Airtime&Gravity

It's looking good so far, but you might want to use some variety in the colors. Using the same three colors is a little overwhelming. Also, boardwalk parks, from what I've sen, have a row of buildings and rides built on top of one another, and while your design still looks good, it looks a little too spread out. The building designs and roller coaster have a classic look, but maybe you could try to fill in the back of the park while leaving the rest of the buildings the way they are in the front. I'm just basing this off of Indiana Beach and Santa Cruz though. Again it looks great even without the row of rides/buildings, and my only real complaint is the overuse of the same three colors. I get the fact that classic parks used contrasting colors, but from old photos I've seen, they also use a greater diversity of colors.

Some new information on the "Villages Nature". Link

^I never called you any name. Also, while I too disagree with the laws in place in Saudi Arabia, there is a way to say it without sounding like Pat Robertson. Also, one word: Uganda. Turn off CBN and you might learn something. Airtime-against to intolerance of any kind -&Gravity So how was SEGA Republic? Edit: Rereading your first post RO, I don't have as big of a problem as I did yesterday. I see what you were trying to say, but I stand by my statement that there are better ways to say it.

Sorry you didn't enjoy Saudi Arabia, but at least you had fun in Dubai. Wild Wadi looks like an amazing park, but unfortunately, I can only dream about visiting it. It was nice to see photos and videos of a park where other than its location, I have known little about.

SFGAM's Wiggle's World probably won't be very hard to retheme with it being in County Fair. The brightly colored rides fit, and the area doesn't have much theming in the first place. Some minor changes will have to be made, but the area will probably look very similar next season. Then again, I say County Fair, minus Eagle, Revolution, and MagiQuest, should be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up as the area is a mess, and I hope Six Flags focuses on it in the future. The other Wiggle's World's and Thomas Towns might be more difficult though, and it'll be interesting to see what happens.

Poor wording on my part, and I didn't mean to say that Boss should be considered good due to it being a fun ride in the front row. If that were the case, Demon would be a great ride because of the ride you get in the back row. Your comments just came off to me as saying that the rides you listed had become unbearable, and I was just trying to say that fun could still be had on them. I see the points you're making though as the rides you listed are nowhere near where as good as they used to be.

I would agree that some of the early, EARLY GCI's aren't as smooth as they could be, but even my last rides on Roar West (1999), Lightning Racer (2000), and Thunderhead (2004) were a LOT smoother than recent rides on coasters like Ghostrider, Hades, The Boss, Bandit, Coaster Express, Magnus Colossus, Hellcat, etc, all built around the same time. Did you ride Boss in the front row? If not, then that explains it, as it was amazing in the front row, yet all the other rows will beat you up. Also, your recent rides on Boss, Voyage, Hades, and Thunderhead(I remember you saying it needed retracking) were done during a heat wave. Is it possible that the heat might have played a role, or is it entirely a design issue? I rode Thunderhead maybe a week before TPR visited, and while not smooth, I'd say it rode similar to American Eagle, it was still a solid ride. It was fairly hot out, but nowhere near how bad it was at Holiday World. At Holiday World, it was somewhere near 95* with a heat index of something like 110+*. Voyage is probably one of the roughest coasters I've ridden, and my experience seems at odds from the reviews I'd heard going into the park. It wasn't just during this time that I've noticed rides running poorly when it is hot out. Viper at SFGAM runs great most of the time(not counting this year), but when it is hot out, even this year, it runs noticeably worse. As you know, this is a coaster with a reputation for being smooth, but the ride experience is noticeably worse depending on the weather. I can't explain the RCCA coasters though.

Wolverine Wildcat is pretty good for a Dinn coaster. It was very smooth, and there was even some airtime as the train reached the top of the turnarounds. For some reason though, there was no airtime over the low hills, but overall, it is still a fun ride. I'd say it is pretty family friendly, but had there been decent on the low hills, I might even rank this as one of my favorite wooden coasters. In it's current form, it is pretty meh, (fun but nothing memorable other than being a smooth Dinn) and it is still nowhere near as bad as Dinn coasters can be. *cough*Predator*cough* Edit: I second Thunder Run, when it was running well, it was awesome with great pacing and some really good airtime.

