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Episode 151 - 2024 is here
16 Plays11 months ago
This week on the premier comedy roller coaster podcast, Ben and Zach discuss all the happenings of the off season, in style!
Actually, we're the worst roller coaster podcast.
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Transcript
Ben's Drinking Journey
00:00:31
Speaker
I'm Zach and I'm drinking fuck it. I'm Ben and I'm dry. For a start contrast, I remember when I did a dry January on this very program and you said,
00:00:50
Speaker
Yeah, fuck that. Well, that's because, I mean, back then I drank more. So like, I didn't understand the point of it for me personally, cause it was like, well, on February 1st, I'm just going to start again. So it's like, if I have no intention of actually cutting back long-term, what's the point of even doing this? But isn't that still true though?
00:01:17
Speaker
No, this past year, I've like really cut back. Like I would say overall, maybe like a fourth of what I have been the last couple of years of my life. Well, good. So because it kind of sucks.
00:01:39
Speaker
I got to that point and then I also realized, Oh, winter in Chicago also sucks. So bottoms up. Yeah. I mean that too, but I think that's like part of the problem though is like, you'll always find a reason to cause here's the thing, right? It's in the summertime. It's like, Oh, it's summer. Let's have a beer. And then the winter it's like, Oh, it's winter. Let's have a drink.
00:02:09
Speaker
So for me in the summertime, I can take it or leave it. I'm like, I'm out doing something outside. So like if it's like, oh, we could have a drink. OK, cool. But it's not like winter where it's like, all right, sitting inside all night again and it's dark at three o'clock. So guess we just grab a drink. You know, yeah.
00:02:38
Speaker
That's why we're doing like yoga and shit. Trying to like start the year off right and all that. I mean, look, if you start not in the best place, then you've got nowhere to go but up, right? Yeah. This winter also is not as cold as in the past. So there's that.
Zach's Academic Success
00:03:09
Speaker
Well, I also have the excuse of being in college right now. Oh, yeah, that's true. Well, especially after finals, final app like post finals is always like a. God, I have a few. Yeah, I'm on the third week of my four week break. I took six classes in the fall 23 semester.
00:03:36
Speaker
totaling 18 credit hours, which is the maximum my school allows you to take. And I'm happy to report to you and all of our listeners that I got straight fucking A's. Nice. Yeah, I was proud as shit of that. Plus like it's cannabis. So it's like, even, it's kind of like even funnier.
00:04:02
Speaker
Well, it just proves that even though I was a fuck off student all my life, apparently just put the word cannabis in front of whatever class I'm taking. I'll pay a lot of attention. Yeah, get all my assignments done all that shit. But no, yeah, I've never had a straight A semester in my life. So that was kind of exciting. Well, congrats 4.0.
00:04:31
Speaker
Yes, and thank you. And then this coming semester, starting after next week, I am going to be taking four classes totaling 17 credit hours. So I'm pretty much at the maximum because there's no single credit hour classes. Yeah. But this is my last calendar year in college before I finally fucking graduate.
00:05:06
Speaker
Well, nice. That's so. So you're only so end of this end of your semester is the last one. The end of this year, I've got my four classes this semester. I've got two in summer and then one during fall, and then I'll be all done. OK, gotcha.
Rental Challenges in Duluth
00:05:27
Speaker
Which is awesome. I'm excited. Because
00:05:36
Speaker
I'm not going to sit here and act like the classes are the hardest things in the world. They are involved science classes, but like I kind of innately have an understanding. So that's great, but still it's a lot of work. Well, I guess as, as, as anybody, do you know, failing them? I don't think anyone's failing.
00:06:04
Speaker
My school is definitely big on making sure that everybody understands the material and is graded based off of their comprehension, which I think is great. But also, you know, it's not like there's not tests and shit.
00:06:28
Speaker
Got to do some labs and stuff, and I got even more of that coming up this semester, which is cool. Learning how to do chromatography, which is how, you know, THC and other cannabinoid and terpene profile content is determined in the lab. So are you guys so are you handling like actual weed? No, we only handle.
00:06:55
Speaker
So there's a greenhouse at campus and they grow hemp. So we do handle hemp, but, um, I don't think because the school, you know, works with FAFSA and all this, I don't think we can actually work with, you know, cannabis with the THC content. Okay. 0.03 or whatever.
00:07:27
Speaker
But it's awesome to be in school, awesome to be learning, and it will be great to have a college degree. Yeah. But I digress. How you been? I know you took a trip and how were your holidays? I mean, holidays were fine, but yeah, mainly,
00:07:57
Speaker
It was just like two intense work weeks and then house closing and then we're still dealing with all that. So, um, so unfortunately we learned today that you need a, uh, a license for rentals in the city of Duluth. So, and they have parking requirements, which kind of messes up our, uh,
00:08:28
Speaker
like our strategy for renting it for short term. So we got to deal with that right now. Aren't there any loopholes? Not really. So basically it's like, you can't, you need the permit to rent it and you can't really get a rent. You can't get the permit without certain requirements, but we'll see. I mean,
00:09:00
Speaker
I don't think we might move there sooner than we planned is basically the problem or the solution. So you think you're getting out of Denver? Maybe at least for
Comparing Rental Markets: Duluth vs Denver
00:09:14
Speaker
a little bit. But long-term you think you're going to keep your place there too? Yeah. Yeah. I'll keep this place. This will be kind of like home base. For sure. Um,
00:09:29
Speaker
But like, you know, there's just a lot of, it's just like a lot of what if things, it's like, do I, which, you know, do you make it nicer to rent it? Do you just leave it? Do you furnish it, et cetera. So, but with the rental market today, I don't know if it really matters. I was going to say, is there any extra that I need to lose? Well, yeah, but in both cities. So,
00:09:59
Speaker
Well in Denver, I can imagine, but I don't know anything about Duluth, Minnesota. Well, it's just smaller. It's like smaller, but the demand is still high. So it's like same type of demand, but it's just at a much smaller scale. You know, here it's like you apply for an apartment and you'll be one of like 50 applicants.
