Movieguy

Here, here! It's like Robert Downey JR says at the start of Iron Man 2..."It's not about us...it's about legacy. What we leave behind." We can already see that Robb and Elissa have already planted the seeds of a great legacy in their own family, as well as others.

That may be, but as a woodie fan myself, I also have to acknowledge that most coaster fans today WANT smoothness over unpredictability. Airtime has pretty much become the be all, end all indicator of quality on a classic sit-down coaster among enthusiasts today. You need only look at what's posted in coaster reviews around here as an indicator of that fact. This is why Intamin pre-fabs are indeed the greatest achievement of the past decade. Yes, some folks like rough-riding woodies, but they're largely in the minority these days among enthusiasts. As a fan of any kind of woodie, it makes me proud that a company like Intamin is stepping up to take the concept into the 21st century. Without them, you'd be seeing nothing but steelies at parks these days, I guarantee it. Plus, from what I've seen, even Intamin woodies provide that great sense of wild adventure that every good woodie should.

Maybe, but Gwazi was, I think, a glaring exception to GCI's track record, which has done nothing but improve since Gwazi came along. But, I see BGW has made their decision, so we'll be seeing yet ANOTHER launch coaster in the future. Seriously, I don't get the wide appeal of launch coasters these days (Storm Runner's the only one I've ridden, though). The ride lasts like 10 seconds, and it doesn't provide the sense of adventure that a good woodie, invert, or other non-launched coaster gives you, IMO. But, if BGW wants to remain an all-steel park, that's their prerogative. I just don't see myself going down there again anytime soon.

I'll only be excited for the replacement if it's a woodie. I think BGW should really consider contacting GCI on the subject, because I think the park has enough B&M rides.

I guess it's just a sign of the times. The Arrow Suspended coaster may have had its time to shine in the 80's ,but ever since the Beemer invert came along, it's been slowly going the way of the Dinosaur. I was even gonna mention Eagle's Fortress at Everland as an exception, before I found out that it's been SBNO since 2009...not a good sign at all...

Here's my 2 cents...I'm not too crushed that BBW is gone, but at the same time, my Mother loved it. She also loves Iron Dragon at CP, because it's exactly at her level of coaster riding. It's a shame coasters like these are going away, because my whole family were able to ride them. Yes, I know it was aging and not as prominent as it used to be, but it just seems that coasters today are all about giant hills and insanely fast speeds to thrill the teenagers, and coasters that families can ride seem to be falling by the wayside. You make me think, Rob, with what you write in 'Kidtums Corner" in the Magazine, about how so many parks seem to segregate families with their attractions, and you're absolutely right. What BGW has done is a good example of this. If we go back there, there will be no coasters that myself, my sister, or my Mother can ride all at once, except for Apollo's Chariot. Until BGW actually builds a woodie (Not likely) that leaves us with few options. You have to remember, not everyone who goes to a park is a coaster enthusiast. I think there should be stuff for EVERYBODY, and that's why it's a shame that BBW had to go. It may not have been amazing, but it still managed to entertain.

Frankly, I'm surprised that Astroworld even closed. Parks like Geauga Lake don't surprise me, because they're in the depressed North, which I hail from, while Astroworld was in Texas, one of the very successful southern states that everyone seems to want to be in now. What exactly happened to cause this, if you don't mind my ignorance of SF history?

I'm so happy to see a thread like this. I don't want to sound like I'm bashing Epcot in it's current form, because I went there in 2005, and enjoyed it just as much as I did as a child in the 80's. Sure, everything was different, but you have to remember, Walt wanted Epcot the city to be an ever-changing world that would never have been complete, and I think the same should go for the park...who knows, someday Epcot may change into a form that both thrillseekers and those fond of old Epcot can really enjoy at the same time. I hope it does. At the same time, there is a nostalgic part of me that misses much of old Epcot. It's a shame that such high concept attractions as Horizions, World of Motion, and the Original Journey Into Imagination were disposed of rather than enhanced in some way, but what's done is done. If all I have now are memories, then so be it. I strongly recommend any big EPCOT fans like me to not only look through the wonderful pictures here, but to also find the Ultimate Tribute documentaries by Martin Smith dedicated to these old attractions. They're wonderfully detailed, and the story is given in text, so you can fully appreciate the background music. They're on many sites, but my personal favorite is mousebits.com

^ Old Chief Woodenhead. YES! Wooden Warrior...I could make so many crude jokes about that name, but I'll refrain for now... Good looking coaster, anyway.

^ I remember the Nova special, and how it talked about Drachen Fire. Too bad it went from talking about coasters, into this whole bizarre tangent about how simulators were going to be the wave of the future in amusement. That's why I haven't watched it again in so long. I know it's been brought up by Shane as well, but Theme Parks a Go Go was another old favorite of mine.

Yes! I try to watch all the stuff involving WDW as well. I still have a copy, somewhere, of "Walt Disney World: A Dream Come True" from 1986, which is still one of my all time favorites, since it was made in the glorious early years of EPCOT Center.

I just remembered one other program that was on the Discovery channel in the early 00's...it had a bunch of ACErs trying to break the record for the number of coasters ridden in 24 hours, I believe, and it took place in California. I remember two things...One, that one of the guys did a Blair Witch Impression, like the one the TPR crew did at Kentucky Rumbler in the Volume 10 expedition, only it was extremely lame. Two, that they got booed at a couple of the parks they went to, because the park let them on in front of other people on the coasters they needed to ride, then acted all indignant about it, as if they didn't realize that they were basically resorting to line-jumping in their efforts to break the record, and that was what ticked people off.

