adamico2

Great report, as always. Ummm, no one seems to point out the name Vettle Engineering...EVERY single roller coaster source guide has his name spelled Vettel! Everywhere you can possibly look, thats how its spelled! I knew something with that name looked off, but after reading it out loud I said to myself, "no, that's right." Ha, I'm not going crazy.

A restaurant like this would fit well in EPCOT's Future World.

Old school Kodak symbol!

I made a quick stop at the park on Sunday. The park was pretty much empty, other than the large group of bikers over by the docks. It still needs quite a bit of TLC, especially the back midway where I assume all of the games used to be. The first three drops on Blue Streak were insane!!! I rode in the back seat and felt like I was going to be completely ejected from the train. Thank you for not having seat belts. Beware, at the bottom of the first drop, my knees slammed into the seat in front of me. The outbound track was great, but the inbound track was really slow and boring with no air. I'm sure the ride runs faster when there are more than three people in the train. I also had the chance to ride Devil's Den. What a wacky ride! I experienced some crazy, operator-induced laterals around the turn before the lift. Also the breaks consisted of either the operator grabbing your car, or your car slamming into the one in front of it. Finally, I can confirm that the roll-o-planes are gone. In fact, I didn't even see any evidence of them. I asked the ticket salesman about them. She had no idea they ever existed.

Cascade Canyon, I could never remember the name of those "mat"slides. Thanks Shane. Darien Lake needs to do something about Floodgate Falls; it's really become an eyesore.

I think the front page is great as it is; however, I do have a small suggestion. When the 'more' button at the bottom of the front page is clicked, it takes us to a page listing the same links on the front page. The two at the bottom of that screen must then be clicked to actually access more links. I believe it would be more convenient to have the 'more' button take us straight to page 2.

^^^This is just getting me excited for HWN next weekend. It will be my first visit to Holiday World. I am expecting quit a lot from the Voyage, since my current top two coaster are 1. Ravine Flyer II and 2. The Beast. The two rides are polar opposites, and it even surprizes me sometimes that I rank them right next to each other. Out of the Voyage, I am expecting almost a cross between the two, an aggressive race through the woods but with a ton of airtime.

That was a great report and very eloquently written ( especially from someone who's only 15). I'd like to see this park thrive.

I was at that Bash event too. I remember the outbound track being very smooth, the inbound track being extremely rough, and the helix being almost unbearable. Despite the roughness, however, I still enjoyed the ride.

Great report! It's funny you mention that about Wlide Beast. My opinion of the ride back in 2008 was boring and rough but with two great pops of air.

Well said. Also, it looks like the back of the trail is going to get some serious hang time through the zero-gravity roll.

Although we have not met yet, I am a friend of Big Mike!

Is it just me or does this seem like a twistier version of Cornball Express?

Yes they are painful, but the airtime hill and hops are ridiculous and worth it in my opinion as long as you are prepared. In the B&M/Togo standup discussion, I stand in the middle (pun intended). 1. Riddler's Revenge 2. Sky Rider 3. Mantis 4. Iron Wolf

GCIs usually rank highest in their opening years and then fall slightly and hold for future years. Just an observation...

Excel really makes things easier!

I do agree that this shouldn't feel like Gemini. I do, however, get quite a bit of air time whenever I ride Gemini, the old-school Arrow throw-you-up-slam-you-down type. When interviewed at IAAPA, one of the designers from RMC stated that the new TG should feel more like a wood coaster than a steel one.

There is a $5 fine for undressing in your car!

Here's my top five: 1. Ravine Flyer II 2. The Beast 3. Thunderbolt (Kennywood) 4. Viper (SFGAm) 5. Ligntning Racer

Big Mike,I would like to enter the contest because my favorite part of the Big Mike Road Show is getting to see hundreds of parks in a different light.

My guess is, back in '91, Intamin and B&M hadn't fully split yet. I'm really not sure, though.

I would much rather have a thrilling ride that is rough as hell than a boring ride that's still quite rough.

Middle management is key when it comes time to operations. Internal audits and incentives are great ways to increase capacity. This pretty unrelated, but I was at Seabreeze in Rochester, NY one day and saw a single ride op. dispatching trains on the Jack Rabbit in under thirty seconds. That included crossing the tracks, letting people on the ride, crossing back over the tracks, locking the restraints with the manual lever, checking restraints, and manually dispatching the train.

I never went, but the Travel Channel featured the "Royal Flush" on several of its water park specials.

Those were awesome to read. That reminds me; I have a Boy's Life roller coaster article from 1997. I should dig that out and post it sometime.