rcdude

X2 requires an upcharge and is only available on Gold or Platinum. Full Throttle and Superman do not require an upcharge, but you must get Platinum in order to use Flash Pass on them and you may only use it once per ride. My guess is that Twisted Colossus will have the same restrictions as Full Throttle and Superman for the first year or so (that's what Goliath used at SFGAm), then it will become unrestricted once lines shrink to a manageable level. It's possible the park could have no Flash Pass at all for the first couple months (I believe they did this on Full Throttle), but as capacity should be reasonable for Twisted Colossus and that ride would be the main reason to purchase Platinum over Gold I'd be a little surprised if they did that. It's also possible they could charge extra for Twisted Colossus, but I'm guessing they'd end up making more money by not upcharging the ride.

Okay, that POV just reinforces my thoughts that this will be the best non-RMC coaster of 2015. I've got a feeling most are going to regard this as the best B&M Hyper, and possibly even the best North American B&M. While I doubt it will happen in 2015, between Fury 325, Dollywood (which I love but haven't visited since 2010), and Six Flags Over Georgia (which I've never visited), I think a Deep South trip might be at the top of my list for my next theme park trip. It's interesting to compare the reception Fury 325 seems to be getting with the reception Leviathan got. A lot of people thought Leviathan would be good but not great when testing videos were released, yet I know very few enthusiasts who have ridden it and don't have the ride in at least their top 25. Based on the early testing videos, Fury 325 is getting a lot of positive reception from enthusiasts. Fortunately, I think this one will live up to the hype and not give an underwhelming ride.

Indiana Jones Adventure may be twenty years old, but I still think it's one of the best theme park attractions ever created. I remember first riding it in 1996 or 1997 and finding the ride both awesome and terrifying (I would have been five or six at the time). The ride is still my favorite attraction at the Disneyland Resort and my favorite dark ride anywhere. As for the picture, I'm pretty sure the left is the rolling boulder, so the track in front would be the dart corridor and the section behind that the mudslide and skull room. I love seeing pictures that show off the spatial relationships of dark rides because some of them feel huge inside when there's often just a wall between scenes. It's also amazing how little elevation change the ride has compared to what it feels like it has when you're on it.

Fury 325 looks great! This is probably going to be the best non-RMC coaster to open in 2015, and it has definitely put Carowinds at the top of my re-visit list.

Twisted Colossus just keeps getting more and more awesome with each new update. It will be interesting to see if any part of the top gun stall or zero-g roll has changed from the initial rendering.

Here's my top ten, including all manufacturers: 1. Banshee (Kings Island) 2. Afterburn (Carowinds) 3. Alpengeist (Busch Gardens Williamsburg) 4. Raptor (Cedar Point) 5. Volcano, The Blast Coaster (Kings Dominion) 6. Talon (Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom) 7. Deja Vu (Six Flags Magic Mountain) 8. Flight Deck (California's Great America) 9. Wicked Twister (Cedar Point) 10. Vertical Velocity (Six Flags Great America) Wow, I guess Cedar Fair dominates the inverted coaster market (at least in North America).

I was pretty neutral on the name at first, but after seeing the recent pictures the name Twisted Colossus definitely fits the ride. Once it's done, this will probably be the best looking ride at the park (and quite possibly the best as well). It will be busy. Expect waits of at least an hour for major coasters. If getting on everything is essential, a Gold or Platinum Flash Pass is recommended. If you go on Easter itself the crowds may be a little smaller, but probably not enough to make a significant difference in wait times.

1. Do you have your videos set to auto-play on your: a. desktop computer and/or b. mobile device? (or if you don't know, just tell us if the videos auto-play or not in your newsfeed.) Yes on my desktop, no on my mobile device. 2. Do you regularly "share" content from Facebook "page" (like the TPR page) to your own personal Facebook page? And have you shared something from the TPR page? I rarely share content from Facebook pages, but I have shared TPR content a couple times. 3. What kind of content are you most likely to share? (Videos, Photos, News Stories, etc?) I'll share content of any medium, and it is more dependent on the content itself. I only share stuff that I feel would be of significant interest to a majority of my friends, not just a group of them. When it comes to TPR content, it either needs to be related to one of my home parks or a TPR trip/event I participated in for me to share it. 4. How long on average do you watch a video posted to Facebook for? Do you watch the entire video? First 30 seconds? Until you get bored? It depends on the video, but usually I'll watch for about a minute and then decide whether to finish it. If it's a lengthy video (over 5 minutes) or one I've seen before I'll stop it immediately. With TPR videos, I usually only watch through the POV section unless it's a ride I really haven't seen before. 5. How important are "video thumbnails" to you? (the image you see with the > Play icon before you click to watch a video) Not at all important. I look at the video description when deciding whether or not to watch a video. 6. What do you like/dislike about Facebook? What features do you use the most and which ones annoy you? I mainly use Facebook to see status updates from friends and other pages that I follow. I also sometimes use the chat feature and occasionally play games. I dislike the way Facebook formats the news feed, as well as the advertisements and suggested pages that always appear in it. I also do not like clickbait posts and will block/unfollow a page that posts this type of content too frequently. To me, the most annoying parts of facebook are being invited to play games (especially ones I've already declined) and the general lack of intelligence in almost every public comment section. 7. Is there anything that TPR does or doesn't do on Facebook that you think we should be doing more/less of? I can't think of anything off-hand. Maybe a little less of the questioning posts, but as long as the comments are monitored to minimize brain cell loss I don't have a problem with those (BTW, TPR does the best job of monitoring comments of any Facebook page I follow).

