bluestreak

Probably good lesson that even after a ride op checks your seat, it's not a bad idea to check it yourself while you're still in the station, and again while the train is pulling out just in case. Can never be too safe.

Not only is LR running two today but the park is so packed that even Tennessee Tornado is putting a second train on right now. Thank goodness I have timesaver.

Six Flags Pictures! Lake Winnie report coming tomorrow after we're done at Dollywood! Love love love these trains Yuck History! Very cool

Six Flags Over Georgia day 1: We have never been to this park before, but knowing it's one of the original six flags parks, and one of the bigger ones in the chain, we knew it would definitely be a fun park to be at. And we weren't wrong. The rides were fun, the staff was nice, and the park had some of the best landscaping we've ever seen at a Six Flags park. Crowds were super light so we got on everything very easily. Never waiting more than 10 minutes for anything, even twisted cyclone. A lot of rides were breaking down all day but luckily it didn't really affect us too much. Most of the rides were a lot of fun. Twisted Cyclone reminded me of a very small scale Steel Vengeance. A lot of the same elements but in a very small ride layout. For what it is, it is an amazing ride. I don't know how RMC does it. Goliath has a very interesting layout, but unfortunately we were feeling headaches already and Goliath only added to it. Not that it was rough but there was a noticeable rattle at the bottom of the first couple drops. Again, I think we were overly sensitive since we both had nasty headaches. The last 3 hills through the trees are a lot of fun. Super strong air time there. We had always heard that Georgia Scorcher was the best standup coaster. It delivered. Very smooth throughout and it had a very fun twisty layout. Mindbender was also a lot of fun. Super super smooth classic coaster. Also of note is that while the park opened at 10:30, they opened the gates a little after 10 and let us ride Cyclone and Scorcher early. Scorecard for the day: Goliath 3x Twisted Cyclone 7x Acrophobia 2x Mine train 1x DDD 2x Justice League 2x Superman 1x GASM 1x Blue Hawk (yuck) 1x Batman 1x Sky buckets 1x Bug Bunny on the High Seas 1x Wonder woman 1x Joker funhouse coaster 1x Log Jamboree 1x Mindbender 1x Scorcher 2x Monster Mansion 1x Six Flags Railroad 1x I'm probably forgetting some flat rides.... We sure got on a lot! No pictures because my phone is being a pain. Hopefully tomorrow with Lake Winnie.

What I'm confused about is how she said "I put my phone in the bin" because there is no bin on TT. Did she just make a mistake and say bin instead of locker? Either way, glad she's alright. I had a phone coming straight for my face on Steel Vengeance and my friend in front of me was able to block it and throw it on the bottom of the train then step on it so it wouldn't go anywhere. The guy got his phone back safe and sound.

Pictures!!!!!! This is from Monday before the storm Fury never reopened Seems vaguely familiar

Checked into our hotel literally across the street from Six Flags Over Georgia with a nice view of Goliath from our room. Today was a great day at Carowinds. It was actually the most crowded I've ever seen it but still, Fury and Intimidator were 15 minutes or less. Everything else was actually slightly longer (waited 30 minutes for Goldrusher!!!!!) than we're used to but it was still a fun day. We mostly focused on our favorites since we really only had today at Carowinds thanks to a storm washing us out on Monday night. No Nighthawk, Cobra, Vortex, Etc this trip. Fury is still just amazing. Definitely a top 5 coaster. Intimidator was way better than I remember it last year. The trims didn't seem as heavy and it's right next to Diamondback, which I adore, in my rankings. Afterburn is also still really fun. Very smooth and forceful, and I really love the new mist affect in the bottom of the batwing. Construction is moving right along on next year's project. Looked like they were beginning to put in some footers. Whatever it ends up being, I'm sure Mack is gonna knock it out of the park. Operations outside of the big 3 were meh but friendly workers. We didn't eat outside of Harmony Hall for any of our 3 meals. The selection in there is great and all very very tasty. So all in all, even through it was an abbreviated trip to Carowinds (last year we spent 3 days there) it was a lot of fun. On to Six Flags Over Georgia tomorrow which is a new park for us! Scorecard for the day: Fury 9x Intimidator 5x Afterburn 2x Carolina Cyclone 1x Hurler 1x Drop Tower 1x Skytower 1x Carolina Goldrusher 1x Windseeker 1x Zephyr 1x Unfortunately the pictures don't want to upload tonight... I guess I'll try tomorrow along with the six flags pictures. Ugh. Technology. I had a few cool pictures of the storm from monday I was excited to share too. Oh well.

