Solid Gold

I would rather see a new dark ride at Cedar Point than a good wooden coaster.

Here is my top ten. Intamin dominates. 1. Millennium Force Cedar Point OH 2. Goliath Walibi World NL 3. Superman - Ride of St Six Flags America MD 4. Nitro Six Flags Great Ad NJ 5. Maverick Cedar Point OH 6. Volcano: The Blast Co Kings Dominion VA 7. Top Thrill Dragster Cedar Point OH 8. Goliath Six Flags Over Geo GA 9. Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point OH 10. Incredible Hulk Islands of Adventu FL Rest assured, my bottom ten is nothing but mine trains, kiddie coasters, and the Vekoma SLC at dead last.

That new kiddie splash ride has a really long construction time. They were working on that when I was there last may. Very interested in this coaster restaurant. Looks awesome! Europa has got to be in the top five best parks in the world!

I really love this topic, but of course it's basically impossible to make a "Best park ever" that only includes 5 coasters, so I've tried to come up with some fun combos that would work well as an actual park. RCDB is the best website ever other than TPR, by the way. Themed Awesome Park: 1. Nemesis (Alton Towers 2. Dragon Kahn (Port Adventura) 3. Atlantis Adventure (Lotte World) 4. Space Mountain (Disney) 5. Snoopy's Great Race (USJ) The Great SBNO Park 1. Eagle's Fortress (Everland 2. Ozark Wildcat (Celebration City) 3. Screechin' Eagle (LeSourdsville Lake) 4. Turbine (Walibi Belgium) 5. Sky Ride@Leoland (If only for This awesome photo) Much Easier to Get the Credit in One Place Park 1.Mindbender (Edmonton Mall) 2.Anaconda (Gold Reef City) 3.Ultra Twister (Rusutsu Resort) 4.Thunderbird (Powerland) 5. unknown (Parque Borunda, located in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, one of the most dangerous cities in the world) Park that doesn't totally suck made only from NBA Playoff team names 1. Maverick (Cedar Point) 2. Grizzly (Silverwood) 3. Thunderhawk (UBER BONUS POINTS, Dorney Park) 4. Trailblazer (Hershey Park) 5. Hornet (Flambards Village Theme Park) Hope you all enjoyed that!

I heard Alton Towers was going to try to use these birds' resilience as a defense to their NIMBY case.

So I've noticed on any rollercoaster that's been around a while, the seats start to kind of look like this: My random question: Is any of that black stuff on the seats backsweat? If so , ICK! Please tell me it's something else...

Though I appreciate everything it stands for and I hope it operates forever, that scenic railway has to have the SLOWEST turns I've ever seen on a roller coaster. Hahaha. Love the updates, love that you guys are documenting basically every notable theme park in the world, love the fun!

On top of the awesome Kick Boodie action, may I just say that is the FASTEST swing ride ever. Like, holy crap I think you would pull notable positive gs fast.

For anyone wondering, I tried some google translate of some park's websites north of Tokyo, it seemed they were all mostly closed for at least the next week. Beneyland's website doesn't say anything about it, that's the park closest to the quake's center so who knows.

Benyland in Sendai looks to be about 7 miles off the coast. Is it in a low lying area? Anyone know? Their website (through google translate) doesn't mention the quake yet.

Sketchy Business History Sketchy Concept Art and Ideas Sketchy Investor Backing Michael Jackson FAIL

Lol, when I looked at those first pictures of CHUNT jumping over the skyride I thought it was just the angle throwing me off from the coaster not looking tall enough to make it. Also, Texas Giant looks unstable because there aren't (weren't?) any railings along the course of the ride. Our mind says," Hey, something's missing from that photo!" and we perceive the ride to look unstable...At least that's my feeble analysis of the situation.

I think it's fairly obvious to everyone that the Voyage lost its spot because it got rougher. Very few people seem to be arguing about the quality of the ride in 06 and 07 and early 2008. EVERYONE seems to notice it got rougher since then, and was kind of a real bastard last year. Add some general disappointment for the delayed promise of Timberliner trains, and voila, we have clear reasons why the community rated it lower. I'm fine with it. I have the ride as my number 1. I rode in 07. Makes sense to me, should make sense to all. And as an aside, if the Timberliner trains don't do the job, I'm just going to bet that Voyage will get rougher and rougher until people don't like it anymore and it loses favor just like an old unmaintained CCI. Just a hunch.

