LBIJim

In my opinion, Green Lantern is a rough ride. Then again, I didn't like it as Chang in Kentucky 6 or 7 years ago. From 10:30am opening until at least noon, sometimes even later, both El Toro and Nitro have very minimal waits and sometimes they're even walk-ons. The bulk of the morning crowd heads to Green Lantern or Kingda Ka. El Toro broke down about 2pm today. One train (I think the Stride-Rite gum painted one) got stuck about 80% up the left hill. The riders had to be evacuated down the lift hill. I left soon after, so I don't know if it reopened. There was a Caribbean festival extra charge concert tonight at the Arena. They had a temporary Jamaican/Caribbean food stand set up in the Giant Teepee Memorial Concrete Patch. And NO!! to removing Rolling Thunder. I would have agreed in the past few years, but now I'm suddenly enjoying it again. Sit in the middle row of a car NOT over the wheels. Much smoother ride. You can often ride Rolling Thunder 3 or 4 times in a row without getting out due to the low demand.

Either Loch Ness Monster or the Corkscrew at Myrtle Beach Pavillon.

Thanks for providing this link. I like to stay at the Marriott Suites within walking distance of the Rosemont CTA station. Not sure if I really want to spend 12 hours at the park, but it appears to be a great deal rather than renting a car for the day.

2 1/2 hours for Mean Streak at Cedar Point about a week after it opened. At least it was a cool overcast day.

General parking was $17 on Thursday. Friday it went up to $20. I noticed two maintenance workers changing the sign on the roadway leading up to the parking toll booths about 9:45 Friday morning while heading into the Safari.

Thanks for the interesting photos and report. A significant factor in Lizzie Borden's acquittal is that during that era, the crime of patricide was literally unthinkable in the minds of upper middle class society and jurors. There was just no way Lizzie could have committed this crime.

Another vote for Knoebels.....Phoenix is great, Twister almost as good. Great flats, atmosphere, and food. And you can't beat the prices.

SFGAd tonight or tomorrow night. Attempting to arrange a BGW trip before Big Bad Wolf closes Labor Day. Knoebels in September. Maybe Dorney as well. SFMM, Knott's and Disneyland in October. Plus more visits to Great Adventure and at least one to Morey's Piers.

^ The last time that Labor Day came late (2004 Sept 6), the park wasn't crowded those first few weekdays of September. We went on the Thursday before Labor Day and were pleasantly surprised by the lack of crowds. We returned Friday to find similar conditions. A handful of local schools re-opened on September 1 that year, and I expect even more to do so this year. It seems some New Jersey schools no longer stick to the Wednesday or Thursday after Labor Day tradition. Sorry, have no idea when and if Kingda Ka will re-open this year. Of course, my experience from 5 years ago is no guarantee of crowd conditions this year the first week of September. I doubt you'll need the Q-bot, but the option is there if for some reason the park is packed. For the regular Q-bot, yes, there is usually a very short wait when you return, depending on the set-up of the return line and how many pass holders are there in front of you. Not more that 5 minutes, however. Sometimes, though, you can get on the next train. Never got a Gold one, but I suppose the same small wait will exist.

Yep, I've ridden the suspended coasters mentioned. Although I admit I haven't visited CW or ridden Vortex in about 10 years, while I visit SFMM, BGW, and CP on average every 2-3 years. (Toronto trips are mostly during hockey season when CW is closed). Vortex and Ninja are fun, decent rides, but nothing special to me. On the other hand, Big Bad Wolf has some unexplainable emotional attachment. It was my first suspended and I've enjoyed it ever since. I suppose it might be similar to Vortex's attachment for you. Some people's favorite suspended is Big Bad Wolf; for others it's Vortex or Ninja. That's great. To each their own. Enjoy.

DAMN!! While not unexpected, the Labor Day closing of BBW is still a shock. I was planning a trip to BGW in October to ride it for (possibly) the final time. Looks like I have some major schedule re-arranging to do. It was sad but not that great a deal when XLR-8 and Astroworld closed. I wouldn't mind if Ninja (SFMM) and Vortex (CW) shut down. And they can tear down Iron Dragon (CP) tomorrow for all I care. But a little bit of my heart will be torn away with BBW's demise. Almost as much fun as riding it was watching it in motion, especially the final drop over the river. I'd sometimes stand on the bridge over the river for a good 15 minutes watching train after train make that descent. You'll be missed, BBW.

Nrthwnd: The lineups during The Fair are long long long, and not worth waiting in, for my $. I only go to the PNE for a day, just to stroll around, see what You-can't-live-without Gadgets are being sold, and what's being eaten that year (smile) and "briefly" walk through the rides section, if only to see what they brought in for the fair. Jim: I must have hit the PNE during a slow year (2003)....Went twice and don't recall the line for Coaster being more than 10-15 minutes, either day or night. Thoroughly enjoyed the Ex (or does that designation apply to Toronto only?) Those mini-donuts were a great treat!!

