LoneRider92

I accept your challenge Mr. Ingvar. Only one of us may have Hades. I propose a duel for her/him/it! May the better man win. In all seriousness though, I really need to get on El Toro or T Express or any other plug 'n play at some point in my life. I love wooden coasters, and they seem like the creme of the crop.

Spotted Cow from New Glarus Brewing. Us Cheeseheads sure know how to make great beer.

It really is surprising to me how gigantic the ride is looking from the webcam, and it's not even at it's highest point yet. This could be something really special.

I'm almost getting the vibe Yin goes around telling people how awful Hades is so no one will go on it, and when no one's looking he pulls a picture of the corkscrew out of his pocket and pets it while whispering "Soon you'll be all mine. I tell everyone else I love Outlaw Run, but you're the only one for me. It'll be just the two of us and we can eat all the cinnamon bread we want and ride over and over again and we'll be together forever."

I think enthusiasts get too hyped up over a new coaster design or a new ride in general, and when it doesn’t blow them away they are upset and call the new ride a failure. When I saw the concept art for X-Flight when it was released, I figured it didn’t look like a top-ten coaster by any stretch of the imagination; instead, I figured it to be a solid ride that offered a different experience than any other ride. After going on it, that was exactly the experience I had. I thought it actually felt more like a flyer with a little more oomph and less complicated restraints, and I was perfectly happy with the ride. This summer I managed to make it to Cedar Point and tried Gatekeeper towards the end of the season and I ended up liking it even a little more than X-Flight. The trick for me is riding in the back seat; you get the hang time on the rollover drop, followed by surprisingly strong forces for a short period, back to the drawn-out flying feeling, and repeat from there. The rides aren’t going to rocket to the top of my coaster lists, but they are at least, for me, an improved flyer that are worth at least a ride or two. Unfortunately, I worry about the sustainability of these coasters due to their design, which is also the big reason you will never find a B&M Wing coaster with intensity along the lines of Batman or Kumba. If you haven’t heard of moments before, jot this down in your textbooks; the farther forces are applied from the center of an object, the greater the moment on the object will be. With the seats located a rather long ways from the center mass of the train, the moment of the train going through drops and turns is higher than other coasters, and there is a reason they are called bending moments. Would you want to be riding a forceful wing coaster when the whole train splits in two down the middle? And that makes me a little curious how much more work the trains will require each year in the future to repair them. The effect of moments adds up after time, so each year it might require more and more work to repair the trains. If B&M has thought ahead, however, and made the trains extra beefy or compensated for the forces, then they should be good to go. And while the harness can be a little bothersome, if you ride it by holding the vest away from you and using it as handles during the ride (“popping the suspenders” I like to say), then your chest will be nice and free during the ride, and no constricting. ^ And I'm not if I'd want to be putting my hands up during the ride anyways. Those keyholes are *pre-tty* tight. So, while wing coasters are the “in” thing now, will they start to show problems in the future? Who knows, but I do know I enjoy the heck out of them. Just expect a different, enjoyable ride and you'll be one happy coaster nerd.

So the year I thought Hades was running the best it has been over the past few years, let alone giving the most awesome rides I've had on it since my first ride when it first opened, it absolutely tanks in the polls. Yeesh. I must have built up a tolerance. Ah well, I seem to be a fan of things a lot of other people dislike as well, so it's nothing new for me. More legroom on the Hades bandwagon. With Outlaw Run being ranked a top three ride, however, I am excited for Goliath this year and what it brings to the table.

Stress Express I can live with. It's kind of catchy.

Normally I don't post in here because Facebook is usually a wash for me, but I did have to drop by and commend Robb for smacking down a couple of uppity Blackfish supporters from a couple of days ago. He absolutely killed it. Link linkity link Click me "Oh? In that case I'll take a Cheesy Crunch Gordita, please."

We're looking at a -75* wind chill a couple hours north, so Monday is shaping up to be an *awesome* day. Hopefully we don't go Day After Tomorrow in Gurnee and the existing structure freezes and cracks into little bits.

This has probably been asked before, but when creating a scenario and trying to advance past the building on the park land, I always get the message saying "the path to the map edge is too complex/incomplete" as a result of trying to create entrance plazas. I basically have to scale everything down to bare bones (single wide, single path) and a lot of work goes to waste. Is there a guideline as to how to get around this/play by the rules and still create a satisfactory entrance plaza (at least paths that are 2+ blocks wide)? (I know "owning all land" once you have started building the park royally screws up pre-built paths outside the park, so it's not a viable option after starting building. Or is it...)

We have an air temperature on Sunday night expected to be around -24* F. Add in the -50* F windchill in Green Bay and we're looking at potentially the coldest game in NFL history. So basically a normal Wisconsin winter.

Well thanks for that Packers. At least the time I lost studying was not in vain. Holy hell what a game. Cheeseheads are still alive!

Oh my gosh. I want it. Now.

