coasterbill

We made the drive down from NY yesterday and had a great day. I had moderate expectations for the ride... I figured it would be a lot of fun but not mind blowing and not a top 5 ride but actually this thing blew my expectations out of the water. The speed is relentless, the airtime is probably the strongest I've ever seen on a B&M and out of almost 250 coasters this is easily a top 5 ride... Probably falling right behind Millennium Force, El Toro, Phoenix and Maverick. Everyone needs to come out and ride this thing. Oh... and Afterburn, wow! I won't go so far as to say it's my favorite invert but it's right up there with Raptor and Montu... just a little shorter. I love that 90's B&M snappiness.

I rarely post in this forum unless I see someone about to make the huge mistake of not going to Knoebels when visiting places like Dorney and Hershey but it looks like you've already corrected the problem.

^^^ Cedar Downs comes to mind too, if Windseeker isn't too much spinning that may not be either and from a historical perspective it's a really cool ride. It's not nearly as fast as the Rye Playland version so it may be manageable. Maxair is amazing too and you really don't feel the spinning as much as the swinging. It doesn't spin all that much really.

If you're going to do an upcharge attraction, do a Sky Coaster. Slingshot rides are fun but generally overpriced.

I refuse to reveal my sources.

I try.

^ Yeah I can say with 100% confidence that I've ridden Sky Ride more than any other ride at Cedar Point and it's not even close. We always spend multiple days there and it's a great way to get off your feet... plus it's a really enjoyable ride / breeze and view. Like I always say my coaster enthusiasm is just a front for my Log Flume and Sky Ride enthusiasm. Then again the Sky Ride can't go anywhere, I mean they just spent literally tens of dollars on new decals for it.

I don't think either ride is going anywhere anyway. Removing them wouldn't free up space for anything as one travels over the midway and one is under Raptor and now probably Divehawk 232 and Sky Ride is the 7th most popular ride in the park and the 2nd most popular non coaster in the park after the train by the numbers. It did over a million guests again this year.

I think the mix of reactions is expected based on the manufacturer and coaster type. Nobody should be surprised by this. Other than Banshee it's been a long time since an American B&M coaster wasn't received similarly... everyone likes the ride but how much they love the ride ranges from "best ride ever" to "fun but forceless". Enthusiasts as a whole can't make up their mind though. On one hand people complain that new B&M's are forceless but you see a ton of complains about how older B&M's that are snappy and awesome are rough. I've seen people call Raptor, Kumba, Alpengeist and a ton of other rides rough (which they're not, they're awesome) and people (enthusiasts or otherwise) that feel that way are probably part of the reason why B&M has gone soft. Same goes for people who don't like greying out on I305 or the straps on Maverick... if you complain about those then don't complain when B&M makes forceless rides. Make up your mind.

Thanks everyone for the great coverage of the event. We're making a 12 hour drive to be there for opening day and we can't wait to ride it. Even if it doesn't live up to the hype it's still going to be a ton of fun and it's an excuse to ride that amazing invert, visit my girlfriend's family and get some Rock Store Carolina BBQ so it's going to be an awesome weekend. Bye Felicia

The percentage of nerds riding the Sky Ride and the Cadillac Cars is going to jump by approximately 800% this year.

The Hive at 325? I love it... just take my money.

The ride reopened today. My Fox Orlando

I'm glad the barrier right over the tunnel is glass but I'm still worried that someone will throw something from that bridge one day just because people suck and ruin everything.

I forgot about those but both museums are really cool, the one by Black Diamond is great, if you have to rush it go all the way to the back room and spend all of your time there as they have a lot of historical items, ride vehicles and pictures. The museums are 100% free... because Knoebels. Knoebels is tough because on paper, and with the pay-per ride system it's tempting if you've never been there before to rush your time there and assume you can hit everything in a few hours. The problem is that this isn't the ideal way to do it because the park just has a ton of awesome things. Everything from awesome food (like Ceasari's Pizza or the Pierogies from the Oasis), the cool games like Fascination, the great flats, the great dark rides and obviously the awesome coasters guarantees that no matter what you'll feel like you needed more time there. I'm a little biased I guess, I actually think this is the best park in America. I love Cedar Point, I love Disney, I love Universal and those parks have theming and experiences that Knoebels will never be able to pull off but Knoebels has things those big parks could never pull off too, like running every flat ride with the best possible programs... great historical touches and plenty of things that are flat out refreshing to see in an era where people are so lawsuit happy (like the high fiving on the way up the Phoenix lift, the high dives in the pool, the Bumper cars that are 100% steel with no rubber bumpers that have on multiple occasions led to bleeding knees (tall people will understand), bumps and bruises for people in our group but honestly that's what makes them so damn awesome). Parks can spend millions of dollars on rides, build awesome themed areas like Diagon Alley and those things are awesome and we love them but we have more fun at Knoebels than anywhere else and since that's the whole point of an amusement park, it makes it my favorite park in America. Oh... and I swear I'm not on the Knoebels payroll but I do sip the Knoebels Kool Aid.

Looking at that picture is it in the final brake run? It kind of looks like it's stuck between 2 blocks at the very end of the ride.

Looks like Hulk valleyed with riders onboard. www.wtsp.com/story/news/local/florida/2015/03/24/riders-rescued-from-hulk-coaster-at-universal-orlando/70399626/

I think I'm the only one that likes Pony Express... when I first saw it I thought it was an idiotic kiddy ride that didn't belong at all and took up way too much room but I actually really enjoyed it. It's trains are gimmicky but I liked the gimmick.

Oh crap, I forgot about the Carousel. Yes, that's also a must ride and make sure you get an outside horse and grab the rings. Edit: lol at the word filter.

Awesome! Missing the bumper cars especially would have been a real shame. They have signs all over it claiming that they're the world's best bumper cars and I don't know a single person that's ridden them that would ever disagree. Not only are Lusse Auto Skooter's the best but they're so much better than every other bumper car ride that it kind of ruins the rest of them. I never bother riding any other bumper cars anymore.

It offers a nice view of the park. Lake Compounce has a much cooler chairlift ride but it's worth a ride to get a nice view of the park and to get off your feet for 15 minutes or so. They were crap, and now they're gone. Boat tag and Bumper Boats were removed for Impulse.

Kumba's Zero G Roll in the back seat, right side of the train is the best inversion I've ever experienced on any coaster... it tears through that thing like a bat out of hell. The ride probably also has my favorite dive loop and cobra roll... they're both incredibly forceful and awesome. That coaster is so great that every single time you get off of it you'll just be mad at B&M for every coaster they've built since they built Kumba. POV's make Kumba look the same as every other floorless / sit down but the difference is that while the elements are in the same order and the layout doesn't seem that amazing each element is faster, snappier and more forceful than on any of their other floorless or sit down coasters. This coaster never lets up, it's great. And that zero G roll is just ridiculous.

They also have the world's best Bumper Cars, a classic Whip and a very good Paratrooper. I highly suggest riding the Chairlift too. It's a very cool ride. I second the Downdraft suggestion too. Downdraft is awesome. I could ride it all day.

You mean the fact that they make it look like there are trees within the general vicinity of the ride?