Philrad71

Ugggh. So sad to hear about this tragic accident. I really would like to hear about the root cause, once released. Photos and video make it look like structural fatigue or miss-assembly, but no way to really determine anything based on what we have seen.

I have never eaten at a Whataburger, but I agree...that doesn't look all that great.

^ But not as scary as that Screamin' Swing over the canyon! I LOVE me some Screamin' Swings, but damn...that one...I would need at least one or two Manhattan's to get me relaxed enough just to white-knuckle it just once. Photo courtesy of Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. "Holy freaking sh%t!" courtesy of myself.

^ Our shop picnic was there yesterday which would have contributed to some of the crowds. We went last year and had a blast, but this year it just wasn't feasible, unfortunately.

Understandable. I'm not what I would call a huge fan, but I do like the water coasters, lazy rivers (the ones that are not lazy), Proslides and swim-up bars (if they have them).

As others have said, I need to get to all of the parks in Texas. Did you guys do Schlitterbahn? It always looked like a cool water park (the main one), but I have heard that it's all spring water and it's like ice water - even on those hot Texas days.

Andy - when do we get to see the food pics? I was salivating reading the food items that you listed at the top of your report! Awesome photos by the way...Impulse really looks like a lot of fun.

SFFT is definitely on my bucket list of parks to visit...that location in the quarry is just too cool.

I'll be honest, this kind of person is EXACTLY why we have steered TPR away from focusing on your die-hard roller coaster and Disney fan to more of the "casual" theme park fan. What I have found over the years is that, while I can talk the coaster nerd talk like the rest of them, I'd much rather be in the group that talks more in general about theme park things while having a good beer and not geeking out on the crazy details, and then having the conversation steer towards something completely different, because I'm somewhat of a normal human that doesn't live or breath ONLY roller coaster or Disney factoids. Sorry we missed you guys! June - August is crazy for us! Same. Love chilling out with folks that like casual coaster and theme park banter over a couple of beers. I recall encountering a few of the obsessed types of enthusiasts during the 3 Bash events that we have attended. Luckily they were all on coaster trains so I/we were able to ditch them easily enough after spilling back out into the park. To be fair, we also met a lot of cool people too. I can't recall which TPR member that I rode on the front seat of The Beast with during Banshee Bash at night, but he was cool. He had never been on the front seat at night, so I simply told him to "Get ready for one of the best rides ever." We were high-fiving coming back into the station and he admitted "That...that was absolutely amazing - you weren't kidding!" (or something to that effect). That type of scenario is when it's particularly fun to hang out with enthusiasts - especially when you ride a great ride with them and it's their very first ride!

Completely agree about your opinions on the coasters and Skyhawk/Maxair...all awesome. Great report. That's a funny story about the Econolodge. We stayed at the one near Darien Lake many moons ago and my sister was piiiiissed when she found small ants crawling all over the windowsill. I don't think that I've stayed at one since, but if you really want ghetto in Sandusky, you might want to check out the Rodeway Inn North (it's a Choice!) on Cleveland Rd. When the rundown for this hotel on the Choice website starts off with, "Forget about fancy"....that's when you know your all-in for a total sh%t-show! Not only did we have ants on the windowsill, there were stains all over the floor & bedspread...of what, I am certain that we really didn't want to know. The bathroom was circa 1957 including a shower with no hot water, a toilet that would run forever after you flushed it and pink and lime green tiles on the floor and in the shower. If you were looking to pick up some smack, there looked to be some drug deals going on in the parking lot when we checked in with lots of shady looking characters. This was just one of the experiences that led up to us saying, "F%ck cheap...we're too old for that sh%t. We'll be staying at Hampton Inn's from now on!" BUT...I do look forward to reading the photo trip reports of people that DO go for the cheaper hotels and end up with sh%tholes like that...because we've been there and done that! And speaking of sh%tholes, you could also check out the Quality Inn at the Thirsty Pony...while not as bad as the Rodeway Inn, it was still pretty ghetto.

