willh51

You're "lesser quality" pictures are still better than most/anything I ever take! I've never been to SFMM, but it's kind of my dream to go and have everything be a walk-on!

I guess I've been out of the loop for awhile, but is one side of Gwazi really closed for good? That's crazy considering they JUST upgraded to Millennium Flyers. Busch really has not been pleased with that ride has it?

Damn, you're absolutely right. For some reason I had it in my head Kinzel was gone since '08-'09.

This is going to be a beautiful ride. It's interesting that Cedar Point is getting this coaster in the post-Kinzel era. I remember reading an interview where Kinzel said Cedar Point would never get a B&M flyer because it was too gimmicky. I wonder if Kinzel would have nixed this coaster type, too? The wing coaster is pretty much the only logical choice for Cedar Point from the B&M catalog, and should at minimum provide some beautiful ocean views and a fun, smooth ride.

Will 2013 finally bring a piecemeal auction? Sell these rides before they rot!

Cedar Point's rain policy is irritatingly over-the-top. The worst operations I've personally witnessed were on SFOG's Mindbender. The staff stopped loading a train for a full 10 minutes so two members could argue about what time they got off. The remaining staff chose one side or the other. We were stuck on the train with closed restraints and had to literally yell at them to hurry the **** along. I think this is just an example of people screwing around when there is no supervisor making sure things are going well. The rest of the park's employees certainly weren't that bad.

I'd gladly take an Intamin Mega-Lite or Huss Top Spin.

Rollback and evacuation in Smurf Mountain on Volcano: The Blast Coaster is my weirdest. I got stuck on Top Thrill Dragster's launch for 30 minutes. That wasn't weird in itself, but when we finally launched, our train received a huge standing ovation upon return from the hundreds of people waiting in line. I also watched Kings Dominion staff remove an under-height kid from the lift on Rolling Thunder only to have the kid's father start berating both the workers and his wife...

I'm sure they'll replace some of the straps in the off season. The worn chairs are just a casualty of war, they all fade over time. Check out pics of Millennium Force and S:ROS for similar examples. I think the trains get kind of dirty too swooping around by that lake with all the summertime bugs, but what can you do...

Sweet photos. I've always liked boardwalk amusement parks, and this one looks really nice. Interesting about Iron Shark being rough. Is it the transitions? I watched some videos and it looks like the cars really slam into the brake run after an awkward transition out of the twisted loop.

Robb, these videos and picture updates have been amazing. Your IAAPA interviews have always been good, but this year's stuff was a step above. It's great to hear all the inside scoop from these guys. I think we may be on the cusp of another coaster renaissance, which is exciting. I was really interested to hear about Mauer's Flying Launched Coaster. I watched the POV of that ride a couple of times and always wondered why it went through the station before rolling backward. Now I know! It's good to hear Vekoma and others are pushing back against these knock-off rides. I used to do a lot in the IP field, and it's infuriating to see these companies rip off others and get away with it because their home country doesn't enforce copyright.

I like Sandor's comments on Skyrush, which I'm translating to mean: "Skyrush is intense, haters going to hate!"

These videos are awesome. I can't wait to watch the next batch. Golden Horse had some balls even showing up at IAAPA; the United States DOES care about copyright!

No Skyrush train on display?! I feel kind of bad for PTC since this is basically the year of dumping their trains for newer, hotter rolling stock. Oh well, they're still awesome!

Holy S*** Hades!!! That is nuts. Talk about a surprise announcement. Those themed T-liners and Wing Rider trains are beautiful, as are the Outlaw run trains. 2013 is going to be a great year!

Vekoma: Any comment on all the Chinese knock-off Suspended Looping Coasters so clearly culled from your designs?

Vekoma: Why did you change the restraints on the Human side of your Battlestar Galactica ride?

Gerstlauer: Any particular reason why some of your 2012 Eurofighters had lapbars and others had OTSRs?

Mauer: Will we be seeing the 4-across X-Car trains in action any time soon?

LAST ONE! Intamin: Volcano at Kings Dominion is a great ride. There are very few full-circuit Intamin inverted coasters in the world; is this a design you still manufacture, and, if so, has it been updated?

Intamin: In 2012 we saw a very impressive retrofitted drop ride placed on the tower of Superman: Escape from Krypton. Was it more challenging using a pre-existing structure than say building a completely new tower exclusively for the ride?

Intamin: How much do the launch speeds vary on Storm Runner, Top Thrill Dragster, etc. to clear the top hat with empty/loaded trains and launches in cold/hot weather?

GCI: In 2012 we saw the first GCI coaster capable of running three trains. Was Wodan designed without a mid-course brake specifically to preserve the "out-of-control" feeling and forward momentum of your other rides?

^I haven't ridden it, but I was surprised to hear all the reports on how boring it was. I thought inverted coasters were the one safe bet we still had with B&M. And then Hair Raiser turns out to be great. Go figure.

Some of these anti-Intamin articles are just ridiculous. Apparently anything needing some fine tuning is all of a sudden "shoddy." Like with i305, all these "problems" with Skyrush will be long forgotten next season.