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Episode 119 - Screams and Dreams
21 Plays2 years ago
This week on the premier comedy roller coaster podcast Ben and Zach talk about Holiwood Nigths '23, the 2023 YFCS meetups talk rumors and watch Screams and Dreams volume 1 about Six Flags Great America.
Find the video here: https://youtu.be/Ra-Dv8eU0Uw
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Transcript
Introduction and Anecdotes
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the worst roller coaster podcast on the internet. Now let's join Ben and Zach as they tell you why your favorite coaster sucks. I'm Zach and I try to name every one of my bowls. I'm Ben and I can't do a ball joke. Not again.
00:00:28
Speaker
Spare the listeners. Spare me. No ball jokes. I was gonna say, uh, Steve and Danny are the names. Do you name yours? No. I guess they don't need them.
00:00:53
Speaker
I didn't name my dick either, you know? Just my bits, you know? The business. Call me pig chief. The franchise.
00:01:17
Speaker
Oh, welcome back to your favorite coaster sucks, where you might learn about the personal naming habits of the host. Maybe we'll talk about roller coasters, too.
Hollywood Nights Ticket Challenges
00:01:34
Speaker
Last week went pretty well. It was more than half, which is more than average, I think.
00:01:42
Speaker
Fun note about last week, I never ended up uploading it so I think that's just gonna be a Patreon exclusive. Okay, that was a good one. It wasn't bad. It's not like the Patreons are just getting some crap that we didn't want to release. It was a fine episode. I just didn't want to... I was working on a different project and got a little caught up with that because we recorded Friday night.
00:02:12
Speaker
And I didn't want to do any editing work after we were done recording. So, perfectly good stuff. And it'll be available on Patreon for all of our lovely supporters over there. And if you want access, patreon.com slash your favorite coaster sucks. And pay up. That's right. We got it.
00:02:42
Speaker
We got like maybe a dozen episodes behind a paywall. They're all perfectly enjoyable. I put the seal of approval on them, but they're all behind a paywall. So you know what that means? You got to pay to listen to them. All right. I don't know what the fuck is going on.
00:03:11
Speaker
quality content is flowing.
Debating Hollywood Nights Improvements
00:03:14
Speaker
Um, well, it's, it's, it's, it is as of recording Tuesday, December 6th, which means that approximately 12 hours ago, Hollywood nights tickets sold out. Yep. I, uh, I fucked myself on that.
00:03:38
Speaker
my partially my fault. I, uh, I tried to log in and I was like put in a waiting room or something. And so I had to join a work call. So I was like, okay, I got a few minutes. So I joined the work call and then probably like four minutes goes by and I go back and it timed out. So I refreshed. And then literally by the time I tried to enter the information and purchase it again, it was a sold out. So,
00:04:09
Speaker
Yeah, I entered all the information. I added two to my cart, entered all the information, and then it said, uh, there's an error or it's sold out. And I got that message about, I tried literally over a dozen times. What time was your first attempt? Uh, not later than like 11,
00:04:36
Speaker
I don't know. 11 something. It wasn't exactly on the dot at 11. Yeah. Yeah. By the time I, I got to the site, it was like 11, it was like 11, oh three. And then when I tried to refresh and everything, it was like, couldn't have been anything later than like 11, 10. So.
00:05:01
Speaker
Yeah. Well, I know a few people that got tickets and then everybody else I know didn't get tickets. So, uh, Hey, whatever. I mean, I know we've talked about it a lot, but they can, they can fucking, they can do more people.
00:05:27
Speaker
It's uh, there's something they can improve. I'm pretty obviously, you know? Yeah. It's like to go, to go from 4,000 to 200. I mean, I did just want to say who in your opinion wore it better? Taylor Swift or holiday world?
00:06:01
Speaker
Well, I went on Twitter and I said, Hollywood nights tickets are going to be on stub hub for $3,000. I wonder how many people bought four tickets. I bet everybody did. Yeah. That's the thing is like,
00:06:30
Speaker
They could just make it so you can't bring a guest. Everyone has to buy their own ticket. Right. Yep. Since they're going through the trouble of like having people apply or like show up at a specific time online to not get tickets. Yeah, right. They could make it so you only get one per transaction and you have to be a member. Yeah, right.
Meetup Announcements
00:07:01
Speaker
Even, um, yeah, I don't know. I mean, even, even just accepting the fact that the event has gotten more popular and it's going to be a little more crowded than it was. But like, I mean, whatever happened in 2021 was like insane. But even if they cut that in half, it still would have been a good event.
00:07:28
Speaker
Like you, cause basically everyone at the event walked the voyage, right? And even though there is that long ass line, voyage was still like what? It was like a 45 minute wait, I think. So if they cut that in half, that's fine. Like I think they're just going to have to deal with the fact, like some people are going to have to deal with the fact that it's a popular event. It's not going to be like it was, but I don't know. I think they can definitely open it up to more people.
00:08:00
Speaker
And I honestly, I think they could do better with the whole purchasing process. Yeah. Like applications don't work, obviously. Um, and I'm, I'm actually curious to know how many tickets they, uh, how many tickets they, uh, actually put out. I should have, I should have checked at like 10 45.
00:08:27
Speaker
I was thinking of doing it. I just got sidetracked. They didn't say how many exact attendees they were going to allow this year. They said they were increasing the amount, which I think if I recall correctly, they said last year it was going to be 500. But as far as I recall, I can't remember if they ever said that was 500.
00:08:56
Speaker
total or 500 plus one guest per. Yeah. Meaning a thousand total. They never made that clear. I would guess it was
American Dream Mall & Consumerism
00:09:10
Speaker
500 total. And like, okay, this is some very basic math. They have what four coasters and each train is 24 people. So the, let's say to round it up,
00:09:28
Speaker
the park is sending about 100 people sitting on a train every two minutes. So if you break that out, that means that if everyone is evenly distributed, that's like what 10 minutes far. No, eight minutes, eight minute wait. If everybody was in a line,
00:10:01
Speaker
I mean, I just don't. I'll be honest with you, I didn't think 2021 was too bad. Surely, I mean, I got like I don't remember what the account was, but I mean, even on the first night I got. Like. Seven legend rides and like six Raven rides, and that's when that was the only those were the only two coasters open.
