singemfrc

I wonder if this is a 49ers tie-in with the new stadium opening, that looks pretty close to 49er red.

^ Another nice design idea, but these coasters have already been built, so it's a little late for that.

^^^ I have no doubt that future Premier coasters at Six Flags parks will be designed for seat belts, but I don't think that Six Flags will invest the time and money necessary for those upgrades to the current coasters when they can just keep doing what they're doing.

Because the ride was designed for use without seat belts, the lap bar is so large it completely covers the seat belt buckle and if it is down the ride ops cannot check to make sure the seat belt is secure. (Which is in my opinion moot since the ride is perfectly capable of operating safely without them, but Six Flags corporate put them in (I assume, I dont think its been actually confirmed) in response to the NTAG accident)

At S:UF, they do. If you pull the lap bar down and they have to recheck the train, you are removed from the train and shown the exit. They warn you while you're in line that you will "be terminated" if you pull it down.

Have the YOLOCoaster ops begun the doing what S:UF's ops do now? (Making everyone parrot back and agree to the lap bar instructions before the air gates will open) It seems like a good idea on paper because people will remember not to pull the lap bar down, but in reality people are paying even less attention to the operator before they get in the car, which means it usually takes 2 or 3 rounds of "Everyone raise your hand if you heard me" before they do and the gates are opened, and it feels like it takes even longer for this than it would to recheck the restraints.

Really admire you for your kindness to the kids. I absolutely hate Mantis and think Mean Streak is a lot better. But Riddler's Revenge is one of the better coasters at SFMM and kind of enjoyable. Bizarre, I thought Mantis was shockingly smooth (at least after all the bad things I heard about it) and Mean Streak just about shattered my rib cage.

A lot of people are assuming 3/22, with the start of the "season".

Since S:UF only has one train and the park is now open year round, we should've seen this coming, but S:UF is now closed for annual rehab (don't know for how long). I assume V2 will at some point close as well, but hopefully they will wait until S:UF is back open first.

Also interested to know if they did any mechanical rehabbing on the trains that might result in a relatively smoother ride. (I know, I know, I can dream...)

Are you suggesting they swap a B&M for a Vekoma because of roughness? That has to be a first.

Vortex is just like Grizzly. It's nothing special, but it's not terrible; certainly not "lets just blowtorch it even if there's nothing to replace it with cause it's the devil" bad. Most coasters aren't as bad is everyone says. If you let your head just rag doll back and forth of course it's going to hurt..turn your head into the turns so that doesn't happen! If you think Vortex is really painful first try Revolution (Where ear jewelry is not just discouraged but prohibited cause it will get ripped out), Mean Streak's last row, or X2 on the outside with no one on the inside. Those are truly painful rides. (Kong is in the discussion too since, like Revolution, although it's possible to ride comfortably, it's unreasonably difficult to do so)

Not a fan, but it takes people away from the other rides there that I love to ride. It'll shorten other lines. I can't wait I'll be there this weekend... Exactly, even if you don't like X2 it should make the other lines (especially YoloCoaster) shorter, especially in the morning. Good news all around.

An interesting promotion I noticed in the new newsletter:

Glad that's only primer. White looks good on a lot of coasters but I don't know if it fits Flight Deck. I've always though that matte black was a perfect color for FD and even sun faded it still looks pretty natural, I mean of all the rides in need of paint this is probably the least obvious. Whether Vortex is a better or more comfortable ride or not, visually it appears more in need of a coat of paint.

I get how you could consider a shuttle loop as a gimmick, but inverted? Maybe it's just that between Vekoma and B&M inverted coasters are so prolific these days, it might have been a gimmick in the early 90s but I don't know how it can be considered one anymore.

Some of you might find this interesting http://www.adventuredome.com/elloco/first-rider-contest.aspx

^^ I'm sure V2 still holds that dubious honor. I'm always surprised when I see it running and more often than not it's down before I can walk over and ride it.

^ I had a similar waste of money earlier this year. When I went to Cedar Point I naively thought I would purchase a fast lane plus pass to skip the 45 minute or so lines, only to find out that all the fast lane lines merge into the normal line so far back that I really didn't end up saving any time at all. I saved maybe 10 minutes on each of my three rides on Dragster, other than that it was a total waste of $100. Most of SFMM's flash pass lines merge pretty far up, the only one I find useless (except on crazy days when the line is out the building) is Superman.

X2 and YOLOCoaster's lines both calm down by about 4:30 so you could do either one first and the other in the afternoon. In my experience X2's line has historically had the biggest drop in length in the afternoon, it can go from a 90 min wait to a 10 min wait. Single Rider lines are fantastic, even if you're there with one other person and you don't mind not riding together. Revolution also has one, but you probably won't need it. They work the best on Lex, Riddlers, and Green Lantern. Really wish they had one on X2 or YOLOCoaster, I hate seeing trains dispatch with empty seats that could be filled. Regarding Flash Pass, if you plan to ride Tatsu multiple times then a flash pass will be worth your money. Tatsu I think is the best advantage for flash pass, where you join the que is at the bottom of the stairs just before the station so if you aren't waiting for first or last row you shouldn't wait more than 15 minutes each lap on all but the busiest days, so you can save a ton of time. X2 and YOLOCoaster are the only coasters not normally covered by flash pass, you have to purchase a reservation for $10 or $15 each ride to skip those lines. While X2 has been down they have been letting Gold FPs purchase YOLO rides, but I believe once X2 opens back up, X2 will require gold and YC will require platinum. If you don't want to purchase YC rides with FP, there's really no other reason to get a platinum pass, theres no real difference in wait reduction, otherwise it only gives you double-rides on a few coasters.

I was also glad to see this, I often think I'm the only one who loves it, every person I drag onto that ride comes off of it saying "NEVER AGAIN!" I also don't find it uncomfortable at all, I guess I'm just the right size for it or something. It's even more fun when you get an empty seat and/or a heavy person on your car to throw the balance off! If you're going to the park in March/April I need to go on the same day so I can ride GL with someone else who likes it for a change

I would disagree with you vehemently on that one. Even crappy fast food is better than most of what SF offers. I don't know, maybe a trip to SFMM would change my opinion I mean I'm open to the possibility that there might be something good at an SF park somewhere, but at my two main parks, SFDK and SFMM, almost everything is intolerable. The only exception being the currently closed Mooseburger. At SFDK more often than not we end up eating at the Carl's Jr. across the street (And Carl's Jr is pretty low on the fast food totem pole), or if we're sick of burgers there are other options across the freeway. At SFMM we always go down to Valencia Town Center down the street to get lunch and come back. In contrast, if I'm going to Disneyland I absolutely always eat at the park. There are several great places to eat at the park, not only fast food but sit down meals. I'm a big fan of the Blue Bayou, great atmosphere and nostalgia.

I would disagree with you vehemently on that one. Even crappy fast food is better than most of what SF offers.

I agree that Maverick doesn't count since it is more of a launch. Just saw Rutschebanen at Tivoli Gardens watching Roller Coasters In The Raw v1 last night. Unfortunately doesn't look like TPR put this one on youtube, and everyone else's video is pretty terrible. It's not as fast as I305, but it's got to be close to the fastest wooden coaster.

^ Yep, I'll believe it when I see it at this point.