mark549

I enjoy that Kong keeps the Medusa line shorter. If I want to ride a suspended coaster I'll go to CGA and ride Flight Deck.

I hope one of the coasters gets renamed Flying Spaghetti Monster: The Ride.

I'm hoping (guessing) that it would be a Rocky Mountain bash given your summer tour.

Zimbabwe dollars. (Hope the graphics are appropriate.)

http://www.toledoblade.com/business/2013/04/06/New-roller-coaster-on-fast-track-for-Sandusky-bound-thrill-seekers.html article in Toledo Blade newspaper

The "Cal Expo" fairgrounds in Sacramento, California has a large solar panel array over the parking lot. It may still be the largest parking lot solar array in the world. No coasters there but there is a water park. http://www.californiasolarcenter.org/solareclips/2002.05/20020528-4.html Putting solar panels over queue lines would be a great way to shade waiting riders and provide power for lift motors (or launch systems). Solar hot water would work very well for amusement parks. Most are not open in the winter. Most don't need much hot water at night. They're not as great for rainy days but summertime in northern latitudes (such as at Alton Towers) works well given the long daylight hours.

I'd love to know what genius thought having an enclosed metal shed in the sun would make a great queue ... and that this design should be copied throughout the 6F chain. It looks like the only "batman" inverted coaster in a 6F park that doesn't do this is Fiesta Texas, but they don't have the silly batman theme (although they have the "goliath" name for a coaster that is the shortest "goliath" coaster with that name). I haven't been on this one but I've been on 3 batmen, including SFMM. I like queues where you can see the track while waiting. Fresh air is nice, too.

I was disappointed by Silver Bullet. It's not just the lack of intensity, the shallowness of the drop, but it felt like the final helix was relatively high G force to make up for the rest of the ride. My guess is the average patron of Knott's is not looking for extreme rides, shown by this year's addition of a mild mouse instead of a gigacoaster, so Silver Bullet seems appropriate for them. I like Raptor, Afterburn and Flight Deck (CGA) more than the Batmen even though they're slightly less intense. Raptor and Flight Deck have better pacing and the first drop sort of has airtime in the back seat, which the Batmen do not have. They feel more like a traditional coaster to me (even though they're inverted and perform non-traditional acrobatics). The biggest B&M disappointments for me are at Dorney Park. I had looked forward to Talon for a decade and when I finally rode it I was underwhelmed. It looks great and is beautifully engineered but was not very exciting despite looking awesome, although perhaps going on Skyrush two days earlier made any ride seem dull. Hydra was even weaker -- the only time there was a real upside-down sensation was the low speed roll out of the station. So much potential ... I'd much rather ride Scream at SFMM. The first drop on Griffon is probably my favorite on any coaster. I hope the air time hill on Gatekeeper is at least as good as Diamondback, loopers with airtime are a great combination. I've been on 30 B&Ms, all in the US. Haven't been on B&Ms in TX, MO, FL, NJ, MA, nor on X-Flight.

I don't eat meat or corn syrup, so my eating options are often limited, especially when traveling in unfamiliar places. www.happycow.net is a great guide for healthy food, both restaurants and food stores. My favorite apres coaster meal is vegetarian stir fry, but I've learned the hard way not to eat too much before going on coasters. (No "protein spills" but riding on a full stomach is not for me.)

My favorite "theme" for a coaster is a trip through a forest. Voyage, Raven, Beast, Apollo's Chariot, Ninja (SFMM), Mind Bender (SF Georgia), Wild eagle. I haven't been on Boulder Dash. Amusement park for me, although I don't go to parks for their beauty and quality food, it's only for the rides. The most ridiculous forest ride on a coaster was probably the Cascade Park Comet - long gone but I rode it once as a kid. Dodging branches was part of the experience. http://rcdb.com/1882.htm Both Outlaw Run and Iron Rattler look fantastic but Outlaw Run looks like it has a much nicer setting -- looking at the Ozarks instead of looking at a shopping mall from the top of the lift hill.

Also posted to the Mitch Hawker wood coaster poll thread: Cedar Point's Mean Streak would be a prime candidate for a Rocky Mountain iron track. Iron Streak could be called "i Streak."

Amazing. The only question: is RMC planning a wooden "dive machine" (like Griffon) or a beyond 90 degree drop? If it's possible they'd be the ones to do it.

Yes. It would use a lot less electricity if they did this. It would be interesting to know how many kilowatt hours each dispatch uses. The Premier ride at SFDK needs the "back and forth" launch to get to the top of the track. My guess is F T would clear the final hill if the braking was not used in the tunnel and the tunnel launch merely accelerated the already moving train to full speed. The marketers could call this a "new ride experience" once the initial hype is over. The backwards launch looks like it will have some serious hang time in the back seat going up the dive loop.

I realize Scream isn't everyone's favorite, but I assume if it's running more than one train it would have very good capacity (if the dispatch intervals are reasonable). Viper and Ninja also look like they have a lot of capacity, at least with multiple trains and good intervals.

Looks like "Smiler" track in the back of the photo of the iRat train.

It's the worst part of waiting in lines at Six Flags. I try to remember to bring ear plugs. I quit watching TV a long time ago.

Can I call the second overbank a "double down Stengel dive?"

Griffon - drama and weightlessness Skyrush - ejector seat runner ups: I-305, Xcelerator, X2, Superman Discovery Kingdom, Millennium Force, Superman SFA (Maryland), Raging Bull (first drop, only) Maverick - favorite beyond 90 degree drop Fahrenheit was great. Dare Devil Dive is too braked. Mystery Mine is like a wild mouse on steroids (lap bars would improve it). Voyage - favorite wood drops (I haven't been on El Toro) runner ups: Tremors, Apocalypse (dropping through the structure), Raven (back seat)

Here's a news story with a video on the testing, with ride footage and soundbites from RMC and the park. http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-silver-dollar-city-launches-test-rides-for-new-wooden-coaster-20130208,0,614623.story?track=rss Silver Dollar City tests new wooden coaster The $10 million roller coaster reaches speeds of 68 miles per hour.

http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/bre91e11k-us-mexico-carnival-lawsuit/ Passengers of stranded ship have little cause to sue --- Looks like the court of public opinion will be more productive than the legal system.

Wild Eagle has a song, too, although Dolly says she won't ride it.

I hope their loudspeakers are in maintenance rehab the day I ride this thing. Superman is already the loudest coaster anywhere (to the point of dangerous pain), this just adds to the problem. Perhaps the gift shop can sell ear plugs themed to comic book characters.

It's eerie by Lake Erie.

It's the only B&M that I think is of Vekoma SLC "quality." Even Iron Wolf was a better ride. Vortex CGA deserves recycling. I'm glad B&M has gotten better at coaster design since they built this. Flight Deck is excellent, one of the best, but I have no desire to ride Vortex again, especially after riding Riddler's and Georgia Scorcher, which are very nice.

It's not a complaint, but space spiral was useful for proving perspective when riding Maxair. I hope Gatekeeper's lift is similarly useful. The photos of Gatekeeper in the snow have me wishing they could run the coaster in the winter.