While I'd have liked to see another flat ride added to the park, a water play structure in the water park will make a great addition. The water park was packed when I went, and it seemed like it was the main draw for the park. Michigan Adventure, while having no competition, has a small population base to draw customers from. Even with all the lake resort towns, Michigan Adventure is kind of out of the way and difficult to visit. So there is no real need to build up the ride side, even though it is needed, if the main reason people go is to visit the water park. When I visited, outside of the water rides, only Wolverine Wildcat and Corkscrew had a line, and this was due to poor operations. While it won't appeal to me or other thrill seekers, it makes perfect sense for the park to focus on the water park, which seems to be the park's main business plan. Plus, even though the ride side lacks flat rides, there is still enough to have fun, and if you get bored, you can just go over and ride Shivering Timbers.

The Perfect Mistake - Cartel

^Six Flags used to do that...it didn't work out so well for them. Balanced parks are the better business decision due to the fact that they have something for everyone. They have kiddie rides, some thrill rides, but most attractions can be enjoyed by anyone. This brings in families, who have more money, as well as the typical thrill seekers. This is why a park like Six Flags Great America is better than Magic Mountain, one is a balanced park, and the other is not. Plopsaland looks like a great park with great rides and some really good theming, so hopefully that is brought over to Holiday Park.

Great news, the Plopsa parks, especially Plopsaland, look like great parks. While they are geared toward the family, Plopsaland, which is probably how Holiday Park will turn out, looks like it has a great selection of rides for all ages. Compared to the Plopsa parks, as well as some other German parks, Holiday Park seems to lack theming(I'm not saying it isn't themed, just not as well), so hopefully the new owners can bring the theming up to what is seen in the company's other parks. Great news, and hopefully this means Holiday Park will go through an expansion like Plopsaland did after it was bought.

^Correct, I guess the tantrum would fall under the "and more" part of the press release. Also in the rendering, are those some of the new looping water slides? It doesn't look like they bank as much, but at the same time, the sudden curve looks like it would cause you to hit your head. Edit: I don't know how I missed reading it, but two new Proslide Superloop slides will be built as part of the expansion.

Here are some renderings of Riptide Bay. In addition to the speed slide and surf simulator, a Proslide Tantrum and two Superloop slides will be built. News Plus Notes Six Flags The new Riptide Bay area looks a lot better than I expected, and I am pleased to say I think this is a much better addition than Chang.

I went to the park in 09, and I had a great time. Even though it was crowded, only the rapids, log flume, Corkscrew, and Wildcat had long lines. This was due to the heat and one train operation. So adding some shade and some new trains to those coasters would make a great addition. In all seriousness though, I remember reading a rumor of the park receiving a new water slide which, while I wouldn't use it, would make a great addition. The water park looked great, especially for being free and at a small park, and considering how crowded the water park was when I went, it would easily be a hit. A Deluge type ride, half pipe, or speed slide would work great. Of course, I'd love to see Michigan's Adventure get some flats. Please, Cedar Fair, if you are reading this, please invest in some flat rides at Michigan's Adventure. Any family or thrill ride would be appreciated as other than the kiddie rides(and even those seemed few and far between) and coasters, there is next to nothing to do on the ride side of the park. Whether it is a simple family ride, a frisbee, top spin, or drop tower(please), any flat ride would make a great addition. Michigan's Adventure probably has the worst flat ride selection outside of Mt. Olympus of any park I've been to, and it's sad to see a park with as much potential as Michigan's Adventure being forgotten about. So a flat ride and some trees would be great at Michigan's Adventure. Even just adding some trees and a new restaurant would be a great addition. Airtime-How is what is probably my biggest fanboy post not about my home park?-&Gravity Edit, what an appropriate avatar change. I'm really not a MA fanboy, I'd just like to see the park used to its potential.

