metrock

^ Heh, I just LOVE how people assume that all wooden roller coasters are old (and sometimes dangerous). Do they forget that most homes are built from wood? But, here in California I can kind of understand. We haven't exactly had a lot of new wooden coasters over the past 30 years.

Well they sneak around the world from Scandi to Carolina, They're a sticky-fingered filcher from Berlin down to Madrid, They'll take you for a ride on a slow boat to China, Tell me where in the world is Robb and Elissa?

Yeah, you would think it would be important to check and make sure the restraint is locked. If you only push down, you're not fully "checking" the restraints. In a perfect world, they should be lightly pushing down to make sure there isn't a big gap and then pull up hard to make sure it is locked.

There was one ride operator who was pushing down a bit hard on my lapbar, making one of my rides a tad uncomfortable. Though, I don't think anyone was trying to staple people. They were all working quite fast wen checking. Some like to push, some like to pull. I just avoided the side the op was working. Didn't have a problem with anyone else.

LMFAO!!!! So, you were the one with the camera. I didn't even know I could make such a face. Amazing! Where there any others of me that you didn't post? I'd love to see 'em. Thanks.

One of my favorite MJ songs. Just a beautiful song. I didn't think I would, but I got choked up listening to it again. The song fits his life and death perfectly. Especially the end of the song when Jackson speaks the following lyrics as an angel flys behind him, embracing him at the end. "In Our Darkest Hour In My Deepest Despair Will You Still Care? Will You Be There? In My Trials And My Tripulations Through Our Doubts And Frustrations In My Violence In My Turbulence Through My Fear And My Confessions In My Anguish And My Pain Through My Joy And My Sorrow In The Promise Of Another Tomorrow I'll Never Let You Part For You're Always In My Heart."

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen"

^ Very cool! I look forward to Sunday. Should be a lot of fun.

^ I kinda found out about the roller coaster by chance. When I was in the Navy, I was staying at the hotel down the street waiting for them to fly me out to the ship. I walked down to the mall to get some groceries and found out they had a roller coaster. That was in 2003. And then when I was there in 2005, I rode again. I also have credits on 2 coasters at Wonderland in Dubai. Nessi Coaster and Coaster. But I figure you would have those too, being in Dubai and all. My favorite ride there wasn't a coaster though. All about Taga Disco. Thats me in the blue hanging on with on arm with my feet flying in the air. The coolest part was that they encouraged you to stand up on the ride and try and dance in the middle. Didn't take long for me to fall to t he ground. Something you would NEVER find stateside.

Nice update man. Always good to see people visiting this small local park. One thing about Freeway Coaster - Back seat has crazy laterals. Rode with a friend and I think I almost broke his ribs. Be warned

My most "rare" coaster credit is "Jungle Storm" at Chakazoolu Indoor Theme Park located inside the Al Dana Mall in Bahrain. I have off ride footage of it that I'll get up one of these days. For now, I came across these pics on my computer:

But Terminator will never be as good as GhostRider once was!! I agree. And if you are lucky enough to get a smooth ride on Ghostrider in its current state, it sure beats the pants off almost any other woodie out there. But when it is rough, I can only stand the pain for one ride.

Yeah, cool report. I didn't even know planes flew over SFMM ... that close anyways.

A question for Robb- The cutoff date for sending you the money is today, the 19th. I mailed in a check last week, but just noticed that you are on the Scandinavia trip till the 22nd. So I wasn't sure if you were even going to know that there is a check waiting for you at home. I didn't want to get bumped or anything. Thanks

So I guess Superman:The Escape isn't a coaster.

When the coaster first opened, the first tunnel still had the white lights from when they were working on the ride. The park didn't get them replaced with the red bulbs (like in the second tunnel) till sometime after opening day.

Oh yeah, totally understandable. I guess what I am still wondering is if I am given a grace period after registration in order to mail in the money. If the check doesn't get there before the cap is hit, do I still have a spot?

^ I registered a few days ago and selected the option to mail in money. Just didn't know if my registration wasn't complete until he got the check, or if I could pay when I get there. Heh, and I had $20 in my wallet when I ran into Robb on Saturday. Didn't think about it till I got home.

As far as the payment goes, will this be like the other local events where the payment can be made at time of registration, or should I mail in a check? (I don't use paypal)

Magic Mountain has a winner with this addition. Not only is it, by far, the best theming they have done since Batman, it is a solid ride throughout. I'd place it somewhere in my top 5 wooden coasters under El Toro and Boulder Dash. Like with any coaster, when I rank it, I take into consideration the environment in which it sits. In the case of Terminator Salvation:The Ride, the theming added a lot to the overall ride experience. (Two tunnels, a station fly through, fog, sound, and lighting) Kudos to the park for having a stellar opening day. The line moved quickly and the wait was nor more than 1 - 1 1/2 hours all day long. The only downside right now is the assigned seating. Luckily, my 1st ride was in the back and my 2nd (and 1st night time) ride was in the very front. And let me tell you, that night time ride in the front was one of the best night time rides I have ever had on a coaster. For some reason, the front seats on GCI's are always better than the back. I got more airtime and a better overall ride. Now, what made the night time ride so good was the cold night air followed by the heat of the flame followed by a fog filled tunnel that made it impossible to see where I was going (and left me wet at the end of the ride), followed by the darkness of the back stretch. I look forward to riding this coaster many more times. It has already become my wooden equivalent of Batman: The Ride. One of those rides that I'd try and hit every single visit because of how fun it is.

^ Never? Boston Earthquake 1755 Only a matter of time ...

Speaking of fog and special effects .... ... I wonder if the new management is going to get the fog for Batman and Goliath going again. I can't imagine it costing too much. It just adds so a lot to the experience. Especially the fog they had when you returned to the Batman station.

^ Except it was used for a little more than sitting down and relaxing ...

Since we are talking about lights. How about they bring back the chase lights on the handrails of Colossus?

^^ That is VERY good to hear. But I don't want a new park at the Great Park. That is, I don't want to see the current location go. Now, if they were able to move and rebuild some of the slides, then I would be somewhat satisfied. See, the charm of Wild Rivers isn't the slide selection, it is how the slides were integrated. Plus it is cool to see the remaining buildings and theming from Lion Country. But, ya know, it still makes no sense to me. The great park is essentially open flat land -- perfect to build homes on. And it isn't by an amphitheater! Where as with Wild Rivers, there is infrastructure that needs to be removed and so on. Plus that parking lot cant go anywhere till the lease with Verizon is up.