Six Flags Enthuseast

The line for Shock wasn't very bad; it was only about 15 minutes from what I remember. Operations were quick enough to keep it efficient. I know I went a bit crazy with Gardaland's photos, but I certainly hope that I give people a good idea of these parks. Next up, Zoosafari/Fasanolandia: Giraffes, smoking monkeys, and a great new Eurofighter! We stayed in the Trulli houses of Alberobello the night before we went to Zoosafari and Fasanolandia. We had dinner at a little restaurant that was a short walk from our house. It was just alright. We wake up the next morning and find this scorpion on the floor. I'm glad it decided not to sting us before we saw it! Trullis... Trullis everywhere! Some Italian women are poisonous to vipers! After a relatively short drive from Alberobello down some beautiful roads... We arrive, and the first thing we see is a brand new Eurofighter! We start off with the drive-thru safari, Zoosafari. LLAMA FACE! I'm not sure what the hell you are, but you sure do look hungry! "It's freakin' HOT out here!" The ostriches looked like they wanted to come out and say hi... but they can be pretty mean peckers! We had to roll up our windows in order to enter the tiger area. *yawn* Pretty kitties. Q: Why did the bear cross the road? A: To get to the water! Zoosafari is home to the only captive male elephant in Italy. True fact! This ostrich took advantage of this line to feed the giraffe by walking by and pecking anybody who had a passenger-side window open until they'd give him food. "Can I come in and stay for a little while?" This guy certainly wasn't shy! We found a few more beggars! OMNOMNOM (Mom's expression sums up how awesome this was!) "Don't forget about us zebras!" "Don't mind us, we're just chillin' on the side of the road." 3/4 camels have open mouths. After we finished with the safari, we headed to the adjacent park, Fasanolandia. Zoosafari/Fasanolandia has its own Fiat Panda! Magnets. These'd be a lot better if they weren't so expensive. This was probably the only advertisement I saw for Eurofighter. This monkey was just sitting and relaxing... but then it went into showoff mode! 4D Cinema. It's time for the Monkey Train that scared one of our friends! (This was included with the admission ticket, so we figured why not, even if it was scaryish) Random park map, for reference. Ok, let me explain this Monkey Train thing: You begin by getting into these cramped little cars. These little cars have holes that you can drop peanuts (sold separately) down, as well as thick caging to keep the monkeys from touching you. Then, you'll be driven into the monkey area where a bunch of them will jump onto the train and scream until you give them peanuts! They're really smelly and loud, so it wasn't the best experience ever. "I was just hugging mom a second ago, then she suddenly ran up here, and now I'm clinging for dear life!" Goodbye, disturbing screaming stinky monkey train ride thingy from hell! This is a 'pay per ride' park, so I had to get these tickets before riding anything. Time for my first real ride of the day! Not much need for the extra cars today. POV! Afterwards, I got this very flat burger. It wasn't too bad, though. Flat burger + chips + chocolate coffee ice cream = Not-as-Italian-as-Gardaland's food They didn't even bother to pull the restraints down! How will Red Mirage turn out? Find out in Part 2!

I had a great season, starting in Florida with a bunch of Orlando parks in February, and then getting to visit some of Italy's best! I'll most likely occupy myself with coaster videos and coaster computer games.... Although Rainbow Magicland has limited openings during this month and December, and I have a few free admission tickets remaining....

I see it. And it's quite a bit faster, too!

This is a pretty neat way to market the park! I'd go and take a picture next to it if I was closer.

I'm glad they're actually doing work now! This ride was probably one of the park's most popular attractions, and certainly their 'Classic Gem' attraction. The mentioned issue about capacity is somewhat minor in my opinion, but perhaps the park can work to fix it. I do agree with wrebbit that Walibi Belgium could use a new coaster. It's too bad that Vertigo was a big failure, but they should seriously consider adding a new standout thriller, as Turbine is probably the most exciting ride at the park. Anybody think that a custom Eurofighter in the woods would fare well here?

In my eyes, this is the nail in the coffin for the awesomeness that Dueling Dragons used to have. When I first rode it, Fire was awesome and Ice was just a bit behind it. The theming was top notch, the rides were decent individually, and the dueling made them great. I visited Universal Studios Orlando this year and rode them again. While disappointed by the removal of the awesome entrance and change of theming, I still enjoyed the ride. The dueling was definitely the element that made it unique and worth riding, and without it, Dragon Challenge won't be quite as exciting as it used to be. If it's an issue of money, then I agree that it's ridiculous that a park with admission so expensive should try to 'cost cut' by removing an element that is vital to the ride's reputation and experience. If safety is really the matter, then I hope some kind of solution can be made to fix the problem in the future. Floored trains, cameras on the lift hill to see when people remove objects from their pockets, and stricter enforcement of "Secure all loose articles" policies could all help. Designing theming that blocks the path of flying objects toward the other train (as mentioned above) would also work.

