pyrocoasterkid

Another twitter pic from the KI PR department:

Another pic was posted yesterday on Twitter:

That same video was posted two pages back. But wow, is it awesome. Part of me is sad about what could have been, but mostly happy to see what can be done with the huge swath of land it took up.

Here is the official video of Space Spiral's demolition from Cedar Point! Minus the failure of the camera rotation... here is a video just posted on YouTube. BOOM annnnd it's gone!

Being a bit of a construction/fabrication and coaster geek, I found this article especially interesting. I posted it in the thread about the unknown Intamin standup, but I felt it was a really good read that deserved its own topic on the Clermont Steel plant just outside of Cincinnati. Year in and year out we see pictures of all the new track sitting out front, but this tour managed to go inside and learn quite a bit I never knew. Like I said, it is definitely a bit outdated (2008), so this may have been posted before or at least not seen by many... but I found nothing when searching. Hopefully you all enjoy the article as much as I did. newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2008/12/scott-carol-present.html

The steel plant existed before B&M began using them for their US (and maybe now worldwide) track manufacturing. Interestingly, Walter Bolliger came to the plant in the late 80's after noticing the solid work they had previously done, most notably on the structure for Vortex (Kings Island) and Shockwave (SF Great America). I just saw this article posted within the last week, I'm not sure how many of you have seen it before. It has some GREAT insight and pictures on the steel plant that produces the B&M track: newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2008/12/scott-carol-present.html

Man, only took 3 pages for someone to complain about this. New record? How can you possibly complain about anything about this ride, even if it is short?! It looks to be a crazy intense "short" ride!

Supposedly new teasers have popped up out by the main gate stating: "What can outrun an avalanche?" and on the other side another sign read "Not even a jumbo jet can soar as fast." It is worth noting that those are previous rides that occupied the site. But outside of that, I don't think those teasers tie in to any clues about the new ride or it's name.

I know this has been answered numerous times throughout this thread, but it's gotten buried under all the posts from Skyrush and what not.... Can anyone tell me where I can get the best discount for a single day admission to the park? I see on their website that Giant Food Stores has $11 off general admission. Is there currently any better? If not, is the store closest to the park a "participating location"?

Having worked in the food service industry as a server for quite a few years, I can tell you that there are some people out there that will try and get something free by complaining about anything they possibly can, even if in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter. It's sad, but a way of life in many customer service industries.

Dang, you are absolutely right. I guess I just glanced at it too much and didn't really think about it. But that picture pretty much proves it. I've never been to Great Adventure to notice. I just assumed it was a mirror image of Leviathan... but looking at the shirt closer, it doesn't even look like that at all. You would think with such an iconic ride like Leviathan, they would use a silhouette of that! I'm guessing there is nothing illegal about it, just horribly lazy graphic design... guess I made my dumb post for the month

Well just to cite the most recent comment... The green wing rider track has popped up in China, so that green track definitely isn't headed to the Point. So for now (unless more track shows up at the steel plant), a wing rider is just as likely as anything else. Where did you hear this? This was posted by someone over at Pointbuzz. He did mention that it should be taken with a grain of salt, because obviously the building is dark. But he thought he saw something....

Did anyone else notice that a new sticker was placed over the old one? Presumably to keep enthusiasts at bay? However, the "Customer" line still doesn't state where it was going (though we obviously know now), just what type of coaster (which had already been assumed). Interesting.

I'm really not seeing it. It looks like the more of Leviathan to me, even if it is mirrored and the colors are a bit off to fit the general theme/color of the shirt.

I love that everyone was suggesting Thurman's, Jeni's and Short North, and that's where you had been/ended up! I would also recommend North Market. Jeni's Ice Cream is good, but overpriced IMO. That line is pretty much the norm for the Short North location. While it doesn't have all the extreme flavors that Jeni's has (maybe it's me, but I have no desire to try spicy ice cream), I'd take Graeter's (a Cincinnati product) over Jeni's any day. There is probably 4-5 of them in Columbus too. I'd say calling Columbus a "party town full of 40 years old who haven't gotten the memo they no longer attend Ohio State" is an EXTREME generalization. While I agree that Columbus doesn't have some of the personality as some of the great cities, and is definitely basically a large college town with a mix of government, I really don't notice the "40 year olds" all over. I do agree about the Short North assessment. Admittedly, I preferred Cincinnati in the beginning, but living in Columbus for 6-7 years, you realize how much of a variety of things there is to do. Again, I'd tell everyone to give it a chance for a weekend, it has definitely surprised me!

