Rai Fox

Oh WOW. That layout is batshit insane. As long as it rides well, this is going to be incredible! I can't wait for this one! Couldn't care one way or another about the sports themeing in general but since it's an excuse to paint it Pittsburgh colors, it works for me.

...really? I actually had no idea it was that "on the way." I'll be heading from Waldameer into Pittsburgh wed...might have to make a stop here too!

Well, they definitely did get the Monster up and running; I've ridden it in 2016 and 2017. Wasn't quite as good as an older Spider though. I dont know if it's the design or the park's operations or what though; Dorney's Monster seems to run incredibly well but that's the only Monster I've been on that's ever given me a ride like a Spider.

That's sad. That's one of the rides I was really looking forward to getting on; not enough of them left around, and the newer versions just aren't the same.

Noooo! One of my absolute favorite flat rides. Still two weeks before I'm there, so it could be running again by then, but that doesn't look good...

I did get to talk to the park's GM about that a few months back. The clearing around the lake is, pretty much as it appears, going to be for the waterpark. They have literally decades worth of possible expansion plans for it. It definitely won't be filled up in 2019, or 2020, but they plan for it to be growing slowly for years to come. Fortunately there are other improvements coming sooner. There are plans to replace the Skyride with at least one, likely multiple, flats. When I spoke to Jerry about it, they were in the process of testing the ground there; the composition of the soil and rock there will decide what kind of structures can be built. Jerry said he had some possible rides in mind for the spot, but he wasn't willing to share them yet, at least not before the site testing was finished. (Tell me a Condor 2G wouldn't be perfect there, though!). There's also possibly more expansion room coming; the park was working out details on expanding somewhat past the lake. They'd been blocked by the town in the past and the homeowners beyond the park weren't willing to allow it, but they were working on some trades and deals there, and Jerry seemed pretty confident it would work out.

I was sold at "Southern Tier." I guess I'll be checking that place out in a couple weeks. Thanks for the report!

Oh no. This is not an easy question. ONE place to eat in Pittsburgh. Just one. There are just so many awesome restaurants there... If you're anywhere near downtown, I'd say Tenpenny (https://tenpennypgh.com); food and cocktails there are both amazing. Their dessert menu tends to be "whatever the chefs felt like making that day" but if they have any of their cobblers, forget how many carbs are involved and go for it. I've tried their peach and blackberry cobblers and never had one nearly as good anywhere else. Considering making a reservation though if you'll be there on a weekend; depending on the day it can get very busy. If you want really good beer, Southern Tier has a brewpub on the north shore. Good food, too, but mostly of the burgers and sandwiches sort. There's also Sharp Edge Bistro for that; they have a massive beer selection, but most of it's bottles, not on tap. Right down the road from Sharp Edge is Bakersfield, with really awesome tacos, and a looooong tequila and whiskey menu. There's also Condado for mexican; not nearly as fancy as Bakersfield but you can't go wrong there either; inexpensive build-your-own tacos with everything you could think of to put in or on them, and great margaritas. I haven't tried it yet myself but The Commoner gastropub in the Omni hotel building is supposed to be pretty fantastic too. If there's any particular sort of restaurant you're looking for, I can probably be more helpful! ...er, fair warning. Depending on when exactly you mean in early July, downtown Pittsburgh may be a very...interesting experience, though. Anthrocon is July 5-8, and we kind of take over quite a lot of the area, so depending on your opinions of such things... The problem with the Potato Patch fries is...both of those contributors are right. In my experience the fries there seem to be very inconsistent. I've had fries there that were absolutely every bit as good as their reputation would suggest, and other days I've gotten a limp, soggy, lukewarm mess. I wish I knew some secret to getting good fries all the time, but I haven't figured that one out!

Oh crap, this doesn't look great. I didn't even know there was a coaster there...looks like it's this one? https://rcdb.com/8931.htm I hope everyone's okay, haven't heard any word on that yet, but falling 30 feet doesn't sound promising...

