cgodsey

We flew into Ontario last year. It is a decent drive but the airport is much smaller than LAX and a breeze to get in and out of. Continental is also running specials to ONT right now.

NO approved coaster club is free (AFAIK) but we are pretty close at $10. We are on the official Coastermania list, out logo just isnt on the page yet. You can also use our card for HoliWood Nights and most of the other park sponsored events around the country. http://www.rideworld.com

Knotts has moved Solace to April in conjunction with the ACE Spring Conference.

This is the central reason why we moved MM to Saturday. So many people miss out on the night ERT and its awesomeness!

Knotts moving Solace really opened up the opportunity to add it to the event. I really like having the event in March so those in very cold areas can enjoy some ERT to help beat the winter blues and we honestly didn't want to link it with what ACE is doing in April.

Man, I wore my car out at 18 visiting parks across the country. Of course, gas was much cheaper 15+ years ago!

You mean less satin jackets and shorter lines at the meals? AMEN TO THAT!

Funny how the RideWorld coaster club is called RideWarriors and has been for over 6 years now. Sorry Cedar Fair, we were first!

Holiwood Nights is June 4th and 5th this go around for possibly warmer weather for Wildebeest Saturday morning ERT. http://www.holidayworld.com/clubs

But are the wheels spring loaded? THAT is the key to making Vekoma rides smooth. Having that 1 inch gap between the rails and the rolling stock gives it that Vekoma shimmy.

^Spoken like a true coaster enthusiast. Its a good thing the 1 million+ visitors per year think otherwise!

We did the one in San Diego and it was incredible. Our table was about 5 feet from the tank! Now, that was a couple of years ago though. We plan on doing the one in Orlando next week so I will report on it when I get back. Chris

^ RUH ROH RAGGY!

This park is looking better and better. And, I don't think they are done announcing things either

Yeah, I am awaiting a press release to confirm the purchase also. I think the inventories are just so the final price is negotiated. If I was Blackstone, I would want to know everything I was buying before I wrote the check.

Its a done deal. They have been performing inventories at the parks for a couple of weeks now.

There is no question that how the train came to a stop was result of the cable snapping. I would bet the catch car came out of its housing and that is what the train hit. Also, those fins dont completely stop the train but they bring it very close to stopping. Anyone ever seen a rollback train come back to the station? I saw TTDs do this and it took about 5-10 mins for the train to make it back to the station it was moving so slow. This is pretty serious business even though some don't want to admit it. You cannot tell me that all of you won't be thinking about this incident the next time you ride TTD or another Intamin hydro launcher.

I think the bigger question with these incidents is how many cycles were on these cables and what is Intamin's recommendation on replacing them? If they were over that recommendation, the park bears the blame. If not, maybe the cable manufacturing needs to be looked at.

They really should modernize the polling and perform a nomination process to narrow the ballot choices down. Also, if you don't get a ballot, send an email to Gary Slade (email addresses are at http://www.amusementtoday.com/contact.html) and ask to get one. There definitely needs to be a larger pool of voters to help get the lesser known rides on the ballots!

Friendliest Staff Silver Dollar City, Branson, Mo. Holiday World was surpassed by Silver Dollar City in this category. Good for SDC!

^30+ year old rides from companies that don't exist anymore thats how. Imagine trying to find parts for some of these rides. Most parks have to fabricate them themselves. I definitely think the "old school" log flumes' days are numbered at most parks.

Its been a few years, but WDW's dragon is similar to the old Disneyland one. It looks like a paper dragon that glows. I agree, they should have taken 6 months and modernized the show with new scenes and effects throughout. I know they don't want to steal away WOC's thunder but they are two different shows altogether.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-bk-disney-marvel-entertainment-083109,0,2559631.story This article says Universal has the rights over Spiderman, Hulk, and a couple other characters over any park east of the Mississippi and that the contracts seemed to be perpetual as long as the attractions stay open. Could Disney use these characters on the west coast or perhaps oversees? I would bet yes and I am sure they will in the future.

If you can't beat your competition, buy them out. It's the American way!

But IOA isn't as dependant on the kids as these Paramount parks are. Heck, they love touting their kid offerings all over the place, especially KI with that golden ticket they win year after year. Time will tell how this will work out but I can forsee Nick coming back to these parks in 3-5 years.