rcdude

Linky: http://www.iaapa.org/expos/iaapa-attractions-expo/press-office/schedule-of-press-events/press-events-tuesday Interesting. I wonder exactly what the new dark ride will be like. I was hoping for an interactive dark ride using animatronics provided by Garner Holt, but this sounds like it will probably be more along the lines of a non-coaster version of Wonder Mountain's Guardian. Hopefully Knott's is able to improve the experience as that ride has gotten mostly mixed reviews.

As far as crowds, I'm guessing tomorrow will probably be pretty busy since it is a holiday weekend. If you can wait until next weekend to visit, I would recommend doing so.

Based on observations from previous years, the 2015 plans will be announced sooner than 3 weeks from now. The 2013 announcement was on Nov. 1, 2012, and the 2014 announcement was on Nov. 22, 2013. If I had to take a guess, I would say in the next 7-10 days--Thanksgiving at the absolute latest (assuming they follow their pattern). Since it's pretty much confirmed at this point to be a dark ride, anyone else think that Knott's will add something else in 2015? They did 2 projects simultaneously both in 2013 and 2014. Fingers crossed for a new flat! Fanboyism over. Three weeks would be Thanksgiving, so I'm guessing the beginning of that week or sometime the previous week would be the announcement. It will probably be accompaniend by a Christmas related promo for 2015 season passes. As for other additions, I could possibly see a new flat in Windseeker's spot but that's about it. Since Knott's already has Surfside Gliders, I've got no idea what would be likely to go there. I'd really like to see a new slide complex for Knott's Soak City, but I doubt that would happen next year. I'm hoping for a new slide complex in 2016 and a major new coaster in 2017.

In no particular order... Wood: Boulder Dash El Toro GhostRider (when it was new) Gold Striker Legend Thunderhead Voyage Steel: Batman The Ride (including clones) Intimidator 305 Maverick Skyrush X2

They are both somewhat neglected parks in their respective chains. Canada's Wonderland and Six Flags St. Louis

Ignoring the pathetic ones (sets with only one or two members, or all members in one location) and thinking off the top of my head, I've got... 100% of operating coasters in Kentucky and Oregon 100% of major coasters in California, Connecticut, and Nevada 100% of the former Paramount Parks (and associated clones) 100% of parks in California and Ohio 100% of major parks in the Midwest and the East Coast 100% of regional parks in the North East (defined as north of New York City) 100% of the non-kiddie coasters at Cedar Point in one day...without Fast Lane

^I don't think you're playing quite right. You're supposed to compare the parks in the post above yours, not compare the two you post. Anyway, both have the only Mack Bobsled in their respective country (both conveniently named Avalanche). ^^Both have inferior versions of coasters located at other parks in their respective chains. Hersheypark and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Stand-up coasters were not a failed concept, as a number of them were built and quite a few continue to operate today. However, by the time the concept was perfected (mid-late 90s), there were so many other options on the market that were proven winners. Think about it like this: when Stand-Up coasters were invented, they were pretty much the only "gimmick coaster" available. By the time the design was perfected, not only had the more popular Inverted coaster been created but it was the height of the coaster wars and parks were pushing for the latest and greatest record-breaking coasters. Since stand-up coasters had been around for over 20 years, they were no longer quite the draw they once were and parks opted to stop buying them. I also have to think that the design never catching on in Europe (the home of the big steel coaster manufacturers) probably had something to do with the death of the stand-up coaster as well. As for the quality of the rides, I've been on all the North American installations except Apocalypse and Georgia Scorcher, and among those the only one I consider worth more than a 10 minute wait is Riddler's Revenge. Granted, most of the B&M designs aren't bad, but when only 1 out of 5 is a noteworthy ride something's not right. The two Togos were okay (SkyRider was excellent for a Togo, but still just okay compared to all major coasters), and Cobra at La Ronde was terrible, so those don't really help the stand-up's case.

