Canobie Coaster

I wonder what I'll get to ride first- Joker at Great Adventure, which was closed in all 3 of my visits this year, or Gale Force. I plan to go to both parks next year.

^ Even if it increases the standby line's queue a bit, I can't see it ever reaching Hollywood Studios levels because of the attendance and the fact that California Adventure has more attractions. I also can't see Midway Mania's fastpasses being the first to go, so they should be fairly available in the morning at least.

I posted in this thread a few years back, so I'll update my list. 1) Tower of Terror (Disney's Hollywood Studios) 2) Tower of Terror (California Adventure) 3) Acrophobia 4) Lex Luthor / Zumanjaro (I think I prefer Luthor more because of Superman shaking the tower) 5) Any ARM/Larson Tower 6) Mach Tower 7) 2nd Generation Intamin Towers 8) Gyro-Style Seating (3rd Gen?) Intamin Towers 9) First Generation Intamin Towers 10) S&S Combo Towers (Marineland's Sky Screamer is probably higher up) 11) S&S Turbo Drops 12) S&S Double Shots 13) S&S Space Shots

How's Kumba compare to the Hulk (only been on the old one, not sure if the new one was modified at all)? Hulk is one of the most forceful coasters I've been on and is up there with the Batman clones and Flight Deck for me. As for my favorite floorless, I have to go with Discovery Kingdom's Medusa. That long, straight drop is excellent, the inversions are good, and the ride is smooth.

Paying $10 for the convenience of booking Fastpasses at my finger tips is well worth it for me. I think the biggest news for me is Toy Story and Matterhorn getting fastpasses since those two had bad stand by lines on all of my visits.

If a ride is rough in the front, it truly is a sucky ride like Darien's Predator.

But no worry, I won't hold that against you! I also think that Leviathan is what I might consider a slightly underrated coaster...definitely the most underrated giga (not that there are a ton to choose from). I really enjoyed my 14+ night rides in a row on it during the TPR event a few years ago. Most of those rides I didn't even have to get out of my seat in the station so I was able to enjoy ride after ride of floaty-air bliss. Leviathan & Behemoth are the two best things in the park & they arguably have the best collection of flat rides of any major theme park in the world. The rest of their coasters however...just don't do anything for me (even Vortex). While the American side of the Falls is still pretty much a crime-ridden sh%t-hole, they really are trying to revive the area (like the Buffalo waterfront) and make it more family-friendly. I like what they are doing with the revamp and road work through Niagara Falls State Park. And I believe that they have some pretty good plans for the old Rainbow Center just outside of the park. Hopefully that might help draw more folks to the American side as I have always said that NY state has done nothing but severely neglect one of the more beautiful areas of our country/state for like...ever. FYI...Canada has also recently added new LED lighting on the Falls at night. I haven't seen it in person, but it looked quite impressive on the local news - much brighter than the old, dated spotlights. I rode both those woodies in the front only but my rides were really good on them. My ride on Minebuster back in 2010 was very rough when I was in the back so I made sure not to repeat that. Leviathan was an awesome ride; I just wish it had one or two more hills since it feels like it ended prematurely. Though the ride is a capacity monster so I can just keep getting back on to mitigate that. When were the new lights added by Niagara? The ones I saw in October were nice, so if they made them even better that is truly impressive. I laughed way to hard at this. But. . . Now that you mention it, Canada's Wonderland does really look like a nice future home park! It sure does, eh.

Whoa they really took that section out fast even amidst the wintery weather. Is it confirmed it's a double up or still just speculation at this point?

Goliath Morey's Piers

Krazy City, a now defunct indoor park at New York's Palisades Mall, used to have something called the Monster Roll Cage. Riders would board a capsule similar to those used on Cyber Space Mountain, except on the Roll Cage, you had a steering wheel. The ride was a racing simulator and you could control the car fully. Each crash, flip, and turn was experienced by the rider. I loved that attraction, but this looks like a much more futuristic and cooler version.

