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Yeah, very goofy and kinda neat... but they don't seem to be linked to any kind of advertisment or anything.... ??? I fed them a nice meal earlier today.

Not really trashing... SFDK is usually a lot of fun, but my first experience was unfortunately my worst. I'm pretty sure Medusa is the best coaster in northern California, and I've got my 2009 pass + parking so I can go ride it and feed some animals... edit: I like Silver Bullet... I'm always surprised by how intense it is. It isn't a very scenic ride (though you get some lagoon time if I remember right), and I think that detracts from an otherwise great ride.

I totally agree with that! That place amazed me when I saw it... They had just added the Delta area.

Oh, and I meant to say...GREAT pictures! Someone said before the 2008 summer season that Rip Tide will no longer run the wet program... do you know if that ended up being true last season?

I love Knott's! I grew up in Michigan and went to Cedar Point every year... been to a lot of U.S. parks, Disney / Universal / Paramount / etc... ^ I know that question wasn't necessarily intended for me, but.... I think Knott's IS a blast. I guess I'm easy... because I've only rarely left a park thinking "Man, that place really sucked and I'm sorry I even went." (here's looking at you SFDK.. but not always... only when dispatches are ridiculous and when concessions can't serve 8 people within 40 minutes). So many people say "it doesn't have the charm anymore". First of all, I disagree. Sure, some things have gone... but there are very few parks that have never removed attractions or scenery that SOMEONE had some kind of attachment to. There is plenty of charm left at Knott's. I totally agree about the Sky Cabin windows! I've never seen such foggy windows and was really disappointed that I wouldn't get any clear pictures... but, Photoshop can manage to salvage these a bit... it's not great, but you can see through some of that foggy window with some Photoshop adjustments...

I also remember both Cedar Fair and Six Flags commenting to the effect that the coaster race wasn't as important as increasing the family appeal of the parks... and both CP and SFMM added kids attractions (Planet Snoopy, Thomas Town). Are they done? who knows... I get the feeling that (Cedar Point, at least) will still be catching up after focusing so much on thrill rides. During the demolition of WWL / construction of Maverick, I got the feeling (and think I read in a couple interviews) that CP wanted to add a water attraction in the near future. That's why i THINK one is coming (not to mention that I obviously WANT one). Is it too early in its life to send Iron Dragon packing? I think I like it more than most people do, and it always seems to have a crowd when I go, but... They should just add another 40 feet to the top of TTD... Those kinds of things eat up a lot of land (and steel), and I don't think it is worth it to add another tall, fast coaster. TTD / Kingda Ka are so fast that they go through that track in just a few seconds

I disagree... I think it is very possible that Maverick could have been planned as a land swap with White Water Landing. A sweet "mine train" coaster takes the place of a flume in phase 1, then a great flume ride takes up residence in place of a coaster (CCMR) in phase 2.

Pretty sure you weren't serious, but I am... I love when water is incorporated into rides... water bombs, waterfalls, paddle wheel boats, log flumes, Pirates of the Carribbean, splash downs and mist machines. As far as coaster/track elements, I like vertical launches ala Top Thrill Dragster and Xcelerator... for a short time it's like you are an astronaut, facing straight up, going really fast.

of course, it can certainly be replaced by a better icon... unless there is some reason that aging Arrow loopers are the only coasters that can loop over the midway. My bet would be on the Mine Ride... possibly replaced with a similar ride or a log flume... (and boy would i love to see something like Knott's log flume at CP!)

It is hard to read the CGA situation... I think Santa Clara would have approved the coaster were it not for their desire to lure the 49ers. The planning commission approved the variance for the ride height, but the city council did not approve the project due to the noise complaints from Prudential. I think Santa Clara is using this to bargain with Cedar Fair over the use of the parking lot. I think Cedar Fair, in turn, is calling their bluff. If they can get a good price AND a management contract out of the deal, then they have little to lose (with exception of a general desire to improve a decent park). Or, if te 49ers choose a different site, and the city eases off, then maybe CF will step up again and add to the site. It had to be a letdown for CF to get hold of a park, get permission to exceed the height restriction, only to get shut down by a NOISE complaint. I like the assortment of rides at CGA... SFDK is a shorter drive for me, and Medusa rocks, but I tend to have more fun at CGA. The ops have been very good since CF took over, and I'm a sucker for a decent Arrow looper and a log flume

Actually, in 2008 they had fireworks in early summer, and then every Saturday in August, and I believe they are planning to do the same thing in 2009.

