DerekRx

I think the reason Air spends so much time on the back is because the ride is so graceful and forceless that you end up falling asleep on it during the lift ascent and B&M just wanted to be polite and let you nap on your back for a few moments. Very happy to see Neme is still rocking!

Looks pretty cool, and a cute idea to make it soccer themed and then adding a ball into play. Kinda like my idea for a Chance Casino/Wipeout roulette wheel where if the ball lands on you, you win a prize. Wonder if there is audio where you can't understand anything but "GOOOOOAAAAL!"

Looks like you had a good time at Paulton's despite being denied at Thorpe. Oh well, at least they were nice enough to have the sign outside the entrance, and don't worry, you'll get back there in a few weeks!

Looks awesome, even though I wasn't there nor needed. Can't wait to drink it up this weekend! But I'll happily drink it and then hopefully have room and time for another! This may be the last good beer I have all week

I think Mindbender has only 1 train because the other one isn't out of annual maintenance yet. Its the same thing up at SFGAd and SFMW. Nitro, Medusa, Medusa (MW), Roar, etc all have only 1 or 2 trains on the ride currently. Its forgiveable now because it is still early in the season and the crowds really aren't that bad. As for Goliath, they took the train off to fix a problem and then put it back on. Thats terrific. In old SF days, they'd have just roped off the last row of that particular train, screwing up people waiting for that row or to ride with their friends. I guess they figured it was early enough in the day that they could do so. I will say the crowds flocking to Goliath do kind of scare me for my visit, but luckily I get a few ERT sessions before and after the park is opened to the public to get my Goliath fix. I wonder, is Goliath as much of a crowd eater as Nitro? (meaning about how long is the wait for a full queue?) On Nitro, a full queue running all three trains ends up only being about a 35-45 minute wait.

Haven't been to IAO in a year and a half, so I'm curious. What, specifically, has gone downhill? Their employees were never as imposingly friendly as WDW CMs, but their ride ops and restaurants were always, in my experience, pretty first-rate. As anyone who was there for the October and March TPR meet ups and on previous occasions, a good portion of the stuff has changed. From what I can remember: 1. You aren't allowed to have ANY articles to ride Hulk. Not only bookbags and other packages, which always were to be stored in a locker, but also waist packs. Supposedly this is because people "drop" them on the ride and they don't want to retrieve them, but who honestly can lose something securely strapped between your upper and lower torso? Yet they let you ride with sunglasses. 2. To top it all off, the lockers DON'T work right, and broke on more than 1 occasion this last visit. 3. No longer allowed to take shoes off and store them in the storage chamber in the middle of Bilge Rat Barges. The first couple of years they TOLD you "If you don't want your shoes to get wet, take them off now and store them quickly before your boat leaves the station" 4. Filming on Cat in the Hat. Originally you were allowed to. On our October visit the op FILMED us getting onto the ride with our camcorder, then handed the camcorder to us. Then throughout the ride kept telling us to turn the camcorder off because filming was prohibited. 5. Mythos totally changed their menu. They used to have really good stuff that we always enjoyed making. The restaurant would update the menu each season to keep with the changing weather and such, but the head chef was always willing to make something not on the menu if you asked him. We were told they cannot make the balsamic chicken nor the tomato and mozzarella salad anymore because the price of the balsamic vinegar was too pricey. Yet Elissa got a pizza that had the balsamic glaze drizzled on it and the plate, so explain that one. They also decided instead of having lots of different signature desserts they'd cheapen up and have random "shots" of dessert for a fixed price. Then you choose from like a key lime pie shot, a cheesecake shot, a chocolate mouse shot, etc. Stuff I can find in my grocery store freezer section. 6. Getting rid of the Universal express passes for free and then increasing the price of the payed express passes. 7. Guest relations having no clue whats going on. For HHN Elissa went to the front of Universal to ask if there was a holding area inside the Studios for HHN and the lady at guest services told her "no, you need to be inside IOA for that, and you have...5 minutes to get inside the gates there." Elissa asked if she was certain and the lady said "let me check....(comes back) yes, you need to be there, and you now have 3 minutes to get inside the park." When in reality there WAS a holding area inside Universal the entire time, just like we thought. Luckily we asked the guy standing there taking HHN tickets before we attempted to run to IOA. I'm not trying to bash IOA or anything, I love the park. But it seems the new management there has taken a total 180 degree turn from the Universal of the past 6 years. I'm sure some others can elaborate more on this and the changes they've noticed in the last couple of months.

