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Finally, after a long and stressful off-season, Frontier Forest is proud to debut Albatross. Dominating the skyline with brilliant blue, Albatross is the tallest, longest and fastest roller coaster at Frontier Forest, and among the top ranking in Virginia. Manufactured by Intamin, AG, Albatross is officially classified a "Mini-Hyper" roller coaster, standing just shy of 180 feet tall and reaching speeds of 70 miles per hour over 4,770 feet of track. Albatross represents the most expensive investment in park history at a total cost of $20 million. (Of note, Albatross' two overbanked turns are intended to be more similar to Expedition GeForce's than Millennium Force's--that is, fast and horizontal rather than long and steep). An Albatross is known as "The most legendary of all birds," and Frontier Forest believes this coaster delivers true to its name. "Albatross is just the next step in our plan to re-imagine every section of the park. Expect bigger things to come very soon." An alternate meaning is derived from the famous poetic work, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." An albatross is one's greatest burden; the most difficult challenge to overcome. Riders not only face the albatross on this ride, but the park seemed to have an albatross around its shoulders in its efforts to built the ride itself. Frontier Forest saw a special opportunity for a record-breaking coaster on July 22, 1999--the day of Millennium Force's announcement. On its opening day, May 13, 2000, the park took the next step in efforts to make this ride a reality by petitioning the 200 foot height restriction. Without the limits imposed by the county, Frontier Forest very well could have had the World's tallest and fastest roller coaster on its hands. I'm actually surprised nobody saw that. I thought I was making it easy. New in 2003 is Albatross, an Intamin "Mini-Hyper" coaster The initial layout was designed in 1999. After three years of modifications, Albatross is the result. Notably, the steel lattice support structure remained, perhaps as a style choice. Leading into a slightly overbanked turnaround following the 70-degree drop and first "ejector" airtime hill. An on-ride photo follows, transitioning to a 180 degree, overbanked turnaround. All the way out by Coyote's lift hill. An elevated airtime s-curve leads into an elevated 360 helix. Crossing over spectators by the new Frontier-themed midway, leading into the helix over the pond. The ride's signature element comes last, the dive under the bridge leading up to the station. Albatross runs two, 28 passenger trains. One cycle lasts about two minutes, yielding a theoretical hourly capacity of 1,120 pph. Albatross is indirectly themed to demonstrate progress in a traditional setting. The Frontier-styled buildings and shops counter the modern design of the steel superstructure above it. Similar to Millennium Force/Frontier Trail? Sure, but it is called *Frontier* Forest. Unfortunately, Delirium has not operated this season due to mechanical issues. Renegade River has only tested through May 2003. The Sky Ride's popularity has waned in recent years... when it is functioning. Mammoth is supposedly awaiting repairs to its single PTC train, and has not opened this year. The Mine Train has a newfound popularity, however. This early in the year? Already? One last look at the Albatross plaza. An overview of the new area to get a better idea of the layout. Comments appreciated!

Has anyone ever stayed at the Travelodge Lake Erie/Sandusky? It's a few minutes closer than the Super 8 coasterbill recommended and has free wifi, breakfast, etc. It's even cheaper at $170 for three nights and the minimum check-in age is 18. Near Kings Island it's looking like the Best Western is quite a bit more on these specific days than the other budget options, so I'm probably looking at the Super 8 right by the park. After some more research I think we're going to do the earlier week because for some strange reason all the hotel rates jump by about 35% the week after. It's really strange how much one week makes a difference, but I guess that's the business of it. Boldikus, are the Kennywood discounted tickets the same price as the online discounted tickets? They're listed at $44 at the gate, $32 (plus fees) online. Your report mentioned $30 each which would be awesome and we'd probably lean more towards Kennywood at that price (btw I've read through that entire TR like three times now. Looks like such a good time). Kennywood would also really help split up the drive to Kings Island (drive to KW in the morning, stay at a motel an hour or two down the road at night so we're only a few hours from KI in the morning).

^Actually... I don't think it will be in 2017 but I wouldn't be surprised if it was by 2020. This is super nerdy but if you guys want to check this out coaster-net makes some pretty fun youtube videos in their "uncut" series and their last video talks about Cedar Point through 2020 with speculation about their master plan. Challenge Park coming out is in that by 2020.

