IntaminLove
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Posts posted by IntaminLove
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I went to the park yesterday for my only visit of the year. I had a great time and the only coaster I didn't ride was Invertigo. I would have liked to, but I skipped the hour wait for a second ride on the Beast. I got to the park early to make sure I got on Orion before the line got long. I got 3 laps in before 11:30 and it slightly surpassed my expectations. It's fun, smooth, and re-rideable. I like the first drop and the wave turn like element, but the rest is forgettable. I'll probably ride Orion once during future visits and It feels weird to say that about a giga coaster. Diamondback outshines it and I much prefer Millennium Force, which is the only other giga I've been on. Like I said it's fun, so I don't want it to sound like I'm trashing it.
All the coasters were running great and I was so happy that Racer got the much needed track work. I would have ridden it a few more times if the park was open longer. The last few years it was one and done. Mystic Timbers felt more out of control than usual and I wish I could have gotten a night ride. I saved my one night ride for the Beast and it was awesome as usual.
It was weird seeing a big empty space where Vortex was. I know I'm in the minority, but I miss it. Vortex was one of my favorite coasters at KI. It will be interesting to see what happens with that space in the future. There's a lot of potential for something really cool.
Side note, I'm also in the Skyline Chili sucks camp.
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1. Steel Vengeance
2. Maverick
2. Millennium Force
2. Top Thrill Dragster
5. Magnum XL-200
6. Raptor
7. Gemini
8. Blue Streak
9. Rougarou
10. Gatekeeper
11. Valravn
12. Wicked Twister
13. Iron Dragon
14. Corkscrew
15. Cedar Creek Mine Ride
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I went to the park on Saturday with my sister and had a good time despite the heat and operations. My reservation was at 10am and got in the park around 10:30am. We walked to Steel Vengeance right away hoping to avoid a long wait. I didn't know boarding passes were required so I must have missed that info prior to going. Two employees were handing out boarding passes so I got two for 4pm-5 pm and my sister got two for 5pm-6pm. We got lucky getting two time frames that were back to back. Then we got 1pm-2pm for Maverick and 2pm-3pm for Millennium Force. Our first ride was Magnum and it ran great. I was surprised that the trims were on since the trains were half full. After Magnum we did some shopping and got lunch. We got to Maverick around 1:20pm and it was down. It opened around 2pm and we got off around 3:30pm. We missed our time for Millennium and were told we could still ride later. The Steel Vengeance rides were amazing and I still can't believe this monster exists. While in line for our second ride we talked with one of the ride ops cleaning the hand rails. He said Dragster wasn't down due to the wind, but for mechanical reasons. He added that it could be down for a while still. Obviously take that with a grain of salt, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's right. Next we went to Millennium to see if the boarding passes would be honored and they were. After that we rode Valravn and wanted to finish the day with Raptor. We got to Raptor around 7:30pm and the line was closed for capacity reasons. The ride op said all rides were closing early, but we decided to see if Gatekeeper was still allowing riders. We were able to ride and the line was open until a little after 8pm.
It may have been a less than ideal day at the Point, but it is what it is. It's much better than not being able to go at all. I got on more rides than I thought I would at the start of the day so I'm pretty happy. Plus I got the last row or near the back on everything, but Gatekeeper. The employees put in a good effort and were cheerful as usual. Unless you're dying to get on some rides then I suggest waiting a few weeks to visit. Operations should be improved by then and hopefully a few more rides will be open.
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I guess it would have helped if I bothered to look at the schedule . I just assumed daily operations were longer since the park is in the south where it's warmer longer. My group always drives home on Monday so it looks like I'll have to plan a separate trip for the park.
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I still need to go to SFOG and it looks like a nice park. My group drives to Dragon Con and every year I try to get them to go to the park on Wednesday. They always say they want to go and they end up backing out. Someday I'll go to the park....
