rcdude
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About rcdude
- Birthday 01/16/1991
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After seeing the various testing videos that have surfaced today, I can say with confidence that those who were initially disappointed by the design should not be disappointed by the ride. Once it opens, Twisted Colossus is likely to become the best coaster in California, and although my experience with RMC is limited, I can't see anyone considering this the company's worst coaster.
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Twisted Colossus looks great, and the rest of Screampunk District appears to be turning out good as well. More than anything, I think this shows that SFMM does care about their park and is doing what they feel is best for their target audience. I can't wait to ride Twisted Colossus and will be there opening day if possible (yes, I think this will be worth a 3-4 hour wait...once).
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Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread
rcdude replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Nope, this is a pretty poor indicator of when a park may receive a new coaster and is seems like something done quickly by an obsessed fan. If you had factored in all of a park's coasters (both current and defunct) and rounded correctly, it might be a little more legitimate, but assuming parks are "due" for new coasters based on the time since the previous installation is a bad assumption. Many factors determine what is added to a park at any given time, as putting in a great attraction at the wrong time can be just as bad as not adding anything. Having been to most of the Cedar Fair parks, I honestly think Kings Dominion has one of the best coaster collections in the chain. In fact, if a couple of the woodies received some significant trackwork and Shockwave was replaced, I'd say it would be second only to Cedar Point. Compare the park to it's competitors...other than perhaps Hersheypark, it's got them all beat. Now, I'm not saying the park wouldn't benefit from a new coaster, but I just don't see why it is in more need of one then somewhere like Worlds of Fun or Knott's Berry Farm (or any of Cedar Fair's other smaller properties, for that matter). A good park is not just about the roller coasters. Cedar Fair knows this and they are doing what they feel is right for their parks. I'm sure Kings Dominion will get a big new thrill ride in the next few years, but until then just enjoy the park you've got. I'd trade my local Cedar Fair park (Knott's Berry Farm) for it. -
Yeah, Twisted Colossus looks outstanding. This is probably the first coaster SFMM has installed since Tatsu that I just can't wait to ride. Unless something comes up, I'll be there braving the crowds on May 23rd. Anyone want to bet on how long the line will be (I'm guessing 3.5 hours)? Slightly disappointing, but not really a big deal. After thinking about it, the decision to only test outside of park hours makes sense. I'm sure we'll be able to see this ride in action when SFMM is ready to let us see it, and now that we know it's testing I think it will be much more interesting to wait until they're doing two train testing before seeing it.
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Nice to see Twisted Colossus testing. I imagine they just ran it today to make sure that it can run for the media tomorrow and we'll probably see more then. At this point, provided that there aren't any major issues during testing I'd be surprised if we aren't riding Memorial Day weekend. For anyone debating the existence of a fourth train, just don't. The park would not have constructed storage space for four trains if they only purchased three. The green train will likely show up at some point in the next couple weeks and they should have plenty of time to get the necessary test time with all four trains.
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Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread
rcdude replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Interesting. I've been expecting Kings Dominion to receive a B&M as their next coaster, though a wing coaster seems like a better fit for the park given it's proximity to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. I think it's too early to read too much into this, but given that each park has a unique image and the others with new mystery coasters have been rumored to be getting major new coasters in the next few years (though not necessarily 2016), it may end up being a hint. Will Kings Dominion get a new B&M next year? I honestly doubt it, simply because there are a couple other Cedar Fair parks with more significant evidence of a big 2016 project and Cedar Fair isn't known to buy a lot of major coasters in one year. Will Kings Dominion get a big new B&M coaster in 2017/2018? I'd take that bet. -
Utterly Bonkers Trip Advice
rcdude replied to Shockwave's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
A few questions for you: 1. Will you have any traveling companions to share driving duty? 2. Will you be credit running at most of these parks? 