USCoaster

Hopefully they are removing the cars for a major overhaul. Lord knows they need it. And with the Angels Flight problem a couple years ago, the whole ride could probably use a complete rehab. The construction sounds like a great reason to do a complete rebuild of the ride system.

CA Screamin's programing has been changed to prevent the ride-ops from doing a manual reset (by switching to maintenance mode) since cast previews in 2000/2001 when a similar accident almost occurred. A friend of mine who used to be a lead on Screamin' prevented the previous accident and said that the reason it almost happened was when they switched over to maintenance mode, the sensors lost the train sitting in the same block section the train was sitting in this time. Luckily, someone noticed and e-stopped the ride before the train hit the block before the helix. Based on his knowledge of the ride system, he believes there is no way operator error was the cause. And based on the speed of the train (resulting in the "bump") The block brake before the helix would have had to completely stopped the train as it passed through it, and then released it. Otherwise, there would be a lot more damage.

Awesome pics and report!!! I think my next big trip is to Austria to ride Alpine Coasters. Forget the rest of Europe. I wanna go zipping through the trees on little pipes!!! On to Smart... Smart has a release plan for the States, however, the 4two and the 4four are not in the first wave. Instead, they will release a Smart lite SUV because "that is what Americans want." As far as importing Smart cars, there is a company in Santa Rosa that imports them and does the modifications required to meet US regulations. The only problem is Mercedes (maker of Smart with help from Swatch) has said that they will not provide any services for owners of imported Smart cars. The other question is whether or not Smart will be around long enough to make it to the United States. The Smart division has reportedly never turned a profit and actually looses money on each car they sell. As much as I would love one, I don't see it happening anytime soon. I desperately want to see one of the Roadsters! I think that is one of the silliest looking cool cars ever.

If the grandson is under 17, Take Two should be able to get it thrown out on the grounds that she bought the game with disregard for the "M" rating being placed on the front. As for GTA:SA being rated AO... I say leave it and make sure the next game has everything in it. Keep the AO rating and see how long before Target and Best Buy change their policy of not selling adult games. If one of the most popular games in the world is released only as and Adult Only rated version, stores like Gamestop/EB will have almost exclusive rights to sales and that would royally piss off the big box retailers. Target sells wine in many stores now, and is required to card for any purchases, how hard is it to extend the policy to a game that will be kept in a locked display case at all times.

As long as we can convice the park to have it made in Japan and shipped over, we should be OK. However, I think Togo is officially black-listed by American amusement parks because of their track record here. (pun unintentional)

The ADA "Grandfather" clause applies to anything built pre-whenever. When doing renovations, you can keep the "grandfathered" status as long as you do not change more than 25% of the building (I'm 90% sure thats the right number). In SFMM's case, I think they have until the completion of construction to do whatever they are planning on doing to comply with ADA standards. With the number of lawsuits in CA, I guarentee they will have either the Orient Express or and new (and really long) switchback ramp running up that hill to meet the ADA requirements.

Great video! Speaking of Fanta, does anyone know where to get the Lemon flavored Fanta here in the States? Its by far my favorite flavor and the Fanta website says it is produced here (unless the Citrus flavor is different).

That flat section will have a block brake on it. This is Holiday Worlds first coaster with 3 trains and if they want to run all of them at the same time, they need it there in case anything happens. Never thought I'd have a reason to go to Indiana again...

Awesome pics! I still won't get on it, but it looks fun. As far as the on-ride photo on the t-shirt though... The composition of the picture is hilarious. With the 4 riders stretched across the plastic breasts and the tower dropping below... John