tororific

yeah, now that operations are down and guests are familiar with it, that thing is a GREAT people eater. And although i wasn't terribly impressed with it last year, for some reason I really enjoyed riding it this past week, particularly in the front 2 rows, where the first drop and that slow hang time in the first inversion is great. It was a good investment for CP -- can really handle the summer crowds. MF dispatch is surprisingly slow -- they no longer use the lift as a potential block to allow dispatch before the train hits the final brakes, so it is always a three train stack.

Odd -- I was browsing that exact same video today as well . ..... would have been very cool to ride over the top at that speed. Over, even better, Xcelerator at the testing speeds show in that video above -- WOW.

Nice report - love Kennywood, but haven't been in ages (since the Phantom first opened, not the Revenge). It's sacrilege to say that Thunderbolt didn't "do much" for you, though! That coaster is a classic -- the ravine drops in the back seat are things of beauty.

How in the world could Helix cost $36 million? Barring some extreme conversion rate in the currency, I can't see it costing $11M more than Gatekeeper, which is about the same length, but has a much higher structure (more cost for all the support beams), wider track (more steel), more expensive trains, and is by a company (B&M) not known for being a bargain manufacturer (vs. Mack). the launch technology can't be the difference in cost. I would think this has to be either an artifact of the currency conversion or the labor or import/transport costs for steel are astronomical in Sweden. getting back to Holiday World -- I hope they keep it simple if they go with Steel. Just go for a low-to-the-ground terrain hugger with great airtime and turns, like the far end of the Voyage or the return leg of Magnum. Don't waste time with inversions or launch issues (read: maintenance nightmares). Look what Kentucky Kingdom achieved with something as simple as Lightning run. Airtime, some speed, blasting through the trees, some high speed turns, and you've a got a long-lasting crowd pleaser. You're welcome. (I hope bridges weren't burned with Intamin because, as others mentioned, a Mega Lite, with lots of low-to-ground, terrain twists and turns a la Intamin style, would be PERFECT in my view.)

I drove my family out to CP from Chicago on thursday evening and was in the park this morning when it all went haywire. Naturally, I did not have my cell phone on me and my wife and daughter were back at Hotel Breakers incommunicado. It was kind of cool to be the only ones in the park (the early entry crowd), with the prospect of having it to ourselves for the 3-4 hours (that was the initial estimate for repairs and there was an early thought that they might just prohibit new entries, but let the existing people in the park stay). That said, I thought the park evacuation was done very smoothly and the crowd was surprisingly civil (for what I saw). Lots of disappointed people (including us), but I didn't see much raging. The communication could have been better at Hotel Breakers, but they had free water quickly, told us refunds would be automatic (no need to stay in big lines to check out), and overall it went okay. The traffic jam to get out of the hotel parking lock and the perimeter road was epic, and so we smartly snuck back to our room, napped for 2 hours, and then exited to a ghostly empty hotel and empty roads. quite an event.

yeah, hard to believe that something as basic as clearance could be messed up. not confidence inspiring.

For now. Hopefully it too would see a RMC redo - it has the potential to be amazing.

Love that idea. would be a great concept, but probably won't fly because of the extra design costs and likely construction complications. but who knows. they sure have a lot of support structure and space to work with. I do wonder if they decide to make it all one track, they could easily beat the longest coaster record - 8000+ feet, right? So, if you extend the lift hill to 200ft you could easily make that circuit work impressively.

yup, me too. I was intrigued by this rumor when it surfaced years ago. Screamscape (I know, I know) has been proclaiming that it will "break records." Does make you wonder if they will get a 200 ft drop out of it. That would make a 105ft overbank / near inversion on the turn-around work just fine building off the existing structure. It is odd to consider how to best use the existing structure in a cost-effective way, particularly if you don't keep the racing environment.

so glad to hear they are changing to Iron Colossus -- could be epic. hopefully Mean Streak is next.

Personally I disagree. I don't particularly understand why people are so caught up on the length of the ride. El Toro has five really killer elements: first drop, two big airtime hills, rolling thunder drop, and the finale figure 8. This ride in all likelihood has six: first drop, overbank, airtime hill, dive loop, zero g stall, twist and shout. Since it's RMC each of those are likely to pack a punch, but if any one of them doesn't deliver, it still has as many good moments as Toro, minus the forceless over-engineered turnaround. Why is this not enough "substance" to make for a complete, mind-blowingly amazing new ride? I dunno, you just can't tally elements and compare coasters on that basis. Pacing and flow sometimes is as important as individual elements. And the nature (and pleasure) of the elements are not equal to all riders. For instance, I am an airtime guy, and put that above most other elements. Going upside is not terribly interesting to me (although I love the B&M heartline rolls). I am REALLY looking forward to Goliath, but I will be shocked if I enjoy it as much as El Toro, which is an almost --but not quite -- perfect ride (for my tastes).

