robbalvey

Like I've always said... there are a lot of dumb people in this world...and unfortunately some of them choose to post to our forums!

I normally agree with you but I have to step in here... Millennium Force is a highly themed journey back in time to an island filled with dinosaurs. The name makes perfect sense too as they never specified which Millennium they were referring to. Everyone misses the theme because they incorrectly assume they were talking about this Millennium. This made me

How many coasters at Cedar Point have extensive theming beyond maybe nice looking trains and a station? I mean, even Millennium Force has a "toaster oven" station, fairly basic trains, and nothing really out on the course and that ride seems to be HUGELY popular with everyone. So what's the problem?

Oh, and I just want to put this out there - Whoever put the idea into people's heads that they were changing the name... dumbest person ever!!! lol

I have updated the announcement post with loads of photos & video! Click: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1631870#p1631870

CEDAR POINT UNLEASHES VALRAVN, THE WORLD’S TALLEST, FASTEST & LONGEST DIVE COASTER SANDUSKY, Ohio (Sept. 9, 2015) – Cedar Point will change the Lake Erie skyline once again with over 3,400 feet of thrill ride innovation when it introduces Valravn (val-rey-vuhn), the world’s tallest, fastest and longest dive coaster, in 2016. Valravn is the regal king of birds, swooping in to conquer all other dive coasters on the planet with its powerful and intense maneuvers, massive structure and immense ride vehicles. Valravn will become the 18th coaster to take reign at The Roller Coaster Capital of the World!® and will claim its rightful place among other record-breaking roller coasters at Cedar Point. Riders on Valravn are carried more than 20 stories up to the top of the coaster’s 223-foot-tall first hill. Once there, the train is held perilously over the edge of the first drop for approximately four seconds, giving anxious guests unparalleled views of the park before free-falling a record 214 feet at a completely vertical, 90-degree angle, reaching a top speed of 75 mph! Valravn then flips its passengers upside-down through a 165-foot-tall Immelmann, a fighter jet-like maneuver that takes the train into a half loop, then a half roll before traveling in the opposite direction. The train then approaches another drop zone – but there’s no stopping this time as riders plunge 125 feet down at a near 90-degree angle once again, twisting and turning upside-down two more times, once through a dive loop and then through a 270-degree roll before completing its epic journey over 3,415 feet of tarnished copper and silver steel track. Valravn will shatter an astonishing 10 WORLD RECORDS when it debuts next summer, including: 1. Tallest dive coaster (223feet) 2. Fastest dive coaster (75mph) 3. Longest dive coaster (3,415feet) 4. Most inversionson a dive coaster (3) 5. Longest drop on a dive coaster (214feet) 6. Highest inversionon a dive coaster (165feet) 7. Most roller coasters taller than 200 feet at one amusement park (5) 8. Most rides at one amusement park (72) 9. Most steel roller coaster track at one amusement park (52,125feet/9.9miles) 10. Most roller coaster track at one amusement park (60,110feet/11.4miles) Valravn is also the signature 100th roller coaster designed by the imaginative coaster minds at Bolliger & Mabillard in Monthey, Switzerland, and will feature ride vehicles never before seen on a dive coaster. Riders will sit eight-across on one of three, 24-passenger floorless trains, featuring tiered seating as well as comfortable over-the-shoulder restraints with interlocking seatbelts, much like those on the park’s GateKeeper wing coaster. Valravn can accommodate approximately 1,200 riders per hour and guests must be 54 inches or taller to ride. Cedar Point is also making history as the first amusement park ever to utilize 3D virtual reality to introduce a new roller coaster. Guests can experience Valravn in 360-degree virtual reality by downloading the Cedar Point VR app onto their smart phones and inserting them into the Valravn VR Viewer. The app is now available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. To take full advantage of the virtual reality simulation, Valravn VR Viewers can be purchased by visiting http://www.cedarpoint.com/Valravn. “The introduction of Valravn is a first for the amusement park industry on many fronts, including the exciting virtual reality experience,” stated Jason McClure, vice president and general manager of Cedar Point. “For the first time ever, guests are able to take an immersive ride on Valravn before it opens next summer – and the actual experience will be unmatched with the tallest lift hill, fastest speed, longest track and most inversions on a dive coaster, right here at Cedar Point, The Roller Coaster Capital of the World.”

It's cool.

The Big Bad West Coast Bash email full of info has been sent! Check your inbox!

We were thinking the same but were concerned the re-entry stamp might wear off in the H2O and we wouldn't be able to get back in for the evening. Can anyone chime in whether this Is a legit concern or nothing to worry about? It's not a legit concern. Besides, you'll also have your park ticket for the day.

