Invertalon

Was at Dollywood today... Beautiful day up until the last two hours or so when rain moved in. Park was dead! Walkon for all the coasters. The African show was really wonderful, especially if you dig Cirque du Soleil type shows. Highly recommended. For one thing, Thunderhead is just atrocious anymore. The park seriously needs to dump some money to get it fully re-tracked. Not just sectional track work. It is nearly as bad or worse than the Son of Beast rides I had prior to all the modifications. It's downright brutal, and I have high tolerance for tougher wood coasters. Sad, because it used to be a top woodie for me. Really needs some TLC. Dolly was supposed to be in the parade today at the park, but cancelled last minute I guess (scared it would rain perhaps?$. The "parade" ended up being a few groups of performers, lasting about 30 seconds or so. Everybody looked at each other with "wtf" faces lol

Relative to this being a "new technology", why does this ride being wood make any difference in regards to the launching technology? I hardly see how this is new when a few other rides have launches up hills and LSM/LIM's at this point are quite an established technology. Is there something unique about this launch system compared to the dozens of others in existence? It's cool that it's on a wooden coaster and all, but in theory it's really no different than any other ride. Looks like they just ran short on time and need a few more days/weeks to finely tune the system (obviously!). Bummer it’s opening late though… We had planned to be at the park next week (wed-sat) but now that is in limbo… At worst we detour elsewhere and come back later on in the season once it’s up and running. This isn’t a B&M, so I expected the chance of opening on time slim to be honest, lol.

Since when is B&M considered "gimmicky"?

No vest restraints. It is interesting what they are doing with the lack of brakes and catwalks on the MCBR and final brake run... I don't even see attachment points, at least from these photos, so I assume everything will be welded. I just wonder the reasoning for doing it this way vs. pre-installed.

Love the picture of all the B&M's in the single photo... The amazing color options that could have been selected for Valravn though... Bummer.

There are no changes being done to the track work on Hulk... No transition changes, no re-designed sections, nothing... Expect the same exact ride, although smoother and also quieter (due to sand). For those expecting something else, you will be disappointed.

I don't have any real issue with Mean Streak... I love taking late evening and night rides on it... No, it's not the most thrilling ride in the park, but I still think it delivers a decent ride. The past few years the park has really taken good care of it and it has been worth riding. Roughness wise, I don't find it much worse than Blue Streak all things considered. I have had worse rides on the Blue one in that regard. I still wouldn't be against a RMC conversion or a brand new GCI in it's place, though...

Three Floyds Zombie Dust... Only six days old in the bottle. Mmmmm.

Oh darn... Would love to if I didn't have to work... Bummer!

I would actually love if CP got a B&M flying coaster... Especially after seeing the crazy one overseas at Universal currently going up. Themed out to sea gulls, of course. It only makes sense.

Leviathan... There was something eerily smooth about that, even compared to other B&M's of similar type, when I rode it opening year.

That's the point though... It would be something different. They have enough color in the air already, add some darkness! For color, a vivid purple track and gold support color scheme. That would def stand out.

Why laugh? It still looks similar! IMO, the ride should have been darker in color scheme... Such as Raptor at Gardaland, Oblivion at Alton Towers, Great Bear at Hershey, etc... Add some color accents on the trains from the logo color palette (that gold and purple), it would have looked stunning.

X2

Wildcat - Hershey Park this past weekend.

I am going to assume the track/supports will be sand-filled, like Gatekeeper, and will be quiet. Did we ever get confirmation of this anywhere?

I was also surprised with the layout of Valravn... I expected if CP did get a dive machine, there would be something "special" about it. Pre-MCBR it's no different than the other two in the US. Post-MCBR yeah it has a little more to it, but I don't know... I dig the dive loop and g-roll combo, but the ending helix and bunnyhop combo (unless that bunnyhop actually delivers some really good air), is too much like the ending of gatekeeper. Surprised when I saw it. That being said, I am still very excited and love dive machines... It will be an awesome ride that I know I will enjoy greatly.

Some of my wishes: Millennium Force: Add another bunny hop to that ending straight away before the final overbank. I absolutely love that small camelback next to the station, I wish they added another right after the slight left hand turn. Gatekeeper: As someone mentioned previously, add a inline roll after the helix to add something worthwhile post MCBR. Batman Knight Flight (a.k.a. Dominator): Adding a zero-g-roll after the cobra roll with a tight 270* helix following into the MCBR. Banshee: Quicker transitions... Layout is awesome, but the entry/exit from each element is just so drawn out... Get a little more snap in there, like every other B&M invert before it.

CP: Raptor

That looks like no B&M support I have ever seen. I am thinking that is for something else. AFAIK, the color scheme is not changing at all.

Not spreading rumors, although I suppose if it hasn't been "officially" announced it will be a rumor until proven otherwise. I suppose you will just have to wait and see! I guess I was spreading rumors here, too, when I mentioned this (back in July, mind you)... http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=70151&p=1607427&hilit=track#p1607427

The new track is filled with sand, therefor, the structure is far more heavy. Footer/foundation work will be done to compensate for the additional weight.

Last update for this year.... Closing Day 2015! 1B5A2001.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2024.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2017.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2046.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2059.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2032.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2015.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2062.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2027.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2094.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2036.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2100.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2126.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2131.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2160.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2168.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2183.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2191.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2203.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2207.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2218.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2259.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2240.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2268.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2711.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2119.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2761.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2770.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2780.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2782.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2779.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2762.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2790.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2097.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2783.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2056.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2154.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2795.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2758.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2471.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2006.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 1B5A2806.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr

The pieces typically weighed around 15,000 LB each track section, according to the stickers on the end of the track pieces. I believe some of the support columns were in the 6,000 LB range, but of course they all vary a bit with components, diameter, length, etc... Pretty hefty stuff!