imbordisux

Yeah, Dorney's a pretty small park, the rides are really close to each other, and it's never really crowded - you really don't need an itinerary, you'll get on everything you want multiple times.

You'll hear a lot of love for Balder around here.

While the title seems to indicate a simple "Top 10" list, I like this "Hall of Fame" style more, where it's not simply about the ride experience (which is always subjective), but also takes into account history and impact on the business. With that said, I couldn't possibly do a list like this on my own, but I'd like to throw a few "nominations" in the hat: Cyclone, Coney Island - Opinions are split on the actual ride experience, but this is the most famous coaster ever. Basketball has Michael Jordan, pro-wrestling has Hulk Hogan, roller-coasters have Cyclone. Batman: The Ride, Six Flags Great America - As far as I'm concerned, no "next gen" innovation in coasters (meaning beyond the obvious "taller, faster, inverting") had more of an impact on the industry. I remember going to "SFGAdv" when they got the clone, and seeing so many people standing there with their jaws on the floor, just watching in amazement sent chills down my spine, even then. Sure, Arrow was the first to suspend the train beneath the track, but B&M took it to the next level by making it able to flip and twist at break-neck speeds; they really showed what could be done when you think outside the box. X, Six Flags Magic Mountain - Like B:TR, but to the next level. I've never ridden it, and I know it gets mixed reviews, but this is another example of great outside-the-box thinking. It's just so weird and different than anything else out there (yeah, yeah, I know, Japan), it really captures the imagination, especially of those of us who haven't ridden it. That's all I wanted to mention. I'm sure others will make arguments for things like Magnum XL, Millenium Force, and TTD for breaking height intervals, but I really don't find that all that special; impressive, yes, but hardly creative. Same goes with various types of launches, or flyers/stand-ups/clam-shells/etc., as I think all of those just seemed like natural extensions of going faster, or experimenting with other rider-positions (but not to the same degree as B:TR or X).

I have a Sony DCR-HC32, and was interesting in switching to memory-sticks instead of tapes. How much footage can you get on, say, a 128mb or 1gig card? And does it record as fluidly as a tape, or does it tend to get choppy or distorted when moving at high speeds or vibrating? Thanks.

I wouldn't say it's "the best", but I really like how the station for Raven looks like an old abandoned school-house. Subtle and spooky at the same time.

Thanks for the help.

Yeah, I'm curious if they basically just ripped-off the B:TR lay-out; looked extremely similar.

Whether or not you consider Phantom's Revenge a "true" Morgan, there's no denying how awesome it is; I've ridden Steel Phanton, and, honestly, I thought it was pretty lame. I have a question about PR, though - where did those trains/restraints come from? Are those restraints used on any other coaster?

"Coney Island", as a whole, isn't much to write home about, just about all of the rides are very basic flats that can be found anywhere, though as a slice of history, it really deserves to be visited once. Cyclone, though... say what you will wooden coasters that beat the crap out of you, but for my money, it's pretty much the most perfect coaster possible. Just complete chaos from start to finish. It really warms my heart to know that, in an age when just about every manufacturer is trying to make their coasters as smooth as possible (not that that's a bad thing, I love B&M), there is a company like The Gravity Group that still believes in the "runaway train" style of ride. For any coaster newbies who want to know what these rides used to be like, you owe it to yourself to get up to NY for what's truly a masterpiece of wild, out-of-control fun. El Toro might propel you out of the seat further, but there's nothing that throws you around and makes you feel like you're duct-taped to a bucking bull quite like Cyclone.

