ECZenith

I mocked up the lift hill support structure tonight. It is a 45 degree handle which is as far as I will push the RCF system as it is new to me. The beginning of the coaster will feature a 180 degree clockwise banked, curving drop at 60 degrees, leading to a camelback hill (half the height of the lift) to provide enough speed to get through an Immelman. Please ignore the multiple colors. The entire support structure will be coated with glossy black plastic fusion paint once a successful test is done on the circuit. The supports are the only lego pieces to be painted, as I want this model to be pleasing to the eye, and it will be a permanent build. The track will be silver, black supports and red train. I am taking suggestions for a basic name that is more suited for an "amusement" vs. theme park. Looking up the 45* lift hill Lift hill, first drop and airtime hill We'll be rolling in no time! Balloon salesman

Legoland New England, or... A use for my thousands of lego bricks I've accumulated since childhood. I have been planning my lego theme park for weeks now since I received my coaster factory set. I built up the train several times to allow for maximum flex. The single 10 passenger train is fully loaded with minifigures hanging on for dear life! I hope all the pieces stay in place when I test run, might have to bust out the Kragle! The coaster's layout is subject to change based on physics and available parts. I am concerned the weight of the train might cause some changes to the layout. The park will also feature a walk through haunted house and a scrambler ride. Going forward, a lego trolley will run on a lateral piece of track behind the park. More updates to come! The completed 10 passenger train has some modern Premier inspiration. A rough idea of the layout of the coaster.

I would be extremely shocked to see Cyclone demolished, the park has replaced a lot of bents over the years and the layout is great as it is! What I want to see is that white superstructure repainted, the first drop brought back to its insane original form, and a couple of barrel rolls or a g stall. I imagine the red steel would pop nicely on bright white, with brand new blue trains with white stars. I just got the chills. 'Murica. Photo by Ken Denton, look at that lovely structure! I imagine that long flat piece will become an inversion.

It's so hard to get a good shot of the Heartbreaker element (well that's what I call it) and carousel turn leading to the inline twist. The best place to do so without going up the Eiffel Tower is at The Bat's station area. That steep carousel turn is intense! Jessica thought the barrel roll at the end was the best but I loved the Heart shaped twin inversions personally. Banshee truly is a monster of a coaster, as the train crests the hill, heads turn on the midway as a loud scream echoes from the summit. Those vertical loops make your feet go numb with intense positive gravitational manipulation. I hope this means MORE Bolliger/Mabillard inverts are coming in the future to the US. The new vests are very comfortable, and for someone who has been on at least 75% of America's beemers, Banshee smashed the competition. I like it a lot better than montu, the lack of a mid course gives this beauty some serious speed!

Song of the Banshee... I'd love it if some of these photos made it into the Park Index on TPR! Jessie and I are trying to talk out (aka me begging) to try Wonderland's Guardian Zombie mode, got to get the most out of this platinum pass.

Thanks guys! I am using my iphone 4 for photos except for CP where I used my girlfriends little digital camera. No filters or lenses just an iphone, a cheap camera from walmart and some sunshine and good timing is all I need. I seem to have forgotten to post the Banshee pics! Let me fix that!

Thanks! It took me 8 hrs to get from Cape Cod Mass. To the international border, driving through the night on rte. 90. An additional 2 hrs to Vaughan from Niagara Falls, 6 hrs to Cedar Point, 3 hrs to Kings Island, 7 hrs to Dorney, and a miserable 8 hrs home thanks to NYC traffic. I got to see the new WTC tower which was cool. I think next year we are going to go down South to Virginia and the Carolinas, pending some future BGE and Cedar Fair announcements.

I really want to believe that SFNE will get an RMC makeover for Cyclone! Cyclone has always had an interesting layout and first drop. Lots of wide turns for over banks. I hope we get the inverting first drop like MexiMedusa. I can see it now, bright white structure, bright red rails and some shining new American Flag rolling stock. Steel Cyclone in 2015? Yesssss!

