The Great Zo
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Posts posted by The Great Zo
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Well written and photographed report. Keep it coming!
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An article from the Cincinnati Enquirer about off-season maintenance.
Kings Island crews always testing, fixing
Every year, from April until late October, millions of thrill-seekers pour through Kings Island’s gates in search of heart-pounding adventures on one of the park’s world-class roller coasters or other rides.The Mason amusement park will rely on more than 4,000 seasonal workers to operate the park when it opens April 27. But for Tom Dillingham and his crew, the real work begins when the shrieks subside, the last ride makes its way into the station and the park gates close.
As the park’s manager of rides and mechanical maintenance, Dillingham, 54, oversees a crew of about 50 mechanics, carpenters and welders who conduct year-round testing and maintenance of the park’s 46 rides. The bulk of the work takes place in the park’s off-season months of November through April.
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How nice of the guy in 2-2, left side, to pose for you!
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OK, from Wednesday the 20th... I present sfog
Just a little bit hazy! SFOG's down there somewhere...
Same picture + a dose of Photoshop = Six Flags Over Georgia.
(meteorologist's note: it wasn't actually fog, just low ceilings)
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Were those taken from a helicopter or plane?
Commercial plane. Just happened to be in the right spot on descent into Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) where I was changing planes. I have one more I'll post later tonight from my way back to Ohio a few days later, but it's totally shrouded in fog and will be worth more of a laugh than anything else . Glad the pictures were of some value here!
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SFOG was near my flight path yesterday, so...
Wide View 1
Wide View 2
Closer View 1
Closer View 2
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Love that second pic, I notice how it's got 3 layers to it with the windmills, Krake, and Colossos. I also happen to be a sucker for foggy mornings with that wonderful pink glow of the rising sun. Beauteous!
That shot is a combination of brilliant composition and great atmospheric effects. One of my favorites in this thread for sure.
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So it's only going to be 30 seconds long, but it will be 30 seconds of awesome OMG WTF moments.
Yup -- and since it's short, it's just begging for some ERT...
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Another article about the planned opening:
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130122/NEWS/301230046
The park – which has been closed since September 2011 – will reopen May 18, but only two-thirds will be used, according to General Manager Ralph Vilardo Jr. He said the repairs are the first in a three-year renovation project....
“We identified that this park needed a lot of work and it had a lot of ambiance,” Vilardo said. “It had the lush tropical setting but it also had a lot of deferred maintenance.”
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The Beach will not open the Snake River Rapids slide and Emerald Bay children’s area this year. Vilardo said the Beach hasn’t decided on the future of that area of the park. He said the $5 million that Adventure Holdings is spending on upgrades could double to $10 million over three years.
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If you want a good laugh, check out Arthur Frommer's blog post about the RFID wristbands. Apparently, the wristbands are actually high-tech mind control devices that talk, or something along those lines...
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I guess now I need to figure out what to do with my tickets for the 4 games that are remaining in my partial season ticket plan in Columbus. None of the games are against teams I really want to see, all of those games were earlier in the season.
I'm expecting that the remaining schedule will be completely revised, so you may yet find yourself with options for games you'd like to attend. However, since it's going to be all in-conference, they won't be playing the Penguins. And thank goodness, because those games when all the Pittsburgh fans fill Nationwide make me sick!
There's also rumors that Center Ice could be offered free for the entirety of the partial season, which would be nice.
I usually attend a few games a year in Columbus, though I'm doubting I'll go to more than one, maybe two this year.
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In case any of our hockey fans haven't completely given up on the NHL -- looks like a tentative CBA deal has been reached, after a marathon 16-hour bargaining session. Fuel for everyone who said "lock them in a room and don't let 'em out until it's done!" Seems like that's what happened tonight.
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On a flight out of Orlando in 2009, I passed north of WDW -- too far away for me to get any great shots (especially with my lousy old camera), but I managed a couple.
Magic Kingdom area.
Epcot area.
