EastCoastn07
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Posts posted by EastCoastn07
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I really don't know because it's been so long... I can't even remember the last park I went to last season, let alone my last coaster. But I'm hoping to get a Phantom's Revenge fix very soon!
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Lookin good, I'm hoping to get a chance to make it out to California this summer so I can check it out.
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I understand the person at guest relations told you the park wouldn't close, but the fact that weather is very unpredictable, you can't really blame them. You said there was a chance that the weather was going to get bad, you decided to take the chance to drive down to the park even though there was a chance that the park would close. While working at Kennywood today, the park actually closed down at 2 pm due to the inclement weather. The park was initially supposed to close at 7, then it changed to 5 and finally they just decided to close it at 2. If Six Flags is anything like Kennywood, operating times can change due to numerous reasons, not just weather. If the weather is crappy and there's not a lot of people in the park, they might just choose to close down the park so they don't actually lose money from operating costs. The cost of giving a few hundred people in the park a free ticket to come back another day is a lot less significant than losing tons of money with having to pay the payroll as well as the cost of operating all the rides and concession stands. I understand you are very upset, but you just can't take someones word as an assuring factor in deciding to come to the park because the weather is very unpredictable and decisions can be changed several times if park officials feel they'll lose money keeping the park open instead of inviting visitors to come back another day. My only suggestion to you considering you live 2 hours away from your park, is that if there's a chance the weather is going to be bad, don't go. I only say this because having someone tell you the park will definitely not close is really iffy considering things can change in an instant if conditions get bad enough.
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I know it might sound like some of these guys are being rough, but they're actually really right about the quality of your paper. Many of things I noticed were already pointed out, such as your poor grammar and spelling and your tendency to go off topic and jump from topic to topic. I noticed you were 17 which means you're in high school and I'd just have to say this is a pretty poor written research paper, but maybe I only think that because I'm so used to having my paper's strictly graded when I took AP English in 11th and 12th grade.
If you want your paper to took seriously, one thing I would do is stay on topic. If your paper is on the history of amusement parks and how they have progressed over the years, STAY ON TOPIC. Don't stray off topic and start going into detail about the history of roller coasters because thats not really related to your topic. Yes, mentioning that roller coasters have contributed to the rise of amusement parks is acceptable, but going into detail about different elements and such just loses the audiences attention. Secondly, if this is a research paper, you NEED to do just that...RESEARCH. Don't only research either, you also need to give your source proper credit considering not all your information is coming from your head. Even if you re-word someone elses work, you still need to properly cite that information. A basic rule of thumb my high school teachers taught me is that unless the information is coming out of your head word for word, you need to cite it. So each time you bring up a different time in amusement park history, you need to cite it or you're basically plagiarizing someone elses research, which can in turn result in very serious repercussions. I remember several people who failed their senior project research papers because they failed to cite their research and weren't allowed to walk at graduation. Plagiarizing is a very serious issue and considering you're almost going to be in college, you really need to fix that in your paper.
Other than these two main issues, I would just overall work on your sentance structure and grammatical errors. You have a lot of sentence fragments as well so your paper needs A LOT of work. I would take a past poster's advice and write an outline for your paper. Start with a topic sentance, expand that into body sentances, and then use the information you find to build on your intro, body, and conclusion paragraphs. If you can, I would definitely use a 5 paragraph outline because its a lot more accepted than just throwing your information into random paragraphs and calling it a paper. Other than that, good luck...I just hope this paper isn't due anytime soon.
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Kennywood has been having very terrible weather. I had planned to go on the 3rd, but it rained all day so I planned to go yesterday, it rained, and today, it's still raining. My plan is to go next Saturday, and if it rains I'm going to go crazy.
Yeah, it's been pretty miserable at the park since its opened...It rained on opening day last week and while at work this week, it's rained just about everyone of the four days I've worked this week. The nicest day we've had at the park was yesturday, it was really cold early in the morning and very overcast but luckily cleared up by the end of the day and was somewhat warm but still chilly. The park actually closed at 2 pm today due to the inclement weather, so its been a pretty bad week for the park in terms of weather. I'm hoping it warms up by Wednesday because this weather is really starting to suck.
