Philrad71

^ I personally hope for a vertical or near vertical drop. I'm not a fan of curved drops and not sure how I'd feel about some type of twisted drop. Just give me an old school whip my a$$ over the first hill with airtime and let the craziness begin type of drop.

Great report! It sounds like you guys had similar weather as to what we experienced when we went a few years ago. Abysmal heat with crazy storms in the late afternoon/evening. I guess that I need to get back to this park and check out Voyage again (and Thunderbird too as that wasn't there). They were only running one train on Voyage when we were there and it was so freaking hot, we were just too lazy and tired to wait for the front. I should have known that riding in the middle was going to be a crap fest and it was just that....a really, really bad & violent crap fest. I wasn't impressed with Legend either and actually found Raven to be the best coaster there....although all were one and done. I know that you don't do water parks, but that is where the park really shines IMO. I also recall our ride on Giraffica as it was the year before they removed it. Certainly looked like a really fun ride with a great drop, but along with Shoot The Rapids, I can say that these were two of Intamin's biggest design flops ever. While I actually thought STR was kinda fun, this ride hit the bottom of the hill so hard that my back teeth actually drew blood from accidentally biting my inner cheek...the other guests riding in our boat also didn't seem very impressed with it and were actually booing when the ride op's asked us how our ride was when we returned from the station.

^ I tend to agree. To be honest, I enjoyed our visit a few years back when we did the late night special from10:00-1:00AM. I thought Hades (before the loop) was a great ride in the front seat at night, although my Dad and Michael both thought it was too rough. I admit that we had been drinking at the campground down the street before we went in, so I was feeling no pain. The go-karts were also a fun treat to ride that late at night while buzzed.

This is a transcript of the best of those skits...too funny!

Hopefully a water coaster or something like Mammoth!

My co-worker, her husband and daughter went to Pigeon Forge from the 2nd until the 8th. They said that the main drag in PF was pretty much crowded all week going into Gatlinburg and into the mountains, but Dollywood wasn't crowded during their visit last Friday. And here is the real kicker...she said that LR was open, but none of them rode it. In fact, they didn't ride anything but one of the water rides! I asked her if they were utterly insane??? "You, you...went to Dollywood and didn't ride anything but a water ride????" So yes folks, there are actually some people that go there that aren't into the coasters or rides...I know it's hard to believe as an enthusiast, but it's true!

^ I agree....not a very good connection to have with a roller coaster.

Nice report and photos! BGT is my 2nd favorite park after CP, so I always enjoy the PTR's. Lowry Park Zoo was pretty cool when we visited a few years ago...but that damned flume ride was like the one that they used to have at Martin's Fantasy Island where the drop looks tame, but you end up getting soaked! Looks pretty tame, right? We both got soaked!!!

I haven't been this year, but I had a fun time going last year during my 3 day trip. Only made the visit because it was included in the ticket and had 3 days at the park. The new slides fill the"intense" void, but it's pretty much a mediocre collection of body and tube slides. They're all fun, but compared to the modern day water park none of the slides stand out. I believe we spent like, 90-120 minutes? Lazy river and wave pool were okay, too. We went Sun-Tues during the last week of every day operation. We hit up early ride time for the intamins and went to the water park when it opened at 11 or whatever. No lines at all. I agree. Weekdays shouldn't be too bad, but obviously the sunnier and warmer that it is, the chances of it being busier. Avoid it like the plague if it's the weekend and it's sunny and 80+ degrees. I personally like the look of the new additions, the new Lake Erie theming, and of course...a new bar (along with the awesome newly-named Muffleheads swim-up bar) isn't going to hurt either!

^ As would a splash battle...and it would take up much less space than a water coaster.

Helpful hint: Don't run and take photos at the same time. Seriously though - what leads you to believe that people are actually going to enjoy a photo trip report of a bunch of blurry photos? I've seen some pretty bad reports in my day, but this one might take the cake as the worst.

I noticed that it had gotten a little more violent when we were there for Haunt a couple of years ago, but I waited for the front seat at night for my 2nd ride of the day and it was just about as insane as The Beast is at night. Yeah, I don't get the one train operation either. It was brutal waiting out the front with one train, especially with people coming up the exit ramp and making it even longer. It also didn't help that two members of some type of charity group (think something like Big Brothers/Big Sisters, but with a dose of God thrown in) were actually encouraging small children in their group to line jump. I muttered to Michael that "someone was going to hell for breaking park rules and encouraging the kids to break said rules." I'm still kinda bummed about the Skylift too. While I white-knuckled it right along with you, it was a very beautiful ride! Elevator test building...I wondered what the hell that was! And yes, it does seem strange to see such a tall building way out in the middle of nowhere.

