AmyUD06

Went to the park on Friday for my second trip of the year (got to get my Season Passes' worth) with my friend Ian. Pulling up to the toll plaza at about 10:45 AM the lines weren't too bad, and the lot didn't seem packed either. Get to my usual parking area and see hundreds of middle school kids getting off busses, but it didn't actually turn out too bad. We enter the park and head staight for TDK. I hadn't been on it yet and was eager to see if it was as disappointing as I had predicted it would be. It was. I wrote a pretty big rant on it on another forum but I'll feature highlights of that here. TDK review: -Queue Area/Exterior: Well landscaped. Flatscreen TVs were repetitive and annoying, especially that "mom" actress. The programming they had on the TVs back in the day (Looney Tunes / Park History and Facts) was infinitely better. This programming is barely more than advertisements and concert clips of people that will likely not perform at the park until their carreers are in the toilet. No excuse whatsoever for not painting all sides of the building. 1/5 -Preshow: Awesome. Probably would've been more awesome if people didn't shut up until the glitches started happening. They should post a sign or have ride attendants instruct people that they should be paying attention to this, because (IMHO) they are missing the best part of the whole ride. 5/5 -Station Theming: The ride has been open for one month and five days. I saw one Joker card and two rats. They know what kind of people go to this park, those things should've been more secure. Otherwise, everything thematically was very well done. 5/5 in theory, 4.5/5 in its present state. -Station Operation: Moving-while-loading is cool but will eventually get people hurt and if there's a holdup they're going to need to stop cars mid-ride at the block brakes, which will kill the "experience." Also, while I was there, attendants were doing a terrible job with lining up groups. Groups of four automatically went to the front while twos (my group) and ones had to wait until they had four people to fill a car. I highly doubt the ride is so sensitve that it won't function properly with only two people in a car. Yes, while it does add to the overall efficiency of the ride, the actual guest experience suffers unless you're in a group of four. 2/5 -Ride as a Coaster: It's a mouse. I've had a low opinion of them from the start and this one doesn't change anything. Back and forth, back and forth, hill here, hill there, back and forth, and so on. Boring. I will say that a few of the drops caught me by surprise and gave some airtime, which was a plesant surprise. I suppose it's still better than a non-operating coaster, but still. 2/5 -Ride Theming: I think I saw maybe 5 things that were lit up, all in the first part "back and forth" part of the ride. Sure, they may be more than cardboard cutouts, but at the speed you're moving it doesn't matter since you don't have time to take in the detail. Maybe there was more intended and maybe some things weren't working, but that doesn't matter to the actual guest experience. 2/5 Summary: Will not ride again unless it's a walk-on. Grabbed a 3-dollar fountain soda from the HBO Commissary (or whatever they call it now). Handed to me without a lid. I asked for one, and the clerk kindly told me "there are no lids in the entire park." We can spend 7.5 million dollars+ on TDK, the parade, ride removal, and getting brand new shirts for every employee, but can't buy lids for the cups? Just plain ridiculous. From there we decided to head to Kingda Ka before lines got too bad; as we enter the Golden Kingdom I notice the ride isn't running and large crowds are walking away from it. Get closer and notice the station had been cleared; more than just an item on the launch track. Oh well. Superman's line seemed short enough (just the first set of switchbacks), so we went for it. Pretty bad operation with the previous train sitting on the transfer brake for about 5 minutes each time. One time they almost had the previous