The part where you go behind the falls and through the caves was very underwhelming. As I hinted in my photo update, the passageways really don't let you see much of the falls at all. There are just two openings and you see nothing but mist. However, the lower viewing deck offers amazing photos that I think is worth it alone. These shots would only also be possible on one of the boats like the Hornblower that you did. While the boat has only limited time, you can spend as long as you like on the viewing deck. I've never eaten at the Skylon since I heard the food was terrible. I find a lot of times food atop a tower is a tourist trap and frankly not that good. It's an absolutely amazing place with a beautiful setting, endless amounts of tourist trap things, and a great amusement park that's about an 1-1.5 hour drive away. I assume you always went to the Canada side?

^ Is that from the Boudin bakery?

The last time my friends and I rode Wildcat, I found it extremely bumpy even in a row in the middle of a car. It actually drew blood on one of my friend's knees. I wasn't eager to get back on it and haven't been on it in a few years. I fully support the rehab to make it more rerideable and maybe even get more air if we are very lucky.

I prefer Batman to a Sky Rocket II for the reasons you said (more complete ride, better pacing, more forceful), but I love both styles a lot and would welcome them at any park. But from a park's perspective, Sky Rocket II is more compact and just as easy, if not easier to market, as an exciting attraction.

From now on I suggest every Dorney related post be prefaced this same way. If that's how we preface Dorney posts, how do we preface the true runt of the chain, Michigan's Adventure?

Niagara Falls Fun While the highlight of the trip for me was Canada's Wonderland, I also spent time around Niagara Falls with my girlfriend (Canadian side only. I don't go to the dark place known as the American side). I had previously been there in the middle of summer back in 2010 and it was hot and packed. In early October, the weather was comfortable and crowds were extremely light, which made it easy to see the falls without having families pushing and shoving you out of the way. Niagara Falls is beautiful. Both Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls remind me how beautiful nature can be as I look out my window now writing this TR seeing a mountain of snow. During the day, the falls are awe-inspiring and at night, they come even more alive thanks for the multicolored lights shining on them. I also took the opportunity to try the Journey Behind Niagara Falls walkthrough to get up close and personal. Walking through the caverns was pretty disappointing (think of dark, constricted, concrete walkways that smell like a garage with almost no windows) but the photo area at the base of the falls was outstanding. I think the only other way to get those shots would be to board one of the boats. Along with nature's beauty, there's also an endless array of tourist trap items. I made sure to experience a few of them, so I'll give my highlights below: Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum- This is an amazing wax museum with a wide range of figures covering sports, movies, politics, Harry Potter, and so much more. 95% of the figures are extremely accurate representations, 4% are so bad that they're funny, and 1% just look terrible. Movieland Wax Museum- This is not an amazing wax museum. 