Jupiter 5. Tobu Zoo: Regina 4. Yomiuriland: Bandit 3. Fuji-Q Highland: Dodonpa 2. Nara Dream Land: Aska Huh? What the heck did I like the most so far in Japan? More than Aska? More than Bandit? Just to show that my tastes are odd sometimes, My number one favorite coaster so far in Japan is... . . . 1. Space World: Venus I love the sensation of speed in the low to the ground helixes and the G-forces all over the ride. I had a really fun time on this coaster, so it ranks pretty high on my big list too. It's smooth, rerideable and my favorite coaster with a single inversion anywhere. Plus that huge space shuttle in the middle of the ride is FREAKIN' COOL! I just wish I could be on the coaster during one of the simulated launch shows they do in the evening! I didn't get on Pyrenees yet, and SD2K is supposed to open before I leave. With Eejanaika on my event horizon, these three might make the list change a bit.

Let me get back to you on this. OBTW, EJ will be my first 4D. 572 coasters, but no X credit yet. EJ! EJ! EJ! (There's a LOT of mediocre coasters in Japan, though...)

As I expounded endlessly while in Sweden, I never thought I'd have a favorite hill on any coaster. (Although Jackrabbit @KW's double-down is heaven.) However, Balder's second airhill after the first drop is now my favorite. It starts as nice floater air and is sustained to the peak, then builds and pops into ejector air on the backside of the hill.

Part Deux: There's a flat bit after the inclined brake run before going into the station. There is so much technogeeky stuff in here, someone is bound to wet themselves! The King of Coasters and the King of Mountains. EJ's brake run (again) through the trees! They painted the inside roof of the station with this cool design. Here's the other evac platform. I didn't climb the stairs this time. Overbank and a tree! Just in case you forgot when the ride is opening, here's another new poster for you. This motor will probably be coverded in grease soon, too. These girls either know someone I don't or traded something I don't have to get that close to EJ. There's that evac platform between the Full-Full and the overbank. Cool picture. I took one like that, too. The wind measuring device will shut down EJ in winds of over 5 miles per hour. (Probably not to far from the truth.) JAPANESE dirt, the last twisty bit and the top of Pizza: The Ride. Stanley is hard at work, too! He's making random piles of JAPANESE dirt. Hard at work, cleaning (or painting) the brake run platform. Finally! Random piles of JAPANESE dirt. And Pizza: The Ride. There seems to be a little contrast between the sides, back and front of the station building. Here's the spare yen/possibe photo building. Maybe some souvenier squid cookies, too? I liked this angle. More tangly goodness. There's going to be a walkway right under the first drop. Another angle on the last twisty bit and a little of the other evac platform. This angle shows where EJ's entry plaza will be, right behind the mouse. EJ! Your train is showing! EJ-27Jun06.zip Here's the Video if TPR lets it post...

Um, yeah. It's called Spell Check. Anyway. I'm going to try to put the update together, so here it goes: More than three months later, the outside raven turn is FINALLY connected at both ends. This one's for Elissa. Can you see the train in there? I'll post the video in a bit, it's easier to see it that way. It's Ferris Wheel time! Fujiyama's newly painted train. It's black with a rainbow flame job. Sorry for the lousy angle. Apparently even the locals have 'signature moves' now. Perspective is everything. Nice looking coaster there, huh? Yes, I can see that EJ isn't very big. See? It's barely twice as tall as the Mad Mouse! In case anybody was wondering about the big thing that Fuji-Q denied the existence of up until about 30 days ago. EXTREME ZOOM of the final twisty bit. I thought I had a closer view, but this little picture is the best shot of the work on the entrance gate. (It's not a white frame anymore.) Yes, much better idea to go Tuesday instead of Monday. I can't believe I stood between the rails and took pictures next to Floyd there just two months ago! This is where Red Tower (S&S Space Shot) sat today. They also took off the tents over the queue area. EJ pays a little tribute to his older brother X. Three sexy curves. Full-Full, Half-Half and a half flip. Yummy. EJ through the trees! (I nominate EJ as the official abbreviation for Eejanaika.) This angle again because after 6+ months, the ride is finally put together! They had some yen left over after spending 3.5 billion on the coaster, so they are making this building. It's probably the onride photo shop. There are valley escape platforms already in place on both sides of the overbank. Because the last photo had other stuff, this one's for the Lift Hill Enthusiasts. That guy is WASHING the stairs. George is standing guard over the entrance to the completed lift hill. Landscaping under the ride has begun and lots of the construction walls are coming down and new pretty fences are going up. The ramps and walkways are done. There's the final twist. The brake run looks finished. (We knew it was.) I'll say it now, there were more people working on the site this day than all the other trips combined! That section FINALLY looks finished! It's looking SOOO good! I was so excited to be here for the last time before opening, I started shooting before I even stopped the car!

