arrowfanman

It takes a crew of 3 to operate Goliath. One to operate Circus Wheel. That means for three times the cost to staff Circus Wheel, SFMM can staff a ride that will cycle through quite literally 20 times the number of guests as the flat ride. Staff/guest ratio, the coaster is a better investment. Not to mention, in my experience, the flat rides are always harder for SFMM to keep open. They dont consider the role flat rides play in a theme park experience. Just focus on the statistics. -Jahan

Well now I know to not waste my efforts going for the S.S. credit until next year, when this credit will be installed! Thanks for the find! -Jahan

^ California has a history that predates the rest of the United States, beginning in 1532 when Cortez sent an expedition to explore it. And Drake declared the charming land "New Britain" decades before the emergence of "New England" on the east coast. Not that you care. I'm just saying, Santa Clarita doesn't have any cool old factories, locks, or bridges to take for granted. Maybe if I get some time off and am bored, I'll do one of these PTRs. Until then, I can only thank Derek! -Jahan

I don't understand the need for debate--we're all going to call it "X" still, anyway. -Jahan

^ Goliath is notorious for eating through wheels. It isn't an uncommon thing--practically routine. Log Jammer: For the longest time, this was the only ride I had ever been evacuated from. Stopped at the top of Lift 2 when the ride lost pumps. About 10 minutes later, we were pulled off and walked down the hill. Many teenaged-jokes ensued over "evacuating logs". Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (DL): The crew blocked trains and we went down on Lift B. I explicitly remember seeing the panel operator stand up and shout "Why havn't we dispatched yet?", which is funny because if you dont make a point of looking for the panel operator, you typically dont notice them. Sure enough we crest Lift B and just stop. Takes a mere few minutes before CMs are up there with a step. Opened all of the lapbars, got us out, walked us down. We then crossed over the track, passed the helix, and into the mountain, where we found ourselves at the base of Lift A and proceeded up to the station. Splash Mountain (DL): After the second drop once we entered the showbuilding, there's a holding brake after Brer Rabbit. About 4 logs (including ours) stopped there. A few minutes later a CM showed up, helped us out of the longs were we proceeded back along the flume, through an exit at the back of the building, down some stairs and back onto the midway from the gate at the end of Critter Country. Dejavu (SFMM): Front row, Tower 1, got stuck for about 10 minutes before we were jogged back down. Worst part was, everybody behind us decided to spit. Didn't get hit though. -Jahan

It could just be the history dork in me, but I envy the amount of heritage that surrounds you. The city in which I live just celebrated its 20th anniversary. To think that some of that stuff is nearing 200. Very impressive to me. Thanks for sharing. It was very interesting! -Jahan

^ Thank you for feeling so passionately Matt, but no need to back-seat moderate. People have a right to speculate if they want. Frankly, there's not enough official announcements in the world to discuss as much as we do. That being said, I would like to ask that any further "Dejavu removal" discussion be carried over into another thread--be it the SFMM Updates thread or the Rumor Super Thread, or even an official "Dejavu removal speculation thread", if someone cares enough. Point being, this thread is about X-Squared ( ) so let's keep it on that. Thank you. -Jahan

^ Sorry, I only allow a select few a taste. -Jahan

As much as I dont care for contributing to these things, after finally riding some decent wood on the Midwest Trip, I decided to submit a ballot. Basically, despite all the forces, despite all the stats, I just tried to remember what rides I had the most fun on. Top Ten: 1) Kentucky Rumbler 2) Raven 3) Cornball Express 4) Viper 5) LoCoSuMo 6) The Voyage 7) Giant Dipper 8 ) The Beast 9) Tornado 10) Jack Rabbit Bottom 5: 5) The Grizzly 4) Mean Streak 3) Psyclone 2) Son of Beast 1) Ghostrider -Jahan

Guys, no need to get all worked up. Yes, parks hype up their new additions--that's what they have to do. You dont exactly drop $10 million on a new investment and not tell anybody about it. You need to take the few pieces of the upgrade and push them to sound like the greatest thing to happen since Frozen Cokes. That being said, I highly doubt that they're manufacturing false expenses to make it sound like they're doing more. This is going to cost $10 million, some way or another. -Jahan

