Captain Jack

That was a really nice TR...and Great Adventure really seems to be improving with each year and even a little bit each week. Batman the Chiller's old track was just lying around in the back of the lot, and if so, was Robin's old zero-g hanging around too?

I wasn't thinking a flat color, but not a cartoony painted wood finish. A pearlescent finish in a crimson red or a deep purple kind of Apollo's Chariot like would've looked great.

Awesome looking coaster ...disappointing looking train paintjob.

Maybe it's just me being over-spoiled by the theming at the "Disney Parks" that Hershey's theming just seems so off. Honestly though, Hersheypark used to really be themed more strongly. I've always classified theming in three categories from best to worst, Disney quality, Busch quality, and then Six Flags quality. Hershey used to fall between Busch and Six Flags but more towards the Busch end of the spectrum. From what I saw last weekend, Midway America really has no true theme, Storm Runner is kind of mishappedly placed in Pioneer Frontier along with the Frontier Flyers, etc. The only true themed areas today are the new Boardwalk and Tudor Square, and Tudor Square's quality and believeability has gone down the drains. To me, Herhsheypark is nothing more than an large amusement park, making it really no different than a nicer Six Flags offering. And is it just me, or are Hershey ride-ops horrendously slow? Great Bear, all three days, would be still loading a train while the other train sat in the block breaks behind the station for 2-3 minutes. It should be a load and go set up, where once a train hits the breaks around the corner from the station another train is off and running.

I went to Hersheypark over Memorial Day Weekend and would've provided a Photo:TR myself but brilliantly forgot my SD chip at home. Hersheypark is no longer what I remember it being during the 1990's and even the early 2000's. It's lost all sort of theming and now suffers from Six Flags syndrome. Storm Runner is a great ride, Great Bear is an "okay" B&M, I'd take Batman the Ride over it any day. The nice thing about Hersheypark would have to be its woodie collection and that fact that the GCI woodies hang out in the less-crowded far rear of the park. In my opinion, the idea of having a water park in the middle of a no-longer theme park is awful. It's good for people like us who want coasters with little waits, but then you are forced to see people who never belong in bathing suits in bathing suits and even when little yield signs say "NO BATHING SUITS PERMITTED BEYOND THIS POINT," you still get wet coaster seats from wet butts. Not to mention, as with any water park, you still get that funny chlorine plus urine smell built up over time...it's nasty! It's only perk, it eats the crowds from the rest of the park. The little German themed entry way that used to really give this park its strongest form of theming now reeks of two things...corporate sponsorships (...like an out of place Dunkin Donuts) and Duloc. "Please keep off of the grass, shine your shoes, wipe your...FACE."

Good Vekoma trains...never thought I would live to see the day.

I always thought the American TOGO's sucked as Japan's revenge for the atomic bomb.

WDW's costumed cast members usually do have handlers...while Disneyland ones usually do not. Just from personal experience, Disneyland characters are much more free-roaming. When this kid gets back to school, who could not mock him? He got his arse kicked accidentally by an oversized stuffed animal. ...Wait until next week's episode of New England A-Hole, when Elmo and Cookie Monster guest star.

Just my two cents... This past August I finally got to go out West and experience the DLR for myself, as I had been to the WDW Resort about 6 times. So technically, I hit the 50th Anniversary for DL at WDW in 2005, and for DL at the DLR in 2006. And let me tell you, Space Mountain East is really lacking. I don't think it can even be compared to its West coast version, but more to the Matterhorn. Even then, the Matterhorn has an edge on Space Mountain East. If WDW executives would finally realize that Disneyland takes better care of its attractions, then WDW's Magic Kingdom could easily become on par with Disneyland. Yes, Disneyland itself is smaller than the Magic Kingdom, but to me it felt bigger due to the many more attractions. Fantasyland at DL is tight, but elegant and gorgeous and with extra attractions. I grew up going to WDW year after year and love it, however, I now prefer Disneyland Resort over WDW. Space Mountain West has the retracked glass-smooth ride, amazing on-ride audio, and cool special effects. Space Mountain East feels like it was never changed since its opening date in 1975...and for the most part, that is true. Haunted Mansion West opened in 1969, but is continuously updated and refurbished. Haunted Mansion East also feels like it was never changed since its opening date...with the park in 1971. Instead of raising more and more DVC's and hotels, Disney is better off sinking money into making the Magic Kingdom into the amazing park it has the potential to become, restoring the glory of Epcot's Futureworld, making MGM worthwhile, and making Animal Kingdom at least a half-day park. As far as Dinosaur goes, it's okay. When I rode it in 2005 I thought it was a great ride. Then I rode what is essentially the same ride with different theming and AA's and such, the Indiana Jones Adventure, and realized that Dinosaur is #@!$. Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye just blew me away. And what's sad is, it opened in 1995. Dinosaur opened as Countdown to Extinction in 1998...so Disney had the potential to outdo Indiana Jones...and they did not. I've always wondered why people like Splash Mountain East better than Splash Mountain West. The AA's are practically in your log at Disneyland, and it just feels more...alive than the Magic Kingdom's version. Greater capacity on the Magic Kingdom's? Woo hoo. The number of people at Disneyland doesn't necesitate the double across logs. Frontierland at WDW definately has the advantage over DL's. Disneyland's feels like a ghostown, while Magic Kingdom's has Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and the Country Bear Jamboree. Tomorrowland at Disneyland, as of right now, is on par with the Magic Kingdom's. On par because although it lacks a Carousel of Progress and PeopleMover, it has a superior Buzz darkride shooter, the recently redone Tomorrowland Terrace, and a FAR superior Space Mountain. By the end of 2007, with the Subs back in action and the retro monorails running on the Highway in the Sky, Tomorrowland West will easily recapture the dominant hand over Tomorrowland East. The only real disappointing things about TL West right now are the Astro Orbitor's colors and current location, empty PeopleMover tracks, and Innoventions in a wasted Carousel Theater.

