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I grew up in Cleveland (about 40 minutes from Sandusky where Cedar Point is) and I have traveled around 35 different states and go to about every theme park in them) and in all that time, I have not found another amusement park that can even hold a candle to Cedar Point. I currently live in Denver and Elitch Gardens is about 1/4 the size and many many times suckier....

I guess my point is: Cedar Point R0x0rz!

17 Coasters!

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/rides/coasters/index.cfm

Sounds like Taco has taken a ride or two...For those of you that don't know what that is here you go. http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/rides/thrill/demon_drop/index.cfm

Yeah, even the Cedar Point Site says "May not accommodate Guests of Exceptional Size."...exceptional lol

I personnally spend at least 2-3 days out of the year in Ohio. http://www.cedarpoint.com/

Top Thrill Dragster had an unfortunately large amount of down-time (mostly due to the cables and hydraulic system). Last year, when it premiered, it was down for nearly an entire month. It actually became prevalent enough that the ride's running status was put online. TTD is an amazing ride, though, and downtime was to be expected on a ride whose design was revolutionary.

It'll be interesting to see if Intamin has worked the bugs out of this one; I'm sure they've learned much from Dragster.

At any rate, it's very exciting to see the 500 mark being approached so rapidly!

(OT, but their website doesn't seem Firefox friendly. The menus are all screwed up an unusable for me in Firefox, but work fine in IE).

Cedar Point is a good reason to visit Ohio. There's also The Pro Football Hall of Fame and The USAF Museum.

• Nobody dies.
  
• Saves lot of money.
  
• No damage to Martian environment and no contamination of Martian life (if there is any).
  
• All excitement that Sci-Fi fans could ever want. In fact, exploration of Mars might turn out to be exactly like the novel - no matter which novel you prefer! We can put Valentine Michael Smith up there if you like!
  

• What if spoilsports at JPL or NORAD use their radars and determine there is no spaceship out there? Well, that's where Russian angle comes in. We simply insist that there really is spaceship... and that JPL and NORAD guys are just issuing disinformation, in order to cover up embarrassing superiority of Russian space technology. (Hey, if this argument works for ESP and cold fusion...)
  
• What if people insist on getting interesting scientific information back from manned Mars trip? Well... they just won't. Nobody ever talks about data from Moon missions. Instead they rhapsodize about pictures of Aldrin and Armstrong and world's most expensive golf cart. If people insist on "scientific data", we will quietly steal photos from Spirit rover web site and Photoshop in a cosmonaut or two.
• What about people who want to colonize Mars in order to experience glorious new frontier? Won't they demand seats on our ship?
  
  Well, for morality's sake, our first duty is to lecture these people sternly about what idiots they are. When this doesn't work, we can sell them seats in Mars Settlement Simulator. This is big airtight tin can containing 1000 switches and 1000 tins of Spam. Every day, "passengers" are required to flip a switch... otherwise can explodes. If passengers run out of Spam, they die of starvation. One of the switches is secretly wired to shut off can's air supply... when it is switched, passengers unexpectedly die of asphyxiation. If passengers make it through 800 days, we open up can to reveal Gobi Desert, where they are free to wander around until they get bored and decide to go home.
  
  I figure we can get $1M each for these seats -- after all, they are very good simulation of real trip! But passengers may get mad because they don't get weightlessness for their money. Such passengers will be airlifted to secret Russian base at Sanduski where they can ride Weightlessness Simulators until they pass out.
  

Looking towards the future... will stuff like Gattaca(a personal favorite)--descrimination based on physical ability or percieved physical ablitiy-- enter everyday lives? I know the BoyScouts/Army are running Don't Ask/Don't Tell policies. As of now space requires certain physical abilities and fortitude. Can there be selective/non-descrimination based choices for who can do what? With the growing population (pun intended), some places like Cedar Point give limits as to some of the rides limitless people (pun intended) can ride on. Obviously IANAL, but would love to travel into space and was just wondering if someone closer to the sector could explain the possiblities/limitation.

FYI: Ateryx &lt,&lt,&lt Taco (so the limits don't really apply to me)

While you're in Cleveland, and even if you don't go to Ohio for anything else-- check out Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. By far the best roller-coaster park in the world. Make sure you either go after school is back in session (September is fine) or during the week, or you'll waste most of your time standing in lines....

If you are looking for Ripley's believe it or not museums and similar cheese, pass Cleveland and head towards Niagra Falls (actually, Niagra Falls is pretty cool.. you should go there too!). I think Cleveland is a great example of "real" Midwest america and has lots to do if you look a little. There many world class museums if that's your thing on the east side in the University Circle area. Make sure to pass by the Weatherhead building on Case Universities campus designed by world renowned architect Frank Gehry. Cleveland also has one of the largest performing arts districts outside of New York... although that costs some $$$. A trip on the Goodtime down the Cuyahoga or on Lake Erie is pretty cool, but it may not be running in September. There are something like 13 operable Bridges in the flats that are a sight to be seen at night because they are all lit up. I wouldn't go thousands of miles out of your way, but one of the things you must do before you die is go to Cedar Point and if you will be that close, a trip to Cleveland is definitely worth it.

