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I just love the fact that you guys keep ignoring what I have said in that the state of the theming on SP is ****!! Its in a disgusting state, if you theming is all crapped up and broken then it don't count. No your wrong 100% on the 'what you remember factor.' I don't know anyone who says, hey the ride was a complete load of crap but WOW IT HAD GREAT THEMING lol. You only have to look at how people charge through the tunnels to the launch to see how much they dont give a rats about the theming. Richard is right, SP is nothing more than a half rate GD with some dark tunnels that 'used' to have some poor theming.

Lets look at that theming shall we... I don't think it really rates the credit you give it considering the disgusting state wonderland allowed it to get into. I wouldn't say SP has any theming over GD simply by the fact they both really have effectively the same level of theming given that all of SP's is stuffed. Second the whole theme is stupid anyway, your suposed to be evacuating right? The ride sends you up and brings you back to exactly the same place you were being evacuated from??? YEAH THAT WORKS :-) I mean SP was a great ride when it opened, and still is a good ride but the fact it GD is better, theres nothing wrong with that. For everything in life there is always going to be another thing better, lets just accepyt that and move on HEHEHE LONG LIVE GD

I am so sick of hearing this same old crap on this board. Okay yes I love coasters but I for one realise that they are not the end all be all of theme parks! You only have to look at SFMM and Knotts, Six Flags has a crap load more coasters but I'm sure anyone (WHOS ACTUALY BEEN THERE...a whole other issue) would agree that Knotts is by far the 'better' park. The whole reason Luna Park failed/Cyclone was because the residents (who are the arseholes, not the owners of the park) had a big winge over the noise. HELLO YOU MOVED IN BEHIND AN AMUSEMENT PARK!! Fact is it would just be stupid to put in another coaster only to rip it out again. So you have 2 options; Either you get over it already and just accept the park for what it is like everyone else and go anyway; OR you have your tanty and never visit the park again. Either way I think this forum would be much better for it if we could stop having all these stupid "Just put in a coaster" type threads. Sorry to get on my soapbox and have such a big outburst but enough is enough already. BTW You might wanna read what you've typed before hitting SUBMIT <--- in reference to your Poll

Thanks for that extremely concise answer thunder. He is 100% correct, I too deal with these issues every day as our industry adopts a lot of its practices from the construction industry. Falls from height are a serious killer in the country and I'm sure that 99% of them are avoidable. There is just no excuse for unsafe work practices, do you really value your paycheque more than your life? The problem we have guys is that a)there are a lot of 'backyard operators' out there that don't follow the Workcover Regs. and b)there is way too much complacency among workers today. The mindset that nothing had gone wrong before so I'll be fine without PPE(personal protective equipment) today is all too common. At the end of the day a big problem is that if a worker kicks up a fuss about safety he will often be put out the door (even though this is illegal) because there is always some other moron out there that is happy to do the job unsafely for a quick buck! I have my own fall prevention equipment for working at height and use it all the time. Having your own equipment is the safest way as you know exactly what happens with it and what condition it has been in. Not really a bad investment. It is very sad that this has happened as it is often people like this boy (fresh on the job) who are the victims. As for the company abandoning its plans to build at WL that would only be the case if legal action forced them out of business is what I think they are getting at.

No a coaster would draw more ride enthusiasts into the park, not GP. Something like a big waterpark would attract a lot of holiday makers and when you think about it an entire waterpark is more of an attraction than a single coaster. A waterpark is also something that apeals to parents because they can take the kids down there for a few hours and relax why the kids hit the slides as oposed to dragging around the park from ride to ride. The whole idea of a rival waterpark is where the DW return passes would come into it, if your gonna come out to the highway anyway to go to WnW then why not pay only a few bucks and goto the DW park?? Also your local pool argument doesn't come into it because DW wouldn't be offereing a 'pool' they would be offering a waterpark. There is also nothing to stop them putting in an additional entrance and having a waterpark only ticket to reduce the price of just visiting the water section. What I think a lot of people on this forum forget is the parks are not there just to serve us coaster nuts, we make up a very small percentage of their patrons, you have to look at the big picture :-) Thats my thoughts...value AU$0.02c

