PhantomNick

Untamed

^ I dunno, those Mega-Lites are over pretty quick too, and I don't see anybody unhappy with those! And to me, that's what Skyrush looks like - a super-sized Mega-Lite!!

That name really is terrible! But the public gobbled it up and picked it, so what do I know?

I too hope it gets new life somewhere else. When I made my first trip to the park in 2006, it was a bummer to see it sitting there, looking like a cool ride I'd enjoy, but idle and closed. I'm always a sucker for lapbar-only inversions! As for their new Star Flyer, if I'm thinking correctly, won't this one be the tallest one built in the US so far? I think it will add nicely to the park's skyline.

^ You, sir, are a brave soul.....VERY brave!! But that's a really great idea, so kudos!

Thank you! It's been a little while, but expect another Coasterbration update really soon!!

Yeah, I'm thinking Steel Force will be their pick as well.....which is a-ok by me! Dorney is one of my favorites as well, and I've always had a great time there! I'm about 5-ish hours away, so I was actually thinking of heading out Saturday, going to the park later in the day, then just staying a night at one of the hotels across the street. Then I'll be ready to rock and roll for GKTW on Sunday! I'm really proud of the job our Team Dorney has done so far, and I hope we can keep it up! Also looking forward to meeting all of you out there!

This is a really cool idea, Derek! I'm going to guess Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure. Good luck with your fundraising!!

Nice to see the completed track work on this gorgeous coaster! Those airtime hills definitely look like they're ripe with potential airtime! I'm digging those turns on the far end of the course too, as the one looks banked pretty close to 90 degrees. The station is looking very elegant as well. Can't wait to see some testing!

Hey there Big Mike!! Long-time BMRS reader, first time poster! This thread is simply epic, and I enjoy all of your reports and adventures. Congrats on landing Megan as well.....you two look like a perfect fit together! I wish you guys nothing but the best!! When I saw your itinerary for 2012, I was very happy to see you would also be attending the Cedar Point Spring Conference! I know there may be lots of people there, but I think it'd be awesome to meet the Big Man in person! Life would be complete for this coaster rider! So, here's hoping! I'll be keeping an eye if/when you swing by Kennywood this year too, as I'd be happy to share a Sky Rocket ride with ya. That little coaster is a hidden gem at my home park, in my humblest opinion.

Thank you, Nicole!! Lacey was so touched by your comment that she suggested I donate to your page.....she really is a smart dog! And besides, I can't say no to her little fur-face, so I just sent a donation your way. Good luck with your fundraising, and I will see you at Dorney!!

Is that squirrel picture from Knoebels? Thought I'd take a shot at it! It's really cool getting to know the riders who are participating! Great job everyone!

First off, I wanted to thank Sue (whoever you are) for jump-starting the donations on my page! Thank you very much! And I've already started to get my fundraising into full swing. I've emailed family, friends, and coworkers, along with posting info to my Facebook page and sending out private Facebook messages. The initial response has been humbling and truly overwhelming. I thank everyone for their support thus far! But it's not just me, not by a long shot.....the continual outpouring of support from TPR is awesome. Keep up the amazing work everyone, from the riders who are continually added to the park rosters to the many generous folks donating to the various rider's pages. And since June 10 is still a long way off, I've enlisted our dog Lacey to give some advice on what to do as Team TPR blazes a path down this fundraising trail! Sheriff Lacey says "I've got my eyes on you all....keep those donations coming to ALL of Team TPR!!" Donating is super easy.....and Lacey's ready to show you how..... Just grab your purse (or wallet) and visit a rider's page to place your donation! Then celebrate your generosity by kicking back and enjoying a cold one! Wasn't that easy?? Seriously, don't be a weenie, help support Team TPR and Give Kids The World!!!

I know I'm a little late to the party, but I just signed up to participate at Dorney Park! I've been wanting to do this event for a couple years now, but work conflicts have forced me to miss it. I was thrilled to see this year's event moved to June, and I am very eager to start fundraising for this amazing and wonderful cause! The fact that I also can be a member of Team TPR is just awesome!! Here's the link to my fundraising page - http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/nickmcsparrin/DorneyPark I am so proud of our fantastic website community here for all the participants and overwhelming support so far! You guys and gals are all amazing! Please keep the support coming, and we can make this the greatest Coasting for Kids event yet!! As for me, my name is Nick. I've been riding roller coasters since I was 4, and I really became a true coaster enthusiast when I hit my teen years. I live just outside of Pittsburgh with my lovely wife Erin and our dog Lacey. Our home park is Kennywood, and we really enjoy gathering with friends and family, traveling to new places (both parks and otherwise), and most importantly having FUN wherever we end up! I also enjoy our local sports scene, including our beloved Pens! (Sorry Derek.....hopefully no floggings will result when we're riding at Dorney Much respect to your Flyers though, as they are always a formidable foe.) This organization we are supporting for this event is one of the coolest ones I've come across, and I am beyond excited to be able to help out! And now, so you can put a face with a username..... Here I am! This was me basking in the newly discovered joy that is the Flash Pass! Having some NYC fun! Taking in a Pens game

