Ccron10

This past Sunday wasn't too bad. Skyrush had a 20 minute wait at opening, but later it died town to a 5 minute wait. Everything in the back was pretty much 5 minutes or less and Fahrenheit was about 30 minutes. These were probably even less later on.

All the category brands are in sections of six inches. Kisses is 36" to 41", Reese's is 42" to 47", and etc. Part of me is thinking that this isn't the reason unless they could make it a little different to accommodate the 42" to 47" Reese's category.Your guess is as good as mine on this, but I do know that they are a little more restrictive on the larger riders as a friend of mine, who can easily ride in the normal seats, was unable to ride in this row. The side and backrests for this row are sitting perfectly fine back in the transfer area behind the station. It looks like they just replaced the older seats with a newer one. It was fun to ride in and was something different than the upholstered cars that I've only ridden a GCI in.

There was a Fun Spot White Lightning seat on Lightning Racer today. It's on the third row from last on Lightning and while it seemed to give a slightly rougher ride (probably due to the less padding), it still offered a great as usual ride! It even has the Fun Spot America logo on the seat back and White Lightning logo on the arms.

Yep, still hasn't changed. Good to hear that it is busier during the weekends. But still for a late August weekday, feel it really should be busier than it was as schools in the area start up the following week. Still the same.

After the day I had, I kind of feel like it needs something. While GAdv, and HP have been having 45 minute waits for their coasters this past week, everything I rode at Dorney either was a walk-on or a one train wait except for Thunder Canyon. WWK was also the same way with Snake Pit having a 10 minute wait for Python Plummet's slides and a two to three-person wait for Constrictor and Boa Blaster. The other slides were walk-ons. This time of the season is when families try to get one last vacation in before kids start heading back to school and while it isn't a destination park like Hershey, I am kind of surprised at how empty it was during this time of the year as it should be a little more busier.

While parks do somewhat keep the coaster enthusiasts in mind, much of their attendance is family and teenagers going on vacation or spending the day off at a park. I am sure not many people even know that there is a 300-foot tall one of these up in Canada and people will come running to this place to ride something with a taller drop than how Windseeker is tall. I think this is a great, solid addition to the park and I really like the idea of them doing an entrance very similar in concept to Cedar Point's (seen on the Bird's Eye View video). Kudos to them!

Unless they planned ahead and poured the deep foundation required for those rides, I see a GCI coaster being more feasible than a Windseeker. They need quite a bit of concrete to keep the tower anchored and if that circular pad doesn't have any, they would need to break it all up, remove it, and start all over fresh. I have been hearing quite a bit from people that the contract for DA is almost up and considering prices to enter it have been getting cheaper, it would kind of make sense. I did overhear two guys from the local township municipality two years ago talking about Dorney adding a wooden coaster, but they didn't go into details about it.

Worst Customer Service?--- Depends by park. I'm sure parks are far worse Highest Parking fees--- And other parks charge more for admission Higher than Average food prices--- The theme park standard from what I've seen Ignoring families--- Bugs Bunny Boomtown, Thomas Town, Wiggles World, Bugs Bunny National Park, Need I go on? Horrible Ride Operations--- I've seen worse and read worse TR's that would make Superman at SFDK look like Goliath at SFOG Place to put goo--- Can't argue there Penny Squeezing gimmicks like tube rentals--- Cedar Fair does that too Cheap advertising--- Yeah, But have been reduced in recent years 1. Mount Olympus maybe? If so, then Six Flags might be close-second from my encounter earlier this season at Gadv. 2. Please name me one park that costs more than $25 to park on a crummy pothole-filled lot with no shuttle service. Cedar Fair is $15, Hershey is $12, Disney is $15(?), and Universal is $17. 3. Chicken Strips and burgers can only go so far. Go to a Cedar Fair park and you can at least get a Subway sandwich or some crabfries. 4. I wouldn't see them ignoring families, but more like not balancing out their rides correctly and permitting crude souvenirs (seeing a shirt that says "I like it on top" isn't exactly showing an image of family friendly). 5. True, but I have seem some pretty crappy operations at Six Flags parks, #1 worst being at SFOT for me. 6. Yes as it seems like they are going more towards efficiency than guest satisfaction with the loose-articles policy. Thankfully not all of the parks have this. This policy is in effect on certain rides in Cedar Fair, but that is more of the way the ride is designed than trying to make money. 7. I think Water Country has tube rentals, but I know Dorney doesn't do it for it's water park or CP's Soak City or KD's. Not sure about the others though. 8. I really doubt that considering SF still ad-wraps their trains with Kias and Twix, hangs giant banners on their wood coasters, play more advertisements than interesting content on their television system,interrupt menu boards in the restaurants for skittles ads and stick a brand logo on each building in the park. If it is better now, I'd hate to have seen it when it was when you said. lol Six Flags need to invest more into up-keep to keep guests returning than into mega thrill rides which attract crowds for one year and they fizzle away the following year and do the bare minimum to take care of them. Maybe they should take a few notes at what Cedar Fair is currently doing?

