Jon Sabo

Nice photo's. From the looks of the coaster, I think that was one of the few rides done by O.D. Hopkins...right? I think they designed about 5 or 6 coasters (2-AZ, 1-NC, this ptr shot, and another one in TX.)

I have the most-important question. Does the car have a cupholder to go with that a/c? lol

^^^ The chic IS single. Her bio reads as follows: Seeking a "Full-Fledged Sugar-daddy Donkey". All inquiries apply within.

Unless I'm drinking too many Mai Tai's here, but wasn't P-A co-owned by Busch for a small period of time and then sold it to its original owners? Great photo's! How is the weather is Spain-does it get hot/humid there?

^I would agree! 1. Kumba 2. Kraken 3. Montu (w/o trims) 4. Hulk-IOA 5. Sheikra

When working at BGE during the heyday, we used to have an inside joke about how guests really do ask some strange questions. We adopted a theory that all guests had to rent a "brain locker". A brain locker was used when guests enter the park, rent the locker, put their brain inside of it, and explore the park. Hence, the reason for many of the obnoxious and obvious questions..lol (Similar to chickens with head cut-off). Another couple of incidents: 1. Guests/Family standing IN FRONT of LNM (Nessie): A. Where do we find the LNM? B. Does it go upside down? C. I "heard" it goes over the lake-is that in Scotland too? (rolling on the ground-lmao). 2. Working maintenance on DF: A. Why is the ride down? "Because the dragon was breathing fire on the guests and we had to put out the flames...hehe" (Their response-"Don't you use fire extinguishers for that?) 3. Alpengeist: (Walking around with some former managers in the park)-Guests waiting in line- A. How come the riders don't bring their skis? B. If we find the 'ghost' do we get out money back? (WTF) 4. Apollo's Chariot: A. Where's Apollo? B. This (train) doesn't look like a chariot. (Dogh) C. Where is A/C? Isn't that the ride where Fabio broke his nose? (Opening day incident). *Ta-Da! The brain lockers are now OPEN!*

^No one was seriously injured or killed and the PR people at VF appeared to have a good "damage-control" in (not) having false rumors about the incident. I think the general public is confident that the problem was resolved and believe the ride is safe.

When working for BGE on BBW opening day: "How many times does this ride go upside down?" My response: "Depends on.. 1. How much you had to drink (at Festhaus) 2. If it does (go upside down), please let us know, because its not designed to. 3. (Guest must have lost their "brain-locker" key..lol). True. Many guests are not "coaster-enthusiasts", but do enjoy riding them. It really is a ride operators responsibility to inform the guest(s) about the ride/attraction and be able to answer their questions as to it's design layout (inversions, etc).

I thought that was posted on another thread..lol The site is a good reference point in doing research, but there was another one (European site) that is much better and more in-depth. I will look for the link and post it here. But, as the game goes, most people got it correct. Sheikra @ BGE. If you look a little deeper and research the site, you may be able to find the 2! US-versions of the DM (of which the 2nd will be 'presumably' installed at BGE in '07).

I know the moderators on this site do a very good job in monitoring the postings, rules, and so on, but I have a question regarding a couple of the rules. Lately, I have witnessed quite a few videos that appear to be other peoples work (on other sites/forums) and the posting individual(s) is taking credit for the video and/or not even giving credit to the original author. It appears to become quite common on other sites and I personally feel I have witnessed a couple of instances on this site (even a carbon-copy from the orginal site). I would need to gather the information and facts to back-up the claim, but would be open to opinions of the moderators, owner on ways to report it. I know this may be childish or "tattle-tale" post, but I strongly feel it would be a violation of the (site) rules and an act of plagiarism. Is there an opinion, rule, or suggestion on ways to inform the member(s) about it? Also, there are a couple of instances where a member(s) appears to blatantly break park rules just to record a POV video (and sometimes brag about how he/she did it). I know that appears in the rules forum, but what action would be appropriate if any member(s) witnesses the violation? For example, a park has a specific rule-no cameras or videotaping on rides and the guest takes/sneaks a video anyway. When I worked for BGE/BGA they had specific rules on videotaping and some guests have blatantly abused the rule. I have also witnessed some serious injuries from debris (videotaping device) being lost on the ride cycle. Some other forum sites are making the rules for video posting much stronger. For example, here is a link regarding some recent actions on video posting (perhaps even piracy): http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/announcement.php?f=155 Any comments?

This is a real challenge just to pick one. So, I will break the mold and say ALL classic carnival rides..lol (Zipper, Battering Ram, Alpine/Music xpress, etc)

^but sometimes the "view" makes it all worthwhile..lol

I would vote to have a t-shirt design contest..lol What shipping carrier is used for orders going to Hawaii? I have an account with FED-EX & UPS and was curious if I can have those item(s) shipped via that route.

I give you Kudo's! for having the courage to even post a message like that (describing your personal-self). While I really haven't focused on the effects yet, I wonder if/when themeparks will begin to do the same thing airlines are currently doing and charging extra $$ for people that have weight-relate challenges. It really is a sensitive topic and it may soon become a part of an ADA issue in the future. On the other hand, those people/guests that cannot ride many of the attractions/coasters due to their weight, should parks be charging the same price?...hmm just a point to ponder.

AWESOME theming (and pics). I kind of wish DK @ BGE had this similar style/theme in the sense that it has a castle-type feel and the colors of the "brickwork" has that haunting-type of feel.