I've spoken with a bunch of manufacturers, I used to sell electronic components, and wanted to sell them resistors and stuff for the brakes and controls (most of them redirected me to other companies that built such equipment for them). Chad at "The Gravity Group" was incredibly friendly, we phoned and e-mailed each other a few times. We spoke a lot about The Voyage and what he expected out of El Toro. One of the nicest guys I've ever spoken with, actually. Walter Bolliger was also very nice, though I only sent him one e-mail. I told him what huge fans my wife and I are, and how we actually painted our living room to match Nitro (blue walls, fuschia ceiling, yellow accents, grey carpeting, and, yes, I will post photos one day). He wrote a really nice, personalized e-mail saying how much he enjoys hearing from fans, and that he's personally never heard of someone doing what we did. "Huss" and "Premiere" were also really nice. "Ride & Show" were also really nice, we spoke a lot, but unfortunately never got to do any business together (my company couldn't compete with the pricing they were getting). On the flip-side, "Great Coasters International" were really nasty (or at least their secretary was), when I told her I enjoyed their work, she responded with a very condescending "that's nice". "S&S" was also very condescending in their attitude, like they didn't even care that people like their product. "Intamin" wasn't really nasty or anything, but they kept brushing me off, and neither "Chance" nor "Maurer-Sohne" would return any calls or letters.

I've never had that happen to me on a coaster, but I experienced a similar situation while working out once. About five years ago, I was working my legs, and had put too much weight on the machine; stubbornly, I tried to do it, and after the third or fourth attempt, I let out a huge grunt, and managed to budge the weight. All of a sudden, the room started spinning and going grey, I had trouble breathing and heart palpitations, and lost my hearing (or, more accurately, had an incredibly loud ringing in my ears) for a good fifteen minutes. I was incredibly nauseous and dizzy, and pretty much used the wall to hold myself up on my way to the bathroom (the bathroom, of course, was locked). I'd never been so scared in my life, I was panicking on the floor, scared to death that I was going blind and deaf for some unknown reason. I started feeling better after about thirty minutes, and was fine after an hour or so, but holy crap was that scary. I never saw a doctor about it, but that night I explained what happened to someone who had a lot of medical knowledge, and they said that, in trying to lift the weight, I had probably put too much pressure on my spine, causing the spinal column to send a little "jolt" to my brain, where my central nervous system basically went haywire for a second. Makes sense, as I have a bunch of back problems. No idea how accurate that is, but they told me not to worry about it, and I've never had anything like that happen again. I'd venture to guess that it's probably not anything to worry about on a day-to-day basis, but you should still go to a doctor, ASAP, ESPECIALLY if you plan on riding coasters again. Don't mess with your health.

You'd make a great Jewish grandmother.

Hey, I never said I'd get out of line for ya - you gotta wait just like everybody else... Anyway, I should probably point out that one of the reasons I make mention of my disappointment with S:ROS isn't because I dislike the coaster, but because I really am "disappointed" - this coaster is more or less the Holy Grail of coasters, and I can't help but feel like I'm doing something wrong by not enjoying it. I know that sounds kinda stupid, but it's like I'm waiting for someone to tell me "if you turn your head to the right and snap your fingers while on the third hill, you'll orgasm". I'm actually more disappointed in myself than anything.

That thing looks f'ing sick! As for the restraint argument, I think "it's a waterslide" is a perfectly good argument. I mean, think of any water slide you're on, with or without a tube; the walls are curved in such a way to prevent you from falling out, much like a bobsled coaster doesn't have "walls" to keep the car from going over the side. The curvature of the track is enough. To liken it to a kiddie-coaster, say someone falls/jumps out, but instead of plummeting to the ground, they instead land on the track. Well, the track is hard, which hurts, and your body - lacking wheels - will not continue moving forward, meaning that you could become stuck and possibly struck. Conversely, if you fell/jumped out of the raft, you'd still only be on a fun little waterslide, and because of the design, you're not going to get stuck in any part, and the chance of getting struck is greatly decreased.

Time for my yearly "I just don't get S:ROS" post. I think it's a pretty good coaster, but I've just never experienced a ride on it that I would consider absolutely mind-blowing. Don't get me wrong, I like it, I've ridden it many many times, and it'd be a great addition to any park lucky enough to get it, but I've just never experienced "coaster euphoria" on it. Give me a B&M hyper or "Batman: The Ride" clone any day (particulary the ones at SFGAdv).