If I were going to be around, I would say HELLZ YEAH! Great Idea by TPR! Dare Devil+Goliath would be some pro-tastic night ERT. The new coaster+ the best coaster right next to each other. Maybe add in Mindbender or Scorcher depending on the crowd that's attending. Ballin'

There is no speed limit other than accounting for the speed which would require glass or other wind/foreign object protection for the rider (which basically has been reached with Formula Rossa). There is no height limit except for how much money an investor is willing to pay. There is CERTAINLY an intensity limit, at least for the general population. We've already touched it several times.

Maybe this is breaking park rules...but I once got half of the pictures blocked off on a Magnum XL train for flashing the camera. I'm a dude. Also, once rode every water single ride at Dollywood when the temperature was too cold for Thunderhead to open.

Funny to see a ride with exactly 4 airtime hills get the number one spot. I mean, it's a great coaster, but it's like a very lite version of any of the Intamin steel megas, with a staff that's committed to pushing down the Lapbar as far into your crotch as can be done.

Here is my Ballot. I tend to enjoy rough rides, but not rides that beat the crap out of me. Notes: -Voyage rides were in 07 and 08, and the coaster was so incredibly better than any other roller coaster I've been on that I can't currently believe there could be a better coaster anywhere in the world. The gap on my list between Voyage and Fav Steel(M. Force and Goliath Walibi) is really about Voyage Spots 1-7 and the others 8. -Both El Toro and Collossus are like weak versions of the steel Hypers. I bet I'd love the other Intamin woods a lot more. -LOVED Son of Beast way back in 2003. HATED HATED HATED the beast. Still go by those experiences. Would it be fair to change them based on what others say? -16 is my group of Average coasters. -Mean Streak was super-duper awful this year. ~"Tennessee" ~"Daniel Twilley" RANK THE FOLLOWING RIDING SENSATIONS <-LEAVE THIS LINE AS IS Abrupt Airtime_____________________________ y y 1 Out of Control Feeling/Directional Changes_ y y 2 Sensation of Speed_________________________ y y 2 Floating Airtime___________________________ y y 4 Lateral Forces_____________________________ y y 5 Positive G's/Loops_________________________ y y 5 COASTER NAME PARK LOC <--Please leave this The Voyage Holiday World IN y n 1 My Favorite Steel Anypark Anywhere ** y y 2 Lightning Racer - L Hersheypark PA y n 3 Lightning Racer - T Hersheypark PA y n 3 El Toro SFGAd NJ y n 4 Colossos Heide Park DE y y 5 Son of Beast (SBNO) Kings Island OH y n 6 Thunder Run Kentucky Kingdom KY y n 7 Rampage Alabama Adventure AL y n 8 Raven Holiday World IN y n 9 Thunderhead Dollywood TN y n 10 Troy Toverland NL y y 11 Wild One SF America MD y y 12 Georgia Cyclone SFoG GA y y 13 The Legend Holiday World IN y n 14 Grt Am Scrm Mach SFoG GA y y 15 Cannonball Lake Winnepesaukah GA y y 16 Blue Streak Cedar Point OH y y 16 Big Dipper (SBNO) Geauga Lake OH y n 16 Comet Hersheypark PA y n 16 Roar SF America MD y y 17 Twisted Twins-S (S) Kentucky Kingdom KY y n 18 Racer Kings Island OH y n 18 Fairly Odd Coaster Kings Island OH y n 18 Wildcat Hersheypark PA y n 18 Rebel Yell Kings Dominion VA y n 18 Scooby Doo Kings Dominion VA y n 18 Hurler Kings Dominion VA y n 19 Rolling Thunder SFGAd NJ y n 20 Thunderhawk Dorney Park PA y n 21 The Grizzly Kings Dominion VA y n 22 Robin Hood Walibi World NL y y 23 Mean Streak Cedar Point OH y y 24 The Beast Kings Island OH y n 25 ------------------------------------------------0 <--Please leave this

