GayCoasterGuy

There is a way to give feedback in a polite and constructive way; it can be a very good thing which people are usually open to hearing. Getting away from soft and cuddly a bit, here is a nice PSA on vertical videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt9zSfinwFA

^SFSTlouis has one of biggest coasters that ever was... Screamin' Eagle. Oh wait, the early 80s is over, sorry But seriously, that ride was a big deal way back. Then American Eagle came along, and it was also huge. As for St. Louis, the Boss is such an excellent ride... I know people complain that it's too rough, but during Dare Devil Daze last September, it was in incredible shape. I had ridden it opening year, 2000 (knock you out silly rough) and 2001 (not as rough), but last September it was downright incredible. A maintenance guy was telling me how much work they had been putting into it, including spraying the ride down during dry times to keep everything in tip top shape. Still has a couple rough spots (helix), but was easily a top 10 for me.

That sure is a beauty of a little park! The refurbished Enterprise and the Freedom Fighter toy guy are especially cool in my book!

How much bigger is CP than GA? Are you speaking of actual park space, and not counting all the accommodations at CP? I think I remember CP, SFGAm, SFGAd and SFMM to be all relatively close in size (ride/walkway areas only). I'm sure someone knows much better than me. Either way, just doing the entrance and exit walks to the main coasters at GA will take you for much MUCH longer walks than those at CP. Walking around the whole Great America and riding all the coasters (with their incredibly long enters/exits) is for sure a much longer walk than doing the same thing at CP. Most modern Six Flags coasters have intentionally long enters/exits. I helped a guy in a wheel chair up the exit of Raging Bull once. It was horrible for both of us. They gave him a time to come back. So back he went, down the exit and up again later.

HAHAHA! I recently caught myself doing that at Mount Olympus. I had been taking vertical pictures of Hades' first drop, then switched to video and forgot I was still holding the phone vertically. It is annoying, isn't it!?

^And seating. CP has tons of seating everywhere. They operate on a different principle. Someone can explain it much better than me CP operates on an ethic midway between the big corporate (SF) style and the kind you can find at Holiday World.

^Remember, Gerstlauer works out of the former Schwarzkopf factory and is very able to design a large coaster with full 24-passenger trains (like the ones they just build for sooperdooperLooper). That was more along the lines of what I was thinking, not a Eurofighter. But who knows! Great America has been "outdone" by CP for a long time - in terms of size and scale of rides, but I think we still have better coasters. I haven't ridden Gatekeeper yet (not in huge hurry to get to it; as much as I try and try, I just can't get into most B&M rides), but people who have ridden both seem to prefer X-Flight. It's all about taste, they are both great ride parks. Unfortunately for us local to Great America, Cedar Point wins by a landslide in terms of overall operation/efficiency and it's probably an easier park to just "hang out at" as a season pass holder. Quality of food and getting the food (service!) is much higher at CP. CP doesn't have 1/2 mile walks to and from coaster stations to the rest of the park. Exercise is great, but sometimes I just wanna chill out at Great America - it's not the best park to chill out at. I don't think any of the Six Flags are. SF is becoming more and more a "Season Pass holder park." The more people hang out there, the more they see stuff like 30 minute waits for cold fries and too many empty seats going out on coasters. It's not about complaining or being too critical, I'm being honest But then of course that opens the discussion that MOST people don't know how well some places are run. (And I know there are some people here who present great discussions on that stuff!) In all fairness to SF, the park is much better than it was 10 years ago. There is still a bunch of room for improvement.

You could put a Screamin' Swing swinging through there, a monorail, a Log Jammer type ride, a very wide walkway and still have room to spare. There is potential for all sorts of creative and cool visual yet practical things. But this is Six Flags. We aren't in Europe

Another coaster? Already? Let this onen up first, guys Heck, a couple of the best coasters ever built are already at the park. Unfortunately they've been in horrible conditions for years. I mean, they wouldn't set the world on fire if restored, but they would be HUGELY popular. 2 elephants in the room. Or 3, if you count Colossus counts as 2. But more coasters!? When you do stop? Fix what's there. Maybe a couple flats, a Screamin' Swing would be nice. Some sort of people mover system would be great. A Phantom's Revenge makeover of Viper - but keep the loops! There are so many coasters already there, with a little imagination, some of those could be turned into truly WORLD CLASS rides. The quantity is there, let's go for quality now. I know NEW is good for marketing, but old stuff REDONE could be marketed as well. It did wonders for Steel Phantom, and the Premier launch coasters, to name a couple examples.

