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I'm much more of a fan of steel coasters than wooden, but I am really excited about this one. I feel confident that the theming will turn out decent (the Travel Blog at the LA Times has given some of the details away but not too much) and I really think that the ride will beat the you know what out of GhostRider overall. I had felt bad about saying that as GhostRider is currently still in my top ten, but lately GhostRider has been beating the you know what out of me when I ride it, so I guess it's even!

Awesome update! I can't say thanks enough to everyone involved for such a great time. The most fun I have had in a long, long time and just an overall perfect day. In re the talk of WCB vs Solace: I have done both events now for 4 years, and WCB is a no contest winner of the two events. Seeing what WCB has become in between the first time I attended in 2005 and now is simply amazing, how it has grown.....and at the same time, Solace seems to be fading-it seems like there are less or the same amount of people there each year for the past couple of years. To be fair, I did enjoy Solace, I always do, just like I always enjoy Knott's. The behind the scenes tours were a nice add this year, and the lunch and ERT are always fun.....(they had a Scavenger Hunt, but William's Scavenger Hunt at WCB truly put the one that they had at Knott's to shame!)...however, between lunch and 10pm, I ended up getting a little bored and took advantage of the time to sneak out to the car for a few hours of sleep and to shoot some video from outside the park. I was not bored for a minute at WCB and the thought of sleep never even crossed my mind. During morning ERT at Solace, I thought of how nice it would have been to have coffee/donuts/muffins-even some that I could purchase, but no food locations inside the park (at least that I know of) were even open. And of course, I still wish the park would get another "big" ride-which might restore some of the excitement about Solace-the last really big coaster they got was Silver Bullet. While Pony Express is clever and quaint, I didn't hear anyone at Solace complain that it was left out of ERT..... It's a shame because Solace does have potential; I like Knott's and they could do a lot with the event. But when I compare the two events, Solace just doesn't come close. I'll continue to attend, unless WCB were to become a two day event with one of the days landing at the same time as Solace, in which case WCB would win-for the past two years, WCB is the one I really look forward to most of all and now more so than ever.

