Canobie Coaster

^ Same here. I'm more excited for that than some of this park's coasters on pure uniqueness.

I've seen a few people post the park has a funky set of bumper cars where you ride in these gyrosphere things and they flip you if you get into a collision. Can anyone confirm because that sounds awesome?

That line for Vortex is crazy. I can't believe how many closet fans this ride had all these years.

Lake Compounce for some more Boulder Dash night rides. I'm surprised they're opening for the weekend after Halloween, but I'll happily take it.

Great report! I'm guessing the flyers were closed at Fun Spot because they were missing their trusty ride operator- the cat.

Tivoli Gardens I expected Tivoli Gardens to be one of the most well landscaped parks in the world. Even with that lofty expectation, the park’s beauty still blew me away. It cannot be understated. Tivoli Gardens is not only one of the most beautiful parks in the world; it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. Obligatory garden shot. And the anchor is Rutschebanen, the most surprising ride of my European trip. This is one of the most historically significant coasters in the world. Not only is it a scenic railway with a brakeman, but it even survived a bombing by the Nazis! The ride could have been a boring, rickety piece of garbage and it would still be special. And when I saw how the lap bar rested several inches off my lap, I figured it’d be a gentle journey through the mountain. Was I ever wrong! If you get the right brakeman, you get some serious airtime. My rides in the back peaked at sustained floater on every single drop. My rides in the front peaked with a mix of floater and ejector pops. There is potential for less air, but even my worst ride still delivered great air on at least half the hills. There were so many little touches too. The mountain looked spectacular. The brief dark ride bits gave the ride character. And I couldn’t help but smile at the brakemen posing on every drop. 9 out of 10 Note how the brakeman (or brakewoman) poses on every drop. At the end of the night, my butt hurt from all the airtime. Below Rutschebanen is this weird shooter. You are given this wand and fire at these orbs and mole people. No score is kept, but the orbs change color depending who hits it. This is one of those rides that didn’t need the interactive element, but it gave the ride that extra element of reridability. 8 out of 10 Guns + mole people. Works for me. For the most part, Tivoli’s ops were fast and efficient. The lone exception was Daemonen. It was weird to see a B&M averaging 5 minute dispatches, but it all made sense once I saw the VR goggles. What was also uncharacteristic for a B&M was to see it go down for an extended period of time. I was next to board when Daemonen went down. And this breakdown took it out of commission for hours. Just look how freaking nice this park looks. Daemonen was working when I got in line. But it caught a case of the Intamins before I was to board. As a consolation prize, I made my way over to Vertigo (aka plane-on-a-stick). My mouth dropped when I saw how fast it was spinning. My jaw dropped further when I saw the queue. It was completely full. Vertigo doesn’t have a good capacity to begin with- 2 arms, 4 riders per arm. And it has a really long cycle. But on this day, Vertigo was down to one arm. However, I got lucky. After 40 minutes, the operator called for a single rider. For reference, I was only halfway through the queue. The ride starts and ends with slow rotations. These rotations are loaded with hangtime. In a way, it sort of feels like a supersized roll-o-plane. But it’s the middle where Vertigo goes berserk. When Vertigo reaches its max speed, it pulls over 5 Gs! And the crazy part is that it’s a sustained 5 Gs. Schwarzkopfs or boomerangs pull those kind of Gs, but it’s only for a second or two. I hope you like greying out since it’s inevitable. So in summary, Vertigo has a miserable capacity but the ride is absolutely insane. 10 out of 10 I felt like my head was about to explode. I loved it. Since my views of Copenhagen were short-lived on Vertigo, I made my way to the drop tower, Glydne Tarn. And this is where I encountered an unfortunate policy. Tivoli doesn’t allow glasses (even with a strap) on thrill rides. In retrospect, I’m guessing it was an oversight how I wasn’t asked to take them off on Vertigo. I respected their policy, but my miserable vision made it impossible to appreciate (what I know should have been) the breathtaking view of Copenhagen. This is why I skipped the Star Flyer. The drop itself was your average S&S turbo drop. There was a quick pop at the start of the drop, but it was completely devoid of that coveted freefall sensation. 