coolhandluke

As far as I know, a craps table, slot machine, or luxury suite have somewhat lower maintenance costs than an LIM launch coaster as well. I'm no business major, but it would seem advantageous to put something in that can still draw in thousands of dollars at a time that doesn't run a high risk of malfunctioning or requiring a nice chunk of that dough back for operational costs.

For my 300th post (woot...woot), I'll just note that flyers take longer to complete the load/unload process, with the cars folding down and up, along with the somewhat different restraint system on them. It's a bit more complicated than Kraken's "sit down, pull down, go" routine. Bottom line, I think the dual station is a prudent decision. It's there if they have dispatch time issues, but can be easily modified to just run one side on slow days.

Firehawk has a guy sit in the line and moderate how many people go through, and tells them which side to go to. You can pick your own row in the train, and the counter in the line keeps the station pretty organized. Also, it's load lines are on the outsides of the station, and share an exit ramp in the middle. Gemini has the loading platforms in the middle, and exit ramps on the outsides. It's station is mass chaos, as there is no line counter, and groups are running back and forth between trains, switching lines, etc trying to line up correctly. You won't have to worry about that on Manta since it doesn't race, but the entrances in the middle seem to add more clutter to the station.

Son Of Beast is my loudest experience, going up it's lift. It's so annoying and so...fricken...long... And the rest of the ride doesn't really give you anything to look forward to. That doesn't help.

^What did you win? This thing looks really cool. I'm a sucker for blue coasters, and unreleased layouts make me even more interested. Needless to say, this thing and Manta are dreams come true...

^Ok. I guess I can kinda see an unfolded and unwound Bullet in it. Let's just hope it holds up a bit better than I've heard Bullet has in terms of quality rides. It shouldn't have the beachside weather to deal with being all tucked away in the trees and woods back there.

Wow. I read the foreboding trip reports, I saw their ominous ride closures, I saw their hideous numbers, but I'm still surprised that it actually happened. I *need* to get to Myrtle Beach ASAP next year, before this place really goes under. And for the beach. The beach is cool too.

^Hmm, this doesn't remind me at all of Boardwalk Bullet. This thing seems way too spread out, too out-and-back, and less stacked on top of itself. To each his own though--I'm certainly not calling your opinion wrong, I just don't see it. This reminds me more of "mini-Beast" or Boulder Dash. Looks like I need to make some friends in KC, or come up with some other fail-proof reason to get out there. Particularly at night.

^^The video they have isn't very accurate at all. The pre-lift routine is verified by construction as incorrect, and I can't imagine some of the rest of the layout actually happening (a flattened cutback turn? Really?). I'd trust this vid a lot more. More fluid elements, and a (so far) true-to-real-life layout.

I would imagine it would roll through the station and come back at the end as well. 1.) Vekoma's done it before, 2.) That brake run would KILL if stopped the train, and 3.) a slow descent down that half loop would be one of the most uncomfortable experience on a coaster, being held upside down for a prolonged period of time as your lowered down. Hell, I know plenty of people who hate The Crypt because of that reason, even after the renovation and program change this year.

I'm pretty sure it will be something other than a 164-ft top hat, considering Storm Runner has a 150' top hat and a 75 mph launch. It will certainly be entertaining to see this thing take shape. Much like Manta, the mystery behind the layout of this ride is adding a lot of intrigue for me.

^On the other hand, the roar can get a bit annoying, especially after waiting in a queue for 1/2 hour right around the thing. Wicked Twister's scream and Face/Off's noises come to mind. Though I readily admit that neither of those are B&M roars, and that the Beemer version gets old far, far slower than those other ones. I don't personally mind the roar much, though I know people who don't like it (particularly Mantis), and can understand it.

Yeah, Dayton got smashed too. We had a quarter million buildings lose power, and we still have around 20,000 out. We were lucky enough to just have flickers off and on, though my aunt and uncle one mile down the road are still waiting for their power to come back. And I know DP&L (Dayton's power people) sent a bunch of their workers down to Texas to help down there, thus causing a longer-than-normal wait up here because of the reduced number of workers here. Good to see you're alright, JZ, and hope all goes well with your friend.

