Mad Hatter

damn it, have to work! will be going to the park before it closes though, hopefully will take some pics.

even if they have projects going on, its a little difficult (see unsafe) to get members of the public onto a real active set. Far too many issues to deal with.

Sheikra was brilliant fun, first drop perched above for a few seconds before letting you go into the loop, then the same pause on the second as you fall through the hole, then the water before coming into the station, id certainly ride it many times if one came here.

entrance to superman pretty much wiped out a good portion of the tour and the queue area. The end of the tour incorporating the movie magic effects was basically where the entrance and gift shop for superman is. Honestly, the tour was ok but you didnt really see much in the studio lot and the special effects show at the end never really changed (its the sort of thing you only really need to see once). IMHO, its not really of important value to the park, visitors can get up close with characters and parades during the day, get photos, etc which is of more entertainment value, so there isnt a need for the tour really, certainly not in its old form. Id rather see them put the money and space towards a new attraction (come on we all need more coasters!). Edit: Just to add, from reading the last part of your post, you never actually went through the sound stages, the tour just drove between the buildings and that was about it. Only once, and this would have been quite some time ago, did they take you into a sound stage as part of the tour. I cant remember what set they were showing off at the time, but the notion of indoor rain keeps popping up in my head, maybe some of the older members will remember it. But yeah, if you thought you might get to go through the studio backlot, that definately wasnt the case. It was pretty much just driving around the lot, announcer talking about different things, whats happening, a drive through "the costume department" (a building with windows displaying famous movie costumes that you drove past), maybe the odd stage piece or prop, then ending at the movie magic effects tour thing. This was pretty much the only stage you actually got to go through, showed you a little about what they do with backgrounds (memphis belle), sound overdubbing (lethal weapon), then a little blue screen work (superman). But it was always the same and never really included any current projects.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...;action=history TBA has been removed, can see how easy it is to edit. Ill believe it when i see something substancial, until then, it just speculation about what could be done.

what about the mad mouse that was at seaworld? what happened to it?

Not in recent years, no, only B&M ride ive been on was nemesis in the UK, but that was a good 7 years ago and i was a fair bit thinner then No problems at dreamworld recently, claw was ok, but the restraints werent a great fit either. Wipeout, fit fine, though i hate it. Ill just say to you, make sure they push the harness down tight against you, make sure you breathe out to try and get a great fit. Cyclone is fine too, though my ears do cop a bit of a rubbing, i find the trick to keeping still on it is to push up with my feet, helps keep my back straight and my head up. Giant drop was fine for me? i didnt have any problems like the person above. Its not exactly comfortable, but you cant expect something to fit you perfectly if you are quite a bit larger than the average person. Tower of terror is a bit of an issue, but its just all my legs. I have longer than average legs it seems and i find the space is really cramped. I have to make really sure i sit straight up and as far back as possible otherwise im not getting in. Havent been to seaworld in quite awhile, so i cant really comment there.

ive found your exact seating position and just how tight the harness comes down makes a huge difference, not only on how much you get banged about, but also how smooth the ride really is. I found that when supported properly you dont really have too many problems at all, sure it does have a few jolts and change of directions, but its nothing that should really injure you. Because of a bit of trial and error, i really do believe that a lot of the problems people have with the ride can simply be put down to an issue of seating and sitting/fitting correctly. You could ride the ride 3 times in a row and get a totally different experience just depending on how well you are supported and your position. I found it even varies a little between seats, so if its rougher than expected, id suggest giving it a try again while sitting in a different part of the ride before ditching it. I for one love it, i actually manage to keep my head pretty still and free from being beat up, but then i started my love affair with thrill rides when i can remember the whole experience was pretty rough.

