DCody

The most fascinating thing for me was watching the women in burqas drive the "funny cars" at Martin's. It was kind of a poignant sight since they're not allowed to actually DRIVE in their culture. Amusement parks: bringing the world together!

Seriously, that is so impressive and looks like such a bier blast! That is an amazing variety of flats and...Schwarzkopf! (drooool)

I married my ex at the Star Trek Experience in Vegas, and then the whole wedding party got onto the ride simulator. It was pretty fun. The night before the wedding, my fiance chickened out at X-Scream...I should have seen the warning signs!

I got married to my ex-husband at the Experience so I'm selfishly glad it's closing. Now I don't have to worry about showing up there maudlin and drunk the next time I'm in Vegas.

Ooh, these are all good suggestions! Silver Bullet is good, it's really smooth and is more of flying sensation than a crap-your-pants-scary sensation. Montezooma is insane! No way am I gonna launch a first-timer! Scream and Ninja are also good ideas. Lord knows I can't get excited on Scream, no matter how hard I try. I have been entertaining the sadistic idea of just putting the guy on Xcelerator and waving bye-bye with a smile.

I went on a date last night with a guy who has NEVER ridden a coaster. He's convinced that they're dangerous. However, using a potent combo of statistical evidence and God-given charm , I was able to convince him to give it a try. (I also showed him my Behemoth/Ravine Flyer Trip itinerary while exclaiming things like "Look, this park has a MotoCoaster!" I am a really bad date.) We're in SoCal, near Knotts and SFMM. I was thinking I could stick him on Jaguar first, since it's pretty chill. But then I thought "He's going to be scared no matter what. And he may never agree to go on another coaster. We should do something more intense so Jaguar doesn't wind up being his sole credit. I mean really, how sad would that be?" Any suggestions? Not going on a coaster is not an option. I'm all about broadening horizons.

I personally wish they painted woodies more often. I love the look of coasters like White Cyclone. A silver woodie would be kind of weird, though. Counterintuitive, like painting a steel coaster to look like pine! Add me to the people who see "Terminator" + woodie and instantly think "termites."

COOL. I live for stuff like this. Thanks for posting those pics.

Canobie Corkscrew, w00t! I wanna ride that so bad because it used to be at Old Chicago. Dorky, I know.

Hey, that would be a great line! One character calls another, and says that in same the abrupt fashion as "I'm a suicide risk." Ha ha! If only I could get my roller coaster script produced (and yes, I have written one!)

I am fascinated by Chance Toboggans. They are so charming, yet so pointless.

The Dragon Coaster does indeed suck! That was gonna be my answer.

Coaster is awesome. The airtime doesn't even seem like it should be legal. I rarely get scared on coasters and I actually thought I was going to get thrown from that one. Plus, it's totally deceptive...it looks so small and tame!

The Mondial Fighter-- and I believe, the Shake-- are both fixtures at the Minnesota State Fair. Very cool-looking rides. The Fighter is so big that it's almost jarring to see it on a midway. Thanks for the TR!

RIP Stan. He was an incredible talent. Yay for imaginative people who dedicate their lives to creating fantastic things. Thanks for posting this.

Agreed on Goliath at SFMM. I usually am not a big fan of those steel hypers from the "mine is bigger than yours!" era, but I think that's an incredible coaster. Forceful, smooth and entertaining from beginning to end. I'm always surprised it doesn't end up on more lists.

Portable Schwartzy's always feel like death machines. However, I have never been more scared of a coaster falling apart than on the Wild Mouse at Playland in Vancouver.

Dude, I could have my own Jet Star for 45,000? That's less than my car cost! I wish I had a giant plot of land and a hard-working indentured carny.

Laser is a Top 10 coaster for me. The forces are insane. I really hope it finds a good home.

1. Eejanaika (just love saying it!) 2. Alpengeist (ditto) 3. The Voyage (sounds cool and enigmatic) 4. Steel Hawg (Hey, it's got personality!) 5. Phoenix (is very apropos given that coaster's backstory)

Thanks for all the nice replies! Call me lame (I am) but I didn't even realize Corkscrew was a Vekoma. No wonder it made me think of Whirlwind. Duh. You'd think Final Destination 3 would have used a TOGO.

