Scaparri

^Fooled me at first! It wasn't until I saw the station that I even realized it wasn't one big photo. Those things do look pretty freakin' awesome though! The few videos I've seen make it look like the trains just rocket over those little bunny hills and twists! I had hopes that HW might install one of these bad boys for next year, but nay.

More and more, I found myself simply not posting because I'm just going to be a smart ass douchebag about something stupid that was said by another user. Does anybody else have this issue or am I just a dick?

The away game in which we had "no chance of winning"? Well, yeah!! Do you really think I drove back to Indiana for a weekend for something called the "Indy 500"? Pfff! Pork racing is where it's at. I just didn't think you'd understand... Great TR, dude!

^That's not a cutaway, chief. That's just dragging out a scene for comedic effect. Anyway, though I missed the episode, it doesn't really surprise me that there weren't as many cutaways. I know quite a few people who have become turned off from the show because they felt the episodes were just a crap ton of cutaways that had nothing to do with the actual plot. Hell, they even made fun of themselves for it in an episode by having Stewie call them out on NOT doing a cutaway.

Not to play moderator or anything, but I just knew one of these existed already. MOD EDIT by larrygator: Thanks for finding the old thread. Threads are merged.

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19920

I'm going with Freddie Mercury only because there is no option for Lene Nystrøm Rasted, who would have clearly dominated this poll.

So, upgrading one of the most out-dated casinos on the worst side of the Strip is getting rid of over-the-top themes and lights? Last time I checked, newer casinos like the Paris and Venician are pretty over-the-top in theming, and the Bellagio fountains don't exactly kill the Strip atmosphere. Sure, it sucks for us that the best ride in Vegas is getting removed, but it didn't exactly draw massive crowds. And for the price of two rides on Speed, I could spend an entire day at Kennywood. Can you honestly tell me that anything in Atlantic City is better than what Vegas still has at the Adventuredome or Strat?

^Where exactly do you see a coaster in this artwork:

Yeah, but I can't really see Six Flags getting dragged into this too much. It's not like her car and belongings were found at the park. They were found deserted at a different location. It just sounds like an area that is technically owned by Six Flags was the dumping site or crime scene. The remains had to have been pretty close to the property line if they were discovered by a worker at the neighboring golf course who was setting up a tent. Heck, if it's that close, you have to wonder why the groundskeepers of the golf course didn't notice it last summer. But yeah, I'm not trying to play a crime scene investigator. It just seems like, on the surface, that SFFT really has little to do with this. So, hopefully it'll all kind of blow over during the investigation.

Yeah, I remember back in August, screamscape posted a link to the expansion plans with the artwork for the proposed expansion/makeover to the Sahara. As you can see, Speed is nowhere to be found. Apparently they are trying to shed the gimmicks of amusement rides and align themselves with the classier, modern casinos that have become so popular. It doesn't sound good for the ride.

^I think the general idea is to continue to show just how crazy PETA is. I think the logic behind it is that maybe if enough people just call out PETA on how absurd their publicity stunts are, maybe they will just go away and their opinions will get ignored. That doesn't mean this logic is rational or effective, but I think that's the thought behind it. It's nice to know that there are actually vegans/vegetarians/PETA members who actually feel that PETA is starting to get ridiculous, though.

Actually, it makes total bloody sense. When you consider the fact that the remains were found on the northwest corner of property near the golf course, seen here , there really is no reason for anybody within the company to go around this area. Knowing how large this area really is, its not unlikely to believe that nobody noticed a smell, or simply wrote it off as a dead animal. Anyway, as posted on Screamscape (along with the map image), the remains have been identified. It's pretty sad, really. I can't help but think that there was foul play involved.

The single loudest moment on a coaster I've found would easily be the lift hill of Steel Hawg. It's the only time I've ever actually made an effort to plug my ears on a coaster. It definitely made the hour and a half line that much more annoying. The rest of the ride is just fine, though.

