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Where is that abomination? It is in Mexico. Sadly it's not running as of earlier this year, I'd totally ride it. Sorry a bit OT but I just have to leave this one here.... I'm ashamed to even share the same continent as that hunk of junk.

The strange part is, with launch coasters that have a without warning launch, I'm not afraid at all. The ride ops on Flight of Fear deliberately screw with riders by launching them without any warning after lulling them into a false sense of security. I LOVE that actually and I think it's so funny and thrilling at the same time.

I suddenly thought about it when I watched TPR's Zumanjaro and Lex Luthor videos, all I could think of is "Oh man, If I was among you guys I'd be pissing my pants my first time, but afterwards I'd be all like LETS GO AGAIN!!!" Because that's literally what'll happen to me.

I should preface this by saying...I'm not really "scared" per se' of drop towers, but I've always just felt really uneasy with them. Something about the fact that most drop towers hang you at the top and drop you without warning, I usually have to force myself to go on a drop tower, despite having these bad feelings inside me and pretty much every time it's finished with it's ride cycle, I end up enjoying it and want to go on again. I'm not going all "GP" and saying that drop towers are deadly, I'm just really uneasy going on at first, then I enjoy the ride. Is there any other coaster fans like this?

I never had a problem with headbanging, but the pain I did experience was severe leg cramping and fatigue, especially during that helix where you're being pushed down into the bicycle seat.

Where is that abomination?

Shockwave wasn't as terrible as everybody says it was. Granted, it was still my least favorite coaster at the park and I really hope that they put a new coaster in the park to fill that void. A Eurofighter or an Anubis-The Ride like coaster would be great.

1978 Leaving off from the last update, the reasoning why a Schwarzkopf shuttle loop was added to Riverwood Theme Park was the interest in bringing in a new demographic in the park...So, Did Richard Riverwood's plan work? Hmmm.....why don't you judge for yourself? Another fully loaded train ready for blastoff!! Through the big loop.... And up the giant spike!!! Serpent's immense popularity didn't stop people from enjoying other coasters in the park, such as the Bobs! Still getting lots of attention more than 50 years after it was built! However, it seems as if the transfer tram system from the park to the zoo isn't as efficient as Richard Riverwood thought it would be...On busy days, it seems that the line for the tram is always huge on the Riverwood Zoo side, but very short on the Riverwood Theme Park side....It wouldn't be surprising that in the upcoming decade of the 1980s, a new system is worked out...

There is not really anything "bad" about HUSS rides (from a rider standpoint. Now a maintenance standpoint my be a little different.) My only problem with HUSS rides is that most of them tend to be a "Spin-N-Puke" kind of ride, and that just doesn't sit well with me. I can not do rides that have a large amount of spinning involved, so that rules out almost all of HUSS rides for me. I rode maXair at Cedar Point once... While yes, I did enjoy the ride, it was not something my stomach would let me ride again. Just do what my mother does, take some Dramamine.

I think she cheated on the 1001 Nacht with Orbiter at Canada's Wonderland

With all this in mind, Imagine what a new generation giant Huss Skylab would look like....

Rush last night at Madison Square Garden was probably one of the best shows I've seen in a while. Also, RIP Chris Squire of Yes

The demand must have dried up after the one in Korea was built, its a shame because it looked like an awesome idea for a coaster.

Pretty much any Vekoma Boomerang with the headbang-free vest restraints

My mother went there all the time as a kid. God, she has a lot of stories about how her and my two uncles were one giant scab after riding the alpine slide.

There is something about cartoony RCT-esque peeps with super-exaggerated screaming expressions riding a realistic No-Limits style B&M First Gen hyper train that really makes me smile PLC is going to be good.

The strange part is, when it comes to hypercoasters I will still get that feeling of excitement. When I went on Apollo's Chariot, I still felt excited going up that lift and down that 205 foot drop, but when it comes to the airtime hills, deep down inside, I'm like " Aw man, Fury, I305 and I232 had much better airtime than this." On Apollo, I got a slight coming out of my seat feeling whilst on Fury 325, even when they stapled me in with a fourth click, I still felt like I was being launched out of my seat and on I232, My ass was out of that seat for an extended period of time on those hills. Or maybe I'm just spoiled and being picky, I don't know.