Am I allowed to nominate a sit-down woodie that brings you to your feet? In that case, Coaster at Playland! But seriously, gaving ridden Shockwave at PKD, Iron Wolf, and Riddler's Revenge, I'm going to have to go with RR. Although I must confess, I'm one of those people that doesn't really love stand-ups. It doesn't add much of a thrill for me, and you're so locked in that it's not like standing up provides an element of insecurity. Still, I'm all for diversity in parks and I like to see a stand-up coaster.

I'm in Vancouver shooting a horror movie called Jennifer's Body (plug!) and we drive past Playland on the way to the production office every day. Naturally, this prompts me to gaze longingly out the window, occasionally licking the glass and/or whimpering like a Chihuahua in gastric distress. FINALLY, at long last, I convinced one of the producers to go with me to Playland today. The bus ride through Cracktown was totally worth it! First, we headed directly to "Coaster." (Playland rivals that Vietnamese theme park for creativity in naming rides.) This picturesque sucker is an ACE Coaster Classic. Pimpin' ain't easy! (Note the sweeping mountain vista behind me.) Here's a nice geek-baiting sign in the queue. I may have to argue with that claim that Carl Phare is "the world's foremost" designer of wooden coaster. ORLY? Brake lever porn for those of us who like that sort of thing. (cough) I had been told that this ride was good, but HOLY CRAP, the ejector airtime in the back seat was unreal! Like, I was literally thrust into a standing position a couple of times. My friend-- a big dude-- was yelling "FAT MAN OVERBOARD!" and gripping the lap bar for dear life. We could not believe how much air we got. I haven't been spanked like that since Phoenix. Also, it's a surprisingly smooth ride. Having been assaulted by Ghostrider a few weeks ago, I'd forgotten how pleasurable a wooden coaster can be. Next, we had to get the Final Destination 3 credit : Corkscrew. As we approached the rusted, peeling, acid-rain red coil of track, my friend mentioned that the coaster looked pretty neglected. Yup. The ride was very smooth for its type, but the drop sucked, the OTSRs were predictably annoying, and our sluggish, mild trip through the inversions made me long for a Schwartzkopf. (Mmm, faint-y!) I like a nice '70s classic though, and I always bitch when Corkscrews get removed from parks (Python, Whirlwind, I hardly knew ye.) So I'll quit complaining. This sign amused us. For our final coaster credit (well, I was the only one whoring) we went on the Wild Mouse. This is not your typical gleaming, adorable family coaster with a cute licensed character on each car. Oh no. This is an old-skool, scary as hell, rusty, screeching double-dog-dare of a machine. I'm not big on technical specs but I do know that a.) the wheels on this thing were all kinds of messed up b.) there shouldn't be loose sandbags IN THE CAR, under your feet. As we ascended, my producer remarked, "You do realize that they're going to dedicate the movie to us?" Meaning: we're dead. This Wild Mouse was without a doubt the scariest ride in the park. Possibly the scariest thing I've ridden ever. No exaggeration. A Mouse is supposed to provide you with a feeling of controlled mayhem on the turns. This was a whole 'nother enchilada. I have not closed my eyes on a ride since I was 11. Today, I did. With our lives intact, we went and had ice cream sundaes, then hit the Coaster a second time. I had to have the back seat again, and the experience was just as ass-liftingly sublime as it was during the first go-round. Yay! Overall, Playland is a quirky, pretty little park that somehow juxtaposes clean family charm with a carnival deathtrap vibe. Points for the mountain views and friendly staff. No points for the ghetto Corkscrew-- come on guys, let's get in there with a coat of paint!

THANK YOU for posting those! I am a Big Ol' Brake geek and I wish more coasters were still manually braked like that.

I like 'em, but I think Scream sucks for some reason. It's not just the theming. Of the ones I've ridden, I like(d) vintage Raging Bull the best.