Leaderboard

Official Velocicoaster POV released!

That's not quite a haiku but keep trying.

So far, I am up to 10 rides on VelociCoaster. My thoughts: THANK YOU Universal for soft opening this ride after months of testing. I guess they learned their lesson after Hagrids and its 10+ hour wait on opening day. Since then, I have never waited more than an hour, usually closer to 20 minutes with their super fast and efficient loading and unloading. The queue is awesome. Since there are so many different rooms and things to see, the time does fly by. I really don't mind waiting in the outdoor section since you get great views of the coaster. Once you get inside, those HUGE fans keep the air moving. Then it's a few more rooms with videos and raptors and lots of stuff to look at. When you finally get your stuff in the lockers, there's the final room with that horrible acting on the big screen. At least they don't tell you that you'll......um..........fly. WORST. PRE-SHOW. EVER! Water fountains throughout the queue. Thank you! The ride. It's pretty much perfect. Lots of speed, drops, airtime. VERY re-rideable and totally comfortable trains. I will take this over Maverick any day. Ride it at night. Totally different experience. If you ride in the front of each car, it's a better effect. If you're in the 2nd row, the bright blue train lights reflect off the head rests in front of you. Still cool, but cooler without the reflection. A couple of wishes: A restroom down on that level near the entrance/exit. The nearest one is past the Discovery Center, and if you've waited and ridden for a length of time, you may not make it. Build some sort of snack bar/drink stand down there as well. With summer crowds and heat, they have a chance to make a killing.

Forget throwing a guitar off the ride, judging by the musical style, it seems he got to ride Voyage in 2003!

So, I had intended to write up a full report of my public-opening Saturday trip to Kings Island, but life kinda got in the way and put a stop to that. So, instead, here's a brief report with some pictures. I had arrived to the park for a 11:00 opening at around 9:30 and found literally over a hundred cars in front of me behind the locked gates. Lovely. Made my way to the front gate; it was good to be back! As has been discussed, no temperature tent, just a security guard asking the COVID questions. Got inside and grabbed my FL+ wristband, and then made my way over to Flight of Fear, knowing that it was the only coaster with limited capacity still and that the line would get insane later in the day. Passing by, all of the seats have been returned to Wave Swinger. Flight of Fear still wasn't letting anyone into the queue, so I took some pictures of Orion's line 6 minutes prior to opening. Yeesh. So they once again re-routed FoF's FL line - you still enter from the exit side, but instead of heading straight up to the inside of the UFO, you now enter into the warehouse with the general queue and then head up into the space ship where they merge. As you can see, social distancing is a thing of the past. After FOF, I went to Racer (red side, retracked parts were awesome, as I mentioned earlier), then Adventure Express (all effects in tunnel, even the lava-tip, were working). Most ride attendants were super-enthusiastic, interacting with the crowd to a level I haven't seen in...ever, probably. Grabbed some pretzel bites from the bar near Adventure Express, which were delicious. ...and then made my way over to Bat, which was good as always. Does anyone know what these footers to the left of the station were for? After Bat, hopped on Banshee...getting a little bit of that B&M rattle in the back row but still awesome. Rounded back around the front of the park for Diamondback, then Mystic Timbers (snake and "Cars" ending). Definitely flying once again with a full train, I forgot how fast this was despite getting on it a dozen times last year. Here was the queue at 2:00 PM: After that, hopped on Beast, then had my longest wait of the day: 43 minutes for a Classic and Grilled Cheese Donut at Tom+Chee. After that, I left the park to go back to the hotel for a bit, and took a drive around the lot to see how packed it was at 4:30 I've kinda drew it on this map, pretty much everything within the red box was full. Got back to the park and jumped on Orion. Pretty much same as last year, a lot of groups self-imposed distancing on the train so I didn't get to experience it with a truly full train. Then I hopped on Windseeker, and made a lap around the park, hitting Woodstock Express and made my way back to Banshee to find it down. Two maintenance guys on the bottom of the lift, both on cell phones, is never a good sign: Then it was back to Racer, to try for the blue side, but it was closed due to "fireworks setup," so I got another ride on the red side. Back to Mystic Timbers (bat and "Can't Take my Eyes Off of You" ending), and made my way to back to my #1 coaster here, Beast, to round out the night. Once they stopped running for the fireworks, like half of the FL line in front of me exited, telling everyone "the rides closed until 10:30" and the rest of us were like "yeah, no shit." Was able to capture some good video of the fireworks, which have to look awesome from Windseeker. VID_20210515_220035433.mp4 After the awesome Beast night ride (front row of course), I made my way out of the park and back to my hotel. Got a good night's sleep, went back to the park in the morning for a Grilled Mac & Cheese from Tom+Chee for breakfast, then started my drive home. All in all, a great trip....but FL+ really saved me. Without it, I would've had a lot less fun. Most major rides were posting 1-2+ hour waits throughout the day, and the food lines were all around insane. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Cedar Fair needs to offer a Fast Lane pass for food service. I'd easily drop $100-200 for that. Ride waits, with FL+ (times are from when I enter the queue to getting off the ride): -Flight of Fear, 26 minutes from opening at 11:00, row 6. -Racer, red, 25 minutes, front row -Adventure Express, 16 minutes, front row -Bat, 36 minutes, back row -Banshee, 17 minutes, back row left -Diamondback, 7 minutes, row 2 (outer wing of the front car) -Mystic Timbers, 12 minutes, back row -Cup of water from a Refill Station, 11 minutes -Beast, 27 minutes, front row -Food from Tom+Chee, 43 minutes -Orion, 13 minutes, front row -Windseeker, 15 minutes -Woodstock Express, 32 minutes, back row -Racer, red, 13 minutes, row 5 -Mystic, 17 minutes, front row -Beast, 1 hour 16 minutes (including fireworks shutdown), front row But wait, there's more! On my trip home from KI, I always pass by Adventure Park USA, a small FEC with some rides in Monrovia, MD. They're always closed whenever I happen to pass by. But not this time! I saw the Wildcat running, and made a quick detour in. Notably, there was only one car on the track, and no others were to be seen. Here's some photos of this survivor. Their other adult coaster, a Zamperla Windstorm, wasn't ready for the season yet, ...so I still need to come back here and grab that credit, but the Wildcat was a very nice bonus. Fun Fact: This Wildcat started its life at Busch Gardens Williamsburg way back in 1976, and made its way around including a brief stint at Steel Pier in Atlantic City in the late 90s, before I got into coasters. Anyway, that's all for this report...tomorrow I leave for a rain-filled Memorial Day Weekend at Cedar Point, with another stop back at KI, mostly for their water park, on Tuesday.

