VF15

Anyone know what Carowinds' rain policy is? The long-term forecast is calling for a chance of showers on the days I'll be there. I know forecasts aren't reliable this far out, but just in case, will they keep the coasters open in the rain as long as there's no lightning?

Going to be at Dollywood in a little under two weeks, Lightning Rod or not. Can't back out of the trip since we already have the flight booked. I guess they could possibly have it open by then if nothing goes significantly wrong, but I'm not counting on it.

The GP's reaction to Valravn on Facebook... -After the problems at Alton Towers I am totally put off by these rides. It seems money is more important and that they cut corners where safety is concerned. -"Final destination" the movie made me to avoid such an extraordinary means of entertainment -this look dangerous -Can you really trust a rollercoaster that has a name that sounds like it was on sale at Ikea? -There's no amount of money that could get me on that ride ! Some one will die on this thing ! -Oh my doesn't even look safe -Busch Gardens has had this ride for two years.

Starting to think it's going to be a B&M gigacoaster.

Renegade at Valleyfair, yesterday.

If anyone's interested, I've posted a photo trip report of today's Passholder Preview Day which includes some behind the scenes park photos: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=71859

Today, I went up to Valleyfair for the Season Passholder Preview Day and had a great time kicking off the 2016 season. Before the park opened for the preview, I was fortunate enough to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the park. I had won this tour through the #VF40 trivia contest the park has been holding on Twitter recently. We were led around the park by Matt Hehl, Valleyfair's PR manager. During this tour, we were able to tour the park's maintenance shop, walk in some restricted areas, meet general manager Dave Frazier for the first time, as well as take a close look at the new amphitheater and the new Flying Eagles. I also received some interesting tidbits of information that I found interesting, which I will share in the photos below. After the tour, we enjoyed the rest of Passholder Preview Day. The weather couldn't have been better, sunny with temperatures in the low 70s most of the day. The park was a bit more crowded than I expected. It wasn't busy by any means, but the parking lot was a little over one-third full (as seen from the top of Wild Thing), and some rides had decent lines. Every coaster was running one train (except for Wild Thing, two trains). There have been a few more general improvements throughout the park that, while they don't seem like much, they are helping to improve the overall environment. All-in-all, I had a fantastic day at the park, and hopefully I'll be coming back next weekend for Opening Weekend. Moving on to the pictures... The drive to Valleyfair features some amazing landscapes... We're here! About to go under Renegade's lift hill and airhill. Stuff near the employee lot. Backstage view of Renegade. Backstage view of Mad Mouse. Backstage view of a few other rides. Entering the maintenance shop, major coaster geek moment . Old sign from the front of the park. Excalibur's second train cars. Once again, Excalibur will only run one train this season as this one gets some work done. I was also told that despite the rumors, Excalibur is not going anywhere for now. Old Steel Venom seats. As you'll see later on, Steel Venom's train received new seats. Lots and lots of wheels. Most of these are Wild Thing wheels, but the red ones are for The Wave. These are Arrow wheels for Excalibur and Corkscrew. A box... In the room that had the wheels, nuts and bolts for High Roller and Renegade. Old Renegade wheel. Old Wild Thing lift chain piece. Seatbelts... Snoopy doghouse. Was told this mechanism is used to hold and release Power Tower's Turbo Drop cars at the top. Heading out to the rest of the park, they were doing some work on the new waterslides. The back of Subway (formerly Ben & Jerry's). Some Haunt stuff. Also told that the Galaxy Theater (on the right) will be dark this season. Backstage Wild Thing shot. Tour of the new amphitheater. Speakers. Stage still being set up. Bleachers. This sign near the front of the park has a new electronic screen. Was told while walking by here "if we were to put a ride here, it would be a flat ride." Flying Eagles close up. I rode Flying Eagles later in the day. This was my first experience with flying scooters, so I don't have anything else to compare it to, but I thought it was enjoyable. Not thrilling by any means, and not something that coaster nuts will be jumping up and down to ride, but it was a good time, and families are going to have a lot of fun with it. Steel Venom's new seats look nice. Control panel. Got a look at the carousel, which just completeld phase one of a renovation. 2016 park map. New sign here. Valleyfair 40th anniversary bracelet for the first guests. First ride of the day after the tour. Was not the most intense ride I've had on it, but it was mostly smooth thanks to the trackwork and is still the best ride at Valleyfair. Gave me a small headache. Did not ride Mad Mouse due to long lines. Wild Thing was next. Running decent today. Two trains in one picture. As you may be aware, High Roller's buzzbars are no more. These are the same chassis that have been here for years, but the restraints are actually the old Ghostrider lapbars from Knott's Berry Farm, which I thought was interesting. For a 36-year-old Arrow, Corkscrew still runs pretty smooth. Nerd shot. Wild Thing in the figure-8. New clocks near the entrance. Eventually, it was time to go. Thanks to Valleyfair for the tour and for a great day! Thanks for reading my trip report!

