megametal

^Vortex I'd call major as well. But really, you put things where there's space. Much of the NC side is taken up by a waterpark and a concert pavilion. There' little room to add things there unless they tear down Goldrusher, which I suppose is possible.

Wasn't Carolina Cobra on the NC side? As well as Ricochet? Technically, the park is 1/3 in NC and 2/3 in SC, so it would make sense to have most stuff in SC.

Would it fit if they just replaced Ninja with it? Maybe have part of the ride over the train tracks?

Looks like a good spot. However, they'd probably find a way to remove Tidal Wave, as most parks are removing the older Intamin chutes rides anyway.

^ That's what happened to Carowinds' Vortex.

^ Would that be SFGAm? That's good to know for when I go there this coming summer. I've actually never been on a splash battle, as every one I've seen had a huge line, so I skipped them. I have to agree about Arrow multi-loopers, by the way. I bet Anaconda here at KD gets the axe within the next 10 years.

Well, I didn't say they were ALL gone. There aren't any on this side of the US left though, except for the one gathering dust in Kentucky.

So we've had in the past 10 years or so quite a few Log Flume and shoot-the-chutes removals. Also most Chaos type rides, bayern curves, rotors and Schwarzkopf shuttle loops. I know rides need to be replaced every 10 or 20 years. So what will be the next ride types to go? I think whitewater rapids type rides will be the next ones to go en mass. They take up huge footprints parks could use for new coasters, so it's sensible, and the last few years, it seems they aren't AS popular as they used to be. Still quite popular, but not as much as, say, the 80s and 90s. Besides, Splash Battle type rides seem to be a much better alternative. People love interactivity these days, and it gives them that. I gotta say, I wish I had been able to ride a Schwarzkopf shuttle loop though.

Yeah, I'll probably stick with WoF. (I want to visit as many parks in the US as I can before I get too old, and, well, it's a park.) I do plan to go on another big trip after I finish grad school in 3-4 years, and maybe Silver Dollar City can be on that one. It is one I intend to visit at some point. (Maybe a Schlitterbahn, SFFT, SFOT, Sea World, Frontier City, Silver Dollar City trip?) If we get bored at WoF, most likely we'll go back to the hotel for a while or see a movie or something then go back later in the day for night rides.

So would Worlds of Fun be compared to Dorney Park? I went to Dorney this past year, and thoroughly enjoyed myself, despite a lot of people saying that it's a boring park.

Yeah, I may upgrade to doing both days at SFGAm with the Flash Pass instead of one. I know it's one of the busiest parks in the country. I probably won't use the SFStL waterpark, as I will have used HW's the day before, and theirs looks better anyway. Thanks for all the help so far. Looks like I don't really have anything to worry about with STStL and WoF. I'm glad I planned in 2 days for SFGAm, even if one of them is a Friday. Hopefully that'll be enough to do everything. It was when I went to Cedar Point, so I'm guessing it will be for Six Flags.

I hope this isn't against the rules or anything. I've read the park guides in the park index and all that sort of thing. I just need to know if this trip sounds doable, as me and my friends need to set a week and get hotels straight extra early... All that jazz. Just a note, we all will have SF season passes. Okay, so we start in VA, and leave on a Saturday. Drive to the Louisville area and get a hotel there for the night. On Sunday we go to Holiday World. Is Sunday insanely busy there in, say, mid July? We do plan to hit the waterpark for a while, and I know they close at like 8:30. Hopefully it's enough time to do everything and get re-rides. After the park closes, we plan to drive a few hours to Mt. Vernon, Illinois to spend the night. The next day, we leave on the 2 hour trip to Six Flags St. Louis. It'll be a Monday, so I'm guessing I shouldn't need Flash Pass? I'm already breaking the bank quite a bit for this trip, and only plan to use Flash Pass at SFGAm. After the park closes for the night, drive 2 hours to Columbia, so we're already halfway to our next stop for tomorrow, Worlds of Fun. Tuesday, hit WoF. I hear lines on weekdays are usually not a problem here. We'll spend the night in Kansas City, and Wednesday will be our pure travel day, since we have to travel all the way to Gurnee. Thurs and Fri will be SFGAm. I chose 2 days because I know how tricky Chicago weather is and how bad the crowds can be at the park. I'd be using Flash Pass on Friday, as I expect it would be more crowded? Then we head back to VA starting Saturday. I guess my main questions are: Does the whole trip sound like it's doable? What are the rain policies at the parks? (I know the official statements, but some parks are more strict, like Cedar Fair sometimes close most stuff in anything above a drizzle.) Any specific helpful hints anyone would like to give me? Sorry if this post is against the rules. I read the rules and didn't see where it would be. I DID read the park guides first.

Looking at what the park has, I would like to see an mid-sized to big Intamin coaster and a few more quality flats. (Top spin, frisbee, river battle, Mondial Shake, things like that). I do agree. A coaster like Dare Devil Dive would be a great fit, as SFStL seems to be a more family friendly park in the chain, which I think is a great thing. They have something for everyone.

Looks like quite a few people were guessing the Hannibarrels. I guess the "roll-out" hint was what they saw. I thought I heard a lot of people say that that area had like office buildings now or something though.

Okay, that makes more sense. It does get quite confusing when seemingly parks use different estimates on park size. KD always says "over 400 acres" and then you have Carowinds using anywhere between 74 and 300something. I guess some include unused land or parking lots or both... some just count the area of the actual park. I asked the question because I'm planning a trip to SFSTL, HW, WoF, and SFGAm next summer and was wondering about their sizes in comparison to KD. Didn't want to create a thread asking the question though. SFGAm looked about the same size as KD, but I looked it up and it was just around 100 acres.

^Indeed, I remember the thread started talking about undeveloped land. Oddly enough, it was not my intention to restart the thread.

Does anyone know how many acres the actual park uses? I tried researching and all the sites said 400 acres, which I can't believe. Maybe with the parking lot it's 400 acres, but in no way has KD ever seemed bigger than Cedar Point to me.

Yeah, makes you wonder what would happen to regional theme parks if we go to an all year school year like some would have us do...

I remember when one of the trains got stuck on the lift hill for 4 hours due to a sensor problem around when Anaconda first opened. For some reason it was the top news story in Richmond that night.

So can we assume that WOF is not getting the Windseeker many thought it was? I'm starting to think they may get nothing.

Definite: Six Flags America Six Flags St. Louis Six Flags Great America Holiday World Probable: Worlds of Fun Kings Dominion Busch Gardens Williamsburg Carowinds

Something I've been trying to figure out for years. Okay, in the late 80s - very early 90s, the Scrambler and a Cinema 180 were both on International Street about halfway down on the right side of the street. Whenever I walk past that area now, I wonder how in the world they ever fit there. I was around 5 years old when it was like this, so of course I don't remember scale very well. There seems to be a building behind the fence that's there now, and it looks like the building may have been original to the park?

I will go against the grain and say that I think Old Virginia needs to keep it's trees and quaint feel. Put the coasters elsewhere.

I actually don't see Old Virginia as very shady anymore either. Around the log flume/White Water Canyon, sure, but they tore down so many trees to build Wayne's World and the go-kart track. I'm glad they've not added much to that section of the park though. I thought the animation was funny because it made KD look like if Knoebels had big thrill rides. Did they make Carowinds have lots of trees too?

Looking at that new video, the only thought I had was "When has Kings Dominion had that many trees in the park?" Splitting hairs, but still...