Jeremy Thompson

@rollercoasterphilosophy

LA-based writer & themed experience creative. 1000+ coasters. Seeking the sublime in the ridiculous and the ridiculous in the sublime. rollercoasterphilosophy.com

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Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· 14d

Done.

My coaster count with Hollywood Drift atop at #1017

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· 14d

The dispatch interval has been pretty tight. The crew seems to already have their rhythm down on day two. (Reminds me of a boss I had as a teen who'd always yell "2 Fast 2 Furious" to the crew during busy times.)

One train dropping off the first launch while another completes the final barrel roll

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· 14d

Interestingly the ride didn't even go down, loaded trains continued to dispatch immediately after the rescue.

Prop car with flowers and queue as a loaded train passes overhead

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· 14d

And rescue!

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· 14d

Rollback.

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· 14d

They have a simple QR scavenger hunt in the queue.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift Quest game page

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· 14d

Some great views of the ride in action from the queue.

Looking straight down the inverted stall element.

Cars sliding sideways up into the escalator turn and scream shield

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· 14d

Of course like an idiot I was out the door too fast to put on sunscreen.

Coaster cars drifting around the escalator turn

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· 14d

It's happening. (Eventually...)

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· 14d

A last minute meeting cancellation opened up my afternoon to try this! Just missed the 1:00pm opening, and expecting I'll be here for a while...

The line stretching down the French Street

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· 21d

Would you believe this has been difficult to get tickets for?

Back and centered view from inside the theater

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· 26d

I really hope someday they can build a modernized family wooden coaster inspired by the historic Oaks Park Zip.

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· 26d

Stills from SYNECDOCHE NEW YORK: "When are we gonna get an audience in here? It's been 17 years."

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· 27d

My review from fourteen years ago in honor of Kumba. Still my pick for the best B&M coaster in North America.

Kumba

Beautiful. The iconic 1993 sit-down B&M looper could be perceived as exceedingly vanilla by today’s standards, especially in the context of the thirty-odd multi-looping coasters the Swiss company produced in the time since that all originate somewhere from Kumba’s DNA. Yet even as new technical innovations and twists on the basic layout came along, Kumba somehow manages to remain the best example of the genre for its grace and simplicity. It’s not a layout about big ideas or a dramatic crescendo. Every element is like a line of poetry, with balanced contrasts between the emotional highs and lows, and not a single length of track either wasted or overemphasized; each moment is an integral component to forming an overall aesthetically pleasing tapestry.

The first half could be called “The Young Person’s Guide to the Roller Coaster”, the way it introduces the basic vertical loop and then each subsequent inversion expands on the idea with a new orientation or greater level of complexity until peaking in the two-part cobra roll. Thus the task set for the second half is to gradually wind down the action in a way that doesn’t also feel anticlimactic, and Kumba succeeds in a way that its many copycats have rarely been able to. The interlocking corkscrews (returning to the basics while still injecting a new dynamic on the riders) are simultaneously elegantly paced while biting just a little bit with the snappy rotation changes, and then the lull before the tunnel dive and upward helix satisfies as a grand finale while bringing our adrenaline slowly back down to earth so that the brakes triggering doesn’t come as a shock or disappointment. Even the way the grassy terrain contours around the sky blue track helps strengthen the perception that every piece is part of a perfectly realized whole. The simple looping progression isn’t outwardly a daring idea, but if after a few rides you get hit by the simple beauty of Kumba, it will hit you hard.

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· Jul 11

Set up this weekend at Echo Park Lake for their annual Lotus Festival.

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· Jul 11

No, not THAT one. This one...

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· Jul 6

Spanish Flea.

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· Jul 6

Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass at the Hollywood Bowl. Pretty good lungs for 91 years old!

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· Jul 2

Are there more of the Revolution 50th shirts/merch back in stock or is that all done for?

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· Jun 26

They're certainly right that this story is a curse.

The skeleton pirate now acts out the full curse story that explains how he ended up frozen.

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· Jun 19

Nothing to make the blood run cold in a midwest-to-SoCal transplant's veins than pairing that image with this message.

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· Jun 14

Have fun!

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· Jun 8

Also, Rip Roarin' Falls looks neat I guess? I'm glad to see Six Flags taking classic water rides seriously again. But I also think the trend of only investing in water rides if they can break a record has caused some issues in the past and challenged their elemental appeal. We shall see...

Concept image for Rip Roaring Falls, a flume ride with a 100 foot drop and a smaller roller coaster style drop plus some natural landscaping

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· Jun 8

My feelings toward Big Bear Mountain are cooler than most folks it seems, but getting both Werewolf Gorge and Eagle's Pursuit in the same year just seems like an absolute best-case development for both of those parks, and more broadly for Vekoma in the U.S.

Promo slide for Werewolf Gorge at Six Flags Fiesta Texas

Promo slide for Eagle's Pursuit at Waldameer Park in Erie, Pennsylvania

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· Jun 3

Watching the CA results come in, it seems clear the jungle primary doesn't so much procedurally produce more moderate candidate options, but rather forces voters into feeling like they have to elect more moderate candidates contra their own preferences. What's the point of a primary then?

“I liked Katie Porter, but I’m a realistic person,” said Dennis McLin, 43, a social worker from Riverside, Calif. “I didn’t think she had a good chance of winning, so I voted for Xavier Becerra.”

Ms. Porter was in a distant fifth place in initial returns and conceded the race on Tuesday night.

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· May 28

Saw STOLEN KINGDOM at my local theater this evening. Guess I never realized how lax Disney World security is (was?) for all these shenanigans to take place. It might have benefitted from some more perspectives outside the online bubbles, but still one of the more unique theme park docs I've seen.

Showtime screen at the movie theater for Stolen Kingdom

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· May 27

Just non-stop.

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· May 27

A few more shots.

Zebra striped cars in closeup dipping between supports

Train ascending the dive loop in reverse

A train exiting the stall while another goes down the first curve near the escalators

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· May 27

About four trains on Hollywood Drift this afternoon with dispatches at minimum interval. I hadn't seen an uninterrupted test run in person yet, and it was a beautiful sight to see.

Overlook viewpoint of Hollywood Drift test running, two trains at the same time, one in the first corkscrew while another exits the final inversion.

Jeremy Thompson@rollercoasterphilosophy· May 20

"Two - Whenever Grogu is not on screen, all the engineers should be pressing the 'Where's Grogu?' button."