SluggoBear

Not all those who wander are lost.

Universal Studios Orlando announces new hi-tech coaster for 2009
Mike - Face pic
[info]sluggobear


From the park's press release:

LIGHTS . . . CAMERA . . . COASTER!

Adrenaline pumping and music thumping, you find yourself heading straight toward the sky. Suddenly, you are doing 65 mph, 17 stories over Universal Studios. Gasping with excitement, you rock out to a song you picked before strapping in. And, it’s all on video. Once the adventure is over, you edit the video to send to your friends.

This is true high-tech, customizable, multi-sensory entertainment. Scheduled to open in spring 2009, Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit will stake its claim as the most technologically advanced roller coaster in the world. The Universal Creative team is combining audio and special effects engineering, sophisticated on- and off-board video and one-of-a-kind guest personalization to create a roller coaster experience unlike any other.

Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit touts six near-miss moments and first-ever thrills including a record-breaking loop. Ride vehicles feature the brightest and most innovative color changing LEDs in the world. High-energy visual displays fill the queue line. With up to four ride vehicles on the tracks at any given time, and with concert lighting and special effects mixed in, Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit will be a true high-intensity, multi-sensory experience that is unmatched.

Guests can customize their ride experience by choosing what song will play while they’re on the roller coaster. LED boards in the queue lines will display song options from five genres (classic rock, rap, country, pop and disco). Once on-board, guests can choose their song or let the coaster’s digital sound system choose for them. When the ride is over, guests will be able to customize footage from their experience and compile it into a take-home music video.

New Batman-themed family coaster coming to Six Flags
Mike - Coaster
[info]sluggobear
This new family-style coaster will debut at Six Flags parks in Illinois, New Jersey and Massachusetts in 2008.


Roller Coaster Tycoon - a little imagination
Mike - Coaster
[info]sluggobear
(YouTube, 5 minutes, work-safe.)


An interesting article about the "X" Coaster at Magic Mountain
Coaster - X
[info]sluggobear
From DailyNews.com:
VALENCIA - It twists and spins and hurdles its riders, but all those thrills come at a cost.

For riders, experiencing "X" can mean more than four hours in line. For Magic Mountain at Six Flags California, the ride's complexity has meant cost overruns, legal battles and engineering nightmares as wild as the head-over-heels roller coaster.

X, which was supposed to cost $6.6 million, ended up costing more than $17 million, according to court documents. And technical kinks are still being worked out, five years after it opened.

Coaster fans celebrated the idea behind X as a head-spinning concept. Ultimaterollercoaster.com wrote in a 2002 article, "Initial reaction to X was almost disbelief. Had the ride designer gone insane?"

X is still not running at its full capacity of 1,680 people an hour, contributing to the long lines. The ride needs to have three trains running to hit 1,680 an hour, and it normally has two, said Magic Mountain spokeswoman Sue Carpenter.
The whole story:
http://www.dailynews.com/santaclarita/ci_5203484

Back from DisneyWorld
Mike - Coaster
[info]sluggobear
Dad was going to be in Orlando for a business trip. "Why don't you come for the weekend?" he asked. "You can stay in my hotel room."

Southwest owed me a free air ticket, and I had a free weekend car rental coming to me too. What the heck, why not?! So I flew to Orlando on Friday night. Went to Busch Gardens on Saturday, then hit DisneyWorld on Sunday. And on to New Jersey for work on Monday.

Here are the pics:
http://www.kinetwork.com/mikey/photogallery/2006-mar-buschgardens/
http://www.kinetwork.com/mikey/photogallery/2006-mar-disneyworld/


Headline from The Onion: GEICO Saves 15 Percent Or More By Discontinuing Advertising

Word of the day: antithesis

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