Wildcat is rough as hell, it was GCI's first. Intamin-Skull Mountain @ Six Flags Great Adventure...boring and over before it even gets started. You know it sucks when the lift hills are more exciting than the rest of the ride. Bolliger and Mabillard-Great Bear @ Hersheypark...it's boring to even look at. Has no real "wow" factor, the colors are drab, and the inversions aren't anything unusual or in any interesting order. In my opinion, Batman the Ride owns this. Great Coasters Int.-Gwazi @ Busch Gardens Africa...when I went last year this coaster was awful. The thing with Gwazi is, it has so much potential to be an amazing coaster, yet Busch doesn't capitalize on this by retracking it, timing the trains right, and getting new Millennium Flyer trains. A few upgrades could turn this into one of America's best woodies.

The jungle cruise script over La Jungla scenes was classic...you are the best!

Adventureland LI...yes I love being ejected from my Top Scan. I love the place, by far not my favorite though...it's like a permanent carnival.

...TPR is amazing.

Top Scan...oh man. The one in my home park, Adventureland Long Island, will leave a bad taste in my mouth forever about Top Scans. I don't know how it happend but it was a freak accident over the summer where someone was thrown from the Top Scan into the parking lot to their death. It was replaced this year with a Huss Frisbee.

Is it me, or has Six Flags been on a smart hot streak lately, they are finally bringing quality to their parks: 2005--- Six Flags Great Adventure: -Golden Kingdom -Kingda Ka -Balin's Jungleland -GASM painted -New landscaping -Many smaller improvements 2006--- Six Flags Great Adventure: -El Toro -Plaza del Carnaval -Bugs Bunny National Park -Several smaller improvements Six Flags Magic Mountain: -Tatsu -Sky Tower set to reopen -Cleaning up of Samurai Summit -Revolution painted -Many other smaller improvements Six Flags Over Georgia: -Goliath -Painting of Ninja Great Escape: -Addition of many Six Flags AstroWorld rides Six Flags Over Texas: -Introduction of many "new" flats TO ALL SIX FLAGS PARKS: -Introduction of Justice League characters -More Looney Toons characters abound in the parks -Brand named foods -Multiple coaster train operation -Much more As you can see, Six Flags is starting to step it up a notch and is bringing back quality to their backs. They are no and will never be Disney, but they are doing their best in years.

This ride truly was a Disney Classic, even though it had barely a decade of a lifespan. It took something Disney doesn't really do anymore...use an original story, no "based on a movie" stuff, like the new HORRIBLE Stitch's Great Escape. I remember going to WDW for the first time at age six, during the 25th Anniversary (ah! the cake!) and the New Tomorrowland had just pretty much been open for under a year or so, and this attraction blew me away. I went back two years later in '98 to find the ride completely tamed...four years later in 2002 the thing was neutered. When it was fully functioning properly...the shattered glass effect and the amazing AA kicked ASS! Stich really lacks a good story...and it's just stupid. If a ride needs to use prerecordered actor 'guests' saying "LET GO OF MY CHILI DOG" in a park where ABSOLUTELY NO FOOD IS PERMITTED ON AN ATTRACTION...c'mon now Disney, wake up. Walt would be rolling in his grave, period. People expect a Disney ride to "wow" them, and this is almost half-assed imagineered. I had more fun in the gift shop then on the attraction. My four year old sister sweared her first curse after Stitch... "Mommy, that ride was crap!" ...sadly my mom had to agree. You get more thrills out of It's a Small World. Alien Encounter will always have a place in my heart...it was an experience only Disney could pull-off.

These scrapping pictures make SFGADV's Viper scrapping look like nothing.

What did you expect from a state with people that couldn't figure out how to punch a voting ballot**... ***Sorry Floridians, I couldn't resist.

