Rai Fox

A floorless Mantis conversion would be pretty great, but...the whole faking the "death" of a coaster thing is starting to turn into a bit of a cliche now. Cyclone, Colossus, and Mantis just in one year? Assuming it is what's going on, of course, but it does seem likely from the wording.

Just visited Playland for the first time yesterday, and actually really loved the park. I do have a soft spot for little, traditional parks like this one; I usually enjoy them far more than big corporate parks, really, even without any major coasters. Playland definitely needs TLC and the crowds were...not exactly classy...but the actual rides seem to be in good condition beneath the faded paint, and run quite well. Derby Racer is absolutely awesome, the dark rides are charming, and the Dragon coaster was quite a bit better than I expected...no world class woodie but definitely worth riding. Even the Volare's not really that bad. The flats seem to to be run at pretty serious speeds, too, so even the common stuff compares pretty well to other similar rides. The park definitely needs some work in places, but it seemed like it has real potential, if it just gets an owner that actually cares about it a little bit. If the partnership with Central Amusements and Standard Amusements works out, I'm really looking forward to seeing where the place goes. I'll definitely be going back myself. Sadly no pictures since their bag policy meant my phone stayed in a locker all day.

Gotta back up the Drachen Fire thing. That coaster had an incredible layout, and it could still be an amazing coaster today if it was build properly, just like Kumba is. That first drop would still be a legend.

Well, damn. This sucks. I'm gonna have to go back to SFNE now... Seriously, Wicked Cylone looks amazing. Cylone was my first "big" coaster as a kid, so I've always loved it, even in its recent, rather pitiful days, and this looks like a near-perfect re-imaginging for it. Seems like everything RMC touches turns to gold.

I can't say I'm a huge fan of the way the name sounds; I like Iron Cyclone or Steel Cyclone better, myself, even if it's even more "obvious"...but if it turns out as good as everything else RMC has done, I don't think I'll care too much about the name. Still too bad the rest of the park isn't likely to make a good home for the coaster given its history...but...optimism, right? >.>

Lake Compounce has not had a Rotor in a few years. (Well, technically they still -have- it, in pieces, behind the employee parking lot...) It was falling apart, several attempts to rehabilitate it failed, and they replaced it with Revolution (Mega Disko) a few years ago. Canobie Lake still has theirs, though, and it's a great one.

Do not sprint through crowded areas, particularly if you're apparently blind. Oh, this one should be obvious anywhere? Guess again. At Lake Compounce yesterday, had a teenage girl sprint into me full speed in front of Pink's - slammed into me and sent the plastic tray I was bringing back to the trash area flying through the air...where, of all targets, it hits a 6-7 year old girl right in the face. The girl that ran into me stops for just long enough to see what happened, and runs off again without a word. Fortunately the younger girl wasn't hurt, and apparently thought it was the funniest thing ever. The runner's complete lack of concern for anyone else was unbelievable though.

You're right about them losing too many flats but in their defense Houdini, Tomohawk and New England Sky Screamer are all great flats. That said removing Colossus is unforgivable. Colossus was removed because the structure was failing. A routine inspection found severe cracks in the ride's supports. Keeping it running until it failed as horrifically as it could have would have been far more unforgivable. Would have been nice for them to have replaced it, though.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1394678/canada-s-wonderland-retires-iconic-stand-up-roller-coaster-skyrider-after-29-years That's a little sad. Skyrider's an underrated ride, IMO, far better and smoother for some reason than its siblings. I rode it a couple years back just to get the credit, expecting a painful thrashing, and ended up enjoying it enough to go around a few more times.

Excited as I am about the ride itself, it's going to be the most anticlimactic announcement of the year at this point, unless the ride's packing some very serious surprises.

I agree with the majority of this, but I just feel like I should add that Colossus, the ferris wheel, was removed because severe structural cracks were found in it that would have left it incredibly unsafe. I can't really fault the chain, no matter how much I dislike them, for removing an unsafe ride. I do still miss it though; was a hell of a view from up there! The rest, though...yeah, I want Riverside back. SFNE is not, and likely never will be, anything like it was before that sad transformation. As for the chain in general...100% agreed with the general consensus. Premier ruined a great thing.

