Canobie Coaster

Dollywood & Mountain Monster I visited Dollywood twice in 2020. The park is wonderful. It's gorgeous and has a homey charm about it. And it also happens to have my favorite roller coaster in the world. Lightning Rod is both the biggest strength and weakness of the park. Lightning Rod is my favorite coaster. When it's operational, it completely changes how I spend my day at Dollywood. But when it's closed- and that happens a lot- it serves as a giant lawn ornament taunting you in the distance that puts a major damper on the day. And in 2020, I had a 50% success rate with Lightning Rod. Lightning Rod does everything I could want. It has an amazing setting on the wooded hillside. It has impeccable pacing. And it delivers some of the strongest airtime of any coaster. So I continued my usual strategy at Dollywood if Lightning Rod is running. Buy a TimeSaver Unlimited and marathon Lightning Rod until it breaks or the park closes. In my visit in early July, Lightning Rod ran fairly consistently until the end of the day. At that point, the ride's brakes were getting a bit cranky. I was worried I'd miss out on a coveted night ride, but Dollywood miraculously got the ride open just a few minutes before close so I could blast into darkness. Voyage may have closed the gap with Lightning Rod, but this is still my favorite coaster. 10 out of 10 As many of us know, Lightning Rod is being retracked with steel I-box track for the 2021 season. I've seen some complaining it will ruin the feel of the ride, but I don't care what material is used on Lightning Rod- wood, steel, PVC. As long as the ride can actually run reliably and still deliver the out-of-control ride, it'll still be my favorite coaster. The setting and elements make the ride special, not the track type. When I wasn't riding Lightning Rod, I was often riding Thunderhead. The park has retracked major portions of this ride recently and it's riding like a dream. The ride is filled with abrupt pops of airtime, particularly if you sit towards the front of the train. The ride has excellent pacing and the shuffling it had in 2016-2017 is no longer there. The trees around the ride are no longer there due to Wildwood Grove, but you still feel quite isolated with the hill on the back of the ride and the dense support structure boxing you in. 8 out of 10 While Thunderhead was running smoother than ever in 2020, Mystery Mine had a rough year in more ways than one. The first half was particularly jerky this year, which made it all the more important to lean forwards while the ride pointlessly meandered about its first half. But it was worth it for that finale. The beyond vertical drop in darkness is breathtaking, as is the sustained hangtime on the final two inversions. 6 out of 10 I go back and forth which of the steel coasters is my favorite at the park. Wild Eagle has a bizarre layout for a wing coaster. I'm convinced the park ordered a floorless coaster and B&M accidentally gave them a wing coaster. But it's quite fun. The first drop feels like a B&M hyper drop with the sustained floater airtime. The vertical loop has deceptive force to it and the final two inersions have good hangtime. The final helixes are duds, but the coaster has a great setting on the wooded hillside to compensate. 7.5 out of 10 Tennessee Tornado is short but powerful ride. The first drop that tunnels through the mountain is incredible. The inversions are forceful and shockingly smooth. I just wish there was more to it and Arrow could have kept building rides like this. 7.5 out of 10 I also took a few laps on the park's family coasters. Firechaser Express is among the best of the genre with its bevy of elements. Having multiple launches, airtime hills, and a backwards segment on a family coaster is quite rare. That's especially true when the ride has a unique location on a hill and some theming to boot. 7 out of 10 Dragonflier is 90% a family coaster. Most of the ride consists of graceful helixes. But that first overbank is downright wild. It pulls some serious Gs and feels like an inversion. It's one of the most out-of-place elements on a family coaster if you ask me. But as a thrill-seeker, I don't mind. Especially since the ride is so smooth. 6.5 out of 10 Beyond the coasters, I also made sure to hit some of my favorite non-coasters like Drop Line, Daredevil Falls, and Smoky Mountain River Rampage. The latter two were extremely refreshing with the blazing heat ad stifling humidity. I'm hoping the trackwork on Lightning Rod finally gets the ride running reliably 5 years after its opening. That ride is special and if I had a guarantee it would run more frequently, I'd probably visit Dollywood more often. On my way out of town, I also made a pit stop to try the Mountain Monster. I saw this attraction in November 2019, but it had been closed for the season. This is a unique tower attraction that is essentially two rides in one. The experience starts by boarding a drop tower carriage. You slowly ascend the 20 story tower to some comical elevator music. Once you reach the top, you actually leave this vehicle and transfer to a different one. The best way to describe this ride is that it feels like a skycoaster, but scarier. That is for three reasons. One, the restraints are much more minimalistic. As opposed to the usual flight harness, you just have some thin straps holding you in. That's especially nerve-racking when the ride tilts you 90 degrees before the drop. Two, the ride feels like it launches you downwards on the initial descent. It felt sort of like a S&S tower how the initial descent has that extra kick to it. Three, the weight of the vehicle relative to the size of the cable gives it an extra dimension of terror. Ultimately, it felt like a sky coaster with an extra kick to it. You are then pulled back atop the tower and transfer back to the original vehicle. You then drop 20 stories at a rapid rate. This would be satisfying as a standalone drop tower because of the drop's power. Plus, the fact you drop through the scaffolding of the tower makes it extra disorienting. Mountain Monster is pricey, but it's one heck of an adrenaline rush. 10 out of 10