My first thought for this was to do a Mid-West loop including Cedar Point, Holiday World, and Kings Island (plus more parks as time permits). However, if you are planning that for 2016, an East Coast trip would be a good option. If you're mostly interested in credits, go between Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags New England, stopping at all the small parks along the way (any Jersey shore parks that strike your fancy, Coney Island, Playland Park, Quassy, and Lake Compounce). If you're more interested in quality parks, you might want to go from Six Flags Great Adventure to Hersheypark and include stops at Dorney, Knoebels, and any convenient small parks. If you've got the time you could do the whole loop, but it would probably exceed your budget. A second good option would be Southern California. The Disneyland Resort is worth 3 days, and you've got four other major parks (Knott's Berry Farm, SeaWorld San Diego, Six Flags Magic Mountain, and Universal Studios Hollywood) within a 2 hour drive. If you need to satisfy credit whoring needs, you could also include LEGOLAND California and/or the Inland Empire parks (Castle Amusement Park and Scandia Amusement Park). Unfortunately, California is expensive so it might be out of your budget to spend a week here, but without going to Florida it is your best option if you're looking for theme parks vs. amusement parks. One other option that hasn't been mentioned is Virginia, which would let you visit Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Kings Dominion. If you're looking for a shorter trip (such as a long weekend), I'd probably choose this. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a drive (4-5 hours) from here to any other major parks, so it would probably be difficult to incorporate these parks into an East Coast trip if you've only got a week.

I saw a video once of someone on Tower of Terror (I think the Florida version) riding without a seatbelt, and when the ride dropped they flew up and nearly hit the ceiling. The ride definitely accelerates downward at or greater than the acceleration of gravity. I've only been on the California one, and while the dropping sensation is not as good as the Intamin drop towers I think Tower of Terror has more airtime (including one long moment of sustained airtime). It's very different from other drop rides. The drawing a couple pages back is great, as I've always wondered how different Florida's Tower really was from California's. It seems that the main differences are the 5th dimension sequence and having randomized drops, which certainly makes the ride a bit better. One of these days I'll get to Florida and finally experience "Good Tower."

A family ride and a kiddie ride (along with other general improvements) should be a nice addition after Banshee this year. Kings Island already has one of the best flat ride collections I know of and their kids' area was outstanding, but these new rides should make it even better.

^That probably won't be too bad, though since tomorrow is going to be a bit wet Sunday will probably be slightly busier than normal. Expect up to 30 minute waits for headliners, possibly a bit more if the ride is only running one train. Also note that some of the Knott's Scary Farm stuff will still be out and the Calico Mine Ride will still be in Witch's Keep mode (or possibly closed).

^^November 11th is actually a Tuesday, the Sunday is the 9th. I would avoid that weekend as Veteran's Day always brings huge crowds to the park. Years ago, I made the mistake of going on the Saturday of that weekend and only got on 4 rides total, and the couple times I've been on Sunday I've still found 60 minute waits for the headliners. If you can go any other Sunday it shouldn't be bad (15-30 minute waits for headliners), but I would definitely avoid that one.

Knott's Berry Farm: I thought Timberline Twister was a goner, but since it survived the Camp Snoopy renovation I'm guessing Boomerang. Six Flags Magic Mountain: For actually getting scrapped, I'd bet on Viper, but I wouldn't be surprised if either Scream or Green Lantern got relocated before that.

I've never been to Walt Disney World, but given that I like Cedar Point better than three of the four Disney parks I've visited I'm going with Cedar Point. That said, if I was offered a trip to one or the other I would absolutely choose Walt Disney World if the trip was 3 park days or longer.

Most to least airtime for the GCI coasters I've been on: Gold Striker Thunderhead Apocalypse American Thunder Kentucky Rumbler Roar (SFDK) Lightning Racer Wildcat

Since most of them are still holiday weekends, they tend to be quite busy. If you go on a Saturday during the offseason that isn't a holiday period, however, they're usually not bad. Granted, the park isn't dead, but as long as it's not a holiday and there isn't any special event or promotion going on you probably won't see lines longer than 30 minutes.

