thrillseeker4552

^This is why GhostRider really needs topper track. It operates at a year-round park and tears up the track no matter how often it goes down for maintenance (not to mention the amount of $$ KBF pours into the ride only to make hardly a difference). At least off-season parks can tune up their wooden coasters during the winter, but for parks like SFMM and Knott's that's not possible. If GhostRider got topper track (no layout changes--maybe new trains too, but not necessary), it could very well beat out Xcelerator and become the best ride at Knott's IMO (I would say all of SoCal, but...Twisted Colossus...).

I haven't ridden either, but Wicked Cyclone seems to be a little slower (obviously) in the elements and focuses on tight radii to throw you outta your seat abruptly, while Colossus has large hills and inversions that are more constant, sustained air. I can't say one is better than the other since I have ridden neither, but they are both RMCs and will both be amazing.

Xcelerator @ KBF

So I got the chance to ride Voyage last weekend. Here are my thoughts. I'm gonna start by saying that this ride, in my opinion, is getting a lot more crap than it deserves. I rode it with very low expectations after reading reviews of the one at Wonderland and all of the comments on here about how it is mediocre and not Universal/Disney level. I thought it was very good and it for sure blew away my expectations. The 3D is cool and it was very entertaining. I was smiling the whole time, not looking around for projectors to complain about. I was looking at the positive rather than the negative. Yes, the capacity isn't all that great, but let's be honest, is Coast Rider or Surfside Gliders any better? I'm sure it will cool down a little once the opening-day craze goes away anyway (not saying it will be a walk-on, but it will be better). I rode it 3 times and loved it. In my opinion, this is one more thing that proves Knott's is going in the right direction. I'm just super thrilled that Knott's has a cool, interactive, original dark ride. It definitely filled a void the park had. Now the next void... a thrilling coaster.... although that may be a while away.

Then all of the Alton Towers and Thorpe Park fanboys would be even MORE fanboy-ish because they can record their own video of Stealth, the biggest, baddest roller coaster on earth. What if Twisted Colossus never duels after opening day?

Seems as if the restraints are stripped from the test seat. Could WT be getting new restraints?? Would be nice if it got more reasonable restraints (on the seatbelt at least). It really should be more like other Intamin inverts like Volcano and Possessed. I can easily ride those but my height makes Wicked Twisters seatbelt very taut. I would love to see WT get those Intamin rocket coaster OTSRs. I remember reading somewhere that doing this was very possible to Intamin inverts.

^^What brneff99 said. I will ride the ride tomorrow to get the best judgement, but I think Voyage is a great addition. It's not Disney/Universal quality, but seriously, who was expecting it to be? It's definitely better than the previous building that has sat vacant for 10+ years. I'm just glad Knott's finally has a cool, modern dark ride! Even if you can see the projectors...big whoop. Is capacity going to be an issue? Probably. But is Coast Rider or Surfside Gliders really any better? I'm still stoked to ride this tomorrow, because having fun at a theme park is what being an enthusiast is all about, not critiquing every possible aspect of a new ride that still needs some kinks worked out. It literally opened today. It's only mid-May, things will improve. I'm sure Knott's knows about this ride's opening-day flaws.

Wow! Batman looks fantastic! It seems to be a nice, tam(er) version of the Intamin version. It's crazy, but still family-friendly to some extent. I really wanna see more of these pop up around the country.

^Keep in mind that the RMC trains may sit higher on the track than the PTC woodie in China. I'm sure SFMM tried to get them as close (but safe) as possible.

^Keep in mind that the RMC trains may sit higher on the track than the PTC woodie in China. I'm sure SFMM tried to get them as close (but safe) as possible.

I. Love. Life.

^I believe you mean a treble clef, which is what others are referring to. It's a clef music is written in, not a note. (I'm sorry, I'm sort of a music geek...I'm a little picky ). Now we just need a bass clef element. Maybe a cobra roll sideways?

Superman: Escape from Krypton @ Six Flags Magic Mountain

Scooby-Doo Ghoster Coaster. English or History?

My wind ensemble director. He tells me that we will be playing this very emotional, deep, meaningful piece (Watchman, Tell Us of the Night by Mark Camphouse, it's about the survivors of child abuse). I play the euphonium (for those of you who don't know what it is, just consider it a tuba). I suggest you listen to the piece on YouTube, it is gorgeous. Truly phenomenal work. I have been playing piano for 10 years (longer than euphonium). I LOVE it when I get opportunities to play piano in my wind ensemble. And since I really like this piece, my director said I can play piano for it. I was THRILLED. But no, we haven't rehearsed it in several weeks, and he hasn't said anything about playing it at any upcoming concerts (only one more left before the end of the school year), so there is a 99.99% chance we aren't playing that song. So I went home and practiced this song, learned all of the emotional and musical connections, only to find out that we canned the idea. So disappointing. It'd be nice if he at least told us what we are doing rather than leave us hanging. Oh, and this exact same scenario happened last school year as well. Pretty frustrating. Pretty. Frustrating.

This looks fantastic! Props to Holiday World and B&M for pulling off such a unique ride, especially as HW's first major steel and B&M's first true launch coaster. I know there has been some previous posts about it, but how are the lines for this? I haven't waited in line, so I can't make a fair judgment, but it seems to be B&M's lowest capacity coaster yet. 2 trains with 20 people each. Not bad, but not great based purely on stats. I guess with it being a launch coaster, that shaves off some ride time, but I'm really curious to see how efficient it will be during the super busy summer months (and according to what others have said, I have total faith in HW's operations, but even with a super fast crew, it's still only 2 trains with 20 people each). Nonetheless it looks excellent (that color scheme ) and will definitely be successful for HW.

Awesome news! Maybe an awesomely themed B&M Hyper/Giga? Or maybe they'll go with Mack again like they did in California.

I still can't believe that an awesome-looking RMC coaster is being built at my home park #2. Finally, California (especially SoCal) will have decent, ejector airtime. It all feels like a dream! I can't wait to ride it this summer!

I'm just curious--are these new restrains attached to the lap bar from over-head? It still looks like the lap bar comes down normally, but do the "straps" attach separately? Is it a two-step process? Looks like a great ride, and seems to fit BGW fairly well.

^I think if a park bought a version that runs two 3-car trains (using the switch track like Mr. Freeze), the capacity could actually be quite decent. It wouldn't be a B&M people-eater, but it wouldn't really be bad. The 3-car version definitely looks more intense, especially for the front and back rows.

Wow! I loved TGA, so I know I'll love this one. I can't wait for more!!!

This is exactly how I felt about namtaB at SFMM last year. I rode it once or twice and was done with it. So what park has this backwards chassis not arrived at yet? Besides SFGAdv which will be later this year, is the only remaining park SFSL?

I feel like this is going to be one of the additions that is over-looked this year. It seems to be in the shadow of Twisted Colossus, Wicked Cyclone, Cannibal, Fury 325, and Thunderbird. From what I can tell, this will be MUCH better than the Intamin ZacSpins (which I more or less enjoy, but they have their painful moments). I hope these S&S versions start popping up around the US, because they seem to be fairly compact and provide a LOT of thrill. Doesn't S&S have an even larger version with a MCBR?

This looks like a nice addition to Gardaland and an appropriate compliment to Raptor. I prefer Baron's theme and layout more, though.

Dang it! You got me. I'm gonna go hide in a corner now.