OldJJman

Dave Rocks!!

No. GR was made by CCI (Custom Coasters Int'l.)

I was one of the ones who proclaimed GR was one of the best for a long time!! I stopped counting at 1400 rides. (nerd) Last May (Elissa can attest to this) I rode GR for the first time in over a year (decided I didn't need a CF pass last year!) and I texted her immediately afterward, and told her that that was my last ride on GR EVER!! I had to eat my words, when I had a friend out here over New Year's. We went on the 2nd. I absolutely dreaded it. We rode first in the front seat. It was about 50 degrees. I was pleasantly surprised! The COMPLETE circuit had been greased! There was NO squealing on both of the Beach Blvd. turnarounds. (I never remember that happening in the last 5+ years.) It was like they actually did something to take care of it!! It sure felt like it. We then took 2 more rides in my favorite seat, 7.1. It was amazing to me!! It hadn't run this well in over 5 years!! On a scale of 10, I would actually have given it an 8!! (The 10 out of 10 rides were in Jan of '99, and the first "Coaster Solace" that Dave mentioned.) After reading this TR, it really doesn't surprise me at all, that even after a month, it's back to crap again. I am glad that I did get those great 3 rides last month. I may stay away for good this time and just remember it for what it was. JJ (For the record - In Mitch's poll for 2008, I put it in the grouping #100, out of 146 woodies. Yes, it did suck that bad. Had I been able to vote after my rides last month, it probably would have been in the grouping of 30's.)

So is the thinking that the park is worth saving. JJ

18/20 Still need to get a life.

Maybe they're going to try and keep ALL rides open every day of the season? (I know. Wishful thinking.)

I would imagine that they couldn't afford to hire some one to take the sign down. JJ

I like that one!!! JJ

Fairly simple. It's a hyper to resurrect Six Flags New Orleans.

I kinda figured that it would be wallet size so that you can keep it next to yours!! JJ

That's the thing. I don't think it does. People that have interests tied to coaster websites, probably do. But I think that the GP, as a whole, don't really have a clue. I mean, the GP know the brand as regional amusement parks. Only those who had their park sold off, or erased (Astroworld) might have an idea as to the financial status of SFI. I for one hate "Mr. Six" (mostly for the music) but, I can easily see that he is a GREAT marketing tool for SF. Very unique, and easily identifiable. Like Joey said, I hope they market it wisely, which will include more of the insane commercials that will keep them unique. (They probably have to keep the music too Oh well. ) JJ

Loving this jimmy! All except the "Jimmybo drunk face" which was totally STAGED! Please dude. We all know better than that! JJ

As always, Dave is the master of entertainment! Great stories! Great captions! Crappy pics! A++++ JJ

Even with the AWESOME T-Express in the same park, I'd have to say: Eagle Fortress at Everland! Marathoning on that would be a blast, and scary as hell at night!! JJ

Yes. See below. This was taken on the TPR trip in 2007 and was only visible for about the last 20 minutes we were there. No way in hell!! JJ Mt. Fuji from inside Fuji-Queue

Hey! By any chance, did you read any of what Robb wrote??

Oh, the worthless information that rattles around in my head . . . How is that supposed to make me feel?? I own that 45!!!

Just watched the complete show. It was fairly uninteresting. It kinda focused on the assembly of Led Zeppelin, the "Hard Rock" guitar, and Maximum RPM, with a large focus on the problems with the Ferris wheel alignment. Not necessarily a must see. C+

Strange comments. As a Californian who has been to WoF 7 times since 1999 (and NO, that doesn't make me more knowledgeable than anyone else), and I'm quite sure that Robb has been there even more than that, I find it interesting that Shane's comments are so easily tossed aside. I, as well as Robb I assume, find Shane's thoughts and conjecture to be quite insightful, as he does work in the industry. I guess in Missouri, the local papers have columns dedicated to the thoughts of management from WoF that we Californians are not privy to. Bummer dude. JJ PS. Robb, I do have some great suggestions about how to fix Donkey Kong. Afterall, I did play it once.

