jonnyfingers

Inverted Hyper perhaps? ^Speed in mph is around 83.

Dragon Khan at Port Aventura. Not a bad coaster to pop my inversion cherry on!

For your first question jerk physics is used by roller coaster engineers to work out the maximum accelleration and maximum jerk a human body can take while also making the ride enjoyable. Jerk is the rate of change of acceleration. Simply put if a roller coaster is designed to accellerate too fast over a short period of time most likely the riders will be, at least, uncomfortable and, at most, injured (due to whiplash for example). As acceleration can be measured in both positive and negative values so that same consideration has to be applied to deceleration. So brake runs have to slow the rider gradually over a specific length of time to avoid uncomfort and injury. Also of note is that even if the train is turning around a bend in the track while keeping the same speed, it is still tecncially accelerating as it is changing direction. So again a drastic change in direction at any speed will cause "jerk". So when designing a ride, for roller coaster engineers I'd imagine jerk physics would be extremely important in creating an enjoyable ride. Oh and for your second question about Formula Rossa. Jerk physics comes into the equation if you are accelerating very rapidly and then try to go vertical rapidly. The body of the rider would experience significant forces if it wasn't done right. At the speed that coster reaches the accent to vertical would have to be a gradual one. In my opinion that wouldn't make for a very thrilling ride. Also I think Formula Rossa was built to mimic what it's like to be in a Formula 1 car. So plenty of speed, close to the ground so you feel that speed a bit more, as well as some tight turns.

Traveled from Europe to New York and Connecticut this summer to stay with my girlfriend's sister and have a bit of a holiday. Had trips planned to SFNE, Lake Compounce and to Coney Island for the Cyclone. Unfortunately Hurricane Irene had other plans and made it to none of the parks. So a huge amount of missed credits, and I won't be back to the USA again for a few years.

Could this be What Lies Beneath? http://www.abc-engineering.ch/ride/dark/darkride_vertical.pdf

Can't wait for the TPR Europe trip after seeing those photos. Hopefully this coaster will convince some of the parks in the UK to get one. Still hoping for a terrain hugging woodie in the valley at Alton Towers similar to Boulder Dash. Unfortunately if it's not a "world's first" Merlin don't seem interested. Roll on Europa park in 2012!

G-Force at Drayton Manor. Such a weirdly designed coaster. Whey anyone thought and lift hill that went halfway up an inverted loop was a good idea I have no clue!

Just a single drop. As I said a few post ago, you get raised up, there are animatronic Judges who pass sentence on you and then you drop as if you're on the gallows. Ride over.

I had a mad idea that it could be a 4D movie and a drop tower put together. Nemesis is an alien monster right? So maybe the 4D movie could put you deep in its lair with a mixture of a 3D movie and practical effects (moving tentacles, the usual jumps caused by air and water) but during the movie you could be raised up about 15 feet slowly without noticing. At the climax of the movie you could suddenly be dropped unexpectadly. Might not be possible but would make the most of a small ride area.

London Dungeon's drop tower is themed around being a criminal about to be executed on the gallows. You board on the ground floor and are then raised up. There are animatronci judges that give you your sentence and then you drop.

The funniest thing I heard recently was when I last went on Stealth at Thorpe Park. I was using the single rider queue so got sent to a random seat. I got in and strapped myself in fast, so as not to hold up the launch. Eventually I looked to my right to see who I was sitting next to me and it was a man who looked in his late 70s. Now I'm not ageist but he didn't look in the best of health. As we were about to launch he turned to me and asked "Was this a bad idea?". All I could do was laugh and then we were launched. 30 seconds later, back in the station, he looked like he had had a heart attack. I was panicked for a moment before he started smiling and declared he was queuing up for a second go! Good on him!

