robbalvey

I would not shed a single tear if Viper was removed. Rode it on Saturday. It's not great. Not at all. Personally I think a Dive Machine would look BAD-ASS sitting on top of that hill! It would be like Tatsu where that lift hill feels so insanely tall due to the change in elevation.

There is a huge difference between going out of your way for an obscure coaster and cannibalizing time at a good park for something crappy and stupid. Personally, I stopped counting completely so that I wouldn't be tempted with a crappy and stupid roller coaster. Something "obscure and unique" is one thing. Leaving a decent park, getting in your car, and driving an hour for some shitty Wacky Worm is another. IMO, if that's the thing kind thing you're into, that's great, knock yourself out, but we would have little in common. As an example... When we went to India. We went out of our way to do the funky indoor looping roller coaster in a mall, but we skipped the crappy parks with shitty kiddie coasters that were only 30 minutes away in favor of spending more time at Adlabs Imagica and actually seeing Mumbai. Since I no longer count "credits" I didn't care about making an extra trip to ride dumb roller coasters and instead chose "quality over quantity." That's all I'm trying to say. Just my thoughts on the matter...

While we will leave this thread open, I just want to say a few things that I hope some of you will really take into consideration... In the past, I used to promote the idea of "counting roller coasters" along with everyone else. While I never was as insane as some taking trips to "pad their count" full of kiddie coasters and butterfly shuttles, I had been known to go out of my way for "credits" to increase the number. That was up until about 2011 or 2012 where we found ourselves on several trips cannibalizing days at legit GOOD parks with GOOD roller coasters to go run over to some crappy kiddie coaster "credit" to add it to the count. I got back from that trip, realized I had added another 100 or so, looked at the pictures of pure crap coasters and thought to myself "Why does it really matter?" Why does it matter if someone has 600 credits versus 700 credits? What does that actually get you? Street cred among coaster enthusiasts? Bragging rights? WHO CARES?!?!? This was also around the time that we started getting people who didn't want to do certain trips because "Oh, I've already been there and there aren't enough new credits for me." "But we are going to amazing parks like Europa or Tokyo Disney!" "Yeah, I've ridden those credits already. Don't need to go back." It was at that point that I thought to myself "I want promote going to parks that I *LIKE* and ride roller coasters that are *FUN* and not do it just to count credits." Look I get it, there's a lot of OCD in the world and there's a lot of people who like the "completion" idea of collecting something, whether it's baseball cards or experiences riding roller coasters. But maybe we should start looking at things differently. Is riding a kiddie coaster REALLY a "good experience?" No. Will those rides actually ADD any value to your life other than a number of a spreadsheet? No. To be honest, the same goes for ANY ride that you are riding simply for the "count" and not for "fun." Would you go see a movie that you know you're not going to like just so you can add it to a list? Would you go eat at a restaurant that you know sucks just to add one more "restaurant credit?" While I know that people are still going to count credits no matter what I say, please just try to put things into perspective. Why are you riding roller coasters? Is it to increase a number on a spreadsheet or is it for FUN? I've seen people spend *THOUSANDS* of dollars recently to travel to far off places mainly to ride kiddie coasters. I'll tell you, the last 4 or 5 years or so, there were lots of kiddie coasters that were within 30 minutes of wherever we were in some of our even exotic travels that we chose to skip. We wanted better experiences, not a larger number that is completely meaningless to most people. I have actually met people who look down on others with a lower coaster count and that is a behavior I just don't understand at all. The idea that someone would think they are in any way "better" than someone else because they've ridden more roller coasters is, IMO, laughable. So in short, what I'm trying to say here is, while I don't expect people to stop "counting" but maybe think about WHY you're counting. And consider skipping that kiddie coaster or Boomerang and go ride stuff that is fun, enjoyable, etc. Rides you can laugh with your friends, appreciate the design that went into it, etc. RIDE FOR FUN!!!! That's what it's all supposed to be about, right? My rant is now over...