00:10:27
Speaker
but there's also 50 other options. Whereas there it's like, you know, there's like five options and you got three people to compete with, but there's still not enough listings. All right. Well, I mean, hope it works out for you. Yeah, it'll, it'll be fine, but
00:10:56
Speaker
it'll be a long time before coaster season starts. So, and then I get to go back to Valley fair, which is Valley fair is not a bad part, but it's also not like, you know, it's literally the same park as it's been
Valley Fair's Attractions Dilemma
00:11:12
Speaker
for the last like 15 years. Yeah. They really have not done a whole hell of a lot up there. Have they?
00:11:25
Speaker
Like, remember that rumor that they're going to get that invert? Yeah, that's still a rumor. I don't know if it's quite as strong anymore, but it's still a rumor. I don't remember who is saying it, but someone was I thought someone said that like Patriot was supposed to go to the Valley Fair.
00:11:56
Speaker
I could see that. And it would be funny because it's like, of course, Valley Fair gets a B&M and it's like kind of a lame one. I think Valley Fair just really needs something at this point. Yeah. They need like, I mean, it depends if they take out Excalibur or not.
00:12:22
Speaker
which is, it's such, that's such a weird ride. Even, even like, even for a park like valley fair, it's just so bizarre that they bought a arrow coaster like that, but it's like they bought half of a roller coaster. Yeah. But if they take that out, they'll have to replace it. Maybe they could just put a water park expansion in the, you had just get rid of that tunnel and then
00:12:52
Speaker
Like they'll definitely expand the water to get a new coaster. That makes sense. I feel like they're kind of in the same category as like Michigan's adventure. We're like, you don't really need to do anything to keep people coming. Yeah. It's like their clientele, like their numbers are probably exactly the same year after year.
00:13:23
Speaker
But but still, like you have to invest in your I don't know. But do you, though? I mean, eventually you have to do something to the water park, I guess. When was the last time machines adventure did anything to their water park? I mean, they retract
00:13:51
Speaker
What is it? Wild? No, not Wildcat. Zach Zumer? No. What the hell is it called? Timberhawk, Timberwolf. Yeah, but the water park is the real draw there, like you're saying. Yeah. So it's the same deal at Valley Fair. Like, when's the last time they did anything to the water park at either one of those? I don't know. But the thing, though, is like at least Michigan's adventure is like they're still like
00:14:21
Speaker
Even though they're not building anything new, they're still like reinvesting into the rides that they have. Like they're, you know, they did that Michigan's, they did that shivering timbers retrack. They did the wildcat or whatever Wolverine, whatever the hell it's called. The Phoenix clone. Um, you know, they just did that big retrack. Whereas like they've never done anything like that at Valley fair.
00:14:55
Speaker
Fair. I mean, Renegade hasn't gotten anything recently. I mean, that ride, I'm pretty like. I mean, I guess it's still been a while. Shit, it's almost been 10 years. I think last time I wrote it was like 2015. And even then, it was like original track and it was rough. Oof.
00:15:22
Speaker
I rode the only time I rode that ride was the day it opened. Have not been back to Valley Fairs since then. Because. You know. It's not a bad park, it's fine, there's nothing wrong with the park, it's just.
00:15:54
Speaker
I guess I don't really know what else to do in Minnesota or Minneapolis if I go all the way up there. I mean, Minneapolis is a pretty cool city. So like, what would you recommend doing for a weekend if you have to bake in Valley Fair and the Mall of America?
00:16:24
Speaker
I mean, you could definitely just throw in bars and restaurants. A twins game. OK, I was going to say a twins game as well, probably. You could honestly, you could make a little weekend trip out of it. Take the take the Amtrak up to St. Paul. You could do that whole thing, but via like public transit.
00:16:52
Speaker
That would cost from Chicago to San Paul. What was it? That would cost way more than driving though. Um, well I know the Milwaukee to Minneapolis route was like 45 bucks. It wasn't too bad. Yeah. But multiply by two. Yeah. And then remember I've got a fucking Corolla.
00:17:23
Speaker
Yeah, but I mean, yeah, surprisingly, once you get a little bit north of Milwaukee, about an hour or so, Wisconsin is pretty.
Wisconsin vs Illinois Landscapes
00:17:40
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, yeah. So giving your state a lot of credit there.
00:17:50
Speaker
Well, it's like, I remember, I remember this topic on CIFF camera world and it was like, what state, what state has better scenery, Illinois or Wisconsin? And it was like 82% voted Illinois. But like, if you look at the demographics at the time, it was like all these like suburban Chicago kids that have only been the great America type of vibe.
00:18:19
Speaker
And I just remember like reading that and it's like you've clearly never been in Wisconsin. Like Kenosha doesn't count. Yeah, everything between the border in Milwaukee on 94 is might as well be Illinois. Yeah, for sure. I'll be I'll be completely honest. But yeah, like once you're really cruising in the state, like we went to Madison last year.
00:18:48
Speaker
to go see the Lion King. And like once you're really cruising along, sure, there's still a lot of farmland, but it gets a little bit more hilly and shit. Yeah. And like I said, I driven out to a valley fair with Jerome and Alyssa. And that drive was really nice. There's a bunch of cool shit and you pass right by Claire and all that. Mm hmm.
00:19:19
Speaker
Yeah. And, um, you know, there's kind of this like saying, like, especially if you're in Northern Wisconsin, there's a lot of, um, it's basically like blue water, white sand and islands in the North part of the state. And if you were like, if you were kidnapped or like you're,
00:19:44
Speaker
blindfolded, bound and gagged, thrown in like a back of a van type of, you know, beat up. And then they dropped you off in Northern Wisconsin and you like walked out to the water on like a hot July day. Like you would think you were in like the Bahamas. Obviously it's only for, you know, like two months a year where it's really, really nice, but that's called a redneck vacation.
00:20:15
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. You set me up. I'm going to have to take it. I was trying to say something nice about Wisconsin there too, Ben. God damn. Well.
00:20:34
Speaker
Oh, I also remember stopping somewhere along that drive going from Milwaukee to Valley Fair. And there was a gas station that had like homemade soaps. And that shit smelled amazing. Homemade soaps. Yeah. Like, yeah. Yeah.
