PayneTrain

Robb, I feel like you read my comments about the Big Bad Wolf closing. As a local, I did have a special attachment to the park, and the Wolf, with it being my first coaster. I also have a creepy fetish for Schwarzkopfs and the Schwarzkopf spinoff, the Arrow Suspended Coaster. I feel like not enough Schwarzkopfs are in use, and I wish they could have frozen Anton's body so he could come back at a later date. Disclaimers covered, I think the ride is very unique and above average. Sure, you're not getting any precious airtime on it, and it's not particularly fast or long, but it was so unique. It was an innovation for its time. It's a very intricately designed roller coaster, from the model type down to the very low, swooping layout. With the traditional B&M invert becoming a relatively vanilla coaster flavor, I like how people are looking into small applications of the suspended design in roller coasters like the Wingrider, and even the Mack Suspended design. The Big Bad Wolf did two things I like really well, it was a terrain-focused roller coaster, and it had a very intense portion. Top speed is recorded at 48, but when you're whipping through the last turns, it feels much, much faster. And since when does a roller coaster have to be in the top 100 of Mitch's poll to be liked/a good roller coaster? I never got more thrill out of the dive on Griffon than I did on the second half of the Wolf. It was a very good coaster that complemented the rest of the lineup. The only roller coasters I have to ride at BGW now are Apollo's Chariot and the Loch Ness Monster. Griffon feels like a one-trick pony, and Alpengeist's MCBR has gotten to be a nuisance, and it's getting a nasty rattle. Also, I can't believe you're throwing Millennium Force at me. Mostly because I'm the weirdo that picks Magnum over Millie almost every time. Also, Griffon is prepping for a freefall on the list. I like the coaster, but it just feels "there". And the park is "dead" for the time being, or at least Oktoberfest. You could see every single roller coaster on the Rhine from the Oktoberfest bridge, including the Wolf, which took up the left side (coming from Italy). Oktoberfest has no anchor; it is floating around with Festhaus and DarKastle trying to keep it in its place. Busch Gardens has few coasters to begin with, and removing one never really helps the cause. I'm not trying to make enemies twenty posts into TPR, but it did matter, and I liked it. I don't mean to be rude, but it's hard to understand if you don't have this lifetime attachment I do.

I guess it's different at the point, but Busch Gardens Williamsburg didn't get one for a eight (?) year stretch, where one (albeit the Wild Maus) was even removed! I hope Cedar Fair can put Draggin' Iron out of its sorry misery in 2011 to build something that goes faster than my car in a residential zone. *tangent* How many suspended coasters are left now? Five? I mean, Eagle's Fortress and the Wolf closing in the same year, before I even got over losing XLR-8, should just force any other swinger to be put out to pasture. The pain is just too great to bear. It's like taking out all the Schwarzkopfs and replacing them with Vekoma boomerangs--tragic beyond imagination. Yeah, I like suspendeds and Schwarzkopfs. I'm weird. *tangent*

But look at everything they have been able to use the property for! Oh wait, never mind. GL and HRP are more recent blunders, but Astroworld closing is as perplexing as it is disappointing. Not to mention there are PLENTY of good Schwarzkopfs just sitting in sheds DOING NOTHING. They need to be built places.

I updated the "Harry Potter Theme Park" to include the retheme of Dragon Challenge which it was intended to mean as well. I edited my post as well to say "shaft" instead of "share". While not being the best coasters ever, they feel like they don't even matter anymore. Swype for Android is great when it works.

A year without the Big Bad Wolf. The park feels so dead now. runner up goes to Dragon Challenge getting the biggest shaft in my memory.

Disappointing, considering its hovered around fifty degrees the last couple of days.

^SFA fans are sad now.

No, the glaring issue with "Conquerer" is the ass-backwards way it tries to present any ride. Should a coaster show really be "Here we go on Cedar Points GemeniiiiiiiiiiiAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH O SH-- AH" and more of his girly, yet batsh-- insane screaming to keep in tune a 37 year old mom? It's the general problem with a techie/geeky/niche thing like coasters going mainstream. Whenever video games go mainstream like the Wii or the Video Game Awards, they're panned. Star Trek: The Next Generation-panned. I don't want to sit back and say, "This asshat is really doing something for the thrill ride community, 'conquering' roller coasters and their manufactured claims in an arbitrary amount of time." When you compare the Big Mike Road Show to Bert the Conquerer in terms of quality and mainstream popularity, how can you not get pissed? Also, Texas Giant... <3

It's annoying, considering extending BGW's season made sense 4 years ago when I could still be wearing a t-shirt in December. Now, it's the coldest, snowiest "autumn" I've remembered.

Oddly enough my sources tell me that Six Flags Mexico and La Ronde actually do very good business. But then again, so did Astroworld.... Especially in Mexico, where a brand name theme park like Six Flags is hard to come by. And though the closing of Astroworld is still a relatively mindboggling affair, I don't think it's good to suggest waking up one morning to find some guys auctioning off speakers from SFDK or SFNE in their respective parking lots. That's an apocalyptic scenario. I was going for the foreign parks because of it being a foreign market to the majority of Six Flags parks. Also, it would be really... odd of them to close and sell off another park. They've pretty much cut their ownership in half in the last six or so years, which is a rather staggering thing to think about. You'd think they're finally off the slippery slope.

As a Virginia native, I wouldn't be too hurt if they finally put that old dog out of its misery. I'm waiting for them to close/sell the foreign properties, and maybe even the Great Escape. For a company that emerged from bankruptcy, they sure are very financially aware. It's not a bad thing, but could it be a telling sign they are teetering n Chapter 11's edge still?

Mack Rides has been a personal favorite of mine, as they made Journey to Atlantis. Mack can make really well themed and thrilling rides, and Busch Gardens in Williamsburg is in the business of maintaining great themed rides. This really explains the massive building in addition to keeping the old Wolf station.

Disney designs the rides they want to design. They just call up who they think is the best at doing their idea. Vekoma probably has a tight relationship with Disney since Vekoma is a go-to source for upkeep on the Arrow coasters. I wouldn't be surprised if the old Matterhorn, BTMs, and WDW SM are all majority Vekoma track.