Canobie Coaster

I went with zero-G roll. No matter the coaster type, zero-G rolls are incredible. The hang-time that they provide are amazing. Some of the best zero-G rolls I've experienced are those on SFNE's Batman, Great Bear, Hydra, Dueling Dragons- Ice (sorry, Dragon Challenge), and Hulk.

^ Smaller parks would probably endorse something like this since it would bring some publicity to their park. As long as there are no lines, I really don't think you should have a problem getting permission to try and set a record like this. While I've never come close to three hours, I've ridden the one at Funtown 8 times in a row before. Why did I stop? I just wanted to ride the park's better rides eventually like Excalibur, Dragon's Descent, Astrosphere, etc.

^^ That's a really cool photo of Viper. What year is that from? I assume that was with 2 trains. Unfortunately, when I visited the park last week, they only had one train on all of their coasters except the Motocoaster and Viper. Hopefully they can get the red train ready before the end of the season. Lines weren't terrible even with one-train operation for most of the coasters. It was a Sunday. Ride of Steel was the only "long" line there, as it was a 45 minute wait for all three of my rides. I'd say that 1/3-1/2 of the switchbacks were completely full. Viper was a walk-on. Predator and Boomerang were 15 minute waits. The Motocoaster was a 10 minute wait. Then, Mind Eraser was a walk-on when I rode it first thing in the morning, but I heard others complaining that it had a pretty long line later in the day. I never saw, so I don't know exactly how long that line would have been.

^ That's cool. I really hope that both rides are back up in running by the end of August since I get to visit SFGAdv! After visiting Princeton, my parents said they will take me to Six Flags Great Adventure. I can't wait!

Overall, a cool carnival. I just wish my local carnivals had any roller coaster even remotely as tall as Avalanche. So that's where Holiday World's old Firecracker went. A bit off-topic, but were those the colors that the ride had while it operated at Holiday World? I've never been able to find a photo of the ride operating there.

^ It still would be incredibly hard to reach the pedal unless an additional item was used. Again, that would be just speculation and unfair to the people involved. Maybe the Arrow foot pedals differ on strength depending on when they were built.

Yes, that's him. I saw the article in the newspaper. The only one I've been on is Bizarro.

When it is pouring, for me the best coasters to ride are wooden coasters. Wooden roller coasters just get so much wilder (in a good way) in the rain. Last year, I marathoned The Great Escape's Comet for 2 hours in a complete downpour! Since there were no lines, the ops just let everyone stay on.

These are the best tunnels I've experienced on a coaster. Bizarro- Even while it was Superman, Bizarro had two amazing tunnels. Amazingly, after the transformation they actually got even better. Following the ride's thrilling first plunge, comes a mist-filled tunnel that has an incredible head-chopper thanks to the addition of a Bizarro cut-out. But the fun doesn't stop there as I actually find the second tunnel to be even better. Diving underground, the drop into this mist-filled tunnel provides incredible ejector air and laterals. Dragon Coaster- While not particularly thrilling, the tunnel is absolutely gorgeous and one of the fondest memories that I have of Playland. Dragon Mountain- I actually enjoyed this Arrow. Why? Well, the tunnels were one of the reasons. I just loved the final tunnel. It was completely in darkness, had a fairly large drop inside, and was followed by the ride's unique bowtie element. Grizzly- What an insane tunnel! After a plunge into this tunnel, I honestly have no idea what happens in there. While not rough, the tunnel is simply aggressive as I got a mix of powerful air and laterals in there. I'd love to see a photo of what the track actually looks like in there. Incredible Hulk Coaster- The launch tunnel is simply amazing. Not only is it a very picturesque structure, but inside is one of the most powerful launches I've ever experienced on a coaster. Jack Rabbit (Seabreeze)- I just love the Jack Rabbit's tunnel. On my first ride, I was completely caught off-guard by the sudden drop that happens mid-way through. What a great way to end a coaster!

^ Thanks for pointing that out. That's my bad. Also, JimmyBo thanks for clearing up the spinning coaster question.

