Airtime&Gravity

Wow, the new coaster and theater both look amazing. The only other themed wooden coasters I can think of, LoCoSuMo and Underground, are close to being dark rides instead of coasters, so it should be interesting to see how it turns out. Hopefully they have better luck with this than they did with the Flying Dutchman.

I don't think Six Flags can really pull the plug on the park as they only own part of the park, if that. I know that for a while, don't know if it still is, but Chang was leased to the park. Kentucky Kingdom has potential, but it isn't in that good of an area, has had several rides removed lately, and doesn't have a good reputation after the Superman Tower of Power accident. Hopefully the park can add some new rides soon that will attract people who might have visited Holiday World or Kings Island instead. The park could also use some landscaping and paint. T2 looks horrible, and the area around Chang is pretty overgrown. A drop tower(unlikely), Huss flat ride, or even a euro-fighter would be good for the park.

From yesterday (sorry, no photos since I wasn't expecting much). The park had decent sized crowds due to the great weather and the fact that it was the annual Muslim Family Day festival. -crowds for most major rides were the typical 45+ minutes -Viper had a short wait, but many problems with the restraints. Whole cars were getting roped off, and it was taking a long time to load/unload. I think the train I was on took at least 10 minutes to dispatch due to the problems. I think the train two or three before mine took close to 30 minutes to dispatch. -Dark Knight actually had a line again around 30 minutes, which is where it probably should be. Those who I rode with really liked the ride despite being teenagers, and the group I was talking in line to were still excited to ride despite knowing it was a family coaster (they were also teenagers). I think that those who ride it now do know what to expect, and even if they don't they still seem to enjoy it from what I've heard this year. -The elephant ear covered in sugar, cinnamon, and honey sold by Raging Bull is really good -Buccaneer Battle had a good amount of people riding, even close to closing time, due to the great weather. ----------------------------------------------- -So even though I was only at the park for a few hours in the evening, it was really enjoyable. Even with the crowds, Viper's problems, and rude people waiting for American Eagle red, it was one of my most enjoyable visits of the season. Sometimes it is nice just to take a stroll around the park and enjoy the night. -As for what I think happened in American Eagle(it began as I was entering the station to queue): A person who had ridden once already tried to get a second ride with a single rider member of his group. The ride ops told him he couldn't do this. I'm going to give the man the benefit of the doubt and say there might have been a language barrier. It took a while and a ride op to come up to him for him to understand. Meanwhile, these two groups of people got pissed off with the guy because they wouldn't be able to race their friends on the blue side due to it taking so long to tell the first guy he couldn't ride again. After probably about 5 minutes or so, both riders took the walk of shame. I think one of the groups yelling at the guy were threatened with being ejected from the ride/park for the comments that were being said. -The whole Muslim Family Day festival is actually quite nice, and even though I'm not Muslim, I've visited the park on the day it has been held in 2006, 2007, and 2009. I think I missed the 2008 day by one day. I haven't planned it that way, but after repeated visits during the festival and with each visit being among my most enjoyable of the year, I just might start to plan to visit during it. - Outside the Southwest Territory Amphitheater, various Middle Eastern restaurants were selling food. The first time I walked by, all I saw were the tents, so I assumed that they were giving information on the jet ski across the plaza/ some travel booth like there have been at the park. It wasn't until after i had my "dinner"(see elephant ear above) that I realized that they were selling food. The food was the traditional Middle Eastern/Indian-Pakistani food, and it was being prepared fresh up until closing when they had to get rid of what was made. Obviously, food fresh off the grill is going to be better than something that's been sitting under a heat lamp. The prices were also pretty good. I think you could get some kebabs for $4-$6(don't remember exact prices), so for amusement park food, it is a pretty good deal. If you bought the food at closing, the food was considerably cheaper. My cup of tea cost $2, but you could get hot tea for $1.50(before the prices were lowered) -The Southwest Territory Amphitheater was set up for Salat. I don't remember this from previous years, so it is nice to see the park accommodating those attending. -I had a good discussion with the Muslim teenagers, and even though they were thrill-seekers, they were still excited to ride Dark Knight. They even talked to me about how great the q-bot was on their previous visits this season, and how they wished they had bought one that day. -Even though the park was crowded, it wasn't uncomfortable like fright fest, and the guests were much better behaved. It was great not having the park over-run by teenagers, screaming little kids, and screaming teenagers like at Fright Fest or other weekend visits. Just a lot of families, and teenagers, out for a nice visit to Six Flags. Overall, I would say that about 1/3 was Muslim. -Even with the festival, the park didn't seem any more crowded than what should be an average Saturday. In fact if the demographics were that of a typical Saturday, the park would have probably been pretty dead for a Saturday. So yeah, next year, visit on Muslim Family Day. Sure the park won't be dead, but that is what a q-bot is for. It is just a really enjoyable day to visit if you don't mind the crowds.

