Bob O

Congrats on the award and the money you were able to raised for a great cause!! Now, how cold was it?? It doesnt seem cold enough to be called a" polar plunge " (lol) To me a polar plunge is when people up here jump imto Lake Michigan on New Years day and it is very cold!!

Very Good report, well done!!

The last coaster i rode was last week 03/24/06 and it as the classis(lol) Ripsaw at the Old Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America.

Will Busch give Le Scoot the boot? By Bill Tolbert The Virginia Gazette Published March 8, 2006 JAMES CITY — Next year's new attraction at Busch Gardens is becoming clearer even though the company remains highly secretive. On Wednesday the Planning Commission will consider a special use permit related to the new thing. The request points to another roller coaster. It appears that Busch may scrap the Le Scoot log flume to make room. The planning request is deliciously oblique and omits the main attraction. “Busch Entertainment Corp. proposes to erect a queuing building and an embarking/disembarking station, collectively totaling approximately 7,500 square feet in size.” Busch also stipulated the need for “additional auxiliary support buildings, as needed, to serve a new theme-park expansion in the New France area.” The new attraction will span five acres, presumably displacing the log flume. The old ride is conspicuously missing from the theme park's website. It has been a mainstay since the park opened in 1975 as a family ride on a hot day, but its mild 120-foot drop has become anachronistic in these days of radical coasters. There's more evidence a new coaster is coming. A waiver has been sought to the county's height restriction to allow some of the “expansion” to exceed 60 feet. It will actually reach heights of 210 feet from grade level. The new thing is planned “near the center of the theme park near the northwest end of the Rhine River, and just north of the existing Alpengeist roller coaster attraction. The new buildings and expansion will replace an attraction currently located in that vicinity.” The park's own map shows just two attractions in New France the log flume ride and the Royal Palace Theatre. Since Busch has been promoting that it's getting back into the concert business, it's unlikely they will raze the theater. The flume drops below grade some 25-30 feet. If the new coaster starts at the same grade, that could mean a drop of around 240 feet at some point creating the sharpest drop in the park. The planning staff has pointedly not had to decide on the roller coaster, just the ancillary structures. Approval was given since they would have “minimal visual or audio impact” to neighbors, namely Kingsmill. Four other conditions were added, including a lighting plan. More The Planning Commission meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, in Building F of the County Government Complex off Mounts Bay Road. Any ideas/rumors on the type of coaster??

I would vote for Hades having the best tunnels.

Im a coasterfool, but hope to move up as time goes by!

I know it would be hard to do, but i want too see my favorite looney toon character, The Roadrunner!!

I have heard from some reports that the few SF parks now open have added new chracters that havent been seen in years. Which ones have recently been seen in the parks?? And just looney toons, or have they added Batman/Superman etc.?

Thats is sad news, we have visited the Zoo several times and found it very enjoyable. When are the people of Detroit going to wake up and get rid of ther corrupt mayor??

I had to vote for coastercrazy, you have to like that state line!!(lol)

Id really like a copy if you are willing to send me one!!

I would pick Xcelerator as the best of the bunch. The launch seemed to pack more punch, and i would pick Stormrunner second.

I think the park would have to have a separate water ride section devoted to Dan since he enjoys them so much.

While i totally agree that the parks need to become cleaner and not be the babysitters that they are. And i also agree the parks need to become more family friendly, that doesnt mean they cant add thrill rides with 48" height limits most of the family can enjoy like disney/universal has doen and if he wants to stop being babysitter's he needs to increase the cheap season passes they now seel and maybe have some type of arrangement where you dont allow unsupervised kids under a certain age into the parks. I dont know about others but when i go into the park i often see teenagers being dropped off and then enter the parks with no adult supervision, alot of malls dont allow this and im sure something could be done to curb this in theme parks where they do have trouble with teenagers.

My vote also would go for SFGAM!!

I dont think selling used kitchen equipment and 2 small parks will net the company the billions/hundreds of millions it needs to get out of debt. Now if they sold a park like SFGAM and another major park that might get them alot of money but small parks wont be that attractive for another company of offer SF top dollar.

