BigDipper 80

Shockwave at KD has one of the most extreme moments of airtime that I can remember on a coaster (stand-up or otherwise), but everything immediately after that hill is painful garbage. Other than that, I've only ridden Mantis, but I'm a Mantis fanboy and rather like its intensity. Although riding it on a hot day around noon on an empty stomach is a recipe for greyouts.

I never knew that Thunder Road ran such awesome-looking trains! Very cool, and they look pretty comfy, too! I have to agree that Verbolten has some very nice trains. I'm also partial to the NAD Century Flyers. They're lumbering boxes, but they have style.

Great update! As a past Mantis crew member, it's nice to know that there are in fact people who actually somewhat enjoy riding it.

A better angle on the loop, from KI's Instagram: loop.bmp Definitely looks wider than a typical loop.

^I made the mistake of going to CP on a Halloweekends Saturday exactly once. We waited three hours for MF and just left after that, we were so fed up. It's gotta be miserable for those folks who actually expect to do anything on those days.

I got a paltry 17... one of these days I'll actually make it out to more parks.

It's actually "Moly orange" ( one "l" as in molybdenum), not "molly orange". It's just paint that gets its orange color from molybdenum. Nothing too mysterious.

God, this makes me miss Japan so much. My favorite memories were just getting off the train at a random station and wandering around "off the beaten track". Tokyo is such an incredible place. Keep it coming!

I'm a bit biased from being on Mantis' crew last summer, but I now ride it every time I go to the park and it's always one of the most enjoyable rides of the day for me. Lots of fond memories come back every time I ride . Mantis and Shockwave are the only two stand-ups I've ridden though, and Mantis is the clear winner in that contest.

^^ I'm not terribly surprised by that sentiment. I worked at ID a few times last summer and it's damn near impossible for the average guest to figure out how to sit down and pull down the restraint in the 30 seconds that ride has for its interval. So many of them were confused that they had to take their bags with them and whatnot. It's unfortunate that people-eaters like Arrows can actually be considered "too efficient" for guests these days.

^It'd be nice nice to see Flight Deck repainted and renamed Bat and then have it and the new ride make up a sort of horror-themed "sub-land". I think it would be a welcome refresh for that little strip back there.

That's not a MCBR. The train will only clear the lift once the train on the safties is in the unload station. That's why the train sometimes slows down on the lift, because the train hasn't parked in the unload station yet.

The article states that Jeff Gramke drew up the zoning plans for Project 2014, so the Enquirer is crediting him as the ride designer. So since he did work on The Beast, their statement is valid, if not a bit confusing. They definitely meant Beast, not SoB.

Patriot is taller than Raptor... I wouldn't mind seeing the first full-circuit 200+ foot invert take SoB's old spot at all. In fact, any old invert would be great there. Let's hope it's fairly forceful.

^ I would assume the first lift, since the news stories report park guests rushing over to help, and the base of Lift 2 can't be seen from the midway.

My most-ridden coasters (in no particular order) are probably Mantis, Magnum, and Diamondback. I never really bothered to keep track, but those three easily have had the most rides, with Diamondback most likely trailing behind the other two.

Actually, they've been there since the ride opened, as seen in this video still from 1979: This is the video that still is from:

When I go to CP (I live right next to Cleveland-Hopkins), I take I-480 west to the turnpike, then get off the turnpike in Elyria and take Ohio Route 2 the rest of the way. I've never encountered any traffic that route.

Mantis has the best top-of-the-lift view in the whole park, as it's right in the center of everything. I haven't been out to Cedar Point all season, which has been heartbreaking, but I've been living vicariously through everyone's trip reports. Nice job!

I think you're thinking of the "Free Way" system, which a few of the rides had before they realized how awful it was. I'd assume that the "ticket to ride", whatever it was, was set up specifically for Millennium during its first season and basically operated like a giant Fastpass for everyone, since I doubt that its queue could have handled the amount of people waiting to ride it. Does someone know for sure about this?

^^Trust me, I totally agree with you there. I was just attempting to clarify that Geauga Dog was talking about the park layout and the terrain rather than rides that use the terrain. I for one love the exercise! Honestly, I don't think that there is any grade that is insurmountable at KI. Some of the hills I hike up every day are probably much steeper than any of the terrain owned by the park.

I think the concern is more about the terrain causing problems for pathways and what have you, and not so much the rides themselves. As the park is laid out now, much of the unused land is behind rides and would require paths either around or through the rides, and occasionally through some pretty tricky terrain. Cincinnatians are no strangers to hills, but I don't think anyone would want to hike down to a themed area located in the middle of a ravine. Luckily, though, I don't think that any of KI's terrain is quite extreme enough to warrant hundreds of stairs or a funicular.

I would be remiss if I didn't wholeheartedly "second" this. Melt is a great, quirky place. Always PACKED, too. The easiest one to get to is probably the Lakewood location (14718 Detroit Ave. Lakewood, OH 44107), which is essentially a straight shot down I-90/OH-2. I could list countless fantastic restaurants in Cleveland, but seeing as they're generally too far away for grabbing a quick bite after a day at Cedar Point, I'll just keep them to myself .

^That coaster makes the most horrendous noises. I think my ears are bleeding.

Western PA has some great parks. You can't beat Kennywood's atmosphere and Ravine Flyer is such a gem. I absolutely love Pittsburgh- it's one of the most gorgeous cities in America, and driving through the Fort Pitt Tunnel into downtown is almost as exciting for me as some of the rides at Kennywood!