Dorney Park photos

Kings Island photos

Day 3 & 4: We travelled back South and back into the states via Detroit. Since we had the new platinum passes, we decided to make Cedar Point a pit stop on the way to Kings Island. New to us in 2014 was Skyhawk which was closed last year. Really great ride! My first giant S&S Screamin' Swing. I can't believe some parks charge for the little one when some parks have superior free versions. No lines to speak of at Cedar Point, Kings Island, and Dorney Park except for 15 mins at Maverick, and 10 mins at the Beast and Diamondback. We saw the Diamondback guy in his natural habitat, I believe his tshirt said he was at over 30,000 rides! Do you post here on TPR DIamondback guy? We rode Maverick a few times as it is our favorite ride in the park and usually has a 2 hour long line. Banshee was unbelievably intense for such a big B&M and is easily my favorite inverted coaster out of Montu, Alpengeist, Raptor, Talon, or any BTR clone. The theming is nice and Im happy to see Cedar Fair adding more than usual this year to their new attractions. Leviathan was our favorite of the trip and ended up being my favorite coaster of all time dethroning Bizarro and Maverick with its intense, relentless speed, smooth ride, comfortable seats and beautiful colors. I hope the rumors of Carowinds getting a B&M gigaspeed are true, Leviathan blew me away. Canada's got a real gem! Thanks for reading the report, and hopefully you all have the same luck as I did on this trip with queue times!

Part 2: Canada's Wonderland We processed our platinum passes the evening before, we were a week shy of missing the Nighttime water show. The park wasn't very crowded and all of the rides were open including my beloved sledgehammer. Most coasters had a 5 minute wait, B&Ms were walk-ons with all three sets of rolling stock running on both circuits. We entered the park an hour early with the platinum passes. Guardian and The Fly were open early for passholders. We waited 45 minutes for WMG even with the early entry. We only got one ride in on it but the line quickly grew to 1.25 later in the day so we feel we lucked out. I loved the ride but it was very short. The secret ending took me by surprise but I wish we had more of a fight with the dragon to make up for the short track length. I love how the ride simulates moving upward and downward up the staircases. Tip for new riders: Hit all the gold coins the enemies drop and hit those gold statues! Most of the statues take three hits to break completely apart and they will give you a lot of points. I got high score between the 8 passengers in the vehicle, on my first try. I hope to go back up to Canada in October to see the zombie version. I can see this new ride system having A LOT of potential at other properties of Cedar Fair. If I had any input on design of these rides, I wish I could see throwbacks to the old CP dark rides: Dinosaur shooter at Knott's, Pirate shooter at CP... I can dream!

You're welcome! Yeah, I heard Nightmares is the best followed by Screamers, also in Clifton Hill. The rest of them the locals say were pretty cheesy. I would love to hear from some local peeps how the Screamers maze is, and who the hell is tony the tongue?

