BobFunland
Posts: 7962
Registered: 8/9/2001
Rank: Site Moderator
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 7/5/2006 7:35:11 PM
First off, Happy Independence Day! Secondly, be warned that this may become an epic..
Last July, Holiday World announced a massive wooden coaster project that raised eyebrows everywhere. It looked to be unreal - stats that makes one's eyes bulge. Then, in late September, Six Flags Great Adventure announced its 2006 capital expasion, the first Intamin Prefab woodie in America. Two distinclty different rides, two very promising rides, and yet the vast majority of attention went to southern Indiana (a 100-mile circle around Jackson, NY withheld). I felt strongly that El Toro and perhaps even moreso the Kentucky Rumbler were going to be overlooked and that Voyage was being overhyped. In early May, I rode the Rumbler, and it proved to be better than I was expecting. A few weeks later, the Voyage disappointed but was still simply excellent. A few weeks ago, upon the opening of El Toro, I decided to jet up to Philly to ride New Jersey's two latest wooden coasters, with the hi-light being El Toro on the 4th of July.
We arrived at the park about a half an hour before opening and proceeded to the gates, where we would be lectured by another enthusiast who told us that El Toro WOULD be the greatest ride any of us had been on. We didn't even provoke any conversation whatsover, these incredibly geeky enthusiasts are why I don't wear coaster apparel too often (note - I DID have a Schlitterbahn shirt on though, but I think I could have been wearing anything and he would have still tried to initiate conversation). Anyways, into the park we went, where we witnessed an opening ceremony almost identical to the one I saw at Magic Mountain in April. Bonus points for having a squad of cute teenage chicks dancing around =)
We went back towards El Toro first, not quite doing the full-blown running of the bulls. We saw a train parked on the lift, and a line about 200 guests deep, so we decided to ride Rolling Thunder. Last year, I was only able to ride the left side, and this year, only the right was open. I remembered the left being at least pretty blad - ot bad, but certainly not great either. On this occasion, the right side demonstrated to me that it is thr weaker side. It was rougher and still un-inspiring. One ride was enough for woodie credit #55. With El Toro still motionless, we decided to head over to Nitro (not that its a mile long walk or anything  ) and we took our ride in the back seat. It delivered a hell of a ride, similar yet different than my homepark's GOLIATH. Nitro remains one of my favorite coasters to date. Moving along, we decided to ride the Caped Crusader's roller coaster. Sporting the yellow lick of paint that I like so much, it was running extrememly well. Old-school B&M at its finest. While on the lift for Batman, I had seen Toro going, so we decided to traverse the park again and hop in line.
When we got into line, we were handed a ticket with a number on it - an obvious linecutting-prevention measure. As nice as it sounds, it really is ineffective if the employee isn't actually checking the numbers. Talk about a waste of money on tickets and two hourly salaries. After a modest 45 minute wait (with some decent operations that resulted in little stacking), we were up on the platform and I was able to take my first ride in the very back car. Leaving the station, I noticed how remarkably smooth the ride was. Getting to the lift, once we engaged the cable, the ride just ook off. The lift is extremely quick, and in no time, you are cresting the top nad making the turnaround. The first drop is superb - you are launched out of your seat and forced to stay there for seconds at a time. The two hills on the way "out" do much the same - extreme air that is sustained for an unimaginable amount of time. The ride is simply incredible, hard to believe, magnificent. Everything. The turnaround made for some nice visual elements both on the ride (headchoppers) and off (beautiful artwork). Going back towards the station, there<
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adriahna
Posts: 4692
Registered: 6/4/2003
Rank: Site Moderator
Skooter Junkie
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7/5/2006 8:08:58 PM
Very cool - thanks for the TR, bob. Toro sounds like a blast - we'll see if it's in my cards this season or no. I'm just glad that you all had a good time, even with the garbage you had to deal with regarding "strikingly dumb patrons" (I love that)...
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Scott
Posts: 2766
Registered: 11/7/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/5/2006 8:39:32 PM
I try to ignore crap like that in parks. I paid 60 bucks for admission, I will enjoy my day, even if I have to wait an extra 10 minutes.
Any photos?
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larrygator
Posts: 4654
Registered: 11/7/2002
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/5/2006 11:11:38 PM
That little hop on Runaway Mine Train was a real surprise, it was never there before. The changed the restraints also, instead of a single t-bar for the bench there are now individual restraints for each seat.
