KDCOASTERFAN

I'm taking a wait & see attitude on it ATM,but whatever it turns out to be I probably won't be rushing out for an SFA pass just yet as even my friends no longer like the park.

Grizzly at KD does the same sort of thing on the lift,last time I rode we hit the chain pretty hard & the dog under my car must've been the one that locked in to the chain cuz that sudden jolt hurt worse than usual.

^^ We can't be sure that this is not a totally new design from B&M being planned for SFA as all we have to work with is that SFA has filed for a permit to build a standup coaster....keep in mind they did have plans to add a standup ten years ago but Batwing came along & put those plans on hold followed by six flag's insistence over the past decade that SFMM & GRADV get all the new coasters while the smaller parks(such as SFA) got squat year after year,which was Burke's fault & became a trend that Snyder continued during his term as CEO. Don't rule out a new B&M standup just yet because B&M will build one if a park just asks them to & with the success of GL perhaps SFI,along with SFA have decided to install their own version of the larger standup design,we just have t o wait & see when SFA brings the request before the zoing board to learn what the stats will be for this ride.

That has also bothered me a lot. They should move backlot over by 305 as it would fit the theme better...realistically we know that's not gonna happen of course.

That answers the question I was going to ask. Is the problem with Iron Wolf the trains or the track itself becoming rough? If new trains are the solution, then I think this could be a good move for SFA (only because they haven't gotten a new coaster since 2001). Better then nothing, as a lot of people have already said. I think it's in the trains & wheels because how could the track,if properly designed & fabricated become "rough" over time on a steel coaster?Dominator for instance has become rough & has a horrid rattle but it wasn't like that in 08 when KD installed it considering the fact that,at the time it had been through 7 years of continuous operation at it's former location.

That's what's missing from B&M's newer rides these days as the pre-drop especially on their inverts is what IMO makes them stand uot from many other coaster design firms.

Why would Cedar Point get Dinosaurs Alive since Kings Island, right down the road, has one? Both parks got windseekers.

The reason for the ride being cancelled at CGA was because KD had cancelled their originial plan to build the vekoma flyer(it ended up at SFA causing them to cancel a planned B&M standup) due to stealth being a major disappointment. CGA wasn't missing a thing though as HSXLC proved to be a POS in it's own right & was a real pain in the rear for them to keep operating & was rough as heck & in all honesty was not a very good ride as far as layout & experience was concerned.

Plus it would work in the Congo Themed Area. True but think of it this way:DT is somewhat close to that side of the park so it'd look best creating a kind of triangular tower look to the park with ET front & center,DT off to the left & WS off to the right(when entering the park) & it can look stunning from I-95 especially at night if it should g et a similar lighting package to the others already in operation.

I read somewhere that SFDK was removing their big spin coaster,now I know it sounds far fetched but could that also be headed to SFA?They originally had plans to install a ride for the "tween" market but cancelled those plans in favor of this year's waterslide makover & they need something to replace two face in SWT so it's quite possible that along with IW we could be getting BS as well. I rode vortex at carowinds the other day & even with the new restraints it was horrid so I'd hope for the sake of those who still go to SFA that they don't get that POS as it would not be a good ride even with new trains.

Why would Kings Dominion, a less popular park than Kings Island, get a cruddy attraction like Dinosaurs Alive? If it's no good for KI it won't be good at all for KD I so hope they don't put DA in that spot behind the theatre as I'm hoping they'll save it for a B&M invert in the future. As for windseeker,if that is indeed what we're getting my best guess would be in the asphalt jungle over where HSXLC was since that area is wide & has plenty of room for a ride queue in addition to the tower itself.

After going to carowinds yesterday all I can say is KD oh so needs a B&M invert ASAP!! as Afterburn was a great ride...too bad I couldn't get a ride photo as the booth was closed during my trip there but I did get one on intimidator which was a pretty good ride as well. Seems carowinds lucked out in getting the B&M version of the intimidator series as I got quite a lot of air out of it on each & every hill but of course KD's version is a different beast alltogether that was designed to provide it's own unique ride experience....if IW @SFGRAM is as bad as vortex @ carowinds then I definitely don't want to see it end up at SFA as even with the newer restraints it was horrid although it could've been due to the heat. Carolina cobra's restraints were comfy & I'd love to see them on anaconda as that would make the ride worth going on again,the mine train was fun but thunder road wasn't as the left side was jackhammering worse than rebel yell on even it's worst day but the right side wasn't too bad by comparison.I may post a short TR with a few pics once I get them uploaded from my camcorder,all in all it's a nice park but I'm glad to have KD as a home park as that's what I'm most familiar with and satisfied with the ride count & selection that KD offers over any park so far. Does anyone know if carowinds' enterprise is the one from KD? I don't know if they always had one there but ever since AT left in the late 90's I was wondering if paramount sent it down there instead.