00:10:30
Speaker
I mean, that's fine. Like, you know what I mean? Like, if that's considering everything else the event offers, you know, that's fine. I don't know. It wasn't really that big of a deal. I think the shit show was mainly for Voyage, and that's because Voyage was down on Friday. Well, actually, there's two moments when everyone is riding Mammoth or whatever in the water park.
00:11:00
Speaker
I mean, that had a long fucking line. And then when everyone was writing voyage, but that was really it. I still think that was mainly because people went on Saturday night from Cedar Point. Right. That weren't there on Friday. And even Saturday night,
00:11:27
Speaker
I mean, Legend and Raven were still station waits. Not to mention, during the water park, we were seeing Legend sending like three quarter full trains. So. It's it's plenty like, I don't know. Sure, trim it down from 2021, but like.
00:11:56
Speaker
You don't have to be that restrictive. And it was still a fun event. Like everybody got on everything. There was still plenty to do. Everyone still had fun. It's not like 2020 was a disaster. 2021 was a disaster. The only people that were upset were people that couldn't marathon voyage.
00:12:20
Speaker
And like, yeah, that's the thing is like that. I know this is not just my take is like that aspect is that that event is. Really, it's mainly about the social aspect, right? And when you do things like limit people this much, it's like, I don't know how that can still be there. Yeah, exactly.
00:12:48
Speaker
It was fun because you would see all of your friends there or like pretty much everybody, you know what I mean? Plus, I think just there is some weird anomalies that happened in 2021 that just added some kind of, you know, that made it kind of a shit show, like one being that Voyage was down Friday night. And also like, even though there was an event in 2020,
00:13:18
Speaker
It wasn't like 2021 was like more people were ready to go do events. Cause for most people, 2020 was an off year. And again, I know they ran the event and I know there was people there in 2020, but by and large, I know most of us took that year off.
00:13:47
Speaker
And no shade of anyone who was there at any park or any event in 2020. That's not the point. I'm just saying, I think most people weren't at any parks in 2020, which created this, you know, build up of like, I gotta go. Yeah, definitely.
00:14:15
Speaker
But also, we'll also fucking thunder thunderbird was down.
Candy Store Anecdotes
00:14:21
Speaker
Correct. I still need to get on that ride. So I think that alone, like, like two of the major coasters being down meant that on Friday, everybody went to the water park and everybody rode mammoth, you know, at the same time.
00:14:40
Speaker
And then the same thing on Saturday, nobody rode Voyage the day before, so everybody went to Voyage. So it's like, even if, like if the park, if the event win is operated or it was intended and all the rides are running the whole time, like it would have been still fine. I mean, I still contend I had a great time at Hollywood Nights 2021. Yeah, and it was still fun.
00:15:09
Speaker
I have attempted to go back every year since. But have not had any luck. I don't know if I'll try again for the 2024 event. Because at this point, I kind of feel like I'm over it.
00:15:38
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I, I say that too, but I know I'll probably try when the time comes. I guess I just hope I'll have better luck. Yeah, perhaps I'll try. I don't know. We'll see. We'll see. Only time shall tell. I'll tell you what though, if
00:16:06
Speaker
You did not score tickets to Hollywood Nights. Or even if you did. There is somewhere else. That you can go ride coasters in the Midwest. In June 2023. And to make it even better. Ben and I'll be there. Because we're hosting a fucking meetup at Six Flags Great America.
00:16:40
Speaker
the real Hollywood nights. Yeah. Yeah. We're going to call the event Hollywood nights. Um, no, it's, it's going to be great. We've
California's Great America Meetup
00:16:58
Speaker
never hosted a meetup at great America. So I guess, you know, we'll be,
00:17:11
Speaker
Tour guides, I don't know. We should see how many people are down to pay for the Flash Pass. Yeah, we could, we could definitely try. Doesn't Flash Pass do a, uh, doesn't it get cheaper the more you have in your group? I don't know. I have not bought one at Great America.
00:17:42
Speaker
Yeah, I know when they do the Qbot or when they, I don't know. Oh, that's right. It's mobile now. When it was the Qbot, you could get up to like 10 people, I think. But. Well, we'll have to see who plans on showing up now.
00:18:02
Speaker
As it stands right now, we're planning on running this meetup the same way we did our Dollywood meetup. Other than unfortunately ride this one won't be co-hosting. It'll just be us. Although Slater may end up coming, you know, Goliath may be there. Who knows? Possible. Not saying for sure, but Ben and I will definitely be there. So we're going to rent a house near Great America.
00:18:32
Speaker
And I think what do we got? Eight spots. We'll have eight spots available. So if you're interested, definitely get on our Discord. The link is in the episode description. You know, if you stay in the house, we include food and drinks and I don't know, fun.
00:19:02
Speaker
We're going to record a podcast at a cinema. How fucking cool is that? Yeah, if we do it, if we do commentary, that'll be a lot of fun. Yeah, yeah, we'll have something special for that.
00:19:29
Speaker
But we want you to join us. Six Flags Great America, Friday, June 16th through Sunday, June 18th. We're doing the podcast recording Friday night. And we'll have some sort of after party Saturday night after the park. Depending on who's in the group, we might end up
00:19:56
Speaker
go into Mount Olympus on Sunday. That'll be fun. Yeah, I mean, depending on who's there and what all happens Saturday and what everyone wants to do, you know, it's possible we could do a quick side trip because it's, you know, only about what, like two and a half hour drive? Yeah, just about.
00:20:21
Speaker
It's short enough where we could do a small caravan as a little quick excursion. Well, not to mention that's like our flagship park, the official park of the podcast. Now, if we do go to Mount Olympus, we could all try to drink beers on the roller coasters while they're running.
00:20:51
Speaker
So that would, that could be a lot of fun. I don't know. It depends on who's gonna be there. And if you're going to be one of them, or if you'd like to take one of the eight spots in the house, definitely let us know on Discord. We'll have more details available very soon, probably after the holidays. Give everybody a little bit of time.
00:21:18
Speaker
So that's good news, right? You want to come to our meetup. We're not going to collect money for the, the lodging until after the holidays. Isn't that nice? Right. Get a little break from stuff going on sale. Speaking of stuff going on sale, one last little thing about Hollywood nights.
