kraxleRIDAH

This B&M "rattle/shuffling" isn't uncommon. It's prevelant on a lot of recent B&M's...ones that I know of including SFoG's Goliath, Dominator, and Batman The Dark Knight.

TWO questions... When was the last time X operated? Was it late August or early September? And what's the deal with Spin Out? It was operating earlier this summer, but visits to the park since I have yet to see it open...is it because staff is being allocatted elsewhere? When did it go into SBNO?

^ I have the hotline number, but today at 11:59 pm the entry to the sweepstakes/chance to enter the contest ends. You HAVE to be 18 or older, no exceptions. The teams will marathon Viper, Scream!, Tatsu, and Goliath. First place team will see that each member is awarded $1,000 --- for a total of $4,000 for the first place team. ALL team contestants whether first or last place, will be given a complimentary 2007 annual pass.

How's this for an update... TODAY (FRI OCT 13) Orient Express was testing. I confirmed this...visually. Circus Wheel was testing. Saw it with my own eyes as well. Colossus RACED. No, not just operated both tracks, but RACED. I creamed my plaid shorts at this one.

Is this her? That's my co-worker! YES! That's her! She is ridiculous. I am seriously still in awe of her. There we had a countless number of healthy guys my age (early 20's), giving up their seats after 2-3 hours of riding due to vomiting while this withering (or looks to be withering) woman in her 60's clocks in the complete 13 hours. She's an [ALIEN] [sUPERHUMAN] [uBER-WEIRDO]. Take your pick. Just. Wow.

Just hopped out of the shower after having driven back from the park...what a long day...got there and checked in at around 7:15 am and left at around 10 pm. I spent a good 7 hours waiting to be called on, after my alternate number was SKIPPED! because I left to ride Tatsu with two friends at around 10 am. Didn't get on Colossus to compete until 7-ish and got the T-shirt and two complimentary 2006 park admission tickets. Some interesting notes: COLOSSUS RACED! WOW! In the past 8 or 10 years I've been there, I have never seen this phenomenon. I was upset for a little while for not having my camera on me. Then I got over it real quickly. Riding Colossus backwards is really terrible the first two rides and you think to yourself..."DAMN, how are those weirdos clocking in 8 straight hours of riding this thing?" But the 4th or 5th time, you know how and when to brace yourself and it's really not that bad. Once you adjust, the ride is perfectly re-rideable and has some insane ejector air in some parts (for instance...me riding in the last car for the first time, the train climbing up into the first turnaround, I was thrown up so forcefully into the lapbar that my ballsack region felt like a salami after being struck with a steel mallet). No exaggerations there. It hurt. Orient Express was testing today when I was waiting to get on Tatsu's first train. This woman with a frazzled hairdo (HAD TO have been over 65 EASILY) was on Colossus for more than 10-12 hours. It completely blows my mind. I have a newfound respect for seniors. Seniors that know no physical restraints and will do anything for that free Xtreme Play Pass so they don't have to fork over that ridiculous $15 parking. Props to her. However, I would not be all too surprised if she woke up tomorrow morning, a vegetable. Circus Wheel was testing. I almost wet my pants upon observation. Dan was wearing his peach-tinted sunglasses on the ride after sundown. A lot of jokes were made in the queue line about that. The 10 year old blonde girl and 16 year old guy both failed to complete the hissing cockroach event. Both vomited. The guy after having eaten 5 and the girl just one. I won a tacky Superman The Escape souvenir soda bottle for correctly answering the question "What was on the plot of land before Hurricane Harbor was built." I didn't realize I even knew the answer before I shouted it out all spastically into the microphone at the POWER106 setup in Gotham City. The gorgoyle in Gotham City Backlot...is the man. Artificial fog is eerily reminescent of marijuana smoke. It's so skunky. X was closed. As was Viper (from what I was told). Scream! was in one train operation all day. The end.

Ya. Rides like Tower of Terror where you ride secured on a theater-type platform in an enclosed building don't give you the illusion of how high you really are ('cause you just can't see the ground below). I can see why Rachel is a bit apprehensive about riding any outdoor free-standing drop tower. Those rides secure you in tiny seats without any sides, leave your legs dangling, and you can really see how high you are!

^ Not scary at all. For some reason, it feels a lot less intense than other Space Shot towers of similar heights I've been on. Then again, Maliboomer is at a Disney park, which would be a perfect explanation.

Rides that scared me the first time (or first few times) I've went on them: Deja Vu @ Magic Mountain X @ Magic Mountain Millennium Force @ Cedar Point Perilous Plunge @ Knott's Berry Farm Supreme Scream @ Knott's Berry Farm Insanity @ Stratosphere Tower --- Rides that scared me and STILL scare me: X-Scream @ Stratosphere Tower Freefall @ Magic Mountain

The boats do have upstop wheels, if that's what you're asking.

