GayCoasterGuy

I've heard a few coaster fans going on about how Holiday World is a little too ... what's the word... religious/republican/conservative/controlling, etc. etc... (NONE of those are the right word, I'm sure someone could word it better...) My experience has been that they are some of the nicest folks around. Pat Koch always speaks at the events and I really appreciate how she emphasizes that *EVERYONE* is welcome. I've been going to the park since 1995 and the well-behaved crowds is something I look forward to. If you misbehave there (they do have rules), then of course you will be teed-off. They are trained to deal with that, too. And some people insist on breaking rules or acting out... not that place for them. I appreciate that Holiday World does not put up with poor behavior. I'm tired of the "innuendo" shirts at big parks that claim to be "family friendly." Forget being hypocritical, it's just annoying.

Most hyped? I don't think there has ever been much hype for Flying Turns. (I however, am very hyped about it...) Maybe you meant "longest to built" ? Want hyped? Check out I-305, Cedar Point, most B&M coasters... Great Adventure (except when Chiller had inversions with lap bars) those things get a lot of hype (over-hyped in my opinion). THIS: Anticipating the inevitable "it's not all that" from spoiled coaster geeks (not that I am NOT a spoiled coaster geek). It will be a nice *charming* family ride, I would assume.

Voyage and... ? I haven't heard anything about Legend or Raven getting Timberliners. Remember, the Timberliners *might be* a trade off of sorts for any new installation, but won't necessarily make a better ride (or reverse).

Perhaps I wasn't clear in my post. If I was, you wouldn't be agreeing with me Exactly... It was that pull-out; the transition from drop to pull-out resulted in a harsh SLAMMING down of riders. There were riders coming back hurt and with bloody noses. It was similar to the transition on Corkscrew at the same park - from speed bump to loop entrance, except amplified (and no shoulder bars to keep you BACK in your seat, relatively anyway). Arrow thinking at it's best. Coupled with that - the grab bars did not extend as far as they do now, so people had to reach further out to grab them (which made it easier for the 3rd drop pull-out to shove your head down). Like when Gemini was new, the seats had insufficient padding. And last but not least, the trains had brass upstops with NO rollers on them (as Gemini and Mine Ride still do). You can hear them slamming up on the Here is a picture someone posted of a Gemini car where you can see the wear on said upstops (I've heard they get replaced frequently): The tunnels had a very cool soundtrack. It was simply psychedelic-spacy music that just played over and over. I have a recording of it on cassette tape (!!) that a friend made for me in college. How can I get that converted to mp3 hrm.... That was cool, but you couldn't hear it during the ride and they eventually stopped the recording. The final tunnels also had fog (and red lights shining up through the track inside... which you can't see in this picture):

^I like it. The first thought I had was how hard it is to read - I heard they are not teaching cursive in schools anymore !? The reference to "the hills" and an outlaw and his gang "laying it wait" really remind me of The Hills Have Eyes (the 1977 one, please!). That would be a great name for a ride. Along with Friday the 13th and some other classics. Heck, we can have Batman, UK has Saw, Hills Have Eyes would rock! Phantasm is another great name that needs a ride to go with it!

Does anyone believe the "Bansee" rumors? Definitely a cool name. Holiday World had a falling star named Banshee a few years ago.

They *had* a superior wood coaster from 1964... but that disgraced in 1995. No matter how much CP fanboys say "Blue Streak is *still* a GREAT ride," it will never be this again Even with new stuff like Magnum and Raptor, Blue Streak was the sweetheart of the park I knew that ride very well; rode it every day for 2 years It's a clunking (albeit fast - clunking) typical PTC "upgrade" job today. Those stupid restraints, etc. is like being tied down in a damn coffin. With all the fame and hype of CP, I couldn't believe they didn't keep their only classic coaster. I rode it last summer for the first time in 11 years, and walked away stoic and wanted to cry. For anyone that knew the classic Blue Streak, it's a very different ride now. Just look at all that extra wood and steel supports to make up for the weight added to the trains with those stupid lap bars. To boot, the capacity is about 65% of what it used to be - but it doesn't matter because it lost its "classic" crowd years ago. Nope, still not over it. Does anyone else get sick of "same-ness"? As far as a future new woodie at CP, I would think they may eventually do something with Mean Streak after watching how the new hybrid types (Texas Giant, topper tracks, etc.) stand the test of time. The run from the 3rd drop to the midcourse brake was stellar when it first opened. But that didn't last long.

