TheCoasterCritic

Does this mean that the supports are going to be bright green like the rest of Lex's ugly "war suit"?

I've been pretty critical of the SROS renovations, fearing that SF is messing with perfection. But if the ride's getting a new name and theme at least that's a positive. It's annoying to have to preface any praise for the ride with, the sros in New England. Since it's the best ride on the planet it should have its own identity. So far, I'm liking the creativity.

This probably means nothing but.... Looking at my site's Google Analytics, I found that someone with Hard Rock Park's network location name searched for 'cedar fair buys hard rock park' to get to my blog last week. They were probably just seeing what the buzz on the 'Net was like. But is there any chance that could add to the validity of the cedar fair rumors?

I agree completely with the premise that a harder polls should weed out the blind homers and insane CP fanboys, but theoretically shouldn't the ride comparison methodology keep their votes from affecting the results. Am I missing something?

Eagle Fortress definitely raised some eyebrows last year ranking 3rd best in the world with only 6 riders if I remember correctly. Six isn't a lot of riders, but Mitch's marking with an asterisk was good enough for me. I rather him include the data than throw it out. Others were pretty bothered by it though. It will be interesting to see if there are any more rides like this that shake things up at the top this year. I think my only change to my top coasters was from Ravine Flyer 2. Awesome RF2 video by the way Robb! Seeing Alabama's Adventures Rampage high ranking on Mitch's Poll encouraged me to drive 2 hours out of my way last summer. And I'm glad that I did!

I still think HRP was a strong park for its first year in existence. I think people were expecting WAY too much. Do theme parks really spring up overnight with as many rides and roller coasters as parks that have been around for years? I do fault the park for the high ticket price especially with the state of the economy. I wonder how it would have done with a free entry/pay per ride type of system. I met the executives when I was there and if they dropped the ball somewhere, I don't think it was in the research department. They'd been planning and researching for years. I may be naive, but I don't think you can research MB and get all of the funding they did if that's not the right place for the park. The numbers must have supported doing the park in the first place. Unless they were assuming more national guests than they should have. I think they just didn't plan well for the economic downturn with people staying in MB shorter than usual. They should have changed their strategy during the summer to bring in people and cut costs, but it might have been too late. I just wonder if we'd be having this same discussion had it opened it in a better economic climate. Maybe they would've lost some $$, but not had to close. The interesting part now is that we might get the answer to what really hurt the park. If another company swoops in and makes it successful we'll know what was wrong the first time. Just my 2 cents.

I'm 29 and my first coaster is a bit of a mystery. It was either Toboggan (with its ahead of its time vertical lift!) at Trimper's at Ocean City, MD or Scooby Doo Coaster at Kings Dominion. And I do know that I was 8 when I rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disney World but I have no clue which of these rides came first. I'll go with Toboggan b/c it's the coolest of the three:

The twilight rate was $24.99 after 4PM. I'm not sure if they're doing it now though with Halloween Haunt going on.

