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Sure did! The timing was amazing. Right when I got to LR to take said break the testing started. Not long after I posted that,it opened. The break was indeed short lived, but glad it was! Got 5 rides in an hour-ish. I know the joke is on me haha solo at a park but while people were waiting 30-50 mins in line, I was walking on. Huge thanks to whoever said they opened the single rider line. Talk about a life saver. I did it 8 times total. Hilariously when I was ready to call it a day and do my final, it went down again. I was on the train when they had to scoot us off. I had no will to move, it was first time landing back row so waited it out, wasn't that bad maybe 20 mins? Needless to say: Lighting Rod is god damn amazing. It did indeed live up to the hype. Launch was better than expected, the wave turn was just wtf, it was more whippy than I imagined and the quad down just wow. A night ride I can only imagine, but I ofc knew the park was closing at 7 so what can ya do? Hopefully next time, there wont be a global pandemic XD As for the park as a whole, yeah was pretty great. Honestly, it was dead from 10 to 12, I was able to do most everything, some a few times by 1:00. IDK what is a crowded day here but I dont think today was. Outside of Firechaser and Tornado that were an hour+ most bobbed between like 5 to 35. I was able to just use the ride time site and time it well. Longest I waited all day was 30 mins for dragonflier ha It was a very solid lineup. No bad ride. Obviously gotta understand some are moderate, but certainly none were bad and weirdly I kind of enjoyed Blazing Fury. Firechaser was pretty fun, Dragonflier eh kinda weak but what can ya expect? I personally was surprised how much I enjoyed Wild Eagle. I think I like the straight drop better than the twisting? In back got some serious pull, as I did through the first few elements. Even felt the helices kind of a bit. Bit of a suprise to me. Thunderhead was awesome, Tennessee Tornado its a crime that ride is so short because it really is something. Back row, that whole dip turn into the drop was phenomenal. Oh, Mystery Mine. Honestly, low expectations and short waits really help a ride lol I enjoyed more than I figured. Dips and turns had a little more oomph than I figured, granted my expectation was 0, and yeah it banged my head a bit I did prepare for worse. Shame the first 80% is kinda meh bc that finale is great. What to say? Was a pretty good day, and overall park deff lived up to its hype. Onward to Carowinds and KD, and later CP and KI. Which is good, I need to ride all this stuff again to determine where exactly Lightning Rod falls XD

