verticalzero

Someone must of seen the guy climbing the fence, Even if I dropped my mobile phone I would ask an Ops to get it for me. It's not worth risking a life for a piece of metal, coth or plastic. The worst part must of been when the girl saw the guy a sec before she hit him. When I ride B&M Inverted coasters, I try to keep my legs straight (not the normal sitting position of 90 degrees) for the "near ground" parts of the ride.

I used a translator so some of the words did not convert: Very nasty accident though. TRAGEDY TO MIRABILANDIA, A BOY DIES RAVENNA - AND' been provoked from the impact with a leg of the girl remained injured, that it is found in a previous place on board of the ottovolante suspended 'Katun', l' carving in which and' dead last night to Mirabilandia, the sober fun to the doors of Ravenna, Mohamed Z., ventottenne of origin maghrebina that resident in Umbria would result. The young one and' been hit to the head from the leg of the girl suspended in the empty one, in a point in which the ottovolante - fixed to the binary in the superior part - travels around 100 kilometers hourly, and for him us not and' been nothing to do. When the turn of the ottovolante and' finished, the girl has immediately claim to have hit something and of to warn a strong pain to the leg; in little moments the personal one of service itself and' given back account of the tragedy, warned the medical always present one to the inside of the structure and were called 118, military policemen and watchful of the fire. The attivita' of the 'Katun' and' been suspended, while the other attractions of the park are continued, also for motive of peace, bound to the fact that in evening - second esteem of the direction of Mirabilandia - all' inside of the large structure there were about 17-18.000 persons. M. Z., according to the stocked reconstruction from the rescuers and from the persons in charge of the park, had done little first together with the fiancée a turn on the 'Katun', and during the route dell' eight steering wheel suspended loser the hat. A time finished the turn decided to recover it personally, climbing a high fencing two meters and putting itself in a point - underlined the direction of Mirabilandia - in which l' access to the public and' forbidden. The fiancée would have screamed him '' not to do it'', but fruitlessly. After little moments and' arrived in come down the train-eight steering wheel, and the leg to dangling of the young one that was on board hit it deadly. The father of the boy, warned from the forces of the order, should arrive at Ravenna in the next hours. The mayor of the surrounded' of romagna, Fabrizio Matteucci, the deputy mayor Giannantonio Mingozzi and the president of the Province, Francesco Giangrandi, have brought to slow now to do visit in hospital to the injured girl. After a first evaluation of the episode, the autorita' legal did not point out elements to interrupt the attivita' of the attraction of the sober games. In mark of mourning, in evening Mirabilandia suspended the music in the park and canceled the traditional show pirotecnico that concludes to slow evening every day of attivita'. '' The 'Katun' and' a game from the strong impact on the public but secure'' confirmed the persons in charge of the park. It is discussed - it the direction explained - '' dell'' Inverted Coaster' one number in Europe''. The binary of the ottovolante suspended run on the head of the travellers, 'nailed' to their seat, until 110 hourly km across the ancient surrounded' Mayan: a route of 1.200 meters, with 'loop' to 360 degrees and a dizzy fall, with a leap of fifty meters. ---------------------------------------------------------- Tragedy in the park '' Mirabilandia'' of Ravenna where a non-eec youngster of 28 years resident to Jackpots, M. Z. his inziali, is deceased after esser been overwhelmed from the train of the Katun, the ottovolante suspended the that binary run on the head of the travellers to 110 hourly kilometers across the ancient Mayan town. To how much it seems the boy would have climbed the fencing of safety of the game to recover an object lost from the actual companion. In the tragedy, happened Saturday evening, would be remained injured also an underage one of Ravenna that it is found on board dell' attraction and that was transported from the medical doctors of 118 all' Holy hospital Maria of the Crosses. According to the first assessments the girl would have restored multiple breaks to the legs. On the place they are intervened, besides the wise Man of Beach of military policemen, also the watchful of the fire.

Goliath is one of my fav coaster, I have visited the park 3 times in 2 years and each time I had over 20 / 30 rides on this "Little Hyper Monster". The 2nd hill, Stangle Dive, 3 bunny hops and final banked corner are the show-stoppers. Amazing. WW is a great park, very well looked after and all the staff n Ops are happy and speak excellent "English". Everyone should try their "Chiptwisters" which is located by the Splash Battle. mmmmm very lovely.