Nothing of note yesterday so no real report. Rainy. Drive. Rainy. Today is a full day at Carowinds before driving to Six Flags Over Georgia.

Busch Gardens time. After our surprise visit in April in the rain/sleet/snow/I don't know but this really sucks, we were really ready to return to Busch Gardens and the beautiful weather made it a wonderful day. The weather was in the low 90s all day and it didn't rain until right before the park closed. It wasn't crowded at all and we got plenty of rides in. The park itself is obviously above and beyond beautiful. I can't even imagine the time and effort Busch Gardens puts in to make the park look as amazing as it does. Invadr is really a fun ride. Yes it is clearly toned down from other GCIs, it still has a wild and out of control feeling that I've come to love from riding GCI coasters. I still don't get Alpengeist. I really want to love the ride, and my usual taste in coasters would make one think that I would love Alpengeist. But I just don't. I don't know why but it just doesn't do it for me. Oh well. Griffon and Apollo's Chariot are still amazing. The more I ride Griffon the more I like it better than Valravn. Verbolten, Nessie, and Tempesto were all fun as usual, but I still don't understand the "comfort" collar on Tempesto but whatever. Another huge standout at Busch Gardens is the food. It's just absolutely amazing and slightly cheaper than a lot of amusement park food. The more I visit this park, the more I realize how much I love it and definitely think it's one of my favorite couple amusement parks. It's always a good day at Busch Gardens. Light crowds made for a ton of rides. Here's the scorecard: Apollo's Chariot 12x Griffon 3x Alpengeist 1x Le Scoot 1x Tempesto 1x Nessie 2x Verbolten 1x Battle for Eire 2x Invadr 6x Skyride from France to Germany 1x Escape from Pompeii 2x That's all from Busch Gardens. Tomorrow is Kings Dominion in the morning then a drive to Carowinds for some evening rides on Fury! Here's some pictures, don't be afraid to leave some comments! 2 months ago I took this same picture and it was 40 degrees Happy 40th Nessie! Don't get it but it's still a beautiful ride

Hey I'm actually staying on top of my trip reports.... At least for now. Kings Dominion Day 1: Driving through Fredericksburg on I95, there was a ton of traffic, as per usual. The area felt crowded. That, and it was a Saturday in the summer made it seem obvious that Kings Dominion would be packed, so we didn't expect much. Getting off the highway we quietly prepared ourselves to lay eyes on a completely full parking lot.... But... We didn't. The parking lot was maybe a quarter of the way full. I didn't believe it. I thought there had to be more parking somewhere that we weren't seeing or like 72827 busses of tourists and school groups and the like hiding. But there wasn't. The park was miraculously empty, and many of those who were there found themselves in the waterpark on this 90+ degree day. So off we went to Twisted Timbers trying to make sure we didn't end up missing out on rides on it like we did back in April. We got to the ride, and still not believing that the park was actually that empty, expected an hour wait in front of us. Not so. The line was only in the station and within 15 minutes we were sitting in the front seat. After an amazing ride back in line we went, except this time we sat in the back row. Another amazing ride. Having ridden Steel Vengeance over 20 times, I can confidently say that this ride is obviously no Steel Vengeance, but that being said it's still an absolutely brilliant ride. It's almost like a mini steel vengeance with some of the same elements but smaller and not as intense​. After this we decided it was time to make a lap around the park. Not encountering any lines at all, we got on just about everything. Very productive day at Kings Dominion. One down side was that Volcano was down the whole day but that was to be expected. With the other three amazing coasters this park has, it wasn't a huge loss. Especially after riding it a few times back in April. Ride ops were above average. Friendly, courteous, and great at getting trains out quickly. Par for the course at Cedar Fair parks. Food can use some improvement, but the Mac and cheese place is still amazing. Really great amusement park food. Our day was cut a little short by a large thunderstorm, but that didn't put a damper on our day at all. Overall a great day to start a long trip. Busch Gardens tomorrow. Hopefully the weather cooperates. Scorecard: Twisted Timbers 2x Drop Tower 2x Grizzly 2x Racer75​ 3x Drop Tower 2x Apple Zapple 1x Windseeker 1x Flying Eagles 1x Antique Cars 1x Flying Ace 1x Anaconda 1x I305 2x Backlot 1x Boo Blasters 1x Dominator 1x Avalanche 1x Thanks for reading and here's some pictures... Hopefully. My kind of station You're welcome Bill.

