Movieguy

How do you change the friction settings on the coaster?...I don't see an option like that anywhere...

I love the RCT series, and have ever since the original came out. Back then I considered myself quite good with custom tracks, building my own coasters. I've had RCT3 and the soaked expansion pack for a couple of years now, and there's so many cool things about it. But there's one thing keeping me from really enjoying it...I can't make a good custom track. In fact, I've yet to make one track where the coaster has made the full circuit without a rollback! I'm completely at a loss...the same tricks I used for the original RCT games aren't working for me anymore...can anyone give me some tips on how to make a good, element filled coaster that won't roll back and won't be too intense?...please?...

The only thing I know about the Black Hole other than the fact it was a Jet Star, was that it had really cool trippy lift hill music, which you can download from this page... http://www.towerstimes.co.uk/history/oldrides/bh.htm

I see...well, here's hoping that Alton Towers will some day build another space themed coaster to fill the void left behind by the Black Hole's closure. Outside of the Space Mountain coasters, you really don't see these kinds of rides much anymore.

I went over to an Alton Towers website, to update myself with a park I've only read and seen certain videos about, and I was shocked to hear about the apparent closing of the Black Hole last year. Is the building still there, or was the whole business torn down? And have they announced any future plans for the site? I was never on this ride, but it's such a shame to see another indoor coaster close down.

I also remember a few Cedar Point commercials, one of them being a classroom full of kids, talking about these bizarre new hairstyles they all have, all of them being the result of riding one of the coasters at CP. And I also see occasional commercials for SFGadv, and the one I remember most frequently was the one for when Viper opened...I couldn't believe that thing sucked, cause it looked soooooooo cool in the ads, with that ringed heartline spin and all.

I remember another Darien Lake ad from the 90's, back when the "Nightmare At Phantom Cave" coaster, which now resides in The Great Escape as "Nightmare at Crackaxle canyon" first came along...it showed weird black and white footage of people riding on a coaster... pray... pray to be strong... pray nothing goes wrong... pray the phantoms aren't in charge... lots of hype there, for the rotted coaster once known as "Starchaser" that Kentucky Kingdom didn't want anymore.

I remember growing up during the 80s and 90s, and seeing different ads for parks occasionally. One that immediately comes to mind was one that Darien Lake put out in the years before they were bought by Six Flags. it was for the Predator on it's inagural year. This strange guy was moving down the river on a wooden raft saying stuff like "It'll throw you high!...it won't let up...it will track you down all right..." then it showed footage of this creepy monster growling, with images of the coaster going along the tracks...New York's largest wooden coaster is the PREDATOR!..."It will track you..down..." New, at Darien Lake! I also remember seeing an ad for Dorney park from the early 90's, which had an interesting jingle...I'm gonna take the day off! At Dorney! Which I think of every time I hear about this park, to this day. Anyone else remember any interesting park ads from years ago?

I agree. I found BGW to be a fantastic park, with much more to appreciate than coasters. I hate to say it, but as much as I like coasters, I found Cedar Point to be an increasingly unpleasant and overly crowded place to visit up until my last visit in 2002 (The fact that there were almost no trees or theming to get out of the August sun didn't help much)...With the addition of TTD, I can imagine it's become even more overpopulated with each passing summer. In 2004, I decided to go to BGW instead, and I loved that experience much more. I'd hate to see this place buckle under the pressure of the "Build more coasters!" rabble, and fall into the same chaos that now plagues Cedar Point, and other similar parks. However, I think it would be nice to see this park build a good woodie, one that really takes advantage of the terrain in that area.

In what way is this ride relying on new technology?...sorry, I've been a bit out of the loop in theme park news as of late...

Check this out...an orchestra of some kind did a live performance version of the old "Punch Out" game for the NES. http://www.transbuddha.com/mediaHolder.php?id=1304

"I thought you wanted to do a good show...if you wanted to do a bad show, why don't we just do RENT?" (My apologies if this was already posted...)

I saw Hostel last Friday when it opened...It's great to finally see an American horror movie that isn't afraid of graphic violence, as this one gives you more than one cringe-worthy moment. It's not as intense as the ads make it out to be, most of the time anyway, but being a starved horror fan, I'll take it!

