QueerRudie

RE: All the Schwarzkopf stuff- It's true, Schwarzkopf's name lives on, in ways we don't quite imagine. His projects were part of BHS and subsequent companies, and Wieland did for a while offer his designs. However, we can thank Him every time we get onto an Intamin coaster these days, as it was his original Heartline design track structure (ShockWave, SFOT, Mindbender, SFOG) that gives us all the wonderful Intamin designs to this day- save a handful along the way, its still the system used for most of their projects. As for the Shuttle Loops- it always seems different, at least launch wise, as the flywheel tends to 'accelerate' more smoothly- rather than the weight drop models, which simply went "BANG" and you're off. However, the mechanicals on them, as fun as they are, are a nightmare! Cables and such tend to wear out faster due to the physical stress on them. If anything, there are a handful of people left who could recreate a Schwarzkopf coaster to His specifications. Weiland is one, but he's semi-retired himself nowadays, and of course Werner Stengel, who consulted with Anton on quite a few of His rides. I would LOVE to see recreations of some of His designs that remain unbuilt- or even new models of some of His greatest works. Intamin could do a Schwarzkopf trackplan using their existing rail easily- as it's incredibly close to His own track designs!

Ya think??? I'd issue him a warning- Stop posting for posting's sake- or PM the person your thoughts; it's getting excessive a bit with the same line each time- Just my .02 R.D.

Maybe you should speak for yourself. I've been to Octoberfest and Europe twice, and besides the fact that they're simply different places with different cultures and people, I'm not quite sure how you got that impression. In fact, I'd say the people there are nicer than people who live here! Also, the ZacSpin I went on in Europe spun the exact same way Green Lantern is now. If you have ERT and can unbalance the cars sure the rides will be different, but as far as GP and the average person riding, they seem to be running identical. Magic Mountain has stated that they may loosen the cars to spin more as the ride breaks in, so it may be running different as time goes on! My comparisons are based on this: European rides, for the most part, are run very differently- as in less trimming of trains in action, spinning rides run at full-speed as opposed to 'theme park mode' which is common here in the USA. Being a Schwarzkopf Junkie in the worst way, you can see what American 'It's too rough, it's too painful, I threw my back out, I hurt myself' has done to His first looping coaster, the Revolution. Heavily trimmed, excessive restraints, higher backrests and other modifications have tamed it down greatly compared to it's original format mostly due to the chance of lawsuits and other such nastiness that is commonplace here. Hell, CGA's bumper cars ride is being investigated after somebody sued due to the fact they were injured on it- simply as the ride didn't say that it would jar you around. Now let's compare that to Germany. By your name, I'm quite sure you're aware of the Octoberfest, and some of Anton's finest works having been there- look at OlympiaLooping, for example. It hasn't been modified, changed, altered in any way since it's opening two decades ago. It operates the way He intended it to. And most importantly: Nobody has come back injured. Now compare THAT to His most imfamous looper, the Thriller/Texas Tornado/Zonga. When it arrived in Texas, it recieved higher-duty brakes for trimming. When it moved to California, it was HEAVILY modified to 'tame down' the G's in the ciruclar loops- as well as receiving new trains with some of the bulkiest restraints available. And even then, it was moved to Mexico after a rather short duration in California. Why? It was too intense. Now this is the same ride that operated as a fairground coaster for YEARS in Europe without modification. I wasn't talking about the personalities between Europe and the USA. But when it comes to ride operation, people in the USA are way too timid- pussies, if you will, to let a park operate it's rides the way they should.

100 POINT BONUS THIS WEEK IF YOU ENTER THE TRACK OF THE WEEK CONTEST! UPLOAD A VEKOMA INVERTED COASTER FROM RCT III BY MONDAY AT MIDNIGHT, GET A 100 POINT BONUS!

If it's Elissa-worthy, then I might give it a shot. But I'd like YOU next to me when I do, Robb... Well said. Go and experience a fairground coaster in Germany during Octoberfest if you don't belive him. We're pussies compared to the Europeans.

Gee- that sounds like SO much fun. I'm going to have to run right out and ride it... (Just the video of the MM version made me seriously queasy...)

And I can hear the sounds of StarFlyers all over the country grinding to a halt- I hope the best for the person's safety, though.

Saint Sains, "Aquarium" feat. Dick Dale (Guitar) from "Carnival of the Aninmals" (Yes, it's the StarPort 77 original soundtrack)

THIS WEEK ONLY: ENTER A RIDE, GET A 100 POINT BONUS. WHETHER OR NOT THE RIDE IS GOOD, BAD OR UGLY, ENTER IT, GET POINTS.

I just saw that- Perhaps we should consider adding that in, as a lot of our NL players/RCT III players are now using video to show off their rides- and it might make for doing things like an NL challenge/RCT III challenge/ToTW contest a lot more colorful.