Anyone know where Raging Bull was in the poll??

I received the follwoing rumors from someone who works at wdw. Hasy anyone else here heard these and do they sound possible??? RUMOR #1 Lights, Action, Motors will be making its final curtain call soon and will be revamped into another stunt show.(same theme, just additions to the show) RUMOR #2 Indy Stunt Show is running on fumes, so if you haven't seen it yet then you need to in '06. RUMOR #3 Studios well undergo a major, MAJOR rehab. As in half the park may be shut down at one time. The back area of the park so confusing and discombobulated that one of the more prominent rumors is that Muppets, Star Tours, Indy, Backlot Tour will be flattened... ( yeah, you read that right) and rebuilt. While I don't hold that much faith in this rumore Studios did fall in attendance this year and Tower is not the draw it once was. RUMOR #4 Star Tours 2 is practically here. RUMOR #5 Candlelight Processional will change next year as will some other stuff. Erik knows more about this but the man who created CLP was fired from WDI for 'forcefulling touching' a manager. Since the dude"whateverhisnameis' does own the rights to the music Epcot will probably be getting DL's CLP. RUMOR #6 Wonders of Life is kaputz but a new pavilion should be announced in '07, just as clueless as you but it won't be the weather pavilion that has been 935826962 Content-Disposition: form-data; name="add_attachment_body" 0

Viacom ready to sell theme parks, Simon & Schuster Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:49 AM ET By Richard Dean DUBAI (Reuters) - Viacom Inc. is ready to sell theme parks owned by its Paramount Pictures division, as well as book publisher Simon & Schuster, chairman Sumner Redstone said on Tuesday. The U.S. media conglomerate splits into two companies on December 31, separating its faster growing cable networks and film business from the relatively sluggish CBS television broadcasting and radio operations. Simon & Schuster, which will be part of the more mature side of the business has often been cited along with the theme parks as assets Viacom might choose to sell. "We have certain assets which give us a lot of cash flow but don't have the growth potential that we are looking for, like the theme parks and Simon & Schuster," Redstone told Reuters in an interview during a visit to Dubai. "If someone offered us enough money, we would probably sell," he said, declining to give details. Viacom had said earlier it was not actively looking for a buyer for the publishing house. Viacom Co-President Leslie Moonves, who will head the Simon & Schuster side of the business, said in November he liked being in publishing. That was before Paramount Pictures agreed to buy DreamWorks SKG in a $1.6 billion cash-and-debt deal on Sunday giving a big boost to the Viacom studio which has faired poorly in recent years. "Paramount was in a turnaround. Now I believe it will grow double-digit next year. This acquisition (will contribute) immediately both in terms of earnings and cash flow," Redstone said. He said Viacom operations such as children's TV channel Nickelodeon would benefit from Paramount's exclusive rights to populate its TV shows with future characters from DreamWorks Animation, maker of the computer animated hit "Shrek." "ATTRACTING TALENT" The Paramount-Dreamworks deal ended the ambitions of Steven Spielberg, who with other moguls was trying to build an independent movie and television empire. Spielberg, director of movies such as "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan," will stay on at DreamWorks as producer-director. "Having Spielberg at Paramount will give Paramount more credibility apart from the pictures, and that will help attract talent and so on," Redstone said. He said Viacom would keep expanding its Internet business, and was looking to generate revenues from 3G mobile phones and other portable devices such as MP3 players. "We intend to keep expanding on the Internet. We will be doing all of that. Yes, video on demand. Yes, you will see 24 hour news service from CBS on the Internet," Redstone said, without giving details. Television network CBS said last month it was in talks with Internet media company Google Inc. on video search and on-demand video services. CBS officials have also said they were looking to buy Crown Media Holdings Inc.'s Hallmark Channel and programming library, a network that caters to the older viewers who would fit CBS's demographic. But Redstone declined to comment on Hallmark or other potential targets in the TV business. "The problem is, there is really not much for sale," he said.