Thanks for all of the tips and advice you all gave me before my trip. As promised, here's my trip report: I landed at LAX at around 10:30 in the morning on Thursday, August the 14th. After finding out how close the airport was to the beach and Pacific Park I figured I'd start my adventure there. I wasn't expecting much from the West Coaster, but I had seen the park in so many TV shows and movies and I wanted to see a bit more of Cali. The park was really small and the West coaster was nothing to write home about, but at least the ride op ran us through twice. So with the view of the ocean, two consecutive rides, and the ride credit, I got my $5 worth. While only diverting from Six Flags Magic Mountain for about 40 minutes, I was back on my way to the park. I got to the park around 1-ish. I knew that lines would be bad so I got a flash pass. Unfortunately, I waited until the night before my trip to buy one and they were sold out of regular flash passes. So I had to get a thrill pass. My first coaster was Revolution at 1:30 after not being able to stomach X2's 2 hour wait. Next, I darted to Tatsu (1:40) and bypassed a pretty bad looking line with the flash pass. Then I climbed the hill and headed for Superman The Escape. The cool air inside the 'Fortress of Solitude'-themed station felt great, but after 20 minutes of waiting Superman broke down. I slipped out the wheel chair exit and headed over to Goldrusher (2:30) which was a walk on. Riddler (2:55) was about a fifteen minute wait even with the flash pass. The station was about as unorganized as I've ever seen. I really enjoyed the ride. I put it right there with Chang as the co-kings of the stand-ups. Then I headed over to Colossus (3:10) which was a three train wait. It wasn't terrible on the spectrum of bad, rough woodies, but it wasn't that good either. Would've helped if they were running both sides, but with the low ridership I can see why they weren't. Though I'd ridden Medusa at Six Flags Great Adventure, I figured I'd tackle its clone Scream! (3:30). I blame this surprisingly rough parking lot looper for stealing my cell phone! Ok, so it was my fault for not putting it my cargo pockets with zippers like I had been all day, but the last time I remember having it was right before boarding Scream and with its surprisingly forceful ride it likely dumped the phone out of my pocket on that camelback inversion that really throws you. Unaware that my phone was missing, or maybe I still had it this point, I quickly walked to Goliath (3:45 & 3:55). I was looking forward to it all day because I love hyper coasters. The gentle slope of the first drop really disappointed me. There's a little air on the third hill and the helices are okay. I will say the longest helix that was really low to the ground has blackout potential. All in all, Goliath was good not great. At 4:00 I had lunch at the Mooseburger Lodge because I had a free buffet that came with the Thrill Pass. It sounded like a great bonus, but the food was sub par and I'm not really used to mounted moose heads serenading me while I eat. It was getting late and I figured if I was going to squeeze in Knott's it was time to head to X2 (4:40) and face my long wait fate. Luckily, the wait was drastically reduced. Instead of over 2 hours it was only about 50 minutes. Halfway through my wait in the extreme-themed queue I realized I had lost my cell phone. I hoped that I'd find it later and stayed in line. X2 was quite an experience. The woman next to me said she saw her life pass before her eyes on the first drop and she was dead serious when she said it. She looked like someone had just robbed her at gun point as we pulled into the station. Read my full X2 review. For the next 2 hours I searched for my phone, visited guest relations to file a report, bought some souvenirs, and rode Deja Vu, Batman, & Tatsu one more time. I never did find my phone, but I tried to make the best of my time and ride as much as I could before heading to Knott's. Ninja's line was too long, I knew I'd probably regret Viper having ridden Great Adventure's Scream Machine (read review) and countless other aging Arrow loopers. Plus, I figured I'd already given Superman 25 minutes of my precious time. I knew I could get right on Tatsu with the pass and I was glad that I did. I enjoyed it much more the second time with a more secure fastening of the restraints. To Knott's! By the time I arrived at Knott's Berry Farm it was 8:30. Parking was a bit confusing, but I found a lot and dragged my tired body to the guest relations window to pick up my media priced ticket. It was only a little cheaper than the twilight rate, but every dollar counts, right? I dashed into the park as best I could. My calves started locking up from all the speed walking and poor hydration. I heard 'sorry for the inconvenience' being announced as I walked near Ghostrider, so I turned around and headed for Pony Express. After about a 10 or 15 minute wait, I rode it. It was kind of a long wait for a short ride, but it was new for this year, plus it was cool seeing how it matched up to Darien Lake's MotoCoaster. I moved across the back of the park toward Xcelerator. I hadn't seen a train running on it and started to get worried. Just as I entered the queue a train stormed by. Two or three trains later, I was enjoying a short, but thrilling ride. The starry and quiet experience towards the top of the top hat hill was awesome! I would've loved a re-ride, but there was no time. I worked my way over to Silver Bullet. It was a walk on for the front seat. After that I got turned around trying to get to Montezuma. It was 9:50-ish by now and I was jogging. As I had heard, Montezuma was fun. I'm glad that I had heard good things about it, otherwise I might've overlooked it. I exited Montezuma at 9:56 and I tried to decide whether I should just re-ride someting nearby, call it a night, or make a run for Ghostrider. I figured it wasn't likely I'd make it, but I might as well try to find my way over there before they closed down the line. I ended up being the last rider they let in the queue. So, somehow I jammed five coasters into about an hour and a half. I left the park at about 10:15. Surprisingly, Ghostrider's station was easily the busiest at the park. Exhausted, I found my rental car and headed back to LAX for my 12:30 AM red eye flight back East. Pacific Pier was a lot smaller than I expected, but worth the experience. Plus they ran us through West Coaster twice. Since the trip I continue to see this park on any tv show based in LA. SFMM was much nicer than I expected. IMO it was easily on par with SFGADV as far as the atmosphere, theming, etc. Does the park just have a bad reputation from its past or did I miss something? I'm glad that I rode Tatsu twice. The second time was much better b/c I tightened the restraint and didn't feel like I was falling out the whole time. Let's not go overboard. How about California's Greatest? X2 was pretty rough, I should have taken Alvey's advice and sat in an inside seat. It was still amazing.