6 out of 10 I'm sure the view is fantastic...if you aren't visually impaired. As crazy as Vertigo was, Tivoli had a flat almost as crazy in Tik Tak. I don’t know the model name for this type of ride, but it’s basically a breakdance that inverts instead of spinning. You alternate between violent rocking and these long, drawn-out flips. That alone made Tik Tak disorienting. But it’s also one of the most visually stunning flats I’ve ever seen. The roof is this fancy clock and the ride is accompanied by lights and fog. It’s a complete sensory overload. I’d say Tik Tak was perfect, but it was slightly spoiled by a portable version I rode two days later at a German funfair. As long and wild as Tik Tak was, the German carnies took this ride to a whole new level. But more on that later. 9.5 out of 10 Tik Tak looked stunning. Usually I skip bumper cars, but I couldn’t help but hear a thunderous crash from Radiobilerne. Like a moth to a flame, I eagerly boarded. And these cars delivered. These cars were just a notch below Lusse skooters in terms of power. And in Denmark, they could care less if there’s a head-on collision. The results were bone-jarring and exciting. 9 out of 10 When you hear screams of pain, that's a sign to ride the bumper cars. I was disappointed to miss the suspended flying carpet at Nagashima Spa Land last year. Those who rode it said it was nothing special, but I thought it was one-of-a-kind. But then I saw Tivoli had one! Monsunen had one of the longest cycles I’ve ever seen on a flat and I loved how the geysers were synchronized beneath us. But I found the forces just ok. There was no airtime, just a strong downward yank that got a bit boring after the first few rotations. 6 out of 10 Finally crossed the suspended flying carpet off my bucket list. Turns out, it didn't need to be on my bucket list. Tivoli is also home to a lengthy omnimover-style dark ride in Flyvende Kuffert. I really wanted to like this ride. And it wanted me to like it too. Heck, the cars had an English narration switch! But I thought the ride was a bit too ambitious. I liked the set design and style, but I didn’t like how the ride was basically a SparkNotes version of a dozen fairy tales. I would have preferred the ride focus on one or two and really flesh them out. 6 out of 10 Looks like Ariel lost her top. Skaersilden is the park’s fun house and it’s unlike any other fun house I’ve ever experienced. Usually fun houses traverse a linear path. Meanwhile, this one was more like an open playground. If you rate fun houses like me by the number of things that would be banned in America, this is one of the best in the world. Highlights include tall, twisting slides, bouncing bridges, sliding staircases, rock walls, and barrels ripe for hand stands. 10 out of 10 This fun house was more like a playground. A never-in-America playground. I admittedly played with fire with Tivoli’s kiddie coaster, Kamelen. The ride had a decent wait during the day, so I decided to wait until nightfall for the line to die. Too bad for me it closed early. No big loss. It made sense this stopped operating at nightfall. Missing Daemonen would have been a big loss. This next part was only possible because Tivoli Gardens is literally across from the train station. I decided to check one last time if Daemonen was open and my prayers were answered, it was! I didn't have time to wait, so thankfully it was a walk-on. So I got two quick rides. Daemonen is basically the Great Bear of floorless coasters. You have an aerial helix, steep drop (with some air), vertical loop, Immelmann, and zero-G roll in rapid-fire succession. The compactness of the elements made them quite snappy in the back. 7 out of 10 My new screensaver. I also want to note that the operators at Tivoli Gardens are some of the friendliest I’ve encountered at any park. And every single one of them spoke perfect English too. The combination of beauty, friendliness, and awesome rides makes Tivoli Gardens one of my favorite amusement parks in the world. I was always skeptical this place was overhyped, but after visiting the park, I understand why it’s so highly regarded.