The fine folks over at Kennywood Connection have posted an album with some great off-season pictures from a recent visit to the park, including quite a few showing off Black Widow's construction progress! Also included are a few pics showing off some general park improvements. Check them out here - Kennywood 2012 Off-season/Black Widow construction pics Teaser pic (courtesy of Kennywood Connection) - We have feet! Giant frisbees are my favorite flat ride, so I'm really looking forward to Black Widow, especially considering the rave reviews the Giant Discovery models have gotten on here! The new pavers look really sharp as well.

First off, I want to send a huge thanks out to Ccron for the countless updates throughout Skyrush's construction! I know you don't have to do that at all, but it is certainly greatly appreciated!! Kudos! That said, I just want to say that your last picture in that update - the panoramic shot - is absolutely gorgeous! Just wow. I can't recall the last time I've been this excited to ride a new coaster that wasn't at my home park (Dragster in 2003 springs to mind as the last one). The layout just looks fantastic, and each update that shows the construction getting closer and closer to completion gets me even more pumped to ride! Bring on the summer!

Time to get right to Part 2 from Six Flags Great Adventure! Hmmm, what's in here?? Why it's Kingda Ka! The King of.....uhh.....Ka? And that, folks, is the tallest roller coaster on Earth The tower Umm, yeah, it's just a smidge tall! From the parking lot, you really get a scope for how gigantic this thing is! 456 feet of fun! Although, when I returned here with my wife in the summer of 2011, her exact words when we parked and she saw this were "Oh no.....oh HELL no!!" Ka's 2nd (and airtime-free) hill Ready to go 128 mph? I really liked Kingda Ka, but in the age-old debate I have to say I like TTD much better Gertrude relative perhaps?? The skyride, which was unfortunately down both days Only pic of Runaway Train, so might as well be of the airtime jolt that totally took me by surprise! Now THAT is a ride sign! Flume drop Skycoastin' Steve, this one's for you Before Bizarro, there was Medusa (don't look in her eyes!!) Standing tall in frontier land Yeah, you know you like some lift hill porn.... Loooop! I'm a cobra....hisssss! For some reason I like this shot Zero-G love And now, what you've all been waiting for - TGET!! So fitting this particular statue is there, as this coaster also has some big balls! Even from the outside, you start drooling with excitement when you first spot "The Bull" B....E....A.... ....UTIFUL!! Ka's the biggest, but TGET is the best! Awesome sauce right there Turn around.......every now and then I....oops! This isn't karaoke! To quote Mr. Alvey - "Twistyyyy" You think Rolling Thunder has coaster envy? Who wants some pics of that delicious first drop? What.....a......DROP!! Back row + this first drop = Airtime nirvana (this math lesson brought to you by TGET) More "butt launched from seat time" You can just hear the squeals of joy....along with the Intamin fart! Wait for it..... Ahhh, yeah, that's the good stuff! And that wraps up Six Flags Great Adventure and our first Coasterbration! Another update is on the way soon....thanks for reading!

Great report and photos, as always! Always good to see the Extravaganza back for another season full of fun updates!!

I'm liking the efforts the park is taking to address an area of Voyage that has been reported to be rather rough in spots. And I'm sure the Timberliners, when finished, will help immensely. Also, I've admittedly never been a huge waterpark fan, but with these water coasters like Mammoth, that may have to change!!