My front yard was almost literally a river during that storm. This was the second horrible storm that the area got this week as Tuesday's knocked down quite a few trees and large branches around the park and area. Supposedly the park didn't close so I'm guessing the water quickly drained out. This area is kind of in a valley as there's a hill to go down to get to the gate and a hill to go up to get into the park and a flood wall next to the creek.

I 2nd that about Flying Turns. If you want to have one last ride on it before the end of the night, make sure you get in line for it no later than an hour before park closing as they shut the line off early. I'm going on Friday, but I think I'll ask them how they go about determining what time they close the line off at.

Looks like what's coming in 2015 to Hersheypark will be announced sooner than later. From the park's Facebook : The Hummelstown Sun:

Part of me kind of wonders if that is Hershey's Sky Ride a little as it seems like the storage areas are the opposite, the railings on the cars are different, and a few minor supports are on sections outside the station. I guess it is possible that some modifications were made upon moving. Dream World seems to be a nice family park that may have had some Disney inspiration. Nice photos!

The park is offering a picnic buffet on July 4th from 5pm to 7pm for $14.75. Tickets for it can be bought online, at Hospitality Services the day of the event and Pioneer Frontier Catering. The town usually puts on a good fireworks show that can be seen perfectly in the Midway America and Boardwalk area. If you are going that day, expect traffic around the park. http://www.hersheypa.com/things_to_do/event_calendar.php?id=13818&__utma=31210534.1968609211.1401588749.1402891142.1403576295.5&__utmb=31210534.2.10.1403576295&__utmc=31210534&__utmx=-&__utmz=31210534.1403576295.5.3.utmcsr=facebook.com|utmccn=(referral)

Dunno if it had anything to do with riding Hades 360 two days before, but I rode Mean Streak a good three times while I was there with two of them being in the back or close to the back and I didn't think the ride was horribly rough minus a small portion just before the MCBR. If anything the rest of the ride seemed like not much really happened. Tear it down? Nope, but at least keep on maintaining it to getting Rocky Mtn. in to redo the layout wouldn't hurt. I'm going back next month so we'll see if my attitude changes about it.

Part Numero Dos: Before I rode Titan, I have always heard mixed reviews about it to almost nothing at all. Kind of makes me wish Giovanola didn't go out of business and made a few more of their rides. The water park is somewhere down that way. Looks pretty good as well. Time for some Schwarzkopf love. Kind of wished it was open, but we would at least get the Whizzer credit later in the trip. The incredible helix of high g's. Nice roof though. Yosemitie Sam could use a more refreshed boat ride. On the plus side, it did offer a good relief from the horrible heat. After a good 15 minute wait for the train (which consisted of watching Dennis the Menace cartoons on the TVs in the station), we hopped on and traveled over to Johnny Rocket's. This would be home-base for the afternoon. No photo of me holding a "100th credit" sign. This is about it. "Holy slow dispatch times, Batman! I think it is time for another clone!" After waiting a few minutes to recover from a breakdown (I don't think they updated the Q-bot for it), we managed to ride after a 10-minute (two train) wait. Must be in Texas. Rode one of these Intamin looping ships for the first time, which requires three different types of restraints (a seatbelt, lapbar, and OTSR). It is fun. The Pandemonium with the worst capacity of the whole trip. The crew honestly spent more time horsing around with each other and the guests than doing their job and dispatching trains. They would honestly dispatch one train, then send out the second one after it would stop on the main brake-run... sad. Special kids get to play for $1 at the Ring Toss at SFOT. They should really re-do that sign. lol It's kind of quiet over by Shockwave since it is closed. I love S&S Combo towers! Basically taking the two types of towers and combining them into one makes for an awesome ride, but it does make wait times slightly longer. But it's worth it though. The first mine train built and it must've been a pretty popular ride when it first opened. Couldn't imagine people flocking to ride it compared to the attractions that are currently opening now. Best Six Flags meal I've had, surprisingly. I later found out Great America had a JB's as well. Anyone know if they have the same menu as I am going back there next month? Here's the menu. Titan at night. One last shot of the Carousel. Fun last two rides on Texas SkyScreamer. It really didn't feel like 415 feet as it didn't have anything near it to compare. Here's a group of us in front of the park sign. I really wanted to love the park, but the way operations were, cleanliness, and guest service was, it was sad to see Six Flags treat one of their founding parks this way. Onward to Magic Springs and Silver Dollar City, which would be one of the biggest travel days of the trip!