^^ One reason why it looks like it keeps the same pace is probably because there is only one train on the course, thus freeing up the blocking. ^If I recall correctly, I was told it runs on the flywheel launch system that good ole Anton concocted way back in the day.

Cold enough out tonight to break out the Winter brews (that and if I don't drink them now, they'll go bad by next winter!) Still good stuff, goes down quite nicely tonight! I really hate going back to the Winter Warmer. Its not winter anymore, but maybe drinking this will make me warmer (without turning the heat on)

I enjoyed IOA for its theming ever since the year it opened. It has 3 (or 2) great coasters (depending on how you count) and some really good restaurants and other cool rides. Cedar Point is known for their coasters, and while they are good, I usually don't make a return trip to CP until they build another new coaster. They're very efficient though, and the coasters are pretty decent, though usually not much different from any other megapark. If not for IOAs themes, I don't think I'd care for it all that much, it'd be like just having Cedar Point with 2 Raptors and 1 Mantis with sit down trains. But the theming immerses you into it, and you notice different stuff every time you visit that you didn't pick up on the last visit. How many times can you go to CP and notice something new? "Hey, that trash can wasn't there last month! It used to be a tree!" However, on my last 2 visits to IOA, I was very turned off with the operations, policies, and restaurant services. I considered the first one a fluke, but after the same stuff after the second, I was disgusted enough that I didn't renew my pass (something I've had since the park opened) and will probably wait until IOA adds another attraction (not McMonkey) before I even think about returning to the park. TPR could have a meet up there with Robb wearing a speedo and covered in caramel, and Elissa wearing a thong and covered in McDonalds burgers, and I still wouldn't be that interested (though the photo update would be spectacular!) I still think both parks are among the best, definitely top 20, but I'd vote for Knoebels, Blackpool, Europa, WDW, Silver Dollar City, Disneyland, Dollywood, Disneyland Paris, and Kennywood before them right now.

Wow! Though its not finished yet, the theming on Kumali looks like its going to be really good. Could it be that I'm actually looking forward to riding a Super SLC?! It IS, hard to believe huh!? I'm looking forward to June, though I gotta wonder if the yellow in the supports will attract those mustard bugs.

^Dude, if you aren't going to meet up with DarkStitch to begin with, why does it bother you so much? I looked at the thread, saw the dates, knew I couldn't make it, and moved on. Joey's right, if he hadn't posted, I wouldn't have even bothered looking back at this. Stitch, I is um be not going to Great Adventure again until ET opens. Joey, I don't know exactly what your plans are yet for August, but I should be around on the weekends, and would totally LOVE to meet up with you and show you around the parks!

Looks like a really good compact coaster that I can see going into a lot of the smaller parks around the world. From what I've heard, the launch is similar to a shuttle loop launch, and is probably more reliable than some of the other launching methods. I hope to see some of these being built close by within the next couple of years. It looks lightyears smoother than the Volare. I can't wait to see what the seats and trains actually look like when they're finished though! I know one ride a BACT member will be pitching for the next couple of seasons.

