btp1

I agree with Rapids Nerd...the whirlpool looks really cool! This looks like a really cool ride concept. I don't think that these will ever replace the more traditional raft rides, but I wonder if we will start to see more of these designs pop up?

That guitar photo is the only pic I have seen (not including the drawing). I would really like to see some full plans for this project, as of right now, I find it very hard to try and piece this project together. I really have no idea what it will look like.

Based on the reviews that I am hearing, it makes me almost glad that SFNE didn't get their version... Maybe SF will invest in something worthwhile for next year, but they'll probably keep that stupid football game there instead.

Great TR! I really, really want to get to this park...great photos make the park look great!

They didn't use this drawing to get approval. It's simply a concept put down on a piece of paper to get the public to buy into it. What they showed the government to get this approved were probably actual renderings and far more detailed plans. This is like a teaser...hopefully we'll see some real stuff released soon.

I feel so sorry for the family of this kid. Sure he made an incredibly stupid decision, but, in my mind, no decision deserves death...life is too precious. In such a sue happy society, I wouldn't be shocked to see someone find someway to sue SF. But I'm just going to sit back and let everything develop and then make my final decision on the matter.

Just seeing that empty field sit there makes me pretty ticked...at least show some signs of something worthwhile going into that spot. At least the other parks that got sold off were preserved by some other company... Nice TR! Sorry to here about the poor loading times at Kemah.

Definitely wood...the steel beams wouldn't fit in there, and also I believe that the steel come pre-molded/bent anyway.

Good news...AB is arguably the best park operator that we have in this country, and if it isn't it certainly rivals Disney and Universal. Had the parks been sold and essentially been either closed or decreased in quality, it would have been a huge loss. Hopefully, InBev doesn't get their hands on the company because I've got that funny feeling that they may see things differently in regards to the theme park division.

Just from what I know about the Tidal Force type of rides, I would be shocked to see them remove it. The splashdown style rides seem to be a staple in almost every park. It's partly the huge splash, because you can still cool off and get soaked without having to wait in line (I'm assuming that Tidal Force has some kind of bridge or 'Splash Area' like many parks do).

It looks like he already took it down. There was a photo from the top of the lifthill on the Yankee Cannonball probably halfway through the post.

The more money companies spend on items not essential to their own success, the more risks they are taking. If the theme park business were to take a major plunge, AB would lose money by operating their theme parks. Now, theme parks have nothing to do with the manufacturing of beer, so it is nonessential. Why spend money in areas that you don't necessarily need to boost your company? AB doesn't need the publicity. Nonessential assets create risks, and that is one thing that some companies do not want to deal with.

Nice report! You really are missing something when you skipped out on the Xtreme Frisbee, however, that was a really good one!

Personally I would like to see them scale the project down. From my count, I saw four major coasters on that sketch they call a plan. If they were to cut the project down and make a high quality park with a handful of great rides (a la IOA) and focus on being a regional park for the beginning, then I could see them growing into this masterplan and eventually turning this thing into a full time resort. That 'plan' looks like something I would put together in RCT as a fantasy park. They need to scale back and start small and concentrated, and then branch out.

I live just outside of Boston in Lexington, and my two home parks are Canobie Lake Park and Six Flags New England. Canobie is closer by about an hour, but it isn't in my state, which is why I also included SFNE.

Front row of Yankee Cannonball last week at Canobie Lake Park in New Hampshire.

Here's a very rough overview of what the park may look like. It's more a pencil sketch rather than any kind of rendering, but it at least gives you some kind of idea what they are going for. I can count what appears to be three or four major coasters, but who really knows what will happen at this point. www.decadesusa.com/conceptual-overview/images/AerialView.jpg

I actually really like dark rides. Granted I haven't been on many (I haven't bee to too many parks) but the ones I have been on have all been pretty fun. Spiderman at IOA was tremendous, Mummy at USO was also pretty good. Another one that is quirky but still fun is the Mine of Lost Souls at Canobie Lake Park. It's clearly an older one, and I never really understood how the two mummy scenes work into the whole Grim Reaper/abandoned mine theme, but it is still a fun one. In short: 1. Spiderman 2. Revenge of the Mummy 3. Mine of Lost Souls

If the coaster is a good one, then Team Thriller should be right. All really good coasters have the ability to make the riders to forget about poor theming choices, or just the total lack of theming in general. That being said, theming can add a lot to the overall experience and can take an otherwise average ride and make it really good. If this Terminator thing is correct, this could be one of the worst themes for a wooden coaster ever. SF better make this ride really good, or else the cheesy theming could ruin the experience.

Nice report! The last photos I saw of EG made the park look pretty bad (this was several years ago - back when SF was the manager) but it looks like the new management has cleaned up its act! The park really needs some new original coasters/thrill rides however. Most everything seems to be a copy (except Twister II, of course).

Thanks for the awesome updates! Man I wish I was there...

Thanks for the great photos! This is a park that has always intrigued me, but all you ever see is the Bullet and nothng else. It's good to see some of the other attractions that park has to offer. If I wasn't a college student with a part time job, I would definitely try and make down there.

Yeah it's a scrambler. As I said in my report, it used to be such a good one, now it seems to be so much tamer.

Thanks for the photos! It's really cool to see Dutch Wonderland in photos, especially since I will be a freshman at Franklin & Marshall in the fall. I will definitely have check it out (right after I make my way on over to Herhsey, of course)!

They actually can't. Don't ask me to explain it though...there was an "accident" several years ago when two trains bumped into each other. Since then, the park completely overhauled the whole thing and the ride has never had two train operation since. The confusing part is that they ADDED a computerized system, common knowledge says that a computerized system should allow them to run two trains.