00:21:48
Speaker
Somehow this year, I managed to get Adele when we were young and Metallica tickets on sale date at face value. But
'Screams and Dreams' Documentary Discussion
00:22:05
Speaker
somehow I couldn't get fucking Hollywood Nights tickets.
00:22:16
Speaker
All right, moving on. We're doing a meetup at California's Great America, the other Great America, and that will be co-hosted by Ride This One in September, Friday, September 15th through Sunday, September 17th, 2023.
00:22:40
Speaker
Details are still in the works, but again, we'll have a shared group lodging type of situation available. The house will be hitting Great America. We'll be hitting Discovery Kingdom. We'll be hitting Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. And I think there's maybe talk of trying to go to Gilroy Gardens. I mean, that's like, what, three hours? That's not too bad.
00:23:10
Speaker
I think it's more that it's expensive just for the one credit. Cause it's, it's like, I think it's over 40 bucks to get in there. That's not that bad. People have paid like $30 for a wacky worm.
00:23:35
Speaker
I mean, look, these meetups are still in the planning phases. But we want to get everyone involved as soon as possible. Get the word out, try and make it all happen. So if you're keeping score, that means we are having a meetup at each of the two Great America parks. So if you come to both, you're
00:24:04
Speaker
A super, a certifiable, super great American nerd. Hell yeah. That's a lot of credits. It is. If you haven't been to either great America, holy shit. This is your year to come to our meetups.
00:24:28
Speaker
Real talk. I haven't been to great America and California. I haven't been to six flags discovery kingdom or Santa Cruz beach boardwalk. So that'd be my first time at all those parks. Yeah. Great America is an interesting park. It, uh, I mean, personally, the GCI there gold striker is one of my favorite GCIs.
00:24:56
Speaker
I think I like mystic timber. I think I like mystic timbers a little better, but that one's pretty good. It's just, it's pretty unique for a GCI. That and flight deck are probably the two I'm most excited about. Of course, I'm also kind of like stoked for grizzly. You get to ride the infamous worst wooden coaster in the world.
00:25:24
Speaker
Yeah, that's the reason I'm kind of stoked for it because it like has that reputation. And I'm like, is it really that bad? I mean, I'm looking forward to finding out for myself. Yeah. See, it's people's definition of bad. It's it's definitely boring, but it's not really rough or anything. It's not like it beats you up.
00:25:49
Speaker
So to call it the worst one is a bit of a stretch, but it is indeed boring. It's it's like a fucking it's like a scenic railway. I'm looking forward to actually getting to write it for myself. And I don't know, demon. Yeah.
00:26:16
Speaker
I'm trying to think of what else so they got they got a raptor there. So that's fun They I'm really curious about patreon Yeah, it's like
00:26:41
Speaker
It's kind of like if they built iron wolf where triple play and uh, what is that other ride? Yeah. It's like we're triple play and the edge were basically, it's kind of weird. Yeah. I mean, I'm curious about it cause I definitely.
00:27:05
Speaker
I'm mainly curious about how like the floorless trains are on an old, small standup coaster. And of course, I'm just super curious to see, you know, California's Great America growing up, going to Six Flags Great America.
00:27:31
Speaker
So dates again for that September 15th through 17th, 2023. Be there, y'all. So Ben, I read some news about your favorite mall. The American Dream. Looks like they opened an Apple store. Awesome.
00:28:00
Speaker
So now you can get an iPhone or Apple Watch to diagnose your medical problems after you ride Shell Racer. Or to report that you've been in a car crash. I mean, I guess it's good that like one additional store opened.
00:28:29
Speaker
Yeah, because that place is fucking empty. I don't know what they were. But I guess it's I wouldn't imagine them opening a store somewhere where they think it's going to die anytime soon. So that means the mall has at least probably two years left. Shit, there's like a cricket wireless in there and Apple was just trying to squash out the competition.
00:29:02
Speaker
Yeah. In like a couple of years, everything's closed. It's literally just like, yeah, it's like a cricket wireless, a subway, a T-Mobile, a Baskin Robbins. That candy store will be hanging on though. Yeah. Reminding everyone to eat sugar across America.
00:29:31
Speaker
Yeah, the thing is fucking bizarre. What if Liberty was jelly beans? What's kind of funny too is like, it's so offensive because I guess the mall is supposed to be targeted towards like international tourists who go to New York.
00:29:55
Speaker
So knowing that and then seeing that whole display is just so fucking funny. I mean, it's like they're marketing the American dream through like the irony of capitalism. It's like holding a mirror. It's kind of funny. It's actually kind of like
Reflections on Consumer Culture
00:30:17
Speaker
it's it's pretty great, but it's pretty fucked up there. I mean, there's definitely like
00:30:25
Speaker
an apt metaphor in a giant, mostly empty building aimed at consumerism. And just the whole issue. The American dream. Yeah, no, totally. And like all the shit that's wrong with it, it's like, you know, this, this like, uh, this facade over like just chain stores and like,
00:30:54
Speaker
I don't know. Weird. It's so weird. My favorite, my favorite thing was seeing like a very overweight kid who is probably like seven or eight laying down in a, uh, cause they had these little like Wally strollers for like kids is basically a stroller with like a big iPad attached to it. And then they had wagons.
00:31:25
Speaker
or if you're from the Midwest wagons. Um, but yeah, there is this like kid is like eight year old kid, like really overweight. You know, the shirt was like barely hold it on. And he's like licking this, like one of those like giant ass lollipops. That's the size of like, you know, it's probably the size of like a single.
00:31:56
Speaker
Um, that was purchased at it sugar because they were selling them there. Of course. I don't know. Jesus Christ. Whatever happened to those big thin lollipops? I don't know. You know what I'm talking about? Well, those days they haven't met at sugar. That's what I always just thought those were weird.
00:32:26
Speaker
Yeah. Cause you end up just kind of biting it off and then the whole thing cracks in half and then you lose the stick. You're also like consuming the amount of hard candy as like an entire movie theater box of like gobstoppers. Probably more. Yeah. Yeah. It's not practical.
