Wood Dragon 1988

I've ridden three GCI's (Roar SFA, Wildcat, and LR), and WILDCAT, the oldest, is my favorite. I liked it because of intensity, something LR lacked. Roar was rough and airtimeless, therefor I didn't like it. I think Wildcat may be considered rough by some, but my only complaints were the leg-smashing Millenium Flyer restraints. So, I actually think GCI's have aged fairly well, although 11 years for a wooden coaster is like a little kid compared to some of the "classics."

White Cyclone really does look great! Especially with a fresh coat of paint, like here. But, something just doesn't look right about the layout. http://rcdb.com/ig1174.htm?picture=3 What is going on there?

Hi, I thought i'd put my two cents in here because i was in exactly the same position as you leading up to the Spain trip. I was worried about the general age of the group and weather i'd fit in with all these people who seem to know each other so well and I assumed wouldn't have time for anyone else. Thankfully i was wrong, everyone was really nice and accepting. I didn't feel the fact that I was 17 held me back or stopped me from getting along with anyone on the trip. Like Larry said, it's more to do with your maturity than your age... I had a great time on the Spain trip despite there being very few people my age. It really was a fantastic group socially, so I wouldn't be worried in the least about the age of people on the trip But just incase you are worried, assuming I get on the Euro trip, i'll be 18 then so at least there's one person your age! Thanks a lot for posting-it was exactly something like that I was looking for. So, I'll be 19 next summer, with 2 years of college under my belt, I think I'll get along fine. I guess with maybe twice as many people going this year, there will be tons of nOObs along with me!

Hershey has a reputation of having short lines...don't know if that is a fact or not, but on my one visit it certainly was. I really don't think the capacity will be TOO much of a problem after the first year or two.

^Agree with the SFKK staff comment! I've been to SFKK, SFA, and SFOT and of those three, surprisingly, Kentucky's staff was by far the friendliest. As far as Holiday World, I don't know if I could ask for more than 3 great woodens, all in the top 20 of last year's poll. Knoebels is sufficient for me, and that only has one great wooden and 1 good wooden. I've only been to 10 parks, and none of them really were "overrated." SFA was bad I guess, but that has a bad reputation.

I've got a question and I don't think it has been asked before, but if it has, please call me a Donkey all you want and tell me which page it was on, okay? Well, I am an 18 year old from the US, and as you can see, have not posted a whole lot on this site. My plan was to do a TPR trip next year for a couple reasons: To meat other cool enthusiasts, and enjoy a stress free trip (which I can't seem to accomplish when I have to plan my own trips). I sort of decided to do the Texas one, but now that it is cancelled, it looks like the next best possibility is the Euro one (which has better coasters anyway) considering I live on the east coast and have been to most of those parks. My question is, as a 19 year old next year, will it probably be hard for me to fit in with the general demographics of the group? Basically, do any people my age do the Europe trips? I have seen young lots of pics of young people on the Midwest, but few and far between in Spain and UK. So thanks, and again, if I am just asking a repeated question, just guide me to where the answer is!! Chris

Kings Dominion Hersheypark Busch Gardens Europe Knoebels Dorney Park

^^The "higher standard" idea is a very interesting point. I've always thought people have a low standard for the parks, but maybe it is because people think they should be good parks is why they are constantly disappointed. I personally think that way too much bashing is done to both the Six Flags and Cedar Fair chains. I'll admit that I am inexperienced, having only been to 5 parks of the two chains combined. I won't go starting to sound like an expert to try to make one sound better, BUT I will say that I have had a good time at every CF/SF park I've been to. They instal good coasters, decent drop towers, good flat rides, etc. Sorry, but just bashing a park/ride because it is in one of these two chains is simply overdone throughout the coaster community. Maybe when I travel more, I will "see the light," but I'd still base a few week-long trips to go to CF/SF parks.

I wouldn't even worry about it. If you tip a waiter 15 percent for carrying food from a kitchen to a table, you can tip someone who will take you on an awesome trip and show you around several states/countries at least that much. Not to mention get you group rates at the parks, ERT, walkbacks, and what not.

Floorless coasters will probably always be called gimmicks. However, if B&M had just called them "sit down" coasters to begin with, we wouldn't even be mentioning it in the first place. I think the only time I really notice a coater being floorless is when the floor actually drops out. Nonetheless, this is a "cool" part of any floorless coaster. As for the "freedom" argument: Well, I think you are still as tightly restrained as you are on any B&M so it makes little difference to me.

http://rcdb.com/id2512.htm Now that is some 19th century thrill machine!

