805Andrew

You packed a lot into three days and gave me memories of my visit to the Grand Canyon and various visits to Vegas. One of my favorite family trips growing up was when we spent a couple of weeks in the summer of 1996 going through Southern Utah, Northern Arizona, and ending off with a couple of nights in Vegas before going home. We camped at two different KOAs in Utah and at this weird, run down Flintstones campground just south of the Grand Canyon South Rim entrance in AZ, so staying a Best Western off the Strip at the end of the trip felt like a luxury. I really loved all the red rocks of the Grand Canyon (both rims), Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Arches, but my favorite part of my trip was going to Slide Rock State Park between Flagstaff and Sedona and destroying a swim suit on nature's waterslides (if you every go back to AZ in the summer or when its warmer I highly recommend this place). I'd love to go back that region someday and will have to check out Glen Canyon (wasn't familiar with it before). I'll also have to actually check out Hoover Dam for real and do the tour as my only experience with the Hoover Dam was crossing over it in the family minivan on our way to Vegas when it was 117F according to our thermometer and getting out for a minute to get a quick picture/look of it. When we went to Vegas I was able to convince my dad to go up the Stratosphere at night but couldn't convince him to pay for a ride on the High Roller or other rides there (the cost for going up for 5 people was enough for him) and I didn't go up it again until 2009 when the rides were different. The only time I rode The Rollercoaster at NYNY (as it was called then) was in 2009, but I really enjoyed my front row night ride with a friend. Maybe it was because I was in a rollercoaster drought at the time or maybe because I was pretty drunk or maybe it was the thrill of watching my friend film the ride on his Flip camera and hoping he didn't drop it (note I was not a TPR member at the time and would advise against friends or anyone doing this today), but for whatever reason I enjoyed my one ride on the NYNY Togo. For anyone that's never ridden the NYNY Togo, if you do ride it wait for the front row and ride it at night as the views and Vegas skyline all lit up are awesome and you won't notice the ugly rooftops or backstage areas - also try to find a coupon or discount online or in one of those Vegas magazines (I printed a $4 off coupon I found online and only paid $10 in 2009 ). Doing both NYNY and the Stratosphere on that 2009 trip, I decided to hold off on Speed at the Sahara and save it for the next Vegas trip not thinking it was going to be taken down soon. My next trip to Vegas wasn't until February of last year, so I finally got to experience Adventuredome them. Circus Circus has shown its age but it could be worse, at least its not in Primm. The Adventuredome part is really nice though - I really liked the rock theming inside and the 90s Bio-Dome vibe I got from it. Both Canyon Blaster and El Loco were really fun and I got 3 rides on each one plus I rode a flat (I don't think Chaos was running when I was there) that flipped upside down like a fly swatter and the drop ride which is small but really packs a punch (worth trying out if you have a wristband) - and did these all in two hours. I agree with you that I like Canyon Blaster slightly better than El Loco. I love that intial drop/pull into the first loop and how smooth it is for an Arrow. Arrows age well when they aren't exposed to the elements and it brings me back to how smooth Viper must have been the first time I rode it in 1992. Speaking of the new High Roller, I thought of doing it last year but dediced to save it for a future visit. I'll have to try to do it at sunset time next visit to Vegas and hopefully in the open bar car.

Cool opening day TR. I didn't realize Coney Island opened up that early in the season. I wonder if they were open that day during Spring Break when the city got covered in snow? My parents went to NYC Easter week to visit my sister that now lives there and goes to grad school at Columbia University and they said they got a couple of sunny days in the 50s, followed by a day of snow, then a few days of cold rain, then a sunny day before they left. They asked me about things to do in Brooklyn and I told them not to bother with Coney Island and to save it for a future visit when its warmer not realizing it would be open for the season.

