The Alex

Does anybody think that this project--or other future builds as well--could be cancelled or seriously postponed due to this economy recession we're facing? I don't know how to precisely describe my thoughts, but that's my shot. Anyone? Bueler? Anyone?

Just wondering. Thanks for clearing it up! I'm not really big on the economics of parks yet. I'm learning, though.

Is Six Flags Mexico doing fine? They haven't had anything new in 4 years. I've never heard of it until it popped up on RCDB in a random search. Anyone?

SFNO/Legend City might not even be open, so we can count it out. Even if Danny gets it up, I'll be shocked if they make it through the economy fall. SFA - all reasons have been listed. Six Flags Discovery World - It's a nice park, but I can see it going. Along with SFFT. Call me crazy, but I think that when there are two SFI parks in one state, the economy (along with SF's debt) will kill on of them off. Definitely smaller, independent parks. HRP is a given, we don't need to go there at all. It's almost like Jazzland 2.0, in the way that it's debut season has been lackluster - something they may not be able to fix. Ever.

Gustav is scaring me more than Katrina ever could. This is serious, and way too creepy for me to ignore it...not like I have the choice. I can see it now..."Danny Rogers has slightly modified his plans due to the slowly-approaching Hurricane Gustav. He has abandoned the amusement/thrill aspect of the park and is now focusing on all-around WATER RIDES." I'd hate that. Good luck, Danny!

I leave for Atlanta in three hours.... this is insane. Gustav is giving me a sense of fear Katrina never could. My thoughts go out to everyone. Stay safe. Long live NOLA.

TPA (Theme Park Adventure) has been around for years upon years of amusement coverage. They started out in the early nineties I think.. mainly covering Knott's Halloween Haunt. They still do Haunt coverage (very well, even though it's hard for them to get consistent updates) but have slowly expanded to covering more and more of the amusement side of the industry. Currently, they're doing work covering the 2008 Haunt build. Their more recent stories include the Simpson's Ride and the USH fire. They've got cool stuff, check 'em out!

Rage

Evil Kinevil

On topic, I'm gay. Off topic, Legally Blonde was one of my favorite movies when I was like 12 :]

Expedition Everest, but I LOVE Ragin Cajun at Blue Bayou/ Dixie Landin'. Smoothest. Boomerbang. Ever. I'm going off-topic slightly.. but The Loch Ness Monster is amazing. I was scared because it's an Arrow, but I loved it.

Hahaha NO. I meant Xtrem had two cars running. I'd be terrified if DL removed cars from Cajun.. that'd just be too much.. post this TPR on SSAI Tat!

Hmm.. maybe you and I have different definitions of 'smooth'. I rode front and back seats on two different cars (they only had two running.. the rest were in the lot by the maintenance sheds) and it wasn't rough as in.. MegaZeph. But more like a very very jerky ride. Which I guess I can't really complain about since it's a carnival ride. I still like it, but I HATE that last sharp bank/dip/ribpunch/bank/brake slam at the end of the ride. I got some bruises from that one. It still looks pretty! Sidewinder was broken when I got there.. =[ What does it ride like? I'm really glad that DL is expanding as much as it is.

I went to BB/DL a month ago, and Xtreme -Maurer Shone spinner- hurt. A lot. It's roughroughroughrough and jerky. Granted, it's a fairground coaster but I didn't like it at all. Tatum can love it all he wants. As for the Boomerbang, I agree with Tatum. It's the smoothest one I've ever ridden, and I almost lost my vision in the vertical loop on the backwards run. It's strange, and she runs really slow on the backwards trip, but I'm not complaining. Oh, and you spelled 'Pontchartrain' wrong, Tat. No worries =] A woodie would get them more attention, but they lack the space for it. And the funds, as well. I remember the Moser ride (Sidewinder) being a brand new -unused- addition, but I could be wrong. DL just seems too small for that big of a coaster. I hope they prove me wrong. MVR coaster, anyone? Have a gnarly one! Alex

I checked the BGE website and Griffon will be down until the 4th.. which means I'll be missing one awesome credit. But I'm going to BGE today! If anybody from TPR is going to be there, hunt me down! I'm wearing a red shirt, khaki shorts, and a stupid coasterorgy look on my face. Just scream ALEXX or something and I'll turn around. Kthanksbye post a report later! Alex

SFI can't relocate the Boomerang or any other coaster left in that park.. with the exception of Jester. All of the other rides were bought by Jazzland before SFI was in the picture. Their (SFIs) contract with the city bans them from touching/removing rides that they didn't install. If that rule weren't there, this would be as empty as Geauga Lake. But SFI is doing work cleaning up the site right now. Their contract states that they have to do an extent of rehab work before they get out of the contract deals with NOLA, and with SSAI getting closer to taking over it looks like SFI is being very cooperative.

