HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: buck@cavlry.enet.dec.com
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Re: Counting of coasters
Date: 7 Oct 92 14:46:12 GMT
Article-I.D.: engage.1992Oct7.144612.10656
Reply-To: buck@cavlry.enet.dec.com ()
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation

>Well I guess I was mistaken then...If racers count twice, and
>no flume rides, then I would have 36 coasters on my puny list.
>OK that still is better than 30.  =)

NOt all Racers count as "2" -- I guess it comes down
to the fact that if you separated them, would they
actually be two separate rides??

La Montana Rusa, Kennywood's Racer, and Blackpool's
Grand National are "continuous track" coasters, and
only count as one ride (in fact, you need to ride 
BOTH sides just to get the one ride count).


>By the way Bill, I haven't been to the Point since that bobsled
>ride was "changed".  Just out of curiosity, what did they do to
>it?  The impression I'm getting is that they built a building 
>around it and it is in the dark or something.  

It's all enclosed, with strobe lights and such.  I thought the
ride was an absolute DOG as the Bobsleds, but the darkness gives
the illusion of greater speed, and was MUCH more enjoyable!!


B.
From: sld@cbnewse.cb.att.com (steve.l.dennis)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Re: A simulated coaster ride
Summary: Anyone remember Cinerama!
Date: 7 Oct 92 18:24:36 GMT
Article-I.D.: cbnewse.1992Oct7.182436.10010
Organization: AT&T


I remember while I was in high school, they re-released the Cinerama
movies and my folks took us to most of them. The very first one called
"This is Cinerama" began with a sequence taken on the "Atom Smasher"
at Rye Playland. Since the screen was sooooo big, the effect was really
pretty good. Combined with 15-track stereo sound, it was quite an experience.

Also, a promo for the Todd-AO process was shown before the roadshow
engagement of "Oklahoma!" and it featured the coaster from Pacific Ocean
Park (the Sea Serpent??) as part of the demo. I've never seen this shown
since 1956. I guess it's probably lost in a warehouse.

Just my $.02....

Steve Dennis
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: sld@cbnewse.cb.att.com (steve.l.dennis)
Subject: Oops!
Organization: AT&T
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 18:29:11 GMT
Keywords: Rockaway..not Rye!!

I must have had a momentary lapse of memory. The Atom Smasher was at
Rockaway's Playland NOT Rye. Rockaway was torn down some years ago.
Does anyone have any interesting war stories about the park or the
coaster???

Steve Dennis - "Woodie Twisters Lover"
From: mac18@po.CWRU.Edu (Michael A. Cornell)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Re: Original names for coasters
Date: 13 Oct 1992 15:55:06 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc12.ins.cwru.edu


Well you know...they may not like Freddy Kreuger's Intestines.

BUT.....they may like something even MORE original.

FREDDY - THE RIDE

Yup..they would probably eat that name right up.

Personally, I still think "Big Yellow Banana" is the perfect name
It's just so stupid, it might just work.

OK here's some more original names

I'll stick to creatures this time

Will 'O Wisp - Lightning fast ride
The Toad - Something really ugly
Centipede - for the ride with an extra long train
Succubus - For a suspended that's an evil bitch of a ride
Pit Fiend - For the ride that is built around a large pit
Pit Bull - Same as above
Minotaur - for the ride that is in an indoor maze
Pegasus - For a really high flying ride, like a big woodie 
Salamander - the slippery twisty ride
Wyvern - A name for a ride that was going to be Dragon ride
Yeti - For a ride made about an artifical Mountain

Well that's it 4 now

Mike "I like original names" Cornell

Sorry I couldn't help myself, I had to do the quote thing
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: wjf@controls.ccd.harris.com (Bill Figie)
Subject: Re: Counting of coasters
Originator: wjf@rs2
Organization: Harris Controls
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 16:59:13 GMT


In article <1aurnmINNdlk@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, mac18@po.CWRU.Edu
|> (Michael A. Cornell) writes:
|> 
|> Well I guess I was mistaken then...If racers count twice, and
|> no flume rides, then I would have 36 coasters on my puny list.
|> OK that still is better than 30.  =)
|> 
|> By the way Bill, I haven't been to the Point since that bobsled
|> ride was "changed".  Just out of curiosity, what did they do to
|> it?  The impression I'm getting is that they built a building 
|> around it and it is in the dark or something.  
|> 
|> Just looking for a clue.
|> 
|> Mike Cornell
|> 
|> How do you work those editor thingys to get the ACTUAL type
|> from someone else's post on your post?...asked the sig.