A shot of NY Distilling Co. Ragtime Rye Single Barrel to ring in the weekend. As it’s Friday, I’ll probably have another few tonight while I watch the Yanks. I’ll make a whiskey & coke drink & throw down a few Bud lights.

Thank you for the heads up! I won't be alone at Kennywood. I didn't think of Exterminator as a priority, but I'll check out the line first thing and take advantage of it if it's short.

I think Velocicoaster's reliability (due to months and months of testing, I assume), the higher capacity trains, and the month-long soft opening will all alleviate some hype on opening day and make it much less of a clusterf*ck than Hagrid's was. I'm going on the 16th and 17th, and given how smoothly everything seems to be running, I am hoping for at least a couple rides! Can't wait!

This is an uncomfortable amount of kiddie coaster discussion.

On the topic of the topper track being dead: I’m at Silver Dollar City for my first visit today and rode Outlaw Run as my first topper track RMC. First ride was in the front row, and it was great - a little bumpy but definitely nothing this 34 couldn’t handle. Then we rode in the back row (row 12). Holy eff. That ride hurt me in a way I’ve never in my life been hurt on a coaster. It was brutal. Several pot holes that I swear compressed my spine a quarter inch or so. It took me by complete surprise to the point that I didn’t really even remember most of the ride because I was too focused on it being over. I’ve done several other RMCs - Steel Vengeance, Twisted Colossus, New Texas Giant, Twisted Cyclone - all obviously IBox, and Lightning Rod this year, which is mostly IBox now (and you can tell a different in the sections that were redone). But Outlaw Run today was night and day when compared to every other RMC I’ve done. It was unpleasant in the back to say the least. I did give it another try in a non-wheel seat in the middle of the train, and it was tolerable again, but yikes - if this is how topper track RMCs are going to age, it makes complete sense that no park would want anything to do with installing a new one. I also wonder if Outlaw Run being the first topper track had anything to do with its roughness, and if Wildfire, their most recent installation, will age better, but damn. I’ve always considered myself “not a wimp” when it comes to roughness - Magnum is one of my all time favorites, I’ve never been put off by a B&M rattle, and usually find traditional woodies fun when they jostle me around a bit. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

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!).

