prozach626

(Aside from the fact that I can think of a thousand better ways to spend my time) There are areas of the queue under Batman that I haven't seen used since the ride's first year of operation, which are now mostly used for storage. Using these areas would eliminate said teens hurdling over the pointless Gotham area, and they could be chained off when they aren't needed. I think a lot of people don't re-ride Batman, because it takes forever to get back to the station. You can get back to the station in about a minute in almost all of the 8 or so Batman clones I've ridden with better designed queues. I guess if you like walking through pointless pathways where the themeing has been removed or is falling apart, then Batman queue is your bag. Change is OK sometimes.

Pointless bridge argument is pointless, gentlemen. A few of us were simply saying that we hope if RMC does a makeover of the Boss they can more efficiently re-route the queue, somehow. It's up to them to figure it out, not us.

Yes.... and we... understand that. Good one! I never thought about that.

SFSTL - home of the awkward queues... Batman - Literally about four times to long Boss - Climb over the train tracks, weave back and fourth, then take an odd roller coaster tycoonish bridge to the station Screaming Eagle - Hidden in the corner of a game area Mr. Freeze - Cross a river, on to an island, walk another few miles past the queue houses that will never be full, and enter the dark rapist alley hallways Am I missing any?

My favorite coaster type period: B&M inverted. I loved the intensity. I still think B:TR is a great ride and would get a lot more praise had it not been cloned. I have to pick Afterburn as my favorite, followed by Raptor and Montu. Two inverted flops I've been on are Patriot and Silver Bullet. They are beautiful coasters, but total let downs. Too smooth and no forces.

I still love the Bull. It still has one of my favorite first drops.

A quick trip report for you guys! My wife and I drove from St. Louis to Hilton Head Island, so we decided to stop for a night in Charlotte for a day at Carowinds. (my idea, obviously) We visited on Sunday, 08/11, and overall we had a great time. I'm a big fan of Paramount parks turned Cedar Fair parks and this one didn't disappoint. The Pros: I found the park to be very clean, and the staff was only one notch below Holiday World friendly. The park was also one of the nicest parks I've ever visited at night. They had some kind of snoopy light show BS between 9-10, composed mostly of Christmas lights and music throughout the park, which made for a nice display. The layout of the park was nice and compact, and it seemed like most things were easy to get to. As you know, Intimidator and Afterburn are the gems of this park. Cons: Food options were OK, but not if you wanted to eat healthy. As per usual, we left for a late lunch/dinner and grabbed some Subway. We're not much for calorie packed mediocre food. Instead, we wasted our calories on several cold Yuenglings when we returned. (nothing goes better with a good coaster than a good buzz) Other than that, we had very few complaints. The only area that looked a little run down was the boardwalk area. Yeah, aside from Intimidator and Afterburn, I didn't have a desire to catch any re-rides, but that's typical for most parks, in my opinion. Yes, the park is in need of good wood (that's what she said), but I'm not a woodie fan anyway, so it didn't bother me. The highlight of my day was marathon riding Afterburn from 930-close, including being on the last train of the night during fireworks. The wife joined me for a few rides, but she quickly sat out and tried to let me enjoy my closet geek hobby. Overall, I had a blast pushing my coaster count to 134, at your park. I can always tell a good park when I'm still left wanting more rides, at closing time. Here are my reviews of the coaster line-up: *Afterburn: Probably my favorite B&M invert, and I've been on Montu and Raptor. I was worried it was going to be a flop like Silver Bullet, but this coaster is a keeper. Favorite element - easily the batwing *Carolina Cobra: Not a fan of boomerangs, but I snatched up the credit. Painful dizzyness. *Carolina Cyclone: Typical headbanger. No pain, No gain (in credits) *Carolina Goldrusher: Not the best, but not the worst. Overall, I enjoyed it. *Flying Ace Aerial Chase: I've been on one of these before, so I passed. It wasn't worth the 30 minute wait. *Hurler: It wasn't as bad as I expected. I made the most of it while my wife braced her chest... *Intimidator: This was a typical B&M hyper. It didn't crack my top ten, but it was certainly fun. I got five rides on this, including a night time front seat ride. It was no Raging Bull and I liked Diamondback a bit more (maybe because it was my 100?). That said, it's probably on par with Golioth, and certainly great for a re ride. *Lucy's Crabbie Cabbie: Too shameful to try to ride. *Nighthawk: Flying Dutchman's make me sick and we had just ridden it's counterpart at KI last summer. That said, we skipped out on the hour wait. *Ricochet: Oddly enough, this was my first traditional outdoor wild mouse. It was more fun than I expected. If I had more time at the park and a few more beers in me, I'd probably snatch some re-rides. *Thunder Road: Only one side was operating. It was surprisingly smooth and run. It looked like there was a major retracking done recently? I was expecting it to be painful like its KI counterpart. *Vortex: Another B&M head banging step child. It was no Georgia Scorcher, but it wasn't as rough as Iron Wold. I would have ridden again, but Emily gave me the thumbs down. Interesting, since she enjoyed Riddler's Revenge, which kicked my ass. *Woodstock Express: An easy fun credit. Honorable Mentions: The flyer flat ride was my first one. It was fun, but I sucked at it. The rapids raft ride (name?) was decent and worth the ride. Windseeker was a great way to see the park at night. The only photo of the day:

^^^ Thanks! I'm really looking forward to it.

My wife has given me the green light for a trip to SDC. Even though we live in the St. Louis Area, and I have over 130 credits, I've never been to the park, before. It always seemed to slip through the cracks. We're planning on leaving the lake early, next Tuesday, and heading to the park. I know it's the end of the season, school is back in session, and the hours are 10-6. Considering the circumstances, is it safe to say we may be expecting a light crowd? Can anyone offer any visiting tips? Thanks, Zach

I always thought the go kart track was ugly, and I also agree with the Boss getting a queue makeover. However, I doubt that will happen, unless RMC does their thing in the future.

He speaks of IT as if IT is coming or exists already. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Yeah, it's going to be interesting seeing that area really opened up for the first time.

So I've read the last 10 pages of Voyage controversy, but has anyone heard anything about any 2014 additions? It seems like HW news is always difficult to find.

I'm pretty sure Aqua Twists and Splash Battles are almost the same thing. Aqua Twists are different from Splash Battles. An Aqua Twist is the poor man's Splash Battle. Think 350z vs Porsche... (joking... kinda) Aqua Twist: Splash Battle:

True. I don't expect it either, but it just makes you wonder what they are going to do with the Tidal Wave area.

Operating costs. I just hope with Tidal Wave coming down, that we don't end up with something like the Perilous Plunge transformation at Knotts. Especially considering Ragin Cajun is going to be moving. I know it's unlikely, but I guess I'd be happier with that than Boomerang. I'm sure it won't happen, since none of it coincides with the demolition of Hannibarrels.

Aqua twist for next year. The poor man's splash battle.

I don't think people dislike the helix, but I think most people are saying they would be OK with losing it as a compromise for the iron horse treatment.

I'm not trying to be overly argumentative, but how so?! What do we have to compete with Golioth? They also have a B&M flyer, a Euro fighter, one of the smoothest and most forceful B&M standups, and a classic terrain schwarzkopf. They also have a great drop tower and even their crap head banger is better than ours (ninja vs ninja). As far as I can tell, the only thing we have on them is wood. I feel like SFoG has similar atmosphere, as far as more shade/less concrete goes, but it offers much more. I'll take CF over SF any day of the week, but I feel like the only SF park that I couldn't stand was Magic Mountain. When my wife and I went last year, it was a colossal dump. We couldn't wait to leave. It's a shame, since it has a lot of decent rides. Our park has a nice setting and I also feel like Iron Boss will give me a reason to go back. I agree, I-Beam or bust. Less is more. Shorten the ride and pack it with more punches. I like the over bank idea.Take out the helix and the station fly by. Run the queue in that area, to make our current queue less awkward. It looks terrible.

What's the difference between a thrill pass and a season pass?

Thanks for the information, HW fan. I'm hoping the queue gets shortened, in addition to rehabed.

^^ Would have loved to see blue, but I'm happy with the repaint, period. Who's your source? Are they doing anything with the queue?

I'd really hope that SF corp wouldn't give us another used coaster, but it wouldn't surprise me. Either way, I'm OK with the Ninja being replaced. It was a great ride in its time, but it's really starting to show its age. To most people, the pain outweighs the 1980's thrill. I can see that happening. I lol'd

I'd bet that the next coaster 'addition' we get will be some kind of improvement to Boss. Whether it will be Iron Boss, or topper track, I think SFStl realizes something is going to have to be done within the next few years. A couple different sources have hinted at it. Just don't expect it this year, especially with the recent Texas Giant accident. If I had to throw out a guess, next year we're going to get one of these Aqua Twist flats, which I think would be nice, and maybe some Batman TLC, since the hand rails are being painted. Don't be surprised if we get the Batman turned backwards for a few months, to accompany the new paint job. The park could do both of these things and still probably withhold some cash for 2015.

If we were getting something progressive and 'huge' (lol yeah right), you would already see survey marks. My prediction is that we'll get nothing new for next year. Best case scenario is Batman getting a little off season TLC.