00:21:03
Speaker
That stuff's made out of like. I think it's made out of like fat. Probably. Like the way they did it, yeah. Smelled great. Also, I remember there's like a really
00:21:30
Speaker
Interesting McDonald's somewhere too, like not too far away from like little America, I want to say. A McDonald's. Didn't you and me and Chris and Dwayne all go there?
00:21:58
Speaker
Um, what was unique about it? It's just kind of really nice for being in the middle of nowhere. And it wasn't in the Dells. Nope. It was off the highway. And like the only other thing of note was a gas station or whatever. Huh.
00:22:26
Speaker
My McDonald's memories are a little hazy, but let's see. How could that be? There's only so many of them. Well, I don't know. That's a pretty specific one. See, but my talk about memory was like actually pretty good. Remember when like different members, like a teenager fast food places had different
00:22:54
Speaker
like weird designations, it's like, oh yeah, this is the one with the 80s Jeep ad. Or it's like, oh, this one is cool because the drive-through has three windows or just, it was just like random things that people would remember the different Taco Bells by. Oh yeah, that one has a picture of tomatoes on the wall. But it's like, oh, we should drive 15 minutes extra to go to that one.
00:23:24
Speaker
The only difference I remember it like specifically like going out of the way for is like if they had a specific menu item. Yeah. Like I remember back in those days, some Taco Bells had a chili cheese burrito and some didn't. So I would always go to the ones that did. Now it's all about those cinnamon twists. You know what I'm saying? Yeah.
00:23:54
Speaker
the back when I think the best thing they ever did was the $2 meal deal where it was, it was basically like a dollar. It was like a dollar item, a drink, and then a bag of Doritos,
Taco Bell vs Del Taco Debate
00:24:12
Speaker
which is kind of bullshit. What was it? I remember that shit.
00:24:21
Speaker
Yeah. And so like when I could be really like really cheap and get like the $2 meal deal and with the, it was a half pound chicken burrito. And then you get cheesy fiesta potatoes and you crush the Doritos in the potatoes. That's lunch. And then add, maybe add a double decker taco if it's dinner time for like a buck 30.
00:24:51
Speaker
Less than five bucks. See, here's the deal, right? I have been significantly less jazzed about Taco Bell, not even just since being an adult, but more so since I've gone to Del Taco. Yeah. Just because basically Del Taco is like if Taco Bell was made out of food. Yeah. But sometimes I don't want real food.
00:25:22
Speaker
Like sometimes I don't want a real taco, but it's still not a taco. It's definitely a Taco Bell taco. It's just like, instead of cardboard, they use the taco shell. Yeah. Instead of like a bag of bean paste, they used actual beans.
00:25:49
Speaker
Yeah. My only gripe with Del Taco is that everything comes with fries. Like, I don't want fries. Del tacos fries are good though. Yeah, they're not. I mean, they're good fries. I like the what I get what you're saying, but like,
00:26:19
Speaker
See, I have this thing where I got to finish fries before I get to my entree. Yeah. So I do get that annoyance because I'll get like large, large and then I'm like through my fries and I get like finished with my first taco and I'm like, fuck, I got two more tacos and a burrito to go.
00:26:44
Speaker
So that's why I kind of, I do the opposite. Like I can't, I have to start with fries and end with fries. So I'll eat like half of them, eat some entrees and then go back and with the fries. Like there has to be some side left. I have a weird thing. I think I got to just like clear all of like my fries or chips or whatever.
00:27:09
Speaker
Salad, whatever the side is. I gotta clear that ship before I even start on the main, you know? I can only leave a couple and then like, all right, I'll have that last one after a couple bites. This is weird, I've never talked about that with anyone.
00:27:43
Speaker
Go ahead. I was just saying, I'm glad all our listeners could hear that. Uh, but go ahead. What were you saying? Or like when you're driving, like a drive through fast food order back to your house.
00:28:05
Speaker
And somebody just keeps sticking their hands in the bag, eating fries. So when you get back to the house and the fries are gone, but you're just left with like the sandwiches. Oh, I used to do that shit all the time. But yeah, I found that to be the same exact way I've grown into like, don't touch it. Leave that bag curled the fuck folded over.
00:28:34
Speaker
We're four minutes from home. Yeah. And if you have one fry, you're going to have all the fries. Yeah. No, I completely understand that you either have to like commit to having all the fries or having none of the fries. Yeah.
00:29:01
Speaker
That's what's nice about like Taco Bell is the lack of fries. It's like you got to kind of commit to the food. But that's kind of the problem with Taco Bell is you're committing to the food. And it's not committing to you. No, it is not.
00:29:26
Speaker
Taco Bell is the only food I've gotten where I cannot even be done with all of the shit that I'm going to eat. And I get the gurgles. Yeah. Oh, God, that reminds me of. We have a drive down to that White Castle in Kenosha. Yeah. And it's like a it's like a 45 minute drive from West Bend.
00:29:56
Speaker
And like every time we did that trip, it's like you get about 15 minutes on the highway. You don't even hit Milwaukee yet. There's always like right around your passing seven mile fare. And then like someone would just start farting. And then like you'd get 20 minutes past that and then somebody would have to stop at the gas station and shit. Oh God. You said it was a 45 minute drive.
00:30:26
Speaker
Yeah, just I think just about. Yeah. And nobody could just like. Take care of their ship for they had to go. Well, sometimes it doesn't hit right away. Well, that's fair, but like. How many cigarettes were being smoked?
00:30:54
Speaker
Uh, at the time, not that energy drinks. Yeah. I definitely energy drinks. Cause that'll, that'll definitely contribute man. The other weird thing.
00:31:15
Speaker
The other weird food thing I remember doing is, uh, you go to a Chinese buffet and then you slam a five hour energy right after you eat all the food and something about the Chinese food or it like helps you absorb. So cause the problem with B vitamins is that they have to metabolize with food.
00:31:38
Speaker
But if you max out at a Chinese buffet and then drink the five hour energy, you're like fully metabolizing all the vitamins and you get this insane rush. I mean, I guess I can see it, but at the same time, I'm like, theoretically, the same thing would work with Olive Garden's unlimited soup salad breadsticks.
