verticalzero

Those OHR are horrible, give the cars "Lapbars and a seatbelt" instead.

Thanks Jeff, Wow amazing pic's of the parks and their coasters. I can't wait till you do some more.

Great photo's, brings back the memories of my trip in 2000. I enjoyed my time so much when I visited CP, it is such a lovely place and I am envious of the people who live about an hours drive away. I'll have to plan a trip to return to CP and KI when I can afford it.

I tried to run the video but it says " This video has been removed", can someone post another copy of it so I can watch it. I went on this last year, the trains are of a weird design but it rode fine with the OHR being locked into place. I always check the OHR and belts to make sure they are secure, if not I will tell an Ops and they can sort the problem out. I would not want to ride a coaster like "Vortex" with the OHR not locked in place, it would be another "Final Destination 3"

The Park looks like a lovely place to visit, have to try it out someday. I knew the Voyage would not stay "brakeless" for long, esp after some parts have been re-tracked already.

The weather does not look warm enough to go swimming. Nice Pic's and report, I've built a few of the "Master Blaster" Water rides in RCT3 which have drops. Nice to see a real one in action. T2 is not the 1st SLC, El Condor at Walibi World was the Original: Roller Coaster: El Condor Amusement Park: Walibi World (Biddinghuizen, Flevoland Netherlands) Classification: Roller Coaster Type: Steel - Inverted Status: Operating since 5/1994 Make / Model: Vekoma / SLC (662m Prototype) Capacity: 900 riders per hour Length: 2171' 11" Height: 101' 8" Inversions: 5 Speed: 49.7 mph Duration: 2:02 Elements: Roll Over Sidewinder Double In−Line Twist (Double Spin) Trains: 3 trains with 8 cars per train. Riders are arranged 2 across in a single row for a total of 16 riders per train. Originally operated with 10 car trains. These were shorted to 8 cars later. Even though there are 3 trains, one is always kept on the storage track. History: El Condor was the first Vekoma SLC roller coaster.

I'll try it on "Goliath" at Walibi World, trying to sleep on the coaster is a different matter with a huge filled hill and the 3 camel-humps. "Air" at AT could be an option to have a go, it is smooth, not fast and a flying coaster, perfect position to fall asleep in. Riding the PMBO for such a long time will be a challenge cos it's an "arrow". I'll rather ride PMBO and the Big Dipper than any Vekoma Boomerang.

Such a waste of 2 lives just for asking what is right. That's what happens when people love and carry guns. I hope the person who did it sits in "Old Sparky" chair and have a slow death via the National Grid supply.

