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RandallDuell

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Everything posted by RandallDuell

  1. So they now carry not original Pink Things AND not original Pink Lady ice cream? Well, while you may miss the original at least they're expanding their offerings!
  2. "reeling" over this park being considered one of, if not the, best of the Six Flags chain? I get not agreeing with it, but "reeling" seems a bit nuts to me. If you dropped the Great out of this thread's title, and we were talking about a park like Six Flags America being the "star", well then I'd understand "reeling". The layout, and corresponding flow, of this park being a negative makes leaves me "reeling". REALLY? A giant loop is bad form? While I've always thought a crossover by Batman (earlier Tidal Wave) would be nice, having a lot of the backstage stuff hidden literally in the middle of the park is genius. If anything, you cite Over Texas as the "best" in the chain -- I can't imagine how anyone would find the layout/flow of this park better, let alone significantly, better than Great America. Anyway, I know you offered the "this is just my opinion" disclaimer -- but "reeling" over the thought of this park being the "best in chain" seems a little much to me.
  3. So is this new coaster basically in Whizzer's old footprint? From what I can tell it is, along with the Hometown Fun Machine area...right? I'm a lot more familiar with this park's Gurnee sibling, so the lack of railroad/Whizzer throws off my bearings a bit. With the renaissance that the Whizzer has had in Chicago, I do wonder how "the" decision maker in California feels about axing their ride back in the day? Was there similar outrage when they announced the CA version's removal, btw?
  4. Your review, and that part in particular, cracked me up. So a 400' free fall tower that you JUST gushed about is 'easily' in your top 10....AT THE PARK!?!?! I know the park has a lot of coasters, let alone "rides", but just putting it in the top 10 is funny! That video montage put together by TPR was GREAT....don't skip it if you think you've already "seen it all" in other videos. The helicopter shots along with all of the rider reactions was great. I don't know if the park put that part of the package together and released it, or if you guys edited it, but nice work! Do we know if there really IS more stability (less sway) with Lex on the tower? I'd love to see a video of it visibly swaying....and/or shaking....as I don't think I've ever noticed it when at the park in the past. Anyway, everything seems to have been executed pretty damn well!
  5. Yeesh. What a horrendous post. No way you can be either female or 48 years of age. You sound as lovely at that texcoaster chap I read around here, I'm guessing there must be some sort of connection. To further my theory, methinks that Ed Farmer (equally as miserable) must be your love child! Would love to know how many SF PARKZ U HAVE BEN TOO!!1!!?? I've been to at least 7, and it's hard to imagine this park as anywhere near the bottom of any SF park list. I know it's all objective, but reading these boards for some time now I can't imagine that you're in any sort of majority in declaring this the worst Six Flags park EVAR. The book drive, by the way, is just looking for age appropriate book for pre-k/kingergarteners on up. It's a neat program, and it sounds like this year's effort is going to break some records. Good on Great America for continuing to be involved with efforts like this. For those that have been to the park lately: are the old fashioned cars still parked where they have been? Is the train doing complete runs around the entire park? How is the Pictorium looking? Does it appear that they've done any upkeep to it in the offseason? Why are you guyz so spoiled by a park with NO SELECTCHUN?!
  6. Holy smokes! What a crazy development. I suppose there is an outside shot that some of the track was taken out to be re-worked, but it definitely sounds like they finally just pulled the plug on this beast. Incredible story. Wonder how much money is estimated to have been lost?
  7. Oh no, I am now prepared to see "just put in an Outback Steakhouse!!!1!!!!" as the forum meme. Ugh. As has been said, what's the point of this thread? The only park I can think of that has been born (with any relation to this board) is Cowabunga Bay. It's successful. But the guy who started it, a veteran member here, never started a thread trying to rally support/funding...right? So, outside of this board, has any new park/resurrection ever been started as a bunch of words and jpegs and a plea to "HELP?!?!" Add me to the list that "don't get it". Seems if you were really serious about resurrecting the place you'd have a bit better plan....err, wait, you wouldn't be posting on an enthusiast forum looking for help in the first place. It's a shame what's happened with this park, and the millions lost, maybe it's time to just move on?
  8. Good to see the now puffy Jay Mohr made it out for the grand opening! Awesome photos, great report, kudos to you! Thanks for this update.
  9. That is an awesome picture of the train going through the keyhole, well done! Seriously one of the highest quality pics I've seen (especially of that element, in "real time")! I'll agree that the hanger thing is odd, especially because they already have a "real" hangar (the station). I know that "theme park" is not an important part of Six Flags culture, but seeing as though they've made some attempt with this new ride what exactly is the "story" behind that facade of a hangar? You leave your hangar, take off, and swoop through some other random hangar whilst maneuvering around traffic control towers and trenches full of spraying water?? It's a minor and almost pointless beef, but I do wonder why they even bothered with it (considering how fantastic EVERYTHING else about the ride looks)! Really is curious about the Antique cars, right? Didn't we have a bunch of people, over the winter, claiming that they KNEW they were already shipped out to other parks in the chain.....but there they sit? Part of me feels like they just haven't gotten around to parting them out/shipping them elsewhere, the other part hopes they have some plan to revive them (although letting them sit out, exposed like that, for a winter probably isn't a great sign). Also, for anyone that has been, do they have a sign up by the Buzzy Bees ride noting that ERC will eventually be back?
