ECZenith

I'm not surprised at all. I've been through this safari at least a dozen times over the years and saw many people in front of me feeding the giraffes and other wildlife cheetos and such. I remember the monkeys loved to rip antennas off of cars and would run off with them screaming in victory. Good times.

To those who do not understand the significance of the MCBR being where it is... The end of the ride may be a bit lackluster to you but think of the positives: The pacing of this ride will be amazing, it won't lose alot of speed assuming the ride isn't overtrimmed. Gatekeeper will likely run all three of those beautiful gold trains making the capacity optimal and the queue line keep moving. I see it as a very good thing!

I think what I like most about this layout is the Immelman to camelback combo, that's going to be one hell of a one-two punch to start things off. So far my most anticipated coaster of '13.

You mean will it open at all this season? Disaster Transport is still not completely demo'ed and Space Spiral still stands in Gatekeeper's path. No vertical construction has startedso there's no way it will be running until next Spring.

It looks better than I expected layout-wise! What a nice way to welcome guests to Cedar Point, I'm sure it will be another thrilling, smooth, and reliable monster from B&M.

Wow, I was very surprised to see that it looks like Universal Orlando is getting Transformers! Looks like work is progressing quickly. I have not yet ridden the Hollywood version but I hear it's amazing, how lucky are we to have two of these types of rides at neighboring parks? Long live the dark ride! http://screamscape.com/html/usf-bld44_0.htm

I drove past this place at least once a week when I lived in Anaheim. I believe the park had a policy where you had to enter with a small child. I went to grab the mouse credit one day but was denied... so went down the street to Knott's for some Xceleration.

As are we! I love your choice in coaster and your schematics indicate a high level of skill, I am positive this project is going to turn out beautiful!

I think Disneyland's Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy deserves some credit. The music, the projections, and the already awesome ride make for a truly unique haunted roller coaster experience. It's not often you see a coaster frighten riders (in a dark ride sense) That last ghost that jumps out right after the photo spot gets everyone every time.

I saw a woman denied on Harry Potter because of her breast size. I felt really bad for her, it must have been embarrassing. I believe they have since made modifications to the seats or restraints. I often see larger guests turned away from Bizarro at SFNE. Having been a ride op at Disneyland for 5 years, it was always hard for me to turn away riders that could not get the restraint to the safe position, especially after they waited an hour in the hot sun.

Gisco, I believe there are 6 episodes total. I was going through the channels and couldn't believe I was seeing Robb on TV! That must have been fun to be a part of the entire series. It is good to see a new batch of this type of show coming around again, hopefully there will be even more episodes.

Half of the coasters in Japan have bizarre layouts... Long straight, flat sections of track and rampy drops with low angles are common, yet they still look like awesome rides.

CoasterGuy, I can completely see your point and there's no need to duck. I have a feeling this coaster will do at least one unique trick that will make it special. It's almost a given the ride will have keyholes as speculated, it seems to be a major feature for WingRiders. Since everyone else is speculating and wishing as enthusiasts should... I'm hoping this ride has more of a Wild Eagle-esque layout, with the traditional style drop versus the slower, inverting drop, just seems like more fun. I'm also hoping the ride will introduce an inversion new to the wingrider concept, like a batwing or a cobra roll. We know it's going to be at least 145' tall (from the Mantis teaser) and I can't imagine it would be much bigger or the park may have compared its size to Magnum or a larger ride. Wild Eagle stands just over 200' with a 135' drop due to the terrain, a coaster like this with a drop into a trench or tunnel would be amazing with these trains... I can dream. With this project being rumored to fly over the gate, I'm willing to bet it will stand out and be a nice piece of eye-candy as you enter, whether or not they theme it thoroughly will be interesting to see. With all this speculation of names themed to gargoyles, gatekeeper, monsters, etc. I am just as excited to find out the name and story of this ride as I am to see the layout!

Spectacular doesn't even begin to describe it. I've always been curious of the quality of the interiors of the large, portable dark rides. Does anyone have any more photos of these? Even more of the exteriors, they are so impressive, I saw in another thread, a portable suspended dark ride! Germany has some amazing portable rides, absolutely impressive.

I'm glad no one was seriously hurt. Disappointing to hear the mechanics tried to right the passenger cabin before it could be inspected, especially in such a public manner. It could only make things worse.

I love elephants! Thanks for sharing the pics And I'm almost a 100% those are lychee fruits, I've always wanted to try it.

Isn't the racial slur guido just as derogatory as a homophobic slur? One slur doesn't or shouldn't cancel out the other, it demonstrates hate regardless... Some Italians find that word just as offensive as calling an African American the n word. I have had a bad habit of removing linecutters from line myself, but of course it has lead to some serious problems, made that mistake for the last time at GADv in line for Kingda Ka. One former US Marine (myself) vs. a squad of 10 wanna-be gangsters inevitably didn't end well. I recommend if you are cut by a scumbag in line for a ride, in particular Bizarro, just report it to the fastpass person at the end of the queue, 90% of the time they will be thrown out. You don't want to risk ruining what could be an otherwise great day by having a confrontation with someone with little to no morals or respect for others. Let security do their jobs, although I think they could do a better job at parks by actually using the queue lifeguard chairs for security every day. Often times these lifeguard chairs find no other use other than a place for people to stick their gum or write their classy graffiti...

