adavis

It's not perfect, but I do really like that coaster.

Diamondback?

Was thinking the same thing, my daughter is going to dig this quite a bit.

The wait is killing me!!! Facebook update, announcement will be made on Thursday!

Hershey Park Kennywood Cedar Point 3x Six Flags Great America 2x Michigans Adventure 3x Kings Island

A new addition would be best served by Intamin or B&M in whichever manner they choose, in my opinion. I can dream! Seriously though, I'm with Robb, I'm just happy to see my home park still being worth the investment for Cedar Fair.

Because they tore down Big Bad Wolf?

uhhh... . Is this sarcasm? No. Since the announcement of Cheetah Hunt, I have killed four cheetahs. It is very reminiscent of the announcement of the Intimidator coasters last year, which caused me to go to a local highschool and bully everyone. The less said about Rapetor the better.

I completely understand the backlash with the name Cheetah Hunt. This isn't the first offensively named coaster however, many of the most popular rides have names that could be misconstrued just as easily. Top Thrill Dragster-encourages dangerous driving. Raptor-easily pronounced "Rapetor", causing unnecessary raping. Intimidator/Intimidator 305-promotes bullying in schools. Superman-makes kids think they can fly. Tatsu-promotes tattooing. Millennium Force-initials are MF. Powder Keg-promotes terrorism. Voodoo-promotes satanism in children, ditto for the Harry Potter ride. Hydra-easily misconstrued as "hydro", plus it has green track. Since Cheetah Hunt has been announced, I personally have killed four cheetahs. I shudder to think of the international backlash on these once proud animals.

Because it would be rad to record it running?

I do agree with the name, I think its a little odd, but I think the idea of the coaster was to emulate-loosely-the idea of a cheetah hunting. As for the words hunt and conservation...believe it or not hunting groups are some of the most active and effective conservationists out there. The African lion and elephant are both great examples, as are moose in Michigan. In all of those cases, major hunting organizations have been the ones to step up and control the destruction of species. If you just don't like the idea of hunting, are vegetarian/vegan, or whatever the case may be, I totally respect that. Just please understand that not all hunters are drunken idiots with a desperate desire to kill. I hunt because my family eats meat, it's fun (even when I don't pick up a gun), and it saves me money. Not to mention that where I live, the deer population would be so bad without hunting that deer would be starving to death and causing car accidents left and right. Not all hunting is bad, and if you eat meat or animal products, it can be a nice wake up to see just how the sausage gets made. It's not always a pretty sight. Back on track, coaster looks phenomenal!

That's why I don't ride TTD in the front row, don't like the cable cooling water hitting me in the face. Totally agree. But there was no lightning. Again though, still a good day.

And yet...Wildcat was running, as was Disaster Transport. That one is indoors though.

This. This is the stuff I don't get. If Cedar Fair had closed Geauga Lake and left Dominator, Thunderhawk and the Intamin (Voodoo?) just hanging out, I would understand someone saying, "Oh crap, these are worth money, lets see if we can buy one cheap." Maybe some millionaire gets Dominator in his backyard, who knows, right? No matter how good the Big Dipper was, no matter how legendary it might have seemed to the people who lived nearby, it was either too expensive to renovate and move, too much trouble, or just flat out not good enough to justify moving it. Put simply, Michigan's Adventure got a new coaster out of the GL closing. Michigan's Adventure got a new coaster, process that. Not only did the ugliest duck get a new ride, it was a Vekoma SLC. When your favorite coaster gets skipped over to move an SLC to my home park, you don't buy it. You let her go. Seriously, look in a mirror and say it three times: "Big Dipper, not good enough for Michigan's Adventure, they "preserved" an SLC instead." I heard if you do it Charles Dinn will appear and shake the crap out of you before going back into the mirror. True story bro.

Just got back from the park, what a day. Pulling into a nearly empty CP lot is surreal to say the least. I'm sure it was a combination of the weather and just the time of year, but I have never seen the park so empty. Small problem though, it was windy, apparently too windy for almost all of the big rides to run, everything taller than Gemini was out. I noticed as we drove up that nothing was running, and hoped for the best, but the winds never let up enough apparently. I asked a few folks working if they knew what it would take for some of the shorter "tall" rides to open up, but no one knew. The odd thing was that Wicked Twister was running, maybe it isn't a coaster after all? It sure wasn't following the rules. In any case, Maverick was running, so after enjoying a few flats with the wife and daughter, we moved to the back of the park. Maverick had a fifteen minute wait, the shortest I've ever seen besides season pass ERT in the morning. I waited for about ten of that, reached the single rider line and headed on up. Before I could even say hi, she was ushering me onto a train. So good, and just as much fun as I remembered. The next trip up to the gates of Maverick was a failure. I was in the same spot as before, in the catbird seat as it were, the only single rider in sight, when it started drizzling. The ride op working the door said that Maverick doesn't run if it's raining even slightly. It went from slightly, to more than slightly, and back and forth. After about twenty minutes of intelligent theme park conversation between myself, the ride op, and a woman a couple years older than me, and her daughter, I bowed out. We stuck around a little longer, I rode Maxair and my daughter got another ride on the antique cars and checked out a mini corn maze, then it was back to Michigan for us. Seven hours of driving total, four and a half in the park in weather that was barely fifty with a park that was running on a shoestring, and we still had fun. I'm going back in two weeks and hoping for the best.

