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Schrecken

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Everything posted by Schrecken

  1. For me it would be Cheetah Hunt at BGT; that's the newest coaster (as in the most recently built) in the bunch that I just added to my credit list on my recent Orlando trip.
  2. I totally agree that SFA needs a brand new custom coaster, but I honestly believe that Jimmy Hoffa's body will be found; or perhaps that other place that will need to freeze over before that will ever happen.
  3. I've been on many coasters where there were maybe 2 or 3 other people along with myself in the train (people who weren't with me), but there are only a couple of times I can distinctly recall being alone (me or me and one friend) because I found it kind of eerie both times. The first time was way back in SFA's pre-SF days, when it was still Adventureworld and the Mind Eraser was the newest coaster. My friend and I had gone there close to Halloween and we decided to take a 2nd ride on the Python (the old Arrow shuttle loop). Our first ride wasn't that crowded either, because that coaster had quite a few flights of steps you had to go up just to get to the loading platform, and I guess for most people it just wasn't worth it. Well, on the 2nd ride, we noticed we were the only riders on the platform and no one else joined us. It was a really weird experience - the silence (other than the sound of the coaster itself) and the fact that it was pretty dark in that part of the park made it rather surreal. Python wasn't that great of a ride (though at least it didn't bash riders heads in like the Mind Eraser!), but that is one of my favorite coaster experiences none the less. The other one was on Verbolten - just me, myself and I. It was after dark and I looked back right before they dispatched the train and I realized I was the only one on it. That was also rather eerie, and also one of my more memorable coaster experiences.
  4. I will be at this park somewhere during the third week of November (the week before Thanksgiving), and I have a couple of questions: 1: how are the crowds on a typical weekday? 2: just how bad is Gwazi? For me, what I consider to be a bad coaster (but still are/were rideable at least for the credit, even if not fun at all) are ones like these - Wildcat at HP, Hoosier Hurricane at IB, Psychlone at SFMM, Hurler at KD, Meanstreak at CP (on its worst days), etc. None of these I found enjoyable, but I was game to ride to get the credit. The only woodie I have found to be intolerable was SOB. #3 what sorts of things (other than all of the animal attractions) are there to do for a non-coaster rider? My mom will be with me and she can't handle riding anything rougher than the Small World at WDW.
  5. I'll second that - it isn't so much an actual "moment" but rather almost the entire duration of the ride is an on-going "oh s***" experience.
  6. I'll bet this guy's homeowner's insurance premium must be astronomical - that is, if they would even cover this sort of thing! Waivers often don't completely protect one from legal action, especially in over-regulated California.
  7. Since 1996 I've not ever gone a whole year w/o a coaster ride (before that I went 21 years because I had a severe case of coaster phobia). Probably the longest I've ever gone post 96' is maybe 8 months or so.
  8. The last one I had (which was a while ago) had me at WDW (I haven't been there in ages, and hope to go before the end of the year), where I discovered they had two really awful coasters that were made by Togo! Worse yet, the weather was crappy (it looked like it was going to rain) and the park was rundown and dirty and the food was terrible. No, that isn't a dream, but rather a nightmare!
  9. I often ride with my hands up, but there are some coasters where I don't want to do that, usually because they are rough and/or have lots of sharp, quick movements (like my all time fave Skyrush). I hold on to be able to brace myself and prevent my upper body from whipping around (which is a good idea since I have a bad back), or simply to try and mitigate some of the rough spots (like on certain woodies). Other coasters on which I don't put my hands up are those that just don't lend well to it, like inverted coasters. I usually ride B&M inverts with my hands on my legs (I might grab the hand holds if there is any headbanging), and do the same for other inverts as long as there is no headbanging.