You must have heard those turkey callers in your sleep that night.

That's fair. In the event of lightning, they don't have many indoor rides left.

I'm not sure if this is one would qualify, but would it be worth adding Tom and Jerry Swiss Cheese Spin at Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi? Zamperla essentially took the Sierra Sidewinder layout and its indoors with some blacklight effects. I'd be interesting how it compares to some of the other spinners out there. Great job getting the poll together again!

Beyond these two, there's a dilapidated one at Calaway Park in Canada.

I'm hoping this still opens in 2021, but it's hard for me not to notice a few of the other parks delaying their additions another year to 2022. The fact construction is progressing so quickly gives me hope.

Considering the park's location on the lake and that all the crowds during my one visit were on the beach, not in the park, I too fear condos may be the most likely outcome here.

I don't mind Holiday World in the rain since they keep everything open and lines will be non-existent.

And it's possible they order the wrong parts anyway as seen with the wheel issue on Phobia a few years ago.

Thanks! Was this one the prototype?

I probably should add it was closed in my 2017 visit as well, but I thought that was just a fluke at the time. I saw the ride operate in 2016, but that has been it. The only other Zamperla discovery I've seen with this much downtime is the one at Great Escape. The others seem to run outside of a small technical delay here and there.

Just curious, does anyone know when the last time Black Widow operated? I know it was down for the entire 2020 season, but it sounds like it may have been down for the entire 2019 season as well looking through some reports.

Kentucky Kingdom Oddly enough I was a Kentucky Kingdom season passholder in 2020. I only went twice, but I got my money's worth because of the insanely low $50 price point. Kentucky Kingdom is a solid park in between Holiday World and Kings Island. While I don't like it as much as those other two parks, I always make sure to squeeze it into a road trip. Storm Chaser was having some issues during my visits in 2020. In my first visit, the ride broke down in the afternoon and never reopened due to an issue with the control panel. In both my visits, the ride was running slower than normal. I don't think the half-full trains forced by the pandemic were the culprit since I've regularly ridden this ride with half-full trains in regular years. The first half was as powerful as ever, but the airtime on the final bunny hills wasn't quite as strong. It was still quite good and even a slower Storm Chaser is still a fantastic ride. 9 out of 10 I also got really lucky with the timing as a plane flew over Storm Chaser. There are a lot of scary headchoppers on roller coasters, but I think this is one of the more underrated ones because of the shock value. The impact of a slower Storm Chaser is that it no longer becomes my favorite ride in the park. In 2020, my favorite ride was Lightning Run. I wish Chance Morgan built more of these hyper GTX models since they're aggressive, little rides that remind me of RMCs. The final bunny hills in particular stand out as some of the most violent moments of ejector airtime of any coaster. Seeing people thrown about while queuing for the ride is mesmerizing. 9 out of 10 Kentucky Flyer is another airtime machine at this park, except this one is targeted more for families. I've ridden my fair share of Gravity Group junior woodies, but this one is probably my least favorite by a slim margin. It's smooth, but the pacing isn't as strong as the ones in the Northeast. The airtime is as good as you can reasonably be for a family coaster though and I love the ride's placement on the backside of the water park. 7.5 out of 10 T3 is a dumpster fire. It's one of those rides that is so comically bad that it's funny. The vest restraints will staple your thighs, but I prefer this over other SLCs because the vest restraints do eliminate headbanging. Just know you will be rattled like a ragdoll. 3 out of 10 Thunder Run is a ride that used to jackhammer pretty badly, but the extensive trackwork Kentucky Kingdom gave this wood coaster has made it fairly smooth (if you avoid wheel seats). The outward leg has some great airtime, but the second half is still a dud with all that straight track. 6 out of 10 2020 brought us a lot of casualties, but one of the most notable for the amusement park industry was the demolition of Dick Rock Mountain. For those unaware, Raging Rapids used to have a snow-capped rock structure that was excited to see guests. And yes, it sprayed water out the top too. To the designer who snuck that by their boss, you were bold. However, Kentucky Kingdom decided to finally castrate this piece of art for the 2020 season. But at least they kept the Big O alive at their Antique Car ride. I rode Raging Rapids in silence, but the light spritzing was refreshing in the heat. I don't think this ride has the right elements to completely soak you. You can tell this used to be themed to the Penguin, as the ride has the same station as Six Flags New England's Blizzard River and there are still penguin-themed sprayers throughout the ride. 6 out of 10 I also hit a few of the flat rides, most notably Fearfall. I am a sucker for ARM/Larson drop towers and this one is no different. The drop is absolutely gut-wrenching and you can either choose a great view of Louisville or a great view of the park. 9.5 out of 10 Last but not least, do not miss the pretzels at this park. They are made fresh at the park and are just behind the ones at the Busch/SeaWorld parks for my favorite theme park snack. They are that good and I usually stuff my face with 2-3 of them each visit.