Day #4: Six Flags Over Texas To many on the trip, Six Flags Over Texas was looked at as potentially on of the top parks on the Midwest Trip...unfortunately it didn't pan out that way for much of us. As for me, I went into the place excited to experience it, but left slightly under satisfied. The theming was great, rides were great, food selection was great, gift shops were great, cleanliness could've been better, but customer service and operations had to have been the worst I have ever seen. Take the last two factors out (and the extreme heat and humidity) and it would've been a somewhat decent visit, but the feeling of being unwelcome by the park seemed to overpower everything. The day at Six Flags Over Texas began with a 15-minute walk over to the park entrance from the hotel at around 9:30 in the morning. Let's just say that it was pretty hot at this time and it was only going to get warmer. Upon arriving at the gates, we were given a wristband for early entry and led into the park through two ticket booths. Once inside, we were walked back to the Gotham City area to receive our Flash Passes and given surprise first rides on Mr. Freeze. For Mr. Freeze, I really wasn't expecting an awesome ride out of it as it never really peaked my interests, but the inverted top-hat and vertical spike turned out to be better than what I expected. Unlike the one in St. Louis, this one was pretty smooth. In the end, I had about nine or ten rides on this thing by the end of the day mostly because of the in-station air-conditioning. By the time the park opened, we quickly got in line for Texas SkyScreamer since it's not on Flash Pass and the new attraction of the year. As a fan of these types of rides, I was really excited to for this, but it kind of felt nothing different from a smaller one except for the twisting on the chairs ( I think we spun 90 degrees on some cases). It was good, but not worth the long lines it attracted in the middle of the day. From here, we were going to ride Judge Roy Scream and Mini Mine Train, but both were closed and were opening later on, so I quickly bought my free refill band for my souvenir cup and did the larger Mine Train. With three lift hills, the Mine Train just seemed to go on and on and get faster after each lift. The ride ended pretty spectacular with a drop through a themed building though, but as with older Arrows, is was kind of jerky. We went to check on Judge Roy Scream again, with nothing new, so we stopped at the main gift shop at the park entrance to do a little snooping, then went to the Spanish area to ride LaVibora. Having rode the Mack version of the bobsled coaster, I really liked the coaster type and didn't know what to expect with the Intamin version. Operations-wise, it did seem interesting that the lift could support two cars at once and that it has two chain lifts instead of one with anti-rollbacks. Although I think it had to do with where I sat, the ride was insane! Our car was going pretty high into the turns and it got to the point towards the end where our car briefly left the track in one of the transitions and banged back down! I was pretty much laughing hysterically at the end as it was not expecting from this ride at all! We took a good three to five rides on this thing by the end of the day and I ended up only having one ride where I got banged around on the MCBRs quite a bit. While we were back in the area, we headed into the Texas area to try to find Titan. We discovered Texas Giant's entrance closed up nice and tight (same for the gift shop), but after a bit of searching, we eventually found it. After a bit of a hike to the station, we were welcomed by two-train operations and constant stacking. The line mostly stayed inside the station all day with the line being about 10 to 15 minutes. Titan pretty much sounded like a B&M, looked like a B&M, but it really didn't ride like one as it was pretty intense! The helices made it easy to grey-out and I guess it might be a good thing that the MCBR was on hard because of that. Titan, with it's powerful layout and swooping turn finale, is destined to take a top 10 or 20 spot on my list this year. Moving on to the next coaster, we queued up Runaway Mountain, which seemed to be pretty similar to Great Adventure's Skull Mountain but the difference was the layout and the queue system (which is horrible if you're Flash Pass and/or have loose articles). The exit is on a different platform and your loose articles are on the entrance platform, so you would have to exit the platform and walk back through the queue to get your stuff. I do have to say that I really liked this layout better and it's unique as it is Premier's only coaster with a chain lift hill (according to RCDB). Before it got hotter out, we