BeemerBoy

^ Did you consult with your knee before you typed that response?

Fixed.

^ Ah, okay, that explains a lot then.

Full disclosure: I've never been to HHN, or any other large scale Halloween event, simply because they're just not my cup of tea. With that said, this year will be our first HHN visit. I've been a casual observer to all the HHNs of the past, and because of the great reviews they've consistently had over the years, I'm looking forward to October. Still, after looking over both HHN threads to this point, even I, an admitted novice to the horror movie genre, feel somewhat underwhelmed thus far by Orlando's efforts. I'm sure the event will still be a HUGE success in my eyes given the overall quality of the place and the company we keep, but it just kinda seems like Orlando's sort of "mailing it in" thus far compared to Hollywood.

$28 million could've bought dueling mega-lites.

If you listen real close to the videos, you can hear the bitching about the rattle several years from now.

The land clearing and "preparing this area for your future enjoyment" signs were up during season passholder preview night. A couple months of clearing later, we got holes and rebar cages. The teaser/countdown page went up at the start of August and has slowly received new quotes plus the "this is my park now" thing. Wonderland doesn't really do much in the way of teasing...they play things really close to the chest. Plus, it's Canada. We'd pretty much ignore it anyway, so it makes sense to save by not using an elaborate marketing campaign leading up to it.

So far, I'm about excited as Holiday World putting in a second Wildebeest. Wake me up if this actually proves to be something unique.

^ This will remain popular 50 years from now.

Take a stroll through Toon Lagoon then. And hell, I have no reason for posting this, but it's unavoidable now that I realized it's there.

Hang on, I'm gonna go back to 1997 and ask a few of the initial readers if they expect to be following the storyline 14+ years from then. Stay tuned. I'll let you know.

^^ Seriously? You're dropping a "This car > That car" argument here? Really? Personally, I don't care what wheel he's behind. That, my friend, IS driving. Add the production value, and this is pure bliss.

I recommend letting this happen to several US parks, and then just re-open them as "ghost tours." I may or may not be speaking about places like SFA and King's Island. I am.

I hadn't. Cool stuff!

I'm just happy it didn't have a stupid viral marketing campaign. Sorry, but it's much more interesting to see stakes appear, construction begin out of nowhere, and finally track roll on site without any previous hints or official suggestions from the park.....or did I miss those along the line somewhere? Either way, this surprise has actually been somewhat enjoyable thus far.

Gianni Versace's place of death isn't too far away either. And hey, it's a hotel now as well! Lovin' the reports, Steve.

Knoebels.

Inspired by this touching recollection of one's day with TPR, I've created a little instruction manual for live encounters with TPR "celebrities." This is for anyone, should you ever come in contact with a live TPR member. Please feel free to print out and carry with you. First Step: Approach TPR "celebrity." Second Step: Make eye contact, smile, and extend right hand for handshake. Third Step: Recite this phrase: "Hello, I'm ___________. I post on/view TPR on a regular basis (my screen name is _______), and I recognized you from various trip reports and/or videos. It's nice to meet you." Fourth Step: Continue conversing at will. (Suggested topics include: "I'm a fan of yours," "I really enjoy your trip reports," and "I'd like to buy you a beer in appreciation of your awesomeness.") Fifth Step: At conclusion of conversation, it is recommended to close with the following statement: "Well, it was very nice meeting you. Perhaps I'll see you around again sometime, on the TPR boards, or maybe even a TPR trip! Take care, and enjoy the rest of your day at ________ (Disclaimer: this phrase may not be appropriate at places such as King's Island, SFA, etc. Feel free to substitute the name of the State rather than the park name)." Sixth Step: Shake hands, walk away. I hope this helps.

Thanks for the different views of the place. This park continues to look amazing!

Hey, maybe those are storage tracks?

^ Guy, we're thinking of visiting a couple park in December. In your expert opinion, would you say that's a pretty good month to hit up the Christmas events?

^ Dude, those are GREAT shots!