It's a great coaster, especially for those who have not experienced an inversion yet. In the dark, it's hard to tell when you're upsidedown or rightside up. The launch will probably scare you the most, as you exit the preshow and enter a queue where you see the train launching, and you then begin to buildup anticipation for your ride and launch. The opening inversion, the rollover, isn't really intense. In all honesty, it's really heard to know when you are in an inversion on this coaster. The only inversion you can kind of see is the corkscrew, more towards the end of the ride, and it's not bad at all. (there is a yellow road sign before it with a picture of a corkscrew, you'll know it's coming) Enjoy the ride, I guarantee you will enjoy it!

This topic and poll can really be taken a bunch of different ways. Big Thunder in California is supposedly way better than the Magic Kingdom's because it has a splash down and there's always that thrill factor of Disneyland derailing... The Paris BTMRR and the Tokyo BTMRR are also two completely different attractions, so of the four worldwide they are all different. The only similarity is the mesas, buttes, plateaus, "Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland" style theming and that they are all Vekomas. Space Mountain at WDW's Magic Kingdom is totally different from any other SM, it has two tracks and more of a Matterhorn (also a mountain!) feel. The two tracks are different; the one you have to make a right from the line to (Alpha?) is far better than Omega. Disneyland's Space Mountain is a one track, longer, faster ride...and there's been two experiences of the same track from 1975 until now. Pre-2005 the WED (Arrow/Vekoma-esque) track gave a more jerky experience than the new AMEC B&M style track, according to many. Also, the inside effects have changed, although I've never been to Disneyland and wouldn't be able to tell you the difference of the track or effects. HKDL has its own SM, Disneyland Paris has a looping, launching, Vekoma COOLNESS Space Mountain that looks like it blows the rest away...and same DL USA, it had two versions already and its barely over 10 years of age. Finally, DL Tokyo also has a Space Mountain different from the other four...similar to the original at DL USA. To top it off, in 2006, Disneyland USA's will run two different experiences, Space Mountain during the day and RockIt Mountain at night. And for anyone who says that RockIt mountain won't change the experience of the ride...ask someone who has rode Rock'n'Roller Coaster to compare it to Superman/Xpress at Walibi World...same ride. Now, for Splash Mountain...DL's has inline seating and narrow logs...WDW has two abreast (SIDE BOOB) seating with wider logs. The guts and show scenes are similar, yet the rides are different as DL's has many imported AA's from "America Sings" that WDW's version never had received or obtained. Honestly, this is like comparing POTC at DL to WDW's...just from watching DL POTC version's video and then remembering everything from riding WDW's version it was like WDW's had no storyline and was missing key scenes. I'm going to rate what I've experienced by where I've experienced it and not fill out the poll: 1st Place: Space Mountain (right fork from line) WDW 2nd Place: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad WDW 3rd Place: Space Mountain (left fork from line) WDW 4th Place: Splash Mountain WDW

B:TR has been yellow for two years @ SF:GADV. It was yellow with midnight blue supports since the 2004 season, which makes it two years of being yellow, not only one. The gray Batman is at SF Magic Mountain, and it's been that way since it opened.

For those guys mentioning Batman at Six Flags GADV, it's been yellow since the 2004 season with midnight blue supports. It had black supports and track with yellow rails that turned a rusty color which lasted from 1993 to 2003. Personally, especially with Batman Begins and Batman's darker image, the ride looks stronger in black. However, they did clean up the theming around the ride, it used to have that beaten up Gotham City sewer feel. Over the summer I also noticed the yellow of Batman blends to much with Nitro's yellows, and Nitro is right behind Batman. Old School http://www.rcdb.com/ig32.htm?picture=5 New School http://www.rcdb.com/ig32.htm?picture=8 The Undistinguished Look of Nitro and Batman http://www.rcdb.com/ig32.htm?picture=7

Wishes @ WDW's Magic Kingdom Most of BGW's shows Carousel of Progress (World's Longest Running Stage Show) Enchanted Tiki Room (1996 @ WDW) If you count parades as shows: (it's staged in some sense) Spectromagic; the best parade I have ever seen...and the theme song is so awesome that it gets stuck in your head. WORST SHOWS: Every show at Splish Splash Long Island Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management (Currently @ WDW)

This has probably been questioned before, but it's obvious in the Intamin Stand-Ups and in Flashback that they share the B&M style track and train set-up (4 across rows). I also know B&M once worked with Intamin and then fled to create B&M (the company). Is it possible that Bolliger and Mabillard (the people) had a big design task in these projects?

The Adventureland LI, NY tragedies really hit home for me. As previosly stated, an operator was crushed and killed by the LadyBug (Tivoli) coaster, it is unknown why he was on the tracks with the train running empty. Then, the next day, Top Scan ejected a mentally disabled woman from the ride into the adjacent parking lot onto a car. Considering that was my favorite flat ride, that was a killer (bad pun).