00:32:52
Speaker
I remember that as a kid, like the thing broke in half and then it fell off the stick. And then he ended up just like breaking off pieces of it anyway. That's what I'm saying. Like giant lollipops, you can't get the whole thing in your mouth. You can't break it because like you were saying, it'll shatter the entire fucking thing. So if you're literally going to fucking lick it, it's going to take you like
00:33:21
Speaker
18 hours to finish. Yeah. You know what else I never understood those giant jawbreakers. Same problem. Yeah. You kind of know, there's no putting it down and returning. It's a lollipop or a jawbreaker. Like that's a one sitting item. Yeah. And regardless of the size, what you're going to wrap it up in like,
00:33:50
Speaker
tin foil, you know what I'm saying? Like, right. And you, you like kind of like half of it. And then you, you, cause you can't bite it for a while. So you end up just kind of like licking half of it. You get bored of it. You put it down.
00:34:05
Speaker
You know, and if you're a kid, it starts collecting like dog hair and grass and fucking dirt. And then your hand is like dyed from the carcinogenic dye of whatever color you picked. And it's all sticky. Red number
Improving Hollywood Nights
00:34:22
Speaker
four.
00:34:24
Speaker
Yeah. It's like so impractical. I mean, I wonder how many people would literally sit there and eat the whole fucking thing. If you have, uh, let me know, but I never understood it. Yeah. If you've ever eaten one of those giant lollipops, please hit the email. Your favorite coaster sucks at gmail.com. I'm curious about the experience.
00:34:52
Speaker
Was it done over the course of multiple settings? And if so, how did you preserve the lollipop? And like stick ratio always seemed to be an issue. Because it seemed like the lollipop part itself is going to be a lot heavier than that puny stick can support.
00:35:19
Speaker
Right. Your average kid is going to drop it within 30 minutes. Q snoop dogs, drop it like it's hot. The other, the other thing about jolly lollipops or the giant, uh, those like spiral ones that are on the stick, the long ones,
00:35:45
Speaker
Yeah, that's what I was talking about. The skinny ones where it's basically like a s'mores stick. Yeah. And there's like a lollipop on like three quarters of it. But it's it's just it. OK. Forgive me for saying this, but it kind of looks like one of those twister dildos. Well, I remember that I remember that scene from one of the TPR DVDs.
00:36:15
Speaker
Which one? Uh, it's probably the great American, great American, probably Oh three. What happened? Uh, one of the, one of their friends was like pretending to stick it up. The other guy's ass in the store and you could see three people in the background in the store, just like look at them as they were doing it.
00:36:40
Speaker
Well, probably right before that was filmed, Rob was like really loud going like, yeah, pretend to jam it up his ass. Yeah. And like a bunch of like a bunch of like fucking Midwestern moms like shuffled their kids away. Yeah, imagine that whole interaction in the gift shop.
00:37:10
Speaker
Yeah. In every video, they're in the gift shop. Yeah. And they make fun of like everything. They're like, oh, this key chain says Brett. Haha. Hi, Brett. Imagine working one of those gift shops and they're in there filming because every video they had some fucking segment in a gift shop. They'd be like trying on hats or whatever the fuck. Just imagine working and you're like,
00:37:39
Speaker
Okay. Well, imagine all the scenes I never got put on a DVD segment where they, you know, like when they would have like awkwardly film a park employee and ask him questions or or get them to say something. Yeah. I wonder how many of those never made the cut. Tons, I bet. Because like most people wouldn't want to talk to him.
00:38:13
Speaker
Oh, three. Rob was, you know, presentable. Wearing that MTV award.
00:38:34
Speaker
Yo, you can convince a lot of people of something. If you were wearing an MTV movie award shirt back at that time. Do you think they ever had to go to the laundromat to wash that shirt? Like before they went to the park? Based on the amount of videos he wears that fucking thing in,
00:39:01
Speaker
I would say he packed it at least every other trip. Yeah. I mean, it was on at least twice per trip. The real question is. Does he still have that shirt? Not could he still wear it, because obviously not, but does he still have it?
00:39:30
Speaker
I'm sure it's somewhere. You don't get rid of something like that. You know how he always dresses up for Halloween and goes to Disney? Yeah.
Amusement Park Mishaps
00:39:42
Speaker
I would love to see him dress up as Rob Alvey from 2003 for Halloween. How do you pull off that optical illusion?
00:40:00
Speaker
That's a good question. Lots of coke. That reversed the aging process, right? In the moment, yeah. Yeah, right. Hey, there's a rumor that Dollywood's going to get a bunch of stuff either by or for 2026.
00:40:29
Speaker
specific. Yeah. That's what I think. I don't know. There wasn't a lot of detail. Apparently there's some IAPA interview. So obviously none of it's with B and M. Yeah, right.
00:40:58
Speaker
Beyond that, I have no idea, really. So I don't know if you've been paying attention to reports at all, but apparently Magic Mountain has had some real shit operating days recently. A lot of downtimes. This is with what their their B&M lift noters.
00:41:29
Speaker
No, I mean like three quarters of the rides at the park were closed. Okay. Shit. Yeah. So it's unclear if it's like staffing or, you know, operational issues, you know, technical stuff. I'm not sure.
00:41:57
Speaker
It's probably staffing. Cause even if it's technical stuff, it's probably a lack of like maintenance staff. Yeah. Well, I mean, even just thinking about, I mean, what 18 year old in the state of California has the ability to work for, I'm guessing like 14, 15 an hour considering how expensive the state is.
00:42:29
Speaker
Yeah, I mean. I don't think it's. And it looking good, that's for sure. I'd say definitely like. Theme Park should probably just. Try to pay people better.
00:43:01
Speaker
Like, I remember the first season I worked at Create America, they had this goofy thing called standards of appearance. And like dudes couldn't have beards or visible tattoos. Yep. I remember that. Yeah. Now that shit's out the window.
00:43:29
Speaker
And people get paid like starting off, not even like double what I made then. Did Six Flies have the rule where if you had a mustache before the season started, you could keep it?