Thanks Psycho I was about to say I remember all the years of lining up for Deamon and seeing the waterfall and was pretty sure I wasn't imagining it :-)

Yup I've said it before and I'll say it again Giant Drop for sure! ...for all the reasons I said in the other thread. The whole height factor and added sensation just maked for such a much more worthwhile ride. I'd never want to line up for space probe for an hour and have the ride over and not doing much in a little over a heartbeat. The viewes with the open top crap all over the dodgy SP dome...plus the dome is such a fixed stop point for the ride (once you get there you know thats it and your about to drop) where as on GD its a bit of a mystery as you slow down so much your not quite sure if your still going or stopped at the top. Oh and SP doesn't get any credit for that waterfall, its been there since day one!

One thing has always puzzled me...why does GD have that awfuly ugly platform construction above the sled? Surely there are better ways to do maintenance which is what I'm sure its for?? Its just ever since I first saw GD I've thought this one feature spoils it making it look a bit like a building site elevator! Any ideas?

Well I'll put my vote in for TGD. I mean yeah SP has theming but these days its pretty sad and nothing more than an extension to the cue line. Even from day 1 they never really used the themed area properely and just let it fill with people cueing for the ride. It didn't take long for the TVs not to work and lights to start burning out (I CANT STAND LIGHTS NOT BEING MAINTAINED). As for the ride itself I find with SP that really by the time you really get moving the ride is over where as TGD has got that nice long fall time. Plus also these days TGD isn't a giant billboard in the sky like SP has become.

I'll second that Richard. There has been big action in the states recently with many parks canning enthusiast events and introducing zero tolerance policies in regards to unsafe riding practices. Under no circumstances should you ever attempt to interfear with the proper functioning of a restraint or safety advice. Done ruin things for those who ride safely by doing otherwise guys.

I'll second that Richard! Took me quite some time to get up there and ride cyclone and when I did I found nothing like the silky smooth ride that it was when at Luna Park.

Some great photos there Liam... Only thing is yeah they are a little bit too big. The actual physical size of them is fine of course just the image/file size is a bit too big to load nicely. Keep up the good picture hunting :-)

Oh yeah I completely forgot about Cali. Screamin... The overal look of the coaster is great too, the attempt to look like a woody has been done very well. I'd agree that its an overall great ride that doesn't really die at any time through the ride. Plus the dual track station design is great and keeps the capacity up very well.

Favourite coaster without a doubt would be Knott's Xcel, just fantastic in nearly every way. Favourite woody would definitely be Ghost Rider as I'm sure any who have had the pleasure would agree. Close to those is DJV (just not quite complete enough to top the list) and of course X which is just a stand out all of its own. I also loved Goliath but that was really a size thing which I'm sure would come with most Hypers or Gigas out there. Smoothest Corkscrew is my vote although Xcel is right there too (only ride I have never had even the slightest sickness or headache even after 50 rides). After all these years Corkscrew is still so unbelievably Smooth. You can say what you want about B&M but this Arrow has been well looked after and it just goes to show you the difference between good and bad maintenance.

Couldn't agree more. As well as just the tilting itself, saying you don't trust it because its Vekoma is just being stupid. You may say you don't like them (and I also question those motives) but lets not confuse preference with safety here! I think the concept/ride looks very interesting/exciting, would definately be something different to bring down under and Dreamworld is already hooked up with Vekoma... I've always been a big fan of the 'fishook' coaster on the stratosphere in vegas. I never quite knew how they would get the train back up top but asuming that was all worked out would this be a wicked launch!!

Hey Richard Although not directly related to your post, a short time ago in a thread I'm not sure of mention was made to an old "Mummy" attraction being reserected... I can't recall ever seing such an attraction, can you shed any light?? Thanks heaps, look forward to seeing the photos.

The wall is actualy only a false backdrop. The drive/support shafts actualy run straight through it and have counterweight arms mounted on them, hidden by the wall. The rainbow is just a unique experience, the height and extreme airtime coupled with relatively small restraints make for an exciting ride.

