Canobie Coaster

Make the seatbelt as tight as humanly possible so you never touch the hard metal lap bar.

I was not expecting them to completely retheme an Aquatica to Sesame Street, but I don't blame them for milking such a profitable IP.

The Providence Place mall charges to park. People complain, but people will still park there to shop and eat. That mall does the same thing where the price jumps big time after 5 hours.

Because some people actually want a good haunt. And not everyone feels like they've been in a car crash after riding Boulder Dash.

^ I'd also be interested to know if something similar has happened at Kennywood or Idlewild.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know when Lake Compounce changed their Potato Patch fries? In the past, they were these beautiful, hand-cut things. A few weeks ago, I got these waffle fries. They were still good, but they weren't the Potato Patch fries I remembered.

Agent

Mirabilandia Parques Reunidos is a name that sends shivers down the spines of enthusiasts. So as expected there were some frustrations- one train ops on Katun, wretched dispatches on Master Thai due to VR, and their new-for-2019 Desmo Race was closed for the day. But for the most part, I had a pleasant afternoon. Dispatches were fast outside of Master Thai, the staff was friendly, the park was well landscaped, and the top two absolutely delivered. Have a Parques Reunidos Day! Few things are sure in life are certain except death, taxes, and Intamin breakdowns. Sure enough, iSpeed was down when I arrived. Since I saw activity on the platform, I hung around the plaza and a few minutes later they cycled some test trains and reopened. iSpeed has a magnetic launch so while the initial kick is lacking, you really feel the speed by the end of the launch. It was a good launch, just not a great one. But unlike most launch coasters, this one has a full layout. You haul through the first half. The speed felt similar to the second half on Maverick. You fly over this camelback with some serious sustained ejector air. That’s followed by an I305-esque twist and a Ride of Steel-esque S-Hill. Oh and I can't forget about the great top hat either. iSpeed also has the world’s most intense inversion, the barrel roll. After the failed barrel roll on Maverick, Intamin was hell-bent on perfecting it. So they added one to iSpeed. And holy moly is it wild. You take it at like 60 mph and are violently ejected and flung sideways. I loved it and the best part is that there are two of them. iSpeed dies after the MCBR, but it's so good to that point that it doesn't matter too much. iSpeed is insane. It has a nice launch and the quantity and quality of elements after that blew me away. The only downsides were the reliability (it broke down a lot) and the hard OSTRs (I had to brace for a few turns). If this thing had the soft straps of Maverick, it would be perfect. 9.5 out of 10 Top hats are always classy. It looks like Maverick and sort of rides like it too. iSpeed sounds like an apple product, but it doesn't quite have the same reliability. After seeing Robb’s POV from the clone at Energylandia, I was terrified to try Divertical. I didn’t want to be knee-deep in water. Thankfully that doesn’t happen. Your shoes are safe, but everything else isn’t. The speed and fluidity of the elevator lift is thrilling. As is the gargantuan first drop. The initial splashdown perplexed me. Water shot through the floor of the boat. WTF? After a few uneventful turns, the same thing happened on the final splashdown. Divertical is an awkward ride. The big drop is quite thrilling, but all the speed is wasted afterwards. That being said, I am glad I tried it, but I didn’t feel the need to hop back in line. 6 out of 10 Riding this after the sun sets is an unwise decision. Thankfully we didn't drown like the TPR crew at Energylandia. Since I was already wet, it seemed like a perfect time to ride Autosplash, the park’s flume. I applaud the park for ditching the typical log theme and instead trying something different with the car theme. The theming wasn’t anything special, but it was a nice change-up. The most notable part of the ride was the final double down. These seem to be a lot more common in Europe. The first part gave a brief pop of air and the final splash was very refreshing. 7 out of 10 The only bad part of the ride was the dude in front of me. He decided to stand-up on the final drop. His pants didn’t come with him. And I think he was going commando. That’s a sight I can’t unsee. How often can you say you rode a log flume in a car? I then whored it up on Leprotto Express. However, I didn’t feel all that guilty since this one actually had some laterals on the first drop and some theming along the layout. 