^Great way of looking at it. Carnivals and the "Carnys" that run them have had a poor reputation for as long as I can remember. I guess, in some ways, that makes them so much fun! There don't seem to be as many carnivals as there were when I was a kid (early 80s). This new coaster at Tripsdrill looks incredible. All that with comfy lap bars; sorry Alton I just realized how close the word 'Alton' is to 'Anton'. Anton would definitely not approve of Smiler's restraints.

^Old flat rides are indeed a good thing I often joke about Fiddler's Fling to my friends "wanna ride the fastest ride ever built!?" The park has really gone out of their way to take care of old rides they could have simply sold off or scrapped long ago - Whizzer, Lobster/ERC, Yankee Clipper, etc. The people I've talked to at the park seem to be very proud of having older "classic" rides. There were many coaster nerds telling the park a Screamin' Swing would be a great idea. Perhaps up front, next to Sky Trek Tower? Heck, anywhere. Those rides are great! About the park not needing another new coaster - you're smart! They really have a great collection as is. Of course, we all want Eagle to run GREAT all the time, not just part of the time (and a topper-tracked helix, etc. etc.). I'm proud of my home park, I think it's one of the best - if not the best - in the chain. Well-rounded with family, flat, thrill rides and coasters. Supposedly, Ragin Cajun is the one the park "hates," but it's so darn popular. Maybe just add another one next to the one that's already there! It's fun to wish, ain't it!? Demon has always been a headache, but it's still a great ride. The theme is too good to get rid of. Maybe a new Mack or Gerstlauer (they do work out of the old Anton factory) version of the Demon would be a good idea, eventually. Or at least let's get those replacement Arrow trains with lap bars from Gravity Group (now that was a good rumor). I actually think Gravity Group's seat set up (with an added high-back, of course) would work well on an old Arrow coaster. The seats lean-back on Timberliners, so that would be good for entering loops (won't push your head forward as hard.) And the lap bars are perfect. My buddy came up with the name "Ironliners." Heck, if anyone could do it, it would be Gravity Group. They rock.

Those are great pictures! Knott's has really outdone themselves with the new area. I guess everyone has forgotten about the 300 foot B&M now that was never going there Haven't been to the park in years, can't wait to get back. Ghostrider was brand new (and out of this world) last time I went!

What city do you live in?

^There you go! Just keep reaching out, but be careful who you reach out to! Did you google some gay/glbt resources where you live?

^You have support here, and if you do a some searching, you can probably fine something where you live as well. One day at a time, it gets better!

Yeah, they need a second train on Hades. It's been a common complaint for years. Heck, with a slightly longer brake run (that could be done, of course) it would be good for 3 trains. There was a video a while back where the park owner, Nick Laskaris, was talking about the capacity complaints. I think the jist of it was, "well - it costs money." He may have said something about waiting to see how the Timberliner handles/wears the track, but I can't remember exactly. I understand things cost money, but a 2nd train would be nice. But before that, the ride needs lots of track work. So do Zeus and Cyclops. It will be interesting to find out how the Timberliner train handles a big coaster over a season vs. what it was like with the PTC. Those new trains were built with Voyage in mind... they're supposed to be better in all departments: capacity, comfort, maintenance/cost. So far, they get my vote for comfort. Zeus would be ok with a Timberliner train, but I hope they never replace the PTC buzz bar train on Cyclops. Only new track, please

I never realized that. Now the geek in me needs to go look for pictures of them! Holy cow, yeah! I always explained Zambezi as the "slightly smaller but more rambunctious brother of Whizzer." The hills were all much steeper, and there was good air time in a few places. And that tunnel! I'd love to get to get to South America and ride it in it's new home. Since we were talking capacity and all that fun stuff, you can see four trains (even though one is in transfer) in this picture: That was a crime removing such a great ride. It was very popular with everyone it seemed.

