Vigil

Is Kingda Ka that much more intense that TTD?

I was at King's Dominion this past Saturday, and while we only got to do one maze--Club Blood--because one of my sisters wasn't feeling well, I will say that it did make my younger sister cry...and it was fantastic. I may be terrible for saying that, but it was great. She's 14 and had never done any sort of haunted house before. When we were waiting in line a vampire came out the exit and just pointed at her and slowly backed inside. And then did it again right before we went in. Needless to say, she was absolutely terrified. And then inside the maze, of course they are going to go after the small girl in the pink jacket. Too easy. But I'm going back on Friday and definitely looking forward to finishing everything up. It seems as good as last years and when you're used to Howl-O-Scream, Haunt really kicks it up a notch! Side note: we got to witness a Volcano rollback and evac. We were the next people too. If only we had gotten on the previous car!

Does anyone think that if Mantis is getting retrofitted with floorless trains they will be a new design? Like with B&M's new restraint system or other bells and whistles that would make it more of a big deal?

Look at the page number. It's a sign! I was at the park this past Saturday, and I really liked it. Crowds weren't bad, and the it wasn't too hot. It did rain for maybe 30 minutes, but it was a nice break from the heat to sit down and relax. We did every major ride, and overall I thought it was a really nice park. I actually really liked Intimidator, and thought it had a nice amount of airtime. Hurler was not bad at all with the retracking, and was better than KD's (which I also just rode for the first time and didn't find it particularly rough, just very vibrate-y and kind of boring). My favorite of the day might have actually been Nighthawk. I had never been on a flying roller coaster before and thought it was awesome; the feeling is really cool, and the loop was super forceful. Good day, and will definitely be back!

So I might be going to Carowinds this weekend (probably Friday), and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for doing the park. If someone has a good game plan, I would definitely appreciate it! Thanks!

I've never been to King's Dominion when Waterworks is open, and was wondering what's the best way to do it. Is it more like a few extra attractions to do in addition to the rest of the park, or is it more like something that you would do on its own? In other words, you'd come to the park for King's Dominion or Waterworks, but not both. I was just trying to come up with the best way to do it or to skip it for a day when the park is open longer (it closes at 6 tomorrow). Thank for any help!

They've changed already! Now it's on Swagnum and Blue Streak. Yup...definitely never going to be productive again...

I was not really sure where to post this, but I had some questions about the construction of wooden roller coasters specifically the fabrication of the track. I know there is the newer way of making laminate sections of track and then assembling them more like a steel coaster, but how does the traditional method work, i.e. building the supports and then layering the track on the bents? I read somewhere that the track is not actually rigidly attached to the supports, which is good for stress relief. It makes perfect sense to me that, once built, the track would be solid enough to hold its shape itself on simpler coasters, but how does that work on more twisty modern coasters like on a 90 degree banked turn? How do they start the track? I would think that it has to be attached somehow to make sure the track is in the right place, at least at first. In addition, does anyone know the dimensions of the boards typically used to construct the track (if there's even a standard)? Is it nailed together? Or bolted? Or some combination of both? Do they wet the beams to make them easier to bend before clamping them down? I have done quite a bit of research already but have yet to find any super clear pictures or information that clears it up. It's quite a few a questions, but if anyone knows the answers or can point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated. Any close-up pictures of track construction would also be really helpful. Thanks!

Every time my friend would try to remember where the picture was, forget, bury her face in her hands, and then be even more surprised by the last drop in the tunnel.

I returned yesterday from a two-day trip to the park. I hadn't been since 2008 and my friends had never been before, and we all loved it, of course. Weather was perfect, and crowds were low (the second day Dragster was a at most a 15 minute wait). We stayed in Hotel Breakers which I liked a lot. It's a simpler hotel, but being able to take a break from the park for a little while and eat lunch in the room was really nice. The rides were still as great as I remember. The new midway looks really nice, and both the new rides are really fun. GateKeeper was the only new coaster for me, and I liked it. It was my first wing-rider, and I didn't really notice rattling or anything. I liked the back better than the front. Millennium was still great as was Dragster. Magnum was actually the surprise of the trip. I remember my family hating it six years ago because of the painful ejector airtime (we being used to the nice floaty of Apollo's). I'm glad to say that the pain was just as I remember it! The picture of my group the first time riding it was so funny. I didn't tell them, so the other three are grimacing in pain, and I am laughing at them. We couldn't stop riding it though; it was just a great time. "If it's not uncomfortable, then it's not Magnum!" Hopefully, it won't be six years before I go again. We drove from Charlottesville, Virginia, and honestly it wasn't a bad trip at all, so perhaps I'll make it again soon. But all in all, great trip.

