ytterbiumanalyst

^ That may be true for the North American market as a whole, but in general, the Ozarks lags behind the rest of the country. The recession hit in 2007, but we didn't really feel any effects until 2009. So the whole time we were hearing on television that the recession was over, we were just getting started. The recession years here were 2009-2013, and even then I'd say it wasn't until last year that our local economy here fully recovered. For Branson, Outlaw Run was the first shot in a fight to get the tourists back, and that's why you see several new attractions this year. Branson is realizing they can't survive with the hillbilly angle any longer and are searching for a new identity. I'm excited for the future, but we're really just beginning to come out of the bunker, and it's hard to say what the response will be. The projections look good for all these new attractions, especially with the city of Branson (finally) investing in some infrastructure along 76. We'll wait and see if the projections come true.

Oooh, stuff just got real. You don't mess with Imo's. Okay, Holiday World meets the minimum threshold of awesomeness required to mess with Imo's.

Moving the lemonade stand to the side near the saloon was a big help in that area (plus they now have fry bread!). They just never imagined when they built that area in the 70s that they'd someday have 2 million guests. If all they do for '17 is a new entrance, I will be completely happy. The only part of my day I ever dislike is that single-file line through the season pass holder entrance.

No, not weird, but I do wander where the other designs went and if they were used for another coaster. The other plans just wandered off.

Two words: Powder Keg. Screamin' Eagle comes to mind before Powder Keg imo, but yeah that too Powder Keg was marketed as a family coaster. Screamin' Eagle was marketed as the tallest, fastest, longest coaster in the world.

Are you counting Thunderation? Yes it's an Arrow built Coaster but I referenced it as S&S solely because they oversee Arrows surviving assets. That's what I thought you meant, but I've seriously never heard anyone refer to an Arrow coaster as an S&S. Thunderation was built by Arrow 10 years before S&S acquired the company. S&S really has nothing to do with it other than supplying replacement parts. Yeah, some enthusiasts took their wishes out of their butts and plopped them on the Internet. There was never a shred of evidence to substantiate that at all. The problem with wanting SDC to get these super-tall rides is that the park is so immersive in its theming that something that huge, visible from all over the park, would actually detract from the experience unless it were similarly very well themed. They've proven with Giant Barn Swing that they can do that, but they spent a lot to do it, and that was pre-recession too. In general, all parks are spending less right now because the economy is only just beginning to recover and a return on gigantic, super-expensive things just isn't likely to happen for a lot of places.

Two words: Powder Keg.

Are you counting Thunderation?

I think a smaller one would work great! Give the tower a brown paint scheme, theme the heck out of it and it would be a winner! You guys are missing the point of SDC. This is not a Six Flags or Cedar Fair park. Would you ask if Disneyland was going to add a starflyer? No you wouldn't. Use the same thinking when asking "Would SDC add..." here because that's usually the same case This exactly. They do things differently.

That report is the best thing that's been on this thread in a long time. Glad you had fun! I'm really going to have to make a Dollywood trip next year.

What do you all mean by "staple"? To push the restraints in so much that the rider cannot move at all. This depends on a number of factors, and the biggest variable is of course the rider. Maybe a rider is of a size that the first locking point still leaves a lot of room. Some ride ops will push until it hits that second locking point just to be sure, and perhaps for this rider that's pushing up against them. That rider would be said to be stapled. They'll be safe, but may not enjoy the ride very much. I have been stapled before, and it's not the most pleasant thing ever for sure. But I personally would rather err on the side of safety, and generally all parks will.

Yeah, that's the Mack spinner model. It wouldn't be my choice--I'm not a big fan of spinning coasters in general--but it would definitely be unique in this area, and very impressive to guests. I could see it going over well. SDC doesn't need any shuttle coasters of any kind. They're not out to have the most coasters, and they're not going to build something for the sake of building something. They're out to have each ride be a memorable experience. For that reason, clones and shuttles just don't fit their business model. If they can't build exactly the ride they want, they'll wait a year so that they have the time and money to do it right.

Welcome to the forum! This might be the best first post ever! I've never been to a Disneyland due to expense and distance, but I feel like this report gives a good sense of place. I'd love to visit China at some point in my life, but until then, I'll read things like this. Thanks so much!

Ah, cool. We're quasi-locals, as I have a lot of family in St. Louis, and we're only about three hours away. I've been going to Six Flags for better than 20 years, since it was Six Flags over Mid-America. Thanks for your report on the new-old chicken restaurant. That's pretty much what I was expecting. I would have loved a fried chicken place, but any way to improve food service there is a big deal. We always pack a cooler and go out to the car to eat. It's actually faster than standing in those lines....

