AmyUD06

Ahh, yes, let's take the exception to the rule - which would the 365-days-a-year park that had the screwed up ride launch due to manufacturing issues - to try to disprove a generality. You could have just posted "bUt WeSt CoAsT rAcErS" and saved yourself some words. Had they started construction at a reasonable time, then the "manufacturing issues" (which haven't even been confirmed) wouldn't have caused the "New for 2019" ride to open in the very last week of 2019. There's no explaining away their crap. They're doing the same thing with Jersey Devil at SFGAadv now...just last week they finally finished clearing the land to pour footers, and their opening day is 3 months away. I can't see it being ready to carry passengers before July. Six Flags just doesn't care to have their "New for X" rides open in time to enjoy them for the entire season that year. Cedar Fair, Hershey, and just about everyone else does try to have rides open for opening day of their season, so it looks bad on them.

Right, but they still offer the old companies rides, so I fail to see how parts would be cut off.

I'm sure there are reasons. I'm also sure they did what they could to keep said attractions, especially in the case of Volcano. Rides get old. They become increasingly difficult to maintain, especially when the company no longer exists and you can't get parts for them anymore (as was the case with The Crypt). It would have been better had there been a replacement on hand, but in the case of these 2, there was none, due to it not being planned for. Um, Huss still exists and still manufacturers the Top Spin. I'm sure they could get parts if they wanted to.

Personally I'd rather have a 16 year old ride op than a late-20s ride op who couldn't find a better job than a theme park.

You don't say...

Honestly I won't miss Crypt at all (I've never been a fan of flippy rides), but this does raise a concern that if their future plans involve both Crypt's spot and Volcano's, that Avalanche's days are numbered. Which would be a damned shame, regardless of what replaces it.

Hey, all I said was that I'd laugh if that were the case, not discounting it all together. After reading through the headache-inducing write ups on that other site, yeah I believe it's coming too. I'd still be extremely surprised if it was the 2021 attraction...just doesn't make sense to me to open major coasters in back to back years, but what do I know?

I'm gonna laugh if this turns out to be nothing more than some alternate plans of Pantheon with an incorrect date on them.

Let's not forget that RMC didn't have anything to do with the launch system, so, yeah....

1. How many parks did you visit in 2019? 4, it was kinda a slow year (Kings Dominion, Kings Island, Carowinds, Morey's Piers) 2. Best new-for-2019 (or new-to-you-in-2019) ride? Fury 325 3. Name the first 3 coasters that come to mind. Fury 325, Twisted Timbers, Intimidator 305 4. What was the best flat ride you rode in 2019? Windseeker, KD 5. What is your favorite RMC under 130 feet? (cheat sheet) Twisted Timbers 6. What was the last Premier coaster that you rode? Flight of Fear, KD 7. Name a park you've been to that you're already planning to revisit. Cedar Point 8. What is your home park and how many times did you visit in 2019? Kings Dominion, 5 9. What park are you most looking forward to visiting in 2020? Cedar Point 10. Kennywood or Dollywood? Pick one Only ever been to Kennywood, so lets go with that. 11. What ride/coaster disappointed you the most in 2019? Intimidator, Carowinds. 12. You're at Great Adventure. You play that racist-ish gong game and win a one hour ERT session for you and your friends on ONE coaster of your choice. But damn! El Toro, Kingda Ka and Nitro are all down! So you ride... Batman, no question. 13. What is the last coaster that changed your top 10? Fury 325 14. Most recent park food you ate. Mac & Cheese from Mac Bowl, King's Dominion 15. What park do you wish was your home park? Cedar Point 16. What 2020 attraction do you have the biggest boner for? Orion, KI 17. What park will you visit next? King's Dominion 18. Favorite breakfast before a day at a park? Vodka & Redbull 19. Cedar Fair park you visited most recently? Kings Dominion 20. Was it awesome? Yes 21. Skyrush or Candymonium? Skyrush by virtue of being a ride I've actually been on. 22. What 2 overseas parks do you want to visit the most? Anything in Japan 23. The best B&M coaster you rode in 2019 was? Fury 325 24. What is the saddest/dirtiest credit whore thing you've ever done? Waited in line for 20 minutes for Great Pumpkin Coaster at KD, only to be told I needed a kid, while quite inebriated. 25. Last time you bought fast pass? I had the season Fast Lane at KD this year, but I guess the Fright Lane while at KD's Haunt. 26. What was the longest you waited for a ride/coaster in 2019? 20 minutes? 27. What season passes/membership do you currently have? Technically right now none. But I will have CF's Platinum and likely some variant of the Six Flags pass this summer. 28. If you could go to a park with anyone on this forum for a day who would it be and to what park? Boldy or Coasterbill, to any park, to get drunk off our asses. 29. Battle of the Busch 2020: Iron Gwazi or Pantheon - which would you rather ride? Iron Gwazi 30. Most times you've ridden one coaster (rough estimate or exact if you're a super nerd) No idea...I've probably got 20+ on Intimidator 305 and Twisted Timbers. 31. Congrats! You just won passes to spend A WEEK at the park of your choice! Dorney Park or Valley Fair? Pick one and why. Valleyfair simply because I haven't been. 32. Talk about a park food that knocked your socks off. Grilled Cheese from Tom+Chee at Kings Island. 33. Pick one: Kumba or Montu Haven't been on either. 34. What are your three least favorite woodies? Roar (SFA), Dragon Coaster (Rye Playland), Hurler (Carowinds) 35. Best sweet snack at a park (degree of difficulty: not Dollywoods cinnamon bread) Hmmm....no idea. 36. Kings Island is on the phone and they want you to decide what is going in the old Vortex spot. What do you add? Log Flume 37. What roller coaster currently sits at the top of your bucketlist? (degree of difficulty: NOT a new-for-2020 ride) Steel Vengeance 38. Name 3 parks you want to visit in the next 3 years. Dollywood, SFoG, Kentucky Kingdom 39. Name 3 other forum members you hope fill this out. Robb, Boldikus, Coasterbill 40. Show us how cool you are by posting a picture of yourself on a coaster or in front of coaster. Bonus points if you're holding a sign with a number on it like the nerd you are. Me with my buddy Ian in front of Dominator at KD, on our way to the aforementioned failed Great Pumpkin Coaster experiment. Me with some random dude at Kings Island, after just riding Beast, with Diamondback in the background. Yes, that's my "theme park shirt."