Everyone see the featured article on Wikipedia's homepage today? I'm taking my friends next week, and I'm taking it as a sign.

Thanks for the advice! Hmmm you're right...I saw the Math and Science week this week, but I didn't see the Leadership Day or the Amusement 101 thing next week. Hopefully, that won't be too much of a problem, and we'll at least have the nights after they leave? Anyone have any suggestion for places to eat. And does anyone know when Thunder Canyon and Shoot the Rapids open?

Hi everyone! I am traveling to the Point next Sunday, with two days in the park on Monday and Tuesday, and I was wondering if anybody had any tips, or a rough game plan to follow while we're there. We are staying in Hotel Breakers, so we get the early access too. I've heard start with the back of the park and move forward. I'm taking three people who have never been before, and I am really excited to go back (I was last there in 2009). Any tips would be appreciated! Thanks!

Hi everyone! I am trying to plan a trip to Cedar Point a bit after I get out of school and was looking for some advice. Originally I planned just on a weekend from the 15th-18th (or perhaps the 22nd-25th) with travel days Thursday and Sunday and two day at the park on Friday and Saturday. I realized that the park is open during week too, and I was wondering if it would be much better to go two days during the week, or if the extra 2 hours the park is open on Friday and Saturday is worth going then. I was also planning on staying in one of the hotels onsite just to make it easier and a bit nicer. Any suggestions there? Any general advice too would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Huh, it kinda does. It's like the uncanny valley for B&Ms. It should be a big roller coaster, but it's not. It does look a little...odd.

I was at at King's Dominion today, and I was thoroughly impressed. I've grown up with Busch Gardens, but KD just has a kind of classic amusement park nostalgia (especially with the 40th anniversary) that I really liked. Different from BG, but good different. The day was great too; the weather was perfect, and we managed to do everything (I forgot how much I like FoF). Good day, looking forward to going back.

Alright, alright, you caught me. Nice coaster! That game was maddening when I was younger, though I must say when you mentioned Lemmings, I did find myself feeling nostalgic.

I have a question about importing custom scenery. I have been using the RCT3 importer and Sketchup, and I noticed that it works perfectly well but the colors on the objects are just very "flat." Is this just a function of the textures or the bmp export, and is there a way to make it match the in-game graphics a bit better? Also on that note, when the ASE exporter runs, it warns about groups with more than 500 faces, though in game this doesn't really seem to have an effect. Will that become an issue when the park becomes more complicated? Thanks!

I'm in the Winter Dreams show as part of the virtual choir in the beginning!

