PAL

How can people have such different rides? Don't know, but so many people report them it has to be true. I think you should consider yourself lucky if you've had nothing but great laps. My first ride in spring this year was awful. We had to stake it out in the hopes the unreliable, broken mess would open. Once we got on, we found a slow, airless, rattletrap - it didn't impress. Six months later, every one of my multiple runs was excellent.

We also experienced vastly improved rides when we visited over Thanksgiving immediately after the rehab. Air was plentiful, particularly in the first and last two rows. Not El Toro ejector, but far better than anything in the air-deprived west.

^SFMM put a lot of work into Ninja last year. At WCB, Jay said the ride's control system was replaced. He further went on to bring the maintenance manager (sorry, his name eludes me) into the discussion, who tactfully indicated they had a handle on the issues that forced BBW's retirement. I took this to mean track issues (metal fatigue). The take home - the ride is ready for many more years of operation. Purely by coincidence, I visited BGW about two weeks before BBW met its end. We were there for Apollo, Griffon and Darkastle - the Wolf was a throw-in. My family enjoyed our ride, but it was rough and rattly enough I was the only one who wanted a reride. I figure it was far better than Ninja in it's heyday, but that had long been lost to the past.

Paint. Not so much because it brought down a pointlessly dull launch coaster. No, it's presence on Knott's Pony Express brake fins caused a second notable coaster accident in just over a year. What's up with your preventative maintenance Knott's? It doesn't look good. Here's hoping they get it together and invest in the park.

No, not Clint Novak's outrageous and mildly profane show. This looks like the replacement for the Funatics program. Too bad, I enjoyed the loyalty rewards. Can't say I'm surprised given all the other cost cutting. Six Flags could have chosen a better name. www.sixflags.com/magicMountain/footerNav/ENews.aspx I'm considering visiting the park tomorrow. Anything going on that could create a busy park? EDIT: There's a toy drive, free admission for a new toy worth $15 or more. How is the park today?

It's ridiculous to compare, but have you seen the Osborne Lights at Disney Studios? Now that's a holiday light display! Not that pretty colors, untold millions of bulbs that 'dance' to music will ever be the primary reason I plan a visit. It is a nice plus worth a few minutes of appreciation. SDC looks like a charming, family oriented park.

Nice report. Some of those swings are a blast. CP's is outstanding, with a generous ride program. The one at Knott's would scarcely be worthwhile if free. They hit the brakes immediately once it reaches maximum height. How was SDC's?

Edit to kill the double post.

^Understandable though, as it wasn't spelled out as well as it could be. But yes, that was about a rights purchase, not the entire park chain. Universal Hollywood would benefit from reinvestment. As a proven IP with the design work in the can for Forbidden Journey, Harry Potter makes sense. There's no reason at all to duplicate Orlando's clumsy retheme of Dueling Dragons or the incorporation of an preexisting family coaster.

That Wagamama is looking way too 'western' for Dubai. We'll see if I'm wrong. The area wasn't like that the last time I travelled through there (ages ago).

^Agreed. Wild One delivered great rides when we visited in August. That thing was smoother than SROS. Would any classic out and back need this treatment? I don't see it.

^I'm confident management will make sure the crew operating their sweet new ride is on the ball. See Terminator. Can't blame the ride ops for mandatory preshows.

Green Lantern is going to be great! Can hardly wait. And the food at West Coast Bash is plenty tasty the past two years running, probably longer. I was late to the party. Love that Goliath crew, most of the time they're really cranking. Superman looks fab with the new paint job - good call Magic Mt! Is that positive enough? The park is still on an overall upward trend. I'm happy to see it.

^I won't believe it until the park makes the announcement, builds it and has it up and running for a year. I can hear the moans now about it completing Cedar Fair's charm destruction process. Those people can get stuffed! At one time Knott's took risks and installed big, industry-first ground-breaking attractions. A giga would be a return to glory. I hope it happens.

^^Let me go all fanboy here and heartily agree. If this treatment lives up to its promise, please let Ghostrider get it. Bring it back to its former glory, 'cause CF's track work isn't nearly enough.

