haiderodes

^Perhaps you went to the wrong stand? BTW...you can get "Cheese on a Stick" at any Hot Dog on a Stick location...in Cheddar or Pepper Jack

It is indeed at a slight angle. Prowler has this as well. I hear its something they are starting to do so that the train better "settles" reducing wear on the brake fins. Take a look around the internet of Prowler and you'll see lots of pictures of this.

^According to the video and Wikipedia, Schwarz came up with the original models. The design was then licensed and reproduced by Huss and others.

In addition to space concern, water rides tend to be a energy hog, so it makes sense to take it out. It just doesn't seem to be as popular as the other water rides anyway.

I just wish they'd paint the railings along the Batman exit path. Touch them and your hands smell like metal. Same thing for the grab bars on Gearworks...they repainted the center railings, but didn't paint the part you are more likely to hold.

I have a quick question about Swashbuckler... Didn't it used to tilt like the other Chance YoYo's? It had been a few years since I had ridden it, but I thought it always tilted. When I rode it on Sunday, I was suprised to see it having the same (short) program that the SFOT YoYo has without the tilt. Is this a new programming mandate as a result of the accident?

You must have some good luck because most of my visits tend to be when they need 2 trains, but only run 1. Then again on the rides that do have multiple trains, they tend to stack anyway regardless if is designed to or not.

No, actually Titan was the last coaster added. It debuted in 2001! I'm a really glad they will be doing some major work on The Giant. It is brutal. I would love to be able to ride it again and enjoy it as I did when it first opened. Maybe I can ride it without having to take some Advil before I get on! My bad! That's still 7 years between coasters...pretty major deal!

When SFOT got Tony Hawk last year, they treated it as a major new attraction. Afterall it was their first new coaster since Batman was added in 1999.

So if we have registered online, paid via PayPal, transaction went through, etc, all we have to do is show up right? Should I be expecting a special confirmation email seperate for what I already have?

^The leaking when it rains was always present, so its hard to say that's due to neglect when its just poor design. The issue these days is that the park has built up areas that were previously empty so its more apparent now. As for moving the dome, I highly doubt its transportable. Even if it was possible, I doubt it would be economical. That's probably why they have never changed the structure to accomodate expansion. Sure they have added multiple doors over the years, but as far as taking out steel and glass - nope.

What a difference two weeks makes. I didn't even notice them building that sign in front of Los Cuates when I was there on the 28th.

^ That sounds kinda scandalous, but then again if there were no formal agreements as to who had rights to designs and what not...

^Superman (now known as Xpress) opened at Walibi World in 2000...a year after Rock N Roller Coaster. http://www.rcdb.com/id769.htm Disney seems to work with various manufacturers, but at the same time they kind of "plus up" everything to their specifications. IMO its a smart choice. Use a manufacturer that specializes in a particular kind of work, they handle the functional design aspects, obtaining materials, etc and then add your own spin to it. Remember the lawsuit over Mission: Space a couple years ago? The manufacturer was mad they didn't get enough credit on creation of the experience. Then, of course, the aformentioned argument after the accident on California Screamin' where Intamin said they could no longer say that it was their ride due to the changes Disney made. I also think its interesting that all of Disney's attractions have similar control panel set-ups regardless of manufacturer. Probably helps with streamlining training and maintenance to some extent.

Anyone know if season parking passes can be used at all SF parks?

^OOH. my bad. They even have Peter Piper Pizza's Dragon Coaster on there too now! ^^Perhaps. j/k I can't tell you how many times we would get parents who would try to sneak on. We'd specifically tell them, they could help their child get on, but could not ride with them. Then as soon as you'd turn your back to start doing the saftey checks, you'd turn around and see them all contorted up in the car/plane. I think the main reason for the height limits for these two rides are more for weight than anything. Miner Mike has a single tire as the lifting mechanism and a manual brake. Sometimes when we'd get chubby lil kids, the train would struggle to get over the first hill. Valleying the Miner Mike was a BIG no no that could get you termed. Thunderbird planes have a weight limit of about 175lbs total otherwise they may not lift.

My tip is that if you're not up for X2 right away, and you are staying till closing, come back later. They don't close the line until park close and you'll still get on. That way if the line is rediculous, you aren't eating up valuable park time. Also, lots of kids tend to leave the line at park close because they have to meet their school groups and what not so it kinda thins out. Oh also, I recommend the Fresh Cut Fries near the base of Superman's Tower.

You sure it was 2000? Maybe they added the limit earlier in the year? I know there has been an upper height limit on Miner Mike and Thunderbirds (airplane ride) since at least August 2000 (when I started working there). Yup I remember the water slides too. They were called Twist-N-Shout. Two mirror image slides with two person rafts similar to Yosemite Sam's Sierra Falls at SFMM, albeit with pitch black slides. You didnt really get all that wet on them as they ended on a dry "runway". Funny thing is that some people still think the dome has water slides - they confuse the large air ducts with water slide tubes! It was such a big deal for us local kids to have the park. It was cheaper than MGM, and something we could do besides Wet N Wild. Even though its ghetto, at least the dome is still alive. Such a shame that all the other small mini golf, go-kart, etc places around town have closed...save for Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix. They have a Dragon Coaster (that's not listed on RCDB).

SFMM sure did have a lot of transportation to the top that mountain back in the day, but not much to really do when you got up there! Dragon, Funicular/Orient Express, Eagle's Flight, Metro. I do miss the gardens up there...nice place to relax!

The dome has been leaking for years, but I've never seen it as bad as it looks in the pictures - and I used to work there! The porters/custodians would put out trashcans and buckets, but never rags like that! The first ride usually to close during the rain was the bumper cars. Its funny that you mentioned Inverter because during my dome days it always seemed to give more operational headaches than the Chaos.

Yup, exactly - I'm talking about once you have already waited in line and ridden once. I'd usually ask an op if its ok and they'd say sure. Only time I ever asked and they said no was on X2 which is understandable. It was about 9p with a park close of 10p, so that makes sense. Its not a big deal to me to not be allowed (I always figured it was just a courtesy anyway). During my days working in parks, we never let people stay on. It was policy to make people walk all the way back around even if there was no one in line for their row. It just struck me as interesting that Tatsu was the only ride that made annoucements over the PA. I didn't ride during my trip in January, but in December I don't recall them doing that, but then again I rode it during the morning hours then. Ah well.

In other news... When did Tatsu start the whole no re-rides thing? Usually when I am a single rider I can take an empty seat if there is one if I had waited in line and just completed the ride. Well Saturday night, they were announcing after every train that there were no re-rides. Granted the line wasn't even around a full switchback, but it just seemed random for none of the other rides to be doing this (except X2).

^I too was suprised to see the pricing. So much suprised that I stopped to take a picture of the board when I was walking by it last nite...the construction guys working on the signs looked at me a little wierd. Haha I have a feeling they priced it there to first gauge how well this new version of the pass goes over with the public. From that, then they have positioned themselves better for price increases as times go on. Going from a current price of $25 for the paper FP to $90 for the bot would be a quite a shock for most people and would probably have a negative effect on sales. But if they raise it by say $5 a few times during the year, it doesnt seem so bad.

^While GCIs are pretty smooth comparatively, they are still wooden coasters, so I wouldn't say they are B&M-smooth. Hell, some B&Ms arent even B&M-smooth these days.

^I'm in the cyber cafe as we speak and I'm headed over to check out the Job Fair displays! I'm the black guy wearing a navy blue sfmm t-shirt if anyone is headed out the park today/tonight.