Wait until you get the big email tomorrow that I'm putting together before you make that decision!

I should mention that this is true for me also. Bad things can happen anywhere... theme parks, movie theaters, shopping malls, etc, and sometimes it's not always an employees fault, etc, just circumstance, so for the most part, I'm VERY tolerant when it comes to minor annoyances. But when it's clearly a park-wide issue that comes from upper management, like our experience at Six Flags Great America, then that's when I most certainly cannot give the park a "pass" until something is done to fix things. I understand your frustrations with SFGAm Robb. At the same time, however, I wish you would take a step back with it... And that is because of the power/influence you have with social media... I get that last summer you had a horrible day at SFGAm... What that has evolved to on social media is very "GP-like" however... What I mean by that is that there are people who have never been to the park or who make it there once every couple of years who use your experience and make it seem like an everyday experience when commenting.... I'm sorry, but some random 17 year old kid in Jersey who's never been here shouldn't be holding your experience against the park... It's gone viral how SFGAm's operations are the world's worst... As it being my home park, I would say that operations are "mid-pack" in the grand scheme of things... Not squeaky clean like Disney supposedly is (full disclosure: Never been and don't plan on going in the near future) and no where near killing people on a daily basis either like Mt. Olympus (see disclosure above)... So I don't comment on them... But others do... And there in lies the problem... We like to comment on stuff the GP does here on TPR, but with this, I feel that "enthusiasts" are a mirror image of the GP. I'm not trying to invalidate your experience at all... But I do feel that my park has suffered tremendously because of a lone incident... And the incident involved people that 99% of people on TPR will never deal with on a visit to the park... As someone with a degree in Sports/Entertainment Promotions and Marketing, I can see how your experience was a negative one... And a valid one... But that is for you, and you only... No one else should be holding that over our head... Sorry for the derailment there... Just something that bugs me... As a relatively new "enthusiast", I have quickly learned that I have to take everything I read on sites like TPR with a spoonful of salt when I look to apply it to my endeavors... Some opinions are fully justified, but many are not... Add in that it's my home park, and you can easily figure why I'm bugged I'm trying to actually make sense out of what you have said here and I *think* you are saying that I shouldn't be allowed to have an opinion, or post a negative opinion about a park based on the volume of followers or "influence" we have on social media. WHAT?!?!?!? Isn't the WHOLE POINT of what we do is to express opinions based on our visits to parks?!?? My thoughts on Six Flags Great America is not just based on one visit or a lone incident. It's based on several dealings with the parks public relations staff, the parks senior management, and front line employees in ride operations, food & beverage, and guest relations. And since those incidents I have not heard many reports that have said things have improved. So based on all that, I have zero interest in returning to the park until I've heard that some serious changes have been made in their management team. None of them have ever tried to reach out to me about any of our incidents which speaks volumes, IMO, whereas just about every other park in the world, if we post something constructive or have an issue will reach out to us and help address it. I think I'm fully in the right to have this opinion regardless of our "influence" with social media.

^ I think I got you sorted out.

I have some stuff I shot, but it's on other tapes that aren't currently captured... One day I'll post it!

Here's a quick little video I put together of some footage I shot in 2000. I didn't use this in the video above just because I was trying to keep things HD and bit more current. Also, this footage, IMO, isn't very good, even by my standards, too much stuff obstructing the view, etc, but here it is anyway.... The first pass of the two trains is PERFECT and you didn't catch that very often. The second pass is what I feel like you saw most of the time, where they were CLOSE, but off just a little bit...

^ Yeah, my thoughts on New Orleans kind of echo what Kyle said and that has nothing to do with Katrina. While I had fun on several visits I've made there, I've really only gone back when other people have wanted to go. And most of the time it wasn't during any festival or anything to do with the French Quarter either. It's just not my kind of place, and that's ok. No need to bring the horrors of Katrina into this because that's not what Kyle was talking about in the first place.

I should mention that this is true for me also. Bad things can happen anywhere... theme parks, movie theaters, shopping malls, etc, and sometimes it's not always an employees fault, etc, just circumstance, so for the most part, I'm VERY tolerant when it comes to minor annoyances. But when it's clearly a park-wide issue that comes from upper management, like our experience at Six Flags Great America, then that's when I most certainly cannot give the park a "pass" until something is done to fix things.

Oh, it absolutely does. Our last visit to Six Flags Great America was one of our worst ever in the history of us doing parks. And that combined with the just awful dealings I've had with their public relations and general management of that park leads me to believe they need a new senior management team and FAST! I'm hoping never to step foot in that park again until their PR manager and President are gone. There's just no excuse at all for treating people that way who are giving your park and company money. The rest of the park chain seems to be greatly improving, which is amazing, and it just more proves that the problem is with that specific park and how it's being run. And the sad part is, I would put Great America in the top five Six Flags parks at one point, now it's right at the bottom of the list.

