total13

Having just visited GL not even a month ago, I can say that (if everything we're hearing turns out to be true in the end) I'm not surprised. I even posted a prediction in a blog when I returned that the only coasters that would be left at GL were Dipper, Beaver Land Mine & Double Loop. I was surprised that this park existed in what-seemed-to-be-a nicer-than-most suburban area complete with new-looking strip malls right across the street. The park didn’t seem to fit the location and selling off the lakefront property seems feasible, especially with two (three if you count RWB) coasters being removed from the lakefront. I could easily see CF turning GL into a water/water ride park with a couple coasters, going even so far as ganking all of CP’s Soak City's rides to make GL a huge water mecca (a stretch perhaps…). But I can't see why they’d hang on to GL’s old water park slides unless they planned on using them eventually (even though there was that supposed failed sale a little while back) and just recently gated that section off. Why not free up the Soak City land at CP for ride expansion and "force" everyone a little more than an hour away for a kick-a$$ waterpark and bonus coasters? I'm not saying it's the most genius thing to do, but I could see it making sense to CF. I also think that, although CP won't get any of GL's coasters, they'd receive some flats; for instance, they don't have a ride like Texas Tornado (hey, it’s already painted Iron Dragon orange…) or Time Warp. Here’s a little diagram of how I could see the park looking in a couple years. Keep in mind that a) no financial costs were taken into consideration with relocating rides within the park, b) no rides would have to be moved clear across the lake, c) only 1 full-sized coaster and 1 kiddie coaster would be moved within the park, d) it seems to follow the “traditional” theme that we’ve heard about. Plus, the money that they could sell the $ land for could fund, I’d like to think, these plans. The X’s will be taken out completely and the X’s with white centers will be relocated to other parks. This will keep rides with less height to the edge of the park closest to the lakefront property, thus less of an eye-sore to the prospective buyers. It would add the kiddie coaster and carousel to their already-better-than-most kids area. It would also collect their “vintage” rides (Dodgems and Hay Baler {Flying Bobs}) around Big Dipper to join El Dorado (car themed Flying Carpet). Finally, their nice ferris wheel would get an even better location – right next to the water by the crossing bridge, catching the attention of people on the water side a little better. If I had endless funds and the ability to pull off this project, this is how I would do it. Sorry for the super long post but I just wanted to add my two cents/ideas. Geagu Lake - 2010?

7 hours for TTD spread out over two consecutive weekends in 2003. The first weekend we got in line in the early evening, then it started raining (big surprise, eh?) & never stopped. We wasted 4 hours in line that nite without getting on & drove back to Chicago. The following Friday I got off work & told the ms. to pack our bags coz we were heading back - I couldn't get it out of my head. We headed to TTD first & waited for 3 hours before finally getting on. So, yeah, we stood in line for 25,200 seconds to ride TTD for, what?, 20 seconds... Looking back, it was still worth it.

I will admit that they look good... I'm a bit skeptical of the comfortable-ness though; gonad crushing seat hump + steel bar in the gut/ribs = ?!?!?. I have to ask: where in god's name is the padding?!?

4 Correct. 3 right next to each other. But now only 1 of your "C"s is correct... Good job though!

0 correct - you had a coaster name in the right place but the wrong park. Sorry. There's a clue. I keep trying to drop them in...

3 Correct - and they all begin with a "C"

OK, so my math was off by a little I actually don't think it'd be "hopeless", especially since you could compare how many the entries before you got correct. I'll bet that someone could do it within 10 pages of the thread.

So I was thumbing through old park maps and came across this "book" that I bought for $1.95 at a grade school book fair. On the back, it lists the Top 15 Roller Coasters from 1985. I'm curious how long it would take before a TPR member could place them in the correct order? Coaster - Park American Eagle - Six Flags Great America Beast - King's Island Big Bad Wolf - Busch Gardens (Europe) Colossus - Six Flags Magic Mountain Comet - Crystal Beach (Ontario Canada) Comet - Hershey Park Cyclone - Astroland (Coney Island) Giant Dipper - Santa Cruz Boardwalk Mind Bender - Six Flags Over Georgia Mr. Twister - Elitch's Gardens Rebel Yell - King's Dominion (Riverside) Cyclone - Riverside Park (SFNE) Space Mountain - Disneyworld Texas Cyclone - Six Flags Astroworld Thunderbolt - Kennywood Park Rules: I couldn't find any reference to this book anywhere so it may be virtually impossible to cheat, but please don't try. If you somehow happen to also own this list, please don't play. Post your guesses in a list like shown above with #1 at the top and #15 at the bottom. I will try to post a response to each submission individually with a simple number of how many you have correct. If I can't get to you individually, I will do a batch of submission scores all at once. You have to wait to see how many you had correct in your latest guess before submitting another. No multiple guesses at a time - in other words, you can't post 225 different guesses (the number of possible results, I think: 15x15... ) I will post the rear cover of the book (as well as the inside pages) when someone gets all 15 correct. Thanks & good luck! Poster Plus - Roller Coasters!

