djcoastermark

After riding Anna 2 weeks ago, I didn't notice any roughness really. Mostly I found it kinda boring. Mainly due to the near complete MCBR stop. It did however give some very odd, sloooow ,hang time in the corkscrew because of that. Anna is a much shorter and less exciting ride compared to Vortex imo.

There is hope that it may open soon though, as the local stations here in the Tampa Bay area are already airing commercials. In those commercials, it appears that there are actual riders on it. But then again, that may just be fancy footwork in fotography . Either way, the ads look really scary and cool at the same time.

^ To sell more sodas?

My partner and I were also there Sunday, and boy were the crowds light. It was a coaster riders dream. By 6 pm the park was dead, adding much to our riding euphoria on Volcano and 305 . Proof is in the couple of (poor quality) photos below. All day, we only rode front or rear seats and our longest wait during the peak of the day was a 4 train wait for the front seat on Volcano. After 5 or so, there rarely was a full train on any coaster including Volcano, and several times we were the only 2 on any of the coasters. The 2nd to last train out on 305, we were the only 2 on the entire train, and for the last train of the night at 8pm, there were only 4 of us on it. A little chilly for us Floridians, but most likely the best day ever at KD for us. OUT , LOUD AND PROUD in my new TPR shirt Volcano cue at 6:30 pm I305 cue at 7 pm

Heading out there tomorrow. (sunday) Hope the crowds are still light.

My partner and I will be there next weekend. Not sure of which day, it depends on the weather. Looking forward to it because 305 was still closed last august when we were there and I really need my 305 fix.

Ok, sorry bout that last post, but really now , lets be honest. Most everyone I knew thought that was part of the reason they got rid of that exhibit. Most people would walk by the "show", and just giggle and snicker, especially once it got old and faded.

um, those are singing whats again? Oh never mind, that's what I had always thought as a kid. But now that I am an adult, I know better. It just brings out my inner Monty Python, that's all. Sorry 'bout that post there, nudge nudge, wink wink.

Oooh Laawdy, what is Merlin getting themselves into ? There is going to be sooooo much confusion going on there. I don't even know where to start. Like, how does one dress for an evening going out with all the different types dungeons around town ? On the bright side, standing in line may really be interesting. ( ahem, to one any of them) It does sound fun, if not a bit touristy.

Hey, anything to sell a condo I guess. Its all about the speel to get you to buy. Dip n dots or not.

IDK, this is starting to remind me of the old saying about a slooow boat to china for some reason now.

Sadly we had to move our trip up to the first week of April, due to a family thing. That only leaves us with Kings Dominion, which we are definitely doing and maybe BGW, unless anyone knows if there are any other parks open up there at that time of the year? Still trying to get up in that area later in the summer.

Alas, a sad picture indeed of one of the most fun, ejector filled, slam you around, OMG am I gonna die coasters around, Idora's Wildcat. I knew from the first time I saw a picture of it as a kid, I just had to ride it. I am soo oglad I got to marathon ride Wildcat in its last days. Talk about being devastated when I opened the morning paper and saw Her going up in flames. Sorry if these have been posted before. These following pics are demolition by fire. (posted from the Youngstown Vindicator, the local paper there)

Yaaay ! I finally joined. And, "the check is in the mail". No, really it is, yes, really, it is.

If there is lightning in the area, the rides shut down. As soon as a storm passes, everything reopens quickly. Luckily most storms pass by pretty quick. I use that down time for either catching a show or having a sit down meal. I have been there when its sprinkling and rides seem to stay running. Keep in mind that most storms around here come with lightning, hence the "arbitrary" term , Lightning Capitol of the US.

I hope all is OK with the guy. But on a lighter note Hooray for Grampa ! Opa Opa!

Doesn't Mt O have more of a greek/greek mythology theme to its coasters? If so wouldn't Opa! be much more like a greek flaming cheese? You know, when they pour the whatever on the cheese, light it and say, Opa ? Some how a german name for a ride there doesn't seem to fit IMHO.

Although I have not had the chance to ride those rides, the only one I can compare it to is Atlantis at Sea World Orlando. While it has coaster elements, I still classify it as a water ride, imho.

I don't feel the first gen drop towers are "really" coasters. Sure, they have a lift and are on a track. But to me those type of rides are "coaster like". Pipe Scream fits in a "coaster like " category to me. I feel its a Flat ride. Just as one can say a tumble bug is "coaster like", its not a coaster. That's a stretch to me to call it a coaster. If one really wants to stretch it, why not consider Bayern Curve a coaster, or a Himalaya type ride ? They are on a track with hills too. Another question then is, if Pipe Scream is a coaster, does that make Rockin Tugs coasters too?

Oh, I forgot, what about Old Town ? It's another "major" area according to the locals and travel brochures?

I agree, a major park wouldn't have finance issues. But the finance part could just be a distraction . I would love to be a fly on the wall on this one. Somebody out there knows a lot more than we know, they are just keeping very , very , tight lipped. To ad fuel to the fire, why not think out of the box so to speak. What about someplace like Gaylord Palms or any of the major resorts in Orlando, or even Daytona Beach, which is technically , sorta, in the Orlando area ? Even more of a stretch, the new Miracle Strip in Panama Beach ? I really hope this comes to fruition, and all the speculation is quite interesting and fun.

This a hard one, and only time will really tell. Fun Spot has the space, but do they have the financial resources ? (I do love Fun Spot for their fantastic commitment to customer service ) Merlin and the Orlando Eye, has the capital to pull it off. Sea World parks also have the space and financial resources to do this at either BGT or SWO. Either way, this has an unbelievable potential to really set things off again in the coaster wars of this part of the century!! Wherever it is, I WILL BE THERE !!!!

Our local paper, The Tampa Bay Times, Printed up the recipe on how to make it, if anyone is interested. Being a "foodie" myself, this looks easy enough to try at home. It was quite good.

Sorry that this is a long post but,now that its passed, the Florida state fair had not 2, but 4 pleasant/unpleasant surprises. The first 2 involve coasters. First off, the disappointment. All the local papers were bragging about the "largest traveling coaster" in the U.S. At first, I was excited, then I found out it was an Anton Wildcat. Ok, so that's not really "fab" but, hey, Its an Anton ! HOWEVER, Anton would be rolling over in his grave seeing how they neutered his coaster. In its original location in Texas years ago, it was listed as having a height of 65 feet. However, something happened along the way and now its height is only 50 feet. while the ride still looks good, but it didn't look quite right. The slopes of the drops had changed and it just crawled through the course. So much so that we wondered if the cars would make it up the hills. Next up was RC 48. It was pouring down rain when it opened at 5 pm. Wow, what a surprise. It flew thru the course and felt like a real coaster that would be in a park. In fact, this is the one that was at Morey's in the early 2000's. (pic from RCDB) We rode it in all its duct taped glory 5 times. It was raining too hard to get a good pic so this pic is from when it was at Moreys. The next bad was that unbeknownst to us was Wilding Friday. As the night wore on, the kids there became very unruly, resulting in over 100 ejections from the park. The fair says they will address the problem. The last was a plus, the ramen noodle burger. Yum !! A square burger patty on a ramen noodle bun topped with green onion stalks and oriental cole slaw. OMG, it was great!

Not sure if this has been posted, but I saw that if you purchase a 2014 fun card for BGT between now and the end of march, you get a free fun card for Adventure Island waterpark good until Oct 12, 2014. Nice little perk, IMO.