haiderodes

Pretty cold here. I just got back in the office from a meeting down the street. The car's thermometer said 40 but its windy so it feels much colder...there was a ton of ice on the street this morning.

^Well that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I understand what you mean.

That's what I thought. I never heard anything about Universal selling Wet n Wild. They own the park, not the land. If you go to the Wet N Wild homepage it explicitly says Universal Studios Recreation Group. http://www.wetnwild.com.

The old Disneyland Hotel...memories. I miss the Monorail Cafe!

^Wet n Wild Las Vegas was located next to the Sahara Hotel. The site was near the north end of the strip at Las Vegas Blvd and Sahara Ave. In the hi-res you can also tell where they "cut" the top portion of the Der Stuka chute and replaced it with a new piece to line up with the capsule. Having seen this in comparison to the Vegas version, I'm thinking the Bomb Bay creations were an in-house design. When the capsules used to move, it seemed like a simple air compressor. Perhaps that's why they locked them into position, to avoid having to keep replacing the compressor and to speed up load times.

You know I was thinking they are doing gap thing on purpose. Looks kinda cool to me.

OMG...Battlestar Galactica that scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. I distinctly remember plugging my ears and putting my head in my mom's lap. It was too much! Ah, the good old days of Universal. They need to bring the intensity back!

I'm thinking these were different than what we now call Nights of Joy. Anyone can buy tickets for NoJ, this was just for the mormon kids. When I worked at Adventuredome, we had one of these and let me tell you these kids were not the best behaved. We had our hands full.

I always thought it was interesting that the original incarnation of this park was like a mini Knott's Berry Farm. For the longest time it seemed like a museum of the great Knott's flat rides of the 80's and 90's...Gran Slammer vs. Screaming Yellow Eagle, Tampico Tumbler vs. Treeline Tumbler (or whatever they call it), Hammerhead vs. Mighty Axe, Slingshot vs. Kite Eating Tree and the coasters Jaguar vs. Ripsaw.

You should come back the end of this month...they are having a huge grand opening celebration. They've been advertising the ticket sales like crazy on the radio. My friend and I went down to check it out last week and it was very unfinished which is unusual for a new strip resort. Granted there are always last minute things to be done, but huge portions of this property were missing. They didnt have door knobs on some of the doors! I'm thinking they rushed to get it open for NYE crowds just to have it open. I was impressed by all the space on the casino floor. Not as crammed and congested as The Venetian. I loved the sky lights too! And perhaps best of all, they picked a better, lighter scent for their smellitizers. "The Venetian Smell" can be so overpowering...makes the casino smell like a "urinal mint".

I've lived in this god-forsaken place my whole life and I wouldn't necessarily say our weather is unpredictable. People who visit just don't realize how cold it gets here in the winter. Its normal.

I believe that is the Orlando one, I just think the image is mirrored. As far as I know they only built two of those...one in Orlando and one in Las Vegas. When they built the Vegas version they also replaced the original slides using curved ones. The Florida version kept the flat bottomed chutes. While I could ride Der Stuka all day, I could never work up the nerve to try Bomb Bay. Always scared I'd scratch my arms or something wierd like that. It was always fun standing in line for Blue Niagra and looking up to see people fall out the capsule. During the last few years of operation, they locked the Vegas one into position over the chute, probably to reduce maintenance on the capsule.

^During normal operation, from my experiences, it slows down and continues to coast into the station. It doesn't stop until its in the loading/unloading position. If I recall correctly, they didnt always have a station brake for Superman. That was added after a couple of years to hold the train in position...right? Didn't they also add a winch at the same time for when they'd have to tow the car back into the station? As for what's behind the "curtain"...I always assumed it was a set of permanent magnets like they have rusting away at the top of the tower. Granted I have never seen that end of the track personally, it would make sense considering theres not enough room for a set of standard mechanical brakes to work.

1. You can request whatever, but to be honest more people get Food and Beverage positions than anything else, just because those roles are more plentiful. That's not to discourage you at all...anything is possible. When it comes time to interview be determined, but also open minded. I'd say its better to do the program in a second or third choice position instead of not getting a position at all. 2. They have a matching program, however it all comes down to arrival and departure dates. They try to keep everyone in an apartment coming and going at the same time as it makes it easier for the housing folks. 3. I'm not sure how Fall Advantage plays into it. I have heard that the fall is a more "popular" time for students to apply so it might be more difficult. Like I said before, go with an open mind, you may not get what your dream position is, but it will definately still be an experience you wont forget!

Wet n Wild Las Vegas had been doing well and we all know how that turned out. If the landowner wont renew the lease, there's nothing the park can do about it.

^I thought the article said its because the mall owners made them a good offer on the land...not becuase of a lack of revenue.

Isn't that why newer B&M's have horizontally-oriented pinch style drive wheels to eliminate the chances of an overshoot? At least I remember reading that somewhere. Even on a dry day I've noticed that Goliath (even though its not a B&M) trains "shake" back and forth in the station when stopping...or maybe its my imagination.

I have only been there once when there was any significant rain...November 1997. Superman had a 4 hour line (all the way down "suicide hill") and then it closed once the rain started. The rain lasted about 2 hours with most of the rides closed, but then most of them (excluding Superman) opened back up with sporatic showers the rest of the night. I have a feeling they didnt close the park because it was a Saturday during Veteran's Weekend and the park was packed because of a spirit rally at the park.

It's always sad to lose an attraction, especially a relatively new one. On the other hand, I understand the mall's need to expand. They do really good business. We have a Premium Outlets here as well and they are in the process of expanding as well.

Its sad when you wish they'd just use the manufacturer's name for the model instead of making one up.

^Spring Advantage has a variety of start dates in January and end dates in August. Mine was January 15 - August 15, 2003. Most of the time, you'll have the chance to extend your program (depending on the numbers they are recruiting). Just a note, operations doesn't necessarily mean you will be placed on a ride and you wont be able to pick your housing. I can try and request it, but it may or may not happen. I stayed in Vista during my program, Chatham during a winter seasonal stint, and then Vista during another summer season and I have to say Vista was the place to be.

I'm suprised it didnt even make it 5 full years! That is a pretty big building too. I always thought all the dinner shows and side attractions made Orlando special. Too bad I never saw it on my trips down there.

That happened to me too! I ran into her at a pride afterparty a couple years ago. Very interesting to say the least!

^Interesting, I think I was talking about that second "VIP" gate the whole time because you can see it from both the little "holding area" outside the main gate and inside near the gift shop.

The more and more I see this space, it seems that the Adventuredome could very well fit one of these in the park.