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Showing content with the highest reputation on 03/29/2025 in all areas
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Day 10 (pt 2) full day at Blackpool Pleasure Beach as we came up the stairs from the Nickelodeon section, I saw Wallace (of Wallace and Grommit) out and went to say hi and get a pic, only to be informed that if you want a picture of them, you must purchase the opportunity. I politely declined, and we continued past the Wallace & Grommit ride (I'd ride it tomorrow. . long line at the moment) and headed towards one of the park's other classic woodies: the Big Dipper, a PTC built in 1923 I *love* the classic feel of the thing. and it's right next to Infusion and the Big One in the middle of everything. the inside of the station is charmingly retro. . and hey, look. . there's Stacy and Andrew in line up ahead of us. Bert, Nick, Doug, Nick. the windows in the queue for Big Dipper give one a fantastic view of Infusion's 1st drop thru the windows. too bad it's a Vekoma SLC. . but hey, it LOOKS good almost our turn. . a bit rough, as one would expect from a coaster this old, but really quite a decent ride and I enjoyed it. pic is courtesy of Andrew I believe. since we were RIGHT NEXT DOOR to it. . we gritted our teeth and headed over to Infusion. as noted. . at least it *looks* fantastic. Especially built over a water feature. already dreading this decision. . . but at least there's not much of a line. smiling BEFORE we ride it. . . . oooo. . .a train? where is the station for that? made a mental note to look for it. yeah. . it rides like a Vekoma SLC. one and done. . . but I rode it. having ringed the outside of the park, we headed into the center, where the Avalanche Bobsled is located. charmingly themed over here. ' and you get really close to Revolution's loop feature. aha! . . crossing over the bridge to get to the Avalanche entrance, I discovered the train station. . in an odd place, with an entrance from the actual bridge. noted for later! this was closed today, and tho it was small, it was quite lovely. sadly, I think this is one of the 3 smaller rides the park announced has been removed to make space for a new ride coming in. (come to think of it. . all 3 smaller rides they said they were removing, never opened the two days we were there, and were closeby the shut down car tracks.. so must be something big coming into this area) I'm ready for a bobsled ride! it was among the smoother of the bobsleds I've ridden. and I did go back and ride it the next day too. Lots of Photo Ops spread among the park. . even of many of them didn't make a lot of sense. I got Nick to pose too, after being my photographer. I believe I had reached out to Stacy and she and I made our way to the train station - as she loves this kind of stuff too. the train really does weave all in and out of everything at the park, and gives some really interesting views/perspectives of things. well worth a ride, if you go to this park. you get REALLY close to some of the coasters too. . . and it passes right in front of our hotel (and spoiler. .. right there is that wonky as hell transition on the Big One that WILL mess up your back if you aren't prepared for it. . . every time we rode the next day. . right THERE). looking up. .there's my room! LOL. . with the curtains open on the top floor. the tunnel at the end of Big One, where it dives underneath Nickelodeon Streak's structure after a wonderful, relaxing, train ride, I was ready to hit the grouping of Dark Rides (Alice's Wonderland, Ghost Trains, and the park's Racing Derby are all right next to each other in an area of the park). Alice in particular is sorta/kinda like the Disneyland ride, but there are many differences. great photo op, even if it looks like I'm creeping out the Mad Hatter while the March Hare is tickling Andrew's armpit. no one wanted to be the Caterpillar.. but I wasn't gonna pass up being Alice! or riding a horsie on the Derby Racer I LOVED this. . . but I will admit that tho it ran faster than Cedar Downs? I don't recall these horses moving back and forth. So between the two? Cedar Downs takes it as the better ride. but still, I'll ride this over almost any other ride, any day. Hey Stacy! stopped to watch the racing trains on Grand National. . .another PTC coaster from 1935. this one looked very very rough, and tho i did ride one side of it today, it bothered my hurt rib (damaged at Barrie Island), so never did go back to ride the other side. the suspended ships are near the main entrance tho. . and those were a lot of fun. back to Alice for another ride (of course). hmmm. . per this sign, this ride opened in 1962. . Disneyland's opened in 1958. Maybe the similarities aren't such a coincidence? and then it was time for Ghost Train! I'd held off on this, as I'd heard it was a good one, so was saving it. it was SO good, y'all. I rode this at least 10 times during my visit to the park. just kept going back to it. I loved it. the themed benches over here are great too! so good. .and so many pops of air! no idea who to thank for this. Stacy? it was getting towards the end of the day, and so it was time to ride the infamous "Valhalla" I don't want to ruin it, so all I'll say is that it's a very, VERY good dark ride, and a very, VERY wet