I'm going to side with the fact that the media and the general public recognizes that the entire year 1980 was not a part of the 70's, the year 1990 was not a part of the 80's, and the year 2010 was not a part of the 'Aughts. A decade in itself can be any period of ten years, but the most popular way of referring to decades of time are those periods starting with ###0 and ending with ###9. That doesn't change what answer I would put for either 2000-2009 or 2001-2010. The greatest achievement of either of those time periods is The resurgence of wooden coasters. The huge improvements in wooden coaster engineering that began in the mid to late nineties came to a head as CCI folded, building Cornball and Boulder Dash in the decade. Vekoma, GCI, Intamin, and The Gravity Group pushed the envelope further, leading to a Mitch Hawker poll where 12 of the top 15 wooden coasters were built in the last decade. The decade also marked the wooden coaster's entrance into China, as well as new installations all across Europe and the United States. Whereas wooden coasters were basically a lost art from the time John Allen left the scene, what has happened in the past 10-15 years cannot be understated. Honorable Mentions: 1. Waterparks gone wild: From what was a stale genre in the 90s and previous to what we're seeing in parks today, it has been a CRAZY decade for waterparks. Every company has realized the massive profits that can be found in adding or adding to waterparks, and Proslide/Whitewater West have delivered the goods. 2. Intamin: The whole Company. From the world's tallest and fastest, the wooden coasters, the ball coasters, and several other innovative designs, the hype surrounding their company was unmatched and the ideas brought forth will be seen everywhere in the future. 3. Lo-Q. The biggest single product in the industry of the past decade. Also, the biggest achievement of this decade so far(by my count, only this year), is far and away The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I expect that in nine years, we'll all say that International Growth was the biggest achievement of the decade.

My Two are both already mentioned, but also very personal. Expedition GeForce Down: I was highly fortunate to get to go to Germany this year, but I don't see myself getting to go to Europe again for quite a while. I had certainly planned on my trip to get to Holiday Park and ride it. Had to rearrange and substitute in a trip north to Heide which turned out to be the most crowded day ever with hour+ lines on every ride in the park. Darned Intamin! Eagle's Fortress: Easily the saddest news of the year for me. S. Korea is number 1 on my list of study abroad destinations next year (barring War of course!). The TPR video of the ride is impressive as hell.

This this this this this this this this this. The biggest thing I look forward to when visiting any theme park other than the coasters are dark rides. Flats and towers and kiddies and waterslides are fun and all, but dark rides are unique experiences to each park. If we lived in my world, every park would have three.

Started in Los Angeles, the picture of Superman is from somewhere in Valencia (maybe your house?). Other pictures are from LAX. Going to Tokyo Disneyland: HIDDEN Mickey, DisneySea looking mountain, seriously love japan, and Hello Kitty are what make me believe as such.

Took a while, but Roller Coaster Database. lol at the Z's. i am an edlitye gednius

GIB's are a damn fine ride ...Vekoma is the king of Mediocrity.

Hey Hey, I can maybe help here. I took a trip in May by train to a few German and Dutch theme parks, including Europa. Finding English speakers-Not a problem. 2/3 people can probably help you find what you want. In fact, Germany was well marked enough that I really didn't need much English. In the area you want to go to, your best options are Europa(Most Southern Park), Holiday Park(Central to the others), Tripsdrill(Most Eastern Park), Phantasialand(Most northern park), and Walygator Parc(Most Western Park). If you are limited to three days, go for Holiday Park(and possibly Tripsdrill if you want credits and only if you drive) and Europa (2 days). You will need 2 days for Europa, it is a humongous place. I recommend putting it into any itinerary you create(your best option for the cheapest lodging would require more transportation, there aren't any hostels in the nearest towns of Europa) If you choose to do a trip by plane/train/bus, I would go for an airport near Frankfurt, arriving in the morning, and hitting Holiday Park that very day, then moving on to some other place. My Best Advice: Pick the parks you want to go to and the days you have available, then figure out if the Transportation works. I went by train and bus only, and let me say, the buses for Phantasialand and Europa were super easy, right from the closest train station to the front entrance at both places, with many many shuttle times. Getting to both of those parks was a breeze. Europa also does have some longer range buses, from nearby surrounding cities. CHECK bahn.de for any and all train/bus times! It is very accurate! It also has each of the aforementioned parks listed as destinations in its database, and you can look at it all in English.