jmicha

^It depends on the person I suppose. Although it didn't stop me from really enjoying Wild Eagle, I definitely know what people are talking about. After the loop/zero g my restraint definitely was in a much tighter position and by the brake run it was so tight it was rubbing my collar bones in a pretty unpleasant way. The restraints would be great if they stayed in the position they were in when they locked in the station. It's the unfortunate tightening over the course of the ride that makes them less than comfortable. Hopefully over time this issue will be resolved with newer wing riders as it would be unfortunate for these gorgeous, creative layouts to be made less than awesome by restraints becoming less and less comfortable over the course of the ride. As for Gatekeeper, I'm really liking the colors as they fit into the skyline of Cedar Point. They look fantastic. i can't wait to see this ride operating with the new entrance. Seeing the hideous box of Disaster Transport being replaced by something like this is something I think most of us were hoping for.

I don't have any pictures unfortunately, but it seems like everyone in Cincinnati with a nice car is taking it out to enjoy what could be some of the last good driving weather of the year. In the last week alone while going to and from work (I work in a very expensive part of the city) I've seen an SLR McLaren, SLS AMG, Lamborghini Gallardo, Lamborghini Aventador, and more bentleys and porsches than I could count. In fact, when pulling into my office's parking lot after lunch one day, two separate client meetings were happening, both clients of which drove Bentleys. I felt silly parking my Sonata in between two Continentals haha. I wish I had a functioning camera on my phone to share picturer, but alas, I don't. This time of the year always seems to bring the nice cars out for that one last joy ride.

^A structure failing during construction doesn't mean the finished structure is unsound. Without every structural aspect in place there are many things that can go wrong during construction. Being an architect and seeing and learning about things going wrong during construction you realize how unsound thins are until they are completely finished. As for SoB leaving, I wish I had the opportunity to ride it, but I'm not going to fret over it. Hopefully something awesome takes its place.

^Those are fantastic! Thanks for sharing with us. The beach looks infinitely better already.

^Every time that video comes up I watch it and am completely amazed at how terrible the ride's track looks even during the first season. I have no idea if it is just wear from the first season or shoddy construction work, but it looks awful already in that video.

If I had to guess (maybe somebody here knows for sure?) Cedar Fair's insurance probably requires the policy after the incident on Magnum. They were lucky it was minor as it could have been more serious had someone been injured but lawyers aren't going to just let something like that slip by unnoticed. It's a pain, sure, but there's nothing really anyone can do about it.

^Same here. That and the trees in a few spots. It appears Gatekeeper might have a few of these surprise moments, possibly even one on the left side when the train goes into the first immelmann and passes under the stair of the lift.

^^Or the 'they' is referring to the wings. As in it has been locked up but now its wings can be set free and it can take flight.

Although both rides are aggressive, I think it honestly all just depends on how you ride coasters (defensively or not) and your body type. I don't ever have any issues with the restraints on Maverick, but know that many people do. As for I305 it was never painful or overly uncomfortable but I found that by the end of the ride my collar bones were a little uncomfortable which seems to be a common problem for me with shoulder strap restraints. I had the same issue on Wild Eagle. Nothing that would ever stop me from reriding or thinking I305 is one of the most amazing coasters in the world, but something to note for anyone that doesn't like any discomfort at all. Honestly it may take a ride or two to get used to the way the train moves through the course, but after that I'm sure you'll find yourself riding more defensively and in preparation for the direction changes and it should be nothing short of an amazing ride.

^The camel is before the giant corkscrew and what you have listed as the second Immelmann is a dive loop.

I'm quite excited for next season. I like what i'm seeing. I really enjoyed Wild Eagle but felt it was a little on the short side which Gatekeeper definitely doesn't suffer from. The double keyhole barrel role through the new entrance is pretty cool and will create a great vantage point for guests entering the park. As for the height, based on Wicked Twister it does appear to be around 170. Am I making this up or was it reported at one point of being 167 feet tall? That number seems to be sticking out in my head and I don't remember if it's from this ride or something else. Regardless, the height is great and that twisting barrel roll drop should be awesome.

