rcdude

If Darien Lake is sold now, there's a very good chance it would be purchased by Premier as they are the current operator. I think any chance of Herschend acquiring the park probably ended when their management did, and I highly doubt Cedar Fair would even make an offer on the park. At the moment, I can't think of any other chain in the US that would want the park, so if it's not Premier it would probably have to be an independent sale. Rolling Thunder looks pretty good. That ride definitely went up faster than I expected.

JetBlue is my preferred airline, so whenever possible I usually try to book with them. If not JetBlue, I usually end up with either Delta or United (more often United since they tend to be cheaper, though I like Delta better). Southwest is great as well, but more often than not they don't have a good schedule for me or their prices are higher than other options so I don't fly them often. Least favorite airline: American. I don't fly with them unless there isn't another good choice.

As far as the two Vortex coasters go, I definitely could see Carowinds converting their coaster but I think it would be unlikely for CGA to do the same. With Medusa only an hour and a half away, I just don't think CGA would generate much interest from a Vortex conversion. Carowinds, on the other hand, could promote it as the only floorless coaster in the Southeast and their Vortex is a slightly better ride as well (CGA's is shorter and rougher). As for coaster predictions, here's my (reasonably, but not completely, realistic) guesses as for what the parks might get and when. Note that this is simply the park's next major coaster (or two for a couple), so I'm not taking into account whether a new family coaster could be added before this time. Canada's Wonderland: B&M Wing Coaster (2016), followed by B&M Dive Coaster (2022) Cedar Point: B&M Dive Coaster (2016), followed by RMC Mean Streak (2020) Knott's Berry Farm: B&M Hyper (2017) Kings Dominion: B&M Wing Coaster (2018) Michigan's Adventure: Chance Hyper GT-X (2018) Worlds of Fun: RMC Timber Wolf Conversion (2018) Kings Island: B&M Giga Coaster (2019) California's Great America: Chance Hyper GT-X (2020) Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: GCI Woodie (2020) Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park: GCI Family Woodie (2021) Valleyfair: B&M Inverted Coaster (2021) Carowinds: B&M Dive Coaster (2022) Honestly, I don't see Cedar Fair going with anyone other than B&M for their headliner coasters in the near future. After the prototype issues the company has had, they seem to prefer tried and true for new attractions (other than dark rides) and from comments I've heard it sounds like new Intamin coasters are unlikely. I do see the potential for them working with RMC now that the technique has been established and the company is starting to have availability, but I think they'll opt for GCI when it comes to new wooden coasters instead of refurbishments.

The S&S Screamin' Swing is my favorite type of pendulum ride. While the smaller ones aren't too exciting, the bigger ones are great and one particular one (the Giant Canyon Swing at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park) is probably the scariest ride I've ever been on. I'm also partial to the classic pirate ship if it runs a good program, as it's one of those simpler flats that still gives a good ride. As for spinning pendulums, I don't like any of the models where you face outward as those tend to make me very dizzy. I do like the older Huss Frisbees (the ones with the floor), and of the other manufacturers I find the rarer Technical Park rides tend to be better than KMG's version.

I wouldn't be surprised if the park got a new coaster (or two) somewhere between now and 2021, I just think they might not get their 20th until then and anything before that time would be a smaller ride. SFMM has a pretty large surplus of coasters, so it's not too unlikely that one may leave the park in the near future to give another Six Flags property a cheap addition. Also, according to rumors I've heard elsewhere the park may be taking a couple years off from coasters so I'd expect the next one in the 2018-2020 range. Although I don't love the ride, I'm not a Green Lantern hater and I do ride it more often than not when visiting the park. I just don't think it is a good fit for SFMM and it would probably be better at one of the smaller Six Flags properties.

I think it's highly unlikely that SFMM (or any Six Flags park) will ever install a giga primarily because of cost. Six Flags has gone on record to say that $20+ million coasters are not likely to happen in the near future, and as long as they maintain their program of new attractions at every park every year they can't really afford a quality giga. Sure, you could build the world's tallest traditional coaster without exceeding the $15 million cap Six Flags seems to have, but it would probably be a drop, turnaround, and maybe two airtime hills before the brakes. I can't think of any Six Flags park that could really benefit from a ride like that, especially not one that already has a hyper. I think it will probably be several years before SFMM gets their 20th coaster, especially since they've gotten five coasters in the past five years. The park needs to take at least a couple years off from major additions to focus on other areas and Six Flags has other parks in need of major additions. When the time is right (possibly the park's 50th anniversary in 2021) they can add something impressive for coaster 20. If it's a B&M, I'd hope for a dive coaster, but I wouldn't be surprised to see something more unique (at least to the US market). As for the coaster removal discussion, Goliath has very little chance of being removed until the ride must be retired. It is a GP favorite and possibly the most re-rideable coaster at the park. While I will agree that it isn't the best example of its type, I still consider Goliath a top tier coaster. If any coaster is to leave SFMM in the near future, it would most likely be either Viper (though I think that will stay unless it needs to go for a replacement) or Green Lantern (which would only leave for relocation to another Six Flags park).

