robbalvey

I would just like to be the first person to point out that when this ride was rumored and then announced coming to Busch Gardens, there were pages and pages and pages and pages and pages of people bitching and complaining to the point where it made people's eyes bleed. Then the ride opened and all that went away. Now another one of these rides gets announced for Lake Compounce and it's like the best thing ever. Keep in mind I was always in the camp of "these are SOLID rides and good additions for any park, including Busch Gardens" so I'm happy to see more of them getting built. But I couldn't help to rub a little bit of "I told ya so" in the faces of all the naysayers that complained about it when BGW was putting one in. At least on a positive note for Lake Compounce the volume of online complaining should be at a minimum now.

Sorry, I totally disagree with that. Are you saying that I shouldn't ride Space Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland because it's a clone of the version at Disneyland in California? Or that because I happen to actually *like* riding the Batman coasters and I ride them at each park that has one that makes me a credit whore? Being a "credit whore" would be going around the world and riding a bunch of cloned Wacky Worms and then making a post when you've ridden 100 of them as though that's some sort of accomplishment that deserves praise other than "congratulations, you're a giant nerd." But riding a couple of different Premier Riders launched coaster "sky loops" because they are actually a decent and enjoyable ride is not. Sorry, I just feel that was a really dumb comment.

New triple launch roller coaster "Phobia" coming to Lake Compounce! More details will be posted here as they come in! Promo video:

You probably should't be making fun of others when you yourself don't know the difference between loose and lose.

When the tickets go on sale, trust me, you won't be able to miss it! Still waiting on a couple of things. Might be Monday at this point....

That's not what I said at all. I absolutely feel like RMC is doing things in the same spirit that CCI did. Taking chances, risks, and delivering just out of control crazy rides!

The fact that they weren't afraid of going negative on their airtime. It was mostly their designs I'm talking about. They were more about "how far can we take it?" and it bums me out that if they were a bit better with the business side of things, and if they were still around today, what kind of crazy shit they'd be producing.

A better way to describe it is that CCI was willing to take risks while GCI wanted to prevent them. Don't get me wrong, GCI has produced some VERY good rides. But IMO their best work was never as ballsy as CCI's best work.

This. Absolutely this! CCI made, IMO, some of the best "traditional" wooden coasters out there, and if they were running like they were their first few seasons, they would still be on the top of many coaster lists. GCI on the other hand has never made a woodie that I don't like, even Gwazi was good in the first few seasons, but GCI has never made a coaster that I absolutely "love", where CCI has made many of them. I mean, think about some of their rides: Ghostrider, Shivering Timbers, Raven, Cyclops, Villain, Great White, Tonnerre de Zeus, Tremors, Rampage, Megafobia, Boulder Dash, OMG...every one of them was in my top ten, some of them in my top all the way up to #1 when they first opened. But then something happened.... Between them having a falling out with PTC and putting on the less-then-stellar Gerstlauer trains on many of their rides, and many of their coasters not aging well for what I'm sure is a various number of reasons, almost all of the CCI woodies out there are a sad shadow of their former selves. And while some of the designers later went on to Gravity Group and continued to produce some kick ass rides, there are still some of the early CCI woodies that I wish had a surviving chance (Villain, Mega Zeph, etc) or at least ran as well as they did those first few seasons (anyone who rode Ghostrider from 1998 - 2002 knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about!) Except that GCI didn't to things better than CCI, they just did things more "cautious" (or at least it seemed.) I don't think I've ever experienced that same out of control feeling or moments of airtime on a GCI than I did on CCI's best work. GCI's always felt very "safe" to me while CCI felt more "f**k it...we'll do what we want, and it's going to kick your ass!" But RMC is at least doing things and taking chances like CCI did and GCI probably never will. To me, most CCI and RMC coasters you hit the brakes, hands gripped on the bar, look back and you say "W.T.F. JUST HAPPENED?!?!?!" GCI coasters you hit the brakes and you go "Well...that was fun!" I'm in the camp that I would love to see some of the older CCI's that need the love get completely re-tracked or re-done by RMC. Can you imagine how batshit crazy Ghostrider would be if RMC took a shot at it? Yes, please! Make that happen! I haven't been out to ride Rampage since it re-opened, but I hope that some TLC there brought that ride back to it's former self!

^ Sounds like an awesome plan!

^ Fantastic!

Just doing some more checking.... 14 of the 19 coasters at SFMM are available on the Platinum Flash Pass: This means the only coasters you'd have to wait in line for are the four kiddie coasters (one of which you cannot ride at all) and Ninja. I just don't understand why someone who is coming from out of town wouldn't get this to guarantee their visit is going to be much more hassle free.

