Blue Fire Guy

This IS a coaster themed to gold mining after all, so I agree that more tunnels could enhance the ride experience. The Prudential turn itself is actually a very effective placement for a tunnel (even if there weren't any Prudes to deal with), as it hides the section I call "airtime alley". Just as you exit the tunnel (especially if you're in the back), you'll have no time to react as you'll already be out of the seat. That said, this is absolutely ridiculous. It amazes me to no end that the Prudes are still unsatisfied, I too hope that if it goes SBNO come Monday (which I expect it will), it will be for a short time.

^ I feel exactly the same. While I find the egg beater lift pretty cool (to look at that is...), the rest of the ride is awful. I had the pleasure of riding the one at Wiener Prater last August...and only for the credit. Easily the worst ride I've had on a coaster as of now, the first abrupt turn had some of the most violent headbanging I've ever encountered. The rest of the ride was basically Mike Tyson boxing my ears around every corner, and I came off with a headache and bright red ears. Ouch!

It's dangerous to go alone! Take this.

Reliving Zelda: Link's Awakening DX on 3DS VC, the very first GBC game that I ever played circa 1999. Just beat Face Shrine, 6th and favorite dungeon of the game. It may seem like "just another 2D Zelda dungeon", but there's MUCH more to Face Shrine than that. For one, the music is amazingly mysterious and creepy (that's the only way I can describe it), and the dungeon map...the map shows that the dungeon layout is exactly the same as Link's face from his original NES LOZ sprite. Even creepier is the location of the water feature...it looks very much like a tear streaming down the face. Face Shrine Music

You might be a coaster nerd if... 1.) You (like me) are brought up in California, realize growing up that the world's top coasters (which are either super intense or filled with extreme ejector air) are out of state, and as such dream to move to a more airtime-rich area of the world (east coast, Europe, etc.) when you have the ability to do so. As much as I love Gold Striker at CGA, it is my #1 woodie...on a mostly Californian list. While it's a kick A$$ GCI with a high quantity (but moderate potency) of airtime, I know that there are even better, more airtime-filled woodies elsewhere for me to ride (Intamins, well kept GGs, well kept CCIs, Phoenix, and RMCs). 2.) Same as #1, except for this one you wish that California actually GETS an extreme ejector airtime machine worthy of being ranked amongst the best coasters in the world!

Europa Park (independent) is easily the best park I've been to as of now, and my 2nd visit to the park in back in July 2012 is NOT going to be my last. It's too f**king amazing for words to describe it.

Why GD's Morgan trains only use simple single-position lap bars (efficient operation, decent airtime on most hills) while Grizzly's Morgan trains have to use a tangled mess of belts along with the lap bars (sslllooooww operation, no airtime, a lot of nothingness) is beyond me. You'd probably survive Grizzly just fine with no restraints considering it's airtimeless layout, lol!

^ Especially in the second loop (major jackhammering there) and the coathanger transition into the corkscrews!

Awesome TR! That ride we had on Garlic Twirl was absolutely insane. And to those reading this, rolercstrluver didn't get head banging because it was rough, he got it because it was INTENSE. I was literally plastered to the wall on that thing due to the forces! That's the beauty of rider-controlled flats: they can either be nice and chill or "OMFG ride of your life!!!" intense depending on what the riders do. And about that caterpillar...it's a completely normal green caterpillar, nothing wrong about it at all! One last thing... There is really a TON of space in the back, and the park could benefit from a family-sized GCI or GG woodie here. I heard there was going to be a GCI to open along with the park, but it seems that never came to be...THIS SPACE IS PERFECT FOR A WOODIE!!!

