BigDipper 80

I must admit that I rather do enjoy Halloweekends. Fall is my favorite time to visit any park, for that matter. I remember the last time I was at the Merry-go-Round Museum there was an employee restoring/carving a carousel horse for all to see, which was actually pretty cool.

Busch Gardens Tampa- - SheiKra and Gwazi- It was 2006, and it took me all day to work up the courage to ride SheiKra (I had only just started riding "big" roller coasters that morning, courtesy of Scorpion ) but by that point we had to leave. I think that we simply ran out of time for Gwazi. Geauga Lake- -Villain and Steel Venom- Steel Venom down during my trip in 2006, and I didn't have enough time during my 2007 visit to ride Villain. There wasn't much of an opportunity for me (or anyone, for that matter) to go back to GL and pick up that missed credit in 2008! Kings Island- - Flight of Fear and Invertigo- Invertigo went down just as we were lining up, and FoF's wait time was simply too long for the few hours we stopped by the park. I do have my KD FoF credit now, though, so I'm less concerned about hitting it up at KI. That doesn't mean I won't swing by if I get the chance sometime during Haunt!

Continuing along with my current desire to re-create Intamin launched coasters... I don't have the Sketchup skills to model the volcano itself, but if anyone wants to build it when I'm done with the supports, I'll gladly send you the track file!

This is still a ways out, what with classes starting up very soon. It's essentially a mirror image of Xcelerator.

Quoted for truth. I was actually disappointed with CP when they were running only two trains on Magnum during my visit last week ! I don't think I've ever seen it run less than all three trains.

In regards to Anaconda's restraints, I think that the big issue was that they were "stiffer" than, say, Dominator's restraints, which made it difficult for some people to use the common sense to push up on them harder. As I look back to what I posted before, I realize that it could have been much worse, and as a whole, the crews did a fair job. Not Cedar Point good, but decent. I simply get irked watching six or so trains get dispatched in thirty minutes when that wait could have been shortened by adding another train. Of course, I am neither a ride op nor a park manager and have no control over such matters. I admit that part of my problem is that I'm used to seeing the coasters at Cedar Point running at full capacity nearly every time I visit, regardless of the crowds. I'll just need to learn more patience . That being said, Dale (an older gentleman) over at I305 was one of the nicest and most enjoyable ride ops I've seen in a while. Great guy.

To all the above, if there was one thing that bothered me about the park during my sojourn, it was the slow operations at Grizzly and Rebel Yell. A half-hour station wait for both Rebel Yell and Grizzly was completely unnecessary. Even Anaconda was having major stacking issues since the crew refused to help guests when the restraints would get stuck and the guest couldn't figure out that they needed to give it a firm push down for it to release. I305 added an extra train on most of the days I was at the park, but even then it would only occur very late in the day. At least they were always calling out for single riders, which helped me skip a lot of the wait most days .

I need to meet Mr. Save Deja Vu. He has the most brilliant retorts. We would be great friends and make up sassy comebacks together, like the following gem:

^Actually, that Smurf was a prize that someone had won, and I found it funny that one had worked its way back inside of the mountain so long after their eviction. Although, if there were Smurfs still hidden inside of Volcano, that would be pretty hysterical!

And finally, part 2.5. It's not quite a full Part 3, and it's more of a collection of some miscellaneous photos I couldn't squeeze in earlier. The park as seen from the campground. A typical campground Lodge. My only Rebel Yell photo, interestingly. The "stacked" look Dominator has vaguely reminds me of some of Schwarzkopf's coasters. Who ordered interlocking corkscrews? Volcano again, and Avalanche's lift. I liked that Volcano had bins despite the split station, but I wonder if it slows down operations even further? The first-gen impulse trains aren't quite as sleek as the current ones. A completely terrible picture, but I found a Smurf in the Volcano queue to be entirely hilarious. The tunnel is very nice and shady. This is supposed to be up with the other Dominator photos. Please pretend that it is. A very nice corner of the park. It's a shame, though, that as soon as the sun slips just past the horizon, my point-and-shoot loses its ability to take clear photos. Odds-n-ends from Boo Blasters. Heading back onto International Street. The three big fountains KD has as opposed to KI's multiple little ones are impressive. Let's go up once more before the sun sets. I have yet to encounter a working Intamin drop tower. A random aside: Some of my favorite amateur photos come from the early 1970's. There was a slight blueish-grey tint to them that I absolutely love. This photo reminds me of that slightly. And I part with a twilight shot of the Eiffel Tower. That covers nearly everything worth sharing, and I hope you've enjoyed!