Excellent TR. These TRs of the European carnivals always make me realize how terrible my local carnivals are. Who is the manufacturer for the mini-mouse and suspended wild mouse? Would Fabbri maybe have made one of them? Glad to hear that Laser is in great shape sporting new trains. Those trains look really cool and I too would love to know who made them. When I rode the Laser at Dorney in 2005, I was very underwhelmed by it. While the drop and loops were very forceful, the helixes were a bit rough and the train was vibrating throughout. As a result, after a couple of rides, I got a headache. Maybe it was just the trains at Dorney (or a bad day), but if Laser was totally smooth I would have absolutely loved it so you guys must have one heck of a coaster if it really is that smooth.

Great addition for the park. With all of the wacky theming at the park, I'd love to see what they could theme a spinning coaster to. Also, isn't the SC 3000 model the one that is at Chessington that TPR gave rave reviews about? If so, how would it compare to the Whirlwind at Seabreeze (SC 2000 model)? I'd love to know since I absolutely loved Whirlwind. The layout was intense and the spinning was just sensational. Much better than the Gerstlauer models in my opinion.

I'd rather see the park theme the coaster to the old video game, Crazy Taxi, since it would go with the parking lot theme. But I honestly don't see them retheming Scream. Sadly, it wasn't built in the best spot. Superman meanwhile could definitely be rethemed and I'd love to see what they do with that.

Honestly, family parks like Canobie and Funtown are the best parks to have nearby one's home. Larger corporate parks lack the charm that the family parks have in my opinion and just aren't as fun if you constantly visit them. For example, Six Flags New England was a blast the first time I went; however, I've gotten sick of the park after how many times I've visited it in the last few years. I left bitter for some reason almost everyday last year, so I've decided not to visit the park this year. Again, I loved Kings Dominion when I visited the park, but I'm not sure I would if it were my home park.

Thanks. I personally enjoyed Behemoth more than Apollo's Chariot since the drops overall just seemed much more thrilling on Behemoth. Apollo's Chariot was amazing when I rode it in 2006. The front seat was very good, but the back was what really made the ride. The ejector and floater air during all of the drops was simply outerworldly. Hopefully someday I can get down there to ride Intimidator on one of the days like you guys were able to experience.

^ I'd definitely stay seated and it depends on what type of restraints the ride has and what it does. For example, if a Zamperla Power Surge's restraints or a Technical Park Street Fighter's restraints came up, I'd be a gonner for sure since those have either crazy inversions or insane ejector air. On a coaster like the boomerang, I'd remain seated, clench the restraint for dear life, and pray.

Congrats as well for getting in the media. That quote is priceless, but so awesome! It really is the gut reaction and the reason that almost all of us here ride and love thrill rides such as the ones listed in the article. Now if only they could get Robb to give an article on his true thoughts about the Manhattan Express (sorry...Roller Coaster).

Excellent TR. Of all of the Cedar Fair parks, with the exception of Cedar Point, this is the one I'd want to visit most. All of the photos I've seen of Carowinds have shown that it is a really gorgeous park and now with Intimidator I think that they have one of the best coaster collections anywhere just based on observation. Behemoth and Apollo's Chariot are my two favorite coasters so I'm sure that I would love Intimidator. Just curious, how does Intimidator rank with the other B&M hypers out there? Better yet, how does it rank with any of the steel coasters out there?

^ I'm also kind of shocked about the OPA comment. I mean, I'm not the biggest fan of these spinning mice, but none of the ones I've been on have been excessively rough and OPA is one of the newer ones I think.

Missing a boomerang isn't the worst thing in the world. It gives you more time to ride the Vampire and Goliath more. But in all seriousness, I'm glad that no one got hurt. Whenever I've ridden these coasters with OSTRs, especially boomerangs going up the initial incline, I've always wondered what would happen if a restraint accidentally came up. More specifically, I wondered what I would do in that situation. It's fortunate that everyone remained seated because in a situation like that, I could see someone panicking and possibly standing up. Also in terms of the release bars, when I was at Marineland last week, the bars were very easy for the ops to release. I'm sure that there would be an extra safety feature on these trains so that just the forces of the moving ride could release the restraints.

