rollermonkey

I forgot that I promised Justin Garanovic of First Drop Magazine that I would send him some new photos in time for his deadline. That means I need to go this week after all. I'm going to be published?!? Actually he said that he already used some of my pictures in an earlier issue! How come nobody told me? So, since he's actually gotten a hold of me directly, he's sending me complimentary copies of the issues that my pictures are in. COOL! Free swag! Stand by for photos Saturday night or Sunday night.

I've had to fight my way through more than a few awful babelfish or google translations, let me take a crack at what I see in that: The person who called says that even though the call (to Nagashima Spaland) was unexpected, they were polite in the response given. This is actually somewhat of an important change in itself. I've sat in on three or four conversations where as soon as the status of SD2K is brought up, the park immediately shifts to a defensive mode, bringing up all the other rides and attractions at the complex. The earliest the coaster could be returned to operation is 5 June. Large rides require approval of the government in all aspects of managing the ride. The "National Traffic Ministry" is responsible for managing these attractions. (Think of them as the Department of Transportation, and SD2K as a train, and then it should make more sense.) The desired target date for reopening the ride is 7 August, to coincide with the nation wide school summer vacation period. (The school year begins in the early Spring, and Summer vacation is more like a break between semesters or quarters. It is also not nearly as long as in the US.) The next paragraph seems to indicate that some of the buildings on site may not be up to Japanese earthquake code, (Possibly including the coaster, I'm not sure there.) and they are holding back approval of reopening the ride at least partly because of this. It seems they did some illegal remodelling, too! (Shame, shame! ) Whatever investigation into the SD2K mishap determined that there was apparently no blame to be assigned, and designated an accident. (If you don't know what happened, a wheel / wheel assembly came off the train as it was transiting the circuit. This flew clear of the ride structure and landed in the waterpark that is alongside SD2K's structure, hitting a man and killing him. The riders on the train itself were unhurt. I believe the coaster completed it's circuit safely, but I'm not 100% on that bit.) The document referred to is likely the accident investigation report, which seems to have just recently finally been released! (That's either a long investigation or it took NSL a long time to put together a large enough bribe!) This seems to indicate that the 'period of reflection and mourning' may now end. (I learned about these periods when a Sailor killed a Japanese lady off base on 3Jan06, and no one was allowed to go home for three days, drink alcohol for a week, and we still have some restrictions on us!) That allows them to begin moving along the steps necessary to reopen the coaster. The last paragraph, like the first two, is the person posting. (All the rest is the statements of the Nagashima Spaland representative.) He states that the person he talked to was enthusiastic about the coaster reopening. The last bit (in English) would be: "After hearing about the Dept. of Transportation report, it makes me believe in the possibilities." I thought it was a very impressive LOOKING coaster on my visit last year. If it does in fact reopen before October, I'll have to make a special trip down there!

Robb and Elissa, I'd like to congratulate you on reaching 10,000 registered users! What are you going to do to celebrate?

Although the cars 'feel' like they are coming to a complete stop, if you watch the ride from the ground, they only slow a little bit. But what a difference that little bit makes! You go from to to to to all in about 3.5 seconds! It's quite an interesting experience, to say the least. Plus at 107 meters, it's no shrimpy tower!

My favorite is also the nearest to me. Blue Fall. I can see it from my work! Just curious: How many others have a trim near the top? Last one I rode had a more interesting name, though. Newton's Drop.

yes, well, that's like going to an amusement park in a 3rd world country Oh, Dude, you don't know the half of it! I just visited a park in South Korea on the east coast, about 45 miles from the NK border. Ugh what a dump! It looked like they were selling off rides to finance the waterpark expansion next door!

As a current resident of Japan, I feel it is appropriate to voice my opinion in regards to the question posed. I'm a big fan of Bandit. It gets faster and faster as it goes, and only has one transition that is less than pleasant. (Actually that one turn is very abrupt!) Megacoaster (Hamanako Pal Pal) is cool, as are the Ultratwisters. So far my favorite inverting TOGO actually may be Loop Screw at Seibu Yuenchi.

What's today? Tuesday? OK, would you prefer I go to Fuji-Q this weekend or next? (No I won't go both weeks!) My next trip will likely be 13 or 20 May after that if that helps.

