HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: buck@cavlry.enet.dec.com ()
Subject: Re: How do I get Amusement Business???
Reply-To: buck@cavlry.enet.dec.com ()
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 14:36:41 GMT

Hi Kevin, 

Amusment Business (AB) is a weekly publication which covers 
ALL aspects of the entertainment industry...including water 
parks, amusement parks, theme parks, traveling carnivals, 
state fairs, concerts, sporting events, trade shows, ANYTHING 
to do with public supplied entertainment!

AB is always on the ball about the latest and hottest news!!  
And you can always count on what you read in AB.  AB is not
available via news stands, but a subscription can be ordered
from the following address:

                        Amusement Business
                        Subscription Dept.
                        P.O. Box 41527
                        Nashville, TN  37204-9945


NOTE -- AB is pricey!  For ore-paid/credit card orders, the 
price of a yearly subscription (53 issues) is...

     $85.00 - USA
    $105.00 - Canada
    $115.00 - Overseas


There are also rates for a half-year (6 months) subscription, but 
I don't have them off the top of my head.


Cheers,
Buck
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 19:00:42 -0400 
From: Tracy Aulfinger <tf1g+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Kennywood's schedule?

Kennywood is closed for the season after Labor Day--except for today
there was a special day for IAAPA.  They say this is the first and last
day after labor day that they will ever be open...

We just got back from the special K-Wood party & the Thunderbolt was
absolutely wonderful!

Happy Off-Season,

Trace
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: buck@cavlry.enet.dec.com ()
Subject: Re: Grand Slam Canyon
Keywords: Circus Circus, Las Vegas
Reply-To: buck@cavlry.enet.dec.com ()
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 12:56:43 GMT

David B. Hempling,


Dave, are you the ACEer from PA?  Were you at Lagoon
a while ago and also at Lake Compounce on Monday??


>Saw a small report on the Last Vegas, Circus Circus Amusment Park
>project on an early morning news report this morning. The report
>included shots of a model of the proposed park. 
>
[misc text deleted]
>
>A Circus Circus spokesman boasted that this will be the first completely
>enclosed amusement park. Plans are to open in 1994. 

Amusement Business reported this week that the park will be completed
and open in July, 1993!

???


Also, the steel coaster contract went to Arrow Dynamics, and the 
model you described is correct -- the steelie will be a 4 looper
(two verticle, and a full corkscrew).  Grand Slam Canyon will
be built on the roof of the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.


Buck
From: maglione@media.mit.edu (Tom Maglione)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Lake Compounce and their Wildcat coaster.
Summary: Sunday's story.
Date: 8 Sep 92 02:53:01 GMT
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory

I got to make it down to Lake Compounce this past Sunday and was very happy
that I did. The Wildcat was running fast and furious. The atmosphere in the
park was like that in a traditional amusement park: there were concession
vendors set up all along the main midway, some selling great souvenir
shirts commemorating the 147th anniversary of continuous operations at the
park. I got in about 10 rides on the Wildcat between about 1:15 PM and
closing time at 10:00 PM. I went down there with Nancy McGrath and met up
with Ken Simmons (another ACE member) and Tracy and Gary Aulfinger. Later
that night we met four ACE members from Connecticut, and there was a young
girl with an ACE T-shirt on who rode the coaster all day, too. The carousel
was operating, so we took a spin on it, too, well worth the ride, it sports
some really nice artwork. Then we took a train ride around the lake after
dark, and that gave us the best sight: the lights from all the rides reflected
off the still smooth waters of the lake and really looked great. We even got
to meet "Stretch" Norton, a really nice guy, he was largely responsible for
getting the park up and running for these recent four days. Apparently
everyone working there was volunteering, except for the concession vendors
who were making a reasonable profit from good food and nice souvenirs.
The weather held out with no rain all day, even though the clouds seemed to
threaten at various times. Surprisingly, even the "CLOSED" sign was removed
from the sign going westbound on I84, I assume the same was true for the
eastbound one, too. All in all, a day well worth going for! We all wish
the Nortons and Lake Compounce the best of luck and hope to see them up
and running fully next year!
Tom "I love the LC Wildcat" Maglione.
From: aq009@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (David A. Johnson)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Conneaut Lake Blue Streak
Date: 12 Sep 1992 18:33:34 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: aq009@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (David A. Johnson)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


The latest issue of Amusement Business (with the Steel Phantom on the
cover) had a paragraph or two about Conneaut Lake's plans for the future. 
Most of them have already been detailed here, but of particular interest
was that the person in charge of the park said he is "leaving his options
open" (or words to that effect) regarding the Blue Streak.  

