rcdude

I thought it was Revolution at Six Flags Magic Mountain, but since Windjammer Surf Racers closed in March of 2000 and my first visit to Six Flags Magic Mountain was in the summer of that year I guess it must have been Windjammer.

Out of all the parks I've been to, I'd say Cedar Point, Dollywood, Holiday World, and the Disney parks (both California and Paris) probably had the most efficient operations. While there are a couple exceptions at each park, all of these seemed to be running as many ride vehicles as possible on their attractions, or at least did the best they could with what they were running.

Great pictures! It looks like they've got pretty good conditions up there already. Hopefully Utah's are decent for me when I go over New Year's, because I want to have a reason to bring my ski report thread back for a third season. I'll be sure to keep an eye on this thread, as there are a number of ski areas in the Pacific Northwest I hope to visit one day (including Mt. Baker and pretty much everything else on your list).

I like both series, and own every RAW DVD and every Coaster Expedition DVD. For the most part, I've found that I watch the RAW DVDs once, then only go back to them if I get the urge to view a POV of a particular coaster (usually before I'm going on a trip that might involve said coaster or if a discussion comes up about that ride), while I rewatch most of the Coaster Expeditions about once a year (not every segment, but I probably watch 2/3 to 3/4 of the series over time throughout the year). The Coaster Expedition series is a lot more entertaining and really seems to show more of what TPR is about, as the RAW series is just coaster POVs and off-ride shots, which can get boring after a while. So I voted Coaster Expedition. As for the age of footage, I wouldn't care if it was ten years old especially if the parks haven't been featured yet. Footage from the 2009 Scandi trip would probably be most interesting to me, as a number of those parks have not been featured yet or were only one one previous DVD and they are parks I'd like to visit at some point. Most of the US parks have been featured on multiple volumes, so a US Coaster Expedition wouldn't be as appealing. That being said, I'd rather have a new Coaster Expedition featuring all the parks in California that I visit regularly than a RAW 8 that only has a handful of major coasters. What I would probably enjoy most would be to have one DVD set each year, containing a Coaster Expedition disk featuring all the new parks, top tier parks, and parks that haven't been featured for a while, and a RAW disk that features the new major coasters, both wood and steel (and possibly other attractions like dark rides, etc.). I don't know how well that would sell, but it would probably be a good medium versus focusing on one series over the other.

Overall, La Ronde is the only park I've been to with universally poor operations. I will give them credit for running two trains on a few rides (Goliath, Monstre (two trains on each track with both tracks running), and Vampire), but other than that operations were awful. The worst offender was Ednor...one train operation, a capacity goal of 300 people per hour (according to the sign behind the operator's booth), and a 45 minute wait WITH a Gold Flash Pass. Dispatch times on the park's other coasters (except Goliath) were often 60-90 seconds longer than those on similar rides elsewhere, and it routinely took over two minutes to load the 12 person S&S tower (most parks I've been to can do this in about 90 seconds). Other parks where I've experienced isolated incidents of poor operations include: Busch Gardens Williamsburg: Everything at this park was run efficiently except Alpengeist. Only two trains running and they stacked more often than not (the ride is over three minutes long and therefore should not be stacking). Knott's Berry Farm: The park has improved a lot recently (on my visit a couple weeks ago, everything except Xcelerator was running two trains, I didn't see any stacking on GhostRider or Silver Bullet, the Calico Mine Ride had three trains running, and Supreme Scream was using all three towers despite the longest lines in the park being in the 15-20 minute range), but Sierra Sidewinder and Pony Express still have pretty slow operations. Pony Express gets a pass as they are inherent to the ride, but it seems like Sierra Sidewinder shouldn't require 1:45 to dispatch as there are only 16 seats per train. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: During my 2008 visit, Medusa was running two trains. Usually, the train would return to the station and stack before the loading gates were even open (the ride is over 3 minutes long). Whether it is a coincidence or not, this did not occur on the trains containing Flash Pass users, and those would almost always be dispatched with no stacking at all. Six Flags Magic Mountain: The Tatsu crew cannot seem to get it together, and even though they are supposed to be doing 90 second dispatches (according to the timer in the station), I rarely see the trains dispatched in under three minutes. I've seen other B&M flyers (namely Superman: Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Great Adventure) operated with no stacking, so it should be possible to do the same on Tatsu. Green Lantern: First Flight and Superman: Escape from Krypton also tend to have very slow operations, but this is more due to the design of the attraction and not the crew operating the ride. Other coasters tend to be hit or miss, except for Goliath (which never seems to have bad operations). Also, it's no longer operating, but Speed-The Ride in Las Vegas used to only launch once every 10-15 minutes. Understandable when nobody is riding, but this policy was in effect even when the station had at least two trains worth of people waiting.