00:43:45
Speaker
Yep. Which is just kind of, um, which is kind of funny, like, or you gotta be able to grow one and, you know, a week, if you take a week off or something. Yeah. Cause you could come back with one, but you couldn't start growing one. Yeah. I think that's fucking crazy. Like I remember when I was working at Cedar Point getting,
00:44:14
Speaker
I mean, not yell that, but talk to because I had a, because I had like a, like a three day stubble. They're like, you needed to clean shave. And of course, cause you're putting on sunscreen every day, so when your ass off, like your skin would get so fucked up from shaving all the time. We also couldn't wear mirrored sunglasses.
00:44:46
Speaker
Weird. Yeah. I had an interaction with Dick Kinzel wearing mirrored sunglasses. He's like, son, I don't know where your eyes are right now. Well, and my shirt was untucked. No, like it was one of those things where he like stopped us. It was me and a friend we were walking to the cafeteria.
00:45:14
Speaker
And he like stopped, was like very friendly. He's like, Oh, how's it going? Oh, it's a great day. You know, type of thing. Like, Oh, where do you guys work? Trying to be friendly. Turns out he was just sniffing for information because then my supervisor talked to me and was like, yeah. So, um, even if you're outside of the park, you have to have your shirt tucked in and you can't wear those glasses. Like, I wonder who said, I wonder who, uh, tattled.
00:45:45
Speaker
Oh, see, you talked to Dick Kinzel today, huh? Alright, uh, oh shit. You ready for the Disney Minute? Sure am. Fuck yeah. The Disney Minute.
00:46:21
Speaker
Go on, come to this happy place. Welcome.
00:46:26
Speaker
Disneyland is your land. We're gonna go get our tickets and head to Disneyland. We're back at the happiest place on earth, Disneyland. Welcome everyone, I'm here today at Disneyland. Today we are gonna talk about things we wish we'd known before we went to Disney World. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America. With the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world. Thank you.
00:46:52
Speaker
Splash Mountain at Disney World is closing on January 22nd, 2023. Typhon began his rumor to reopen February 2023. The Magic Happens Parade will return to Disneyland in February. Tokyo Disney will reintroduce an anime. Aww. Disney Minute. Well, we fucked that up.
00:47:19
Speaker
Uh, yeah, that was fun. Well, real quick, I guess we're out of the Disney minute, but did you see that joke? Um, that joke rumor where it was like Disney patented a, uh, like a jump, the tracks coaster. No, that was kind of funny.
00:47:44
Speaker
Yeah, I guess. And so all these people were sharing and they're like, yeah, they actually, it was like literally one of those like, uh, you know, evil can evil kind of things where we jumped the track and rejoin the track.
00:47:58
Speaker
Cause I had three different people text me like, whoa, do you hear about Disney's new ride? It's like, yeah, like jumps off the tracks. I'm like, that's not really, and I thought like maybe there was some like, I don't know, like new VR ride or like a drop track or something that was, that I just didn't know about. But then I like pulled up the sign. I was like, yeah, this is fake as fuck. But they made it look like a real patent and everything. It was kind of funny.
00:48:28
Speaker
Damn, you know, I have not seen that. I saw the video of the dropping non drop ride that you posted on our Discord. Oh, yeah, that's so fucked up. Yeah, that looked insane. Yeah, that was that was straight up fucking insane. Yeah, I guess it was in India, 26 people injured.
00:48:57
Speaker
But yeah, it was one of those like live leak videos. And I guess it was like almost like a frog hopper. I don't know what it was really supposed to do, but it lowered like that. Yeah. It basically lowers out like a, I don't know, like one quarter free fall speed, but then it just slams into the platform.
00:49:27
Speaker
And then like two people like bounce up. Yeah. Yeah. You see their legs like fly right up. Which is like, oh my God. Everybody there got hernia and whiplash. Oh, hopefully those people are all all right.
00:50:01
Speaker
I'm watching it again. You sick son of a bitch. I mean, no one died on it. So I
Podcast Creation Insights
00:50:09
Speaker
feel not as guilty about it, but. Well, that's true. It's still better than I think the worst accident that came out of India. I think it was India was the. It was basically like a giant inverted frisbee that would do a 360.
00:50:31
Speaker
And then the arm just like snaps in half and the Frisbee slams into the, uh, into the support columns. Yeah, dude, that shit's fucking nasty. Yeah. Yeah. Riding, riding flat rides out of like North America and Europe kind of sketches me out.
00:51:03
Speaker
What about like Mexico? I know that's North America, but depending on what it is, maybe not a drop tower topspin. If it's an actual caveat being if it's an actual manufacturer ride, like if it's an actual who's topspin or like an Intamin tower, that's probably OK. But if it's some like off brand, then no.
00:51:32
Speaker
Like the Chinese knockoff drop towers and all that stuff. Okay. What about Montaña Rusa alla Delta? I'd still probably ride that. Otherwise known as the official coaster of your favorite coaster sucks.
00:52:02
Speaker
I still think that might be the most fucked up looking coaster I've ever seen. Yeah, I'd still ride it though. You get a helmet. That's not going to stop anything when the entire train falls off the track.
00:52:30
Speaker
All right. They they they didn't weld that shit. They tied it with strings and duct tape and shit. Yep. Zip ties. It's good to go. How are we supposed to know? We're not coaster engineers. It's like the the guy who is building it is like, yep, this baby's ready to go. He taps on the train. Train just falls.
00:52:59
Speaker
All right, I'm going to need to fix that. Other than that, though. You know, Ben, I know we were going to do a different video, but I say we do the first one we were talking about. Screams and dreams. Yes, sir. All right, let me pull it up. Mainly because it's almost midnight here and I'm getting tired as fuck.
00:53:33
Speaker
Great. I get a fucking ad when I move, you move just like that. That's a topical song. Whoa. I got to add too for a, um, fast dining location that serves soups.
00:54:03
Speaker
Okay. Um, can we pause before we start this? I gotta let this guy outside for a second.
00:54:09
Speaker
Alrighty, cool. Yeah, we'll be back in just a moment. Hey Ben, making a podcast is pretty tough, right? Yeah, you gotta like record stuff and then you gotta upload it and it sucks. I know it's a fucking bummer and it's a lot of effort, but I just found out about anchor.fm, which lets you record and edit directly through their website or app, as well as upload and publish to platforms such as Spotify and Apple podcasts.
