ajfelice

Umm, speaking from experience working with maintenance and ride programmers, you don't just add some brakes to cap off speed when a ride is randomly cycling ten mph faster than it should be. If an empty train is being launched using the same ride program, with the same amount of weight in the train, under the same weather conditions, it should not be deviating by 10 mph. A trim is typically meant to make a small speed adjustment, not compensate for a ride operating erratically. My educated and experienced guess would be that the first solution is to look into the ride program in terms of software and maybe hardware. I have no problem believing there is an issue with inconsistent launch speed, but to just throw some trims up there to fix what shows signs of a programming issue is not fixing the real problem. I'm sure the brakes and other hardware added to the ride are all part of a very intricate system for achieving consistent operation.

We added the new restrooms by Steel Dragon for a reason. All it takes to get Senator Cruz to ride Ravine Flyer II was asking. We thought we had a 1% chance of it really happening.

There have been changes to operating procedures starting in 2014 due to reforms in training developed by iROC. As someone who spent a brief time in operations on that ride in 2013 and 2014, I can say that the changes had a noticeable impact on efficiency. The crews have been doing their absolute best to make due with the new operating procedures.

I'm going to vote with what the park has said, and say that it is a new train. As for two-train operation, I wouldn't put money on the idea for this year. If they purchased a train that seems very similar to the original trains, this indicates the old train(s) had reached the end of their usable life. More than likely the chassis probably started developing cracks due to stress over many years of use (common Intamin issue learned through seminars) that were beyond reasonable to repair cost-effectively or able to continue to pass NDT or state inspection standards. As for 2017 and beyond, it is all up in the air. My confidence is that those in power at Darien Lake are not O.K. with the limitation to one available train for the long term.

One of my favorite modern "cheesy" jingles to date is the ever-so-catchy Ravine Flyer song. The commercial was also filmed with the help of TPR back in May of 2008. Unfortunately, jingle has been put into the vault in favor of the more annoying, but less catchy, jingle for the new wave pool. But us Erie-ites still continue to sing the annoyingly catchy song when visiting the park or mentioning the coaster in conversation.

Dollywood doesn't sell alcohol... That's what packing it or purchasing/consuming off-site is for. The game doesn't have to happen in the park. Many possibilities

I'm thinking of a drinking game for my visit to Dollywood this weekend that involves Lightning Rod.... In all seriousness, I have been a cheerleader all along that somehow RMC/Dollywood would pull it together just in time. Unfortunately it will not happen. With my work schedule and proximity to Dollywood, the next most likely visit won't be until 2017. Sh*t happens, but the bright side is that I am going in with expectations not to ride. It would be a much more crushing blow to see a "(coaster name) is Closed Today" sign in front of a park as I'm walking through the gates under the impression I would be riding said ride. As an operations and marketing person in the industry (small park job perks), I only have the most sincere empathy and sympathy for Dollywood on what might have been the most exciting Opening Weekend yet for them. But hey, life happens. And I am still stoked to visit Dollywood in less than 48 hours.

May Dolly's magic give Lightning Rod a successful block check testing with two trains. HFE/Dollywood is too great of a company to root against or doubt. A second train most likely means that they (RMC and/or Dollywood) is comfortable with how the ride is currently testing. As for a Media Day, I'm sure something is planned (if all goes according to the ambitious plan), but enthusiast groups aren't always on top of the invite list. I have been able to attend two media day events, and I can't be more thankful to both of those hosting parks/companies. They do not by any means have to invite enthusiast groups, so when they do it is a generous bonus as opposed to any kind of obligation. I'm sure something is scheduled under the assumption Dolly and RMC's magic will work in time for March 19th, but we haven't heard much as the event might not be as "open" as other media day events have been for other attractions. P.S.: If I was the czar of Dollywood, I would not approve of a spokesperson getting on the news and talking as much as they did about a new coaster if I didn't think it had a decent chance of being a part of the exciting Opening Weekend the interview was all about.

I'm thinking Dollywood is making no guarantees because the testing process is cutting it super close to Opening Day. By saying nothing, they are not confirming or denying Opening Day or any specific date the coaster will be ready.

Can someone offer any real evidence outside of, "I heard somewhere" or "I think I read that" or "Someone (with no name or title) told me that," to the existence of a contract between Cedar Point and B&M that entails a multiple ride package? Or a contract between Cedar Point and Intamin? These rumors are swarming like flies on sh%t, with not a shred of verified evidence to indicate such contracts ever existed. Maybe, just maybe, Cedar Point/Cedar Fair currently has a good business relationship with B&M so they continue to make multiple purchases from them?