Hello friends and fellow adrenaline seekers! Thanks for checking out the report and photos. Here is what you'll find in this report: June 14: Nyctophobia in Niagara: Cross the northern border with us and visit beautiful Niagara Falls and what just might be one of the most terrifying haunted mazes to ever curse the planet: Nightmares: Fear Factory. June 15: The Leviathan's Lair: Sean and Jess venture further North to obtain our Cedar Fair Platinum Passes, our key to the city for our favorite chain of theme parks. Sean picks up a new #1 coaster for the first time in years! June 16: Get to The Point!: We return to the Mecca of amusement parks for an Intamin feast of fun. June 17: Song of The Banshee: A hot spring day in Kings Island to check out the new girl in town. June 19: Do I make you Dorney, baby?: After a long day of eastward travel, we enjoy a rainy day and an empty park. Nyctophobia in Niagara Our adventure begins Friday the 13th at 8pm. We filled up the Camry and began the long drive to Niagara Falls from Cape Cod. We arrived in Canada at about 4:45 a.m. and felt like we had this natural wonder of the world all to ourselves! Besides the obvious draw to a pretty pair of waterfalls, we had business to complete in Niagara Falls, which is also home to a very large collection of haunted walk-through attractions, what I call a "sensory maze." A popular trend with walk-through mazes has been the "pitch black" haunted house which I am sure many of you have tried at Halloween. Previous to this trip I experienced two of these completely dark mazes where you need your hands to find your way out: Pitch Black HHN XI/2001, and Barret's Haunted Mansion's BLACKOUT night where monsters grab you, spray you with water, steal your tiny glowstick, etc. I can tell you that NIGHTMARES: FEAR FACTORY on Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls is the scariest maze I have ever done. I would literally need at least an hour to calm down before going back in, but I did complete it with my girlfriend despite the horror. What makes it so bad, you ask? Avoid this next paragraph to avoid spoilers. At past all dark haunts, there are actors bumbling around in the dark either touching you, yelling at you, or misdirecting you, which can be startling... but people/actors can be somewhat "trusted" in the dark not to hurt you. Nightmares runs without actors, but rather machines to torment you. When you are alone in the dark, waiting to step on that next pressure pad to activate the next machine, your heart will be pounding through your chest and you just might piss your pants. The Nightmares building appears tiny, sharing a façade with a restaurant, however the building is long, and consists of three true floors, with ramps and bridges inside that make it impossible to estimate where the hell you are in the building. We are the first victims of the day and arrive promptly at opening at 11:00 a.m. We climb up to the second floor and buy our tickets for $15.00 CD ($10.00 online!) Not bad when crappy mazes in my hometown run you $25 US. The host tells us to enter the door when a beat up old traffic light turns green. He tells us to follow the red light and scream the safety word if we need to leave. We are warned cell phones and lights of any kind are not permitted. Fair enough, green light! We step through the threshold and begin our 20 minute walk which seemed like an eternity with the loss of your primary sense. Up two lighted staircases (visible from the street) we approach a door that says "Do not enter" across it. We push the door open and enter a lighted room that contains a couple of caskets and a big red button. The kind of button Homer Simpson would push to meltdown Springfield, I imagine. There is no sign telling me not to push, there is no sign telling me to push it... I push it. The lights go out and all me and my girlfriend can see in the pitch black darkness is a dim red LED light on the other side of the room. On this upper level, you will be subjected to random blasts of pressurized air, static electricity and microseconds of bright light, accompanied by very loud sounds. The audio suggests barking dogs and chainsaws surround you, the machines poking you from the walls and tentacles dropping from the ceiling will back up these suspicions. The ramps up and down are soft at times, and you will sink into them. Sometimes they shift and move, and you can't tell if you've gone the wrong way. There is a part in the beginning of the maze where you must crawl on your hands an knees as the ceiling is extremely low. A dead end in the maze closes in on you and you have no choice but to wait for something to happen. All you can hear is your beating heart, and then the sound of an engine turning on as airbags inflate and smother you. Just when you think you are stuck, a red light turns on to a new exit. Sometimes a red light will go out after you hit a dead end and turn on elsewhere adding to the "frustration". A truck's headlights come charging out of the darkness and vanish. A bridge you are crossing collapses underneath you, and that's just the first half. A lighted staircase seems to be the exit, but another door on the lower level of the building lets us know we are just getting started. The very end is full of surprises and your photo is taken at the very end at the worst part. (see photo of ticket) To experience this attraction, you will need: $15.00 A pair of titanium testicles or equivalent Anxiety medication I do not recommend this attraction for: Nyctophobiacs, Claustrophobiacs, Necrophobiacs You must be at least 8 years of age but I think this would scare almost any child It is not handicapped accessible Check out these hilarious reactions: http://www.nightmaresfearfactory.com/pics-and-video It was EXCELLENT. Terrifyingly fun and they change it up all the time! I always follow park rules and never film inside the mazes, but someone else did... Oooooooo. Ahhhhhhhhhh. YES! The Golden Grill of course... Jessica is a really good sport about my love for haunted mazes, she loves em too! Stairs lead to ticket sales. Jurassic World mini golf, also the title of next year's Dino-Flick. Canadians apparently LOVE haunted houses! So do I! There are a TON of them here! Here's the original... Ripley's Odditorium Don't let this modest façade deceive you. This attraction is EFFING scary and bigger than it looks. An acceptable amount of water... Can't help but think of Bruce Almighty, "Back to you....." The Skylon Tower at sunrise The Rainbow Bridge connects Niagara Falls to Asgard, Earth, and other realms. New for 2014: The Runaway Train to Davey Jones' Locker, manufactured by Golden Horse. The Home of the Whopper... I mean... The House of Frankenstein On The US side, you can ride the Maid of The Mist to get close to The Falls. Canada has "The Hornblower" hehe This stuff will be great when it opens in 6 hours... Having arrived very early in the morning, we walked the gardens surrounding the falls, so pretty. Ahhhhhh.... OoOoOooo! Looks like two of them didn't scream loud enough. There's also other stuff besides pretty waterfalls! Passports to adventure 120,000 have screamed the safety word to be relieved from this madness. Proof. If you are in the area and do this maze to the finish, I dare you to prove it and show your card! Screaming Tunnels: Anyone have any info on this one? And now... Nightmares: Fear Factory, this is a "before" photo as you can see I am happy and calm. Having finished up at The Falls, we are heading to Canada's Wonderland!

I'm about 30 mins from Sandusky. Is there anyone at the park today, how is Mavericks wait time?