When I was at Cedar Point, Top Thrill Dragster was down about half of the time. I had gotten in line and left three times, and didn't get to ride until my fourth try. It was worth the effort though since it's an amazing ride. Funny thing is, the other Intamins at the park were hardly down at all. The only other kind of ride I experience a lot of downtime with are flying coasters (both B&M and Vekoma). I'd guess the process of moving the seats into and out of flying position throws a monkey wrench in the works.

Granted, but you'll stay asleep for a month. I wish for this summer to go by slowly.

^ Those were pretty much my same thoughts on The Jungle Book. Well-acted with top-notch CGI and visuals, but the orangutan number did not fit in very well. Saw Captain America: Civil War last night, this might just be the best Marvel Cinematic Universe film to date. The film felt very mature for a superhero film, and it explored multiple themes more deeply than most other Marvel films. Well-written with some clever dialogue. Strong acting by everyone, with especially great performances from the newcomers: Chadwick Boseman was very good as Black Panther, and Tom Holland might just be the best Spider-Man to date. Special effects mostly look good and never got in the way of the story. Aside from a few pacing issues in the first half, it was a great show. Would definitely recommend.

The flyers are testing. From Dave Frazier.

Granted, instead they start spouting even more ridiculous false facts about coasters. I wish for Sunday to come faster.

Theater

I've never been a fan of Power Tower, the airtime on the Turbo Drop towers is almost non-existent, and the Space Shot is only marginally better. As sad as it is, I find Corkscrew and Mad Mouse more thrilling than Power Tower. Anyone else going to the passholder preview on Sunday?

At employee events? That's the only time they turn off the trims anymore, and when they do they turn all of them off (in the back). I felt like I almost got whiplash last year when I got a chance to do it, and we had a train that was about a quarter full. Personal opinion, but it gave better airtime than Magnum without them (though I'm pretty light so I get more than other people). Only some of the trims were turned off, not all of them. Those rides I mentioned were all during regular operating hours (never worked at VF), so I guess I was just lucky.

I've ridden Wild Thing with about half of the trims turned off a few times, and while it isn't amazing, it does provide some nice sustained floater air instead of the tiny pops of air I usually get. Wish they would run it like that more often.

That spot is where Dinosaurs Alive is right now, though I do agree that would probably be the best place to put a coaster if "not being able to expand the park physically" is true. I've heard rumors that the Dinos contract only runs until 2018 or 2019, so if that's true, we could potentially see a coaster there in 2019 or 2020 (assuming the ACE permit gets approved by then). Side note, I've been reading that Worlds of Fun could possibly be adding a Premier Sky Rocket II (Tempesto/Phobia clone). How would the rest of you feel if VF got one of those in the near future? It certainly wouldn't be my first choice for a new coaster, but beggars can't be choosers.

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If the forecast stays as is, I'll be at Valleyfair next Sunday for passholder preview day.

Looks like Adventureland didn't open today due to rain and temperatures in the 40s. That stinks when you have to cancel Opening Day.

That was disturbing.

I'm not disappointed because I wasn't expecting a new coaster next year in the first place, although the social media backlash for the flyers and bike show was pretty bad, so can't imagine how bad it will be next year, especially if we get another family-oriented addition.

Never. When was the last time you went to a mall?

Facebook comments about Fury 325 getting stuck on the lift hill from April last year... -I like knowing this ride stops! WSOC keep reporting!! At some point the ride needs to be inspected more then it has been! Yes all rides mess up and yes the safety feature worked but at what point do you stop blaming it on this and investigate further?! Is there another irresponsible teenager stopping the ride to get laughs, like on the windseeker?! -tragedy it's about to happen only then they will understand!! -Even if the ride shuts down "like it's supposed to" for safety reasons, NO ONE wants to risk getting stuck lol please don't defend Carowinds bc it's obvious that there are issues they can't seem to address. You won't be so quick to defend them when someone dies. Smh -No way in hell would you get me on that ride!! Its gonna kill someone you just wait and see!! -Go to Cedar Rapids in Ohio folks -okay this is becoming a repeated problem. Carowinds need to shut dat ride down n find tha problem and fix it. they had dat ride ready before deadline anyway -Shut the f***ing thing down , before someone is killed,, not after....DUH !!! -#Carowinds NEEDS TO HIRE NEW/BETTER MECHANICS!! And FIRE all the ones that ARE NOT doing their jobs PROPERLY!! And no one seems to be paying attention that THIS IS PEOPLE'S LIVES AT STAKE!! Where is the Management/Owners when thus is happening??!! They're sitting one their FAT RICH A**ES.... WATCHING FROM THE SIDELINES.... DOING NOTHING!!

I enjoy floater and ejector air just about equally, but if I was forced to choose, I'd give the slight edge to ejector. I enjoy the floaty airtime feeling you get on B&M hypers like Diamondback and Raging Bull, but the ejector air on rides like Maverick and Magnum is truly breathtaking .