Coasters marked with an asterisk (*) are at one of my home parks. 1993 Gadget's Go Coaster* 1995 Jaguar!* 1999 Dragon (LEGOLAND California)* Tree Top Racers* 2000 Spellbreaker* 2001 California Screamin'* Mulholland Madness (now Goofy's Sky School)* Merlin's Revenge* Technic Coaster* 2003 Scream!* 2004 Coastersaurus* Journey to Atlantis* Revenge of the Mummy* 2005 Space Mountain* 2006 Tatsu* 2007 Sierra Sidewinder* 2008 Pony Express* Screamin' Demon* Tony Hawk's Big Spin (Six Flags Discovery Kingdom) 2009 Terminator Salvation: The Ride (now Apocalypse the Ride)* 2010 Intimidator Intimidator 305 2011 Gotham City Gauntlet Escape from Arkham Asylum Green Lantern Green Lantern: First Flight* Road Runner Express* Wooden Warrior 2012 Leviathan Manta* 2013 Coast Rider* Full Throttle* Gold Striker 2014 Banshee Cocoa Cruiser El Loco Goliath (Six Flags Great America) Lightning Run Speedy Gonzales Hot Rod Racers* Thunderbolt (Luna Park)

^^I actually didn't notice that until you pointed it out. LOL Guess they didn't want their picture taken. ^Hoosier Hurricane looked like a good ride, but based on looking at it and my experience with CCI woodies I doubt I'd consider it better than Cornball Express. I'll need to go back at some point to give it a try. The park definitely seemed like it had seen better days, but the owners are attempting to improve the place. It's not a spectacular park, but it was fun and somewhere I'd return to if I was in the area. Now for the final report from the Mini New Hotness tour. This one might get some flak from fans of the park, but everything is 100% honest based on my experience at the park. Trip 2, Part 7: Six Flags Great America-July 29th, 2014 Tuesday, July 29th was not a happy day for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, this was the last day of the TPR Mini New Hotness trip. Around a dozen participants (including myself) would be continuing on to the Mini East Coast trip for another week of fun, but for the rest this would be the last day we would see each other. For most, however, the other main sadness for this day came from the last park of the trip: Six Flags Great America. For those of you who are local to the park or think highly of it, fair warning: You may not like my review, but it presents the park exactly how it was on that day, and it isn't a pretty picture. Six Flags Great America Unlike most days on the trip, our day at Six Flags Great America was not an early morning, as we didn't depart the hotel until 9:15 A.M. Wait, what? Before I continue, know two things: Six Flags Great America has long been considered one of the best parks in the Six Flags chain and has offered some good perks to TPR on previous visits as recently as 2013, and every park on this trip has gone above and beyond to ensure we had a great visit. Now, before the trip, the conversation with SFGAm went something like this (this dialogue is not real, but the sequence of events is): Robb: Hey, SFGAm, we'll be visiting at the end of July to check out your new RMC woodie and were wondering if you'd be interested in hosting an event for a couple hundred of our members. Here's a schedule for an event we're doing at Kings Island earlier in the month. Think you could host something similar? SFGAm: That looks like an excellent event. Unfortunately, we will be unable to accommodate that at this time. Robb: Okay, we'll still be visiting with a group of around 50 members. Do you think you could give us a similar ERT package to our visit last year? SFGAm: No, sorry, we'll be unable to do any ERT this year. We suggest you purchase the Flash Pass to ensure everyone in your group can enjoy all our park's rides. Robb: Okay, okay, listen...we've got people coming from all over the world to ride Goliath. Could you just let us on 10-15 minutes early so that everyone will be able to ride at least once without a huge wait? SFGAm Park President Hank Salemi: Sorry, but we just can't do any ERT this year. We often accommodate much larger groups than yours, some as large as a thousand, and many simply purchase the Flash Pass as it's impossible to give ERT to everybody. We hope your group is able to enjoy a typical Six Flags experience. Yep, SFGAm was unable to give us any ERT, any backstage tours, anything special whatsoever. As a result, Robb and Elissa sprung for Platinum Flash Passes so everyone would be guaranteed one ride on Goliath. As it turned out, the very helpful people at Accesso were able to secretly slip a second Goliath ride on the Flash Passes, and by joining the mad dash in the morning most managed to get on within 30 minutes of park opening. Following that initial Goliath ride, everyone got into Flash Pass groups (I joined Caroline, Judd, and Nathan for the last time this tour), was given their Qbot and wristbands, then left on their own to explore the park. I will not go into detail about my day at Six Flags Great America and will leave specific events for the summary at the end, but suffice it to say that the day was more of a credit run than anything else. Using the Flash Pass, we were able to get double rides where desired, but we had little time for anything other than coasters due to crowds and operations. We left the park at 4 P.M. for the farewell dinner at Outback Steakhouse, which may have been my favorite group meal of this part of the trip, then returned at 6 P.M. to finish our credit run (we were still missing four credits). Flash Passes were returned at 9 P.M., at which point we checked on the kiddie coasters (Little Dipper was still a 60 minute wait, and Spacely's Sprocket Rockets longer than it was worth), so my group headed out without me (my story will come at the