Geauga Dog

Just getting home from work this has been a real treat to wind down my day. I appreciate your coverage of the show. I'm liking everything so far and look forward to more coverage soon.

I only got to ride Robin: Chiller back in 2005 since Batman was closed with no train on the track. It was definitely one of the surprise coasters of my trip back then as I thought it was great. The roll, IMO, was the best part of the ride, especially going backwards. It was not uncomfortable at all thanks to lap bars only.

Wow, this just looks insane! Nice to see something new designed for B&M's flyer model. Sorry to hear about World Joyland. Is it so hard for China to come up with new theme ideas instead of ripping off copyrighted materials?

Carowinds does have one of my favorite park layouts - very easy to navigate. My guess is that Randall Duell designed it? What was Smurf Island? Was it a ride area for kids or one of those playgrounds with net climbs and ball crawls? It's a little hard to tell in the small map inset of the island in the later guides.

I love the shot of the lift from the future entrance area as the lighting is perfect. The small bit of sun makes the track really pop out with the dark clouds.

As someone who also has an interest in skyscrapers I really appreciate your views of the Shanghai skyline as well as views from Shanghai World Financial Center looking down on the equally stunning Jin Mao Tower next to it. London has the Shard being built, which is massive for that city, but might pale in comparison to the "bottle opener." Also you have some great shots of Happy Valley Shanghai. That park looks amazing. That mine train looks as though it took a page out of Schwarzkopf's speedracer design minus the sprial lift. Just out of curiosity how is the Intamin Giant Frisbee better than the Huss model since you stated it's more awesome?

Just saw Steve's awesome photos of Verbolten. This is a Zierer? I'm quite impressed by the look of it already and this is just for the show building. I used to think that Zierer was only Tivoli coasters but it sure is nice to see them enter the big coaster market for a change.

Great update, Shane! Looking forward to the rest of your Carowinds update. After visiting Carowinds for the first time this past summer I really liked the park. Looking back at the old photos I wish they still had the Carolina Sternwheeler. Seemed like the perfect centerpiece for the park along with the Skytower. Love the old school park map Taft used back in the day.

Also to note on their website they've dropped "Morgan" and are now only going by the name of Chance Rides. For those who have ridden their Aviator, how is it? I saw the one at Kings Dominion back in 2003 but didn't get to ride it. In a certain way it's sad to see how these companies no longer offer their long line of products. Chance and Huss both have downsized their product lines over the years.

I'm thinking the Thrill Lift didn't catch on due to too many "what if's" and the mechanics behind the lift mechanism. Don't know how they could classify their Flying Dutchman's as a "Family Flying Coaster" as they are not even close to being a family ride. Despite it being a flipped photo it's nice to see a pic of the Geauga Lake Mind Eraser/Head Spin.

I'm kind of surprised the area in the immediate vicinity of the park didn't take off development wise compared to Kings Island. You would think there would have been several hotels and more restaurants built across the street from the parking entrance.

Blue Racer at Kings Island yesterday.

Since the idea of LIMS/LSMS was brought up couldn't they retrofit the ride to have the cable lift to start the ride off like usual but have the LIMS/LSMS replace the catch car on the reverse tower ala Mr. Freeze to avoid the risk of miscatching and valleying of the train?

That is one of the most interesting ride concepts I've seen in quite a while. Despite the lame name of Speed Coaster I actually preferred the ode to the traditional park concept better than the movie/TV tie ins you eventually had to create. It would have been a nice fit for County Fair. I would have never thought the station would be as high as it was. Reminds me of the old Arrow horizontal shuttle loop but I guess with the interaction with Demon and other attractions there was no other way of getting it to fit.

Thanks for clearing that up, Shane. Looking at the renderings the main gate is missing from the front of the park. I guess considering this setup it would have been moved to where the train used to travel between the Carousel and Hometown Square.

What I find interesting about the Media Plex is that they were planning to eliminate the front gate and use a pay-per-ride system. I wonder if this concept would have been successful if the other Paramount Parks would have seen something similar.

It truly is a sad day and we need to be thankful for what he and Arrow created. Unfortunately it's also sad that a lot of his creations have also disappeared or have begun disappearing from the landscape.