I'm starting to believe that the most successful way to build a park is to start on a very small level and allow it to grow slowly as awareness builds. I know many people thought it was stupid to build a large park of this caliber in Myrtle Beach, but then again, look at where parks like Holiday World, Knoebel's, and Cedar Point are located. I'm with Robb on this, though. I imagine they would have fared had they operated on a free or minimal admission basis. The Pavilion seemed to always be packed, which I'm sure had a lot to do with the fact that anybody could come in and check it out for free. Had Hard Rock taken that approach, they might have been able to place themselves among the many open attractions that are massively popular in the Myrtle Beach area, such as Barefoot Landing, Broadway at the Beach, and formerly The Pavilion. I can't help but think they would have drawn a lot more people through the gates and at least made a killing on food (had they placed more restaurants in the park) and merchandise. That's my serious, analytical moment of the day.

^Touche, my friend. Steel Hawg owns just about all extremely compact coasters.

I'm pretty sure they will probably have it roll on through the station and up the lift hill, only to be reversed, similar to all the boomerangs and the Maurer Sohne Skyloops. I could be wrong, though. I honestly prefer Vekoma Flyers to B&Ms, outside of Tatsu, so these Sting Rays look pretty freaking cool, but yeah, it seems pretty obvious that the capacity is going to suck. But on the other hand, is there anybody out there who wouldn't prefer to see these compact flyers pop up at small parks instead of Zamperla flyers? EDIT: I guess so, on that last bit!

Who's buying the Kool-Aid?

With the ruling coming in on the Spa controversy, it's official: Formula 1 is dead to me. I don't care who you support, it seems plain as day to me that the officials that day severely screwed up and I can't help but question their motives. Lewis and Kimi went into the Bus Stop side-by-side, and after cutting the chicance, Lewis let Kimi completely go by. How did he not "sufficiently surrender the advantage gained?" I understand that the FIA laws don't allow appeals to these types of penalties. I think it's pretty stupid, but I understand. However, I don't understand why a penalty this harsh was assessed in the first place. This single penalty seriously jeopardizes the integrity of Formula 1. And quite frankly, for me, I no longer feel the competition is fair and legitimate because of it. So with that said, I am done with F1 until something happens that shows me the operations have changed.

^Pssh, Yeah!! "Former World Champ" just means I'm more experienced, son! Honestly, and I can only imagine the heat I'm going to take for this, my favorites are still the defunct bumper cars at SFOT. They also had an oval track format, but were faster and lighter, so you could actually spin people out and slam into them. I can't believe I just said that something in Texas is better than something in Pennsylvania! It's possible that I might have slight emotional attachment to them though, since after all, that's where I earned my World Championship title (see avatar).