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I've held off from posting my thoughts on Steel Vengeance until I felt like I got enough rides on it. I have the RMC sampler coaster, Goliath, at my home park and it's really fun. It really made me more excited to ride the other RMCs in the coming years. I was so happy to see the RMC trucks show up at Mean Streak and I figured the transformed coaster would become my favorite. I loved the construction updates and reading/watching reviews. I tried not to let the hype get to me, but it did. I couldn't help it. Another world class coaster at my favorite park. I rode Steel Vengeance twice last year during the last weekend of Halloweekends. It was raining both times so the feeling of getting stabbed in the face with needles distracted me from the ride experience a bit. It was cold so it wasn't a prime time to ride either. Both times I was underwhelmed and hoped I could get better experiences this year. I rode Steel Vengeance three times last weekend and my first ride was still underwhelming. Yeah it was fun and better than previous rides, but I still didn't have the orgasmic experience most seemed to have. That changed with the following ride and I don't know the reason for it. I guess it doesn't matter. This time the ride had the intensity I expected and the airtime was amazing. That ride made Steel Vengeance dethrone Skyrush to become my favorite coaster. I hoped that ride wasn't a fluke and that future rides would be similar. I got in a night ride as the park closed and had another amazing ride. A kid in front of me freaked out the whole time, which made it even more fun. I couldn't stop laughing. Steel Vengeance has all the things I like about coasters and then some. I'm even more excited now to ride the other RMCs. All hail Alan Schilke, praise be unto him.
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I love Arrow mega loopers and I hate to see another one go. Vortex is my favorite of the mega loopers and my second favorite Arrow coaster. The Beast and Vortex were the main reasons why I wanted to go to KI years ago. The news caught me by surprise. I figured Vortex would be around for a few more years since Firehawk got the axe last year. It sucks that two big coasters are being removed two years in a row. I think the ride maintenance is the reason. Maybe they've had enough of buying expensive parts and welding the track. I'm happy I'm able to get my final rides in a few weeks. I'll miss Vortex a lot and it will be strange not seeing it there. It really is a pretty and photogenic coaster. Hopefully whatever replaces it will be awesome. Fingers crossed for an RMC.
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You have a great memory bert. The con is always a blur to me and I only remember bits. I'm loving your tr and it's making me more excited for next year. You got some pictures of cosplayers I didn't see and I enjoyed those. The Aztec guy is one of my friends and that was one of his secret costumes. He likes to make secret costumes for C2E2 and Dragon Con. I forgot to ask what his secret costume was for this year and found out about his Aztec costume when I saw pictures at dinner. I didn't notice before that he didn't have shoes on and I'm surprised. I think he had the costume on for less than an hour, but that's long enough to get filthy feet. I think this was one of 15 costumes he brought. This year he wanted to win Bryan Humphrey's contest for having the most costumes. It's just a silly thing. He always brings more than 10 because he likes being in a lot of photo shoots. Chances are that you saw him various costumes. Thankfully he didn't have a big costume this year so we avoided having to rent a uhaul trailer for the drive down. Anyway I'm looking forward to the rest of your tr.
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Your thread is making miss Dragon Con more! I'm enjoying it so far and I'm looking forward to the rest.
oh, the app is really good, and I had at LEAST 4 things to do in every timeslot every day. But I knew I wouldn't go to many / any of them. .and that's exactly what happened.after going for so many years? I don't really do a lot other than hang with friends, go to concerts and parties, and of course the Art Show. I might go into a panel or two. . . in all seriousness? I did TWO Panels this year. and Both of them ended up being on Sunday.
I absolutely love the app. I go through the entire Events section and add a bunch of stuff to my schedule. I usually end up doing a few of those things and they tend to be concerts/parties. I spend most of my time hanging out with friends since it's the only time I get to see a lot of them.
I always intend on going to panels, but I've only been to one panel in all the years I've been going to the con. The people I want to see are usually scheduled at inconvenient times for me or the lines are huge. I wanted to see David Tennant and decided to skip it because I had seen him earlier this year. I heard the wait was 8 blocks long so it's a good thing I didn't bother.
what I think got them to finally go "official" on Thurs?the Bunny Hutch Party
it's been the kick off for con for several years now, and is SUPER popular. . and it's Thursday night. So I really do think this is what got them to pull the trigger and say. . ok, Thurs is now official. ya happy???
there were good bands playing Thursday night too.
