coolhandluke

I consider KI and CP to both be home parks (CP is considerabley farther away though). KI holds many memories and some great rides, but no B&Ms or Intamins...? CP is my favorite overall. Dollywood and WDW (MGM>Epcot>Animal>Magic K.) are two second place finishers. KI is still 3, but should change after summer of '08 (I'm trying to talk family into a vacation which could include any of: SFGAdv, BGE, PKD, Hershey, Dorney, PA's "K" parks).

MaxAir/Delerium/any other Giant Frisbees they may be making. I also love the wave swingers as a way to relax without feeling guilty about not riding something.

^Yep, good call. Here's a better shot of them. Not just one, but TWO per seat for increased sound quality. Might have to crank these things with them being so far from the ears to hear "Whole Lotta Love" over the wind...

"Voodoo" has colors? I thought it was abstract. It's not like Silver Bullet or Firehawk or Black Mamba--the word "Voodoo" is not a thing with definite colors. Now, it does have dark connotations, but that doesn't mean it has to be dark. I think what threw people off was the golden yellow and purple/black LOGO of the ride, making us expect a ride with similar colors. If they had their logo as aqua and yellow, we may be having a different conversation. Yes, we can say we don't like the colors because of the copycat look or even the change from the logo, but I don't think the "name" not fitting is accurate. BTW, though, I don't like the colors--on Voodoo or WT.

National Treasure grossed $347.5 million. And it has a highly anticipated sequel. Haunted Mansion grossed $106.something million. No sequel. Define "minor"...? Yeah, it's recent, and it might lose some popularity along the way, but it isn't vital that a ride like that have a strong connection to the movie. IMO, a ride about exploring American landmarks as maps for treasure, regardless of movie connections, would be popular. In the beginning, it would get hype because of the link to the movie. If the movie fades, the ride still stays popular because of the interesting concept/plot. My thoughts...

I haven't been into coasters long enough to have a substantial ride selection to judge (3 Vekoma and 7 Arrow). of the Vekoma, I've had an invertigo, an LSM, and a flyer. Arrows were 2 suspended, mine ride, 2 corkscrews (3 & 6 inv), hyper, and Gemini. The Arrow corkscrews were the only ones that hurt from roughness (and the Gemini helix). BUT, I have yet to try a standard Vekoma looper, and I know I've ridden three of the smoothest Vekoma models...

Both of mine came at Cedar Point: Mantis and Mean Streak. Mantis didn't immediately rack me like others have mentioned. I was fine and had a great ride until the pull-out of the dive loop. I got a massive charlie horse in my left calf. I winced and cried out, then bent my knees a little to try and ease the pain--and got absolutely castrated by the little helix that followed. The rest of the ride I had shooting pain all through my left leg and...well...yeah. Next time at the park was a good ride for me though. I expected a rough ride on Mean Streak thanks to friends' warnings. I just wasn't expecting it to last FOREVER. The trims do almost nothing to reduce the jackhammering and the lurches on hills (up AND down them). All the trims did was turn the ride into a prolonged "beat-up session". It felt like you were being shaken by a bully and beaten with crutches--in slow motion. but full-speed impact. If that's possible. Next time at the park was...more of the same...

Good to know it isn't directly the ride's fault. As mentioned here (and in the SFKK drop tower thread) these coasters and thrill rides are absurdly safe. Sure, they look intimidating, but they're supposed to. That makes them fun. It's not like a group of monkeys scribbled on a paper and then people threw some steel together to make the coaster--ungodly amounts of time went into safety features. Theme parks need to take out bigger insurance claims on their carousels and steam engine trains than on the huge coasters/towers. You are exponentially more likely to be injured in your car on your way to the park than you are on a ride. But I'm preaching to the choir, so I digress... And while sometimes a simple glance at the warning signs could potentially prevent something like this from happening, a lot of times the heart condition is unknown to the person or went undetected. It's just a horrible way to find out...

The pretzel loop? Or did you mean the first on Vekoma flyers? Regardless, I think it looks interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed Firehawk (granted it was just relocated so it was probably maintenanced a little), so I'm not gonna say this'll be a bust. I'll be optimistic (or maybe just ignorant...?)

Overheard while traversing a CP midway: "wait, Raptor doesn't have a floor?! How are you supposed to climb into the seat?" "You know, if you drop something into a trashcan while riding Corkscrew, CP will give you a free ticket." (it IS a CF park, can't be too difficult to miss one...) "Come on, guys, let's do Magnum. With MF taking all of its riders, its gonna be gone by 2010"

^ I, too, am horrible on dark rides when i know something climactic is coming (dinosaurs, yetis, etc). It's not that the thing itself is exactly scary, it's just the anticipation I build up waiting for it. It sucks, but I do them anyway. i was scared crapless to go on my 1st non-kiddie, Rock N' Roller coaster, until we pulled out of the launch--then it was pure adrenaline. And with MF being my next coaster, fears of height, speed, launches, or inversions were pretty well eliminated.none of my friends ever want to go on the drop towers so i have yet to experience one--look fun though (sustained airtime!)

I gotta say I was never a fan of Wicked Twister's "sunburst yellow" and turquiose, especially along the beachfront. Another thing I dont like is completely random and unassociated colors on parts of the trains; namely, hot pink (like Raptor and Hydra--but the front rows of DD is OK b/c it's for theming). I guess I just consistency and relevance.

Rock N' Roller Coaster @ MGM. On the ride I couldn't really tell when I was upside-down, but they said I was.

Well I haven't been on enough of each to make an educated vote (along with my new status in TPR) but... My first ride on Raptor last year entailed a 2-minute wait 1/3 of the way up the lift hill during a...mechanical/technical problem... We were the 2nd-to-last train to go before 3-hrs of downtime for the B&M. Now, let me also say that Maverick and TTD also experienced small bits of downtime throughout the day (threatening rain all day didn't help), but I was able to get on those without ridiculous waits. Though I know it is rare, B&Ms DO occasionally have downtime. Oh, I also agree that both companies are exceptionally smooth overall. If unprepared, the turn into the final brakes is pretty jerky on Raptor--but that is really nitpicky...especially considering the rest of the ride (oh, baby...)

hey! I've been reading the forums in here for a while but never joined...until now. I'm Luke and am from Dayton, OH about 3 hrs from Cedar Point and 50 mins from Kings Island (though I still consider CP "my" park). I only got into coasters about three years ago, but am obsessed with them now. Haven't been on many, but I do what I can on a college kid's budget...and I love the overrated Millennium Force