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Everything posted by AmyUD06
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Never Again?!
AmyUD06 replied to DoinItForTheFame's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I feel the same about IB, but I will likely go back for Triple Loop once operational. In fact, all of these are on my list of one-and-done parks, contingent on them not getting anything new that interests me: Six Flags America Adventure Park USA (MD) Rye Playland Quassy Fun Spot Kissimmee -
Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread
AmyUD06 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Some of the current queue times from Cedar Point; glad I left like a half hour ago. The main parking lot was about 150 cars short of being full. FL+ or not, super-crowded parks are not my thing. -
Fuji-Q Highlands Discussion Thread
AmyUD06 replied to Ed's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I thoroughly expect the super-strict Japanese government authorities to kill this coaster, even if just as punishment for not reporting the injuries right away. Sad, I was looking forward to it if I ever got out to Japan. -
LOL. Like $15 per person is going to break the bank at Disney? Had they simply raised the ticket price by $15 no one would have bat an eye. And, if you haven't been following the Cedar Point thread, Fast Lane Plus can now cost as much as $250, so...yeah. Things everywhere are getting more expensive. Blame rapidly rising wages.
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Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread
AmyUD06 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I made that point and no one paid attention. May the odds forever be in your favor. -
Carowinds Discussion Thread
AmyUD06 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Which park's site did you do it through? I remember something about Canada's Wonderland pass holders getting an extra year, but that's not even that far. I'd print that out, put it in a safe, and run with it. -
Do you buy fast pass tickets ?
AmyUD06 replied to Ozano305's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
When parks initially started introducing them, and I wasn't making quite as much as I do now, I hated them. Now, that I'm pretty financial comfortable, I pretty much always get them regardless of the weather forecast or anticipated crowd level; at local parks that I have season passes to, I have the all-season Fast Lane/whatever option when its available. My time is much more valuable than money. My personal tolerance for waiting in lines is about 15-30 minutes. After that I start to get annoyed. Since I often go to parks alone, there isn't much worse than standing in an hour+ line without anyone to talk to to pass the time. Even when I am with friends, eventually we run out of things to talk about. -
Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread
AmyUD06 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Sandy's barely goes over 47 MPH...far from the 120 of Dragster. Besides, even if LSMs could get the speed up high enough, the launch would be a lot less forceful. Personally I'd rather them tear it down than neuter it like that, and TTD is/was in my top 10 steel coasters. Also, the reports all indicated that something few off the train while it was on the return sides brakes, not the launch, so I'm not sure why anyone would be concerned with the launch. -
Adventuredome Discussion Thread
AmyUD06 replied to gisco's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I think you'll be pushing it. LAS is a huge airport, so depending on what terminal you're flying through it could be anywhere from 15-45 minutes to get outside. You're also vastly underestimating the time it'll take via Uber/Lyft (getting one shouldn't be a problem, but traffic will). Sorry, I think it's doable, but paying $40 for one hour of rides (MAYBE one hour) doesn't seem like a sensible plan to me. If your first flight is delayed even a little bit your plan goes to hell. -
Is the forum running slow for anyone else?
AmyUD06 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Yes, on Firefox/Windows 10, and even slower on Chrome/Android (but that could just be my data plan). -
How do you visit a new park?
AmyUD06 replied to Ozano305's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
@hoppedup, the only problem with waiting until getting to the park to make the decision on Fast Lane/skip the line pass is that many parks are selling out on a regular basis. Personally that's not a risk I'm willing to take.- 16 replies
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Digitally Imported (di.fm) has almost 100 different channels of electronic music. I'd recommend any of the following: Classic Eurodance Classic Eurodisco Eurodance (I think this is what you're looking for) Oldschool House Oldschool Rave Oldschool Techno & Trance Synthwave I'm sure one or a combination of them will have what you're looking for.