^^Thanks for all that Boldikus! I'll think about the options more and we'll discuss it. Greatly appreciated. ^Maybe I'm just not really getting the point, but what would be the added benefit to doing that schedule? With yours, we'd get... 4 hours at Kentucky Kingdom A full day plus 4 hours at night at Kings Island 2 days (minus one vital morning) plus a half day at Cedar Point Whereas with the schedule I proposed, we'd get... ~6 hours (11-5) at Kentucky Kingdom A 4 hour night (8-12), a 2.5 hour night (7:30-10), plus a half day at Kings Island Potentially 2 hours plus 2.5 full days at Cedar Point If we decide on Kentucky Kingdom (or Kennywood for that matter), I'd rather enjoy the park than make it more of a credit stop (not saying that's what you proposed). It looks like we'd get more daytime (instead of nighttime) in exchange for one less morning at Cedar Point on your schedule. Yours is a perfectly viable plan, but I don't think I made clear enough that I'm hoping for two nights at Kings Island mostly just to ride the big three in the dark. There isn't a whole lot else at Kings Island that seriously interests me as I've ridden about 1/3 of the rides' clones elsewhere (including Firehawk and Flight of Fear with Batwing and its clone at KD). I'd also regret losing three hours in the morning at Cedar Point. Maybe I missed something else though that makes it more worthwhile? Thanks for the suggestions anyway.

Thanks Bill! I'll call this weekend. I stayed here for my trip bak in September, rooms are wonderful. Breakfast was amazing, the indoor pool was relaxing, and the service was fanastic. Next time I go it to KI, I'm staying there again. Sounds good to me. I don't know that we'll have any time to enjoy a pool, but a good breakfast is always a plus at a budget motel. As for the third park, I'd like some input on what our best option would be. I don't know that Holiday World would fit into our schedule because it's three hours from KI so we'd probably have to stay near there overnight which takes away time from Kings Island. So that leaves Kentucky Kingdom or Kennywood, and they would both necessitate very different travel schedules. Anyone have an opinion on one park or the other? It would be hard for me to pass up my first RMC and Lightning Run, but Kennywood seems like a great park too. I've read Boldikus' TR from last summer (reading this Boldikus?).

Holy bump. Also I disagree 100% Maxair is greatness. 'He searched that far back just to make a negative comment about a ride!! Hey, I can see this you know!! I was just scrolling through the forums as you may do and saw this thread. The first thing that popped into my mind was that this is not as forceful or give as much air time as a KMG one does, especially XXL versions. Yes, I know it was far back, but I just wanted to give an opinion. You have a different opinion to me and that is OK. I like to hear other people's opinions but some other people may not. Sorry if my comment annoyed anyone. On page 219 of inactive threads? Anyways, I haven't ridden all that many giant frisbees (I'm excited to compare to the new Delirium at Kings Dominion) but I thought MaXair was awesome. My favorite flat ride at this point, other than maybe Zumanjaro at GrAdv.

Does Six Fkags St Louis have a height requirement? I'm curious whether it was the general idea of a B&M hyper by a lake that was pushed to Georgia or if it was a very specific layout at exactly 200 feet tall, etc.

^Booking in advance the Super 8 is cheaper at $199.80 taxes included with free breakfast for three nights. That's not bad at all. I couldn't find anything about minimum check in age requirements, though. Do you know if they're strict? We can always call and ask if necessary.

In all seriousness, have you guys looked at camping? No, actually, we haven't. I don't think we'd do this where a no-frills cheap motel is available, but now that you mention the laws in Sandusky, I'd at least be interested in looking into it near Cedar Point. I just looked at the website and it looks quite a bit nicer than most motels in that price range. It's definitely an option now.

^^I didn't realize many hotels in Sandusky had that minimum age requirement. Thanks for letting me know. I'll definitely be looking into other options there and doing some more research/phone calls. I'll keep an eye on Coney Island and Stricker's Grove for sure. The budget is primarily a concern with motels, but the most likely possibility is that the additional costs for adding an extra park or a Fast Lane at Cedar Point would be up to me to cover, which isn't as much of an issue. I've been working part time the last year or so partially so that I wouldn't blow my savings entirely if we wanted to spend a little more this trip on parks. So with that said, I think I'd be okay paying the extra $50 or whatever the difference comes out to going to an admission-fee park like Kentucky Kingdom/Kennywood/whatever it may be. Something I forgot to mention, where finding cheap motels isn't an issue (especially for the Kings Island leg of the trip), free breakfast is something we'd be looking for. It seems to be included in at least half of the options I've looked at and I'm fully prepared for it to be complete crap and just eat the cereal, but the dining plan only gives two meals/day and that's five days less of paying for breakfast.

