Jim S.

I thought Harley-Davidson used to have the Saturday between Springtime in the Park and the first normal weekend. What happened to that? Did some other company take over that day?

The park perks are the most interesting part to me, but I'd have to know the details beforehand since I don't travel much.

"I suppose you think that a Pringle is a potato chip." --Backseat Bill It's that the track on an Intamin wooden coaster is built in a different method that allows them to shape it with such precision that it might as well be metal. Some people feel that that distracts from the charm of a wooden coaster, whose wheels don't normally track perfectly. (This is not to defend parks who think that if a track doesn't cause the train to shake itself apart, it's smooth enough. See SOB, Mean Streak, Rolling Thunder, and the Williams Grove Cyclone -- which inexplicably ranked way higher than any of the first three even though it hasn't run for years and pushes the limits of the word "standing". Oh yeah, the full results are out now: http://www.ushsho.com/detailedwoodrollercoasterpollresults2009.htm )

There is good and bad news on Kozmo Knoebel's Facebook page. The good news is that the eagles have been moved into their new enclosure, and the Schoolhouse and Covered Wagon cottages have been moved. (I didn't know they had Schoolhouse and Covered Wagon cottages!) The bad news is that we shouldn't expect Black Diamond to open before 2011 I know that they never gave a definite time for it, but Dick seemed optimistic at PPP this year and with them clearing the land for it before the new year even arrives, I'm surprised that they don't think they'll be able to construct it in one season. (I'm hoping that this means that labor is being diverted into getting Flying Turns ready for spring -- but they've been curiously silent on that since the new car chassis arrived last month.)

Wow! Wooden mice, anyone?

What exactly does Trailblazer need a new station for?

Wow! Much more professional-looking than the prototypes, but I wonder how such a heavy thing is going to treat the track? Hopefully the wheels are soft.

But the program is a train wreck all the way through. They kept sinking their equipment in the mud, they couldn't even get the windows in the right place in one of the buildings, they barely got anything done on time, and finally, the first broadcast of the show took place after the park was already dead!

I only got there twice (I never pay full price, it's too crowded for that) and since the first time was in the spring I didn't get any Stormrunner rides at all this year I didn't even check Comet's line, but I thought I saw from GB's lift that the queue was fairly full, and I've not ever seen them check the train in anything resembling an efficient manner. To get me on Comet more than once every few years, they'd have to guarantee me that the trim brakes would be off and that they'd greased the hell out of the track. I've had one ride with no noticeable braking, and although it didn't suck it still didn't seem to fly like it should.

I haven't seen any TRs from Hersheypark in the Dark yet. This could possibly be because it's been cold and rainy every night it's been scheduled this year! Since yesterday was the first good day, I went for part of the day. It was after 3 til I got in, partly due to endless road work. I had checked the closed-rides list on http://mobile.hersheypark.com as late as noon and they had everything listed as open. But when I got to the park, I saw that they had Stormrunner posted as closed. So instead of making that my first stop, I went to Great Bear. The line wasn't even out to the switchbacks in front of the station, and proved to be only about 15 minutes long for anything but the front seat. (The front seat queue, as usual, had about 10 cycles worth of people in it.) They weren't stacking trains as bad as usual, so the line stayed the same size and I took a second ride. I just don't get why people say this ride is boring. It's not tightly-wound like other B&Ms, but the openness works so well with the terrain. Since Stormrunner was closed, the next stop, after a quick bumper-car ride (wait time 1 cycle) was Fahrenheit, which I had planned on skipping because it always has a huge line. This time the front switchbacks were only about half filled. I didn't time it, but I heard someone say they thought it was about 45 minutes. It didn't seem quite that bad, but maybe it was because it was the first time I've been in Fahrenheit's line when it wasn't unbearably hot and humid. Someone was smoking in line though, and nobody said anything. It was also the first time that I didn't notice any long pauses between dispatches. They were only running two trains though, in fact the third train wasn't even in the station. Is it out for maintenance already? The ride itself was typical. It still rattles like crazy, but since for once my brain wasn't dehydrated I didn't mind the rattling this time. Next was Wildcat. The line was only down the final ramp into the station, so the wait wasn't too bad. The track had obviously just been greased, and the ride was the fastest I've had in a long time. Even the roll-around into the lift was flying, and took the train a long way up before it caught the chain in a way I normally only see on Twister. The shaking was tolerable for a wood fan, so I had to take a second ride. While I was in the station waiting for my first ride, someone shot a front-seat video in full view of the operators. They weren't really paying attention, but I don't know how they could've missed it. On to the mouse next. Again a shorter line than normal. A little more braking than normal too though. From the mouse I went to Lightning Racer. The line was down about two ramps because they were only using one train per side, but it still moved decently. At first Lightning was winning as usual, but then Thunder got into a winning streak the likes of which I've never seen before. After a few rides on LR, it was time to decide how to close out not just the night, but my year. Stormrunner never opened, so maybe Great Bear? But I didn't really want to walk up the hill. But what's this? There's half an hour left, but people are leaving in droves. Hmmm, maybe check Fahrenheit's line? It turned out to be only through the tapered switchbacks at the bottom of the stairs. So not only was it my shortest Fahrenheit wait ever, but also my first night ride. Going up the lift into a starry sky was a very cool experience!