The article did say that the ride will not operate in 1993.  But it did
sound like they are considering re-opening it after that point.  So all
hope is not lost; I would imagine that now would be a good time to make
your opinions known, while they are trying to decide what to do with the
ride.  

(Maybe someday I'll get to ride it...)

-- 
_________________        David "Chuckie" Johnson        _________________
      "I'm       \     aq009@cleveland.freenet.edu     /   ...no one
   looking for    \       		              /  seems to have." 
    something...   \      "Diversity in Injury"      /     -Mudhoney
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: wjf@controls.ccd.harris.com (Bill Figie)
Subject: Re: Info on heights of future Roller Coasters desired
Originator: wjf@rs2
Organization: Harris Controls
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 11:51:06 GMT


Kevin,

    As far as the longest drop on a coaster, the Magnum has not held 
the record for over a year now.  The Steel Phantom at Kennywood Park
in West Mifflin, PA (outside Pittsburgh) is the record holder.  It
has a drop that I think is about 225 feet (over a cliff).  The Magnum
is still the tallest coaster (that is if you don't count the
Moonsault Scramble in Japan which is a shuttle loop).  The tallest
wood coaster at about 180 feet with the longest drop for a wood
coaster is the Rattler at Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, TX.  The drop
is around 165 feet (sorry I don't have the exact statistics memorized
or at my finger tips but I am probably real close, if not exact).  As
far as what biggies are in the future, Blackpool Pleasure Beach is
building this coming year a monster.  It will be the newest champ.  I
don't remember exact dimensions but it will be the biggest.  Sort of
like Magnum and it will also contain no loops.  I am pretty sure it
is being built by Arrow.

     As far as parks building a new "can you top this number of
loops" coaster, that fad seems to have quieted down (thank goodness).
 I think 7 loops is the most and 3 or 4 coasters hold that record. 
The industry seems to be in their "gadget phase" as far as building
coasters.  There are standup, inverted loops, suspend coasters,
pipeline, new inversion elements (as evidence from Drachen Fire), and
who know what else is out there.  I thought I even heard about a
standup - suspend??????  

    One final future coaster to be on the look out for.  Fiesta Texas
is planning on putting in another new coaster either next year or the
year after that.  They say they are going to put in an largest steel
coaster in the world.  Don't hold your breath but it might happen.

		Bill "I'll take two Rattlers to go please" Figie
From: cf170@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Kevin R. Russell)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Re: Arrow PIPELINE (Was Re: alright, a new question)
Date: 4 Sep 1992 22:17:47 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: cf170@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Kevin R. Russell)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc4.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, buck@cavlry.enet.dec.com () says:

>An addendum to a note I posted yesterday:
>
>>>What convinced me about their story was them coming out and saying that CP
>>>OWNS and HAS OWNED the rights to the ride. 
>
>>Hmmmm, I must admit that is the first time I've heard that.  I'm not 
>>sure what to think about it either, as last year, Morey's Pier in 
>>Wildwood, NJ, was displaying a model of the PIPELINE coaster at the 
>>park.  The park also said it had a "one year exclusive rights" on the ride.
>
>
>To inject even further speculation on the statement that Cedar Point
>(CedarFair) "OWNS and HAS OWNED the rights to the [pipeline coaster]"...
>
>Did you know, Kevin, that the Six Flags Corp. are the people who
>originally came up with the concept of the "Pipeline" roller coaster?
>Yup.  They gave their ideas to Arrow Dynamics to go off and play with.
>I remember for the longest time, people thought only Six Falgs parks
>would have the PIPELINE coasters in them, since the ride was their
>concept.  This was all put in question when the PIPELINE Model showed
>up at Morey's Pier in Wildwood, NJ last year (as mentioned above).
>
>
>FYI and FWIW...
>

