SoCalCoasters

Well, I did list the boomerang under the educated guess section because I don't know for sure. It was just speculation. There's a couple reasons why I believe it might be on it's way out. Like I said above, the ride has been running year round since its opening, rather than being closed half of the year for seasonal operations. This means a lot more wear and tear than say, a Boomerang on the east coast which only operates daily during the Spring and Summer. the ride is also running old fashioned Arrow trains. A lot of parks are running Boomerangs with the newer style cars or with Vekoma's new tangled vest system. Knott's has chosen not to invest in a new system. If they intended to keep the ride running any more than a few years at this point they might need to invest in new trains due to the age of the original ones. The ride has been around for 22 years, year round. Also, it's been mentioned at least once in this thread that Boomerang might be leaving soon. No, I don't know for sure, but based on some observations I came to a conclusion. I never said it with absolute truth.

^ Why thank you! Sarcasm aside, my post was not meant to sound like I knew everything. I listed all of that there because I wanted a place where all the known info could be stated, along with some personal observations of mine. All the inferences I made were made with some background knowledge I have. Sure, I'm not an uber genius with a college degree, but it doesn't take a genius to determine that the KOD building as well as Pony Express most likely won't be going anywhere within the next few years. Just because I took the time to put logic into my post doesn't make me a smart-alec. I just wanted to back all my opinions up logically...

I don't the the park absolutely needs an Intamin Giga just to compete with an addition to SFMM that we don't even know the slightest thing about yet. And really, Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain have two completely different client bases. Knott's focuses more on the entire family unit and also gets attendance from guest visiting Disney, whereas SFMM focuses much more on just the teenager and young adult crowds/the thrill seekers. Everyone is spewing out all this ridiculous speculation...some of it is welcome but there's a few points I'd like to address. This is the post I should have made long ago.... Here's the facts: -The park is removing a prototype water ride that was plagued with issues and capacity problems since day one. -The ride opens up a considerable amount of room in the back of the park. -Boomerang is getting old. -The last time Knott's added a coaster that most enthusiasts classify as a "thrilling ride" was in 2004 with the addition of Silver Bullet. -Leviathan WAS NOT meant for Knott's. -The Giga Coaster addition is a rumor. -The survey marker spotted around the park a year or two back were for a general park survey. -The style of supporting on the lifts used in both I305 and Leviathan are a way of saving steel to cut down the cost. -No changes made by the current general manager have indicated that the park wishes to add a large scale thrill ride. -B&M is the favorite company of Knott's ride management team due to their reliability. -No official announcement regarding a 2013 attraction has been given. Wild Rumors and Speculation: For years, there have off and on been rumors of the park getting a large scale Giga coaster, despite the park's landlocked nature. The only two companies who have built a Giga (besides Morgan who haven't built anything large in a long time) thus forth have both been rumored to be involved in said project with the park. If not a giga, than some kind of large scale attraction is suspected as a result of Perilous Plunge's sudden closing announcement. (Something from B&M?) Educated Guesses: (logical inferences based on existing information and knowledge) -Boomerang is heading towards the end of its life (opened 1990). Considering Perilous Plunge was just removed, now would also be the perfect time to demolish Boomerang if in fact it is becoming a maintenance headache. It's run year round for 22 seasons (yeah yeah, excluding rehabs and downtime), making it probably the "oldest" Boomerang in terms of wear and tear from ride cycles. The space taken up by Boomerang is located right across from Perilous Plunge. They could build quite a decent sized attraction if they were to combine these two spaces. Considering the park has not invested in Vekoma's newer cars suggests they plan on axing the ride sometime soon. -They're not going to remove Pony Express anytime soon! Just because a lot of coaster enthusiasts don't like it doesn't mean the ride is horrible. Frankly, I actually quite enjoy the ride despite it's short length. It's the newest coaster in the park's lineup! -If Knott's does indeed place a large scale attraction in PP's place, they're NOT going to tear down the building with the remains of Kingdom of the Dinosaurs! Where the hell do people keep getting this wild idea from? The building still contains: A high capacity eatery, an upcharge laser tag arena (which is currently being converted into an upcharge maze for Scary Farm) and an arcade. It's not going anywhere! I really doubt the park would remove that much infrastructure for a few feet of coaster track... -Knott's is most likely going to replace Perilous Plunge with something else. That's all I can think of for now, please, continue with the discussion.