  10. Good points on both side of the "MM is slipping" debate. To me it sounds a lot more like a group of enthusiasts lost "their guy", and the "new lady" has taken no interest in embracing them. Smash cut to anecdotal reports of "overflowing trash cans" and "herpes-riddled bathrooms" and things are going backwards. I wonder if any of these bullet-pointed list of negative things would be as brightly highlighted if Jay was still at the park? My guess is no. Most likely it would be pinned on budget restraints or "corporate" making them focus on other things. On another note, I was thinking that it's interesting that many of the rides taken out of this park are not relocated -- obviously Deja Vu was, but before that I'm thinking of Psyclone, Free Fall, Flashback, Log Jammer, and Shockwave (though I guess it did pit stop in NJ before going to coaster heaven). Seems like a lot of other parks remove rides (to put in new ones) and load them up on trucks to ship to other parks. Maybe I'm wrong, but I was thinking that Deja Vu actually living on in another park was fairly unique for MM.
  11. Seems mcjaco has a disdain for the members here, no? Why so prickly? I agree that this is going to be a mess. What with social media and all, it's not like these guys are broadcasting out of a 10,000 watt station in Beloit in 1979 or something. I agree that it's stunning that they are still around, but whether it's Dick Biondi or Eddie and JoBo or Mancow, free is free and you will get a wide spectrum of people out there. Some of which will surely feel entitled and looking for an excuse to get rowdy over the promise of free free free. I saw some grasses and other landscaping sitting in pots in some of the photos - I am very interested to see the mixture of grass/plants/flowers/concrete around the site underneath the tracks. I'm insanely anxious to see the water effects in action as well. I think this is looking to be the most aesthetically pleasing of all of the wingriders built. I'm curious to hear, after they're all broken in, how they each compare - I assume that they'll be pretty similarly, with the each park's maintenance staff proving to be the difference as they age. LOVE IT!
  12. Wait, what? I'm sure there is some validity to the "oh no, the park is going backwards!" cries that have started here, but isn't this the same park that has FINALLY just removed the majority (all?) of the old Metro track? Didn't the completely remove the old stations for the Metro as well? Did they not cleanly remove ALL of the Log Jammer flume(s)? I have no idea if the woman running the park is as out of touch and cold as everyone here seems to think, but the monorail track (and stations) that have sat there for YEARS (rotting away, rusting, etc) during past regimes is now gone. A ride that just closed in October is just about completely gone. Compared to years past, and even to other parks, this seems like someone paying attention. As far as the museum on top of the tower, didn't the tower exist for 30 years without it? What percentage of people going up there even knew that park artifacts were being displayed (let alone went up there BECAUSE of them)? I think it was a cool idea, but from what I saw it certainly seemed like a decent idea that was never developed into anything more than someone putting stuff behind a velvet rope and crossing their fingers that people wouldn't mess with it. If they had actually put together some plastic/glass cases and/or shelving, I'd be a bit more broken up about it being taken out. I don't know, this recent tide of anti-SFMM-mgt seems odd to me. Perhaps this summer will prove everyone right, I don't know, but it seems premature to label this mgt group's efforts as awful.
  13. Wait until they're flying through that "keyhole." Can't get much more suggestive than that. All these kind of posts showing up NEXT to your avatar is, well, it's disturbing! LOL!!!! Looks really cool. I think I like the look of it more than Wild Eagle, and I really like the Eagle theme!
  14. Ah, ok, good points on KK and TTD! Guess that makes sense. Glad I'm not alone in my eye rolling around the "I don't have any idea, but _____________"! It's crazy. Then to use "non disclosure" as your excuse for lack of backup/more details! Gotta love the Intraweb! Curious to see footage of the train going past both the new X-Flight area AND the old Iron Wolf area. Wonder if the train will be up and running (and re-routed?) when the park opens? Seems like this would be as good a time as any to ditch the train, I certainly hope they haven't been looking for that excuse!
  15. If you don't have that info how in the heck can you even make a guess? Seriously? A dollar sounds reasonable? Why? Based on what? Has any actual information ever been posted as to the actual electrical cost "per launch" of any LSM/LIM/Air coaster? I could see TTD or Kingda Ka having some sort of $ amount attached to it, as a lot was made out of their power plant(s) etc. Seems like Great America is fairly loosey-goosey with the construction tour requests this year, no? That's great, I don't seem to recall a lot of bloggers/HS TV crews out there in the past -- though I do, if you can believe it, seem to recall a WPWR local show doing some sort American Eagle tour way back in the day!