No idea. Kings Dominion did the same thing last year.

Again, as has been said multiple times, Cedar Fair does not care about what the "standard operating temperatures" for rides are. Their Winterfest events are not aimed at thrill-seekers, despite apparent demand at parks that do operate one or two thrill rides, and until/if that mindset changes, you won't be seeing more thrill rides open. Six Flags and other parks have demonstrated that various rides can run in very cold temperatures, but Cedar Fair doesn't care because of their marketing strategy for these events. All discussion about operating temperature for these parks is completely meaningless.

So in other words, the rides will be left to rot (without even the pitiful amount of maintenance they previously received), for an extended amount of time, making them worthless in the end. Super.

The Jitneys in Atlantic City do, at least the last time I rode one sometime in 2019. I don't know if you'd call that a "major bus transit system" though.

It's Six Flags, vertical construction won't start until May.

EDIT: My roadtrip got cut back once again, so some modifications are due here. * indicates parks that I've not yet been to. Definite Regular Trips King's Dominion Morey's Piers Expected Summer Roadtrip King's Island Cedar Point Waldameer* Conneaut Lake* Lakemont Park* Maybe SF Great Adventure Dorney Park SF over Georgia Knoebels Kennywood Hersheypark Busch Gardens Tampa* Unlikely SF America Definitely Not Nickelodeon Universe/American Dream*

"papers please" and "just following orders" Where have I heard that before? Please learn how to quote properly. I never said that.

This wasn't a high school security guard like Six Flags. These were older officers from K9 units wearing bulletproof vests. They were not messing around so I wasn't going to put up a fight even if it was annoying. It's NJ. If they don't have a firearm, they're just a security officer in private employ by the business and not law enforcement, and have zero actual authority whatsoever. No different than Six Flags. Puppy dog or ballistic armor or not. The most they can ask you to do is leave. However, you are right to be careful, since their perceived authority, especially in that part of the state, is probably extremely intense and stepping up to their BS would likey result in them taking illegal physical action against you. Which could be nice if you're the lawsuit type, since you'd definitely get a nice settlement. If they did in fact have firearms and were actual police officers, I apologize on behalf of the profession. That said, you absolutely should have reported this behavior to the management. If they don't know it's happening, nothing will ever change, and if they do know it's happening, you know not to give them any more of your business. Source: A former SFGAdv Security Officer, me.

