rcdude

I sometimes feel that people don't "get" this thread... Seriously, how is a Vekoma roller skater the "Worst Coaster Ever?" Yeah, you have to look at the coasters in context. Although most kiddie coasters rank at the bottom of my list, I wouldn't call any of them the worst because they aren't for my age group and are great for their target audience. Besides, in my opinion Vekoma's are among the best kids coasters (I'd say Wisdom's kiddies are in general my least favorite, followed by the Zamperla family gravity coaster). Anyway, my bottom three wood and steel (excluding kiddie and family coasters) are: Wood: 1. Grizzly at California's Great America 2. Psyclone (now defunct) at Six Flags Magic Mountain 3. Mean Streak at Cedar Point Steel: 1. Steamin' Demon at Great Escape 2. Canobie Corkscrew at Canobie Lake Park 3. High Roller (now defunct) at Stratosphere Tower

I'm almost certain it was Flight Deck (then Top Gun) at California's Great America (then Paramount's Great America) in 2003. It was also my first inverted coaster and my first coaster with a zero-g roll. I guess it could have been Vortex, but I think we didn't ride that one until later in the day.

I had no idea this ride was launched until I saw the video. I thought that second reverse point was a reverse lift similar to what's found on Expedition Everest. Of course, I think this is the best footage I've seen of the ride as most of the other videos were shaky mid-train POVs on YouTube. Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars looks like it could be the world's best family coaster. It does look like a hybrid of Expedition Everest and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but with the addition of a launch it may be superior to both. Certainly not the most intense Disney coaster, but it does look like it could possibly be the best.

^I'm pretty sure that's just carbonated water. As long as this change to Coke doesn't result in an increase in the already outrageous drink prices, I'm all for it. While the type of soda an amusement park serves has absolutely no impact on my overall enjoyment of the day, it is nice to have your preferred $4 beverage with that $12 hot dog and fries.

I classify park fans in the following way (one selection per category): Category 1: Park Interest Amusement Park Fan: Enjoys visiting all parks regardless of what they offer. As long as there is something to do, they're able to have a good time. Theme Park Fan: Enjoys visiting parks for the escape from reality. Unlike amusement park fans, theme park fans care about the whole experience and don't generally find iron ride parks desirable. Disney Fan: Primarily visits Disney parks, and usually doesn't care too much for other theme parks. They don't necessarily have to believe Disney is superior, but these are the people who just don't get the same enjoyment out of other parks, even those of equal or better quality. Category 2: Ride Interest Amusement Ride Fan: Enjoys all types of rides, or at least a good variety of types. They usually prefer to go on as many different rides as possible during a visit over repeat rides on one attraction, but don't mind re-rides if lines are short or the ride is good. Ride Type Fan: Someone who is only interested in one type of ride or a very limited number of types. While they aren't necessarily opposed to riding other attractions, they usually only care strongly about one or two specific types (coaster enthusiasts are the most common subset of this type). Ride Fan: Even more specific than the ride type fan, these people are only interested in one specific ride or a very limited number or rides. They may choose to marathon that ride over the course of their visit, even when other high-quality attractions have shorter waits. Category 3: Atmosphere Interest Park Visitor: Someone who enjoys visiting amusment parks, but more because it is something to do than because they are at an amusement park specifically. These are people who usually only visit occasionally and don't typically hold season passes. Park Fan: Someone who enjoys visiting amusement parks specifically because they are amusement parks. These are people who usually visit regularly and may or may not own a season pass to their local park, but they do not have much interest in parks beyond visiting them. Park Enthusiast: Someone who is interested not only in visiting parks, but also in many other aspects of them (such as behind-the-scenes stuff). They usually participate in an online community with others who share the same interest and often hold at least one season pass. Depending on the person, they may be interested only in their local parks, only in certain parks, or in any park anywhere in the world. By this system, I'd consider myself an amusement park and ride enthusiast. I care about more than just coasters when visiting parks, and I can have just as much fun at a Six Flags park as I can at a Disney park. While I do appreciate nice theming and heavily detailed attractions, it will not make or break my day. Of course, all of these are a spectrum and it is possible to be anywhere in the middle for any of the categories. I've just generalized them to give good endpoints and midpoints for the spectrum.