I'm never affected by eating and riding together. But I'll never forget the first time I rode Apollo's Chariot. The ride ops were hosing off the last train car. Pretty nasty...

If SF does theming anywhere near what Gav is describing and the coaster's ride is as good as it was in 2005, then I'll be happy. I don't think it's so strange that I'm nervous about any changes to one of my favorite roller coasters. Wouldn't there be some initial outrage or at least concern if there were enhancements made to the woodie legends out there. If this is the equivalent of a wooden coaster getting retracked then I'll calm down, but steel coasters don't have a standard rehab program that I know of. Hence the concern... Also, if there's a consensus that most believe that the new trains won't hurt the ride then I'll try to be positive. My initial reaction was that they're tweaking with a near perfect ride. Imagine it was your favorite ride. What if they were going to put some new prototype trains on the Beast, Voyage, or Thunderhead (or Raven for those woodie fans I don't get)? Wouldn't you be concerned?

Of course I can see that they'd want to find a way to make the rehab marketable. I'm just nervous. You do make a good point though, that if they HAD to do new trains to improve the ride, then why not add audio. And while they're at it why not add some special effects. I get it. I'm still nervous though. If someone can prove to me that Six Flags intent was to build a custom installation, the likes of which man has never experienced, that has airtime that blows away its sister coasters, then the "lucked into" statement is unfair and I'll take it back. Until then I stand by it b/c it looks to me like a case of 'well we can't just clone the Darien coaster so we'll try something different'. With the success of the other prefab-woodies like Balder, El Toro seems less serendipitous. That's why they didn't luck into El Toro in my opinion. By the way, does anyone have any idea where it would make sense to put a fire effect?

I'm usually notoriously optimistic, but this sounds like a terrible idea. I rode SROS in 2005 and it was amazing. If what people are saying is true and its now in need of some maintenance, then that's all they should do. A new paint job and whatever it will take to make it ride smoothly again. New wheels? New STANDARD Intamin trains? Whatever. Six Flags does not have a track record of world-class roller coasters and they completely lucked into this amazing coaster. I'm assuming if SFNE had the space they wouldn've built a clone of Darien Lake and SFA's SROS and they'd have no top tier, best of the best coasters to speak of(except for El Toro). Anyway, my point is, there's a really good chance that they're going to RUIN their masterpiece and enthusiasts around the world will weep. Think about it, is there a better chance that they'll improve SROS or ruin it? I smell a poll.

I'm looking forward to the layout too. Hopefully I'll be down there for the opening. I can't wait for Manta and I'll finally get to ride Kraken, which appears to be a lot like my all-time fav. Kumba. Yep. Johnny's right, SeaWorld has some cool things in the works. You definitely want to stay tuned...

For once I can say I was right! I predicted/was hoping that they'd give this coaster the new Vekoma trains. While they're not the really open lapbar trains, at least they are more open and ought to reduce headbang. They had to do something to make this a more exciting addition. Now I'm just hoping they don't have actual live cobras for media day. And I may finally get to ride BORG/Nighthawk now that it may have a diminished line. I'm not sure this park gets enough attendance to support a new hyper coaster. They may even have to take a coaster or two out to install a hyper. I've been in the Charlotte area for a little over a year and it's rare to hear any mention of the park. If it isn't growing then how should people expect/hope for a huge new ride like a hyper coaster?