water ride all at once. yeah. . even completely covered with a TPR rain poncho, still soaked completely thru. but we knew we were in trouble when they were using a wetvac to suction out water from every boat as they came back thru the station. . LOL SO good tho. actually rode it again the next day too. we were so wet from Valhalla, we went and rode Derby Racer a few times in an attempt to dry off (and it worked, since it spins so fast) since Stacy is in this pic with me, assuming this pic is thanks to Andrew? and with that (and slightly drier) our first day at the park was over, as it was time to shut down. it was still early. . maybe 5pm? but we went around to the front of the park, and I got this pic of the main entrance. From what I was told, this park used to have a Noah's Ark (like Kennywood has), but it was decommissioned many years ago. instead of destroying it tho, they moved it over the main entrance. so it's no longer an attraction one can walk thru, but the Ark does still "float" up and down, and most of the figures from it are around the base. so that's rather cool that they kept the history. waiting for the reception area for "hot ice" to open. it was a lovely set up, with a coffee shop, and bar in the outer entry area. it was opening night, so some folks did dress up - and I felt a little bit under-dressed - but enough of the TPR folks went that I didn't really stand out. TPR representing at the "Hot Ice Show" at Blackpool Pleasure Beach opening night. I have to imagine that we had been asked to take no pictures (as it was opening night), as I don't seem to have a single picture from the performance (and yes, they really DID set the ice on fire, and there was a lot of skating tricks done). there clearly was also an issue as the intermission seemed to talk almost an hour between acts, and when act II did start there was suddenly an odd number of women vs men skaters - so I think someone must have gotten hurt during the 1st act, and that's why the delay in act II starting. for what it was, it was enjoyable, and it's always fun to hang out with TPR folks. (and as Stacy and I are showing, they DID serve alcohol. . so it was a nice enough way to spend the evening before heading back to the hotel for shower, and sleep.. .. tho I'm almost 100% positive, we DIDN'T go back to the hotel, but instead went across the street to the casino for food and some gambling) but with that, Day 1 of Blackpool Pleasure Beach was done, and I had fulfilled a quest.. I was gonna sleep well tonight.1 point
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^ I saw that, too. Great Adventure is talking a big game about 2026, but for all we know it could be breaking the record for longest wacky worm. The thing that gives me pause about that article is that there are no facts, no evidence, just "i know a guy who said this thing." Also it states that they're in contact with various amusement companies and waiting on the right bidder, so that means it's a concept that's about to become as real as Orlando's Polercoaster.1 point
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Thankfully no...but it's just a damn good coaster and waiting until 4 hours before opening day to announce that their star coaster won't open till this summer is a...choice. Park was rather busy tonight. It's usually pretty dead when I've been here midsummer. Weather was beautiful in the 70s, had to keep reminding myself it's still March. Most coasters were running at full capacity except for Timbers which was running with one train and probably the slowest ops in the park. Glad I got to it early. Station wait (which still took 30 mins) when I arrived was down past the lockers by the time I got off. Lot of flats closed and some others only open briefly. Guess that should be expected on preview night, but I expect they should be 100% tomorrow outside of Pantherian and Rapids. Glad I got to Drop Tower early. Love that thing. Made my rounds to Apple Zapple, Racer, Boo Blasters, Dominator, and Grizzly. Fun rides to be had on all. My first foray into Jungle X, the line for Rapterra was out past Tumbili, around the Dippin Dots stand, and starting to stretch to the entry sign into the Jungle. Reports were the wait was 2.5 hrs. I got in line at 9:20 which at that point was maybe 15 mins outside the regular line entrance. Ended up waiting 1:25 although I got sent to the left side which definitely takes longer than the line for the right side. So a full queue is 1 hour to 1:15 or so, and if it's beyond that good luck! It's a fun ride and much needed for KD, but realistically probably only the 5th best coaster in the park. My time would have been better spent reriding Timbers, Dominator, Grizzly, and that big orange lawn ornament in the back of the park, but glad to have gotten a ride on the new hotness. The whole jungle area is pretty well done now. The music bed really fits in and the theming is mostly cohesive. I honestly walked out of the bathroom and forgot I wasn't at Animal Kingdom for a second or two. I was gonna spend tomorrow at KD again, but with Pantherian closed I have no reason to go back. Therefore, I have the really dumb idea of finally knocking off a bucket list park and driving 5 hours down to Carowinds and then probably 13 hours back home between tomorrow night and Sunday with a quick stop at Great Adventure for Flash.1 point