Went today, im of around average height, about 6ft, large build (and i mean large build, im not talking about being fat here, chest is a little below 130cm). Im fat at about 135kg, but ive seen much bigger people out and about every day. We went on everything today and ive got a few observations for people who arent the usual 170lbs they build these rides around. Ill be honest about it all, im not going to be nice about it, if you are fat, you are fat, deal with it, dont get upset with the term. Scooby Doo - Pretty much most people can fit, you would have to be pretty fat (much larger than iam) to have problems, the seats are fairly large, however tall people who are also overweight might have issues. The problem i found is, if you have long legs it is a little cramped (especially at the front), you have no choice but to bend your legs to fit, if you are overweight, this will mean it pushes your stomach out too. This can create problems for the lap bar, i actually saw someone who was only maybe 10kg overweight today, forced to get off the ride as he couldnt get the bar down low enough because of his long legs (this thighs wouldnt allow it to lock in place). Suggestion? if you are a little overweight and worried about riding, sit in the back of each train, this is because from behind, the leg room is much larger. The space opens up under the seats in front of you, i could stretch my feet out as far in front as possible, giving you much more room, this should give you the best opportunity to get on the ride. Lethal Weapon - Again, will take some pretty large people, with one major problem. If you have wide shoulders, even if you are in shape, you could be in for some trouble. As said before, unfortunately i have a large build coupled with my size, this means wide shoulders. Today i rode lethal weapon about half a dozen times and i have to say, it kicked my arse. Sitting in the seats, pulling the restraint down, i find that, even with my size, my stomach isnt a problem. I can pull the top down far enough so the strap has about an inch of free play left, so its far from the end of its limit. However, what i find is, the molded section designed to fit the profile of your shoulders does not even go close to fitting me. The curved edge of the padding that is designed to run down over your upper arm actually starts just over the tip of my shoulder as it leads into the upper arm. Nothing you can do about it im affraid, if you are any wider than iam, you might be forced off the ride due to discomfort, or simply not being able to get it locked in place. Suggestion? you are simply going to fit or you arent, no real way around it. However, a couple of things that might be of use if you do indeed fit on it. The harness does allow more play than superman so it has a slightly relaxed fit compared to it. If you are bigger, what i suggest you do is when the operator comes around, breathe out fairly deeply and have them see if they can get it down one more click. What i found happened is this allowed me to fill out the odd (for me) shape of the padding, creating a tighter fit, holding me in place a great deal better. Basically, what i found i could do was puff out my chest and stomach a little during the ride which really held me in place nice and snug. The difference between doing this and going about it as normal was a stark contrast. With - Tight fit, still easy to breathe, holds me in place, little impact to shoulders, kept back in the seat, easy to keep your head upright and back. Results in less banging around in the harness, my ears thanked me for it. Also results in a much smoother ride, even in some of the jolts lethal weapon has Without - Not a tight fit, can rock around a little in the seat, doesnt hold you in place quite as well. Movement means loads of force from the padding is placed on the shoulders and upper arm if like me. Very rough ride, head moves around a hell of a lot more, hard to enjoy it. Superman - The harness system is a little different and designed to be a tighter fit than usual. The only requirements, regardless of size, is simple. 1. Restraint has to come over and touch your legs (thigh), to hold you in place. 2. The Tie down across the center has a mandated yellow line in the strap. The operator has to be able to pull this strap through the buckle far enough that a yellow line stitched into it is visible from the outside. No line, no ride, thats it, even if you can fit in the harness. 3. When in place, there shouldnt be large amounts of pressure around the rib cage, the shoulder section of the harness isnt designed around this, thats why it clamps down so far on your legs. They generally require you to have a bit of space around the restraint, if you are pressed up hard against it, particulary in the middle of the chest, it will raise issues with the operator. I found this to be a tighter fit, again mainly due to leg room again. This time my stomach fat was a bit of a problem, you have to be able to pull the bar down so it touches the thigh, the lack of leg space when i rode means having to tuck your knees up a little (though both times i only rode in the very front, so someone else might be able to comment on room behind?), which means your stomach is going to get in the way. Again, its simply going to be a case of being able to fit or not. For the record, i could fit, even with my large chest size, i loved every minute of the ride and was comfortable right through it. What i did notice is the staff are on the ball as far as people go. Dont take offence if they stop you and ask if you have ridden the ride before, they only have concerns about you being able to fit in the ride. Its not their fault, they are only doing their jobs and were very courteous about the whole thing. If this happens to you, or if you have any worries about fitting, speak to the attendant at the entry to the ride, explain your situation and they will accomodate you by sending you around to the exit of the ride to test out the seating prior to lining up. They have no problems in doing this if you should ask, but make sure you ask first and explain the situation. I did this for superman after riding lethal weapon and asking if the harness comes down any tighter, it was then suggested when riding superman to speak to the attendant (or someone in the gift shop) first and get a trial fit, before lining up like everyone else. And for the record (again, lol), they werent really concerned about my girth (hah, stomach fat, nice people , but rather the width of my shoulders. I rode scooby doo 3 times before going back in the afternoon to be asked by a new attendant if i had been on the ride before (i knew what was coming), seeing as i had, i knew it wouldnt be a problem, but i asked him if it was an issue could i test fit the seat before lining up? again, no problem. So yeah, to save any embarrising situation (and frankly, i really dont think there is all that much to worry about anyway) or time lining up, just speak to someone first. Only one that might be an issue could be lethal weapon in peak times as both loading and unloading occur at the same place, and given the control panel is on the otherside of the platform. But just take a walk up the exit ramp when its being off loaded and ask, i dont think you will find its a problem, they will try to help you out. So yeah, if its of help to people out there, good, but if you are a larger size unfortunately you are going to face some issues with comfort and the ability to ride. It happens, the staff know it happens and it doesnt really bother them, so you shouldnt let it bother you either

really reckon 100 mill would go far these days for a totally new development? who has the cash in aus to put up that sort of moolah? i could think of macquire leisure, but 100 mill is a fair bit to sink into a new, untested venture.

yeah, i was saying the luthor ride wasnt a huss machine like you might have thought it was, hence the pic kinda sad (aside from all the lives lost) when you think about all those rides sitting there unused for such a long period of time.

