netdvn

I really wish more parks like this were built stateside, especially looking at not only this, but a Phantasialand brochure/map I got recently. If only more parks could invest in higher quality theming. Those uniforms (looking at the shuttle loop pic) look uncomfortable in the heat. Can't wait to see the thrill lift concept art!

BUMP Hey traders! Over the past three years I've built up my collection of brochures/maps but I've unfortunately gotten way too many extras too. Since it's been a while since I've done many trades, they've built up. I've also been too lazy to get stamps so my stamp supply is dwindling. I'm thinking about doing a few "return to sender" style trades to decrease the number of spares in my collection. Here's what I need to get rid of for now. 2009 Busch Gardens Williamsburg brochure - x3 2011 Busch Gardens Williamsburg brochure - x5 2011 Ocean Breeze Waterpark brochure - x1 2009 Kings Dominion brochure - x3 2010 Kings Dominion brochure - x1 2011 Coney Island brochure - x2 2009 Great Wolf Lodge - x3 2010 BGW KIDsiderate guide - x2 2009 Sesame Place brochure - x1 2009 Go Karts Plus brochure - x1 2009 Kennywood brochure - x1 2009 Virginia Beach Amusement park - x1 2010 Myrtle Beach Family Kingdom brochure - x1 2011 Busch Gardens Williamsburg map - x3 2011 Busch Gardens Williamsburg map (Illuminights edition) - x10 Here's what my collection looked like before my trip to the Caribbean.

Those renderings are incredible. It's unfortunate that the park didn't take off like it was supposed to since it seems to have a lot of potential in terms of rides/theming. It kinda reminds me of the Busch/Herschend parks with large coasters and elaborate themes... or what SF used to be. Can't wait to see the CGA thrill lift concept.

So, I had the chance to attend the Verbolten/HOS announcement on Saturday and it's time to give my opinion. From the details so far, I love the ride. It looks like an awesome addition to the park and so far it's everything I expected (maybe even more). I'm so glad the park decided to keep the Verbolten name I'm really excited about the special "world firsts" and that will go on inside the building. I was hoping the park would release a POV of the ride, but considering they didn't leak the vibrating seats/audio on Mach Tower, I'm not surprised. My biggest criticism is the 48 inch height requirement, especially considering LNM and Mach Tower already cover the 48 inch requirement and BBW was a 42 inch ride. I really wish the park can figure out a way to lower the height requirement to 42 so that more kids can ride (i.e. extra seatbelt on the ride like the Waveswinger). On another note, Saturday was awesome! The park held an awesome event after hours for employees including Mach Tower ERT! The ride is so much better after dark, despite a view of complete blackness. The drop feels like it lasts forever.

After reading some of the comments made by the employees and all the drama that's been going on, it's kinda sad to see a park like this go down, especially with the sudden announcement of the park's closing. Hopefully the new owners know how to turn a situation like this around. It would suck to see another park close/have problems due to bad press.

Looks like Paramount had big plans for Great America back in the day (and possibly the other Paramount parks as well). It’s unfortunate that these plans never really saw the light of day or maybe the park would be in a much better state than it is now.

Face it, you totally had that comment coming to you considering all the other comments you made about SFA in the past. SF has moved plenty of coasters in the past without any trouble. I can only think of two coasters that were moved and never built. One of them was a stand up that nobody really cares about that much (and was moved around) and the other was Ultra Twister, which has moved a few times in the past. Trains shouldn't be much of an issue either.

Sorry to say this, but I don't support this cause. Saving silly animatronic hippos from certain doom doesn't really appeal to me that much. I've already donated too much money to more important causes (like saving a certain Giant Inverted Boomerang from certain doom, allowing a certain wolf-themed stand up coaster to live a few more years in it's home, facilitating the transport of a wooden coaster from a theme park that almost failed to someone's backyard via pickup truck, and protecting prairie dogs from certain death from chocolate floods). The hippos are being killed off because they are reproducing at a rapid rate of speed, invading the homes of other local species, and generally causing trouble to the people in that area. Once the hippo population has been reduced to safe levels, the hunting will stop. People don't realize how dangerous hippos really are.

I really don't think KD should put another invert into the park since it's not really needed. Their current coaster collection is already solid enough. Count me in on the boat that doesn't want Old Virginia to turn into the next Silver Bullet/Ghost Town.

I got a new title! I like my new title!

I like both the blue and purple, although I'm leaning more towards purple. Probably one of the coolest RCT projects I've seen in a long time. I've never seen anyone do something as unique as a baseball field.

I'm very intrigued by that concept art. Was that supposed to be CGA's Thrust Air prototype which was moved to KD or an obscure "speed coaster" concept that was shelved? Looks like it might've been Coney Island themed too. I can't wait to see the Attic reopened!

I don't think CF will ever buy a Flyer, or a 4D for that matter, since they are rides that tend to break down a lot and need a lot of maintenance work to keep them runnning at its best. Plus, if not run well, their capacity suck (again, CF rides are capacity-orientated). You mean like everything Intamin that they've built? Or the Windseekers? Throw in whatever they keep sending to Dorney since those rides seem to be high maintenance too. They could go with a B&M flyer with a Tatsu/Manta style layout and it would still be fairly reliable. Any ride where the ops aren't' constantly moving around to get people off/on the ride is gonna have terrible capacity regardless of ride type/supposed capacity.

