larrygator

I'm at the park for The Joker construction tour. I'll post more photos and info later today.

The owner of the ride is not looking for a permanent home. Wherever the coaster goes, customers will be charged a cost each ride, unless an entity coughs up big bucks to convince the otherwise. Wiener Prater customer's are familiar with the cost per ride model throughout the park and it probably only ended up there this season in recognition of the park's 250th anniversary. It will not end up in the US unless it is taken off the touring circuit.

^^Thanks for the post. I read earlier this week on some fan sites that the coaster would be installed at the park for the summer, but had not seen any confirmation.

Using the word proof might just be a language error from KingRCT since I think English is not his native language. However, since Standard Amusement has not even renewed their contract to run Rye Playland I can't see them contracting a big expenditure beforehand.

Thanks for the news coasterbill For those that don't want to click through to the Journal News website here is the article Standard Amusements would invest $30 million in addition to Westchester County's $58 million of capital work. RYE - The company set to manage Playland wants to build a new steel roller coaster and a second marquee ride that would be visible to parkgoers as soon as they step from their cars in a refurbished parking lot. Standard Amusements shared renderings this week with The Journal News showing the company’s vision for the future of the embattled and financially neglected county-owned park. “This place is going to be a gem, it’s going to be an absolute gem and a huge asset to Westchester County for generations to come,” Nicholas Singer, the investor behind Standard, said in a telephone interview. A plan is in place to hand over management of the park to Standard, pending approval by the county Board of Legislators of an amended contract that includes a promise that Westchester, as the landlord, will invest $58 million into the park's deteriorating infrastructure. Price tag a focus Some legislators expressed “sticker shock” at the county’s contribution — Standard will invest $30 million in addition to that figure — but a spokesman for County Executive Rob Astorino said it shouldn’t be a surprise. “These are the county’s capital projects,” spokesman Ned McCormack said. “These are things we contemplated on our own.” The $58 million represents 11 different projects, including redoing the parking lot and removing the miniature golf course from a refurbished fountain plaza, where Standard plans to open a boardwalk-fronted new restaurant. Two projects totaling nearly $20 million would repair the colonnades and towers in the park — but lawmakers and the company can opt to put off that work to reduce Westchester's price tag. Aspects of the plan, including a proposal to replace the public pool with a waterfront vista, have drawn some scrutiny as the review gets underway. Legislature Vice Chairman Jim Maisano even said he wasn’t prepared to vote for an amended plan that would raze the pool. The company is amenable to keep the pool and have it repaired, but prefers to keep it as a vista. Representatives have expressed concern that repairing the pool, which has low average daily attendance and leaks tens of thousands of gallons of water a day, could cost the county more than $10 million rather than the $4 million needed to make the area a Sound-view vista. Deadline approaching The company has an opt-out clause in the deal that expires at the end of this month, after it was extended from the fall. Although the legislature is reviewing the amended deal and associated construction projects, the deadline might need to be extended again. Astorino has sought a company to take over management of the park since he came into office in 2010. Standard was chosen last year after a nonprofit set to run the park backed out of the deal. Singer said his company has "never been more excited" and is aiming to take over as sole operator by October 2017. “We just can’t wait to get going,” he said. “We need to get through this last hurdle and we’re off and running to make this place great.”

My apologies. Based on what you posted I was commenting on the aspect of extra hours, but agree with you that a park should be upfront about hours and ride availability.

How much does a Cedar Fair season pass cost? How much does a Six Flags season pass cost? You have to pay more to get more.

No idea, but its capacity of about 80 riders per hour could not have helped

Seriously! Descent = drop Ascent = rise Descends from Stratosphere Tower, THEN ascends up the second tower

Their home page is quite amusing. "TODAY'S SPECIAL. THIS OFFER ENDS AT MIDNIGHT. Save Up To $120 Off Nightly." Along with a countdown to midnight timer to hammer the message home. Except TODAY'S SPECIAL has been exactly the same every day for about a month. If you click on the Mt. Olympus website more than once you are doing it wrong.

Completely agree about the Honey Walnut Chicken and Beijing Beef. Although the Beijing Beef looks and tastes like nothing I saw in Beijing.

2010 KIA Forte - Two payments left.

Interesting. I just checked 4 different reputable websites and each said practically the same thing about rainy season in Tokyo. Rainy season starts in June and stretches through July. Late July is less rainy than early July but still one of the wettest months.

Moving on, any word on the piles of gravel? They were topped with a light dusting of snow yesterday morning.

Very odd that I don't remember a lot of those old commercials, but I do vividly remember the old Six Flags commercial for Freefall starring stuntman Dar Robinson.

