PeggedSole

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.

My first Intamin should have been American Eagle. My family visited SFGAm shortly after AE opened. I saw AE, but I was too scared to ride along with my dad and brother. Back then as a kid, I just rode the small coasters. Thankfully, my coaster path took a major turn when I rode Wabash Cannonball at Opryland shortly thereafter. From then on, I rode everything! I've been using RCDB to try to figure out my first Intamin I actually rode. I think the last time I visited Opryland was before the Screamin' Delta Demon was built. Either way, I don't think I ever rode that one. If that's the case, then the first Intamin I rode seems to have been Z-Force at Six Flags Over Georgia. PS - The last was Intimidator 305!

...just your standard wrestling ear guard protection!

I thought I'd mix things up a little from the recent discussions about Cedar Point's teases and post a trip report. Here you go: I visited Cedar Point last month and had a great time. The weather was good, mostly cloudy with a little sun, but no rain, no humidity, and a light breeze off Lake Erie. I had been to CP once before in the late 90s so there were a lot of new rides this time along with some older ones I didn't get a chance to ride in the past. I went on the Thursday before Labor Day this time, and most lines were surprisingly short (unlike my first visit to CP). The longest I waited was probably about an hour for TTD earlier on, but that was when it kept briefly breaking down every 10 minutes or so. Later in the day, it wasn't breaking down so my wait was 15 minutes or less. I rode Maverick twice when the park first opened so wait times were originally quite short. At the end of the day, I rode Maverick again. The line was longer than I expected it to be that late in the day. I probably waited about 30 minutes to ride. I skipped Jr. Gemini and Woodstock Express, but I rode all the other coasters at least once and some multiple times without the need for a FastPass. I also rode some flats, played some of the Electro-Mechanical pinball machines in the big arcade, took in the sights, and had a fun and relaxing day there at the Point. (This was completely opposite of how my first trip to CP went.) My thoughts on some of the coasters: -Gatekeeper looks good and rode smooth. It was my first B&M wing rider, and I didn't mind the vests. I remember getting off of it and thinking, "That was pleasant and kind of fun". -Millennium Force was really enjoyable and had surprisingly short wait times. I rode it several times and probably only waited 10-15 minutes. I liked the trains with their lap-bar-only restraints. MF was very smooth and kept its speed the entire time. I just wish it did a little bit more with all of its potential...perhaps a quick transition or two and/or some bigger airtime hills? I still like i305 better, even though I liked MF's trains better, and I wish i305 didn't have the trims on the mid-course hill. (For what it's worth, I think Skyrush is my favorite steel right now, although I really like New Texas Giant and i305. Bizarro at SFNE and Iron Rattler are fun too.) -Top Thrill Dragster was a nice surprise. I had ridden Kingda Ka about a week earlier, but to my surprise I ended up hating KK. I had heard KK might have some vibration issues, but I was not prepared for what I experienced. I rode in the first car/second row on KK. The launch was of course powerful and extreme, but I was fine with it. It wasn't until we came down the spike (maybe not until we were completely off of the spike, though) that I began to notice the terrible rapid-fire vibrations shaking my body and especially my head to death. I briefly tried putting my head back against the headrest, but that was even worse. It was just a matter of seconds, but I couldn't wait for the train to hit the brakes. I've had some bad experiences on coasters before, but KK might be my worst. (For what it's worth, the other contender for worst abuse from a coaster would be the terrible head-bashing I got on X at SFMM years ago. I rode in the back and on the outside. Maybe X is better up front and on a non-outside seat? Maybe the X2 version is better? Another contender might be my horrible-make-it-stop ride in the back of Gwazi a year or so ago.) Anyway, I don't normally get headaches ever, but KK made my head really hurt for a good 10 minutes afterward and even caused me to have some slight recurring headaches when I rode other coasters at SFGAdv after KK. Thanks a lot KK, you piece of...! With all of that being said, I was VERY worried about having the same thing happen on TTD. Much to my relief, TTD was smooth. Sure, it's still extreme and intense, but it's re-ride-able. I rode TTD in the front and back with no problems whatsoever. I can't figure out how KK and TTD can be so similar, yet ride so differently. Is there a problem with KK's track and/or airtime hill? Maybe there was a problem with the trains or the wheels? Whatever it is, there was a huge difference between TTD and KK. -Mean Streak: I remembered this being bad, and it still is! So much wasted wood and potential. Hopefully, RMC will get their hands on this one in the near future. -Blue Streak was running pretty good when riding near the front of the train, but not so good in the back. -Corkscrew: I'm not sure why, but I decided to ride this. I'm 6'-2" tall and have learned from previous experiences that I don't fit well underneath most Arrow OTSRs. When I was kid (and shorter) back in the 70s/80s, the Arrow loopers didn't hurt as much. Now, the Arrow restraints push down hard on top of my shoulders, and the Arrow seats usually have an odd "block" that pushes out into my upper back, but then have no lower back support at all. The whole design forces me into an uncomfortable position. When you take all of that and then add an airtime hill after the first drop (like on the CP Corkscrew), it equals pain! For me, Corkscrew was the most painful coaster in the entire park. I didn't enjoy Mantis, but it didn't hurt as much. Actually, my frame crammed into the Arrow minetrain at CP didn't work out well either! -Iron Dragon - I fit in this one a little better. It was a surprisingly decent ride. -Maverick was probably my favorite coaster at CP. It's a fun and intense layout. One little thing I wish is that it went into the launch without braking. However, the one thing I didn't like at all was getting "karate-chopped" to my neck by those OTSRs. I'm fairly tall, so my head sticks up high in those restraints. I guess it's better being hit in my neck than my ears, but I'd prefer neither. I've been on other Intamin coasters at various parks with those same restraints, but I don't remember getting hit as hard on those other coasters. After my first ride, I learned to anticipate and "lean" with the transitions to reduce the chopping effect, and that made my rides much more enjoyable. I'll add my vote to "install the softer i305-style vests onto Maverick". By the way, I snapped a picture after getting off of Maverick. Check out the couple waiting in line for the back row. When I saw what they were wearing, it cracked me up! That's taking "defensive riding" to a new level. Haha! What some people wear when riding Maverick! (See couple waiting for back row.)

