KCForce

I rode the Hi Miler numerous times 4 years in a row at the AZ state fair and once at the temporary Santa's Theme Park they had a couple of years just south of Phoenix. The last time I rode was in January of 2007. The restraint is a manual lap bar with a taut fitting canvas lap belt that is attached to the lap bar. It's very tight and they always lowered it as far as it would go every time I rode it. I have long arms and could never reach the restraint release upon returning to the station. That being said, the airtime was still incredible ejector in the back seat. You got little pops in the front, but certainly not in the front car and seat as you went down drops. It was also one of those coasters I had always wanted to try out, so imagine my excitement when I went to the Arizona State Fair and there it was. It is a fun ride, but not quite as crazy as it looks, but it does have some good moments! It is totally worth riding because it is so unique. Okay, with that being said, I'd speculate that the tragic accident was do to rider behavior. It does go pretty slow on the flat straight aways, and if he fell out where I think he may have from the reports I read and saw, I have doubts that it was due to any ride mechanical failure. In addition this ride has been around for quite some time with no accidents involving anyone dying. Regardless of what caused it, it is tragic, someone lost their life. My condolences to his fiance and family.

^ You need a new translator....no, really, that's what you got? Does sound odd if that's the case....but the coaster is cool regardless if it's dedicated to Otto or not.

What about Shockwave @ SFOT or Mindbender @ SFOG? Six Flags doesn't have OTSRs on those. Does Revolution have OTSRs to reduce insurance costs. Yeah, what he said. I would tear down Grizzly at PGA, its a waste of wood, though I suppose since they re-tracked it and as I understand did some re-profiling, I'd have to ride again this year just to be sure.

Thanks for sharing, Star Trek Geek! Hunh, it goes over the cable car thingy? Nice to see the track complete. Shouldn't be too long before we'll hopefully see it zipping along on test runs. Looks good, the cable car jump will probably be a better visual for those on the sky ride, than those zooming on along Cheetah Hunt.

I love Leslie Hall. I've been a fan for a few years now. She can actually rap really well. And I don't like rap. She's got a good singing voice too. She is a diva in my book. Glad others TPR folks like her, makes me feel normal....oh wait we're talking TPR folks and myself....all of us are far from normal...

I've been on both of the coasters you listed, and I can tell you from first hand experience, there is no comparison between the two IMO. Excalibur gives me a head ache after one ride and is not so much rough as it vibrates wickedly. Gemini is very smooth, much like a mine train coaster, IMO. I'll ride Gemini over and over, Excalibur not so much. So, no there is no comparison other than they are both steel hybrids that were made by Arrow. I have a feeling after reading what the lucky riders wrote earlier that it feels nothing like any other steel tracked hybrid. Peace!

I had come across a picture before of this, but it was small and grainy and I couldn't find the site it came from. I *finally* found the site it came from. It looks really cool, not too thrilling after the first drop, but way cool none the less! Looks almost like they used real coaster wheels. Oh, and so no one debates it, it's a Plastic Hybird coaster! Here's the link showing pictures: www.gelitin.net/mambo/index.php?set_albumName=album11&option=com_gallery_proj144&Itemid=91&include=view_album.php Here's the link to the video of it in action: www.gelitin.net/bilder/otto_movie.html My spouse already said, "Don't even think about it!" Peace, KC

This is not the first Hybrid coaster. I am not certain, the earliest I can think of off the top of my head with out digging around would be the Bobsleds at Sea Breeze in Rochester, NY. It was a wooden coaster that they replaced the wood track with a tubular steel track. While I get what you're saying about it being a Hybrid, and though its been said many times on this thread...a coasters wood or steel category goes exclusively by the make up of the track, not by what is holding that track up. This is a steel coaster. Period. A Hybrid yes, but that's secondary. Hybrid always refers to a coaster that is made up of steel and wood, regardless if it has wood supports and steel track (like a mine train, or now the Texas Giant) or steel supports and a wood track (like the Voyage or Hades.). No Hybrid category. Coasters are steel or wood. The Hybrid is really not as important, nor as relevant, IMO. Peace!

