diggerg56

Actually, unless they get an exception from the Village of Gurnee Board they can't do around the clock testing. They have quite a few restrictions in place for noise. Maybe they've got something worked out already.

Excellent photos! Can I ask what you're using for a camera?

I' ll echo the frustration of the new pass activation setup. I got to the park at noon and had to wait forty minutes just to clear the metal detector and get to the turnstile to get my voucher scanned, do the finger scan, and get the card. It was another 45 minute line at the activation center. I'm not sure if they expected this size crowd or not on opening day. Cars were in the overflow lot which is unusual for early in the season. My main focus today was to get my pass and check on Goliath. Other than pictures I hadn't seen it since the construction tour. It simply looks insane. As someone else mentioned, the dispatch times for X Flight were atrocious today...approaching five minutes at times. Ugh.

ytterbiumanalyst....You weren't quite the only person there not from Chicago. I'm from Iowa City, IA, but no matter. Glad you got to see some of Chicago as well. Great place to visit, especially when it's warmer.

A few more photos to add to the mix. In my previous post I also neglected to thank Brandon, Katy and SFGAm for giving us a look at what promises to be an awesome new coaster. The platform where the "bends" are built before being hoisted and bolted into place. The tunnel that adds the extra distance on the 85 degree first drop American Eagle looms in the distance Still stuck in the snow waiting for a train ride........

I don't see any pictures/ angles different than what I took but as soon as my camera thaws out I'll take a look. I would certainly echo what others have said.....The footprint of this ride is very compact but with all the promised elements it should be a very " busy " ride, in a good way. Just watching the workers, it looks like RMC really has this process down. Seems like a well thought out process of building sections on a platform on the ground and then hoisting and bolting them into place. As an example, this is so much different than what I saw when Boss was being built at SFStL a bunch years ago. As an older guy ( if you call 57 old) , wood coaster technology seems to be changing as rapidly as everything else. Thinking back to my first carnival ride coaster in the 60's , to bigger coasters with buzz bars, to my first ride on the Beast, to Hades, The Voyage and Outlaw Run, it's been quite the progression. Can't wait to see what Goliath brings us, More after I look at the pics I took.

That second picture is simply awesome. I can't imagine a better view than that anywhere. I'm so jealous!

Six Flags Great America Mount Olympus Worlds of Fun Six Flags St. Louis Cedar Point Holiday World Valleyfair Nick Universe- Mall of America

Awesome video. Gave my subwoofer a hell of a workout with the volume cranked for "full effect". Gotta love Blu-Ray!

Not sure what happened to the other two pics I took but I took a couple while walking to Necropolis that showed a bit more of the "Iron Wolf Deconstruction" activity as well as the X-Flight site prep.

Another thing to watch for is "Six Saints Cemetery" over by Pit and the Pendulum (Revolution). It's full of tombstones of all the closed/removed rides along with a few ride remnants. Cool and sad at the same time.

You know, living in Iowa, I've been to Wisconsin many times, but I've yet to find this place. Perhaps I didn't drive far enough south?

Have you learned to talk like Wisconsin folks yet. Depending on where you're at it can a little like the old "'da Bears" type thing. Not quite the Chicago accent, but close.

Wow, just Wow..... I actually thought Will was a bit younger than that. Words can't really describe how much he'll be missed. Thoughts and Prayers to the family and staff. Brad

Never had anxiety issues with riding, flying or anything like that. However, my anxiety revolved around the fear of not being able to breathe. Even having a severe cold/plugged nose can trigger it. There are medicines out there that can help you with minimal side effects. Sometimes it takes awhile to find the right one but I'd give a Psychiatrist a show as others have suggested, especially if you have insurance/financial means to do so.

The video quality of this disc is just stunning. The first time I watched it all the way through was on a 32" LCD and I loved it. I finally was able to wrestle the Living Room away from the rest of the family and watch on the 50" Plasma. Even better! My wife, who does not share my passion for coasters says "those things look even more horrifying in HD" Very nice work Robb and Elissa! Looking forward to the next one.

Diggerland This looks a bit strange and the jingle is just awful.

You're correct, John Curty is the GM. Very nice guy to talk to.

Probably not as much traveling for me this year but here's what's planned: Several trips to SFGAm (my self-designated home park) SFStL WoF Holiday World Beech Bend

You can use it as many times as you want. SFGAm has two versions- Regular and Gold. The regular one reserves your ride time and you allegedly wait about as long as someone standing in line. The gold one (more $$) gets you in much faster. I think they say it takes 75% of the wait time off. Seems even faster then that. If I'm going to get one I always go for the gold.

Triple Play is off the list as well. Not sure if that means anything or not.

I'm one of those that has been fortunate enought to ride all of the "Vu's". It certainly wasn't my favorite ride but I did ride occasionally. I actually thought the uptime at SFGAm over the past couple seasons was pretty good. I know it was a maintenance and capacity nightmare though. I got the ride-ops and John Curty from SFGAm management to sign my wristband for the final rides last night. Bye-Bye big green lawn ornament!

The story that CBS2 is running says the fines are more like $200,000. Theme parks are really like any other type of work site including things like restaurants. The public rarely sees the "back-end" of many businesses and would be surprised at what they see. I'm wouldn't be surprised if someone (disgruntled ex-employee, SFGAm hating citizen, etc) is feeding OSHA complaints and because of the that the inspector is looking for anything to get them on. OSHA could walk in any business, factory, office and find violations any day of the week.

Nice pics Cameron. Yes, you remembered right....My name is Brad. more importantly....Why the hell am I hanging on so tight on Extreme Swing? For the record, on my second ride I was more comfortable and just let the restraint do it's thing.

For some reason we got a ridiculously long ride on that last year during RumbleFest. I've never come off of a ride that dizzy and disoriented. I'll have to think real hard about riding it again.