coasterdude28

I bought tickets during the flash sale last week that have to be used this week. Worked out well as I am moving out of the DC area on Saturday so this will be my last convenient chance to make the drive down to KD. Does TT generally run in bad weather? The forecast this week is pretty ugly, so I'm trying to pick the best day to come down and get my first RMC rides in. I don't care about getting rained on, but I would be bummed to get there and not be able to ride TT...

If you would really prefer to rent a car, create a free account with USAA. You do not need to be in the military to create an account and use their travel perks. One of the travel deals is a car rental discount with a waived under 25 drivers fee, waived extra driver fee, and some other benefits.

Thanks for the input. I didn't realize schools got out so early down there. I think we'll pick one of he weekdays and avoid the holiday weekend crowds.

I'm planning to make a trip down to KD sometime next week to check out TT and get my yearly I305 laps in. Do you think it would be better to go on Monday (Memorial Day) when the park is open until 11:00pm or during the week when the park is only open until 6:00pm? I'm leaning towards during the week but that's a long drive for a short day. And when do area schools get out for summer break? Thanks, can't wait to ride my first RMC!!

This is super random and a long shot that any of you will know what I'm talking about, but...Shortly after El Toro opened there was filming done for I believe a Japanese TV show. Do any of you happen to have the final episode that came from that filming or a link to any of the footage online? This just randomly popped in to my head recently and I realized I never was able to track down that footage back then. Thanks!

Two things that these teasers have made me think: Rattle the windows makes me think of a station fly-through. The station building for Hurler was pretty huge so maybe they will use some of that space to fly through, coming in and/or out of themed shattered windows. And every time I see the "⊥T" it makes me think of the interlocking stalls on Twisted Colossus. I know it's extremely unlikely to see a similar element on this coaster since it's not racing but that is what I see when I look at the ⊥T.

I will be in San Diego next week with a friend and we are considering coming up to MM for a day. I have a season pass from GAdv. What is our best option for purchasing one ticket for my friend? Are there any discounts for pass holders from other parks? Thanks!

Any chance we see the first turn use an adapted version of the outward bank on Wildfire or the wave turn on Lighting Rod?

When I was at the park last Wednesday there were two guys working on Hurler on the structure. They were on the hill closest to the road. The only equipment I saw was a bucket truck but that wasn't being used. It looked like a ton of the demolition phase has already been completed. We may see new supports and maybe even track go up pretty soon. And, bumping this just because I'm so curious as to why they would need to do this...

I saw something interesting at I305 today that I'm hoping someone here can explain. A train was boarded and they proceeded to check the restraints. I'm guessing some error was being given so the ride ops had the restraints rechecked several times. They then had everyone get out and get back in the line. That train was sent around empty. They then loaded the riders into the next train but made an announcement that they had to sit on the opposite side from where they were originally sat. If you had been on the left, now sit on the right and vice versa. After several checks of the restraints that train was sent out. The empty train came around and the next riders boarded without issue. I've seen a lot of technical difficulties, block resets, restraint resets etc. This was the first I've seen where they had everyone on the train switch sides. Is it a weight/balance issue? Are the restraints on one side larger and they needed to accommodate a larger guest but didn't want to single them out individually?

So...how did it go?

That turned out pretty good. Will you be able to do a video walk through of your haunt once you have it all up?

Ah ok, I didn't actually read through that page very closely I guess. Just used it to show you what it looks like. If you have a way to "charge" the glow in the dark paint and it holds the charge for a while it should work fine. As for actor tips, sure. These are all pretty basic but you should definitely check out the HauntWorld forums for more in depth discussions on this stuff. 1. Don't touch the guests 2. Along those lines, be cognizant of their personal space and yours. When people get started they react in a bunch of different ways. One of those ways might be swinging. 3. With your budget, time, and space constraints you'll be relying heavily on startle scares. Noise helps. If you can get a good screamer that works but there are other (and arguably better) ways to make noise to startle. If they are screaming, advise them to have plenty of water and throat lozenges as it can get pretty irritating. 4. Stay in character and be ready. There will be gaps between groups but nothing will ruin the atmosphere for the guests more than if they walk through and see two of your actors talking about the football game. I'm not saying that they need to talk to each other in a creepy voice, just be aware of where the guests are and don't let them see or hear any non-scary talk. 5. Blend in to your surroundings. This will be really easy for the person in the mask if you end up doing that. Just be super still until you're ready to jump out. 6. Teamwork. It is super easy to scare people when you have one actor distract and another scare. Use misdirection. Work tegether to figure out what works best in the space you have. 7. Have fun. If your actors aren't having fun it will definitely show.

^Yes, glow in the dark paint on the masks makes for a cool effect as well. I think the last link I included above shows what it looks like with glow in the dark paint.

I've worked on or for haunts at the high school, college, and professional level. I designed and built one room for a college haunted house on a very low budget. Basically you need to use darkness to your advantage. Black cloth/sheeting, dark costumes, minimal but effective lighting, etc. Don't expect to be able to build a serious multi-room haunted house on a budget though. Aim for a one room 60 second type of thing. One super effective scare is to get a bunch of masks, like these for example: https://www.amazon.com/Design-Your-White-Face-Masks/dp/B00BAD2F0O Hang them along both sides of a corridor where the walls are black. Use the black sheets or cloth to make the walls. Then have one person wearing one of the masks, dressed in all black, who jumps at the people walking by. The effect is easy but gets good scares. Here is a good description of this with pictures: http://mizerella.blogspot.com/2011/01/13-black-light-mask-room.html Basically, don't expect greatness but don't let that stop you from trying. Have fun and learn from the experience. I'd love nothing more then for you to manage to make a really successful attraction and prove us all wrong.