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You know for him supposedly "breaking into" Kennywood, he surely wasn't very secretive about it...I mean he was literally yelling throughout the video and if he had really broken in I'm sure he would have been found before getting to Ghostwood Estate. I mean the walk from Jackrabbit to the ride isn't the shortest one and I think it'd be really hard to get there without being seen by someone.
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The funny thing is, I only lived a few miles from this park when I lived in California...We always pass it when I go out there to visit my mom and she told me about this "no screaming" rule last summer and I thought it was really ridiculous. If I remember correctly there was an apartment complex right NEXT DOOR (literally across the street) from this small amusement center so maybe that's what got neighbors all upset is the close proximity to the ride. But what I don't get is that these people have no problem when teenagers go play mini golf and make tons of noise, or better yet the go karts they have there, but they have a problem with a few screams...that's just really ridiculous.
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Hey Robb, I know you said that we wouldn't be able to take pictures at all during the video shoot, but will we have any opportunity at all to take pics. I just want to know whether or not I should leave my camera at home.
Also, the pics look great...I can't wait till the 20th to get to ride this monster. I'm going to have to plan another trip up there sometime during the summer because I still need to ride Steel Dragon as well.
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I don't actually work for a park, but I will be working AT Kennywood Park this summer...I got hired by a company called Picsolve that operates all Kennywoods photo booths, including the front gate, Turnpike, Garfield's Nightmare, and the Log Jammer. My names Dan so if you see me at one of the photobooths or taking pictures by the entrance, stop bye and say hello. This is the first time I've had the chance to work at any amusement park and I'm loving the job so far.
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Sounds like you had a pretty good time which is great. Unfortunately I was unable to ride anything at the park on Opening Day, I actually started my job there and was working Garfield's Nightmares photo booth for a majority of the day. I got hired by a company called Picsolve, who Kennywood outsourced their entire photography department to and so far I'm loving the job. I'll be working the four photo booths (front gate, Turnpike, Garfield and Log Jammer) this summer so if you're in the area give me a holler.
As for Ghostwood Estate, I was able to check it out on my break and from the looks of it, it looks to be a pretty cool ride. Hopefully I can make it to the park soon (for leisure this time) and check it out.
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So I was at the park today (not for pleasure, more for work) and had the chance to go get this baby out while I was on my break. My first impression was the building looked really nice, and for it being opening day the line was really short (of course it was pouring down rain earlier in the day). Hopefully I'll get a chance to check the ride out soon, maybe on one of my days off or something.
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Are they not even going to paint the supports...It seems like a ton of track has received a new paint job but the supports all seem to be the same color. I understand the color is part of the new paint scheme, but you'd at least hope they'd give it a fresh coat since they are trying to sell thsi coaster as being "NEW" for 2008.
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^ I understand where you are coming from, but those other avenues were put there to appeal to other audiences.
Yes, while I understand this in a way, I still feel throwing in other franchises like ESPN and the Power Rangers, which don't fit the Disney image at all IMO, kinda ruins the perception most people have of Disney. I sure as hell doubt there are any kids out there who look forward to going to the Disney parks because they'll be able to meet their favorite Power Rangers. Kids are excited to go to the parks to meet Mickey, Pluto, Captain Hook, Buzz, The Incredibles, etc. Why do you think when I was at Disney's Hollywood Studios last summer there would always be a mile long line to get the a STAMP from the incredibles, not even an autograph, but when I saw the Power Rangers there were only a few people meeting and greeting them? Quite frankly I don't feel they put Power Rangers in the parks to widen their audiences, I just feel its another scheme to try and make more money. I guess when you have a couple hundred gift shops throught the resort, there's no choice to add some variety to them instead of having all the main characters merchanise in each one of them.
And while I also agree with your point regarding the Pirates of the Caribbean, you are forgetting that it is a Disney movie. Power Rangers and ESPN weren't created by Disney, they were bought out so when I think of those two franchises I don't think Disney. However, Pirates of the Caribbean has always been a Disney franchise so of course they're going to add its merchandise to the parks, and I'm not against that. I just don't think merchandise for ESPN and the Power Rangers (to name a few there are others out there) necessarily fits with the Disney atmosphere at the parks. This goes back to the author's point of the high emphasis Disney puts on consumerism.