00:32:08
Speaker
It does. It does, though. We actually last year we went to we did that. We went to the olive garden thing. But then we did a hike like on the way home. It was it was like dark out and cold. And we're like, let's just do a hike. And we like powered up it because we had all the carbs. It's actually kind of cool. Afternoon carbo load.
00:32:40
Speaker
And this was like wine and like it was late. You know, Olive Garden is pretty good when you're looking for all you can eat soup salad breadsticks. The people start getting annoyed, though. That's my only complaint.
00:33:08
Speaker
I wonder if they train the employees to like how to manage people like that. It's like once they're on plate three, just like a really long time to come back to the table. Yeah, I think probably about three refills is your limit before they start getting uppity about it. Unless you go when it's really empty.
00:33:38
Speaker
Yeah. When you're here, you're family. Which reminds me, Ben, what are you going to do now that Trump is off the ballot in your state? Yeah, I was thinking about this the other day.
00:34:10
Speaker
I still don't know like what is going to come of that. Like, yeah, it seems like for right now it's paused, which is like, okay. So what it's symbolic. Yeah, pretty, pretty much.
00:34:32
Speaker
It's, it's, yeah, I don't know. Everything, that's what I mean. Everything is just, it doesn't seem real. It's like, I don't know, like what, it's like, how am I supposed to feel about this? Like, is there actually anything coming about of this? Is anything going to change? Are we all just going to die anyway? Like. Yeah. It's like, oh, the state Supreme Court voted him off the ballot, but the US Supreme Court said you can't do that.
00:35:04
Speaker
So I don't know. Exactly. It's like. Don't forget to make your voice heard. What? We'll see.
00:35:29
Speaker
I don't know. We'll see. It's a fucking election year already. God damn it. Yeah, that one quick. Can't we ever just go four years without. Without what? An election.
Political Ads: A New Approach?
00:35:52
Speaker
I know a couple of people who would love that. Actually, here's the deal, right?
00:35:59
Speaker
Let's add the election, let's just make election cycle illegal. Wait, make them what? It makes the entire election cycle illegal. So like, everybody still gets to vote, right? It just means that you can't get inundated with ads.
00:36:28
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I do kind of wish that we would just outlaw, outlaw pharmaceutical ads and outlaw political ads or kind of like, um, your gift or what I wish would happen is like every candidate is given a template.
00:36:47
Speaker
Right? Like you have to like go into a studio and you have one studio choice and you're given 30 seconds and you can say whatever you want in those 30 seconds, but it has to be you talking and like, that's it. And you get like one shot.
00:37:10
Speaker
So if you want to waste it, talking shit about somebody that's on you, but you can't make these like insane ads, these like insane and tack ads. Yeah, I like that. And the pharmaceutical ones too. That's crazy.
00:37:32
Speaker
especially when you're like Europe or another country and you turn on the TV and you just don't see them. Yeah. And you're like, Oh yeah. Maybe I shouldn't ask my doctor about button. All of Zen book, cocking bowls.
00:38:05
Speaker
I know somebody personally on Ozempic. Oh, oh, oh, Ozempic. We're all going to be on it eventually. What is it for?
00:38:23
Speaker
It's for diabetes. And then someone figured out, I guess it does something to like your insulin response, but people are overweight. People discovered that it like curbs their appetite. So it's like an appetite. What was it? That's just not going to work on me. I got the other kind of diabetes already.
00:38:54
Speaker
So do you always feel full after eating or, or, or hungry? Um, not neither is a blanket rule. My blood sugar is super like.
00:39:13
Speaker
volatile, essentially, because my body just doesn't make its own insulin. So like if I eat anything, it's going to go up right away. But like it's the opposite with type two, where it's like the body still produces insulin, but the cells can't like, like receive it well.
00:39:42
Speaker
Yeah. Insulin resistance, you know, and that's what Osempic is for. So it probably helps, but it's probably more designed for those patients, but can help anybody, you know. So yeah, you're right. We're all going to be on it.
00:40:12
Speaker
Welcome to 2024. Oh, oh, oh. And now I got that stuck on my head. Do you want to talk about roller coasters? Yeah, probably should. Um, Iron Menace got tapped off. And that's a Dorny thing. Yep. That's fun.
00:40:42
Speaker
It actually looks decent for a coaster, but again, it's one of those like I'm surprised Dornie's even getting anything. Hey, shush, Dornie's really happy. Yeah.
00:41:05
Speaker
Last time they got anything of like real value was Hydra. And that was 2005. And they got Demon Drop. Like I said, last time they got anything of real value was Hydra in 2005. Demon Drop is fun.
00:41:38
Speaker
Right. But we're talking about anything of real value here. Not like a 35 year old attraction. Somebody posted a photo of the fish hook concept. I didn't realize it was supposed to work like a Intamin first gen.
00:42:08
Speaker
Really? Yeah, like it's supposed to have like a like a whole like a like two layers, you know. That's insane. What's funny about that is that they close it because of loud noise complaints, but considering it was an arrow, it probably would have been loud as shit.
00:42:38
Speaker
I mean, undoubtedly. Really thinking about it, yeah. But it still looked fucking awesome. I wish they would have built it because it looked cool as fuck.
00:43:07
Speaker
So with iron, okay. So iron man is going in. What do you think is going to be like, cause that was a Cedar fair purchase. Yep. I'm curious to know like, like I wonder which parks attractions actually count as each
00:43:34
Speaker
Manager's decision like so obviously this was still gonna happen because this happened before the merger But I wonder like what people like if parks had these five-year plans that are now suddenly like canceled I Mean it's got to be partially on the park president and all that but also Yeah, like corporate's got to determine like determine like
00:44:03
Speaker
their spending limits and all that. Right. Right. I mean, I don't know, I feel like. Because also, like, they have to source proposals, right? Right.
00:44:35
Speaker
Well, do you think a six flags park will ever get a giga? Hey, I'm sorry, you cut out. What'd you say? Do you think a six flags park will ever get a giga? Hmm. I thought magic mountains been talking about it.
