FeelTheFORCE

That's it, no more wheels in line, to the lockers they go.

^ Just my opinion, but I don't think CP believes pockets are going to fail. They don't trust people to leave their phone put away in their pocket for the duration of the ride, since people need to put every waking moment on Snapchat and Instagram. I have a pair of shorts that only has a zipper on one side that I've been fitting my phone, wallet, keys in just fine for years. Thanks for the updates, Bill. My parents are in their 60s also, and it's hilarious seeing their reactions when they don't know what to expect. I hope I'm still capable in 30 years. Are they still allowing glasses with a strap to be worn? Usually when they would ask, I would show them the strap and they'd say I was good. Honestly, the Cedar Point branded strap they sell in their shops works really well and makes it so you have about the same chance losing those as you would a watch.

Definitely interesting to see these parks and rides, thanks for sharing! I've been following "Indigo Traveler's" Youtube series on his recent visit to North Korea. He only briefly mentions and shows a park with some rides, but a great series nonetheless.

I'm in the same boat, my vision is terrible without glasses and I would not be able to navigate or stand in any line if I had to leave them in a locker. Contacts are not an option for me, so there's no other alternative. I'm also not going to stuff a $700 pair of prescription glasses down my shirt like a cheap pair of sunglasses, when the straps that THEY SELL work just fine to secure them. I want to say glasses with a tight strap are not considered a loose article, and fall in the same vein as a watch, but honestly who knows at this point.

I agree that the policies need to at least be consistently enforced to deter people. If someone knowingly pulls out their phone going up a lift hill, every warning they hear and see says they're subject to "ejection from the park without refund," so why aren't they? Too many times when someone pulls out their phone on a ride, it's just an E-stop, then the op walks up the lift hill to tell them to put it away or takes it for when they return. I was at Kings Island in April, and someone on Banshee lit up a cigarette while going up the lift hill. Other than the ride op walking up the lift hill to "scold" them and tell them to put it out, there were no other repercussions. If that's not grounds for getting kicked out, I don't know what is.

My thoughts are exactly the same. I used to go to Universal every year or two, but haven't been in five years now because of that ridiculous policy. I was excited to get back to CP this year to ride SV again now that FL+ has been back and it's been running multiple trains reliably, but now I doubt I will if this is how it's going to be. I have no problem paying to store my loose articles, but I'll give my business to another park that has an efficient system in place and doesn't need to "patrol" the line looking for contraband like you're waiting in the cafeteria line at the county jail.

Probably the same people who insist that parks "turn up the speed" on rollercoasters at night.

I'm waiting for Jerry Jones to partner with SFOT and build something bigger than Kennywood's new coaster just for the hell of it. Seems like something he would do.

^Most definitely, you're absolutely correct. If it does happen, there will only be a handful of games to broadcast before the park closes for the season anyway, and you can probably count out any primetime games. Might not make sense to pay that much for so few games. The original comment was questioning whether NFL Films features would be playing in the area. If the Steelers, and even the NFL themselves are advertising this, I have to believe at least some form of video content will be playing in the area. That'd be like a park announcing they're bringing in Coca Cola, but only the name, and they actually serve RC Cola. There will also be the "End Zone Cafe," which I imagine will have many TV screens like a sports bar, and also be treated as such.

I was there on a Sunday around the same time last year, and it wasn't busy at all! Monster's wait maxed out at maybe 10-15 minutes.

I would not expect that to happen. NFL rights fees for video are exorbitant and the NFL is extremely protective of their intellectual property. Along those same lines I would not be surprised if the officially recognized Steelers logo never makes it into the Steeler Country area. It says right in the press release on the Steelers' website that there will be "scores and highlights on Steelers Country’s giant video screen." The full logo is used in almost every concept picture, as well as the script logo, which is trademarked just the same. To Larry's point, the NFL's strict control over the broadcast rights are probably why it is just highlights and scores and not live broadcasts. We'll have to wait and see I guess. Since most seasonal parks are closed the majority of the NFL season, the only example I can think of are cruise ships broadcasting live NFL games over their deck big screens, which happens all the time. Kennywood does broadcast Penguins playoff games live over park speakers and on the stage screen by Potato Patch. And Cedar Point also used to play Indians games on that former giant screen by MF. Two different sports, but still live games. Either way, any games wouldn't start until mid-August, and it'll be a hit with yinzers regardless.