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hrrytraver
Posts: 1270
Registered: 7/16/2005
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/5/2006 11:44:18 PM
epic perhaps, bobf, but a good read with a mix of drama and humor and even a bit of culinary description tossed in. but no waxing poetic on the the two lovebird turtles?
Message updated 7/5/2006 11:44:36 PM by hrrytraver
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RCGenius
Posts: 1180
Registered: 12/23/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/6/2006 6:27:32 AM
That was a great TR BobFunland, with the exception of the whole security thang. It looked like you had a really great time on El Toro & the rest of your day wasn't that bad either. Back to the line cutter thang though. I can understand why you confronted the teenage girl in the first place (I hate line cutters with a passion), but personally, you should've known that she wouldn't think twice of listening to ya'll in the first place & she'd do anythang she could to get past ya'll, even if it means some physical & verbal abuse. Sorry about what happened to you larrygator too. That was completely out of line & her boyfriend shouldn't have tried to jump in it at all. That was none of his business anyway. Spending two hours in the security office can really kill a day, but I can understand your feelings. You should do what I do when it comes to line cutters. Just let them past you (what's one person jipping you going to kill anyway) & say bad thangs about them behind their backs. That usually cheers me up.
Message updated 7/8/2006 5:58:32 AM by RCGenius
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larrygator
Posts: 4654
Registered: 11/7/2002
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/6/2006 11:57:11 AM
RC - the boyfriends were cool and didn't cause any problem. The guys that caused trouble were a completely diferent group.
You are right I should not have been so stupid to think that I could not convince the girl that she was cutting the line. It only took one second of conversation with her to understand that she was not going to be rational. The expectation was that security would actually address the matter while it was happening not 15 minutes later.
I have let plenty of people pass me in the past with incident. This woman was just pushing through the line is an extremely rude manner. And it wasn't simply a matter of letting one person pass. They was a whole mob of people cutting through the line until someone stood up and tried to do something.
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BobFunland
Posts: 7962
Registered: 8/9/2001
Rank: Site Moderator
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7/6/2006 7:17:04 PM
I'm working on the photos but here is the first:
http://uploads.coasterenthusiast.com/et-stitch.jpg
RCG, WTF does your myspace page have to do with anything here???
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RCGenius
Posts: 1180
Registered: 12/23/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/6/2006 9:00:44 PM
Quote:
BobFunland said:
RCG, WTF does your myspace page have to do with anything here??? |
I know that it doesn't have anythang to do with this trip report, but I was just saying that I haven't been on here for a lil bit & it was off topic anyway which's why I said "Back on topic" for the second paragraph.
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Hercules
Posts: 4037
Registered: 10/13/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/6/2006 9:20:54 PM
^ Dude, you weren't here for three days. Well, at least you didn't make an I'm back thread. 
Isn't El Toro the most beautiful wooden structure you have ever seen?
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mrceagle
Posts: 13804
Registered: 6/9/2001
Rank: TPC News Minister
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7/6/2006 10:58:25 PM
Sweet pic. Looking forward to the rest of them. Good TR. except for that one huge problem sounds like a good day.
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Miracles can be made with a rock!
"Get a good idea and stay with it. dog it and work at it untile it's done, and don right." Walt Disney
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Cyclonic
Posts: 2636
Registered: 7/19/2002
Rank: Experiment 626
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7/7/2006 2:36:04 PM
Jeez, I wish it ran 5 trains.
And RCG, you're a moron! If you want to advertise your little Myspace nonsense, that is what the sig line can be used for, of start a thread in the FON where none of us will have to read it.
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My Track Record
Penncoasters.com
 
The insensitivity rolls on...
Message updated 7/8/2006 6:01:17 AM by Cyclonic
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Hercules
Posts: 4037
Registered: 10/13/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/7/2006 2:47:45 PM
Let alone, at the same time.
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RCGenius
Posts: 1180
Registered: 12/23/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/8/2006 6:03:22 AM
Quote:
Cyclonic said:
And RCG, your a moron! |
I'll admit that I was being a moron by representing my MySpace page, which's why I edited my reply & got rid of it. I didn't think that all of ya'll were going to flame out at me like that. I'll calm down with that mess & get my head in the game with roller coasters & amusement parks again. By the way, the next time you insult me, make sure that you use correct word associations (i.e. you're instead of your).
