CoasterLover

Not sure I could pick just one... certianly some of my top include... -Stunt Coaster (KI, KD, CW) -Voyage's tripple down -Grizzley (KD) (it's that unexpected hop right in the middle that makes it good) -The Beast's second tunnel Phoenix's tunnel also holds a special place for me, but I'm not sure I would put it as one of the best...

Straight from HolidayWorld... Holiday World announces Pilgrims' Plunge: http://www.holidayworld.com/new2009.html Pilgrims Plunge Facts TOWER HEIGHT: 165 feet ELEVATOR LIFT HEIGHT: 135 feet DROP: 131 feet, 45-degree angle SPLASH ZONE: Wall of water 90' wide and 45' tall BOATS: Five 10-passenger boats TOP SPEED: 50+ mph RIDE TIME: 2 minutes, 40 seconds DUAL ENTRY: Board from Holiday World or Splashin' Safari WORLD RECORD: World's Tallest Water Ride

According to the blog entry on HW's Twitter just a few moments ago... I'm pretty sure that means it's a safe bet that it'll be called Pilgrims' Plunge... then again... maybe not...

Another thing to consider is that the park has done a lot since the Shapiro takeover, but a lot of that has happened under the radar. For example, the park added a completely new park wide sound system and a very large new HR building... both things that could easily be overlooked by someone not familiar with the park. For people who visit day in and day out, a lot of smaller changes have happened that are easy to notice (new sound systems/lighting in most of the shows, a ton of new signage in the park and in the parking lot, a lot of new paint in various areas around the park, modifications to improve a lot of the current food venues and theaters), however, I'll agree that there is a LONG way to go. Can it be done? Of course, but you have to remember that SFA was in much worse shape when they received it than a park like SFOG, SFDK, or SFGAdv was. For a lot of those parks, employees were the only real issue... SFA's issues went down to the foundation (I know for a fact that this year a fair amount of capital went ito repairing/replacing airconditioning/heating units on some of the buildings). As a local, I agree that my opinion is biased, but also, as a local, I'm happy to say that changes have occurred at SFA. However, I think the current focus is on getting the infrastructure of the park fixed before moving to more surface level matters and that means you might have to wait another year or so for these infrastructure upgrades to be complete before they can completely focus on the surface level issues... Just my thoughts...

They're the same uniforms, only they are not that obnoxious yellow color. I'm still not sure why they would only wear the blue uniform for one year... seems a terrible waste of money, or a very unfair expense for the employees... I believe SFA is not the only park that kept the blue uniforms from last season... The same can be said for half the other parks in the chain... including both California parks, SFKK, SFM, and Great Escape... Apparently you've never been to La Ronde...

Top Choices? Goliath at La Ronde: while not the greatest coaster in the world, it's leaps and bounds above anything else at that park... from the nice landscaping, the great looking station, and the enjoyable ride, there were times it almost felt like La Ronde was unworthy of such a nice coaster. Ride of Steel at Darien Lake: With the exception of Motocoaster, everything else at this park is a one and done and hardly worth the visit. Ride of Steel, on the other hand, is a ride I could ride all day! Shivering Timbers at Michigan's Adventure: Shivering Timbers is simply amazing, the rest of the park... meh. Michinag's Adventure is really so far from anything else worth visiting, that about the only reason I would return would be for more rides on Shivering Timbers. Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce: Lake Compunce isn't a bad park, it's just not a park I would need more than one or two visits to every 5 years or so. Boulder Dash though just blew me away when I rode it earlier this year! Simply an amazing ride at a just okay park.

I was a bit let down by Behemoth despite a lot of other people giving it glowing reviews (I felt it really lacked in good airtime pretty much everywhere I sat on the coaster), so I'm having a "wait and see" attitude on this one. Visually, it LOOKS like a nice ride and will make a great addition to the park's skyline, but as for the ride itself, I'll just have to wait until I can get back to KI to ride it myself...

SFMM's Psyclone, SFNE Cyclone, Willaim's Grove's Cyclone, and Darien Lake's Preditor all rank way up there as some of the roughest/most painful coaster's I've been on. In all cases, those coasters were one ride per visit (at most)...

From the same original message board I found the "announcement" they have a picture of the banner and the initial site work now up as well... Initial Ground Work The banner at the park, complete with park logo, ride layout picture, stats, and GCII logo. Again, the link to that thread is as follows: http://www.ep-board.de/viewtopic.php?p=50605&sid=fab8546670232988d54801f60cdbcb56

A LOT of luck... I really felt the original name of the images, "forellenhof", was a big clue and I ran with it. When I found that there really was a park with that name, I couldn't get it out of my mind that that was the park in reference. As such, I began a long quest on google to find a page that would present the proof. As such, I searched for pages containing Forellenhof Plohn, 2009, GCII, GCI, roller coaster... any terms that seemed they might work. When you hinted that the page was not in english, I changed my search for only pages written in German and started searching for German terms... achterbahn (the German word for Roller Coaster) being the most helpful. A search for "Forellenhof Achterbahn 2009" yielded no results, but when I changed the search to "Freizeitpark Plohn Achterbahn 2009" (RCDB suggested "Freizeitpark Plohn" as the more common name of the park, I had a hit. The seventh entry down looked to most closely fit my search and when I saw "Great Coasters" in the hit result, I figured I must have stumbled upon the result... A bit backwards of a way of finding it, and probably the most coincidental way to find it, but it ended up being successful, so I can't complain... Robb, I PMed you my addy, if you could verify that you got it, that would be appreciated...