Make sure you go REALLY early!

They make sure they do not dispatch the trains so they can't do that anymore. I believe the modifications were mostly in software.

Check out the legendary Lochness Monster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg!

I'm sure we have plenty of threads like this already if you use our search function on the forum.

Here's the peeing clip! lol [fbvideonew] [/fbvideonew]

I totally forgot to post the picture of this amazing thing! One of the first things we saw before the show started was this awesome Olaf "Eat his brain" sno-cone holder! Just incredible! lol

^ No Iron Reef. We are doing Sierra Sidewinder and Ghostrider. It was discussed earlier in this thread.

Hey everyone! Tonight we got invited to the opening night of the new version of the Disney On Ice show "100 Years of Magic." This show starts it's tour here in Orlando and then continues to various cities for at least the next 8 months. Schedule and tickets are here: http://www.disneyonice.com/tickets The show was very good, and although it's aimed a bit at younger audiences, I think it's fun for all ages. The show basically is "A salute to all Disney, but mostly Frozen!" Of course, me being a Frozen fan I'm totally fine with that. The show features popular songs and scenes from films such as Lion King, Aladdin, Mulan, Pinocchio, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Beauty & The Beast, and of course Frozen. Each segment is about 3-7 minutes with the Frozen section being the last 30 minutes of the first act. There's also a couple of segments that feature various different Disney characters. The cast is HUGE and impressive! Anyway, this short highlight video gives you a great idea what the show is about and here's some pics from the different segments of the show... Mickey & Minnie come out to greet the audience! The two of them meet up with Goofy & Donald and they explain they are looking for some story ideas for a new movie. This starts the montage of Disney stuff... Jiminy Cricket takes the stage... The Blue Fairy struts her stuff... Pinocchio just hanging out with all of us. Finding Nemo is next... Duuuude....that's totally a big turtle. Everyone pile on Crush! The Beauty & The Beast segment was GREAT! Gaston Vs. Beast.... FIIIIIIIGHT! This segment was actually better than the touring version of the the Broadway show! Human Beast and Belle have lots of tricks up their sleeve. He likes holding her up. See! He did it again! Erik & Ariel... Tiana and Naveen... Aladdin & Jasmine... Flynn Rider and Rapunzel... Mickey & Minnie! Some of the greatest couples in Disney history! And then Anna came out to start the Frozen segment! Yay! Girl knows how to skate! Elsa's all "Open those GAAAAATES!!!!" The "Yet another guy" that Anna hooks up with that wasn't in the movie! Awkward moment? This is before she knows Hans is a jerk. They look very happy. "You can't marry some jerk you just met!!!!" "Hey, what are you doing later?" "I think I'm gonna Let it Go..." I'm totally LETTING IT GO! Sill letting it go and stuff... Elsa also can skate! A girl and her castle... Looking for Elsa... Oh, look, I found a giant snow man! "Let's behead him!" "Hey snowman...what are you doing later?" So much awesome in the Frozen segment! A snowman that likes summer? That's crazy talk! "Hey sis, why did you freeze everything? That was like, not cool..." It's starting to get snowy in here! "I love you, but I need to go hang out with my other guy..." "How many guys have you been hanging out with??? Sorry, you're not for me lady..." Olaf the Psychiatrist. Uh, oh...things are getting snowy again. Some serious stuff about to go down here! "I shall kill you with my roman candle!" Yay! The girls are all good again! They skate and dance and be happy... Seriously, loved the Frozen segment! Aladdin and Genie... Now there are a LOT of those blue things!!! The toy soldiers marched out with a present... Surprise! It's Buzz! "This is falling with style." Yay! Jessie is here, too! She kind of steals the segment! "Ring that gong and Mulan will come out!" Well, would you look at that! It worked! Time go to into battle... Things are getting very Chinese in here. Big 'ol Dragon! They let out the evil monster!!! Yup...we have smelly animals! This is NOT what it looks like!!!! "Yup, that's a talking, walking, skating warthog!" Simba and Nala are back together again! Simba knows how to treat the ladies! It's finale time! Lots of characters come out! And I mean a LOT of characters... The cast in this show is HUGE! MIckey & Minnie come back out... They blow some stuff up... And even the girls say their final goodbye! Great show! Check the schedule to see when it's playing in your town! One of the first things we saw before the show started was this awesome Olaf "Eat his brain" sno-cone holder! Just incredible! lol