Billy wrote: “Think its worth a trip from Long Island?” I don’t know how dedicated you are to going to GA from Long Island but it was definitely worth the five hour trip from Nashville. If I were heading to SFoG from Long Island, I’d make sure to hit every other park around it too! bulldogmom wrote: “Goliath looks awesome.” It absolutely IS if you enjoy airtime (and who doesn’t?)! If you’re looking for a more thrilling layout, speed and/or height, it may not be the coaster for you. But I think this coaster can be so universally loved that even the most novice of coaster rider can’t help but hold their hands up the entire time. It never gets “scary”; it’s just an amazing airtime coaster from beginning to end – even with the trim on after the helix. EagleFan344 wrote: “How would you compare Goliath to Raging Bull?” I, unlike you, am a Raging Bull fan (it’s also in my Top 10) but I, like you, also wondered if the two were similar and, quite frankly, the two are in completely separate categories. RB has that anticipated drop into the tunnel, immediately starts over-banking, only has two really good air-filled hills, and finishes with an intense helix. Goliath is laid out more like an L-shaped out-and-back woodie and, aside from the two over-banked transition turns and the helix; it follows a pretty straight pattern. I guess the best way I’d describe it is: RB is a mega-twister and Goliath is a mega-hyper. I’d rate the comfort of ride (i.e.: smoothness and seats) as the same. Airtime and overall appeal advantage: Goliath; more interesting layout and intense elements advantage: Raging Bull. I hope that helps! EagleFan344 wrote: “Also, how were operations at the park? Max capacity on most coasters?” Operations were virtually flawless. The only instance I saw with poor operations was as we were leaving the station on GASM, someone on our train yelled and the ride op slammed on the brakes; turns out their lap-bar wasn’t fully locked. After the problem was fixed and before we could even be fully released out of the station, the ride op left his control station to “address” the situation with the bar-checker. I actually commend him on this – show your guests that negligence will not be tolerated and that the next time they sit down in that seat they will be safe. Two trains were running on all the coasters (except Déjà vu, obviously, and Canyon Blaster) and were filled to the brim on departure (when there were that many people in line) – Mindbender, GA Cyclone, Ninja, GASM and DMT were all walk-ons! MrMorgan wrote: “Oh, and I accept your invitation to the "fill in the blank" game. Here:” Thanks for catching that! I was hoping that it would’ve elicited more responses. I mean, here’s everybody’s chance to say something bad about a coaster that most-likely wasn’t operating when they wanted it to… easytoremember wrote: “By the way, did you ever get on Monster Plantation?” I actually did and thought that I had taken a picture of the outside building; I guess I didn’t. It was cute - a little on the cheesy/weird side but, nevertheless, a nice cool ride in the 90 degree heat. Even though I had seen pictures of the animatronics inside, I thought that somewhere it would get scarier and not weirder. Perhaps it was even weirder for me coz I was seated behind a younger guy with pink/purple toenail polish… Yeah, that probably did it… HHIslandGirl wrote: “Did you have a pass, or did you purchase tickets there?” For the first time in my life, I have a SF Season Pass this year but I’m not aware of the VIP Card at GA Welcome Centers that you mentioned. I too grew up being spoiled (if you will) by CP and it’s hard for other parks to live up to my first impression as a youngin’ (even though it frequently gets slammed here), but I can say that SFoG is possibly another world-class coaster away from that level. I hope you have a great time when you go down! To anyone who wrote compliments and/or congratulations: Thanks! It was a great two days! Next up: Lake Winnie

Part two: Goodbye SFoG and Goliath and cute-yet-pointless fountain. You are easily my new favorite Six Flags park!! Thanks for making it all the way through this TR!! On the way back to the car I was able to get a double-lift hill shot. Could this day be any better? As you walk out, you can't help but see my 100th credit. Hopefully you will have as memorable a milestone credit as me!! This is for all the "I've always wanted to see a non-running train in a shed while the running train passes through it" people. Do you people even exist?!? With that ever-looming 100th credit and a new Top 10 entry firmly under my belt, a celebratory train ride was in order. After all, I saw it go past enough times... Front = extreme floater air. Back = extreme ejector air. Goliath = Perfect!! So glad, in fact, that another ride was inevitable - this time, in the back seat. OK!! I get your point!! You are The Ultimate Air Machine!! And I am SO glad that I saved you for credit #100!!! More air?!? Are you kidding me?!? Who can complain with an over-banked turn as beautiful as this? Then you catch even more air on this hill. ...the helix of death that is so much fun! And a pop of air heading into... And a diving transition like this. With air-filled hills like the first one. Well, Goliath actually does have a lot to be proud of! Are you proud of yourself? I can't turn around without seeing you! Goliath's ever-so-smooth lift through a tree and orange pillar. Goliath's ever-so-comfy train starting up the lift. 100th credit here I come!! Hooray!! I'm finally here!! Like the Tram Station... Like Georgia Cyclone's exit ramp... Like the Sky Buckets... Like the Spanish Area... Hi Bugs! Like Gotham City... Like the parking lot... After, surprisingly, the best ride in the park, it was time to head to my 100th credit... As I said before, you can see it looming from every area of the park... After all, I think you may need a little more than two household fire extinguishers to contain the Georgia Cyclone - that's a lot of wood! As great as it was, this sign worried me a little. What kind of tests did they run to determine we have exactly three minutes to get the hell out of dodge and who's gonna man the extinguisher?!? This is the sleeper hit of the park! The drops, air and forces were so unexpected and viciously good. I felt like I was just in a UFC match and won when I got off. It was THAT good! Intense doesn't even begin to describe how great Georgia Cyclone was! And even looked fun through the trees! It looked all twisty-turny and full of air! I was anxious to get my first Cyclone credit! FYI: The Georgia Cyclone is modeled after the Coney Island Cyclone (happy birthday btw), with one slight modification to my knowledge. On the way to Georgia Cyclone, the train passed again. Where doesn't this train go? By the time I reached here, Mr. Deathly Afraid Of Heights (that's me) just had the most fun on a drop ride EVER and rode it AGAIN!!