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Indiana Beach (IB) Discussion Thread
AmyUD06 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Photo TR: August 14th, 2021 Well, if you recall, I'm in the middle of a road trip to Indianapolis for a work conference, so I decided to stop by Indiana Beach. I knew full well that Triple Loop would not be open (or even constructed), but I figured I might as well since who knows the next time I'll be back in the area, and the park never really seemed like a "destination" park to me. That was thoroughly confirmed. First things first, apparently there is an absolutely MASSIVE wind farm south of the park. I had never seen so many windmills in one place in my life...by rough estimates from driving through, I'd have to guess it was 3-400. Here's the best picture I could get while driving: I arrived to the park right around 11, when the rides are scheduled to start running. Any recent visitor to the website will see this note that ride operating schedules rotate around based on staffing, but today I only saw that apply to the kiddie rides. Note that Falling Star, Alpine Bobs, and the Skycoaster did not operate at all during my trip and were noted on the sign at entry as non-operating. Anyway, I made my way across the very scenic (and unsettingly moving) bridge to the park. I got a lot of Knoebels-esque vibes from this place, which would sadly not translate to the quality of the rides. Water swings looked cool with the waterfall effect, but didn't really appear to do anything special, so were skipped. Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain was my first ride of the day. First, that name is ridiculous. I get that it was rebuilt from a dark ride called "Superstition Mountain," but adding "Lost Coaster of" at the beginning just sounds corny. Second, I absolutely appreciate the effort that went in to designing and building this ride. As everyone knows, everything at IB is kinda intertwined and overlayed on top of eachother, and the extremely tight turns and sharp inclines/declines featured on LCoSM are no exception. The elevator lift was cool, too. And I understand the need for the wonky net/cages around the cars, because otherwise everyone and their mother would be sticking their arms out and getting their hands ripped off by the scenery. What I do not get is the need for backwards-facing seats. I got stuck in one of them, and out of a need to see what was coming on a coaster with as tight turns as this one, I ended up with a wicked crink in my neck from turning halfway around the whole ride. Also, capacity was horrible...I didn't see any other trains, but they were only running one. This would become a pattern throughout the day. Wait and ride time was 25 minutes. Overall, yeah it's a cool concept, but the roughness and backwards ride just weren't for me. 4/10. Next up was the awesome dark ride, Den of Lost Thieves. Complete with a hilarious limit of only one rider over 54" regardless of weight per car, maybe viewable in this picture if you zoom enough. What did I think? Great classic. Great effects. Simple and well-executed shooting mechanism, with accurate guns. What more can be said? Wait and ride time of 19 minutes. 8/10. Paratrooper seemed to be running a stupidly slow cycle, so was skipped, especially given I have Knoebels awesomely-run one so close to home. While walking down the midway, I came across their pinball arcade, which also features some old-school Sega and Nintendo consoles set up for play. Pinball fans rejoice, since I took pictures of all of them! I continued to wonder, and just kinda took in the scenery. I imagine that much of the park looks like it did 30-40 years ago, which is great. Grabbed a pretzel and bottle of water from a stand, went outside and took a smoke break, and came back in and decided to hit some more coasters. They also had a Fascination parlor, for those many of you here who dig it. Next up was Tig'rr. Pronounced like the Pooh charcacter, or Tiger? The world may never know. Ether way, old-school Schwarzkopf Jet Star 1? Hell yes! They were only running two cars (out of three visible), which meant I had a total wait-and-ride time of 25 minutes, but it also meant that none of the block/trim brakes activated, resulting in an absolutely FLYING ride through the course. I hadn't ridden one of these since the one at Casino Pier in Seaside Heights was replaced in the late '90s, and it was just as good as I remember from my teen years. 