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I've barely even started thinking about out-of-USA travel. Pun intended, there's a whole world of possibilities.
Domestically, a few places I'd like to go, and hopefully within the next 5-ish years...
1) Florida Keys / Dry Tortugas National Park
2) Katahdin (highest mountain in Maine)
3) New Orleans / southern Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana (see how close I can get to the end of the Mississippi)
4) Anywhere west of the 100th Meridian
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I don't have a problem with the brief moment of hangtime you get on some roller coasters when going through an inversion at low speed. However, I don't like rides that just stop and hold you upside down. It's not because I worry the restraint will fail, but because I find it uncomfortable to be suspended like that. I also tend to feel unwell after being suspended in an inverted position for more than a couple seconds.
Agreed. I've never had such a problem on a roller coaster, but a ride on The Crypt at Kings Island (Top Spin, formerly Tomb Raider) was one of the most painful amusement park rides I've ever had. There was an oft-repeated, very slow flipping motion with the riders' heads pointing straight down -- it was quite the unpleasant rush of blood to the head.
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The first legit coaster I ever rode was Iron Dragon at Cedar Point. I was 9, and thought I was brave enough for the back row. I may have miscalculated. The air time on the first drop was a remarkably startling experience.
(Air time on Iron Dragon? Huh? )
(On the same day, I waited nearly two and a half hours in the Berenstain Bears playground for my parents to get through the Raptor line.)
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One more, from Cedar Point's Twitter account today:
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I drive by The Beach once a week. They've definitely been doing some work there, though it's hard to tell how much from the road (at least some painting). They put up the "Santa and reindeer" lights on top of the park sign, even though their holiday events are obviously not occurring this year. They were illuminated as I passed by at night, but there wasn't a single light on anywhere else in the park.
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The feeling is different this time IMO. Last time everyone hated the lockout, but understood changes to the game needed to be made to keep it growing.
There's also no "good guys" to rally around this time -- everyone's pretty sick of the antics of both sides of the labor dispute. Donald Fehr's fake-optimism press conference shenanigans yesterday have been almost universally derided, and have caused a lot of people to lose trust in the players as good-faith negotiators. As for the NHL's side, well, find me a hockey fan who likes Gary Bettman and I'll find you the winners of the 04-05 Stanley Cup.
One truth: as long as there is drama,
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There's a GM dealership on Michigan state route 24 near the Palace of Auburn Hills (about 30 miles north of Detroit) with an arched driveway decoration that sure looks to me like a piece of coaster track.
Google Street View link: http://goo.gl/maps/j88ht
Just an entryway to most people -- I see an airtime hill instead.
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That play area for the Dumbo ride is probably the smartest thing Disney has done in a long long time....
I was tasked with taking my 2 year old nephew the last time we were there, Yikes
My family did a real smart thing in June -- got the younger cousins hooked on the flying carpets instead! Walk-ons and re-rides until they were all spun out.
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I think it will be the most popular ride in the park for a long time and I look forward to watching Lake Erie rotate upside down.
It's going to be nice to have an open view to the south on a tall coaster. Of course, you'll have maybe 4 or 5 seconds at the crest of the lift hill to enjoy it, before suddenly things start turning sideways...
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Rush in Columbus OH (Nationwide Arena) on September 20. I was very pleasantly surprised by their latest album, and it translated quite well in concert. Even more surprised by the 80s-heavy setlist, but what a way to mix things up! Quite a few underappreciated gems I'd never seen played before.
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I've always liked the beach area at Cedar Point, but the last time I visited in '08, I exited the west (marina) gate and went out on the docks past Famous Dave's. Very few people out there, some great views of the park (MF especially), and nice to be on the water too.
Marina docks.
MF from the docks.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
I'm lucky to have gotten on both sides in 2011, just after the Millennium Flyer trains were put in. I can't say it was a favorite (in a park with three outstanding B&Ms), but the quality of the ride wasn't back-breaking. Obviously, the reports from 2012 and 2013 have not been nearly as kind.