Excellent report! You took a lot of good photos of the rides, especially Raptor. I just went in August and had a fun time; I'm glad so many TPR members can make it down here to Italy and experience this awesome park! I'd definitely agree that Raptor is one of the best rides in Italy. I haven't had a chance to go to Mirabalandia and try Katun or iSpeed, but it tops the other 3 great Italian coasters I've ridden (Eurofighter at Fasanolandia, Shock at Rainbow Magicland, and Senzafiato at Miragica).

Part 2 Thankfully, there wasn't way too long of a line for Huntik. There were a bunch of important people in black jackets chasing a kid, who seemed to be looking for a large book. This kid seems to have some kind of alien powers! There were some interesting paintings on the wall. I find out that it's a 3D Shooting ride. Check out our 3D glasses! Aren't they sexy? Of course we come out in a gift shop. Want a giant pen with Gatto Baleno on it? Get it here! There are plenty of run-of-the-mill items that you can find at almost any other theme park. They also have plenty cheap Huntik themed trinkets. It gets about that high and stays there for about 20 seconds. The freefall lasts until about halfway through the pink section. Pizza! We got some pizza and fries to eat before going to the Gatto Baleno show. I get to pose with the cat himself! He begins by taking a nap. Then come the dancers! After the show (which was alright), we decided to ride Shock one more time. Unlike the rather loud whoosh of an Intamin Rocket-coaster, Shock makes a rather quiet and magnetic whirr. WHEEEERRRRRRAAAAAHHH! This Corkscrew is just as good at night as it is during the day! Only 1 brave person put their hands up. The brakes make a snap as the train comes to a near halt. It sounds kinda like the kind of snap that you'd hear after getting shocked by static electricity. It eventually got dark enough for the lights to be on. L'Isola Volante provides great views of the park no matter what time of day you ride! Rushing toward the sky. Over the top. DIVE DIVE DIVE! I think Shock could use some more lighting to make it look better at night. Shock's launch and final brake run are plached go right above a somewhat busy pathway. There's quite a bit of airtime right at that point. I think it's time for us to head out for the night. But before we leave, let's grab something to eat. I found some interesting 'Cola Flavored' ice cream. It did taste a little bit like cola. Dad looks like he likes his. I know I liked mine! Mom seems to have liked hers as well. This tower is lit up nicely. One final look towards Shock. Mom liked the theming of this guest services office. Goodnight, Rainbow Magicland! Thanks for reading! =D

Rainbow Magicland: 3rd visit = ride on Shock? Once again, we head through this toll booth and pay 10.40 Euro to get to Rainbow Magicland. L'Isola Volante is working... but is Shock? Yes it is! This is it! I finally get my Shock credit! A sign credit I've wanted to get for a while now! This queue reminds me of Kraken's queue at SWO in the way that it's just a big ramp. Over the top. Is that what this ride will be? You can sorta see a bit of airtime here. This is a dual loading station. They were running 3 trains this day, so it was somewhat efficient. "I waited more than 3 months to ride Shock! So, how was it? It was just ok. I'd say 3rd favorite in Italy so far." We decide to ride once more since the line was short. Let's take a look at the trains. Just like on Rip Ride Rock'it, the side-falling lap bars on this ride help make leg movement freer than on most other kinds of roller coasters. Although they are quite heavy, they are also comfortable and secure. Short, but fun overall! The launch was somewhat intense, the first hill, non-inverting loop, and transition into the MCBR provided good pops of airtime, the overbanked turn was very intense, the turn after the MCBR was fast, and the Corkscrew had good hangtime (thanks partially to those lap bars). You almost feel like the train is going to stall as you go through the Corkscrew! This catchnet will certainly be useful! Did the train stall or did I just catch it at the very top? It appears that more work has been done on this stage. Still one of my favorite angles of this ride! You can see where the track spine changes from thin to thick. I'll also get to ride Mystica, the park's drop tower, for the first time! I noticed that it didn't drop very far before slowing down. They had some weird misters up throughout the park to help guests stay cool. Another sign credit that I've wanted for a while! This queue doesn't have much to keep you from cutting. The restraints were rather heavy. This ride has a lot of potential, but the slow lift and relatively short drop keep it from being great. This chain lift was rather odd on a drop tower. The photo booth was boarded up. I didn't notice a camera anywhere, so the photo system must not be working yet. We decide not to ride MC Escher: The Ride. Another photo booth, this time with a Raphael theme. I don't think we're tan enough to get a good picture with this machine. Hi, Gatto Baleno! We finally get to ride Huntik! What could Huntik be? Find out in Part 2!

