Cameron

Awesome pictures, Erik! Very envious of that tour.. Did any of the Sally staff mention if they're in need of a talented embedded-systems programmer?! Cameron.

"Plus they put on a fantastic coaster enthusiast event." -- I miss those days! But I agree with what others have said, it's pretty great to see the park taking an active role in improving things. I don't think I went at all in 2012, but I will go this season. Cameron.

I just came here to post this - OMG, so awesome!

I have such a Bat-Boner right now.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what they've done with Fiddler's Fling - I have such a soft-spot for that ride!

^ OMG - How awesome if it turns out to be a Giant Swing .. I love those things, they scare the crap out of me!

In the video you can hear Whizzer going up the (spiral) lift hill - clearly the Sky Screamer will be built in the middle of the spiral!

Hot crackers, Hanno - You totally out-did yourself .. that was a stunningly awesome set of pictures!! Cameron.

Tickets and flights booked. Can't wait!

Twenty years later, and it's still a totally sexxy beast!

I am jizzing so hard right now.

I am not a fan of water-rides, but Divertical looks fantastic (I did like the one at Europa too, so I reckon I'll like Divertical). The stunt driving show - insanity Thanks for the amazing updates, as always. My head is exploding from all this envy! Cameron.

This all looks insanely brilliant! Loving the report Erik, thanks!! Hopefully I'll get a chance to visit the new DCA in February/March when I'm in LA either for WCB, or on my way to Australia. Cameron.

At the TPR event at SFGAm two years ago, at the Q&A session, one of the maintenance guys mentioned that the wheel-covers are intentionally left off that train because it makes the ride smoother and faster. Great report, Studiobrandon .. glad you had such a great day at the park! Cameron.

I'm drooling with envy.

We all had a blast at Michigan's Adventure yesterday. The park was on the ball the whole day, and the staff was fun and encouraging. Everything proceeded smoothly, and calmly. Several members of public chatted with us, offering support and kind words for the whole event. Several people told me they'd sign-up next year. Way to go Michigan's Adventure, Cedar Point, TPR and of course Give Kids The World! Cameron.

I noticed this too, last weekend (When Shawn was in town) and really loved it (I think they have the speakers on the brake-run too). Really effective, and personally I prefer it over speakers on the actual trains (possibly it'll be easier to maintain?). When I first heard the jet sounds in the queue, I thought it was some NATO F16s flying overhead In other news, Whizzer turns 36 today!

Oh, it's hideous - not just the inane music, but ads .. everywhere ads. It's hard to find somewhere to sit and eat because of all the ads **blaring**. I guess those ads really bring in that much more money - but damn it's so annoying. Wish there was another way ... I'd totally pay an extra $20 for a season pass if it meant all noisy ads went away. Cameron.

It's no-where near anything even remotely close to Batman. Still a very good ride, but it's not Batman. Batman is way more forceful, with far far quicker pacing. It's not Batman.. Is that clear?! Seriously though - we already have a Batman, we don't need another one. At the same time, we already have a Superman Ultimate Flight, and we don't need another one of those either (one is bad enough!) .. X-Flight is by far a more intense ride. It's not bone-breaking like Tatsu, or Nemesis, or anything like that. I'd put it between Batman and Raging Bull in terms of forces - probably closer to Raging Bull, even though I think it's a superior ride to Raging Bull. However it's tough to really compare since X-Flight keeps alternating between 0G and positive-G, which I found pretty cool - and a unique experience for me. The Coaster-Mentalists will likely hate it; but the people who like going to amusement parks to have fun will really enjoy it. For the record, I consider both X-Flight and Wild Eagle as B+ coasters. But as I said in the other thread, I can't think of any other coaster going in this year that I would rather see at SFGAm right now. The addition of X-Flight really does make the park better. Cameron.

See my post on page 1, it got a bit lost in all the flags nonsense. And "awesome in different ways" is an excellent summary of the two. Cameron.

I don't know if it's fair to say that the chain is ignoring its heritage - I think it's more of a case of it doesn't matter. Six Flags isn't Disney, it's a nationwide chain; 99% of the people who go there really don't care about the history of the company. Personally I find it extremely interesting, but I had a slight nerd-gasm this morning when I could see the anti-rollback dog bouncing up the lift - so I'm hardly an accurate representation of a "normal" person Anyway, on to the ride itself. Many people have asked me which I prefer: X-Flight or Wild Eagle. I really can't decide .. I mean the rides are so different (which I think is a very very good thing), so they both excel at different things. It's like trying to compare two wooden coasters: one an out-n-back, the other a twister. Wild Eagle has a lot of fun turns and changes in directions, and the setting is stunning. X-Flight is more about inversions and forces, with higher positive-Gs than Wild Eagle - not by a huge amount (it's not Batman), but you can certainly feel it. Both coasters have wonderful moments of hang-time and floating near-0G - which I just love. Of course X-Flight is in the middle of a flat amusement park, overlooking the Interstate; the grounds around the ride are nicely landscaped, but it can't hold a candle to Wild Eagle's placement. See - they're different. In terms of overall quality, I'd say they're pretty evenly matched; some will prefer Wild Eagle, some will prefer X-Flight. Matt said that the pacing in X-Flight is really well done, and I agree. It pretty much alternates between up high floaty/near-0Gs, and on the ground positive Gs. Remember, it's no-where near Batman or Nemeses - but in my opinion the forces are delivered well, much better than they are on Superman and Raging Bull. This ride is going to be hugely popular - and it deserves to be. It's a very solid ride that is almost as picturesque as two naked super-models smearing chocolate sauce over each other. I firmly believe that even people who don't want to ride will still get a lot out of it .. it's very cool to watch. Even though I could personally have the forces turned up a notch, I can't think of any other ride I'd rather see be installed at SFGAm this year. Cameron "OMG So glad we didn't get Chang!" Silver.

I rolled over to 100,000 miles on Tuesday last week .. such an accomplishment! I've never had a car with this many miles (or for this long), but this one is just so great that I still haven't got the wandering eye.. It's a 2004 VW R32, which I bought in January 2006 when it was just an 11,000 mile baby! Cameron.

I'm free this weekend..

Awesome report, Erik .. I'm so envious that you did the Smokey Mountain drive, as that is just tremendous fun. That lookout is spectacular! Given the fact that I had 0 traffic on my drive home, I should have done that tour with you. Oh well, now I have a reason to go back Cameron.

Awesome, Will! Cameron.