prozach626

Water fountains, food stands, pathways, landscaping, music, shows: All gimmicks.

Inverted coasters: seats are UNDER THE TRACK! By your definition that's a gimmick. Loops, cork screws... banked turns... steel roller coasters... all gimmicks.

If my wife and I drive over 5 or 6 hours to go to a park, we incorporate it into a vacation to make it worth it. When we went to Carowinds two years ago we made it a one day stop on the way to Hilton Head Island. Otherwise I won't drive all that distance for just one park, which is why I find a way to incorporate a new park in most of our vacations. For the previous poster who said it was not expensive, that's true, but it's not that cheap. For us to visit KI or another 6 or so hour away park you have to factor in food, hotel, gas, admission prices, fast lane (inevitably), and any extras. You could go completely cheap if you wanted to, but the costs add up quick. Our combined Midwestern salary clears six figures, but it's still no cost to ignore, if you're responsible. It would be much more difficult for a teenager to come up with that kind of money. It does however get significantly cheaper when splitting the costs with a non house hold member. (half price to be exact...) Which is why it's always better to leave the wife at home... always.

It's just a dumb title no matter how you look at it. SFStl is one step away from posting a billboard declaring itself the best amusement park in St. Louis. Hearing Dave's strategy is a let down. I don't care how positive his attitude is, I don't like his strategy mostly on the principle that it does nothing for me personally. I like to ride state of the art roller coasters. I usually could care less about anything else. Occasionally my wife and I throw in a log flume, a dark ride, a random flat, or a rapids ride (depending on how many beers we've consumed), but roller coasters are really our (my) main draw. We don't have kids and we don't watch the shows, because frankly... shows are really freaking lame. A Bugs Bunny parade of "Micky Mouse Dance Party" aren't what I call a good time. I still don't understand how a grown man without kids can enjoy Disney... Our skyline is DATED. You could put a 90's disposable camera filter on a picture of our skyline and it wouldn't look out of place. Don't be teased when Dave eludes to a new steel roller coaster coming in 5 years. We'll probably all still be b****ing about getting the shaft again in 2020. BTW: Indiana Beach is rumored to get a new "thrilling" attraction in 2015 or 2016. My money says it's not going to be a 27 year old used boomerang.

Fury in itself is a good name, but the 325 makes it a little cheesy. I don't like Cedar Fair's trend of incorporating ride height into the name. I can't figure out if all of the aspects of this hobby keep getting cheesier and younger, or if I'm just getting older.

I'm looking forward to Thunderbird... but there is so much in this thread... It's gotten down right school girl level in here.

No one does. The nerds that do are few and far between. There aren't really any coaster cities. I disagree with this statement, just based on numbers. Let's say for the sake of argument and easy calculations that 1% of the population are enthusiasts and keep up on new coasters, etc. This would make St. Louis with a metro population of 4 million have 40,000 enthusiasts, while Chicago with a population of 20 million would have 200,00 enthusaists, so just by having a larger population would make you a coaster city. Btw, I just guesstimated on populations. I don't know, man. I think your estimate of even 1% is a little high. Just for an example, although a lame example, I have a few hundred facebook friends. I'm the only enthusiast of the bunch. Then I think of all of the people I know from work, my past work, acquaintances, etc. Between a pool of maybe 500 people or more, I can only think of one other person who I've only slightly converted into a 'sorta' enthusiast. My wife, although she has well over 100 credits, definitely doesn't count as a coaster enthusiast. If it weren't for her being into my interests, she probably wouldn't care if she never rode another coaster again. I also think about a large population of people I deal with in my cop life... I don't see a lot of them being coaster enthusiasts... Don't get me wrong. I have a very small hand full of friends who "like" roller coasters a fraction more than other people I know. A few of them have even been to cedar point, but none of those people have any idea of what coasters are coming next year or even what SFStl is doing. Sometimes when I talk about roller coasters... which is rare... they say things like "We should go to that place in Ohio that has a ton of roller coaster." If I mention going anywhere else like Great America or King's Island, they look at me like I have two heads. Hell, think of how few people post on this thread from STL out of our 4 million population pool.

No one does. The nerds that do are few and far between. There aren't really any coaster cities.

Yes it would, but now that it seems like it's happening, is it really a surprise to you? I don't think so. Once again: the shaft. So we're getting a new steel coaster... maybe... in 5 years? Are you ****ing kidding me!? So it will be over twenty years in between Mr. Freeze and the new modern coaster? 2/3rds of my life will have gone by without a state of the art Steel addition SFStl... New coaster enthusiasts have been born and will mature in the time from the last modern steel coaster until the next one. Just think, you'll be able to say that the new kid on the Cardinals wasn't even alive when the last new thrilling steel coaster hit SFStl. Who wants to take bets on who will build the next large coaster addition first: Holiday World or SFStl? New for 2018 Indiana Beach announces B&M Dive Machine. Meanwhile, the coaster capital of the world announces "Floop-de-doo", the 30ft kiddie coaster, and "The March of the Flamboyant" an all new parade. For 2019: Take your last ride on B:TR to make way for the new ropes course. It never ceases to amaze me about the constant string of disappointments that come from this park.

Oh God. We all know how well Millennium Flyer trains worked on Gwazi and how Timberliners worked on Hades 360. I can't wait until they start advertising the Boss as a new coaster with its 15 foot higher drop... Exactly. I've been saying this for years.