^ If you have read the several posts above you, those might give you a view of what to expect during your visit. I have never been to this park, but based on what I have read, I would go in with the following plan of attack... * Either get to the park well before rope drop and try to get to the front of the crazy queue, or go a couple of hours after the park opens (I myself would choose to go in later). * Have money handy for the Flash Pass as it sounds like you'll need it. * Either leave the park (if they will let you out without having to pay another $25 for parking) and go get something to eat, or eat a huge breakfast before you enter the park and skip the long lines at the food kiosks. I can honestly say that after reading a couple of trip reports from this season, it sounds like several parks are having issues with the refillable drink options. I feel that they should have separate lines for those just wanting refills versus those that want food. That in itself "might" make operations go a little smoother. While I personally don't buy the refillable cups and we frequently try not to eat a whole lot while inside of park (depends on the park obviously), I know that I would be bummed if I had to wait an hour in line to get a beer or water.

That classic 12-30 year old demographic that likes to come on here and misinform people about coasters. Not a broad generalization at all! Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk Didn't mean it to sound quite like that... What I meant was that as you get older, your body isn't quite as tolerant of shuffling or getting banged around on a coaster. A lot of folks within that 12-30 age group will usually defend any ride that older enthusiasts say is rough by saying it isn't...because their bodies can usually endure more of an ass-kicking than someone that's older. I'm not speaking for Robb or every coaster enthusiast over the age of 40 as everyone's idea of "rough" is different. Nor would I say that EVERY person between 12-30 isn't going to encounter a coaster that doesn't kick their a$$ at some point. I wouldn't hesitate to give Mine Blower a whirl to see what I personally think of it...it certainly is a very interesting looking coaster. But I'd probably bring the Excedrin along with me as a back-up, just in case. And yes...getting older definitely sucks!

^ Waldameer's is like that too.

I freaking LOVED the Octopus there! Easily the best ride with the craziest cycle in the park. I also wish that there were more of these models versus the Spider models. While I like the Spider rides, the Octopus rides crap all over Spider's. I like Skydiver rides too, but you had to have two people to ride and there was NO WAY that Michael was going on it with me. He shares the same thought about the Zipper too - hence the reason why I haven't been on either in many, many years.

Queue in the slew of 12-30 year old's that will come in here and say that they rode it and can't believe that anyone thinks that it's rough...claim that it's smooth as glass.

^ I just got this in my inbox the other day. I can only imagine what types of crowds this deal will attract. lol

If you choose to go on a hot Saturday, be prepared for the water park to be around max capacity. Or in other words...if it was my decision, I would avoid it like the plague. oh wow. is it really getting that busy? didn't even know they had a max capacity for the waterpark lol. Not 100% certain if they do or not, but when we tried to go last June, the parking lot was completely full and they were parking cars at Sandcastle Suites. And from what I could see, it looked like every slide tower had a line all the way down the stairs - I would say that would be damn close to max capacity! We ended up just turning around and going back to the hotel and swimming at the pool. Found out that they had a tiki bar at the pool, so it was was much better than battling the hot mess at SC. With that said, I would be all for a Splash Lane or Fast Lane at the Cedar Shores. I'm sure that if other CF parks have them, it will certainly be coming there very soon.

Great report so far! And you guys seem to have the same philosophy as I do at parks...sprinkle the beer breaks intermittently throughout the day with water stops and you can easily get through a hot day at a theme park. The first time that we went to SFNE, I was kinda meh about it. I really didn't think that Superman was much better than the one at Darien Lake and the rest of the park reminded me of La Ronde with a bunch of crappy coasters. Luckily, Wicked Cyclone got them that desperately needed good 2nd coaster to get me back. I loved this coaster and after riding Superman in the front and back seat, it shot up into my top ten steel coaster list. I'd go back just for those two and with Joker...but it would still be nice to see them get another really good coaster - like a dive machine or an Intamin mega-lite.

^ I agree...ski lifts have been operating for years and only rarely do you hear of someone falling out of them. And just as in the case at Great Escape, it's usually due to someone f%cking around and breaking the rules. I can see seat belts being and safety locking devices being added to both style of chair lifts. Hell, if they have safety belts in the freaking Giant Wheel at Cedar Point, I can see them easily adding them to this style of ride...unfortunately there are just too many dumb people out there in this world that can't follow simple instructions.

Just got the little guy groomed this week. He looks like one happy camper, doesn't he? Bacchus Baby!!!

If you choose to go on a hot Saturday, be prepared for the water park to be around max capacity. Or in other words...if it was my decision, I would avoid it like the plague.

Budapest really is a beautiful city with stunning architecture that looks even better lit up at night. I see that you snapped a pic of a guilty pleasure that I was introduced to while in Budapest....Eros Pista! It's like a hot pepper paprika paste, but VERY salty & spicy....I freaking loved it so much that I bought a case of it on Ebay once I got back to the states! Thanks for sharing...really enjoyed your take on a couple of the countries that we did in 2014! We were going to try to make it to the park/zoo to ride the coaster, but we were staying too far away and I was a little intimidated to do mass transit because the language is very difficult (not a lot of people spoke English) and there are not a lot of signs in recognizable English (like in say, Germany or Italy). Eros Pista - my new favorite condiment!

^ Cell phone was the first thing I though of as well, Bill. I haven't read all of the stories behind it, but has a medical emergency or other health (mental or otherwise) issue already been ruled out?