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^ Funny thing...I hated it when I was a kid, but nowadays find it to be rewarding when you're all done and can look out in your yard and see it all cleaned up. I have a major car service coming up (the 150,000-mile one) and can no longer use my credit card (long story). At the moment, I'm not sure how to pay the $300 or so that it will cost. Eric

The only bottle I own is a stainless steel one that I won from Big Mike at WCB 2009. Metal bottles > plastic bottles. Did anyone miss me while I took a break from here?

Maybe the new restaurant will be a Johnny Rockets. But it would be nice to offer something completely different---gyros, for instance. My guess is that when Thrill Shot is removed, another upcharge attraction will go there. The Tidal Wave/Freefall area will be big enough to put a good sized ride into. It will be interesting to see what it will be. If in fact it is the future location of a new coaster, I'd like to see it intertwine with Riddler's Revenge and/or Batman if possible. Eric

I rode a Toboggan at the L.A. County Fair once. Note I said, "once." Arnold's looks like a nice place to take a family. I'm guessing they have a picnic area there or close to there? Eric

^^ That's a great picture! Funny thing, though, I don't remember Galaxy being painted those funky colors. I always remember the giant arms as white, and the gondolas as the basic blue, green, red, and yellow. I wonder where that picture was taken from---it's at the wrong angle to have been taken from the Sky Tower. Eric

^ Yeah, I forgot about those towers that hold 40-50 people at a time. I tend to think of the S&S towers when I think "drop tower." Something like Acrophobia would be nice, especially up on top of the mountain. Also, when I walk up to X2, I do think about what could be added into that space between Viper and X2's queue area. Probably nothing really big, but definitely something. There are little pockets of space all over the park that could fit a flat ride or something. I have no doubts that Tim Burkhart and his staff can make good use of those areas in the future. Eric

Did you ever find out what this was, and if so, did you ride it? It looks like a Chance Toboggan to me, though exaggerated on the map. Looks like you two had a good time. Thanks for the report. Eric

^ And quite honestly, that'd be just fine. A revamped coaster and a "new" family coaster would be plenty for next year. Maybe a year or two later we'll get something really big. I think a drop tower would be a good addition, but, like the previously mentioned Ferris wheel, they don't have the throughput that a coaster does. The park already has a few rides that just don't move enough people through---and, unfortunately, some of those are coasters. Eric

This is lucky post number 7777 for me here at TPR. Four of a kind means I win the pot, but I won't call the kettle black. Eric

Such mean comments---you're all so freakist. Eric

Actually, I have. One time I ate at a McDonald's on Market St. in San Francisco. The place was decorated in dark wood and was dimly lit, like a fancy restaurant. They even had a doorman! I don't know if that McDonald's is still open now. Do you count the cars on passing trains?

"The closest thing was the Intamin double arm wheel they took out in the early 80s. (or was it late 70s)" (Robb) One of the first things that Six Flags did upon purchasing the park in 1979 was to remove the Galaxy. That was done no later than 1980. The ride was located in the spot where Buccaneer and Swashbuckler are now, and used the same station. (Each of those rides was built on a former load/unload area for the wheel.) From what I recall, Galaxy was always troublesome. It opened with the park in 1971, but I can't recall riding it till about the second or third season because it was usually closed. While it would be nice for SFMM to get a giant Ferris wheel (like the one at SFStL, for instance), the problem with them is that they're slow loading. That isn't the type of ride that SFMM needs. Eric

The last time I was at the park, I stopped in to check out Studio 6F---mostly because I wanted to see how they can cook up over 100 flavors out of that soda machine. Turns out that you can mix flavored syrups into your soda. So you can get, say, a Diet Coke, but mix in orange, cherry, raspberry, or a few others. I'm pleased to see that they're still working hard to keep the park clean. That really makes a difference. So now, SFMM has the only Six Flags Arrow megacoaster left of the three originally built in 1988-1990. Hopefully it'll be around for awhile longer, as it's actually been running very well in my opinion. Eric

