LBIJim

I'm curious why an empty raft was in that location. Was it sent around the circuit empty? And if it was stuck there, why didn't anybody notice and stop the conveyor belt until it was removed? Horrible tragedy.

About a dozen stores on the Ocean City boardwalk stay open year round, a few only on weekends. Shriver's candy and the Fudge Kitchen near the Music Pier, the Johnson's Popcorn location near 14th Street, the Christmas store, and a handful of others. Maybe one of the Manco & Manco pizza locations. Ocean City has a year round population of over 10,000, so it's not completely deserted during the off-season. But visiting Playland in November or December? Very unlikely. It's very disappointing that Gale Force didn't open this season.

That house right next to Gale Force was built in 2004, long after the park was in operation. Before that, there was an older rooming house type of hotel on the site, and its small parking lot was next to the old coaster. The proximity of the coaster didn't deter someone from buying the new house, and I suppose it doesn't bother the weekly renters.

Rougarou at Cedar Point. I have no idea what number it is, possibly 450. I stopped counting a decade ago when it was in the high 300s. Or maybe that shouldn't count because it was Mantis. If that's the case, Banshee at Kings Island.

SF Great Adventure on Thursday to validate my season pass and get a few rides in. SF Chicago or St. Louis in July. Kentucky Kingdom (during the State Fair) and Holiday World in August. Possibly SF New England or Washington DC if the mood strikes. Just got back from Cedar Point and Kings Island.

It is included with your admission. It is not an extra charge. Also Six Flags Great America;s Hurricane Harbor is an extra charge, unless you have a season pass. Thanks. Yes, I do have a SF season pass and did the last time I went to Great America in Gurnee, but don't recall whether I had to show it to access the water park there. As far as I remember, there was no extra upcharge in 2011, the most recent time I visited.

I'm considering visiting SF St. Louis for the first time in over 20 years this summer. Is the water park included with general admission like in Chicago or DC, or is it separate ala New Jersey, Magic Mountain or Dallas? Thanks.

That $64.99 combo KI/CP ticket was a great value. Based on what I rode at the two parks, it was worth close to $200 to me. Thanks for the photos.

Millenium Force 3 times to close out Cedar Point on Thursday.

Got my Six Flags season pass voucher last week. Didn't get one last year, and I was going to skip this year as well, but I received an e-mail from them trying to lure me back. $59.99 for Gold Pass good thru Fright Fest, including free parking at any Six Flags park. I'll probably go one day this coming week after work to validate it and get a few rides. Now it looks like a trip or two to Chicago, New England, DC, or possibly Magic Mountain look feasible.

I see a lot of the same on Gatekeeper and Raptor usually. Not because they aren't popular, but because they simply chew through people, combined with the slower early-season days in May. Those coasters are capacity machines. Mantis wasn't as much because of the time it took to adjust the seats, but I'm sure with quicker load times the capacity on Rougarou has drastically increased. No doubt capacity has drastically increased on Rougarou vs. Mantis. Still, there were lines for Gatekeeper and Raptor until the last hour before closing, while Rougarou seemed to be a walk-on by mid-afternoon. I'm sure Rougarou's ridership will increase when the season gets into full swing.

I understand only running one side of Gemini, especially early in the season. Opening the blue side was totally unnecessary that day. I suppose they were just testing it for future use.

Visited Wednesday May 13 (free after 4pm for staying at Breakers Express) and Thursday May 14 (with early entry). Everything except Wicked Twister and the water rides eventually opened, but Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster, Magnum, and various flats were down for certain parts of the days. Rougarou was OK, a good ride, but not great. Been there, done that. No different than a dozen other B&M floorless coasters I've ridden in various other parks over the past 17 years. I know it's very early in the season, and what I witnessed may be an anomaly, but it appears Rougarou may be somewhat of a bust. A one-and-done ride for the visitors those days. Even in mid-afternoon they were sending up trains with empty rows, while most of the other coasters had short but healthy lines. Even Iron Dragon next door was a 10 minute wait. After 6pm almost every Rougarou train had fewer than 10 people riding; some were empty to cycle. Maverick's new restraints are a vast improvement over the old ones. Gemini was only running the red side, but about 5pm on Thursday they started testing the blue side. We raced against an empty blue train, and that side won. I don't know if it eventually opened for riders. Someone vomited after riding MaxAir and they had to close it briefly to hose it down. My longest line was about 20 minutes for Millenium Force about 415pm on Wednesday. Rode it 4 times during early entry Thursday with little wait, and then again 3 times in the half hour before closing. During mid-afternoon it appeared the wait might be about 30 to 45 minutes. Lots of junior and senior high school kids there for Math & Physics days. Mid-week in May was a great time to visit. Also went to King's Island on Tuesday May 12. A great, uncrowded day there as well.