I think I've only been on three actual train rides at parks: Knott's Calico Railroad, the Disneyland Railroad, and BGW's Train. Of the three, the Disneyland Railroad is probably my favorite, with the BGW Train coming in at a really close second. Both of these are not only excellent transportation systems, but they give good views of the park as well (and Disneyland's has the bonus Grand Canyon/Primeval World segment to add variety). The Calico Railroad is fun as well, but it's just a loop around the Boardwalk section of the park. In general, when I'm visiting a park for the first time I'll only use a train ride for transportation purposes. On return visits, however, I usually will try to do a full lap at least once, as well as doing any non-transport railroad attractions. The one train ride I wish I would have done but didn't is Dollywood's. I've heard this is a really good one, but unfortunately a thunderstorm shut down the attraction so I was unable to ride on my visit. I also may have been on one or two others not listed above, but I only count full size trains as railroads and simply refer to smaller electric trains (the kind built specifically for an amusement park) under the track ride category.

Next year is looking like a significantly smaller year than the previous few since I won't be on a TPR trip, but I'm still planning a decent number of visits. Local: Knott's Berry Farm-several visits (season pass) Six Flags Magic Mountain-several visits (season pass) Disneyland Resort-One visit, possibly only to Disneyland SeaWorld San Diego-Only if I plan a trip to visit Aquatica California Belmont Park-Only if I visit SeaWorld San Diego Adventure City-Mainly just to ride their new coaster Universal Studios Hollywood-Unlikely, but possible Likely Non-Local: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Six Flags Discovery Kingdom California's Great America Possible Non-Local: Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park (dependent on what discounts I can find) Adventuredome (and other Las Vegas area coasters) Lagoon (extremely unlikely) Parks hosting bashes on Texas/MidWest (extremely unlikely)

Montezooma's Revenge at Knott's Berry Farm on Sunday.

This should be great for the park. I suspected something was up when the link to it's page disappeared from Knott's website a couple months ago. It's already a nice water park (in my opinion the best of the three Knott's Soak City parks), and SeaWorld can only make it better. If I remember right it's only about 15 minutes or so from SeaWorld San Diego itself so I doubt the distance is going to be that big of an issue. Too bad it's at least 90 minutes from my house or I would make an effort to get down there next summer. I've now got to wonder how long the Palm Springs location will remain a part of Cedar Fair. Buying that park always struck me as odd (even more odd than buying the San Diego Location). I wouldn't be surprised to see that place sold to an independent party or a chain that specializes in waterparks within the next couple years.

For whether a modified coaster counts as a new credit or not, I use the following rule: Once a coaster has been counted as a credit, it cannot be counted as a new credit unless... A. A significant portion of the layout has been modified B. The ride has recieved new trains that dramatically alter the ride experience, or C. More than 60% of the track has been replaced during a single refurbishment Using the listed examples... Hades: Not a new credit: adding a barrel roll is not a signifcant change, just the additon of a new element Phantom's Revenge: New credit: completely new layout with a majority of the track replaced Son of Beast: Not a new credit: removal of the loop is just the removal of one element Batman and Robin: The Chiller: Not a new credit: similar reasons to the above Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast: Not a new credit: reversing the trains isn't a dramatic alteration of the ride experience, especially on a shuttle coaster New Texas Giant: New credit: the ride has been converted from a wood coaster to a steel coaster with 100% track replacement Iron Rattler: New credit: same reasons as New Texas Giant Boulder Dash: Not a new credit: only a small section of track was modified Intimidator 305: Not a new credit: the layout remained the same and only the profile was adjusted I haven't actually been on any of these rides in multiple forms, but this is how I would count them if I had.