^ & ^^ Between the two of you guys, I don't think five minutes went by where someone didn't give you $#!t for not being on the trip. That actually might mean that you were missed. Or not.

I have to apologize. I have 67 pictures from my trip out there on Tuesday, but I've been insane busy with some personal business. To hold you off until tomorrow and I can put the pictures up, here's the juicy bits: Track's done. (We knew that.) Train is on site. (It's in the station and VERY hard to see.) The whole ride appears to have been repainted, or at least buffed, cuz it's SHINY! Fujiyama's trains have been repainted AGAIN. They seem to match EJ's train. The Great Zaboon (shoot the chutes) is getting a new paint job. Red Tower was down for some sort of maintenance. Mt. Fuji still has snow on it. See ya tomorrow!

So, Derek, are you going to tell everyone why you REALLY missed out on the ERT on Thundercoaster? Or will Nicole shed some light on that subject?

Who's the 'man' sitting next to Robb? Just kidding! (I think Elissa might enjoy being rendered a bit more feminine, though, Dude!)

That's it, Don? I typed four pages on Europa when I went back in '02! Give us some more! Pretty please?

AT first I thought you were kidding, then I saw your post count. There's only one letter cropped out. That should help. If you aren't in the mood for a word game, check out picture three, left side at RCDB. EDIT: Aww! No fun! You gave it up too easy! Banal and Canal are the only two possibilities.

Hey, Don, fix the satan flume picture from Holiday Park for even bigger laughs! Maybe I picked the wrong trip this year! Where is the Don, Mon and Ron show going next year? (obtw, check out Monica's sister in Erik Johnson's Photo Trip Report!)

Nice pictures. The stacking of the trains on IJ is to simulate LA traffic. Was Sledgehammer broken in the up position? That'd be a cruddy place to get stuck! I really like the Vortex shot, it's actually my favorite Arrow suspended. Yes, I have been on BBW. (I'm 7 for 10 on Arrow suspendeds, with only Eagle Fortress in Korea missing from those still open!) Which Intamin drop tower is near where you are moving to?

Maybe, but now you KNOW that she (or he) will be thinking of Jonny Depp instead of you while making out with you!

^ sixflagsmagicmountain, It was entirely your fault that those two coasters broke down. Really, it's just because you were there, and wanted to ride them that was the cause of the breakdowns. Just like when I visited Parque Espana last month, and Pyrenees (also a B&M) was broken down (at the top of the lift, just like SB) the whole two days I was there. Just accept that our presence at parks causes rides to break, and that you'll often need to visit a park two, three, four, or even more times just to get all the credits. The fifth visit was finally the charm for me at LaQua before I finally got on Linear Gale, and three times to Fuji-Q for both Dodonpa and Fujiyama. Enjoy 'wasting your money' visiting amusement parks you've already been to, like me!

I think the overbank is taller than the full-full. The video is pretty crazy. The first drop seems to have more than a full rotation. The first raven also seems to have more than a single rotation, as well. If the first drop is ~260~ feet, and the IRT is also @ 200 feet, then there should be plenty of 'oomph' to get the cars through a whole bunch of extra spins as it travels through the course. I guess we'll know soon enough.

Where the heck is Sakaiminato, Japan? (still love the bye bye shoe bit.)

I drank a Carlsberg in the infield of Balder last week! and Derek was there! and Barry and Robb and Elissa too! No, I wasn't dreaming. It really happened. I have the hammer! Beer #2! Yeah! Urp...

^ Can't spell... < Rarely drinks... \/ Knows Leon Spinks?

Breaking the Habit LP

Yup, make 'em a few times a week. (The wife 's them!) Do you like Banana Cream Pie?

I actually saw a bunch of the new ride scenes on this morning's Japanese news programming. The new animatronics look very good. The bits with the real JDepp getting bugged out by his animatronic were pretty funny. I didn't get to see any Barbossa bits, though.