I think you mean catwalks. Ledgers are actors that provide surprise buttsecks in cowboy movies. I am still laughing so hard and wiping the tears away from my eyes, this is about as modern cowboy themed coaster as you can get. I don't think I'll ever ride this coaster with out giggling or when I read about roller coaster ledgers ever again.... It's cool that some of the first riders are some of the kids at TPR. Now, before you two jump all over me, I'm old enough to be your dad (just wait til the day comes when you two can say that, it will be surreal, trust me). Too bad they don't let you take anything from the holding area, but I understand. Very encouraged that one of you got "major" airtime in the middle of the train. Hope you guys get several rides in today. How is that third over banked turn? It looks freaky in a good way.

They took out Patriot??

I hope you're wrong! I didn't think it looked too slow. I agree with you, I don't think there will be a "bad" seat on the entire train. Yes, the brake run used to be higher. It still looked like a good drop to me. The original was one of my favorite spots on the Giant. I guesstimate from the construction pictures that is was about 10 feet, maybe 15 feet higher, which can make a difference in speed, but with out the double helix to go through now, it looks to me that the train finishes the Magic Carpet at about the same clip it did before the remodel/re-profile/rehab/Frankenstein (what would you call what they did to it besides awesome?) treatment. And yes, I said Magic Carpet. It's done, not exactly the same, but I think we should be able to go back to calling it the Magic Carpet. Of course I guess I *should* wait until I ride it and judge that part of the ride for myself.

Okay, after seeing this POV, I think we very may well see the NTG move into the #1 steel coaster position in Mitch Hawkers poll, for sure it will rank in the top 10 or 5. Regardless of where it ranks in any potential polls, it looks like one hell of a ride. You know how we all got all excited about the sideways camelback before the cutthrough under the lift? Yeah, it looks sweet still, but the drop before it that goes through the lift looks even better. Its quick with a head chopper! The 3rd over bank looks great too. I wasn't too sure about this redo of my former favorite wood coaster into a steel coaster, but man, I think the NTG will be better than the original. Peace.

I'm uber jealous! But happy for you none the less. Okay, so if they let you, take a camera of course and get us some pictures! Or even better some off ride video of the bad boy in action. I'd check with them to make sure it's okay first though, just so you don't ruffle any feathers. Hopefully you get to ride (I'm assuming that's the case!) and we'll be waiting for a full report even if you don't get any pictures. Congratulations, have fun, and we can't wait to hear back about your experience! KC

Okay, I'll chime in. I lived in the SJ area for a few years back in the 90's and was a season pass holder. First, I can't tell you how frustrating it is for me to see people choose to move in near an amusement or theme park (in this case the office park) and then complain about noise. Hello, GA was there long before anything sprang up around it. I've seen this happen time and again. Joyland in Wichita is another example of this. Joyland was there long before the housing sprang up around it and once it shut down, then the neighbors started complaining about noise when a group tried to get it up and running by doing night time events. Sorry, GA was there first and you choose to move in near it. Deal with it. That's part of the problem, IMO. Then we have the whole, lets move the 49er's in fiasco. Then there is the economy. The area like so much of the country was hit hard by the housing bust (even more so there) and "great recession". I guess I can see it from CF's POV, unlike with Geauga Lake. GL was unforgivable. I'm not so sure about that CF pulls the plug here. It seems to me that they wanted and did make improvements and have tried to put some effort forth with this property. Sadly it appears at this time the future doesn't look to bright for GA. I really want to be wrong here. Will they pull out completely or will the park become a water park sans Geauga Lake? I'll wait like everyone else to see what happens with GA. It would be nice to see the park live on as a theme park. Time will tell, but I get the feeling the writing is on the wall.

You are correct. When the rides opened in 1976 they were both all white. Then a few seasons later the corkscrews were painted red, but the rest of the track and structure was still white.

Orient Express!!! Er wait, Zambezi Zinger...ooops, um I mean Prowler, hands down (or up).

I think the name actually works. The coaster does zig zag back and forth like a "sand serpent". Perhaps they need to paint it a tan sand color now.