end). Coaster Reviews: If there is one element of Six Flags Great America worthy of praise, it is the park's coaster collection. The park has 13 coasters, all of which were enjoyable to some degree. In terms of average quality, this park is probably second best in the Six Flags chain and in terms of variety it's one of the best I've seen. The only issue is that SFGAm has a lot of good coasters but few great ones, as there are only two coasters at the park I would consider worth going out of the way for. Goliath: A lot of people found this ride underwhelming. However, I found the ride to be outstanding. It may be because this was my first RMC, but Goliath was way better than I thought it would be. The ride has a great first drop and just continues through a series of exciting elements including the very unique Zero-G Stall. Yes, it does end abruptly and is not a long ride, but I didn't think it was too short as many tend to say. No, it is not the best wooden coaster in existence (and actually feels more like a steel coaster) and was not my favorite coaster on the trip (third on Mini New Hotness, eighth for both trips + Cedar Point), but it is absolutely a top tier coaster. If someone were to get off the ride and say "it's great but not top ten material," I'd have to wonder what ten wooden coasters they think are better. A American Eagle: This is a solid racing woodie with a good out run, a shaky helix, and a mediocre return. Honestly, the main problem of this coaster is that it has strong trims. If the park removed these trims (or at least toned them down) and gave the ride a bit of retracking, American Eagle would probably be one of the better racing coasters. this Either way, I still enjoyed it more than I ever enjoyed Colossus, it just doesn't justify the 75 minute line (no Flash Pass on this one). B X-Flight: You know, I've heard this is a better ride than GateKeeper, but after riding I really don't think it's any better. It's not worse, at least not significantly, but it still has that feeling of "this should be better." X-Flight doesn't have any dull sections, unlike GateKeeper, but it never really delivers the ride I'd expect it to as the elements are slow and repetitive and the ride just never gets intense. It's still a pretty good ride and one I'd definitely ride again, but it feels a lot more like a Silver Bullet than like a Batman. B Demon: Having ridden CGA's Demon, I knew what to expect here. The drop, loops, and tunnel were better on this one, but I prefer the second half of CGA's Demon as this one seemed a bit rougher. Both coasters are just okay in my opinion, though the fact that CGA's usually is only a few train wait and this was 45 minutes in the regular queue gives CGA's a few bonus points (though this one has better theming). C- Raging Bull: Raging Bull is considered the worst B&M Hyper by many enthusiasts, but I really liked the ride. The ride is very long, has a good amount of airtime, a great first drop, decent forces, an unconventional layout, and none of that B&M rattle some rides are known to get. If the trims were deactivated, I would probably rank this above Diamondback, but even in its current state Raging Bull is still somewhere in the middle of the B&M Hypers for me and is easily the best steel coaster at Six Flags Great America. A Viper: Viper was a bit of a disappointment, as I always hear amazing things about the ride. While I enjoyed the ride, I didn't think it was spectacular. The ride is known for having a ton of airtime, but I personally thought Raging Bull had more on this visit. I did hear from others that Viper was running very sluggish, so that may be why I was disappointed in the coaster, but I can only rate based on my experience. Good, but not worth going out of your way for. B+ Whizzer: This was a pretty fun bridge coaster that has a lot of history behind it. At least once, the coaster was about to be removed but was saved by fans and it is now the last Speed Racer in North America. Being a family oriented coaster, the ride is fairly tame, but it's still a decent ride. It did have a 75 minute wait, however, which is far more than it's worth, but if the wait was 30 minutes or less I'd definitely do it again. B- Superman-Ultimate Flight: Like the SFGAdv version of this ride, Superman is fun but doesn't compare to the larger flyers like Tatsu. The pretzel loop is great, but after that the ride just meanders until it uses up its energy. Additionally, the coaster is on the short side. I did find this better than SFGAdv's version, however. It's a fun ride, but nothing special. B Dark Knight: This was much better than the SFGAdv version of the coaster because all the effects were working and you were not forced to view the preshow. However, the ride is still little more than a wild mouse in a box. The coaster is fun to ride once, but I wouldn't wait in line for a re-ride and consider this the park's worst coaster. I'm still shocked people were actually waiting 75 minutes for this. D Vertical Velocity: I like the Twisted Impulse coasters, and Vertical Velocity actually ended up being the first standard model I've tried. While I didn't enjoy it as much as Wicked Twister, it was still a very fun ride. Like others of this type, the ride is extremely short but more intense than you'd expect by looking at it. B+ Batman The Ride: The original inverted coaster, this is the ride that put B&M on the map. I've been on several clones of this ride, but the original is better than all of them. That said, I'm not the biggest fan of the Batman clones as I don't care for non-stop intensity, but they are a good ride (although short) and prove that bigger isn't always better. B Six