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I hope it does, specifically because of the first half of that statement.

New owner should be announced soon. It seems it will be either 100 Kellogg lane, Hard Rock, or Hershey!

I'm not gonna linger long because honestly, my desire to be involved in this hobby is gone and probably never coming back. The Mindbender is something I rode and I'll readily admit that it was a source of enormous "anticippointment" - I hated the accordion restraints and realized people had just made up stories about them being better/different than other attractions like Taz's Texas Tornado. But there were the bones of something very good there. In honestly, the real reason to even interject myself here is just to say somewhere online that Mindbender going away is just part and parcel of what feels like a kind of "end" for that generation of attractions. A lot of stuff that was a big deal domestically and abroad when I got into the hobby - The Ultimate, Montana Rusa from Mexico, Mindbender, countless giant wood coasters, Big Bad Wolf, Eagle's Fortress - all that stuff is gone. What's taken its place is honestly "better" in terms of dynamics, pacing, forces, and such, but I find it to feel much more generic and interchangeable. There's less weird when every coaster is built by one of every 6-7 firms and there's 20 examples of everything. And what is "weird" now often has no positive, good properties. Screaming Squirrels are weird but they suck. But then again, if I think everything sucks, maybe the Screaming Squirrel is actually fun. And that's why it is time for me to move on.

I took today off to go tandem skydiving for the first time. With the jump spot roughly half way between Tampa and Orlando, I thought I’d make the Trek to Tampa. It was a really amazing experience and no where near as nauseating as the Stratosphere Sky Jump (I found the Vegas strip lights to make the sensation of height a bit much) and the whole thing was very serene yet thrilling. Highly recommend! Ever since I moved to Orlando, one of my favorite things to do is visit this park on a weekday during January or March. Today was no exception and the added bonus was that the ride availability was probably the best I‘ve seen in 5 years. 4 rides on Montu, IG, and Kumba, and a single ride on Cheetah Hunt, Sheikra and Tigris. Just a few notes : - Ops were good with 2 train operation on Sheikra, Iron Gwazi and Cheetah Hunt. Everything but the front rows were a walk on. - Montu and Sheikra were running like a dream. I really do prefer the latter to Dr. D, as much as it pains me. It’s so much smoother and the “loop and swoop” (as I can the Immelmann and sweeping turn before the block brake) is still my favorite moment on any dive coaster. Montu was nearly trimless and running like a bat out of hell despite half full trains. - I’m a huge Kumba advocate but it was pretty gnarly going into the first corkscrew in the back. I had a Zen ride in the front which was ironically smooth. - I rode in the front seat of Tigris with a nice younger guy. I think we were the only ones on the ride and we started chatting about parks afterwards when we noticed we both had coaster apparel. We both agreed that SV has the edge to IG, which I know is an unpopular opinion. I just love the sheer setting and length, but Iron Gwazi is fierce (to quote the safety spiel) and so much more accessible, so I’ll take it. Best day I’ve had lately!