A.J.

Respectfully, is anyone even completely certain that it's from Premier Rides? Apart from that really rough concept image I don't see anything that corroborates that... It wouldn't be a bad thing, but I'm surprised people are so certain about it (even if it does eventually end up being correct).

Now all we need is for someone to confirm that Thriller / Zonga / Tsunami is still alive, and we'll be set! EDIT: Here's an old on-ride video, in case anyone was wondering:

Dragonflier is a cloned Vekoma suspended family coaster. The only way to make that happen would have been to go with a custom layout, as the main brakes are in the station. That's just how those coasters have been designed, Vekoma's smaller layout does it that way as well. In Dollywood's defense, every other installation of the 453 meter Vekoma suspended family coaster has had no problems operating with only one train, so perhaps they're banking on the ride's popularity subsiding in the next few years. But on the other hand, it's interesting to wonder why Dollywood didn't go with a custom layout considering that every one of their other major coasters has one.

I believe that the Premier Rides rumor started with that leaked presentation, it showed the rough concept layout with cars that were set up 6 seats, 3 cars, leading to a three-car Premier Sky Rocket train. Personally, the "immediate sideways transfer out of the station" makes me think that it's a Mack coaster, considering that's exactly what happens on Star Trek Operation Enterprise at Movie Park Germany.

So the "dive" portion could really just be the vertical drop of a top hat straight into iceberg theming or something.

There's nothing wrong, it's just that the site's security certificate expired last week. We'll work on it.

Oh for goodness sake, just pick a seat and ride the coaster. It IS Phoenix, after all. There's always going to be a bit of "scary" airtime regardless of where you sit.

They've been displaying a disjointed car near the exit for a number of years now, today it's complimented by a setup celebrating Phoenix's Golden Ticket win from last year.

Agreed, you're still going to get some scary-feeling airtime regardless of where you sit, but the middle cars are probably the most predictable. If you sit in the front car, the scary airtime happens as you crest the three turnaround hills, as well as right at the end. In the back, the scary airtime happens as you get dragged over each hill, as well as on the double-down halfway through the layout.

Quickie Knoebels trip report from my brief pop up to my hometown this weekend. The park was incredibly crowded, probably the most I've seen in years. Lots of stuff was going on to attract people in - Memorial Day weekend, veterans appreciation, appreciation for the local hospitals, first day of operation for the Crystal Pool... it goes on. Food lines were long and slow-moving, especially my favorite Cesari's Pizza, and Bill's "MS Paint Map Approved" pierogis were in high demand as well. Attractions, however, were a different story, with Knoebels operations once again showing how they are a masterclass in the amusement park business. I mentioned this in the Facebook group - there's something amazing about the park being enjoyable, as always, despite the heavy crowds. Phoenix got modern air gates several years ago and enthusiasts cried out in pain, but based on my experience yesterday, it's like they aren't even there. Under two train operations, trains are fully unloaded AND loaded with lap bars down for at least five to ten seconds before the train on the circuit makes it over the double-up. And Phoenix itself was running incredibly fast, at some points really throwing my little body up into the lap bar. It's still my number one coaster, in case anyone even remotely thought of asking. I arrived at 1:00 PM but spent most of my afternoon trying out my new camera equipment instead of riding rides, so with the crowds I was only able to get rides on Phoenix, Twister, and Impulse. Twister continues to be very aggressive, at times actually slamming back down onto the track with some force. Impulse is starting to get a little bit janky in the cobra roll and vertical loop but there's nothing quite like the hang time of that roll. Despite the limited riding, well, it's Knoebels for goodness' sake, so my visit was incredibly positive. Next year I plan to take my vacation during an earlier week to actually get a nice, relaxing, full day there. For now, enjoy one of the good photos from the trip. It's Phoenix, right before the airtime buffet!

Honestly, I think the real problem is that modern roller coasters have just gotten too good in general.

They're included with your Crystal Pool admission. You get a key when you go in, and you give the key back when you leave. Super-easy.

