QueerRudie

Ohhhhhhhhh YES! Nice. VERY NICE! All those lovely rides from Past, Present and Future!

Here's something that I found interesting- from Schwartzkopf.Coaster.net http://schwarzkopf.coaster.net/ESflugbahnGF.htm This site, BTW, is one of the -finest- repositories for anything from Herr Achterbahn's life. Some of the pictures and models are amazing to see- and this might explain some of the different types of attractions- including the 'Flying' Coaster (Aptly named when you see the pictures). R.D.

Oooohh... But CERTAINLY not enough Intamin Goodness!

OUTSTANDING POST & TR! SM75 was my first 'willing' coaster back in 1988 (March 8, 1988- 10:15 AM, for those who -reeeely- know of me being anal-retentive). I still have a huge soft-spot for SM75, and always will. Seeing the 'plussing' of the ride just makes me want to head to MCO and the MK that much more. I tlooks like they've really done their homework and done it well, by '50s' theming the ride up the wazoo. VERY VERY cool to mix that with techno-space theming as well. I don't think they could have done it much better if they'd tried! Having ridden SM77 in October (October 16, 2009- 11:27AM) and having been -blown away- by the SM:GG theme-up, I hope to not be disappointed by SM75's upgrades. After seeing this update, I can rest easily knowing I won't be! R.D.

I bow my head in sadness for another loss of a park and a coaster for good. This trend is getting out of hand. In the past decade TN has lost two parks- and a great classic coaster in the mix. Goodbye Libertyland. May your spirit live on in our memories.

Robb & Elissa, these updates are -fantastic- and are really taking the edge off of the 'being sick blues'- Keep em' coming... and Robb, How about some Intamin Porn? THANKS! (And I hope Preschool went well!) R.D.

Hmmmm... A Chef needs to speak up I guess! Breakfast Burritos for a fast-and-easy start to your day (Especially since they can be made in advance and easily re-heated... You will need (Makes 10 'burritos') 10 Pack of Flour tortillas 8 medium eggs 1/2 cup Monterey Jack Cheese 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese 1/2 cup Red Pepper, Diced 1/2 cup Sweet onion (MUST BE SWEET!) Insert your favorite Breakfast MEAT here- I prefer a good Chorizo- Scramble eggs to a -soft- state- not runny, but not rubbery, and place evenly in the middle of the tortillas. Sprinkle cheese, peppers, onions on top, then the chorizo. Meanwhile, have your oven/toaster oven set at 400 degrees. Pop said burritos into the oven for about 5-8 minutes, to melt the cheese and finish cooking the eggs. Eat.

ASTOUNDING. SIMPLY AMAZING! I sure hope you're doing this for parks for a living- as there are many of us out here who'd love to see things like that for general use! I've yet to see a park map done that well. KUDOS to you for such a phenominal drawing.

Terribly terribly sad- but a great TR. It reminds me of a small park that used to be in everybody's neighbourhood back decades ago- and so very sad to see another gem go the way of the Dodo. Sigh. Where's my winning lottery ticket when I need it?

I'm kind of stunned, and even saddened a bit to see so much negativity here with this thread- Yes, it's sad that we lost some truly great rides in the past 10 years- (BBW, TC, TG- to name a few)... BUT... Ten years ago we'd have choked at a 120 degree drop. We wouldn't be able to fall 459 feet on a coaster track The idea that simple parks would have hypercoasters as a STANDARD installation- let alone GIGA installations would have been laughed at- Dollywood would get a Dolly-woodie that's worthy of top-10 status- A floorless coaster with TEN seats across? HA. We would be able to ride things via HD Video despite our inability to travel distances easily. Coasters of the past being rebuilt- and in many cases better than ever. Ravine Flyer II would actually OPEN. A park would have enough guts to take on a Wooden Bobsled (OK, so it's not open. Yet. At least they're TRYING to do something classic again!) Smaller parks could afford a big thrill- without breaking the budget. We'd be riding some of Schwartzkopf's Greatest rides today (See also: Whizzer- for as long as we can!) We've seen the passing of a great many, both rides and great people out there, many of whom we fondly remember. I hope (and pray) that the one's we lost would want us to think of how far we've come, and how great things are- and to look forward to the future with great hope- and not so much sorrow for what we lost. In Memory of Steve Urbanowicz, whose riding what Anton is building

