PhantomNick

Obviously I will reserve full judgement until I get to ride Banshee, but if I were to guess, I'm thinking (for me anyway) that Banshee will slide in as my #2 coaster at the park, behind Diamondback......and ahead of the vastly overrated Beast.

Wait a minute.....so there's ANOTHER kick-ass 305-foot giga at some other Cedar Fair park?? Where might that be?

It's a spinning mouse in a house...... Exterminator - Kennywood

^ Thanks, Thad! Glad to hear someone is on board at Worlds of Fun! Good luck to you with your fundraising!! So, that would just leave Valleyfair in search of a Team TPR. Okay, where are our Minnesota members? Anyone? Bueller??

Considering the gate price for each park, I'd be shocked if the park didn't sell plenty of these new combo passes. It seems like a pretty good deal. After this relentless winter we've had up here, I'm really itching to head back to Kennywood and get those first great rides in on Phantom's Revenge, Sky Rocket, and the woodies! Just a little over a month to go!

^^^ That video is such a tease.....but a great one! This coaster looks ridiculously awesome! To those going on the Scandi trip, you are all very lucky to get to ride this puppy!

The more I see of this coaster, the better and better it looks! That first drop is super steep and already is looking awesome! I love the layout too, as it twists and turns all around and through itself. If Lightning Run delivers the kind of ride we all think it might, then we could see a boom potentially for this model, as it could be the perfect fit for many smaller to mid-sized parks looking to deliver a thrill at a modest size and price.

For the past several years, TPR member Kara had worked with GKTW and poured her heart and soul into that wonderful place. In particular, she was very passionate about this event, as she was the main contact/coordinator for it. She has moved on to even better things, but I always felt like she shared some amazing stories on here about some of the magic that happens at GKTW every day. In honor of her tremendous work and dedication to making Coasting for Kids the best event it could be each year, I'd like to revisit some of her touching posts and stories. Folks, THIS is why we do this each year and are so passionate about the cause. These stories go to show what kind of impact your fundraising can make! Keep at it, Team TPR, so we can make the biggest impact yet!! First up is this touching letter Kara shared from a family who stayed there..... Amelia

El Toro @ Six Flags Great Adventure (a.k.a. the best roller coaster I have ever ridden, and as of now my unquestioned #1!!)

Ravine Flyer II - Waldameer (with its gorgeous view of Lake Erie from atop the lift!)

Looking forward to seeing this bad boy continue to get built. I'm not sure which new drop tower ride will freak me out more - this or Falcon's Fury at BGT. I think it would be kinda crazy to be on the far end of this one as a Kingda Ka train zooms past! I love drop towers but they are the one ride that can still make my pulse quicken quite a bit! Don't know when I'll return to SFGAdv, but when I do, I will be psyched to ride Zumanjaro. As for the drop tower pieces being orange, I don't really see what the problem is with that. It stands out, and with a ride like this, why wouldn't a park want a bright color to draw attention to the ride?

Yep, same for me! I'm really looking forward to it. It's kinda funny, but thanks to Club TPR and the parks, this is the 2nd year in a row I'll be kicking off my coaster season at a media day event! Banshee looks like it should be a lot of fun!

I'm sitting back and just enjoying the speculation/discussion swirling through this topic. Sounds like it will be a very exciting announcement!! And kudos for this place wanting to put itself on the coaster map! I saw a photo trip report someone posted, and it already looks like a fantastic zoo/animal park! Looking forward to hearing more details soon.

