QueerRudie

Spectacular as usual.

Before... SCR94.BMP And after! SCR95.BMP (Double-Looping, Anton Gardens park)

NIIIIICEEEE... Love seeing this massive erection getting kinkier as it grows... And I too as part of the RIT 24 am already starting to get excited for 'first drop'.... Dude, Get a life. Please. Just because you don't like Intamin and think B&M makes the world's best coasters ever doesn't mean you should make snap and rush judgements of rides that aren't even complete. SkyRush, like many coasters, will have the same teething issues that EVERY COASTER ON THE PLANET has faced. But to bash a ride that's not even open based upon 1.) A coaster that goes 161KMH and needs to be trimmed BY DESIGN and 2.) A freak occurance due to exceptionally cold temps on opening day is absurd.

Outstanding again Folf- the detail work is exceptional as usual- and by far the finest work I've seen in quite a while.

Having seen over the many years 'mockup' ads- I treat this one the same way: WOOHOO! It's an ad for SkyRush... and nothing more, really. One shouldn't judge the 'artists representation' from the real thing- it's like the 'Serving Suggestion' on the outside of the package of frozen food you've eaten for dinner...

Interesting... So far I can't find fault with much that I've seen- the Wild Mouse reminds me an awful lot of the Wild Mouse that was built at Alton Towers (Now at Idlewild park in Pennsylvania) with the spinning tube lift hill structure. The only thing I might adjust is the length of the brake run on the wooden coaster- you're not stopping Superman, you're stopping a wooden train! R.D. GFMT

None.

I'll be right there with you. Next spring cannot come soon enough! Oh yes- I'm turning the entire weekend into RIT weekend... Starting off in Florida, then to Pennsylvania, then to Illinois... But being one of the RIT 24 certainly doesn't hurt either!

I'll let everyone know how it rides from the first train... I'll admit: I'm not an airtime junkie at all; I'm the opposite... But the base of the first drop looks to be a PozG experience par excellence. Nice pics, Chris!

Shipped mine out today... It took longer to drop it into the Postal Bin than it will take to get there...

So I've been working on something special lately... An offshoot of the Grand Gardens and RedLine Park chain. SCR93.BMP There's something special here... Something very different. Something WONDERFUL is coming...

Much better- the Log flume now fits very well- and the tunnel element/rocks has made it look more park friendly... which leads to a name for it: Boulder River Falls

I said NOTHHHHHING... yet. I don't mind Viper at all: You learn when to brace for what portions you're going through, and can expect some 'choppiness' to it- but it's not like it's one of the worst rides imaginable. It could be -much- worse... like a TOGO. (And Buck, Some people I know ENJOY that feeling....)

I've been waiting all year for this: WINNING! (And the return of Coke to the BGW/BGT/SW parks is, in fact the holiday gift they've been saving up for us for a while!)