You were eight when you last went there. As a child, what would you've like to have seen?Just because I was eight doesn't mean I wasn't grown enough to take note of certain details when I went to the parks. The only reason I even mentioned my first trip to the parks was to make a comparison.
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^Disney owns ESPN and the Power Rangers (bought them some time ago), not to mention ABC.
Yes, I'm already aware of this. But just because Disney owns them doesn't make them a Disney franchise and doesn't mean they fit well in a Disney theme park. I don't know about you, but when I hear ESPN and Power Rangers, the first thing that DOESN'T come to mind is Mickey Mouse, Lilo & Stitch, Nemo, Buzz Lightyear, etc. I understand Disney owns them, but that doesn't mean that they necessarily will fit inside a Disney theme park...that's all I'm trying to say lol.
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It's not the sponsorship that put a sour taste in my mouth, it was just the fact that some portions of the resort were flooded with merchandise that had absolutely no relation to any of the Disney franchises (such as ESPN, the Power Rangers, etc.). I mean, it's just not something I go to Disney for. Sure, they're entitled to try to make money, but it just left a sour taste in my mouth when I went there recently (I still had a great time though). It's almost as if Daniel Snyder would flood all the Six Flags parks with Redskins merchandise simply for the fact he owns them, but I won't even get started on Six Flags' corporate sponsorship. Quite frankly I think they've gone overboard with it, but they've gotta get out of debt somehow.
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I think everyone...Hopefully this won't be the only tradition and/or "rule" changed (*cough* no inversion rule *cough*). Maybe Kennywood has been considering building a coaster with inversions, I'd rather prefer that than a B&M Hyper.I see, thanks for clearing everything up! Very interesting read! I always thought a GCI, or a wooden coaster similar to Ravine Flyer II (either GG or any other company that makes similar coasters), would fit Kennywood perfectly. They could use a modern wooden coaster.
I completely agree...If the park was willing to spend $15 million on a new B&M or Intamin, sure I'd be all for it. But the fact that the chances of that happening aren't very big considering this is a small amusement park, I'd be all for a new GCI woody or even a Gerstlauer eurofighter. I was skeptical at first about those things and thought they looked pretty cheap, but from what I've heard about Mystery Mine and several of the other models out there, I think something like a eurofighter would be great for Kennywood. They have fairly compact layouts and the possibilities with the things seem endless. They're forceful, they have inversions, and the height limits are reasonable for a park like Kennywood (Mystery Mine has a height limit of 48' and Spongebob's Rock Bottom Plunge a height limit of 32'). And I think if it ends up being a wooden coaster, I think regardless of the company (GCI or GG), it would be a excellent ride because some of the things those two companies are coming out with are just amazing. Quite frankly, I'd be happy with either of these two possibilities, but if the park wants to spend the money and build a B&M or Intamin, I'm all for it. However, I'm not going to get my hopes up. lol
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Hmm...seems like to me the fanboys (or the so-called "non-fanboys") are not pleased because the author didn't put Disney in high regards as they do. I honestly liked his take on the park and his article was pretty entertaining. I don't hate Disney(don't really like it either), but you won't see me praise that place like damn near everyone else on this site does.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I completely agree with you and Philrad completely. After reading this thread, most of the people made this guy sound like he's committed some kind of crime for not praising every single thing about the Disney parks. I just went to the parks last summer and I would have to say he made some valid points, even though he kinda wore out the whole idea that Disney isn't real (OK, we get it, it's fake) but it surely isn't against the law to express your opinion and the guy did just that. I think this quote pretty much summarizes how he felt about the parks:
1) a meaningless, bubble-headed utopianism, 2) a grasping, whining consumerism, and 3) a preference for soulless facsimiles of culture and architecture instead of for the real thing.While I think he was being a little picky about the fact that Disney is fake (who would have thought, its a theme park), I agree for the mot part with points 1 & 2. While I don't think the fact that Disney seems like a utopia in the eyes of its visitors is such a bad thing (after all we go to these parks to get away from the real world), I completely agree with his point on Disney and consumerism. When I was at the park this past summer it really annoyed me that since my last visit in 1997 the parks have thrown in so many non-Disney related franchises, such as ESPN, Power Rangers, etc. simply to try to make money. I understand that all these companies are operated together, but things like this really threw off my visit. I didn't go to Disney to see stores stocked with ESPN merchandise with a picture of Mickey or Minnie on it to make it seem more Disneyesque. But I guess that's what's changed so dramatically since Magic Kingdom opened for the first time and how larger corporations have now taken advantage of Walt's dream to try and make a quick buck.