  16. He'd like to tell you, but....non-disclosure GREAT pictures from that newsplusnotes site! If I were smart enough I'd repost them here, as there are a couple of great ones. That long inline twist looks incredible. Neat to see so many from ground level. Wonder why they, apparently just some blog, had such access to a tour like that? In any case, good stuff and good times! Sad to think about the loss of the antique cars, but this hurts a lot less than thinking about Sky Whirl's spot being occupied by that silly splash battle ride!
  17. GREAT PICS! Much love to the dude who took them/posted them! Wonder how the park feels about them? Funny to see Buccaneer Battle dry....and funny to the singing stage just shoved off to the side like that! Also odd to see just how close that (awfully placed) go-kart track is to that whole area. With no crossover in the middle of the park, it "feels" so far away from that section (even though it clearly isn't)! Also interesting to see Iron Wolf's old station still standing, with no ride! Boy, has there ever been a structure that's paid for itself more than that structure!?!?! Have to imagine they have some plan to use it, right? Assume they would have torn it down by now if they didn't think it was usable for the next attraction! Funny to see how both Great America parks still use the giant blue tarps on the carousel, btw!
  18. Hate to change the subject (not really), but thought it'd be fun to jump into the WABAC machine. For you kiddies out there that don't know the troll history of the park, check out this sweet train that used to do a half mile loop. A real steam train! As I recall there were a couple of trains at the park, the other one closing a few years after this one. Obviously it's a bit expensive to keep a little steam train like that going (especially in today's world of ADD etc), but it's neat to imagine being able to jump on to something like this today, isn't it?
  19. This thread is full of all sorts of win! Seriously, what a treasure. It's hard to believe that you have a bunker THAT full to keep on going to! So neat to look at, and read about, a lot of these long forgotten parks....I'm certain that many, like I, would have loved to have a guy like you in our local area to chronicle some of the country's other lost gems. Congrats on the huge thread, incredible amount of views, and hoarding ability mate! And to think you do it all without giveaways! Loving it, will be sad when your stash runs dry...though by that point I'd guess it will be like painting the Golden Gate, we can just go back to the beginning and start again.
  20. Thanks for the update, that 30% thing made no sense...no surprise that it was misread, then spread like wildfire by the media and critics. It is truly agonizing to even think about having a loved one who died on that ship, in that manner. What a horrific thing to have happened, I hope that the Italian judicial system does all it says it's gonna do with the Captain. What an awful man.
  21. Do we know (did anyone ask directly at the event) if the old fashioned cars are truly gone? I know the track was torn up some time ago, but it did seem odd that they had them parked on the remaining track up until the close of this season. I've read that they were going to be distributed around other parks that still have those cars, but part of me hopes that they might try to find somewhere to put them. While I'm asking that question, here is a few more: 1) Are the cars gone, for sure? 2) Is the old carousel (that was in the back of the park, where Revolution now sits) still in storage at the park? 3) Anyone have a recent picture of the Iron Wolf area (I know the park has been closed, obviously, just curious if any current/prospective employees may have been in that area by the employee lot recently)? 4) Related to 3, is the station still standing? 5) Have there been any rumors to a Sky Scream ride for the park in 2013? Had a former co-worker who mentioned this randomly to me recently. Thanks!
  22. WOW! Talk about doing it up right! Congrats to the team at Great America for (apparently) really nailing the big and little stuff this year!
  23. Stunning stuff. Are there not parts of Carnival Corp that are run "well" in the eyes of critics? I understand that the Carnival Cruise Lines part of the company is widely panned, but I thought that some of the lines (like Costa) were well regarded, no? That being the case, the easy "well, this IS Carnival, LOL" part seems a bit off target to me as well. I don't understand the industry enough to know if something like this is really a reflection of the parent company or not, but it seems to me like this kind of mishap would probably be just as infinitesimally small a chance on Disney or any other line. It's interesting that the Captain has already been taken into custody and charged, that really speaks volumes as to his true responsibility (despite there being numerous people "steering" during a given cruise). Imagine how quickly this guy's life changed....it reminds me a lot of Captain Hazelwood back in the day. Not only will he carry the burden of all of those deaths/injuries, but he'll be "that guy" that somehow let his ship run aground in 2012 (with all the technology etc). I know the proximity to land had a lot to do with the actual accident, but them being so close to land certainly made this a lot less awful than it could have been. Thoughts and prayers, obviously, and it will be interesting to put all the puzzle pieces together in the coming months.
  24. Thanks, sorry about the double post...system won't let me delete the second one (I was trying to edit something and accidentally quoted myself)! Okay, will refresh and keep on trying!
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