Embarrassingly, the coaster I've ridden the most is Rolling Thunder at SFGAd. Probably over 300 times, the bulk of the rides during the 1980s when it was a decent but not great coaster. I'll still ride it once or twice a season. Second place is most likely the 35-year-old Runaway Mine Train, but Nitro is very close. As for out of my area coasters, the ones most ridden are Colossus and Revolution at SFMM, although I refuse to ride Revolution anymore.

News of his death was a surprise but not a shock, due to his history of unusual health problems. I enjoyed the Jackson 5; probably bought a few 45s (singles) by them. Was impressed by the "Off the Wall" album, his first adult recording. Liked "Thriller" at first, but like many things, lost interest when it became mega-popular. After Thriller, I know next to nothing about his music, just the scandals and bizarre behavior. Condolences to his family and fans.

I've been there twice, both times during the State Fair. Decent enough, but I don't think I'd make a special trip there otherwise. The State Fair, however, is phenomenal.....maybe the best I've ever been to. Air-conditioned exhibit buildings in August are a great plus.

^ Perceptions obviously differ. But like a poster above mentioned, most disinterested (not uninterested) hockey fans would say that booing was directed at commissioner Gary Bettman, not the Penguins. Red Wings fans are among the most knowledgable in hockey. Perhaps there were a few scattered boos from sore loser fans, but the majority of the Joe Louis Arena crowd appreciated and recognized the Penguins' accomplishment. Nice classy response. I've been waiting for the visiting team to win a 7th game in the finals for a long time. The last I can remember was Montreal over Chicago in 1971. In that game, Chicago built a 2-0 lead but the Canadiens came back to win 3-2. Was hoping that Vancouver would win over the NY Rangers in game 7 in 1994, but no such luck. By the way, the most gracious display from fans of a losing team was in Buffalo in 1975, when the Sabres fans heartily cheered the hated "Broad Street Bully" Philadelphia Flyers and even shouted "Bernie, Bernie" for goalie Bernie Parent. Congratulations to the Penguins and their fans.

Lightning Loops-Great Adventure (not sure if it was a Six Flags park then)

The rides on the Ocean City, NJ Boardwalk were closed on Sundays until the early to mid 1980s. So were the arcades, miniature golf courses, and almost every store. Full-service sit down restaurants were open; some food stalls (pizza, ice cream, etc.) were open, but were limited as to what they could sell. I remember in my late teens waiting for a few arcades to open at 12:01am Monday. Until the city threatened to revoke their operating licenses, several Ocean City stores blatantly violated the blue laws; the profits they made were more than the fine. I believe Bergen County in New Jersey still has Sunday Blue Laws. You might notice in the weekly ad circulars for Target and other national stores a statement such as "Paramus and Edgewater, NJ stores closed on Sunday."

Great photos. I haven't seen or ridden a Sky Wheel in perhaps 20+ years. I've always enjoyed watching them in motion, especially at night. Thanks for posting.

Some coasters I've ridden at defunct parks: Willow Grove Park, Willow Grove, PA: The Alps Thunderbolt Scenic Palisades Park, Ft. Lee, NJ Cyclone Another wooden coaster Small steel coaster "Zyklon" type Old Elitch's Gardens, Denver, CO Mister Twister Wildcat Shuttle Loop Riverview Park, Chicago, IL The Bobs Flying Turns 2 or 3 others 1964-65 New York World's Fair Wild Mouse Wildwood, NJ (not Morey's Piers) Hunt's Pier Flyer Hunt's Pier Golden Nugget Mine Train Conklin's (?) Party Pier (post Hunt's) Kamikaze early 1990s Sportland Pier "Monorail" Coaster late 1960s Old large Wooden coaster across from Mariner's Landing (Cyclone ?) Several Zyklons/Wild Mouses on the various piers

The Mine Train at Six Flags Over Texas at least 25 years ago. Couldn't quite make it up the last incline into the station. Rolled back and forth several times until it finally came to a stop in the Western-themed tunnel. The ride reopened later in the day and my next ride was normal. Loch Ness Monster about 1990. I was riding in the first car. We had a normal ride but the first car overshot the station upon returning. They emptied the rest of the train and sent us around again. After the first loop I suppose there wasn't enough momentum to carry us up the incline into the helix tunnel. The train rolled back s-l-o-w-ly to the base of the loop. It took about a half hour to evacuate us in a "cherry picker" type utility device. This was shortly before closing and the park was closed by the time we were evacuated. Busch Gardens gave us a free return pass for another visit.

USA (46 states and DC. Missing: Alaska, South Dakota, Vermont, and New Mexico. Hope to visit them someday.) Canada (All except Newfoundland, Yukon, NW Territories, and Nunavut.) Mexico Costa Rica Jamaica Argentina Uruguay United Kingdom (just England) France Belgium Netherlands Denmark Germany Poland Italy Vatican City Monaco Switzerland Yugoslavia (the part I visited is now Slovenia) China Singapore Indonesia Malaysia Puerto Rico (US) Virgin Islands (US) Cayman Islands (UK) Hong Kong (both UK and China) Macau (both Portugal and China) Aruba (Netherlands) Japan (just "in transit" at the Tokyo airport)