went up the elevator in Oil Derrick to do some picture-taking and sightseeing. Of-course, being Six Flags, the tower was really looking like it could use a new paint job from all the rust. On the way back to Judge Roy, we did the Yosemite Sam boat ride, which could really use an upgrade and really didn't seem too amazing. Judge Roy was open at this time, but with only one train, but the lines weren't too bad so we only waited about 5 to 10 minutes. The crew had to be the most personable out of the whole day and the amount of awards in the station seem to prove it. As for the ride, I could compare it to be a slightly better version of Rolling Thunder, but without the intense non-banked turn. It was a little rough around the edges and could use a new paint job and re-tracking. By this time, it was really starting to get dangerously hot out, so we headed into the Johnny Rocket's to get lunch and cool off. The burger, fries, shake, and drink I got were pretty good, but typical park food. After cooling off, we went over to Mini-Mine Train to get my 100th credit! No nerdy sign, but the ride was kind of fun and was pretty similar to it's older sibling (Who the hell came up with a kids version of a mine train?? I thought that they were suitable for kids to begin with?). We then headed back inside Johnny Rockets for another couple of minutes to cool off again and get re-hydrated. Having worked outside in a park before, I am familiar with taking it easy and knowing my limits when it comes to the heat and my group was welcome to the frequent breaks. Next, we did Mr. Freeze again, then Batman: The Ride, which had the oddest Flash Pass entrance, a breakdown while we were in line and another slow crew. This really became a pain when they decided to stack us inside the hot metal transfer area. This clone was slightly better than Goliath, but it still rattled. Upon taking yet another break in Johnny Rocket's, I decided to take a quick spin on the Huss Troika out in front of the building. Even at the flat rides there was no escaping the slow crews. After the ride, I headed back inside where we debated whether to do the State Fair or stay. Given how I can get dehydrated somewhat easily, I kind of decided to stay and not risk the possibility fainting or getting heat exhaustion while walking back to the hotel. I think we were part of the only few people from the group who decided to stay the whole day and while I do feel like I missed a great park, I kind of feel somewhat satisfied being able to get in everything that I wanted at SFOT (even if the service was horrible). Before it got dark, we rode the Superman Tower of Power, which was a combination of a shooting tower version and freefall S&S Power ride all in one. It wasn't the best tower ride I've been on, but it was darn near close. We still had one more rideable credit to go, so we finished up the coaster list with Pandamonium. Operations-wise, this crew was a textbook example on what not to do in being efficient. They would dispatch one train, goof around with each other, the guests and move so slow, then would be ready to dispatch the next one as soon as the first one would park in the brakes behind the station. As for the ride itself, our car didn't seem to spin as much as at Fiesta Texas. Before it got too late, we set our sights on eating at JB's Smokehouse so that we could have some sort of a Texas-style meal before leaving the state the next day. On the way over, we rode the Log Flume which didn't seemed to get me too wet, but it was still fun. At JB's, I bought the Throw-in-the-Pit Sandwich, which had sausage, pulled-pork, and BBQ brisket with BBQ sauce with waffle fries that I had put ranch dressing on. Let's just say that it had to be one of the best meals I've ever had at a Six Flags, surprisingly. I kind of wish Great Adventure had this restaurant instead of Best of the West as I would always get this when I'm there. I later found out that Great America also has a JB's so I kind of hope their menu is the same as this one's. Upon eating, we went over to do some more Titan laps since we were in the area. We got a ride or two in, but then it broke down. We were two trains from riding when the following story occurred: To cool off, we went over to LaVibora for a few rides, then returned for another lap or two on Titan. We then went to the gift shop by the Log Flume to get some souvenirs where we met this sweet elderly woman who ended up being the friendliest employee we've seen the entire day. She asked us where we were from and about where we were visiting next. If it weren't for her and the woman at Judge Roy, I would consider the employee-side of the park to be an epic failure. Before closing, we got one or two more rides on Mr. Freeze and got in line