chadster

The holes are there so they can attach the wood stack to the topper track and to attach the track to the supports. You can see a few alignment pins and bolt heads in some of the drop/lift pictures.

Full of win!

After the reveal of the double barrel element we embarked on a hard hat photo walking tour. Random stuff, nothing to be concerned with, moving on. Now we get up and close with the infamous element that was most visible from the train. Nice big swooping curve. Standing next to this thing, OMG it's HUGE! Coming down off the 153 degree outerbank. It's amazing. Now we get into the fun stuff! So I found out a little information about the trains. The train design has been tested. SDC has not taken delivery of any trains yet. Mainly because they are being made after the proof of concept was proven. I also found out that the ride is estimated at 65-70% complete. Almost all of the pre-cast footers are in place. This man loves his job. (This is coming off the outerbank) And they are using a bazillion nuts, bolts, and fasteners. Park Maintenance and Construction personnel are really happy with the ride and it's progress. SEXY Connecting plate. It's then grouted(cemented) so that you get one heck of a smooth ride. RMC guys were all over the ride today. 81 Degrees! DROP! We will have a better angle soon. Swooping drop up to the outerbank I also had the opportunity to talk to Fred Grubb of Rocky Mountain. mmmmmm I expressed my personal appreciation for their work after which he grinned from ear to ear giving all of the praise to Alan Schilke. Ok, you knew one was going to be posted....NERD SHOT! Ok, so I will admit, the ride doesn't jump the track, I made all that up, it slides under the lift to the left of train. This is after it slides under the lift. and heads over to the DOUBLE BARREL ROLL! Fred said the Alan was really outdoing himself. We then talked a little about maintenance and what other parks were experiencing. The train will go under the lift here. After the double up the track curves hard left to under the lift. weeeee Fred said the word is, virtually no maintenance as in, nada on the track. When talking about the ride he was very relaxed and calm. Peace of mind if you will that this ride will roll off with no problems. And that can only happen when you trust in your designer. I can also tell you that he reads enthusiast sites. And has seen the comments of people complaining that they aren't happy about the topper track saying it takes away from the wood coaster. If anything, he said, they are helping the wooden coaster. Because as we all know after a few years some woodies are no longer good. And I have to agree, I am excited to see what else they have in store for the wood coaster. I am sure you have figured out this is coming off the drop Heading up! Some random shot I thought was cool. yup, can hardly wait. heading over to the dive under the lift. One final 81 degree drop shot. This is what is attached to the top of those steel forms, aka, topper track. They have actually started installing it on the lift, I'll show you that in a second. Couldn't resist getting the cog in the shot. Inside the station this is from the unload side. And this is the view from the operators booth. From the unload walkway. Out of the station, here you can see the base track and the topper track. So silky smooth. And there you have it, Outlaw Run coming March 2013 to Silver Dollar City. For construction updates visit www.silverdollarcity2013.com Also keep checking that site for the official opening date. The park also invited us to take in a show on the Branson Belle and visit White Water Bay, I'll have something on that later on. Again, special thanks to Silver Dollar City for allowing us to partake in the unveil of Outlaw Run, can't wait to come back and ride it!!

Outlaw Run is quite breathtaking, in fact everything about this ride just screams sexy. After arriving I was asked to talk about the new attraction with all of the radio stations that came to visit. I have to admit i was a little nervous on the first one, but the others went great! TPR got a ton of airtime today! The station is coming together very nicely. Here is a different angle. Inside they had the story boards lined up and the 30 second teaser video ready to play. Here is the view from the load side out to the lift. This is looking out towards the brakerun after you come off the OMFG Double Barrel Roll! "Prepare to be Amazed!" It's Outlaw Run! Featuring a 16 story 81 degree drop! And leading into the outrageous 153 outside banked turn! Never done before on a wooden coaster...a double barrel roll! "Are you freaking excited?!?!?! If so, lets go see the double barrel roll! "Rocky Mountain: DROP THAT CURTAIN!" And the crowd went wild!!! Workers were waiting to install the final piece! It's freaking insane! Up in the air she flys And getting swung into position. It's like they've practiced it or something. And going into place. They loosely fastened the farthest end first. Trying to shoot this from the ground was quite challenging. So we moved down a little bit. To get better angles for you. I was told they use some sort of cementing process in the joints between the pieces (no i don't think it's real cement ) so that they mesh as one. It was really awesome to watch. Brad giving interviews to the local media. It's Fred Grubb from RMC. In the next update I will share my conversation with you! Beautiful. I want to ride it now! More photos coming up later this evening!