That airtime hill looks epic.

It was just my personal opinion. To me, Banshee is a shell of a ride. It is 6 giant loops, a turn and another inversion built in a dirt field. Nothing particularly unique about it. I know, I know... a pre-lift section, some tunnels and trenches would have cost a lot more $$$, but they would have a GREAT ride then. Look at Nemesis, Nemesis Inferno, Oziris, etc. At the end of the day, they know people will rave about it b/c it's big and fast, so "they don't need to do all that other stuff" (as a friend explains to me). Don't get me wrong, it's a nice fun ride, but no where near world-class. (Again, all that is just my opinion; I know many people LOVE it.) fair enough, I get that. (I mean, Nemesis is a tall order to compare it it, though!) No doubt that Goliath is a more unique ride -- and despite all kvetching about the delays, it's going to be a great ride

Judging by the video i just saw of steel medusa, this thing is going to fly. It will not lose any speed before hitting te reaks, whereas ntag is much longer and iron rattler spends much of its time going pretty slow as it is riding on top of the cliff, much higher than the altitude of its first drop where it gets most of its speed. Im imaging the best airtime hill imaginable after the overbank, as its only 60 feet tall coming off a 165 foot hill. If youve ever been on ntag, think of the negative g in the hills entering the first overbank after the first drop, or entering the mid course "break run" (trimless). As for the two overbank turns at the end, im not sure how those will rid but im expecting more negative gs on the entrance to the break run. Wont be as strong as the first negative g float but wont b positive gs either, or the break run would be flat and no descending. Overall, I like to think of it as an amazong hypercoaster before the mid course break run, where you catch your breathe and all the more forgettable bunny hills carry you back to the station. Im hoping itll ride like Nitro part one, ending at the helix-in terms of speed and pacing of elements. yeah, I think that sounds right -- I am hoping that the speed hill will offer crazy airtime. the drop certainly will. and we may be a little pop on the break run in the front. I don't agree with the "forgettable bunny hills" part, though. I think the return leg of Magnum, Nitro, and the other coasters with negative g bunny hills is GREAT way to end a ride, and, frankly, I don't fully understand why they didn't extend Goliath a little bit more -- I undestand the land issue, but the incremental costs of extending another leg is closer to the ground is probably fairly minimal in comparison to the other overall cost.

True. But there is a trade-off: Great America is getting a unique AND kick butt ride Why wouldn't that apply to Banshee? I mean, I get that there are lots of other inverteds in the world and only a couple RMCs, but Banshee is not a cookie cutter, has a unique layout, and has very strong reviews. Look, if forced to pick, I go with Goliath, for sure -- although I wish it had Banshee's ride length! Can't have it all. Unless you have El Toro (sigh -- when will ANYONE else in the United States wake up to the perfection of Intamin's woodies? It's crazy that something as great as El Toro hasn't been mimicked by other parks!)

Winter didn't seem to slow down Banshee . . . . or just about any major ride at Cedar Point. It's called advanced planning. If you start construction sufficiently in advance, you can handle even worst case weather scenarios.

fair enough. Good, sound advice -- a rare thing!

Write a letter to the park. Make sure it's polite and don't forget to say the positive things. Write the letter from your point of view as a paying customer, not the point of view and a theme park enthusiast. Service has taken a nose dive in the past 15 years nearly everywhere you go. If people don't let them know, they can't do anything about it. (Not saying your letter will work a miracle, but letting those know who can do something is better than putting it online. If more people do it, it could get better.) Another thing to remember is that it's the beginning of the season, but I understand what you are saying. Getting food at the park is tough sometimes; it seems like a slow and unorganized ordeal (because it is.) As for ride operations, it's especially difficult to watch after having worked at Cedar Point in the early 90s when we could get written up for having below our hourly quota of passengers (over 1,000 for every coaster in the park. At that time; things have change a little there, too.) Good points. I remember when I was a kid we went to the Great America in California and it was opening day and a disaster (virtually every major ride was closed). We wrote a letter to the park, politely,and then sent us four free tickets and an apology. It was a classy thing. (Undoubtedly, SFGAm will send me the severed head of a horse in response, but I will try ....