I went to Kennywood a few years ago by myself and did not know the rule about single riders on Thunderbolt. Fortunately, there was another single rider in line so I didn't have to wait too long.

The pessimist side of me says that really sucks, but the optimist side says... Shit. I don't have an optimist side. Hopefully things go better tomorrow. The Thirsty Pony is calling your name.

I'll play, sometimes it will be long, sometimes it will be short. The morning of opening day will look ridiculous but by the evening it'll be somewhere around or under an hour. Am I missing anything?

I'm not that worried. So long as I can get a few rides on Maverick, Millie, Raptor, and hopefully Dragster this long weekend, I'll be satisfied. All-season FL+ helps haha. If tomorrow gets rained out that'll just be more time at Waldameer, which is showing clear weather all tomorrow afternoon. My hotel just lost power again. Fun times, and time for a nap since I've been up since 2 AM.

I've always considered In-N-Out as more of a west coast thing, but Whataburger is great. Usually it's the first meal I have after landing in Texas. I can't speak to Magic Springs but I did get to Frontier City recently and it was pretty solid. Not the deepest coaster lineup by any means but Diamond Back is a rare one with surprising airtime in the back row and Silver Bullet is as fun as any classic Schwarzkopf. Great theming compared to other Six Flags parks. If you're a member, they also recently opened a new Member Lounge where you can chill out, refill beverages, and it even has outlets for charging should you need it.

^ if freeze is running, grab a ride on that. Same with Texas Skyscreamer. both are so temperamental. . if you see them going? get on em

On Wednesday at my 6-month checkup, I was 281. The highest I've ever been. But we discussed some stuff and I'm now weaning off the beta blocker I've been on, because while correlation doesn't equal causation, my increase in weight after losing started immediately after starting on the med. Plus, reviews online have a LOT of people saying they gained weight on it. I'm also gonna be starting on thyroid medicine; we've been testing my thyroid for ages and it always comes back "normal," but my symptoms don't fit anything other than hypothyroidism. So my doctor said we might as well try the med on me and just see what my results are in three months' time. He said he's had other patients that have had a similar issue - test results in low part of normal range, but still having symptoms, but with meds, symptoms went away when they hit the high part of the normal range. And fingers crossed that my Medicaid will approve an ADHD med for me this time around. We've tried all sorts of non-stimulants, and none are helping. I think with the three above med changes/additions, I might actually be able to lose weight again.

Please have a great time- watch out for the rain- due around 4:00. I am a Whataburger fan as well, enjoy! Welcome to Texas! Don't miss Casa Magnetica- it's a limited time offering.

Weighed in at 244.8 this morning -- so I'm halfway to my goal of 200! Just gotta stay consistent with the exercise and diet. (Gonna be so hard to do that when I'm spending a few days at Hersheypark next week though...)

The loss of Volcano was a hit to the lineup as it grouped well with Dominator, I305, and TT as top tier (depending on your preferences). To me, the only really "bad" coaster is Anaconda. Apple Zapple, Avalanche, and Backlot are perfectly fine mid-tier/family coasters. Depending on off-season track work, Grizzly and Racer can be great fun or... neutered shells. The Free Spin will be welcome next year.

Y'all, I think we're being a little harsh on Conneaut Lake. Some parts of your day there are really great, like leaving and going to Waldameer instead.

Not my kind of music but the video seems well done. Said it took 6 rides to film it.

I'd prefer a Robb Alvey commentary reverse POV vs. bad lip syncing. Favorite Robb youtube quotes: "My titties ar jiggling!!" (Dodonpa) "HOOOLY F**K!!" (Chimera) It's a bit ironic such a hardcore video was themed at one of the most family oriented parks in the US. Seriously though, thanks for the share.

And not much wind.

Yeah Knoebels is deff the better park and if there's one you should think "ride and leave" it's Dorney. Not that Dorney doesn't have some solid rides but eh, and the park itself was always kinda eh. Was always kind of a "ride and bolt" place for me and I will echo what someone else said, I once did all of Dorney, including re-rides, in 2 hours no joke. Now crowds and all may be diff this year but still.

