rcdude

I found one last year that was pretty good but I don't remember what site it was on. I may still have the file on my computer but I believe it was at my grandmother's house so I'll have to wait until I get back over there to look for it.

Yes, that is essentially correct, however aluminium is actually weaker because it has a higher resistivity because the strength of an eddy current is inversely proportional to the resistivity of the metal used. In a lab I did in my physics class, an aluminum plate on a pendulum would swing back and forth a couple times when swung between a pair of magnets but a copper comb would completely stop on the first pass. This is essentially the opposite of how the brakes on Intimidator 305 work (fixed fins and moving magnets (ride) versus fixed magnets and moving fins (lab)). I believe copper is the most common material to make fins out of for roller coasters due to its low resistivity. It also seems like most fins are the right color to be copper.

Based on the most recent video it looks like the trim makes this a top ten coaster instead of a top five coaster. It still looks like Kings Dominion's best ride and one of the best coasters out there period. It just might not be as good as it was originally. I don't see how this is a big deal. Either way, I'll find out in August, but for all I know the trims could be lessened, increased, or gone by that time.

I really think people are making a much bigger deal out of this than they should. Yes, I would have preferred to ride it without trims when I visit in August, but how much does it really matter? I305 looks like a good ride and I'm sure that a difference of a few miles per hour won't make it horrible. It may be more GP friendly but what is the point of a park installing a ride if half the people visiting the park won't want to ride it or complain about it? I do not know what will happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if they do some testing of it this week while the park is closed and try to get it just right before Memorial Day weekend. If people are going to complain about the ride, they should either avoid the ride or just not visit the park and make the line shorter for the people who don't really care if it has a trim brake. To be honest, I might actually enjoy the ride better if you don't black out.

GhostRider: Even though this ride is rough, I still think it is a really good ride. I always ride it in the first three cars as the first ride of the day, and since the ride hasn't had a chance to warm up yet it is running slower and isn't that rough, plus the front is rougher than the back. Giant Dipper (both): For their age, both of these rides are really good. The Santa Cruz Giant Dipper is one of the best wooden coasters in California, and the San Diego one is still worth a ride if I'm in the area. Blue Streak (CP): This ride has a lot of airtime, but isn't heard about too often because of all the bigger and better coasters at Cedar Point. It is also one of the more difficult coasters to find because it is not directly on a main walkway but is instead back a bit, which means it typically has a short line compared to the park's other coasters. Edit: forgot the steel coasters. California Screamin': Few people consider this ride a good thrill ride because it is at a Disney park but this is one of my top ten steel coasters. The ride is extremely long, completely smooth, and it is probably the best ride for an entire family I've ever ridden (intense enough to excite thrill-seekers, but also tame enough that few people have a problem with it). Flight Deck (CGA): The best inverted coaster in California. Despite its size, this ride packs a massive punch. Riddler's Revenge: Most people aren't a fan of the stand-up coaster, but this is certainly the best. I haven't ever found it uncomfortable to ride as long as the seat is adjusted correctly, and it also has a pretty good layout.

^^Okay, that makes a lot of sense. I didn't think about a minimum rider requirement because I've rarely had to wait for enough riders (except on Psyclone (formerly) at SFMM). I've also had the vomit thing happen and while it is annoying it is better than riding in a wet/messy train.

I highly doubt that is the intent behind low capacity/bad ride operators. It doesn't even make sense. They couldn't possibly sell enough Flashpasses to offset the amount of people they would be pissing off. Not even Six Flags is that dumb. This may not occur very often, but I am relatively convinced that Six Flags did it at one point. When I visited Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in 2008, every ride in the park except Medusa (and Tony Hawk, obviously) was only running one train. At that time, the park had signs in the lines stating the approximate wait time and saying if you didn't want to wait, you could buy the Flash Pass. I timed it on Roar, V2, and Kong, and on all three of those the time on the sign matched up with the actual wait time. They were all running one train, and Roar and Kong had the second train sitting on the transfer track. It looked like it could have been used, although there may have been a mechanical problem with the train I couldn't see. The worst part was when I rode Medusa. The ride was running two trains and was dispatching them so slow it was almost as if the ride was running one. The second train would stop on the brakes outside of the station before the ride operators had even opened the loading gates to allow guests onto the ride. However, whenever Flash Pass people arrived and were loaded onto the train (I think they waited for about five to ten of them to show up then loaded them into two or three rows), the operators would have it dispatched before the other train even reached the brake run. This was the case both times I rode it that day and made the wait over a half hour even though it was just from the point where you picked your row (maybe six or seven trains). I noticed that operators on other rides would attempt to dispatch the train as quickly as possible when Flash Pass people were riding as well, but would take their time when it was just people from the regular line. That day was a weekday, and for some reason there was almost no line for any of the non-coaster rides, but all the coasters were at least a half-hour wait (except Cobra). The only ride where the employees seemed to have their act together was Tony Hawk's Big Spin, but due to the ride's capacity and newness it still had quite a bit of a wait. Now, it may be just me but I'm pretty sure that the park was intentionally creating long lines just to sell their Flashpasses, and even if they weren't there is no reason ride operators should be so inconsistent (or have four minute dispatches in the first place).