Hi, I haven't been to Blackpool for years but I can tell you a bit about Alton Towers and Thorpe Park. As you'll be going to both parks midweek there shouldn't be any big crowds so you will probably get on every ride pretty easily. If you are on your own, or don't mind breaking up a group, I'd recommend using the singles rider queues at Alton Towers if there is any sort of a queue. I went on a weekend in April and rode Nemesis 10 times in about 25 minutes using the single rider queue. It also allows you to walk straight on to Thirteen most of the time. As for what rides to do I would recommend getting the Sky Ride from near the park entrance to the Dark Forest first. This will give you some nice views of the park and you'll get a feel for what to expect, and how much walking you will have to do! Do Thirteen and Rita if there if it looks like the park will be busy. After that make your way anti-clockwise around the park, so go to Air and Nemesis. You should have no problem fitting things in if the park isn't busy so enjoy walking around the park and do everything you can. I would recommend leaving Oblivion until later in the day. I found that the rush of adrenaline you get on it made every other ride seem tame in comparison! As for Thorpe Park, again midweek it should not be that busy. Also it looks like you have at least a full day, and possibly part of a second day, at the park so again you should get everything done. If the park is anyway busy head for Saw: The Ride first. This gets some of the longest queues later on in the day. Colossus is pretty close to Saw so do that next. Then you can either go on the flume ride which is that side of the park or go to Nemesis Inferno. After Nemesis have a go on Stealth, if the queues are long but the single rider queue isn't that long use that queue. You will usually get a few quick rides using the single rider queue. If you want a bit of confusion have a go on X:\No Way Out. It's possibly the strangest coaster I've ever been on! If you like getting wet (not very desirable in England in October!) have a go on Drenched. However you will get completely wet so be warned. You can try the newest attraction, Storm Surge, but every time I've went to the park the queues have been ridiculous and it doesn't look like a ride that would interest me. I would recommend the flat rides, some of which are very good. Again you should have plenty of time to get everything done so I don't think you'll need much of a plan. As for food and pubs Alton Towers really is in the middle of nowhere. The village of Alton itself is quite nice and has a decent countryside pub if I remember correctly. Thorpe Park is in quite an Urban area and there isn't much of interest around, just a few small commuter towns that have standard restaurants and pubs. As for food in the park it's of the usual Theme Park quality. Someone else might be able to recommend a place but none come to mind. Most of all I hope you enjoy your trip. I'm going to Alton Towers and Drayton Manor on the 8th and 9th of October and can't wait. So have fun and post a trip report when you're done!

^ Thanks for that.

I was on Dudley Do Right's Ripsaw Falls back in the year 2000. We were going through the ride and down the various drops when we finally got to the highest one. We were just at the edge when suddenly the water stopped and I was staring at a metal slide instead of a torrent of gushing water! Luckily whatever safety systems there were kicked in, our boat stopped before the edge, and some maintenance personal came to evacuate us. It was pretty cool to walk down through the back of the ride that the general public never see. However the ride was too busy for the rest of the day so I never got to finish it. Could have been a lot worse if the water stopped after we were gone over the edge!

Quick question for anyone who might have an answer. I am SERIOUSLY interested in doing the mainland Europe trip as they are all parks I was planning to visit in the next few years either way. My question is as I'm in the UK, and already quite close to mainland Europe, and do not need transatlantic flights would the cost be less? Or is the price purely to cover park entry, accommodation and ground transport once in Europe?

Hello all, I'm Jonathan. I'm from Ireland originally but living in the UK now, just a short distance away from Thorpe Park. I'm a member of the RCCGB but would love to go on a few TPR trips too. I'm just back from the USA where unfortunately Hurricane Irene spoiled my chances of ticking some new coasters at SFNE, Lake Compounce and on Cyclone at Coney Island. Never mind I'll be back again hopefully, maybe eve to one of your crazy TPR events!

Probably posted before but here's the No Limits recreation from the ride design plans.

I'll be at SFNE before the end of the month hopefully. Travelling all the way from the UK and can't wait for some Bizarro!

Last time I was in Orlando I researched bike hire and the only place I could find was 4 or 5 miles away and difficult to get to via public transport. http://orlandobikerental.com/ It does get good reviews however so might be worth a look.

Hi guys, Looking for a bit of advice. Myself and the girlfriend will be visiting her sister who lives in Connecticut this summer. I've told her I'm taking a trip to SFNE with her or without her! I have a few questions that you might be able to answer. 1. We can go there any day between August 23rd and 29th. Would any of those dates be a better day to go? 2. Depending on what's in the park the whole family might go which would include three children between the ages of 5 and 10. Is there any rides suitable for their age? 3. I see there's also a water park. is this part of the theme park or separate? And could you do both parks in one day? Thanks in advance. Jonathan