ajfelice

The giant flume would be like Pittsburg Plunge. Thunder River is here for a long long time, so the giant flume would put us at two water rides. The drop will be about 70ft. The Inn at Presque Isle will be completely be demolished by the end if May. Basically, the land of the motel makes up for the parking we are losing by expanding the water park.

The Travel Channel special did a very good job of pointing out and emphasizing the select improvements they made to give the impression they changed the feel of the entire park. For example, Devil's Den has a pretty neat facade, the NAD train on Blue Streak got a much needed uphlostery replacement, and the buildings in the front entrance area got a touch up. Other things done by the reality show producers have been modified. For example, the Hostile Hostel is no longer called by that name, and is pretty much just a part of the Halloween event. The midway games area has been repainted again to a less flashy tone. And despite the small size of CLP, a few days of work could not put a major dent into the overall feel of the park. It helped in a few spots, but the lasting effect of the improvements is very debatable.

Ravine Flyer II has been aging just fine and runs just about as it did in 2008. 2012 was the only year it showed some signs of roughness, but re-tracking projects in the past three off-seasons have made that a distant memory. Most of our re-tracking can be attributed to moisture and weathering as opposed to a beat-down by the trains. The traditional wood track coaster needs regular annual maintenance after 5 seasons which was exactly the case for RFII. PTCs will be the train of choice for the time being because they are incredibly durable and easy to maintain, but the next set of trains if/when they are needed will not for sure be PTCs. The Maurer Sky-Loop is a real rumor that had some ground, but do not hold your breath as the idea has been pretty much pushed to the bottom of the pile. Besides, as of the summer of 2014 Ravine Flyer II still had a mortgage (as I call it) so it wouldn't be happening soon anyways.

In response to the posts above about the location of the picture taken, it was somewhat near Rainbow Gardens. The perspective is from about the furthest northwest corner of the property at the top of the slope. So between the point where the picture was taken and Rainbow Gardens, there is the employee parking area, the maintenance building, and West Lakeview Picnic Shelter. I can't speak to the future of Rainbow Gardens at this time, but it still gets periodic use through several Fall weekends and most weekends from mid-January through April for dances, gun raffles, casino nights, art shows, charity events, and model train shows. There are a few company outings that use Rainbow Gardens as their meal place during the summer and the ballroom does serve as the park's catering headquarters. No doubt the building is dated, but it gets a fair amount of use based on the demand for it. Some more authorized food for thought in terms of future attractions besides the proposed coaster is a giant flume that will use the terrain on the hillside and have a stunning drop facing Lake Erie. It should be a neat placement for this kind of ride that has been pretty commonplace in parks.

The identification and relevancy question is something that makes me chuckle in terms of the licensed themes within parks. I would agree that Looney Tunes still does hold some value as a theme for kids areas as the characters are still making appearances in entertainment directed to today's younger demographic. Nowhere near as relevant as the current shows on a variety of children's networks or some of the recent popular children's movies, but still something they know. For both children's areas and the rest of the park, I believe companies need to be careful with these licenses. I'm sure there is a lot of market research that goes into determining the value of licensing "legacy brands" in parks, but I would not be surprised if Looney Tunes and even Peanuts have lost their appeal to children in the not so far off future. Going off on a slight tangent, I laugh each time a bunch of adults whine and moan for the return of themed areas like Hanna-Barbera in the former Paramount Parks. Let's face it, the vast majority of those characters have long since faded into the category of nostalgia for adults. Children today really have no clue who they are which is arguably not a bad thing, but just a sign of what is relevant today versus decades past. No hate to any of the characters/brands I mentioned, but I understand that certain ones are not as relevant or popular to today's younger audiences.

Well this really isn't a "rumor" as the Park President is directly saying it, but I wanted to throw some fuel into the speculation fire. At 3:50 in the video, it appears that once the bulk of the Water World expansion/overhaul is complete, a new roller coaster is in the works a few years down the road. This video gives you just enough information to say its a coaster, but vague enough for our imaginations to run wild. Also, you get a great overview on the most ambitious off-season in park history. As for location of the bulk of future ride additions, recent construction has opened up a view of the Lakefront Property which has been untouched since the Great Depression. Behold the future of Waldameer.

