Solid Gold

So Screamscape posted that RCDB had some new pics of the now-completed track work. Check out the last three! I count one Batsh*t insane tophat with a huge drop into a tunnel, one NINETY DEGREE mega-turn, and a possible SIDEWAYS airtime hill? (Pic 7, the small hill on the right). OMG-worthy!

Two things I would think about. "If the quest for credits factors in" -Hersheypark "If not"-Busch However, both of those parks are slated for big new rides in the next two years, with markers appearing at Hershey(as well as rumors of a big addition) and something in Big Bad Wolf's spot (possible Busch/Intamin ride package). KD just added Dominator and Intimidator 305, they're more likely set for the time being. If you're going to have more opportunities in the future, maybe KD is a good choice.

I really like how there's a random excited dude in the track photo.

^Yes indeed, I'm silly.

The new entrance to Dragon's Challenge is the thing that most stood out to me in those pics. Kind of Awful compared to the old. I would looove to go back to IOA after hearing positive comparisons of FJ to other world class simulators. Spiderman is the best theme park ride I've ever been on, coaster or not, and it's great to hear that IOA has finally added something new and of high quality.

I've noticed that I'm really keen on parks and rides with natural beauty, mature trees are a big plus. SFGADV was a total surprise in terms of the beauty and shade of the park. I also enjoyed Nitro much more than Goliath SFOG, not necessarily because of airtime(Goliath is assuredly more forceful), but because of the location. Nitro is off on it's own and goes out towards a lake, Goliath sits unsightly above Scorcher and the entrance roads.

I went recently on a trip to Germany and the Netherlands and visited some parks. Berlin's sadly not a hot spot for parks, they are mostly located on the east German side. However, the train system is EXCELLENT in Germany. I went to Heide-Park from Bremen to Buchholz to Wolterdingen train station with my Eurail pass, starting at 6:50 in the morning and arriving at Wolterdingen (a very small station btw) at 9:36( the park opened at 9). I walked the 2ish km to the park, but there was a Van transporting people to the park entrance (maybe 5 or 6 euro). You could also ride from Hamburg ZOB, i didn't really like their schedule though, buses got to the park at like, 10:45. Here's their info on it. http://www2.heide-park.de/index.php?id=293&L=2 Phantasialand and Europa were the easiest to get to by Public transport, but all of these train trips would be pretty major from Berlin and cost quite a bit. You would need to make a serious time investment.

Haha, that's actually really funny. I went to Dorney last year, the first that Laser had been removed, and missed it there. Great Info. I may go here as I still have two days on my Eurail pass, but Munich (for cultural reasons) is looking very attractive as well. Would there also be a Wild Mouse/Dragon Wagon/Dark ride coaster and other major stuff like Airwolf/Top Scan/ other big rides?

Does anyone know if there are any German Fairs operating this week, with any of the big coasters and rides? I think I read that Olympia Looping was going to be in Annaburg June 5th, but as for Eurostar, Alpinebahn, and others I am totally in the dark.

Tomo was like at least 18 bucks per entree, we didn't even look at it past that. The Thirsty Pony just down the road near Castaway Bay is probably one of the best "surprise finds" I've ever come across. We saw it while looking for somewhere easy to find and fun, and we got it with Cheap food, really really good food. The sandwiches are awesome and include a chips, pasta salad, and a fried pickle.

Disaster Transport!

Haha, the unfitting boats makes so much sense. I saw a boat travel down the big drop on Tuesday, and when it got to the bottom it kind of (to my eyes, I've never seen a flume do this quite to the extreme) violently slammed from side to side on the rails. It didn't look comfortable, like watching an arrow looper navigate a turn. I only saw it once, however, and of course did not ride. Time will tell.

I was at CP Monday and Tuesday. Rained/Misted from 10AM Monday to 2PM Tuesday. Rode both Millennium and Magnum in small downpours, it's a fun experience...once or twice. Also, Top Thrill in 48 degree weather is brrrrr. They had to do the front-heavy thing on Tuesday, with 6 passengers per-train. The line was about 2.5 hours, while Maverick was 20 minutes. One other thing: Mean Streak SUCKS way more than it did in 07 or 08, my last visits to CP. I couldn't enjoy it, and I generally like rough coasters to a degree.

I was beaten to it, but Mantis was open all day, with one train operation. It began testing rather early, around 8:25, opened with the park at ten. LOTS of rain today, almost non-stop from 10AM to now, got heavy around 5PM today. Lots of people in the park for Physics day (30 min wait for corkscrew AND Meanstreak!), they left in droves. Raptor and Gemini never tested, Top Thrill tested one (rollback) train. Maverick and Wildcat were drowned post-10:30. MForce (opened at noonish), Magnum, Mantis, CCMR, Meanstreak and Corkscrew all ran with one train all day. Still managed 9 Magnum rides and 3 Millennium rides post 6:15(45 min shutdown for heavy rain), by that point it was non-stop rain. Exceptionally crappy day in most aspects, I still had some good fun.

