Jason1238

Here is the design of the intersections along Bypass 4 (I hope this works...never linked to a video here before!): Basically, if you are on a lesser street that crosses the major route, you cannot simply cross the major route by going straight through the light. You have to turn right onto the major route, then make a U-turn, then turn right back onto the street you were originally on. If you are traveling on the major route, you now have two lights to get through at each cross street (one at the U-turn and another at the actual intersection. It just seems...weird. I will say that the traffic flow is much improved, but I credit the fact that they added more travel lanes more than this intersection design. And I still maintain that a traffic light salesman was involved !

I agree with Homestar above...Bypass 4 is horrible. I'm convinced that the designers of those "super intersections" also have some stake in the manufacture of traffic lights (count how many there are each at Symmes and Tylersville!). I hope they don't consider that intersection design anywhere in Mason, 'cause I live here! I've driven quite a bit in Italy and Austria, and IMHO the roundabout wins for efficiency at an intersection, quick in-quick out. Takes a bit of practice to get used to, but once they are understood by the general driving population, they're hard to beat for traffic flow. (yes I realize I'm probably in the minority with that opinion, but oh well! ) I've also driven in most major cities here in the US (with the exception of DC-sorry Terp!), and most are terrible. My least favorite spots: 1) Chicago loop 2) "Spaghetti Junction" in Atlanta 3) ALL of LA

I'm wondering how they can certify those machines for human passengers. The company I work for has a relationship with Kuka robotics...makers of a ride called the Robocoaster. It's simply a high payload 6 axis industrial robot that they mounted a pair of seats with OTS restraints on. I have ridden it, and it is pretty cool. At a tradeshow a few years ago I spoke to one of the Kuka reps, and he told me how much they had to go through to get those things certified to allow people to ride. He said that while they ultrasound test every major casting for all their robots, only the absolutely perfect ones are allowed to go into the robots for the ride. The controls have redundancies and failsafes built in as well. If you've ever seen a robot "geek out" you would understand the reason for the extra caution...are excavators any different? Basically, throwing around parts on an assembly line or a bucket of dirt or gravel is very different from throwing people around to give them a thrill. I can only assume they have addressed this, but I'm curious if there are any limits on the machines? Maybe movement speed or range of motion limits?

LOL, That was my favorite part in Chicago! Server walked up with a handful of napkins, said "here you go", and chucked them into the whirring fan above...shocking and hilarious! We then engaged in a "napkin war" with the tables around us for a few minutes. It was a brief trip back to middle school No fans where we sat in Gatlinburg though. Kids didn't get to see that one, sadly.

I'm on the fence about Yelp. I've not had much luck trusting reviews there recently. I have recently found that, apparently, there are people with tastes and budgets different than mine that are writing reviews there. Whouda' thunk it?

Wow...tough crowd! Pricing as I remember was in line with larger chains like Outback, Bennigans, Cheddars and the like...but who knows on the Levee? Austrian Jason

Dick's Last Resort is a fun place to go for a group of friends or coworkers. You have to be able to laugh at yourself to enjoy the experience though! I was in Chicago for a trade show about 4 years ago, and a big group of us decided to check it out. I work for an Italian company, and we have a plant in Austria, so there were Americans, Austrians, and Italians in our group of about 20 people. All but one of the Italians left after the server's first visit to our table. They were completely ticked off. The Austrians (I think there were 3 or 4 of them) all LOVED the place and didn't want to go anywhere else for the rest of the show. Also stopped at the one in Gatlinburg with the wife and kids a couple of years ago, and the kids still talk about it...they had a blast! The food is at best mediocre, but I personally have a great time eating there. I think it'll be good for the area, and I know once my kids find out it's there, we'll have to go!

Pulling out of that lift hill loop will be cool...you'll go from a few feet off the ground, to climbing as the ground drops away below you. The effect should be the sensation of climbing faster and higher than you really are, adding to the intensity. Kudos to those that laid this coaster out! They have really made it work well with the terrain IMO.

Looks like they hung another piece of track (entering the lift loop)...

Great pics...can't get enough of these! Thanks to Don and Ryan!

Just out of curiosity, what exactly happens when a wheel fails? Is it simply that the outer lamination (urethane?) comes off, or is it a deeper mechanical issue like a bearing or shaft? I guess a better question is: what is the typical failure mode for a coaster wheel? Are there warning signs of imminent failure? Could a wheel failure cause a train to valley (due to friction/drag)? I would think that if there was even a remote chance of this, those in charge would see to it that any problems are addressed immediately, but I don't know... Any experience that someone has with these things is that much more than I...I'm just fascinated by the machinery involved! Jason-who is ignorant but curious.

^Good point...hadn't thought of the forward motion (duh). I wonder how fast you'll be traveling at that point (at the top of the dive loop)...maybe they could cut the midway back a bit taking all these factors into consideration? As for folks throwing things: put the ride photo cameras there. Should discourage such behavior I would think...and it would be a decent place for it anyway IMO. I certainly hope there's no net put up. I think it would be a bit ugly there.

If you look at the renderings, there doesn't seem to be much of the ride hanging out over the AZ midway. There's a small corner of the midway that will tuck in between the legs of the outermost support of the dive loop. if you stand there to watch, the train is coming almost vertically down above you. I could be mistaken, but I would think that anything loose would fall before that (because you're completely upside down), or after that (as you pull g's out of the dive loop). Either way, you're not over the midway when it happens.

Yes KI has thought of the possibility of deer being on the track. The trains for The Beast all have deer whistles on them to hopefully scare the deer into moving I don't know if those deer whistles work to keep deer off the track, but I do know they don't do squat to keep hawks from landing on the track just prior to impact. Eeeewwww...is this something you learned from personal experience? That would ruin your day for sure! All I can think of right now is Fabio's bloodied gob...

Deer are funny about noises...especially in more rural areas. I've hunted pretty much my whole life (mostly in SE Ohio) and have seen deer just stand and watch as a tractor or quad rolls by, sometimes close enough for the driver/rider to reach out and touch them. Now, roll up to those same deer on that quad and shut it off...they'll bolt for sure. It's a perceived threat at that point for some reason. I've always looked, but never have seen deer around the track on Beast. It would surely be a bit of a mess if they decided to take on a coaster train...wonder if KI has thought of this?