RollerCoasterSmi pretty much summed it up what I was going to say. I honestly didn't enjoy the Screamin' Squirrel as much as I had anticipated. I was hoping it would feel more like 'ZOMFG Airtime', but it was more like 'Ow, all of the blood in my body just went straight to my head! I feel like I'm choking!' In all seriousness, this ride is alright, but one ride is enough for me. I really enjoyed Raptor! I had heard from some TPR members that it was pretty weak, and, from an enthusiast's point of view, it was a little on the slow side. However, I certainly do not think it 'felt like it was constantly going 30 MPH', especially in the 7th row, left side! The first drop has decent airtime, and the wingrider seats definitely help make the corners and inversions more intense than they would be with any other seating design. Here's the onride video of my first ride, so you can see how it looks: Magic Mountain was a LOT better than I expected it to be! Those new trains and restraints work wonders; they turn what I've heard was an average Vekoma Double-Loop Corkscrew into one of the best Corkscrew coasters I've ever ridden! More parks need to add those new trains, they make a big difference! My 3rd visit to Rainbow Magicland... 3rd time's the charm or 3 strikes, you're out for Shock? Find out soon!

Part 7 I like Yeti! Whoosh! (To be honest, I wish this would've turned out clearly, but I like the whoosh effect) MOAR BARREL ROLL! Welcome to the Golden Stre.... *coughcoughcough*.... Fantasy Kingdom! Upon entering Fantasy Kingdom, you're greeted by colorful theming and fake trees. "Yo dudes! Want some chocolate milk?" The tallest (and perhaps most popular) ride in this area of the park is the Vekoma Mad House, which is within this tree and partially below the ground. Let's go! If you don't want to ride the Mad House, you can walk up there and get a good view of the park. The most and perhaps least exciting rides in the park, all in 1 photo! They like to mark when these rides were built! After the somewhat long elevator ride (which, as I've heard mentioned before, feels longer due to the fact that you can't understand any of the dialogue), we arrive at a preshow, where Gardaland's mascot talks about his house. After an evil guy speaks, you board the ride. We were a little nauseated afterwards, but it wasn't too bad. Entrance to the tree-part of the ride. We decided against going up because we still had quite a bit to do. Robb would probably lick his computer screen if he saw this! I can't blame him! Even more Raptor merchandise than the ride-exit gift shop! This is the Raptor plaza entrance that goes below the trim brake. What could this be? Roll-A-Ball, Get-A-Tweety! English names for the Gardaland shows. Not just any 4D adventure... THE SPECTACULAR 4D ADVENTURE! This is the 1st of 3 'Oh s**t!' moments on that ride. A good looking menu, complete with a pirate and a parrot! I considered riding this, but time kept me from doing so. The RCT2 Monorail makes its rounds. Time for the pointless S&S Squirrel coaster of death! You get to see Magic Mountain's final helix from Sequoia Adventure's queue. The lift hill begins pretty slowly but then suddenly accelerates to nearly OMFG speed. Gardaland did a very good job of squeezing Sequia Adventure right in the middle of Magic Mountain! The corkscrew actually touches the roof of SA's station building when a train goes through it! What a tight squeeze! I hope the trains ride as good as they look! This is a rather uncomfortable feeling right here. If only each straight section was a little bit shorter... This ride seems to have quite a few motors on it. 1 ride was enough for me. Arrow lift-hill shot! Now... for the ride you've all been waiting for... Are you ready for the WORLD'S LONGEST WACKY WORM?!? The seats are about the same size as a regular Wacky Worm, so there's still that 'clench-and-squish' element to it. Mom and I survived the world's longest Wacky Worm! Sadly, these worms were not for sale, so we couldn't get one to remember our ride. D= Thankfully, they had onride photos. One of these lights is not like the other... one does not belong.... Let's ride Magic Mountain, with the new 'Piers-approved' restraints! They tell you that there's going to be an onride photo, although they neglect to mention the onride camera! My camera ran out of battery right after taking this photo, so I'll tell the rest of the story. After riding Magic Mountain (which was awesome thanks to the new trains!), we got some fries to eat. I saw the Ramses Egyptian Terminator shooting ride thingy, but we decided not to ride. On the way out, I rode Raptor 1 more time in the last row, right side (making my Raptor ride total 2). After we got some gelato and strolled around through the park a little more, we headed back to our car and drove to our hotel. Overall, we had a fantastic time at Gardaland! It's definitely the best park I've visited in Italy so far, and I hope I can visit again so I can do a little more! Thanks for reading!