Yesterday I made my second visit to the San Mateo County Fair, the first being in June of last year. TPR members Angry_Gumball, JeffyJosephNorCal, and some other friends joined me for a fun day. Here are the highlights: 1.) Unique to yesterday (Disaster Preparedness Day), parking and admission were free for anybody arriving before 11 am. 2.) Butler had brought in a pretty cool selection of rides including an ARM/Larson drop tower (my favorite type of drop tower), a Gravitron, a Larson Fireball, a Zamperla Energy Storm, a 1001 Nachts, The Zillerator and a Wacky Worm (I already have the former as a credit), and a Zipper. Sadly, the Zipper wasn't ready to operate the day I visited and was sitting in a fenced off area of the parking lot , but that didn't stop us from having a lot of fun! 3.) Animals are awesome. There were the usual pigs, cows, chickens, and turkeys, but there was far more than just farm animals at the fair! You'll see it all in the photos. 4.) There was this really addicting exhibit with puzzles involving brain teasers, physics, and just stuff you could get addicted to instantly and want to do for hours. This will be in the photos as well. And now for the photos, enjoy! Angry_Gumball will have his photo TR of the fair up on this thread some time later, so stay tuned! Arriving at the entrance, a line is building up. Don't have to pay admission today! And we're about to go in... Kiddie carnival... ...and main carnival waiting to open. While the ARM drop tower looks small, it packs a HUGE punch! Angry_Gumball tries out a simple ball throwing game to kill the time. Here's the fair's Jeff Johnson credit, complete with an RCT-esque station! Here's the kiddie carnival's ferris wheel, Eagle 16. This thing rotated unusually fast and looks way more ghetto than Century Wheel in the main carnival! Bear Affair, similar to Dizzy Dragons, is one of those controllable rides that is very easy to spin. Kiddie swings... ...and the Chance Yo-Yo for comparison. This was actually a very fun ride! Not quite kick-boodie, but there was some bumping! OK, this ride is seriously f**ked up and doesn't make any sense. I'm keeping what's inside there a mystery, but it's just LAUGHABLE how bad this ride is! Ah, gotta love some "fully licensed" theming! I wish my legs weren't so long, otherwise I would be able to try out this crazy thing! Here's one for the cat enthusiasts. The Zillerator, a surprisingly smooth Pinfari death machine equipped with magnetic brakes. While it was testing, it stalled! I wish it could have valleyed with us on it, but it didn't. Sign of quality. NERD SHOT! Just about every ride here had wooden footers, a bit unnerving... Nope, not the B&M hyper in NJ... ...but a revolution/frisbee/pendulum type ride. For some odd reason, this ran a much better program in the afternoon. In the morning, it didn't even overbank! Tilt-a-whirl themed to football teams. Fun ride as always, and shifting your weight around makes for some great whip moments. This is the funhouse where I walked into transparent walls around 15000 times! Wacky Worm with a creepy face as usual, but it looks like it lost its antennae! LOL! Another NERD SHOT! More wooden footers. Zamperla Energy Storm. While nowhere near as intense as the Soriani/Moser Energy Storm Extasy at Wiener Prater, this ride was still very crazy! 1001 Nachts...or 1001 Orgasms. "I like the narrowness of his jibs..." 1001 Nachts has "fully licensed" theming as well! Here's Viper, a strange flat that's basically a banked scrambler. Viper's sign of quality. I need to say this again: This ride makes no f**king sense whatsoever! To conclude the carnival portion of the photos, here's Century Wheel. SUPER UBER NERD SHOT!!! I'll call this "NOM NOM Alley". Mmmmmmm... RIP... AKA Ghetto Zorbing! And now for some animals! Starting with fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo. These chickens made eerily perfect eye contact with my camera... Afro chicken! In case you want to know Angry_Gumball's real name... This looks like a half basset hound, half goat. Basset goat? Turkeys everywhere! And here are the ACErs...er, pigs. Either they're too tired today or they've just gotten off Grizzly or a "new-school" B&M. Zzzzzzzzzzz... Stay hydrated, it's really HOT today! All the pigs had Disney names. Even this one is Disney now...and he line jumps! LOL! Hidden Mickey in a jacuzzi! (That's JeffyJosephNorCal's hand if you're wondering) Here's an empty one... ...and a full one. The drink table in the middle is pretty cool. OMFG! A TRACKLESS TRAIN!!! MOST AMAZING TECHNOLOGY EVAR!!! A rock wall where if one gets to the top... ...they get $100. Nobody appeared to get even close to it! These were seriously the most disturbing fair souvenirs I've ever seen... ...see what I mean?!?! This animal exhibit was the best themed area of the entire fair! Macaw. This bird is what the new B&M wingrider at Ocean Kingdom in China is themed to. No joke! These hedgehogs reminded me of those adorable yet troublesome tribbles from Star Trek. I have no idea what this bird is, so I'll call it the Cray-Cray bird. Snakey! More snakey! Laughing kookaburra. This exhibit was incredibly addicting and fun! "Balls." Best. Puzzle. Name. Ever. This guy was showing this cool copter thing that could spell out messages in mid air. Wheeeee! AKA, The Smiler Booth. Complete with marmalizing illusions. It's the Triforce! Overview of the main exhibition hall. New hotness has been imbued within these old and busted cars. Hi Cedar Point, how's it going? To conclude my tr, here's the Zipper. Yeah, it's a bummer it wasn't ready the day we visited, but we still had a lot of fun! Hope you enjoyed the tr!

