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I just gotta say, I think Kennywood easily has the second best non-coaster ride collection in PA, or possibly even the best. While Knoebels has the edge in thrill value and experience quality for a handful of rides, Kennywood seems to have more rides that are exceedingly rare or even the last of their kind, though they're not all the most exciting. I haven't sampled all that Dorney offers, but I personally think the most interesting, unusual flats are the Whip (run well, but not insane), Demon Drop, and for modern rides, Meteor (though similar rides can be found elsewhere).

^Thanks, that definitely sounds like a "no." I think I will stop at Adventurer's, though, since it's closer to Coney Island and sounds a bit more fun.

Wow, you weren't lying about riding every coaster in NYC! Could you clue me in on whether adults are readily allowed? I'm having trouble deciding if it's worth a stop.

Too bad about S:ROS. I thought I'd read it was actually comparable to others, but just didn't get as much praise because of its unfortunate location. Also, it sounds like Roar is an even worse version of the other Roar, which is rough even with MFs. There's something that kind of appeals to me about SFA's overall coaster collection, though.

^Agreed. Plus, especially since they already have an out-and-back, I think any new wooden coaster design would just seem too similar to NTAG, at least to the general public. (Then again, I'm no coaster designer.)

^Welcome to TPR! That's unfortunate about the train, which sounds like it's a signature ride of sorts. I'd been hoping they'd be able to get that taken care of quickly. Glad someone is looking after the park, though. The cleanliness issues I noticed were more along the lines of typical outdoor grime allowed to accumulate for way too long, rather than something outrageous like littered drink containers and such everywhere (a la Indiana Beach and the defunct Fun Forest).

Tidal Wave? But SFStL is the hottest park I've ever visited! I know it's a simplistic ride and there are other water rides in the park (plus a waterpark), but on such a hot day I was grateful for anything and everything unacceptably wet.

I was, um, thinking of checking that out soon. Anything else good at the park, or is it all just kid stuff?

^Love it. When it comes to coaster lighting, more (and fancier) is definitely better!

Wow, I'd forgotten how cute, and nicely landscaped, those parks are. I'll have to agree that the kiddie coasters are more fun than your average credit whore rides.

^Nice, two-train (or better) shots are the best!

There are only two places I seriously wanted to visit since childhood. One was EPCOT, which requires no explanation. The other was Coney Island. When I saw video clips of crazy old rides there on TV, I thought to myself, "I don't even believe in rides and I still would've made a point to ride those." It was both saddening and mystifying to think that such a grand place of excitement could be so famous and widely visited and yet still manage to die off. I had no idea there was anything left of the place, and I would ask my mom about what it was like and why it was gone now. I also didn't quite understand how people got to it if it was really an island (because you know, when I was a child, bridges were still a new invention). Even recently I thought maybe the name was just a reference to Long Island, but it turns out it was originally more of an island of its own. I don't even remember when I first found out about the Cyclone. Probably just one of those things I stored in my brain as mostly uninteresting when I first found out, but still took for granted later when I became an enthusiast. Last year when I planned to visit Coney Island, I was actually more excited to go there than Manhattan (I cringe to recall this now). I would daydream about it frequently with only moderate misgivings about the Cyclone. When I finally got there, however, I was none too impressed. Part of me thought the place absolutely needed the Zamperla cleanup in order to be at all hospitable, but part of me was disappointed by it and felt its seedier past self would've been much more fun. I definitely think Deno's, the Cyclone itself, 12th St. Amusements, and Eldorado Auto Skooters had loads more character (or at least air-quotes "character") than Luna Park and Scream Zone. All that said, I still appreciate the historical significance of Coney Island, and I'm looking forward to my next visit, as well as future visits for the return of the B&B Carousell and any other significant developments.

Oh, I'd forgotten all about the semi-annoying (but somewhat attractive, as I recall) queue. I'm sure last year I saw someone climbing between levels, or maybe they just looked like they were trying to.

^Agreed. I'm looking forward to seeing it in person soon, especially with the way it's been progressing lately. I've read a lot of hate on the design, and I'll admit I'm not positive how I feel about it yet, but I have kind of a random taste in buildings and this seems to work for me. Okay, and I also really like how tall and visible it is.

Most likely. Oh, THAT would've been nice. No, it seems you have to go to Elitch for any kind of beer.

^Interesting info. The individual passes sound like a great option so you can pick and choose cheaply. I must say, I don't think there's a single coaster at Kennywood where I'd be particularly interested in the front, except Sky Rocket, but even that's mainly for the views (usually not my highest priority) rather than a drastically better experience. But it definitely seems fair to offer that in a line-skipping option, rather than the opposite extreme of never allowing any user of such a system to choose the front, or otherwise restricting seat choices.

This. We're a very friendly and welcoming group, but of course it's best if you make an effort.

Yeah, I'm skeptical, but it sure does sound interesting...though that may partly be my credit whore ears perking up.

^Worth it? Probably. But it's far from the most convenient, since you have to plan around specific timeframes. Plus, as far as I know, there is no unlimited option, so each lanyard will only get you one lap per available ride. I can't give a fair judgment since I paid indirectly through TPR and also had ERT to get me on rides, but because of all that, I only bothered using mine on Jack Rabbit, where I skipped a lengthy wait and was easily able to snag the back row. Apart from that, I just breezed right on past my other times without bothering to take advantage.

Green Lantern is in my SFGAdv top five, but then again, my top five might be a little...weird: El Toro, Superman (believe me, only this version ranks so highly), Kingda Ka, Bizarro, Green Lantern. Though I do like Bizarro and Green Lantern about the same, for slightly different reasons. As for the similar stand-ups, I do rank them very similarly, but with an edge to Green Lantern, as it seemed more forceful. Riddler's and Mantis also had nice forces, but didn't stand out as much, and I have Riddler's a bit higher because I think it delivered a little more airtime than Mantis.

The whole long line for the shot side/short line for the drop side was annoying last year, seeing as how the drop side pretty much sucks...oh well.

^If you're referring to my post, I was just segueing off of yours. I guess it came off as stating the opposite of what you said, but I didn't really mean I disagreed per se, just noticed something that happens to be a bit different.

^Oh! I know! I know! I think I'll hold off this year since I haven't really taken enough coaster photos to dig up any exceptional ones. But maybe next year. Even just looking at the photos in this thread so far I know it'll be hard to choose my votes!

I've long been surprised that people are so willing to ride rough rides of all sorts. Sometimes I wonder if word just doesn't get around and people focus on the good, but at least at parks I hear people complaining about pain. Or maybe people take roughness for granted, given that these are major machines that require a lot of maintenance and it may be cost-prohibitive or impossible to ensure smoothness. But then again, plenty of rides (yes, even wooden coasters) are anywhere from very to perfectly smooth. Maybe it's simply that the pain is worth it? That sounds like an ideal compromise. I know we've debated this ad nauseam over the years, but I still find myself resistant to paying even a tiny token amount of money for those things. But we always hear about the capacity benefits, plus you can enjoy near-complete trust that your stuff is safe, instead of taking a risk by leaving it out.

^Somehow La Vibora almost strikes me as too dated to bother sending anywhere else. Maybe because Disaster Transport is on its way out, and the one at The Great Escape might be, too. Fun ride, though. Pandemonium is an easy guess, but who still needs one these days?