themeparkman25

What is the update on the brake fins? I would assume that they have been lowered "into" the track, but perhaps you can still see them? Have the bent and damaged ones been removed and replaced, or are they still there? Thank for posting the status of the trains though. I sure hope she gets up and running soon.

^Beautiful. I am 0/2 on attempts to ride it and hopefully will be 1/3 on the 28th.

I think the fact that you only fall 625+ feet in 11 seconds is somewhat unimpressive. Yes this ride/experience will be intimidating, but really, that sounds quite controlled and (fairly) slow. Think about it, a standard 200 ft Intamin drop tower does 150 feet in a second, this is 625 in 11. Maybe it is just me, but that is not a freefall, and therefore sucks some "fear" out of the ride.

Positives: -The storyline. I think you did a good job building a story around a coaster, though you didn't really represent it in the simulator. -Unique. The long tunnel would be disorienting. Negatives: -The lift hill. I do not, in the slightest, understand the many chains of the lift hill. -Smoothness. It was fairly pumpy in places, for example the final break run, and could use some smoothing. How you can improve: -Make it more GCI-esque. This coaster just didn't really feel like a true GCI to me since it lacked a sense of tightness, curves and airtime. -Flow. Somewhere between the lift hill and the break run I got confused whether you had submitted a final copy or a scratch. Keep trying bud, its tough stuff. But you definitely aren't bad, there are just some things to improve on.

I don't know if you are looking for comments or not, but I think you should put some shrubs or trees beneath the lift hill of the hyper. Something to make it look less bland. Besides that, it looks great! After you submit to NE and hear back, will you post it here?

You guys are in Sarasota?! I lived off of Siesta Key!! That was a long time ago, but I do remember the neighborhood being really nice and everyone was friendly.

The track and supports are red and yellow, respectively, because Cedar Fair new that the OTSR's weren't enough to keep the coaster enthusiasts up-ended.

It is working for me and is kind of like a movie thing where it switches inbetween continents and members. Try the link on the first page, Robbs link, that is the one I am using.

I'm still confused though about whether or not Dragons will be re painted, has anyone heard anymore about that?

According to Carowinds facebook, Intimidator was completed just a few minutes ago! EDIT: Carowinds just added more pictures to the Intimidator album.

^Bull sh*t. Pun intended.

Went to the Bronco Raider game today. Tough loss to swallow for sure. Here is a question for everyone: what do the broncos need to become a contender? I am going to have to say QB. Orton has handled it well, but I just feel like there are others out there.

I think that I get sick on it because the screen is so massive and the motions of the ride. I don't get sick on any of the other simulators, it is just that one. And to clarify, this is the one in Florida. I would check it out if I was you. You guys are killing me by the way.

Summer Trip #5 - Orlando!! Part C- SeaWorld Orlando! Lets be honest here, there hasn't been a coaster in my entire life that I have been more excited to ride than I was for Manta. In fact, this trip has little to do with Rockit (icing on the cake you could say), as it was solely about getting out to one of my favorite parks and riding her. For reasons unknown to me, this coaster was hook, line, and sinker. I have and had ridden Tatsu and two Supermans, but She was different. I was last at SeaWorld shortly after ground breaking, and have followed it sense. Can you tell that I LOVE this coaster? It has practically consumed my soul. If you didn't know as well, I have started construction on my own model of Manta, something I wish you would check out (see my signature) and follow me on. The Rides - Manta = Love. Kraken = Love. Journey to Atlantis = Love. Wild Arctic = Love. Moral of the story, you can't go wrong with any of the attractions. The Atmosphere - Outside of the great feel of the rides, the numerous animal exhibits and the beauty of this park, it has a grand feeling of fun. There is something about this park that I love. The lake makes for a stunning backdrop with the skytower and coasters in the background, and then the general upkeep just adds to that feel. The Best Experience - Outside of Manta you may ask. Well, that easily goes to stingray feeding. It took me a solid 15 minutes to commit to the feed, but it was awesome to finally do it. They are just such graceful and gorgeous animals. At this point, I am going to stop talking because it will just me turn in to me saying how much I love Manta, something I am sure you already picked up on. The full album, featuring many other great photos, can be found on my facebook. For now, my "Summer" trips have been concluded for 09. I rode about 60 new coasters and visited a fair amount of new parks. It was a great year and heres to making 2010 even better. I dont know if you are interested or not (seeing is how there are like 6 parks on this page, and like 2 comments), but I do have my IAAPA album featuring some of the events, the Vegas coasters and other bonuses. Let me know if you would be interested in me posting that. I cannot wait to ride you again. My model is going to be flawless, because you too, are flawless. Thanks for reading, and be sure to click the link below for my model! This is what I mean about a stunning backdrop. I think of all the pictures I have taken this summer, and of all my favorites, this one is hands down my best. The view from Shamu stadium. Another fun fact- Believe was a lot better this time around than from what I remember it as. I have yet to wait in a line for this coaster in all my experiences on it. Fun fact though, they still stacked trains. The first half of this ride has the perfect selection of elements, pacing, and compactness. Just gorgeous. Might be just me, but this attraction could use some modernizing of its props? They just seem so last year. IMO, there isn't one dull moment on this coaster. How nice would it be to be able to fall asleep on your own, fluffy, pink butt? Why is it that you dont get soaked on this drop, but you get DRENCHED on the little drop after this? Pretzel loop is the best inversion. Having watched them build this coaster as a kid, it was great to get back and ride it again. Still one of my top coasters. Can I have your hand in marriage? Beautiful entrance. Flows nicely and has a great feel to it with the crashing waves and the lighthouse. Oh how long I have waited to stand right there and stare at your lift hill.

