singemfrc

Wow, KBF's Facebook just alerted me to the fact that Montezooma's Revenge is one of only four remaining operating Schwarzkopf Flywheel loops left and the only one in the US. Didn't realize there were so few left. Psyched to finally get that credit in two days.

If you have a gold pass and you can cross off YOLOCoaster in the morning early entry (Or Twisted Colossus on the extremely slim chance that it's open by then..) your chances improve greatly as you can get a walkon for one of the longest lines of the day. From there work your way forward from the back of the park and you should hit most of the lines as short as possible. Wait until 4:30 or so to hit X2 as the line will be very short by then. If your family is a small group, you dont mind not riding together, or some people wont ride everything then consider using the Single Rider lines on Lex Luthor, Riddler, and Green Lantern. 45+ min wait turns into 15 for LL, Riddler always a walkon for single rider and Green Lantern is usually no more than 10-15 mins or less. If Twisted Colossus does by some miracle open by this time, the entire park is likely to be a lot busier as it will bring a lot of people to the park that wouldn't otherwise be there at all. Strongly recommend a flash pass if that's the case. You've got some time to save up for it. SFMM doesnt shut down nearly as quickly in the rain. CP is a bit infamous for their super strict rain shutdowns. At SFMM, Lex Luthor, SEFK, YOLO, and X2 can close pretty quickly in the rain (or wind, which shuts down the Sky Tower too if it's open by then) but practically everything else will stay open in drizzle or light rain in my experience.

I think its mainly from comparison to the previous park president who did try and shake hands and meet with everyone. In contrast she seems standoffish but she doesn't mean to be that way. I've known people that have bumped into Bonnie at the park and she's always been very friendly and open to talking. I think maybe she just doesn't like the spotlight, some people are that way. I'd probably be the same way if I had her job.

^ Yep double rides will happen occasionally on the 'Dipper. It's a nice surprise. Regarding the jerkiness, I find the inside seat to be significantly smoother than the outside; I think mostly because you're bumping against the person next to you as opposed to the side of the seat/car.

Although its not a full blown Amusement Park in the traditional sense, I went to ride Manhattan Express (aka "The Roller Coaster") at the New York New York in January and was met with a sign that said it was too cold to operate the ride and that they would open the ride when and if the temperature rose to 34 degrees Farenheit. When it just barely got to 34 I got on and rode it and found out the hard way that there was a very good reason for that rule. Opening your mouth into the wind during the ride was actually pretty painful, it chilled your teeth immediately. On the bright side it completely made you forget about the other pain on the ride, and the warm clothing acted as padding Front row - faces tell the story!

I think so. I saw some photos of some construction going on on Jet Stream's flume. Perhaps they're finally fixing that leak?

Apparently it's 103 in Valencia today and Jet Stream is closed for maintenance.

Sure, let's say that. Only one train was cycling and one was in pieces. If there is a third train it isn't anywhere visible. Yeah, for years they have been running two trains with the third sitting on transfer being cannibalized for parts. I never like seeing that, but they haven't needed three simultaneous trains on a regular basis for many years. The damaged train I assumed would be completely removed from the area until it was repaired. I wonder how much of the parts train will be left.

SFMM stated on Facebook that there would be no delay, but the stated opening was "Spring" so thats a big window.

Yup. Second train is on the transfer track mostly in pieces. Sure that's not the third train? (The one thats been parting out for years)

It's not that your legs flap around for the whole ride, it's just for a second in one particular spot; the rest of the ride is fine. On the second and last raven turn the car rotates in a jerky way that first flings your legs out in front of you and then quickly back the other way so your legs and calves slam into the car. It could be due to wear and tear causing play in the gear that rotates the car or maybe wear on the third rail. It happens in the exact same spot every time and regardless of which train or seat. Another way you could stop this would be ankle restraints similar to those on Tatsu and other B&M flyers. Some may not like their feet restricted when it's not really necessary, but I'd take that trade off. If you did a canvas/cloth type strap it could even be added in now pretty cheaply. I don't see anything like this happening though - I don't think it's nearly bad enough where MM would address it..it certainly isn't hurting the rider numbers.

lol yeah it's brutal. Unlike any other coaster I've ridden or heard about, there is as far as I can tell no possible way to avoid that pain. No matter where you put your feet/legs or what you try to do they will be inevitably slammed into the car, the forces are too great to try and hold your legs down and pulling them up doesnt help either. I complain about it often, but the rest of the ride still makes it worth it to ride at least once a day. Just don't do it more than once per day. Sometimes I get off the ride, I walk around for a while and I think "Its not that bad, I'll just go ride it once more" and I pay for it for several days. Have you ever seen the pads that baseball catchers wear that they strap to the back of their legs to support their knees when they crouch? I could marathon it if I had a pair of those!