Sweet! Can't believe I had the right park from the beginning...

Well, still don't know if I'm right or not... or even if that was the site Robb was refering to...

The page is translated: http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.ep-board.de/viewtopic.php%3Ft%3D2781%26sid%3D96953ec221124fc25a92897507688802&prev=/search%3Fq%3DFreizeitpark%2BPlohn%2BAchterbahn%2B2009%26num%3D50%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG%26as_qdr%3Dall&usg=ALkJrhgTCoQI63EYST9eCGigIIoPDcEeGA That's 90.22 ft tall, 46.6 mph, 2460 ft long... seems right to the pic...

Well, according to the white pages, there are 57 Ellen Hofs in the US and none of them live in Cali... http://preview.ussearch.com/preview/ala/newsearch?&searchLName=Hof&searchFName=Ellen&adID=619100D754&adsource=9&TID=0&cid=people&searchtab=people

As odd as it might sound, I don't think you can rule out Erlebnispark Forellenhof Plohn, http://www.rcdb.com/pd397.htm . Sure no one has heard of the park, but it looks like they have just the right spot for the coaster, the coaster would be small enough for a park like this, and it would quickly put them on the map, just like Beech Bend and Kentucky Rumbler. The attached image is from the below google map of Erlebnispark Forellenhof Plohn: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=50.565255,12.399595&spn=0.003192,0.002951&t=k&hl=en forellenhof_3.bmp Looks like it would fit nearly perfectly

Well, for starters, the names of the images have been changed from forellenhof_1 and forellenhof_2 to unknown_1 and unknown_2, therefore, one would have to assume that "forellenhof" must be some sort of clue/indication...

http://www.mncppc.org/pgco/planning/agendas/2005%20Resolution%20PDFs/DSP-87048-41.pdf Read pages 4 through 8 of the above PDF... DSP-87048-41.pdf

It's almost surreal for me. I mean, I went to te park once ever... that was August of last year. At that time, there were thoughts of the park closing, but it was all highly speculative at that time. On our one trip, the ride side was completely dead. The waterpark was quite nice though! We got on everything once or twice... we could have marathoned a few rides, but none really jumped out enough as worth many re-rides. All in all, we only spent about 5 hours in the park (total time between both sides of the park). It felt like a lost park. I can imagine what it was like in it's WOA days... and that seems like it would have been amazing... but last August, there was just no magic. When we heard it was going to close (the dry side), we were glad we had our chance and felt the timing for our trip was great, but I guess overall, we just weren't surprised by the news. Nonetheless, it's amazing to think of the progression of the dry side of the park... from a humble little park, to a Six Flags park, to a HUGE superpark, then a gradual decline until eventual closing.

Weather you're interested or not, SFAFans has posted an update from opening day of Tony Hawk's Halfpipe. The complete update can be found at the link below, but I'll post a few pics here for your enjoyment. It was a surprisingly fun ride! http://www.sfafans.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=641 A glimpse of the sign and some of the slide (Photo Credit: 2008 SFAFans.com) The main tower themeing (Photo Credit: 2008 SFAFans.com) An overview of the ride (Photo Credit: 2008 SFAFans.com) We've also been told a spinning "Tony Hawk" Cutout will be placed near the ride similar to the spinning cutouts seen on the coasters. Additionally, SFA was sporting the new electronic ad boards that had been mentioned in the previous conference calls. The middle section rotates (much like the sideline adverts in basketball arenas) and there is a scrolling marquee along the top of the sign. The park has added about eight of these all around the park and they actually fit in well... (Photo Credit: 2008 SFAFans.com)

In the first picture, it looks like they are actually cresting the top of the lift hill and, as with most mice coasters, the chain actually goes down the first drop slightly to ensure that the car clears the lift. If this is the case, it would explain both why they have their hands up and why it appears the car is going downhill, yet you can still see the chain.

Well, sir, there's nothing on earth Like a genuine, Bona fide, Electrified, Six-car Monorail! What'd I say? Monorail! That's right! Monorail! I hear those things are awfully loud... ...It glides as softly as a cloud. Is there a chance the track could bend?... ...Not on your life, my Hindu friend. What about us brain-dead slobs?.. ...You'll be given cushy jobs. Were you sent here by the devil?... ...No, good sir, I'm on the level. The advertisement practically writes itself!

