Midgetman82

Finally nice to see some management aspects slowly make its way into the game, along with an abundance of other things being thrown our way. The fast pass system made me laugh hard! I guess you couldn't have a super-modern theme park builder without taking something like that into account! Really looking forward to Alpha 3!

I figured this video by Frontier, developers of Planet Coaster, was more or less relevant to post here (timestamped to 4:52 mark):

That's quite nice! Looking forward to the Steam shift, as I had been having some issues with their standalone launcher.

I don't see why they shouldn't try a bigger swing. Looks pretty sweet!

Probably right. The TIME article ^^^ sounds more like a journalist made a phone call to the local police station and asked whether what they thought had happened was true, and whoever was on the other end of the line likely said something along the lines of "yeah, pretty much." Police have confirmed to TIME means nothing (to me) until a real investigation finishes and is released to the public. I don't want to get in on the arguments in this thread. I'm already pretty sickened by unnecessary details. I wasn't there, so I know nothing on the situation (as do virtually every one of you). I'm waiting for anything official as well. My thoughts go out to the family and friends of the boy, as well as those working at the park.

Casual park-go'er. Hardcore park-go'er. Casual enthusiast. Hardcore enthusiast. Done with "GP vs. Enthusiast" labels. I quite like "casual enthusiast."

Awesome photo updates from your U.S. trip. It's also pretty cool to hear you guys enjoyed KK so much, even T3! Storm Chaser started out kind of sluggish when it first opened, but now it FLIES through the course! You guys even got to use the faster train, too! Side note, I can totally understand your want to do park trips casually with folks you know rather than leading public tours to parks. Less having to keep up with multiple heads, and more about simply enjoying the parks for yourselves.

Are these new-line Vekoma's being designed by Ride Centerline? The layout looks very similar to something they would likely do.

When I was there in 2012 (as Splash Adventure), I had to have my shirt removed as well. The freefall slide there was alright. The slide surface was smooth, but the relatively abrupt ending and weird wide flume body didn't make for the most comfortable experience either. I'd hope they can find a good replacement for it as well, but it might need to be something that can accommodate the slightly smaller space for a runout. While I currently don't see myself coming down to that area within this or the next year, I would love to give this park another go now that the dry side is open as well. Plus with new management breathing new life into it, I'm sure it would be a much more pleasant experience now compared to the decent one previously. Greetings from Kentucky, Dan!

But who is the beta open to? If not Alpha backers, then everyone who payed for the game already (which inevitably includes Alpha backers)?

What, no sunrise pics? Looks pretty nice, otherwise!

I wasn't sure how to properly react to that mascot video. I do find the logo and branding for Cosmic Cow very visually appealing, though.

Hip packs like fanny packs? You have to put them in the cubbies in the station.

Great trip report indeed, and great photos! Glad to hear you had a great time at the park. I particularly liked the captions on Storm Chaser! I don't think the 5D theater had any other effects other than 3D, motion, and wind.

^I second this. Holiday World does a tremendous job at dispatching their trains quickly, and Kings Island does even better with their army of station attendants checking restraints quickly.

^This isn't going against what you're saying since they are good tips. But, on a first-time visit to a park on one of the most crowded days of the entire year, no one should go in with the assumption that they'll be able to hit everything. Go around opening time, hit the coasters, hit some slides, and make time to relax. Especially if you've been mostly waiting in line all day. Unlike most larger parks, HW's lineup doesn't feel too overwhelming with things you feel like you need to hit back-to-back until the day's over. You won't be penalized for taking breaks to rest now and then. There's so many other parks the meaning of this could apply to...

I agree! The clarity in it looks so nice! And it would be a welcome change from the current pirate vs. generic theme in there now.

It's a tricky toss-up. If I took out wait and ride dispatch times as a factor, both coasters would tie on my list of favorites. I nudge Storm Chaser slightly above due to its re-rideability, but If I had experienced both for the first time with equal re-rides I'd probably rank Lightning Run higher too.

"Pfft, I could've done that." ... But WOULD you?! But DID you?!?!?!

Seems like it was canned (along with the "longest waterslide" they were promoting at the end of last season). They actually quietly dropped the "Action Park" name again this year and are now Mountain Creek again. Woah! They still own the URL actionpark.com, but the title on the page now calls it Mountain Creek Waterpark... Was there a sudden and quiet shift in management recently or something?! Personally speaking, I do prefer this name over "Action Park."

Like last year, strongest park photos of this summer: Cyclos by Marcus Dorsey, on Flickr Storm Chaser by Marcus Dorsey, on Flickr Thunderbird by Marcus Dorsey, on Flickr Thunderbird by Marcus Dorsey, on Flickr

I got to tour it once more but for opening day for the newspaper I'm with (did a small video). (x) Had a hefty crowd lined up an hour before it opened at 9am that morning, and they had a whole army of buses to bring people back and forth from parking lot to site (easy to see they plan to expand BIG in the future). Personally speaking as a non-religious person, and putting aside the obvious controversial-ness of it all, it's okay. I did admire the woodwork that went into the entire structure inside and out, and there was a scent of fresh wood or sawdust in certain places inside. For any remotely interested in visiting, it's more of a one-and-done thing until the next phase is complete.

In case you missed it, the game is on to Alpha 3 now. There's SO much I'm going to omit for the sake of length, so I highly recommend scrolling through their Tumblr devlog page for all the smaller updates since the previous update post here: Major additions: Motion Simulator Inverted Dark Ride (ALA Arthur: The Ride) Underwater tunnels Fences and walls now split pathways Signs that can also replace queue line signs. All sorts of graphs And more at themeparkitect.tumblr.com

Ooh, I'd highly advise against a Saturday during the State Fair if you're trying to do both parks. Crowds can get exceptionally high at Kentucky Kingdom, and it's generally unpleasant when you have to park much further from the park than you should (and for a higher price, iirc).

Lightning Run and Cyclos first since they're near the front and get the longest lines (Cyclos the longest). Most food places in the park are just fine (Swampwater Jacks and the new deli stand near Storm Chaser are still my personal favorites), but I wouldn't recommend the food places by the water park as a first choice since they tend to have the longest waits. Storm Chaser gets the shortest waits out of all the major coasters, so you can hit that coaster at your leisure! I might hit the park again soon this week/weekend. Storm Chaser had a fair bit of vibrations in some seats, and I'm hearing they replaced the wheels again so the vibrations are likely gone.