DCody

Did anyone else find it awesome that the two ride operators were demonstrating their prowess to "I Want Your Sex"?

This AND this. Also, the Crystal Beach Cyclone. But I'd most like to go to Riverview. They had some insane defunct flats in addition to all those classic coasters.

My ass is getting on a plane to Texas very soon! Wonder if Easter Sunday or Mother's Day would be better... I really hope this means more refurbishments. Ghost Rider, please!

Pirates of the Caribbean. An awesomely themed, classic, immersive, iconic ride that just about everyone can enjoy. To me, it's the epitome of what makes Disney, Disney.

I've really never gotten in any night rides at SFMM, save for one or two rushed runs-- I CANNOT WAIT FOR WCB!!!!!

It took me a while to get on Deja Vu due to the fact that it was always a.) closed or b.) mobbed. I finally rode SFMM's in 2009 and was really impressed. It's nothing like an ordinary boomerang...the spikes are really creepy and it's just, well, giant and inverted. It's also one of those rare examples of "good roughness"; the aggressiveness at that height and speed is really intense and un-B&M-like. I'm obviously a fan.

If it is "Uncle Jesse," then my long-time crush on him is finally justified!

Attention, "artifact nerds": I was driving down Mulholland Drive in L.A. today and I noticed a giant "D" in the classic Disneyland font way up in the hills, in front of someone's house. I went home and Googled, and sure enough the "D" appears to have actually been scavenged from a retired Disneyland sign. Supposedly the house belongs to a Disney super-collector. The letter can be seen from Mulholland and Bowmont. Sorry I didn't take a photo...I was going about 90 mph, as one does on Mulholland Drive. Also, I apologize if this is common knowledge for Disneyland geeks. I just love old park signs and am totally jealous of this guy.

When I was really young and dumb, I went to SFGAm and thought if I stood on the bridge across from Splashwater Falls, I'd get lightly splashed. I thought it was like a less-wet alternative to actually going on the ride. I thought wrong.

That was precisely what I came to write. If there's beer at SFMM, I can be my own ZacSpin, lines be damned!

Anyone planning to hit the Mountain on Superbowl Sunday, or am I the only loser? I'm not expecting it to be a ghost town or anything, but I'm guessing crowds will be lighter than usual. I'm craving Tatsu and Apocalypse for some reason.

There's a little video here: http://www.shaabpark.com/rides/adults/spiralcoaster.html

Ultra-Twister POVs are my crack, and that is the craziest one I've ever seen. The finale looks absolutely insane.

What intrigues me most about this coaster is the fact that I've never met anyone online or IRL who's ever ridden it. I kniw of people who rode the Arrow spiral coaster prototype, but not this weird-ass Kuwaiti thing. I'd love to see a POV!

THAT'S WHAT HE SAID!!! I'll be here all night, folks!

You and Robb need to write some kind of guide for how to bring a baby/toddler on a theme park trip. I haven't figured it out yet and you guys make it look easy!

I will never forget seeing that photo of Magnum in TIME Magazine. It was one of the images that turned me into an enthusiast. Would you believe I still haven't ridden that friggin' coaster? Thanks for the Krofft and Old Chicago links!

Seriously! I heard they had "the world's longest escalator," which is such a weird, '70s thing to brag about. And some kind of ride where you were trapped in a pinball machine. I can't imagine why it wasn't a big success.

I have never heard of any of this stuff before! I love this thread. Yeah, the Power Plant reminds me a little of Old Chicago in execution...that "old timey" nostalgia thing seems to not work out.

Oh, this is easy. Seeing EMMANUEL LEWIS at Dixieland while we were there with TPR. Yes, random Emmanuel Lewis in the middle of Alabama. My husband and I were both shocked and delighted.

45 mph? That's as fast as Revenge of the Mummy-- plus, it's open-air and totally lawless! Someone must save Kick Boodie!

Lame! I was thinking that would be cool! Oh well, I bet Apollo's Chariot can't run if it bursts into flames.

This is great; thank you for the pictures! Is it sad that I prefer threads like this to the ones about new coasters that may actually function?

OK, so I was a bridesmaid in Virginia last weekend and managed to make it out to BGW for the first time. This required a bit of subterfuge; I had to sneak into town and skip some wedding-related events for my scant 3 hours of Busch-tastic fun. (Try explaining to the average bride that you blew off her her cocktail party for INTERLOCKING LOOPS, OMFG.) It was a shame to have to do a credit run in such a gorgeous park, but it was worth it. It took a little longer than I expected due to the lay of the land; I'm so used to Cedar Fair parks that I was expecting all the coasters to be starkly visible amidst acres of asphalt and trash cans. Nope, we had to hunt for them! I loved the European themes, the lush landscaping, even the corny music. Best of all, the lines on Friday morning were almost nonexistent. (Weirdly enough, I think we waited longest for Alpengeist-- 3 or 4 trains?) Lots of little kids enjoying the Halloween theming, very few big kids riding coasters. On to the coasters: Alpengeist was our first. I realize it's supposed to be one of the best B&M inverts, the biggest, blah blah, but I have to say, I didn't find it very thrilling. Fun, yes. Nice and long. Good theming. Even the weather (cold and sunny) was perfect for a "runaway ski lift." After all these years, I think I still prefer the intensity of a little Batman clone to a big record-breaking invert. My husband Dan (not an enthusiast) loved Alpengeist, but he's a big Silver Bullet fan and Alpengeist is like Silver Bullet x 5. Thumbs up overall. Next we went to Griffon, my first dive machine. I know I'm like 3 years late to the party, but I had no idea these rides were so great! I think I was expecting a forceless gimmick. The front row scared the CRAP out of me. Like, I was more frightened than I've been on a coaster in years. The hangtime was insane-- for some reason my OTSR was super loose. We immediately went back for a back row ride, which I assumed would be underwhelming by comparison. Nope-- huge airtime on both drops! I was really impressed. And I liked the SKLOOSH effect, even though I had to convince my water-phobic husband that he wasn't going to get drenched. Next, we hiked over and up to Loch Ness Monster. I LOVE THIS COASTER. Now, I know some of you young whippersnappers don't get it, but for those of us who grew up in the '70s and '80s, the forceful, rattly whoosh of an Arrow *defines* a steel coaster. A lot of Arrows suck these days-- Loch Ness Monster is not one of them. I felt like I was a kid again, riding the coolest, scariest new "upside-down" coaster at the park. I'm glad I didn't know about that spooky-ass tunnel in advance; it seemed to go on forever and it had that awesome/terrible tunnel-y smell. This was also one of the most beautiful and beautifully-situated coasters I've ridden. Well done, Ron Toomer. Finally, we finished out the credit run by enjoying our "voyage to the sun on the wings of Apollo's Chariot." I really like B&M hypers, so I was excited for this one. Waited about 10 minutes for the front, which was totally worth it. Super fun, great drop, great layout, plenty of air. I can see why this coaster was such a big deal when it opened. Dan opined that Goliath at SFOG is better-- it made me very happy/proud to hear my spouse comparing the merits of B&M hypers. (I would agree, but c'mon, Apollo's Chariot is way older!) Thumbs up again. In short, I really enjoyed every coaster. I appreciate parks like BGW and Dollywood that might not have the biggest coaster collection but make up for it in quality. And I love seeing a classic ride like Loch Ness looking good and running well. If I ever return to BGW, I'm going to try and spend a full afternoon there instead of running around yelling "Where are we? What the hell is 'New France'?"

ZacSpin! I can't believe it! Insane has been on my list of "wanna ride" coasters for a long time. How cool is it that the park will have two 4D coasters?