RCFreak

Have fun you guys. Can't wait to see more updates (and EMILY LOOKS FREAKING AMAZING!!!) Yes that needed all caps and all of those lovely exclamation points.

http://www.mashup-charts.com/ You're welcome.

I'll throw in the second favorite I've noticed recently. MEGALITE! It's the new Aquatrax.

Can't wait to see some info come out of this. I'm hoping to at least get to this event this year.

Texting specifically I think should be banned. Multiple studies have shown that using a bluetooth hands-free device is not much safer then not using them so I don't necessarily see the point in banning that; but with texting, it takes a lot more concentration and more focus on the screen and off the road, especially with the progression of having all touchscreen phones so you don't have tactile feedback for the buttons meaning most people have to look more to see what they are actually texting. I don't think that any of the other devices you mentioned require as much attention as texting, at least not overall. What I would love to see is a speech-to-text program for texting. The technology exists on phones already, I have it on my VZNavigator through Verizon so I don't see why it would be very difficult to port over. And to answer the question, "Why don't you just call them?" it's simple I might only have a one word response to a simple question or could be chatting with multiple people at once.

^Texas Giant.

MmmHmm.

Yes you do. I don't know, I don't like the black Wii, I think it was fine just the way I bought mine; but I'm glad they finally dropped the price AND are offering color options, even if it's just black at the moment.

^It's really fun to see how much they add every year for Halloween. I'm really happy with what they added this year, and so far everyone who I've talked says they have as well. Have a good time! Here are a couple of HD videos for two the effects on the outside of the building, you can definitely see the cool projections in these.

This would be my shaky cam version of the fireworks lol. It's the whole show minus a minute of the Nightmare Before Christmas overture before the show actually gets under way. It was also pretty foggy by that time yesterday. [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=00001_nxo0[/coastertube] And it runs every night of Halloween Time (even when the park closes at 8PM!) So go check it out if you can, they are really fun.

Guess were I spent my birthday! Naturally dorky. Always refreshing.

It should be noted that most of the music in Halloween Screams is actually from WDW's Hallowishes shuffled around with a Nightmare before Christmas "story" added on. I really enjoyed the show and Ghost Galaxy was everything Revenge of the Mummy (both versions!) should have been lol. What I liked more is the projections they have on the outside of Space Mountain they had quite a few effects besides the claw marks ripping through the structure all with loud sound effects to scare the crap out of you lol. It will definitely make your two hour (!) wait for the ride more tolerable at night. From what I've heard they are not using the maximum number of trains due to the projections inside overlapping each other so prepare for longer lines if you are heading out for the ride! All in all a way better overlay then Rockit mountain (which I liked!) and a solid firework show (ZERO!!!) now all they need is a parade and they are all set for a great Halloween time.

It goes hand in hand really... or whatever body part you put it on... but that's a whole other subject!

WTF???? Dude, you do NOT know what happened. You don't. So just stop. While I am sure that your friends/family are certainly impressed with your knowledge of coasters and your ability to watch 1 minute silent videos and makes judgments, a lot of people are not. Myself included. I have seen Xcelerator rollback tons of times and have never seen the freakin' seat move and smoke come out! So just stop with your "I am an expert and can stay calm" crap. Guaranteed this is traumatic for these people, so have a little respect, or restraint or something. You're really sounding like a douche. You probably don't care and were merely trying to insult me, but my interest to this hobby is mostly contained within this site unless I rarely happen to be out with other coaster nerds; I have far more pressing issues within my life that need more of my attention then roller coasters or accidents within the amusement park industry. I apologize if you misread my post, and you feel the need to be so hostile toward me, but that's ok I understand I come off a bit strong and I once again apologize, but I do think you missed the point I was trying to make with the first half of the post. I also apologize for trying to give reference for where I am coming from for my opinions I am being attacked for and I hope you do realize I feel as if I was being attacked leading me to act irrational and word things differently then I should have to get my opinion across. That said I do feel compelled to point out that in that statement you quoted of me I was just trying to say the E-stop worked exactly as it should have, nothing malicious aside from the snide remark I made at the bottom of that particular post which I intended as a joke about the previous misconceptions about my posts. Now there are other issues which did interfere with the ride, but the rides program did exactly as it was intended when an E-Stop is triggered for whatever reason. The smoke, misaligned seat and sudden short stop are not part of the normal operation but is irrelevant to whether an e-stop failed as it was carried out to the best of the rides program. I will admit I did step out of my bounds as I was not completely aware of Xcelerator's set up, but as a former ride op on Top Thrill Dragster for a couple of years I do have limited knowledge of the hydraulic launch system as well as Intamin's use of safety features on their Accelerator roller coasters. It has been a while since I have visited Knott's Berry Farm (about three years now), so I was basing my observation on my experience with TTD. I wish all injured parties a speedy recovery and that has always been in my posts since my first post about the incident. I did not see before the edit so I don't know what you said, but I would also like to apologize to you for getting to the point were you felt you needed to insult me. I would just like to point out that while I would not be completely passive, there would be no time for anyone to protect themselves from the impact of the shredded cables upon launching. And even after the ride came to a stop, I would wager that I would remain more calm then the passengers in the video mostly from the fact that I would know what was happening. I feel this should be the end of this and if anyone else has further qualms about my posts or my opinions, I do implore that you do private Message me instead of attacking me in this thread as I feel this has gone on longer then it should and is now bordering on going off topic about disagreeing with my opinions.