My "Best Summer Ever" Tour of 2007 next took me to Six Flags Over Georgia. After my last SF experience (KK), surely SFoG would have to be better, right?!? Well, it is - by light years!! After visiting SFGAm, SFStL and SFKK prior, SFoG is by far my favorite - beautiful scenery (for Atlanta & SF), great coasters, decent flats, and friendly and efficient employees. In fact, it was so good that I extended my stay and hit the park a second day - a first for me! With absolutely nothing to complain about on to the photos. Which I just now noticed I have to post in two batches coz there are so many... Again, thanks for reading! Six Flags Over Georgia - Music Video link: Acrophobia footage links: And this guy was NOT making it any easier!! Seriously!! He's the BEST addition to a ride experience ever!! Check out my videos at the top of the TR to hear this guy in all of his taunting glory!! At about here, I was really wishing I was back on the ground... At about here, I was repeating "there's no place like home"... At about here, I was calling for my mommy... At about here, I was sweating profusely... With all these great coasters under my belt, it was now time to test my acrophobia and nerves with... um... Acrophobia! Although it had three (yes, three) lifts, the surprise ending was a big highlight. I'll give you a clue: it involves the barn and the track that disappears into the ground... I don't think I've ever screamed on a mine until now! Next up: Dahlonega Mine Train - which is not very photogenic. Are ANY Arrow mines photogenic for that matter? And a cool fountain with a certain someone daring Robb to step up. There were some Kid-Tums-friendly rides in this section too. After Canyon Blaster, there was adorable Spanish area with a bull behind that door trying to break out and maul us all! But that's OK coz this not-so-little kiddie coaster was a blast (pardon the pun)! And it doesn't even get the bridge-goers wet! This is the only eye-sore-of-sorts (say THAT fast). And what NOT to spend their money on... They really knew what to spend their money on to give the guests a nice experience. This really is the most beautiful SF park I've been to! ...and ran underneath you. On the stroll, this little river popped out of nowhere... I couldn't believe that they had the old Riverview (Chicago) Carousel. How cool is that?!? If you don't know the history behind Riverview Park, you have homework - but wait til after the TR is done, please. On the way back into the center of the park, the train passed again. S:UF from the smoking section. Admit it: NOW you feel like you were there... And here's SFoG's smoking section from S:UF. Thanks for giving us like a 10 foot area. This'll hold, what, like eight people?!? SFoG's Superman was 10x better than SFGAm's - much better use of land to give a more visually-intense ride. Wow, this is the longest I've EVER gone without a smoke - must be a great park. After being beat up two coasters in a row, Superman: Ultimate Flight never sounded so good. My guess is it's this way. See, I'm getting better with directions... This is right before you SLAM into the brakes. And I mean SLAM!!!! I wish I could've ridden GASM when it was in its prime. It's actually a great coaster that hasn't aged well! Although the lift hill was faster than Ninja's. I guess it has something going for it... Signature shot of an equally painful coaster? The slowest lift hill in history is a precursor to the most painful ride in history - much rougher than the one at SFStL (but that was five years ago...) Ninja's (hopefully-used-to-be-not-as-painful) twisted goodness through the trees. Literally. Ninja is one bad mutha _____! Wheelie from across the pond where they hold picnics and catered outings that were in progress but I wasn't invited to... I will always love Enterprises! Must be coz I rode Witch's Wheel at CP when I was really young... They hold a Comedy Gun Fight Show here. Again, don't forget: you are in the South and everyone here has guns and they're funny. On the way to the painful rides (Ninja and Scream Machine) you pass through the very nicely themed Lickskillet Area. Couldn't they have come up with a better name? Way to give us people in the South a lasting sterotype SF!! Hey! There's me doing my best David Blaine impersonation in the window reflection. Here's a lil game: replace "closer" with a word of your choice. Had I known this pic would come out so cool (and, no, I didn't actually plan this shot), I would've rolled down the darn window. D'oh!?! And my hand-eye coordination is starting to come back to me... And I could see from pretty far away... ...SFoG's actually ran the entire day as far as I could see. While some are subjected to lawn ornament status... Symmetrical Deja Vu pic? Check. Proof that people are actually allowed to ride Deja Vu's every now and then. Aww, hell yeah!! Could I be so lucky as to get my second Deja Vu credit in as many tries? Ain't it purty? Of course, they had water cannons that you could douse the riders with on the platform where this pic was taken. See? Thunder River was one of the more beautifully landcaped rapids rides I've seen despite the boring entrance. The GP encountered through the French Area - not too bad of a crowd for a Thursday/Friday. Heading out of Gotham City, the train passes overhead and Goliath looms in the distance (actually, it looms in the distance from every area of the park). We'll get to that later... Even sitting on the brakes is scenic at SFoG. Proof that a good old coaster can stand the test of time! I enjoyed Mindbender so much that I rode it twice in a row! Great Mindbender scenery that you only see during the walk from the parking lot to the entrance. Lovin' me some Schwarzkopf loopidy goodness!! Next up was Mindbender. Was there a superhero or villian named Mindbender? coz I don't remember one... Great Batman scenery but for a second I thought I was back at SFKK... From the track itself... From the back of the parking lot... From the exit ramp... From the middle of the parking lot... From under it... You can see SFoG's Batman from every angle. Speaking of which... I always wonder why hasn't SFGAm updated theirs yet? It is, after all, next to Batman: The Ride, right?!? They even had the superhero version of the swings - Gotham City Crime Wave. Makes me wonder: wouldn't that be a better name for a water ride? The Hall Of Justice area was for people to meet their favorite superheros every hour or so. Kinda cool, if you're in to the whole superhero thing... See? Gotham City's next. It was probably the best looking version of the area that I've seen yet. Too bad the blacklights didn't work on the flourescent ride drapes when the lights went out. Here's an idea though: an indoor Scrambler with blacklights, strobe lights and 3D glasses... Simple curiosity urged me to ride Shake Rattle and Roll - an indoor dark Scrambler/Sizzler with oldies music. Care for a nice shaded stroll on a 90 degree day? They had a couple of these throughout the park. It was a nice touch to escape the sun every now and then. First up: many people's #1 stand-up. Not mine. Chang still owns Georgia Scorcher. It was like Iron Wolf at SFGAm but tighter and less painfull but still head-banging. The Promenade stage as you walk in that, I assume, they have small performances on. Is this the gateway to nirvana? Finally, after fighting through Atlanta traffic (the worst!), I have arrived. My five hour drive from Nashville consisted of scenes like this almost the entire time.

