GayCoasterGuy

Wow Good taste! I saw them here in Chicago back in 2004. Still truckin'!

^^Congrats

"Turn Around" by Devo. After also listening to the cover version by Nirvana (Devo forever.)

These pictures are great - can't wait to get to Liseberg. One thing I'm thinking about looking at these pictures... Europe seems to have a thing for white and green(s) for coasters. Japan has a thing for pastels and I guess here in America, we have a thing for bright primary colors. Just an observation. The light and dark green of Helix look outstanding! Look at this ride, and then look at something like Banshee. Why can't we have it!? Don't get me wrong, any coaster is better than none, but some places really sink their teeth into a design. A world-class design!

I haven't been following the topic (busy!) but just scanning - it makes me happy people feel comfortable coming out as (whatever gender/orientation). Things really are getting better! Except in Russia. Seems like a Stonewall-type era for them. And really, except in a LOT of places. Even the big cities. Makes it more important for me to be out

Skyrocket from Luna Park, Houston, Tx, 1924. Looks like parks may have been challenging each other for steepest drops back then! Looks fun, huh!!? I love a coaster that makes me hold on!

I know you meant Rocky Point, but I really liked the slip Yes! Similar to how some (mostly older, including Anton's) coasters feel compared to some "newer" designs (with the 4-across seating cough cough and perfectly parabolic hills cough cough.). Love it! Tidal Wave at Great America (Gurnee - I would guess the Ca one had it too) had a red siren light that would go off as the train was coming backwards through the station. Very sentimental stuff

I want a new freefall built in the style of a first generation.... but big. Like 400 feet. Imagine that! Of course, magnets for braking, etc., just don't mess with that dead-weight drop! And switch to nice roomy lapbars The day in 1983 when we waited in line for what seemed like 3 hours for the EDGE at Great America (Gurnee). I was 9 or 10 and scared to death! The ride was a blur, but an awesome one. It was the first time I can remember a park giving out numbers (with deli tickets!) to keep your place in line. That drop model didn't last long at Great Ameirca. It was later moved to Rocky Point in Rhode Island, and then? Was it Mr. Hyde's at Geauga Lake? I'm glad I still have this (part of a) pen. The cabin still drops!

The B&M *snap* in their corkscrews.

Seeing older Anton rides being taken such good care of makes my heart go bang I've heard the new Testreke trains aren't very comfy, but at least it's better than scrapping the whole ride.

I didn't see this posted anywhere: Looks crazy! Also looks like Elitch Gardens in the backgrounds. As for favorite GCI - I really liked Gwazi with the PTC trains. Rode it in 2007; it was definitely a rough ride, but the layout was nuts and aggressive. American Thunder is also a great newer one from them.

And Holiday World is always up for that task. No trims on Voyage Imagine how it would run at another park?

^I have no idea why people bash em so much. Vekoma makes some cruddy rides, but those Flyers are fun. I really like them. But with that thought... I would probably take most anything Vekoma over a B&M, for example. I enjoy coasters where you can close your eyes and feel like something is actually happening. Like, you're on a "ride" or roller coaster.

New sensations? It's a B&M. (Sorry, had to.) It does look like a nice ride, that gap is huge. It's like a cross between a giant corkscrew and a loop, but more loop. At least it's something "slightly different," a good thing.

It looks like they took the standard El Loco layout, knocked it on it's side and kicked it around a bit, then stood it back up. Basically, crazy. Crazy good though And think, all that being thrown around with just a lap bar. Coaster nerd heaven.

^I've always loved the flat speed section after Phatom's first drop, in both incarnations. Both times they announced a double-up would go there, and both times they didn't end up putting it in. I just scanned some pictures from 1991, thought I would share them. Enjoy You can see the torch marks where a mistake was made (on the white block connecting the track to the vertical support). Arrow had those sometimes, oops: Bunch more here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.425316430927328.1073741831.178752772250363&type=3

Yay! I live in Illinois Now I just need to find a good guy to marry! Ran across this cool video today:

^Sometimes results are different than expectations, over time. I'm thinking of all those years (late 80s into the 90s) when we were getting plenty of awesome new coasters from Dinn, and then Custom. Most of them kicked butt for a year or two, then fell apart or were neutered. Heck, Iron Wolf was smooth and awesome for a while... Either way, the RMC rides are getting dynamite reviews.

Geez, it looks like a Knex set gong wrong. So, we're getting not one but TWO big drops? If Indiana Beach is any clue, this thing is going to elicit some crazy screams and gasps from riders. I wonder how it's gonna sound in that dome.

It's really a shame for us coaster nerds.. that place could really be a destination. I still LOVE Cyclops, even with the potholes. A hardened, intensity loving coaster friend of mine was hurt on Cyclops this past summer. Then, I saw a kid with a bloody elbow after riding Hades. There was a rumor about Cyclops getting the old Hades ratchet-bar train. That will be bad news for us coaster fans, and potentially even something worse... That type of air time and ratchet bars don't always make a good combination. It would also tear up the track much more than it already is. Ride it while you can!

^There are so many coasters that would benefit from RMC. But the technology is still new, so it's good to wait a few years until they can see how everything holds up*. I'm wondering what happens to the composite material in the steel tubes? Does it crack in places or shrink/expand? *I bet (and HOPE!) Cedar Fair is keeping a close eye on this.

Thanks for shedding light on this. Internalized homophobia runs rampant. It's comes with the territory, but we can learn and rise above it all. I've had to really cool my jets when explaining to the big butch muscle head why the skinny twinky flamboyant queen has more guts and balls than he does (and why he isn't better than said queen because he doesn't have the same attributes and mannerisms). I'm always trying to find better ways to explain things.

Had a fun time at the park on Sunday. Great to get one last ride on Ragin Cajun in it's original home. But the most impressive thing all day was this ride op named Nick. Probably the best SF ride operator I've ever seen (I'm including myself in there!). He's very efficient, gets rides going fast (and safe!), and is beyond a "happy camper." I first saw him on a season pass night operating Fiddler's Fling. He was really excited and getting people all happy about the ride.. but most awesome was how quick he did everything. You could tell he knew exactly what was going on at all times. It gave my buddy and I an easy excuse to stop at Guest Relations on the way out to fill out a compliment card. It's as if he worked at Dollywood, Holiday World, Cedar Point or perhaps all three - and compiled the best of everything. I've never seen anything like it. He should be in charge of training ride ops. Nick at Great America operating Whizzer on the last day, Sunday 10-27-2013. Best ride op ever!

^Yup! It was brief, but a nice new connection Hope you like Florida, lots of cool stuff down there.

^I would pick Busch Gardens, hands-down. But if you desire to gobble up lots of new coasters, then Kings Dominion has them. BG has higher quality of everything, where KD has more "mediocre" coasters. With the exception of the very low capacity/but highly popular Volcano, I could pass on the rest of the KD coasters (I-305 fanboys, don't hate!). The Black Forest Chocolate Cake at BG is worth it alone... welcome to America