I see this! Busch Gardens Williamsburg will be a seasonal, large-scale park! Wow! Thanks for the clarity! WHOA. I'm Impressed. I never thought that a park would ever do any planning beyond six weeks. I'm stunned with this revelation. Not really, but OK. AB was never involved with the parks in the first place: Busch Entertainment Corporation followed by SeaWorld Parks did this. The sole ownership might have been AB, but the governance of the parks was always self-guided by the likes of great men like Keith Kasen. You, if you're a noe-it-all, should be able to know who he is... and if you don't, shame on you. Really? Blackstone is going to sell off the parks after fattening them up? OK: Time to come into reality, please. Your fanboydom should at this point be choking you into oblivion. Blackstone might be an investment firm, but they were the ONLY BIDDERS FOR THE PARKS. And even then, Blackstone has, like AB, a hands-off approach to the parks, allowing them to be self sustaining ventures- basically a profit engine for an investment company. And, reality check time: It will be -very- difficult to find a suitable buyer anytime in the next 15-20 years or more- as the tax benefits of a short sale on the SeaWorld parks would be -gone- instantly. Blackstone didn't make their fortune by short selling, or shell-game tax benefits. They will invest in the parks the same way that they've invested in other ventures: Not much at all. The parks, under the central governance of the SeaWorld Parks BOD will continue to do what they do. After the initial equity in the park chain is paid off in full (Such as in profits,general dividends, interest and tax-bearing savings, property valuation sales, tax and lien breaks, etc.) THEN they may consider selling the chain off. But this idea of 'fattening the parks up for a sale' -Not at all. Blackstone doesn't do stuff like that- at all. Disney also has something BGW/BGT/SW doesnt have: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Ariel, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Owl, Christopher Robins, Piglet, Ursula, Hades, Hercules, Hera, Flick, Chip, Dale, Huey, Dewey,Louie, Daisy, Roger, Bennie, Jessica, Tarzan, Mogley, Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, Uncle Remus (Hopefully), Peter, Wendy, Tinkerbelle, Captain Hook, Jack Sparrow,Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Mr.Potato Head... Oh, and year round good weather, broader appeal for all age groups, larger amount of diverse attractions beyond the PARKS themselves, Beaches, coastline, POPULATION TO SUPPORT THE PARK, Good transportation... Need I go on? Wake up and smell the REALITY CHECK. Wow! That's great! It doesn't validate your points at all: If people weren't interested in the park's rides WHY WOULD THEY BUILD THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE? Oh wait. That's right. They come to the park for the, um, uh, Wait. I know this... Hold on a second. What you're saying is that people don't come to BGW for the rides, such as the Loch Ness Monster, Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot, Griffon, Le Scoot, Roman Rapids, Festa's numerous flats, EFP, Europe By Air, The Sky Ride, the Train, the FOOD, the shops, the atmosphere. They come for the AWARDS! Right! Yes, I forgot- the general public comes for the AWARDS. Duh. I should have know that. If you're actually paying attention to your list of 'why people come to BGW, you've eschewed any sense of the reason why people come there in the first place: It's a FUN FAMILY SEASONAL PARK. They enjoy the beauty, the shows, the food and the rides IN THE RIGHT SEASON. I can think of nothing more miserable than walking around BGW on a cold day in January, other than perhaps to walk around Cedar Point on a cold day in January. If you've ever been to BGW on a cold day: THERE ARE NO GUESTS IN THE PARK. Why? IT'S TOO COLD. Having been there on a regular basis from 1991-2000, and in all sorts of weather, the park does a non-existent business on cold or rainy days. As in: None at all. During one fall chiller in 1995, I was one of maybe 1000 guests in the park, despite the crystal clear weather and sunshine. This idea that you've got that people would flock to the park in droves during the winter is assanine to begin with- to think that it could happen is even worse. You think? Rumors are all you're spreading here, and I'll admit, it smells a LOT like the pastures in my Uncle's cow farm... Take off your rose-coloured glasses, and go get a vision check. You're letting fanboy ideals step in front of clear, existent logic. Perhaps you should learn how to add then. Your math sucks. Nothing adds up- at all. Here's a big question for you, as it's the most logical question to ask: If BGW thought they could make money as a year round park, why haven't the done so for the past 37 years? Look around you, as you're not really paying attention to the reality of the situation- at all. 1.) BGW is not a year round park. 2.) BGW has about as much chance of becoming a year round park as I do becoming the first queer, latino, Jewish President. 3.) If you think I'm wrong, refer to statements #1 and #2.

Re: TR- Outstanding way to say goodbye to the Penguin Encounter; That was always one of my favorite attractons as a yout visiting Flowridah from Brooklyn. Here's hoping the future of these wonderful birds is perserved in the rebuild of their home. Re: More family options: I'm glad to see Max and Ruby are finding a good home- it's a perfect fit for the Sea World parks!

Compare this then: 13.9M tourists in Tampa in 2010 vs. 4.25M tourists to Hampton Roads/Newport news/Williamsburg in 2009 (Source: VisitTampaBay.com- the Tourist board for Tampa; Hamton Roads tourism council) And that's on an ANNUAL basis. Colonial Williamsburg logged 1.7M visitors- of which 800,000 were paid tickets in 2009- the most recent year I could locate complete statistics on the area. Proof, please? Or is this speculation? Or is it fanboy dreaming yet again? Busch Gardens has for the most part only listed one new attraction annually, with the exception of the Ocktoberfest expansion/Verbolten. I'd like some sort of proof that these are announced, proven in the works rides please. Disney is also DISNEY- as in A BRAND and CHARACTERS that people GO FOR. I don't see the Seven Duffs* being a draw at Busch Gardens... Busch Gardens thrive as a park for families- but does not have the infrastructure nor the build abilities for a park to become year round. It is not feaseable on a large scale. One of the reasons the park attracts so many family attendance is the beautiful scenery and trees- which, during the winter are barren. To compare Disney to Busch would be like comparing Frontier Airlines to Southwest: Similar, both good, but one is much more popular than the other- for a good reason. And I think you need to remove your rose colored glasses. According to the National Weather Service, the average daily temperture in Williamsburg from January 1st-31st is a HIGH of 47, with a low of 28. That's the 100 year average mind you. In addition, The Hampton roads area averages between 9-12 inches of snow annually, as well as between 6-8 inches of rain during the period from 1January to 31st March. The NWS also lists an average of two ice storms in that region annually, and sleet/freezing rain regularly: (Source: National Weather Service, Weather.com) Let's see: In 1992: there were four 'major' coasters. In 2011, there were... Four major coasters. And a negligible drop tower. How is that a great deal of improvement, especially since three of those coasters can't be operated below 45 degrees... Actually, this is only partly true: Remember, for a year round park to succeed it needs tourists from beyond a 180 mile range to come on on a REGULAR basis- and that means people beyond the normal 4 to 6 hour drive range... and that means: AIRLINES/Air Transport. When AirTran started to expand at PHF, the airport worked with the Williamsburg Chamber of Commerce, the Hampton Roads Tourism association, as well as with Busch Gardens and other tidewater attractions to BOOST the number of arrivals/departures and passenger totals via air to the attractions therein. Highways are popular with smaller regional parks, but if you're going to be a year round park, you need weather, population and tourism to keep it operating. Busch, while one of my favorite places on the planet (Hell, my #1 coaster is there) is NOT one of those places. They could completely redo and expand the park up the wazoo, and it would not work: There isn't enough of the right ingredients to make the cake rise.