Sounds like they are more concerned about filling up their hotel rooms.

Sorry to see the flume closing, that duck scared the crap out of me when I rode.

English majors don't make boilers. Since you are Canadian, you are excused.

Please discuss in this thread

I'm interested in how this turns out. I'll sometimes ride splash battles if I'm with a large group of friends but pass if visiting alone. An enclosed splash battle would change my thinking and i would certain ride.

Let's at least give credit to where you took the photo from. This photo and photos of the Timber Wolf retrack and reprofiled can be found on Worlds of Fun dot org 's Facebook page. Wrong. WOF and Worlds of Fun dot org posted two entirely different photos. Please check your facts before calling out other users and hurting their credibility. Doesn't change the fact that he failed to give photo credit regardless of the source. Check and mate. PhantomPoster32 will be serving a one week ban. To be clear, TPR would like everyone to recognize and sources photos but we do not need senseless back and forth arguments nor almighty attitudes

It looks like Dania Beach Hurricane demolition will finally begin on March 10 http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/fl-roller-coaster-torn-down-20160219-story.html Hurricane wooden roller coaster to be torn down March 16 The Hurricane roller coaster is scheduled to be disassembled March 16 so developers can build a shopping center. Paul Owers Sun Sentinel The old Hurricane roller coaster in Dania Beach will soon make its final plunge. The 100-foot-tall wooden ride visible from Interstate 95 will be taken down starting at 10 a.m. March 16, making way for a 1 million-square-foot shopping center called Dania Pointe. But those looking for a dramatic implosion or souvenirs will be disappointed. The roller coaster will be disassembled piece by piece, and the process could take weeks, said Paul Puma, president of the southern region for New York-based Kimco Realty. Citing safety concerns, Puma said onlookers will not be allowed to take home parts of the roller coaster. Still, he said the event will be a big deal for the community. "It will be the most visible sign of progress when people see that roller coaster come down," he said. "We will not be wiping away any tears. It's a celebration." Kimco is developing the 102-acre Dania Pointe east of I-95 at Stirling and Bryan roads in a joint venture with Master Development of Aventura and Salzman Real Estate Advisors of Dania Beach. The developers had said the long-shuttered Hurricane would be torn down in 2015, but signing leases and getting city approvals for the shopping center were bigger priorities. The Boomers entertainment complex closed early last year as the developers assembled land for Dania Pointe. No signed leases have been announced. But the 35-acre first phase, which will include discount retailers and "big box" stores, is expected to open in the fall of 2017. The second phase, which will include more retailers, restaurants, 1,000 residential units and two hotels, will follow in the fall of 2018. By that point, construction should be started on 150,000 to 200,000 square feet of offices, Puma said. Barry Wolfe, a vice president of investments at Marcus & Millichap in Fort Lauderdale, said the "mega-project" likely will attract patrons from Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. The Hurricane, which opened in 2000, was built with more than a million feet of lumber and 8 million pounds of concrete. It was known as the tallest wooden amusement park ride in Florida. But it closed in 2011, the victim of a sagging economy, and some local officials consider it an eyesore for a city trying to boost its image. A handful of people held wedding ceremonies on the ride in its heyday. In 2009, Avi Frier, a magician and entertainer in Hollywood, pulled an escape while riding the roller coaster. City Commissioner Albert Jones said he expects a large crowd next month, with kids and adults alike clutching cameras and iPhones to capture the Hurricane's last stand. "I'm quite sure it holds sentimental value, and a lot of people will hate to see it go," Jones said. "But we have to move forward. It's a new beginning."

