larrygator

I believe Oaks Park removed their Lusse cars 2-3 years ago. The current cars at Tivoli Gardens run well but are not Lusse. I could be wrong but the only place with a whole arena of Lusse cars in 2014 will be Knoebels. After 50% of the cars at Keansburg are Lusse

I find it to be quite similar to SFGAdv in this regard. You can repeatedly (although have to walk through the queue) ride Bizarro for the first 60-90 minutes you are in the park. The Skyscreamer line moves slow (it is the new Hotness there) even though the ride ops during my trip last week were hustling their butts off to check restraints quickly. You are already aware of the issues with Goliath capacity but the Pandamonium line tends to move pretty slow, also. The Dark Knight queue moves fairly quick as the station has a grouper to assign guests to specific rows.

Besides ghost trains I'd have to say Mad Houses and Haunted Swings

I can't agree with you on this one, I've seen many inept guests at the park.

We encourage people to give accurate reviews of the parks, however sometimes the reviews become extreme nitpicking. I have been going to SFGAdv since the park opened and have owned a season pass for over 12 years. I lived through the days of rampant line cutting, the kind that turned a 30 minutes queue into an hour wait. It was only about 10 years ago that the bathrooms were an absolute disgrace in terms of uncleanliness and practically unusable after 11AM. For years a big complaint about SFGAdv was lack of diversity in rides. Unfortunately by the time SFGAdv tried to fix this quite a few of their flats (and coasters) became problematic and/or reached the end of their life cycle. It wasn't that long ago the the list of regularly operating flats at the park consisted of: Big Wheel, Buccaneer, Carousel, Congo Rapids, Log Flume, Jolly Roger, Round-up, Autobahn, Music Express and Twister with following rides standing but rarely operating (Sky Ride, Parachute Jump, Houdini's). Remember this is a huge park they can't fix everything at once, most people were clamoring for more rides, so ride removal areas were neglected, There is no way to ignore that fact. Is SFGAdv perfect? Hell no, but it is viewed as a destination park for a lot of thrill seekers around the world who only care about the coasters and in that regard it delivers. I hear people mention cracked sidewalks and overgrown weeds. Maybe I've been oblivious in my visits this year but where are they. The parking lot? Big deal, it's a place to park your car, not a scenic rest area. We also have more visible and attentive managers and employees today, this was not the case years ago. I see employees picking up after people on the midways, the midways used to have a lot more unattended trash. Also it used to be near impossible to identify a manager, but you now see them throughout the park. Sometimes you get a slow moving ride-op, but I've seen most of them working hard. Then again I only ride a small selection of rides at the park. Guests how don't follow rules slow the lines down a lot more then slow ride operators. The walk from the Boardwalk area to Kingda Ka is still enjoyable, it's lost some of its charm but it doesn't look bad until you get to the Z:DoD entrance. I fully expect this to be fixed in the future. The huge field that used to be Rolling Thunder needs to be addressed, but so do many other areas. To me the big areas for capital improvement are as follows The whole semi-loop from MovieTown to the Big Wheel needs to be redone. The old show area in the Golden Kingdom needs to be re-purposed. The Rolling Thunder footprint needs to be cleaned up. Least we forget the simulator building has been unused for years. Food and parking is expensive, but you get that at most amusement parks and most "entertainment" venues. That's the price you pay for cheap admission to the park.

