Mozart67

Um..my memory is awful, so if some of these are relocated (or are still in use), my bad. Mountain Express- Magic Mountain Monster Mouse- Six Gun Territory Schussboomer- Worlds of Fun Jet Scream- SF Mid America Corkscrew- Knott's Frustatin' Flyer- Dogpatch Greased Lightnin'- Marriott's Great America Greezed Lightnin'- Astroworld Serpent- Astroworld Texas Cyclone- Astroworld XLR-8- Astroworld Zingo- Bell's Mr. Twister- Elitch's Gardens [original site] Roller Coaster- Joyland [sBNO] Comet- Fair Park, Dallas [as far as I know, the original..rode it in '79] Willard's Whizzer- Marriott's Great America Turn of the Century- Marriott's Great America Tidal Wave- Marriott's Great America [does the original Space Mountain count?] Extremeroller- Worlds of Fun Orient Express- Worlds of Fun Zambezi Zinger- Worlds of Fun Runaway Mine Train- SFOT Patriot- Castles'n'Coasters Chaos- Opryland Wabash Cannonball- Opryland Rock'n'Roller Coaster- Opryland [ingrates wouldnt let me ride the kiddie one] Clown Coaster- Clown Town Big Bend- SFOT and a couple of rooftop kiddie coasters in Osaka when I was tiny. My father also says that I rode one of the kiddie ones at Playland at the Beach, in SF, but who really knows...

I agree with many posts that he should first work with an existing firm, pay a few dues, then get out there and do his thing. I am, by far, not well-versed in coaster engineering, so work with me on this. The idea is pretty out there, and seems like a one-way trip to the chiropractor, but maybe not implausible so much as it is prototypical. I'm not sure a vertically-aligned stress framework would be doable as there would be rocking through the banks, but an A-frame-like support structure with vertical beams shored up in the highest stress zones seem possible. Also, I dont the track can be wood; just too much pressure, but an embedded steel track encased in a wood surround seems possible. My main apprehension lies in the inversions. Sure, SOB had a loop, but it wasnt tea and hashish by any of the reports I heard. Also, a barrel roll made of wood...I dunno. I think you could framework a cork somehow, but a barrel or something like a cobra..I just cant envision. Comfort? Boulderdash changed my mind about comfort on woodies, but this one, at this stage, would require an Oxycontin kiosk. Like the idea, but the implementation needs work. Scott

I dunno..I'm a little torn on this one. I mean, I'm sure it'll be done with some measure of taste and style, but I think that sort of thing would go better with the Batman coaster. The coasters that seriously need some love (or something) is Mind Eraser and the Cyclone of Pain. Should be interesting, though..I think.

If this is a duplicate of a prior thread, I really apologize; I hate spam as much as everyone else. Last night was the final day of fun for Astroland at Coney Island. I don't have any nostalgic or enticing photos of my own of my trip down to CI yesterday, unfortunately. When some of the people I went with have developed their film, I will endeavour to post the pics (airbrushing myself, of course, for aesthetic reasons,although I did look almost normal next to Dante's Inferno..) Anyway, aince one of my clients' album is in early release (today, actually) and my second classical CD is in release late this month, I will be down the Island a lot, and I'll see what I can pick up concerning reasons, rumors, etc. There's always more than meets the eye where Coney is concerned. Support Local Artists!..and cya soon Scott

Hey all! Just stopping by before I disappear for another amount of time or something. Robb, I was happily eating Oreos when I got to the buttsniffing picture. Thanks Sun Park is like the antithesis of Disneyland, i think: it has a great entrance but not so great park and Disneyland has... Have a great trip and keep the updates coming! Scott (BTW, KT is officially the second most adorable kid in the world..I have to be biased; we are expecting our 5th grandchild in Oct., my youngest daughter's first!!)