train roll in to the station without stopping at any brakes, but...nope, just missed it. Meh ride as usual, but the bottom of the pretzel loop in the back row is still something to be experienced. Since when are the ankle restraints not linked with the OSTR? It seemed odd having the attendants running through kicking each seat's bar, which probably contributed to the slow operation. I'm a sucker for classic Arrows regardless of how rough they are, and headed to GASM for a 2-train wait for the 2nd row of the first car. Smoother than last time, and a pleasing ride overall. El Toro's line was nearly out of the queue, so we decided to hit it later. Same with Medusa. Back to the 'east' side we go via the Skyride, which was nearly a walk-on. 10-15 minute wait for back row of Skull Mountain. Things were lit up and the strobes were working. Good forceful ride in the back as always. 30 minute wait for back row of Nitro, good as usual. Now, throughout the day I'd been noticing that the Locker Policy seems to slow down operations more than help. This was the worst: A guest went to place five souvenier cups on the exit side of the platform and he was advised that he couldn't put them there. He went to place them on the exit ramp and was told quite rudely that he couldn't put them there either. He was finally told that if he left them anywhere they'd be thrown out. He left them on top of the trash can and as soon as he was secured in the seat a ride attendant placed them in the trash can. I can ensure you that that guest's group (and the five people they tell, and the five people each of them tell, and so) will not be buying any more $10 souvenier cups from this park. It's just not good business practice. I'll also note that before this, the ride was operating with ZERO stacking. There is no reason for this policy other than financial motives; other parks operate just as efficiently if not moreso while allowing riders to leave items on the platform/in a cubby. From there, a nice short wait on Batman (line started just after entering the former "junkyard" with no switchbacks being used). Back row, forceful as usual. Laughed at TDK a bit more and then headed back to Ka. Still broken. Back to the 'west' side. El Toro was in the first section of switchbacks. Great ride in the back row with my usual "prevent-stabling and get an arms-width between me and the lab bar" rick. Feels like its getting rougher, which in my opinion is a great thing (you may remember my rants last year about it being "so smooth that it doesn't count as a woodie"). 10 minute wait for front row on Rolling Thunder left side. Very glad to see the left side running, as it is the much smoother and better of the two and usually only the right is running. It's around 6:30 PM and we notice that Ka is running again, but we'd both been on it several times and decided it wasn't worth the wait. Visited some old friends that still work there and left. Took a drive to Seaside Heights to get some 3 Brothers Pizza and visit some former co-workers. The place was DEAD for a Friday night; guess the gas prices really are hurting tourism business. Wasn't even much nice scenery of the female variety to check out, and those that were there were way too young. Or maybe I'm just getting old. ::shrug:: Played some classic games are the Funtown Pier arcade and called it a day. Highlights: -short lines for just about everything -increased Security presence Lowlights: -TDK -Locker Policy in action -No lids for cups -despite increased Security presence, linecutting was still abundant and officers witnessing it didn't seem to care Summary: Good enough trip, but I can't see myself going back this year unless it's with my pops or I happen to be in the area and someone else wants to go. An '09 Season Pass will certainly not be in my future. Here's the link to my TDK rant on the other forum: http://www.gadv.com/forums/index.php?s=&am...st&p=359442 Lots of other general park commentary there, namely a list of ways I feel the TDK money could've been better spent.

