John Peck

Chang is just sort of "meh" in my book. Thunder Run and Greezed Lightning are my babies. Add to that The Carousel, The Giant Wheel, The Flying Dutchman, Enterprise, Breakdance, Bounty and Himalaya. And how can anyone forget the Roller Skater?

Im surprised to hear that this park hasn't attracted enough families, their ride selections are mostly made up of 52" or less. The things I have seen SFA do the past few years has really put them into a better financial position, but that has not looked all that great on a consumers perspective, with quite a few ride removals. By doing that, however, many really expensive-to-maintain rides have been removed which allows other rides to receive a little more attention. Frankly, I do not think Chang is the answer for this park, unless they are trying to go up against Dominion or Busch. I do think that they should continue to build a few more family rides that they can run a multi-year campaign on and bring in some business from other surrounding areas.

These make me SAD. (they are not my photos) Double Loop Double Loop Double Loop Double Loop Villian Villian Dominator Remains

Personally, I really do not like this idea. It should have gone up at Great Escape. I heard that the trains for this ride were sent to SFNE. Should be interesting to see what happens.

Things will last as long as you take care of them, but a normal "service life" depends on how good the design was in the first place. I know ride manufacturers have warranty's on certain things. Who knows how long there rides will last... Cedar point has already replaced Raptors Cobra Roll and Magnums Pretzel (i think 3 times) and first drop bottom-out. You figure cars are built to last and go about 8 years/100,000 miles, but with mine being 20 years old and over 209,000 miles, i would say it has passed that as things are starting to break here and there

If you go to the BGW site, you will see that not only has BBW disappeared from the rides list, but the interactive map has no trace of it either. Seeing that empty space on the map really makes your heart drop.

Well, I got down there and had my last 3 ever rides on BBW.... I'm so glad i made the trip. I rode BBW in 2000, so there were a few things I forgot about despite the videos I have that feature the coaster. Definitely sad to see it go, but I could tell that the wear and tear over the years played havoc on it's structure... those trains really shifted violently.... but in a fun way. Did anybody else notice the recently-painted black handrails? What was that all about?

Cedar Fair has given this park a complete 180. It looks fantastic.

Very Exciting announcement! I love the location of it!

Chang has always been too much coaster for that park, it would really be useful at Great America, they have the crowds to justify it a little better. Am I alone to wonder if it would work better at SFoT or Great Adventure instead? I too wonder what could become of Iron Wolf. Removing Chang does a lot of neat things for Kentucky Kingdom: • It frees a huge area to expand the waterpark and even create a Second Gate • The new Space allows for more Picnic Pavilions to be built • It makes the future of T2 as the only standing coaster in the area less secure, which is fine because it's Crap. • Removing it frees a lot of maintenance funds (those B&M's are incredibly expensive to maintain) • The park becomes more of a manageable size for it's lower attendance • It eliminates one less family-friendly ride, so they can compete better with Holiday World. Personally, I like the idea of Chang being removed. I don't know if it will happen, but Screamscape is usually about 90% right, or at least on the right track.

Thanks to my Wife's Travel Agent discount, we'll be getting into Busch for only $29.99 each. So no advice on great places to eat in Virginia Beach? Or any other good sites there? Oh, also.... I'm trying to find out if Virginia Beach Amusement Park has closed. I know there was no coaster there, but still. One google-searched site said it did close, and the phone number I called had a "Fax-Sound" One more thing... Is there anything left of any nearby "closed" amusement parks... Ocean View, or recommended others.

People can start getting into the park as early as 9:30? Interesting! So without giving away any Spoilers... what basically is DarkCastle and Corkscrew Hill? We will probably skip Pompeii, since it looks like you get drenched and we're not up for that Are there any major rides at BG closed right now for rehab?

Like I said, the Columbus Zoo has a coaster you can ride as well as flat rides. You could give Idlewild a Whirl and there is always Darien Lake. I think Waldameer will be closed by then. Not sure if Strickers Grove will let you in. Oh.. Maybe Camden Park in WV might be open. Thats about it. Ohio Parks are starting to disappear.

Very cool, guys! I appreciate everything so far.