Even if the ride was fully built and tested by late March, the park would most likely delay the opening until after Memorial Day. That's how Six Flags seems to handle every ride opening. The one I distinctly remember them rushing in recent years was Wonder Woman at Fiesta Texas just to beat Railblazer so it could claim the title as the first single rail coaster.

^ That has been my experience in past years, but the good train early in the season got bad by the end of it.

^ I agree it's fun careening through the woods at 50+ mph. That's why you'll see me on Mystic Timbers or Diamondback over Beast. Beast is unique though. That's for sure.

I agree Carowinds is more top heavy, but Kings Island's supporting coasters are much more memorable.

Not a fan of the name, but this ride looks incredible and that's the important thing. I love Time Traveler and this layout looks a lot more involved.

^ That's also a great time to go since you can maximize night rides. Kings Island really is one of the best parks in the world for those since so many of their coasters go out into the woods.

Did you ride Banshee in late August? That was when the ride was rough. And I was nerdy enough to note which train I rode back in July and it was the same color. It really is a strong, diverse lineup.

I got one week's use of my annual pass before Disneyland shut down. If my math is correct, that means Disney will be refunding $577 of my $599 so I essentially went to Disneyland 5 times for the low price of $22. I think I got my money's worth!

The depth at Kings Island really is special.

Kings Island I made three different visits to Kings Island in 2020 with the primary goal of riding Orion. Each visit was radically different. The first was July 4. This was Orion's third public operating day, so I was limited to just three rides due to FastLane sales being suspended and the access pass system (the standby queue reopened towards the end of the day). The second was later in the summer. I was able to get FastLane, but an annoying thunderstorm in the area kept the rides closed half the day. The third was a quick pit stop on my way back to the Pittsburgh airport for one last ride on Orion. So how was Orion? When the ride was announced, it received a lot of flack. Kings Island fans had been clamoring for their own giga for years and when it was finally announced, they were underwhelmed. Some called it not a real giga. Others called it short. But Orion started to quiet people once it opened, especially as people got more rides on it. I should begin by saying I absolutely love Fury 325. And I also think Leviathan is great, even though that ride feels a bit short. Orion is somewhere in between these two rides. It has larger elements like Leviathan, but I think it feels like a more complete ride. As you'd expect from a B&M giga, the ride is immaculately smooth. And one thing I wasn't expecting was the theming. The park has a lot of Easter eggs in the queue line and the IMAScore sound track is amazing. The first drop is as incredible as the other B&M gigas. The sustained floater airtime is pure bliss. One thing that surprised me was that I started to greyout on the pullout, which I don't recall happening on the other B&M gigas. That's followed by a giant wave turn. This element got better as the season went on. You get sustained, weak floater airtime, but it's a really cool sensation being held sideways in those open B&M trains. Then comes a giant turnaround. This is probably the weakest element on the ride. Up front, you get a meek pop of airtime, but it does nothing in the back. I wish this was a treble clef like Fury 325. The return run picks things up with an incredible speed hill. It offered very strong and sustained fl-jector airtime combined with that blistering speed. Then came a trim. While you could definitely feel it, the floater airtime on the resulting camelback was still strong and sustained. Then came the helix. This is another element that improved as the season went on and it's much better than the helix on Fury. Afterwards is a surprising off-axis hill with another dose of strong fl-jector airtime. Last but not least, you get another good moment of airtime entering the brake run if you're up front, ending the ride. Orion grew on me with each ride. It definitely feels like a giga and the sequence of elements flows nicely in my opinion. It's extremely reridable and I always came off with a smile on my face. It also had a soft spot with me since I managed to make it my 1000th coaster. 