vertigomkie

VF already has a 1980 Arrow that out-performs it. I'm honestly not sure what that ride would add to the lineup of any of those parks. Haha, no I would think that after the relocation and repackaging Vortex would look much like Iron Wolf's conversion into Apocalypse. That being said, Vortex being relocated by Cedar Fair is not what I see as improbable (they did it to three of park's original anchor steel coasters (the vekoma invertigo, the vekome flying dutchman, and schwarzkopfshuttle loop_. The problem is pretty simple: I don't ever think park management in any analysis could imagine trimming down the steel line-up to Demon and Flight Deck and let Vortex join Invertigo, Stealth, and Tidal Wave/Lightnin in the CGA graveyard. If Vortex is salvageable, they will do it. They already removed the three most proximal anchor coasters (Invertigo, Stealth, and Tidal Wave/Lightnin').

That's what I never got about Grizzly. Was it seriously modified at some point? Did someone think these long stretches (see below) of track would ever be a good idea? There are literally no real hills until the final run back to the station. It's honestly the most interesting (kind words) use of 3,200 feet of wood track in history. Credit: CoasterBuzz

Yep, that sounds about right for the late august/September BAFF days given my experince with them in 2014 and 2015. You got 2015 and 2016 pass users all vying to use it. This sunday is the last in this round of BAFF not to mention being the parks first GLBT day as well. Watch out for the cheer jamz thing during like the two middle sundays of fright fest. Maybe I just find it annoying but I never had a good time when I accidentally encountered those. Is attendance typically pretty strong on weekend at SFDK or just during special events? I haven't been there in years, but I always assumed it had lousy attendance given that it has seemed very neglected in the ride department after that initial blast of Medusa, Roar and the impulse coaster in a short period of time. In truth, SFDK never had much of a drought investment of capital... 2003 brought Zonga, 2004 and 2005 brought their trademark Killer Whale show and Ocean Discovery (the large bulk of the marine life attractions), 2007 brought the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom full purchase of the park at $16 million rebranding, 2008 brought the Gerstlauer spinning coaster and Holiday in the Park, 2009 brought Odin's Temple of the Tiger (to date the largest draw in the park besides the dolphin shows), 2010 brought Dolphin Discovery, and 2011 and 2012 brought SkyScreamer and Superman. The injection of so much ride capital in the beginning (see five coasters from 2000-2005) left much to be desired at the park given that height restrictions placed all the coasters in the front of the park and the early wildlife attractions were lacking. Until post rebranding around 2009, SFDK never felt like much of a park. Given that there isn't much competition in the Bay Area for new thrills ::cough:: CGA, nuff said ::cough::, I'd say SFDK has done a surprisingly consistent job.

^If and when Mitch's poll actually comes back.

For some reason noticed the bald-dude with the No. 14 Pete Rose jersey standing besides his son with blonde cornrows before I noticed Daffy Ducks Bucket Blasters. Is this the same model as the Mack Splash Battle that SFDK got?

Short-bus special, wow

For the slow one's like myself, I'm assuming the "step-up under-flip inverted roll-de-loop-de-loop spectacular" is the inversion that rolls into the first turn?

Yeah, there's a hope of enthusiasts the Bizzaro will somehow return to it's iconic S:ROS glory, unfortunately, so long as those trains and bulky audio-system stay, I don't think so. Still, the purple looked wonky and GP still call it Superman. Bring him back! THIS! SFNE used to have a fairly impressive flat ride collection, but removed much of it over the last decade. Glad to see them finally get something added!

This. I get the feeling those of you saying Roar shouldn't have an inversion is because you haven't tried an RMC inversion yet. Definitely different! If your reasoning is that it would make it worse for families with little kids scared of loops... Sorry, this is gonna be the wrong coaster for those types of people. SFDK will have to get a family coaster for that. If your reasoning is you want a thrill ride without inversions... I don't think you'll be disappointed if Roar does have them and I think it will. yI'll echo similar sentiments as posted in the other thread: Roar was the only major coaster without inversions at SFDK, which is not as minor as you make it seem. Assuming the RMC-treatment comes with at least two inversions (as all but NTG have), wouldn't this make SFDK the only major park without a major non-inverting coaster? While SFFT still has the Arrow Mine Train and Gerstlauer spinning coaster, after RMC-treatment there really is nothing to bridge the gap for young-riders between Cobra and...say a SLC, Vekoma Boomerang, Medusa, and two launched looping coasters. As much as thrill park of SFDK has become, they really are a family draw with most of their acreage and parkspace dedicated to animal attractions, marine-life, and family rides. I've been on Wicked Cyclone, NTG, and Outlaw Run. I'm sure Iron-Roar-Steel-Colossus-RhinoRampage will be phenomenal too, but I hope that they'll do something to fill this gap too. I have three younger sisters and it's frustrating for families to not have any in-betweens in a park of all steel looping coasters and a Tivoli. Does any other park have a similar problem?