We spent the weekend at Universal/IoA on Sat/Sun/Mon. In that time, we managed 15 rides on Velocicoaster. A handful of front and back seat rides, including a few at night (which is just epic!). I can say that this is a ride that can hardly get any better. From the theme, trains, layout, setting, etc... It's just stunning. I can't really say which part is my favorite, to be honest. It just has so many strong points that you're picking at straws. The paddock section is just great fun, especially with those raptors which are far more effective than I thought they would be (for being stationary). But the audio effects really amplifies them. Plenty of head/hand shoppers with the rock formations. That second element, the dive loop, is just crazy-go-nuts! Fun little "Easter Eggs" too, such as the dino chow and the paradactyl eggs on top of the tallest rock formation if you look closely. Airtime is everywhere. The first launch isn't too shabby strength wise, it does it's job. The second half is like a completely different coaster... "Turn it to 11!" is what comes to mind. Top hat is fantastic of course, the view from the top makes it seem much higher than it is. It's beautiful to look around, especially at dusk/night. One of the best views on a coaster that I have been on, for sure. Plenty of ejector air in the back of the train, no question there. It's hella-intense. I absolutely love the following stall element, especially in the back (right side). It's different from the stall on say, Goliath at SFGam of course, but it's just as fun in it's own way. It's just, aggressive. The helix portion following is (another) highlight for me, actually. It's great fun and a perfect mix of forces with it's pops of airtime, the reverse banking (love that so much on this!) and of course the hop/roll finale. The final heartline is as crazy as you read about, being ejected out toward the water at such high speed is quite epic. That last S-bend hop as well is extremely intense and when you hit the brakes, you're kind of just like "wtf". I heard nothing but "this is the best coaster I ever been on!" or "wow, that's insane!" among many other things from everyone riding... Did not hear a single bad thing or criticism from anyone at any point. Everybody loves it! I enjoyed my final rides as much as my very first rides... If it wasn't for the bruises I developed on my thighs, probably would have snagged a few more rides... But it literally got to the point that it was becoming painful from all the airtime from riding too many times in a short duration. For example, the first night we managed 4 rides, which was fine with no issue. But the next day? After about 3 rides (7 total that day) the pain kicked in. I had to start bracing myself as best I could but there is no point... So yeah, it will leave it's mark with enough rides. I still can feel a bit of soreness a few days later! I find this ride extremely reridable, the thigh bruising aside... Many rides I can't really 'marathon' anymore (nor do I really care to), as I will begin to get queasy usually depending on the ride, but not this one. For as super intense as it is, it doesn't bother me one bit. Compare to say Steel Vengeance by the time you hit the brakes after two rides I'm done for (mainly because those horrible final bunny hops...). So that's a huge thumbs up from me. So yes, it did become one of my favorite coasters of all time, no doubt about that. I don't really have a "top 5" or anything, but it's certainly there if I did. It absolutely exceeded my high expectations. Big, big thumbs up to the team at Universal that made this ride a reality. On a side note, finally got on Hagrids after a few years of avoiding due to long lines or no luck with virtual-queue on the past trip... Waited about 30 minutes and it's a really fun ride, but.... but.... Dragon's was a FAR better ride in every way, sorry. One ride was good enough for me, unless the line is short I don't see myself going out of my way to go ride it again. Oh, and Bourne Stuntacular at Universal is quite insane... Had no expectation given what was there prior, but was really blown away by the technology going on there. Very cool stuff, don't miss out on that like we almost did (yet again!).

Take a ride on the defunct "Batman & Robin: The Chiller" Roller Coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure! VIDEO:

Cedar Point has updated their guidelines yet again to state that you basically don’t have to wear masks anywhere unless you’re over the age of 10 and not vaccinated, though obviously they’re not checking. Mask wearing is still recommended indoors for everyone but not required and is also recommended in extremely crowded places like the guest relations complaint line for the last 3 hours of each operating day after they close all of the rides.

ZOOM ZOOM glad you got on. . and congrats to Joel (and Kim) for getting on too. see? all that work retracking (or is that "topper tracking" ) was worth it!

It's exactly what it says. 'Recommended' and 'Required' are very different. Six Flags used specific words for specific parks with specific rules.

It has not. Still a shithole that happens to have a good hyper, a great woodie, and a mixed bag strata. You'll particularly appreciate the "marijuana is prohibited at the park" and "please don't fight" signs every 50 feet.

I've had a couple responses typed up... I've deleted them because I don't want to seem like all I ever do is pile on but I will say that what's hilarious is that they were so confident in their ability to staff the place that they planned to open Cedar Point shores daily from the 12th on and now they're not even sure if they can open either park. Aside from that I won't say a word. I'll just paste this bit from the conference call. Can't wait for the new boat ride that needs like 12 -15 staff members. When does that open? Next weekend? Cool...

I honestly thought that my furthest would be Mindbender at the West Edmonton Mall, but it turns out that is closer than I thought from my current location in NJ, clocking in at 2,236 miles as the crow flies. The furthest park I've previously visited in distance to me is Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, which comes in at 2,487 miles. Looking at the Google Maps overview, it appears their westernmost coaster is... uh... their boomerang. How thoroughly underwhelming.

Holy crap, Disney actually found a way to make a ride pay-to-win.

It has been two weeks since I received the second dose of the Moderna vaccine. I am now fully vaccinated.

^ it was a fantastic break in the day, and provided some really incredible views of Cedar Point. if they offer it this year? you should give it a ride.