I'm really intrigued to see how wild of a layout S&S could make with these seats. It looks really cool!

I've seen it posted a few different places, but apparently all 5 coasters were closed today.

I also hope for their sake that they offer a non pay-one-price option once the rest of the mall opens. So many people at Mall of America and Galaxyland just wanted to go on one or two rides in between shopping. They won't get those people if $80 is the only option.

It looks like they have all-day wristbands starting on November 15. Prices range from $60-80 depending on the day.

Nice photos! Did you have a favorite ride to operate?

This is why I made sure to go Friday. The weather today looked miserable.

I've always been torn if I prefer the cycle on Tomahawk or Canobie's frisbee. Canobie's goes higher and longer, but Tomahawk always had that crazy spinning in the second half. Does it still do that?

Great report! In my visit earlier this year, I found the blue train on Comet was running way faster. That being said, it wasn't running quite as well as I remembered even last year but it was still smooth.

Is Wicked Cyclone still on one train like yesterday?

Does Zamperla offer a shorter version? Even 25-30 feet shorter, it'd still be plenty thrilling if they like the placement.

^ Thanks! I actually thought the Twin Flip I rode at the Big E last year was more intense than this Speed Flip. While on the Moser Rides page, they have quite a few twists on familiar flats that add in rocking seats. I'd love to see more of these built in America!

It looks like the town residents are opposing the ride's proposed location in Ghost Town. The area where Great Escape wants to place the ride has a height limit of 135 feet. Link to Post Star

^ I went to opening day last year and almost everything was open. The exceptions were the water rides and Fahrenheit. Storn Runner was down almost all day, but it did open the last two hours. As for crowd levels, most coasters were below a 20 minute wait. At least it isn't the capacity killing lap belt..

I've always been a big advocate for the front row on Superman, but after my rides tonight I think I may like a back a smidge more. The airtime in the spaghetti bowl portion caught me off guard with its strength. I also tried SFNE's haunts for the first time. I've never done them since they're an upcharge ($35) and I never hear anything positive. Since my membership got me a free wristband I gave them a whirl. And wow were they bad. I did Midnight Mansion first and thought that was one of the worst haunts I've ever done. And the sad part was that it was the park's second best haunt. The only one I thought was decent was Aftermath, mostly because the wooded setting really helped the theme of a zombie apocalypse.

Does the seatbelt attach to the restraint like most S&S towers or is it the lap belt that has been added on a lot of towers this year?