False. He said Disaster Transport was his biggest mistake. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4990536 Take a listen around 10:00. Kinzel does acknowledge that Disaster Transport was one his worst business decisions, but he thinks Top Thrill Dragster eclipsed DT as his worst business decision as of 2005. Did his mind ever change? I'm not quite sure. My personal opinion is that Cedar Point/Matt Ouimet currently think that Top Thrill Dragster is worth it's investment along with its downtime that is still much higher than normal. If they are willing to continue to put money into the ride with annual maintenance and new paint, and continue to operate it 13 years since it opened, I'm guessing they see its value. Maintenance wise, from speaking to mechanics on similar Intamin Accelerator coasters in different parks, Intamins are not easy to get parts for, and this type of train continues to have issues with chassis cracks and whatnot. These accelerator coasters are no cheap date.

Agreed. I recently made a loose version of a rating system when I re-organized my park's Guest Accessibility Guide. I consulted a variety of guides from other parks as large as Cedar Point to smaller places like Holiday World. I assigned ratings based on how parks with similar attractions did so. For rides where it was more of a guessing game, I asked around the Office and shop to gather different perceptions (most park employees rarely have time to ride rides, including myself). For me, our family-oriented selection of rides has made me numb to an experience as if I was a first-time rider or never been to the park before. One thing I noticed is that rating systems developed by parks are similar to a Ski Resort. Ratings are in many cases relative to the rides in a park, and not always standard across all parks. Just like how a Black Diamond in Western New York is not a Black Diamond in Colorado.

I heard it straight out of a Mechanic's mouth during a private tour of the Storm Runner Maintenance Shop and Hydraulic Room a week ago. He was happy that people won't get their earrings bashed into the side of their head, but is also interested in seeing how the new vests hold up in therms of longevity. Fahrenheit is also planned for the conversion, but it may not happen by opening weekend. While Storm Runner wasn't a terrible headbanger, I am very encouraged by the change as people who aren't as seasoned when it comes to anticipating transitions with shoulder harnesses will have a much more enjoyable ride.

This went over my head on first glance, and shockingly the comments guided me to the conclusion. Finally, there is photo evidence of the general layout of Ravine Flyer. I figured it would be simple, but the layout was really as simple as an oval on the side of a hill. The largest drop was believed to be 80-90 feet due to use of the terrain. Feel free to interpret for yourself, but it looks like a small lift hill was followed by a form of a double dip that went over the very narrow Peninsula Drive. Thank You to the kind guest who shared this image with the park. The mystery of the storied Ravine Flyer is now somewhat less mysterious.

My goal in my Marketing role aside from Operations is to present the park in a way that most other parks haven't already done before. One of my absolute favorite winter things for our Blog is compiling what I now call the Winter Photo Tour. With a small park, there are only so many things you can photograph in an appealing way in the dead of winter. Each year I try to become more creative and adventurous with the Winter photos. After two years teasing around walking lift hills in the snow or standing on very low to the ground sections of track, I got a serious itch to be more daring. Believe it or not, Ravine Flyer II's lift hill, being most exposed to wind from the Lake, rarely accumulates very much snow to slip on. With permission granted to go on the track walk, new work boots, several layers of clothes, and a trusty harness I walked a large portion of Ravine Flyer II's track. There was about six inches of very fluffy snow on most catwalks which is not a lot by Erie standards, but anything more would have made a Track Walk near impossible. I did not walk up or down any major drops, but I accessed track at the bottom of the hillside using the access road. So here is what became of my adventure to have some of the most unique winter coaster photos of one of the most unique coasters around, Ravine Flyer II. That may or may not be a Batman sticker proudly displayed at controls. Since 2012 the lift has been very visible from the station due to Hurricane Sandy taking out a massive tree with a 8 foot wide stump. This is more snow than usual for the lift hill. Unfortunately it is hiding a retracked lift hill. Hopefully the "rocking" feeling due to slight track variations has been eliminated. The one time that blue color looks appealing. It was hand-picked by PennDot as a condition for the coaster's approval to go over a road. Kind of an odd angle, but when there are no leaves you can see so much more of the layout from above. Looking down 118 feet. This is where the lower section of track can be accessed from the service road. Sorry urban explorers, you need a key to get inside though. One of my fall projects was to pressure wash and stain the bridge catwalks. Saying it was stressful avoiding spilling paint onto cars below is an understatement. The second largest wooden coaster drop in Pennsylvania at 105 feet. Some fresh wood in this area too. Back over the bridge. Climbing 118 feet in the summer was pretty intimidating. I would love to walk a larger coaster like The Voyage. One of my favorite parts to walk because it is so peaceful. Looking back towards the final climb to the top of the hillside. The track on the left is the home of a legendary TPR video theme. You will never see the entire West side of the lift hill in summer. Standing on the airtime hill that goes over the lift looking backwards. For some reason I thought this angle of the coaster was pretty neat. Artsy shot I guess. A lot of work has been done on the final stretch of track into the brake run in the past couple years. Looking backwards down the incline leading into the final bunny hops. Thank You for reading, I hope everyone found it interesting. The official Winter Photo Tour I compiled that includes many other attractions at Waldameer and Water World can be found here. If you scroll down to the entry before the Winter Photo Tour, you can also take a look into winter roller coaster maintenance at Waldameer.