Buck-
I don't know if I agree that Six Flags produced the pipeline concept from 
scratch.  I would say that it was more of an extension of the "Ultra-
Twister" (or ultra-twisted) that was built for them by Togo.  Anyone
who has seen the ride can see that the Ultra-Twister needed a little
help.  The sight lines out of the car are beyond bad, and the thing
cannot turn a horizontal corner.  As I believe Togo had built an UT
previous to the one at GrAd, I would lay the cdit (blame?) with
Togo


I can only claim $.01
-- 
Kevin Russell 	
				"Read my lips, no more inflammatory messages"
				me
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: buck@cavlry.enet.dec.com ()
Subject: Re: Re. Carolina Cyclone [was 'Vortex'] ..
Reply-To: buck@cavlry.enet.dec.com ()
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 18:54:13 GMT

>  What really bugs me, however, is that bozo management at
>  Carowinds with their steadfast refusal to run more than
>  one train at a time on the wooden racing coaster.  They must
>  be trying to make that coaster LAST FOREVER.

When I was there 6 weeks ago, they were running two trains on
THUNDER ROAD.  Made the ride very re-rideable, but not that it
was worth it, imho.  Spent the day on VORTEX, which I think is
a GREAT stand-up!!  The layout is not as cool as the IRON WOLF,
but the Carowinds VORTEX is the smoothest standup to date.


As far as the CA CYCLONE is concerned, I thought it was one 
of the smoother Arrow rides, not offering the traditional
concussion most of those puppies do.  As far as the layout
goes, it's no moreexciting than Darien's VIPER, GA's DEMON's,
or any of their Loop-Screw coasters, for that matter.


Buck, "long Live B&M!"
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: rhb@ucs.usl.edu (Bird Rendell H.)
Subject: Magic Springs
Organization: Univ. of Southwestern La., Lafayette
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 15:43:36 GMT


I called Magic Springs to get their operating schedule for the
remainder of the year the other day. Here is the info:

September -- Saturdays Only -- 10am to 6pm. 
Not open again until spring of '93.


I will going on September on 19th. Hope to see ya'll there...


Rendell
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: rhb@ucs.usl.edu (Bird Rendell H.)
Subject: The Vortex
Organization: Univ. of Southwestern La., Lafayette
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 15:39:07 GMT


How many people out there in net.land have ridden TOGO, Intamin,
*and/or* B&M stand-up roller coasters?

I have only ridden two, and both of them were built by B&M. One
was the Iron Wolf at Great America in Chicago. The other was
The Vortex at Great America in Santa Clara (California).

When I rode the one GA-Chicago, I was not terribly impressed.
Probably that was because I had just gotten off Batman The
Ride, and ALL OTHER coasters paled in comparison.

Recently, I got a chance to ride The Vortex. I was expecting
it to be a 'nice' ride. I was completely blown-away. I REALLY
liked it.

So, on to my questions:

a) How do B&M stand-ups compare to other companies stand-ups?
b) How do these two stand up against each other?


Rendell
From: asente@adobe.com (A Usenet Pal)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Re: The Vortex
Date: 14 Sep 92 20:35:36 GMT
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated

In article <1992Sep11.153907.6010@usl.edu> rhb@ucs.usl.edu (Bird Rendell H.) writes:
>When I rode the one GA-Chicago, I was not terribly impressed.
>
>Recently, I got a chance to ride The Vortex. I was expecting
>it to be a 'nice' ride. I was completely blown-away. I REALLY
>liked it.

Must have been the company!

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

Feminism:  a socialist, anti-family political movement
           that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their
           children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and
           become lesbians.			-Pat Robertson
From: scm@harvee.billerica.ma.us (S. Mudgett aka little gator)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Distribution: world
Organization: gators 'r us
Subject: steeplechase
Reply-To: scm@harvee.billerica.ma.us
X-Software: HERMES GUS 1.03 Rev. Apr 14 1992
Date: Fri, 04 Sep 1992 16:52:06 -0500

does anyone know what happened to the original steeplechase ride from
coney island's steeplechase park?  ive heard that in the 1970s it was
running at a park in dania, florida, can anyone tell me more?
-- 
-- little gator aka s. mudgett     email: scm@harvee.billerica.ma.us
-- friend of a gator is a friend of mine
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: muth@a.cs.wvu.wvnet.edu (Wayne A Muth)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Re. Carolina Cyclone [was 'Vortex'] ..
Date: 14 Sep 92 17:23:53 GMT


  I like Cyclone/Vortex just fine !!

