Skycoastin Steve

As long as no cables are involved in the building of this coaster........

Got my 3rd different reincarnation of the ride yesterday, and I gotta say, those black straps are a monumental improvement on the ride. They did press on my shoulders a bit (I'm 6'5") and made them sore when I held my hands up the whole ride, but the ride is exponentially more comfortable than before. Also got my first night ride on 305, which had to be one of the most insane ride experiences I've ever had. It was nearly completely pitch black out with it being almost a new moon and very cloudy. I could barely even see anything the entire ride, it was like riding it for the first time again! Grizzly was also running amazingly well yesterday, got some spectacular rides on it. The only negative of the day was that Volcano was down the entire day, with empty trains getting launched periodically throughout the day, but as far as I know, guests never got on it.

If I have an edited photo of a ride sign, but the ride itself is not included in the picture, can that still be submitted? Thanks.

^Sure, if you can get Saturday night through Wednesday morning off from work.

^It's a lot easier to show rather than describe in words, but basically the way I do it is I scoot back in my seat and lift up on the lap bar right before it apexes the bunny hills. I've gone several rides in a row in the ejector seat (car 1, row 3) with minimal thigh pain, just because I anticipate the ejections and avoid the thigh bashing. I typically only keep my hands up until the 3rd hill, and then after that it's defensive riding 101!

It took me forever to actually wait for the front row (I usually go straight for the back), and it was worth every bit of the extra half an hour in the station.

Magnum continues to be a ride you just have to know how to ride. Once you do that it's incredible. But glad you had a good time on your first trip there!

After a quick facebook search (gotta love the modern age), it looks as if this could have been a case of someone that might have been too large for the restraints. Sad story indeed.

^I realize it's windy, but I've never been in the middle of anything you could describe as even a mild "sandstorm." The Giant Dipper at Belmont is right on the beach, too, and it's pretty close to the sand. If the structure of Boardwalk Bullet could survive a hurricane (albeit with some damage), I think anything on the Lake Erie beach would be fine.

^^I really wonder how much sand blasting actually occurs on that beach. I don't think I've ever seen the wind kick up that much sand before, although then again, I've never been there in the offseason. There are other wooden coasters on sandy beaches, so I would have to think that a wooden structure would be ok.

A little bit of an update on my travel plans on the front page. About to do a quick three day jaunt through PA next weekend, and I have a wicked midwest trip in the works for August. Also, if anyone comes to Carowinds, look for me now at the Skycoaster, cause Skycoastin' Steve has gone back to his roots!

^^They have some colored lights for effect, but it's still dark. Not in the broad daylight like your spaghetti bowl coaster.

^Haven't we already decided that this was the Intamin cable's fault?

Yes. But then again, you ARE a Vekoma fan boy. (still don't know how that's possible) The 90 degree turn on a wooden coaster is crazy enough, and racing/dueling woodies are crazy enough, but dueling/racing 90 degree turns that turn inward towards each other thus creating a high five effect? That's epic engineering.

^^1. Lines won't be bad at all in the middle of the week. Avoid Intimidator and Nighthawk early in the day, as those two rides get the absolute worst lines in the morning. Afterburn and Thunder Road are your best bets early in the morning because it takes the crowd a while to get back there while they're stuck up riding Intimidator and Nighthawk. After 12, you can have almost virtual walk-ons on both of those rides. 2. Yes, especially if you've never been there. 3. You have the brand new Nascar Hall of Fame, Discovery Place, Lake Wylie, etc. Just do a quick google search on tourist attractions in the city.

If there was ever a question about whether or not I was going to do the China trip in 2012, this just rock solid guaranteed that I'll be going.

^I trust this guy's story and what he was telling me, and he said he (along with others he saw) was turned away from that row for being too tall. Maybe there's been some inconsistency with enforcement of the rule, but I know he wasn't lying to me.

I don't know if this has been mentioned here or not, but apparently row 4 (first row of the 2nd car) is restricted to anyone who is over 5'11". I had a friend visit the park yesterday and relay that back to me. Really strange that just one row would have a height restriction like that.

^ 1. The park was an easier target for NBC. They had the kids there for an interview and the sympathy of a death among their friends. They weren't going to sit them down and say, "Look here, jackasses, you were effing stupid and a friend of yours died because of your stupidity." (Even though they should have). 2. Most water slides are only going to have one lifeguard at the entrance to the slide. 40 kids versus one lifeguard isn't exactly a fair fight for the lifeguard to step in and stop them.

Add GASM to the Steve Kiss of Death list. So far I have visited Geauga Lake, Kentucky Kingdom, and ridden Laser (Dorney), Texas Giant, and GASM the last year of their operation before it was announced that they would be closed/changed.

^Sterilization: The Ride?

Quoted for the most absolute truth.

For the 13509238th time, the manufacturer puts trims on their rides, not Dr. Evil and his minions at corporate headquarters. As stated above, I know for a fact that CP put that trim in, not B&M B&M could have very easily seen that the speed and/or forces from the ride was creating unnecessary stress on the trains/structure and asked CP to slow it down. We all know what kind of control freaks B&M is with their rides. I sure as hell know that they weren't put in to improve dispatch times, that's just a load of malarkey. Better question, if this coaster was made by Intamin, how many people would be trashing Intamin for making a ride that was "poorly engineered" because it needed a trim on the first drop? Love the double standard. LOVE it.

That trim probably shortens the ride by what, 2 or 3 seconds at most? How would that help stacking?

For the 13509238th time, the manufacturer puts trims on their rides, not Dr. Evil and his minions at corporate headquarters.