Being a six flags park the new ride could be "Superman," "Viper" or "Election Debate: The Ride." I mean.. we have 2 "Batman" coasters here at Great America... Great ADventure had 2 Batmans, too... Anything goes with them. The paying public is too (insert kind word: uninformed) to notice much of anything. When Batman: The Ride first came out, that ridiculous (at the time) name was made fun of. What do I know... I still think Magic Mountain should go with Screemie Meemie - that is a great name

I'm still getting restrooms and kiosks that have not been fixed yet, followed by an error shutdown. Do I run the patch once or one time for each game? I'm really lost here... can't get the speed/lift speed right for this thing. Now my main priority is to get my new *big park* scenario un-bugged. Any other fixes anyone knows of? I gotta learn to back stuff up year by year if it's important... I've put a lot of work into this park... must learn another difficult lesson

I'm not sure what this means ('not toggle chaining') Sounds easy enough... But it's unfortunately not working for me. I was reading in another thread that you have to give the track and alternative paint scheme, etc., so I was trying that as well. I also read you have to open the trainer before you start RCT. Is that true? Does the ride window have to be open? Can the game be paused? I have a side friction coaster I want to make into an Auto-Ride (like the one at Kennywood) and want the cars to go about 8 or 12 mph instead of just 4. 4mph out the station that goes down slowly... or if I put chain lifts all over (level) I can keep the speed to 4mph. No one wants to go that slow on an auto ride. I'm now getting messages that "restroom 4 is still not fixed," etc.... that won't go away.. and then the game wants to shut down with an error message...

Just started using the 8 cars per trainer last week, and trying to increase lift speed on a side-friction coaster. How do I do it? I've tried different combinations of checking stuff in the trainer... little lost. Any help would be great, I've tried to look in previous posts but not getting far.

Great report (I said the report was great, not the park). Me and my buddy were there back in 2009 and were done in 90 minutes (that included at least 5-7 rides on Wild One, the best ride there!) Calling out Slayer lyrics may be cool, albeit a little run of the mill these days... but going on to Iggy Pop/Joan Jett (or whatever version of Wild One you prefer) is definitely rockin. I prefer those Vekoma flyers to B&M myself. It's too bad the park is kinda... what's a kind word? Uninspired? I was surprised when I rode that Superman that even a simple Intamin hyper could run soo poorly. The memory I have of sitting in the brake run of their Vekoma SLC... waiting... and waiting... the smell of that huge porous (!?) shoulder harness nearly made me puke. It was a smell that I'd rather not describe... it was bad.

^Glad you had a good time. I just realized... or came to terms with the fact - that I have NEVER been in the water park at Great America. I've always been too coaster-rabid. Also... the park never seemed appealing, what with having to RENT tubes and such. I've been spoiled by Holiday World/Splashin' Safari. Heck, even the Ohio park water parks may have spoiled me years earlier. I will do it next year, though. Must loose a little of the old flab first, though! Viper amazes me more every time I ride it. Even when it's having a sluggish day, it's still light-years more "on the ball" and smooth than most big park woodies I can think of. The *triple thick* structure really worked for this coaster and has stood the test of time. I think the only thing that keeps it OUT of any of the big "top 10" lists is that it doesn't have the hype of bigger rides. Plus, it's a pain to walk to. And from... So I feel like a RCT peep by the time I get back there "I want to leave," etc. Only 2nd worst walk to a coaster next to American Eagle of course. I'm wondering if there can be some sort of record for that, they would win...