Jason, thank you for posting that! I totally agree with the notion of other Team TPR members sharing what strategies work for them in regards to the fundraising. It can especially be helpful for some of our new participants this year. I also agree with your sentiments about why this is pretty much the BEST event all year for us coaster enthusiasts, because it really makes a difference for such a worthwhile cause. I'm sure we all share in your goal to have Team TPR be the top team at each park, and Team TPR members be the top individual fundraisers at each park! I would also like to thank you for joining up again with Team TPR! Every year, you do some amazing fundraising work, and Team TPR is happy/lucky to have you onboard. I'm always blown away by the totals you post for GKTW! This year I switched to KD, so I am definitely looking forward to meeting some great new people, and you are certainly one of them! See you there in June, and best of luck with your fundraising this year (though it sounds like you don't really need it! )

Alright, so Team TPR has bumped up to $2,946 raised overall! As you can see, we are VERY close to breaking $3,000!! So, who's going to make that donation that puts us up over $3k??

^ Totally agreed, that's pretty much how I ride Maverick too. With the one exception that I always have my hands up for that initial kick butt drop!! Let me be clear by prefacing this with the fact that I have no problems with Maverick's restraints. That said, considering how much I loved the ones on I-305, I do still wonder what those would be like on Maverick. They could possibly make an already pretty perfect coaster even more perfect!

^ I'll just say that one of the more recent coasters they had a hand in breaks that pattern and is anything but underwhelming - Phantom's Revenge. And that ride, chalked full of "bucking bronco" ejector air, is what gives me high hopes for Lightning Run. It's looking great so far, and I truly believe this coaster will be the surprise smash of the 2014 season! And kudos to KK for inroducing something different!

Silly.....Y doesn't come right after E in the alphabet! Intimidator @ Carowinds

Chuck, as someone who visits this great park fairly often, what are your thoughts on the prospect of BGW getting a wooden coaster of some kind at some point? Do you think that's something that could "fit", or do you tend to think they'd stay with the steel coaster route? Just something I've wondered about, and I was curious for a trusted local's opinion.

Comet at Waldameer

Thanks, Dustin! I appreciate it! The first page is now updated, and includes links to all the individual fundraiser pages for all current Team TPR members at the 9 parks where a Team TPR is setup. Don't forget, for those planning to sign up at Valleyfair or Worlds of Fun, we still need a Team TPR created at each of those parks!!

Well, today is St. Patrick's Day, and we all know most people love to celebrate with something green - they wear green, they drink green beer, etc. But here's a thought: what if, in honor of St. Patty's Day, we got TPR members to donate some green to this wonderful cause?? Through these first couple weeks, Team TPR has already raised $2,716 for GKTW! (as of 6pm today) However, I'd love to see that number hit $5,000 by the end of this week! Come on, TPR members, let's embrace this St. Patty's Challenge! Donating is easy! Head over to the first page, and you will see a list of every Team TPR participant, along with a link to their fundraising page. Right now I have all the links up for the first 6 parks, and I'll get the rest of them up later this evening. (Incidentally, this means that moving forward, I need you to PLEASE POST in here when you join a TPR team, so I can then go update the lists. Thanks!) Pick a friend, pick someone random, and donate! Help us hit $5k by the end of this week!! I know we can do this.....Go Team TPR!!

^ That's an awesome pic (and optical illusion), Chuck! Great update of the passholder preview, and it's great to see my wife and I's favorite park (of the ones we've been to thus far anyway) back to life. Quite frankly, considering how brutal this winter has been in the east/northeast, it's really just great to see any park in the area back up and running! Makes me believe that Spring has to be coming soon!

That roar reminds me of Raptor at Cedar Point.....which is not a bad thing at all! Now, we can only hope it rides closer to how Raptor does versus some of their newer inverts that have gotten less than favorable reviews. That said, I'm loving the way this looks and I cannot wait to ride it one month from today!!

^ I think you are seriously confused. You seem to think that this new ownership just now tore down Zoomerang. News flash, it was removed in 2012! Further, your claims that this Koch ownership group "doesn't like" or "doesn't know how to operate" steel coasters is ludicrous. Can you tell me where they've ever said that? Yes, their "niche" seems to be with wooden coasters, but to then take the leap of faith that their parks would not get or operate a steel coaster is pretty silly in my opinion.