ebl

Two words come to mind here: Spare parts. Eric

1. None. 2. Nada. 3. Zilch. I can't stand the stuff. Eric

^ Likes to LOL a lot. Not that there's anything wrong with that... Eric

Favorite band? Rubber. Those come in soooo handy... Eric

Now that they've repainted the line, we can get candy at a discount. Eric

I've only ridden the original---Xcelerator at Knott's. I think it's a great concept; unfortunately, the launch is hard on my stomach so I don't ride much, despite the fact that overall I do like it. Right now, I think Intamin and the parks ought to look at a ride that's more than just launch, up, down, and back. At some point, I'm sure there will be a lengthy Millennium Force-like coaster using a launch instead of a tall lift hill. Eric

The key thing is that Spurlock controlled what he ate. Honestly, you can eat healthy at McDonald's. You don't need giant hamburgers and Super-sized fries like so many people eat. You can order burgers without mayo/secret sauce (saves ten grams of fat and 100 calories) and you don't necessarily have to eat all of the bun. I get Big Macs without the sauce and pull the middle bun. If you put a bit of ketchup on it, it tastes exactly the same. A small bag of fries will do, or you can substitute a good sized salad at no charge with combos. Drink water or diet drinks and you cut a lot of sugar. You can ask for fries without salt---they'll just give you a fresh order right out of the fryer and before they sprinkle the salt. And this is true at so many places besides McDonald's as well. I always laugh at people who think that fast food is automatically bad for you just because it's fast food. You can eat poorly and overeat at home, too. Eric

^ [rim shot guy quits] Eric

I have two of those on my desk exactly like yours. One time, I'm going to shoot a TR of my day at the office and I'll be sure to include 'em! Eric

^ You probably won't be at SFMM till about 2:00 by the time you get your baggage, drop your uncle off, drive 90 minutes (or more) north. I say, come the night before and stay somewhere in the San Fernando Valley or Valencia. That way, you can get up bright and early Saturday and be at SFMM when they open. That time of the year, they're not open past 6pm, 8pm at the latest. Eric

I love cheese---unless it's moldy. Eric

I took Diana shopping last weekend for her casino outfit. She's working her first job on Saturday helping me stack chips at the roulette table. I'll post a shot of her---and maybe one of me, too! Eric

^ SpongeBob wannabe. < Eric wannabe. V Bea Arthur wannabe!

At one time I was "up there." But that had nothing to do with being a coaster enthusiast. It was because I got lazy and ate everything in sight. Now I'm down to 150 lbs. (5'-8" tall) and I still like coasters. About the gay thing, I don't know. It does seem like there's a significant percentage of ACE members/park fans who are gay, but I don't think that means anything. Eric

I saw that sign at Scream! the last time I was there. It was kind of funny, actually. Eric

My two cents' worth: Yes, it'll be crowded. Yes, the 50th stuff should be going on. May 5 kicked off a 16- or 18-month (can't remember which) celebration. I'd say it's worth it. Even better if you can get a discount of some kind. Eric

^ Nice shot of the Sky Tower with the crescent moon over it! And nice report overall! Going to SFMM during the week in the summer is the best time because there's no one there. It's too bad they aren't open daily through October and from mid-March like they were in the mid-to-late '90s. That one shot taken from Revolution...what's that horribly rusted thing? If that's part of the ride, that's scary. Notice that the track in Gold Rusher's station is red. That was the original paint color of the entire track during the park's first year (1971). For whatver reason, while they've repainted the ride a couple of times, they have yet to repaint the station track. I'm not sure why. Eric

Your pictures made me long for another trip to WDW. My last (and so far only) visit there was in July 2002. Eric

^^ You do need to wear sunscreen on your scalp, though! Or a good hat, but at least you won't get "hat hair!" Eric

When you keep thinking of random stuff to post here. Eric

Jordan Shankman said: "I know, not very healthy, but hey...i've got a high metabolism." I did, too, when I was 16. Then it slowed waaaaayyyy down and I ended up with Type 2 diabetes. Nip it in the bud now, my friend. Anyway, today is $1 Chicken McNugget Day, so you can figure out what I had for lunch. Along with that, I had a small fries and a Diet Coke. 45 total carbs. Not that bad. Eric

^ LOL!!! But seriously, during the last few years, they did cut back on opening attractions, they haven't acquired any addtional parks, and, wisely, they sold their European parks. What they need to do is to unload some parks here in the U.S. and keep only their most profitable ones. Well, and AstroWorld, too. They need somewhere to send used coasters. Eric

Not being much for eggs, I believe I'll pass this up. But I'm glad for those of you do enjoy them. As for snacks, I'll just stick to pie, thank you. Eric

It's nice to see a B&M that drops right off the top of the lift instead of having that little hump thing. That makes not only for a better start of the ride and a more pleasing profile, from an aesthetic standpoint.

My daughter, a 15-year-old, 105-lb half-Asian , rides it and loves it every time. I just get thrown around too much and have had more than my share of rough rides on it. I'm glad it works for you, Joe. Honestly, the entire ride is a great concept, but is flawed in its execution. One thing that I think would have helped is a wider track, perhaps with the extra wheel set that drives the rack and pinion system (for seat rotations) on the inside rather than the way they ended up doing it. Trains would have had greater stability, and I believe that would have cut way down on the roughness. I'm not an engineer, though I do work in the industry. But the bottom line is that no one should have to "learn" how to ride anything. The idea of a ride is to get on and enjoy it. Eric "Just my two cents' worth" L.