dougr

I see a couple of posters beat me to it with Silverwood with its twin woodies, so I posit DISNEYLAND: Matterhorn and Space Mountain.

I concur on the return of People Mover. It would be an AWESOME way to move between parks.

My opinion is Superman IS a drop tower ride, it just launches sideways. Otherwise why would you have to slam the brakes on after every drop?

Partly suspended stretchy restraints like Tatsu might work.

Maybe they're going to do an Expedition Everest/Revenge of the Mummy trick where they launch you up one track, switch you over and roll you back another? Could run two trains on large track that way.

^^I passed a sign on I-15 saying "houses from $179,000" I kinda doubt anythings going to be built in the next couple of years.

We've got a similar spinning ride to that tower on the far right here at the PNE. There's a reason so many rides spin-helps to balance the forces out.

Why don't they use the LIMs to make an actual launching coaster? It could be more precise and no risk of shredded cables

So even if Intamin had nothing to do with it, you're still comparing manufacturers? Holiday Park has had this coaster for 9 years, and Intamin's liability for the ride has LONG since past. It's practically the same thing with Xcelerator, only KBF has had that for 8 years. Is it Ron Toomer's (or Arrow's) fault that Magnum slipped through the breaks and "crashed" in 2007? Was it Schwarzkopf's fault when Mindbender killed three people? The answer to all those is a resounding "no." Once the park gets a coaster in operation, it's THEIR responsibility to maintain the ride. Well, yes....it was partially Schwarzkopf's fault in the Mindbender accident. Maybe you should get your facts straight. The accident happen approx. 6 months after opening. The company was found partially at fault for lack of providing proper maintenance procedures, or something like that, to the park. The accident pretty much bankrupted the company because they were found to be partially at fault. It is quote obvious from the photos that an entire rear truck assembly came off of a car in the middle of the train, and the train *probably* dragged on the track causing it to stop. Unfortunately this is not the first time this has happen on a coaster. Beyond that I would say you can't assume much until (or if) more details are released to the public. Regards, Ted It turned out that the Mindbender maintenance manual hadn't been translated from German. In the Xcelerator incident, it was unclear whether the cable was supposed to be inspected every six months or every month. According to one news report, Knott's asked Intamin to clarify and Intamin DIDN'T GET BACK TO THEM. Of course, when CalOSHA asked after the incident, Intamin said it was supposed to be inspected monthly. Where does Intamin's responsibility end and the park's begin? Knott's is going to use magnetic induction inspection every month-better than visual inspection. Mindbender gets checked thoroughly visually inspected every couple of hours. Should these manufactuers be training maintenance crews and requiring more thorough inspections, instead of signing off?

My 2 cents. It was a little strange having free beer samples at a family amusement park owned by a beer company. I understand having beer for sale at a few locations, but the beer focus was just wrong. This sums up my feelings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3TKt0Q1-5Y

I SO want to say something sarcastic here. Intamin did have to rework a section of Maverick track, apparently because of excessive g-forces. Just my eyeballing is telling me that transition could be trouble. Just sayin', is all. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maverick_%28roller_coaster%29

I'm a little worried about the G-forces in the first twist transition. Intamin might have to rework the track there similar to what was done with Maverick.

I say floorless like Medusa. Now for the Giant Octopus: [/img] Boxy Medusa goodness!

I don't think I've been on a B&M regular coaster. But I have been on plenty of Vekomas and Arrows and a few Suspended coasters including Kong and Silver Bullet. Floorless compares favorably to Suspended, and don't just see the back of the seat in front of you when you're not in the front row. I did make a special effort to be in the front row for this picture. I'm Flying!

I find that floorless feels smoother and less painful. Maybe it has something to do with the body geometry of not having your feet on the floor. Maybe it's just that Medusa is a very well designed coaster?