Come visit Cedra Point ! The mecca of roller-coasters with many of the biggest ones in the world ! Very nerdy stuff.

While I agree that it should have been more clear, I'll note that, for the people who know of and go to Cedar Point, the notion of someone not knowing what it is is, well, insane. ;^) I've always lived within driving distance of Cedar Point, and until I moved to New York (from Detroit), I'd never met anyone who hadn't been to Cedar Point at least once (and usually every summer).

The people who go to Cedar Point are fanatics (myself included). We get excited over these things, sometimes a little too much.

Oh, and for the record: Cedar Point

You really need to see Cedar Point - and while you're here, hit King's Island and maybe even Magic Mountain. Disney's not famous for great roller coasters, and from what we understand, EuroDisney sucks.

Acording to the Facts Page, its capacity is Approximately 1,500 riders per hour. I'm not sure how this was calculated, but being its a 20sec ride that should hold true.

WMP, QT Low,, QT High

Those link seems to be working, even though the slashdot ones don't.

Of course, now that I just embedded those in a Slashdot page, the links are promptly dead. However, the main page still seems to function, and lets you choose the same options listed above. http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/inside_park/rides /thrill/_ttd/video/index.cfm

-Sara

WMP, QT Low,, QT High

Those link seems to be working, even though the slashdot ones don't.

Of course, now that I just embedded those in a Slashdot page, the links are promptly dead. However, the main page still seems to function, and lets you choose the same options listed above. http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/inside_park/rides /thrill/_ttd/video/index.cfm

-Sara

Yes, it's exciting, but something about this guy's expression on the diary page makes me think he's got more than a coaster blueprint hiding behind that paper.

Yes, it's exciting, but something about this guy's expression on the diary page makes me think he's got more than a coaster blueprint hiding behind that paper.

non flash front page

For those of you looking for the real thing, check out Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH. They have 15 roller coasters and 68 other rides. Cedar Point is home to the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, the Millenium Force (310ft/94m max height and 93MPH/150KPH max speed). They are open from mid-May through Labor Day (early September). It's a little expensive at $42 (+$8 for parking) though.

For those of you looking for the real thing, check out Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH. They have 15 roller coasters and 68 other rides. Cedar Point is home to the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, the Millenium Force (310ft/94m max height and 93MPH/150KPH max speed). They are open from mid-May through Labor Day (early September). It's a little expensive at $42 (+$8 for parking) though.

From the German Website under "Features:"
* Microsoft Windows operating system
* Internet connectivity
* 8 in color VGA display

I'll stick to Millenium Force, thanks...

They are building a 440 foot coaster at Cedar Point.

Here's some pictures

In a word...

No!
Kinda scary when you think about it, eh?

There are some in state laws, but that does not stop the traveling carnivals from doing whatever they want.

If you live anywhere near cedar point (near=within 4hrs drive) it is big, there is a lot to do, and they have an excellent record where saftey is concerned.

I agree. Even the Millennium Force at Cedar Point (currently the tallest, steepest, fastest coast in North America) doesn't hit more than 5Gs (according to their FAQ). I rode it last summer and - other than the bottom of the first hill - I didn't notice any serious pressure. Heck, my sister was even able to take some pictures during the actual ride.

Conclusion - the law is pointless.

Going from MA to WA will take you through OH. Which gives you the perfect excuse to spend a day at the Cedar Point Amusement Park link. Many would say that Cedar Point is America's best park for roller coasters. Whatever roller coaster enthusiast web site you visit on the web, Ceder Point roller coasters are included in the top ten list. It's located 2 hours west of Cleveland on the shores of Lake Erie.

If you pass through Cleveland on I-90, stop and catch a ball game at Jacob's Field then walk to the wharehouse district after the game for food, drink, dancing...

Most of all... have fun!

I sincerely hope you don't go on *any* roller coasters any more after your experience. To do otherwise would just be plain foolish and dangerous to your health. IANAD, but I would suspect you have a condition that is highly aggrevated by extreme G-forces. I say this because thousands of other people ride roller coasters every single day and come away with no ill side-effects at all except a slight adrenaline rush.

All of the roller coaster parks that I've been to have big noticable signs at the entrance that say riding any ride in the park is done so at the customer's own risk. There are usually a list of policies and rules that you agree to abide by when you purchase your ticket and enter the park. Basically, anything that happens to you that isn't the fault of an equipment malfuntion is 100% your problem. This includes your headache. I've seen ride operators explictly forbid pregnant and elderly folks from riding. (And probably also to avoid potential lawsuits...) Generally, roller coaster park employees are very good at enforcing park and ride rules because their jobs depend on it.

For example, the roller coaster capitol of the world has their policies and procedures online as well as having printed copies available in locations throughout the park. The online copy is here.

