DCody

I'm going to Minneapolis in a few weeks and I can't wait to hit the Park. I lived there for four friggin' years and practically the SECOND I leave for California, they (MOA) rebrand the whole enchilada and build a Eurofighter. I'm glad they didn't remove the "amazing" Pepsi Ripsaw. The only coaster so tame that I could actually convince my ex-husband to ride it!

Sadly, it was Jaguar! at Knott's. Needless to say, I left the ride feeling like the exclamation point in the name was rather unnecessary.

Weirdly enough, I grew up within 2 miles of an ACE Coaster Classic and never even knew about it because it wasn't open to the public! Hillcrest Park in Lemont, Illinois is a private park that housed the Little Dipper for years. It drives me nuts that as an enthusiast, I was blithely unaware of such a treasure in my own backyard. Now it's at Little-A-Merrick-A, and I'm very jealous of the TPR members who got to ride it on the last trip! Lemont is a small town, and yet I don't know a single kid who ever got to ride the Little Dipper. It was like a state secret.

Can you imagine how cool it would be to ride that Pipeline prototype? I've even debated hauling my butt to Kuwait just to ride the Intamin spiral coaster! I think I just find that concept fascinating because it was always touted as the "Coaster of the Future" on the specials I watched as a kid. Plus they look so friggin' cool. I didn't know about a Viper reprofile either.

Wait, so this coaster was SBNO leading up to this? That's almost as sad as it burning down. What a beautiful ride. What kind of a-hole decides to torch a historic roller coaster? Do they hate fun? If you're going to be a thug, at least stick it to the Man and burn down an office park or something! Maybe it was an accident and they were cooking meth in the station or something.

Man, I wish I could have ridden the Bat. Legendary. Sarajevo Bobsleds wound up at SFGam, and even in the fifth grade, I remember being underwhelmed. I also remember seeing the track entombed in the parking lot for a while afterwards. Those uniforms are awesome, though!

I have NOTHING written for the University of Florida talk as of this moment-- seriously, I need to prepare something!-- so don't be surprised if it veers off into random coaster talk. "Uh, and follow your dreams and, uh...and uh...LASER RULES!"

Disney pineapple whip all the way! I crave that stuff and I've only had it like twice in my life. I ate at Blue Bayou and didn't love it, but then, I was vegan at the time. I need to go back now that I consume actual food.

I'd be afraid of being the ONE person to defy physics and get stuck. The lone statistic, if you will. Can you imagine being trapped in that claustrophobic death-canal, recirculated water rushing past your ears as vertigo sets in? Shudder. It looks cool, though!

(drooling over King_K's photos) I just love the distinctive look of those Doppels.

Amazing thread! I've always been intrigued by Matterhorn and reading the specs is fascinating.

*Snerk!* For me, it was sheer terror. As a kid, I was petrified around coasters for some reason-- my family would go to SFGAm and I'd refuse to go on anything. But that fear created the obsession. When I finally did start riding coasters around the age of 11 or 12, the release was so overpowering that I became hooked. And now I'm just a straight-up adrenaline junkie. I'm not sure why I'm so fascinated by the structures themselves, though. I could just look at coasters for hours. It's weird, because it's not like I'm an architecture buff or anything. I just find coasters beautiful.

I've wanted to go on a pilgrimage to this coaster for so long. What a truly beautiful and poignant sight.

Laser is one of my favorite coasters ever-- I hope this Doppel Looping finds a good home at a park that respects coasters.

I have always been scared of waterslides! I'm not super comfortable around water-- when I was little, I even panicked on a kiddie slide at Noah's Ark in the WI Dells. I really want to try one of those crazy-high body slides, but I think I'd freak out.

That's nothing to be ashamed of. You should see me on carnival kiddie coasters with my knees mashed against my chest. I want to go on a TPR trip so bad. I only ever get to go to parks with GP-type friends. Although I must say they're very patient when I'm like "LOOK! A first-gen Freefall! Let me take 100 photos! Okay, now get one with me and the operator! Let's pretend it's the Edge!" [/i]

That was a nice easy one! I got 16/20 and I usually get like 2 right!

I stand by my assertion that Zippers and Rock-o-Planes are the scariest rides in existence. That includes your high-tech, ultra-millennial LIM scream machines. Pros of a carnival: genuine feeling of mortality, cheap food, pay-as-you-go, fun carny-watching! Cons: Loud, scary, and the ones in the U.S. don't get crazy traveling Schwarzkopfs.

Norweigen loop-- hamina hamina! This looks so friggin' sweet...I love HP anyway.

Ahhhh, I meant Flashback of course! Although Psyclone with Space Diver effects could be awesomely disorienting. I never rode El Toro either, but I've heard all the accounts and I want one, darn it!

I kind of feel like some families are "theme park families" and some just aren't. Yeah, a big spendy place like WDW could take a hit on a macroeconomic level, but people who love theme parks and go every year will probably continue to do so. I do worry that with culture being as accelerated and A.D.D. as it is that people will lose interest in the simple pleasures offered by, say, a Knoebels-type park. But that's more zeitgeist-y than economic.

Me too. I have major El Toro envy. And since I'm wishing, I wish they'd do a "Psyclone 2" with an awesome Space Diver light show/effectstravaganza.

I know this doesn't really count, but I recently met a major Hollywood effects makeup/prosthetics artist (Rick Baker) and he has his own tiny dark-ride-style haunted house installed at his workshop. He had it done for a big Halloween party one year, and he wound up keeping it. He made me go in alone-- it was cheesy, but I was still screaming! I'd love to have my own haunted house.

Playland-- I'm finally going to get my "Final Destination" credit.

Holy COW-- I have not logged in here since all this went down! If anyone is still listening, thank you very, very much for all the congrats and well wishes! I have been an enthusiast for years but I just joined TPR last summer. I know I don't post a whole heck of a lot-- mainly because all you crazy credit whores are WAY more knowledgable about coasters than I-- but I'm going to try to come out of my shell now that I see this is such a cool group. Thank you again!