FeelTheFORCE

I'm the contrary, I own all 3. In my opinion, Wii is more of a "party console," in that you'll only play it when people are over, and rarely by yourself (after the novelty of having a new console wears off), so be prepared for it to just sit there and collect dust often if you do get one. Xbox 360 and PS3 are two very similar consoles, but I'd say that PS3 has the slight edge, because you get a Blu-Ray player also. The only reason I got a 360 is because more of my friends had them, and I wanted to be included in the action. I believe Xbox 360 Arcades are $149.99.

I have to agree. I had some insane rides on Predator this year.

Like I said, it could possibly raise maintenance costs, but Cedar Fair would already know this and be well prepared.

I wasn't talking about on water, I meant directly on a beach, there's little to no sand when there's no beach. Boardwalk Bullet has no sand, Great White has a steel structure, Swamp Fox has no sand, and the Hillsborogh River probably has about as much effect on Gwazi as the Monongahela River does on Kennywood's wooden coasters. Maybe there's a reason why those coasters are defunct? Regarding Disaster Transport, whether it can collect easier on that ride or not, that's still proof that sand is blowing around, and enough of it for that matter to have an effect on a ride. ^^ Yeah, I guess. California's wooden coasters are also built to withstand earthquakes, so with our technology, a little sand might not be anything to worry about. Maybe, at the worst, it would just raise maintenance costs, and perhaps Cedar Fair is well aware of that already.

I went by the park on Tuesday, July 6 to check up on Blue Streak, and new track is being laid. The progress looks really good. I did not get a picture, but a good amount of new wood had already been put in up on the turnaround, plus as far as I could see from the road. Many piles of wood yet to be put in were still sitting up there also. I'm actually really anxious to ride this again!

^ Gemini and Mine Ride (and even Blue Streak and Mean Streak for that matter) aren't anywhere near sand. This one would be built literally right on (or within a few feet of) a beach. ^^ I don't recall one instance standing in line for Wicked Twister where the wind was calm. It's ALWAYS windy in that area. Now, like you said, how much sand is kicked up is unknown, but it's definitely not something to overlook. Not too many from what I've found. The only one I could find via RCDB is Giant Dipper at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and even then it's still slightly set back from the beach. Another one that comes to mind is Great White in Wildwood, but that has a steel structure.

This is regarding if they build a wooden coaster... I have always wondered, though, what constant moisture exposure and sandblasting would do to a wooden structure over time? If it has a significant impact (I don't know if it would or wouldn't, just speculating), then they might be limited to using a steel structure, like Great White, Voyage, or Ravine Flyer II (which isn't a bad thing, heck Timberliners might even be used). So unless Intamin or GCI can use steel structures also, that could automatically rule them out.

I wonder if some modification could be made to lengthen the space between the two cars...maybe making the 'tongue' that connects the two a bit longer? Then again, I'm no engineer, and that's getting to the point where the forces could be altered. I'm hoping to go there again this week, so I'll sit in row 4 again, if I do, and see what happens.

Perhaps he wasn't "denied," just recommended a different row by a friendly and considerate ride-op, and he mis-interpreted the op's intention? All I do know for sure is that I was there yesterday as well, and rode in row 4 just fine. I'm 6'2", mind you. Ride ops were even attempting to fill all empty rows (when people just stand there at the top of the stairs, instead of walking all the way over), without regard to the size of people, saying that the trains cannot dispatch with empty rows.

I just rode my 99th steel coaster yesterday, which was Sky Rocket at Kennywood. I will get my 100th at Kings Dominion when I go there in August. Still debating on either Volcano or I305.

That's false. From what I interpreted from the sign, it's RECOMMENDED anyone over 6'0" sit in the designated rows (as per the sign upon entry to the station), but nothing is required. Anyone can sit anywhere.

No, I had on a green shirt that said "US Polo Assn."

Sky Rocket at Kennywood a few hours ago!

Kovalchuk has told the Kings 'NO,' and he has supposedly agreed to an extension with NJ, but the Devils would be about $3-4m over, so they would need to do some trades.

