Hilltopper39

A small part of me wants CW to postpone the announcement for a week just so all of this crazy speculation and coaster nerd arguments can rage on a little longer!

^ Parks also shift rides around a lot. How do we know this ride wasn't meant to go to a park, like Knott's for example, that doesn't have a ride like Behemoth, but for whatever reason at last minute, they had to shift what park the ride was going to. Just throwing that idea out there... I don't know how long CW has been teasing this, but it does feel like this whole project did just kind of show up out no nowhere recently. I really don't remember that many rumors about CW getting a new coaster, then within a couple of weeks we had marker stakes and land clearing and track on site and now an announcement. Does seem a bit odd, and I do remember reading several rumors about Knotts getting a gigga coaster in the near future. So maybe that is what happened.....

Dude, the park has actually put like ZERO hype into the ride. The hype has been created by all of you. (meaning us) ........? The park has been putting quotes on their website like "this is the one I have been waiting for" and "I'f I can only ride one thing in 2012, it's this one" to make hype. Yeah that quote was also by Paul Ruben, so if this coaster is the one he's been waiting for it's probably a remake of the Kennywood Racer

I know, that's what Im saying Steel Dragon pulls giant 30+ passenger trains up a long gradual lift incline that's why it has 2 chains. If you pull a smaller lighter train up a much steeper lift hill (less length= less chain =less weight) then one chain might handle the load and work.

A couple of thoughts A traditional chain lift for a gigga might work if the chain is smaller (smaller train) and the lift is steeper. Steel dragon pulls a giant train up a long gradual incline. Think Shikra with smaller trains and a slightly steeper lift. On The shorter track length speculation by some, it still might be a gigga dive coaster. I don't know how small the track length number was that some heard, but Sheikra is just under 3200 feet, add a couple hundred more feet on the lift and drop and you could easily have a 300ft dive coaster under 3500-3700 feet track length which is still relatively short. In the past BandM has historically built smaller prototype versions of a new concept coaster a few years before building a much larger full version. Iron Wolf and Vortex before Mantis, Batman before Top Gun and Raptor, Oblivion before Sheikra. Even though X-Raptor seems to be an exception, I expect to see a much larger version of a mini dive coaster like Krake in the future maybe here at Wonderland. And on the comments that some have made about possibly having a gigga or dive coaster in the same park as a hyper by the same manufacturer. Griffon and Apollos Chariot at BGW seem to work pretty well, so do magnum and Millennium (different mfg, I know). I think if the experience is unique enough it will work just fine, besides 90% of park goers could care less just us nerds. I'd love to see a B&M launch coaster and this very well be one, but Im still betting on a 300+ ft dive machine with the smaller trains.

^^ What if they design the ride to operate 5 or 6 smaller trains at one time? The theoretical capacity then could still be fairly high.

I don't think it's going to happen either because I don't think CW is building a 350 foot tall wing rider, but I'll bet ya the first wing rider to debut in America will probably have some themeing somewhat similar to X-Raptor and Swarm.

Themeing is more on the park/chain. As far as I know the manufacturers have little or nothing to do with theming other than how the ride will behave around it. CF, not too big on the theming so I'm not going to assume any good European park style theming. It definitely is more on the park and chain but the ride company can partner with an outside design company to offer the themeing as a total package. X-Raptor and Swarm look so similar with a slightly different story at two different parks in different chains that I think B&M might be providing the themeing as a package with the ride system, or the same design company is collaborating with B&M on their different projects. How many B&M's before X-Raptor featured any type of extensive themeing at all (other than Black Mamba, and maybe Sheikra and manta)? This is so uniquefor B&M that I think it's not a coincidence, I expect most of the wing riders to feature similar props and themeing.

I would think Cedar Point is enough of a resort destination that they have a fairly larger number of new guests every year and something like this could easily survive for 3 or 4 seasons, maybe longer. Up charge go karts and mini golf all seem to survive at most parks without changing too much, don't see how this would be any different.

last trip I took to Busch gardens we stayed at a Fairfield right off of 75 at exit 266 on Fletcher Avenue. It's a little bit farther away from the park (but still only about 6 miles) but the hotels seemed new and a little bit cheaper than the ones closer on Fowler. I think there is Hampton inn and a Hilton Garden Inn at the same location as well.