I'm sure that my observations three weeks ago have absolutely nothing to do with this tragic accident but there was one car that seemed to be out of service for the entire day that I was there - located to left of center as you're looking at the tower from the park entrance - and the entire ride was shut down for a while. Again, most likely in no relation. But it sure is scary for me sitting in front of my computer knowing that I was on it less than a month ago & hate drop towers (and heights in general). Not that this incident will have any affect on me riding towers, I just can't imagine what this (even witnessing it) would do to my psyche as a park enthusiast, let alone a random visitor. I'm sure that this is exponentionally more terrifying for that poor girl & I truly wish the best for her physically & mentally!

I can't believe what an atrocity SoB has turned out to be. I rode it back in its first season & actually liked it. Yes, it was a bit rough but it seemed to be less-rough (if I remember correctly) on the left side. For me, having a decent memory of how it ran, it's such a shame that they can't even get it to complete a full circuit now. I mean, physics is physics & engineering is engineering right?!? Did they NOT figure out that it could stall? I know that there are a lot of scenarios that could be taken into account but were their calculators/computers not working the day they decided a slightly new layout & different cars? In a somewhat-related question: assuming they actually do get SoB open again, since it should be such a different ride, would it be considered a new credit? Not that I'm counting or anything

Jay: thank you very much for posting on TPR! I am fully aware of the strides you and your managerial staff have made this year so far (as witnessed and reported by various TPR forum members) and the biggest expansion in park history (Splashwater Kingdom and Deluge, in particular) should definitely bring added guests and revenue to Kentucky Kingdom – it surely was the best water park I had ever seen. However, with all due respects, I had visited SFKK within the past three weeks and was disappointed, to say the least, being a coaster/park (and not a water park) enthusiast. Having visited two other Six Flags parks prior (SFGAm and SFSL - I know, not a lot) and many other parks, the Kentucky Kingdom’s staff’s courtesy and overall effectiveness appeared to be a grave hindrance to the mission you and your staff are attempting to accomplish. In addition to the issues I brought up in the trip report I submitted upon my return from your park (which I had delayed submitting because I didn’t want negative views to be the only views expressed {http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36304&highlight=kentucky+kingdom}), I made no mention of a Greezed Lightnin' ride operator on my initial short visit Friday, May 30. I understand that standing over the yellow line in the station and sitting or standing on the rails is potentially a liable situation for Six Flags but to have a ride operator delay operations and scream it over the loud speaker in a virtually empty queue is a bit over the top, in my opinion. It simply gives the guests that are obeying the rules the feeling that Kentucky Kingdom is not a fun & friendly place to visit. Just two days ago, Six Flags Over Georgia ride operators addressed the same situation with a much more friendly (and effective) manner; they simply brought it up matter-of-factly (and sometimes humorously) over the load speaker and the innocent always scanned the crowd (us innocent humans do that naturally) until our eyes become fixated on the guilty parties until they realize that everyone is looking at them and quickly return to the ground. Problem solved without negative experiences being had by innocent guests. Another issue I had experienced during my visit to SFKK was while waiting to be dispatched on Twisted Twins (the pink one – Lola {?!?}); the ride operators missed the synchronization intervals and we sat in the station for three (yes, three) green train circuits. Finally, the ride operators were able to get the timing correct but at that point I just wanted to ride – I couldn’t care less about dueling. To the staff’s credit, though, they allowed us to board the green train (Stella {?!?}) immediately without having to re-enter the line. I’m sure that my observations at Kentucky Kingdom (in both my trip report and here) were isolated incidents. However, in a full day’s visit, one should not encounter this many instances. Although I am about equidistant from both SFKK and SFOG, I would easily choose SFOG for the friendliness, experience and thrills (I, like stated earlier, am {like many members on TPR} a coaster/park fan) and rearranged my trip to go there one extra day. Until the good rides you do have (everything besides T2) can be rehabbed to their former glory and operations can run smoothly or, at least, you can avoid having riders hitting trees during their “best stand-up coaster” (as I have proclaimed and still agree with after riding Georgia Scorcher), unfortunately SFKK will not be my “home” park – I’d rather drive the extra 30 minutes to Atlanta. That’s not to say that people shouldn’t visit your park; there are great aspects to it – just not what I prefer in a park. I understand that a coaster/park enthusiast’s opinion is not the only opinion that matters in your position even though you do have support among us. If Non-German Tom (Shockwave) visited just a little more recently than me and saw significant improvements and an upper hand over SFGAm (my former home park, which is pretty darn good), you and your staff seem to have a handle on things. I am aware that you have to look at the big picture which is the majority, who are not coaster/park enthusiasts. I hope that there is a “bigger picture” and that the park is “heading in the right direction” that satisfies both coaster and water park enthusiasts as well as families looking for a nice getaway. I would love to see what the future holds for Kentucky Kingdom and am looking forward to the continued progress! Your dedication should be commended! I wish you the best of luck in your challenge!

