Coastercameron

I was lucky enough to be able to ride Sponge Bob 3 times on friday. It is an amazing ride for the Mall... It is by far the best looping coaster in MN or any state that touches MN for that matter. I think a lot of things will be cut close for opening. However, a lot of the park isn't even slated for renovation, the former Stadium Club and Steakhouse with BOTH be vacant, and log chute's retheme is pushed back to next year. The park should be cool though.

Backtracking a little to B&B... I was looking at the birds eye photos on live search. These are all "new", but when you are over the stadium at B&B you can see a dramatic decay when you rotate the picture. at one angle, the stadium looks to be in decent shape, rotate 90 degrees and suddenly the lighting, fences, and seats are gone, and the field is completely overgrown. In the more recent ariel shots the stadium has been completely leveled. http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=nq4jkh85ww8z&style=o&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=3418828&encType=1 Looks still usable here. http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=nq4kvz85wwgn&style=o&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=13839276&encType=1 BAM. Looks like it will fall over soon. http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=28.23047~-81.64166&style=a&lvl=18&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=13839228&encType=1 Demolished in the overhead shot. Studying the photos closer, the pitcher's mounds and plate areas of the fields are all covered in the "nice" pictures. Were the fields and the stadium in use until recently?

i'd be interested in seeing more of this.

Interesting how everyone seems to have piled on bashing Tibidabo. The park looks unique and somewhat charming... not quite sure how everyone is getting "ghetto" and "unsafe" out of that. Now if the home made rides were at say... Mount Olympus... then I would be scared. It is funny how everyone freaks out about "OMG HOME MADE RIDES!!!" but if you think about it, old Chance rides and more than anything, S&S rides started out as essentially home made machines. Anyways, hope the trip is going GREAT!

Don't shoot the messanger. I'm just trying to explain why parks have those kinds of rules in place, I understand it sucks for some of the people on here because they use pro equipment but aren't media.

Interchangable lenses may not be dangerous but that is not why they are prohibited. Most parks try VERY hard to control how they are portrayed in the media. By banning professional photo equipment like lenses and tripods, you make it much easier for employees and security to spot rouge media. Parks want all media to go through them first so that they can control thier image. While it is unfortunate that your situation gets a false-positive with this test, it is simply parks trying to cover thier butts. If you contact the marketing/pr department in the park, they may be able to issue you a media pass or make arangements.

Wow... this video is literally one of the most terrifying things I've seen in my life. Also, I think you might want to watch your sweeping generalizations here. I personally know several traveling ride owners, and they are just as interested in ride safety as any park. Also, many carnivals, the rides owners have a personal stake in the safety of the rides, few parks can say that. It is a differnet ballgame, but I would think long and hard before jumping to conclusions and calling one safer than another.

Wow... I still cant believe how big those trains are! How does the floor work? Does the middle section of the floor stay attached to the train?

I love Adventureland. It is such a charming little place with great rides and even better employees! Anyways, how can you not like a park with Iowian friendly ketchup and mustard udders.

I'm going to SFGADV for the first time in about a month. I can't wait for all those new credits! Esp. El Toro!

Nice pics! Great weather for opening day, and a GREAT new coaster. I officially had the best weekend ever out there.

Lets just say that Twister's spinning was not an "Elissa friendly ride". However, we were able to find some Elissa friendly food! Pics of the day, and The Park to come. Cameron "not the one from Chicago" W.

I should be able to be there! Looking forward to Renegade, and some TPR style fun

All of the peanuts themeing has been ripped out for over a year. Right now i don't know of any solid plans with the fountain, thought it could be assumed that it will recieve some new treatment with the retheme of the park.

Vffreak... you are wrong. Unfortunately, that's really all I should say for now. I will however say that using the center fountain for a ride like a drop would be terribly wasteful of the space. As of right now, the fountain is staying.

Again, based on where they are planning on putting it, and the references to "adult frog hopper" they have made, I think chances are slim that it will be an S&S tower. I could be wrong, but that is my intuition. Also, I don't think that Galaxyland and The Park are all that acoustically similar, isn't Galaxyland more spread out, where The Park is all in one "room".

Bigger... but this isn't going to be a multi-tower 150+ft extravaganza some people on here have their minds set on.

Oh, please, PaMoA is already the loudest place in the upper midwest. An S&S tower would actually be quiet compared to everything else. While the park is subjectively loud, all the rides are actually extremely quiet. For comparison, the Gerstlauer outdoor spinners are practically silent, while indoors it is the loudest ride in the park. S&S Towers can be heard several hundred feet away outdoors, it would be, by far, the loudest thing in the park. Based on the location of the new drop ride, I can tell you not to expect anything big. I think most of you will be shocked to see where they plan on squeezing it in. I would expect a ride with a seating arrangement similar to a Frog Hopper. The biggest thing I could possibly see installed there would be something along the lines of an ARM Super Shot.

Is Thorton Road the exit with the Waffle House on EACH side of the freeway? That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

I second the Fairfield Inn. IIRC, this is a newer place, and as is typical with any Marriot branded hotel, it is very nice. The price is reasonable, and you dont have to worry about any Poo-Towels. I've always been a big supporter of Marriot, and Fairfield in particular, but ever since Marriot redid all thier rooms last year, they are better than ever. It may not be the closest to the park, but it is close enough, and actually nice.

Were these people in the actual active ride area? If they were, I think you were right to report it. That is a very dangerous, potentially lethal situation.

Anyone ever think that CF is doing a big domain grab to try and protect itself. The "logo" screamscape has would have taken a middle school student 10 mins. in photoshop to make. I will believe it when I see it.

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. But did you seriously expect to be able to "see" anything for 2008 yet. Nothing is even closed yet. Kids Quest and New Horizons closes on the 28th, and Mine Ride's closing date is still unannounced. And about where the station is going, you are a ways off. Stay tuned for more info.

Today my friend Matt (LootyISU on TPR and TN) and I took a demonstration flight from good ol' Flying Cloud Airport. Matt is interested in learning to fly, and we were both interested in flying over Valleyfair! We rolled out to Thunderbird Air where we caught our ride, a 1979 Piper Warrior II. Little did Matt know, he would actually be our pilot for today's flight!!! This is the kind of experienced look I want in all my pilots. "CLEAR!" and ready to fly. (that is the licensed pilot instructor on the right) Once we are up in the air, Matt actually learns to fly... using our instrumentation! Now to what you've all been waiting for. Ariel VF shots. Unfortunately, since VF is right in the path of one of the airports runways, we were limited to a brief pass over, but I did get a few good shots of Renegade's progress and the park in general. Coming in down the highway. Overview of the whole park. The south side of the park, and Brambilla's RVs. Park's backstage, and a pretty good overview of Renegade's progress. Renegade, Thunder Canyon, and Excalibur. Central shot of the park. Wild Thing! Front of the park. Coming in for a landing! Overall, we had a GREAT time, and plan to go flying again... Thanks to Thunderbird Air and our instructor Jennifer for a great flight. Let me tell you, that plane may be small and old, but it can pull some nice g's! -Cameron "Renegade is HOTT" Willis

Are you sure that is the same dude? His hair grew too much in a week by my estimates. I work at a park, so some of this stuff is all to familiar to me, and it still makes me cringe everytime I see it. That laptop takes the cake though! What is that guy supposed to be doing?