Touche.

End of the Night Ritual as a Guest: Ending with the ride I had the most "fun" on. Whether that means it was the best ride experience or a ride that is run by a great group of operators. End of the Night Ritual as a Park Employee: After taking a tongue lashing from guests once the queue is closed, one of my favorite things to do after a day my operators performed exceptionally well on Ravine Flyer II is letting them hop in the final train to take the last night ride. I'll take the helm at controls and make sure the lift lights and station flood lights are out to ensure an extra dark ride. A very rewarding time of the day to celebrate a job well-done by the team, and the pure excitement and terror of guests as I dim the lights is a priceless memory.

Well there is an approximately 30ft surplus since the building will be 80ft and the maximum ride height is roughly 50ft, so nothing too tight. I'm sure everything is for good reason. As to the pace of construction, the building itself is obviously going to be the most tedious. The coaster should be able to be assembled in a couple months time, or less, based on what I can recall from an outdoor installation of the same coaster model back in 2004. "Slow" wouldn't be a fair description of the construction progress as there is a lot going on between the foundation that needs to support a coaster as well as an 80ft building.

I was one of the two standing there that you startled. You had me legitimately worried for a few seconds. Yes, great icebreaker!

Everyone, go lick Riddler's Revenge, NOW! But in all seriousness, a little paint goes a long way in the intangible perception of the park by guests. As well-known figure known for growing parks stated very well during a session at IAAPA, paint is cheap with a high return on investment. Guests look at a facility and judge it based on the overall appearance more than the ride experiences themselves in many cases. Having a spruced up facility with fresh paint and maintained structures can fool guest into thinking that things are like new. Personally, walking up to any attraction that appears poorly cosmetically maintained even gives the trained eye of myself the expectation of a poor ride experience. For many others, faded/chipped paint or surface rust also gives an unsafe perception when actually mechanics are as sound as when the ride was new. Again, paint is cheap and has a high ROI. I'm not a stickler for slightly faded or weathered attractions as I understand that painting is not budgeted at the top of priorities with the necessary mechanical needs. I also understand that time and resources are very limited to keep every attraction appearing "like new." But looking at something like Scream is just sad. I like to advocate for colors that fade well on coasters. A great example is Maverick. It has faded from the freshness of the inaugural season, but an overall perspective of the coaster is still very cosmetically appealing as it is a tone of red that doesn't turn pink too fast.

Speaking of that Thunderbird car at IAAPA, thanks again for stopping a couple of us Show Ambassadors dead in our tracks as we were suspiciously exploring. The beauty of that car was causing our minds to run wild of a possible plot to lift that thing off the floor to keep for ourselves. Keep up the great work! Can't wait to make it down to Santa Claus, Indiana again!

Raspberry Coke. A delicious guilty pleasure in life.

A massive Water World expansion for Waldameer. A 20,000+ square foot wave pool as well as new concession area and a new locker rental area. This is only Phase 1 of a multi-year expansion that will feature a new children's area and more adult water slides in years to come. http://waldameer.com/attractions_new.asp

Neither you or I know exactly what it takes to rectify this particular situation, but I can guarantee that no one who works in maintenance, operations, or guest services is content with just letting the train sit if it could be easily be reset and operations continued within the same day. There are likely a variety of factors at work as to why a full day of downtime occurs. Perhaps it takes heavy equipment to move the train in which they can't take equipment through the midway during operating hours? Maybe solving the issue requires hours of work from a computer room that is completely out of site from guests? I don't know exactly how to fix it and neither do you, but I believe that the best effort is put forward by professionally trained people, and I give Six Flags New England the benefit of the doubt until there is obvious evidence to believe otherwise.

Perfectly Stated. Numbers are cool and fascinating when it comes to attractions, but correcting someone without prompting when they are just there to have a good time takes away from the true "fun" of the passion. 99% of us are guilty of this to some degree at some point in our hobby/passion, and thankfully most realize sooner rather than later how unnecessary it is to correct silly details said by others who do not take the time and effort to learn about attractions. We all laugh and chuckle inside when something outlandish is said, but is that minor numerical/factual error going to ruin the ride or industry? I sure hope not, or we are all in trouble.

