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I see what you did there.

While it does have its cliched and at times utterly predictable moments, I often find myself laughing my way through entire episodes. Though I'm not sure if that says more about the quality of the show itself, or just my own taste...

I love how I could make my own list and it wouldn't even be the same! There's just SO much to love about Knoebels. I totally guessed that the dog-friendliness would make the list, though. You rarely hear about that, but it rules. HO-LY. Is it really that soon?!

^^I agree with quite a bit of that. Ranking became cumbersome for me very quickly, and a lot of the more run-of-the-mill and/or lesser-quality rides do start blending together after awhile. It's not so much that said rides aren't fun at all anymore or not worth riding, as I do enjoy myself in the moment for more than just the credits, but they just aren't worth ranking. Especially because my full ranked lists aren't public apart from the Mitch Hawker ballots, anyway!

Excellent point. I've heard of someone dying of something similar, but at the same time much, much, MUCH worse. Knowing that particular NSFW backstory definitely makes me not want to die of anything that sounds anything like it.

Yeah, I'll agree with what's been said above and guess it's something pretty uninteresting that just happened to be a bit visible, and happened to warrant checking out the ride thoroughly.

^I have read that it's actually Helm & Sons that owns Olympic Bobsled, though I did ride it at the California State Fair in 2009. I wouldn't mind seeing it again, but it's proven basically impossible to track down. And wow, on some rides it does make sense to obey instructions to sit with strangers for efficiency's sake...but on a janky log flume where you probably end up sliding all over the seats? No way.

I try my best to respect my true feelings, and I'm not afraid to do so, since nearly everyone has at least a couple less-than-popular opinions. But it's hard to deny the influence of other enthusiasts. I think I'm a bit hesitant to rank certain rides too differently from the norm, and if I do, I either keep quiet about it or explain my thoughts carefully. For the most part, I don't think that way. But the example I usually trot out is that I think the Coney Island Cyclone provides an absolutely atrocious ride experience in terms of roughness, yet I still rank it fairly highly because there are aspects of it I really enjoy. My affection for it greatly exceeds my opinion of the ride quality it provides. Yup, this happens to me too. I do try to consider how I was influenced by my experience with coasters at the time I rode something, but sometimes it's difficult or impossible to know whether I only like something so much because it was the first of its kind I rode, or if, you know, I just plain like it that much.

Um, I'm too disgusted to laugh...I think? I mean, what an awful mishap.

I think I know what you mean. I'm pretty set on ranking most of my coasters and avoiding most (preferably all) ties. I used to rank every coaster. Then I stopped ranking most Boomerangs, Wild Mice, kiddie coasters, second sides of racers, and maybe a few other frequently cloned or non-significant ride types. Then I basically switched to "Mitch Hawker rules" and stopped officially ranking even quality clones such as Batmans. (Note that none of this has any bearing on what I count as credits.) While I generally reach a point after every trip/season where I'm pretty settled in my rankings, there's definitely that confusion where some rankings feel a bit "off," but not enough to know what to change them to. I also rate coasters out of 10, so it can be weird to look at my list and think "Okay, these are '10' rides; of course there aren't too many of those...these are '9' rides...wow, we're into '8' rides already? Sad!" To give you an idea, my only wooden '10' rides are Boulder Dash, Coaster (Playland) and The Voyage. My only steel '10's' are Maverick and X2. (Nowadays, I rank wooden and steel separately.) Food for thought. Not sure if it's entirely in line with what you meant, but maybe it'll serve as a jumping off point.

Yeah, it's too similar. Plus there's the simple fact that other people aren't recounting it, so there'd be little point.

^Yup, I love how Medusa is basically the opposite of rough. I couldn't tell you if Roar has declined since the first day I rode it, or if I just wasn't fully attuned to roughness (I remember finding the airtime painful, but that can happen to me even on smooth wooden coasters depending on the lap bars). I barely even knew what airtime was back then!

^Segueing off of that...I started myself off on Roar, because I knew "it doesn't go upside down" (and yes, I stated this out loud to someone). Also, I'm pretty sure I was actually MORE scared of Tony Hawk's Big Spin!

^I think the fact I don't have vivid memories of my one spin on a Larson Hi Roller suggests it wasn't amazing. I basically remember a marginally above-average ride with some kind of decent forces. The worst part might be the insanely tight, view-blocking, claustrophobia-inducing cages. I'd ride one again, though...

^There is something I like about the Dorney atmosphere, though "charm" and "character" are definitely not words I would use to describe the park in its current state. I think I just enjoy the scenery. Dorney isn't quite bad enough to join CGA in my "least favorite" category for CF parks, but I think there's a better "feel" comparable parks like Worlds of Fun (easily) and even Valleyfair (by at least a little) have that Dorney lacks.

I think some enthusiasts have already begun dialing back expectations as they realize the potential for disappointment if they spent years expecting it to be ultra-thrilling and it isn't. I agree with others here: hopefully the unique style and the historical value will satisfy most people. Yes, I'd prefer intensity myself, but I'd rather not waste any energy being disappointed by any lack thereof. Especially at Knoebels, where pretty much everything rocks no matter what.

Although I do realize each patriotic holiday has its own particular history and focus, I think the 4th of July section at Holiday World covers the patriotic holiday theming perfectly well for them. No need to represent another one.

Butler always seems to bring a stellar ride collection to the California State Fair. The multiple Zippers and Ferris Wheels are kinda funny, but it makes sense to bring them (and also seems like something I'd pull in RCT). Zillerator is fun (though I remember the constant trims), but it's too bad they didn't bring out the Olympic Bobsled (probable Galaxi) this year, which has incredible and outright dangerous airtime. Anyone seen it lately? Magnum is easily one of my all-time favorite flat rides; it takes elements from several other rides and brings everything (minus the height) up several notches! Evolution, on the other hand, is simply one of the most terrifying.

I'd heard some great things about SFA last year, and maybe even this year, but lately I've been hearing the expected terrible news again. I'm thinking of visiting soon and I guess I'll keep my expectations low instead of imagining it to be on a level with any other Six Flags park as I'd started to hope.

^^There is one reason I've considered counting first generation Freefalls as credits. I have a coaster book that actually considered Demon Drop at Cedar Point and other Freefalls to be roller coasters. I don't count them because, like you said, you almost never hear of people counting them (I think I've only even seen it come up for debate once). Even though my credit list is mainly for personal enjoyment, I think it would lose some meaning if I counted things that people just don't count, and there's nothing saying I can't keep track of said rides another way anyway (I do).

^^Well, I'm not quite expecting a Boulder Dash-caliber ride (would love to be wrong here, and wouldn't be completely surprised), but after reading your comment I did pick up on the similarities. You're right, it's a good sign.

Wow. I'm not too sad about missing out on a drop tower, seeing as how there are so many out there. This one did sound a bit more unique, though. Well, hopefully they work things out sooner rather than later, and for good.

Personally, I've reached a point where I don't really care for Wild Mice anymore. However, I am over 20 and I do still ride them for the credit (and because the rare one is actually good). What can I say?

^^Now that's a ride I hope is there to stay. The park really needs it!

Do you mean rides with significant gravity-powered drops, like Fire in the Hole and Blazing Fury? Or do you consider some of the larger, more complex powered kiddie coasters to be partly gravity-powered? I've heard people say they actually coast on the downhill sections, though I don't know if that's accurate. I just count them all!