I wish my home park built coasters so frequently that would feel inclined to criticize them before I ride them. What an abomination that it might not be better than the 16 other coasters in the park, or the rest of the world for that matter. Most people, enthusiasts and general public would give the world to have many of Cedar Point's coasters in a park near them. Next topic: You can give enthusiasts credit to some degree for being idea generators. Your Dick Kinzel example is correct, and I would add Holiday World famously did this with The Legend and The Voyage. However, the bigger picture always has and always will be that parks are infinitely most worried how the general public will respond to a roller coaster or any attraction in the park. Thank enthusiasts for their ideas for some roller coaster projects out there, but in the end parks will put the needs of the general public first and foremost with enthusiast opinions being more of a bonus or afterthought.

Those ratings are based purely on the opinions of those in power who assigned them. A person, small committee, or whoever created these ratings probably had their own unique set of standards they loosely based attraction intensity on, and assigned the rides accordingly. Ride manufacturers have absolutely nothing to do with these ratings, and in fact ride manufacturers only really give a height requirements on most rides they install when it comes to restrictions or intensity analysis for riders. Ratings for intensity, requirements of limbs, and other safety/accessibility guidelines and policies are created by parks through their own analysis and research. I recently was tasked with revising a Guest Accessibility Guide that sorts rides into intensity categories. If I wasn't sure how "intense" a ride was because I have been desensitized to most of them over the years, I crowd-sourced other parks' ratings and I walked around the office asking several others how they would rate a ride. There is no standard or agreed upon method out there, but instead the best recommendation from park managers. Therefore, I wouldn't read too far into the methodology of those rating systems as they are assigned based on a variety of varying opinions and loose criteria.

From working in a Park Office in the Operations and some Marketing capacity, the value of enthusiast opinions is significant enough that we discuss it briefly, but we do not make operating decisions based on them alone. Usually an enthusiast opinion is very closely aligned with the opinions of our guests. If lines are moving too slow for many enthusiasts, you can bet many guests are sharing the same feelings. Enthusiast opinions are important when it comes to maintaining a positive image online through social media influences. An easy way to see the importance of enthusiast opinions is doing a Google search; especially images when a very large amount of images generated come from enthusiasts and are coupled with enthusiast opinions of the park. Another example was during a recent off-season enthusiast event, we were gracious to have so many people saying so many good things about our park. It was great publicity we were able to share through our social media outlets at a very low cost. There are times I have said in my head that "Wow, this will piss off a few enthusiasts," because usually I am making a sacrifice that an Enthusiast may not value as much as the Guest or the success of the park. We decided that one of our coasters must stack for the second train to dispatch to reduce chances of lift stops which strike a bit of fear into guests. We have dropped down to one train on a Saturday because a rainstorm stuck a knife into our attendance, and sending trains out at 50% or less makes little mechanical sense (There were more enthusiasts left in the park than I thought until I was cussed at a few times).

Ravine Flyer II is a great ride by day, at night it transforms into one of the best coasters anywhere. The entire first half of the ride is in complete darkness. My favorite night feature being the high-speed tunnels that are ear-piercingly loud similar to The Beast. The second half is dimly lit by a few nearby attractions with the drop after the 90 degree bank being pitch black. I can thank Ravine Flyer II for making The Beast feel tame at night with all of it's trim brakes that still can't go unnoticed in the darkness. A favorite steel coaster at night would be Maverick. An elite coaster by daytime, but the dimly lit tight turns come just a little more unexpected in the evening. Always a great rush to end a day at Cedar Point with a Maverick night ride. As for my favorite night park overall, Hersheypark tops my list. You have the dim, twisted mess of Skyrush, Superdooperlooper, and Great Bear along with a decently dark ride on Storm Runner. On the other hand, you have some of the best-maintained classic displays of chaser lights on Lightning Racer and Wildcat.