Now on to the practical. The roller coaster park that I'm partial to has millions of visitors each year and I have not heard about a single death that occured due to the rides. (Yeah, you get a few morons who don't hydrate themselves and die of heatstroke in the hot summer sun or a few older folks that have heart attacks in the park itself, but nothing that can be attributed to maintenance or employee negligence.) For the record, I've never even heard of anyone dying of excess G-forces on a roller coaster prior to this slashdot article.

Now the legal. If people like you feel they can't handle roller coasters, then they should simply not ride them. Quite a shocker there, huh? I mean, doesn't this ring just a bit of hipocracy[sp]? It seems a lot like trying to pass a law making all alcoholic beverages less potent because every morning after you've been drinking heavily you wind up with a splitting headache. Laws like this (and indeed the government itself) are far too extreme for what the problem really is: people who do not know or intentionally disregard their own limitations.

If any action is really needed (which I do not think it is), then at most they should measure the G-forces of the coaster with some accelerometers (which most parks do already) and post a sign saying "The maximum G-Force of this ride x.x G's." If a patron has ridden coasters with a similar G-force rating and experienced ill side-effects, then they should not ride it.

Nah, that's just too simple. Wouldn't make sense to anybody.

I sincerely hope you don't go on *any* roller coasters any more after your experience. To do otherwise would just be plain foolish and dangerous to your health. IANAD, but I would suspect you have a condition that is highly aggrevated by extreme G-forces. I say this because thousands of other people ride roller coasters every single day and come away with no ill side-effects at all except a slight adrenaline rush.

All of the roller coaster parks that I've been to have big noticable signs at the entrance that say riding any ride in the park is done so at the customer's own risk. There are usually a list of policies and rules that you agree to abide by when you purchase your ticket and enter the park. Basically, anything that happens to you that isn't the fault of an equipment malfuntion is 100% your problem. This includes your headache. I've seen ride operators explictly forbid pregnant and elderly folks from riding. (And probably also to avoid potential lawsuits...) Generally, roller coaster park employees are very good at enforcing park and ride rules because their jobs depend on it.

For example, the roller coaster capitol of the world has their policies and procedures online as well as having printed copies available in locations throughout the park. The online copy is here.

Now on to the practical. The roller coaster park that I'm partial to has millions of visitors each year and I have not heard about a single death that occured due to the rides. (Yeah, you get a few morons who don't hydrate themselves and die of heatstroke in the hot summer sun or a few older folks that have heart attacks in the park itself, but nothing that can be attributed to maintenance or employee negligence.) For the record, I've never even heard of anyone dying of excess G-forces on a roller coaster prior to this slashdot article.

Now the legal. If people like you feel they can't handle roller coasters, then they should simply not ride them. Quite a shocker there, huh? I mean, doesn't this ring just a bit of hipocracy[sp]? It seems a lot like trying to pass a law making all alcoholic beverages less potent because every morning after you've been drinking heavily you wind up with a splitting headache. Laws like this (and indeed the government itself) are far too extreme for what the problem really is: people who do not know or intentionally disregard their own limitations.

If any action is really needed (which I do not think it is), then at most they should measure the G-forces of the coaster with some accelerometers (which most parks do already) and post a sign saying "The maximum G-Force of this ride x.x G's." If a patron has ridden coasters with a similar G-force rating and experienced ill side-effects, then they should not ride it.

Nah, that's just too simple. Wouldn't make sense to anybody.

Long as they stay out of Ohio, they can do whatever the piss the want. But you dumbass legislators even *think* about regulating my rides at the greatest roller coaster park in the world, then I'll ensure that Goatsecx Man looks like an amateur compared to you.

Thank you and have a pleseant day.

Try cedar point. Only problem is that it is in Ohio, which has no real other reason to exist. It is in Sandusky, which is a bit west of Cleveland. They have the tallest coaster in the states right now, but I think there is a taller one in Japan. They even have a web site: Cedar Point, which claims that they are the Roller Coaster Capital of the world, so it must be good. I must say though, I don't experience a hint of nostalgia when I ride on the damn wooden coasters, just a bunch of pain...

The best coasters in the US are generally considered to be located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. The same people also own and operate Dorney Park in Pennsylvania.

Hey SGT PEPPER (fellow clevelander) - Nice to see you get on the front page, nice RFC 2795 link!

and i'm strongly awaiting the millenium force (300 ft high rollercoaster at cedar point)...

Mike Roberto (roberto@soul.apk.net) - AOL IM: MicroBerto

Hey watch it BLarg! Right now APK is being the best XFree mirror out there in the US, off of our little colocated pentium 75 box (check my post about the mirror up at the top)

Anyway, of course we APKers are smart and have some linux action! The rest of cleveland though... i dunno.. :)

but wait! the cleveland linux users group (CLUG) is one hell of a group! One of our leaders, Mat Kovacs, is the guy that's organizing the trip to CEDAR POINT for linux users! The new rollercoaster is gonna rock too. Chill out, Blarg! enjoy xf4

Mike Roberto
- roberto@apk.net
-- AOL IM: MicroBerto