My top favorites (not a full 10): 1. Busch Gardens Williamsburg - Outside of Disney BGW sets a standard to what a theme park should be. Attention to detail, quality coasters (not worried about quantity), excellent food and entertainment, and gorgeous landscaping. 2. Hersheypark - A corporate park that doesn't feel like one. Great atmosphere, decent theming, and a good variety of coasters and flats. 3. Six Flags Great America - Marriott did a great job with the design of this park and I'm glad that Six Flags has retained a lot of it. Plus it has a solid variety of coasters and, for a Six Flags, has a large selection of flats. 4. Six Flags Over Georgia - A beautiful park with a very solid lineup of coasters. It seems the orignal Six Flags parks have the most charm compared to the ones Six Flags eventually bought. 5. Kings Island - Always been my favorite Ohio park. It also has one of my favorite park layouts. Despite CF taking some of the atmosphere away in recent years there is still a bit of charm left in the park. 6. Six Flags St. Louis - Just like its sister SFOG, this park is also beautiful in spots and has a solid lineup of coasters. 7. Geauga Lake - Despite the rocky history with different owners it was a park that had an amazing lakeside setting. As SFWoA it had the potential to be something great. 8. Kennywood - I like how the tunnel is like a time transport as you go from the real world to the fantasy. It's a great example of how you can add newer rides and attractions without greatly disturbing the classic, old-timey park feel and charm KW has. 9. Darien Lake - While majority of TPR would never consider Darien Lake a top park I do like the park for its diverse flat ride collection and with the lack of development around the property it truly feels out of the way. Plus it reminds me of Geauga Lake.

Batman at SFOG - the queue seems a lot longer than the other Batman queues I've walked through. Goliath at SFOG - looks expansive and thankfully I didn't need to wait in any of it when I was there. Mindbender at SFOG - seems like it has a long winding queue in the woods. Superman at SFOG - winding up the hill but you get some good views of the ride. Though hands down it's a tie between SFStL's Boss and Darien Lake's Viper.

Not at my home park and flats included: Kings Island: Vortex, Adventure Express, Son of Beast, Italian Job/Backlot Stunt Coaster, Firehawk, White Water Canyon, Tomb Raider, Delirium, Windseeker Kennywood: Phantom's Revenge, Swing Shot, Cosmic Chaos, Garfield's Nightmare, Ghostwood Estate, Sky Rocket Waldameer: Steel Dragon, Ravine Flyer II, Flying Swings, Mega Vortex Six Flags Great America: Vertical Velocity, Superman Ultimate Flight, Revolution Six Flags Over Georgia: Dare Devil Dive Worlds of Fun: Timber Wolf Holiday World: Voyage Darien Lake: Motocoaster Dorney Park: Hydra The Revenge Six Flags Marine World/Discovery Kingdom: Vertical Velocity Busch Gardens Williamsburg: Drachen Fire Canada's Wonderland: Psyclone At my home parks: Geauga Lake: Mind Eraser/Head Spin, Batman/Dominator, Superman/Steel Venom, Roadrunner/Beaver Land Mine Ride, Villain, Texas Twister, Raging Wolf Bobs, Pirate's Flight, Starfish, Thriller Bees, Time Warp, X-Flight Cedar Point: Just about every new ride they added for as far back as I can remember including Windseeker. Only ride not ridden in its opening season - Shoot The Rapids 2010.

SFMM's Riddler's Revenge and Viper SFGAm's Viper Dragster's can be brutal when filled, heck it looks brutal from the midway. Kings Island's Beast because the front row line usually starts right when the queue ends and when the station is full it's hard to find the other rows. Batman the Ride - as cool as the extra themeing was put into the station they get stifling hot. SFOG's was unbearable on my two visits back in June.

I can imagine someone getting the rights to Aero World and updating it with today's current theme park design and technology how much more incredible it would be. Wouldn't be hard to imagine a B&M flyer and invert along with a large Funtime Starflyer somewhere in the mix.

I've always liked... Vortex and Beast stations at Kings Island Villain and Batman/Dominator stations at Geauga Lake, especially at night. Anyone from NE Ohio remember when they used to play "Welcome To The Machine" every time they dispatched trains on Dominator? It was short lived though. Iron Dragon, Corkscrew, and Gemini stations at CP. Corkscrew and Gemini sort of have that cool retro look compared to the newer coasters at the Point. Alpengiest's ski resort style station at BGW.

Thanks for enlarging the map as you can see much more of the details. Looks like it would have had a pretty solid collection of rides and coasters throughout the park. I certainly could see Herschend running this park. BTW the logo reminds of Worlds of Fun.

Raptor is one of my favorites in the park, espeically when the mid-course brakes are either off or lightly tapping but it's not my overall favorite invert (Afterburn, Alpengeist and Talon rank higher on my personal list). I usually like to hit Raptor around the dinner hour as the lines are generally smaller at that time with majority of the crowds dispersed towards the back of the park by then.