Might as well derive humor from this situation, 'cause otherwise it's abjectly pathetic. I'm very interested to learn whether the new owners will incur a penalty from failure to remove their property by the deadline. If so, may others who leap without looking learn from this sorry mess. prknopp had me going with that first, sincere-sounding post. None of it is reliable, but if there was anything to it, it says a lot about Kat. This is a coaster fan's soap opera, complete with the histrionics. I can't wait to see how it ends. Probably in match sticks.

Wow, I missed a ton of fun. Most of this went down while I was standing in Rockit's long, slow line along with everyone else in the park. Had to grab a night ride - ooh, pretty lights. If I'd played, there's no way I could have won. Robb, thanks for making my banner a winner. See you at the next Bash!

We're riding coasters at BGT, the last full day of a central Florida trip. Instead of turkey, we hope to gorge on Montu and Sheikra. I hope it won't be too busy! I'm thankful for Quick Queue. Happy Thanksgiving all.

I was on the ride 4 times in the past two days. Ops were good, the line was posted at 40 to 60 minutes but took less than half that time. All laps were reasonably smooth, with a couple instances of shuffling on the "rough" rides. This thing didn't impress me in the least last spring, when we had to camp out to swoop in during one of its few up-times. Talk about cranky. After that, it gave us a dull, forceless spin. It plainly sucked. Now it's grown on me. Every one of our 4 recent laps were filled with fun air pops and laterals. It was best in the front and back, but even rows 3 and 4 were good. The soundtrack was cool and perfectly synced. I think RRnR is finally living up to its potential. After lap 4, I love this thing. Wish I could have managed a couple more laps. EDIT: I forgot to mention the hidden tracks didn't work for us. When we managed to get the input screen up and enter a code, silence was our dubious reward. Is it working for anyone else?

I experienced a Superman station fly-through into the rare earth magnets. I wish it required a wench. I could've used mouth to mouth from something saucy. Instead the ride crew called an ugly, coverall wearing mechanic. He fired up a winch and we completed our escape.

I'm officially too old. The thought of riding Sally's Scream in the Dark anywhere near preteen girls is giving me the shudders. IAAPA is where cool trains live. Did I miss something? Was Intamin showing off any future projects?

I think people are jumping to conclusions. The land isn't likely to be redeveloped due to the Coastal Commission, regardless of the city's miserable economic condition. I can see the current operator eventually getting the boot, because Belmont isn't close to reaching it's potential. I predict the coaster isn't going anywhere. In the meantime, a closed park would generate no revenue at all.

^I marathoned that flume in first grade while mom and pops kicked it in the beer tasting pavilion. Good times! Mmm, Pizza Port. Thumbs up for the O B Chronic. Leatherface is not so tasty. She's still there in SD Council District 6 so far as I know.

The NIMBYs are powerful around Mission Bay, despite the fact the park was likely in place long before they moved into the neighborhood. They've got a their city council rep on board, routinely complain about the park's fireworks and any potential ride noise, and I suspect there's a PETA influence too. On top of stringent zoning and the Mission Bay Park master plan, Sea World also has to deal with the California Coastal Commission. They are buried in red tape. I wouldn't ever expect to see anything built taller than Atlantis. Do we know where they're adding the turtle exhibit?

Our best park year ever: SoCal: Belmont Park Sea World Disneyland / DCA Knotts Magic Mt Universal Studios NorCal: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Gilroy Gardens Discovery Kingdom California's Great America Florida: Universal Orlando / IOA Sea World WDW's 4 parks Busch Gardens Tampa Epic East Coast Swing: SFA Cedar Pt Kennywood King's Dominion Busch Williamsburg Hershey Park Knoebels Dorney Park Great Adventure Clementon Park Business travel bonus: Lagoon 30 parks, countless laps. For 2011, SoCal is a given. We hope to add Texas and make a midwest swing including Holiday World, King's Island, SF St Louis, SF Great America, and a return to Cedar Pt. If we're lucky enough to do it, next year's park count will only be about half of this 2010's.