I'm betting on a 300+foot mini train themed dive machine.

^Maybe B&M started reading this forum and heard everyone bitching about how their rides over the past decade have sucked and are all the same and everyone now loves Intamin? Also if the name is really Leviathian like Steve says (I believe ya man) I wonder if this ride will have themeing similar to Krake at Hyde park. A Leviathian (according to wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan) is some sort of biblical sea monster, and B&M seems to have been delivering more extensive themeing than normal with their recent coasters (X-Raptor, Krake, Swarm), so maybe this thing will have the some sea monster boat tunnels also or something.

Maybe they can use the smaller Dive machine trains like on Krake at Hyde Park. I've always thought that a smaller train on a gigantic drop would be unbelievable, kind of like how the older Intamin drop towers with individual 4 person cars are more intense than the larger gyro drop style towers.

I wonder f the paddle wheel boats being gas powered has anything to do with sudden closure of the attraction? Increasing gas prices + decreasing ridership = Dinosaurs!

I kind of agree that BBW was one of the best coasters at the park but I really don't think that many people will compare the new ride to the old ride. If they replaced BBW with a suspended terrain coaster maybe, but this experience will (likely)be so unique and different it should be almost impossible to practically compare. Does anyone ever compare El Toro to Viper? or Hydra to Hercules? or The Vortex to the Bat? Or King Kong to Revenge of the Mummy? Why does one ride have to be compared to another just because it occupies the same plot of land, seems kind of silly to me.

Cheetah Hunt through leaked concept art and speculation looked like it would be awesome but turned out to really be kind of average as far as coasters go, Verboten's leaked concept art and initial impression is kind of average so maybe it will turn out to be awesome. It's impossible to judge a ride that hasn't even been announced yet. For the record I think the whole project looks awesome and represents a great addition. I think it will be better than Cheetah Hunt. What about Griffon? Wasn't that a bigger version of Sheikra? And Drachen Fire opened in 1992, a year before Kumba, so at the the time it opened it was the biggest and best ride of it's type around, far from the shot end of any stick. B&M was just getting into the game at that time and with their standups and first ever inverted, and Arrow was the industry leader. I think your point is actually completely opposite from the truth, everything BGW has ever opened has been an amped up (but not necessarily better) version of an installation at BGT. Python in 76, Loch Ness Monster in 78. Montu in 96, Alpengeist in 97. Sheikra in 2005 Griffon in 2008.

I highly doubt that the maintenance staff at Busch Gardens would release a train into operation that had any sort of issues with the safety devices. Your restraint was probably stuck in between locking positions and released into the slightly more open position and at some point during the circuit and then locked in place. When I used to work in operations we would get stories and complaints like this from the guests quite often, but it was always their imagination making the situation much more harrowing that it really is. Whenever someone (GP) says "the lap bars came open and I almost fell out, that ride aint safe!" this is probably what happened.

Nice pictures dude, as much as I want to dislike Cedar Point it's still a great park

Weren't the track pieces spotted for Dollywood teal-ish blue also?

The supports may not necessarily be teal, so far all we have seen are presumably the I-Beam style station supports. The real supports maybe a different color. Also doesn't Diamondback have two different colors for the supports (tan and yellow) Either way still excited to see what this turns out to be, I think America may be about to get more WingRiders then we can handle!

WIll there be Bourbon chugging races at the Dirty South Bash? If so I'm in. If not, I'll probably still be in.

^ I think the house always wins.......

Or they could build giant nets around each park, pass out fairy wings to everyone who enters Central Florida, let 'em park where they want, and then magically fly in to the front gates on their own free will. Are those fairy wings for sale at local Walmarts?

I-305 Expedition Ge Force Balder, El Toro and T-Express Nemesis X-2 And that crazy GCI Woodie on the mountain in China

Considering the Voyage is one of the largest and most intense wooden coasters around, and one of the most popular attractions at Holiday World, I don't think it's too far fetched to think that they would build a giga/hyper/launched steel coaster that is a very large and intense. I could see something like Millennium Force or Expedition GeForce working very well at Holiday World. It is a family park, but when one of the most intense wooden coasters on the planet is the most popular attraction why not build something similar out of steel steel?