Sorry this is kind of long and there are no photos, hoping I didn't forget anything but there was so much that happened!!!!! I had been looking forward to this for a year; every year since 2005, I have been attending West Coast Bash and Winter Coaster Solace, and over that time I have seen both events evolve (WCB most dramatically). I have had a rough 2008-early 2009 with a pay cut leading to my having to take on a massive amount of freelance work, leaving me with little to no time to attend the parks as much as I would like, or even post as much as I wish I could. Fortunately, things have reached the point where I can once again take a weekend or two a month to head to Knott's or SFMM, and I was able to take almost 4 days this time (some of Friday and all of Saturday and Sunday) for a complete getaway. The Solace leg of this TR will be relatively short. I was not able to do the Friday night events (one of these years, I am going to try) so I arrived at the park on Saturday morning about 7:30am and parked right up in the front. I took the maintenance tours for Silver Bullet, Sierra Sidewinder, and Pony Express-which were a new offering for this year and a nice addition and were interesting and informative and then noticed that Xcelerator was testing and people were outside the entrance. I ran into G-Force (Ryan) who was operating the ride, and said hello and then took an ERT on Supreme Scream, and walked back over to Xcel to see that it was open! Managed to get two rides on it before the park opened, both of which were very enjoyable (ride was running great and to me it seemed to have even more of a kick than usual) and then got in line for Silver Bullet and took a ride before the park opened. Once the park opened, I took a few rides on Silver Bullet, La Revolucion and the Wave Swinger, had a coffee and a snack, and did the Scavenger Hunt which was extremely easy (especially for someone who goes to KBF a lot) before heading over for lunch. Met up with some of the crew from waydd.org/Westcoaster at lunch and sat at their table, and enjoyed the food as well as the presentation by the General Manager (Marty Keithley) which was followed by a brief Q&A session. The prize for the Scavenger Hunt was raffle tickets, although I did not win anything. Not having had much sleep the night before, I was getting a bit tired after lunch. Knowing I had a late night and early morning, and since it was a few hours until night ERT, after going in to get my T Shirt and take another spin on Silver Bullet, I decided to go out to the car and crash for a few hours. I woke up a couple of hours later, shot some video footage from the parking lot across the street, and then went back in. Got some more rides in-the Log Ride, Silver Bullet a few more times, 2 for 1 on Screamin' Swing, Wave Swinger, La Rev, and Montezooma, went to the car for a heavier jacket, and got ready for night ERT. Enjoyed the snack by GhostRider and watched some very interesting experiments involving coffee and cotton candy, got some ERT rides in on Sierra Sidewinder and Bullet, one front row ride on GhostRider (a little smoother, but still a very rough ride) and then finished out the night on Silver Bullet with about 10-15 more front row rides before night ERT was done. Got in the car and headed up to the Holiday Inn Express in Valencia and got there about 1:40 (which would have been sooner had it not been for the 5 being one lane in several places on the way up) and once again, room was perfect and no problems checking in. Woke up a little before 6am as planned, and made a pot of coffee. I then went to the window and looked out......only to have my spirits dampened to see that not only was it absolutely pouring down rain but there were high winds as well. I was frustrated thinking that this was not boding well for West Coast Bash (not to mention ERT) and ended up going down to the hotel gym for about a half hour to take my frustrations out with exercise-the whole time, hearing the rain coming down in buckets outside-and then went ahead and got ready to go as planned, hoping and praying for the best given the circumstances.....grabbed a coffee and a cinnamon roll and walked outside the hotel to the car with a bit of hope: the rain had stopped for the time being, and there was a hint of the sun through the clouds. Got up front, got checked in (wow, there was a lot of people this time!) and said hello to Robb and Chris and then ended up taking to Ron over in the smokers area over in the corner, who had also come there solo and we decided to head up to X2 first (we ended up hanging out all day). About that time, the rain started coming down again, and being without a poncho, I sheltered my camera bag under my coat and stayed dry as best I could. In the midst of this downpour, Neal Thurman comes out and maintaining a great attitude despite getting soaked, tells us about the morning ERT which he confirms will not only include the expected rides (including X2 and Tatsu) but Goliath and a few others as well (they had hoped to have more open for us, including Deja Vu if weather had permitted.....) He welcomed us, and we were in! We made it up to X2, and by this time the rain had stopped again. Got in line and we got a locker, and were assigned row three. Unfortunately, there was some issue from the restraints (I later heard that it was the rain getting into the restraint sensors) yet there were two maintenance guys complete with a drill unscrewing the back panels and fixing them as they happened and the ride was up and running with two train operation again in no time. We had an awesome ride on X2-fire and all and then opted to go up for breakfast and a Tatsu ride. Grabbed some donuts and coffee, said hello to Chris, Natalee, and Caroline (wow, she has grown!) and went up for a ride on Tatsu, walking on to row 2-again, with two train operation. Went back down for two more rides on X2 at that point-both times getting front row with little to no waiting prior to the park opening at 10:30. I have to say that X2 was running GREAT-these were three of the best rides I have