Angry_Gumball

^My last time at the Global Winter Wonderland event, reality kicked in when I was riding the swings. Sure I've been seeing the coaster grow, went to the media event, and shot 100s of photos of this but when I was riding the swings that night, my brain clicked in and thought "Wow, we're actually getting a new coaster!" I had this silly grin the entire ride, each time I whizzed by the midway turn and saw the partial lift off in the distance...the whole area just looked like something I had never seen before! Speaking of Gold Striker, I had a dream last week that we were all out at the park (the usual group of TPR members/CGA group) and Gold Striker's queue was all set up. People were all in line waiting for it to open and it turned out that they had to demolish the Prudential turn and move it over to the other side of Extreme Skyflyer (White Water Falls was not present). That meant 2 more bunny hills were to be added en route to the turn and out of it. It was moved due to excessive noise levels during testing. Other odd moment in the dream: All the rides were breaking down and both Grizzly and Vortex just reversed the train back down the lift (much like an Invertigo returning to the station). Oh, to add to the photos, this image was found via Instagram, from down at ground level. We can clearly see the cement wall that's come up around the midway turn.

^^I know, right? Why don't GP say that Flight Deck is just an inverted Vortex? GS will be nothing like Grizzly!

So much progress shown in this pic alone! Looks like there's some kind of concrete wall that's gone up around the 80-degree midway turn, where I'm guessing the queue is going to start. I can almost see where it will head seeing some leveled dirt leading up towards the station foundation (yay I rhymed!). The speed hump looks a little more mellow than I initially thought but the angles of the photos are pretty limited. It could just be what I'm seeing and could be sharper than I'm thinking.

I remember during Haunt one of the ride ops was actually calling it Fright Deck. This was also the same dude that said that our seats are now carrots (instead of locked) and also said 'potatoes' as a loose article

You must have read my mind, was pondering this idea with a fellow TPR member this morning. The thought of Vortex rigged up to run backwards made my headache I currently have sharply increase Now I'll take a backwards Flight Deck any day!

I like the name a lot, as odd as it sounds. Logo is creepy/trippy and very Cheshire Cat-like. Not to mention, the snow covered pic looks like the logo (with a little imagination of course ) Creepy, no?

I have a SFDK shirt, being Medusa. The image they used for Medusa was not from a photo but looked computer generated. Upon closer inspection when I got home, I saw that it was actually a No Limits coaster! I recognized the brake runs and even saw a station in the back...not to mention the trees

^I actually caught a Psyduck but ended up storing him as he wasn't quite holding up with the rest of my monsters. I'd head back to Floccesy Ranch and catch yourself a Riolu (which will later evolve to Lucario). He's been a solid performer in my team.

The sound my RC car makes when I'm lightly pressing the throttle...makes a high-pitched sound reminding me of LIMs/LSMs. Pulling the throttle on my RC car almost reminds me of a coaster launching off...even moreso when I go gradual.

I'm definitely going to take that in consideration as far as the G's go, will in the end most likely tone it down a bit. I may also try an alternate version of this with a lift and see how it does but as it is right now, I plan on keeping this as a launched coaster. Anyway, what good is a project thread without a video of it in action? Keep in mind this is not the final version as there may be some tweaks and such...not to mention the support work. We'll see if I decide to attempt my first custom station in Sketch Up. Anyway, all clear - dispatch! Enjoy your ride!

More drool-worthiness they just posted on their Facebook page!

I've only done Nintendoland with maybe 1 other player who didn't quite understand what was going on. I think the Metroid Blast one can prove to be pretty insane, especially when you're on foot trying to hide from the ship...Or if you're the ship and the players on foot are hiding but can see you and fire at you. I decided to go oldschool just a little bit ago and decided to whip out Castlevania 4 (SNES). Such a great game back in the day, such a great game today! I can thank the Angry Video Game Nerd's Castlevania videos I watched earlier for motivating me into playing it. *enters nostalgia mode* Castlevania 4 (or Super Castlevania 4) was one of those dark, gloomy-ish games that made great rainy day games. I remember it just coming in from a crazy storm (El Niño weather) starting to fire up after a quick bike ride, firing up the SNES, wrapping up in some blankets and playing the game. Also at one time I had a nasty flu and one of my friends wanted to come by and chill anyway (he lived around the corner from me). While I laid in bed, I let him play my SNES so I can watch him beat the game. In the end, I remember waking up in the middle of the night with a pounding headache and having one of the level's songs stuck in my head.

I'm working on a Maurer Sohne launched coaster that I've named "TMBL" (Pronounced as "Tumble") The idea originated from the crazy looking Vekoma ride I saw on Screamscape a week ago: Not long after, a fellow TPR member created a thread of a Maurer Sohne concept that starts off as a Skyloop (which made me decide to go with MS). I did however want to make it a launch and had some inspiration from Zonga/Thriller's coiled circular loops. In the end, I came up with a coaster that launches you into 2 back-to-back circular loops, immediately taking you into a non-inverting half-loop, and into a dive loop before heading back into the station. While I don't believe Maurer Sohne coasters pull so many G's, I wanted to push the limits of it and make this 108-foot coaster pack some nice G's. I still have some smoothing out to do but this is what I have so far. Feedback would be appreciated I'll probably have a demo video of it up tomorrow so you can see it in action. Overview of the ride, fits in a long, narrow footprint. It first blasts you off at 60mph into a series of back-to-back loops. Another view of how the loops sort of cross over each other. Pretty forceful, pulls about 5.7 G's on the smaller 2nd loop. Followed by a non-inverting loop delivering a nice pop of airtime. And the ride ends in a dive loop back into the station. Superman Ultimate Flight is somewhat of an inspiration for the supportwork. A back view looking towards the loops (note some of the missing supports, was an earlier screenshot)