Seriously, there's no information given about the suspect at all, and you just assume it's someone that's only there because the park is reasonably affordable? That's a hell of a conclusion. And if you think wealthier people are generally more considerate... I love this, though. "Police believe alcohol may have been involved due to a report of the suspect smelling like alcohol."

Noted! I should be able to do that. If all goes according to plan I'll be getting there around 6 monday evening, and have all day tuesday there.

A Screamin' Swing in Ireland. Alright! Good fit for the park, but I'm wondering now what they'll theme it to.

Sara's does tend to have lines if it's a nice day but it's kind of an Erie staple. I'll be there on a weekday and I can always try to get there at off-hours, so, shouldn't be too terrible. Thanks though!

Thanks! I'll just have to wait for Knoebels later in the summer for the spectacular park food, then. I'll probably end up giving Sara's a try! I remember reading about their rain policy here; that was actually one of the deciding factors for making a stop there. I'm fitting it into the middle of a road trip, so there's not really any wiggle room to do it any other day; it's that tuesday or nothing. Knowing it'll almost certainly be open no matter what the weather ends up being is a big plus.

Thanks to a change in travel plans, just got to add Waldameer to my park schedule for this summer! I'll be there on Tuesday, June 26th, so I don't imagine crowds will be much of an issue and I should be able to get to everything in the park. That makes ride "must-dos" pretty much irrelevant, so more importantly, are there any must try restaurants or snacks here? I saw mention of a deep fried pretzel a couple pages back...anything else that's worth going out of the way for, or should I plan on finding food outside the park instead?

Well, plans for getting a big group of friends to Kennywood fell through, but since it'll just be me and a couple others that have been there many times before now, we decided to give it a pass this year and take a day on our way into Pittsburgh instead to stop at Waldameer and finally get on Ravine Flyer II. It's hard to pass up Kennywood, but getting to check out a park that none of us have been to before should be worth it!

That's great news! I doubt there's another classic arcade collection like that anywhere. I'm glad he gets to keep sharing it, and the rest of us get to enjoy it. I hope he's able to get the new place up and running soon!

Going off of his previous reports, it seems that a lot of parks in China have unusually extreme restrictive policies on maximum height to ride some of their coasters.

Lake Compounce on the 19th; here's hoping everything is running well by then.

Ouch...apart from Phobia running well (I would hope so, at 3 years old...) and more logs on Sawmill plunge, this doesn't sound great. I'll be going in a couple weeks, but it definitely sounds like this'll be the first year since 2004 that I won't be buying a season pass

I suppose I can understand why they got rid of the free soda; food and drink are a huge source of income for any park. Still, it really kinda sucks. That was kind of a signature thing for the park. The last year really has not been good to LC; I hope something great is coming soon to get the place going in the right direction again.

My home park is Lake Compounce, and...well, I love the place, but it's never been the /best/ part anywhere...and after the last season...*cringes* Let's hope 2018 is kinder to the place.

They do; the 5:30 Kickback includes free booze! At least where it's legal; local laws get in the way in some places. Where they can get away with it, three drinks (wine, beer, or cocktails) are free. The one I've stayed at in Pittsburgh (and loved, and will be staying at again this summer!) is only allowed to offer one drink free, and two more at 75 cents each; it's possible some cities might not allow it at all. The one I've stayed had full meals, and multiple options for them every night, as of last summer. According to their website that's still the case. Slightly off topic, but awesome, the one in Pittsburgh is also in an old federal bank building, and the meeting and banquet space is inside where the vaults were, with the original vault doors intact. IMO, it's damn near impossible to beat a Drury hotel if there's one in the area.

I'd love to see it but it just seems like there's so much working against them. Fun Spot is in Orlando. Lakemont is in Altoona... I just don't see how they can really draw enough people in.

I'm a tiny bit disappointed that there don't seem to be any major callbacks to Corkscrew Hill; I would have much rather had the chance to ride a pooka or gryphon again than the dragon. Still, this is looking like the best thought out use of VR yet, and I'm all over anything with Irish mythology. Going to have to get there this year one way or another.