deathbydinn

I don't see Hades ever running more than one train. With the location of the brake run, adding a transfer track and storage track wouldn't the easiest thing since not only is it pretty high up but the ride exit and park paths would go directly below it. They could possibly add it after the station, but it would still require some layout changes and maybe moving some paths around. Regardless, I just don't see the park spending that kind of money for something that won't make them money park. Remember, 99% of the local area go to Mt. Olympus for the waterpark, not the coasters. The coasters will never been the main draw for the park, so I would expect to see money that could be spent on making Hades run more trains being spent on the waterpark and hotels.

I'm in. Looked like great fun last year. As for my interests, totally fine with anything roller coaster, theme park or theme park haunt related, but besides that, Doctor Who, Simpsons, England, Green Day (the only CDs I don't have are 39/Smooth and Warning) Scooby Doo, and anything just weird and quirky that a person would really never actually need yet is still really awesome.

^ Exactly. I think some people are interpreting this the wrong way, the rumor isn't that the policy is going away, it's that SmarteCarts are. In a recent offseason update, SFGAm confirmed that "locker replacements" were going on within the park. I would expect the parks that still make you use lockers to continue to do so, they'll just be from a different company.

Does SFNE still enforce lockers or do they provide station bins and cupholders?

I see theming Superman as a give and take. It would add to the ride itself, but if we had big Metropolis buildings looming over Orleans Place it would make the area as a whole look bad. Plus you have Dark Knight right next to it so the two could clash. That's the problem with SF building DC themed rides in non DC themed areas. I want the rides to look good and be themed, but at the same time I want them to fit in with the surrounding area. Batman kinda works since most of its theming is in the queue and it doesn't stick out in the area too much. I just think in the case of Superman (the GRAm one at least) looking a bit more generic is fine because I care more about the themed area as a whole.

- The chugging sound Whizzer makes, especially on the high speed trains. - The roar of a wooden coaster running over the track as well as the sound (sometimes) made as the train smashes into the brakes.

The post wasn't a joke, but the picture was. It was photoshopped so Screamscape took it down. link

^ I hope everything gets fixed fine, Excalibur is such a fun and unique ride! They don't have a huge collection of flats either, so it'd really be a shame to lose the best one. As for the boomerang, it's nice to see indications that they might be willing to spend some money on it to improve it. If they do get a new train though, I'm not so sure it'd be from Vekoma. Hasn't the company not been too happy with them because of how the Deja Vus performed? Have any of the parks even gotten anything new from Vekoma since then? I'm hoping that that, plus the fact that Mr. Freeze was converted to lap bars will push them to get trains like the ones in Wiener Prater. No matter what happens, I'm probably a bit too excited for this. With Boomerangs being so infamous in the enthusiast world, I'm looking forward to it just to see if it lives up to its negative reputation.

Intamin: Could we expect to see any new flat ride developments in the upcoming years, or is the focus mainly on coaster and water ride development/innovation?

X Flight has the problem as well. I've never had problems breathing, but a few rides have left the restraints pushing down on my shoulders. Having ridden it a lot I've been able to find the spots that really push the restraints down, so I push up on them then which pretty much takes away any discomfort on the brake run. Hopefully B&M can come up with something to keep the restraints from moving soon though as it would be nice to not have to think during the ride.

Looks like the best part of La Ronde is the mini donuts. They did do a nice job making the SLC look nice, but it looks like the older coasters haven't been touched since the day they were put up. Doesn't look like they put much effort into Fright Fest either, and they have the weirdest spider webs I have ever seen.

Great America has station bins and cup holders on every ride and coaster, yet when I went to St. Louis they were still making people use lockers.

^^ I think he was just trying to sell flash passes. Today was crowded, but not the point that you'd absolutely need a flash pass to ride anything and it was nothing compared to the past few weekends. Within a less than an hour of the park opening, I was able to ride Batman twice, V2, Little Dipper, American Eagle and TT2 all with little to no wait. Compare that to last sunday where within 20 minutes of opening Raging Bulls line reached the train tunnel. As far as Fright Fest crowds go, today really wasn't that bad.

^ Our safety standards can't be that high, we do allow the Little Amerricka wild mouse and toboggan to keep running after all...

Six Flags Panda Express serve Coke as well. The only time I've actually ever seen Pepsi at a Panda Express, in a park or not, is at Cedar Point.

Six Flags America just announced that they will be closed tomorrow due to the hurricane. https://www.facebook.com/SixFlagsAmerica/posts/10151081076395995

^ The haunt itself actually hasn't started yet. It only runs Oct 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27 and 28. You can see the theming of its scare zones though, here: http://lukeandthetempleoffun.blogspot.sg/2012/09/halloween-horror-nights-2-construction.html

Comparing that to TTD which has a track height off 400 feet at 120 mph, is an extra 30 mph really going to send the train up another 190 feet? Not at all saying I have a great understanding of how this all works, but that seems like a lot.

^ Totally agree and today they actually decided to start having larger scale Twitter Q&As on a weekly or monthly basis. Nothing major came out of it, but I was very happy to see their answer to this.

I really liked Ninja the three times I rode it. Sure it bobbled you around, but I was expecting a lot worse. The last helix was definitely the worst part though.