What is the age for driving in the USA..? I would of thought 15 is far to young to be behind the wheel of anything. Lucky you were not hurt and the other driver has not pressed charges against you. What is a F150..?

You have had an amazing couple of weeks going to all of those parks, I visited CP and KI in 2000 (I wish I could make it more often to the parks, but I live over 4,000 miles away). Great pic's and very good to know that your Mum and Dad likes coasters as well, I could not get my parents on any rides, they hate them. You could ride Magnum and MF with goggles, this will stop the bugs from getting in your eyes.

I've posted some pic's on page 1 of some "fans" which you can buy for your 360 and PS3 in order to try to keep them cool for long periods. If I bought a 360 today, I would stick a 12" desk fan near the machine vents. I'll play the games with headphones.

Thank you for all of your feedback on this topic, I have nearly decided which TV to buy. I don't know if you can buy these models in the USA. Either: £1,200 SONY: Model No: KDL-40W2000U = 1080P 8000:1 Contrast Ratio http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbrowse/product.do?sku=357618&cm_sp=FeatureEnd-_-Plasma_and_LCD_TVs-_-position1 £1,099 SAMSUNG: Model No: LE40M87BDX/XEU = 1080P and has a 15000:1 Contrast Ratio. http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbrowse/product.do?sku=389587 Both are stunning sets and produce lovely pic's.

I would love to see the Turtle Chase and the Whip returned to BPB and working order in the Park, they have enough space. If BPB can't get them working sell the 2 rides to a park who can look after them

