cfc

^Reminds me of an old SNL "Weekend Update" story about a terrible plane crash that took the lives of hundreds of people: "Fortunately, no Americans were killed."

Diddles?

Apparently they don't. I've heard the design was changed because Universal didn't like the idea of cars rolling back into the station (the original evac plan.) So what they do now is anyone's guess. Hell, Spider-Man is just at the other end of City Walk--let him handle any evacs.

Killer pigs.

Great pictures, Will--particularly of Figment (have yet to snag a decent shot of him) and HM's Bride. I admire you all for undergoing the toture that is American Idol.

For me, this is win-win!

^What does an old Neil Diamond song have to do with this? Oh, wait--"heartline," not "Heart Light." My mistake.

I think everyone needs to read this article from Salon.com: http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2009/04/28/1976_swine_flu/. Although the current situation isn't exactly the same as the swine flu "outbreak" of 1976, it does show how how such outbreaks are often accompanied by even worse outbreaks of utter foolishness.

The perfect name has already been posted--Pink Torpedo: The Ride.

The roughest part of Alpengeist has always been the cobra roll (never had a problem with the rest of it though). The operations have been "off" on this ride for a few seasons. I was there for a few hours on Saturday night, and the place was hopping (the music festival was still going on). It didn't start to clear out until after 8:00, but I did sneak in some night rides on Apollo's Chariot, the Big Bad Wolf, and the Loch Ness Monster. Griffon had a 45-minute line at 9:00.

I thought they were going for "family friendly". An innocent baby, suckling at his or her mother's bosum--what could be more "family friendly" than that?

"My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo! "I like to sink her with my pink torpedo!" Retheming Zep to Spinal Tap's "Big Bottom" would truly rock! They could move the park to Stockton, Calif., and rechristen it as "Themeland."

As I recall from a TPR event at SFMM last year, Tim Burkhardt said that the OTSR rule was statewide (but I could be misremembering this). Please keep the thread on topic--BGW, not West Coast retraints.

So, the best coaster in Scotland is a Pinfari inverted? Well, I still love Scotland.

There's a whole thread devoted to this already (just a few topics down from yours): http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=50337. You can post your photo (and any comments you have) there. Please use the search function before posting a new bit of news. Chances are that it's already been covered. Thank you, Chuck

The original developers made a half-assed attempt to draw families with younger children with the "Born in the USA" section, which had minimal (at best) theming, a Vekoma Rollerskater, some off-the-shelf kiddie rides, and a teeny tribute to the Banana Splits. Adding some more rides that kids and parents can do together is, at best, a minor improvement. I wish the new operators well.

SFMM had added the OSRs to Revolution just before the state of California made them mandatory for coasters with inversions. Montezooma's Revenge was, indeed, "grandfathered in" when the law was passed. And getting back to BGW, when you take your Mom down to the Rhine River Cruise STR8FXXXINEDGE, go down the hill on the Germany side (by Land of the Dragons). It's fairly steep, but she'll have only a few steps to worry about at the bottom.

We have a coaster that used to be at BGW? Wow never knew that! Oh now that I think about it, it is that one up in new market that always taunts me as I go by it. Yep--the Wildcat. It's at Adventure Park USA in New Market, Md. It was called "Die Wildkatze" at Busch (1976-83), and it used to sit where the loading station for the Big Bad Wolf is today. Sorry it's not Drachen Fire. Well, you're probably better off that it isn't Drachen Fire--trust me.

^Oh, that Python--silly me. I thought they'd freeze-dried that coaster, so all you had to do was haul it to wherever in your car, place the pile of magical coaster dust on the ground, spray it with a hose, then get the hell out of the way, lest you be crushed by the "insta-grow" structure.

^Thank you, Zach. ^^Yeah, stupid engineers, screwin' up our fun and photo ops.

OK, I'm confused. "Python" = "something Schwarzkopf?" An old Arrow corkscrew that's probably being molded into lawn sculptures? (Well, BGW did get one of the old Python trains.) BGW did have some Schwarzkopf coasters way back when (one of them is operating in Maryland now).

Well, it should help that park--especially of they bulldoze Anaconda in the bargain.

1. Are you visiting on a weekday? If so, you can probably squeeze in all the major attractions without much trouble. The park can be a bit of a zoo on Saturdays, though. I would allow a day-and-a-half if you and your Mom want to take in all the shows. 2. You can avoid the stairs that run between the Loch Ness Monster and Germany (they're basically a short cut). But the park's terrain is very hilly between Ireland and France (not so much if you go through Italy to Germany and France). She should be able to get by on a scooter just fine (although you will have to negotiate some stairs to get to the Rhine River Cruise). PS--And thank you. You've given me an idea for another segment--BGW and the Mobility Impaired. BTW--you can download the park's guide for the disabled here.

^Apparently, engineers at BGW came to believe that having two trains in the loops at the same time put too much stress on the structure. That's why they adjusted the lifthills to ensure that it can't be done (at least not easily). Jeff (pdkcoaster) can explain this better than I can (in fact, he's the one who shared this info with me). I agree that it's a shame that we'll never see two trains in the loops again (that's what Arrow designed it for), but I'm not an engineer.

Black-and-white seems appropriate for Dollywood--adds to the "old timey" atmosphere.