 
Mike,

   What Cedar Point did was to enclose the entire ride in
several large buildings with a couple tubes completely
surrounding some of the track that couldn't be covered easily
and inexpensively.  The building is quite impressive.  They
theamed it as a rocket gone off course (or something like that).
 There is a nice and cool (temperature that is) waiting area
with robots and stuff like that.  It is not quite up to Disney
style but it is pretty good.  The main thing they did for the
ride was it is all in the dark.  I don't remember if it is 100%
dark but it is very, very dark.  You don't have any idea which
way you will be going next.  This really adds a lot to the feel
of the ride, just like a night ride on a coaster is almost
always more fun then the day rides.  It was so good that if the
line hadn't been as long as it was when we rode it last year, I
would have gone again.  Unfortunately, it cost CP several
million dollars to modify the ride and was their major
improvement one year.

   I know we talked about the subject of coaster counting
several months ago.  I even posted a couple times (my first
posts on this group).  But while looking through some old
magazines I saw DT and thought about how it counts because it is
so much different.  I also like to see discussion on this group.
 I seems to have been kind of thin lately.  I remember several
months ago when Dale English was still posting, it wouldn't be
uncommon for me to come in in the morning and see 15 to 20 posts.

   I for one don't know how to do thos editor things to get
someones type into your post.  You probably wonder how I did it
then.  Well I have an X-term and I run xrn which is windowish. 
I select follow up from the bottom pick area, and then pick
include article and edit out what I don't like.  Perhaps there
is someone out there that uses something than a GUI that can
explain it to you.

   As a parting shot, one project I have been working on is an
article for RC! on RC!  Here is a sneak peak of one statistic I
have spent hours collecting.  Do you know that over the course
of almost 15 years of Coaster Worlds and RollerCoasters! we have
published over 2500 black and white photos.  That statistic sure
did surprised me.

	Bill "do it in the dark" Figie
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: asente@adobe.com (A Usenet Pal)
Subject: Re: Coasters with LESS restrictions???
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 06:10:20 GMT

In article <1992Oct2.115152.16143@ccd.harris.com> wjf@controls.ccd.harris.com (Bill Figie) writes:
>   You can't be talking about the wood coaster at Tivoli can you?

Yeah, that's the one. It was actually stopping to let people board when we
were there 2 years ago.  The interesting part was that it was partially
indoors, going around the fun house, and it was about 1 foot from the walls
inside.  If you stuck your hand out, you'd get damaged for sure.

There was also the Odin Express, I think by Herr S.  Basically a figure eight
with an extra loop in each branch; went around multiple times, each time
faster than the previous.  Sped through the station where people were waiting
to board with no gates between them and the train.

__   -paul asente
\/     asente@adobe.com   ...decwrl!adobe!asente   moo-bear@cs.stanford.edu

o       In China's remote Dimsum province, oxen are used in
        place of technical writers, with no apparent loss of
        readability.
From: wjf@controls.ccd.harris.com (Bill Figie)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Re: A simulated coaster ride
Date: 12 Oct 92 16:48:13 GMT
Article-I.D.: ccd.1992Oct12.164813.10929
Organization: Harris Controls
Originator: wjf@rs2


In article <1b525vINN6m@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>,
 cf170@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Kevin R. Russell) writes to Bill Figie:

|> Have you tried "Back to the Future" at USF?  I have been on Questor
|> and an SR2 And I liked BttF by Intamin much better.

No Kevin, I have not.  Would you believe that I am only 50 miles away
from the attractions and have not been on it.  My wife and I usually go
twice a year to one of the local attractions.  We last went to Disney
and before that to Disney/MGM.  We were planning on going for my
birthday to Universal but we decided to go to the IAAPA/TGIII thing in
November and put off Universal till after Christmas and ski vacation.  I
really want to go back to Universal because we liked it when we went
just prior to the opening of BTTF ride.  I really spend too much of my
time with my home computer writing letters and letters-to-the-editor for
ACE Publications and my video collections.  It seems every weekend I
must spend several hours on my collection.  I do have several pieces in
my video collection that shows much of the movie that is shown and some
of the effects in the ride but seeing it on my TV and experiencing it in
person is a different story.