Flags Great America Coaster Ranking: Must Ride: 1. Goliath 2. Raging Bull Good Coasters: 3. Vertical Velocity 4. Viper 5. X-Flight 6. Superman-Ultimate Flight 7. Batman The Ride 8. American Eagle 9. Whizzer Average Coasters: 10. Demon Credit Coasters: 11. Dark Knight Non-Coaster Summary: Due to limited time, I was unable to experience many non-coaster rides at Six Flags Great America, but from the looks of things it appeared that the park's non-coaster selection was pretty average. Of the three I did ride, my favorite was Giant Drop, a standard Intamin 2nd generation drop tower. Giant Drop is neither the best nor the worst of its type that I've ridden, but it was still a fun ride. We also rode Yankee Clipper, which had a good final drop with fairly wet results but was otherwise a somewhat boring log flume with my least favorite boats anywhere (four adults is a squeeze). The only other non-coaster ride I did was Columbia, which is a unique double-decker carousel that's little different from the normal single deck variety once you're on it. In addition, the park had a decent number of other flats, but nothing that really stood out. The new kids' rides for next year will help, as the park's kiddie area seemed fairly limited as well, but SFGAm really needs to focus on non-coaster attractions for the next few years before building another major coaster (5 coasters in 10 years is too many). Overall Thoughts: I really want to like Six Flags Great America, and I went in hoping that I would get past my negative impression based on how the park responded to Robb's requests (a polite "we're sorry, but it's just not going to work this year" would have been much better). However, what I found was a park that embodies the typical Six Flags experience almost perfectly. The physical park of SFGAm is actually quite decent. They have an outstanding collection of coasters, the whole place is laid out well, and compared to most Six Flags properties the theming is actually pretty good. Sure, the non-coaster selection isn't anything special, but that's honestly the only issue I have with the physical portion of the park. The way Six Flags Great America is being run, however, is absolutely unacceptable. Here is a list of things I encountered at SFGAm that I would not expect at a major park: -Unacceptable operations. I don't expect every park to be as good as Cedar Point or Holiday World, but I expect attractions to be run in a reasonable manner. 2 minute dispatches are reasonable on most coasters. 5 minute dispatches are unreasonable on any coaster, but we encountered these on X-Flight, Raging Bull, and Viper on every single ride. Raging Bull even has a countdown clock (60 seconds) and was running three trains, but practically every single time the trains would double stack and the clock would count back up to around 150 seconds before the ride was actually dispatched. Viper was the worst offender as the train would often complete the course and reach the brakes before the loading gates were even opened. This goes hand in hand with... -Outrageous lines. I get that we were visiting in the middle of summer at a park with a short operating season near one of the largest urban areas in North America and that the park doesn't really have any competition and just opened the most exciting new ride in 15 years, so I expected it to be busy. I'm not complaining about the fact that every major coaster was 75-90 minutes and even the smallest rides were 30+ minutes open to close, or that Goliath got over 3 hours in the middle of the day, as I wasn't waiting in those lines. I'm complaining about using a Platinum Flash Pass and then having to wait 20-30 minutes AFTER merging before boarding the ride. This wasn't the case everywhere, but on Batman The Ride, Dark Knight, Vertical Velocity, Viper and especially X-Flight, even with a Flash Pass there was a substantial amount of waiting involved. I don't expect immediate access, but when you're paying $100+ per person for an advertised 90% wait time reduction, anything more than 10-15 minutes just isn't right. Every other Six Flags park does this right, so why can't SFGAm? -Inadequate food service. How can it take 20 minutes to get a basket of chicken strips when there's one person in front of you? Why are only two people working at a food stand during the lunch rush? It just doesn't make sense. To the park's credit, the food itself wasn't as bad as I've seen at some Six Flags parks, but that isn't saying much. -Rude employees. This was not the case everywhere, but I did see it. I hate going back to Viper, but if you heard the KidTums story you'll know that they were the worst crew in the park (short version: KidTums rode Goliath and American Eagle (both with 48" height restrictions), then got denied at Viper (also a 48" height restriction), and even after getting officially measured the crew still refused to let her on until a supervisor intervened). We also witnessed someone getting their seat stolen on Raging Bull, and what did the attendant do? Tell those who were entitled to the seats to get off the platform so they could send the train. I could go on, but I think I've made my point. Now, I will say this: Not everything was bad about SFGAm, and not all of the above applied universally. We did have a few good surprises, the most notable of which was receiving an exit pass for being stuck on Demon for about 20 minutes (which enabled us to get both American Eagle credits without a 75 minute wait). A few rides (namely Goliath, Superman, and American Eagle) did have good crews and reasonable operations. However, for the most part the way the park was being run reminded me a lot of how Six Flags