bill_s

This thread is worse than any coaster, I'd pay to go to park with only you guys' rejects (especially if it brought Shockwave back from the dead). But, I'll submit Superman Ultimate Flight. The only thing good about it is being short.

Of standups, I liked Shockwave because it had airtime. I'll endure quite a bit for that fantastic feeling of your feet coming off the floor. I haven't gotten any on the 3 B&Ms I've tried. GL is the best of those because the restraint doesn't hurt before it even starts moving, although even Apocalypse may have a more intense layout. I doubt a floorless conversion of GL would help it much, but maybe you'd just sit back and chill. If for some reason GL had way less line (or was the only one open) I might marathon it and try to find some merit, but the first time I went this decade it wasn't worth the wait, and the second time there wasn't any reason not to ride something better.

I didn't say it was a well-themed area, but then most of the "themes" in the park are barely themes at all, by this point it's themed as a theme park. I said it's great and certainly not something to complain about (not that pointing it out is necessarily complaining). At the same time, I wouldn't think Hangar 18 would be located right off the main drag, walking through a Safari Village to get there makes as much sense as anything could except a desert theme, and the Earnhardt'd area is even further out.

yeah, but six coasters in a single area makes it the best single themed area in any park ever.

^^-- 12 Toros, unless that was the miscount and it was 11. 6 of which were rerides and one walkaround was by choice. Not a drop tower person ATM, although Voodoo at SFA HitP beckons as actually open and stuff, so maybe I'll be getting over it.

I did Sunday ... no rest for the wicked. The peak crowd was a large enough for me but by the time I left, a few minutes early because I couldn't take any more, maybe 30 cars in the lot. Warmer than Saturday but I'd spend a while on a ride and then need to get walking and warm up. With this a day trip from Virginia I crammed in 34 coaster rides as well as driving over 500 miles (rough guess 20 miles of coasters on top of that). I went from not hungry after a big breakfast was in Wrightstown, not seeing anything that good to eat as I just did earlier, to too big a hurry, and finally food services closing on me, but it all worked out with pizza dinner at Pasquale's down the road south of the park. Still knocked out. Joined the Skull Mountain cult, well it was OK but it does have minimum restraints and surprises you how early it takes off like the back row of fullsize Arrows. Also enjoyed Dark Knight, weird ride. Harley Quinn was OK, they send it around twice (or did) would have been fine after 1. Joker purple side didn't flip but that was OK with me, this time anyway. Weirdly different, such as dropping rapidly while still sitting upright, short though, I felt like I wanted another ride just to get used to it but took too long. Ka gave a bit of air at the top unlike my previous rides that felt like they were barely making it. Nitro was cold on my first thing front row rides! 4th row reride was too slow then (wouldn't let us sit in the back) but my 2 sunset rides were wonderful.

I see Mind Eraser is becoming Reindeer's Flight .. that'll make all the difference! (actually I kind of like the idea, but still ...)

I like the use of tunnels and the cliff-like rock thing, presumably fake, at 0:40 . Looks fun.

^^-- also the last new coaster they got was Batwing, which while a clone was also gimmicky which gave it strong but very temporary appeal. Imagine if instead they got a very well rounded coaster with high throughput such as a B&M floorless or some of the stuff Vekoma is pitching now. They'd probably be big enough to be getting a another new coaster by now. That's not three mistakes, and the following are not theme parks, but I know of 3 coaster manufacturers third mistakes, the one they showed they didn't learn from the first 2: 1. Vekoma building more than 2 SLCs without fixing their inherent problems (oscillatory behavior). 2. B&M building more than 2 standups before realizing that Togo did it far better. 3. B&M building more than 2 flying coasters and still not realizing they suck.

They're both grueling extended positive Gs, but to a different degree, basically the same but not quite as long now. The first 80 degrees or so of the curve is unchanged. The forces start reducing towards the end of the curve because of slowing down as you rise. Before they held through the whole curve AND continued into the upward rising curvature which has been all but eliminated, the rise is in the curve itself. The airtime on the second hill starts maybe 15 feet of track later than originally but more suddenly, where it returns to the original track, vs. before it started on the end of a piece that was removed.

I'm wondering what it will be like tomorrow night. 1)last night of FF 2)Halloween. 3) Monday. It could go either way!

^^-- I haven't ridden Skyrush yet (your report is making me wonder if I can squeeze it in next weekend but it's ridiculous). However, after re-riding I305 after El Toro I can definitely say the ejector force is higher on The Bull, it's not just the lap bars. But, you're going a LOT faster when ejected from your seat on I305. They're both equally Pure Intamin goodness but neither is a substitute for the other. Currently I'd rather ride El Toro because I've ridden it so much less. OTOH your comment "I can't believe they built it" about I305 is perhaps most true about that ride. It is a pure coaster nut's fantasy come alive, burning through 300' of energy without regard for duration. I vary a lot myself if that fantasy's as good in reality.