Have you even looked at Cannibal? It's not just a basic Eurofighter, it's a custom ride built by the park that's over 200 ft tall and 3,000 ft long with an elevator lift and extensive theming. Anybody would consider that a pretty big coaster, especially at a mid-size park. If Darien Lake wants a new thrill coaster, they could get a Eurofighter, an El Loco, or even a Chance Hyper GT-X for $7-10 million, and all of those would be a good fit for the park. A GCI would probably be in the same price range as those and would also be a nice fit. Point is, there's plenty of affordable options for the park as long as you don't expect a giant coaster or a new B&M or Intamin (which would be more in the $20 million range). Does Darien Lake need a new coaster? Yes. Will they get one in the next few years? Possibly. Is it the biggest priority right now? No. But given how Elitch Gardens was on my visit last summer if you give Premier a couple years the park will be back in good shape, and then perhaps it will be time for a new headliner attraction.

Those lights are outstanding. Even though Carowinds is my least favorite of the major Cedar Fair parks, I really want to get back there to ride this ride.

Yeah, that's not likely. Darien Lake is not a major park like the places you mentioned, it is a mid-size park that is primarily in competition with Martin's Fantasy Island, Seabreeze, and Waldameer. Darien Lake currently has a better coaster line-up than at least two of those three and, for anyone without a passport to head to Canada's Wonderland, is easily the regional thrill capital. While they could use another big coaster (and their ride line-up in general is a bit lacking), there is no reason the park needs to or should even consider attempting to compete with the major parks. I visited Darien Lake a few year ago, and I'd consider the park one that is worth visiting if I'm in the area, but not one I'm going to make a significant detour for. Was it a bad park? No, it just doesn't have many unique attractions to attract visitors from outside the region. While it may be mediocre from the perspective of some enthusiasts, the park is a great place for locals, and if management is smart that is who they will aim their additions at.

In defense of Mean Streak, it does get a line at some points. My experience is pretty limited, but on one out of three days I've visited the park it did have a short line (10 minutes or so) despite it being a perfectly normal August weekday. I doubt it ever gets a much longer wait than that, and I wouldn't consider it one of the park's more popular rides, but there are definitely times when it is more than a station wait. In my opinion, it's only the third worst coaster in the park (even in its current form, I like it better than Cedar Creek Mine Ride or Corkscrew), but if RMC does redesign the attraction it will easily become one of the park's top coasters (maybe not #1, but absolutely the best non-Intamin).

Every time I see new pictures of Twisted Colossus I get more excited for this coaster. While it may not be the best RMC, it will almost certainly be the best thrill ride on the West Coast. I'm thinking I should try to make a trip to the park before spring break to get my pass processed and see the ride in person, as last time I visited they had just finished the first drop.

Great news about the Maverick restraints. While I've never had much of a problem with the current harnesses the new ones will still be an improvement. It also sounds like there is a lot of preparation going on for next year's new attraction. I'm glad Cedar Point is saving rides that can be relocated easily rather than just removing them, and improving the Wicked Twister midway is a good choice as that area seemed to be lacking compared to the rest of the park. As for the RMC tease, I would be very surprised if next year's coaster was an RMC. The company has stated they will be building three coasters in 2016 and there are just too many hints for other rides. However, I did hear a rumor around the time of IAAPA that Cedar Fair has been looking into testing the RMC conversion on another coaster in the chain (I want to say Timber Wolf at Worlds of Fun, but I don't remember for sure), and presumably if that is successful the technology may be used in other parks. If that ends up happening, Mean Streak would be a very likely candidate for a conversion, so perhaps the tease is relating to that possibly. Then again, it's also quite possible Cedar Point just wanted to mess with all the enthusiasts .