I haven't been to any of these parks, but since it hasn't been mentioned yet I'd just like to point out the Cliff's Amusement Park is closed on Mondays. This foiled my plans of stopping by for a couple hours on my road trip last June. I did drive around the park and it's pretty small (looked to be a 2-4 hour park), so if you're there all day on Sunday that should be plenty of time to ride everything and get a good number of rides on New Mexico Rattler.

Is California going to have a new best coaster? It certainly looks like it! If I only get to one new for 2015 coaster this year, I'm glad it's Twisted Colossus. Hopefully there's just two more months to go before we can ride this thing.

at this points its more SFMM wont do it (cuz $$ and what would they really get out of it?) rather than cant do it. I like everyone else would welcome the return to lap bars. I would personally ride it regularily on my visits but the trends of myself and the enthusiest community dont neccessarily reflect that of the masses I have heard rumors of SFMM refurbishing Revolution next year in honor of the ride's 40th anniversary, including replacing the current trains with new Gerstlauer trains similar to those used on Sooperdooperlooper. I really doubt it would happen because 1. New trains would probably be $100,000+ each and the park would likely need three, and 2. Gerstlauer and Six Flags probably don't have the best relationship currently due to the New Texas Giant accident. I do think there will be a point in the future where the park will have to replace the trains in order to keep the ride operational, and I do think they will look for trains without OSTRs, but knowing Six Flags and especially SFMM they probably won't spend money on something that can't really be marketed until they absolutely have to. It's sad that Revolution is in such bad shape as the ride is one of the more unique coasters at the park and, now that Colossus has been upgraded, is the park's least intense thrill coaster, making it a great attraction for younger visitors. Unfortunately, the current ride experience would be more likely to scare someone off roller coasters than show them how enjoyable the rides can be.

^^When I visited earlier this month, I decided to ride GhostRider in the back car since nobody was waiting for it (it wasn't a very crowded day) and I hadn't done the back in years, plus it had been running better when I previously rode in December. After loading, I realized that there were people in cars 1-4, but cars 5 and 6 were complete empty and I was by myself in the back. At that point, I figured I was in trouble, and I was right. That ride was one of the roughest I've ever had on the coaster and due to the brake the airtime the ride originally had in the back seat was much less. GhostRider used to be an amazing coaster, and it still has occasional good days, but it has gotten to the point where you generally have to ride in a non-wheel seat in the first three cars to avoid a free spinal adjustment. I've heard rumors elsewhere that the ride is supposed to get a major overhaul next year as the park won't be adding a significant new attraction, and I hope they end up being true. It doesn't necessarily need an RMC treatment...if GCI came in and did a total retrack along with new trains for the coaster, it could be California's best woodie again.

Other than the two Mexico City parks, Selva Magica is the only park on my visit list in Mexico. Other than the coasters and Alicia, I don't know much about the park, but Bullet looks like it would be worth a visit just by itself.

I don't really like carnival games, but I love Fascination. If you've never played it, add it to your must do list for Knoebels. You illuminate squares on a five by five grid by rolling a ball up a ramp and into the holes. To win, illuminate five in a row (just like bingo) or, in special coverall games, illuminate every square. The game is also relatively cheap (I believe $0.50 per play at Knoebels...$10 of tokens lasted me about a half-hour, which was good enough). In regards to wristband vs. tickets, if you have two days I'd buy a wristband the first day and then buy tickets the second, as you'll likely have a good idea of what you want to ride and might not get your money's worth with a wristband the second day. Also note that Haunted Mansion is an upcharge even with a wristband. I'd probably go Flying Turns, Impulse, Black Diamond, Kozmo's Kurves. When I visited last year, I rode Flying Turns before opening due to ERT, but it looked like the line got long for it quickly. Black Diamond was still a walk-on when I got back there about 30 minutes after opening, and Kozmo's Kurves was only a ten minute wait when I rode just before lunch, so those aren't as much of a concern. Impulse is an unknown but the capacity should be higher than Flying Turns so I'd do the latter first.

From what I've heard so far, it sounds like Fury 325 is about as expected: Not the greatest ride ever, but a very good ride that will be a favorite of its target audience. I was hoping it would get a little better reception, but the ride still sounds outstanding and is definitely enough to justify a return visit to the park at some point in the future.

^Nothing official has been announced, but most likely it will be sometime between Memorial Day and mid-June. If you will be visiting in mid-May, the ride will probably be testing, but don't expect it to be open. Before Twisted Colossus was announced, the Top Gun Stall was one element I was hoping would be on the ride but that I never expected would actually happen. In the announcement video, when the element first showed up, I couldn't believe it. Now that it's being built, this element looks like it will be amazing. Only RMC would attempt something like this, and I just hope SFMM and/or the GP don't end up ruining it.