Bizarre is the word I would use to describe it! A 260 foot coaster in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world? If I ever go to Japan, it is something I will really look forward to. But in all honesty, it looks like Millennium Force, just half the length, which means it is probably just average for a hyper.

I was mad-scared of Apollo's Chariot (a similar looking coaster) when I first saw it as like a 10 or 11 year old back in 1999 or 2000. I'm sure it's going to frighten you, even after about a dozen laps on various hypers myself, I still get a bit scared 200 feet up in the air. However, I would suggest doing a ride like Euro-mir, Euro-sat, or Pegasus, which are smaller coasters before tackling Silver Star. Silver Star doesn't have a great reputation among enthusiasts, but for you at least, it should be crazy compared to that f*&^ing SLC! BTW-Have a great time at Europa! It has a reputation of being one of the greatest parks in the world, and I would really love to visit it one day!

Too many band geeks around here!! LOL, I was one too for many years

NFL: Washington Redskins MLB: Baltimore Orioles NBA: Phoenix Suns NHL: N/A NCAA: Maryland Terps I graduated in 2006, but I still love my local high school teams despite the horrible coaching and pathetic 102-year-old A/D. Really, that's the only team I'm attached to nowadays.

Yea, Bandit looks like one of the better Togos to me. It seems like the Togos over in Japan look a lot better than the POSs installed in the US. Have a great time whoring up the Intamin Rocket Coaster today though!

Yea, but it's always nice to have parking included just in case. What if your the only one in the group with a pass? My only gripe is that last year all 06 pass holders got free parking in 07.

I definitely wish you all the best. Japan is way out of my price range right now, but for all of you who shelled out a pretty penny to go, I sure hope it is worth your time/money! Even if the parks are all terrible or something, just going to Japan itself and seeing their culture would be worth the time. I also hope that the Japanese are wearing their cloaking devices as usual!

Thanks a lot for the review, Guru Guy. This is a real promising coaster. I'm really interested to see how it ranks against other woodens, especially true twisters like GCI's or Twister 2, etc. To me, personally the ride looks much better than next year's Ravine Flyer II or maybe even Hades! I really want to go there and ride it soon, because you just don't know how well this "Boardwalk" will maintain it!

I went to Knoebels for the first time ever last Saturday. It was just plain awesome, and the lines weren't really bad despite an almost capacity parking lot! Lots of families there and none of the rides I did had much of a wait. I always thought there was only one train on Phoenix, but when I went, they were cranking out two. Definitely a nice surprise. The highlight of the day was this: Alamo Restaurant: Crab Cake and Chips Turkey Sandwhich and Chips Side order of Fries Sweet Tea $12.50!!! The food there is so cheap, and if you don't marathon the coasters you won't spend too much money there at all.

For someone who's never been to CP like myself, this TR was great! I get sick of seeing all those coasters over and over.......

I couldn't agree more. I've been saying for a couple years that they should remove Anaconda, Shockwave, and Hurler. ...and add a B&M and/or an Intamin coaster. I agree 100% that Anaconda should be ripped out, but Shockwave and Hurler? Hurler needs some re-tracking. But Shockwave... It has the 3rd longest line whenever I go to KD. Volcano and FoF always beat it. But Shockwave's line always spills out of the entrance. And when I rode it it wasn't that rough except for that final turnaround before the brakes. I'll grant yout that Hurler has been running better this season (they have done some retracking around the big banked curves at either end). Shockwave's line is usually hideously long because it takes so long to check the restraints and dispatch the trains, so I'm not sure it's a mark of popularity as much as it is a capacity/operations problem. Yea, it doesn't take much for the line to get backed up when they dispatch a train once every 5 to 7 mins. As for Hurler, I agree it's running better this year, but still IMO it a very boring ride. I'm sorry, but Hurler and "boring" don't belong in the same sentence. You can hate it or love it: It is rough as crap, but has the best airtime at KD. There isn't a dull moment as you are either being jackhammered or lifted out of your seat. I like Hurler, but I see reason why others don't like it. But "boring" is not the right adjective.

I'm sorry if I'm an annoying nOOb for asking this, but since the deadline is September 28, all depositors with no prior trip experience (like me) are all treated as equal in the case of any lotteries or waiting lists no matter if the deposit comes in September 1 or Septermber 27, right?

Just on Saturday, I missed Dorney's mouse. That is my first big miss since becoming an enthusiast 2.5 years ago! At that point I began to think, "Is credit whoring really worth it?" There are a lot of good coasters at Dorney and there I am trying to ride the Mouse which broke down while I was in line and when it reopened, the wait was longer than any other coaster's. So then I basically said, "it's not worth it."

I like Schmecks, but I have never ridden an Intamin. Hopefully that will change soon!