The first JAWS was great because it didn't completely rely on the shark to drive the plotline like the three sequels that followed after. You actually cared for the characters because they were developed very well for the majority of the movie then the film was well executed at the end in an incredible climax of an ending. In addition, part of what made the first one so good was that they waited until near the end to show the shark --- which helped build audience anticipation until the villain's final revealing. Even during most of the beginning and middle of the movie, they would on rare occasion only once or twice show a fin coming out of the water. That was it. The sequels had the trademark fin-out-of-water every other 10 minutes. There was too much shark exposure in the other films which did not make them as exciting as the first. Jaws 3 and Jaws: The Revenge were just to milk the franchise dry of every last penny. I remember watching the E! True Hollywood Story: JAWS and all the actors that were interviewed (like Lorraine Gary who played Ellen Brody) said how the later two films just completely killed the entire franchise. The first sequel actually did very well at the box office in 1978 and was not ridiculed by critics like the 3rd and 4th installment.

Wow. That park is a lot nicer looking than what most people had me believing in the past. Sure, it has no spectacular rides there, but it looks well kept. Great TR.

That was exactly his point. The GP doesn't care about manufacters. Hell, they'd be like "What the f*ck is a Bolliger and Mabillard?" Only enthusiasts care about stuff like that. Plus, the game developers would have to acquire licensing agreements to use manufacturer firm namesakes in the game. That's a lot of trouble for something gamers won't give a rats ass about. It's not an important feature.

SFMM's Ninja would easily be one of my top 5 at the park if it had trains like these. No pesky OTSR and floorless coaches!

1. Used to be extremely scared of roller coasters. Was practically forced onto Jaguar! by brute force in 4th grade against my will --- and I insisted on sitting in the middle section of the train. Or else. 2. Had a fascination and interest in sharks since I was a little kid. 3. Drink a lot of beer and smoke a lot of cigarettes. 4. Quick metabolism. I get hungry a few hours after a huge meal. 5. HATE country music.

You've obviously have never heard of BORG Assimilator, X-Flight, and Batwing.

Ew. Ya. Circus Circus is a ghetto hotel, and that's said from having stayed there a few times in the past. It's overrun with underage children storming the arcades, indoor theme park, and games. The adults are either really old people or parents with children which would honestly if not for their kids rather stay at Paris or Caesars Palace. Paint on every building facade is fading, the parking structure and area is something you'd find in downtown Los Angeles, and the accomodations are from from even 3-star. In addition, most people assume Circus Circus is in a good location. Far from it. It's considered to be on the "Far end" of the strip about a block from Stratosphere, which is the last hotel on the strip. Poor location if you decide to leave your hotel and walk around to find things to do. ________________________________________________ My recommendation is the 4-star rated Monte Carlo. It's in one of the most choice locations ON the Las Vegas strip, sandwiched inbetween the New York New York and Bellagio resorts. I looked up the nights in which you're staying and the rates are Friday: $169.41; Saturday: $298.83. That's within your budget which is also great for such a nice hotel. I make the recommendation based on the information you've given me and my past experience with this hotel and casino. It's affordable, yet also strangely upscale at the same time. It opened in 1999 so it is still considered a "new" hotel (as opposed to the 1968 opening of Circus Circus). It has expensive luxury dining options, a full-scale buffet that really is a bang for your buck, in addition to a food court if all you want is a coffee, pizza or cheeseburger with an ice cream cone.

That couldn't be further from the truth. Just because rides are built that you don't agree with doesn't mean people aren't putting their hearts and souls into making what they feel is the best decision for their parks. Couldn't be further from the truth? Ha. Go to Google Groups and pull up the press release for Perilous Plunge. Read it. And then compare what was described in it to the ride in its current state at the park. Where's the 90-foot tall oil derrick that was supposed to straddle the drop? Where's the dining observation deck overlooking the lagoon that was supposed to be built? Where's the "boardwalk"-pattern stamped midway that was supposed to run between Boomerang and Plunge? And those are just only three of countless things mentioned in the press release that never materialized.

Ya and nobody mentioned Ripsaw Falls nor was Log Jammer claimed to be the best flume ever in this thread. So...your point? Log Jammer at the time of its inception was the longest flume ride, with the longest drop on a flume ride in the world. A little trivia most people aren't aware of. The ride's final drop is somewhere in the ballpark of 70-feet. Jet Stream's final drop is 57-feet.