This was the latest information/article from October, 2015. Standard Amusements has a deadline date on March 31st, 2016 to bow out of their current arrangement or to move fully steam ahead. Standard Amusement has already paid the count over $500,000 which another $1.7 million due is the arrangement continues. http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/2015/10/19/standard-amusements-gets-extension-playland-option/74220314/ Standard Amusements gets extension on Playland option Richard Liebson, rliebson@lohud.com 9:26 p.m. EDT October 19, 2015 The management company hired by Westchester County to run Playland has been granted a five-month extension of its option to bow out of the deal. Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino approved the extension to Standard Amusements Inc., on Friday — the original deadline for the company to terminate the agreement or make a $2.25 million payment to the county and begin taking over full management of the aging amusement park. In exchange for the extension, Standard Amusements made a $25,000 payment, saying the extra time was needed to continue its study of Playland and develop a management plan. "If Standard Amusements wasn't interested in Playland, we wouldn't have asked for the extension," said Nicholas Singer, a partner in the company. "We simply need more time to conduct the due diligence necessary to ensure that our development and completion of the project will be successful." The extension gives Standard Amusements a new deadline of March 31. Until then, it will continue to co-manage the Rye park with the county. In addition to the $25,000, the company has already paid Westchester $500,000 of the $2.25 million it was supposed to pay up front as part of the agreement negotiated by the Astorino administration and unanimously approved in June by the county Board of Legislators. The deal calls for Standard Amusements to invest an additional $22.75 million during the first five years of the 15-year agreement to refurbish the park. The county is planning a number of capital improvements at Playland, and Astorino said the extension for Standard Amusements gives the company more time to integrate its plans with those improvements. "One of the strengths of the deal is that it is a public-private partnership, but that also adds a layer of complexity that requires adequate time to be managed successfully," said Astorino, a Republican. Saying that the county's agreement with Standard Amusements "required some very detailed explanations of how capital improvements would be made at the park, and who would be responsible for them," Board of Legislators Chairman Michael Kaplowitz, a Democrat, said the company's extension request is "an indication that those complex issues are being addressed." "After years of working on a plan that will literally save Playland, I think the addition of a few months to the transition process is reasonable and in fact prudent," he said. Legislator Catherine Parker, D-Rye, said that while she was OK with the extension, she criticized the administration for approving it unilaterally. "The Board of Legislators should have been informed," she said. "We're partners in this agreement and we shouldn't be cut out of any part of the process." If the final deal comes to fruition at the end of March, Standard Amusements will manage the park, parking lot, beach, pool area and boardwalk at Playland. The facility is expected to open on schedule in the spring for the 2016 season.

A discussion thread for Connyland will not happen at this time Please feel free to start a thread about the big scary mountain that is being built at Connyland. When there are a sufficient number of threads about a certain park, then we consider combining them into a park discussion thread.

It appears Legoland's expansion into the Northeast US may still be alive http://www.lohud.com/news/ Legoland officials eyeing move to Ramapo Alex Taylor, artaylor@lohud.com 11:50 p.m. EST February 18, 2016 RAMAPO — Legoland executives visited Suffern on Thursday and have started discussions with officials about building a $250 million mega-theme park on the site of the former Novartis plant and 67 acres of town property. Representatives of Merlin Entertainments had previously pitched the project for Letchworth Village property in Haverstraw, only to be rebuffed by officials in October amid overwhelming neighborhood hostility. Behind the scenes, however, Ramapo officials have been trying to keep the county in play ever since. Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence met with Merlin representatives at 2 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza in Montebello along with a delegation of elected and business officials from Montebello, Suffern, Rockland County and the Ramapo Central school district "It was really a conceptual meeting to see if there was interest in the site and where we could go from here," St. Lawrence told The Journal News after leaving the 90-minute meeting. St. Lawrence said other locations were still in the running including Orange County and New Jersey. "They've always liked Rockland County," he said. "The proximity to New York City is very important to them. Access to the site from the Thruway would be a key issue." Merlin Entertainments, a London-based conglomerate that's second only to Disney in the competitive world of theme-park attractions, already has built Legolands in California and Florida, but wants to build another one on the East Coast. The gigantic amusement park proposed for Haverstraw in 2014 called for rides, a water park and a hotel. But residents expressed concern that the crowds - attendance was pegged at 2 million visitors a year - and traffic would overwhelm northern Rockland. There were accusations of backdoor business negotiations. Rumors that town officials had flown to Florida and California to visit Legolands in those states set off a storm on social media that eventually caused officials to back down. Supporters continue to tout the benefits the complex would bring — mainly millions in sales tax revenue. If built, the theme park would be a dramatic turnaround for the county's tourist industry as well as cement St. Lawrence's reputation for having transformed the face of Rockland's largest municipality. Projects approved in his eight terms include the $200 million sewer extension project in Western Ramapo as well as the $60 million Provident Bank Park. In cash-strapped Suffern, Mayor Ed Markunas cheered a potential deal. "It's enticing," he said, speaking by phone. "The impact - on finances, on jobs - would be beneficial." Both Markunas and St. Lawrence called for Merlin Entertainments to run a public outreach campaign that would nourish public and community backing for the project from the outset and avoid the kind of opposition that doomed the North Rockland proposal. "The public would need to be brought into this conversation," St. Lawrence said. The vast Novartis' campus at 25 Old Mill Road sits on 162 acres in Suffern and Montebello. In 2014, Basel, Switzerland-based company announced it would close the plant and eliminate or transfer 525 jobs.