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Everything posted by willski
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Ability to drink and play does not make you a good band, hence why you don't see many alcoholic street musicians topping the charts.... Herman Li is ridiculous in concert from a video I've seen, but the others suck something awful. I don't really like Dragonforce anyway; I've played the song on Guitar Hero far too much to like them.
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It's funny how the human race interprets something incredibly vague into something so concrete. Personally, I'm a believer in Negrodamus: http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/9559/negrodamus9081d8coc4.jpg
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TPR's *BIG* Six Flags Magic Mountain Update!
willski replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Why spend extra money on extra trains you don't need? Busch Gardens, Universal, and Disney do it because they are open every day of the year and can afford it. They need to minimize ride downtime due to problems with vehicles because the rides are already down periodically for rehab. SFMM isn't open every single day of the year and isn't exactly wallowing in cash, so they can use the closed days to do ride maintenance and save a ton of money. Plus, if one coaster is closed at SFMM, there are 15 others to ride, making it really not a big deal. Whereas at IoA, if Hulk is closed for 3 weeks, that leaves DD as the only major coaster open in the park. I just don't see why you need 3 or 4 trains for a ride that can only accomodate 2 t a park like SFMM. -
Photo AND Video TR: Opening Day at SFOG!
willski replied to Scaparri's topic in Photo Trip Report Archive
It's not open on March weekdays. Except that one Friday before Easter, which will be completely deserted. -
Photo AND Video TR: Opening Day at SFOG!
willski replied to Scaparri's topic in Photo Trip Report Archive
Every weekend in March, except for the one just prior to Spring Break. That's usually when they host some sort of cheerleading competition, so I'd avoid it on those days unless your thing is tons of 12 year old girls. I wish I could've gone, but no car=no SFoG. Going both days next weekend though. And as for the friendly staff, that is only there for the first month or so. After employees start working double shifts and overtime over Spring Break (in addition to the weather going from 60s to the 90s), the quality of service drops completely off. It's nice at the beginning of the year though... -
Sea World Abu Dhabi back on the docket for 2022
willski replied to ginzo's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Of course it can sustain it. Have you seen the other, more ambitious projects that are happening in Dubai? These few parks are minor compared to other projects. Dubai's population has more than doubled in the last 10 years, it is currently building a new airport that will be able to handle 40 million more passengers per year than ATL. On top of that, tourism has quadrupled in the past 8 years and shows no signs of stopping. The growth is really phenomenal, they just need to watch out for inflation. Actually, the soil sinkage was anticipated and has now stopped. It very easy to make artificial islands-all you have to do is drive the pylons deep enough into bedrock. Epic fail. -
Have you been on X-Scream or Insanity? The extreme height really didn't affect me, as I was so tightly wedged in my seat and the view was pretty unspectacular (at least on Insanity, where you are essentially looking down at the casino roof/maintenance areas). Although it would look really tacky, a ride like X-Scream just at the edge of the Falls diving into the mist would be absolutely crazy! But it's probably just a ton of hype for something not so big.
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Dive Machines? What are your thoughts?
willski replied to downunder's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
^Anti-rollbacks. The center is the chain dog, sides are anti-rollbacks. -
Why no pre-drops on B&M's anymore?
willski replied to coasterguy99's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
They don't design their own coasters, Stengel does most of the layout/forces calculations. It does reduce lift chain stress, since th chain is gently disengaged instead of the train ripping itself off. This can be heard on a lot of older steel coasters (Arrow and Vekoma), when the train makes a huge clunking noise when disengaging from the chain (Ninja at SFoG is a good example). -
Six Flags New In-Park Network
willski replied to Teacups Make Me Sick's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
If it means more new rides sooner or better rides in the future, I'm all for it. If they can drop $3 off parking because Allstate paid them to paint the spot with "You're in good hands" on it, that would be great. Same for food and drink prices. Any way they can improve the parks is fine by me. SFoG really doesn't have that much theming to begin with. I honestly wouldn't care if they plastered everything possible with stickers or other ads. They could put a giant poster/billboard ad on the side of Scream Machine or Cyclone, and I honestly wouldn't care. I don't go to Six Flags for the theming, so it doesn't detract from the park experience. I can understand the uproar if they did this at a park like IoA, but Six Flags? Bring it on. -
Siam Park - Waterpark in the Canary Islands
willski replied to Lincow's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I apologize, I didn't know if you were being serious. I'm a big aviation freak, so I'm used to people blowing aircraft incidents even more out of proportion than they already are. Maybe because my dad previously worked as an airline safety consultant, or because I'm currently planning on pursuing a degree in aeronautical engineering, and our professors always complain that the general public is so uneducated about aircraft. My apologies, I wasn't aware, and it's good to know that not everyone thinks airplanes are giant metal death traps (seems a bit like some people think roller coasters are death traps). Back on topic, this park looks absolutely incredible. The atmosphere and theming of the park reminds me a lot of IoA or Disney. They've done a great job with this. -
Siam Park - Waterpark in the Canary Islands
willski replied to Lincow's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