Isn't it kinda funny that we are calling 2 VERY tall rides "flat rides"? I'm all for more flat rides... thank god my home park is six flags Great America. What did Magic Mountain do with the Tilt-A-Whirl? For some reason, I figure it's gone because the restraints don't lock. Or did they add shoulder bars to that, too? I hope the big parks (well... the 2 that usually fight over most coasters) would focus on improving what they have (expecially Magic Mountain). (I'll skip over mentioning the rumored/impending Colossus and Revolution return to greatness... oops, didn't do so well not mentioning that)

I keep a couple high-quality Bounty paper towels in my pocket (select-a-size, to boot!). When I can't bare it anymore, I go in the bathroom, wet one and fashion a temporary ear plug. It's done wonders for my anxiety, too. It's odd they blame the guests for not following rules; how can you follow rules when you can't hear anything due to so much music, etc blasting in your face? On many rides (Demon comes to mind) there is an automated recording when a train comes in the station. While that is playing, the ride op starts to speak. It's a mess. Add to that the Demon Theme is playing just out side the station as well. I LOVE that they play that continuously now, but it unfortunately adds to the chaos of the station. Same thing in various areas of the park; "I like to move it" blasting LOUD, game employees yelling LOUD, and all those silly recordings. A friend of mine commented a couple years ago about all that annoying extra noise and we discussed what we grew up knowing to be the "sounds of the amusement park" - namely - RIDES! Screams and yells... some soft carousel music, etc. Good thing they finally backed off on the "I like to move it" song. AND I've noticed many park employees have stopped saying "Have a Six Flags Day!" .... The powers that be must have finally clued into how annoying and even offensive that is... or the employees are being a bit rebellious. For some reason, Great America seems to be getting better and better all-around. Either changes are really happening or I've had some of spiritual awakening or something.... (or maybe it's cuz I stopped taking my meds? You decide...)

Doh! The dreaded Nantimi cable again. Wait a second - is there one in that park? The sky ride? Did it break and fly through the air, slicing everything in it's path!? I always heard that would happen if a sky ride cable broke...

WITH lap bars only. Please B&M "Everyone else is doing it!" Think about all those old Arrow coasters and all these looping B&M coasters. Now think about them with just a lap bar. Imagine the comfort and freedom. Ahhh..... (I gotta mention at the same time how much I *strongly dislike* the newer Vekoma trains with that awful rubbery vest. It's not a good option. Less headbanging, but that is simply traded for a new sort of "hold you down and back and let you feel every jerk and bump" pain. I don't get the love. Same with the new B&M wing rider rubber vests. Uck!)

All B&M coasters at six flags Great America. Heck... all B&M coasters at all six flags parks. Eh... what the heck. ALL B&M coasters EVERYWHERE. B&M coasters should come with special instructions on how to efficiently fill a train (with NO assigned seats - trust me, once you get good at it - it's a breeze.) (PS - did I mention how much I hate assigned seating and seeing empty seats on B&M coasters while waiting in line?! Either/or are painful for me to watch.) I was mesmerized at Carowinds last year to see ONE train operation on their Vekoma flying coaster with plenty of single seats going out, and an occasional empty adjacent pair of seats going out.... When folks are walking out of the queue the wrong way, that's not a good sign.

Or maybe not "To ask for permission is to ask for denial!" I mean, within reason... I do suggest following rules. The thing about this particular employee was that he later told me that some supervisors say "NO re-rides" other's say "sure" and everywhere in between. Great America is the shining star in the chain but still has plenty of room for improvement (communication, consistency, ride capacity efficiency)... Also they are now "The cleanest theme park in the world"! You will hear that blasted at the front gate. I mean ... it could be worse. Sometimes the single rider line is long, sometimes it's empty. The cool thing is it starts on the midway and goes directly into the station. It's only like 12 feet long. Single rider line is your friend! I wish the B&M rides had single rider lines. Of course, then they would have to learn how to train an employee to manage that. Instead, they have an extra employee (who apparently are NOT even employed by the park but rather the flash pass company - however they still moderate stations and manage to send out plenty of entirely empty seats - you will see what I mean.) to manage the 'flash pass' riders. Note those flash pass employees will be there until the end! When the line is completely DEAD and American Eagle has gone down to one side - they will still be there. The Flash Pass folks MUST KNOW they are important and get special entrance, I guess. I don't understand... but whatever. Humbug! The park gets good after 5pm!!! I try to stay away before then, myself. The heat, the sun beating down, the crowds... all gets better after 5pm. Plus - coasters start to peak after then, too! They are nice and warmed up!

