Mr Stratosphere

The park is now closed today through Thursday and reopening Friday. I will be sure to shoot an update first thing Friday morning! I saw this morning another car all wrapped up on the loading dock for the park.

Hey everyone, very small quick update from the park. All the track in the main arena of the ride has now been aligned and in place. The crane has been moved over next to Chaos as they prepare to install the finale of the ride. Not too much more to go on the construction of El loco. In other news, Slingshot is down for maintenance and one of Canyon Blaster's trains are off track for annual refurb. Have a great weekend everyone! Queue markings are now in place. Track pieces waiting installation outside. One lonely footer awaiting support. The crane has been moved next to Chaos. Love how close to the park floor this ride goes to! Only one Canyon Blaster train on the rails. The other is out for annual rehab.

Mine is Montezooma's Revenge at Knott's followed by the Mindbender at the West Edmonton Mall.

Hands down Big Shot at the Stratosphere takes the cake. The view, and the fact that it is a first generation Space Shot, it only has cables on the top, so it catapults you to the top and feels more "out of control". Also as far as Turbo Drop models go, the prototype that is operating at Buffalo Bill's in Primm, Nevada (Where Desperado is) is the most intense standard Turbo Drop. But I have noticed the restraints on S&S Shot Towers have gone to having this bump in the crotch area, you can see the difference in the two below photos I found online. The airtime now is not as crazy as it used to be, don't get it wrong, it's still great! Old Padding New Padding

I would take the vertical loop off of Manhattan Express at NYNY. I think that is the roughest part of the ride, without it, I think it would be a little more re-ridable. But in the end, the general public loves the ride, and that is all that matters.

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I would have to say the best rides for maintenance are S&S Shot Towers, they do not have as many moving parts, and the longest I ever remember Big Shot at Stratosphere being down is a week at most, normally annually. And that is not bad for the rides location. Worst I would say are aging coasters, so many spot welds etc. You can look at any older coaster and see weld marks and sometimes even additions to the coaster ties. Track pieces on steel coasters are replaced more often than we may think.

First: Matterhorn Bobsleds Second: Desperado Thrid: Ninja (SFMM) Fourth: Canyon Blaster (Adventuredome)

I haven't seen this on here yet, but has anyone been to the (kinda) new Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta at Disney California Adventure? Its near Silly Symphony Swings. They have this Chicken Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto which is one of my favorite dishes at any park. Its $9 and totally filling and satisfying.

A lot of construction is being done on the front of the facade of New York New York, the Brooklyn Bridge is closed off and all pedestrians walk along the strip on a makeshift sidewalk. The water surrounding the Statue of Liberty has been drained and work walls are now inside the casino. I will try and get some photos tomorrow while I am on property. Work is progressing on the front of Monte Carlo as well, you won't recognize the place, the only thing familiar with Monte Carlo is now Diablos Cantina.

The slowest line I waited in was X (before X2) with frequent break downs and one train operation, after 90 minutes I opted to leave the line. I think nowadays an hour is about my threshold for patience with any ride.

Here are a couple that come to mind: Dirty, filthy, non-maintained or totally outdated restrooms that just feel disgusting. Ride attendants that seem to flat out not care or would rather spend time socializing than assisting the guests in the park. And ones that seem to have a lack of urgency and seem to not enjoy their job. When I was a ride attendant at Stratosphere, I thought it was so much fun, getting to talk to people from all over the world, and ensure they have a memorable experience.

Not that it was the worst ride name, I just feel that it is being WAY overused. Goliath. There are now 7 coasters with the name Goliath and one of them is a Batman Clone.

Ouch. The Roller Coaster at New York New York (Manhattan Express)....

I would have to say Desperado at Buffalo Bill's in Primm, Nevada, there was so much space, but the turns and bunny hops are just all shaped weird.

I would have to say flat track, like Ride of Steel has at Darien Lake and Six Flags America

Wallet, Phone, Keys, Ziploc Bags for water rides, and unless it is Disney, I wear Cargo Pants / Shorts. Especially if there is a B&M Flyer involved, there is no access to your pockets at all on those trains.

Not necessarily a break down, but just an odd experience. We were riding Space Mountain at Disneyland and just before the big drop the music just faded out, and all we heard were random sound effects for the rest of the ride.

As always great photos Hanno! Love seeing the expressions on the faces of the riders!

I agree as well, Knott's has a nice balance of family and thrill, with attention to detail. I look forward to see what the future of Knott's has in store.

Wow the ever changing skyline of Knott's, I wonder if anything will ever drastically change that skyline again?

I do not think that will be an issue, they have kept Canyon Blaster running very well in its 20 years, and they have kept Chaos running and looking brand new for all of these years!

I also think the trains look cool for Dodonpa

Disneyland California Disney California Adventure Knott's Berry Farm Six Flags Magic Mountain Universal Studios Hollywood Belmont Park Sea World San Diego Cedar Point Kings Island EPCOT Magic Kingdom Animal Kingdom Busch Gardens Tampa Hersheypark Dorney Park Knoebels Kennywood Adventuredome and all of Vegas

A little biased right now, but I really like El Loco's cars for the Adventuredome.