Magic Mountain has been in the past few years (although SFMM does seem to be rebounding a bit this year). Still, throughout the day I kept thinking "this wouldn't happen at SFMM," and having been to a majority of the Six Flags parks, it probably wouldn't happen at most of them either. La Ronde is the only one that seems to have more problems than SFGAm, at least from what I've experienced. Therefore, I'm going to say this: We did not receive our promised "typical" Six Flags experience, but rather we received an atypically bad one. In summary, I will say this: I really want to like SFGAm, and I did make the best of it and have an okay day at the park, but this was definitely my least favorite day of the trip. It is entirely possible that I visited on a bad day and got unlucky, but as the reviews of the place seem to have been on a steady decline over the past couple years, I'm guessing that is probably not the case. The park does have an outstanding collection of coasters, but that alone is not enough to justify a visit. I am absolutely willing to give the park another chance, but I'm unlikely to visit again until the park gets new management and things improve. With proper management, this would be one of the top three parks in the Six Flags chain, but as it is now the park is enjoyable while riding coasters and frustrating at most other times. Ride Totals: Note: Due to Platinum Flash Pass, we were able to do double rides on everything except Goliath, Vertical Velocity, and Giant Drop. For what you would likely experience without Platinum Flash Pass, divide the totals by two (where applicable). American Eagle: 2 Batman The Ride: 2 Dark Knight: 1 Demon: 1 Goliath 4 (including previous night's ride) Raging Bull: 4 Superman-Ultimate Flight: 2 Vertical Velocity: 1 Viper: 4 Whizzer: 2 X-Flight: 2 Columbia: 1 Giant Drop: 1 Yankee Clipper: 1 Total: 28 rides in 11 hours (2.55 rides per hour) Without Platinum Flash Pass, you'd be lucky to get more than about 16 rides in a day (1.33 rides per hour). With no Flash Pass, you'd probably get about half that. What happened after I left my group? Well, in typical Midwest fashion, it began to get really windy really fast. I returned to the Flash Pass drop off point and met up with a couple of my friends from the area (JoAnna and Zack), who advised me that it could start storming within the hour and offered me a ride back to the hotel (due to bus driver regulations, we were required to walk back after SFGAm). I decided to try for one last ride on X-Flight before leaving to see if it was really better than GateKeeper or not, but just after getting in line I hear this: "Attention guests waiting in line. X-Flight's operation is determined by weather. While we will do our best to accommodate everyone in line, it is possible we may have to cease operation at any time. In an attempt to permit everyone in line to ride, we will begin assigning boarding aisles at this time." Deciding that waiting for a ride I might not get to take was not worth the risk of making the 3/4 of a mile walk back to the hotel in a torrential downpour, I decided to bail out. On the way out, I ran into JoAnna and Zack, who were just leaving the parking lot and offered me a ride. Just as I was getting in the car, three more TPR members came running out. I will not reveal the details of what happened on the way back to the hotel, but I will say that it was definitely a memorable experience. Overall Thoughts on the Mini New Hotness Tour: Mini New Hotness was my fourth TPR tour, following IntimidaTour (2010), North East (2011), and LeviaThon (2012). Before the tour, North East was my favorite of the three, but Mini New Hotness managed to dethrone it. This trip had a great selection of parks (with a nice balance between major, midsize, and small parks), offered lots of perks at all those parks (SFGAm excluded), and with only one bus it was easier to get to know everyone. Additionally, the trip did not have as many early mornings or late nights as North East did (partly because it was shorter), though Mini New Hotness's early mornings and late nights tended to be very early and very late. The trip was intense, but not excessively intense, and didn't leave me as tired as North East or LeviaThon did. Sure, there were some hiccups along the way (such as the Satan's Lodge ordeal) and some of the parks could have been better (aka the Kentucky parks...and SFGAm), but Mini New Hotness was still a very fun trip that I would love to do again. That's it for Mini New Hotness, but not for this trip report. I've still got four more updates from Mini East Coast, two parts for my family New York/Boston trip, and one last summary of the summer as a whole. Only a few random ride pictures this time. We were so busy running around that the only time I thought about pictures was when we were stuck in lines. X-Flight soars through the sky. I applaud Six Flags for attempting to theme this ride. It's a shame many of the effects (like mist) don't work anymore, but the theming still adds to the ride. The original Zero-G keyhole (well, in North America anyway). This and the dive drop are probably my favorite parts of the ride (the immelmann is good too). Viper, a woodie Six Flags built in house. I believe this is the only time Six Flags has done this. While it may be another Cyclone clone, Viper is far better than the defunct Psyclone. Even though it was running sluggish on the day of our visit, Viper was one of the better coasters at SFGAm. Raging Bull from Viper's exit ramp. Enthusiasts don't give this coaster enough credit. We'll wrap up with a shot of Caroline and Judd enjoying Viper, as this would be the end of their trip.