for SkyScreamer before the line was shut. To past the time inside the 1/2hr line, I decided to time the crews to see how long it would take to unload and load for each cycle. Needless to say that while being afraid of a cockroach or two crawling around the platform, the crews managed to take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes on each cycle (that's not counting the time the ride was operating). One of the things that was kind of nice was that since we were the last riders of the night, they let us ride a second time where our chairs were pretty much spinning and twisting 90 degrees. While walking out, we all had to watch where we were stepping because... well... the park has a big cockroach problem. These suckers were huge and never before have I seen a park have these bugs inside them. After my shoes survived the walk, I bought a Pink Thing to eat on the way back to the hotel, which seemed to taste like a mixture of bubblegum and vanilla ice cream in a pushup pop. After taking a group photo in front of the entrance sign to the park, we walked back to the hotel and went to sleep early since the following day was going to be filled with a lot of travel and changing scenery as we start heading north. Next up, Day #5 Magic Springs: A mediocre park with mediocre scenery and mediocre rides. Thanks for reading! The first thing you'll see approaching the park is the mother of all SkyScreamers, a type of ride that I really enjoy. The next thing you'll spot is Oil Derrick. I was really interested in checking this out since I liked KD's Eiffel Tower. There's Judge Roy. I find it's location kind of odd. It took about 15 minutes to walk to the park entrance and there was already 90+ degree heat and humidity at around 9am in the morning. Texas SkyScreamer looks 400ft tall, but the lack of objects in the area didn't really make it feel that tall. It's also not a very high-capacity ride either. I think its kind of cool that you need to go through a tunnel under the entrance road to get to Judge Roy. As for the ride, it wasn't spectacular, but it wasn't completely horrible. There were one or two spots that really rattled you around. Here's the group marching to the entrance with La Vibora (we called it the Vibrator) in the background. Nice picturesque setting. I liked that SFOT has decided to keep its original parking toll plaza, but then again, it is Six Flags. Maybe they were too lazy to replace it? I think we're in Texas. Nice beautiful entrance. After a few minutes, we entered the park early and went to Mr. Freeze for a few first rides of the day. Walked through the Looney Tunes area. Found Texas SkyScreamer's normal entrance (when there is no long line). I thought it was kind of confusing that there was a second entrance down near Johnny Rockets for when there are busy days. Mr. Freeze ended up being a complete surprise to me as it proved to be a pretty intense and smooth ride. I also enjoyed the little boost up the spike. The transfer table station with two trains is pretty ingenious. Nice way to boost capacity. There was also another Batman clone as well (I was really starting to get bored with them at this point). Loved the inverted top-hat inversion as well. After getting our Q-Bots, we went straight over to Sky Screamer to get a ride on it before the crowds arrived. It ended up being a pretty good ride, but like I said, it needs something next to it to make it feel 400 feet tall. We then went and got our all-day refill wristband from a real "energetic" employee at the nearest Coca-Cola stand and were going to get on Judge Roy, but it was to open slightly later in the day (I think there might've been a sign that said 11am, but it didn't open until around 1pm. We then tried the mine trains and we managed to get the bigger one, which ended up being pretty good with an intense finale. Mini Mine Train wasn't open yet, so we moved on to the Spanish area. We came back to this later in the day and it ended up being my 100th coaster. Woo! The Superman S&S Tower looked pretty awesome and we got to do it later in the evening. Haha, cute. Again, I think I'm in Texas, but I'm not sure... SFOT does have a nice entrance. We then headed over to La Vibora for the credit. I have to be honest about it, I really enjoyed it! It was pretty crazy and from where I was sitting, it didn't bang me around too much! There was a complete holy $hit! moment towards the end when a part of the car came slightly off the track and banged back down on it and it pretty much was the oddest thing I ever experienced on a coaster! Compared to the Mack bobsleds, I'd much rather ride an Intamin and wonder how Cedar Point's might've been... I really liked the design of the cars (minus the ad. wrap). Here's our ride photo of