Geauga Dog

They were showing the Space Spiral coming down on the news last night and, I don't know why, it still somewhat amazes me how the cabin rolled to the very top as the tower fell.

I agree. An interactive dark ride makes better sense than an indoor coaster. With the place called "Galaxy Theater" they could make it a ride where you're shooting aliens.

Does anyone think they are spreading Dinosaurs Alive too thin? Why does every CF park have to have this? For an attraction that I don't see being in the parks 5-10 years from now wouldn't it have just been easy to, for example, let it run its course at Kings Island for two-three years then move it to another park for two-three years etc.?

I hope in the process of redoing the area they don't destroy a lot of the trees as it's one of the few kids areas that have a nice canopy of trees to shade you. Under Kinzel those trees would have been cut down and more concrete than needed would have been poured. Anyway I'm glad that they are updating their kids area. When I walked through it back in June it did seem to have a "tired" look in some parts. As for marketing the Peanuts that's like saying why does Six Flags still use the Looney Tunes, which are just as old if not older (the so-called "new" Looney Tunes are awful so they don't count).

^^Wow, simply wow. And people still patronize the place? Sounds like a red flag the state needs to be notified about. Thrillrider, you've captured some great photos. The ones from SFGAm brought back a lot of memories from my visit back in July. Dark Knight, personally, was a big surprise even though it's just a basic mouse in a house. All the mice I've ridden are so badly braked that I was shocked that DK ran brakeless. I thought it was an amazing ride.

A Technical Park Loop Fighter? Why put in a ride that nearby Martin's already has? Zamperla's Giant Discovery (think KW's Black Widow) would be equally thrilling but would be in the way of Skycoaster.

^Wow, that just looks... unreal. They weren't kidding when they said they would just rip the tower down.

Another set of awesome photos. I could just feel the airtime just by looking at your photos of Maverick. That "happy accident" shot of Mine Ride is really cool.

Just out of curiosity - how vital is Timberwolf Amphitheater? Seems like the biggest waste of space in Action Zone as it's only used like, what 2-3 times a season? Looking down from Drop Tower you can tell it's seen better days. They could possibly re-route Flight Deck's entrance to the Invertigo side of Action Zone. Thunder Alley's location would be good for a coaster station or a couple of flat rides.

^I think your line is just a tad off but in any case a freefall tower would not be in the way. Wish they would have put the Skycoaster in another spot.

^They changed from the four bench to the three bench cars by the mid 1980's. The four bench cars only lasted a few seasons. I did like the color changing cars on the four bench trains.

Even though it hasn't look good in years, well ast least for as long as I started going to Darien Lake, I would hate to see Raging Seas go as it is such a rare ride and it's one of my all time favorite flats. It always seemed like a crowd pleaser when I was at the park. Given the space Raging Seas sits on it would make sense to put the Scrambler back at that spot. I don't see them buying a new model to replace it.

My favorites are the Troika, Giant Frisbee, UFO, Rodeo/Breakdance and Condor. Too bad when Huss restructured themselves that they did away with a lot of rides from their impressive catalog. There's also this ride that I thought was really cool and has been already mentioned before. It's Trinado at Idlewild, the Huss Tri-Star. I think this was taken in 2006 as I was able to ride it on what was its last season at the park. Trinado at Idlewild

The black and white of maXair and Space Spiral is stunning. Absolutely love that shot. The LEDs on Giant Wheel are fantastic. A huge improvement indeed. With Windseeker and Giant Wheel now sporting bright colored LEDs I wonder how they'll get Gatekeeper to fit in, lighting wise, on that end of the former Oceana Midway.

Awesome photos! With CP being a day trip I haven't been to any of the areas around Hotel Breakers or have had any desire to go inside though I've read that the rooms are not all that great. Maybe Matt will change that. The view of Gemini from Breakers Tower is fantastic. Having just been there yesterday it was the first time in a long time I've stayed into the night and I agree that the park looks great. It was nice to see Power Tower and Millennium Force look more vibrant than they have in a loooong time. I also like the new lighting on the Main Midway and the dance music. Adds a bit more vitality to the area. Thanks for posting and I'm looking forward to the rest of your photos.