Silver Dollar City Announces Outlaw Run For 2013! http://www.silverdollarcity2013.com/ Scroll down for TPR"s Media Coverage! For more official info on Outlaw Run, visit Silver Dollar City's website here: http://www.silverdollarcity2013.com/ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Today I was fortunate enough to represent TPR at today's unveil of Outlaw Run, an incredible new ride by Rocky Mountain Construction featuring the worlds only double barrel roll on a wooden coaster! Upon arrival I was greeted by SDC staff from about every realm of the company and I would like to thank Lisa, Martha, and Courtney along with Brad Thomas and the entire Silver Dollar City Staff for their extraordinary hospitality. Prior to the unveil I played musical radio chairs giving live on air interviews on my take of the new attraction(without giving it away, which was really hard to do!) as the park had about 9 different radio stations broadcasting from the event. Following the presentation by Brad Thomas, the parks GM, we walked over to the double barrel roll element where the gigantic tarp that had been placed to keep the secret was dropped and the final piece was placed. Finally we were able to take a hard hat tour of the construction site which had been specially prepared for the event where I met and talked to Fred Grubb of Rocky Mountain. Time to get excited!!! The photos and material in the first post have been provided by Silver Dollar City Walkback Photos Part I Walkback Photos Part II < Features tons of OMFG Photos, CLICK! Showboat Branson Belle Dinner Cruise! Outlaw Run takes the classic wood coaster to a place it’s never been before by applying modern technology and techniques to traditional wood coaster building methods. The ground-breaking coaster will open in Spring 2013. Out of the woods emerges Silver Dollar City’s boldest ride yet, Outlaw Run. A 10-story lift brings riders to a more than 16-story drop. Can’t be afraid of heights to ride the world’s steepest wood coaster with a first drop of 162 feet at 81 degrees – nearly vertical. Outlaw Run reaches a top speed of 68 miles per hour, the second fastest wood coaster in the world. The view from down below on Outlaw Run. Outlaw Run takes the classic wood coaster to a place it’s never been before by applying modern technology and techniques to traditional wood coaster building methods. It is the only wood coaster to twist upside down, with a record-breaking three inversions, including a 720-degree double barrel roll. Nearly half a million board feet of lumber will be used in Outlaw Run. With thrilling twists and rolling inversions, riders will soar through nine locations where they will experience “airtime” or weightlessness. Outlaw Run is the only wood coaster with a 153-degree outside banked turn Unparalleled views of the beautiful Ozarks are visible from atop Outlaw Run. The following are the Story Boards used in the presentation today. Photos from the event and walk back are coming soon!

Match and lighter fluid will take care of it.

Howdy partners! Be sure to keep a look out here and on FB tomorrow for pictures, video, and other cool stuff from the big announcement! Here early getting ready! GET EXCITED!!!!

I put it there last week for giggles.

How can something so pretty be so painful...

Awesome dude, glad you guys a good time!

I just realized I hadn't thanked everyone for their kind comments. Only one more stop left on the LeviaTHONg tour before sad goodbyes. And who knows, maybe a bonus TACO REVIEW is coming too....

Spinning Mouse Whore! Love your travels, keep them coming!

Awesome video!

I think you guys will have to wait until 2014 for the next big coaster, but seriously the Parachutes leaving is not a big deal. Short lines, low popularity, inability to run in high winds, it's just time. Edit: Stick a fork in Chute Out

So after a late night we had an early morning, an early morning that would take us 10 minutes up the road to Canada's Wonderland. Having now been to all but 1 Cedar Fair park (Valley Fair) I can say with confidence that IMO, Canada's Wonderland is the most well rounded park of them all, including Cedar Point. While half of the coaster's are nothing to write home about, they have covered just about every realm except for floorless and launched. The flat selection was nothing like you'd see in the states as they actually had some strange, one off, and never in the US attractions. While lunch was less than stellar, dinner and tea time made up for it. Park employees were knowledgeable and friendly and acted as if they were really happy we were there giving them something different than your normal rent a ride night. Something that is a first for me is this report will be 100% from my cell phone camera. I won't talk about why. Here we are for ERT on Leviathan! The landscaping was incredible. I probably think that because I like the old Paramount parks. Yay Leviathan! "To those of you who thought the Boomerang was Leviathan you are hereby BANNED!" So since I was banished from riding Leviathan I toured the park with a few friends. Yes, I have friends. Anything stand out as being Cedar Fair? Because I can't see anything that would set it apart from other parks. WTF? One of a kind, I'd hit it if I were you, it might not be around much longer. It's not a bad ride and certainly better with friends. Which of three is the better ride? Huh, never see one of those tower things before The American's have invaded! oh. Everyone say it together. Ahhhhhhh I thought those ducks were do it yourself, but they were automated. Fast lane allows you too.... ...hump over the lines. Huh?!?!?! I thought this was a woodie? Drop Tower. Woodie. Very interesting. "Where is the rest of the ride?" "It's over there!" This would be over there. And thanks to the tour included Fast Lane, we passed all of this. WOOT WOOT! TPR Train! Clearly, I suck. Soupy! Tacos!!!!! Ok, so here is the deal, we have determined that in Canada it is mandatory to put the topping in the middle. As in, shells on the left, meat on the right, or vice versa so one has to play frogger to make their taco. 5/10 on the taco. Meet was not seasoned as well as last night's taco, rather bland. The shells were ok but the toppings were lacking. Still, it was edible. So what a better way to celebrate yet another bonus TACO REVIEW than to ride an arrow as the sun was going down. How about another tour of the park, sure, why not. Freestyle is a novelty in Canada, so much so refills are twice the price and a large is like 4.99 So after humping Behemoth again, it was time head to the front of the park. Why you ask? Niagara Falls, duh! Still trying to figure out where the rest of Leviathan is... So as the sun sets we took our places on the front lawn for.... World of Color!!! They had a cool projection show at the end of the night that lasted about 15 minutes and used the street, water, and tree lights for effects. It's a shame not more people stayed to watch it. And with that, I went and planted my butt on Behemoth, why? I like it better than Leviathan, it has more forces where Leviathan is fun but is more speed related and about half a ride. When you hit the 'MCBR' you think there is more, there is not, the 'MCBR' is...the end. Just like this portion of my TR. Goodnight everyone and special thanks to Canada's Wonderland for your hospitality, you were great!