The trip is here, I've got my schedule, but I could use some help here on one part. I have a Eurail pass valid for six days. May 22: Arrive Frankfurt 7:20 AM, get to Toverland by noon. May 23: Heide-Park May 24: Walibi World May 25: Amsterdam (Night train to Offenburg) May 26: Europa-Park May 27: Phantasialand (final train to Siegen, where my sister is living). The whole schedule works well, except for the bit from Toverland to Heide-Park. I can't figure out how to get to Heide before noon from any city, using public transport. Do I need to go straight to their resort the night before (what's their cheapest accommodation if so, non-camping)? Their bus schedule is in german on a pdf and I can't make sense of it. Not doing Efteling because the sight of Jooris not open yet would sadden me deeply (I LOVED Lightning Racers, Bobbenjaanland would be my substitute if Heide doesn't work, Tripsdrill doesn't have any GREAT coasters, and Holiday Park, well you should know why I'm not going there. Any other parks are too lame or far away if one only has six days.

I'm at the park next two days (typing this from Breakers right now!). Will report if Mantis opens, or whatever I find out. I have a strong suspicion that when STR opens it will be a log flume. A very average log flume.

^^^Great posts Tiburon503. There's a lot of talk recently on here about people posting opinions without knowing any information, I give kudos to you for bringing up some important info for us lowly enthusiasts. I definitely wouldn't have known that SF was trying to reenlist on NYSE. I have no opinion on this matter. No one knows at this point how Al Weber and the other execs envision the park's futures.

Lapbars Lapbars Lapbars Lapbars Lapbars Lapbars Lapbars Lapbars Lapbars Lapbars Lapbars Lapbars Lapbars Lapbars Lapbars Lapbars! Phenomenal! 1. Sandstorms (I've read at least 20 days a year)+Intamin+Highest speed ever. Could be volatile... 2. Other rides look and sound AWESOME! Engine Flume ride? WTF? 3. The last time Intamin Decked out a train with fake racecar equipment... 4. Capacity Expectations? I don't know anything about Abu Dhabi's visitor numbers, but eight passenger cars and glasses...

Dayum. Looks like I might be going to Tripsdrill in May instead of Holiday Park... Hope everyone involved is OK and that the park doesn't have to face any major lawsuits from this.

Getting evacuated rocks! Last year on Steel Force at Dorney, only waited about 15 minutes on the brake run and we got free drinks! I was devastated.

GREAT to hear about the trees. Me and my family visited 9 years ago and they swore they wouldn't go back due to the lack of shade, of all things. I totally agree on the big coaster comment Erik. Their coaster collection is large, but reflects the park as a whole. Big, family-friendly to the nth, lots of stuff to do but lacking any kind of OMG must-visit attraction. A reborn Time Machine from FMP could be a good start...

After seeing the blueprint, I'm absolutely under the impression that this ride is an Intamin, much like Maverick. Looking at the ride layout, I see four long straight sections of track. The first could be a launch, judging by the large, sweeping 270 degree leftward turn coming out of it. A lifhill (LSM or otherwise) could be a possibility, with a drop and a low-ground speed turn like we've seen recently on Intimidator 305, the MegaLites, and Maverick. If the first section is a lift-drop-turn combo, I see the second section as airtime hills. Those really tight turns between the second and third sections make this interesting, you wouldn't have a launch straight into those small curves, unless they're misrepresented on the drawing and are actually large elements. But if that's the case, why would there be a need for such a long straight section directly afterwards (third section)? It would have plenty of speed. Lift hill, drop, curve, two airtime hills, small curves leading into launch makes sense. Third section is the main launch. Lots of track after it, including hills and inversions. I'd expect 75 MPH here at minimum. The last is clearly a launch, it's much longer than any of the others, and the ride will need momentum to keep its speed up heading back towards the station. The section is preceded by an element that looks in every way to be two corkscrews and a low-ground turn, much like Maverick's run up into the launch sequence. Post launch I see an element that looks a lot like the second hill on Megalites, also seen on Intimidator's Twisties and Goliath at Walibi World. In short, my interpretation is Small lift (140 ft or less), drop, turn, airtime, curves, big launch, long stretch of track including two corkscrews and overbanked turns, second launch, run back to station.

First time I've seen someone mention that this ride is fairly short. Shorter than Mforce by 35 seconds, shorter all the other Intamin 200 foot mega coasters as well despite still being 5000 plus feet long. I think that will be the biggest factor if it doesn't come out number one in future polls. It's a very interesting ride, substituting some of the classic parabolic hills and large skyward turns(which take more time for a train to traverse) for low altitude turns and quick transitions. We'll see if people like this forceful style. I know I'll make no judgments before riding, how could I?

New Question! If I were to travel by train alone, how adventurous can I be in scheduling parks? Are trains sufficient in order to visit a park a day? Even crazier, two parks in one day? (like a Klotten/Ringracer combo, neither seems like a full day park)

Julius Caesar is 2054 years too dead to join this club. Too bad, I'm sure he could have used the discount to Tripsdrill.