The bunny hutch is great and it gets more popular every year. My group had to push back costume plans until next year. We pretty much have the ideas nailed down and it will be really fun.
What bands did you see? My experience with bands at the con has been lackluster. I didn't bother checking out any bands this year, but I did watch MC Chris. I hate rap, but I wanted to see him since he voiced MC Pee Pants on Aqua Teen Hunger Force. It was pretty sloppy and amateurish so I left early.
as to the Hyatt legacy rooms? not true they ended them, as many of my friends are already booked for next year via Legacy. However, one of my "contacts" at the Hyatt did inform me that for 2021 they will be "starting the lotto over" so new folks will have a chance to get onto Legacy.Sorry for not being more clear about this. Yeah if you already have legacy status then you have it until you give it up or the hotel stops offering it. What I was told by friends with legacy at the Hyatt is that the legacy rooms were capped a few years ago. I have no idea if that's true or not. I have met some people who wanted legacy rooms and were told no. It's nice to hear that there will be a legacy lotto in 2021. Luckily I don't have to worry about all the hotel madness since I have a "legacy" condo haha.
I went THREE times this year (every time with different friends).if you can't find someone to go with, reach out to me, I'll always go with
I'll keep that in mind. My friends always go to Trader Vic's, Metro and Sear. They never want to try going to a new place. I'm open to meeting up for various things at the con and non con things.
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--> note: this has remained true to this day. the trappings of the con has changed over the years (what was a horror/goth/fetish con when I first started going, morphed into a steampunk/cosplay con, and then morphed again into a more pop-culture focused con - and attendance has responded in kind, going from ~10K when I first started going to over 85K a few weeks ago).
The "underground" aspect of the Con, especially the fetish stuff, started going away because of the Ed Kramer news. The remaining owners were doing damage control and went with a more "family friendly" direction. I doubt most of the con goers know about Ed and it hasn't stopped those that do from going. The con is still lots of fun, but it would be nice if the "underground" started making it's way back into the program.
It is amazing how fast the attendance has increased over the last 10 years. The "family friendly" direction definitely worked in their favor. It went from crowded to an uncomfortable level of crowded last year. Attendance was up again this year, but people were spread out better between the connected hotels. I didn't hear any talk of capping badge sales this year and hopefully it doesn't get to that point.
But the basic DNA is still there: there are still horror panels/track, Japanese media track, Anime, NASA (who bring telescopes for star gazing sessions), author readings, signings, bands (Cruxshadows! AJ & Aly), and just sensory overload, staying up all night going from party to party if you want.Or, if you don't want, you could spend the day going to panels, and be in bed by 11 and up early the next day to spend the whole day in a writers workshop. Dragon*con is what you make of it. But I highly recommend it for folks to experience at least once, as it's unlike any other convention out there.
Dragon Con is amazing and I highly recommend checking it out. It has the best programming out of any con I've been to. There is something for everyone and it's offered almost 24 hours. There is so much to do that it's impossible to do everything you want. That's partially by design, but the con is so much bigger now. I find it best to come up with a list of a few things you would really like to do and go with the flow the rest of the time. It's less stressful and plans fall apart quickly, especially if you're partying. It's easy to get caught up partying at the Marriott or in a room until the early hours of the morning.
I wasn't prepared for Dragon*con to become an appointment con - if I had, would have bought eternal membership way back when.Same and now I kick myself for not buying it when it was affordable. I would have gotten my monies worth about now. The eternal price keeps going up and it's outrageous. Not worth it anymore.
over the years, there has been "con creep" where it starts earlier and earlier. . officially the con is Fri-Monday, but they've had stuff going on starting Wed night, and Thurs as well for years, and so next year Thurs is actually an official day.I love the "con creep". My group has joked about it for a while that we'll have to start arriving on Monday so we don't miss anything. I always get there Wednesday morning and it's fun that there's more going on now. Wednesday is the new Thursday. I'm thrilled that Thursday is an official day now and I'm surprised it took them this long. I'm curious how much more programming will be added.
