MrSum1_55

^Yes. Sorry about that :/ If anyone is having issues with objdata files, let me know so I can post those.

SCR33.BMPSCR32.BMPSCR31.BMPSCR30.BMPSCR29.BMPSCR28.BMPSCR27.BMPSCR26.BMPSCR25.BMP Download here: Magic Island Update #1

^^Tatsu for the track layout, Manta for the theming and operations.

I believe it was stated that it would have to dispatch every 1:10. This is why I am not too optimistic for this being able to work, because that is over 1,200 pph. By comparison, it is considered to be a good day if X2 pulls 650 pph. (And X2 is usually one of their best rides in terms of efficiency) Considering that Goliath is getting 600-700 pph with presumably the same trains and a short length, I would be impressed if a Six Flags park (besides Great Adventure) managed to operate a coaster at over 1,200 pph. It is sad that I regularly see Xcelerator run more efficiently with one train than most Six Flags rides can with multiple trains.

I would rank them: 1. Lightning Run-Not only are people saying it is a top ten ride, but it is also a great sign of hope for a park that was near closing (kind of the effect Gold Striker had on the other side of the country) 2. Medusa-This looks like one of RMC's best creations, and it is even more impressive to see something like this be built in a less economically-advanced country with few coasters. 3. Helix- Just an amazing launch coaster that has changed the face of Liseberg. When I thought of Liseberg, I used to think of Balder first. Now, I think of both Balder and Helix when I hear a mention of that park. This 1-2 punch is one that I have to try out some day. Comments on other rides: Goliath-Looks great, but it is a bit short, and I have heard that it is RMC's weakest creations. I would have expected a bit more from a park as large as SFGAm. Banshee-A good return to form for B&M, and seemed like the perfect addition for a park lacking a modern, high capacity looping coaster (Flight of Fear is starting to get pretty dated, and Firehawk has some capacity issues) El Loco-(The only one on the list I have actually ridden)-A strange but good coaster. It has plenty of hang time, and it is very refreshing to see a new coaster in a normally coaster starved area of the country. Seven Dwarves-Not too thrilling, but it is Disney, so I guarantee that the theming is awesome. Roarosaurus-These family wood coasters look like a lot of fun, and I would love to see more parks try these out.

^If you base how highly the community thinks of a coaster based on how high the GTA ranks it, then I would be putting A LOT of coasters in this thread. On a more serious note, the coaster type I find to be overrated is dive machines. The whole holding brake thing just never really did it for me, and all dive machines have very basic layouts after the one gimmick is over. Although it is suspenseful to be held that high in the air, the drop fails to startle due to the back of the train still being almost on flat track, causing a slow initial acceleration into the drop. Also, the holding brake seems to kill the initial airtime you would get while entering the drop, leading to the tamest possible vertical drop you can have. Dive machines actually scare me a lot more when I ride them in the back row. When the coaster drops, the back row gives you a much better whip down the drop. I just find getting ejected from my seat at 200 feet in the air to be far more exhilarating than waiting to gracefully float down.

In terms of the ones I have been to, which are SFGAdv and the two in California, SFGAdv easily takes that prize. Although SFDK arguably has a more well-rounded attraction selection, Great Adventure has operations that blow the other parks out of the water. While SFGAdv has held up its operations well, it does not seem like many of SF's other large parks have done the same. Everyone used to say that SFOT and SFGAm were the best parks in the chain, but that has changed quite a bit in the past few years. This is why I usually prefer to stic with Cedar Fair* *Not that Cedar Fair is that great, either. But, that chain is the best option when you do not have a Busch, Herchend, Universal, or Disney park nearby. So, basically Cedar Fair is worse than everything but Six Flags.

Six Flags parks are usually pretty liberal with rerides. Cedar Fair parks are very hit-or-miss. At Knott's and Kings Dominion they are pretty cool, but at CGA they have a strict one-reride policy. (You have to exit the station and walk around after two rides in a row) Busch parks also enforce this policy. Dorney and Herchend have a no-reride policy, which was quite annoying when I was at Dorney; when I returned to the station on Thunderhawk, there was literally nobody else in line, and the ops refused to allow rerides. Same with Steel Force. They were running three trains with less than ten people boarding on each cycle, and they still refused rerides. Carowinds had the weirdest policy I have ever seen, though. They had a ten-ride limit. It was empty when I was there, so they were requiring that people exit the station after riding ten times in a row. I had no problem with this policy, as I was happy enough to be able to get ten rides on Afterburn, anyway. I just thought it was weird.

^Actually, YOLOcoaster was marketed with airtime. They were selling the fact that you get airtime on the last hill. Although their actual advertising campaign should have been: "There is no actual airtime over the top of this hill. And don't get excited for the drop, either; it has brakes on it." I will say, though, that TC may be the best thing to happen to this park in decades. Even if the dueling does not work, this will easily be the best coaster in the park. When this opens, I am only going to ride this all day no matter how long the line is, and I will not be riding anything else.

1. A lift hill already counts as a block. So, there really is a block in the middle of the coaster, it is just in the form of a second lift hill. (The Beast uses a system like this, also) 2. If there were an extra block, there is no way they would run more trains to make it worth having. This makes me wonder why so many Six Flags coasters even have MCBR's, considering that they have no practical uses with the amount of trains they run.