I once thought "Nightmare" (or "Roller Coaster") at Joyland in Wichita, KS was the roughest woodie I had ever been on. We went to Compounce yesterday as part of my work's employee appreciation day, and "Wildcat" is rapishly rough. My wife ended up with a bruise right under the boobal area as well as putting her back out. I think, for now, "Wildcat" is the roughest wood. Roughest not-wood: The EXT at Worlds of Fun (which has to be gone by now). Stand-up hell. Scott

Also, you're paying for the name, the legend, etc. when you go to Disney. There are probably few parks or chains in the world that can rival one that is associated with animation, TV, movie and the other franchises that fall under the Disney umbrella. Granted, I have never actually been to Disneyland; my experience is with WDW and that was right when Space Mountain opened, so, yeah, when I saw the price, I almost fell out of my skin, but it does make sense. I also think other things, but thay've already been said, so why litter the internet with it? Scott "Wildcat at Compounce is NOT a good time" Mayfield

what a great little park. I think I enjoy the smaller parks more so than the gluttony-filled Six Flags-Disney parks, although I recently lifted my 24-year boycott on Disney, so we'll see. The coasters look great, at any rate (Don't understand the first time through the trees thing i keep seeing here; will have to ask the translator) It's funny. I hadn't even heard of a Rock-O-Plane until last year when our town's anorexic county fair had one, but have been riding Sky Divers for decades. Am glad to see that this flat is still living a good life somewhere...less so for the Corkscrew of Pain (my first ever credit at age 8 or something), but historical relevance is also a big one in my book. Gross side note: I lived in Hutchinson, KS for years, where the Kansas State Fair is held every Sept., and the Sky Diver was always on the periphery of the midway, butt-up against the hideously-crowded "kidway." While this seems fine in theory, the flat was always called (by riders) the "Sky Puker" , for obvious reasons, and invariably, some poor parent watching their kids on the kiddie rides would be standing under the the rotating-down end of the Diver and get coated. I know..TMI, but it was funny in a warped sense. I digress. thanks for the virtual trip and hope to see you all when PT is done! Scott

Work is weird this summer, and I'm planning one trip besides the Big E and Six Flagawams, so I'll definitely let you know in the next little bit. Mohegan Sun is opening Casino of the Wind (we're calling it Breaking of the Wind..) in a month so things will be SNAFU. Will def. let you know one way or the other, but right now, it's looking yes. Because I dont travel a lot anymore, is a passport/visa required for crossing into Canada? If this has been covered, sorry. Cheers! Scott

I so want IKEA right now. Great photogs and captions as before, Nata. Is it me or does the water section of the park seem a little LSD-influenced in its design and coloring? Almost had a flashback looking at it; going back to the photo to get proper flashback... Hershey looks like a great little park. Feel like a complete dork for not even knowing about it until last year! Cheers! Scott

Nata, fantastic write-up and photo TR. Really well-done! If I had the capital right now to hire a staff writer for the magazine, I would be sending you a letter yesterday. Anyway, this is one park and coaster I think that must be visited this year rather than next. Now, to figure out how to bribe my actual place of employment....how does one bribe a casino? Scott

Great report! I've yet to ride a spinning mouse yet but they're looking more appealing by the day. And thanks especially because now I have a memory (albeit vicarious) that will replace the one I had of riding Kong. I keep getting told I'm weird or something, but outisde of WOF's EXTremeroller, that was the most painful metal coaster I have ever been on. sigh..I miss home..Oakland..people who can drive...liquor stores that stay open past 8 pm... Scott

Great pics and great captions! Glad this coaster was saved and installed elaewhere. (hope I have that right, otherwise I'm high on the duh meter again). I've never been on a coaster with (I'll get this wrong, I know) one of the curves that banks to where the cars are horizontal with the ground (90 degree bank?). Is that painful? Kinda looks it. So you have a Saturn. No one's perfect, I guess..where does Hummel Boy ride, on the roof or the grill? Scott

I concur with everyone else: this is definitely a welcome departure to the Flags' normal idea of theming and accentuation. It looks great! I have to say one thing, rhough, since Six Flagawam is my co-home park with Compounce. Given the extent of the theming and the ambience the ride has, it would have been nice at the Old New Riverside, but I think it would have looked odd. Their version of Gotham is decidedly more WB than Marvel, and let's face it: Flagawam ain't big. I'm sure since when it comes to rides and things I have no clue what Im talking about, this might raise hackles, but that's how I feel at least. Thanks for the photos! hey..by the way...the pre-show entertainment..Am I the only one that was reminded of the old Sega CD/CD-i games when they saw that? Looked sort of DVD Command and Conquer-ish or..damn..was it Night Trap?