Not said, but done: At SFGAM yesterday, one long armed rider on Viper thought it would be a good idea to try to touch the run down looking wall between the brake house and the station. The person actually touched it, but they got upset that they got a splinter in the process. Everyone else thought it was hilarious though.

RCDB is your friend when it comes to knowing the coasters in a certain area With the exception of Speed, none of the coasters in the area are supposed to be that good.

Sad to see the ride go, but I expected it's days were numbered when the whole section of the park it is in was closed off. The ride took up a large area, but it didn't seem to do much. Sure it was fun, but it just seemed pretty tame when I rode it in 2006. However, it was one of the smoothest wooden coasters I've ridden even with the dreaded g-trains. Hopefully a euro-fighter, mega-lite, or GCI takes it's place. I like Kentucky Kingdom, but it has some problems that need to be fixed. What I think SFKK needs -new paint and trains for T2 -a few new large flats -dark ride -new major coaster -clean up area around Chang -multi-train operation would also help on some rides Kentucky Kingdom has potential, and while it won't be able to match Kings Island because of space limitations and Kings island's better reputation(although Six Flags doesn't seem to have a good reputation with the GP in general), it can still pull guests in who might have considered going to Holiday World instead. (sorry Paula) Edit: ^ While I'd be sad to see it go, it probably wouldn't be missed much. Those who live in the area are lucky in that they would still have Holiday World, Kings Island, and Beech Bend. I have family down in Kentucky, and they've never been to Kentucky Kingdom, but go to Kings Island instead despite the fact that it is just as easy if not easier to get to Kentucky Kingdom. I think that describes the parks ability to survive if nothing happens to the park in terms of major investments.

That's What You Get - Paramore

I Feel Fantastic - Jonathan Coulton

Is it Disney Hollywood Studios?

Old topic, but the project isn't dead yet. Link It seems like this project has been under construction forever, but hopefully it does open later this year as planned. Edit: That is their idea of a family coaster?

Looks like a nice park. It doesn't look like a park I'd go out of my way for, but it does look like a nice place to visit if you are a local. Most of the rides don't seem that special, Intamin rockets are always good though, but the theming looks amazing. Hopefully it finds success in these hard times. I hate new carousels, as they just look awful compared to older ones. If only PTC would build carousels again.

Skara Sommarland, and Tranan both look and sound a lot better than I thought. I didn't know much about the park, and from the photos, it looks like a really nice place to visit for a few hours. So was this the Parque Zaragoza of the trip?

^Correct, I figured it would take someone from Minnesota to get it. I just wish more would have guessed before you. Good job though.

Looking at the size of the site, it looks too small for a traditional giga coaster like Millennium Force. Now, if this coaster had a vertical lift, then I could see this coaster being over 300ft tall. Unless the first drop went to the right like on Expedition GeForce, there just doesn't seem to be enough room for the lift hill.

Birthright - Celldweller

Since it's been a day without any guesses, I'll post a hint. More coasters have operated at this park than are currently operating in it.

1. Ring Racer 2. It is a tie between Expedition GeForce, Eagle Fortress, and T-Express, with Voyage is close behind.

Good luck

Hamel's Park

So far: Six Flags Great America (many times) Kiddieland and that is it so far Hopefully later this year: Indiana Beach Holiday World Kentucky Kingdom Mt. Olympus Timber Falls Dollywood

It's going to get up to 93* later today, but the humidity is already at 66%. Yeah, Illinois summers are miserable.

Anthem Part Two - Blink 182

Wow, I didn't see this coming as I figured Cedar Fair wanted to keep Millennium Force special. If this is indeed a giga coaster, then hopefully it is better than the two already around as neither coaster seems to have used all the capabilities they had. Steel Dragon is really long, but from the pov on the site, it seems rather tame. Millennium Force is tall just seems to be about speed, but not much else. Hopefully this coaster combines the best of both coasters into something truly great.

Link Hopefully it is a success, but it seems like something that would belong better at Disney World.

Wild guess, is it Rusutsu Resort?