I guess Holiday World's definition of a quiet year must be one where they don't break any records. Seriously, this looks like an excellent addition and is way more than I was expecting them to get after Mammoth last year. It should help to spread out crowds in the waterpark and improve the capacity of the place, as that was one of the most crowded waterparks I've seen. I just hope their upcoming additions are for the ride park, as based on their current offerings I'd find it hard to justify a full day at the place if you're not interested in the waterpark side. No mention of Timberliners? I guess they're playing it safe and probably don't want to announce that they are getting them until they are sure they'll be getting them.

Some people just don't belong at Halloween events. Visiting a park during these special events is not the same as visiting during the day. If you can't handle being scared, harassed, or offended by employees who are doing their job, you should stay away. The talent is simply acting in a role, and everything they do is just part of their character, not a personal attack. In my opinion, nothing mentioned in that letter seemed inappropriate, so unless the actors were actually in violation of an official policy I hope it gets disregarded. There's no reason the event needs to be watered down for everyone just because someone who couldn't handle it attended.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when GhostRider first opened I believe it did run all three trains during peak periods. I don't think this lasted more than a couple years, and although the ride still has three trains only two are used at a time. Three trains should allow it to operate with two all year, but I do see the ride run with one more often than I would like.

Jack Rabbit at Seabreeze. One of the five oldest coasters in the world and the oldest continuously operated coaster in the US.

I think it's somewhat obvious what the two parks are likely getting, and it won't end up being something completely new. Rather, it will be something that was delayed. Holiday World: Timberliners on Voyage Splashin' Safari: 8-person boats on Mammoth There won't be any significant new attraction since it was previously stated 2014-2016 each have one and both parks got something new this year. I could be wrong, but I'd be surprised if they announce a new ride at all. As for the name change, no idea, but it likely will not be a headliner, just another major ride.

I've added a few new ones to my list this summer. Although I wouldn't say I love all these rides, I definitely like them significantly more than the average enthusiast. Space Mountain: Mission 2 (Disneyland Paris-Disneyland Park): A lot of people consider this a below-average coaster, but I actually thought it was the best of Disneyland Paris's four coasters (yes, I preferred it to Big Thunder Mountain). In fact, I rode three times during my one day visit. The ride wasn't really painful, just very shaky, and while it's not the most intense coaster in the world it certainly is the most intense and thrilling Disney coaster I've been on. Not as good as California's Space Mountain or California Screamin', but I definitely feel the ride is deserving of a much higher ranking than the 261 it has on Mitch Hawker's poll (more like the 125 range in my opinion). Dragon Fire (Canada's Wonderland): While certainly not the best Arrow Custom Looping Coaster, this is my favorite of the somewhat common 2 loop, 2 corkscrew models (beating out the higher rated Canyon Blaster and Demon). I think it's just the unusual backwards corkscrew that sets this apart from Arrow's other similar coasters. SkyRider (Canada's Wonderland): I've only been on a handful of Togos, but this is easily the best of the four I've been on. Not too rough, and very strong airtime over a couple of the hills. I rode twice on my visit to Canada's Wonderland last summer despite the coaster not being included on Fast Lane, which definitely says something about my opinion of the coaster. Mighty Canadian Minebuster (Canada's Wonderland): Yes, it doesn't really do much, but the ride is smooth and is re-rideable. It's a great first big coaster for kids, and a good middle-intensity coaster for adults. For me, it was a nice break after Time Warp, Flight Deck, and SkyRider all in a row, and it was the only Canada's Wonderland woodie I rode more than once (excluding ERT).

Iron Man fits well in Tomorrowland. In fact, he's probably the only Marvel character that I could see inside Disneyland without some awkwardness. Even though it's probably a few years away, I'm excited about the attraction. As far as I'm concerned, if you don't like it don't ride or don't visit, thus making the line shorter for everyone else. As for the other changes: Big Thunder Mountain Rehab: I don't get why everyone thinks this ride needs an extensive rehab. It seems just fine to me. We don't yet know the scale of this rehab, but I'm guessing it will probably be more like the Matterhorn Bobsleds one than the Space Mountain one. Fastpass Enforcement: I do tend to take advantage of the loopholes in the system, but I actually think enforcing return times is a good thing. It may make park hopping a little more difficult, but other than that I don't see any reason why anyone can't make a 60 minute return window. It should also improve the accuracy of the wait time indicators and keep mobs of people from entering the Fastpass line all at once. Check the time before getting the pass, and if you know it will be a conflict don't get one. Christmas Party: Okay, this is the one that annoys me. I have no problem with the halloween party because there are offerings there that could never be done during normal park hours and the special events have always been exclusive to the party. However, with the Christmas party, they are taking things that have been included with admission for years and making them an upcharge. I have no problem with parks adding new upcharge attractions, but once something becomes included with admission it should remain that way permanently. Slapping an additional fee on is just greedy and is ripping off visitors.

