Maverickrocks

^^ and ^Yeah it was those beams. I've just never noticed them before

Exactly, a full-circuit adult invert is the main gap in KI coaster selection right now. It would be great if they could demolish SoB and put in a B&M invert in its spot. That would not only fill the void, but also help restore Action Zone, which has rapidly become the weakest area of the park since Diamondback and Firehawk moved in. Much like Diamondback, I think a B&M invert could be a huge hit with guests, espically since a lot of KI's visitors don't really have easy access to one, as Cixot hinted. Too bad money dosen't grow on trees, although since KI is now a CF park that's probably a good thing. CF would be in a lot of trouble if it did .

I went up to the Point today, and rode Paddlewheel Excursions to look at the construction. I noticed some new construction (at least I think its brand new)...it looked like a small building. Right now it consists of wood frames, and it's pretty narrow, so it looks like something that would be used for storage. I didn't get a great look at it, but it was towards the inner center of the island. If the ride wasn't so rushed, I probably could have gotten a picture. And btw, for a day in July, today was very uncrowded. Longest wait I had was 45 min. Going when there's a chance of rain can often prove to be a good decison.

Michigan's Adventure tomorrow. And I'm going on my first SLC....

^Yeah, Montu gets so much praise but I just don't get it. Very little force and I didn't really feel the speed like on some of the other inverts I've been on. The highlights of the ride were the smoothness and scenery/theming. Maybe it's just a front seat ride? I rode in the back and twice in the middle, prehaps I didn't get the full effect.

I've been on five of them so far, including the top three in the poll. I'd choose Alpengeist as the best. It's a notch above all of the others for me.

Both are great parks for what they specialize in. But since this is a family vacation, I'd say Universal...they're isn't as much to do as a family at CP wheras almost everything is a family attraction there. Plus you have access to other stuff like world class beaches, the space center, etc., wheras there's less to do in the area of CP and the stuff that is there is mediocre compared to what you would get around Orlando. You should save CP for another occasion, maybe a trip with friends. It's an amazing park but Universal is more ideal in this case, and this is coming from a semi-CP fanboy

Awesome report and pictures! I think we share almost the exact same feelings about CP and MF/TTD. The place really does get bashed a lot around here for what it is. I bet if they they stopped calling themselves the best, or if Amusement Today gave the "Best Park" ticket to another park, a lot of it would stop. As for Holiday World, it really is an excellent park. I can see why you didn't like Revolution- probably one of the craziest spinning, puke-inducing rides around- I loved it though! It's actually my favorite flatride now

Great photos Big Mike! I have been following the roadshow since the beginning, but have never posted in the thread for some reason. I actually took my first trip to Holiday World yesterday, and of the coasters I've ridden, Voyage probably takes the #1 spot. It's just so crazy and relentless, and gives some spectacular moments of airtime . The park itself is excellent too, in some ways it has a kind of magical feel to it. Really cool to read your report right after getting back!

Mine would probably be Kumba and Montu. While I enjoyed both without a doubt, they weren't nearly as good as I was expecting. Montu just didn't feel forceful, same with Kumba sans the helix.

From the looks of the Midwest trip, they already have one of those called "Hotel Breakers". Yeah that's the Bon Air wing of Breakers for you. Very old and outdated. The newer parts of the hotel are much nicer, but very overpriced. The funny thing is that during Holloweekends, they decorate the hotel (or at least the lobby) with all kinds of Holloween stuff, like cobwebs, spiders, etc.

Nice pictures. I espically like the "overview" of Raptor and the Main Midway you took from Sky Ride. Unfortunatly, you missed a credit.....on the oldest wooden coaster in Ohio, the Sea Dragon. It's at the Columbus Zoo in the ride area they have. Most people do though....but now you know for next time!

Top Thrill Dragster at CP, and it was a walk-on ride, thanks to the Platinum Pass ride night.

My favorite color scheme by far is Raptor's. It doesn't really fit the name, but the scheme of the track really makes the ride look good in its setting, and the colors of the station seem to blend perfectly with the scheme and look really cool. I also really like those of Hydra Talon Medusa Goliath at SFFT and many others as well

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with the coaster itself... it just seems like the protective nets and the sign were made in the 70s. 1970's!? I don't think so. Raptor's entrance is totally 1990's, the sign and the nets..and I think it looks cool. It was probably intended to look pretty modern when it was built anyway. With the new ride on Milliennium Island and with the possibility of it crossing over the lagoon or being built over it, it's possible this could be the last year for Paddlewheel Excursions. Ridership has drastically fallen over years since its entrance was moved, and the ride is a shadow of its former self (Western Cruise).