Hey gang, I'm heading out to BGE later this week (Wednesday, Thursday-ish?) and I'm wondering if some of the expert TPR...ers... can give me some, if not any help! I just want any tips or advice I can get. My dad and I will be hitting up Griffon first since it's the big shiny new ride, but any suggestions on queue tips/parkgoing? Thanks, I'll post a PTR later. Alex! :]

Mindbender at SFOG!

Well, it may not be a catastrophe depending on how you define it. I like 3 miles or so away from the river, and I can smell diesel fuel when I go out into my yard. The water supply for my local area may be drained before the day is over, and I haven't heard of any EPA people down here yet. We've got coast guard, but I'm not going to be satisfied until we get some EPA. Sure, it's going to take time for everyone to get down here, but when they do we've still got 378,000 gallons of diesel fuel to clean up.

This is not good. "A 29-mile stretch of the Mississippi River is closed this morning after a tanker collided with a barge being pulled by a tugboat, slicing the barge in half and causing thousands of barrels of heavy fuel oil to spill into the waterway. No injuries were reported in the collision, but the heavy smell of fuel hangs the air in the French Quarter and other parts of the city. The Coast Guard has closed the river between mile markers 70 and 99 in the vicinity of the Harvey Locks. State Department of Environmental Quality officials warned the unrefined, tar-like # 6 fuel oil is so thick that it could sink, complicating the cleanup efforts. Residents in Algiers, Gretna, St. Bernard Parish and Plaquemines Parish are also being asked to conserve water, as water intakes for those communities are closed to prevent contamination of the drinking water supply. Water flowing through the tap is from reserve supplies, which could run out in many areas by afternoon or early evening, officials said. The spill did not affect the east bank water system, whose intake is upriver from the accident. The barge was carrying 10,000 barrels of oil, and most spilled into the river, said Rodney Mallet, the press secretary for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. A DEQ contractor has set up "boom" boats to protect local water intakes and marsh areas, a typical cleanup measure, Mallet added. Young says the crash between the tug "Mel Oliver" and the 600-foot-long motor vessel "Tintomara," an oil and chemical carrier, split a barge being pushed by the tug in half. The vessels collided at 1:30 a.m., said Lt. Cmdr. Michael McKean, a Coast Guard spokesman. The river was closed about 3:30 a.m. The tug is operated by DRD Towing Co., LLC, of Harvey, while the Tintomara is owned by Laurin Maritime of Houston. The Liberian-flagged Tintomara, carrying styrene and biodiesel fuel in separate compartments, was traveling downriver when it collided with the 61-foot barge being pulled by the tug, said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Cheri' Ben-Iesau. Three other tug boats are holding both halves of the barge in place as strong river currents rush around it. The Mississippi was at an unusual summer height of 10.4 feet at the Carrollton Gauge in New Orleans today, the result of late spring rains in the Midwest. The Coast Guard has dispatched a helicopter and a boat to the scene, and is investigating the cause of the accident. Federal and state officials will hold an 11 a.m. news conference at the River City Casino dock to discuss plans for salvaging the barge and cleaning up the waterfront. American Commercial Lines Inc., based in Jeffersonville, Ind., issued a statement saying it owned the barge involved in the accident. The spill is visible along the New Orleans riverfront, with a thick coat of black muck washing up along the rocks near the Moonwalk. Mark Takai, a tourist from Hawaii, said he was running along the river this morning when he was overcome by the stench being put off by the spill. "Has this ever happened before?" he asked. "It looks like I could be a really dangerous situation." Joshua Lewis said he rode his bike to the riverfront to see for himself after hearing news of the spill. "They said the water is fine, but I bought some gallons of water this morning," Lewis said. "I don't think I'm ever drinking this water again. It was never a clean river, but this is a big mess." Stay with Nola.com as the story develops." View the story here. Now, I don't know if you heard that correctly. [/b]90,000[/b] barrels of biodeisel fuel into the Mississippi River, and NOT going in your gas tanks. I think gas is at $5.89 per gallon, or at least that's what a national news headline said somewhere. 10,000 barrels is the equivalent of approximately 400,000 gallons of fuel. 9,000 barrels is the equivalent of almost $2,000,000 in gas. I did the number crunch, and it's exactly $1,890,000. Ouch. And last, but not least, 9,000 barrels = 378,000 gallons of gas. All gone in the Mississippi River because a tanker collided with a tug boat at 1:00 am this morning. The river is closed as of 3:00 am, and you can smell the diesel in the air. The Riverwalk/Moonwalk and parts of the historic French Quarter are unbearable to be in because all three of these tourist destinations (that's where we get our money from, you know) are located RIGHT NEXT TO, if not on top of, the River. The Moonwalk -a long stretch of levee that has many outdoor pavilions and sightseeing opportunities- has the river-side of it's bank coated with oil. The smell is intolerable. Water supplies have been cut off in Algiers, Gretna, St. Bernard Parish and Plaquemines Parish because their water intake lines would now be affected/contaminated by the oil spill. I live in Algiers, and a lot of locals think the water surplus we have will be out by this afternoon. This isn't a "small incident" like the news headlines have said. This is big, possibly even a catastrophe. I'll post more news as this develops. If you want, check out www.nola.com for the latest news on.. well.. everything there is about New Orleans (sorry, no Six Flags news there).