Think you will find it is a zamperla wind shear (which i believe is similar to the vekoma built wipeout, big difference being the carriage, seats are stacked rather than back to back), maybe you were thinking of the huss rides used at movieworld instead?. On the zamperla ride its arms operate seperately just like the wipeout can. It does 2 full revolutions at the start with the arms operating seperately (its rather brief actually the program is kinda boring from then on), then they are locked in place when you loop till the end of the program. Even the pauses while inverted are like the wipeout, same with when the carriage rolls while suspended, even the reverse suspension, its very much the same feeling, but the restraint system (which is similar) held me in place better while inverted. Chest out? lol no, i wasnt about to puff my chest out, short of taking a massive deep breath i dont even know how. It didnt appear to change through the ride, it didnt feel any different and it still allowed me to move around from the first inversion right till the end. It definately wasnt comfortable and it most certainly didnt hold me secure. Edit: Pic in action

It wasnt a feeling, i was actually sliding out the bottom of my seat. Ive been on similar rides before, like the lex luthor ride at six flags new orleans when we were there recently (though its a different manufacturer i think), its definately not a normal feeling Major difference has been me (lost weight/mass), it was a totally different ride, i know the free fall feeling you get, but this wasnt just that, my legs were actually moving out across the platform edge, when we went back over i would pull my legs back in and push myself back up into the seat properly to get ready for the next inversion. Edit: Its nothing against the ride at all or anything against how DW operate it, i havent been back on it since then, so i might find things fit a little better now and it might keep me in the seat. When they release a ride i want to go on (come on, give us a new coaster), ill go back and try it again.

That would make sense if you assume that the motor was operating at peak output, which i doubt is the case. If its computer controlled its still going to be operating at a determined shaft speed, there would have to be something to determine the actual shaft speed, rather than just simply switching the motor on and off. I doubt they would simply leave current control (and in effect, the motor) to a resistance figure (basically working like a giant rheostat reducing resistance to increase the speed of the motor), it wouldnt provide accurate operation of the ride (simple things like heat increases would result in the shaft speed being reduced). The main difference with the worn motor is that it would be drawing more current (due to an increase in resistance and heat) to achieve the same speeds, its not really a case of would the shaft speed be less, but what it takes to achieve the same.

Family members came up from victoria back in 2003 and we spent a few days there, ive been on similar rides before but never the exact one at DW. I didnt like it at all, simply because i didnt feel the overhead restraint was working correctly, it was so loose fitting it actually allowed me to move around in my seat, especially while inverted twisting (legs would slide forward a good 3 inches, making me feel like i was going to fall out). I was never in any danger of falling out (simply due to the restraint mechanism), but the movement was bad enough to make me pin my forearms against the metal handles on the sides to try and keep me pushed flat back against the seat (so much so i actually managed to break the skin and end up with bruises in the shape of the metal handles which lasted about a week) . I spoke to the attendant (though i dont think he probably knew a whole lot) when the ride finished, told him my problem, asked him if they were to lock down to certain tension, so basically when it is overcome the restraints stop, he gave me a simple reply i expected (saying they were). Ive since spoken to someone who knows the rides in a little more detail and the problem can be experienced by people with large chests. Being the bulk of the upper body provides resistance to the restraint, but due to the difference in size the lower body doesnt feel like it is correctly supported. When you go inverted, and especially with twisting forces pushing you against the seat, your body mass shifts and can make for quite a bit of movement which can leave you feeling like i did. I loved the ride, being upside down was cool, just hanging there, reaching the top of the rotation and spinning through wasnt so great though, if it could have just been a little tighter it would have been a great time. Noise doesnt bother me at all, i actually think its pretty cool hearing it go through the motions, you are bound to get rust forming because of the parks location to the inlet in coomera. Whole place gets bombarded by salt, only have to look at the state of the thunderbolt in its last years to see the damage it causes. Short of recoating the whole lot, you probably arent going to be able to protect the metal as well as you could. Just have to chip/grind/blast it off and seal it when you do maintenance, nothing wrong with that.