Day 5: Knoebel's and Dorney! So, this was one of the most stressful and hectic days of the entire trip. After an hour and a half drive, we arrived at the Knoebel's parking lot. I was waiting for the people in the car next to us to get out before I tried to, but they were just staring at the back end of my car. So I got out and found smoke billowing from my left rear tire!!! As I walked over near the tire, I could feel the heat radiating from it. Eventually, a worker came over and told me that if it didn't stop soon I'd have to move it elsewhere (since their parking lots or grass). Well, it didn't stop for probably 20 minutes. Eventually, I forced Andrew and Robby to go and enjoy the park while I tried to deal with our car issue. The nice folks at Knoebel's gave me a little car advice and then pointed me in the direction of a mechanic. The news wasn't good. My left rear brake had become jammed, destroying the brake, the brake line, the brake caliper, and the rotor. So, we were indefinitely stuck at Knoebel's until the car was fixed. The mechanics took me back down to the park and thrashed on the car all day. Our scheduled time of departure came and went, so our time at Dorney was quickly ticking away. Knoebel's was fun as always, but it was hard to fully enjoy the place when I was frustrated about the car and eagerly waiting for a phone call. The highlight of the day though, was without a doubt, the Flyers. I skipped out last year, which was a big regret. We were all completely blown away by their awesomeness. That might be the best freakin' flat ride in all the land. We were all a bit underwhelmed by the bumper cars. It seems unanimous that these are the best bumper cars around, but we just didn't quite understand. Don't get me wrong, they were good! But they weren't amazing. Maybe it was just the mood we were in and the fact that half the people who rode with us were freaking idiots that didn't understand how to operate a bumper car. Can't exactly say that they are my all-time favorite. I could write quite a bit about our day at Knoebel's, but I'm not going to worry about it. Sorry for the lack of pictures. We just weren't really in the picture taking mood while at the park. Eventually, at 5:30, we got a call saying that the car was fixed. After a quick discussion, we decided to go ahead and try and do as much of Dorney as we could. So we hauled our way over to Allentown and walked into Dorney's front gates around 7:30. Yep, two and a half hours to conquer the park! It's not the craziest thing I've ever tried to do at a park. I'll let the pictures tell the rest. Enjoy! SFGAdv is next! I really regret not buying this hat so I could go as a socially awkward ACEr for Halloween this year. SFGAdv is next! What the crap? Why would somebody, other than nerds like us, go to Dorney and buy shot glasses of Xcelerator or Shivering Timbers? Haha!!! Andrew didn't know how to brace himself for the holding brake! Finally, after conquering Laser, Steel Force, Thunderhawk, Wild Mouse, and getting multiple rides on Hydra and Talon, the only thing left to do is Voodoo. Maybe I have to ride it in order to break my blurry photo curse. Most of my better angles throughout the day were ruined my blurriness. I know, it's a crappy picture, but I still sort of like it. Maybe it's because we were only there for two and a half hours, which also happened to be at night, but I really thought Dorney was one of the best CF parks around. For me, it's second only to KBF. Here's Wild Mouse, which in all seriousness, was probably our longest wait of the night! At least it doesn't suck as bad as SFKK's version. "Why does everybody hate this ride so much?" It really was a lot of fun. Like I said, the only downfall is how the last 1/3 of the ride dies out. But hey, that doesn't stop people from ranting and raving about Boardwalk Bullet! "NERD!" Dang it! Andrew: 2 Scott: 0 ... our night ERT on Hydra! Robby, what are you pointing to?... Andrew, along with the rest of us, gave our approval! Again, it's not Batman intense, but it's not a cupcake coaster. Plus, the layout was a bit refreshing. Like it or not, you have to admit that this is one of the best looking coasters around. Well, we will have plenty of opportunities to form our own opinion with our Talon night ERT! Talon is another one of those coasters that everybody seems to love or hate. Now I'm not a trains nerd, but I got a kick out of this miniature train. I'd never seen anything quite like it. "New" for '08 is Voodoo. If only Laser could get similar treatment. We'll come back to Voodoo later though. Laser is incredibly intense and has