xmichellex

^ I agree with getting a better wooden coaster out of Cyclone, but I would just tear Cyclone down instead of trying to alter it any further... Put in something awesome in it's footprint, even if it has to extend over (or get rid of) any of the surrounding rides. I wouldn't miss Catapult or the river rapids ride... or for that matter, Flashback is right in front of Cyclone too... they can all go. Losing 3 really sub-par rides is worth 1 awesome one... especially since SFNE is kind of a "meh" park at this point anyway (except for Bizarro, obviously).

In my experience with SFGAdv, do KK as soon as you see it running because you never know when it will be down.

Holy crap That looks unreal!

Thanks SO much for sharing these pictures--what a great bunch of photos they took! I never knew about the donkeys or mermaids... very interesting!

What an awesome looking ride! I love drop towers, and I can't believe this one is all the way across the country from me. Great video as well--the rider expressions were priceless! Great job (as always) with coverage TPR!

^ Great info! Thanks!

OMG the otters

^ Oh right! I forgot about that... did a quick search, saw this on Wikipedia (of course, this is probably not the end-all be-all of information, but probably fairly accurate):

I've noticed that just like last year, the Cannonball is only running one train--this is just from what I've seen, maybe others have been on days where both are running. Is there a reason that one train operation for this coaster has become the norm? I mean, the ride itself isn't very long, so even if the queue is full, it's not *that* bad, but still, I don't get why they haven't been using the 2 cars. It's almost always one of the longest lines from opening til closing, so it would seem to make sense to use both. This may sound like a dumb question, but could it be that using one train causes less stress to the ride since it's so old?

It's funny... I've been going to Riverside/SFNE all my life and always sort of ignored Thunderbolt, and maybe only rode it once every few years (if that), but last year I went on it in the pouring rain and it was one of the best wooden coaster experiences I ever had... just an insane amount of fun--like laughing the whole time fun. Re-rode a few times, and definitely won't skip over it again. If anything, I would skip Cyclone now, unless it's in the back in the air time seat of death.

It's good to hear HP is really on top of the responses they are getting... although maybe it will take a few tries with different types of restraints until they find one that suits the ride better. All that stuff aside, I would totally still drive down to PA and ride Skyrush until I was black and blue regardless if they changed the lap bars or not, haha...

Thanks for the awesome pics and video everyone! This ride looks like a ton of fun!

I'm really pretty fearless when it comes to coasters, rides, and daredevil-type stuff... but there are 3 distinct instances where I've had that "holy crap I'm scared" feeling. 1. When I was younger (and barely tall enough to ride), I went on one of those skydiver ferris wheels at a carnival--the kind where you're enclosed in a car and go upside down as the wheel spins. I was small enough that the restraint didn't really hold me in very tight, so for the whole ride I was sprawled out legs pressed against the floor and arms against the ceiling to brace myself from bouncing around. One of the longest rides of my life! 2. The first time I rode TTD. I had never been on a coaster that tall/fast (as most people hadn't at that time), and my family went to CP the year it opened. As I sat down in the seat and the ride ops were checking the lap bars, I had this "Oh my god, I can't believe I feel nervous about a coaster" feeling. Obviously I loved it, but I never had a moment like that before on a coaster where I almost felt too nervous to ride. 3. Big Shot on top of the Stratosphere. I ride it every time I'm in Vegas and every time I'm still petrified. I've been skydiving a few times, and the Big Shot is still more nerve-wracking to me. I'm also more of a fan of the drop towers, instead of being shot up--for some reason being shot up terrifies me more that the ride won't stop at the top... I think I've killed too many people in RCT this way by accident.

The picture of KT on Jack Rabbit is amazing! I've always wanted to go to Kennywood, but it's yet to happen... My last coaster trip was Great Adventure - Hershey - Dorney... maybe I'll have to throw Kennywood in next time (or maybe I just need to do a TPR trip one of these times)!

Great pics! So good to hear Skyrush has turned out to be a winner--I was really looking forward to this one. Here's hoping I can make it out to Hershey this summer!

Awesome pictures! Thanks for the update... seeing all the pieces start to fall into place is really cool. I'm so excited to see how everything will look when the expansion is complete. Everything looks great so far. I know Fantasyland is sort of geared towards younger kids, but this is making me want to go back to the MK, especially once the Beauty and the Beast stuff is done!

I keep reminding myself that this is not fake, that Carnival actually thinks that their ship, service, and everything else is passable. I know everyone has joked about it before, but seeing all this stuff is just unreal! This trip report rules. I'm following the live updates on FB and Twitter because I need to see what happens next, hahaha... You guys look like you are having a blast in spite of the fact that you are on a floating ghetto. Can't wait to see the videos!!

I love this coaster more and more with every update. I think out of all the new coasters for 2012, I'm most excited to see this one in action. Everything about it just looks awesome... the interaction with it's surroundings, the color, the track, etc. I wasn't expecting Skyrush to look as good as it already does I guess. Can't wait to see the trains!

Watching those vids bummed me out... Jaws will be missed. They don't really make rides like this anymore. You can tell by the expressions of the other people on the ride that there's still that element of surprise and everyone's having a good time. Not that I'm not into rides with cutting edge technology, but the live element and fairly simple idea of the ride can prove just as effective sometimes--it sort of gives that "I'm in the movie" feeling. I know they're definitely nailing the "in the movie" feeling with the WWoHP, but I wish they weren't using up so much space dedicated to this particular franchise. Oh well.

* BRUINS TIX! * Gift certificates * Tix to go F1 go-kart racing * Lots of candy My favorite though is the Blu-ray player I got, and I christened it with my brand new Roller Coasters in the Raw vol. 1 & 2 discs (also a gift)! It was soooo good! Total HD coaster porn greatness.

This coaster gets sexier by the day.

GORGEOUS pictures!! Thanks so much for sharing...

Picture of Scorpion at sunset = awesome

It's really fascinating watching this all take shape... I can't wait to see Fantasyland when it's done, it already looks amazing. I'm so excited for the Beauty and the Beast area, it's one of my favorite movies of all time... I feel as excited about it as Harry Potter fans must feel about HP Land at IoA. Thanks for all these updates!

^ I'm hoping they have improved on the technology, but they sure do look similar to the older ones... I wonder why they went with these? All I know is, Deja Vu was a little rough before, so if these new trains/restraints are no improvement, then I don't think I'll be riding it again.