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It was a fun ride. The first half felt very Maverick-y with the quick transitions between elements. All the theming REALLY adds to the overall feel of being chased by raptors. The 2nd half.....WOW! LOVE the launch and all of the air time especially on the top hat. Really comfortable trains. The queue is great and the two-sided lockers are BRILLIANT! Really hope they implement this system everywhere!

We rode Velocicoaster today! Here's our thoughts on the ride....

The boyfriend and I got to ride today during passholder preview, too, and I echo what Robb, Elissa, and others have said about the ride. I kept myself intentionally in the dark on social media over the weekend during team member previews because it's nice to come to a coaster from a fresh perspective sometimes. I've since read some reviews online and some of them pan the first half of the ride a bit, but we honestly really liked it and it balances the ride out a lot. I'm personally a big fan of quick directional changes and one of my favorite things has always been to ride B&M inverts in the back row because of the fact that you can't see where you're going. The high seat backs on Velocicoaster reminded me a lot of this, we rode in the back and that first half is a ton of quick little changes of direction and it has some cool moments with high turns, not taken at a lot of speed, but with little pops of air then a quick whip of the train to the left or right. The boost launch is quick as hell and there's a quick positive-G moment transitioning into the top hat...which, in the back row, I'm pretty sure we can count as one of the best "first drops" on any coaster. It was airtime all the way down, kind of like what you get on El Toro's or Skyrush's first drop. The double-helix back section seemed a little slow-ish to us, but this is based on just *one* ride. The barrel roll over the water scared the living crap out of me. The attendant pushed my restraint down pretty well and for a moment I literally thought I was about to go for a swim in the lagoon. Literally...I don't think I've had such an "oh sh*t" moment on any coaster in a long time. In short, this ride is amazing and is the kind of thrilling coaster Universal has been missing since the end of the day on September 4th, 2017 (I promise I'm not that crazy, September 4th is my birthday lol). The staff running the coaster seemed really hyped and made it an even better time, they were asking everyone how they liked the ride and really getting everyone excited. The energy around the ride seemed a lot like pre-Potter Universal in the best way. Please, Universal, more of this and less Jimmy Fallon/Fast&Furious/Harry Potter. We live about a mile from Universal and we've only gone once every 3-4 months the past couple of years. This will change that. Once the hype and line both calm down a bit, of course.

Welcome to the forums @OrbitalObject! Thanks for the report and the photos! Yeah, I've had generally negative experiences on opening day in the past. I don't know if its the $19.88 admission or what, but it seems to attract a more...errr..."rougher" crowd than the park normally does. There wasn't really a problem with line jumping, but other rules were not being adhered too like smoking where your not supposed too, not respecting the landscaping, breaking rules on rides, etc. Couple that with the notorious one train ops plus the "it's the start of the season and it's everyone's first day", and you get an experience that I wouldn't necessarily recommend to a first time goer... I really do think that Boulder Beach is the park's "people eater", and the theme park on it's own just doesn't have the capacity to keep up with the crowds. Even when I've gone in september, and BB was closed, the theme park was just overwhelmed. The theme park needs another high capacity ride that is popular *cough* cough*...dark ride...*cough* cough*. All that aside, I'm glad that things are looking good for I-Box on Tremors and Stunt Pilot. I hope that the 2 trains on SP can serve as a "pilot" (pun not intended ) for adding them to the wooden coasters. Aftershock obviously can't run a second, and I don't think it's a good idea for Corkscrew, but adding second trains to the woodies would really help. I don't know about all the design changes for the 10 car trains, but I'm grateful all the same for a new, I guess "semi-custom" coaster.