^Yeah, though with that extensive pre-drop session inside of a building, they could potentially turn that into a blood-spattered horror-house. At least a bit more than a creepy station and red waterfalls. My only question is how they would enforce that age requirement if it came around. Check IDs of all questionable kids? checking height is one thing--kid stands and the op holds a pole next to them. Done. Checking age would require fumbling around with wallets/purses, small ID cards, etc... made even more time consuming if they had already "properly secured" everything and had to fish it all back out. Then they don't resecure everything and stuff falls out on the ride... Maybe I'm over-complicating the system, but age seems like a tough measurement for coaster restrictions.

This thing has quite a bit going on before the actual lift hill. I can only imagine how the (seemingly extensive) theming will add to that first drop and zero-g roll even more when they finally add that stuff. I really like what Gerstlauer has been doing with their Euro-Fighters, especially these very themed, very unique ones. They seem to be taking the same elements from ride to ride, but do a better job of "individualizing" each coaster more so than B&M does.

Doesn't SFGAm have "interlocking" double flumes? Well, I guess that doesn't make them exactly side-by-side, but pretty close at least.

^ Well done. Thanks for the insider info. Though with Prowler, Manta, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, Diamondback, the unnamed GCI(s?) in Cali, Mirabilandia's new thing, Europa's new thing, and Australia's AQUATRAX, Pilgrim's Plunge may not run away with the New Ride category. ...Actually, those last three I listed are foreign, so nevermind those. They can't win. And none of the others are at CP, so you're right.

That's what I meant, not Georgia. My bad.

^In the bottom of the Deja Vu pic on the right side of the loop you can see a bit of a yellow B:TR. The pic is actually from SFOG, as the Batman color matches, along with the alignment of B:TR behind it and the trees in front. That's what he was talking about. Not that it really changes anything about the report, it's just a very close observation.

Yeah, it looks like a 1st half Beast with more hills. I can also see some Boulder Dash in it. I expect this thing to give amazing night rides, especially since you're below the tree line the whole time. Fast, furious, wild, and dark. That equals a winner for WOF, CF, and GCI. Well done.

^I've heard Gwazi can be a bit of a rough ride. This thing looks really good though. It almost reminds me of a mini-Beast before the 2nd lift, but with nice elevation changes and hills mixed in with the spread out, weaving turns. I'm sure Prowler will be much better at night, much like Beast, ESPECIALLY if they keep as many trees as they plan to. Basically, looks like a winner for WOF, CF, and GCI.

^^^^^There are parks who have the "after hours" search thing. I really don't think that poster would suggest an employee drop what s/he's doing and go into the path during operation. I lost my phone on Invertigo at KI a couple weeks ago, so I told an employee after the ride (actually, we rode again to try and find it from the lift, but to no avail). I filled out a lost and found thing as an employee did a quick search of the unfenced area directly under the first lift. After that yielded nothing, they said they would check the fenced area after the ride closed. I was extremely glad when KI called me the next day before saying it was recovered. I drove down to the park and picked it up. Yes, I realize Invertigo has a small footprint and has nothing but pavement and gravel below it, making a search like that more feasible (I'm sure the fact that I knew almost exactly where it fell out didn't hurt...), but I don't think it's as unrealistic as you make it out to be. The hat I lost on Corkscrew at CP, though...I didn't even bother to tell anyone about that...

Wow, I just realized that this thing has the same angle of descent as Raptor, but for 12 additional feet. I mean, Raptor doesn't have an *insane* drop, but converting that to a water ride...wow.

I always thought Kanonen's thing was just an inline twist like Furius Baco, though RCDB says otherwise. I always considered zero-G rolls to have significant elevation change, as shown in the NL thing on the first page of the thread. Anything else was an inline twist or heartline twist. As for the corkscrew vs. zero-G, it's about as debatable as the elevation part. Hulk has a bit of lateral movement coming out of its zero-G. http://www.rcdb.com/ig3570.htm?picture=15 Especially look at the left half of the horseshoe roll http://www.rcdb.com/ig557.htm?picture=25 Yeah, the angles the pics were taken at are a bit different, but whatever. I dunno, it seems like those categorizations can be pretty ambiguous, like the "inversion vs. overbank" debate

CENTRAL TIME. We still have 35 more minutes. Chill out. Yes, I forgot about the time zone thing. But the crazy impatience tone was exaggerated. This thing looks good though. Well done, Holiday World