Make your own rules. Everybody has different opinions as to what counts and what doesn't. I'm very generous to myself when counting, others find it rediculous what I'll count. Stick with your rules, unless you change your mind. Don't do this too much or you will start to get confused.

Um, Yeah, good luck with that.

I expected the rotating ring to look like a tree top. Instead it's a giant pencil? A little odd, IMO.

This one's all wood, huh. I bet those folks installing that woodie over in Indiana start getting more orders after this year based on how much faster they put up a woodie ALMOST the same size! The real test will be once we start getting ride comparisons.

I'll check from my Japanese cell phone in the AM.

Two things: One, I knew there have been a few Green Lanterns, including at least one black guy. I didn't know there had been so many guys wearing that ring over the years! What a bunch of quitters! Two, Now I know why they've never done costume characters for the DC license. It's such a let down having real people try to portray the 'perfect people' that most superheroes are. (Yeah, I know. Batman's a mess, but he's always been a ladykiller, he just usually can't close the deal.)

"Just a few more seconds Elissa, and you can stop seducing the op..."

Flugelhorn My Mom won't tell me why, though.

First, let me say that it is completely absurd that not all the seats were full on every train. I could have definitely helped in that regard! Second, Johnny, beautiful photos! Third, Mr. B and Mr. M have created a truly attractive coaster. My question is this: What's up with the random supports? A post, one kicks left, another right, and the next is an 'A' frame. All without any seeming reason or pattern.

^Loop Screw is actually pretty good. I have POV, I need more edumacation on the compewter so I can fit it under 30mb. I like the end results of a lot of translated coaster names: Through the Woods Jet Coaster MoMonGo Standing and Loop Coaster (Momongo is Japanese for flying squirrel.) Of course there's always the mouthful we usually refer to as the Hamster Coaster.

I suspect it may be as simple as TOGO is able to be more involved in the assembly and maintanence of the rides in Japan, but are more hands off when it comes to the TOGO's in the US.

Grasshopper, Coaster season never ended for me last year! I rode the Nasu Highlands coasters in the snow with the Alvey family on New Year's Eve and Hit Tokyo Disneyland the next day! I think I've gotten about 40 new-for-me coasters since then!

^Maybe in the states, but Galaxy Express 999 opened last year with T-bars. Woodies don't need all the extra stuff if riders just behave. Heck, Anton Schwartzkopf proved years ago that even inverting coasters don't need anything more than a lap bar.

To answer the question posed up there, Mr. Bolliger and Mr. Mabillard used to work for Intamin. This was indeed one of the rides they created before forming their own company. To complicate matters, Giovanola, a former contractor for Intamin, built Flashback. Simply put: B&M designed it, Giovanola built it, and Intamin AG sold it.

^Amen, brother! I don't agree with all the Flashback bashing, but my ex-wife didn't care for it. I only ever rode in the front row, and always on an edge though, so maybe it was rougher in the back? I do tend to ride coasters defensively, but I never found this one as rough as Viper. I hope they open it, as the space is pretty useless for anything except a mouse or a flat. Maybe a Screaming Squirrel?

OK, I seriously doubt the insanity of the posters in this thread, regardless of the odd levels of cheese. My queries are these: Would a zero-g roll still give zero g's? Would the element need to be re-engineered due to the lower speeds? Are we talking about cheeses like Goudas and Gorgonzolas, or more like Colby's and Cheddars? Could you LIM launch a coaster train fast enough to escape the moon's gravity field? How about just place the coaster train in orbit? How high would a drop need to be to use a large crater (say 1 mile across) for a helix outer wall? It could be like Dragon Mountain, with completed theming!

To echo: Alton Towers Busch Gardens: The Olde Euroburg Ocean Park has the most impressive setting from the list IMO. (The sky ride has great views, too, but the park itself is a wee bit run down.) Yomiuriland is the nicest setting in Japan, so far, but not the most beautiful park. ^Philcoaster, while Fuji-Q has a nice backdrop, the neighborhood it's in is pretty shabby, especially for Japan. I drive through it when getting out back for my construction updates. Now, GrinPa, on the other hand, is right on Fuji-san itself! THAT'S impressive, if a little weird and ominous.