VF15

I heard a rumor that Pepsi Orange Streak might be closing for good sometime in 2019. Sounds like the ride might be nearing the end of its service life, which makes sense since the ride has been running year-round since 1992. This is all hearsay though so don’t quote me on that. Would be a bit sad if it closed, it’s not an intense coaster at all but it provides some nice views of the park.

That sucks, it was down during my trip to the park this past July and I was looking forward to riding it this year since I’ll be living a lot closer soon, but oh well . I hope they can replace it with a worthy successor in the next few years.

I highly doubt that that Raleigh-Durham will ever have a Six Flags/Cedar Fair sized park as the cost of building a park of that size in this day and age would be astronomically high. Don't know how much it would cost to build a Waldameer or an Arnold's Park-sized park but that seems like the only real possibility if anything. With the population growth expected in the Research Triangle over the next few decades it they definitely have the population to support a park, but the enormous startup costs mean that it would take a fairly long time for park owners/investors to receive a good return on investment.

I'm planning on visiting Busch Gardens Williamsburg for the first time sometime this year. Right now I'm thinking about going sometime during the week before Memorial Day (May 20-24). How busy does the park usually get on those days? I see the park is open 10am-6pm those days, is that enough time to ride everything/experience the whole park in one day?

The forecasted low temperatures for Tuesday and Wednesday night are frightening.

1. Name 3 of your favorite roller coasters, but not your top 3. Intimidator 305, Lightning Rod, Maverick. 2. About how many different parks did you visit in 2018? 10. 3. Which 2018 park visit was your favorite? Cedar Point trip in early June. 4. Your favorite 2018 park addition (ride, food, show, etc)? Steel Vengeance, it completely lived up to the hype. 5. What ride exceeded your expectations the most in 2018? Grizzly at Kings Dominion, looked like just a run of the mill Woodie but turned out to have some nice ejector airtime. 6. Best meal/food at a park in 2018? S'more Nordic waffles at Valleyfair. 7. What was your favorite new coaster of 2018 NOT made by RMC or Larson? Didn't ride any new for 2018 coasters that weren't RMC, so my favorite non-RMC new to me coaster would be Intimidator 305. 8. Name one park you will definitely visit in 2019. Carowinds. 9. Best ride themed to a bird? Raptor, Cedar Point. 10. Lamest ride/coaster you rode in 2018? Anaconda. 11. What roller coaster currently sits at the top of your bucketlist? (degree of difficulty: NOT a new-for-2019 ride) El Toro, Six Flags Great Adventure. 12. What new-for-2019 ride or coaster are you most looking forward to? Copperhead Strike. 13. Name the first totally middle-of-the-road (not bad/not great) park that comes to mind. Adventureland (Iowa). 14. You're in Orlando and magically have a 1-hour ERT session on 1 coaster of your choice at any park in the city. You choose... Kraken. 15. Holiday In The Park vs. Winterfest. Who reigns supreme? I've only been to Winterfest but it seems like a more well-rounded event than HITP. 16. Mystic Timbers mystery shed or Wicker Man fire infusion? Wicker Man fire. 17. Which Six Flags have you been to most recently? Six Flags Great America, but that was almost five years ago. 18. Intamin or Schwarzkopf? You may only choose one. Intamin. 19. Battle of Kings Coasters: Island or Dominion? Pick one. Dominion. 20. What was the longest you waited for a ride/coaster in 2018? Waited 45 minutes for my first ride on Steel Vengeance, and that was in the Fast Lane line. 21. What roller coaster have you ridden more than any other? Renegade, Valleyfair. 22. Best drop tower under 150 feet? Maverick. 23. Maverick or Millennium Force? (If you haven't been to CP, pick what you want to ride more) Maverick by a hair. 24. Log flumes or sky rides? You can only choose one. Log flumes. 25. What are 3 things you enjoying doing at your home park other than riding rides? Taking pictures, watching rides, taking in the environment. 26. What is your second favorite Cedar Fair park and why? Kings Dominion, great coaster lineup and a clean, good-looking park. 27. What is your home park and give us two good reasons why we should pay it a visit. I'm moving to North Carolina full-time in a few months but I guess Valleyfair is technically still my home park for now. It's never very busy at VF aside from Saturdays and Haunt, and it has Renegade, a fantastic GCI. 28. Launch or Lift? Lift. 29. Did you buy fast pass at all in 2018? Yes, bought it every day I was at Cedar Point and on a few busy days at Valleyfair. 30. What is your least favorite wooden coaster? Racer 75 at Kings Dominion. Not really a bad ride, just not very intense. 31. Disney fanboys: cool or cult? Cult. 32. Best Batman themed ride? Batman: The Ride - Six Flags Great Amerca. 33. Name something that tend to take home from parks that you didn't bring with you. Park maps. 34. Best wooden coaster over 110 feet tall? (rcdb will help you) Lightning Rod. 35. Have you ever been hit with something (loose change/a tree/vomit/etc) while riding something? I've caught a bug in my eye a few times, nothing bigger than that. 36. Skywarps: credits or no? State your case. No, doesn't look like it coasts at all. 37. Turkey legs: nah or yaaaaassssss? Nah. 38. What is the most recent B&M that you rode? Afterburn at Carowinds, December 22, 2018. 39. You can eat nothing but corn dogs, churros or funnel cake for the next 48 hours, which do you choose? Funnel cake. 40. Post a great on-ride shot of you from 2018. (DO IT!) Would rather not.