There is no excuse for how the guard acted, however this whole situation begs the question as to what your brother was trying to accomplish there in the first place. I mean, as you noted, the park was not yet open for the season, and most parks (including SFA) only have limited times before the park opens for the season when they will process season passes. If your brother is such an avid enthusiast, I'm fairly certain he would have realized that as well. So why even bother trying to go into the park in the first place? Additionally, I know for a fact that there was a sign outside the park before opening day indicating when the park would be opening for the season and when early season pass processing days were, so even if he had not previously known that the park was open or that season pass processing was only limited hours, he certainly could have seen that as soon as he got to the front gate. As such, if he purposefully continued on with this knowledge, he was technically trespassing. Once again, I am not claiming that this is an excuse for how the guard acted, and I certainly agree that an apology was and still is in order, but you have to remember that SFA really is a sub-urban park (unlike Great Adventure or even SFMM for that matter where you have to drive a decent distance to find any large urban area) and I'm sure they have to deal with a fair share of people trying to sneak into the park and cause mischief over the offseason. Not saying your brother would fit the image of someone who would try such a thing, but it's at least something to ponder. I highly agree with "signal" that I believe your brother will eventually hear from the park. Again, there is no excuse for how that individual guard acted, howver I think to assume that he would receive a response in two weeks or less during one of the busiest times of the year for ANY theme park customer service department is a bit unfair.

^Funny thing is, SFA already has a ProSlide Tornado. I think they are adding this slide as almost a compliment to Tornado as Tornado easily has the longest lines in the entire waterpark (often the longest lines in the entire park). Tony Hawk's Halfpipe will also provide single rider version of the experience you get on Tornado... I know I've seen several people not in groups that were dissapointed when they found out they could not ride Tornado as a single rider.

My opinion, if they were going to just sell the park for the land, they would have done so already. The park has made/is making some considerable investments in the non-ride department that couldn't be re-couped if they just sold the park for land. For example, they spent $1 million in improvements to Skull Mountain (or the ride formerly known as "Typhoon Seacoaster"), they're building a new 4,000 sq ft HR building, they've painted countless rides and buildings, they spent a considerable amount on a new park wide sound system last year, as well as countless smaller projects. Add a new flat or a new coaster and it's not unreasonable to just pick the ride up and move it to another park if you want to sell the park for the land. Additions like SFA has made over the past couple years simply cannot be "picked up and moved to another park" if they were going to just sell the park for the land. While a new sound system or a new HR building are hardly marketable additions, they are necessary to the internal improvement of the park, and right now, more than anything, SFA has to improve its foundation before it can start building on it's ride offering.

BOWIE, MD - (December 17, 2007) - Six Flags America invites everyone to “skate the wake” this summer as it announces a truly awesome water adventure at its Hurricane Harbor water park for the 2008 season: the first ever Tony Hawk’s Halfpipe! This edgy waterslide, branded after the superstar skateboarder Tony Hawk for its similarity in shape to that of a skateboarding halfpipe and its intense experience, offers a new form of watery thrills for the entire family! “We are ecstatic to be adding Tony Hawk’s Halfpipe to our already stellar water park lineup. This is a water ride that teens, tweens and parents alike can enjoy,” said Six Flags America park president, Terry Prather. “This incredible ride is the highlight of a family entertainment package for 2008 that is unsurpassed in this region!” Tony Hawk’s Halfpipe stands four stories tall and sends Guests flying down one side of the halfpipe’s “ramp” and up vertically to the other on one and two person inner tubes. This first-ever Tony Hawk water slide allows riders to experience on water what skateboarders experience on dry land: zero gravity!! As riders go barreling down one part of the ramp toward the other end, they’ll experience the sensation that speed plus their own weight may possibly carry them over the edge – very skateboarder-esk! The frictionless surface helps create a free-fall effect as riders slip and slide forward and in reverse, up and down the U-shaped “slide with no sides” attraction. But just before cresting over the edge…water spray jets actually push the tube forward as Guests continue to “skate”- aka “slide”- to the bottom. “I am honored and excited to be involved with this new water park ride,” said skateboarding legend, Tony Hawk. “The Tony Hawk Halfpipe waterslide is a great way to emulate the fun of skating a huge halfpipe with the thrill of riding an amazing waterslide! I can’t wait to try it myself!” Sprawled over almost 25 acres, Hurricane Harbor at Six Flags America is FREE with paid park admission. It is one of the largest water parks in the Mid Atlantic with 38 water rides and attractions, a kiddie section called Buccaneer Beach and one of the largest wave pools, Hurricane Bay, in the country!! Tony Hawk’s Halfpipe is sure to generate even more excitement for Harbor Guests with plenty of room for onlookers to observe all the fun if riding is not part of their park agenda. This season, Guests can enjoy Tony Hawk’s Halfpipe at Hurricane Harbor, along with a summer concert series featuring today’s leading recording artists, a variety of new shows and special events for one low price by taking advantage of the ultimate value, the Six Flags America Play Pass. The pass is just $49.99 and pays for itself in just one visit! Visit sixflags.com today to purchase the ONLY pass to totally rad fun this summer!! Preparing for its ninth season of non-stop fun, Six Flags America opens for the 2008 season on Saturday, April 26. Six Flags America is located 40 minutes south of Baltimore, 15 minutes east of Washington, D.C. and 20 minutes west of historic Annapolis, MD. Please feel free to visit the Official "Tony Hawk's Halfpipe" Page Here: http://www.sixflags.com/america/rideswaterpark/TonyHawksHalfpipe.aspx