Today, I was contacted by a tv development company doing research for a roller coaster reality show. What do you think would make a good tv reality show with a focus on theme parks, roller coasters, and/or enthusiasts? I've had a few ideas, but nothing that would interest non-enthusiasts. I think that'd be the key. I'd have to be interesting to the general public to get filmed and bought by a network. Ideas?

I just recently blogged about these forgotten coasters. For the most part I say good riddance. I can't stand Shockwave at Kings Dominion (TOGO) and Mantis was a pretty big disappointment for a B&M. I felt a pretty intense pain in my lower legs for about 2/3 of the ride. On the other hand, I loved Chang at Kentucky Kingdom (believe it or not there is something good about that park). And I just rode Riddler's Revenge a couple weeks ago and it was about equally as good. Also there have been two notable deaths on TOGO standups that I can remember that don't help their cause. And as someone already mentioned TOGO went out of business so I think we know the fate of those standups. If there is another new standup it will likely be the Batman The Escape Intamin (from AstroWorld) that's lying dismantled at Darien Lake. I asked the park about it and they said they didn't have any plans for it, but I think we're more likely to see that ride resurrected than a new standup being ordered by a park. I think they've all moved on.

Voyage's triple down in the dark is sick! But, I'd have to go with Hades tunnel on the way out: As you tear through the dark at 70 mph the train banks and dips as it tries to throw you around like a rag doll. You can't see a thing, but I could've sworn I saw some red eyes down there. It's insane! Did I mention that this coaster lived up to its name? As you start to see light breaking through at the other end, you realize that the train is not right side up. You climb up the wall and ride along it, but because of the darkness and speed you can't even tell. Hands down the best tunnel anywhere!

I guess I was somewhat close with my prediction of a water coaster. I was definitely leaning away from a steel coaster as like others have said it doesn't really fit HW's image. I think Pilgrims Plunge fits right in perfectly. And I agree the lift definitely looks scary. Probably scarier than the actual drop. Anyone know how far Holiday World is from Indiana Beach in 'real world' driving time?

Maybe, just maybe, Cedar Fair will surprise us and re-fit Head Spin with these new open Vekoma trains. With out the headbanging, a Vekoma boomerang could actually be enjoyable. There's got to me some kind of hype around the addition since it is small and used. Then, when Cliff Hanger at Ghost Town in the Sky finally opens North Carolina will have two lapbar loopers! Take that rest of the country with all of your awesome parks!

Even though there's the 'tallest in the world' hint I can't see Holiday World building something really extreme. Okay, so The Voyage is about the most extreme woodie around, but I doubt it'll be an intense launch coaster or even a dive machine. I'd say it's more likely they'll do some type of family ride. I like the AquaTrax idea, but the it's probably a better marketing line to boast the "world's tallest water coaster". I'm saying Mack Water Coaster.

Not including my old home park Kings Dominion, here are my opening season coasters: 2008 X2, Ravine Flyer, Pony Express, OCC MotoCoaster, Led Zeppelin, Eagles Life in the Fast Lane, Shake Rattle n' Roller Coaster, Slippery When Wet, Past Seasons Griffon, El Toro, The Voyage, Nitro, Roar at SFA, Exterminator at Kennywood, S:UF at SF Georgia, and Mr. Six's Pandemonium at SFNE

My 100th was Millennium Force, but after riding I wish I would've listened to that voice in my head and picked Magnum instead. Hopefully 200th will likely be a coaster in Texas next year.

Thanks for all of the tips and advice. I'm going to head to SFMM and depending on how things go I might leave after rush hour and attempt to get in a few hours at Knott's. This way I'll be much closer to the airport and I won't risk missing SFMM's lineup for Knott's.

The 16th is my birthday too so I'll be celebrating my birth and roller coasters. The only reason that I found this 'holiday' is because I was researching what events coincided with my birthday. When my parents ask me why I'm so weird and like coasters so much, I tell them it's not my fault. I was born on National Roller Coaster Day. I was joking. I doubt anyone has heard of it. But, Hallmark's definitely missing out on an opportunity though.