^I was caught completely off guard at how incredible it was. That tunnel was right up there with Beast's helix tunnels for me. Absolutely amazing. I wanted to snag a night ride on Grizzly, but unfortunately with the park closing at 8 the week I was there, I missed out on that. But it gives me a reason to come back!

Time for part 2-- I think some I305 photos might be in order: I doubt you have ever seen a "through the trees" photo on TPR. This ride is what makes KD worth visiting. Now that I've ridden I305 and Millennium Force, I suppose that I'll have to compare the two. I honestly have no clue which one I like more; other than the height, the two are entirely different, and I like them both for different reasons. MF is fast, graceful, and simply "looks right", and it's the kind of ride that's pure fun. One can't help but throw his hands in the air. But I305 is completely mental and it's most likely the most forceful rides I've ever experienced. I don't know if I'll be able to break the tie the two have on my list, so for now, I'll let them coexist in my number one spot. It's smiling! Typically, one would caption this as "TWISTY!!!!1!!111", but I prefer the term "noodly bits". Those folks are having the flesh melted off of their face at the moment. It's not that tall. Look- that light post is clearly taller. The roll reversal on this thing is insane. I'll bet you've seen this one before. Probably because it was added as an amendment to the Eiffel Tower Photograh Law. Motion blur. More pleased riders. Enough I305, let's see what else Congo has to offer. No, it's not African themed. Get over it. Also not African themed. It's not the end of the world, folks. Note the peeling billboard. That should probably be fixed. This picture might have been artsy, but instead it is blah and overly grey. But at least (one side of) the splashdown was working! And the explosions at the helicopter scene were on. I don't recall KI having any of the effects running. I'm surprised people haven't complained about how un-African the name "Scrambler" is. Planet Snoopy was nice, but I would really like to see it expanded into Kidzville. "No, this isn't Yogi Bear-related at all. It's a... um... a Kidzville Junior Ranger hat." It's a fun ride, and it's nice to see a "family ride" in the kid's section. Planet Snoopinator. I was actually quite surprised with Ghoster Coaster. I liked it a lot! KD's Boo Hill has the superior facade and queue, but I like KI's version a heck of a lot more. Another "lamp in the foreground" shot. Entertaining tombstones. Booga booga booga! Rows and rows of Pikachu can only mean one thing: We have found are way to The Grove. Shockwave might look pretty with it's new paintjob, but my shoulders still hurt. More vertical loopage. The ride was OK, until Togo realized at the last minute that a coaster can't make a complete circuit without turning and hastily added some brutal ones onto the ride. The airtime, however, was completely insane. I have never felt so close to death as I have while going over one of Shockwave's bunny hops. Are we sure this is KD? It looks a lot like Geauga Lake. I think that this exact photo was used on the 2004 GL park map. Yeah, we must be at GL. All of The Grove was pretty bad, but this end of the midway was particularly dead. They really need something to fill up this giant slab of asphalt to anchor the area visually now that Hypersonic's gone. Hurler- what's there to say? An uninspiring layout, rough turns. Perhaps I've been battle-hardened by Mean Streak and SoB, but I honestly expected this to beat me up a bit more than it did. At least Hurler has traces of airtime, unlike the former two. Ricochet was decent as far as mice go. I love carousels. Oh, good. We've escaped The Grove and made it to Old Virginia. This is a picture of Flying Eagles, if you didn't notice. This family gave me confused looks as I took their photo. I didn't even notice this until I got in line for Flying Eagles. Grizzly was quite decent. And the tunnel was LOUD. It's a decent section of the park. Well, I'd say that covers most of the park! I'll dig up a few more photos if I can sort through any more worth sharing, and put them in a "Part 2.5" post. I hope you've enjoyed! Comments are always welcome!

^I was at the park on Walk-on Wednesday, and let me tell you, when folks started coming up Grizzly's exit, more than a few yelling matches broke out. At least the crew eventually stopped the passholders from taking the same row twice, and actually blocked off two rows on I305. I don't personally mind fastpass systems, but if people will be acting in such a manner over people coming up the exit, I'd think the best solution for the park's sake would be to create some "alternate route" that merges before the station.

^^ I do know that when Volcano first opened, it ran with trains of 8 people as opposed to the 16 it carries today, due to Intamin having trouble with getting the full trains up to speed. I don't believe that it's ever had any train longer than the current 16 passenger ones.