  10. There is very little that I won't ride, at least just one time to try it out (if it's something I've never done before), these days. However, there are rides that I've ridden before that I have no desire to ever set foot on again and I will always pass. Some of these include centrifuge-type rides like the graviton, rotor and round-up. I used to like those as a kid (Oh cool - I'm stuck to the wall!!!) just for the novelty of it, but now not only are they likely to trigger an upset stomach, I just don't find them fun. Also no fan of tea-cup type rides (but I loved the ones at Disney when I was a kid - I remember trying to inflict some serious vertigo on my mom and her friend when we rode those) and in general anything that just has lots of centrifugal spinning and little or nothing else. Other flats I'm not fond of (and often won't ride) are those that just hang riders upside down for a period of time; the kind where you can feel your blood rush to your head. I just don't find that fun. The only other rides in the non-coaster realm I avoid are most kinds of drop towers. I used to ride them in the past, when I was just getting into coasters, but these days I usually avoid all except the S&S "double shot" kind, or ones that do more than just drop you. I don't find them painful or nausea-inducing, but I just find the sensation uncomfortable. As for coasters, there really aren't any (at least of those I haven't ridden before) I won't ride. Of those I have already ridden, there are a few I won't ride, simply because they are rough and painful or just not fun. I am always suspicious of woodies I've never ridden before, and I ride in either the front or 2nd to front seat to minimize roughness.
  11. Hypersonic XLC at Kings Dominion only lasted about 6 years, which is a pretty brief amount of time for a brand new coaster to exist at one park (especially considering it was scrapped and not sold and moved somewhere else).
  12. Kind of a mini-tr here....I went to HP yesterday with a friend, and we pretty much spent the whole day there. The weather was just about perfect, but the downside was that the park was more crowded than I had seen it in a long time. Pretty much all the coasters had a 45+ minute wait, even Great Bear which has the best capacity of them all. Well, actually I don't know how long Lightning Racer's line was since we rode that first thing in the morning, before the park got really crowded, but once noon rolled around it seemed like the place filled up really quickly. We got a few rides on LR, which was running great. We passed on Wildcat, since the last time either of us had ridden it, it was pretty painful. We also passed on Fahrenheit, since the sun was hot and of course that has one of the longest, slowest un-shaded lines of any of the coasters, and besides, I'm not that crazy about it. We did manage to ride Sidewinder before noon, and we only waited maybe 15 minutes. We got 2 rides on Storm Runner, one early on (about a 20 minute wait) and one later in the day when the crowds were bad. I rode Great Bear one time (waited probably 50 minutes) while my friend sat it out nursing sore feet, and later we rode SDL once, and the line was only about 25 minutes or so. We passed on the Comet, but we did ride Trailblazer later in the evening, and also the Wild Mouse, neither of which had much of a line despite the heavy crowds and the slow loading on the mouse. And finally, as the day was drawing to a close, we decided to get a few rides on my all time fave Skyrush. Now this friend I brought with me was the same one who lost her expensive flip-flops on Skyrush last summer, and who also had the misfortune of sitting in a wing seat on the first ride. Needless to say, she was totally turned off towards it, but yesterday I finally got her to where she has a decent liking for the ride rather than loathing, even though Storm Runner is still her #1 in the park. She only rode towards the front in the middle seats, but I remember that it took me some time to move to the back and try the back wing seats. We split up and I got a couple of rides in the very back center seats (my favorite two seats), and then I took one ride in the notorious back right wing seat. Hands down that has to be perhaps one of the most ferocious rides one could ever experience on a coaster in that infamous seat! Let's put it this way - when I woke up this morning, I knew I had ridden in that seat! As for the rattle, I also notice that there is a bit of a rattle, especially towards the back (in any of the seats, but more so in the wing seats), but it isn't painful, and I don't think it is any worse than it was last year. I have noticed one other thing that I think is unique to Skyrush - when going up the lift hill, about half-way up I kept noticing this sound that sounds for all the world like a bowling ball being rolled down an alley and striking pins - basically what you'd hear in a bowling alley. I don't recall hearing this on I-305 or Millennium Force, so as far as I know it might be unique to this coaster. Anyone else ever notice this?
