VinTheAttendant

Duly noted. Thank you for the advice

Hello Robb and Elissa (and any other TPR members eager to help), This coming December and January, I will be heading to the Philippines for a cousin's wedding; and while we're in that part of the world, my family decided that we can also do a trip to Singapore since it's one of the hardest places to get to from America. I've done plenty of research on Universal Studios up to this point, but I don't really have a feel for the magnitude of time it will take to thoroughly enjoy what the park has to offer. So, in the event that Battlestar Galactica is reopened by the time January rolls around (it's been closed for over a month now), how many days are necessary/recommended for a satisfying visit to Universal Studios Singapore? Thanks a lot! Vince

Hope you have a nice day [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

I think Superman: Ultimate Flight at SFDK two SF announcements ago was a huge shock to the community. When all of the rumors for Six Flags were surfacing mid 2011, I don't recall there being anything about a launched coaster for SFDK. Most of the attention seemed to be drawn at whether Dolly or SFGAm would be the first at announcing their wing coaster, and then right out of left-field, Premier triple-launched coaster. I never saw it coming.

Pretty darn bold claiming to be better than anything at Universal and Disney; also pretty confident as well. Maybe it's because I'm sort of into mythical fantasy stuff, or maybe it's because I really enjoyed how Canada's Wonderland handles mythical fantasy throughout the park; but this announcement has piqued my interest almost as much as Six Flags' big announcements. I can't wait to hear more on the ride, and if it is as good as its manufacturers claim it to be, then I might just have another excuse to make the trip back to Vaughan.

Deftones - "Headup"

First off, thanks to KDGY75 for posting that awesome picture from the movie Rollercoaster in the Kings Dominion thread. It inspired me to check out some of my favorite scenes from the movie again. That being said, someone posted the entire movie on Youtube, and one of the comments read At first, I thought he was joking, but he also posted this on the same video

Not counting Labor Day and exam days, there are 14 more Mondays left this semester.

I posted this two years ago, I have since ridden over 100 new coasters. 200: Steeplechase - Scream Zone 250: Jett Star - Central Park Fun-Land I've got some pretty exciting plans for next year, so I can't wait to nab #300.

There are tons of seaside amusement parks up and down the Atlantic coast, and despite its charm, Westerly RI's Atlantic Beach Park doesn't really stand out that much. However, I decided to post this trip report in the event that some dorks out there (like myself) were interested in grabbing the bragging rights to riding the only operating coaster in Rhode Island (or at least the only coaster listed as operating on RCDb). Here's a video I made of the trip (I was given permission to film on the coaster): [youtu_be] [/youtu_be] I discovered this park's existence about a week ago. Considering the drive was not far at all, I decided to do a little credit whoring. Yup, it's a dragon wagon. But after that drive tire lift, it is powered by gravity, so it counts as a credit! The restraint is a chain covered with a hose. Ghetto, but points for improvising. A view of the park from the coaster. Like most beach parks of this size, you have to find an employee to operate the rides, as lines are non-existent. I over-heard locals who were surprised that there was now a coaster. Based on pictures from the park's website, a frog hopper used to be in its place. Looks like the ride has had quite a history with New England. And there you have it, Rhode Island's very own coaster. Head down now, and you too can claim riding the Ocean State's fiercest coaster, and you'll be one step closer to riding a coaster in all 50 states. Atlantic Beach Park also has a classic carousel from 1915. I LOVE riding classic carousels; and although this one doesn't have the brass ring challenge like its older brother in Watch Hill, it was still a great pleasure getting to experience it. I've always admired the craftsmanship on carousel horses, and I always will. THIS was the coolest part though, the classic all-in-one symphony was on display for everyone to see, and was still playing carousel tunes. I did not see one part of it that wasn't working, and everything sounded great. I love nerdy stuff like this. The sign outside the carousel. Oddly enough, there was no sign for Atlantic Beach Park. Aside from the GPS, the only reason I knew which place I was pulling into was because of the coaster out front. The bumper car arena was very small, and the cars were slow. Still, there was no wait, and I'd been wanting to go head to head against my sister some time! Hurricane simulator; considering the weather we tend to get in New England, this hardly seemed necessary. A Himalayas ride. Whenever I see one of these, I always flashback to the video of Robb and his friends spinning ridiculously fast while the other cars slowly rotate around them. It wouldn't be Atlantic Beach Park without the beach outside the park overlooking the Atlantic. It was a fantastic day to be out on the water. Perfect temperature, a very nice breeze, I was a little upset that I only had enough time to take pictures. We weren't the only ones who agreed that the weather was great. If you think this is crowded, you should have seen the beaches about half a mile to the west. "Lot Full" signs were everywhere, we were lucky to even be able to park at the park. Typical Rhode Island beaches have very gentle waves, very ideal for boogie boarding. However, the seagulls are VERY aggressive. My sister and I witnessed this flock bully a kid away from his fries. Angry gull. Also a staple of beach parks: the arcade. This arcade was tucked away behind the carousel, and was actually quite small. There were a couple good games, but nothing that really separates this one from Ocean Beach Park about half an hour away. Before we headed out, I decided to snap a few pictures at the attractions across the street. (Not a very reassuring name for a waterpark, I know). Water Wizz had two sets of slides. The speed slide here was the more extreme slide, and the one on the left here actually gave adults some really good airtime. The other slide was a bit more child friendly, but had much more twists and turns down a man-made hill. Next to Water Wizz was an entertainment center. I wish I could say this go-kart track is bigger than it looks. It did have bumper boats though. So that was Atlantic Beach Park. To be brutally honest, it's not really worth anything more than a half an hour drive at most. While it is cool that it holds the only operating coaster in Rhode Island, the star attraction will always be the beach; the park knows that, and I know that. However, I do know there are people out there who like to jump on the opportunity to ride a new coaster, no matter how big or small, and I'm one of them. And to those people who wouldn't mind the quick visit or pitstop to ride a dragon wagon, this trip report is for you. It is a very nice park with nice people operating it. The food was good, and the beach looked like a great place to spend an entire afternoon. So whether you're a credit whore or just looking for a nice beach to take the kids to, Atlantic Beach Park is a very considerable option.

