thrillseeker4552

^Nice report. I agree with pretty much everything you said. Sierra Sidewinder really is a "hidden gem" in the park; I've had some insane rides on it in the back car. Random thought about Boomerang replacement that just occurred to me. I'm not sure how good Cedar Fair's relationship with Gerstlauer is (although CW did just get a flat from them), but I think a 4-car infinity coaster (like Smiler, but with lap bars and less loopy) could work well. Gerstlauer has been making some good stuff lately with Monster and Gold Rush, and something like that could certainly fit in the Boomerang/Riptide plot. Just more food for thought.

Thanks for sharing photos. Sol Spin is looking good! I'm going to the park this Tuesday with my school and I'm crossing my fingers for it to open, but I doubt it. I'll likely be back the following Sunday anyway to say farewell to Boomerang, so maybe it'll be open then. As for the pool, I wouldn't look too far into it. While it's a possibility they could add footers there, Knott's has been focusing so much on aesthetics and "charm" over the last 5 years, I just can't see them plopping footers into one of their most photogenic areas of the park. But who knows... EDIT: Also, I wonder what the deal is with the restaurant. Maybe they are planning for some kind of late summer/fall opening? Granted, the park has been crazy busy with other projects this year (particularly Sol Spin and Soak City), but pretty much no visible progress has been made on the restaurant for SEVERAL months now. I guess time will tell.

That's insane! Mystic Timbers runs 3 trains, right?

Boomerang duels with Invertigo duels with GIB. I think we finally found Knott's 2018 plans. You heard it here first.

Great report! I'm glad I kept my expectations for what's in the shed pretty low, because this is Cedar Fair, and with all of the techy stuff they have been doing lately, I was expecting nothing more than some effects/screens/music. Looks like a GREAT coaster (pun intended), and it makes me even more excited to finally try Gold Striker this summer. Haven't been to KI since 2014 and I loved it. One day I will get back... one day.

Loving it! Although, if I had to nitpick, I think you should really focus a little more on Coast Rider. The layout is nothing like the real thing... I know wild mice can be challenging to create (especially "diagonal" ones like CR), but it doesn't match the quality of the rest of your park, IMO. Great job though, and better than anything I could do!

Yeah, Xcelerator has been running two trains pretty consistently since November... by the time summer comes, it's gonna need maintenance again!

Yes, you did sound stupid. In all seriousness, like the above poster said, the ride was recently re-painted into its third color scheme. We had: yellow/yellow, then green/yellow, now orange/green.

I posted my plans a while back, but some things have changed, and I was probably way too optimistic. Here is what I have planned. 100% certain 1. Knott's Berry Farm (have already been several times) 2. Six Flags Magic Mountain 3. Disneyland / DCA 4. Lagoon There is a decent chance 1. California's Great America 2. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom 3. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Higher chance of NOT happening than happening 1. Kings Dominion 2. Carowinds Quick question for anybody who knows. Does Gilroy Gardens accept the Cedar Fair Platinum Pass as admission? And if so, what about the all-season dining? I know it's managed by Cedar Fair, but I'm having a hard time finding information on it on the website about the Platinum Pass being valid there. If so, I'm thinking about making a quick little stop there when/if I'm in NorCal.