Holiwood Nights seems like a good consolation prize and I’m glad I had an alternative event to pick from for that weekend. I’ll definitely take pictures and try to remember to post them either on the HW thread or in a separate TR. I still have to post my pictures from my visit to the Boysenberry Fest on Friday on the Knott’s thread. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Based off of what I’ve heard from past Coastermania events, it might be in your best interest to plan a trip on a different weekend and just get FL+. I know they’ve limited tickets for this year’s event, but it appears the day of Coastermania is usually insanely busy at the park, so if you don’t have a ticket to the event it’s probably best just to plan for a different day. Someone else may have better insight, but if it was me planning a trip, that’s how I’d do it. Agreed. last year during Coatermania! we met up with Liz and her Mom, who were *not* participating (we were participating in CM!), and we had no issues getting rides on everything, including MF, Maverick, and lots of other coasters with minimal waits. I think the only thing that had a line at all, was TTD, and that's only because it was having "issues" but even that was only a 15 minute wait. granted, this year is gonna be different due to SV, but the ERT happens before the park is open to the general public, and then stuff like the cruise, Q&A and Coastermania! lunch, happen during the day, which will suck people participating away from the main park. I say go, and have a great time, even if you can't get a CM ticket. Yeah, but that was before they started limiting ticket sales. Lines are quite short during ERT now, especially if you don't go to the new hotness. In 2016 I went to the other four ERT coasters first then Valravn at the end of ERT and it was about 5 minutes wait. This year I'm planning to do Maverick and SkyHawk first then SteVen to allow the line to recede some. The other morning ERT coasters are Gemini and Magnum, which really won't have long lines all day, and TTD, which might not open early anyway. I'll probably just spend resort ERT on SteVen while the enthusiasts who went to it first are riding other things. As for hotels, they're cheap if you get that rate locked in early. I booked my hotel back in September, and I get travel agent rates, but I think the rack rate was like $65 at the time. Maybe a bit high for a Hojo, but great for a hotel just outside the park entrance. Thanks for all tips people. I decided that I'm going to go to Holiwood Nights the same weekend instead since I've never been to Holiday World before. I still really want to ride Steel Vengeance and return to Cedar Point, so I will most likely visit sometime in August. Even if it is not that crowded during Coastermania, I didn't want to go to Cedar Point during a fun enthusiast event and not be able to participate in it. Its not just the ERT and extra hours that interested me, but also the boat tour that goes on the lake for the great views. I hope to participate in Coastermania in a future year.

I'm loving the triple meaning of SOP! 1. Standard Operating Procedure 2. "a thing given or done as a concession of no great value to appease someone whose main concerns or demands are not being met" 3. "a piece of bread dipped in gravy" I looked up SOP and saw the same the meanings, but read them in reverse order. I thought that it was #2 until I read #1. Speaking of Holiday World, I pulled the trigger for their Holiwood Nights event and will be going to HW for the first time ever in June. Really looking forward to it!

Any TPR members going to Knott’s today? I’ll be there around 1PM and will be there until closing. I’ll be wearing a red RailBlazer shirt. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The go karts I did at both Fun Spots are best go karts I've ever done. On the downhill section of the Vortex track right before the curve I had to slow down everytime or I felt I would get out of control.

^^ That's crazy! I would think that cops would be less likely to want to stop you with out of state plates because it might be more paper work if they get you on something minor. Maybe that cop thought you were a Texan before pulling you over and doesn't like Texans? I could see some cars with certain state license plates like TX, CA, or NY being a potential target in some places, but more by locals who may have low opinions of those place. Anyways that cop was an asshole for pulling you over for only using the turn signal 350 ft vs 400 ft - that's a difference most people wouldn't be able to tell apart. If I was in your situation I probably would've put the turn signal extra early out of nervousness and maybe would've gotten a warning for using it 500 ft before the exit vs 400 ft. I also pack more than you and there would have been a backpack up front with me besides the suitcase or carry on bag in the trunk and probably some snack bags and drink cups/bottles in the passenger seat area (if I was driving solo). I don't know how it is in other states, but in CA the CHP is very unlikely to pull you over on the freeway unless your going at least 10 MPH over the speed limit, so I would imagine they wouldn't pull you over for using a turn signal 50 ft later than your supposed to. I driven by CHP many times going 10MPH over the speed limit (of course I slow down if I see them but sometimes I don't until afterward) and they don't do anything because that's the flow of traffic - they're looking for the guy going 85 MPH.