Having been to all these parks, I'll say this: Busch Gardens Williamsburg is my favorite overall, Kings Dominion is my least favorite overall. El Toro is the single best coaster among all of them, but Busch Gardens Williamsburg has the best average coaster quality and Cedar Point has the most top tier coasters. Hersheypark is the best for non-coaster attractions, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg is the best for theming and atmosphere. Given this and the fact that you've been to Cedar Point since Maverick opened, I'd probably opt for option one. Kings Dominion does have three great coasters (Dominator, Intimidator 305, and Volcano), but the rest of their coasters are similar to what you'd get at Kings Island. The park also has a really good drop tower and decent flats, they're just fairly standard models. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has three outstanding B&M coasters and the best dark ride outside of Disney or Universal. HOWEVER, if you can manage to add Knoebels into option three and do it, Hersheypark, and Six Flags Great Adventure in one trip, do that one. Knoebels is an excellent park, Hersheypark is better than most of the Six Flags or Cedar Fair parks, and Six Flags Great Adventure does have El Toro (and several other above average coasters). Unless you really want to ride GateKeeper or Rougarou, I'd save Cedar Point for some other time.

It's all up to personal preference, but my recommendations are... Apocalypse: Back (at night if possible) Batman The Ride: Front or Back (ride twice if possible) Canyon Blaster: Wherever won't disappoint a kid Full Throttle: Back Gold Rusher: Anywhere in the front half Goliath: Front (no airtime on drop, but more airtime on the floater hill and a slight benefit from the midcourse brakes) Green Lantern: Doesn't matter Ninja: Front Revolution: Everywhere's about the same, but you can brace better in the front Riddler's Revenge: Front Road Runner Express: Same as Canyon Blaster Scream: Front Speedy Gonzales Hot Rod Racers: Doesn't matter Superman: Doesn't matter, but the front usually has the shortest wait Tatsu: Front Viper: Front X2: Front for smoothest ride, Back for smoothest rotation (ride twice if possible)