Great write up. I think everyone following along in the thread was pulling for LR to open for you. Single rider line is great. I sort of feel bad using it when there's a 30+ minute wait and a line on both sides.

That's not what that says, and you know it. Stop spreading disinformation.

We were at the park on Monday and ..................................................Mission Accomplished!!!!!!!!!! We made it on AND were able to get in the one alpine coaster in PF we had not done to make it 250 for the boy, the day after his 18th birthday no less. Not trying to taunt anyone, JJLehto so sorry you didn't get on but hope you do on your second day! It took us 3 trips to get it.

There was also a lot of work done that people might not realize (or really care about, but it's things that are still needed). Multiple buildings got repainted and new roofs. New metal detection was added to the entrances, same system that all other Six Flags properties are using now. Lots of new signage on buildings. Photo place by main gate was renovated into a season pass service center for season pass issues/upgrades. Don't get me wrong, there is still a TON that needs to be done but it's not like the place sat totally idle for the past year. Hopefully some attention to the parking lots and midway is up soon, those are looking rough. And of course, doing something with the giant wheel.

Amen to that, brother. That's one of the things that sells me on Breakers. Usually if a hotel isn't as convenient as Breakers for any park, and if it's impractical to go back to the hotel, I'm always good for a cooler lunch, followed by a 30 minute car nap. It's almost a necessity, anymore. I may sleep like total shit at night, but even 20-30 minutes of closing my eyes, falling asleep or not, does me wonders. I'm a power-napper for sure.

ONLY 9 DAYS TO GO!!!! WHOO HOO!!! In the park's monthly newsletter that went out, they included some more photos of construction! Some of these we've already seen on the park's socials, but the last one is new!! Look it's themeing!!!! I hope it lights up at night because that could be so cool!!! Also looks like the barn flythrough (in the background) is gonna be an opening day feature! I'm not the hugest fan of the "batting cage"-esque queue fence, but I guess it kinda fits in with the theme? In other news, here's another view of the ride testing: Is it just me, or does every time you watch a video of it testing it looks like its going faster than the last time, even if its the exact same video? Must be just me... either way, I think that when this thing is warmed up and fully loaded it's gonna be insane! May 29 here we come!

The quad down at night coming back into a park lit up with Christmas lights is one of the best times for LR.

It'll always be a woodie to me. It was designed as such and will never compete with tubular steel coasters. Different design paradigms. As for night rides, it's s whole new beast. When overcast/no moon, the drop is into darkness and no light til the quad down.

Eh... Superman being closed would totally be a dealbreaker for me on SFA. It's not that great of a park and it's clearly the best thing there.

It's fine, any unvaccinated people standing under the Nitro rust waterfall for 15 minutes will get immuno-powers anyways. Pee mask free, plebs

Disney will sell web-slingers for the Spider-Man ride that will change your ride experience. Source

I do wonder long run if the improvements will pay off. I mean I'm sure it will, big picture, but clearly consistency is still an issue. But I can't speak much more on it as I have no idea what the issues tend to be. It seems it's not track related, least not entirely. I will say, 2nd time it went down all that happened was some maintenance people walked to a part on the breaks, sprayed some stuff, they ran a few tests, then reopened. That said it is only May...guess we'll see what the total down time was for 2020 vs other years. But yeah that thing is a beast. Will ponder it once the year is done and I've ridden the others but surely it will be my top 10, certainly 5. Shame it now has to compete in my steel lineup, if wooden it'd be #1 by a mile. Thunderhead will also deff be making my top 10 wood. Gotta say, Dollywood has a damn good lineup. Sure it may not have the largest amount and not as many top tier rides as some others, but it also has nothing bad, I did enjoy every ride and there are some real "upper middle" gems here. With the scenery, ops, breaks to see the birds or shows (for those who are into that thing) the whole vibe...absolutely a top 5 park. Will it be my #1? No sorry Im too much of a CP fanboy, but top 5 park absolutely. I will see how I feel after Hershey and KI but it could maybe slot in at 3. Which I didn't expect honestly, but Dollywood delivered.

my 2nd favorite All You Can Eat sushi place opened back up for indoor dining - meaning: you can order the AYCE instead of just separate "to go" rolls it's not my favorite place (their AYCE includes Sashimi, Nigiri, and rolls - but their indoor dining is still shut down with to go ordering only). so i'm in a sushi roll coma from Sushi Junai . . and so happy about it!