I've never thought about this before. Let's see... A: Afterburn B: Bizarro (Six Flags New England) C: Cornball Express (Luna Park's Cyclone is a very close second) D: Diamondback E: El Toro F: F*ll Thr*ttle (aka Full Throttle...not a profanity) G: Griffon H: Hydra the Revenge I: Intimidator J: Journey to Atlantis (SeaWorld San Diego) K: Kingda Ka L: Lightning Run M: Maverick N: Nitro O: Orient Express (Palace Playland) (hardly a favorite, but it's the only coaster I've ridden beginning with O) P: Phoenix Q: Quicksilver Express R: Ravine Flyer II S: Storm Runner (would be Stealth (CGA) but I haven't ridden the ride in its current form) T: Top Thrill Dragster U: Untamed V: Voyage W: Wicked X: Xcelerator Y: Yankee Cannonball Z: Zoomerang (Lake Compounce) Hey, I've got one for all 26 letters, and a majority of them (19/26) are in my top tier.

This was true for a period of time, but since the late 2000s the only B&M built with a pre-drop has been Hair Raiser. OzIris, Nitro (Adlabs Imagica), Banshee...they all have curved drops and lack a pre-drop. I'm not entirely sure what changed with the design (probably something with the chain dogs), but B&M has decided they are no longer necessary. While I still like them on B&M's smaller coasters, having one on a hyper is pretty awkward and just doesn't feel right, so I'm glad they've been eliminated from those designs at least.

Its the RMC track for Twisted Twins. There Starting to prep it early for next year wait so KK is giving twisted twins the RMC treatment? Basically Well, we don't know for sure yet, but it's a pretty good guess. GG could also do something like they did with Hades. I think twisted twins will stay wood because both sides could be connected and become the longest wooden coaster. This could be RMC s first wood makeover. From what I've been hearing, the popular guess is that Twisted Twins will receive a conversion similar to Twisted Colossus. The ride will be converted into a RMC steel coaster and will have both tracks combined into one longer ride that may be marketed as the world's longest hybrid coaster (though if I'm not mistaken Twisted Twins has a steel support structure and technically wouldn't be a hybrid). The ride may also break one or two other records as well. Of course, it's far too early to tell but if this does come true I might have to make another trip to Kentucky Kingdom in 2016. Twisted Twins isn't much smaller than Medusa, and from what I've heard Medusa Steel Coaster is just as good as the other conversions so far (some even say it's better). Granted, I've only seen a couple reviews, but based on that and Wicked Cyclone this year I'm sure Twisted Twins would be a top tier coaster if it was converted even if it's not quite as fast as other RMC rides.

A mat racer of some form would be a great addition to Kentucky Kingdom. It felt strange that the waterpark didn't have one, as they are somewhat of a staple of modern waterparks. Given how popular the waterpark is compared to the ride park, I'd be a little surprised if not one of the seven attractions was for it.

Assuming that the track serves some structural purpose, I'd much rather the park leave it in place than use money to remove it and build a new structure, as that money can then go into making the ride better. It may look a little odd, but it's certainly not going to affect the ride experience and serves as a reminder of what Colossus once was.

I doubt SF has any plans to build more Plug N Plays because they are very expensive. GADV never released an official price tag for Toro but the maintenance guys at the ride have told me it was about 28 million which is ALOT. Especially for a wooden coaster. I don't doubt that an Intamin woodie costs more than a standard wooden coaster, but given that Balder was $10 million (according to RCDB) that amount seems way high (it's about the price tag of a B&M Giga). I've always thought El Toro was about $15 million, which is still a lot for a wooden coaster (for reference, Voyage opened the same year and was $8.5 million and the RMC's have been about $10 million so far). In addition to the high price tag, I'm guessing Six Flags's relationship with Intamin probably had something to do with the lack of others being built, as well as the change in direction the company was taking in the late 2000s. Given the existence of RMC and the limited amount Six Flags can spend on any new addition, I highly doubt there will ever be another Intamin woodie in the chain (and given Cedar Fair's relationship with Intamin, I wouldn't be surprised if there's never another one in the US). One other possible factor could be the restrictiveness of the ride, as El Toro is definitely the most restrictive coaster I've been on. When I visited the park this summer, it seemed like every train had someone who was either too big to ride or who needed significant effort to get the bar down. I know people who have gotten on every coaster at Cedar Point yet couldn't fit on El Toro. I've even had to be rechecked on the ride a few times, and I'm only a little bigger than average. I don't know that this would have much to do with a decision not to purchase more, but I could definitely see it being a factor.

