thrillseeker4552

Thanks again for the notes. I will absolutely ride all the coasters, but I look at it like this: if the park didn't have I305, we likely wouldn't be making the trek up there from Charlotte. Also, I loved the Drop Tower at KI, so if it's similar at all, good stuff. That's so interesting that I305 never has a line... even on weekends? That's crazy, but also good to hear!

I'll be honest, I know you're not out here all that often and it's tempting to buy Fastlane but you probably don't need it. When you get to the park, go straight to Volcano, then hit Flight of Fear, then Backlot and after that lines will be a complete non issue. If you want to mix in one ride on I305 before Backlot or Flight of Fear even though it never has a line but you want to get it out of your system then that's fine too. lol PS: Ride the Log Flume. Thanks for the feedback. That's really interesting. We're really just going for I305 (obviously) and wanna make sure we get several rides on it. Volcano and Dominator are bonuses. Maybe that money we save could be used for something else. Will look into it. Also, Crypt is still open right? I love Top Spins and after Riptide closed at Knott's I've been dying to get on one.

I sorta get what you're saying. I'm intrigued that Cedar Fair purchases from Mondial considering all the problems their rides seem to have (speaking in general, not about Sol Spin). This is the same chain that buys B&M after B&M because they are reliable. I'm really interested to see how Sol Spin plays out. When I visited on Sunday, it was down for the first half of the day (it was also closed the night before), but after about 4:00 it seemed to run pretty smoothly cycle after cycle through the evening. I hope all goes well. Even with a short cycle, it's a fun ride, and it's nice to finally have a new thrilling flat at the park since they've been removing so many lately. It's also 1000x better than Windseeker ever was. If Sol Spin does work out well, I wouldn't be surprised if Cedar Fair purchases a few more of these giant park models and installs them at Kings Island, Cedar Point, CGA, etc.

Quick question for anyone familiar with the park. I'll be heading to the park in early August this year, and I was wondering if one full day (likely a Sunday) with FastLane+ should be plenty to cover everything? We're driving up from Charlotte the day before, and we want to make sure we have two full days for BGW after this park.

What defines a credit is completely subjective, but I would absolutely count Rougarou as a new credit.

Here are just a couple Sol Spin photos. Was going to get a shot at night, but last rides on Boomerang stole my attention.

Wait... what? Surfside Gliders and Pacific Scrambler are NOT being removed, the Sol Spin cycle is intentional, and Mondial did not screw up. The ride has been open for less than a week, my goodness.

From what I can recall, the cabin reaches about 175 feet. I'm not sure about the top of the K. My guess is around 210-ish feet. Cool idea, although that would be pretty ugly looking, honestly.

I doubt this will be an RMC Raptor. I think the park knows they need "another Silver Bullet" in terms of capacity and reliability. A B&M Dive fits that criteria, along with being able to fit comfortably in that space. It's unique to the region, very marketable, and with the employee saying it's a "drop coaster" (as unreliable as that source is...), and with the success of Valravn and the Cedar Fair-B&M relationship, a B&M Dive just makes sense from all angles. If it is a Dive, for the love of all that is holy, I hope they don't add those stupid vests! Obviously this is going to be a small/medium scale Dive, so maybe they will go with the 18-passenger trains like Baron, Oblivion, and Krake, but this is Cedar Fair, so who knows. Those look like they completely ruin the concept of a Dive Coaster IMO.

Sol Spin is not used. My mistake, I just assumed it was a part of the ride buy like Carowind's attractions were this year. I still stand by what I said when it comes to getting used to the system though. Some of it is going to rely on guest feedback as well. I agree. Like I said, it's brand new and is technically a prototype since it is the first "large" custom version. It was down for about half the day yesterday, but it opened up around 4:00 and only had a few hiccups since (from what I saw). The shorter cycle really does help with capacity though. A full queue takes under an hour. The 36 vs 30 passengers really makes a difference it seems.

Sol Spin is not used.

Rode Sol Spin twice today. Yes it's a short cycle, but the ride's only been open for two days. If a short cycle keeps it more reliable, I'm for it. It makes the line move faster as well. Great ride and great addition regardless! Also just rode my last ride on Boomerang. Employee mentioned the new ride will be a "drop coaster" which I presume is a B&M Dive, but of course that is coming from an employee, so who knows. Sounds plausible though. There were also lots of enthusiasts in line. My goodness... I thought I was nerdy... they're annoying.

Doesn't weight distribution make a big difference as well? I noticed that some arms are flipping like crazy, and others aren't really flipping at all. It seems like one of those rides that you need to ride multiple times to get a feel for. Regardless, this is still a great addition to the park. They desperately needed a fresh new thrilling flat ride w/ high capacity.

I'll get plenty of photos of Sol Spin and its sign/queue/etc. this Sunday, unless someone beats me to it.

