gatorchomp83

Exactly, there are too many Batman copies. They are at nearly every Six Flags! What does Six Flags have to do with Busch Gardens?

We happened to be at the HRRRRRR entrance when Mariah had that picture taken. They shut it down for about 20 minutes to get that one shot. On the other hand, after two different instances of the coaster going down, and 1.5hr in line, we finally got a night ride...Let's just say, it's not doing itself any favors in our eyes. It's getting rougher, there's shimmying even on straightaways, and its just not very good.

I guess you could say that. +1 I actually didn't have very high expectations for the ride considering it was a flyer, but in context, I was blown away. Everyone I've ridden it with for their first time felt the same way...Doesn't hurt that it's also (IMHO) the most beautifully-executed Busch coaster/attraction.

Got a ride on this on Saturday and was not impressed at all. I LOVE Aquatica, and spent quite a bit of time there last year before relocating to Minnesota for a bit...The park is so fun, colorful and I could easily spend days there just relaxing and catching rides on a couple of their great slides...That said, this new one was uneventful, slow and most of all just not very re-rideable. Apparently before opening, people were going too fast and they added those speed bumps throughout the entire course, effectively killing off any potential speed you may have gained. The pacing is a snoozefest, and the splashdown is incredibly weak. Luckily, it does share the same tower with Whanau Way, which if ridden in the two inner slides (blue and teal) is amazing, and has a GREAT double down at the end. And one more thing, Omaka is the only slide in the park that doesn't have heated water...Not sure why, but keep that in mind if you decide you want to ride after the sun has gone down.

As someone who has visited IOA thousands of times since before it even opened to the public, seeing the new pictures compared to the old ones really is saddening. That queue, theme and entire attraction (as well as Lost Continent...which was, IMO, the best - AND ONLY original - island in the entire park) had no compare. It's nice that Universal is trying to evolve the park, but I still feel it's in the entirely wrong direction. I don't expect anyone who either hasn't visited the park, or hasn't spent a good deal of time in the LC to truly understand how sucky it is to see it go away; and the outpouring of people in this thread who have shown their support for the old iteration of the island goes to show just how loved it really was. I expect the Forbidden Journey to be a great ride technically (I've never seen any HP movies and don't really care to) and surely fun, but I feel it's not worth the loss of such a great area. It really is sad.

That pretzel is farrrrr more intense than S:UFs. We rode Manta and Georgia's Superman within 2 days of each other and it wasn't even close. S:UF felt like a kiddie coaster in comparison to Manta.

Larry's right, it hasn't even begun yet.

I said sorry for throwing you in that group in the event that you weren't there. My whole point was that people like those in your group are the reason enthusiasts get a bad name, and is a big reason why me, my girlfriend and most of my friends who are enthusiasts steer clear of wearing any coaster or park memorabilia when we visit places. I'm done with all this now, don't want to hijack your TR. It was just hard to bite my tongue when I saw his picture, and it immediately reminded me of those negative experiences I witnessed over the past two weekends.

First- Andrew, I was back at the park on Saturday of this past week and saw you. We tried getting back to Intimidator in time to say hello, but by the time we made it, couldn't find you. Your crew is amazing, and on my trips opening weekend, as well as this past weekend, it was incredible how efficient not only you guys were, but the whole park. As far as my original post, and your response beaver, perhaps you weren't there opening night and I'm sorry if you weren't. But we clearly remember Adam, that group, and specifically an older guy in the group who we saw screaming at an op. Basically, we tried to get in line last, which we did thanks to Thomas who was incredibly friendly, and once we got into the queue, your group forcefully told us we could not wait for the back, as that was where they were waiting. We did not want to fight about it, so we headed to the front of the train. Managing to get on the last train without any problems, or "vying for position," we enjoyed our ride, and were greeted back to the brakes with the older guy specifically in your group yelling at an op. It was obvious his reason. I only mentioned it because it was incredibly embarrassing to be an enthusiast at that moment, and seeing the same holier-than-thou attitude the following week at Kings Dominion by the same people in this group. It was clear that a few of those folks in this group have the mentality that parks owe them something for being enthusiasts, and I simply cannot stand people like that.

Oh, so you're the group of people who were screaming at the ride ops at the end of opening night at Carowinds' Intimidator because you didn't get to ride on the last train of the night? People like everyone in your group are the reason a lot of parks hate enthusiasts. It really, REALLY angered me when I got off of our ride (which WAS the last ride of the night) and I saw you guys yelling at the ride ops because you felt entitled to get that last ride. The park did an AMAZING job of opening the ride and the park that weekend, and it was unbelievable to see the way your group treated them because you felt "slighted."

Everyone should read, and take to heart, Brashnir's lengthy review on the previous page. I do not think it is possible to adequately sum up this ride better than he did. As I've noticed over the years, people on this site tend to not listen to opinions of others who aren't prominent members of the site, but this dude/chick described 305 to a 'T'. Incredible ride, and great description of it.

I'm gonna make this short and sweet. I really had no expectations for this ride, and I got absolutely blown out of my socks. Our daytime ride in the front was incredible, but our night ride, at 8:45pm, in the back row, in the complete pitch dark was beyond description. I'm still shaking from that ride. The first drop is amazing, and that turn after is extremely intense. The rest of the ride is filled with incredible direction-changes that do NOT hurt. The air is insane, and frankly...I really have no words. That ride at night is nearly unmatched, and I'm very, very close to putting it at my #1 overall over Voyage, which I thought was impossible for anything to ever top. Unbelievable.

Just found out I'll be there on Friday!

Yep! Took that from the top of the queue, right before entering the station.

