Originally Posted By JeffG >> "Don't forget about Wally World! " << "National Lampoon's Vacation" was based on a short story called "Vacation 58" by John Hughes, who later adapted it into the screenplay. In the short story, the Griswold family is traveling to Disneyland and it ends up with Clark actually shooting Walt Disney in the leg after discovering that the park was closed. When Hughes started working on the film adaptation, he invented Wally World after guessing (probably correctly) that the Disney company wouldn't be amused if he didn't make that change. If you want to read the original story, it is available online at this link: <a href="http://www.bizbag.com/Vacation/Vacation%2058.htm" target="_blank">http://www.bizbag.com/Vacation...2058.htm</a> >> "There was a "Westworld" novel by Michael Crichton. Not sure if it or the movie came first." << I searched in quite a few locations online (including Crichton's official website) and couldn't find any indication that he wrote a novelization for "Westworld". I did find several references to a paperback book containing the screenplay, which was apparently released around the same time as the film. Maybe that is what you are remembering? -Jeff
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I think Jeff, that might be what I am remembering. I am pretty sure I read it as a kid, but I had a lot of books that had sci fi short stories in it. It may have been in one of those.
Originally Posted By Mr X Wasn't there a Wonder Woman episode back in the day with Magic Mountain (??) in it? I remember there was some kid who wanted to build coasters, and some old, scarred "Phantom of the Park" who lived underground and watched over the park. No? I remember thinking (since I'd never seen a loop coaster before in my life) how incredibly cool that white Magic Mountain coaster looked. When I finally got to ride it DECADES later, it had lost some of its' luster. (wasn't it called the "SuperLoop" at some point? was it the first ever?)
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo It was not the first ever (as there were loops on woodies in Europe and the US - though not safe - before then). But I believe it was one of the very first safe, steel and heavily advertised loops.
Originally Posted By Mr X I did a little wiki-research... It's considered the first "modern" loop coaster.
Originally Posted By Mr X And the old ones (as you said, the "unsafe" ones) were completely circular, as opposed to the newer "teardrop" shaped loops.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice Never heard of "Super Loop"... It was "Revolution" when it opened. AND, it had NO over-the-shoulder restraints back then! Woo hoo!
Originally Posted By alexbook JeffG: Here's what made me think there was a Westworld novel: <a href="http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/michael-crichton/westworld.htm" target="_blank">http://www.fantasticfiction.co...orld.htm</a> But maybe that's the script book after all. Sorry to add to the confusion.
Originally Posted By alexbook There's an important theme park connection in Matt Ruff's excellent gonzo sci-fi novel "Sewer, Gas & Electric," but I can't tell you much about it without giving up some key plot points. (From the publisher: "High above Manhattan android and human steelworkers are constructing a new Tower of Babel for billionaire Harry Gant, as a monument to humanity's power to dream. In the festering sewers below a darker game is afoot: a Wall Street takeover artist has been murdered, and Gant's crusading ex-wife, Joan Fine, has been hired to find out why. The year is 2023, and Ayn Rand has been resurrected and bottled in a hurricane lamp to serve as Joan's assistant; an eco-terrorist named Philo Dufrense travels in a pink-and-green submarine designed by Howard Hughes; a Volkswagen Beetle is possessed by the spirit of Abbie Hoffman; Meisterbrau, a mutant great white shark, is running loose in the sewers beneath Times Square; and a one-armed 181-year-old Civil War veteran joins Joan and Ayn in their quest for the truth. All of whom, and many more besides, are caught up in a vast conspiracy involving Walt Disney, J. Edgar Hoover, and a mob of homicidal robots.")
