rollermonkey

Yeah! The USPS tracking thingy says that my deposit is safely in Robb's (or Elissa's) hands! I have recieved on e-mail today from Robb, but he didn't mention anything about England :? , so I can look forward to somehow being contacted twice in one day by our hosts! Whoopee! Chris B (I'll let R+E tell you what stunt they're up to themselves!)

I have to echo the vote for BPB's wild mouse. I had so much fun, I keep in in my top ten woodies! Chris B

GeoPanic at LaQua. I'd post a pic, but a: it bites, and b: it's 99% enclosed and not visible. Chris B

Mrs. Tums, After two years in Italy, one year in Bahrain, and what looks to be three or four years in Japan, I am looking forward to moving to the unexplored, remotre, and decidedly exotic US of A! I have fallen way behind on coasters back home! Shoot, the last time I was at Magic Mountain, Flashback was running all the time, and Goliath was new! Chris B

Anybody wishing to come out to Japan, feel free to drop me a line. I have been living in Yokosuka for about two years. I'm about an hour south of Toky by train, and I'd love to meet other coaster junkies If you'd like info about parks, I have been to just about every park in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, and Shizuoka prefectures. I've also gotten down to Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, and Fukuoka as well. I still have all the park maps, ticket and train info for getting to and from (and in many cases between) the parks. I should be here until about October 2007. Chris B

Actually, the school year starts in the spring, and the kids get a summer break similar to our spring break. Chris B

I have to disagree, Elissa. Most of the parks run closer to 40-50 for free passes. There are very few pay-per parks, Arakawa Yuen, Sega Joypolis, Cosmoworld and the new Aqua Stadium being the only ones with no free pass option at all so far that I've seen. Chris B

I wish I had seen this thread ages ago! I live in Japan, and although my ship will be out to sea while you are here, I've been living here for about two years, so I can advise as well. I've been to all of the parks you want to hit, and I can suggest more relaxing 'touristy' things as well, if you'd like. PM me, and we can hash out stuff like train schedules, which train stations are particularly difficult to negotiate, finding ATM's, or anything else I can think of. Chris B

Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Period. Kennywood would be my #2. Chris B

Isn't that basically how that kid got killed on the old mill earlier this year? Chris B

The Children's Museum in Boston is right across the channel from the replica Boston Tea Party ship, the Beaver Brig (seriously, that's the name), but most of that other stuff doesn't seem to fit in. They did have a totally cool rollercoaster display involving bowling balls travelling through a looping track when I was a kid, though I don't know if it's still in there. Chris B

Goliath is very intense, as are the helices on the Beasts, but the only lateral G that ever made me black out was on Kumba. It didn't happen until my seventh back-to-back ride, and I was moving one row back at a time. I was woken up by the brakes at the end. I've started to "gray" out from positive G's on a couple of rides outside the US, Douple Loop at Fuji-Q did it to me three different times, for example. Chris B

I'm actually leaning this way too, having seen a story on TV about the WOW movie airline crash site recently. I can't make connections to Boston and bunnies in SoCal though. Did Hugh Hefner invite you to his Mansion to meet his bunnies, Robb? Utah, has some likelyhood as well. Premier (premium) rides is there, the Mormons left from Boston (I think), AAAAAAAAARGH! Need More Clues! Chris B

I found TdZ pretty ho hum on my visit back in '01. The line was rediculous, (c'mon one train available?) the coaster wasn't running well, jackhammering, etc, and the kids in the parc were quite rude. Gouderix's "butterfly" inversion felt like it nearly broke my jaw, but the rest wasn't any more painful than other Vekoma death machines. Trace du Horra was the highlight of the park for me, but Vol d' Icare was pretty good as well. My best impression of the parc was and still is the great theming job and the catchy music throughout. As for the rest of the trip, I enjoyed the typical TPR flavor, and got to see bits of parks I missed while living in Italy. The real question is how does Elissa get you guys permission to climb lifthills, MCBR's, and track walk running coasters? Chris B

Chris says "D'oh!" Chris B (How's that for a meaningless post to gain more love for donkeys?)