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I just drove 10 hours to get here so I'm glad they waited till today to announce that Pantherian isn't opening till summer.1 point
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Six Flags Magic Mountain has confirmed that Superman: Escape from Krypton has permanently closed. Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom will continue operating for the time being, but the coaster will remain standing not operating. (Photos and video from Theme Park Review) https://www.ocregister.com/2025/03/28/six-flags-magic-mountain-permanently-closes-superman-coaster/ The Superman roller coaster that was once the tallest and fastest in the world has been exposed to a lethal dose of kryptonite and will never fly again at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Six Flags Magic Mountain has permanently closed the Superman: Escape from Krypton shuttle coaster, according to Magic Mountain President Jeff Harris. “Just like other roller coasters within the theme park industry, there’s a life cycle with these coasters,” Harris said in a video conference call. “It’s just reached a point in time where we need to make a wise decision on where we really should reinvest funds that improve the guest experience the most. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense from a business perspective to put it back into Superman.” The Lex Luther: Drop of Doom attached to the coaster tower will remain in operation after Superman: Escape from Krypton closes. The drop tower ride will reopen in April following a seasonal refurbishment. Magic Mountain crews had hoped to fix Superman: Escape from Krypton when the coaster closed for maintenance in September, but the necessary parts weren’t readily available and the most prudent option was to permanently close the ride, according to Harris. “Some of the parts are obsolete,” Harris said. “It’s really tough to even get parts to keep it alive.” Now Magic Mountain is trying to figure out what to do next with the record-setting coaster. “It’s too early to disclose what we’re going to do with the actual track, cars, queue, building structure and everything else that comes with the attraction,” Harris said. “That’s yet to be determined, but we’re working through what that potentially could look like for the future.” Superman: Escape from Krypton is not closing to make room for the new first-of-its-kind coaster coming to Magic Mountain in 2026, according to Harris. The loss of Superman: Escape from Krypton will drop Magic Mountain’s coaster count to 19 — still more than any other amusement park in the world. The new 2026 coaster will bring the park’s coaster count back to 20. “We are still the Thrill Capital of the World for guests of all ages,” Harris said. “We’re still the reigning park when it comes to the quantity and variety of roller coasters.” The $20 million Intamin Reverse Freefall Coaster debuted in 1997 at Magic Mountain as Superman: The Escape, according to Roller Coaster Database. The shuttle coaster featured a pair of side-by-side 1,235-foot-long L-shaped tracks that each curved toward the sky. The electro-magnetic propulsion launch system shot riders from zero to 100 mph in 7 seconds. Riders experienced 6.5 seconds of weightlessness on the vertical section of track before dropping backward toward the launch station. In 2011, the coaster was rechristened Superman: Escape from Krypton when the ride vehicles were flipped around so riders were launched backwards and looked toward ground as they plummeted back toward Earth, according to RCDB. It’s been a tough few years for the world’s tallest roller coasters. Ohio’s Cedar Point closed the 420-foot-tall Top Thrill Dragster for the entire 2022 and 2023 seasons after a metal piece flew off the ride and seriously injured a woman waiting in the attraction queue in 2021. The rechristened Top Thrill 2 replaced the Intamin hydraulic launch system with a Zamperla electro-magnetic propulsion launch system in 2024 — but the ride only operated for about a week before the park closed the coaster again due to mechanical issues. New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure demolished the 456-foot-tall Kingda Ka and Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom in February — marking the final demise of the world’s tallest roller coaster and world’s tallest drop tower, respectively. Now Superman: Escape from Krypton has been relegated to the history books. The 415-foot-tall Magic Mountain ride debuted in 1997 as the world’s tallest coaster and held the title for five years until Top Thrill Dragster opened in 2003 at Cedar Point. Superman: Escape from Krypton took the coaster height title from Dreamworld’s 377-foot-tall Tower of Terror II in Australia. The 100 mph shuttle coasters shared the speed record until the 107 mph Do-Dodonpa debuted in 2001 at Japan’s Fuji-Q Highland. The Tower of Terror II shuttle coaster track was removed in 2019 — leaving behind only the tower supporting the Giant Drop thrill ride. Superman will remain a presence at Magic Mountain on the Justice League: Battle for Metropolis dark ride, during the DC Heroes and Villains Fest this summer and in character meet-and-greet photo ops in the DC Universe themed land.0 points