Bakken Lake Compounce is America’s oldest amusement park at 173 years of age. What if I told you there was a park 2.5 times older? You may call me a liar, but I’ll point you towards Bakken. Bakken has been around since 1583. And that’s not a typo. This park was born almost 200 years before America even became its own independent country. It’s incredible to realize just how old this place is. Since I visited on a weekend, Bakken was packed. However, I never waited more than 5-10 minutes for any ride thanks to the insanely efficient ops. This place gives the German fair circuit a run for its money. In some ways, Bakken feels frozen in time. In other ways, Bakken feels progressive in nature. Want to win a sexy gift? I started with Tornado, the indoor spinning coaster. It looks like a family coaster. And for the most part, it rides like one too. But Intamin couldn’t help themselves. The chain lift looks like your ordinary lift. But it’s secretly a launch that absolutely flings you over the first drop. The airtime and lateral combo is downright violent. I loved it, but watch out for your neck since this thing has the hard OSTRs like Kingda Ka. The middle section was considerably tamer. While it wove in and out of the building, it never spun much on any of my rides. The only real spinning occurred during the finale. There’s this steep plunge into a super tight helix and an airtime hill into the brake run. But that launch and first drop combo is what defines this ride. 7 out of 10 Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore. It's impressive a ride less than 40 feet tall can have a drop this terrifying. Across the way is Rutschebanen, the former scenic railway that was modernized. Having ridden the one at Tivoli Gardens a few hours later, it was saddening to see the removal of the brakeman. I imagine this thing could have had some truly insane air. As it currently operates, the train comes to an almost complete stop on every turnaround. This meant all the bunny hills were an airtimeless formality. The two exceptions were these super steep double downs that delivered crazy bursts of ejector air. So while it isn’t very intense outside of those double downs, Rutschebanen is a very smooth classic. And it may have the best tunnel of any roller coaster. I received an education in biology. 7 out of 10 Maybe in the days of the brakeman, this had more airtime. Apparently vaginas have strobe lights inside them. I’m convinced Intamin cannot make a family coaster without a crazy first drop. See Tornado across the park or Skull Mountain back in America. Intamin did it again with Mine Train Ulven. There’s no airtime, but the drop is very steep and twisted. If you ride in the back, you get some serious whip on this thing. But unlike Skull Mountain, the rest of the ride has some force to it. The rest of the ride weaves through some tunnels and whiz past some trees. Plus all the tight helices actually produce some Gs. Mine Train Ulven was a big surprise for me. 7 out of 10 The Intamin family coaster with a deceptively awesome first drop strikes again. Continuing with the parks coasters, I then rode Vilde Mus. For the most part, this was your ordinary wild mouse. However, this one was sort of enclosed in this open top box and ran mostly unbraked. 6 out of 10 To the pit of misery. Dilly dilly. Next door was Racing, the Zierer flitzer. These compact coasters are becoming rarer and rarer, but I’m fortunate enough to have one at a local carnival annually. There’s no force, but all the near misses with the supports make this ride. Bakken’s was also located on a hillside, so I wasn’t expecting the first turn to be a good 100 feet above the ground. 4 out of 10 Are those on the Jersey Shore jealous? I was also a good credit whore and got my ride on Mariehonen. This kiddie coaster had an enjoyable first drop and it gave four laps. However, on the third lap, the train would park itself on the lift momentarily before continuing. I’d say our train had too much weight, but it did that every ride. 3 out of 10 What is the Flash doing here? But Bakken is so much more than coasters. This park has some state-of-the-art flats. Take Extreme for example. I have no clue what type of ride this is, but Extreme fits the mold as your prototypical crazy European flat. This thing starts like a high speed scrambler, but then it elevates and the cars start flipping. The mix of wild flips, long holds, and near-misses made this an incredible flat. 9 out of 10 Does anyone know what type of ride this is? One flat that should have been excellent was the Skyroller. I figured I was in for a real treat considering it was a windy day, but I couldn’t get this darn thing to invert once. Usually I own these things. I’d say I was having a bad day, but no one could get it to flip. At least the views were nice. 2 out of 10 This really should be called the Sky Rocker. It doesn't roll. Oddly the views weren’t so nice from the park’s drop tower, Tarngyset. This was an S&S double shot located down some steps and surrounded by trees. So it wasn’t surprising the views were lackluster. What was surprising was how quiet it was with the shielding on the tower. Looks like they took the Grona Lund approach. As for the ride itself, it was just ok. The first launch delivered some nice air, but the second launch’s air was considerably weaker. I was surprised to get a quick pop of air on the third bounce though. That never happens. 5 out of 10 This S&S tower is creepily quiet. If I’ve learned one thing going to European parks, it’s that you cannot underestimate any of their flats. At first I blew right past Polyppen, but I couldn’t help but notice people being launched out of their seat. While the airtime was nothing more than a brief pop, the laterals were insane. Basically you’d levitate in mid-air for a split second and then be yanked across the ride vehicle. 8 out of 10 Another amazing thing about European parks are the fun houses. In lawsuit happy America, we’d never get a fun house like Hurlumhej. I can count at least a dozen ways someone could break a limb. By the time I left this fun house, I couldn’t walk straight. Most of the house is designed to wreck you equilibrium. Rooms tilt, pathways are tilted, and stairs constantly shift. There was also a high-speed, a surprisingly tall fireman’s pole, and downhill slope of rollers. The latter gag caused every tenth person to wipeout. Yet in Europe, everyone just laughed it off. 9 out of 10 You'll feel like a drunken sailor after doing this. Bakken also had two dark rides. The better of the two was the spook house, Spogelsestoget. This ride takes the same approach as Bakken; it seamlessly blends the old with the new. You have some time tested effects straight from a carnival dark ride, but then you have some screen based effects from the 21st century. Most of the gags were predictable, but there were two jump scares towards the end that got me. 7 out of 10 The shooter, Safari, was a disappointment. The physical sets themselves were fine and I was surprised it spanned multiple levels, but the guns were a major buzzkill on this version. They had a super short leash and it was impossible to tell if your hit registered. 4 out of 10 Welcome to the jungle. Last but not least, I also rode Vandrutschebanen, the park’s log flume. This one has solid drops with quick pops of air, but you’re basically playing a game of Russian Roulette. You see, the normal splash will get you wet. However, the splashdown from the first drop is elevated. If your log is navigating the first or last turn when a log is coming down that drop, you’re going to need a change of clothes. I lucked out, but the people behind me weren’t as fortunate. 7 out of 10 It may look innocent. But it can wreck you if this splash hits you. I only had a one day layover in Copenhagen, so I needed to squeeze Bakken and Tivoli Gardens into one day. While I could have easily spent a full day at Bakken racking up rerides, a half day was plenty thanks to their efficient operations. Would I go back to Bakken? Absolutely! While I agree Tivoli Gardens is the superior park, Bakken is still great in its own way. It has a wonderful atmosphere and a diverse mix of attractions- both old and new.

^ My favorite part of the Cedar Point 150th celebration is that I know some people who still hold out hope they bring back Wildcat as a surprise addition.

Leave it to this project to potentially have a last minute delay like this.

I was thinking an update to Voyage of the Iron Reef since that ride is all screens, correct?