  13. Looks like it is at another park right now: rcdb.com/8662.htm
  14. I visited Mt. Olympus for the first (and last) time this past summer, and my impression of the place was that it was an weird little independently owned park with a collection of potentially decent woodies and an appalling lack of adult-oriented flat rides (or much else to do at all for adults, other than the coasters, and perhaps the go-karts if you are really into those...well, OK, there was the booze, but that's not what most people go to parks for). I got the impression that this could become a really unique park if the coasters were improved and a few large flats were added (well, some other things would of course need to be done as well). I also didn't find Hades to be the spine-breaker that many have experienced, but then again, my friend and I didn't ride any further back than the 2nd seat, since we did have the feeling that it would be really rough towards the back. I've ridden much better wood coasters, but I've also set foot on a few that were far worse on my back and neck - including one right there in the same park - Zeus (and also SOB, Hoosier Hurricane, and HP's Wildcat, to name a few, that battered me worse than Hades did even in the very front seat). As for the maintenance (or lack of), I did find it a bit alarming that they had a maintenance man jumping on and off of the track on Hades in the station (dodging the train as it returned) as he was trying to work on something on the brake run. The guy was spraying something with WD-40 and hammering on whatever it was, and he would keep an eye out and jump back up on the platform as the train returned. I think that one of the lap bars in the back of the train was either not locking or releasing as it should have done, because this man was also trying to do something with the lap bar in between passengers getting on and off. I'm sure that is against OSHA (state and federal) regs pretty much anywhere in this country, and if he had been injured or killed, they would have been in even bigger trouble than they are now. Any other park would have shut the ride down, repaired the problem, and then re-opened it. Let's put it this way - the operations at that park were rather unorthodox to say the least in some respects.
  15. I would have to agree with people who can't stand those who scream really loud on coasters and rides (usually teenage girls or pre-teen girls). I have a friend who I go to parks with and she actually brings a pair of earplugs in the event that we might end up behind or in front of potential screamers (often some of them start before the train has even left the station or the ride has begun to move). Worse yet, I hear screamers on rides that could hardly be considered scary, even by GP standards. And then there is being in line in front a child (or children) who are so poorly behaved that they are climbing the railings, crawling around on the ground and bouncing off of and constantly bumping into everyone around them. It's bad enough to stand in a long line on a hot day without having some oblivious hyperactive kid keep banging into my legs or my butt every five seconds. And it's even more obnoxious when the parents are there with them - and I wonder if they let their kids behave like wild animals everywhere they go. I've actually had to stand in line holding onto the rail balanced on one leg with the other bent out behind me, so that way if they keep banging around like a pinball in a machine they will be banging into the bottom of my shoe. I know parks are fun places for kids, and there are plenty of places in most parks for kids to get rid of excess energy, but waiting in line shouldn't be one of them.
  16. I would concur that after about 20 rides on Skyrush it can get really tough to handle much more from the standpoint of dealing with the restraints. I also sympathize with those who can't deal with a particular ride due to certain issues like that that "kill" the ride for them, as for me there is another very popular Intamin (Maverick) that I can't deal with due to problems with the restraints (I can't seem to avoid getting my ears bashed to a pulp, especially riding in and towards the front). It does suck when you wish you could enjoy a ride but you can't tolerate some aspect of it. But with Skyrush, I can handle having my legs squashed far better than having my ears and head boxed in. It would be nice to see the restraints improved, but I doubt that will happen until Intamin comes up with something much better and perhaps one day in the future Skyrush will need a good train overhaul and they will replace the restraints. That said, Skyrush is currently my #1 coaster, and the only one I've set foot on in the last 10 years that totally blew my mind. I'm so glad I only live 81 miles away from HP and I can't wait to get there this summer. I'm at 40 rides total on Skyrush and I'm hoping to perhaps double that (well, might have to aim for more of that this fall unless I happen to hit an uncrowded day this summer) this year. It's not easy to marathon on Skyrush (for reasons other than just crowds and long lines, as I swear this is about the only coaster that after a few rides I feel like I've spent an hour or more working out at the gym!) but it sure as heck is fun! BTW, OP you have some really nice pics of Skyrush and the rest of the park.
  17. Most likely Cedar Point, for Coastermania. Otherwise, I may get to Hershey before that, but if not, then that will be my first park of this season.
  18. ^^^^^^^ I guess we just happened to hit a day (it was in late July) where the crowds were light. I don't think we waited anymore than about 35 minutes even for Hades, which I guess wasn't bad at all considering the slow ride ops and one train operation on all of the woodies.
  19. I totally agree with you about the waterpark - that is, IMO, what "carries" SFA each season. SFA is kind of like a restaurant with a bar in it where, if the bar closed up, the restaurant wouldn't be able to stand on its own and stay in business. If SFA had no water park it probably would never have survived even in its pre-SF Adventure World days IMO. That said, I do think that getting a NEW (meaning totally new, not a hand-me-down from another park that is of a coaster type that has been around for ages) coaster or even a major flat would go a long way as far as changing the non-GP perception of this park. But I bet that even a lot of the GP (those who actually visit the dry side of the park and enjoy riding the coasters) probably have some idea that a stand-up isn't a new kind of coaster, and of course wild mice have been around for ages so nothing new there. The other thing is that yes, this is a local park, but the DC area itself is a major tourist attraction so they would stand to draw people from all over the country (and world) who visit DC. Sort of like Cedar Point - that whole area (the shoreline of lake Erie) is an attraction in and of itself so it naturally draws people even if the park didn't exist.
