Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
It's Skype-tastic!
This week, I continue my world tour of appearing on podcasts other than Coaster Radio.com.
This time around, I'm a guest on Doug Barnes' The Season Pass. If you remember, we talked about them a few weeks ago on this blog.
I was joined by Ricky Brigante from Inside the Magic and Nick Hutson from Musical Talk.
We spent close to two hours talking about the world's #1 vacation destination...Orlando, FL.
It's a pretty good conversation even though the participants were in Florida, California, DC and the UK respectively. You've gotta love Skype!
Take a listen here.
So now I've been a guest on The Season Pass, Inside the Magic, Musical Talk and In The Loop... when do I get to guest on the CoasterBuzz Podcast?
Talk about this in the CoasterRadio.com Forums.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Terminator: The Coaster
Today, Six Flags Magic Mountain announced a $10 million coaster, engineered exclusively for the Valencia theme park by Great Coasters International Inc.
TERMINATOR: THE COASTER will feature a loading station "fly-thru," a state-of-the-art sight and sound package, and unique queue line and on-board entertainment elements. The GCII-designed Millennium Flyer coaster trains will zip through five belly-flopping hills and six high speed banked turns over 2,850 feet of track to create a ride that delivers the acrobatic thrills of a modern roller coaster while retaining the nostalgic look and feel of a classic "woodie."
The last thing I expected when I heard about a "Terminator" themed ride was a wooden coaster. After all, when you think of a Terminator, you think of the cool liquid metal that was used in T2 and T3. What does wooden coaster have to do with the franchise?
I really wish we were still doing the podcast. If we were, you know we would have broken out our cheesy Arnold Schwarzenegger impressions to discuss this ride.
Speaking of Terminator, I'm really curious how the new movie is going to be received. I think the new TV show is pretty cool. So far, it's been pretty creative. Let's hope the ride isn't a letdown thematically.
Talk about this in the CR Forums.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Tales from Orlando - A Mother Worse Than the Yeti!
Here's a story from when Greg and I were standing in line for Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This is one of the best queue lines in the world, second only to Dueling Dragons at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure.
Anyway, as we walked by the authentic Mandir and through the Yeti Museum, we heard the wails of a seven year old boy behind us. Obviously, he had no intention of getting on the roller coaster. He was terrified. I'm not sure what scared him more, the 80 foot drop or a possible encounter with the Yeti. Maybe he was scared of the hour long wait without a FastPass...who knows?
It didn't matter through, because his witch of a mother had no sympathy for him. She was literally dragging him through the line as he wailed, kicked and screamed.
She even had the audacity to yell..."YOU ARE NOT GOING TO RUIN MY RIDE!!!"
It's at this moment that I realized that each theme park should have its own version of Child Protective Services. Shouldn't there be someone who can intercede on behalf of these poor kids?
I'm usually someone who minds his own business, especially when it comes to other people's kids. I don't get involved when a person is parenting their child, no matter how strange or outrageous they are.
But it's not like this crazy woman was making her kid eat his vegetables, she was making him ride an intense thrill ride! There's a clear, an unmistakable difference between making a child do something for his own good and making him do something for the selfish reasons of the parent.
When I was young, I was terrified of roller coasters. My mom and dad tried to talk me on them, but they never forced me to ride against my will. Now look at me, I'm friggin' Mike Collins from CoasterRadio.com! I'd say 'ole Mom and Dad did a pretty good job!
These days, it seems like there are more and more screwed up kids running around. I for one don't put the blame on them. I blame parents like the one I saw in line for Expedition Everest. Yes, I blame the woman who put "her ride" ahead of the well-being of her son.
I hope the Yeti was on the B-Show mode when she rode through! She deserves it.
Talk about this in the CR Forums.
