ebl

In case anyone is wondering about the Funatics rewards, I just got a Skip to the Front of the Line pass in my e-mail today. All I have to do is print it and bring it to the park. It's good till May 12, 2010. Eric EDIT: Just tried to print the voucher, and I got a window saying that apparently adding the voucher to the "cart" and printing it isn't available yet. Interesting...I'll try again later.

Nope...didn't know you were supposed to clean them... Have you ever ridden a coaster while wearing a tie?

I got my booklet today with no wait. As for the park, the first section of the parking lot wasn't even filled, and wait times were pretty short---with one exception: Terminator running one train. The people working the l ockers said it was about a 90-minute wait. Therefore, I skipped it. I rode X2 twice within 15 minutes (to make up for last time not riding it at all). Riddler's Revenge took me five minutes to get on. Goliath was almost a walk-on. Strangely, Scream! had a line all the way down to halfway between the l ockers and the entrance of the ride. I didn't check to see how many trains were running, but I skipped it anyway. Skipped Colossus, too. Batman, Ninja, Deja Vu, and Superman were closed. And I went up in the Sky Tower for awhile. The End. Eric

^ Good taste in condiments with JUST KETCHUP. < Likes just ketchup. V Likes to "ketchup" to a herd of stampeding elephants!

^ No offense to Big Mike, but how was he able to ride Percy's Railway Eric

"So what if they're fungi?" Well, some say that I'm a fun guy, so... Eric

^^ And, by the way, it's 2010 now... Eric

Since I'm 68" tall, I have only an inch to spare for riding Timberline Twister. But it's not really that much fun. I think I still have creases in my thighs from the lap bar. Eric

I drove my wife's car today for the first time since 2005. Eric

Not. Even. Have you ever ridden in or driven all of your household's cars in the same day?

^ Into chrome. < Stretches jokes. V Stretches pantyhose!

^ Colossus' ORIGINAL layout, or what most people know prior to the double dip being removed. If SFMM restored the 1978 version, they'd have two flying coasters---only with Colossus, riders would really fly! Trust me, I rode it then... Eric

^ I'm not sure exactly what you're asking, but I suspect you're asking about the belt that you have to fasten on B&M inverted coasters, floorless, standup, etc. Those belts are not meant to act as an additional means of securing the bar, but rather to ensure that it is down far enough to keep you safe. If the belt can't be fastened, then you can't ride (or have to be moved to a "big boy" seat that some coasters have). Eric

Note about credit or debit cards: Whenever you are at an ATM or point of sale, make sure that the device where you swipe your card doesn't have anything that looks "added on" to the slot through which the card will be slid. Those are little readers that collect card info and can be detached. The crook then takes that device and retrieves card info and is able to actually create a new card. I've seen this on various newscasts. Also, if a clerk swipes your card, be sure that clerk doesn't double swipe it. That's how I had a gasoline card's info stolen and $1000 added to the account very quickly. (Imagine going to get gas and being told that your card's credit limit has been maxed out when you pay it off every month. The oil company put our card on hold to investigate, and finally released us from paying the balance once they determined that the charges were fraudulent, but we had to get all new cards, etc.) During the time our card was on hold, we had to use our backup card and loaded that card close to its max. Bottom line: you just have to be careful, or use old-fashioned cash. Eric

"Does anyone think that the "Texas Giant" name will be altered in any way?" (Me) Yeah, I can see it now... Tex 2. Eric

Does anyone think that the "Texas Giant" name will be altered in any way? Seems almost like it needs to because it won't be the original Giant anymore. When I saw that steel was being used, my first thought was they were pulling a Colossus on it (Steel I-beam track), but putting a layer of wood on top to keep the "wood" feel. However, it appears that the only wood in the ride will be the structure holding it up. Eric

^^^ The onions I don't mind, especially because they'll be cooked. But I agree about the mushrooms---they'd be mysteriously left out of my version. Eric

^ Nice pictures. All those rides on a Saturday? I was there on Sunday and couldn't get near X2, and barely rode Terminator once. Tatsu was slow, as was Goliath. Strange because normally Saturdays are busier. I just checked the park map here, and it's the map from 2009. Hopefully the new one will be up sometime soon. Eric

^ Hopefully that means that the 42" limit is not final. Eric

To Gregg: I'd still walk the Strip from the Sahara all the way down to Mandalay Bay. It's the part between downtown and the start of the Strip that concerns me. Eric

Just a note for those who haven't yet noticed...SFMM's 2010 park maps are being given to guests and are also available in the usual places. Mr. Six's Dance Coaster is shown on them with one of those NEW! graphics next to it. Eric

^ When I cook anything dish or utensil intensive, I clean as I go---makes the job a LOT easier. Nice report, Chuck. Eric

Last month, I got a letter from Arbitron (TV/radio ratings) with two crisp dollar bills just saying thanks for...whatever it was. In that letter, they said that if I filled out a survey (also enclosed with the letter along with a postage paid return envelope) and sent it back, they'd send me five dollars. So I spent an entire five minutes on the survey and mailed it back. Today, in the mail, was something from Arbitron. I figured it was junk mail, but I always open my junk mail and toss or shred as necessary. Not junk mail today---it was a crisp $5 bill with a letter of thanks for sending in the survey. Now, five dollars isn't much these days, but receiving a total of $7 for about five minutes' work without even asking for it ain't a bad thing---it works out to $84/hour. Eric

^ Guy, are you an ACE member by chance? Eric

^^^ Here in the U.S., it's not just green anymore. Now we have money with peach, purple, red, white, blue, etc. all over it. Eric