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SuperMikeo

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Everything posted by SuperMikeo

  1. Rode for the first time yesterday and was really blown away. That backseat...man...I was getting literally just tossed everywhere - I couldn't help laughing the whole time because of how ridiculous it was. And the top gun stall, while racing, is one of the trippiest most unique elements I have experienced on a ride. I have to say though...yesterday was the first time being told where to sit on a non-Disney coaster that I can remember (and even Disney seems to accommodate people who request the front on rides like Screamin, from what I've seen). Is this a new thing? Like, if I go to Silver Dollar City, do they assign me a seat on Outlaw Run? Maybe Deja Vu had assigned seating, and I later learned that Full Throttle does as well, but I can't really think of a time where I wasn't allowed to wait for a longer amount of time for the front or the back. Most queues seem to allow for this; the front or the back cars have a larger waiting space (Ghostrider always comes to mind because of how insanely awesome the back was in the late 90's/early 2000's - I always waited the extra time to sit there.) I was bummed to see that TC does not seem to have a queue like this, from what I could tell. Maybe this is temporary at this point, but I can imagine being fairly disappointed waiting over an hour with the intention of trying out the back, only to get assigned to the middle. Space Mountain, or Indiana Jones, I understand the need to assign seats (and the fact that it doesn't really matter where you sit), but for a ride that gives several distinctly different ride experiences, I would hope they would allow for this. On top of that, many people were just going where they wanted anyway. Some had the requests granted, and others didn't. It didn't really seem like they had the whole concept figured out, and even for a brief period of time where the ride had a 5 -10 minute wait, they were turning down the option to request seats. A positive note: EVERY ride I took in the morning I raced on at least one circuit, without fail.
  2. I didn't know that. Cars Land is really awesome and so is RSR. I have no idea how it would not be considered an E-ticket ride, although I'm not really sure what the qualifications for an E-ticket are. I imagine it has at least something to do with the ability to draw big crowds and make money, and in that regard I am sure RSR more than qualifies. I personally feel they could have kept the same demographic for the ride and sped it up a notch or two. But I'm not 10, and I'm not a huge Cars fan, so there ya go.
  3. They need to slow down the dark ride portion and speed up the racing portion. Simple as that. Even increasing the rate of acceleration would do a lot. It feels like it "wants" to go faster, and for a second there you start to feel it, but you never get an "OMG were going so fast" moment like you do with Test Track. I was also expecting some more sudden stops/jerks/brake screeching like you do with Test Track. Many people getting off the ride that weren't 10 had similar thoughts, several people saying "that's it?" or "I thought it was supposed to be fast." Wonder how hard it is to speed up/reprogram it. I also wonder how the ride was never designed to be as fast as Test Track, as it should have been, and would have been getting much better reception from older fans. I also don't think speeding it up would change anything in regards to families/children being able to ride.
  4. Without a watermark, how do we possibly know who to give credit to?
  5. Man, the SFMM clone that they just built in China is so much prettier than ours...
  6. Besides Ghost Town, what else in Knott's has any worth in terms of preserving? They could pretty much re-theme the entire park besides Ghost Town and I would be totally fine. To me, 1998-99 were Knott's finest years, when Ghostrider and Supreme Scream just opened. It still felt like good ole' Knott's, only with this kick-ass wooden coaster and a drop tower. Trashcans were still at an appropriate level and it didn't quite yet feel like part of a corporate chain. Good times. Still petitioning that they should paint Silver Bullet brown with...silver trains. My level of Knott's enthusiasm would increase. Throw in a beautiful tree and some shrubs/speaker boxes of bigfoot roaring or something where Pony Express used to be, and I would be sold. Ban the ride op headsets? Yes! Ban the notion that a roller coaster needs a 19 year old talk show host? Oh God Yes!!! And sure, an Intamin Giga would be incredibly awesome. If my calculations are correct, Knott's doesn't even need a full 12 steps to recover. Just those four or five things would be swell.
  7. Hahahahaha! There is no doubt that DCA in 2012 will be a very nice place and will feature plenty to do. Like others though, I think that in terms of a "second park" at the CA resort, DCA falls totally short. Florida's parks have very consistent themes. If I want to see animals, I know where to go. If I want to see Hollywood, I know where to go. If I want to celebrate worldly cultures, I know where to go. But as a GP, I have no idea what DCA is "supposed to be." It isn't a world fair, or a wild safari, or a tribute to films and hollywood. It's this kind of mish mash of attractions that, in the end, feel mostly out of place. Throw in the golden gate bridge, a winery and a main street and all of a sudden it's California themed? I think that they should just embrace the Pixar theme full force. In fact, doesn't DCA have the most Pixar themed attractions out of all the Disney parks? Given that anything Pixar touches becomes family gold, I can't see why "Pixar's World of Animation" or something like that wouldn't just be the perfect thing to call DCA.