Nice scenery work, but until I see a video of some moving cars or a track DL I call complete BS on this being a functional simulation.

Calling ther Jersey Guys "O&A Wannabes" is an insult to the Jersey Guys like you could not believe. O&A is shock-jock, Stern-esque bathroom humor, whereas the Jersey Guys are actual political commentators. Otherwise, good report.

Resize the image using paint/photoshop/etc.

Contest over Tallest: 490ft at tallest point Tallest Inversion: 422ft Fastest: 154mph Most Inverstions: 17 Highest Drop Angle: Way beyond vertical (I do not have the math skills to figure this out) Length: 14740.57ft Good thing for you guys that I don't have the time and/or energy to work out the red Gs or support it, and thus it is a non-entry Intamin_Crazy.nltrack One of the drops Overview

Meh...they left of my person all-time favorite water park. Action Park, Vernon NJ (1985 or 1995-1996 only, when the operated the looping water slide).

To those who are saying SFGA is a better park overall than CP, you are out of your minds. Here's a post I made on another forum on a similar topic. Note that the count for SFGA is now even less with the removal of Chiller. ~~~~ Here's my two cents... CP will always take the prize over SFGA for me. Maybe it's the proximity to SFGA so I'm not as impressed since it's always around, or maybe it's the fact that CP just has more stuff to do, and in many cases, better rides. I'll do a breakdown comparing similar coasters... CP ride - SFGA ride -Blue Streak - (nothing comparable): SFGA doesn't have a simple, classic-style woodie. (CP) -Cedar Creek Mine Ride - Runaway Mine Train: Honestly I can't remember CCMR that well, so I'll have to give the vote to RAMT (SFGA) -Corkscrew - (nothing comparable): the closest competitor here would be GASM, but they're too different of a ride. Though many people don't like it, I personally enjoy the simplicity of this classic. (CP) -Disaster Transport - Skull Mountain: SM was the closest thing I could figure, since they're both indoor coasters. I love bobsleds, so DT has to take the prize for me here, though SM isn't a bad ride when you don't have to wait and get the back row. (CP) -Gemini - Rolling Thunder: No conest, Rolling Thunder takes the win. (SFGA) -Iron Dragon - (nothing comparable): Once again, another coaster type that isn't present at SFGA. Some people don't like suspended swining Arrows, but I love them. (CP) -Magnum XL200 - Nitro: I find Magnum to be closer to Nitro than Millenium Force, as they're both out-and-back designs. Nitro takes the win here, but only by a small portion...I greatly prefer Magnum's cars to the "clamp you in" style of Nitro. (SFGA) -Mantis - (nothing comparable): Seeing a pattern? A lot of people don't like standups...either due to horror stories or not sitting in the ride right causing pain, but I love them. (CP) -Maverick - (nothing comparable): I've yet to get on it, but there's nothing comparable at SFGA. (CP) -Mean Streak - El Toro: I still have a hard time with this comparison, since I can't really see El Toro as a woodie because it just doesn't feel like one...but El Toro takes the win here. (SFGA) -Millenium Force - (nothing comparable): I've also yet to be on this ride, but again there's nothing comparable if you count Nitro as closer to Magnum. (CP) -Raptor - Batman the Ride: This one is close for me...but I'll have to give it to Batman. (SFGA) -Top Thrill Dragster - Kingda Ka: No OSTRs, more reliable, better theme > a few more MPH and a few more feet. TTD for the win (CP). -Wicked Twiser - (nothing comparable): Have yet to be on this, but again, SFGA does not have an impulse. (CP) -(nothing comparable) - Chiller: As much as I love Chiller, it's hard to give it a default point since it runs so rarely...but yeah, point here. (SFGA) -(nothing comparable) - Medusa: A good ride...not the best floorless I've been on, but CP doesn't have any, so (SFGA) -(nothing comparable) - Superman Ultimate Flight: I can't even give this ride a point; it's a one element ride that isn't even all that spectactular. I'll take the ancient, simple, and jarring CP Corkscrew over this any day. (no point) -(nothing comparable) - GASM: CP doesn't have a classic sit-down multilooper...(SFGA) So...do the math and we've got 9 points for CP, and 8 for SFGA. I omitted kiddie coasters since I don't ride them, and thus are no factor to my personal opinion of the parks, and CP's Wildcat since I can ride a Schwarzkopf "carnie coaster" at a half dozen different places around me. Okay, the points are close...now let's compare total coaster count (again, not counting kiddies or the Schawarzkopf): CP: 14 SFGA: 11 Even if SFGA may win some of the comparable coaster comparisons, fact is that CP has more period, and many of the comparisons are close calls (while I find Batman better than Raptor, it's not leaps and bounds above it...both are great rides). More is better. And if you want to factor admission price, it's clear to see that CP is easily the better value (a 2-day ticket is only slightly more than 1-day at SFGA). I haven't even brought flats in to the picture. [Of which SFGA has an ever-dwindling number.] Now don't get me wrong, I do enjoy SFGA and have a season pass. But in terms of bang-for-a-buck and sheer amount of things to do, CP wins.

Thank you all for the positive commentary! I have to say the supports were painstaking. Getting the "joints" on the diagonal supports on the spikes to look right was a terrible practice of "change and view." I am very much looking forward to NL2 being a "WYSIWG" editor. On the topic of pure-circle loops: I originally thought the same thing about Schwarkopfs, but having viewed several images of the shuttle loops and other "Looping Star" era coasters, it seemed that they are infact oblique (though more circiular than say, an Arrow or B&M design) and captured that as well as I could. On the topic of the "weak launch:" Having never ridden a shuttle loop nor being able to find statistics on the launch force and having viewed videos of shuttle loops in action, I figured that something of that vintage (and launch mechanism) would've probably had only about 1g accelleration. I could be completely wrong about this though. As for the length of the launch track, I used the calculator at NLDC.