Jahan, aren't you an op on Goliath Jr? If so, will you let us all finally get the credit before they do close it (if they do) or are you going to morph into the little titans rip op? I try every visit in the vain hope someone might get slack on the rules, like I'm not that far over the height limit, only 3 feet or so. $10 million seems a lot for what they are doing but if we get a far batter ride then great. No, I'm not a ride op on Goliath Jr. And if I was, I couldn't help you. Asking to someone to break rider restrictions on a public board isn't the best way to go about asking. It's pretty much impossible to convince an operator to let you on. Let's face it--why would they do more work while at the same time risking their asses for a credit? Again, Goliath Jr. or Dejavu have still not been confirmed as to be removed. Anything can happen. You might still have years of trying to get on, ahead of you. -Jahan

^ You drive a good argument Kraxel. Logical. And that wasn't thinly veiled sarcasm. All I can honestly say is, we'll see. -Jahan

Dejavu still has NOT been confirmed as removed. I wouldn't be surprised if Goliath Jr. actually gets the axe, next to Thomas Town and all. -Jahan

They're spending $10 million to make the ride operate the way it should have when it opened. You can actually get a really amazing new ride for that much money. So you have to understand what they're doing here--"rebranding" the ride to try and generate the hype that a new ride would. DCA wouldn't have recieved its $1.1 billion boost if accountants couldn't have shed some comfort in knowing that the elements of the park that are simply being "redone" would be able to be twisted and marketed in some way. -Jahan

I think this is good. It should be interesting to see the park market next year with its double threat--Thomas Town for families and X2 for thrill seekers. I'm amazed to hear of "effects" the ride will be getting. Even if it's a tunnel--it goes beyond new paint or a reprogramming and becomes an actual addition of some sort to a previous ride. Very interesting. Anyway, this pleases me. Perhaps just because I'm guarenteed something to go take pictures of. LOL. What I'm more interested in is what will happen with Dejavu...I mean, if X gets Deja's color scheme....*shrugs* -Jahan

Me and Daffy, who was dressed as "gay Dumbledore" for Halloween.

*Looks at Georga* *Looks at Illinois* ... *Looks at California*...? -Jahan

Yay! Another Hanno PTR! Always a pleasure, sure! Thanks for the pics. I look forward to the next installment! -Jahan

At SFMM the big animal is the geese. Every year they come and nest in the park. Not only is harassing them a crime, but it's highly unadvised as the honking-creatures will attack you! It isn't uncommon to see the park set up barricades or signs saying to stay away from the geese. I'm also familiar with DCA's cats. -Jahan

Just because I ended up being wrong doesn't mean I didn't know what I was talking about. I happened to be in the park on Sunday, speaking with guests and Magic staff alike. To the best of my understanding, comp tickets weren't issued. Aparently to some, they were. I was wrong. No need for disrespect. -Jahan

^ Ok, fine, another. That ride was medicore anyway. Here's a chance to start fresh. -Jahan

Though the fact that the name "California's Great America" doesn't make any sense and has me sort of put off, I'm super excited for a GCI to make it to CA. This one's pretty small too, but then again, the Kentucky Rumbler's my favorite wood and thus, I'm confident this baby will be able to pack a punch. Boo to them making us wait until '09 though! -Jahan

^ I'm sorry you feel that way. If you were able to look at the attendance figures for last Sunday, you'd see that despite the ride closures and wild fires, the majority of guests chose to remain in the park and take advantage of the open rides and Fright Fest offerings. Obviously the majority of guests weren't too pissed. -Jahan

^ Nope. No different than us not getting compensation for the miserable first 8 hours at Cedar Point where nothing was open because of rain. Wildfire, like rain, is an act of nature out of the parks control. -Jahan

I love it! I'm ordering my copy right now! LMAO at Sean Connery Daniel Snyder! -Jahan