viking86

I havent started editing the music video from Särkänniemi yet, but I uploaded a videoclip of Tornado making a horrible rattling sound through the rolls. This was the last ride with passengers for the yellow train before they took it off. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYj5dmKgUG8

Today I finished editing the first video from Linnanmäki. Its my first coastervideo so its not perfect, but Im fairly pleased with the result. I put up two versions of the video: (low-quality) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9B2O6DGH (high-quality, 100MB) Feel free to comment!

Fritt Fall @ Gröna Lund closed after the accident, but it opened again fairly quickly. BUT the standup, floorless, tilting car was closed week 27 (2nd-8th of July) with its cabled removes. I dont know if it was because of the accident at SFKK.

Its called 'It' Nice pictures! The new ride looks very weird! I also see that they have repainted Boomerang.

You forgot Balder! Good TR! Clementon looks fairly nice in the overview picture, but 'slightly' less nice in the pictures taken on ground level.

The exit bridge on Thunderbird at Powerpark goes over the track two times. There were no signs or anything, but we were not allowed to stand there and film/take pictures, even with the cameras secured around our necks. Later while waiting for our train in the station we saw a guy standing on the exit bridge taking pictures with his unsecured cell phone, the ride-op looked at him and did NOTHING! We figured we would try again after our ride, but once again she chased us away. I can understand if they are afraid of loose objects falling down onto the track, but atleast there should be signs and the rule should apply to everyone.

I had the pleasure of visiting Thorpe Park with 8000+ school children in the park 2 years ago. Even with our fastpasses we probably had to wait around 30 minutes for Colossus. Luckily very few seemed to know about the single-rider line for Nemesis Inferno, so that was walk-on, even with the entire queue filled. Slammer wasnt too bad either, with a 30-45 minute wait... Btw, does Colossus still sound like a trashcan rolling down a hill??

Linnanmäki Särkänniemi Powerpark Gröna Lund Im not expecting the list to change this year...

From what I have heard, Terra Mitica was struggling alot earlier, but I have no idea how they are doing at the moment...

The last comment in the video pretty much sums up my experience on Magnus Colossus: "Nothing happened" Its really a shame that they didnt build a better coaster in such an amazing location!

No pictures, but I had a few glasses of Lapin Kulta beer (Finnish) on the ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm last weekend. It was pretty good!

We had 100 days in a row with rain in late 2006/early 2007. June has been excellent here, but July has been mostly rain and today is no exception. Around 14-15 degrees celcius. Im on the west coast of Norway if anyone is wondering...

^

When I was there last thursday, it was only one ride-op running the ride. But I feel pretty sure that they have an automatic ride cycle so that all the ride-op has to do is to press the start button.

This is kinda freaky, considering that I rode that ride less than a week ago. I feel very sorry for everyone who had to experience the accident, and for her family whos left behind.

^^I didnt ride Kieppi, but I did ride the tower ride in Powerpark. It was pretty fun, but I was mostly focused on filming. It wasnt as good as the one in Prater Park, which is more than twice as tall... Thanks for your nice comments!

