IanKgtr

Hey, it's my riding partner! I agree with everything Mike said, as we talked about most of it. The operations were unusually slow due to the loading and unloading taking place on the same side-- everyone from the previous train had to clear before new riders entered, and the path along the side of the station was narrow. But there were employees at the base of the stairs, at the merge point into the station, and inside the station trying to maximize efficiency. The single-row boarding didn't seem to confuse anyone, but there was certainly a much higher demand for the wing seats than the floored ones, and the latter often went empty. Although Mike and I both wanted wing seats, we filled in the middle two since they were empty (a pair of riders before us took the wing seats). Even though I didn't get the seat I was aiming for, the ride was still fantastic and I loved every second. I made some pros and cons below: Pros: The lift: fast and steep, surprisingly so, even after riding Millie and I305. The drop: a host of airtime in the back, even if I did feel a little bit of rattle. The airtime: glorious. Simply glorious. You fly out atop every hill and stay there until the end of your descent. The restraints: very open and unrestrictive, which pairs nicely with the airtime. Cons: The loading: as said before, the same-side loading/unloading and the wing seats make for inefficient, awkward boarding. The restraints: although they provide great freedom, the lap bars are quite hard and squeeze tightly. Even though I had plenty of room in the station, the forces of the ride had me stapled by the end, and I'm a pretty skinny kid. In the end, the pros outweighed the cons, and Skyrush is now in fierce competition with El Toro for my #2 coaster.

In line at the gate ! Never seen this many people here this early though, the line is already back to the Dunkin Donuts... looks like a one-and-done day already.

Fahrenheit's line does move unbearably slow, but I have no idea what waits for Skyrush will be like. Its capacity is almost exactly that of the Bear (1350 riders/hour for Skyrush, 1300 for Bear), and the latter still gets enormous lines throughout most of the day. We'll have to see how the new addition affects the flow of crowds come opening weekend.

I think Saturday is going to be absolutely jam packed beyond reason or comparison. I'll get there EARLY (before 8), ride the Rush, maybe take a lap on SDL (if it's up and running) and then get the hell out of there.

Hershey just updated their page with a photo of Skyrush looking gorgeous from the Kissing Tower. And the caption reads, POV!!! Link to the photo:

1: Talon (An extremely underrated coaster. The layout is one of B&M's best) 2: Montu (Unique, oldschool, well-themed, intense. I loved it) 3: Batman (Very forceful, smooth, intense, yet without the speed of others) 4: Raptor (Smooth, fast, iconic, but dies a little at the end) 5: Alpengeist (Great inversions, huge and snappy, but a little too rattly for my taste)

Overheard at Hershey on Saturday (this one truly is a gem): Girl 1: "Guys, what's it feel like to go upside down on a roller coaster?" Girl 2 (immediately, without hesitation): "OMG, it feels awesome, it feels like an orgasm!" Our faces immediately after we heard it. Our faces three seconds later.

^^^While this is true, B&M hypers have a much higher emphasis on camelback hills, which are ideal in momentum conservation. Skyrush spends a large chunk of its time (and, consequently, its momentum) on high-speed, low-to-the-ground turns. In addition, the second hill is only 80 feet, a far cry from the second hills on most B&M hypers. Shorter hills do not conserve as much momentum as higher ones. Both of these factors (as well as some less obvious others) account for the train's rapid loss of speed.

^Either weekdays in late May, mid to late June, or very late August. Early June is swarmed by school trips, and July and August are packed with tourists. But no matter the season, always avoid Saturdays.

Let's hope for a smooth opening day for Skyrush, unlike the debacle that was Fahrenheit's first day of operation...

It's already fast. Very fast. But the train just *crawled* over the lift crest at a few mph, if that. Imagine being thrown over at over fifteen.

