pvcoasterguy

I went to the one in Chicago. (It's long since gone...) I thought that it was pretty fun, although then they charged extra for the arcade games (now in FL they don't). The stuff was pretty fun, however, it was really crowded when we were there. However, the river rapids simulator, Pirates game thingy, huge pinball where you control the ball with your movements, and Cyberspace Mountain were really fun. It was like an arcade, but "Disney-fied." It was a great arcade, just expensive.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 9/10 Excellent film. I didn't think that it was going to be as good as the first, but I thought it was better. The plot was very interesting. It has a great mix of humor and action. I hated the ending, however. It set it up way too much for the third film, and it had no sense of closure.

^^ Too bad America West doesn't exist anymore. US Airways merged with them, and basically controls them.

It's a fun game. I don't play it as much as I used to, but I play it once in awhile.

Very interesting. I believe that it is probably stress fractures somewhere on the train. That train gets jostled around so much, with its terrible tracking, that stress fractures have got to occur. I think the coffin has been nailed on Son of Beast. With its high operating costs, low enjoyment factor, and finally this accident, they'll just shut it down. Please keep in mind that e-stops can only occur in brake sections, not just anywhere on the track. The trains themselves do not have any brakes on them, so they cannot stop themselves.

Mean Steak. I was in the very back... big, big mistake. It jackhammered at the bottom of every single drop. Terrible. Dragon at Adventureland. Every single thing on this ride sucks. The very shallow first drop is rough, as are the two loops. The worst thing, however, are the two lung-busting, eye-ball popping helices that follow. The headbanging is also terrible, and it is just terribly rough.

Fiesta Texas has got to be one of the best-run Six Flags parks. Every TR that I see of it is positive. Great America is about the only other one that I see positive reviews of nearly every time.

Nice pictures! I really need to get to Disneyland sometime...

Wow, the story about Centrilla is really interesting. I really want to visit that- I think it would be incredibly cool. Anyway, great TR!

Those are great!

^ It would be a lot easier if they were riding the Whizzer at Great America.

I hope the rumors that Dragon is going to be removed are true. That thing is quite a piece.

House of the Dead 4 at an arcade. Great game! You have to shake the gun to reload it, and when zombies grab you, you have to shake the gun to get free. Really great arcade game!

LOL. That sucks, but it's just so ironic.

"Wiiiiiii! I'm riding a DS!" Great caption! Nice TR, great photos.

^ Both of Adventureland's woodies are nearly at the bottom of Mitch's poll, which is quite disappointing. They're actually pretty darn good rides. Not intense, but really, really fun. The Dragon, however, needs to go. You know that it's a bad sign if it is rough just getting to the lift. Even the straight first drop is rough, as are the loops. It's just a terrible ride!

With a season passes to Adventureland, we decided to head down again. The place was pretty dead (one train/cycle waits for most rides). Tornado was running much better than a few weeks ago, which was really nice, because it was pretty kick butt. Lunch was a sub at the sub place in the park. You fill out your order on a sheet of paper (with check marks), and give it to the cashier, where you pay for it. Then you pick it up. I had a great 6 in. roast beef sub and a drink for only $6, which is acutally close to normal Subway prices. Very reasonable. Overall, it was a great day. The employees were great, and it was just really fun. If anyone would like larger versions of the photos, please let me know. I am heading to Adventureland again next week, so let me know if you have any photo requests. Additional Adventureland photos are located in this photo TR: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26042 Let's go through the prison exit. Riding the A-Train is fun... with friends! Hey, I though Fuji-Q was in Japan! All the guys are getting their balls squashed into oblivion. But, if you put your feet up on the bar, like some are doing, you are fine. Ha, a pirate ship credit that Tommy and James don’t have! They do some flippy goodness, and here she is at the end of the ride. She looks to be doing better than the girl on the right! WTF? Here she is meditating before the ride. This really old lady went on the mini Top Spin, Splash Over. Really politically incorrect, and so great. (BTW, check out the stoned pink rabbit on the left side of the picture). There are a few things in this picture that you don’t see much on coasters anymore. The lack of airgates, buzz bars, and skid brakes. The brakes are manually controlled with a button on this ride and Outlaw, so the operator has to pay attention. Dragon is incredibly forceful, and it feels like your lungs are going to be ripped out on the first helix. Greying out is extremely common on the second loop. Too bad the ride sucks as a whole. This is a great first drop in the back seat (as is the Tornado’s), although I feel that both are front-seat rides. (Though the famed PTC 1-3 trick holds true for the Tornado, also). Someone asked for a view of the rest of Outlaw’s layout, here it is. Outlaw may be small, but it packs a nice little punch in a small package. This hill here produces some of the most intense lateral air, ever. Outlaw is a fun little coaster; the second CCI coaster, but designed by (now of) GCI’s Mike Boodley. On-ride shot of the Outlaw (in Robb's words: some twisty goodness.) View from the top of Outlaw’s lift. Saw Mill Splash is a fun little spinning rapids ride. Worse than any Vekoma or Arrow… the only Hopkins with OSTR’s. Ouch. I guess we won’t be riding the Lighthouse today. (It seems to me that it’s getting removed). Adventureland is a really well-kept and photogenic. There are actually some pretty good rapids on this ride, and we got soaked. Here is the ‘wave pool’ section of the ride, which most parks have removed because of how unpredictable it is. (The Parc Astrix accident occurred in a section similar to this section). The water is pretty deep here. This ride had the longest line of the day, at 20 minutes. This hill has some of the weirdest airtime ever. It’s really bouncy airtime, and you do two bounces. However, it is surprisingly intense air. It had much more airtime and was just a better ride. The Tornado was running considerably better than during my last visit a few weeks ago. This animatronic that tells you the story of the Underground (a CCI coaster/dark ride), needed a refurbishing pretty badly. This is the only bad thing about Adventureland… the line graffiti. It is pretty bad in some places, but can be very amusing in long lines. This was the only car out of commission, which was great to see. Most parks have 5+ cars broken, even in smaller fleets. The bumper cars were a tad slow, although the huge arena and large number of cars made up for it. We all had fun Breakdancing... We have a really well-run Falling Star. It has some crazy airtime. Nice mullet… It’s a really nice, relaxing ride. As you can see, Der Flinger (a paratrooper) has really complex controls. Adventureland is a really nice looking, clean park.