Nobody here's saying this ride will be a B&M, but there's a possibility since CF/SFI buys their rides in a group to get a company discount-style deal on the rides. Almost like "buy three coasters, get the trains FREE". The photos that were linked too earlier pretty much prove GCI is involved, unless WoF is somehow allowed to take those boxes with the company's name and EK stuff and show them off as hype. I think there should be a rule where people can't view the forums of their home parks RE: Bolliger&Mabillard! 1) GCI hasn't been denied, unless the pictures are fakes. 2) There have a few shipments of wood planks (like the ones used to build woodie bents) on-site. They might be going to the new haunt, though. 3) It's never too early! 4) If I understand you correcly, the example would be Premier Rides/S&S working on Powder Keg? 5) Yep. Coming soon from CF - Horsehawk: The Ride! 6) I agree. WoF may just be having too much fun with their teasers/what they store onsite. The wood *may* just be for haunt, and that old metal thing might just be.. there to get a suntan.

Could somebody explain that one too me? Oh, I remember at SFNO one day some guy in the B:TR queue asked if there are "loop-eh-dee-loops" right when the train went through the zero-g roll right over his head. And the ever-so-annoying, "ZOMG. There's a park who shaped their ride JUST LIKE THAT ONE!" *points at Vekoma Bommerbang*

Well when you consider that B&M can be as expensive as $26 million, 13-16 isn't so bad. Didn't Patriot only have a price tag of 14? SLCs cost around 10 the last time I checked. Though Intamin gives you MUCH more bang for your buck. $12 million gets you a S:ROS-sized hypercoaster! That would get you something the size of Georgia Scorcher in B&M Land.

It's good to see some KI history getting some love as opposed to being sent to the scrapyard. I remember seeing Jungle Jim's on Food Network once. I really want to go there!

Well, no. We haven't had a single tropical "disturbance" since August 29. 2005. No tropical storms, no hurricanes, nada. This summer has been completely dead, and I'm fearing for all of the new out-of-towners who have come in to work as contractors/whatever. They don't know the routine like the locals do, and when something DOES come, they're in for an experience. I'm not saying New Orleans is now 100% hurricane-proof because we got boned by the worst of the worst, I'm saying that I see a trend of NOTHING COMING. I don't think the 16-year-old from Tennessee should tell me about my climate. Yeah, people can do just about everything these days. You can get a website, get incorporated, even turn your pets green, whatever your little heart desires. But nobody can pull a practical joke on the scale as big as this without getting caught - especially after 10 months. I'm not going to sit here and bicker about what's really happening, and I'm not going to type my fingers off praising SSA. You can either believe it or not, but I'll see you at the front gate on opening day, which is apparently around the May 26th area of next year. And I really hate to say it, but this country is flat out brainless when they refer to Hurricane Katrina. No, we're not suffering. We're not swimming to work anymore. We're fine, and way more than half of our original population is back - we're at what.. 700,000 people the last time I checked? - We've pretty much rebuilt the place to a condition better than it was before 2005, excluding some buildings here and there, the 9th ward, and SFNO (obviously). Our Road Home checks are finally coming in, and we are well aware of the fact that people from Iowa pretend to be NOLA locals so they can steal money from us at our expense. Our government has re-defined "corrupt", as well as foolish. Our mayor spends his time not taking care of a city, but rather comparing his little town to candies he'll find at the gas station while fueling up his car with the City's credit card. Not his money, mind you - the taxpayer's money. We're well aware of everything, so the rest of USA can quit pretending they know/care about us. Because not even six months after the storm, you all just woke up and assumed it was "business as usual". Wrong. I'm ending my rant here. Robb, Elissa, and everyone else - I apologize profusely for making this so long and off-topic from the original discussion. I'm done ranting, and I'll keep my opinions to myself unless it's about the Vekoma trains or something interesting. I'll stay away from this topic for a long time. Peace out kids.