DanM64

It's a whopping 4 degrees in my home-away-from-home of Clinton, Iowa. Back at my real home of Mokena, IL (SW Chicago suburb) it's currently 8 degrees. Heat wave!

Definitely burgers for me! I like burritos, but I LOVE to grill, and I love grilling up my own burgers. It probably doesn't help that I recently watched Hamburger Paradise on Travel Channel...

^^Portland looks beautiful. I really have to visit the NW some day. Maybe I'm just biased, but there aren't many better looking skylines than my home city. Chicago! Here's just one piece of the Chicago skyline. It's huge! This picture of Midway Airport gives you an idea of how big the city really is. It also shows how tiny Midway is- that runway is SHORT!!

^That's what I thought from reading this thread. Glad I wasn't mistaken! Maverick and SkyRush are 2 of my favorite steel coasters, and I have a feeling I305 will top them both! I've been wanting to ride it since it was announced. Volcano also looks really neat. I hope I can FINALLY get a Dominator credit as well. I sat down on one of the trains to ride it when it was still Knight Flight at Geauga Lake. They couldn't dispatch us because the floor wouldn't drop, it went down and closed for the day, and I never made it back before they closed the park for good, so that credit has been a long time coming!

I only have 3 theme park related ornaments. I picked up 2 at CP this fall, and the the one Robb and Elissa sent out for my Club TPR membership (MANY thanks for that!!) This is my first year owning my own home (purchased last November and moved in the week after Christmas), so I hope to keep collecting ornaments as I do my park travels.

This 4th page is FULL of win so far!!! The sad part is that everything you guys have said is completely true! The only people wishing for wing coasters to be built in their home park obviously have never ridden one. Am I right in assuming Swarm sucks as badly? I think the last B&M that left me impressed was SheiKra. Most of the hardcore SFGAm fanboys think X Flight is the greatest coaster ever, but I'd say the GP were mixed about it, and I think more GP disliked GateKeeper than liked it. Hopefully more sucky wingriders get built to ensure there are plenty more Intamins and RMCs in the future for the US!

^Awesome news!!! Looking forward to that!

^Yin pretty much nailed it! On paper, GateKeeper should be better in every way. In reality, I thought X Flight was better- and that's not saying much! The fact that GK is right on the beach and goes over the entrance is really cool. Other than that, I thought it was REALLY bouncy, and completely forceless. X Flight is forceless too, but just slightly less so. I can say that the keyhole element on X Flight seemed like it was tighter- the keyholes on GK seemed like they were wider- I didn't get as good of a "chopper" effect as I did on X Flight. I've ridden Wild Eagle as well, and I'd be perfectly happy if no more B&M Wing Coasters were ever built. They are cool to look at- and that's about it.

That turnaround is really coming along!! This is going to be one wicked coaster.

^I'm not really surprised. I was hoping there might be some sort of announcement at IAAPA, too bad. I still think that there is an RMC in the park's future given Herschend's success with Outlaw Run. I haven't been to Darien Lake since Six Flags owned it, but it sounds like it could use a lot of TLC. Hopefully it gets a good amount of it for 2014! If the Predator I-Box conversion does become a reality it HAS to be name Ride of Steel & Wood.

I agree with the last 2 statements completely. I would also argue that a vast majority of park guests- especially those that would ride Goliath- are probably season passholders, anyway.

Thanks for sharing this project. I think it's a great idea, and I really hope it comes to fruition! I've seen the house before about 5 years ago, and I'd love to see this project completed.

^Do share, and let us now how it is! Thanks for uploading that pic, I'm hungry now!

We just got our vacations dolled out at work. It looks like I'll be making my first trip ever to KD the week of May 12!! I can't wait. I305, here I come!

^I noticed that over the weekend. It's available on Amazon Prime as well.

I've always felt the GIBs have an undeserved bad reputation. They are actually incredibly smooth, not to mention intense and really fun! Their bad repuatation was VERY deserved when they were first built. It seems like they run just as reliably as any other boomerang now, though. I have a feeling the Six Flags ride program and maintenence had a lot more to do with them being unreliable as anything else. I'm sure them being new technology at the time didn't help, either. Deja Vu at SFGAm was running nearly 100% of the time in its last few seasons before they sold it to Silverwood.

Thanks for those pics. I actually kind of like the colo scheme! It's different.

I've only been on B&M standups- Iron Wolf, Chang, and Mantis. I really, really, REALLY don't like stand ups! Iron Wolf was easily one of the worst coasters ever in the last 5 years of its operation. I guess B&M is the winner by default, though I really don't consider any of those 3 coasters "winners" by any means. Maybe when I visit SFMM or SFOG I'll feel differently, though I doubt it.

My favorite wooden coaster (and probably overall) is El Toro at SFGADv. My favorite steel coaster is Kingda Ka. Here are a few others I'd put at the top of my list: Maverick Skyrush Phoenix

I ordered the Blu Ray today, along with a TPR shirt just because.

I REALLY like the idea of a Sally Corp. shooter dark ride in the Southwest Territory. I *love* the shooter dark rides. It would definitely be something everyone could enjoy, and while SFGAm has a much better flat collection than most other chain parks, a dark ride is one thing that is definitely missing! I really hope IgNight returns. I thought it was an ok show, but it really cleared the back of the park out. Lines on the coasters dwindled to nothing every night just before the show started, making it very easy to get plenty of night laps in, so I hope it's backjust for that reason!

Definitely: Six Flags Great America Timber Falls Adventure Park Mt. Olympus (staying FAR away from Zeus and Hades 360, though) Kennywood Kings Dominion Six Flags America Probable: Indiana Beach Cedar Point Possible: Little A-Merrick-A Kentucky Kingdom Knoebel's Kings Island Holiday World

Cedar Fair: Top Thrill Dragster tied with Maverick Six Flags: El Toro Universal: Hulk Sea World: Montu Herschend: Thunderhead Parques Reunidos: Thunderbolt

My favorite coaster train is Jet Rescue at Sea World Austrailia. I also really like the trains on Xcelerator, TTD when it opened and had the engine, slicks, and spoiler, and the B&M Wingrider trains (the only thing I like about them )

An RC about an hour ago.