Geauga Dog

^^James, thanks for clearing that up for me. I hope you didn't take my post as being a complaint since I do understand the added belts have added time in dispatching a train. I still love the Beast and looking forward to getting back down there for more rides this week. I actually like it when the train is creeping up the lift SLOWLY because the other train hasn't cleared the block yet. I just wish they'd take those speakers off of it. IMO they sort of ruin the ride.

If you have a big belly you might have a problem with fastening the belt. I've ridden Kings Island's and have seen the ride ops have trouble with getting the restraint fastened on larger people. Other than that the seats are comfortable.

Paramount dropped the flyers and Six Flags picked them up for 2001. How long has it been since Griffon opened? Wouldn't the so-called exclusive rights have expired by now?

^That's fast. Wonder if they'll try to implement it for the remainder of the year or if they'll wait until next year. BTW, Kings Island may run all trains on most coasters but they have a tendency to stack them. The last time I was there they were running all three on Diamondback and plenty of times in the morning you would have two trains on the final brakes before dispatching the one in the station. Vortex usually runs all three trains but they stack them bad. Not like the old days when a train would be on the lift as another would be hitting the mid-course, basically meeting up at the same point and you'd watch the train drop into the corkscrews. The biggest offender will always be the Beast. I don't know how they can stack a train when the ride is four minutes long.

Superman Tower of Power used to be Dungeon Drop at Astroworld. Yes, back in the 80's when River King had two tracks they added stand-up trains on one side. It didn't last long as someone fell out and was killed. Question is which track was the stand up track - the current one at SFStL or the one currently known as Big Bad John at Magic Springs? I highly agree with your assessments of Screamin' Eagle and The Boss. Eagle is very underrated. The Boss' layout is great. I loved all the big drops but I wonder what it would be like with Timberliners.

Nice shots. I agree about the Gateway Arch. Pictures do not do it justice. The first time I saw it as I crossed the Mississippi last year I was actually quite amazed by the sheer size of it. For anyone who may be a bit claustrophobic I would not suggest going to the top. Those elevators are tiny.

Oh gosh, Freeway was a nightmare. You were only allowed two stamps and you had to go to the kiosk by each ride offering it to get one. It sucked if you wanted the Raptor stamp and then had to go over to Millennium Force to get that stamp only to find out they were no longer giving stamps out for the day. And then the ink would be all over the queue rails. When i was at SFOG there were people using the Flash Pass system even though it wasn't needed as the lines were pretty much non-existent both days I was there. If someone is willing to shell out the money for it, let them. However, and not sure how plausible this might work at the CF parks, but they could always close off a row of seats or a car for Lo-Q riders only. That's what they did on SFOG's Batman. I'm not a huge fan of the system but I did try it once at SFGAdv back in 2005. It was my first time there and that Gold Pass was my best friend that day as it saved me a lot of time and I was able to get all the rides in with minimal wait since the park was quite busy. BTW, Darien Lake now has a Rapid Ride system for their rides and their lines are even shorter than Kings Island's.

I remember those pics were posted by someone who was on the demolition crew at the time but were quickly removed. Truly a sad sight to see.

Darien Lake needs to: 1. Sell the old Batman coaster across the street. I laugh every time I read on their FB page when someone mentions "You need to put that Batman coaster in the park". 2. After my visit on Saturday there is no doubt in my mind that Splashtown needs another expansion. It looked like it was near capacity as I was leaving the parking lot. 3. People complain that the Giant Wheel needs lights. I do agree but the big offender is the amount of graffiti on the ride itself. The seats are all marked up or carved upon. I find that quite attrocious. 4. While the park has a great flat ride lineup I'd like to see more new, updated flats added before another coaster is put in. Put a few at the end of the Ride of Steel midway so that there's more to do down there. They also need to finish repainting their current ride linuep, starting with Mind Eraser.

Of your choices I'd pick Kings Dominion even though it's been about seven years since I've been there. If you can swing it don't miss a day at Busch Gardens. Having been to Dorney, the park is generally dead with everyone in the water park so you'll get all your rides in within a few hours. Just like with Kings Dominion if you can swing it I would recommend a day at Hersheypark, which is about 1.5 hours from Dorney or Six Flags Great Adventure, which is about 2 hours away.

The train derailment at Old Indiana in Thorntown, Indiana that seiously injured/paralyzed a young girl and killed her grandmother. This resulted in the park closing forever.