our first ride. You can tell how surprised I was on it (this has to be the best ride photo of me taken). We next set our sights on the next best thrilling thing in the park next to Texas Giant. This rare gem. On the way down the exit, we were able to get up-close with an Intamin bobsled in the storage area. It looks like the wheels possibly haven't been replaced in about a year. On the way to Titan, we stopped to take a look at this thing. Just like Iron Rattler, it is still a pleasure just to be able to see it. Open? Nope. At least that thing is open. It really was a shame that this thing was closed, but safety is safety. Looks like we're going the right way. Titan ended up being the best coaster of the trip thus-so far. It looks like a B&M, it sounded like a B&M, but it wasn't! It was pretty cool! Flash Pass wasn't really needed for this ride since the line was only inside the station. It wasn't big on airtime, but the intense helices, crazy turns after the Mid-Course and how the layout flowed really made up for it! The lines may have been short, but that didn't mean that dispatches were fast. Even for running just two of it's three trains, they were having them stopping next to the storage shed every cycle. I liked the nify countdown clock above the elevator. Too bad they weren't using it. I really like the train design for some reason. Very comfortable and I'm pretty sure the new seatbelts don't really affect it. The crew was doing a more or less good job catching guests with cameras. They e-stopped it once with the train merely feet out of the station, the operator put on a construction vest, told him to put it away, then returned and re-started the ride. The block must not fit between the lapbar or side of the train. If I does, then no ride for you. We rode this quite a few times in the day, and we found the evening crew to be the worst I have ever seen in my life in regards to customer service and training (read above). Following a few great morning rides on Titan, we started to make our way back over to the other side of the park and get the rest of the credits before the heat set in. At least SFOT does do a better job on their up-keep on their scenery than what Great Adventure does. They also have shows that mostly stick to the area's theming. There was a pretty good Western show going on here throughout the day. Okay.... We next decided to hit up Runaway Mountain for the credit. The Flash Pass queue, entrance, and exit had to be the most confusing I've seen. You pretty much had to go through the line to a door farther down the line, drop off your drinks there and then you're loaded on. You exit on a different platform so you must exit the building, go back to the Flash Pass entrance and then pick up your loose articles and drinks there. As for the ride itself, I'd compare it more to Skull Mountain, but with steeper turns and no outdoor section. It's the mother of all SkyScreamers... she's beautiful! Compared to Milton Hershey and Walt Disney, you don't hear much about Agnes Wayne. I kind of feel sorry for the guy given the history of his company over the last few years. At the end of the day, I would like to add how the operations in this park were. This guy was the master of theme park design in the 1970s and 1980s. Duell was behind the design of the Marriott's parks as well as Hersheypark's revitalization in the early 1970s. Found Mr. Freeze. It wasn't on the Flash Pass, so we needed to hit this thing up as early as possible. Even though the park is a little ragged around the edges in some spots, it does have some potential. This is probably going to change. While wondering over to the other side of the park, we passed a display paying homage to the it's history with a large map. This would eventually become Titan and Texas Giant. A Sky Hook. Cool! The park entrance has changed quite a bit. I don't see the Carousel. Mrs. Pacman? It was cool looking at old photos of the park's history. I'm a history nerd. You'll see more of this kind of stuff when we get up to Six Flags Great America and Cedar Point. Kind of can't believe the park is this old. Nothing to see here, moving on... Time to ride Oil Derrick. Only one elevator was operating. Kind of old-looking if you ask me. Even at the top of Oil Derrick, there was no relief from the heat and humidity. But still, the tower offered some pretty good views. Texas SkyScreamer is taller than what Oil Derrick is. From the air, SFOT looks like a nice park. The lake adds a lot to the property. So does La Vibora as well. It is kind of sad that these have been kind of going by the way side over the past few years. I found it odd, but cool that they can have two cars on the lift at the same time. It was also cool that it has two lift chains as well.

