gci2011

I was very excited to make my first trip down to Kings Island recently! I was quite looking forward to the Beast and Diamondback, and a bunch of other credits. The family came too, so I only ended up getting 5 credits though , but they were good ones. We came in on Friday evening, and made our way back to the Beast because I would NOT be leaving without one. The line itself was short, but somehow we were to the point where we were going to be on the next train, when they shut it down for the fireworks. After spending about 15 minutes debating whether or not to stay in line, we had just decided to stay when it reopened! My sisters and parents somehow got one train ahead of me, so I felt quite isolated out in the woods. The ride, quite frankly, surpassed my very high expectations. I got a very fun, intense, and not horribly rough ride. The darkness was really a good addition, and it is easily the most unique woodie I have been on. It is firmly planted in my #1 spot for wooden coasters, at least until I ride the Voyage for myt first time in a few weeks. Sadly, that was the only credit we got that night, but we were happy to learn that as Platinum passholders, we were entitled to Early Entry to the Beast and Diamondback the next morning! That never happened. We were all exhausted, and much to my dismay, we all slept until 10. Nevertheless, we were in the park by 12 and made our way to Drop Tower. We spent a good 40 minutes in line, when someone fainted from the heat and they shut down the whole ride. We waited for another 10 minutes before deciding to get out of line. Once we got out, the ride reopened. Grrrr. After that, we went and got some lunch at the Festhaus, and saw "Way Too Much TV". It was definitely fun, a nice break as I normally don't stop for shows at parks. After that, our group split up. My dad and youngest sister went to the waterpark, while my Mom, my other sister, and I planned to go do the Slingshot. Somehow though, we ended up over at Diamondback instead, where we got in a 45 minute line. It moved quickly, I thought, and we requested the front. My mom and sister took the very front, I was in the outside left front. Boy, was it fun! The airtime was good, the drop was incredible, it was quite smooth. I quite enjoyed Diamondback. My favorite part, by far, was the splashdown. I loved the feeling of flying over the water, with the wind whipping back my hair. It felt terrific, like something all coasters should have. I decided that the hills and loops and other elements sometimes diminish or overpower this feeling in my mind. This felt like the ultimate display of speed and adrenaline to be found on a roller coaster. After that, it was off to Vortex. I was slightly hesitant, because Arrow coasters are not my favorite. It was quite a headbanger, some jerky moments. I didn't like this coaster. At all. We hopped on Invertigo and Backlot Stunt Coaster, which were both surprisingly fun. We ended up getting two more night rides on Diamondback later also. Ride Count: Beast x1 Diamondback x3 Vortex x1 Invertigo x1 Backlot Stunt Coaster x1 My favorite ride, if I had to choose, would be the Beast. It was a fantastically unique experience, and the mysteriousness of it all was a great element. Diamondback is a very close second. The airtime was good, but mostly I just really loved the splashdown. Anyway, I'll stop rambling and get to the pictures: Yay! My first trip! It was a beautiful entrance. But why is that lady walking towards me like that?!?! No rides on either of these today But we got some great views from the Eiffel Tower! We got an amazing night ride on The Beast! Diamondback looks massive from the parking lot. Skyline with the Eiffel Tower. Panning left.... I just missed the train There it goes! Thats a BIG sign! I *kinda* wanted to ride this......... We were JUST about to get on, when someone fainted and they shut it down. Curse our luck. But this was definitely a good alternative to Drop Tower! *in a funny voice* "OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY!" WEEEEEEEE! FWOOOOSSSSHHHHH! Cool-lookin' banners! Now THAT's a good sign! That'll be us! *nervously checks pockets for phone* Best part of the ride! That is quite the first drop! Whoa! Ok, funny story. So in my other hand I'm holding a glass of water, and I tilt upwards under the drop to get this picture, and accidently pour the water all over myself. But my camera survived! A multiPOOPER! Hahaha no. Really though, this ride sucked. They're all like, "Thank god that's over!" No rides on this one today Hidden train, THROUGH THE TREES! One last parting shot. Hope to go back soon!

That would be helpful. Encountering some small kinks in my layout and I can't use any fancy tools (AHG, Newton 2) because I'm on my mac.... but still fun! Either way, this is quite a fun challenge

Small preview - I've been a bit of a slacker, but this is all I'm giving away for now! Lift Hill Sneak Peak!