Last night I went to KD for the first time in about 6 years, and the first time for Haunt. I am normally a Busch Gardens guy and am used to Howl-O-Scream, but I must say it was awesome, and both my friend, a former BG employee, and I agreed that it beat out Howl-O-Scream. The weather was perfect, on and off misty throughout the night, because it kept everyone away. (Based on the number of cars in the parking lot, I would estimate that there were no more than 50 people in the entire park by the end of the night.) We did all of the rides that we wanted and all of the mazes (with the exception of the miner maze because it was closed due to flooding) multiple times and saw the show, Edge of Darkness. As far as the mazes go, we liked Cornstalkers, Club Blood, and Zombie High the most. The last room in the Doll Factory was also great, and I also liked the one "maze" being the car ride and thought it was an ingenious idea. Cornstalkers is what Root of All Evil at BG should be like. The biggest thing that we noticed was just the amount of scare actors they had in every maze. They were so many people that it allowed little time for recovery between being startle, and that just makes it so much more fun. KD's less family-friendly image also allowed them to do some more creative things for scares. Overall, we really enjoyed it! Edge of Darkness was OK, and showed how spoiled I've been by BG shows. The singers were fantastic, but I just don't think the "theme" gave them a lot to work with. As for coasters, I rode Dominator, Rebel Yell, Backlot Stunt Coaster, Avalanche, and Intimidator for the first time. I thought Dominator was a fun ride--my first true floorless. Pretty smooth, with a cobra roll as smooth as glass (as compared to Alpengeist like I'm used to). I really liked Rebel Yell and thought it had some good airtime. BSC was a fun little ride and more forceful than it looks. Avalanche was my first Mack bobsled and was fun. Intimidator...that ride was ridiculous. It was really the only thing I wanted to do, and did it deliver. The more I think about it, the more I liked it. I did not find it uncomfortable at all (other than 90 mph raindrops to the face), but the transition were ridiculous. 10/10 would ride again. The other rides were also great. Windseeker was fun; Volcano was great. I liked the Crypt, though my friend was less enthusiastic. She enjoyed Grizzly a lot though, which I don't quite understand. When it drops into that tunnel...wow. It wasn't like it hurt, it was more thinking that it was going to hurt...so I guess it wasn't that bad. The first drop was cool, not being able to see the track and into the dark woods. Drop Tower was as good as I remember, which is miles above Mach Tower. So much faster, longer drop, smooth as glass, and...silent. Imagine that! Shockwave was fun as well. Hurler, Ricochet, and Flight of Fear were closed. FoF I was sad because I remembered that was a lot of fun. The other two I haven't ridden, but I've heard I didn't miss much. Anaconda we didn't ride because we didn't want headaches for the rest of the night. Having not been to KD in a long time, the only thing I want to do now is go back. So, it was a really good night!

Anyone ever check out Lord Huron? Their newest album, Lonesome Dreams, is so good. I'm not normally into music like this, but for some reason I just have the album on repeat... It's a little Fleet Fox-y.

Oh, I understand the video, I was just saying how I'm not sure it applies because it doesn't look like she had that much of a gut. Again, I don't know how it looked when she sat down, but she seemed to carry most of the weight in her upper body which wouldn't inhibit a lap bar. The man in the video had a 56" waist. Her waist doesn't seem to be the problem. Then again, even though we know that the "click" story is just wrong, it does seems to be an indication they did have an issue with getting the bar down?

So I was explaining this to my mother, and I think what it will come down to is just that the trains had an almost unforeseeable design flaw and that it was a perfect storm with regards to body shape and lap bar distance/angle. There is no way the ops could've known because everything indicated she was fine. I don't quite understand the discussions saying that she was too large to ride because if you look at the picture (https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/p320x320/999648_484139811674658_1129613659_n.jpg) she doesn't actually look too big where it would an issue, in her or stomach lap area. She seems to carry most of her weight in her upper body. My mom said she doesn't look anything like what she was expecting when I said "size seems to have been a factor." Of course we don't know how dated the photo is or if the angle hides it, but she really doesn't seem too big. When I was explaining it to her, I was using Apollo's Chariot as an example and said that for a rider to fall out, the femur would literally have to break in half. If the above were the case, would her weight, the majority of which was above the lap bar, and therefore unsupported, combined with the ridiculous airtime be able to put enough stress on her legs to break them? I mean if she had smaller legs or--complete speculation here--bone weakness or something, it might be possible? A bit of a stretch, but perhaps no more unlikely than the one in a million chance that accident would happen in the first place. It would explain the lack of mechanical failure and the lack of an immediate explanation because (forgive the morbidity) after the fall her bones were probably broken anyway, so it'd be hard to tell. It's such a weird and terrible accident.

Thank you very much for you answer! Yeah, the blue motion technology is what it's called. And they do have that initiative, but many people have never heard of it.

I am currently working in a think tank, and in trying to solve the given problem, the issue of corporate social responsibility came up, specifically VW's Think Blue. I was wondering how many people have heard of this campaign, CSR in general, an/or know what VW does in these areas. Do you all have any perceptions regarding which car companies (or companies in general) is the most responsible? This is more of a survey than anything, and I thought to reach a global audience this might be a good way to do it. Even a simple response of "yes" or "no" would be very useful. Thanks for your help!