Wow, thanks so much for all the help. I should specify that when I say we're spending "two nights" at a park, what I mean is that we're driving to the park during the day and checking in that night, actually doing the park the next day, then returning to the hotel and checking-out the next morning to get an early start on the driving. So when I say we're staying two nights at CP, what I mean is: Day 1) Drive to CP's hotel and check-in Day 2) Do CP, spend second night at hotel Day 3) Wake-up, check-out, drive to next destination. Here's the breakdown: Sun - Wedding Mon - Drive from LI to Lakemont Tues - Do Lakemont, drive to CP Wed - Do CP, stay Thurs - Drive to SFGAm Fri - Do SFGAm, drive to Mt.O/TF Sat - Do Mt.O/TF, stay Sun - Drive to IB Mon - Do IB, stay Tues - Drive to Kenny Wed - Do Kenny, stay Thurs - Drive to BGE Fri - Do BGE, drive to PKD Sat - Do PKD, stay Sun - Drive home (possibly hit Clementon on the way) The only place on that list we've been to was "Kennywood", so we're trying to do a full day at each of the big parks. The only one we're not really doing that with is "SFGAm", as we live right near "SFGAdv", which has several similar rides. "Hershey" and "Dorney" are great parks, would have liked to have hit them again, but we decided to go with new places, instead. Thanks again.

We're hitting the parks in the order listed above; we live on Long Island, so we're taking the "northern" route out to Wisconsin, and the "southern" route back to Virginia and then home. I think ideally we're looking for about 15 minutes away or so. We would have liked to have gotten out to "Valleyfair" (and several other parks, including "Waldameer", "SFAm", "GL", and a revisit to super-mega-amazing "HW"), but we didn't have enough time; we could have squeezed in a few more parks, but we're not credit-whores, we have no interest in hitting a park for an hour, riding everything once, and then leaving that same day for the next park just to get more credits. We like taking our time, we're pretty much driving every other day, and spending full days at most of them. Thanks to everyone for their help so far, and we look forward to all the help I'm sure others on this board will offer, too.

Eight pages, and nobody's mentioned "Make the Grade".

Well, we have to drive through Elizabeth, NJ to get to SFGAdv... that is one smelly city.

I had a Spanish teacher - that everyone knew was in the closet - who was arrested (and I assume prosecuted) for sodomy with a middle-school student. I had a high-school gym teacher who was arrested for getting hammered at a school-function and [i believe] pissing all over the stage. I had a middle-school math teacher arrested for stealing road-signs and giving alcohol and pot to 13-year olds. Oh, and I had a sex-ed teacher who actually brought in her OWN sex toys, which she proceeded to pass around class for discussion. Ah, Long Island.

Well, we're planning our honeymoon for June... pretty amazing, a few years ago, I never would have pictured myself getting married this soon, let alone to a woman so amazingly awesome that her dream honeymoon would be a roller-coaster road-trip! Anyway, we're curious about a lot of the little independent places; we know what to expect from the commercial chains, but we have no idea if, say, the "Shamrock Motel" in Wisconsin is comparable to a "Best Western". If anyone can offer any help, it'd be much appreciated; our only criteria is that the places are cheap, and prefebly offer a free breakfast (and if anybody knows of a place that serves dinner as well, that'd be awesome). Below are the parks we are visiting; each link takes you to a Mapquest page listing all the nearby hotels. Lakemont Park - 1 Night Cedar Point - 2 Nights Six Flags Great America - 1 Night Mt. Olympus or Timber Falls - 2 Nights (at one or the other, not both) Indiana Beach - 2 Nights Kennywood - 2 Nights Busch Gardens Europe - 1 Night Paramount's Kings Dominion - 2 Nights Remember: Cheap + Breakfast = Perfect Thanks in advance, everyone. - Stu and Monica

I think I'm in love.

I have absolutely no knowledge of this subject, but I'm willing to take a stab at it: If R&E aren't using the music as a selling-point of the DVDs (i.e., there is no mention of the music on the packaging, or anything that says "If you like this song, buy the DVD!"), they're pretty safe. All that's being sold and marketed is the footage. I mean, I'm sure some group with some lawyer could go after them if they really wanted to, but it's such a relatively small operation, there's not much they could gain from it.

It looks like it would give you magic powers.

You know how people camp out for game systems and concert tickets? If I could afford to miss that much work, I'd camp out for this, too. I mean, like, starting tonight.