Just wanted to thank you for your reports. I do read them but haven't posted responses before. Here's an odd question. Since you've experienced quite a few Golden Horse knockoffs is there anything they do that you would consider as decent rides?" I know we tend to pick on Vekoma's rides for head banging but I'd hate to experience what a knockoff ride is like.

Was going to go to Kings Island today but since they may have some of Isaac to deal with I decided to head west. Though quite busy it wasn't too bad overall except for Maverick. It felt like the line would not move for almost an hour and a half (that was the posted wait time). I also think Fast Lane is a joke for Maverick as that line was almost to the entrance and didn't seem to move either. Magnum was running today, had a great back seat ride. Only rode Magnum, Raptor, Maverick, Corkscrew, Gemini, Windseeker, Power Tower (Space Shot, which it seems no one likes as there was no line for it) and Calypso. Don't ride Millennium Force or Dragster for fear of the "walk of shame". Here's a photo I took of the games midway minus 12E. What a huge difference now that it's gone.

Interesting...Kings Island celebrates its 40th with a new wave pool and rebranding of Boomerang Bay to Soak City and for WoF's 40th they get a new waterslide complex and OoF being combined with the theme park. Seems quite coincidental. It makes sense anyway. Do/did they still share Monsoon, the chutes ride, between both parks?

I like how dominant Wicked Twister looks in that photo, for the time being anyway.

While not a big factor for me but I do like themed areas if done well. I give Six Flags credit for retaining the themes at SFGAm, where they haven't totally destroyed what Marriott built (though I do have to say I would fire the person who thought it was a great idea to relocate the go-carts into Yukon Territory, the worst thing they've done since removing Sky Whirl and turning Theater Royale into an indoor queue for Dark Knight). The inconsistency in theming doesn't bother me that much though that depends on the ride. Some rides that come to mind: 1. In the case of Dark Knight, if they would have designed the exterior to fit more with Orleans Place it might not look so out of place. 2. The former Tomb Raider/Crypt at Kings Island. Paramount did a nice job with the cave entrance and the indoor sections but they built a boring box to house the ride instead of making it look like an ancient temple/tomb. Plus it was in Rivertown, which is not exactly an exotic themed land in the first place. 3. Skyhawk at CP doesn't necessarily fit in with Frontiertown and I think that's due to the patriotic colors. It clashes with Mine Ride.

23/30. A few of the overseas questions were tricky for me.

Probably won't physically come down until the off-season because of its location in the park. I would think as soon as they go into weekend only operation they'll have time while the park is closed during the week to start taking it down. Wouldn't surprise me if it's gone by the end of Halloweekends.

The games complex just got a facelift around the time that maXair was added so I doubt if they will be doing another facelift so soon. I agree that it looks so much better with the ride gone. The two tone blue track is really going to look awesome with the lake in the background.

While I, like many of you, are not too happy about a used boomerang coming to SFStL I would at least accept the idea more if they went with the newer train like on Carolina Cobra. What a huge difference they make. As for The Boss I would not want them to change the layout if they were to do a big refurb with Rocky Mountain. That ride has one of the best layouts and some pretty awesome drops too.

Definitely the sound of the anti-rollbacks on Arrow lift hills and when the trains disengage from them. Very loud yet a distinctive amusement park sound. Darien Lake's Viper, SFGAm's Demon, BGW's Loch Ness Monster, and Geauga Lake's old Double Loop come to mind as among the loudest lifts I've heard. The B&M roar as well as the click. click of their lift hills. The classic traditional sound of the lift hill on wood coasters with PTC trains. Rides like CP's Blue Streak, KI's Beast, SFOG's GASM, and SFStL's Screamin' Eagle are great examples. The screechin' sound of the LIMs on Intamin's Impulses.