You're on the right path with Platinum Passes. I would not target going the first week of June or before, since they may still be experiencing their typical early-season staffing issues. My taste in hotels varies from most...when I'm on a coaster trip, I'm just looking for a place to sleep after the park and don't need anything fancy...just a bed with a room that locks and doesn't reek, so my recommendations will reflect that. When I last visited CP in 2017, I stayed at the Magnuson Hotel East Sandusky, about a 5 minute drive from the park. Some here will tell you its a shithole but I did not have that experience, and when I stayed then the pool was open super-late, allowing you to take a dip to relax your muscles after the park. Everyone raves about Breakers but I just can't justify spending $300+ a night for a hotel when there's decent enough places 5-10 minutes away for under $100 a night. As for Kings Island hotels, I stayed at the Super 8 Mason during my last trip there (October 2019) and in 2017. It's not fancy, but it is cheap and is almost across the street from the park. The pool here was also open super late. Another theory that I employed to some success in my 2008 Ohio Coaster Trip was staying mid-way between the Cedar Point and Kings Island. Yes, you have a ~2 hour drive to and from each day, but it allows you some flexibility to account for the weather, since being so far away the chances of it being pouring in both locations at the same time is extremely slim. I stayed in Marion on that trip, which is an hour 40 minutes from CP and 2 hours 15 minutes from KI. We did two days at CP, split by a day a KI because it was supposed to pour the second day at CP. It does suck driving that far after a day at a park but it gives you options. Crowds at CP mid-week should be manageable no matter when you go. With two full days, you probably won't need any particular plan of attack, but hitting SV early is always recommended. I'd also try to get on Dragster as soon as you can, since it can be finicky. If you can, budget for Fast Lane+, and you'll be guaranteed a great time so long as the weather works in your favor. I'd even skimp on the hotel to budget for it. Remember, with Platinum Passes you can get FL+ for the regular FL price, but only when purchased at the park. Kings Island should also be manageable any day except Saturday. If you can possibly swing it, and you've never been there before, I'd try to add a second day, even partial. Night rides on Beast are mandatory, and Mystic Timbers also gives a decent night ride, and Orion is poised to offer some nice ones as well and with how late it'll be getting dark it'll be impossible to swing all three in one night. If you planned on doing most of what the waterpark has to offer, you'd need a second day for that anyway.

I don't think it matters what the numbers are. I can't imagine any scenario in which a 400% increase in rent (or even 50%) is "fair." I get upset with my landlord when they try to raise my rent more than 3%.

I try to always give the benefit of the doubt when people moan about ride-ops and just say they're doing their jobs but I hate this. IF you've taken the time to get your child checked at guest services or wherever and had a wristband attached confirming the height that should then be the end of it. I feel like either here or twitter or facebook there was a TR a while back where some-one got measured at another Six Flags and the ride-op denied them and people were booing at the hold-up. I can't remember all the facts but I remember feeling horrified. I can't imagine explaining to my son why he's getting remeasured or worse turned away when he's ridden things with the same height requirement. It's unnecessary stress on a child and defeats the purpose of the wristband. Sorry didn't mean for it to turn into such a rant. Great Adventure is weird. They also make you show ID and get an "Over 21" wristband when you buy alcohol and then proceed to ask for ID when you go back to get another beer. If you get carded every time you buy a beer anyway (fine by me) then why does the wristband exist? It's Six Flags. I'm convinced that every group of employees in each ride / store / customer service location / department operates in a vacuum and never discusses anything with anyone in any other department or location ever for any reason. I don't blame the ride ops. I guarantee that there's no clear communication on anything. Full disclosure: I don't work there and I've never worked there but I'm pretty confident in that assumption. From someone that worked there for 6 years in two different departments, you're not that far off. Basically, communication between departments (ie, rides vs. games vs. merch) would only be covered during the big "what's new" orientation at the start of a season and then never again during the season. Within a department, I have to say that mine were pretty good but they were kinda small comparitively (parking and security), but I've heard stores of various stores within merch not talking to each other and various supervisors not sharing the same information with all locations.

I encountered the same demand for coasters at KD when I was there for their Winterfest. Remember that CF has only been doing this for a few years now, give them time...I'm confident that more/better coasters will open year after year.

There's also one in Wildwood, NJ, at the aptly named "Retro Arcade & Fascination" at 2900 Boardwalk. It's the new version of what was crazy Randy's basement arcade from the basement of the Boardwalk Mall; much smaller than that location but still quite nice with Fascination and a nice assortment of old-school mechanical games.

And on the other hand, this is Triple 5, who leveraged their two existing, highly profitable, properties, against the inevitable fire-sale that will be American Dream NJ.

I don't know how much you've looked into it, but keep in mind that this will be an expensive credit for what it is. Zoo Parking and Admission will be required and set you back about $40-50. The coaster ride itself is only a couple of dollars on top of that. The coaster is very similar to the Ghoster Coaster/Woodstock Express junior woodies. Of course, it's your trip and your money so you do you. Just didn't want you to show up thinking it could be a quick, cheap credit stop. Awesome, that is great to know that I'd have to pay admission to the zoo to get to the coaster . However, looking online it appears to only be $14 and parking is $10, but $26 is still too rich for my blood for a non-unique credit.