With the economy the way it is, BGW was lucky to even get a dark ride this past season, let alone a new coaster.

I hope to god that SFDL gets sold as well...I've had it up to here with Six Flags letting this park go to rot. At least when the defunct Premier Parks INC owned DL, they had the friggin decency to at least give the place a couple of Veclonas, and the nightmare (Which is now in the Great Escape) which is more than Six Flags has EVER done.

Arrow's made some pretty rough coasters, but they've built some decent ones every now and then as well...I have yet to ride on ONE decent coaster made by our friends at Veclona.

Thanks. I've got a few more yet to be developed, along with my trips to Kennywood and the NY State Fair.

Here's some more pics: Here's the outside of where I had lunch on my third day And here's The San Angel Inn, where I had dinner on my second night. A shot taken from the peoplemover, before it dispatched. Here's the outside of my section at the All-Star Music resort. A nice little background shot of the Imagination Pavillion This is of course, the entrance to the Magic Kingdom, taking when I was leaving on my second day. I came back during the third day though, after I saw MGM. I also managed to get a shot of the fountain with Spaceship Earth in the background. You cannot imagine how disappointed I was when I got to this section and discovered that Ice Station Cool was closed. I took this just outside the door to my room. This of course is the queue to El Rio Del Tiempo. on this night there were a lot of visitors from Latin America, including Mexico, who got in line for this ride. Downtown Disney at sunset. The Astro-orbiter, taken from the peoplemover.

I may have only gone to two parks this year, but most summers I'm lucky enough to get to one park anyway. I went to WDW back in July, then I got to visit Kennywood for a day later on in August. WDW was a great experience, of course, but it was also nice to go to a nice small amusement park like Kennywood.

Really? I never realized such a difference in culture between Hong Kong and Mainland China. As for the park itself, I'm more interested in what might happen to it in 2046, which is the year when China's pledge not to drastically change Hong Kong expires. But, by that time, with the way things are going now, China may not even be a communist country anymore.

I remember the first ever Roller coaster video I ever owned...Kodak's "Roller Coaster Thrills" a cheesy half hour film where an ice cream man sits on a bench with a little kid, and they pretend to ride on coasters, while we see videos of coasters in action, with numerous repeat shots to make the ride seem longer, and horrible screaming sounds that are looped over and over again. But, I was a kid, and I loved it anyway. That video featured both XLR8 and the Texas Cyclone. They both looked cool to me, and I always hoped I would ride them one day... Well, that's not going to happen now... Doug "I'll bet you Darien Lake will be next" Booth

Yup. The All-Star Music Resort. It was nice, but it was far away from everything...I think next time I'll spend a little extra and get a room that's closer to the parks.

The first batch of photos has finally been scanned. I'll put more up in future posts on this thread: This was where I stayed. I was in the "Country Fair" section in the back This was my room. Not much to say about it, other than nice and cozy, with good air-conditioning. Here's a nice shot of Main Street USA, from just seconds after MK opened on my second day. Space Mountain, taken from the Peoplemover. SM was one of only two rides I used fastpass for, along with Rock n' Roller Coaster. Spaceship Earth, taken from my first night at WDW, just before the rains came. Spaceship Earth, still a classic, and thank god, still running Here's mexico, my favorite pavillion in all of World Showcase. I even managed to sneak in a shot on El Rio Del Tiempo. Question: How do you stay ahead of the crowds in the morning at MGM Studios? Answer: Show up an hour before the park opens. The very first ride I went to when the park finally opened, Tower of Terror, which was even more chaotic than when I rode it in 99. And this of course is the Rock n Roller Coaster. This ride was awesome. easily one of my favorites from the trip. And here I am enjoying a nice hearty lunch at the Sci-Fi Restaurant.

Walt Disney World from Jully 11th to the 15th.

Pretty much any time I ride a new kind of coaster, I get fairly nervous. The first time I went up the first hill of Millenium Force, I had to keep myself from hyperventilating, but it was love at first drop after that. I was also nervous when I first went on the old Steel Phantom at Kennywood, because that was my first steel looping coaster, back when the concept of going upside down still freaked me out.