Much like Demon and especially Kong, Vortex is not that bad if you brace yourself correctly. Ideally and on newer rides you shouldn't have to, but it takes very little effort to make all of these rides painless. I don't think any coasters at either Northern California park are going anywhere any time soon. Grizzly is probably the least popular of the bunch and although I don't think it's in danger of moving soon, I'd have to guess CF has thought about it considering they now have another far superior woodie. Yes Grizzly always has a line but thats just because it takes a half hour to dispatch a freakin train - and this is more the reason I would think they'd be apt to remove it. Not because it's supposedly boring or unpopular, but because I think it's outdated and no longer an effective use of the space it occupies. ^ All that just my opinion though, I don't pretend to have any inside knowledge.

^^^ Yep, first hand experience those cups do get snatched since you get cheap refills.

Well theyre the only company thats out there cutting off track from wooden coasters like that, so you wouldnt hear it from any other company so its not fair to say that you havent heard it from anyone else when theyre the only ones doing this kind of work. That said though I think they should look into improving their methods, perhaps some kind of wet saw or integrated hydration to help prevent fires.

SFMM just posted on Facebook that plans for TC to open in Spring all still on track despite the fire.

Wow. A little eerie, someone the other day noticed charred wood on the lift and remarked that it looked like they were using a cutting torch to cut the rails and hoped the ride didn't catch on fire. Two days later thats exactly what happened. I also just heard that apparently RMC had the same thing happen on Goliath.

^ They dont solicit single riders at all anymore. Its possible they have done it on the really crazy days when the queue is over 90-120 mins, but that only happens a handful of times per year and I stay the hell away from the park on those days. Generally the Superman crew are rock stars anyway, you walk up to it and see the lower queue practically full and realize there's only one small train and you think you'll be there all day but it only takes 25-30 mins because they're so efficient. S:UF has assigned seating (though you can request a row, and if it's possible the grouper may grant your request - I ask for row 6 every time). The way the groupers place people in the rows it really minimizes the need to solicit single riders. He will put two single riders in the same row, or put a group of 3 with a single rider so that there isn't an empty seat.

I don't know, but it was a bit awkward on Superman. Theyre for the ride envelope. Without them you could reach the wall in the tunnel. The front row (closest to the hill) with only two seats in the center doesnt have the guards.

So much so that I don't even think of them as inversions even though they are, and they don't feel like inversions when on the ride. All of my mean spirited humor gets cut from the Travel shows... Producer: "You can't call people pussies!" Me: "But they ARE pussies if they are going to bitch about a stupid restraint on a perfectly good ride." Producer: "I know that, but you just can't say it on the show." Me: "Then what do you want me to say?" Producer: "I dunno, tell me how tall the ride is or something..." *sigh* But yes, people who complain about Maverick's restraints are, in fact... pussies. And they deserve whatever pain they get while riding. LOL (I seriously did), post of the year. I can just imagine Robb having that argument with the producer, that was a hilarious visual!

Gatekeeper. It's not the most extreme coaster out there, but it's one of the most beautiful, and it immediately grabs your attention and reminds you where you are.

Because what is the "coaster capital?" The park with the most coasters? The best coasters? With the best coaster operations? The most coasters with a 48" or over height restriction? There isn't any definition. So I think if Cedar Point wants to keep calling themselves the "Coaster Capital" I think they have every right to. Though Magic Mountain has a few more coasters in total, CP has a better collection. If I rated each coaster at both parks and then compared the total numbers, CP would have a higher total. It's also just a better park all around. Better atmosphere, better operations. So I have no problem with their self declaration, I agree with it.

That section used to be a cool double down and in pics you can see the original track under it in the structure. I believe that brake was added so they could add another block to run more trains originally then it turned into trims because..... it's MM, or for some other reason. Yeah, it did kill the rest of the ride pretty much. There was a lady who was ejected and killed in 1978, I dont know if it was in response to that or not, but when Six Flags bought the park in 1979 they thought the ride had way too much downtime and that the downtime was because the ride was "too extreme" so they had a company come in and figure out ways to change the ride to make it less stressful on the coaster and the guests, and one of the main ways they did that was changing that double dip section into a flat mcbr. I'd still argue Gold Striker. It's really kind of California's best kept coaster secret, you don't realize how amazing it is until you ride it. There isn't any one statistic you can look at like speed or height or drops or inversions (none), but it's just pure fun and filled with airtime. Most videos don't do it justice, but this one does - specifically skip to 4:41 in this video: Sorry don't mean to get on a CGA kick, it's related to TC, I'm not trying to hijack the thread. On topic, I think TC may end up being even better.

I could be wrong but I believe it's because of the ride envelope. The theory I guess being that if someone is that tall their head or arms sticking out could hit things where it wouldn't with a shorter person. Not all, V2 at SFDK's maximum heigh is 6'4". The ride ops periodically call over the PA asking (for seemingly no reason) if anyone is over 6'4" and if anyone raises their hands they take em out of line.

^ Yeah. Businesses won't say anything because they signed an agreement not to say anything until after the 8/28 embargo date. But what was interesting to me was how he was yelling about TC details on the coaster with seemingly regular guests in the row behind him. I wonder if they were employees or if they also signed some kind of NDR.