But keep in mind...the front car line is just that, front car. You can end up in row 2, which is second best. Try to line up by looking at people waiting in line. I have seen many time people refuse to get into row two, waiting for row one. Just sayin. The funny part is, row 2 is still excellent. That was the seat I marathoned at WCB 2014, and the airtime over the top hat is just as fantastic. And due to the elevated seating, you can still see quite a bit just one row behind. Of course, row 1 is the best. But yeah, it's stupid that Xcelerator lines up by car rather than by row. Confuses the GP all the time. Sierra Sidewinder does the same thing, and I've always wondered why. It is kinda weird to me, I think the last row, the one facing backwards going up the lift hill, is the best on Sidewinder. As far as X goes, I will jump to get on row 2 if offered, knowing that they will let row 2 go empty because people will not go on waiting for row 1. IMHO, that should never be allowed. But CP staff is so nice, they never seen to do what we many think is the right thing. So, with row 2 going up empty, sometimes more than once, makes the line for the front car go even slower. *sigh* I believe you mean KBF staff, but you're absolutely right. This is unrelated to the front row thing and is nothing but a pipe dream, but I'd really like to see Xcelerator redone in some way so riders can exit on the curve before the station (TTD style), so running two trains has significant advantages. I believe Rita, Stealth, and several other Accelerators that launch right out of the station do this via a separate unload station. Also, maybe give it some sexy new Intamin trains with more efficient restraints. And some new paint. Like I said, a pipe dream.

I'm a believer that every roller coaster should have a properly-executed single rider line, especially VR coasters. Or at least a non-VR line of some kind. Or do reserved times like Cedar Point. It's so disappointing that Revolution basically doesn't exist in my eyes because the line is atrocious, and it's a fun little ride.

But keep in mind...the front car line is just that, front car. You can end up in row 2, which is second best. Try to line up by looking at people waiting in line. I have seen many time people refuse to get into row two, waiting for row one. Just sayin. The funny part is, row 2 is still excellent. That was the seat I marathoned at WCB 2014, and the airtime over the top hat is just as fantastic. And due to the elevated seating, you can still see quite a bit just one row behind. Of course, row 1 is the best. But yeah, it's stupid that Xcelerator lines up by car rather than by row. Confuses the GP all the time. Sierra Sidewinder does the same thing, and I've always wondered why.

Hold up... they did? Couldn't find anything about that in the Ferrari World thread.

Assuming you arrive at opening, I would hit GhostRider first, Xcelerator second (the back of the park is empty right at opening... you could probably get multiple rides), and the rest in pretty much any order you wish. Silver Bullet's line will move quickly if it's running two trains. I would definitely cut out some time to try some of the Festival food as well... you won't regret it.

I'll be at the park next Tuesday and will check them out. It really is a bummer; those cars were already cramped as they were.

This looks great! I really wish there was a decent CSO that connected the top of S&S combo towers. Man, that would be useful. Also LOVING the two-tone track on Silver Bullet. I'm gonna have to go thru the steps and download the retexture at some point. It's beautiful.

Speaking of the Goliaths, I have a quick question for those who have ridden it. I have never ridden it, but it seems that Goliath at La Ronde gets so little attention (at least from what I've noticed). It looks like it has some serious airtime, and with 6+ airtime hills back to back, it only has one trim (that doesn't appear to engage based on videos). Is it not talked about because it's in a crappy park? Would it be an "underrated" coaster? I've just always wondered why Goliath at SFOG and other B&M Hypers (such as the CF ones) get tons of praise and attention, but I almost never hear about Goliath at La Ronde, and it looks like it has some killer airtime hills and one of the better B&M Hypers out there based on videos. Just wondering... Not going to visit La Ronde anytime soon, but I'm just a little curious as to how "good" it ranks among the other B&M Hypers and if it could be considered an "underrated" coaster. Also, completely random, but 2,000th post!

My son and I made our 1st trip to CP last Fall...I can tell you that we loved Valravn and the GP on the West Coast would eat it up...the ride in the outside seats of the front row were ridiculous fun and the length and elements were perfect...my fear would be the KBF version would be much shorter and less intense...perhaps I'm underestimating the space available...its also a crowd eating machine so would help somewhat with crowd control at busier times...I would love to see my home park get one of these... I agree. Knott's really needs another capacity monster, and I think they realize that. The only current people-eaters are Silver Bullet, the Mine Ride, Jaguar, and Monte (short cycle + 28-passenger trains is actually quite good... better than Xcel and Boomerang). Xcelerator, the various family coasters, and even GhostRider to some extent are pretty low-capacity rides. The park gets crazy crowded in the summer and could REALLY use another B&M people-eating machine... regardless of what type of B&M that may be. I just can't see the park going with a hyper/mega lite from Chance, Intamin, or Mack, because while it may fit the space better, Cedar Fair is really into installing high-capacity B&M machines. On another note, Sol Spin is doing full-speed test runs with water dummies. The video was on Instagram from Knott's Network if anyone's interested. Crossing my fingers for it to open by the 18th!