ever had on it. By the time we got off of there, it was time for the Terminator Construction Tour, so we headed over there. Waiting out front we ran into G-Force/Ryan and the group he had come with who also spent most of the event hanging out with us. I also said hello to Jay Thomas who was out front and confirmed that my health was a lot better than it had been at the X2 event last year (when I unfortunately had to make an unexpected trip to first aid after breakfast)! Walked back for the tour and as my still camera was malfunctioning, I took some video of the construction site and Tim Burkhardt's presentation which was both informative and entertaining. The ride looks fantastic, and I have no doubt that the whole package-ride, theming and all-will be another stellar addition to the park's line up. That double down after the first turnaround looks insane. As we left here, it started to rain and then some of the biggest hail I have ever seen began coming down! We ran for cover and when it subsided we all headed over to lunch. Lunch was delicious, and both Mr. Six and Big Mike were there and taking pictures with everyone. Met up with EBL and talked for a few minutes. Then myself, Ron, and Ryan and his group decided to get in on the Scavenger Hunt and became "Team 16". What a difficult Scavenger Hunt!!! It took all of us putting our heads together a while to get things figured out, but we managed to get our answers in pretty early and even had time to grab some rides on Scream and Goliath prior to the meeting for the group photo at 3:45. The afternoon presentation was fantastic and one of the highlights of the event. After getting complimentary bottled water, the winners to the Scavenger Hunt were announced and we were thrilled to see we had taken second place! Our prize was a pick from some wheels from the now defunct Sierra Twist (mine is getting hung on my wall). After this, the presentation began, followed by the Q&A session, which was fantastic. I won't go into the details, save to say that it once again affirmed the park is still on a huge upswing and that it is in great hands with this team at the helm and that I think things will only get better. Not only that, they have a great sense of humor and I have not laughed that much in a while. (Wouldn't you know it-I finally think of a question AFTER it was over-I wish someone had asked Tim whatever DID happen to the old X trains.....) Finally, Mr. Six came out with the ERT announcement: All 14 coasters-in the dark-with a possibility that X2 might even be open a shade after 10! This definitely topped last year.....even though I had wondered how they would, they did. And as if that were not enough-we all got a piece of wood used in the Terminator Salvation: The Ride construction as we left, and Jay and Neal were out front signing them. Very cool. Ryan and his group went off to the lockers, Ron and I headed over to do some other stuff before going to the lockers and we all met up in the front plaza and agreed to meet up later for night ERT. I bought an X2 keychain and a new coffee travel mug in Flags, and then we walked around for a few. We went to see if X2 was open again and it wasn't yet, and then enjoyed a very cold ride on both Viper and Revolution. We decided to grab a snack before night ERT and made our way down across the back of the park for one more look at Terminator, and said hello to Mike and Amir from waydd/Westcoaster who were on their way to Deja Vu. We finally ended up getting food at the Waterfront and I tried the Cheese Bread from Papa John's-not bad at all, pretty good and fresh out of the oven. I needed to get warm for a few so we ducked into Cyber Cafe where I ran into EBL again, and then we met up with the rest of the group in front of Tatsu and night ERT was on! We heard that X2 was still not open and so we went for Tatsu, only to have it experience a delay as we were about to get on (there kept being some issue with 6-3 for some reason.....) We left and went down the hill for a freezing ride on Viper which left me unable to feel my face. Given the temperature and how the wind gauge was spinning out of control, I was thinking that it was probably very good that we had gotten X2 first thing in the morning.....as it did not look like opening it for night ERT was going to be possible. We all decided to go over to try and get on Canyon Blaster then (although there was no one there) and then went over to Goliath.....had some incredible but frigid night rides on Goliath (now I know what it feels to go 80 mph in an icebox); first one front row ride which was too cold to do again and then some mid-train rides-the one with all the lights in the tunnel off being the best of those. We stepped over the protein spill at the exit, then got over to Scream for a few back row rides, and Colossus where Mr. Six was hanging out to take a ride We were going to head over to Batman and Riddlers, but as it was 9:30 we wanted to check one last time for X2 and when that was closed, we decided to make a front row ride on Tatsu the last of the night-and it was a good finish. We got our stuff out of the lockers and went to the front. I was amazed to see not only Flags but the Funnel Cake place still open at 10:15! I ducked into Flags to see if I could see Robb anywhere to say thanks again for the event but didn't see him. Ron grabbed a soda and we did see Jay and Neal standing out front; they apologized for not being able to get X2 open for night ERT and we all thanked them for a fantastic time. The park even had the parking tram still running at 10:30 which I thought was nice. We all parted ways, and I ended up getting back home at 1:30 am (thanks to the 5 South being closed at the 10 and my having to take the 10 to the 405 to the 55 to the 5!) I was exhausted, but it was a good kind of exhausted. I feel as if when I return to the grind of work tomorrow that I have had a great break and a great time. Again, major thanks to TPR, RideWorld, and SFMM for making WCB the best coaster event I think I have ever attended.....I can hardly wait to see what 2010 brings!

