cal1br3tto

Skyrush.

Coaster at the PNE Playland in May. Closed it out with a front rain ride and a back rain ride. Perfect.

^^How come you knew that and I didn't? That's what I get for never going to my home park. Wasn't as pointless as some made it out to be, but still pretty much a cheese-fest. They better be revamping it into something else (would be my third dark ride in that spot).

^The Scandia chain seems to love those rare bigger Milers, then. That mouse was one of the best newer ones I've ridden (the older Miler models being other favorites). Assuming they build it, I'll be sure to check it out next time I'm in the area.

"Bringing Me Down" - Taddy Porter Modern rock with a classic, Southern blues rock flavor.

Hanoi Rocks. Awesomely catchy 80s glam rock. Inspired by Ramones, the Clash, Chuck Berry-style 50s and 60s rock 'n' roll, and various 70s glam stars. I discovered them through hair metal, but it doesn't matter whether you love or hate that style. They're definitely a completely different form of rock, but you can tell that they influenced later bands. For glam, I also love New York Dolls, Slade, and Mott the Hoople. For hair metalz I especially love Cinderella, not to mention standards Motley Crue and Guns 'n' Roses.

That's so California. Okay, and Portland too.

Good point. I love NYC and Cedar Point, so I getcha. Really like Millennium Force too, though Maverick easily beats it for me.

"Poison Ivy" - The Rolling Stones

"Take Me Back 'Ome" - Slade

Love the way the car looks nestled among the trees like that. Beautiful colors, too.

^True story. "Stick Around For Rock & Roll" - The Outlaws. Like Eagles, but even more country!

01. Aftershock - It may eventually turn out to be nothing more than a sentimental favorite, but so far I haven't had any rides that would call for demoting it. Definitely has some "shock" value on that first climb and drop! 02. Favorite Batman 03. Montu 04. Volcano - In print it may seem to have some shortcomings, but in practice there's really nothing wrong with it. Along with great forces are fun elements you don't often find in full-circuit inverts, like launches and theming. 05. Flight Deck - Extreme positive G's combine with one of the better settings for a uniquely fun experience. Not surprisingly, a slew of B&M inverts follows that before anything else. Rounding out my top 5 for those is Alpengeist with its intensity, scenic setting and thoughtful theming; and Talon, which just seemed to do everything right.

"Statesboro Blues" - The Allman Brothers Band

Thankfully I've decided to stop counting laps, even though occasionally it can be interesting to look back and see how my number of laps influenced my opinion of a coaster, or make comparisons. Oh well, it's a small part of life after all. That said, there's no way the answer isn't El Toro. Phoenix is probably still the runner-up.

Worst B&Ms: the Vortex twins and the Iron Wolf/Apocalypse coaster. They're the only B&Ms I give a 6 out of 10, as opposed to a 7-9. Worst GCIs are as follows: Gwazi was actually the closest of these losers to being "fun" with a bit of airtime and an interesting structure to admire, but the ridiculous roughness and utter lack of care for the ride experience put it fairly low on my list. Wildcat lacks airtime, and finally dished out its expected rough ride for me last year, with nothing to help make up for it. Roar East is forgettable, and much more so than its (actually much rougher) sibling, which has a few pops of airtime while this one didn't seem to deliver any. Apocalypse was pretty zippy and started out with a bit of airtime, but it's way too short and just wasn't what I was looking for in a coaster when I rode it. It's the only one with any real potential to improve in my rankings, and not just 'cause one of the others is Gwazi and another is at SFA. Worst Intamin: Jr. Gemini. But the Woodstock's Express at CGA is also pretty bad.

"Before the Fall" - The Hellacopters

Some red from Trader Joe's called Green Fin. Decent.

"Chop Chop" - Sweet

^That seems more than decent! On the right kind of day, I could see myself playing one of those.

I would probably go with Lake Compounce, if only because Boulder Dash is an enthusiast must-ride (it's especially good at night). Plus, you can easily work in Quassy, which now boasts the surprisingly awesome Wooden Warrior. On the downside, most of the flat rides at Compounce are pretty generic and there aren't all that many. Canobie is the place to go if you love flat rides; they have a diverse collection, many of them rare (Rotor, indoor Scrambler, Caterpillar, unique dark ride, etc.) Yankee Cannonball is no Boulder Dash, but it's light years better than Wildcat at Compounce.

On a similar note, is it safe to assume the park would stay open all day on any given Saturday during the summer?

I am so sorry. Oh, it's a GIB? Well that's cool then. Those are among my favorites of the more compact major coaster models.

^Great to hear! I really enjoyed the one at Kennywood and I love neat classic rides in general, so I was worried when I noticed on their site that it had been closed.

^If I hadn't randomly hopped into the thread just now, I never would've seen that. Sheikra = awesome.