rollermonkey

Hee hee! It's back! Boing... Boing... Boing...

^ That's a shame. If the new trains were so certain as of July, why (or how) could there be such a big change in plans? Seems like the weird, typical SFI crud, regardless of who's calling the shots these days.

What is typical staffing for X? EJ had 8 people checking restraints at all times, 1 in the booth, 2 farming out people to rows, and maybe 1 or 2 more supervisors and about 6 maintenance guys there. (Of course that was a week after opening, so I'm sure that number will come down a little.)

No. Time to get up. Is that a pickle in your pocket? (Don't let Julie find out!)

Um, yeah. Why did I give 16 tubes of blood again?

Soul Meets Body - Death Cab For Cutie

Santa Claus 3: 6/10 I didn't see #2, and I'm guessing I didn't need to. Allen continues to make a surprisingly good Santa, but Short's problem has always been knowing where the upper limit is. Passable, but PLEASE don't make any more af these! Happy Feet: 6/10 Cuteness and quality animation save the tired plot. The songs are good but not great, which doesn't bode well for a kiddy musical. There are enough jokes that work, but some real stinkers. The Holiday: 5/10 Two stories, one just barely works (Law/Diaz) the other doesn't (Winslet/Black) I can't see Black as a romantic lead, and this movie shows why. Pursuit of Happyness: 8/10 Smith is pretty much always great, and despite the sentimental/sappiness of the story, he makes it work. Oscar? Not really, but a pretty durned good flick. Night at the Museum: 6/10 Both Williams and Stiller should be better than this. Surprise turns by some OLD classics (Dick van Dyke and Mickey Rooney aren't dead yet?) help flush the film out, but sadly can't really save this movie from itself.

^ Is correct about Happy Feet. < Won't bother seeing Eragon \/ Has seen Charlotte's Web about 25 times too many...

I'll be getting a Wii once the supply chain fills out a bit more. I'll never camp out for a system again. (PS2 - 18 hours, but I got one.)

FFXII I'm presently powerlevelling (all characters are at level 31 or 36)/ doing side quests before heading into the Vieras village for the first time. I'm slowly chipping away at FFIII on my DS as well.

Hey, Jahan, (Or anybody else who might know) When I talked to Mike Smith from S&S while I was at Fuji-Q last summer, he clearly indicated that X was getting refitted with new trains that have the refinements made between the two installations. What is the likelyhood that they could retrofit dropping floors into that station? (I've never been on X) Do you think the changes made to the system could help that ride? EJ has periods of under 3 minute dispatches when operating 2 trains. (And the ops get flowing. And no guest hassles spring up, etc.) Just curious what's happening over there, and if anyone knows more about the new trains.

I went there last summer, and I didn't find this ride all that ugly. It sure does stand out above the park, and it should be a draw to the park. I think the ride is painted, it's just silver, which isn't my first choice for a coaster either. Throughput could be a huge issue, especially if they can't get the new tech up and running. Good luck!

This year was extra crazy with special significant events. It started on New Years Day at Tokyo Disneysea, (I had gone to Nasu Highlands with Robb and Elissa the night before and dropped them off at a train station so they could experience the insanity at Tokyo Disneyland the night before) and I hit parks ALL over Japan from January to June while making repeated trips to Fuji-Q for the EJ construction updates. No real highlights here, but better than simple credit whoring. June brought me to The Netherlands, Belgium and my 500th coaster before joining the UK trip and the add-on. The highlights were Balder, (my new #1 wood) and getting mass laps on Nemesis and finally understanding what the hype was about. (Oh! It's a back row coaster!) It was also cool to ride Nemesis Inferno after getting photos of an early teaser sign for the ride on my last trip to the UK. June through October was about trying to get in as many Japanese parks I had missed before I had to move. Highlights included getting to ride Eejanaika after 7 or 8 months of trips of park visits to Fuji-Q just for pictures, getting to ride the reopened Steel Dragon 2000 for the first time, and a surprise return trip to one of my favorite J-parks for some Zaturn action (#600, Holy Stealthclone, Batman!) and bonus laps on my favorite J-coaster, Venus. I got to see some really awesome cultural festival stuff, too. October to December was pretty lame. I had to move from Japan to Chicago (Boo!) and the best coaster I've hit was either the spinner at MoA or the Windstorm at Seattle's Fun Forest. I did find the first ever coaster in South Dakota, even if it's just a Miler kiddy oval. It should wrap up on a positive note as I'm heading to Dollywood this weekend for the closing weekend of the park. All in all, about 140+ new for me coasters, more than 175 total different coasters, lots of new flats and I finally got to meet some other people who share this crazy hobby after more than six years of feeling like an isolated weirdo. Not too shabby.

Nah, Loorna or Heinreich would be more their style.

My first trip to Lotte World, the line for the Gyro Swing was 3 hours 30 minutes plus. (I skipped it, thanks!) At Seibu Yuenchi's Loop Screw, each row of seats in the queue area has the same number of seats as the train. Each row has a separate entry and exit gate. The ops open the gates manually, but once your row is boarding, you can choose your seat. (As long as you're not the last person.) The worst line jumpers I ever saw were for Colossus at Heide Park in Germany. I counted at least 30 or 40 kids that were just pushing, climbing and scrambling through the switchbacks full of people over and over again. The ops claimed that there was nothing that they could do. The only justice served was when the ride went down and 95% of the folks left the queue. About 5 or 10 minutes later the ride reopened, and I ended up on the second train after the restart. Some of those same kids pushed their way back on to even that train.

That was slightly sarcastic, sorry! I knew that you guys get long nights, as when I visited the area last summer, I was woken each morning by the unreasonable pre-4AM sunrises!

Thanks! I blame the American education system.

Boy. I'm glad I didn't fall out to my death, as I have no clue what the ride op said to me before I rode. I also didn't realize that ride was so rare! The queue for Loop Screw was AWESOME! Every ride in the world needs a line system like that: No standing, No line jumpers, Yeah!

It looks like they are planning some overtime, what with the portable lighting...

Don and Monica. Don posts as Jeezus Juice. They were the first to release a video under the affiliate label. They are in quite a few video segments that Robb has shot, as well. I'm guessing that the suggestion of them as a 2-headed person is because they recently got married, not that they were ever apart before then anyways!

Darren, was that the ride with the planes or the one you could semi-control via joystick? Nice little park, the Loopscrew is an awfully good TOGO and actually has smooth corks!

They got rid of the Waltzer? Those B@stards! That might have been the best ride in the park! (Not a Kumali fan, and the Booster Bike at Toverland edges this one out IMO.)

Sorry, Colin, I think you're going to lose.

I only have Robert Cokers' Roller Coasters and a historical on Kennywood by Charles J. Jacques.

They didn't buy the rights to everything Paramount forever. The names will change, (including a lot of ride names, bye bye Top Gun!) it's just a matter of when. I could easily see them spreading the pain (cost) of doing it over a few years, and go one park at a time.