Jeremy Thompson

@rollercoasterphilosophy.com

693 Followers 215 Following

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

The Odyssey Trojan Horse
1920s photo of the Zip at Oaks Park.
Stills from SYNECDOCHE NEW YORK: "When are we gonna get an audience in here? It's been 17 years."
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.
The Lotus Festival photo op
The skeleton pirate now acts out the full curse story that explains how he ended up frozen.
An email survey from Six Flags Magic Mountain pairing the park logo with a stock image from Cedar Point's Raptor.
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
Promo slide for Werewolf Gorge at Six Flags Fiesta Texas
“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.
Showtime screen at the movie theater for Stolen Kingdom
Zebra striped cars in closeup dipping between supports
Overlook viewpoint of Hollywood Drift test running, two trains at the same time, one in the first corkscrew while another exits the final inversion.
Still image from The Simpsons "where's Poochie" meme
Going
Taz-Mania at Magic Mountain, some nice planters and pavement and that's about it.
A family of Canadian geese wander towards the entrance of Lex Luthor Drop of Doom
Universal Fan Fest Nights purple carpet
Call menu auto-captions reading "For our employees emotional health protection, please refrain from using racist, rude language or abusive language towards the agents"
Orange sunset directly over the Immelmann inversion with an incomplete sound shield.
Wide panoramic view of nearly the entire layout of Hollywood Drift from the upper lot at sunset.
Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift testing around the escalator turn.
A Chinese made looping coaster (abandoned) next to a large Ferris wheel (not operating)
An oversized entry gate and plaza, completely deserted.
Red lanterns hang over a historic pedestrian street with numerous Chinese signs
Plate of clams
A Chinese flagged speed boat parked in the surf overlooking the ocean
Close up of the entrance marquee for Fantawild Asian Legend
Entry facade for the Philippines
Cambodian Angkor Wat style entrance to the attraction
The preshow room, completely dark except for the green emergency exit signs and an employee holding a flashlight
Entrance as a Vietnamese brick cathedral
Exterior to Colorful Trip in traditional Brunei architecture
Exterior circular show building with Indonesian longhouse styled portals
Entrance sign to Hero of Malacca with several Malaysian mouse-deer props grazing around it
Thai temple entrance to Rama and Sita
Closure sign at the entrance to a kid's coaster
The first drop
An orange and green Vekoma Boomerang
The rainbow styled entrance to Let's Fly
Entrance to Fantawild Asian Legend
Numerous pink fountains in the river, including three really big ones that appear nearly as tall as the skyscraper behind it.
A Chinese cityscape with some blossoming trees along the street
A large wall mural showing the Liuzhou snail rice noodles and other designs.
A cup of boba tea next to a cup of yellow colored corn drink
A bowl of snail rice noodles with an egg
Panoramic view of the Lijiang River and its many karst towers from the deck of the riverboat
Silhouettes of karst tower formations in the background with a 20 yuan banknote held up in the foreground, the printed landscape design on the back sort of matching the mountains seen above.
A riverboat passing by several unusually shaped karst formations
A tall pair of pagodas reflecting across the water at night, the taller one in the foreground illuminated in gold, the slightly smaller one further back in cool bluish silver
A line of people waiting on the street to enter a little hole in the wall eatery