A.J.

Aren't the supports under just as much stress as the track? It doesn't make sense to leave the supports alone, especially if they're at the end of their service life like the track segments are. It's better to just replace the whole thing.

I'm not sure I would consider Powder Keg a family coaster. Blaring sirens, compressed air launch, big drop at the end? Seems intimidating. I know some of us like to consider Verboten a family coaster, but it really isn't one either.

Bump! Has anyone ridden any good family coasters lately? I'm trying to figure out the kinds of coasters that have mass appeal, and family coasters seem to fit the bill. Plus, I'm absolutely nuts for Firechaser Express now, so... Are there any really good family coasters (besides the above, ahem) that are super-fun for people like us but are accessible (read: NOT intimidating) to children?

Seems like coaster zip lines are an up-and-coming thing. They look like fun!

Please, go on. It's much appreciated by those who COULDN'T MAKE IT BECAUSE THEY'RE STUCK ON THE SOUTHERN END OF THE COUNTRY. Seriously though. Georgia in 2013, Florida in 2014, and now Georgia this year and next. Graduate school is important but not being able to go to Phunfest for four years straight after going for three years straight is really disappointing. Also, is it safe to assume that coasterbill and I are the two biggest Knoebels fans around here?

I'd be willing to bet imaginary money that if the Hulk reconstruction is successful, Dragon Challenge will be next. All three coasters have been around since the park's opening, Dragon Challenge's condition has to be at least near what Hulk's was before the demolition started.

Wow, I'm impressed. It took RCT2 players years to make a coaster that even comes close to Supersonic Odyssey.

You mean like the stuff in this classic?

As a 3D rendering guy I like speculating on this kind of stuff. They could have re-used the sounds from the original video in the new one, and you can definitely export a piece of geometry that follows the track spline to translate the layout into another program. I know that NoLimits 2 can produce some pretty fantastic visuals, but I'm pretty sure that they're not as good out of the box as what's presented in that new video, especially with the big body of water, the terrain and all of the trees. Either they did the rendering and animation using some other program, or they baked the textures into a NoLimits 2 simulation (again, I lean far toward the former). Either way, I do agree that whoever did it did an incredible job. I wonder, can Unreal Engine generate those kind of visuals?

I thought that it was said somewhere that the track in the station and transfer areas is still okay.

I can't see Hulk being built using Rocky Mountain's T-Rex track at all. Unless that new style of track was shown behind closed doors a while ago, we wouldn't see any parks building coasters with that style until...2017? At the absolute earliest? A park isn't just going to see "the next big thing" and immediately demolish something for it. The whole process of replacing a ride, from concept design to planning to demolition to clearing to construction / reconstruction takes more than a few years, let alone a single operating season.

Yeah, it's very weird. Isn't that supposed to be a clone of Kanonen? I understand that it's spread out a bit more to fit the thematic elements in but the whole thing just looks...interesting.

It doesn't look like it, honestly. The speed through the layout looks a little choppy, like it was keyframed in Maya, Cinema 4D, or another program as opposed to being simulated in NoLimits 2. But I'm probably wrong.

Wild Eagle really isn't very "themed". Yes, it's got the big eagle sculpture in the front, the cheesy "challenge" / "soar" / whatever on the plaza pathways, the eagles on the cars, the eagle metal cutouts on the side of the building and the inspirational messages scattered throughout. Fine. But Wild Eagle's major thematic elements, like the station building, really only look like extensions of the Wilderness Pass area as opposed to stuff that gives a ride its own story and identity (like Firechaser Express or even Tennessee Tornado). This isn't necessarily a bad thing, because it brings a sense of familiarity to the area (which I like). However, in terms of how "themed" it is, Wild Eagle is basically a steel Thunderhead. Outlaw Run is Silver Dollar City's showstopper attraction right now, and I'll bet that they'll be willing to ride on it for a while and make a bunch of smaller-scale additions over the next few years. Wild Eagle's massive size and scope made sense for Dollywood as the largest steel coaster in the park at the time was Tennessee Tornado. If anything, I'd be more willing to bet that Silver Dollar City will install a family coaster similar to Firechaser Express in the near future, to further align the two parks together.

Red, brown, orange, orange, orange, neon blue / green, orange, purple / green, red, brown, brown. In that order. I'm personally okay with a change of pace.

Don't look now, but considering that it's the only one of its kind left and that it's likely close to the end of its service life itself, I'd be willing to bet that the Tumbler / Atomic Collider is next.

I'm getting tired of hearing this, seriously.

Amen to that! Exactly how it is. No it isn't. This is just very efficient track layout and design wrapped up in a pretty freaking great theme package. It's basically a 21st century adaptation of the Space Mountain or Premier spaghetti bowl style of layout, spread out a bit to allow for thematic elements. Just an FYI, I'm not implying that this is a bad thing - it's just that Taron really doesn't look like a fantasy coaster.

I mean, considering that a single-day park hopper ticket is $165 on its own plus the $20 for parking, plus the PhotoPass downloads, the Gold pass pretty much pays for itself after three visits, even if you're not renewing. The Florida theme parks have gotten more expensive across the board recently, but even if you only go to the parks once every two months the Gold pass is a very good value. EDIT: The pass is still pretty expensive compared to Universal's passes, but you're basically paying double for four parks instead of two. Kind of tricky to figure out which one to get if you like both the Walt Disney World and the Universal Orlando parks... I also wonder how much of a value the Gold pass is compared to the Disneyland equivalent.

I've been very lenient toward this thread, mainly because I haven't had the patience to deal with it the past few days. I'll give you one more shot to step up your content, if you don't, I'll lock the thread.

"Don't look back as you brave the Black Forest."

Sorry, thought you were serious there for a sec.

Flying coasters have always been "spectacle" coasters anyway, existing to make guests and riders go "wow" even though they aren't anywhere near the best out there.

I don't, sorry. We all know it's getting new trains with a lot of people expecting vest restraints and possibly floorless, track is getting replaced, the queue is getting updated and the launch is being worked on. The ride is closed for less than a year so I don't think we'll be seeing anything too unexpected, plus wouldn't they have to apply for permission to change the layout? The application people saw a few months ago mentioned the launch but no track changes. There could be a change in theme, right? I don't remember the press release referring to the "new" coaster as the Hulk, just as having "an incredible personality".

Obviously the coaster will count as thirty-two new credits, duh!