Skycoastin Steve

I think the fact that Skyrush's 2nd hill is half the size of Magnum's is a great sign, cause you still get decent airtime on Magnum's 2nd hill. Now I try to imagine if Magnum's first drop went into its 3rd hill........

I would be highly shocked if the new drop tower was the one from Kennywood.

Here's a dance in honor of the track completion.

^I've seen it run two trains several times, but then again, it was my home park for a long time.

Sooooo it's still going to go forwards and backwards. Got it.

Heard the classic "it's so much faster back here!" line after riding Hulk in the back row a few days ago. No matter how many times I hear it, it cracks me up every time.

Is Avalanche getting B&M invert trains?

I'm telling you, Six Slider should be the name!

Barring a catastrophic loss of funds, I should be here.

My "Whore on the Shore" day last year was probably one of my favorite days of coaster riding I've ever had, even if the most exciting thing I rode other than Great White was a Flitzer (make that three of them). Credit whoring is a fantastic thing, I tell ya.

Love how similar the first drop and turn are to MF.

Excitement level has gone from 11 to 12.

^Were you wearing the Spam shirt in the magazine photo?

Busch has introduced two coasters with the best looking trains the last two years. And the bridge is looking fantastic so far. Excitement level has just been turned up to 11.

I heart teh ROARZZZZ. But seriously, there's no way this won't be a good ride.

^For the silly Americans that don't understand the metric system, 4.5 meters per second is about 10 mph. So, in other words, it's going to take forever to get to the top.

I know the term "best trip report ever" gets thrown around quite a bit, but this one truly, truly lives up to the title. For those of you that don't get it, watch the movie Memento.

So I drove by Fun Spot today to see if anything was happening in the way of construction, and there really wasn't much. There are tons of stakes in the ground marking the layout of the GCI, and it pretty much looks like it runs parallel to the road all the way to the end of the property and back. They were taking core samples of the ground, however, and they had some trucks parked next to the field. So hopefully we see some land clearing beginning soon!

Instead of Six Shooter, Six Slider. And they could have sound effects like a gun shooting when you come out of the tube at the bottom. The Detroit clientele would really eat that up.

^Well at least they had it on there at some point. Strange that it's not there anymore. I'll echo what you guys have said, I would love to just go back for Miniland and nothing else, just so I could spend more time looking at all the little scenes they had throughout the exhibit. As someone who loved playing with Legos as a kid, I'm awfully jealous at what they were able to build.

Ok it's about time I did my Miniland USA report. I've been rather busy with a variety of things lately, but it's time to get another report up! Most of what I have to say about Miniland USA will be in the captions, but I will say beforehand that it's one of the most impressive things I've seen in person. The attention to detail with everything in the exhibit was phenomenal! I took as many pictures as I could, and I can't share them all here, but check them all out on facebook in this album. Think of everything you did for the two years before this place opened. During all that, they were building this. The first section is an overview of the state of Florida, starting with Daytona International Speedway! Complete with the stock cars, Porta Potties, campers in the infield, leader board, and even vendors in the stands! Next is John F. Kennedy Space Center. All the major sites of the Space Center are included. I call this the rocket garden. Every 10 minutes (complete with a clock for a count down), this shuttle would "take off," including sound effects and smoke coming out of the engines. Very cool! Now we move on to South Beach in Miami. There are sun bathers, people water skiing, weightlifters, people throwing frisbees, but no topless women. Downtown Tampa, where they have cleverly changed building names as to not upset their sponsors. The famous Bok Tower in Lake Wales. Spanish shipwreck off the coast. Treasure divers and hammerhead sharks included! Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, I was just here a few days ago! The state capitol in Tallahassee. Lego press conference in front of the state capitol. Lego wedding party! Lego mini golf! I wish I could play this course, but I'm afraid I'm a tad too large. There were even vending machines at the mini golf course! Next we move on to the pirate cove. A close up on the activities going on on the boat. Gah! Lego shark! Here's Key West and Sloppy Moe's Bar. The real Sloppy Joe's Bar must not have cooperated. 90 miles to Cuba! And finally, we have the 7-Mile Bridge. Moving into the desert, it looks like a man has died and a vulture is about to have himself a feast. Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas! The Luxor. The NY, NY Hotel and Casino, unfortunately they didn't include the roller coaster. Front of the MGM Grand. The rest of the MGM Grand. Go Gators! There was a button you could push to get the volcano in front of the Mirage to erupt. The entire area had interactive buttons like that! Anyone up for eloping? They didn't have the amusement rides on here, either. I want my money back! Next is Washington, DC, and we start at the Iwo Jima Memorial. The Tidal Basin, complete with paddle boaters. Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, Reflecting Pool, WWII Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, White House in the background, and a hot dog vendor! A closer look at the World War II Memorial, which is one of my favorites in the city. The Smithsonian Castle, another of my favorite buildings in DC. Capitol Building, obviously. The Obamas are on the porch, although it's hard to see them. Guess which city is next? Pier 39 and the sea lions! Although I'm told the sea lions are no longer there. Sad day. Downtown San Francisco. Victorian Homes. The Vaillancourt Fountain. Firemen rescuing a crazy old cat lady on a building. If you look closely, you can see all her cats. Chinatown. Legowood! Grouman's Chinese Theater. I didn't notice any hand prints, but that would have been awesome if they were able to incorporate it. The Hollywood Bowl. Or I guess, the Legowood Bowl? The big, stiff green lady in the water. Times Square. If you look in the background between the two buildings, there are two people making out. Seeing how it's a kids' park, it's Forever 12 instead of Forever 21. Love it. Empire State Building, I stood on top of the real version of this last summer. This is the tallest building in Miniland, measuring at 22 feet. Rockefeller Building, I also stood on top of the real version of this last summer. There were even window washers! Grand Central Station. It was tough to get a picture of the inside because of the glare, but there was a TON of stuff going on inside of here. I guess you just have to buy a ticket and go to the park to see for yourself. One of the prettiest buildings anywhere, the Chrysler Building. Here's the carousel in Central Park. And a mime show in front of it! The Guggenheim Museum. A bunch of hippies sitting in a circle around the Imagine Memorial and singing. And finally, the Belvedere Castle. After experiencing all this, Miniland USA gets the Skycoastin Steve Stamp of Approval! Thanks for reading, check out the rest of the album on facebook, and comment!

My brother and his wife just had their honeymoon to the Caribbean on a Carnival ship, and they said while most of the food was Golden Corral quality, some of the "nicer" dinner options were good. And they were actually pleased with the service (from two people who are rather picky about things like food and service). Not sure which particular ship they were on, though. Either way, they didn't give it a glowing endorsement, although they had fun at all the islands they stopped at.

^^I was under the impression that Alpengeist has a zero car because it wasn't completing the course in early test runs. The zero car added 1,000 pounds to the train to prevent that from happening anymore. I'm fairly certain they told us that during the TPR day at BGW last year.

^^Basic customer service and quality food shouldn't depend on the ship. Sure, the older ships are going to be a lot tackier than the new ones (and this is no exception), but customer service is easy. As is providing decent food options.

^It's been a while since you mentioned a B&M invert at KD, thanks for bringing this board back to normalcy!