bluestreak

Anybody think this is possibly setting up for a front gate rehab or completely redone like CP and Carowinds?

Just booked my trip for opening weekend! It'll be my 4th or 5th time at the park but my friends first time. Can't wait! Edit: Also buying fastlane for Saturday (obviously... New coaster + opening day = omfg it's crowded). Price won't deter us but for planning purposes what should I expect the price to be? I'm thinking $80-$90 for FL+?

Welcome back!

^ exactly my thoughts. I look at it like this. It's your 150th anniversary. That's super marketable on it's own. You also want to build a giant new coaster, also extremely marketable. During the anniversary year you don't build the new coaster and then build it in the next year or two. That gives you two years of easy marketing. Or the alternative is you build the new coaster during your anniversary and you only get one year of marketing out of the situation. I think it's pretty obvious that the park will always go with the former instead of the latter.

So thanks to reading this thread I was able to make a purchase for hockey tickets online through a program called flash seats. I was trying to buy the tickets on my phone with data and it wouldn't work. I thought of this thread and turned WiFi on and boom! It worked.

Oh my god 2007 was 12 years ago... I feel old. I always like the atom logo but to each his own.

I'm there 40 times a year and have no clue

You raise the point that I think it just depends on everyone's situation. I typically only go to Six Flags with one other person and we do it maybe 5-6 times a year. We also try to eat a big breakfast and only eat a snack or two while inside the park. We also don't really care for merch so the gold pass on it's own (especially when bought during the flash sale) is more than enough for us. That all being said I can totally see where a family of your structure can find a bigger benefit with the memberships.

No comfort collars thank goodness.

I'm glad I'm not the only one

It's been 2019 for less than a day and it already sucks.

Let me be one of the first to wish the TPR community a happy 2019 filled with plenty of coaster rides.

Merry Christmas to the entire TPR family!

Haven't heard anything about midway market, but Cedars is indeed being torn down. I believe deconstruction is set to begin in January.

Videos floating around on Instagram of Viper testing.

Realistically, Mystic Timbers. Jokingly, I'm at a very low valley on the roller coaster known as finals week.

I love KK's use of every coaster animation product aside from whatever Cedar Fair and Six Flags uses.

Yeah you raise a good point. I'm just glad the events have been successful enough that I can get some rides in during December even if it is just one or two coasters.

Where the hell is everybody? I realize it's SFA but damn. The park looks great too.

Gobble gobble

I peeked at the webcams on the preview night and couldn't believe how full the parking lot was. I've only ever been to Carowinds in the summer and the parking lot has never even been close to that full. Glad this event seems to be a success chain wide and hopefully someday we'll see Cedar Fair take a Six Flags approach and open a couple more coasters, especially at warm(er) weather parks like Kings Dominion and Carowinds.... One can dream

Haha I never said it wasn't, I'm just saying Lightning Rod is fantastic.

Here we go again....

Dollywood! We spent the next two full days at Dollywood which would be Friday and Saturday. We figured the crowds would be manageable on Friday but Saturday was likely to be packed because not only was it a Saturday, it was also the first weekend of their summer celebration. Because of this, our plan going in was to do as much as we could Friday and then expect to be waiting in lines most of Saturday, taking our time and enjoying the amazing atmosphere Dollywood provides. This was until we found our how dirt cheap their Timesaver pass is. I believe for the unlimited pass that includes Lightning Rod it was only like $45. Since our home park is Cedar Point, we're used to seeing prices for fastlane well over $100 so this was a huge steal and a crime if we didn't buy it to get the absolute most out of our Dollywood visit. And boy did we. Friday was fairly empty as expected, so we got plenty of rides in on everything, including Lightning Rod which was still running when we were there before shutting down for a couple months. Good timing on our part. Lightning Rod and all other rides were running pretty much the entire time we were there which was nice to see since we've had bad luck with Lightning Rod, Mystery Mine, and Firechaser Express in the past. We had been on Lightning Rod before but it was still opening year and it broke down a lot. This time though it was up and launching with two trains all day, both days. I think our total was something around 20 rides between the two days we were there, thanks in no small part to the Timesaver passes. The ride itself is still just as amazing as when I first rode it. The much talked about "pothole" at the bottom of the first drop was definitely there and noticeable, but when the rest of the ride is as good as it is, it's hard to justify saying that the pothole takes away from the ride experience. That being said though I'm itching to get back down there and ride it in its smoothest state. On Saturday night we got probably 10 rides on Lightning Rod in the dark. This thing is a whole different animal at night since you really can't see a thing so those crazy twists and turns before the bonkers quad-down come out of nowhere, no matter how familiar you might be with the ride. Lightning Rod night rides are right up there with the nighttime experiences rides like The Beast and Voyage provide. Thunderhead is another great ride at Dollywood. I've heard many call Thunderhead rough,and while it absolutely feels like a wooden coaster, it's not rough by any means. For sure one of early GCI's best coasters. Mystery Mine is another ride commonly said to be rough. Again, the ride definitely has some personality, but its far from unridable in my opinion. And that second drop and the inversions following it is one of my favorite elements on any of the coasters I've been on. Wildeagle and Firechaser Express are both totally solid coasters and something that the whole family can enjoy. Wildeagle also has a 50 inch height requirement that allows some younger kids to get a ride on it. Wildeagle to me, is what wingriders should be, a nice smooth ride that is just simply fun. And if you're hellbent on getting good forces out of it, the backseat provides some great whip over the first drop and some of the inversions. My only issue is with the restraints. If the vests didn't lock it wouldn't be a big deal, and I don't notice them on the ride, but while sitting outside the station waiting to get off they become very uncomfortable. Especially on a hot, humid sunny day. Other than that, a great ride. Firechaser is also a great ride. Sure it seems like a glorified family coaster but I think it's fun for everybody and it has great theming too. The true unsung hero of Dollywood is Tennessee Tornado. Yeah, it's a super short ride, but that first drop in the backseat is outstanding. The rest of the ride is extremely forceful and a total blast. Before this trip I had never seen Tennessee Tornado run two trains but the park was so crowded on Saturday that they actually put the second train on for a couple hours in the afternoon. I hope I took a picture because I doubt I'll ever see it again . Outside of the rides, what can I say about Dollywood that hasn't already been said? The park is beautiful, the staff is exceptional at their jobs and super friendly, the food is great, and the park obviously has their eyes towards further expanding their ride lineup with the 2019 addition. After Dollywood we hit Kings Island and then headed home. No Kings Island report since I am there so often but it was another good visit. Leave your comments, look at the pictures, and look forward to the beginning of my New England trip reports! Thanks for reading! OH MY GOD IT"S OPEN So blank back in June, now a bunch of ride pieces and a lift hill are sitting here Very solid addition with amazing views Come on it's not that bad Wow these are really out of order DUCK That blasted finger God. Bless. Thank you dirt cheap timesaver for so many LR rides! Dang it... Finger get out of the way Thanks for reading!

Thank you! I did not. I definitely regret not doing so especially after I read your report from Lake Winnie. Hopefully I'll be back sometime soon to try it out. Thank you and I absolutely agree. Just goes to show you don't have to be a big park to be awesome.