  What really bugs me, however, is that bozo management at
  Carowinds with their steadfast refusal to run more than
  one train at a time on the wooden racing coaster.  They must
  be trying to make that coaster LAST FOREVER.

  Total bozo, uncaring, unimaginative management of what ought
  to be a very fine facility.
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: wjf@controls.ccd.harris.com (Bill Figie)
Subject: Slow week
Originator: wjf@rs2
Organization: Harris Controls
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 18:12:05 GMT


Well, I bet this is probably been the slowest week on this news
group.  I know I have missed all the good information.  Buck must
have been off riding coasters.  I don't know where the rest of you
have been but I had to subscribe to the magic board to keep my
sanity.  I even signed onto Prodigy last night and looked for some
good information on their theme park section.  Only one thing
interesting and it made me real jealous.  Don Lawyer posted that he
got 60 rides (that is sixty rides in case you think your computer
was dropping some bits) on the Beast.  WOW.  I can't imagine how he
could have gotten so many.  About the best you can do, even if you
didn't have to get off is about 12 to 15 an hour (the Beast ride is
over 4 minutes long with about a 1 to 2 minute wait in the station).
Well, that's all I have.  Just wanted to put something out on the
board.

		Bill "I'm jealous" Figie
From: maglione@media.mit.edu (Tom Maglione)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Re: Batman The Ride( was: Re: The Vortex)
Summary: Expanding Horizons.
Keywords: gack, ugh, barf
Date: 14 Sep 92 21:23:36 GMT
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory

In article <1992Sep14.180904.3054@usl.edu> rhb@ucs.usl.edu (Bird Rendell H.) writes:
(much stuff deleted)
>the ABOSOLUTELY *dreadful* American Eagle in the same sentence.
>My friends had told me to ride the A.E. with 'greatest reservations'.
>I had myself set for a disapointment. I still managed to over-estimate
>the ride. In many ways, The American Eagle may be the worst wooden
>coaster I have ever ridden!
>(If only because: the look is *so* impressive, and the ride so *DULL*)

You need to expand your horizons! IMHO, there is at least one wooden coaster
worse than A.E., namely, the Grizzly in Santa Clara. There's one you can
virtually sleep on due to its lack of any real pizzazz. A.E. looks relatively
great when compared to the Grizzly West, not to be confused with the Grizzly
East at Kings Dominion, which is a really great wooden coaster.
Also, I think that A.E. is a better designed ride and would run better
without all the trim brakes on it, whereas I think the Grizzly West was
doomed from the first design strokes, with or without brakes.

Tom "had to throw in my own $0.02" Maglione
From: daffner@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Lawrence Daffner)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Re: Batman The Ride( was: Re: The Vortex)
Keywords: gack, ugh, barf
Date: 15 Sep 92 04:59:59 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center


  Dunno... mebbe they've done some braking on it since I rode it, but
I was there on opening weekend, and it was riding fast enough that you
stayed pushed down into your seat for the entire ride... Not very
interesting, IMHO. This semtiment was shared by several people I was
there with... that the line to ride was the most interesting part. I
just personally prefer to have good neg g's.

  My 2 cents.

  -Larry ( daffner@mentor.cc.purdue.edu)
From: markj@orl.mmc.com (Mark Jones)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Hours for Six Flags Atlanta??
Date: 14 Sep 92 14:03:12 GMT
Organization: Martin Marietta

Hi,
   My wife and I will be on vacation the first week in October and
will be stopping in Atlanta on our way to the mountains in North Carolina.
I was wondering if anyone knew the operating hours of Six Flags over Georgia
during that time period?   It has been about 7 years since I have been, and
I am looking forward to the new coasters that they have installed since that
time.

