TheRapidsNerd

To be fair, liked Higher Ground, but could skip the cheesey announcer -->"Welcome back rocket rockers! You rock!" etc. The traditional version of space mountain would convince me to ride more than rockin. Neither's bad, just like the traditional better.

Thanks gang! Still trying to wrestle the good pics off my camera's memory card. Dunno what's it's boggle. The gig memory card might be on the outs. Those and thumb drives just don't last long some times. If nothing else, I'll post the ho-hum cell phone pics shortly. Ok...it's shortly. On to the pics. I leave you with the most humerous part of the trip that didn't get eaten by my ailing camera. These billboards were all over...and they're serious! Now that's a happy meal prize! Yes I'd like a flat bed and fries with that...to go please. My second McCredit of the trip. Elissa and Robb are probably both smiling because it's McDonald's AND food. No worries, I love McDonald's and food too! Apparently, this has been a real problem at the local shell station. Who cares?! It's wednesday, we're done early, and I'm headed home. Aha! Finally something happy and familiar after a crazy work day and weird surroundings. Happily finished my latest coaster model this trip. A drunk skeleton and vampire in a skirt were outside the karioki bar. Sounds like the start of a bad joke doesn't it? Whew! Just a nice normal fountain. Better head to breakfast. Ok the pool is still normal...except for the mail box...that has a phone in it? Whaaaaa? Nice palm tree....hey...wait a ding dang minute! Palm trees?! In Dothan Alabama?! Nice pool on the way to the free continental breakfast. Fairly normal. Early morning at the Holiday Inn Dothan. Cool. Quiet. Peaceful. Fairly normal.

Ignorant and pointless comments like "This video sucks." on youtube. 1. It's easy to criticize from the sidelines, tex. 2. If you don't like my hard work, build a better ride yourself. It's tougher than you might think. If you succeed, the public wins in the end because the ride is preserved and improved over time. 3. Offer HELPFUL suggestions. I'm open to criticism, and different opinions, but tell me WHY this vid sucks and offer ways to improve it. I'll GLADLY listen. I really want to put out a high quality and accurate as possible reproduction given the tools at hand. 4. Building by-gone rides from a severe lack of info isn't easy. Sometimes you have an old map and 1 pic. That's it! If you have more info/vids/pics/whatever, SHARE THEM and improve the video/ride model. 5. There are people better and worse than me at building and I have much to learn about RCT3. 6. GOOD suggestions can equal better quality models. Thanks to one viewer telling me about the extended coaster in RCT3, I was able to better model Batman and Robin Chiller. This was a big help and taught me about a very useful tool in the game. Lastly, opinions are like backsides. Everybody has one, and they're all shaped differently! Nine times out of ten, the people quickest to criticize can't offer anything useful to fix the problem. This doesn't do anyone any good.