2014 was full of surprises in coaster riding. I would say the most surprising coaster experiences of the season were at Six Flags New England. Pleasant Surprise: Cyclone. There is a lot of hate out there about a ride that is rough, neutered, and a shell of it's "former" self. Nothing of the sort. I had zero clue about the notorious first drop which was one of the scariest moments on a coaster in a long time. Actually, the unique drop/turn/second drop sequence was pretty cool. The rest of the ride's odd pacing and interesting layout actually made it an unforgettable coaster experience. The abundance of topper track also kept this coaster very smooth. By no means an elite coaster, but a very fun one to say the least. I can't wait to someday experience the new version, Wicked Cyclone, but I'm glad I got the chance for one of the oddest traditional woodies out there. Unpleasant Surprise: Goliath. Besides Bizarro, I was most excited to finally get the chance to experience a giant inverted boomerang after reading many positive reviews. No doubt this coaster was intense and out of control as I expected, but it sure did hurt which I didn't expect so much. Not in a headbanging way, but it hurt in a violent bouncing and jarring of the spine. It felt as if rocks were welded to the track it was so rough. I never thought I'd say this, but I really need to try out a version with a Vekoma train.

I look at this issue from several angles. Originally back in the traumatic days of social paranoia of high school I was very reserved about this hobby to everyone except my best friend who shared the same interest. Through college I became more open about the fact that my hobby is travelling to parks and reading up on attractions in my spare time instead of video games or drugs. While I might be open to most saying that my hobby is parks and roller coasters, I tone down the enthusiast part of my personality around others who aren't as interested unless I feel prompted to share information. I'm not going to constantly push the subject in which they have little interest into my interactions with them and bore them or annoy them. Basically, I'll acknowledge my hobby, but I will not dwell on it. Through my work experiences and now career in this industry, I found that I have to keep the enthusiast side out of my business life. Quite frankly, there are several negative stereotypes about the enthusiast community out there. Not many managers or employees in a park are going to want to frequently hear input about the park from a self-described enthusiast due a history of a few people thinking their enthusiasm makes them experts on how to run a business. No doubt that I have used my travels to parks and experience with enthusiast events in shaping how I make decisions at work, but I refrain from openly attributing it to me being an "enthusiast." I have evolved from hiding the hobby from almost everyone to acknowledging it when the time is appropriate. I have no shame in admitting that I am a park and roller coaster enthusiast, but make sure that it does not negatively affect my interactions with non-enthusiasts whether they are family, friends, or coworkers.

B&M: Diamondback Intamin: El Toro

Zamperla Disk'Os usually do not have their ride vehicle completely removed. However, usually the wheels are removed and repaired/replaced in which the rest of the vehicle's structure is shimmed for support during the off-season. So it might appear that most of Pipe Scream has been simply shrink wrapped, but in reality many components have likely been removed from the main body of the ride vehicle for inspection, repairs, or replacement.

No matter what company buys Darien Lake, the park isn't going to ever expand at the rate of larger parks you mentioned. Expanding rapidly and recklessly or embracing a concept of "if you build it, they will come" would put Darien Lake out of business. Too many people accuse ownership/management companies of neglect when in fact they are expanding at the rate that is sustainable for the particular scale of a park. We can argue that Darien Lake might have received less than other parks of it's size over the past decade, but you need to have a stable management group to actually develop plans and see them through. However, enough with this notion that these smaller/medium-sized parks are an afterthought or "neglected" by their respective ownership/management groups.

If Cedar Point wanted to easily enhance the guest experience through better service provided by Team Members, providing housing that is safe, clean, and comfortable would help. I could never be employed in this company in a position that has any influence or oversight into housing and walk through Commons or Cedars seeing the conditions those employees live in for the entire summer. There is no supervision or rules enforced past the entrance gate. Once you are in the complex, anything is possible. Besides the unsanitary restrooms, crumbling walls/ceilings, new pungent smells each day, and back puncturing mattresses, employees are forced to live between paper thin walls that can barely muffle the loud music into odd hours of the night, drunks running the hallways, or even tune out normal conversation in the hallway. Quite honestly, Commons is only a few bars away from being a prison. Of course, experiencing this requires you to make it to your room safely as there is very little lighting outside of the buildings which provides a nice environment for fighting or other related behaviors. I have seen some very dated college dorms from the 1920s, but they are livable because they are reasonably maintained and have rules enforced on a 24 hour basis. Cedar Point could take a few tips. Just throwing in my two cents. I couldn't let this subject pass without inserting my opinion. Edit: this is based from 2013 and 2014 experience.