I'm guessing that if a ride is running only one train it is for one of the following reasons: 1. There are no other available trains either because the ride only has one train, there is a mechanical issue with the other train(s) or because all other trains are in the process of refurbishment. At seasonal parks, it is rare for trains to be refurbished during the season but at year-round parks it happens all the time. 2. It would be unsafe to run more than one train. This is especially common when it is raining due to the possibility of a train to overshoot the brakes when they are wet, and is the case on every shuttle coaster I know of (except Mr. Freeze). 3. It is a low crowd day and the park doesn't see a need to operate more than one train. I see this all the time during the winter at my local parks because most of the time a park won't run two trains when there is at most a two or three train wait and it would take additional people to add a second train without stacking. 4. The park wants to encourage guests to buy their skip the line passes. I have only seen this at Six Flags (more at Discovery Kingdom than Magic Mountain) where they were running one train on everything or running two trains with a minimum three minute dispatch interval. I find this to be a very bad tactic as it means the park may not be very crowded but you will still wait a half hour (at least) for any major ride. I have also found that some parks (most notably Knott's out of places I've visited) will run two trains but only load one. I am not entirely sure why they do this, but I assmue it is so that they can use both if the line gets long without having to shut the ride down to add an additional train. I really don't see why they don't load both trains in this case but I'm sure there is a reason for it.

I've found that GhostRider, Silver Bullet, and Pony Express are the three rides that have really slow moving lines with a single train. Jaguar and Xcelerator don't seem that bad with one train operation, although Jaguar usually doesn't get a long enough line to matter anyway (at least in my experience). Sierra Sidewinder is the one I've seen go both ways. With a fast crew they can get the train dispatched in about forty-five seconds to a minute, which means one train isn't that bad. However, I've also been on days where they don't seem to be able to load the train in under two minutes, which kills the already low capacity when there is only one train running. On Montezooma's Revenge and Boomerang, I certainly hope they are only running one train . I'm guessing that Montezooma's Revenge will stay there as long as the ride doesn't have any major malfunctions. It is one of Knott's better coasters and they really couldn't do much with the space it occupies if it were removed. I think the next coaster to be removed from Knott's will most likely be either Timberline Twister or Boomerang. I could actually see Jaguar being removed before Montezooma's Revenge or at the same time due to low ridership.

Adventure City...one place that I have not been to in over ten years but used to visit once every two or three months (at least). That place is perfect for anyone under 9 years old and even has a few rides that are exciting to adults. I doubt I'll ever get back there (at least in the near future) but I always enjoy seeing pictures of the parks I haven't visited in quite some time.

I would totally buy this if I had a Blu-Ray player, but unfortunately I don't and at the moment I don't plan to buy one. Hopefully all these will be released on Raw 5 or a later installment if they haven't been released already.

It's been a couple of years since I last went to Castle Amusement Park, but that place is still my favorite minor park in Southern California. While none of the three coasters are that great, the park does have a pretty good log flume and the best S&S ride I've been on. They've also got a few other rides you don't see often at major amusement parks anymore, and for the price it's a great place to visit for three or four hours (but gets a little boring after about six). Scandia Amusement Park, on the other hand...well, I can't remember when I was last there because I'm just not a fan of the place. They do have a good roller coaster, but there isn't enough other stuff there to keep me interested for more than two hours. I want to go try the new drop tower at some point, but since it is close to an hour drive from where I live I don't see that happening any time soon. Great photos of parks that don't have many trip reports. I can't wait to see part two.

