SOB_TOM

Coming from a lifeguards' point of view, this is a really good thing. Whenever I am watching over any pool at GWL, if I see a kid with no lifevest on swimming, I get extremely nervous, and watch those people more closely, which takes my attention partially away from the other guests. So Im glad they implemented this.

Most of the time you have to wait until there is an event that is offering a behind the scenes tour. That is precisely why you need to be there on 8/4/07. SOB tour, Beast tour, and FOF tour, all pack into one!

The only problem I have with that rumor is that there really is no room to do anything good with a coaster at that location. I dont even know if there is enough room to build a station unless you tear down Wings. I dont think that would be a good decision at all.

SOB_TOM will make an appearance. Might be on one leg, but nevertheless, I will be there.

Why not bring him to the park for the first part, and then leave around 5, and then you can be spending more time with him?

A girl asked me where the tower was once underneath it. My response: "In France." You have to understand this though, if you have worked at the park for more than one year, you do give a sarcastic response because it keeps you from sighing and acting like you dont care. Bad excuse, but you also have to think that the guests get a kick out of it as well, because it is fun to scare people before riding a ride, or telling them a fact like the Eiffel Tower is in France (when they are underneath it)

Dont worry, a little SOB will be hanging around. Although at this point, I dont know if I will be walking under my own power...

I apologise Corey, I was being sarcastic. I just like all the great ideas that are coming out of this. Highly entertaining.

You're not the only one tired of new rides. Why not install "Moving Sidewalk: The Ride?" Have 4 moving sidewalks running throughout the park, just like at the airport, and you can just hop on one.

GWL seemed to pull the "indoor waterpark" idea off quite well. What do you expect? You cant put a roof over a 250 ft. drop ride and expect people to stay warm in the winter. You have to realize that the people who put this together have to have a quick monetary turnaround, attract teenagers (flashy lights work well) and compete with KI. So with those parameters its hard to get something started in this area, especially if it directly competes with KI (look at Americana.)

Yes, SOB still has some rough spots, however, overall the ride is smoother IMO. Now that it has a good base, wood coaster can start smoothing out those rough spots. KI man, CF didnt put new wood on The Beast, KI's wood coaster division has been doing that since it opened. Its called off season maintenance,

And BTW, the show you are referring to was never in Timberwolf. It was in the International Showplace.

It honestly doesnt sound like something that I would be interested in. But if they are aiming for 14-under then it sounds like no major rides (no Boa Squeeze)

Not to start this debate all over again, but look up your facts KI Man: The Beast ALWAYS HAD TRIM BRAKES DOWN THE HILL! Instead of gradually slowing you down to the speed, now its at the top where the speed can be controlled more correctly. It take nothing away from the ride what-so-ever. And I thought it would be worth reading that post, something like "I wish they would remove those %*#@(%^$*&%^@*&%^ lights at the entrances of the tunnels. My prediction: Capitol improvements to the park, no major ride, but a lot of park improvements.

Dang you people are good! Ryan is going to announce that TRTR is being rethemed, the KI website is being redone, at least 2 new rides for `08, AND KIC is getting a new site design. Just brillant. Tom-Who kinda had a bad night if you couldnt tell

OR they could be waiting on parts to come in, they could be doing a whole number of things for it. Just because effects are failing does not mean that the ride is being removed. Awaiting parts, awaiting TIME, there are a whole list of things that need to be fixed in the park, all priority stuff. Sometimes it takes a few days to a trained audio tech to get out there and take a look and diagnose the problem. So just calm yourselves.

They already happen at the start of the year, and every morning. How many more inspections do you want a year? And plus, the Drop Zone at Carowinds is nothing like ours.

2 hr line? I was working on SOB, and we had a 3+ hr wait, and Gun was over 2 hrs. It was so crazy that day that most people rode like 2-3 rides and left. They even kept the park open for an extra hour just so people could ride more. As for operational side, we had to do trash on 4 separate occasions, without any additional help, I was a minor at the time and had to clock out for a half an hr after the park was closed, clock back in, and help clean up, we were all stressed, it was just bad. Of course, when the backup to get into the park from 71 North streches all the way from I-275 overpass to the park, and they were bussing people from the tennis court parking lots, I would have turned around if I wasnt working. It took me close to a half an hr just to get from 275 to the employee parking area.

The whole Vault thing is because it wasnt sealed. If he would have kept it sealed then he could have brought it into the park. Just try not to bring glass bottles and keep water bottles sealed, and you should be fine.

Just because they are cleaning the queue doesnt mean anything. It could just be because the queue is visible from Gun's exit and they dont want trash buildup in it. I doubt it will open this season, much less in two weeks.

Why would a block stop you from getting stuck? A block is designed so that two coasters do not hit each other. It would not prevent a train from getting stuck upside down. What they should have done is installed an emergency generator and had a separate chain up at that point, so that the generator could be turned on and the train released without having them stuck upside down for too long of a time.

You know, I do like the Firehawk crew. Always moving as fast as they can, keeping you entertained. I will have to say that the TRTR crew is probabily the worst in the park. I worked the ride in 03, and it has been going down in quality ever since. Here are my reasons: Even if the effects are not working properly (which this is more of an operations complaint than an op complaint) run Antechamber and preshow as two separate rooms. This Pre-Chamber stuff is not working out. I know its mostly because of staffing, but that room adds to the whole mystique of the ride. This would also alleviate the next complaint: The preshow room sphiel should be done BEFORE the movie is played. The movie is meant to pump you up and get you ready to ride, but it is ruined when the sphiel is done afterwards. The door should open right after "Famous last words" and you enter the ride. The ops dont even look like they want to be there. I have yet to see one person smile wether at greeter or on the ride. Its not that hard to fake a smile while checking restraints. I understand that the ride is a low capacity ride, but speed up the bar checks. I remember working for 10 cycles an hr, and averaging 8 every hour. If we did not hit 8 cycles an hr, we were not happy at all. This is easily accomplished with only 2 bar checkers, but you do have to hustle a little. Also, keep calling the effects in as broken! Thats the only way they get fixed! Maintenance WILL blow them off if they are not on their list every morning. The Ice Field looks horrible, and lets not talk about the lava pit. Call those problems in and get them fixed! Now I know I am going to take flak for this post of people defending the TRTR crew, but if these problems are not pointed out, they cannot be taken into effect. Tom-Who has thought about assembling the TRTR crew of 03 to show `em how its done.

I actually had to jump out of a ride once. Theres a ride down at Beech Bend called Scat 2. Apparently something major broke and the maintenance guy couldnt push the ride around to the platform to unload us, so Ariel, Ryan, (I think) Dane and I had to jump about 5 ft to the platform in order to push the car around to unload some of our other friends. That was fun.

Actually, the trains will look slightyly different than whats in the picture. Remember, SOB has a wider gauge than what the trains are. If done right, you could actually have a little bit more room, however I have a feeling that the body will stay the same, while the base of the trains will be widened.

It is launching faster, so I think that its completely stopping because of the excess speed. As for the load/unload cycle being the cause, thats false. The coaster is actually set up for 3 trains (station to midcourse, midcourse to final, final to unload, unload to turnaround before load, turnaround to station.)