I hope WMG is a success because I am loving what the new management is doing with the Cedar Fair Parks, adding dark ride or refurbishing their old gems at Knott's. As with any prototype, if The Guardian is successful we would likely see CF purchase more from Triotech, with possibilities for greater capacity , more elaborate theming and I'm hoping each one of the rumored creations has a different story. Just day dreaming but what I would like to see is... CP build a classic haunted house in the Coliseum (as rumored) or a throwback dark ride to their old pirate ride. KI has the old crypt building but it is quite small for a dark ride. Knott's should do a dinosaur ride right where the old one was at the arcade. KD would have a hard time squeezing something else into Volcano but a jungle themed dark ride would be cool. I see great potential with this concept and as an avid marksman I'm hoping to get my picture up at the exit. Wonderland has always been one of my very favorite parks and I just love Canada and Canadians in general, so looking forward to this weekend!

Do you have a Cedar Fair platinum pass? There are some days where you can go into the parking hour early with a platinum pass to ride wonder Mountain Guardian or other select rides. That's what I'm doing this Sunday so I can ride it without waiting in line.

I'll be at Kings Island Tuesday. I haven't been to Kings Island since son of beast was brand-new and I think since two new B&Ms have sprouted I have to check them out! Which lines get longest , any rides down for maintenance?

I will be at the park Saturday night and Sunday for my first visit in a decade! Are there any rides that are closed for repairs? Which queue lines get longest, and any advice for someone who hasn't been in a while? What kind of crowds might I expect? I'm really hoping Sledge is running, looks interesting and I love their flats. Would like to add this one to the list. I love their Mondial stuff !

I agree Spinebuster would be a nice experiment for Cedar Fair and would bring a new coaster to an improving lineup at wonderland. I'm hoping Ghost rider and Brown Streak get the RMC touch one of these years.

I was so very dissapointed that I can't ride my #1 coaster since the ridiculous restraints were added. I hope the rumored overhaul means new or refurbished trains with better lap restraints. It seems like every other train a tall or bigger guy was given the walk of shame. The very worst part was when I spoke with a manager they admit the test seat doesn't work and the stupid thing is still in front of the ride to dissapoint those who try the test seat , wait in line an hour only to find out they can't squeeze their legs into the train. I don't blame SFNE for Goliath's rough prototype train and know they had good intentions but it really is quite jarring now. The Sky Screamer area looks great and the park is looking good, but I'd rather go two years without a new ride just to see SRoS revamped and get those high school drama department cutouts away. There are new Superman movies in the pipeline maybe we can get rid of this seldom used, little known villain. It has also bugged me that there are DC rides on the other end of the park when there is a designated area for them. I understand if my longer legs keep me from riding again, I'd rather be able to ride it again but at least adjust the test seat so it serves a purpose. I'll be on Millennium Force next week and will fit just fine and know I will have a good time. I will get a season pass for Six Flags again when I see some positive changes, in the meantime there's always my reliable Cedar Fair parks.

Gaycoasterguy, you are correct. Thunderbolt will run three cars at a time.

Goliath is still quite rough even with the new train. The linear seating has made for a better wait time overall since guests aren't confused by the previously offset seats.

Went to the park yesterday from 1 pm to 8pm Ride: Tomahawk walkon Houdini walkon Sky screamer 45 mins Goliath x2 30 mins Dark knight 10 mins Bizzaro had a 10 min wait but... I could not ride Bizzaro, ride operators said my legs were too long. I used the test seat three times and got the yellow light to indicate it was safe to ride. When I got to the station I was turned away. Mind you I rode this coaster many times as sros with no problems and every other ride in the park without any size problems. The operators rudely told me the test seat is useless and there was nothing that could be done about it. They told me they have a new policy this year where after three tries at putting the bar down the guest will be turned away. They only tried once. Goliath ride operator was openly swearing in front of kids while checking restraints and the restaurant I went to forgot to bring our food and we had to ask for it several times after paying over 50 bucks. Positive notes: sky screamer was awesome. Goliaths new train makes the wait much shorter. Batman the dark knight has a great crew and the line was much shorter this year. Just looking forward to my trip to the Midwest now ... I'll be the first to admit that New England is home to ride people who lack courtesy and I'm very dissapointed in my home park.

I'm on my way to SFNE right now. I will post a full report and photos upon my return. I'm especially interested in the orange flags and cut markers on Cyclone. If the rumors are true we may be seeing TWO RMC projects at my two home parks. I would love to see new life breathed into the old gal.