Given Adventure City's demographic, I'm guessing this new coaster will be something like a new mouse (hopefully a better one than Tree Top Racers, which was just okay) or a Vekoma family coaster. Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll end up visiting this park again for the first time in over a decade (I used to visit two-three times per year when I was younger, but haven't been since 2000).

Here's my ranking, broken up into the categories I use for my rating system. A (Worth visiting the park just to ride): 1. Maverick 2. Top Thrill Dragster 3. Millennium Force 4. Raptor 5. Magnum XL-200 B (Must ride if you're already at the park): 6. Wicked Twister 7. Gemini C (Worth riding, but not worth an extended wait (>20 minutes)): 8. Mantis 9. Blue Streak D (Only worth riding if there is <5 minute wait): 10. Mean Streak 11. Iron Dragon 12. Wildcat (now defunct) 13. Corkscrew F+ (Would ride again with someone else, but would skip if visiting on my own): 14. Disaster Transport (now defunct) 15. Cedar Creek Mine Ride Three coasters at Cedar Point (Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster, and Millennium Force) are on my top ten steel coasters list. One coaster at Cedar Point (Mean Streak) is on my bottom five wood coasters list. Five coasters at Cedar Point (Top Thrill Dragster, Millennium Force, Wicked Twister, Magnum XL-200, and Gemini) are my favorite of their type. Three coasters at Cedar Point (Disaster Transport, Corkscrew, and Iron Dragon) are my least favorite of their type. I did not get a chance to ride Woodstock Express on my visit, and unless I visit with a kid I will likely never ride Jr. Gemini.

Time for a map update, even though my only new state this year was Georgia, and it was only a (brief) airport transfer.

Although I do enjoy Terminator, the attraction is old and outdated, so it is time for it to go. I'd rather they get something other than Dispicable Me to replace it (preferably not a simulator since USH already has two), but I guess if the attraction is considered one of the best at USF it might be a good fit. The only question is how long it will take for the ride to open, as I believe it was a ten month constuction schedule in Florida. Doesn't sound like they're too likely to make a summer 2013 opening date, but you never know.

Now that I've left the continent, I've actually got a list worth posting. United States (residence) Mexico Canada United Kingdom (specifically England) Italy France I also got close enough to see Switzerland, but never entered it's borders.

I don't know an exact number, but probably around 300,000 for photo trivia and 100,000 for general trivia.

My whole list is 5 pages long (I have it in a word document broken up into about seven categories), so here's the top priority lists (in no particular order): Parks: Alton Towers Beech Bend Coney Island Parks Europa Park Florida Parks Grona Lund Heide-Park Soltau Hersheypark Holiday Park Idlewild Kennywood Kings Island Knoebels Liseberg Michigan's Adventure Silverwood Six Flags Great America Six Flags Over Georgia Six Flags Over Texas Toverland Wisconsin Dells Parks Worlds of Fun Coasters (not at any of the above parks): Any B&M Wing Coaster Any Intamin Mega-Lite Black Mamba (Phantasialand) Boardwalk Bullet (Kemah Boardwalk) Cornball Express (Indiana Beach) El Toro (Freizeitpark Plohn) Goliath (Walibi Holland) Grand National (Blackpool Pleasure Beach) Manta (SeaWorld Orlando) Megafobia (Oakwood) Playland Wooden Coaster (PNE Playland) Powder Keg (Silver Dollar City) Renegade (Valleyfair) Rutschebanan (Tivoli Gardens) Superman: Ride of Steel (Six Flags America) T Express (Everland) Thunderbird (Powerpark) Tonnerre de Zeus (Parc Asterix) Wild Mouse (Blackpool Pleasure Beach) This list excludes coasters that have not yet opened. Another note is that I would like to ride several of the coasters in China (such as the three woodies, the stingray, and a few others), but am currently not willing to travel to China to do so, and I would like to visit Japan just for the experience and not for any specific parks/attractions (other than Tokyo Disney).