I caught the last 5 minutes. No mention at all of the park's demise. But they did state that Maximum RPM was ready for opening day. Go figure. I have the DVR to record it at 8pm. (IN HD!) JJ

It's a very nice looking park!! Well thought out, good themeing! What a concept! Thanks to Marcio and the other Brazilian peeps for the great PTR. Great job guys!! JJ

Reading through the responses since Robb posted the article, I am AMAZED at how many people continue to think that the economic downturn had a major impact on Hard Rock Park's demise. I'm even more amazed that some here have tried to somehow equate the FAILURE of HRP to Wild West World, and then blame them BOTH on the economy. WWW was never a "themepark", or even a destination park FOR THE LOCALS! The rides at WWW were nothing more than that which you could find at the major traveling fair companies throughout the US. In fact, the majority (if not ALL) of the rides at WWW would be considered kiddie rides at one of those fairs. The kind that are only *3* tickets (or $1.50) to ride. Not to mention the fact that WWW was located in the middle of "Bum F*ck NOWHERE" and plopped down in random fashion! (Apologies to the locals, but you know what I mean.) John brought up the GREAT point that IOA was almost an epic failure as well. There (IIRC) they had an opening day investment of over a BILLION dollars! For the "fanboys" out there, that included *3* B&M's, 2 excellent water rides, a very colorful kiddie area, and one of the world's greatest dark rides. (IF you have to ask, you probably shouldn't be posting here!) IOA had an identity crisis, plain and simple. Fortunately for them (and us) they were able to turn it around. Just being a part of the "Universal" group didn't help. Universal Studios Florida had always been a "we've done everything else in Orlando (i.e. Disney) why not check it out". Universal Studios Hollywood, didn't survive by carrying the "Universal" name, but rather "Hollywood", a name known the world over. Disney has had it's failures as well. Animal Kingdom comes to mind. One of the most beautifully themed parks they have, where the expansion has been ongoing to include some "E-Ticket" attractions, to make it more of a full-day park. Disney's California Adventure has been a failure from the beginning, yet it relies on the package deals combined with Disneyland to survive. Now they've announced (basically) a complete makeover of the entire park. To the tune of several BILLION dollars (more money than the initial investment on the park's opening day). Which is WAY more than a quick-fix or upgrade. Now, when people think of "Hard Rock" as location (instead of a musical genre) the ONLY thing that comes to mind is a GLORIFIED BAR. Now we have a glorified bar brand that is associated with Paris, London, Tokyo, New York, Las Vegas etc... We actually had a Hard Rock Cafe' here in Orange County, but it FAILED!! As did many locations in the "Hard Rock" chain. Now, if you put in amusement park with the "GLORIFIED BAR" name in that mecca known as Myrtle Beach (which is famous for....wait, I know this... oh yeah, the band "Alabama" being discovered in a bar), do you really think that you have a recipe for success?? Add in the demographic of the per capita income of it's visitors, how could they justify such a large gate fee $50? C'mon. Knott's Berry Farm charges $44.99, and they've been around for nearly 70 years, in one of the more affluent areas of this country. Failure was inevitable. As for the rides, yeah they'll be going at "firesale" prices, but the bottom line cost is MUCH more than the selling price!! For those of you dreaming that your local small park could get one of these "used" coasters, think again. If LZ can be sold for $1.5M, it would still require an investment of over probably $5 million. They would have to: dismantle, transport and re-assemble the ride. Not many "small" parks could afford that, and make up the profit in even a 2-3 year scenario. For reference purposes, the original "Corkscrew" from KBF was sold to Silverwood Theme Park, for $250,000. Their total investment in the project was $1.1 million dollars! And this was in 1989. They didn't build another coaster for 7 years!! Think about it. I agree with Shane. Send it all to Fresno. At least it would have a good chance of not completely rotting before being resurrected. If at all. JJ

As you said "TPR TV" does have a better ring to it. Did a quick check on google with "coaster video", "coaster videos", roller coaster video", "roller coaster videos" & "coaster POV". TPR came up first in 3 of the 5, second in the other 2, and those were the ones that said "videos" (plural). With google using a description underneath it's findings, people will realize that they have found what they are looking for. "TPR TV" says a lot and definitely sounds better. JJ

I do think that Robb said it best when he said that GCI's give the parks AND the GP exactly what they want. Good, solid rides that fun, and lower maintenance. Basically, better bang for the buck. The beauty of the polls is the ability to debate whatever the outcome happens to be. Having ridden all of the GCI's, except EK, I never found Thunderhead to be all that great. (30+ rides on 4 different visits) Yes, it's a good solid ride, but I ended up putting it in my groupings of 30. For Reference, my GCI rankings: 2. Ozark Wildcat 8. Troy 14. Kentucky Rumbler 17. Renegade 20. Thunderbird 30. Thunderhead 40. Roar (CGA) 40. Lightning Racer 60. Wildcat 60. Roar (SFA) 90. Gwazi (I rode Gwazi a week after I did the poll. It was running much better than when I was last there in 2005. IF I did the poll after, I would have put Gwazi in with the group of 40's.) What I don't understand is how Grizzly beat out Anaconda for that coveted last place spot! Anaconda (to me) is absolutely, the most most boring, painful POS on the planet. Hands down. Bar none. Etc.... That ride really sucked!! JJ

Not long enough! JJ