00:54:35
Speaker
So anchor.fm is not a porn site, right? Not yet, because it's still free, too. So, you know, they'll start charging once they got only fan style content. That's good. That's good to hear. So if you want to jump on the train before it's all titties and pussies, download the anchor app or go to anchor.fm to get started. All right.
History of Great America in 'Screams and Dreams'
00:54:55
Speaker
Screams and Dreams is a documentary produced
00:55:00
Speaker
by Six Flags Great America for the 2011 season played in the pictorium. You saw this when it originally played in the pictorium, right Ben? Yeah, I saw this one. I did not see the second one. Well, it sounds like we got something for next show.
00:55:28
Speaker
All right. Let's go ahead and roll it. We'll leave a link in the episode description where you can watch for yourself. Uh, three, two, one.
00:55:43
Speaker
So I was working at the park in 2011, and I know this guy. His name is Halton, and one time I completely accidentally interrupted him on a date. At the park? No, at Denny's. I was going to meet up with a bunch of coworkers after work one time, and I saw him.
00:56:11
Speaker
And I was like, oh, he must be here for the meetup. And I walked up to him and he's like, oh, hi. And I was like, oh, hi. And I just loved it. Yeah. Classy Data Denny's. Yeah, absolutely. I was going to say, partially on him for going on a date to the place where everyone who works at Great America goes after work.
00:56:40
Speaker
I'll buy you a moons over Miami. Nothing says getting some like a moons over Miami. Marriott's Great America is, as the name implies, a tribute to America and the people who have dedicated their lives to this great country, Jay Willard Marriott Jr.
00:57:07
Speaker
They give people a lot of time to read that. Screams and Dreams Volume 1 shares personal accounts of team members who are part of the creation of Great America, some who are still part of the team today. All right, hot take. This song is kind of a bop.
00:57:39
Speaker
Those pants are a bop. I don't know how she's moving in those pants. Those look painted on. It's like I see pubes.
00:58:05
Speaker
Yeah, this is so 70s. This is just like quintessential. The singing is way too dramatic, though. The paint job on the trolleys is incredible. Yeah. So is your never too old? Was this at opening day?
00:58:30
Speaker
No, this is from a very bizarre 1979 TV special. Okay. That, maybe we'll do that one on an episode soon. These dance moves, man.
00:58:55
Speaker
Yeah, it's just so crazy to see how good, or I guess maybe not good, but elaborate the theming was back when it was merry out. Like, it was a cool park idea. Seriously. Sit back, relax, and remember, you're never too old. Celebrate the heritage. That has an aged well.
00:59:31
Speaker
Okay, I love this music too. I wish, I wish they still produced original music for Great America. Right. Closest Six Flags got was that Willa Ford and Simple Plan commercial.
00:59:55
Speaker
Hey, don't forget, Uncle Cracker was in one too. That's right. That's a who's who of 2000s music. Like, literally, who? Yeah. There's some really cool construction footage here. Oh, man, that shot of Arlene's place.
01:00:24
Speaker
Still looks like that today. It does! I was thinking about the ripped up ground and everything. Oh yeah.
01:00:41
Speaker
Under the direction of Marriott's architecture and construction division, the teamwork of Randy Llewelyn, associates, and marionettes contributed to the fine detail that went into the crafted designs of the film. I mean, it's cool that they had, uh, I guess opening up with two, two state of the art Schwarzkopfs was a pretty big deal. Just one.
01:01:10
Speaker
Oh, that's right. Yeah. Title wave was until 78. Although California's got theirs in 1977. There's a little factoid for you. That color is kind of cool.
01:01:40
Speaker
Yeah, I like the original color schemes on all these rides and buildings and stuff. They made Hometown Square all bright a couple years back, remember that? Yeah. And it's like, uh, okay.
01:02:15
Speaker
America fuck yeah So there's just a bunch of construction footage happening, it's kind of hard to comment on They're showing up through the Willards wizard with lift tail, that's cool
01:02:43
Speaker
Maybe a great day is just what you need in 2023. So you should come on out to one of our great American meetups. Maybe a great day. The Caribbean Carousel was the first permanently installed carousel since the 1920s. It was designed in its entirety by the dual firm and is the largest and cost
01:03:13
Speaker
Who's keeping records on when carousels were built? Oh, they're out there. Is there like a CDB? That's Dwayne's secret project. While we're asking questions about carousels, what's the difference between a carousel and a merry-go-round? Um, they're probably pretty similar. I don't know.
01:03:43
Speaker
Maybe. Yeah, I don't know. So in a set up like that, where they're like a line of dudes is passing a bucket of rocks. Anyone that's not on the end has a significantly easier job, right? Well, I'm sure you rotate. Well, that's true.
01:04:10
Speaker
It's like you're on end bucket duty. Fuck. It's kind of like being a grouper. That's where they put the guy who's like just somebody's cousin and got the job out of nepotism. Yeah. Like, Rod, guess what you're doing today? My bucket, bitch. Yep, your bucket, bitch.
01:04:52
Speaker
This construction footage is pretty dope. I would definitely recommend if you're listening, if you can, watch along. I just noticed one of the workers is wearing a Miller Lite hat. That checks out.
01:05:23
Speaker
Great America. Yeah, I was going to say the lyrics to this song. All right, we're at Great America. And joining me here is Angie Lovell. Whoa. As the very first lady of Great America. The haircut. Welcome to Great America. Welcome to Great America. Being the first lady, I was the representative for all the employees for the park. OK, the first lady of Great America. 1,000 and 3,500 employees.
01:05:52
Speaker
I'm very curious about her actual title. Sales Coordinator. Green America First Lady. Is that like a 1001 Knox thing?
01:06:23
Speaker
Maybe that's on our Tinder bio. Okay, that's pretty cool
Podcast Conclusion and Future Plans
01:06:40
Speaker
to see like all the staff members from opening day. Yeah.
01:06:49
Speaker
Well, like, yeah, just the amount of, like, different costumes there were is insane. Yeah, right now that would just be all yellow or whatever. Yeah. Oh, that guy's gone now. May he rest in peace? Favorite ride from the Marriott years was Mother's Wizard. It was one of the first two that were here. I opened for adults and it was a mainstay. And, you know, my family and I, we really enjoyed life.