00:45:09
Speaker
Like, that's the rumor I thought I heard recently. Where would they even put that shit, though? Well, they're closing that theater, the Golden Bear Theater or whatever. That shit's going. Like, right now, they're tearing it out. So is it the theater that we got kicked out of?
00:45:40
Speaker
No, it's the outdoor one closer by the front of the park. Okay. So they're going to have a bunch of land free there, you know. That's the thing. Like, I feel like whenever you look at park maps, like parks always have these giant outdoor amphitheaters that are only seem to be used for like employee orientation and cheerleading competitions.
00:46:12
Speaker
Yeah. And it seems like valuable expansion pads that they're not using. Yeah. And I mean, what? Universal Hollywood right now is building the Fast and the Furious ride. Is that a roller coaster? Yep. Nice.
00:46:43
Speaker
Looks somewhat. Similar to Velocico's here, it's going to go around. The escalators. In fact, we should both look up the POV of it right now and do commentary. Oh, shit, OK. The escalators, I'm trying to remember
00:47:12
Speaker
Were those, so is that like where you go down towards like Jurassic park? Yes. Cause that park is in two halves, the upper lot and the lower lot, you know? Okay. I see. Hold on. I haven't found it yet.
00:47:42
Speaker
The music is very 90s. Okay, Amusement Insider, that's the one I found.
00:48:13
Speaker
Skip the ad. Yeah, that music is super nineties. I feel like it should be like an arrow promotional video. Okay. Yeah, this looks pretty sick.
00:48:48
Speaker
Interesting, like bunny Hill launch track types. Definitely. I mean, okay. It's actually pretty cool. It's a terrain coaster. Helix. Yeah. I think this is going to be one of the like best terrain coasters in the country.
00:49:27
Speaker
Yeah, that dive loop at the far end into the launch looks awesome. OK, yeah, it was a little. Nice. So it looks like there's a bunch of launches to keep its speed. Yeah, no, that looks awesome.
00:49:57
Speaker
Looks cool. Kind of reminds me of, um, it looks, it looks less intense and velocity coaster and less airtime focus. Like it basically all those moves are like very graduate. So it's like, uh, I'm going to try to say like very long, gradual hang time inversions. Well, I mean,
00:50:31
Speaker
That kind of seems on brand. Free universal Hollywood who don't have like a major coaster. Better to not go to like the most extreme, you know. Yeah, it's kind of like Hagrid's vibes on a velocity coaster.
00:51:02
Speaker
Yeah, like a good blend of the two and set on a mountainside. Yeah. I'm looking at a POV POV of a Hyperia right now. Oh, yeah, Hyperia looks looks pretty cool. That one outward bang turn looks like something that was
00:51:28
Speaker
It looks like something that was built on a no limits coaster in like 2005. Yeah. I know exactly what you're talking about. That, that came up exactly as you were saying that. And I was like, Oh yeah. It does look good though.
00:51:55
Speaker
Star Trek Enterprise POV. I'm just like, I haven't caught up with the POVs of all the rides from outside of America, to be honest. Yeah. So actually, I didn't have any trips coming up. All right, so I got one, right? What was it? Go have with Zingu or Shan?
00:52:29
Speaker
I didn't hear that. Go ahead with the thing you were saying. Oh, I was going to say my complaint about the fast and furious coaster thinking about it is like, it would have been cool if there was an opportunity for like a dual, like a dual element with the blocking. I mean, if it's, Oh yeah, that would have been sick.
00:52:54
Speaker
I've played enough rollercoaster tycoon to know that it doesn't take that long to plan something out like that. Yeah, but according to RCT, that would cost an extra 38 euro.
00:53:16
Speaker
I was playing open RCT and the, um, have you, have you built any, have you played with it before? Yeah, a little bit. Um, have you ever used the ghost train option? There's basically like a ghost train that'll test the ride live as you're building it.
00:53:43
Speaker
So you can see exactly how it will look before you even test it. It makes building dueling coasters like racing or dueling coasters super easy because then you can just like tweak the turns and the height of the hills exactly. And you can make some really cool dueling elements. Yeah, I need to redownload that game.
00:54:21
Speaker
I've been playing like regular CT2 for a while. It's fun, but like definitely needs that kick into the modern age. What do you play it on? My dumb laptop.
00:54:53
Speaker
It still holds up, which is crazy. Absolutely, it does. Still one of the best games of my childhood, for sure. Probably one of the best, like, original PC games from the 90s.
00:55:22
Speaker
And I'm confidently claiming that because I didn't play many games, but that one reached me. Remember a cars trainer? Yes. Or then there was like some of these trainer. Yes. Yeah. And that basically did what
00:55:51
Speaker
Fucking whatever it's called does now. Yeah, all the all the cheats are built in, which is cool. What's also cool is that if you use blocks, if you use block mode, the stations have multi move automatically. Really? So. That's how you push into a ton. Yeah, like you can build it just right to where
00:56:22
Speaker
as a train is so like a train will come into the station, the restraints open, people start unloading and then it'll, it'll like roll into the station as the other one is rolling out. Yeah, that was always a super efficiency killer in RCT too. Yeah.
00:56:49
Speaker
Cause a lot of B and M's had it, but not in the game. Right. Yeah. Also like most of the, what I like also like, it's kind of sucks if you use a booster before or after the block break to like transport the ride quicker, sometimes they'll still crash.
00:57:19
Speaker
Really? Yeah, like the booster will like push it through the like push it through for some reason. I never even thought to try that. But that makes sense. The game's kind of dumb. Yeah, I've watched a shitload of Marcy Elvis within the past like
00:57:48
Speaker
month or so. Yeah, it's what also is cool is you can convert any coaster to any other coaster and put any train on it. So like you can build a steel coaster and then just like actually I want this to be a looping coaster.
00:58:20
Speaker
It'll just let you do that. Yeah, like it's just built in. That's pretty nice. Weren't we going to set up a server for that at one point? Yeah. And I've tried to do it a couple of times, but it's, it's tough. Like, I don't know. I don't know why.