I have to be honest, I genuinely enjoy Cesari's pizza and I would consider myself a "pizza snob." I may not be as critical as someone who literally lives in the same city as some of the best pizzerias in the world, but as far as pizza in general goes, and especially theme park pizza, it's way up there for me.

You're asking a LOT!

Solid advice.

What part of what I already explained didn't register in your brain?

Oh, hey look at that... someone finally mentioned it!

Oh, they are absolutely high-end restaurants. Every one I mentioned is probably $40 - $60 per person. But that shouldn't matter because the category is "best food" not "best food under a certain price." You're not going to find a food item at many other parks better than Le Cellier's steak. You're just not. And yes, that Filet Mignon is going to cost you $52 for the entree alone, but that should fall under the "best food" category just like "cheese on a stick" should because there is no separation in food categories. Again, this is not me dissing the food options at parks like Knoebels and Dollywood, this is me just pointing out how incredibly f**king stupid the Golden Ticket awards are. But I don't need to point this out, because any half-way intelligent person can see the Golden Tickets are mostly "paid advertisement" and not based or grounded in reality in any way at all. And let's be honest, Amusement Today need as many bones thrown at them from companies as possible because print media is dead and their social media at 3,400 followers on Facebook and 3,900 followers on Twitter isn't impressing anyone and certainly won't be driving any advertising revenue their way anytime soon. There I said it. Someone needed to.

I'm not going to say much about this because the Golden Ticket awards are complete and total crap. But I do have to say this... I'm sorry. While I *LOVE* the food at Knoebels and Dollywood. Seriously, some of the best park food I've had. How can you put Epcot at #3? When you have very highly rated restaurants like Le Cellier, Monsieur Paul, Via Napoli, Teppan Edo, Coral Reef, etc, in a park, how do you give that award to Knoebels or Dollywood? Do they just assume that it's not a fair competition? If that's the case, then there should be a separate "Best food" and "Best Restaurants" category. But if you're going to lump "food" into one general category, then you HAVE to give it to Epcot. There is just no question at all about this, and any other winner is completely bogus. And again, I *LOVE* Knoebels and Dollywood food. But don't make me choose between Knoebels and Via Napoli, because you're right, it's probably not a fair competition, but then again that also is just another example of how horribly flawed and a complete joke the Golden Ticket awards really are.

It really annoys me that people think the that only parks that would be able to get an RMC coaster are Six Flags or Cedar Fair. Maybe this next round of projects are going to parks that were waiting patiently for an RMC but couldn't get one yet because they were booked up with lots of other recent projects? I have a feeling some upcoming non Six Flags, non Cedar Fair announcements will pleasantly surprise people. Think about it. Did anyone see Storm Chaser coming? Be patient. I know it's hard for some of you. But just be patient...

^ As someone who used to live around the corner from Wolf Creek I can tell you the place gets VERY BUSY on a Saturday night especially right at peak dinner time. The earlier you go the better.

Nobody cares. In your last 10 posts you've mentioned GMO's, the problems with disposable cups, the problems with disposable cups containing high fructose corn syrup attracting bees and why we should go to the hot bar at Whole Foods before going to Six Flags to avoid propylene glycol. We get it. Good for you. I'm all for eating healthy but please take it down a notch. I assure you that nobody cares. Why is every vegan obsessed with making sure everyone knows that they're a vegan? Add this to the many reasons I'm glad I moved out of Southern California.* *NOTE - I've known hundreds of vegans while I lived in SoCal. I can think of exactly TWO who aren't obnoxious as f**k about it!

Why are the Dutch coaster nerds so annoying? I've just had to delete a TON of whining and complaining off our social media pages basically because this ride "isn't as good as what Efteling builds." I'm so sick of all the stupid Efteling fanboys. I honestly think they are tied for some of the worst theme park dorks out there. I'd like to put them, the Alton Towers fanboys and the Disneyland fanboys into a Thunderdome-like fight to the death. I hope there are no survivors. Anyway, I think this ride looks GREAT! Might even try to get out there next year and ride it. --Robb "I'm sure it will be better than Baron!" Alvey And here come the Efteling fanboys in 3... 2... 1...