  8. Absolutely agree. Not sure if they are holding on to it because they're stubborn, but I think they would be brilliant to rename the entire park when Cars Land opens. DCA has got to be the only Disney property that the GP, as a whole, seems to openly dislike. I have tons of friends who haven't been since the early 2000's because there "wasn't much to do." If they rename the park when this refurb is complete, it might fool all of the early attenders into thinking that enough has changed to justify returning. But seriously, who even goes to DCA for more than 2 hours? For almost everyone I know, DCA is just the appetizer to the main course across the street. I still personally can't believe that with the crazy success of Epcot, Disney didn't follow through with the original Westcot idea. Seems like that would have made a ton of sense.
  9. ^ ...And then paint Monte yellow and Boomerang blue. Funny when the mere image of Monte being yellow makes me think "those were the good old days." I absolutely loathe Knott's Berry Farm. Hate. Disgust. Not a single redeemable quality in the park, at all. My recent trip was terrible, as you can tell, but EVERY trip I take there is terrible. Rude (and seemingly all 16 years old) employees, annoying station queues (throw those effing mics away - these employees are NOT professional hosts and in the end, the fact that the same dude on the PA is also operating this giant machine is unnerving.) Ghostrider sucks. Monte is green. Xcelerator is never open. Silver bullet doesn't have a shade of silver in it. Pony Express was insulting. And now they are putting in Demon Drop. It's almost like that friend you have, that is SO clutzy that every time he eats shit you almost can't believe it, because it is so frequent and so over-the-top. That is Knott's. It's sucks SO bad, that when they announce getting Demon Drop, you truly think it is a joke. But then you realize "ofcourse they are, this is America's first and worst theme park." I never really wanted to "pave SFMM," but I always kind of went along with it because I thought it was funny to joke about. But when I say "pave Knott's," I am dead serious. I would actually be happy. Literally. Oh, and BTW, who the fuck does Knott's think they are with their stupid "ride warrior" campaign. WTF? Trying to appeal to teens - as if the teens don't know that one of the largest collections of coasters is an hour north. Screw you, Knott's. Screw you for all it's worth. /rant
  10. WTF???? Dude, you do NOT know what happened. You don't. So just stop. While I am sure that your friends/family are certainly impressed with your knowledge of coasters and your ability to watch 1 minute silent videos and makes judgments, a lot of people are not. Myself included. I have seen Xcelerator rollback tons of times and have never seen the freakin' seat move and smoke come out! So just stop with your "I am an expert and can stay calm" crap. Guaranteed this is traumatic for these people, so have a little respect, or restraint or something. You're really sounding like a douche.
  11. What hysterics? Not everyone is a coaster nerd, and it sure seemed like a traumatic event, ESPECIALLY from a person who is scared prior to riding (the GP is more prone to thinking accidents may occur.) So WTF dude? Laugh all you want, but if MY kid had his legs stuck under a restraint that was smoking while he was holding his head, I would freak the hell out. I imagine you would too. How effing hilarious!!!! Unlike most accidents that make the news, this one actually featured a video that was a tad disturbing, especially watching the Dad freak out. And why the hell does it matter that it has happened before and was worse? Go tell that to the two people who left the park in an ambulance. Regardless of the severity of their injuries, they left in a freakin' ambulance. Crappy day. Xcelerator drew blood.
  12. Yeah - wooden coasters sitting on concrete are way less offensive than a ride like Scream, especially when Scream's twin (Medusa) was so purdy. In fact, I think they should rename Scream "Medusa," paint it that granny-apple green, put in some grass. Ahhhh. Nothing bizarre about that. Whoever had that "land of the titans" idea - that would totally work. And speaking of Titans, they should give Goliath the version 1.5 upgrade and get that extra helix. Gotta love Six Flags. They theme the hell outta their GCI woodie while a big ole' B&M floorless coaster is sitting on a parking lot. The ONE ride where theming truly doesn't matter...has fire and a soundtrack (yeah, yeah, I know that Scream was old management, so get your finger away from the "quote" button). My last trip to SFMM rocked, BTW. Want a way to measure the new management's success? Here you go: SFMM Now > SFMM 3 years ago. By a million.
  13. ^ - Um...B&M DID pioneer the inverted coaster. Of course they did. The only similarities between an Arrow suspended coaster and a B&M invert are the fact that they hang below the track. That would be the same as comparing every coaster that features up-right track and calling them the same. I mean, technically you have a point, but the thread isn't "Intamin vs. B&M vs. Arrow." Besides hanging below the track, I don't see any similarities between suspended coasters and inverted coasters. The suspended coaster is so unique that you almost can't compare it to anything. Staples of the B&M invert would be inversions, and riders legs hanging without a floor. We don't have to call it an innovation. We can just call it a "hit." But they are everywhere, and have since inspired almost every other company to design their own versions.
  14. I partially agree. It is my opinion though that the birth of the B&M inverted coaster is one of the most important innovations in steel coaster history (as well as being their most popular product.) I do agree that B&M "perfects" ideas (their versions of stand-up and flying coasters are clearly superior to that of their predecessors).
