Photo TR: Italian Job "official" opening day

Wow!! best family coaster ever

G's in the helix were very impressive and the backseat is crazy.

Park was great, a very light mem. day Sat. line for IJ was never more than 40min and max trains on everything.

but blah blah here are the pics (what you came here for)

Enjoy, JEFF

Thanks for the pics! How many trains was IJ running? Do they have any kind of fastpass or single rider line on it?

--Robb

They were running all 3 trains and very well too, I was not expecting the line to move as well as it did.

PKD does not do fast pass or anything anymore they experimented with it for a year or two 2001-2002 didnt really work

and no nothing in VA has a single rider line (anymore)

here are more pics from the day

JEFF

not sad and pathetic today

ahhhhh

must be a sale on new Intamin wheels

those pics with the lighting effects are cool

Daaaaamn. Great photos! IJ looks sharp, I haven't been to PKD since they added Hypersonic... Hopefully I'll get to visit PKD during my BGW/Dollywood trip next year.

Thanks for the pics, this ride looks pretty enjoyable to me...

Looks like the trains lights were working, I wonder how long it will be until they blink out and never turn on again.

Were the onboard sounds working? I've never ridden it with all the effects working.

YES surprisingly

All sound effects worked during the entire ride, we had lights and music and fire and water........

I was really impressed with Everything about the ride and it seemed to be a big hit....except for the kids that thought they were going to get to drive (kids were fighting and bickering in line for who gets to drive)

JEFF

Looks like they did a nice job with the ride theming, although it looks like it was built on a gravel pit. I didn't remember seeing that much gravel and stuff at Kings Island's, but I went back and looked at the pics and it's about the same (mixture of gravel and concrete). I guess it goes with the theme of being on a road, but I still think it could use some more landscaping.

I was also surprised at how well the line moved... hopefully they'll run 3 trains on a regular basis

Awesome pictures! Thanks for sharing them....I might go to PKD for my third time. I think in July, its a maybe though! I can't wait to ride IJ!!

One thing I think it really cool is the headlights on the IJ (at nite) working. Do any of the other IJ clones have working headlights or just PKI?

I haven't been there in about 8+ yrs now. I'll be going in early June (BGE-aslo). I HATE the Shockwave paint job, it looks like a candy-cane fairy-ride now. Love the Anaconda paint job! I remember when it was being built, it was ALL green.

NICE PICS!

Nice job, Jeff, as usual. You've covered the day pretty well; I'll sort through my pics and post any here that might add a bit more (I can think of two, offhand).

Yep, you called it--good day to be at PKD. BGE, by contrast today, looked nuts. I drove by there at around 12:30 on my way to Newport News, and they were already using the Scotland (overflow) parking lot, and there was a huge line of cars on the ramp from I-64 (and there was still a huge line when I came back through around 2:30).

EDIT: Yep--Jeff was his usual thorough self. Here are a few pics I took that day. IJ was a lot of fun--especially the the last wild bit through the tunnel.

I did squeeze in one "sad-and-pathetic" ride on Avalanche (and Scooby Doo's Haunted Mansion) that day.

Here's an "eiffel" of the Grizzly--still a great, wild ride in the woods.

Your can get some nice shots of Anaconda while waiting for IJ.

And here's Canobie Fan, and his mom (aka Ann), on their most favorite ride ever!

A closer look at IJ's splashy finish.

And now, the backside of chopper, as it awaits its next victims.

. . . 2) He's not of "unusual body proportions."

Yes, Jeff is a happy man today for two reasons: 1) Italian Job was better than expected, and . . .

Any update on the sad and pathetic land clearing project next to Grizzly? Haven't heard much about when that's supposed to open.

Nice pics! This looks like another great IJ! I have one question though. I've read about the stairs effect back when the PKI one opened and I was wondering if it was working when you rode it? If so, was it good?

---Brent

Any changes on Flight of Fear? And did they ever finish the damn gokarts?

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/files/canobie_fan___mom_208.jpg :-\!!

And the gokarts are still being made.

Wow! It looks EXACTLY like the one at PCW! Except you guys got the cool water splash. PCWs version does not have that, I'm jealous.

Flight of fear is still UNTOUCHED (besides removing the sign and laying it on the ground)

Go cart track is only anout halfway paved and that is it...nothing else done

yea Chuck thorough is a nice word...I maxed out at 272 pics on the day and over an hours worth of footage

here are pics of "thunder raceway" and another cool pic

JEFF

not much work completed in 2 months

2 avalanche trains, TR inverted as well as volcano blasting...great timing

Cool, thanks for the update. Great pics guys, as usual!

I've read about the stairs effect back when the PKI one opened and I was wondering if it was working when you rode it? If so, was it good?

---Brent

not quite sure what you are talking about, could you elaborate on this stair effect?

JEFF

In the movie, the minis drive down stairs, and the cars were supposed to shake in the manner of the bumps from going down stairs, also they were supposed to "fishtail" around the s-curves by the police in the middle of the ride. I've never been on the PKI version with the effects working, and they were quietly phased out of most discussions about the ride after it opened, leading me to believe they never got the kinks out. He's asking if yours has these effects, Jeff.

-james Dillaman

hmmmm. interesting but i think having hydralics of that nature would be very expensive and a pain in the ass to maintain so the idea was probably scraped before the final design of the trains.

Short answer = NO

JEFF

Personally, if that's the case, I'm glad that it doesn't have the "stair effect" for sake of riders' backs. Or maybe Mini-Coopers just have excellent suspension.

It does seem to fishtail in the tunnel, though.

The fishtailing on PKI's works, it takes a while for the springs to break in.

The stair effect was killed, because when they tested it, it shattered the fiberglass on the trains.

Great pics! I saw you and cfc at the Nick Central rope, and again behind me while in line for IJ. By the time I realized who yall were it was too crowded to even move. I was in the yellow PKI shirt. I did however meet up with James.. err.. Canobie Fan for some night Grizzly action.

-J (who may post a TR of some sort in a few days)