I braved:
The Gemini.
Iron Dragon.
Couple others.
What I think about on them (an incomplete list):
Metal fatigue;
Rust;
Hidden corrosion;
The possibility of al-Qaeda penetrating the workers’ ranks, most of whom are from overseas.
On wooden coasters:
Termites;
Carpenter ants;
Pencilpost beetles;
Dry rot.
Among other things.
I think I’ve been a journalist too long.
We had a nice time, despite my overactive imagination. Heading home soon.
Mindy said on August 15, 2008 at 6:02 pm
I’ve never been a journalist, and I think those same thoughts about roller coasters. So I never get on ’em.
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coozledad said on August 15, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I was looking at this just the other day. I’ll bet engineers avoid them too.
http://www.rideaccidents.com/
I have no excuse beyond simple cowardice.
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Dexter said on August 15, 2008 at 8:37 pm
from last thread, for MM Jeff, THIS way?
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Dexter said on August 15, 2008 at 8:44 pm
I meant to say I bet you break toes while car shopping.
http://www.raincityguide.com/wp-content/photos/thumb_693_kick_tire.jpg
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on August 15, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Dexter, that was a wonderful find; i enjoyed the sidebar offer of “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again,” but likely because my high school swing choir did that in our standard set.
No, we did not do it as an oldies tribute, either. More of a “breaking news” rendition.
Good times, good times.
Brian’s earlier link made me think of that penultimate scene in Solvang from “Sideways,” the one where Paul Giamatti swipes the wallet back. Yeah, that scene. No, i’m not going to look for it on YouTube.
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Catherine said on August 16, 2008 at 2:50 am
I’ll do metal or wood coasters, I’ll sing Dionne Warwick covers, I’ll even go to Solvang, but just don’t make me drink any effing Merlot.
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jcburns said on August 16, 2008 at 4:22 am
This is the quality of reporting we’ll be getting when, in the World of the Future, all the reporters write their stories on iPhones.
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basset said on August 16, 2008 at 8:10 am
we did a promotional video for a wooden coaster in… never mind where it was… a couple of years ago. the park had two mechanics whose entire job was taking care of that coaster, and both of them walked the whole track every morning before the park opened, tightening everything up and looking for problems.
one of them… and one of the ride operators… also had to ride it at full speed every day before the park opened.
I still wasn’t gonna get on it. never been on one, don’t intend to… just don’t see the appeal of it.
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alex said on August 16, 2008 at 9:21 am
I always had the same kinds of thoughts when watching the air & water show in Chicago. When you live underneath it, you’re a captive audience. And the odds are probably quite a bit better than winning the lottery that the first ever disaster will be a fighter jet spiraling out of a formation right into your neighborhood, maybe even your home.
I have so much more peace of mind now that I live in Tornado Alley.
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brian stouder said on August 16, 2008 at 9:31 am
basset – I’ve seen a report like that (maybe it was yours!) on a documentary about roller coasters – showed an older fellow (which was reassuring – his age and experience) walking the track with a hammer and a few other tools on his belt….and it was only later that I began to wonder just how thorough any human being could be, when you walk the same track again and again and again.
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nancy said on August 16, 2008 at 9:48 am
This is the quality of reporting we’ll be getting when, in the World of the Future, all the reporters write their stories on iPhones.
I thought of that myself. My breaking news on the stuck roller coaster was available — to the world! — within minutes of the stuck-age. And yet, you could say the prose left something to be desired.
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whitebeard said on August 16, 2008 at 12:43 pm
You know what they say, Nancy, a picture is worth a thousand words. I used to like ferris wheels until we stopped at the top to let the people at the bottom off and one of our daughters tried to climb out.
After she tried to climb out of the little boat going into the scary tunnel ride, we skipped amusement parks forever.
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basset said on August 16, 2008 at 1:53 pm
>>I’ve seen a report like that (maybe it was yours!) on a documentary about roller coasters
might have been the same people but probably not our piece, we did it for the pilot of a tourism-promotion show that never got on the air.
we had two mechanics walking the track, one older and one twentysomething. seemed to be good guys but neither of them had a whole lot to say… which made for a challenging interview with them up on top of the coaster with wireless mics on and me yelling at them from the ground.
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Maggie said on August 17, 2008 at 2:48 pm
I live next door to a Cedar Point executive and he rides every ride and so does his entire family. His wife took my daughter on Millenium last time we were there. If anyone would know the safety of those rides, it’d be him. (I still won’t ride TTD or Millenium, but I let my kids!)
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Jen said on August 18, 2008 at 9:22 am
Ahh, at least I’m not the only one with paranoid thoughts while waiting in line for and riding roller coasters. I think journalism attracts people with overactive imaginations, then makes them worse with all of the freaky stories – like the girl who got her feet pulled off by a ride!
My husband was trying to convince me yesterday at the state fair that midway rides at fairs are perfectly safe, but I WILL NOT ride rides that are not permanently attached to the ground!
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