I had to give up my Hyatt Legacy room. I'm hoping to get back into Hyatt next year (I have some connections, even tho I wasn't staying there this year). . but with this year, I "won" Dragon*con Host Hotel Bingo, as I was able to get a room in the Marriott Marquis.It sucks that you had to give up your legacy room. I heard from friends with legacy rooms that the Hyaty doesn't offer legacy rooms anymore. Hopefully that isn't the case and I know rooms open up within a few months of the con. The Hyatt was just sold the other day so who knows what will happen. The new ownership plans on sinking a lot of money into the hotel for upgrades so that's exciting.
A friend used to deal with the Marriott hotel madness in October when bookings started. He would sit there with a few devices and always got lucky. I stayed at the Marriott my first year and won't go back. Mainly because my group rents a condo and it's a much better experience. Marriott rooms are nice, but they're on the smaller side. Waiting for the elevators is a nightmare and you're packed in there like sardines. It was cool staying where a lot of the action is though. The other guests were cool because I didn't get kicked out after testing my friends potato gun in the room.
Hate this carpet - they changed to this about 5 years ago -- I guess it hides the stains, but it's so ugly.No one likes the new skid mark carpet. I never noticed any stains on the classic carpet, but stains could have been one reason to change it. It was sad to see it go. The cult of the carpet is alive and well. Even WWE wrestlers Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are in the cult.
Vortex really has the best damn burgers in Atlanta, with lots of options, and some killer drinks.I just found out about the Vortex about a week before the con this year. The menu and atmosphere are up my alley. I tried to get my group to go there Wednesday night, but they decided to start partying early instead. Hopefully next year I'll check it out.
we stepped off the skybridge to pumping music and people ringing the lobby of the Hilton.looking down, this is why.
yep, inflatable dinosaur dance party. (and this is WEDNESDAY night. . the con has not officially started yet. . not for 2 days). . but here they are. The Hilton had even set up a DJ booth in the corner, and every night there was a dance party in the lobby - tho not always inflatable dinosaurs.
The Hilton finally realized they could make more money from Dragon Con attendees a few years ago. They started with upgrading the hotel and gradually added more party spaces. The Hyatt used to be the secondary hang out hotel now it's the Hilton. It went from being the photoshoot hotel to a party hotel. It's pretty fun now and sometimes more fun than the Marriott.
Inflatable dinosaur dance party.This looks like so much fun. We've been to Comic-Con in KC and St. Louis. The girls love it especially. I love all those little unauthorized side events that go on. Geeking out with geeks is great.
Dragon*con is absolutely appropriate for folks of all ages. . you should attempt to go next year.
WARNING tho - the con *is* very different after about 11pm at night - remember it runs nonstop all night. I do see some kiddos out past midnight or at some of the 2am dances, but a lot of those are 21 + for a reason (not just because they sell alcohol at some parties).
but just note that it DOES get really, really crowded, and these days the popular panels will have lines around the block to get in.
You and the kids will have fun and a majority of the con is family friendly. There's plenty of programming, photoshoots, dealers, artists and games to check out. It's That changes around 10PM in the Marriott and 11PM in the Hyatt and Hilton. That's when the partying and lewdness starts. Nothing extreme happens so even if your kids were there later then they would be okay. The hotels go from PG 13 to R. Look up Dragon Con videos on youtube to get somewhat of an idea of what it's like.
I've always said I'd love to go to Dragon*Con, just so I could see all the amazing cosplay in person.... but I didn't know the attendance was *85K*!!! The largest con I've been to so far was Anime Midwest this year, and that's only about 15k; before that, the largest one I'd been to was around 3k. I don't know if I'd be able to handle going to such a large con unless I had lots of friends with me.If you liked Anime Midwest then you'll love Dragon Con. Anime isn't really prevalent there, but it has a place. There's a good mix of comics, sci fi, fantasy, pop culture, anime, etc. The cosplay is one of the main reasons why I go. There are so many high quality costumes, which I love. There are tons of cosplayers of all skill levels and everyone is welcome. Don't let the attendance scare you away. It's gets crowded, but no worse than a park on a busy day. Remember the 85k was badge sales for 4 days. That's for 4 day badges and individual day badges. Saturday is the busy day and the rest vary. You can have plenty of fun by yourself, but Dragon Con is more fun and affordable with a group of friends.