odene497 wrote: "You've got to turn LEFT at Hellevator ( or whatever it is) to get to Greased Lightnin'! Anyways nice pictures. Yes, I finally did realize the flaw of my plan after it was too late - I will remember next time. Thanks for the comment on the pics! spaceace12 wrote: "I went to SFKK the day after HWN, My main draw was yours, and I ended up on the other side of the bridge. I pretty much agree with your coaster thoughts. The main reason I went was to make my Season pass worth what I paid for it." Yeah, next to HW (despite its lack of rides, in general, to SF parks) SFKK pales in comparison. The main reason I finally got a SF season pass is coz I'm hitting up both SFKK & SFOG this year - they're both about the same distance away from me. EagleFan344 wrote: "Ugh Greezed Lightnin was closed when I was there. Oh well I get to go on Montezooma's Revenge in July." It's been 22 years since I did Monte when I was 10 years old (back when it was yellow) and, yeah, it's the same ride - although it was cool to revisit my first looping coaster (Tidal Lightnin') many years later. I wish more Schwarzkopf shuttle loops were around these days but I guess they pretty much invented the one-trick-pony division of coasters. I don't care though coz I could ride them forever. There's hardly ever a wait for them (coz they're so short) and the "perfect" loop feels distinct for me in a "I remember when..." kind of way.

I took my first trip to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, my new home SF park, Friday, June 1, 2007. It was my first Six Flags experience since moving away from my old home park – Great America in IL. Needless to say, the old cliché kind of rings true in this case; I thought SFGAm sucked while I was there & now I miss it coz KK wasn’t even close to the quality of SF that I was used to. That being said, there were a couple things I found at KK that I never encountered before. First, it was over 90 degrees and a food stand that I stopped at had no cold water at 4:00 in the afternoon – not a huge deal but I had never been told “sorry, we have no cold water” before. At another food stand, I used a Season Pass coupon to save $2.00 and when the total seemed higher than expected, I asked for a receipt. The clerk told me that it was their “policy to throw out the receipts”. Strangely enough, my pocket was filled with receipts from every other stand I had visited during the day. Again, not a huge deal, but seemed kinda fishy. Then, while I was on the Himalaya, a kid two cars in front of me grabbed the leg of the girl directly in front me (his sister, I guessed) and held onto it for a good part of the ride. No harm was done, but I thought that it was quite unsafe and was kinda shocked that the ride op didn’t notice (or care). Earlier in this same ride, however, the ride op did stop the ride because a mother standing on the exit ramp thought that one of the riders (maybe her child) was getting sick. Needless to say, they were fine and the ride resumed, so we essentially had two rides in a row. The final problem I encountered was actually a pretty big deal to me coz I was almost removed from Greezed Lightnin’ for… not taking my sunglasses off. When I pointed out to the ride op that a) I had ridden it two days prior (I stopped in briefly before closing) and was not instructed to remove them and b) the rider in my exact seat in the last car was wearing glasses - WTF?!? (I obviously didn’t say that, but I was surely thinking it). She responded with, “Those were prescription glasses”. So, what’s the difference? Glasses are glasses, right?!? She (and I) refused to drop the issue - I wear hard contacts and they get really dry on coasters so sunglasses provide a nice shield from the wind. So I asked her what happens if I don’t take them off and she responded with, “You will have to leave the ride”. I was pretty fed up at this point and actually ended up talking to an operations manager at the end of my day and I am so not one of those “I’m taking this to management" types. The manager was very nice and assured me that the ride op was not following park policy by forcing me to remove my glasses – it is strictly suggested and at the rider’s discretion. She even offered to personally escort me to a ride of my choice (and possibly ride it with me) and an exit pass, but I respectfully declined as I didn’t want anything to come out it except some clarification and standardization of park policy. Don’t get me wrong, there were some good aspects to the park as you will, hopefully, see in the pics and video. This park’s video is located here: As always, thanks for reading! On my way back to Nashville, I stopped for gas and spotted this eerie sign for Guntown Mountain perched in the hills. It refers to itself as an amusement park but doesn't have any coasters that I'm aware of. Anyone been there? Well, SFKK... You sure have a lot of work to do, but you didn't completely disappoint me. I will be back again - just not any time real soon. Perhaps not the best idea with the what-seemed-like five minute cycle. Thankfully, there was a Funnel Cake shop nearby. (Sorry no pics of the FC - I ate it too quickly) I was so stoked to ride Breakdance that I saved it for the last ride of the day. It was your typical mouse that kinda gets lost with all of Greezed Lightnin's glow-in-the-dark-ness in the background. Next up Roadrunner Express. Why do wild mice (mouses?!?) seem to have much cooler entrances these days? I'm not sure about the day-glo green paint but Greezed Lightnin'/Tidal Wave will always be special to me. It's still just as fun as I remembered it (even without sunglasses)! Hooray for walking the entire park to finally arrive at my destination! Ok, now you are just taunting me. I'm on my way! ...my very first coaster with an inversion when it was called the Tidal Wave at SFGAm - Greezed Lightnin'. So I've made it back the to Giant Wheel (no, I'm still not riding it). That means that I must be heading back towards... Maybe someone else brought the tree problem to their attention, coz they parked a train on the lift later in the day. The second corkscrew and signature shot of my new favorite stand up! BTW I actually did grab one of the trees. Time to do some trimming guys! The first corkscrew which is better than Mantis' only corkscrew IMO. Horray for inclined loops although they are not an official inversion IMO. My favorite part! Hooray for dive loops! Chang through the trees! (Which is harder than it looks coz there ain't many trees at SFKK) The scenery isn't quite as nice as Mantis' at CP. You didn't think it was possible, huh?!? Chang towers over everything in the park - strangely opposite to Mantis at CP. Damn! No one in line to allow me some recuperation time. After being smashed to smithereens on T2, is it really a good idea to do Chang next? ...now!!! ...stop... ...it... Make... Unlike Thunder Run, I hadn't heard good things about T2 but had to ride my first SLC to see if everyone is blowing their suckiness way out of proportion. The rapid ride apparantly takes you on a tour through abandoned warehouses as opposed to an actual river rapid. I think you can remove this sign now. BTW I can't imagine having to turn around here! It has to be the most poorly designed park when it comes to pathway flow. The trees in front of Thunder Run. It's a shame trees actually died to build that coaster. Such a shame coz I've heard it used to be good. The "real" Legend 3, the "fake" Legend (still) 0. That is the first coaster I ever got off saying, "Just tear it down". Yes, it's that bad these days. The "real" Legend 2, the "fake" Legend 0. That first drop felt like a kiddie coaster. The "real" Legend 1, the "fake" Legend 0. That sign is kinda cheesy. I'd heard good things about Thunder Run, but I'm pretty sure I rode the Legend yesterday at Holiday World. You actually think you can compete? The Zeppelin. Too bad they didn't put the Led in it. They could've been threatened with legal action by two (!!) bands... The green one (Stella, I think) rode better for me in the back than the pink one (Lola, I'm guessing) did for me in the front. Next up Twisted Sisters. Sorry. Twisted Twins. Don't sue me Dee Snyder & band. I am a fan. "I Wanna Rock!" Thank god for MHF on a 90+ degree day! Signature shot (I guess) of Mile High Falls. I must be in the shoe department of the park... I had always heard of Flying Dutchman but had never seen one. Cute & fun-ish first credit of the day. The International Carousel looked nice but I think I see Roller Skater through the ride and trees. Unfortunately, this was the most scenic shot I got on the way to the back of the park... ...and symmetrical. I finally made it to the Giant Wheel that you couldn't pay me to ride. It is pretty giant... ...that's coz it's behind me now - back on the other side of the bridge were I just came from. WTF?!? Oh well, I ain't turning back now! I ended up taking the bridge over the road that runs through the park to the Splashwater Kingdom side of the park and saw a ton of rides that were really far away but no Greezed Lightnin'... Wait, there's Greezed Lightnin' on the sign! But didn't I just come from that direction?!? I am so lost! Not that I would've ridden it, but Rainbow was closed today. I've never felt so unsafe on an Enterprise before - it rattled quite a bit during the skyward portions. Perhaps I was a bit skittish coz of the fire one (not this one) had a couple weeks prior. Sweet! I found an Enterprise called um... Enterprise. To quote Bono & U2 (who I can't stand, BTW) I still haven't found what I'm looking for... Since it was so hot, I checked out the Looney Tunes simulation Theater that was actually pretty cool (in concept and temperature). I love the inside of these things even tho you can't tell what it is once the ride starts. Sure, I'll stop to ride Himalaya. OK, which way to Greezed Lightnin'? I'm guessing to the right... The entrance with the Giant Wheel on the left and Superman: Tower of Power (formerly Hellavator, which everyone still calls it) on the right. Why not start the day off with a 150 foot freefall drop? Arriving at the park, I thought I was driving past the Myrtle Beach Pavilion (RIP) - something about a CCI butted up to the road...