Have to ask, how do you get the promo videos?

Yes, we have been to Hershey, we were there less than a month ago. Right now, it looks like we'll do Dorney on Saturday and Knoebels on Sunday. Thanks for the help everyone!

I'm planning a mini trip through Pennsylvania this weekend, and am looking at stopping at Dorney park, Knoebels, or Waldameer. I only have time for two, and because my coaster count is at 98, I was hoping that either Phoenix, Ravine Flyer II, or Talon to be my 100th. I have never been to any of them, and both have their pros and cons. I wanted to get a few other opinions before I make my decision though. Also, I would be bringing my parents and two younger sisters (12 and 8). Anyway: Knoebels: I really want to ride the Phoenix, and the atmosphere sounds really nice. We saw Knoebels featured on some special about amusement park food too, so that's another reason we want to go. The problem is, our home park is Cedar Point, so the rest of my family is very biased against woodies (Mean Streak), and feel that the park is not going to be as good because they don't have a ton of coasters. The thing is, I'm sure they'd love it once we get there. Dorney: The main reason I want to go to dorney is for Talon and Hydra. Also, we have Cedar Fair Platinum Passes, so admission wouldn't be an issue. This would also make my sisters happy because of the higher number of coasters there, and we miss having Demon Drop at Cedar Point. I'm not so keen on Dorney because I'd really like to get on a good woodie, and in comparison to the other parks, Dorney doesn't seem to have one. Waldameer: Ravine Flyer II is the main draw here for us. It would be my first Gravity Group coaster, and I think it would be a good one for the family to enjoy as well. The only problem is, I don't really know what else there is to do there. Please let me know which parks you think would be the best fit. Thanks TPR!

Wile E. Coyote's Canyon Blaster, SFOG. Yeah......

I happened to read this just after leaving King's Island for the day! I managed to take some pictures of it then: Here's the whole article. Took this shot because I was intrigued at I305's listed speed. Hmmmmm

All signed up and everything looks great, but on the page in the store, it says that a backstage tour and other stuff will be announced soon. Wondering when this information will be released? Trying to plan the rest of my day around ERT and other ECB perks and events. Thanks.

I know this is an old thread, but yes, I do use RSS feeds. I look at them on my phone when I can't get to a computer and love them! They're great little snippets of information - on my phone I have Screamscape and have been wishing TPR had something like this. Sounds like a great idea to me, I would sure use it!

Sorry for multiple posts, something was up with my internet connection.

I'm in. Been working on something like this myself anyway the past few days. Not promising anything terrific, but I'll give it a try. How many points are deducted if the G's go over? Thanks.

I'm in. Been working on something like this myself anyway the past few days. Not promising anything terrific, but I'll give it a try. How many points are deducted if the G's go over? Thanks.

I'm in, not promising anything terrific, but I'll give it a try. How many points are deducted if the G's go over?

I may be there at the beginning of August. I really hope it isn't in bad shape, I was really looking forward to this being my first Gravity Group.