3 out of 10 Whenever lists are compiled of the best B&M inverts, there are usually three contenders- Nemesis, Montu, and Katun. I loved Nemesis and Montu, so I was really excited to try Katun. The scale of Katun cannot be understated. It is simply massive. I’ve found larger B&Ms tend to be less forceful, but that isn’t the case with Katun. This thing is really heavy on the Gs and hauls from start to finish. While the one train ops were a killer for capacity, it may have explained why the MCBR was off. We charged right through it and the resulting drop had some nice floater air. That was followed by 2 great corkscrews and a forceful helix. Was Katun the best invert? No. I still prefer OzIris. And I think I’d take the theming of Nemesis as well. However, it’s a coin flip if I prefer Katun or Montu. I think Montu’s individual inversions are a bit more forceful, but Katun doesn’t let up at any point. 9.5 out of 10 Katun's drop is one of the best of any invert. It has the intensity of a Batman but the size of Alpengeist. It’s sort of terrifying how steep the drop-off in coaster quality is at Mirabilandia. After iSpeed and Katun, the next best coaster is either Divertical or an off-the-shelf wild mouse. Yikes! However, that mouse is quite wild. Gold Digger has no air to speak of, but it also has no trims. This meant those turns in the second half are arguably the most violent hairpin turns in the world. 5 out of 10 Gold Digger is aptly named. Gold diggers are abusive. Master Thai may be one of the most baffling coasters in the world. This is a Mobius loop coaster, but each ride consists of two laps so you start and finish on the same side. Oh and you can ride with VR too. The ride itself is quite janky and will shake you up a bit. The first drop is steep so it has a little air. And I’m still trying to decide if I enjoyed the ridiculously tight turns in and out of the MCBR. 4 out of 10 It's like Twisted Colossus, but without the RMC amazingness. Rexplorer is a powered coaster essentially through one long helix. But that helix goes through caves and past trees, so it’s more exciting than it should be. However, this coaster does have one unintentionally thrilling moment. When the brakes engage, you’re still on a banked section of track. The result is that riders will fold over the seat like a ragdoll. Make sure your kids are on the left side or else they’ll be in for a world of hurt. 4 out of 10 While leaving the wild west area, Buffalo Bill Rodeo was loading so I decided to take a spin on this Disko coaster. This one was noticeably smaller than the others I’ve ridden, but the forces were no different. I’ve decided I’ll only ride these if they have the center hump. 5 out of 10 An operating Buffalo Bill ride. A rare sight. Before kicking off an iSpeed marathon to close out the night, I had one last fish to fry in Reset. I tried to ride it earlier in the day, but discovered it was closed from 7-9 pm. That seemed like a cost-cutting move, but it was actually something far more exciting. Reset is located at a dead end. When Reset reopened, they converted the walkway and plaza outside the attraction into a hybrid dance party and scare zone. I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything quite like it. The energy outside the attraction made my Reset experience even more disappointing. I know the ride is supposed to have an apocalyptic theme, but it just felt wrong having a completely silent attraction. There was no music, no audio, nothing. It killed the ride for me. It was a shame since the physical sets looked fantastic. And there were plenty of targets to shoot too. Is the ride normally dead quiet or did I catch it on the wrong night? 3 out of 10 This was certainly a fitting place for a scare zone. Finishing the night with an hour marathon on iSpeed was incredible. And the experience was pretty draining. This is one intense coaster, especially when you only give yourself a 5 minute break in between. I also lucked into a front row ride at the end of the night. Mirabilandia accidentally closed the front row queue too early so it emptied out. So for the final 10 minutes they were allowing anyone the opportunity to ride there. While the rush on the launch was nice, I still preferred the extra whip of the back. iSpeed is a blur. I also want to touch on the new Ducati World. For the most part, it felt like Spain’s Ferrari Land, except Ducati World isn’t a separate park. The giant superstructure in the center houses some simulators (most seemed to be upcharges though) and the outside had some motor vehicle themed rides. The anchor of the area is Desmo Race. While it has officially opened, it has been plagued by technical issues. I was one of the few on the 2017 TPR Oktoberfest trip with a positive opinion of the prototype spike coaster at Skyline Park, so I was a bit bummed to miss the larger Desmo Race. Flashbacks to Ferrari Land. Maybe next time. Of the parks I visited in Italy, Mirabilandia was without question my favorite. And it really came down to that top two. iSpeed and Katun are absolutely destination coasters if you ask me. Those two coasters overshadow everything else at the park, but it’s worth stating again that the park looked better than I expected and the staff was quite friendly. Also, they have a pizza vending machine. Because Italy.