... I just must have one of the highest pain thresholds in human existence. Did I find the ride rough? Of course, it's a wooden coaster; however, even a few people I went on the ride with who had ridden the prior version of Hades several times remarked how much smoother the ride was this past year and how great it was (it honestly was a complete reversal from the past few seasons). A few other wooden coasters I have ridden seemed to be MUCH rougher than Hades (heck, the back seat just down the path on Cyclops is **clavicle-crackling-ly** rough on that drop past the station - it did get some TLC last year though on other sections). Oh well. Now I really look forward to getting more rides this coming year. <----- Hades' one and only fanboy.

The main problem with the ridiculous explosion of theme parks in China is a MAJOR engineering point in general; sustainability. Every year there seem to be more and more elaborate parks being built with more impressive rides than the last, but on many of TPR's trips and others in general, most parks didn't look that busy at all (and if that wasn't true, then I'm just blowing hot air). The theme park situation there seems to reflect the state of the country overall; they are building soooooo much so quickly, there is NO WAY most of these places will make it very long. Sure, the business for companies right now is very nice and the parks might be open for a few seasons, but the theme park supply (among other amenities in the country) is surpassing the demand and the gap only seems to be growing. It won't be very long until these expansive resorts with world-class rides have to be shut down due to the fact that they just don't have enough visitors. On a more relevant note, the show is looking great this year as always and I'm really excited to see what other announcements are coming soon. The PolerCoaster seems to have made an impression last year; what designs might be the next hot thing in the industry?

Hooray, IAAPA time! Makes an engineer happy with all of the technology advancements and new plans being unveiled.

Wow. As an engineering student, this project is extremely intriguing. As a roller coaster enthusiast, like most of you, I am more than a little surprised that someone actually is planning to construct a model. I remember when I first saw the design, I had filed it under the "A very interesting concept that will unfortunately never see the light of day" category. As with all other large ride installations (especially at locations that aren't explicitly theme parks), I'll have my reservations until they actually start prepping for construction. Many ambitious projects have faltered before this one, even when construction steps are being taken. Here's hoping it comes to fruition though. It certainly would be unique. Edit: Well, it looks like steps are being taken to move more towards a full-fledged resort. That makes me that much more hopeful that it sounds like there is a cohesive plan.

Well, Hades is still one of my favorite rides of all time (and I know I'm in the *very* minor minority), but I can honestly say I'm not a big fan of the operating style of Mt. Olympus. Being so close to the Dells, I've never stayed at any of their locations and I figure I never would want to. The procedure does seem to pretty much be 1) Buy out location 2) Put some Mt. Olympus title on the location 3) Move on to the next one. The motels they buy out aren't very grandeur and they make very few, if any, improvements once they acquire it. I’m all for having people come visit and have some fun in our neck of the woods, but it’s becoming a little harder each year to want to give them my money, and I’m almost getting to a point of advising people not to visit. The only nice things this year were the revamp on Hades and buy-one-get-one admissions towards the end of the season; everything else is a tough sell. I’ll still go for Hades next year, but there had better be at least some attempt of maintaining the ride.

Sorry if I was stealing anyone's thunder by bumping this, but I figured it was fitting since another coaster season is drawing to a close and, hey, it's in the interest of science. So without further ado... What would rides be like ON THE MOON??????

Screw the new consoles being released, the biggest thing this year in gaming is the theme park/roller coaster genre. It might just be me, but I'm also hoping the wooden coasters have gotten an upgrade (maybe Intamin trains and prefab-style track, Gerstlauer trains, some other things). I'll be totally okay, however, if there's only minor changes in that department with how good the steel coasters are looking.

If on a wing and a prayer this proposal gets passed, I feel that it could possibly open the door to other classic rides being resurrected or at least considered for replication, such as the Rye Aeroplane, Riverside Bobs, and perhaps even the Crystal Beach Cyclone, but only if the ride ends up being successful. But that seems to be a long way off. $30 million is a steep asking price for a city to consider, especially if the location sounds less than desirable. (From the Midwest yaheydere, I have no clue what the area is like) It's great to hear it's even being considered though!

Ho hum, another day, another mind-numbing officiating call against a Wisconsin team. Good grief. We get the Fail Mary with the Pack last year and now this? I'm afraid to see what other sort of nonsense will happen this year. I wasn't awake to see the play, but I have seen the highlight. WAT. There was so much wrong with that play, but I don't really feel like getting into it. The only thing I can say folks is in the coming years, watch out for a guy named Melvin Gordon. The guy can flat-out ball.

If you think the free admission could cause problems, how about the fact that they are offering all-you-can-drink alcohol too? I'm not entirely sure about the details, but my mom told me they are doing all-you-can-drink for $20 or something along those lines tonight. In Wisconsin, I can see this event going over well sales-wise, but I can only imagine the chaos. I would have gone to give a report (and partake in the shenanigans), but I'm back at school now. And I guess I'm the only person in the entire universe who loves Hades. Until my return trip to Cedar Point a couple of weeks ago, it sitting at the top of my coaster list. Oh well. Shorter lines for me. Guess that’s why I’m the Lone Rider; I got no friends.

Well I am one surprised sonovagun. Here's looking forward to the 29th to see what we're up against.

Everyone seems gung-ho on it being a Rocky Mountain or an Intamin, but what if we're looking at the first RCCA woodie built in years?