I had a video shoot near Dothan Alabama this week and was just in awe over the wackiness on the way there. The following pics are only a small part of the stuff I saw. There were giant metal roosters, curious tin men with large man parts made from mufflers, a pioneer shopping village/flea market, a regular pioneer village, stands selling nuts everywhere, and odd church signs saying things like "Surely, I will come quickly." There was even a bar called "Dykes". Just a ton of inuendo everywhere. There were just lots of random signs, oddities, and stuff that reminded me of TPR. There was even an FEC like Southern Adventures, but I'll get to that in a bit. Briefly, Dothan is the peanut capital of the south and has an International festival to celebrate it. Funny, I live in Alabama and have NEVER heard of this. Well, they celebrate by putting out these 4 foot painted statues all over town in front of businesses. Think the painted themed cow crossed with Mr. Peanut around various cities. There are soldiers, firemen, nuts holding cell phones, and, my fav, the mighty golden peanut infront of one of the banks. No kidding. They love their nuts! Why? Apparently in a near by town, the cash crop was cotton until the boll weevil moved in. This forced them to start growing peanuts or something similar and the towns made more money than on cotton. Somewhere there is a statue honoring and thanking the weevil for hosing them over. The Holiday Inn desk clerk lady told me this while I checked in. My trusty digital camera crapped out, so half of this is cell phone pics. Will post the few remaing pics later when the servers aren't skittish. Enjoy! At first it was "Awww, Hamsters for Elissa." Then it was "Dancing hamsters with behives and leopard dresses." That's it! Too much wackiness today. It's bedtime for one very tired nerd. James, you could definately appreciate this one. Yes, you too can sleep with Pink Floyd for just $10! Act now! Found the hotel. Got a town/peanut history lesson at the front desk, then went next door to the strip mall to poke around. There was a Tuesday Morning kinda store with random stuff, like these happy pants. Symbolic Wes shot. They had bumper boats and a nice go-kart track, but no real coaster. I'd have loved a Jeeper's Python or Little Dipper. Got lost on the way to the hotel and stopped at Adventureland FEC to ask directions. The sign said it had a coaster, but it was a Max Flight VR simulator. I like Max, but what weakness! Got a Squishie for the road and tried again to find the hotel. What the duece?! Some of the afore mentioned peanut statues. Badcock. Good Furniture. "& More" frightens me. Peanut Butter Jelly Time! Peanut Butter Jelly Time! Oh great! Now it's stuck in my head. I'm a tractor, I'm a tractor...I'm a tractor... I stopped for gas in "Trojan Territory", so sayith the town water tower. Hehe! Mac's Nut Shop. That's funny! And all this time, I was seasoning with the fake stuff... Boooooored driver PoV.

I'm glad KD is getting a good coaster (sounds like it needs one badly) and I like Dominator Knight Flight, however not renaming it kinda cheapens the whole "newness" of the addition in a way and still makes me feel "meh" about the park. Used to LOVE KD and want to feel that strongly again, but it just ain't happenin' yet. Hard to explain, but a bit of a toss up. And the only paint job I'll mention is the craziness on Shockwave. Noddalookinsogood. Anyway, congrats to KD, regardless of my useless opinions.

Yeah, just brick walls and an exit tunnel that ran down between the two launch tracks. It had a mesh covering. Aha! Some pics from either TR's or other sources. Don't remember, but I'll give proper credit to the owners/photographers. Anyway, here you go map2.

Looking at the map, the rides appear scattered about the park, so no major clearing in one area. Sounds like they're just cutting cost by taking down low popularity/low running rides in kind of a hap hazard way. Lotsa changes in all the Six Flags parks for the 2008 season. Save your park maps and postcards kiddies.

If I was there, we'd set the time up and get the pic. muhahahahahaha!

I'm using the extended coaster that has several different trains (mostly b&ms and hypers) and a variety of track layouts. Unless you need arrow or schwartkopf style trains, extended coaster is a great tool. That is exactly why I build. Same feeling for Opryland. While it never ever duplicates the original experience, it does bring back happy memories. Same for Chiller. Grew to think it was cool because it was so different. Bummed it's going away. Never got to see Lightning Loops, but thought it was great unique ride (short of LNM, OE).

If I remember, the looping coaster (schwartzkopf looking train) had LIMs/launch as an option, but it didn't do a zero-g roll in the track. It did a twist that looked close, but not quite. I used the extended coaster and the LIMS with it. Steelworx is cool, but I'm leary of it for some reason. May try it eventually. Same for No Limits. Who knows? Good suggestions both.

kraxleRIDAH - Dude! That press release is a riot!! Sign me up! Now if I could just find my leather chaps... You realize of course, one of us RCT3 nuts might just build this thing.

First, thanks for the kind words all. There's much yet to learn, but I'm grateful. Great idea, and I do like many of their previous rides, but I haven't had good luck with whole parks. Focusing on individual ride PoVs seems to work out better, particularly the relocated or destroyed. It's like a wierd ship-in-a-bottle hobby thing...and it's FUN too! Attached are a couple more pics. Another Chiller and one of a few new projects coming in the next several weeks. Again, thanks for the encouragement. It means quite a bit. Ok ok, enough of my crap! Chiller is the thread focus after all. Still testing the ride, but almost ready to move it to site and landscape. Look familiar arrow and SFGAdv fans? Chiller updated screen with trains.