I wanted to add this to the conversation.....although I don't have any idea if this track is headed to Cedar Point or not, I would not be the least bit surprised if it is going to a Cedar Fair park. I feel sure there is no ill will between B&M and Cedar Fair, given that they CF seems to really like their Mega Coasters with Behemoth, Diamondback, and the rumored ones for other Cedar Fair parks (Carowinds). Not only that, it looks to me like the new style of hyper trains (with the staggered seating the way it is) was custom designed for Cedar Fair. CF seems to be doing a lot with B&M and GCI lately, which to me is a wise business decision-both companies build reliable crowd pleasers; I'm sure they will work with Intamin, MACK, S&S again too, but it appears that for the present they seem to be working a lot with B&M/GCI. All that being said.....I think the track is either going overseas, or will end up being a floorless coaster for a US park. Only time will tell.....

I wasn't sure how TPR, RideWorld, and SFMM could top last year's West Coast Bash.....but did they ever! What an absolutely awesome event, all the way around. Despite some of the strangest weather challenges I have ever seen, this turned out to be the best coaster event I have ever attended and the most fun I have had in a very long time. I had attended Solace the day before (which was fun, but nowhere near as much fun as WCB) and although I awoke at 6am Sunday to look outside the window of my room at the Holiday Inn Express across from SFMM and have my spirits dampened at the weather, I maintained hope that no matter what was going on, things would still turn out an carried on.....and did they ever! I'm going to post a TR in a separate thread, so for now I just want to give major thanks to: -Robb, Elissa, Chris and Natalee for putting this whole thing together. You guys are amazing, and you have created THE premier coaster event of the West Coast. Organizing this whole thing was no easy task, I'm sure and it is much appreciated. Even if I were living in another state I would fly out here for this every year. -Jay, Neal and Tim and the entire staff of SFMM-wow. Everything was just fantastic-even with the weather the way it was. I was amazed that even with the rain pouring as we waited outside the park yesterday morning, Neal was standing out there in it with us giving us a rundown of events and maintaining a great attitude, and less than 30 minutes later we were all enjoying ERT including some of the best rides on X2 I have ever had-and not only that, when the weather seemed to be causing issues, maintenance was right there fixing the issues as needed to keep ERT going. Tim was out there on the Terminator site giving presentations when the formidable (although thankfully short) hail started mid morning. And the Q&A was one of the single most entertaining events of the day-I have not laughed that much in a while, and once again, your attention to the questions just reconfirms that you listen to and care what people have to say. The night ERT was very impressive, even if X2 could not be a part of it-(when I felt how cold it was getting and saw the wind gauge spinning furiously when riding Viper about 7pm, I had a feeling it might not be able to but I feel sure you tried your best to get it open!). Finally, at the very end of a long day-Jay and Neal were out front wishing everyone well. Through rain, sleet and very cold and windy weather, everyone at the park worked hard and put in a long day and made a great event happen anyway. Thanks again, you all deserve nothing but success. -Another note to William, who put together the Scavenger Hunt-nice job!!! I was one of the members of Team 16, who took second place, and this was both a lot of fun and extremely challenging. It took all of us putting our head together to figure the challenges out. A very entertaining way to spend the afternoon! -All the SFMM employees who put in a lot of extra time and hours-from the mechanics who were fixing the X2 issues during ERT in the morning, to the all the ride ops who stayed late last night and those who kept Flags and the Funnel Cake place open until 10 right along with the ERT-thanks for helping to make it a great time. -Finally, thanks to Ron, Ryan/G-Force and everyone else on Team 16, I had a great time hanging out with you guys yesterday and last night. I end up coming to most of these events solo, and it is always great to see familiar faces as well as to meet new people and make new friends! Again, I will post a TR here shortly (unfortunately, my still camera went dead mid day, and I did not get much video, so not much there).....I just wanted to say thanks to everyone involved and tell everyone else that if you only attend one coaster event next year, do NOT miss this one. It is truly a class act!

