Vigil

I agree...the concept for the park is just plain weird. Let's put a park about California in the state of California? Who thought that one up? I have always thought that it was just too specific a theme for a park. Disney needed something broader to base the park off of...more appeal. That and the California theming seems minimal anyway and will be even less when it opens back up. On a different note...World of Color looks sweet!

And going off of the previous post, what exactly is there to bang your head/neck on? Does the fabric have some stiffener that makes it significantly harder than plain fabric? I can't imagine it would hurt much if it was plain fabric. But, then again I have never ridden one. Does anyone know why the wheels cost so much? I heard new wheel for B&M coaster were thousands of dollars.

I thought aluminum was more common...oh well.

I'v never been to Holiday World, but really want to go there sometime. Does anyone else think the Timberliners look kinda weird, I mean just like their shape? (Or the super long, straight-as-an-arrow drop of Pilgrim's Plunge, for that matter?) Moving on, what's Holiday World like in terms things to do for non-riders? Like slow rides, shows, etc.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong...yes, the different colors do represent different strengths, but its not the color that matters; it's the material. You can use several different materials for magnetic brakes (eddy currents and whatnot...). I know copper and aluminum both generate eddy currents, and I think aluminum is stronger. The colors in the pictures do look like copper and aluminum.

So time for a mini TR. I went to BG yesterday and it was mostly the same. The rides were running well. Props to the AC crew as they were blazing through the lines. And on my last ride in the back row none of the trims or even the brakes in the MCBR engaged...such a fast ride. Anyway as for the new attractions, I thought Celtic Fyre was good. I am a little partial to the more traditional music but BG has a good show. Europe in the Air I did not end up riding because when I took a friend on Griffon for the first time (she did not look happy at the holding brake) the rest of my group rode EITA...and none of them liked it. They said it was jerky and gave them headaches...and they just compared it to Soarin'. My sister also said the screen lit up the walls revealing "wheels and things" which ruined the effect. I also don't really like where the attraction is at all. It is still in a castle and the line is still in a cave. I thought it was supposed to be like an airplane thing. Anyway it was a popular attraction: at some points the line was out of the castle. Other than that not much has changed... Oh except for the gaping hole in the landscape where BBW (God rest its soul) used to be. That and the huge chocolate chip muffins they had in the England bakery/fudge shop are now just regular size.

Just one thing first...as soon as I read that it could possibly (but hopefully not) be an observation tower, I immediately thought of combining the two. I was then very surprised when it was on the next page. What specifics do you think they would theme it too...I mean they can't really theme it to a castle. They already have a castle themed ride across the way...Darkastle. It would kinda be weird. Or they could make it an extension of Darkastle...Revenge of Darktower. "You are led up into one of Darkastle's towers only to have a reanimated King Ludwig push you out a window to fall 260 feet." As for Europe in the Air, how was the ride score? I'll be there tomorrow to check it out myself.

^Thank God... I am not a crazy fan of HP, but I did notice one thing. In the teaser video posted the president of UO said that the ride was based off of Dumbledore letting muggles into the castle for the first time, and rumors say that dementors will be involved in the ride. One problem...in the books, muggles can't see dementors. I wonder what J.K. Rowling will say...

The thing in the middle of the drop, if I'm not mistaken, keeps the boat straight (I would have said keeps the boat from falling off, but I remembered the old Arrow log flumes...), so the boat doesnt decide to turn a little and crash at the bottom. The boat isn't attached to any track except for the lift hills. Its guided by the walls and pushed along by the water. Thanks. I was confused because looking at Pilgrim's Plunge photos it was hard to see if it was resting on anything besides the shallow trough, which I thought would be to flimsy to support the weight of the boat or keep the boat on track.

I have a couple of questions about the new Intamin flumes. Does anyone know if the car is attached to the track or does it just run on top of the those poles? and what does the thing in the middle of the drop do? Is that what hooks it on?

I am guessing the reason it changed is because of all the snow we had here. I know my school had two weeks off (with half a Thursday thrown in). I assume most schools are getting out later this year because of make up days, and like Homeboy23 said they won't have their employees

That is my one and only problem with Intimidator 305 and really Millennium Force too: when you hit the brakes, then train is still traveling incredibly fast. There is so much wasted momentum. I'm not saying the ride is too short--it looks amazing--but if you are going to all the effort of getting it up to 94 mph anyway, why waste all the extra speed. I know, I know, it would cost too much money. Still... I have not ridden it yet so I don't know...maybe people would not want the ride to be longer because it would place too much strain on the body. Does anyone know how fast it is traveling when it hits the brake run?

I think it is a good thing to have the height requirement be 54". I had also heard originally that it was 48". My little sister rode MF and loved it. I was a little nervous about letting her I305 ride with all its super intensity; from what I've heard I don't think she could take it. Having it be 48" would have been an accident/lawsuit waiting to happen.

Right now I am praising the coaster gods for putting this in my backyard. I keep reading people's comments like, "This sucks...I live really far away" and just think how lucky I am to live only 1.5 hrs away. I normally go to BG but this looks like it might warrant a trip. One question...how long do you think it will take before KD is forced to lessen the intensity by adding trims because someone "gets hurt" or something?

Has anyone gotten a chance to go down to BG and ride Europe in the Air (assuming it is open, I believe I read an article saying it would be)? I am curious to see what people think of it.

From what I've seen and heard, Thirteen looks to be a really fun ride. Sure they promoted it as the "ultimate roller coaster" and its not really living up to the hype, but it is a really unique roller coaster, the vertical drop of which looks like it would be a shock, even if you did know it was coming. The one thing is why did no park put a ride like this in a long time ago. When I first heard this was being put in I thought, "Well, finally...I thought of this years ago." I can't imagine I was the only one to think of it. Did the technology just not exist? It wouldn't seem that way. They have drop rides...they have roller coasters...just put the two together.

Hello, my name is Gregory, and I live in Charlottesville, Virginia. I have been a longtime reader of Theme Park Review and love the site, but have just recently joined. Glad to be here!