Greetings, friends of TPR!! I've always thought some of the coolest topics on here are the "mega-threads" (ones like Big Mike's Road Show, Skycoastin' Steve's, or Erik and Smisty's). I've always marveled at the dedication that users show in keeping the larger topics updated. So I thought to myself, what the heck, let's give this a shot! And with that, let this train wreck commence!! The "Coasterbration" is actually as simple as it sounds - a coaster celebration, documenting our travels to different parks and places, all while riding coasters along the way! The updates could be from many years ago, or they could be from this upcoming season (and future ones). I'm not looking for a set structure really.....whatever sounds good at the time will find its way here! All updates will be kept track of below, in this handy-dandy little list: 2012 Coasterbration #1 - Six Flags Great Adventure (Parts 1 & 2), 2006 (below) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Let's get this party started! Our first shiny update goes back to 2006, for my first ever visit to Six Flags Great Adventure! This place was always pretty high on my to-do list, and once they plopped down Kingda Ka and The Great El Toro (TGET from here on out) in consecutive years, I knew I simply had to head out there. So, my dad and I packed up and headed out to the wonderful land of Jersey! Six Flags Great Adventure is a great park (ironically enough), and from a coaster standpoint, this park is awesome!! There are many fantastic coasters, and then there's TGET setting the standard for just about every other coaster in the country. Seriously folks, TGET is in another league when it comes to roller coasters.....but many of you already know that! As it turned out, this was TGET's opening year, and by sheer dumb luck our 2nd day at the park ended up being the opening day for it. Naive and not realizing the greatness of the Flash Pass, I only managed 1 ride on TGET. But even then, I knew this coaster was world-class when it comes to wooden coasters. Thanks to a return trip this past summer, I only reaffirmed this truth over and over again, thanks to some help from everyone's buddy - Mr. Flash Pass! My only real wish for the park was that they would've been a bit more balanced and had more flat rides. Thankfully, it looks like that trend might be turning around. I think this year's additions are a huge step in the right direction. But enough of my babbling, let's get to Part 1 of the pics!! This particular summer was the park's 45th anniversary The weather was really perfect most of our 2 days there I like me some giant wheels! Oddly though, I didn't ride it this trip This >> stupid trampoline thing Lights.....camera......COASTERS!! Sadly closed..... .....but it looked pretty cool! Nana nana, nana nana, nana nana, nana nana.....Batman!! Being from Pittsburgh, I'm a fan of the colors It was pretty cool they let me park my wheels inside the park! Old school intensity Batman swoops like a mofo I can't seem to remember what the name of this coaster is..... Simply put, Nitro is about 8 shades of awesome! Takin' the plunge For the lift enthusiasts Such a great first drop, especially in the last row My humps....my humps, my humps, my humps!! For a supposedly threatening skull, he sure does cry a lot! I like the look of their "Boardwalk" section All goes downhill from here.....believe it or not, no pun intended! Loops o' death....double the loops, double the pain! Great American Scream Machine overview Cue the Superman theme music A parking lot coaster? Here?!? Preposterous! Superman: Ultimate Flight overview Flyers can be rather tame, except in this glorious element Mmmmm, pretzel-y..... The park's unique looking carousel And what's this I see towering in the distance?? That's all for now.....Part 2 coming up soon, including a King and, of course, plenty of TGET!

^^ I hope that isn't the case quite honestly. Like I said, X-Flight looks great and all, but I was really a fan of Bizarro. I am looking forward to seeing some of the theming elements get put in place on X-Flight, especially the keyhole fly-through.

Although I will admit that Wild Eagle is much more intriguing to me than this wing-rider, I have to say that X-Flight still looks really good! I do love the inversion into first drop moment right off the bat. And I think it is a nice addition to an already well-rounded coaster lineup! Add to that the fact that they also were able to ditch that waste of steel called Iron Wolf? Well, that's just a lovely bonus, as the Wolf of Iron was easily the worst coaster in the park when I visited back in 2008.

^ Agreed! That last picture of it just looks so amazingly.....funky! I love that it's not the more common hammerhead-type turnaround or even a standard helix. Truth is, this whole coaster has really caught my eye as construction has progressed! I really like the look of the hills that are done, and the colors look quite slick too. Admittedly, it will be quite a while before I ever make it over there, but if and when I do, this park has got to be tops on my list for Spain!!

For me, the most exciting coaster of 2012 is easily Skyrush at Hersheypark. I'm sure part of that excitement is heightened by the fact that I will actually be able to ride that one this summer! In all honesty though, Skyrush really looks like it will deliver the best ride out of any of the 2012 coasters (and many of them do look great!). I really feel like Skyrush might end up being the closest thing in the US to a mega-lite/Expedition GeForce. And if it is (the more seasoned coaster riders will have to make that judgement call), then it will likely vault towards the top of my list! After that, there are a couple other ones that are one way or another exciting, just on a slightly lesser scale. Those would be Leviathan (probably my 2nd most anticipated 2012 coaster), Wild Eagle, Europa's woodie, the B&M invert at Parc Asterix (and its associated theming that looks nooothing like Montu ), and Verbolten.

Those trains look pretty sweet! I'm a big fan of coaster trains themed like cars, and hearing that the headlights will work? That's just an extra bonus! I'm very intrigued to hear reviews of how this one rides once it opens up!