Time has not been in my favor so no coasterstock report for the time being. I'm sure you've all seen the behind the scenes photos already anyways. My big trip of the summer starts tomorrow. The itinerary is as follows: Saturday June 9th: Kings Dominion Sunday June 10th: Busch Gardens Williamsburg Monday June 11th: Kings Dominion/Carowinds Tuesday June 12th: Carowinds Wednesday June 13th: Six Flags Over Georgia Thursday June 14th: Six Flags/Lake Winnie Friday June 15th: Dollywood Saturday June 16th: Dollywood Sunday June 17th: Kings Island Monday June 18th: Kings Island I'm super excited. This is the biggest trip we've ever done and it's filled with world class parks and rides, plus two parks I've ever been to which are Six Flags and Lake Winnie. The plan is to type up reports upon returning to our hotel at the end of each night.

I think you are close. Rumor I've heard is that it's going to be an 87 foot tall dive coaster that's themed after Sidney Crosby. That will start a list of roller coasters I have no interest in riding out of straight principal (Go Caps). Yes this. #CBJ

And the fact that getting rid of the current parking lot would make the 30 mil they spent on Gatekeeper and a new entrance kinda pointless...

Ever since about 1993 when enthusiasts thought there was no possible way to squeeze the supposed B&M invert anywhere within the park boundaries. That was a thing? Good Lord.

Got 3 rides in today already. Trims all three times and honestly didn't notice a thing the second half of the ride. Still just as fast as usual

thanks guys. guess i won't be the only loner there, so i'm thinking about grabbing a season pass to catch up on lost time. Absolutely do so. Have a great time!

My friend has ridden it three times since the new "trims" and had ridden it probably more than 20 times before the "trims". He said that while they are noticable, they're subtle and the second half of the ride is still kick ass. He also added "make no mistake, this is still my number one coaster by far." So hopefully we can trust his judgement. I'll see for myself on Friday.

Screw Disney... Jack and Coke But seriously, great report as always. Need to find my way back to Orlando for Disney and everything else.

Honestly I see a lot more people than you'd think all alone at parks.