  15. The fact that Intamin is responsible for a ride like Maverick AND a ride like El Toro...AND a ride like S.R.O.S. (Bizzarro) - to me it's no contest. B&M's, to me, never fail. I like all of them, including Silver Bullet and whatever "lame" rides they have done. They are pioneers and probably the most important/well-known coaster designers around. But most of their coasters never reach the intensity that several of the Intamins do. Wish they did. Given what they do, B&M are flawless. If I owned a corporate theme park, I would be all over them. The capacity and the consistency and the "prettiness" - all very crowd pleasing. But, in a fantasy world, in my own mental theme park, I would have more Intamin's than B&M's. A rocket coaster, a mega-coaster, a pre-fab woodie, a hybrid Maverick style ride...yummy.
  16. Just got back from an awesome day at the park. Terminator is AWESOME. Definitely a sleeper in the sense that it is quite a bit more intense than I expected. The theming is...well...really good! As much as I would like to try and critique something, myself and the group I was with (non-coaster nerds) were consistently entertained by the queue/pre-show. Regarding the pre-shows - yeah, they are long. But the acting is tongue-in-cheek enough for it to be enjoyable. And yes, I was totally able to request a seat in the front with no issues. The park itself was perfect today - everything was almost a walk-on, and we rode X2 at 3:00 PM to a half-hour wait. Magic Mountain has a VERY solid woodie (stop it) and I think that the "whole experience" works much better than I could have expected it to. And the ride has several awesome pops of air. Twisty, fast, and smooth. Good job GCI.
  17. ^ - Absolutely. My point exactly. If I am gonna wait for 2 hours to ride a wooden roller coaster, I'll be damned if I can't ride where I want. Even with X2, I feel like it is less of a big deal regarding choosing your seats, considering that X2 gives very similar rides no matter where you sit. But on a woodie, the seat choice DOES make a difference - a big one. Which is why they design most stations with special lines for the front and for the back. Regarding the pre-show, I almost wish they would have used one rooms worth of props for a pre-lift building that the TRAIN actually goes into, as opposed to being apart of the queue. I LOVE pre-shows that occur on the train/before the lift, as rare as they are.
  18. Going to ride this on Tuesday. Very excited. Although, I have to say, not being able to choose where you sit is absolute crap. Absolute freaking crap. This isn't the Tower Of Terror - this is an effing wooden roller coaster with varying personalities depending on where you sit. In fact, most stations are designed with this "choose your own destiny" idea in mind. Even the layman knows that the front gives a highly different ride than the back, and not being able to choose would make any time spent in line completely nerve-racking. "Please not the middle, please not the middle..." So, in a nutshell, I really hope they take care of the basics and allow guests to choose their seats. Or if anything, group 90% of guests but allow guests the option to choose if they so desire.
  19. It's like rain.....on your wedding day. And it is DEFINITELY a free ride when you have already paid...Terminator that is. Park admission...free ride....anyone??? Cough. Sorry, I had too.
  20. Funny about the "looking short" thing - the video actually seems to portray a slightly longer ride time than I originally thought. Looks like it's gonna be intense, and with all the tunnels and...holes that that the trains go through, it seems this will be more about the "experience" than just a kick-ass coaster. But it DOES look kick-ass. And if at any point in the ride, Christian Bale's voice comes through the audio system screaming a vulgarity, I will declare it to be the best ride ever. Oh yeah... Prowler is better!!!11!!!1!!!one! Not that I have been on either. I do all my criticisms from a computer screen.
  21. That's what it's all about - the consistency early on and the building of a habit. I am so used to putting on my friggin' seat belt that I put the damn thing on even when I re-park my car 10 feet away. My parents used to tell us that the car didn't work unless all the belts were in. Being a grown man, I still sub-consciously think that to be true.
  22. The new sign is already considered an ACE landmark. This is exactly what Magnum needed to thrust it back into the #1 spot on the Golden Ticket awards. Now if only The Beast would get a new sign...
  23. Personal responsibility. There are no fences between the sidewalk and the street either. And cars aren't even on a track. Pools, streets, guns and now, roller coasters, are just rotating variables in the "crappy things that happen when you take your eyes off your kid" situation. The argument is pretty much over when you see cars going 50 mph on a street that is 5 feet from a sidewalk. Watch. Your. Kids. !
  24. Whatever these guys use to design the ride (software, big graph paper, MS paint, RCT 3, an iPhone app) I am fairly sure that they KNOW their ride is gonna work before physical testing. If they DID "rely" on computer testing, then the true physical testing wouldn't be necessary. My original point was that the ride essentially works before it is ever built. Probably a science to these guys at this point. Well, actually, yeah, lots of science going on. I'm actually interested how the guys from GCI do their designs. I love that stuff.
  25. ^^ - Yeah man, I didn't really know what I was saying - just making the point that in the original phase of design, the ride was "tested." When I think of designs and blueprints, my mind always goes for "AutoCAD" even though I am aware that there are particular software's better suited for whatever purpose (or perhaps no software at all). So yeah, kidding. At least you didn't bust me for grammar!
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