RandallDuell

Whizzer was open just a bit after the park on 7/21. Demon, however, didn't look like it had any plans on being open anytime soon (weeds growing up through the track coming out of the tunnel....lost of visible rust (that usually seems to at least get patch painted). As far as roughness for Whizzer/Little Dipper, I'd say neither are rough - but the lean on Whizzer can be surprising to little ones. The good news is the seating arrangement, as you can have her sit in front of you and easily hold her/assist her through those sections ... this was the first "big" ride for mine, some years ago, she she did great. While the seating isn't quite as helpful on Little Dipper, the cars are small and I'd say the only rough part is the turnaround (when you're on the roof of the station) and something you can again assist her with. I don't know the current ops, but the couple of times I've ridden it in Gurnee it's only had one train running .... with 16 people each, an even short looking line can take a bit (when it was at Kiddieland they were able to unload/load one train as the other was zipping through the course so the line moved a lot quicker). Overall the park was fine - the theming of the old Marriott days continues to slowly become just a distant memory....with a few physical remnants to help trigger those. The deadness felt between Buccaneer Battle (fence up) and Demon (seemingly SBNO) was real, especially when you consider the old foliage covered walkway that used to run in the Demon/Sky Whirl/Hay Baler area. It was amazing to soak in the changed skyline from the top of Giant Drop. The choice between theme park and thrill park is clear from that vantage point. I guess, if anything, we were spoiled that they bothered to hang on to the theming as long as they did, really. Raging Bull, btw, wow that thing still kicks ass (after nearly 25 years)!

How different would Jew’s post had been if, say, SFMM had made this error? [emoji1] I need to do some more reading about this ride - after seeing how the building now looks I realized I have no idea what they’ve done to the old version!

It's almost like people have different opinions! The park has had it's ups and downs over the years, but I never felt it was a "dump" - but, gasp, that's my opinion. Things like the Metro station, and (sadly) now the tower, being SBNO for a long time has always been puzzling to me. Hell, Flashback sat there for quite awhile, too. I guess when I look at the admission/pass price, I just have a different bar set. The park was nicely plotted on the hill, and that along makes for a unique experience ... even with dilapidated areas and bathroom issues. I've been in parks (that I've never seen labeled "dumps") where similar conditions exist. Exciting email from the park president, btw. It does sound like they're pointing in the right direction with the refurb/addition, hopeful they can keep it going!

This seems like a bizarre display of confidence to me - you declare it will be fine, so it will? After it hits land, it's projected to drift back up towards Galveston ... then Houston. There have been multiple tornado warnings, too. I certainly hope you're right, but as unpredictable as the damage from a hurricane can be it seems odd to so boldly declare that it will be "fine".

Pretty great looking coaster, those guys have definitely done what I didn't think was possible (in many ways). Huzzah to RMC, and Cedar Point. Also, after plowing my way through 30-40 pages, I'm stunned that SVen has not been pegged as the quickest way to type out the name of this beast! I can picture them loading up the first train full of dudes named Sven. RMC must be very proud of how much they've turned the ride industry on it's ear, it's really impressive.

The ride looks fun, I'm assuming a decent portion of the cost of the ride went into the infrastructure of building into/across the lake....maybe that explains some of the lack of theme after the pre launch tunnel? Also, just thought I'd point out that it's always a good idea to read the entire thread before you post - I was about to post a POV I ran across, then saw one was deleted and hands were slapped! Anyway, looking forward to this site's version of the POV and/or ride review.

Last time I checked this thread there were no updates, so I attempted to take at least one picture. Now I see there are better pictures than the one I took! Anyway, here it is as of today: Took a spin on Steel Eel, and had a good time. I didn't know anything about this coaster, and really enjoyed the first half. Crazy floater air. The second half, after the brake, was rough. Been a long time since I've felt so uncomfortable (with the slamming feeling at the bottom of the bunny hills, on the return). Park was really dead today, I'd say Aquatica was busier. Guy at Steel Eel said that the state still needs to do their testing, but they're close. I don't have any real history with this place, but I do recall seeing water ski crews whip around the island .... guess that lap is permanently closed! Was neat to see the dam released and the lake back into the construction area. Last time I was here it was odd to see it bone dry in the construction area, with dams on either side to keep it that way. Aquatica is a really fun waterpark - per some reading here (and elsewhere) we did get a cabana and wow does that drastically change the entire tone of your day! Going to be hard not to get one everytime going forward.

