Invertalon

Looks like the erection of the ride may be complete right on time (Cedar Fair B&M’s typically have the last piece of track installed by the end of January). Not surprised, though. It’s just amazing that Six Flags still can’t learn how to project plan properly with their new attractions!

As Wolfbobs mentioned (worked at a Cedar Fair park as well), the wristband was only utilized as "deal-breaker", if you will. If there was a child who was right on the edge, we would advise them to get an official height check. This way, if checking height and the child was right on the edge but had a wristband, 99.9% of the time the operator would let them proceed with no issue. But we ALWAYS had discretion to deny if we suspected that there was some deceiving going on (swapping bands and such). But that is pretty obvious when/if that did occur. Sometimes the parents would get irritated if we did re-check their kid with a wristband, but usually not a big deal. That wristband is very helpful for those situations when the kid is right on the line.

Yeah, horrible example! My bad...!

OK then. It’s a forum… People discuss/bicker/complain… I can see if you go to one extreme saying the ride will completely suck and rant about how terrible the park or whatever is for building whatever, but the comment by southpuddle was positive statement with a change they would have liked to see in the design. Big whoop.

The same way any hobbyist of any kind can judge and talk about the ‘wish list’ they had for a particular item. A photographer may see a lens just released they never used, but can prefer a different feature set, build quality, aperture or zoom range based on their experience with similar products. A car guy can see a new Toyota Camry announced but wish it didn’t have the weird grill, a different wheel aesthetic, wish for a different engine or transmission used. A gamer can see a new release he has yet to play, but can make comment on specific graphics or the storyline based on information released. A gardener may see a new shovel and hate it’s shape compared to others, even though they never used the thing. And so on and so forth… Just because nobody has ridden this thing, most have ridden other B&M’s and can make judgement based on what they see at this point. You don’t need to have ridden a ride to have an opinion on the features, layout and whatever else. It’s just part of any hobby… I don’t know why coaster enthusiasts get defensive about those who comment on something they have yet to ride. It may be more or less fun that one might expect, but why does that matter to one’s wish list on a particular ride? I'd personally change a lot about Orion if I had the super powers to do so, but I don't. It looks fun, but yeah... So maybe the next giga!

I didn’t renew my Platinum Pass (hour from Cedar Point), so likely will be skipping that this year unless I go for a single day at some point. Didn’t go enough the past two years to justify the pass price. Gold doesn’t interest me either, as I would likely use it more for KI or other parks if I went. But the parks I will or plan to visit this year: For Sure: Sea World Orlando Universal Orlando (HHN) Busch Gardens Tampa Very Likely: Gardaland Mirabilandia Kings Island Maybe/Tentative: Sea World San Antonio Six Flags Fiesta Texas Cedar Point Hershey Not likely, but possible: Sea World San Diego Six Flags Magic Mountain Knotts Berry Farm Kennywood

Probably along the lines of Mako's or Leviathan's (although with a slight turn/bank) little hills, which are probably my favorite portions on both rides. I was kind of hoping when I heard KI was getting a giga that it would be loaded with a few of those low, high speed airtime hills. Happy to see Hershey's get a small bump, too.

This ride looks so good! Really hoping I can squeeze a trip there at some point this Spring/Summer.

Really nice changes for this upcoming year. Things like this are what the park needs to build that 'guest experience' beyond just adding rides. Glad to see the boat ride return!

Was excited to see GCI's new hybrid track debut at Fun Spot... Looks like RMC might have some upcoming competition in the future with those hybrid's, which is awesome. Hoping if GCI get's some work, we start seeing some different types of elements (besides RMC's love for barrel rolls ). Or even just a traditional type of GCI layout with that track option would be awesome, especially with those wonderful Millennium Flyers... Really excited to see what comes out of GCI with this!

I've been looking at the design of the old vs. new invert trains… The old design had (4) individual seat 'arms' if you will, bolted from the top 'frame' connected to the wheel bogeys, while the new one is (2) arms that each support a pair of seats. The new design would put the loading stress of each pair of seats directly in line with the wheel bogey, while the old design better spread the load equally around the bogey... with each seat arm both to each side of the wheel assembly. I'm guessing if you ran some FEA on that, you'd see the stresses behaving a bit differently up top there with how the forces are being transferred along that top frame. Perhaps some flexing and less rigidity (from the looks of it at least) cause the newer train to ride a bit rougher. The old design looks a bit more robust, in my opinion. I'd also guess weight between the two is probably comparable, but without knowing the material gauge and all that fun stuff, it's hard to know obviously. Weight is not necessarily a bad thing for how a train may ride necessarily (more-so for the structure and track design), but will likely influence how the car rides for sure. Too bad I don’t have access to FEA at work like I used to, I’d be curious to simulate a generic representation of these designs and compare under various loading/stresses to see how it changes. Wouldn’t be too hard at all.

