OldJJman

#6 - Nay all the way!

Same company, Miler. Famous for kiddie coasters. On their larger ones, sharp drops and little to no banking on the corners!! I've always found the larger Milers to be a lot of fun. JJ

You're absolutely right. I just looked it up on rcdb. Fun ride. Nothing spectacular. Especially only 38' tall. JJ

^That Miler looks like the one that was removed from Playland in Reno. Which was nothing like the "Hi-Miler". Anyone know for sure?? Great start. Keep it up. JJ

Nah. I was just bored one night (and a bit argumentative ) and started looking for some facts. I knew a little about the park as I had been there before. I went in 2002, when it was still Jazzland, and owned by the same company that owned Visionland and Castle Park (Riverside, Ca.). I found a few interesting facts, and then started digging deeper. It was fairly easy. Especially if you throw in a little common sense. However, I did just look on the "The Internet Movie Database" (www.imdb.com) to see if maybe perhaps he was/is an actor, because he is certainly putting on a show. But, no such luck. I'll be keeping my eyes open. Trust me! JJ

Excellent pictures. Some of those sky shots are simply stunning!! Thanks for sharing!! JJ

I just wanted to put in my thoughts regarding removing the human operators from the monorail. (Or trains, because basically, that's what they are.) AFAIK, ALL high-speed trains (ACELA, ICE, AVE, TGV, Eurostar, Shinkansen, etc...), and mass transit rail (subways, The El, The Tube etc...), still use human operators, in every aspect of operation. Even the two different monorails I've ridden in Tokyo had human operators. These methods of transportation carry far more passengers then Disney ever will. IF, there was a valid argument for NOT having the human component, someone would have come up with a better method by now. In fact, the only "fully automatic" (i.e. no human driver) public transportation system I can think of, (and I know Scott will correct me if I'm wrong ((and I probably am! ) is the new monorail running in Vegas. In other words, I really don't think that removing the human element is a smart, or viable option. Granted, there are probably a number of things that contributed to this tragedy. The truth is, no matter how deep this investigation goes, we may never know exactly how, or why it happened. The only possible aid that I can come up with, is a type of "black box" which you find on most major planes, and on the high-speed trains. These "black boxes" record EVERYTHING associated with the running operations (speed, operator, GPS transponder, proximity to another unit, temperature,... and a kazillion other things). That's why they're ALWAYS a very high priority when a "search & rescue" operation is begun after an accident. Removing the human aspect isn't the answer. But, by adding the "black box" we may raise the level of safety on them. Anyway, that's my .02. JJ

BINGO!!

Scott, Thanks for the find and posting it. Very cool! Tragic accident, and story. JJ

I figure Wes, Joey or Robb could probably answer this: Don't things like this have a LOT to do with SAG, and the royalties that need to be paid out to all involved?? I only think that because I know a girl who was in the BTTF preshow, and she collected royalties quite often. (She still might for all I know, as BTTF is still at USJ) JJ

I was kind of surprised to see that I hadn't posted in this thread yet. Out of 48 B&M's, I'd say Kumba, Hulk, Fire, Nemeis, and the Batmen. JJ

The above article, along with the blurb on rideaccidents.com, give no real details, and if the worker had been killed, we would have definitely heard about it by now. Granted, this is just speculation on my part, but: Could it have also just been a train in the station moving from unload to load? Or perhaps a misstep while using the transfer track?? I say this only because if the worker had been out on the course, they (more than likely) would have been killed. Or at least seriously injured. It was reported that the ride did open that day, fueling my speculation. JJ

17/20

To assist in holding up the platform the welder was working from.

I had been told that they were doing some spot-welding on Tatsu.

Only Chuck!! Love it!! We need more Chuck PTR's. Well, I guess I should let him finish this one. JJ

Yo.

I like Nitro too, but #3, not a chance in hell! I think I have it down somewhere in the mid 20's. Still a good ride though. JJ

But Terminator will never be as good as GhostRider once was!! JJ

On June 1st of last year, a large fire had ravaged through the backlot area of Universal Studios Hollywood. It did considerable damage to some film vaults, as well as the infamous "Courthouse Square". That particular area had been the backdrop of many films over the years including: "To Kill a Mockingbird" (back in the day, it was known as "Mockingbird Square"), "Bruce Almighty", "The Nutty Professor", "The Music Man" along with many others, and of course, the "Back to the Future" trilogy. Universal had said that it would be rebuilt. Fast forward to yesterday. Since Robb was out goofing off somewhere driving go-carts or some other nonsense, William "I make kick-ass scavenger hunts" Shandling, his brother Frank and myself were asked to represent TPR at the new unveiling. Also mentioned was that the conversion all of the trams to be "mobile movie theaters" with Hi-Def monitors and a superb digital audio system was about 99% complete. The pics will tell the rest of the story. Video! [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=universal_q96f[/coastertube] This has been brought to you by TPR news. Thank you for reading! More of the construction, that will be ongoing for some time. And they make an awesome difference!! You can hear the tour guides perfectly, and the corresponding videos just pop off the screen. An excellent modification!! Each tram was now loaded with 3, 24" (16x9) Hi-Def monitors, as well as 4 digital audio speakers, mounted every other row (2 in the center, 2 on the outer edges). Time to go check out the new Hi-Def tram tour. On the way, you can see the amount of construction and restoration that still needs to be done in the "Courthouse Square" area. Here's William interviewing (at length I might add) Larry Kurzweil, President and CEO of USH. Mr. Kurzweil was very cordial and very happy to talk on camera for us! He also told us a little (ok, very little) about the new "King Kong 4D" part of the tram tour, coming next summer! He also interviewed Molly for quite some time. I do believe he got her #, though she declined to don her costume from "Hair" for him! Hopefully, those video interviews will be posted here soon. After the tram departed, the cast members posed for photo ops. With encouragement from Doc Brown, Molly (a USH tour guide AND "Hair" cast member), christened the tram, celebrating the re-opening of "Courthouse Square". They just look annoying to me! ...followed by a portion of the USC marching band. (proving that the Jew has WAY too much influence on USH!) ...which prompted the cast members to grab the balloons and head on over to greet them. The first tram in over a year, makes it way into "Courthouse Square". Just prior to the first tram coming thru, the construction workers got a small break. There was still a lot of construction/restoration going on in the backlot area. Evidently, getting the boob credit never gets old!! As William went to interview the sailors, they started acting - like sailors. The "Same as it Never Was" antique store from the tv show "Ghost Whisperer". As we got to the square, the local media was interviewing cast members before the big moment. The backdrop for many, many movies: the courthouse. (Minus the clock tower from BTTF) Yours truly, studying the press release so I could get my facts straight. In case you forgot where we were.

Divv. He's light weight, sharp and very competitive. JJ

Ok. My bad.

My bad. I stand corrected. JJ

Divv