I don't think Rolling Thunder is horrible, but I also don't think its worth more than about a two train wait. When they are actually racing the trains, it can be fun, but otherwise it's the worst big coaster at the park and I definitely wouldn't care if it was removed. Out of all the coasters in the park, it seems like the most likely candidate for removal as well (if the park is indeed removing a coaster in the near future, that is).

Pleasant Surprise: Rebel Yell & Thunder Road: I thought both of these would be boring and rough, but the only bad ride I had was Thunder Road in a wheel seat. While not an amazing ride, they were both fun and the racing on Thunder Road added to it (unfortunately, Rebel Yell wasn't racing). Mighty Canadian Minebuster: This ride was a lot more fun than I was expecting. Not really rough at all, just uneventful. Still, I ended up riding twice on my visit to the park. Ghoster Coaster(s): They may be small, but they're better than 1/3 to 1/2 of the full size woodies I've been on. Space Mountain: Mission 2: Based on everything I'd heard about this ride, I thought it would be extremely rough and not very good. However, I really enjoyed it, and ended up riding three times during my day at Disneyland Paris this past summer. While it is a bit rough, I've certainly been on worse. Dragon Fire: Simple ride, just didn't beat me up nearly as bad as some others with the same (or a very similar) layout. Carolina Goldrusher: Currently my favorite Arrow Mine Train, this ride has good pacing and enough elements to keep it interesting without dull spots. It also isn't as rough as some of the others. SkyRider: This is the one Togo I've been on that I'd consider a good ride. I was expecting a rough and painful ride like Shockwave, but this coaster was so much better that I rode it twice on my visit even though the ride doesn't have Fast Lane. Unpleasant Surprise: Raven: From everything I'd heard about this ride, I expected it to be outstanding, but it disappointed and ended up being my least favorite of Holiday World's three wooden coasters (although it was the least rough of the three). Wooden Warrior: This ride was just a total letdown for me. Sure, it was fun, but based on what I'd been hearing before my visit it sounded like a top 25 woodie. Personally, I don't even think it belongs in the top 50. This is one ride where I'm guessing my opinion is in the vast minority, but even after four rides in four different seats (including the front and back), I'd still consider it "just okay." Maybe riding it early in the morning (just after park opening) had something to do with that. American Thunder: Still a great ride, but didn't enjoy this as much as most other GCIs I've been on. Yankee Cannonball: Another coaster that I thought would be better than it was, although I only rode during a morning ERT session so my experience may be affected by that. GhostRider: When the ride's running well, I really like it. However, it seems to vary between an acceptable level of roughness and rough enough to give a pleasant ride. Since you can never predict this, it sometimes counts as an unpleasant experience. Intimidator 305: I'm not a huge fan of coasters with high positive gs or really quick directional changes, so this ride didn't rank too highly on my list. Dark Knight: I expected it to be bad, but it was worse than I thought it would be. Shame DC Comics is owned by Six Flags, because I think almost any other company could do this ride better. Canyon Blaster (Great Escape): Worst Mine Train I've been on anywhere. Rough, boring, and a very anticlimactic ending.

My first boomerang was the one at Knott's Berry Farm. I can't remember whether it was my first shuttle coaster or not, but I do remember that I thought it was really good at first. After two or three rides, however, I began to not like it so much. I've now been on seven different boomerangs, some better than the Knott's one and some worse (more better than worse). While I still consider a smooth boomerang a decent coaster, the rough ones aren't really worth riding if you've got the credit. For someone who only visits a small number of parks, they are great rides, but when you travel around they do become somewhat boring and repetitive.

I love watching these videos every year. It's an excellent way to get an overview of what is going on in the industry that isn't directly apparent at the parks. I also really like the addition of reader's questions this year, as it adds a bit of variety to what the manufacturers discuss. I'm looking forward to further installments in the near future.

Great coverage of the show. I can't wait for the video coverage to see how the manufacturers respond to whatever random questions you choose to ask them. I'm still undecided how I feel about Hades having a barrel roll. On one hand, it's unique, but on the other I feel that it is a bit of a gimmick. Wooden coasters have done fine for many years without inversions, so they seem somewhat unnecessary. I just hope that we don't see tons of older wooden coasters receiving inversions and a majority of new ones built with them from the start, as the novelty would quickly wear off. At least Hades will hopefully recieve some trackwork and run better with new trains as well (I haven't been on it, but everything I've heard indicates it's gotten as rough as GhostRider).