Boy o boy, I not-so-fondly recall spending hot summer days and nights in that giant tent...zig-zagging through an endless amount of metal railings ... remember how big of a victory it was to even make it to that red circle?! Then the big decision of which side to wait for. I miss being able to go hop on Eagle's flight, afterwards, to get back to the front of the park. Hey, at least you can get a funnel cake there, now, I suppose!

That may not be the case. There is no one from Arrow on the current senior management team roster listed here: http://www.engineeringexcitement.com/our-team/ I dug and found one name possibly still associated with the company. It is possible that some of these people stuck around, but not necessarily the case since S&S simply purchased the assets in bankruptcy. We know two of them are with Ride Centerline. I doubt at the end of the company's existence that they had an army of other engineers waiting to build something. Buying legacy parts from a company that bought assets from a company that bought assets from a company that bought assets isn't the same as buying a new ride from a manufacturer you sued into nonexistence. Was way behind on this thread, but just caught up and wanted to point out that this was a solid post. Also, no pictures of the 2017 ride construction area?

Unless it's Six Flags or Carnival. Then just fire away seems to be the rule, right?

a) The guy above me has an incredibly annoying signature. Almost as bad as that guy with the Christmas lights counter thingy in his b) This topic has been discussed quite a bit, before: http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=931424#p931424

I can't stand this response. I think four out of five is pretty dang good, but boy if I didn't give it five stars then gosh darn it they're doing something wrong. Truth is I don't believe in rating anything five stars or excellent as there is no such thing as perfection. There is always room for improvement and that's not a bad thing. It's actually a good thing. I truly hope you understand that you are screwing, in many instances, the employees when you refuse to give a "perfect" score. So many corporations have gone to feedback-based incentives, and most of them grade anything less than a "5" or "10" as a failure. Many firms employ Gallup to collect this info, and many of those don't do the old Olympic thing where you toss out one high and one low score....nope, you could give them a "5" in all but ONE category ... and that is graded as "bad shop". Sure it's a faulty and dumb system to grade these things so black and white, but I really do think consumers need to realize that taking a stand that "nothing is perfect therefore I can not, and will not, score as such when grading a great day at _________ company" does nothing but drive down overall scores. In many case you may as well literally give a "1" across the board ... stupid corporate blob will score that the same as all "5s" and just one "4".

Where are you today? And how is the line?

/boldikus

Bizarre. The whole thing is so strange. Does anyone know what he paid to buy it? I can see a lot of locals being pissed that he basically further destroyed the place by trying to bring it back..... The dramatic music in this piece is a bit much, but still: http://cjky.it/1ETyJab

Off topic, but will it get to the point with the tower where it's cheaper to just take it down than it is to do whatever kind of maintenance they need to do on a structure that tall (regardless of it actually having people occupy it or not)? Such a strange history for that thing.

Sounds rough man, until I look at your coaster count. lol

Finally. Everyone was on pins and needles in anticipation.

Thanks for sharing. Can I take this moment to ask a question that has always bugged me: why do you not allow YouTube videos to be maximized to full screen out of the forum posts? I'd guess it's my problem, but other boards I go to (in the same browser, on the same computer) do not have the full screen option simply gray out wen you click on it (rather than expanding the video to full screen). Thanks again, solid watch.

I know there are tons of cities with no 'big' parks (at all), but I've always wondered what it would look like if there were another Great America-sized park on either the west or south side of Chicagoland? It certainly seems like the interest (from the public, in going to an amusement park) is there.....I guess, at this point, it'd have to be Cedar Fair who'd have to be interested in a Chicago area park...right? And, yes, I know it's unheard of for a major chain to build from the ground up (as of late), but the crazy attendance at this park (and it's inability to truly do a major expansion) makes me wonder.

How long has that waterfall been inoperable? Seems like a strange time of year to fire it up, no? Has there been talk of them working to get it working again, or is this a total surprise?

Now I think jew might know what it feels like when he stops in the Magic Mountain thread to complain about everything. lol

Excuse the silly question, but curious as to what occupied (if anything) the spot where the new coaster is going? Thanks.

Thank you.

There is officially not a thread you won't poop on. Congrats. It's stunning if those ride vehicles are actually that much. Wow. I hope the third gets here quickly - the theories are getting wacky!