I went Friday and Eleanor/Hall Manor was the opposite, the line moved very slow. I got put in the back of a group whose leader was afraid of everything and had 3 girls which got the majority of the attention, so once again it kind of fizzled for me. I don't blame them for sending more people in through when it's crowded, it's not nearly as good but if the wait is ridiculous the experience can't possibly live up to that. I found the mazes had decent but not great sets, enthusiastic but not that effective of actors. Kings Dominion is better, but not so much different that it changes the nature of them, highly random and variable, "performance art". And better when not overcrowded. Elsewhere Friday, crowds were light with it being Friday and rained earlier, some sprinkling later. The other main line was Superman VR -- everything running one train -- not long but slow. OMG so not ready for prime time. I tried it and it ruined my ride. The Velcro holding the washable pads is wearing out and it still doesn't work right yet. I put it on and really grainy but I could look around. The ride started moving and ... nothing changed. View angle changed as the coaster turned but I never left the station. An informal poll showed 2 out 6 or 7 worked. On a later ride, it took 5 minutes to get 2 riders satisfied theirs was working, holding up the entire train, and I'll bet at least one actually didn't work still. It would have been interesting to see but this is not a working system. Further, it's not a good ride to not be able to see what is happening, don't even think about sitting in the back rows if you want to try the VR, I had to rely on memory and bracing myself and it still hurt. Should have just pulled off the headset but was afraid of losing it and I wasn't sure it was broken until I was over the lift. If you find yourself looking at a back door, it crashed.

What nights are FF that full? I wondering if it's even worth it, the park doesn't deal with large crowds well. Wouldn't even consider Saturdays. I did OK on Sundays the last 2 years. I know BGW's first Christmas Towns were very low-key, but people are getting more used to the idea, and Six Flag's version isn't so much clearly emphasizing eating drinking and generally spending with your loved ones over rides.

BGW uses plenty where they use it but KD has 3 scarezones and more near each other ... still, a lot of it was traveling a long way and was still dense. Conditions. The south and east sides of KD were normal; love the fog but was happy for a break after awhile.

Even with I-Box it can't ride any harder than steel framed "wood" coasters. RE: DoinItForTheFame, yeah ironically steel wheels on steel track is one of the more definitive things about wood coasters. But not the definition. Really anything with wood in it... Actually, the first times I rode Roar (new and smooth!) I found it so much different than traditional woodies that I considered a seperate category. And it clicks all the boxes, including, of course, PTCs ;(

I think they have all but said... Coaster boys please forgive us for the Planet Snoopy upgrade for 2017, but still come to the park in 2017 so yo can witness the RMC makeover. lol Nah don't tell them to do that. I'll be there in 2017 and 2018 because they have I305, Flight of Fear, Volcano, Dominator, Drop Tower, Backlot Stunt Coaster and Shenandoah Lumber Company. If this news makes enthusiasts avoid the park in 2017 so I don't have to deal with them then it's officially the greatest announcement in theme park history. It won't though... every single one of the people threatening to not renew their season pass will renew it. A man can dream though...

If they could re-create the old bathrooms, that's pretty scary, or at least gross. They might be exactly the same still.

Actually, the fog hasn't seemed intense this year until Friday. A very light wind from the south made it almost unsafe to drive in the parking lot, and Dominator was pleasantly volumetric.

Yet another thing: announcing a ride can increase attendance temporarily, even though the ride isn't there yet (Case example: I305). Announce it around opening and get more people when the park is slackest.

So far we're 2 months past when they'd normally have announced something for next year. Therefore it could be opening June or later. As July is the most crowded, August might make sense. Announcing it at the normal time would have been misleading. It's also a long time away to predict an exact opening, and yet if it does open late in the year they wouldn't want to delay further. I don't know if it makes marketing sense but it might spread out the opening time crowds to open late in the year. They have additional pushes for pass sales in the spring, at higher prices than now. On the other hand, if not opening until 2018, it would be best to keep it a secret for now, which they do seem to be doing.

I had a wacky idea for Hurler: turn it into another Volcano or similar fake geology, put some holes in it and run a nice coaster through and around it (not launch out of it or load in it). The flatness of the KD property is a weakness as far as how it looks and some possibilities for coasters (good for walking though). I was agitating for them to fix Hurler ever since the trim brake (before which I had no real complaints, but every year expected it to reach unridable even to me) but a lot of that had to do with the idea that something relatively cheap could be done to make it a lot better. I still believe it's just as valid and good yet different a wood coaster style as their others. I just now see they don't need 3 different variations on classic PTC-train'd classic woodies. If reopened, it needs to look different, ride more different. I could see keeping the layout, attacking the roughness with RMC and new trains to the point it could be called "neutering" the ride to turn it into the family coaster they most recently billed it as. As far as major changes, it doesn't *seem* like a good candidate but one thing I can think of is replacing the first curve with something like overbanked 90 degree turn(s) and an inversion or wave turn (simply replacing it with an elevated overbank style turn would call for a smaller curve radius and not match up).

The headliners are Roar and Wild One! Still, the headbangers should profit from the extra padding of winter. As to if KD or SFA is good, it's all to whether you see the glass half-empty or half-full. SFA is a good park by the standards of much of the country or a state fair etc. There are much better of course but they're also more popular and crowded. Still, no one else has Wild One but SFA, no one else has I305 but KD etc. etc. etc. ... SFA and KD both show some good examples of weaknesses of theme parks, I mean they don't build multi million dollar rides with the expectation of putting in new in 5 years, they run them 'til they look old and grey.

As long as SFA doesn't take up KD's ban on hats on rides (which is going to hurt tonight), it will be the best time to ride Apocolypse and Mind Eraser, all bundled up. It's great to see that all coasters within the open part of the park will be open, if they were following the BGW model they wouldn't.

Sounds like a lot to do for one day. However that should make easier to get people to help. The date should allow you to see how others do it first, a lot of them aren't terribly original, although you'll need to choose what to do and not spread it too thin.