01:07:18
Speaker
This thrilling German made roller coaster was the most popular white knuckle thrill ride in Great America during the premiere. They said German made because they didn't know how to pronounce Schwarzkopf. In 1976. The Wizard was just so unique because I mean basically every individual car on the Wizard was self-contained, self-propelling unit.
01:07:43
Speaker
Titans. I agree. Yeah. Yeah, I'm glad they never took it out. Okay, so like I get this ad. But like, why is the model not like the real ride?
01:08:19
Speaker
I like that they sing in the jingle in the German accent. The tidal wave. Yeah, I wish I could have written that. Yeah.
01:08:44
Speaker
Because it was, um, I mean, it got ripped out for Batman, right? Pretty much. Yeah. Pretty much the exact spot. Well, you wrote it at, um, did you write at a Kentucky kingdom? Kind of. Yeah.
01:09:06
Speaker
I think when I wrote it, it was like mostly that, but some of the interestingly enough, the one at Great America, California's Great America as well. Oh, that's right. Yeah. Because both ended up contributing to Kentucky kingdoms at that point.
01:09:35
Speaker
but this one was a weight drop. Yeah. When I wrote it, I remember when I wrote it at Kentucky Kingdom, it was like trimmed on the back spike heavier. So it didn't really go all the way back up like on a Montezuma's revenge. I feel like the launch is probably better though.
01:10:03
Speaker
Like the flywheel is not bad, but I, I wish I could remember better cause I feel like the weight drop is a better launch. The edge. No, what you're going to want to make sure you don't fall back down.
01:10:32
Speaker
It didn't have, so the story was, I think it didn't have anti-rollbacks. It did not. Yeah, which is insane. Oh, Intamin was up to their antics even back then. Oh, Intamin. That kid was just on acid.
01:11:01
Speaker
He's like, is this how I go to meet Mickey Mouse? They're like, yeah, yeah, yeah. The two steam engines and 12 coaches were designed and constructed by custom fabricators. OK, I don't know if I remember this correctly, but was there a point where in the train
01:11:29
Speaker
only did a full lap, and it didn't have the two stations. Yeah, it does that sometimes now. It's currently doing that. Oh, okay. I'm pretty sure it's been doing that since Max Force opened and it re-opened after.
01:12:05
Speaker
I'm not sure why they changed the name from Whitewater Rampage to Roaring Rapids. Hmm, maybe they thought it was too sinister.
01:12:26
Speaker
One thing like to this day I like the rapids ride and it's still popular and everything but it takes up so much space. Yeah it does. I think there was a couple rides in that spot before. Yeah.
01:12:47
Speaker
I mean, if they took out one of the flumes and that ride, they could build a whole new section. I think if they took out Roaring Rapids, they could probably build a new area. Not a huge area, but there'd be enough space for like a coaster that went backstage. Yeah.
01:13:14
Speaker
And probably a flat ride and some food and a bathroom.
01:13:54
Speaker
Yeah, they must have paid a lot of money just for all this live entertainment stuff. Seriously, a full ass parade like that. You can't just hire locals for that stuff.
01:14:25
Speaker
I like the bugs wearing the Uncle Sam uniform.
01:14:39
Speaker
Imagine if, like, this whole Great America theme was still in place, but during the Trump era... The Great America pole climbing exhibitions included scaling 80-foot-high poles and log rolling. This took place in the pond just outside of Blogger's Run.
01:15:05
Speaker
I taught a log rowing class at my YMCA. You did? Yeah. We had it as like a class for some reason. It got discontinued after like a year. I mean, it's a pretty unique skill.
01:15:23
Speaker
Thing is it's like it's really not that hard to pick up on it. It's challenging when you're doing it with like another person. It's like the competition aspect of it. That makes sense. I know I don't have the balance to do that competitively.
01:16:00
Speaker
Oh my god, they had a fucking orchestra in the grand music hall. Yo, that dude's name is Bandman and he's a bandleader? Get the fuck out of here.
01:16:19
Speaker
He just wakes up one day and he's like, I think I know what I'm gonna do with my life. It just came to me one night. His business card just has his name. Call me Batman.
01:16:49
Speaker
These are the toughest guys in town. Right. So Marriott's Great America has them to test their courage. Yo, these like... What? Non-WWE wrestlers.
01:17:15
Speaker
And I think that ad was filmed in California. Yeah, that makes sense. Those bunny hoes must have been pretty crazy. Yeah. If it was like corkscrew at Cedar Point. Mm hmm.
01:17:48
Speaker
Although there's still must have been like a long straight section. Let's see. Oh, I guess not. Yeah. Well, I guess that makes sense because a loop doesn't take up that much space because it returns back to the starting point. This is the demon.
01:18:13
Speaker
Oh, the demon. Arrow's like, you call up in America, hey, we can do loops now. Just in case you wanted a new looping coaster, and they're like, we're good. But can you put a loop on an old coaster? Arrow's probably like, are you sure you don't just want a new coaster?
01:18:47
Speaker
Also the entire demon soundtrack is pretty cool. Yeah. And the tunnels are also pretty cool.
01:19:20
Speaker
Precise. An exorcism on the demon. Wait, I missed that one? The last guy said a local priest performed what he could only describe as an exorcism. Oh God.
01:19:46
Speaker
When they were building Victoria, I thought it was very fascinating when they were carving into the hill from where the seats are. And it was all carved out of the clay that was in there. And then they would form and pour the concrete for the seat. Victoria was designed by... God, that's sad. One thousand people per show housed in a two thousand pound projector. The screen was one of the largest in the world at 70 feet tall and 96 feet wide.
01:20:17
Speaker
Remember that? Did you ever watch that speed video? The NASCAR movie? I think so, yeah. Yeah, yeah. It seems like that's what the Pictorium opened with. I think it opened with some like IMAX movie. Yeah.
01:20:46
Speaker
Just like some generic one, but I'm not sure. And someone's like, hey, so we know we fucked up on the edge. How about a ride where you're suspended a hundred feet in there and in a closed cage by a chain? They're like sold. Look, we know we fucked up on the edge. How about we try a wooden coaster?
