bluemen

How about wild ones/*giant coaster's* original turnaround before Six Flags killed it? That had air-lats-air--pretty nutty stuff. (anyone else see that as the inspiration for Hades's turnaround?) *edit... mixed up my relocated coasters

well there clearly is no such thing as a man with short fingers. Who could imagine such a thing? MF is kind of weird as a signature coaster-- it's like the logical follow-up to Gemini and Magnum--both of which were the clear signature coasters before they got 'trumped' by their younger siblings. Although I suppose MF won't be trumped for a little while... I wonder... maybe signature coasters are the ones that don't get trumped when another park builds bigger/faster/newer/"better" ?

Anyone else see something slightly ironic about a $80 Intamin paperweight?

Sheesh, this is not offensive in the least. My favorite is chasing the little boy with the dress. He flees in TERROR. I'm sure he would be less afraid of a loaded gun! Hilaaaarious. The joke goes on so long, it becomes this crazy joke about a joke about a joke. And all you needed was a lady from new jersey, a video camera, and a song by Cher. Magnifique!

The drop (forwards) sitting in the back of anyboomerang anywhere is fantastic in my book. It really gets my stomach. I can only imagine what the Deja Vu clones would feel like (although I like being able to look out over the park as you are lifted backwards). I love ALL straight arrow drops, but especially older ones-- Gemini, CP Corkscrew, BGT's Python, PCW's Dragon Fyre, etc etc. They just do more for me than Intamin Hyper drops or pretty much anything else I've been on.

Well, I dont know about amusement parks, but many chain restaurants will expand and thin out buisness for one restaurant if it makes the overall corporation more profitable-- Carrabbas have opened up all over right next door to Outbacks-- which hurts the individual Outback restaurant, especially in the short run. But it the long run helps Outback Inc, which owns both. My point being that it isn't just competing with yourself that is causing the problems. There's something wrong with the park itself...

What?! Dish. Now. Please? Just when I was starting to think that there weren't any gay gym bunny coaster enthusiasts! Now there's a sub-sub-subgroup...

It seems like we might want to know why people in general become roller coaster enthusiasts before we decide why the demographic skews towards the fat gay male. I do really wonder: why do we care these rides? Maybe it's that they are purely built for the rider's pleasure. Hmmm, there's something very... autoerotic about these rides. Maybe we all are just compulsive onanists? The pleasurehound aspect might also help explain the weight issues. Personally, I'm much more closety about being a coaster enthusiast than I am about being gay; most everyone I'm friends with knows I'm gay, but most of them don't know how much I like coasters, and certainly don't know how much time I spend reading/thinking/dreaming about them... I wouldn't want them to think I was one of *those* people. Perhaps I need to develop enthusiast pride and cultivate some gay shame!

As sad as it is to say, TTD is a bit much for me. I ride it every time I go to CP, but MF is much more pleasurable at my geriatric age of 26. Dragster makes me all stressed (when in line, praying it won't break down, which it usually has but then gets fixed quickly) then beats me up in the launch (maybe in a good way, but it's pushing me) gives me a terrific view and neverending drop, and then throws me away. I feel used and tired afterwards--it's just such an ordeal, I'm not sure I totally enjoy it. And if it sounds like I'm talking about something else, get yer mind out of the gutter! As far as the other Rockets go, I haven't been on them. But I prefer a chain lift to a launch any day. Nice buildup, nice view, relaxation and anticipation-- all of which is lost for a 2 second jolt for a launch. I actually like Gemini's first drop the most out of all of the coasters at CP! It's nice and sharp. There's something about coming off of the chain that I really dig. Maybe the ultimate intamin would have a launch and a chain....!

Looking at satellite photos (maps.google.com), it looks like there's at least some room between Lost Continent and JP. If you remove TE, there's certainly enough room for a ride there. I'd really like to see another major attraction in that area--a coaster or a 4D simulator (a la Spiderman, but with dinos & science or wizards & kings depending on which island it belongs to). Also, ideally, I'd see a vekoma motorbike with major themeing replacing Unicorn--maybe even a dueling motorbike with a jousting theme? The ride would have to be small, but perhaps they could retool the DD line and use some of that space. And I agree with everyone-- nothing can go over the lake, although IMO they could clean up the appearance of the shore of toon lagoon. Overall the park is still amazing, but a few more major thrills would significantly improve the experience there.

I'm pretty curious about how good the ride is... is this gonna be a unique ride for the ages, a la Teenneessee Tornado? (no such thing as too many letters) Or is this finally going to put Arrow/SS coasters into the bigtime....for the first time... again. Does the ride seem smooth and well made? Looking at the POV, it seems like it doesn't really have any bad "arrow" jerks. But it also seems very different than a B&M or an Intamin. Does it feel like anything you guys have ridden before? And most importantly, does the final drop feel like a good 'ol arrow first drop? The drops on old Arrow loopers are still amongst my favorites---sharp and straight, none of that parabolic garbage (which is great on air hills, but I like to be yanked down the first drop). This one seems pretty sharp, but looks kinda parabolic. What's the verdict: does it float or yank?

The video is pretty cool--I also really like the back row POV stuff, it gives a great sense of how the ride is moving. And as usual, it just looks like *fun*. Good job!

Okay, it would be funny if you used Michael Murphy's Wildfire. It's a ridiculous schmaltzy AM radio song from the 70's-- maybe not for the 'real' video, but it would be hilaaarious. Of course, if you were to go for appropriate lyrics, there's also Prince's Hot Thing. A little more funk and less dance than your usual stuff, but it works, and has a pretty sweet hook.