cfc

Who wouldn't want to win a cheese grater?

Backward or forward, Mr. Freeze is the best shuttle ride out there this side of Montezooma's Revenge. I like how they spiffed up the trains, too. As for Vanilla Ice, he was in the promo for the Insane Clown Posse's anuual "Juggalos" event, so maybe this is a step up?

I'm going to take a wild guess and answer, "yes." Go to this link and click on "Trip Reports."

I love seeing a bunch of suits and ties on a coaster train. Looks like a great, tangled mess of track between Shambala and Khan, too. Great pictures, as usual, Hanno. Based on the PRV, I'd say that this is a better ride than Leviathan, but I guess I'll have to check both of them out to make sure.

^Ha! I was just listening to "Cathy's Clone" by the Tubes--now there's an old one.

^Agreed--nice that riders can enjoy the water effect as much as the spectators.

This seems to pack more of a punch than Leviathan, but it's usually hard to tell from just one video.

Sounds like they really want to get the crew ready for opening weekend. By the way, graduation at William & Mary is this Sunday (Mother's Day), so the park is probably going to be very busy today with all the visiting families. Mother's Day might be your best bet.

So, it was the Italian version of Dinosaurs Alive ("Dinosauri Vivo")?

^So, the zipline prophecy is fulfilled. Makes sense for a property like Ghost Town in the Sky.

Great to hear that people are enjoying Verbolten. Sounds like the park has bounced back from the Mach Tower problems of last year.

Are you referring to "Barnaby Jones" or "Barnabas Collins"?

^And I'm at home coughing up a lung--hope you enjoy it! (The ride, not my coughed-up lung.)

According to the comments, the line is stretching down to the bridge between Germany and Italy! Too bad I'm way too ill to make it to the park today (stupid head cold). Oh well, I'll be there for Media Day on Thursday. This is what you meant to say, right? BGW will be selling onride videos of Verbolten, by the way. But, as Scott says, no loose items, such as cameras, are allowed.

Very interesting to see but why haul a victim all the way up to the top of a structure only to repel him down when it would be easier (and safer) to go out by ground in this scenario? They're acting out a scenario with certain rules and parameters. Yes, I could've hauled the poor victim out of there myself in the manner you described.

^This was the second year that KD served as a site for the Rescue Challenge. Roanoke was supposed to host it this year, but couldn't quite get it together, so it came back to Central Virginia. According to Gene Petriello, Anaconda was grabbing most of the coverage, so it was nice to give Grizzly the spotlight for a change.

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=35490 OK, I stand corrected.

It's simple, theme the ride to an oasis, surround the ride platform with water and tilting seats for the "dive" off of a giant Palm Tree. Nah they're on crack. Maybe they're putting in a sleazy bar as part of the theming: "After your big drop, relax with a cold one at the Desert Dive."

And having riden neither of them..... X-Flight is pretty forceful. It didn't knock your socks off, but the elements were so well paced, you don't really have time to sit and wait for the next one. I wouldn't say disorienting at all, unless maybe you're at the back of the train and you can't see where you're going really well. They've got a winner. Criterion Number 1: Is the damn thing any fun? Sounds like the answer is "yes." (I enjoyed Wild Eagle, so I'm reasonably sure I'll enjoy X-Flight.)

2012 Rescue Challenge at Kings Dominion How many of you have dreamed of rappelling down the sides of a roller coaster—for example, the Grizzly at Kings Dominion? Some Mid-Atlantic firefighting and rescue teams got to do just that as part of the 18th Annual Rescue Challenge at Kings Dominion this week (May 7-10). Kings Dominion was one of a number of Central Virginia sites hosting this year’s event, which is rotated around different regions of the state, including Northern Virginia, Roanoke, and Virginia Beach. Rescue workers had to tackle two difference rescue scenarios at the park: a “water rescue” under Anaconda and a “shaft rescue” at Grizzly. These scenarios have various requirements and parameters that the firefighters must follow. “This gives firefighters a chance to hone their skills,” said R. C. Hagaman, the public information officer of the Richmond Fire Department. The group really has to “think outside the box” to solve the problem and rescue the poor “victim” (in this case, a 185-pound mannequin). The teams at the park today were from Arlington and Prince William County, Virginia, and Montgomery County, Maryland. Participants this week include not only career firefighters, but volunteers and industrial and military crews. The structures at KD provide an opportunity for them to use “unconventional methods” in pulling off rescues. For example, at last year’s event firefighters rescued someone dangling from the superstructure of Intimidator 305, and Flight of Fear gave rescue crews a chance to work in the dark. I observed the “shaft rescue” at Grizzly today, and it was very interesting to watch all the teamwork involved—everyone has to pull together at the right time (not to mention on the right rope) for a safe, successful rescue. “Kings Dominion's number one priority is safety, and Rescue Challenge 2012 provides unique technical training, allowing rescue crews to be fully prepared in the event of an emergency,” said a press release from the park. My thanks to Kings Dominion, with an extra nod to Gene Petriello, the park’s communications manager, for the chance to witness such a unique event. It will be a few years before the park hosts another Rescue Challenge. Here’s a look at what happened at Grizzly’s “horseshoe” turnaround. Can you spot all the 300' plus structures in this photo? Meet Gene Petriello, the park's communications manager. He's been there a month, and this is the first theme park he's ever worked for (not counting a stint as a lifeguard at a water park). Welcome aboard, Gene! The Prince William team was just getting started at Anaconda, so we headed over to Grizzly. It's not often that you get to see this side of Grizzly's "horseshoe." But when you're near Grizzly, be wary of the Shed of Death! Here's where the rescue took place. And where there's a rescue . . . . . . there must be a victim. This poor guy fell down a "shaft" represented by yellow tape. The rescue crew from Montgomery County had to work within this limitation by rappelleing down the side of Grizzly, pulling the victim up in a basket, then transferring him to a zipline for the trip back down to safety. Plus, they had to deal with howling Velociraptors from the nearby Dinosaurs Alive! Here's the crew on the ground . . . . . . and up on high. Where there's rope, there's hope, right? There were men on all sides of Grizzly's turnaround. "OK, where's that basket?" Here it comes--that's a long walk up those stairs (around 80 feet, I think). There's a lot of rigging to be done on the ground, too. Hope those trees hold. This will give you an idea of how high up they are. Looks like they're ready to save that poor guy. That's John Trawinski, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue, dangling from all that rope. He's a little over halfway down. "You guys up there keep an eye out for dinosaurs, OK? Thanks!" Safe on the ground--for now. "Hurry! The raptors are coming!" Up they go. Their objective is that zipline in the middle. Yep--that's pretty high up. Almost there . . . . . . got it! Now it gets really tricky. The rescuer has to transfer himself and the victim to the zipline for the ride down to the safe area. As you can probably imagine, this is pretty tricky to do while you're dangling so high up in the air. Time to bring them down. Starting the trip back to Earth. Easy does it. The view from the safe area (which is a bit swampy). Almost down. Ta-dah! Another successful rescue! Well done! We'll finish with a backstage shot of Intimidator 305. My thanks to Kings Dominion for the chance to observe such a unique event, and to Gene Petriello for being such a good host.

Has Tang Or (the topple tower) ever worked?

What day was this--do you know? I'm just curious.

It was said that, as a general rule, BGw doesn't "soft open" rides, but management and policies change. I don't recall Griffon "soft opening," by the way. I'm not saying that it didn't happen, I just don't recall hearing about it. (There was an ACE media event before Griffon's debut, though.)

^We'll know soon enough. This ride is getting more and more intriguing.

At least the "Spirit of the Forest" storyline explains the odd t-shirt.