Since there has been a few posts showcasing the parks Fright Fest theming, I thought I'd show off some of the scare actors for this year. I took pictures as well as filmed both of the parades, which you can see here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRzC26YUp1I (Sorry the sound isn't great in some parts, I filmed it all with my phone and the loud music gets a bit distorted at times.) The Zombie Jamboree for opening day included Tinys funeral procession. The sign is held by two Ruins of Fenrir actors. Hellmouth Demons Carousel Plaza. Mostly the same as last year. The scarecrow and witch got new costumes, and one of the crows was replaced with a vampire. Port Dread pirates. The grim reaper is a photo op character in Carousel Plaza. Burn Em and Buried circus actors. The ringmaster and monkey are new and both clowns had updates to their costumes. Sector 7 costumes look great this year. The werewolfs and bald guys are in Ruins of Fenrir. Last years werewolfs looked alot better sadly. The other two actors are in Tinsletown Terror. With these new costumes, Tinsletown makes even less sense this year. Atleast the actors are good. I completely forgot about the Bayou de Vaudou actors since they were at the end this year, so this is the best I got. You can see them better in the video. The bush people in Necropolis are back and as good as ever. Bonezwick bowling alley employee. Pawn Scars employee. He was better for atmosphere than scares (but not keen on pictures apparently.) The porcelain doll is back and is just as amazing as last year. Easily one of the best actors in the park. The ending is the same as the last few years with the scarecrows and zombie bums. Other actors in the area include a janitor, Gates Motel employee, butcher, school girl, postal worker, etc.

Is it actually rethemed or are you just referring to the "Wheelie Orc Chefs" on the Fright Fest website?

As was said before, American Eagle is a classic ride that still runs great and is still very popular. It needs nothing from Rocky Mountain Coasters ATM, and would never need a loop or corkscrew. With new regulations set in place by the city since the ride was built, I'm not sure if they could even make such drastic changes to it.

Yes, it's $20 for unlimited access (that day only) for the three houses, Deadline and Wicked Woods. I don't belive you can buy individual tickets this year.

I just got home from Fright Fest and I've very happy to say this years event is great improvement over last years. The number of scare actors on the midways didn't seem to be hugely, but I could tell that many of the actors were new and they really have great energy, something I thought was lacking last year. While being opening night probably did have something to do with it, I went opening night last year as well and it was nowhere near as good. I'll give a quick run down of the event but I'll try not to spoil too much. Haunts: - Wicked Woods: I was surprised with Wicked Woods. It wasn't overloaded with scares, but the set designs allowed the ones there were to be pretty good. If you go through, stay towards the front of the group by the tour guide. The actors did make sure that everyone saw them, but you'll understand the story better in the front. - Dead Line: Dead Line was odd in that, it really didn't need the train. There's a few small sets along the tracks, but all the scares are in the walk-though on Iron Wolfs old plot. It would have been just as scary without the train, which is really just used to set up the story. Regardless, the walk through in the end had some good scares and creepy moments with lots of actors in a small space. - Manslaughter Manor: MM was my least favorite of the haunts. It relied too heavily on special effects rather than scares. It seemed very understaffed as places with easy scares were empty. It wasn't all bad as it did have some cool effects on it, but it could be highly improved. - Massacre Medical Center: Same thing as last year with a few actors moved to different spots for more effective scares. This was the only house that gave you the option to walk through alone, or only with your group. Definitely the best looking of the houses, and the scares were pretty good too. - Mausoleum of Terror: Surprisingly, this ended up being my favorite of the houses. You can tell its the oldest of the houses, but that gives it a good advantage it that it has to focus on the scares, not special effects. It was the only house that you couldn't bring bags or sports bottles into as well as being the only they took your picture in. - Necropolis: Not too different from last year. Luckily the law suit seemed to have no effect on what the actors could do. They do seem to be better placed this year, taking away some of the quiet zones from last year. Scare zones / Themed rides Carousel Plaza: Decorated very well this year and better scare actors behind the carousel. The area is pretty small, but the actors use it well. Bayou Du Vaudou: The theming is the same as always with the large above ground graves, but the new actors were going crazy and really chasing people around, which I had never seen in that area before. The two Voodoo doll characters were replaced. Burn 'em and Burried Circus: A few new additions to the theming and two new characters replacing the mime and red haired clown. Again, the actors were going all out and chasing people down. Port Dread: One of the few things that wasn't as good as last year. The theming wasn't great and the actors just weren't that good. They made some effort to scare they just weren't at the same level of other scare zones, even though it has more actors than most of the others. The Ruins of Fenrir: Also not as good as last year. The vampires are gone with some weird white faced people taking their place and the werewolf costumes weren't nearly as good as last years. The whole area just didn't make much sense and wasn't scary. Hellmouth: Hellmouth now uses the path next to Buccaneer Battle and actually has good theming. The area was very small, but it works well. Sadly, the Demon song was not playing on the midway. Tinsletown Terror: This area is still weird. The costumes are cowboys and indians, but the theming is still all left over Area 51 stuff. IMO, they really should just ditch Tinsletown Terror and have half the area be Southwest Scare-itory again, and have an Area 51 scare zone by the amphitheater. On a positive note, the actors were much better than last years and filled the space well. Sector 7: Withs lots of theming and all new costumes, Sector 7, which was already very good, got even better. The actors were really taking advantage of their surroundings and had some cool props to scare with. Make sure to visit in the daytime so you can get a good look at their masks. Valhalla Fyre: This new retheme of Fiddlers Fling, sadly, didn't add too much to the ride. The music was too quiet and the few special lights don't do much either. The best part was the large amounts of fog. Terror Twister 2: I didn't notice new in the ride, but it's not like it needed it anyways. It's amazing as always, and the music is turned all the way up unlike last year, so you can hear every song while in line. The only show I saw was Love at First Fright, which is amazing as always. This year has a few new cast members with Katie, the blue vampire and the hag being replaced. The new Katie and Vampire were fine, but I'm pretty sure the new hag is a guy. (S)he gives a good effort, but they just couldn't get the voice as good as the previous actress. I won't spoil any of the jokes, but there were some pretty good ones this year. So overall, I think this will be a great year for Fright Fest. Hopefully the actors will keep the same energy as they had tonight, as there were some really crazy scares. I'll get some pictures and videos up within a few days.