Kings Dominion. It's a park we sure have seen a lot of in the past couple of years. But instead of starting off here at the main gate, let's start a half-mile up the road, at KD's Camp Wilderness. Our home away from home for our week in Doswell. All of the streets around the campground were named after rides in the park. An attempt at being artsy. Even the campground is fully stocked with trashcans. It is impossible to escape their grip. The main lodge, stocked with a typical campground general store and some plush chairs left over from 1975, with an equally dated pool located out back. Now, the main reason I had headed down to Virginia in the first place was to visit an old friend who I had not seen in ten years. After living in London and Naples, finally settled down in Fredericksburg about four years ago, and I was elated to finally meet up with her once again. But of course, when one is camping around the corner from Kings Dominion, one can't help but stop by for a visit. Let's head over to the park, shall we? I suppose this takes us back to where we started, doesn't it? This photo, is, of course, different from the first one, as Virginia state law requires that one must take this exact photo of the Eiffel Tower each time you enter the park. This being my first time at the park, I took all sorts of photos, particularly along International Street. KD's street is just as nice as KI's, but I love the architectural differences and the different sense of place afforded by KD's larger trees. I wonder what lurks behind those cellar doors... probably more trashcans. What's that I spy lurking through the trees? I must investigate this mystery further. I feel like I have seen this coaster somewhere before... *On an unrelated note, I like how this photo turned out. Hmm, "Dominator". Sounds familiar. I can't quite put my finger on it. I really liked how the ride's entrance uses to be under this turn while it was still at Geauga Lake. We have achieved vertical loop. These folks have just survived shuffling through two corkscrews. Honestly, I didn't find the rattling to be as bad as some have made it out to be. I remember it shuffling through the corkscrews at Geauga Lake, too. One final photo of Dominator before we head back to I-Street and press toward Congo. Let me interject for just a moment. All of these photos were taken over a four-day period, which should help explain why the sky tends to change color from photo to photo. For my own sanity in uploading, I'm grouping the photos by ride, regardless of the day they were taken. Let's get back to a few more photos, shall we? Eiffel Tower in Hulk Mode. Intamin really did a great job with this tower, and the one in Cincinnati. I guess this means that we are at the top now. An interesting perspective. More obligatory "top of the tower" shots. We'll be getting to you soon, I305. You too, Grizzly. It's good to be back at ground level, isn't it? I think it's time to take a stroll over to Congo. I cannot lie- I think that Volcano is a very good-looking ride. If I could, I would ask it out on a date. I wish more of these full-circuit launched inverts would have been built. They're quite fun, although the capacity issues are a glaring problem. I'd say that Volcano and Skyrocket are the only two coasters that I've been on that have zero-g rolls that actually deliver what they promise. Fire was being shot off, albeit sporadically, and I never managed to get a photo. One of the nicest hot dog carts around. Huss makes fantastic flats, and Top Spins are wonderful. A terrible photo of Avalanche. My first Mack bobsled! It was a decent ride. Although the landscape doesn't particularly scream "Congo", the buildings look passable. Guardians of the Overpriced Temple of Food. The only notable thing about Anaconda is that it's over a lake. But you probably already knew that. The Arrow magic seat rides just as smoothly on Anaconda as it does on the other Arrow loopers I've been on. The Anaconda Signature Shot. Silhouetted against a twilight sky. Anaconda leads us to the real star of the park, looming right there in the background. But seeing as this post is stuffed full with photos already, you'll have to wait for Part 2 to see I305, the Grove and Old Virginia. Stay tuned! Any questions, comments, and concerns are appreciated, as always!

I305 last Friday. It most certainly lived up to the hype.

Speaking of PS, is there any reason why CF didn't bother to include renovating Kidzville during the addition? It would have seemed to have made more sense to update that part of the kid's area with some fresh paint and some new names, at the very least.

Millennium Force after a number of breakdowns and a long line. I remembered today when I saw so many people why I tend to avoid Cedar Point at this point in the season!

^As long as they ditch the surf curves.

^They're actually called menagerie carousels if they have more than horses.

That's some absolutely gorgeous work they have going on there. I absolutely love carousels for their sheer level of artistry that cannot be matched by any other ride.

So far this year, I have the following in 2011 maps: Cedar Point Kings Island Wildwater Kingdom Kennywood Kings Dominion I have a handful of earlier-than-2011 CP and KI maps, if anyone happens to be looking for one. I also have plenty of Walt Disney World maps from 2008 if you are in need of any.

^Cedar Point always pops into my mind. Even a Boo Blasters would be welcomed. Of course, that will probably never happen. While I hesitate to call it the "lamest" dark ride (the ride vehicles are pretty neat), I was pretty underwhelmed with Ghostwood Estate. It was just too bright and difficult to shoot the targets for any of the animations to really work effectively.

Right now, the 3 Intamin pre-fabs are pretty high on my list, along with Boulder Dash. Park-wise, TDL/DisneySEA and DLP are the big ones I'd like to hit at some point down the line. State-side, I'd like to get out to Knoebels and Dollywood.

I love the Internet Wayback Machine.