Why are shuttle coasters listed, on RCDB for instance, with only their designed inversions counted & not the number of inversions in the ride's circuit? A Schwarzkopf shuttle loop is listed as one inversion (probably because there is one loop in the design) but you experience two inversions (one forward & one backward). Same thing goes for Boomerang/Deja Vu type coasters: they're listed as three but you do each (loop & cobra roll) forward & backward. Is it just coz there is one physical loop and/or cobra roll? If that's the case, is the same logic applied to the length of shuttle coasters too (I've never measured a coaster)? I know it's a moot point but it's something I've always wondered, especially since I am a huge fan of shuttles - even the Vekoma's . Thanks!!

In response to the comments left after the TR (can someone inform me how to quote multiple postings?): JamesMC: I enjoyed Voyage (obviously) best followed by Legend. I wasn't that impressed by Raven, and I rode it in every possible location of the train. The staff was awesome. I love how they collect everyone's loose articles prior to the train arriving at the station. It really cuts down on loading and departure time. SF should take note. The free drinks are great, especially for someone like me who only drinks water. spaceace12: The kid I rode Voyage with was only about 13 so I can't blame him for not getting 250 Voyage rides in last year - he probably only gets there when he can drag the rest of his family along. I didn't eat at Plymouth Rock Cafe, although I did go inside to check it out. It looked good but was way too much food for me - a hot dog or nachos does me just fine. pianojohn: Thanks for watching the videos and for the compliment. For some reason my computer doesn't agree with TPR's server. I would much rather post them here so you could see them clearly. I'm trying to work with Robb to get that sorted out. ratdogg68: I went to SFKK the day after HW (photo TR coming tomorrow) and, yes, the hour drive to HW from Louisville is well worth it! These pictures are included to show how nice the park and its surroundings really are (and also how light the crowds were).