I guess it wouldn't hurt for yet another coaster geek to chime-in an opinion of the Green Lantern coaster. I haven't ridden it at Great Adventure, but I'm glad you guys got it and we (Great America regulars) didn't Sorry... I rode it 3 times at Kentucky Kingdom. One time in each color scheme: 1- all yellow, 2 - lime green track and purple supports and 3 - yellow track and blue supports. Other than it's cool appearance and my remembrance of each color scheme, the ride was ... crap. What's with the shallow-ish 40 degree drop? Not that a very steep drop would improve the ride. I rode Mantis again in 2011 (previous time was proabably late 90s) and it was still bad. These B&M stand ups just don't age well. Come to think, some - like Chang - don't begin well, either. Good thing I had Greezed' Viper Lightning Wave to ERT on at Kentucky Kingdom. Now THAT is a ride that is fun year after year after decade after decade... Even Iron Wolf started out GREAT (but aged very poorly)... Riddler's Revenge seemed to be a shining star when I rode it. Vortex at Carowinds was... OK. I think I may be missing a couple others... but poor Green Chang was always painful to me. Just painful. I don't get why people rave about it. I remember overhearing a Kentucky Kingdom employee explaining how Chang was "... the BABY of the park..." I was repulsed,... ugh! I wish B&M would just finally break down and convert these stand up coasters into sit-down lap-bar-only models. It's not rocket science (please - no "center of gravity" arguments. They are moot!)

I think I must have missed something ... whappen to the yellow train? Was it the minor incident with a crane during pull-through testing I vaguely remember? I've only been to the park once - in August 2009 for the last rides on Big Bad Wolf. Loved the park, can't wait to get back. Mmmm... and that big chilled slice of chocolate cake in the Festhaus! THAT is something I want again, hands down. We only got one ride on Loch Ness once and my first thought was "Demon runs so much better!" I mean, a bit rougher, but fast and much more effortless. It seemed Nessie was missing some needed track grease or something - the curves had a rubbery squeal to them I never remember hearing on an Arrow coaster (and trust me, I've heard just about every odd and wonderful noise an Arrow coaster can make). Another thing that surprised me about the park is how much I loved their B&M coasters - especially Apollo with it's wooded ravine voyage and moss/tarp covered marshy crossing area. B&Ms usually feel very same-y to me, but there was something special at BGW. Same with Tampa... must be all the theme-ing and stuff.

^I'm dissapointed about Lobster/ERC not being open this year, too. Trust me, I love that ride. But how cool of them to not only rehab it this year so it can run forever - but to post about it. I just think it could be ... Wildcat, Space Spiral, White Water Landing, Laser... Did I mention the hard to pull down lap bars on American Eagle and Viper? In fact, the Viper bars only go down to the same level an old buzz-bar goes down too, no further. Someone was really thinking when they installed that. Yup, I'm glad Great America is my home park (even if they put Six Flags in front of it!) ^Don't forget Little Dipper, too 2 years later, it still has not fully broken-in (the track gauge was built very tight - it also took Viper several years to completely loosen-up) and runs a bit slower than it did at Kiddie Land. The painfully slow operation aside, it is a beauty of a classic and looks GREAT near the first drop of Batman. Ride Little Dipper at end of day as lines are long as slooooow during peak hours. (I just realized I have suggested to ride nearly every ride at the end of the day... doh!) Dark Knight and Ragin Cajun are the most aggressive rides in the park. Many regulars strongly dislike Ragin Cajun due to the 5-car-max and 3-adult-per-car-limit rules that make it a very slow line - even when it looks short. But I *LOVE* this ride - and it has a single rider line, too! Just got back from another few night hours at the park. Did Eagle red - front seat (blue was down by 9pm), Demon front and back, Whizzer front and back, Raging Bull back (and jumped in an front seat and oddly was told I could *NOT* re-ride, but after I was out of the station past the turn-style, the ride op told me if I would have *asked* first he would have said yes... curious indeed...) all that and more in just a couple hours.