This thread is amazing! Arthur: The Ride, new for 2014 Mack powered suspended coaster at Europa Park, will have you eaten and crapped out by a caterpillar.

Man, this was a HOT day (both weather-wise and new hotness) at the park! A huge thanks to CGA for putting together this event and giving a great time. It really was very surreal, being on that pyro-train, it was just crazy! Finally got my first night rides in on GS, and like Angry_Gumball said, it wasn't really dark due to light pollution, but still insanely kick A$$ nonetheless. The park definitely has a winner on their hands here, and I am looking forward to riding it again next weekend!

^ Just checked the site, says tomorrow the park will be open 10am-10pm, with the opening ceremony at 11am. Not only am I looking forward to the 10am ride tomorrow, I am also looking forward to having my first true night rides on this beast. And yeah...I wish they would have gave us a warning in advance for this, it feels quite sudden. During my visit today, I had NO IDEA they'd soft open the ride in the late afternoon. I was just exiting Psycho Mouse (which had an unusually short line) when I heard the announcement on the speakers, and then I just booked it towards the coaster (and I normally don't run in theme parks). It really was very sudden, and I thought nothing of the ride opening until the announcement.

All signed up and ready to ride! Many thanks Robb!

Any reports on if (or if not) this rehab (looking at the "long" in the rehab here) has made a difference to how Ghostrider is running right now? If anybody has ridden in the front seat lately (where you can see light brownish-yellow track if there is any), how much retracking has there been done during this long rehab?

I wonder when the day will come when CGA admits Gold Striker will open in June, and even now, I do not know if it's a question of if or when they'll say that. If it's still "launching in May", I can see the 31st being opening day, but considering how things are right now, it seems highly unlikely.

It's funny...CGA putting excessive walls on the coaster makes me laugh due to the overkill factor. But at the same time, like Angry_Gumball said, it irritates me to not be able to experience those train flybys while waiting in line, as well as not being able to get those flybys on camera. Grrrrrrr... That said, it's still an insanely kick A$$ ride that I am looking forward to riding when it officially opens, and that's mainly due to the fact that I'll experience my first true night rides on it (10pm nights and Haunt).

^ The park most likely won't be open on 2016's Super Bowl (or should I say, YOLObowl) Sunday considering it's during the off-season...unless it opens specifically for the YOLObowl. If it does, there will be seriously a LOT of cleaning up to do (and that's an understatement, the scale of the "destruction" will be beyond our worst nightmares), whether it would be graffiti, physical property damage (including rides), and the list goes on. I'll be in UC Santa Cruz that year, maybe the bay area TPRers can join me for a day or two at the 'walk (YOLObowl Sundays at SCBB are pretty dead, meaning a marathon on Giant Dipper)? I wonder if that'll be far enough from the insanity...

That may very well be the case! If there's one thing I'm looking forward to this weekend though, it's Boomerang Bay and its slides of hot death. Crazy airtime on Down Under Thunder and something I haven't tried out yet: 5-person (that's five fully grown adults) ride on Didgeridoo Falls, which I've been told is terrifying.

So I just watched GCI's Gold Striker POV on YouTube again (normal mount, not chassis mount), and the most recent comment as of now made for a good laugh: "Did they just rename Roar so they would get more people?"

There can NEVER be enough pictures of Europa Park. It is the best park I have ever visited as of now, as well as one of my favorite places on the planet to simply be in.

^ Which rides were still working during the outage?

Holy crap, that line for Grizzly looks easily at least 3 hours long...maybe even more considering Grizzly's capacity. As for the miner hat, all I can say is that LEDs are awesome because they're super efficient, they don't heat up, and they last freakin' forever. We're all going to have to buy these hats sooner or later!

I haven't done many, here's all the ones I remember in chronological order. -Big Thunder Mountain, drizzly (Disneyland Paris, Spring Break 2005) -Giant Dipper, drizzly (SCBB, Superbowl Sunday 2009) -Alpenexpress, pouring rain (Europa Park, August 2011) ...and the last one, where I basically went YOLO. Thankfully my 2012 visit was much nicer weather-wise! -Atlantica Supersplash, pouring rain (Europa Park, August 2011)