   I was also wondering, did Arrow design and build the Loch Ness Monster 
at Busch Gardens the Old Country?  I just wanted to know.

                           Thanks ahead for the info!

**********************************************************************************
Disclaimer: The views expressed are my own and not of the Coporation's.
**********************************************************************************
Mark A. Jones                          Martin Marietta Electronic Systems
mark-jones@orl.mmc.com                 Orlando, FL
**********************************************************************************
Fortune: Confidence is the feeling you have before you understand the situation.
**********************************************************************************
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
From: buck@cavlry.enet.dec.com ()
Subject: Re: Hours for Six Flags Atlanta??
Reply-To: buck@cavlry.enet.dec.com ()
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 15:07:37 GMT

Mark Jones writes:

>   My wife and I will be on vacation the first week in October and
>will be stopping in Atlanta on our way to the mountains in North Carolina.
>I was wondering if anyone knew the operating hours of Six Flags over Georgia
>during that time period?   It has been about 7 years since I have been, and
>I am looking forward to the new coasters that they have installed since that
>time.

I was there yesterday and Saturday ... hours were 10am -- 10pm for
weekend operation (of which I think they're only on, now).

The new coasters are great.  Recommended are the front seat on NINJA,
The front and back seat (loose seat belt) on GA CYCLONE, and back
seat on MINDBENDER.

Have fun -- it's a great park.


>   I was also wondering, did Arrow design and build the Loch Ness Monster 
>at Busch Gardens the Old Country?  I just wanted to know.

Yup -- Arrow did all 3 steel coasters at Busch Gardens Williansburg
(formerly, 'The Old Country').


B.
From: cf170@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Kevin R. Russell)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: Re: Good rides for bad rides
Date: 15 Sep 1992 23:44:23 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: cf170@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Kevin R. Russell)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc10.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, wjf@controls.ccd.harris.com (Bill Figie) says:

>
>I have a dream, that some day these parks will start to really listen
>to ACEers and their good constructive criticism.  I know that many of
>you think this will never happen, but in the last 10 or so years of
>our club we have enlisted park employees that DO listen to us and
>think we do make sense.  We even have members of the park PR
>department as card carrying members that contribute articles, provide
>special events and treat us nice.  Look at how many parks are giving
>ACEers free admission or discounts.  As our numbers grow we will even
>have more clout.  We do know what makes a good coaster (or any type
>of ride for that matter).  We are the unbiased experts of the field.  
>
Unfortunately, Bill most of the things that ACErs hate, (horse collers,
trim brakes in odd places, safety gaurds on the trains etc) are there
for the general public.  The average Ace member wants to ride in a Ferrari
or at least an MG-TC, while the general public is not up to it.  

It's kind of like the recent lawsuit in Las Vegas.  Some guy was sueing Ferrari
because he was racing his car at 150 mph or so, and the tires which were 
only rated for 120 mph blew out.  The guys wife died, so he sues ferrari
His excuse was that the should have known he was going to drive at max speed.

Most of these coasters that ACErs complain about are plymouth reliants (or
pintos) because the public starts sueing.  Most of the extra trim brakes
added to rides are due to injury complaints. The guards are on the cars because
some people stick their hands out in stupid places.  The parks are just trying
to provide the best ride they can to the lowest common denominator.  How
many people have you seen with earrings on when the sign says "no earrings"
How many people have you seen trying to standup on the jackrabbit at Kennywood?

Some of the imperfect coasters out there are just due to the world we live in.
I won't deny that some of them are just junk.  The rev at SFMM has trim brakes
because people wouldn't put their head against the head rest in the loops, and
took neck injuries,  the same applies to the Loch Ness Monster.  

Maybe their should be a system for coasters like white water rafting.

You have to put in so many hours on the R-
R-1s before you can do an R-2 etc.  And everybody who gets on an R-5 has
to sign a waiver and show proof of insurance?

What do you guys think?  Am I out of line here?

Then if you have an R-5 licence you can ride these bad boys with no trim
brakes.

my $.08 worth (Next! stay tuned for our vicious attack on lawyers)
-- 
Kevin Russell 	
				"Read my lips, no more inflammatory messages"
				me
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster