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Question for MACK: Given that you work with water rides and coasters a great bit, have you ever considered coming out with your take on the white water rafting ride?

Question for B&M: Any plans for a new website?

Question for B&M: On your Wing Rider coasters, I noticed there is a maximum height limit, something which does not exist for your other coaster types. What is the reason for this, and given your attentiveness to making your coasters as accessible to as many as possible, is this something you are working to circumvent on future installations?

Question for MACK Rides: Given that you are one of the few large ride companies who still offers traditional log flumes as a product, and there are many parks retiring their older log flume rides, have many parks or chains expressed an interest in purchasing a new flume ride system from you to replace them?

One last one for B&M: Out of all of the coasters you have ever built, which one (or ones) stand out in your mind as your favorites?

Question for B&M: Is there a limit you place on the amount of coaster projects you take on at one time?

Question for B&M: Out of all of your current coaster design types, which is the most popular (most requested by parks)?

There were a few significant ones: -Wild Eagle Opening/Season Pass Preview Weekend at Dollywood, and my first visit to that park; it was great to meet up and hang out with all of the TPR people who were there! -Several great visits to SFOG and Dollywood -Metro Atlanta Coaster Club event at Dollywood in May with night ERT on Wild Eagle -Deep South Bash-another awesome event -Riding Goliath last Sunday in the freezing cold on SFOG last day of the season last Sunday I still have one more trip this year to Dollywood either later this month or the week of December 10th. Although there were a few planned trips I had to cancel due to the issues with my parents' health (missed out on Carowinds and a visit to LA parks), overall, this has been an awesome year as I have gotten accustomed to living in the Southeastern US and some of the excellent parks and attractions here. Looking forward to 2013-*hopefully* I will be able to do West Coast Bash and get my SFMM and Knott's fix, and I also tentatively am planning to get to at least two new for 2013 coasters, (Outlaw Run and Gatekeeper) in addition to enjoying more of SFOG and Dollywood.

Those photos are great! This seriously looks to be as if it will be one of the most talked about new coasters of 2013. The three coasters I would love to be able to hit next year, as far as new coasters are: 1. Gatekeeper 2. Outlaw Run 3. Iron Rattler I'm also hoping that Outlaw Run turns out as good as I believe it will. I'd love to see Herschend add something like this at Dollywood in a few years.

From this photo it looks as if the layout might be correct after all.....

I cannot say for sure, but I am making a guess that "CoastRider" will end up being the name of whatever coaster KBF has planned next. While I think it is a bit cheesy, it seems as if it would be a fitting name for a hyper/giga (if that's what they're getting.) It will be interesting once the dust settles from Haunt if they do make some kind of an announcement even if the actual ride opens in late 2013/early 2014 as they did with Silver Bullet.

I can think of a couple-I don't think anyone really "hates" these, but I know they're not on many favorites lists: -Silver Bullet at Knott's, still in my top five. I think out of all the coasters I have ridden I have been on this one more times than any other, mainly because I used to live very close to the park for so many years and spent most of my hours there on this and Xcelerator. -Scream at SFMM. I don't mind the parking lot. Sure, it would be nicer if it were landscaped, but I still enjoy the ride. It was in my top five until it got pushed down after I rode Wild Eagle this year.

Haunt looks as if it is a good one this year.....wish I could have gone. I was going to try to fly up and do Scarowinds, but unfortunately could not, but doing Fright Fest at SFOG this coming weekend. In re the entire incident reported on OC Weekly-honestly, I think both were in the wrong, the patron for using a homophobic slur and the monster for criticizing her weight. It will be interesting to see what transpires as a result.

I saw this on another board, and already posted it in the China Trip thread, but wanted to post it here too. Supposedly this is the layout of the Wing Rider, and it matches the layout listed on RCDB): RCDB Listing Roller Coaster: unknown Amusement Park: Ocean Kingdom (Zhuhai, Guangdong, China) Classification: Roller Coaster Type: Steel - Sit Down Status: Under Construction opening 2013 Make / Model: Bolliger & Mabillard / Wing Coaster / Custom Height: 164' 1" Inversions: 3 Elements: Dive Loop Zero-G Roll In-Line Twist (I love how it is one inch taller than Gatekeeper.....and I love the 164' 1" Wild Eagle style drop into the giant Dive Loop, the zero-g over the water, and the tunnel going up into the inline roll.) If that photo is the layout.....that is quite impressive. Not sure why they don't have as many inversions but it does look like a solid ride to me.

Thanks for posting these two POVS-great job! Both Starry Night Sky Scrapper Ripper, or whatever it's called and Hair Raiser look to be among the top tier of newer B&M coasters. I would love to see a US park get something like either one of these. Somewhere there were pics of floorless track being worked on at the track place, so who knows? Maybe it is for another US floorless with a unique layout. Based on how the China B&M coasters seem to be more intense than some of the US installs, it will be interesting to see how the Wing Coaster at Ocean Kingdom rides in comparison, as it has a very interesting layout (I saw this on another forum and it matches the layout listed on RCDB): RCDB Listing Roller Coaster: unknown Amusement Park: Ocean Kingdom (Zhuhai, Guangdong, China) Classification: Roller Coaster Type: Steel - Sit Down Status: Under Construction opening 2013 Make / Model: Bolliger & Mabillard / Wing Coaster / Custom Height: 164' 1" Inversions: 3 Elements: Dive Loop Zero-G Roll In-Line Twist (I love how it is one inch taller than Gatekeeper.....) If that photo is the layout.....that is quite impressive.

Those are amazing shots! I have to add: that first pic from Hair Raiser is amazing. IMHO, Hair Raiser is officially tied with Wild Eagle for "Most Scenic B&M!"

Thanks for posting that! Of the coasters you guys are hitting on this trip, the two I am most anxious to see reviews/coverage of are Dinoconda and the insane B&M flying coaster with the loop (I cannot recall the name of it). Both look as if they are pretty intense!

^It's like a Black Widow: beautiful to look at, but packs one hell of a nasty bite-at least, in my opinion. I have only ridden it once this year, and when I did it was towards the back of the train; I greyed out during part of the ride, and got jostled around a few times as well. In all fairness, the new trains do improve it slightly. I do wonder if Wheelie is leaving permanently, either for another SF park or spare parts, or, if it might pop up elsewhere in the park at a later date.

I remember that.....and now I wish I had ridden it during DSB! Hopefully, it will be open when I am at SFOG on the 5th and 6th and I can get a last ride in. Although it is a shame to see one of the old original flats from SFOG's past go, using the location for a StarFlyer does make sense. As some have said, at least they are replacing one flat ride with another. Now I just want to see a B&M replace Ninja.....

I think this will be a good addition for SFOG, and now I have all year to get the nerve up to get on it next year. The Star Flyers terrify me even more than the Windseekers. I'm still hoping that an X-Flight and the full retracking of Cyclone with Topper Track figure somewhere into that 5 year plan!

Iron Rattler is to me the most impressive of the 2013 additions by Six Flags, and makes a whole lot of sense. The setting looks spectacular, and I hope to see more of the SF parks working with Rocky Mountain Coasters on renovations such as this. SFMM could definitely do something interesting with Colossus!

I was a little surprised by the announcement, as with the space opened up by the departure of Log Jammer I had envisioned a larger new attraction, and thought they might be doing some type of hyper/giga coaster in its place, but I have to say that it does look very unique and different, and that it should be an interesting ride. I will agree with some comments that the brake run immediately after the top hat seems to be an abrupt ending and that it would have been great to have more track afterwards. Nice use of the tunnel, and the interaction with the area near Superman looks as if it will be well done! Look forward to riding this someday. I feel that the reason LJ was taken out was not specifically to add this coaster, but rather due to the fact that the park already has one flume ride and two other water rides and the cost of operation of LJ and its age were the primary reason it left. The massive loop/top hat element here to fill that wide open space, and break a record, does make sense. It would be awesome if the park at some point in the future considered adding another new flume to replace LJ. It's good to see them working with some different companies for major rides, haven't heard as much from Premier in recent years but it looks as if Six Flags might be working with Premier, B&M and Rocky Mountain Coasters here over the next few years.

Thanks all for the compliments on the pics! In re the pic with the Atlanta skyline, I had not even realized that the skyline turned out that well, as I was just trying to get the museum! I still have pics from DSB 2011 and from multiple visits to SFOG and Dollywood and some random adventures in the Smoky Mountains that I plan on getting posted as soon as I can and then once I get caught up, staying current on the ones I do.

If SFSTL does get a used Vekoma Boomerang, I cannot say I would be surprised. This park was my first job many moons ago, and we always seemed to get the short end of the stick while the other parks got all of the really cool stuff. For once, I would love to see this park get the shiny new B&M hyper or Wing Coaster or something else new and fresh rather than smaller coasters, rehashes of old coasters they already have, or things from the boneyards of other parks in the chain.

GhostRider actually sent me to first aid once.....and this was from hyperextending my neck on a ride in the second row. For a long time, it was my #1 wooden coaster-until I rode Thunderhead at Dollywood for the first year. GhostRider is still in my top ten (down a few notches below Thunderhead, Apocalanator at SFMM, and GASM at SFOG) and the main reason it fell was the way they started trimming it on the mid course last year before I moved from So Cal and the fact that I would only get a tolerable ride in the very front row and even that was hit and miss. It's a shame, because GhostRider to me was once an awesome wooden coaster.