yeah, this is my concern as well as a brother with three younger sisters --- it's less so local bias but Roar was the only major coaster without inversions at SFDK and wasn't loathed too much for that reason. Assuming the RMC-treatment comes with at least two inversions (as all but NTG have), wouldn't this make SFDK the only major park without a major non-inverting coaster? While SFFT still has the Arrow Mine Train and Gerstlauer spinning coaster, after RMC-treatment there really is nothing to bridge the gap for my little sisters between Cobra and...say a SLC, Vekoma Boomerang, Medusa, and two launched looping coasters. I'm sure Iron-Roar-Steel-Colossus-RhinoRampage will be phenomenal, but I hope that they'll do something to fill this gap too. It's frustrating for families to not have any in-betweens in a park of all steel looping coasters and a Tivoli. Does any other park have a similar problem?

What do you mean, "we enthusiasts"? I love B&M hypers, every one I've been on is a great ride experience! Not everybody who is, shall we say, more enthusiastic than normal regarding coasters, thinks they are tame! I am very excited to ride Mako, and considering that both of SWO's previous B&M coasters are in my Top 15 coasters overall, I have a feeling it'll be another great addition! Agreed with much of being said so far. I don't think there's a B&M hyper I don't love (including many those Robb mentioned). I think the disgruntlement with B&M hypers is that we have seen what can really be engineered with under 4,000 ft of track and heights barely encroaching 200ft with the likes of Expedition GeForce and Goliath@Walibi, that it makes you wonder why some B&M hypers turned out the way they did. In the case of SFOG's Goliath or Leviathan, are they bad? No, but it alway felt like something far shorter (length/height-wise) and more thrilling could have been built for far less. And in other cases, Why was Goliath at LaRonde ever made? If parks wanted more ride's like La Ronde's Goliath, we'd see them. It does feel like some rides are engineered purely for the Magnum-XL visual effect (see sheer height/towering amazement) that the aforementioned created 30+ years ago rather than ride experience. Gatekeeper may be more symptomatic of that problem than anything else.

To be fair, Twisted Twins didn't really duel either. After the first drop, the trains would pass each other once.

Agreed, great addition but I would really have to see it to believe it. From the description, this is around DownTime, the most congested area of the park, and will dwarf the center of the park (Wildcat & Giant Wheel). Putting this down towards the end of the tram right alongside the lake, near Thunder Rapids, would have been perfect (or in place of Saw Mill Plunge). Not sure why put in such a congested area of the park (it also never made much since why Thunder Rapids is alone by the SkyRide). The area around DownTime is already really congested. As most lovers of Lake Compounce would say, anything they could do to spread out the attractions of the park while still maintaining the charm, is best. I trust that Lake Compounce has thought this through though, perhaps even contemplated theming and/or enclosing the majority of the base of the ride.

Here's a feature Pat and Dan Koch had on Alabama Today this week: http://www.abc3340.com/Clip/11626952/splash-adevnture#.VYsKtXum2rg I've noticed that, while the water park is obviously the draw of the park, they seem to have avoided any mention of the kiddies rides in the park in any of the last 8-9 promotional cycles (the way Waterville USA markets FunDepot). This has really made me curious of how the dry-side fits within their master plan (if they envision operating similar to Waterville, which would not be to much capital/infrastructure beyond what they have now) or slowly, serious growth as Holiday World did during the 90's focusing on the water park and adding Holidog's FunTown for 5-7 years before making any large dry-side attraction additions. Why operate that dry-side at all Pat and not mention it? I know Pat and Dan have this well-thought out and are in this for the long-haul. Just itching to know what their vision is.

By "respond", I presume you mean that they'll remove more capital, in true CGA style. If anything, expect investment in the water park. I see no other developments coming CGA simply in response to the market.

