BigDipper 80

^^They do, in fact. The CP&LE is one of my favorite rides at the park. They take good care of their locomotives.

As much as I love Maxair, I think that Cedar Downs just edges it out as my favorite flat because of the pure "fun" factor. I make a point to ride it every time I'm at Cedar Point. From the National Carousel Association's website: nationalcarousel.org

I'm probably looking at the photo wrong, but how does BTMRR have upstop wheels? It almost looks like the track ties are welded to the bottom of the rails instead of the sides like the typical "Arrow-style" track. But enough being a nerd. Hopefully they powerwash all of that dirt that's accumulated under those old ties!

Hmmmm... it doesn't appear that you've mentioned anything about X-Flight since its announcement... As for me personally, I'm not particularly interested in LLDoD (I'm not a big drop tower fan, Intamin or otherwise). The only three rides I've really been following have been Wild Eagle (simply because it looks pretty), Leviathan (same), and Skyrush. That's not to say I dislike everything else, just that I'm not following any of it particularly closely.

That use of Arrow track behind the original facade is both bizarre and kinda fascinating. I'd never heard of old track being repurposed like that before. Very funky.

Very nice photos, as always. It makes me wish KI had gotten better attendance for its Winterfest and kept doing it. Busch Gardens is always beautiful, and it only looks better with all the Christmas lights. Absolutely fantastic.

Oh how I want to go on another cruise. Even more so with Ohio winter weather coming up. Also those photos of the Mexican ruins were cool. Though they were lacking in monorails. Alas.

That robot-pterodactyl... thing... is terrifying. But at the same time it's awesome, just like everything at IAAPA! Great coverage, as always!

Shark Fighter- Aquabats .

I finished my season up with a phenomenal night ride on The Beast about two weeks ago. It was a very nice way to end the year.

I remember going to Geneva-on-the-Lake when I was just a little tyke. I was excited for the Flying Scooters, but I was too short to ride. I took one look at the Pretzel (or whatever they called that dark ride in its later years) and immediately freaked out. There was no way I was going to be dragged on that. I did enjoy watching the little cars bang through the doors, though. That's probably what I love most about old dark rides- those doors. You can never be certain as to what lurks behind them. I really wish I had gone on that ride now, even though I probably would have barely remembered any of it at this point.

I have to agree with Chuck in that I enjoyed Anaconda's first drop (I actually found it to be mildly forceful in the back), but the rest of the ride was subpar. I don't think I have ever been on a coaster that seems to absolutely crawl through its corkscrews like Anaconda did.

I think that the best part of that press release is the photo of Thunder Road with its old trains. They are incredibly awesome!

Just a random late night musing, but has anyone caught wind of what's going to happen to Paddlewheel Excursion's animatronics? I'm guessing that they'll be going into storage for later use or just scrapped outright, but I wouldn't mind seeing them recommissioned along the railroad tracks or used as props for STR.

I see it.

Two updates this time. The wood coaster is inspired by The Raven and drops over 50 feet below ground level on its journey through the valley. I'm probably going to increase the turn radii of the turns in the valley portion at some point since the train is generating a lot of laterals and I want the turns to be shallow and Beast-like. I haven't named it yet- any suggestions? The yet-to-be-named terrain coaster. I haven't done much work on Volcano in about a month, but I have supported the first two turns and barrel roll. It's incredibly tedious to custom-support this thing, but perhaps I'll pick it up and support the rest of it soon. The-half-finished Volcano.

I was on Stumbleupon, and what came up? TPR.

^Nope, it was completely dark. It was impossible to tell where the tunnels even started. There was a blue light at the bottom of the second drop, but the valley was so filled with fog that a mysterious blue light permeating from the bottom of a seemingly-bottomless drop didn't take anything away from the experience. The prop out in the forest was also lit up with a dim light, but the ride was running so well that I could have cared less.

Well, I finally got a night ride on The Beast last night, and it was nothing short of spectacular. The entire ride was completely enveloped in fog and it was impossible to see the bottom of the drops. It honestly felt like it was going to explode as it rocketed through the helix. Easily the best ride I've ever had on it.

The only "new to me" park that I went this year was Kings Dominion, but I did manage to snag a few new credits from some parks I've visited before. In no particular order: Cedar Point Kennywood Kings Island Kings Dominion Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom

Though I have yet to go to Hershey, I have to agree from what I've seen in your pictures and others that the place looks fantastic at night. The "Hersheypark" sign with the popcorn lights looks retro and awesome! More parks need neon and popcorn lights.

Adventure Express at KI . Hopefully I'll get back once more to end my season on a higher note.

^I read it as "The relatives said that the 'playground' (i.e. the amusement park) should have placed warning signs 'along the shore' (i.e. in the queue) about not jumping out of the rafts". That would make the most sense, it would seem. "Playground" almost appears to be a mistranslation of "amusement park", so I read it as such. I could be wrong, though.

It wouldn't be a surprise if we shared, would it? I only kid, it was a "bonus prop" of sorts that I honestly forgot about until adamico2 reminded me of it back a few posts, but it was still nice that they put something out there.

Have any of you taken a peek at the map being used for Haunt? It's a "revised" version of the 2011 map and there have been a few cosmetic changes including adding trees to the map and giving Invertigo it's missing loop. It actually looks quite a bit better than the one from the beginning of the season, and I'd assume these changes will carry over onto the 2012 map. With that aside, I have a few other random statements about my visit today: Although none of the mazes were open with it being Sunday, the park was nearly completely empty (with the sole exception of Planet Snoopy, which was completely packed), which was certainly a plus. Beast was actually running quite a bit better than I remember it running last year, but boy, those trims do bite! No matter- I still think I may have to move the ride up a spot or two this year. Diamondback also redeemed itself after my lackluster ride earlier in the season. Where you sit really makes a difference.