If all cars were created equal, you would have no greater chance of breaking down at 45,XXX miles in a rental car than you would in your own 45,XXX mile car. However, some cars are just plain built better than others. North Carolina to South Carolina is no big deal. Those cars can be easily driven / shipped across either state's border if they need their registration renewed, and agencies typically have several branch locations near the state borders that are in the same "group" for that purpose. I'm not sure how much more I can say without violating my own previous work contract, but when you walk down the rental line in North Carolina and see plates from, say, Ohio, or Louisiana, or Missouri, the reason they got there is because they were one-way rentals from their home state. If you reserve a one-way rental and you're heading somewhere in those directions, you might be placed in one of those cars (though never in a class lower than what you paid for), to get it as close as possible back to its home. I've gotten many rental cars with out of state plates and they've all been one model year older or newer. I've gotten Delaware plates on a one way rental from Philly to Harrisburg, PA; Indiana plates in Nashville; Florida plates on a one way rental from Nashville to Knoxville, TN; and Georgia plates in Knoxville. Of course it makes sense that there are going to be a lot more out of state cars in places where states are a lot closer together. In Denver I had the option to pick any car from a row of compact cars and they had cars with many out of state plates including California and New York but I went with a Colorado one there. I guess a lot of people are driving across country and flying out of Denver. Edit: Going back to my pictures from my winter Colorado trip the rental car I had there actually had an Arizona plate, not Colorado ones. I picked by the car I thought was going to be the best for me, not the state plates it had. Speaking of how save money on rental cars if an one way rental is required: When I went to Tennessee, I flew into Nashville and spent a couple of nights there before going towards the Smoky Mountains and meeting up with a very special group (you can probably guess which one) for a tour of rollercoasters and special attractions starting with Dollywood and Pigeon Forge. I rented a car (Alamo I think) for a couple of days around Nashville before returning it at the airport the night before leaving and got a one day, one way rental (Budget I think) to Knoxville which I drove to the next day and returned it at their airport and rented another car from Hertz for a couple of days driving around the Smoky Mountains before returning it and meeting with the group to hop on a tour bus. When renting a car one way, usually you are charged more per day instead of for a long distance return fee, so if you limit the days of your one rental car to one day and get another rental car for the same area it will be charged less per day. I also switched rental car companies for each booking to ones that were similarily priced to avoid confusion among the rental car desk staff and since all the rental car companies are next to each other in airport locations anyways.

I'm glad I read this and I checked on the app to confirm. Looks like I'll be going to Knott's for Boysenberry Fest this Friday 4/6 instead of Thursday 4/5 like originally planned. It will be more crowded but I want my Xcelerator damn it!

I always have fun reading your and Coasterbill's reports. Kings Dominion has been on my bucket list since Volcano The Blast Coaster and the long defunct Hypersonic XLC, and again later with Intimidator 305, and now reassured again with Twisted Timbers. These all look awesome and now I have another reason to visit this place. I also really want to visit Busch Gardens to so I'll eventually have too do a SE/Virginia/DC trip (probably not until 2021 though). Looking forward to the Busch Gardens segment.

I didn’t go to CGA last year but Knott’s didn’t have any HangTime shirts last fall. Those are some cracking pics! Definitely a visually stunning ride. The narrow track also makes it looks a lot taller than it really is. I'm really curious to hear the first reviews of these rides, and I hope we see a lot more of them in the coming years. Thanks! I’ll be there to ride it when it opens, if not opening day then as soon as I have an available day to go up there, and I’ll take plenty of pictures and report back here on it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We originally limited the selection to the largest traveling coasters at the time - Olympia Looping, Alpina Bahn, Spinning Racer, Hollenblitz, Teststrecke, Spinning Coaster XXL, and Wilde Maus XXL. Considering the Drifting Coaster's popularity and uniqueness, we'll consider adding it to the 2018 poll. Thank you. It was one of the surprise hits of my Octoberfest trip last year. On another note has the coaster poll officially closed already? I’ve already ranked over 100 coasters but could add more tonight if it’s still open. If not, no worries. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The only coaster I noticed that was missing was Drifting Coaster from the traveling circuit.

I wonder where they got the Steel Vengeance shirt when Cedar Point isn't even open yet for the season. Which Cedar Fair parks are selling Steel Vengeance shirts? Or is someone selling fan made shirts online?

Since I had to be in the Bay Area yesterday for another reason, I decided to swing by CGA for a couple of hours before 6PM park closing. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be crowded or not because of Spring Break, but it wasn’t at all. Everything was a walk on or a one train wait, and all the coasters that were open were running two trains expect for Patriot. It was a limited operations day, so certain rides and restaurants were closed like Tiki Twirl, Grizzly, most of the kiddie rides, and the rapids. But the good rides and the sky ride was open, so all good. I arrived at the park at 4PM and did a loop around the park doing eight rides in two hours. Gold Striker is still my favorite woodie in CA, though I’ll give Ghostrider another chance next week to dethrone it. I wasn’t crazy about Patriot (my first time riding it since it was Vortex) and although it’s better than Vortex that’s not saying much - it’s got the B&M rattle and I prefer Scream even. Demon was decent though for how old it is, Drop Tower is as great as always, and Flight Deck is still running great. I also got to ride the Sky Ride back towards the front of the park since it was open , and since it was 85°F (which is hot AF for the Bay Area in March) I even rode the splash down water ride (forgot what it’s called) near were RailBlazer is going. RailBlazer looks sweet - the track is pretty much complete and now they are working on the rock wall/theming, queue path and station. I got some pics of RailBlazer from different angles - here they are. The first view of RailBlazer I got when walking from Gold Striker and Patriot. The crew was working on the rock work as I was taking this shot. The rock theming is going to add an extra nice touch to this ride. The right side of RailBlazer and the entrance station. Close panorama of RailBlazer. What a great use of the former Invertigo spot! Will Dorney Park get lucky enough to get one of these? The best view of RailBlazer is from the nearby water ride which I rode because it was so damn warm (for March) and I got mildly splashed on the face. I’ll definitely be back to CGA when RailBlazer opens to ride it. RailBlazer isn’t open yet but the main gift shop by the front entrance already has a RailBlazer section with a ton of their merchandise to sell. Guess who already bought a RailBlazer shirt and is going to wear it to Boysenberry Fest next week? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm going to go to Boysenberry Fest either next Thursday or Friday. Really looking forward to it even if its crowded. I'd love it if HangTime soft opens, but if not I'll still have a great time. Thanks for the report, I'll have to save some room for some of the items off the tasting card.