95% of the figures just look terrible, 4% look amazing and lifelike (the ones in the front window displays), and 1% is the Taylor Swift out front that pumps her music on the street 24/7. Skip this one in favor of Tussaud's. Don't be lured in by the front window display or T Swizzle's music. Great Canadian Midway- Amazing arcade. They have a nice mix of app-based games like Dave & Buster's, lots of sports games (really impressed with the baseball one), a huge test-of-strength game, racing games, shooting games, and a back room with all of the old games my local arcade used to have until it went out of business (the basketball skeeball game, Arctic Thunder, air cannons, etc). The prizes aren't all that great, but I was there to just have fun. They also had a 4D theater and a Sally shooter dark ride. I did both of these on my 2010 trip, but skipped them this time. The Sally shooter was pretty good in 2010, but not sure if the targets have been maintained well or not over the years. Adventure City- Lackluster arcade. This is the Movieland of arcades. I knew I was in trouble when the first four doors I tried to get in were locked at 8 pm when their hours said they were open. Eventually I got in through a partially hidden side door. Inside I saw a large collection of games, but a good chunk of them were out of order. They also had some amusement rides that were of course all closed. The highlight was the Pink Panther Balloon Ride on top of the building, closed of course, since you pay $8 to be blocked by buildings on 3 of 4 sides. Skylon Tower- This is the best option to see Niagara Falls from up above. Relatively cheap elevator ride and you can stay at the top as long as you like. Just make sure it's a clear day when you go up. Greg Frewin Magic Show- Excellent show. I couldn't believe some of the tricks and anyone in the area should see his show. Smoke's Poutinerie- This is the best Poutine I've ever had (only other time was at La Ronde, so I know that doesn't sound like much) but my girlfriend who is a food connoisseur agreed with me as well. They had an extensive menu and had some interesting flavors. We went with the Thanksgiving poutine and loved every bite. Smoke's is about a 10 minute walk from the main stretch but well worth it. Marineland- Don't go there unless you want to spend $50 to get 30,000 steps on your Fitbit, climb a 150 foot hill, see employees race by you on golf carts, find about a quarter of the rides closed, and see non-marine animals like bears. Marineland was absolutely terrible during my 2010 visit so I made sure to avoid it like the plague. They would have to add something truly special (I'm talking a RMC, B&M, or Intamin) for me to consider returning. Onto the photos! Adventure City was an arcade/family entertainment center but it seemed pretty run down and odd. And of course there's Niagara Falls. And that dark shadowy place beyond the American Falls known as the American side. Is that a black squirrel? Yes it is. Even squirrels are friendlier in Canada. There she is. You could also look down dank hallways like this. Tourist trap overload on the great Canadian side. Elvis putting on a concert for no one. Fun fun fun. Ruby Tuesday's that is. I forgot to take photos of the good arcade (Great Canadian Midway), but I have a photo of the Sally dark ride inside it. Didn't ride it this time, but it was good back in 2010. Last but not least is the awesome magic show, Greg Frewin. Go see it and I guarantee you'll be amazed. Time to see nature's beauty. I would like to buy a vowel and a shirt. I tried Journey Behind the Falls to get close to the water. And that I did. There are touristy things everywhere! PS- Louis Tussaud's is so much better than Movieland (that's where Catwoman is from). You can see Marineland's drop tower in the distance. No I did not go there again. That place is hell. The falls are lit up very nicely at night. Oh yeah they also have a pretty cool Ferris Wheel. Along with the arcade, they have a balloon ride that provides no views thanks to the building next to it. Let me in! Trump is about to be elected. Didn't do either of these. Looked too mainstream touristy. A haunted house, guns, and paint ball? Now that's more like it. And a great observation tower. This is my recommendation for aerial views. But really I sampled the local cuisine. This poutinerie was off the main road and was outstanding! Upside down house or upside down photo? You decide. I had to go to Canadian Wendy's solely because of that leaf.