Taken from Games-Industry website: When is a price cut not a price cut? Simple answer; when it's a "change to the value proposition" - or a bit of fancy PR footwork designed to distract your consumers from the fact that you've just downgraded the hardware you're selling to them. When is a price cut not a price cut? When you're Sony, six months into the lifespan of the PS3. Going into the week of E3, we believed that we had already seen a price cut in North America and were about to see it matched with a European cut. Five days later, it turned out that the American price cut was largely smoke and mirrors - and the European "adjustment" didn't actually make a blind bit of difference to the price tag on the PS3's box. Consumer outrage was to be expected, and it came through loud and clear, especially in Europe - where there is a strong sense that the firm has given the territory short shrift once again. We have absolutely no idea whether Sony actually expected this backlash, but given that the market had been primed by the US announcement to anticipate a price cut, anything less than that was bound to provoke ire. In the event, the ire has been pretty significant - so much so that it even made the main evening news programmes in some countries. SCEE boss David Reeves probably hoped to calm consumer anger with the revelation that the US "price-cut", which dropped the 60GB system to USD 499 while introducing an 80GB system at USD 599, is only tempo-rary - with the 60GB system to disappear when stock runs out, leaving the US entry point back at USD 599. This backfired; Europeans remained as annoyed as ever, and now US consumers, too, began to question their much vaunted "price cut". With the benefit of hindsight, this all looks painfully inevitable. European consumers and media are incredibly sensitive to the idea that they're being ripped off compared to their American counterparts, and the decision to create a new PS3 bundle deal rather than dropping the price outright seemed a perfect example of this in action. The American media, meanwhile, could hardly be expected never to notice that they'd just essentially seen the PS3 downgraded (with the removal of hardware backwards compati-bility chips) in return for a paltry extra 20GB of storage and a quick fire-sale of the existing stock. Two weeks later, enough of the dust has settled on Sony's contentious decision to be able to take stock of the reality of the platform holder's new pricing strategy - and, perhaps, at some of the reasoning behind what seems, on the surface, to be a very foolish move. Firstly, it's worth assessing the real impact of the E3 price shuffle on the value of the Play-Station 3 in North America and Europe - which reveals an interesting and unexpected aside to this whole debate. Somewhat lost in the upset over the lack of a genuine price cut is the startling fact that the PS3 is now, for the first time, better value in Europe than in the USA. Admittedly, you have to jump through some hoops to reach this conclusion. Firstly, it would seem that the USD 499 price point is a red herring, with the price of entry in North Amer-ica reverting to USD 599 when stock of the 60GB model sells out. (One of the industry's few genuinely well-informed analysts, Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter, argues that the 80GB model will promptly drop to fill the USD 499 price point when this happens, but it's tricky to see how Sony would justify such a rapid cut.) Secondly, it's important to recall that the US price doesn't include sales tax, while the European prices include Value Added Tax - a sales tax levied at 17.5 per cent in the UK. Assuming the dollar conversion rate to be USD 2 to the UK pound, a rough estimate which has held broadly true for some months, this means that the UK equivalent of the US price point is GBP 300. The UK price point, meanwhile, comes out at approximately GBP 362 once you subtract the VAT from the price - a much fairer comparison with the US price point. In addition, in the wake of E3, the PS3 in the UK comes bundled with a second controller and two games - a bundle deal which has attracted much derision in the media, but which is actually much more sensible than many bundles the industry has attempted to foist upon consumers in the past. After all, few consumers buy a new console without a second pad and a couple of games; including them in the bundle may not reduce the headline price of the console, but it cer-tainly reduces the real-world entry cost. In the US, consumers get one controller and one game - Motorstorm - with their PS3. In essence, this means that UK customers are getting an extra game (RRP of around GBP 50, but regularly available for 10 to 15 pounds less) and an extra controller (RRP GBP 35, available online and elsewhere for around GBP 28). That covers the price discrepancy with the USA, and leaves the UK console actually slightly less expensive than its US equivalent. It's a perfectly logical conclusion, and there is no trickery in the maths or figures used to reach it - but like we said; you have to jump through some hoops to get there. This, argua-bly, is Sony's vast, stupid mistake - many would say the latest in a long line. Neither con-sumers nor the mainstream media are prepared to jump through these hoops of reason-ing. While for some consumers, the value of the new bundle is self-evident, for many others the direct comparisons with the USA remain incredibly negative for Sony (although it's worth noting that UK consumers also pay significant premiums over the US prices for both the Xbox 360 and the Wii hardware, even after VAT is taken into account). Even worse, this episode has - once again - made Sony appear like the bad guys of the videogames world in the eyes of the mainstream media. Out with the Old? Which, inevitably, leads us back to the question which hangs over this whole issue - why not just lop money off the price tag and be done with it? The answer, we believe, lies with Sony's incredibly unusual position in the games market. For Microsoft, its approach to the videogames sector is very simple, and the reasoning be-hind its various decisions is correspondingly simple. It has one product in the market, and its aim is to gain the maximum possible market share for that product. The original Xbox was killed off before the Xbox 360 even launched; there is no existing installed base to worry about or support. Better again, the firm has showed no qualms about sinking billions of dollars into gaining market share; the original Xbox made vast losses, and few who have any insight into the figures underlying Microsoft's console business believe that the Xbox 360 will ever bring the Xbox division into the black. For the odd quarter here and there, perhaps; but overall? Not a chance. Sony, by comparison, has a vast number of factors to take into account when it makes de-cisions on pricing and market positioning. At the heart of this is the fact that right now, the PlayStation 3 is not Sony's main product in the videogames space - that honour belongs to the PlayStation 2, a system which recently passed 118 million units sold and is by many measures the most successful videogames console ever created. PlayStation 2 is Sony's work horse, its cash cow, and probably a menagerie of other barn animal metaphors to boot. It is a vastly profitable business, both for Sony - thanks to prof-itable hardware sales, profitable accessories and lucrative licensing fees - and for most of the industry's major third party publishers, many of whom enjoy far better profit margins on PS2 software than on next-gen titles. It is, in other words, the engine which continues to drive not just Sony's business, but the business of many third-party publishers. Sony's determination to keep it alive, combined with the introduction of the PSP - a portable platform whose hardware shares many simi-larities with the PS2 - guarantees that its lifespan will be even longer than that of the PSone, a platform which was still going fairly strong eight years after launch. Sony's dilemma is apparent. PS3 is the future, of course - for Sony at least, if not neces-sarily for the industry as a whole. However, the harsh reality of the present is that Sony cannot afford to do anything that will damage the PS2's lifespan and profitability. Unlike Microsoft, it is faced with an almost impossible balancing act; attempting to establish the PS3, without crushing the PS2. If Sony rushed to cut the price of the PS3, it would of course spur sales - and would drive Sony Computer Entertainment spiralling into billions of dollars of loss. By pushing the PS3 too quickly into the mass-market price points occupied by Nintendo, and coveted by Mi-crosoft, Sony would effectively be replacing the profitable PS2 business with the loss-making PS3 business. It would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs (we knew there was another barnyard metaphor there somewhere) and replace it with a product which, at present, does nothing but devour gold. As such, the firm's dalliances with "value proposition" take on a different meaning. Sony wants consumers to feel that the company is responding to their concerns, and it wants to ensure that the Xbox 360 doesn't grow its head start any further - but equally, it does not want to do too much, too soon. For now, the firm's strategy is to maintain the PS3 as a very high-end, expensive and pre-sumably desirable system, which is out of reach for the average consumer but provides them with a clear upgrade path at some point in future. In the meanwhile, in theory, they will continue to buy PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable hardware and software. This is what David Reeves means when he says that Sony acknowledges that sales of the PS3 are not enormous, but that the company is satisfied that it is hitting its targets. Sony's targets aren't just for PS3 sales; they encompass PSP and PS2 sales, not to mention software sales for those platforms. Right now, PS3 is, indeed, not selling in enormous numbers - but PSP and PS2, the firm's profitable platforms and by extension the most important, are ticking along nicely despite strong competition from Nintendo around their price points. It is, of course, a terribly risky game to play - but it's the only game in town for Sony. Bal-ancing the need to maintain sales of previous generation hardware against its battle with Microsoft in the next-gen is an extraordinary high-wire to walk along. Doing too little to spur PS3 sales could erode consumer confidence and hand the next generation to Microsoft. Doing too much would ensure victory in the next-gen battle, but would leave Sony finan-cially devastated and facing disaster. Whether this month's value adjustments strike the balance correctly remains to be seen. However, it's vital to remember, when watching Sony's movements in the market, that its position is more complex than that of its rivals. That is, of course, no excuse for misleading or disappointing consumers; but compared to Microsoft's deep pockets and single-platform strategy, Sony's situation is altogether more difficult. When is a price cut not a price cut? When, instead, it's a careful step along a very high tight rope. Sony's next steps, in the coming six months, will be crucial - the firm is accom-plished at this stunt, but there's no safety net below.