Blackpool still has 10 million visitors a year - about six million of them visit the family-run Pleasure Beach, Blackpool (PBB), an amusement park with its sprawling roller-coaster rides, which contributes to Blackpool's retaining its title as the UK's top seaside holiday destination. The Pleasure Beach is Britain's favourite free tourist attraction. But the resort that has been in decline for 30 years, losing two per cent of visitors each year, is in desperate need of resuscitation. Partly to blame is Blackpool's image - drunken stag and hen parties, poor accommodation, and garish tat - but also increasing competition from other UK resorts and package holidays. Bad weather doesn't help. Caught up in all this mess is the Queen of Blackpool, Amanda Thompson, 44, the upbeat and theatrical owner of Pleasure Beach, Blackpool. She stands on the balcony of her art deco office building, presiding over her empire in the drizzling rain, with her dog, Paris. Views of Flying Machines, the Pepsi Max Big One and Noah's Ark clutter the skyline. The sound of distant screaming since the park was founded by her great-grandfather, Alderman William George Bean, in 1896, is something that she has got used to. At the 42-acre amusement park that is teeming with her 1,200 employees, she is known to rule the place with an iron rod. Waiting assistants give her freshly washed grapes and pomegranate green tea, when needed, as she takes on the qualities of a Roman empress. Ugly faces are weeded out of the Face of Pleasure Beach competition that she judges, for fear that she will be vile to them. Although her reputation as being nasty had its heyday in her twenties, she says it was the only way to get to the top of the family business. "Nobody took a blind bit of notice of a woman then unless she shouted her head off." It's not been easy growing up with My Little Fairground as the family home. Privately educated at Bristol's all-girls Badminton School, she spent the school holidays travelling around the world, following daddy to amusement parks. "I'd be like, oh God! Not another roller-coaster ride". In her wood-panelled office where generations of her family have sat at the same desk - there is a photograph of "Daddy and Mickey Mouse" taken at Euro Disney, now Disneyland, Paris, when it opened. Her grandfather Leonard Thompson had a "Golden Key" to Disneyland in Los Angeles - "which meant you could use it as a second home" - but when his close friend Walt Disney died, the corporation asked for it back. "He was really grumpy about that for ages." Thompson took over the family business in 2004, when her charismatic 67-year-old father Geoffrey, known as "Mr Blackpool" died at her wedding reception. She was schooled in the business from birth. "Daddy never forced us into the business. He just reeled us in slowly so you felt like it was your choice." She had served as deputy managing director of the family company since 2000, and as a director for more than 15 years, but she had not expected to take over the position so young. Now she faces her biggest challenge - how to get Blackpool out of a big dipper? Outside the gates of her Blackpool empire - somewhat reminiscent of a scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - the resort itself is shabby. While visitor numbers at the amusement park have fallen by 7.6 per cent since 2002, it is as nothing compared to the resort itself, which in the early 1970s had 17 million visitors a year. You couldn't see sand for people. Thompson is passionate about Blackpool's future, not only because of her stake in it, but also for its nostalgic ties. Her rise to the top was not without ups and downs. "I was always taught the value of money. When I wanted a pony, my grandfather made me work in the summer holidays on the pony ride at the age of seven, until I proved I was responsible enough to look after one." When Thompson was 19, she had a job at Florida's Walt Disney World Resort, near Orlando, running the British Pavilion at Epcot - "I was sacked after 48 hours" - she says. "I was a punk with bright red hair and it didn't fit with the nice English girl they thought was coming to run it. They tried to stick me in a buxom-wench barmaid outfit." In 1982, she set up Stageworks Worldwide Productions, the entertainment division of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, to create big shows for the park and worldwide, such as Hot Ice, still an important source of revenue. She lives out in the sticks in the rural Fylde - naturally she can still see the Pleasure Beach - her only extra-curricular activity is skiing in the French resort of Courchevel. She feels most at home in Las Vegas, where the familiarity of the tacky bright lights makes her feel safe. For Thompson her world is one big soap opera - full of fantasy and drama - but will Blackpool and her Pleasure Beach survive the next decade? Thompson has already rolled up her sleeves to muck in since she took over. She has invested £8m in the roller-coaster ride, Infusion, suspended over water and launched in June. She has installed an oyster bar and a fully refurbished award-winning White Tower restaurant. Her boutique hotel, The Big Blue Hotel, with its original views of roller-coaster rides, aims to attract the short-break holiday market, as opposed to the Pleasure Beach's traditional day-trip clientele. She closed down the sister amusement park, Southport's Pleasureland, last year because it was draining the Pleasure Beach's resources. "The Pleasure Beach has kept up with the times - we have constantly reinvented ourselves and invested in the town and the park - but sadly for other parts of Blackpool this isn't the case." Blackpool needs a makeover to lure back crowds to its long sandy beaches. An action plan has been put together by the Blackpool Task Force to be reviewed by the Government in August, which has shown a keen willingness to help the dying seaside resort. There has been the £64mgovernment-funded sea-wall defence work, as well as Spanish steps down to the reshaped beach, to keep the tide at bay. An £18mgovernment fund has been set up to encourage enterprise in Blackpool. Some emergency tram work has begun, which Gordon Brown mentioned in his first Prime Minister's Question Time, along with a conference centre and a theatre museum. A £1m-funded project is to make the Blackpool illuminations (31 August-3 November) far flashier this year. Charged with delivering the Blackpool Master Plan is ReBlackpool, an urban regeneration project. A big chunk of that was the bid for the supercasino; it would have poured £2bn of investment into the region. What is left are plans for the central promenade, including the Lottery bid for a £25m People's Playground, as well as a new Debenhams department store and the regeneration of the area from Blackpool North station down to the sea front, which is called the Talbot Gateway. The council has other ideas up its sleeve, such as bringing dance competitions and magicians to the resort, but whether any of these plans will draw hordes of tourists awayfrom the competition is quite another story. "We really need to create a town here for the future," says Thompson. "I believed the transient population of the resort made Blackpool the right place for a supercasino, because the social effects of gambling are less likely to stick around. There is the energy in this town to reinvent itself but we need that chance."

Yesterday I bought: PS3 "Fear" = £37 Film "300" on Blu-Ray = $23 The Bridge DVD = £12 £10 worth of diesel for my car.

I'm in the process of looking to purchase a 37" or 42" 1080P LCD TV to go with my PS3. I have £1,500 to spend. For all of you who have bought a 1080P LCD TV, can you post a pic of your make and model or suggest any good tv's.