Remember when I said that I would keep up to date and post updates the day of or at least pretty soon after? Well uh that didn't happen. Time to start catching up. This update will be both Steel Vengeance preview events I attended, which were the Steel Vengeance First Rider Benefit and then I chose to do the Passholder Frontiertown Hoedown on Monday. The first rider benefit was Friday, April 27th and it ran from 6-10pm. For $75 you got as many rides on SV as you could fit in plus walk on rides on Maverick and free food which was amazing. I don't exactly remember what I ate but I know it was BBQ and tasted great. Steel Vengeance's opening ceremonies ended at about 7:30 and it was finally time to ride. After waiting in the very reasonable 20 minute line we hopped on. I believe I was in row 4 but I was too much in awe from seeing the ride run then finally stepping into the train to really notice or care. After a year and a half of hype, anticipation, and everything else, it was FINALLY time to ride!!!! We left the station with the Digger character saying something over the PA that helped with the overall moderate but solid theming. Pulling through the transfer bay I felt like I was on Mean Streak again. Plus, with only two trains running, it REALLY felt like Mean Streak! This is where the comparisons end though. Yeah, its the same foot print but wow is it so drastically different. Once you take a right hand turn out of the transfer bay you hit two unassuming airtime hills that give you a little preview of what is to come. Once you climb up the 205ft hill, you are briefly greeted by a great view of the back end of Magnum and the lake up ahead. The look is brief and then you're plummeting down the 90 degree drop straight into a tiny airtime hill that is extreme ejector but still comfortable. That seems to be a common theme with Steel Vengeance. The airtime hills are batpoopoo crazy but still comfortable. I love Storm Chaser but those hills at the end can get a little painful, where Steel Vengeance just doesn't do that to you. After that pop of air you go up the right hand turned top hat that again greets you with great airtime before dropping back down to the ground and then heading straight back up for the right hand outward banked turn. Again more comfortable ejector air (sensing a theme yet?) before heading back down a big drop into a double up into a zero-g inversion that provides fantastic floater air. Heading back over the lift hill you're not really in your seat at all before flying into the flying snake dive or whatever you call it. This inversion has the potential to be jerky or rough but it just isn't. I have no idea how. I guess RMC is just pretty darn good at their job. Heading back downward and then back into another crazy double up you're at the MCBR. The ride rolls through the MCBR without even thinking about slowing down leaving you with only about a second or two to catch your breath, and boy do you need it because to me, the second half of the ride is where Steel Vengeance really shines. The first half is really not much different than most RMCs but the second half takes all those crazy back to back to back to back elements that RMC is known for and puts them on steroids and shoots them at you on rapid fire. It is utterly insane. It just never lets up and seems to go on forever. I'm not gonna outline every detail of the second half but really all you need to know is how relentless this half of the ride is. It really makes you realize that Steel Vengeance is truly out for a vengeance. We hit the brakes (before they broke lol) and the whole train was a mix of laughing, cheers, and what the heck just happened?! So where does it rank? Well for my entire life since I had ridden Millennium, Millennium was my favorite. After getting more and more credits I really only thought Fury to be the only ride to come close to Millennium. Then Steel Vengeance was announced. I knew immediately I had finally found Millennium's replacement. That super high expectation was shattered by Steel Vengeance. I really don't think anybody could go into a ride with expectations as high as I had for Steel Vengeance and they were still not even close to what Steel Vengeance ended up being. New number one for sure and this time I know nothing will beat it. Such an incredible ride. I said screw Maverick and ended up only riding Steel Vengeance that night, finishing with four rides on it, never waiting more than about a half hour. When they are running two trains the line absolutely hauls. Can't wait for two train ops and eventually three train ops. Monday then was supposed to be more to just enjoy frontier town while getting a chance to ride Steel Vengeance once with a boarding pass. Well it turns out my friend wasn't able to stay late enough to use his boarding pass so I got myself a second ride on Steel Vengeance on Monday, along with two rides on Maverick, and one ride each on Skyhawk and Cedar Creek Mine Ride. The food that night was showing off the new offerings in Frontiertown and it was all actually really good. I'm a huge fan of the new Chess burger at Roundup which has fried jalapenos and BBQ aioli sauce on it. So that raps up my report on the Steel Vengeance stuff. This is probably the only report I'll ever write for CP since I'm literally always there but I figured this was all worth mentioning. Hopefully I can get my Coasterstock 2018 report up soon. Until then, Enjoy the Steel Vengeance pictures and thank you for reading! We're here! Wonder why they're here... Ice and Food! Food! More food! There she is. Steel Vengeance is OPEN! First train going up And down they go Happy riders Unassuming but oh so fun. Also of note is the beautiful weather. In April. In Ohio. Gave us this cool souvenir which is a piece of Mean Streak And Monday stuff MORE FOOD!!!!!! And that's it. Thanks for following along!

I don't care who wins game 7 tonight, I'll definitely be picking Vegas to win it all. Fully on the bandwagon lol

Early entry is definitely worth it for Mystic Timbers. There will be a lot of school groups there but in my very limited experience, they seem to just do their school work and sit around in the festhaus. Very few venture out to the rides.

Doesn't necessarily mean that the park is updating consistently. My friend is at the park and said everything is open except wicked twister... And well... The haunt mazes lol

That second option is a great time to go. That same Friday last year I got 15 or more rides on Millennium in like 2 hours to end the night.

Another great day at the park. It was fairly empty but I had to leave at 2. Got on 7 coasters, one of which was SV this morning. That brings my lap count to 9 and it gets better every time. God I love that thing.