Golden Nugget at Hunt's Pier in Wildwood, NJ. (Haven't tried it at Knobels yet). The Alps at Willow Grove Park in Pennsylvania. The Rattler at Fiesta Texas before the first drop was shortened. Twister at the old Elitch's. The wooden coaster that used to be at the CNE in Toronto. As others have mentioned, Wacky Soap Box Racers at Knott's and Big Bad Wolf at BG Williamsburg. Jim

Saw Neil Young last Thursday night. Opening act was Patti Smith. Went mainly to see Patti Smith, who was great. Neil Young's performance was pretty mediocre. Both performers are even older than me, so I wouldn't be surprised if a large percentage of posters here are unfamiliar with both.

Yes, the piers were built and were maintained up to code. Unless regulations change, rebuilding with wood should be up to code. I'm sure the owners will consider concrete and steel pilings when rebuilding. The last actual hurricane to cause significant damage to the Jersey Shore was in September 1944. But the benchmarch for devastation prior to Sandy was the "Ash Wednesday" nor'easter in March 1962. No doubt the owners, as well as most people who live at the Jersey Shore, knew it was just a matter of time before another disaster occurred. Casino Pier and Funtown are owned by separate entities. They're not literally right next to each other, but rather about 1/2 mile apart from each other. Jim

About 20% of the homes in Seaside Heights/Seaside Park are occupied year round. Jim

Absolutely. That is the key for a tolerable or even somewhat enjoyable Rolling Thunder ride. Sit in the middle row of a car, NOT above the wheels. Jim

I don't mind being forced to watch Dark Knight's pre show at GreatAdventure. Sometimes I watch it; other times I ignore it. But, like you, I won't wait in line for it more than once per visit. I've never had an attendant tell me I can't re-ride if the station is still awaiting the next group of riders. Once or twice when I declined to re-ride they seemed kind of surprised.

Thanks for posting the photos from opening day. My only visit to Fiesta Texas was in July of 1992 and I remember how awesome Rattler looked. Wish I could say the ride was awesome too, but after the first drop and that turnaround, the rest of the course was almost unrideable. Still, I rode it 4 or 5 times since I think it was the only coaster at the park at the time. Even though I was younger and more daring back then, many of the large wooden coasters of the era (Texas Giant, Mean Streak, Hercules at Dorney, etc.) were too rough for my taste, even during their initial seasons.

No, themed areas don't matter to me at all. Neither do individually themed rides. But I don't want a permanent park to look like a State Fair midway or parking lot carnival either. Some shrubs, flowers and general decent landscaping is quite sufficient.

Over the years I've had a recurring dream about trying to ride a coaster. No particular coaster or specific park, but just some random coaster. For some reason something keeps delaying me from getting to the coaster. Or when I finally reach it, the queue is very convoluted, with paths and stairs leading off in illogical directions, such as in a M.C. Escher illustration. I never do get to ride before I wake up. I think I once had a dream that the coaster at the ocean end of Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, NJ, collapsed. Or maybe that part of the pier fell into the ocean. Update: I don't think my dream was a premonition of disaster, just a bizarre coincidence. I hardly remember any details, but I don't think my dream was storm related. More of a structural/engineering issue. Jim

I don't ride Bizarro anymore, but I'm sad to hear of its inefficient operations. I remember by mid-summer of 1999, Medusa's first season, the crews were top notch and really worked with a sense of urgency. The line would often fill all three switchbacks and maybe another 50 people were beyond the entrance, yet the line rarely exceeded 35 minutes. Jim

Hmmm...I noticed on three days the last week in August that El Toro was down for a while. Wonder if one of the trains has been giving trouble and that's the reason for the shutdowns and current one car operation. Hope it's repaired before Fright Fest. Jim

That's been my routine most visits this year. El Toro rarely develops a line before noon; at most it's a two or three train wait. Most days I can ride 3 times in the same seat before the stalls become occupied. I try to ride 5 times before heading elsewhere in the park. Last year I did same thing but with Nitro instead. You can probably ride Nitro 10 times without leaving the platform, switching rows when necessary, but I've never ridden more than 5 consecutive times. Jim