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Flying Turns is hardly a "first of its kind." Knoebels is trying to resurrect a very old design here and encountering a number of problems. As for there being no reason for HRRR's delay, Universal begs to differ with you on that point. Do you have any extra "insight" as to why they shouldn't be having any problems with this ride? I'm not an engineer, so I wouldn't care to speculate, myself. Although I'm pretty sure Universal wishes that this ride was open now, too.

^Hmm--not so sure about the "terrible planning" part. This is a big project, and the bigger the project, the more things that can go wrong. Hell, Knoebels has been working on the Flying Turns, a much smaller project, for how long now? We shall see.

Locally, people are pretty sad about BBW's impending demise. It's a local "rite of passage" when a kid grows tall enough to ride it. But the suspended coasters are a major maintenance headache, and I'm sure the park isn't just ripping BBW out for no reason. But, frankly, losing the Loch Ness Monster would be even sadder--that's the park's iconic coaster, I think (even if it isn't the greatest ride in the world). Times change.

I'd vote for Great Adventure--worth a stop for El Toro alone (and there are some other good coasters there, too). You should check out TPR's park index photos and TRs, as well--that should give you a pretty clear idea of what you're getting into at various parks.

^The lines at either park shouldn't be too bad on weekdays, and BGW does offer Quick Queue, if necessary.

^Seems to me that would depend on the flyer, wouldn't it?

^The traffic is one of my friends' biggest complaints about Pigeon Forge. They think Gatlinburg is OK, and they do like the Ripley's aquarium there.

That picture of Renee does have a sort of "Barbarella Meets 2001: A Space Odyessy" vibe to it. I have friends who live in the Smokies but hate Pigeon Forge (although they like Dollywood) and usually refuse to go there. As for me, I love this kind of touristy stuff.

lol. ^ Exactly. The thing I love the most about stories such as this is the underlying hypocrisy of people. Let's just say, for instance, that there were small undetectable and/or unnoticed stress fractures that had slowly been developing at the base of one or more supports of the final drop over the Rhine. Then, on the busiest park day of the summer, disaster strikes as two supports simultaneously collapse under the pressure of the swinging train. The train plunges into the Rhine, and 28 are trapped by their restraints, and subsequently drown. Immediately, we have a 50 page thread about how Busch/InBev were negligent fools who should've closed this coaster years ago. I love America. You know, I didn't think of that. I was thinking just ground shifting... but putting it back together every night? OH BOY! Yes, I must say that I wouldn't want a situation like above... in the end, smart of BBW to put an end to this one. One missed credit, but my life is more important than a coaster. I'm sure my coworker's comment was a bit exaggerated--I didn't mean to freak people out here.

And don't think that the makers of the Porta Smoker Cubby have forgotten about you tobacco chewers. Be sure to get the optional spittoon attachment. Smoker, chewer, or spewer--we got you covered! One last look at Skara Sommarland. Thanks for a nice morning, Skara Sommarland. Next stop--Stockholm. And they deliver! (OK, I kid. The "taco buffet" was actually decent.) Yes, tacos! On a buffet! Is there nothing this park cannot do? Are you ready for some authentic Swedish Tex Mex? . . . and the "Bad" restaurant. . . . a fairly substantial water park, . . . There's some purty scenery, . . . Not that it did me much good. There was a chance to warm up for the TPR Gran Prix. OK, what else do they have at Skara? Well, there is the MAGICAL GIANT FAUCET! How do they do it? Eat your freakin' wand out, Harry Potter! But assume proper brace position for those brakes. ("BROMS!") OK, relax now. Smoke 'em if you got 'em. "Swoop" achieved. OK, prepare to "swoop." My god! It's become dark! Flap! Flap toward the light! You want to get through this course, ya gotta flap. Flap for your lives! Flap! Flap, you fools! I was tempted to write "NERD" here. But who is the bigger nerd--the nerd taking the nerdy photo, or nerd who takes a picture of him taking the nerdy photo? No one was sure what to make of this ride at first.

