ytterbiumanalyst

I thought we had already established that Ziz is a 500 foot inverted flying Aquatrax Polercoaster?

What you say in a commercial matters. It's one thing if it's a campaign with obvious hyperbole; it's another thing entirely if they make a plausible claim. People can rightly be criticized for believing they might actually grow wings upon consuming an energy drink, but if they buy tickets to Dollywood after seeing a commercial that says the new ride is open, that's on Dollywood, not the ticket buyers.

Definitely the best looking Infinity coaster in the US! With Outlaw Run, and then Thunderbird, and now Monster...wow, these family-owned Midwestern parks may take their time, but they are doing it right.

I've been playing a lot of Diablo III recently. I spent way too much of the 90's with Diablo II, and this is a worthy sequel. There's almost an overwhelming amount of things to do. Hurling Magic Missiles at hordes of skeletons is a great way to spend any evening.

^ Oh, yeah, no one said the monorail was going front to back. It goes straight west and dives into the lake, and the only station is in Canada.

What about a Vekoma Jr. Suspended? Steel Lasso at Frontier City is 38". That's a big coaster for kids that age, and fun for adults too. For a park wanting to appeal to the family demographic, rides that everyone can enjoy together should be the priority.

Why, that would be Toledo! (Pretty easy when it's in the file name).

Yes he was.

This. Twisted Colossus is fantastic when it duels, but it's still a great ride when it doesn't. As long as SFMM continues to run 3 trains, I'm happy. The ride is a disaster with only 2 trains. Yes, dueling is a big part of the ride's design, but as long as 3 trains are on the track, I'm satisfied. Has it ever run only two trains? I thought I read that they always have three running and the fourth in the maintenance shop. Is that not true? I can't remember exactly when (maybe November or December), but there was a very short period of time where it ran two. It was inconsistent and maybe only for a few days, but I remember reading about it on Instagram. Ouch. Glad that didn't last very long. Three already seems to me to be bare minimum given what the ride does.

This. Twisted Colossus is fantastic when it duels, but it's still a great ride when it doesn't. As long as SFMM continues to run 3 trains, I'm happy. The ride is a disaster with only 2 trains. Yes, dueling is a big part of the ride's design, but as long as 3 trains are on the track, I'm satisfied. Has it ever run only two trains? I thought I read that they always have three running and the fourth in the maintenance shop. Is that not true?

Um...what? The experience of riding a roller coaster has always been realistic. You actually experience falling, twisting, looping. Those aren't simulations; that's really happening to you. A roller coaster is about as realistic as it gets. This VR is basically doing the opposite: adding fantasy. That's really a major component of the theme park experience: To take us away from ordinary experiences of cubicles and yard work and bring us to an entirely different world. I think for a lot of us, electronics are part of ordinary life, so having them interrupt such a visceral experience as a roller coaster is a jarring dose of the ordinary in what should be exceptional.

Wow, that's some terrible writing. Especially the one paragraph that just ends mid-sentence. Hey, but at least we know Tim Allen will be making an appearance!

^ I honestly see a wing or dive coaster rather than an invert. The major problem with inverts is that you can't see well unless you're on the front row. The flying coaster tried to solve this problem, but with its mechanical and comfort issues, wasn't the answer. The wing coaster is the evolution of the invert, and is generally more family friendly. For a park that draws so much from the natural beauty of the land, I just don't see the appeal of the invert, where 7/8 of your guests will be staring at metal. Leave those for the parks in an empty field.

Yeah, I get that. I feel much the same way about special events at Silver Dollar City. Holiwood Nights is the same day, and that's a fantastic event too, and not too far from you. You could even take the day and then give it back if you don't end up needing it. I don't know; I tend to be overprepared. I hear you, though; I'm checking the site daily for when Coastermania tickets go on sale. I've been wanting to go on a dive coaster since I first heard about Oblivion, and finally there's one in the Midwest!

Just put the time in. Think about it--worst case scenario, they sell out of Coastermania tickets and you don't get one. You can still go on that day during the regular hours, 10-10. They're still open to the public. Plus, once you know you have the time off, you can be quicker to pounce on the tickets. I actually requested the time off and reserved a hotel room at the full flex rate last October. So I'm good to go as soon as the tickets go on sale. But I've already decided just exactly what I've written above--I want to go to Coastermania, but if I don't get a ticket, no big deal, I'll just go that same day during the regular hours. #1 rule of traveling: Be flexible.

Exactly right. It's like folks who want to rant and rave and create laws against pollution in the US because of all the damage it's doing to the environment. But all you have to do is look across the ocean and see, it doesn't matter how much regulation or effort we put into fixing the pollution problems in America, if other countries around the globe are going to keep on doing what they're doing. Not exactly. The US is still the second most polluting nation, after China. Even if China does nothing, reducing pollution here does a lot of good, and many times can be done without any adverse effects. For example, replacing incandescent light bulbs with LEDs reduces energy use, which on a large scale reduces the amount of power generation required. A better analogy would be people wanting to shut down the wind farms because occasionally a bird flies into them. Overall, these wind farms reduce pollution substantially, and that good is threatened by idiots who protest birds flying into turbines while ignoring that birds fly into buildings all the time. It's this propensity of activists to selectively choose only facts that support their cause that perpetuates ignorance.

That's disappointing. This has always been one of my biggest complaints about GCI woodies. It makes zero sense to me that a 40" kid can ride "Tower of Terror" but a 42" kid can't ride any of GCI's woodies, which don't even come close to the intensity of a woodie like Knoebel's Phoenix or Twister, which are also both 42" IMO, it just shows extremely poor design and a lack of understanding of park guests from GCI and I'm shocked there has never been an attempt to correct that. I have to agree with this. My son is 47" and absolutely in love with roller coasters, and a lot of our decisions are influenced greatly by what he can ride. He just loves Powder Keg, probably the most intense family coaster out there. If HFE can get a 42" minimum on that ride, then surely any park can tell a manufacturer they want 42" and they'll make restraints that can accommodate that.

Yes, US customs is a lot stricter than Canadian customs is, especially in this case where you wouldn't be coming from or going to your home country. I can almost guarantee that you would be detained at the US border if you tried to re-enter from Canada. I know that doesn't make a lot of sense, but we're really paranoid here. You could drop the rental car off in Buffalo or New York City (depending on which direction you're coming from) and take Amtrak or Via to Toronto. They both run a Toronto to New York City route that goes through Buffalo. If I were planning this, though, I'd skip CW, as it's likely to be way more trouble than it's worth. The Canadian border just isn't as easy as it used to be.

I would suggest avoiding PHL if an alternative is available, as it's one of the most expensive airports in the country, especially since you're going one way. Newark or Baltimore would each be cheaper. Also, I wouldn't do US to Canada and back again. US customs are pretty paranoid, and a New Zealander coming into New York from Ontario in a one way rental is going to raise red flags. If you do go to CW, make that your last stop and fly back from Toronto (even though YYZ is pretty expensive too).

If they're doing it like SDC does, then only the people with bags have to stop. Our bag was checked in a couple of seconds. Since their list of probihited items is remarkably shorter than most parks', it was quick and easy.

Thunderation last Saturday.

^ I'll do you one better. They give every single person who wasn't completely happy with their visit a free ticket to visit later. They've had that policy for decades.