My list: SFGAM's B:TR - This is easily the most intense B&M I've been on. The speed through the ride is great, as is how the ride interacts with the surroundings. The ride in the back row, outer left is easily the most intense coaster ride I've experienced. For some reason, SFSTL's B:TR, the only other one I've been on, seemed pretty weak when I rode it. Iron Wolf - While it is rough, the ride is surprisingly intense. No single element stands out, but throughout the ride, it pulls some great forces. It is probably the second most intense B&M I've been on, and if it were smooth, it would be a very good coaster. Other B&M's still have intense moments Nitro's helix - I heard things about it, but it still came as a shock. It was probably one of, if not the most, intense moments I've had on a coaster. It is the only time I've greyed-out on a coaster. S:UF's pretzel loop - the only intense part of the ride Raging Bull's finale - while nowhere close to Nitro's helix, it is still intense

I believe the transfer track was a cause of frequent downtime when the ride originally opened. Plus, in my times to SFSTL, when both sides are running, it doesn't seem like a big improvement. It only seems to work if the second train is checked and waiting for dispatch. This doesn't seem to happen often though as people are still taking their seats or the lap bars are still being checked when the other train has already returned. If it works, it is great, but it doesn't seem to work often enough to warrant it on other launched coasters. Then again, no new launched shuttle coasters are being built these days.

More photos of mine. The ones from Chicago were taken from Hotel 71. Probably my favorite coaster photo I've taken Chicago Dome of 35 East Wacker Trump Tower Building and fountain in Savannah, Georgia SFSTL's Ferris Wheel

For those saying Intamin, a new park like this wouldn't have $20 million for a single new ride. For that cost, a park could buy many flat rides as well as a few off the shelf coasters. I second the Evel Knievel/Thunderbird clone as it is a great ride. It is a lot of fun, and it is great for thrill seekers and families. Gravity Group is also good as they offer great designs at fairly low prices. However, where Great Coaster International's rides have a pretty good reputation for being smooth(minus Gwazi), Gravity Group's coasters(well Hades, Voyage, and Boardwalk Bullet) can be aggressive and rough. Although, if your park has a good maintenance department, this might not become a problem. Edit: The $20 million figure isn't true, so I say if you can afford it for the park, you should definitely buy one.

With the euro-fighter being built, I wonder if Canobie Corkscrew's seasons are numbered. The euro-fighter would basically offer a better experience or the Canobie Corkscrew, and with Canobie being a small park, will it be enough to give reason for the older coaster's removal. While not terrible huge, removing Canobie Corkscrew and using the available land around the play structure might be large enough for Canobie Lake to add more water slides like Adventureland did this year.

No they wouldn't since it's Cedar Point. I've never heard anyone say Cedar Point/Cedar Fair copies, but if Six Flags adds a modified version of something at a Cedar Fair park, Six Flags is copying. It really makes no sense, and even if it were 100% true, who cares(besides the fanboys)? I doubt Cedar Fair would add a zacspin though, and if they were going to go with a 4D coaster, I think Cedar Point would go for S&S for capacity and size reasons. While you could technically build a 200ft tall zacspin, all you can do is build a ride like Insane/Green Lantern. With S&S's 4D coaster, you have much more options as far as a layout goes. If Magic Mountain can find a way to run this with a respectable capacity then maybe it has a chance of being built at Cedar Point in the future, but I would still have some doubts.

Wow, like everyone else, while I saw the Superman transformation and Kids Coaster coming, the zac-spin, like with everyone else, was a huge surprise. Hopefully like Robb said the park continues to work on infrastructure, and while I'd like to see more flats, they just don't work at Magic Mountain. It is nice to Six Flags expand their new coaster offerings to something other than a Big Spin or Bizarro's. Six Flags seems to be building a lot of thrill rides this year(well more than since 06), and I hope they continue to put an emphasis on families and not let the parks become what they were pre-Shapiro. I know Robb has said that family rides don't work at Magic Mountain, but Six Flags has made some major improvements as a company where it would be a shame to see it go back to how it used to be. On the other hand, I'd love to see a zac-spin at Great America even if it would be a capacity nightmare.

Discovery Cove has announced their expansion: The Grand Reef. http://amusementtoday.com/

99 Red Balloons - Goldfinger

^^Intamin's current longest launched coaster is California Screamin is over 6000ft long, although Formula Rossa will be over 6500ft long when it opens. I doubt this coaster will be longer than that, but I could easily see this being somewhere around as long as Maverick if not longer. With all the build up, hopefully the coaster resembles what has been seen in the videos(although the turnaround in one of them seems odd), and if this coaster lives up to the expectations, this could easily end up being one of the best in the country. The ride doesn't look intense (hopefully that means a lower height limit), but it still looks like it'll be a lot of fun.