CoasterStreak

They were stuck up there for a bit. Valravn was down for a while due to the wind alarm. It finally opened back up, cycled like 5 to 6 trains, then briefly stopped because of the wind again.

Block break testing at its finest. Two trains at the top of the lift area, one on the midcourse break. Won't get to see this too often.

I started my CoasterMania morning by waking up to a power outage in the East Wing of Hotel Breakers. So that was an interesting start to the day. Registration, like everyone has been saying, was a hot mess. Instead of standing in somewhat clear lines, it was just a mass mob of people standing in front of the admissions windows. My only other major issue was trying to figure out the shuttle situation from the hotel. Everybody we asked at the hotel was unaware of what CoasterMania was, and had no information on the shuttle to the front of the park for check in. Otherwise, it was a great event as usual. And I really appreciate the Millennium crew staying open late for us to enjoy ERT after the high winds closed Dragster. We had the Millennium crew up early for morning ERT and kept them out late. So I really am grateful for that.

I would say the crowd spills over more into Saturday, if anything. You may get some there Thursday evening, but you're more likely to get people to stay Friday night into Saturday.

CoasterMania is great, and the park always treats us fantastically! The biggest drawback, like others have mentioned, is that it is too overcrowded. The last time I went, I actually waited in line longer for some of the morning ERT coasters than I did during the regular part of the day. I appreciate that they are trying to make it available to everyone by not charging, and I'm glad they are requiring registration now. But at some point, it becomes counter-productive to having "exclusive" ride time.

Slight change of topic, but I was at the park this past Thursday (the 12th) and Rhino Rally was open. The ride was incredibly short at only about 5 minutes including a couple stops for crossing animals. Additionally, the train ride attendant was telling people to make sure they took a ride on it because it has only reopened for a very limited time.

It's interesting to see that the old Crypt building isn't on the map anymore. I know it's closed, but it was on last year's map even though it was closed then too.

New webcam angle. They moved the close-up view of Banshee and turned it to face The Bat. It's a good look at the progress being made on it. I'm really liking the orange and the dark gray.

I hadn't noticed due to the ridiculous amount of snow we've had over the last month.

Looks like the old red and white concrete circle in the center of Action Zone was removed (far left of photo). I wonder if they are just going to refill it with new concrete, or if they have other plans to spruce up that area a bit.

So I just got back from a winter tour of Kings Island and the Banshee construction site. It was a mess with all the snow and ice, but it provided some great photos. Anyways, there was one photo in particular I wanted to share. I know there has been a lot of discussion about clearance in a few areas, and that Don has mentioned no digging is planned. Today, I noticed they had a reach envelope attached to the track between the dive loop and loop. It wasn't quite at it's lowest point, but it was no more than a foot vertically from it. In the photo, the snow is somewhere between 3-6 inches deep. Crappy cell phone picture. Still good perspective though.

The first time I went, it was only like their 15th day in operation, and we waited for an hour to get food. I was not happy then. I went again in July, and decided to give it another try. That time it only took 10 minutes to get my food. I'm not sure what the difference was, other than it was later in the season.

It's a little hard to tell, but they are doing work on the station. January 3rd

I don't feel like they are very similar at all. The only similarity is the fact your feet dangle. Having nothing above or below you makes it feel much more open around you. From the inverts I've ridden, they seem to be more on the intense side comparatively to a wing-rider. Like somebody previously mentioned, a wing-rider is a really good experience. One big thing I noticed was the difference of how the forces affected you depending on which side you were on, plus whatever part of the element you were in. For me, they both have a place in the industry. They each have their own things that make them unique enough to both be there.

Here's mine! Finally got to add the a few to my count this year. --Generator: Jordan's Ballot Helper 2012 (wood)-- --Ballot: 1a5f1ee0e24-- --email removed------ LOCATION FOLLOWS THIS LINE (LEAVE THIS LINE AS IS) ~"Ohio, United States" NAME FOLLOWS THIS LINE (LEAVE THIS LINE AS IS IN Ballot) ~"Casey L." RANK THE FOLLOWING RIDING SENSATIONS <-LEAVE THIS LINE AS IS Floating Airtime___________________________,y,y,1 Abrupt Airtime_____________________________,y,y,2 Positive G's/Loops_________________________,y,y,3 Sensation of Speed_________________________,y,y,4 Out of Control Feeling/Directional Changes_,y,y,5 Lateral Forces_____________________________,y,y,6 COASTER NAME PARK LOC <--Please leave this El Toro SFGAd NJ,y,n,1 Thunderhead Dollywood TN,y,y,2 Lightning Racer - L Hersheypark PA,y,n,3 Lightning Racer - T Hersheypark PA,y,n,4 The Voyage Holiday World IN,y,y,5 Raven Holiday World IN,y,y,6 The Legend Holiday World IN,y,y,7 Wildcat Hersheypark PA,y,n,8 The Beast Kings Island OH,y,y,9 Blue Streak Cedar Point OH,y,n,10 Racer Kings Island OH,y,y,11 Mean Streak Cedar Point OH,y,n,12 Comet Hersheypark PA,y,n,13 Woodstock Express Kings Island OH,y,y,14 Rolling Thunder SFGAd NJ,y,n,15 Big Dipper (SBNO) Geauga Lake OH,y,n,16 Sea Dragon Jungle Jacks Landing OH,y,n,17 Son of Beast (SBNO) Kings Island OH,y,n,18