I hadn't ridden the Rowdy Roosters yet this year, so I was thinking of giving the birds a ride on Friday. However, I encountered the ride in pieces with a temporarily closed sign. Normally I'd say Canobie just wanted to get an early start on off-season maintenance, but the ride is no longer listed on the website's attractions page. Meanwhile plenty of other rides that have closed for the season like the Boston Tea Party, Mine of Lost Souls, and Castaway Island are still listed. I'm sort of suspicious that the roosters may have taken their last flight, but I guess we'll see if the park says anything this off-season. Edit- I checked with the park and the plan is for the Roosters to return after an extensive refurbishment. The Roosters hadn't run in a few months.

^^ Thanks to you both. Normally I'd call, but that doesn't seem to make a different with Buffalo Bills.

The website has been updated to now include parking rates. Compared to most amusement parks, the cost to park is quite reasonable. I see people who go to shop being angrier with this than theme park enthusiasts. It's also good they will validate the parking on Event Day if you purchase a Nickelodeon Universe ticket. It also looks like opening day is completely sold out.

Keeps a few days and great warmed a bit. Maybe longer if repackaged. The last time I kept some 3-4 days it dried out and got hard. But we had eaten some of it so maybe we didn't reseal well. Haven't tried keeping long since. Thanks! It only needs to make it 2 days.

Odd question, but how well does cinnamon bread taste a few days later? My family is wondering if I could bring a loaf home. Everytime I've been my friends or family have devoured it in one sitting.

Great report! You hit the nail on the head about Fantasy Island. The front looks charming, but the back looks like a permanent fair. I also love how the gravitron was named "The Force" at the fair.

Wasn't there a perk two years ago to get half off at Silver Dollar City?

I'm excited to see another one of these things built!

I didn't get any photos directly of the ride from my August visit, but the track was visible in the background.

^ That makes sense. I agree one less car probably had nothing to do with the derailment.

Funny how all of my Top 5 coasters are in your Top 10 1. Expedition GeForce 2. Lightning Rod 3. Steel Vengeance 4. Voyage 5. Coaster (PNE) 6. Outlaw Run 7. Storm Chaser 8. X2 9. Nemesis 10. Millennium Force Just get on Phoenix, Boulder Dash, and Untamed so it matches completely.

I feel so bad for him. He could only get 72 fill ups of 100+ different drinks over the course of a day. He's missing out on 28+ flavors. On a more serious note, I don't know if I should laugh or be embarrassed for humanity.

Everywhere

Good thing Boulder Dash is too far down the hallway to be seen.

I saw Joker last night and that was way different than any other comic book movie I've ever seen. Phoenix nailed the performance and the movie makes you feel uncomfortable throughout (and that's a good thing for me at least).

Yankee Cannonball

Reading over the report, it mentions that Quimera was running without the required conditions, as it had 5 cars instead of 6. I know several parks in the US that have removed cars from rides (ex. Voyage going from 7 to 6 or Cyclops going from 6 to 5), but usually that's for a more permanent change. And that got me thinking. Medusa has used a 5 car "Frankentrain" arrangement in the past created by cars from both trains instead of the usual 6 car arrangement. I know the bigger issue with Quimera was the lack of proper maintenance, but I thought of Medusa when I saw the bit about the 5 car train. Orange in front followed by 4 red cars.