ytterbiumanalyst

This is a great report! My brother went to Montreal (and not La Ronde) a few years ago and had similarly great things to say about it. Glad to see you really got to see the city. We went to Canada on our honeymoon, and yeah, poutine is one of those things that can be either awesome or terrible depending on who's making it. The place we found that was the best was an English-style pub in Winnepeg called Toad in the Hole. They also served a large selection of Canadian craft beers, which is a big thing around there. Looking forward to the Jersey Shore Credit Whore report!

Just from my observations, no formal psychological training, it seems that people who become enthusiasts of anything are the sort of people predisposed to want to know how something works, not just what to do with something. They want to know what makes an engine run, not just how to drive a car. Most people are content with knowing their role in the world. They ascribe to social conventions without really worrying about whether they make sense. But the sort of person who always wants to know why something is how it is will have difficulty understanding these social conventions, which often are formed over long time periods by large numbers of people and for a myriad of different reasons. It's difficult for these people to join in with social conventions precisely because it's difficult to understand them. For people of this propensity, machines are far easier to understand, even highly complex ones like roller coasters. Every part of a roller coaster is designed for a purpose, and they all work together. Reason and design yield easy answers to "why" questions and therefore are much more comfortable. So I think that we're not seeing causation here, but rather two parallel manifestations of the same neurobiological condition. In other words, social awkwardness is neither the cause nor the result of roller coaster enthusiasm, but a tendency toward social awkwardness and enthusiasm are both the result of a certain genetic trait that causes that personality type.

LePew

Why does anyone care about this? Because most of us feel like a park classifying a Larson Loop as a roller coaster is a bit ridiculous. It's as bad as parks who classify Disko rides as coasters. They are not coasters. They "thrill" rides, and as we all know. . . There's a big difference between a thrill ride and a roller coaster. Also, it's very misleading (to the GP at least) and it's a really cheap way for the park to falsely raise their coaster count. Meanwhile, the rest of us will continue on living our lives. Seriously, no one should care about this.

If only there were a way to find out where it is.

http://www.portillos.com/locations/tampa/

Why does anyone care about this?

Slightly east of it, near Fjord Fjarlane. Once construction is closer to completion. You're not the only one. The old entrance was much better. This "temporary" one they've had for 22 years sucks. I'm optimistic the new entrance will rival the old one, though. Concept art rarely shows you exactly what something will turn out to be. EDIT: Just noticed your age. You don't remember the old entrance at all. I looked around for pictures of it, but that was before digital cameras, and it doesn't look like anyone has digitized an old photo. The old entrance was in the Americana section, near where Steelhawk is now. The first thing you saw when you walked in was the fountain in that slightly recessed brick area. That's why that section is called "Front Street." It used to actually be the front. Just because Cedar Point does something doesn't mean everyone should. I don't want us to run out of room building coasters that sink into Lake Erie. There's plenty of room in Scandinavia for a coaster north of Patriot. Anything they want to build really. There's enough room for a giga. Just don't count on a new coaster of any sort any time soon, and when we do get one, it'll be small.

Groucho

I like the balloon a lot. And yes, it is just concept art, but let's face it, it would be really, really hard to make that entrance worse.

Exactly. I don't think I'm ever going to forget that guy. More often, it's a positive experience. Back in 2013, I met an Australian doctor going to a medical conference in Spokane, Washington, who took a minor detour to Branson to ride Outlaw Run. Only 2,000 miles out of the way! In his shoes, though, I totally would have done the same.

I don't have any social media accounts at all. I tried Facebook about a decade ago, found it incredibly dull, and deleted the account. That ended my interest in social media. Is it snowing where you live?

Good point. That's probably the easiest record for this to claim, and it's one that is decently legitimate too. Just looking at RCDB, there are several GCIs around the size of this project that break 50mph: Apocalypse - 50 Gold Striker - 53 Lightning Racer - 51 Prowler - 51 Renegade - 51 Roar - 50 Thunderhead - 53 Troy - 54 Wildcat - 50 Seems like that record would be very doable.

This is generally what I do when I have to ride a coaster solo. Fortunately, my son is now over 48", so that happen less often than it used to. But on one occasion I was at Worlds of Fun riding Prowler (my son was not tall enough at this point), and I queued for the back row. A coaster enthusiast asked if he could join me, and of course I said yes. Makes the queue shorter for everybody. So I chatted with this guy for a minute, and he revealed to me that he's an ACE member and also enjoys furry parties.... Yeah.... So on that occasion, I think just riding a coaster in silence with a stranger would have been less awkward.

New for 2017 I'll likely get to ride this year: 1. Gale Force, Playland's Castaway Cove - This is weird to say, but yes, a Jersey Shore coaster is my most anticipated. WTF. But it does look seriously cool. 2. Tailspin Racer, Dollywood - I've never been on a mat racer with the enclosed tubes at the top. Looks like fun! 3. Dropline, Dollywood - Drop towers are a favourite ride type for me, and this one looks to be very good. 4. Eurofighter, Casino Pier - Well, it's certainly not going to be the best Eurofighter I've ever been on, but it does look good. 5. Hershey's Triple Towers, Hersheypark - This is kind of a poster child for "there's a reason some things have never been done before," but I enjoy the S&S shot towers, so I'll give this one a go. New for 2017 I'll ride later: 1. Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, Disney California Adventure 2. New Coaster, Fun Spot Kissimmee 3. Thunder Rapids, Six Flags Fiesta Texas 4. Mystic Timbers, Kings Island 5. Invadr, Busch Gardens Williamsburg Rides I'll likely get to ride for the first time this year: 1. Phoenix, Knoebels 2. Lightning Rod, Dollywood 3. Skyrush, Hersheypark 4. El Toro, Six Flags Great Adventure 5. Cyclone Saucers, Beech Bend 6. Demon Drop, Dorney Park

Make sure to stop by OWA when it opens. Eh, not going that far south. We might end up dropping Kentucky Kingdom out of this too. It's a great place, and I'd love to go back, but it's also the most vulnerable, since I was just there last summer and Holiday World is on the itinerary too.

Holy ammesia, Batman! How did I forget Pirates?

^ Seconded Knott's. Calico Mine Ride is as good as anything at Disneyland, and Timber Mountain Log Ride is even better than Splash Mountain. Beyond that, we're going to need more information. Disneyland is a different sort of place, and your priorities are going to depend mostly on what your favourite Disney characters are. I had to ride both the Toy Story rides, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo, because those are IPs I care about. But if you have in your group a Little Mermaid or Winnie the Pooh fan, you'd want to ride those, both of which I skipped. Regardless of who you are, you absolutely should ride these: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Guardians of the Galaxy (if open; they've only said "summer 2017") Haunted Mansion Indiana Jones Matterhorn Bobsleds Mickey's Fun Wheel Pirates of the Caribbean Radiator Springs Racers Space Mountain Splash Mountain That's the list I would consider essential. Beyond that is up to you and your interests.

They got a new insurance company that required it, or so I've heard from employees. I believe it was 2010 when they got rid of the backwards cars. I still hear people talk about them, as recently as last week.

No new coaster. New entrance is for this year.

-271/10 -1 for each concussion suffered in the NFL in 2015, the last year for which statistical data are available. Ice cream sundaes

Fun

Thunderation on 12/26 was my last roller coaster of 2016. It's officially the offseason now, until 3/15.

Diamondback Wild Adventures

9/10 Only a towel is more useful. Pole vaulting