John Knotts

Of course it is. Robb has been hinting that something very similar will happen to Superman, and people refuse to believe even him. Reading the last few pages of how this couldn't or shouldn't be done has been hilarious.

They may have been testing the side of the ride that *won't* be affected right away by the upcoming changes.

^ That's not really why they do it though. It's to be able to make a marketable claim, and the claim can't be false (the internet would reveal that), so they really must have the most if they want to make the claim. This has been Cedar Point's thing for years and it's worked for them.

Well when you're a company watching the bottom line, isn't that the point? When you can advertise having more coasters than anywhere else without breaking the bank I'd say it's a win-win. Especially since you're filling a niche that is much needed in parks not named Kings Island.

^ Good one! I was going to mention that, but it's been so long since I've ridden it, I'd completely forgotten what it does.

I know. I just meant that Intamin has the ability to pull this off. And thinking about rides like V2 or California Screaming, they can use lims to achieve just about anything, including simulating a lift hill. So it's not impossible to launch Superman backwarks with gradual speed. Having said that, I don't see what would be thrilling about that at all.

Well any way you look at it, California has some of the most strict safety laws of any other state in the country. I agree that Superman backwards would probably be fine the way it is, but would also probably require OTSR. Doesn't V2 also launch backwards? I believe it does.

For anyone who's interested, a quick LA Times article about Superman's "makeover". Not a whole lot of info we don't already know, but still worth posting I think. http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/superman-magic-mount-7321/

Yeah , the days of "charm" at Knott's are a distant memory, they're pretty much gone. It's a full-fledged Cedar Fair park now, and at this point I don't expect that to ever change. It's sad yes, but at the same time, the park does have to stay competitive with very little space. So I still expect a large coaster in the next year or two.

^ Yeah, people said the same thing right before Silver Bullet went in. It's been said before, when Knotts decides to add a "thrill" coaster (their last one was "several" years ago), they'll always find a way to put one in. With the large projects going into Univeral, Disney and SFMM in the next two years, you can bet Knotts will stay competitive as well.

^ Right, and now they're stuck with it. Tim did also say he is fighting with the state to offer an alternative restraint that's softer and more comfortable. I say, put their asses on the ride itself and see how they like it.

Batman the worst invert? Mkay, you lost me right there sir, sorry. I think SFMM absolutely has coasters that stand out. If it didn't, Scream wouldn't get so lost among them. I agree that the park lacks that one awesome El Toro, Superman (ROS) type ride that would put it over the top, and the park does lack a true top 5 rollercoaster of any type. But there is no denying this park has a very good line up of coasters. Sure if you've ridden them time and time again, you're going to begin to take it for granted. But for the rest of us who visit once every couple year if that, it's a fun collection of rides. Most people take their homeparks for granted though. When I lived in Jersey, I hated SFGadv's line up *until* they added El Toro! Even just Terminator, Ninja, Riddler's, X2 and Tatsu alone (if you removed everything else), make this park worth visiting.

You know, we'll gladly take this wonderful coaster in California if some of you guys don't want it, braked and all.

I think SFMM has a very good line up of coasters. The park doesn't have any that I would call top tier in their genre (except perhaps Tatsu). But it's the sum total that makes it interesting. And the removal of Flashback and Psyclone really helped. The only thing really missing is airtime and length, as someone mentioned. Something like Maverick (minus the inversions and OTSR) would make it a GREAT lineup imo. But I can't really complain.

That's pretty sad to me. A 150ft floorless coaster doesn't stand out. Perhaps it should go to a park where it will be a star attraction (SFStl). I see no reason why this coaster should be so under appreciated. The only place on the ride I found rough was the bottom of the first drop. Other than that I find Scream to be a fairly aggressive ride for a B&M floorless, which generally seem to range from tame to downright forceless. But that's just me.

I compare Terminator favorably to Kentucky Rumbler. Both have terrific opening sections, but sort of peter out by the end. But the first two thirds are so much fun that by the end you're willing to forgive the weak endings. I'd place them both firmly in my top 15 to 20 coasters, and I've ridden most of the ones here in the US.

How cool would it be if the park added a new flat ride next year! Overall the park looks great. I haven't been since WCB and probably won't get back until early fall. So these updates are nice!

Robb's gotta be having a good laugh at this thread...

flame throwers.

Also if you look around the chain at what the other "major" parks are doing, they're being as creative as possible with limited budgets. The Texas Giant conversion, re-located stand up and water park expansion. So it's resonable to assume SFMM will do something within that same range? So a giant rocket coaster seems out of the question, unless SFMM is the one exception, and I just don't see it.

So let's consider the possibilities (rumors) so far: 1) Turn one side around and launch it backwards, themed to Bizarro 2) Hydraulic launch making the ride taller and faster 3) Drop Tower added to the ride 4)Complete re-tracking, allowing the ride to do more (like navigate a giant bunny hill) 5) Possible new coaster, going over or possibly around the existing structure. Do any of these sound realistic?

Holy crap that is a lot of spinning. They would need a clean up crew on stand by at all times. And of course it being California, they would cut the ride cycle down by two thirds! It does look fun though.

Jay Thomas has said that the modern flat ride can be almost as expensive to add as a full blown coaster. So you're not going to see parks "add flats" as people like to casually say. You may see a park add one here or there over several years, but the days of the flat ride "package" is over.

Yeah leave Riddler's alone. lol I can't bring myself to get excited about this news about Superman just yet, although I am curious as to what they're doing. Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

I wouldn't hold your breath on that. Six Flags is still in a huge amount of debt. It's like when you ask your parents for an advance on your allowance, they give it to you, you spend it all, and then you want to buy something else but you can't because you owe your parents first. That doesn't mean they're going to stop investing in their parks. While I wouldn't expect a huge, expensive coaster next year either, I suspect something "marketable" is going to happen next year. Especially going up against what Universal, Disney and Knotts have planned.