kraxleRIDAH

"All we have are small, compact and short rides" is a reason you're using to convince us that Steel Venom should go there? Steel Venom is the epitome of small, compact, and short rides. Paradox much? Also, I just realized that Canada's Wonderland has one of the top 5 largest roller coaster collections in the world. Unfortunately, all are UNARGUABLY crap, with the possible exception of their "best" ride, which all giggles aside, happens to be an old Arrow Suspended coaster. How's that for the quality vs. quantity argument? And a lot of you guys thought Magic Mountain was the best punchline for that joke...not ONE of Canda's Wonderland's 14 coasters was in Mitch Hawker's Top 150 steel and wood coaster polls.

^ Doesn't Six Flags come to mind? They expanded their property portfolio much too quickly, which resulted in a mess. I have a little bit more faith in Cedar Fair though.

I think as soon as X-Flight has been completely dismantled, they'll move on to Steel Venom, then the parts will be shipped out to and stored at its future location.

^ The 300-capacity applies to the observation deck at the top of the tower, not the elevator ride up and down. I hope I live to see a 300-person capacity elevator.

Nice TR. Good to know most of the attractions were open, considering Magic Mountain is still technically in its own "off-season." And that brake set at the base of Tatsu's pretzel is not a trim. It's there in the event that a train valleys in the pretzel loop, that brake can be activated to bring the train to a stop almost immediately, rather than wait for it to rock back and forth over and over and over before stopping.

Water lines? Concrete piping? Markings by the parking lot? It's probably for the irrigation and watering system for the new huge grass turf going in beneath Scream.

LOL. Robb, sometimes you just kill me. Love the photo edit.

That logo has issues. Blocky metal-texture tetris-style lettering with a hawk's head and its wings on fire. Looks like a logo they drew up in the 80's but didn't use until now. Bleh.

Really? Did the sign actually read that the ride is being painted? Because if that's so, that's something new to Magic Mountain. I also noticed that when Goliath was down for its rehab a week ago, they had a sign out front saying something like "This attraction is closed for maintenance." Magic Mountain always had signs in front of their closed rides, but they NEVER specified a reason, just the generic "We're sorry. This attraction is closed today." Now the signage is actually telling guests why an attraction is closed -- for maintenance, painting, etc.

And KRAX: I think Ryan was asking about Thrill Shot, not the paint. Read his post again. He was talking about Ninja, not Thrill Shot.

Any proof of this? Not saying your lying, but id like to see some photos or something of the sort. Interested in the new color scheme I have absolutely no reason to lie to anybody that a ride is being painted. And the color scheme isn't new. It's the same as the one it had when it opened in 1988. It's just getting a fresh coat, that's all. I hope that's not true. Superman The Escape would be an incredible eyesore with those three colors considering the lattice design of its structure.

^ So a Cedar Fair "We love birds and we show it" recap: Skyhawk Thunderhawk Raptor Talon Firehawk Woodstock Express (Woodstock the bird from the Peanuts comics) The Patriot (Bald eagle depiction in ride logo) Actually, the entire amusement park industry seems to have something for birds in general The Raven Screamin' Eagle American Eagle Talon Condor Raptor Timberhawk: Ride of Prey Hummingbird Eagle Fortress Screechin' Eagle Screaming Condor Red Falcon Thunder Eagle Skyhawk Hayabusa Thunderbird Griffon Ladybird Firehawk Woodstock Express ShieKra Thunderhawk

It is certainly more than likely that the track was fabricated by Intamin. Similar to the situation with Arrow and Vekoma --- Arrow used to fabricate rolling stock and track parts for Vekoma, which is why a lot of Arrow and Vekoma coasters look very similar.

More update stuff: Thrill Shot is scheduled for a Saturday February 10 reopening; Ninja is finally being repainted (bright fire-engine red).

Speculation is no longer necessary (not like there was much to deny or speculate anyway). A Cedar Fair representative at the EastCoaster event confirmed that Steel Venom will not operate in 2007 and will be dismantled and reassembled at another Cedar Fair park. Information regarding when the dismantling would begin and where/when it would be relocated was not disclosed.

^ I just checked out the Steel Venom thread at Geauga Guide and there was absolutely no evidence regarding any PR person saying ANYTHING. Somebody thought "they heard" it was going to be fixed, but that's it. I still say Steel Venom is packing up and leaving.

Uh. Looks interesting, but I think I'll pass. Think about how sick people would get on that. It's pretty much like a Space training sphere.

If a park rep said it will reopen in '07, then that's pretty much as close to the final word as it gets. But where did you hear this from and is it legitimate?

^ The thing is, if Steel Venom is to be up and running at Geauga Lake in '07, what would be the point in editing it out of the park map for 2007? They would have just left it on there if they planned to fix it and reopen it.

Glad to hear that about Thrill Shot! That ride has been SBNO for so long I can tell you have NEVER seen it open ONCE since it was built in 2001 and I visit the park frequently every year...

Uhh what? X last operated in August. 2006 How is that 2 years ago?

Since when does Knott's do that with their website?

You sort of have a point. Although Cedar Point does not have truly distinct themed areas, a lot of their attractions are individually themed that would not be as great as they without them. Take for example, Top Thrill Dragster, Disaster Transport and Maverick. I don't see how exciting an-out-in-the-open bobsled ride could do better with one that's enclosed and themed to outer-space, no matter how tacky the queue decorations are. It makes the environment and pre-ride experience more entertaining. Dragster. It's whole drag-racing theme with the station architecture, train decorations, and stadium viewing area very much enhance the ride experience. Maverick. I see this being Cedar Point's crowing theme jewel. Artificial rockwork interwined into the ride experience and a rustic western theme really make this ride a stand-out. Without it, it's pretty much just a California Screamin' with a 95-degree drop. It does make it a better experience, you just aren't grasping the concept of theme and what it can do for a simple amusement experience. A Batman logo or blockbuster movie is simply at first brand and licensing recognition that is more marketable for the attraction. A theme or storyline is usually what's to be executed afterwards.

That's very, very true. Revenue hardly means anything if operating expenses and all deductible costs afterward cut that down to a bare minimum profit. $26 million in revenue a year for an amusement park is HARDLY ANYTHING. Just for comparison's sake, according to the Toledo Blade, Cedar Point raked in $210 million in revenue and Knott's brought in $186 million in revenue. Compare those numbers to Geauga Lake's $26 million.

and i though WoF brought in people arouund the 4 million mark, but idk Worlds of Fun bringing in people around the 4 million mark? Even Cedar Point doesn't even draw in close to that many guests a year. Here are some real numbers (from the 2004 attendance by Cedar Fair) -- all Cedar Fair parks listed in order of attendance figures: 1] Knott's Berry Farm (3.5 million) 2] Cedar Point (3.2 million) 3] Dorney Park (1.4 million) 4] Valleyfair! (1 million) 5] Worlds of Fun (900,000) 6] Geauga Lake (700,000) 7] Michigan's Adventure (470,000)