Here's my mini trip report: Just got back from the park. Was a little more crowded than I had hoped, but still wasn't as bad as some of the times I was there for Fall Fantasy. The wait times weren't bad either, but the heat made them seem worse than they were. Sky Rocket's queue was full the entire day, and even spewed out significantly at times. But even so, the wait time was never more than 1:15, which I don't think is bad at all, considering I've waited 2+ hours many times at other, larger parks. Also, I saw someone with a Club TPR shirt on in the SR queue! It was around 2:30 pm. When I walked out of the tunnel at the entrance to the park, instead of waiting for SR to open, which was what everyone else seemed to be doing, I decided to go to Phantom first, then work my way around back towards Exterminator, Thunderbolt, etc. knowing they would be walk-ons...and I was right. I was on the first Phantom train of the day, and walked right on Exterminator and Thunderbolt. I'm glad I did this, as those lines (except Phantom, which stayed stagnant at about 20 minutes when they added the 2nd train) were fairly long throughout the entire day. Overall it was a great day, a little hot, but one of the best days I've had at Kennywood in years. I'm happy the Bayern Kurve is back, that ride rocks! I have been going to Kennywood ever since I was in a stroller, but I have never 'ridden' Noah's Ark. I did that today finally and I must say, while it's not the greatest thing in the world, it's still pretty neat! I also rode the Jack Rabbit (in the back seat), which I have ridden before, but not in a few years, and the airtime was great! Also, I remember Thunderbolt last year getting fairly rough, and to the point where it was on the threshold of being painful, but it was great this year, it was much smoother and back to it's old form. Now, on to Sky Rocket. I really like the ride. I rode twice, in row 4, then row 2. I definitely liked 4 better. I was a tad disappointed my first ride, because there was some rattle, and I had heard everyone say how smooth it was. But I will just chalk it up to this: it broke right before I was about to get on, and the mechanics were working on the wheels for about 10-15 minutes before it was reopened. I assume that's what it was, because my second ride was 100% rattle-free. I really enjoyed the airtime on the first hill and the zero-G roll, definitely more than I had expected. I liked the hangtime too in the corkscrew. Also, if you sit in the back car, you will get noticeably more airtime on the bunny hills at the end then towards the front, I was pleasantly surprised by that. All in all, it's not the most thrilling ride in the world, but it's really fun, and a great addition for Kennywood. Overall I give it a 9/10. Here is my ride count for the day: -Phantom's Revenge - 2 -Sky Rocket - 2 -Thunderbolt - 1 -Jack Rabbit - 1 -Racer - 1 -Exterminator - 1 -Aero 360 - 1 -Cosmic Chaos - 1 -Volcano - 1 -Bayern Kurve - 1 -Noah's Ark - 1 -PittFall - 1 -Swing Shot - 1 -Ghostwood Estate - 1 One complaint I do have is the ride ops. I realize it was hot, but every ride I rode seemed as if they were ALL moving in slow motion. Sky Rocket's line could have easily been cut by 15 minutes if they were working as fast as they should have been. Not to mention when I rode PittFall...the two restraint checkers sometimes just stood there and talked for 5 minutes instead of checking restraints, or letting people in the gate to board (it happened more than once). What was funny was the one PF girl rotated to Phantom later, and she was doing the same thing!

A new rumor has emerged saying that Paul Kariya may not sign with Anaheim after all and could be leaning towards the Penguins.

The trims have been off ever since it rolled back. Mantis has really been hauling ass this year. Not quite as fast as in that video from 1996, but pretty damn close.

Speaking of the 5th, how might crowds be that day? Like a normal Monday because the holiday is over, or greatly inflated because a lot of people have that day off? For comparison purposes, I've been to Kennywood on the busiest Fall Fantasy days, so I assume it couldn't be worse than that.

^ Not necessarily. He could very well sign for around $7m for 1 year with a contender, like Hossa did with Detroit. EDIT: I'm hearing that NJ is offering him 2 years, $6m per, which he could very well take. No way. Gonchar played only average to slightly above average this past season, it is very evident that he is rapidly declining. He is only going to have two (three MAX) years left in him at his current caliber of play. I doubt he'll even make that third year of his deal. Last year's formula for the Penguins' defensive unit is not a winning one...not even close. There were way too many gaps in the defensive aspect, especially after losing two key defenders in Scuderi and Gill, and the Penguins had a surplus of offensive defensemen (what, 4 of 6? that's way too many). Michalek is an up and coming, EXTREMELY underrated DEFENSIVE defenseman. He is one of the best shut down D-men in the game, at only 27. The only reason he isn't a bigger name is because he played in Phoenix. The Penguins still have plenty of offense in their defensive unit to make up for the lost points Gonchar contributed...they will be just fine.

Most likely the Kings will.

Notable signings in day 1 of free agency: -Sergei Gonchar (D) to Ottawa - 3 years, $16.5m -Martin Biron (G) to New York Rangers - 2 years, $1.75m -Alex Tanguay (RW) to Calgary - 1 year, $1.7m -Zbynek Michalek (D) to Pittsburgh - 5 years, $20m -Colby Armstrong (RW) to Toronto - 3 years, $9m -Paul Martin (D) to Pittsburgh - 5 years, $25m -Olli Jokinen © to Calgary - 2 years, $6m -Anton Volchenkov (D) to New Jersey - 6 years, $25.5m -Dan Hamhuis (D) to Vancouver - 6 years, $27m All signings can be viewed here.

Yep, it's still standing. If you don't mind doing a bit of searching, I believe a Photo Trip Report was posted not to long ago of Wildwater Kingdom that had some shots of the area across the lake.

My guess is any color that would be painted on would rapidly fade under the hot desert sun, and from the constant sandblasting. It probably wasn't worth it.

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I had a completely different (and much better, in my opinion) second half of the ride, but I could not get it to pass the E-stop test for the life of me, so I quickly created that MCBR and an ending. I probably should have spent more time on them than I did. Regarding the heartline, I will definitely remember to do that next time. I was just working with mostly all default settings and didn't even think to change that, thanks. About track shape versus forces, again I know exactly what you mean, and you are exactly right. I did change forces around to achieve a certain direction. Again, thanks for the tips, I appreciate such an in-depth response. The past two years or so I had all but completely lost interest in NL, but Newton2 has re-ignited that interest, and I hope to constantly improve on my coaster-making.

Since it's July 4th weekend, you can probably expect the park to be fairly crowded every one of those days. Your best bet is probably Monday.