Yeah, I'm afraid this is turning out similar to the Hammerhead Stall project that was proposed for Orlando a number of years ago. Well, at least a Hammerhead Stall eventually showed up in Taiwan. Hopefully, a polercoaster will eventually get built somewhere. (I wonder if the one proposed for that Georgia sports complex is still in the works? That place sounded like an out-of-the-way location for a polercoaster, but what do I know?)

The silence on this project is deafening...

Thanks for posting the video links. Great stuff! Yeah, a lot of the fun things in those videos would never be allowed in the US today. (For what it's worth, little people find the "M-word" to be highly offensive. They prefer "Little Person" or "Dwarf". I didn't know this either until I watched a little person reality show on TV and the topic came up!) The More You Know

I watched the TPR POV. Thanks for posting it! I wish there was another dark portion in which to show off those awesome animatronics. I was a little disappointed when the train pulled back into the station. I was hoping for another dark ride portion, not an end to the ride. It seems a little short overall. I think with a second dark ride portion (and perhaps another coaster section too), the ride would feel more complete to me. Oh well, I'm sure it will still be a big hit for the Magic Kingdom!

Yeah, I probably love Zippers the most. They look sketchy, and you just pray the door doesn't fly open while you're inside! On top of that (and especially with a good ride cycle and/or operator), it's a very intense and fun ride! Do any permanent amusement parks run these or is it just temporary fairs? (Additionally, are Zippers pretty much just a North American thing?) The last two Zippers I rode were at ghetto fairs temporarily set up in a random parking lot of a mall/shopping center. I just happened to be driving down the road and saw them. A cheap, "dangerous", ghetto fair, ambiance only adds to the thrill of a Zipper! A Loop O Plane is another "old school" flat that I love. The last one I rode was at Miracle Strip Park (Panama City, FL) shortly before the park closed. I loved seeing/hearing/smelling the small, sputtering, gas engine that powered the ride. The sound of it still echoes in my mind. (That reminds me, I took some video of this park. I should find it and upload it.) Loop O Plane is another sketchy looking ride that turns out to be really good. As far as newer rides go, a Top Spin (especially with a good ride cycle) is lots of fun!

I wonder if Fun Spot America ever considered an S&S Free Fly coaster like Tranan? I can't help but think an S&S Free Fly would have been an even better choice than the Freedom Flyer Vekoma Family Inverted. The apparent low-ish capacity of a Free Fly might not have mattered too much at FSA. The cost of a Free Fly might have been beyond FSA's budget, though. Anyone have a comparison in prices between these two coasters?

New desktop background!

I was coming here to say the same thing, but you beat me to it! I'm loving that (newly-installed?) covered-roof all along the bottom of the first drop. Can't wait to ride this coaster!

