saweetdude05

^The line moves faster this year, however I also think it has become less popular, as I've been a few times this year and I haven't seen the line get passed the first couple of switchbacks. Also, I went on NESS last time I was there, is the ride program always incredibly short? We were up there for at most a full rotation before we started coming down.

The front row of Goliath doesn't seem to be as bad as the other rows, however I still believe the old train definitely rode better.

True. But not fully true. When I was on a "hard-hat" tour for Green Lantern they told us on their plans for the change. Intamin was there during the off-season and did test runs with four trains (using both sides of the station) and using three trains (with only using one side of the station). During this time, they realized that the theoretical hourly capacity was less running four trains with both sides of the station compared to three trains and only using the one side. Intamin gave the park a choice on whether or not to try the new method and the park accepted it. So, running the three trains isn't bad operations, but just overall a way to increase the amount of riders it can take in an hour. Yoshi was right though, but just not the REAL reason why Ka is the way it is. They also have the option to add the fourth train on at any point in time, on very slow days you may see it, but currently it's just used as a backup if one of the other three go down. That makes sense, each time I went last season, the fourth train was just sitting in the station across from the one they were using and it appeared ready to be used. The line with just one station definitely moves much faster than it ever did with all four stations in use. Six Flags must be happy using just the one station as well, as I'm sure is saves them labor costs by just using one station and being able to rotate out which 3 trains they use, saving on wear and tear, making it a plus for both the park and guests.

^I've also always thought the biggest issue with the roughness was the trains. TTD's trains look more aerodynamic and designed for the speed, while Kingda Ka's trains just look like Intamin's standard looping trains, obviously with larger wheels for the higher speeds. The other part might simply be that it accelerates faster than TTD, adding to the stresses on the higher off the ground launch track.

This is definitely good news for the park. While it might slightly slow down Zumanjaro construction since they cannot work on the ride itself (I'm assuming while KK is open) during the weekends, at least all the coasters will be open during the busiest days of the week.

Quick trip report, went to the park for a few hours. It was a very busy day, most likely due to the bring a friend free day. We arrived at the park around 1pm to a decent crowd still waiting to get into the park. The park itself seemed pretty busy. Heading to Bizarro first, we noticed Goliath cycling empty trains. Bizarro had a 30 minute line, with the crew doing a decent job of sending out trains. Afterwards, we walked by to check out Goliath which was down for technical difficulties, so we went to check out NESS. The ride looks very impressive in person, can't wait to ride it this summer. Batman had an hour line, so we decided to ride the Crime Wave, which was pleasant. We decided to get lunch at Macho Nacho, which had a short line, but took about 20 minutes to place our order. The nachos themselves were quite good with a good variety of toppings to choose from. Afterwards, we decided to walk around and let the food digest. Around 4pm, Goliath opened. When we got over there the line was about 45 minutes long, in addition to another 10 minute technical difficulty delay. The new Premier trains were awful. There was a lot of rattling and jack hammering throughout the ride, which left all of us with quite the headache. It really made me wish they had just kept the old trains. We decided to head out after Goliath. Overall, operations seemed to be hit or miss with the Bizarro crew by far being the best. Hopefully they can get the problems with the new Goliath train sorted out, and maybe solve some of the rattling and jack hammering throughout the course.

According to the SFNE site, Goliath is temporarily closed. Does anyone have any additional info on this?

I'll be returning to Cedar Point this summer for the first time since Fast Lane Plus was introduced in the park (a long overdue visit). I was just curious how FLP has affected how the normal lines move? I remember without FLP, the lines all seemed to constantly move (except for Mantis of course) and was wondering if this is still the same case or if there is a noticeable difference now?

That was my thought too. If anything, flipping the track would make the track more obvious. And I personally don't think we would see the rebirth of the "Deja Vu" style train on an invert. It wasn't like people loved those trains. If anything, they were a nightmare to explain to people how to board. Diamondback and other non inverted rides can get away with it because you can see the seating layout, by the fact an invert is hanging off the track, you can't on them. No matter what, the park is doing a good job drumming up interest. What if the new seating arrangement is the same as the Diamondback trains, just on an inverted coaster? It would still allow for a 'new' seating arrangement, as well as still allowing for easy boarding, unlike the GIB trains.