And? Maybe I missed the tone of the post, but that doesn't seem to be a valid reason to not visit somewhere. You do realize that Los Rodeos: 1. Was not the intended destination airport of either aircraft. 2. Did not regularly handle large aircraft such as the 747-100/200. 3. Was not, and still is not, the primary airport for the Canary Islands. 4. Has been moved since the accident to a new location closer to sea level, eliminating the fog that was a huge factor in the accident. Additionally, huge changes were made throughout the aviation industry as a result of this accident, and modern technology equipped on all passenger aircraft such as TCAS would prevent the disaster from occurring again. Accidents caused by pilot error do not make an airport unsafe, and it would be highly foolish to think so. If this were the case, every major airport you've flown into would be "unsafe". LAX, O'Hare, JFK, and Heathrow have all had major accidents involving pilot error, yet these airports are not considered "unsafe". -
Question about the Tax Rebate that is coming to Taxpayers
willski replied to spaceace12's topic in Random, Random, Random
How are you getting a check? You shouldn't have paid any taxes out of your paycheck, just social security and medicare withdrawls. Full time student=tax exempt (up to a certain extent). -
Nürburgring launched coaster
willski replied to thomas2's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Why? Race cars (especially F1, which is what this ride is modeled after) don't drift. Drifting is not an effective way to race, despite what you may see on the Fast and the Furious. F1 cars have no need to drift, as the faster you go, the more downforce (and hence grip) increases. This is why F1 cars take curves at insane speeds and have no problems with grip. This is also why F1 drivers must be in excellent physical shape, because some turns (such as 130R at Suzuka and Eau Rouge at Spa) pull up to 5g's. -
Nürburgring launched coaster
willski replied to thomas2's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
^The 2009 model is a beast though; 550 hp and 550 lb./ft. of torque. Should be an M5/CLS killer. That is until they update the M5. My guess is a twin-turboed version of the V-10 currently in it. Just look at what they did with the 3-series inline-6.... -
Nürburgring launched coaster
willski replied to thomas2's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Uhh...YA. Give me a Ferrari F2008, and an hour of the 'ring and I'll have WAY more of a good time than on a coaster. Fixed. But yeah, I'm sure I'd enjoy this coaster too. Slap a prancing horse logo on the nose, let Ayrton Senna be the ride op, and you've got the perfect record breaker, regardless of what the layout is. Fixed yours too. Should be cool, I can't believe they're theming it to Ferrari. Although they are a great team/manufacturer, a true German firm like BMW or Porsche would be much more suitable, given that both BMW and Porsche have tested their cars on the Ring for many years now. -
I went to KI this past June and got all credits except SoB (closed) and the kiddie coaster (I'm too tall). I got a few re-rides and some flats in before 4 pm. If you went hardcore and ran around, you could finish by 2.
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Two new Gravity Group coaster models released
willski replied to dr.gumbo's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
^They don't own that land. Plus, can you say hurricanes? They would have to sink the pylons so deep for the coaster so it wouldn't shift with the sea floor during wave motion (especially storm surge), it would just be unfeasible. A steel coaster would be a stretch, but a wooden coaster is impossible. Too expensive. -
The article even stated that fixed amusement parks host over 300 million guests a year and give in excess of 1.8 billion rides. And there are what, maybe 18 deaths at USA parks in a year (and that's an overestimate in my opinion)? That means 1 in 100 million rides ends in a death or severe injury. That is an absolutely insane ratio. Your chances of dying doing any other everyday activity are higher than that. Honestly I don't see why Ed Markey always insists on bringing it up. What an asshat to waste money like that. Fix a real problem, like the genocide in Sudan. Ridiculous...
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Waldameer Discussion Thread
willski replied to Millennium ForceJZ's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
^That, and the water table can't be much below the road, since the lake is right there. Seemed fine to me. Pop of ejector in the front, with floater down the drop and ejector in the back on the drop. -
No, you're not, it was definately hauling, especially through the second loop and helix prior to the MCBR. The MCBR level-off alost looked too gradual, it looked as if the train "jolted" a bit when leveling off because the peak was so quick. Not really sure what video everyone else is watching.... Just look at video of Hulk, the cobra rolls are the same speed, the first loop on LZ is a bit faster, the second loop is much faster, and the helix is a ton faster on LZ as well. No. They didn't change it. Silver Bullet came after the two floorless coasters, so it's not like they've recently stopped doing it. B:TR debut: 1992 Medusa debut: 2000 Scream debut: 2003 Silver Bullet: late 2004 What's actually going on is the way the track must be rolled around the heartline to do a zero-g roll. As seen here: http://rcdb.com/ig735.htm?picture=6 and here: http://rcdb.com/ig502.htm?picture=12 Invert rolls are designed a lot differently than above-track rolls due to the heartline. For this reason, they also give very different sensations. Inverts tend to feel snappier and the float is usually harder to feel because of lats, whereas above-track coasters are generally less snappy and the float is easier to feel. Anyway, LZ should be pretty good, looks like some nice hang in the zero-g roll and loop, with some nice positives on the 2nd loop and helix. Not sure about the ending, I wish they had done more with that (including a higher MCBR). Reminds me of Hulk a lot. Starts out with a bang and fades to a whimper post-MCBR.
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Photo TR: Three Weeks of Insanity! From BGE to BGA to DCA.
willski replied to 65skylark's topic in Photo Trip Report Archive
What a crazy three weeks. Sounds awesome. What engine do you have in the Skylark? 401? -
Neversoft & Their Guitar Hero III should die..
willski replied to Gnome's topic in Random, Random, Random
Ok, here are the solutions for both of your problems: 1. Get a friend (with guitar) and play co-op mode. You can play it on easy if you want, it doesn't matter. Once you beat the co-op "bonus" songs (like Suck My Kiss) in co-op mode, they will be available in the quickplay menu on all difficulties. 2. Beat the game (including bosses) on medium. This will unlock all of the boss battles so you can play them on all difficulties in quickplay (and practice mode). Hope that helps...