00:58:47
Speaker
I'll try it again. I don't know. It could be because before it was my router, but then like when we were on that, um, when we were on the call, like a few, few weeks ago, um, I tried to do it again, but like I couldn't, there's just, it's just super involved. I don't know. I've never even talked to anybody who's done it. And I even like looked at all the tutorials and everything and I don't know how to do it.
00:59:17
Speaker
Yeah. I remember looking at some tutorials back when we first talked about it. I was like, I don't know what I'm doing. But if any of our listeners know what they're doing and can help us set one up, that could be a lot of fun. Yeah. Yeah. No, that'd be cool to get like a bunch of people on a server. We can do little competitions.
00:59:48
Speaker
or just like have a crazy park. Yeah. There's a Mars. That would be a good time. There's that Marshall, Marcel Voss, like the forest frontiers, but there's like 10 levels of roller coasters and paths on it. I feel like we need to collaborate with, uh,
01:00:19
Speaker
his, uh, discord. Yeah. They can help us out maybe. So I was wondering if we could try to make any reasonable, reasonable predictions about what's going to happen with the Cedar fair six flags merger this year in 2024.
Cedar Fair & Six Flags Merger Speculations
01:00:49
Speaker
Um, well, I would say that a mega pass is probably going to come. Or like some kind of regional pass where I like, eventually that's going to be a thing where like you'll be able to go to both parks on one pass. I don't see how they're going to sell two separate passes now. Yeah, I agree. I think there's going to be.
01:01:22
Speaker
Some sort of ultimate pass. The real platinum pass. I'm also kind of curious about like what branding is going to what parks because Cedar Fair said there's they're going to stick with the Six Flags name.
01:01:49
Speaker
Wait, Cedar, like Cedar Fair. Oh, Cedar. Yeah. So the company is Six Flags. Yeah. So essentially what parks are going to be? Rebranded as Six Flags. Cedar Point. Cedar Point, Ohio, or Six Flags, Ohio.
01:02:20
Speaker
You walk in, the first thing is just Riddler. And then Kings Island, Six Flags, Ohio, two. I mean, it'll probably be fine. I just don't know with like. I mean, what if. I'm afraid they're going to start selling off parks.
01:02:52
Speaker
Yeah, me too. And I don't think all of them are going to go to park operators. Yeah. I think we're going to see some consolidation. Or they sell it off to like. I don't know, I'm trying to think like what the worst park operator management could be.
01:03:24
Speaker
Tondo developers. Yeah. I think what if this is all just a big scam to sell all the parks for real estate? I was watching the musical part of me. Doesn't think they want to sell all.
01:03:53
Speaker
of the parks, you know, the theme park industry really doesn't make money, which is a problem. Like that's very thin margins. So it's almost like people, anybody who gets into the industry always seems to have ulterior motives.
01:04:29
Speaker
Yeah, but see your fairs already there. Yeah, that's true. I know they're getting what, like 52% or they have 52%. Yeah, they're getting a very slight majority. Yeah, I guess that's good. I'd be more worried if Six Flags got the majority. Yeah, that's true.
01:04:58
Speaker
Cause that was always the rumor, right? It was always Six Flags was going to buy Cedar Fair. Yeah. Yeah. That's why like part of me wants to be a little more hopeful.
01:05:24
Speaker
Although seeing as Great America is still my home park. Yeah. The only thing they could do to make it worse at this point is to just level it. Move it. That's been like the that's the rumor of her eelage is that they're going to move it to near the airport.
01:05:54
Speaker
Oh, to a third location. Yeah. Yeah. Makes perfect sense. Although there's some interesting data. So the city of Denver is actually losing population the last few years. Not surprising.
01:06:22
Speaker
Like the state overall is still growing, but the city itself is starting to shrink. I mean, it's, it's not the biggest city in terms of actual physical orders and everything. No.
01:06:47
Speaker
And there's a whole shitload of housing inside of those borders. Well, it's kind of I mean, it's funny just because like.
01:07:00
Speaker
for years, like people were, I mean, within like the next couple of years, people were predicting that the city would cross over a million people. And I think it's still only at like 700,000 or it's like just under 800,000 and it's going down. But I mean, that's what happens when you have such a transient population. Like people don't stay around. They come here for two years and then leave. It's like, uh,
01:07:31
Speaker
I don't know. People come here for like a lifestyle vacation. Makes sense. Like what, Seattle? Seattle's the same. There's kind of there, that's weird. There is a very, there is a pipeline of like between Denver and Seattle, people that are, they're just constantly like exchanging people that just go back and forth.
01:08:03
Speaker
Oh, weird. I've never met anyone like that. And when we were in Duluth, we met so many people from Denver. It's kind of like it seems to be the next logical step for people is like when they're over Denver, they just go to Duluth. Seems like it's the next hipster place. I mean, for the Midwest, maybe.
01:08:33
Speaker
I don't know if it'll ever get super big just because it's I mean. It's like basically, I'll put it this way. If you're in a place without mountains, it's one of the cooler places you can be. But it's all the hipsters from Denver moved there. I'm just saying if the shoe fits. Yeah.
01:09:09
Speaker
I'm just happy to, uh, I'm happy to be there from the next studio location. Yeah. So are you excited to record a podcast from Duluth, Minnesota? Notable roller coaster Mecca.
01:09:37
Speaker
Hey, there is a roller coaster nearby. There is an Alpine coaster. So there's at least that. I mean, it's not nothing. So are you going to be like snowbirds from there?
01:10:03
Speaker
I think that's kind of the plan is to, um, yeah, I think that's kind of the plan is to basically go up there in the summer for a bit and then maybe do like a, I dunno, like a fall thing and then rent it out in the school year. Oh, you're so gross. What was it?
01:10:32
Speaker
I said, you're so gross. Why? I'm just giving you a hard time. No, I'm sure everyone who lives there totally loves it. What, us or the city? Yeah, with with your rentals that they've specifically barred.
01:11:03
Speaker
Well, the thing is, is like the goal is to get it to at least a student during the school year, because there's a lot of, there's a lot of college kids. So like, it's not going to be empty. That's not the goal. And like work, we're cool with pointing it out as a loss if it means getting somebody like reliable. So we're not trying to slumlord it.
