Nitro1118

I got there by pure luck. I happened to just check up on it real quick and noticed the queue open but no testing. Got in line and as I got to the build up they announced it was open. Completely made my day I was with my gf who never lets me play the marathon musical chairs game, but 2 rides was cool. Gotta make my own solo trip in the summer so I can marathon 'till my thighs bruise haha. Empty morning El Toro rides are the park's best kept secret, which Joker should only help!

Yeah, Toro is always slow this time of year. Today it was actually pretty fast the first half considering the time of year, but 2nd half was very slow. The highlight of a "fast" Toro ride is light ejector on the hill after the twister section, which offers nothing in the cold. Reminds me of a "fast" Wicked Cyclone ride including similar airtime on the 2nd outward banked hill, and very light floater on a slow ride. And boldikus, looking at your avatar I'm pretty sure I was in line right behind you when Toro first opened. You beat me by a few seconds to the first magic seat ride of the year

Pic of the one I mentioned at Seaside. Thing is a monster: Courtesy of discoverseasideheights.com

What supports did they paint? On my ride I looked at the lift supports from the brakerun and they definitely weren't freshly painted.

Part 2: Grandstand-less lakefront. *cue dramatic SF new coaster music* Last piece of missing track. Can't wait for the grand opening. Looks really cool in person. Nitro/Batman. #Skull Fountain Nitro's queue at 2:30. Had a great day!

Just got back from the park. Some notes and pics... -GREAT day at the park!!! Perfect weather, station waits for everything, and every important ride was open. -...unfortunately, most food places were not. I understand the staffing issue, but BOTW, Mach Nacho and a bunch of places were closed. Took 20min to get chicken tenders on the Boardwalk with only one person in front of us. My only real knock on the day. -El Toro valleyed on the first test run I saw it have of the day (got there around 10ish). We were approaching the ride by Macho Nacho when I saw it crawl over the RT hill, and it eventually valleyed right before the brakerun. An hour later I saw them use a pulley system via crane to SLOWLY bring it to the brakerun. An hour later they already had it open! Got second train of the year by pure luck, in the 2nd to last row (the magic seat!). First half ran faster than I expected for this early in the season, second half crawled a bit. -Joker looks great! Fits like a glove at the end of Main St. To my surprise, it has NOT been "topped off" in terms of the citcuit being complete. There is one piece missing in the brakerun area. -For the first day, ride operations were on point. They were cranking out trains everywhere except El Toro, but I'm assuming that had a little to do with the morning valley. -The lakefront looks awesome without the vacant Grandstand taking up space. They still closed the area off, but when it opens it should look good. -Overall, awesome day to start the season!!! Part 1 of pics: The new view heading down Main St. El Valley...Ole!! The only redeeming quality of Zumanjaro's ridiculously long queue. Pulling the train into the brakerun. New view of lakefront from near BBNP. The lake. Generic Bizarro shot. Maybe it's because I haven't waited more than 10min for Medusa/Bizarro since circa-2002 I never noticed this...they REALLY were this lazy with the theming?!? Hahaha. Back up and running! Kudos SF! No lines all day. This is common for Bizarro but you get the point... Generic view from skyride. Generic view from skyride #2.

Got more coming later, but here's Joker from the skyride...

2nd train of season wooo!!!

Yeah, I got to see El Toro as it valleyed. It hadn't tested the first 30min or so I was here, tested without dummies as I got to Macho Nacho, then valleyed right at the brakerun. They are pulling the train to the brakerun as we speak. I'll upload my pics later. And Joker does look great on Main St!

The one at Seaside in NJ is my favorite flat ride ever. It's huge, fast, and the location right on the beach is amazing. That's especially true when you are going backwards, hanging while looking at the ocean upside down. Really fun ride.

I'm fine with topper, but my concern comes with Outlaw Run supposedly developing potholes in wheel seats. I hope that's an abberation caused by the steel wheels. I'd prefer the I-Box as long as the current layout is kept exactly intact. When Toro first opened it felt exactly like a steel coaster. It's developed a slight wooden feel, but even the potholes I mentioned don't feel like traditional wooden roughness...they feel like a rough spot on an older steel coaster. So, I'm all for the I-Box.

My totally uneducated guess is it is exactly the same as traditional wooden coasters. During the offseason they replace the warped wood under the steel running plate to smooth out potholes. Where they differ is that since everything is pre-fabricated and it seems to have a thicker steel plate, so there is far less retracking that is required over time. I said it on GAH and I'll say it here...when the time comes, they really need to invest in I-Boxing it. Above all else, El Toro's quality should be the park's top priority, at least as far as coasters/rides go. Last year was the first year where I really had some painful moments on the ride (in wheel seats towards the back of the train). Right now it's not an issue, but 5-7 years from now I want the bull still riding strongly and smoothly.

I do feel bad for everyone who booked trips for this weekend expecting Lightning Rod open. As great of a park Dollywood is, having to watch a dormant coaster the magnitude of LR is a major bummer. HOWEVER, my homepark's new coaster is like 1/4 of the length of LR and vertical construction isn't even done yet. So, it's not the end of the world, and my gut feeling is it will have a grand opening next week.

Oh crap I didn't even realize opening day is on a Wednesday. I thought I was going to have to wait until the summer since my new job is Thurs-Sun with 12 hour days. Nice surprise! I've been watching the video that El Toro gif is from all winter in preparation

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GAdv leading the chain in attendance is nothing new...they've done it multiple times the last 20 years. That is why during the KK/Toro era they were making a big push to make the park a resort. It is one of the few regional parks in the country that has the attendance and potential to justify such investments.

Think he means that B&M coasters are essentially perfectly engineered, with 0 post-production obstacles during construction.

My only question about the revamped trains...why is there a big groove in the middle of the seats if they are using the Bizarro U-bars?

You can have Skull Mountain if you send us Maverick, TTD's trains, and TGI Friday's. We get to keep the Skull Mountain pumpkin, though.

Some observations: -Drop doesn't have the hitch that Skyrush does. The crazy speed of the lift should make up for that, though. -That non-inverted loop is probably AMAZING in the back winged seats. It goes through with better speed than I imagined. -Layout is definitely more tame than Skyrush, but there is at least a couple moments of airtime and those crazy turns that Skyrush has which flings you around everywhere. Otherwise, it looks like it is a nice, long ride with good variety of elements. Considering Skyrush was borderline too intense, it is a good thing for mass appeal that Flying Aces doesn't push the throttle all the way. Really gotta get out to Dubai someday!

Yeah, no one can say we haven't been spoiled the last few years, at least compared to most of the chain. The Safari rennovation and Zumanjaro in particular were massive jobs. The saltiness as far as coasters go, at least for me, comes from getting essentially 5 coasters (2 tracks on Chiller and RT, and GASM) ripped out in 6 years, with a Wild Mouse, 15 y.o relocated standup, and a Ring of Fire to replace them. Joker helps, but it is a bitter pill to swallow when it feels like our collection was better 10 years ago than it is now. Still, we are absolutely blessed to have a park of this caliber. And it is league's above where it was in the rundown early '00's or the Shapiro era of ripping out everything.

Nope. I know Altair has lap bars only for sure.

I don't remember Chiller being painted in 2007. I know it was repainted around 2002 with the darker track and support colors, but am not remembering a 2007 repaint.

I think Batman back in 2004 when it went from all black to yellow/black.

Yeah, that is insane. I remember riding it during SP preview week. Instantly became my #1 at the time, awesome memories.. I don't know what makes me feel older...riding Nitro its opening week, or remembering when new GAdv rides opened even BEFORE the park did at events celebrating loyal SP holders!!