Really looking forward to this! Heading up to Solace tomorrow and afterwards up to Valencia to stay across the street from SFMM and be there bright and early (and thankfully, the time change has already taken place so we won't lose an hour of sleep this time!!!) Thanks to Robb, Chris and SFMM for putting together what looks like it will be an even better WCB than last year. See everyone there!

Good TR.....sounds like you had a good time! I was at Knott's from open until close yesterday with my friend who also has an annual pass. He decided not to renew this year and this was the last day his pass was in effect so he wanted to go one more time. He is a shade burned out on the park and says he needs a break from it. I am going to renew my pass again this year; although the fact that they have not added a new "big" coaster since Silver Bullet is a bit disappointing at times, I still enjoy going as I like the rides they have. It was crowded, but not too bad-Ghostrider opening was a bit delayed so we got coffee and waited for it to open and got on the front car of the silver train with about a 10 minute wait. It seems like they did a better rehab this time as it was noticeably smoother. We rode Silver Bullet a few times, the Log Ride a few times, train ride, stagecoach, Montezoomas, and Calico Mine Ride and ate at TGI Fridays before he had to leave at 8, I spent the rest of the night riding the Wave Swinger, Supreme Scream (ran into G Force who I hung out with at Solace a few years ago, he was operating the ride), La Revolucion and Silver Bullet 3 more times. Some random thoughts: -They added an interesting water effect after the first drop of the log ride; it's nowhere near what is used to be but it looks better. -Operations were very efficient on all the rides the times I rode, crews were doing a great job. Even the service at TGI Fridays was more efficient than usual. -Employees more than once went out of their way to say hello and ask how my day was going. -Xcelerator was still down, red train was taken apart and I have no idea why they have all this land cleared over by the brake run. There were people working on the ride most of the day. -They seem to be making progress rebuilding the buildings in Ghost Town and I think it's great that they are taking the time to restore the classic attractions. Silver Bullet is my favorite in the park as well. The wait did not exceed 30 minutes for me any time I rode, and aside from a little bit of train stacking, the crew was doing a fantastic job all day. Although I wish they would add another major coaster, I do enjoy the park a lot. I don't know where they would find room for one but they would find a way if they wanted to. If they could do so without tearing out any more classic attractions, I think it would balance out very nicely as they already have a nice selection of family and moderate thrill coasters, and with one more "major" one combined with the overall improvements I have seen at the park as far as service and operations, I think they could improve their status as a destination park. I'm interested to see what Solace is like next weekend as I'm going before I head up to West Coast Bash the next day.....I did not have a problem getting a ticket this year like I did last year, and they at least are having some behind the scenes events. Although I look forward to Solace, I feel pretty sure that West Coast Bash will once again blow it away this year!

^^X2 was the only really long wait I had all day yesterday. They finally put on the second train about 7pm last night, although there was some issue with the second train that had to be fixed which resulted in my second ride of the day being even longer than the first wait of 1.5 hours with the one train operations. However, both rides on X2 were extremely worth it, especially the last night ride, where I was fortunate to have them send me to front row, inside, stairs side-a perfect end to the day. The park was in great shape yesterday-ride ops were doing a great job and Tatsu operations were the best and fastest I have seen them in a while (was able to ride twice in about 20 minutes without using FlashPass.) Tried the new Cold Stone on the way out, I think it's a great addition to the park and will end up doing well for them.