It would be great to see this ride reopen, but as superstitious as the Japanese are, I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't. Of course, Nagashima Spa Land paid a lot of money for that coaster and didn't get much return, so it is quite possible they'll attempt to reopen it when they feel the time is right. I won't put too much hope into this blog though, its really no different from some 13 year old calling Great Adventure and asking when El Toro will open, and then reply "I told them I was coming next week and wanted to know if El Toro would be opened and they told me it will open really soon and that I'll really enjoy it. I think it may open next week! I'm so going with all my friends and hope to be the first one on the ride!!! LOL ROFL OMG!!!" I'll wait until Spa Land either has a press release, someone actually sees surveyors, a report is filed, or the ride is actually running again before I get all excited and book my flight to Japan. Of course, if it did reopen, I know one happy couple that would be hitting Nagashima on their next trip to Japan (and I'd hope to accompany them!)

Its randomly snowing again, though its like 45 degrees outside. I may have to break out the winter brews again. Well, all day I was craving an Alt, so now its time to fulfill that craving. No cotton mouth yet! I gotta take some of this with me to Virginia this weekend, guess I should enjoy some first before people get their grubby hands on my ultra exclusive beer

"Fly From the Inside"- Shinedown

Its not the drop sequences that make Florida better for me, its the overall atmosphere. I like how when the elevator doors open, you get into an elevator, and not a hallway. I don't even think in the Twilight Zone you'd see elevator doors open and you'd be in a hallway. (and an extremely unthemed hallway to boot!). I also love the 5th dimension (because that explains how you end up in the "Twilight Zone", rolling right into the shafts that disappeared) and how at the end you end up in the hotel basement, and not right back where you started. Its always fun to see the doors open and its a totally different "bellman" standing there. I don't think DCAs is bad by any means. Its a great themed drop ride, but usually you improve upon the original the second time around. In DCA's case, it looks like they cut a lot of corners and ended up with a "cheap" version.

Going for another wallop of an IPA on this fine Tuesday. This beer has really grown on me, though I like Thunderhead and HopDevil better Yup, one of my last Hop Wallops for the season

"Stupid Girls"- Pink

^If there is 1 good thing Katrina could have done, it is forcing a retracking of MegaZeph. If there was 2 good things she could have done, the second would have been destroying the Gerstlauer trains, resulting in SF purchasing PTCs for the coaster. Then it'd jump in the polls for certain! Sadly, as of now, Katrina has done no good.

Decided to go local tonight, with some Stoudts. Dr. Sunburnt-Face says "I feel more Indian drinking this!" Stoudt's Double IPA, pretty good stuff

Why can't any company figure out a way to make a "hold" message worthwhile? Either you're listening to some stupid song that puts you to sleep for 20 minutes, there is no response at all for 20 minutes, or they keep interrupting every 20 seconds to tell you 'your call is important to us, please continue to hold.' I find being on hold really annoying, and not just because I have to wait.

Of course it looked boring, think back....in the early 1970s there were only a handful of "modern" coasters, such as Matterhorn, Runaway Mine Train at SFOT, and Racer at PKI which didn't even open until 1973. I'm sure if they really wanted to, they could have stuck it out and added a few rides here and there, but it was probably just easier to close, especially with the growing brewery and the other parks opening up that would eventually steal their thunder. It would be pretty interesting to see how it would have evolved though, as both the other Busch parks are among my favorites because of the atmosphere and the quality of rides they have.

I really can't see Six Flags wanting to rebuild the park. Everything would pretty much have to be rebuilt from scratch. I also can't see too many people in New Orleans actually WANTING to go to an amusement park yet, they've got other things to worry about. Then again, maybe a day away from it all wouldn't be such a bad thing. If the park did come back, I'd suspect it won't be "finished", just opening with a coaster or 2 and a few flats, and build on from there. Only time will tell.

Great pics Bret! Funny how we split almost from the start, never saw each other again, yet managed to get pretty much the same pictures. Though I will say, your camera takes much better pictures than mine does. Of course, I don't have to carry the world's largest waist pack around either!

Looks like a good day. I hope to get to Cliff's at some point soon as Rattler looks like a really good ride. Thanks for the photos!