It's my "hometown" park -- not that I go there a ton. but I agree that it's operations are usually better in the summer, but still not Cedar Point or even SFGadv worthy in terms of dispatch times. SFMM was a disaster way back when (haven't been in over 12 years). We shall not discuss Disney operations. Nor will I open the door on how SFGam's handles the entrance to the parking lot, which backs up onto the freeway . . . . for no sensible reason. I do like the park -- didn't mean to sound so bitter. just a very odd way to start the day.

I hear, but the reality is that park management HAS to recognize and anticipate that this new technology is going to cause some very serious hiccups and staff it properly. Again, diagnosing the problem doesn't require a PhD in Industrial organizational psychology. You can simply watch what is causing the delays and have two staff members (rather than one) addressing the issues -- have one staff member take the season pass card or ticket and scan it (because there was significant delay in just that basic operation) and have the other one actually hold the hand and help process the biometric thing. alternatively, set up stand alone gates for those NOT using the biometric scanners to get those people out of the line. Just from a basic business standpoint, do you want the very FIRST experience of your guests to be a 45-minute pile-up at the gates? That's how they start the day -- already annoyed (and many were really annoyed, not just anal me). Even if you don't give a shit about that, from a basic greed standpoint, that's 45 or 30 or whatever minutes that your guests are not in the park buying hot dogs, drinks, other junk, which is your profit margin. I just don't get how management could run a park whose entire business is, at its core, an operation in crowd flow, and have that kind of pile up, on a non-summer Sunday no less. It's either incompetence or a lack of care, or, perhaps, both.

I was at the park on Sunday and Goliath does look pretty good (and it was cool to see them putting on the drop track). The banking and angles of curvature on the first turnaround look almost cartoon-like -- fairly amazing. I still can't shake the feeling that it will feel "too short" but still can't wait to ride it. On a separate note, my god, is this park poorly run. It took 45 minutes to get through the entry gates because of terribly inefficient processing of the biometric season passes -- it was really a tutorial on how NOT to staff and run operations (e.g., having the guests attempt to have the scanner read the bar code, with many guests putting it upside down and on the wrong side, rather than simply handing the season pass card or the printed ticket to the attendant to scan it quickly for them, printing out the season pass cards at the same time (and without names on them so you could not identify which was which), and the list goes on and on ....). The train dispatches were terrible as well on the usual suspects. Understaffed, 2-train operation on Raging Bull and a grand total of 2 attendants on Whizzer . . . . despite 45-60 minute waits on most rides. Bought platinum passes to avoid grinding my teeth down to nothingness in line. It's such a nice looking park, with good rides, but the operations actually make it hard on you to want to return.

yeah, I miss the themes that Great America used to have. The problem is with the takeover of parks by media/ film conglomerates who think that tying a ride to a movie somehow increases either park attendance or movie attendance -- when, in fact, I suspect is does neither. Days of Thunder ride simulator anyone? I bet The Demon has more lasting brand recognition than any movie-based tie ride.

Pleasant: canobie lake cannoball -- didn't expect much, had a great time on it SFNe Superman - went in with high expectations -- it exceeded them millennium force - recent trip this summer - got some great air and really enjoyed the ride for the first time top thrill dragster/ kingda ka -- always thought these rides were a waste of money and space because of the ride time -- but now i get them Unpleasant. Grizzly at great america - terrible in every sense. no air, short, tracks badly, etc. Mean Streak - a bigger version of the Grizzly, in some ways

Salemi may need to look up the definition of "infinitely."

Yup - I would add Kumba to the list of great B&Ms and maybe even Griffon. I would also add the original Batman. I recall when that first opened at SFGam and it felt (and rode) like a game changer. A marvel of engineering and an incredibly intense ride, particularly for the time. In many ways, the original Batmans ride more like Intamins today. BUT B&M appears to have backed off that initial intensity with Batman and other inverteds, and their reluctance (fear) of negative g's in virtually all rides is very odd. When B&M entered the hypercoaster territory in 1999, I had really high hopes, but the ride experience on them feels like . . . well, the word that comes to mind is "lumbering." Something about the 4-wide train, the wide track, the high (and generally slow) turns, combined with minimal air time or laterals or, really, any significant forces, just gives them a somewhat lifeless feel -- at least compared to something like Intamin's Supermans, for instance, which just LEAP off the track, and feel much more "alive" and vital than B&M hypers. Don't get me wrong, I still love B&M coasters and they did change the game in a very positive way. But when I want to come off a coaster clapping and cheering and "blown away," it's typically an Intamin ride, not a B&M one.