^^ In this situation, I am definitely putting all liability on the ops. I'm basically saying, this guy could go up there knowing full well that it wasn't a good idea to ride. He could bitch, whine, pitch a fit, whatever, but the fact of the matter remains that someone....ANYONE certified to do so should have stood up and denied him a ride. I just have serious difficulty in thinking that out of all those ride ops on duty that day, that not a single one of them had the balls to stand up in this situation and be the voice of reason. They may all have been minimum wage summer job kids, but you gotta figure at least one of them had an ounce of their brain telling them, "Hey, this just isn't a good idea." I mean, if you're trained on the equipment, you should pretty much know the limitations and parameters for safe ridership. That's why I'm saying SOMEONE could...and SHOULD have easily stepped in and said NO. And if the guy continued to argue or whatever, then you simply direct him to the supervisor, and so on down the chain of command if needed. Believe me, he's certainly guilty for thinking, wanting, or demanding a ride. However, he didn't ultimately push the button that released the train. That was someone else's responsibility. Someone who should have known better. Someone who should have been doing their JOB. Someone who was ultimately responsible for this man's death. Your honor, the prosecution rests. EDIT: Another way to think of it is this. When you think of the typical ride warning sign, there's several obvious things that come to mind. You shouldn't ride if: You have a bad back, you're pregnant, etc. etc. Well, just those first two alone aren't exactly obvious to every ride op, and are probably defied by the general public all the time either knowingly or not(in the case of pregnancies, I'm not talking about obvious "baby bumps" well into the nine months). If riding produces any harm in either of those situations, who's gonna take blame? Probably the ride ops for letting them ride, right? Is it their fault? Of course not. They can't determine who's got a bad back, or might knowingly or unknowingly be pregnant in some situations. But we're talking about a dude missing two legs. Whether he thinks it's okay or not, it's ultimately the ride ops responsibility to enforce the posted rules. Okay, now I rest.

Legally, I think a defense lawyer could quite easily place some of the blame on the rider himself. Right, a good defense attorney will definitely try to sell ice to an eskimo. But still, the ops are the last line of defense in this situation. He doesn't ride if they don't say so. He can certainly be blamed for wanting to ride, thinking he could ride, and possibly protesting being turned away, but that still doesn't make him accountable for his own death. If there's a life guard at a shallow pool with "NO DIVING" posted every two feet, and some idiot walks up and decides to take the plunge anyway, there's not really much that lifeguard can do. Even if the ride was named "Ride of Able-bodied People Only: This Does NOT Mean You, Mr. Iraqi War Verteran With His Legs Blown Off," with signs posted every two feet and balloons with ride rules handed out to everyone in line, the ride ops still have the final say who rides and who doesn't. If I'm representing the family, that's the point I'd drive home. I'm just so tired of a lack of reason and accountability on anyone's part these days. I'll call out these ops everyday, and twice on Sunday.

I'm actually in the camp that believes the rider wasn't necessarily "negligent," but perhaps just overambitious....and a bit stupid to think it was a good idea to ride. When everything is broken down into simplest terms, the reason for this accident falls 100% on the ride ops....who have absolutely no excuse, and can NEVER afford to be negligent. Personally, I think these ops deserve to be held personally responsible for their actions, and sued accordingly. I mean, how is what they did (or failed to do, as it may be) any different from that Scad tower debacle? How is it any different from a train operator derailing a train full of kids because it was traveling too fast? You know what? It's time for ALL ride ops to learn what's at stake every time they dispatch a car or train......lives. Aside from mechanical failure of the ride itself, there is NO excuse to not be on your game at ALL times. And that includes....GASP...making logical, and sometimes difficult decisions regarding rider safety. These aren't toys, kids. They aren't NoLimit creations. I don't care if Lt. Dan rolled up and demanded a ride. As a trained ride operator, you are essentially responsible for everyone's well being while in the presence of that piece of machinery. Sure, it sucks to be looked at as the dbag who turned away a decorated war veteran. Sure it would suck to live with the pain and guilt of essentially letting a man die due to your neglect. But you know what? That's what you signed up for. Don't be stupid, and terrible things won't happen. Sometimes the best way to spur on reform is to hit a company where it hurts...their wallet. I say sue Herschend and it's employees to the fullest if it's determined they were negligent and responsible. You know, I still hold out hope. I mean, Dare Devil Dive was a small victory in the fight for common sense and realism. And to me, the fact that bungee jumps and sky coasters still exist prove that anything is possible. I still shudder to think about what's actually involved with prepping a rider for a sky coaster compared to any other ride in the park, and who I'm actually trusting to do so. If every employee was in the mold of Skycoastin Steve, I'd be okay.....but we all know that's not the case.