Part 6 Sneak peak of the rapids ride. You can see Raptor's lift-hill from almost anywhere in the park! Flying Island stands tall and proud! I've heard the view is nice, too. Before we do that, how about some Intamin not-so-Giant Drop? This ride has a very interesting self-service onride photo station. It doesn't work very well, though. This ride is themed to an escape capsule that transports you out of the International Space Station, which, apparently, has been infected with some kind of alien virus. Looking up... Intamin towers usually aren't this short! There's a decent amount of queue, but thankfully there weren't many people filling it! I like the color of the gondolas. Still have no idea what that little cap thingy is supposed to do! Perhaps maintenance? SPACE TUNNEL! AAAHHHHHH! All kinds of strange video clips play on the TVs in the pre-boarding area. If only I understood Italian... I couldn't quite believe how quickly the ride cycle went! The onride cameras are located above the building that surrounds the loading platform. Hello, Mr. Catchcar! You help make this Intamin Mini Drop so awesome! Such an amazing little drop tower! The little cafe in front of Space Vertigo had a menu with typical Italian offerings. Time for some frozen lemonade! Time for yet another Flying Island in Italy! 2001... the year it was built? You can see the top of Mammut's 3rd lift hill, and the Super-Intense-Helix-Of-Death that follows! Closeup of Blue Tornado. Raptor and the dolphin stadium. Magic Mountain and Sequoia Adventure. That tree contains a Vekoma Mad House. Flying Island towers above Space Vertigo! THAT'S how small it is! Looking away from the theme park, you get some time to enjoy the natural beauty of Lake Garda. Lake Garda and the surrounding countryside is gorgeous. Returning to the park (and the ground), Journey to Atlantide and Flying Island: Beautiful views and high capacity, but too short for my liking. Time for another rapids ride credit! San Benedetto is my favorite brand of Italian bottled water! There's plenty of foliage to make it feel like you're in a jungle! You just can't wet enough during these hot Italian summers! More of this trustworthiness that you'd never see in American parks! I like how this rotating station actually works! Intamin seal-of-excellence. Rope bridge, something that's both practical for the rotating station and a nice theming element. Wouldn't you like to get some of that water on you right now? They actually take 2 angles for the photo, so you can choose which angle is better. Some very odd items for a theme park gift shop! A small selection of Gardaland hats. Some random Italian girls just came up to the fountain and began splashing each other. I got splashed a bit, too. Awww, such a cute baby bottle! I'm almost done! Part 7 should hopefully finish up this Gardaland TR!

Part 5 What could be this way? Dad suddenly decides that he is the king of the Sea! And what car other than the Skoda Fabia would the king of the Sea drive? This is a pretty neat entrance to the observation platform! MY HAND IS A DOLPHIN! I like the theming of this ride! I also like how fast the cable lift-hills on this ride are! They're a LOT faster than the lift hills on most splash boat rides! More good theming. SKLOOSHHH! With the short sides and front, everybody gets at least a little wet on this ride! Wet ride + Hot Italian summer = somewhat long waits It almost feels like an Intamin Giga-coaster! The loading system was somewhat efficient. "If you are not authorized to enter here, Atlantis will fall back into the sea!" Notice the lack of restraints. Just a seatbelt! These statues were pretty expensive if memory serves me right. This roughly translates to 'Journey to Atlantis'. There is a sense of trust here that you just don't see at any American theme park. SKLOOSSHHHH! "Splash your friends, piss off people you don't know!" Note the raised seating as you go from front to back. Part 6 to come soon!

Those were very interesting concept drawings and theme ideas! It's too bad that it wasn't approved to be built. I think the Aftershock theme would've been the best for that ride in that area, and the idea of the 'evacuation vehicle' being knocked back down to the ground was creative. I wonder what other themes would've worked with that ride, and what other parks would've considered using this ride if it was successful...