$10 million for a new wooden coaster is pretty much spot on, especially since it's more or less a prototype, hasn't required much land prep, and is using pre-cast footings. If it were a 10 million dollar B&M I'd be concerned. The morale to the story is, don't let the price tag fool you.

Mt. O is the ghetto park of the middle America that has much more potential than it shows, too bad the owner is only concerned with the current level of incoming cash versus what he could be getting. Only 'critique' I could give you is to make sure your photos are no larger than 800x600, they will not only look better on the forum but will also conform to the forum rules. Other than that it's a lot to read but the story line is good.

^As a matter of fact ChrisCon walked out with a giant soda cup of beer. After ordering a 'large' soda for myself (20oz cup) and seeing his Pepsi cup the 'large'(32oz) beer came in, I was quite jealous!

Here we go, the most anticipated review of the trip, the one, the only, TACO REVIEW! We arrived at the TPR hotel slightly earlier than scheduled which was in no way an issue. Why? Well it's Dave and Buster's time! Sadly the stupid Canadians have a rule that kids under 19 can't be in the restaurant, at all, after 10pm so arriving early let the minor play a little longer. Much to our surprise not only did we get some awesome free play cards but a taco buffet of mammoth proportions. Overall we are going to give the tacos a rating of 8/10. The meats were perfectly seasoned with the ground beef having a mixture of onions and hot peppers giving it that extra kick it sometimes needs. The sides were good and plentiful but nothing that stood out as OMFG amazing. The only thing that was a little confusing, and it must be a Canadian thing, was that the toppings were in the center of the buffet line so we got to play a friendly game of frogger, not a big deal really, it just added to the drunken fun! So prepare for crappy cell phone pictures as I had no idea a taco review was in order! P.S. Added a few candid group shots to our Waldameer day incase you want to check them out! Um Garbles, it doesn't go up her nose. Here we have this awesome buffet of yummy-ness set up. OM NOM NOM NOM The taco's were clearly good. So let's ask. What a good start to a soft taco you have there Shawn. So, we gotta ask, how is it? Shawn gives it a thumbs up! 8/10 Now before everyone gets upset that they were not 10's, I have very strict guidelines for what a 10 taco is, what are those guidelines, I make them up as I go along Um Chris, this isn't Marineland day, just sayin. Out in the game room we found hot chicks! TPR cleaned out the bar's fridge! Best trip dinner ever! Thanks R&E!

Woot woot! Day 3 continues with a brief stop off to whore out Martin's Fantasy Island. I kindof wish the rains hand't closed the park on our originally planned day as I would have liked to of had a chance to hit some of the flat rides. The trade off would be an amazing night in Canada at Dave and Busters that will include something I have neglected on in my main thread...TACOS! Ok, let's get unloaded! This piece of paper entitles you to a cool stamp that says 'coaster' on it. Well this just won't do. I'll try to! Horsey's! Ok nerds, we need a nice orderly stampede to the woodie. Very good. I'm guessing this would be the 'Island' at Martin's Fantasy Island. Hey! give me back my pole! And we made it, this time with no injuries. I think this might have been the sleeper of the trip. Not rough, not boring, it was just right. Let's do it! Is it me, or does the important guy on the right kinda look like NASCAR driver Mark Martin? Ride on your sack if you like. No thanks, my hole is already on fire from last nights dinner Hey what's this? A rarity in American parks! Seriously, I wish more parks had 'fair' rides. So, you want to see more than just rides? Ok. Your wish is my command. Teeny Boppers? IDK, but their prices are teeny. Please, wash your fingers before licking. Cute little park. Insert "ACE" joke here. Well, now this park has really started to peek my interest. I'm sure after eating all that food this is the first place you would want to stop. Ok credit whores, back in line. No, you aren't going there. This just won't do, we are already loaded! Rule breaking rebels. I wasn't able to check the wetness level for everyone, sorry! Is KT bored or studying something? She was really into watching the Star Flyer. So that's about it, enough time to grab a quickie And head on out past the 'do it yourself' rides. WTF? See ya Martin's, wish we coulda stayed a bit longer!