Oh yeah! Holy Land! I think they had a TOGO standup coaster named "Mount Golgotha Experience". I still think that being flogged, tortured, and then crucified isn't as painful as a TOGO standup. (and mean streak for that matter)

1978 The four year period of 1966-1970 saw the addition of two very large scale upgrades to Riverwood Theme Park. River Rush, the park's first steel roller coaster and Riverwood Zoo, a zoological park which was built adjacent to the main theme park. From 1970 to 1977, there was a ride drought in the park. Except for the sudden removal of Mini Bobs in 1972, No new rides were being built or taken out....That is, until the 1977 season, when The Big Wheel was replaced with the Rotor. That one flat ride addition introduced a completely new demographic in the park, which was designed mostly for families... Thrill seekers. Adrenaline junkies. That new demographic caused the Rotor to become a major success. Seeing the high amount of foot traffic going in and out of that new "X-Treme" ride, Richard Riverwood knew he had to take it and run with it....Which is why, in 1978, he ended the 11 year roller coaster drought.... with SERPENT, an Anton Schwarzkopf flywheel-powered shuttle loop coaster. Serpent was the third Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop to open in the year 1978, with the other two being Montezooma's Revenge at Knott's Berry Farm in California and Greezed Lightning at AstroWorld in Texas. Coincidentally at the time, Serpent was the tallest and fastest roller coaster at Riverwood Theme Park with a height of 138 feet, breaking the 100 foot ceiling and travelling at 55mph, four miles per hour faster than Bobs. Serpent also introduces something that never existed in any incarnation of Riverwood Theme Park before....inversions. The ride experience for Serpent and any other Schwarzkopf shuttle loop is as follows. Like a slingshot, the train is launched from 0 to 55mph from the station and traverses through a large loop and up a 138 foot tall spike. At this point, the train will lose momentum and fall backwards through the loop and back through the station where brakes slow the train down as it enters a 100 foot tall back spike. Once the train falls again forward from the back spike, brakes will bring the train to a slow and steady halt in the station. In addition to Serpent, the entire front plaza was redone to encapsulate the Carousel, which has been awkwardly jutting out the side of the path for years. The carousel was also given a bright new paint job as well. With these new additions in the park, Richard Riverwood hoped that he made the correct decision attracting thrill seekers instead of families.... And he did. (MORE TO COME SOON)

Once again, a pretty good park. I must say, I'm beginning to become a fan of your work. I can't explain it, but despite the fact that you don't use custom scenery or go all-out with trying to make it look hyper-realistic, you managed to build parks that look like they could definitely exist in real life.

Its seems as if RMC did to the Intamin Aquatrax, Megalites and Prefab woodies what video did to the radio star....At least in the U.S.

1973-1977 For this update, I'm going to be preforming a little bit of a time skip over the mid-to-late 1970s. In this timespan, Riverwood Theme Park only received a series of small changes to the park's landscape and ride lineup, let's check them out! If you read my last blog post, then you'd realize that in 1972, the Mini-Bobs wooden kiddie coaster was removed from the park due to constant maintenance issues. The coaster was ultimatley replaced by.... (drumroll please) NOTHING! Absolutley nothing! For now, that is....It appears that the building of a path jutting out of the side of the main pathway of the park means that this could potentially be a place where another path might connect to. The largest change that Riverwood Theme Park got in this period was the removal of The Big Wheel. Yes, they finally did it after years and years of constant downtime and maintenance problems! In it's place is what I like to call Riverwood Theme Park's first "X-Treme" ride, the Rotor. You should all be familiar with how a Rotor works, it's pretty similar to the modern day equivalent of the Gravitron/Starship 2000. You spin around really fast until the floor collapses, the natural laws of centrifugal force keep you from falling to the floor as you are stuck to the wall while it's spinning. As expected, Rotor was a huge success! Now that the years 1973-1977 are taken care of, now it's time to focus our sights twoards what will happen AFTER 1977...I can't give away too much without spoiling it for everyone, but lets just say that this view of the park will NEVER look the same again.

Let me explain what I mean by "Roller Coaster Burnout". Just today, I got home from a joint Busch Gardens Williamsburg/Carowinds trip. At Carowinds, after finding out that I fit perfectly in Intimidator and Fury 325, the two of them slowly became my two new personal top ten roller coasters. My trip went as followed, Day 1: BGW Days 2-4: Carowinds Day 5: BGW. By the time I went to BGW for the last time yesterday, I found myself just not enjoying the coasters there as much as I thought I would. Apollo's Chariot was a walk-on that day, so I naturally rode it a few times, but every time I rode Apollo's Chariot, Instead of enjoying the ride for what it is, I found myself wishing I was on Fury 325 or Intimidator 232. I felt as if Apollo's Chariot just couldn't deliver the incomporable speed and ejector air of F325 and the amazing floater air of I232. I also felt the same with Verbolten, Alpengeist, and Loch Ness (Maybe not Tempesto or Griffon because those still got me pumped up for some reason)...I found myself not having as much fun as I had my first day at BGW this trip. Anyway, has anyone else experienced this? Is it a normal thing to experience after days and days of riding coasters?

Giorgio Iurcotta, your Venetian masks are absolutely gorgeous, but you've also succeeded at making the only theme park souvenirs to cause me the worst case of sticker shock since my family priced out a new car a few years ago.

Thunder Road. Good coaster, but not worth the tears over it being closed.