9.5 out of 10 Orion surpassed Mystic Timbers as my favorite in the park. But I still love that GCI. Despite having an out-and-back layout, Mystic Timbers takes an erratic path. I consider it a drunken out-and-back coaster since you stumble side to side. Every hill gives airtime- alternating between sustained floater and abrupt pops. The ride is still running perfectly smooth and it offers the best night ride of all of Kings Island's wood coasters. 9 out of 10 Yes, I prefer Mystic Timbers at night to Beast. While Beast has an incredible setting in the woods, it's a flawed coaster. It has length. But outside of the double helix finale, the ride doesn't really have any elements. You mostly meander through the woods. I consider Beast a fun experience, but just an ok coaster. Also be sure to avoid a wheel seat or else you'll get a back adjustment. 6 out of 10 It was rare to see so much of Beast's lift in 2020, but we can thank the demolition of Vortex for that. I know enthusiasts have been gushing praise for this Arrow looper since it's demise, but I found it ok during its life. It had some good drops, but it was jerky. One of the biggest shocks for me in 2020 was Banshee. It was doing its best Jekyll & Hyde impersonation. I got some shaky rides on this coaster in 2019, so I expected the worst. But it was running fairly smoothly on July 4, so I was able to enjoy this invert yet again. It has a great sense of speed and solid forces. However, my rides later in the summer were shakier than ever. I'm not sure what happened, but it made it tricky to enjoy the ride. When it runs like this, it's easily my least favorite invert. So I'll average it out. 6 out of 10 Flight of Fear was another coaster running shakier than I remembered. I still enjoyed the coaster, especially since it operated while the other coasters were closed during the thunderstorm, but it runs rougher than the outdoor ones at the Six Flags parks. I think the first half is more disorienting on this one because of the darkness and forces, but the second half is neutered by the mid-course brake. 7 out of 10 Racer has been getting a lot of trackwork recently and it ran better than I remembered in 2020. It was fairly smooth up front and the bunny hills gave some solid airtime. 6 out of 10 Diamondback is still probably the best coaster in the park if you want a vast quantity of airtime. The first three hills give some of the best floater airtime out there, especially if you're in the back. However, the trim after the far turnaround saps the ride of its speed for the return run. You still get airtime, but the ride looses all its teeth from this point. 8 out of 10 Between the coasters, I also hit a few of the parks flats. I rode Delirium for the first time and it was just as good as the newer Zamperla giant discoveries. I also thoroughly enjoyed reriding Drop Tower because of the ride's sheer size, incredible views, and gut-wrenching drop. I also tried White Water Canyon. I was mostly interested in getting shots on Mystic Timbers, but I took the advantage to cool off on a hot day. It was a decent rapids ride. It felt really secluded in the woods and it had a nice mix of rapids and geysers. Kings Island had a shorter season than usual, but they did a great job all things considered. Rides were dispatching trains fairly quickly (outside of Diamondback) and park guests seemed to follow the social distancing markers better than other parks. It probably helped the park had staff patrolling the queue lines for this.

^ I support blaming Garfield!

Closest I've seen was a portable Dragon Wagon pulling out of a gas station. Not going to lie, I thought about following it for a split second until I realized how sad that would be.