But really, after reading this article I really didn't find anything offensive for people to get so bent out of shape about. While he did make some out of the ordinary comments on several aspects of the park, I certainly don't feel he tried to give readers the wrong idea about the parks or take away any of the parks glitz or glammor. While I don't feel he was able to capture everything that makes the Disney parks so special, I don't feel he was trying to put any bad light onto them either. I just think he was trying to give his honest opinion on his experience at the parks, there's no need to get offended by that.
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^I see, thats pretty cool. I wonder how long it will be.
I believe they said the ride is going to have 8 different rooms, so it'll be pretty decently sized. However, that building that it currently sits in isn't the biggest out there so I can't imagine this being that long of a ride.
Hopefully this won't be the only tradition and/or "rule" changed (*cough* no inversion rule *cough*). Maybe Kennywood has been considering building a coaster with inversions, I'd rather prefer that than a B&M Hyper.I think everyone getting their hopes up about Kennywood getting a new B&M coaster is going to cause a lot of disappointment whenever the park does indeed add a new attraction. I mean, I had the chance to talk to Jerome Gibas the park's general manager at Swing Shot's media day and he did say he would prefer a B&M if the park was to get a new ride, but then he brought up the fact that a lot of B&Ms out there have over a 52 inch height limit, I know some even have 54. We all know something like this is a problem for Kennywood as this would limit the audience greatly. Kennywoood is known for being a major family park, and if you limit the people who can ride the ride, it really gets rid of that image. Phantom's Revenge is a very family friendly ride, my little cousin rode it for the first time last summer and he's only 7 years old. That's a very good age for kids to start riding their first steel roller coaster, and for even littler kids, they have several other coasters to prepare themselves with.
Other than the height limit issue, when was the last time Kennywood spent over $10 million on a single attraction before? Each of the park's last few new attractions have cost the park very little. Since their last NEW coaster was built in 1999 when Exterminator was introduced, the park has installed Aero 360, King Kahuna, SwingShot, revamped the Old Mill and Enterprise to new themes, and replaced the Steel Phantom with Phantom's Revenge. Now if you think about it, none of those rides really cost a lot to build. Swingshot only cost the park around $2.3 million, King Kahuna was sent to them from Lake Compounce, which they own, and neither of the other rides broke the bank if you know what I mean. Their biggest investment was probably the building of Phantom's Revenge, but considering Morgan only had to redo a little more than half of the ride, I really can't see that it cost the park a lot to do, but since Kennywood didn't release the price of construction we can only assume this.
Maybe the new ownership may help change this, but I really don't see the park breaking the bank on a B&M or any coaster with a cost as much as one. I mean if you think about it, at that price, the park could most likely get a new wooden coaster and a eurofighter instead of one B&M, which is something I think the park would do before they spent $15-20 million on a new coaster. You have to keep in mind this is a small park and is operated by two families, not a bunch of multi-millionaires. But if I had to take a guess at what the parks next coaster would be, it would most likely be something along the lines of a new wooden coaster (GCI or GG) or eurofighters considering their high popularity right now. I think the chances of the park getting a B&M or Intamin coaster is pretty slim, not only due to the high cost but also the height requirement issues. I can guarantee you that if and when the park decides to go with a new coaster, they will go with something they feel is a ride the whole family can enjoy together, not just teenagers. If you remember the year they built SwingShot, their original plan was to build a Vekoma SLC and Jerome said one of the biggest reasons they changed their mind was the fact that they didn't feel it was that big of a family oriented ride. So I don't see the situation being any different for their next coaster. But hey, you never know, the park could surprise us, so we'll just have to wait and see.
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Voodoo looks like the perfect new attraction for Dorney Park! I'm extremely happy they saved this ride! The last time I was at Geauga Lake and rode it, it sounded and felt AWFUL. Definately needed to get the refurb!