For LIM it would be California Screamin'. For any magnetic launch it would be Maverick. For any launch system it would be Xcelerator. For worst launch period it would be Pony Express.

Xcelerator on Thursday to end a great day at Knott's.

The only coaster I've been on when it was racing is Colossus, but I imagine Gemini would be better. Unfortunately, they were only running one track during my visit.

It depends on my definition of home park. I consider any park within a two hour drive to be a home park, which would create a bit of a list. However, for the parks I most frequently (or used to frequent most often), I would say Space Mountain for Disneyland, California Screamin' for Disney's California Adventure, and Xcelerator for Knott's Berry Farm. Of course, two of those three don't have much competition within their respective park.

I wasn't expecting this to happen, but I am not entirely surprised by it. Shapiro has been doing a number of great things for the parks, but it almost seems like the direction he was taking would have caused problems in the long run. If the parks stopped adding thril rides, or severely cut back on them, they would probably lose customers who are expecting that type of thing. Six Flags, however, cannot just be mega roller coasters and nothing else, as that has been proven to not work already. Hopefully they can find a good middle ground so they will appeal to all ages, which is kind of what the Paramount parks did.

Waiting four trains to ride Canyon Blaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain because I didn't have the credit. This was on a day when everything else in the park except X2 was at most a three train wait. Going over and waiting in line for the Sea Serpent at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk comes pretty close too, but that was only a couple minutes on a day when nothing had a line (at least during most of the day).

Since I've only been on 10 B&M Coasters I can't do more than this without including nearly all of them. Top 3: 1. Tatsu (SFMM) 2. Riddler's Revenge (SFMM) 3. Raptor (CP) Worst: Vortex (CGA)

I don't really have a best or a worst for river rapids rides. Instead, I split them into two categories, above average and average. Above Average: Grizzly River Run (Disney's California Adventure) Shipwreck Rapids (SeaWorld San Diego) Average: Bigfoot Rapids (Knott's Berry Farm) Rip Roaring Rapids (California's Great America) Roaring Rapids (Six Flags Magic Mountain) White Water Safari (Six Flags Discovery Kingdom) I could not pick a best from the two above average ones, but if I had to pick a worst I would probably say White Water Safari. The ride gets you plenty wet, but most of it comes from water cannons the guests activate and not from the ride itself (other than the waterfall).

^Yes it is, and that is my favorite. I am guessing this poll was made before 2009 and hasn't been updated so I just voted for my second favorite, Roar (SFDK).

Roughest Steel Coasters I've Ridden: Boomerang (Knott's) Corkscrew (Cedar Point) High Roller (Stratosphere) Kong (SFDK) Roller Coaster (New York, New York) Timberline Twister (Knott's) Vortex (CGA) Windjammer Surf Racers (Knott's) Roughest Wooden Coasters I've Ridden: Mean Streak (Cedar Point) Psyclone (SFMM) Most Painful Coasters I've Ridden Without Them Being Rough: Pony Express (Cedar Point) Spellbreaker (Legoland)

I've only been on 4, but I would say: 1. Raptor (Cedar Point) 2. Flight Deck (California's Great America) 3. Silver Bullet (Knott's Berry Farm) 4. Batman The Ride (Six Flags Magic Mountain) I'll be adding at least one (if not two) more to this list because I will be riding Afterburn and Alpengeist this August.

There are a number of tunnels that I like: Goliath-It always looks impossibly small from the top of the hill. Magnum XL-200-Three tunnels including one with surprise airtime if you've never been on it before. Maverick-Love the surprise launch with almost no warning in near darkness. Millennium Force-The train goes through the tunnels so quickly they just flash by. Terminator Salvation: The Ride-How do you not enjoy a tunnel you're told to take?

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's California Adventure is my favorite drop ride because it is just an outstanding ride overall and it actually drops more vertical feet than any other drop tower during the ride (although it is never in true freefall). However, this ride is so different from a standard drop tower that it is hard to count it. My top three standard drop towers are: 1. Drop Tower (California's Great America) 2. Power Tower (Cedar Point) 3. Supreme Scream (Knott's Berry Farm) I'm not a huge fan of shot towers (except double shots) or drop towers under two hundred feet (not as thrilling) but will still ride then if I'm at the park and the line isn't more than fifteen or twenty minutes.