E-stopped worked exactly as it was designed, it cut all power to the brakes forcing them to pop up and slowed the train down before it hit the block before it. In this case it was passed (or on) the damaged section of the cable/launch sled which has nothing to do with the smoke or the kids seat being misaligned. And if you can make it without freaking out then more power to you. And if not I'll make fun of you on the internet.

lol but I never said he couldn't react that way all I'm saying is that I wouldn't based on having more experience in this situation.

Yes I was, and the father was not injured, He was trying to signal the ride ops that his kid was hurt in a way I would personally not react but you don't care about that. From my experience, I know there's nothing that can be done as the ride would have e-stopped itself meaning the whole ride has to be reset in order for anything to move at all. That's not including if there was any physical damage to the train itself preventing it from moving past where it came to a stop. There was some damage to the train itself so who knows the extent of how bad it really was. And it's not like the ops didn't know the ride broke, again the ride will e-stop itself, and the sound of a cable snapping on an accelerator is horrible and very loud so the people on the midway, if any, would have heard as well. If it were me in this situation I would have called back out to the ops that we needed medical assistance in a much more calm manner as they were not far out of the station, as I'm not the type of person to freak out. Perhaps a downfall of mine (one of many I know) but I blame my judgmentalness on being a Spanish Catholic Woman (yes that was a joke again I laugh at inappropriate times).

Where am I judging the kid?

Lemme just quote myself again. It may not have been this specific situation, but my experiences in life (and amusement parks and rides and accidents on them from an employee standpoint and as a guest) leave my statement as valid as when I wrote it.

This is what I read.

What hysterics? Not everyone is a coaster nerd, and it sure seemed like a traumatic event, ESPECIALLY from a person who is scared prior to riding (the GP is more prone to thinking accidents may occur.) So WTF dude? Laugh all you want, but if MY kid had his legs stuck under a restraint that was smoking while he was holding his head, I would freak the hell out. I imagine you would too. How effing hilarious!!!! Unlike most accidents that make the news, this one actually featured a video that was a tad disturbing, especially watching the Dad freak out. And why the hell does it matter that it has happened before and was worse? Go tell that to the two people who left the park in an ambulance. Regardless of the severity of their injuries, they left in a freakin' ambulance. Crappy day. Xcelerator drew blood. Sure not everyone is a coaster nerd, but I am, I only speak for myself and myself only, and to me it made me laugh and as always, I think blown out of proportion. And no I wouldn't freak out in this case, what good is it to my kid to freak out, if anything my response would be more to try to clam them (and myself) down as more injury could occur from them trying to struggle out of a situation they can't move from. I HAVE been involved with things of this nature before so yes I do happen know how I would react and it wouldn't be to freak out. And quite frankly I'm glad the GP think accidents can occur, people (especially the GP) are far too quick to forget they are riding on multi-ton pieces of steel with a very real chance that something like this or worse can happen. See all the little kids getting unfortunately struck and killed by the little carnival coasters that barely go around 15mph let alone anything larger and faster. That's not to say they are not designed to be as safe as possible, but as this proves accidents can and will happen. For me this is where the thrill comes in, knowing I have no control over the situation and having to trust in someone else (or many people in the case of rides) and just letting go. My response to the "it happened before and worse" was in reference to the previous comments of how people hope that this will lead to significant changes. My point in that statement was to imply that if any changes were to be made, they have already happened after the first accident five years ago on Top Thrill Dragster and if it's happened again on any of the other Intamin Accelerators that use a cable for launch. That's not to say they can't still learn from this and change some things to try and prevent another incident on this scale, but nothing drastic will come of this as far as people are hoping and this can and probably will occur again. And as far as leaving in ambulance's, while most of the time they provide a vital service, things like this skew my view on judging the severity of situation like the guy claiming back and neck injuries (that is not the dad that freaks out) when no one besides the kid suffered any injuries. Again, not to say his claim is not valid, but we can all admit some people are always out for a quick buck. Regardless, I wish them both a speedy recovery.

This has already been posted before. But I agree it's a nice read. http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=52237

I assume the video below would be it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjRISbhuONo They don't seem to be mass produced, and specifically made for Museums, so I don't think they have any official name other then a generic G-force bike or gravity bike.

AMAZING! The Strawberry ones are my favorite. What flavor are these?

Again why with all the hysterics? It HAS happened before and WORSE, that ride is still operating (Top Thrill Dragster) as well as many many new ones built after the accident. I did finally notice the "broken death seat tilt" and it was the one on the left, the kid's seat it tilts up a little after having to watch the video a few more times. While a bit worrisome, I'm sure a full investigation will be launched. And not for just the cable shredding, but for any damage done to the equipment including the train. There could be an added benefit for a video of the incident as it probably will discredit any unsubstantiated claims by the two riders if they do decide for litigation.