aliston

Wow... awesome, thanks for the tips. I'm from the US, never been to Sweden, though I have quite a bit of Swedish ancestry and so we're going on a sort of "discover our roots" trip. I said I'd only go if I got to ride Balder . Should be quite an adventure and the tips will definitely come in handy if the park is crowded.

Thanks for the great pictures!!! I'm going to Liseberg this summer... can't wait!

For what its worth, I've been to all 3 and would definitely prefer Cedar Point over Magic Mountain and GAdv. Granted, I may be a bit biased, as I've only been to CP for one trip and it was possibly the best trip of my life, whereas MM is only a few hours away from my house and I've been there a number of times. That said, Maverick and Millenium Force are both unlike anything at either of the other parks. Each park, of course, has its shining star -- X at MM and El Toro at GAdv, but Cedar Point is, in my opinion, a much more engrossing experience. I'd also point out that it is not entirely necessary to stay at a CP hotel to get the ERT -- I have a platinum pass, for example, which gets me ERT and admission to Knotts, CP and CGA.

Welcome to the brain-dead, force-fed corporate America of tomorrow. Cedar Fair cares first and foremost about not getting sued. I don't know if you followed the story at Great America a few years back where a non-English speaking moron jumped a fence and got killed by a passing coaster train. His family sued since the sign wasn't in Spanish and won. With our society rewarding idiots like this, its no wonder that Cedar Fair has adopted relatively idiot-proof video instructions... though you can never underestimate the stupidity of some people.

Tidal wave actually used a weighting system. A large weight was hoisted up inside of the tower at the end of the track. The pulley system was such that when the weight was dropped, it would pull the car down the track. This was actually the first generation of Schwarzhopf models -- the later models, like Montezuma's Revenge at Knott's use a flywheel design. http://www.greatamericaparks.com/tidalwave.html

Call me a "fanboy" or whatever, but I still think MF is the best coaster in the country. No, I'm not from Ohio. I've been on most of the top 10 from the more legitimate polls. I think people just like different things in coaster. Me? I like speed, fast corners, and traditional hyper/giga type layouts, of which MF sets the standard.

These are really incredible. I wasn't even born when these were taken, so I have never known the park when it looked like this -- it's interesting to see both how the park has changed and also how the surrounding land has changed. Do you think anyone could have envisioned that that vacant land around the park would become Yahoo, Sun etc. It almost looks like it could be out in the central valley...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/16/BASBUG7NU.DTL&hw=Santa+Clara+Stadium&sn=001&sc=1000 ... The team wants to build the football stadium on city land that Great America uses for parking, and Cedar Fair, the company that owns the amusement park, indicated it would go along with a plan only in exchange for major financial concessions. ...

Millenium Force. 'nuff said.

Bwahahahahahaha. You're comparing the rides by watching POVs? Talk about losing credibility. Ride Nitro, and then get back with me. I've ridden Nitro, but my memory is not good enough to compare every little detail, so I consulted the video. Nitro is clearly slower over the crests of the hills -- like, not even close to the speed MF goes through the overbanks. I thought nitro was a great ride, but not "wow, that was a truly unparalleled experience." In fact, it reminded my a LOT of Goliath. The first time I rode MF, I thought "wow, that was something really special."

You obviously don't know much about how airtime is generated. The speed of the coaster is only one factor in determining airtime. The size if the hill matters. The shape of the hill matters. The restraints matter. You can't just judge how much airtime a coaster has by watching the POV. Go ride Nitro, and then say it's airtime is not comparable to MF. I realize that airtime is a result of both speed and the concavity of the hill... BUT, Nitro is hardly even moving at the top of the main hills. I remember it having decent airtime but not great and from the POV I can't see how it could have any. Millenium Force, on the other hand, is hauling.

And actually... after just watching the POV videos for MF versus Nitro, I dont see how you can possibly say nitro has more airtime... maybe POSSIBLY over the bunny hills at the end, but MF is WAY faster over the main hills than Nitro... go take a look on youtube if you don't believe me.

I can think of about 50 coasters that I like more than Millennium Force. Here are a few of them: El Toro Maverick Phoenix Nitro Heck, I like CP's Wildcat more than MF. And I'm not making that up. MF is a snore fest that needs a lot more airtime. Unique doesn't equal good. Son of Beast is unique. First of all, 3 of the 4 coasters you listed aren't anything like millenium force and all 3 have comparable rides around the country except for Maverick (which I'll admit is a great ride, but not as good as MF) -- the only one that you can really compare is Nitro. And if you think Nitro is a better ride than MF... well, you lose all credibility right there. Just look at the speed MF carries through the first bank versus Nitro -- no comparison. Second, if you want all your coasters to be the same then why even spend the time to travel to a place like great adventure when you can get the same ride at a local park? For instance, if I want to ride a ride similar to Nitro, I'll drive 15 minutes to magic mountain and ride Goliath.

I've ridden tons of coasters that aren't top 10 rides and can honestly say that MF is no way the best. Yeah, MF is a great ride. I honestly really like it, but it is by no means the end-all-be-all of coasters. Once you get over the awesome drop and the speed, you start to realize how somewhat bland and not very intense it is. There is a ton of straight track, almost all the turns are very elongated with very gradual, smooth transitions, and the hills give 'floater air' at best, and that's on a good day. Like I said, I really do love the ride. It's a great, 'fun' coaster. But at the end of the day, I can't say that it's better than all of the coasters I've been on that give ejector air, crazy intense g's and transitions, or an overall out-of-control ride. Once again... MF bashing with no substance. Which ride, specifically, are you proposing is "better" than MF? Of course, the "best" is subjective, but for me I really love the 'floater' nature of mf because its unique -- there aren't any rides than even come close to going around those curves at 90 mph 5 ft off the ground -- none. Now, I can see how someone with a different set of preferences might say another ride is more intense and therefore better for a different set of reasons, but I would submit that there is nothing that makes those rides unique. You can get intense anywhere. MF is the only true gigacoaster in the country...

You guys have bashed pretty much every top 10 ride. Personally I don't know how anyone can say MF is overrated... compared to what?? Ive ridden most of the top 10 rides in the country and I can honestly say MF is the best -- by far. All these MF bashers are nuts!