MrSum1_55

I prefer Manta over Tatsu. While Tatsu may have the slight edge on the layout, the overall experience with the interaction, theme, and operations make me prefer Manta. When I visited, Manta had both stations open with three trains, even though the crowds were light. Good luck ever seeing this on Tatsu.

^Lately, it seems like CP has shown little interest in maintaining that record. They removed two coasters within a short amount of time. I am also perfectly ok with this, as CP has shown a tendency to build more complete attractions, while many SFMM rides in the last few years have seemed like quick grabs for a higher count. (With the exception of the very awesome looking Twisted Colossus) I hope that CP gets a bit more creative with a dive machine, though. What sets CP apart from other parks is that they like to build the largest and most complex of whatever type they buy. Despite Gatekeeper's reception, it is still the largest, longest, and most complex of all the wingriders (though maybe not the best, but I would be beating a dead horse to say that the opinion of enthusiasts is irrelevant). So, I hope that this one would be different enough from the Busch ones, as these are more or less the same rides. While I like Sheikra a bit better due to the views, the inclusion of tunnels, and the intense turnaround after the inversion, I would not call the experiences significantly different. (They are still both very good rides, though). I know that most GP would probably not take much notice if they were similar, but it would be cool if we could see an element that was new to this ride concept, like the heartline roll on the one at Gardaland.

^^The thing about secondary belts is that, for a while, it seemed like they were on the decline. Up until last year, most manufacturers in the US had been designing rides so that they would not need secondary belts. That changed with the NTAG incident. Now, seatbelts are being installed on rides that were never designed to have them, as on RMC or Premier trains. With these, the belts have to be checked before the restraints are lowered. Intamin trains do not have this problem because they design their trains to have the belts installed on them. The best example of this is El Toro, on which the seatbelts have very long tabs designed to hang off the sides of the seat, so they can easily be checked even after the bulky lap bar has been lowered. RMC and Premier trains have solid sideguards on the seats, making a system like this impossible without a complete redesign of the trains.

Pros of dive machines: -Vertical drops give a good hanging sensation in the front, as well as good pops of air in the back. -Very visually pleasing and fun to watch, especially if splashdown elements are added -It is different from everything else at Cedar Point Cons: -Aside from their signature vertical drops, none of them really have impressive or rememberable layouts. -Large track budgets would make it difficult even for a park like Cedar Point to afford a full length dive machine. Assuming this happens, I think that it will be more well-received than Gatekeeper. While dive machines are not my favorite coaster type in the world, one of these would seem like a good fit for Cedar Point, as they have nothing else exactly like this. It will not likely become my favorite attraction at the park, as I will probably continue to stick to Maverick. On another note, does anyone else like the back row on dive machines better than the front? While I may not be as affected by the holding brake as others, what I find to be more terrifying is getting that pop of air in the back row as it slopes down to vertical while being 200 feet up.

This basically looks like S&S's response to Premier's sky loops. I actually think I like this design better, though. It looks far more complex and better paced.

Park metal detectors are no longer uncommon. I have even heard that at Great Adventure they pat you down. Also, Kennywood's metal detectors are so sensitive, they will go off if you have a few coins in your pocket. (Which I was actually glad to see, considering that Kennywood is not in the best area).

I like the Disney seatbelts the best. They lock and cannot be opened during the ride, but also unlock easily when the ride is over due to a push-button system. They are the most idiot-proof devices around. They also lock tightly, so they can serve as the only restraint system on a ride. (This is the only seatbelt on which a drop tower can operate with no restraints but a seatbelt) Intamin seatbelts are probably one of the worst. While Intamin usually does a good job at designing them so they are easy to check once the the restraints are locked, the problem is that they take quite a bit of coordination to unlock. While this is probably the best for saftey, they often slow down loading due to GP having a difficult time figuring out how to unlock them. GCI restraints have a similar problem. The airplane seatbelts have to have the tabs pulled back very far before they release. While I can also see how this is safer, the GP often take a while to figure out exactly how far back they have to move the tabs before they release. In terms of capacity, the absolute worst seatbelts are the ones that cannot be checked after the main restraints are lowered. All the examples I can name of these are on rides at Six Flags parks that were not originally designed to operate with the belts and added them on later. Examples of these include the new Premier coasters at SF parks (S:UF and YOLOcoaster), and also the Deja Vu clones while they were still operating. (The lap seatbelts were a real pain, both to buckle and to check) All of these usually required ops to check the seatbelts before the restraints could even be lowered, sometimes slowing dispatches to a snail's pace.

That would have made far more sense to keep it the original intended way. SFOT was lacking a big multilooper, while SFMM never had a drop tower until very recently. Scream might be the biggest ride that is most often forgotten about. The biggest problem it has is that it just does fit thr lineup of the park very well. In a park packed full of big multiloopers, Scream is often lost in the shadows. But, now we finally have a ride that broke the trend of inversion packed rides, other than Apoc. and the (unintentionally inversion lacking) Green Lantern. For a nearly 5000 foot ride, it is pleasantly surprising that they went with 'only' two inversions.