3. Have you done trips before that involve several consecutive days of 5+ hour drives? If you answered no to any of these questions, you probably should reconsider the scale of this trip. This region of the United States is full of a whole lot of nothing and you'll have long drives between destinations. While the general route you have planned out is pretty good, you've got some days with too much in them and a couple parts of the route that don't make a whole lot of sense. I'd suggest making the following changes to your current plan (changes are in bold, notes indicated by asterisks): Fri May 22: Arrive Chicago ORD in the morning, Six Flags Great America. Sat May 23: Skip Little Amerricka, Santa's Village. Drive to Indianapolis, stop by Indiana Beach en route. *Little Amerricka adds three hours of driving time for what appears to be a 2 hour park. Indiana Beach is absolutely worth a visit and you probably wouldn't be able to do all three in one day. Sun May 24: Watch the Indy 500, Skip Indiana Beach (visited on Saturday). Drive to Des Moines. *If you want to see the Indy 500 and drive to Des Moines, there is absolutely no way you'll be able to fit Indiana Beach in as well. Mon May 25: Adventureland, Skip Arnolds Park, Drive to Kansas City, Worlds of Fun. *Arnolds Park is at least a five hour detour, and while I haven't visited I highly doubt it would be worth the time. Tue May 26: Schlitterbahn, Worlds of Fun (only if additional time is desired) Wed May 27: Drive to Denver. Thu May 28: Elitch Gardens. *This will be a good rest day as Elitch Gardens is a 5-6 hour park at best. Fri May 29: Drive to Salt Lake City via Glenwood Caverns. Sat May 30: Lagoon. Sun May 31: Drive back to Denver, Lakeside Park. Mon Jun 1: Drive to Albuquerque. Tue Jun 2: Cliff's, Drive to Amarillo, Wonderland Amarillo, Stay in Amarillo area. *Two parks and 8+ hours of driving in one day is probably a bit too much. Wed Jun 3: Drive to Oklahoma City, Frontier City, Skip Joyland Amusement Park, Possibly drive to Joplin or Springfield, MO. *Joyland is over five hours from Frontier City in the opposite direction of Chicago. It is probably not worth the time investment to visit. Thu Jun 4: Drive back to Chicago. *Since the drive from Oklahoma City to Chicago is over twelve hours, I'd advise splitting it up. You can either drive for a few hours after Frontier City and stay in Joplin or Springfield, MO, or wait until Jun 4th to begin the drive and stop in the Springfield, IL area, then continue to Chicago the next day (would require an afternoon flight). Fri Jun 5: Fly back to Newark. Find somewhere to do my dirty laundry. -
Was the entire train there or just the first couple cars? When I visited last week the first two cars were at the base of the blue lift and the rest of the orange train (along with the blue and purple trains) was on the transfer. If it's just the first couple cars, they are likely doing a pull through (or something similar) so we're probably still several days (or more) from testing. If the entire train is indeed down there, then testing is likely to begin very soon (possibly even tomorrow).
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What is the best coaster in your home park?
rcdude replied to MattJackson's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Since I have several home parks... Disneyland: Space Mountain Disney California Adventure Park: California Screamin' (this is also my favorite resort-wide) Knott's Berry Farm: Xcelerator Six Flags Magic Mountain: At the moment, I go back and forth between Full Throttle and Tatsu...Apocalypse would be a contender too if it still ran like it did opening year. After it opens, however, I'm pretty confident Twisted Colossus will become my favorite. -
What Was The Last Coaster You Rode?
rcdude replied to SharkTums's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Full Throttle at Six Flags Magic Mountain last week. -
What is your next park?
rcdude replied to onewheeled999's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Assuming that Voyage to the Iron Reef opens on time (or close to it), then it will be Knott's Berry Farm. If not, it will likely be Six Flags Magic Mountain for Twisted Colossus's opening day (or the first day I'm available following that). -
^^If that's the case, I wouldn't be surprised for the park to do the first test run at the event (or possibly the night before just to make sure it will work). I also wouldn't be surprised if they announce the official opening day at that event. In any case, I'm actually more excited for the first racing test run, but I have a feeling they'll do 1-2 weeks of single train testing before that point.
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Has there been a reliable source that stated Twisted Colossus testing was supposed to begin today, or does everyone just expect it because Wicked Cyclone did? Honestly, when I was there last week the coaster looked about a week and a half from testing, so I'm thinking it will probably be toward the end of this week when they start, not necessarily today.
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Best Pirate Ship Ride?
rcdude replied to canadianparkfan's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
In general, I find the Chance Pirate Ships to be superior to other versions of the attraction. In fact, I'd say a well run Chance Pirate Ship is probably my favorite pendulum flat ride (except possibly an S&S Screamin' Swing). I can't think of any particular installations that stand out, though I did enjoy Mayflower at Holiday World last year (probably my favorite flat at the park) and although weaker than most, Dragon Swing at Knott's is the installation I ride most frequently (I love how that ride free swings...not many seem to do that). -
It's actually not all that uncommon to wind up with a leg over the divider on X2. I'd say it happens to me on about a third of my rides. The last section of the ride is just so jerky that you have to work to keep your legs from flailing around. That said, having the harness as high as it was in the picture is probably not a good idea. You won't fly off, but you will have a very uncomfortable ride. On most rides, I usually prefer it if the restraint is slightly loose, but X2 is one ride where I find having the harness as tight as possible increases enjoyment of the ride. It did the year it reopened, but I do not believe it has since then. Due to the loading time, three trains mostly results in double stacking on X2. In addition, I've heard that the park has a blanket two train policy as the capacity benefit from using all three trains on most of the coasters is not enough to justify the added maintenance cost. Of course, Twisted Colossus will be an exception to this rule due to the nature of the ride.