I noticed VERY little rattle; hardly noticeable at all. Here are a few pictures I alluded to in my earlier post. First drop First drop First half Lifthill Final drop before brakes Helix Second hill Third hill Full layout Fourth hill Fifth hill (best on the ride!) Looking up at second hill View of the queue around 1pm on Sunday! On Sunday Us! And finally....Panorama! Here's a link to a larger version of this photo. Hope you guys enjoy these.

Just woke up back in Orlando, and ready to share some thoughts on our AMAZING weekend at Carowinds. I've got a TON of pictures, some of which I may post later after I finish editing them. Kara and I arrived at the front gate on Saturday right around 8:45am, and by 9:05am, they had let us through security and into the main plaza. I was VERY impressed with how they handled crowd control, as they formed a Intimidator-specific line that began just before the ride's plaza. Around 9:30am, security walked the line and informed everyone that they would be walking us back in a line, and that anyone who ran would be kicked out of line, and sent to the back. It was VERY efficient, and we were both quite impressed. After the opening ceremonies and the cutting of the ribbon with the Earnhardt's, the ride opened before the official 10am park opening time. By 10:05, we had completed our first ride! Before I get into the ride, I'd like to take this time to praise Cedar Fair for a GREAT park. Neither of us had ever been here before, and we fell in love. The entire park was beautifully landscaped, the employees were all extremely friendly and welcoming, and the ride selection kept us busy for a full day and a half. We didn't have much expectations, but ended up being blown away! Afterburn was AWESOME, and we had a blast on the Flyers, as well as the Sally ride. As for Intimidator....Incredible. For those saying it's not themed well, it really is. The trains look beautiful, even with the stickers (and I hate NASCAR), and the queue was well-themed, too. I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but the queue was surrounded by guard rails like you'd find around a NASCAR track, and the ride zones were blocked off by fence that, also, looked like fencing you'd find around a true track. The ride itself is only "tame" in the middle, and even then, it's still a blast. We managed to get 10 rides in on opening day (including the last ride of the night in the front!) and then got in another 15 rides on Sunday before leaving the park around 2pm. The front really has true ejector air, and the back has some crazy ejector/floater combo air that's very hard to describe. I had high expectations for it, but Kara did not, and in the end, we both came away with a new #1 steel coaster. Other B&M hypers I've ridden (in order of preference) are Goliath, Nitro and Raging Bull, and I will say that the openness of the trains was a great sensation, but the seats ARE a bit more "narrow," or snug. Still as comfy as always, but there's definitely less wiggle room, and having ridden Goliath three weeks ago, I think it's fair to say I'm pretty familiar. The crew on this ride was absolutely incredible, as well! I've checked the thread for "duplicate" photos and will post some unique ones later. In the meantime, for anyone on the fence about going out of their way for this ride, do it! Its a great, great ride. EDIT: Here's a link on the next page of this thread to some of my pictures.

We were at SFoG on Sunday, two days ago. Got there at opening and had our passes processed in about 5min total for the four of us. As you experienced, everything was one train operation, and half of the coasters were closed. We'd heard that 50-degrees is the coldest Goliath would run in, and the high was expected at 48 that day so we were a bit nervous. Turns out, Goliath isn't what we needed to worry about, considering Cyclone, Mine Train, Canyon Blaster, Acrophobia, Ninja and GASM were all closed the entire day, even when the temperature got above 50. Also, their food operations are spotty at best, considering we had multiple employees tell us that passholders receive 15% off at ALL food establishments in the park, and we didn't get a discount at Panda Express or Johnny Rockets. ALSO, their operations on Goliath and Scorcher are awful with the crew taking anywhere between 30 seconds and a minute, every cycle, after the train has been checked and ready to go, by trying to pump up the crowd with "Oh yeah!," or "More Flags! More fun!" or doing the wave. We understood them trying to be enthusiastic, but at the cost of efficiency was ludicrous. Overall, though, it was a good day. The rides (that were open) were running great.

You do realize hurricane season goes through November, right?

1. Voyage 2. Hades 3. Goliath (Georgia) 4. Nitro 5. Kumba 6. El Toro 7. Avalanche 8. Prowler 9. Wildfire 10. Manta

Here's mine: 1. Voyage 2. Hades (New!) 3. Favorite Steel (Goliath - GA) 4. El Toro 5. Avalanche (New!) 6. Prowler (New!) 7. Thunderhead 8. Raven 9. Cornball Express 10. Rampage

SeaWorld's admission price is the same all day, every day. I believe he was talking about $12 to park, even though closing was within two hours. I think they stop charging for parking about 1.5hr or so before closing.

AMAZING photos! Question - How can I view them at full size? I went to your Flickr page as you instructed but I don't see the usual "View Larger" links on any of the photos.

It's not a coaster. You're setting yourself up for disappointment if you think it is.

Kara and I were in the Dells a little less than a month ago. We went on a Sunday and Monday, and the first stop on the agenda was Timber Falls. We had already known of the new policy before setting foot on property, and while it was a bit disappointing not being able to ride more than 5 times, we still enjoyed ourselves. Also, there's a discount card you can get (Wisconsin Dells Fun Card, perhaps?) that we purchased that got us buy one get one free wristbands at the park. The card was $10 (and it came with a million other discounts throughout the area), so with that we saved $10 on the bands. In fact, even with the new limitations on the "unlimited bands," (and I'd never been to the park before) we still went back the following day to get MORE rides on Avalanche by purchasing two more wristbands... ...Unfortunately, the ride was closed the whole day...Luckily, I got to ride it the day before, otherwise I would have been extremely disappointed. Anyway, not being able to marathon it was disappointing, but the $20 wristband was more than worth it for an amazing wooden coaster. And if that's what it takes to keep it operating, I'm all for it.

Looks better than Dominion's Intimidator. While kinda "standard B&M," it has enough tweaks to normal elements to make it look like a whole new experience. Looks like a lot of fun.