And now, Kings Dominion. This was a beautiful park. I absolutely loved Kings Dominion. It had a great atmosphere, Hersheypark's was arguably better, but this was still a terrific park. I was greatly looking forward to KD and Intimidator, and we got there just after park opening. First thing we did was the Eiffel Tower, and it was a great view. So much better than the Space Spiral at Cedar Point, which I'm used to. I loved being able to move around and take pictures, it was great. After that, we headed to Dominator. Dominator was our first credit of the day, and one I sadly skipped during a trip to Geauga Lake a few years back. It was a fun ride, smooth, and one of the best floorless coasters I've been on. After that, I did Berserker, which was fun but painful. We stopped at a Chick-Fil-A, and then headed toward Shockwave. I was sad to see that it was down, so I went and did Drop Tower. After that, Shockwave opened back up and we got right on. Overall, I did not think it was a bad coaster, I only felt roughness in the turnarounds. I actually didn't learn it was a Togo until a few days ago, which is good because otherwise I feel that my initial opinions would be much more negatively biased. We did Ghoster Coaster, which was not the smoothest but not terribly rough either, IMO. Then we headed to Volcano, which was also temporarily down. We did Avalanche for the credit, and got on Volcano as soon as it opened. We ended up waiting about an hour for this, and I do think it was worth it. It is one of my favorite rides in the park, behind only Dominator and I305. I did The Crypt, which was fun and quite nerve-wracking. We did Backlot Stunt Coaster next. It was fun, the cars were cute, but the trains were all one color . Anaconda was a walk-on and not that bad. The best part was looking over at Intimidator from the lift and seeing that there was NO LINE!!!!!!! So obviously, we ran to Intimidator next. We got on twice in the 2nd row, never waited more than 5 minutes. It was a great ride! Just sitting down in the seat felt epic after all the great things I had been reading about the ride. The lift goes so fast that the wind blows in your face. It offers a terrific view of the rest of the park and was nice to be able to see the parts of the park that we hadn't been through yet. The drop is amazing too. Fast and steep, I wish I had gotten a backseat ride to try for some floater like on Millennium Force. The turnaround was super intense, I grayed out towards the pullout of the turn, and regained full vision near the top of the second hill. Not much airtime here, but the following tight twisty segments and turns were very fun. I was really happy that they had just installed the new straps, because otherwise this would be a headbanger like Maverick. Everything here was fun, fast-paced and comfortable. The smaller hill gave some good airtime, and a little on the hill after that. Just another turn or two, and it was into the break run. Overall, I'd rate Intimidator 305 higher than Millennium Force. I was slightly hesitant to do so because Cedar Point is my home park, but decided that dropping MF to #2 isn't that bad. Intimidator was smoother than Millennium, it seemed faster and had a more interesting layout. I wouldn't say it had more or better airtime than Millennium, but I did like that it incorporated the best of both MF and Maverick. It is definitely a must-ride for any coaster enthusiast. After that, we headed over to Waterworks. I didn't like this water park very much. It had some good slides, but I prefer Hersheypark's "Boardwalk" for the atmosphere and theme. I actually didn't learn until later that there was a whole other wave pool and slide complex farther back, but I got cold quickly and we headed back for more coasters. Next we hit Rebel Yell. It was honestly not as rough as I was expecting. I quite enjoyed the ride, enough that I insisted on riding the other side only in case that Facebook's Coaster Counter Application counts each side as its own credit. We did Ricochet next, though it was not as good as Hersheypark's Wild Mouse, IMO. I survived Hurler. I think that's all that really needs to be said. Same goes for Grizzly. I will NOT be doing those again if you paid me. Well, maybe if you paid me, but it would have to be a lot. We did the go-carts, which were surprisingly fun. I hadn't driven any in a while, and it was fun to do something I don't normally do for a change. I did the "Shenandoah Lumber Company" Log Flume, which was fun but not as much as the late White Water Landing. When we realized that we had somehow made it back to the Eiffel Tower, we decided to hit Dominator again. After that, I borrowed a kid and conquered the Taxi Jam. That only left Flight of Fear. I was not impressed with Flight of Fear. The line was painstakingly slow and the indoors portion of the queue was very stuffy. Everything felt grimy and dirty, and I felt slightly claustrophobic inside the UFO or whatever that was. The ride itself was ok, I enjoyed launching out of the station. It felt a little jerky, some shuffling, and overall I was quite happy to get off. We were going to see about another ride on Intimidator that night, but the line had completely filled up and we decided that we had gotten our share of I305 rides for the day. We headed back to WaterWorks to get our stuff out of a locker, and then headed towards Drop Tower to watch the fireworks (this was July 3). I got in one more ride on Drop Tower, then ran to claim the other side of Rebel Yell, and made it back just in time to see the start of the fireworks. The fireworks were quite a show, after which it was late and my feet were starting to feel sore. We made it through the crowds to the gift shops at the front of the park, as I wanted to see if they sell souvenir maps like Cedar Point. They didn't, but I got to see the CoasterDynamix Intimidator model, which was cool. It had valleyed in the first turn after the drop . All in all, it was a terrific day at Kings Dominion. I am happy to know that I will be back there for East Coast Bash, to get in plenty more rides on Intimidator 305. My only complaint is that I did not like how all of the ride exit paths dragged on forever. It seemed quite pointless, but at least Intimidator's led me to buy the souvenir shirt I am wearing now. Enjoy the pics! We're finally here! I spy a rolley-coaster, through the trees! Dominator's backside, through the loop! OOOOOOOHHHHHH! AAAAAHHHHH! The whole layout, from above. A terrific ride, I just wish the line weren't so long. Signature shot! Doesn't even deserve a caption. Signature shot #2! Now THAT was fun! WARNING - Tons of Dominator photos ahead! Curvy More curvy Quite a smooth ride. I think floorless coasters are underrated. Upside-down I305, here I come! LOOP-DE-LOOP! Me freaking out on Drop Tower. The panic is setting in... We're up high!!!! And getting higher..... Weeeeee! Random sign... I spy a rolley-coaster, through the trees! Stupid supports getting in the way. A slightly more fun Intamin... sorry, Volcano Twisty! Cresting the lift! This was a really good ride though. That launch comes out of nowhere! Signature shot... a bit too soon though, the car is hardly visible... They're all the same color Anaconda, THROUGH THE TREES! Now THAT is what we came for! Cool-lookin' entrance to a cool-lookin' ride. Ooooh there it goes! Instead of airtime, you get your sight back here! NOTED! There's the airtime! Ok, I'm not taking random pictures of people. Just wanted to show the awesome new straps! What an intense turn! Going DOWNNNNNN! Lift hill shot, with a train... The light beam is attacking! Lift hill shot! More twisty Volcano Mmmmmm! Twisty!!! Intamin cable shot. Another random Anaconda pic. Intimidator peeking THROUGH THE TREES! Drop Tower all lit up at night Some fireworks, it was a great display. The model was nice too, well done CoasterDynamix! Ooops, it valleyed... I'll leave with this. As for this thread, I may revive it later if I hit some other parks. Looking at Kennywood this weekend, more Cedar Point next week, and Kings Island, Dollywood, and East Coast Bash @ KD at the end of August. Thanks!