Shawn, Great photos! The coaster really looks astounding. I think the thing that I truly dig about parks in the East is the bright, almost eye-spinning, color schemes and the way the parks are presented. Not that there's anything wrong with great US parks like Indiana Beach or Compounce or some of the Flags, but it seems to me that the way they are laid out and the colors/atmosphere that they employ give it almost a jovial, surreal feel to the whole experience. If this has already been said by other posters, I apologize for the duplicity. Thanks again and sounds like a fantastic and exhausting trip! Scott

Definitely a lot of hairtime on this little monster. SFNE should maybe think about something along these lines or something completely weird like the ball coaster for a replacement for the Dark Connigit. (or, heck, replace the Mind Eraser, but that's probably wishful thinking..) Scott

Nice TR on "Sifny" and on Riverside! My wife (originally born in Westfield, MA and lived in Agawam and Springfield for decades) won't even consider going to SFNE because they have taken so much of Riverside out of it. As far as Riverside info, give me a few weeks. We actually have scads of info on it on the computer. Don't know if this will help, but glad to try. Also, have a thing coming out soon on the "lost parks of Kansas" where at one point, there were at least 7 parks in Kansas running at same time (early 20th century) Scott

Hunh..another park I had no idea existed. Looks like a great place, though. Thanks for the TR (that IS a huge loop..) Question: Is Fiesta near or on the site of the old Hemisfair area? Just curious. Scott

Wes, great photo trip! thanks for the boobs, the tech and the shots of Vegas. I havent been to LV since, like, 1978, so I don't even recognize it anymore. Great report! Um, is it me or does Las Vegas look like SimCity 4 on acid? It's like an architectural encyclopedia threw up everywhere...

^ That is such a fantastic idea! I'll miss the Dark Knight because the other mouse is a spinning mouse and I have a history of lunch losing on those type of things (even Nighthawk..) but the ride installation being aborted does give the park a chance to renew itself and install a Gerstlauer, one of those ball coasters, or something else completely unique! If that's the case, I'm all for it! Scott

Again, all of the videos had really enjoyable moments (like the superstew the guy was..er..stewing at Dollywood or Kingda Ka in the fog, which sounds awesome but frightening) Cody's Tatsu video was great: great vantage points, seamless segues, cool music, just a great video. I have to go with Ryan's Disney video, though, because it has made me lift my 23-year-running boycott on the Mouse. The place looks incredible and fun; not at all like I remember it. (thank you for not filming "It's a Small World". I dont know if I could take that..) Great job to everyone who filmed! Scott

LOL White Castle!! God..I almost had sympathy diarrhea just watching the video... It's not the worst chain out there, though. That goes to either Nu-Way (hamburgers that look like Alpo on a bun) or Hardees. I wonder if Big Mike will have some White Castle footage soon?..anyway..

I think they're all great! Overall, though, Darren's was the one I watched over and over. Really great selection of rides, good times, etc. The ass-clutching was a little disturbing, though... Barry's was fun but I was ready to get Elissa into a Witness Protection Program if the stalkings had gone on much longer. Dave's was hysterical. I will not be able to shake "Sad. Pathetic. Barry Cologne" for a while. Thanks, Dave. Kevin's was good as well. I realized watching it that I have never sat in either the back or front of a coaster train, and after watching his video, I'm pretty sure I know which coasters I will not break that precedent with at Cedar Point. The Knoebel video looked like a really good time with friends (forgive me for forgetting the name..the fact I remembered four besides my own..). All fun to watch! Congrats to all! Scott "I would have to be on Valium to ride Top Thrill in the front" Mayfield

I dont know the exact angle of declination that one of the slides at the water park at SFNE has, but as you are descending, it hits somewhere near vertical and is enclosed, essentially a tube until you flatten out slowly (though not in velocity as evidenced by me skipping to the end of the break pool and beyond LOL that was funny) and then hit a break pool that goes on for quite a while. If it is enclosed, I could easily see a true vert water slide: like a miniaturized Angel Falls, in a way. Scott

Not to be off-topic (The OVP demolition reminded me of it) but there was a coaster (Florida, I think) that was demolished in one of the "Cannonball Run" movies. Any idea what it was? Garr. The Super Loops. The only flat I am fully terrified of and won't ride. Have seen that thing stuck in the apex way too many times to ride it. And speaking of loops, the Looping Wiener (?) looked intense. I completely agree. This IS the BEST. THREAD. EV-ER. Keep it up Scott