For anybody interested, I recreated Chiller in RCT3. The videos are on my YouTube page http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Platformz. Screen cap below. * Both sides duel as originally designed * Both sides have the original zero-g roll, no lumpy crap! * Both sides launch at 88 miles an hour (a pointless & humerous sci-fi bonus) * Ok, the trains are not the same as the real deal, but, since everything else works, it's an acceptable trade-off. * Don't get me started on Movie Town Water Effect. Axeman - I feel the same way about park histories and where we came from as far as ride evolution. "We stand on the shoulders of giants" as the saying goes. Without divulging too much, I'm working on some new ride recreations you just might like. Early shot of BRC.

resonancej - Man, I appreciate those words. You're too kind. In truth, the TR took on it's own creation, I was just a pass through. BamaRob21 - Thank you! That was maybe the 3rd time I've been since it opened. If you're ever in town, give me a shout. I'll do the same when I'm down that way and have some time. Alabama Adventure is on the docket for next summer. terrancew_hod - KrakenKing is on to something. The chicken might be a good reason to go, if not the statue credits out front. BTW, I'll dial back on using your signature joke. It's just become an immediate thought and a TPR classic. KrakenKing - Chicken Bryan eh? That sounds pretty tasty along with the Scampi Damian. Hey thanks all. I'm humbled. Have a great weekend!

I just posted an RCT3 mock-up of this system on my YouTube channel. Interesting idea, but other than the drop, admittedly a bland ride. But then, the idea is saving lives, not entertainment. Yeah, I was curious too about this thing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEvoWhDUObQ

There are a lot of talented photographers on this board, but your pictures in this PTR flat out dominate. Kept saying over and over "oooo! That's my new wallpaper!" Well done!

Was wondering if anybody else saw shades of the Astroworld situation here. That's still an undeveloped field that was supposed to be more parking for the new stadium next to the Astrodome (as of a PTR in the last couple months or so). "That big parking lot used to be Great America. That mall was Oprlyand once. The field was Astro World. Those condos? Oh that was Myrtle Beach Pavilion. Isn't it great that the housing development kept the old Elitch Gardens Carousel building?" - I hate "progress".

For the record, I'm following WillMontu's lead, but using a different version of RCT and putting a little different spin on things. Just building for fun like he is. He's done some great work thus far. Update on the RCT3 TPR Land. Still working on themeing in places, but several rides are in. *McDonald's Super Size! - B&M Hyper *Starbucks: The Ride - Arrow Helix *Journey to the Center of Robb - Intamin Drop Tower *Joey's Red Cross Cantina *Side Boob: Ride of Death - Vekoma Boomerang *Big pile of DIRT! *Ghetto Fair - Now with more trash cans and benches. Gyrator, Inverter, Zipper, Giant Slide, RoboCoaster, Fireball, food court, other crap. *Candy stalls near Journey to the Center of Rob *2 Kiddie Coasters - (Miler and Herschell Little Dipper)Names still pending *Deju Eww - Mangled version of Deja Vu

Found a pic of the Schwartzkopf figure 8 loop. Wow! I'm picking through the thread to get build ideas for TPR RCT3 park. Will try to incorporate as many as possible. You sick puppies! Update! I've broken ground on TPR Land (working title). *McDonald's Super Size! - B&M Hyper *Starbucks: The Ride - Did somebody say Helix... *Journey to the Center of Robb - Intamin Drop Tower *Joey's Red Cross Cantina *Side Boob: Ride of Death - Vekoma Boomerang *Big pile of DIRT! *Ghetto Fair This is still very work in progress, so bear with it and let me know what you think. Schwartz 8 looper Robb Starbucks and McDonald's Side Boob

