simon8899

Judging by the night Windseeker pics the program controlling the ride was the Master Control Program from original Tron - damn looks like it.... You really are in counting all the credits.... I normally don't do any kiddie and only the taller family coasters - no wild mouses anymore (yes -I get old and they make my back hurt)....

A good collection of inversion rides....

I've come to expect that modern accelerator coasters break down on a regular basis, I guess the technology working inside is just to haywire.... I wonder why 30+ year old Shuttle-Loops are still working so fine to date...maybe the enigneers should do which is prooven and reliable technology...

The sale of the Schwarzkopf Thriller to the US....

I also agree. I even mostly go alone as a) most of my friends don't ride (that much) and b) I can use single-rider lines if available....

The first drop of Schwarzkopf Looping Racer Nessie is also straight - or the first drop of SFMM Goliath - and both are not painful.

I was in California in May and can only strongly advise to hire a car. To go by public transport - especially north of LA - is horrible. For example there is no continuous train-service between LA and SF - why thats so is beyond me. In LA itself there's no global transit authority as every county has its own operations that are mostly not synchronized - if you plan to use those expect long travel-times. If you're comming from out of USA/Canada have an international license ready - if from the EU at least a purple license - better a new card-type license. Comming from germany car-driving is easy and relaxed compared to what I'm used to - even in cities. But expect traffic jams in LA from 7-10am and 4-7pm - travel between for example Long Island and SFMM could take up to 2 1/2 hours. Which is still better than by public transit... If you still don't want to hire a car I'd advise to book on shuttle-busses run by private operators. Admitted they cost a bit but offer swift highway transfer to most sights including all LA and SF amusement parks.

@WFChris As kid I was often visiting relatives in the soviet-led GDR (German Democratic Republic) and there was a carnival once - after my parents saw the condition of the rides they prohibited me riding them. So I did believe that report. However I'm nevertheless happy that in North Korea things are obviously better.

July: Sommerland Syd - hitting the Vekoma Invertigo August: Sommerdom - Hamburg summer carnival with the Schwarzkopf double-loop Teststrecke September: Business trip to Amsterdam. If weather fits Attractiepark Slagharen (1979 Schwarzkopf Looping-Star, 1984 Weber Traumboot, 1973 Schwarzkopf Monster, 1976 Schwarzkopf Enterprise, 1986 Weber Fliegender Teppich - the Weber rides are extremely rare today) on the way to Amsterdam and Walibi Holland (Vekoma Woodie, Boomerang and Intamin Mega-Coaster) on the way back home

I've read a report on North Korean parks which sounded quite frightening - restraints not working, track and supports rusting, metal beams in the way of tall poeple's heads onride - at least the second pic looks like there've been some improvement.

Great Photo TR! On Colossos = I've never seen them using the second train. I've never been to Heide-Park during the holidays - but my friends also have only seen one train running. On Topple Tower = I'd love to ride on of that soon....

Well, if you only guess by the coaster layout the Cylons are much tougher than humans.....

Thanx for the additional Katapul pics.... @Kumbarider1993 I hope to get onto a Looping Star on my way to Amsterdam at Attractionpark Slagharen - keep fingers crossed for dry weather in mid-September....

Visited Adventuredome last month - well Inverter was the best ride - but Canyon Blaster was my worst Arrow/Vekoma sit-down to date....

Normally I'd say a sitdown looper don't need shoulder-restriants. Even the Maurer-Söhne Skywheels - which let you hang completly upside-down only have hydraulic lapbars. On other rides IMO it also depends on the seats. For lapbars you need sportscar like seats like those made by Recaro so your whole body is supported when the train is doing kind of fancy moves like cobra-rolls, zero-g-rolls, etc. Schwarzkopf originally had only lapbars - but later introduced shoulder-harnesses for reasons I don't know. But like on Testrack they've now new trains with only lapbars again. IMO coasters who have "only" loops need no shoulder restraints. In the US the situation isn't really clear to me after I've been there. For example you've Montezooma's Revenge with lapbars and seatbelts (good) and Revolution with lapbars and shoulder restraints (horrible) - so it can't be as some said that loopers in California now NEED shoulder-restraints. Vekoma/Arrow loopers only have the single shoulder-restraints - so it can't be as some said that loopers in California now NEED a secondary restraint system. In germany we've something called "right to life" - meaning a ride only needs to fulfill the security regulations that were applicable when the ride was built. So today a 30+ years old Schwarzkopf looper would do fine with lapbars even if a new law would prohibit them. Two years ago I even rode some very old flatrides on a small town carnival that had no restraints at all - it was built in the 60s! The only real reason for shoulder restraints is IMO on case of a ride breakdown. I know that once a Schwarzkopf looper was stuck upside down inside a loop after an axle broke due to lacking maintenance - and poeple were hanging upside down in the lapbars till the fire-department arrived to get them out. No major injuries but poeple had major bruises on their upper thighs.