There's one weekend left, but I think your card will be there til next year. Anything after PPP weekend isn't a normal operating day, just 4 hours of select rides and one food stand being open at night.

Dick said that this year parking would be in the main lot and they'd bus people to the active part of the park. I don't know why they don't just use the campground as before, maybe they're expecting that large of a crowd.

Yeah, the closed Dinosaur Beach pier in the middle of Morey's Piers.

Not exactly weekends, Saturday nights through Halloween 6PM-10PM, and the Friday before Halloween 7PM-10PM. He didn't mention the price, but last year I think it was $2.50 per ride for everything. This year, parking will be in the main lot (usually it's in the campground) and they'll have a shuttle into the active portion of the park. It sounds like quite an expansion, I don't know how he's getting all the staff to come out in the cold. A few things I forgot to mention... Mick Foley was there for the second year in a row. Total PPP handstamps purchased: 1405. Another notable costume group was The Demise of the Big Bad Wolf. When Dick asked whether anyone had come further than Boodley, from California, someone across the way said Thailand. Then Dick said that he had been to Thailand. I figured that he meant while he was in the Marines, until he said that that was where he first rode a Hopkins Shoot-The-Chutes and he immediately started trying to figure out how to get one into the park. Weird, all the ones that used to be in the U.S. and he didn't ride one til he went to Thailand.

Kozmo's Kurves was open. I can't remember if it's on the list to be open for the remaining Saturday nights or not. The list has expanded quite a bit from last year, even quite a bit from the brochures they put out a month or so ago. Dick noted that there would be a total of 16 rides open. I just can't remember what all of them were.

First up, the reason we're all here, Phoenix! It was in top form for the entire event. The very first rides of the day were as about as fast as I've ever seen, and better than I've had all season. But at night the airtime was the best ever! I feel sorry for anyone who's never caught Phoenix on a day like this, because they won't know why it will always remain near the top of the wood coaster rankings no matter how high or how fast anything else gets built. Twister: Twister was also, no question, the fastest I've ever seen it all day. The front car was rattling a bit more than usual though. Normally, the front and back cars are the smoothest, and the whole center of the train rattles. This time, for some reason, the only smooth car was the back. This despite lots of recent trackwork. During the day, Twister was still re-ridable, but at night it went completely insane! In the dark the entire ride had an amazing out-of-control feeling, and leaving my hands up after the drops just wasn't an option. It was the most thrilling ride I've ever had at Knoebels but after two consecutive rides my brain was shaken worse than its ever been on any woodie not named Mean Streak. Twister was also decorated better than it has been lately and fogged, and the chainsaw guy was back this year. Flyers: Plenty of snapping was to be had all day long, and all the usual suspects were there. Only one operator took any issue with it, and he only slowed it down a few times and he wasn't there very long. Bumper Cars: I don't know who he is, but there was a guy there quite a bit with a Flying Turns shirt, which proved to be an apt description of his technique. He was trying to give everybody else ejector airtime, but just as often ended up out of the seat himself. It was quite a sight! Costume Parade highlights: The Marching Dick Knoebels; Bill Galvin back in Phoenix headgear as 29 Flags Over Pennsylvania; and Peter Pan, Wendy, and Stinkerbell. Stinkerbell is a skunk, the first time I've seen someone bring a pet other than a dog to Knoebels. Dick's Closing Remarks: A bit of an ACE love-fest. The ACErs will have to handle the details because I don't remember them. Other than what I posted in the Flying Turns thread, the big park news was that plans will soon be submitted for government review for the Golden Nugget / Black Diamond building, which will require moving a few cottages as well as the eagle pen. But as soon as the plans are approved, ground will be broken and he hopes to have the ride open sometime next year. He also had an original unrestored car on display.

Mike Boodley of GCI fame is now on the FT team. In what capacity, and since when, I have no idea. Dick didn't elaborate, and nobody bothered to ask. Dick said that the first of the next-generation trains is supposed to arrive in two weeks, although I think I've heard that before. He also said that he'd open it in December if it was ready. I think I heard that two years ago.

The last thing I heard from anybody in a position to know was that they were still waiting for the "final" train design to be fabricated, but they thought it should arrive soon so they'll have all winter to test it. No explanation was offered for why it was taking so long. I'm sure Dick will have something to say at his Saturday night closing remarks -- unfortunately, last year he thought it would be running by last April.

The only TPR logo item I own is one of the free pens. I'll be at PPP though.

Wow, I never encountered a wood coaster that had problems running in the cold. I can't believe that it doesn't track well enough even with the MF trains. Maybe they need to re-profile the track.

Wow, I never encountered a wood coaster that had problems running in the cold. I can't believe that it doesn't track well enough even with the MF trains. Maybe they need to re-profile the track.

Although all the coasters (except Roller Soaker) are scheduled to be open, remember that Great Bear doesn't run below a certain temperature (low 40s I think.) Neither does Stormrunner, although in my experience they'll at least try to run, or keep running, Stormrunner as long as it behaves, whereas with GB they'll just shut down when it reaches whatever the limit is.

They didn't give out enough giant-ass pandas?

Phoenix has a double-down-double-up, although its historical plaque calls it a double-up-double-down.

It's a Larson Fireball, I think.