I don't think Banshee particularly runs well in any row, to be honest. That wider/modified train design just doesn’t feel “right” to me. Because the train is wider, I’d assume the weight is distributed differently on the chassis, it definitely feels different than any other invert. If anything, it feels more like an inverted dive-coaster train, if that makes sense. It definitely doesn’t run as refined/smooth, even since new. Banshee’s layout is fantastic, but the profiling of the elements is what bothers me (along with those trains). Add some traditional shaping and even if just a little “snap” back into the elements with the standard trains and it would be phenomenal, if not one of the best. I personally think inverts give a phenomenal back seat ride. While of course front always wins for visuals, being whipped around those snappy, old school elements in the back is something special.

It's time for CP to step up and offer a competitive wage for Halloweekends... I mean, even if it costs them $15hr plus for Sept/Oct to properly staff the place, so be it. They can get staffing... They just need to pay for it. No reason Friday's should be at half capacity anymore, or Sunday's be 'dialed down' due to any staffing issues. It's too damn busy and a peak time of year to have any excuses.

Another new homebrew on tap... This is my New England "Hazy" IPA. 7.1% ABV, hopped with CTZ, Galaxy and Nelson Sauvin.

Quite sure that yellow is the primer, pre-orange paint.

Made some smash burgers on homemade brioche buns, dressed with raw onion, lettuce and In-and-Out copycat sauce. Was incredible!

Some pics uploaded from our trip to Germany this summer... The first sets I have completed are just Cologne and Phantasialand. Other sets coming soon. 20190602_205624.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 20190602_205900.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 20190603_213918.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 20190603_222153.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 20190604_231448.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 20190603_092317.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 20190603_092553.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 20190603_134144.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 20190603_095945.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 20190603_192819.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 20190602_210114.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr 20190602_205850.jpg by Steven Franczek, on Flickr

Local news stations are now reporting on this, although no new information of course. https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/six-flags-reportedly-wants-to-merge-with-cedar-fair-which-owns-cedar-point-michigans-adventure

Now CF is skipping the B. Riley FBR Annual Consumer & Media Conference, which I assume, is to potentially avoid Q&A discussions on the potential acquisition? At least, based on what some others have said (I am not familiar enough to know what these things mean, if anything). https://seekingalpha.com/news/3503666-cedar-fair-said-skipping-conference-today?fbclid=IwAR1oIBbFSTNrjZF-yY9r96Y1Z0Qlqsaitso7lT650CUB8lhioOUTQQlXSgk#email_link

Hey, maybe Six Flags Ohio will come back!

I don't buy all right turns being a design flaw. Or any part of this a design flaw. Improper maintenance, absolutely. Personally, the fact that this happened on two of these ride types, at this age, hint to me that fatigue failure was the culprit. Usually, failures like this occur with little warning unless inspections are thorough (via one of the many non-destructive testing methods). That being said, we don't know good/bad this park is with their maintenance program so it's all just speculation. After 35 years and likely well over a million cycles, while the trains may have been designed properly for such service, over time any corrosion, material fractures unseen with the human eye, damage to any welds, etc... Could lead to such a failure. If there was a real flaw in design, it would have likely occurred well before 35 years of service. Unfortunate incident, but it likely was completely avoidable.

Some quick work with a few of my beers on tap that I have brewed. In order, top to bottom: German Pils Bamberg-Style Marzen Rauchbier Oktoberfestbier

I can see the sentimental attraction for those who grew up with the thing, but no real loss here personally. It was a matter of time. Rode it once every few visits and that was enough for me. It will be a far more exciting plot of land with something better utilizing the space within a few years.

I mean, you have to remember to put up a ride of this scale, they need land to position the cranes and other equipment to safely get the ride up. If you look up old construction photos of the beast, they also cleared the land immediate to the ride, naturally. It just had many, many years to re-grow back in. Also, they wouldn't need to clear as much land as it's just lumber versus having to stage large cranes capable of lifting very heavy components 300ft in the air! That being said, hopefully they will fill in the land again with new tree's and such once complete.

+1. The finale is uncomfortable for me. Just like Storm Chaser, which is the only other RMC Hybrid I've ridden. Yeah, I agree on Storm Chaser. After that corkscrew or barrel roll, whatever you want to call it, it is just uncomfortable and borderline annoying. Sucks, because again, the front half is so damn good! Same with SV... I really like the ride up until that final barrel roll... The finale completely just kills it for me. I don't like the feeling i'm on a mechanical bull with those abrupt, tiny bunny hops. It doesn't help that due to my height, my shins are also pinned on those shin restraints and after the few rides on media day I took, my legs were destroyed. Even aside from that though, i'd take longer sustained floaty air over the abrupt ejector any day of the week. No contest!