BrownStreak

^Do they still do that cool thing where the ride ops jump on and off the turn table while its moving?

Sorry if someone has asked this- but I haven't see it= What does Balder mean in English?

The 2nd to the last picture in the Djurs Sommerland set is funny. Working on any coaster with a test seat you get parents of kids who are too short saying "but they fit in the seat!" And you have to say "No ma'am that seat is to see if fat azzes like yourself will fit on the ride."

Where was the Mayan Mindbender moved to?

Millie is definitely a million times better than Mavie (and I'm not talking about my dog Millie- I'm talking about MF)! I wonder if its a size issue- I didn't like banging my head throughout the entire ride. I also have the same problem on WT that you mentioned and the annoying thing is you can feel the harness lock before the belt gets into its slot so why are the belts not longer? (And again its a chest issue- not a gut issue) The logic at CP always amazes me. When I worked on CC Mine Ride last year we would be told to add a 3rd train. The ride gets 80 more passengers per hour with the third train on. Because she is an OLD arrow CC has to have weight in her trains when they are 1st put on and it takes about 20 minutes to add a train and another 20 minutes to take it off. In that 40 minutes you lose like 1200 riders. Also with only one lap bar setting you get almost every train stuck in the station for longer than usual because of people that have too much around the middle and the 3rd train stops on the lift- every cycle (partially because they took the block brake out that used to be before the last helix). They can't do basic math! PS: Is it true that due to a lawsuit they now have to pay their employees overtime? If that's true I'd expect a lot of downtime this summer because even when employees worked 70+ hours a week they had trouble fully staffing the park.

Shane, do you have POV of XLR8?

Frogs rule!

I liked that style better than the current ones at WDW. All the doors popped open and then had to be shut manually- just fun to watch as a kid

^^That's funny- I never got to ride RB until this past October and it jumped ahead of MF as my favorite steel coaster- the only reason my dog's named after MF is I couldn't think of a girl's name for RB. I wonder if I would have liked RB less before or something.

When is that? I'm not gay, but I had a friend who went last year (He's straight too) and he said the park was empty cause everyone was in Festhaus watching some Drag Queen thing. It used to be in September but I think it got moved to late August when CF took over. The last time I was there was when Italian Hand Job was new- but since I only have 54 weeks until I move to Chicago for Grad School I am planning on going this year.

Chance Morgan is actually just 8 miles away from where I live. Why is it that we have an amusement ride manufacturer in Kansas, but not an amusement park?!?! The building looks pretty big too. They used to test rides outside a lot, but it looks like they don't do that whole lot anymore- if at all. It's pretty much done inside now, so I've heard. Look at B&M- the entire country of Switzerland doesn't have a single large coaster- just a kiddie, a wild-cat, two self-operated coasters, and an Alpine Slide.

Man, I can't wait for Pride Night and the 5 minute wait for this baby!

I still find it very interesting that the reason that the original Batman- the ride's layout was so compact was because it had to fit into Tidal Wave's space. Other places where it has been cloned its just a compact coaster but in its original location it just barely fits. Also I have to say as a former ride op (from many parks including SFGrAm) that driving those trollies through the crowds had to be really hard!

Since today many of the older rapids rides are often walk-on it may be hard for some of the younger readers to realize what a huge deal they were back when they opened. I remember when Canada's Wonderland opened theirs it had its own running of the bulls and if you didn't get there right when the park opened you faced an hour or two wait!

Plenty of passholders I know (myself included) would go to CP, get a few rides in and then just relax the rest of the day. I could have a great day if I didn't ride anything. You are definitely in the minority. Most people don't travel all the way to Sandusky for that same reason. People usually go to their local park(not a theme park) for relaxation. CP and other major parks like SFGADV and MM, would not attract guest from all over the world with the advertisement of rest and relaxation. They are attracted by the major thrill rides. I'm sorry but that is the nature of this business. Actually they are not in the minority. I worked at the Marina Gate in admissions for over a month last summer and I was shocked how many of the people who rent the docks there have no desire to go on the rides or anything, but just want to go in, walk around, see a show, watch the nighttime shows, and ride the train- and they would have friends visit and they would do this together... and ^ do you remember when there was no frontier trail and you had to either ride the train back or take the frontier lift?

If this is done well it will be great although if it is done so-so it will really suck. I admit one of my favorite times at MK is when the fireworks are done and you turn around and see all the popcorn lights along Main Street. Also kind of bummed that Maverick & Molly is being replaced by a no-story-line music band show.

theme including...Christian Rock?! That almost seems to beg for a photo shop contest. How would you theme a ride to Christian Rock? I mean Christian Bale I can see that, but Christian Rock?!

Robb, If you do another volume I would suggest/request that you hunt down footage of the Crystal Beach Giant aka The Yellow Coaster. It was the last remaining side-friction full train coaster in North America when it closed in 1989. It was also my first "big" coaster. I found some fairly decent footage on Youtube; however I'm sure there is better footage out there somewhere. I make this suggestion because you've said you were looking for historically significant coasters and I think its side-friction status has it qualify.

I like how the 2nd Riverside video says they conducted extensive marketing tests to determine that the best thing to add to an amusement park was a really good coaster...duh.

Slimey is the man! It is totally awesome that he got his own ride...he rocks!

Does Riverside...err...Six Flags New England still have that adorable monorail?

Hey look I learned to read lips... ...

Dang, I thought this topic would be near the top of the list and when I didn't see it there I had this momentary thought of "yeah I get to be the first to break the news. Anyways- came across this article: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D96TSIEO0.htm Just for the record- I called GL's demise when CF bought it. It is like when the former owner of Great Escape bought and ran what is now Martin's Fantasy Island for one year just so he could get his hands on the Comet. CF came into GL removed A LOT and added nothing but mediocre water park crap and nothing else and sat there for a short time and said "gee why is no one coming- guess we'll just take all the crap we want and get the hell outta Ohio's backwoods." That seems to be their way of doing things- only add things to a few of their parks regularly and stand around wondering why the others aren't doing very well. It was like SFDL- they added a bunch of stuff when it was first branded SF and then did nothing while Fantasy Island was adding new attractions every year and Sea Breeze every other year. No matter how small the park people want something new every once in awhile.

Of course you mean CCMR right! My favorite Steel coaster, perhaps in the world? So far...

themagical.nl has added Exp. Everest to its sim offerings: http://www.themagical.nl/index.php?option=com_puarcade&Itemid=56&fid=3