Geauga Dog

I love the Columbus Zoo and thank you for the photos. I'm looking forward to seeing the new Africa section this summer. Sadly I have yet to get the Sea Dragon credit.

I'm always skeptical that this type of transaction takes place in the industry but who knows. Perhaps the prototypical nature of that ride gave Holiday World some leverage and, hell, it might have still been under some kind of warranty as it was only installed in 2009. I wonder if ride manufacturers include uptime guarantees as part of their total value proposition. I wouldn't be skeptical. I would think that by keeping good relations with a client that has purchased a ride that has not lived up to its expectations the manufacturer would offer a possible deal for something else.Even though it was 30+ years ago Arrow did that for Kings Island by offering a good deal for Vortex since the original Bat was so problematic.

Diamondback also gives great night rides, not legendary Beast type, but great rides nonetheless. I got my first night rides on it last October on a Friday night during Haunt. While you can still see the tracks it is still quite dark in the back parts of the ride. The bonus was the low-lying fog that was developing in the lower parts of the coaster, in particular around the bottom of the second drop/turn up into the mid-course brakes. I still have yet to ride Banshee but I can see something similar happen at Banshee when the nights get cooler in the lower sections of the ride.

^ & ^^Both a Mack Splash battle and Twist-N-Splash would be perfect as both water park and dry park guests can ride together. That actually is not a bad idea. Beaver Brothers Bay is quite a small and cramped kid's area with no room for expansion unless they reworked the midways around it to make more room.

Interesting. I get the vibe it will be like Colonial Williamsburg meets Harry Potter or like one of those month long Renaissance festivals but on a permanent level.

^Wonderland got rid of Nightmares? When did that happen? Blast Off is actually pretty decent, with a surprising pop of airtime at the top. They just need a second tower to help with capacity. As for using the UFO area for a Haunt, I could see that happen since that area of the park is usually either closed off or has limited access in the fall but I doubt Herschend would do it as it doesn't seem like they do Halloween events like what other parks do. I beleive Battech, formerly known as Dartron, still makes one but they call theirs Zero Gravity.

I wonder if UFO's platform is still there like it was last year or if they fully removed it during the off season. I really liked that ride and had a feeling that it would not come back once it was removed however DL could use some newer flats.

Historically, I've found that the seatbelts vary in length from seat to seat. You may find better success in different seats. I had stopped riding Wicked Twister a few years ago due to this. I thought I was getting too big for the ride until I went to SFGAm and had no problems with V2's belts. I have lost some weight this year and will try it again when I head back up to the Point. The belts should be consistent throughout the train, not various lengths in different seats.

Cedar Point - Maverick's first drop Kings Island - Diamondback's first drop (though Banshee might trump it) SFGAm - Raging Bull's first drop Waldameer - the drop off the turnaround across Peninsula Road SFStL - Boss's first drop Carowinds - the twisty second drop on Intimidator SFOG - Acrophobia Kings Dominion - 305's first drop BGW - Alpengeist's spiraling first drop Dorney - Talon's first drop Hersheypark - the drop out of the flying snake dive SFGAdv - Nitro's first drop Darien Lake - ROS' first drop Kennywood - Jack Rabbit's double dip Holiday World - Voyage's tunneled triple down

^Yes. Darien Lake's Hornet's Nest has the same type of belt. Nice photos. A dramatic improvement over what was there before. Glad that the Sling Shot is going to be painted instead of left gray like at Kings Island. Channel 5 was there this morning and they had the lights on. Monster's lighting looked very nice.

This does look great however I see this as being a nasty bottleneck on those very busy days.

Wow, talk about being vibrant. I really like how the Gemini midway turned out. Looking forward to seeing it in person.

With how bad this park is based on what many have posted I'm surprised it's still in business.

Just like how Pilgrim's Plunge/Giraffica seemed like an odd choice for Holiday World, a B&M at the park would be an odd fit and also not really family friendly despite some B&M's having a lower height restriction.

^Hmm, a good candidate if a remake of the film was ever considered. ^^^Didn't know the ride was renamed. I always thought it was The Rocket.

^That's the Rocket at Ocean View Park, the first casualty in the movie "Rollercoaster".

I'm not complaining but I associate BGW with coasters that have high capacity and are unique, i.e. not cloned, and for them to install a ride like S:UF just seems out of the norm for them.

I'd be surprised if this is a B&M. In reality, during this time, Premier was installing SLCs to all their smaller parks. I'm waiting for the Boomerang to show up.

Looking at their ride lineup it seems WOF needs a replacement for Orient Express despite Patriot, though being an invert, being the only full-circuit looper in the park. A floorless would be somewhat unique and if Banshee is an indication that B&M have somewhat turned the corner (i.e. bringing back some intensity based on the reviews), that would be, personally speaking, my choice for the next coaster.

I believe it was during the Paramount era. IIRC two trains bumped each other in the station because the tracks were wet.

I'd rather own a park but at the same time have some input in the design of the attractions, almost a best of both worlds. I've created a few parks over the years to basically have my own chain but I'd be just as happy to buy an existing small to mid-size park and gradually make improvements to it.

I just viewed the Beast POV and thank you, Robb, for making my moring start off on a great note! That is the best POV of the ride I've seen in years and you couldn't have asked for better weather to do so. I wish KI would release a DVD with POV of all the coasters like what CP did a few years ago.

I disagree. CP's proximity has nothing to do with it. Kings Island draws so many people is because 1) it's a park that has a huge local following and 2) it's location is perfect as there are quite a few large metropolitan areas within an easy drive to the park hence the reason you'll see a mass exodus of people descend on the park on opening day like what has been posted in the KI thread since it is the first park in the region to open. Compared to some of the other Six Flags parks I've been to it seems SFStL has a little "cozy" feel to it. The fact that the park is not wall to wall coasters actually gives the park a bit more charm and atmosphere.

I was going to go today but glad I didn't after seeing Robb's pics of the main gate before opening a few pages back. I might go tomorrow though I would expect similar crowds since it's Saturday.

Sad to see this ride go. I would have liked to have seen it in person. Makes you wonder if Mirabilandia is having similar issues with DiVertical. With how aggressive Holiday World has been in expanding Splashin' Safari I only see new water park expansion in this spot.