As written here, by me: http://www.thecoastercritic.com/2010/05/top-3-theme-park-foods.html Yay! Everyone knows that theme park food is expensive, terrible tasting and terrible for you. For the most part, those assumptions are all too true. Yet after much diligent research-read, being a pig-I have uncovered three food items that actually are worth the money, even if most of them are still pretty terrible for you. Now then, before anybody gets all huffy, these are subjective reviews, based on what I personally like to eat, so if you’re a vegan or just have a vastly different palate than I do, it doesn’t mean we can’t still be buddies. That said, I did do a few early eliminators. All of the food on my list is counter-service based; ideally being the kind of thing you could carry with you, or of course sit at those little tables that no matter the park, are always filthy. Although dessert options were considered, I wanted the list to be composed primarily of entrees. Any dessert exceptional enough to be included of course will be. So here we go, let’s slog together through the mires of awful pizza, deep fried cakes, and other foods even worse than that found at your local Arby’s. Did I mention most theme park food is awful? Nathan’s Hot Dogs at Six Flags Great Adventure, numerous other parks A Nathan’s dog is not like a normal hot dog, and if you’ve had one, you already knew that. Nathan’s dogs are like the kind you’d get from a butcher’s shop to cook for yourself at home. They’re not all junk meats; Nathan’s actually uses good stuff in their dogs. Nathan’s dogs have a natural casing, so you get that nice little snap when you bite into one. The stands always have tons of condiments, I’m a mustard man myself, and service is almost always fast, because, after all, it’s just a hot dog. Nathan’s dogs are without a doubt the best hot dog I’ve ever had that wasn’t purchased at a specialty shop, and the only dog I would consider food at a theme park. Nathan’s dogs have the added plus of being the featured food item in the annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contest on Coney Island, and aired live on ESPN. If you’ve never seen it, and have interest in men throwing up hot dogs on themselves, protip: they call it a reversal, its must see TV. Fried Chicken on a Waffle with Gravy at Knoebels Amusement Park You’re wrong, it does sound good. No seriously, this is one of those classic combinations that could only have been thought up by someone who was in college and probably inebriated. It sounds weird, but really think about it. Crispy fried chicken, fresh homemade waffles, and awesome gravy, that’s not just for frat boys at 3 A.M. anymore! Seriously though, it’s super good, and so is most of the food at Knoebels. They’ve got everything, from multiple types of cheesecake slices to choose from, to fried alligator bites (they taste like chicken), to numerous other options. Pretty Much Everything at Epcot, Disney World This really wasn’t even a question. Epcot has pretty much everything, and it’s all pretty good. Like to munch on sushi and tacos at the same time? Not a problem at Epcot. Want to eat fish and chips and then suck down some Moroccan kabobs? Again, not a problem at Epcot. Thanks to the World Showcase, a gathering of buildings, rides and shows that encircle a giant reflecting pool, Epcot was a shoe-in for first. These building are run by people actually from their representative nations, so if you want crepes (and you’ll probably want crepes at some point, let’s be honest), an actual French Chef will be preparing them for you. The last time I was at Epcot, it was dusk, I was drinking a properly tempered Guinness draft and trying to figure out where I was going to eat dinner. It was a genuine problem, and I consoled myself by walking with my brother-in-law around the park, enjoying the sights and sounds as we ate small plates of food from the various nations. Finally stuffed to our gills, we left, and for once in my life, I was happy there wasn’t a coaster in sight. An Addendum: I know I said at the start that I wasn’t going to allow the inclusion of table service restaurants, one of the former Epcot restaurants really does deserve a mention. I’m speaking of course, of the legendary Alfredo’s. Alfredo’s, home to quite delicious Italian cuisine, was shut down after repeated requests from EMTs working at the park. It seems that Alfredo’s butter and cream rich entrees, coupled with the Florida heat, were causing guests to drop left and right from heart attacks and strokes after exiting the restaurant. Think about how rarely a coaster is shut down due to human injury, and then try and wrap your head around Medical personnel, screaming like Chief Brody in Jaws to close the beaches, and accept the reality that a restaurant was allowed to kill people. Somehow I don’t think repeated throw offs on Kingda Ka are going to fly any time soon. Honorable Mentions: Sandwiches from Chick Fil-A (King’s Island), Turkey legs (Hershey Park/Disney), and Slushees (Cedar Point).

Anybody have any predictions on what the best remaining Halloweekends days will be? I'm going to CP one more time this season, and really want the odds in my favor, for my trip in August the crowds were brutal.

Imagine the good rides that could go there. Sigh...

The ride there on the fire truck would have been better.

You are so right on the Stormrunner launch, that is fantastic.

I have an alibi...

Adventure Express is the lamest for me, but with a caveat. The first time I rode it was last summer. The ending was beyond cheesy and I knew what to expect from an old Arrow mine ride. This summer, my daughter, six at the time, was tall enough to ride. My little girl's favorite two coasters are Millennium Force and Shivering Timbers, she loves extreme rides. At the end of Adventure Express she was pressed into me as much as she was able, totally freaked out by the "scary" scenery. She could have cared less that nothing happened after the hill, to her it was exciting, just because of the over the top themeing. It was kind of wake up call, different age groups see things differently. As for best ending: The Beast Magnum Maverick Kraken All of those have excellent finales.

I went to SFGA exactly one year ago today, and it was the best time I've ever had at a park, everything, all day was a walk on, to this weird ridiculous level. Today, that was one busy park. Does anyone local have any idea of what changed in a year?

This is why I'm just going to skip that park.

My six year old will love the cheerleaders, and I'll love shorter lines, if King's Island cooperates on sunday, I will rock Kennywood on the ninth.