Cool photos. Cyclops apparently has one of the most intense drops in the very back seat. If you go on ThemeParkCritic, you can see what some of the reviews say about the drop. Also, Hades had no airtime? That's odd because I remember several people saying that the ride had some really great air. Maybe you caught it on a bad day? Action Park's looping water slide still is THE looping water slide in my book. As for the Scorpion's Tail, it's definitely less intense than the ones overseas as Robb said; however, the incline does make the body slide still quite unique and marketing it as a looping water slide apparently has worked quite well for the park considering the crowds.

Excellent TR. I wish I could have been there for the ACE Day; however, that was the first day of my family's vacation where we hit Seabreeze, Darien Lake, Marineland, Canada's Wonderland, and Martin's Fantasy Island. Sounds like the park had a great event. Too bad the Cannonball wasn't available for ERT. Isn't it because of local noise restrictions? Hopefully I can get out to the ACE Day at the Lake. Is anyone going to be there on August 14?

^^ I agree about the machine gun games being rigged. I've seen someone win it once though. Instead of just shooting directly at the star, they shot out a circle around the star. Afterwards, they said that you just had to aim slightly above where you wanted to shoot.

Day 4- Marineland Have you guys ever seen the commercials where Marineland plays their really catchy tune that always ends in "Everyone Loves Marineland?" Well, I saw several commercials the night before while in my hotel room, so I was really excited for this park despite the less than stellar reviews it has received from members here on this site. Unfortunately, they were right. For me, the theme of the day was Not Everyone Loves Marineland! Once entering the parking lot, we were directed to park extremely far away from the park entrance despite closer spots being available. After a 10 minute walk, we finally reached the main entrance. For $35 (AAA Discount Tickets), we entered the park and grabbed a map. Now, I knew that I would be doing a ton of walking as every single trip report has always mentioned how spread out, large, and empty the park is. Still, I was shocked by the sheer size and emptiness of the park. As employees sped by in golf carts, I was just wishing one of them would pull over and offer us a ride. Unfortunately, none did so, but it was really a pipe dream more than anything. For my first ride, I decided to make the long trek up to the Sky Screamer. Situated on top of a 150ft hill, it took a good 5-10 minutes for me just to reach the base of the tower. Once I reached the top, I was pleased to find that Sky Screamer was a walk-on. In a way I wasn't overly shocked since the park had just opened and very few people were willing to make the trek to the top. Anyway, I was disappointed that the park forbid me from wearing my glasses on since the views at the top were spectacular even without my glasses, which is quite a statement since my vision is pretty poor. As for the ride itself, it is the best S&S Tower I've been on. Not only is the launch incredibly forceful, but the floater air at the top was fantastic. Following that, the ride slowly lifted the car to the top. There, I got some incredible views of both the park and Niagara Falls, especially since this tower kept us at the top longer than any other tower I've been on. Eventually though, the drop came and it was just as good as the drops I've experienced on other S&S towers like Dragon's Descent and SFNE's Scream; however, it was just a bit longer. After my ride, I rerode it 4 more times in a row without a wait as well. For sure, Sky Screamer was the best S&S Tower I've been on simply due to the ride's sheer height and power. However, it was still behind WDW's Tower of Terror for my favorite drop tower (and it would also be passed by Canada's Wonderland's Drop Tower the next day as well). Still, Marineland has a real winner with this S&S Tower. 10 out of 10 Next, I decided to hit the park's only major coaster, Dragon Mountain. With a layout almost entirely hidden from view, the ride is really a mystery. However, the Arrow roar can be heard and it was just beckoning me to ride this beast. After entering the simply massive dragon cave entrance, I was shocked at just how dark the queue and station were. Even after a couple of rides, my eyes never got adjusted. Anyway, for my first ride I grabbed the front seat since it was only a one cycle wait. Once I boarded, I was pleased at how roomy the front car was since I usually feel a bit cramped on several Arrow coasters. As for the ride itself, it was fun, but nothing exceptional. The first drop was really fun and the following two vertical loops were quite intense. Heck, I even blacked out momentarily. Following that was a quick turn and then came a really enjoyable helix. Unlike the Arrow helix I experienced on Canyon Blaster last year at The Great Escape or the one on the Loch Ness Monster, this one was actually quite smooth. Following that were a couple of rough transitions before we entered an incredibly long and dark tunnel. Midway through this tunnel was a really cool drop that caught me off-guard and following that came the ride's famous bowtie inversion. Somehow, the bowtie inversion was quite smooth and disorienting. Overall, I found Dragon Mountain to be a pretty strong Arrow despite its age. However, there were several dull points and there were a couple of rough transitions. Immediately after, I got three more rides in a row. Two were in the back seat and another was towards the front. While I would have liked to get another ride or two, the headbanging from the transitions finally caught up to me. Still, it was my second favorite ride at the park following the Sky Screamer, but I found Darien's Viper smoother and more thrilling. 