Bring back the 70's look Tommorowland. The cheesy tile murals, the pale blue and white structural elements, etc. (Actually, I kinda liked that look for tommorowland. Always looked good to me...) In reality: Dump HISTA. Tron works. As does the original (if outdated, but still way-cool) Black Hole. Possibly even use the space for something special or different in theme element design. Disneyland is missing H20 rides as a general rule, which could make for a very cool attraction. (Hmmmm... Perhaps dig out the theater, and go from there.) Sadly, building another enclosed coaster there (Save one for alien theme/alien planet theme) would be a dupe for the most part. Simply putting up standard steel coaster wouldn't work either- but then again, only one 'spin n' spew' ride makes not for a theme area. Put Orbiters BACK on the pedestel where it belongs. But an ENCLOSED spin n' spew- themed for example, would really work. Something right nauseating. PUT THE PEOPLEMOVER BACK. PERIOD. It was CLASSIC THEN. It is STILL A classic now. Shame, Shame, SHAME on Disney for pulling this out for a 'failed concept' ride. We all know about Star Tours 2, so that's a go. And, Of Course, Bring back Carousel Of Progress. Just my .02 worth.

In a lot of ways, keeping Knotts a 'classic' park is a great thing to do- and by preserving such rides as Demon Drop and Monte's Revenge is a good place to start. Simply ripping out coasters for the sake of building new rides is a waste. Many of us got our start on 'older' or 'not so big' rides such as Jaguar and Monte's Revenge. Whereas they may not add tons of people to ride them, they are just as much a classic as you'd find in Matterhorn or even the Coney Island Cyclone. And, it goes without saying, a coaster with big hills doesn't always make for a good park. Sometimes, you get a real winner. And in other times, a real weiner. We just lost one of the greatest steel coasters ever built due to the 'rip it out, it's not big enough' mentality this year, and unfortunatly, we lost not only a classic, but a -rare- classic as well. (installing my asbestos underwear for the next statement) Belive it or not, as much as I enjoy B&Ms.... They lack real punch as of late- and the majority of their newer designs are, well, uninspired and very much duplicates of others. Intamin is refining and redesigning their designs with things such as the Megalite (Real kick-A@@ coaster design)- as well as the -true- Giga class coasters (Intimidator 305, Millenium). Gertslauer (sp!) is breaking the mold with the EuroFighter coasters. Mack is getting into the game with their new launch series. What 'new' have Walter and Claude come up with lately. Nada. Nothing. Zero. Leave Knott's older rides alone. Shredding Monte to put in a rather uninspired Beemer isn't the answer. Cherishing our classics as well as our new generation rides makes more sense.

In a lot of ways, keeping Knotts a 'classic' park is a great thing to do- and by preserving such rides as Demon Drop and Monte's Revenge is a good place to start. Simply ripping out coasters for the sake of building new rides is a waste. Many of us got our start on 'older' or 'not so big' rides such as Jaguar and Monte's Revenge. Whereas they may not add tons of people to ride them, they are just as much a classic as you'd find in Matterhorn or even the Coney Island Cyclone. And, it goes without saying, a coaster with big hills doesn't always make for a good park. Sometimes, you get a real winner. And in other times, a real weiner. We just lost one of the greatest steel coasters ever built due to the 'rip it out, it's not big enough' mentality this year, and unfortunatly, we lost not only a classic, but a -rare- classic as well. (installing my asbestos underwear for the next statement) Belive it or not, as much as I enjoy B&Ms.... They lack real punch as of late- and the majority of their newer designs are, well, uninspired and very much duplicates of others. Intamin is refining and redesigning their designs with things such as the Megalite (Real kick-A@@ coaster design)- as well as the -true- Giga class coasters (Intimidator 305, Millenium). Gertslauer (sp!) is breaking the mold with the EuroFighter coasters. Mack is getting into the game with their new launch series. What 'new' have Walter and Claude come up with lately. Nada. Nothing. Zero. Leave Knott's older rides alone. Shredding Monte to put in a rather uninspired Beemer isn't the answer. Cherishing our classics as well as our new generation rides makes more sense.