I've heard good things about Medusa Steel Coaster, but this is the first time I've seen a review by someone familiar with all of Rocky Mountain's creations. I would never have expected to find a travel-worthy coaster in Mexico, let alone a top five steel coaster. If TPR does another trip down there and I don't have something preventing me from going I'm definitely in, as Mexico has just been added to my bucket list of international theme park destinations.

Perhaps it's different at SFMM or has changed recently. I've never used the Flash Pass at SFMM, but I used it at SFGAm and SFGAdv last summer and it was $250 there. Since I believe it is Accesso that imposes the fee and not the park itself, I figured it was uniform across the chain, but I guess not.

The Grand Carousel is also a must ride attraction, as it is one of the few that still has a working ring dispenser. I'd also recommend the Pioneer Train, which should ideally be ridden twice (once during the day and once at night). There are a few other uncommon/unique attractions at Knoebels, but the rest aren't really must ride attractions. July may be different, but on my visit last year (a Friday in early August) I don't think anything was more than a 15 minute wait except for Flying Turns (which was about an hour). Ride Flying Turns first thing in the morning, and if you want to ride more than twice (once for each day) expect to wait a while. Knoebels has outstanding operations, so if Phoenix and Twister are running both trains the lines will move very fast (a full queue with both trains on Phoenix is only about 20 minutes). Impulse will probably have a long line since it is new and capacity won't be very good, but that is an unknown right now. Speaking of Impulse, it looks like a fun ride from the video. I doubt it's something anyone would rush out to Knoebels for (if they're outside of the area, that is), but it definitely seems like a must ride if you're at the park and it adds a bit more variety to the park's coaster line-up.

From what I've heard elsewhere, the only prop in the ride will be the Roaring 20's sign and there will not be any other physical elements during the attraction. I have not found any definitive evidence either way, but more points toward the ride being all screens.

^It's more than that. I think it was $250, but I may be slightly off.

This actually looks pretty good. In fact, if it wasn't an advertisement I probably wouldn't mind if it was permanent. The theming in the queue is better than anything Six Flags has done since Apocalypse and the train wrap doesn't look bad. Now if only there was a full size statue of the Gore Magala on top of the tunnel...

^It was confirmed months ago that the ride is all on one level. There's no drop or elevation change of any kind. The ride being exactly like Wonder Mountain's Guardian merely means that it will be 100% screens with no physical sets. As for the current state of the attraction, I visited the park a couple weeks ago and it looked like they have started work on the station and queuing area. It's difficult to see inside, but it looked like the mural in the station was different and there was construction equipment present. The exterior of the building looked the same, but it appears that there will be a new staircase to access the upper queuing area, which has been stripped down to just the steel supports.

I think we've got a winner for best Cedar Fair coaster entrance. Additionally, judging by the riders in the picture (who I assume are employees or family members assisting with employee training) Fury 325 looks like it is going to be an absolute hit among Carowinds visitors. I really wish I could make it to Carowinds to ride Fury 325 this year, but it's looking unlikely. At the moment, a Carowinds/Dollywood trip is priority number one for me in 2016.

It's a shame La Feria has such bad operations, as that park has enough unique attractions to make it a must visit park for any enthusiast traveling to Mexico City. Montana Rusa is a mobius racer that has six trains (if I remember correctly), so there's no reason to only run one. That's essentially equivalent to a 1/2 train operation. Anyway, great report! I look forward to seeing where else you go in Mexico so I can get ideas if I end up visiting on my own (though I'd much prefer to join a Mexico TPR tour if another is offered in the future).

Any launched coaster can have rollbacks, but they are rare on magnetic launch coasters unless there is a power interruption. LSMs have to be carefully synchronized to the train and are constantly monitored by the computer, so if the speed is off by just a little bit or the computer faults the system will shut down and stop the train. Weight distribution is always a factor and the wing coaster trains have a lot more drag than most launched coasters, so high winds could be a problem, but I'm guessing B&M has limits on both to minimize chances of a rollback (plus I'm not sure how windy Holiday World actually gets). When all this is taken into consideration, and with the speed shown in the testing video, I'm guessing it is very unlikely the ride will ever have a rollback during normal operation. If you had no weight in the front of the train, a lot of weight in the back of the train, and a really strong headwind it would probably happen, but that's mostly a fictional scenario.

I'm glad that the park is using a three car train and I wouldn't be surprised if the restraints allow for quicker loading than the retrofitted seatbelts on Six Flags's Premier coasters, but this is still going to have major capacity issues. I'd be surprised if the capacity ends up being more than about 500 riders per hour. That said, Tempesto will be a fun ride, I just have a feeling a lot of visitors will be disappointed after waiting two hours for it.