9/10. I also had to laugh at the old-school transfer track "mechanism," which I use the term lightly, since it's just "move a lever and push the track that way." Next up was Cornball Express (sorry I didn't grab a pic of the sign, so this one of the train pulling into the station is all you get. No grouper? Yay! PTC Buzz-bar trains? Double Yay! Super-lackadasical enforcement of seatbelt tightness? Triple Yay! CCI hybrid typical roughness? Boo. That said, this was a decent enough ride for one lap (I don't think my brain could take a second), in the front row. Got plenty of air, but some of the laterals were just too much with the shuffling along the track. Also, this was only running one train and I didn't see a parking track anywhere for a second, which makes no sense. 13 minute wait-and-ride time for the front row. Now that I look back at it, I should have gone around for another lap in the back, but that'll have to wait for the next trip. 7/10. The most hilariously poorly-housed Musik Express ever was skipped due to a WAY too long line, and much better examples being located closer to me. Next ride for me was Steel Hawg. First thing that jumped out at me were that the restraints reminded me a lot of the failed Togo from SFGADv, Viper, in the way the shoulder restraints weren't hinged but instead lowered onto your shoulders. See video: VID_20210814_132339997.mp4 What did I think? Well first off, my concerns regarding the shoulder restraints held true. While being loaded in, I did sit up perfectly straight, and then slouched a little bit for the ride, and attempted to hold myself off the restraints, but that didn't completely work, resulting in the "hooks" jabbing into my shoulders a few times throughout the ride. That said, this thing is insane. It's like a combination of a Wild Mouse with the flat turns and compact layout and an RMC with the outer-banked turns and inverted hangtime. Honestly I'm surprised so few of these were built and think it would be a great fit for a real boardwalk park like Morey's or one of the ones in Ocean City, MD, and Kings Dominion should've gone with this instead of the S&S Free Spin. Running two out four available cars, for a wait-and-ride time of 13 minutes. 7/10 Oh, and in the background of this picture, you can see the progress (or rather, lack thereof) on Triple Loop. I'm definitely digging the new paint scheme though, and hopefully it'll be open the next time I'm passing through the area in like 5 years. Next up was Hoosier Hurricane. Once again, I forgot to grab a picture of the sign, but here's the train leaving the station. While waiting in line, I heard a dad tell his young daughter that this wasn't as rough as Cornball Express, so I had high hopes here. The layout also looked conducive to some great airtime. After a 26 minute wait-and-ride time (only running one train here, though they have two, and wasting 30 seconds stopped in the final block brake before the transfer block per lap). for the front row, I was sadly disappointed on both accounts. While it did carry some good speed and provide a couple of nice pops of air, I still found it way too rough. Maybe I'm just getting old? 5/10 After Hoosier Hurricane, and taking some more pictures (the park really is very scenic!), I figured I was done here and started to make my way back to the entrance that I came in (of the three that I found). But alas, what is this? Only the absolutely best walk-through non-staffed haunted house I have ever seen. This was a mild upcharge ($3.50), but was easily worth four times that amount. A large part of it was in near total darkness, and the parts that were lit up were wonderfully done. So disorienting, I felt like it was 5 stories tall (but in reality was probably only two), with some massive vertical scenes. I don't want to spoil anything, but there were some awesome mechanical "scares" based around floor movement, and a room with 10 doors in it, only one of which was the right way out, and a group of 5 in front of me couldn't figure it out. No wait. 11/10. Ending the trip on a high note, I made my way out about 3 hours after I had arrived. Oh, and there was an old school Volkswagen show in a parking lot, for those into that sort of thing. Anyway, a decent enough trip (made solely so due to Frankenstein's Castle). Not a park I'd ever go to if I wasn't already in the area, and it really makes me sad for locals for whom this is the only park they'll ever know. A few other observations: -The only coaster where the ride ops made any sort of "All clear, dispatch!" announcement was Hoosier Hurricane. On all of the others, once you loaded in and they checked the restraints (maybe), you just silently rolled away. Oh, the ride op did give me a thumbs up before pressing the button on Tig'rr LOL. -The water park here has the stupidest lazy river I've ever seen. It's literally two straight lines, about 50 yards long, with 180 degree turns at either end. No fountains, no waterfalls, no nothing (that I could see anyway)...just float in a tube in a long rectangle. -I have never noticed so many guests wearing ankle monitors at a park in my life. I took a TON of pictures at this place, and will do a massive photo-dump in another post if there's demand. Tomorrow morning I'm off to Indianapolis for a week-long work conference, and then it's Cedar Point on Friday and Saturday. EDIT: My count now stands at 30 parks and 179 coasters; nothing compared to some of you but something I'm still proud of. Thanks for reading. -
Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread
AmyUD06 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Technically, you never saw Vortex and Orion at the same time. EDIT: Here's the "report." So, I realize now that I didn't really take a lot of pictures, so this will be pretty brief. My day on Thursday was quite limited; I had just finished the drive from home (about 9 hours) and was feeling pretty tired by the end of the day. Spent about 3 hours in the water park, and got a total of 4 laps on the lazy river, two wave-cycles in the wave pool, one slide, and 2 adult beverages from the woefully understaffed bar. I then went into the dry park around 6:30 (8 PM closing) for laps on Mystic (back row, 1 train wait, "Cars" & snake ending) and Beast (front row, 5 train wait). Notably, the ambient temp was probably still above 90, and it felt over 100 inside the shed on Mystic. Grabbed a classic grilled cheese from Tom + Chee and went back to my hotel and passed out. On Friday, I made it to the park for early entry, grabbed my Fast Lane+ wristband, and hopped on Orion (back row, 14 minutes wait-and-ride) and then hung around Area 72 for Flight of Fear (front row, first public train of the day, 10 minutes wait-and-ride, largely caused by staff just chatting while the station was loading). Grabbed a sub from Subway, then hopped on Racer (red side, only one running, row 2, one train wait), Adventure Express (row 5, half-train wait), Bat (back row, 14 minute wait-and-ride from the time I encountered people in the queue), and Banshee (back row right, 6 minutes wait-and-ride). I then went over to the water park for about two and a half hours, getting like 5 consecutive laps on the lazy river and another two adult beverages, when the nearby storm meant the entire water park and anything taller than a building to close in the rides side. Not knowing how long this would last, I went back to my hotel for a nap, and then went back to the park at around 7. Got on Diamondback (back row left, 14 minutes wait-and-ride), Mystic Timbers (front row, 14 minutes, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and bat ending), Beast (front row, 20 minutes), Banshee (front row left, half-train wait), Shake Rattle & Roll (half-cycle wait), Backlot Stunt Coaster (row 5, half-train wait, all effects on). SR&R and Backlot were pretty much just to kill time while it got darker. I had to be on the road early, so I didn't want to stay until after the fireworks shutdown for my night ride on Beast, but I did want it to be as dark as possible. I made it to the station around 8:55, waited for the front until I was the next-to-next to ride, and then let people pass me until 9:33, when, after being informed by the ride ops that there would only be two more trains before the shutdown, I hopped on. It wasn't pitch black, but it was dark enough, and with the lightning in the distance lighting fire to the sky, it was just about as perfect of a closing to a day at Kings Island one could have. Some observations: -I've never noticed it before, but Shake Rattle & Roll has the best light programming I've ever seen on a Troika. -They really gotta do something with that Crypt building. -I observed the groupers not restricting guests from requesting specific rows. Even on Mystic, with it's tiny station, there were like 4 trains of people lined up along the wall waiting for the front row. They were still generally limiting the amount of people of the station though. -Food lines were back down to their normal lengths; none of the 40+ minute waits for grub that I saw earlier in the year. The next day, I'd drive to Indiana Beach for my first ever trip there. Go read about it. Oh, and here's a picture of the song-and-dance stage show that's done at closing between the fountain and the Eiffel tower. Music wasn't quite my taste, but the presence of a live band was a cool touch, and the lighting setup was pretty good. I'll likely be back for Haunt, so long KI until then. -
Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread
AmyUD06 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Honestly, I've been on it a ton of times before (and only live 3 hours from its sister at Kings Dominion), and probably could have gotten on it had I not went back to the hotel for a nap in the middle of the day LOL. Don't worry, I'll be back for Haunt. Will do on IB. I'm a bit disappointed that the new Schwarzkopf won't be open, but there's still another one and a few reportedly-awesome woodies. -
Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread
AmyUD06 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Just wrapped up my full day at KI of this trip. Got on every adult coaster except Invertigo (die in a fire), Flying Ace, and Woodstock Express, and spent a few solid hours in the water park. Storms never materialized, but nearby lightning did close the rides for about a half hour. Closed out the night with the next to last Beast train before fireworks shutdown, and had lightning in the distance while cresting the lift hill...even more magical than ever. Report coming eventually. Tomorrow it's off to Indiana Beach for my first trip there. -
Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread
AmyUD06 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
There are enough FL holders at CP as it is. The world doesn't need more. Step up and pay the price or wait in the 2 hour lines like the plebians you are. -
Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread
AmyUD06 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
*shrug* My body doesn't agree with repeated flipping. Can't help that. -
Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread
AmyUD06 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I consider KD my home park (despite SFGAdv, SFA, Dorney, and Hersey being shorter drives away from home), so new stuff is always good. Honestly, though we've all known about this for over a year, and it's not the rumored B&M wing in Volcano's spot, I'm glad something is replacing Crypt (and it's somewhat of a nice spiritual successor since both rides are about one thing: flips). I never rode Crypt (nor do I do any other Top Spins), and probably won't ride this (except maybe to get the credit) - I tried Joker at SFGAdv and determined that these free-spin coasters are not for me, so it's a net neutral in terms of ride counts. And being the new thing, it'll draw some crowds away from other rides, more and more of which are being removed from Fast Lane (looking at you, Flight of Fear), but it will likely draw more to Avalanche, which is already a capacity nightmare and my number 3 ride at this park, so again...net neutral. Now just keep the park open past 8 PM next year LOL. -
Am I the only one concerned about the wording of this? No mention of Haunt/Halloweekends anywhere in that press release, just Tricks & Treats and "Family Halloween," whatever that is. Otherwise, nothing surprising. As much as it pains me to admit it, much preferring CF parks to other chains, Bill is right - they have absolutely bungled their entire post-pandemic re-opening. Short hours, shorter calendars, a whole lot of food stands and rides not running early in the season*....I get it, there's staffing issues everywhere....but it screams "trying to make up for increased salaries and the fact that we gave passholders a whole year for free, including all of their add-ons." I'll probably renew my Platinum Pass for next year, but I'll probably not splurge for the all-season Fast Lane add on until I can see some calendars for next year. *That said, everything appeared to be operating at KI today...the last Friday they're open until Haunt...maybe, since they haven't posted a calendar for September/October like other parks have.
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Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread
AmyUD06 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
So, I arrived in Mason around 3 after my 9 hour drive from Delaware. Dropped off my stuff at the hotel and then headed to the park. As it was around 94 degrees ambient, I went right to the water park and spent about 2 and a half hours there. Everything was open. Made my way over to the rides side around 6, for a one train wait for the back row Mystic Timbers ("Cars" and snake monster ending). The shed was damned hot LOL. Still awesome though. Next up was the Beast, with a 5 train wait for front row. Not night, but still great. I noticed brand new wood for the rails at the bottom of the valley after the first hill and at the turn into the 2nd tunnel. I also noticed the American flag in the pre-lift turnaround, which is never noticed before. After that, I just grabbed a grilled cheese from Tom + Chee (eating now) and will then head out...I'm tired haha. I wanted to go back to the hotel after the water park but needed to get at least one ride on my number one and two here in case the weather doesn't cooperate tomorrow (when I looked this morning they were calling for 40-60% chance of thunderstorms all day Saturday). More to come.