Oy! That's right on the bubble of when I'll be heading to the park. Well, hopefully I'll get the good end of this prediction and the I will finally get my ride on I305. ^The Screamscape article said the train was off the lift.

Just curious, did the fatalities on roller coasters also include health-related issues as the cause of death? Was it for all deaths, or did they separate mechanical and operator error? The trend graphs told me absolutely nothing useful, and there was never any solid explanation given as to why the fatality trends were going up. Also, what was with the (paraphrased) "ejection of rider caused by anti-rollback device failure" as a possible means of coaster fatality? Still, I'm glad that HLN at least brought Robb on. Robb's talking points made the most sense from both a general public and enthusiast stand-point. Overall, it was an interesting watch.

I've gone for many years defending Mind Eraser. It was one of my first "big" coasters, it was my first suspended coaster, and it was also the first ride I was fully trained to work on. I even found defensive riding methods that could prompt a much more enjoyable ride if the conditions are just right. I kind of have a soft side for Mind Eraser, but its gotten to a point where none of my family or friends want to ride it anymore. So while it will always have a special place in my memory, I would hardly object to replacing it with something much more innovative and comfortable. And while we're on the subject of queue times, I almost never wait more than 45 minutes to ride it. If the right crew is put on the ride, a line extending all the way to the queue-house can be 10-15 minutes top. But then again, I never visit the park on weekends, so I can't vouch for those dates.

Dropkick Murphys - "Sunshine Highway"

I recently went to PNE Playland for the first time to meet up with a friend. I had heard numerous reports that Coaster was one of the most underrated wooden coasters in the world, although pictures of the ride seemed to imply that it was just your run-of-the-mill classic coaster. Wow! Did this ride blow me away! Not only was I shocked at how smooth it was for its age, but the airtime on that ride is absolutely insane. I love wooden coasters that throw me around, and Coaster threw me in just about every direction possible. The lack of seat belts helped a lot (and reduced dispatch time to practically ten seconds or less). My dad, who is more of a casual coaster rider, is usually very stoic on coasters, even the ones he particularly enjoys. He was laughing in a way I had never heard him laugh before on Coaster. Coaster was everything I wanted it to be and so much more. Definitely a pleasant surprise, and definitely an underrated coaster.

This isn't really a rant, but I just wanted to vent this out and get it off my chest. My girlfriend and I broke up, and although she wants to remain friends with me, it's really been tearing me up these past few days. At first, things felt fine, but the more I thought about it, questions kept arising as to where our relationship went wrong. Couple that with a few obligations, very little work, s**t weather, and a traffic violation that refuses to go away, something inside me snapped. I spent all of today distancing myself from social contact, and let my mind explore my lack of significance on this world. Not only did doing this freak out my parents, but it really turned me into a completely different person. After lying on my bed in a locked room for the past eleven hours staring at one dot on my ceiling, I think I'm finally ready to get out again. Even though I just got back from a wonderful vacation, it wasn't enough time away from home; and I need to spend a bit more time away from this place as it continues to eat me alive.

I was visiting Victoria, BC a few days ago and one of the street performers was dressed as Darth Vader and was playing the fiddle. If that was meant to grab attention...it worked.

No One Knows - Queens of the Stone Age

Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland nine days ago. I enjoyed it immensely, but it's probably my least favorite of the B&M hyper coasters I've ridden. My last new credit was Time Warp which was......I'm just going to use the "if you don't have anything nice to say..." clause for this one.

I know this doesn't answer your question, but I find it very interesting that the coaster has the same layout as Thunderbolt at Six Flags New England. A quote from Thunderbolt's RCDb page says, So V2-dude's find certainly seems accurate.

Well, if Twister leaves, then there will be no more flat rides that flip you upside down (the Blitz doesn't count and Houdini especially doesn't count). I can see Twister leaving, as it seems like it's been on its last legs these past few seasons. You're already lucky if it gets you to invert twice in one cycle, but it's always painful seeing a SFNE flat ride leave, considering how there used to be so many of them within the last ten years. BTW, where did the rumor come from?

^Unfortunately, you have to assume that all drivers suck. A few days ago, I was getting ready to merge onto the Interstate. I was accelerating to match the speed of traffic and was about ready to merge when I noticed in the blink of an eye that the car in front of me slammed on his brakes. As a result, I had to slam on my brakes, and so did the guy behind me (at first, I thought the guy behind me had rear-ended me, but it turned out that I braked so hard that the cooler in the back row flew into the back of my seat). It turned out that the woman two cars in front of me panicked and came to a stop on the on-ramp, forcing a chain reaction of brake pounding that nearly caused an accident (and then she proceeded to drive 10 MPH under the speed limit after she eventually got on the highway). So here is my PSA: The worst thing you can possibly do on an on-ramp is come to a complete stop; you will only make things much worse for yourself and the drivers around you. If you're too chicken to merge, you're not ready for the highway.

^You forgot one Crows: a murder

^^ It's at SFNE in the line for Cyclone. They have signs like that for many wooden coasters in the Six Flags chain. For the most part, the facts are correct, but for whatever reason, Great American Scream Machine was given the correct picture, but given the facts for Texas Giant. If I remember correctly, I think that back when Six Flags still had Darien Lake, the facts for Predator were also for a different coaster.

"Sinister Kid" - The Black Keys