And that is totally true. Ever since they got the land level it seems that they're making a hill behind the floral clock. And maybe a small pond right next to it across from Paradise Island.

that buildup behind the clock is quite round......i think that will be the parking garage.

But wouldnt they need that land to be almost flat? Its kinda hard to dig footers on the side of a mound.

That and the parking structure itself is going to be round, not the land around it.

I'll try to explain. The top of the buildup is flat, but the whole thing is round. it looks kinda like a round drink coaster for lack of a better term....

Could also be a dump-prep area. Just a place to put the dirt until the heavy machinery can be put in.

If you ever look in a construction site, you always see the backhoes sitting on top of the pile of dirt that they are removing, dumping it into the dumptrucks.

I think the parking garage is going to be (if you are in the tower and looking down upon it) in the lower right corner. Jeff said its basically going to go back and forth, starting in the upper right corner (by the rivertown bathroom), launching toward the tower, the turn around and go back toward where the flyers used to be, then turn around and come back toward the tower, then back toward The Vortex batwing, then back toward the tower then finish up going toward the Preston T Tuckers cafe. Kind of like a zig zag. But the parking garage will be in the corner, next to the clock, toward the tower.

IJST is going to be a boring ride it seems. The theming will only work about half the year, and there will be tons of down time.

Yes it is true. The curse of the "new ride" will attack IJST just like it attacked Delirium and TRTR and SOB. I would go on naming rides but I dont have enough time to list all of them. While the top speed is not suppossed to exceed 40 mph which would rank it up there just above AE in the high speed category.

As for theming, when it all works it will be a sight to see. But if PKI keeps with tradition the theming will go to hell after the first couple months of operation because the maintenance personel will get lazy and not want to keep fixing it even though it may be a vital part of the ride.

HOLD THE PHONE!

We are not getting lazy about the theming. If we were, would the fog in preshow at TRTR be working? No. Noone (at least in animation) is getting lazy about theming. Maybe its not high on our list of things we would like to do, but we are not getting lazy. We use what we can to keep it operational. Thats all I have to say on that.

ok maybe lazy was the wrong word to use. maybe I should have used the term "not a priority."

I hate to say this again like I did in another thread, but if you are going to budget maintenance of a ride, there should be a separate budget for the theming. It's obvious with TR:TR that maintenance winds up spending all of their budget just trying to keep it running when they should have separate funds to keep all theming up and running as well. I don't see this as a problem with maintenance, but with whomever decided the budget for the maintenance of the ride. I can see IJ:ST winding up like TR and TG in about three years. I'm sure Disney has a budget for their theming, why not PKI?

Perhaps the park does not believe it has enough themed rides to open another part of the budget for just theming.

However I do agree with you that it would be wise to open such an account and include theming as a part of the yearly budget.

They could even go as far as having a department (Theming Department) which focuses mainly on the theming and making sure that all the rides with theming (AE, TG, FOF, TRTR, and IJST) stay current and up to date. This does not have to just focus on rides. They could make sure that rivertown still has the atmosphere that it has now, as well as other areas of the park.

Yeah, I see what you are saying. A new budget for all theming would be nice.

I hate to say this again like I did in another thread, but if you are going to budget maintenance of a ride, there should be a separate budget for the theming.  It's obvious with TR:TR that maintenance winds up spending all of their budget just trying to keep it running when they should have separate funds to keep all theming up and running as well. I don't see this as a problem with maintenance, but with whomever decided the budget for the maintenance of the ride.  I can see IJ:ST winding up like TR and TG in about three years.  I'm sure Disney has a budget for their theming, why not PKI?

I totally agree with you, but that brings up the question, would have seperate budgets really fix anything?

I think what you're trying to imply is that there should be the regular budget for the ride maintanance, and then a totally seperate budget for themeing, but where would the money come from? The park could do just as good by simply alloting more money to the budget of each ride. Would they do this? Probably not.

Anyway, back to IJST. I hope (are pray) they they have learned their lesson and will have intelligently integrated themeing. As in, if a bulb burns out, it is physically possible to replace it. I've heard from several sources that this one will be done right, but we can only hope.

Tom, great job on the fog effects on Tomb Raider.

The park already has an Entertainment dept that takes care of the majority of theming.

I know it's not as good as pictures from PKI.

However, here are the most recent pictures of the IJ:ST construction currently taking place at PCW.

http://www.canadas-wonderland.com/i/assets...tionimage10.jpg

http://www.canadas-wonderland.com/i/assets...tionimage11.jpg

http://www.canadas-wonderland.com/i/assets...tionimage12.jpg

http://www.canadas-wonderland.com/i/assets...tionimage13.jpg

These are from the middle of November.

Very very kool indeed! Thanks for the photos. Leads me to believe that PKI should be at or near this point.

Does anyone have any photos of construction from PKI. Thanks

Wow, site work. How riveting!?

I find it somewhat interesting to see some of that ground work. I wonder if that concrete wall will be for the tunnel or for the water splash down. I wonder if PKI is that far. I wish PKI would post some pictures like that to their website, but I`m sure they have a good reason why they haven`t yet like the fact that they are busy with other things. Didn`t I remember bhearing a while back that track and supports should start arriving at the park in Decemeber?

I'm just worried that it won't open in time. Like SOB didn't open on time until like the end of May or something.

From what I have heard, IJST will not be ready for opening day on April 8th, 2005. I have heard that it will be ready by spring, right around or slightly before the time that daily operation begins. I`m not sure how accurate this information is though.

New effects and getting them timed with a coaster will take longer to set up.

It wont open up on time trust me! Its a pos!

Well that is a terrible opinion to have of a ride before you even experiene it. At least it is a roller coaster, with IMO, a theme that can make a very thrilling and fun ride. It will not be just about the speed of the ride, but the story that surrounds the ride. I for one am looking forward to my first spin on IJST!

The theming wont last. I bet most of it wont even work.

I'm not judging IJ until I ride it a few times. The theming will work for sometime, then they'll start taking it away .

Why can I forsee many trips to IJ in my future?

Asfor it not working, try to get into the head of a maintenance guy. Close down a ride just to fix something non-critical that might be a 2 hr fix, or keep it open, and worry about it after the park closes?

Snapper officially has my vote to be added to Aaron's Idiot List.

if its not going to open on time why did they not start earlier?