They placed outside the top 25. They're under the "EMEA" (Europe, Middle East, Africa) section. A blurb: So basically, the UAE has the attractions, but not the population (nor the tourism).

There's certainly a margin of error, and not all parks submit their attendance figures (though many do, apparently). But I'm not sure I agree with your skepticism - this is an industry association publication, not something from a magazine like the Golden Ticket Awards. They explicitly market it as being usable for reference in the business. That being said, I wish they went a little further, because for all we know, Cedar Fair's net one percent growth could be because the smaller parks like Dorney Park, Worlds of Fun, and / or Michigan's Adventure may be completely stagnant, or even negative. But we only see the top 25, so we can only make educated guesses there.

The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and AECOM have released the 2018 annual attendance report and Theme Index! Click HERE to check it out, as well as former years! Top 25 Amusement & Theme Parks Worldwide 1. Magic Kingdom (Walt Disney World) - 20.859 million 2. Disneyland Park (Disneyland) - 18.666 million 3. Tokyo Disneyland (Tokyo Disney Resort) - 17.907 million 4. Tokyo DisneySea (Tokyo Disney Resort) - 14.651 million 5. Universal Studios Japan - 14.3 million 6. Disney's Animal Kingdom (Walt Disney World) - 13.75 million 7. EPCOT (Walt Disney World) - 12.444 million 8. Shanghai Disneyland - 11.8 million 9. Disney's Hollywood Studios (Walt Disney World) - 11.258 million 10. Chimelong Ocean Kingdom - 10.83 million 11. Universal Studios Florida (Universal Orlando) - 10.708 million 12. Disney California Adventure (Disneyland) - 9.861 million 13. Disneyland Park (Disneyland Paris) - 9.843 million 14. Islands of Adventure (Universal Orlando) - 9.788 million 15. Universal Studios Hollywood - 9.147 million 16. Hong Kong Disneyland - 6.7 million 17. Lotte World - 5.96 million 18. Nagashima Spa Land - 5.92 million 19. Everland - 5.85 million 20. Ocean Park - 5.8 million 21. Europa Park - 5.72 million 22. Efteling - 5.4 million 23. Walt Disney Studios Park (Disneyland Paris) - 5.298 million 24. Tivoli Gardens - 4.85 million 25. Chimelong Paradise - 4.68 million Now, discuss! More images and info from the release will be coming later.

The joke is that broken / worn-out cables on Intamin rides knock them out for the season. I know it's actually happened to Top Thrill Dragster and Xcelerator several times. I don't remember who said it or where I read it, but someone mentioned a rumor (?) that Skyrush may be closed due to the new construction happening right next to it, and that its sudden Sunday closure was merely a coincidence.

Tokyo DisneySea's new expansion now has a name - Fantasy Springs! https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/05/d17d73689153-new-themed-area-in-tokyo-disneysea-to-be-named-fantasy-springs.html More info / images at the above link.

I think he was asking about places to see in the vicinity of Dollywood rather than in the park itself. Pigeon Forge is a tourist trap, so there are all the usual "weird museum" type places. There are a couple of mountain coasters along route 321. There's also The Island, which is a newer retail district with a ropes course and a Ferris Wheel. Down in Gatlinburg is another mountain coaster, more weird museums, and a Ripley's Aquarium, which is apparently actually really good.

Wow, geez, I missed this. I'm so sorry! I ended up grabbing the newer Nikon AF-P 70-300mm (lightly pre-owned). In the past 3-4 weeks I have found the over-200 range useful a few times and the autofocus is lightning-fast on that thing. Unfortunately manual focus is tougher for me because I physically can't see the fine changes in focus through the viewfinder. Shake is tough way out at that range though. After a big trip in a few months (where I need to travel light), my next investment will be a tripod. Most of the time though, I've been using the 18-55 kit lens as a daily driver. Image above was with the 70-300 at 98. Nowhere near the end of the range but that quality has been consistent for pretty much 95% of the range, so I'm satisfied as a hobbyist.