You could possibly even expand this to include large malls with rides (like Palisades Center) or entertainment areas in cities (Pier 39 in San Francisco). Many large entertainment areas feature at least one ride now, even if it's just a carousel or Ferris wheel.

1. What is the name of your home park? Canobie Lake Park (if my name didn’t give it away) 2. Do you own a coaster related T-shirt? Many 3. Do you enjoy Vekoma SLCs? If they have the new vest-style restraints to eliminate headbanging. 4. Name the first 3 coasters that come to mind. Phoenix, Boulder Dash, El Toro 5. One park you would definitely never go back to is... Marineland 6. Have you ever ridden a drop tower taller than 200 feet? Yes, several 7. What is your favorite roller coaster? Fury 325 8. When you go to a park three things you must have with you are... Wallet, cell phone, car keys 9. How many times did you visit your home park last season? 1 10. The first Intamin coaster you rode is... Alpine Bobsled 11. Have you ever spent an entire day at a park alone? Yes, usually at Six Flags parks in cold weather. 12. The independent park you go to the most is... Canobie Lake Park 13. Does B&M or Intamin make better hyper coasters? B&M 14. If it was free, what upcharge ride what you jump on right now? Sky Coaster 15. What is the best food at your home park? Pizza 16. The name of the worst GCI you've ridden is... Roar at Six Flags America 17. When you're not riding something at your home park where are you? Either my apartment, my family’s place, or my girlfriend’s family’s place 18. Favorite water ride in a dry park (flume, rapids, etc) Log flume 19. Do you get your photo taken with park mascots? Only if they’re Disney characters or Bugs Bunny. If Universal gets a Yoshi, add him to the list. 20. Name one personal item you've lost at a park. Not lost, but I broke a pair of glasses in my pocket during a ride on Thunderhead. 21. Name of the worst B&M invert you're ridden is... Silver Bullet (still a good ride) 22. Name your favorite steel coaster under 125 feet tall. Twisted Colossus 23. Name your favorite coaster/ride manufacturer? RMC 24. What waterpark have you visited most often? Connector to a Park- SFNE’s Hurricane Harbor Independent- Aquaboggan 25. The name of the fastest wooden coaster you have ridden is... El Toro 26. What is the name of the flat ride you've ridden the most? If drop towers count- Dragon’s Descent or Star Blaster. If drop towers don’t count- Santa’s Village’s Bumper Cars 27. Name a ride-related injury you have suffered. I was anally violated by a Fabbri Kamikaze. When it went upside down, the extreme hangtime caused me to slide forwards just over the little nub in between your crotch. I then landed on the nub and the restraint went down another click so I was pinned and in pain. 28. Favorite Halloween event at a park? Haunted Graveyard at Lake Compounce 29. Name the most recent Arrow ride or coaster you've been on... Ride- Not sure if they made them or not, but maybe the Antique Cars at Santa’s Village. Coaster- Dragon Fire at Canada’s Wonderland 30. Name of your favorite ride that never leaves the ground (safari, train, bumper cars, etc) Scooters at Knoebels 31. What ride makes you laugh the most? Any snappable flyers if I ride with someone unsuspecting or Phoenix during glow fest. 32. How many RMC's have you ridden? 3 (almost 4, but Lightning Rod was Lightning Rod) 33. Best flat that goes over 100 feet is... If drop towers count, one of the ARM/Larson drop towers. If drop towers don’t count, probably a screamin’ swing or giant Frisbee. 34. When you are on your way to your home park what is one worry that you might have? Traffic during the afternoon commute since I go right from work. 35. Favorite park that is NOT your home park is ___________. Disneyland 36. How many different parks did you go to last season? 30 plus fairs and mountain resorts 37. The indoor coaster/dark ride you ride most often is... Mine of Lost Souls 38. When you spend the day at the park what do you drink all day? Only water 39. The name of the best B&M you've ridden is? Fury 325 40. Name three other forum members that will fill this out... Not sure, but I’m guessing this will hit at least 5 or 6 pages.

I always ride eyes open, even on flyers. The only time I ever close my eyes on rides is: 1) Vertical lift into the sun 2) VR malfunctiond and you're staring at a frozen screen

As long as a ride doesn't bash my head usually I can avoid discomfort. I was able to ride T3 3-4 times in a row without an issue.

Nice update on Great Escape! I agree with you on their operations being awful with the exception of the Comet. While all their other coasters run one train with a slow staff or have a painfully low capacity (Bobsled), the Comet rarely stacks and runs two trains. I love that coaster a lot and always get airtime from start to finish. I'm amazed at how well the park has maintained it over the years having seen the state of several other woodies in the chain. As for the Bobsled, it's my favorite steel one and it'd be a shame to see it go since it's the only other really good coaster the park has. While it has seemingly been on the chopping block forever, it keeps on surviving another year.

Thanks for the cultural tour of Mexico and Denver! All I knew about Denver was the two amusement parks which you photographed quite well despite them being closed and the Illuminati being at the airport.

