RIP Psyclone

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."

^Ah, thanks so much for that! I looked into it further, and found that the comics translated into English, the character is called Justforkix "Goudurix" translated directly means something like "a taste for risks." How funny is that?

Since we're now talking baseball (I guess), I'd say both the Dodgers and the Angels need new stadiums. Although Anaheim Stadium wants you to believe it's "new," it's really nothing more than a lady pushing 50 with a cheap facelift. It looks new(-ish) from the outside, but when you walk around the concourses there is no hiding the fact you're in an almost 50 year old structure.

May I ask how long it's been since you've rode Revolution? I rode it in March, and found it to be quite awful. It really is heartbreaking for long time coaster fans. The pull-down over-the-shoulder restraints combined with a lap bar (talk about overkill), combined with the increasing roughness of the ride, plus joykilling trim brakes, it is not the ride that opened 32 years ago. I've heard there is a new (most likely refurbished) train that is much smoother, so I hope to check that out soon. I hope the plan is to do that with each of the trains.

Anyone notice how it's now Lou who has a tumo(u)r? And who else, Big Mike!

I'll be the first to say, thank you Big Mike for the first _______ ____ sighting of the year!

As of now, X2, by far.

What do I think of her? Not much. I don't like her, but saying I hate her would be putting way more energy into it than she deserves. She made a couple appearances on Seinfeld, playing a desperate for attention actress or comedienne, or something. I'd say nothing's changed in the 10 years Seinfeld has ceased production.

Translate "Goudurix" into English, please!

Every time an amusement ride breaks down without incident, or e-stops, it's not really post worthy, or else there would be several such posts every day. However, I will say that for some reason, the last time I rode the tower at Knott's I started to feel, shall we say, acrophobic. Not from the height, but from the possibility of falling.

For the past 2 seasons, the Lakers have adopted a "lights out" lighting design. On opening night on Halloween 2006, they gave out free "Lights Out" t-shirts (I was there). Basically, the court is lit up brightly, and the rest of the arena is much darker. I like it, because it evokes the feelings of older arenas, and things like boxing matches back in the day. I think Madison Square Garden does something similar. Wes could probably attest to this relatively new development.

Wow, looks like Nara Dreamland is completely intact, but slowly rotting away. It's a shame to see Aska SBNO, if only it could be brought to SFMM and renamed Psyclone. Kidding! (But that wouldn't be so bad.) Great stuff, BTW.

As Paris is 9 hours ahead of the Pacific time zone, making it just after 7pm as I type this, I look forward to the first delicious update! Nobody does it like Big Mike!

I agree, that was pure awesome. And as outdated as it got, there was something about the Garden. The Forum, by comparison, was really nothing special. I don't think any Lakers/Kings fans miss it (although it still stands). Oh, and nice that you caught then-future Laker Rick Fox in his rookie season. It's too bad he never got a ring as a Celtic, but I don't think he's complaining. I hope trip reports like this one become a trend.

www.thesportsroadtrip.com is a pretty cool site, 2 guys who have visited every venue of every team of the 4 major sports...and they rank them. I'm guessing as big a sports fan as you are, you already know about it, but just in case. Never quit doing TRs!

For anyone thinking of no longer doing trip reports, especially ones with photos/videos, here's what Robb said at West Coast Bash (video courtesy of Erik Johnson), 6:20 to 6:50: (I didn't post the link full size with the video "screen", since that would be "hijacking" Lou's thread.)

^ High Anxiety?

One observation: the yellow t-shirt did not make its first appearance until the 6th park visited. Sort of like Jason not having the hockey mask until the 3rd Friday The 13th movie. It only adds to his legend.

It now has a name: ring°racer www.rcdb.com/id4161.htm

It's funny how Hard Rock Park doesn't have a Hard Rock Cafe, being that there is already an older, well-established one in Myrtle Beach. Same thing with Planet Hollywood Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas. The Planet Hollywood restaurant has been at the Forum Shops of Caesars Palace for years.

He should have vanished from existance and the Universe should have imploded at that point. You're right, Scandinavia will be the best trip yet, and I want to go since I've been, but I want to do it right.

Yes, other than Eejanaika (4D) and now Steel Hawg (El Loco), there were 3 Screaming Squirrels built: www.rcdb.com/ir.htm?model=280

^That's a very good question, Scott. I think the same question would work with Florida, and possibly the same answer--enough theme park saturation as it is. That begs the question, is HRP in a bad location, or was it just a bad idea? One thing did occur to me, if that piece of real estate couldn't survive as an outlet mall, what made them think a theme park would work out? As for So Cal, I would guess it would be doing better just due to the large population base and level of tourism, despite fierce competion.

^Yeah, I just wish the number was a little more exact.

You should have seen the original X. Unloading/loading was at least twice as slow, especially with a 1 train operation, which seemed to be the case, usually. X/X2 is just a slow loading/unloading attraction. There's no way around that as it is now. Dual loading stations is the only way I could see capacity ever really improving, but of course that requires a lot more staff. Until then, 3 trains doesn't improve capacity over 2. S&S inherited the 4D coaster from Arrow, and so far they've only made one more. Eejanaika, in Japan. There's a lot about it on this site.