PeggedSole

About that screeching sound... From Playland Castaway Cove on Facebook: "It is from the wheels rubbing on the new paint. This will go away after a few hours of running time."

Hmmm, I wouldn't mind if SDC went with a B&M flyer for their next BIG project/coaster. From my (limited) experiences on Seaworld Orlando's Manta (fun!), two B&M Superman flying coasters (meh!), along with Gatekeeper at Cedar Point (okay!)...I'd choose a B&M flyer over a wing coaster. If SDC was to combine the best parts of SWO's Manta along with what I have seen of Starry Sky Ripper and Flying Dinosaur...AND...mix ALL of that into a terrain-hugging coaster as well...that could be FREAKIN' awesome!!!

Dolly's (tear-filled) tribute to Lightning Rod opening TOO late:

What incredible news! Seeing how severely ill Jack was so recently, but he's now eating pizza again?!? Holy Cow! (Edit: Even better news is that Jack is now apparently on his way home?!) Doctors and current medical sciences are INDEED mind-blowing! Woohoo! I (and multiple family members) am(are) testimonies to that fact! Then again, we also believe "a little bit of prayer can go a long way"!

Well, it's not just stupid people here in the USA who lose their phones and then die while trying to retrieve them from an area where they shouldn't be venturing. Check out this New York Post article: http://nypost.com/2014/06/08/two-die-in-toilet-while-looking-for-dropped-cell-phone/ Here's a copy of the text: A man and his mother have suffocated after trying to fish a mobile phone out of an open pit toilet and falling in. The South China Morning Post reports that an unnamed woman in Xinxiang City, China, dropped her phone, worth about $320, into the open pit toilet. Her husband tried to find it but was overcome by the stench, lost consciousness and fell in. His mother then dove in after her son but she also fainted. Neighbors were called for help after the owner of the phone then tried to save her husband and mother-in-law but also lost consciousness. A total of six people had to be pulled out of the toilet. The man and his mother both had pulses when they were rescued but died as they waited more than an hour for medical assistance to arrive. “Two lives have gone in five minutes and my cousin’s wife is still in coma, leaving a partially-paralyzed old man and a one-year-old son at home,” the husband’s uncle said, according to Shanghaiist. “What are we supposed to do?” This article originally appeared on News.com.au.

While reading about the Raptor accident at Cedar Point along with seeing some comments about Universal Studios Orlando, I was reminded of a video of the Jurassic Park ride at IOA from a number of years ago. If you want to watch "stupid" in action, watch the kid in this brief video.

If you're still out there in Coeur D'Alene, you might want to consider hitting Capone's Pub and Grill for a meal. They have a bunch of craft beers on tap and good "pub grub". http://caponespub.com/ Crafted Tap House is another option. It wasn't there the last time I was in CDA, but it seems to have very good ratings. It also appears that Crafted has the most craft taps (50) of any place in that area. http://www.craftedtaphouse.com

I've ridden those three as well. I didn't think of Gatekeeper as a snoozefest...I thought it was fun. Then again, I only rode it once last year while visiting CP and didn't feel a need to ride it again unlike some other coasters at CP. On the other hand, I really like Sheikra and Griffon! If CP ends up with a bigger, longer, B&M Dive Coaster, I think that's a good thing!

The CCI coasters I've ridden (some recently and some as much as 13 years ago) are Boulder Dash, Cheetah, Cyclops, Pegasus, Shivering Timbers, Timber Terror, Tremors, Zach's Zoomer, and Zeus. I rode Cheetah within a year of it opening, and I remember liking it. It was fairly smooth and kept its intensity until the end. I rode it several times over the following five or more years and noticed it got rougher with some side-to-side shuffle and maybe even a bit of jack hammering. I went back and rode it again a year or two ago. I think Wild Adventures had done a good bit of retracking of Cheetah around that time. I found the coaster to be in much better shape than I had remembered, and I only got a slight bit of shuffling coming off of the turnaround at the far end of the layout. With that being said, I hate the Gerstlauer trains on Cheetah. The seats are hard with an awkward/upright position that puts me in an uncomfortable riding position. I don't have the best back as it is so I had to take a defensive riding position which meant I had to hold onto the handle on the seat in front of me in order to pull myself slightly forward so I could keep my back from touching the seat while riding. (For comparison: While riding Boulder Dash last year, I didn't have to do that.) With all of that being said, Cheetah is certainly not on the same level as Boulder Dash, Shivering Timbers, etc., but it's not bad or at least it wasn't a couple of years ago. It's probably not worth going out of your way to ride it, but if you're passing through the area, Cheetah and Wild Adventures are worth a stop. Hopefully, Wild Adventures stays on top of the maintenance of Cheetah and hopefully they will someday replace those awful trains.

Has there been any mention of "comfort collars"?

A nickname for Connecticut is "The Nutmeg State". And I was hoping for "Egg Nog: The Ride." Nogophobia! http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Nogophobia

A nickname for Connecticut is "The Nutmeg State".

Here's a direct link to the crazy Royal Flush video:

Has anyone on here from TPR been to the BSR Cable Park in Waco, TX? It sounds like it started off as just a cable-wake boarding park, but they recently introduced a trio of crazy waterslides with jump ramps at the ends called "The Royal Flush". Check out their website along with a great video of people riding The Royal Flush: http://www.bsrcablepark.com/ Edit - Among other things besides wakeboarding, the BSR website also mentions the park has the world's longest lazy river, a 72-person hot tub (nice!), camping/cabins/RV park, and a lodge/restaurant onsite. In related news, the BSR website recently talked about adding new safety (vest) requirements along with adding a First Aid Station to the Royal Flush area. Hmmm...?!? I'm getting a bit of an "Action Park" vibe!