Very interesting to hear. I believe it was the only RMC to have them, correct?

Considering the park hasn't seen a large new thrilling coaster since Dec. 2004 (which, by 2018, will have been 13.5 years), I think a mid-size B&M Dive would absolutely draw crowds. That being said, I would never take anything Screamscape says seriously.

I've never really thought about it yet, but now that you mention it, those ideas actually sound pretty plausible. I think a "mega" Top Scan (like Sol Spin at Knott's) would be great for Kings Island. They already have a pretty solid flat collection already, but like Canada's Wonderland, you can never have too many flat rides.

White Lightning is also 46" and I also personally think that ride should be 42" but at least they have a ride RIGHT NEXT DOOR that's a pretty large-sized ride with a 36" height restriction. But honestly, think about it, if a Vekoma suspended coaster, which is actually quite a decent ride with some good forces can be 36" why should a smaller-sized family woodie be 46"? It makes no sense to me and seems so unbalanced, especially when you're in Orlando where families are used to rides that are 38" - 44" for a lot of the medium sized coasters. (and rides like Space Mountain and Everest which have a lower height restriction than WL are pretty BIG rides!) It's funny that you reference Hersheypark because I've always felt that Hersheypark and BGW are very similar parks in how they are perceived by the public as "family parks" yet one park really seems to "get it" with their height restrictions and family offerings and one doesn't. If you look at Hershey, they have.... A couple of coasters for the much smaller kids at 36" with one of them not being a "kiddie" but a full-sized mine train: Trailblazer Cocoa Cruiser Some for the 42" kids... Comet SooperDooperLooper Laff Track Then for the 48" guests... Wildcat Lightning Racer Sidewinder Wild Mouse And then for the 54" thrill seekers.... Great Bear Skyrush Fahrenheit Storm Runner And most of their other rides also follow this same pattern. This, IMO, is a very WELL BALANCED park! I really feel that BGW is a park that should have a very similar line-up but is very much lacking in the "family" coaster department, or at least the family coaster height restriction department. This is one of the main reasons my family loved Hersheypark last year. I could go over and ride Skyrush while my little sister rides SDL, and in the back of the park, I could go on Storm Runner while she rides Trailblazer. Not only is the height restriction well-balanced, but their actual LOCATION in the park is perfect too. There's no "big kid" section and "little kid" section... it's all pretty evenly spread out. I loved Hershey because of their heavenly Intamin trio, and my mom and little sister loved it because of Trailblazer, SDL, Wild Mouse, and Comet. I can't think of many other parks that are able to please all levels of thrill seekers like Hershey does. It's a bummer InvadR doesn't have a lower height restriction, otherwise it would have filled a BIG gap at BGW (and it still sorta does). Still looks like a fun little coaster.

The drop looks like it has quite a sharp angle! Looks fantastic. I LOVE seeing small parks like this grow with new coasters.

Has there ever been an instance where adding sexy new trains to SLCs has drastically improved the ride experience? I've heard Great Nor'Easter and T3 still suck, and other ones like Lethal Weapon are just mediocre. Seriously, it seems like new trains on Boomerangs have been more successful than new trains on SLCs. A+ for effort, I guess.

Great report, as always. Despite the high height requirement, InvadR looks like a solid ride that appeals to a large demographic. Can never go wrong with a GCI, really. Also, it's interesting to hear that the ride doesn't have seat belts. I believe Wodan is the only other GCI without them, though I could be wrong.