How are Wednesdays for crowd levels this time of year? Planning a trip for next Wednesday. Thanks.

Haha she would think that's funny! But I secretly endorse KidTums..... My sister would probably say no anyway

Just signed up for me and the family, all 5 of us. So excited, will be my first TPR event!

About ECB, I'm trying to talk my family into it. I have two younger sisters, 12 and 8, and was wondering if you think the event would be appropriate for them as well? Thanks for the help

Now, on to Hersheypark! I was really happy with Hersheypark. I had been there once before many years ago, but couldn't remember much about it so I was eager to go back. Overall, I thought it was a lovely park. The rides were all unique and fun, I particularly enjoyed Lightning Racer, Storm Runner, and Fahrenheit. I managed to get all eleven credits, and a few flats. I would love to go back, the atmosphere and the surroundings make it one of the most beautiful parks I have been to, in my opinion. My only complaint is that some areas of the park can be confusing, such as between Trailblazer and Great Bear. It took us 45 minutes to get from one to the other because the map wasn't much help and we got turned around several times. Regardless, it was a great day! Pictures: Note- Sorry about the quality of these, they were taken on my old camcorder. Ooooh! We're here! Oh boy o boy o boy! Sign..... This ride surprised me, it felt quite smooth! Better than Wildcat, but not Lightning Racer, IMO. Through the Immelman! Great Bear's Zero-G Roll from Comet's queue. Weird shot... I felt very obligated to take this picture. Wildcat was fun, I did like it overall. Better than Gwazi, IMO. There it goes! Oooh, Millennium Flyers! And I'm done with Wildcat. Wild Mouse was, well, my first Wild Mouse. I think, that I can remember anyway. Quite fun! Now off to Lightening Racer. Not as bad as I was expecting, a fun ride. Through the trees. Close-up shot through the trees. Blurry shot through the trees. I spy a rolley-coaster! Twisty!!! Random Sign for a random credit. The sky totally fits the "Storm" part of Storm Runner Another random boomerang pic. I waited quite a while to get this shot. It looks kinda eerie like that.... :/ Now some nighttime shots. Oh yeah, the Boardwalk was fun too. Well done, Hershey. Cobra roll all lit up at night. One more, the first drop. Quite a fun first hill overall. Oooooh lets go there! Except they were closed... One last parting shot of the carousel. Kings Dominion coming soon!