Yep! Can't wait to ride it this Sunday!

Front row of Boomerang at Knott's yesterday afternoon. Will say my final goodbyes on Sunday!

Went to the park yesterday. No photos, but just a few notes. Coast Rider's leg restraints suck. I'm 5'9" and 175 lbs and didn't have too much of an issue, but if you are over 6-feet or have remotely long legs, you will hate them. It sucks to see yet another neuter to an already neutered mouse. And they make you carry all of your belongings on the ride Disney-style (which is usually a great thing), but the cars were already cramped as is, so there is even less room to put a bag at your feet now. Overall a terrible addition... I wish I could say they're temporary, but it's obvious that these are here for the long run. Ugh. I saw Sol Spin test a few times. It's looking ready. I peaked through the construction walls and caught some glimpses on Silver Bullet and Jaguar. The fencing is all done, the area has cleaned up, and it should be opening really soon now hopefully. The park said on Instagram that it will open "later this Spring," but who knows what that means. I doubt it will open this weekend. My guess is either the weekend of the 29th or the weekend of the 6th. Xcelerator is back open with both trains running. Hopefully this continues throughout the summer. Doesn't help capacity a ton, but it's still nice. GhostRider is still smooth as ever and running two trains. And operations weren't terribly slow! 4 DAYS LEFT OF BOOMERANG! Thank goodness. I took a ride in the front seat, and it was just as bad as before... especially backwards through the cobra roll. Not gonna miss this ride at all. Well, maybe the color scheme. It sure does look nice. Hopefully whatever they add next year is just as aesthetically pleasing. That's it for now. No major news, but I'll be back this Sunday to check out more of the Festival (hours were cut short yesterday and we didn't get a chance to get the tasting card), and if all goes well, I'm planning on being on one of the last trains ever of Boomerang. I'll definitely put a report together if that is the case.

Wtf. No it would not be a fitting replacement for a full circuit inverting coaster. Full Circuit>Shuttle. Never will an intamin impulse be better than a premier spaghetti bowl. The Premier spaghetti bowl isn't that great unless it's in the dark like Flight of Fear. Not only is the Intamin launch much better but you get a real drop. Yeah, spaghetti bowls are good, but definitely prefer the impulse coasters I've been on. Also, Six Flags America doesn't even have a shuttle coaster, so it would fill another important spot in their lineup while still having a launched coaster. I didn't bother responding right away because the full circuit>shuttle comment just broke my brain. Yeah, let's replace all the impulse coasters with kiddie coasters and Pinfari loopers! They can even bring back the Two Face theme. If you take the GP into consideration, nobody is going to want to ride a rollercoaster that launches forwards and backwards several times. It's super repetitive and has no major gimmick to it like a 100 mph launch or 400 ft spike. I think the last few years have proven that you don't necessarily need a huge gimmick to market a ride. CGA managed to market Patriot (a super basic coaster.. heck, they even advertised it has the first Floorless coaster in the park when they have Flight Deck...), both SF and CF have been able to market basic flat rides over the years, and several other instances. If, for whatever reason, SFA would receive a relocated Intamin Impulse (which I doubt in the first place), I don't think they would have any issue at all marketing it. Heck, going backwards is a gimmick in itself. "Nobody is going to ride [x] coaster" is an extremely broad generalization to make and is quite far from the truth, from what I can gather.

Can I just say Hersheypark? The park is pretty darn close to perfect in my eyes. Intamins, solid "supporting" attractions, scented bathrooms, helpful staff (based on my experience), decent food, picturesque/clean, etc. I guess they could use a better skip-the-line program. Other than that, go Hershey!

Good to hear Xcelerator is back. I guess it was just some quick maintenance. Heading to the park tomorrow with some friends and we're counting on riding Xcelerator! As for Sol Spin, my guess is it will open up this weekend. Fencing around the ride is up, and the sign and queue is all ready to go. It's been testing consistently for 2 weeks or more now. I guess at this point it's just cleaning up and finishing touches. It would be great if they could get it open right at the tail end of the Festival.

Except for the years 2008, 2011, and 2017, B&M has built a brand new B&M in the United States every year since 1990 when they were officially formed. 2008 saw two relocations: Goliath at SFFT and Dominator at KD. 2011 saw one relocation: Green Lantern at SFGAdv. 2017 saw a Floorless conversion: Patriot at CGA.

LOL! Flashback and Goliath are both pieces of crap (even in the front row, I thought Goliath was horrible). SFNE should just remove them both and add a huge new Premier launch coaster in the next few years.

Wicked Cyclone Dorney Park?

I wonder why Xcelerator has been closed. I assume it's for maintenance (probably on the trains, since it has been running both of them pretty consistently since November), but the park is usually pretty good at listing maintenance closures on their website. Hopefully it's open by Tuesday when I go.