01:11:29
Speaker
You don't have to defend yourself to me. I'm literally just giving you shit. Cause we've been friends for like ever. It is a problem though. I was a problem in Denver 10 years ago. It was like, you'd always see these like California and Texas plates and they buy up like three or four houses at a time and then just like rent them out or let them sit empty.
01:12:04
Speaker
Gross. So like, has Denver like curved the wild homeless population? No, not at all. Especially because right now, Texas keeps sending like busloads of migrants to Denver.
01:12:30
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Fucking shitheads in Texas are doing that to you all, too. Yeah, we're dealing with that here in Chicago right now. Fucking asshole. So that's fun.
01:12:53
Speaker
Yeah, it's crazy how one guy in Texas gets to decide that he can do that to all those people. Right. Yeah. It's always specific types of states, if you know what I mean. Yeah, the ones that really love Jesus.
01:13:25
Speaker
Is there a correlation? I think so. They just really love thy neighbor, right? I don't know. Perhaps it's the bruise. Are we making friends tonight, Ben? What was that?
01:13:52
Speaker
Are we making friends tonight, Ben? Maybe. I hope so. World's bullshit and we could all use more friends. Especially people that didn't ask to get bust. All right, yeah, you know where we're going with that.
01:14:21
Speaker
What do you think is worse? A migrant bus or a TPR tour bus from like 2008? Like if they just started, if either one just started arriving in your city,
01:14:49
Speaker
out of nowhere, I think TPR buses would be far more annoying. Oh, great. 30 more people, 30 more people just arrived farting and complaining about the food. But the more is pure guy.
01:15:20
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And they won't stop complaining since we told them that since it's winter, there's no roller coasters open over near here. And just cut to a guy with a mustache. And sunglasses with a strap going hot dogs.
01:15:51
Speaker
Can I get a hot dog? No, you can. I don't know. Wait, what did you say? I said, no, you cannot. Well, great. This blows. I knew I shouldn't have gotten on that bus.
01:16:21
Speaker
This place sucks. Rob? Michael? I wonder if there's like minions on that site anymore. Remember when that was a thing? It was like all the people that would try to get into the videos or into the trip reports as much as possible. Yeah. I'm sure that got annoying as fuck.
01:16:53
Speaker
It was annoying as someone just like from on the outside. Not even knowing all about the Heathers and all that.
01:17:28
Speaker
I bet, though, honestly thinking about that whole BOF thing, I bet that was, like, more... There was still probably a shitload of annoying people in there. Yeah, of course. I mean, it makes sense. Like, everybody, every little clique is gonna have their own little private thing.
01:18:00
Speaker
I just don't know how to get into the YFCS private thing. The way is to join our Patreon. I remember the controversy of there's some gap controversy where like somebody scared, shared a screenshot and you could see the like Heather's visible. And then it was like, wait a minute, you have access to that or no, no, maybe it was TPR.
01:18:29
Speaker
Mm hmm. Yeah, I remember that. He shared a screenshot of the best of friends forum. Yeah. Which probably still exists on TPR, by the way. Oh, yeah, I'm sure it does. But yeah, and it was like, oh, wow.
01:18:57
Speaker
I feel like Don shared that or something. Yeah. Either Don or Taco. Yeah, that's right. I wish we could get him on our podcast. Yeah, that'd be cool. I feel like he doesn't like to talk.
01:19:31
Speaker
but it would be cool. Don's been on our show. Uh, listeners, if you haven't heard it, go away the back, you'll hear it. I was one of the first episodes that was within the first 50 for sure. I think it was like first. I feel like that was like first 10. Don's got his own podcast now. Yeah. Pinball.
01:20:00
Speaker
Yeah, so if you like pinball, go check out Don's pinball podcast. That's our fucking homie from back in the day. Who lives in Wisconsin? He does.
01:20:24
Speaker
I like would go visit him, but every time I want to, I remember it's like a four hour drive. Yeah. But it's not that bad. You can do it. Be a fun little off season fix.
01:20:53
Speaker
Yeah, if I can go see the good doctor. We'll see. I don't know. He's pretty busy with his pinball stuff. So let's see. Did I write something else here?
01:21:20
Speaker
Oh, do we have any guesses for the death pool this year? Um... I'll just say Anaconda, only because everyone says Anaconda every year. And that ride keeps living out everybody, so I'll go with that one. Alright. Uh...
01:21:55
Speaker
I guess in that case. Hmm. I feel like do I go with a tried and true guess? Or do I go with something daring? What are you thinking?
01:22:22
Speaker
Well, the tried and true guess is going to be Gemini. Oh, yeah. The daring guess would be Superman escaped from Krypton. Do you think they'll take that one down or do you think they'll just leave it as piano?
01:22:48
Speaker
Yeah, I think it would just close it because Lex Luthor is a pretty valuable attraction to them. Yeah.
Future of the Gemini Coaster
01:23:01
Speaker
Gemini is an interesting one, but I thought when, see, I always envisioned if they took out dragster, they would also take out Gemini and then use that as a mega coaster. But now at this point, like,
01:23:16
Speaker
I mean, Cedar Point's future of mecha coasters might be done. Like, yeah, but on the on the alternative side of that, now that there's going to be more people in that area again, why not tear down Gemini and build like a single rail? Oh, my God, if they build the single rail, that'd be so miserable. What if it was a raptor?
01:23:45
Speaker
Raptor would be interesting. The only thing about a Raptor though is like, I guess my only complaint about the Raptor track is that it doesn't really, it doesn't really benefit the ride experience. It's just a track design. Like the Raptor track is something you could build over like a
01:24:06
Speaker
you know, like over some insane terrain or cause you don't have to really worry about supports or it's like the track itself is supported more. So you don't have to like have supports every so whatever feet. Yeah, just go ahead and shit on the idea. Why don't you man? I'm just saying sick with the classics.
01:24:36
Speaker
No, I just remember when RMC came out with the Raptor track and somebody leaked a photo of it and the caption was like, RMC has blown our mind once again. And it's just a track design. They're gonna do the same elements with that track or any other track.
01:24:59
Speaker
It'd be like if, be like if B&M changed the shape of their track and they're like, look out industry. That's all I'm saying. I'm just thinking that like, or what if they made like a dueling raptor to replace Gemini? That'd be cool.