Or a questionable upcharge soccer game. Just a hunch.

So, since my last visit to Cedar Point (August 2014), I've been dying to get back. Plans finally started to take shape this past summer with a buddy of mine after really getting him more into coasters after a SFGadv visit. After some discussion, we both decided on Platinum passes for this year (home park is Kings Dominion) as a way to make sure it definitely happens, and the hotels/gas expenses are graciously being covered by my folks as a graduation gift of sorts. My pass has the platinum dining plan, but his does not. The goal of the trip is primarily as much time as we need/want at Cedar Point to really take the park in. I've been twice (so I know the general tips/tricks with early entry, etc), but my buddy has never been. Additionally, coming from the northern end of Virginia, and having platinum passes, Kings Island is a definite must. I'm assuming we won't need or want as much time at KI as we will at Cedar Point, but I do want at least two nights for night rides on The Beast/Diamondback/Banshee. Everything else is really similar to Kings Dominion, so I don't think more than one day is needed. Finally, being a graduation gift, I want to get the most out of an 8+ hour drive to the Midwest. Budget is definitely a big concern (about to be poor college students), but since we're already all the way out there, I'm seriously considering adding on one additional park. Kentucky Kingdom at this point seems like the best option for what we want (mostly just interested in riding top-tier coasters), but if somebody wants to veer us towards Kennywood or Holiday World, be my guest! We're probably not interested in water parks, though, even though Splashin Safari is ridiculous. The price point/price difference looks about the same for each. As for dates, I initially wanted to do this trip earlier in the Summer before crowds became an issue, but graduation isn't until mid-June, we both have obligations until the first of July, and he is out of town the weekend if the 4th. That leaves us with the week starting the 10th or the 17th of July. Not-so-early summer anymore, but so be it. The timeframe I'm looking at is a maximum of five nights in hotels for both budget and time reasons. The only benefit I see of doing the later week is that Cedar Point stays open until 11pm weekdays vs 10pm, but I'm unsure if this is worth doing the later dates at all. Here's a very, very tentative schedule I came up with--keep in mind, we're both 18y/o guys, so we have a decent amount of energy. Again, if you can recommend changes/a different "third" park, please let me know! Day One--7/9 (Sat)--Depart late morning to motel near Kings Island, arrive around 7pm, enjoy night rides until 12am close Day Two--7/10 (Sun)--Depart motel to Kentucky Kingdom around 8:30am, day at Kentucky Kingdom from 11am opening to late afternoon, return to motel, night rides at Kings Island until 10pm close Day Three--7/11 (Mon)--Kings Island early entry until sometime midday when we feel like leaving to motel near Cedar Point. Cedar Point until 10pm close (or 11pm if 7/18) or crash at motel if we're too tired. Day Four--7/12 (Tues)--Cedar Point platinum pass early entry until close Day Five--7/13 (Weds)--Cedar Point early entry until close. Fast Lane plus possible for this day. Day Six--7/14 (Thurs)--Cedar Point early entry until early afternoon departure home bound Obviously that is subject to change and just a template if we decide on Kentucky Kingdom. So, some questions I have... -Is Kentucky Kingdom the best option for the third park? It would be hard to pass up a new RMC 2 hours from Kings Island -If it is, can we buy tickets at a Kroger the day of our visit for cheap? I've heard this is the best option here -Are these plans realistic in terms of time/driving/energy? Is adding a third park too much for a short trip? -Which week are we best off for the best day in the parks, starting the 9th or the 16th? -Are there any more chances for Fast Lane discounts? I missed the cyber Monday sale which was $70 for FL+... could there be anything else like this in the future? -Are the days of the week included the best days for this trip (Cedar Point midweek, Kings Island Saturday night for the 12am closing? -I'm currently browsing different motel options at this point, so I'll post what I'm looking at when we decide final dates. I know there are some on here that refuse the $49 motel options (and I know some are awful, so I'd like some input), but these areas seem ridiculously cheap considering we have no need to stay on property at Cedar Point since we have platinum passes -If anyone has stayed at a bottom-dollar motel by CP or KI, please chime in! -Anything else is always appreciated! I'll likely be continually posting updates on our planning and asking about motel options as I find them.