I'm 32 & the first coaster I really remembering riding & the one that made me fall in love with coasters was the old Tidal Wave at SFGAm (then Viper at SFOG & now Greezed Lightnin' at SFKK) when I was 10 - I rode it 10 times in a row. I remember doing a bunch of coasters prior to that - ie: American Eagle, Whizzer, a couple at Old Chicago & Kiddieland when I was a fetus - but my life changed the first time I went upside down on a coaster & it's the first lasting coaster impression I have. I actually got to ride my old Tidal Wave this past weekend at SFKK & I still enjoyed it as much as I did the first time - something about those perfect Schwarzkopf shuttle loops... Wait. A memory just came to me. Cedar Point. 1980. I was 5 years old & lost a front tooth on Gemini's first drop. That's my first real coaster memory. It gets harder to recall the older I get.

This past Thursday (May 31, 2007) I finally took some time off work to start my first coaster riding mini-vacation of the summer. Since I was so impressed by GCI’s Kentucky Rumbler at Beech Bend a couple weeks ago (that Photo TR is posted as well), I was jonesing for more wooden coaster goodness. So I asked myself, “Where could I go to ride some good woodies?” Um… that didn’t come out the way I intended it to… Anyway, the obvious answer was Holiday World; a) I’ve never been there, b) I’ve heard SO much about Voyage, & c) I’m only about two hours away. All of the coasters were about a two train wait with front and rear at a four train wait - Voyage was the only one operating two trains. The first time that I rode in the rear (my second overall ride on Voyage) I happened to ride with a kid that had a season pass and rode it over 45 times in 2006 - he was up to eight times that day by about noon. He said that he had never seen that short of a wait before - I guess I lucked out. I'm sure that the minimal wait had a lot to do with my infatuation with Voyage but you'll have to read the TR to see how that all played out. If you’d like to see the videos I put together for the day, you can find them here: Short Coaster-only version: Long Coaster + Flats version: If you don’t mind, let me know which one you like (if either). Thanks for reading! On to the pictures: And just then, as I was driving away, my new love appeared as if to say "We haven't seen the last of each other. Goodbye - until next time." And my heart melted... I love you Voyage! What?!? You want me to come back?!? I knew that Voyage couldn't live without me! But I've got somewhere else to be tomorrow. I'm sure it won't compare, but I promised I'd be there... Goodbye Holiday World. You have been good to me today! But first things first. With all the free drinks, my bladder was fixin' to explode. Where in god's name is the flusher on this darn thing?!? BTW: If anyone can enlighten me as to how this thing works exactly, please let me know. With just about every ride under my belt and tons of wooden coaster goodness, I figured that the exit must be this-a-way. I WAS nuts to ride coz the kids kept yelling "One more time, one more time..." and we completed eight (yes eight) circuits in a row. I walked off Howler more wobbly than Voyage! Hooray! I waded through all the children to get to my final credit only to have the ride op kid look at me like I was nuts for wanting to ride. Where oh where can my Howler be? I'm guessing that I'm getting a bit warmer what with the oversized dog striking a strange pose at little kids and all... But not as silly as the nursery rhyme props they have positioned throughout the train ride, so you're all good. "Yeah, I got this cool summer job at Holiday World - I'm a ride operator." If you happen to read this Mr. Freedom Train operator kid (or if any TPRers run {or ran} a mini train), sorry but you look(ed) kinda silly. But before I track down Howler I noticed an adorable train station with Mother Goose... All together now, "awwww." There's only one section of the park I haven't been to and I've yet to find that ever-elusive Howler credit. For some reason, I thought that with the cool name, there'd be Holiday World-ish theming to the Spider/Octopus as well. I was sadly mistaken. I dare you to find bumper cars that look like buffallo, horses & bulls. I'll tell ya, this Holiday World spared no expense with theming... They actually had bumper boats that, until now, I had only seen in RCT. It was like seeing Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. I tried forever to get this pic with it at its peak but hand-eye coordination, unlike tummy muscles, DOES diminish with age. Liberty Launch was a pretty good small tower - tons of G's as it hit the top & forced you back down. Don't believe "them" when "they" say you can't do spinning rides after you reach a certain age coz the tummy muscles just don't work the same. It's a bunch of rubbish! It's been so long since I've been on a RoundUp! But there was no way in H.E.double hockey stick that I would pass up Revolution! I skipped on Eagles Flight coz I was, well, feeling too old. Although Ragings Rapids looked pretty cool, and lord knows I could've used a wet ride in the 90 degree heat, it just wasn't meant to be. Oh, you seem to be missing that all-important aspect of a ride - riders. Wait one second, what are you? I haven't seen you yet... With my heated love affair with Voyage brought to an abrupt end, I headed over to the patriotic section of the park. they parked a train on the lift so the stranded train could finally come to the station. It stayed down for a short while after that. Don't worry baby, I'll make it all better... Well, actually, it's NOT over for these folks. They sat on the block for a good 5+ minutes while... Is it over? I wish it could last forever even though it's anything but short. Finishing up and around. Heading out of previously-mentioned tunnel at break-neck speeds. See previous description, only this time, closer. Heading into the exhilarating overbanked tunnel dive. Now that I've completely fallen in love with a steel structure and wood track, here's some sexy action pics. First, barreling toward the exit ramp. Hey sexy, can I buy you a drink? And it looks so beautiful standing there all alone. But it sure does look good from here. Voyage probably looks so big coz there's absolutly nothing near it (except trees) to gauge its true height with the naked eye. My fear of heights was kicking in right about now although it's a pretty quick lift that looks a lot taller than it actually is. There was so much unused queue that I couldn't believe that I was about to practically walk on. The only people waiting to ride were on the platform so I took pictures at a leisurely pace. Well, I guess since I'm here, I might as well try this new coaster that everyone's been raving about. Perhaps I giggle coz it's a Tilt-A-Whirl with friggin' TURKEYS!?!?! Something about Turkey Whirl made me giggle every time I saw it. Actually, it was a pretty cool target shooting dark ride with tons of blacklights, florescents, turkeys (of course) and this creepy animatronic grandma in the queue. Gobbler Getaway! Oh how I've longed for you! Since my Halloween mission is complete, it's on to Thanksgiving for... drum roll please... Now I understand what's up with all the netting... And a little tunnel-helix action for those of you anti-first droppers. Here's one last first drop photo for you collectors. By the time the train made it to this point I had chiggers, poison ivy & a couple ticks - a small price to pay for a great pic IMO. I was actually IN a bush to make this shot possible. Yes, I'm a trooper. This one's for... aw, you know who you are... I've read all the warnings and have just one question: why exactly can't I smoke on the ride? If this isn't a signature shot already, it is now! Time for Legend. Surely it has to be better than Raven... Heading back into the woods. Never to be seen again. Oooh. Eerie. Signature shot that seems to last a split second when you're actually on the ride. I'm a sucker for Clearance Beam photos. I said ARMS UP you pansies!!! Arms up everyone! Isn't that sign a bit out of date? Oh wait, there's fine print. Remember kids, always read the fine print. Raven's lift through the... well, you know. I know everyone's seen this shot, but I just had to have one that I could call my own. Pretty Edgar Allan Poe house. Finally, there's no line. My coaster riding can commence. This is REAL ride theming as opposed to Scarecrow Scrambler's lame Halloween-ish paint job. On to HallowSwings. It's got to be the coolest looking Swing ride ever! I guess, in the meantime, Scarecrow Scrambler will have to do. I've been waiting 12 years to ride this coaster. But I won't be riding it now coz everyone and their brother seems to have headed here first. That's more like it! First stop Halloween. It's Raven time! Okay, I'm taking pictures of a friggin' water tower through the trees. Open the walkways already! For some reason I always take pictures of Skee Ball when I run out of things to take pictures of. I had to wait about 5 minutes for a not-so-pleasant-on-the-eyes family to walk away from this "perfect" shot. The almost-obligatory dancing fountain pic. The braggers! What the ____?!? I don't know about you, but I'm all for separation of church & parks. It took me a couple trips around to even realize that there was a 50 foot Christmas tree in the midway. D'oh! Since they hadn't opened access to any sections yet, I decided to wander around like everyone else. So much easier on the eyes than SF's entrances IMO. For those who wondered, this is what HW's parking lot looks like about two hours before opening. OK, I was just a little excited to get there... Holy Mary mother of god! What have I gotten myself into?!? (Please excuse the bird poop on the windshield) What is that I see in the distance? That's Millennium Force, right?!?