The big loss here will be one of the remaining Lusse Auto Skooters. The ones here run as good, if not better, than the ones at Knoebels. On the other hand, if Knoebel's acquires the cars, it provides long term feasibility of their classic. http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2014/07/11/hoffmans-playland-news-spins-faster-than-the.html Hoffman's Playland news spins faster than the Scrambler Michael DeMasi- Albany Business Review If the whirlwind of news this week surrounding Hoffman's Playland in Colonie, New York, makes it feel like you just stepped off the Scrambler, here's a recap: Owners David and Ruth Hoffman are calling it quits after 40 years running the Route 9 amusement park, but they aren't going to spend their golden years kicking back in a rocking chair. After a planned auction of the equipment, they will pursue a mixed-use redevelopment of the eight acres. A template for what could happen is next door, where construction continues on the $70 million Village at New Loudon. Although the park is closing for good Sept. 14, there is a narrow window of time to save the rides and move them to an alternate site before they're sold to the highest bidder. Town and county government officials aren't giving up trying to save the park, though the odds are long a viable plan will fall into place. The park, opened by David Hoffman's father, Bill, in 1952, holds special memories for scores of people, and they let their feelings know on social media after the Albany Business Review broke the story. Still, it shouldn't have come as a surprise. The Hoffmans let it be known a year ago they wanted to retire, but they didn't specify a date and left open the possibility the park could be preserved if the right buyer stepped up. The Hoffman name is well-known locally, with various branches of the large, extended family involved in hotels, car washes, apartments and other businesses. They trace their entrepreneurial roots to a small, private lake in Colonie.

It's nice the see the rebuilt Main Street, was very empty looking with it missing during my visit a few years ago.

Do I really hear enthusiasts questioning how the seat belt magically came undone on the brake run. I don't recall the specifics of my rides on Zac Spins, but I know on most other Intamins, I can disengage the seat belt while on the brake run.

Kingda Ka - The fastest coaster that 99.99% of you will ever ride!

^Too much dessert for one person, perfect for two. Glad I could help.

I stopped by for a couple of hours on Monday, July 7th to catch up on the progress of the circus themed Dark Ride. On this visit Chuck had some of the plywood cutouts and props in place as he walked me through the layout of the Dark Ride. There are some gags that I have been asked to keep secret and ones of those gags involves an overactive donkey. A big component of the circus theming will be the tent and tent poles placed over the front of the facade and throughout the ride. Signage for the ride will be cut from sheet metal and illuminated with a neon-like effect giving it a old time look. The nation's premier circus poster painter will also be visiting to create old school banners to hang from the walls of the building. Unfortunately, the walk through Fun House is on hold as the city's newly appointed building inspector changed the rules and is making demands that were not expressed by his predecessor. When the ride is completed, from this focal point you will be able to see into the dark ride through those openings on the right and left. This is the loading platform. As you prepare to enter the building the world's only operating Laughing Louie greets you. The first evil clown you will encounter The falling barrel gag (built by PTC and salvaged from Beech Bend, I believe). A lot of the appearances of the evil clowns will be accentuated with much neon paint Eventually it will be much darker inside once completed. At this point I believe the car will pass through another of the 8 sets of bang doors. Due to all the space inside the building, Chuck had to bend an additional 80 feet of track. Chuck described the ride length as being two rides in one. The beginning will involve a lot of clowns perspective tricks and psychedelic effects added towards the middle of the ride. Just to prove it is not all about clowns. More props to be installed. I don't know if this guy is going in the dark ride but I found him to be creepy. Imagine a tent pole rising from the front porch, with a white tent over the facade. A coupe more photos just to give you perspective on the size of the building. Red White and Blue shingles Wild Bill's initials on the other side. Chuck's friend Michelle ask he asked for a picture so I obliged.

The Chiller

Ka did loose it's fastest title in 2010. For awhile the park was just saying tallest coaster in the world. I think what they're trying to say now is "The tallest and fastest coaster in the world at 45 stories" so I think they mean fastest in the world at 45 stories. It's a weird play on words so that's pretty sneaky of them. Watch the b-roll footage for Zumanjaro and that's what they say at 0:26. Also if you're planning to ride Zumanjaro soon, I'd get try and ride it before 9 PM because I've heard they have been closing it early (along with Kingda Ka) for maintenance. I believe you can but I'd call the park to make sure. well today on channel 11 during the live newscast, the SF lady claimed tallest and fastest in the world. that's a bunch of lies. that's all im pointing out. its false advertising. It's not false advertising, because the message is not paid for by the park. It's false public relations!

I know I'm late to the game, but I finally had the misfortune of riding Goliath with the newer trains today. I agree with everyone who bitches about how awful those trains are, completely destroyed a very enjoyable ride.

Boulder Dash runs better as the day progresses. Go to Quassy first.