Its true that DJV doesn't have the best throughput however that is going to be the case with any inpulse too, by design a shuttle can only ever going to be able to have a single car. The one good thing about DJV is the staggered seating does allow for more people on the same length of train. SFMM manages pretty decent dispatch times, thing is you really need 4 crew on the floor to make it work properly... 1 giving seating assigments at the gate (the stag. seating makes it a little confusing), 2 checking restraints and 1 op (also tends to double as a pa nazi )

Hey Richard, I understand your thougts on DJV, I sort of had the same feelings too... However, trust me, as soon as you get to that thing you'll be changing your mind for sure! It doesn't even look that much in pictures but when you standing beneath it, the sheer size of the damn thing hits you. I think the Giant Pulleys on the top of the towers say it all, you know its going to be something. Getting on it only goes further change your opinion. The boomerang is one thing but hanging all that way up at 90 degrees with your entire weight only resting on your restraints is an awsome feeling, especialy in the front. Its one fantastic ride and I'd definately sooner have it over an impulse. Just one other thing, one thing that is really starting to get to me on this board (and Im not singling anyone out) is people passing judgement or giving a 'first' hand opinion on rides or parks they have never been to. I'm not talking about the sort of view Richard gave as that was just his take on it. I'm more talking about the bashing of the quality of a park or a particular coaster company (eg. vekoma) when the person has never ridden anything different. Please just everyone have something to back your opinions up with other than what you've heard. Thanx

How it works Shaun is you can't get another fastpass until your allocated time period for the one you currently have begins. So if you got your pass at 9:30am and your slot was 10:45-11:45 you wouldn't be able to get another fastpass for anything until 10:45. If you plan things out this system works really well. After about 7pm or something though that restriction comes off and you can get as many as you like...if any are still available.

Well I think they did a great job of capturing Knotts. I've been trying to convey the sheer amount of water on PP since I got back and the footage from that was awsome. You just can't do Ghostrider justice, its one AWSOME coaster, just a mile a minute from the minute the breaks come off to when they go back on again. You have to give Colossos credit just for being itself but it just doesnt compare to GR. Then of course there is Xcel, nothing can describe the feeling when you crest that apex and take the plunge back down...can't wait for TTD :-)

Yeah the fastpass system in use at Disney is great. The only think we lined up for when we were there was Splash Mountain (unfortunately at 70mins) but other than that next to no wait at all with fastpass... Even 75 wasn't bad on a day where SM got up to 180!! Its also clever how they manage your alocation on the passes and how the two lines are merged at the ride.

Sounds like you had a great day! I have to give you credit, I was pretty proud of myself for hitting disney all in a day but you managed to do mosty of BOTH parks, congrats! (I did however wind up there on the last day of spring break :-) ) I'm glad to hear you say that about Jungle Cuise, I think you might have had the same guy we did...for something I went on just because it had no line it turned into a terrific ride. Did you guy go for a cheesy disco moment as his sang the tune to The Hustle by any chance?? Indy (temple of the 4 hour line) I agree is amazing. Sadly I don't think we'll ever see a $100mil attraction down under. Best gem I found on this was the single rider que...NO WAIT I agree with Honey I Shrunk the Audience however the best bit is when you drop and you realise the whole theatre is 1 huge motion base...2nd only the the 'drop' on backdraft. You said it all about grisley and cal scremin. Best thing is the clever station design...awsome capacity.

Wow Richard as someone who did so also I can't sypathise with you more... It was just soo painful to sit through those things doing what I do :-) However if you see this show at DCA I'm sure you'll see what I'm talking about!

Just to clarify I wasn't specificaly replying to you Richard, just yours happend to be the post before mine, no attack or anything :-) I wouldn't say the number of attractions is low, perhaps the RIDE count could be considered low but there are definately a lot of attractions there. I admit I thought it quite low on the count and pretty poor before I actualy went there, but the actual park changed my mind a lot. Also I think you'd agree that if you looking for pure thrills then Disney isn't for you. Their parks a something different with some thrills thrown in but not the only piece of the pie. Just look at Disney Land, you can't really get a better 'theme' park than that and its certainly no thrill land. DCA has got a 'full package' IMO, I don't think its really intended solely as thrill park. My take on it was that it is just something with more variety than its heavily Disney themed neighbour, where as IOA is a ride park... IMO the layout of the park is not so much as incomplete but just well laid out as to alow for much future expansion and additions. I hope you enjoy it...I certainly look forward to getting over to IOA in 2005.