		Bill "a Back To The Future virgin" Figie
From: curt@foundation.wpd.sgi.com (Curt Schimmel)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Re: Walt Disney World coming attractions
Date: 13 Oct 92 01:28:06 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.  Mountain View, CA
NNTP-Posting-Host: foundation.wpd.sgi.com

In <1bcfl2INNgqq@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> pab@po.CWRU.Edu (Pete Babic) writes:


>In a previous article, geoff@pmafire.inel.gov (Geoff Allen) says:

>>This info comes to you hot from rec.arts.disney.
>>
>>p.s. The ``Tower of Terror'' is the 13-story free fall that Disney is
>>     building.
>>

>Just wondering, is the Disney free fall an Intamin Free Fall or is it 
>a different mechanism?

I don't know myself.  The artist's rendering however shows many elevators
in the "Tower" (sort of looked like the interior of an old style hotel),
so my guess is that the free fall part is themed to be an elevator out
of control.  I would doubt that this is all there is to ride.  The jist
of the descriptions I've heard is that there are many other "terrors"
before encountering the free-fall finale.  My guess, therefore, is
that it's a different mechanism.

Curt
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: wjf@controls.ccd.harris.com (Bill Figie)
Subject: Disney World announces plans for 1990's
Originator: wjf@rs2
Organization: Harris Controls
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 17:01:11 GMT


I meant to post this this morning while it was fresh in my mind. 
There was an article in my local paper that described some of
Disney Worlds plans for the 1990's.  It wasn't very exciting. 
They did not mention any rides or anything like that.  I only
hope that that is understood or that they will continue on with
there plans as announced a couple years ago.  The do plan on
opening several more hotels (oh boy).  One will be themed as a
sports hotel where the lobby is a giant whistle.  The second is
themed as a music hotel where the swimming pool will be guitar
shaped.  The will be adding over 3000 rooms.  They are also
planning to add another water park.  I think that is all the
major news.  No news on any rides, parks, or attractions. 
Nothing on Boardwalk either.  Disney is turning into a hotel
operator. 

	Bill "I wish B&B was still here" Figie
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: mapike@sei.cmu.edu (Mary Ann Pike)
Subject: Re: Unique Amusement Rides (old ones)
Organization: Software Engineering Institute
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 15:10:06 GMT

More unique rides:

Kennywood has this very old ride called simply Auto Race. It's basically a
wooden platform with a track cut into it, so that the cars run on the
track sitting about 2 feet (I think) below the platform. The cars go very
fast, much faster than most of the antique car-type rides.

There is a horserace ride somewhere (Cedar Point?) that I've never had the
chance to ride...Looks like an up-side-down carousel, if I remember
correctly (horses controlled from the bottom). The horses seem to go very
fast.

Mary Ann Pike   (mapike@sei.cmu.edu)    
Software Engineering Institute          
Carnegie-Mellon University              
Pittsburgh PA
From: maglione@media.mit.edu (Tom Maglione)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Re: A simulated coaster ride
Summary: A correction.
Date: 14 Oct 92 00:39:23 GMT
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory

In article <1992Oct13.172406.4352@news.media.mit.edu> maglione@media.mit.edu (Tom Maglione) writes:
(old stuff deleted)
 I am correcting my own mistake; I inadvertently called Disney's simulator
Star Wars, when everyone knows I meant to say Star Tours. That's what I get
for posting an article before my second cup of coffee!

Tom Maglione
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: maglione@media.mit.edu (Tom Maglione)
Subject: Re: A simulated coaster ride
Summary: My experiences.
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 00:55:42 GMT

In article <1992Oct6.200511.11142@sei.cmu.edu> mapike@sei.cmu.edu (Mary Ann Pike) writes:
>While at the mall the other day, I noticed that they had one of those
>simulators that looks like a miniature version of a shuttle from Star Trek.
>They were running a simulation of the Beast, but, unfortunately, I didn't
>have the time to try it out (we were late for my neices' birthday party).
>
>I was wondering if anyone had tried this particular simulation out, and 
>how it compared to actually riding the roller coaster. I've never been in
>a simulator like this. I've been in those 360-vision things, but you don't
>have any motion to match your visual input, so I find them very unpleasant.
>This simulator actually moves, so it might be more like the experiencing
>the event for real.
> (some stuff deleted)