^ Both of those have seat belts. The seat belts are an American thing.

Apparently this occurred in the "wave pool" section of the ride. A similar section is found in the photos below. Most parks have disabled or removed these sections of the ride, due to how unpredictable they are. The wave makers found in these sections are nearly identical to those used in wave pools. Boats can easily get stuck, and the water is pretty deep. In fact, we rammed into the rocks on the side by the wave maker very hard, and stayed there for more than ten seconds. Photos from Raging River at Adventureland (Iowa). You can see the wave maker on the top area of the picture. Wave pool section Wave pool section

If you just ask, you can get free water at Six Flags parks.

It's disappointing to see a park with some great rides turn into this dump. Magic Mountain has everything most parks want. A huge attendance area (SoCal? It's giant), very expensive rides, and a huge park area. But it's unfortunate that the park sucks just because of the employees. Employees can make or break a park, and we all know which way SFMM goes. It kills me when I see workers like that. Why are you there if you aren't going to give 100%? What are you paid for? To sit around all day? I believe that there are some good workers there. There are always a few good apples in with the bad bunch, and I feel sorry for those good workers. It has got to kill you about how things are at SFMM. In fact, if it was me working there, it would destroy all my pride in SFMM. People should be proud to work at a good organization or place. SFMM isn't so good. It has got to be a problem with the management that is directly involved with the front-line employees. They need to do something about this situation- it's getting dire. If they still want to have a job next season, they have to.

1) Huss Trioka. Relaxing, but incredibly fun. The airtime and the swinging of the cars is just great. 2) Schwarzkopf Enterprise. A totally crazy ride, when run properly. Going upside down with no restraint is an amazing feeling, and the swinging of the cars is also very fun. 3) Huss Frisbee Family/Moser Versions- When run with a good cycle, these rides are truly insane and totally fun. I really like the cycle on Revolution at SFGAm (currently down), with the "super-crazy spin cycle" towards the end of the ride- crazy. The inverted, outside facing versions are also good, because of the upside-down/airtime sensation. 4) Chance Falling Star. When run to its potential, this ride kicks some serious butt. Airtime city, the crush your neighbor. Rinse and repeat. Totally insane and totally great. 5) Other rides that I love: - Spiderman - Men in Black - Spaceship Earth - Test Track - Mission: Space - Dinosaur/Countdown to Extinction - Wild Artic simulator at Sea World Orlando. One of the most advanced of its kind, and very realistic. - ET Adventure!! One of my favorites, just for the nostalgic value. When everything is working, it is very cool. And who doesn't love creepy scientists from NASA, the ET song, and the ET ride smell? - Dudley Do Right's Ripsaw Falls - Splash Mountain - Popeye's Bilge Rat Barges - Jurassic Park River Adventure. Also one of my favorites, when everthing is working. One of my favorite attraction moments of all time. "Welcome to Jurassic Park"- Cue JP theme, open doors. Totally amazing.

Thanks, Lou. I totally forgot that there were two different Ryan-themed topics.

And isn't SFGAd in New Jersey?

Is it just me or did some of the posts disappear from this topic? My post with the ET hat is gone, as are some of the posts afterwards. WTF?