^It could be any number of things honestly. The weight of passengers, a slight direction change in the wind, a small gust of wind, humidity, etc. I don't know the details of how the ride system determines launch speed, but that could have had something to do with it. If they are saying there was nothing wrong mechanically it must have been some combination of other things that resulted in it stalling.

It doesn't seem any different than any of the times Dragster stopped at the top. Conditions were just right for the momentum to carry the train perfectly to the top and it just stopped. Nothing was wrong, just a bunch of factors added up equalling a stalled train.

^Although unlikely, it is possible. They've waited longer to announce a ride. I remember Top Thrill Dragster was announced on my birthday in 2003 which was January 9. So it's definitely possible but I'd guess it will be announced by season's end.

Maybe the false clue is Disaster Transport's demise. And nothing at all is happening next year.

I've actually had really good luck these past few seasons with trimless rides. Windy or cold days seem to result in the trims being turned off, at least in the morning and night. Both visits I had earlier this summer the trims were off at some point of each day. I think the most memorable, however, was closing day 2006. It was quite cold out so the trims were off. My friend and I rode something like 20 times in a row without ever having to go back around the line (had to change seats quite a few times though) all of which were sans trims and got the last train of the season. My thighs hated it the next day, but it was so worth it. Magnum at night has such a different atmosphere to it. I think it's the darkness at the far end of the track. That plus not trims was amazing. I won't ever forget that night.

There are two main things I really want to see. One is a map that is as large as we want it to be allowing for monstrous terrain coasters. I want a 10 mile long coaster that never comes into the sight line of any other part of the ride. Yes, I'm serious. The other is the ability to design around the heartline of the coaster rather than around the spine. Heartlining a ride is a seriously annoying, tedious process by hand (for those of us who prefer working by hand) and being able to design the path of the heartline rather than that of the track would be quite a useful tool.

^I think one of the biggest problems is that Cars 1 was the least successful movie in terms of box office performance but the most successful in terms of merchandise sales. That makes it quite obvious that the movie wasn't made because people loved the first one, but because it was a serious money maker. Most people consider the first Cars to be the worst Pixar movie (before the sequel that is) and therefore a second one was deemed completely unnecessary by most. Now I quite liked Cars 1. The second, on the other hand, I found to be pretty boring. The story felt lazy at best. Pixar movies are marked by super creative storylines that really capture the audience and envelop them in a very specific atmosphere. Cars 2 didn't really do that for me and many others. It felt more appropriate as a straight-to-DVD sequel honestly.

I think people also need to realize that Robb has ridden many of the world's best coasters so him not finding a new B&M inverted coaster that isn't as forceful as say Nemesis or Montu underwhelming isn't exactly surprising. For someone who hasn't ever ridden a B&M inverted coaster it may be the best thing in the world. It's all relative. The ride looks gorgeous and from what I've read is quite a hit at the park which is all that matters. Love it if you love it. It really makes no difference. I had a thing for The Villain in its battered state before it was torn down and didn't care that nobody else shared that opinion. Just ride coaster and have a good time doing so. That's the point of being an enthusiast.

I was never denied, but was close on Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster before I lost 75 pounds and am now below average for my height. I remember struggling to get that inch of slack (or whatever was required) back then. Now there's a good 6 inches or so of slack. Since then I obviously haven't ever had any issues whatsoever. It's amazing what a change in environment will do (I live in an urban vs. suburban environment now and walk everywhere).

I remember this park and your other work from back in the Coasters2k.com days! I always liked your work, like this EPIC park and your recreation of Top Thrill Dragster. Great work. I haven't played RCT2 in years and this is a great reminder of the good old days of the game.

Thanks for clearing some of that stuff up. I must have seen an E stop which resulted in the train coming back to launch position slowly.

vv Read below, much more accurate description of the blocking/launch/rollbacks from someone in the know.

^I saw several rollback tests before it opened in 2007. Both on the lift and the launch. Obviously these were simulated and it was just launched too slow to make it over the hill.

^Oh come on, it wasn't this giant production done by some advertising firm. It's some employees having a good time. It's meant to be a fun way of letting people know that she'll be doing a concert there in a casual manner. It works well and is fun to watch, the point of it.