gk

It will hold up to four people. That doesn't mean it has to have four people - two people sitting cross-corner from each other should work fine. But perhaps there should be a rule that kids should be accompanied by someone older. Not holding on to the handles could contribute to the kids falling out of the raft. I don't see how the physics of the ride could be affected much by two small children. Amazing reporting skills at work. The only thing "launching" the tube is gravity. Good for Six Flags. 911 is for emergencies, not "mild injuries".

Nice TR. I liked your Stephen Colbert-esque pose with your "ride op friend"

This sign at Great Escape on the Raging River ride makes me laugh every time. I guess once a month it gets pretty intense. (cheesy cell phone photo)

Update. Teen Injured on Ride Has Foot Reattached http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19361804/

Intamins: TTD, Kingda Ka, S:ROS SFNE, El Toro B&Ms: Raptor, Georgia Scorcher, B:TR @ GADv, B:TR @ SFOG, Nitro, Medusa, Batman Dark Knight Hopefully I'll add a couple more of each this year. I think both companies have been pretty innovative - Intamin with rethinking the woodie, the rocket coasters and aquatrax, and B&M with the floorless, inverts and dive machines. What it comes down to for me are the trains and the restraints. B&M tends to have the most comfortable restraints, IMO (compare Nitro vs. S:ROS - no contest with your legs free on Nitro vs. legs rendered practically immobile on S:ROS). However I prefer 2-across seating by a large margin, so I have to give the nod to Intamin there. I think Intamin may be making a comeback of sorts with their new OTSRs. The ones on Kinga Ka are quite nice, but I'll have to try them on a ride that has some lateral forces on before I proclaim them great. Heck, I guess I have to give them a tie. We should all just be thankfull that we have these two companies designing the majority of major ride installations these days instead of Arr(ow!)

What everone else said. You need some breaks in there, and leave some flexibility to deal with potential bad weather. Also, with some of the larger parks like Cedar Point you will realistically need more than one day to do everything. As far as amount to budget, when you arrive at a figure, double it. It's fun to plan these sorts of trips, but four years is a LONG time.

^ Lake Compounce wins for me. Free soft drinks are the kicker.

11 more rides on the Comet tonight. Making 22 total for the weekend.

Thanks for sharing. Ocean Park looks really nice.

Just had 10 night rides non-stop on the Great Escape Comet after a brief storm emptied the park.

She was one of the ride operators. http://www.wnbc.com/news/13600206/detail.html

I doubt any coaster ride will ever top my very first ride on the Beast in 79 when I was twelve, when I waited about three hours in line for it with the dread and anticipation building up in me the whole time. It's been topped by other coasters but you'll never see me dissin' it. Viva la Beast!

SFOG: Georgia Cyclone (1990) Ninja (SFOG) (1992) Kings Dominion: Anaconda (1991) Cedar Point: Mean Streak (1991) Sea World San Diego: Journey to Atlantis (2004) Kings Island (admittedly my home park at the time) Screamin' Demon (1977) The Beast (1979) The Bat (1981) King Cobra (1984) Vortex (1987) Adventure Express (1991)

Obviously, if you want to ride, and ride comfortably and safely, you need to lose weight if the restraints don't fit. On the other hand, it'd really be nice if Intamin could build lap restraints that worked as well as B&M's for a wide® range of body types.

Standard SLC maybe but it looks nice over the water.

GASM - I first rode it back in 1990, and the brakes hurt like hell then too. Mindbender - Obviously it's now Riddler themed with all of the question marks. I'm glad they didn't rename it "Riddler's Mindbender" though, classic Schwarzkopfs shouldn't be messed with that much. Splashwater Falls - I can remember getting positively SOAKED on the bridge. I understand there are "splash restrictors" on the boats now? Great TR! Wish I could get back there and ride Goliath. I need to find a reason to go to Atlanta.

I rode TTD last year without trying the test seat first and was ok. On MF there was someone at the entrance making people try the test seat and I, um, failed the test. This year, I've had no problem with S:ROS SFNE and El Toro seatbelts. El Toro has slightly more slack in the seatbelts than S:ROS, but the lapbar has to be pushed down MUCH further to satisfy the sensors, I ended up uber-stapled and it was not fun.

^ Ok, I would be as picky in those circumstances. I guess I've just been lucky. SFNE does seem to attract an "urban" crowd but it didn't seem as bad in that regard as SFGAdv to me. And I haven't had a complaint about the ops yet.

my daughter and I Bad hair day on Kingda Ka

^ I've been there twice this year, both times on a Sunday and enjoyed both visits for the most part. Maybe I'm just not that picky.

I agree with that - We rode Houdini for the first time yesterday and I had no idea what was going on. The sound level in the ride itself was way low though.

Well I went today (Sunday 6/24) and Superman was a 35-40 minute wait. Glad I didn't have to wait over an hour (although Supes is worth it). Got my worst stapling of the season for my trouble though. You know, if we could have B&M style restraints on S:ROS it would nearly be a perfect coaster.

How long overall was the wait for Superman?

I don't think anyone will be reluctant to take a ride due to the accident. Nobody was reluctant to ride King Cobra at KI after the 1984 accident. They might be reluctant just because it's SOB.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007706230462