Nice job with that find- astounding, really. It must be something in the German water or something, considering the origins of some of the greatest designers (Anton, for example). The ride looks like the old K'Nex looping coasters of the early 90's- and nearly as similar cars!

Thanks- That's got me thinking 'strategic ride implementation' of sorts!

HOW VERY COOL! Shane, yet again, I'm floored. It's amazing to see how much integral differences there are between something so similar- I.E. the covered Main Street- and the very essence of a park's spirit. (And this 24 hours before I go to Disneyland for the first time, too!) R.D.

Once again, THANKS IN HEAPS! This is my first trip to DisneyLand (Done the 'others' before, but not the Mother-Ship if you will....)- and I'm very happy to be doing it with my partner. Question about FastPass: I'm guessing that I can pre-schedule an entire day using this system, or are there drawbacks/limits to how I can use it. I'm particularly wondering about things such as Space, Thunder and Matterhorn along the way- I.E. Can I possibly schedule multiple rides in advance for it? Keep em Coming! R.D.

THANKS! Good advice- I'm a Nooby to the SOCAL parks- esp. Disneyland! Keep em' coming Friends! R.D.

Greetings... So, In a rather sudden burst of luck (for once!) I'm headed to Disneyland for my Birthday on Friday. What should I expect of the park- and crowds for that matter along the way? Thanks! R.D.

A very well done TR on my favorite park. Seeing Nessie's 'private parts' was surely cool- and despite being 'primative' she still looks HOT to me. (But then again, I might be biased. After all, Nessie IS my #1)

From Intamin AG's Website: PLEASE NOTE! THIS IS THE MF DATA QUOTED! Being a fervent optimist, and having SEEN the 'Giga' label pictures, I'm still tending to belive we're in for something VERY VERY big- Perhaps not my 'ideal' 480 footer, but then again, I can't have everything. I do find it very interesting that Intamin classifies Giga as being over 300 feet- which tends to make me thing that they're headed north of that direction at this point. Assuming that the lift is steeper than MF, it -IS- Feasable that they could use the existing site for the lift and first drop- and mind you, they're still doing things to the site as we're reading/commenting on this.

Hey all- Question: This is my first TPR event- I live on the Penninsula, and don't own a car. Is there anybody who's able to pick up/drop me off from San Mateo? I'd help split gas and tolls! Thanks!

OMFG! THAT was a RIOT! I have yet to see something so, um, APT in all of Disneyana.... PRICELESS!

Skycoasters: If the Higher Power had ever intended for me to swing from a cable, He would have put a hook in my back and swung me.

From the looks of this thing, the lift is going to be -very- steep to begin with, but vertical, notsomuch. Simply put, it doesn't match what the HersheyPark Fahrenheit lift looks like- close, but no cigar on that one. Considering the size of the ground that they're working with (so far, based upon the 'plot' that's been dug up) it makes me think that what we're working with is something akin to a 'cross-breed' from Expediton Ge-Force and Millenium Force. (Hmmm... perhaps a 'working name' would be 'Expedition Millenium Force) The lift structures are fascinating, however, and look like the 'minimalist' structure style that's becoming vogue as of late. Think of the lift structure of Alpengeist, for example- very few 'columns' per se, but with a great design along the way. Mind you, Geist Almighty isn't nearly as 'tall' as this thing is projected to be (For those of you keeping a 'betting pool' I'm guessing that 405 isn't entirely out of the question with that steep a lift) but the idea sounds about the same to me. I'm also beginning to wonder when we'll begin to see 'curve' track for all those great straight but bent for drops/hills elements- as from what I've seen, they've not appeared as such yet. From the looks of the 'hole' I'm guessing there will be quite a few out there- which, for those of us who like PozG rides, will be a -real- treat. Oh well, we wait. And wait. And WAIT. (Here's hoping that they have a high-capacity system in mind for this thing- No three hour plus waits!)