It doesn't lose momentum too quickly, but it doesn't seem to be quite as good at keeping its speed as older B&Ms like Kumba or Kraken. That cap thingy serves no purpose that I'm aware of. The camera is located just ontop of the station building, and it takes your picture as soon as you hit the brakes. Part 4 As we continue our journey, we head into the mountains... "It's soooooo cooooollld!" 45 minutes for one of the so-called best mine trains in the world? Could be worse. Follow the Yeti tracks! This is a pretty big ride! It rumbles, too. This was one of few no-smoking areas that I noticed in Gardaland. I guess they don't want you to burn down the vending machines! Tusks... bones... what could they have found? I *THINK* you can see all 3 trains in this picture! The trains feel like they're really close to the queue with how much they rumble! I really like the detail of these trains! That is one big tusk! Dueling-covered lift hills shot! More alting. I spy, with my little eye, a Vekoma flip-transfer segment! Brake-and-wheel-nerd shot! Stacking gave me a chance to notice how long the lines were. STOP! Gift shop time! How can you not love this adorable green thing? Postcards, which are now outdated. We decide to have lunch at the Blue Tornado restaurant. I get 'Menu Hot Falcon', which is a meal that includes a hot dog with cheese and bacon, fries, and a drink. These Blue Tornado trays are awesome! If only the ride were a little less painful! Heading back toward Blue Tornado. While I wait for dad to return from bringing our jackets to the car, I get artsy with Blue Tornado! Not my favorite part of the ride. This bonus helix is by far the smoothest part of the ride! The pain ends here! This is one of the 'ok' areas of the ride. This is one of the 'I think my brain just fell out of my left ear' areas of the ride. It's weird how beautiful this ride is compared to how badly it damages your skull. This is one of the 5 inversions that made the SLC infamous among coaster enthusiasts. But you already knew that. Ok, we've had enough SLC to last a lifetime. Let's do something else... What shall we do next? You'll now when Part 5 comes!

I heard about this a few days ago, but now that I've seen how small the wheel is, I'm VERY amazed that it actually continued to stand! The plane probably wasn't traveling fast enough (and was probably too small) to cause any major damage, and it's certainly lucky that there weren't many people on the wheel.

Wow, Merlin looks like they did a fantastic job with this park! Even though I'm a younger enthusiast, I can see that Legoland Florida would be a great local park and a decent alternative to the big Orlando parks for families who have smaller children and wouldn't mind driving to get there. It's too far away to draw a 'majority' of the tourists, but the local population seems to be excited for the park, and based on preview day, I wouldn't be surprised if it could sustain itself for a while. I do think the capacity would be an issue, though. This park has the potential to draw a great number of people but not the potential to give everybody acceptable wait times. I know that the park is still being developed, but unless operations are improved and a few higher capacity rides are added, I don't think Legoland Florida will be able to handle the possible crowds that might await it in the future.

Part 3 I want more of this than I would chocolate Ovaltine! These signs have seen better days as well... The weird turnstiles have returned and now create double trouble on Raptor! This train pulls out... And this one comes in! I like almost everything about these restraints, except for the fact that the soft part clings to you a little bit too hard for my liking. Thankfully I had no problem with the short seatbelts. Overall, it was a great ride! Not super-intense, but it's just intense enough to be fun in the back. SO MANY SOUVENIRS! The menu has some pretty interesting things in it, but there aren't many of them here at this cafe. More lift hill, please. Where's the train? Any of you lift hill fanboys need another box of tissues? My camera failed and only took 5 consecutive shots. I was hoping to get a few more for this roll. Perhaps I should hold up a little on the Raptor love? I give Raptor a thumbs-up! I like how some of the ride goes over and around the entrance plaza. Going up! Heading toward the onride photo. Through the barrel roll. It's sooooo twisty... Whoosh! It goes through this barrel roll just slowly enough so that you can feel some hangtime. We head back down the hill to the western-themed area. Artsy drop shot! Personally, I really like this picture. It swoops through the trees and disappears from view... Overbanked artsyness. I'll continue with Gardaland in Part 4.