^ I agree. A launched wing rider is probably the safest bet and it would go well with the park. It's really not that simple. You have other factors like reliability and capacity. That's why B&M, although not cutting edge, is a safe bet for Cedar Fair. Although not cutting edge, the GP loves them, they are high capacity, and they are reliable. Except for parks like Cedar Point, people who travel to ride roller coasters make up a small percentage of park revenue. You can build a giant launched coaster, but you're still going to pull mostly from the surrounding area, which is made up of a somewhat small population pool. The ends have to justify the means.

I know a lot of people like it, but I'm not much for the cheese of the legend of Thunderbird and all that... stuff... I just feel like it's not for my age group (And I feel it is not intended to be). Sorry, it's just not for me. I'm sure there will be plenty of people upset that I don't drink that koolaid. That said, the themeing and attention to detail is what a lot of parks like SF have left out, but it looks like HW has gone the extra mile and nailed it. I don't care about an over the top story line, but the themeing, display, location of the queue, the close proximity to the trees, and all of the other factors are going to add up to a great overall experience. This is one of the few examples of a park really listening to average consumers as well as enthusiasts. As for a previous poster, the ride will not be I305 intense, nor is it intending to be. What it will be is a smooth, fun, and overall an enjoyable experience that I feel even the B&M haters will want to ride over and over again. My best Guess is that this ride, in terms of B&M intensity, will be somewhere in the middle between B:TR and Patriot. I'm looking forward to it. Side note... does HW sell beer? I can't remember, but I'm assuming no.

You're talking about a massive expensive coaster. Not many have been built in the US and Cedar Fair has been utilizing B&M for their major coaster projects lately. I love Cedar Fair, but that's not the type of innovation you see on this side of the ocean. Especially from a corporate park like WoF, at least lately. Even if Cedar Fair did go that route, I doubt you would see the new cutting edge roller coaster pop up in Kansas City. You'll likely get something already proven that is marketable and reliable.

^ That's a pretty tall order.

My hopes shot up. Then I jogged my memory for the past 15 years... and I instantly suppressed all feelings or expectations of a new coaster. All joking aside, there could be something there, but it depends... Is this a decision made more by SF, or did ACE come to SFStl and ask them? I'm hoping for the first one. Also, has anyone heard anything more about namtab coming to SFStl next year?

I think you're getting a little crazy with the "What ifs." PP is most likely never coming back in any way, shape, or form of the original ride, let alone being enhanced. Let's come back to earth now and put away the MS paint for a while. On a side note, I always thought the tower looked kind of cool and eerie. Without trying to sound like a nerd, it reminded me a lot of this:

That new building looks like a total transformation. Well done, if that's what it ends up looking like.

The park actually looks appealing to me. Is Talon decent, or is it another Patriot/Silver Bullet Combo?

Flyers and boomerangs make me sick.

My wife and I rode Outlaw Run with an empty train behind us. I refuse to go to amusement parks alone, so I've never been completely solo on a train, nor would I want to be.

It seems like when rides are announced, there are two types of people in the coaster community that really stand out: Type 1: The type who immediately begin b***ing because it's not Intimidator305/El Toro. The "Spoiled enthusiast." Type 2: The type who immediately become flamboyant and giddy with unconstrained excitement. The " OMG Teenage girl enthusiast" I'd like to think of myself (and hopefully most other members) as being somewhere in the middle. I overreacted about that too. I have my 2015 season pass! Maybe you should just... take it easy for a while.

That was a good write up. Thanks for sharing.

Why doesn't anyone like Intimidator? Although I get the backlash on adding a 2nd large B&M, the two at Canada's Wonderland really complement each other. Wow, I guess its true. It's impossible to please everybody but here it seems to be more prevalent than most discussion threads. You locals of Carowinds really need to be thankful for what you have and for what your getting. Fury 325 is going to be an amazing coaster and just about every other park including my own home park, Valleyfair, would give up their left nut to have a coaster like this in their park. Please don't complain about it or Intimidator. At Valleyfair, if Cedar Fair announced a coaster like Fury 325 you would literally be able to hear a shout of joy all the way down south from us Northern boys! +1. My wife and I really enjoyed Carowinds when we went the year before last. Intimidator is a nice compliment to Afterburn. The park was already solid to start with and now the whiners are crying about getting a 325 foot hyper coaster. WOW. Take a look around. SFSTL hasn't received major steel since 98. Our last bit of excitement was in 2008 when we got a GCI. Last year we got a freaking 27 year old used Boomerang. We don't have a hyper coaster, let alone a giga coaster. No one feels sorry for the whiners in this thread.

This is why it's illegal for 15 year olds to get tattoos.

This summer the most overrated roller coaster I experienced was Goliath at SFGam. It was a fantastic ride, but it didn't blow my socks off like everyone said it would. The inverted stall wasn't OMFG INSANE like I heard it would be. Call me crazy (many people do), but Raging Bull gives me more of the sensation of height and speed that I look for. Goliath was a fun ride, but it left me wanting more when we hit the brake run. On another note, I laugh at the people who say MF sucks. MF may be over hyped for today's standards, but it was a great ride in 2000 and still remains to be a great ride. Seeing as how MF still ranks so highly among enthusiast and GP polls, it's pretty safe to say it has been a great success. Plain and simple - Don't act so f***ing spoiled.