Viper - Six Flags Great America

^ Looks like they're switching to 9pm closings Monday through Thurdsay during summer, interesting. Other than that it looks mostly the same.

Granted, but all other species of annoying bugs triple in world population. I wish I could fall asleep faster.

A day at Mount Olympus. What’s worse than rush hour traffic?

Chapter

Need some input, is it possible to do a Magic Mountain/Knott’s Trip without a car? I’m thinking about flying to L.A. sometime this summer to visit SFMM and KBF, but renting a car isn’t really an option since I’m under 25. Is there any public transit I could take to get between the two parks or would I have to rely mostly on taxi/Uber/Lyft?

Definitely: Nickelodeon Universe (MN) Carowinds Kings Dominion Busch Gardens Williamsburg Likely: Six Flags over Georgia Dollywood Knott’s Berry Farm Six Flags Magic Mountain Maybe: Canada’s Wonderland Six Flags America

Fury 325 - Carowinds

Afterburn at Carowinds.

Afterburn at Carowinds a few minutes ago.

Question for any Carowinds locals, I’ll be visiting the park tomorrow for Winterfest. How busy does the park typically get on WF Saturdays? Does Afterburn or any other ride have Fast Lane and/or Single Rider lines available?

-Ozark Wildcat (Celebration City) -Gwazi (Busch Gardens Tampa) -Mean Streak (Cedar Point) -Dragon Challenge (Islands of Adventure) -Firehawk (Kings Island)

I think the Raleigh-Durham area could use a park. I’m planning on moving to the area this upcoming spring and it’s a three-hour drive to Carowinds, Kings Dominion, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg. That isn’t a terribly long drive, but since Raleigh-Durham is a decent-sized metro with solid population growth, I think the area could support its own park.

^ I don’t think Cedar Point will ever have Winterfest, mainly because the park is not located in a major metropolitan area. Many other cities already have somewhat similar Christmas festivals and events. Since Cedar Fair’s Winterfest events are not really focused on rides, it probably wouldn’t attract that many people from outside the Sandusky area.

It’s currently 0 degrees Fahrenheit and it’s only November 13th . Thankful that this is my last Minnesota winter that I have to endure.

Spongebob Rock Bottom Plunge at Nick Universe/Mall of America a few minutes ago.

^ I believe that tease was for some minor theming enhancements that Cedar Point made to Cedar Creek Mine Ride, nothing to do with Valleyfair.

The 2019 operating schedule has been released. Looks like no more 11pm closings on weekdays in July and early August. Aside from that and opening weekend being one week later than normal, looks like the same as last year. https://www.cedarpoint.com/explore/cedar-point-calendar-and-hours

^ I don’t see Corkscrew going anywhere until the park adds a new looping coaster, they’ve been maintaining it pretty well over the years. The Wave also probably still has some life left, it’s popular with families and draws a fairly long line on warm/hot days. As for a Blitz coaster, while it would be wonderful if the park had a Maverick-like coaster, Cedar Fair is not going to drop $20 million+ on a new coaster at Valleyfair, at least not anytime soon.