Kind of how I feel about it, with a little more love. It's not the best beer I've ever had, but it's really solid. I love to drink it when we're east enough to be in their market, so at this point it's synonymous with vacations and trips. This makes me appreciate it even more. Also, it's respectable from a bottle or can, but it's delicious on tap! I've only had in it in glass bottles, but yeah, everything's better on tap.

Ah, yes, Yuengling. I picked up some of that from a random gas station off I-71 in Ohio. Pretty cheap, and while not the best beer I've ever had, not too bad at all.

Thanks for the feedback!!! We are not planning on getting the Platinum Pass from Kings Dominion. We've visited the park earlier this season and splurged the entire day. We are not planning on coming back this season. How was Coastermania? How do you register for the event next year? You register at cedarpoint.com, and you must be a coaster club member, for example, Club TPR. I sat on CP's website for weeks checking daily to see when tickets would go on sale. They were sold out very quickly, as they only sold about 1000. This was the first year you had to purchase tickets, but with how well it worked, I would expect them to do the same thing or very similar next year. And if you do plan to go to Kings Dominion and Cedar Point next year, that's a great reason for a Platinum Pass.... No, I'm not getting commission on Platinum Pass sales, I've just purchased said Platinum Pass for the first time ever this year, and I'm loving it. So all platinum passes are early entry? That is correct. No matter where you purchased the Platinum Pass, you get all the platinum perks for every Cedar Fair park. My Worlds of Fun Platinum Pass has worked flawlessly so far at KI, CP, and MiA, and I would expect the same at Valleyfair next month (and hopefully Knott's if I can make it to WCB).

Welcome to the forum! Yeah, Iockers are a touchy subject around here and tend to invoke flame wars. Don't ask me why. So Robb's solved the problem with this wonderfully ridiculous phrase so anyone trying to start a flame war looks ridiculous. I love it, and my wife and I actually call them "fluffy bunnies" in spoken conversation. Glad you liked SFStL! It has its shortcomings (food is one of them), but I always say you'll have a good time unless you're determined not to.

^ Definitely, no fast lane needed. I spent 5 hours there on a Saturday and rode all the coasters (except Mad Mouse, which was closed, and Big Dipper, which I had no interest in), plus the water rides, and a reride on Thunderhawk and multiple rerides on Shivering Timbers. If you're skipping the water rides, 3-4 hours is plenty, as the water rides had the longest lines other than Wolverine Wildcat. If you're there at opening, go to WW first, then you're golden.

So? This place can build a train themed coaster too. There are train themed coasters in San Antonio and Arlington. Really, there's so much overlap between trains and coasters, right down to the vocabulary, that train theming is probably the single easiest way to theme a coaster. This place can do whatever they want; anything ZDT's does is irrelevant.

Cool, I'm digging the train theme. And I don't think ZDT's is going to be serious competition. No one travels 3 hours for an FEC. No one but us lunatics.

Well, I have now been on a couple more, so here's my new ranking: Thunderation, Silver Dollar City Adventure Express, Kings Island Roadrunner Express, Six Flags Fiesta Texas River King Mine Train, Six Flags St. Louis Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Cedar Point Big Bad John, Magic Springs

Considering you're in DC, it may be more worthwhile for you to get a Platinum Pass for Kings Dominion. The early entry for platinum passholders is the same as for resort guests. I stayed at the Howard Johnson just down the street from Breakers Express. It was super cheap (around $50 a night--though I will add the caveat that I booked months in advance, and before Coastermania was announced). Considering that Breakers Express is in the $130 range, you'll easily save money with the Platinum, plus get some perks at Kings Dominion too, and still have the free parking and early entry at Cedar Point. If you can do two days, do two days. I was there for Coastermania, which was an 18 hour day with 4 hours of ERT, and I was still running around to get to everything, and didn't quite get to all the second-tier rides I wanted (though I did get multiple rides on the top-tier ones). There's just way too much to do, no matter how long you spend there. I skipped Soak City, as it didn't look like much, and there are so many good rides at Cedar Point. That seems to be the prevailing thought unless you spend a week there. I'll let others recommend days to visit and FL+, as I don't have experience there. Have fun!

^ That's a really good lead. A lot of people miss that the cave is the centrepoint of all of SDC's theming. It is the original attraction and the focus of the park (even though it's not necessarily the focus of guests--although it should be). So a theme of discovering gold in the cave is completely plausible for a new coaster, especially because it tells a story, and all of SDC's rides have not just a theme but a story behind them. As I understand it, the park wants to refresh Grand Expo, and a new coaster gives a good reason to do that, just as Outlaw Run helped them transform the last vestiges of Tom Sawyer's Landing into the Crossroads, and Fireman's Landing helped refresh the eastern lakefront. I'll gladly take two off years in a row if we get something fantastic--and I fully expect that we will, whatever it is.