USCoaster

I actually thought it was amusing when the Christmas event started and they were explaining the Christmas Coins, I think it was Lisa that asked what happened to all of the Halloween Candy after the Halloween event ended and Homer said he ate it all on November 4th. They have also started advertising the game on the TV Wall at Target. I was a little startled when all the TVs had Homer running around screaming as buildings dropped down around him.

Voted! RANK THE FOLLOWING RIDING SENSATIONS <-LEAVE THIS LINE AS IS Abrupt Airtime_____________________________,y,y,1 Floating Airtime___________________________,y,y,2 Lateral Forces_____________________________,y,y,4 Out of Control Feeling/Directional Changes_,y,y,3 Positive G's/Loops_________________________,y,y,6 Sensation of Speed_________________________,y,y,5 COASTER NAME PARK LOC <--Please leave this My Favorite Steel Anypark Anywhere **,y,y,3 Cannonball Waterville USA AL,y,n,28 Giant Dipper Belmont Park CA,y,n,18 The Grizzly Great America CA,y,n,34 Roar SF Discovery Kingdom CA,y,n,12 Giant Dipper Santa Cruz Bch Bdwk CA,y,n,2 GhostRider Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,n,14 Colossus S.F. Magic Mountain CA,y,n,21 Apocalypse S. F. Magic Mountain CA,y,n,5 Wooden Warrior Quassy CT,y,n,6 Gwazi-Tiger Busch Gardens-Tampa FL,y,n,29 Gwazi-Lion Busch Gardens-Tampa FL,y,n,30 Thunderbolt SF New England MA,y,y,26 Cyclone SF New England MA,y,y,27 Roar SF America MD,y,n,19 Wild One SF America MD,y,y,16 Excalibur Funtown USA ME,y,y,7 Comet Great Escape NY,y,y,8 Comet Hersheypark PA,y,n,20 Lightning Racer - L Hersheypark PA,y,n,9 Lightning Racer - T Hersheypark PA,y,n,10 Wildcat Hersheypark PA,y,n,32 Phoenix Knoebel's PA,y,n,4 Twister Knoebel's PA,y,n,13 Thunderhead Dollywood TN,y,n,1 Cyclops Mount Olympus WI,y,n,15 Zeus Mount Olympus WI,y,n,24 Wild Beast Canada's Wonderland ON,y,y,33 Ghoster Coaster Canada's Wonderland ON,y,y,25 M.Can.Mine Buster Canada's Wonderland ON,y,y,11 Le Monstre La Ronde QU,y,y,31 Rutschebanen Bakken DK,y,n,17 Rutschebanen Tivoli Gardens DK,y,n,22 Tonnerre de Zeus Parc Asterix FR,y,n,23

Those are definitely the best views I've ever seen from a coaster.

There is a lot of wierd places in that park where they could put a coaster running over/under/through backstage and midway areas especially if they use the former Tidal Wave station area and some of the former train right-of-ways along the front of the park. (Similar to the Thrust Air coaster that was canceled a while ago.)

^ I'm regretting not heading over to get my Apocalypse credit today. I might have to try to make it over tomorrow morning before heading off to my cousin's wedding reception.

I saw Keane a couple weeks ago at House of Blues in Boston and tonight I was back at House of Blues to see another amazing show by Scissor Sisters.

^And it helps keep the edgy Six Flags urban metropolis parking lot theme going.

I think they may just be waiting until the crane arrives to remove the rest of the flume. The rest of the ride could be taken out with a bulldozer without much thought, but since the last lift/drop are over the top of Wild One, the demolition would have to be a much more delicate process and require a crane to lift pieces off. If they wait and use the same crane to finish the demolition and then build Apocalypse they would probably save a lot of money as opposed to two different rental contracts/insurance contracts/etc.

I think I may have mentioned this before, but if Cedar Fair is smart, Grizzly and Demon won't be going anywhere without some sort of legally binding agreement that says they can replace a removed coaster with a similar sized new coaster. That side of the park is where a lot of the noise problems come from and both Grizzly and Demon have been there longer than most if not all of the office buildings that line that edge of the park. If they removed either coaster without an agreement, the land would become virtually worthless to the park because they wouldn't be able to build anything that would satisfy noise requirements without fully enclosing it.

I see it! Its lovely...

After watching the video, I think B&M needs to put that first drop on a stand-up coaster. Back on topic, I think it looks like a fun coaster and it will be interesting to see what new elements end up on the rumored Dollywood coaster.

Since I'm not quite sure where I will be at the end of April/beginning of May, I have tickets to see Kylie Minogue in DC, NYC, and SF. If all goes well, I will only have to sell the SF tickets.