The best deal would be to get the two-day flex admission. It is $77 so it works out to $38.50 for each day. They can be purchased at Ticketing Services in Tram Circle. I also advise purchasing a meal ticket for $13.75 as it includes a refillable souvenir drink cup, which itself is a $9 value. Chickie's and Pete's as well as Spring Creek Smokehouse can be used on the ticket.

Can't wait to check it out next month! So would you say that if you can ride El Toro and Outlaw Run, the restraint can accommodate you? That is pretty much the biggest question I have about it and with what happened with Texas Giant, it wouldn't shock me to see them being more restrictive.

I highly doubt that considering it is still a popular family ride.

Kennywood: Parkside Cafe can be hit or miss, but if not, do The Potato Patch for their fries. Hersheypark: Spring Creek Smokehouse is the best place to eat inside the park. For an entree, two sides, and a medium drink for $15 to $17 per person, it can be a little expensive, but there is a solution. I would honestly purchase a meal ticket for $13.75 if you plan to eat there. You would get an entree, one side, and a souvenir drink cup included, but the park has other things listed on the ticket as well such as quesadillas, tacos, and chicken fingers and crab fries from Chickie's and Pete's. Dorney: Speaking of Chickie's and Pete's, I would honestly eat there at this park if you want something different from the normal burgers and hot dog locations. Second would be Subway, which has a full-size location near Demon Drop, but instead of $5 foot-longs, try $10-$15 foot-longs.

Ever since Theme Park Studio was announced, I was excited on the potential that it may hold on creating theme parks and that it was more focused on realism and user-created content than just game play. Once the first phase was released, I immediately started work on creating items to import into it. As of right now I currently have two projects started and both will end up being flat rides once everything is said and done. I kind of went with attractions that are local to me or I have familiarity with so that if I would need to check the real one with the model, I wouldn't have far to go. I'll eventually start to move on to others, but this is where I'll start. Hersheypark's Kissing Tower This is my first object and it will be animated to act like the real one with three rotations around the tower during the cycle, slow accent and decent, opening and closing doors, and for easy customizing, a simple loading/unloading area with the option to add the queue building. I may even update it later to include lights on it as well. As of right now, the tower itself is pretty much done with just a few texture modifications needed and the cabin has just been started. Intamin Gondola Ropeway After finding a few old patents, photographs and other random stuff on Hersheypark's, Kings Dominion's, and Dream World Thailand's ride, I hope to have this be something with a lot of potential. Until I know if custom track is possible for TPS, the plan of attack for this ride may be a little complicated and similar to RCT3. I plan to model the gondolas and have the cable grips be a seperate model in order for them to move more with the cable. To make the heights more customizable, the tower supports will go up in 25ft increments starting at 25ft to 200ft. The cable won't be animated, but will act like a track (which will mean that the builder would need to animate each of the gondolas and it's grips to move over the ride's layout) and will come in different angles. The tops of the support towers will also come in several types to accommodate these various angles. Other pieces planned will be the station track, transfer area, types of gondolas which will come in various styles, and station buildings that will co-en-side with them. A Von Roll style might be possible once this one is finished. This will be a pretty ambitious and time-consuming model, but it should be pretty interesting once it is done. As for other projects, I'll post them here once I start them and once I finish something, I will release it in the Game Exchange (if it can accommodate the files) and TPS Download Center. One of my goals for my projects is realism, but unfortunately the number of polys issue comes into play. Haven't had any lagging issues with the tower so far though. Many of the measurements were either done by eyesight or by actual measurements listed in old Intamin catalogs and fact sheets. This is from one of my first test imports. To save some polys, I decided to just make the kiss windows flat on the tower. I might do the same for the cabin, but I'll depend. Many of the textures were fixed on the second import, but I still need to go back in and tweak a few things to make them perfect. As for the Intamin Ropeway, thanks to KD's Skyride pin, I've had a perfect template to base my gondolas on. I'll eventually move the cable grip to a separate file so that it can be animated to easily travel on custom layouts. The car still needs the bumper, textures, and safety railings, but it is on it's way. I already have some sections of the station and supports modeled on my former RCT3 attempt of it, but I'll see if I can just modify them for this project.

That ride op is the best! His name is Dale too which is so appropriate for Intimidator plus his voice sounds like that of a race announcer. It is almost like KD went out of their way to headhunt the perfect person to operate I305! i want to give props to Dale as well - on my recent trip there, he was telling jokes and interacting with the riders in line, it was great. I think I remember him from last year. He seemed to be a pretty awesome guy and was doing an great job.

I think some didn't even come off of the bus. I do know that the bus was full of people out-cold heading to Great America. It seem tough to take a nap, but I blame Hades for that. lol

If I didn't decide to brave the water park, I probably would've joined you guys. lol So it wasn't just that first ride, but it occurred a couple of more times with the lapbars on Hades? Throw in your go-kart story (which makes me wonder where the hell the employees were to help you out) and it makes Mount Olympus even more insane and mismanaged. It makes the park on the movie Adventureland look better staffed. Maybe Mount Olympus glues googly-eyes on their prizes as well to allow them more money to buy more hotels?

Plus that Motocoaster looked like it was doing a lot of moving side-to-side while it was going through the turns. I can't imagine how bad it might be. As for the Mack, looks like a generic Blue Fire layout without scenery, but good POVs though.