01:21:16
Speaker
with the buzz bars man let me hold your hand that's code he like moves her hand he got me too to five years later he's like it's like that wasn't even written in the script
01:21:39
Speaker
Just to see the process for all that lumber, all the nails, all that concrete board, and then they'll go from one end to the other and turn the end to work. The American Eagle used over 125,000 bolts and over 15 tons of nails to help secure the lumber in place.
01:21:56
Speaker
Like, maybe I'm stupid, but it seems strange to paint it when it's already built. Well, I guess the reasoning is like you can just scale up and down and do it. But if you have to paint individual boards, because you got to like nail and bolt and they probably get dirty.
01:22:27
Speaker
I guess that's a good point. Dude yeah, American Eagle must have been like crazy to build.
01:22:51
Speaker
A lot of cars were stopping on Washington Street and watching. Just very exciting times, very interesting. This park was actually going to be there for a while. Well that's good.
01:23:13
Speaker
The thing that I remember the most about the American Eagle opening was media day. They definitely needed a new paint job. They protested always. Yeah. There was not good one that right. I would climb it. I would pull it. Do you notice the six cars? Mm-hmm. A model that we had that was 10 feet long to places and I'd pull it. I can't even imagine going insane. I was scared of my roller coasters.
01:23:36
Speaker
And especially with the buzz bar. Mm hmm. Is that OK, you're riding in the front. Like that back row. Yeah, I'm on that second bunny hill. You're riding it after like coming out of the barrel. One hundred and forty seven feet, fifty five degree. I mean, the double helix is cool and all, but I don't as far as like a racing coaster, it's kind of a weird design.
01:24:06
Speaker
Yeah, this is animal abuse. This is 100% animal abuse. I don't know why the park allowed this to happen. Just to be clear, there's never a reason a dog should ride a roller coaster. Even Nick from Mount Olympus wouldn't do that.
01:24:38
Speaker
He'd kick that dog when it asked. You want to ride the roller coaster? No! Yo, wish.com Steve Martin there is not.
01:25:05
Speaker
It's funny to see the guy standing there. Yeah. He's like, I'm here. I don't know why you guys sent the train, but OK. Three minutes later, the eagle has landed. Great American experience, a tremendous amount of growth in its first few years of operation.
01:25:29
Speaker
As we celebrate our 35th anniversary, join us as we take one last look back at those sights and sounds of the first few seasons of Great America. Man, I can't believe they had a whole circus show in that American Eagle tent.
01:26:04
Speaker
Yeah, I wonder where they put all the cue for Eagle. I think some of the, um, like the grandstand style seating was used, I think.
01:26:31
Speaker
Yeah, I remember when the tent was like a, there was like a food court in there, like a bunch of TVs. Remember when there was a motion simulator in there? Yeah.
01:27:00
Speaker
Okay, I don't know what this song is, but I need it. The good old Confederate flag. Yep.
01:27:20
Speaker
I gotta, I gotta stay in my one gripe here. No fucking credits. Even if they literally just listed the people they interviewed. Did the actual show, I'm sure the actual show at credits, right? No. Well, that was screams and dreams volume one. Well, that was fun.
01:27:52
Speaker
Definitely. Holy shit, I'm excited for our Great America meetups. And I'm so sad that my home park is closed right now. Yeah, you got another maybe six months. Yep, pretty much. Maybe a great day is just what you need this year.
01:28:19
Speaker
It is but the park ain't fucking open. I got the list of patrons ready. All righty. So you should give shouts this week. All right. So we got these fine folks who support the work in the show.
01:28:44
Speaker
We got Lunaris, Luke, AJ Zero, Ryan Delaney, Michael Flynn, Tyler Ray, Samuel Jacobson, Brian Kossin, Dave Kossertokno BS zone, Keith Iorio, Kosterferg, David Skelton, Danan Rafferty, Nathan Slater, Wayne Lewis, Mikey Mayo, Michael Muldoon, Tristan Cox, Stefan Feinbaum, Nathan Hart, Jonathan Hawkins, Jared Mullen, and Ryan Shoemaker.
01:29:14
Speaker
So thank you guys. Yes, thank you all so, so fucking much. And oh, I guess I wanted to say this real quick. Our Patreon calls are on our Discord now. They have been for a couple of months. So if you haven't been on one in a while, they're on our Discord now. But whether you're a Patreon patron or not, you should join our Discord because it's awesome.
01:29:45
Speaker
Check out the India drop tower fail video. Yeah, you can see that and a bunch of other stuff. We'll have all the details about our meetups up there. Um, yeah, you got anything else Ben? Nah, it's a pretty slow week. It's holiday season. I, uh, I am,
01:30:11
Speaker
That's pretty confirmed. I'll be at Silver Dollar City on December 20th. So if you're going as well, hit me up. I think Slater might be there. Nice. Wish I could join, but I don't think that's going to be possible. Are you guys flying or driving to Vegas? Flying. Okay.
01:30:39
Speaker
Yeah, if we were driving, that would be definitely doable. But I think we're going to be we're definitely going to be flying. Yeah, basically. So we were supposed to drive from Denver to Amarillo back to Denver and then a couple of days later, drive from Denver to Milwaukee and back.
01:31:02
Speaker
And so I was just like looking at the map and it's like, okay, if we just go from Amarillo to Wisconsin, literally Silver Dollar City is on the way, so it worked out. There you go. Yeah. That's what's up, man. Well, have a good time. I think I'll be at Magic Mountain and not the week like of Christmas, but like after.
01:31:29
Speaker
Yeah, so that following week from when you're at Silver Dollar City Don't know which dates I'll be at which parks yet, but I think pretty confident. I'll be going to both And I'll be around Vegas pretty much the rest of that time Don't have any credits in Vegas, but
01:31:56
Speaker
Maybe I'll get on the chaos at, uh, adventure dome. Oh yeah. You should ride that. That's a good ride. Yeah, I'd like to. Well, all right. Um, let's hopefully we'll try and record next week before the holiday madness. Yeah.
01:32:22
Speaker
And yeah, shit, no, this has been good. And that's all. Hit us up. Your favorite coaster sucks at gmail.com. 312-572-9552. 312.5 for all five LA. And thanks a bunch for listening. Until next time.
01:32:51
Speaker
Your favorite coaster sucks.