Is it an option to rope off one car - say car 3 or 4? This would alleviate having to do all those restraints, but keep the capacity above that of a single train. Cedar Point used to do this quite frequently with Gemini and Mine Ride. Not sure how they run stuff now. Thanks for your input and updates on Waldameer - the inside information is very good to hear. I keep missing Waldameer for various reasons, but hope to get there this fall

Busy. August is always slammed until school starts. Good thing the water park will be open, that keeps many peeps busy. I would assume yes. You can do that in the Hometown Square season pass processing center. For more specific questions about your thrill pass, email the park. Yeah - American Eagle (in front seat) and Whizzer are *STILL* the most fun coasters at the park. Don't bother with Whizzer during the day. Wait until the last hour the park is open for a fast, dark ride under the trees. It's always faster at night after a long day of warming up, was faster than I ever remember it a couple days ago after 9pm. Good to hear! Fiddler's is out of control - but get to it early as it's one of the rides to shut down early if the crowds are slow over there. Don't forget the 2 log flumes - Yankee Clipper and Logger's Run. These types of rides are disappearing fast and these two are great, classic fun and the tallest 'old skool' log flumes that I know of. I'm sure you want to check out X-Flight, so if you are up to running ahead of people when the ropes are dropped - by all means, do it first. Otherwise, wait until late in the day, the line goes down considerably. It's a great ride to watch, and fun in it's own right, but simply doesn't have staying power and this shows with the short queue late in the day. "Screams and Dreams (Vol 2)" is playing in the Pictorium. It's a pretty good film, but Volume 1 is light years better: (not best quality, but still stunning footage!) Demon's first drop is the wickedest drop in the park - in back - but if you sit in back, the rest of the ride is rough. Front is much smoother and great visually on this cheesy classic Gurnee Mills mall is right down the road and they have 2 HUGE food courts with lots to pick from. Not to mention all the stuff across the street (Culver's, McDonald's, Burger King, Golden Corral, pizza, etc, etc..) but the hidden goodie is the Dairy Queen about 2 miles down the road, right off Grand Avenue (it's on Old Grand Avenue) https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF-8&q=dairy+queen+gurnee+illinois&fb=1&gl=us&hq=dairy+queen&hnear=0x880f8e01b2b811ed:0xdd57cb6f9dd18676,Gurnee,+IL&cid=0,0,13363342876437733227&ei=13b-T_iSKoWi2gXB6um3BA&ved=0CIABEPwSMAM&oi=local_group that's always a nice time out from the park! Hate to rag on the park, but the food is awful and prices are even worse. Know that the ride ops at Great America are almost always OK if you re-ride in an empty seat on the next train. Just make sure no one is riding there before you jump in. This is especially helpful on rides with ridiculously long queues - like Viper, American Eagle, Superman and Raging Bull. Those B&M rides especially go out with plenty of empty seats on nearly every train. Oh yeah, Viper is running like a bat outta hell these days. Airtime on every hill. Even in back. Late in the day, of course

^No Whizzer? Had a great time at the park tonight. Got there around 530 and rode: Viper (front seat!) - running incredible, fast and smooth in the cooler temps/less humidity. I wish more PTC ratchet bars had the special *hook up* (return shocks) that this badboy does. American Eagle - front seat - then nabbed the back seat as it was about to go out empty. Great as always, racing too! (Are you listening SFMM?) Logger's Run... Yankee Clipper - so glad we still have these "70s classic" rides. I'll never get enough of these. Demon - front seat. Great demonic fun, as always. They were running red and yellow trains, black is sitting in transfer waiting for a busy day. Whizzer - front then nabbed back as it was about to go out empty. Like Viper, running like a "bat outta hell" after warming up all day, and in the cooler temps. This classic ride never gets old, aside from the slower operations and seat belts - running like it did when it opened in 1976 (are you listening SFMM???) Dark Knight - 2x. This is probably the most aggressive ride in the park (along with Rajun Cajun). The more I go to my home park, the more I'm grateful it's my home park. Had a blast with my buddy, did all that and had time for a pit stop at the Dairy Queen down the road.