Before I post Part 3, I'll show the photos that I wanted to include that were missed in the original update because of my photo shrinking program. Carousel. Top 'o the lift hill. That curve is the only smooth transition between elements on this whole ride! Blue Tornado is partially situated over water, which helps a bit with its theming. Park map shot. Notice how Gardaland notes Raptor's new hotness! "If you have a heart, head, spine, or baby in your stomach, you should NOT ride this ride!" Mixed reactions. It's hard to imagine what kind of expression you might be wearing after riding an SLC! Mom and I shall ride in the 2nd row. Here comes our train! Vekoma brace position - through the mist! This is a reasonably fast turn that's just a little shaky. The bonus helix is the smoothest part of the ride! "You survived the test quite well, young grasshopper!" Mammoths... Skoda Yetis... space... what could it mean? Raptor's 1st drop looks pretty good in the back! Patrick-Approved B&M Windrider Sexiness! These dual-language signs help you learn a bit of Italian! The drop on Space Vertigo pretty much defines the phrase 'Short, sweet, and to the point!' This gum-board is already pretty worn out. Everybody has fun on this ride all the way until the final turn! There's something about this ride that makes me love its lift hill... What could this silver thing be? Now that I'm caught up, I'll post Part 3!

The pictures of the 'Concept Corkscrew' are definitely pretty neat. It looks like Arrow did quite a bit of testing before releasing their rides to the public. The CGA 'Park Entrance' looked like a good concept as well. I've wondered for a while what Hypersonic XLC would've been like at CGA and how they would've managed it. And now that I've learned that CGA had plans for other thrill rides, it seems like the park was pretty close to being a completely different place than it is today! I'm excited to see that hyper-coaster concept and learn more about the CGA!

Steel: Top Thrill Dragster Wood: Mean Streak

^I agree that their 'normal' rides seem to be a lot worse than their Boomerang models. Mad House, though... not my favorite ride that they make. You'll see a Mad House soon! Part 2 Overall, riders at Mammut are probably going to be experiencing less pain than I am. Sign credit! The 3rd train is just chillin' on the transfer track. I bet it hasn't been used at the same time as the other 2 for a while! This 2 train cycle works just fine! A list of various warnings. They need to add one that says "If you have a spine or skull, we do not recommend riding in the front or back of the train." Front view of the chillin' train. "What's my name again? Where am I? What year is it?" Vekoma likes their retractable station floors on their inverted coasters! That big wheel spins and moves the chain, which pulls the train up the lift hill. Mom and I sat in the 2nd row, and dad sat right behind us. The half loop right here is one of the most intense parts of the ride... the turnover then becomes one of the most painful parts... These barrel rolls are by far the worst part of the ride! Here's the end of the helix, the only part of the ride where EVERYBODY is smiling! Mammut is very well themed! This thing is absolutely huge! Finally, it's time for the ride we've all been waiting for! It's green... It's this way... It's dangerous... It can strike at any time... It's twisty... It's winged... And it's called Raptor! There's just something about this ride that is utterly beautiful... Lift hill shot. 28 pairs of legs are thrown upside down, all for fun! It isn't really well enforced, though. Whoosh! Nothin' but sky and a great looking B&M Wingrider! The last little turn before the brake run. You feel closer to the ground while riding than you actually are! We interrupt this Raptor section with a bit of mini Intamin drop tower. More sky and more Zero-G Roll. I like bolt! Warnings that tell you not to go behind the fences. The 2nd inversion, a Corkscrew. Emergency exit. Vending machine in the queue. Definitely useful during those hot Italian summers! The curve down to the station, which is underground. How did I like Raptor? Find out in Part 3!

It seems like things have definitely changed a lot since the original speculation began! But I'm still happy that Mirabalandia is getting an awesome new ride; if it is similar to Pilgrim's Plunge, then hopefully it will have a much better splash than both it and Perilous Plunge.

R.I.P. Ron Toomer. While he may no longer be with us, I'm certain that his many rides will continue to thrill people for a long time. It's partially thanks to him and Arrow that the coaster world of today is full of crazy, 7+ inversion, 200ft+ tall, inverted, steel roller coasters! He will definitely be missed, but he will be always be remembered, especially by us coaster enthusiasts who have ridden his rides.

Next update: Gardaland! We arrive at Gardaland on a wet day. This makes it the 2nd time we've gone to a park during the hot, Italian summer and ended up with rain! Skoda: The official car brand of Gardaland. Interesting pre-tunnel theming. I'd MUCH rather ride a Skoda than a Vekoma SLC. TAKE THE TUNNEL! Blu Tornado is one of the first rides you see upon entering Gardaland. New hotness in the distance. GRRR! You'd better not piss me off, or I'll go all medieval on you! I've only ridden 1 of these. Let's head towards the pain. Neat entrance. Lift hill shot. Mid-roll! I can feel the shaking! The station is kinda interesting... Yet another lift-hill shot. Part 2 to come soon!