^^ Considering CGA doesn't have year round operation, you are probably right about conflicts with 49ers games. That is if CGA can make it until the stadium opens. They 18-24 months while the stadium is under construction could be enough to make Cedar Fair just walk away from the park. The construction site will take up a lot more of the parking lot than the finished stadium will and unless there is a phased plan to have a garage built and operating for the park to use, I could see a point where CGA has very little if any parking lot available for use during its normal season. I hope that Cedar Fair is working with the city to get some positive outcome out of this whole situation. This could come in the form of a more streamlined approval process for new attractions or even permission to expand into any remaining parking that may be left after the stadium and parking garages are built.

Based on the recurring problems with sound complaints from neighbors, I don't think it would be wise for CGA to do anything with any of the existing coasters along the edge of the park. It might be a little easier to get approval for a replacement for an existing coaster, but it would still have to go through the same approval process and be subject to the same complaints. Anything that is currently standing is grandfathered in with regards to any noise requirements/complaints that any of the neighbors may have. And as a possible reason CGA is not getting a Windseeker clone this year... If it was installed at CGA, I don't think it could be an actual "clone" due to the height restrictions placed on the park by the nearby airport. I know there are places in CGA that have higher limits (the right side of the park from Drop Tower to the Sky Cabin), but I think the 300+ft of the Windseeker design may be too tall.

^ There are new pics on the various sites that show the white section making a complete u-turn and lining up with the other side of the banked turn so I think its just a temporary section that will allow them to test the ride vehicles. The white track also appears to not be attached to a true foundation unlike the previously installed track.

I'm sure anybody who has been on an Alpine Coaster can confirm or deny this, but from the various on-ride videos on the web, the Alpine Coasters don't seem to be very loud. I think a lot of the complaining from residents near Northstar are assuming this will sound like a normal full sized roller coaster complete with +/-32 screaming riders instead of a little 2 person sled on a track. While there may be some noise, I think most of the current reactions from the locals are probably uninformed and could be solved with some video of similar installations.

I was up a Northstar a couple weeks ago visiting some friends who were up there and the new Ritz-Carlton is amazing. Its accessible via a really long winding road up the mountain (with 2 or 3 tunnels under ski runs) and a short brand new free gondola up from the Village. As for pricing, I think Northstar will probably price it around $20 for 1 ride, and maybe discounts for multiple rides. I just checked and last year, Park City in Utah was charging $20 a ride and Wisp in Maryland was charging $10 a ride. Given Northstar's location, I assume they will go with the higher pricing.

If the rumors are true regarding the closure of Screamin' (and I'm assuming the rest of the rides on the water) during World of Color shows, then it will have to a mind blowing show to keep the complaints low regarding ride closures. I guess with Screamin', they could get away with just holding trains for the duration of the show, but I assume Mickey's Fun Wheel will have to be completely unloaded before the show starts if its included in the closures.

Nice pics. I was there a couple weeks ago and had to do all of my picture taking from behind the work walls. The place looks great even with the cleaning up that still needs to happen. A couple of notes: - I hate the Cirque du Soleil ad on the Harmon. Its a shame they are covering all of that gorgeous glass. - I love the special Louis Vuitton logo metal panels on the Crystals facade at the Louis Vuitton store location. Its a very cool looking, but subtle touch. - While the Cosmopolitan isn't a part of City Center, it was designed by Arquitectonica to match the aesthetic of City Center.

Kylie Minogue at the Fox Theater in Oakland. She was absolutely amazing and the smaller venue made the big production pop show feel fairly intimate. Going back tomorrow for the second show.

Cedar Fair needs to go after the 49ers because they seem to be getting walked all over with this deal. If Cedar Fair wants to sell the park for any reasonable amount of money (as an operating theme park) the existing infrastructure has to remain in place or a reasonable solution to parking and game days has to be in place. The only way Cedar Fair wouldn't bother to fight the stadium plan is if they decide to Geauga Lake it and I'm not sure if that is possible since the land the park is on is leased from the city and therefor CF probably isn't allowed to sell it for their profit.

Better Off As Two- Frankmusik

Untouchable - Girls Aloud

Your Disco Needs You - Kylie Minogue

Having done the glass floor at the CN Tower in Toronto, it really is just a gimmick used to get people up to the top of the tower. I like the idea because it lets you escape the normal building envelope that most viewing platforms are restricted to and actually look straight down. I think that the most entertainment will come from watching people walk up to the windows for the first time to see their reactions. From what I remember at the CN Tower, almost everybody would walk towards the glass floor and when they got to the edge, they would all stop and it would take a couple seconds to adjust to the idea that the floor is glass and it is safe to walk on.