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I'm sorry guys, this is getting to be so incredibly embarrassing...our web host fails at life and never fixes problems as they rise with the server....which results in BGEscape seeming completely unprofessional, experiencing absurd amounts of downtime. We will try to fix it as soon as possible, but it depends on if we can get in touch with our retard-for-a-host. Rest assured, the problems with BGEscape are out of our hands completely, and if we had control over it, this downtime would cease to exist. We apologize for the site being about as reliable as a freaking rocket coaster...

Got another update for you guys from today's hard hat tour... We have images of the trains up close and personal from inside the station! Check it out HERE

Oh, the site is working for me Hmmm, well I know the forums are down...and if you try going into them then backing up to the mainpage, the mainpage doesn't work anymore. Anyways, we're working on getting the forums back up. In the meantime, try clearing your cookies and the mainpage should work for you...hopefully. That's what I did anyways.

Be sure to check back at BGEscape tomorrow when we release some pretty exciting information pertaining to Griffon that might involve you! And yes, Busch Gardens is definitely strict on bringing cameras onto rides. This new bag policy is certainly a pain, though, and I really hope the inevitable wave complaints forces management to rethink it...

The new skyline will definitely take some getting used to for me. It is certainly overwhelming, but still...I miss some of the great views of Alpengeist we used to have. Ah well, they will live on in multiple photographs, I suppose haha.

You guys can see more Griffon photos HERE as well. Hope you all enjoy them! The park was great as always, but the cold was pretty annoying haha. You can expect another update this Tuesday as well, this time from on-site

Sometimes I think coaster enthusiasts are a little harsh, myself included, but we are entitled to our opinion. Sometimes bashing a coaster to death while riding it can be just as fun as praising it. My friends and I have a blast completely tearing apart Kings Dominion, and personally I'd rather recognize how crappy of a park it is rather than be ignorant and pretend it is something that it's not.

From a distance, Griffon looks gray...not blue. There is no humanly way to minimize its presence, haha. But I guess Busch Gardens knows how to say the right things to please Kings Mill residents. Anyways, the hard hat tour was amazing and I'm glad all of you guys enjoyed the photo update! Also, I think I saw somebody asked the exact length of the drop on the last page. To answer your question, Bolliger said that from rail to rail, it is indeed 205 feet. I know, we all thought it may be a tad bit longer with the dive under the bridge into that trench, but it turns out it is actually 205 feet.

The removal of Steel Venom leaves sort of a sour taste in your mouth, though...they're removing an Intamin and leaving two Vekomas, a heap-of-junk Dinn woodie, and a painful CCI with blaspheming Gerstlaur trains. If they are doing this all in preparation for the park's long-awaited and much-deserved hyper-coaster, then I will forgive CF, but at the moment it seems like they're throwing in the towel

I don't think it will be that much of an upgrade to merit shutting the ride down for modifications...seems like a huge waste

My question is...why on earth is Cedar Fair tearing this already lacking park apart? Steel Venom was the only other decent coaster at the park besides Dominator of course

Amazing photographs, thanks for posting!!!

A hardhat tour is confirmed for late next week, you all can expect a thorough photo update from BGEscape. Stay tuned, we have some pretty amazing stuff up our sleeves for the next few months...

^The only reason I can think of is that a lot of coaster enthusiasts are interested to see how Cedar Fair deals with their newest acquisitions, and since KI seems to be receiving X-flight, I guess it is a topic of interest. But I agree, X-flight was an average coaster with bad capacity. It doesn't "deserve" this attention, but under the circumstances it makes sense. Plus, as crappy as X-flight is, Geauga Lake is still more or less a major park and whenever there are large changes to a park's line-up, there's going to be some chatter

? Since when have we come to the conclusion that all wooden coasters get rough? There are plenty of old woodies that have stood the test of time and stayed smooth. And GCI's Millennium Flyers have proven to run very smooth even after several seasons of operation. Anyways, back on topic: Renegade looks to be shaping into one great GCI creation. I hope to ride it next season

Meh, at the rate they're going, this ride will be done before Memorial Day weekend. If the weather holds up (today it was close to 80 degrees!) then I'd say we're looking at a late April opening

That's terrible! Damn shame...

^ I think I was too busy cradling my broken ribs to remember to kick the train haha. That ride is a hunk of junk and the trick-track is brutal. Another incredibly rough coaster: Hurricane at Myrtle Beach Pavilion. I loved the ride's furious layout, but it was a horrendously rough coaster

I love Kennywood and their ingenuity. They take a small installation and make it a great one. They certainly know how to create hype! This should be a very nice addition to the already stellar Kennywood line-up

How on earth can you call Tatsu a "steel mess!?!?" I'm looking forward to that coaster the most out of any others I have a chance of riding in 2007!

Yes, a member on the BGEscape forums that has consistently been getting us small photo updates reported yesterday that the drop is indeed complete. He's proven to be a reliable source in the past, so I have no doubt his report is true this time too! We'll be attending the hardhat tour which will likely be schedule sometime in the next few weeks, so you all can expect an extensive update from that event!

I'm almost positive the events have been blown out of proportion. Tigger probably patted the kid on the head and the over-protective and gold-digger parents blew up in a flurry of acusations. In my personal experience, I've seen first-hand how situations in parks can be taken overboard. One visit to Kings Dominion back in the summer of '05, one of our friends decided to run up to "Little Bill" and pat him on the head. We walked away laughing, thinking nothing of this innocent act, but security followed us and soon surrounded our friend. They threatened him with expulsion from the park for "striking" a cast-member and even brought up the possibility of "discrimination" for the plain fact that the "Little Bill" character is African American. They let him go with a warning, but the event left a sour taste in my mouth for Kings Dominion

I don't really see anything wrong with this business move. Six Flags needs to start taking vital steps in repairing their train-wreck of a business, and selling some superfluous and expendable parks is definitely one of these steps. I do NOT see Magic Mountain as expendable just yet. I think it would have been a huge mistake to sell that park. If they can turn that place around, I'm sure they will be very happy they didn't sell it off.

I though TTD was overrated but better than Kingda Ka by a long-shot. And I was definitely just happy it ran long enough for our group to ride the freakin' thing. Definitely thrilling, but not a well-rounded experience

I really don't see why you have to be so cynical towards this topic...