Obviously it's just a coincidence but it's interesting that "King of Coasters" is exactly the same tag line that was used to market Kingda Ka.

At least with Valravn people (enthusiasts) won't find any way to complain that the mid-course isn't anywhere near the middle of the ride. Since that's SUCH a big deal with another recent build at this park...

Maybe a helix around the pond like the one on Mamba at WOF You didn't get it... He's talking about Goliath at Six Flags over Georgia, which was rumored to be meant for Six Flags St Louis. Prozach-- No. The Rams left because the owner got greedy and moved them to California so he can get more money. This was also a joke. It wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

^Hmm... I think people have a right to voice their opinion on a forum about opinions of roller coasters. Are we just supposed to be like "any new coaster is amazing and I love everything that Six Flags does!" just because there are other parks not building new coasters? This is the first new coaster at Great Adventure in 5 years, which is the longest the park has *ever* gone without one. It's also a clone, and not what a lot of people were hoping for (but I bet most people will enjoy it once they ride it). People can discuss what they like and don't like if they want to, and some park in Italy that isn't building a new coaster has no affect on their opinion of this new ride.

^Its the park's decision on how long to make the ride cycle. Mondial has no impact on whether the park wants to make the cycle 30 seconds or three minutes. Canada's Wonderland has about twice as many visitors per day (considering the length of season and overall attendance) than Kings Dominion so they can't afford to have a longer cycle.

^That would need to be like 8,000 feet long just to get there and back... not to mention building around the parking lot or naming it "Scream."

Cool! So... If you build a coaster with more than just "a single loop" it's not a family park? Then what is Patriot? I don't mean to be rude in any way, I just really, really don't understand the point of this post.

^How did they make the decision to go for a dive coaster over other coaster types in B&M's catalog, such as a flying coaster? Does Cedar Fair have any special incentives for working with B&M long term (discounts, etc)? Thanks!

It seems like most B&M's almost never use both course blocks at once, and the ones without MCBR's get along fine (like the gigas, which have huge capacity, don't they?). So I wonder just how it works, putting in a MCBR or not, that would be some neat insight. I recall someone that is active on this thread (a Cedar Point employee, I forget who though) discussing this exact topic with Gatekeeper's mid-course and how it affects capacity. I do agree though, Banshee and both B&M gigacoasters do quite well without the extra block. Cedar Point does have excellent operations, though, so I could see them needing the extra block with a super-efficient crew and given that the trains only hold 24 riders and fairly simple restraints. In terms of dive coasters though, it allows the second "dive," which is definitely one of the highlights of the ride.

^I'd rather have the ride as is than cut the capacity in half. It's already got more elements than any other dive coaster, and you already have Gatekeeper to do the exact same maneuvers that Valravn would even be capable of (with the wide trains you can't have anything snappy). Sure, I'd love the first half to have maybe one more element, but the ride was designed as it is for a reason. And I think it looks like on hell of a dive coaster.

^^Yeah... I think I explained why quite thoroughly in my response. As I said, it depends entirely on the the ride itself so there's no definitive way to determine what you prefer because every coaster is different. Saying I don't think the topic is perfect isn't a personal thing at all. Don't take criticism so seriously, especially on the Internet.

They could've put a splashdown instead of the final airtime hill and tried to rearrange the plaza to have a path between that and the dive loop/second drop, but that spacing might be difficult/too congested. And then it's very likely that they couldn't do it at all because it's on a lake so they can't dig that far. Didn't somebody already verify that? That's why Millennium Force has above ground tunnels. To be honest I think it'll be fine the way it is. Leave the splashdown down south at Kings Island. And seriously nobody complains that MF or Raptor have no theming so why would anyone care now for Valravn? Oh wait that's right, it's themed to the journey through time to Dino Island had back to its toaster home