^ Seeing as Grizzly and Demon still draw a decent crowd I can't see them being removed anytime soon. That's not what the park needs. Plus, putting a new coaster in it's place means lots of $$$$$ which is currently being spent on another project. Multi Launching coasters are expensive. (Manta being the cheapest one so far with a rumored price tag of 10-12 million to design and manufacture)

Upon getting a bit deeper into Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, I can easily say it's a hit. I really find it amazing just how much stuff Square-Enix managed to jam into this game. First off, since it's a 3DS Game, I'll mention the 3D. While it can end up being a bit cumbersome to use in battle, the 3D was done extremely well. The depth and perspective look great and it really does bring out a lot of detail in the scenes. The opening fight sequence in particular had some great 3D, as does the Hunchback area. The combat is the real gem of this game. It's absolutely awesome. While some may find the controls to be on the "light" side when blocking or spell casting, the basic mechanics work great. Basically, you have your Keyblade which which you can perform basic attacks, and then you have your "command deck". The command deck increases as you progress through the game, consisting of a deck of slots which can be filled with magic, powerful strike moves, or items from your inventory. You can shuffle through them the D-Pad below the Circle Pad. It's like a Hybrid of Chain of Memories' (GBA version) difficult-to-master card fighting style and 358/2 Days combat style. None of that is the best part though. Actually I'd say there are two equally awesome combat additions: Flowmotion Mechanics: Holy crap! FINALLY! This has to be one of the most ingenious mechanics ever integrated into a Kingdom Hearts game. Basically, by dashing into an object (anything!) in your surroundings, you can use flowmotion to ricochet off and quickly speed around an area, or unleash devestating attacks on your enemies. These attacks vary based on what objects you "flow". In fights, it works extremely well, and can dispatch a large amount of HP from multiple enemies. It also helps in boss fights by preventing you from getting cornered. The other half is the dream eaters.They're basically your creature allies that follow you around in battle and fight with you. As you fight with them, you can link their powers to yours and unleash some pretty devastating moves and abilities. There are a ton of different dream eaters. 3 in a party and 2 can be out at once. The special moves can be released with each individual eater or be linked together for various results (often ridiculously awesome). Also, for those who may have missed a past KH game, you collect mementos which give you the back stories on the previous games to help understand the current one.

^Did you happen to notice Griffon's Immelmann causing traffic issues? Or ShieKra dissecting the Calico Mine Ride? Just...no... ShieKra and Griffon take up massive plots of land. Even if that is to scale, that would require the entire back half of the park to be inaccessible for quite a while in the winter.

Well Pony Express has to be the worst coaster ever added to Knotts's besides Windjammer so the land might actually be better served for a great ride instead of a mediocre one. I don't think I need to say anything else....

How did this loop rumor even come about? All I keep hearing is that Premier is involved, but nothing else...

^^So yu are basically saying they should remove a relatively new multi million dollar ride for no reason other than because you don't know how to properly brace yourself on it and because you think a Giga's tournaround would fit there?

I've always been fascinated by dive coasters and wouldn't mind one either. And they could easily fit it in just the place of PP! I made a VERY ROUGH sketch of how they could use the land of Boomerang and KOD were removed. While making it I could have easily not used Boomerang's area of the KOD area.... red= chain hill black=actual layout purple=station green= possible queue? Ummm... The KOD "area" is more than just the abandoned ride. It's also a high capacity eatery and an arcade. No reason to tear those down for a new coaster. Also, B&M Dive Machines take up a MASSIVE space. (Not counting Krake as that's a mini dive machine) Pony Express is the park's newest coaster, and it takes up a very small plot of land. Why on earth would they remove it for a Giga coaster that would most likely be situated in a completely different are of the park? Ugh, I swear...do people even think before they post?

^Now let's see some theming. Erm...has the park's attendance really dropped? I was under the impression that they were still doing relatively good business.

^ -sigh- Ugh, in all honesty, I don't really want to see a Giga in Perilous Plunge's spot. I think the space could be suited to something else.... Many people I've talked to are so over joyed and blindly celebrating something we don't even know is real yet. After seeing what happened with Silver Bullet and how the beautiful lakefront was ripped to shreds, I'd hate to see the same thing happen to Roaring Twenties or the edges of Ghost Town. I know all the coasters enthusiasts are thinking giga and saying "gimme gimme gimme", but do you think that this would benefit the park even more than say, an attraction that was suited for the whole family? (smaller scale family coaster or something?) Yeah yeah yeah, blah blah blah, Silver Bullet was the last major thrill ride, but the park has been focusing on other aspects. Even for what it is, I think Pony express is still a decent ride, especially for the tiny space they managed to jam it into. Same with Sierra Sidewinder. Making a coaster that integrated well into its surroundings would be much better than plopping a concrete jungle onto a Boardwalk area. But I digress. I still have a sinking suspicion Boomerang isn't in the clear yet either. I mean, the ride is 22 years old...one of the oldest Boomerangs out there. I suspect we'll probably be seeing another announcement later this year for its removal as well.

