Gordon Bombay

We be jammin' with mah candy dreads, ya hear me man!?

No doubt! But don't spend all your money or your savings will go 'up in smoke.'

They're not going to ban alcohol. And just you all wait until Ohio falls in line with Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and D.C.

Beast way.

Somewhat topical question (and maybe this is covered in the podcast (haven't had a chance to listen yet)): why do the B&M gigas utilize the "4-across" trains as opposed to the Diamondback style "stadium" seats?

I think your point is valid, but I'm going to fix one thing:

This guy is a real treat:

I feel like they did it because the existing structure offered up the best space to be converted in to a sit-down experience and since it was being underutilized. I don't think the theme played in to it at all.

How bout that wing sauce, though?

Love the elaborate menu descriptions as if the food won't be slightly below Applebees quality served by the park's renown food service staff.

Any idea why it went to CW instead?

Ah, I didn't realize the installations were that far apart. I thought they were back to back, season to season. Actually, I think they're both the same model/type with a few physical differences (KD's has more seats and a different gondola). Both rotate (or are supposed to) during the ascent. Also, I think Intamin calls them "Gyro Drops," the "Roto Drop" is a Roller Coaster Tycoon term.

I've always been curious: KI had slated a Drop Tower for the Flight Commander area a few years before Drop Zone debuted in Action Zone. Any idea what model was planned for the FC spot? Also, anyone know why KI got one particular model and KD got the other?

You know, I'm not entirely sure. If I recall correctly, I remember reading that Spielberg controls a good amount of the rights associated with his films, which is why we never saw much Indiana Jones in the Paramount years aside from posters, the theme song on I street, etc. AKA why we had "Tomb Raider" instead of "Indiana Jones." WHat's interesting, though, is that Adventure Express was planned, designed, conceived, and opened a few years before Paramount took over the park. So I think in that case, it was simply just a matter of the Indiana Jones films/franchise being incredibly popular for the time (Crusade opened in theaters in 1989) and KI knew what they could do with a mine train coaster. It seems like KECO was in to theming for a moment. Phantom Theater seems a lot like Haunted Mansion, no?

Except they weren’t. The ride wasn’t fun, but the State investigation found that the accident was due to a design flaw.

Paging @Shaggy — after reading this topic, I ended up going to watch that old Discovery Channel POV and all of that got me thinking about things I had heard over the years. Thought maybe you would be able to shed some light and dispel truth from fiction: - There's a pinch break on the straight piece of track shortly after you leave the station. I don't believe that was one of the ride's block sections, but once heard that the original station was supposed to be longer with zones for loading and unloading, thus allowing the ride to accommodate 3-4 trains. I also seem to recall seeing a third train Premeir train in storage and that the ride was originally supposed to have three. Any truth to that? - There was a kicker wheel just before trains crested the hill into the drop after the post-lift hill dip. I'd heard from many folks over the years state that the first train ever tested valleyed in that dip with all the park executives watching from the Eifel Tower. Did that happen? - Any idea why they never built tunnels into the ride ala its predecessor? - Also remember reading that SOB was the world's largest wooden structure and that it held a record for crossing over and under itself more times than any coaster. Did they ever promote it with those records? If you have any insight, I'd love to hear it! What an aesthetically pleasing ride it was. I originally thought it was odd that the lift hill was the only thing you could see, like it was just a massive wooden blob. Then you boarded the train and pulled out to see that loop in the distance. So darn cool. And at the top of the hill—everything out in the distance looked insane. And it was. Because the ride was never all that fun. But darn it looked good. Also enjoyed how the first drop ran parallel to the loop, making people think that the loop would happen first.

Well, thanks, @Oldschool75! Shoot me a DM or FB message and I'm sure we can work something out.

I do enjoy watching the OG Rattler POV. What an ...interesting... ride.

I'll always have a soft spot for that ride. It debuted right when I was getting into roller coasters and I had just received Roller Coaster Tycoon for the first time when SOB was announced. I mean, who wasn't amazed by that announcement? And when it was built, that structure was SO impressive looking! What a time to be alive! I even had the chance to walk its structure on a few occasions (shameless plug). Let's be real, though. The ride sucked and anyone who generally liked it always must add "but" to their statement. The ride always had an asterisk next to its reputation. Could it physically have been fixed? Sure, I bet there was an engineering solution. But, even if you gave it the "RMC treatment," every article, mention, and story was going to declare what the ride used to be and what it was known for (the 2006 accident, the later allegations, etc.). Even if it had Steel Vengeance levels of notoriety, SOB's past would always be looming. The Son of Beast name was tainted. Better to remove it and let it fade away into the annals of history. I also sincerely doubt you ever see a ride themed/named to anything resembling "son" or "family" "of Beast" again. Why bring up bad press? For those who never rode it: the view from the top just before you rocketed down the hill was incredible. The rest of the ride was misery.

No. Outpost 5 is in reference to the recordings that used to play in Adventure Express' queue line. "All aboard the express for Outpost 5." The loose storyline to AE was that you were boarding a mine train to that specific outpost and interspersed were reports from the "station master" who mentioned that one track was closed, one expedition had gone missing (and that the search was called off), etc. I think it was "track 2" that was closed (and there used be a sign reading something like "Track 2. Closed. Do not enter!" when your train entered the first tunnel. And the expedition was... the "Richards Expedition?" Anyways, yeah, that's what Outpost 5 is in reference too on the side of Son of Beast's old station. Fun Fact: for years, Adventure Express had the Indiana Jones theme playing in its queue line between announcements from the "station master." This music, along with the ride's general theme, gave the distinct impression that the ride was Indiana Jones themed. However, it never was directly. Paramount's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (the one that features a mine cart sequence) debuted in 1984, and the final film in Paramount's series (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) debuted in 1989. Adventure Express opened in 1991. Paramount acquired the park in 1992/1993.

If you ever visited Americana/LeSourdsville Lake or Fantasy Farm in Middletown/Monroe back in the day, you may remember them fondly. Americana’s demise in particular was incredibly sad. While both that park and the neighboring Fantasy Farm are gone for good, there’s a new business in Middletown that keeps their history alive. And the ice cream/food are darn good. Here’s a post on it, if you’d like to check it out: http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2019/01/fantasy-diner-and-ice-cream-parlor.html The diner is actually built into Fantasy Farm’s old gift shop. Tons of cool relics from both parks on the walls.

Due to budget cuts that year under CBS, nameteags were not produced for (not sure if all, but at least line) employees. Instead, employees wore their badges on their belt loops as a name tag.

I particularly like “one uniform shirt per employee” and “just wear your ID badge on your belt as a name tag.”

Couldn't agree more.