coasterdude5

Watch Backwards Today! I started work on Backwards in late 2009 and it's been a tough movie to make but I'm excited about sharing the final product with you. I welcome your comments, critiques, etc. They help me improve! You can watch the movie here: http://www.coaster101.com/cd5/?p=178 You can also watch the movie on Youtube in HD: Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_9w1xgW9gc Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsOi_GmNzwc PLEASE POST YOUR REVIEWS! PLEASE POST YOUR REVIEWS! PLEASE POST YOUR REVIEWS! PLEASE POST YOUR REVIEWS!

I got back last night from a week in Orlando and while the crowds were pretty intense I managed to ride just about everything that I had wanted to ride. Magic Kingdom was the first stop on the trip: Thanks to speedy ride operations lines never got outrageously long and thanks to FastPass I got rerides on many of the bigger attractions at the park. You can see more photos here. Hi Magic Kingdom! There are lots of construction walls all up in Fantasyland. Yeah you know something big is going down behind these walls! The "butt" of Cinderella's castle. Tomorrowland, featuring stuff from tomorrow. Strollers, they're basically taking over the world. It's a small world, with too many people in line. This reminds me of that Family Guy episode. Despite the crowds, I rode all three mountains in one day. Epic win. No go ahead and call the family - there's room for a few more people. Big Thunder Mountain The castle turns into a mood ring once the sun sets. Thanks for reading. SeaWorld Orlando tomorrow!

Thanks to everybody who requested to preview Backwards. Unfortunately, I received many more requests than I was able to grant. However, do not worry, because you only have a few days until the movie premieres. I can't wait to share this film with everybody!

Backwards won't be released for a week, but I will be offering previews to a limited number of people. Please send me a private message if you are interested in seeing Backwards now!

1993 It's early 1993 and the grand opening of Six Flags South Carolina is only a little over a year away, and work on the park has really taken off over the past couple of weeks. The folks working hard to get the park ready have graciously allowed me to visit the park to follow the progress. Here's what's been happening this week. - Joe Martin I was told that Heatwave will be repainted yellow and green and will be renamed "Viper." The new green color can be seen in this shot. By the end of the week the coaster was completely repainted! Vulture will retain its name but will sport a dark red color scheme when it reopens. I'll have another update from the park very soon!

Thanks for the replies! Aside from the Gully Gulch rides, most of the park is pretty much "generic." I think the park fits in perfectly with the rest of the Six Flags parks (during the 90's time period).

1992 November 1st, 1992 CHARLESTON - Six Flags, Inc. announced plans today to invest over $30 million in the former Charleston Gardens Amusement Park and to reopen the park as Six Flags South Carolina in the spring of 1994. Six Flags, Inc., which owns properties such Six Flags over Georgia in Atlanta, Six Flags over Mid-America in St. Louis, and Six Flags Great America in Chicago, said in a news conference today that a large part of the $30 million dollars will go towards repairing the heavily damaged and flooded buildings which have been left to decay since Hurricane Hugo hit the coast in 1989. The remaining money will go towards new attractions and features inside the park, including Batman: The Ride, an inverted twisting and turning rollercoaster which will turn riders upside down a total of five times. A new carousel, ticket building, turnstile building, and a variety of shops and restaurants will also debut when the rebranded park opens. "We see this property as a great opportunity to establish a presence in the Carolinas," a spokesman said at the press conference. "We are dedicated to not only returning this park to the condition it was in before the storm, but improving it for future generations to enjoy." "Guests will see a very different park when it reopens," new park manager Jeffrey Bell said at the press conference. "We are excited about these changes. With the Six Flags brand also comes well-known characters such as Bugs Bunny, Batman and Scooby-Doo. Six Flags secretly acquired the property in late August and was able to begin repairing the infrastructure of the park. Representatives for the company expect construction on new rides and buildings to begin in January of 1993. They are anticipating the park to reopen by April of 1994. Charleston Gardens Amusement Park opened in 1975 and closed at the end of the 1989 season as a result of the extensive damage from Hurricane Hugo. The park was sold to the city of Charleston in 1990 for an undisclosed amount by Funtime Parks, Inc. Batman: The Ride will take riders upside down five times as they speed through Gotham City. Batman: The Ride will be part of a new area at the park named Gotham Studios. This is a very exciting day for Charleston! I am looking forward to following the development and revitalization of this park! - Joe Martin

1992 I've just learned that a huge announcement will be made tomorrow regarding the future of Charleston Gardens Amusement Park. No word on who is making the announcement. I've been told the announcement could be very positive or very negative. There's no telling at this point. Check back tomorrow to see what will become of the park! - Joe Martin

It looks great (and a lot better than the renderings showed)!

It's great to see a park making these kinds of upgrades! These changes might not be as marketable as a new ride, but they definitely improve the overall experience.

Backwards debuts in two weeks on Monday, May 31st. I'd like to hear what some of you believe will happen based on the information that has been released so far. It'll be interesting to see if anyone will come close to figuring out this story!

I have an interest in ride queues as well (not standing in them for extended periods of time, of course)! Some of my favorites are Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, Sheikra (because it's underneath my favorite coaster), Revenge of the Mummy, and The Beast.

It's a close tie between V2 at SFGAm and Mr. Freeze at SFStl. They both pack a punch! Runner ups would be RNRC at Hollywood Studios and Flight of Fear at KI.

I think this is a clever idea. The game was a large part of many of my friends' early computer gaming years and it still comes up from time to time. I think there's still enough interest to garner something like this. And who knows, maybe it would revitalize the game so that we could finally see a RCT4!

1992 Hello! My name is Joe Martin and I am a local journalist who has been assigned to the Charleston Gardens story! And what a story it has been these past few years! For those of you who might not have been following the story closely, I'll give you a quick recap: After Hugo, Funtime Parks, Inc. left the park untouched for the majority of 1991 as they dealt with insurers and continued the search for a new operator. Earlier this year, Funtime Parks, Inc. announced that they had handed the park over to the city of Charleston in an undisclosed deal. There were no numbers released on how much the transaction cost either side. Since that transaction took place, the city has cleaned out the heavily damaged buildings and have started soliciting the park to possible buyers, apparently offering quite a good deal to any taker. Now it is late August of 1992, nearly three years after Hurricane Hugo struck the coast. There are whispers throughout the city that a major announcement is approaching regarding the park. This could be anything from a buyer to the demolition of the entire park. I know the city is not going to hunt for a buyer forever. I was lucky enough to be given a tour of the shattered amusement park. The entrance building has completely removed, as well as a large part of the building that held the park offices. The carousel was damaged beyond repair. Gullly Gulch Grill and the Emporium next to it were both heavily damaged and were bulldozed by the city. All of the coasters' trains were safelty taken into storage before the storm hit. The interior of this game building was heavily damaged. I was told over 60% of the trees in the "upper level" of the park were lost in the storm. The SkyWheel ride partially collapsed during the storm and was removed earlier this year. Thank you for following me through this tour! I will bring you updates as soon as we hear more about this announcement! - Joe

Backwards now has a release date! Backwards will be released on May 31, 2010. The film is nearing completion and the upcoming weeks will allow for tweaking, voice work, and other minor details of post-production. I expect the movie to be around 15 minutes long - this movie hits the ground running and doesn't stop until the credits roll. The suspenseful twists and turns of the movie will likely keep you on the edge of your seat.

This is one of the few construction projects I've been following this year - it really looks like a solid attraction. I think this is the perfect fit for Kennywood as it ventures out into the world of the launch.

Backwards Trailer Released Work is continuing steadily on my thiller machinima, Backwards. Nearly all shots have been filmed, now begins the long process of post-production. Right now I am looking at releasing the film sometime in the second half of May. I'll let you know a final date in the coming weeks. Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8TdSsTvRNw Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8TdSsTvRNw

Thanks! Yes, I was a assigned a seat on Diamondback, but they asked my group if we had a preference. Yeah, the night ride on the Beast sorta changed my life. Fixed Nice trip report and great photos, and it looks like you chose a good day for your first visit. Quick question, did Backlot Stunt Coaster get new trains like at King's Dominion(the new one's look really cheap)? I thought it was just a new paint job, but they were noticeably different from previous pictures I've seen. I got a "dusky" ride on Diamondback - it was pretty insane as well! I didn't notice any trims, it seemed like a very "untrimmed" ride to me. The trims on Diamondback were noticeable, though.

After my first trip to the park, I feel like I can weigh in on a few of these issues! It was unfortunate that Invertigo was down for most of the day as I was (somewhat) looking forward to riding it. I saw it testing before the park opened but never saw it with people on it (then again I was on the opposite side of the park until the late afternoon). I think a large B&M invert would be a perfect fit for the park! Unfortunately, I feel Flight Deck's time might be coming to a close within the next decade, and to see an invert in its place would be excellent. I'm not bothered by Stunt Coaster car paint job - it doesn't really affect the ride experience, though I do feel they looked better before.

I went to Kings Island on Saturday and although the park was slightly crowded, I was able to ride basically everything I wanted to, with the exception of a few rides that were closed (Son of Beast, Invertigo). Here's the rundown: Diamondback - 2x The Beast - 3x Backlot Stunt Coaster - 1x Vortex - 1x Racer (blue trai) - 1x Flight Deck - 1x Firehawk - 1x Flight of Fear - 1x Drop Tower - 1x Diamondback was the first ride of the day. I rode in the middle for the first ride and while it was an incredible ride, it didn't quite blow me away. The airtime wasn't quite there, but it might have been the part of the train in which I was sitting. Again, the ride was great but I didn't have a burning desire to ride it again. However, later in the day I rode it in the back and I enjoyed it a bit more. There was a lot more floater and the whole ride seemed to be faster. Vortex, Racer, Firehawk, Flight of Fear were all pretty good. But it was my rides on The Beast that changed my coaster enthusiast career. The first ride was great, but the ride in the pitch black was what did it for me. I've never had a coaster ride so disorienting and that left me "in the dark" (pun intended). Since I don't like typing a lot, I'll let the photo captions conclude this trip report! Overall Kings Island is a nice park with a great selection of coasters. If they got Son of Beast up and running, it'd be a supreme park. That looks like Kings Island to me! Paris or Cincinnati? This was the only time I saw Invertigo run... You can't escape the wrath of overpriced coffee! I feel like I'm under an anorexic Spaceship Earth! I see Diamondback on the horizon! The drop looks vertical enough! They're about to not get wet! Diamondback really makes a splash! I miss the post-lift teaser drop... Meh. I have a really dirty mind. These people are crazy!!! Hahahaha coaster porn!!1!!! "I think they hit them with hammers before putting them in this box." Right, because a 200+ foot fall won't scratch it! You're about to be high! World's greatest? Tell that to Dollywood! Diamondback pretty much owns The Crypt. Ride Warriors! Alright, no more Diamondback! If Cedar Fair ever somehow loses the right to "The Crypt," they could always rename it Cube: The Ride. No caption can do this justice. Vortex wasn't too bad! This part was slightly painful. I believe they repainted this ride sometime while I was at the park. Racer was pretty rough. I've always wanted to ride this. I suceeded. Speed! This ride was a little too topsy turvy for my tastes. She sure is pretty though! This shot fascinates me. Nice logo! See ya later, Firehawk! $20 per person? No thanks! Does anyone elses feet hurt really badly right after they get off one of these? Too bad. Though short, Flight Deck was really sweet! Swooosh. I get delirium from looking at Delirium. Thanks for reading! I might upload some more shots later.

Watch Backwards Today! I started work on Backwards in late 2009 and it's been a tough movie to make but I'm excited about sharing the final product with you. I welcome your comments, critiques, etc. They help me improve! You can watch the movie here: http://www.coaster101.com/cd5/?p=178 You can also watch the movie on Youtube in HD: Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_9w1xgW9gc Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsOi_GmNzwc PLEASE POST YOUR REVIEWS! PLEASE POST YOUR REVIEWS! PLEASE POST YOUR REVIEWS! PLEASE POST YOUR REVIEWS! CD5Productions will return in May of 2010 with a chilling thriller entitled "Backwards." The film will revolve around an FBI agent who goes face-to-face with a terrorist threatening to detonate a bomb on a subway train carrying the agent's wife and daughter. The film will be one of CD5's darkest to date. Backwards follow's January's Beyond Pixelation which mixed real life with RCT3 animation. Filming is currently underway and should wrap in early May. A subway train travels down the track. Christian, an FBI agent, talks with his wife before leaving for work. Car troubles force his wife and daughter to take the subway into the city.

I joined a couple of days ago. From looking at the park discounts offered, I noticed the card would pay for itself by the end of the summer. It was a no brainer!

October 1, 1989 Hurricane Hugo struck the city of Charleston, South Carolina just after midnight on September 22, 1989. While the city is recovering from the seemingly unreal extent of the damage, some are already wondering about the condition of the city's Charleston Gardens Amusement Park, which closed the week before Hurricane Hugo made landfall. The park was nearing a closure by its owners, Funtime Parks, Inc. when the hurricane made landfall due to slacking attendance. A damage report was released today. Extensive damage was reported to the: - turnstile building - guest relations building - carousel building - "Gully Gulch Grill" sitdown restaurant - Harbortown counterservice restaurant - Sumter Emporium - SkyWheel Moderate damage was reported to the: - Derecho rollercoaster - Gardenhill Pass amphitheater - German Bros. Midway Games - Parachute Falls tower ride Flood damage was reported in nearly every building in the "lower level" of the amusement park. Some of these buildings will require gutting to prevent molding. The park's three steel coasters were left mostly undamaged. Funtime Parks, Inc. said the park will remain closed through the 1990 season and thereafter until further notice.

I'm really happy Green Bay made the decision to purchase the Zippin Pippin. No matter how little they can use, at least the "idea" of the coaster can live on somewhere else rather than being forgotten.