I've been denied rides several times. -One time was with a Zipper. A tiny fair popped up in the parking lot of our local shopping mall. I saw the Zipper while driving by and just had to ride it. I remembered that some Zipper operators had started to require two riders at a time so I asked about that before buying tickets at the ticket booth. The ticket lady said it would be no problem for me to ride by myself. Well, after purchasing the tickets and walking over to the Zipper, I found out otherwise! The guy operating the Zipper apologized about the situation, but said it was the company policy (or maybe even the manufacturer policy) that no single riders were allowed. I waited around for some time, but I was the only customer in the whole place so I finally gave up and left. I wound up going back a few hours later, and a few other customers were there this time. I waited by the Zipper for a bit, and luckily another single rider walked up so I finally got my ride. I asked the operator to really spin our car, and he did. That made it worth all the trouble. -Another time was with the Twist n Shout wild mouse at Magic Springs. I'm slim, but fairly tall (6'-2"). The Twist n Shout cars were too tight of a squeeze for me. I just couldn't get the lap bar to come down over my knees no matter how I contorted. I've had some tight fits on other Wild Mouse coasters, but that was the first one where I just couldn't make it work. (Note: I almost got denied last season on Flight of Fear at KD for the same thing, but I somehow got my knees crammed in under the bar. However, it left my upper torso in a weird, bent, hunched position which made the ride experience awful. I don't remember having that trouble with Poltergeist at SFFT, but then again that was back when it had OTSRs.) -The third time was with Montu. I injured my lower back many years ago, but I've asked my doctor if it's okay to ride coasters and he's said there's no problem. Even so, I thought I'd wear a quick-release, velcro, back support strap around my waist (like guys who do heavy-moving or lifting often wear). I didn't have to wear it, but I just thought it couldn't hurt. I didn't want to wear it full-time so I would just strap it on right before boarding a coaster train. I had previously done this at numerous amusement parks and even on Montu before with no problems. However, the last time I got on Montu, a ride operator up in the control booth called down to one of the workers doing the loading and had her kick me off the train. The girl couldn't have been nicer about it and was quite apologetic. I told her it was okay and not to worry about it. I casually got off the train and took my walk of shame, but it really wasn't that big of a deal. Unfortunately, the USA is a sue-happy nation and with all the frivolous lawsuits, I can understand if amusement parks are having to become more and more stringent and proactive when it comes to their rides. Soooo...I don't wear that thing anymore.

I doubt that. White Lightning is basically the same concept, just wooden. We'll have to wait and see how White Lightning actually rides, but I understand what you're saying. Then again everyone seems to think Holiday World would be a good location for a Mega-Lite, and it's sort of a similar situation. It's not like I really see a Mega-Lite coming to FSA anyway, even though I would love to see it happen. If (and that's a big "if") they were to add another coaster in the future, I would guess FSA might go with a compact steel coaster with inversions...perhaps an El Loco, a Eurofighter, or maybe a launched Maurer Söhne like Freischütz or even a Skyloop. I think someone might have already mentioned it, but Silverwood would be a good location for a Mega-Lite. That park is about the right size for a Mega-Lite, and it could be a nice complement to the other coasters there. Then again, isn't it rumored that Silverwood is getting an RMC?

How about a Mega-Lite on that additional 10 acres of land that was recently purchased by Fun Spot America in Orlando? Obviously, that is dreaming really, REALLY BIG for this small park, but who knows what the future holds for FSA. If their current ride expansion turns out to be hugely successful, just imagine if FSA somehow pulled off a Mega-Lite further down the road! If nothing else, it's just something fun to think about.

WOW...that first drop at 81 degrees with its twisting and curving from one side to the other! Who here thinks you'll be able to keep your arms up the entire time during that first drop while riding in the back of the train? I have a feeling that a lot of people are going to be holding on for dear life!

With three different types of B&Ms running backwards seating for the upcoming season and with one of those coasters at Universal (Japan), do you think we'll possibly see Universal Orlando run coaster trains in reverse in the future? I think Dueling Dragons/Dragon Challenge might be a good candidate for backwards trains on one of the tracks depending on how reverse-Batman at SFGAm goes. The Dragons don't duel anymore as it is so why not try reversing one of the sides for something different?

Thanks for taking the time to do this trip report! I found it very interesting, and it's always great to see a rare/classic Schwarzkopf still operating and pleasing people.

Hello TPR! Long-time lurker and first-time poster so here goes nothing... I thought I'd add Wild Adventures in Valdosta, GA to this 2013 list. According to the WA website, they're getting "Tail Spin" which appears to be a Zamperla Disk-O. For what it's worth, some sort of kiddie ride called "Wacky Wheels" is also mentioned.