Is the coaster a Zierer or a "self-built" Zierer? I just wonder as the chinese like to copy the Arrow/Vekoma loopers....

The Discovery looks like a smaller version of a ride called Grand Canyon we had on the german carnival circuit in the early 90s. It was similar like a Mondial Roll-Over but weren't doing any inversions. Miss that kind of ride....

The covered ride is the same as King Kong in danish Sommerland Syd - the danish ride spins you around at incredible speeds, feels like a flat Schwarzkopf Monster.

One question I have: Do the Looping Starships stop upside down?

Legoland Germany -> Hansaland -> Hansapark

Lagoon seems to be a cool park. How many loops does the Schwarzkopf looper have? - But those loopers all kick even after now mostly 30+ years! And hey - they've a Schwarzkopf Jet-Star - miss that on our carnival-circuit like the Katapult. Plus a Zierer High-Energy!

Well I think the "older" engineers of todays german-swiss coaster business in companies like Zierer, Gerstelauer, Maurer-Söhne, Intamin and B&M mostly know each other - from their time at Schwarzkopf KG... If you add Vekoma and Zamperla steel-coaster business is easily in european hands. And of course Werner Stengel Engineering is designing the tracks of - by gut-feeling - 99% of coasters. Entering the thrill-ride business is a tough move for Zierer - but as the other companies proove could turn out a good revenue. On the other hand ten years ago no one barely knew Gestelauer. But Zierer built together with BHS the Olympia Looping (german carnival) and the Jetline (Gröna-Lund) after Schwarzkopf KG went bancrupt. So I think they know what they're doing.... Also the other german companies arose from that bancruptcy: Maurer-Söhne purchased the coaster-production from BHS - Gerstelauer was founded in Gerstelau (Schwarzkopf KG's hometown) by egnineers finding themselves without a company.

After my great US trip my first park in Germany is Heide-Park - of course to check out the new Krake. But at first a ride on the magnificient Colossos. Then on to Krake, the new B&M diver. Very smooth and extremely silent - if it wouldn't be for the splash and screaming girls you can sleep right next to the track without beeing wakened by the car running by. Not just a lucky shot - they let you hang there for a few seconds. The drop is good but a Gerstelauer tower-drop is even better. The splash - on a hot day the poeple can shower in the sidewalk behind the Immelmann. Overall the ride is nice - but as nice beeing the neighbor of boring Krake was mostly all-day a walk-on. Lines on Colossos were much longer. Big Loop is still the smoothest Arrow/Vekoma looper I know. Corkscrews nicely located over the sidewalk and lake. Welcome to Huss-Land - well not completely anymore. As it became the Maya-Valley the Condor was replaced with a new Zierer Waveswinger. Huss Breakdancer. Huss Enterprise and Top-Spin - with Colossos looming behind. This place once belonged to a Huss Rainbow - later on the Round-Up, formerly in the front section of the park a re-located here. This ride was already around when the park opened in 1978 and made by Klaus Engineering. Huss Magic. I love the Enterprise! Colossos - airtime to the last bunnyhop. Still the best ride in the park, energizing youz every time anew Desert Race launching - IMO another "nice" coaster. Launch is good - but no top-hat or inversion.... Big Monster - no german park is complete without a piece of Schwarzkopf engineering.... Well and before anyone asks: I skipped Limit - a Vekoma SLC - this time, my shoulders thanked me.

Looks like a very good park - with many unique or seldom-found rides. Plus they've a weight-drop shuttle-loop by Schwarzkopf... But Brasil is so far away....

Zierer is also building the High-Energy - an inversion high-ride. Looks like they're expanding their field of business into thrillrides. For me this coaster looks like a Eurofighter-variant - wich doesn't mean it has to be bad...