awesome pacing... so naturally, it doesn't belong at a Cedar Fair park. Hey Jow! This also marks the beginning of the "NERD shot" battle. Andrew: 1 Scott: 0 I couldn't care less that the thing is sitting on wooden blocks, this thing is awesome! If somebody is capable of doing THAT, then I think line jumping SHOULD be a sport!! Laser is 1/3 of the reason why we came to Dorney. In typical Cedar Fair fashion, Dorney is removing it's best ride. BONUS Fun Fact of the Day: Steel Force is the world's tallest and fastest mine train coaster. It was sort of fun, but for a 200 ft tall coaster, it left a LOT to be desired. The "airtime" was barely existent which isn't particularly good for an out-n-back coaster. We actually had a conversation in the middle about what ride we were going to do next! Steel Eel > [2(Steel Force + Wild Thing)] Somebody ralphed. The car ride might be the best ride in this picture. Next we headed to Steel Force, the Morgan hyper that towers over the entire park. Fun Fact of the Day: Steel Force is the 18th best steel coaster on the planet. It's better than rides such as Sheikra, Raptor, Titan, Hulk, Kumba, Goliath (SFMM), Tatsu, Xcelerator, Storm Runner, Kraken, Fahrenheit, and Dominator. I know this because I read it in Amusement Today. So honestly, it wasn't the most intense coaster on the planet, but I wouldn't say it was any less intense than Superman Krypton Coaster or Medusa. It was actually a blast up until the direction change after the cobra roll. Then it just died. They should have just ended it there. I expected the jojo roll to be about as lame and stupid as the music of Katy Perry. It was surprisingly cool and fun though, along with the rest of the ride! Well, our Hydra ERT will allow us to find out!! And it has a zero-g roll! Can it really be that bad? So I've always been fascinated with this thing simply because everything it does is so unusual for B&M. The order isn't predictable and some of the inversions are tweaked and goofy. So seeing how that we were all pretty curious about this ride, I love floorless coasters, and Andrew was a floorless virgin (yes, he's from Florida... I know), we went straight for Hydra. I'm really not sure why this place has such a bad rap. We'll hit you later. We're kind of interested in seeing what everybody is whining about on Hydra. Talon is staring us down, taunting us saying, "You have two and a half hours to own everything. Yeah, good luck with that." Just a reminder of where we are. I just need to vent about how Cedar Fair needs to seriously up their season pass game. It's so convenient at the Six Flags parks where you can simply scan your pass and walk in. At Cedar Fair parks, you have to go to guest relations, wait to be helped, and then fill out a sheet before you can enter. But at the same time, they stare at me kind of funny and I get to pretend I'm from California. Hooray! More Cedar Fair goodness! I'm a bit of a Pennsylvania fan boy because you have cool little towns like this one, along with awesome parks like Waldameer, Kennywood, Hershey, and Knoebel's. We found this sign to be hilarious, particularly because the guy has obviously had a really bad day, given the placement of his hand in comparison to the rest of his body. And I know its a travesty because it's Knoebel's, but that's actually all of the Knoebel's pictures I have! We were really pressed for time and were content with Knoebel's, so we jetted off to Dorney to try and get in what we could. Many people say these are the best bumper cars in the world. We were all slightly confused by this. Can't exactly say they are my favorite. Good? Yes, but I didn't really see how they were so superior. Maybe if the people we rode with knew how to operate them, they would have been more fun. The little pedal makes it go. Turn the wheel left to go left, and vice versa to go right. It's not complicated, people. (Parking + Auto Advice + Gate Admission + Southern Chicken Dinner) < $5 I think they are trying to beat Waldameer's record for time spent trying to finance/build a new coaster. I remember standing here almost exactly a year ago thinking, "man, I wish it was open. Hopefully I'll make it back next year." Day 5 started out at Knoebel's in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania. The problem with it being in the middle of nowhere is that you don't have a lot of options should your car breakdown. Since my day was cut short due to car problems, I really didn't focus on taking many pictures at Knoebel's. It just didn't seem as good as I remembered. Phoenix was "fun," but didn't have any of the ejector airtime I remember.