Wood: 1. El Toro 2. Voyage 3. Boulder Dash 4. Thunderhead 5. Ravine Flyer II 6. Apocalypse the Ride 7. American Thunder 8. Legend 9. Raven 10. Comet (Great Escape) Steel: 1. Bizarro (Six Flags New England) 2. Tatsu 3. Maverick 4. Top Thrill Dragster 5. Kingda Ka 6. Millennium Force 7. Leviathan 8. Intimidator 9. Griffon 10. Apollo's Chariot If combining the lists, El Toro and Voyage fit between Bizarro and Tatsu, and Boulder Dash fits between Tatsu and Maverick.

Saw Skyfall yesterday. It was great. While it may not be my favorite Bond film, I'd definitely place it in the top five and say it's the best of the three Craig films. The movie felt a lot more like the classic Bond films than Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace did, but it had a unique plot with a somewhat unexpected conclusion. If you're a Bond fan, see this, and even if you're not it's still a good action movie. B+

Isn't the Studio Tour the oldest attraction by default? It is what started the place after all. As for Terminator, I'll miss it but as long as they put in a good replacement I'm fine with its removal. The show is enjoyable, but dated, and the movie series is no longer that popular. If the show is running until the end of the year, however, I doubt it's replacement will be ready for Summer 2013 even if it's just a carbon copy of Despicable Me from Florida.

Premier: If the block sections allowed, could a loop like the one on Full Throttle support a train on both the inside and outside simultaneously?

Vekoma: Will we ever see track features found on coasters you've designed for Disney (such as the reversing sections found on Expedition Everest and Big Grizzly Mountain) used on a non-Disney coaster?

Vekoma: Many of your installations use a track design where the guide wheels run on the inside of the rails, but your recent designs have switched to the more common method of guide wheels outside the rails. What prompted this switch, and what are some of the benefits of using this system versus the older style?

The biggest issue with Jaguar (and also with Pony Express) is the 48" height restriction. For Pony Express, it is inherent due to the restraint design, but Jaugar ran for quite a while (I want to say six years) with a 42" height restriction before the addition of seatbelts forced it to be raised to 48", and if you're tall enough to ride every coaster in the park except Xcelerator and Silver Bullet the ride no longer holds the same appeal (hence why it rarely has more than a two train wait anymore). It's a decent family coaster that could benefit from a new set of trains, but replacing it with a whole new coaster (especially another family coaster) would probably be a wasted investment.

The only way I could see three trains working on Full Throttle would be if the ride used separate load and unload stations. Assuming it launches directly out of the station like almost all other Premier coasters, the dispatch interval is limited by the ride cycle time (which I'd estimate is about 70 seconds based on the promo video). If the trains just have a lapbar like the ones on Superman Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, they should be able to make this interval (if the Goliath crew can send a 30 person train in 60 seconds, the Full Throttle crew should be able to do that with an 18 person train), giving a capacity of around 900 riders per hour (based on the 70 second interval). Since a third train would be stacked most of the time, I can't see it increasing capacity by more than a few percent. Of course, I believe it has been confirmed by the park that the ride will only have two trains, so this is somewhat of a pointless discussion. I've got a feeling this ride will have better capacity than many are expecting. 900 riders per hour might not sound like a lot, and is definitely one of the lower theoretical capacities for a major coaster at SFMM, but it is still probably only a couple hundred less than the actual capacity at many of the park's other coasters, and is definitely better than anything else at that park can do with one train. I just hope the park is smart enough to run both trains daily, staff the ride with an efficient crew, and schedule necessary rehabs in November through February instead of spring break or summer (and not drag the rehab out for three months).

Mack Q2: What are the limitations of the track system used on your water coasters, and could a full coaster be built using it?

Mack Q1: We've recently seen you branch out from family coasters to thrill coasters with Blue Fire and a couple other similar rides. Do you have more unique thrill attractions planned for the future?