I stand corrected, Thanks Hey MrNemis2003, I sure hope you realize I wasn't taking a jab at you. Instead it was just meant to be a friendly poke, hence the "No worries" followed by the Taiko Wink. It wouldn't surprise me to find out there were other people ahead of us both who also thought a 200-foot tall Hyper GT-X would be a great addition to SWO. "Great Minds think alike, right?" Heck, even after the recent announcement at SWO, it's still kind of fun to think about what Mako might have looked like if SWO had gone with a Chance Hyper GT-X (or Intamin, Mack, etc) instead of a B&M Hyper, right? I don't know about you, but I'm pleasantly surprised by the new coaster. Am I surprised it's a B&M Hyper? No, but the layout looks like it might be a fun B&M, and the theming appears to be great. What about that "Relentless Air Time" quote in the announcement video? Hmmmm... That sounds great! Then again, my interpretation of that quote might be different than SWO's interpretation?!?

Manta at SeaWorld Orlando has some of the best all-around theming I've encountered on a roller coaster. I think it's a great "total package ride". Mako looks like it could be another "total package ride" for SWO. This feature of Mako is interesting: Sound system: A 48,000-watt, intelligent surround-sound system envelops the realm. Sounds follow the coaster trains as they dive through and around the area … and just over guests’ heads.

I was the one that mentioned it would be great if it was Hyper GTX..oh well it looks to be a fabulous coaster. and don't forget Universal's NEW Water Park and the 450ft Starflyer!! it's going to be insane next year! To be fair, you weren't the first and/or only person in this thread to mention a Hyper GT-X. Here's something from April 24, 2015, but others could have easily mentioned it before that, I'm not sure. No worries!

This was what I found to be the most surprising part of the announcement: Mako - Relentless Air Time

A B&M hyper doesn't seem like it would have enough marketability to stand out from the crowd in the Orlando area. However, I could see a B&M wing coaster being something "different" and marketable for Sea World. A launched wing coaster (Orlando's "fastest coaster")...well...that could be even more marketable! It won't surprise me at all if SWO plays it "safe" with one of those. I grew up in Orlando and still visit family there frequently, but I almost never visit SWO when in the area (even though it's a very good park). If I'm going to visit a park, I almost always go with Disney or Universal instead. Now, if SWO built an absolutely balls-to-the-wall mash-up of I-305/Skyrush/Maverick/etc, then I'd probably visit the park every time I'm in the area. A stand-out coaster like that along with all of the other rides, shows, and exhibits that already exist at SWO could win me over. Heck, I'd still love to be surprised by a Mack hyper/launched or a Hyper GT-X over any modern B&M as well, but I'm not holding my breath. With all of that being said, I can't wait to hear all of the details on the new Mako (or whatever SWO ends up calling it) coaster! Thankfully, we won't have to wait too much longer.

That was me, and Mack is great... but they literally can't afford to screw this up or have any delays because their attendance is down the tubes. Mack (which is a great company) has never built a hyper before and B&M has made a ton of them and has a reputation for reliability and getting rides open on time. Combine that with the fact that they have a great relationship with them already and I think it's a given that this will be a B&M. If I were Sea World I'd be ridiculously conservative with this one... and when I think ridiculously conservative I think B&M. There's no risk factor. You know they'll deliver a ride that will appeal to the masses, will open on time and will be incredibly reliable. I'm not knocking Mack, I'm just saying B&M has more experience with this coaster type and the park seems to have a great relationship with them already so this seems pretty straightforward. Personally I think this thread is just a case of enthusiasts trying to convince themselves that this won't be a forceless B&M hyper even though we pretty much know it will be... but that's okay because I'm sure it will be a ton of fun. Then again there's always the chance they'll impress us like they did with Fury but if I had to guess I'd predict a more standard layout with large floater hills throughout the course. That's strictly a guess though and like I said, I'd still be thrilled with that. Thanks for the info, and you make a good case for a B&M. Since the other two SWO coasters have inversions, I'm guessing this one might not? To be honest, when I first read the info about this new coaster, my first thought was a B&M Hyper. B&M Hypers don't do much for me personally, but SWO needs to do what is in its best interest. If that's what SWO wants, then that's fine. I'm not holding my breath, but it sure would be nice to see SWO get something like a Mack or Intamin (or even long shots like a Hyper GT-X or RMC).

I'm with you, I would love to see this be a launched coaster. I'd especially like to see a Mack launched coaster. Perhaps like a bigger, better version of Manta at Sea World San Diego and/or something like Helix? Someone earlier in this thread made a comment about B&M and Mack reliability. I agree B&M is known for reliability, but the commenter made it sound like Mack is not as reliable as B&M. Is that the case? I thought Macks had good reliability.

I visited Quassy for the first time earlier this year. I rode Wooden Warrior several times, and each time the train came back into the station everybody (kids and adults) were smiling, laughing, and super-excited about the ride we had just taken. The enthusiasm for this ride really stood out to me amongst the many other larger parks/larger coasters I hit during the same trip. Quassy has a "big" winner with this "little" coaster!

Wabash Cannonball at Opryland, Tennessee...early 1980s!

I haven't been on Medusa or Goliath yet. Both look good, especially Medusa. I decided to go with New Texas Giant, but I loved all three of the RMCs I've ridden.