The most tiring ride to operate in my opinion was working on Roman Rapids @ BGE. Before the time the ride opened, I had operated every ride in the park as well as off-season "operational cycles". When RR finally opened, each of us (crew) were "hand-picked" by management based on a variety of factors and conditioning/physically fit was one of them. For each hour, you walk (turntable-style loading platform) about 1.86 miles per hour. Each shift would rotate positions roughly each hour, but the rotation was that you could end up on the platform for 3 hours before your first break..lol I recall drinking ALOT of fluids just to stay hydrated during those hot Virginia summers (the humidity was unreal at times) and eat at least 2 bannanas each morning to prevent any leg cramps. I would estimate 3 gallons of water and about 1/2 galllon of Gatorade for each shift. Want to excercise?? Have fun (cough*watching wet t-shirts*cough), then work a rapids ride...wheeeee..lol

Arrow and Morgan use similar braking systems (including mounting brackets). When Steve Okamoto left Arrow to work for Dana Morgan, he modified the (Morgan) braking systems to work in similar (near exact) specifications as Arrow because parts suppliers were abundant (and it really reduced their costs by ALOT). I think they even use same mfg on the exhaust valves and port systems for the pneumatics as well (Parker Fluidpower). I believe the magnetic brakes on PR was an original Morgan concept/design, but there was a company that specialized in the mfg of magnetic brake components. If correct, MF uses magnetics on there safety zone brakes-right?

I agree. The Paramount purchase "announcement" to shareholders was the same day when Mr. Kinzel made the announcement when the CP new ride date was mid-August. (I thought I heard August 24 as the official date).

I think it actually depends on the mfg. Arrow had a 1 yr (break-in period) warranty. I believe B&M is 1yr also. I'm not sure on the other companies (although I heard the "old" Vekoma had a 3 yr! period-which was probably a reason why they lost alot of money..lol) Most parks/vendors pay for the wheels no matter the circumstance(s), unless there was a TSB (tech-bulletin update or component failure). Parts such as gearboxes and major components have a warranty period (general mfg. warranty), but there are also "clauses" in each contract to where the vendor can have some clout in defining the extension of the warranty. For example, when IOA was built and B&M sold 3 (DD-2 seperate coasters), there was a report that the part had warranty on EVERYTHING for 2 yrs.

One of the reasons why I suspect the "roughness" on the Intamin rides (coasters) the actually the design of the wheel carrier units. While some "play" movement is needed, the actual design itself actually tends to shift towards the riders as mentioned before-shake, rattle-n-roll. This "play" also is causing many more wheel replacements from the friction generated and decreasing the overall life. Although the chassis and trains are within safety guidelines, I wish they would take a year or so and just focus on the axles/wheel carriers and I bet those rides then would become smooth-as-glass. I think the rattle on some of the hypercoasters is cause by the gap within the carrier unit itself (where it mounts near the bearing cup). I've "tried" to watch how the carrier moves when riding (and offride) and it has quite a bit of play than the other mfg. I'm actually not sure why this design is incorporated or the purpose it solves, except make more money for the company in selling.....more wheels/bearings...lol

After 112 yrs of business and it just "suddenly" closes is not only a suprise to many people, but I really would blame upper management for the misrepresentation of the business as of late (especially the last 3 yrs or so). This is because the focus shifted AWAY from themeparks & fairs and concentrated mainly on other attractions (ie-concerts, aquariums, and so on). Also, there were some suspect decisions among management in defining its actual focus (what was bringing in the money). They repeatedly decided to focus away from the themepark agenda/stories, therefore the advertising for that market just went to S(#)@@_. I was a member of this organization for about 8 yrs or so and received ALOT of good quality information and now they are just closing its doors. I expect Amusement Today to take over the "mess" what was remaining from the business (as well as tap into some of their journalists to work for A-T also). It's a sad and pathetic time for A-B, but perhaps there is a brighter future for its competitor(s).

Already had this posted in a thread: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25346

Best part of the ride? Walking/inspecting the track towards wraparound corkscrew (after the lift) during SUNRISE-simply awesome! Or even walking the lift AT NITE just to get a view (and inspect the clearance levels on the chain sprocket). You could see lights forever.

Sorry for the post again. Another reason for the "bags" on BBW was during the 1st two years of operation, maintenance and ride ops were also inspecting the yokes between the axle assemblies. We had inserted a wire-stringy thing (God, I cant think of the proper name today..lol) that was used as a backup to keep the bolts from coming loose. You CANNOT use locktite in these areas/or bolts. So from a safety standpoint, ride ops were told (suggested from Arrow) that we inspect these yokes and pins after EACH ride cycle to ensure they were in place. After 2 yrs (break-in period?..lol) the BG engineering and ride ops-mgrs informed the ride personnel to inspect for grease (coming off the chainlifts). There were many complaints about guests getting grease on clothing (coming from the holes at bottom of bags). *Rambling thought I like to share: My FAVORITE! moment was that when it rains and the second and/or third trains are parked in the ready and safety brake sections (outside of the station), those bags would fill up with the rain water. Well, on a July 4 weekend, BG had this cheerleader competition thing and an ENTIRE trainload of girls (all wearing WHITE!) rode when the Wolf was operational again (after the storm). We (maintenance) had to inspect the ride and give the ok to operations and "clear it" operational. The first 2 trains (of 3 total) went out on the track and the #2 lift gearbox had a sensor malfunction and e-stopped the ride. Well, during this time another heavy rainstorm came about and ....awww..... those poor cheerleaders (with WHITE shirts) were stuck on the #1 & 2 lifts and when we fixed the ride (sensor replacement) and those trains returned.....fill in the blank what happen next (ALL of maintenance was there to "inspect" the cheerleaders....umm...I mean trains..lol) Best part of the weekend..lol

So, if the CP track was Pink or Yellow then that would be grounds to dismiss the aqua-track idea as well?..lol Track color doesn't mean that much (although I would have preferred a different color toward a western-theme). I was hoping for a Dollywood TT or SDC-Wildfire colorscheme myself. I wish CP actually chose another color than RED-AGAIN! DOGH!