Well, Mary Ann, you didn't give particulars as to the vendor of the
simulator that you described, so I can't be totally accurate. But my
limited experiences with simulators leaves me intrigued with the technology.
However, my actual experiences, especially when they try to simulate a coaster,
have been vicarious in the true sense: you can be thrown about quite a bit
by these simulators (some require seatbelts or other restraints), but
you never get the negative or positive or lateral G forces that just
about any good real coaster will give you. Not to mention the feeling of
momentum experienced whenever you are traveling at some non-zero rate of
speed.
A major concern of mine involves the eventual replacement of real coaster
rides with simulators like this; the reason is financial: the simulators
represent only a fraction of the cost of building and maintaining a real
coaster ride. And, the simulator vendors always underscore the point that
repeat rides are always possible because once the program is changed, the
simulation is brand new all over again. Basically, this is a
hardware/software issue: once you purchase the hardware (the simulator
machinery), you can always change the software (the computer program and
film that accompany a particular simulation) for a smaller amount of $ than
it would have cost for more new hardware, etc.
I'd like to think that simulation will remain an interesting technology, but
will never replace the real thing!

Tom "There's nothing like the real thing" Maglione.
From: foo@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Themes at SF Parks
Date: 15 Oct 92 10:08:42 -0500
Organization: Carnegie Mellon Computer Club

Hmm.. having only really gotten hooked this year.. I only can comment on
4 SF parks..  Texas, Astroworld, Mid-America, and Great America.  This info
is pretty current since I have seen all this summer.

I used to live near Great America and it never struck me as particularly
themed (tho at this time it was owned by the Marriot chain also).  Especially
having lived before that near Disneyland.. there was no apparent theme or
thought as to how to seamlessly ADD to the park without taking away from 
PREVIOUS ideas.  One things that really struck me too.. was the use of
blacktop when in the heat of summer you MELT on it.  In disneyland. they NEVER
used to use blacktop but instead opted for the more expensive concrete.

Mid America is loosely themed, but is a much smaller park overall.. my friends
and I also found very few roller coasters worth riding there.  But the back-
drop of the park against a small mountain (or hill) is very interesting.

Texas is the park I see from day to day (I live right next door) and tho the
FIRST.. (and still one of the best).. I think that the original themes are
getting lost as new additions take place (for example.. the toboggan ride
is in the SPAIN section..).

The MOST themed of the four to me is Astroworld, and mostly cause they still
STRONGLY push the themed areas even today.  As you walk in the park you DO
get the sense that they tried to set up an ambience.  But again, that is MHO.
One good example is the ornate chinese design to the station of the VIPER
there.  They also had a Bavarian look for the Mine Train Clone.  

Hope this helps.. 

foo@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu
From: maglione@media.mit.edu (Tom Maglione)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Re: Coaster Names
Summary: My $0.02 about naming coasters.
Date: 14 Oct 92 00:31:09 GMT
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory

In article <1bcoonINN7n2@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> mac18@po.CWRU.Edu (Michael A. Cornell) writes:
> (some stuff deleted)
>if someone could compile these names and take them to the industry
>we could hopefully stop the practice of having 20 rides with the
>same name across the country.  It's gonna happen, but it happens
>TOO much.  Thanx in advance, and PLEASE contribute your own names.
>
>Mike "The Coaster-Namer" Cornell
>
Well, Mike, I mostly agree with your frustration about non-unique names and
re-used names for coasters. I also don't like the idea of naming and theming
coasters after ephemeral events like movie releases. I agree that once the
original hype dies down, you get stuck with a terrible monniker which sticks.
It does make financial sense, though, if you recall that Warner Bros. holds
a major share in the Six Flags chain and also produces the Batman movies, I
believe. I think this corporate greed is leading them into making dumb
marketing decisions like naming/theming a coaster after a movie.
In a similar vein, I was flabbergasted when at Eastcoaster two years ago;
it was held at Great Adventure on a nice day, so we went outside to view
the constructon site for the Shock Wave standup coaster. Ray Williams, 
President of SFGA, was telling us about the coaster naming contest they
held to name the coaster at SFGA. Well, recall that the same coaster had
been moved from SF Magic Mountain, where it was called Shock Wave. Then,
Ray Williams had the gall to tell us that they picked the name Shock Wave
as the winning entry!!! Give me a major break! They even awarded some prize
to the 5 or 6 contestants who submitted the shock wave name. Bogus!
I think the naming went much better when coasters were named after evil
weather phenomema.

