thrillseeker4552

I am still very doubtful that the S&S Free Spin is opening in 2021. Wouldn't the park announce it by now? Especially if they're announcing their opening date for the season? I think it'll be 2022.

A bit of "happiness pie" on my end... This is my last semester of college. I graduate with my structural engineering degree in May. I am currently looking at job opportunities all over the country! From Florida, to Virginia, to Massachusetts, to Texas, to Michigan. The list goes on! I was born and raised in California and went to school in Utah. It's exciting to think about moving to a whole new state, preferable on the east coast, with a lot more theme parks nearby! Plus having a stable job that allows me the opportunities to travel around much more than I've been able to do while in college. So yeah. It's not much, but I'm excited about what the future holds for me!

Well, and everyone's situation is different, but for me flights aren't really the issue. The real $$$ comes from all the park tickets/passes, hotels, transportation, and food. Everything adds up! I graduate college this spring. Once I get a full-time job and earn some time off, you bet a Florida trip is on my radar. I need to get on VelociCoaster and Iron Gwazi sooner than later! Ice Breaker looks fun too.

Thanks for putting this together! It sounds like a lot of fun. I think I'll try and be there.

Remember that the B&M Dive Coaster that went to South Korea in 2018 features the original restraints, opening 2 years after Valravn. Perhaps that one is a case of being planned for several years too. I always just assumed that the park could request which they want and B&M would deliver, but perhaps B&M is trying to phase out the old ones as well.

Wow, I am surprised they are going with the OG trains. But that is awesome! Perhaps it is because this coaster has lots of crazy tight clearances, and the vest trains are wider.

As a long time fan of the Big Bang Theory, I decided to finally start watching Young Sheldon. It is hilarious!

^I am in a similar situation. I haven't been to Florida since 2007, when I was in grade school and too short to ride many things. I am dying to go back. But I'm not even gonna look at flights until Iron Gwazi, VelociCoaster, and Ice Breaker are all open! Florida really is the place to be in 2021.

I can't say I'm a big fan of the all-green color scheme on Kanonen (since I don't know what else to call it right now), but at this point I don't even care. The fact that a brand new, ground-up park that is not Disney/Universal/etc. is being built is exciting! And in a location that definitely needed a theme park, too. Any word on trains for the SLC? Did they happen to purchase new ones, or just refurbish the old-school ones from Ratanga Junction?

Canyon Blaster at Adventuredome on 1/15. One of the better Arrow loopers out there!

Nice report! Thanks for sharing. I visited SFOG for the first time in July 2019. My feelings about the park are mixed. On one hand, I don't think the park has a single "bad" coaster. Perhaps GASM, but I tend to like some old wooden coasters that have character nowadays where everything is being RMC'd. Blue Hawk is excellent, the B&Ms are all great, DDD is glossy smooth and fun, and Mind Bender rocks. On the flip side, I found the park's operations (for everything - food, rides, etc.) to be utterly terrible. It was also an incredibly hot and muggy day when I went, which probably made me grumpier about everything. But I would definitely visit the park again. I echo your sentiments about Twisted Cyclone. That ride is a prime example of "less is more." It does exactly what it needs to do, it does it well, and it never lets up from beginning to end.

I should clarify that the only part of El Loco I found rough was the dive loop/stall and subsequent pullout - the one mid-ride, before the second brake run. It has some funky profiling that introduces laterals while being suspended upside down, and the pullout also veers to the left and shakes a bit. It appears that the similar element on Steel Hawg is perfectly straight and in-line, hence why I imagine it is smoother. Outside of that one moment on El Loco, the ride is very smooth and fun. The cars track well. There is just weird profiling on that dive loop, which I'm sure is due to the space constraints they had to design around. I suppose "rough" was a poor choice of word. I guess "funky profiling that shakes you around while hanging upside down in a hard metal seat and restraint" is more accurate! Still a fun ride!

The sign looks nice. It's a shame the park won't be opening any time soon. Summer is hopeful, fall is a bit more reasonable, but I think next winter or Spring 2022 is most likely. I really hope I am wrong!

Technically, the only new credit I got in 2020 was riding the S&S Axis prototype in October, but I doubt that is even on the list. I will probably adjust my 2019 rankings a bit but overall this should be pretty easy to submit! Thanks to everyone involved for putting this on again!

That's a great video. Kudos to the park for putting in some effort to update us on the construction! Come to think of it, I think Jersey Devil will be a bit of a "sleeper hit" this year. All of the attention will be on VelociCoaster, Pantheon, and Iron Gwazi (rightfully so), but just like in 2018 with WW and RB, this coaster could turn out batsh*t insane and get overshadowed by those bigger rides opening in the same year. I can't wait for this ride to come to SFMM.