Kennywood, Maybe, You could also try the Columbus Zoo. Theres also Coney Island.

DT Must Mean Drop Tower... but what is IIRC? I'm not familiar with a few of the names.

Starting Friday before Labor Day, The Wife and I are heading South East to grab my last ride on Wolf (and her first ride), and we're going to spend a couple days in the area. We wont be credit-whoring over to SFA or Carowinds, just a nice weekend in the Virginia Beach area. I haven't been to either KD or Busch since October 2000, so I know there have been some new arrivals at both parks. Plus, we are hitting a holiday weekend, which should make the lines 'hypothetically' a bit longer. We both have a Cedar Fair Platinum Pass, and will be getting tickets to Busch with my wife's 1/2 Travel Agent Discount. Itinerary: FRI: Drive Towards Richmond, VA from Columbus, Ohio SAT: Kings Dominion (perhaps a dip in the water park, too) SUN: Busch Gardens MON: Virginia Beach + Small local area Parks, Begin Drive Home TUES: Finish Drive Home Im still tubby, and Can't Ride Diamondback, so I'll also have some Big Boy seat questions... anyway, here's a few questions pertaining to each park, since i have only been to both once: Dominion: • Any Advice on early opening/pass perks/late ride openings • Are there any hidden gems or "must-do's" (I know about the Flyers) • Is there a test seat for Volcano? • Will Intimidator be running yet? (ha ha, just kidding!) • Any Single-rider lines in the park • Any dining advice? Busch (there's quite a few questions): • I know they open rides at various times, is there a schedule so I can plan accordingly? • How strict are they not letting adults on the kid coaster? Is there a safe time? • Is there an extremely popular attraction I should do early before the lines get long? • What other "non-coaster" rides are "must-dos" I know Dark Castle is one • What non-ride attractions are "must-do's"? • Any Hidden gems I need to be aware of? • Any outstanding dining options? • Which rides have test seats? • Which rides have "singles lines"? • Any other advice would be helpful Virgina Beach Area: • We plan on hitting the two small parks in the area "Go Karts Plus" and "Motorworld". any advice on those? • Any Virginia Beach recommendations: beaches, site seeing, dining options. • Any tourist traps to steer clear of (outrageous parking costs, bad areas) So that's about it, Thank you so much in advance. JP

My final thoughts on the layout. I hope you all enjoyed my sketches the last few months. They have only been "guesses" I never had an official layout submitted to me by the park. Enjoy!

I remember the days when kiddielands were no more than kid-size rides of the bigger ones in the park. In those days, that was enough to draw kids, not the expensive themeing and product licensing.

Enough Public Damage has already been done with this ride, that's why I think it'll be gone forever soon.

When you drive up the causeway and get to the toll booths, stay to the left (you'll see a larger booth), pay at that one and you can take the road all around the outer side of Cedar Point and that will take you to a parking lot behind Gemini or the Soak City parking lot, and you can park there and enter the gate right next to Magnum. Might as well hit Magnum first as there wont be anyone in line this early and either go left to TTD and around to Force, or go right and take on Maverick and then take the train around to Millennium. Either way, you have a lot of walking to do and there will be a lot of other great rides along the way.

Did Jekisons still have their "Spin Out" and "Rock-O-Plane" Flat rides? We rode those in 2003.

The wood blocks are there to even the ride out. Concrete blocks, for example, not only make the transports too heavy, but they break easier. You'll find that most carnival companies use wood blocks to level their rides.

What is the name of that "newer ride" you have? (The one that looks like a giant windmill... I can't make out the writing. It looks like a KMG Tango. The Viper is a new Wisdom Rides design Based on the old Venture "Cobra". On the old Cobra design, the ride was always raised and tilted and the seats swung out further (the seats on the Viper are more fixed apparently due to the joints wearing out faster... and they have those annoying OTSR's)... it was like two little paratrooper rides at the end of a rectangular beam. The problem with it, was that you could only load 6 seats at a time, then spin the ride around and then load the other 6. The new viper raises and lowers, so you can load everybody at once. Here's a picture of the Cobra: 1970's Venture Cobra

So here's my NEW version of the layout... For entertainment Purposes only