Seems like Canobie got screwed on the new one. There were obviously major issues with the ride from the beginning; I have to wonder if the carnival they bought it from didn't know just what a mess it was, and that's why they were trying to get rid of it. Wonder if there's anything they can do about it now.

Knoebels' Twister in the rain, absolutely incredible. Boulder Dash in the rain, wild and so much fun, but a bit painful. Phantom's Revenge in the rain? Holy crap ow.

I think they are either just back up systems or meant to keep the car from twisting. I'm not an engineer, but from how they're mounted I'm guessing they're there to minimize flexing of the arm itself, to help keep it from forming stress cracks over time.

I'd almost forgotten about Questor. That one was pretty awesome too. I'd be happy to see either one of them return.

Couldn't agree more. Corkscrew Hill was my favorite of the old simulator rides by far, and I miss it every time I'm at BGW. Europe in the Air is one of the most pointless rides at any part...a sad, half-assed attempt to clone Soarin' that's just not anywhere near Busch Gardens quality. Bring back Corkscrew Hill...please? =<

I'm waiting to hear your impressions on Dorney. It always seems like such an underrated park to me. It's no Knoebels, and the coasters aren't world class, but I always have a great time there. (Will be there this Sunday, actually!)

Nope, you're not. I love Wildcat. Rough, yes, but still fun! I guess I have a pretty high tolerance for rough coasters though.

It depends on the crowds, but if it's your first time there, it's likely worth a full day. It really depends on if you just want to do the major attractions or if you're going to want to ride all the flat rides, try some of the food (Pink's...don't miss Pink's!), etc. You could get in a few rides on the coasters and the other unique rides and be out in a few hours, but there'll be enough to do to keep you busy all day if you want, especially if you spend any time in the water park.

Aww. Too bad about Power Surge. I really hate to miss it...Not like there are a lot of them around in the US. I wonder what the holdup is? Parts for that too? I don't think they'll be starting any of that during the season this year, since the attractions it's replacing are still up and running this summer.

Don't know about all CF parks, but King's Dominion was allowing re-rides when I was there on a quiet, rainy day last week, at least on a couple of the coasters. I don't know if the ride ops were breaking policy or what, but they were definitely letting people stay on Anaconda and the wooden coasters.

Anyone know if Power Surge is up and running again, or if it's still in pieces? Will be there in a week and a half and that's one of my favorite flats, I hope I don't have to miss it!

Another for the first gen freefall here. Suddenly really happy that I'll be at Dorney in a few weeks... I wonder how many rides on Demon Drop I can get in in one day?

If you are eating at Dorney, take a look at their website; along with other CF parks they have a deal now where you can buy a meal pass for $30 that lets you get a meal (entree and side) every 90 minutes. If you're there all day, you can get a lot out of that $30. The food's not amazing, but it's not terrible either, and might be a halfway decent deal with that. I don't know for certain how good it is, or if it includes only certain food in the park, but it might be worth looking into anyway. As far as the general dislike for Dorney...well, just don't let people turn you off to it before you even get there. It doesn't seem to be a very popular park, but I've very much enjoyed my last couple trips there. IMO, it's a well-kept, attractive park with low crowds and a lot of rides that might not be quite world class, but are more than worth making time for. Talon alone is definitely worth the trip.

I'm not sure it really affects Shockwave though. That one's more just can you handle it, and the restraints, or not, except for needing to use the headrest right coming out of the helix. Unlike many coasters with some roughness, I think most of Shockwave's is by design. It's too overbuilt to have changed much with age. You're standing up and it uses, in a calculated way, simplistic track geometries to make it feel like you're going to be thrown off. I'm not so sure that it is by design, though. SkyRider at Canada's Wonderland is nearly a twin to Shockwave, but when I rode it a couple years back, it was so much smoother that it was an entirely different ride, despite that it's the older of the two. I'm not entirely sure what the difference is, whether it's just maintenance or something actually constructed differently, but Shockwave is just so much more painful.