Hopefully by then, the state will allow both rides to run at the same time so Ka isn't affected by Zumanjaro anymore. GADV is still fighting the state about this. don't plan on the state to ever allow it, 9 yrs later, Ka never went back to the original layout of the que and guest viewing area. And you know for a fact that Six Flags has been fighting this for 9 years?

I have always preferred Carmex over Blistex and ChapStick, and now I like them even more. http://fox6now.com/2014/07/04/green-bay-amusement-park-could-soon-get-trains-donated-from-family-that-owns-carmex/ “My dad’s big pleasure in life was giving kids rides:” Carmex family donates train to Bay Beach Posted 7:59 pm, July 4, 2014, by Katie DeLong GREEN BAY (WITI) — Most people don’t have trains in their backyard, but one Wisconsin man did! Now, his son is giving those trains away, and he believes he’s found a good use for them. For years, Bay Beach Amusement Park has been a favorite spot for Pat Schroeder’s family. “We’re married 50 years, so I would so that we’ve been coming about 50 years, off and on,” Schroeder said. The city-owned park could be getting a donation from the family that owns the lip-balm company Carmex. Paul Woelbing is the president of Carma Laboratories in the Milwaukee suburb of Franklin. “My dad’s big pleasure in life was giving kids rides,” Woelbing said. He says his late father had 3,000 feet of train tracks in his backyard. “He was just anxious for neighbors to come over or any work associates to come over and give their kids rides,” Woelbing said. Woelbing believes Bay Beach would a great place to honor his dad. He’s been to the park before, and wants to donate three trains. “I just love the idea that it was run by the city and the fact that families can come, and with $20 in their pocket, have a great day,” Woelbing said. Bay Beach has two trains on a small track right now. City leaders have already discussed expanding it. Part of the park’s master plan calls for the train to run under the Zippin’ Pippin Roller Coaster. “Anything that’s added to the park will make everything so much better,” Schroeder said. Schroeder is excited about the possible new trains. Woelbing hopes the donation can happen this year. “It was wonderful when it was small, so it will be even better when it’s bigger,” Schroeder said. Green Bay’s Parks Committee will discuss the donation request at its meeting next Wednesday, July 9th and will explain the plans for the trains after that meeting.

History Museum pictures. Lots of interesting quiz cards. 40 years of brochures Lots of pennants Hi Martin! Sorry for the sun glare, but installing of the iconic Yum Yum Palace decorations. Calypso and Monster ride vehicles Fruit Juice sippers were not just a Florida thing. Rolling Thunder blueprints The monkeys will f' up your car. I do not recall this phase of the park But it's neat that they didn't trash the robot. Now let's return to the present. Zumanjaro - Through the trees El Toro from a different perspective Intamin's new and improved "cable of death"

^Based on this excerpt from a Dallas Business News article than ran after the Texas Giant accident, I think the answer is no. But I'm no insurance expert. "In standard filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, unrelated to this case, the company said it carries “multi-layered general liability policies that provide for … liability coverage of up to $100 million per occurrence.”

I don't live in NJ (I'm Ohioan.) But they seem even more controlling on amusement parks than CA. I'm sure there's some way a rider on the outside edge of SEFK could toss items at LL riders, but CA didn't force timing like this. I'm pretty sure that if you offered to pay the insurance premium differential, Six Flags would change the ride.

Pretty much everything you typically see at a Legoland park. I doubt there would be more than one or two custom rides/attractions at opening.

Zumanjaro - my thoughts after riding today Damn that sucker moves fast when dropping, but it brakes so gradually that it kills forces. Damn you can see far. I saw what appeared to be outlines of tall buildings in the distance, but not sure if it was Philadelphia or Trenton. I would have rather spent an hour riding El Toro non-stop from 10:30-11:30, the ride queue didn't open until 11:30 The park is better off with Zumanjaro, than without it. And that's the most important thing. I will post pictures of the History Museum later today or tomorrow, I loved this little addition.

Karma's a bitch!

^^Canada's Wonderland is not part of Quebec, the French speaking part of Canada.

The old Dueling Dragons. Didn't Batman: The Ride at one of the SF parks (maybe SFStL) have an even longer queue than the other B:TRs?