Dr. M

I like dis.

Out of curiosity, what is the advantage to not waiting till March when the weather isn't as bad?

Someone at Six Flags must really like the look of the red track. I don't think it looks bad, but it's funny to me how this is a 100% wooden coaster but to most people it'll be virtually indistinguishable from NTG-style track, which is steel. Kind of complicates the whole wood vs. hybrid vs. steel debate.

How good is Lex Luthor? How much of a "dead weight" drop does it give? Any airtime? Or does it feel overly controlled?

My brother moved to Maryland this year which means free lodging for a trip to Kings Dominion which means Intimidator 3055555 I'M SO EXCITEDDDDD!!!! I'm going to try and go as close to season opening as possible, before it gets crowded.

Personally I bet RMC has had the technology to build a 90° drop as long as they've had the technology to build an immelmann loop. Just depends which park builds a coaster tall enough, and pays enough money, to do it.

I would assume it totally depends on the park. KI would not be nearly as intimately involved in the design of a ride as Disney would be. For the record, even if they're "fixed" (which I'll believe it once the ride is open, not before) I'm not sold on the idea of these restraints as a concept. I much prefer Intamin's design on rides like Storm Runner, where the OTSR basically don't touch your body at all, to a big heavy vest that covers most of your abdomen. Why is that even necessary? I assumed on the wing coasters it was to make riders feel secure during the wing over drop, but on this ride it just seems excessive.

??? During the pullout?

This has probably been said already but I would love to see a 4th dimension coaster like X2 built as a terrain coaster like Maverick, mostly really close to the ground, zigzagging around trees/scenery.

^That's what would make the most sense anyway, since I'm pretty sure this statement: is about 80% untrue. The ride manufacturer develops a product, the park buys it. It's unlikely the new restraints were KI's idea since they're not in the business of designing roller coasters, B&M is. Why would KI ask for a certain type of train that might not even be feasible to begin with? B&M would sell them the old design if they wanted it, but it makes sense KI would opt for the next gen, something nobody else has yet.

The park can request whatever they want. Plain and simple. I think people don't realize how much the park influences the coaster. Coaster companies only offer ideas and possibilities. The parks are the ones who request specifics, such as layout, track type, trains, location. The park creates the ideas, the company makes it happen. The park is the architect and the company is the engineer. If the park wants something proven for 20 years, why not? If the park wants something new and different, why not? I wouldn't say this was a decision by B&M at all, but a decision by KI. I would say you have absolutely no idea whose decision it was. You would guess KI, I would guess B&M. KI could've simply said they'd like to see the design "updated" and B&M sold them on the idea of the new restraints.

Has anyone else thought of how terrifying a construction site this must be, constantly working around a 456' tall tower, where some supports have to be removed and the structure temporarily weakened? Gives me the chills just thinking about it. Assuming that's true, of course.

^Sure, they'll eliminate headbanging (not that the original inverts had any anyway), but they may also staple you in so tight you can hardly breathe. We'll see.

The pretzel loop might be a little scarier, since you wouldn't have the track directly above you. That's the only place I could see it making a difference.

It's also a slight case of hubris, that classic engineering thing (or anybody who creates, really) where the latest "development" must be used because the alternative is outdated, even if the decision is arbitrary and there wasn't really anything wrong with the old thing. We designed this new thing, therefor it must be better than our old thing, because it's the new thing, and we designed it. Kind of like what George Lucas did to the original trilogy. Sure, you can argue these restraints will give a better ride, but you have to admit, given the number of complaints about GK's restraints and how well the old restraints have stood the test of time, they could have just kept the old restraints and nobody would've complained.

I don't know if it's been posted here already, but I wanted to personally testify that the trick of looking in the direction of where you're turning (so you're looking "up" basically) really works to prevent greyouts. Last time at SFGA, of my three rides on Nitro, on two I remembered to look during the death helix and I didn't greyout in the slightest, one I didn't remember and greyed out slightly.

^Honestly, I doubt the difference between "tallest coaster" and "tallest drop" really registers in most people's minds. I'm sure SF is banking on that.

If LSMs are so reliable, then why is Maverick so unreliable? And why use cable lifts at all, why not use LSMs for all their coasters, is it the expense?

^I think you're definitely right. I didn't realize there was such a large discrepancy between tallest wooden coaster and tallest wooden coaster drop (I just looked it up, definitely need more space to go for the height record). It's funny to me how most coasters seem to have a drop significantly shorter than their overall height, but this coaster is tunnelling underground just for the sake of beating the record.

Now there's a question. Why did they use LSMs for Maverick's first hill, which are relatively unreliable, when a cable lift could be made just as fast?

Kingda Ka closes all the time just for weather-related reasons, and you're talking about early springtime, so between that and the drop tower construction I'd say there's a pretty good chance it'll be closed. But you shouldn't go there for Kingda Ka, you should go there for El Toro, one of the best wooden coasters ever built, and Nitro, probably the best B&M hyper ever built.

Does anyone know why they decided to break the record for tallest drop, but not tallest overall? I was picturing the tunnel being necessary due to terrain issues, but it appears to basically be sitting on a flat piece of land.

How would a coaster that doesn't turn duel?

I like it as a stand-up though. Floorless trains would just make it into another generic B&M. I'm pretty sure the main reason it feels more intense than Bizarro is because you're standing.

Skyrush's felt as fast as Maverick's first launch during it's opening year, honestly. I know it probably wasn't *quite* as fast but I'd still be very curious just how close they were.