Took my first park trip of the year today- and it was WICKED crowded. I went with a couple of friends (unfortunately GP)- we waited over an hour for the Bear, and about 45 minutes for the Comet. Storm Runner was running one train and had a 2.5 hour wait (wasn't happening), and Fahrenheit opened late in the day after being loaded with water dummies for the first half. Unfortunately, Fahrenheit also had a 2 hour line, and it broke down right after our group entered the queue. The Lightning Racers proved once again to be the day's saving grace- the only walk-ons in the park. One side note- Skyrush looks beautiful. The filled-in creek makes a world of difference.

That last picture of the view from the front gate ...But it got me thinking. Given all the hype, in addition to it's proximity to the entrance of the park, we might see some pretty bad stampedes when this thing opens. People always run to the new coaster, especially if it towers over the gate, enticing you as Skyrush does. Almost any stampede would result in BAD THINGS if the park just let people go, because the only two ways to get to Comet Hollow from the entrance are along the now unfinished creekside path, and down an extremely steep bottleneck hill that wraps around Comet's station. A dense pack of frenzied parkgoers sprinting down a steep hill is a textbook recipe for disaster. Hopefully the park will adopt a Great Adventure-esque system of security guards guiding a large, controlled crowd safely to their destination; a system that I was very impressed with during my visit. It would be a shame to see somebody hurt simply because someone else wanted to get to the ride faster.

I'd like Screamin' Swings a whole lot more if they weren't so dang short (duration-wise). That aside, my favorite has to be the Huss Giant Frisbees- they tend to give far more "equal" ride experiences than inward-facing claw rides. As far as old school flats, the flyers at Knoebels easily take the cake, especially if you can master the whip technique. An honorable mention also goes to the Knoebels looper- again, if you can master the technique

Wasn't it said previously that the lift cable most likely runs back up through the structure to return to the station, since the creek is in the way? It'd be pretty difficult (maybe even impossible) to run a moving cable under the creek, or between Comet and the creek.

The lift is definitely somewhat of an eyesore, but it won't matter because you'll only be going up it for five seconds!

Storm Runner has a narrow uphill path that goes directly under the beginning of the launch block. When the brake fins go down prior to the launch and after the train launches, the sound is DEAFENING.

I can't forsee any situation in the near future where CP removes or renovates Mantis. It's a solid ride, albeit uncomfortable depending on your gender, and the last time I was there (July of this year), the queue was full. Capacity isn't bad (even with occasionally awful loading times, it's still a two-train B&M), and maintainance cant be too much (again, a B&M). Just because we enthusiasts know better things could occupy that spot doesn't mean that the GP will be spamming CP's facebook wall with poorly spelled rants on why they should remove it.

Cedar Point.

^ You know, it's kinda funny how we have a skyride, a monorail, AND a train... Yet all three are useless transportation-wise.

*Fixed. Damn swype.

Just took a quick drive by the construction site after going to the Bears game, and I gotta say, it looks amazing in person! The track is enormous (as previously stated) , and the [insert disputed name for twisty droppy element here] is overflowing with Intamin hotness! The far airtime hill ws started, and it looks pretty shallow, but knowing Intamin it'll still produce some mad airtime. Can't wait to see where construction heads in the next few weeks.

^^ Although advertisements like that can be inaccurate, the restraints depicted in the ad correspond with the train design photo released by the park, which also showed over-the-shoulder, clamshell-esque lap bars. However, the train design photo was very basic (like the rest of the documents in the press kit), so maybe it's not a very good reference point. I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

Thanks for the update- fantastic as always! Can't wait to see the lift track tower over Comet and the hollow. Speaking of Comet, has the park said anything about the relocation of its queue? It usually draws quite a crowd in the summer, and wherever the queue is going to be relocated, it should be pretty sizable.

Wow. That first picture. Based on the blueprints, I origionally pegged that part of the ride as a "weak point", a place where the track just seemed to meander around. Seeing that picture made me realize how insane the Stengel Dive will really be... Can't wait to ride this!