20/20 - my first perfect Shine Quiz score....and yes sadly I do spend a lot of time online (and did a report on the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway way back in elementary school).....I totally guessed on the Finnish stuff, so I lucked out getting a perfect score. I do pretty well most of the time, and have bombed on a few in the past. Peace.

Theory as to why this wing rider and the one at Gardaland don't have long track layouts: Perhaps the friction on wing riders (and even X2) is more than a coaster where the passengers are more "well balanced" over or even under the track. I'm not saying this is the case, just that it seems plausible to me. X2 has a 215 foot drop, yet is 3,600 feet long. I'd say the majority of coasters around that height that passengers ride over the tracks are quite a bit longer (the Arrow and Morgan Hypers). Any thoughts?

All but the bodies on the Shockwave, a friend from Germany made those, but I put them on my wheel chassis design.

HO scale model train trucks and wooden dowels for the supports.

Hi all. It's been a while. I asked Robb if I could just bump this thread as I had a few more of my model coasters to show you all. I also started a web site a few months ago to showcase my models. I also have been working on a "Build a Model Roller Coaster" series of video tutorials, of which 2 are now live on my site and YouTube page. The link for my working model roller coasters web site is: www.modelrollercoasters.webs.com There are videos and picture galleries as well as the new "How to Build a Model Coaster" page if you're interested. There are several models on there that were never on my YouTube page, as I didn't make videos of them, but you'll find pics of them in the photo gallery. Some of them are older models, so not as "nice" as my latest models. The Stinger model was officially my first model to ever be shown outside of the Coaster Cave (heard of a Man Cave? Yeah, but mines for model building and all things coaster and park related). I was amazed at how many people really liked the model for as small as it is. Proof again that bigger isn't always better. Over 300 people saw the model. It sold for $90.00! I donated it to a local synagogue's silent auction to benefit their youth. I'll be adding more tutorial videos in the "Build a Model Roller Coaster" series soon. I totally think the most important category at the Academy Awards is Editing now. Doing the editing is more frustrating than any model I've ever built. Enjoy! KC This is the Pulsar. It's on a 4 X 8 foot base and features 5 inversions and 2 (take the) tunnels Overhead of the criss cross corkscrews interlocking with the vertical loop. Wish someone would do this in real life. Over banked turn around a drop between the two criss cross corkscrews. This is my latest model, The Stinger. It's on a 20 X 48 inch base and not too big as...... ....it had to fit in the back seat of our car. A local Jewish youth group had a silent auction. $90. is what it sold for! I was stoked! I've heard of having sex in the back seat, but a model roller coaster?

Wow. Talk a bout a park that's off the radar for a lot of folks on TPR, I'm sure. I went over to rcdb and found out that the wooden coaster is a copy of the Cyclone at Pleasureland Southport in England. It looks really cool with it's non-traditional paint job. There are a ton of good photos over at the RCDB of this coaster. It looks great. Thanks for sharing and YES, post the pictures from Esselworld! Peace, KC

True, it does seem that maintenance seems to be an issue with the Invertigo coasters. I don't think that it's the point folks singing its praises (me included) are making. It's actually a good, decent ride experience as compared to a standard Vekoma Boomerang. For me comparing a Standard Boomerang to the Invertigo is like night and day. They feel like and are two different ride experiences. For a Vekoma, this ride is pretty kick ass. It's rideable and doesn't beat the hell out of you like a standard boomerang does. Plus being an inverted coaster with being able to go backwards, then forwards (versus the other way around on a standard boomerang) if you sit in the "backward" seats stand out a bit for me. Peace!

Can Worlds of Fun have it? I don't want to see Great America close, but I really enjoyed the Invertigo at KI last year. Course WOF will have to take the Boomerang out, but it has one of the shortest lines in the park any more. I too agree with the general consensus that this is the first nail in the coffin for Great America. Perhaps the second, if the rumored GCI coaster not coming to fruition was the first. Not sure whey they didn't move forward with that. So sad too. I think with all the bally hoo over the new stadium, Cedar Fair wants out. I hope though that somehow we are not right. Peace!