Didn't feel like starting a new thread just to post this...and I wasn't sure if it's been discussed already, but I found a hilarious Simpsons clip featuring Knott's Berry Farm on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65TM4SX8r6s

SpectralN, I don't want to come off too bluntly, but you're just extremely paranoid. Those "pins" that lock the main harness into place are actually metal bolts that fasten and lock into deep "notches" into steel slabs in the side of your seat and gaurantees that the harness will not ever open up while the ride is in motion. It's very similar to the bolt and lock setup of the harnesses that were used on Knott's Berry Farm's HammerHead ride (removed in 2003). Tatsu's harnesses do not "lock" like other typical roller coaster harnesses. The bolts that lock into the slots in either side of you in your seat stay there. The harness can't just "click" open in some freak accident. The bolts have no way of releasing when it's not in the station. Only once the train is parked in the station, the main computer sends a signal to the on-board one to retract the bolts. Otherwise, riders are locked in their seats. The system is so fail safe that even the slightest hint that your harnesses isn't bolted into the side of your seat the ride's computer will not allow for dispatch. In addition, like mentioned before, the vest restraint though there for creature comfort, is actually able to withstand much more weight than the average Tatsu rider, ensuring its durability and safeness. Bolliger & Mabillard (designers of Tatsu) would not make and sell a product like their Flying coaster if they knew the safety of the rider was even compromised in any small way. STOP TRIPPIN' - keep riding.

I can attest to that. I may not have your track record Robb, so my wood coaster palette is a bit amateuristic, but God has GhostRider gone to sh*t. I remember riding it back in 1999 and being completely blown away at how crazy the ride was yet completely in awe at how "smooth" it was. I made my first visit to Knott's in over a year about a month ago and rode GhostRider. Probably won't ever go on it again. It was so violent to a point where nothing about the ride was enjoyable. To make a drastic comparison, I rode Psyclone at Magic Mountain about two weeks ago and had less pain inflicted on me than when I rode GhostRider. I actually rode Pysclone twice in a row. Robb, you're making me tear up. Though I grew going to the park only in the early 90's, I can still relate to what you're saying here. Even in the years prior to the park's acquisition by Cedar Fair, there was still that "something" about the park that is no longer there besides what's left in the heart of the Ghost Town area. Even the last effort overseen by the Knott's family, the ill-fated Windjammer, was a work of art in itself --- not counting the ride experience itself. That ride and its surroundings was VERY well executed and very beautiful. It was the last ride with that original Knott's feel I think. Rather than concrete, the midway surrounding the coaster was stamped with a "boarwalk" design; there was a miniature lagoon below the coaster where kids could pilot their own little boats; the ride's on-ride photo booth was built into the side of a scaled-down replica of a yacht. The Boardwalk midway had funky sea-grotto light poles like this. The HUGE and beautiful stretch of well manicured lawn adjacent to Boomerang all the way to HammerHead which is now a bunch of midway games and concrete. THIS was the Knott's I knew and hold on in my memory. Even a sight like THIS isn't around anymore. That's me. I find myself completely bored with nothing to "explore" (as you described earlier) within a few hours of being in the park. And few hours as in about four or less, which is about on-par with the time I spend everytime I'm at Disney's California Adventure (only been twice), but is now NEVER. Excellent choice in words. Cedar Fair really did rape the park, and now more than ever, it's really showing. Everytime I go to the park, I'm just amazed how much the park has changed, most of which is for the worse. What used to be unique character, personality and distinct flavor is now replaced with generic, bland, and distasteful. I would GLADLY trade the lukewarm Silver Bullet to get THIS back. Silver Bullet - No thanks. Indian Trails is such a joke compared to what it used to be - it should have just been removed completely for its own humility (two teepees and a half-assed totem pole is pretty much all that's left). Amen. It's sad because you can kind of see what's happening. The park as of late is trying very hard to up-the-ante in a way to compete with Magic Mountain to win a bigger slice of the thrillseekers pie, while at the same time continues to market itself to families. And I too, notice this "split" in the personality of the park and what it has to offer. And this is to tug at your heartstrings: Knott's California Marketplace on Grand Ave.

This is like asking us if any of us knows if it's going to rain during your visit. WE DON'T KNOW.

Um. What? SFoT's new Troika ride was relocated from Six Flags AstroWorld, not Great America.

Yest last time I was at Knotts 7 coasters, all seven of them open SFMM 16 coasters - 10 open when we got there THEN 3 broke down and never reopened Ha. As much as I'd like to believe you, you're lying. Magic Mountain has never had 6 coasters down at one time. And even by some crazy way you are even right, that's still 10 coasters operating --- compared to Knott's total of 7, half of which may I add, are crap. Catch Knott's on a day when Xcelerator or GhostRider (or even better BOTH, like right now) are not operating. Wow.