This B&M rattle trend of discussion has gone too far. Nylon/polyurethane wheels as they wear down, get warm, cool off, or sit in one place for a long time are going to affect the smoothness of a ride. An empty versus full train is also going to affect smoothness. There are a variety of factors at work. Some the park can control, some the park can't. A great example of this is GateKeeper. A warm mid-season day, where the trains are full and wheels are running constantly with daily operation, will give way to glass smooth rides in any seat. You ride in a half-full train on a chilly Friday night during HalloWeekends after GK sat most of the week with few cycles since last Sunday, and you will feel the difference. Some B&Ms, like stand-ups run on the rougher side, but in general you can rely on 95% of them or more to give a comfortable ride. Also, to not expect some small vibrations when a huge amount of different forces are exerted on the train is pretty ignorant. Unless you have all brand new wheels in perfect weather, expect to feel some personality to each coaster from every manufacturer.

GateKeeper at Cedar Point on 11/2/14, but that's about to change during IAAPA week in Orlando!

This isn't a situation at a particular ride or attraction, but this "incident" was perhaps the most irritating thing a park has ever done that has affected me. First of all, I get that Kennywood has an asinine policy of closing the park early when a "storm" passes through. Looking at the forecast for a large group outing of 30 people or more, we all understood that there would be light rain in the morning and it would pass by 1:00 or 2:00pm. We arrive to the park and it is raining lightly with no torrential downpours and no thunder or lightning. While not jammed packed, Kennywood had at least 80% if its rides operating and most were running at capacity and had short lines, so it wasn't a dead day by any means as it was mid-July. As the first couple hours of the day pass, the weather clears up as scheduled and the park was buzzing. Almost as the sun starts to shine, Kennywood announces that they will be closing at 2:00pm due to inclement weather. Several of their more attentive ride operators told us that the inclement weather was approaching and the closure serves as a precaution. Okay, fine if this is true. The handy dandy smartphone told otherwise through a variety of weather sources that all indicated that the rain has passed with only minimal chances for the evening. So as the sun is coming out, Kennywood is closing for the day at 2:00pm. Putting the amount of people in the park into perspective, we decided to have a parking lot party due to the gridlock traffic leaving the park as the sun continued to shine even brighter. If we had some beer for our party, we would have been pretty buzzed by the time the traffic become manageable. Unsuspecting patrons were trying to file in as thousands were attempting to leave which created an absolute mess. We spent the day in Pittsburgh as no one was ready to make the 2.5 hour trek home that early, and guess what? The inclement weather never arrived just as every weather radar indicated it wouldn't. We left the area at about 7:00pm and the skies still were bright, and while there were a few passing clouds it never rained or looked close to raining. The obvious reason for closure was the fact attendance wasn't where management wanted it to be. It wasn't dead, but it wasn't what a mid-July day should be. The fact of the matter is that these days happen, and sensible solution would be to adjust staffing and resources to minimize losses before opting to close the park entirely. I really do not care if Kennywood issues rain checks or goes by a policy of "no set closing," as I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of rain checks are not redeemed as many people cannot just rearrange schedules to travel the distance to make a return visit in hopes that a light drizzle doesn't close the park again. Our annual department outing will most likely be moved to Darien Lake of all places next summer as they do not close the entire park for a few early rain showers. Call us stupid for having confident expectations for Kennywood to understand that passing light showers in the morning do not justify a 2:00pm closing, but if it were to be thunderstorms on and off all day (which it wasn't) we would have cancelled our outing going off of past precedent set by the park. At least everyone in our group who work for another park now understand the value of keeping a park open as long as possible even when the weather conditions and attendance aren't optimal. I guess that was one positive outcome of the experience.