For a small-footprint ride, I think Kong is pretty good... but my ears! ouch! Just about everyone I saw had bright red ears after the ride... "EARaser" I was there on Saturday and found the ops to be pretty slow, but the crowd was light so it wasn't too bad. I was glad to see that a lot of the in-park advertising from last year is no longer up... maybe it is too early in the season. Last year it seemed like it could be "Six Flags: Spam Folder". Toyota vehicles parked up on a lawn near the tigers, Wall-E on the many trash cans, constant loud call-outs over the speakers. Bad enough that the food at the park is now a "Mall Food Court: Greatest Hits" collection at double the price. But Medusa is probably the best coaster within 300 miles.

If CGA is sold to the 49ers, I wonder if Cedar Fair is retained to manage the park, like they do for Gilroy Gardens? That could be very good for them... they continue to get some revenue, but shed some of the responsibility of dealing with the city? This could be Cedar Fair's way of telling the city council to put up or shut up wrt to letting them build in the park. You'd think Santa Clara would have thought it fortunate for Cedar Fair to come in and want to improve the park by building new attractions and restoring the regular fireworks shows... but instead they jumped at the opportunity to obstruct future development at the site, using a whiny neighbor's complaint as an excuse... for what? a football team? edit: good lord, i apologize for abusing the question mark in this post.

Yeah, that's totally what I'm looking for... to ride, of course. Look at the way the seats are mounted... the center of gravity was pretty wild, and there were some wicked sensations... your wheel would be headed down, and your seat headed upward within the wheel, and then as soon as your wheel swung around and headed back up, your seat would begin to head downward within your wheel. All of those direction changes caused the seats to rock back and forth... so cool...

That's perfect! Thanks! I didn't realize there was a DB that tracked carnival rides. Their (Midway of Fun) site has it in the ride list stll, and their zip code seems within driving range... hopefully they can complete the trifecta by answering my email update: doh! they sold the Sky Wheel last week. TO...... ?

That was great! Thanks for doing that. I didn't visit a Disney park until I was 27, and when I'm in the park I have a hard time deciding whether a ride is worth the wait or not. It's hard to tell what some of the rides basically do without riding them. It is very cool to see some of the fantasy-land rides that I've simply walked past when I saw how many little kids are in line

I've been to Alameda County Fair a few years recently... I'd guess 2001, 2002, 2006... and no Skywheel The Skywheel creates a wild array of forces that is unlike anything else I've ridden... it's sort of like a vertical Scrambler. I wonder what it would be like if there was a sort of triple-wheel. Not like the Intamin thing... that would be just about the same as the double-wheel. But, like an insane super-structure that holds two double-wheels... crappy photoshop coming up....

I used to love the "Sky Wheel" / double ferris wheel as a kid, and I haven't seen one in years. Has anyone seen one operating in the San Francisco bay area (or anywhere in California) in recent years? Thanks!

I like the tube... it seems like a tube may be able to support the forces better than a typical track would. I don't think you need a ball-bearing "wheel"... since most of the travel is forward, it seems like a wheel that can rotate freely (like on a garage creeper) would be enough to allow the chassis to rotate around the tube. I made a couple pics of some changes to your idea. As you mentioned, the cars can probably invert during rapid changes in direction The chassis has a sort of tower with another set of wheels for the top... this would keep the car from falling off of the ceiling. I accidentally drew it going all the way to the top of the tube, but really it should be just a little shorter or --better yet-- able to compress some.

another goofy one... what if the seats could move up and down pretty freely on a pole, and each row had a pair of airplane wings that actually generated lift?

Another version of a pivoted coaster seat...

Here are some coaster cars that I think would be kinda neat... definitely some obvious problems to solve... This might give the sensation of a suspended without having to be suspended... hope both riders are the same weight! maybe a single row setup would actually work. Or, more controlled with a pivot. I've seen playground toys that use these big springs... imagine if your seat was attached to that and you sprung around as the coaster moved...

I've been in May... and riding is great, as most everyone has mentioned. However, you might get the impression that the park isn't quite ready by going so early in the season. The park's usually-wonderful gardens and flowers will probably just be mounds of dirt, as the park tends to wait out the last of the spring frost. I'm not sure, but I think a lot of the shows start about a month into the season, so you may miss some of that. I'm not sure if they still do the morning parade or not, but I would suspect that it may not run until school is out. Parades? Flowers? Yeah, so big deal... they still serve chili fries and all the rides are running!

Sure: http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/fun/blog/index.cfm?entry=1c0b2d85-83e2-4027-a2d2-4dde2a281106

Could be for a new night show near Iron Dragon... wasn't their big screen ripped away by a storm?