Rai Fox

Looks like I'm finally going to get to Morey's this year! Right now, my plans are looking like I'll be taking a long weekend, second weekend in August, driving down there early saturday morning (4-5 hours for me depending on traffic) to get there with a few friends not too far after noon. I figure I'll have the day to do the dry stuff, stay the night somewhere nearby, and in the morning do half a day or so at the waterparks. Sunday evening I'll be off to Knoebels campground from there. So, does that sound reasonable, a full day for the coasters and flats, and a half a day for the waterparks on a weekend mid summer? I've read that crowds aren't generally a huge problem but it's just about peak season, so... Not going to ask if there are any must-do rides, I know the basics and I'm pretty much only happy if I do everything anyway, but how about food? Anything I absolutely have to try while I'm there? (The Fractured Prune looks like a can't miss, already!)

The last few times I've been were on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and crowds weren't bad at all. I've been able to do pretty much everything in the park with hours to spare. Generally you'll have lines for Exterminator and Black Widow, so get to them first before crowds build up; Phantom and Ghostwood Estates will have minor lines, the raft ride will if it's hot; other than that, my experience is most things are nearly walk ons on weekdays.

I don't know how Fun Spot does it. First White Lightning, now this. Just wow.

I think for a smaller scale ride like this, it's not that out of the ordinary anymore. Think about some of the smaller Gravity Group coasters that have had a VERY quick turn around: Wooden Warrior, Roar-o-Saurus, etc. This isn't a knock on the ride AT ALL, just the reality of these companies being able to turn around a ride much quicker now than they used to. Speaking to Jerry Brick at Lake Compounce before this season, he mentioned that Wildcat wouldn't open for a few weeks after the track work was done, because they were required to completely a certain number of testing runs before they could let people on it at all, and while I don't remember the exact number, he said it would take weeks. That seems quite different from this, and that was for a (admittedly major) retracking and new trains, not an entirely new coaster. Maybe it's a state regulation, or manufacturer specific? It does still seem impressive for Fun Spot anyway, and I'm sure this coaster is going to be another huge win for them.

They have Meat Plant and Meat Plant 2 now? I'll never complain about Six Flags' in park advertising again...

Glasses are the big one. I can't risk putting them in a pocket or anywhere there's any chance of them being lost or damaged, since there's no chance of me driving home afterward without them. Phone too, since I like my shiny new expensive phones and would not be happy to lose one.

A few years back, Canada's Wonderland had a really amazing projection show on Wonder Mountain at night that I absolutely loved. I was pretty excited to see a new version of it on this year's schedule...until I checked the date. Starting June 24th...the day after I'll be there. So, I'm wondering, probably getting my hopes up for nothing, but do these sorts of shows ever "soft open" early, or is it pretty much June 24th, no sign of it before then? I know Bert had mentioned seeing a technical rehearsal of Cedar Point's Luminosity early, but that's a rather different sort of show.

A bit late on this one but the original yellow topper was damaged by a winter storm; it was starting to look pretty faded, anyway. It's been replaced by a new blue topper now that looks quite a bit nicer, IMO. I should have thought to snap a picture, but I'm sure someone will get one soon enough.

They were running one train yesterday but the line wasn't even past the split for front and back half of the train, so...

Finally hit up Lake Compounce for the first time this year, yesterday. I'd been waiting to give them time to get Wildcat finished and running, so skipped opening day for the first time in over a decade. Turned out that didn't do me much good, as the "not running today" board showed Wildcat on the way into the park, and we could see before even entering that they were still adding track. Not sure what happened there; two months ago, park GM Jerry Brick had said the work was almost done, and they would be testing soon to get it open for Memorial Day, but it looked like very little had actually been done in the time between then and yesterday. I wasn't able to find Jerry to find out what had gone wrong; I'm sure the rainy weather lately didn't help but it couldn't have been that much of a delay. Other than that, it was a good day for the most part. Rain early in the morning kept the crowds at a minimum, even though the skies cleared up barely fifteen minutes after the park opened. We were able to hit everything in the park, and the running coasters a few times, and be out by five. Boulder Dash is definitely running better than it has in a long time. Our first ride was one of the first trains of the day, and it was a bit slow then, but by time we got back around for a second run, it was flying as usual. Still a bit rough in the back, but not painfully so. The new track is a definite improvement over the old triple-up, or at least how that's been for the last few years. I loved that when it was first added but it's been a long time since that was enjoyable. The new airtime hills are far smoother. Phobia hasn't changed in a year; still a perfect fit for the park and a great use of that small footprint. I'm amazed at how much of a difference there is between front and back rows on such a small train; the back just /rips/ you over that first dive. Zoomerang remains one of the better boomerangs around; I can't call it smooth, but it's not painful, and that puts it in the top few of the class alone. Ghost Hunt is a /huge/ improvement with the new guns and sensors. The targeting lights help immensely, though it might have been nice to color the four in each car differently; as is if everyone's aiming in the same area, it's a bit hard to tell which is yours. More important, though, the shots go where you're aiming, and every target works! My group all laughed at the "improvement" to the back area, with the mirrors and no targets; with Doc Popcorn directly underneath it now, the entire tunnel smells like (very good!) popcorn. Wonder how many people will be getting off the ride hungry now... All the flats were in good shape. Wipeout was running faster than I've seen it since it moved to LC; not Knoebels fast, but definitely enough to be fun! American Flyers? Are you ready for this? People were /SNAPPING AMERICAN FLYERS/. That's probably as much to do with the breeze yesterday as with the ride, but...snapping, on what used to be the worst flyers in the country. I was only able to get a tiny little jump off the cables myself, but others were having far more luck. Lunch was Pink's, which was...something of a disaster. The park needs to work on training and management a bit here. The staff were trying to do things assembly-line style, but everyone was crossing over into everyone else's space, tripping everyone else up. Confusion everywhere; a month into the season and no one seemed to have any idea what they were doing or how to make any of the items on the menu. Even with very low crowds, it took far too long to get our food, and people were packed into the waiting area while the staff tried to catch up. That said, no complaints about the food itself! Everything was quite good. Much the same with the Dippin' Dots sundae store; same as last year, the girl working it had no idea how to actually make any of the sundaes; what I got was not remotely anything like the sundae I picked on the menu. Sorry for the lack of pictures, my phone is dying and the battery barely lasts a few hours even without using the camera now. Overall, good trip to the park; rides are A+, food service could use some help, and I hope Wildcat is up and running soon!

