Geauga Dog

They could take a cue from the Columbus Zoo, which also has a small amusement park and water park as part of the entire property. If they were to start small, like Jungle Jack's Landing, with the Hurricane and a small but nice collection of flats it would at least give them a start to gradually build upon. No one said it had to be the size of Busch Gardens from day one.

^I agree. I thought about this yesterday. Is Dinosaurs Alive a permanant attraction or is it one of those that will stay at a park for a few years and then move on to another park, like the old Six Flags ride rotation program? I can see the newness of it wearing off fast as guests are not going to plunk $5 to see it every year. But take into account that very, very rarely does Kings Island advertise in the Cleveland area so no one up here knows of DA down there. IIRC the only times KI has advertised up here was for The Beast (commercials), during the early to mid-80's when they ran cmmercials advertising it as a vacation spot and not just the park only (during the "Do It All" slogan years), Drop Zone/Face Off (commercials) and the "new" Boomerang Bay (billboards).

First of all, the coaster wars is sooo 1990's/early 00's. The GP around here probably haven't even heard of SFMM and could care less if they have more coasters (and vice versa). I agree that CP is due for their next big thrill but at the same time I'm glad they've focused on non-coaster rides these past few years. They needed to update their supporting attraction base. I have yet to do Dinosaurs Alive at Kings Island and even though I was there just a couple of weeks ago I didn't see a large clamoring of people waiting to plunk down the $5 to go through it. Maybe it's because I went on a day with somewhat light crowds. I can't see CP getting a similar dinosaur attraction and not because of space but it doesn't seem to fit what CP is about (unless Mr. Ouimet decides to take the park in a new direction). I could see Kings Dominion getting one.

I'm actually thrilled to finally see one of these Zac Spins finally come to the U.S. after seeing the pics of Insane from TPR''s trip reports. Too bad it's all the way on the West Coast for me to ride it though I can see a few of these added to parks in the future (maybe SFGAm in Splashwater Falls spot?) They did a nice job in the conversion to DC Universe. It looks like a living comic book with all the bright colors.

^I don't find any drop ride boring despite the size. Carowinds' Drop Tower felt more like Waldameer's X Scream (Arm/Larson Super Shot). You went up the tower and you didn't sit there waiting to drop like on the bigger towers.

The whole Geauga Lake ordeal was shocking, despite the rumors at the time that only Dominator and Thunderhawk were going to be removed, only to have the entire park being taken away from us without warning. With that in mind having the park's Villain just go for scrap was a shock. It was still a relatively young coaster (not even ten years old) and I'm sure Gravity Group could have come in and improved the ride at its new home since they helped build it while with CCI.

My favorite is the stand-up floorless tilting. Acrophobia is the only one that made me scream on all four rides I took on it. The second gen/Giant Drops are close behind. Pittfall and Superman Tower of Power at SFStL are my two favorites.

You should count your blessings that you live in this period of time compared to when I was a kid. Turning people upside down was the biggest novelty/innovation in the 70's and 80's and Arrow was the king of the manufacturers, who pretty much capped off their long resume with their trio of mega loopers - Shock Wave, GASM II, and Viper (though KI's Vortex and the short lived Drachen Fire could also be included). In the meantime the Arrow suspended coaster (which didn't really take off like I thought it should have), the TOGO stand-up and Ultra Twister, and Intamin/Mack bobsled were all we had. Heck Vekoma introduced their much maligned boomerangs at this time. Also you figure launched coasters were left to the Arrow and Schwarzkopf shuttles, which there weren't many found in American parks and new wood coasters were few and far between.

I'd say it was at least 20-25 minutes but the ride only has four cars. The queue was three switchbacks full in the main queue area before the ramp to the station. The crew was good at getting the cars loaded and dispatched.

I did ride Monster Mansion but failed to get a photo of the exterior and I agree, it seemed like it was a little cheesy but I knew I couldn't miss riding it. The ride also reminded me of something Sid and Marty Krofft would have done back in the day. I thought I was the only one who liked shade arbors and I was surprised to see three of them. Most parks only have one or have removed theirs. I don't normally ride log flumes as I feel a bit odd riding by myself but I did ride Log Jamboree. I didn't really notice it until I was on my way back to the car on my first day and saw a part of it through Georgia Scorcher. I actually got a decent splash for a small drop. They ran both trains on both days and I did ride each one twice. I didn't notice any difference between them.

John, I knew the Yo-Yo's came from Geauga Lake and I got a photo of it even though I didn't post it here. Still the same color as it was back in GL's Happy Harbor. It didn't look like it was in great condition though but of course I was too busy re-riding Afterburn to get a closer look. I saw the former Flying Eagles but didn't ride them. The only thing I rode in Planet Snoopy was Peanuts Pirates, formerly the Great Whale of China from Canada's Wonderland.

Thanks for the comments Legoguy and no_brain_er. It was a fantastic trip all around. It was a choice between Goliath and Mindbender for my 200th but it was a no-brainer that Mindbender got that distinction. A classic Schwarzkopf looper with lap bars only is a very rare and special treat nowadays. Legoguy, I didn't even realize the line for Nighthawk was that long when I took that photo. You have a good eye. I would much rather remove Hurler for a launched coaster as I think it would fit in that area better.