Little Mermaid already appears to be doing much better in Florida than it is in California. I can't remember the last time I saw more than a 10 minute wait for it at DCA. It's a shame the attraction doesn't get more respect as, although not a headliner attraction, Little Mermaid still in the upper half of the dark rides at the Disneyland Resort. New Fantasyland looks great. Although there are only two new attractions going in (plus one more in a couple years), I'm guessing that the extensive retheming will make it seem like a whole new area. It certainly looks much better than California's Fantasyland, and hopefully I'll get a chance to finally visit WDW (and the other Florida parks) in a few years (I'm waiting until the Seven Dwarf's Mine Train opens before I start considering a trip).

I was wondering how long it would be before this park got added. I remember seeing that guy riding around the park. In fact, I remember the exact point where we saw him, so I went there and... There we are. Add 7 TPR members to the count.

At Knott's, the operators will sometimes announce "If you wish to ride again please find any available seat." This usually occurs when there are not enough riders to fill the train. I've gotten re-rides on Pony Express, Sierra Sidewinder, Silver Bullet, and Xcelerator when visiting on an off-season weekday. If they do not make this announcement, then they generally will not allow re-rides. As for other parks I've tried at, SFMM will generally allow re-rides if there are available seats. The Disney parks will allow them as well, sometimes even on rides with separate load and unload areas (I've gotten a re-ride on Matterhorn Bobsleds before). Legoland California does not allow re-rides, or at least they didn't when I tried. Universal Studios Hollywood doesn't appear to allow them, although I've never tried (only seen others do it). Holiday World didn't when I visited last year. Six Flags St. Louis did. Lake Compounce did on some rides, but not on all of them. As a side note, every park I've had an ERT session at has permitted riders to just choose an empty seat except Dollywood, La Ronde, and Darien Lake (where you had to walk around).

To chime into the Micechat debate, I don't use the site much but they usually have decent information. The issue with that site, which seems to be present on other Disney fansites as well, are the people who nitpick everything at the parks and feel that if something isn't working perfectly it is completely wrong. I do hold Disney to a higher standard of maintenance and operations than I would other parks, both due to their reputation and their high prices, but I also don't get bent out of shape if there's a missing animatronic here or there. All things need maintenance, and if the ride is functioning adequately it's still better than not being able to ride in the first place. As for Splash Mountain, I last rode it a couple weeks ago and other than a few lights being out everything seemed to be working fine. Of course, I'm the type that only rides once (or occasionally twice) per visit, and unless a major animatronic is broken I usually don't notice. I will say that in the spring it seemed to have a lot more problems than it has the past couple times I visited. I'll see what my brother has to say after he visits in a couple days (he's a Splash Mountain enthusiast and rides at least twice per visit, sometimes as many as a dozen times if the line is short enough, even when it's only 50 degrees out). 1 1/2 days will be enough to do that list, even on a weekend. Cars Land will be busy, so do it early or late. Toy Story Midway Mania is the only other ride that usually gets significant waits at DCA and doesn't have Fastpass, so do that one early in the day or during World of Color (I don't think they close it, but I could be wrong). Use Fastpass for California Screamin' and Tower of Terror. At Disneyland, Star Tours, Autopia, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder, and Space Mountain all have Fastpass, so use those. Matterhorn Bobsleds has single rider if you don't mind splitting up, or you can just wait in line (it's usually not more than 30 minutes or so at this time of year...maybe 45 on a Saturday). Pirates rarely has a line longer than 15-20 minutes, so do that at your convenience. Redd Rockett's Pizza Port is open, but as of my last visit they still had walls up out front.

I still buy DVDs since I don't have a Blu-Ray player and I'd have to upgrade my TV for one of them to make sense. I'm honestly not a huge fan of digital downloads since I can only watch those one place instead of several. As far as TPR videos are concerned, if a DVD is released I'll definitely buy it, but otherwise it will depend on the price of the Blu-Ray and whether or not I could convince my brother to let me use his PS3.

I saw two movies over the past weekend. Looper: This one was not quite as good as I was expecting, but it was still decent. My main issue with the film is that it's a bit too much like an alternate version of the Terminator. Other than that, it's well done and it's got a very creative premise compared to so many other modern movies. One of the better films of this year, and one of the best currently playing. B Snow White and the Huntsman: I'm glad I didn't go see this in theaters because it would have been a disappointment. For a DVD rental, it's okay, but the movie really isn't very spectacular and has pacing issues (the first hour is very slow, then it moves incredibly quickly through the last 30 minutes). Kristen Stewart is also a horrible choice for the lead role. I've seen worse, as this is certainly watchable, but it's certainly not something to go out of your way for. C+