I don't do "Flat" rides, but if I did I rate An "Egg Wheel" or "Rock O Plane". I can't do any rides like "maXair" or "Rush", I would feel so scared and may panic.

Nice Pic's: How far is the Nukie Power Station Theme Park from Efteling. Did you try the cooling tower climbing walls. I also love Efteling, as soon as you walk through the gates you feel like you are in another world. Doomsflight is so amazing, one of the best dark rides in the world. I thought the woodie would be a good ride but it is not. The Park should re-track it so there is some along it's course.

It's not just the UK which has been hit by floods this year: http://news.sky.com/skynews/picture_gallery/0,,70141-1277065,00.html Is the "Cyclone" ok or does it have a water splash.

I was amazed by the light show of MF Lift-Hill at night-time when I visited the park, I did not know CP had these type of lights installed. Can someone post a video or large pic's of the different coloured lights. Anyone know which lights are before / after and do the lights start with a different colour each night.

When I rode SOB in 2000 I had to cover my ears cos of the lift-hill racket. Can anything be done about SOB lift-hill to make it less noisy.

Why do Park create all these stupid rules, no wonder their attendance levels will drop over the coming years. Take as little as possible to a Park, I just take my cellphone which has a 3.2 Mega Pixel camera on the back and cash for food.

The supports sway because the track "flexes" when a car goes over it, nothing to be worried about as the coaster is built that way, you should see how much Chessington World of Adventures "Dragon Fury" lift hill sways, must be atleast 5-10 cms in each direction. All coasters should sway / move when a train goes over a section. Some facts about "Mindbender": Status: Operating since 1985 Builder: Schwarzkopf Designer: Ingenieur Büro Stengel GmbH Categories: Indoor Capacity: 430 riders per hour Length: 4198' Height: 145' Drop: 127' Inversions: 3 Speed: 60 mph Duration: 1:13 G-Force: 5.2 ( One of the highest G-Force's on any coaster) Pic's of the wonderful ride n loops: http://rcdb.com/ig193.htm

Nice report and pic's of the 2 parks, I long to ride the "Comet", it has a unique history and I heard it produces heaven. Why did your g/f not ride "Comet"..?

I love the white paint and flags at the top of the lift-hill and on the turn-round curve, that's how a "classic" woodie should look. A POV of "Starliner" via Youtube.com or http://blog.winterhavenfl.com/2007/07/12/ride-the-starliner-right-here-youre-in-the-front-seat/ When it was at Miracle Strip Park:

I don't have any of the books, only watch the films. I read the final ending to see who got killed off yesterday in Birmingham and put the book back on the shelf.

I spent 1 day at CP in 2000 (8th or 9th July) when I visited the park, After flying over 4,000 miles from the UK just to go to CP and KI, I managed to ride everything a couple of times. MF was the 1st coaster at 10.20am. Since TTD was not built at the time I remember saying after riding MF "every coaster we go on after MF will feel like a kiddies ride". The Q's were not 2 bad from what I can remember and the temp at the start of July was around 30c. I need to go back in a few years to CP and KI, along with visit Timber Falls and SFGA. My holiday was about £2,000 for 3 weeks. The last 2 days I had $700 to spend and went "shopping crazy" in Chicago's Old Navy store, had loads of "triple" Wendy burger and some river cruises around Chicago.

Funnel Cloud Description: A funnel cloud is a funnel-shaped cloud of condensed water droplets, associated with a rotating column of air and extending from the base of a cloud (usually a cumulonimbus or towering cumulus cloud) but not reaching the ground or a water surface. A funnel cloud is usually visible as a cone-shaped or needle like protuberance from the main cloud base. Funnel clouds frequently form in association with supercell thunderstorms. If a funnel cloud touches the ground it becomes a tornado. Most tornadoes begin as funnel clouds, but many funnel clouds do not make ground contact and so do not become tornadoes. Also, a tornado does not necessarily need to have an associated condensation funnel—if strong cyclonic winds are occurring at the surface, then the feature is a tornado. Some tornadoes may appear only as a debris swirl, with no obvious funnel cloud extending below the rotating cloud base

I visited the park at the beginning of June and it was busy then, had about 45 mins wait for each ride. I will never go to a Park between the end of June and 2nd week of Sept, far to busy. Try and wait for the 3rd week in Sept and the end of the season in Nov, go during the week when the kids are back at school, the waiting time should be less than 15 mins for each ride. I'll have to try a TR: on their "Fright Nights" in Oct.

If I won, I wonder if they would pay for my "air-fare" from England to visit the park and claim the prize.

A "Tunnel" would be a good thing to have where the "loop" used to be, it would make an amazing head-chopper coming off the brake block drop.

A ride even more brutal than an SLC is the "Wild Mouse" at BPB, I've rode it 5 times in a row and came off with a head-ache and battered ribs. I'll like to see someone stay on this for a whole day, let alone 220 hours. Good luck with the latest record on the Big Dipper. Anyone on the forum want to challenge him..?