WOW. Thanks for sharing this! Does anyone think that the "they" and "dueling" rumors could have something to do with those two sections of close track going in opposite directions? I know we're in the sue happy U.S., but do you think that there is a chance that they could have trains flying past one another without the Dueling Dragons/Dragon Challenge rule in effect...and without nets?

^^ Or if they're a Chinese knock-off? Seriously though, I was just talking to the lady that works at our credit union last week because she said that her family (they go annually) went during Beer, Brews and BBQ - she also thought that they were tearing it down. She also said the same thing with regards to seeing cranes, but said that she didn't even notice the steel track. When I explained to her about the RMC conversion, she got super excited because she said that she never rides it anymore because it's too rough. So I am thinking that a lot of guests that go there every year probably just completely ignore Mean Streak (like it's not even there) because of the pure shit-show that it had become. I could see the GP basically saying: "They're tearing it down? Good, that ride sucked anyway". Maybe they were more enamored of seeing Skyhawk, Maverick or possibly....Lusty Lil's, Beer & BBQ that they didn't even notice what was being dangled overhead. Probably several folks that were like, "Ohhhh....a beer fest...look at...all....of....this.......beeeeeer! Area food and beer distraction to the non-enthusiast and a long drawn out speculation for the enthusiasts....those folks from CF know just what they're doing!

I wish that they would do something similar with the Star Flyers. If I were in a small model airplane, I would feel much more secure than in a thin plastic seat with a dinky-ass chain to keep me from plummeting 400' to my death.

Glad to hear that there are so many parks starting to do the food and beer fests! Hope that it's a success, although it sounds as if they should have marketed this a little bit more on the front end? Edit: just Googled it and it came right up with their website link: Food and Beer Damn...I hope that CP will offer more like this at their festival. I know that their festival is centered around BBQ, but it would be nice to see other offerings to compliment the BBQ... Lobstah rolls in the house!

Whatever the plan for new Mean Streak, I hope that it doesn't have all of the issues that this coaster seems to have. I would imagine that CP has to be a little nervous at this point knowing that this coaster is having so many problems. And because it's CP, you know that their RMC is likely going to shatter tons of world records and feature a lot of "firsts" (similar to LR).

^ If the weather is decent, I would say that it's a safe bet that any park within our solar system is going to be busy on a Saturday during the summer. Although if it's a gazillion degrees (like it seems to be during the summer in Indiana), the ride part of the park will likely not be anywhere near as crowded as Splashin' Safari. So if you're not into water parks, you might be able to knock out the dry side within a few hours. If you're going to the water park on a Saturday and it's very hot, I wish you luck!

I had never heard of House On The Rock...it looks interesting enough. Looking forward to the rest of your report!

The future additions look great! I would fully approve of Food & Wine and Flower & Garden expanding into those areas - that would be awesome!

While he never really bothered my cat when she was alive, he doesn't care much for other animals on "his turf". Well, to be fair...he isn't real big on other humans being on "his turf" either.

^ The Melvins was the loudest concert I have ever been to in my life...you have been warned. Dinosaur Jr. would be a good band to see live. It's been a while since I have listened to them - I should go pick up their new disc.

Great photos as always. Wow, Clementon really does look like a dump, but it's a park you don't see a lot of trip reports of, so it was certainly interesting. Hopefully something can be salvaged from it instead of it falling into disrepair and ultimately closing. And this.... Never have I seen a ride analogy compared to a bowel movement before!

A multiple launch jet ski coaster through the old Jaws ride...now THAT would have been awesome!

I haven't been on a Rock-O-Plane since riding one while stoned out of my mind with friends at the county fair when I was like 17. We kept riding that and the Skydiver over and over again and would laugh until we almost puked. Ahhh...the good ole days.

Chickie & Pete's french fries and beer are all you need to get through this park...whether you're vegan or a carnivore.

^ I agree...an Outlaw Run or Wicked Cyclone-style first drop would be perfectly fine with me.