^^That actually sounds pretty awesome. Fits the YOLO theme really well. I am not sure what it is about Scream, but it seeme to be very hit-or-miss whenever I ride it. Sometimes, it is as smooth as any other B&M, and sometimes it is one of the worst big B&M's out there. It does tend to be worse toward the front, though. I would actually say the same about the roughness on Riddler, only Riddler tends to be worse in the back. However, Scream is just kind of the ride that is just 'there' for me. In fact, I sometimes even forget that the ride is at the park when I am in it. It would be a somewhat impressive ride at almost any other park, but at SFMM it adds little to the lineup and is mostly just tucked away in the corner. I do agree that this corner of the park desperately needs an upgrade, and I am glad it is getting one. (Actually, the entire park less DC Universe could use an upgrade, but at least something is happening). At SFMM, the best thing to do when you hope an area will get in upgrade is hope that a new ride will be built there without YOLO theming.

It is interesting that Disney is trying to be more realistic with their theming, as they did with the entrance plaza of DCA. While I like the more realistic aspects a bit better, does this work as well from a business perspective? While HS is in need of some renovation, many people are also paying to go to the resort to be immersed in the Disney experience. It seems odd that they would prefer something that looks like a realistic street from Hollywood in the 1930's. I wonder what the GP's view on Disney magic vs. realistic is. I prefer realistic, because I am kind of an architecture and history buff. I also go to Disney parks because I enjoy theme parks. Disney is my favorite chain, mainly because they have the best operations and cleanliness, not necessarily for the simple aspect of being able to see things relating to Disney-produced merchandise. However, many visitors do not enjoy all kinds of theme parks the same way I do, and are going more specifically for the Disney experience.

I will say though, I do not think it is the absolute worst coaster in the US. I have had rides on Viper at SFMM and on SLC's that I would call worse than this.

These were my thoughts while riding: First drop: Tame, not too bad Turn at the bottom: slams you to the right a bit Second drop: Actually pretty fun. Gives a good pop of air Third drop: OWOWOWOW What the hell is this doing to me!? Loop: I'M GETTING SHAKEN TO DEATH! Entrance to dive loop: This is actually a pretty cool feature. I hope the dive underneath it is smooth. Exit of the dive loop: PLEASE GET ME OFF! MCBR: Thank you for the break! Following two drops: These are completely uneventful. At least these are not painful Big sweeping turn: Slams your head to the left while entering it, but overall slow. Final airtime hills and helix: A bit rough, but I can live with these. It is really like anything else in Vegas: Disgustingly overpriced, fun in parts but overall not a great experience. I rode once on my trip to Vegas, and it was worth it once for the credit. I rode for half price, beig a Nevada resident, but I still would not pay for it again. But, I am not saying this as a frequent visitor, because I pretty much grew up in Nevada, and I did not ever go to Vegas until I turned 17. I also have not gone since, so if my neck hurt at that age, I would be afraid to ride in another ten years.

Airtime is the sensation of weightlessness generated by moving the opposite direction from the ground. A sideways hill is still airtime. Though, it does annoy me a bit when people confuse airtime with hangtime. I love them both, but they are also very different experiences and deserve separate labeling.

^^^When you are anywhere in the west outside of California, pretty much everything is a regional record.

^^YOLO has the tallest vertical loop in the world, Gatekeeper has the tallest inversion in the world, and Eejanaika is the tallest coaster to have an inversion. So, calling something the 'world's tallest looping coaster' can actually refer to three different coasters (at least to the GP who call all inversions 'loops')

Dear state department of transportation: It is really nice of you to add heaters underneath the new intersection you put in the brand new underpass, so ice does not accumulate beneath to cause accidents. However, the road makes a sharp decrease in elevation right before reaching this intersection. And, you failed to add any such technologies to this bit. I really wished you took this design flaw into account after I lost traction trying to gently stop at your new stoplight, sliding in to the intersection and barely making it out the other end without crashing. It does not surprise me that the Nevada Department of Transportation pulls off massive flaws like this-they already designed the massive failure of the Galena Creek Bridge, costing taxpayers insane amounts of money to fix.

