Skycoastin Steve

I would ask for reasoning, but I doubt you have any. Regardless, there's a lot better chance of them getting some type of ZacSpin in the future as opposed to getting some puked-it-up-in-five-minutes floorless model from B&M......or a clone.

Unless it were going to be a Knight Flight clone. I can't even quantify what the extent of my disappointment would be with a Dominator clone.

Intamin wood at CP would give me wood.

Confused Steve is confused.

^I just drove up and down that street about 6 times looking for good places to stand for pictures. Not a very scientific method of searching.

Oh snap! I never noticed that!

Wait, and Arrow Dynamics would have built it? Heeeeellllllllllllllllllll no!!!!

And now for the fourth and final installation of my crazy week in the Midwest, it's time to take a quick look at Waldameer and Conneaut Lake Park! I've been to Waldameer a couple times already, but on Friday, Conneaut Lake wasn't opening until 6, so I needed something to do to kill the time until then. Waldameer is only 45 minutes away, so I decided to spend some time there and kill time by riding Ravine Flyer II! It's odd to me that this Gravity Group creation is still running remarkably smoothly in its 4th year of operation, whereas Voyage was already becoming "too rough" for some people by its 4th year, and they are similar rides. I even did a couple rides sitting on wheel seats and it wasn't bad at all. Either way, it was fun to spend some time there and ride one of the best woodies in the world for a while, and I was also able to roam around outside the park and get some good pictures of the ride that you really can't get from inside the park. I got down to Conneaut Lake Park right after they opened at 6, and my initial reaction was laughter. I'm not entirely sure how that park is still standing, let alone open. It's probably the worst shape I've ever seen a park in, and they were open for business! The only real reason I stopped here was to get the Blue Streak credit before 1. they close forever or 2. it falls over. Grabbing the credit was a spine-smashing success, and I documented the state of the park a little before I left. Blue Streak is a great ride as long as you ride in the middle row of a car. My first ride was in the front row, and I truly thought I was going to be injured by it as we went through the bottoms of the first three drops. It gave jackhammering a completely new meaning. Then I rode in the middle row of the back car, and not only was the airtime incredible on those three hills, it was much smoother! It was also frighteningly hilarious to watch the rest of the train in front of me buckle and shake going through those rough sections. All in all, I'm just glad I survived without having to go to the hospital. Now for the pictures! Once again, comments are loved and appreciated! Waldameer! Ravine Flyer II!!! One of the few decent shots you can even get from inside the park. So that's why you go outside the park. Voila! You can see so much more out here! Like a bridge......over four-lane highways....... Back seat on the first drop = airtime bliss! Back seat on the return drop = airtime bliss! So then I went across the street to the overflow lot, and discovered you can get REALLY close to the ride. A little breather before the insanity ensues. Anywhere on the train going over the bridge = airtime bliss! I love the little S-curve it does entering the turn around. Gravity Group rides FTW! Not a whole lot of track on this side of the road, but it's the best part of the ride! Weeeeeee!! These were inside the turn around. Are these old Comet trains? Anyone know? Didn't think this picture turned out well when I took it, even almost deleted it. But as it turns out, I think it's a pretty cool effect. Looking up at the 2nd big drop. I went back down to the street level and climbed up these rocks to get these shots. Very impressive engineering on this portion of the ride. The first drop is a lot steeper than you realize when you look at it from outside the park. More of the under side of the bridge. One last shot before heading toooooo......... Conneaut Lake Park! Not entirely sure how it's been around since 1892, this place is in the middle of nowhere! Ticket booths were in shambles. Random flats on the way in. Tilt-A-Whirl As you can see, the place was packed today. And even a cat was in attendance! One of two in existence. Really old Carousel. FYI The reason I'm here. Can we start making TPR Landmarks? Put a plaque where Robb proposed to Elissa at Colossus, put a plaque on the seat where "something terrible happened" on Olympia Loop-on, put a plaque on the gorilla at Worlds of Fun that Robb sodomized. You know, important landmarks! Train. Back in the woods. Lift hill, and this this was crooked like a set of teeth in Alabama. Return hills were kinda boring. WE'RE GOING STREAKING!!! I did like how they had signs like this in front of a lot of rides. A little information never hurt. Dilapidated, unused old building. Dilapidated, unused old crappy coaster. Dilapidated, unused old arcade. Dilapidated, unused old building. Dilapidated, unused old building. Dilapidated, unused row of old buildings. And some American flags. Time to leave, bye Blue Streak! For the sake of local chiropractors, I hope you stay open forever!

I still have never heard a decent argument as to why Maverick is crap other than the whole restraint thing. Airtime, quick turns, a great launch, two Stengel dives, crazy first drop. Pretty much has everything you need, just suck it up and have fun. The whole "pain" argument for Maverick and Magnum are pretty overdone, but that's just my opinion. I could ride Maverick and 1:3 on Magnum till Rapture.

^^Agreed. It's a very sad situation for everyone involved, and one that unfortunately could have easily been prevented. Hopefully we get more insight as to what was said between the man and the employees, that way it would be a little clearer as to how he was able to board. I would also like to know if he rode anything else during the day. Perhaps he rode something with similar restraints that gave him a false sense of security, not realizing that the ROS trains are much more open than other coasters he may have ridden?

^When was the last time a floorless coaster made everyone say "WOW!" like MF, TTD, or Maverick did their opening years?

Absolutely staggers the mind that he was allowed to ride. I'm still going to give him the benefit of the doubt, because a vast majority of park goers don't read those signs. Granted, he probably should have double checked given his condition, but it's ultimately up to the employees to ensure his safety and prevent him from riding. The GP aren't the ones that should know all the rules, the employees are. This is tragic, indeed.

Matterhorn Boblseds!

Rolling Thunder.

Thunderbolt at Kennywood!

Loch Ness Monster.

Any Chance Toboggan. And we can pretty much end the thread now.

Are there more than 10 letters in the ride name?

Was it built in the western hemisphere?

I'm wondering how in the world he was allowed on the ride without legs. Even if he had prosthetic limbs, those aren't break-proof. Sad incident, indeed.

^Yeah I rode Diamondback in early July 2009, and the rattle was most definitely there at the bottom of every drop. Not sure how it worked out like that, Intimidator had a small amount of rattling on occasion, but never to the extent that D'back did its opening year.

^But wait, Bizarro is closer in height to MF than Magnum!

I will agree with a previous poster who said the hill after the triple down is the most intense airtime on the ride. There's no hope for your butt staying in the seat on that hill.

From CP's track record, a wingrider would seem to be the logical choice if it is indeed a B&M. They've frequently taken a relatively new ride type and super-sized it (Raptor, Mantis, WT, TTD). But, as discussed before, they could be headed in a new direction. I just hope like hell it's not some boring floorless. If it's not going to be a wingrider, at least make it a dive machine that's longer with new elements. I can't even quantify what the extent of my disappointment would be with a floorless.

^The dingo eating babies was definitely a Seinfeld reference, although the seatbelt one wasn't. I'm not even sure which reference it would have been, enlighten me!