I visited Adventuredome last Friday (1/15) for the first time in several years. I believe I was last here in November 2015 or 2016. I had a nice time, mostly because those of us living out west are quite deprived of theme parks at the moment! Crowds were a little heavy near the front of the park, but the back of the park was deserted. Lines for El Loco and Canyon Blaster were nonexistent. I felt safe COVID-wise as long as I avoided the front of the park. In addition to the coasters, I also rode the Chaos (since I know it is one of the last of its kind, if not the last). It was a lot of fun and not nearly as disorienting as I was expecting. I also rode the new Nebula Z, which was also fun, but definitely more on the family side. That ride is much more about the visuals. I also quickly hopped on the drop tower (which has quite the gut-punch of a launch) while I was briefly at the front of the park. I was able to ride these flat rides along with 5 rides on El Loco and 4 on Canyon Blaster in under two hours. As I mentioned, I had already visited the park and ridden both coasters a handful of years ago, but I had honestly forgotten what I thought of them. It was nice to ride them again and gain a fresh opinion. El Loco is very weird (and quite rough in a few spots), but the excessive hang time and comfortable lap bars make up for it. Canyon Blaster was a bit rougher than I remember, perhaps because the train was mostly empty and therefore rattled a lot, but it is INTENSE. Those loops and corkscrews made me grey-out a bit, not to mention the insane head choppers going around that final helix. Right now I give the slight edge to El Loco for its unique layout and nice trains. But Canyon Blaster is also exceptional as far as Arrow loopers go. They really make quite the one-two punch. A third non-inverting coaster could work well at the park, but dang, I have no clue where they would put it. I am by no means a photographer, but I did snap a few photos just to make reading this more interesting and more than just a wall of text.

This is a great move. In essence, it makes your pass valid for one year after their re-opening date. And yeah, this extension is likely exclusive to Knott’s, since they are CF’s only year-round park and will probably stay closed the longest.

^I don't blame you at all. I am following this closely as well! I posted this in the Adventuredome thread, but since you seem to be a Vegas local, I'll ask here. Do you have any idea how Adventuredome crowds have been lately? I will spending a few hours there on Friday.

^Sorry. As a native Californian, snow is a very big deal to us.

That makes sense, given the recent issue... I do hope they sort the trains out and get them running. I’m not a huge fan of the cramped Premier Sky Rocket trains, especially with comfort collars, but anything is better than those terrible shoulder pad restraints on the old trains. These new trains also have an addition 2 seats per train, slightly increasing the capacity (not that capacity matters much for a ride like this, but nice nonetheless).

That reminds me of when SoCal got dumped with snow on New Year's Eve 2014. Not so much the coastal areas or Orange County, but the inland empire and higher parts of LA got several inches that hung around for several days. Highly unusual but super cool when it happens.

The seatbelt reaches from the left side of the train to the right side (or it may be right to left, I forget). It is similar to a car seatbelt, where it is always retracting. So once it's clicked in, the belt remains taut and cannot be released. There is no way to tighten the belt against the rider like a typical roller coaster seatbelt. It is impossible for the rider to unlock the seatbelt mid-ride, whether purposefully or accidentally. To be honest, the ride feels quite safe. I rode it when I was younger with my dad, and have ridden it as an adult with my younger sister, and it feels very safe. The train is quite cramped and has little room to move around anyway. You really don't even need the seatbelt to be honest (hypothetically). Obviously the seatbelt must be locked and secure for the ride to dispatch. The ride has been operating safely for 45 years. Yeah, it's a bit sketchy when compared to modern coaster design, but I don't think you have anything to worry about. Here is a link to a photo of the train from RCDB. It is not super clear, but it gives you a general idea. https://rcdb.com/198.htm#p=6642

The height requirement for Jet Star II is 50". However, all riders (kids or adults, doesn't matter) must ride in pairs. Nobody may sit alone in a seat. The seat belt connects across the front of the two riders. It is away from the body, unless you have two large adults, then it may touch the front rider. This is why two riders is required for the ride - if somebody rode alone, there would be a lot of extra room to slide around. I suggest taking a look at some offride photos or videos of the ride to get a better idea of the train setup. There is no restraint that tightly hugs any riders. The front rider protects the back rider, and the seatbelt protects the front rider. With that being said, the ride is almost entirely positive-Gs and laterals, so there is no risk of "airtime" with a minimal restraint. It's a quite intense and whippy ride. If you're riding with your young son, the most secure restraint will honestly be your arms/hands, if you feel the seatbelt up front is not enough. However I definitely recommend you both hold onto the sides of the cars for control. You may do it instinctively! Oh, and no, you cannot unlock the seatbelt during the ride. It is also worth noting that Jet Star II was closed for all of 2020, since it is impossible to social distance on the trains, and strangers/single riders often ride together on the ride. With COVID going the way it is, it could very well remained closed for 2021 as well.

While it may not be catered for us enthusiasts, this will be a nice addition for them. The water park is their bread and butter, and it is good that they are capitalizing on that as much as possible. The new roller coaster will come someday - when it makes sense for them financially.

The trains will be the most interesting part of this coaster for me. We know the technology exists to build enormous steel structures. The real question is how the trains and wheels will be designed to accommodate these insane statistics. Maybe tires? lol