^As someone who has lived in both SoCal and NorCal, I can say that the drops with the most notoriety in each area are Goliath and Medusa. I disagree with both of these, as I think that the most intense drops in SoCal are those of Xcelerator and X2, while the most intense drop in NorCal is the vertical twist on Superman. I am also pretty sure that most people on this forum would generally agree with my preferences over the GP's consensus. It seems that the GP on the west coast tend to prefer longer drops, even if they do not produce much airtime. Fittingly, the first drops on Goliath and Medusa produce airtime only at the very top, with little on the way down. It seems that Californians prefer size and length over power. Yet, that could change. Since Ghostrider, the closest thing CA has gotten to an ejector machine is probably Manta. This is a ride with descent airtime throughout the course, and it seems to be well-liked by people on all spectrums (thrill seeking, or not) A more thrilling coaster recently added to CA is Gold Striker. It has plenty of GCI airtime, which I would be reluctant to call ejector air. (While it is quick and somewhat abrupt, it just does not compare to airtime delivered by Intamin or RMC). To me, GCI's lack quality of airtime, but many of their designs make up for this in quantity. Gold Striker is certainly one of them. I love this ride, and many of the GP seem to love it too. The GP seem to enjoy the airtime on this ride quite a bit, but most would still prefer a looping coaster like Medusa, while I still rank Gold Striker as my favorite California coaster. I can conclude that people do enjoy airtime. However, longer duration drops and large inversions still seem to be more popular than G forces. Still, rides without inversions like Xcelerator and Goliath are very popular among the GP. Taking all this in, my prediction is that TC will end up being a general hit with the GP, but I do not think it will overtake rides like X2 as the most favored ride in the park. Once the type of it dies down among the GP, they will probably go back to running to X2 again. I am almost certain that enthusiasts will see this as the best ride in the park. The GP will like it too, but I do not think they will to the same extent. -An ex-Californian

If anything, B&M is more likely to be on its slow way out of the charts. It used to be that B&M was the company of innovation. They were the first to introduce the inverted coaster, the floorless coaster, and the dive coaster. (Two of these have yet to be made by any other company the way they did them). But now, it seems that B&M is stuck in the mid 2000's, with very little innovation since. Everything new they have tried since then has been something that was already introduced by another company. (Wingriders, soft restraints, etc...) While B&M has been stuck where they were, other companies have really stepped it up. While Intamin has been their competitor for the last decade, we are starting to see other companies like RMC, Gerstlauer, and Mack do amazing things. Gerstlauer will be new to the hyper market, so we will see how they do. Mack has made some rides that have the potential to rank very high, like Aplina Blitz. I expect to see more great coasters from this company within the next five years. Also, I think that Premier has the potential to be one of the next top companies, but they just have not been able to fulfill that yet. (All of their recent designs have been short, compact coasters, and they have not really had a chance to show us what they can do with a larger footprint and bigger budget). If B&M stays where they are for the next ten years, it would not surprise me if the top 10 became a competition between Intamin, RMC, Gerstlauer, Mack, Premier, or whatever the next big new company will be. I applaud B&M from a business perspective. They did a great job of getting the designs right and sticking to them. For years to come, we will see plenty of fun, smooth rides from them, but we might never see another B&M in the top ten.

Great Adventure is very hit-or-miss with ride operations. ON a few of their top tier rides (El Toro, Nitro, Kingda Ka) they are amazing. Most other rides are typical Six Flags speed. (Especially Superman. Are 4-minute dispatches seriously the best they can do?

At least this park tries to do something when the weather does not go their way. I will defend them on certain ride closures, especially when they offer compensation. But, what about early park closures? Are these really necessary? Do they make anyone safer, or are they a business tactic to deal with low profits from low crowds?

I think that it will be an Aquatrax! Sometimes, the oddest combinations work. Even if the colors do not mix, I would rather a park try to be colorful than pick drab colors.

This seems to be a pattern with GCI. Their coasters hold up very well for a while, but once they do get bad, they never go back. While Gwazi was probably the worst GCI, Roar West and Wildcat are not much better. Even Apocalypse has already begun to show some age. I think that the other GCI's that are as bad are probably here to stay, though.

It would be amazing if Gwazi got the RMC treatment. However, I do not exactly see that happening in this park. Though, the Busch/Seaworld chain has been full of surprised the past few years. For nearly two decades, this park chain bought almost all their big coasters from B&M. Excluding Steel Eel, every coaster that was built in the 90's and 00's in one of their parks is either a B&M, or a coaster type that B&M does not make (water coasters, wood coasters, etc.) Then, between 2010 and 2012, the chain bought three different launch coasters from three different companies. They further surprised us with the construction of a Premier Skyloop. So, maybe they could surprise us again with an RMC Gwazi?

If TC is as good as I am expecting it to be, then I would easily trade half the other coasters in the park for it. If they opened TC while also closing X2, Tatsu, Goliath, and YOLO, I would still call it an oler all improvement on the park's lineup.

^^ I can see how some people can think that criticism is overdone. But to say that you would rather hang out with early teens who think their cool because of their baggy clothes and improperly placed hats whose dreams are drinking and having hookups is just too extreme. I really hope that post was sarcastic. Coaster enthusiasts are not a high group of social standing, but at least we are not YOLO people.