Unfortunately, no--I was too busy feeding carrots to the horses myself. I did get one picture of the game with no one playing it, though. Chapter 10: A Credit of a Different Feather--Skara Sommarland We had a brief stop on the way to Stockholm for a morning at Skara Sommarland. This was an "iffy" park early on. Stopping there depended on whether the park's new ride (and S&S's latest prototype) was up and running. I'm referring to, of course, the goofy "bird coaster" Tranan. Many of you may have heard about Tranan's rocky opening weekend, when its seatbelt restraints tended to unbuckle on its lifthill. Well, the park and S&S had solved that little problem, so our ERT session was on. The group's verdict was pretty much a thumbs up, even though Tranan still has a few issues, such as an incredibly noisy lifthill (you can hear this thing running from the other side of the park) and a very abrupt, rough stop at the end (a real knee-and-shin bruiser). Tranan's shallow, boatlike cars; small plastic seats; and reliance on just seatbelts make it a rather unnerving ride the first time out, as you swing up and over, or around and under, the track. But once you get used to the sensation, the ride's a lot of fun--S&S has a good concept for a family ride here. But what about the rest of Skara? Essentially, it's a very nice, family-oriented water park and playground with a few rides-- a good place to wile away a summer afternoon. Yes, I never get tired of circling inside the big aluminum warehouse full of troll statues. Wait--what is that racket? Sounds like a bunch of marbles rolling around in a giant can. Must be Tranan. More to come. And they dang near did. I hope they give us at least 20 laps on this thing. You know, this looks like fun. . . . goin' down down." "Workin' in a coal mine . . . "I'll have you know that I'm a Baptist, not a pagan. Please quit misrepresenting my religion." My god! Vampire troll people? Or maybe Angus McNasty disguised as a druid? . . . and kind of dark and creepy. Skara gave us some ERT on their powered mine train while we waited for Tranan. The queue was heavily themed . . . "Hmm--dadburn new model! Go get me a hammer to beat on this thing. Y'all come back when ya hear a loud clanging and banging."* *Translated from Swedish. I can't vouch for the accuracy. This dude is obviously a stoner. The birds have distinct personalities. This one is a savage killer, as you can tell from the blood running from his beak. OK, everybody. Here's your chance to crap on a bird! That's pretty much the whole course. You can buy these coaster-station kits at IKEA.* They're much nicer than the kits at Lowe's or Home Depot. *Quip made by Larry. I must give credit where credit is due. Tranan has a rather "industrial" looking station. Find the bee! And win absolutely nothing but the satisfaction of knowing that the bee can't sting you online. Hmm--OK, I thought I knew where we were. OK, now you know where we are. Grow stronger with this knowledge. This segment is brought to you by the Porta Smoker Cubby! Yes, the whole world can be your personal "smoking area," thanks to our revolutionary design! The Smoker Cubby can be folded up and carried in a suitcase or large purse and ready for you to light up within five minutes!

You can find some Quick Queue info here: http://commerce.4adventure.com/EStore/Scripts/Skins/BGW/QuickQueue.aspx. I doubt that you'll need it on Friday, though.

I think we can all agree that, on occasion, a park can be hit by a natural disaster or severe weather. Not much more to say on that topic.

^I merged your "missed coasters" topic with this already existing thread. the "search" button is your friend.

I'm sorry, but I don't see the point for a thread devoted to coaster and park counts. Many of our members put such info in their signatures, anyway. You might want to go over to Coaster Fanatics. They have a "coaster counter" feature there, which you can link to as part of your TPR signature (it's a banner that can be regularly updated). Chuck

BBW has always been a bit of a maintenance nightmare from what I understand. One of my coworkers had a son who worked there as a tech a few years back. One day, this coworker mentioned to me that no one could make her ride the Big Bad Wolf because her son had to "weld it back together" each night. Take that for what it's worth, folks. I'll still miss it, but nothing lasts forever.

BGW has posted some "FAQs" about the Wolf's upcoming demolition: http://www.buschgardens.com/bgw2/CP/?page=BigBadWolf.

The park will be extremely busy on a Saturday. Buying your tickets online and printing them at home is your best bet for a discount. If the only day you can visit is Saturday, I recommend springing for Quick Queue (particularly if you can't get there before opening). Quick Queue includes all the coasters except the Loch Ness Monster--but you don't get your choice of seats. DarKastle, Le Scoot, and Escape from Pompei are also part of Quick Queue.

While I know the two parks are only a couple hours away, how much do they really compete with each other? Seems to be like a very different demographic at each park whenever I've visited. --Robb The demographic is indeed very different. As crazy as it may sound, these parks don't have to worry about competing with each other. BGW patrons are for the most part from the Hampton Roads area (Williamsburg eastward) due to the booming military population here, not to mention the free pass we get once a year . KD doesn't draw many visitors from this area, but they have DC to their north and Richmond/Petersburg to their south. Both fairly large metro areas. These parks have their own metro areas surrounding them, and don't directly compete with each other...for now I've lived in the Hampton Roads area for a little while now. BGW is also located in a much more "touristy" area--Colonial Williamsburg. Yorktown, Jamestown, Virginia Beach. Even the Outer Banks of North Carolina aren't that far away. It's usually a part of a complete family vacation.

The Blazing Fury backstage looked great--thanks for the behind-the-scenes look. (Thunderhead ain't too shabby, either.) I'm glad that Dollywood is taking the trouble too keep this classic old-school ride operating.

I should be around, Guy--come on down. I don't miss Drachen Fire. I will miss the Wolf.

^^The only one who is busting your chops here is you. Did you not read any of the material you posted? That being said, I agree that we need to take Mork&Mindy's post with a large grain of salt, pending confirmation from KD. I suggest you drop the matter until then and move on.

Steroids?

^I'm willing to bet that Donald Trump's comb over (whatever that rat's nest is atop his head) would cause such massive drag that the ride would valley.

^The last time I checked, TPR was not: 1. a jazz club; 2. a poetry slam; 3. a place for individuals to express their "reality." Please abide by the site's standards.