7 out of 10 Unfortunately, those two rides were the major highlight of my trip to Marineland. From here, my day seemingly rolled downhill. Following Dragon Mountain, I rode the park's Topple Tower twice in a row since it was a walk-on. To date, I hadn't been on a topple tower before and the ride looked really cool so I was eager to try. However, the ride was just decent. I found the spinning to be really disorienting and the dives towards the ground were quite fun even despite the ride's rather slow speed. My only real problem with the ride was the restraints. Obviously an attraction like this needs tight restraints. However, these restraints violated my man region worse than many other restraints I've experienced. For some reason, the restraints on a Huss Top Spin were less painful for that region in my opinion. Still even with the minor pain, I still moderately enjoyed the Topple Tower thanks to its uniqueness. 6 out of 10 Next, I was planning to try out the unique Magic flat; however, it was down for the day. Instead, I hopped aboard the park's tea cup attraction, Kandu's Twister. While a very visually appealing ride with the sleek looking killer whale cups, the ride itself was pretty weak in my opinion. The tubs were incredibly difficult to spin and therefore, I didn't get an overly thrilling ride. A long cycle at least somewhat made up for it. 4 out of 10 Wanting to ride another fun spinning ride, I went right for the Skyhawk, the park's Huss Condor. Unfortunately, that was down as well for the day. Afterwards, I decided to ride the park's Wave Swinger which was a one-cycle wait. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of the better wave swingers I've been on. While the forces and cycle length on this one were solid, the swing for some reason was bouncing and vibrating a lot during my ride. Maybe it was just my swing, but I didn't care to get a second ride. 4 out of 10 By now, it was 95 degrees out and everyone in my family was exhausted. Instead of hitting the rest of the park's flat rides, they insisted that we just go back to the hotel for the night. While normally I would object, they said that we could stay all day at Canada's Wonderland the next day if I did so. So I had two options to weigh- continue the mediocrity of Marineland or head back to the Great Wolf Lodge, hit the water park, and be able to spend a full day at Canada's Wonderland. I think you can guess what I picked. On my way out, I also saw that the park's Flying Dragon flat was closed as well. At least the Hurricane Cove flat was open. Also, I saw that the park looked to be almost done installing their new flat for the year, the Ocean Odyssey. Almost the entire ride's structure and theming was completely set up so I could see it opening within the next week or two. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to hit the park's family/kiddie land and get the Ladybug Coaster. Overall, I was underwhelmed by Marineland. While Sky Screamer and Dragon Mountain were both really fun, the park had almost nothing else to offer in my opinion, especially since three of their nine "major" rides were closed. 1/3 of their major rides! That is simply ridiculous considering the high fee to enter the park in my opinion. Without a doubt, Marineland was the worst of the park's I visited during my vacation. I mean, the potential is there at the park since they have a ton of land and two very good rides already in place; however, they simply need more to do to justify me dishing out the cash to revist the park if I'm ever back in the area again. Later, I'll give a quick review about the best hotel I've ever stayed at, the Great Wolf Lodge.

I've never been to impressed by the Wisdom Tornados I've been on at carnivals, Lake Compounce, and Palace Playland. While disorienting, the ride just seems a bit slow to me. Personally, I prefer the regular old tilt-a-whirl. Also, wasn't the Howler relocated to Dutch Wonderland? My father has the same problem. I feel sorry for you since they really are fun flats. I've never tried any upcharge rides while at an amusement park. I mean, I've had the opportunity to ride Sky Coasters and Slingshot style attractions at parks, but I never been on either since usually they are at larger parks that have enough attractions that are included with admission. Are these two rides really that excellent that they are worth trying eventually?