Ed Farmer

That's my opinion as well. I didn't go in thinking it was going to be Maverick- every review I read until I got to see it for myself was pretty clear on what to expect and what not to expect. Got off the ride feeling underwhelmed (even with the lowered expectations). Shortly after that (7 seconds) I remembered that Kumba and Montu were in the park too, so all's well that ends well.

Indeed. But even if I wasn't: -or-

I much prefer Dollywood's once upon a time there was an eagle that lived near the smokey mountains. Far more compelling and rich.

Who knows what that means though, it will probably need a full retrack to really operate well again. This is the first I'm hearing of maintenance being done during this hibernation. For such a young coaster it would only make sense. Someone at another forum I frequent mentioned a while back that an an OzCat relocation would essentially consist of the receiving park getting the plans for the ride and rebuild. When the Kentucky Kingdom takeover happened recently, some of the first speculation was the status of Twisted Twins. The general consensus was that they would reopen with the "new" park. Is that really how significant having a hybrid structure is for a longer operating life? It evidently wasn't enough to save Villain, Hurricane** or Mega Zeph. Ozcat even operated a year after TTWins vanished from the park map. ** A local priest was summoned to Hurricane to bless it with holy water. The moment the water touched it's structure it began emitting smoke and melting. The lift chain kept erratically and abruptly changing it's direction. Near the end this ceremony, the ground inexplicably opened up and swallowed the remains of Hurricane. Some geologists studied and excavated the area- they found no trace of Hurricane. Perhaps Villain would still be standing somehere today. If only someone had thought to ask Pepsi nicely for free money through their "Free Money For People Who Really Need It Genuinely" Program. Joke.

Between La Ronde and CW's latest additions, there might be something in their water. Welcome to the SFGAm/SFOG Club. Chicago got a Splash Battle to compliment the giant water park roughly 50 steps away, and Atlanta got a few gallons of blue paint to throw on Batman. Maybe California will get a Blue Splash Battle?

Only until it gets relocated to La Ronde. Hopefully the platform under the cobra roll is in the plans. Adds a nice little foot chopper.

Amphersand

Coasters can tell the difference between water dummies and people?

Arrow's Fish-hook sounded cooler. Also, sounds like they would have a hell of a time with the "ever so slight deceleration" and subsequent adjustment to produce the weightlessness. I could only ever see this coming to fruition at Hard Rock Park.

I wouldn't be surprised if Chicagoland gets some snow in May this year to make up for the late start to winter. It happens every so often, and this just feels like a year ripe for it.

This won't set them back. Long stretches of this winter have felt more like an extended autumn. Any snowfall we've gotten this year is a light dusting compared to last year. I chuckle to myself when I think back to early fall when much fuss was made over how terrible this winter was supposed to be- "worst one in recent memory". Swing and a miss!

Fixed

Seems likely. Similar concept that costs less and comes with none of the trouble that came with X. I'd love to see more S&S/Arrow 4Ds stateside, but I don't see Six Flags (or Cedar Fair for that matter) taking that risk.

The unfortunate thing about the loss of Iron Wolf is that it was one of only two steel coasters that doesn't lull you to sleep at this park. Batman is the other one. I'm excited that another B&M coaster is "replacing" Iron Wolf, but I'm also wary of it, because the last new B&M here (2003) takes up as much space as a 170 foot, 7 inversion mega-looper did, but gives you the same ride experience as Columbia Carousel, which takes up considerably less space and cost many millions less.

I oddly said this exact same thing to myself... I just want that B&M to be saved!! :/ . It would be a great replacement for Chang. I doubt many locals would even notice a difference, and it should come at an attractive price for a barely used B&M coaster. While Chang was/is in an entirely different ballpark quality-wise, I don't think it matters in this instance. Excellent news about the park. I'll be sure to visit in 2013. KI and HW are about due for something new as well.

Could be worse. They didn't move it into Rivertown and douse it with neon green, so we have that. I thought the yellow/red scheme was just fine.

Verlander is awesome, hands down the best pitcher in the game- but this is the year I expect to see his arm fall off from years of throwing way more innings than he needed to. If it doesn't, then it should be clear to everyone that he comes from somewhere else, and the black helicopters can come for him one night.

This is using the second-generation trains, I presume?

They've improved their operations alot since. Especially since Hurricane Harbor opened. I thought 2001/2002 were the last great seasons this park has had. 2011 at last seemed to show progress, despite the removal of one of my longtime favorites. I doubt I would have even visited this past year if it weren't for Iron Wolf leaving.

Can't help but imagine that lots of people here will one day be that guy shaking his fist at those crazy hooligan youngsters to get off his lawn.

Pictures like the sixth one of this post make me forget that a new B&M wingrider is being built an hour from my house. I would imagine details such as this are easily overlooked when riders are worrying about how they'll replace their soiled pants.

I can imagine the design process being especially costly for a fresh layout. Each new 4D built seems like minor modifications or fine-tuning to the standard design are the only difference. That said, I think the Arrow/ S&S layout looks a lot more thrilling than the Wingrider layouts B&M is throwing out there, even if those had the rotating seats. I kind of doubt we'll ever see the 4D concept from B&M though. I know people probably didn't think we'd see a launch, wingrider, or 300+ footer from them, but mechanically they're pretty much the same as anything they've done in the past (with the exception of Hulk's outsourced launch). 4D would be a pretty radical departure from that.

Raging Bull sends it's regards. The trim on the camelback castrates one of the better looking layouts for a 200+ foot coaster from any manufacturer. After what may be the best first drop anywhere, it's more of a Slightly Aggravated Dairy Cow than a Raging Bull.

And for those that aren't big fans of fluffy forceless rides, it's better than many new ones too.