Canada's Wonderland After an early September trip to La Ronde, I decided it was time to return to Canada in early October. This time I visited Ontario's top park, Canada's Wonderland. I had been to the park once before back in 2010 and really enjoyed it. Behemoth was outstanding and became my favorite coaster at the time. Since then, I've added more than 200 other coasters under my belt and Behemoth has fallen down my ranks, as a certain B&M giga at Carowinds has the top spot. As much as I loved Behemoth, the real reason for my visit was to ride B&M's giga coaster that preceded Fury in Leviathan. Canada's Wonderland operates their haunt differently than any other park I've seen. The park is open during the day 10-5. At 5, they clear out the park and then reopen at 7 for the haunt. I decided to visit during the day since I figured the park would be less crowded. I ended up visiting on an overcast/rainy day, so the park was mostly empty. Almost everything was a walk-on, including the two shiny B&Ms. Let's start with Leviathan. I really liked the coaster. Leviathan looks amazing and absolutely dominates the skyline. The first drop is tied with Fury for my favorite drop on any coaster, as it seemingly lasts forever and sustains major floater air the entire way down. While Fury 325's subsequent hills were significantly more intense than any other B&M hyper that I've been on (the air was ejector instead of floater), Leviathan's subsequent hills felt more like their hyper coaster's hills with good floater air. Having said that, I still do love floater air. The ride felt like it ended a little prematurely, but Leviathan was definitely one of the best steel coasters I've been on (ended up at 6 just outside my top 5). It's glass smooth, fast, and has that epic first drop. I remember when Leviathan was built, it seemed puzzling since the park already had Behemoth. However, Behemoth feels like an entirely different ride. Behemoth is still the airtime machine I remember. The airtime felt stronger than the average B&M hyper, especially in the back on the first drop when you can really feel the yank from the long train. The ride did have some rattle to it, but Behemoth is still one of the best B&Ms (falls behind the 2 gigas and SFOG's Goliath). Two other rides were new for me and highly anticipated- Skyhawk and Wonder Mountain's Guardian. I got two rides on Skyhawk. The first ride was balls to the wall insane. Once I got the first flip going, my car probably made about 20 flips in 20 seconds and it goes down as one of the most disorienting and intense experiences I've ever had on a ride. Unfortunately, I couldn't even get one flip on my second ride. I came close, but the cycle wasn't long enough for me to go all the way around. Guardian was excellent. I thought the dark ride scenes had plenty of targets on the screen and the guns were easy to control. And I'm glad I didn't spoil the ride for myself since the final scene was totally unexpected and well done. Outside of that, I rerode several coasters from my last visit. Vortex is still my favorite Arrow suspended since it maintains its speed from start to finish. Wild Beast and Mighty Canadian Minebuster are two solid and underrated woodies that are relatively smooth with good air. Backlot Stunt Coaster is an enjoyable launch coaster. I skipped the Vekomas that were terrible on my last visit, but did reride the Volare. While rougher than I remember, I still did enjoy Time Warp. The same can't be said for my girlfriend, so I think I just have a magical way to ride these things. It's an airtime buffet. The first drop packs a serious punch thanks to the long train. Leviathan's baby brother is still one of the top B&M hypers. Drop Tower delivered though. Intamin towers are so much better than S&S ones. It's a headbanging buffet. Thank god I already had the credit. The hills after the first drop felt like the average B&M hyper. That's not a bad thing, but the airtime felt like the usual floater instead of the ejector air on Fury. Not quite as good as Fury, but better than all of B&M's hyper coasters. The first drop is tied with Fury for my favorite on any coaster and the ride maintains is speed well. The beast absolutely dominates the park's skyline. Leviathan was the primary reason for my visit and it did not disappoint. Canada's Wonderland seems like a nice home park to have when I move there once Trump is inaugurated. The giant frisbee that looks more impressive than it really is. This one didn't give me any air unfortunately. Ride 1- Insane, Ride 2- Boring, It's all about the technique (which I think I got lucky with on ride 1). The claw! Still the best Arrow suspended. The way Vortex maintains its speed is impressive and results in major swinging. I have never been more cold on a ride than I was on Windseeker. I was wearing shorts and it was cold, windy, and rainy. Not my smartest moment.

I feel like I made a terrible mistake only going to La Ronde and skipping Montreal. Well looks like a return trip is in order.

Thanks for sharing! So it appears it will be built as an addition onto the tower since I don't remember it extending that far out before. And based on not hearing anything, it sounds like the perpetually on the chopping block Alpine Bobsled has survived another year.