  20. When my friend and I were at Mt. Olympus this past summer we were actually rather disappointed with this ride (as far as mice go) because there was hardly any spinning going on at all. We stood in line for maybe 15 or 20 minutes and very few of the cars managed more than a couple of spins in certain places (as opposed to the kind of mice that spin like teacup rides), and over all, even for a mouse, it was pretty lame. That said, it is also possible that this rider (especially given his age) might have suffered some kind of medical problem and then lost consciousness and maybe slumped over and was tossed out. As for the maintenance in the park, my friend and I did get the impression that things aren't quite the way they should be - I can still see that maintenance man jumping down onto the track at the brake run on Hades with his can of WD-40 spraying and banging on some mechanism (I think it had to do with the lapbars - as a couple of them would not automatically release and they had to release them by hand). And this was all while the ride was running - the man had to constantly look and listen (while trying to work) for the returning train and leap out of the way back up onto the platform as the train came around that last turn. And I kept thinking to myself that that had to be illegal - as far as I know most OSHA rules (both federal and state) generally prohibit people from working on machinery that is moving and operating. Let's put it this way - I've been to many parks and have never seen anything like that. So if an employee of Mt. Olympus was to get hurt or killed while working on a ride, I wouldn't be at all surprised based on what I saw (and that was my first and only visit to that park).
  21. One time a long time ago I rode a chute the chutes type ride (not 100% sure which one, since it was ages ago, but it was most likely that it was Escape from Pompeii at BGE) and at the top of the lift hill I got my sneakers totally inundated, much to my chagrin, when water that must have been in the back of the boat came rushing towards the front as the boat came off the lift. That was quite unexpected, since most everyone assumes that the only part of such rides that might end up drenching you is when the boat hits the bottom of the drop(s). The only other unexpected incident (unexpected in both how wet I got and how far off the seat I bounced at the bottom of the last drop) was last summer on the Coal Cracker at HP. I hadn't ridden that log flume in ages, but it was really hot and sticky and I figured I'd be happy if I got a little bit wet so I could cool off. Well, I rode it with two people I was with, both of whom were heavier than I was (and none of the three of us were skinny people, if you know what I mean), with me in the front and the two of them in the middle and back. Well, once the log got to the bottom of the last drop, I was quick enough to put up my hands to ward off the splash to the face I knew was coming, but it wasn't just a little spray but rather a torrent of water that hit me. And to top it off, I know I must have come a foot off of the seat which really freaked me out for a second (really, who gets any air at the bottom of a drop on a flume or water ride?). I was soaked down thru my clothes and had to go ride Skyrush a few times to dry off. Well, it did cool me off, at least for a little while, that's for sure. So if you want to try and experience something like that on a log flume, get three people in a log (if it's the kind where three adults can fit in it, of course) and make sure the two people sitting behind you are heavier than you are.
  22. The whole park/coaster thing was basically foisted on me one day back in the summer of 96' when I reluctantly accepted an invitation to accompany a family friend to what was then known as Adventure World (now SFA). Before that, I had been to a few parks (KD, Hershey) as a child and teen, but I was terrified of coasters and only rode the flat rides and some water rides (and only those that didn't go upside down) at those parks. So, between the erroneous notion I had about parks only being places for kids and my extreme fear of coasters, I never set foot in a park (OK, I did go to a few carnivals here and there in the interim and happily rode any non-inverting flats I found) until that day in 96'. That was a good 15 year span of my life when I avoided it all. On that day in question I was dragged onto the Mind Eraser and forced to confront my phobia. After that incident, my general opinion was that I had been scared half to death, but I developed a strange fascination with coasters that blossomed into a near-obsession that lasted the rest of the summer and has continued ever since. And then in the spring of 97' I took a job in the amusement industry, not at all what I had been looking or expecting. But I had the skills for the particular job and since I was in a very frustrating job search I jumped on it, even though it meant a 3000 mile move. So basically it came down to two people - the woman who dragged me onto the Mind Eraser and the man who hooked me up with that job.
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