Geauga Dog

With Crypt officially closed I wonder if they'll add a standard Top Spin or one of Huss' suspended Top Spins in the future. Would look good somewhere along Coney Mall, like where Skylab used to be.

Not to hijack the Shambala thread with this but I feel the vibration as you come out of the hammerhead more than anywhere else on Diamondback. I don't recall feeling that much vibration on Intimidator at Carowinds. Back to Shambala, I know it's just the angle of the photo but that camelback looks quite steep and I'm liking how the turnaround is coming along.

I'm very happy to see Invertigo get those new colors. The red supports looked horrible with red patches on the fading red paint. It will definitely liven up that corner.

I remember seeing this on Polin's website and hoped that an American water park would add one. It really stands out from what is out there and looks stunning.

Other than a replacement for Mean Streak the only two coasters I would like to see CP get are a wing coaster and a Zacspin. I don't see a dive machine as something being unique unless they decide to really take the concept above Griffon or Sheikra. I know many of you will disagree but I see the dive machine as being limited in what you can do with those wide trains.

YAY!! The big ugly screen is coming down. That laser show ran its course and it's time for it come down plus it was a bottleneck that was hell to walk through when the show was over. I sort of miss having the Giant Wheel where it used to be. Nice views of the middle of the park from there. Both Iron Dragon and Wildcat did shut down for the show but would reopen immediately afterwards when the park was open past 10. One thing that gets in the way of using the Iron Dragon midway is the former IMAX theater now Good Time Theater. To rip that out would be a large undertaking. (I think it's too big to house an ice skating show that will eventually get old and really too big to house any other kind of show). But other than that the Dodgems and Wildcat could be relocated but given the recent history with Wildcat I don't know if they'd do that or just try to sell it. I believe the rumor is that Turnpike was going to be removed and the Cadillac Cars (you're correct - they are the ones behind Raptor's cobra roll) would be rerouted.

Wow, I like that shot with the snow. Amazing how fast this ride has come since they finished the lift and drop. Testing sometime in March I hope. Count me in as one who also likes the use of the darker red/blood red colors parks are using (Diamondback and Firehawk at KI) over the traditional red like on Superman.

IIRC the location of Log Jammer wouldn't a giga look out of place there (I know, a stupid question, right?) Even if they were to go with something similar to I305, which is more "compact" than Millennium Force, you're still talking a large chunk of real estate for it to burn off the 90+ mph speed without having to brake it to death.

A lot of GP I've talked to are scared of V2. Could be part of the reason. Future candidate for the ride rotation program?

This is my most anticipated coaster this year. It also looks like it will be quite a photogenic coaster being close to the County Fair midway.

It seems like AA just can't get a break. It has struggled ever since it first opened it seems. I realize SFOG is not that far from Birmingham but I would think the locals would like having a park closer to them. Sad thing is they just added Buzzsaw Falls last year. I guess we'll have to keep an eye out on the used ride sites to see if any of their flats start showing up for sale.

Actually removing Dragon's Wing would free up enough space to expand Britannia, add several flat rides as well as relocate and shorten Boss' queue line. Right now it's the Great Wall of China of queue lines.

Regarding suspended coasters, Vekoma still offers a swinging suspended coaster and they did manufacture floorless trains for Vampire at Chessington. Could they do a so-called rebuild of current suspendeds if a park desires it? Huss used to have one of the largest catalogs of flat rides that was greatly reduced after the company was restructured. With many parks still running rides they no longer manufacture I can see a slow process of removing many of them in the future.

The only stand-ups that will go in the near future will be the two Togo's which are surprisingly still operating - Shock Wave and Skyrider. I wouldn't say that the B&M stand-ups are losing popularity. Mantis still gets good-sized lines. Riddler's Revenge and Georgia Scorcher are the best of the genre, still very popular, and don't have the uncomfortable pain that stand-ups are known for. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Intamin bobsleds will eventually disappear. Great Escape is getting rid of theirs leaving Disaster Transport and La Vibora the only ones left in America.