And NOT having to drive back and forth across the causeway, which can get backed up. Plus a night time stroll back to the room along the boardwalk is awesome

That new ad is now running on socials again but ends with "Coming Soon".

Not even ...... bathrooms around?

The ride doesn't support squishy dummies? Chris Christie will be upset! I'll be in the Showcase theater at 5 and 7pm folks.

Ferris wheel was sold.

When I visited on Friday the 21st, I got to the park at 9, waited in line for 20 minutes for my FL+ wristband (they had one person working the register for those 20 minutes. A second worker finally came on after I got mine). I rode Raptor in the front (walk on), walked to Millennium Force where I waited 20 minutes and was denied as they took off the yellow train then had to evacuate the red train from the brake run. So, I briskly walked down Frontier Trail and arrived at Maverick at 10:05. There was no line at all. So I got on and off in less than 5 minutes. Went to SV and encountered a 15 minute FL+ wait, which was great. After riding SV, I thought I’d try Maverick again, but the entire covered queue was filled. So Between 10 and 12:45, I managed to ride Raptor, Maverick, Steel Vengeance, Antique Cars, Skyhawk, Wave Swinger, Gemini, Lake Erie Eagles, and Cedar Downs. Not bad for a rather busy day. Definitely splurge for FL+ though. It may not be as great at CP as it is at the other CF parks (Kings Island for instance), but it sure beats waiting in 2+ hour lines all day!

Needs more pixels.

We're looking at the sweet spot between Thanksgiving and Christmas where crowds are light. This would be our first time with a child (an infant, at that) in tow and I'm sure Child Swap will be getting a workout from us.

Knoebels will surprise you. Aside from the big three woodies (Phoenix, Twister, and Flying Turns - which hasn't yet operated this year and possibly won't), there is Impulse, a surprisingly smooth Zierer, and Black Diamond (an incredible rebuild of a historic ride) for coasters, and a ton of awesome historic flats, including: -A whip that runs close to its original speed. -Bumper cars that run at an insane speed -A great Haunted Mansion ride-through haunted house. -Looper, which if you have a partner for this trip, is something to be experienced. -Cosmotron, an indoor Musik Express-style ride with an actual DJ and light show -A great log flume -A classic carosel with the ability to grab brass rings! -A hillarious drive-'em boat ride. -Paratrooper, Roto Jets, Satellite, and Round-Up, four classics that are tougher and tougher to find. -A nutty drop tower that, while not that tall, doesn't brake until like the last 10 feet. It is really not a place to be trifled with, and if you end up there on a Saturday you can easily spend the whole operating day there.

Go to Knoebels instead of, or in addition to, Dorney. Unless you're big on water parks, you can bang Dorney Park's unique adult rides out in like 2 hours. Driving from PA down to Carowinds, you will pass right by Kings Dominion, which is a much more time-worthy stop than Dorney.

As much as most people here will harp on the "benefits" of staying at Breakers to get early access, if you only have X dollars to spend, you will undoubtedly get more bang for the buck from the FL+ option.

Hey if Cedar Fair has taught us anything...at least they're not closing for the whole day!!!

Midwest Coaster Fans posted a good update from opening weekend. Skip to the 20 min mark for the Schwarzkopf coaster update.

it seems Knott's allows 2 reservations at a time now. also without any time restrictions. yay, because i'm trying to abuse my dining pass. lol but i was able to make 3. so i'm not sure if that's an error, or platinum passholders get an extra. i believe this just changed today. so because i already had one, it let me make two. but i have a friend who's the same, but got denied on her 3rd reservation, but also has the cheapest pass.

Colossus not only made its international debut at the 1984 Louisiana Worlds fair before calling SFSL its home in 1986, but it is still the largest Ferris Wheel in a US theme park.

It still amuses that every time I visited a U.S. park that featured a Giant Inverted Boomerang, the ride was always broken. I had to go all the way to China with TPR to finally ride one. It was fun, but that one had issues that day, too.

Guest Relations says it is extremely unlikely that major rides reopen, even if the weather clears (which it won't). I saw many employees walking towards the front of the park, presumably to go home for the day, while I was walking to Melt. Words cannot adequately describe the weather, so here's some videos. VID_20210528_125225930.mp4 VID_20210528_130319813.mp4 VID_20210528_125225930.mp4