RMC is really eating into Intamin's market share on your list.

Very interesting read! Thanks for sharing!

When do you plan on closing the poll? I want to make sure I find some time to do the poll. I'll try doing it after work tonight if it's still open then.

I'm hoping for a soft open during Boysenberry Fest even if they have to close it after Boysenberry Fest/Spring Break to do the finishing touches on the queue, gift shop, etc.

Awesome reports and Time Traveler POV video. Time Traveler looks awesome and very reridable as each ride will different with being in different positions for the drop, launches and loops. I can only imagine what going those sideways is like. This looks even better than Winjas which is currently my favorite spinning coaster I've been on. I didn't need another excuse to get out to Silver Dollar City but now I have another one.

I'd love it if HangTime were open by Easter as I'm planning to visit during the week for Boysenberry Fest after Easter. Even better if both Xcelerator and HangTime were open by then but if one of them is open I'll be happy.

For anyone who's gone to Coastermania in the past, do you know if any tickets get released later on closer to the event (or has in past years) or if people who bought their ticket and then couldn't go or wanted to cancel could transfer or resell their ticket? I was already in the stages of planing my Cedar Point trip on this weekend and am wondering if I should stick it out and still go this weekend with a possibility of not being able to participate in Coastermania (I'll still have a Platinum Pass for normal park access) or if I should just plan my Cedar Point trip for some other time this summer.

I saw that episode of Xtreme Waterparks and knew that the guy designing the slide was an owner of Schlitterbahn and not an engineer, but they designed the original MasterBlaster and that turned out to be a success. I thought him testing the prototype was kind of crazy, but he was willing to test the ride himself so be it. He should have brought an actual engineer onboard at least for consulting the ride design though. I don't know if all or most of Schlitterbahn's slides are made in house or if they also buy from major slide manufacturers like ProSlide as well, but if a lot of Schlitterbahn's rides are designed without an actual engineer at least consulting on design then I'm surprised they haven't had more incidents at their parks like at Action Park. Other than this terrible incident I haven't heard of major injuries or incidents at their other parks and they seem like they had a pretty good safety record prior unless they do a good job covering up their incidents (which is definitely a possibility). What really surprises me is that they designed this just to impress a cut rate Travel Channel show that airs on Sunday nights in the summer when a lot of people aren't watching TV. Really?? You designed this to impress 500 or so TV viewers?? I'll admit the one hour episode on Verruckt was fun/interesting to watch but not worth it to actually implement the ride if it had design flaws. Other then the height, drop, and speed the waterslide didn't seem that impressive. It's just a steep drop, a hill and then the end on what feels more like a shoot the chutes water ride then a waterslide - might as well just ride a rollercoaster. Knott's and Holiday World both built water rides with massive drops and both of those ultimately failed. These were all one trick pony gimmicks that were big wastes of money. I'd rather ride a waterslide with more interesting elements like a funnel or a halfpipe or with surprise moments that's a bit more substantial and longer in length. The Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels has been on my bucket list for years and I had hoped to visit it someday whenever I eventually do a Texas trip. I still would like to visit it some day, but I'm less sure of it now and would probably skip their other parks (at least for now). It upsets me to hear that they covered up incidents at their KC park and I wonder if they do it at their other parks or if it's just because of their Verruckt ride. I don't know if the ride safety/inspection standards in TX are stricter than in KS or not, but I hope their waterslides and attractions at their Texas parks (especially at their flagship New Braunfels park) are safer and better designed then the Verruckt monstrosity was.