And it would be nice if they used actual footage from the park they are advertising. While the GP wouldn't know it I could easily point out Knott's rides in a Cedar Point commerical.

I think Screamin' Eagle is the signature ride there. It's what put the park on the map in 1976 and even though it might be a minor point but the lift hill really dominates the skyline with it being on the hill. Medusa/Bizarro would be a great addition especially since their only sit-down multi-looper is a small Vekoma.

Tomb Raider was a great idea, loved the ride, but as the Crypt it's a laughable excuse for a thrill ride. I won't miss it if it's gone. Bring back a new Keelboat Canal flume.

I don't necessarily hate the Gerstlauer trains either I just find them rather moody. Of course that depends on the track. I thought Screamin' Eagle was running beautifully when I visited in 2010. Only thing was it squealed around the turn off the lift. What a great under-rated wood coaster.

It's funny how some people are quick to say "topper track" for any wood coaster they think needs it. Georgia Cyclone I agree with but I never thought the Boss was overly rough except on some of the turns because the Gersts aren't really forgiving when they take those turns at high speed. Putting Gersts on Screamin' Eagle would be the worst thing SFStL could do. I hope that idea doesn't come true.

I really like the new logo. The old logo sort of looks like one they would use for a teen oriented thrill park, which Darien is far from being. The new logo fits the park perfectly.

I just realized I've ridden all of the B&M stand-ups except for Chang Lantern and Iron Apocolypse. Riddler is defintely the best of the bunch but Scorcher really surprised me as to how smooth and compact it is. I loved it and for a ride that twists and turns all over I didn't experience any headbanging. Mantis is okay but I like it more when the brake is turned off on the first drop (I call that '96 mode). The ending is a little brutal with the headbanging.

A couple more thoughts and I'll stop. And the competition between parks came to an end and I'm also including Kings Island in this. Having a monopoly here in Ohio sucks as now there is nothing that makes CP or KI special or unique.While CF has added much needed rides at Kings Island (Diamondback in particular) their influence is killing the atmosphere there. Hopefully Mr. Ouimet will change that. I wonder if Parques Reunidos would have made an offer since they operate both theme and animal parks instead of going after Kennywood. We'll never know. Another thing that sort of bit CF was they weren't going to accept vouchers/tickets from the Six Flags Read To Succeed program in 2004. There was such a large public outcry that they eventually changed their minds. Talk about making a bad first impression.

But the underlying arguement really is why did Cedar Fair purchase a park knowing there were animals when they clearly don't operate animal parks? If I didn't know anything about animal parks I surely wouldn't have any interest in owning a park that had them. I still believe that 2003 was the best year under Six Flags. Rick McCurley was the GM and the park was noticably improved over the prior two seasons and I truly believe people were beginning to give the park a second chance. Shouka's stadium would be packed with each show. The dolphin show was getting good crowds. The problem was the lack of things to do on the Wild Life side between shows to keep people interested over there. That was the direction Six Flags was beginning to address when they added Thriller Bees and Starfish near the sea lion stadium. Then came the plans to put the rumored hypercoaster on that side of the lake. Sure they had issues between Aurora and Bainbridge but eventually an agreement was made between all parties to make that happen. I could have seen a Thomas Town or Wiggles World added to the park if Six Flags would have held on, added to the Wild Life side to expand the kid's offerings.

My favorite is Acrophobia. May not be the tallest freefall but the stand-up floorless design adds to it. Second would be Drop Tower at Kings Island followed by X Scream at Waldameer.

All I'm going to say is. in continuation from the Cedar Fair thread, is I don't necessarily hate Dick Kinzel. I think the backlash against him over the closing of Geauga Lake was in the way he went about it. If he and the CF organization would have just come out and told everyone in advance mid to late 2007 that the park was closing and gave everyone a last chance to say goodbye, like many parks that have closed did, there wouldn't be so much bitterness against him. It was almost a soap opera leading up to the closure. Look at it this way, CF had gone out of their way to let everyone say goodbye in advance to White Water Landing, Demon Drop, and Paddlewheel Excursions but would not let everyone say goodbye to a park with a 119-year history.