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by the ride sounding awful...If you're talking about the screech that the ride made on the back spike, that sound has always been there since I can remember. Other than that, I can't think of any out of the ordinary sounds SV making the last time I rode it.
I had the chance to ride SV in its last season of operation before it closed down and I can remember the ride was running pretty good. If it wasn't for the accident the ride had that caused the ride to have a major closure, I don't think the ride would have received any attention other than a new paint job when it got moved. However, the accident did cause a lot of damage and from what I know from the accident, a number of the LIM fins and motors were damaged, so CF had no choice to repair the ride. Hell, they were too cheap to do so at GL and that's why it never opened after the accident, but I'm sure they had no willingness to do so since they knew the park was closing down ayways. I'm sure the coaster is going to be a nice attraction to the park, but I'm not a big fan of the traditional Intamin impulses. I'd much rather ride Vertical Velocity (SFDK) over a standard impulse anyday lol.
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So I take it they were able to resolve the clearance issue or whatever it was that was causing the trains to not be able clear the turns?
The trains look great, I wonder if there's any plans in the near future for WDW to get some updated trains, although it didn't seem they needed it the last time I visited the park.
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The Drop Zone time down I was reffering to was right after the SFKK accident. All the Intamin towers in the US were shut down.
-Not Cedar Fairs fault-
If anyone was to blame for that particular downtime it was SFKK for their lack of maintenence on their tower.
Yes, you are very right from what I know all the towers were indeed shut down, but I know for a fact that not all of them were down for weeks like you are saying. I was at Kennywood a few days after the SFKK last year and I figured Pitt Fall would be closed due to all the closures in the country, but it wasn't. From what I heard from other people, the ride barely had any downtime at all. So yes, while part of the blame can be blamed on the massive closures due to the SFKK accident, saying that is the reason a ride was down for more than a few days is pure ludacrous. I'm sure part of the blame can be put on KI's mechanics as well.
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I think they have left out the peice of track that connects the brakes to the station out so they can put the trains on the track? Would they even have to do that?
Don't they usually assemble the trains on the transfer/storage track usually? From the pics I saw it looked like this was the case when SFMM was assembling the new X2 trains.
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What I find pretty funny, is the fact that not just people in here, but people in general, think THEY know what is best for this park. I watched the PCN channel the one night when they were talking to Mary Lou and I just couldn't stop laughing at how ignorant most of the people in Pittsburgh are in regards to this issue. Quite frankly I myself was half tempted to call in and put my two cents, but the show was over by the time I had the chance. Listen, I've been visiting Kennywood for most of my life now and I totally understand how this park has affected people's lives in so many different ways, but just because Parques Reunidos is taking over doesn't mean that's going to change.
People point to the things that happened to parks like Knott's Berry Farm, but when Cedar Fair took over did they leave the current management in place? All Kennywoods officials will be staying after the purchase and complete so I don't know where people are getting some idea that the new company is going to come in and make drastic changes, when the people who have been making the decisions for the past who knows how many years are going to remain at the park. The only significant change I see happening with this purchase, is the park is going to have a lot more capital to work with. Maybe now they won't be so hesistant to start the new expansion, move the picnic pavilions, build the indoor waterpark and hotel, build new coasters and better rides, and the rest of the things they've been planning for the last 10 years or so. So really, all I can really say is, if anyone knows what is best for this park, it would be the people in charge of the park and the people who actually run an amusement park chain, not all the naysayers who think that this company is going to turn the park inside out and build 1,000 taco stands throughout the park.
Give it time people, maybe we'll see a new eurofighter next season!
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I just saw this an hour or so ago...It sounds pretty kick ass if you ask me. I think the new paint job is going to do a lot for the coaster, I've always thought the pink was a little out of the ordinary. Hopefully the new trains will bring life back to the coaster because I also agree that the ride was pretty violent the last time I rode it as well. Hopefully this overhaul will do a lot for the coaster.
Waldameer Discussion Thread
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
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I don't know how you can base that off an onride POV, but okay...everyone's entitled to their opinion. I actually thought the coaster looked to have pretty quick pacing, especially through the first two hills and the turn around. I think it's going to be a great addition to Waldameeer and could possibly be the best wooden coaster in a few hour drive from Pittsburgh. I can't wait till Tuesday!