rollermonkey

No, that isn't very friendly. Do you like beer?

God Bets China Drum (Where did they go?)

12 Monkeys Are you wearing underwear?

Manga. Usually the original medium, thus truer to the original idea of the artist/author. Strawberry or Grape jelly on your PBJ?

Um, how do you see that? Mantis was trumped by Riddler's in every category. I will be happy to find out what CP is up to, but I'm pretty sure it will be a while before all is revealed. I'm done guessing.

I haven't seen the video yet. (D@mn work computers!) From the comments I've heard on this site and others from some normally level-headed people, it seems I picked a good time to move to Chicago! Does this mean Holiday World will now have the best woody, pair of woodies and trio of woodies? Time, and Mitch's Poll will tell!

Don't count on San Diego getting a dive machine. The locals were pretty PO'd when Atlantis turned out they way it did. The application for the ride hyped up the 'educational aspects of the Commerson's Dolphins exhibit while glossing over the ride. It was nearly cancelled when it became common knowledge that they were building acoaster. That Sea World isn't zoned for thrill rides. Back on topic: Whatever is under those tarps, it will definitely be a source of merriment for many a coaster fan this winter! Too bad we won't be able to get weekly construction updates from the Alvey's. So... Who works / lives near CP and will volunteer to be our spy?

Wow. You guys are reading a lot into a group of shapes under some blue tarps. If CP want's to keep this all a secret, and that is in fact track, they are going to need a LOT of blue tarps! Why didn't this guy lift a corner and shoot? It's a CP planted image! We are being manipulated by the evil Cedarfair corporation! If it's an Intamin, another prototype they were working on was the 'Ball' coaster. That'd fit folks interpretations of the clues as a 4D. If it's B&M, I don't care what type it is. I'll probably enjoy it. I do hope for the dueling rumor to pan out, it is by far the most attractive rumor of the lot!

I'm less shocked that Robb was groping Lou than I was to discover that he counts FAIR COASTERS as credits!?! I don't even count fair coasters, and I count Steeplechase as three! (Three tracks, three coaster. Why is that weird to so many people?)

^Good question! Those are both standard sit down coasters. On an invert, the track is between the walkway and the train. Maybe... It will be particularly cool if that path is part of the queue.

All the love for the first 5 videos makes me want to get home faster! Why, oh why can't I see the videos from my crappy work computer?

OK, I know of two other vertical loops with a walkway through the middle: Supersonic Odysee in Malaysia and French Revolution in South Korea. In both of those cases, the walkway is blocked off so that you can't pass through the loop. Will they allow people arcoss this bridge, or will they be afraid of kids throwing stuff at the train?

DisneySea in general is gorgeous. I don't care for Agrabah, Port Discovery or Ariel's Grotto, but every other area of the park is fantasmic. Venice, Cape Cod, NYC, Mexico and Mt Prometheus are all light years ahead of even most Disney themed zones. Europa Park has some lovely areas, Greece, Switzerland and Austria pop into my head right away. Parc Asterix and Gardaland have a couple nice spots, too. For a smaller park, the end of Canobie behind the flume and the swinging ship is nice. I wish they could improve the area near the picnic grounds, though. Lost Kennywood is also nice. (I did most of this park after dark, so the area around Racer and Jackrabbit didn't get a good look-see.) If I said that I like the the winter view of Cyclone from Nathan's Famous, would that bother anybody?

Rugrat's Runaway Reptar

Little Dipper

My Happy Ending Avril Lavigne She's Canadian, eh!

76 days until Eejanaika opens... 10 days until my next construction update... and @ 151 days until I leave Japan to move to Chicago!

Canada, USA, Mexico, England, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Austria, Repubblica d' San Marino, Italy, Vatican City, Malta, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Somalia, Kenya, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong, China, Federated States of Micronesia, South Korea and Japan. States? I've been to 43, I have not been to: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Nebraska, New Mexico, and oddly, Texas

Hmm, My first trip to the UK was... Interesting. I found it expensive and somewhat difficult to get around. I think if it weren't for the national bus lines, I'd have gotten right back on the chunnel! Thorpe was decent, and Colossus was still running nicely. Ground had just been broken on Nemesis Inferno. Blackpool is a long way from London, but a very nice park. The one thing I remember more than anything was freezing my kiester off while waiting for it to open! BPB has the best woodie collection in the world, rivaled only by Kennywood. Alton was a royal pain in the butt to get to using public transportation. A lovely park with fantastic coasters, but a bit lacking in the credit card acceptance! I didn't get to any more parks that trip as I was still trying to get around Europe a bit after. I do look forward to getting there in June!