Since becoming a junky, my longest hiatus was about 11 months, from June of one year until May of the next. Fortunately, long breaks such as that one ended once I turned 16.

Yeah, that's a tactic I used to practice as well until I found out that if the tailgating moron loses control and splatters himself on a tree, I go to prison for vehicular manslaughter or a similar offense. So now I just enjoy writing their tag numbers down and informing the local law enforcement that they have an idiot on their roads. That's much more entertaining and effective.

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Day 4: Hersheypark! After Kennywood, we made a 3 hour long drive in our cold, wet clothes to our hotel in Carlisle, PA (a real gem of a town, let me tell ya!). After getting a few hours of sleep, we crawled out of bed so we could experience Fahrenheit, which had been teasing us the previous night's drive with numerous radio advertisements and billboards along the Turnpike. Our first ride on Fahrenheit was a lot of fun, but nothing earth shattering. Only two things really took me by surprise; First, I didn't expect the first drop to have a really strong effect since the crest was so gradual. But, no, you get ejected, especially in the back. Second, the little airtime hill in between the last few turns is insane!!! The entire train would suddenly scream every time the train went over it because of the intensity. As the day wore on though, the ride warmed up and sped up. The Norwegian loop began to sway more and more with each train's passing and everything became more and more intense. By night time, the twisting on the Norwegian loop was extremely quick, the trains just shot through the corkscrews, and the bunny hop was delivering some of the most intense airtime I have ever experienced. I know some people were annoyed that Hershey didn't install something with a little more variation from what is already in the park, but there were no complaints from our camp! It is definitely a nice compliment to the park's other Intamin looper. Storm Runner is simply one of the best rides I've ever experienced. I don't really know of a more complete coaster. It really has everything; inversions, air time, big drops, a launch, quick transitions, and high banked curves. Well, I'll leave it there and allow the pictures and captions to tell the rest/repeat everything I just said. Enjoy! Knoebel's and Dorney are next! And I'll close this segment with one more for all of you lift hill enthusiasts. Knoebel's and Dorney are next! We were fortunate enough to visit on a day where they actually operated the single-rider line, so we milked it for all it was worth. This ride was an entirely different beast once it was warmed after a long day of operating. Though, maybe I shouldn't use the word "beast" since this ride is actually good. There are a few more night rides to be had though! Robby rolls in pleased after his wicked night ride. ... and it pretty much blew our minds! But I can totally understand why the voters of Amusement Today don't have a greater appreciation for its intense launch, wicked pops of airtime, fast pace, and unique, thrilling inversions... especially when darkness is thrown into the mix. I mean, the ride just lacks so much, ya know? It's no Kingda Ka! In all seriousness, the wait for the front seat wasn't much different than the rest of the rows, so were pretty amped about our night ride... Yeah, that's right ladies... we travel the country riding roller coasters like this one, which drops 180 ft and goes from 0-70 mph in less than 2 seconds (as demonstrated by Robby). What's that, baby? 'Why' you ask? Because we're a bunch of rough ridin' bad asses with ostrich sized huevos, that's why. Don't all jump at once. We took an intimate ride up the Kissing Tower to check out the sweet overhead views of the park. Sorry for the not-so-sweet picture quality though. Falcon is an acrophobic, motion sick-prone person's worst nightmare... but a surprisingly fun, intimidating ride for those who aren't. My nomination for "favorite inversion." And right after we got in, we saw this... Finally! After three hours, the rides were finally up. It takes a LOT to make complain, but the situation became so irritating that we eventually left the park just so we could politely ask what their weather policy was (i.e. if lightning is within so many miles). However, before I even got my entire question out, the lady straight up offered me free tickets if I left! Most parks would say, "sorry, no rain checks," but they offered and I wasn't even asking! I just wanted to know what it would take before they re-opened everything. After seeing the clear radar we walked back into the park so we could wait it out a little bit longer.... Two and a half hours later, the thunder and lightning are long gone, but the rides still aren't open... they are beginning to make Cedar Fair look good. Long after the rains had stopped, all the major rides were still closed. We were incredibly excited to find that the Merry Derry Dip was still open! The Merry Derry Dip is essential a carpet slide, but damnit, does Hershey try to make this ride seem official. They even had an