It's hard for me to vote because I visited three different Six Flags parks this year (two of which I'd visited previously) and had different experiences at each one. Six Flags Magic Mountain: This is one of my local parks and I visit several times each year. The park has definitely been on a roller coaster ride of it's own over the past 10-15 years. My experiences at the park this year were generally better than they have been in the past couple years, but not as good as they were in the Jay Thomas era. While the park does have a 2 train policy (aka rides with three trans will never run all three regardless of crowds...Twisted Colossus will be the only exception), operations were better this year than they have been and the park does seem to be focusing a bit more on upkeep. Holiday in the Park was also a good addition and I'm really hoping the Twisted Colossus/Screampunk District addition is a step in the right direction for the park and not a one-time thing. Six Flags Great America: My 2014 visit was the first visit to this park and I can't say it was a good one. There is nothing wrong with the physical park and it has a number of good rides, but the way the park was being run was terrible. Average 4 minute dispatches on coasters, lines of 90 minutes for a B&M running three trains, a 30 minute wait even with the Platinum Flash Pass, 20 minutes at a food counter with two people in front of you, etc. This was probably the worst guest service I've received at any major park and while I was able to ride almost everything I cared about it was a day filled with frustrations. Six Flags Great Adventure: I previously visited this park in 2011 before visiting in 2014. Overall, I thought that the park had improved, but there were some annoyances that weren't present on my previous visit. Operations on the park's major coasters (excluding El Toro) seemed slower than they had been previously, but at the same time the park was still running all available trains and pumping riders through faster than any other Six Flags park. Food quality seemed to have increased but speed of service was a bit slower. I also really liked the Safari Off-Road Adventure and the park overall felt more balanced than it was a few years ago. Overall, I'm going to call this one slightly positive, but mostly neutral. Based on these experiences, I'm going to say Six Flags as a chain may have improved slightly in 2014, but overall they're about the same as they have been. Based on reports, it sounds like some parks have been improving in recent years while others have declined. Hopefully Six Flags will put more focus on the parks that need work in upcoming years, as some parks need more than a new RMC.

Twisted Colossus is progressing at the speed it needs to in order to make a late May/early June opening. This is the second largest project of 2015 and is probably the most challenging, so it's not something that's going to go up quick. Based on the current state of construction, I think they'll meet their target opening. As you are visiting on a non-holiday weekend in the off-season, crowds will probably be moderate. Expect 30-60 minute waits for headliners assuming 2 train operation. If you had a full day or had visited the park before, I'd say a Flash Pass was optional, but since you'll likely be leaving late afternoon I'd recommend purchasing one (ideally Gold...don't waste money on Platinum). When the park opens, go straight to Full Throttle, then go retrieve your Flash Pass. After that, ride order doesn't matter too much, so just go in a logical sequence. I usually go counter-clockwise around the park to hit X2 mid-afternoon when lines are shortest (X2 is an upcharge on Gold Flash Pass). As for single rider, I'd recommend using it for Lex Luthor and Green Lantern (and Riddler's Revenge if you opt out of a Flash Pass). For all these attractions, just go up the exit and follow signs. For a first-time visitor to SFMM, the following are your priority attractions. Focus on these attractions before others. If you do not get a Flash Pass, I would do only priority attractions on your first lap around the park, and then do a second lap if time permits to pick up the rest. -Apocalypse the Ride -Batman The Ride -Full Throttle -Goliath -Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom -Riddler's Revenge -Superman: Escape from Krypton -Tatsu -X2

When I visited Cedar Point this summer, I thought GateKeeper was a solid B coaster. It's not something I'd go out of the way for, but it's definitely worth a ride if I'm at the park. I don't consider it one of Cedar Point's top coasters, but I do think it is in the upper half of their lineup. The ride is very similar to Scream! or Silver Bullet in that it is a fun ride but not an overly unique or intense one, and while most would not consider it a must ride few would consider it skippable.

Top Thrill Dragster, though Lightning Run is a very close second place. Full Throttle and Xcelerator are up there as well.

Beast will never receive a RMC conversion. There is almost no reason to do so, as it is one of the park's most popular rides and is still generally considered a top tier wooden coaster. Unless something happened that caused it to become unbearably rough or maintenance got prohibitively expensive, I don't think it will ever change significantly. There are wooden coasters in the Cedar Fair chain that I think would benefit from a RMC conversion. Beast is not one of them.