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erinys
Posts: 230
Registered: 9/28/2005
Rank: Bronze Critic
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7/8/2006 7:48:49 AM
Oh man, the moon isn't even completely full yet. . . .
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hrrytraver
Posts: 1270
Registered: 7/16/2005
Rank: Platinum Critic
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 7/8/2006 8:29:30 AM
Quote:
RCGenius said:
By the way, the next time you insult me, make sure that you use correct word associations (i.e. you're instead of your). |
apologies to bobfun, for derailing this topic even farther.
RCG, i DID think it was funny that cyclonic called you a moron, while incorrectly using a possessive adjective instead of the 2nd person noun-verb subject.
however, when YOU called him out on that, you asked him to use "correct associations", which is entirely wrong. you could say "correct word usage", but that would sound awkward, because you already said "use". how about, "next time you insult me, please use correct grammar"? incidentally, there is no such thing as a "correct word association". words have correct MEANINGS which are more or less set (but can change over time), but the ASSOCIATIONS of a word are never set and can vary depending on culture, time, and place etc.
Incidentally, I am fully aware that nitpicking grammar is condescending and annoying, and therefore encourages offended parties to in turn nitpick the offending post. Thus, I have tried my best to purge this post of grammatical and spelling errors. For Cyclonic, I have offered the additional service of correctly capitalizing this paragraph.
now, any nitpickers want to have a go at this post?
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Hercules
Posts: 4037
Registered: 10/13/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/8/2006 11:20:06 AM
You should capitalize all of your "I's" and each word at the beginnging of your sentences
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Cyclonic
Posts: 2636
Registered: 7/19/2002
Rank: Experiment 626
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7/8/2006 1:16:14 PM
Quote:
RCGenius said:
I'll admit that I was being a moron by representing my MySpace page, which's why I edited my reply & got rid of it. I didn't think that all of ya'll were going to flame out at me like that. I'll calm down with that mess & get my head in the game with roller coasters & amusement parks again. By the way, the next time you insult me, make sure that you use correct word associations (i.e. you're instead of your). |
Funny thing is, I had noticed the error and corrected it before your post (if only by a few minutes). I decided it would be a good idea to elaborate on why I think you are a moron as well.
Thus, I still stand behind my statement, RCG, you're a moron!
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Cyclonic
Posts: 2636
Registered: 7/19/2002
Rank: Experiment 626
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7/8/2006 1:18:01 PM
Quote:
hrrytraver said:
now, any nitpickers want to have a go at this post? |
Yeah, learn what the shift key is on all of your paragraphs!
But, I already told you this
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RCGenius
Posts: 1180
Registered: 12/23/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/8/2006 8:42:09 PM
Whatever Cyclonic  . If you think that I'm a moron, that's your opinion, so I'm not going to argue with you anymore. There's no point of me continuing this as it's not going to get us anywhere. Besides, you're still cool & one of my favorite TPC members here.
Message updated 7/8/2006 9:15:30 PM by RCGenius
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Cyclonic
Posts: 2636
Registered: 7/19/2002
Rank: Experiment 626
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7/8/2006 10:07:06 PM
Thanks Neville
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sfo1
Posts: 5359
Registered: 7/22/2003
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/8/2006 10:33:02 PM
RCGenius showing signs of appeasement?
I'm not adequately percieving the above post, perhaps, but the application of RC to Chamberlain strikes me oddly. Elaboration on the statement?
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BobFunland
Posts: 7962
Registered: 8/9/2001
Rank: Site Moderator
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7/9/2006 12:34:06 AM
Is this even a TR anymore? 
Message updated 7/9/2006 12:34:18 AM by BobFunland
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larrygator
Posts: 4654
Registered: 11/7/2002
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/9/2006 2:12:56 PM
It's not the first thread to go off topic, but your TR was good.
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BobFunland
Posts: 7962
Registered: 8/9/2001
Rank: Site Moderator
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7/9/2006 2:44:08 PM
It's all good, this is much more entertaining than a TR 
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Animan1
Posts: 5394
Registered: 5/14/2003
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/11/2006 5:23:33 PM
Great TR, Bob. This certainly has ballooned into a much bigger issue than reports generally become on this site, but it definitely has been interesting. Your experience with the line-cutters sounds like it was fun (not), and essentially never get on people's cases for line-jumping, it's cool that you did (sort of, seeing as what happened). At any rate, great report once again, and I'm glad to hear that at least one of this year's new woodies meets your expectations.
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