Yesterday was a fun, laid back trip to Cedar Point. It was a very hot, busy day, but I still managed to get on some of my favorites. We left early once it started to storm. Thunder and lightning kept us trapped in a candy store somewhere along the Frontier Trail. Most people left because of the storm, so we got in a few more quick rides and then headed out. To start, I got two great rides on Wicked Twister in the back row, Disaster Transport was fun but nothing to write home about. Power Tower (Shot) was fun and had no wait, so we did it twice. Corkscrew was still rough, but not as bad as I had remembered. I was pleasantly surprised by Magnum, as it was notably smoother this visit as I made sure to sit in a non-wheel seat. I was also surprised at how smooth Gemini seemed, but again, I was in a non-wheel seat. Skyhawk was fun, as always, and was practically a walk on. Then we went to Shoot the Rapids. Part of our group didn't want to wait the posted 1 1/2 hour wait time for it, but I needed to ride it and form my own opinions. We waited, and waited, and it was actually only about 45 minutes until we were just about to the station. Then it went down mechanical, which was a bummer but not much of a shock. I ended up waiting another 20-30 minutes, as they were testing it, and the maintenance guy had been working on it for a while. Thankfully, it did reopen and I was on very quickly. I was actually quite happy with the ride. The tunnel out of the station was terrific, thoroughly misted and you couldn't see a thing. The first hill is deceptively tall, and the splash the first drop made was impressive, though it did not get us very wet. The slowly meandering ride was still fun, with impressive theming. The waterfall was nice, though it only got us wet enough to cool us off. The second hill got us much wetter, and though we came off the ride wet, we were not as soaked as I had been expecting. Overall, I liked this ride. I would definitely ride it again, but would probably not wait more than 30-45 minutes for it. So, while we were doing that, the rest of our group went and did Millennium Force, but they left the Parent Swap there so I could go ride it. The backseat ride was quite fun, I came out of my seat quite a bit on the first drop, and had some good sustained floater on the 3rd and 4th hills (not the banked turnarounds). After that, we were heading back to Maverick when it started to pour. They shut down everything, there was lightning everywhere and happening frequently. We took refuge in a candy store just past StR, I think. It let up pretty quickly, and most people had left the park. We worked our way over to maXair because that usually opens up pretty quickly, and we snagged walk-ons on maXair and Wicked Twister. One last crazy ride on Chaos, then we called it quits. It was a fun and exciting day at Cedar Point. Rides: Wicked Twister x2 Disaster Transport x1 Power Tower (Space Shot) x2 Corkscrew x1 Magnum XL 200 x1 Gemini x1 Skyhawk x1 Shoot the Rapids x1 Millennium Force x1 maXair x1 Chaos x1 I didn't take a ton of pictures on this trip, only a few on my new Droid X. Quite happy with the quality : Such a huge park! There goes Raptor. Eww Mean Streak. At least it looks cool. Yay Millennium. But yeah, I305 is better... sorry... No idea why I took this shot. Skyhawk was good, practically no wait! NOTED! No Dragster rides for me, it was too windy. Yay! StR is finally open! I quite like this shot, its a cool sign. They look wet. Good! See, the new boats can make it over the lift Raptor after the rainstorm. A surprisingly smooth ride! Wicked Twister opened back up pretty quickly after the rain. Signature shot, sadly no rides on Raptor for me today Stupid pole got in the way. Hersheypark and Kings Dominion to come soon, more later or tomorrow.

Does that mean its happening? Sounds really fun, never been to a TPR event before! Hope to join Club TPR soon

Is there a list of the songs for Coaster Expedition 13? I really liked some of them, but couldn't recognize them. Thanks.

In Philadelphia, can choose either Hersheypark or SFGAdv? Which would be better, ride wise. In this case, quantity isn't much of an issue, but which then has better quality rides. I like Hershey cause I want to ride Storm Runner, Fahrenheit, Lightning Racer, etc., and have been there but not since i was like 5. SFGAdv I have also been to, I can remember it fairly well. But I want more rides on El Toro, Nitro, and my first on Kingda Ka. Which would you choose? Thanks!