My biggest issue with Pony Express is the height restriction. If it was 42" it would make PERFECT sense. But at 48" the ride is claiming it's a bit more extreme than your true "family" coaster which it is not. Same issue I have with Jaguar (which used to be 42" then it was later raised to 48")

Seriously, people. The amount of stupid questions and random complaining I'm already getting after that email went out is making me not want to ever do this event again. People ask us why we don't do trips anymore or as many events? ^^^^^^ is why!!!! Or at least maybe we'll start doing WCB as "invite only" like we do our trips! --Robb "People. Can't f**king stand 'em!!!" Alvey

Thanks for making the assumption we f**ked up the email. We really appreciate the confidence! No, it's not happening.

Here's an idea, why don't you just NOT BE LATE and then you won't have to worry about it? To answer your original question - if you're late, I can't guarantee you'll be allowed into ERT as we have no control when Will Call is going to open. It will open "after ERT has already begun" and that might very well be just before or even right after park opening. Again, just get your ass out of bed early and DON'T BE LATE and none of this will be an issue. ps. And actually TRY reading the information next time. All your questions were answered. And I know it's really really HARD for some of you (especially the Millennials) but please TRY to actually be responsible and not be dumb. Thank you.

Just because I sent out the email doesn't mean I haven't taken the money and ran to Japan to buy the house!

Might want to try asking this in the Kings Island thread: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45427 Since we don't live in Ohio it will be better to ask one of the locals that do.

^ Oh, TRUST ME, the beating you get on Bandit is FAR WORSE than anything Psyclone could have ever dreamed up!

His time is already over... --Robb "Zero tolerance, bitches... zero tolerance..." Alvey

THIS!!!! And DOUBLE THIS!!! TRIPLE THIS!!!! I really would like to believe that the people who post on our forums are "smarter than your average guest." And honestly, after the insane amount of CRAP I've seen posted this year, more than any other year on our forums, I need to take a zero tolerance policy and get rid of the crap. I want the forums to be someplace for "smart" theme park fans to discuss their visits, not look like your typical guest relations lines filled with horrible people complaining about the most mundane things. Sorry if I've been coming off as harsh lately, but I simply cannot take it anymore. Those of you who are not offended by it, well, you're exactly the kind of people we want here at TPR!

Nope. But I will politely ban you from our page. I'm sorry, but i don't need to frequent the park to know I'm right about how to visit theme parks. And if you don't like that, which obviously you don't, then you're not someone we need on our page. Bu-Bye. --Robb "PS. My name is Robb." Alvey

I don't understand why people keep CHOOSING to stand in long lines and then complain about it. This makes ZERO sense to me. People can come up with any excuses they want to try to justify their own stupidity, but if you have a dining plan, and you go to the park regularly, and you know the hours of the dining plan, then you should also know what the peak and non-peak hours are for using that plan. There is just NO EXCUSE for people who go during the peak hours, waiting in long lines, and the complain about it. I don't care park you're at, food lines are going to be long EVERYWHERE during peak hours. That is not a Six Flags St. Louis thing. That's not even a Six Flags thing. It completely boggles my mind that this is even a discussion on a theme park enthusiast site. It should have been one person that was all "Yeah, I went to get food at 1pm and I waited in a long line. I can't believe how bad the service is." And then like EVERYONE ELSE on this forum should have been "Wow, you're an idiot." But instead, it seems like everyone else here is also making the same mistakes. I don't get it. But then again, I also don't get why about 70 people emailed me and asked me for a confirmation email for West Coast Bash when part of the email they sent me included quoting the confirmation email that was sent to them. Idiocracy is happening, people. The last several pages of this thread is absolute PROOF!