Bump for the update!

Correct...the black pole is my best attempt at the weight-drop tower. You can also (barely) see the grey beams running below and through the center of the launch track to do the best job of simulating the cable housing.

There's a bit of a twist from the normal Shuttle Loop variant...a second loop! -56mph weight-drop launch in 2.55 seconds -125ft front spike / 80ft front loop -100ft rear spike / 70ft rear loop The Gs can get a little high, especially in the back row, but it is a Schwarzkopf after all. Enjoy! Inferno (Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop).nltrack

Even though mine is only one page back, here's a repost of Gigawatt. Logo Overview Gigawatt_Mike240SX_StandupContest.nlpack Packaged Version w/ Custom Car Logo Gigawatt (B&M Standing).nltrack Unpackaged Version

Here's my entry. "Gigawatt" Key Features: -57.5mph LIM enclosed launch -100ft vertical loop (tallest point on the coaster) -75ft overbank turn -90ft cobra roll -75ft immelmann -45ft Zero-G Roll -airtime hill -2841 feet overall length -5 total inversions 100% hand-designed track and supports. Also, this is my first time using the terraformer, so apologies if the water looks ragged. Enjoy. Gigawatt_Mike240SX_StandupContest.nltrack Unpackaged Version Gigawatt_Mike240SX_StandupContest.nlpack Packaged Version. No extra scenery, just the replaced car texture for the logo.

Rent a car. It'll be much cheaper than a taxi and you're on your own schedule.

Too late for me to get in?

A glimse at my new Intamina record-breaker...breaking every single record that I can think of: -Maximum height (485ft) -Degree of lift hill (TBA) -Degree of drop (TBA) -Non-launched top-speed (116mph) -Number of Inversions (16) -Tallest vertical loop (423ft) Totally unrealistic, but it is fun. Named, colored, and supported version to come. Intamin_480footer.nltrack

That said, making a coaster pass an e-stop test is pretty simple. Always make the MCBR either have a transport device or be on a downward slope, and then never build past whatever height the MCBR is (unless you've got a mid-course launch or 2nd lift hill). All coasters I build I set to Shuttle mode initially, this way you can still run them in the simulator even if you haven't made a complete circut yet. It's much easier to figure out if your element is pulling red Gs and fix it then rather than have to go back and make the changes to a completed layout.

Inspired by the early 1900s attempts at looping coasters. Auto supports except for the loop. Enjoy. Ol' Loopy.nltrack

A B&M LIM Launched sit-down. 100mph with some larger-than-life sized elements. Suggestions welcome on a color scheme and/or name. Final version with supports to come. B&M_LIM_01.nltrack Side View.

I vote for Arrow. Not kidding.

Man, that "looping water slide" brought me back. Action Park in northern NJ actually had something similar, though it was rarely open. The last time it operated was 1995 or 96, and it was torn down when Action Park's owners went out of business and the park was turned in to Mountain Creek. A google search for Looping Water Slide will turn up some good stories. I know that looks photoshopped, but believe me it is not. I never got to ride it (being 12 and under the weight limit when it last ran in 96/96), but I would always stare and wonder what it was like.

You may remember my "preview" thread a few weeks back...well, here is the final product. "DecaDemon" 158 feet tall 62 MPH top speed 4960 feet of track 10 inversions -Two giant vertical loops -Cobra Roll with a Zero-G Roll in the middle -Cutback -Two vertical loops -Double Corkscrew Comments of any sort appreciated. Overview DecaDemon.nltrack Final Design

Am I the only one getting glitchy sound in the new 1.7 Simulator?

You also need to not have the train go through the station building when it's coming around before the launch. Cool in theory, but in the simulator engine (at least for me) it goes right through a brick wall. Otherwise, not bad. I can't imagine how great my tidbits would feel after some of those Gs in the riding position.

I'd agree, if it was a barrel roll. I didn't use AHG on it, but I did spend a few hours manually smoothing and testing and smoothing and testing. It goes through that element quite smoothly. It's also not a B&M.