My last coaster was Kings Island's Beast yesterday evening.

Hey, Larry, not sure if you want these since you have a couple already of Kings Island's Windseeker but here's a few I took today of the ride now that it's open. Sorry for the quality as you can see it was a crappy day weather wise. Also under Six Flags Over Georgia you have Ninja as being closed instead of Deja Vu. Just an FYI.

Thanks for clearing those up for me. I wondered if there was a second gate at SFOG because the way the parking lot is situated, just like at Carowinds, it would be quite a hike to get to the front gate. I did notice that SFOG does run a shuttle, which is odd in this day and age as so many parks that had one have long quit using them. The Sky Buckets were closed on both visits and I would have liked to have taken a ride on them. Bet the view is awesome from up there.

If they, GP, would have just looked at the animations when the rides were first announced they should have been able to tell that they just go around in circles. But is CF incorrectly advertising these rides as "thrill rides" when in fact they aren't? I'm sure being up that high is a "thrill" but the ride experience doesn't come close. I hope to be at Kings Island tomorrow so I'll make up my mind on them after I ride theirs.

Maurer Sohne has a downloadable flyer on their website for this ride and I do like the layout of it. Seems like it might be a little intense with its compact footprint. I also like the colors they're using for this ride. I thought the tophat would have been just a tad larger than it really is but overall it's a great looking ride.

My friend rode CP's Windseeker and thought it was boring and a waste of money. He stated it's pretty much like Space Spiral as you go up and enjoy the view.

Or put it towards something from Intamin. They've got the B&M now so why not offset that with something wicked from them?

The Beast had a few modifications made after the first season including reprofiling a few turns including the one right after the first tunnel and the helix. This may have been when the skid brakes were lengthened. The magnetic brakes didn't appear until after two trains collided in the station. They wouldn't be so bad if they didn't grab so hard at times. It feels like the trains want to fight it when they hit them, especially on the long 141-foot drop into the helix.

No, they don't exactly stop upside down though sometimes it feels like it. It's just a very slow flip upside down. This may be a good time to ask a few questions regarding SFoG. These came to me while walking around the park and I forgot to ask them when I first posted the second part of this TR. Was Deja Vu where the Whistlestop Park is now and wasn't there a second gate in that same vicinity at one time? Where was Viper located when it was there? Where was Z-Force located when it was there? Thanks for your answers.

Part II - Six Flags Over Georgia. What a beautiful park! Not too many parks can say they have an expansive canopy of trees to help shade you during your day, which helped due to the temps being in the low 90's. The park would have light crowds making it easy to get all the main credits in one day. I'll just let the photos do all the talking. I hope they get many of you ready for Deep South Bash in September. Hello Batman and Mindbender. I really like the blue paint on Batman. Not even in the park yet and Goliath sends a big welcome. "Thanks for the welcome. I'm excited to be here." Where am I at again? When I left Carowinds my coaster count was 199. Mindbender became my special 200th coaster. This is such a great ride which confirms that Schwarzkopf was a genius. Look, Ma, no OTSR! I refused to take a photo of the wrapped train. Goliath from the queue line. Intimidator may the the tallest but Goliath has the goods. Moving onto the Cotton States area. Don't spit your drink onto your computer screen when I say that I actually liked Ninja. I didn't experience any headbanging. If I didn't know it was a Vekoma I would have thought I was on an old aging Arrow. GASM is a beautiful ride. It also ran really well. In the home stretch. This was probably the best of the three Superman flyers. With it being on a hill made the ride seem higher. Plus you can "take the tunnel". Dare Devil Dive - I was impressed with it. What goes up... Must come down. Through the misty flames of death.... Trying to be like Hanno in getting a shot of rider's expressions. Beautiful and scenic Six Flags Over Georgia. Splashwater Falls Thunder River Dahlonega Mine Train Thank you, Angus, for having the vision to create the regional theme park concept. Acrophobia, this was an awesome freefall ride. Georgia Cyclone was bad. The train just bounced around the course. I'll end this photo TR with a few shots of Georgia Scorcher, simply one of the best stand ups. Thanks for viewing.

I'd like to say that I'm happy that it's an outsider taking over who will not only bring in some fresh ideas into a tired, old company but will also help bring CF into the 21st century. My hope is that he will bring back some of the luster to the parks (CP and especially KI - I"m talking to you). I may be proved wrong but I don't see a lot of big rides being added to the parks but that's fine with me.

Thanks for the comments. While the coaster collection is solid if you consider the various types of coasters Carowinds offers it still felt like something was missing. I agree that a launched coaster would definitely help fill that void. I even had the crazy thought that GL's former Steel Venom would have been better here than at Dorney with Head Spin going to Michigan. And it wouldn't hurt to add a few up-to-date flat rides since most of the park's flats are in Planet Snoopy.

I agree. Once the loop was removed the ride became pointless but even if you did put the loop back in the ride already has a bad rep with the GP and enthusiasts. Instead of trying to fix the ride in what I think they'll try to do it would be best to just remove it. If all the previous band-aids didn't work what makes CF think this latest band-aid is going to fix things?