Am I the only person here that thinks KD would be better off with a Flyer coaster-wise? If not, maybe something unique like a Zac Spin or a Wingwalker. Even then, the park is pretty well off coaster-wise. I'd rather see CF invest a little more into the waterpark than the dry side since that side has been getting enough love as of late.

^ The "drop track" is one of many possible elements involved with the new coaster. At this point the other elements are still a total secret. As for the new name, I'm not the biggest fan of Blitzen-Volt, but we'll see. Hopefully BGW's using a better name for the ride. Volt-Blitzen sounds better. Or Blitz-Bolt, but they should just stick with Verbolten.

HOS Team Preview night is coming in a few weeks. Just be patient.

Am I the only one that actually LIKES the superhero names that SF gives their coasters? The only one I didn't really like is Superman Ultimate Flight for SFDK's Skyloop model and that's because the name really doesn't suit the ride. All the other superhero themed coasters have decent names. Names like Superman Ride of Steel, Bizarro, Superman Ultimate Flight, Batman, etc aren't half bad when done correctly. My biggest gripe would be naming a GIB and a B&M invert Goliath. But most of SF's ride names aren't too bad. Goliath, Tatsu, X, El Toro, Raging Bull, X-Flight, Green Lantern, Apocalypse, American Thunder, etc are all pretty good names. CF had some pretty bad ride names too, but it seems that they've improved in the past few years. Going from Chinese-esque ride names like Drop Tower and Backlot Stunt Coaster to names like Leviathan, Stinger, Behemoth, and Intimidator, you can see an improvement.

We don't know everything about the ride, just the overview, the station building, and some of the props inside the building. The park still has yet to release info about the "world firsts" and the full, detailed layout. BGW could be withholding info about HOS as well (another maze/scare zone that wasn't leaked to employees).

Mach Tower technically opens with San Marco/Festa, but it's not part of Italy. I was thinking about giving the area a complete overhaul (replace the log cabins with Swiss Chalet-type buildings instead). The only thing remaining would be the flume, the train station, and the scrambler, which could be part of a ski resort-type theme to compliment Alpengeist. A Spain expansion would go beyond Oktoberfest into the former Festhaus Park/DF area, under the train tracks and continue toward the park's boneyard. There's definitely plenty of room to fit a coaster (hoping for a high-thrill GCI/GG woodie or another launcher). Festa needs to be overhauled too, especially after the Oktoberfest upgrade. They should add a few more Italian-based themes instead of opting for a generic carnival theme outside of Rapids.

^ Because Switzerland is so well known for mining and timber? Alpengeist is technically part of Rhinefeld/Germany, not New France. But I have to agree with Al about New France being the oddball land in the park. That area looks nice and is well-themed, but it would go better as Switzerland or something instead of Canada, which isn't even part of Europe.

The effects have absolutely NO effect on the ride capacity whatsoever. The only thing that affects the ride capacity is guests not knowing how to folllow directions + the occasional guest that is too large/takes loose articles onto the ride. When done right, the line is constantly moving (even during the ride cycle time) because there are two loading areas. Drop Zone has a higher capacity, nuff said. You have a ride that seats 50 over a ride that seats 30, you're gonna have better capacity. Also, this is where your logic fails. Don't judge the ride before you ride it. All the effects really add a lot to Mach Tower making it pretty unique. Plus the rotating gives a fantastic view of the park.

Maury is such a predictable show. The cheater is clearly always the parent when he doesn't wanna be and never the father when he does. The cheater is always lying. There are a few exceptions, but that's almost always the rule.

That sounds like more of the guest's fault for not paying attention and listening to the ride ops/reading the signs/using the test seats and not the fault of the operators. It seriously can't be that hard getting out of Arrow restraints. I don't remember Anaconda's being that complex (of course that was in 2004 and things could've changed), but on LNM and BBW, all you had to do was lift the harness above your head. If I were in a position where guests were blocking the gates from closing, I'd scold them too. At BGW, the coasters have a automated spiel that specifically tells guests to stay clear of the gates when they close and stand behind a safety line. I'm very sure KD has the same. Not helping guests who have trouble with getting out of their restraints is a different story though, but outside of that, it sounds like the ops were doing their job and it's the guest's fault for making the waits slower.

Click SFOG is adding new shows for 2012

^ Mach's loading is actually efficient when done right and keeps the line moving while keeping the car balanced. It's just that the public doesn't bother paying attention so it slows the process down. On top of that, Mach doesn't have the best capacity in the world so lines tend to be really long. I was away on a cruise for the past few weeks so I missed out on a lot of the happenings in the park. Updates! Mach Tower's vibrating seats have been cranked up so that you can hear them throughout the area. The line maxed out at a 45 min wait on Saturday and 1 hr 20 min on Sunday. Verbolten's been pretty quiet lately. Not much in the way of construction outside the previous update. The park was the absolute busiest I've ever seen it, even during July 4th weekend. There was even a long line for most of the kiddie rides. Lines out the door for most of Oktoberfest's rides outside of Mach.