I only posted this just to make everyone aware, some people try this when they get the RROD appear on their console and it fixes their machine for a few months. Does it really take a whole month for Microsoft to send back another 360, I would not be happy with that. What about your game saves and things on the HDD..? Hope everyone makes a back-up of their stuff before sending it away. I'll only buy a 360 when the price has come down, in the UK the machine costs £217 pre-owned and £279 for a new one with a HDD. I would buy this fan to help cool the 360: Xbox 360 Glow Stand with Fan.. --------------------------------------------- I have a PS3 and I bought a USB Cooling Fan & Stand by Powerplay, this sits ontop of the PS3 and has 3 fans to blow cool air into the machine, you can feel the air coming out of the side vents. I'll post some pic's of the fans later today PS3 stand and fan Xbox 360 fan and stand How the fan and stand looks when on the PS3

Massive amounts of people and long Q's are the fun for Summer Holiday's at Theme Parks. I don't bother going to Theme Park during June to Sept as i'm not wasting 2 / 3 hours standing / sitting around for a 30 sec ride. I'll wait till the schools go back in Sept and only wait 15 / 20 mins or a walk-on. How much was the cost for the entrance into the Park..? do you hold a season ticket..?

"Flashback" should be sold to another park instead of getting cut-up, it is the only one of it's type in the world, this makes it so unique. I've never rode "Psyclone", don't know how rough it was, but MM could of re-tracked it and given the coaster some TLC with new trains. It's quite sad to see any woodie coaster get torn down even if it is ranked as one of the worst on the planet.

This helps temp get rid of the "Red Ring Of Death" error which occurs on the 360 when they over-heat or parts fail: Hope it works for everyone. Or: http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/15/towel-trick-provides-temporary-fix-to-xbox-360s-red-ring-of-d/

The Ferris wheel with the spinning cars is called an "Egg Wheel"

You took some lovely shots, Wish I could go to the "Lake" and SFNE". The lights on Yankee Cannonball seem to change rather quickly from colour to colour. If the program was slowed down it would make the lights be like a mini MF.

That is a awful accident, I knew something would happen to the "Booster" and "Super Booster" rides soon. I bet a "Starflyer" is next to malfunction.

Ride the PMBO and you will see why "Richard" has to swap coasters to the Big Dipper for night-time rides. Let's say if I was doing it I would choose to ride "Magnum XL200" instead.

Glad you had a great day at the 2 Parks, Some nice pic's of my fav "Steel" coaster "Goliath" at Walibi World. The Park should add a tunnel for the last turn-around, make it look like a huge box so you can't tell it's a tight turn. I wonder if I can have a "Civil Partnership" with "Goliath" to make him mine.

Nice pic's of "very brown looking" Knightmare and some of BPB beach. How can anyone call the "Rack" a coaster, it's a flat ride. Could the head and side panels be removed from the car's of knightmare or is this to stop the jarring.

The last pic on page 165 is lovely, great shot. That MM Ops should be sacked for using his phone while at work, only use them in an emergency. They are employed to look after the Parks guests not to have phone conversations with their chums.

Shame they can't use the old waterslides in the New water park area, seems a total waste of money just to leave them to rot, when they can be sold on E-Bay or give them to another Park to use. That is is a daft rule to have in a park, I have a Sony Cell-phone with a 3.2 mega pixcel camera. Don't need to take a normal size with me.

Good report, nice pic's, even more amazing is your hand did not get caught on the structure and you were yanked out of your seat.

Wondered if anyone has been on this unique coaster and if they can give a short review of the ride. Pictures: http://rcdb.com/ig3050.htm RCDB.com details: Roller Coaster: Hexenbesen Amusement Park: Erlebniswelt Seilbahnen Thale (Thale, Saxony-Anhalt 06502 Germany) Classification: Roller Coaster Type: Steel - Flying Status: Operating since 2003 Make / Model: Wiegand / Hexenbesen Inversions: 0 Trains: 2 cars. Riders are arranged inline in a single row for a total of 1 riders per car. Riders must weigh 65 kg or less to ride. Etymology: "Hexenbesen" is German for "Witch's Broom(stick)". In the hills surrounding the place, there are legends of the devil and witches -- this has become local folklore. Features: This is a single rail flying roller coaster. So it is a bit of a suspended roller coaster as well. This is also a self-operated ride without an operator present. You go up the stairs and get down on your stomach into the "tube". There are no restraints whatsoever; you can hold yourself by the bars in the "front window" of the car. You put a token in the box on your left hand side and when the light turns green, you push the start button.