Also not expecting/almost forgetting, a TPR-labeled package arrived in the mail today from the Test Track contest back in Dec. Got a Kings Island map and some maps from Japan. Of course you can't forget the magical TPR pen and the mighty TPR pencil! Now to see what's on the DVD These maps will be joining the rest of my park map collection!

I'm not sure who else makes these but this is what they had: http://flatrides.com/Ride%20Index%20Pages/zerogravity.html Me thinks I'm gonna look at the flat rides site to see what other variations of the roundup/zero gravity rides exist.

^I usually would have the restraint rest on my shoulders as I can then can keep the ears slightly above the restraint if I stretch the neck or pull it forward like you do. At the same time, the clunky, uncomfortable bike saddle rests a bit lower where my legs are further apart. It's still blocky and uncomfy but it's better than having that chunky saddle digging into your thighs and crotch at the next click up. I also tend to stay away from the end seats if possible since the banking left/right can be a bit more harsh/more movement than if you were in the center 2 seats. Lastly, I try to stay up towards the front where it whips you around less.

I'm not sure if it's an atmosphere thing or what. Having both a Six Flags park and a CF park as home parks (SFDK and CGA) I have a little something to compare to. What I don't care about in terms of SF: all of the advertising. A few here and there is one thing but when you get to plastering ads everywhere right down to the trains it becomes an ad frenzy rather than your escape from reality. On the flipside, a CF park feels a bit 'cleaner' and 'pure' if you want to say since if there are any ads they're quite subtle. Even Disney has some advertising (Space Mtn with FedEx promotion) but is kept subtle. The lockers... The locker policy in my opinion is also pretty lame. I'm one who tends to take just a back pack with me which may have a jacket, camera, and souvenir cup as I do like to have hands free. While it's only $1, it almost begins to feel like a mini upcharge to ride the coasters that require them. My first experience with the lockers was a bit of a nuisance since my plans revolved around the lockers. Since it was a calm day when I went, I almost felt obligated to stay in the front of the park for 2 hours while my goods were stored. I don't have to worry about this at a CF park. With this said, these are the only few things that come to my mind that take away from a SF park. I have ran into some friendly employees at both CGA and SFDK though I have a bit more experience with CGA since I frequent that place more. Food at both places aren't bad considering where you're at, and considering how many people they need to tend to when it comes to cooking...think mass production. Both parks have their quick and slow operations (CGA's Grizzly crew has gone onto a good 3 minutes between unload-dispatch). On average at both places seems to be about a little over a minute if I don't count Superman (which is insanely fast at unload-dispatch). I do hear that SFDK is definitely one of the better SF parks and honestly it is a pretty nice park. Only other Six Flags park I went to which was only a single visit quite a while back was SFMM (2001). I don't quite remember how operations and cleanliness was as I was just exiting the GP stage and entering the enthusiast world.

^I'd love to see one come in too. They aren't the tallest things in the world but they seriously look like they can pack a punch! We need more airtime coasters in CA...and a smaller park like CGA would probably be a perfect place for one...or if we got a Hyper, even a 200-footer, it could easily be marketed as the 'tallest, fastest coaster in NorCal' with no questions asked (referring to the speed debate between Gold Striker and Giant Dipper). What's wrong with Vortex (Haven't ridden it myself, but I'm curious as to how you'll answer your own question)? I know Vortex is pretty 'snappy' if you want to say. Combine quick direction changes with high, firm shoulder restraints that are pretty close to the head, there's lots of ear smashing and headbanging to be had. The main part that I brace myself for is that quick snap and entry into corkscrew.

Realistically thinking, a Giga is probably too large scale of a coaster for the type of park CGA is. If anything happened, I can see a megalite or if we're lucky, a hyper...but nothing more than that due to proximity to the airport. In fact, everytime we're at CGA we are painfully reminded how we won't see anything really tall when we see an extremely low flying plane...especially during rainy season.

^Thanks for clearing that up.

I hate to double post but it's been close enough to 24 hours and some kind of news we can all begin to speculate. I just took a glance at the Santa Clara Permit Page and noticed this: http://smartpermit.santaclaraca.gov/tm_bin/tmw_cmd.pl?tmw_cmd=StatusViewCase&shl_caseno=BLD2013-30673 So what's going to be demolished? What's this future work? Could this be the end of the defunct Pictorium? Maybe I got too excited and is just some other minor project

I can snap pretty good on CGA's flyers, all via calmly and gracefully moving the fin. I've even managed to dive down hard enough to face backwards several times! It's all about timing on that ride. If you wonder, CGA has the first Larson flyer made. Kind of a fun fact

On CGA's wall just now: So you say the park needs something new...yet when they add something new and major to boot, you're going to whine about that. Go figure...glad he's a 'former pass holder' as I would not want to be around him in the park