I was there on opening day. Overall the park was insanely busy - I have never seen the park as busy as it was in the over 15 years I've been going there (although I generally try to go on off days). Lines for Timber Terror and Tremors were pushing 2 hours and the log flume line wrapped around close to the antique cars entrance. If they were 'limiting capacity,' I certainly didn't notice it. I would say at most about 10% of people were wearing masks, which made me a little uncomfortable given how busy it was. Aftershock also wasn't open (no train in the station at all), which also didn't help absorb the crowds. Line jumping was also a huge issue and something the park needs to get under control. I counted at least 15 people line jumping throughout the day - definitely not okay. Okay, with the (mild) complaints out of the way, the main positive was the I-Box on Tremors. The ride is absolutely hauling and continued to get better as it warmed up. The I-Box runs from the end of the first topper track section, to right before the first set bunny hills. The laterals though the I-box section are extreme and the bunny hills now produce ejector airtime. The track though the last two tunnels had been repaired as well (just wood track - no I-Box) and is running very smooth. I got three rides in (two in the front and one in the back) and I can definitely say it's now much smoother than many steel coasters I've been on. The PTC trains still chatter a little especially in sections that have high laterals, but overall it is much more re-rideable, with no noticeable jackhammering at any point. I was told by multiple ride ops that after this season more I-box will be added all the way to the second section of topper track. The RMC truck is still sitting inside the first helix and it looks like there are more sections of I-Box onsite sitting under tarps. Operations were generally pretty good on everything, but with how popular the park is becoming, the single train ops on the woodies is really starting to become an issue and should be addressed. Glad stunt pilot is getting two trains. Speaking of which, is looking incredible. There is a really tall construction wall on the midway side, but I got some good pictures from the Thunder Canyon exit. I didn't spot trains on site yet, but the maintenance barn looks pretty much done. The site still looks pretty unfinished - pretty crazy it's opening in under a month. Looking forward to May 29th! Here is an Imgur album of some of the pictures I took: https://imgur.com/gallery/vS9LpQ3

Kemah Boardwalk I was trying to figure out how to cram Kemah Boardwalk into my December Texas trip figuring it would be on weekend only operations. But much to my surprise, it was actually open on weekdays still and it was an absolute ghost town. As a result, I was able to marathon Boardwalk Bullet to my heart's content. While that ride was fully staffed all day with two operators, the other rides had a limited quantity of rotating ride ops, which was completely justified given the crowd levels. Adding Kemah Boardwalk onto my Texas trip was one heck of a detour, but Boardwalk Bullet was worth it. I only got two rides on this wood coaster back in 2018 due to crowds and time, but this time I got well over two dozen rides on this Gravity Group creation. It's impressive Gravity Group crammed a coaster of this scale into just one acre of land. This ride may be one of the finest layouts ever made given the available space. Boardwalk Bullet is running like a dream. I rode Boardwalk Bullet both during the day and night. And with full trains and empty trains. And it ran consistently regardless of the time of day or train load, which was great to see. The ride is remarkably smooth despite its twisted layout and PTC trains. The ride has many pops of airtime. The large drops are incredible in the back row, but I prefer the ride up front since the airtime is more consistent start to finish. The coaster also feels ridiculously fast because of all the near-misses and it seems to go on forever. It just barely missed my top 10 wood coaster list. 9 out of 10 The rest of Kemah Boardwalk is a compact cluster of flat rides, many of which are from Chance. The best flat ride is the Drop Zone drop tower, which is one of those intense Larson/ARM towers with a powerful drop. It also helps the ride offers a great view of Galveston Bay. The only ride I wasn't able to experience that I wanted to was the Observation Tower. This ride was closed in my 2018 visit and it was down for maintenance this visit, although it was testing non-stop all-day. I imagine the views of Boardwalk Bullet and the bay are incredible. The one other ride of note is the park's train. Kemah Boardwalk is more than just an amusement park. It's a full-fledged entertainment complex with a hotel, shops, and restaurants. The train ride gives a tour of the entire complex and it even includes a themed tunnel with a shootout. I was not expecting that! While Kemah Boardwalk alone may struggle to fill an entire day for coaster enthusiasts, Boardwalk Bullet is a coaster well worth the trip.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is responding on Facebook that Harley Quinn is no longer an operating attraction at the park. Very rarely do I celebrate the removal of a ride. This one is one of them.

the Raptors eat the sleeves off half the riders! kewl great pics!

^ it worked so well for Hard Rock Park tho!

Alot of the things that have been posted about on here already have been done or is in the works. The park needs to take off 20 to 30 years of wear and tear before we get the next big ride. If the parks allowed to continue on its current path (hopeful) we will once again be able to handle the crowds that a new coaster(s) would bring. Now for story time: The Batmobile that will be going on display later this year is not the original one from the 90's. This one was a "stunt" model from SFGadv. Batman sat in front and a "stunt driver" sat hidden behind him. Anywho back in the mid 00's if you recall the park had it's first parades using moon cars. The park was looking around the chain to see if anyone had a Batmobile that could be used in the parade (ps this is a bad idea for clearance reasons in a hilly park). SFGadv said SFSL could have it if they paid shipping. It "just needed a little work" they said. Well it showed up and it was rough as hell. Coupled with the vehicles low clearance and extensive mechanical needs it was parked for 15+/- years till now!

