Goose

Yes, you called? Steve-

Hi, my name is Goose, and I'm a recovering coaster addict... The last time I rode anything was actually my trip two years ago to the NYC area, where I rode the Cyclone at Coney Island. So, with an open day on my current trip, it was time to end the coaster drought and head to SFGAdv last Thursday. It had been raining earlier in the morning, with the forecast calling for a chance of more later on. I chose to still head down to the park, and was greatly rewarded for it. The place was pretty much empty all day, with only a few school groups filling things up. The longest lines all day were seen at El Toro and Superman, which were running about 30 minutes at peak. While most everyone chose to go left once the gates opened, I chose to go left. The first ride of the day was on Nitro, which is certainly one heck of a kick-in-the-pants! I was able to get a couple of re-rides in before moving on. Next up was Batman, which is just like every other Batman out there. Again, they were allowing people to ride as long as seats were available. The Dark Knight was kind of cool, but I had already ridden the one at SFGAm. It wasn't quite as dark as I'd like a dark ride to be. I next headed to Skull Mountain, where I got the biggest surprise of the day. There, I ran into my friends Steve and Crystal, whom I had no idea would even be there today. While I was planning on just rushing through the park on my own, it's always much better to share the day with friends, and I thank them for letting me hang out with them all afternoon! As for Skull Mountain itself, the ride was OK, but nothing spectacular. Much darker than Dark Knight. After that, we hooked back so Steve and Crystal could get rides on the three I had already done. From there, we crossed back toward the other half of the park. By this point, the rain was starting to show up at the park. Thus, my ride on Green Lantern became very wet. Green Lantern was alright, but I think I like Riddler better at SFMM. Superman has a pretty decent wait, but it was well worth it. Again, I like Tatsu at SFMM better for it's larger size, but this one is alright. I'm not a big fan of the pretzel loop. Next up was the worst ride of the day, the park's little mine train. I don't know if it's the rain or the age of the ride, but it was extremely rough! I think we were all agreed that one ride was enough on this one. Finally, we waited and got on El Toro. I can see why everyone keeps giving it the rave reviews. I liked it a whole lot more than T-Express in Korea. However, it took them so damn long to dispatch the train with them having to make sure all the bars are down completely. Kingda Ka was down all day, though they were testing Zoomanjaro pretty constantly. Not that big a loss for me, since I have already ridden Top Speed Dragster at Cedar Point. After El Toro, it was raining pretty hard, so I decided to call it a day. I didn't get to ride Bizzaro, but I'm not all that broken up over it. Of course, as soon as I had left the parking lot, the skies cleared and it was beautiful the rest of the day. Overall, I liked SFGAdv a lot! The park was very clean, and everyone was extremely friendly. I'd like very much to come back here next time I'm through! Steve-

Howdy, I'm voting in the site selection of the 2015 World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), and once of the three candidate cities is Orlando. That bid is planning to hold the convention at the Coronado Springs Resort at Disney World. My biggest concern with this bid is the location. You see, I was at the Anime Expo in 2000 held at the Disneyland Hotel & Convention Center, and saw first hand just how well a major fannish convention worked with Disney. Events were stopped, dealers were ejected from the property for selling 'adult materials' (Which being pretty much anything rated 'R' or 'NR'), and parties were broken up. Calling the con a disaster that year would be a gross understatement. I'm worried that we're about to repeat that experience... Talking with the ConChair, he says that they are aware of these problems, and that they're working well in advance with the resort to accommodate the convention. The biggest concern Disney has is keeping the convention, which will definitely have folks wondering around in costume, isolated from the rest of their environment. As long as we keep the Trekies at Coronado Springs, they're fine with letting us do pretty much what we want. With as big as Coronado is, it looks like this shouldn't be an issue. The other bids are Spokane and Helsinki (Which really doesn't have a chance, but good for them!). Spokane seems to be doing the same-old-thing for the con. I like Orlando because the seem to be willing to try some new things, which I believe the Worldcon needs. So, it seems like everyone's looking out for each other, but I've still got my doubts having it on the Disney property. But, not having much experience with the place, I refer to the experience of someone who might know the place better. Does this plan seem like a good idea, or would a vote for Orlando be a vote for disaster? The bid has a website here: http://www.orlandoin2015.org/ Thanks for the advice, Goose-

Wouldn't there be some level of concern and a decent amount of testing involved with the cars changing weight? I'm no expert on the matter, but I'd imagine that the tuning of the magnets would be somewhat precise to get it down the track at 100mph. Just look at all the testing and the delays that went into it the first time around. Goose-

I went to Geauga Lake the day after Coastermania 2007 and made it down to RWB about twenty minutes after it had the accident. Sad as it was, the ride would never open again. Steve-

I've got to say, this is going to be one sexy coaster when finished. GCI sure makes some beautiful rides. Steve-

Howdy, I'll be at HW sometime this weekend (Weather pending). I can get as many pictures as you need. Steve-

I'll be there. About a three hour down I-64 for me. I'd avoid the Comfort Inn just off the freeway in Ferdinand. Had the 'pleasure' of sharing the hallway with elementary school groups both nights. Kids were up at the crack of dawn both mornings running up and down the halls screaming before getting on the buses to leave. Camping is sounding like a really good option this year. Steve-

This has been my main concern about the park for years now. If you look back through the years, the last non-coaster, non-upcharge ride that adults could easily ride (So this doesn't count the BBW upgrade) was Sierra Falls in the early 90's! Since then, we've seen the remaining flats age and slowly be removed for the park and nothing but coasters go in. The addition of new flat rides would help the park in numerous ways. Most I've seen at other parks have height limits low enough to allow younger children on before they're tall enough for the bigger coasters, so it would fit into the family image they're pushing. It also would give people something to do other than the coasters, which would take some of the pressure off of the monstrous summer lines. Finally, in these days where the budget is increasingly tight, they could get a couple of new, unique rides for the price of a big coaster. What could they add that would bring folks in? Toward the larger end, with the removal of Freefall in the very near future, a replacement for it would be good. I'd probably look for some variant of the latest Intamin design, as it's pretty much the only thing not in the local area already. I can almost guarantee seeing a dark ride at some point, because they're cheap but popular, especially when the temperature goes up in the summer. I so very much wish I could have been there for the party and be there for WCB in March. Unfortunately, work appears to be sending me out of the country for that week. It's so great to see leadership at the park who seem to actually care for what they've been entrusted. Steve-

Thanks a ton! Been looking for a title to this one for a long time. Steve-

No, I don' t like that song. I was asking so that I could avoid that song and never, never listen to it... (Here's your sign...) Can I get a real answer? Steve-

Quick question for those who were at Walibi World on Saturday. What is that techno song that plays on the space shot? I've been trying to track down a name on that forever, but I've never gotten an answer. Steve-