I remember around my 9th or 10th birthday, getting a VHS tape that my parents ordered from Kodak. It was called Roller Coaster Thrills, and I remember it being my introduction to coasters like SFMM's Colossus, Kings Island's Vortex, and BGW's Big Bad Wolf. It was very cheaply produced, with a weird storyline ( a little boy left alone on a bench with a random ice cream man) and music made from a Casio keyboard, but it left its impression on me, nonetheless. When I got older there were other coaster videos produced, most notably the "America's Greatest Roller Coaster Thrills" series. Again, these videos seemed to have rather questionable taste in coasters, but still, it kept my interest in the subject through the rest of my youth, in the times before I was blessed with the presence of Theme Park Review. Who else remembers these videos from years ago? Apologies in advance if there's another thread like this out there.

My late father worked for the Media Services center of Cornell University, a school that has had a long lasting relationship with Chinese students. In the late 1980's, right around the time of the Tienanmen Square massacre, he got to travel to China twice, to Beijing, Shanghai, Inner Mongolia, as well as trips to Hong Kong (Still a British Colony then) and Singapore. He went there for two video projects, a program about the Chinese diet (narrated by Battlestar Galactica's Mary McDonnell.) and a program following the Cornell Glee Club on a tour through these parts of Asia. He used to tell me about how different it was from the US back then, including how constantly the Chinese smoked. He said that the airport in Beijing was covered in kind of a blue haze with the lights, coupled with all the cigarette smoke. I regret that in a past thread, I made a bit of a tasteless joke about the Chinese and their park rules. I apologize for that, because China was willing to let you all come over and experience their parks, including the awesome looking Hong Kong Disneyland. I guess I'm still a little suspicious of China because of what happened in 89. There were a lot of Asian Cornell students included among the dead. What was the experience of China like, for those of you who went on the trip, covered in the volume 12 expedition? Did you feel any sense of their rather authoritarian government around you, despite the fact you were tourists? I've also heard that the experience varies slightly between Hong Kong and the mainland, due to the fact that Hong Kong has only been a part of the People's Republic since 1997. I'm just a naturally curious person, who can no longer ask his father about such things. Any info is appreciated.

My goodness...I never expected a post I created in another wine-induced haze to have this many responses the next day. As for the subject, I think it might be attributable to Summers/Dinn being a little ahead of their time with their concepts, and limited by the materials available to them. I also do think that the very dense PTC trains might have been a factor as well. I thought maybe weather, but Robb and others made an excellent point with the Giant Dipper. Another coaster I want to point out is Gemini at CP. Yes, its design incorporates steel into the wood, but to me it's still a woodie at heart. Look at the trains on that one. To me, they seem a bit more lightweight and defined, which may be one of the reasons I've yet to have a bad ride on Gemini, despite it having existed since 1978. And Robb, I'm so happy you mentioned the Kennywood woodies, which I've loved my whole life. Indeed, its wonderful amazing to see all of them still running in good shape after all this time. As a side note, have you ever watched the old "Kennywood Memories" documentary?

That's a good point. I've noticed that the trains on a summers/dinn coaster seem to be a little more "dense" than the ones on a Gravity group or GCI woodie. you may be onto something there.

I really appreciate what Curtis Summers and Charles Dinn wanted to do for the wooden coaster, but it seems they put rider comfort way back on their priorities. I mean, look at their track record...Mean Streak, Pysclone, HurtYourKnees (Hercules), Georgia Cyclone, Predator, the list goes on. Frankly, it seems that CCI and The Gravity Group were the only thing good to come from the Summers/Dinn era of woodies. Then again, I don't know everything there is to know about coasters, being limited by my finances and travel options where I am. So if anyone has any info regarding anything that Summers/Dinn did right, I'd love to hear it.

Very nice TR. Ispeed, coupled with Katun, seems to be slowly turning Mirabilandila into one of the must-see parks in Europe. It certainly seems really cool from what I've seen here.

^ Oh, I'm sure he is...it's just when he's drunk, he attracts the spotlight, it seems...

Indeed! And here I thought that Minnesota was the place to be in the upper Midwest.

Hmmmm...i can't seem to access these photos, Robb...

God, I miss Wisconsin soooooooo much. You guys are making me miss it even more with all those wonderful photos! I just love how you all got into the spirit of things at the Halloween party, dressing up in your costumes. So many other places I go to, or see, people my age try the same thing, but they all have this "too cool for school" resistance to it. But here, there's so many folks openly embracing their geeky-ness, and I'd be proud to stand with you all in that, some day. Keep up the awesome TR!

Dude, someone needs to show the Piers videos to Hollywood, so we can get him cast in the remake of Arthur. If I had any editing skills, I'd put together a tribute video to Piers using this song... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcwLrEATXH4

Oh yes! I saw ads for the Lombardi play when I was in NYC this past weekend. Lombardi is played by Dan Lauria, the dad from The Wonder Years!

Piers, Piers, Piers....your liver is going to HATE you in the future for what you're doing now, but hey, you're enjoying yourself, and we enjoy seeing you enjoy yourself.