Passes expire a year from the first date that you use them (unless it's longer because there's a promotion going on). They are not tied to the calendar year. The first 2 weeks of December are an amazing time to visit Orlando but keep that on the down-low.

My advice for everyone who balks at the price of a one day ticket (considering you basically have to park-hop) seems counter-intuitive but it's to get an annual pass (I know how stupid that sounds but hear me out). The Seasonal Pass has no benefits except for park admission but it's 349.99. A one-day ticket on most weekends is $187 or sometimes more so the pass pays for itself in less than 2 visits (aside from consecutive-day combo tickets or mid-week visits during the slowest time of the year). They also frequently run promotions where you can get additional months added on to your pass for free. We got ours last October and it's good until some time in January of 2022. Sure, this pass has blackout dates but only a few select Mardi Gras concert days that you can work around. The other blackout days are days where no intelligent person would want to be caught dead in Orlando anyway if they didn't live there (Christmas Week / Spring Break / July... the hottest month of the entire summer) That said, when we renew one of us will get the preferred pass for the free parking and in-park discounts and one will keep the seasonal pass. That's the move if you're going to travel with friends or a significant other.

Thanks for the warm welcome! Honestly, ride operations were really good. Dispatch times were about average from what I've experienced but the major rides just weren't able to handle the crowds. I think that may have contributed to the poor behavior of some of the guests, but it was still a little disappointing to me. And yeah, I have generally noticed that wait times go up pretty significantly after the waterpark closes. Silverwood itself is such a small park that it gets overwhelmed super easily. I am very excited for Stunt Pilot, but I do think that a high capacity dark ride would be a wonderful and much needed addition for the park. I think that it's really time for a 'next step' to really separate Silverwood from the rest of the pack. I saw Gary Norton walking around on opening day - I should have asked him

It definitely is, but given the 10-car trains it will still throw you into another dimension in the back row. There are actually a number of design changes on this model which I assume are to accommodate the longer trains. I'm sure the coaster will still be insane though and with the added capacity, it all sounds good to me.

WHOO YEAH!!! Track work on Stunt Pilot is officially done!!! (As of yesterday according to the park's socials) Couple interesting bits: The reprofiling has continued, as it seems that they "mostly" eliminated the "pre-drop" off the lift. This is probably to accommodate the longer trains, but I find it to be an interesting change. It also seems that they mostly got rid of the straight section exiting the the s-bend and the drop into the second half. This too me has to be the biggest plus of the profile changes because I always thought that that was the weakest part of the layouts on the original prototype raptors. It appears that it will feature the extra walkway on the first turn like Railblazer. Not sure if that's for better or worse, but I don't mind it. Also...opening weekend was this last weekend! I wasn't able to go, but I've hears good things! People say Stunt Pilot looks great in its spot, and it's gonna be an excellent addition. The park is open weekends till Memorial Day, then daily from then until Labor Day. It also seems like they are planning on the return of Scarywood since they have it scheduled on their website under October. As far as COVID stuff goes...apparently the park is doing what they did last year, "limiting capacity" and they are still cashless (for the most part), but I heard that only about 30% of the guests were wearing masks. No word on if the employees are wearing masks, spacing people out on rides, or cleaning in between cycles. Word on the street is that with the re-tracking Tremors is running better than ever!! I hope that's true as it seems to have not been at its fullest the last few seasons. Did anybody here make it out for opening weekend, I would be curious to know what your thoughts are? Lastly...ONLY 25 MORE DAYS till Stunt Pilot opens!!!! Here's to Silverwood's best season yet!