automated spiel for the thing. Can somebody please explain why the Merry Derry Dip was open, but the monorail wasn't? That's what she said. So the rains eventually stopped, but we quickly learned that Hershey has a Cedar Fair approach to weather. With everything closed, we went next door and had a bunch of cows sing to us about the complicated process of making chocolate. That's a hot look. I bet this one is a big seller! We sought refuge in a gift shop during the rains. "I get the feeling this might go on clearance soon. Just a thought..." And then the rains came... I felt like such a coaster bad @$$ 'cause I got pics of Storm Runner with a storm rolling in. That's right. Coaster ladies, pm me for the digits. I'm a baller. Red Robin's parking lot provided some cool pictures, though we don't recommend going to that Red Robin. They get pissed off at you when they screw up your order. No, no... that totally was NOT extreme!! Something about some washed up high school football player's hot daughter who skis and some other dude's son that surfs or skates or something and you shoot things... yeah, I don't know, but I do know one thing; that was totally a credit! EXTREME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How extreme is the Reese's Cup, Andrew? That's right, it's X-treme. I'm not going to lie, it wasn't until I started resizing and cropping these photos for the TR that I realized I got one of Storm Runner's trains at the top of the top hat. Hershey seems to have mastered the art of building rides on top of each other without giving the place a janky, carny feel. Jeff, are these credits? Sooperdooperlooper is a fun little mine train. Great Bear... it's a really fun ride, but it completely dies out at the end. Still, the GP eats it up. Considering capacity, it's been the most popular ride during both of my visits to the park. OMGZ!!! OMGZ!!! JONAS BROTHERS!!! WE MISSED THE JONAS BROTHERS!!! OMGZ!!! To us nerds, this is just a generic Boomerang clone, but to the GP, this is the scariest ride in the park! Seriously, the GP is terrified of the fact that this thing goes backwards! Fun fact of the day: There is a coaster in Illinois called the Whizzer that is better than Fahrenheit. I know this because I read it in Amusement Today. Back to Fahrenheit, I'm not sure what the general reviews have been, we were all big fans of the Norwegian loop! Not the most intense inversion ever, but it had some sweet twisting action. Hooraaaaay Lightning Racer ERT! Did Hershey hire the guys that planned Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom? It's like a fast, swooping sofa ride. Gotta love those Millennium Flyer trains. Wildcat is one of those rides I just don't quite 'get.' I've heard rage reviews of the thing in the past, and while it's fun, it's not very memorable outside of the first drop. ...Yeah, so much for that theory. It really doesn't matter when they have freakin' water falls along the track as well as automatic geysers. Oh, and you know that lever next to your seat that releases your water bomb? Yeah, don't pull that in the station as your ride op is coming to check your restraint. Seeing how none of us are fans of waiting 3 hours for family coasters, we went ahead and knocked out Roller Soaker, thinking that we would be safe from getting drenched since it was 65 degrees and few people had made their way over to the ride yet... [bad Idea #3 of the trip] There are at least a few people on these boards that will appreciate this. ...or maybe the voters just aren't fans of intense launches, crazy pops of airtime, awesome inversions that are unique, vertical drops, quick transitions, and nice settings? Maybe it's because the voters don't like waiting in cramped, unorganized stations. We went straight to the awesomeness that is Storm Runner following Fahrenheit. In case you guys didn't know though, Storm Runner isn't as good as rides such as Steel Force, Kingda Ka, Top Thrill Dragster, and Volcano. I know this because I read it in Amusement Today. Fahrenheit is a ridiculously good looking ride. As the day went on and the ride got faster, the Norwegian loop shake more and more. We couldn't believe how much the thing was swaying back and forth after each train passed at night! We'll have more of Fahrenheit later, though. It's not even the best ride in the park... The short little trains fly through this tight before rocketing over the "oh $%!!" hill. Seriously, every time the train went over that little bunny hop, the entire train would suddenly scream because the airtime is so crazy. We're talking Phantom/SROS-type airtime. Fahrenheit is one of those rides that you have to let warm up. It progressively got better throughout the day. Our morning ride was "really fun," while our afternoon ride was considerably better and by night time it was flat out awesome! Vertical lift porn! I really didn't understand why people thought vertical lifts were so cool, but I found out this summer. It really does have sort of a thrill factor to it. Like everybody else, as soon as the gates opened, we headed straight for Fahrenheit. Day 4 landed us at Hersheypark! The shops leading to the main entrance of the park really remind me of BGE.