Great report! I was at KI on the fourth as well, in the evening for the fireworks. It was a lot of fun, and lines weren't too bad despite one train operation (including on Beast, which was ridiculous), and the fireworks were pretty impressive. If you ever visit the area on the same weekend on a future trip, be sure to check out Stricker's Grove. That is one awesome little park, and Tornado is an excellent woodie. And yes, The Crypt does suck, such a shame. First they trashed the theming. At the same time they made the ride program a lot better, but then changed it to the lamest program yet earlier this season and took away the doors concealing the ride. CF ruins indoor rides...it has ended up like Disaster Transport. What a joke of a ride...

2010 I wouldn't be suprised to see a new water ride there, and it is the perfect size for one. It would be really cool if they could put in a splash battle there somehow. I know CP dosen't do much with theming, but I think this would be something they could easily pull off. It could be either western themed or Peanuts themed. These rides seem to do well at other parks, and CP needs a new true family ride, so this would be perfect.

CP may have a tendency to rip out trees, but they only do it for a reason. The clearing will be for a new ride. Kinzel even confirmed that CP would be getting something new for 2009 about two months ago. Since the cleared space isn't really big enough for a coaster, they could use the lagoon for space. Or take out Mine Ride (and/or Snake Rive Falls) as some are speculating . I'm hoping it won't have to come to taking those out though. I really would be sad to see Mine Ride leave.

Wow, that was fun to go through! Great photos! It's great that SFoT still has some of its original charm and that its theming has managed to stay intact to a good extent. It really looks like a great park!

Wow, awesome pictures! You got me excited for my trip there on the on July 26! I've heard that Thunderhawk is smoother then most SLCs...and since it will be my first one, that's definitely a good thing, lol. Shivering Timbers looks really good...hopefully it will deliver. I seem to hold the idea that it doesn't rank very well or isn't really hyped because it's kinda out of the way, and not many people have ridden it (to an extent, the same idea looks to hold true for the park itself).

Wow, I'm sorry to hear about your visit at CP. It seems like everything just seemed to go wrong for you. Even though I'm a bit of a CP fanboy, I will eaisily say that the park is very inconsistent in a lot of areas. So when somthing like a storm occurs at the park, it only raises the potential for setting things up to be very unsatisfactory, and it seems like that's just what happened. Sadly, I'm not suprised about Breakers Express. One thing that CP doesn't do a good job with is lodging....and it shows here. From my experiences, CP is one of the very best when it comes to ride operations, but if there's rain, the operations become a joke, with their rain policy. I'm very suprised to hear about the rude employees...that's awful. What you encountered was extremely unacceptable, espically at Disaster Transport. Even with the failures on visit, your experience should have been a lot better. You could let the park know about what happened via email; it might do some good. Anyways, great report and pics! Other then the let-down at CP, it looks like it was a lot of fun!

Best seats on Maverick are in the back car, rows 5 and 6. You get some incredible ejector air on the first drop. I'd agree that going to either MF/Maverick during early entry is the best plan. TTD won't be open unless one of those two is unable to open, although if it is I highly reccommend doing it after Maverick/MF since the line should be much smaller then during the day. If you do go to Maverick, make sure to be at the Magnum entrance gate at 9:00. If you go any later, or through another entrance, you'll face a 35-50 min wait even though it's early entry. In general, start with the back of the park and work you're way to the front. The only execption is Dragster, which I think is best to go to right before closing (and it's a better night ride). Hit Raptor between 3:00 and 5:00pm. I highly reccommend doing Mantis before 11 or around closing because it doesn't warrant anything longer then a 10 ,in wait IMO. The food is better then KD's but still highway robbery and pretty bad. I would reccommend eating at Panda Express because you at least get your money's worth, and Toft's ice cream because it's really good and not that overpriced. The park pretzels (fresh kind, not super pretzel) and custard are also good.

Most I've done is 18 or 19 runs on Raptor. That was due to Coastermania ERT and Early Entry.

Stricker's Grove. I live an hour and a half away but have never made it to one of their public days before.

For me, Raptor, Alpengeist, Griffon, Sheikra and Diamondback. Raptor, Sheikra and Griffon all have some crazy extreme moments (helix on Raptor, drops on the Dive Machines). I found Alpengeist to be an all-around intense ride. The same goes for Diamondback.