I did Darien Lake and Martin's Fantasy Island just this past Saturday. At Martin's: Silver Comet is a nice coaster and runs well. It only has one PTC train but the wait isn't that bad. Very re-rideable unlike Predator. Based on their FB page Mind Warp, the new Technical Park Loop Fighter, has had some breaking in issues. It went down on Saturday for a bit about two cycles after my ride. If it is open, make sure you ride it. It's the only one like it in America and it's also quite a freaky ride experience. The Crazy Mouse, which I haven't ridden yet, tends to have a slow moving line but it is also, just by my observation of it, a pathetic spinning mouse. The cars seem to hardly spn. OTOH Whirlwind, the Maurer Sohne spinning coaster at Seabreeze, is great. Flight is a Zamperla Vertical Swing (think mini-Starflyer/Windseeker) and you won't be able to ride as a single due to keeping the ride balanced. I finally got a ride on it on this past visit but was not able to do it last year. Nice ride with good views of the park and the Niagara Falls, Canada skyline in the distance. The Bobsleds at Seabreeze has a slow moving line so if you can get there when it opens, do it first. I think it's a quirky little ride and quie unusual. Jack Rabbit has a Morgan train and the best rides tend to be towards the front of the train if you want to get any kind of mild airtime. If you need a break from riding, check out the historical photos inside the beautiful Carousel pavilion at Seabreeze. You can do both Martin's and Seabreeze within 2 - 2.5 hours each.

I don't see the ridership declining on this ride. It's Darien's most popular ride. Eventually people will forget it happened and all will return to normal.

If it was suicide it's still going to ruin it for the rest of us. I won't be surprised if the ride sees even more modifications to its safety systems. BTW, I was at Darien Lake yesterday and the Giant Wheel has a no single riders policy now.

^Didn't stop them from adding Wicked Twister. A nice GCI twister in the front area of the park around Space Spiral would be nice. Rip up the parking lot so that it won't look like a parking lot coaster. One ride in those Millennium Flyers and everyone would forget Mean Streak even existed.

While riding Mind Warp at Martin's Fantasy Island yesterday, during the part of the ride where the seats are flipping while the ride is swinging/spinning, this kid says out loud: "This ride is not safe...but I LOVE it".

Hi, Larry, sorry if I'm posting photos you already have but here's a few more of Martin's Fantasy Island's new Mind Warp. It's a pretty wicked ride.

^I believe that incident was on SFNE's Superman.

I got my two-day ticket at the gate and the online price was about the same as I paid in person.

^^Mind Eraser is bad. I've heard it being called "Ear Eraser" before if that gives you any clue to what kind of ride you'll get. Viper isn't bad for an old school Arrow looper but do expect some headbanging in the boomerang. It's a good ride. I've always thought Boomerang was one of the smoothest out there and I attribute that to the newer style "bullet" train that's on it. Darien's is my favorite of the standard variety.

Soon Dickie won't have any say in what goes in at CP so anything can happen at this point however I do not want to see a flyer at the park. They aren't exactly the most comfortable rides (sitting in the flying position on the final brakes waiting for the train in front of you to dispatch is a bit uncomfortable) and they are not fast loaders. My guess, and hope, is that it would be a Wing Rider, whether with rotating seats or not. If they want to go big then they need to add something that is going to make a lot of people to take notice and something as unique as this would certainly do it. They need to recreate that buzz like what they did with Millennium Force, which in turn, electrified the park in 2000. And not to change the subject on B&M but if CP was ready to remove Wildcat a Zac Spin would fit perfectly in its spot.

Nice pics! Brought back many memories. I'm jealous you got to see the park at night. Looks great. Georgia Cyclone, as bad as it was, looks very nice all bathed in white lights (just like Mean Streak). There was no air conditioning in Batman's station/queue when I was there three weeks ago and people were leaving the line because of it. They did have some doors open to get some air in but it wasn't helping. I think this was the first time I couldn't wait to get off a ride due to how uncomfortably hot it was in there. The station was bad but the transfer area just outside the station while waiting for the train in front to dispatch was downright stifling.

The single rider line was closed the two days I was there but the wait was less than 15 minutes since it moves so fast. Sad thing is people tried to use it anyway but were forced back to the end of the line. Never got to try the front but I agree 150% on the back right seat. On my second day I got three rides in a row without getting off the train in that seat. Absolutely phenomenal. If you want to get as many rides in on Afterburn without getting off the train - hit it right after Nighthawk in the morning since no one is back there yet. BTW, Steve, Batshit crazy - you should trademark that. What a great description.

And those stupid flagpoles. Who's bright idea was it to put three flagpoles in front of one of the most photographed spots at the park? They need their head examined. That is a very nice photo of the Eiffel Tower. You got the side that's part of Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular. I agree. I only ride it once a year because I hate the way they have set up the queue. At least they handed out water. Not too many parks would do that for their guests. So that you can use your savings on fixing that Intamin cable. We all know just how reliable Intamin coasters are. Thanks for sharing. You got some great shots of the park.

I was just there almost three weeks ago and the crowds were rather light. I visited on a Tuesday and Wednesday. Intimidator, Carolina Cobra, and Afterburn are the only ones I recall having the on-ride camera. Nighthawk might have one. You can leave your belongings on the ride platform or in the bins on the platform. Just a recommendation - ride Nighthawk first thing in the morning. Even if the park is light in crowds this one will more than likely be your longest wait if you decide to ride it later. Have a great time.