While I've already got a couple projects in the hopper, if anybody wants to team and build a TPR Theme Park in RCT3, I have a few track layouts ready to go (launched shuttle loop, vekoma boomerang, arrow corkscrew, a so so Deja Vu, so so Goliath, so so Georgia Scorcher, so so Apollo's Charriot,). *The TPR park definately needs someone walking about in a shark suit *Petting Zoo/Animal preserve for the particular animal fans *McDonald's, Carrabba's, Mythos, BIG candy store (Double Deckers) *Dueling kiddie coasters! *Kid-bot rental system for said dueling kiddie coasters. Located in the white van next to the ride. Security HQ conveniently located next to van. *A Casey-sized area. All extra tall, extra room, tackles upon request. *The WTF Dark Ride of no point whatsoever. *The Big Mike and cfc onride photo shop. "Look! I rode ______ with Big Mike and cfc! *Terry's statuary garden and water park. Can you stand all the wet fun? *Credit Whore leader boards, ala PGA *A Duck! Just one..... *The Hotties of TPR Show! All your favorites stand on a stage for a couple minutes while visitors bask in their beauty, stare, drool, etc... *Lou's Bouncy Bouncy *Random vegetable statues. "Honey, stand over there next to the pickle..." *Very small rocks *Those crazy animal scooters from Japan *Abysmo_Can YOU break it? *King Tut vallying shuttle coaster thing that everybody thought was amazing Maybe later this week, I can rough out a few of these and the other great ideas in RCT3. If so, screenshots will follow with PoV's later.

OK, this is just plain DUMB! 1. That lady sure moved her head around a lot for a case of whiplash. Would she rather careen out of control down the track, crash, wind up in traction or worse, than have the safety system do it's job, give her a minor jolt and keep her safe enough to walk away? 2. Hey CNN, where did they get stuck? Lift hill or upside down on the loop? Anchor said one thing and a couple different pictures showed something else. Oh, and the sky is not falling. The ride just got stuck. Geez! You'd think people were ejected from the restraints, bodies on fire, their heads decapitated, spraying blood, and the ride was collapsing at the same time. Way over dramatized. These people just don't have the sense given a common horse.

Let's see, food, a couple picture frames, the Fantastic Four 2-pack dvd set, a Bettie Page bust, and a mirror. About $150. Not too bad.

^Fresh Market here in Huntsville seems to have a good wine selection and good cuts of meat and quality seafood. Dunno if the products change out tho. Seemed like they had a decent selection of cheese, and I love my cheese (yeah, big surprise there!). Awesome! Can't wait to see the Jungle Jim's TR! A food theme park would be great, just as long it doen't get over politically correct and hitched to the current diet fads. Hmmm... *Cheese themed ferris wheel - The Big Wheel *Veggie themed merry go round - Forget horses! Tomatos, Carrots, Cucumbers. Yeah, this could be a VERY popular attraction. *Inside the Fridge dark ride *Candy Town themed kiddie area *Giant broccoli bundle with a slide wrapping around it. *Giant cheese wedge with holes for kids to crawl around on *BBQ themed rapids ride - boats look like hamburgers *Sponsored by Oscar Meyer and displaying the WeinerMobile? *Mushroom themed benches and chairs *Dairy themed mac bobsled - The Milk Run *Ice cream sunday themed rockin tug - Sunday Jubilee *Dueling B&M suspended coasters - Ham and Eggs_Hold onto your shell! *Pancake themed tea cup ride - Breakfast Blitz *Bananna swinging ship - Top Bananna *Intamin drop tower - The Price Drop *Scrambler - Super Market Scramble *Frozen themed himilaya - The Ice Box *Boomerang coaster - Leftovers *GCI wood coaster - Smokehouse Run *B&M hyper - Chuck Wagon Rampage OK, I'm spent. The Nerd need food.

^ LOL! Are you kidding me? That's great! Yes, would love to see the pics on that. Those of us who like food a whole lot would enjoy. Always wondered what happened to the KI Monorail. I remember riding that because it's air conditioning was really cold and some animal was napping on the track, so we had to wait for it to move. I just liked TJ for the unique food. Didn't give much thought to the atmosphere. Great selection there. Mitsuwa, (sp?) the Japanese market/food court near UC Irvine was also a first. Bought a book and my prized luck cat there. Lunch. Egg and chicken bowl and other tasty stuff I don't remember. Food Court Table PoV!

Read some of the history on these kinds of rides recently. This is really really cool that they're recreating this ride. Since Avalanche at KD was pretty fun, this looks good too. If all goes well, maybe this will start a new trend of modern engineering revisiting classic park rides. Either way, it's a turn for the better.