TRUE, but hope you have a strong bladder if you don't bring a mask.

The VIP tour is great, but I wouldn't want to walk around with a tour guide, especially in the evening when I want to drink some beers.

Both those parks just posted their Covid protocols on Facebook today.

Bert I've been debating for Coasterstock too. In the past when it was on a Friday/Saturday in May it wasn't needed, but now that it is in July, I'm thinking about it. We will have to discuss, lol. I can tell you every single coaster will be on ert at some point and they will probably finish the second night with Beast open a half hour later than all the others, like after midnight later which is super insane

Not my picture, but this was posted by someone somewhere else online.

Hard to say, since this year is so crazy. In years past I'd say wait and see, but if you don't see yourself getting back here for a while, and there's a possibility that FL may sell out, then grab it. The FL queues here are very much worth it, you basically won't wait at all. Oh, and standard advice holds here, ride the Beast at night, and don't go in the shed.

I cant even imagine how many workers show up for a day or 2 then quit. I do not blame Six Flags for not providing shirts

Oh no taunting taken. That’s just this ride, that said I decided to take a break as I usually hit a wall around 2:00. Figured I’d take some time to relax wait on LR I arrive and...a train tested!!! I’ve done everything I’ve wanted, even a few re rides. I will marathon LR if I can for a bit then duck out! If lines get bad May even do the 8 use time saver if they’re still available lol cheaper than a 2nd day. But yeah waited till it was generally running and still was down for 4.5 hours lol that said I saw a ride op on it so I think it’s soon! Just a matter of how many rides can I get

We went to Dollywood for the first since November 2019 Friday and Monday. Some thoughts! On Friday, they were still requiring masks in lines and on rides and were actually doing a solid job of enforcing their own policies. We are fully vaxxxxed and felt comfortable at the park, overall. By Monday, the policy had been relaxed and masks were significantly less present. All Staff still wear. Thunderhead is running really great. The last 1/4 of the ride is just amazingly smooth right now and the first bit as well. We really loved it. Mystery Mine's new bit is fine. It's certainly smooth at the moment which is good. Lightning Rod does feel *slightly* slower over the first hill and throughout the whole course. It is most noticeable on the first element after the big drop. Still hauls and is an awesome ride. Shut down on us Monday before we could get on it (our mistake for waiting till 6:30). Oddly enough, on Friday the line was at 100 minutes midday. We walked right on at park close twice. Food and Flower Festival Thoughts: $28 for 5 foods ($30 without season pass) is actually really solid. Food item prices ranged from $5 for fruity drinks to $11 for fish and chips, without the pass. We got a lanyard each day we were there to share and ate well for $14 each. Some of the menu items (value is based on the lanyard not the actual sell price, which was often way too high). Fish and Chips ($11): one decent sized piece of fish with some thin steak fries. Pretty solid (value decent) Lobster Roll ($10): some pretty tasty, cool lobster salad in an untoasted split top roll with a whole bag of salt and vinegar chips. Tasty and refreshing, but small portion. Beef Bulgogi Nachos ($11): Large portion, honestly awesome but needed to ask for extra of the two sauces. Mountain Paella ($7): Meh portion, meh flavor, skippable. They also had some tasty dessert items! Overall, a solid visit and crowds were overall manageable if you avoid riding coasters between like 11:30 and 3:30 (we tend to do shows, eat, and ride train in this window).

Has to be satire.