Hmm. I totally plan on being at Magic Mountain for a whole day, so maybe I don't need the flash pass? Or maybe I can make do with the gold flash pass, instead of the platinum, save $55. I wonder how many rides have a single rider line. Again, you asked our opinion and we gave it to you. IMO, if you are flying from NY to LA and will only be at SFMM for one day, you have to decide how much your time is worth. For me, even if the lines are only 20-30 minutes, and a Flash Pass means I can wait ZERO minutes, IMO those pockets of 20 minutes add up and you can either ride MORE stuff or have a more relaxing day. It might also mean that you have time for things that perhaps you may otherwise not ride, like a log flume, flat ride, or rapids ride. I don't like waiting in lines.. AT ALL. If lines are more than 15 minutes, I'm not waiting. I'll get the virtual queue system. Maybe I'm just spoiled but if there is one thing I can't stand doing is waiting in line when I could be riding. Keep in mind that with most single rider lines, you can't choose where you ride. But again, if this is not a big deal to you, and $55 is not something you have disposable to spend, then you have to make that decision. We can only give you advice on how we would do the parks, and we would never go to a park as big as Magic Mountain and NOT get the Platinum Flash Pass.

Kings Dominion Bids Farewell to “Shockwave” Rollercoaster Oldest operating stand-up coaster in the United States will give its last ride on August 9 DOSWELL, Virginia (July 9, 2015) – After 29 years, Kings Dominion will say goodbye to the iconic stand-up rollercoaster, Shockwave. The history making coaster will give its final ride to park guests on Sunday, August 9, 2015. Shockwave is being retired for future growth in the Candy Apple Grove section of Kings Dominion. Over 22 million riders have stood up to their fears on Shockwave since its installation at Kings Dominion in 1986. Manufactured by TOGO, Shockwave provides a unique experience where guests stand with both feet flat on the floor. The train climbs to a height of 95 feet before leveling out, then descending into a 180-degree loop. The ride lasts two minutes and travels at speeds of 50 miles per hour. “While it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to one of our older coasters, we’re excited for what the future holds,” says Pat Jones, Vice President and General Manager of Kings Dominion. “The park has evolved so much over the past 40 years and as Kings Dominion continues to grow, we’re committed to enhancing the overall experience for our guests. We’re happy that Shockwave was able to provide close to three decades of memories.” Guests can take their last stand on Shockwave over the next month before the ride is retired on August 9 at 10 p.m. Special events surrounding the closure of Shockwave will be announced on Kings Dominion’s social media channels. Additional plans for the 2016 season will be announced at a later date.

Oh, and the coaster was Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion.

If you cannot comment on the TPR Facebook page it means at some point you wrote something that the admins felt was not appropriate and your access to making comments was restricted.

I have noticed this trend, too, lately and it's come up with a few park owners/operators that I'm friends with and here are some of the issues that I keep hearing... - Mechanical water rides are very expensive to keep in operation, some of the most expensive rides in the parks. - Anytime "water" is involved it introduces many other issues such as soil under the ride softening quicker than dry rides creating issues with foundation and ride stability, mold and mildew issues, bugs and other such nature problems. - Water treatment is very time consuming and expensive. - Older water rides are starting to reach their expected lifecycle and need to be removed. I don't know much about this log flume, but is it an older one? If yes, that might be the answer to the question, and who knows, maybe in their long-term plans they have another water ride somewhere down the road to replace it.

^ We announced the winner on Twitter. Here's the video in case you missed it:

On our Twitter, we are giving away a flag flown on Voyage's lift hill! Go RT this tweet to be entered to win:

Here's a brand new video of Thunderbird at Holiday World! This video includes a side-by-side view! Check our Twitter to win a super cool flag from Holiday World's The Voyage!

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69775&p=1548300

I'm sure it's VERY similar. We have seen 3 or 4 of them now, and from the outside that all looked pretty much the same. Even though we've only been in the one, I'm sure they all feature a similar layout and amount of activities.

Everything you guys are discussing is all public record and from what I'm seeing in this discussion, not totally accurate. Why don't you do a bit more research on the subject before you all go trying to "prove each other wrong" because from the looks of it, you all are. That being said, can we please move on to talking about the park, Thunderbird, or other things surrounding Holiday World? Thanks!

Thanks for the update!

I think posting a bit more about what is in the video will help people to actually watch it. Maybe write a report about your day and tell us what is actually in the 40 minute video?