A simple cached search of the promo site reveals the headlines: Six Flags America to Open 10th New Roller Coaster in 2015 Maryland’s Largest Theme Park Announces Bourbon St. Fireball - a Seven Story Loop Roller Coaster UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — August 28, 2014 — Six Flags America, announced today the addition of its 10th roller coaster, Bourbon St. Fireball – Chaos Coaster. Standing at a stunning seven stories tall the new Bourbon St. Fireball will reside in the Mardi Gras section of the park.

Yes, yes, and yes to both of these!

Wish: A B&M Flying Coaster that uses the terrain like Tatsu Probably: A Ride like Firechaser Express I don't think they would build a Firechaser Express when they have Powder Keg. It wouldn't be in Silver Dollar City's style to utilise those hillsides with something that didn't bring something really different to the parks package. Personally, the park feels incredible as is and I don't see them rushing to add a coaster (even a family coaster) when Outlaw Run was in 2013. If anything they're fixing up one of the two most lacking areas of the park (the Gulch). If anything, they need to complete the Great Barn section of the park with more family-oriented attractions, a show, or some flat rides in the coming years.

For anyone curious about the media spin on this release... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To Appear Less Heartless, SeaWorld Is Building Bigger Bathtubs for Its Killer Whales By Jordan Weissmann, Slate Magazine SeaWorld Entertainment has finally acknowledged that public revulsion over the company’s treatment of its killer whales is hurting business—and a few oh-so-lucky cetaceans will get to enjoy their very own “water treadmill” as a result. On Wednesday, SeaWorld’s stock price crashed by about a third after management delivered an earnings report chock full of dismal revenue and attendance figures. Today, according to the Wall Street Journal, SeaWorld is responding by announcing plans to spruce up its orca habitats. They will now have bigger, fancier swimming pools to call home: And about that new exercise equipment: More exercise will be nice. None of this addresses the fundamental issue: that these are massive, highly social mammals, who normally travel upwards of 100 miles in a day, and who are being kept in captivity in order to do tricks for tourists. A bigger bathtub prison is still a bathtub prison. http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/08/15/seaworld_building_new_tanks_for_its_whales_a_fancy_bathtub_is_still_a_bathtub.html

Ummm, nuff said. Worst wooden coaster in the world is a bit harsh, but worst neuter? You bet, trimmed and modified to be as tame and featureless as a wooden coaster could get. This may get edited, but my co-worker summed up a ride on Grizzly best as "making love to an 80-year old woman you once thought was good". [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

I'm surprised there isn't more discussion around this, but I think there is such fatigue in the coaster community about the future of this property. I love a good ride on Devil's Den and Blue Streak just as much as the rest of us and really do hope there is a light amidst this dark time for Conneaut Lake. At this point, beyond the sheriff’s sale and revitalization fund, I hope there is a way to repair the park's reputation. I don't think anyone wants Conneaut Lake to see the light of another season simply to operate as a ghost town.

^but remember, Polarcoaster doesn't count

I'd be happier if the park would just work on the landscaping and plant a few more trees ::YASSSS, TREESS!!!!:: Parks have run successfully with less attractions than Kentucky Kingdom because they are enjoyable to stay at. Hurricane Bay was enjoyable, Kentucky Kingdom was not.

Here's the thing about Kentucky Kingdom, it's hard for the park not to seem like the skeleton of a Six Flags park; they had such little time to do so much work. I really would want to root for Kentucky Kingdom, but here's my honest review (water park, beside needing some TLC in some places, is heading in a great direction): For starters, the park was plagued with breakdowns all day. Lighting Run had six break downs yesterday, Fearfall got stuck twice in two hours, Ferris Wheel got stuck, and this was all within the span of two hours (when put in context, there aren't many rides in the park to begin with). I felt like they're working out the kinks for the park, but the Louisville crowd was getting pretty frustrating and giving harsher reviews than me. The 5D theater was a positive addition to the park and the water park was spectacular, but the rest of the park felt like the Conneaut Lake of Six Flags (there were signs like these shown below all over the park). And the operations made SFMM feel like Holiday World. It would be different if that park was not about the coasters and their was an atmosphere to enjoy, but the classic Louisville crowd were unruly teens dropped off, running free around the park and the cracked paths with closed down food stations, etc. destroyed much of the atmosphere. The employees were a plus though because they seemed really excited to work there/have the park back. Lighting Run is definitely a top 10 steel coaster, but I wouldn't pay $44.95 just to ride Lighting Run though.

^funny thing, because in reality, the dead spot of the park will still be Movietown by the Chiller's old location.