To the best of my knowledge, SFMM only has the regular season pass and the Xtreme pass. I do know that Longhorn's doesn't accept the pass for the discount, but I've never had it denied anywhere else in the park. Sometimes, though, the employees don't know how to ring up the discount and have had ask their supervisor. Sometime in the next four to six months we should know what's taking place up on the mountain. Eric

Doesn't the State of California require OTSRs on any coaster with inversions? If that is the case, obviously, Montezooma's Revenge was grandfathered in or exempted for some reason. I do like the restraints on Tatsu, and I think that a vest is a good step away from the "traditional" OTSR. Restraints with a vertical adjustment like the ones on X2 and on some European Schwarzkopf coasters are another thought. Eric

^ I think corn tortillas are more tasty, but that's just a preference. @ the ghost: Taste Pilots Grill is my favorite place to eat at DCA. (Wild Blue Yonder burger for the win!) Maybe you'll be there next time I eat there. Eric

When Superman was first announced, I used to have dreams about it. In one dream, the car did overshoot the tower and flew off, crashing somewhere behind Food Etc. In another dream, the cars stopped at the top and you could get out. They had a restaurant and a gift shop up there, and you could stick around as long as you wanted. When you wanted back down, you just waited for a car to arrive with an empty seat, and climbed in. Eric

I could swear that says, "Ropcorn." I'm looking forward to my next visit to the Disneyland Resort. Eric

^ It's quite possible that the single cars and I-beam track that they have now will be replaced with tubular steel track and new cars or trains that can make turns. If tubular steel track is in fact in the works, we will no longer hear that incredibly loud noise every time a car goes up and down the tower---at least not the same noise and most likely not as loud. ^^ The current tracks would have to be slightly angled away from each other (that is, getting further apart as they head away from the station) or have a gentle curve added. I also think that the LSM launch would either be scrapped in favor of a cable, or have additional LSMs to boost the cars up the tower. Sometimes I like to know what's in store, and sometimes I just like to be surprised. Eric

^ You might have written your screen name as "X II" or "X-II." Some people might have understood that. When I take people's pictures, I tell them that I'll count to three. Then I count---in Roman numerals. "Eye. Eye eye. Eye eye eye." Usually they laugh at such nonsense and I get a good picture. Eric

Earlier, I did say that a drop ride wasn't going to happen on this tower, and that was because if you look at the tower from the side, you can see that it isn't just straight up and down. As the track curves upward on the tower, there's a slight jog to it. Robb did quote my post and said that it is possible for SFMM to do something if they really wanted to. I'm not a structural engineer, so what may appear to me to be "undo-able" may be done with some modifications. In nine or ten months, we'll be riding whatever the park is planning for Superman. It may be backwards launching cars, or they may make a full circuit ride out of it. Think about being a car being loaded on the left track and blasted out of the station, going up over the tower, and returning on the right track and unloading. Then the car is slid over, not unlike the Mr. Freeze rides. Then they could run two cars on it and get some decent capacity. Who knows what's in store? Eric

^ Could someone misread Kevin's screen name as "X2?" Eric

^ Superman's structure wasn't designed for a drop ride like Tower of Terror was, so don't look for one. Eric

Another couple of notes: It appears that all of the speakers on Terminator have been removed from the trains and replaced with that criss-cross patterned metal. Strangely, that actually adds a bit to the overall theme of the trains. Also, on X2, some of you may have noticed that there are variations in the soundtrack depending on which train you ride. (Or you all know and I've just been comatose. ) On Monday, I noticed that one line, a squeaky voice that says, "Whose idea was this?" is heard on Train 1, but not Train 2 (I don't know about Train 3). Personally, I haven't noticed any others, but maybe some of you have. For whatever reason, I just found that interesting. Eric

^^ Sometime last summer, I saw something like that televised, but it was at Six Flags St. Louis. It was kind of strange seeing people bowl with Batman---The Ride in the background. Eric