It would be better with the photos

Speaking of backwards....hope you guys enjoy our crappy boomerang.

Day 3 brought us to two parks, the first was Darien Lake. DL still has many of the remnants of Six Flags ownership in the color scheme and naming conventions. On our visit it was also plagued with ride downtime seemingly also left over from the days of Six Flags, an issue that can take a lot of money and time to recover from. Thankfully Herschend has taken over and will soon right the ship. The two major areas I hope they focus on are ride maintenance and food. I didn't take time to tour much of the park as it took us about 4 hours to get 6 credits, 5 if you don't count Ride of Steel as we had morning ERT on it. Predator opened late(it happens) and sent one train around (thankfully we were on it) before going down for about 30 minutes to remove a problematic train. We headed to boomerang and found it not operating as well. We found motocross which was operating but went down with only 20 people in front of us and we were forced to leave the queue. By lunch we had 4 credits under our belts and went back for the SLC....which was down. Once the SLC came back online the rains were moving in. We were told we could ride as long as the restraints were locked when the phone call came in. Thankfully that phone call wouldn't come in until after our ride. As we pushed to the lift the monsoon hit with sideways rain. Surprisingly the rain smoothed it out and turned it into a water slide. It was truly an Epic ride. Enough chatter, lets focus on Ride of Steel. Here we are for some ERT on Ride of Steel! Noted. The park really does have a nice setting. Yup, that would be top. The top of the lift that is. Obviously. This would not be the top. Clearly. Black out section. Duh. And some floater air, kindof. So yeah, that's Ride of Steel. Goodbye Ride of Steel, thanks for allowing us to get some exercise by running around! Let's see, where to go. OCC approved. Better than Pony Express. Still haven't figured out if this used to be a pool or what. It was here that the ride broke down and we were escorted out of the queue. So while we waited, we got our head bang on. But really, it wasn't all that bad. True Story. See, I told you it had a nice setting. Didn't believe me eh? You want arrow you say? You got arrow. Smooth like Garbles with the ladies smooth. Tomato soupy soup smooth. Lube smooth. So yeah, it wasn't all that bad. PGA Championship course. So there you have it, part of Day 3 is over. Time for us now to fly on over to Martin's Fantasy Island before heading into to Canada for an epic night at Dave and Busters! Oh yeah, almost forgot. Want to know what fixes a broken SLC? WD-40.

RFII was running well but the tunnel, like on Voyage, give me a slight headache but nothing ear plugs won't take care of. We were told it was going to get retracked in the offseason although it doesn't really seem to need it to the extreme others in the world might.

Hmmm, so what else did we do at Waldameer.... Oh yeah. We did this. Nerds - Ready. Aim. Fire! It's photo walkback of the Ravine Flyer II time! I've been on several walkbacks, but none that have allowed us to get this close to an operating ride. Seriously, this close. Big motor make ride go 90 degrees. Chris "I'm a dork" Con Impressive. Really, this was just insanely close. The only way you can get this close is to A. break in illegally or B. Go on a TPR Tour next year. Limbo lower now. Oh, and the answer is B. So this is how they do maintenance on the wheels, cool, eh? Pardon us, sorry, excuse us, pardon us, just a moment please, sorry, thank you for waiting. "This is so effing amazing!" Don't whack you head on the air gates! I've seen a lot of nuts in my time...wait. That didn't come out right. Dammit! I give up. From the 'did you know' series. The park has a heater installed on the platform to warm things up for pre-season testing and for when needed to get the train warmed up. Too cold and the train no worky. Also from the "did you know" series, the park has never replaced a single steel wheel on the ride. Yuup. Noted! Don't fall out! High five! Hi Comet! "We sent the train, it didn't come back" Pretty awesome paratrooper down there. After the tour it was time to have a little fun! Charlie's Angel's forgot their pose. OK, we really tried to figure out WTF this was but couldn't. And for making fun of the musical, some of us paid the price. Chris has that "I'm cheating" look going on. And finally, TPR TAKEOVER! But now it's time for ERT on Ravine Flyer II. Goodnight Waldameer and thanks for a great day!