^^ I feel like those are the same people that also ask, "What time does the 7:00 parade start?"

Back in 2013 I really liked Apocalypse at SFMM. My tune would probably change today because time hasn't done it any favors, but I thought it was fun then.

It's possible they were going for a more industrial steel look with the trusses to play into the theming a bit more, instead of being aesthetically pleasing. Maybe not at all, and that's just what S&S came up with to make it work, but Pittsburgh has a lot of bridges with a similar look, and Heinz Field also has a lot of the same features. Either way, I like its uniqueness.

I would not expect that to happen. NFL rights fees for video are exorbitant and the NFL is extremely protective of their intellectual property. Along those same lines I would not be surprised if the officially recognized Steelers logo never makes it into the Steeler Country area. It says right in the press release on the Steelers' website that there will be "scores and highlights on Steelers Country’s giant video screen." The full logo is used in almost every concept picture, as well as the script logo, which is trademarked just the same.

It gets more insane the more I look at it!

The sad part is, parks aren't implementing these policies because they feel cargo or zipper pockets will fail, rather because no one can be trusted to not pull their phone out every 5 seconds, even while on the ride. This could go one of two ways. They pull a Universal and go all out with this, or it falls in line with the "No Earrings & Chewing Gum Allowed" signs and everything proceeds business as usual with no enforcement, at least in the line. I can see them ramping up the enforcement in and around the station and certainly on the ride itself though, as they should.

This is basically Yinzer: The Ride, and I love it. This. All of this. I think the ride looks great though. The ride, name and color scheme are enough. The identity of Pittsburgh is the Steelers. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they did. The downtown portion of the light rail system has been free since it opened in 2012 due to the Steelers' contribution. They're not strangers to spending money like that.

They've always done things that way. For as long as I can remember, it's always been a "park gates open at 10:30, rides open at 11:00-ish" type of deal. Phantom runs one train for a while in the beginning until the ops deem it necessary to add the 2nd. They've never been known for great operations, but I think the park's charm kind of masks that a bit.

I like when parks do this! Reminds me of when Hershey hyped up Fahrenheit and a bunch of people from here were invited to be among the first riders. Side note: is the Thomas expansion finished?

I made that walk about 4 or 5 times to and from that Hilton when I was there in 2013. It's definitely doable, but be prepared to be a bit gassed.

just from an "outsider" perspective.. .the park isn't in a great area of town. When we were there a couple of years ago, the two evening meals we had while staying on the Waterfront (near the park.. that area was trying to "revitalize" and is a shopping complex). . . were at IHOP, and TGI Fridays. really.. those were the "best" options we could find. . . tho we liked the food we had inside the park too. . for sitdown meals outside the park, that's where we ended up. maybe that's changed since my visit. Agreed from a local perspective also lol. Your best bet is going to the Waterfront. There isn't much in the immediate area.

I second Bakersfield, even anything in that immediate area really, you can't go wrong. Sienna Mercato is also next door with their retractable roof rooftop beer garden, and Nicky's Thai Kitchen is amazing as well if that's your thing. There are a lot of great choices right there.

I've always been fascinated with Japan, I definitely need to get there someday. Awesome reports, they are really fun to follow, keep up the great work!

I would hardly call these the parks marquee rides. To be far those are TC, X2, Tatsu, Goliath, YOLOcoaster, and Superman. I would say that the rest of the roller coasters support those. If one of those 6 were down for any length of time during peak season, that would be an issue. I was speaking more as a whole, not this year or any year specifically. The last time I was at the park was mid-July 2013, only a year after Lex Luthor opened, however Lex was being rehabbed the entire week I was there. That's about as marquee as it got at the time, and that's not the only example over the years. Even a simple heads up would be nice, like Bill said, so it's not a roll of the dice.