Avatar and Spongebob coasters testing from MOA.

Say hi to Ashley Simpson for me! :P

YIKES!!!

Very crowded opening day on Spongebob.

Was there anything in that space before Spongebob was built?

By the way, Kara phoned me and said that SpongeBob was not what she hoped, but she loved the half-pipe. She's hoping SB grows on her with additional rides. I'm sure she'll pipe in eventually.

What a great day!

Check out my Photo TR on my blog, if you dare :).

I think your first impression was 'it SUCKS'...yeah, that's right...I overheard what you were saying to CoastaBee. (For those following along at home: My honey was at MOA to watch Ashlee Simpson and ran into Kar-Uh while on the phone with a brutha)

I haven't set foot in the mall since Friday. I'm still bitter that they didn't 'soft open' the day before officially opening the park.

BTW, 'Bee still won't ride SpongeBob, but she's kinda half-thinking-just-maybe-oh-no-I-won't about Avatar.

-'Playa

*** Edited 3/17/2008 1:46:00 PM UTC by CoastaPlaya***

SB did not make a great first impression on me either. I think you do have to go a few rounds on this one to "get it". Surprisingly even for a single car ride the back seat was the better option. Either way it is a much needed addition to the park. And to MN in general. Hint hint, VF.

Has anyone had similar experiences with other Euro Fighters?

Avatar you pretty much get what you see. The spinning realy does make a difference when it happens. Too bad it is only 12 people per cycle because it does become a long wait. The ride ops get up close and personal as you load and unload so that you don't walk off the end of the platform into the pit below. It got a little unnerving to have them almost nose to nose as I got out of the seat.

Overall the park looks great. It is a drastic difference from Camp Snoopy which I can say I will miss to some degree. I'm sure there will still be some refinements as they go along but it's off to a great start.

Still looks like a cool park, even if the Nick theming is a little over-the-top. The theme seems to have gone from comfortable to frantic. I guess that's the point?

The Spongebob coaster is just a smaller version of several coasters that are popping up at different parks around the world. So, the skaking loop is probably common on that type of coaster. And, since it is a fairly new type of coaster, I think the people who designed it are smart enough to know why it's shaking, and are not worried about damage to the ride, or it's riders.

Also, wooden coasters have been shaking since day one. Almost every wooden coaster moves in one way or another. Even more so for coasters that are built in California, to stand up to earthquakes.

Shivering Timbers at Michigan's adventure is one of my favorite coasters. When you are standing in the que, you are within a few feet of the coasters double helix, and, if you watch the track as the rain roars into it, you can see the supports sway and shake as the train rips through it. I would say that it sways at least a foot every time a train enters, then snaps back to normal after the train has passed.

Another coaster that looks as if it might shake apart is Wicked Twister. If you watch each end of the coaster you can see it swaying as the coaster crests each end. It looks very unsafe. But, once you are on the ride, you barely notice it, because you are having way too much fun!

I did see the video of the Spongebob coaster, and I think it's very cool. Kind of a short ride, but, I certainly wish it was at my local mall. I would be there every day to ride it. *** Edited 3/20/2008 3:51:12 AM UTC by Timber-Rider***

I think those Eurofighters are ****ty coasters. They don´t ride well and I just don´t get why they are selling like mad throughout the world. (Haven´t done the two US rides yet).

In that comments to that youtube-video that CoastaPlaya linket to on the last page, someone mentions that they put in additional supports to stop the loop from wobbling. Can anybody confirm this or is it just youtube-babble?

I really don´t think that you can simply go and support a coaster with cables from the ceiling, which was most certainly not designed for this purpose.