Some results are in for Mitchs Wooden coaster poll, here are the top twenty with Balder as #1. Below is a link. http://www.ushsho.com/woodrollercoasterpollresults2005.htm (I didnt see this anywhere else on this site, so sorry if posted already)

I donj know if this was mentioned earlier, but since the Alveys are going to visit soon i thought this might be interesting. I found this on the web. Ill-mannered mainlanders taking the Mickey out of Hong Kong Disneyland Though Japan's already prickly relations with China didn't need to be enflamed any further, Shukan Post (12/16) -- one of the country's top-selling weeklies -- has come out with a goofy rant about the foul manners Chinese are displaying at Hong Kong Disneyland. Running under the headline "Outcry at Hong Kong Disneyland over Chinese pissing and spitting everywhere," Post takes the Mickey out of mainlanders, who have made up 26 percent of the theme park's 1 million-plus visitors since it opened in September."Actually visiting Hong Kong Disneyland provides you with examples in all sorts of places of some pretty eye-popping behavior," the magazine writes. Unlike Disney theme parks across the world, including Tokyo Disneyland, lines appear to mean little in the latest Magical Kingdom, where queue jumping is a given, the rag says. Trash in the form of cigarette butts and discarded soda bottles is strewn throughout the park's sidewalks in such quantities that sanitation staff under strict orders to clean messes as soon as they appear can't keep up. Hong Kong locals are just as flustered with their mainland brethren. "Hong Kong was under British control for a long time, so the Chinese living in Hong Kong have at least a basic understanding of acceptable manners," a resident of the Fragrant Harbor city tells Shukan Post. "But Chinese from the mainland don't even know the existence of the word 'manners.' They have no custom of lining up. It's a waste of breath to tell them off." Mickey's Philharmajic, a 3-D theater touted as one of the major attractions of Hong Kong Disneyland, has turned out to be a main source of souvenirs for mainlanders visiting the park, the weekly says, saying that they pocket the special glasses used to watch the movie instead of returning them at the end of the film as park operators ask all guests to do. "These glasses are great souvenirs," a Chinese mainlander tells the weekly. "We're paying big money to get into this park, so I don't see why we should have to give them back." Rest at the park is also an impossibility, apparently, with park benches frequently occupied by middle-aged men lying down to take a nap, "Chinese-style," according to the magazine. Shukan Post quotes a Guangzhou daily telling stories of a Chinese mother who let her young son piddle in the pond below Sleeping Beauty's Castle, then sat by idly while he ran around the park without any pants on. When challenged, the mother apparently said she was hamstrung because her little boy couldn't hold on any longer. Hong Kong Disneyland operators acknowledge there has been a bit of cultural friction."It's a fact that we have received complaints about bad-mannered guests since we opened in September," a park spokesman tells Shukan Post. "However, we have people from a variety of cultural backgrounds coming to the park, so it's understandable that there are all different types of behavior. We train out staff in dealing with this situation." Birei Kin, a social commentator who claims to be well versed in Chinese culture, says China needs to change. "China, especially the mainland, has a tendency to regard all actions in terms of whether they will bring a profit or loss. People live with the belief that obeying rules causes them to lose," the commentator tells Shukan Post. "Go to a toilet if you really want to see an example of ill manners. They don't flush and you've got urine and feces overflowing everywhere, but nobody is at all ashamed by it. Beijing is hosting the 2008 Olympics and I find it hard to see morals improving by then." (By Ryann Connell)

I watched the first disc and it was great!!! And cant wait till i have time to watch the second. Great footage of fun times in the parks and the karaokee in the car was funny as hell , and i enjoyed the segway tour. . It must have been alot of work to get all the segway footage too go with the singing soundtrack as nothing missed a beat. It may not be for kids but it is great fun for us adults!!

The last coaster i rode was Viper at SFGAM. It was great too ride it 6 times in a row on the last day of the operating season, sadly no coaster rides till sometime next year.

Good video!!!!

I wasnt aware so many parks had season passes that cheap, sadly i dont live near enough to benefit from these. Our SF season passes i think are about $79-$89 and i only remember buying a season pass for wdw when we went there a couple times in a year and they were more but it was so long ago i cant remeber the price anymore.