Placing Fanboy/Schwarzkopf Junkie hat on first... There is only one real difference between Montezooma's Revenge and Tidal Wave: The propulsion unit. Monte is the 'new' generation flywheel design, the Tidal wave, as was the prototype at KD (King Kobra) were the original weight-drop models. RCDB lists multiple lengths of track, but this is not necessarily correct: Schwarzkopf.coaster.net, which is the encyclopedia of Schwarzkopf coasters, lists lengths as nearly identical- at 722 feet. However, it can be safely assumed that tracks may have been modified in park- but only to the tower ends. The base launch structures remained the same for all models. Changing one from flywheel to weight-drop would be irrelevant, but one could replace (in theory- but NOT going to happen here!) Tidal wave with Monte. But I think the odds on that are like having a dual eclipse tommorow night here in AZ. THe difference comes if your raise up one model over the other- It's an optical illusion that Monte looks different- as it's got so much more stuff going on around it to make it look like a different length. Schwarzkopf only did one variant on his shuttle loops- and that was the rather infamous WienerLooping shuttle loop- which in itself is actually a variant of the Katapult series of flywheel/power axle design systems. R.D. "Schwarzkopf forever" Sussmann

No, the Green B is still there- lower right hand corner... I already tried that, sadly!

Great TR. Not enough Domo. Weird stores- and I'm wondering... How many TPR people bought something from Condomania???

Agreed- But you have to wonder- with his head full of so much hot air, will he just float to the rafters then???

It appears that quite a few people got the Magnet/Ticket, and some of us got shirts and magnets- I'm sort of thinking that the ticket was the 'prize' for doing something right- and the shirt was a consolation prize (Rice a roni, if you understand that reference). In other news: here's the completed puzzle, from Keystone Thrills (Posted today). I'm pretty sure there's a clue buried in this- but where it is, I don't quite know yet. I'm thinking that it's a portal clue (We have to decode something to open another site, for example). R.D.

Great America is suffering at the hands of not being owned land- as well as a recalcitrant city council which does NOT have a single clue as to how to let a park grow, become a regional attraction, and best use the resources around. What the SCCC needs to do is look at how many jobs are created by CGA- and the tax revenue that's being pumped into an economy that is already lagging- and evaluate things this way: If we lose this park, nobody else will move in. We will now have many unemployed people around the park, not to mention the residual job losses as businesses close up (Restaurants, hotels, etc.) that will suffer losing those additional guests who'd drop their money in Santa Clara. Now: About removing key rides: Forget it. To lose three more attractions to build something 'state of the art' isn't happening. It would be like cutting off an arm to install a finger- and just about as useful. There's a huge advantage to operating the older rides: THEY ARE PAID FOR! Not to mention: Demon is a great ride (not nearly as great as ToTC, mind you) but just as nifty and as wonderful as it has been for 20 plus years now. Grizzly, well, I'm not a fan of it- but removing it and replacing it with a better wooden coaster would be a good step forward. Adding in some other attractions would also help- but it's a total revitalization project needed, not just a few key rides.

Hello Jagr. Hello Ego. Goodbye fanbase. As a -devout- Caps fan, I can recall the excitement of his arrival in 2001 to the Caps... and the disasterous heartbreak of what a loser he turned out to be for the team. It was all about HIM, and isn't HE great, and THE REST OF THE TEAM SUCKS, and ISNT JAGR great? Good luck, Philly. You're going to need it.

I agree with the suggestion of the path in front of invectus- perhaps a nice garden plot with some trees, or a 'sitting courtyard' with a drinks/snack stand might be nice there!

I'd say it was a clue- but that might make me paranoid, obsessive-compulsive, or completely and utterly befuddled by this campaign- (Or it means I'm getting too fat again. One or the other.)

Picky, Picky, Picky... If I go to an airport, I can get a valet/handicapped parking space without paying for it. If I go to a Casino, I can get a valet/Handicapped space without paying for it. If I go to dinner in San Francisco, I can... You get the point. If I go to SixFlags, I drop 20.00, and get a handicapped space, usually within 900 miles of the front gate. Do you see my point now? I'm not saying I should be excluded from parking fees- but for F-ks sake, it should be easier (and CLOSER in many cases) to get to the front of the park. I already HAVE a problem walking around- and if you actually see just how 'close' Handicapped parking is at most park, it's atrocious- and that's being polite.

I got my package from Hershey Entertainment and Resorts today... and I'm thrilled! A neon-green LaMarcus Bros shirt and a LaMarcus Bros Magnet! There's just one -little- problem...And that's the problem. It's a wee-bit too small- I'm a XL/2Xl, and I got a Medium! No matter- I might look like a stuffed sausage, but I'm still going to wear my LaMarcus Bros shirt- with PRIDE!

Clamshells. The restraints are called Clamshells. Alternatively, they are also called B&M Hypercoaster trains. (I kept reading it over and over "Seashells???")

Something I find deplorable is the fee-ing up of the parks with parking fees, Q-Bot fees, fastPass fees, everything is a fee-for-all at most major park chains. But the one thing I find TRULY despicable is the charging of fees for preferred parking- and for that matter, charging for Handicapped/physically challenged spaces. It's rather astounding that places charge for that- and then being told that you'll have to fee-up for parking a vehicle, when there are so few options at most parks to use. If parks really want to get more people in, getting rid of the fees will be a huge start. I know I don't buy-up the tickets at a park for that reason- and yes, I do use Handicapped Access in most parks. R.D.

Hans, The video and pictures from such an adorable little park are amazing- especially what is considered to be the oldest steel coaster standing (Not to mention- the first one!) I'm looking forward to your next update-

Sit back, relax, hold on tight... enjoy travelling at the Speed of FRIGHT.