Perhaps that news source made a minor misinterpretation of some coasters may be adding their second train? Buying multiple new sets of trains for 3 or so coasters would be a very expensive undertaking akin to almost buying a new medium-sized coaster. I can hardly imagine what the bill is for one new Intamin hyper train much less two along with a new set for Mind Eraser, Motocoaster, Predator, etc., etc.. Refurbishing the second train for the coasters that have the opportunity to add them (Predator, Motocoaster, Mind Eraser) will cost a pretty penny in new parts, NDT testing, and labor hours, but they are a drop in the bucket compared to new trains. It will be a nice step in the right direction if Predator and Motocoaster can get their second train with Ride of Steel following up in 2017 as those coasters seem to generate longer lines due to their location and popularity. Mind Eraser seems like a common afterthought that rarely generates a significant line. Putting myself in the shoes of higher-up general manager or financial manager in a situation like Darien Lake, I see myself wanting to do things like purchase new trains, refurbish trains to increase capacity, as well as other capital expenditures like new rides and water park attractions. When considering capital expenditures such as revenue generating attractions (new rides, new slides, more concession, games, and merchandise locations) compared to non-revenue generating additions such as new trains or refurbishing the second train, the revenue-generating additions are usually going to take first priority. Let's also be real, Darien Lake on the busiest of days does not generate obscene lines. Heck, they were willing to guarantee happiness by offering compensation under Herschend in 2014 if a line for a ride went beyond 45 minutes. You don't make those offers unless you know it won't cause significant losses. There are two options. One, you can build a new attraction that can theoretically generate X-amount of new revenue or attendance (there are oodles of financial equations to forecast this). Second, you can add a train or buy a new set of trains for a coaster (or two) but only under the assumption with little financial backing that "people will spend more in the park when they don't wait in lines" (not always true). It is more enticing and marketable to shareholders and guests to make financial decisions that emphasize new capital with the remaining budget going to improvements. There is a double-edged sword in the "two-train debate" at Darien Lake, but my hope is that a reasonable balance can be made that steadily offers new attractions while making incremental improvements to existing attractions. But hey, "Come ride the coasters you have ridden for years, but with multiple trains and nothing else new" sounds like a dandy promotion to continue the success of 2015. (I can't believe that I just put that much effort on a Saturday afternoon into a post in the Darien Lake Discussion Thread, but each to his own.)

I'm very interested in seeing how Universal does with this new pricing strategy. It has been around for a long time now with hotels, movie theaters, ski resorts, golf courses, sporting events, and a variety of other entertainment options. This is far from a gamble or a financially irresponsible decision. Theme parks obviously are feeling the squeeze from increasing crowds more and more, so there needs to be some actions taken to attempt to control or smooth out crowds. Or at least take advantage of some extra revenue when demand is increased. Of course it would be very difficult to make a Wednesday be as busy as a Saturday or a Tuesday in January be as busy as a Tuesday in July, but dynamic pricing has the opportunity to at least do some smoothing of the significant differences in crowds between the days of the week or peek/off-peak season. I look forward to seeing how everything plays out.

Let's just say Mr. Nelson made everyone very aware that we had visitors coming. Thank you for your kind words, and I'm glad you had a great time. We had a great time hosting everyone.

Millennium Force station music has got to be one of the most catchy in a good way. Maverick's theme gets a very honorable mention as well. Each time I ride Jurassic Park River Adventure I get the theme song stuck in my head, but it's a pretty epic theme in my opinion. I did enjoy Bizarro's (SFNE) soundtrack from the station through the lift with AC/DC, Eminem, and Led Zeppelin. The rest of the rest of the soundtrack through the gravity portion was forgettable. Finally, the playlist of classic rock in Ravine Flyer II's queue and station does a great job of building excitement. I particularly like when Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones comes around.

^The event was coordinated by a smaller coaster enthusiast group in Ohio. However, non-members were also welcome to join.

Perhaps that is all the park intended to have? I consider many of these shorter dive coasters to be a cousin of the drop tower. The thrill is the anticipation leading up to the drop followed by the free fall sensation during the drop. Sure there are some longer dive coasters out there, but even for them the extra track is merely icing on the cake after the initial dive.