This looks like it just might end up being the best of the wooden coasters in Southern California.....I still enjoy GhostRider in the front row, but even there it has become a very rough ride. I have not been on a GCI coaster, so I am really looking forward to trying this one out. From what I understand, GCI coasters are the wooden equivalent of B&M Steel coasters-smooth, reliable and although they might not always offer the most intense of forces, they provide a fun, crowd pleasing ride.....in any case this is a great and very smart addition to SFMM (despite the fact that I don't think the theming makes a lot of sense, when I hear Terminator: The Ride I think of a ride like X or Tatsu rather than a wooden coaster-I'm confident the park will make it work, though.) I'm heading to SFMM for the day tomorrow so I look forward to finally checking it out in person. It will be the first time I have been able to go in a while as I have been constantly working weekends for the past few months.

Thanks Robb! Just now registered and reserved a room at HI Express across from SFMM for the night before. This one looks to be even better than last year and really looking forward to it.

This is really interesting, and this is the fastest I have seen a new thread grow in a while (20+ pages since Friday!).....I had a suspicion that B&M might be working on more than just Manta, Diamondback and the Dive Machine there was track for a few months ago. My first guess is that this is going somewhere overseas as if there were a US park getting it for 2009 there would have already been land clearing, or some sign of it. That is, unless some park was able to keep a complete secret about new plans and got this in completely under the radar without anyone knowing. That would be pretty amazing these days.....

Now I REALLY wish I had been allowed to take vacation early in the year last year as I had planned to make a trip to this park.....it looked like a lot of fun to me and I wish I had had a chance to visit. I feel bad for both Myrtle Beach who once again lost a theme park as well as the people for whom this park was a dream and those who enjoyed it. I recall seeing the opening and how proud of their park the people behind it seemed to be. I still say that given the edginess and theme of the park that it would have taken off in Vegas, but it's too late for that now. I think the economy was largely to blame, but that the sheer lack of good marketing was what drove the nail in the coffin.....most of my family and friends from the East Coast told me they had heard nothing about this park and had I not told them, they would have never known it was there. On the bright side, if there is one, at least some park is going to get what appears to be a pretty decent secondhand B&M looping coaster.....

I had planned to go New Year's Eve, even had a room at Holiday Inn Express booked for afterwards.....unfortunately, the day after Christmas I came down with the worst case of the flu I have had in at least two years, which I am still getting over. I'm not sure my getting soaked on the Log Ride at Knott's and then walking around and riding coasters without a heavy enough jacket on Christmas Eve caused it, but I feel sure that it probably didn't help.....this year I hope to avoid doing stupid stuff like that. However, I moved my reservation at HI Express until January 17th, so I will be heading up to the park for the 17th and 18th to use my 2009 pass for the first time. Looking forward to getting some more rides in on X2, Tatsu and Scream and checking out the Terminator construction.

I've decided to do the New Year's Eve event, just booked a room for New Year's Eve at the Holiday Inn Express so I won't have to be on the road after the park closes. Should be a lot of fun, and definitely a different way to spend Dec. 31st than I normally do. It worked out pretty good this year, I'm doing Christmas Eve at Knott's and New Year's at SFMM!

Very nice new feature and a great addition to the site. I just uploaded a video I edited from footage I shot of Silver Bullet at Knott's and edited not too long ago. I think this is actually better than YouTube.....

I'm thinking of going-being someone who does not partake of alcohol, yet who wants to celebrate New Year's Eve doing something fun, I think it's a great idea. However, even though I would be safe to drive, I would get a hotel as I don't like being put on the road between 9pm-4am New Year's Eve. As far as the rides closing at midnight-I see no issue with that-while it would be great if they kept them open a while longer, you have to remember that those who were in line before midnight still have to be cycled through, and also-the celebration on New Year's Eve traditionally has more to do with the lead up to midnight anyway.

