> > > The Zipper, isn't it? That's what it sounds like to me...
> > >
> > > -Fob"and no one will ever go on it with me"ulis
> >
> > Yes!! It's the Zipper! I didn't even bother mentioning the name because I just assumed it was a West Coast thing. But it sounds like this ride is fairly standard at most fairs.
> >
> > Ell"Let's go for it, Fobulis!"myruh
>
> Last time I was in the US I really binged on rollercoasters and similar rides. There's only one real rollercoaster in this entire country and it's OK, but not what I'd call alarming. It's only small, with one steep drop, one loop, and two corkscrews. The whole ride takes about 20 seconds. I loved a rollercoaster at Atlantic City where you go around normally the first time, then backwards the second time. Space Mountain at Disneyland was pretty good too. That was more than ten years ago, so I assume they've got even better and scarier since then.
>
> Brunnen-"looking forward to next time"G

Speaking of roller coasters...
I just got back from Dollywood, my favorite theme park, and they have a new 'coaster that I wouldn't ride for all the Pesos in Mexico. It is built in a narrow, crooked valley. I watched a string of cars loaded with people too young to take that kind of risk. It crawled slowly up the slope to the first drop. Then I heard horrible screaming from behind the hill. About that time the cars emerged from a hole in the ground. What happened behind that hill, I really don't want to know, but when it reappeared it was moving about mach .9 and upward at about an 80 degree angle. It made an upside down loop, almost coming to a stop at the top and plunged into a highspeed curve. It was the kind of curve that squeezes the air out of your lungs and glues you to your seat. Then it dropped into the bottom of the valley and made another loop almost as high as the first but without the pause at the top. It disappeared again behind a hill on the other side of the valley. Then, reappeared, making another upside down loop, this time a sort of a corkscrew. One more gut-busting turn and it hit the brakes for an eyeballs-out stop. Very few people hold their hands over their head. Through all of this, I was safely standing petrified on the ground. The kids got out of the car and came down the steps still screaming. Because of the terrain, the loops are the only place where you are very far off the ground. That probably adds to the sensation of speed.
And you thought Dollywood was about country music.
Howard