We bailed on a Bizarro stair wait on opening day since we realized that we wouldn't be off the ride for 45 minutes. The crew is always atrocious but this year is a special case. Put me in the camp of people who would rather see them run 2 trains than leave people on the brake run for 15 minutes.

My number one place to eat in the park is Granny Ogle's over in Craftsman's Valley. (Not to be confused with Aunt Granny's. Lots of Granny-themed restaurants in this park, apparently.) This is a smaller place where you are basically sitting out on an enclosed porch, and all the servers are... well... somewhat older ladies dressed up like stereotypical grandmothers. Their specialty is ham and beans; I always get the sampler which includes both the smoked ham and pot roast atop a bed of mashed potatoes & gravy, with some pinto beans and collard greens on the side. It's absolutely delicious. Oh, and you get free cornbread with every meal! Without a doubt, it's my favorite place to eat and relax after hours of rides. Honestly might be my favorite in-park restaurant anywhere and I don't say that lightly.

Just about every place is awesome. Aunt Granny's has everything you could ever want. Absolutely do not miss the cinnamon bread near Barnstormer. Their barbecue is fantastic too, I think it's over near Aunt Granny's. We were there for 3 days and the only place I wouldn't recommend is the 50s cafe near Lightning Rod. It wasn't bad, just not up to the standards of everywhere else.

I'm really surprised they let her on with such an obvious wig. (or in the park in cosplay. . wouldn't they worry someone would think she's representing the Park)? Maybe someone was too embarrassed to ask her about it?

What a bunch of a-holes. Honestly. Wear a mask, save yourself and probably somebody else's life. And oh yeah. Get a vaccine shot. It'll be worth it. But if you're still going to argue and scream about "Freedom, Rights of the Individual" blah blah blah. Fine, get sick. And don't forget to blame The Government, because "you didn't know", blah blah.... Morons.

Yup, glad to see this opening up. Of course it did have good lines throughout the day (May 16th); and it did have a few minor technical issues. Got 5 rides on this, took the sting out of Superman: Ride of Steel being down all day (while Batwing was open all day; which is something I thought I'd never see!) And already there is a broken phone beneath one portion of the sliding platform!

hah. . Universal's response:

Steel Curtain is expected to open this Friday (possibly with single train operations) if anyone is planning a trip.

Here is the footage of Ka and Zumanojaro running together! (Credit to InsideGADV on Instagram) 98744305_777929572917322_147575271769706757_n.mp4

Bill, get on the Six Flags train now while you can. Opening parks, running hypers year round, getting Zumj and Ka running together, Jersey Devil by Memorial day. This is a new company. Lol. Maybe.

The original raptors ran about this pace in their first test runs. Trust me... this thing will speed up and start hauling. But perhaps the 10-car trains and redesigned/reshaped elements will make a difference in the pacing. I'm happy for all of you Pacific Northwest people. This will be a great addition to the park that is long overdue!

The shoot went pretty well. I was a complete idiot and forgot to bring my phone so no pictures unfortunately. They were shooting on Wild One and Firebird as well for some reason. What was interesting is they pretty much had all of Gotham City linked up, so when they started Harley Quinn, the round up, JJ and Wonder Woman would all start staggered so they would line up perfectly for the photos. Was very cool and I've never seen a park do this. The ride was fun, pretty forceful, a great fit for the park. Something I noticed is it feels very, like, bumpy when starting and stopping if that makes sense? Anyone experienced something similar on it's clones?

I got my 1st vaccine shot, a week ago! And they gave me a sticker! ...... "So exciting!" *** *** As our Prime Minister (sort of) said, when him & wife got theirs.

Maybe this helps... (from coaster101). Their wooden coasters are built on stacks of wood. Conversions are all steel.

^I live in Nashville as well and have been safety shamed for wearing a mask. Honestly, I don't care. I just happily go my way and think pleasant thoughts to myself. Like, "hopefully this person will contract COVID and die. One less dipshit donald supporter that I have to tolerate."