That's good to know on the Flash Pass. I'm getting my 2009 Xtreme Pass next weekend and was not aware of the fact we were going to QBot. If they are including the free rental, that would be great, but if not, the pass is still worth it to me. I have not used the QBot (almost did last time I was at SFOG) but it seems as if it is a lot more efficient. What is the major difference in how it works?

This looks like a really good coaster.....while it looks as if it might not be as intense as Tatsu, I think it still looks to be on par. I think the drop and Pretzel Loop will likely be pretty intense, and we have yet to see how the rest of the layout shapes up. Plus, I think the theming of the ride is going to help as well. I would imagine the reason for the speed of construction of the actual ride is because the surrounding area will end up being pretty elaborate. If you look at the photos online as well as the layout, there are a couple of interesting developments: one, something interesting looks like it will happen after the pretzel loop as the supports go from being high in the air to being near ground level in a very short space; two, the inline twist appears as if it might be more like a zero g roll, and looking at that layout picture/artwork, apparently right after the dive to the water and the splash, you will fly right up in front of a waterfall as you go into the last flat spin, which could be pretty cool depending on how they pull it off.

I think that the demolition of the structure likely has more to do with the age of it and wanting the space for a new attraction than wanting to get rid of the heritage, but I will also state that if this is going to be for some short coaster crammed into that space that I don't think it's a good move. If they want to add a family ride, maybe they should put one of those Splash Battle rides or some type of interactive play area. While I have always enjoyed Knott's, I'm actually one of those who likes *most* of the ride additions Cedar Fair has made-Silver Bullet, Supreme Scream, Xcelerator, and Sierra Sidewinder-and think they were all needed improvements. Silver Bullet was something I think the park really needed-a full circuit high capacity coaster with inversions, Xcelerator and Supreme Scream are good "extreme" thrill rides, and Sierra Sidewinder is a well done family coaster. I could easily see the original Knott's management adding Silver Bullet and Sierra Sidewinder (although the theming would likely be more detailed and the color schemes would probably fit). But I'm not really sure what it is they are trying to do now. While Pony Express was a very creative idea for a family coaster and the theming works okay, IMHO, it is a bit too short. Plus, if they are attempting to appeal to both the family and thrill seeker market, I would think it would be about time for another "big" ride along the lines of Bullet or Xcelerator-as Silver Bullet was the last ride in this category and that was 4 years ago. If they are going to get rid of classic parts of the park, I would hope they would at least make good use of the space freed up. I love the park and continue to renew my pass every year, but it would be nice to get another big coaster. If they want to look at things to take out for a new "big" ride, they could always consider Boomerang and/or Perilous Plunge. I can easily see them taking out both of those for another steel coaster, I would love to see them get a Dive Machine as I don't see SFMM getting one anytime soon. While the fact that the Playhouse is leaving is disconcerting to some, look at the bright side: at least it's not Calico Mine Ride being refitted to a Mystery Mine type coaster or the log ride leaving, or GhostRider leaving and being replaced by a steel coaster the way Dorney Park did with Hercules, or Montezoomas leaving for an Impulse coaster.....

I agree with Robb 100% on this.....when I first heard about Hard Rock Park, the lineup of attractions, and the irreverent humor/rock and roll atmosphere they were going for, the very first thought I had was "Why Myrtle Beach? Something like this would be perfect for Las Vegas!" They could keep it open year round, and it would be big enough for Vegas without being too big. I feel it could have made it there where Grand Adventures unfortunately failed. Heck, they probably even could have even used some of the old rides (rapids and flume) from Grand Adventures to round out the water rides. I feel like the theming would be a much better fit for the Vegas crowd, offering a balance to keep both the adults and kids interested. I really wanted to see this park succeed, and I at least wish I could have made it out there as planned this year. Here's hoping that if they do sell, the B&M will get a good new home at a park that needs it. I do feel bad for the people running it, this was a dream of theirs that so far looks like it just did not make it.

