PortugePunk

Ride looks really fun, but I think the name is stupid. If they wanted to just call it Terminator and not have it associated with the franchise, fine, but I hate all of the corporate partnerships and marketing reach-arounds. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy the Terminator movies as much as anybody, but let's face it, rides that are associated with movies eventually lose their branding (i.e. - Top Gun, Drop Zone, etc.) and have to be re-themed or eventually start looking kitschy and outdated (even the great Batman: The Ride franchise is looking somewhat kitschy at this point - especially with the completely different styling of the new Batman movies like Dark Knight). Anyways, all that aside, I can't wait for this ride. SoCal is in serious need of new wooden coasters and this one looks like it will definitely be a great addition to the park. \m/

this ride looks so fun! somebody get POV video!

man, this place looks like a lot of fun. I've been working on a project for the park the past few weeks, but wasn't able to make it to the East Coast to attend the event yesterday. Looks like a ton of fun.

kinda scary. flat rides like that freak me out way more than coasters ever will.

wow... just... wow... these are probably the BEST shots of Cedar Point that I've ever seen! So awesome. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! oh btw, your avatar pretty much sums up how it felt to ride Vortex at CGA! Oh man Vortex has always been brutal from the day it opened. For such a small coaster, it packs a punch. That little whip turn right before the corkscrew at the end always bashes my skull.

I'm 6'2" -- I don't have a problem in the offspring-equipment department, but I get my shoulders mashed on that ride. I swear they only make the upper part of harnesses in one height. I always have to have a ride-op mash it down for me to lock the belt in. The jewels never seem to be that big of a deal, though. Good luck riding!

really great to see that pride is being taken in this park again. everything i see just makes me really excited - I am actually looking forward to many visits this summer rather than my one visit last year ONLY for WCB!

I think a lot of people did leave, but there were quite a few people. The park is so big that with only 300 people walking around to several coasters, you wouldn't see large groups. We left right about 10:15/10:30 and there were still a lot of cars in the lot. We rode every coaster in under an hour! w00t!

agreed. the park has mostly out-of-box flat rides and the one Morgan coaster that isn't maintained well. The place is always packed, but I think that's more of the fact that it's Santa Monica rather than the fact that it's a "park." I'd vote for a revamp, personally.

HAH! Of COURSE that's okay! I'll do whatever ya need! Thanks, Robb! Totally awesome!

i know people probably have TONS of photos from yesterday (I did) and since it takes a while to upload them here, I made a flickr group for the event if anybody else wants to join: Thanks again, guys! It rocked!

this was the BEST trip to Magic Mountain I've ever had! I am so freakin' tired and exhausted, but it was SO MUCH FUN! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Looks like they've really taken the time to look into the troubles with the original design. That's really exciting. I can't wait to see how 2.0 works. Sure looks like it'll be a smoother ride!

portugal is SO FREAKING BEAUTIFUL! I must go someday... specially since I'm Portuguese.

i don't know HOW the heck i missed this, but a HUGE CONGRATS to both of you!!!

Holy crap today was fun! Robb, you guys are too cool! Thanks so much for putting this together! I can't wait 'til next year! w00t! .....is it wierd that I felt too wierd to say hi to you? Haha. [ all my photos from today here ] w0000t!

Just bought two tix! I'm actually going! Awesomeness shall abound. I haven't been to SFMM in way too long. Was there for 2 hours last season to ride Tatsu one time. That was it. Gotta make it more frequent this season! Awesomeness! Come annoy me and make friends with me. Mowahahahaha.

i can honestly say that's the most terrifying, depressing thing that i've ever seen. looks like something out of a nightmare. all too creepy. glad you made it in and out safe!

You know what might have made this cooler? If they had added a 2nd set of LIMs to the end of the inclined track to pull it up faster. I think what makes it boring is that the stall out is so terribly slow. once you're through the roll, it just kind of crawls a couple hundred feet to a stall out. If they had added some sort of pulling mechanism to make this more abrupt and then a pause and then release (think Invertigo, etc) that might have been cooler. Might have added a bit more intensity to the ride.

Yup. You're completely right. My mistake. I always forget about Invertigo for some reason. I liked it when it first opened, tho... and I really miss Tidal Wave.

That's true. Medusa is a decent ride for sure and it's still only 150. Hell PGA doesn't have a coaster over 100 ft and they've been fun for me for years.

Exactly. Something doesn't make sense. Vallejo does weird stuff. They also turned down BART going through the city years ago... as well as a Trader Joes plan.

I agree, Robb. The ride that's there now is just slow and boring. Every time I ride it, I feel "what was that all about?" They should have at least added a loop to it or something... at least then it would be more like Tidal Wave (oh excuse me Greezed Lightnin') was at PGA. I'd rather ride it any day... well... when it was still there. Also, having grown up in Vallejo, the height restriction is just stupid. The city says it's because of the nearby Napa Airport, but that is a good 10-20 miles away, I would say. I think they could raise the limit to AT LEAST 200 feet. It's just stupid. I mean there are eucalyptis trees near the park that are probably taller than the 150 foot limit.

This will be quite brief as I just wanted to share some photos with ya'll. Attended the 7th Annual Coaster Solace at Knott's yesterday. There were nowhere near as many people in attendance as I had expected. I didn't even see any other coaster fans until I reached Montezooma's Revenge. The park was absolutely eerie. I kept expecting an employee to ask what I thought I was doing. Weather was freezing and rain kept threatening, but we escaped downpours (at least during the day - I took off around 12 or 1). Park still looks as beautiful as I remembered and the employees tend to be fairly friendly - although I have to admit they didn't seem to pleased that they had to operate the rides for us coaster geeks so early in the a.m., but I wouldn't be either. They warmed up after the first hour or two. When the park opened at 10, the ride ops on Silver Bullet were really energetic and enthusasistc. Was great to see. They were happy that we were there and excited to ride. Overall a good experience. Anybody else snap any good pics? xcelerator xcelerator xcelerator note it's with an empty train - early morning test runs xcelerator happy bullet riders happy bullet riders empty midway @ xcelerator.