Today I came back from a weeks vacation. Along with some good friends from Norway and Sweden, we headed east to Finland to ride rollercoasters. Oh, and we stopped by Gröna Lund on the way home. Im not going to write a very long trip report, but I'll write a few words about every ride (and a few more about those which deserves it) Park #1 Linnanmäki: A very nice park right in the middle of Helsinki. The park is built on a hill, so it has several "hidden" areas. Overall a very beatiful park. Kirnu: The worlds first Intamin 4th dimension coaster, and it was surprisingly good. The G-forces on the last hill were sick! The coaster has almost no supports so it was interesting to see the entire ride shake as the cars went through the course. I wouldnt be surprised to see more supports added to the ride later like Wicked Twister and Xcelerator. Intamin problem #1: Ride: Kirnu Time: Mid-day Problem: Lift hill Result: Closed for the rest of the day! Vuoristorata: This is a side-friction coaster from 1951 with a brakeman onboard. The ride was quite shake, but very fun. The double-downs were quite brutal. Tulireki: The worlds first Mack e-Motion Coaster. It looked quite rough from the ground, but it wasnt too bad. Its on a hillside, so the first mouse-style turns were insane with the slight tilting. The rest of the ride was okay. Linnunrata: Indoor Zierer coaster with some cheesy spacetheming/effects. Pretty fun ride though! Pikajuna: Mack powered coaster. A bit rough, but easily the best powered coaster I have been on! Vonkaputous: Premier water coaster. The coaster part was very good, but the splashdown was a bit wet for my taste! Overall we had a very good day at Linnanmäki, but I would really have liked some more rides on Kirnu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Park #2 Särkänniemi: This was also a very nice park! The park opens at 11 am, but most of the rides doesnt open until 12 am. Intamin problem #2: Ride: Half Pipe Time: Arrival Problem: Unknown, the station area was dead. Result: Closed all day (also 2 days later) Intamin problem #3: Ride: Tornado Time: Early in the day, waiting in line for our first ride. Problem: Train stopped on the way to the lift hill. Result: After rolling the train back several times, they managed to fix the problem. Tornado: Wow this was great! The first drop isnt the greatest, but the rest of the ride is really good. Powerfull loop, fun cobra roll and the heartline rolls are excellent. MUCH better than those on the regular sitdown coasters. The roll through the station is probably my favorite inversion EVER! Intamin problem #4: Ride: Tornado Time: Late afternoon. Problem: Yellow train making horrible rattling sounds in the rolls. Result: One train operation and a very long line for the rest of the day. Trombi: Zamperla Volare coaster. Having experienced the one in Prater Park, I wasnt looking much forward to this. Trombi was much better though. The only really rough parts were the rolls, which were the only smooth parts on the one in Prater. One ride was enough though. Jet Star: My first Schwarzkopf Jet Star, and I really liked this ride. It was fairly smooth, and the first drop/turn were really powerfull. Korkkiruuvi: Vekoma Whirlwind coaster which was surprisingly smooth. We only rode in the middle of the train though. The lift hill makes a very funny WRRRRRR WRRRRR WRRRRRR CERCHUNK sound as the train goes over the top of the lift hill. Vekoma quality! Overall another good day, but it was really a shame to miss Half Pipe. I would also have loved some more rides on Tornado, but the line was just too long with one train. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Park #3 PowerLand: A small park, but it was very nice. A few areas which looks a bit random and fair-like, but most of the park is very nice and they were still working on the theming. Thunderbird: HOLY CRAP! I was a bit worried if my expectations were too high due to what some people say about GCI coasters, but I was NOT dissappointed. The first ride was great, and it just kept going faster and faster throughout the day. And it never slows down during the ride. Once it leaves the lift hill you dont get a single moment to catch your breath. The airtime isnt the most extreme, but theres lots of it. And the lateral G-forces through some of the turns were SICK!!! It was really on the edge of whats comfortable. This ride was so good that it made it to the top of my wooden coaster list, above Balder and Thundercoaster. The only negative thing about this ride is that the lapbars comes down a bit too easy. I had a few rides where my lapbar came down during the ride and it wasnt very comfortable. The station was also very beatiful, themed to a western railway station. It was a shame that the trains has such ugly paint job, and no theming. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention how beatiful the entire rides looks from the outside... Cobra: Vekome Boomerang with new trains. It was only my second boomerang, but I think this must be one of the best. The trains were fairly comfortable, and there was only a slight jerk at the two highest points in the cobra roll. And the backwards loop is just one of the weirdest coaster experiences ever. This also has a beatiful station. Joyride: Compact family coaster made by L&T Systems. I thought this was a pretty good ride. Its smooth, fast and has some nice forces. If I were a kid I would have loved it! Mine Train: Small Zamperla family coaster in the woods. Not the most comfortable coaster I have ridden. Mega Drop: Not a coaster, but it deserves to be mentioned. Standing 35 meters tall, this Fabbri drop tower doesnt look like much. But when it holds you for 40 (!!!!) seconds at the top of the swaying tower, your not excactly feeling relaxed. And it shoots you down so the airtime is REALLY extreme! I found it impossible to ride this without screaming. Its far scarier than Intamin towers twice as tall! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Park #4 Gröna Lund: When I was there last year, it was really hot and the park was very crowded. There were quite alot of people here this time aswell, but it was raining. But all the rides were running...... well, almost! Intamin problem #5: Ride: Fritt Fall Tilt Time: All week! Problem: Standup, floorless, tilting car was closed with the cables removed. I cant tell if its related to the accident in Kentucky Kingdom. Result: Only regular freefall cars operating. Kvasten: This is a custom Vekoma Suspended Family Coaster with the new Vekoma trains with lapbars only. The station is beatiful, and the entire ride really fits well in the already crowded park. The ride felt a bit shaky, but its still one of the best family coasters I have ridden. The last helix had some nice G-forces. It was awesome to see all the kids running off the ride and around to ride again. Fritt Fall: 260 ft tall Intamin drop tower. Not as extreme or scary as the smaller Mega Drop, but its still probably my favorite drop ride because it last really long. When you think your going to hit the brakes, it falls a bit more. Definately the best ride in the park! Vilda Musen: I thought this ride was far better this year than last year. It has a couple of bumps and the hairpin turns are a bit brutal, but nothing serious. It also had a bit of floater airtime in the rain. Its a quite wild ride, so the name fits the ride very well. Nyckelpigan: Small Zierer kiddie coaster. Not very comfortable! Jetline: This ride felt smoother last year. It was quite shaky, and after the first drops its really just a bunch of helixes. I know there are many Schwarzkopf fans out there (I am one myself) so please dont shoot me when I say that I think Vilda Musen may be a better coaster. Atleast the fun-factor is much better. Phew, that was (for me) a long trip report! I didnt take any pictures, but I brought a videocamera so Im hoping to share some videos with you soon. Dont expect very high quality stuff though as I am a newbie with that kind of stuff. Overall it was a fantastic trip, with some great people and some amazing rides. Atleast we didnt get hit by the Intamin curse....

I dont know if this is related to this accident, but Fritt Fall, the Intamin drop tower at Gröna Lund, has had its standup floorless tilting car closed all week with the cables removed. The other two regular cars have been operating as normal.

I was at GL yesterday and I found Kvasten to be a bit shaky in some parts, but still very smooth compared to most of the other kiddie coasters out there.

Its a Norwegian commercial from Hydro, one of the largest companies in Norway, which works withing the oil, energy and aluminium sections, In the end it says: "There are many small engineers out there. We are looking forward to when they grow up." They did a great job making it look real, with shaky camera and stuff.

Jeg skal jobbe overtid på lørdag. Ikke moro, men det blir ihvertfall mye penger av det!

Megablitz @ Wiener Prater is glass-smooth. Built by Vekoma in 94'

The picture of the first drop on MF followed by a picture of the first drop on Maverick was kinda funny. It makes Maverick look like a scale-model of a coaster!

She acts like a little child. Cries alot, and gets what she wants.

How were the ride operations at Movieland Studios?? When I was there, only a few attractions opened with the park. I'd guess we spent around 3 hours in the park, and we probably spent 2 of them just waiting for the attractions to open. A shame really, because it seems like a very nice park (except the X-area)