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It tends to snow in April and once in a while in May. Winter likes to hang on as long as it can. The park will probably use this snow day as an excuse for why Maxx Force will open in June
If you read the posts and comments in that group then you'll see that the stupid name fits.
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^It's a quality place for sure when there's no website or phone contact! If it was open, I don't know if I'd even trust it at this point!
When I got to the hotel I thought it looked a little sketchy. There were only five people inside aside from my friend and myself. Two security guards, hotel concierge and two gamblers. My friend and I were surprised how dead it was. He said it was the first time he's been to the hotel and it wasn't busy. Not a good sign. I have wanted to ride Desperado for a long time so hopefully it's not closed for good. At least the Big Apple was open. It was my first Togo coaster and it was strange. The dive loop was fun, but I have no desire to ride it again.
Edit: The Buffalo Bill's website is back up and says the rides will be closed until further notice.
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The Buffalo Bill's website wasn't working today and no one answered the phone. My friend wanted to take a chance and see if Desperado was open today so we drove out there. It's closed at the girl at the counter said it's not certified to operate. She said it may reopen in January, but doesn't know for sure. I expect it to be closed for a while since there's talk about things closing permanently around there soon.
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Thanks for your response! I know there is more to the park than just coasters, which also excites me. I figured I should make the rides a priority since I would only go for a day, shorter hours, unknown crowd size and it could be a while before I would go back. If things work out in my favor then I would try to experience as much of the park offerings as possible. I'll see if I can get down there this weekend since the weather looks promising.
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I've got some time off in December and was thinking about going to Silver Dollar City for the first time. I'm only interested in riding the coasters and some flats. I would drive from Chicago so this trip would depend on the weather. Is it worth it to go for one day or should I hold off until next season?
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I've got some time off in December and was thinking about going to Dollywood for the first time. I'm only interested in riding the coasters and some flats. I would drive from Chicago so this trip would depend on the weather. Is it worth it to go for one day or should I hold off until next season?
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A raptor clone makes sense. The park has been saying they are out of room for about 20 years. Most of the coasters are medium to small in size. A raptor could fit in the space occupied by Buccaneer Battle. The Demon Funnel Cake stand and/or the Hometown Park rides could be removed depending on the coaster placement. Pretty much the same area where Railblazer is at CGA. The raptors look like good rides so it would be cool if the park got one eventually. The capacity is my only issue, but I could always ride it when the park isn't busy. We'll see if this park or another in the chain gets a raptor clone in the coming years.
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I went to the park on Friday and I was very surprised with how much effort was put into Holiday in the Park. There are a ton of lights and light protection on Chubasco is really cool. The only area without lights is Yankee Harbor, but that's okay. Overall the shows are pretty good. I hate Christmas music, but still found them to be enjoyable. I didn't leave myself much time for rides so I rode X-Flight once and Raging Bull three times. Both were walk ons, running well, one train and slow ride ops. I had a good time and plan on going a few more times. I took pictures, but don't have time to edit and post them. Side note, there are some Maxx Force pieces in the back parking lot and more rebar cages at the construction site.
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Those Intamin coasters are the highlight for me. They look amazing. I really need to go on a Euro coaster trip some day. If only US parks would buy kick ass coasters like these from Intamin.
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This looks like a lot of fun and it's what Goliath could have been like. Man I really need to go to Europe.
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That's s nice selection of rides for their first event. I hope enough people go on the rides to justify operating them.
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I was only expecting a few rides to be operating so Raging Bull and Giant Drop are a surprise. I'm curious to see if the park actually makes the effort to put on a good event or half ass it like usual. I learned a long time ago to keep my expectations low. In the end I'll be riding coasters later in the year, which is great.
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I'm pretty sure tickets will cost the same.
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The crowds were small for Last Call and most seemed to be there for rides. Hopefully the crowds are small this year too. I imagine they will be since the event seemed to be thrown together and didn't leave the best impression with guests. A lot of people will probably wait for HitP for their next visit.
Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
I don't dislike Orion and I do think it's fun. It's like Goliath at SFGAm. Better than a lot of coasters, but feels incomplete.