Great report, both pictures and writing. Thanks for sharing! Had I known you were heading to BGW when I heard you talking behind me on I305 I would have abandoned my friends, let them drive my car back, and joined your group. I've only been there once, about 5 years ago, and absolutely loved the place. Glad you did as well.

^^^The old 70/73 circle was the absolute worst. Kaighns and Church one is bad too but mostly because people don't know how to navigate it and end up just stopping or not entering the traffic flow. I remember the Berlin circle being bad a while back too but they've fixed that. On the other hand, I think the jug handle that you use to get to Wawa near GAdv is actually pretty helpful to traffic flow. A line of cars waiting to turn left at the light would definitely cause some backups.

Also had an amazing day and night at KD yesterday. Got a nice mini marathon on I305 in the morning and again at night. Such an insanely good coaster. Very front and far back are best imo but no matter where you end up you are pretty much guaranteed an incredibly intense and fun ride. Haunt was really good but does have room for improvement. Most of the actors I saw were fantastic. SFGAdv has always been my home park so it's always nice to go to a haunt event that has more than 3 mazes. Some of the mazes, specifically Trick or Treat and No Vacancy, were so detailed and well designed. Boldikus, were you there last night? I think I was in the front row on I305 when you were in the 2nd. I heard two people talking about how they'd trade I305 for Kingda Ka in a second and assumed it must have been one of the SGFAdv guys.

I'll hopefully be visiting the park this Saturday for both the day and their Haunt event. I haven't been to KD's Haunt event in a long time and I'd like to be able to do as much as possible without a FrightLane pass if possible. Do you guys have any tips on what order we should do the mazes, which mazes should be priorities, or any other helpful information? Thanks!

I walked by Gale Force last night. Looks great. The color combination is perfect and it dwarfs everything around it. I'm excited to check it out when it opens. It is really close to the neighboring houses/apartments/hotels so hopefully the noise issue is worked out. There were a couple of guys in the station and climbing on the train. It looks like there is still quite a bit of work to be done on the station area, and they need to build a permanent fence on the street side. Currently you can walk right next to the track with no barrier.

Royal Caribbeans Anthem of the Seas had a rough day yesterday. After leaving from NJ the sailed into a winter storm with hurricane force winds over 100 mph and waves over 30ft. Some reports are saying 50+ft waves and 150mp winds. They had to hold their position and just try to stay facing the winds for several hours. Looks like a fair amount of cosmetic damage throughout the ship but hopefully the mechanical systems are all undamaged. A few reported health emergencies (heart attacks). They cancelled the cruise and headed back to NJ. This thread has several people who were on the ship documenting the experience as it progressed: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2312327 USA Today article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/02/08/anthem-cruise-ship-storm/79997114/#

I just booked a trip on Norwegian Breakaway, 7 day sailing from NYC to Bermuda and stays in port for three days there. This will be my first NCL cruise. Have any of you been on NCL or specifically the Breakaway? Any insight or tips that we should know of? Thanks!

I was actually talking about an element on a sit down coaster that would be like their stalls now except have a double up/down instead of just a parabolic stall. I can see how you thought I meant on an inverted coaster though.

I can only imagine what RMC is capable of. How about an inverted double down? Or an inverted double up.

See my last post about Mac King. You really can't go wrong with that one. Even if you don't like it you're only out $14 and an hour of your time. (And up 1 alcoholic beverage) Now you're in my wheelhouse. I'm a full time professional poker player and have experience with most of the Vegas rooms. Aria is nice but not the most well run room imo. By far the nicest room in town is at Wynn. Very comfortable, excellent dealers and floor, and as I said before they have the best drinks/food. Try their Mocha or hot chocolate if you like that kind of drink. As for finding a low limit hold em game, you may have to look at some of the smaller rooms. Download the app Bravo Poker. It lets you see what games are currently running at almost every poker room in the country. You may have an easier time finding a 2/4 or 3/6 limit game at Mirage, MGM, Harrah's etc but I'm not totally sure where the best games are for that. My suggestion would be to check out a few rooms and find one you like. One of my favorite parts of my yearly "work" trip is that there are so many options. If the games aren't great in one room you can find better within 10 minutes elsewhere. As for limit vs. no limit, it depends on what you're comfortable with. If you've never played poker in a casino setting before you'll probably be better off starting with a limit game until you get comfortable with the procedures, handling chips/cards, and just the excitement of it all. 2/4 limit isn't really beatable because the rake is too significant compared to the stakes but it would work fine for having some fun. 3/6 limit may be better. If you want to play no limit, again check the Bravo App to see your options. The smallest no limit game at most Vegas rooms is $1/3. Some have $1/2 though so look for those as the buyin will be a little smaller and the game plays smaller than the $1/3 games. There are a ton of low buyin tournament options as well. I'm not totally familiar with them as I am orbit a cash game player but, and you may see a theme here, check the Bravo App. Each room will have their tournament info listed on their Bravo page. A $50 tournament is a fun way to play without risking much but expect a really fast blind structure at those levels. Any other poker questions feel free to ask. You'll have a great time out there!