01:25:32
Speaker
Or what about like a mock mock spinner? Like a ride to happiness or time traveler. I suppose that could work as well. There's a lot of potential in that space. I think is really the point. Like if they took out iron dragon lock launch spinner would be a good replacement because you could turn that in. That's basically a family coaster.
01:26:04
Speaker
But why would they take out Iron Dragon? I don't know, if it just gets old, end of life type of thing. I mean, I think there's a shitload that could replace Iron Dragon that would be awesome.
01:26:43
Speaker
Like, what about like an aqua tracks? The aqua tracks is cool, but I still don't know if I get it. Because there's it's just it's like track sections that they spray water on the track. And it's like, does it make it go faster?
01:27:13
Speaker
Yeah, it cools it down. I just love that that was the big rumor when Maverick was coming out. Mm hmm. Well, I mean, Maverick was basically aqua tracks.
01:27:45
Speaker
Just more suited for an American audience though. Yeah. It was like, um, but I mean like the ride moves, it's basically got like the same blocking set up and launches and stuff like that. I think the Aqua tracks ride has, it has like a vertical drop or something inside.
01:28:15
Speaker
Really? I think so. It looks pretty sweet. I saw a POV of it, I think earlier this year. What's the name of that parking and is that Adam?
01:28:51
Speaker
That's it. Oh, fuck. What's the name of that place? Oh, Lodi, whatever. Lottie World, yeah. Yeah, I mean, that ride is like basically maverick.
01:29:26
Speaker
Yeah, that's why it looks pretty sweet. Okay, maybe it's not a vertical drop, but it has a vertical uphill section. It's like a, it's like the first half of a top hat. Weird.
01:30:02
Speaker
Is there an actual splashdown? I forget. No, it's just, it's just literally water sprayed on the track. That's gotta be a cost saving measure. I just don't get the point of it. Like I just, it doesn't really get you wet. It doesn't really make the ride go faster or anything. Never gonna get you wet. Never gonna make you fast.
01:30:33
Speaker
Plus it just sprays carcinogenic wheel grease back at you. Well, thousand and one Knox lady would be super stoked. She'll be sniffing her fingers after that one. Yeah, it's finger looking good, Ben. Did you ever watch that Jumbo movie?
01:31:05
Speaker
No, did you? No. It did look interesting, though. Maybe we'll have to add that to movie night. Your favorite coaster sucks movie night.
01:31:33
Speaker
Well, I mean, it does look pretty good. So I'm not opposed. That's for sure. But anyway, I, uh, I'm getting pretty tired myself. Yeah. I have to work early in the morning. Unfortunately.
01:32:04
Speaker
We should, if, uh, I'm going to be doing the dry January, but next time we should record and drink energy drinks as an experiment. Okay. Like, do you ever, uh, drink Celsius? No, I've never tried that one. Those ones are the best and they're, they're sugar free. It's basically, it's like seltzer water and juice with a bunch of caffeine.
01:32:38
Speaker
I mean, sure. Yeah. That'll be interesting. I will try to also not get high. There's try. Every time I get high and record, I just.
01:33:04
Speaker
It just I feel like it doesn't work. Drunken eyes, one thing, but just just high sober is like. I don't know. Well, also, I took some. Tums before I took edibles today. And that hits so fucking hard, does it? Yeah.
01:33:36
Speaker
I wonder what the chemistry is there. Uh, I think it's cause the tongues increase your, um, some of your liver enzymes must be your cytochrome P four 50. Cause I took 25 milligrams worth of animals. I felt like I took a hundred. Nice. Okay. Yeah, it was pretty legit. I'll have to remember that. Um,
01:34:06
Speaker
Because I got to go I got to go back to Italy in like two weeks. And like on the way there last time, I ate 50, which and I like I don't really smoke anymore. So my tolerance is super low. And like that was so much fun. I've never had that much fun on a plane. And I was in a middle seat and I'm like my shoulders like over flow into the other seats. So it's like really awkward.
01:34:36
Speaker
Yeah, that nine hours flew by. Nice, nice. Yeah, we'll try a couple of times next time. It'll really amp that shit up. Yeah. Really, the only downside was like, so I got off at London or the connecting London and like that airport or Heathrow, like that airport is such a fucking shit show.
01:35:05
Speaker
Um, and there's just so much walking and like all the lines were just ridiculously long. Um, yeah, I just remember like getting off the plane and then having a walk. Cause you know, like airport, like the, those like cattle pen kind of lanes, you have to walk down those super long hallways on the way to customs. Yeah.
01:35:35
Speaker
Yeah, that sucked. I bet. If you're all high, you're just like, fuck. But yeah, no trust in those with your edibles pro tip from me to you. Nice.
01:36:08
Speaker
But yo, I'm going to go knock out. All right. Yeah, sounds good. You got anything else, bud? I don't. All right. Well, in that case, um, welcome to 2024. Happy new year, y'all. Thanks for, uh, hanging with us while we took a little extended break.
01:36:32
Speaker
But we're back now. We'll be recording and you'll get your podcasts like normal. So don't worry. We're here. Thank you all so much for listening. It's good to be back, right, Ben? Yeah, it's good to start this up again. I feel a little out of practice, so. Looking forward to getting back into it.
01:37:02
Speaker
Well, uh, yeah, I can do some, uh, yeah, I've got two weeks to go or I've got two good weeks before I leave. So yeah, we can figure it out. I might be doing one for Minnesota next week. Awesome. You can give us an update on, uh, all the construction at Valley fair.
01:37:29
Speaker
It'll be, yeah, it'll turn into like, I drive past the park every single day and just post the same like 30 photos of nothing happening. Just be like, I think right here is where the lift tool is going to go. Somebody parked their truck on this maintenance road today. If you look closely here, a garbage can blew over in the wind yesterday.
01:38:01
Speaker
All right, I'm looking forward to seeing your Valley Fair updates. Hell yeah. All right, dude. Well, it's good hanging and looking forward to bringing more of these to all of y'all soon. And until next time, your favorite coster, sir.