I am still having issues wrapping my mind around how you could say TC relies too much on a single gimmick. Even if they removed the high five on it and made it so it did not race, it would still be the best coaster on the west coast, and it would still most likely rank as a top 15 steel coaster.

I completely disagree with the high five on Colossus. It is an Alan Schilke design, so you know that it is going to be a great ride the whole way through. And, SFMM has not even been marketing the high five as the main element. The main element of the ride they seem to be selling seems to be the dueling, followed by the length of the ride, followed by the amount of airtime, and finally followed by the high five. And, the second and third ones are not lame gimmicks at all. No ride with this many selling points can be classified as a one trick pony. In terms of other RMC creations, you could argue that Outlaw Run, IRat or Goliath are a bit too short. Yes, it would be great if these coasters were longer, especially the last two. However, the general consensus seems to be that Goliath is RMC's weakest creation, yet many people are still saying that it is a top-10 worthy coaster. I picture RMC's designs as having a similar vibe to Phantom's Revenge, being that they are big, short, and kick ass until the very end. However, if you want to talk other coasters at SFMM, then I am right there with you, especially on YOLO. It has three launches, the world's tallest loop, and a top hat over the loop. If someone had told me that a coaster had all these features without describing the layout to me, I would picture it as being Cheetah Hunt on a massive amount of steroids. But, the actual design is not even close to this. The most impressive sounding features are really the only features on the ride. This is not even to mention the fact that they took a good looking area and made it look hideous. Also, the concept of gimmicks is not really that new of a thing. Top Thrill Dragster, the coaster that I consider to be the original one trick pony, is more than a decade old now.

So, even in California, I still have to wait in line for a drop tower attached to another Intamin coaster and worry about being bitten by a painful insect? I thought they only worried about this in Australia. However, both situations are still better than being in New Jersey.

An Intamin wood coaster, a sprawling Mack launch coaster, an Intamin accelerator, a long coaster from Anton, a tall freefall tower, excellent theming, excellent location on a hill in a nice city, and attractive ride ops. The only other thing I could ask for is a classic 20's era wood coaster. Other the that, Liseberg may be the world's most perfect park.

You have ever waited for the front row not to get a more thrilling ride, but to get a better look at the machanisms of the ride. (Lift hills, LIM's, brakes, etc...)

Usually, I prefer hands down, but not holding on. Mainly, because I am too lazy to raise my hands, and I would rather just sit back and enjoy a ride instead of straining my muscles to hold my hands up on a high positive G coaster. While going over airtime hills, I am hands up all the way, but on most other elements I simply prefer to rest my hands on my knees.

^^Well, okay, you do have a point there. I would actually extend that statement to almost all SF parks at this point, especially the two in California.

I seriously do not understand the mentality of people who oppose RMC treatments so much. RMC creations are superior in almost every way to the original designs they replace. Why would anyone oppose this just for the sake of the coaster no longer having wood tracks? Who honestly rides any RMC creation, and says they would still rather have Roar at SFDK than one of these? I would only oppose an RMC renovation on a select few coasters; those that hold much historical significance. If a coaster like Thinderbolt were to be modified, I wound not hesitate to oppose that. But when people are saying that rides like Colossus, Cyclone, or even The Beast are too classic, that is a position I cannot take.

^^^Better than nothing! Actually, that seems too high class for SFMM. They will probably just duct tape some wooden poles to the sides, and cover them with trash bags.

I have not ridden Desperado yet, but I did also find NYNY to not be as bad as people say. I would take that over Viper at SFMM or an SLC any day. I was even able to ride NYNY with my hands in the air during the first and last few hills without feeling much pain. My suggestions to ride defensively are to lock the shoulder pads down really tight, lean your head forward the whole ride, and lean your neck into every turn. (On a left turn, press your neck to the right, and opposite for right turns). I have only ridden one time, but I actually enjoyed the ride. However, I would still rather ride a coaster like El Loco, in which I do not have to worry about defensive riding and more easily enjoy the ride.

^^There is actually a mobius coaster design out there that is popular in Europe that uses the double station arrangement. One of them is at Mirabilandia. In order to speed up operations on this, what they should do is have a dual load station Tatsu style, allowing them to load two trains simultaneously, so one is always ready. However, even if they built that, they probably would not use it.

I would actually say that Mantis was no less popular than Riddler's. Mantis would usually run two trains without stacking and get 45 minute waits. I have seen Riddler get waits of over an hour, but it does balance out, considering that the dispatches at SFMM usually take twice as long. (About 3 min)

Normally, I wouldn't expect Magic Mountain to be the type of park that invests in ride repairs, but then again, you do have the factor that they like to say they add new attractions nearly every year. I could actually see them adding the floorless trains to Riddler's, painting it different colors, and marketing it as a new attraction.

The X2 policy is ridiculous. Essentially, you buy a $15 cup in order to be able to buy soda for the same price that it is outside the park for one season, and then they force you to pay even more for a locker when you want to ride a ride, and refuse to let you leave it in the station. Such is life in a Six Flags park. TC is the only reason why I have not given up on SFMM entirely.

Twisted Colossus has not even been built yet, and the fire effects already work better than the ones on X2.