I too enjoy Carowinds especially Intimidator! Check the bottom of your foot. That may not be the only thing stuck to it. Went to carowinds today & enjoyed it for the most part. Rode intimidator twice,afterburn twice,thunder road both sides(left was horrid),caroline cobra once,gold rusher once,vortex once & scream weaver once.The place we're staying at is right near the park so getting there wasn't hard.Vortex was WORSE than shockwave @ KD but afterburn kicked some butt(too bad the photo booth wasn't open) & KD so needs a B&M invert as a result. All in all carwoinds is a pretty good park,in some ways better than KD but I have to say KD's giga does outdo their B&M even though it was a great ride & one I'd like to have nearby....good thing I got my intimidator ride photo though.

Windseeker since carowinds already has a vekoma flyer. Turns out I may be able to visit carowinds since we've got some family business to take care of down there.

I don't think we're getting a new coaster but a windseeker is possible at best. Turns out I've got some family business to take care of in Charlotte so I may be able to visit carowinds for my first time....I so hope I can make it down there for some good coasters.

Avoid Hurler like the plauge as it's the roughest woodie in the park & head for grizzly or rebel yell instead.Dominator will have shorter lines towards late afternoon/early evening but be sure to get on I305 ASAP as it can get pretty busy even though the crew tries to do the best they can to handle crowds....night rides on grizzly are a must & I've found that shockwave(the standup) has the smoothest spot in car 4,row 1,lefthand side. KD does have onsite lodging with Best Western Kings quarters or you can find a few other more reasonable hotels/motels in the area so that shouldn't be too much of a problem.Of course ride lines are dependent on how busy the waterpark is due to the heat...I so hope it's not too hot on 8/13/11 as I'm taking my GF down there with the guys & she INSISTS on dragging me into the waterpark for most of the afternoon.

I think people are referring to how it has to get its lift cable replaced every season, a relatively complex train, new motors, the catch system on the lifts, etc. How often do you see other rides getting completely new lift chains every year? I would assume that its one of the top three most expensive rides in the park to maintain. Sad that the GIBs are such a faulty design as I'd love to see KD get one but vekoma messed up by designing it with a cable & catch car system instead of a chain.As we've seen from intamin with their vertical coaster at HP a standard chain would be feasible in place of the cable system for lifting trains on a vertical track but they obviously never took this into consideration when prototyping the design. I seem to recall that the standard invertigo was originally intended to use either LSM's or a cable lift but in the end they chose a more reliable chain lift & for the most part...if given proper maintenance the rides built even out performed many of their older boomerang counterparts in terms of reliability. Anyone know if the new GIB in China will use a chain or cable? it has been ten years now since the last "new one" was built so perhaps vekoma has gone back to the drawing board & made use of the upgrade in technology?

I think people are referring to how it has to get its lift cable replaced every season, a relatively complex train, new motors, the catch system on the lifts, etc. How often do you see other rides getting completely new lift chains every year? I would assume that its one of the top three most expensive rides in the park to maintain. Sad that the GIBs are such a faulty design as I'd love to see KD get one but vekoma messed up by designing it with a cable & catch car system instead of a chain.As we've seen from intamin with their vertical coaster at HP a standard chain would be feasible in place of the cable system for lifting trains on a vertical track but they obviously never took this into consideration when prototyping the design. I seem to recall that the standard invertigo was originally intended to use either LSM's or a cable lift but in the end they chose a more reliable chain lift & for the most part...if given proper maintenance the rides built even out performed many of their older boomerang counterparts in terms of reliability. Anyone know if the new GIB in China will use a chain or cable? it has been ten years now since the last "new one" was built so perhaps vekoma has gone back to the drawing board & made use of the upgrade in technology?

So would I,of course I'd take a good B&M invert first. Yeah we do need one, most Cedar Fair parks have one and we don't. Aside from CWL & MIA we're the only other CF park without a B&M invert...hopefully that'll change in the future though.

So would I,of course I'd take a good B&M invert first.

Any idea on when we may find more info on the PG county site? I'm still holding out that this will be a new custom design & not a relocation as the park deserves better than that.

Why bother when KD could just get an intamin hydraulic launcher instead? HSXLC's layout stunk.

They need a new shuttle coaster as well to replace 2 face. I'm still interested in seeing if this is a new design....remember the trenches that the reverse drop on SM ran through? they could use those to put an inversion below grade if they wanted to.

Under the new management at CF they probably won't care so much about a stupid title like that any longer & will instead focus on what the parks really need....don't forget that part of what fueled the arms race was discovery channel airing all those themepark documentaries every year but now that those programs are no longer being produced the parks have lost that means of national advertising so there's less incentive to spend money on huge coasters every other year. Perhaps the annual operating costs on DV are too much & SFI feels that it'll do better in a park that has a decent off-season like SFNE for required rehab/maintenance,this is a vekoma we're talking about after all.

Screamscape is saying the ride rotation program is probably going to return with Iron Wolf likely going to SFA and rumors of Deja Vu going to SFNE. SFMM is getting rid of their DV? I thought the only reason they kept it was for the count.