I don't believe my eyes! Kudos to Rocky Mountain and SDC for unleashing such an interesting concept. I'm sure this will be the first of many modern era wood/steel hybrid coasters to feature inversions. It's been fun watching the prototype take shape.

I personally doubt we will ever see another one. Many people find them painful, and their load times make them unattractive to potential buyers. They were a fun gimmick, and I personally don't have a problem with them but I'd much prefer a sitdown or floorless train. I'd expect a major flock of Wingriders on the way in the coming years, though.

Pat, a recent guest survey at SFNE asked parkgoers which they prefer... a B&M style coaster or a LIM launched coaster, so you never know.

I just rode Canobie's double-corkscrew Arrow on Saturday and it's not very rough at all and still very fun to ride, even getting a new blue/teal paint-job to replace the fading yellow. Here's a couple shots. This version drops, banks right into a double corkscrew , no loop. Canobie Corkscrew on the lift The first of two corkscrews

I love that you were able to take a trip out there and show us some more progress. The facade looks amazing, me and my girlfriend can't wait to walk through the haunted house this fall! From one dark ride fan to another, thank you Wild Bill! This is going to be so awesome to have closeby!

Saturday, 8/4/2012 Canobie Lake Park Veronica and I decided to check out Canobie this weekend, opting for Saturday, in hopes the passing thunderstorm would scare away the crowds. (We were successful) First off, we only had to pay $23.00 each because the park offers an after 5 pm discount. We were able to ride Untamed right at 5 pm, and then most of the rides were shut down for an hour and a half. As predicted, the park began to empty out and we waited out the storm in line for Mine of Lost Souls. I'll let the photos do the talking, I apologize for the mixed quality of the photos, weather was disagreeable. We arrived to the park right at 5 pm, and saved ourselves a few bucks, and avoided the major afternoon crowds. We headed right for Untamed, wait time was about 10 minutes. I must be dreaming... a Eurofighter an hour from my house? Looking up the beyond-vertical first drop. The sharp angle of descent is my favorite part of the ride, scared the hell out of Veronica though, she only rode once. I took advantage of the singl erider line, love it! The loop is taken quite slowly, providing a moment of hang time. The cutback element connects the loop to the back half of the ride. Speeding through the barrel roll. Untamed's beautiful station features antler chandeliers. This year, Canobie has tribute concerts for MJ, Elvis, and now Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. Behold this creepy statue at the front entrance... And now for my own tribute... a tribute to the cute themed food stands of Canobie. Clearly Chris Sawyer visited Canobie before creating Roller Coaster Tycoon. Little touches like this give Canobie its unique charm. Eeeks! Thunderstorm! Time to hide out at one of my favorite dark rides outside of Disney, the Mine of Lost Souls! Two-bench electric mine carts are your transportation for this great dark ride, themed wall to wall! No cardboard cutouts in the dark here folks! Down the mineshaft into the dark. At this part, there is a waterfall in front of you, as your cart approaches the lights go out and the waterfall turns off just as the last second, cool trick! Somehow, at the end of the ride we end up in Ancient Egypt, even the ride ops have no idea why. Staying on the subject of haunts, here is Blood Shed, getting ready for Scream Fest! Canobie is busy growing their corn maze Terror in the corn! Rawr gimme some candy! The little waterpark closed early due to the electric storm. Veronica loves the corkscrew so we hit that next, it looks cool with its new paint scheme. Arrow on the lift at twilight, gotta love it... Corkscrew corkscrewing through the corkscrew. This area of the park is my favorite, the log flume winds through tall pine trees. An acceptable amount of water. Boston Tea Party, not so much... Here is Turkish Twist, one of several remaining Rotors in existence. Canobie has a GREAT selection of flat rides, including Flyers themed to Roosters! This one is for my flyers fans. Pirata, a classic swinging ship, the park also has a Huss frisbee (not pictured) Da Vinci's Dream , Zierer wave swinger, beautifully decorated The sun is going down and the cumulonimbus clouds have gone away, time to ride Cannonball, when the tracks are wet she flies! I love this coaster, I love my country, therefore I love these trains! Cannonball is an absolute airtime machine! Veronica's favorite coaster ever. Oooo look what I see! Canobie's 9:30 fireworks were great! Absolutely perfect day at Canobie, I want to thank the friendly efficient staff for that!

Commando, this is amazing work! Can't wait to see your future projects, I'm impressed!

I agree with televised, and I don't think Fiesta Texas deserved the tongue lashing it got. Working at a major theme park for 5 years I was asked countless times by guests to speak with salaried management or even the park president over the most miniscule things. Some people just come to theme parks and can't wait to complain about how awful of a day they were having. I also don't think it's fair to say SF management doesn't know what they are doing. These are the same managers that have been very kind to us enthusiasts, especially during coaster events. Six Flags is a major corporation with more parks than any other chain, and I for one am satisfied with the work they do for the price I pay for admission.