Summer Trip #5 - Orlando!! Part B- Islands of Adventure To conclude the first day of our two day trip to Orlando, we finished at Islands of Adventure and a couple runs on some of my favorite coasters. In retrospect, this trip was awesome, but holy smokes is it hard to even try to squeeze these two parks in to one day. Last time I was here, I spent a day at each, and even that was difficult. Either way, I had a blast, and will be back hopefully in November of 10. The Rides- What is there to even say here? There isn't a ride in this park that I would do away with. They are all awesome, and truly offer something for everyone in the family. And though there are only a dozen or so rides in the park, you can get lost to time due to the "escapism" aspect of the park. The Atmosphere- I am sure most of you would agree that one of the largest parts of the theme park industry is to allow the guest to escape from reality, forget about the monotony of daily life, and experience something out of this world. Is this theme park the poster child for the theme park image? I think so. The Operations- Every single person at Universal, along with myself, decided it would be best to go to IOA since Universal closed a few hours earlier, and overall the park did a great job dealing with this flood. Despite the lack of time in this park, I got numerous runs on all of the major attractions. They did great, and the singles line definitely helps. I think overall this has to be one of my favorite parks ever as there truly is nothing like it in the world. Yes I haven't traveled to THAT many parks, but at this point I can say that, even though I have been to it countless times, I still look forward to visiting every single time. Keeping with that spirit, I hope I can be out there in November for the IAAPA convention. A full gallery of my pictures can be found on my facebook. Pretty coaster! Now on to Margaritaville! Here is to IAAPA in '10. Didn't ride it today. It was cold and the line was long. Still one of my favorite flumes though. Definitely one of my favorites. It is so disorienting. But lets be real, is there any cooler of a coaster out there? I don't think so. Side story- I can honestly say I am psyched for Battlestar, and I think vekoma has done brilliantly. Dragons were feuding with the park today. They went down a couple times will in the park, and only dueled every now and then. Kill joy. Turns out Jurrasic Park has SheiKra scoops. Didn't know that until this trip. The attention to detail is unbelieveable, and is what allows the park to execute the escapism. Everything is perfect. For first halves of coasters, this has to be one of the best. The obligatory through-the-fog picture of the Hulk. What a great ride! There is a thread floating around right now about interactive coasters, well here is one for you.

I know it is kind of random and unrelated, but did you prefer SeaWorld Diego or Universal Hollywood? I'm with you, Matt. SWO has one of the best entrances of all time, and when you walk in and have Manta staring you down, it is even better.

Oh, by no means am I calling you a horrible builder at all, I think you have done great so far. You have more guts than me too, I don't think I could ever accurately recreate a coaster. From this picture I have taken though, it just seems to be a little steeper than what you currently have.

There isn't a single point of this coaster that doesn't have people stopping and staring in awe.

Again, it could just be the angle, but the tilt loop thing that is after the immelmann has a steeper degree of banking. From my pictures and experience, it looks to me like that turn has roughly a 75-80 degree pitch, yours seems to be in the 60's. Besides that, it looks fantastic.

He won "The Most Beautiful Park in the Country" award Belgian, he must have some themeing and landscaping haha. Unfortunately I don't see myself finishing my park. Between my Manta model, and my recent pregnant craving for NL, there just aren't enough hours in the day.

^^Yes I have ridden it, back in May. Fantastic is about the only word that describes it.

Prowler easily deserved the best new attraction of the year, so I would highly advice going to WoF. The park is great, has a nice vibe to it and has a couple very good coasters.

Is anyone aware of any discounts or coupons for admission over christmas break? Same thing for Sea World San Diego, anyone know of any?

This is what it would look like if you were to stare down a B&M hyper train ala Behemoth, Diamondback or Intimidator.

Now correct me if I am wrong, but the entrance of Dragon Challenge will not be where the entrance to Dueling Dragons was right?