Well, at least I made it in before page 30! I think this addition is yet another move in the right direction for SFMM and an excellent one. The park's last three ride additions-Tatsu (even though it was under the old management), the X2 upgrade and now this were/are all really solid and intelligent decisions IMHO. While the theme might seem a bit perplexing, something tells me that they will make it work (look how many were skeptical of X2 and how great they were able to pull that off) and while I was initially surprised that they put in this in Psyclone's old spot, it does make sense and will bring new life to that area of the park. I know it's not a record breaker type ride, but I don't think that is what SFMM wanted or needed-they needed and they are getting a new coaster that I think will be satisfying to thrill seekers yet family friendly and accessible and marketable to both. Additions like this will help the park get the balance that it needs, and I have a feeling that the ride may actually surprise people once it opens and end up being more thrilling than expected. It seems to me that GCI is to wooden coasters as B&M is to steel coasters; they may not be the longest/fastest/most extreme coasters or ones that push the limits, but they build reliable and comfortable crowd pleasing coasters. (I know that if I were building a park I would go mostly to GCI for wood and B&M for steel for those same reasons). I look forward to riding this one when it opens. Anyone know when annual passes go on sale? (I will add that I hope that they not only add this to the coaster wall of fame, but finally add an X2 mural as well! If they have already, I have not noticed it.)

Good to hear that X2 is okay, I was concerned there was going to be a lot of downtime if this collision was as nasty as it sounded. Planning on getting up there for some more rides on it soon. Also good to hear about Tatsu running three trains!

The yellow supports on the lift hill remind me all of the world of how Silver Bullet at Knott's has red lift supports and the rest of the track is silver/grey. This looks to be one of the best new coasters for next year. Although I think it would have been awesome for Knott's to make the room for and get something like this, but I think KI really needs it a lot more!

This looks like a great ride, I am assuming it uses much of the same area the old Zambezi Zinger did. It's interesting, Cedar Fair seems to be doing a lot of work with both GCI and B&M these days, which I think is good business; I have for a long time thought that working with GCI for wooden coasters and B&M for steel is a good decision, as both companies, while they don't push the limits with record breakers, etc, consistently provide safe, reliable, crowd pleasing coasters. Here's hoping that the rumored GCI woodie for SFMM offers some terrain elements-I would love to see them do a terrain woodie at SFMM.

Tatsu East! This looks like it will be a great addition, and I would expect that the end result will be closer to Tatsu than Air or any of the S:UF clones. 140 feet high and 4 inversions sounds to be more towards the intense side of things. It would be cool if the YouTube video turned out to be the actual layout. I'm guessing something along the lines of drop/Pretzel Loop/Zero G and then into the MCBR, and then some curves around the water/through the caves and waterfall and a corkscrew/flatspin and an inline twist with the "splash" effect mixed in there somewhere. Of course, they might add new inversions not yet seen on a flyer, like an Immelman/Dive Loop. A few interesting comments I found about the ride in this article: "You say, 'Hey, you're putting as much emphasis on the animals as on the ride, absolutely. That's who we are. This is uniquely SeaWorld. We don't want to just put in a ride," said Joseph Couceiro, chief marketing officer for SeaWorld's parent company, Busch Entertainment Corporation. The coaster vehicles were designed to give riders the sensation of gliding, swooping and diving up to 56 mph, through four inversions on 3,359 feet of track, moving from sky to water -- so close at times that the Manta's wings skim the waves. The tip of the ride vehicle actually will splash into the water. Ride designer and manufacturer, Bolliger & Mabillard, of Switzerland, is the same company that designed and built Kraken at SeaWorld and SheiKra at Busch Gardens. Manta will share the smoothness those coasters are known for, Couceiro said. "It will be extremely smooth," he said. But then he added, "It's meant to appeal to a lot of folks, but it is not a tame ride." If I ever am able to take another vacation where I can leave the state for more than a few days, I really need to pay a visit to Orlando.....