Tom "bring back the Revere Lightening or the Coney Tornado" Maglione.
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: maglione@media.mit.edu (Tom Maglione)
Subject: Re: Kennywood Kangaroo description & more old rides questions
Summary: Sounds like the Flying Coaster Ride at Waldameer Park.
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 23:36:07 GMT

In article <1992Oct15.150655.25306@sei.cmu.edu> mapike@sei.cmu.edu (Mary Ann Pike) writes:
>Someone asked for a description of Kennywood's Kangaroo. It's a set of
>about 8 hydraulic spokes with one car on each spoke that kind-of resembles
>a car from the arm of a Scrambler. Each car has a wheel on the bottom, and
>the car faces forward in the direction of motion (counter-clockwise). The
>cars roll along the ground in a circle, except that at one point there is
>a ramp that is about 6 feet high, and the cars roll up the ramp, fall off
>the end, and the hydraulic arm brings them (relatively) gently to the
>ground, where they continue around the circle. If you like airtime, this
>is a fun ride. If you don't hold on, you get launched quite nicely at the
>top of the ramp.

This sounds very much like the Flying Coaster ride at Waldameer Park.
>
>Some other old rides I haven't seen for a while and would like to know if
>any still exist:
>
>West View used to have a Trabant - I haven't seen one of these anywhere
>in years.

I believe that Whalom Park in Mass. has a Trabant, original style.
>
>Someone mentioned a park with Teacups...I think Kennywood used to have one
>of these, but took it out to put in their Raging Rapids ride. These must
>be rather scarce, too.

Clementon Lake Park in New Jersey had a Teacups ride when I was there last,
probably two years ago.
>
>West View also used to have a Round-Up...I think Conneaut Lake has a
>covered one. I'm sure that these are not as scarce as other rides, but
>I don't think you can usually find them at the bigger parks.

If the Round-Up is like the old Satellite ride, I think Canobie Lake Park
in New Hampshire has one. Otherwise, if the Round-Up is like the old
Caterpiller Ride, then Canobie Lake has one of these, too.
>
>Mary Ann Pike   (mapike@sei.cmu.edu)    
>Software Engineering Institute          
>Carnegie-Mellon University              
>Pittsburgh PA                                   

Tom Maglione
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: geoff@pmafire.inel.gov (Geoff Allen)
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 92 14:23:58 GMT
Organization: Roller Coaster fanatic with no hope for a cure
Subject: Seats: you choose vs. they choose (Re: 2nd BATMAN!! - was Re: SHOCKWVAE heads south!)
Summary: 
Followup-To: 
Organization: Roller Coaster fanatic with no hope for a cure
Keywords: 

cf170@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Kevin R. Russell) writes:

>>Another thing that bothers me about Six Flags, is their INSISTANCE
>>on the fact that you don't care where you sit.  I mean every seat
>>gives the same ride, so therefore you really shouldn't care.
>>
>>Six Flags should try catering to the public, and build a station
>>where you can actually choose where you want to sit.  The other
>>way may make the line move faster, but I'll take that extra time to
>>sit where I want to.
>
>As I recall, SFMM lets you stand in a separate line for the front coach
>I remember the queue line splitting into three, with one line going
>to the front, one to the middle three coaches and one to the back 
>three coaches for the Viper.  Not perfect but a step in the right direction

Admittedly, it's been 10 or 11 years since I've been to Magic Mountain,
but I distinctly remember waiting for my choice of seats on the
Revolution and Gold Rusher.  I don't recall for sure on Colossus or the
Mountain Express.  That was all the coasters that were there at that time.

As for other parks, Lagoon lets you choose on their woodie (with the
exception of ``no single riders'' in the first or last seats) and the
Jet Star II.  The Fire Dragon (Schwarzkopf Doppel Looping coaster)
doesn't have enough *room* to let you choose, since it's so compact. 
Puff, the kiddie coaster, lets enough people onto the platform to fill
one train, so if you're first, you get your choice of seats, if you're
last, you take what's left.

Sillverwood lets you choose your seat on their standard Arrow Corkscrew. 
Waiting for the first or last seat means you'll have to wait for two or
three trains instead of catching the next one to leave the station. ;^)

I don't remember Opryland completely.  I know I *didn't* get a choice on
Chaos or the Screamin' Delta Demon.  They might have let us choose on
the Rock-n-Roller Coaster (Arrow mine train) and the Wabash Cannonball
(standard Arrow Corkscrew).

Disneyland doesn't let you choose.

Others?

Geoff ``Seat for two in the last row, non-smoking, please'' Allen

-- 
Geoff Allen          \  Computers are useless.  
uunet!pmafire!geoff   \  They can only give you answers.
geoff@pmafire.inel.gov \		-- Pablo Picasso