As someone who has been visiting Waldameer for 30 years now, I totally forgot about Ali Baba. Probably because I rode it once and it made me nauseous! But I could see Waldameer removing it for something else. I always gave the park credit for making what was a standard off-the-shelf ARM portable ride look great with the fountain in front, but it always looked sort of out of place with its airbrushed backdrop. Wipeout is the other one I could see on the chopping block. It seems they have fallen out of favor lately as several parks have removed theirs or shipped them to other parks. Not sure what the park may have planned to add though. Zamperla has a new ride called Gryphon which looks like an updated Huss Swing Around with Endeavor style individual seats. Gryphon That would probably be a good fit for a park like this. A Zamperla Air Race is a possibility now that the park has an upside-down ride in Chaos. Or perhaps even one of these new SBF Tower Plane rides (I believe that new "park" opening in Myrtle Beach soon is going to have one of these. It reminds me of the old Intamin Flight Trainer) SBF Tower Plane Looking forward to the park's 125th Anniversary season in just a few weeks!

The two-sided locker system seems fantastic. What a great compromise to allow guests their phones in line without risking carrying it on the ride. I suppose the only thing you need to carry with you on the ride is your season pass/ticket, correct? To open your locker afterwards?

next up was Six Flags Great America my first experience with a Six Flags park in the USA (we had one in the Netherlands for a couple of years) It probably was another hot day (for me compared to the weather in the Netherlands) and first experience with Q-bots. these things have been and still are life savers when making long travels and visiting themeparks. Sometimes the only way to make it on all the rides during your visit, but making each and every visit a lot more enjoyable no matter the park or time. (waiting in line for 2 hours just is not my thing) here's a couple of pictures from that day. was a perfect way to start the day crazy people owh yeah, this thing.. First decent (forces) flyer for me at that time. (had been to Alton Towers but that one felt little compared to this) i believe this was a spinner? weird coaster.. just going back and forward with 2 spikes.. now these are fun first standup for me.. so weird.. kiddie coaster credit.. racing wooden coaster fun and the loop. Next up: Cedar Point.

The fam and I stopped by the park yesterday for the last day of Taste of Boysenberry. Though it was a little depressing to see the rides closed, the atmosphere in the park was a lot of fun. There were costumed characters and shows everywhere you look, and the food was delicious. My thoughts on what I tried: Boysenberry BBQ Brisket Mac and Cheese: The meat was good and tender, and had a good BBQ flavor, with just a hint of boysenberry. It was just enough to let you know it's there, but it wasn't overpowering. The mac and cheese was a pleasant surprise, as it seemed to be made with cheddar cheese - not process cheese. 10/10 Boysenberry sangria: While good and refreshing, it seemed a little watered down. I wish the fruit and wine tastes were a little stronger. 6/10 Beer cheese soup in a bread bowl: This was probably my favorite item I tried yesterday. The soup was cheesy and delicious, and the bread bowl seemed fresh-baked. The soup had overflowed and covered the outside of the bread bowl, but the bread bowl cutout allowed me to sop up some of it before trying to pick up the bread bowl and eat it. Eating the bread bowl was a pretty messy process, nonetheless, but it was worth it. 10/10 Salmon and orzo salad with boysenberries: After filling up on carbs, it was time for a healthy snack. The salmon tasted quite fishy and a little overcooked, but the rest of the salad complemented it well. The orzo had a strong garlicky taste - which is a plus, in my book. The salad was also tossed with a few boysenberries and boysenberry vinaigrette - which was sweet, but not too sweet. It made for a good combination. 7/10 Boysenberry and white chocolate chip cookiewich: Finally, it was time for dessert - and what a dessert it was. The cookies were about 5"-6" in diameter, and sandwiched a 2"-thick layer of vanilla soft-serve ice cream. I had planned to share it with my wife, but while walking around to find her in the shops, the ice cream started melting and I ended up polishing it off before I eventually found her. The cookies were soft and chewy. The boysenberry cookies were a great combo with the vanilla ice cream. It was very filling, however, and I wished I hadn't eaten the whole thing myself. I'm glad I saved it for last. 9/10 As is typical for Knott's, this was a very well-executed event. I can't wait to come back when rides are open again.

Yeah, it’s been closed for budget since the park reopened last year. I mean “because of Covid” as they say. They run the one at their San Diego park but though so I guess they just don’t care if their west coast guests die of covid by riding the best ride for social distancing ever invented.

^Not going to spill any descriptive details, but both would have replaced existing flat rides. Speculate all you want.

^ Fast and Furious and what else????