Ooh, somebody mentioned Fahrenheit 9/11! If you want a little conspiracy theory, here's my story: Disclaimer: I'm in the US Navy, and I was in the Persian Gulf for almost all of 2003. I was on a minesweep and we went about 40 nautical miles up the Khawr abd-Allah. I had no problem with our mission, or why we were in the country in the first place. Now I'm stationed in Japan, and when Fahrenheit 9/11 was released on DVD (it wasn't shown at the base theater.) I went down to the base exchange to see about purchasing a copy. They didn't have any, and I asked a sales lady if they had gotten any in. She said "Yes, we got four copies!" I said, OK, and asked if they were going to get any more. Her reply was "I'm not sure, documentaries don't usually sell very well." I got my copy through an online store. A few weeks later Super Size Me came out on DVD. How many copies did the base exchange get? 128. Yeah. The Navy would rather we watch a movie about fast food than an opposing viewpoint about Bush's response to what happened that day. I'd say I was going to watch United 93, but it probably won't be shown on the base, and they probably won't get many copies in the exchange. I guess I'll just have to get a copy somewhere else.

Nope, our buses weren't Caterpillars or Bluebirds! Do you know the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

City Hall Tenacious D

Erik, Are you trying to kill me with this American food? Where can I get some veisvurst?

Wow, I remember when Flashback was royal blue instead of sky blue. When did they paint it? Yeah, I guess it is looking pretty sad.

SPOILER ALERT, Don't read if you want to be surprised when you ride DoDonPa Hey, I've probably got more rides on Dodonpa (7) than anyone else on this board. (Except I know there are a couple Nihonji coasterphiles that are semi-lurkers, so one of them may have me beat.) The ops STAPLE you in this train. It's not uncomfortable, and if you know what's coming, you welcome this level of restraint. I'm not large, but I usually get an op all but sitting on the lap bar to get it down one more click. The restraints themselves are well padded, and actually would be nice on any other coaster. The train rolls out slowly around a 90 degree right turn before engaging the catch car. There is a brief pause, then the 'pre-launch routine' begins. An excited voice yells a bunch of stuff in Japanese. (I have no idea what he says, and I will never get my wife on this to find out.) There's a countdown in English with lights 3... 2... 1... Then nothing happens! The voice comes back on, says a few things in Japanese that MUST mean 'what's wrong? what happened?' Then, the equivalent of "Oh, Yeah!" and BOOM! 0-106.9 mph in 1.8 seconds. I have described this the same way since the very first time I rode: It feels like you just got kicked in the chest. Your eyes water, and you blink and wipe at them as you scream down the track. Unlike any other launched coaster in the world, the first direction is down in a gentle drop. I feel that there is pleasant low to negative g or 'floater air' on this in the front row of the train. It is less pronounced in the back row. I suspect a lot of folks are still trying to get over the launch and the watering eyes by this point and don't notice. I don't blame them, I didn't notice it the first two times I rode either, that launch is explosive. At the bottom of the drop, the train passes through the first glass walled tunnel. AT these speeds, you barely notice the tunnels, and I have felt zero headchopper sensation from any of the three. (I suspect the tunnels are to ensure that nothing can be thrown at the ride. The train rises high up into a 45 degree banked turn around the replica Mt Fuji before diving back down into the second tunnel. I have not experienced any roughness in this section personally. After the tunnel, the train rises up the vertical spike. I believe that this spike is the same height as H:XLC's, but I do not have any confirmation on that. The spike produces what I feel is the most aggressive ejector air of any coaster, any where. I thank the ops for stapling me at this point. There are two distinct moments of higher negative g's during the curve over the summit, which one is more aggressive depends on which row you are seated in. I find that Dodonpa scares me solely because of the intensity of this airtime, I worry that the restraint will fail, and that I could get thrown clear out of the park. (Dodonpa is the only coaster that still scares me every time I get on it.) After the spike, the train drops vertically into the third glass tunnel and then rides up a long ramp to the on ride photo. (The giant camera to the left of the track houses the real cameras.) Immediately after the photo, the first brakes engage, slowing the train to what feels to be about 50 mph. There are two more brakes before the pre-station brakes finally stop you and the train meanders relatively slowly between them and back to the station. I agree that this ride is very aggressive. I do feel that it is the best launched coaster without an inversion I have been on. (I have only ridden Dragster and H:XLC for comparison.) I find it much better than H:XLC and somewhat better than Dragster. I agree that riding it in winter is unpleasant. I agree that the ride ops are rediculous in what they will not let you bring onboard. (I have had to remove my keys, wallet, cash, etc from my pants pockets before riding on more than one occasion.) I also agree that waiting the often more than three hours for this ride is excessive, and definitely not worth doing twice unless the wait gets short. (Largely because Fujiyama is right over there! Soon, Eejanaika will siphon off a lot of the wait for Dodonpa, so that's good news, too.) If you are excited to try Dodonpa, then get over here and ride it! Opinions are just that. I respect that Robb and Elissa don't love Dodonpa, but until you try it for yourself, you'll never know what YOU think of it. (Jeezus Juice, do you want to chime in here?)