JT325

That is hilarious* as I stole MY copy of The Great American Amusement Parks around 1987 from the Oak Forest Public Library. A few years ago I spoke to Gary across facebook (and told him how I got the book!), and thanked him for such a great book. He also shared some great Colossus 1978 stories with me. Last year, I did a true "amends" and returned the book to the library's current manager and made a financial donation/financial amends as well. Yes, about 30 years later... I worshiped that book for a couple decades. *Not saying that stealing anything from anywhere is cool...

Can't be any worse than Steel Curtain. Two words: Mustard Yellow. Actually... I love what that ride looks like. It's very Pittsburgh. But it would suck if we all agreed.

5 minutes if you count sitting in brakes Sorry, had to. (In reality, I think Six Flags is aware of it's efficiency history and has been doing something about it, especially Great America.) I'm sure it will be a fun ride! Think of the view we'll get of Whizzer.

I was looking at a picture of the ride and it seems there might be brake brackets on the dive into the station - but over 90 degrees. Geez, they'd have YOLO coaster beat on steepness of brakes. "First coaster with brakes while still upside-down." Drove past the park yesterday, the ride isn't very attractive. I suppose black and white paint is the cheapest.

I can ride Skyride 3 times a day, easily. Almost everything needs about 3 rides a day. And that's not even getting to the food or just resting in the endless charm spots on the grounds. Or socializing if I'm there for PPP.

^No way I would have ever caught it. But I did catch the one time Holiday World had a silhouette of Magnum (or was it a different Arrow/Morgan hyper) on one of their shirts. That was strange. I always relegated that sort of thing to the big corporate parks. It somehow didn't make me love Holiday World any less.

^Plan to stay longer next time haha! I can go to Knoebels for 3 days and still want more. THAT is how an amusement park should feel. You might want to check out PPP (Phoenix Phall Phunfest) around the first weekend of October. Some coaster/park people complain it's overcrowded, but I disagree as they open the whole park up for it nowadays. I'll usually get there on Thursday and leave Monday. Great time! Or just go anytime and plan to spend a minimum of an entire open-close day. I have more fun on the skyride, skyslide and Satellite alone than I have at most "big" parks.

Man this really sucks. I loved that ride, despite it's capacity and other issues. It could be saved or rebuilt, but oh well. It's a shame all the new stuff is all so same-y and the really cool stuff gets trashed. Meanwhile, in the burbs of Chicago... "Oh, so happy so happy so happy. So happy they spent a little money on me and I'm even more popular now. Happy Happy Joy Joy."

Exactly. I wish they would just scrap the coaster and fix up what they have. Clean the park a bit and make it a little nicer looking, like it was eons ago. Make it a more user-friendly park. Like that other chain we can't mention with out being called a fanboy (including when we are not).

Looks like a friendly tribute "hello friend" sort of thing to Cedar Point. Very nice!

^Looking great! They really go all-out on these general all-around improvement things, I'm always impressed.

Amazing work! Keep it up, the model is stunning.

^Glad to hear you liked it! There are plenty of fans that are upset because of a few re-arrangements and not telling everything. But how much can you show in a 2 hour movie? I almost went to the theater to see it a 2nd time, I still might. This will definitely be a buy it when blu ray comes out. All the old Queen records are getting a good play on my computer after that movie. If you want to read more personal stuff about Freddie, there are some good books out there. He definitely had a few extremely wild years - in every way... but settled down when Jim moved in. Here is a must-watch comparison. That dude must have rehearsed for months. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XqPBEODZ4s

Speaking of that (however a little late), did anyone see the Queen/Freddie Mercury movie "Bohemian Rhapsody"? Really a great movie, and I'm usually not into big mainstream movies. I caught some songs switched around in the movie, and later read a long list of moved around "stuff." Biggest of which was how they compiled the last few years stories (AIDS being the big one) into the last (triumphant) part of the movie. Even with the changes, still a great movie. The actors who played the band members were spot-on, especially Brian May. What a sad day when he died. I had come home for Thanksgiving, and it was all over the news the next day. Freddie Mercury was like a freaking superhero to the kids that grew up listening to him. His death was very sad too, as detailed in the book written by his last boyfriend/husband, Jim Hutton. It's called "Mercury and me," like $5 on kindle.

I have friends that have referred to it as High Heel Drag Queen for years. Great name

That video pinged my memory of something, not sure what... Ah yes, now I know what it was. Just a little "E-12" moment. No biggie.

^A Tivoli style park would be fantastic in Memphis! Thanks for the link and explanation.

Who is King Willy?

When people are happy to buy a dirt-cheap season pass, remember there is a reason for that pass being cheap. SF is not known for quality operations/communications/user-friendliness. (This is not a SF vs CF thing, or the whole "CF is better" thing. It's just the truth. They have tip-top operations and high quality customer service; no the best but still very good.) Perhaps with the new, more-expensive pass system, they will try to do something about the service. They have such potential. And great mentors with Cedar Fair (Knotts), primarily.

^I'm really not sure of the details, it's all fuzzy. But I do know that if a park really wants a ride, or a ride part - brand new and identical to the originals, they can get them. It costs money, but it can happen. As for the carny aesthetic you mention, I agree partly, but that can turn to awesomeness and *charm* with nice fencing or a little scenery/greenery. It's all in the presentation. I've seen total carnival rides look great in a park (Bay Beach, Knoebels, Indiana Beach (pre-2009)); I've also seen them look junky/carny (think large circle loop).

^Yes please. Or an expanded Halloween, as spinning jacks or something. Or Christmas, etc.

Or a new ride somewhere else. These classic Heart Flip rides are great, awesome to look at and fun for the whole family. Also, super rare. Nothing like a restored classic Speaking of new rides, I have a feeling we all have our long wish lists. Skyride, Schwarzkopf-esque looper or speed racer (classic trains for both, please), Large-scale train ride, whole park mini-train, family friendly haunted house, classic and large scale ferris wheel. Dreaming is free

Looks great! Is this taking over the old candy shop?

^Actually, we're already scheduled for group time on the Runaway Mountain Coaster. The dude who puts the events together for us got us a great $5 deal, and we get exclusive time too. Talk about a bargain. Supposedly there are "lights and stuff" all over the coaster. I'm thinking since it's just a small group of park/coaster enthusiasts, we might get a little extra room between sleds. Either way it will be fun.

^My buddy came to his senses and decided to stay for the 2nd day. Very happy! He told me "don't eat for like a week before you go," in prep to feast on all the goodness at SDC. We are also doing a mountain coaster Friday night, those can be fun. No brakes, please.