^Hmm...Hint at a new coaster?I mean, it's a bit of an obvious hint, but still.

While I appreciate your updates, I do feel a bit annoyed, and I imagine anyone else who has commented in this thread may feel the same way. You have not even aknowledged nor taken any advice that has been given to you regarding this park. We're giving you good advice, the least you could say is "thanks but no thanks". I spent the time to take a look at this park, and point out areas that I think could be improved. I commented on this hoping to help you, but if just ignore what anyone has to say about your park that isn't good, you'll never improve. Criticism: We didn't need two pictures of the same giant dirt space. Way to improve: Try taking pictures from different angles, and of different and new things. Experiment using the free look camera. You'll be surprised at how cool some of the angles are. Criticism: All the ground besides the dirt is the exact same color. Way to improve: try changing the textures of your terrain wi the terrain painters. There's dozens of different textures to choose, so just try to vary things up a bit. Criticism: There is absolutely no terrain changes, it looks un-natural. Way to improve: even slight different changes in terrain make a park seem more real. Criticism: your park feels weird since all the paths seem bland and sterile and have way too many lamps. Way to improve: look at pictures of a real theme park. Look at how paths often have scenery around them and have trees and other ascetic features. Try to make you park feel more natural. That's the ways I think your park can improve. I just gave you valuable criticism from an experienced player. I hope you at least read this comment and perhaps take to heart some of the things I've said. -SCC

Anyone else here played Kingdom Hearts: 3D Dream Drop Distance? Easily one of my favorite KH games so far. They really did a great job with all the game's features.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/11/12/killer-whale-moved-from-marineland Was this the incident you're referring to? The killer whale was already removed I thought...

That really is saddening to read. Even if some of it is over-exaggerated, there are some responses in that article from the park owner that left me sort of believing most of it may be true...

This has been my favorite post of the entire thread. Heh, you're welcome. We should totally start an online petition to have them rename it this! Those always end up working! /sarcasm Anyway... B&M has a reputation for building extremely reliable and high capacity coasters. Maybe that is what Cedar Point wants? With all the trouble they had getting Shoot the Rapids, Maverick and TTD open and operating reliably, is anyone really surprised that they decided to go back to a company that has proven time and time again that they can produce a reliable, high-capacity and GP popular ride?

Erm...I highly doubt that, especially since the S has now been returned to the front of the car. If it had been an issue, it would have been removed permanently. R.C. Is most likely correct in saying that they were testing the train with different weights to see if the ride performance was at all affected by a change in weight.

Cedar Point is getting a new coaster! Look people! They've answered your anguished cries of need! Then masses of people appear sad and dejected about it being a B&M Wingrider. Ok. That's cool. Didn't realize something had to be the latest and greatest for it to be a good ride. At least wait till we see how it turns out before passing Judgement on it! Look at Superman! That surprised a lot of people this year!

Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain?

You have a decent idea, but it needs to be expanded upon. The one thing I see many people now are now forgetting with basic RCT3 is cohesion between scenery and attractions. take a look at this one post I made o n my project Bell Gardens which I worked on for nearly two years: For some reason I can't link to it while posting from my iPad, I'll change it back later...for now just search bell gardens and it should come up. Take a look at how everything flows together. It has a certain "natural" feel to it does it not? Try to make your park feel as if you would actually enjoy being there and looking at the surroundings. As the Disney company has said time and time again, it's the details that really make their attractions so special. Don't stay in your comfort zone, experimenting is key to finding a good style you can settle into. Also, try not to do a story until you have a decent base park. Often times I see people doing rather pointless and silly stories instead of focusing on the park. Devote more time to your park before you try to add a story, trust me, you'll be better off in the end.

^ The Gate Gatsby

Wacky Soap Box Racers II would do quite nicely in that space. I do hope that this addition fits the area.

Scrambler with water jets. Just sayin! Meh, I'd say this is close enough. Whatever this is, I hope to God they consider keeping the surroundings intact and charming when they put this new addition in. coughSilverBulletcough