This is probably gonna sound crazy but ferris wheels (no matter how small/big), drop towers (observation towers too) & all coasters with a lift scare the bejesus out of me, no matter how many times I've ridden them. I am deathly afraid of heights but love coasters & force myself on the towers. I guess that I just trust gravity coz, once it takes over, I have the time of my life. That being said, I would probably never ride a coaster again if I got stuck on the lift. And I'm absolutely sure that if a tower left me in the air I'd be done with those. The only ride I will not step foot on these days is the ferris wheel - they're just too slow & I don't trust them. I can do all the other flats with no problem & am totally fine on launched coasters & towers no matter how tall or fast. Go figure...

You'd fit right in, especially at the race track adjacent to Beech Bend. Seriously though, it is actually a very nice, quant, friendly, family park (despite the ghetto/carny references in my TR) with a couple standout rides & some decent flats. I think the fact that everyone was in the water park & not riding rides made it look so desolate (in my mind & probably the pictures too). Either way, Rumbler makes the trip worth it! I hope you enjoy it!

I can't wait for people to post what exactly went on today at Maverick's opening coz this is the second train I happened to catch going by empty... Where's the GP?!?

I've been watching the CP Maverick cam this morning for signs of operation & it looks like a rider-filled train entered the pre-launch track. After a rather lengthy period of time (most-likely an opening ceremony), the train appeared on the nearest portion of track. Obviously, this is all an educated guess as the CP cam refreshes every 60 seconds. I'm sure that people who were actually there can tell us how it all went down. BTW: the time stamp is actually 8 minutes fast & I auto-corrected the pics coz it was overcast with the rain that may or may not have been falling at this time. First GP ride almost completed? Train moves backward a bit... Maverick's first GP filled train?!?

1 - Millennium Force (CP) - the perfect coaster 2 - Dueling Dragons: Fire (IOA) - wouldn't rate as high without theming & Ice 3 - Dueling Dragons: Ice (IOA) - wouldn't rate as high without theming & Fire 4 - Raging Bull (SFGAm) - overlooked exciting airtime machine 5 - Montu (BGA) - killer layout & mix of elements 6 - Top Thrill Dragster (CP) - for the anticipation & rush 7 - Magnum XL-200 (CP) - still the best bunny hill air 8 - Mr. Freeze (SFStL) - an exhilarating launch & inside top-hat 9 - Kumba (BGA) - would be even better if the corkscrews weren't so fast 10 - Flight of Fear (KI) - disorienting inversions in pitch black darkness Wow. I just realized that there are no woodies in my top 10. Throw Kentucky Rumbler (BBP) in as a tie for #10.