I have been living in Columbus since 2005, originally from Cincinnati. If anybody is passing through the area, I would really give the city a chance. Everyone just assumes "meh middle of Ohio...nothing there." But it's entirely not true. Columbus has some of the best historical neighborhoods I have ever seen, like German Village and the Short North, and some of the best examples of urban revitalization, like the Arena District. All have their own feel and personality and are always extremely alive. They all also have a large assortment of bars. Along the lines of food, not only is Schmidt's amazing, they offer a buffet that is something like $10 or so, which gives you a large variety of german meals to eat, and you then get a discount on a creampuff (yes, they are amazing). Also, as someone said, German Village is also home to Thurmans, which is home to the Thurmanator. Check out this beast: 1.5 pounds of burger meat alone.. with fries, buns, and toppings (including ham) we guessed it to be around 3 pounds of food. This is my cousin, our server, and myself. The end result of the ridiculous amount of food: I wanted to die for a day. However, it really is a "hole in the wall" type place, where you can wait 2-3 hours to get sat anytime on the weekends since they only have a bar and 10 or so tables. The do have a fairly large waiting room where you can drink a few pitchers while waiting. Anyway, both of these restaurants were on the Columbus edition of "Man vs Food." I won't hijack your thread anymore, but I'd suggest people spend a few days in Columbus, it has plenty to do! Sorry to hear about your job, but good luck with the upcoming job search! Great TR so far... I love seeing my home parks.

On the CP Facebook page, they uploaded a picture of MF's first drop getting people excited for opening day. Outside of the abundant use of the oh-so-annoying "the" before every ride name, it wasn't too bad. Except for this: "Looks like Fahrenheit at hershey....love both parks...great coaster. Just live closer to hershey. " Huh?

I just realized looking back that it's been a longggg time since you've had an update, and I always followed this thread! Perfect balance of the culture and parks and some absolutely amazing shots. Keep up the good work and keep the reports coming (more often!). I'm extremely jealous.

Having done quite a bit of research in my Master's program about the area last year, I would guess a major factor has to be the insurance rates. I know many residents have been unable to rebuild after Katrina due to the insurance being way too high... something that greatly frustrates them. I would imagine this is true for potential theme park developers too.

I should clarify... I meant the original picture from 2000 that was linked earlier was probably an extended exposure picture. I agree with you, the lights of old seemed to fade out as it approached the top, but the picture on joyrides shows in much more vibrant than I remembered it. The new LED lights do a much better job of lighting all the way to the top.

Yes. This was MF's lift hill circa 2000. Unfortunately it didn't last. Unfortunately, it only lasted for a few years. I'm sure that picture was over-exposed for the night shot, making it seem much brighter. I'm thinking the new lights look just as good if not better, it's just hard to tell from the lower quality youtube video. I'm ecstatic to see the lights back.

A year and a half or so ago, while waiting in line for Top Thrill Dragster, a lady and her husband told me that it was closed earlier in the day because the "rubber bands it uses to launch weren't stretched out entirely" and that's why as the morning progressed they slowly allowed more and more rows to fill up (those who have been to TTD know its common in the mornings to only run the first few rows). This allowed the rubber bands to warm up and stretch out slowly. I really thought she was joking, but I quickly became aware she was dead set on believing TTD uses rubber bands (or even something elastic) to launch. My buddy, who is by no means an enthusiast, even had a laugh at that one.

A bit off topic, but since it was mentioned, this is incorrect. CP has announced Fast Lane for this year: www.cedarpoint.com/what-s-new/fast-lane

Your referring to the B&M Intimidator, correct? "Intimidator at Carowinds". So yes, he was. Anyway, it has been interesting to have the input of people who have worked on the rides. I guess this technique seems to have some positive results. I personally have heard the B&M rattle (Diamondback), but never been enough for me to notice on ride. I wonder what causes this to develop...?

It would be interesting to find out how often wheels need to be replaced between the two manufacturers... Then again, while usually both produce smooth rides, would it be the general consensus that B&M's are usually the smoothest coasters out there? Maybe that's the difference, however small it may be.