Just be careful around those magnetic launches, and mag brakes. (kidding )

On the curve above the brake run (the right hand curve after the pond drop, and before the final helix) there used to be a brake. The brackets are still there, but the brake itself is long gone. There was also one on the high curve after the first drop. A friend in the know told me that Anton designed his rides with NO trim brakes, that those were in fact block brakes. I haven't verified that for myself, so not sure about those. The brake we KNOW is both a trim and a block is the large straight one next to the lift. Revolution at SFMM also has a few of those non-straight brakes at the tops of hills. Revolution had 6 trains at opening, and could run 5. Magic Mountain used to buy and extra train for each of their coasters - to ensure capacity if one train were to go down. I was also told those old (and wonderful) Anton coasters including Whizzer and Revolution were built to run 5-7 trains each. For more than 5 trains, it took a manual operation, while 5 or less could be run by the ride "computer" (PLC = Programmable Logic Controller). There are some videos of Revolution going into the loop while another train is "threading" the loop. I assume those were for show when the ride was being run manually by maintenance, or someone from Intamin or Schwarzkopf. (Wouldn't it be funny if it was Anton himself!? Geez I'm a nerd.) Here is another great picture. One train at top of lift, one going up 4th hill, one in transfer, one coming into the station and I think there may be one leaving the station:

It seems many people are not big fans of wing riders, citing they are force-less. Is it plausible that the real issue is that these rides are more like flight simulators than actual roller coasters? They have high accelerations in spots - so they are definitely not force-less. Personally, I think most B&Ms feel more like flying than riding a roller coaster. The bucket seats with feet off floor, the four-across seating, the slick maneuvers, the perfectly heartlined and parabolic distribution of forces, etc. Flying is fun too! But it's different than riding a roller coaster. Of course, they are still coasters by definition. Other than a couple of their rides, I've never been super-excited about B&Ms stuff. My preference is a more traditional style coaster. I'm not bashing or complaining, I think it just comes down to personal taste. At the same time, they are smart investments for parks. They are reliable, have decent capacity, have a good ROI, and people love them! But wouldn't it stink if everything was either a B&M or Intamin?

Those colors would have been very cool! Didn't they end up all green with an orange stripe? Shockwave at Great America had 4 trains; one was in an accident while on the flat bed truck en route to the park before it opened. I think it showed up later, so there were 2 yellow and 2 red. Later, one train went to GASM at Great Adventure (?) and the existing 3rd train was painted blue. I don't think they ever ran all 4, that would have been crazy. They did an excellent job with 3 though!

^Exactly! When I was a kid, I don't remember feeling "rushed" or anything. You waited behind the line, and when your trained pulled up - you got in. Mom would strap her purse around her shoulder and you would hold on to your souvenir bag. If you had something big like a backpack, it either went on the floor of the seat you were in, or you threw it on the side. It was very basic; it's a huge contrast to how things are done now. I know some of it is needed, but it's nuts. Cedar Point didn't put in air gates on their coasters until sometime in the mid 90s. With air gates, numerous consecutive announcements and extra restraints, people get more nervous. We don't have many problems with people waiting for the subways here in Chicago. I have vivid memories of waiting to ride Whizzer at night: trains zipping everywhere with their head and tail lights shining bright through the trees. A really great memory is my friend Danny and I waiting in line, 4th of July 1982 (geesh I was 9!?). It was very foggy/overcast that night, and the park announced they would not be able to do fireworks. In lieu of that, the park was to stay open an extra hour! The entire under-station queue for Whizzer took 20 minutes when full. I love this shot of Whizzer (3 trains! No photoshop!) from GreatAmericaParks.com :

Yes, Bobby, much better. I know the shades/porn look is in (and you do it well, too), but you have great eyes - show them off! Plus, it looks like you are on or inside a ride in this picture

@inversion on Voyage's turn around: Awww... but the new bit on Hades is divine (I can't believe I just used that word.) The corkscrew-thingy on Hades actually is a great spot of relaxation - it's a true "zero g" inversion with incredible visuals. It would give Voyage riders a little breather, and momentarily replace the physical wildness with visual wowness

I still vote that it's more "not a part of training" anymore. It's a foreign concept. Remember, I coming from the POV of having worked a manual coaster with 2x24 seats (CP Blue Streak). The hourly capacity was 1,250 max. We hit it most of the time, and passed it many times as well. People rode together, we paired most singles, and even found a way for people to wait for the coveted front seat (with no air gates/stalls). I can't find the fact sheet, but I'm absolutely sure AE's capacity was in the 3ks if not 4 when it came out. I remember Magnum being 2,100/hour and Gemini was something astronomical. They stack with 2 trains, almost every time I'm there; I think heads would explode if they tried 3 again. That ended (if my memory is correct) in 1985, the year after Six Flags purchased the park. Revolution at Magic Mountain could do 3,400/hour. That wouldn't matter now; in it's present condition not many people want to ride it Whizzer ran 3-4 until sometime in the mid-80's. No air gates, no seatbelts; people got in and after a quick visual check, the train was off. They still run 3 on busy days, but they stack. Heck, they often stack 2 trains.