Your logic is heavily flawed I'm afraid... in so many ways, too. 1.) BGT has a LOT more traffic draw to central/coastal central Florida than Williamsburg EVER will. There's no question of that. 2.) Four major indoor rides? I count one. 3.) None of the coaster can operate below 45 degrees for any period, so there goes the 'big' draw to the rides. 4.) The winters there are FAR worse than you're letting on: Having spent a decade there in Williamsburg, I can say the ice storms are far worse than the snowstorms, and NOBODY if they're wise goes out in them. 5.) In the 1990s, BGW tried a November operations period- which went over as well as Sardine and Liverwurst flavored Ice cream with chocolate and habanero sauce: As in- not at all. The park was deserted- as in, on a good day you'd have 1200 people in the park- far less than what is needed to keep the park open. 6.) There is not a major transportation capability in the Tidewater VA area: Why do you think that Southwest is closing down operations at PHF? They're not making money on planes. Why? NO DEMAND FOR IT. You're trying to make cow manure smell as fresh as roses hoping for a year round operation- and it's not going to work there. The tourisim of Tidewater VA cannot support a year round park. (Now before you ask how I know this... I studied marketing and tourism patterns while at William And Mary... and in NO year from 1972-1996 did the travel pattern change at all.)

Are you sure you don't already work for Six Flags Entertainment's advertising department? That sounds EXACTLY like something they'd do! Back quite a while ago, I was part of a regional airline that decided to cover everything on a plane in advertising... I guess it comes naturally to me. Future ad developments for SFInc: Mylanta/Dramamine/Pepto Bismol wrapped spinning flats (Picture an Enterprise looking like an enormous Pepto tablet!) Pampers/Huggies themed children's areas (Looney Toons World: Now 50% more leakproof!) Wooden Coasters will be sponsored by Lowes's/Hopeless Depot (I see Bob Vila helping with the wraps on this...) Steel coasters sponsored by Rust-O-Leum (Except Vekoma coasters: Sponsored by Advil/Aleve/Tylenol) Water rides sponsored by Brita ("Kids, look out! It's the filtered spigot!") Log flumes wrapped in DuraFlame wraps (Only burns when you WANT it to!) Drop towers sponsored by Traveller's Insurance ("Is this trip REALLY necessary!") It's coming folks... just wait for it.

Huh? I really see nothing wrong with naming a ride after something scary or intimidating. Isn't that the point? Maybe this is more your style. Arachnophobia is -nothing- to laugh at. For ANY reason. There's a difference between a scare, a thrill, and paralyzing fear. One can call a ride Black Widow and not necessarily put an enormous arachnid on the logo.

Calling sense of humour, Sense of Humour, you're needed at the gate.

Interesting- and a nice looking ride. You show quite a skill at creating a ride that's different from other ones that people have tried, and it's not pretentious, overblown or a semi-duplicate of other wooden coasters that I've seen here. Outstanding, in other words. R.D. GFMT

That logo guarantees I'm not heading back to Kennywood anytime soon. That's something their marketing department should have -really- thought about in depth prior to creating it: Spiders are one of the most feared items in the USA- and I know for me I'd not be headed to a park where that was on an attraction. Bad Kennywood. Bad bad Kennywood.

I decree this now officially seals it: The suck-factor will be going WAAAAY up on most SixFlags coasters. Pretty soon, you'll see the scramblers with ads on them, or River Rapids rides looking like LifeSavers candy. It's bad enough they desecrated Whizzer and Mindbender... but how long will it be before Superman gets pudgy off of a Dove bar? Will Batman gain weight from his encounters with the Milky Way?

LOL- Agreed: I've wanted to try one of the parks with the 'transpotainment' water systems- as they do look like a LOT of fun... And the Blasters I've seen look like they're worth it, too. Hopefully we'll get a copy of Wild Wavi stateside before too long, as that would be the best place I can think of to 'return to the water!"