If Phoenix counts (78 ft tall but only a 72 ft drop), it definitely wins. There are only a handful of wooden coasters better than that ride. If you want to exclude Phoenix, I would say Cornball Express. It may not be as insane now as I believe it was when it opened, but that is the second best CCI I've been on and beats many other woodies.

Voyage to the Iron Reef? If that's the name for the new ride, I'm at a loss for what it's going to be. I'm guessing something sea themed, which would fit with the Boardwalk but would need to be creative to distance itself from Little Mermaid down the road. We should know for sure soon, as I'm guessing the announcement will probably happen in early/mid November. Of course, this could be a red herring and the park is actually installing Kingdom of Jeff Tucker...in Assless Chaps.

I've been on a half dozen of these and I'd rank them as follows (best to worst); 1. Mind Eraser (SFNE): If there was an SLC that I'd say "isn't bad," it's this one. Not a good ride by any means, but not really painful. 2. Ednor-L'Attaque (LR): This one gets bonus points for being over water. It was rough but not horrible, but the operations were atrocious. 3. Kong (SFDK): This was my first SLC and I thought it was horrible. However, after riding several others and trying it again it wasn't too bad. Still not the best, but pretty average in my experience. 4. Mind Eraser (DL): This one was rough but not brutal. This one also had terrible operations. 5. Mind Eraser (EG): People say this one isn't that bad but I found it pretty rough and somewhat painful. It is the most intense coaster in Colorado, however, and seems to be a massive hit with the general public. 6. Flight Deck (CW): Cedar Fair should have removed this thing instead of SkyRider. Rough, painful, and not something I'd care to ride again. In general, I consider SLCs one step above credit coasters in that I'd ride them again if there was no wait but wouldn't wait more than a train or two for a re-ride on a subsequent visit. They aren't the worst coasters out there, but even the best SLC is not even on the same level as the worst B&M invert.

I got to try some trapdoor slides for the first time this year, and the first couple rides on those really scared me. Not only is the concept unnerving, but on the slides I tried there was a heartbeat sound that got louder and louder the longer you waited, adding to the anticipation. Finally, the door didn't open right when the countdown ended, creating a real "oh s***!" moment. After a couple rides, you get used to it and it's not so scary, but the first time is just insane. As far as the rides themselves go, the straight plummets are among the best speed slides out there, but for whatever reason all the serpentine trapdoor slides seem inferior to regular serpentine speed slides (at least in my experience).