I was poking around YouTube and found an on-ride video of Back!? Daaan!! It looks appropriately wacky. It appears to return to the original station and launch backwards, unlike other Gerstlauer family coasters that do it at a different point in the layout. Note: The uploader claims to have had permission to film the ride. They probably did, considering there's literally no one else riding.

I knew there was a reason I had been seeing more "nose dives" (realizing they missed their exit and cutting across four lanes of traffic to make it) lately.

This whole situation is rough. I fondly remember watching those Discovery / Travel Channel specials and the number one waterpark was always a Schlitterbahn park.

And with that in mind, let's look at some completely worthless top 10 lists! Top 10 Coasters Themed to Animals 1. El Toro - Six Flags Great Adventure (bull) 2. Soaring With Dragon - Hefei Wanda Theme Park (dragon) 3. Fury 325 - Carowinds (insect) 4. Phoenix - Knoebels (phoenix) 5. Flying Dinosaur - Universal Studios Japan (pterodactyl) 6. Nemesis - Alton Towers (monster) 7. Storm Runner - Hersheypark (horse) 8. Velociraptor - IMG Worlds of Adventure (velociraptor) 9. Diamondback - Kings Island (laser snake horse on fire) 10. Tatsu - Six Flags Magic Mountain (dragon) Top 10 Coasters With Car-shaped Trains 1. Lightning Rod - Dollywood 2. Twisted Timbers - Kings Dominion 3. Intimidator 305 - Kings Dominion 4. Twisted Cyclone - Six Flags Over Georgia 5. RailBlazer - California's Great America 6. New Texas Giant - Six Flags Over Texas 7. iSpeed - Mirabilandia 8. Top Thrill Dragster - Cedar Point 9. Tron Lightcycle Power Run - Shanghai Disneyland 10. Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars - Hong Kong Disneyland Top 10 Coasters With Non-English Names in English-native Parks 1. Montu - Busch Gardens Tampa 2. Kumba - Busch Gardens Tampa 3. Tatsu - Six Flags Magic Mountain 4. Mako - SeaWorld Orlando 5. Leviathan - Canada's Wonderland 6. SheiKra - Busch Gardens Tampa 7. Kingda Ka - Six Flags Great Adventure 8. Griffon - Busch Gardens Williamsburg 9. Alpengeist - Busch Gardens Williamsburg 10. Valravn - Cedar Point Top 10 Coasters Themed to Dog Farting 1. Hundeprutten - BonBon Land 2. Hundeprutten - BonBon Land 3. Hundeprutten - BonBon Land 4. Hundeprutten - BonBon Land 5. Hundeprutten - BonBon Land 6. Hundeprutten - BonBon Land 7. Hundeprutten - BonBon Land 8. Hundeprutten - BonBon Land 9. Hundeprutten - BonBon Land 10. Hundeprutten - BonBon Land Top 10 Coasters With The Word "Coaster" In Their Native Names 1. Medusa Steel Coaster - Six Flags Mexico 2. DC Rivals Hypercoaster - Warner Bros. Movie World 3. Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster - Six Flags Fiesta Texas 4. Lech Coaster - Legendia 5. Coaster - Playland (at the PNE) 6. Blue Fire Megacoaster - Europa Park 7. Superman Krypton Coaster - Six Flags Fiesta Texas 8. Wodan Timbur Coaster - Europa Park 9. Incredicoaster - Disney's California Adventure 10. Phobia Phear Coaster - Lake Compounce

Here's another video from Looopings, Untamed's track layout has been completed. I can't believe it opens in less than two months!

I mean, much like you're surprised about the forum's excitement over Hersheypark's upcoming coaster, we're surprised that you think the 78th best roller coaster in the world (Mako, according to our poll this year) is boring. And for the record, there are plenty of coasters with pretty much nothing but airtime hills that are ranked even better than Mako, such as Phoenix (#20), Balder (#30), and Shambhala (#42), to name a few.