The best experience everyone has ever had on a coaster? I can't even think of any coaster (besides Phoenix, of course) that everyone even likes. I mean, fine, maybe I'm just nitpicking, but the line just made me roll my eyes, that's all.

"It’s been the best experience everyone has ever had on a roller-coaster,” said Jon Mahony, a Playland electrical mechanic for the ride. Yeah, I, uh...I think that might be overstating it a little bit.

Nice find! I had no idea this place even existed. Those homemade rides are definitely...unique? The flume actually looks like a pretty solid drop. I love that they're all bailing from the still moving boat at the end of the clip, right into the water.

I really need to get to this place; it's only a few hours from me and somehow I've never made it there. It looks like I could spend half the day just on It. Maybe I'll take a long weekend sometime this summer and head down there.

This sounds...odd. I'm not sure how they'll pull that off; if you can control the motion of your "car", bump other riders/players, etc...how is it possibly going to be synched well to the ride motion? Not sure I'm sold on this idea...

http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/Hydro%20Flume.htm Oh yeah, they're getting criticized for that one. They may have had good reasons (though, being SF, 50/50 odds at best...) but I still regret never getting on that.

I've only seen that at Disney, so far. I feel like it might be something of a balancing act. It definitely seems safer; not so much in a are-the-restraints-secure way but in that it minimizes contact with the guests. People being the way they are these days, especially in this country, all it takes is someone leaning the wrong way at the wrong time, or a ride op misjudging a few inches of distance, and a shoulder harness check turns into a sexual assault lawsuit. Needless to say some in the media would just LOVE a chance to toss something like that around if it happened at The Happiest Place On Earth. Of course, it's definitely more efficient, too. On the other hand, having guests tug the yellow strap seems like it probably isn't quite as effective for making sure the harness is down as tightly as a park might want, etc. This may be less of an issue for Disney where the majority of their rides aren't quite so extreme. At other parks with monster airtime machines and truly crazy flats, maybe they find it more important to personally check the restraints. There's probably a lot more to it than that, of course. Something to ask a park manager next time I get the chance, maybe!

Non-enthusiasts and normal people are the people who don't get to parks all that often. GP are the ones who stand in line for Boulder Dash telling everyone within twenty feet how three people died on it on the part where it goes upside down.

Do what I did last year and go during Halloween season! Everything's a night ride! That was one of the best park trips I've had yet, I think.

Definitely - Lake Compounce (home park) Six Flags New England Canada's Wonderland Cedar Point King's Island. Almost definitely - Knoebels Dorney Possibly - Canobie Lake Dollywood

I'm not sure what the one at Kings Island was called, but SFGAdv used to have the same thing until the late 90s. I remember experiencing it as a kid - had a blast! Canobie Lake Park had one of these too. Was amazing as a kid, though I expect I'd laugh at it these days.

Looks good to me! The complaints about it looking beat up are leaving me shaking my head a bit. Kinda like complaining that Knoebels Haunted Mansion looks dirty and dingy. It's themeing, it fits what they're going for, and they actually look to have put some real effort into it. A+ to King's Island.

...wha?

Doing Cedar Point in a day can be done, but unless you catch a very quiet day, you're going to want a Fast Lane pass. Even in May, a weekend isn't likely to be quiet there. Not as bad as later in the summer, but still going to want that Fast Lane. Renting a car isn't a bad idea; if you book it ahead of time, and just need a small, basic car for one day, it won't cost much at all. You can get a cheap economy car for $30 a day or so with fees. The drive to CP from Columbus is...interesting. Last time I did it, I got stuck on a tiny farm road, behind a literal farm tractor, for several long, slow miles. Not too bad, though, for the most part, but I enjoy long drives. Whether or not 5 hours in a day is too much is definitely personal preference. The drive back might worry me if I had to make it alone, late at night, after a long and tiring day though; much easier with friends to help stay awake. IMO you're missing out if you don't give some of the smaller coasters a chance too, Blue Streak is a great little classic, but...that's your choice! Just as long as you get Maverick.

... I don't expect much from the shed...but the rest of the ride...WOW. That train is absolutely flying! If it's really as fast as it looks over those hills, this thing could be amazing. Can't wait to get out there later this summer and find out!