Incidentally, I am posting right behind a member of another board (Gregleg, Hi! Nice to meet you the other night at TDL.) that led me here. Yahoo group RCT led to Screamscape, and one of those announced the Japan-a-mania video, and since I live in Japan, I bought it. After watching it, the humor led me to really check out the site. I stay because the humor keeps me sane while in thye Navy! Chris B

Aska's got some great air, as does Regina. Fujiyama has some crazy zig-zag up-and-downs that give some wild air, and I thought Dodonpa was going to throw me back to Tokyo the ejector on the spike is so forceful! I was glad to be stapled at that point! The problem is the launch is into a drop that gives lovely floating air, but you can't really enjoy it because of the same stapling. The restraints are better and more comfy than H:XLC though. Oops, bunnys: Jackrabbit's (KW) nice, All the supe's are too. Chris B

Many Japanese parks are open year round. I know Fuji-Q operates during the winter for one. They tend to close Fujiyama and Dodonpa in a stiff breeze though, so I don't know if they would run those in snow, but just about everything else should be running. 108 mph in below freezing temps? Doesn't sound fun to me anyways! Chris B

When I was stationed in Italy, I lived in Gaeta, which is between Naples and Rome. The nearest amusement park was Magic World, just outside Naples, and I had to drive past it every time I drove to the bases there. I knew that the largest coaster (a Top Fun Typhoon model, the only other is at Santa's Village) wasn't operating from my first visit to the park. One day as I was driving past I saw that the train was climbing the lift, so I screeched off the highway (typical Italian driving maneuver) and entered the park. I had some of the plastic stubby stuff that replaces tickets, so I only had to pay the entry fee of ten euros or whatever. I ran back to Magic Mountain and waited for the minimum number of riders so the train could be dispatched. They were only running one train, and about ten minutes later, we had enough people, and I boarded the front row, and sat in the left side. An Italian guy sat next to me, and ignored me in proper Southern Italian fashion. I pulled down the OTSR, and pushed up and up it went. I waited a few seconds, and my neighbor pulled his down, and it stayed down when he pushed up, so I tried again, but it still popped up. The op released the restraints, relocked them, and this time mine stayed down. They dispatched the train, and wouldn't you know, halfway up the lift, my OTSR popped open again! I cought it about halfway up, and that's where it finally decided to lock in place. :shock: This model has an inclined loop. I feared for my life. I also screamed like a little girl, but the ops had probably fallen asleep, answered their cell phone, or started flirting with some passing girls. So I got tossed around and beaten like a red-headed stepchild, clinging to the poorly padded restraint for dear life. We returned to the station, with me still alive, but pretty beat up, and the ops didn't seem to care that my restraint had failed. So I rode it again, in a different seat to see what it was like without being focused on staying in the train. And I got tossed around and beaten like a red-headed stepchild for my effort! Now I understand why some folks count these two coasters as "negative one!" Duane from RCDB warned me, as SV is his home park, but no, of course I didn't listen! Chris B

Canobie Lake Park? Chris B

The USPS trackingt thingy says that my deposit (sent express mail from a US military post office in Japan, which means it sure as hell won't get there overnight) should be arriving at an address on Magic Mountain Parkway on Tuesday. Fingers are crossed that 20 odd deposit checks DON'T arrive on Monday! Chris B

That's totally cool! It's better than an actual park map! I've never been there, what are all the blue canopy looking things? Chris B

Well, Robb, I thought I hated Vekoma as much as the next preson. As much for the cookie cutter buisness model they run, (Really have they ever built any coaster model just once?) as much as the general levels of pain I associate with those same cookie cutter coasters. Honestly though, is a Boomerang's backwards section as bad as anal rape? I've never been through such an experience, but it just doesn't seem as though the two would be comparable. Chris B Who is hoping to complete his collection of Tokyo area coasters with the previously closed Space Mountain with Gregleg on Thursday and the twice previously closed Linear Gale with the ACE'rs and ECC'rs on Monday.

Top Ten Woodies (of 83) #1: Roller Coaster, Blackpool Pleasure Beach #2: Cyclone, Astroland #3: Boulder Dash, Lake Compounce #4: Phoenix, Knoebel's #5: Jack Rabbit, Kennywood #6: The Beast, Kings Island #7: Aska, Nara Dreamland #8: Wild Mouse, Blackpool #9: White Canyon, Yomiuriland #10: Wildcat, Hersheypark Top Ten Steel (of 325) #1: Millenium Force, Cedar Point #2: Dragon Khan, Port Aventura #3: Superman: ROS, 6FNE #4: Venus, Space World #5: Kumba, Bush Gardens Tampa #6: Superman: ROS, 6FDL #7: Medusa, 6FGAdv #8: Air, Alton Towers #9: Dodonpa, Fujikyu Highlands #9: Fujiyama, Fujikyu Highlands #10: Bandit, Yomiuriland That's today's version. I really want to get back to the states and check out some of the new wood that's been put in in the last 5 years. Chris B

Wow, Guy, I'm divorced, too, but you seem to be a bit more bitter about the experience. 6FNO is right on Lake Ponchartrain, right? I think it might be outside the levee as well. That would be good, as the flooding can get away, unlike the city which is about to become a stinky puddle. 6FG floods all the time, so they should be able to advise their sister park in cleanup and recovery efforts. As for wind damage, that could get messy for buidings, etc, but there is a bit of land to the south to begin knocking down the storm. Good luck, Louisiana! Chris B